Maxima, Xterra lead Nissan hopes for 2000
[CUTLINE STUFF;
#1— The Maxima has been redesigned completely for a Year 2000 power-trip to try to recapture market share as Nissan’s flagship.
#2— Nissan’s Xterra is a rugged, active-lifestyle approach to an SUV market spreading to extremes of being too luxurious or too car-like.
#3— The rear of the Maxima shows an attempt to recapture the lost stylishness from which recent versions have strayed.
The new Nissan Maxima could be the hope of the future if Nissan is going to bounce back from recent, and current, financial problems. And if that restyled sedan can’t carry the load alone for the technically advanced company, the new, bold and brash Xterra is there to offer strong support.
There is more, much more, to come on Nissan’s horizon, but the Maxima and Xterra are two good indications of advancements for model year 2000.
One of the main problems of being a cutting-edge manufacturer in the current automotive world is that when you get infinitely close to being precisely where you want to be, how do you improve to stay at that cutting edge?
At Nissan, everything seemed right on as we turned into the 1990s. The 300ZX was a state-of-the-art sports car, the Maxima had evolved into one of the most stylish and best-performing “luxury-sports sedans” this side of Germany, the Stanza was about to be replaced by a very stylish new car called the Altima, the Sentra was exceedingly plain but workable small economy car, and the Pathfinder was as good as sport-utility vehicles could get, while the Quest was an instant-hit as a minivan. Meantime, in keeping up with Japanese rivals at Honda, which had the Acura division, and Toyota, which was coming out with the Lexus, Nissan came out with the Infiniti line of luxury cars.
When it came time to update the stable of models, economic upheavals in Japan and ever-increasing competition forced Nissan to make some moves. The Pathfinder got updated and improved, but attempts to make the same improvements on other products met with mixed reviews.
From my standpoint, the Maxima redesign transformed it from a beautiful and stylish car to a plain-looking sedan just as the second-generation Altima went away from its distinctive look to become not only just as generic, but strikingly similar in plainness to the Maxima. Even the basic Sentra took on the same look, which homogenized the whole line.
Except for the 300ZX, which was eliminated altogether. The Infiniti line got the same crunching, with the alphabet-soup Q45 becoming less distinctive, the J30 and I30 looking more like the revised Q, and the plain-but-potent G20 eliminated.
This is not to say that my feelings were correct, but while the Maxima continued to sell pretty well, other sales plummeted. Nissan, second only to Toyota in total production in Japan, went into serious decline. Renault, making better and better cars in France and a major European player even if its vehicles no longer are available in the U.S., bought into Nissan, gaining 37 percent ownership last March.
With redesigns such as the Maxima and the Xterra already hitting the showrooms, as well as the new Frontier Crew Cab pickup, and soon-to-follow Sentra, Altima and a resurrected Z-Car, there are big plans to recapture lost market share. Meantime, however, the news hit this week that Renault-aided revision of Nissan will cut its car lines by 50 percent, and close four of its seven Japanese manufacturing plants.
Such belt-tightening did wonders for German manufacturers several years ago, and consumers can only hope it improves the breed at Nissan equally well. The Maxima and Xterra are indications that Nissan at least has found the road back.
MAXIMA GLE
Nobody ever has questioned the durability, reliability and technical excellence of Nissan engines, dating back to when they were called Datsun instead of Nissan in the U.S. When the company made a 3.0-liter V6, it was world-class, and it served the Maxima, the 300ZX and the Pathfinder with equal efficiency. Then Nissan improved on the original with an all-new, thinner-walled, more high-tech V6.
All new Maxima models have that strong, 3.0 V6 with dual-overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, upgraded again for 2000 to develop 222 horsepower — an increase of 32 over the very-good 190 horses of last year. Torque is up to 217 foot-pounds.
Such significant power upgrades are housed in a much more stylish body, with the grille opening larger, and the headlights tapered out from the grille, over color-keyed bumper. The rear is also much improved, with the taillight treatment integrated into the curvature of the body panel. To my eye, the new Maxima doesn’t match the uniqueness of the decade-old Maxima that was called a “4-door sports car,” but it is a vast improvement on the generic, lost-identity scheme of more recent versions.
The whole new body is far stiffer, with virtually every component changed from the ’99 model. The result is just a tiny bit longer, wider, taller and with a 2-inch longer wheelbase. Newly strengthened and reinforced cross-members and pillers give the Maxima 30 percent better torsional rigidity. That, coupled with standard stabilizer bars front and rear, and standard 16-inch wheels, makes the Maxima handle with firmness to match the potency of that repowered engine. There are tendencies of torque-steer, which don’t bother me at all. I don’t mind being reminded that I’m applying enough power to pay extra attention to the steering, and I attribute it to the new power peak.
The interior is comfortable and supportive, and makes the Maxima GLE a great choice for a trip.
If there is a tendency toward sporty precision in the performance of the Maxima, that is an asset. A further asset is that the test car came with a very efficient 4-speed automatic transmission, but it is refreshing to note that the Maxima also can be bought with that same powerful engine and a 5-speed manual.
That definitely puts it up there with the best-equipped German sports sedans, as well as the sportiest models of Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Mitsubishi Galant, Mazda 626, and Subaru Legacy GT, and leaves the sportier U.S. sedans behind as clutchless.
