2021 Toyota Camry XLE Hybrid Fixes Some Minor Flaws
While it still won’t raise your blood pressure, the new Camry has a fresh face, an updated infotainment system, and a lower price. More
113 Shares149 Views
in Car Reviews
While it still won’t raise your blood pressure, the new Camry has a fresh face, an updated infotainment system, and a lower price. More
63 Shares99 Views
in Car Reviews
From the January 2002 issue of Car and Driver.
Some people are just never meant to be rich. Charlie Steen was probably one of them. The Texan’s troubles began almost at the moment the slug of gray rock from his Mi Vida mine pegged the Geiger counter at Buddy Cowger’s gas station in Cisco, Utah.
It was July 18, 1952, a time when Americans believed they would soon be winging to work in uranium-powered saucers and baking meatloaf by the glow of the same fission keeping our enemies at bay. Weary of overpaying for South African uranium, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was eager to find a domestic supply. Any miner who tapped a vein on the Colorado Plateau got $10,000 cash, plus $8 for every pound of high-grade ore in it. To sweeten the deal, government geologists combed the plateau and pointed prospectors toward promising sites. If a vein were discovered, the AEC would bulldoze a road through on the taxpayers’ nickel. The AEC’s dangled carrot and Steen’s discovery of the huge Mi Vida lode sparked the biggest mineral rush of the past century. Doctors, accountants, school teachers, and assorted opportunists dropped everything to head for Utah wielding nothing more than an AEC pamphlet on uranium prospecting and a store-bought Geiger counter.
Every New 2020 Subcompact Crossover SUV Ranked
Best SUVs and Crossovers of 2020
Every 2021 Compact SUV Ranked from Worst to Best
By 1969, the nation’s uranium stocks were overflowing, but atomic saucers were in short supply. Steen’s fortune had disappeared into bad investments, lawsuits, and tax-fraud indictments, thousands of investors had been bilked with dubious claims, miners were dying of cancer, and the formerly pristine sandstone deserts of Utah were blotched with toxic mine tailings and scribbled with more than 900 miles of crude roads. The White Rim Road, a 100-mile billy-goat path of sand and slickrock built to service uranium dog holes on the 3000-foot-high Island in the Sky mesa about 350 miles west of Denver, is perhaps the best thing to come out of it all. It traces the bleached cliffs of the arrowhead-shaped mesa, overlooking the Colorado and Green rivers as they meander southward in vast gorges every bit as grand as the Grand Canyon. The two rivers converge at the pointy bottom of the mesa and head off for the craggy inlets of Lake Powell.
Jeepers, mountain bikers, and other worshippers of Kokopelli, the flute-tooting Hopi glyph that is the de facto god of desert stuff, have gravitated to the White Rim and the nearby town of Moab in the years since Pres. Lyndon Johnson dedicated Canyonlands National Park on September 12, 1964. Bring just $30 and the Park Service will sell you a permit to ride the White Rim, but come in a “high-clearance four-wheel-drive,” or you’ll be viewing Canyonland’s rocky chasms, skyscraping buttes, and wispy spires shoulder to shoulder with herds of slow-moving retirees at the park’s few paved overlooks. It so happens that the two most respected names in off-roading, Jeep and Land Rover, are launching new small four-wheel-drivers this year. That alone is not unique. What is: Jeep and Land Rover actually build the little utes for forays into the wild toolies, and going places you can’t get to in a BMW M5 is the best reason to buy a sport-utility, in our opinion.
Optioned correctly, the base Jeep Liberty Limited Edition and Land Rover Freelander price out to a wash, although our fully loaded (with no options) $32,220 Freelander HSE cost more than our fully loaded Liberty Limited Edition by $3435. Our plan was to compare the Liberty with the more popularly configured but not available for testing Freelander SE, which has a base price of $28,400 and lacks only the HSE’s power sunroof, the fancier Alpaca Beige leather, a Harman/Kardon stereo with six-CD changer and built-in navigation system, and 17-inch wheels.
All Freelanders, including the cloth-upholstered $25,600 Freelander S and the base leather-upholstered SE, have the same 174-hp, 2.5-liter V-6 mated to a five-speed automatic and viscous-coupled single-speed four-wheel-drive system. Suspension of the unitized body is by sturdy long-travel struts, and a thick aluminum skid plate keeps the engine safe from accidental mineral deposits.
The Jeep Liberty has a beefy cast-iron suspension built for boulder crawling. Our $28,785 Limited Edition was porked up with the $2945 Customer Preferred package, including leather seats, power everything, premium stereo, and the Selec-Trac two-speed four-wheel-drive system with an “auto” setting and low-range gear. Another $700 went for the sunroof, $600 for ABS, $520 for the Off-Road Group (including a limited-slip rear diff, larger tires, various skid plates, tow hooks, and cooling upgrades), $415 for a trunk-mounted CD changer, $390 for supplemental side airbags, $250 for heated seats, $245 for a towing package, and $40 for an engine-block heater. Stripped of nonessential frills (the $2445 Sport Value Group with air conditioning we feel is essential), our Limited’s White Rim badge could be earned with a Liberty Sport for as little as $23,650. Oh, and don’t forget the 30 bucks for the permit.
