2016 LEXUS RX
2016 ACURA NSX
2016 CADILLAC CT6
2016 HONDA CIVIC CONCEPT
2016 CHEVROLET MALIBU
2016 MAZDA MX - 5 MIATA
Friday, September 18, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
2015 TOYOTA 4RUNNER TRD PRO REVIEW
Toyota's 4Runner TRD Pro is an unstoppable off-road limousine
Comfortable, cool, and effortlessly capable, Toyota’s 4Runner TRD Pro is one of very few SUVs you can drive off the lot and up a mountain the same afternoon
The Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro is a fresh-water fish within a salt-water sea of stilted crossovers. It was built for a specific purpose, and yet it looks so menacing and, bluntly, badass, that it is forced out of its element and onto suburban streets
Yes, the TRD Pro packaging is engineered to handle the roads less traveled, but buyers who scoff at lifted pickup trucks might find the angry-eyed glare and increased ride height of the 4Runner TRD Pro to be a perfect injection of “cool” for around-town errand-running
But that’s not the review you’re about to read. If you want to know how the Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro handles grocery runs and soccer practice commutes, a simple Google search will fulfill your quest. No, I took the Pro to its natural habitat and let it show me why it belongs in the company of some of the most capable from-the-factory rigs you can buy
More than a lift kit
The 2015 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro packs an impressive list of upgrades for an SUV that is already hugely capable off-road. On board are 17-inch TRD alloy wheels coated in a black finish and wrapped in 31.5-inch Nitto Terra Grappler tires, red Eibach springs, TRD Bilstein shocks with a rear remote reservoir and an additional inch of suspension travel all around, and a TRD aluminum front skid plate. These features complement the 4Runner “Trail” grade’s locking rear differential, automatic traction control system with crawl-assist, multi-terrain selection controls, front and rear ventilated disc brakes, and front and rear stabilizer bars. As for the aesthetics, the 4Runner TRD Pro receives unique badging, black exterior accents, darkened LED taillights, a TRD shift knob and TRD Pro floor mats. For all the above, you’ll have to shell out $41,995, including destination, but as I would discover, the TRD Pro package delivers whatever you ask of it when the road gets rough
In summary, the 4Runner TRD Pro has the hardware to tackle most any terrain
Inside, you’re treated to SofTex heated leather-ish seats, a 6.1-inch (small these days) infotainment screen with Bluetooth calling and audio, two USB ports, an AUX inlet, navigation, a backup camera, and a suite of Toyota in-car apps. In terms of utility, the 4Runner has seating for five, fold-flat rear seats, and 89 cubic feet of available storage. That translates to plenty of room for four large gentlemen and a weekend’s worth of food and camping gear — I was happy to be the test subject for that experiment
Related: Toyota Land Cruiser gets more tech and an eight-speed auto for 2016
On the highway en route to Big Bear Mountain, the Toyota 4Runner TRD was wonderfully comfortable, with a touch of tire drift and hum as is common with oversized rubber. The brake pedal has a somewhat squishy feel, but foot-to-the-floor and the 4Runner TRD Pro comes promptly to a halt. The hydraulic power steering is quick (2.7 turns lock-to-lock) and accurate, with more than enough feedback for on and off-road purposes. No complaints about the seats either – they were supportive, cushioned for long or short hauls, and once the road became rough, they proved their quality
Styling is unquestionably polarizing. My “Super White” 4Runner TRD Pro sported the Storm Trooper look with a face that either haunts or excites. For my part, I felt cool just standing near the truck, and ten feet tall once nestled into the driver’s seat. After so much time spent in sedans, I forget how pleasant it is to look over other vehicles instead of through them, and off-road, you can spot tricky sections of terrain much earlier. Visibility is also excellent, both beyond and around the hood as you navigate rough roads, and over your shoulder as you change lanes on the highway
Inside, you’re treated to SofTex heated leather-ish seats, a 6.1-inch (small these days) infotainment screen with Bluetooth calling and audio, two USB ports, an AUX inlet, navigation, a backup camera, and a suite of Toyota in-car apps. In terms of utility, the 4Runner has seating for five, fold-flat rear seats, and 89 cubic feet of available storage. That translates to plenty of room for four large gentlemen and a weekend’s worth of food and camping gear — I was happy to be the test subject for that experiment
Related: Toyota Land Cruiser gets more tech and an eight-speed auto for 2016
On the highway en route to Big Bear Mountain, the Toyota 4Runner TRD was wonderfully comfortable, with a touch of tire drift and hum as is common with oversized rubber. The brake pedal has a somewhat squishy feel, but foot-to-the-floor and the 4Runner TRD Pro comes promptly to a halt. The hydraulic power steering is quick (2.7 turns lock-to-lock) and accurate, with more than enough feedback for on and off-road purposes. No complaints about the seats either – they were supportive, cushioned for long or short hauls, and once the road became rough, they proved their quality
Styling is unquestionably polarizing. My “Super White” 4Runner TRD Pro sported the Storm Trooper look with a face that either haunts or excites. For my part, I felt cool just standing near the truck, and ten feet tall once nestled into the driver’s seat. After so much time spent in sedans, I forget how pleasant it is to look over other vehicles instead of through them, and off-road, you can spot tricky sections of terrain much earlier. Visibility is also excellent, both beyond and around the hood as you navigate rough roads, and over your shoulder as you change lanes on the highway
