Pros:

• Turbo V6 feels like a V8
• Exterior and interior styling
• Very comfortable
• Versatile cargo capabilities

Cons:

• Mind-baffling electronics
• Useless proximity key
• R-design rear bumper not compatible with receiver hitch

Having tested a number of small crossovers, I can say with certainty that the Volvo XC60 is almost the perfect family crossover and certainly one that provides enough ‘fun factor’ to entertain car enthusiasts. I never expected to say that about a Volvo crossover. If it wasn’t for the frustrating vehicle electronics menu systems, I’d call it perfect.

The good:
I had the pleasure of testing the XC60 in T6 AWD R-Design trim ($43,160). Optionally, the tester came with the climate package with rear heated seats, Technology Package, Rear Park Assist, and Integrated Navigation, which brought the price up to $50,365. Testing a Volvo allows us to get a look at advanced safety features, so I was really disappointed that they left out the $800 Blind spot Indicator System (BLIS)

Other than the missing BLIS, the car still provides an abundance of safety features, which they dub, ‘City Safety”, such as Collision-detect with full auto-brake, Pedestrian-detect with full auto-brake, distance alert with brake warning, Lane departure warning, Adaptive cruise control. The distance alert with brake warning is great! There is an 8-inch wide band of red LED’s on the dash that reflect on the windshield and gives you a heads-up and audible warning if the car detects that you might not be ready for a quick stop. If you don’t put on the brakes, the XC60 will. Oddly enough, the owner’s manual says you can override the auto-braking by using the gas pedal (weird!). I guess someone might really prefer to hit the car in front of them (?)

The XC60 is easily the best-looking crossover in the segment, and is unmistakably Volvo – inside and out. The R-design theme with XC side-sills, striking XC-badged 5-spoke 20-inch wheels, and R-design rear bumper give it a confident, sporty look. The R-design theme carries on inside and offers unique, blue clock-face gauges and a much sportier-looking steering wheel that shares a nice perorated leather treatment with the shifter.

The seats are the most comfortable seats I have been in – very plush, but still provide plenty of support with adequate side-bolstering for the amount of cornering traction available.

That ample cornering traction is courtesy of the R-design’s larger 255/45/20 wheels and tires and despite its ~4200lb curb weight. Volvo did their homework here. Your passengers will object to hard cornering maneuvers before the tires do.

Even with those large wheels and tires, the XC60 has a noticeably small turning radius and feels very nimble. As a result, parking-lot maneuverability is great.

Pros:

• Blazing acceleration
• Sports-car-like handling and braking
• Comfortable seating for four adults

Cons:

• Sports-car-like ride all the time
• Sluggishly-programmed paddle shifters
• Addicting to drive fast

With a penchant for sports cars and a baby on the way, what’s a guy to do? I do love my 2007 350z, but how practical is it? Is there anything out there with 4 doors that could take its place? There really wasn’t anything I could think of with four doors that would foot the bill. That was, until I spent some quality time behind the wheel of a 2011 Infiniti G37 sedan. That’s right – 4 doors and a lot of fun!

The car:
I tested the G37 Sedan Journey model with every available option: Technology package, Premium package, sport package, navigation package, R-spec high-friction brake pads, and interior high-gloss maple accents. These options brought the base price of $35k up to $44,245.

Overall, I’d say the sport package is an absolute must-have since it brings big-brakes, staggered (wider rear than front) wheels and tires on larger 18 inch wheels, viscous limited-slip differential, paddle shifters, and sport front fascia and side sills. The rest of the packages are up to you.

The good:
The G37 brings dramatic, fluid, drop-dead gorgeous looks to an otherwise bland automotive segment. The 2010/2011 G37 models get a slight facelift over previous models and the sport package gives the rounded car a slightly harder look.

That being said, the sedan version of this car is beautiful, but also very demure-looking. You really have no idea what you’re in for until you drive it. Once you have enough tarmac and no one in front of you, floor it from a stand-still and be prepared for the big ear-to-ear grin that ensues. The close-ratio 7-speed automatic transmission is geared for performance and keeps the 328HP/269TQ 3.7-liter V6 in the fattest part of the power-band for a blistering 5.0-second 0-60 and 13.5 sec ¼-mile times as reported by our friends at Motor Trend. That’s on-par with or better than many sports-cars, and incredible when you consider it’s 3800 pound curb weight.

Pros:

• Eager V6 engine
• Quiet interior
• Sporty handling

Cons:

• Clueless transmission
• Clueless climate controls
• Clueless seats

I’ve got to hand it to the Chrysler marketing team. Their Superbowl ad sure left me yearning in anticipation to check out the “all new” Chrysler 200. Those momentary glimpses of smooth, flowing black lines and chrome accents really piqued my curiosity. Chrysler’s full-size 300 has been a major success and I think was instrumental in resurrecting the brand. Would the new 200 be any less game-changing than the 300?

The competition in the mid-sized car market has escalated to unprecedented levels over the past two years, especially with the newcomers from Korea like the Kia Optima and the Hyundai Sonata.  Could Detroit, with its giant iron fist, be delivering a lethal blow to the overseas competition?  I sure hope so. It’s about time!

Driving Impressions

I had a great opportunity to put the 200 through its paces and even stretch it’s capabilities a little. We had family in town again and they wanted to see the BIG redwoods, so a trip from the San Francisco bay area up to Calaveras Big Trees State Park in the Sierras was in order. This road trip gave us a mixture of straight highway driving, curvy mountain roads, and 4000-foot elevation gain. One of my back seat passengers was 6’3” and 280 pounds.

We were fortunate to receive the Chrysler 200 in touring trim with the optional 3.6 liter V6 VVT Pentastar Engine ($1,795) and 6-speed auto transmission. That’s a mouthful of an engine name, but let’s just say it provides more than adequate acceleration and still allows great gas mileage. We averaged 26 MPG with my lead-foot, climbing up to 4000 foot elevation, and with the car weighed down with passengers.