While the Accord and Camry rose to the top in U.S. sedan popularity, Nissan challenged them on two fronts, with the 4-cylinder Altima at one end and the V6 Maxima at the other. To do that, the Maxima has to stay reasonable in sticker price, and it has done that. The test car — with the V6, automatic, 4-wheel disc brakes and antilock, foglights, leather seats with 8-way driver and 4-way passenger power, air-conditioning and temperature control, cruise, power windows, locks, mirrors,keyless entry and security system, remote trunk, fuel door and hood releases, dual airbags, three-point harnesses for five occupants, steel side safety beams, and an exceptional Bose 7-speaker audio system with cassette and CD — totaled $26,848 on the sticker.
XTERRA
Even those contributing to the sport-utility vehicle craze in the U.S. must be amazed at the extent of the SUV segment. It started with working trucks, then expanded in every direction, including overtuffed luxury vehicles, smaller and lighter mini-SUVs, and gussied-up worker SUVs so that you can hardly tell the active wilderness-challengers from the passive and posh luxury go-to-the-mall wagons.
Nissan claims to have made a move in the direction of real-use SUVs. With the Pathfinder, and a fancier Infiniti version of the Pathfinder, Nissan seemed to have a good handle on things. But with Honda’s CR-V and Toyota’s RAV4 selling like popcorn, and the smaller Jeeps and Isuzu Rodeo also doing well, Nissan brought out the Xterra.
Calling it “a toolbox for your life,” the Xterra tries to go the other direction from overdone creature-comforts. The impressive new Frontier pickup platform was used, and the Xterra was plunked down on it, with the truck’s ruggedness more important than the softness of the sedan-based competitors. Instead of a leather interior and fancy wood-grain trim, you get skid-plates underneath and functional, go-anywhere styling and ruggedness, complete with a lightweight competition-mountain-bike quality aluminum roof-rack that holds a removable gear basket for grungy stuff. If you’ve been kayaking, or whatever, and you’ve got wet stuff or gear coated with Park Point sand, toss it in the roof basket instead of messing up the interior.
It also has tie-down hooks and clips virtually everywhere you look, and right where you need them, including an interior bike rack if you don’t want to put the bikes on the roof-rack. There are fold-down seatbacks and removable seat cushions to aid in storage, plus firm suspension, running-board pipes with steps flattened into them, and a bulge on the tailgate that houses a complete first-aid kit for those potential mountain-bike or in-line roller skating abrasions.
Being able to remove the rear seat cushions allows you to flatten the floor, but when the cushions and backrests are in place, the Xterra takes on stadium seating — raised a couple inches above the level of the front seats so rear occupants can see out the front. The roof has a little raised area to accommodate rear-seat heads, as well.
The basic Xterra comes with a 2.4-liter engine, with dual overhead cams and 143 horsepower, with 154 foot-pounds of torque. This would probably be adequate for just a couple people and gear, and it lists for under $20,000, if you can find one like that. The test vehicle I drove was a more likely best-seller, even at $25,000, because it comes with a 3.3-liter V6 that produces 170 horsepower and 200 foot-pounds of torque, and 4-wheel drive. A full 90-percent of the V6 torque comes in at 1,500 RPMs, barely above idle. Towing capacity is 3,500 pounds with either the stick-shift 4-cylinder or V6, or 5,000 pounds with the V6 and automatic.
Some may find the Xterra too extreme-looking, but let’s wait a second — SUVs are almost all pretty extreme looking, so that should be an asset. The antilock brake system is a full, 4-wheel thing, and it has a g-sensor that can tell whether you are braking on pavement, gravel, ice or snow, and it automatically pumps the brakes proportionately less on skiddish surfaces.
You want more evidence of the “xtreme” planning of the Xtreme? The audio system has large push-buttons, bigger and easier to use than most. And Nissan claims it took the best, toughest denim jeans and mounted them on a mechanical arm, which would grind the abrasive denim into the seat fabric to simulate 10 years of hard use.
The fabric came out fine. No word on the Levi’s.
All-new, larger Saturn provides new horizon
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#1— For the 2000 model year, Saturn introduces the L-series, a larger, mid-size sedan aimed at competing with the Camry-Accord-Taurus segment leaders.
#2— The L-series Saturn sedan has spacious seating front and rear and an enormous trunk capacity, plus front-wheel drive.
#3— Complementing the Saturn LS sedan is an LW station wagon, sharing both the new 4-cylinder and V6 dual-overhead-camshaft engines. ]]]]]]
When word first trickled out that Saturn was going to double its marketing plan by adding an entirely new and larger vehicle, I must admit I was skeptical.
Saturn’s big thing, since its inception at the start of this decade, was to have a special building procedure to build a special car at Spring Hill, Tenn., and then sell and service that almost-communal car through special no-haggle pricing. The whole concept worked well, and the Saturn S-series, after spectacular introduction and despite seemingly reluctant upgrading, has evolved into a very good compact competitor with a coupe, sedan and wagon.
The new sidekick vehicle, word was, would be a rebadged Opel, much the way the Catera is for Cadillac. However, now that the Saturn LS (sedan) and LW (wagon) are being built, and I’ve had the chance to test-drive them, my initial suspicions and skepticism about a Saturn corporate sellout have been eradicated.
