Images courtesy Acura

Almost as if being handed its diploma and told to get a job, Acura has shed the frat-boy “hoodie” of the first-generation RDX crossover for a suit and tie on model year 2013.

Gone is the chiseled styling and the (much beloved) spunky turbo four with Acura opting instead for more mainstream body lines and a smooth V-6 engine. RDX has been (barely) surviving in the shadows of the likes of the Lexus RX and BMW X3 and it appears Acura is tired of playing second (or fourth or fifth) fiddle to the segment leaders and is copying pages out of opponents’ playbooks.

What we end up with is a very good entry luxury cute ute with enough room, comfort and convenience for five suitable for the boardroom 9-to-5 while enjoying the weekends with its old collegiate buds.

Acura actually defines RDX as residing in the entry premium SUV category although it and its classmates all ride on car-based platforms and none speak of offroad or towing capabilities, traits necessary to compete is a true SUV class.

The RDX is offered in front- and all-wheel drive configuration and all models are powered by the 273hp 3.5-liter V-6 mated to a sequential sportshift six-speed automatic transmission. The real kicker here is that even with upsizing the engine Acura is able to glean better fuel economy from the 2013 models, coming in at 20 mpg city/28 mpg highway (FWD) and 19 mpg city/27 mpg highway in AWD models.

Our recent tester arrived in AWD form with the Tech package and despite losing the Super Handling-AWD running gear, the new smaller and lighter AWD with Intelligent Control drivetrain does a respectable job of keeping things under control.

Coinciding with the more mainstream body styling, RDX gets a new interior as well that includes more leg- and headroom for both front and rear seat occupants. A wider rear hatch opens to additional cargo space as well. For a quieter onroad experience Acura employs Active Noise Control to cancel out some of the road noise.

A new audio system is employed in the 2013 RDX and keeping to tradition the new crossover is loaded to the gills with technology and safety systems. The Tech package on our test ride has us enjoying the 10-speaker ELS surround sound stereo and the nav system features AcuraLink with real-time traffic and weather along with voice recognition and multi-view rear camera.

Pricing begins at a reasonable $34,520 for a base FWD model with our loaded tester arriving with a final sticker of just over 40 grand.

While the previous RDX will be missed by some the 2013 model was apparently listening during its commencement speech. Year-over-year sales figures show just how successful the little ute has become with units sold more than doubling from April 2012 to April 2013.

Acura’s baby is all grown up and has moved out of its parents’ basement. Congratulations, class of 2013.

Images courtesy Chevrolet

The Suburban Carryall – prairie schooner of the modern era, the longest-running nameplate in the automotive industry, the original SUV.

As Chevrolet heads into fall production of its iconic Suburban fullsize family hauler, it enters the 79th year of production of the model all the while keeping faithful to its initial concept of spaciousness and capability.

The 2013 Suburban is built on the GMT900 body-on-frame truck platform underpinning all of its current pickup and fullsize SUV models. It is offered in two- or four-wheel drive and in half- (1500) and three-quarter- (2500) ton models.

Powering the 1500 series (like the model we recently tested) is the Vortec 5.3-liter V-8 with Active Fuel Management allowing for cylinder deactivation during lighter load driving conditions. The 2500 series sees the Vortec 6.0-liter V-8 engine. All Suburbans feature six-speed automatic gearboxes.

While the Chevy Suburban can carry up to nine occupants, our recent LTZ tester arrived with second row captains chairs for a max seating of 8 adults with all riding in great comfort thanks to GMs Autoride automatic damping suspension system in this top of the line hauler. This LTZ is one of the most stable SUVs I have driven, and I could drive this thing all day long.

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John Deere EZtrak Z235 Zero Turn Mower, Images by Author

In 1837 in a rural Illinois farming community, a humble displaced Vermont blacksmith fashions a new type of plow from discarded materials, and John Deere Plow Works is born. The rest, as they say, is history – bathed in colorful “John Deere Green.”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the company’s residential product line and recently invited me to “test drive” one of its newest zero-turn mowers. Of course I jumped at the chance, what with already being a John Deere customer, myself.

John Deere brings its legacy of plowshares and farm implements to your yard, thanks to a broad lineup of residential and commercial products including riding tractors and the EZtrak zero-turn mowers. New for 2013 is the EZtrak Z235 and Z255 consumer models. The good folks from Deere set me up with a test model Z235 from my local dealer Storm Lawn and Garden in Grand Prairie, Texas.

No sooner did they unload the mower in front of my residence, than the neighbors were all coming out to see the “new arrival” while also “volunteering” their yards for my test track. Our lots here range in size between a little over half to two acres, so opportunity definitely presented itself.

The EZtrak Z235 and my 100-series rider/Image by Author

As I mentioned, I already owned a John Deere riding tractor (100-series), and my father-in-law struts around on his v-twin 300-series yellow and green rider. While I love my tractor mower, there are areas in our yards that present a bit of challenge to mow quickly and efficiently — and even cause me to have to (ugh) break out the push mower or weed eater.

After a quick lesson from the employee from Storm Lawn and Garden, I found myself literally zipping off on the EZtrak to attack that overgrown lawn.

As with any new vehicle I test, there was a bit of a learning curve with the zero turn model, as steering is significantly different from my rider. While I miss the “traditional” style of the riding tractor, I absolutely fell in love with the maneuverability of the EZtrak; once I had mastered the twin lever steering action, I found myself not being able to part with the Z235.

And lo and behold, I discovered that John Deere has some nifty financing deals going on for spring as well, so after a quick trip to meet with Matt Storm over at the dealership I walked away with not one but two new John Deere products (the second being a cool pedal tractor for the grandson).

John Deere EZtrak Z235 Zero Turn Mower, Image courtesy John Deere

By the numbers, the Z235 mower features a 42-inch Edge Cutting mower deck with side discharge and is powered by a 20hp 40 cu. in. v-twin four-stroke OHV gasoline engine. Power is sent to the rear wheels via dual Hydro-Gear EZT units with 1-inch axles.

Forward speed is rated at 0-7 mph, but it sure seems faster than that while zipping down the road to Poppy’s house. Reverse speed is 0-3.5 mph and that is where I really appreciate the EZtrak, as no adjustments are necessary to mow in reverse like my riding tractor – just pull backward on the twin levers and we’re mowing.

A word of caution for newbies on zero turn mowers – these things turn on less than a dime and will drag that inside tire on your grass. Doing a few Ken Block-type Gymkhana moves on the grass will yield unsightly divots thanks to the awesome grip of those drive tires.

The EZtrak mower is very comfortable, easy to mount and dismount, and that larger footdeck will have you riding around til you run the 2.1 gallon fuel tank dry. The PTO engages and disengages quickly with the flip of a switch, and the twin cutting blades are driven by a single belt and cutting height is adjustable between 1-4 inches.

List price for the EZtrak Z235 is $2,499 and the US warranty is 24 months or 120 engine hours (mowers and tractors utilize engine hourmeters to monitor usage instead of odometers found in passenger vehicles).

John Deere EZtrak Z235 Zero Turn Mower, Image courtesy John Deere

The EZtrak cuts cleanly and quickly and discharges efficiently. I did not notice as much bunching up of cut grass in my wake as I get with my single-cylinder riding tractor. A mulching system is also available, as is material collection system. The Edge mower deck features a wash port making for quick cleaning of the business side of the EZtrak.

I had not experienced a single problem with the first John Deere product I purchased, a fact not lost on helping to make my decision on my new purchase. The financing deals and dealer support helped seal the deal. Now I gotta get busy building that pedal tractor for the grandbaby.

2013 Subaru BRZ Images courtesy Subaru

Car and Driver 10Best; Cars.com Best of 2103; Ward’s 10 Best Engines 2013; Kiplinger Personal Finance Class Winner – I don’t think Subaru anticipated just how well received the new BRZ sports car would be when co-developing it with partner Scion. Saying the 2013 BRZ from Subaru and its twin FR-S from Scion are big hits is an understatement.

With the visit of the Subie recently I have tested models from both automakers, and true to the partnership they are nearly identical save from some very minor styling and suspension changes. While testing the FR-S on the track in both manual and automatic gearbox variants, I wondered why they would even produce a version with a clutch as the automatic performed flawlessly. Then I recently drove the Subaru BRZ.

The result of the Scion/Subaru project is a rear-drive, 2+2 sports coupe that harkens back to the “good old days” of motoring. It is a departure from the norm for both marques, as Subaru has been all about AWD in recent years, and to this point Scion only offered its vehicles in FWD fashion.

Subaru brought its engineering and powertrain skillset to the project, while Scion tackled design elements along with pitching in the direct-injection technology.

2013 Subaru BRZ engine

All models are powered by a 200hp 2.0-liter BOXER four-cylinder engine mated to the aforementioned six-speed gearboxes sending power to the rear wheels via Torsen limited-slip rear differential. The cars feature electric power steering and four-wheel disc braking. Vehicle weight rolls in around 2,800 lbs., and fuel economy for the manual runs 22 mpg city and 30 mpg highway, with automatic-equipped cars getting 25/34 mpg respectively.

Despite EPA numbers giving a nod to the automatic car, I highly recommend driving the manual, at least for a little while. This car is so much fun and the clutch and shifter are effortless and solid. Suspension is tight when compared to other compacts, but just perfect for this peppy car and its tight chassis that rides on 17-inch aluminum wheels and sport tires.

2013 Subaru BRZ interior

The cloth sport seats were very comfortable, and sporty red contrast stitching work to steering wheel, shifter and parking brake boots, door panels and seating really set it off. Inside and out, the BRZ is one attractive car.

Standard across the BRZ line is touch-screen GPS nav with 6.1-inch screen with AM/FM/HD/XM radio, Bluetooth connectivity and auxiliary inputs.

For the driver fortunate enough to work up some time at the track, Subaru includes a vehicle stability control and traction control with multiple settings including sport and TCS off. Models equipped with automatic transmissions get steering wheel paddle shifters and downshift throttle-blipping control.

Pricing for the 2013 Subaru BRZ starts at $25,495, with a loaded BRZ Limited model with 6AT gearbox fetching just under 30 grand.

Fun? Check. Sporty? Check. Attractive? Check. No wonder the 2013 Subaru BRZ (and twin Scion FR-S) has taken the automotive world by storm.

“Our mobile intelligence technology called MiAlert involves several functions where people get important information via their mobile phone/device,” says Santora. “Our multi-phased plan will make this technology available for several practical uses including video footage immediately after incidents. The Mi (Mobile Intelligence) Alerts represents intelligent mobile alert technology with initial uses for automobiles/vehicles, homes/buildings, people (children, family, etc.), and pets. Users can monitor activity using their mobile phone using a free smart phone application for iPhone, Android and Blackberry.”

Users can manage multiple MiAlert devices from own location. Users can also gain information on the secure website. This alert technology including sensors and cameras send information, which can be exchanged through a secure server (at a nominal monthly service fee).

On April 23, MiAlerts launched a 45-day fund raising campaign was launched until June 7, 2013 where anyone can towards the $90,000 goal and get various MiAlerts perks for contributions.

Gear Diary: How do you approach consumers who already have existing technology that’s similar?

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2013 Cadillac XTS AWD, images courtesy Cadillac

Cadillac, like so many automakers, has gone through a product transformation of late. Adding new models, discontinuing others, all the while attempting to reach new clientele without losing the base customers that got them here.

Large, luxurious land yachts have always been the staple at Cadillac but to look at the current lineup one would be left scratching their head. Where have all the big cars gone?

Yes, Lincoln and Cadillac have abandoned (at least for now) the “land yacht” stereotype and offer smaller, more fuel-efficient models across the board leaving not only consumers but commercial and livery customers wondering where their next big ride will come from.

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2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Images courtesy Ford

OMG has been waiting for a moment like this – the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 – a car that absolutely epitomizes the philosophy of “shut up and drive.”

Oh-My-Gawd!

I find difficulty in accurately describing my first experience behind the wheel of the latest Shelby model Mustang save to say that this car is definitely not for everyone and there should probably be required background checks for those wishing to purchase one.

It is a beast. It is mean and nasty. It has the most power ever in a Mustang (or any factory V-8). Heck, it’s got launch control! (And Houston, we did not have ANY problem.) It’s got a top speed of 200 mph and it is available in coupe or convertible at a base MSRP under 55 grand. And NO gas-guzzler tax.

Thw 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 engine

What Ford and Shelby have done with this latest GT500 is slip an aluminum 5.8-liter V-8 underneath the hood and fit it with a larger supercharger for an output of 662hp (up 112 ponies from last year) and 631 lb. ft. of torque backed by the Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual gearbox that sends power via a carbon fiber driveshaft to the rear wheels.

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2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid Images courtesy Volkswagen

Let’s face it – going green will cost you, at least when it comes to your automobile. Nearly every automaker charges a premium for their most environmentally sensitive models when compared to comparable gas-only alternatives.

At Volkswagen things are no different. The last new Jetta we tested was the TDI turbo-diesel model that arrived at the high end of the pricing spectrum for the model line. Now the German automaker offers a gasoline/electric hybrid version its popular compact sedan and it tops the Jetta pricing scale.

Part of the reason is research and development costs need to be recuperated while the automakers are also placing hybrid technology into top trim level vehicles. And with gasoline and diesel engines becoming more and more efficient consumers need to sit down and do the math before rushing out to spend the additional greenbacks to prove their green lifestyle.

The new Jetta Hybrid arrives with a 150hp 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to a water-cooled 20kW electric motor for total power output of 170hp and 184 lb. ft. of torque that comes on very early thanks to the nature of the hybrid powertrain.