The 200 was very well-mannered on the road. The first thing I noticed was how quiet the cabin was, even at cruising speed. Straight line tracking was very precise, although pavement grooves caused the car to dart around a bit.  This could be a tire dilemma. The only downside to the ride is that it seemed to feel fairly rough over rough pavement. But once we hit the twisty highway 4, the car was very confident around high-speed sweeping corners and exhibited little body roll, even through tight corners. I’d go so far as to call it fun to drive.

The brakes were a mixed bag. On short around-town trips, the brakes seemed a little weak in both initial bite and modulation, sometimes alarmingly so. Surprisingly, once the brakes heated up, initial bite and modulation seemed very good and they inspired confidence. The VVT V6 engine is a real gem.  It accelerates effortlessly and seems quite eager to please the driver with muted, but sporty sounds. Overall, the 200 was very sporty-feeling for a mid-sized sedan.

Interior and Exterior Styling

Speaking of mid-sized, my first impression of the 200 was that the outside dimensions seemed to be pretty small for a mid-sized car. I remember mid-sized American cars like the 2001 Oldsmobile Intrigue or 2004 Chevy Malibu, so I was expecting something that size. Maybe compact is the new mid-size, but the interior still felt very small for a mid-sized car. The dash board is big, bulky, and in your face; even intrusive. It even felt a bit claustrophobic inside. Maybe that was the style they were going after. The rear seats have adequate leg room for taller passengers, but the sloping rear roofline, while stylish, makes for very tight clearances for rear seat passengers. Styling seems to have required some trade-offs.

By Bill Clark

Pros:

• ‘Swiss-army’ versatility
• Smooth ride
• Luxurious cabin

Cons

• T-rex size gasoline appetite
• Minor electrical issues
• You gotta pay to play

There’s nothing like some unexpected treats for the holidays. Family coming from Florida – expected.  Floridians wanting to go see the snow – expected. A freak snowstorm during an El Nina year two days before our Tahoe trip – slightly unexpected, but much appreciated.  Getting an email from my Editor, as we sat waiting for family at the airport, asking if anyone is in need of a Land Rover Discovery LR4 for the week – unexpectedly awesome!  What can I say, the sports car wasn’t going to do the trick and the sedan is in need of some repairs. I couldn’t imagine a better opportunity at a better time to test the latest premium SUV from the brand that practically invented the go anywhere, do anything vehicle.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics

I have to say that the Brits left no stone unturned for the 2011 LR4. Our test car was the well-appointed HSE model with the vision-assist package (Xenon headlights and auto high-beams), the third-row jump seats, climate comfort pack (a must-have for snow lovers with heated windshield and washer jets, heated seats, and heated steering wheel). Oh, and don’t forget the 480-watt Harmon/Kardon Logic 7 stereo, or three sunroofs. This car is so loaded there’s almost too much to keep track of!

We used the LR4 to transport five full-sized adults for a five-hour drive to Tahoe for snowboarding in complete comfort. Two of our three rear seat passengers were over 6-feet tall – 6’4”, 270lbs; 6’1”, 180lbs to be exact. They sat abreast in the second row and no one appeared wanting for more room. The tallest still had three inches of headroom to spare! With ample room and Land Rover’s handle-anything reputation I had complete peace of mind driving the LR4 to the snow.

The folding third-row seats are noteworthy too. They fold up and disappear completely into the rear floor and I assumed they were only useful for pre-teen munchkins (like most other SUV’s), yet useless for adults. I was pleasantly surprised that they were actually comfortable for my 5’5” frame with more legroom than I needed. With the third-row seats in use, cargo room is cut to two half-filled paper grocery bags between them and the rear hatch, but you could easily carry 7 adults if you needed to and versatility is what the LR4 is all about.

Following the snowboard trip, I had an appointment in downtown San Francisco.  Being directionally challenged, I usually stay away from that area. As it turned out, the LR4 has the best factory navigation I’ve used in any vehicle. The visual display and voice prompts did a perfect job of letting me know where I was and where the next turn was as well as which lane I needed to be in. It never left me guessing and I didn’t miss a single turn. I drove to the destination in complete confidence like I’d been there a hundred times.  What a treat!

The center touchscreen display provides a ton of technological information, beyond the navigation.  It serves as the display for five proximity cameras (three of which were on the fritz on our test car), compass, wheel articulation, front wheel steering angle, audio data, etc.

The baby-smooth steering wheel has a very comfortable ergonomic profile and it’s perfectly heated. The button to turn on the wheel’s heating element is placed within effortless, fingertip reach without letting go of the wheel. Nothing beats getting into the cold car and having a toasty warm wheel within a minute. The seats are soft yet supportive, the buttons and knobs can be easily operated by large and small hands, with gloves on or off, and the climate control knobs are nicely rubberized. You can even adjust the angle of the front-seat arm rests.

Build quality on the LR4 is top-notch too. Fit and finish is as good as it gets. Everything fits well with zero squeaks, rattles, or suspension noise. You can tell that the engineers carefully selected materials for each part of the vehicle that you touch and even considered how you might touch them.

I was disappointed that three of the five proximity cameras were inoperative – including the back-up camera, but with the rear proximity sensors and excellent visibility, it was only a minor inconvenience. I’m sure a trip to the dealership would take care of that, but the car barely had 3k miles on the odometer.

Performance

Despite the 5,800 pound curb weight, the 5.0 liter V8 (rated at 375hp/375 lb-ft of torque) packs enough punch to propel you to 60 MPH in about 7.5 seconds (Manufacturer’s claim). The close-ratio 6-speed automatic transmission makes sure that you are always in the power band and it doesn’t hesitate to downshift when you need it.

The LR4 features Land Rover’s Terrain Response system, which lets the driver select from 5 different surfaces, including tarmac, grass/gravel/snow, mud and ruts, sand, and rock crawl. Depending on the terrain mode selected, the air suspension lowers and raises the static ride height and the computer adjusts power delivery, shift response, and locking action of the differentials.

