SPORT/UTILITY OFTHEYEAR: SHOCKWINNER! MOTOR TREND DECEMBER 2005 >>>>>>>STUFFTHEMOTORTREND.COMRIGHT USA$3.99CANADA$4.99 CORVETTE Z06 vs. FORD GT vs. DODGE VIPERCOUPE FLATOUTINTHREE 500-HP AMERICANSUPERCARS FULLTRACKTESTS ITDOESN’TGET BETTERTHANTHIS ★ ■ CHARGER SRT8 vs.PONTIAC GTO ■ MIATA vs. SOLSTICE ■ EVO VS. WRX STI
62 90 70104 48 144 (contents)december 2005 MOTOR TREND continued on page 8 > (contents) ■ Cover Story 48 The Right Stuff Ford GT/Dodge Viper Coupe/Corvette Z06 Frank Markus ■ Road Tests & First Drives 62 Roadster Glory Miata MX-5 vs. Pontiac Solstice Matt Stone 70 Power Trip Charger SRT8 vs. Pontiac GTO Ron Kiino 80 Once More…with Feeling Impreza WRXSTI vs. Mitsubishi Evo IX MR Chris Walton 96 A Star Is Reborn Mercedes-Benz S500 Arthur St. Antoine 144 Family Values Ford Fusion SEL vs. Honda Accord EX vs. Hyundai Sonata GLS vs. Toyota Camry LE Kim Reynolds ■ Newcomer 166 Special Delivery 2006 Mazda5 Bob Nagy ■ Features 90 Made in America Interview: Lapo Elkann Gavin Green 138 A Trip Down Memory Lane… Steven Cole Smith ■ Motor Trend’s 2006 Sport/Utility of the Year 104 The Dirty Dozen Which contenders will come through our toughest challenge to date with mud on their faces and which will emerge unscathed? Angus MacKenzie 106 The Process The criteria, the courses, and the judges. Angus MacKenzie 108 The Contenders ■ Ford Explorer ■ Hummer H3 ■ Hyundai Tucson ■ Jeep Commander ■ Kia Sportage ■ Mercedes-Benz M-Class ■ Mercury Mountaineer ■ Nissan Xterra ■ Pontiac Torrent ■ Range Rover Sport ■ Subaru B9 Tribeca ■ Suzuki Grand Vitara 130 The Winner No fair peeking at the last page. Allyson Harwood ■ Cover Photograph Evan Klein
■ Departments 12 The Big Picture Diesel do nicely. Angus MacKenzie 20 Trend News/opinion/gossip/stuff. 32 Your Say What do you think? 40 The Asphalt Jungle Cold play. Arthur St. Antoine 45 Technologue Kars by Katrina. Frank Markus 168 Tuners 2005 Mopar Dodge SRT-4. John Kiewicz 192 Archive Yeah, we got Hemis. Matt Stone (contents) december 2005 168 40 192 ■ Exclusive Auto Show Coverage JoinoureditorsthisNovemberforup-to-the-minute informationandphotographydirectfromtheTokyo MotorShowandSpecialtyEquipmentMarketAssociation (SEMA)showfloors.Checkitoutat motortrend.com/autoshows/coverage/. ■ Sport/Utility of the Year Gobehindthesceneswith Motor Trend questeditorsintheir phototofindthebestsport/utilityvehicle.Wallpaper, galleries,andvideoroundouttheonlinecollection. ■ Polls, Polls, Polls, and more Polls Whichwouldyouratherdrive?MiataorSolstice?Z06, SRT10,orGT?Evo9orWRXSTI?ChargerSRT8orGTO? Checkitoutatmotortrend.com/multimedia/polls/. ■ High-Performance e-Newsletter Here’syourchancetowinoneofadozenprizepackages fromMicrosoftfeaturingitsnew“2006Streets&Trips GPS”software,justbysigningupforourHighPerformancee-Newsletterduringthemonthof November.Getmoreinformationatmotortrend.com/ subscribe/. ■ Buyer’s Guide Ifyou’reinthemarketforaneworusedvehicle,our onlinebuyer’sguideoffersfactsandfiguresforevery mainstreammake,model,andtrimcurrentlyavailableas wellasinfoonpre-ownedmodelsfromthelasttwo decades.TheIntelliChoice-poweredbuyer’sguidealso offersinfoonthelatestincentivestohelpconsumersget thebestdealonanewcar,truck,SUV,orvan. this month @ motortrend.com < continued from page 5 2045 8 DECEMBER2005 MOTOR TREND.COM MOTOR TREND
When you’re paying the equivalent of six dollars a gallon for gas,a fuel-efficient diesel makes sense,no matter how much money you spend on a car.But that’s not the whole story. Diesels are also great to drive.
diesel does it
KLEINEVANKIEWICZJOHN
America needs a better weapon to fight rising fuel prices what we’ve been up to...
12 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM (the big picture) angus mackenzie
HERE IN AMERICA, diesels power Peterbilts.In Europe,they’re a way of life.In some countries,diesel-engined cars account for more than 60 percent of sales.If you don’t have a four-cylinder turbodiesel among your powertrain options,then you simply ain’t a mainstream player in the European market.And diesels are now de rigueur in the automotive smart set,too:more than half the MercedesBenz S-Class models currently sold in Europe are diesel-powered,for example,and highperformance turbodiesel V-6 and V-8 engines are now a must-have for any self-respecting European luxury carmaker.
I learned this in the year I spent with a BMW 730d and then an Audi A8 4.0 TDI back in England.My commute was 120 miles each way. The most immediate benefit in switching to the BMW from the Range Rover Vogue I was running at the time was that I didn’t have to spend 10 minutes standing on a freezing-cold fuel island pumping $120 worth of gas into the tank every second day. The 730d would easily go 650 miles on a single tank of fuel—more than twice as far as the Range Rover—while cruising at 80 to 90 mph.On one trip,I got almost 35 mpg at an average speed of 76.8 mph.That’s U.S.gallons, too,not the supersized Brit ones.Not bad for a luxury car weighing in at more than 4300 pounds and powered by a 3.0-liter straight-six. With satellite nav,hands-free phone,six-disc CD changer,and radar cruise control,the 730d was the perfect transcontinental express.
The fuel economy’s nice,but it’s the torque that’s the fun part of driving a diesel.The 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 diesel in my Audi had almost 60 horsepower less than the 4.2-liter gas V-8,the base engine for the car here in the U.S., and almost 180 horses less than the 6.0-liter W-12.But it’s the engine I’d choose above the other two every time.Why? 479 pound-feet of weapons-grade torque at 1800 rpm,that’s why. By contrast,the 4.2 V-8 has just 317 pound-feet at 3500 rpm,while the W-12 needs to be zinged to 4700 rpm before it makes its peak of 428 pound-feet.Onthefreeway,my A8 simply surfed that monster swell of midrange mumbo.When you needed to plug a gap in the fast-moving traffic, you just wiggled your big toe,and the A8 lunged forward.No waiting,no delay,no transmission dropping back two gears to spool up the engine,as happens with the W-12.And, around town,it even gave better mileage than the six-cylinder 730d.Like Mike Tyson sorting out a barroom brawl,it had so much muscle that it barely seemed to break a sweat.The Audi had paddles for manual operation of its sixspeed automatic transmission.I never used them—it always seemed to be in the right gear.
The BMW was the better-handling car of the two,with more communicative steering and a more coherent ride than the brittle-feeling Audi.But on tight,nip-and-tuck backroads the A8 punched harder out of the turns and reeled in the straights with an elastic surge of acceleration,the engine singing as the tach needle swung around to the redline.Okay,it wasn’t quite Pavarotti hitting that note in “Nessun Dorma”—more like Tom Waits gargling Irish Cream.But it was music to my ears. Both DaimlerChrysler and BMW are reportedly considering offering diesel engines in cars in the U.S.,providing they can overcome tough 100,000-mile emissions-durability targets.I hope they succeed,because American drivers could quickly learn to love the diesel.It’s not just the fuel-consumption thing.It’s the fact that when you flex your right foot,you get a wallop of good old-fashioned torque. Just like Detroit used to make. ■
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(trend NEWS/OPINION/GOSSIP/STUFF)
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V-8 ■ Improved 4L60E four-speed automatic, all other engines WHEELS ■ 17-inch standard, except: ■ 18-inch standard, Escalade and Denali ■ 20-inch optional on Chevy and GMC ■ 22-inch optional on Escalade (avoid if you’re trading in a DeVille) OTHER FEATURESNEW ■ More interior space ■ Fully boxed frame with hydroformed front section ■ Coil-over shocks, front ■ Rack-and-pinion steering ■ Larger four-wheel disc brakes ■ Side curtain bags for all three rows ■ Standard StabiliTrak with rollover mitigation ■ Optional rear-camera system GMT–900 in detail
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GM’s do or die SUVs big improvement. But is that enough?
20 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
GM MUST be hoping history doesn’t repeat with the launch of its do-or-die GMT-900 sport/utilities.When Gas Crisis I sucker-punched the Big Three in 1973,GM’s U.S.market share was more than 43 percent,most of it based on big gasguzzling cars.Now it’s in the mid-20s.Some 33 years later, General Motors says big SUVs sell nearly 750,000 units annually, with 6.5 million owners total,and that it owns 62 percent of the segment.But the GMT-900s,rushed to market six months early,arrive just as Hurricane Katrina has walloped our oil supply and driven gas prices up to $3.50 per gallon and to the top of mind among anxious consumers. Against this background,even the most optimistic GM insiders must be concerned that the troubled giant’s future hinges largely on the success of the big Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and Avalanche,GMC Yukon/ Denali and Yukon/ Denali XL,and Cadillac Escalade/ ESV/EXT in 2006.The 116-inch-wheelbase Tahoe,Yukon/ Yukon Denali,and Escalade launch within weeks of each other in the first quarter;the others,the larger 130-inch-wheelbase models, launch in the second quarter. The good news is the GMT-900s are vast improvements over the aging 800s.Precise,responsive rack-and-pinion steering with the best feel and feedback in the segment,plus pushrod V-8s with variable-valve timing and fuel-saving displacementon-demand cylinder shutoff,distinguish the GM models over other big SUVs.The automaker expects combined EPA fuel mileage of 20.5 mpg for its 5.3-liter rear-drive models,20.1 mpg for 4x4s.A two-phase hybrid will be available in 2007. Fit-and-finish is excellent,with small,even panel gaps and one-piece front fascias that eliminate the big,gaping openings endemic to GM.The new interiors are improved,with GM’s new chrome-ringed dials and quality switchgear,good leathers,and no more mouse-fur headliners.The Cadillacs,at least,and probably the GMC Denalis,should have real-wood accents (like Mercedes,BMW,and Audi) beyond the realwood steering-wheel details,but mostly,the interiors are the equal of their competitions’.A power-operated flip-and-fold second row is optional,and power hideaway runningboards will be available a couple months after launch. And their styling is smart and modern,with steeply raked windshields,taut sheetmetal over widened front and rear tracks,and a claimed drag coefficient of 0.36.The Cadillacs feature Sixteen-concept-inspired noses and rectangular ventiports in the front fenders.The GMCs have bulbouslooking grilles and bugeye-like rectangular headlamps that work less successfully.The 2007 GMC pickup trucks will have more differentiation from the SUVs,including stronger grilles,when they launch next fall.The Chevy Tahoe and Suburban styling is most successful and will remind oldtimers of the organic-styled 1973 Chevy trucks. Which brings us back to the near future.Will the GMT-900s do well? Without doubt—they’re the new state-of-the-art for large sport/utilities.They’ll likely increase GM’s market share in the segment.But will the segment retain its size in light of all the changing external forces? After all,62 percent of nothing is…well,nothing. ■ todd lassa 6.2-liter aluminum block, VVT, 400 horsepower (Cadillac only); 380 horsepower (GMC Denali only) 6.0-liter aluminum block with Displacement on Demand, VVT, 355 horsepower 6.0-liter iron block heavy-duty with VVT, 350 horsepower 5.3-liter aluminum block with DOD and E85 capability, 320 horsepower 5.3-liter iron block with DOD, 320 horsepower 4.8-liter iron block, 290 horsepower 6L80 six-speed with two overdrive gears, tap-up/tap-down capability, 6.2-liter
(trend) MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER2005 21 words motor trend editors
(trend NEWS/OPINION/GOSSIP/STUFF) Jaguar XK convertible ready for Detroit 22 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM ANALYSTS ESTIMATE 2007: New S-Type 2008: New XJ LOW WEIGHT Will Ford ever get Jaguar right? POUND FOR POUND: HOW THE NEW XK MEASURES UP JAGUAR XK CONVERTIBLE 300 horsepower 3604 pounds (12.0 pounds/horsepower) CADILLAC XLR320 horsepower 3643 pounds (11.9 pounds/horsepower) MERCEDES-BENZ SL500302 horsepower 4065 pounds (13.5 pounds/horsepower) BMW 645CiCONVERTIBLE325 horsepower 4189 pounds (12.9 pounds/horsepower) (manufacturers’curb weights;BMW 645Ci with optional SMG transmission)
(trend)(trend) NEWS/OPINION/GOSSIP/STUFFMOTORTREND.COM DECEMBER2005 23 2010: X-Type dies Beyond 2010: F-Type ■ todd lassa/paul horrell CAN MARK FIELDS ■ Got gossip? E-mail mike.connor@motortrend.com ● MT CONFIDENTIAL ● MIKECONNOR (✱spycam✱) JAGUAR S-TYPE Disc Drive RELIVE FOUR ■
(trend NEWS/OPINION/GOSSIP/STUFF) MODEL-YEARMID-2006,LAUNCH: 2007 COMING,M-VERSIONANDFOUNDBANGLEISMBOTTOM3.0-LITER215-HORSEPOWER,ENGINE:I-6LINE:HASFINALLYITSCARTHERE’SANTOO ■ todd lassa DESIGN CHIEF
Bangle belts one out of the ballpark MiniTravellerrevealsfacelift 24 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM (✱spycam✱)
MINI’S TRAVELLER concept stands out for its “barn doors”at the rear,with a large Mini emblem.But the concept’s other styling cues hide the facelifted 2007 Mini in plain sight.The headlamps and interior show what BMW plans for the next car.Headlamps are more swept back and aero-looking,and the center speedometer is part of a “free-hovering” dashboard.In the concept,at least,the seats also hover:They’re connected to the center console by load-bearing extensions.These elegant details could help mask the fact that the next Mini is all about decontenting to make it a more profitable small car. The two-door,wagonlike Traveller will share its extended wheelbase with an all-new fivedoor version of the Mini.The three-door and convertible models will be upgraded and continued.Thedoors on the Traveller concept are on kinematic parallelogram hinges and pivot to swing open with minimum movement to the side and maximum movement to the front for easier ingress/egress.Its two split side windows at the rear merge with the side windows at the front,and the front section moves electrically beneath the rear section when opened.The luggage area is called the Cargobox,with a floor that can be pulled out to the rear to help load heavy bags.The Cargobox also swivels up to section off the passenger compartment from the luggage area. BMW will ditch the current inline-four engine for a new in-house-designed,directinjection 1.6-liter powerplant.This engine will be turbocharged for Cooper and Cooper S models,developing about 140 and 170 horses, respectively,with a 15-percent improvement in fuel economy.Rumors from Munich suggest the top of the range Cooper Works version could be good for 230 horsepower. ■
26 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
Japan wanted a twin-turbo six under the hood,but the U.S.reportedly insisted on a V-8. Nissan insiders confirm the 4.5-liter V-8 from the Infiniti M45 will fit under the hood;the question is whether it can be tuned to deliver the performance needed t0 keep the GT-R legend alive in Japan.