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2013 Nissan Titan Pickup Images courtesy Nissan

Despite much of its lineup receiving significant (and much needed) makeovers recently, Nissan boasts a vehicle that is perhaps the “longest in the tooth”, as it is still basically in its first iteration in the form of the Titan fullsize pickup.

The Nissan Titan first appeared at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show, and later that fall as the first full half-ton pickup for the automaker. It arrived with very simple choices for the consumer in the fact it offered only one engine and one transmission on a chassis featuring king or crew cab compartments and two- or four-wheel drive.

Since then, little has changed: Still only one engine – the 317hp/385 lb. ft. torque 5.6-liter V-8 – and a now-dated five-speed automatic gearbox. In fact the only real upgrade to the body is a new aerodynamic tailgate design for this model year.

Nissan has got to upgrade the Titan/Armada fullsize frame-on lineup before it leaves the competition completely. Perhaps the hiring of former Ram (Dodge) truck boss Fred Diaz will have an impact. Perhaps he can do here what he did for the Ram 1500 lineup.

This is the fourth Titan I have tested over the lifespan of the model, and little has changed since my first impressions to present day. Titan is still a rugged truck with very good on- and off-road characteristics. It is rough and tumble while offering the latest creature comforts for its occupants.

Nissan was the leader in the center console shifter adaptation and features one of the best sound systems in a truck to date, thanks to its long-running partnership with RockfordFosgate. And what’s not to like with all Nissan trucks being built in a truck plant in Mississippi?

2013 Nissan Titan Pickup interior

Our most recent test model arrived in 4×4 PRO-4X configuration with the Luxury package. Base pricing at this level is $39,240 with our loaded model arriving at $44,515. With powertrain options, limited fuel economy continues to suffer in the form of 12 mpg city and 17 mpg highway, an aspect that may have them falling even further behind the pack of sales leaders.

The Utili-trak cargo system and spray-in bedliner are key attributes and the tailgate features dampening assist in its hinge so it will not slam down on you with its full weight when opened, and it feels lightweight when closing.

Ten years on a first-gen platform is unheard of in the automotive industry, but Nissan is apparently content with “status quo” in its Titan pickup line.

Tesla Motors is working to sell and service their awesome electrical vehicles (EVs) here in Texas

For the most part, I really love living in Austin.  Like most university towns it is quirky and odd, and has the added spice that comes with being a state capital (for a state that, population-wise, is the second-biggest in the country).  There’s an abundance of things to do, incredible live music, South by Southwest activities in the Spring and Austin City Limits in the fall.  And it’s lovely; a green oasis in the middle of a lot of brown.  But it is in Texas, and that means we catch a lot of flack for some of the dumber things that Texas does.  (And of course our arrogance about being Texans doesn’t help sometimes. )  Our politics are a good example, with the state textbook folks trying to force politically motivated information into our kids’ school books.  But then on the flip side, when it comes to electric vehicles, Austin is actually leading the country (take a look at the Mueller Community, for example, with solar panels on all the roofs, high-speed charging units in all the garages, and other stuff that I’ll write about for y’all real soon.).

Now Elon Musk, founder of EV makers Tesla Motors (among other things; take a look at the Gear Diary post on his SCSWi keynote address), is wanting to get more EVs into place here in Texas.  Specifically, he came to my little town (again!) to advocate for the passage of House Bill 3351/Senate Bill 1659, which would allow Tesla to sell their cars directly to the public, since they have no franchised dealerships in the state.  Musk came to town to lobby for this bill, arguing that passing it would let Tesla sells their products in a more unfettered way, and allow them to invest in metro areas.  Bring in some money, in other words.

In my opinion, it’s a good thing; more competition is good, and more competition in green tech is especially good.  Here’s hoping the famously boneheaded Texas lege does the right thing.

So what do you think?  Musk being too pushy, Texas being too stubborn, or something in between?  Whatever you think, be sure to let us know about it below!

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Images courtesy Ford

It has been a few years since a Ford F-150 Raptor has graced our test driveway, and in that time the model has seen a few enhancements to what is already a ‘roided-up version of Ford’s best-selling vehicle in North America.

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Front

While the SVT Raptor is basically a Baja truck with NHTSA safety equipment and license plates, Ford includes its full complement of creature comforts as well. Thankfully that now allows for a SuperCrew cab variant and the beefier 411hp 6.2-liter V-8 engine mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox. This tradeoff is fuel economy of course, and in 4×2 mode the best Raptor can now muster is 11 mpg city and 16 mpg highway.

New for 2013 is the offering of 17-inch aluminum wheels with beadlock capability thus enhancing offroading prowess. Model year 2012 saw significant styling upgrades, as well as a unique front view camera for extreme situations while allowing your “spotter” passenger to remain in the vehicle more often.

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Interior

The test model that recently arrived here came with the Raptor Luxury Package that made the day-to-day drivability quite pleasant thanks to heated/cooled front seats, power adjustable pedals, remote start, HID headlights and navigation among other things.

Getting down to the nitty-gritty of offroading in the Raptor, in my previous article I mentioned never leaving home in the truck without a rescue vehicle in tow as the Ford truck had some serious issues dealing with the muck and mud of East Texas. Since that time Ford has updated the front differential to a Torsen torque-sensing unit thereby enhancing Raptor’s capabilities.

I found a bit of mud during my time with the truck, and after an afternoon of “fun” the truck now gets a thumbs up from me, although I still raise an eyebrow at the continued exclusion of a power winch feature.

Pricing for the 2013 SVT Raptor begins at $46,240 with our tester arriving at $53,595.

If offroading is the only standard you are judging a vehicle on the Ford F-150 Raptor may not be for you, but if you want a vehicle that can tow, haul, carry five adults in total comfort AND take you far away from the paved world then perhaps this is your huckleberry.

For your viewing pleasure, here is Ford’s official Raptor video:

And from the “don’t try this at home” channel:

UPDATE:

No sooner than I post this review on the 2013 Ford SVT Raptor than Ford announces the 2014 F-150 SVT Raptor Special Edition that will go on sale this fall.

The new truck will feature a few unique new touches onto the existing Luxury package as we tested recently, including a ruby red metallic exterior color and box-side graphics along with brick red seat bolsters with black inserts and cloth honeycomb highlights inside along with a few other accents. For those not fond of the “no place like home” ruby slipper red Ford will also offer the special edition truck in tuxedo black metallic.

2013 BMW X1 Images courtesy BMW

BMW is a marque used by many automotive journalists as their “industry standard.” While I do not agree with many of my colleagues across the board on this, for me the X3 crossover from Bavaria is at the top of its game so there was much anticipation when the automaker brought its newest cute ute to the states in the form of the X1 Sport Activity Vehicle (BMW-speak for crossover utility vehicle).

The 2013 BMW X1 is based on the 3-series automobile platform and offers many of the same creature comforts and attributes of the sedan and coupe models albeit with more headroom inside.

BMW had already been offering X1 in global markets where it proved very successful, and despite the automaker building other crossovers here in the states, X1 production for North America remains in its home country. X1 arrives with the host of new technologies offered across the BMW line including its EfficientDynamics suite that includes brake energy regeneration and auto start/stop and ECO PRO to further fuel economy.

While BMW offers the X1 with a base price of under 32 grand, the xDrive28i model that recently graced our test driveway was loaded to the nines including the ultimate package that brought the final sticker to a lofty $45,595, a bit pricey for an “entry” model in any segment.

As for the driving experience, think BMW 3-series sedan with a much higher center of gravity, thereby throwing balance off a bit. The X1 was not quite the experience of its bigger brother X3 and for me will not be the industry standard in this segment, although to be honest I was disappointed with the updated RDX from Acura this year as well.

Don’t get me wrong, the X1 is a very nice ride, it just did not “blow me away” as other vehicles have done, but what’s not to like here? The X1 was powered by a spirited TwinPower turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine generating 240hp and 260 lb. ft. of torque and backed by new eight-speed steptronic automatic gearbox with sport and manual modes.

BMW does offer a turbo six engine for the U.S. market along with choice of sDrive sport line and xDrive all-wheel drive configurations. The 2013 X1 xDrive28i as tested offers fuel economy of 22mpg city and 33mpg highway which is very competitive for this segment (the new Ford Escape with 2.0-liter EcoBoost offers 21/28 respectively).

Inside the X1 offers nearly every amenity of its larger siblings including heated steering wheel, 18-inch alloy wheels, sport seats, rear-view camera, park distance control, Xenon headlights, ambiance lighting, automatic high beams, panoramic roof, voice-command technology, navigation with real-time traffic info, BMW Assist with Bluetooth and a full host of safety technologies.

Buyers seeking the amenities and DNA of the 3-series but don’t quite want to be saddled into a sedan or coupe (such as those with a slightly more active lifestyle) the X1 is the vehicle for you – until your family unit or lifestyle expands to the point where you will need to step up to the X3 or X5 models (at which point you will be raiding the kids’ college funds).

Images courtesy Ford

Ford “reinvented” its popular Explorer sport ute for the 2011 model year, shedding its frame-based roots for a unibody platform shared with the likes of Taurus and Flex. For 2013, Ford is adding the option of the twin-turbo V-6 EcoBoost engine in the midsize ute – calling the new model Explorer Sport.

To add more of a sporty nature in the new Explorer Sport, engineers beefed up the platform rigidity to allow for the added power while also enhancing ride and lateral stability. A new crossmember was added underneath the transmission tunnel area and the front strut tower supports were strengthened as well.

All this architecture supports the 365hp, 350 lb. ft. torque twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 engine under the hood that is backed by six-speed automatic gearbox and linked to full-time all-wheel drive system utilizing model-specific calibration of Explorer’s Terrain Management System. Fuel economy is rated at 16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway.

Explorer Sport also “sports” new steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters and unique sport tuned suspension mods and rides on a set of slick and stylish 20-inch rims. Engineers told us much of the research specific to the Explorer Sport model came from the Fleet and Commercial operations, specifically the Explorer Interceptor package.

None to fear leadfoots, Ford assured us the Police Interceptor models will not be getting the EcoBoost motor in Explorer models but remember it is an option in the Interceptor Sedan (police version Taurus).

The Explorer Sport receives model-specific styling treatments, most of which include piano black on trim pieces and unique interior stitching along with Sport-logo floor mats and illuminated scuff plates.

Pricing for the 2013 Ford Explorer Sport begins at $40,720 with a nicely appointed model (like the one we spent a half day with) rolling in at just a tick over 47 grand.

While we did not have the opportunity to take the new Explorer Sport offroad (nor would we really want to) we did find its onroad manners above reproach with outstanding acceleration throughout the entire powerband.

Ride and handling were more than we expected from a vehicle with these sport tires and we found ourselves never having to raise our voices over the road noise of the rougher paved surfaces encountered.
When redesigning the Explorer, Ford found very seldom do SUV owners take their vehicles off paved surfaces but they do want them to not only look good but ride and drive like a winner as well, and with this new Explorer Sport bolstering the lineup Ford definitely has a winner here.

2013 Toyota Highlander Limited 4WD Images courtesy Toyota

Toyota claims its Highlander midsize crossover utility vehicle pioneered the segment that saw traditional frame-based carry-alls attain more carlike attributes by converting to unibody architectures. Despite that, Highlander never really became a “household name.”

That’s kind of a shame, as Toyota’s midsizer offers quite a few variants of its three-row CUV including choice of powertrains – four- or six-cylinder gas or hybrid engines – and front- or full-time four-wheel drive, along with choice of base, SE, Limited or new Highlander Plus trim grades.

2014 Toyota Highlander introduced at the New York Auto Show

The current Highlander is the second-generation of the nameplate that received a mid-cycle refresh a few years ago. I say “current” as just recently at the New York Auto Show Toyota introduced an all-new third-gen model that will arrive as the 2014 Highlander and features serious styling enhancements among other things.

2013 Toyota Highlander Limited 4WD engine

The 2013 Toyota Highlander that recently graced our test driveway arrived in the Limited 4WD version with 270hp 3.5-liter V-6 engine under the hood. This powertrain is backed by a now-outdated five-speed automatic transmission and delivers 17 mpg city and 22 mpg highway, something else that will have to be enhanced in the new model. Those fuel economy figures are no longer acceptable, despite capabilities of 4WD and three-row seating as the latest V-8 engines are now capable of those numbers.

Despite its 4WD running gear, the Limited tester proved to be quite comfortable on the road where it most likely will remain. Consumers wishing to purchase a utility that will see offroad duties, however limited, will most likely opt for stablemate 4Runner or perhaps the FJ Cruiser instead. Regardless, should the pavement come to an abrupt end, the Highlander will be able to continue on in most any condition.

2013 Toyota Highlander Limited 4WD dash

While exterior styling seemed to remain fresh throughout Highlander’s life cycles, its interior design strategies have continued to baffle a bit (along with that in Tundra, among others). That two-tone dash finish looks as if Toyota employed a pair of designers but would not let them communicate with each other before implementation.

Nonetheless, our eyes should be on the road and not the interior panels, so this should render as a moot point.

While 17-inch wheels and tires are the base choice on most Highlanders, Toyota rolls a set of 19s underneath its Limited models, upping the ante on style points. And as with all Toyota utility models, Highlander receives all the latest safety technology available to date via the automaker’s Star Safety System – vehicle stability control, traction control, electric power steering, and ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist.

Highlander models can be ordered with a host of creature comforts as well, including JBL audio system and Entune multimedia system featuring Bluetooth technology and a host of mobile apps and data services including traffic and weather.

