Outlander proves Mitsubishi is alive and well
Filed under: Weekly test drives, Autos, Uncategorized
A few styling quirks set the renewed 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander apart from the herd of compact SUVs.
By John Gilbert
It seemed like it took most of a year before I got a chance to test drive a 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander SUV, and it was as much a relief to get one from Mitsubishi’s Midwest test fleet as it was to drive the midsize vehicle with what to me is a familiar name.
The Outlander has been completely redesigned, with a new platform and new engine and interior, to go along with the smaller Outlander Sport, and the even more-compact Eclipse Cross. I had feared that Mitsubishi might decide to quit marketing its vehicles in the U.S. because of the stiff competition worldwide.
I am pleased to see a resurgence in Mitsubishi vehicles. When I started analyzing and writing about new cars back in the late 1960s, it was an exciting crossroads of the industry, with some awkward and outdated American cars indignantly trying to hold off the arrival of high-mileage and high-tech imports from Japan.
Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Subaru were trying to find their way into the U.S. market. So was a very impressive conglomerate known as Mitsubishi, made an arbitrary decision to go with Chrysler Corporation to produce some of its subcompacts like the Dodge Colt, and an amazingly durable and dependable 3.0-liter V6 that Chrysler put into various cars such as their Caravan and Voyager minivans. Those minivans were about to take over the family marketplace, and those bullet-proof engines were a big reason for their success. We have friends who put well over 200,000 on them, then gave them to their kids for another 100,000 economical miles.
Mitsubishi also built a subcompact, known as the Mirage, which in the U.S. became Dodge Colts and Plymouth Champs. They were fun and quick, and delivered over 40 miles per gallon, while the minivans were proving bulletproof.
I road-raced a Dodge Colt in the Sports Car Club of America’s new Showroom Stock category for that summer of 1970, using a Colt set up by White Bear Dodge for amateur competition. I learned a lot about road-racing when I battled a veteran driver and beat him for second place in a timed race around Donnybrooke Speedway’s 3-mile course, after which I was flattered to get the award for fastest race lap. Only then did it occur to me that if I turned the fastest lap, why was I fighting for socond instead of first?
I was impressed enough with Mitsubishi’s engineering that we bought a Colt station wagon for our young family, and later a Colt hatchback, on which y0u could screech the tires in the first three gears and still get 43 miles per gallon. As years passed, I also learned that Mitsubishi built the best electronics in the industry through its MGA televisions, tuners and speaker systems, and we enlisted in them, too.
Outlander is reinforced as the iconic top model for Mitsubishi, with even a tight third row of seats.
The arrangement dissolved as Chrysler wound up being bounced around by various investor-owners, and stand-alone Mitsubishi dealerships faded and disappeared from a lot of cities, including Duluth, Minnesota, where we now live, and where a thriving dealership was eliminated and consumers had to search the Twin Cities to find a Mitsubishi dealership.
So the 2022 Outlander carries Mitsubishi’s hopes of expanding its reach in the U.S.,, and reports have been positive. Our test Outlander carried a sticker price of $35,295, which puts it right among its competition, although the Outlander was filled with feature options.
The similarity of cars and SUVs these days is such that many of them look alike, and to stand out means to incorporate some unusual styling. The Outlander has done just that, with a prominent grille outlined at the top by sleek, thin LED lights, which curve artfully around to outline the upper grille and descend to also isolate the small blocks of LED lights on either side of the lower grille. The lights themselves are outstanding, as well as certainly distinctive.
Surprisingly, for such a blunt compact, there is actually a third row seat, which must have required a masterstroke of engineering just to wedge it in back there. We never folded the seat up, choosing to leave it down in case we had a large supply of groceries. Maybe that’s perfect, because if you need to seat seven, two or them will have to be small children, who would love to have their own kid-size seats.
As the old saying goes, better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Front buckets are surprisingly sporty and encapsulating.
Rear seat room and comfort are adequate.