At 6:30 PM we were the last car to leave the ski resort and by that time, the empty, slushy parking lot surface had turned to ice. Not one to let an opportunity pass me by, I put the terrain selector in “snow” and stomped on the gas! The car’s electronics decided I was an idiot and took over acceleration duty for me. It accelerated carefully, based on traction available to any of the four wheels at any given time. From the cabin, this operation was very smooth and uneventful. The same goes for the ABS, which helped me come to a stop at a particularly slick, icy intersection in a calm, understated fashion not alerting any of the passengers.

(Continued on page 2)

By Bill Clark

Pros:

• Prodigious power
• Impeccable materials and craftsmanship
• Game-changing luxury and technology

Cons:

• Computer-controlled powerplant
• No V-8 growl, just a exhaust note that sounds manufactured

Infiniti’s new M-series luxury sports sedan has the brains and the brawn to compete with Bavarian and German luxury car manufacturers. Under the spotlight Infiniti has used its M56x as a showcase to illustrate how technology should be put to use in everyday life; abundant and ever-present, but imperceptible and noninvasive. The M56x offers power, luxury, and technology in ways that you didn’t know you needed, but once you experience them, you won’t want to live without them.

Driving Impressions
I’ll jump at the chance to drive anything with big horsepower. In this case, it was a 420 hp luxury sedan. I had envisioned being rewarded with wheel spin upon mashing the gas pedal, yet gritting my teeth under braking and cornering. Upon taking delivery of the test car and seeing its size and heft first-hand, I was sure my initial impression was justified as I thought to myself, “all-aboard the USS X56m!” At about 4,200 pounds, I figured the acceleration would be brisk, but it would drive like a boat. I was so wrong.

Build

Build quality doesn’t get any better than this. I think Infiniti ditched their normal parts and materials bins to find the best of the best. Think of the M56x as your million-dollar private Learjet for the streets. Combine rare, even exotic material choices with impeccable tailoring and fine craftsmanship, orchestrated with an artist’s fluid brush strokes and you have an interior you’ll not want to leave. So it is with the M.

The Japanese Ash wood-trim is beautifully sculpted, lighter in the center and darkening at the edges, providing a soothing backdrop for controls on the dash and trim on the doors.

Perforated, aniline-treated, high quality leather seating surfaces, provide a soft, supple, tantalizing feel. Every surface that will be seen or touched has been treated with visual and/or tactile qualities to reward the driver’s and passengers’ senses.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
The driver’s cockpit is so adjustable, everyone is sure to get that perfect “fits-like-a-glove” feel.  The first thing you’ll notice is that the seats are soft, yet firm and supportive and well-bolstered. The leather seats are perforated and the front seats are both heated and cooled and work in conjunction with the climate controls to keep your body at its preferred temperature.

The driver’s 10-way power seat will get you into the perfect position. Once you are there, you can use the power tilt/telescoping wheel and power telescoping pedals to bring all the controls to your effortless reach.

Much of the interior and climate technology is built into the multi-function display. Take the time to set things up once and the dash-mounted buttons will simply do whatever you want.

Now what if your significant other adjusts all these preferences to their liking? Don’t worry. Just use your own wireless key fob and the M will know who’s in the driver’s seat and adjust settings accordingly – including radio presents and other functions.

If you haven’t noticed, Infiniti’s M is there to pamper its occupants.  I’ve been pampered by cars before, but I noticed a new button on the dash that I haven’t seen in any other car before; “Forest Air”. OK, I had to look that one up. Have you ever spent hours in a car before on a long drive during a summer’s day with the A/C blasting, only to realize that those couple spots where the air is blowing are painfully cold but other parts of you are still hot? Forest Air to the rescue!  Infiniti’s Forest Air will vary the source, speed, and temperature of the air directed towards you to make sure you stay at your preferred temperature, but without any hot or cold spots.  I didn’t know I needed that, but now that I know about it, it’s sure nice to have.

Also worthy of mention for passenger comfort are the lengths at which Infiniti went to keep noise levels down in the cabin. The Coefficient of Drag for the car is an amazing 0.27 with the fluid exterior shape and under-car panels. As if that’s not enough to keep the noise down, the car’s audio system contains two microphones that listen to the car’s ambient cabin noise and uses the speakers to cancel out that same noise.  It’s remarkably quiet inside.

Performance
Performance was over the top, but with one minor technology-related quirk. Even at 4,200 pounds, a 420 hp/417 lb-ft torque, direct-injected V-8 under the hood should be a good time. It does accelerate very quickly for a car of its mass, but while you control the gas pedal, the car’s computer controls the powerplant. Notice I didn’t say engine. An engine is what you control with your right foot. I didn’t sense an engine here. A powerplant is controlled by a computer and it only doles out power when the computer says it should.

So while you might want to be juvenile and see what 420 hp can do – say from a standstill, the computer is not so juvenile. It will not pour on the power until all 4 wheels are pointed in a straight line and you are moving along already. Accelerating from a stop or corner, the car knows how much power it can put down without wheel spin and it will not exceed that power output at that exact time. Bummer!

The redeeming quality here is that if you are driving through the hills in a spirited fashion, you can put the transmission in sport mode and after a minute of spirited driving, the car will catch on that you are trying to have fun and will begin to hold a gear for quite a while without upshifting since it knows you have sporting intentions. This doesn’t mean the car is not fast from a standstill, it just doesn’t feel particularly fast. It wants to shift out of first gear ASAP.

Even Sport mode did not allow it to hold first gear for very long unless you bury the throttle and keep it there. It also never downshifts into first gear if the car is moving – even at a very slow speed. Second gear is all you get unless you go into manual mode. But manual mode gives you some very laggard shifts. Even with all of this computer nanny stuff, you can still just mash the gas and watch the other cars disappear effortlessly behind you. The 7-speed transmission helps keep you in the power-band at whatever speed you demand.