2013 Toyota Highlander Limited 4WD interior

Pricing for the 2013 Toyota Highlander Limited 4WD begins at $39,250.

Chevy Volt, loaned to me for the week of South by Southwest Interactive for review purposes

When it comes to car reviews, Gear Diary has some experienced people to check things out for you. But this time, neither our intrepid (and superlative) car reviewer David Goodspeed – and how excellent is that a name for a car reviewer, right? “Goodspeed”? Awesome! — nor our fearless lead editor, Judie (who has done car reviews before as well), could attend South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) this year. On the other hand, ol’ Doug lives in Austin. So I got the chance, for the week surrounding SXSWi, to tool around in a new Chevy Volt hybrid car! What did I think? Read on and find out!

First I want to let you all know my prejudices. I have wanted electric cars to be successful for a long time. Growing up during the first oil shock back in the 70s, it was obvious we were going to have to power our transport system with something other than fossil fuels. People have been looking into multiple different options — electric cars, hydrogen-powered/fuel cell cars, even ones powered by flywheels! – but it’s electric cars that have gotten the most attention. After all, if you can just plug in your car to your house current, the car companies won’t have to build an entire new infrastructure to take over from the millions of gas stations currently dotting the countryside. That’s a big plus. Also no tanker trucks carting the gasoline around; no giant, leaky tankers on the water hauling crude oil back and forth; etc.

But I have always been disappointed by the reality of electric cars. The first serious stab at it was the EV1, also by General Motors like the Volt. The EV1 had a recharge time of 8-12 hours, with a range of less than 100 miles. It was only a two-seater, and didn’t exactly come with all the amenities–cruise control, power windows, and the like. Plus it looked goofy. It was a first stab, after all.

EV1; Photo courtesy of GetMSM.com

Car makers have an answer in the hybrid. Hybrids have both a gas and electric motor. This gives you greater range, doesn’t put you at the mercy of an engine that could cut out on you at 50 miles, and ensures that should your battery bail out on you, you have that good ol’ internal-combustion engine to get you where you need to go.But we’ve had 20 or more years of development since the EV1, right? And it’s true: electric cars now come with as many bells and whistles as your ordinary car–air conditioning, power windows, cruise, and everything else the modern driver expects. And while yes, they’re still small, you have 4-seat electric cars now. But the problem is, the charge time on them is still in the 8-12 hour range, and they still have a range of less than 100 miles. Which is a big issue for most people.

A lot of car manufacturers say things like, “Well, if you only commute 15 miles each way, that’s more than enough range!” The problem with that is, as Carly found out, you end up doing a ton more driving than just your commute. That run to the dry cleaner during lunch. Your jaunt over to your chiropractor appointment. Picking up your daughter at school and taking her to her theatrical costuming class. Taking the dogs on their walkies at your local leash-free dog park. And on and on. (And in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I lived for 25 years, it seems like you have to get in your car for everything, and everything seems at least 5 miles away.) So 100 miles or less (usually less) simply doesn’t cut it.

Which brings us to the Chevy Volt. The Volt is Chevy’s hybrid. Chevy has taken the lessons that they learned with the EV1, clearly looked at the kinds of things you get in a Prius, and come up with I think is a really solid entrant in the hybrid category.  As I mentioned, I got a chance to use a Volt for an entire week, and forced myself to use it as my daily car for all uses, from tooling around town between SXSWi venues to driving kids hither and yon to (light) grocery shopping.

Chevy has come a long way in the last few years. My experience with Chevys in the past (through rental cars, generally) has not been happy; I have been quite displeased with how they drive, their road and engine noise, the fit and finish of their cars, and many other issues.  But after my experience with a Camaro rented from Enterprise last April (“Everyone wants a Camaro” the nice young lady at GM’s Austin customer service office told me when I mentioned to her how much I had liked it), and now with the Volt, I am comfortable saying that they have really made quantum leaps.  And I say this as the owner in my life of two Toyotas, three Hondas, and a BMW, just so you know where I’m coming from.  I have a huge distrust of domestic auto makers, and I was genuinely impressed.

Chevy Volt in my driveway along with our Shih-tzu/poodle mix, Rosie (Isabelle the Corgi in the background sniffing a tree); charging unit on grass in foreground

I use a Honda Accord as my daily driver, so my first impression was, “Ah, right; a compact!  I remember those!”  But it’s not tiny, and it’s not ugly, as so many compacts can be.  It’s a nice, solid, decent-looking compact.  The head, leg, and interior room is exactly what you would expect in a compact with one exception:  There is a large transmission hump through the center of the car, much like in a front-engine, rear-wheel drive vehicle.  This means that it is a four-seater and no nonsense; no fitting an extra small kid in the middle in the back.

Back seat

I was very glad to have an entire week with the Volt, because in my experience, no matter how good a new car is, it takes you a while to get used to the fact that it’s different from your old car.  The buttons and dials and readouts are in different places; the controls are laid out differently; things works just a bit differently.  I’m glad I got a chance to get over that so that when I complain about something below, it’s because I genuinely don’t like it, and not simply because it’s “different”, if you know what I mean.

The “Cockpit”

The Volt uses a fob rather than a key, which means that you don’t have to insert anything into the ignition, you just need to put your foot on the break and press the “Start” button to get going (so long as the fob is in range of the car).  I understand this is pretty common with European cars, but it’s new to me, and took me a bit to get used to.   But I’ll tell you, once I did, I loved it.  I could keep the fob in my pocket or hooked onto the carabiner on my gear bag and never take it out.  This may seem like a small thing, but after a week of not having to fumble for keys, fiddle with fitting them into the ignition in the dark, and all the other nonsense associated with keys, I got to absolutely love it and hated going back.  Good choice there, GM!

The magic fob!

The car is of course a hybrid, with a maximum electrical motor range, according to GM and the dash readout, of 34 miles (or so, depending on conditions, and that’s right about what I got).  On regular house current, it take frigging forever to charge the thing from zero — I did it once, and it took somewhere around 12 hours.  GM says that it only takes two-three hours using a “Type 2″ charger, i.e. one that you install in your house (or at charging stations around town), and honestly I believe them.

Since most of my driving is around town, other than the once for experimental purposes, it never went down to zero, and I got into the habit of simply plugging it in whenever I got home, like I do with my iPhone whenever I get back to my desk.  It did make me worry a bit about the various electrical components, though; is the charger unit okay when it rains?  What about the plug on the car itself?  I don’t have a garage or car port, so if I have an EV, that charger unit is going to be out there in the open basically all the time.  How will it stand up to the elements?

Charging unit; it’s a bulky sucker

If you plug in the car to charge and it is not plugged in properly, it beeps at you.  I’m sure that the particular tone the car uses indicates all kinds of details — You’re not fully plugged-in! You’re too close to something on the side! You’re too close to something in the back! etc. — but I never did get used to them enough to decode them all.    I got used to the, “You’re not plugged in properly!” one, though, because I heard it a lot; either the plug unit is a bit persnickety, or I’m just lame at plugging it in.  I report, you decide!

Why not just keep it in the car itself, or sitting on the porch under cover, you might ask?  Well, it’s heavy and bulky, for one; hauling it around is a PITA.  And second, getting it in and out of its under-the-floorboards location in the hatch is a real PITA; even the guy who picked up the car had trouble with it.  So leaving it out, exposed to the elements, is the obvious easiest solution for the user, and I have to think it won’t hold up to well under that.  If you have a garage, you’re probably fine.  If not? Well …

What you see when you open the door and the car is charging

Here are my impressions from driving it around town:

• The car rides very, very low and scrapes bottom quite frequently.  I scraped getting in and out of my driveway every single time — it’s a slight hill.  Going over speed bumps.  Going up parking garage inclines.  Basically all the time.
• Power-wise, it’s a compact.  This baby is never going to blow anyone’s doors off.  You want that, you should probably go for the Camaro!  It neither disappointed me or pleased me in that area.

And here’s where that power comes from.

• The transition between electric power and gas was very, very smooth; I honestly couldn’t tell when it happened.  Which is exactly what I want from a hybrid!
• The brakes–which I assume are at least partly regenerative–that is, they power the battery when you use them–were very non-grabby and took some time to get used to. Getting back into my Honda, I tended to over-brake for several minutes before my reflexes adapted.
• The visibility is great; unlike in the Camaro (where making it look cool definitely reduced the amount of windowspace), there were lots of windows for great road visibility.
• I admit to a strong preference for analog speedometers; I don’t mind having a combo, but I don’t like a plain digital readout which is, unfortunately, what the Volt has.  And in addition, I found the entire main readout to be very, very busy and not a good use of space.  Do you really need that much space to tell you what the battery status is?  And if you look at the photo below, that bar on the right is to help you drive more economically; when the bouncing ball is exactly halfway up, you’re doing well.  If the ball goes to high or low, you’re not being as economical as you could be.  Well, okay, I guess, but again:  Does it need that friggin’ much room?  And as for those other items below in the bottom center–the “A” and “B” — I guess they were trip mileage counters or something?  I dunno, but I found it all very busy and ugly.

The main speedometer and power readout behind the steering wheel

With regard to the equipment, my model was fully loaded, with power doors, windows, mirrors, seat-warmers, and pretty much every other modern convenience.  What did I think of all the gadgets and gizmos?

• Chevy calls the center console an “Infotainment System”, which I find kind of silly, honestly.  As you can see in the photo, there is a large touch screen at the top, and the usual stack of controls beneath.  Interestingly, none of the buttons are physical, only touch.  I have to say that even after a week I didn’t get used to this; when driving, I really need the feedback of a physical button.  (There is an audible “click” noise when you for example press fast-forward, but it’s not enough for me.)  

Power button is the blue thing just to the left of the gear shift; parking brake is the little lever just to right of the gear shift

• The parking brake is not a lever on the floor, but rather an odd switch on the dash; I never got to like this.  I would bet it’s to save weight, but I just didn’t like it.  I did like that you literally can’t move the car when it’s engaged; after all, how many of you out there have driven around for a while with the parking brake engaged?
• I also wasn’t a big fan of how they organized the menus, and the navigation from one menu to another; it struck me as awkward and clunky, and entailed a lot of guessing while sitting in the driveway.

The infotainment system main menu

• On the other hand, I loved how well the system operated with my iPhone.  The Bluetooth connectivity was wonderful, and if you had BT enabled when you got into the car, it linked right away.  (I had noticed this on the Camaro as well, so clearly GM has spent some solid time working on this.)   In addition, in the center arm rest is a USB jack, and you could jack into the system instead of using BT, which was quite handy.  I started leaving a spare cable just dangling there.  I can easily imagine using it with Siri regularly (and Dan using it with Dragon Dictation!), were I to get a Volt for myself.
• I never really got used to the touch screen.  It seems to operate with a combination of touch and using the dials below; I really don’t like hybrid touch screens (like the ones on the checkout line at the grocery store, for example), and didn’t like this one much, either.
• The car comes with a rear-facing camera, which displays automatically on the Infotainment screen when you shift into reverse.  You can’t rely on it, but it’s definitely a big help when trying to, e.g., avoid an idiot who has parked just across the street behind your driveway leaving you with very little room.  There are also proximity sensors on the car, telling you when you are getting too close to things in front, back, or on the side.  The sound of the beeps increases the closer you get, and the tone of the beep is different–at least, I think so–depending on whether you are closer in front, the rear, or on the sides.  I never decoded which beep meant what, but I only had it for a week.  (And on numerous occasions seriously considered shutting the beeps off entirely, which I’m pretty sure can be done–I found them somewhat annoying.)

A couple of other things I want to note about the Volt in closing:

• All the exterior door handles have locking buttons.  That is, if you have the fob, rather than having to fit a key into a hole on a particular door, you just press the button on the handle.  I really liked that.

Note the little silver button; keep the fob in your pocket and just press that sucker to unlock!

• I found the lack of trunk space disturbing.  It would be hard to do a full grocery run (without folding down the rear seats, of course), and when I picked up Sami at the airport, I took the Honda because I wasn’t sure we could fit both her suitcases and her shoulder bag in the Volt.  This was probably over-cautious on my part, but wanted to mention it.

Nothing under the floor there but a battery and a space for the charger.

• Here in Austin, as part of an effort to encourage people to buy EVs, around town you can find numerous charging stations.  Including in some public parking garages, where the slots for the EVs are closer to the venue and reserved for EVs, which is a nice little bonus.
• The main door lock for all four doors is on the dash, not on the door on the driver’s side, as in most cars I’m used to.  Not a big thing, but a bit annoying.
• The electric power outlet was behind a door on the front right by the driver’s side door, while the gas cap (which I never used!) was behind the rear passenger door.  Both were controlled by buttons set into the driver’s door.

So what did I think of the Volt?  I liked it; I could easily see myself driving it regularly, especially given my “work at home” schedule and the fact we have a giant Honda Odyssey minivan for our second car.  Could I use it if I had to commute?  Probably, although I would end up using gas more (horrors!).  The kids just loved it, and kept asking if we could keep it.  Which is notable, given that they are (respectively) 17 and 14; the 17 year-old (Maggie) wondered if we could get one for her, and given that the 14 year-old (Joseph) is as nuts about fancy cars as you can imagine, that’s something to bear in mind.