Has my “livability review” quota been fulfilled yet? Good. Now to the rough stuff
Monday, September 14, 2015
2015 MINI COOPER S FOUR DOOR REVIEW
The Mini Cooper S is a toy for grownups, and that's a wonderful thing
The Mini Cooper S is a go-kart disguised as a daily driver, with all the fun and impractical implications that come with it
It’s hard to call the Mini Cooper S four-door a car. Sure it looks like a car, with wheels, an engine, and even four(!) seats. The Mini can even do all of the things you might expect a car to do, like transport humans and their various possessions from place to place but calling the Mini a car is missing the point, really. It’s a toy for grownups; and before I am deluged with angry comments, that’s not a bad thing
It’s hard to call the Mini Cooper S four-door a car. Sure it looks like a car, with wheels, an engine, and even four(!) seats. The Mini can even do all of the things you might expect a car to do, like transport humans and their various possessions from place to place but calling the Mini a car is missing the point, really. It’s a toy for grownups; and before I am deluged with angry comments, that’s not a bad thing
As with most cars not made by Honda or Toyota, the Mini is about much more than just practicality. The difference is that, where other cars make pretenses that they are practical or dignified, the Mini is all about fun, and remember: this car was made by Germans, so that is really saying something
It’s a me! Mini-Kart
The Mini Cooper S’s power and acceleration figures don’t jump off the page, but that hides some truly sublime qualities
For starters, there is the 2.0-liter turbocharged firecracker under the bonnet. The little four cylinder may push out only a 189 horsepower, but the 207 pound feet of torque in the small Mini feel like they came out of a Dodge Hellcat. Mated to a six-speed automatic, this package will push the Mini Cooper S to sixty in 6.2 seconds
Still, probably the best thing in the Mini’s performance arsenal is the steering. For starters, it is racecar quick, with a mere 2.5 turns to lock. It also has some of the best feedback and loading of any electric power steering systems I have used. The result is that, despite being only marginally smaller than a Golf GTI, the Mini Cooper S feels like a racing go-kart half the VW ‘s size
Still, probably the best thing in the Mini’s performance arsenal is the steering. For starters, it is racecar quick, with a mere 2.5 turns to lock. It also has some of the best feedback and loading of any electric power steering systems I have used. The result is that, despite being only marginally smaller than a Golf GTI, the Mini Cooper S feels like a racing go-kart half the VW ‘s size
On back-roads, this makes the Mini more fun than 3.2 barrels of monkeys. The problem is that the Mini just can’t give up on the go-kart impression even on the daily commute. The incredibly stiff suspension and chassis that make the Cooper S take corners flat and level create a bone jarring ride on uneven urban pavement, and the fast steering creates jittery movements and transient responses. In a less-than-practical sports car like the Alfa Romeo 4C, these sorts of flaws would just be a cost of doing business, but in a fashionable city runabout, the sporting character seems frankly a bit extreme
All about that Bass
The interior and styling of the Mini Cooper are as extreme as its driving characteristics. Short of cars made by insane companies like Pagani, the Mini Cooper has just about the most styled interior you can find. There is the standard collection of retro touches, including round gauges and the massive round infotainment cluster, and more toggle switches than you can shake a vintage stick at
There is more than just kitsch to the interior. The designers, seem to have a 1958-inspired mentality when it comes ot the interior LED lighting. Everything in the inside has lights on it – the door sills, the infotainment screen bezel, the footwell – everything. In fact, the interior of the cabin is so bright as to be a hassle during night driving. I found my night vision was instantly cooked if I looked away from the windshield
Still, I can’t say that I dislike the interior. Its aggressive styling may be a turnoff for some, but for a car that is made or broken on how it looks and feels, the cabin had to be extreme. Fortunately, unlike some other extreme vehicles the Mini Cooper’s interior is at least made of quality materials and very well put together
A fact that is highlighted by the earth trembling, bone pulverizing, car alarm activating stereo. The epic Meridian-sourced stereo may be capable of setting off more seismographs than a stadium full of drunk Seahawks fans, but the interior holds up without so much as a rattle or squeak
Don’t think that this means that you will be able to share your massive speakers with more than one of your friends, because any adult with a complete set of limbs will never manage to squeeze in the back seat
No Comparison
Those crowded back seats bring me back to my original point, namely that the Mini Cooper, even in its four door guise isn’t really a car. After all, it is tempting to compare the Mini to something like a Golf GTI and wonder why you are getting less car for significantly more money
This kind of comparison isn’t fair, because the Golf GTI wants to be a car, and the Mini wants to be a fashion item. After all, a reusable grocery bag is larger and more durable than Coach handbag, but we all understand why the handbag costs more.
