If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up to much space!
We had the opportunity to do a local media drive in the all new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, this is the five passenger version of Hyundai’s compact to midsized crossover. There will be a seven passenger version coming out later in 2013 that will just be called the Santa Fe.
We put about 100 miles on the Hyundai on our local drive, and we like what we saw, we hope to have the chance to spend more time with it later in the year.
If you were to rank all of the cars the Toyota builds and list them in order of “drivers car” the Toyota Avalon may rank at or near the bottom of that list. To most people, the Toyota Avalon was always the Buick Roadmaster that you would no longer built, a car for your grandparents.
With the 2013 model Avalon, Toyota’s looking to change the demographic for the Avalon buyers, as of now the average age of a Toyota Avalon buyer is 64, Toyota is looking to drop that to the mid-50s. How they are going to do that is by completely changing the nature of the car. In fact, as the title of this article suggests, the Japanese have come to America to build a German sedan.
The 2013 Toyota Avalon is the first car that Akio Toyoda oversaw from start to finish. When you drive this car, you will field his fingerprints all over it, in that his emphasis was to make Toyota’s cars that people would enjoy driving. The Avalon was designed in California, engineered in Michigan, and will be built in Kentucky, and when it goes on sale, it will have the highest US content of any vehicles sold in North America.
There will be two versions of the Toyota Avalon available, a V-6, and a hybrid version. There will be several modes in which you can drive in both cars. In the V-6 model you have ego, normal, and sports, while in the hybrid version you get those 3 plus an EV mode.
The V-6 model will definitely slant much more towards the “drivers car” then the hybrid. The V-6 will have 268 hp and 248 foot-pounds of torque, and can do a 0 to 60 run in 6.7 seconds. In eco-and normal modes the car feels very composed, switched into sport mode the steering firms up very nicely, the ride is just a bit more firm, and if you didn’t know, you’d think you were in a German performance sedan, and that’s no joke.
The hybrid version of the Avalon is geared much more towards comfort. It still handles well, steers well, but in driving them back to back, the differences are noticeable. The hybrid Avalon, while maybe not having the driving dynamics of its V-6 version, is still very composed, and does not feel like some boulevard cruiser.
There are some very interesting design dynamics going on with the new Avalon. It seems to borrow from quite a number of cars. In the front it has a trapezoidal grille reminiscent of some current Ford products, taken from certain angles in the rear, or the side, you can see design elements from the Mercedes-Benz S class, the Jaguar XJ, and even the Audi A7. All that amalgamation comes out very well and while some people may not care for the nose of the car, there can be few complaints about the design of the rest of the car, save the need for a larger wheel and tire package.
The interior gets a massive upgrade on the new Avalon from the previous model. Again with the German sedan theme, if you were familiar with the interiors of current Audi products, there are many similarities with the new Avalon. The use of materials textures and colors really make the interior standout, and give it a very high-quality feel. The stitching on the leather of the–Israel hand stitching. There are a select number of people in the factory in Kentucky who hand stitch these together on machines, there is no automation, and the attention to detail is obvious. The use of contrasting and complementary colors and materials again gives the car a very upscale look, in addition to a center stack that draws inspiration from modern midcentury design.
Many modern cars that have a swoopy rear end styling to give the illusion of a coupe, sacrifice rear seat head and leg room in the name of style. This is not the case with the Avalon. Toyota have done a nice job of creating space for rear seat passengers so that even those well over 6 foot will have plenty of room. Toyota feel so strongly about this design, that they are pursuing the livery market with the Toyota Avalon.
The 2013 Toyota Avalon is a major change in direction from its past models. No longer a Boulevard cruiser for the retirement community, the Toyota Avalon is now an upscale luxury sedan ready to challenge the Germans, but with the quality, dependability, and reliability that you would expect from a Toyota.
Please have a look at the full gallery of pictures from the shoot.
Over the last 18 months, Lexus has updated most of their entire lineup, with the exception of their flagship car the LS. Now, as we close out 2012, Lexus is ready to reveal the update to their flagship luxury sedan.
While the 2013 LS is a midcycle refresh, over half of the parts involved in building this car are completely new. There is a substantial rework of the exterior, which features Lexus’ signature spindle grill up front along with significant sculpturing throughout the body from nose to tail to greatly reduce aerodynamic drag.
In a market segment that puts a premium on perfection the new LS is positioning itself to once again be the standard by which others are measured. Not only is the exterior refreshed, the interior gets a complete makeover as well. The design concept 1st seen in the interior of the new GS is now brought in to the flagship LS sedan. One of the features of the interior is the 12.3 inch center display which can be organized into 3 different columns of information.