From the side, or rear, the Outlander’s graceful lines are more conventional, which is fine because its identity is in its face. Inside, the white quilted leather seats are encapsulating, and the shifter meets what seems to have become an obligatory complexity in simply moving your choice from park to drive or neutral or reverse. In the Outlander, it is less obtrusive and you learn to rock your finger fore or aft to find your desired gear. There is a large information screen mounted nice and high in the center of the dash, and you can find more information than an ordinary driver can want.
Under the hood, Mitsubishi has installed its new 4-cylinder engine, measuring 2.5 liters in displacement with a nicely balanced 181 horsepower and identical figure for torque, which collaborate to make the Outlander quick enough and sporty enough for a family hauler. It is annoying to try to find a CVT (continuously variable transmission) that is anything but boring, but in the Outlander, large paddles on either side of the steering wheel allow you to shift through eight stops on the CVT, and if you use the paddles adroitly, you can forget you even have a CVT in the thing.
Some have accused the Outlander of leaning too far on turns, but I found it just right — better than an overstuffed vehicle but tastefully short of being racy. The EPA estimates show 24 miles per gallon city and 30 in highway driving, and we got 32 or 33 on combined but mostly city driving. Our gauge showed 32.6, for example.
It’s also evident that Mitsubishi is heading toward hybrid and electric power, and I await any plans that may be coming.
Mitsubishi maintains the tradition of offering something beyond the normal technology, and an example might be that instead of just calling it “all-wheel-drive,” the Outlander’s system is called “Super All-Wheel Control.” There are some creative ways of executing, with adjustments for setting your drive mode.
We did some experimenting on some hard ice to see exactly what difference the change in modes might make. With my son, Jack, standing outside the car to observe me on a slab of ice, I tried accelerating hard in normal, and in the slippery setting. In normal, all four wheels spun immediately in chorus; in slippery, the front wheels spun for a couple revolutions, and after a momentary delay the rear ones started to spin, too.
Dramatic grille and multiple LED headlights provide new identity for Outlander.
In overview, the new Outlander lives up to its redesign scheme by looking unique, and it lives up to Mitsubishi’s reputation of adding a few new wrinkle to the drivetrain and shifting process. It passes all the tests for comfort and economic efficiency as well, and its audio system is as good as anticipated.
For me, of course, it’s also a tremendous benefit just to know Mitsubishi is still selling vehicles in the U.S. and its positive sales since the Outlander’s redesign mean good things for the future.
Bronco versatility includes 2-door, stick shift
Filed under: Weekly test drives, Autos, Uncategorized
Larger than the Bronco Sport, the “regular” Bronco is roomier, more rugged, and has a 2-door version.
By John Gilbert
Auto companies can baffle us with the manipulation of introductions, and the most recent example is the highly popular Ford Bronco, which revives the name of the company’s original SUV workhorse, loaded up with modern technology. If I didn’t know better, I might have thought Ford created more questions than it answered when it brought out a string of the versatile and useful Bronco, although I enjoyed all the different versions I drove.
How could you not enjoy the Bronco Sport, a tight little 4-door SUV capable of handling all your objectives for family SUV duties or light off-roading? And then I got a second one, also a Bronco Sport, and also fun to operate. And later still, I got one with a stick shift that was a bit more work/off-road oriented, with a slick-shifting 7-speed manual. After all that, I got the bigger Bronco, not the Bronco Sport, and in 2-door fashion.
I knew that Ford also was bringing out a larger Bronco a bit later than the Bronco Sport, with more interior room, and the ability to haul more people and stuff. So about the time I figured out the 4-door Bronco, I got a couple different 2-door models, and they also were fun to drive, and felt sportier.
If you aren’t slightly confused by now, maybe you haven’t been paying close attention. I eagerly hopped into the most recent Bronco, realizing immediately something was different. That was because it was a 2-door, after all the earlier ones of both were 4-doors.