NISSAN’S next-generation GT-R supercar continues its painful evolution.It’s taken two years for Nissan to move from the GT-R concept shown at the 2003 Tokyo Show, to this,the GT-R Proto,yet another concept for the long-awaited R35 version of Japan’s most iconic high-performance coupe.This one, however,is closer to the real thing.
Blame Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn,who insisted from the outset the new GT-R be a profitable project.That meant engineering the R35 GT-R for world markets,including the United States (previous Skyline GT-Rs have been Japan-only models,with limited numbers exported to Australia and the United Kingdom).
R34:R33:R32:
STRETCH THIS AS DOES FJ CRUISER ■ New
The Skyline name dates back to Nissan’s acquisition of the Prince Motor Company in 1966. Prince engineers influenced the development of the P510 and 240Z,and Prince models suchas the Gloria and Skyline became Nissan models. Although the Prince had built performance versions of the Skyline since the early 1960s, the first Skyline GT-R was launched in 1969, powered by a 16-horse twin-cam inline-six. ■
Closertotherealthing
Nissan GT-R RAV4 breaks cover
SKYLINE GT-R: A BRIEF HISTORY
Sport Trac bows (trend 28NEWS/OPINION/GOSSIP/STUFF) DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM 10,00010,00050,000CRUNCHINGNUMBER1.24MILLIONPRICEINDOLLARSOFTHE987-HORSEPOWERBUGATTIVEYRONSUPERCAR,WHICHISEXPECTEDTOREACHOURSHORESSOMETIMEIN2006ESTIMATEDNUMBEROFAUTOJOURNALISTSATSEPTEMBER’SFRANKFURTMOTORSHOWWITHSOREFEET.ESTIMATEDNUMBEROFAUTOJOURNALISTSWHOATTENDEDSEPTEMBER’SFRANKFURTMOTORSHOW.AMOUNTINDOLLARSTHESOUTHERNFORDDEALERSHIPOFHOUSTON,TEXAS,ISOFFERINGTOANYFULL-TIMETVORRADIOPERSONALITYWHO’LLLEGALLYCHANGEHISORHERNAMETO“SOUTHERNFORD”ANDTHENUSEITONAIR.HOWABOUT$25KFOR“HARRISONFORD”?
ENGINES/TRANSMISSIONS ■■ DRIVESYSTEMS ■■ PAYLOAD ■ TOWINGCAPACITY ■ ’07 ExplorerFord’s Edge(✱spycam✱) THIS IS ■
FORD PIONEERED the sport/utility pickup truck in the 2001-model year with its Explorer Sport Trac,a V-6-only version based on the now-defunct two-door Explorer.It looked like Ford had trumped Nissan, which showed its SUT concept first.But perhaps not.The Sport Trac didn’t exactly take the market by storm.Now,with the Honda Ridgeline floundering in the marketplace,Ford thinks it has a better idea:Offer a V-8.Thus,the 2007 Explorer SportThisTrac.time,it’s based on the popular full-size Explorer and includes its independent rear suspension and optional V-8 engine.All the sheetmetal forward of the B-pillar is from the Explorer,and the 2007 is more than five inches longer and nearly two inches wider than the Sport Trac it replaces. The new model’s wheelbase is 16.7 inches longer than its donor platform Explorer.It has a 4.5-foot sheet-molded composite cargo box with a molded-in, black inner liner and tie-down anchors, plus three cargo bins with removable drain plugs.The interior features rubber floor covering,optional two-tone leather seats and a heated windshield. Standard audio includes a CD-player with MP3 capability.Safety features include AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control and four-wheel disc brakes with ABS and EBD and optional Safety Canopy side air curtains.Is an optional V-8 enough to ensure that the new Sport Trac doesn’t get lost in the woods, like the Ridgeline or the 2001 model? We’ll know some time after it goes on sale next spring. ■
30 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM (trend NEWS/OPINION/GOSSIP/STUFF) ■ we hearwe TURBOCHARGING ■
or
Volkswagen
THIS LARGER, more upscale VW Cabriolet replacement uses Golf and Passat components,but it’s the smallest of the three here,with a 101.5-inch wheelbase and 173.5-inch overall length.It also has the most elaborate top mechanism.It folds in just two pieces,but also has a built-in sunroof for a total of five folding panels.The launch engine is VW’s excellent 200-horsepower,2.0-liter turbo FSI four,but,in the U.S.,the optional engine will be a 250-horse,3.2-liter FSI VR6.About 15,000 per year are bound for the U.S.at an expected base price of about $30,000 when it goes on sale in May.
■ Six Shooters YOU’LL FIND ■ Fiveeasypieces
When a turbo blower just isn’t enough EOS
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sweet memories I was intrigued by the reference to a 1949 Riley sedan (“The Big Picture,”September 2005).In 1962,a Riley Saloon was my first car,and I never expected to read about one in a U.S.magazine (I’m a Brit who’s been living in the USA for just over four years).Mine was a 1.5-liter, distinguished by dark-blue enamel in the badge.I still look back on that car with good feelings—it wasn’t the getting there that counted but the manner of the going.Thanks for the nostalgia.
Your super sleuths missed the mark on the Z06 (“Trends”).That isn’t a standard-issue Z06— that’s the Blue Devil,a supercharged version of the Z06 not yet approved for production.Two of your competitors (who shall remain nameless) note the unmistakable sound of the supercharger,and your lap times surely must have told you this car was more than a 505horse Z06.Whoever reported on this should get on his knees and beg for forgiveness.Love your magazine,love the new look,but you’d probably better own up to the fact that you missed big time on this one. You may be putting your faith in the wrong sources,Gary.The car is,in fact,a blue Z06 and not the Blue Devil,which looks to be on hold as GM will have to install the engine in a Cadillac (the CTS-v-plus) as well to make the numbers work.—Ed. to Z06— contours please the eye
shameless plug Is Dodge insane? Shouldn’t the Dodge Challenger concept be the next Charger (“Trends”)? The only things remotely resembling a Charger on the new Charger are the Coke-bottle flares at the rear end.Is it all just a shameless capitalization on good names? upon close examination
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I was about to congratulate you for not calling the MX-5 a sports car—until I turned to the back page.The defining feature of a sports car is that it outperforms ordinary cars.Half of the sedans (yes,sedans!) on the market today will blow the doors off any Miata,new or old.Don’t tell me about “fun to drive.”The greatest fun to be had in an automobile short of sex is going faster than anyone else. say little location do you read motor
monster readers on
a revealing concept Damn! Someone beat me to it.I’ve been telling my wife for years that I’d pay extra to have a scantily clad girl cut my hair or towel off the car at the car wash—and she thinks I’m crazy (“Asphalt Jungle”).Yeah,crazy like Mr. Saltzman,who invents California Girls Valet and becomes an overnight success.What a stroke of genius.Beautiful women and cars…and it could’ve been me! I’ve got to go lie down now. little monster I’ve always loved the Miata and still miss my 1999 that I sold a while back (“The Song Remains the Same”).I’m impartial about the new nose,though;it’ll take some time to grow on me.A bit of confusion:a tight rear-quarter shot shown on page 45.The exhaust tip is sticking out on the right side of the lower bumper.But on page 47,the left rear quarter of the car is shown,and the exhaust tip is sticking out on the lower left side of the bumper.Neither photo shows the car to have a dual exhaust setup.Are my eyes playing tricks on me?
No,but we are.You lose an exhaust tip in photo editing once in a while.Sorry about that.—Ed.
(your say)
At first,the Miata’s new fender lines disturbed me,but that changed upon noting the improvements made under the skin of this icon.Screw those guys in the big SUVs—they can run me over,but I’ll still have a smile on my face when they pry my corpse from the new Miata.To quote my four-foot-11-inch mother, “Dynamite comes in small packages.” flying toasters I’m holding onto the hope that the HHR looks better in real life than it does in the pictures (“Appliance Appeal”).I’ll give Chevy some credit,though.At least it didn’t whack the HHR in the face with a silver 2x4.Clipping on plastic biceps and calling it retro isn’t going to turn the frog into a prince.
1.Why not compare performance of the 180horse PT Cruiser since the HHR had 172 2.Maybehorses? your writer was too tall,too short,or just too wide since a comfortable seating position was hard to find. 3.Why does the HHR look like it came from the next Disney movie,“Honey,I shrunk the Suburban?”I’vehadmy PT for 48,000 trouble-free miles and wouldn’t trade it for a truckload of HHRs. Frank Greensboro,NorthBeamon Carolina Had the all-new Chevy and the revisedfor-2006 PT been out even a month longer,we could’ve spec’d out testers more equally equipped and priced.The goal here was to offer a look at each car’s overall packaging and position in the marketplace.—Ed. inner space Reading the “Space Shuttles”story reminded me of growing up driving my mom’s 1974 (pea-soup green with fake woodgrain side panels) Chevy Caprice Estate wagon with a 454 underhood and loaded with all the options.It flying toasters
Poor 3 Series owners would choke on their propellers trying to keep up. Sport Z Magazine Thanks for the unbiased opinion.—Ed. addicted to love I can no longer hold it in—I’ve read your mag for 20 years and have enjoyed just about every issue.But the last two month’s issues have been,hands down,the best publications in years.I had to have them next to me as I watched TV;at every commercial break,I had to look at them.I may have to be medicated. They’re both stuffed full of powerful,fast,big,awesomeeverythingandprecise about everything automotive.Great work and congratulations on the new format.I can’t wait for next month.No pressure.But I will continue in my addiction to Motor Trend. ■
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had the third seat in the back so I could haul eight of my friends to the drive-in.After two years of out-dragging surprised Camaro owners between stoplights,the Estate’s rear end sagged about two inches because I’d twisted the heck out of the rear leaf springs.I was going to trade my PT Cruiser in for a new turbo model,but I now have to admit a severe bloodlust for the Magnum. If I could afford to spend that much money on a car,I’d take the Dodge Magnum SRT8 and send it and the extra $53,530 saved from not buying the Benz to John Hennessey.I’m sure he could produce something in the 650to-750-horse range,refined suspension,weight reduction,and…well you get the picture. matchless performance
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But maybe BMW does know the enthusiast market better.Rather than waste its time chasing performance,it offers plenty of musthave accessories like iPod cases.It’s a shame that open-knuckle driving gloves have fallen out of Congratulations,Istyle. guess,on crowning the BMW 330i the victor in your sport-sedan challenge. But BMW has priced itself out of this market, costing $11,000 more than the runner-up Infiniti G35,a fact barely mentioned in the article (and,of all things,you compare base prices,as if a base-priced BMW existed somewhere on this planet).For $11K,you could load up a G35 with a supercharger and still have coin leftover for a cachet of NISMO parts.
If the BMW is to be praised for its more engaging ride and performance,then maybe you’re comparing it with the wrong sport sedans (“3’s Company”).A better matchup might be between the Bimmer and a Subaru STi.Subaru has remained truer to the ideal than the Bavarians have by distilling a more visceral ride that’ll annihilate the 330 in every performance category.Throw in all-wheel drive,reliability,and a hefty price advantage, and you have a no-brainer for the enthusiast.