The new cars may have a basis with General Motors’ outstanding German Opel technology, but the new L-series has its own personality, with unique dimensions and a pair of high-tech engines, covered with traditional Saturn polymer body panels, and all assembled at a dedicated plant in Wilmington, Del.
When I first drove the LS sedan, it impressed me with its performance. This car had leather seats, a 3.0-liter dual-overhead-camshaft V6, and all the creature comforts you could want. It also had surprisingly good room in the front bucket seats and the rear bench, and a trunk that could easily contain a couple-weeks-worth of luggage for a family of four. Or five. With an overall length of 190 inches — compared to the smaller S-series 178 inches for the sedan — the sedan has a class-leading 18 cubic feet of luggage space.
There was, however, no price sticker with the car. When curious people asked me how much it was, I said I didn’t know, but since it was aimed at being a larger and more expensive car than the basic Saturn S-series, I guessed it might cost in the mid-$20,000 range, with the loaded version even up near $30,000. I was wrong. The pricing came out after I drove the car, and the base price of the Saturn L-series sedan is around $18,000, with the V6 version at $20,575.
The L-series wagon I test-drove was a more basic version, with the 4-cylinder engine — also with dual-overhead-cams — and cloth seats, and that starts at $19,275.
Saturn again is offering “a la carte” options on the L-series, so with leather and power seats, a power sunroof, 15-inch alloy wheels, an upgraded audio system with CD player, a rear spoiler, foglights and traction control, you can increase the price of either version by $4,000. If you upgrade your purchase from the LS1 basic sedan to the LS2, the base price goes from $18,000 to $20,575, but you get the V6, automatic, 15-inch alloys, upgraded CD and cassette audio, and foglights all standard.
In any way, shape or trim level, the new Saturn L-series sedan and wagon comes with front-wheel drive, which should be made to order for Up North winter driving, and the pricing comes in at a reasonable level for the competition.
L-SERIES OUTLOOK
Saturn remains the rebellious inside crew at GM that got its start by believing — insisting — that GM could compete with the best compact imports and got the chance to be a separate, isolated brand within GM. The Saturn operating group listened to ideas and suggestions from its loyal customers, many of whom were ready, after several years and maybe multiple years of Saturn ownership, to move up to a somewhat larger car.
The original Saturn buyers had forced expansion to 300 dealerships nationwide, and had purchased two million Saturns. Over 70 percent of Saturn buyers said they would have bought an imported car if Saturn hadn’t been available. The same will undoubtedly hold for the L-series — which stands for “larger” according to Saturn.
The highly successful Opel sedans were not very successful in primitive form, 30 years ago, when they were sold in the U.S. They have, however, evolved to being very successful in Europe and through the rest of the world, and in many ways Opel technology has gone beyond GM’s stubborn reluctance to go to overhead-cam engine design, for example.
The Saturn L gets two high-tech engines that might make some of the more established GM brands envious. The 2.2-liter 4-cylinder is all-new and Saturn-exclusive, with dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and twin balance shafts to eliminate vibration and ensure smoother operation. It turns out a credible 137 horsepower at 5,800 RPMs and 147 foot-pounds of torque at 4,400 RPMs. That engine is standard on the LS and LS1 sedans with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic, and is standard on the LW1 wagon with the automatic.
The 4-cylinder follows the original Saturn design of “lost-foam” casting. The casting for the engine block actually is made out of styrofoam. When boiling hot aluminum is poured onto the foam, the styrofoam vaporizes and is replaced by aluminum, which, when it cools and hardens, becomes the engine block while the styrofoam is gone in a puff of smoke — the ultimate in environmentally friendly engineering.
The 3.0-liter V6 also has dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder, and delivers 182 horses at 5,600 RPMs, with 190 foot-pounds of torque at 3,600 revs. The V6 is a 54-degree angle “V” to maximize compactness. It is built in Ellesmere Port, England.
Both engines were enjoyable to drive, revving freely and smoothly, and accelerating in Saturn style — swift and efficient, without any race-car overtones, but with good fuel economy of 24-32 city-highway for the 4-cylinder, and 20-26 estimated for the V6.
The performance of both lived up to factory claims for 0-60 acceleration of 9.5-seconds for the 4-cylinder and 8.2 for the V6.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
Another tendency of Saturn’s interest in listening to its controlled-number customers is in the safety end of technology. Safety has consistently ranked at the top of Saturn-owners’ surveys in their reasons for selecting Saturns. The original S-series sedans, coupes and wagons have attained 5-star government ratings in crash testing, and the L-series aimed at achieving the same.
Both the sedan and wagon start out with crumple zones front and rear to help absorb the energy of any impact. A front crash “limiter” cross-member adds to the front-end torsion resistance and stiffness of the chassis. A specially designed joint in the rear reacts to the force of a high-speed rear impact, and reinforcements are designed into the floor beams to aid in side impact collisions.
The L-series follows the S-series lead in being designed as a steel modified-space frame, surrounding occupants with the structural benefits of an overall monocoque (one-piece) body with steel ribbing for reinforcement.
