Chrysler 300 AWD, Passat 4-Motion challenge blizzard
Ah, wintertime. Having previously reviewed the Chrysler 300 in various forms, and the Volkswagen Passat, I found both of them smooth and satisfying sedans with large-car comfort and room, and current high-tech road handling manners.
Since the 300 can be obtained with a Hemi V8 and a fire-breathing SRT8 high-performance version, it also comes standard with rear-wheel drive. The Passat, on the other hand, starts out with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine – one-third the displacement size of the Hemi V8 – the difference is significantly made up with the Passat’s turbocharger, and all-season traction gains considerably from the Passat’s standard front-wheel drive.
Still, I was hoping to get the chance to drive the all-wheel-drive versions of both cars in good-olÂ’ Minnesota winter. And not JUST Minnesota winter, because the Minneapolis-St. Paul area has been no more snow-struck than Chicago this winter. But Northern Minnesota, up around Duluth and northward, has been a true winter wonderland. Because I spend part of each week up on the North Shore bluff overlooking Lake Superior from the North Shore, my timing couldnÂ’t have been better.
On the same mid-February week, I got two test-drive cars – a Chrysler 300 AWD, and a Volkswagen Passat 3.6 4-Motion.
Ideally, since I had already road-tested both cars in their other forms (you could look them up at www.jwgilbert.com), this time I could focus specifically on how they worked in the Great White North. But a lot of Upper Midwest locations havenÂ’t gotten a lot of snow this winter, and generally donÂ’t get a lot of the heavy stuff, but even when a driver faces even rare storms that can make driving treacherous, the heart-in-the-throat/white-knuckle moments make the security of good winter-drive cars priceless in their security.
Otherwise, there is always the old reliable technique of having your tires siped, an inexpensive process at many reliable tire shops of cutting tiny slits across the face of otherwise poor-traction tires and improving them measurably.
Since I’m always seeking new information for my memory bank. Checking out the patches of green – OK, brown – grass in the Twin Cities, we knew that the Duluth region had been hit with a couple of 6-inch snowfalls, so my wife, Joan, and I headed north. Admittedly I was a lot more enthusiastic about the weekend than Joan. We each drove one of the vehicles the 150 miles to the North Shore, so I got to drive both of them while we were up there, then we swapped for the return trip.
We couldnÂ’t have scripted it more perfectly, because on our first night, it started to snow. And it kept snowing, throughout the next day. Our neighbor, who is our local hero, showed up with his Polaris All-Terrain Vehicle and its sturdy plow, and did a quick job of shoving the snow aside. I asked him if I should move the cars, and he said not to bother, because, as he glanced upward into the fast-falling feathery flakes, he bypassed alliteration to say: “IÂ’ll be coming back later.Ââ€
Sure enough, it kept on snowing. Downtown Duluth got 11 inches, we got 14.5, and for parts of the day, it fell at a rate faster than 2 inches per hour. When I went out to try the cars, the snow was already back up to bumper-height in the driveway, and on our road. The cars both looked surreal, with snow piled on every flat surface, completely encasing everything, including the grilles, and the headlights, which had an eerie glow through their own personal shrouds. This was the kind of snowstorm where sane people stay home and listen to the event closings on the radio, and in which borderline sane auto-reviewers go charging out to see how the car works.
Checking out the Chrysler 300, I noted that the tires mounted were enormous, on 18-inch wheels. They were Continental tires with an “M+S†notation on the sidewalls. That means mud and snow, and it means the tires are designed for the next-best thing to severe-weather, on a scale that goes from performance, to all-season, to M+S, to severe-weather, to all-out snow tires.
So I was confident as I backed the Chrysler 300 out the long driveway, although it slithered a little through the heavy snow, before it burst through the snowplowed ridge to reach our main road. After checking to make sure nobody was coming either way, the 300 spun a little as I backed onto the road. I drove on down the road, letting the accumulated snow fly off the roof and rear deck to form a whiteout trailing the car for a hundred feet or so – a beautiful sight, through the rear-view mirror.
The steering felt OK, but a little light considering that there was a slippery base under several inches of snow on the roadway. But the car handled pretty well, and in my mind, the security of all-wheel drive gave me some confidence. More confidence than I should have had, perhaps. Going up some of DuluthÂ’s steep hills was OK, but on the snow-covered ones, the car wanted to grope for grip.
At one point on our snow-covered road, I stopped to return to the house. I backed carefully into a plowed driveway, and when I was crosswise in the road, trying to finish my turnaround, the car spun and slithered considerably before I got it around. I got back underway gingerly, but effectively, and made it up our final hill without any undue hassle.