■ illustration lionel portier ■ photograph lionel deluy L.A. drivers don’t have to deal with the sting of winter. They don’t know what they’re missing. cold play
40 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
patio heater.My memories of driving through more than a dozen Michigan winters are so vivid,even now it’s difficult to imagine life without sleet.Perhaps that explains the exchange that occurred a few years ago as I arrived at a SoCal barbeque and a friend helped me unload the trunk.“Art,why do you have a giant bag of road salt in alwaysdriving.Winterforcookoutside.Wedegrees“Dude,it’sPrepared.’”‘BeYou“It’shere?”January.know,86couldoursteaksonthepavement.”“Didyousayroadsalt?Uh,no—that’sthemargaritas.”Thetruthis,Imissthelate-fallritualofgearingupforcold-weatherwouldannounceits impending arrival as formally as a wedding invite:the abrupt chill in the air,the Crayola 64 foliage,the profusion of antifreeze commercials during TV football games.Those were the autumnal go-aheads to commence with the rites of winter.As in:digging out the three snow tires in the corner of the garage—and cutting down the fourth one hanging from a tree as a swing.Treating yourself to a brand-new ice scraper and admiring its still-undamaged red bristles.Lugging those dusty barbell plates up from the basement and tossing them into the trunk as a sort of Neanderthal traction control. Fortifying the roadside emergency kit with a cool new gadget,such as a reflective-silver safety blanket capable of protecting an astronaut from the Van Allen Belt.Overkill? Hardly.Winter driving in Michigan is a lot like an Everest expedition—except in Nepal the key never freezes in the door of your yak. Ah,driving in winter.Unlike friends who’ve always lived in sunny,temperate L.A.,at least I know the giddy thrills of holidays on ice.In SoCal,people actually pay to slide go-karts around purpose-built slick tracks.In Michigan, zero-grip,opposite-lock thrills are yours free of charge at every winter intersection—bring the minivan and the whole family can play! Why,it’s time people appreciated this no-traction action for what it is:a full-on adventure sport,every bit as invigorating as skydiving or a big-bucks whitewater rafting trip.What’s more,winter’s heady challenges breed a level of driving skill all but unobtainable in areas where the roads are consistently drier than James Bond’s martinis.In Michigan,I’ve personally witnessed a grandmother powersliding a school bus full of screaming kids through an icy entrance ramp with all the finesse of Tony Kanaan tracing the line through Turn One at Indy. Contrast that with streets of Los Angeles,where even a light sprinkling of rain turns the city into a giant pachinko machine with two-ton balls.
(the asphalt jungle) arthur st. antoine
So to all of you facing yet another winterdriving season—the spinning tires,the fourwheel snow drifts,the adrenaline-filled skating performances lurking around every frozen turn—as you think of us who drive in clement climes,droning along on our monotonously benign byways,I ask just one small favor:Try not to gloat. ■ WINTER IS just around the corner.I know this because,well,it says “December”on the cover of this magazine.Also,the other day I saw Santa Claus sunning himself on the beach.Or maybe that was Billy Bob burgerarugulaenjoyyouintolerablegetweatheralthoughwinterthatmeflops.ButshortssillyParkaHimalayanFacethattoenoughdecadeforMunchkinlandresidentI’vecanSouthernThornton.Californiabeconfusing.beenaofwelloveranow,timerealizeaNorthlookswithboardandflip-apartofstillcan’tacceptthere’snohere—thecansocan’tyourwithouta
HURRICANE KATRINA exposed a major weakness in our energy production and distribution infrastructure and efforts to reinforce it are sure to keep costs high for way longer than it’ll take to re-anchor the drilling rigs and patch up the refineries. Katrina will be remembered as the OPEC oil embargo is,and we can probably expect her to alter the vehicle choices we face five years from now just as OPEC did.The original Corporate Average Fuel Economy law was passed in 1975 with the aim of improving the gas mileage of our cars so we wouldn’t be crippled by another oil embargo.The legislation resulted in shrunken, boxy sedans,a brief proliferation of diesel cars, and a newfound interest in the trucks CAFE ignored.Incase you missed it,a seemingly prescient Bush administration rolled out a new lighttruck CAFE proposal six days before Katrina blew ashore.It’s a modest proposal that divides the truck market into six segments based on the square footage of a vehicle’s footprint (track times wheelbase),with a mandate to bump up fuel economy in each segment.This allows fullline manufacturers to sell big,profitable trucks without having to give away small ones just to boost the fleet average.Between 2008 and 2011,the smallest trucks must improve from 26.8 to 28.4 mpg,the largest from 20.4 to 21.3. Environmentalists lashed out immediately, calculating that the total fleet average would only improve by about 1.8 mpg,saving the nation a month’s worth of gas over the life of the new vehicles.But in the wake of Katrina,I expect demand to swing toward the smaller, more efficient designs,rendering these complaintsAddressingmoot.this disaster requires more than just improved fuel consumption.We must reduce our dependence on oil received and refined in the Gulf.New state-of-the-art refineries should be built in less volatile areas.And we need to rely less on foreign sources of energy. Toward that end,I sincerely hope Katrina bumps Senate Bill S.1210,the National Security and Bioenergy Investment Act of 2005,onto a fast track.This little-known legislation would increase funding to accelerate development of plant-based fuels and chemical products.Most of the 4.4 billion gallons of ethanol produced a hurricane reshape the automotive landscape?
annually are made,like moonshine,from corn kernels—the cobs and stalks are tossed.But researchers are busy developing designer enzymes and microorganisms that can liberate distillable sugars from those stalks,from other woody plant materials,and even from waste paper.A Department of Agriculture study projects that we could replace a quarter of our oil imports with biofuels today while meeting current agricultural demands,and that production of ethanol and biodiesel could reach eight billion gallons by 2012.
So what will our vehicle choices look like in 2010? The hybrid market is already exploding, but I also expect diesel engines (capable of burning biodiesel) to overcome their emissions challenges and pervade the truck segment, powering anything expected to tow a trailer.
Can
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 45 frank markus (technologue)
kars by katrina
■ illustration nigel buchanan ■ photograph lionel deluy
Tax-incentivized flex-fuel (gas/ethanol) vehicles seem obvious,and these will either have enlarged fuel tanks or slightly reduced driving range.The hurricane’s long-term economic strain will likely broaden the availability of no-frills cars and stifle demand for Rubiconcrossing hardware among suburbanites who never venture off-road. Increased energy independence and reduced CO2 production could be a huge silver lining to a mighty black cloud,but don’t expect anyone to thank Katrina. ■
MUSEUMAIRYANKEETHEANDAIRPORTRUNWILLOWOFCOURTESYLOCATIONPHOTO
48 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM (cover story)
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 49 INSEARCHOF THEFASTAMERICAN HERO
STTHERIGHTUFF
★ ■ words frank markus ■ photographs evan klein FORD GT MEETS DODGE VIPER SRT10 MEETS CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06
(cover story)
50 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
battle on public roads,not in international endurance races.That Ford managed to rework the original GT40’s pre-wind-tunnel styling to produce significant aerodynamic downforce and enlarge it for comfort without compromising the proportions of that original American icon is astonishing.That such a windmill-tilting 550-horse fantasy car ever found its way down a production line at Ford is yet another marvel.But most miraculous of all is the fact that this Ford is still,in its third model year,finding buyers willing to pay almost double its enormous sticker“Holdprice.thephone!”you sticklers for automotive parity protest.“The Chevy and Dodge start at $65,800 and $86,995,while the Ford’s base price equals the sum of those two plus $550.No fair!”Well,lower your voices and listen carefully:Our secret mission here is to first determine a conclusive winner in the long-promised Chevy/Dodge face-off and then press on to determine—informed by the full weight of hard scientific evidence and soft hormonal excretions—whether the GT is indeed twice as fabulous as the winner.It won’t be easy—but a battered nation is counting on us,so let’s take to the wild blue yonder and give ’em hell. Our first theater of operations is the DaimlerChrysler Proving Ground near Chelsea,Michigan,and our opening sortie aluminum and magnesium).No foreigner can touch this Vette’s 6.3-pound/horsepower rating for under $100 grand.The Z06’s price premium over the Z51 is under $20,000—half the surcharge commanded by Chevy’s first exotic,the Corvette ZR-1 (in today’s dollars).And the Z06 earns bonus points for delivering exoticar performance in a Clark Kent wrapper with the visibility and useful trunk space of a daily-driver—and without incurring a gasguzzlerDodgetax.transformed a torquaholic V-10 truck engine into a light,510-horse aluminum race-car mill that’s earned the Viper a long résumé of motorsport credits and successfully challenged the Corvette’s decades-old status as “America’s Sports Car.”Its 535-pound-foot torque rating easily out-twists any foreign production car with a five-digit price tag.Its cartoonish schoolboy study-hall styling still looks as powerful,confident,and outrageous as anything ever built in Sant’Agata,Italy.And the fact that this outrageous shape doesn’t take to the skies like Superman at 180-plus mph is truly a miracle of aerodynamic engineering.Ford’sGT has rekindled Hank the Deuce’s Ferrari feud,taking on the F430 with arguably similar results,though the wins and losses are harder to score this time around because this GT only does AMERICA IS going through a tough patch.Our forces are taking relentless flak in Iraq,and the best place in the country for jazz music has been flattened by a bitch of a storm.Our beloved auto industry also is in big trouble.Too few BigThree models have the sizzle to sell well without epic discounts,and high gas prices paint a bleak future for the jumbo guzzler pickups and SUVs about to make their debuts.As a result,GM and Ford now enjoy junk-bond investment status,while DaimlerChrysler clings to the next rung up the debt-rating ladder.Layoffs have been announced,bankruptcies rumored.
Isn’t there any good news out there?
The Chevy Corvette Z06 manages to generate 505 ultraconservative horsepower (see “Dyno Might”sidebar) from a pushrod two-valve small-block V-8 with no high-falutin’blowers and no fancy variable-valve gimcrackery.It weighs 100 pounds less than its next-best-performing Z51 sibling,thanks to extensive use of exotic materials (the structure underlying the carbon fiber and fiberglass skin is all
Why,yes! Look up at yon hilltop,where the morning’s first rays of sunshine are backlighting three American supercars, poised to perform heroic acts of derringdo,providing just the sort of ego-boosting, pride-swelling distraction our weary nation could use right about now.
THREEAMERICANHEROES,AN UNLIMITEDGASALLOWANCE, OFANDFIVEDAYS DRIVINGONTESTTRACKS, RACETRACKS,BACKROADS ANDDYNO-ROLLSTOPICK AFAVORITE
BRIGHT-REDCALIPERS ONALLTHREECARSSQUEEZE TOHARDENOUGHONTHEIRPIZZAPANS DETACHTHEDRIVER’SRETINAS
028003190 100 200 300 400 5003580397043605140speed47505530592063106700 (rpm) hp ft-lb 0 100 200 300 400 500314028003480382041604840speed45005180552058606200 (rpm) hp ft-lb 3190 28003580397043605140 047505530592063106700 100 200 300 400 500 600speed(rpm) hp ft-lb dyno might ford gtdodge viper srt10chevrolet corvette Z06 SAE BRAKE HORSEPOWERSAE TORQUE factory claimdynamometer*loss factory claimdynamometer*loss Chevrolet Corvette Z0650545310.3%47041112.6% Dodge Viper SRT1051044712.4%53543119.4% Ford GT5505352.7%5004608.0% *Average of three runs in fourth gear (1.00:1 Corvette and Viper) or third gear (1.23:1, GT)
RUMORS have been flying for the last few months, alleging that the pilot-build Z06s driven and tested in conjunction with the car’s Nürburgring launch were juiced to well beyond their SAE certified 505horsepower ratings. So we ran all three test cars on a new, state-of-theart 200-mph Mustang eddy-current dynamometer, courtesy of Wheel-toWheel Powertrain, LLC in Madison Heights, Michigan. This dyno simulates actual road and aerodynamic loads to provide more realistic results (hence the rear-wheel-output numbers may trail those generated on less sophisticated dynos). According to program manager Dan Sienkiewicz, the typical drivetrain losses for a car with a manual transmission and independent suspension fall within 14 to 15 percent of crankshaft horsepower. Heavier rotating components (wheels, tires, axles, joints) increase losses, as do heftier gears, high viscosity lubricants, etc. Based on these expectations, the dyno printouts suggest our Z06 was producing more like 530 horses. But Chevy isn’t alone underestimating the output of its hero motor: These figures show the Viper’s V-10 also was good for 530 horses, and the GT’s supercharged V-8 was pumping out at least 600 ponies. As for those initial Corvettes, the 0.3-second difference in 0-to-60mph times between the original pilotbuild test car and this regular production car is largely attributable to launch conditions at two different test tracks, while the one-tenthsecond, half-mph difference in the quarter mile suggests the cars are equally strong.
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 53 (cover story)
involves a three-hour strafing run on a deserted 1.6-mile concrete straight.These torque-monsters are all tricky to launch hard.Without deft footwork,each will easily stand in the starting box smoking its rear tires right down to the air inside them. The Viper proved least difficult.Dial up just enough revs to break traction (just under 2000 or so),then feed in the power as the gigantic Michelin Pilots hook up.From then on,it’s foot-to-floorboard in between shifts.Tester Chirico found the Viper’s shifter easier to hustle than the Corvette’s (they share internal gearsets),thanks to its roomier gates.Get it all just right,and she’ll lay down a 4.0-second blast to 60 mph,en route to a 12.0-second,121.9mph quarter-mile run.That’s better than last month’s car ran,but still a tick or two off the pace of our quickest Viper roadster. The Z06 is a different animal.Its traction and stability-control systems work wonders in dynamic handling situations,but not on the dragstrip.Coincidently,each car delivers about 1600 pounds of force to the contact patches at 2000 revs (based on the gearing, tire sizes,and rear-wheel dyno horsepower data).Since the Corvette has the least amount of weight pressing down on those tires,the driver’s ankle must roll onto the throttle with extreme care as the tires begin to hook up,or they’ll still be slipping at the top of first gear.The Corvette compensates for its 12-percent-rated torque deficiency relative to the Viper with overall gearing that’s 15 percent shorter,
54 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM (cover story) DODGE VIPER SRT10
Then it was off to storm the black lake for figure-eight testing.Once again,the Chevy and Dodge posted nearly identical performances,so it fell to our ace pilot to differentiate them subjectively.“The Viper’s steering turn-in feel and superior Michelin Pilot Sport tires allow you to push the car with confidence right up to the limits of the tires’grip,”he notes.“The Z06 is a more demanding car.It was the hardest to control in the transition from the fast straights into the corners,but it also felt the most capable.The GT was easiest to manage in the transition between trail braking and getting back on the gas through the arc of the figure eight.It’s easy to push this car to its limits—it can make a zero feel like a hero.”The GT’s slightly slower performance is attributable to tootall gearing for this short course.