(Continued on page 2)

By Bill Clark

Pony Car Retro Face-Off:

Who wouldn’t want a ’68 Camaro or 64-1/2 Mustang in their garage – much less as their daily driver? I have lusted after a ’68 Camaro ever since I skipped school one day of my sophomore year in high school with my older brother’s friend. He had a bright orange 1968 Camaro – rusted out and torn up, but with a pumped up V8 engine and manual transmission. We practiced burn-outs for a few hours in an abandoned parking lot and then when all the kids were out front waiting for the buses, he performed an amazing display of power by leaving 30 feet of skid marks and plenty of smoke. Those were the days!

But that was then. Now I’m a middle-aged engineering professional and parent, working 50-60 hours per week with responsibilities at home too. Who has the time and money for the classic muscle car obsession? And for those that do, can you daily drive it? Would you daily drive it?

It’s no secret that I love the modern retro cars that U.S. manufacturers have been churning out the last few years. But retro is only cool to a point. There are actually good reasons why certain design elements have been discarded over the years. I was fortunate enough to drive a couple examples of modern retro back-to-back. The classic rival pair – a 2010 Chevy Camaro and a 2010 Mustang – both very impressive cars, yet in very different ways. I have always been an import sports car driver and I have never driven a Mustang or Camaro – new or old. So comparing the two were a revelation to me. I’d always just arbitrarily chosen to prefer Camaros over Mustangs. Now I’m questioning that decision.

Driving Impressions:
The main thing I was looking for driving these cars was which one hits home and really stirs the soul. Which one takes you back to those magical days when no one worried about ‘the law’, or the price of gas, or how bald your rear tires were. Which one is the driver’s car? Which one would I choose?

They both managed to make the freeway miles disappear, but in different ways. The Mustang was fairly stable in a straight line, but I felt the suspension was not well damped. This gave it a kind of retro floaty feeling going down the highway – not my preference. The Camaro, on the other hand, was a rock solid freeway cruiser that was very well damped. The same held true for cornering performance where again, the Camaro felt rock solid and the mustang felt uninspiring. The Camaro was perfect for my tastes for highway and canyon carving traits.

From a driving dynamics, ergonomics and driver interface standpoint, the Mustang was the clear winner. The V8 helped of course, but I felt like I was driving the Mustang and just riding in the Camaro. The Camaro isolated the driver from the driving experience too much.

Styling:
The new Camaro is, hands-down and by a wide margin, the best looking of the two cars. Despite the enormous size of the Camaro, everyone who saw it loved it. The Imperial Blue Metallic color was just spectacular on our tester. My test vehicle was appointed with the ‘RS’ appearance package, which is a must-have, no-brainer option at $1,500.00. It comes with powerful HID headlamps trimmed out with striking Halo rings, 20-inch wheels with 245 front and 275 rear tires, rear trunk-lid spoiler, and RS-unique tail lamps that are smoked just a shade darker than the non-RS. It really has a presence on the road. I have never driven a car that turned so many heads. Older Camaros weave through traffic to get a look. Import-tuners cower and don’t make eye-contact. BMW drivers size up the car, not sure what to do – they try not to let you see them staring.

The 2010 Mustang isn’t so lucky in the looks department. The front-end is definitely an improvement over the 2009, but I preferred the 2009 rear end styling. In-between the front and rear? I dunno – it looks kind of pieces together and doesn’t seem to flow well as one cohesive unit. Part of it could have been that hideous Grabber Blue paint. It turned heads alright – but mostly away from the car. Repulsive blue is more like it. Maybe that’s too harsh. Out of all the hundred or so people that saw the Mustang over the course of a week, only two people said they liked the paint; Peter and some random older woman at the grocery store.

Build:
Build quality goes to Ford. Switches are solid without feeling clunky. Materials just look better and feel better and controls like shifters, blinkers, etc feel very solid. The Mustang delivers a decidedly upscale interior.

All the controls and surfaces in the Camaro just feel like cheap plastic.

Does anyone care about trunk space in a muscle car? The Mustang had decent usable space, but the Camaro’s trunk opening is so small once you open the large-ish metal deck lid, I had to laugh. So there’s space in there, but you won’t be getting much use out of it because getting things to fit through the opening is worse than an 80 pound Labrador trying to squeeze into a rabbit hole. Good thing the rear seats fold down.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics:

Interior comfort is a draw. The seats in the Mustang felt well-bolstered and seemed to fit my small frame better, but the thick, black leather used on the seats does not breathe at all. My backside was literally sweating – even on a cool day with the A/C on. Yuck! The seats had heaters, but I was sweating already without the bun-warmers. The seats in the Camaro were made of buttery soft, perforated leather that breathes very well. Even with the seat warmer on, I was still comfortable, although they seemed a bit large for my frame. Very nice indeed.

Ergonomics and driving dynamics go to the Mustang, hands-down. Everything is in the right place and feels great – the retro-looking, yet very comfortable and modern-feeling steering wheel, the wonderful round billet shifter knob. The seating position was great. The transmission throws were rifle-bolt action smooth and positive, the clutch pedal pressure was perfect and the friction engagement point on the transmission was linear and predictable and made it very easy to launch – for both aggressive and easy driving. Rear visibility is great. From a driver input/ergonomics standpoint, it does not get much better. The pedals even facilitate heel-toe shifting! Who knew Mustangs were this good?

2010 Ford Mustang Interior

The Camaro wasn’t so lucky in the ergonomics department. The temperature and pressure gauges were on the floor, partially blocked by the shifter and their shiny plastic covers reflected every bit of glare from the sunlight, making them useless for normal driving. Maybe they’d be okay at the drag strip when you are not looking at any gauges for 10-15 seconds and then maybe just between runs, but the serious ¼ mile junkies will probably throw them out in favor of some custom gauges.