The Volt is not flashy; it’s not powered to blow your doors off or styled to turn heads like the Camaro, no.  And no, it’s not a family hauler, either; it’s a compact with limited trunk/hatch space, so you’re not going camping with three kids in this thing.  What it is, is comfortable, solid, easy to drive, and easy to use (if you see the difference).  I know I’m repeating myself here, but the fit and finish of the GM cars that I’ve driven lately continues to very much impress me, and the Volt was no exception; if you’ve shied away from American cars (as I have!) for that reason in the past, then you might want to reconsider.  (I’m serious.  I’m really picky about that sort of thing.)  I loved the key fob, and I really liked being able to park closer in at parking garages because I was in an EV.

I want to make one final note here — and I will cover this topic more thoroughly in a different post — GM is making a massive (and clearly expensive) effort to improve their “customer relations”.  They are taking a very “Genius Bar” approach to customer contacts, and want to cut their response time down when a customer contacts them via email, regular mail, phone, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever to minutes rather, than hours or day.  I don’t know how well this is playing out with GM customers overall, but it was certainly the case for me that whenever I needed anything — even something as simple as the price of the car — I heard back from my contact within minutes.  Yes, yes; I’m a reviewer, and they want to impress me.  But believe me, faithful Gear Diary readers, it’s more rare than you might think when doing product reviews (how many times has Dan written about bad customer experiences?), so it’s absolutely worth mentioning.

If we were in the market for a new car, I would definitely consider the Volt.

What it is: 2013 Chevy Volt gas-electric hybrid
MSRP: $39,145 (base); $45,690 (as driven) [not including the famous "destination charge", of course!]–a bit steep yes, but the U.S. government offers a (I believe) $7500 tax credit on purchase

Charging socket with plug inserted

Gas tank

Close-up of the electrical charging socket

Image courtesy Yamaha

Consumer Reports has just released its first-ever motorcycle reliability survey and – as if mimicking recent automotive surveys – Japanese motorcycles ranked better than American and German models.

The survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, says about one in four Harley-Davidson owners reported a major problem in the first four years of ownership, and that BMW motorcycles had even more problems reported than that.

By comparison, the study showed only one in ten Yamaha owners had issues, followed closely by Kawasaki and Honda.

Despite experiencing a higher rate of problems with their motorcycles, Harley and BMW owners are apparently the most loyal. When asked if they would buy their bike again (with hindsight being 20-20), 75 percent of Harley owners answered a resounding “Yes” followed by 74 percent of BMW owners, yet only 63 percent of Yamaha buyers would repurchase, and a mere 60 percent Kawasaki owners would make the same choice.

Top issues reported were related to accessories such as lights, instruments, switches and radios (21 percent), followed by brake problems (20 percent), and fuel system (15 percent). Most of these repairs were reported as being fairly inexpensive, running under $200.

More information can be found at www.consumerreports.org.

2013 Ford Escape Images courtesy Ford

Compact utility vehicles are all the rage these days, and in recent weeks (and months) many have graced my test driveway. Automakers near and far are seeking ways to stand out from one another in a bid for the consumer’s attention and at Ford that is certainly no different.

For 2013, Big Blue Oval has completely overhauled its popular little Escape (that is still deems a sport utility vehicle), updating not only styling but powertrains as well. Three engines are now offered in the Escape, two of them EcoBoost turbo models.

Our recent tester arrived sort of “middle-of-the-road” in SE front-wheel-drive fashion sporting the 1.6-liter EcoBoost four. All powertrains include a new six-speed automatic gearbox and all models offer at least 30 mpg on the highway. I enjoyed the 178hp and 184 lb. ft. or torque generated in our little guy even finding engine response surprisingly sprite on the rare occasion I really pushed it.

As for road manners, think of the new Escape as an oversized Focus, the platform it is based on. Escape basically takes the Focus five-door to the next level offering better ground clearance and interior space.

Technology in the new Escape is cutting edge for the automaker, as the cute-ute offers new Curve Control to rein the vehicle in when pushing things too hard in turns, while Torque Vectoring Control allowing drivers to open things up a bit in the twisties.

Inside Ford offers the latest version of its MyFord Touch and SYNC systems although it seemed to struggle a bit with my iPhone 5 and finding my favorite Sirius satellite radio channel. I would gladly trade MyFord Touch for standard rearview camera and blindspot detection, each of which is available but did not find its way into our tester. And that center stack reminds me of something out of Battlestar Gallactica or something.

The vehicle itself is easy to drive, as have been most of the small utilities I’ve tested lately. Automakers are getting it right in this segment, providing buyers with a fair amount of style and performance while offering value and usability.

Ford starts 2013 Escape pricing at $22,470, with our SE tester arriving at $27,860. EPA fuel rating for this 1.6-liter EcoBoost is 23 mpg city and 33 mpg highway – that’s about as good as it gets in this segment.

The 2013 Ford Escape is nicely styled and appointed and offers a pleasant driving experience despite a bit of wind noise at speed. The changes over its predecessor are so dramatic it cannot be compared to earlier Escape models, and it’s definitely worth a look by anyone shopping this segment.

The New Santa Fe in front of the Coronado marina

As I had written previously, the folks at Hyundai took a group of ‘social bloggers’ to Park City, UT last August to introduce the new 2013 Santa Fe Sport. My review was highly favorable, but what was missing for me was the full-sized Santa Fe 6/7 passenger model – Hyundai teased that model, but we weren’t allowed to take pictures, get in or even touch the pre-production model they brought. However, they told us that once it was ready to launch we would be able to get a hands-on look. This weekend the made good on that promise, as Hyundai took a bunch of social bloggers to Coronado to test drive the new Santa Fe.

I will have a full drive experience report coming soon, but for now I wanted to give a quick overview of a few things that shaped the experience including the Hotel Del Coronado, Coronado itself, the food, and of course our first glimpse at the new Santa Fe.

The view from my room once the clouds cleared in the early afternoon. Gorgeous

Coronado is a peninsula that is separated from San Diego by water, and was bought by two men Buford & Story in 1886 for $110,000. The two men had made their fortunes helping to shape the rail system, and had taken to going to Coronado for hunting trips. At the time it was populated mostly by small game, but the two men had thoughts of transforming it into a destination for other like-minded people. To do this they decided to build a hotel and later engage in planning the design of a community, and the Hotel Del Coronado opened for business in 1888. They are marking 125 years of continuous operation, and it remains a luxurious destination that continues to attract presidents and other dignitaries and offers an amazing vacation spot for couples and families.

Looking back up at the hotel from the beach walk

As someone who grew up — and lived until recently — in the Boston area, I have always loved places rich in history and distinctive styling – the famous Colonial Inn in Concord is one of my favorite places to stay. The Hotel Del Coronado was built on a tight schedule without a proper architect or blueprints, working only from a rough work up of an exterior model. As a result, the interior design is best described as erratic or charming, depending on how you view such things. Another bit of history is that there is a mysterious ghost who purportedly haunts the hotel … her name is Kate Morgan, and she supposedly inhabits a room at the hotel where she is a benevolent spirit. A few folks in our group had issues with lights turning off and on, things getting unplugged and even with items going missing and later reappearing in random places; a few of the ladies had a sleepover because of this!

The main entry way into the hotel

Much of the hotel is original, from the redwood in the foyer to the tongue & groove crown room, to the uneven floors and winding halls and more. There is still an elevator operator on the formerly steam-powered bird-cage elevator! But it has also been modernized with all of the things you would expect from a 5 star resort, and all of the additions have been streamlined to match the original styling. The grounds are impeccable, and they were designed so that European visitors accustomed to lush gardens would be impressed … I know I certainly was!

From the second floor including the main chandelier

How do I know so much about the hotel and Coronado? Hyundai arranged a history tour of the hotel with the local chamber of commerce, giving us insights into our base of operations for the weekend. But it was more than that – they provided a view of the culture of the island, the people who built and grew the community, and the path from a small seasonal resort for the wealthy to a year round destination.

The crown room – all tongue & groove construction, no nails, and crown lighting purportedly designed by Frank L. Baum.

As I mentioned in my recent Monday Mile ‘Your Workout Is Where You Find It’, when I am going to be someplace other than home one of the first things I do is check out the map to figure out a running route. And when I am going to a place like Coronado, I am even more excited by the prospects. I mentioned finding tons of potential running routes in my post about preparing for the trip, but as I was being driven from the airport to the hotel I noticed that the traffic and pedestrian volume and curbside dining along many streets would make most of those routes tricky in the afternoon. Instead, once I got myself checked in and chatted with my wife quickly, I headed down the Silver Strand.

My return running route – there is marina on the right, beach on the left, and the Hotel Del Coronado in the distance

The Silver Strand is the small strip of land that makes Coronado a peninsula rather than an island. It is wide enough for a 2-lane road in both directions along with a bike trail and beach, and narrow enough that you can see both sides at once. The weather was gorgeous – still mostly cloudy, only around 60 degrees … just wonderful. I ran down the beachfront (there is a wide walkway) until I ended up on the Silver Strand road, eventually getting across and onto the bike path. As I got onto the narrow part of the Silver Strand I discovered unpaved paths along the side that went through the garden areas, so I kept to those. I kept going until the GPS chimed 4 miles and then turned around, mirroring the path back to the hotel to end up just under 8 miles; it was glorious.

The Hotel Del Coronado is gorgeous at 5AM as well!

For Saturday and Sunday morning, I was able to get out of the hotel before 5AM to take my planned ‘tour of the island’ route that went along the shore near the marina to near the base of the bridge to the gates of the Naval Air Station to the beach and along the beach path to where it hit the Silver Strand and then back to the hotel. It was right around 7.5 miles and the streets were almost completely clear, allowing me to enjoy only the sounds of birds, waves, my own breathing and footfalls, and the waking up of the Naval Air Station. Finishing with 1.5 mile right along the coast with the crashing waves drowning out the chiming of my Garmin was incredible.

Hard to see, but this is the gate of the Naval Air Station, coming to life at 5AM.

One thing we learned in Park City was that the Hyundai folks would be sure to keep us stylishly fed for the weekend. The Hotel Del Coronado boasts four main restaurants as well as an ice cream shop and pizza shop. That means if you are looking for formal dining, somewhat less formal dining, casual take-out fare, or just some quicker simple food you are covered.

I walked to the water, turned around and … this.

Because the media were arriving all day, Hyundai gave us vouchers for lunch and an ice cream. I really wanted to be outdoors somewhere and found the outdoor restaurant too crowded and closed-in, so I grabbed a to-go turkey & brie sandwich lunch from Babcock & Story. I also grabbed a chocolate mousse dessert in a chocolate cup with fruit inside – I had planned on getting an ice cream but this changed my mind:

Seriously …

After lunch, the tour, and after spending some time wandering around the area, it was time to kick things off for real! Of course, this meant a reception with appetizers and drinks at a reserved area in the formal dining area. This was fun for several reasons – we were outdoors, sampling fresh local seafood and other great ingredients, and meeting old and new friends. Many attendees were also present at Park City, some I knew by name and others by appearance. All of whom it was great to see and catch up. Also, many of the Hyundai folks were the same, from Jim to Rob to Laurie to Linda – and they are all really great folks.

At dinner, Jim laid out the order of events for the next day, and each table had someone from Hyundai to go over things and make sure we were all prepared. But naturally much of the event was about socialization – both in-person and virtual. Hyundai refers to us as the ‘social wave’ and therefore it wasn’t just acceptable for us to be on our phones broadcasting on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/etc all the time – it was expected. Somewhere in between the time on our phones and the great talk with Liza from AddictedtoSaving and Scott from ChipChick and Laura from BetterinBulk and Laurie from Hyundai, we managed to have a great dinner. I went straight for the steak with asparagus and Creme Brûlée for dessert, with absolutely no regrets!

There were two orders of business before getting out on the road with the New Santa Fe: breakfast and product presentations. Breakfast was memorable not just for more great social interaction – pretty much everyone shifted seats from dinner to interact with a new set of people (except for one person and her minion who strangely remained aloof and mostly separated from the proceedings the whole weekend) – but also due to the presence of Harris’s Hawks. We learned that the hotel brought a pair of these on the grounds for the morning four days a week to deal with seagulls – just the screeching and presence eliminates the gulls for a day or so.

Harris Hawks apparently scare gulls away

And naturally we all wanted to pose with the hawks, as they are well-trained and used to dealing with people.

I wrote about it here but it is hard for me to look at a picture of myself without judging harshly.

After breakfast and fun with the hawks we went through the presentation. I continue to hear about automotive events where there are hours upon hours of presentations and precious little driving, and I was once again glad that with Hyundai that is NOT the case! Jim, Jon Shon and another product manager presented business aspects, competitive insight and technical details of Hyundai and the new Santa Fe. The Santa Fe Sport has gotten a great reception and has sold very well since introduction last summer (as I can attest from how many I have seen around my area), and Hyundai is very well positioned in terms of sales turnover and resale value.

As for the product specifics, I will cover those in the technical minutia of my drive experience, but basically what you are looking at is more than just a 3-row version of the Santa Fe Sport but less than a completely different model. The Santa Fe is longer, taller and has more space, and the back seat (middle row) has been modified to make it very comfortable for passengers but still allow access to the third row.

Hyundai Santa Fes in a row

Once the presentation and hands-on views (and assorted silliness such as seeing how many folks could comfortably sit in the cargo area at once (we did four but could have done five – but it wouldn’t make for such a fun picture!), it was time to hit the road.

Laura, Kas, Becca and Jasmine having fun in the back of the Santa Fe!

The way Hyundai does their drives is using a trip book: there is a lunch destination with a driver-change checkpoint half-way. The route is mapped turn-by-turn in a booklet that ensures you will get to do all types of driving: highway, city, up hill, down hill, narrow and wide roads, twists and turns, and so on. My driving partner was Louise from MomStart – she was fun to chat with, sharing my values of marriage, family and kids. We had a good time throughout the trip, learning about the Santa Fe and fumbling with some of the controls as we explored functionality.