Bright-red calipers on all three cars squeeze hard enough on their pizza pans to detach the driver’s retinas,and our main competitors stopped on the same dime— 100 feet from 60 mph (from 100 mph,the Viper halted three feet shorter,at 280 feet).
but by spinning the engine to just a hair beyond the 7000-rpm redline,the Corvette can carry first gear through 60 mph,eliminating the 0.2-second a shift requires.The Viper hits its 6000-rev redline at 58 mph. Traction on our concrete track limited launch performance somewhat,but,by the quarter mile,each car’s true power-toweight shines through,and here the Corvette scores a victory,besting the Viper by four-tenths and 4.7 mph (11.6 seconds at 126.6 mph versus 12.0 at 121.9).
The GT trailed with stops in 114 and 321 feet,which we suspect was tire-traction limited.Each provided superb balance, control,and pedal feel,though the Viper’s anti-lock system seemed less refined.
With almost 2000 of its 3497 pounds pressing down on the rear wheels (even more when weight transfers aft at launch), the GT produced Heaven’s own hole-shot, as easy as dialing up 2000 revs and rolling off the clutch.Taller ratios take first gear to 62 mph,with the mile-a-minute falling in 3.5 seconds.The quarter flashes by in 11.5 seconds at 128.7 mph in third gear (the others require a shift into fourth).
We ended our Chelsea operations on a 1.6-mile handling circuit consisting mostly of smooth,flat,medium to high-speed turns with a few slow kinks thrown in for good measure.Dodge provides no electronic safety net,but,despite having the highest torque-to-rear-axle-weight rating of the three,the Viper seldom threatened to break loose its 345/35R19
During the first lap with our initial Ford GT test car,a couple of over-torqued halfshaft companion-flange bolts failed,sending the open differential into freewheeling mode.The replacement car that laid down these lap times was an engineering car with 40,000 hard miles on it.It dyno’d 21 horsepower down on the original.Those extra ponies,and perhaps more bravado at the entrance to the corners,might well have put the GT ahead of the Corvette (or possibly wadded it into a ball).
The Viper feels bred of big-boned, working-class stock—honest,brutal,in GT
(cover story)
56 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM rear tires and wag its tail.High cornering grip (peaking at 1.27 g) compensated for noticeably less urgent acceleration on the straights to bring the Viper in just 1.3 seconds slower than the Corvette,but the tight footwell,confining cockpit,and a steering wheel location too far aft made this a difficult car to feel comfortable going fast in.There’s also a peculiar sensation of sitting way back on the rear axle and swinging the nose from side to side in turns.It’s not a bad thing,just odd. Your humble scribe,who’s never held a pro-racing license,found the Corvette the easiest to drive fast on a largely unfamiliar track,by running all timed laps with StabiliTrak set to the “competition mode.”
The system meters out as much thrust to each rear wheel as surface conditions will permit,allowing a bit of oversteer to point the car,without ever dousing the fire.That’s not to say you can flat-foot the go-pedal and just steer around the course—this front-engine car will push if thrown at a curve clumsily.But given the least amount of finesse,the Corvette generates big numbers with ease:highest top speed (133.6 mph),hardest acceleration (0.71 g), and peak braking and cornering within 10 percent of the GT’s and Viper’s.Score a decisive victory for team bow-tie.
The GT’s mid-engine layout makes it behave much more like a textbook race car.Brake too late for a corner or too hard with the front wheels turned,and the rear end—which wears the smallest tires in this test—will come unstuck.Braking performance on the track was stellar,with the GT decelerating 0.1 to 0.2 g harder than the others.Of course,that may be because a major tail-wag on lap one (the GT employs no safety nannies,either) may have prompted extra driver caution on corner entries.The supercharger can easily overwhelm the rear-wheel traction on corner exits as well,but once hooked up it builds speed quickly,reaching within just 1.4 mph of the Corvette’s top speed.
FORD
58 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM (cover story) CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06
Verdict? The Chevy-versus-Dodge competition was close,but the Vette edged out the Viper in most objective tests at lower cost and with better fuel economy.Its 7000-rev scream and visceral control feel kept our juices boiling and redlined our subjectivometers,so the big giant brasstone trophy goes to Chevy and America can sleep soundly,knowing our national pride is well defended against the German 911s,English V8 Vantages,and anything Japan can currently throw at us.
The Corvette is a featherweight that’s had all the right vitamins and adhered to an extreme workout regimen in order to take on the big bruisers.It’s technical.Agile. Adroit.Its cockpit is the roomiest and most accommodating.It provides the best rearward visibility,and it’s the only one that’ll accommodate serious luggage,so it’s the best choice for a 1000-mile run,though the road,tire,and suspension noises sneaking in past the minimal sound-deadening can be fatiguing.The Z06 is also the only car that doesn’t need contortions to get in and out of.The Viper requires a broad-jump over wide,piping-hot door sills,and the GT’s guillotine door tops command immense respect after the first emergencyroom visit for cranial trauma.
your face.Nevertheless,its ladder-frame chassis offers a more compliant ride with better bump isolation and lower overall noise levels.Its suspension copes with bumpy turns better than the Chevy’s.But the cramped,claustrophobic cockpit,and the offset footwell (the accelerator lines up under the steering wheel) would be hard to live with long-term.
How does the Ford GT stack up?
Personality-wise it’s the Ivy-League oldmoney fraternity president and rugbyteam captain,a product of impeccable breeding.While the Viper and Vette are busy defending America’s honor against the upper-middle-class competition,the GT packs the power,poise,and panache to parry and thrust with the blue-blooded Ferrari and Porsche flagships.Is it better than the other cars put together? The raw numbers may not make the case,but its emotional appeal is extraordinary.Sure,it’s hard to wriggle into,it’s tight fitting,there’s no place to put anything,and the ventilation is so-so.The same can be said about Superman’s Lycra costume,but if it could make you fly,what would you pay to own it? ■
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 59 2006 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z062006 DODGE VIPER SRT102006 FORD GT POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Frontengine,RWDFrontengine,RWDMid-engine,RWD ENGINE TYPE 90°V-8,aluminum90°V-10,aluminumSupercharged90°V-8, block/headsblock/headsaluminumblock/heads VALVETRAIN OHV,2valves/cylOHV,2valves/cylDOHC,4valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 427.6cuin/7011cc505.6cuin/8285cc330.1cuin/5409cc COMPRESSION RATIO 11.0:19.6:18.4:1 POWER (SAE NET) 505hp† @6300rpm510hp@5600rpm550hp@6500rpm TORQUE(SAE NET) 470lb-ft† @5800rpm535lb-ft@4200rpm500hp@3750rpm REDLINE 7000rpm6000rpm6500rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 6.3lb/hp6.8lb/hp6.4lb/hp TRANSMISSION 6-speedmanual6-speedmanual6-speedmanual AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIOS 3.42:1/1.71:13.07:1/1.54:13.36:1/2.12:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Controlarms,transverseleafControlarms,coilsprings,Controlarms,coilsprings, spring,anti-rollbar;controlanti-rollbar;controlarms,anti-rollbar;controlarms, arms,transverseleafspring,coilsprings,anti-rollbarcoilsprings,anti-rollbar anti-rollbar STEERING RATIO 16.1:116.7:117.0:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.92.42.7 BRAKES, F;R 14.0-invented,drilleddisc;14.0-inventeddisc;14.0-invented,drilleddisc; 13.4-invented,drilleddisc,ABS14.0-inventeddisc,ABS13.2-invented,drilleddisc,ABS WHEELS, F;R 18x9.5;19x12.0in,18x10.0;19x13.0in,18x9.0;19x11.5in, castaluminumforgedaluminumforgedaluminum TIRES, F;R 275/35ZR1887Y;325/30ZR1994Y275/35ZR1887Y;345/30ZR1998Y235/45ZR1888Y;315/40ZR19103Y GoodyearEagleF1SupercarEMTMichelinPilotSportZPGoodyearEagleF1Supercar DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 105.7in98.8in106.7in TRACK, F/R 63.5/62.1in61.6/60.9in63.0/63.7in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 175.6x75.9x49.0in175.6x75.2x48.6in182.8x76.9x44.3in TURNING CIRCLE 39.0ft40.5ft40.0ft CURB WEIGHT 3169lb3445lb3497lb WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION, F/R 50.4/49.6%48.7/51.3%42.9/57.1% SEATING CAPACITY 222 HEADROOM 37.9in36.5in35.4in LEGROOM 43.0in42.4in44.6in SHOULDER ROOM 55.0in54.1in57.8in CARGO VOLUME 22.4cuft6.4cuft1.6cuft TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 1.6sec1.8sec1.6sec 0-40 2.32.52.2 0-50 2.93.12.7 0-60 3.84.03.4 0-70 4.44.84.3 0-80 5.35.85.2 0-90 6.47.06.0 0-100 7.68.47.5 PASSING 45-65 MPH 1.5sec1.5sec1.4sec QUARTER MILE 11.6sec@126.6mph12.0sec@121.9mph11.5sec@128.7mph BRAKING, 100-0 MPH 283ft280ft321ft BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 100ft100ft114ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 1.01gavg1.01gavg0.96gavg MT FIGURE EIGHT 24.4sec@0.83gavg24.3sec@0.83gavg24.6sec@0.82gavg 1.6-MILE ROAD-COURSE LAP 75.4sec76.7sec79.6sec TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 1350rpm1150rpm1550rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $65,800$86,995$153,345 PRICE AS TESTED $68,700$87,695$166,195 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/yesNo/noNo/no AIRBAGS Dualfront,frontsideDualfrontDualfront BASIC WARRANTY 3yrs/36,000miles3yrs/36,000miles3yrs/36,000miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 3yrs/36,000miles3yrs/36,000miles3yrs/36,000miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 3yrs/36,000miles3yrs/36,000miles3yrs/36,000miles FUEL CAPACITY 18.0gal18.5gal17.5gal EPA CITY/HWY ECON 16/26mpg12/20mpg13/21mpg RECOMMENDED FUEL PremiumunleadedPremiumunleadedPremiumunleaded † SAE Certified
DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM ★
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 63 ■ words matt stone ■ photographs jeff wight mazda mx-5 vs. pontiac solstice (head to head) RO D GLORYTERAS affordableAmerica’sbuildsWhohottestsportscar?
64 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
The Pontiac turns in sharply and has good front-end bite,staying neutral until the limit is approached,then it fades to mild understeer.“The chassis works well and is predictable,”notes test-driver Chris Walton,“but it feels like it’s getting away with more because the tires are so wide.”
The Solstice is just a tenth slower (6.7 seconds versus 6.6) to 60 mph than the MX-5.A seven-horsepower advantage isn’t enough to erase a 400-pound weight differential.But the Solstice has 26 more pound-feet of torque:166 compared with 140.And the Mazda’s close-ratio six-speed requires a shift to third to reach 60,whereas the Pontiac gets there in second.The MX-5’s slim lead widens a bit in the quartermile times.The MX-5 clears 1320 feet in 15.1 seconds at 91.2 mph,with the Solstice still close at 15.3 seconds at 89.6 mph. Both machines have strong,four-wheel disc brakes,so this area proved a virtual draw,the MX-5 stopping from 60 in 113 feet to the Solstice’s 117.The Mazda cleared our slalom course at 66.5 mph,just nipping the Pontiac’s 66.1-mph performance.How they got there,however,felt way different.
Even though the MX-5 has less torque, the close-ratio six-speed helps keep the engine on boil.It makes a lusty combination of intake,mechanical,and exhaust noises and always feels ready to go play.The Solstice’s Ecotec four isn’t the smoothest lump ever born,yet it has a pleasant exhaust note and isn’t too thrashy.It’s not as eager to rev as the Miata motor and gets the job done with midrange torque instead of top-end power.There’s considerable rpm falloff on the 2-3 shift;a six-speed would make a serious difference. Both cars ride well considering their handling-biased mission.The Solstice’s wider track,longer wheelbase,greater weight,and milder springing give it the advantage here.Mid-corner bumps more easily upset the MX-5,while the Solstice stays planted with no side stepping,for the same reasons noted above.Both have wellweighted,communicative steering,and their structures feel solid and structurally sound. knew enough not to mess with a winning formula,yet changed every nut,bolt,and grommet to arrive at this third-generation MX-5.It’s two inches longer and 1.6 inches wider than the car it replaces,yet overall weight is about the same,depending upon options.The wheelbase has increased by 2.5 inches,opening up the cabin and giving the car a beefier stance.Too many American males branded the Miata a chick car,so a more macho look was important—and achieved.A fresh 2.0-liter four makes 170 horsepower over a wider powerband than the previous car’s 1.8.A five-speed manual is standard,a six-speed stick is available,and the optional automatic also has six ratios.The chassis is stiffer, the convertible top design has been simplified,and safety and standard equipment levels have increased. The biggest number to crunch is 402— as in how many pounds heavier the Solstice is than the MX-5,at least based on these two test cars.Mazda’s made a lot of noise about how lightness has been “engineered in”to the MX-5,but it’s legit. It’s this weight differential that sets the tone for this pair’s relative performance and ENGLAND invented it.America has attempted it.The Japanese perfected it.“It”being the moderately priced,frontengine roadster.How the tables have turned over the years.In little more than a decade,the Mazda Miata became the world’s best-selling sports car.The prides of Britain—Triumph and MG—are long gone.And America has never really been in the game. The balance changes with the arrival of the Pontiac Solstice,with its fraternal twin, the Saturn Sky,not far behind.By now,you know the new General Motors entries will run headlong into a bybasepersonalSolsticerecessesclamshelllikealloyandupper/lowerproductionfive-speedtransmissionOpeleverythingpowerand“Kappa”rear-drivenobodyimmeasurablebeenMiata—sorry,MX-5.Thenew-from-scratchMiatanamehasdumpsteredfor2006,tossingawaybrandequityforreasonsunderstands.TheSolsticeridesonGM’snewchassisarchitectureispoweredbya2.4-liter,177-horse-versionoftheEcotecI-4foundinfromCobaltstoEuro-marketminivans.Afive-speedmanualisstandard,andanoptionalautomaticwillbephasedinasrampsup.Suspensionisviacontrolarmsfrontandrear,four-wheeldiscbrakesand18-inchwheelsarestandard.Thestylingisnothingelse,thehoodopensstyle,andthefoldingclothtopbeneaththereardeck.TheisGMproductchieftainBobLutz’sbaby,andhepromiseditwouldatlessthan$20grand.Whichitdoes,afive-spot.Inspiteofthedumbnamething,Mazda
The MX-5 is more knife-edged and precise,staying neutral longer.It’s also more easily provoked into oversteer.“It reminds me of a junior version of the Lotus Elise,” says Walton.“There’s a fair amount of body roll,but it sticks well,with communication, and is so precise that I could make midcorner adjustments.”
