Accelerate Mpls

Kia isn’t known for its style or design. Kia’s biggest claim to fame is its 10 year/100,000 mile warranty. Well, that was until recently. When Kia hired ex-Audi designer Peter Schreyer, suddenly they had style and dare I say, flair.

This new third generation Sportage is so vastly different in almost every way from its predecessors, that it’s amazing that they sport the same name.

The exterior of the new Sportage looks like it fell out of the awesome tree and hit every branch on its way down. Beginning in the front, Sportage sports Kia’s new signature grill, flanked by swept back headlights. The headlights on upper trim models (like this EX) each have a strip of LED eye liner. Chrome trim above the fog lights finishes off the front end.

The sides have sculpting near the bottom of the doors while a character line runs beneath the window sills into the rear tail lights. Door handles and window sills are trimmed in chrome and the roof rails are covered in a with a satin metal-like finish. The side mirrors also feature LED repeaters, which is a nice touch in this class.

Around back the rear is very stylized, with what can only be described as a bubble butt. The rear view almost looks like an alien scowling at you, especially at night. The rear tail lights feature LED lighting.

With the rear window being somewhat small and the large C-pillars being kind of large, it makes for limited rearward visibility. It is clear that style played a larger role than function when it came to the exterior design – the exterior is probably the best looking exterior of any compact CUV on the market currently.

The interior is also stylized, though not to the extent the exterior is. The dash features two different finishes, one smooth and one textured, both are hard and have a low sheen to them.

The center console has a upward slant to it and it rises to meet the dashboard. The climate controls have a shiny piano black finish to them, but it is not distracting. I could imagine this plastic getting scratched easily over time though.

Both front seats were all day comfortable, with terrific seat heaters. Though only the front drivers seat features a cooling function. The front passenger will have to settle for only heat.

As I mentioned on the exterior, visibility is somewhat limited by the rear design. The C-pillars are quite large and the back glass is quite small. Further enhancing the problem are the somewhat large A-pillars in the front. While not as large as some of the competition, they are still large enough to cause some visibility issues. As with the current trend, the belt line on the Sportage is high, so resting your elbow on the window sill while driving is somewhat uncomfortable. The design also cuts into rear seat headroom. Taller passengers will need to sit up front.

Like the exterior, I found the interior to be a huge win. Button placement was all within arms reach and everything was clearly labeled. My only major gripe would be the style over function of some of the design characteristics.

Currently the new Sportage features one engine  2.4-liter inline four-cylinder that pumps out 176 horsepower and 168 pound-feet to either the front or all four wheels. The power is routed through a six speed automatic transmission that has manual shift capabilities. The Sportage EX I was in came equipped with all-wheel drive and an electronic locking differential. The current powertrain combined with all-wheel drive is rated at 21/28 mpg, and I saw an average of 19 mpg in mixed suburban driving.

As with the new Sorento, I found the ride in the Sportage to be surprisingly stiff. While I can appreciate a stiff ride, over bumpy roads the suspension can feel jittery at times. Also, the steering is light when at parking lots speeds but firms up a little too much once underway.

While I had the Sportage, Minneapolis was whacked with the largest blizzard we have had in over ten years. I drove the Sportage out into the blizzard and must say I was highly impressed. I did not get stuck once. With over 20 inches of snow in less than 24 hours, I drove this Sportage through worse road conditions than almost any owner will ever drive through. The 18″ wheels with Hankook tires where very impressive and the stability control kept everything in line. I did lock the all-wheel drive a few times, though ground clearance did help as well. I am sure the cold and blizzard driving affected my gas mileage.

The EX AWD is currently the top trim model of the Sportage model. This Sportage featured both the Navigation/Premium Audio package as well as the Premium Package with Leather. Combined with these options and destination, the total price on this Sportage was $29,990.