Second Place: Jeep Liberty Limited Edition
Steen discovered the Mi Vida in an Army-surplus Jeep and would likely find little to fault in the 21st-century model we wheeled onto the plateau.
The front-end styling is straight from the Army manual, and with its cast-iron, independent-front control arms, rigid rear axle, stiff coil springs, and two-speed transfer case, the Liberty is built with such a deep reserve of off-road capability that it’s hard to imagine the typical owner ever tapping it. We didn’t, and we drove up and down the Murphy Hogback, a 1.3-mile cattle trail on the White Rim first cut into the cliffs during World War I by the Murphy brothers.
Highs: Solid-as-granite chassis, nifty cockpit detail, heritage styling.
The Jeep charged along as if it were the reigning stag in the neighborhood. Body flexing was undetectable even as the suspension twisted and strained, the Matterhorn approach and departure angles (38.0 and 32.3 degrees, respectively) kept the ends aloft, and the big Goodyears ripped into the trail like bear claws.
Just 7.8 inches separates the Liberty’s lowest point from the rock, but the taut suspension leverages the truck’s ground clearance better than that of more softly sprung utes, including the Freelander. The transfer case’s 2.72:1 low gear was much appreciated on the long downhill, although the hand-brake-style shifter refused to pass smoothly through the dogleg between neutral and low.
The Liberty’s seats were also voted off the Island. The front-bottom cushions were found too short and lacking in thigh support, the rears were relatively cramped and inhospitable. “My fanny’s aching after only a half-hour,” complained one adventurer.
Lows: 623 more pounds that don’t pull their own weight, unfriendly seats, a head-tossing ride on any surface.
That and the squeeze on footroom due to the transmission tunnel were the biggest gripes about an interior that looks more appropriate to a sports car. Even under the steadily thickening film of red dust, the Limited’s electroplated plastic shimmered elegantly and the trim materials were praised as being of high quality and pleasing to the touch. The huge elliptical door handles were one detail winning particular praise.
The Liberty’s off-road ability comes at the price of comfort, however. Every rock outcropping, slickrock shelf, and vee-shaped wash in the trail pummeled the truck like a small Semtex charge. On the highway the Jeep bounced and shuddered noticeably more than the Freelander with the kind of stiff-legged gambol one equates with an empty pickup.
All the ferrous metal, including the cast-iron engine block, contributes mass that impedes the 4304-pound Liberty’s performance. From 70 mph, the Liberty rolled 209 feet under full braking, 20 more than the Freelander. And with the big 3.7-liter SOHC 12-valve V-6 burning maximum gas, this Liberty needed 10.0 seconds to register 60 mph, just 0.2 second better than the 174-hp–and 623 pounds lighter–Freelander. Our first test of a Liberty Limited ( C/D, August 2001) saw 60 mph flash by in 8.8 seconds, and the discrepancy is explainable only with a guess, such as this later-production example perhaps suffered from a tighter engine.
The Verdict: Fine for folks who commute over the Rubicon, but too rugged for everyone else.
Passing with the Jeep requires forward thinking as the 45RFE four-speed auto pauses for deep breaths before downshifting. The power-to-weight ratio does favor the Liberty over the Freelander, but we’re still disappointed that DaimlerChrysler let the new Jeep’s weight balloon up. The extra pounds don’t pay a dividend anywhere except in off-road athleticism most drivers will never use. Perhaps the Liberty’s designers believed more owners would be like Steen and make their own roads.
2002 Jeep Liberty Limited Edition210-hp V-6, 4-speed automatic, 4304 lbBase/as-tested price: $23,305/$28,785C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 10.0 sec1/4 mile: 17.5 @ 81 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 209 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.70 gC/D observed fuel economy: 16 mpg
First Place: Land Rover Freelander HSE
“Looks kinda low,” opined Canyonlands ranger Alyssa Van Schmus as she peered at the Land Rover with professional skepticism. Behind her was the decidedly not-low Dodge Ram four-by-four the government gives her for rescuing tourists and towing out underachieving rental cars.
We had just hobbled down a rock-strewn spur of the White Rim called the Lathrop Trail to flush the granules from between our toes in the latte-colored Colorado River. Van Schmus and helper Roy Vaughan were there, hacking back the tamarisk in 90-degree heat. It’s a leafy shrub from Asia that arrived with settlers at the turn of the past century. Today it lines every inch of the river like overgrown slivers of Vietnamese jungle.
Highs: The better ride over pavement and dirt, better seats, more cachet at the club.
Yes, the Freelander is a Lotus Esprit compared with the Discovery and other Land Rovers. The nose, the lowest part at 7.2 inches, is actually 0.1 inch closer to the planet than a Subaru Outback’s. The 225/55HR-17 Pirelli Scorpions (regular-production models will wear Michelins) leave precious little sidewall for the fancy aluminum rims to hide behind, and the muffler only half-tucked under the rear bumper (see below) seems particularly vulnerable.
