Accelerate Mpls

Just posted by VWMico is the pricing and details of the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta.  Quoted below is the information from that post, but a few key facts for the quick rundown for your viewing pleasure below-

• 2011 Jetta will start at $14,995
• 2011 Jetta will come base with 115 HP/125 lb-ft 4 cylinder (party like it’s 1999!)
• 2011 Jetta TDI starts at $22,995
• 2011 Jetta GLI is absent from this list so it will either appear later or as a 2012 model possibly
• Dealerships are taking orders

Jetta Base: Includes S features, minus: manual A/C, RCD 310 radio, remote keyless entry, power exterior mirrors – $14,995

Jetta S: 2.0L, 115 HP / 125 lbs-ft, 4-cylinder engine, 5-speed manual transmission OR optional 6-speed automatic transmission, front disc brakes, rear drum brakes, 15” steel wheels w/ full covers & all-season tires, power & heated black exterior mirrors, black grille, manual A/C, RCD 310 radio w/ CD player, aux. input & 4 speakers, power locks w/ remote keyless entry, power windows w/ one-touch auto up/down on all four windows, 6-way manually adjustable front seats, 60/40 split folding rear seat, tilt & telescoping steering column, temperature display, front airbags, side & curtain airbags, ABS, ESC, TPMS, LATCH, daytime running lights, immobilizer – $15,995

Jetta SE: Includes S features, plus: 2.5L, 170 HP / 177 lbs-ft, 5-cylinder engine, 16”steel wheels w/ full covers & all-season tires, body color exterior mirrors w/ turn indicators, V-Tex leatherette seats, front center console w/ storage box, chrome interior accents, carpeted floormats, illuminated vanity mirrors, rear center armrest w/ pass-thru, cruise control – $18,195

Jetta SE with Convenience: Includes SE features, plus: 16” Sedona alloy wheels w/all-season tires, heated washer nozzles, heated front seats, leather wrapped multifunction steering wheel, brake handle & shift knob, Bluetooth®, MDI w/ iPod® cable, Sirius® satellite radio, 6-speaker sound system – $19,545

Jetta SE with Convenience and sunroof: Includes SE w/ Convenience features, plus:power tilt & sliding sunroof, Premium VIII touch-screen radio w/ SD memory card reader – $20,795

Jetta SEL: Includes SE features, plus: 17” Joda alloy wheels w/ all-season tires, 4-wheel disc brakes, chrome front grille & window trim, fog lights, RNS 315 touch-screen navigation w/SD memory card reader, keyless access w/ push-button start, trip computer, driver lumbar adjustment – $21,395

Jetta SEL with sunroof: Includes SEL features, plus: power tilt & sliding sunroof –$22,295

Jetta SEL with Sport package: Includes SEL w/ Sunroof features, plus: sport suspension,sport bolstered comfort seats, sport pedals & door sills – $22,995

Jetta TDI: Includes SE w/ Convenience & Sunroof features, plus: 2.0L, 140 HP /236 lbs-ft, TDI® Clean Diesel engine, 4-wheel disc brakes, 16” Mambo alloy wheels w/ allseason tires, trip computer – $22,995

Jetta TDI with nav: Includes TDI® features, plus: fog lights, chrome grille & window trim, RNS 315 navigation w/ SD memory card reader, keyless access w/ push-button start, driver seat lumbar adjustment – $24,195

Add Destination charge of $770 to all models, and $1,100 for automatic transmission.

Source- VWMico

I will be really up front and honest with you.  When I received the email telling me a 2010 GMC Acadia was coming my way, my first thought was “I will not like this vehicle.”  The main reasoning behind this is because I actually like the current Chevrolet Tahoe (the GMC Yukon is fine but I like the Tahoe styling better) and I could not imagine why I would personally buy this mammoth crossover instead of a Tahoe.  Yes, I’m aware the Acadia starts roughly around $5,540 cheaper than the Tahoe, but pricing never entered my thoughts when making this judgment.  The more interesting thing was, I had just hopped out of a fully loaded Buick Enclave, which rides on the same platform and shares so many parts with the Acadia.  I really enjoyed my time with the Enclave, but it still didn’t sway my opinions about the Acadia.  So what happened?

The Acadia’s exterior is striking.  The headlights are unique and truly good looking.  They really set the front end apart from other crossovers.  The hood has nice sculpting in the center with lines running from the front clip into the hood on either side.  The side profile is less sculpted, but has a bulge towards the bottom of the doors near the rocker panels.  The fenders are somewhat over exaggerated but not overly done.  The rear taillights are stylized with two round turret-looking shapes in each housing.  The Acadia’s exterior is overall, very sharp especially sitting on the optional twenty inch chrome clad wheels.

The Acadia’s interior does have a few design cues shared with the Chevrolet Traverse, though it is worth noting the Acadia came to market before the Traverse.  The center stack and instrument panel are all easy to operate and organized well.  At night the gauges and switchgear all light up GMC red and white. I personally find this easy on the eyes late at night.  The standard fold-flat third row is easy to operate but as a usable seat, the space back there is really meant for a child.  With the third row in seating position, there is still room in the back for bags.  The seats while large and flat were most definitely road trip worthy.