Next it was the Passat 4-MotionÂ’s turn. I had backed it out first, so it had no advantage of previously broken trail, and parked it on the road while I had retrieved the Chrysler. The Passat stuck very well, churning through the deeper snow and the plowed pile, without spinning.
As I headed down the road, with the snow blowing off behind in similar fashion, the 4-Motion all-wheel drive elicited the same sort of confidence, but it also drove with a more secure road-holding feel as I drove to the same location, turning around at the same driveway. This time, there was no hesitation, no slipping or slithering, as I got perpendicular in the roadway and finished my turn over the crown of the roadway.
Later driving, I tried some unplowed side streets as well as slippery hills, and the Passat scaled them with ease. When I checked, I was frankly surprised to see that the car was shod with Michelin Pilot tires – but they were the new all-season Pilots, with about six letters of designation following, and they had all-season designation on 17-inch wheels. The Michelin Pilot Sport high-performance tires are basically dangerous to drive on ice and snow, but this year’s new all-season version has a stickier compound that worked very well.
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Breaking down the cars further, the 300 had ChryslerÂ’s 3.5-liter V6 instead of a Hemi V8, and has 250 horsepower and 250 foot-pounds of torque running through all four wheels. The car weighs 4,300 pounds, and it has the blunt-design exterior which has been a huge success for DaimlerChrysler. Inside, luxury touches to the leather seats, the white-backlit instruments, and the added fifth gear to the automatic transmission make it a smooth and luxurious highway cruiser. Its price is an estimated $35,000 as tested, as 300s start at $24,200 and crest at $42,695 if you load up all the top goodies, including the SRT8 power.
The Passat 4-Motion, meanwhile, is similarly luxurious inside, and has VolkswagenÂ’s new-look redesigned body, which is sleek and stylish in the manner of a new Jetta stretched at both ends. Interior room is good, and the safety characteristics are excellent. The base price of $31,900 went up to a listed $35,280 with a luxury package that includes wood trim and leather, with heated windshield and headlight washers and manual sunshades on the rear and rear-side windows. That includes the 3.6-liter direct-injection V6, meaning itÂ’s just about the same size as the Chrysler engine, but it has 280 horsepower and 265 foot-pounds of torque because of the direct-injection dosages of more controlled fuel input to each cylinder.
But thereÂ’s one aside to the Passat. I got 20 miles per gallon on one tankful, and 24 miles per gallon on a more freeway-oriented second tankful. The 20 was about the same as the Chrysler 300. However, for my personal taste, the previously tested Passat 2.0, with the exceptional 2.0-liter turbocharged direct-injection four-cylinder, had more than enough power in front-wheel-drive mode, and I have been able to get over 30 miles per gallon with that engine in the Passat and its cousin, the Audi A4. Not only that, but the Passat with the 2.0 has a base price of $23,900 and a loaded-up price tag of $31,565.
However, in this test, we return to the 300 and Passat all-wheel-drivers, and the Passat was a clear winner in secure, non-slithering traction. But the difference was clearly in the tires – which is something manufacturers don’t seem to think much about, and which consumers must think more about.
It is obvious that a tire manufacturer can put “all-season,†or “M+S†on the sidewall without stringent requirements – or at least without requirements that stress ice and snow driving. There are some exceptional tires on the market now. Pure winter tires from many tire-makers are good, led by the Bridgestone Blizzaks, which are outstanding on pure ice and heavy snow, although they also wear quickly when driven on pavement – as most days are, even in winter.
Personally, I rank the Nokian WR all-season tires as the best, because their price is not prohibitive, they stick very well in all winter conditions, and they will run 65,000 or more as well as all but the highest high-performance tires if you leave them on year-round.
It is unfair, but understandable, that consumers consider whether their cars are good-handling or poor-handling in ice and snow, often disregarding that tires can make the difference between the two. If tires, even M+S or all-season tires, don’t grip on ice and snow, there is always the old reliable siping technique, an inexpensive process at many reliable tire shops with siping machines that cut tiny slits across the face of hard-compound and otherwise poor-traction tires to improve them measurably.
As for the test cars, it would be very interesting to see how the Chrysler 300 AWD would go through snow with Nokian WRs mounted, or at least with its tires siped. The Passat 4-Motion might also be improved with more dedicated winter tires, but at least it worked capably, and clearly better with its Michelin Pilot all-season tires than the Chrysler did with its Continental M+S tires.