In crashes, occupant safety is foremost, but once that is attained, the cost of repair becomes a major issue. All Saturns have benefitted from the polymer panel bodies, which resist scratches, and eliminate dents and dings. A crashworthy benefit of those plastic panels is that in the event of a collision, a panel can be removed, and repaired or replaced, without affecting the rest of the body or compromising the structural rigidity of the vehicle.
Antilock brakes, driver and front passenger airbags with reduced-force to try to lessen the chance of airbag-induced injury, are standard. Three-point seat harnesses are also standard on the four outer seats, naturally, and top-tether child-seat attachments are located at all three rear seat positions.
The antilock brake system has speed sensors on all four wheels with an electronic control unit that also is used in the full-function traction control. While antilock brakes allow the driver to maintain steering control and eliminate brake lockup, the traction-control device turns the system around to engage the brakes while also reducing power, reading the tendency to skid by supplying the power to the wheel with more traction.
One helpful thing for drivers on icy conditions is that a light blinks from the dash to warn that the conditions are such that the reduced-power system has been engaged. One of the less-driver-friendly characteristic of some traction-control systems is that they are so smooth that the driver might not realize slippery conditions have been encountered.
The new Saturns also are equipped for safety from driver brain-fade: An anti-lockout system prevents doors from locking if the key is still in the ignition.
Another outstanding feature is an oil-monitoring system that reads the car’s motor oil, which can vary greatly among different drivers and conditions, and it can detect when the end of the oil’s useful lifespan is approaching. At that time, a “change oil” light comes on for 15 seconds after starting the car, signalling the driver to change oil soon.
Other maintenance is scheduled at 100,000 mile intervals. And, based on the initial test-drives, it would appear that there might be a lot of satisfied Saturn L-series buyers who will get to that point and beyond.
Newest Corvettes ready to zoom into next century
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#1— Totally redesigned two years ago, the 2000 Corvette boasts improved handling, while a new standard wheel design sets off convertible, coupe or hardtop models.
#2— The aluminum 5.7-liter V8 still has pushrods, but it’s all aluminum and can blast down the boulevard with 345 horsepower.
#3— Speed, revs, and other vital instruments are superimposed on the windshield to add to Corvette’s aircraft cockpit feel.
The Corvette still has it. Only more of it than ever.
When Chevrolet redesigned the Corvette into its latest iteration, the company was careful not to intrude on the country’s favorite sports car. Some critics might say that the Corvette has gotten too big, too hefty to be a true sports car; others might say it’s gone overboard on power trying to be a Porsche wannabe; others might claim it’s evolved into more of a touring car than a sports car.
But so what? Whatever the new Corvette is, it does it all. It will run with the world’s premium sports cars with its 345 horsepower V8. It may be a heavyweight at 3,250 pounds, but its suspension and steering make it feel agile and precise in its stability. It will cruise along the back-country curvy roads like the best boulevardier. And it will carry you for miles and miles, or hours and hours, without jolting you into submission.
In fact, it takes on the great American dream car status, and lives up to virtually every objective of such a lofty challenge.
I recently had a chance to test drive a pair of new 2000 model ‘Vettes, both a coupe and a convertible. Even though the most colorful leaves of autumn had yielded to the first Gales of November, I had to take advantage of some clear, sunny, reasonable weather to put the top down on the convertible — however briefly.
True, the competiton has never been more appealing. New sports cars from Europe include the Porsche Boxster, Audi TT, BMW Z3 and Mercedes SLK, while Japan is coming back with a hot new Honda S2000 and a variety of sporty coupes. But Corvette has been a U.S. automotive icon for 40-some years now, and the newest ‘Vette appears ready to zoom into the new millenium.
Base price of the Corvette is $45,320 for the test convertible, for example, and it had a sticker of $51,694. You can pick from an extensive option list to personalize the car any way you want to. As long as it’s hot.
NEWEST TRICKS
The Corvette engine is the same old pushrod 5.7-liter V8, which we used to refer to as having “350 cubes” in cubic inch designation. That engine is getting up there near 50 years old, but it is a tribute both to Chevrolet’s engineers and to General Motors’ stubbornness that the engine retains the old-fashioned pushrod design rather than going to overhead camshafts to make the valves work.
Now built out of all aluminum for the new model Corvette that came out two years ago, the 5.7 has 345 horsepower and 350 foot-pounds of torque. Naturally, it won’t rev up like those overhead-cammers, with the power peaking at 5,600 revs and the torque at 4,400, but it all comes on with a rumble and snarl and flings the Corvette merrily ahead at the touch of the throttle. That low-rev rumble is, of course, traditional with pushrod power.
Chevy engineers have improved on the emissions, lowering nitrous oxides 50 percent and hydrocarbons 70 percent — at least in California and Northeastern states, where Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) requirements are more stringent. An onboard refueling vapor recovery system helps met EPA rules for 2000.
True, there is a traction-control system, and a coordinated handling system that combines the antilock brakes on the big 4-wheel discs and the traction control system to selectively apply the brakes on either side to counter any skids. Still, with all that power up front, being delivered to those massive high-performance tires at the rear, you don’t look forward to slippery conditions.
The Z51 performance package has been enhanced with newer and larger front and rear stabilizer bars, standard on the hardtop, and optional on the coupe and convertible. New forged aluminum wheels also are standard on all ‘Vettes, with stylishly slim spokes for the 17-inch front and 18-inch rear low-profile tires.