But by the time the 10-megawatt moon was rising over our first campsite, it was clear which vehicle the crew preferred to plant their buns in. Obstacles that tossed heads in the Liberty resulted in little more than an audible psst! from the Freelander’s dampers. The pampering ride allowed White Rim pilots to regularly cruise at higher speeds, leaving the Jeep in a roostertail of red dust.
Lows: Cream-puff engine, syrup steering interior trim feels a little cheap.
The Freelander also needs more snap-to from under the hood. Midland Powertrain, a subsidiary of the newly independent MG-Rover group, builds the aluminum 2.5-liter DOHC 24-valve V-6 to make its 174 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque as smooth as Cotswold cream. However, throttle response is lazy, and on the highway, the engine struggles to maintain speed going up hills. Downshifts are reluctant unless the five-speed auto is in its sport setting or the driver personally selects a lower gear using the handy manumatic feature. At least there’s the thriftier fuel economy: 19 mpg versus the Liberty’s 16 mpg on our trip.
“Economy” also applies to the dash materials, which some felt were a bit cheap (or “durable,” depending on which logbook page is being consulted), and the omission of armrests is outrageous. Otherwise, the Freelander’s more complicated cockpit mostly worked for us. On paper, the Rover has a much smaller cargo capacity than does the Jeep, but the front seats suspend the body with better technique and the back bench is roomier. The cabin is more conveniently accessed across the lower side sill and through the one-piece rear door, and the rubber mats seem more suited to the off-road lifestyle. Special accolades go to the thick-rimmed steering wheel around which the palms snug comfortably, and to the occasional faint oil odor detected through the air vents without which no British vehicle would be complete.
The Verdict: This little dust bunny finally has our tails wagging over a Land Rover product.
If the canyons of Utah are calling, the Freelander SE is a more prudent pack mule than the pricier HSE with its incomprehensible navigation system. Steen probably would have thought so, too, but then, look what happened to him.
2002 Land Rover Freelander HSE174-hp V-6, 5-speed automatic, 3681 lbBase/as-tested price: $32,220/$32,220C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 10.2 sec1/4 mile: 17.8 @ 79 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 189 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.71 gC/D observed fuel economy: 19 mpg
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More
125 Shares199 Views
in Car Reviews
From its massive displays to its independent rear suspension, Cadillac’s redesigned Escalade is a supersized icon of luxurious extravagance. More
113 Shares99 Views
in Car Reviews
With striking style and an upscale interior, Kia’s new mid-size sedan is some chassis refinement away from rivaling the leaders in its class. More
50 Shares189 Views
in Car Reviews
From the February 2002 issue of Car and Driver.
As mid-cycle product updates go, this one’s a peach. Mercedes slipped a bigger V-8 into the ML430 sport-ute and called it the ML500. This second-quickest Benz ute climbs farther up the performance ladder, closer to the pavement-eating ML55 AMG.
Best SUVs and Crossovers of 2020
Most Powerful Crossovers and SUVs on Sale Today
By increasing the engine’s bore just 0.27 inch, the 24-valve V-8 now displaces 302 cubic inches and has 20 more horsepower (288 at 5600 rpm) and 37 more pound-feet of torque (325 at 2700 rpm) than last year’s 4.3-liter mill. Once spanked at the drag strip by the sportier BMW X5 4.4i, the ML500 now finishes first, scampering to 60 mph in a definitely untrucklike 6.7 seconds, 0.2 second quicker than the Bimmer.
Keep the throttle pinned and let the throaty 90-degree V-8 ratchet through the five-speed automatic transmission, and the big Benz doesn’t stop pulling, further widening the gap with the BMW sport-ute. At 100 mph, the Benz is 1.8 seconds ahead, reaching the century mark in 18.6 seconds.
That amount of zip makes you forget you’re hauling around 4869 pounds. The wide, flat torque curve (peak torque occurs from 2700 to 4250 rpm) provides prompt throttle response, and the tranny makes nearly transparent shifts.
But when you have to turn, it’s back to Physics 101. This powerful specimen is still a truck, and its tires howl and its heavy body lists as it generates 0.75 g of grip. Still, that’s a 0.02-g improvement over that of last year’s model, thanks to the single running-gear change–17-inch wheels and tires replace last year’s 16-inchers. Mercedes, however, didn’t see fit to change the ML’s standard electronic stability program (ESP). When activated, it puts an end to any spin, but putting the dash-mounted ESP switch in the off position disables only the engine cutoff function and leaves the brakes to curtail slides. This Benz avoids even slight slides at all costs, and it’s like having the fun police continually on call.
We doubt many potential ML owners will fret over an aggressive anti-skid system, however. They’ll pay more attention to the revised bodywork and interior.
Both the ML320 and the ML500 have new front and rear bumpers, taillights, clear headlight lenses, and those 17-inch wheels. The changes are subtle but easily identified. Other than badges, the only exterior differences between the ML500 and ML320 are the ML500’s wider tires (275/55VR-17 versus 255/60SR-17) and chrome strips on the ML500’s tailgate and door handles. The ML55 AMG’s exterior is unchanged.