Interior materials also get an upgrade including a unique wood trim called Shimamocu. This unique wood trim takes 38 days and 67 different processes to complete. It has a horizontal grain pattern which helps to emphasize the with an interior space of the LS. If you choose to go with the hybrid version of the LS you can choose the bamboo wood option which gives a very nice look and feel to the interior.
Something else that is also unique in the LS is the analog clock in the center of the dash is linked via GPS to automatically update times, even when crossing into different time zones. So, let’s say you’re driving from Detroit to Chicago, where you go from the Eastern time zone to the central time zone, the clock will automatically update to the local time.
There will be several trim levels available in the LS, including the ultra-lux package which will have 4 different climate zone controls. All cars, 16 way power driver seat,” way adjustable passenger seats. Opt for the 600 L, or 460 L, and you will have rear seat that will recline, as an ottoman, and also massage functionality. It truly is an “Executive” sedan. The driver and passenger seats also have a unique climate control system integrated into them the seats sense body temperature and bring the temperature of the seats to the desired temperature, until the rest of the cabin can reach that temperature.
Depending on which trim level you get, the LS can have a sportier feel, but the emphasis of the LS has been, and always will be, that of late luxury sedan. As such, the emphasis is on a quiet interior and a smooth and comfortable yet very controlled ride. The LS will never be a Canyon Carver, but on tight twisty roads it can hold its own.
Powertrains are a carryover, a 4.6 L V-8 with 386 hp combined with an 8 speed automatic transmission will be standard. Elect for the hybrid version and you have a combined power rating of 438 hp between the gasoline motor and electric motor. The hybrid model also gets a redesign regenerative braking system which aids in recharging the batteries much quicker and more efficiently.
Available for the first time in the LS is the F-Sport trim. With the F-Sport you will get a deeper drill with other aero treatments, cooling ducts for the brakes, suspension lowered 10mm, Alcantera headliners, larger side bolsters in the seats,, paddle shifters and a Torsen limited slip differential.
You also get 19” BBS wheels that are unique to the F-Sport along with massive six piston Brembo brakes.
Pricing will be announced at the end of October and the LS’s will begin to go on sale in November.
Rumblestrip.NET had the chance a few months ago to have a go at the sporty version of the Jetta, the GLI. After testing both the five cylinder SEL and the TDI Clean Diesel, will this version of the Jetta finally quiet the enthusiast crowd and VW aficionados alike? Watch the review to find out! Also, don’t forget to check out the picture gallery below as well.
Hyundai invited us out to have a look at a few new models in the line up, but for this review we are going to look at an extention of the Elantra line, the Elantra GT.
Back in March of last year, we spent some time with the Elantra Sedan and came away liking the car quite a bit and thought it was a really good value for the money. Now, Hyundai have expanded the line to include a two door Coupe modele and this five door GT model.
We didn’t have a ton of time with the car but it did remind us of all the things we liked about the Elantra, plus it has the flexibility of a five door configuration. Have a look at the video, and you can look over all the pictures below.
If you’ve followed this blog for any time, you know that we are huge Mustang fans. We’ve owned in the past an 83 GT, a 92 LX 5.0 Notchback and our current Supercharged 95GT. What we wanted to know was is this modern V6 Mustang something close to what the 5.0 LX was back in the day, or is it just a secretary’s car?
Lets dive in and take a look! Also make sure that you check out our full gallery of pictures.
While there might be endless arguments about the validity of trickle-down economics, the validity of trickle-down design and engineering is shown to great benefit and effect with Lexus’ new ES 350 and 300h. Both from an exterior and interior design, the new Lexus ES takes many of the great elements introduced in the GS and brings them down to the new ES.
Wearing the new Lexus corporate face along with other styling cues from the GS, the new ES goes from forgettable to striking. It’s not only the new signature spindle grill along with the LED lights, it is the fact that the sides have more character, and a bit more muscular appearance. That is not to say the car is overly masculine, because it’s not, rather these character traits make the car attractive and actually stand out a bit.
If you liked the interior of the new Lexus GS you will very much like the interior of the new ES. While not an exact copy of the GS interior, it takes the look and style and scales it down a bit. Rather than the giant 12.3 inch display, the new ES has a 7 inch display, the rest of the center stack is relatively uncluttered, and you do have the Lexus “mouse” to navigate the display interface.
Available only in the hybrid model, Lexus is offering the bamboo interior trim option that was first shown with the new GS. In talking with people from Lexus, they may offer this handsome bamboo trim in the regular ES 350 if there is enough demand. They also stated, that they have received positive feedback on this bamboo trim from journalists and consumers alike and are waiting for a bit more data before they move forward to offer it in other models then the hybrid.