★★
driving personas.The objective numbers are close;the subjective differences between them greater.
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 65 mazda mx-5 vs. pontiac solstice (head to head) The Solstice is a real sports car and not the toplessenthusiastsposeurfeared
(head to head) mazda mx-5 vs. pontiac solstice 66 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
1ST PLACE ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ MAZDA MX-5 The driving enthusiast’s winner, and still champion, is the new MX-5. 2ND PLACE ■■ ■ ■ ■ PONTIAC SOLSTICE Credit Pontiac for a legit, value-priced, hot-looking entry.
Inside,the Solstice’s wraparound IP is all about the driver.It’s got more legroom than the MX-5 and feels wider,too.Tops up,the Pontiac has more headroom by several inches.There are,however,several ergonomic flaws.There’s no easily reachable center-console storage and no door pockets,although some are at the front of the seats.The cupholders spring out of the rear bulkhead,making them tough to reach.And the window switches are mounted too far aft on the door panels, forcing you to reach back to operate them. These are curious design mistakes on a new platform planned from scratch as a two-seater.TheMX5’s cabin isn’t as swoopy looking, but is easy to live with.The window switches are mounted just behind the shifter.The center cupholders are easy to reach,too, but the pair in the doors will bang your shins.(Why,by the way,are four cupholders required in a two-seater car—how many lattes should one juggle while driving?)The more complete gauge cluster is easy to read.Plastics and other materials are of good quality,a smidge ahead of the Solstice’s.The MX-5’s longer wheelbase improves cabin room compared with the previous Miata,although it’s still snug for over-six-footers.Tie game in terms of seats; both have chairs bolstered well enough to keep you in place when corner carving, yet comfy enough for everyday use and long hauls. A word about pricing and equipment levels.As noted,the Solstice bases at $19,995,including destination charges;our tester had the Power,Convenience,and Premium equipment packages,plus airtop talk
★
The MX-5’s 5.3 cubic feet of trunk space is unaffected by the top’s position and much easier to access than the Solstice’s oddly shaped cargo bay, which also asks that you snap home the folding buttresses each time you close the deck. Both cars have glass rear windows with defrosters. The MX-5 has a flipdown windbocker, while the Solstice has none. Pontiac gives you a cloth top standard, while a vinyl top is standard on base and Sport MX-5s; cloth is reserved for the upmarket Grand Touring level. While the Solstice scores style points for the neat looking rear deck, the MX-5’s design is easier to raise and lower and doesn’t eat up the trunk in the process. Advantage, Mazda.
MAZDA AND PONTIAC take decidedly different approaches to going topless. The Solstice’s decklid is hinged at the rear and opens via the remote fob. The top unlocks via one latch on the windshield header and folds into the cargo area. It swallows much of the trunk’s 3.8-cubic-foot capacity in doing so, but it looks smooth when the rear deck is closed: The top is fully hidden, no tonneau is required, and those bulbous fairings are among the Solstice’s most interesting design touches.
★★★★★
The MX-5’s top and trunk designs are more conventional, but easier to manage. Unlatch the top from the single latch on the header, and you can practically throw it over your shoulder at a stoplight. It clicks into place and was designed to look finished in the folded position without the use of a tonneau cover. It’s effective, although there are still small cavities at the sides of the top.
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 67 2006 MAZDA 2006 MX-5GRANDPONTIACTOURING SOLSTICE POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Frontengine,RWDFrontengine,RWD ENGINE TYPE I-4,alumblock/headI-4,alumblock/head VALVETRAIN DOHC,4valves/cylDOHC,4valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 122.4cuin/1998cc145.8cuin/2384cc COMPRESSION RATIO 10.8:110.4:1 REDLINE 7000rpm6800rpm POWER (SAE NET) 170hp@6700rpm177hp@6600rpm TORQUE(SAE NET) 140lb-ft@5000rpm166lb-ft@4800rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 14.6lb/hp16.3lb/hp TRANSMISSION 6-speedmanual5-speedmanual AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIOS 4.10:1/3.41:13.91:1/2.85:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Controlarms,coilsprings,Controlarms,coilsprings, anti-rollbar;multilink,anti-rollbar;controlarms, coilsprings,anti-rollbarcoilsprings,anti-rollbar STEERING RATIO 15.0:116.4:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.62.7 BRAKES, F;R 11.4-inventeddisc;11.7-inventeddisc; 10.0-inventeddisc,ABS10.9-inventeddisc WHEELS 17x7.0,castaluminum18x8.0,castaluminum TIRES 205/45R17245/45R18 MichelinPilotPrecedaGoodyearEagleRS-A DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 91.7in95.1in TRACK 58.7/58.9in60.7/61.4in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 157.3x67.7x49.0in157.2x71.3x50.1in TURNING CIRCLE 30.8ft35.1ft CURB WEIGHT 2476lb2878lb WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION 52/48%53/47% SEATING CAPACITY 22 HEADROOM 37.4in38.5in LEGROOM 43.1in42.7in SHOULDER ROOM 53.1in52.4in CARGO VOLUME 5.3cuft3.8cuft TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 2.2sec2.3sec 0-40 3.43.5 0-50 4.85.0 0-60 6.66.7 0-70 8.69.3 0-80 11.412.2 0-90 14.715.7 0-100 18.9NA QUARTER MILE 15.1sec@91.2mph15.3sec@89.6mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 113ft117ft 600-FT SLALOM 66.5mphavg66.1mphavg TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 2950rpm2250rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $24,995$19,995 PRICE AS TESTED $25,495$23,785 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL NoneNone AIRBAGS DualfrontDualfront,frontsides BASIC WARRANTY 4yrs/50,000miles3yrs/36,000miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 4yrs/50,000miles3yrs/36,000miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 4yrs/50,000miles3yrs/36,000miles FUEL CAPACITY 12.7gal13.8gal EPA CITY/HWY ECON 24/30mpg20/28mpg MT FUEL ECON 20.6mpg19.6mpg RECOMMENDED FUEL UnleadedpremiumUnleadedpremium conditioning,ABS,and a few other options that brought the total to $23,785.Our MX-5 was a Grand Touring model,which includes a lot of normally optional hardware in its $24,995 base price.If our Solstice were equipped with the top audio combo (Monsoon sound/CD6/MP3) at $890,roughly equaling the MX-5 Grand Touring’s premium Bose system,the price difference would be less than a grand in the Pontiac’s favor. General Motors can take pride in what it’s accomplished.The Solstice is a real sports car and not the topless poseur enthusiasts feared.It’ll sell on looks and value alone.But if the Solstice is a solid runner,the MX-5 is a fleet-footed sprinter, delivering a more athletic,lithe drive in most every respect. The MX-5’s engine is smoother and happier to rev than the Solstice’s.The MX-5 has a more communicative chassis, and it feels every one of those 400 pounds lighter and more responsive than the Pontiac.This Grand Touring model,as equipped with the optional Sport Suspension package (revised anti-roll bars,Bilstein shocks,limited-slip diff),won every performance contest,although the margins were small.The Solstice’s top design is fussier than it needs to be;the MX-5’s couldn’t be simpler.The Mazda’s interior is of higher quality and beautifully packaged.While the Solstice’s cabin is comfy and racy looking,it suffers from a dearth of storage,a few ergonomic hiccups,and cheapoplasticity. All things considered,Mazda is still the established master of the compact, affordable roadster game. ■
70 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM (head to head) dodge charger srt8 vs. pontiac gto
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 71 TWOTYPE-A CRANKARCHRIVALS IT INUP AMEGAWATT TOBATTLE RULETHENEWMUSCLECARGENERATION ●wordsronkiino●photographsevanklein POWERTRIP
SCATTERGOOD knew a thing or two about high voltage. Known as Los Angeles’s “father of power,” Scattergood led L.A.’s Department of Water and Power for 31 years,growing it from a one-employee institute into the largest head to head) dodge charger srt8 vs. pontiac gto
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the creation of this phenomenal Western metropolis than Ezra Frederick Scattergood.”Knowledge may be power,but knowledge of power can be just as,um, powerful.Seeing we possess an endless knowledge of power—horsepower,that is—we thought it only fitting to bring the burly,allnew Dodge Charger SRT8 and its archrival,the Pontiac GTO,together for a rendezvous of force at nearby Scattergood Generating Station in Playa Del Rey.For four decades,these two nemeses have not only been giving the automotive world lessons in power,they’ve also been duking it out,toe to toe,with many a face-off going down right in Scattergood’s backyard of SoCal.Consider our little soiree an homage to good ol’Ezra. The rules were simple and the stakes high:Bring your most potent ponycar to the party,leave all excuses at the door,and 72 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM municipal utility of its kind.Under Scattergood’s reign,the City of Angels exploded into one of the most influential and vital metropolitan areas in the world.As Cosmopolitan magazine wrote in 1947, “Probably nobody has contributed more to EZRA
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 73 fight for the right to be crowned king musclecar.The General versus the Goat in the ring at Scattergood’s house.Let the power trip
Althoughbegin…theCharger
Speaking of animals,how about the Charger’s bait in this shootout,the Goat?
Now in its third year,the GTO enters 2006 with just one significant change—available 18-inch wheels.Unfortunately,the timing of our test dictated that Pontiac could only THECANGOATGO BUT, QUICKISIT ENOUGH TO BEAT CHARGER?THE
SRT8 is the fresh face in this fight,we’ve seen its formula before.Under its four-door “coupe”styling, replete with flying-buttress C-pillars echoing its 1960s ancestors,the new Charger is for all intents and purposes a Chrysler 300 SRT8,sharing its platform,powertrain, chassis,and numerous dimensions.But while the two appear nearly identical in size,the Charger’s bodywork has been pumped to add 3.3 inches of length,0.4 inch more width,and 0.3 inch extra height. That the musclecar maniacs in DaimlerChrysler’s Street and Racing Technology (SRT) group subjected the Charger to essentially the same rigorous workout as the 300C SRT8 means the testosterone-infused Dodge leaves the gym emphatically ripped compared with its softer,5.7-liter sibling.Accordingly,it packs a 6.1-liter,425-horsepower Hemi V-8;a heavy-duty five-speed AutoStick teamed with upgraded axles and differential; SRT-tuned dampers,springs,bushings,and anti-roll bars;a half-inch-lower ride height; and four-piston Brembo brakes peeking through 20-inch forged wheels wrapped in Goodyear summer tires.Appropriately,the Charger gets a more menacing face that features an integrated hood scoop,a bodycolor cross-hair grille,and a deeper air dam with brake ducts the size of cantaloupes.See a Charger SRT8 loom large in your rearview mirror,and it looks like you’re about to be run down by an angry,hungry lion.
74 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
Objectively,yes.The GTO outgunned the SRT8 from 0 to 60 (4.7 seconds versus 5.0), 0 to 100 (11.7 versus 11.9),and in the quarter mile (13.3 seconds at 105.9 mph versus 13.5 at 106.3).Chalk it up to a better weight-to-power ratio (9.4 pounds/horsepower versus 10.0) and,at least for the 0-to-60 blast,the advantage of launching with a manual transmission.Subjectively, however,the advantage didn’t register on the seat-of-the-pants meter,a sensation backed up by the closeness of the numbers.If anything,driving the two back to back leaves the impression that the Charger is the friskier beast,its Mercedessourced five-speed automatic unleashing the Hemi’s 425 ponies so fluidly that stomping the throttle delivers a seamless rush of acceleration that could easily double as mental therapy.Moreover,the Charger emits an intoxicating,raspy rumble befitting its size and strength,while the GTO sounds friendlier,as if comparing a Rottweiler’s growl to a bloodhound’s. Perhaps it’s the GTO’s way of signaling that it has a tighter rein on its 400 horses,due in large part to the balky,long-throw Tremec shifter that makes harnessing all that horsepower a chore.Like an omelet pan,the sixspeed needs to get intimate with Teflon. Hustled through a long stretch of twisty roads,the GTO is arguably more fun,but it’s the Charger that’s more impressive.The GTO,at 189.8 inches and 3777 pounds, feels small,agile,and tossable compared with the 200.1-inch,4266-pound SRT8.The GTO initially understeers mildly before gradually switching to mid-turn oversteer, at which point the driving experience becomes an entertaining throttle-and-steer shuffle,the Goat dancing and sliding through sweepers in concert with inputs from your right foot and hands.It’s less precise than the Charger,rolling more, feeling less integrated and a bit sloppier,a sensation not helped by the mud-and-snow tires that left it trailing the big Dodge in 60to-0 braking (138 feet versus 124),on the skidpad (0.83 g versus 0.87),and through the figure eight (26.8 seconds versus 26.3).
lend us a 2005 for evaluation.Nonetheless, we forged ahead with the not-as-fresh Goat,especially since it still boasted the necessary attributes to meet the Charger head on:a 6.0-liter,400-horsepower LS2 V-8 pulled from the C6 Corvette;an optional Tremec six-speed manual transmission; four-wheel independent suspension;a limited-slip differential;and variable-ratio power steering.This Goat can go,but is it quick enough to beat the Charger?