In most situations, drivers may not give much thought to the fact that the only thing between their cars – and their families – is that little foot-long patch where each of the four tires meets the road. But when it’s the harshest storm of winter, with ice or hard-packed snow under a foot of fluffy stuff, and you have to get somewhere, making sure your tires work is cheap security against heart-in-the-throat, white-knuckling.
Mercedes SL500 can create its own one-car parade
As I drove up to the tidy little baseball field at Loretto, a small town out Hwy. 55 west of Minneapolis, more than a few of my fellow-players were concerned. They were impressed that my weekly test-drive vehicle was the Mercedes SL500, but I also was supposed to be hauling all of our baseball gear — the bats, balls, catcher’s equipment, and the helmets.
Super-sleek as the SL500 is, particularly with the top down, this was the North Star Senior Baseball League’s tournament, and how could all that equipment fit into what had to be a tiny little trunk?
It did.
Pulling all that carefully-placed baseball stuff out from under the form-fitting shield that keeps the receded top from whatever is in the trunk was a surprise, although not the biggest surprise of tournament weekend. That would came when our team, the Shoreview SeaFoam Hawks, duplicated its total regular-season victory total in a fantastic 3-1 weekend to capture the Class C championship of the over-35, real-baseball league.
After the games, and after the requisite hours of munching on barbecued ribs and burgers at the Loretto concession stand, I will submit that there wasn’t a better way to execute a one-vehicle ceremonial parade than by cruising back in Hwy. 55 in that Mercedes SL500.
In the ever-escalating world of creating the most spectacular and unique vehicles for uncompromising buyers, nothing matches the Berman rivalry between Mercedes and BMW. Both build very good cars from entry level and on up through mid-luxury to luxury vehicles that are, I like to say, extremely expensive – and probably worth it. Just how high the contemporary battle has risen might come in the form of the Mercedes SL500.
This is an exquisite coupe, or an exquisite roadster, with the gracefully formed hardtop folding up and disappearing in its own receptacle in a 16-second time span. Fast, smooth and powerful to drive, and always eye-catching to observe, the SL500 is a magnificent piece of machinery that is perfect for doing battle with BMWÂ’s latest 645 coupe/roadster.
As usual, the numbers are meaningful in the Mercedes name. The 500 stands for the 5-liter V8 engine, which has a chain-driven overhead camshaft on either bank, operating three valves per cylinder – two intake and one exhaust. In this form, the V8 puts out 303 horsepower at 5,600 RPMs with a redline of 6,000, and 339 foot-pounds of torque, which ride that peak from 2,700-4,250 RPMs. Mercedes claims the car will go 0-60 in 6.1 seconds, but fuel economy is rated at 16 city and 23 highway miles per gallon.
It is entirely possible that in the future, the same V8 might wear dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder, because Mercedes has just realigned its potent V6 from three to four valves.
But for the 2005 model year, the three-valve setup is just fine, particularly because Mercedes put its new 7-speed automatic transmission in the car. ThatÂ’s the way I received the test car, and while hand-shifting it is fun, observing it automatically downshifting by sometimes skipping two or even three gears is a fascinating study in technology. The power is extracted so readily from the engine it includes two coils and two sparkplugs on each cylinder, part of the Mercedes 2.8 engine-control system.
While I am readily aware that most people are looking for cars that sell for less than $30,000 – less than $20,000, if possible anymore – I also realize that it’s worthwhile for normal folks to comprehend the upper echelon of automotive refinement. With that in mind, I humbly submit that the Mercedes SL500 test vehicle had a sticker price of $91,920.
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Thankfully, that includes destination expenses.
Incredibly, that is the least expensive, and most minimal, form of the SL-Class Mercedes. If you want to go off the far side of the earth for performance, and well over the $100,000 plateau in sticker shock, you have the following options:
• The SL55 AMG expands the 4,966 cc. SL500 V8 to 5,439, with a belt-driven supercharger that blasts power up to 493 horsepower and 516 foot-pounds of torque.
• The SL600 is more of a good thing, with a 5,513 cc. V12 engine, and twin turbochargers, to push out 493 horsepower and 590 foot-pounds of torque.
• The SL65 AMG takes the V12 to a new 6-liter limit, with displacement stretched to 5,980 cc., and delivery of 604 horsepower and a mind-numbing 738 foot-pounds of torque.
So, in a way, I was driving the economy-minded SL without the impact of the AMG high-performance arm of Mercedes, and without supercharging, turbocharging, or the V12.