The Sportage lands in a crowded market. The new Chevrolet Equinox is very competitive, and the Honda CR-V along with the Toyota RAV4 are both segment leaders. So is the new little Sportage finally ready to sell on more than price? The answer is absolutely. With more style, or flair if you will, than nearly all the competition, this Kia is ready to finally sell on design and features rather than a warranty and low price.

Full Disclosure – The review vehicle was provided by Kia

Kia’s tagline is “The Power To Surprise,” and as of late they have truly been surprising. Revamping an entire vehicle line-upand adding new models all within a very short period of time is no small feat. First there was the new Soul followed by the new Forte, and now they have completely revamped the Sorento.

If you do not remember the last generation Sorento, no one will fault you. It was nothing special, just another body on frame SUV that got lost in the crowd selling on price, not features. Some compared its looks to the first generation Lexus RX300, which some would view as a compliment.

The front of the Sorento features Kia’s new signature grille, flanked by swept-back headlights. In some ways the headlights almost look related to the Acura TL. The honeycomb grille is matched by honeycomb surrounds for the fog lights, which which are placed in the bumper. The way light from the fog lights hits the ground makes them almost act more like driving lights then actual fog lights.

The sides of the Sorento have two sculpting points – one runs the length of the window sills until it flows into the C-pillar. The second sculpting point is low near the bottom of the doors. This brings in the sides to give the Sorento a less slab sided appearance.

The wheels on this particular Sorento were 18-inch alloys which fit nicely within the wheel wells. The side mirrors had LED repeaters while the tail lights continued with the honeycomb look from the front grille. While the front has more design character then the rear, I would say overall the exterior is a huge win.

Like the exterior, the interior is mostly a win. The new corporate steering wheel has buttons for most major functions, and they are strategically placed so your hands do not leave the wheel as often. The dashboard is made of hard plastic, but it looks decent. The interior lighting is ret and the gauges are white and red, which make them very easy on the eyes while driving at night.

The seats were all day comfortable, though the side bolsters on the front seat backs were a bit hard. The rear seat can easily accommodate three people, with a nearly a flat floor for your feet. The rear seats do fold down 60/40, but not completely flat due to the design of the rear seat bottoms.

If I had one major gripe about the interior, it would be the navigation system. The system itself works terrific and the street names are very legible with no jagged fonts. However, the system warning each and every time you turn on the car takes forever to allow you to hit accept and move past the warning screen. I am talking a ridiculously long time. There is standard iPod integration, along with Sirius satellite radio and Bluetooth.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the front seat heaters – they worked quite well, although they aren’t the fastest to heat up. Once on, they performed on par with what a Minnesotan would expect.

The only interior trim piece I could really find an issue with was the main center piece of plastic covering the front of the steering wheel. The top cut line was uneven and somewhat jagged. While disappointing, overall I was impressed with the build quality inside the cabin. While hard plastics are used in many places, all touch points such as arm rests and other areas were covered in a leatherette-like material. The interior is, without question, very class competitive.

The Sorento I was in had the base 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine putting out 175 horsepower and 169 pound feet to the front wheels. A V-6 and all-wheel drive is optional. The power is put down through a one-choice six-speed automatic with a manual shifting gate to the left. Off the line the Sorento has adequate power, but once up to speed you will need to plan your passes carefully. Highway passing is not a point and shoot decision. I also noticed that the transmission often got confused as to what it should do. When slowing to a stop from about 30 MPH the transmission would sometimes not know when to shift and suddenly make a large clunk as it shifted into a lower gear. It felt like a programming issue, though it could be an issue with this particular Sorento.

I wonder if Kia plans to put the four-cylinder from the new Optima, which puts out 200 hp and 186 lb-ft , into the Sorento as the base engine in the future. The slight bump in power would possibly help the situation with passing power on the highway. The new 2.0-liter turbo that is coming in the Optima would also be a good engine option, since it has more horsepower and torque then the optional V6.

Driving the Sorento was enjoyable for the most part. I averaged 18.8 mpg in the city and 25.2 mpg on the highway. A bit lower then the 21/29 EPA rating. The suspension is a little firm though that didn’t bother me. With that firm suspension came quite a bit of noise over rough surfaces. On the highway more road noise made its way into the cabin then expected, though it was acceptable, just not class leading.