Inside, this ML now has curtain airbags in addition to the front and side airbags, burled-walnut trim around the center console, and rotary climate-control switches. A navigation system is a $1700 option on the ML320 and standard on the two upper-end models. Absent are steering-wheel-mounted radio controls, which would be appreciated because operating the dash-mounted radio and navigation system requires an uncomfortable stretch. The new climate controls, however, look smart and are easy to use.
The rest of the car is standard-issue Benz M-class. You sit high, thronelike, and the hood slopes away dramatically, providing excellent forward visibility. The full-time four-wheel-drive system is always on call, and the electronic traction-control system acts like a limited-slip device. A standard hill-descent system automatically creeps the ML down hills when a dash-mounted button is pressed.
But this Benz is no hard-core off-roader. On road, it feels more sedan than truck, more family hauler than sports car. BMW’s X5 4.4i clearly trumps it in on-road handling (our long-term X5 4.4 towed a race car to the track and was then used for demonstration hot laps there, a feat we wouldn’t enjoy in the softer and duller Benz), but the Mercedes does offer far greater cargo space and optional third-row seating. With just the middle seats up, the Benz has 35 cubic feet of space compared with the X5’s 24. And the ML500 is less expensive–$45,615 to the BMW X5 4.4i’s base price of $50,045.
But wait, the plot thickens. With 288 horsepower, the ML500 outhorses the 2001 X5 4.4 by six. For 2002, BMW added 8 hp, so it has a scant two more than the Benz. With Chevy surrendering the Ford Mustang/Chevy Camaro performance race later this year, could these two V-8 utes be the ones to take their place?
Specifications
SPECIFICATIONS
2002 Mercedes-Benz ML500
VEHICLE TYPE front engine, four-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
BASE PRICE $45,615 (base price: $45,615)
ENGINE TYPE SOHC 24-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, Bosch Motronic ME2.8 engine-control system with port fuel injectionDisplacement: 302 cu in, 4945ccPower (SAE net): 288 bhp @ 5600 rpmTorque (SAE net): 325 lb-ft @ 2700 rpm
TRANSMISSION 5-speed automatic with lockup torque converter
DIMENSIONSWheelbase: 111.0 inLength: 182.6 inCurb weight: 4869 lb
C/D TEST RESULTSZero to 60 mph: 6.7 secZero to 100 mph: 18.6 secStreet start, 5-60 mph: 7.1 secStanding ¼-mile: 15.3 sec @ 92 mphTop speed (drag limited): 135 mphBraking, 70-0 mph 183 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.75 g
FUEL ECONOMYEPA city driving: 14 mpgC/D observed: 15
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More
63 Shares99 Views
in Car Reviews
From the January 2003 issue of Car and Driver.
The first time Infiniti glued its Mt. Fuji-peak badge on a two-door was 13 years ago. The M30 was a four-year-old Nissan Leopard, rousted from the home market and hastily decorated with Infiniti tinsel to help fill out the new brand’s product line. Parked in the shadow of the fabulous Q45, the rectangular M30 made it painfully obvious where Nissan spent its product budget for Infiniti.
Best Coupes of 2020
Best Sports Cars of 2020
2003 Coupe Comparison
If John Adams were alive today, he might say, “One useless man is a disgrace, two are a law firm, and three or more are Nissan’s product-planning department.” The company pretty much fumbled its way through the high times of the past decade, succeeding the M30 and Q45 with a raft of eminently forgettable Infinitis while luxury competitors ate its lunch.
Not so this time.
The G35 coupe is the most appealing article to slide down the Infiniti chute since the original Q. Its hunky body hugs the earth and looks swish enough never to be confused with the four-door G35. It seats its patrons in comfort and supplies steaming performance, thanks to a few potent ingots of aluminum. Under the hood is the big 3.5-liter V-6 making its 280 horsepower, and down in the wheel wells the various control arms and links of the elaborate suspension reach for the pavement.
Nissan’s product planners deserve credit for their moment of inspiration. A few years ago they decided to split the sports-car duties of the company’s sophisticated rear-drive FM chassis, which also underpins the G35 sedan. Whereas the old 300ZX came as both a two-seater and an elongated (and somewhat ungainly-looking) two-plus-two, Nissan decided to split the Z variants between its mainstream and upscale brands.
View Photos
Infiniti
Exhibit A is the comparo-winning Nissan 350Z (“Hot Tin Roofs,” December, 2002) that features bucket seats for two on a 104.3-inch wheelbase. Exhibit B is the G35 two-door with slightly softer springs and four seats planted between axles that ride 112.2 inches apart.
Highs: Buffed and buff body, a suspension that eats twisty roads, seats could be a centerfold for American Chiropractor.
Note that this is also the wheelbase of the G35 sedan, a car that distinguished itself in a comparison test in October, 2002, (“Waiting for a Bimmer Beater”) by having the longest wheelbase of the group by more than four inches. In Holland, G35s would be put to work spanning canals.