Among other features, both Corvettes I test drove had the head-up display for instruments, which is only a $375 option feature and I think it is one of the best options ever offered. Formerly found only on the top Pontiac Bonnevilles, I always wondered why it didn’t spread throughout GM on normal or performance cars.
What it does is project a small set of readouts on the windshield, superimposed over the lower edge of your line of vision. You can turn it off, move it up or down a bit, and alter the brightness of its contrast, but once you get used to it, you’ll wonder how you got along without it. Obviously, you can tell at a glance how fast you’re going, with a digital speedometer in the middle of the display, and it is surrounded from the left side by a tachometer, while also reminding you of other vital engine signs, and even a reminder if your directional light was inadvertently left blinking.
It is not a distraction, and if it was, you could switch it off, or direct it farther from your line of vision. But it is something you can train your peripheral vision to note without ever taking your eye off the road. Anyone getting caught speeding would have trouble talking their way out of it with a number right there on the windshield. Corvette toyed with using a digital speedometer in years past, but now has returned to a neat, full-instrument dash panel that even has 3D-effect differences in the depth of the overlaid gauges.
On the bottom of the instrument panel is a small window that can be programed to give you instant readouts in fuel economy (25 on the highway and 20-flat in combined city/highway for me), fuel used, distance to empty, and numerous other information. You can even click onto one feature that tells you how much air pressure is in each of your four tires. When I first started driving the convertible, there was an interesting disparity — 31 left front, 33 right front, 30 left rear and 33 right rear — but after driving for a couple of days, I checked it again and all four were 33 pounds. Just shows how the fluctuating temperature can affect tire pressure, even overnight.
One thing I found curious was that the 4-speed automatic in the convertible had the usual little strip of indicator lights adjacent to the shifter, but there was no readout on the dash or the heads-up display to tell you what gear you were in. I tend to drop the lever out of “D” and into “3” around town, to reduce the usual hunting and shifting, and when everything else is so readily readable, it seems odd that you have to glance down, maybe two or three times, to make sure what gear you’re in.
SETTING IT APART
Speaking of transmissions, one of my least favorite things about Corvettes of recent years is the 6-speed manual. It worked fine, but to get around emission and mileage rules, Chevrolet had designed the stick to jump from first directly to fourth under moderate takeoff acceleration. This skip-shift feature fooled the EPA dynamometers, I suppose, but it doesn’t fool drivers who like second gear best of all.
That feature still exists on the 6-speed, but at least now you get a little light on the head-up display that tells you when it will be activated. That helps, because you can keep accelerating long enough for the light to go off, then shift directly into second. The coupe I drove with the 6-speed also shifted into second much more readily, meaning you didn’t have to stand on it in first to get the revs very high before it allowed you to engage second.
It’s almost humorous, of course, that you have six gears in a car that will easily hit 70 miles per hour in second. Top speed isn’t listed, but we know it’s excessive. The engine redline is 6,000, which is low by contemporary standards, but is good for a pushrod engine.
Among other optional features on the Corvette are sport bucket seats with middle and lower back adjustments, six-way power also available on the passenger side, dual-zone air-conditioning, power telescoping and tilting steering wheel, switchable twilight sentinel, neat little foglights nestled back in the front air ducts, a 12-disc CD changer mounted vertically under a floor panel in the trunk, and some slick suspension stuff.
The active handling suspension is a $500 option, and selective real-time damping is another $1,695. but it allows you, at the turn of a console switch, to adjust from a quite-firm “touring” setting for the shock system to a firmer “sport” setting, and on up to “performance” — which won’t jar your filling loose, but does give the firmest, most precise steering and handling control.
The newest Corvettes no longer have that wide wall that you have to climb over to get in and out. Much easier entry and exit, although you do climb in and drop ‘way down. It just doesn’t matter, of course, because once you’re in it, you feel pretty special, pampered by all the refinements and with all that power at your disposal.
And while it used to be that a Corvette turned every head that you approached, that still is true but with a twist. Everybody looks and everybody admires the car, but every once in a while somebody might say, “Great car…what is it?” Yes, from certain angles, the new Corvette looks so good that it almost looks too exotic to be “just” a Corvette. But Corvette faithful will just have to learn to deal with that.
‘Enormo’ Excursion goes past Espedition, Navigator
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#1— The new Ford Excursion drives and handles better than might be expected from the world’s largest SUV.
#2— Excursion cargo room is huge even with nine occupants in three rows of seats.
#3— (Perhaps pics of Expedition and Navigator can be put together with one set of lines) Expedition and stylish Navigator have been very successful as large SUVs, but still left room for the Excursion.
The first thing you notice, once behind the wheel of the new Ford Excursion, is how small everything else on the road looks to you. Full-sized cars and pickups look like compacts, and compacts look like minicars.
The second thing you notice is how smoothly the Excursion accelerates with its huge V10 engine, how it turns corners without the anticipated wallow, and how it steers and maneuvers with surprisingly good agility. For a huge vehicle, that is. Everything you can say or notice about the Excursion should be followed by that appendage — “for a huge vehicle.”
I recently had the opportunity to test-drive a Lincoln Navigator, and then a Ford Expedition, which is the vehicle that spun off the Navigator, but after briefly test-driving an Excursion at its introduction, I had to wait to get one for the normal week’s evaluation. I had to wait because there were none yet available, in showrooms or test fleets. The one I finally got was delayed so it could be put on display at the Minnesota State Fair.