The Sorento I was in was a EX with both the limited package and premium package 1. With a total of $3,750 in options the sticker price on this Sorento EX was $29,340 after destination. That puts it right in the heart of the CUV segment.

With competitors like the new Chevrolet Equinox, Toyota Rav4, Ford Edge and many others, the Sorento can’t be just good enough, it has to be great. There is no question that Kia has good design direction both inside and out. The four-cylinder powertrain is adequate, but I’d probably opt for the V-6. The bottom line, if you are in the market for a CUV to haul the family around, you would be making a large mistake if you didn’t have the Sorento on your list. Turns out Kia’s marketing slogan does work – with its new styling language, the new Sorento really does have the power to surprise.

Full Disclosure – The review vehicle was provided by Kia

Hold on to your hats folks.  When I was at the GM Product and Technology event put on last August I saw things.  Some things were awesome such as the future Buick Regal, upcoming Chevrolet Camaro convertible and the list goes on.  Some were not so awesome, such as the Buick that was quickly dubbed Vuick.  See it was essentially a re-badged (and I mean literally a new grille inserted) Saturn Vue.

The Vuick thing caught on quick and GM supposedly decided to kill it a mere few weeks later.  In fact they were so proudly announcing how fast they acted based on the negative feedback they were receiving (shocking).  Anyways, next to that Vuick on the floor was a upcoming small crossover for Buick.  This could possibly be dubbed the Encore.  It essentially looked literally like a shrunken down Enclave.  This my friends looked good.  It was most likely based on the new Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain platform.

Yesterday Chris Baccus was driving in Detroit and spotted this test vehicle.  He noted it looked like a Buick grille behind the cladding.  This my friends is one of two things.  The Vuick being resurrected (dear god no) or the baby Enclave (Encore?) that has been severely changed since I saw it and not for the better.  Either way you are looking at something that is not production ready.  I am sincerely hoping this is not the Vuick coming back from the dead rather just a test mule.  I hope they keep the baby Enclaves styling that I saw last fall.

UPDATE-

Some have mentioned this looks an awful lot like the Chevrolet Captiva not sold in America.  I have also just received word from GMInsidenews that GM plans to still sell and produce the Vuick but only for China.  It will be a youth oriented crossover.

Source- Chris Baccus

The Lexus RX350 is the class leader, the segment champion, it is what all others are measured against.  You get the idea.  Without question the competition is trying to knock this vehicle off its podium.  Most “car guys” hate the RX350 and for one reason, it is the essence of beige.  What’s beige you ask.  Beige is boring, bland, not dynamic, uninspiring and overall just blah.  Yet that seems to resonate with the general public in the U.S.

The RX350 is a cross-over utility vehicle that is front-wheel-drive based with optional all-wheel-drive.  The 2010 is the third generation of the RX cross-over.  The second generation RX was very evolutionary while the third generation is a slightly more drastic change, but still in many regards evolutionary.  Though, being evolutionary is not a bad thing, when you are the segment leader.  Lexus is doing something right with the RX and rightfully would like to keep the sales momentum going.  Losing market share over a huge redesign would be a nightmare.  So what is the reason this vehicle sells so well?

The entire experience of both riding and driving the third generation Lexus RX is easy.  Everything is easy: from the ingress into the vehicle, to the light steering, to the simple yet good-looking gauge cluster.  Things seem intuitive and easy to operate.  Everything has a buttery smooth feeling while operating the RX.  The transmission is smooth and never seems to have a rough spot, while the powertrain is refined. The ride is never harsh either.  The dual pane windows make the RX especially quiet as well.  The leather is soft and supple while at the same time the seats are supportive.  The family will definitely be very comfy cruising to the coffee shop in this cross-over.