All that acreage between the wheels should bode ill for the coupe’s handling, especially since the example pictured here, at 3485 pounds, totes 122 more pounds than the recently tested and similarly equipped 350Z Touring from December; and especially considering that the G35 sedan was knocked for nervous oversteer that made turning off the electronic skid control on a public road a certified health threat.
But whether because of the meatier 18-inch rubber that is standard on the six-speed coupe or a relocated center of gravity (or both), the G35 coupe remains unflappably stable and neutrally balanced. Indeed, the coupe turned in a scorching 0.90-g run on the skidpad, the highest number by 0.02 g we have recorded for the entire G35/Z family. The wheel is a precise scalpel and the turn-in aggressive, and the body remains level and composed through the corners.
View Photos
Infiniti
At track speeds, the fun fades in the turns not because of tail wagging but owing to progressive front-end scrubbing. As with the Z, the G hits understeer at the border of its performance envelope, but it won’t intrude on your daily enjoyment of the car’s spry footwork unless you view your morning commute as a time trial.
Even if it does, the clear vista forward from behind the wheel makes it easy to bayonet the G35’s snout precisely into corners. The gauges are low and, unlike the Z’s, corralled into a single binnacle that moves with the tilting column. If orange is your favorite color—it isn’t around here—you’ll love the otherwise plain dials.
Rectilinear shapes and machined-metal accents, the industrial mayonnaise of the Z cockpit, are spread on less thickly in the G. Traditional rubber pedal pads, for example, stand in for the Z’s drilled aluminum shoe stops.
View Photos
Infiniti
The coupe’s interior is an identical copy of the sedan’s, right down to the arresting mix of buttons. There are big black plastic jobs on the door panels, small metal kernels on the steering wheel, and modern double-size squares on the center column. The seat controls next to your inboard thigh are something else altogether, and the dash mixes up smooth surfaces with ones with elephant-skin texture and ones with polka-dot perforations. Nissan has become the company where no idea goes to waste.
The G’s yards of textured black plastic and the matte silver center stack proclaim “luxury car!” and only whisper “on the cheap.” The door panels are as plain as the plains. The center console substitutes a true armrest with seat-heater buttons. The digital display up top that resembles a mail slot is thin on information. One nice bonus: All G35s get an in-dash, six-disc CD changer plus a tape deck for bookworms.
Lows: Not so nice noise and vibration, interior mixes up its messages.
The G’s seats greet their visitors with hospitality and make friends with all. One editor pronounced them the best thing this side of a Recaro. The forward buckets are big enough to support the lower legs, the seatbacks concave enough to counter sideways gravity in the corners. The pedals, the wheel, and the fungus-shaped shifter sit in close, accessible orbit, the latter being a precise but somewhat imperfect tool in that it gives the forearm a workout with overly heavy detents. Honda’s secret recipe for a perfect shifter remains, well, a secret.
Two adults of female size can fit comfortably into the rear, but headroom is definitely wanting for six-footers. Perhaps more amazingly, two golf bags will squeeze into the G35’s eight-cubic-foot trunk. Don’t believe it? There’s a small placard thoughtfully pasted to the trunk liner to show how it’s done.
The arching chassis brace that annoyingly bisects the Z’s hatchback trunk is present in the G, but because the G is not a hatchback and is 12.6 inches longer than the Z, the brace resides deep in the trunk under the parcel shelf. Z owners will need more than a spatula to fit two golf bags; they’ll need a crowbar.
View Photos
Infiniti
The brace contributes to the G’s relative indifference to bumps and frost heaves. Impact energy still finds its way through the taut structure, especially since road-surface changes are being telegraphed nearly verbatim by the robust 45-series Michelin rubber around the wheels. But the cockpit is isolated and the ride compliant enough to polish off the harsh edges.
More vibrations come through the pedals and shifter from the six coffee cans up front. As in all the G- and Z-cars fitted with Nissan’s VQ DOHC 24-valve 3.5-liter V-6, the engine makes trucklike torque at low revs and trucklike sound and vibrations at high revs. The river of sine waves through the cabin and the rasp of the exhaust make going to the redline in the G less intoxicating than in, say, an Acura 3.2CL Type-S or a BMW 330Ci, two alternative selections in the duo-door class with vastly superior sound signatures (“Hobson’s Choice,” July 2002).
In straight performance numbers, the G35 keeps the pace. The G35’s 6.0-second 0-to-60-mph dash and 14.6 quarter-mile are within a 10th or two of the Type-S and 330Ci (and about a half-second down on the Z Track), even if the aural experience is lacking. The G35’s combination of Brembo calipers and 12.8-inch front rotors needs only 157 feet to convert 70 mph of kinetic energy into heat, seven fewer than the 350Z Track and fewer than both of the previously cited coupe competitors.
View Photos
Infiniti
Okay, the Acura pulls off its performance with 20 less horsepower and front-wheel drive, but it’s styled to win snooze competitions. The BMW has better moves, lighter controls, and more fluid power delivery, but buyers have to walk at least another eight thousand steps into their bank account for a similarly equipped 330Ci.