Powertrain options in the Acadia are limited to the 3.6 liter V6 featuring direct injection. Power output is 288 hp and 270 lb-ft to either the front or all four wheels.  The power is handled by a six speed automatic with manual shift capabilities.  I am undecided on this transmissions programming.  It could be the particular Acadia I was in, but the transmission seemed lazy to me.  Shifts were not quick and crisp.  They were delayed and took longer than expected when not pushed hard.  In all-wheel-drive mode, as the tester was equipped, the EPA rated the Acadia at 16/23 miles-per-gallon.  I saw an average of 16.8 mpg in the city and 19.9 mpg cruising at 75 miles-per-hour on the highway.  It is worth noting I averaged 22.8 mpg when cruising at 65 mph.

Rear End With Third Row Seat Up

The Acadia was optioned as a SLT-2 model with a sticker price of $42,185.  The test model also included the following options: technology package, touch screen navigation with rear view camera, rear seat entertainment, power sunroof with second row skylight, heated and cooled front seats with perforated leather surfaces, and red jewel tintcoat.  The total price swelled to $49,740 after destination and the plethora of options!  That’s a lot of money for a non-premium CUV.

A few things that stood out to me while I was in the Acadia:  first, was the heads up display. I like how GMC decided to include this feature with the technology package.  Second, the cooled seats in this Acadia were some of the best I have encountered to date.  They seats cooled very quickly and prompted me to pay attention as the seats made my backside chilly.  Finally, the iPod/iPhone interface on the optional touch-screen radio worked terrific.

So after driving the Acadia for the week, was it good enough to change my original opinions?   I was sure I wasn’t going to like it.  My final opinion on the CUV is I kind of like it and I kind of don’t.  I definitely was impressed at the end of my test.  I liked the Acadia as a vehicle; more than I ever thought I would like it.  With that said, I cannot admit the Acadia would be my top pick for $49,740.  GMC is deep into luxury territory at that price and in reality, the Buick Enclave has a nicer interior.  Looking past GM’s products other vehicles in the same price category as the Acadia include: the Acura MDX, Audi Q7 and many others luxury brand CUVs.  For the same price as the Acadia, the Audi Q7 TDI or the Acura MDX might be a better buy in my opinion.  The main problem is not the Acadia, but rather GM’s pricing of the Acadia. This vehicle fits in much better at with a $44,000 price ceiling to be truly competitive.   The bottom line is, if someone was ready to buy an Acadia and asked me if they should, I would say this: if you like it, it is a good vehicle but if selecting a fully loaded one I might be cautious on purchasing.

Full Disclosure- The review vehicle was provided by General Motors

2009 Q7 TDI

American’s have a stigma about diesels and it stems from the old school diesels from the eighties.  When you think diesel you think a big loud truck with black smoke billowing out of the tailpipe killing the planet one mile at a time.  The diesel in this vehicle is completely different, more on that later.

The diesel in this Q7 is 3.0 TDI pumps out 225 HP, and 406 Lb-Ft to all four wheels through Audi’s legendary Quattro all wheel drive system.  With no low range transfer case this vehicle is not made to go off road.  The Q7 has three rows of seats and children will be more then content in the third row.  This would make a great family hauler all while having the ability to tow a large boat.  The Q7 eats up the miles on the highway effortlessly.  The turbo diesel is rated at 17/25 which on a 7000 lb vehicle is quite a feat.  I saw an average of 24mpg on a mixed city and highway driving route.  There are reports of over 30 mpg on the highway so I feel the 17/25 ratings are more then realistic.

The Q7 I tested had quite a few nice options including, S line package, warm weather package, panoramic roof, along with others.  The S line package gave the Q7 the great looking 20 inch wheels that really fill the wheel wells.  The panoramic roof was a really neat option, giving the passengers a great view of the sky and even cooler on a gorgeous evening with a star light sky. This vehicle was optioned quite nicely.

Clean diesel is not widely known yet. This truly must change, clean diesel is quite amazing.  The benefits of diesel is better gas milage and vast amounts of torque among others.  Why do american’s have a bad taste in their mouths about diesels?  Well as mentioned earlier diesels are associated with being loud and dirty.  Not exactly what people want to be associated with these days.  Both of those stigmas are addressed and fixed with new clean diesels.  There is good reason for all the fuss about new clean diesels. Clean diesels are “clean” because of the low sulfur diesel along with other engine technologies that dramatically reduce emissions of diesel engines.  Bottom line, by reducing emissions and increasing fuel economy new clean diesels save the earth, save you money, and the best part is they are still fun to drive.

As I have said before Audi sets the standard when it comes to interiors and this Q7 TDI is no different. With great fit and finish, soft touch materials, everything just felt right.  The iPod/iPhone integration with MMI is great providing the ability to control everything from the car the device can be tucked away.  The warm weather package gave us four zone climate control so the rear seat occupants can choose what temperature they want their section of the vehicle to be.

This review is based on the Q7 2009. It should be noted the 2010 Q7 has some slight changes and they are already rolling into dealerships.  The 2010 Q7 has new LED tail lights, LED’s in the front headlights as day time running lights other new Audi’s, the new third generation MMI system, updated interior ambient lighting, and other small tweaks.  The TDI engine is the same for 2010.  The Q7 TDI starts with a base price of $50,900 before destination.  The Q7 I tested had a sticker price a slightly north of $62,000 with some nice option packages.  The Q7 is a great vehicle and the turbo diesel engine makes it even better.  My opinion, skip the V8/V6 engines and get the TDI engine which is definitely the best engine option.  Bottom line, the diesel engine has entered the twentieth century.