The mid-way point was an off-road overlook area that was a great place for a break and change of drivers, and to find out how others did following directions. Louise mentioned that I was a really good navigator (I am an engineer, so linear mapping is something that comes naturally), but others were not so lucky. Some entered the location into the GPS and were sent mostly along the highway (boring!), others missed turns and ended up nearly crossing the Mexican border, and still others just got lost and ended up using the GPS to get back on track.

The first leg was ~40 miles, and the second part was just under 30 miles to the town of Julian, where at the Julian Grille we were encouraged to make sure to leave room for their famous pie! Both the lunch (veggie sandwich and fruit) and pie (multi-berry with ice cream) were excellent, as I wrote about on Yelp.

If you are in the area, this pie is worth the trip!

After lunch we headed off for the afternoon activity – which would mean another 60 or so miles. Louise was exhausted and asked me to drive, which allowed me to test out the Santa Fe on a mostly highway trip we took to the zoo. I was originally scheduled to go para-gliding and Louise hang-gliding, but she had switched to the San Diego Zoo and since no one had been able to para-glide all week (and since I love the zoo!), we headed to the world-famous San Diego Zoo!

Sadly the line for tours was too long so we didn’t get to ride these

Due to time constraints we knew we would only have about 90 minutes, so we hopped in line for the bus tour of the zoo along with Becca from MommaB Blog and Kas from SouthernBellasWaystoSave. The line was long and slow, but the bus tour was an excellent way to see the majority of the expansive park in as time efficient a way as possible.

Total show-off, doing backflips for the crowd!

My only regret was that we didn’t get to see the panda bears, but as the tour guide noted, pandas are stressed by noise, so the loud bus and tour announcers would pretty well freak them out running by a couple hundred times a day. Jim from Hyundai noted that he needed two trips to get a real feel for the zoo, so maybe I will need a return trip!

Oh … and apparently some of the animals made their way back to the hotel! That is James Hills of ManTripping and Jason Sasaki of SasakiTime.

After a long day with loads of opportunity to drive the new Santa Fe, we headed out for our last dinner. The Hyundai folks had arranged a dinner outing a couple of blocks away at Chez Loma. We had the entire upper floor to ourselves, which was a good thing since the restaurant seemed very intimate and a table for two having to deal with our crew would be sorely disappointed.

The cute little Chez Loma … I bet for a couple it would be nice, which almost makes me feel bad for my Yelp review … almost.

Sometimes a restaurant mistakes the ability to seat a certain number of people with the ability to host a function for a group of that size. For example, a group of 30 people (25 bloggers plus some Hyundai folks) would be ordering around the same time and expect their salads to arrive promptly and pretty much one table after the next. What you wouldn’t expect would be to have ordered salad when it was light as in the picture of the exterior and still have the entire room waiting until it was dark outside:

Coronado has cute views everywhere!

In fact, it was an hour before the first salads appeared (nothing particularly elaborate) … and another 30 minutes before the last table got theirs! So we got bored and took pictures of a tiny baby figurine on a rose. Why? Sit for 90 minutes before getting a salad and ask me again!

As for the food itself, the taste and presentation for MY dinner was very good … unlike anyone who ordered the cold/dry/tough/tasteless/etc scallops. My complaint was that a big reason I chose the duck was because it had sweet potato listed as the side dish – and as you can see there is about a tablespoon of sweet potato on the side almost as a presentation enhancer! Apparently a couple of the other entrees were pretty solid. One fun thing I learned at Chez Loma – when people are waiting for a course while others have already finished, you don’t need worry about over-aggressive wine refills! That makes tracking your intake easier. Sadly, Linda from Hyundai was wearing the stress on her face, so I told her to relax – everything was showing up, we weren’t on a deadline, and she would simply never come here again. She relaxed while chatting, but given the level of perfection she managed throughout the Park City and rest of the Coronado trips, I know she was very upset. Naturally I shared on Yelp.

I am STILL craving sweet potato!

After dinner we headed back to the bar at the Hotel Del Coronado, where a set of tables were reserved – but we were so much later than estimated that there were attempts to take over the seats! Fortunately everything was set up for us when we returned.

It was a great time of chatting and comparing notes and pictures and families and locations and blogs … but eventually it had to end. One thing about being on the fifth floor clear across the hotel was that it allowed me plenty of stair exercise! But I had to take a trip on the bird-cage elevator that still has an operator and was apparently once steam-powered!

The weekend was excellent fun and highly productive, and I will soon post about the featured event for the weekend: the new Santa Fe driving experience. Until then here is a shot of me behind the wheel!

Full disclosure: Hyundai paid for the entire trip including travel, food and lodging, but the opinions expressed are my own.

Sad to leave … but happy to be home!

Images by Author

Hot Hatches – boy, how I love ‘em, whether it’s the celebrated green chile pepper from New Mexico or a cool baby wagon from an automaker such as Audi, Mazda or Volvo. Unfortunately we have to bid farewell to one of them, the Volvo C30.

C30 is the baby in the Volvo lineup here in the States. It was launched in 2006 to give Germany a run for its money in the premium sport hatch segment. It’s my guess that during development Volvo engineers nicknamed the C30 “Jack,” as in “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick.” It certainly is. But alas, we have learned the 2013 model is the swansong edition for C30 here and what better way to go out in style than to deliver a super hot Polestar edition.

Polestar is a performance group that takes certain Volvo models and tweaks and tunes them further than what the factory is capable of. I recently spent a week behind the wheel of one of the unique limited edition cars and enjoyed every moment.

I was surprised by the long gears (and therefore, extended powerband) in the C30. I found it very easy to sneak up on posted speed limits and then say adios to them. Our tester was powered by the smooth turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder T5 powerplant backed by slick six-speed manual gearbox. From the factory, this engine produces a fun 227hp but then Polestar finds another 23 ponies to bring the total to 250hp and 273 lb. ft. of torque for just an all-out fun driving experience.

Power delivery is smooth, strong and consistent. C30 is front-wheel driven and in corners reminds you of the weight up front but that quickly goes away as soon as you straighten up that sporty steering wheel.

The chassis is solid and the car, despite its size, feels very rigid and, in return, safe. Dynamic Stability and Traction Control is standard as are a host of other safety technologies. Heck, if there is one thing Volvo knows, it’s safety. C30 (along with models like the S60) are proving Volvo also knows a thing or two about making vehicles fun to drive.

Despite being around since the middle of the last decade, C30 styling is still very modern and chic – in the past I have gone so far as to compare Volvo models with an Ikea store and a lot of folks love Ikea, so…there ya go.
More? You want more?

Well how about this R-Design/Polestar package our test model was wrapped in. It features styling enhancements that include a body color body kit and spoilers as well as a new sport chassis featuring slightly reduced ride height for improved handling and performance.

Our R-Design C30 rode on stylish 18-inch alloy wheels with all-season low profile rubber and was finished with polished 3 ½-inch exhaust tips. The farewell car was bathed in Rebel Blue body color that found critics polarized in opinion.

Fuel economy rolls in at 21 mpg city and 29 mpg highway although I am quite certain my figures varied a bit from these.

Inside, the C30 is quite comfortable while not giving up anything on style points or function. The “floating” center stack features audio and climate controls while a navigation system rises from the top center of the dash pad adjacent to the center speaker of yet another awesome Volvo audio system.

The hot little C30 Polestar rolled in here at $35,545. It’s sad to see it departing the U.S. market but perhaps some day when global economic conditions ease we will see the return of this great little hatch. For now we bid you a fond farewell: Adios, amigo; adieu; auf wiedersehen; tot ziens; hej då.

New Hyundai Santa Fe

Last August the folks at Hyundai took a bunch of non-auto-centric bloggers to Park City, Utah to check out the new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. I described the experience here and the drive test here. It was a great experience, and the only thing missing was the full-sized 3-row Santa Fe. Now that is ready and today I am preparing to check out the New Hyundai Santa Fe !

This time the folks at Hyundai are taking us to Coronado, California. For those who don’t know, Coronado is “an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, across San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego”. We are being put up in the historic Hotel Del Coronado – which looks like an amazing place. Here is a picture I found at this site that shows the hotel in the foreground with the bridge to San Diego in the background. Yeah … I like the looks of this place.

There are two obvious elements about a ‘junket’ like this – the trip and the vehicle. The trip itself seems guaranteed to be every bit as wonderful as the one in August to the Montage Deer Valley resort, and this time rather than Olympic Park we get to choose between visiting the San Diego Zoo or going hang-gliding/paragliding! If you know me, you can guess my choice – paragliding! The hotel looks amazing, combining luxurious accommodations with a layout that integrates it into the surroundings organically. It is more 125 years old, and I can’t wait to see the rich history first hand.

As for the New Santa Fe … I am excited to check it out. I know these are not exactly ‘sexy’ cars for many, but for myself it is perfect. Integrating storage, practicality, all-weather capability, amenities, fun and more were things that excited me about the Santa Fe Sport. And one of the most important pictures I took was of the rear seat space:

The issue for me is that while I am over 6′ 1″ tall, I have two teen boys who are each 6’3″ tall! They get absolutely squished up in the back of my Ford Escape, so I was happy that the rear seat was roomier. But very often we are carting around a couple of their friends, which means taking my wife’s Mazda 5 – three rows but very small! So naturally I was excited about the full-sized Santa Fe … and now we get to check it out!

The questions abound – is the rear row comfortable? What compromises were made? Does it still feel zippy and fun? And OMG I can’t want to cruise along the Pacific Ocean, something I haven’t done in nearly a decade (and then only in the Silicon Valley area).

But as I have always mentioned, there are a few things closest to my heart (aside from gadgets): first is my family. Having been traveling a load for a work project the last couple of months has made me realize just how many people have no issue spending Monday through Friday in a different state from their spouse and kids – but it absolutely shreds me! So I naturally made sure I could FaceTime my wife and kids regularly … here is the Verizon 4G map – awesome full coverage:

My other frequent posting topic is my running habit – so it should come as no surprise that one of the first things I did after I decided with my family that I would be going was to check out running routes on Coronado island. Basically – you can go anywhere! And given that the high temperature is forecast at 70 degrees, after I settle in at the hotel I plan to do precisely that! I have found a load of different routes, but pretty much plan to loop the town and run the beach a bit, which will total out around 7-8 miles. Here is a selection of routes greater than 7 miles on the island, with a great looking 7.5 mile course highlighted!

For all the details of the new Santa Fe, head to Hyundai News. And keep your eyes on Gear Diary here as well as on Facebook and Twitter for updates over the course of the weekend. We are not the only group checking out the new vehicle, so in fairness they are asking everyone to hold their drive impressions until Monday the 18th. But I will be providing loads of pics and my impressions of the experience all weekend long!

Images courtesy Volkswagen

Little did I know when I received the keys to the 2013 New Beetle Convertible recently that I would spend most of my week testing it having to defend my manhood. Apparently that is a side effect of driving the fun little droptop, especially when it arrives in the “mellow yellow” that mine did.

The 2013 New Beetle Convertible was intended to “man up” Beetle’s image a bit by giving it a bit more masculine design while also removing the “no nukes/save the whales” flower vase from the dashboard. I guess they still have a ways to go as several times during my week I had my “man card” checked. Perhaps I should have slapped a “I wish I was riding my Harley” bumper sticker on the rear or perhaps one that read “My other car is the SVT Raptor” – maybe that would have saved me from some of the chiding.

Despite that, the 2013 New Beetle Convertible is a blast to drive, top up or down. Most of our week was spent with the top up as Mother Nature apparently did not get the memo from the little groundhog in Punxsutawney. Regardless, we have a lot of fun and even the grand baby had a blast on that one day we were able to slip his child seat into the rear seat area and lower that cloth top.

One thing I did find amusing in the Volkswagen press information on the Beetle Convertible is the list of competitive class vehicles. For the Turbo car VW lists the Camaro and Mustang – interesting. Would not have been the ones I would mention but yes, I see their point there as the V-6 versions of these cars would perhaps be cross-shopped by some (until their manhood gets questioned, then they’re out the door of the VW dealership fast).

This is the third generation of the Beetle Convertible, the first arriving in 1949 of which VW sold 330,000 over a 32-year span. Another 234,619 models of the second-gen Beetle Convertible sold over an eight-year period after it was introduced last decade.

The New Beetle rides on a longer wheelbase and features a wide track over its predecessor, something readily apparent when pushing the new Convertible through the corners and twisties. I really enjoyed my week in the V-dub thanks in part to the Turbo package that pairs a 200hp 2.0-liter four with choice of six-speed manual or six-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmissions. Our tester came with the manual gearbox and the combination shifter and clutch were a breeze to operate in all driving conditions.

On the road the Beetle Convertible is soft and compliant, soaking up all the rough surfaces into its strut-type front and multi-link independent rear suspensions. The Turbo model Beetles get VW’s XDS cross differential (limited slip) system that automatically transfers torque to the front wheel or wheels with the most traction.

All New Beetle models are front-wheel drive and feature the engine mounted up front, transversely. In the rear is the trunk space, which is a bit tight by today’s standards for cargo space although most folks will likely use the rear seat area for cargo more than they will for passengers despite VW calling the car a four-seater. Yes, there is more legroom in here than other coupes and convertibles on the market but truly, how many of you are really cramming passengers back there?

The entire structure is fairly rigid for a convertible but there is still some shimmy and shake on rough stretches of road and with the top up a little wind noise is apparent but expected from a cloth-topped vehicle.