The best part is that the SL500 shares the same dimensions of178.5 inches in length, 100.8 inches of wheelbase, 71.5 inches of width and 51 inches in height. In addition, it is 300-408 pounds less in weight, at 4,065, and has a far better weight distribution on the front and rear axles, with only 35 more pounds on the front axle than on the rear drive wheels, while the higher-performers have from 100-400 more pounds up front.
Of greater significance to any buyer, the SL500 shares many other vital components with its costlier brethren. Among those is ESP, the electronic stability program that combines brake application to a single wheel, and throttle intervention to straighten out a car that is starting to skid. The Mercedes ASR traction control system uses rear brakes and throttle to control wheelspin, as well.
Suspension is also shared, with four-link front and five-link rear that both use active electro-hydraulic systems with load-dependent spring rates, gas-charged shocks, and level control devices to assure stability in the most severe swerves or cornering.
Inside the car, the head, leg, shoulder, and hip room is all identical to the costlier cars, which is to say very good and lavishly appointed.
Shift into park and pull the console switch and the top unhooks itself from the top of the windshield and starts to go back, as the windows go down and the built-in padded rollbar folds back and down. The rear hatch kinks open, then the top folds itself down and disappears, with the cover relatching smoothly, and then the rollobar rises into place again.
To make sure you have enough room to stow stuff in the trunk, there is a panel between the lowered roof and the trunk, and if it is unlatched, the top will not go down. At 16 seconds, the top-lowering exercise takes 16 seconds, which means it is easily accomplished at any stoplight. Not only does it give you the necessary freedom that only open-top, fresh-air driving can provide, but it also will dazzle those fellow-drivers in cars on all sides of you.
Other standard features include dual-zone climate control with dust and pollen filters, wood and aluminum trim, heated seats that are multi-adjustable, auto-dimming rear-view mirrors, including the outside mirrors, a Bose surround sound system with a DVD navigation screen, Sirius satellite radio, xenon headlights, and a one-key system, which means if you have the key, you donÂ’t need to us it for all its normal tasks.
For power and panache, the SL500 is an overachiever, and nobody needs to know that itÂ’s really the “bargain†SL. And not a bad way to go to the ballpark, whether it’s the Metrodome, or the dusty little field in Loretto.
BMW 3-Series icon reaches new dimension for 2006
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Ever since the introduction of BMWÂ’s 7-Series luxury cars and 5-Series midsize sedans, the automotive world has held its collective breath awaiting the introduction of the fifth-generation BMW 3-Series. So the arrival of the car deserves a collective sigh, both for admiration and relief.
The 2006 3-Series expands on what is arguably the world’s favorite sporty sedan and improves upon a near-perfect car in almost every way, with more power, more handling agility and more interior room. The focal point will be the car’s styling. It is both provocative and alluring, wearing the new and sometimes controversial BMW design cues, which make it admirably different from the existing 2005 3-Series, but with less startling appearance than either of its bigger brothers, the 7-Series or 5-Series – to everyone’s relief.
As evidence of its place in the modern automotive world, BMW anticipates selling 50-50 to men and women, and strengthens its hold on advancement of technology. The Â’06 models debuted in showrooms just this past weekend, with the 325i starting at $30,995, and the 330i at $36,995. Both now have the same 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinder engine, but it’s not the same award-winning 3.0 inline 6 as in the 2005 models. Different configurations of the intake and engine-management systems increase the 330i by 30 horsepower to 255, while the 325i, which used to have 274 horsepower from its 2.5-liter 6, now has 215.
Both engines have BMWÂ’s Valvetronic variable valve-timing standard, and the power is distilled through manual or automatic transmissions, both of them 6-speeds. Both cars offer optional sport packages with superbly bolstered seats, larger wheels (17-inch on the 325i, 18-inch on the 330i), and firmer suspension.
In style, the 3-Series looks more like a compact version of the midsize 5-Series than it does the current 3-Series. It has the same short-overhang at the front, with the long hood, and the flip-up tail. It also has the new-age contours grooving on the hood and along the sides.
When BMW altered the large 7-Series into a controversial new shape, I was among the masses who criticized it for going too far, with its droopy-eyelid headlights and its tacked-on bustle rear. When the 5-Series came out next, with similar cues but with the 7Â’s most objectionable elements distinctly toned down, I thought it was a beautiful compromise. When many magazine critics ripped the 5, I thought it was almost because they still disliked the 7.
The 3-Series is another step, less of a departure but clearly differentiated both from its current model and its restyled siblings. The existing 3 is near-perfect in style and will forever be beautiful, and the harshest critics may need some time to adjust to the new look. But as soon as a few new-generation 3s show up, car-folks will find themselves looking back at the predecessors and mentally noting that while beautiful, they are the “old†Beemers.