Spacious, formal looking square back protects people and stuff inside Bronco Black Diamond.
The 4-door is well made and takes care of business efficiently. But, c’mon — don’t we all harbor secret fantasies about having a 2-door SUV? I know I have.
The first 2-door model I had was the stick shift! Ford has equipped some Broncos with a 7-speed stick, and that gives you the ability to keep it right where you want it no matter what your intentions are. Fortunately, the second one I got came equipped with the 10-speed automatic, a smooth-shifting unit that is perfectly set up for the equipment at hand and offered a comparison.
The Bronco 2-door Advanced 4X4 was the “Black Diamond” model and felt light and quick, and came with a 2.3-liter EcoBoost twin turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. The stick was remarkably smooth to shift and accelerated out of trouble with ease. It has 275 horsepower and 315 foot-pounds of torque.
The hill-start assist is a neat feature, with a stick, because it puts you at ease when you stop on a hill, sure that the vehicle won’t start rolling backward while you’re heel-and-toeing at a stoplight short of the crest.
That’s particularly handy if you’ve gotten a little rusty in your heel-and-toe skills with a stick and a clutch. It also had what Ford calls “full vehicle steel bash plates.”
The 2-door gives you a spacious rear seat, although getting into it requires some agility.
The Black Diamond trim is neat and gives you some dded features, including an optional removable roof. Ford wants the Bronco to tackle the same off-road projects as the Jeep Wrangler, so it starts out by making it available with doors that pop off, in addition to the roof, so you can go cavorting around doorless and topless, if that suits you. Also in the concept of stripping it down for hardy use, the side mirrors come affixed to the frame itself, rather than on the door, which always seems to cause more vibration and need for adjustment. No adjustment needed, in this case, even if the doors are back home in the garage.
Bronco Wildtrak has fancy interior supporting 2.7-liter V6 and automatic.
The Bronco 2-door with the 10-speed automatic was equipped with the Wildtrak package, which means, in my tester’s case, a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6, with lots of excessive power, compared to the 2.3-liter 4. The V6 lists 315 horsepower and 410 foot-pounds of torque, at a sticker price of $53,650.
Curiously, the larger engine with the automatic didn’t feel as quick as the four with the stick.
One of the features that attracts folks to the Bronco is the array of gadgets that make it seem like a good deal, such as the cargo area protectors, the black roof rails, and the neat LED headlights that shine in a tight pattern even though appeareing to be squinting just a bit. The heavy duty floormats can be hosed off for cleaning if your off-roading includes acquiring a bit of mud inside and out.
When I first saw the array of Broncos, I wasn’t sure where I stood. But the stick-shift 2.3-liter version lists for $42,720, as equipped, while the 2.7 V6 model lists for $53,650. Both have distinct personalities, after you realize there are some differences.
The smaller Bronco Sport, with four doors, makes any selection a tough choice. Among the impressive advancements in modern cars is that some of the new 4s perform right up there with the usual V6es, and some of the new automatics seem to work as efficiently as the best stick shifts. Such modern automatics work so smoothly that they can relegate the stick shifts to the discard pile. Unless, that is, you like stick shifts as much as I do.
Outside mirrors are attached to body, not removable door.
Bigger 2.7 V6 has 10–speed automatic.
In the case of the Bronco family, the stick can make the 4-cylinder feel quicker and deliver better fuel economy than the V6. In that manner, the stick makes the 4-cylinder function like old-time off-roaders, even ones originally called Broncos.
That is especially so if you take the doors off and let it all hang out, so to speak.
4Runner adds loaded TRD Sport
Filed under: Weekly test drives, Autos
The 2022 Toyota 4Runner comes equipped to take on Jeep-style off-roading.
By John Gilbert
For nearly 40 years, Toyota has been building a midsize SUV known to the world as the 4Runner. Great name, because while it may not have been as all-out off-road-capable as the Jeep, its name alone means it is verifiably “the” 4Runner.