Convertible top operation is snap via the one-button control and it can be operated at up to 31 mph in case one finds themselves driving with no where to pull off the roadway safely. It stows in an area behind the rear seatbacks and above the trunk space (the cause for those tighter trunk dimensions I mentioned). Safety rollbars pop up from behind the rear seatbacks in the event of a catastrophe and as with all Volkswagens the Beetle features all of the latest safety technology.

We tested the 2013 New Beetle Convertible Turbo Convertible with Sound package that sees a starting MSRP of $29,195. The base Beetle Convertible starts at just under 25 grand and VW even offers the TDI turbo-diesel option in the Beetle Convertible.

Yes, my wife would have looked much better behind the wheel of the 2013 New Beetle Convertible than I did (that is true on all the vehicles I test) and yes, they offer more manly body colors than this. I have no problem saying I love the styling of the new New Beetle (third generation) in Coupe and Convertible and am glad VW offers several retro packages for the model line. That said, Yellow Rush would not be MY first choice for body color.

2013 Mazda3 images courtesy Mazda

Grinning from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat, the 2013 Mazda3 embodies that all familiar “zoom-zoom” marketing philosophy of Mazda’s while offering value, quality and a truly nice driving experience for the segment. And whether you love or hate the styling, Mazda says the bold design was intentionally polarizing and was achieved through its design philosophy of “Nagare,” or flow.

Since going to the single digit moniker for its vehicle designations, Mazda proves it is capable of delivering automobiles worthy of the consumer dollar. On a grand scale, Mazda3, in both four-door sedan and five-door hatchback versions, delivers.

I am not shy in proclaiming my love for the platform underneath the Mazda3 (which is shared by the small Volvo and now global Ford Focus). Even at the base level the entry Mazda is capable of delivering a pleasurable driving experience that combines comfort and quality and wraps it up in a vehicle one is not ashamed to park up front for all to see.

Our recent tester was the 2013 Mazda3 i in Grand Touring sedan trim. Current models are the second generation of Mazda’s 3 series and for MY2012 the line received a mid-cycle makeover that consisted of front and rear restyling but the biggest news was the adoption of new SKYACTIV engine technology that sees greatly improved fuel economy – up to 40 mpg on the highway in our tester.

The SKYACTIV technology in a nutshell is Mazda’s vision of delivering driving pleasure and outstanding eco-friendly and safety performance to every customer. It combines the use highly efficient new high-compression engines coupled to new transmissions in a lightweight yet rigid chassis and body with excellent collision safety, developed as the “ideal structure.”

Our Mazda3 rolled in with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood that generates 155hp and 146 lb. ft. of torque to the front wheels. It was mated to the new six-speed automatic sport gearbox with manual shift mode. Together the powertrain was able to deliver surprisingly decent acceleration on demand while keeping to its miserly fuel habits most of the time. During my week in the car the fuel gauge barely moved off full. Fuel economy ratings are 28 mpg city and 40 mpg highway.

The 2013 Mazda3 exhibits very good road manners providing a very quiet and comfortable experience with a decent amount of space for both front and rear seat occupants.

While our tester came loaded with the technology package that included adaptive front lighting and Sirius satellite radio and navigation I would have much rather had a rearview camera as I feel this, of the two, is more important than headlights that turn on their own.

The good news is Mazda includes a host of safety technologies as standard including blind spot monitoring, tire pressure monitoring, dynamic stability control, traction control, front and rear side curtain and front side impact airbags, HD radio, Bluetooth connectivity, and keyless entry and pushbutton start.

Pricing for our 2013 Mazda3 i Grand Tourer sedan begins at $23,650 with our loaded model arriving at $26,420.

I am a big fan of the 3 series from Mazda and if this new Mazda3 just doesn’t deliver enough “zoom-zoom” for you there is always the MAZDASPEED3. Enjoy.

Corvette images courtesy Chevrolet

Two world debuts thrilling the automotive world this week at the 83rd International Motor Show in Geneva are the 2014 Corvette Stingray Convertible and the Ferrari Enzo successor dubbed LaFerrari.

Chevrolet said it chose the Geneva show to introduce the new Corvette convertible as it will offer the sports car in global markets beginning in late 2013, all of them in left-hand-drive fashion.

As with the coupe that was debuted in Detroit earlier this year, the convertible features the all-new aluminum frame structure that is some 57 percent stiffer (and 99 lbs. lighter) than the steel grid it replaces. All new Corvette Stingray models will be powered by the new LT1 6.2-liter V-8 generating some 450hp and 450 lb. ft. of torque. Chevy states no structural reinforcements are required for the new convertible and both coupe and drop-top models share nearly identical power-to-weight ratios.

The new convertible top will be constructed of a three-ply fabric and include sound-absorbing padding and a glass rear window. The top is fully electronic and can be lowered remotely using the car’s key fob. It can also be opened or closed at speeds up to 30 mph.

LaFerrari images courtesy Ferrari

LaFerrari

Ferrari has taken the wraps off its newest dream car at the Geneva show. The LaFerrari is the Prancing Horse’s newest limited-series car, of which only 499 will be built.

While it will be a “production model” of sorts, Ferrari said the new car allows them to experiment with technological solutions that will later filter down into its full production cars including the new HY-KERS hybrid propulsion system.

HY-KERS integrates two electric motors with a 6.3-liter V-12 engine that revs to 9,250 rpm for around 950hp and 650-plus lb. ft. or torque, with high levels of torque available at low revs. One electric motor powers the drive system while the other handles other operational duties (battery charging, etc.). An F1 dual-clutch gearbox handles the transmission duties and features F1 paddle shifting on the steering wheel.

LaFerrari was designed to be as aerodynamic as possible thanks to extensive testing in the F1 wind tunnel and further boosting operational efficiency are front and rear active diffusers and spoilers.

The tire setup on the LaFerrari calls for 19s on the front and 20s at the rear with braking duties handled by Brembo carbon ceramic components.

Performance figures have the new ride sprinting from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in less than 3 seconds and is said to be the fastest road Ferrari produced at the Maranello factory.

Muscle Car Stamp images courtesy US Postal Service

The US Postal Service recently announced the release of a new set of commemorative Forever stamps celebrating five iconic muscle cars from America’s motoring past.

The five vehicles being honored – 1966 Pontiac GTO, 1967 Shelby GT-500, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, 1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda, and 1970 Chevelle SS – all represent America’s adventurous spirit of the muscle car era as these vehicles rumbled and roared their way into the hearts and minds of driving enthusiasts.

Artwork for the stamps was created by Tom Fritz, who said he based his work on photographs of the iconic cars, using bright-colored oil paints on hardboard to attempt to capture the emotive quality of the vehicles.

Muscle Cars is the third in the “America on the Move” series issued by the USPS. The first was 50s Sporty Cars in 2005 followed by 50s Fins and Chrome in 2008.

1970 Chevelle SS

1969 Dodge Charger Daytona

1967 Shelby GT-500

1966 Pontiac GTO

1970 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda

Images by Author

In a little over a decade, the compact crossover/sport utility segment has more than doubled in the number of competitors and they come from all corners of the globe. Automakers have seen sales figures of these vehicles account for nearly 13 percent of all light vehicle sales and they all want a piece of that pie.

Toyota introduced its first small SUV, known as the RAV4, in 1994 globally and here in the U.S. the following year. For 2013 the automaker brings an all-new Gen-4 RAV4 that will be sold in more than 150 markets around the world. Since 1995 Toyota has sold more than 1.7 million of these little runabouts and they claim 80 percent are still on the road today.

For the new model Toyota has made some choices for the buyer easier as they now offer only one powertrain in the form of a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that is backed by an all-new six-speed automatic gearbox. Toyota says this new configuration allows fuel economy of up to 31 mpg highway. They will also still offer an all-wheel drive version that features new Dynamic Torque Control for improved traction.

Another significant change for MY2013 is the elimination of the third row seat option, which Toyota said got very few takers in the previous generations. This allowed engineers to move the spare tire from its previous outboard position on the rear door to under the cargo floor inside the vehicle, thus also paving the way for the new rear overhead hatch as opposed to the previous side-opening rear gate.

Styling upgrades both inside and out are immediately apparent with the new model and perhaps the best selling point up front. Toyota has modernized the RAV4 looks making it more competitive with the likes of the Korean competitors who, in my opinion, have some of the best designs on the market currently.

Other new notable features include a standard backup camera on the 6.1-inch display audio screen, adjustable power liftgate, class-leading 73.4 cubic feet of cargo space, and eight standard airbags.

The 2013 RAV4 will be offered in three trim levels of LE, XLE, and Limited with all-wheel drive available across all models. Pricing begins at $23,300 for base front-wheel drive LE models with AWD tacking on an extra $1,400. A Limited model with AWD fetches a base MSRP of $28,410.

Charting the changes versus the previous generation the 2013 RAV4 is nearly an inch shorter in height, retains the same wheelbase, sheds two inches in overall length, and is slightly narrower. It gains a few pounds overall and the front and rear track width increases incrementally for slightly improved handling and stability on the road.

There is slightly less headroom in the 2013 model but front leg-, shoulder-, and hip room all increase as does cargo space behind both front and rear rows of seating. Second row legroom decreases slightly but the new model loses the sliding capability found on the outgoing RAV4.

The new powertrain setup provides 176hp and 172 lb. ft. of torque which does quite well in most applications. The new RAV4 has decent acceleration and midrange power but the little four is a bit noisier than some of its competitors. New Sport and Eco drive modes are offered for drivers to tailor their experience behind the wheel.

That Dynamic Torque Control I spoke of earlier is integrated into the all-wheel drive system and uses electromagnetic coupling on the front of the rear differential to distribute the necessary amount of torque to the rear wheels when needed. I was able to engage the system while driving through some loose sand in a wash I found on one of the drive routes during a recent model launch program in Arizona. The system worked flawlessly and unobtrusively. For serious driving situations there is a lock mode for the unit.

I found the 2013 RAV4 comfortable and well-mannered and a worthy, attractive contender in this highly competitive segment.

2013 Honda Accord, images courtesy Honda

The Honda Accord is one of the longest running nameplates from a Japanese automaker on the roads of America today. Model year 2013 marks the start of the ninth-generation of the popular midsize sedan, and it offers not only coupe and sedan variants but a new plugin hybrid version as well.

Honda is celebrating 30 years of Accord production in the United States with this newest Accord that has been given a complete makeover. The new car is described as crisper and will redefine sophistication, efficiency, and driving joy in the midsize class.

While interior space remains the same in the 2013 model, outside the new Accord has actually shrunk a bit with all features coming together in a tighter, sportier package. Accord still looks like Accord but with a more “ripped and chiseled” muscular structure.

2013 Honda Accord engine

Our recent test model arrived as a top-of-the-line Touring with the 278hp 3.5-liter V-6 engine backed by new six-speed automatic gearbox. A four-cylinder engine is offered as the base engine backed by CVT or automatic, and Coupe owners can opt for a six-speed manual tranny if they so desire. Give me the “six-by-six,” thank you very much – I want to be pampered and comfortable wherever I go, although I would give the new PHEV model a thought as well.

In my first few minutes behind the wheel a few revelations came to light – this car is a delight to drive and this things hauls a@@… Yes, acceleration is very spirited, as I found out when needing to merge onto the highway as I left the airport, and I also learned there are quite a few new technology goodies in the 2013 Accord to please my geeky inner spirit.

2013 Honda Accord camera

2013 Honda Accord screen

Honda has not been afraid to lead the automotive way when it comes to technology, and in the 2013 Accord they feature a new Lane Watch function that has a camera under the passenger outside rearview mirror so when the right turn signal is employed the nav screen displays what the camera sees: the entire right side blind spot.

This is a great feature that took a minute for me to get accustomed to. No longer did I need to completely turn my head to check the blind spot, as I could merely glance at the high-mounted center dash monitor. Only problem is this comes on whenever that turn signal is used so turning right at corners with the display switching back and forth gets a bit distracting at times.

2013 Honda Accord dashboard

Other new tech features include Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, SmartVent side airbags, LED projector headlamps and brake lights, Adaptive Cruise Control, HondaLink smartphone connectivity, and Eco Assist with Econ button.

And did I mention that drivers can eke up to 34 mpg out of this new V-6 on the highway? Yes, the V-6 model, no need for turbo fours here like some of the competition uses.

The 2013 Accord is very comfortable, very quiet, and nicely appointed. The new model upgrades should see Honda getting back to the leader board in midsize sedan sales given the brand doesn’t do anything to sully its name. Base Accord models start at about 22 grand with our loaded Touring model rolling in at a mere $34,220, very competitive for the segment.

The Honda Accord is back in a great way.

Ford Focus Electric, Image courtesy Ford

It’s been nearly a year since Ford announced official class-leading EPA certification for the Focus Electric, and last month while visiting the automaker I found myself getting a few moments behind the wheel of the EV at the Dearborn, Michigan test facility.

Zipping around the track on a frozen morning just outside Detroit, I found the Focus Electric to exhibit surprisingly good acceleration with driving characteristics remaining close to my impressions in a comparable gas model a while back. Acceleration is instant thanks to the qualities of the electric motors, while braking takes a little getting used to as the regenerative characteristics cause quicker and more forceful application of the stopping power in hybrids and electrics.

What is quite different is that thanks to the silent operation of the EV powertrain, one gets to notice any little rattles or squeaks from the vehicle, although the only ones I discovered in my test model were coming from my smartphone banging around in the cupholder.