In the rush to criticize, BMW director of design Chris Bangle – an American, from Wisconsin – has been vilified. Pick up any car magazine over the last two years will jab at “Chris Bangle’s design,†but actually he did none of the actual design of any current BMW models. I praised the beauty of the 6-Series Coupe as vigorously as I spelled out my dislikes for the 7-Series sedans, and now I find out that Adrian Vanhooydonk designed both the 7 and the 6, while other designers drew up the 5 and the 3.
True, Bangle directed the work, and he is responsible for taking any heat, but a BMW board also must approve any design. According to product communications manager Dave Buchko, BMWÂ’s standard policy was that the board could not intrude on the designersÂ’ domain by suggesting specific alterations, but could only approve or disapprove the final design.
With the car ready to hit showrooms for the May 7 weekend, BMW wanted to properly introduce the new 3-Series, because it is a car – no, THE car – that best serves as the iconic link between exotic and practical in the automotive world. So it selected an exotic and mysterious location for the introduction…Pittsburgh?
Yes, Pittsburgh, and while BMWÂ’s marketing types layered us with various and assorted ways to link Pittsburgh to the 3-Series, none of them mattered alongside the most pragmatic reason: a new and readily available road-racing track located just far enough from the city for an hour and a half drive over a sequence of winding, twisting, hilly highways.
Perfect, both in fact and analogy. The 3-Series itself has always been basically pragmatic, even while reaching above and beyond the practical boundaries of most competitors’ cars, thereby inviting all sorts of lofty fantasies. That takes care of the analogy. In fact, the highways leading the 2-year-old Beaver Run race course are challenging and satisfying to cover, with abrupt hills and curves, and with the rare advantage of being not-as-all smooth. Most introductions strive for smooth roads to make the ride more impressive; BMW chose rather rough roads for the same reason – to display how the new suspension could carry the 3-Series cars with poise and grace over both normal and rough, irregular asphalt.
The new design stretches the car by 2.2 inches in length and 3 inches in width, both of which expand interior room. Increased use of high-tensile steel makes the body lighter, and yet 25 percent stiffer. Front suspension is now of double-pivot design, and the rear has a new five-link arrangement.
BMWÂ’s unique Active Steering, which also stirred controversy on the 5-Series, is adapted as an option for the lighter 3. It is carefully designed to enhance, rather than intrude on, driving instincts. Some claim it does too much for the driver. I think it is one of the more significant improvements in decades for both safety and performance handling. The system allows a quick-steering feel of maximum response and agility at low speeds, but firms up for razor-sharp adjustments at higher speeds.
Racing is fun, but in real-world driving, loss of control is often the result of over-correcting after an emergency swerve – in other words, swerving to miss something but turning too far, because of over-boosted power steering or over-boosted adrenaline, and then having to counter-steer abruptly to correct the first move – sometimes worsening the whole situation. Having compared the 5’s system with and without Active Steering, and now running the 3 on autocross courses, slaloms, and at high speeds on the race track, I’m convinced it enhances a driver’s ability at the outer limits by virtually eliminating the need for steering correction. With Active Steering, the car reacts so precisely that you needn’t correct, so naturally you don’t over-correct.
The Dynamic Stability Control also is very technical and impressive. You can set it for total control, or shut it off if you feel the need to use the throttle to swing the rear out a little, or you can set it for a third setting that gives you some, but not total, skid control. We tried all three settings on the controlled autocross course, outlined by cones. If it had been a practical joke, it was a good one.
The starter told me I had the system switched on fully for my first autocross run. I said IÂ’d prefer to run first with it off, then add some, then full control, but he said as long as it was on full, to try it that way.
I made one turn to the left, then went hard into the purposely placed sand in the second turn, to the right. I skidded sideways through the sand, taking out about a half-dozen cones and winding up off the track. Later, the fellow still thought everything was on, but was overruled by another official, who said the system indeed was fully off, instead. Next run, with it on full, the car refused to skid in the same sand as it zapped around the same corner.
For more high-tech stuff, consider the active cruise control, with radar-controlled intervals to maintain a preset gap behind the car ahead, and active xenon headlights that throw some light around corners as you start to turn into them. Various other cars have those features, but few have the 3’s hill-holding feature, which, with the stick shift, means you stop on a steep incline with one foot on the clutch and the other on the brake, and when you step off the brake to hit the gas, the brake holds for three seconds, giving you time to get on the gas and ease off the clutch without rolling backwards.