The Achilles heel for the Camaro’s ergonomics is the steering wheel. It looks retro and all, but it’s an odd shape. Sure, its round, but the cross-sectional shape of the steering wheel grip surface gives a fairly sharp ridge where your palms are. There was never a comfortable way to grip the wheel for any driving. For twisty mountain road driving, I use the wheel to brace my weight under heavy braking or press my back into the seat under heavy cornering. I chose a 30-mile twisty road out to the coast and half-way through, I was sorry I did. I didn’t even know it was possible to become fatigued from a steering wheel that dug into your palms as you drove the car. That’s two retro failures right there. That steering wheel is just so bad.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro Interior

There were also ‘faux’ paddle shifters. The paddle-shifter-looking bumps that stick up from on the steering wheel spokes with the “+” and “-“ indicators are not actually paddle shifters. Instead they are indicators to let you know that there are button shifters there on the back-side of the spokes. Button shifters? Really? And no, shifting is not fast using the buttons; lethargic, maybe.

(Continued on page 2)

By Bill Clark

Pros:

• Fun to drive
• Voice activated navigation helps keeps eyes on the road
• Concert-hall 10-speaker stereo
• Luxuriously appointed interior

Cons:

• FIRM ride
• That turbo is thirsty!
• Minimal cargo room
• Front fascia styling only a mother could love

Just when I thought there was no hope for the crossover segment, Acura introduces the game-changing 2010 RDX with a fresh new exterior look, a more luxurious interior, and a host of new technology features. The 2010 RDX is now available with a two-wheel drive option which offers improved fuel economy and a lower price point over its SH-AWD™ counterpart.

Styling
OK, Acura…  Let’s get the bad out of the way so we can get on with the good stuff.  What’s the deal with your visual branding “power plenum grill” that has plagued your car line? You have damaged the looks of one of the most handsome lines of cars out there. I have not yet met anyone who thinks it’s attractive. Enough on that.  The rest of the exterior styling is great – the sheet metal looks very fluid and dramatic. The updates to the rear-end styling for 2010 are great.  Acura has really perfected the appearance from the rear.

Driving Impressions
All RDX models come with a 240 hp, 2.3L turbocharged, direct-injection, 4-cylinder engine with i-VTEC™ (intelligent Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control). I had the pleasure of driving the lighter-weight 2WD version. The ride is firm, but the RDX is quite nimble when slicing through the turns. I was impressed by how the RDX drives more like a sports sedan than an SUV. Potential RDX buyers will be elated to know that there is no significant loss of the driving feel when comparing the all-wheel drive system to the front-wheel drive alternative.

The technology package, which brings voice-activated navigation, rearview camera, real-time traffic and weather, 10-speaker surround w/subwoofer, and dual zone, GPS-enabled climate control, provides a generous level of comfort and convenience. The RDX felt like a perfect partner in crime… er travel.

The RDX’s small size limits cargo capacity, but the car is just so nimble and agile, the small size turns out to be one of its assets. It’s also deceptively quick.  If you are first in line at the traffic signal, a few seconds after getting the green you are already separated from the rest of the pack as they continue to shrink in your rear-view mirror.

Acura’s quality Michelin tire choice and substantial sound damping help with the exceptionally quiet ride.  This is the quietest Honda/Acura I have ever driven. A small amount of wind noise creeps through at freeway speeds, but it’s remarkably quiet overall.

The primary sound you hear is some sexy engine noise under brisk acceleration – Acura engineered that sound and I can appreciate it immensely; it doesn’t happen by accident. The engine makes a nice growl along with a little wisp of turbo spool.  It’s intoxicating and addicting!

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
I loved the nicely perforated, supportive and heated leather seats. They are a bit on the firm side, but I felt great even after long trips and I think they’ll hold up to years of use.  There’s a lot going on with the dash, but its well worth the effort to learn it.

After taking a minute to study the layout, I found the buttons easy to decipher. There are four basic button areas: Nav Interface Dial, Audio, Climate control, and steering wheel buttons, and three display areas: Nav Screen, Center display, Multi-Information Display on the speedo cluster.

The center interface dial and surrounding buttons can be used to control navigation, weather, and traffic info; fine-tune the 10-speaker stereo settings including bass, midrange, treble, center and subwoofer volume, all using the navigation screen for visual feedback.

Below the interface dial, you’ll find basic radio controls in a typical half-din style interface.  You can control volume, select sources and presets, load CD’s, seek/scan, and and there is an analog, audio Aux-in jack. There is a USB connector in the center armrest console and the iPhone/iPod controls work great.

Flanking the Interface Dial area are the Dual-zone, GPS-enabled, sun-position-sensing climate controls. That’s the wordy-way of saying it keeps you and your passenger comfortable no matter what. You can set and forget the temperature controls.  The temp and fan-speed feedback display is near the windshield next to the ubiquitous, yet expanded Honda/Acura digital clock (called the ‘center display’). This display also shows audio system status including artist/song titles.

There’s a small multi-information display at the bottom of the center speedometer gauge.  Use this display along with steering wheel buttons to personalize basic car options.  Do you want the doors to unlock when you shift into park?  How long do you want the auto headlights to remain on after you exit the vehicle? Do you want to enable hands-free Bluetooth? All of these can be done with the multi-information display.

I need to take a few sentences to praise the voice-activated Navigation.  For one, you can operate it while driving without taking your eyes off the road.  There are a host of voice-commands you can speak to it, making it infinitely useful.

On your way to your destination, you decide you need gas. You press a button on the steering wheel and say “Find nearest gas station” or “Find nearest fast food” in a couple seconds; the Nav display lists search results on the screen.

Not wanting you to take your eyes off of the road to read the list, you twist the Interface Dial and the Nav reads out the listing to you; “Chevron”, “Shell”, or “In-n-out burger”, Taco Bell”.  You press the Interface dial when you hear the one you want and the nav asks if you want to ‘set as new destination’ or ‘set as a way point’ on your current route.  You select “add as waypoint” with the Interface Dial and the voice-assisted nav guides you there.

I just can’t get over how easy and intuitive it is.  Nissan, GM, and others should take note of what Acura has done with their navigation.  Oh, and you can use your voice to control almost every function of the car – audio, climate control – you just need to learn to use the proper vernacular.