Every manufacturer of SUVs wants to take a shot at the Jeep’s incredible off-road heritage, even those that do a reasonable job of but light off-roading, fall far short of those Wranglers and other members of the Jeep family. But the 4Runner is different, and the 2022 version of the 4Runner — part of the fifth generation — lets its performance and reputation carry it beyond where mere public relations might go.
Bold wheels, 4.0-liter V6 gets 4Runner through foul weather.
If you talk to a Toyota dealer, you might get its salesmen to agree with you that there isn’t a great deal of new stuff on the 4Runner. But ask him which vehicle is in the greatest demand among all things Toyota, and he might say the 4Runner. And in the same breath, if he knows his business, he might tell you the 4Runner will climb mountains and challenge any terrain the Jeep Wrangler will take on, and not finish second.
We can’t verify that, but the new 4Runner is impressively equipped for rugged duty and it is designed to stand the test of time, and it is not just another body-on-frame truck. The other fact in 4Runner’s favor is that while the new models may seem expensive, they hold their value so well that demand for two or three year old 4Runners is off the scale. A Toyota salesman I know said buyers seeking recent-year used 4Runners is right up there with the Tacoma midsize pickups on which it is based, and the full-size Tundra pickups.
The new 4Runner now can offer seating for seven, and it comes in over a half-dozen varieties. The model I test drove was the “TRD Sport,” a newcomer to the family.
If you list the 4Runners, you start with the SR5, SR5 Premium, TRD Off-Road, TRD Off-Road Premium, and the Limited Pro, and the Special Edition. That’s six, and adding the TRD Sport borrows from some of its siblings in expanding the brand to provide pretty much the specific vehicle anyone might want.
The TRD Off-Road is the most rugged, probably, and it has seriously upgraded suspension and suspension, with the Premium version getting the cross-pattern adjustable suspension, which adjusts the suspension in a cross pattern — left front-right rear or right front-left rear — to offer better cornering and off-road stability. The TRD Off-Road Premium has that, and that alone gives the new TRD Sport something beyond the scoops and specialty logos and badges and special seat surfaces to justify its price tag of the tester’s $48,199.
Painted “Magnetic Gray,” the TRD Sport has a base price of $44,620, and adding in such things as th kinetic dynamic suspension system, running boards and the moonroof jacks the price.
Stylish but rugged seat coverings enhance interior comfort.
As seems to be the case in virtually all new vehicles these days, less is said about the powertrain, which used to be the main focal point of promotion. In the 4Runner, you get Toyota’s 4.0-liter V6, which delivers 270 horsepower, and 278 foot-pounds of torque, which is certainly enough to climb your neighborhood avenue, if not cliff. And it also will tow a maximum of 5,000 pounds.
Transmission is a 5-speed automatic, operable with paddles for manual control, and with a part-time 4-wheel-drive system and Toyota’s ActivTRAC, it seems as though five gears are enough, since you can double them by shifting back and forth from 2-wheel to 4-wheel drive, and choose high or low ranges.
We found that we pretty well matched the EPA fuel economy figures of 16 city and 19 highway miles per gallon, which is OK for a rugged vehicle that has such consumer-aided assets, although a lot of competitors will get from 25 miles per gallon and upward toward 30. Maybe it’s just a matter of time until Toyota bolts one of its hybrid systems into it.
If Toyota has been subtle about toughening the 4Runner for all off-road capabilities, now it is just as subtle about sophisticating the whole package to work more smoothly and be more civilized on normal roads. Those are the assets the refinements make on the TRD Sport, and the comfort inside is evidence that it works. The seats are covered with SofTex, which is some sort of bullet-proof material that is pleasing to the touch and obviously rugged.
Performance in snow country includes safety and comfort inside.
It was just a matter of luck that in the week I had the 4Runner TRD Sport, my Duluth-area was hit by a pretty healthy snowstorm, which meant I could fiddle around with the settings and churn through the plow-left snow-piles with ease.