As I mentioned above the exterior on the RX continues as an evolutionary design.  The styling is called “L-Finesse design” by Lexus and is used across the whole brand.  Highlighted by soft curves and flowing lines the CUV is not “sharp” like the Cadillac SRX styling.  Instead, it’s soft and inoffensive.  The whole front end of the RX does have more sculpting overall then the previous generation.  From the side view, the front fenders have a shoulder like line that continues down the side of the CUV to meet the rear taillights continuing into the rear bumper.  The rear has an integrated rear spoiler, which hides the rear wiper when not in use.  In my opinion, the exterior overall is improved from the last generation mainly due to more sculpting and more character lines that flow into each other.

The interior of the new RX has had a complete overhaul.  The center stack now has a swoosh starting in the center stack that goes across the front passenger seat onto the dash.  The center stack has a LCD screen in the upper brow that shows the radio and climate control information.  The materials all feel terrific with soft touch pieces placed almost over the entire cabin.

There was however, one piece of plastic that felt particularly out place.  This piece felt so out of place I wanted to make a point to talk about it.  The piece of plastic on the center console right to the left of the gearshift and it runs down into the center console between the seats.  This is the lone piece of plastic that felt ridiculously cheap and it was very hard.  It was out of place next to the soft touch dash materials.

Note The Ridiculously Cheap Feeling/Looking Piece Of Plastic

The gauge cluster had a cool blue hue that bled down from the top of the cluster.  The rear seats slid fore and aft to either increase rear seat legroom or rear cargo room depending on preference.  The seats also fold flat at the pull of a handle.  This is a feature I noted on the new Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain that I thought was especially clever.  This feature is notably absent from the new Cadillac SRX.

The powertrain as I mentioned was very smooth.  The sole engine choice in the RX350 is a 3.5L V6 putting out 275 hp and 257 ft-lb to either the front wheels while all wheel drive is optional.  The power it channeled through the six-speed automatic with manual shifting capabilities.  Rated at 18/25 mpg in front wheel drive I saw an average of 18.5 mpg.  There is an eco indicator that comes on when you are driving gently.  The RX350 I drove was front-wheel-drive and exhibited little to no torque steer (tugging of the steering wheel under hard acceleration).  Going around corners the suspension is soft and you will feel some body roll.  This is not a sports car or even a sporty CUV, though it makes no such claims.

The RX350 I had was equipped with both packaged and standalone options.  The premium package costs $2,400 and added things such as: USB audio connectivity, front seat memory, moonroof, power rear hatch and auto dimming mirrors.  Standalone options included: the integrated back up camera system which tied into the rear view mirror for $350, wood and leather steering wheel and shit knob for $330, heated and ventilated front seats for $640.  The total sticker price after destination came to $42,220.

Personally I never loved the last generation Rx350. Admittedly I liked it more then the first generation.  I somewhat feel the same way about the new third generation.  I am not in love with it but it is better then the second generation.  Clearly, I am not the correct demographic for this vehicle.  This makes sense as it would not be high on my personal list of vehicles to own.  All that said, I would have absolutely no hesitation recommending this vehicle to someone looking for a luxurious crossover to get from point A to point B.

Would it be my top recommendation in the competitive luxury CUV segment?  Only if the RX is what the person already wants to buy because really I have no reason to say it is a bad vehicle.  I just wish there was more engagement to the driving dynamics.

In the end, I can see why this is the class leader in the segment. With this third generation the Lexus RX has the goods to continue holding the sales segment title.  If I were to use cooking as a metaphor for the RX: the third generation has certainly had a bit of spice added for additional flavor, but the chef has not deviated too far from the winning recipe that made it the sales success it has enjoyed.

Full Disclosure- Vehicle was from a local Lexus dealership.