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By Bill Clark

Pros:

• Easy on the eyes
• Easy to Operate
• Easy on the wallet

Cons:

• Forward A-pillar and large side view mirrors create nasty blindspots
• Tire size/type cripples the handling
• Useless coat hangers
• Zoom-zoom completely undetectable

The 2010 Mazda CX-7 looks like a promising package – sharp design, great cargo capacity and it says “Always the Soul of a Sports Car” right there on the window sticker. Sounds like a recipe for success to me.

I have never driven a Mazda before this review so I really didn’t know what to expect, but I was looking forward to experiencing the zoom-zoom. We tested the i Sport model, dressed in Liquid Silver Metallic, and outfitted with a new economical and efficient 2.5L, 161 hp, 4-cylinder engine option. Upon my first entry into the driver’s seat I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to operate; I felt like I’d owned it for years.  Some cars take a concerted effort to figure out. You know the ones in which you have to pull over and study the owner’s manual just to figure out how to operate the HVAC controls. Then there’s the CX-7.  So intuitive, so easy. Maybe it’s the Japanese ergonomics that made it seem so familiar.

Styling
Mazda decided to give their entire vehicle line a dose of styling DNA that they could call their own.  Audi started the visual branding campaign and arguably they have some of the best looking cars on the road. But Audi started with a great looking design and went from there.  Mazda uses a lot of styling cues that started with the RX-8 and those features never sat well with me in the first place.

Mazda took a fairly large vehicle here and made it look not-so-big.  One optical illusion is its massive, radically raked windshield. It definitely adds to the aggressive, sleek look but one of my passengers hit their head on the sloping A-pillar while trying to get up into the front seat – those crossover seats are much higher off the ground than a regular sedan so watch your head as you step up into the high-perched seats.

The CX-7 has to be the happiest looking vehicle I have come across, but that gaping front grille is borderline cheesy. It leans towards über-trendy, maybe even edgy, which means in a decade we’ll be asking, “What were they thinking?” I never liked the lumpy fenders and swoopy, smiley grill of the RX-8 and I certainly don’t like them on the CX-7. But overall I’d have to say the styling is distinctly Mazda.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
I took delivery of the CX-7 at night courtesy of the winter solstice and the resulting depressingly-short daylight hours.  This is actually a good test of a car’s ergonomics. Can I operate it in the dark? Seat adjustments – check. Side mirrors and steering wheel adjustments – check. Making myself comfortable and preparing for the drive – mission accomplished.

The HVAC and radio controls are all laid out in a logical fashion and everything was where I expected it to be. The larger knobs/buttons are used for the more commonly used functions such as temperature and fan control.  A tweak of the climate-control knob results in an immediate change to the multi-information display which made the system feel well-connected.

The double-decker dash is a bit odd looking. The nice part about it is that the Mazda engineers placed both multi-information displays under that first dash deck.  It was nice having the visual feedback at eye-level and a couple feet forward. Your eyes can get the information while barely taking them off the road and with minimal refocusing. One of those displays doubles as a back-up camera display, which I like to see on all cars.

Overall the interior seating legroom seemed decent in front, but quite small in the rear for its class size.  Rear seat passengers were cramped even with the front seat moved forward for my 5’5” frame.  I was never able to get completely comfortable in the seats – they were just not my shape – even with adjustment they just didn’t feel right.

Cargo capacity is great and even better with the rear seats folded down, yielding a grand total of 58.6 cubic feet.  The rear seats fold down from the trunk by pulling what looks like an interior door handle on the side walls. The seatbacks just plop down under spring-pressure – that was really convenient. I experimented with filling the rear cargo area just to see how much this compact crossover SUV can fit. I was able to load my road bike with room to spare.  On another occasion I was able to easily fit two snowboards and luggage with room to spare. Nifty.

Minor quibble: I spent 20 minutes looking for the brightness setting for the left information display screen and the dimmer for the gauges before giving up and consulting the manual. Once I consulted the manual I was able to operate it, but I would have NEVER found it on my own. Normally not a big deal, but when switching on the headlights during the day, the left display screen dimmed out of sight.

Not so minor quibble: That radically-sloped windshield and massive side rear-view mirrors sure make some massive blind spots. It’s really bad.  Be extra observant when making a left from any intersection.

Driving Impressions
This car is very easy to drive.  The power steering is heavily assisted and requires very little effort. The brakes can be operated forcefully with fairly light pedal pressure, yet they still modulate very well.

Within 5 minutes, I noticed the binary seat heaters. I call them binary because they have only two settings – off and HOT.  They are great for knocking the morning chill off quickly, but after 5 minutes they are unbearably hot and must be switched off – unless you like your buns well-done.

Wind-noise is kept at bay, even at highway speeds, but road-noise was ever-present. This could be due to insufficient sound damping on the floorboards, but I think the light-truck tires are not helping here.  I even checked the tire tread for feathering or uneven wear – they were wearing just fine – they’re just loud.

Mazda did a nice job with engine counterbalancing.  The 2.5 liter 4-cylinder engine is very smooth throughout the RPM range. You hardly feel it running.  However, the sounds that the engine makes are not pleasant at all. It sounds like a muted, gas-powered leaf blower when you step on it.

Going down the highway, the suspension seems well-damped and it handles medium-to-large bumps well, but the impact from small bumps is somehow transmitted to the cabin. You’d think that with 70-series tires, this would be well muted, but maybe this is a side-effect of the light-truck tires.

Handling
The CX-7 is pretty well composed when driven conservatively; but its handling is completely numb.  Body-roll feels tamed for gradual sweeping corners and it feels good until the skinny tires give up the ghost. Around sharp, low-speed corners, the car just feels like it rolls over on the front tire. The  P215/70 R17 are on the small side for any meaningful grip and the 70-series tires allow the car to lean considerably in the corners even though small bumps are transmitted through to the cabin.  Those tire widths and compounds don’t provide much ultimate grip for a 3,600 lb vehicle with a high center of gravity. I’m still wondering where that sports-car soul is.