If you are a serious off-roader, this TRD Sport would work well, and if you’re not into off-roading, you can actually enjoy spending your winter months taking on blizzards and foul-weather conditions. It is also fascinating to observe the new Jeep Grand Cherokee go from being off-road tough to on-road sophisticated, but even there, the Toyota 4Runner TRD Sport gives that brand an equal competitive stance either on or off the road.
Grand Cherokee gets the ‘L’ in there for 2022
Filed under: Weekly test drives, Autos
The elongated Grand Cherokee L offers more of a good thing to Jeep buyers.
By John Gilbert
Ever since Jeep decided brought out the popular Cherokee and then Grand Cherokee, it’s been the most universally appreciated member of the Jeep family. The Wrangler is great fun for those who like to do some off-roading, the old Wagoneer was a whale that could haul whole families, and then others, such as the Patriot, Compass, Renegade, and various others came along to fill niches, but the Grand Cherokee was consistently there.
For 2022, the Grand Cherokee enters its fifth generation, and it is not a stretch to say it’s the best of all Cherokees. Along with its normal Grand Cherokee model, it will add an “L” which stands for “Long.” As in, long enough to house a third-row seat.
Jeep has decided to add the Grand Wagoneer back into the 2022 mix as an expensive, high-end model with an interior that sets new standards for basic people haulers. That caused the significant upgrade to the Grand Cherokee line to almost be overlooked during during the 2021 model year. The upgrades just keep on coming for 2022, however, and we can catch up to all things Grand Cherokee for the new year.
Refined Grand Cherokee without the third row is more agile in city and parking maneuvers..
In overview, it seems that competitors throughout the industry are striving to toughen up their SUVs to compete with the popular Jeep line, so now we can appreciate that the already-rugged Grand Cherokees are being refined to meet the fanciest trimmings of those competitors.
I had a chance recently to test drive the Grand Cherokee, and was very impressed with the refinement, and later we got into the Grand Cherokee L, which is sure to satisfy the most discerning Jeep buyers. Both share the same new grille, which modifies the familiar and dominant seven vertical bars by filling them in with little metal bars to make it look slicker while also shortening the heights of the grille itself.
The real difference between the base 4-door and the L is not in the drivetrain, because both use the Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 as base power, with 295 horsepower and 260 foot-pounds of torque, running through an 8-speed automatic transmission. You also can choose the 5.7-liter V8, or the fire-breathing 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi with over 700 horsepower.
Extended rear on L version houses third- row seat, expanded storage area..
During our week with the Grand Cherokee L, I did respond a couple of times to the urge for hard acceleration. Both my wife, Joan, and my older son, Jack, remarked about how the muscular sound of that big V8 is exhilarating, and I had to agree, and that it sounds like a Trans-Am racer from the 1970s.
Then I discovered that the quick, rich-sounding engine was indeed the 3.6 Pentastar V6, which is aging, but can still perform, with its dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, and variable valve-timing. The 295 horsepower peak is at 6,400 RPMs and the 260 foot-pounds of torque reach their peak at 4,000 revs. And the power is impressive enough that I would suggest anyone interested should try out the V6 before ordering the V8; unless you’re pulling a house trailer, you might find the power is easily adequate.
Upscale leather in L is ventilated for heat or cool.
Leather seats in Grand Cherokee hardly suffer.
Perhaps the only disappointment was that I only got about 16 or 17 miles per gallon around town, and never managed to get it up over 20 mpg in my combined but mostly city driving. These days, with the onrushing array of hybrids and electric vehicles, sub-20-mpg may not cut it.
If the larger, tow-capable “L” performed that well with the V6, you can imagine how much better the shorter, lighter and more agile Grand Cherokee non-L operates with the same powertrain.
At a glance, you may not notice much difference between the appearances of the two, but look closely and you will see that the L is extended aft of the rear doors. Not unbalanced, just extended — enough to house that quite useful third row seat.