Episode 24 starts with introductions including Justin Loyear from Cheers and Gears and this weeks guest William Maley also known as realmudmonster on Twitter.  Moving into the garage we talk about the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon I was in for the past week along with the Chevrolet Equinox Colin was in.  We then move along to the major news of the week segment.  This week included-

• New Fuel Economy Standards Still Use Old EPA Test
• Consumer Reports Flags 2010 Lexus GX 460
• Toyota Recalls 600,000 Sienna Minivans
• Saab had to foot the bill for the BLS
• Marchionne’s Chrysler may not survive as it exists today, analyst says

We then proceed to the clip of the week segment.  This week we featured a Toyota Avalon plane TV commercial. (Link)

Next came our main topic which was discussing ideas you would like to see on a Ford?

Last we discuss the past week on our respective blogs, Cheers and Gears,  AutoBird Blog and Accelerate Mpls.  The week in review included- my editorial on negativity in the auto industry and my review of the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado.  Cheers and Gears had a post on a new Subaru Legacy commercial.  Colin had a post about by the numbers in Germany.

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2010 Chevrolet Equinox

Many of my friends scoffed at me when I said General Motors is really making a come back. In fact most of my friends will not consider buying a American car due to the damage they have done to themselves over the last decade. This is all changing and the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox is big step in that fight.

The previous generation Equinox was barely class competitive and was no where near best in class in any area. The fact remains that for a time most of this did not matter and vehicles sold. While the previous generation Equinox sold Chevrolet was no longer satisfied having just another entry into the compact SUV market. Enters the new 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. This completely redone Equinox is not only class competitive, its class leading! Coming to market the main talking point is this new Equinox has class leading gas mileage. The exterior has great styling with real flair. The front has jelly bean like headlights and a dual port grill like the new Malibu. The side of the vehicle has a side spear going from the front fender back to the rear tail lights.

The new Equinox is available with two engine options both feature direct injection and both are tied to a six speed automatic transmission. The 2.4 liter 4 cylinder pumping out 182 HP all while achieving 22/32 mpg in front wheel drive is the real banner story! Those mileage ratings on for the front wheel drive variant while I had the all wheel drive variant which is rated at 20/29 mpg. I averaged around 18.5 mpg with a mix of city and city/hwy driving. While the 4 cylinder is powerful enough for most daily tasks those wanting more power a V6 is available putting out 264 HP With V6 the mileage ratings drop to 18/25 in front wheel drive and 17/24 in all wheel drive. Both engines are capable of towing with a max of 1500 lbs for the 4 cylinder and 3500 lbs with the V6. The 4 cylinder has a eco button that when pressed will help achieve one mile per gallon better fuel economy. When in eco mode the torque converter locks up quicker and the shift points move. I really did not see a difference in fuel economy though I felt the transmission shifted smoother while in eco mode.

General Motors for the longest time has been no where near class competitive in the interior department. Most have been travesties. It is obvious to me that designers spent a lot of time on this vehicle. The interior is really as class leading as the engine choices. While most panels are hard to the touch they look great and in this class that is what counts. The competitors also have hard panels but everything you actually come in contact with in the Equinox is nice to the touch. The interior at night lights up like something from Tron. The vehicle I had was equipped with cloth seats and they are something of a airy mesh that is quite interesting. The seats are firm and comfortable. I liked the material used on the seats. The Equinox I had was a 1LT with the only option being a back up camera for $320. The screen for the review view camera was integrated into the rear view camera on the left hand side. When in reverse the left hand side of the review mirror becomes a screen.

In a class lead by Honda CR-V and Toyota Rav4 the new Chevrolet Equinox should be putting those two competitors on notice. The Equinox both drives and looks like a breath of fresh air in the an all too boring segment. Chevrolet is pricing the new Equinox as aggressively as it is restyled, starting at $23,185 and topping out around $35,000. This vehicle is gone from barely class competitive to being segment leader in every category as far as I am concerned. With a class leading interior and very competitive pricing, the great fuel economy and high tech engines are icing on the delicious cake. I would recommend this vehicle over anything else in its class to anyone. The bottom line is this, if you are in the market for a small to midsize crossover SUV and you do not test drive the new Equinox you are doing yourself a big disservice.