Of the FM offshoots we’ve tried so far, none won the near-universal approval enjoyed by the G35 coupe. Perhaps that’s because the G35, positioned as a luxury touring car, seems a more honest sales pitch than the go-for-it 350Z, considering the limits of the engine and chassis. No doubt it has something to do with the fact that few of the G35 sedan’s foibles manifested themselves here.
The Verdict: In some ways a better Z than the Z.
And unlike a few other sedan-based coupes out there, the G35 offers more than just two fewer doors and a boosted price. Infiniti is awakening. Who says 13 is an unlucky number?
Counterpoint
There will come a time during the ownership of a 350Z when one fantasizes about hauling more than a single passenger and enjoying luggage capacity beyond that of a toothbrush and a pair of Speedos. At that point one might wish he or she had opted for the 350’s larger and more elegant brother, the Infiniti G35 coupe. This is one tasty machine, a legitimate two-plus-two with accommodations for a duet of rear-seat travelers and ample trunk space for weekend jaunts. Heavier by 122 pounds and down by seven horsepower against the Z, this is not so much a sports car but rather a captivating grand tourer that ranks with the best in the world. —Brock Yates
This coupe’s low-roof shape, tapering to a high tail, really does it for me, same as the fastback Kellison GT did back when I was sketching cars in study hall. It had a low forehead and gun-slit side windows, perfect for Bonneville or for lurking in any of the small Iowa towns I might drive to. I showed my dad a picture of it once. There was a long pause. Expecting admiration, I leaned forward to hear every nuance. His verdict came down in one word: “Preposterous.” Years later, when “bad” is good and “sick” is extra cool, I think this Infiniti coupe is perfectly preposterous. Make mine black. I’m way behind in my lurking. —Patrick Bedard
I’m starting to see 350Zs roaming the streets of L.A., and the design is not growing on me as I thought it would. Reason enough to buy an Infiniti G35 coupe instead. It’s a great-looking car with a just-about-perfect stance, and it flaunts elegant contours. So it’s 7 hp down on the Z-car; big deal, there’s enough power to have fun with, and the slightly longer wheelbase helps avoid the dreaded freeway hop with which the 350Z is amply endowed. And then there’s the back seat. At six foot five, I contend that only gnomes can sit back there, but the space is great for briefcases and jackets. The final point in the argument? Infiniti dealers. Case closed. —Barry Winfield
Specifications
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More
100 Shares179 Views
in Car Reviews
Some folks are writing off the diesel. The future, they say, lies in electric vehicles, with hybrids as the transitional technology. Diesel fuel is expensive, they continue, and there is the further popular conception that diesels are not “clean.” In reality, a diesel typically shaves 30 percent off fuel consumption, and diesel fuel savings are even more substantial at high speeds. New technologies make burning diesel as clean as—if not cleaner than—gasoline combustion.
Tested: 2020 Audi Q7 55 Is Quick and Quiet
Every Diesel for Sale in the U.S. Today
Best SUVs and Crossovers of 2020
Diesel: Fueling Passion?
It is true that the European market for diesels is still huge, but for most companies and consumers, diesel is a means to achieve fuel efficiency, not fun. There is, however, one company where diesel enthusiasm still reigns: Audi. Allow us to offer as proof Audi’s twin-turbocharged V-12 TDI, packaged into the unabashedly large Q7 SUV. Think of it as Audi’s unconventional response to the Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG and Porsche Cayenne Turbo S—the latter of which sits on the same platform as the Q7—as well as upcoming M versions of the BMW X5 and X6. In fact, the Q7 V-12 TDI was developed by Audi’s Quattro GmbH high-performance division, and Audi even considered officially dubbing it an RS model.
A diesel-powered Audi RS? The company decided against it so as not to limit this SUV’s appeal, but we wouldn’t have objected. The straight-line performance of the Q7 V-12 TDI is impressive. From 1750 through 3250 rpm (the redline is a low 4500 rpm, typical for a diesel), it delivers an earth-melting 738 pound-feet of torque. The long, flat ceiling of the torque curve suggests that more would easily have been possible, were it not for concerns about the transmission’s durability. Even so, this Q7 uses a strengthened six-speed ZF HP32—the biggest, strongest unit available on the market. Power for the diesel is rated at a flat 500 horsepower.
View Photos
A Quick, Angry-Sounding Beast
On the road, few cars can keep up. Audi says the 0-to-62-mph sprint takes 5.5 seconds, and—more impressive—112 mph is achieved in 15.7 seconds. These figures, which we haven’t verified with test equipment, seem absolutely credible. Power is instantly available. Push the throttle, and you get treated to an evil growl as the Q7 lurches forward. We were surprised at the elevated sound level. Audi wants it that way, though, and in fact, it’s almost completely designed into the exhaust system. The 6.0-liter V-12 works smoothly and quietly otherwise.
Tested: 2009 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Diesel
At 155 mph, a governor kicks in. The theoretical top speed is 171 mph in standard configuration, and 176 mph would be possible with minor tweaks. But the cutoff is fine with us, since it is part of a voluntary agreement by the German auto industry that has thus far helped to keep the autobahn unfettered by an overall speed limit. After all, we prefer a real 155 mph to a theoretical 176.