The Charger exhibits more understeer than the tail-happy GTO,but its mammoth Goodyears provide enough grip to allow the chassis to promptly convert the understeer into neutral behavior that can safely be stimulated with the throttle.The steering is light and precise,the brakes tenacious and fade-free,and the chassis wellconceived,like the front and rear ends reside on the same page.If there’s a nit to pick with the SRT8,it’s the unyielding ride that can bounce your booty over bumpy roads,as if you were trudging along on horseback.Conversely,the Goat coddles its occupants with a much more compliant ride—one of the few benefits to hoofing it with 17-inch wheels.
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 75
Before we can give you the bottom line, let’s first examine the bottom line.The Charger SRT8,at $38,095 to start,is considerably pricier than the $33,690 GTO, but the premium isn’t unwarranted, considering it comes with stability control, side airbags,Brembo brakes,and forged wheels with summer tires,not to mention a roomier cabin for five.And keep in mind that the Charger is slapped with a $2100 gas-guzzler tax,which the GTO is burdened with only when equipped with the standard automatic,although for the Pontiac,the tax is a less-invasive $1300. Furthermore,the Dodge’s tasteful interior, which can be outfitted with features unavailable in the GTO—e.g.,a navigation system,adjustable pedals,curtain airbags, a sunroof,and a rear-seat video system— feels fittingly modern,stuffed with the kind of accoutrements that buyers want.The Goat,evidenced by its obvious lack of options,not to mention standard features, comes across as somewhat dated in the Charger’s company. In the end,“out of place”is how we
DON’T BELIEVE for a moment the rekindling of America’s love affair with powerful rear-drive V-8 sedans and coupes is a flash in the pan. This stuff is visceral, deeply ingrained in the psyche of the American driver: The explosion in pickup-truck sales during the 1980s and 1990s was probably driven less by the need to haul stuff than a desire to recapture the fundamental spirit of the American automobile, lost when Detroit switched wholesale to producing ho-hum, appliance-like front-drive cars powered by asthmatic V-6s. Trucks are rear-drive, mostly have V-8s, and don’t look like jellybeans. Or Camrys.Curiously, it’s the Australians and the Germans who’ve kept alive the spirit of the American musclecar. Both countries have shown musclecars can survive high gas prices (they pay $4 to $6 a gallon) and steep insurance costs. In Australia, where GM, Ford, and Chrysler all made bijou versions of American musclecars in the late 1960s and early 1970s, GM’s Holden subsidiary has built V-8-performance versions of its best-selling Commodore for 25 years.Mercedes-Benz (with a little help from Porsche) shoehorned a 5.0-liter V-8 under the hood of a W124 EClass in the early 1990s to create the 500E, a musclecar so subtle that only the slightly pumped front fenders, lower ride sedanwhatthatgavealloyand16-inchheight,wheelsyouacluethissome-staid-lookingcouldnail60 mph in under six seconds. Now Mercedes is Europe’s musclecar king, offering AMG-tuned versions of almost every model it makes, some with more than 600 horsepower. Now both Australia and Germany are helping Detroit build musclecars again. Okay, the current GTO (a Holden with Pontiac makeup) hasn’t sold in the numbers GM expected, but that’s largely because the Aussie car’s restrained styling didn’t match U.S. consumers’ expectations of what a 21st-century Goat should look like. That problem should be solved with the 2008 GTO, which will share its underpinnings and powertrain with the next-generation Commodore, but clothed in much more aggressive, uniquely styled sheetmetal for America.
Chrysler’s rear-drive LX platform was developed using a lot of hardware and know-how from the W210 E-Class, and the SRT versions of the Chrysler 300C, Dodge Magnum, and Dodge Charger are eerily similar in concept and execution to the AMGbadged Benzes. Chrysler will present a concept coupe built on a shortened LX platform at the next Detroit show. The car will carry an iconic name, Dodge Challenger, and our sources say the production version will be the first Chrysler to come off the new LY platform as a 2010 model. And, yes, it’ll be rear drive. With a V-8. ■ angus mackenzie musclecar is back! it’s here to stay
the
And
HUSTLED ATHROUGH OFLONGSTRETCH TWISTYROADS, THE GTO IS ARGUABLY MORE FUN,BUTIT’S THE CHARGER THAT’S MORE IMPRESSIVE
■ 2006 DODGE 2005 PONTIAC CHARGER SRT8GTO POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Frontengine,RWDFrontengine,RWD ENGINE TYPE 90°V-8ironblock/alumheads90°V-8alumblock/heads VALVETRAIN OHV,2valves/cylOHV,2valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 369.8cuin/6059cc364.1cuin/5967cc COMPRESSION RATIO 10.3:110.9:1 REDLINE 6400rpm6500rpm POWER (SAE NET) 425hp@6200rpm400hp@5200rpm TORQUE(SAE NET) 420lb-ft@4800rpm400lb-ft@4000rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 10.0lb/hp9.4lb/hp TRANSMISSION 5-speedautomatic6-speedmanual AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIOS 3.06/2.543.46/1.97 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Controlarms,coilsprings,Struts,coilsprings, anti-rollbar;multilink,coilanti-rollbar;semi-trailingarms, springs,anti-rollbarcoilsprings,anti-rollbar STEERING RATIO 16.1:111.8:1-17.2:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.83.0 BRAKES, F;R 14.2-inventeddisc;11.7-inventeddisc; 13.8-inventeddisc,ABS11.3-inventeddisc,ABS WHEELS 20x9.0,forgedaluminum17x8.0,castaluminum TIRES 245/45ZR2099Y;245/45ZR1795WM+S; 255/45ZR20101Y245/45ZR1795WM+S GoodyearEagleF1SupercarBFGoodrichg-ForceT/AKDWS DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 120.0in109.8in TRACK 63.0/63.1in61.8/61.8in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 200.1x74.5x58.2in189.8x72.5x54.9in TURNING CIRCLE 38.9ft36.1ft CURB WEIGHT 4266lb3777lb WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION 54/46%54/46% SEATING CAPACITY 55 HEADROOM 38.7/36.2in37.3/37.3in LEGROOM 41.8/40.2in42.2/37.1in SHOULDER ROOM 59.3/57.6in59.7/51.7in CARGO VOLUME 16.2cuft9.0cuft TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 2.1sec1.8sec 0-40 2.92.6 0-50 3.83.7 0-60 5.04.7 0-70 6.26.2 0-80 7.87.8 0-90 9.89.6 0-100 11.911.7 PASSING, 45-65 MPH 2.42.4 QUARTER MILE 13.5sec@106.3mph13.3sec@105.9mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 124ft138ft 600-FT SLALOM 65.2mphavg62.4mphavg MT FIGURE EIGHT 26.3sec@0.68gavg26.8sec@0.66gavg LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.87gavg0.83gavg TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 2250rpm1550rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $38,095$33,690 PRICE AS TESTED $43,805$33,690 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/yesNo/yes AIRBAGS Dualfront,f/rcurtainDualfront BASIC WARRANTY 3yrs/36,000miles3yrs/36,000miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 3yrs/36,000miles3yrs/36,000miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 3yrs/36,000miles3yrs/36,000miles FUEL CAPACITY 19.0gal18.5gal EPA CITY/HWY ECON 14/20mpg17/25mpg RECOMMENDED FUEL UnleadedpremiumUnleadedpremium 1ST PLACE ● ● ● ● ● DODGECHARGERSRT8 A deft execution of power and poise.Menacing manifestation, to boot. 2ND PLACE ● ● ●● ● PONTIAC GTO The Goat’s still got strong legs, but it’s beginning to show its age.
viewed the GTO in context with the Charger.While quicker than the Dodge, the Pontiac felt less refined,less civilized, and less inviting than the Charger.Given the option to drive one,whether on a short stint or a long haul,the Charger is the obvious choice—the best musclecar for the job.Not only does it look the part—no other V-8-powered American sedan appears as ominous—but it plays the part with an involving driving experience,be it sensationally,aesthetically,or acoustically. That’s a powerful argument—one we’re sure Ezra Scattergood would appreciate.
THIS4WDRALLY-ROCKETBATTLE SHOWSNOSIGN OFSLOWING ■ words chris walton ■ photographs jeff wight once more... with feeling0.0-60
0.39 sec
OUR MISSION: Wring out these two rallybred machines at the dragstrip,on the handling course, and at the racetrack,and pick a winner—a dream assignment if these two cars weren’t so damned evenly matched.Ifyou’re one of those who skips to the spec chart to see who won,let’s save you the paper cuts.You’ll find the following differences:0.0 second to 60 mph,0.3 second to 100 mph;0.3 second and 0.1 mph at the quarter mile, 1.0 mph in the slalom,0.01 g on the skidpad,and 0.39 second a lap on the racetrack.There.Go ahead.Pick a winner.It’sclear the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR and Subaru Impreza WRX STI (that’s now a capital “I”for 2006) are optimized to the same formula specified by the WRC rally racing series in which they participate. Almost.The U.S.version of Subaru STI deviates from the maximum 2.0-liter rule by adding a half-liter of engine displacement.Of course,the racing versions of both are tuned,lightened,and upgraded within the rules to withstand the rigors of racing in a wide variety of environments.Other than that,what’s built into the foundations of these street cars (especially bodywork above the bumpers) is what’s required on the race cars. For those keeping track,here’s a short list of mechanical changes since this duo was last featured in “Hatfields and McCoys”(October 2004).The Evolution MR has gained variable timing (MIVEC) on its intake valves, producing a more generous throttle response at a lower rpm—and it’s readily apparent from 3500 rpm and up. The difference isn’t as easy as looking at a 2005 versus 2006 MR dyno chart,which shows only marginal changes to the curve. Combined with a revised,freer-flowing turbo housing and new exhaust system,horsepower has increased to 286.Incidentally,that new exhaust system sounds much
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 810.3-100 impreza wrx sti vs. evo ix mr (head to head)
1.0 mph 82 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM (head to head) impreza wrx sti vs. evo ix mr
slipperier and more efficient,which allowed a smaller hood scoop to be fitted.
Not Racingreally.teams will appreciate the help where WRC Championship points are won and lost within tenths of a second.In the real world,however,both the MR and the STI are still supremely capable and entertaining and only fractionally more so this time around.We’d still bet money on either one against a Lamborghini or Ferrari on the right track.Yes,those hard-core Evo (neither of which was on our tester) include a front air-dam extender and a rearwing wicker bill that claim to reduce lift and drag.Rooftop vortex generators remain standard but are now body colored. In the Subaru camp,mechanical changes are fewer and less evident.The open planetary center differential is now controlled electromechanically,and its default front/rear distribution ratio has been changed from 35:65 to 41:59.A torque-sensing mechanical limited-slip device replaces the previously hydraulically controlled unit to speed reaction of the torque distribution.The Tribeca’s steeringangle sensor has been added to the array of electronics that direct the operation of the STI’s center differential.In manual mode,the diff can still be progressively locked in any of six positions up to a 50/50 distribution.Carbon-reinforced synchronizers smooth shifts into forth,fifth,and sixthAerogears.tweaks come at the expense of looks—or is that vice versa? The new airplane-inspired front fascia is said to be better.The previous Evo sounded like a vacuum that’s sucked up a sock.The new one has a much throatier rasp akin to a dog expelling kibble.Adding MIVEC meant revising the cylinder-head casting and gasket.The new casting,along with longerthreaded spark plugs,better resists heat. Stronger alloy pistons and new rings are said to reduce oil consumption by about 10 percent.There’s also a new bell housing cover designed to reduce interior noise. To feed the higher-output motor,the fuel pump is able to deliver a seven-percentcapacity increase over the previous one. Shifting six gears got easier and more precise due to Teflon-lined shift cables and a better shift-stroke stopper.The clutch has received a wide-angle damper to quell vibration noise.Aerodynamically,there are subtle revisions.A new front fascia resulted in the deletion of the triangular grille splitter and more cooling for the intercooler below.The carbon-fiber rear wing is now hollow to reduce upper body weight,and the uprights that support it are body colored.Dealer-installed options
A new STI-specific roof vane spoiler borrows the Evo MR trick of pulling the airflow down against the rear glass to allow clean air to act on the rear wing,thus increasing its effect.No word on how much extra downforce is made,but we assume it’s up from the previous 2005 STi’s 50 pounds at 100 mph.Tucked under the rear bumper,the new diffuser actually helped us vacuum our slalom course,producing a dusty roostertail as it flew past. Have all the hours Mitsubishi and Subaru engineers spent tweaking and fiddling with these cars made a difference?