The same dark red Excursion XLT Limited that was subjected to thousands of folks looking, crawling into and onto and over, with all the attendant door-slamming and seat-folding during the fair, then was brought to me.
Having previously evaluated and declared the Expedition and Navigator to be impressive but very large, it was quite an experience to climb up on the running board for a convenient hop-step up and into the truly enormous Excursion.
Quite interesting, however, was the fact that from the outside, the Excursion doesn’t look as enormous as it really is. From an appearance standpoint, the straighter lines and less-contoured shape of the Excursion makes it look more proportioned overall, and conceals the fact that it’s actually, at 226.7 inches long, a full 22 inches longer than the large Expedition. Actually, it’s 22.1 inches longer than the Expedition and 21.9 inches longer than the Navigator, which has 0.2-inches of overhang longer than the Expedition.
Of more importance to Ford, the Excursion also is 7 inches longer than GM’s Suburban.
But driving the Excursion doesn’t feel like driving something that enormous, which is to Ford’s credit. It’s only when you pull up alongside an Expedition, Navigator or Explorer that you suddenly realize the size of the Excursion.
The driver sits up high, in a bucket seat with leather facing and multi-adjustable power on the Limited, and optional bun-warmer heaters. A large console is between the front buckets, and the second row of seats is a large and comfortable bench, with yet a third-row bench behind that. If you choose the front bench, it means a basic family of nine, or three families of three, can ride in style with all kinds of headroom and legroom.
Not only that, you can fill 48 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third seat. And filled to the gills, you also can tow from 6,up to 10,000 pounds.
All of that, naturally, could drag the standard 5.4-liter V8 down a bit. The test vehicle had the optional 6.8-liter V10 engine, and it’s difficult to imagine that engine wheezing from the strain of pulling anything. Still, there is also an optional turbocharged diesel V8 engine, of 7.3-liter displacement. In case you want to pull a house trailer, I presume.
Base price for the Excursion XLT is $36,580; for the XLT 4×4 $39,300; for the Limited 4×2 (as tested) $39,415; and for the loaded Limited 4×4 $41,915. It is easy to see that adding options can readily raise that sticker to the mid-$40,000 range. Those prices are aimed at being under the comparable Suburban at lower levels, about the same at mid-level, even if slightly higher at the top end, because Ford maintains the larger Excursion offers more.
EXCURSION CONCEPT
As U.S. consumers line up to spend incredible amounts of money on vehicles that are bigger than they ever might have comprehended for everyday use, the limit has to be somewhere. Maybe the Ford Excursion for 2000 is that limit.
In the extremely-profitable large sport-utility vehicle top end. General Motors always has had the Suburban, and it spun off two shortened versions, the Tahoe for Chevrolet and the rebadged Yukon for the GMC outlets.
Ford, dominant in the “normal” market with the Explorer, decided three years ago to go after the larger SUV segment with the Ford Expedition and, two years ago, with the rebadged and refaced Navigator for Lincoln. Those vehicles are longer than the Explorer and much taller than the Tahoe, Yukon and bigger brother Suburban, which meant large items could be hauled.
Still, however, that Suburban — sold both in Chevrolet and GMC versions — lurked out there, raking in enormous profits because of its greater length and enormous hauling capability. When Ford introduced the Excursion, a couple of months ago in Montana, marketing executives explained that what could be called the Enormo SUV segment had doubled in the last eight years, and accounted for 150,000 sales last year alone. The only vehicle in that category was the Suburban.
So Ford decided it could no longer afford to stand by with its quite-large Expedition and Navigator and let GM profit from 100 percent of thatnormo SUV market.
When Ford came out with its new F150 full-sized pickup, it was a logical step to use that platform for the new Expedition/Navigator. For 1999, Ford introduced a new larger pickup, the F250/350. Like the F150, the larger F250/350 had a large advantage in being powered by new and modern engines, the 4.6 or 5.4 liter V8 engines, with overhead camshaft design for smoother low-end operation and far greater high-end running. Beyond that, the threat that government standards will ultimately force truck-makers to tighten emissions and improve fuel economy make overhead-cams and the possibilities they offer for high-tech progression, such as multiple valves and variable valve-timing, made such a move not only logical but potentially cost-effective.
So the new truck made a logical platform for Ford to jump into the giant end of the SUV biz. The Excursion is it, with the suspension modified for passenger comfort rather than for the truck’s work purposes.
EXPEDITION/NAVIGATOR
I’ve been impressed whenever I’ve driven the Expedition, with its responsive engines and large capacity. That capacity, naturally, is a couple feet shorter than the Excursion, and it truly resembles the difference of driving the F150 or the heavy-duty F250.
In the Expedition and Navigator, you also can seat nine, although the rearmost seat offers less room, naturally, than the Excursion, and much less cargo capacity behind that third seat.
The Expedition is powered by the 4.6-liter V8 with 240 horsepower at 4,750 RPMs and 293 foot-pounds of torque at 3,500, or the 5.4 derivative with 260 horses at 4,500 RPMs and 345 foot-pounds of torque at 2,300 revs.