This 6.0-liter V-12 is completely new, but it shares components with Audi’s family of V-6, V-8, and V-10 engines. Audi wants you to believe this engine is derived from that of the Le Mans–winning R10 TDI race car, but there are few commonalities besides the high-pressure common-rail injection system.
Less Hippo, More Tutu
Despite this SUV’s considerable heft—5700-plus pounds—it feels light and agile. The steering setup is more direct than in other Q7 models, and the adaptive air suspension can be dialed into a dynamic setting that pushes the capabilities beyond typical-SUV territory. In this setting, body roll is almost nonexistent. As for the Quattro all-wheel-drive system, the power distribution is flexible, but the standard setting is 40 percent front and 60 percent rear.
View Photos
Roadholding is further improved by the Q7’s huge rubber; 20-inch wheels are standard, 21-inchers are optional. Audi engineers have lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in as little as 8 minutes 50 seconds, a hugely impressive performance for a large, top-heavy SUV. Of course, this means off-roading is off-limits; with this SUV’s footwear, you’d probably need to get towed off wet grass.
Stopping power from the standard carbon-ceramic brakes is exceptional, and we were not able to produce any fade, despite a considerable amount of high-speed braking during autobahn stints. The carbon discs measure 16.5 inches in the front and 14.8 out back.
Audi Refinement Inside, Big Presence Outside
The interior shows Audi’s trademark attention to detail. Our test car was decidedly sporty, with carbon-fiber appliqués and a dark, cold color scheme. There is no loss of room for people or cargo over more pedestrian Q7s, meaning space is abundant.
View Photos
It’s fine to show off your choice of a V-12 diesel with a badge on the rear, but first you need more plebeian vehicles to move out of the way, and Audi has made sure the Q7 V-12 TDI does not stay unnoticed in rearview mirrors. Large air intakes and two strips of LED daytime running lights are unique to this version of the Q7. More subtle modifications to the rest of the exterior include vertical chrome strips in the front grille, RS-type aluminum mirror covers, wider fenders, and a restyled rear bumper with two large exhaust tips.
This SUV isn’t exactly politically correct, but you’ll smile every time you fill it up. Fuel consumption in the European cycle is rated at 21 mpg, a figure that is entirely realistic. On a particularly challenging stretch with repeated top-speed charges, we averaged about 13 mpg. Not great, but a figure that is hard to reach in any high-powered SUV with a gasoline engine, even if driven moderately.
Audi is considering further applications. There is a running prototype of an R8 equipped with this engine, and the next-generation A8 is another likely candidate. It could also fit into the Porsche Cayenne, but we vividly remember the pointed tongue lashings Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking has given diesel power in recent years. We suspect, too, that Audi wants to keep this technology for itself.
At the equivalent of about $185,000, this is the most expensive Audi currently offered, even slightly topping the long-wheelbase A8 W-12 that, admittedly, has less power. The U.S. won’t get the Q7 V-12 TDI for now (commence lower-lip trembling, American diesel fans), but Audi executives aren’t shutting the door entirely. Should we buy a lot of Q7s fitted with the 3.0-liter V-6 TDI, they might reconsider.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More
113 Shares99 Views
in Car Reviews
The hierarchical nature of model positioning means it is easy to view the 2021 Mercedes-AMG E53 as less desirable than the AMG 63 S sitting above it in the E-class range. Yet, such a judgement is unfair. The considerable talents of AMG’s gently electrified six-cylinder give it a different character than the range-topping V-8 but one that’s almost as equally compelling. In those variants where both powerplants are offered, it is entirely justified to prefer the smaller engine on grounds other than sheer parsimony. With the stylish E-class cabriolet, however, the point is moot. The AMG E53 is where the convertible tops out.
Mercedes E-Class Coupe, Cabriolet Updated for 2021
2019 Mercedes-AMG E53 Coupe – High-Tech Grand Tour
Some will bemoan AMG’s continued refusal to combine the sonorous muscularity of its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 with the cabriolet body. But the electrically assisted 3.0-liter inline-six of the AMG E53 proves almost perfectly suited to the car’s laid-back driving manners. A mid-term facelift for 2021 hasn’t wrought any significant mechanical revisions—power and torque figures remain unchanged—but it has brought more toys and revised styling to the range-topping cabriolet.
View Photos
Mercedes-AMG
As with the E-class sedan and wagon, the cabriolet and closely related coupe get a heavily revised front end with new headlights and a radiator grille apparently inspired by the W194 300SL racer that won the Carrera Panamericana in 1952. Narrowed at the top and wider at the bottom, this is effectively an inverse of the pre-facelift grille and one that we think better suits the car. Changes at the rear end have been more limited, the E-class cabriolet (and its coupe counterpart) getting taillights with new internal elements. As before, the AMG E53 gets quad exhaust pipes beneath the rear bumper. The lesser E450 makes do with slightly squashed-looking dual exhaust tips.