It felt big, too, in city and shopping center parking, and the extra agility of the normal Grand Cherokee could be another good reason, besides the price, to choose it over the elongated L, which rose from a base price of $59,660 to an as-tested sticker of $67,090.
The L test vehicle was the loaded “Summit Reserve” version, with every luxury amenity Jeep could pack into it. The standard leather seats are Palermo leather, which are listed among options, as though it’s an upgrade but they come standard on the Summit. Seat surfaces have tiny pinholes to allow efficient cooling and heating. Since I was test-driving it in Duluth, Minnesota, in December, I used the heated seats a lot and never did click on the cooling function. Both have three levels.
Open-pore wood and leather run onto the dashboard in the L.
The dashboard is trimmed in open-pore wood, and it is very classy. The front bucket seats not only are comfortable, heated and cooled, but offer an adjustable back massager that really works to add to the luxury image. Second-row buckets also are also heated and ventilated, and they fold down to allow easier access to the third row, which is a fold-down bench.
The audio system also is upgraded in the Summit Reserve, from very good up to stupendous., It is a McIntosh system, with 19 speakers instead of “only” 9, and a 950-watt amplifier. If you step out of the vehicle and leave the door open, the throbbing sounds escaping from the system shake the vehicle, if not the ground.
If the Grand Cherokee L color looks striking, maybe that’s because it’s not just silver, but “Silver Zynith.” As it turned out, the normal sized Grand Cherokee was also silver, and with the same drivetrain it felt more agile in traffic and certainly has an advantage in your friendly neighborhood Target parking lot.
In fact, I really preferred the less-luxurious but classy dark leather in the Grand Cherokee.
Shorter rear section of Grand Cherokee still has large storage area.
Both vehicles have console switches to alter driving modes, with QuadraTrac four-wheel drive and Selec-Terrain, and air suspension assuring you that in any setting, you will glide comfortably over railroad tracks and whatever surprises your neighborhood streets will offer.
The full array of safety measures and connectivity also aid the driver in everything from remote calling to staying in your lane. It properly warns you of objects ahead or behind when you’re parking. I like the overhead view on the backup camera, which helps in all parking situations, and the night vision feature spots pedestrian and animals in the dark before you might notice them in the glow of the brilliant LED headlights.
The Grand Cherokee always has been a solid, sturdy SUV, not too big but big enough for a small family. The new L might be considered too big by some, but urging the company to add a third-row seat has been one of the most intense requests. If you don’t need it, fold it down and extend the storage space. Or, you can fall back to the normal Grand Cherokee and still get the versatility you want.
Right tires can improve Cadillac XT5 and XT6
Filed under: Weekly test drives, Autos
Cadillac’s redesigned XT6, a luxurious midsize SUV, which benefits from tire upgrade.
By John Gilbert
You’ve got to love this time of year, the Christmas break, when you scurry around thinking of a million things, or nothing, you could buy, most of which cost more than you can afford. In the car-testing business, there are numerous possibilities as a late family gift, in every imaginable price range.
The XT5 is a bit shorter, with two seating rows, but is still luxurious.
We should start at the top. For example, you could buy a luxury SUV, and of you don’t want a gigantic 0one, there are several that might be the perfect gift size, such as the 2022 Cadillac XT5 or XT6. They look a lot alike, but they are two different vehicles. They cruise in the $60,000-$75,000 range, which could dissuade a lot of us.
Before looking those two over, let’s consider something a lot less glamorous, but maybe the best winter insurance available for your family — a set of four “Nokian one” all-season tires. They will astound you at how they make any vehicle run smoothly and quietly in the dry, yet also work well to stick to the road and grab traction in the worst winter storms.
Car-owners in or around Duluth, Minnesota, by the way, should be cautioned to ignore the syndicated story from Detroit that ran a couple of weeks ago in various publications, including the usually reliable Minneapolis Star Tribune, in its weekly automotive page. Now, Detroit doesn’t have hills like Duluth does, so we can cut the guy some slack because maybe he’s never driven to the Upper Peninsula, and never needed true winter tires. But he wrote that the newest winter tires are not all that beneficial, and they are what used to be called “snow tires.”