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By Bill Clark

Pros:

• Bavarian-like ride and handling!
• Comfy leather seats
• Interior and exterior styling
• Programmable power lift gate

Cons:

• Feels underpowered even with the upgraded V6
• Torque steer when driven hard (front wheel drive model)
• Terrible ergonomics and User interface for electronics

Station wagons carry lots of stuff and drive like regular cars, but they have been labeled the most uncool cars in the world. People seem to avoid them like the plague. Large SUVs are great, but synonymous with gas guzzling and poor handling – and many are based on rough-riding truck chassis. There’s a great middle-ground called the crossover segment and Chevy has made a valiant effort to capture their fair share of this emerging market with the newly restyled Equinox. I’d go so far as to say they’ve built a crossover that can legitimately compete with the popular Japanese and European offerings. Really!

Styling

The exterior styling of the revamped Equinox represents a major step forward in thinking for Chevy. They have done away with the bulky, add-on plastic, after-thought styling that was distinctly and unfortunately ‘GM’ for many years. The previous generation Equinox just looked wrong from day one. The new Equinox has a sculpted, sleek, classy look. This car literally turned a few heads – including my own. With such a radical departure from the usual Chevy styling, I felt the car deserved an updated, revised Chevy logo to match. The dark-blue metallic paint was stunning and they used a tasteful amount of chrome accents to provide a very pleasing contrast and to set off styling cues. Any exterior plastic trim pieces had a nice diamond pattern texture to them. They really nailed the styling on this car. My only gripe was the cool-looking projector-beam headlights use incandescent light sources behind them – No Xenon or HID lights here.

Chevy also gave the interior a complete 180-degree makeover. It looks like nothing Chevy has offered before at this price point. No more modular, bulbous, interior features. Once seated inside, you are treated to graceful, sweeping lines, satin-finished aluminum accents and a tasteful dash of chrome here and there. Dash and door trim is attractive and flowing. The Equinox I had the pleasure of driving was the LTZ version which meant it had very nice looking two-tone leather seats to match the two-tone dash. I’d go so far as to call the interior exciting! You just feel like you’re sitting in something special.

Driving Impressions

Over the weekend, we went hiking at Mt. Tamalpais State Park. Of course we grabbed the keys to the Equinox (just because it looked so good) and left the family SUV at home. We took 101 from the South Bay area up through San Francisco and then over a very twisty part of Highway 1 to Mt Tam.

The Equinox had rock-solid tracking on the freeway – just like the family SUV. The ride is just slightly on the firm side – not in a jarring way, but in a way that gives you the sense that the car is very stable and planted in a confidence inspiring way. I love that kind of ‘firm’.

The crossover is remarkably quiet at freeway speeds. You can actually carry on conversations using your ‘inside voice’. This is in part due to the low rolling-resistance tires which offer better gas mileage and reduced road noise, but I think the chassis is very well sound-damped too. Side effects of the tires seemed to include a slight ‘tramline’ sensation on grooved freeway pavement, but that’s a very minor quibble.

The innocent by-product of a car engineered to be quiet is a muted engine. Other manufacturers have been engineering engine sounds back into the vehicle cabin. There is some engine noise with this car, but it’s not pretty. It sounds like a muffled coffee grinder. Someone tell Chevy that some intake noise under heavy acceleration is sexy and acceptable.

Through the streets of San Francisco, which are anything but smooth, the car displayed remarkable composure. It did a great job of isolating the occupants from the shock of the potholes, trolley tracks, and other pavement irregularities that San Francisco is infamous for.

Handling

This is nothing like the family SUV! I figured the fun would be over when we got to the twisty turns of Highway 1 just north of San Francisco. Rather, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Equinox tackled the corners. The more I pushed the car around the corners, the more shocked I became at how well it stuck to the road. No doubt the 18-inch 235/55 rubber all around helped out here, but the chassis was so stiff and the suspension so well-controlled that you could really push the car and it stayed planted. The chassis exhibited very little body roll, even when pushed hard. Well past the point where my passengers let me know they’d had enough, but well before the car communicated any such message itself. The car was very responsive to steering inputs and was just a joy to drive around Mt Tam. In summary, I’ll say it has strong Bavarian handling traits. Thank you, GM Chassis/Suspension engineers!

Engine/Drivetrain Performance

When I took delivery of the car, I was told that it had an upgrade package which included a 264HP 3.0 liter V6 that revs to 7k RPMs (a $1,500 option). Sweet! What enthusiast doesn’t love an engine upgrade? The gearbox was listed as an auto, but with six forward gears and a manual gear select mode. Sure sounds fun. There’s nothing like a high-revving engine with a close ratio transmission to pump up the fun quotient.

Unfortunately, the fun stopped at the spec sheet. While the car is somewhat quick on paper for its class, it felt a bit sluggish for normal daily driving. It was a bit of work to get it to accelerate quickly and you really had to stay high in the power band to keep things interesting. After driving around for a day I actually pulled over to pop the hood. Is there really a V6 in there? It feels more like a peaky 4-banger. Yep, there’s the V6. Hmm…

At highway speeds, the 6-speed automatic takes its sweet time down-shifting for passing. Press the gas down a ways and it’ll shift from 6th to 5th, but you still have no power. Press the gas more and it’ll downshift to 4th – now you have a little power. If I floor it, I should be able to get some power out of the top of third… Hello? Tranny? The transmission ignores your right foot’s request for more power if it will result in a downshift into the power band (Say over 4.5k RPMs). I guess they wanted to control the torque steer. If you really wanna go there, put the shifter in manual mode and toggle the gear select thumb switch on the shifter and tell the car you want third gear – OK, now you have some passing power.

When your not demanding power from the motor, it does drive quite nicely. But if you want to pass, use manual mode, which still has a delay do down shift, but just flooring it still takes about 3 seconds for it to downshift.