Like that handbag, the Mini nominally has a practical purpose, but really the reason to buy it is that almost entirely divorced from it. This might limit the people who would consider buying a Mini, but the people who will are going to appreciate every last LED light and vintage line. Looking at it that way, it’s almost a good deal
Like that handbag, the Mini nominally has a practical purpose, but really the reason to buy it is that almost entirely divorced from it. This might limit the people who would consider buying a Mini, but the people who will are going to appreciate every last LED light and vintage line. Looking at it that way, it’s almost a good deal
2015 RANGE ROVER SPORT SUPERCHARGED REVIEW
Range Rover's voracious Supercharged Sport is like a towering, 7-seat supercar
The supercharged Range Rover Sport is one of the top dogs in the fight for sport SUV superiority, with stunning sports-car handling and staggering off-road capabilities
“Well, now we’re in trouble,” I thought as the Range Rover Sport slid backwards down a sand dune, inconveniently littered with pine trees. It looked like the kind folks at Land Rover had made a terrible mistake sending me out to the dunes of Sand Lake, Oregon
Even their thoughtful inclusion of a hardened, off-road driving instructor was not enough to get us out of the predicament — this expert’s best efforts to un-beach the car from where I had gotten it stuck were of no avail. We stepped out of the vehicle to find the Sport buried to its skid plates in sand, perilously close to sliding its flawless paint into a tree. I thought that I had finally found something this heretofore impeccable vehicle couldn’t do
I won’t leave you in suspense: We didn’t die of starvation in the sand, and we weren’t eaten by marauding ATV riders (in fact some stopped to help). That is because, despite the grim situation, I was very wrong about the Range Rover Sport — it can do anything
Does it all
It took some digging and airing down of the conspicuously out of place street performance tires, but in a surprisingly short amount of time, the Sport and its insane 510-horsepower powerplant were soon howling up the 30-degree slope with a vengeance. This experience was simply a repeat of my entire week with the Range Rover Sport: Every time I thought I had finally showed it up, it struck back
On the sand, that meant I found myself doing massive powerslides in a $90,000 luxury SUV that most customers will use to get from the local Whole Foods to soccer practice. The sensation of looking back and seeing a massive, 50-foot long rooster tail of sand — and an army of stunned onlookers — was enough to leave me giddy. And that was before I even mention the noise
The 5.0-liter supercharged V8 lurking beneath the Range Rover’s hood howls like a T.rex on meth. Slapping down the throttle out on the sand creates a choking torrent of noise so loud that the world seems to be coming to an end
It isn’t all powerslides and high-speed shenanigans, either. Despite the eventual mess I would get the car in, the Sport has the ability to master just about any terrain. The driver interacts with the off-roading tech through the Terrain Response system, a knob that rises out of the center console. This can be set to specific types of terrain such as mud, snow, or sand, each depicted with its own inscrutable pictogram. The lazy and incompetent (such as yours truly) can always leave the system in auto, allowing the onboard systems to dictate settings for the diff, traction control, and suspension
I was convinced we were in for it then, and in most vehicles we would have been. But in fact, once we dug away some sand with the help of a few friendly ATV riders and aired the tires down to the point they were resting on their sidewalls, the mighty Range Rover roared away up the slope
This was an impressive feat, but where the mighty Sport truly surprises is on the road
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