The materials used in the interior of the new ES are quite nice. There is plenty of leather, and soft touch materials, along with tastefully done wood trim to make this car feel upscale. When a lighter colored interior is chosen, the cabin in the ES feels much roomier than one whose interior is primarily darker colors. It’s strictly an optical illusion, but it makes a nice difference. While most reviews focus on the drivers perception of the interior, those riding in the backseat of the new ES will enjoy substantially more like room, as the two inch longer wheelbase allows for almost four more inches of rear seat legroom.
During the event in which we drove the new ES, we had a chance to have a longer conversation with officials from Lexus on the Harman Kardon stereo. Whether it be in Toyotas, Lexus’, or science, we find the Harman Kardon/JBL/Mark Levinson systems to be lacking. We have consistently found the highs to be thin, the midst to be “there” and the base/low-end to have no feeling. While officials from Lexus talked about how their engineers to the audio, using a Lexus supplied CD we were able to sit with those officials, and explain our perceptions. It was very nice to see the Lexus corporate people being very open to this feedback, and because we were using a disk with which they used to tune and evaluate the systems, they can they can take that feedback directly back to the engineers and walked him through our feedback.
The previous ES, while a solid car, was a bit forgetful. It has often been described as the stainless steel refrigerator of cars. That being it was an appliance, but it was in stainless steel to make it more upscale and a bit more attractive. The new ES on the other hand, can stand on its own as a car. While the new ES will never be a “driver’s car”, it at least does engage the driver especially when you select the sport mode. Again, that’s not to say the sport mode makes his car sporty, rather it firms up steering, throttle, and suspension, so that it feels much more connected to the road in the driver.
We had the opportunity to spend time behind the wheel of the hybrid ES and came away pleasantly surprised. One of the biggest revelations for us, was the transmission. We did have to double check that the transmission in the hybrid was actually a CVT. Normally, we enjoy CVT transmissions as much as we enjoy colonoscopies. The CVT in the ES was good enough for us to think that it actually was a real transmission, with real gears. No higher compliment can be paid to a CVT transmission.
On the road the new ES is quiet as you expect a Lexus to be. There is some road noise that comes through the tires, if you are on a particularly abrasive road service, but other than that we have no complaints about interior noise levels. As we said earlier, the steering in the new ES is far superior than the previous model. While it is an electric steering system, the ratio has been quickened and there is actually more feedback through the wheel, to give you more confidence while driving on the road. Power in the hybrid is a 2.5 liter I-4 Atkinson cycle four-cylinder along with Toyota’s hybrid drive system, the combined total of the two produced 200 hp. While the car is not swift, it is really more than adequate for daily driving needs. The ES 350 uses the same 3.5L V-6 engine as the Camry which is 268 hp and comes with a 6 speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy in the hybrid is 40 city 39 highway 40 combined. For the V-6 is 21 city 31 highway and 24 combined. 0 to 60 times for the V-6 are estimated at 7.1 seconds, and 8.1 seconds for the hybrid.
Technology of course is readily apparent in the new ES as there are 324 different combinations of personal settings that you can set with the electronics. The ES will come with theEnForm infotainment system, smart key, which works on all 4 doors, and can be customized for air-conditioning and heat settings, steering wheel settings, as well as seat position settings. Each key for the car, can be set up to an individual, so that when that car recognizes the key all the settings will be tailored to that individual. Also available on the new ES are blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, lane departure alert and automatic high beams.
Overall, we have to say that the new ES surprised us. Never a big fan of the previous generation you cannot argue with that sale success. We feel however, that the new bolder styling, more engaging driving dynamics, along with a substantially better interior will turn the ES from a higher-end car for people who could care less about cars, to something that will be shopped by people who normally would be interested In a Lexus. We look forward to getting the new ES in for a longer-term look later in the year.
Please take a look at our full photo gallery of the new ES.
You often find that cars the automotive media hype endlessly, never live up to that billing. Few cars in the last two or three years have been hyped as much as the Audi A6, and, while the car has been out for almost a year now, and few bad things have been said about it to date. We had the new A6 come in for testing recently and had the opportunity recently to findout for ourselves just how good this car could be. Have a watch, and enjoy!
Here is the full range of pictures that we shot fo the car.
It’s one of the most highly anticipated cars of the last 24 months, a car that goes back to the roots of what a sports car should be, light, agile and fun to drive!
Scion brought us out to Spring Valley Motorsport Ranch to have a go with the 2013 Scion FR-S, know as the FT-86 elsewhere in the world, to see if it lives up to the hype. The question is, does it deliver? Have a look at the video to find out.