More obvious changes are evident in the cabin, which remains spacious and extremely well-finished but which has migrated to the latest version of Mercedes’s MBUX infotainment system. This is certainly crisper looking than the old setup and adds high-tech features like augmented-reality navigation, which superimposes direction-pointing arrows onto a live video feed when approaching intersections, but we found the system lacking in intuitive smarts and sometimes complicated to operate. Mercedes also gave the E53 a new four-spoke steering wheel to provide real estate for a proliferation of touch-sensitive controls, many of which replicate functions still served by surviving pre-facelift buttons. Buyers will doubtless get used to the complexity—or shortcut it with the smart “Hey, Mercedes” voice assistant—but we are increasingly nostalgic for the recent past when Benz’s user interface was both simple and intuitive.
View Photos
Mercedes-AMG
Beyond mild ergonomic niggles, the rest of the driving experience impresses all the way. The E53 powertrain continues to use a very clever 3.0-liter inline-six that has both a conventional exhaust-driven turbocharger and an electrically powered 48-volt compressor that adds boost at lower engine revs. The six is paired with a substantial integrated starter-generator that, although it can’t power the car by itself, is able to add up to 21 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque to the combustion engine’s output of 429 horsepower and 384 pound-feet. (The lesser E450 uses the same engine and starter-generator but lacks the e-turbo.)
The powertrain’s complexity remains effectively invisible. All the E53 driver will experience is the combination of effortless low-rev muscle—with a total absence of detectable lag—and an impressively bristly top end. No, the six-cylinder can’t match either the firepower or theatrics of the E63 S, but it is still able to deliver forceful acceleration when unleashed. The last E53 coupe that we tested blasted its way from zero to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds, and we expect about the same for the slightly heavier cabriolet. Only at high speeds does the E53 start to feel anything less than blisteringly quick. On a stretch of limit-free German autobahn on our test route, the rate of acceleration fell away above an indicated 125 mph, a speed at which the E63 S sedan kept pulling at a barely diminished rate. While obviously lacking a V-8 soundtrack, the E53 makes some impressively muscular noises under hard use, with the Sport and Sport Plus modes allowing for some pops and crackles on upshifts and when the accelerator is lifted at higher revs.
View Photos
Mercedes-AMG
The punchier dynamic modes sharpen the rest of the E53 driving experience, too, although not one turns it into a true sports car. Air springs and adaptive dampers are firmed up in the more aggressive settings but not sufficiently to corrupt the cabriolet’s ride. Nor does the body control feel wayward in Comfort mode, the cabrio’s 4600-pound mass kept in check over the roughest surfaces we could find. The weight is more obvious when asking the car to change direction quickly, and with the cabriolet’s roof stowed we did notice slight evidence of the car’s weakened structure, the rearview mirror vibrating slightly over certain road surfaces. The cabriolet’s steering delivers crisp cornering response, although little natural feel passes beyond the generous power assistance. Traction from the quick-acting 4Matic all-wheel-drive system is impeccable on dry pavement. It takes an unsympathetic level of abuse to persuade the E53 to relinquish any rear-end grip.
View Photos
Mercedes-AMG
The E53’s hybrid powerplant remains almost perfectly suited to the cabriolet’s dynamic demeanor—rapid but relaxed, adding character without dominating the experience. Even cruising at speed with the roof folded, the E-class cabrio’s cabin is impressively free of drafts or buffeting. The Airscarf system directs hot air to the top of the seats, making it possible to enjoy top-down driving in conditions that would be too chilly for most convertibles. The nine-speed automatic gearbox is also smoother at lower speeds than on V-8-powered models, where AMG replaces the torque converter with a wet-clutch pack.
Luxurious cabriolets have been part of Mercedes’s offerings in the United States for as long as the brand has been selling cars here, but that might not be the case for much longer. We know that the future of all the brand’s cabrios (and conventional coupes) are under review in the face of sliding sales. Losing a car like this would be a huge shame. The E53 continues to feel like a high point for both its brand and its wider genre.
Specifications
Specifications
2021 Mercedes-AMG E53 Cabriolet
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door convertible
BASE PRICE $83,900
POWERTRAIN turbocharged, supercharged, and intercooled DOHC 3.0-liter inline-6, 429 hp, 384 lb-ft + AC motor, 21 hp 184 lb-ft; combined output, 429 hp, 384 lb-ft; 0.9-kWh lithium-ion battery pack
TRANSMISSION 9-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 113.1 inLength: 190.6 inWidth: 73.1 inHeight: 56.2 inPassenger volume: 90 ft3Trunk volume: 10 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 4600 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 4.1 sec100 mph: 10.2 sec1/4 mile: 12.6 secTop speed: 130 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST) Combined/city/highway: 23/20/26 mpg
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More
This portal is not a newspaper as it is updated without periodicity. It cannot be considered an editorial product pursuant to law n. 62 of 7.03.2001. The author of the portal is not responsible for the content of comments to posts, the content of the linked sites. Some texts or images included in this portal are taken from the internet and, therefore, considered to be in the public domain; if their publication is violated, the copyright will be promptly communicated via e-mail. They will be immediately removed.