The dreaded, overly technical “iDrive†system is an option, but only if you get the navigation system, so you can avoid it and settle for simple, ergonomically sound knobs and buttons.
The added size of the car is not significant, but it might prod fans of the current fourth-generation 3-Series to hustle out and buy one of the remaining 2005s. The new car’s enlargment may be a clever plan to make room for future importing of the smaller BMW 1-Series. WeÂ’ll have to wait and see.
If I have one complaint, it is the usual snow-belt driver concern that rear-wheel drive is less effective on ice and snow than front-wheel drive, traction-controls notwithstanding. But in the debate over FWD and RWD, we certainly can applaud the BMW 3-Series, with its 50-50 weight distribution on the front and rear axles, for simply being the best rear-wheel-drive sedan on the planet. It has been that for a decade or two, and virtually every car-maker, admittedly or secretly, chooses the 3-Series as its new-design benchmark for handling. The competition hasn’t caught up yet, and judging by the first drives of the 2006 3-Series, the gap may be widening.
(John Gilbert writes weekly auto reviews, and can be reached at cars@jwgilbert.com.)
Detroit Auto Show offers feast of gourmet appetizers
DETROIT, MI. — Auto show time for an automotive journalist is a lot like a food fanatic looking over the menu at a gourmet restaurant. We havenÂ’t eaten anything here yet, but there are a lot of delectable candidates for upcoming meals.
The Detroit International Auto Show, which runs through Sunday, January 23, didn’t really have a main entree – no single vehicle that grabbed attention as best in show. But 20 very good menu choices can make a better gourmet menu than one with one special and the rest not-so-special.
The North American Car and Truck of the Year awards were issued at the Detroit show, with the Chrysler 300 beating out the Mustang for top car, and the Ford Hybrid Escape beating the Land Rover LR-3 for top truck. But after that hard news appetizer, it was time for the main courses at the Detroit show. So with the Los Angeles and Detroit shows tempting us, and the Chicago and New York shows still to come on the major U.S. tour, here is a menu of 20 automotive delicacies that I am anxious to taste – make that test – in the coming months:
* Acura RD-X: Compact SUV is a smaller MD-X with the Acura RL sedanÂ’s superb all-wheel-drive system, a sporty exterior, and sensational interior, it will be produced for 2006.
* Ford Fusion: Good-looking midsize sedan Ford is plunking onto a lengthened Mazda6 platform, with weather-beating front-wheel drive. MercuryÂ’s Milan will be a corporate twin.
* Volkswagen Jetta: Fifth-generation Jetta is all-new, stretching from compact into midsize with a more potent 5-cylinder engine and a 6-speed automatic, for under $20,000.
* Mazda MX Crossport: Who needs sedan-SUV crossovers with a sports car-SUV crossover coming? Compact, tight, sporty but also roomy, the Crossport is a concept that we need.
* Audi A3: The A3 has been a big hit for years in Europe, and the redesigned new one is coming to the U.S. A compact four door hatchback, it lends Audi class to small-car segment.
* Chevrolet HHR: Seen in Los Angeles, conspicuously absent in Detroit, it turns out there is only one HHR, and Chevy went Hollywood with this retro compact based on the 1949 Suburban.
* Honda Ridgerunner: Honda vowed it would never make a truck, but here it is, a Honda four-door pickup truck with a unique in-bed trunk and all sorts of innovations, with a futuristic look.
* Saturn Sky: The Sky is the limit as a Saturn drop-top roadster, based on the coming Pontiac Solstice. It should regenerate interest in the comeback of GMÂ’s forgotten brand.
* Hyundai Sonata: Recent improvements brought the Sonata up to solid stature, and the all-new rebuild is taking aim at outdoing the Accord and Camry with great value at a bargain price.
* Mercedes M-Class: The first thorough overhaul of the potent off-road-capable Mercedes SUV, and the company is hoping this one will silence critics who lost interest in its predecessor.
* Dodge Charger: The Chrysler 300 won Car of the Year, and its Dodge Magnum wagon brother came in fourth. Now the Magnum gets a sedan sibling, which carries Dodge into Nascar.
* Mitsubishi Eclipse: As its earlier success faded, last yearÂ’s concept Eclipse was a stunning success, triggering an all-new sporty coupe that brings the concept car to life.
* Lincoln Zephyr: Ford resurrects another worthy old name, but nothing is retro about this contemporary sedan, a luxury take on the Mercury Milan, with all-wheel drive to come.