No. Not true. There are summer tires, there are all-season tires, and there are snow tires, and you get to choose what you want or need. Tire companies make tires for all circumstances, and the newest top all-season tires can handle the duties of winter driving better than more basic summer tires, which run long and smoothly but lack the ability for foul-weather traction, and better than snow tires used to.
But there also are major differences in how different tires work on snow and ice, which is as critical to stopping and cornering as to going forward.
Companies can put whatever designation they want on their tires, it seems, but not many have mastered the technique of making tires that work in snow and on ice in the real world, and also run smoothly when you’re not on snow or ice, which is 90 percent or more of the time, even in severe winters. Plows come out promptly, and a day or two after a storm, you’re back on pavement.
But we’re talking tires for the critical moment when you are cruising along on a winter night, or day, and nearing the apex of a curve when you hit some black ice glazing the pavement, and you start to skid toward the ditch, or abutment. Instantly, your heart is in your throat and your adrenaline goes to overload.
If you know how to hold your poise and steer into the skid with light and careful braking, good for you. But sometimes it’s hopeless because your tires just won’t stick.
In that moment of crisis, how much would you pay to have that situation not exist? Certainly a lot more than $500, because it’s going to cost you a lot more than that to fish your car out of the ditch and to repair the dents you have just installed.
The Nokian one all-season tire is my choice for best traction — even on Duluth hillsides.
Nokian tires — based in Finland and which used to be “Nokia” but gained an “n” on the end after the Nokia cell phones became worldwide big-sellers — have convinced me from 50 years of test drives in Minnesota winters, and they are the best way to handle the toughest winter conditions.
I first discovered N0kians from a fellow named Dave Erickson, who once ran Bloomington Tire Center in that Twin Cities suburb. He was a racer and knew every detail ab0ut tires, and when he got me to try Nokia tires, it was a revelation. They had the unique ability to go year-round, last a long time, and still alleviate anxious moments on wintry roads.
Nokia designed and built tires for winter rally racing north of the Arctic Circle, and has continued to make tires with a compound that retains its flexibility no matter how cold the weather is. The company’s all-out winter beater is the Hakkapeliitta, which preceded the Bridgestone Blizzak and remains a superb tire today. Blizzaks are excellent on ice and snow, but not as good on normal pavement because their tread decomposes as part of the principle that the remaining tiny concave shapes aid grip, so they wear out faster on dry pavement.
I replaced the super-aggressive-looking Michelin XAS asymmetric-tread tires that came on a beloved Saab 900 we purchased. Impressive as they looked, the XAS tires were excellent in rain, but hopeless in snow and ice, where they slipped and slithered when they should have been gripping and holding course. I went with the Nokia all-season, and found them to be so good I never saw the need to go to the Hakkapeliittas, despite Dave Erickson’s urging.
Dave got out of the tire business a few decades ago, and we moved from the Twin Cities to Duluth since then, where I knew of a place called “Foreign Affairs” that does auto repair and also sells tires. Jeff Hofslund owns Foreign Affairs — great name — and he is similar to Dave Erickson in trying to make sure each customer ends up with the best tire for specific needs. He sold a lot of tires over the years, but mostly prescribes Nokian tires. His always-busy little shop on 7th Av. E. and 8th St. on Duluth’s East Hillside, became the No. 1 U.S. outlet for Nokian sales. He’s not sure if he still holds that honor, but while he can obtain any tire by overnight delivery, he has a separate connection with Nokian, which insists on avoiding large tire shops for what they believe is superior personal satisfaction from smaller companies.