84 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM or STI fans who spend hours in their respective online forums might feel a nuance here and there,but neither one has leapfrogged the other.In fact,the Evo and STI perform closer than ever before. Overlaying this year’s best lap onto last year’s,the 2006 Evo MR’s lap time improved by 0.63 second.The gain appears to come from that 10-horse increase over last year’s.The graph of each of the acceleration zones shows a slightly steeper incline with the 2006 MR.The new car’s top speed on the back straight increased to 99.6 mph,where the old MR achieved 96.9 mph.Analyzing the lateral and braking g-loads each car produced is an exercise in subtlety.A node here and a blip there differentiate old from new,but all in,they’re indistinguishable from one another.Lastyear,our early build-2005 STi tester felt slow compared with other examples previously tested.With over 1600 miles on this year’s STI,it had been broken in properly and produced all the power it should.As a result,the lap time,comparing last year’s to this,improved to a greater degree compared with the two Evos.The speed trace for nearly the entire lap for the 2006 STI is higher than last year’s car. The result is a 1.6-second-quicker lap time and a 2.8-mph-higher top speed.The improvement in corner exit speeds,where the new center differential may have shown an advantage,couldn’t be measured.Last year’s car was more apt to rotate into a tailout counter-steering slide.This year, though that technique is still possible,it requires more effort and commitment to make it happen.The former STi trait of nosing into a corner when the throttle is lifted (and drifting out when the gas pedal is mashed) seems to have gone away with the old center diff.Too bad,because it was one of the things to point to as a divergent trait between Evo and STi.The new STI is just a hair more neutral than its predecessor. As with the Evos,the STi versus STI g-loads are only slightly different and can’t be viewed as conclusively better or worse. Only after combining the best laps of the 2006 Evo and 2006 STI do marked differences become evident.Analysis shows the Subaru slightly more “chuckable”than the Mitsubishi,exhibiting a number of higher g-load spikes than the Evo,which shows smoother curves.This is further supported by a particular set of esses where the STI enters at a higher speed and spikes the g-load prior to the exit.The driver reported more confidence throwing the STI because he knew it would reward him with a lurid slide. The Evo,on the other hand,did what it was designed to do—remain neutral.In fact,when it’s pushed beyond what the tires can maintain,the Evo merely goes wide of the intended path,all four tires giving up simultaneously.Whatever’s attempted— lifting or matting the gas pedal,tugging at the steering wheel,over-committing to a corner—the Evo just sticks and goes.Do the same in the STI,and there’s always oversteer in reserve.The only time the Evo oversteered on command was in the slalom where the center differential’s “Gravel” setting proved more useful (and quicker) to rotate the car for each successive cone. (head to head) impreza wrx sti vs. evo ix mr 0.01 g
86 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
2ND PLACE ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ EVO IX MR Dedicated machine;cool looks— but more expensive than its rival 2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER2006 SUBARU IMPREZA EVOLUTION IX MRWRX STI POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Frontengine,AWDFrontengine,AWD ENGINE TYPE TurbochargedI-4,ironblock,Turbochargedflat-4,alumblock, aluminumheadaluminumheads VALVETRAIN DOHC,4valves/cylDOHC,4valves/cyl BORE X STROKE 3.35x3.46in/85.0x88.0mm3.92x3.11in/99.5x79.0mm DISPLACEMENT 121.9cuin/1997cc149.9cuin/2457cc COMPRESSION RATIO 8.8:18.2:1 REDLINE 7000rpm7000rpm POWER (SAE NET) 286hp@6500rpm300hp@6000rpm TORQUE(SAE NET) 289lb-ft@3500rpm300lb-ft@4000rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 11.5lb/hp11.1lb/hp TRANSMISSION 6-speedmanual6-speedmanual AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIOS 4.58:1/3.18:13.90:1/2.95:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Struts,coilsprings,Struts,coilsprings, anti-rollbar;multilink,anti-rollbar;struts, coilsprings,anti-rollbarcoilsprings,anti-rollbar STEERING RATIO 13.0:115.2:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.12.7 BRAKES, F;R 12.6-inventeddisc;12.7-inventeddisc; 11.8-inventeddisc,ABS12.3-inventeddisc,ABS WHEELS 17x8.0,forgedaluminum17x8.0,forgedaluminum TIRES 235/45R1793W225/ Yokohama45R1790WAdvanA-406BridgestonePotenzaRE070 DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 103.3in100.0in TRACK, F/R 59.6/59.6in58.7/58.9in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 178.5x69.7x57.1in175.8x68.5x56.3in TURNING CIRCLE 38.7ft35.4ft CURB WEIGHT 3283lb3315lb WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION 61/39%58/42% SEATING CAPACITY 55 HEADROOM, F/R 39.9/36.7in38.6/36.7in LEGROOM, F/R 43.0/36.6in42.9/33.0in SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 54.1/53.3in52.7/52.9in CARGO VOLUME 10.2cuft11.0cuft TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 1.5sec1.3sec 0-40 2.32.2 0-50 3.33.1 0-60 4.54.5 0-70 6.15.7 0-80 7.87.6 0-90 10.09.5 0-100 12.412.1 PASSING 45-65 MPH 2.5sec2.5sec QUARTER MILE 13.3sec@103.4mph13.0sec@103.5mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 107ft108ft BRAKING, 100-0 MPH 306ft320ft 600-FT SLALOM 69.8mphavg68.8mphavg MT FIGURE EIGHT 25.4sec@0.72gavg25.5sec@0.72gavg LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.92gavg0.91gavg 1.56-MILE ROAD-COURSE LAP 93.8sec94.2sec TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 2550rpm2500rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $35,764$33,620 PRICE AS TESTED $36,564$33,620 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL No/yesNo/yes AIRBAGS DualfrontDualfront,frontsides BASIC WARRANTY 5yrs/60,000miles3yrs/36,000miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 10yrs/100,000miles5yrs/60,000miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 5yrs/unlimitedmiles3yrs/36,000miles FUEL CAPACITY 14.0gal15.9gal EPA CITY/HWY ECON 18/24mpg(est)18/24mpg MT FUEL ECON 20.6mpg19.6mpg RECOMMENDED FUEL UnleadedpremiumUnleadedpremium
No doubt,the Mitsubishi is a dedicated, well-sorted track machine—and so is the Subaru.Which is more fun is a different story.With performances so close,it boils down to brand preference,aesthetics, price,and personality. It’s impossible to pick one over the other based solely on the test numbers. Evolutionists will always be so,and Subaristas will remain loyal,as well.While it’s certain neither one of these cars will wind up on display at the Guggenheim,the Subaru just looks weirder this time around.
WRX
SUBARUIMPREZA STI More fun than the Evo;tossable and a more rewarding drive
The new,more feminine grille,even in its smaller-than-Tribeca scale,doesn’t do the STIThejustice.Evo,while looking like a car that could change shape into a 15-foot robot at the push of a button,does have a purposeful honesty to it.The beauty lies in what it does:finely crafted sharp-edged fins, vents,wings,and things that exploit the wind,cool the engine,and look the part. They all seem appropriate to the car and what it’s meant to do. Not so with the STI,which has a more malleable nature.You can grab it by the scruff of its neck and throw it around,and it’ll reward you with heroic deeds.From the way you can launch it from 6000 rpm with all wheels spinning to the way you can drive it slideways around a corner,it lets you have more fun than the Evo does.(Yes, there’s still a software-regulated hardwareprotecting 5000-rpm rev-limiter from a standstill that won’t allow the Evo IX to unleash enough power to bark the tires on dry-pavement launches.) Then there’s price.Last time around,the Evo MR was about $1200 costlier.This time,that difference has jumped to almost $3000.Most of us—although not the entire staff,it must be said—feel okay saving that much money for the added driving pleasure in an uglier car.
On the racetrack,it was less useful than the “Tarmac”setting.In the end,the Evo IX MR was 0.39 second quicker around the racetrack than the Impreza WRX STI. Ready for that winner thing?
■ 1ST PLACE ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
DECEMBER
Okay,we picked a winner—but do we now have two hairs where there was once one?
AMERICA}{MADEIN words gavin green ■ photographs wayne maser
One of the most unlikely guys to shape Italy’s automotive dynasty is young, frenetic, a snazzy dresser— and an admirer of Henry Kissinger and Chairman Mao }}
(interview) lapo elkann ■
}}AFTER ITS BRIEF and ill-fated marriage with General Motors ended earlier this year—and after pocketing $2 billion in alimony—Fiat celebrated its return to full Italian ownership with large,flag-waving ads in major Italian newspapers.Forza Fiat! Forza Italia! It’s ironic,then,that the two young men who will ultimately guide Italy’s biggest company to success or failure—and rational thinkers put the odds at no better than 50/50—are both American-born. Their surname,Elkann,sounds no more Latin than Ford or Lutz.And when you meet the younger Elkann,the curiously named Lapo,he looks like an all-American boy:slim,fair-skinned,freckled,blueeyed,and with college-cropped brown hair.But Lapo,like his elder brother John,is a true Italian blue blood.His grandfather,you see,was an Agnelli.And in Italy,surnames don’t get much more royal than that.
90 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
From Kissinger,he learned to “always be informed.‘Never give in’was one of Churchill’s expressions,but it was also one of Kissinger’s mantras.”Another Churchill exhortation—“Let us go forward together”—is framed large on Lapo’s wall.
From his grandfather,of whom there are a number of photos (including one with his eldest son and intended heir,Edoardo, who committed suicide),Lapo learned “a passion for life.He taught me to grasp and grab inspiration from everyone you meet
(interview) lapo elkann
92 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
Grandpa Gianni Agnelli,former boss and largest shareholder of Fiat before dying in January 2003,aged 81,was called “the uncrowned king of Italy,”the richest and most influential person in the country.More than 100,000 people lined up to see his body as it lay in state at Fiat’s head office.The Italian president and prime minister attended the funeral (and were booed by the huge crowd for arriving in an Audi rather than a Fiat).
No single company has the influence in America that Fiat has historically enjoyed in Italy.Fiat controls almost every major Italian brand, including largestarewriterMargheritadaughtersonsBushes.Kennedys,orRockefellers,thebiggerreputationenjoysfromsignificantfamily,Fiat’sAndtherebusinesshas19thtionItaly’sthetheconstruction,andtrains,robotics,playertimes,beenalso,atautomaker,FiatItaly’sthewagen,isownedOnlyRomeo,andMaserati,AlfaFerrari,Lancia.Lamborghini,byVolks-outsidefamily.Notonlybiggesthasvariousamajorintrucks,media.Bornatbeginningofindustrializa-attheendofthecentury,Fiatdominatedthesceneeversince.theAgnellimostinvestorthebeginning,adynasticinItalythanthetheJohnandLapo,ofGianni’sandAlainElkann,nowFiat’sshareholders.They’re
also now senior managers:John as deputy chairman,Lapo as head of brand promotions.One day,if all goes to plan,John,now 29,will assume the top job. Lapo,27,will be by his side. They’re very different men.John is quiet and shies from media interviews.Lapo is more animated,more extroverted. He made it onto Vanity Fair’s International Best-Dressed List this year and has a celebrity girlfriend,Martina Stella,who played in “Ocean’s Twelve.”He loves big Italian motorcycles (he rides an MV Agusta Brutale),chain-smokes Marlboros,drinks thick and strong espressos like most of us drink water,and,say friends and acquaintances,works far too hard.“A ball of energy” is the most common description of Lapo.And everybody calls him Lapo,including his two run-off-their-feet secretaries. We meet in his office in Fiat’s Mirafiori building in Turin.And what an office! The walls are bright Mediterranean blue.There are model cars dangling from the ceiling,football team shirts draped over chairs and framed on walls,a Ferrari-designed surfboard propped against a wall.A pair of Michael Schumacher’s race overalls is framed near his desk.A large orange Jamaican hammock swings from the knowshugeassistant.“HeKissinger’sfather’s.HefriendHenry13,2001,totheretoughness.”energy,socity.ItYorkandJaneiro,NewLondon,Paris,RioYork.“I’vetographsmeFerrari.Thatsymboljust“Hispolitician,”and“myofgraphsshouldpeopleLapo.“They“They’responsorstheteam,isthebobsled,asceiling.AusedbyJamaicannationalparkedonfloorcarpet.Fiatthem.Why?fun,”saysmakesmile.SoFiatcars.”Therearephoto-onthewallsWinstonChurchill,all-timefavoriteMao.colorwasred,liketheultimateofcapitalism,strikesasinteresting.”Therearebigpho-ofNewlivedindeYork,Turin.ButNewismyfavoritehassomuchmuchHemovedbackonSeptemberworkforKissinger,aofhisgrand-becamepersonalhasdriveandandunder-
stands the world.He became one of my mentors.I don’t have an MBA,and I didn’t go to Yale.I’m not an academic person and wasn’t a good student.Instead,I’ve been taught by some of the most inspiring people in the world.”
2003: GIANNI AGNELLI dies, aged 83. His 68-year-old brother Umberto is named Fiat chairman.
2004: UMBERTO AGNELLI dies of cancer. Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo is appointed chairman of Fiat. the agnellis cursed as the kennedys?
FLEDGLING AUTOMAKER Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (FIAT) was founded on July 11, 1899, in Turin, Italy. Among the board members was former army officer Giovanni Agnelli, who paid $400 for his share of the company. Within three years, he was managing director. Fiat flourished under Agnelli’s leadership, becoming Italy’s third largest industrial company by the time he was made chairman in 1920. Multiple stock purchases meant the Agnelli family owned about 70 percent of Fiat by the time Giovanni died in Giovanni’s1945. grandson, Gianni Agnelli took control of the company in 1966. A clever and shrewd businessman, Gianni Agnelli rapidly expanded the Fiat empire to the point where it controlled one quarter of the Milan stock exchange through its network of 596 subsidiaries and 190 associated companies. At one point, Fiat companies accounted for about five percent of Italy’s GDP and employed three percent of its workforce. By any measure, the Agnellis, who still own about 30 percent of Fiat (and have about 150 family members working for the company) have been one of the world’s most successful auto-business dynasties, second only, perhaps, to the Ford family, which still controls 40 percent of the Detroit automaker. But there’s been a dark side to the family’s glittering success.
■ ■ ■
2000: Gianni Agnelli’s son, EDOARDO, jumps to his death from a bridge near Turin. To Gianni’s dismay, Edoardo had shown little interest in the family business, at one stage studying religion at Princeton.