* Infiniti M35/45: The refined midsize Infiniti puts either the solid V6 or the Q45Â’s V8 into a solid challenger making a solid run at the growing sports sedan segment.
* Audi A4: The sedan that raised Audi from serious trouble a decade ago is entirely renovated as a 2006 model, with the new corporate grille, with high-tech stuff like direct-injection power.
* Range Rover Sport: A sporty model to wedge in between the new LR-3 and the big Range Rover, the Sport has a unique grille and a more-unique supercharged V8.
* Subaru B9 Tribeca: Coming this spring, the B9 sports the new grille reflecting SubaruÂ’s aircraft heritage, with sporty, 250-horsepower, all-wheel-drive flexibility and a flashy interior.
* Jaguar Advanced Lightweight Coupe: They may be running out of names, but this sleek sports coupe is intended to foretell the styling direction Jaguar will make on its new models.
* Mercedes Smart: A whole fleet of tiny-but-tough Smart congestion-beaters are popular in Europe’s big cities, and it’s small enough to be a golf cart. The “fortwo†model comes to the U.S.
* Jeep Hurricane: This one may never be built, but with two 335-horse HEMI V8s, one on each axle, and wheels that can angle to pivot in a circle, itÂ’s a fantasy we can hope comes to life.
The list excludes some very impressive concept vehicles, especially sports cars like the Chrysler Firepower, Ford Shelby GR-1, and Lexus LF-A, but there is no indication they will actually become production vehicles. Still, auto show time is a good time to sample the whole menu, and let your imagination run as wild as the car-designers do.
(John Gilbert writes weekly auto reviews. Contact him at cars@jwgilbert.com.)
Mazda CX-7 rewrites rules for sporty, compact SUVs
The changing face of automotives is most clearly defined by the compact, crossover SUV segment. If thatÂ’s true, then I have driven the future and it is the Mazda CX-7, if itÂ’s not the Acura RDX. Confusing? You bet.
Consider brief overviews of the two:
* At the RDX introduction a month ago, I was totally impressed with the turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, 240 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and six-speed automatic transmission.
* Now, after driving a Mazda CX-7 for a week-long test, I was totally impressed with the turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, 244 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and six-speed automatic transmission.
I didnÂ’t get to the Mazda CX-7 introduction, but it came out before the RDX intro and looked good in all the zippy television ads. At the RDX intro, the Honda folks asserted that the RDX was of a higher class than the CX-7, and that the RDX was looking more at the BMW X3 and other upscale crossovers. It turns out the Mazda folks also separate themselves from drawing parallels to the RDX, saying instead that the CX-7 is more aimed at the RAV4 and CR-V, and maybe Honda Pilot and Nissan Murano.
These two vehicles are very close to the same in concept, shape, sportiness, power, performance, and comfort, and yet neither seems to want to acknowledge that the other exists. Silly car people, I say. With low-slung looks, the RDX and CX-7 have a very similar silhouette, the CX-7 is about 3 inches longer and a tenth of an inch wider, while both are powered by 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engines that rank as perhaps the best two Japanese engines currently being built – with the RDX developing 240 horsepower and 260 foot-pounds of torque, and the CX-7 producing 244 horses and 258 foot-pounds.
I liked everything about the RDX, with the possible exception of the price – starting at $32,000 and rising to near $40,000. I liked everything about the Mazda CX-7, especially the price – starting at $24,000 and rising to nearly $30,000.
We can call the power thing a draw, with the CX-7 having four more horsepower and spotting the RDX two foot-pounds of torque. The RDX has a fantastic variable turbocharger that makes smooth takeoffs compared to the CX-7Â’s hair-trigger pause-and-zoom launches, but the CX-7 has direct injection, which the RDX lacks. I also wish the CX-7 had paddle shifters on the steering wheel to override the automatic, the way the RDX does.
Mazda came out with its all-new 2.3-liter 4-cylinder back when the current Mazda6 was introduced. The upgraded engine in the Mazda6 is FordÂ’s Duratec 3.0 V6, but only after Mazda engineers massaged it for variable valve-timing and more power. Mazda also supplied Ford with those world-class 2.3s as the base engine for the Escape, and the new engine in the Focus. So potent was the Focus with the 2.3 that Ford decided to drop the high-performance SVT version of the Focus, since it was expensive, and barely beat the 2.3 in stock trim.
On top of all that, if you]ve driven the new Ford Fusion sedan, the V6 is MazdaÂ’s version and itÂ’s impressive, but if you drive it with the 2.3 base engine, you will see how fun and flexible that engine is.