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By Bill Clark

Pros:

• New styling looks great
• It’s big
• Very well-appointed – even in base trim
• All things Subaru – affordable, practical, all-wheel drive
• Very comfortable road car

Cons

• Lethargic engine – especially at freeway speeds
• Leans like a wet noodle when pushed hard around corners

Don’t tell the Editors, but let’s just say I was less than enthusiastic when I was told I would be testing the new 2010 Subaru Legacy sedan. While I reluctantly waited outside the house for the demo vehicle to be delivered, a number of cars drove by, including a very sharp, muscular, modern-looking sedan. The sedan slows in front of me while I am taking a long look at it – ‘nice’, I think to myself. Then I notice the Subaru emblem on the front grille. Wait… What? Is that it? That’s a Subaru? Well, things are looking up! Let’s just say the word ‘new’ does not do the car justice – I’d say transformed!

Driving Impressions
The base 2.5i model comes with a very long list of technical features. Most notable are its Symmetrical AWD, PZEV status, VDC, CVT automatic transmission and… paddle shifters? Heh – yeah, that made me chuckle too. Paddle shifters on a 4-cylinder with CVT? Blasphemy! What’s the point? I couldn’t wait to give this thing a workout and give it all the bad press it deserves… more on that later.

The base-model 2.5i has plenty of grunt to get you moving around town. Also a revelation for someone with little experience behind an AWD car is that you can accelerate around tight corners enthusiastically!

The 2.5i is lacking a bit on power at freeway speeds, but just recall the EPA ratings of 23 MPG city and 31 MPG highway in a roomy, mid-sized car and it all makes economical sense. Load up with passengers and luggage and point it uphill at highway speeds and it’s just anemic. If that bothers you, there are two other models available for a bit more coin – a 2.5GT with a 2.5-liter DOHC intercooled, turbocharged 4-cylinder horizontally opposed SUBARU BOXER^® engine – the same engine used in the WRX STI – good for 265HP and 258 lb-ft of torque. For those drivers who think size is king and want a transmission with real gears, they can opt for the 3.6R with a normally aspirated 3.6-liter DOHC 6-cylinder horizontally opposed SUBARU BOXER® engine and 5-speed SPORTSHIFT automatic with downshift rev-matching control. Either of those models should provide more zip and go on the highway or anywhere else. The price of entry on the 3.6R jumps to $24,995 and the 2.5GT Turbo jumps to $27,995. You gotta pay to play!

Handling is also a mixed bag. The suspension felt a bit clunky on certain small, square-edged bumps , but overall very smooth for most driving situations. The Legacy leans more towards freeway and boulevard cruising than canyon carving.

Build
This is a very solid-feeling car. The doors shut with a solid “thunk” and there’s not a hint of rattle or buzzing anywhere. The doors are also very lightweight and well-sealed so a bit of effort while shutting them is needed.

There are some nice touches like an electronic parking brake. That’s right; you can set the e-brake at the touch of a button. To release the e-brake, place your foot on the brake pedal and gently “pull” that same button. Kind of odd that they made a pull button for the e-brake release – like we are not used to the same button for on and off behavior. Or maybe for those that really like the pull-to-release e-brake and have a hard time learning buttons versus handles. At least there’s an idiot mode if you forget to release the brake – just start driving and it releases itself.

The CVT is very smooth under normal operation, but I found that it lags a bit shifting from drive to reverse and back to drive – as when making a 3-point turn – just make sure you are not in a hurry when doing so. Also when the engine and CVT tranny are cold, I detect a slight bit of chatter shifting between drive and reverse. Under normal driving, the CVT tranny gives a faint turbine noise like that of a jet engine. After a few hours I was used to it and never noticed it again. It was still there, but was completely unobtrusive – just a new sound.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
Subaru used quality looking and feeling materials throughout the cabin. The front seats were neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. Weird, I know… They can be best described as crunchy on the outside and squishy on the inside. Like they used a layer of firm foam to hold a shape on the outside and underneath, they used very soft foam. Either way, they always felt too big for my small frame – like I was sitting in a seat made for my big brother. But they did not bother me after extended driving so they weren’t too bad.

The rear seats are decently comfy and Subaru provided a fold-down center armrest with cup holders, but the story in the back seat is that there are FOUR more inches of rear leg room over the outgoing model. Combine that with the scalloped backs on the front seats and you get a car that can comfortably hold four full-sized adults. You can leave that “you must be this short to ride in the back seat” sign at home. Thank you, Subaru…

The trunk is among best in class at 14.7 cubic feet and the rear seats fold down so that you can take large objects with you. Oh, and this is not one of those cars where you fold down 5-foot wide seatbacks only to reveal a two-foot-wide pass-through to the trunk. You really get a huge opening to the trunk with the seats folded down. To illustrate this point, I put my 52cm road bike in the trunk fully assembled!

The steering wheel is perfect, in my book. They used a nice and thick grip on the wheel. The spokes are longer and the center airbag unit is smaller. This allowed for top-left thumb buttons side-by-side for volume and preset select – the most commonly used buttons. Oh, and the steering wheel is tilting AND telescopic – very nice.

The center console reminded me a bit of a smallish barrel. The radio controls were a bit high and the volume knob was a bit small for even my small hands, but I prefer using the steering wheel controls anyway. Dual-zone automatic climate control si only available with some trims, but the manual HVAC controls are simple, intuitive, and effective. I have driven cars before whose auto climate controls can only be decoded when stopped and studying the layout, so the simplicity here was appreciated. The A/C cooled down the hot, sun-baked interior in no time.

The base stereo isn’t much to write home about, but I will tell you to leave the bass setting at zero. It sounds like it is centered at 125Hz and bumping it up will induce clipping. If you want to hear the bass, use the menu button on the left side of the unit and scroll through until you get to “CS-auto” and select 1 for normal to loud listening and 2 to hear the bass with low volume. The manual talks about some phantom center speaker hocus-pocus, but it’s mostly a bass-boost at around 60 Hz.

A nice touch to the stereo is that after turning it off or shutting the engine off, the music gently fades away rather than instant full-off or full-on. There’s also a steering-wheel mounted mute button that provides the same effect.

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