Ford Focus Electric, Image by Author

The official EPA rating for the new Focus Electric boasts a 110 miles per gallon equivalent in the city with a 99 MPGe on the highway for a combined rating of 105, pinning Ford’s EV at the top of the list last year. This year however Focus Electric falls to No. 6 ahead of the Tesla sedan but behind newcomers from Scion, Honda, Fiat, Mitsubishi and smart. Nonetheless, the Ford offers some of the best interior space and driving comfort of the group (with only the Honda Fit EV giving it a run for its money out of this batch of top contenders), and the Focus offering seating for up to five.

Ford Focus Electric, Image courtesy Ford

The Ford Focus Electric is rated for 76 miles on a single charge with a total recharge time of only four hours using a 240-volt charger; utilizing the value charging function in the MyFord Mobile app, owners can opt to charge their vehicles during times when utility rates are at their cheapest. On the road, drivers can find charging stations via the PlugShare.com

The Focus Electric was Ford’s first fully electric passenger car, and product information online at the automaker’s website does not list a 2013 model, just the 2012. Pricing was listed as starting at $39,200 with significant rebates and incentives offered to buyers of electrified vehicles.

Ford Focus Electric, Image courtesy Ford

The Ford Focus Electric is nearly identical to its gas siblings, save for the “fuel” door being moved to the front left fender and replacing the filler neck with a charge port. Opening the hood reveals an electric motor that is rated at 143hp and 184 lb. ft. of torque and capable of a top speed of 84 mph. The Lithium-Ion battery pack is mounted beneath the rear cargo floor. It can be recharged using both 120V and 240V power sources.

Ready for my test drive in the 2014 Kia Forte!

I live in a part of the country where one is likely to feel out of place if not driving an SUV or a pickup truck, and I like driving a big SUV. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy taking the 2014 Kia Forte out for a test drive while recently attending the Kia First Drive event in Scottsdale, however, because there’s just something *fun* about sitting lower to the road and really feeling what’s going on that can’t be duplicated when riding in a jacked-up rig. Kia gave me ample opportunity to experience that sensation during my ~115 test drive last week, and when I was done I came away with a new respect for family sedans in general and Kia in particular.

Just as I did in my Sorento writeup, we’ll start with what’s new for 2014, and then I’ll jump into how the drive went …

The 2014 Forte is Kia’s 5th generation compact sedan; in four short years they have already replaced the last generation’s model, which Kia says should serve as an indicator of this market segment’s importance to Kia’s continued growth. Kia has replaced their compact sedan twice in the current generation of the Toyota Corolla because they want to continuously improve and compete.

From the development focus of the Kia Forte, they have enhanced the vehicle’s strong points — its design, the packaging, and the power train performance — and they made an “assertive leap” in terms of refinement by giving it better ride comfort, better miles per gallon, and by introducing premium amenities to this segment.

The design team drew inspiration from the cheetah and an archer for the new Forte, and the US design Center took the lead for the interior and exterior styling. Kia believes that people want to “look good in their car, that they want to be able to connect to the outside world from inside their vehicle”, and they want to “be seen as making a smart choice” in the vehicle they drive.

Some of the 2014 Forte’s key design elements include its broad shoulders, its voluminous hood, and on the EX — the 12 LEDs in the positioning lights. Kia added front and rear corner glass to not only make the interior seem bigger, but to also enhance visibility; it does both.

The EX has added upscale features including a chrome accents on the outside door handles and the lower window beltline, or “hockey stick” as Kia called it. You can see why they gave it that name by looking at this picture …

photo courtesy of Kia

The rear end, short deck lid, the color matched bumpers — and on the fully loaded model — 81 LEDs in each taillight make the Forte a “sporty and yet sophisticated car, unlike any other in this segment.”

It’s not immediately obvious, but Kia has increased the Forte’s trunk opening width by two inches, which will make inserting bulky items — such as a bicycle — that much easier.

The center console is canted 10 degrees toward the driver, as it is in the more expensive Kia Optima, which makes the controls that much easier to reach. This space is meant to emphasize “that the driver is in control”.

To give the Forte its more athletic proportions, Kia made it wider, longer and lower, as they have done with their other recent sedans; to increase its sportiness, they increased the Forte’s wheelbase.

The inside is a comfortable space for passengers. Front seat riders benefit from an increase in head, leg and shoulder room; the Forte remains “one of the roomiest compact sedans in this segment”.

The backseat has plenty of leg room!

Two all new engines will be introduced with the 2014 Forte: the 1.8 liter is standard on the LX, and it generates 148 horsepower; the new 2.0 liter engine is standard on the EX, and it produces 173 horsepower. As was done with the Sorento’s new engine, these engines have also been stress tested by running them for 200 hours at wide open throttle, and on top of that additional time at red-line. Kia’s engines “are built to last”. Some of the key elements of the new engine are an aluminum bed plate, which when compared to the last generation’s is lighter and stiffer. The 2014 Forte also has an offset crankshaft which reduces the friction between the pistons and the cylinder wall. The final feature was the lightweight material that Kia used for the intake manifold, which saves 30% in weight compared to the aluminum they used on the last generation.

The Forte has a MacPherson strut front suspension and a coupled torsion beam rear axle; the front bushing sizes have been increased from 66mm to 70mm to make the ride more comfortable and to help isolate noise from the road. Flex steering is standard on the Forte EX model, and the switch that controls it is on the right side of the steering wheel; it has the same three settings as the Sorrento — comfort, normal and sport.

Giving the Forte a quiet interior was one of Kia’s goals, and the ways that they made it happen included using a special material to create the dash isolation pad; they also used premium carpeting that is not usually found in this class vehicle. A dual-layered engine mount with two different tuning frequencies was used, which allowed Kia’s engineers to target high frequencies like wind sounds and lower frequency sounds like auto vibration.

Kia wants you to notice how quiet the car is when you drive it.

The 2014 has improved aerodynamics, and tortial rigidity. Reinforcements have been added to the cowl, the under floor, and to other integral parts. 63% of the Forte’s body is made from high-strength steel to give it that stiffer and stronger structure that is needed to deliver their desired attributes.

There are a lot of premium features that have made their way into the compact sedan market, and the 2014 Forte delivers many of the features that consumers now expect … and it introduces a few more. The EX has a power ventilated driver’s seat with memory; the ventilated seat is a class-exclusive feature. On an EX equipped with keyless entry, the side mirrors will fold out and approach lighting will come on in various points, basically “welcoming you to your vehicle”.

The Forte will be available in two trim levels; the base LX and the EX. The LX has the 1.8 liter engine, and it starts at under $16,000. The well-equipped LX Automatic with Power Package will be priced in the mid $18,000. The power package will include 16″ alloy wheels, remote keyless entry and cruise control. The EX adds to the power package, and it includes 17″ wheels as an option. The premium package includes things like a sunroof, leather seat trim, heated front and rear seats, a ventilated drivers seat, and other goodies. The Technology Package includes navigation, LED taillights, and HID headlights.

The UVO eServices package that I described in the Sorento writeup will also be available in the 2014 Forte.

The Test Drive

As is usually the case when we are attending an auto event together, Helena from Chip Chick and I partnered up. I drove, and Helena navigated the course that Kia had charted; we started at the W hotel in Scottsdale and made our way out of town. The way Kia had set it up was that we were given a book with our course plotted out, so it would say things like ’0 miles turn right from W Hotel’, ’2.3 miles turn right onto …’

I hate to admit it, but even with great instructions — and probably because we had started talking and weren’t paying enough attention — we almost missed one of those turns. As a result, I got to see exactly how nimble the Forte could be as I cut across a lane and darted into the right turn leading to our exit; the Forte handled itself beautifully.

Once we were on the open road, I realized that the speed limit was finally 65, so I got a chance to goose the accelerator and feel the Forte quickly respond. Alas, I didn’t try the three steering settings because I felt like the Forte was driving and handling perfectly as it was.

It has been a while since I drove a sedan, and there were several things that really struck me during the drive. I loved the way Kia had put a little window in front of the side mirror; this is something I had never seen before, and it not only made visibility better, it also made everything feel more roomy. That there was a window on the back quarter of the rear window was another blind-spot conquering bonus; you wouldn’t believe how much easier it is to see when you aren’t having to jerk your neck around to compensate for solid panels.

As I drove, Helena fiddled with the stereo. It was no time at all before she had her iPhone hooked up to UVO, and even though it’s not listed as a feature, we were able to get Spotify to stream over the system — with displayed tags — albeit briefly. Perhaps because it’s not technically compatible (yet?), we kept getting kicked off of Spotify back into iTunes. The stereo system in the Forte sounded amazing, by the way.

I’m pretty sure that this was my first time to drive a car with keyless entry, and I’m not going to lie — it took me a minute to get used to the idea that there was no keyhole to deal with, the key could either be in my bag or in the center console tray, and the car would start with the touch of a button. Awesomeness.

And I loved the way the Forte rode; there was no doubt that it was lower to the ground and more responsive than what I was used to, and not only did the Forte hug the road — it felt very sporty while doing so.

Probably the most important thing I can tell you about my time driving the Forte was that after a while I stopped thinking of it as a Kia, and I started thinking of it as a really nice car. In fact, if I hadn’t seen a single maker’s badge, and if I didn’t know one sedan from another based on its shape, I would have thought I was driving a much more expensive car made by a much more prestigious manufacturer. And that is perhaps what impressed me the most about the 2014 Kia Forte.

Learn more about the 2014 Forte at the Kia site

Ready to take the 2014 Kia Sorento for a drive!

Last week I joined a group of bloggers and traditional press in Scottsdale, Arizona for a chance to take a test drive and learn more about Kia’s 2014 Sorento (SUV)  and Forte (4 door sedan) models. I should probably admit that other than knowing a few people who own or have owned Kia vehicles, I haven’t had much personal experience with the auto brand — unless you count taking a few hair-raising test rides in the Optima Hybrid Carly reviewed last summer!  But I digress.

So here are some things you might not have known about Kia: Safety is a priority for them, and every vehicle that Kia has launched since the Soul has been an IIHS top-safety pick; “that’s nine top safety picks”, we were told by Tom Loveless, Kia’s Executive Vice president of Sales. “It’s quickly evolving into a heritage for us as a brand, and it is something that will continue to be a priority for us on a go-forward basis.”

From an IQS (Initial Quality Study) perspective, Kia is ranked 9th out of 22 non-premium brands, and they have outpaced the industry in terms of their growth with a 19 point improvement over the last two years. Kia has launched nine products in a three-year period; continuing to improve their quality will be a central focus for them as they go forward.

Kia’s KMMG plant in Georgia has brought 11,000 jobs to the area; it is the largest economic development project in Georgia’s state history. 40% of Kia’s total volume is actually built in West Point, which produces the Optima and the Sorento. The West Point plant is operating on three full shifts, and building 360,000 vehicles in total per year out of that single plant.

The Optima is Kia’s highest score in company history in terms of JD Power appeal studies; 80% of Optima owners would definitely recommend Kia. Based on what I experienced in my Optima Hybrid ride last summer I can understand why. Kia has seven all-new or significantly redesigned vehicles being brought to market in 2013, and their market-share is on the rise.

Let’s take a look at what will be new for 2014 for the Sorento, and then I’ll tell you about its test drive.

Sorento

The Kia Sorento debuted in 2003, and that design’s production lasted until 2009. In January 2010, the current model was introduced to the marketplace as a 2011 model year vehicle. In terms of life-cycle, Steve Hirashki (a Kia product strategy manager) said the Sorento is in mid-cycle, and it is now getting a”facelift”.

Some of the things that Kia wanted to achieve with the 2014 Sorrento were to freshen the design and greatly improve the convenience and luxury amenities of the vehicle’s experience, as well as improve the dynamics of the vehicle; they wanted to raise the Sorento to a new level.

This goal would require a few things, including a new platform.

Kia designers in California took on the task of  elevating the Sorento’s design; they wanted to improve the level of sophistication and refinement. Those who are familiar with the model will notice that there is a reduction in the level of black trim and there is more surface area of painted body colored components; this is especially noticeable on the rear. The front grill has been thinned out, and styling elements have been added including LED lighting accents. The idea was to widen out the vehicle, and give it a “better, cleaner stance”.

On the inside, the 2014 Sorento has also received an upgrade: Kia focussed on the communication interface points of the vehicle including the center console, the meter cluster, as well as a lot of the “touch points”. Kia adopted nano paint technology on a lot of the trim components, they added satin chrome accents, and they upgraded the leather used on the steering wheel — before it was split-grain, and now it is a full-grain leather.

2014 will bring all new seat fabrics on the LX trim; they will be great for families because they are soil-resistant, anti-static, and anti-microbial. Kia will now offer a new premium Napa-grade leather in addition to the leather they were already offering, and it will come standard on the brand new SXL trim level.

The center console has a large 8″ diagonal screen that features their new UVO eServices, as well as the Infinity by Harman entertainment system. There is a new 7″ TFT LCD meter cluster which has a configurable center, so you can change the info that’s shown.

Kia has changed the “gated shifter” that was on the Sorento (they added it because it was sportier) to a “straight boot” type surrounded by leather and material; they found that consumers wanted a “nice, easy throw, easy operation shifter.”

Here’s where things get interesting. As I previously mentioned, the 2014 Sorento receives an all new platform underneath, which allowed Kia to increase the interior roominess of the vehicle; this translates to an additional inch of leg room in the second row and about a centimeter (9mm) of increased leg room in the third row. I still wouldn’t want to sit in that third row!