Mazda, meanwhile, went back and souped up the 2.3 by turbocharging it and setting it atop an all-wheel-drive system under the racy Mazdaspeed6 – a high-performance sports sedan that will run with the hottest Lancer Evolution’s and Subaru WRX STIs, and goes well beyond them in refinement. Anyhow, with that powertrain in hand, when it came time to creating the CX-7, there was no doubt what engine and platform it would use.
The 244 horsepower peaks at 5,000 RPMs, and the 258 foot-pounds of torque hit at only 2,500, thanks to the turboÂ’s impact, so you have enough power to get 0-60 in the 7-second range, even though it is a 3,920-pound vehicle. Power and stability is such that it is a strong performer, but rear-wheel-drive zealots will be surprised to learn that at normal speed, the CX-7 is basically a front-drive vehicle, with torque shifting to the rear wheels only when slippage is detected.
I only managed about 17 miles per gallon, while hoping for the EPA estimated 24 highway, or 18 city. Maybe after getting the hot-rodding rush out of my system, I could have done better.
The CX-7 also has a manual shift gate for the automatic, and that is a source of irritation to me. In Mazdas, you shift the spring-loaded shift lever forward to downshift, and pull back to upshift. To me, that is counter-intuiitive, because logic – and almost all other manufacturers – says you go forward to go forward, and pull back to go less, or downshift. Mazda officials explain that all race cars using sequential shifters, or clutchless manuals – from shifter karts up to formula racers – use that pattern. High-powered race cars, however, can thrust a driver back into the seat, which could cause his hand to pull back abruptly, and while an accidental upshift is no big deal, an accidental downshift could be disastrous, to the engine.
BMWs use the same pattern as Mazda, but we’ve had no advance word that the two high-tech companies are also planning for their next production sedans to be open-wheeled, to further mimic the best race cars. I drive many cars every year, and I always enjoy having manual control over my shifts, so I use the device frequently – except in BMWs and Mazdas, where I feel uneasy with their pattern. I’d estimate that approximately 99.5 percent of all BMW and Mazda drivers DON’T drive race cars with sequential manual gearboxes, so the elitist-sounding explanation might sound high-tech and play well in boardrooms or Formula 1 offices, but I think it is ridiculous enough that there should be an international standard to make all such production shift gates go the same direction.
Enough of that. Besides, while the RDX system with thumb paddles is better, the CX-7 still comes in more than $8,000 under it. The six-speed automatic in the CX-7 does a good job of downshifting itself, and with six gears, you have a better chance of being in the right ratio for virtually any circumstance.
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I disagree with those who say the CX-7 interior is “outclassed†by the RDX. Both are neat, with clearn, contemporary style. The CX-7 uses liberal doses of the high-gloss black that Mazda has suddenly adopted as something of a signature trim thing. But the gauges are easy to read, housed inside large cylinders with a softly brushed (no-glare) silver. They light with a bright red-orange, and when you turn them off, there is a subtle ambient cast of blue flood-lighting the gauge faces.
Driving the CX-7 is a lot of fun, because it has excellent suspension, and all that power from what is essentially the Mazdaspeed6 drivetrain. Even the base CX-7 comes with the hair-trigger acceleration of the turbo-4, but all-wheel drive is a stand-alone option that canbe added to the Touring, Sport, or Grand Touring models.
Along with being one of the industryÂ’s technology leaders, Mazda has a great philosophy for adding options. “We never package performance items with trim items,†said public relations director Jeremy Barnes. “The front-wheel-drive models all come with the turbo, the direct-injection 2.3, 6-speed automatic, etc.Ââ€
So buyers can choos trim packages, with navigation systems, cloth or leather upholstery, a Bose audio upgrade, etc., or performance-oriented, or high-technology packages, or select certain stand-alone options. But you donÂ’t have to buy one when you want the other. The base turbo front-wheel driver is $24,310, but the base all-wheel-drive car starts at only $26,010.
The power and handling of the CX-7 make you feel like youÂ’re in a sports sedan, but if you have to haul stuff inside the hatch you appreciate its crossover-SUV tendencies. There are other crossover SUVs that will do the same, but thatÂ’s where the CX-7Â’s looks intervene.
We have an idea about the future of automotives, and the CX-7 gives us a close-up and personal look at it right now.
The low, racy roofline makes it look like anything but a stodgy old SUV, and really, nothing else on the market looks anything like it. Well, except for the RDX, and remember, they arenÂ’t competing with each other.
Wink, wink.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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