The Navigator, on the other hand, has a couple of significant differences from the Expedition, and a key is under the hood. It has one engine, which is the 5.4-liter V8, with dual-overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, compared to the single overhead cam of the Expedition’s engines. In DOHC form, the Navigator’s 5.4 has 300 horsepower at 5,000 RPMs, with a whopping 335 foot-pounds of torque at 2,750 RPMs.
While the Expedition bears a sibling resemblence to the F150 pickup from the front, the Navigator underwent extensive change from the styling department. It has a striking chrome grille that I think looks very good, particularly with dark colors. It is stunning in black, or in the dark charcoal-blue of the test vehicle.
The styling differences also create an interesting difference in cargo space. With the third seat removed and the second seat folded, the Expedition has 118.3 cubic feet and the Navigator slightly smaller at 116.4; with the third seat removed and the second row in place, the Expedition has 62.5 cubic feet of space and the Navigator slightly larger 64.7.
The Expedition and Navigator have towing capacities ranging from6,500 to 7,700 pounds, which is, of course, less than the Excursion, with its larger platform and engines.
EXCURSION SAFETY
People who buy large SUVs, particularly those who live and drive Up North, have a realistic need for such large vehicles, knowing they are compromising fuel economy and maneuverability– and cost-effectiveness — for the size and heft they need. But in the vast majority of cases, these vehicles aren’t taken off the road, and are bought because of a perceived safety of being housed inside a fortress.
There is some merit in that, but it is often over-stated. True, if a crash is inevitable, being wrapped in the 6,734-pound Excursion (7,190 in 4×4 form), is an asset. The greater stopping distances required and the lessened agility compared to lighter and smaller vehicles makes it less likely to avoid accidents, however. And the current criticism that large SUVs tend to ride over car bumpers and pretty much assure wiping out those cars it shares the roadways with, is valid.
But Ford has taken some great strides in enhancing the safety of the Excursion and of anything that the Excursion might hit. Something called a blocker beam is installed to make certain that if an Excursion and a car collide, the Excursion bumper may override the car’s bumper, but the blocker beam will match up with the car bumper, which at least guarantees the activation of the car’s safety system. The trailer hitch is designed to offer the same feature at the rear of the Excursion.
When it comes to fuel economy, the 44-gallon fuel tank can fool you into thinking you’re doing OK. I recall noting at one point the test Excursion’s computer showed that I had gone 335 miles, but that I also had 260 miles to go until empty. When I stopped for gas, however, I was concerned that my credit card might dissolve at the price. It computed to 12.6 miles per gallon on freeway and city combined driving, and it dipped to 12.0 when it was predominately in and around town.
Still, that is slightly better, or at least no worse, than what I’ve gotten on Suburban tests. And it proves that Ford is definitely taking on Suburban’s Enormo SUV segment on all fronts.
Low-priced Toyota Echo meets high-tech standards
[CUTLINES:
#1— The Toyota Echo is a model-year 2000 attempt to recapture the virtues of an inexpensive economy car with contemporary features and futuristic tecnology.
#2— Short in overall length, the Echo is 4 inches taller than a Metro and demonstrates great efficiency of interior and trunk room.
#3— The Echo interior is as efficient as its operation, with the center-mounted instrument cluster the biggest diversion. ]]]
So, you’re weary of all the hefty truck-like SUVs out there jamming up the roadways and guzzling all the gas. And you’ve had it with all the $30,000-plus sedans with their phony woodgrain inserts and plush creature comforts. What ever happened to those good-ol’ virtues, like economy, simple transportation, roominess, utility and inexpensive purchase price — can’t they be resurrected in concert with the current surge toward high-tech automotives?
OK, all you folks who line up as critics, the 2000 model year will be YOUR year, with several cars designed to plug directly into all of those factors. One of them — and Toyota hopes it will be the main one — is the new Toyota Echo. Think of it as an “echo” of the time when economy and usefulness were the maximum selling points of cars.
If looks are everything, the Echo has state-of-the-art styling touches, but it also is a little, well…different. A cynic might say weird. But in typical Toyota fashion, the Echo compromises a lot of things so that form will follow function.
The Echo is aimed primarily at younger buyers who are not among the zillions who seem to be unable to find enough mammoth SUVs and pickup trucks to satisfy their cravings for big and burly. It will cost only $11,095 for starters, and “starters” is a key word here. Folks just out of college and earning their first paychecks have been choosing between a few scattered inexpensive new cars or expensive cars that have come down near $10,000 as used cars. The Echo can make a strong case for being a top alternative to such new consumers.
I think, after a week-long test drive, that Toyota also may have a winner for those folks who have been buying bigger sedans and now have branched off to add an SUV or minivan or pickup to the family stable. Owning a gas-hungry SUV or pickup makes a lot more sense if it is reserved for heavy duty operation, and it can be reserved for such work if a family also has a second vehicle that is compact, eminently useful and extremely economical.
Let’s hear it for an Echo.
LEAN, BUT FUNKY
Toyota has taken over the top selling spot in the U.S. for cars. We’re not talking trucks, which currently dominate the market. But in just cars, the Toyota Camry is the No. 1 seller in the U.S. Toyota also is riding high in the SUV world, producing the compact RAV4, the steadfast 4Runner, and the large Land Cruiser, plus offering alternative upgraded SUVs under the Lexus names, with the RX300 and the LX470. Plus, Toyota has long made an impressive compact pickup truck and now has added the full-size Tundra and a very good minivan in the Sienna.