A set of Nokian WG3 tires are serving us well on the family Mini Cooper, and they have directional tread design and a compound that still sticks to the road effectively after five or six years. We bought a new set last year for our older son and they are the new “Nokian one” tires, which don’t look as aggressive as the WG3, but sticks just as well. The new ones are not directional, which makes it easier to rotate them, and are designed to run for significantly more miles, and in amazing silence when running on dry pavement.
As a potential Christmas gift siuggestion, I called Jeff Hofslund and asked how much a new set of Nokian one tires would cost. “It depends,” he said, “on what size, what kind of car, front-wheel, rear-wheel or all-wheel drive, and what type of use would the tires get. I like to try to suggest tires that fit into a family’s lifestyle and vehicle usage.”
Such personal service is right up Nokian’s alley. The new “Nokian one” somehow bridges the compromise between working on icy avenues in Duluth and being just as impressive in year-round driving without the need to switch to summer tires. A new set of four, in 17-inch size for example, would be about $120 apiece, mounted and balanced. That’s nearly $500 for four, which is already a lot, but it’s inexpensive in my concept of eliminating those moments of terror when you lose traction.
The XT6 interior is rich with leather and wood.
The XT5 is filled with more compact luxury.
It was more than Christmas that caused me to
think of suggesting a set of Nokian tires as a Christmas gift. It was brought to mind by the close-order proximity of test-driving both the high-end Cadillac XT5 SUV and XT6 SUTVs. Both are perfect compromises between sedans or station wagons and midsize SUVs, as far as people-hauling goes. Appropriately, the XT5 is a bit smaller, with two rows of seats, and therefore is priced fr0m a $50,795 base, to a test-vehicle high of $67,965.
The XT6 is just enough longer to fit in foldable third-row seats, which don’t come in the XT5, but the roomier XT6 starts at $54,995 and rises, via the option list, to an as-tested $70,965. If you can afford the $3,000-$5,000 difference, then you can decide. I had the XT5 and XT6 close enough together at the advent of snow and ice season up in the Great White North, offering me the opportunity to compare the all-wheel-drive vehicles.
The XT5 is more compact but fine for those who don’t need a third row of seats.
The XT5 was black, which in Cadillac-ese “Stellar Black Metallic.” It also was lighter and felt a bit sportier — although both vehicles were powered by the same high-end 3.6-liter dual-overhead-cam V6 with 9-speed automatic transmission. The XT5, I must say, slithered around a bit when the roadways got slippery from the snow and ice coating. I got out and checked and noted Michelin Primacy tires, which fit my theory that Michelin takes pride in tires that will endure high speeds and last a lot of miles, two traits not necessarily good for slippery winter conditions.
XT6 “Premium Luxury” model allows more storage space, even with all three rows up.
The XT6, meanwhile, was the “Premium Luxury” version, and was painted “Rosewood Metallic.” It had enlarged 20-inch alloy wheels, on which were mounted Continental all-season Cross-trek tires, with a lot of cross-tread sipes designed to flex just enough to spit out snow and grip slippery road surfaces better. They did that, as we proved when we had more snow in the XT6’s week. It handled it all with no problems.
Both vehicles were loaded with creature features, and the XT5, which is targeting those who might want to do some light off-roading, had an additional mode switch that allowed you to select from tour, AWD, sport, and off-road. Frankly, I can’t see it as an off-road vehicle, but the power is there and the AWD system works.
You can also change modes with the XT6, but not quite as aggressively, as though Cadillac knows the difference between country club and rock-climbing..Both Cadillacs are sized right, above the now-popular compact SUVs but well below the giant SUVs like the Escalade, which is at the top of the Cadillac pecking order.
With all the safety and connectivity features included with both, the price difference basically remains whether you want the pure luxury of the fine leather and wood in the XT6 or the also-nice leather and wood trim in the XT5.
Just make sure, for the price, you take into account what tires you’re buying. They all look good in the showroom, but remember that your total contact with any roadway is less than one square foot at each corner of your car, and making sure your tires share your insistence on staying in contact of those four patches.
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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