With the new platform, Kia was able to rethink the Sorento’s suspension; the basic design remains the same with MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link rear. But changing the platform allowed the engineers the opportunity to rethink the bushing sizes, the controlling link arm designs, etc. What this boils down to — and what consumers will most appreciate — is the improved ride, the improved straight line stability, the enhanced dynamic performance, and an overall roomier vehicle.

Further improvements include Motor Driven Powered Steering (MDPS) to replace the hydraulic system previously used; this reduces parasitic drag. Because of the new MDPS capability, Kia introduced Flex-Steer, a feature that allows the driver to select a steering assist level of normal, comfort, or sport mode depending upon his or her preference. Flex-Steer will be standard on the SX and Limited trims.

The 2014 Sorento has a reduced steering ratio which gives it a quicker response; the turning diameter is now 30.5 feet, so it is one of the best in its segment. Wheel width has been increased by half an inch to give a stiffer ride and improved responsiveness. The front brake rotor size has been increased from 11.9″ to 12.6″ for shorter stopping distances – going 100 kph (or about 62 mph) to 0, the stopping distance has been shortened by 4 to 8 feet, which could be enough to make the difference in certain situations; the strut tower has also been stiffened.

With the new platform, Kia’s engineers were able to look at the overall body design, to examine the cross members and adjust them so that there was better absorption in a crash. They also increased the number of weld counts and basically stiffened the body overall — by about 18%; a stiffer box allows for a more solid road feel.

Three engines are currently offered on the 2013 Sorento — a 2.4 Multiport Injector (MPI) 4 cylinder, an optional 2.4 Gasoline Direct Injected (GDI) 4 cylinder, and an optional 3.5 MPI V6. For 2014, Kia is dropping the entry-level 2.4 MPI engine, so for 2014 the standard will be their 2.4 GDI engine, which adds greater efficiency and power.

Kia is also introducing a new, more compact 3.3L V6 (Lambda Series engine) which will offer greater horsepower (290 over the 276 that the 3.5 liter engine produces) with more torque and greater efficiency. This is the engine that is also being used on the just introduced Kia Cadenza, so this represents the Kia line’s premium V6.

Besides being more efficient and more powerful, the new 3.3L V6 engine is exceptionally durable; it was tested at over 300 hours at wide-open throttle, and then for another 20 at extreme engine speeds. When it was torn down, it showed very little wear.

2014 will see the addition of “Torque Vectoring Cornering Control” to the current AWD system. This adds an additional safety dimension to the all-wheel drive experience, because when the sensors pick up that the car is starting to understeer greatly, it applies the inside corner brakes to get the vehicle right.

Kia has also added a power liftgate to the new Sorento; it is programmable — meaning that if the person using it is of a shorter stature, or the garage where the Sorento is being stored has a height limitation — you can set the pull-open condition.

Available on the LX grade, and standard on the SX and Limited models, will be a second row window blind for passengers in the back seat. The panoramic sunroof has been redesigned to a one piece, with power-operated shade. Dual ventilated and heated front seats are now offered, and front door pocket illumination has been added so that (with the remote keyless entry) when you walk up to the car welcoming  lights will come on.

Unique in its class is the heated second row cushioning, which now also has a 40/20/40 split configuration.

Kia wanted to make sure that the Sorrento remained technologically advanced, so they are now offering blind spot detection with 2-mode operation so that when you are driving at speeds above 18 mph the indicator will light up when it senses a vehicle approaching from behind; if you turn on your turn signal, it will give out an audible warning as well.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the 550 watt Infinity by Harman sound system: 12 speakers in 10 locations, and amazing sound; it is included with the Kia Sorento navigation system.

The Sorento starts at $24,100 for the LX, which now comes standard with the 2.4 GDI engine; some of the upgrades mentioned are also available for that basic level. Kia is also introducing the SXL trim level for the more demanding Kia customer who wants even more gadgets and more luxury; SXL will have the standard Napa leather seating, the front headlamps have the Xenon HID headlights, heated second row seats, and heated steering wheel.

So the 2014 Kia Sorento has had a facelift, but with 80% new components, it is really much more than that. The Sorento has been thoroughly re-engineered with enhanced safety, more comfort, better ride quality, more room, with new premium features, and with cutting edge technologies.

But here’s the best part …

UVO eServices

Picture courtesy of Kia

Henry Bzeih, Kia’s Chief Technology Strategist, was on hand to introduce his technological masterpiece, UVO eServices. Three years ago, Kia introduced UVO powered by Microsoft, which gave drivers the ability to command and control their music and telephone — all the basic things one does while driving —  a touch away from the steering wheel. Now this system is available on most of Kia’s vehicles. Rather than rest on their laurels, Kia wanted to continue to improve and continue to add value with technology that makes sense for Kia owners.

UVO eServices (short for “Your Voice”) Infotainment System with Voice Command Navigation is available in the 2014 Sorentos rolling off the line; it is what Henry considers to be a great achievement for Kia. “It took a lot of work and a lot of effort to make this happen”, he said, and the ‘secret sauce’ is telematics.

Telematics is a hybrid word combining Telecomunication and Infomatics; telematics include the navigation, diagnostics and other convenience services that customers are used to paying for in services like OnStar. Now don’t get me wrong, OnStar and UVO are different services based on different platforms, but some of their services — like emergency assistance, diagnostic information and parked vehicle locator services — are quite similar.

As the original UVO did, the upgraded eServices system will offer its users a hands-free mobile phone solution as well as hands-free music control. UVO eServices will also be used to control the 2014 Sorento’s on-board navigation system through voice commands.

Kia want to “reinvent and disrupt” the industry. As we all know, to get any kind of telematic services today, we have to pay. Services like OnStar and Ford Sync have yearly subscription rates that are anywhere from $60 (Sync) to hundreds of dollars (OnStar); in order to access all of their benefits once the initial trial period is over, you must pay.

UVO eServices will be available to Kia owners for 10 years, or 100,000 miles, for FREE.

How can Kia do it?

From a telematics perspective, UVO eServices uses the customers smartphone as the means of transporting and conveying information. This means that there are no additional subscriber fees and no additional contracts for the customer; everything is done through their existing smartphone subscription. I love the idea of not having another data bill to pay — I already pay for internet access at home, on my iPhone and on my iPad. Enough already, right?

Kia has enabled this information ecosystem to make information available on the web and on the customer’s mobile device, so they will always have access to the information at home as well as in their vehicle.

Some of the services that UVO eServices will do for free include:

• 911 connect – if you get in an accident, an automatic call will go to 911 directly upon airbag deployment.

• Roadside assistance – push the button, and a guy on the other end at the call center will know where you are and what is wrong with your vehicle.

• Automatic Diagnostics – know in real-time what is wrong when a check engine light goes off or you get some other system warning. Not only that, with the push of a button you can make a reservation for service at your dealership.

• Maintenance – Usually you’ll get a reminder notice every 90 days from your dealership telling you it is time to come in for an oil change, at the very least you’ll have a static cling reminder in the upper left hand corner of your windshield. With UVO eServices, the Kia dealership will know exactly when you need service based on feedback from the vehicle, not based on assumptions. You’ll receive a notification through the web (and through your mobile) so you can schedule the exact service that’s needed when it is needed.

• Mapping – Through a Google partnership set up only a month ago, you will be able to go to Google maps, select Kia, and send the destination from your maps to your car’s navigation system; this will work from your iPhone, iPad, or the web.

Customers have told Kia that they want these services, but they don’t want to have to pay another bill on top of their car payment and insurance. Kia, through Henry and his team, decided to get creative and figure out a way that these services could be given to people for free. And make no mistake about it, these are just the initial services that UVO will offer —  Henry and his team are already working on introducing more features and more content.

A question was asked regarding whether UVO would work with Siri; Henry said that later this year they will roll the feature out where you will be able to push a button in the car to activate Siri through your iPhone or iPad. Well! I can’t help but think of how this method of doing things compares to the way Martian Watches handles data services. The result is a watch that works because it isn’t trying to be the computer; I don’t see why that same principle couldn’t work just as well — but with even more capabilities — in a vehicular setting. It boggles the mind. The only downside will be what happens if you live in a dead-zone, but the good news is that cellular networks are constantly expanding and improving in the US; perhaps my concern will eventually be a moot point.

UVO will work with iPhones at launch, and an Android app is coming in the second quarter of 2013.

The Test Drive

Helena from Chip Chick and I partnered up for our test drive, which started in the 2014 Forte; you can read about that experience by clicking, here. We drove about ~115 miles for the first part of the day, and then we stopped for lunch at the Copper Bistro in Miami. After one of the biggest burgers I’ve ever attempted to eat (half of, anyway), it was time for us to swap vehicles into the Sorento.

Henry Bezieh came along with us for the ride, and it was great having him along to answer any technical questions we had about UVO and the navigation system.  I was excited to drive the Sorento; my usual vehicle is a GMC Denali XL, which is a big SUV. I wanted to see if I felt crowded in any way inside the Sorento, or if it seemed to make any obvious compromises. Other than the loss of storage room in the rear compartment of the Sorento due to the third row of seats — and the obvious child-size leg room in said third row — I didn’t feel like I was in a much smaller vehicle.

I had an incredible amount of legroom in the driver’s seat — in fact I had to move my seat up! The Sorento we drove was also keyless entry, but after driving the Forte, I was finally accustomed to the system. I could get used to that luxury, as a matter of fact. Granted, the Sorento is five model years newer than Kev’s and my family wagon, but it was slightly disheartening to see that the options inside the Sorento that I was driving were as — good or  – than what I am used to.

Heated front and rear seats? Check. Heated steering wheel? Check. AWD? Check. Premium leather? Check. Holds seven? No … the Sorento can hold eight. OnStar? UVO. satellite radio? Check. Automatic rear lift gate? Check. But then, the Sorento also has navigation, keyless entry, ventilated front seats, and a full length sunroof. Sticker price on a fully loaded 2014 GMC Denali XL? I’m guessing that it will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $76 – $80K. Sticker price on a fully loaded 2014 Kia Sorento? Somewhere in the neighborhood of $34 – $36K, from what I can gather.

Ouch. That’s an eye-opener.

I drove the heck out of the Sorento, and as I told Kev tonight, it is an SUV that I would be proud to drive. But I don’t think I could have always said that. Similar to the perception evolution that those of us who grew up in the 70s had to undergo as Toyota Datsun/Nissan and Honda went from being tin can economy cars to top of the line imports with luxury lines, I feel like Kia has crossed the line in the sand. It’s still economical, but Kia seems determined to make a product that is as good or better than the others available; I can’t help but respect that.

The Kia Sorento is made in the USA at a plant that employs Americans who live in an economically stressed area. The Sorento has every amenity I could want and then some, and the tech it incorporates is awesome.  If I had to make a short list of vehicles that I would consider when our Denali is ready for replacement, the Kia Sorento would definitely be on there.

Learn more about the 2014 Sorento at the Kia site.

Images courtesy Audi

When we hear about premium sport sedans from Europe the names BMW and Mercedes are always certain to pop up. But there is a third German marque that bears our attention and it is the from the luxury division of the “People’s car.” It’s called Audi and, in this case specifically, the Audi S4.

The S4 is a member of the A4 sedan family that has been around for the past four decades. For 2013, Audi has released the eighth-generation of the 4-series and recently we spent time in a gorgeous S4 quattro.

What’s the difference between an A4 and the S4 you ask? Audi sells the A4 as the base model for this small to midsize-ish platform giving it the fun little 2.0-liter TFSI four-cylinder engine. To enhance the driving experience, Audi drops supercharged 3.0-liter six in the S4 boosting power output to 333hp and 325 lb. ft. of torque and bolting that into a quattro all-wheel drive chassis as standard running gear.

Those opting for the S4 upgrade get a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed S tronic automatic gearbox – our tester arrived with the manual and we loved it, even while slogging through traffic congestion.

Competition in this segment is tremendous and it is not limited to just the German automakers as Japan and even the U.S. are fiercely vying for your hard-earned dollar.

Audi has worked diligently to bring to consumers a very fine automobile in the S4, one that should most certainly be in your head – it’s onroad performance really got into mine. This is one solid chassis that never backed down from a challenge and delivered on all fronts of performance, comfort, convenience, safety and technology.

On one hand we find a very comfortable and quiet ride shutting out the world in a cocoon of safety technologies and systems designed to keep occupants safe before, during and after a crash and on the other hand is a car that delivers very spirited acceleration and pulse-pounding exhilaration in every corner.

The 2013 S4 comes with an active sports differential with torque vectoring to distribute power efficiently for more agility and stability and the Audi drive select allows drivers to adjust dynamic steering response, throttle response, transmission shift points (in automatic cars) and suspension settings via Auto, Comfort, Dynamic and Individual modes.

Exterior changes come mostly in the form of a new front end with Audi’s newest design DNA to include those signature LED daytime running lights and S4 models get unique grill , splitter, diffuser and exhaust designs.

Inside the A4 and S4 see a host of refinements said to improve upon the form, feel and function and S4 models offer a new flat-bottomed, three-spoke sport steering wheel as well as sport seats with side bolsters and contrast stitching. Improvements have also been made to Audi’s MMI infotainment system that offers access to navigation, audio, telephone and vehicle settings systems.

Pricing for the 2013 Audi S4 with manual transmission begins at $47,600 in Premium Plus trim with our loaded tester coming in at $54,520. Those opting for an automatic gearbox will pay $1,400 more. Fuel economy is rated at 17 mpg city and 26 mpg highway on premium fuel.

The 2013 Audi S4 is an enjoyable vehicle and one that should not be overlooked when shopping the premium entry sport sedan segment.