But Toyota also never has lost sight of the inexpensive end of the scale, where the Tercel once was among the dominant subcompacts and the Corolla still remains as a stalwart.
Covering all niches of the marketplace is tough to do, but Toyota is aiming for it, by bringing back the sporty Celica in all-new styling for 2000 and teasing us with the Prius as an alternative-energy entry about to hit the market.
But the Echo is already here, even if it has been lost a little by the flash and splash of the more profitable high-end models.
The first thing you notice about it is that it looks fairly big. And, from some angles, it is. It stands a couple of inches taller than some luxury sedans, in fact, with a height of 59.4 inches. But it also is stubby in overall length, where its 163.2 inches makes it shorter than a subcompact such as the Suzuki-built Chevrolet (formerly Geo) Metro, the car generally considered the smallest.
That somewhat odd configuration has meaning. Toyota has cheated on the frontal length, stretching that steeply sloped nose over the side-mounted engine, and chopping off the rear end abruptly. However, it has not compromised on usable room. The tallness gives the interior amazingly spacious headroom, and legroom also is surprising, even in the rear with the front seats in normal location for a 6-foot driver.
Maybe more surprising is that from the outside, it appears there can’t be much of any trunkroom, but the Echo has a large trunk, so large you want to walk back around the outside of the car wondering where that space could come from. Typically, the rear seats fold down to expand that storage area even more.
Inside, the seats on the test vehicle were covered with a sort-of 60s-ish geometric pattern of pastelness. The weirdest thing was that the instrument cluster was located in the upper middle of the dashboard, right there between the driver and front passenger seats. It was angled toward the driver, and it included only a speedometer, temperature and fuel gauges and a pattern of what we used to call “idiot lights.” No tachometer.
Some have said locating the intruments in the center means they aren’t a distraction to the driver. I’ve never found instruments to be a distraction; you need to be able to read them at a glance, and the more in line with your vision the better. It is dark when you look straight ahead driving the Echo at night, but it also requires a glance farther from the roadway to check the instruments.
More logically, the center placement of the angled instrument pod fits in with manufacturing expense. The Echo obviously is Toyota’s latest attempt at a true world car, and for Japan, Great Britain and other places where they drive on the other side of the road, right-hand steering vehicles will require only swinging the pod to a different angle.
‘ENGINE-EERING’
Making a small car, even an all-new small car, would be one thing, but tying it in with the latest, cutting-edge technology is what allows the Echo to shout from the mountaintops — as well as to get there efficiently.
That little side-mounted engine is a 4-cylinder, with dual overhead camshafts and 4 valves per cylinder, the typical things we have come to expect from Toyota, which is more than a decade beyond the archaic concept of pushrod-powered valvetrains. The Echo engine is only 1.5 liters in displacement (91 cubic inches), but it also has variable valve timing, something that Honda has been a leader in developing, but Toyota, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, Nissan — the world’s car-building elite — have also been implementing.
The variable valve-timing allows a manufacturer to extract maximum power and also more complete burning of air-fuel mix for maximum fuel economy. So the Echo is adequately quick with 108 horsepower and 105 foot-pounds of torque, and also meets low-emission vehicle status for how cleanly it burns. The real-world translation for that is for owners to realize excellent fuel economy.
The 5-speed manual transmission version of the Echo will deliver 41 miles per gallon in strict highway driving, and 34 in the city. The test car I drove had a 4-speed automatic transmission, which obviously detracts a little from the performance end of such a small powerplant, but still delivered 34.2 miles per gallon in combined city-freeway driving, with the driver’s foot pushing it pretty hard.
Even with the automatic, acceleration is adequate, and the little beast will smoothly move right on up over 100 miles per hour, if there was any place to do that sort of thing. The automatic also has the latest computer-logic control, which means it will hold its shift points when you need more power for climbing hills, rather than upshifting and downshifting in the usual mini-car samba.
Front disc brakes are complemented by rear drums, which is not the ideal set-up, but it again is inexpensive from a manufacturing standpoint. The tires are 175/65 by 14-inch, which seems small and skinny, in perspective with the tall body of the car, but which makes sense from the standpoints of expense and fuel-economy (less wind resistance). However, I would enjoy driving an Echo with bigger wheels and low-profile tires, just for the obvious enhancements that would give handling and stability.
The test car’s 4-speed automatic was standard equipment, as are driver and passenger airbags, pretensioners with force limiters on the 3-point harnesses, side impact door beams, halogen headlights, under seat storage tray and various cubicles and stowage bins, and tilt steering wheel. At $11,095, it’s a cheap but worthy commuter.
The test car also had some impressive options added, such as a heavy duty battery, rear heater and rear window defogger, a sports body kit with side and fender molding panels, power steering and a package that includes air-conditioning and a 6-speaker audio upgrade with both a cassette and CD player. All that pushed the price tage up to $14,374, which is still inexpensive. And the upgraded audio system would make for the perfect diversion if you were ever caught in a heavy traffic jam with nothing else to think about but your 34 miles per gallon, those weird-pattern seats, and where did the instruments go?
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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