(interview) lapo elkann
Talking to Lapo,it’s clear his passion for Fiat goes far beyond any natural business challenge.It’s his destiny,handed to him, and to John,by his grandfather,a hard-working,hard-playing man who,say observers,shared much in common with Lapo. Like heirs to the throne,they were born to do their duty,to take Italy’s greatest company to prosperity and greatness once again.Just as Agnelli ordained. ■ “ I’mnot an academic I’ve…instead, been taught someby ofthemost inspiring people intheworld. ”
94 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM and from everything you do.He taught me to watch,to listen,to be curious.You can learn from everyone,the president or the cleaner.You need teachers in life,but they’re not always school teachers or professors.You learn from ordinary people.You learn from travel,from just walking down the street.” Is he like his granddad? “Physically,yes.That’s why I can wear his old hand-made Italian or English suits.”Today,Lapo is wearing one of his own pinstripes,tie fashionably loose,collar partly upturned.“Butisthere any other similarity? I don’t know.I think not.My grandfather was a great man.I’m just starting my life. I haven’t done anything yet.You need a lifetime to properly judge anyone.” Lapo went to the University of London for three-and-a-half years, studying international relations—but says he learned more from his compulsory Italian military training that followed.“There’s a fantastic cross section of people doing military service,and yet you’re all the same. You see all of your country,every region.It took 10 months,and I loved every minute of it.” As an Agnelli heir,he also did his stint “undercover.”Every Agnelli earmarked for a career in Fiat must do a blue-collar job under a false identity.Lapo worked in the Piaggio factory, making motor scooters,and used the name Lapo Rossi.Piaggio was then run by Lapo’s cousin,Giovanni Alberto Agnelli,son of Gianni’s brother Umberto Agnelli and,at the time,heir apparent of Fiat.He died in 1997.
1997: Umberto Agnelli’s son, GIOVANNI ALBERTO, acknowledged by Gianni as the future head of Fiat, dies of a rare form of stomach cancer at age 33.
1935: EDOARDO AGNELLI, Giovanni’s son, is killed, hit by the propeller of his seaplane when it capsizes. He leaves a wife, Virginia, and six children, including sons Gianni and Umberto.
The name Rossi is significant,for motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi is one of Lapo’s best friends.“I love Rossi.Rossi is a hero. What a fantastic ambassador for Italy.”A signed Rossi cap hangs behind Lapo’s desk.Renzo Rosso,founder of Diesel clothing,is another hero,friend,and mentor.“His creations are part of youth culture worldwide,”says Lapo. For all the talk of famous people—and as an Agnelli,Lapo mixes with some of the most well known—he says his best friend,and closest mentor,is his brother John. Together,says Lapo,the Elkanns want to help make Fiat,and subsidiary companies Alfa Romeo,Lancia,and Maserati,great again.They’ll do that partly by being more Italian.“Italy’s assets are her style,her beauty,her creativity,her passion,her energy, her technology;and these will be core brand values of all our cars.
“Fiat as a company has a long way to go and a steep road ahead.But I think this company has great management now,a renewed passion for success,and a fantastic future.I honestly believe that.And I will give all my efforts to make that happen.”
■ ■ ■
1945: VIRGINIA AGNELLI dies instantly near Pisa when her car hits the back of a stationary truck. Giovanni Agnelli dies the same year. Control of Fiat passes to Vittorio Valletta, his right-hand man since 1921.
(first drive) mercedes-benz S500 a star is reborn 96 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM ■ words arthur st. antoine ■ photographs mark bramley THINK BUILDING A LUXURY CAR IS NERVE-WRACKING? IMAGINE HOW MUCH PEPTO-BISMOL YOU’D BE SWILLING IF YOU WERE FIDDLING WITH A LUXURY-CAR ICON * *
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 97
The new S is appreciably bigger than the outgoing W220.Wheelbase on the longwheelbase version has grown by more than three inches over the long W220 (unlike the previous model,Mercedes will sell only long-wheelbase versions of the new S-Class in the U.S.),overall length is up nearly two inches,and width has increased nearly an inch.Interior room has expanded in almost every dimension,most notably rear-seat legroom and cargo capacity.According to Mercedes figures,curb weight also has climbed—by more than 200 pounds, despite the use of aluminum for the hood, doors,front fenders,and trunklid.
(first drive) mercedes-benz S500 *
DECEMBER
IN VARIOUS GUISES, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has been in production since America was listening to Ike—that’s Eisenhower,not Turner.The current version,code-named W220 and introduced in 1998,has sold nearly 500,000 copies worldwide,making it the best-selling premium sedan of all time.Yet of late the W220’s three-pointed star has begun to flicker.In the first eight months of 2005,BMW’s 7 Series outsold the S-Class in the U.S.—11,564 cars to 10,280.Then there’s the issue of Mercedes-Benz quality, which in recent years has seemed more Swatch than Rolex.Pass the Pepto,please. Now for the really queasy part:In February,Mercedes-Benz will begin shipping an all-new 2007 S-Class to our shores.Will America’s buying public swoon? It had better.At stake is nothing less than the reputation of one of the
The look is dramatically new.Like the 7 Series,the new S is an overtly “styled”car, with more curves and “surface excitement” than the clean,simple S-Classes of yore. Compared with the outgoing model, Mercedes has expanded the new car’s 98 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM world’s premier luxury brands—and the star power of one of the auto kingdom’s most renowned status symbols. Immediately following the S-Class’s world debut at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show,we climbed behind the wheel of the new car for first-hand evaluations on the highways and mountain roads of northern Italy and Switzerland.First impression:The new S is a staggeringly advanced automobile,boasting some of the most innovative and useful safety features in recent memory.Second impression: Mercedes has been studying the BMW 7 Series under an electron microscope. Mercedes execs deny this,of course, arguing that any similarities to the work of their Bavarian rivals is due simply to natural product evolution.But the parallels between the two cars are too conspicuous to ignore (see sidebar).
Also optional is a new Distronic Plus radar-guided cruise-control system that’s capable of braking the vehicle to a full stop and then accelerating back to a preset speed once the vehicle ahead begins moving.The new S-Class will also offer a new night-view assist system that uses two active infrared headlamps (with beams invisible to humans) to illuminate the road ahead;images from a camera inside the windshield are then displayed in the instrument cluster (at press time, Mercedes hadn’t determined if the system would be standard or optional).
First to arrive will be the S500,powered by a new,32-valve,5.5-liter V-8 that makes 80 horsepower more than the old,three-valveper-cylinder,5.0-liter unit.Hang on to your schnitzel:Mercedes claims a 0-to-60-mph time of just 5.5 seconds for the new car.
the V-12 continues with a five-speed auto.
Next year,Mercedes will sell three versions of the S-Class in the United States.
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Most obvious,though,is the iDrive-like COMAND (“Cockpit Management and Data System”) controller on the center console.Ask whether iDrive inspired COMAND,and Mercedes suits turn blue with indignation,but with both BMW and Audi (the MMI system) now offering mouselike controllers,Mercedes clearly wasn’t about to be left out.Our initial impressions suggest that COMAND is more intuitive than iDrive (the Mercedes display screens are excellent),but not necessarily a huge leap over MMI.
Happily,Mercedes has designed COMAND so that most functions can be controlled via hard buttons on the dash or via the optional Linguatronic voicerecognition system.
The cabin is beautiful—simple,modern, airy.The look grew out of concept sketches produced at a Mercedes design studio on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como;the cockpit’s Italian flair is unmistakable. Highly polished wood trim floats across the dash,swelling around a central grouping of metallic air vents,switches,and an analog clock (at night,optional fiber-optic lights at the edges of the trim trace a glowing line around the interior).The large navigation display has climbed from the lower console to a far more user-friendly spot high on the dash.The central gauge is a large,color display that normally mimics an analog speedometer but can also display other info as needed.
Four-wheel-drive S-Classes arrive by fall. The 2007 S carries a bounty of cool safety gear.The optional Brake Assist Plus uses forward-mounted radar to calculate the gap to vehicles ahead;if the system determines that the gap is too small or the closing speed too high,it alerts the driver.If BAS Plus determines a collision is imminent,it automatically calculates the amount of needed braking force and,the instant the driver touches the pedal,immediately brakes at the required level—even if the driver pushes the pedal too lightly.An updated PRE-SAFE system,if it calculates that deceleration will exceed a certain level, automatically pretensions the front belts and inflates cushions in the front and rear seats to support the car’s occupants optimally.
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 99 grille and diminished its headlamps.Bold wheel arches add “shoulders”to the front and reappear in back.And…isn’t that a 7 Series bustle on the rear deck?
We drove the car you see in these pictures,a short-wheelbase S500 (virtually ON TO SCHNITZEL:YOUR MERCEDES CLAIMSA FORTHE NEWCAR
Around spring or so,two other S-Classes will join the party.The S600 will carry the old car’s twin-turbo V-12;the engine has been tweaked to produce 510 horsepower (17 more than before).Scheduled to arrive with the S600 will be the U.S.market-only S450,powered by a 335-horse,4.6-liter V-8. Both V-8 engines mate to Mercedes’s fabulous 7Gtronic seven-speed automatic;
0-TO-60-MPH TIMEOFJUST 5.5 SECONDS
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LEFT: An optional rear camera projects the backup view onto the navigation screen.Follow the colored lines, which indicate the precisely calculated maneuvers required to park, and you’ll look like a pro every BELOWtime.LEFT: Unlike thermalimaging displays (such as Cadillac’s Night Vision) that pick up heat sources, the S-Class’s night-view assist uses infrared headlamps that project invisible beams, “illuminating”the road ahead on the center display screen.
S-CLASSSERIES
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BMW did it first, freeing up space on the center console for the iDrive controller. Now the S-Class shifts the same way. Jörg Summer, in charge of Mercedes luxury models, says it was the need for cupholder space that inspired the shifter’s move up. “Because there was no need for a manual transmission in the S-Class,” he says, “the column shifter was a no-brainer.”
FAR LEFT: Distronic Plus cruise control uses both long- and short-range radar beams to monitor traffic ahead. The system can brake the S-Class to a complete stop if necessary. drive
indistinguishable from the long-wheelbase car unless the two are side by side) equipped with optional AMG wheels and low-profile tires and AMG body skirts.At typical American Interstate speeds,the car was so free of wind noise that tire rumble over certain rough surfaces became the overriding cockpit sound. Wind sounds pick up over 100 mph,but this is still an astonishingly quiet car (Mercedes credits more than 170 insulation components—including insulating glass with acoustic foil). The standard Airmatic suspension with adaptive damping provides a controlled but nicely filtered ride,even with the AMG-spec tires.The driver can opt for 100 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM the star’s bangle’d manner
DESIGNER ATTIRE Unlike previous stoic, formfollows-function S-Class models, the new big Benz wears designer clothes. With its prominent wheel arches, body-color taillight bars, and strong character lines, it’s a S-Class?needleadDidplayChrisstyle-drivenconspicuouslycar.BMW’sBanglewasfirsttothedress-upgame.the7Series’sarrivalMercedestofeeltheforanewfashionista
DECKLID BUSTLE Bangle’s first 7 Series wore a rear-deck bustle as prominent as J.-Lo’s. BMW has trimmed the bustle on the current version of its flagship—but now comes the new S-Class, and it’s got one, too. Mercedes claims the new shape improves trunk size and accessibility. Says HansDieter Futschik, MercedesBenz design director: “It doesn’t remind me of BMW at all.” MercedesscoffsatsuggestionsthattheBMW7SeriesinspiredthenewS-Class, butsimilaritiesarestriking
COMAND CONTROLLER Like BMW’s much-debated iDrive system, the S-Class’s multifunction COMAND computer is accessed largely via a round knob on the center console. Hans Multhaupt, S-Class project leader, says comparing iDrive to COMAND is like comparing two cellphones. “Some are completely frustrating to use,” he says, “and intuitive.”COMAND—areothers—likeeasyand
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FARLEFT: Optional fiber-optic ambient lights cast a glow around the edges of the wood cabin trim— pretty funky for an S-Class, no?
EPA
Sport or Comfort modes via a cockpit switch.Our test car also had the optional Active Body Control system,which Mercedes says reduces body roll by up to 60 percent compared with the previous model.Throw in the eager V-8 and the outstanding seven-speed,and you have a car that hustles through the Swiss Alps like a good sport coupe.Oh,and not to be overlooked are the optional massage seats,which on long drives do such a spectacular job of invigorating your spinal column you’ll want to leave a tip. After our brief drives,it appears the big Benz’s reputation is secure—the S-Class has the goods;unquestionably,it’s a stunning new luxury sedan.But has Mercedes built the new Eurosedan title-holder,a star that outshines not only the 7 Series but also the Audi A8 and the Jaguar XJ? Stay tuned: We’ll share our verdict after thorough Stateside deliberations next year. ■ 102 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM 2007 MERCEDES-BENZ S500 BASE PRICE $87,000 (est) VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, RWD 5-pass, 4-door sedan ENGINE 5.5 L/382-hp/391 lb-ft DOHC 32-valve V-8 7-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT 4400 lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 124.6in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 205.0 x 73.7 x 58.0in 0-60 MPH 5.5 sec (mfr) CITY/HWY FUEL ECON N/A SALE IN THE U.S. February 2006 drive)
BELOWLEFT: The round COMAND controller on the center console operates menus and sub-menus for such functions as navigation, audio system, and climate control–though hard buttons under the central-dash vents allow direct access to frequently used functions.The center palm rest flips open to reveal telephone buttons.
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mercedes-benz S500
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THE DIRTY DOZEN? Well,at least they looked that way after a day negotiating the sand traps,frame-twisters, hungry rocks,and rutted hills of our off-road evaluation course. Heat and dust and the sound of engines working hard:It must be Sport/Utility of the Year time again. Twelve contenders made the cut for this year’s judging,their widely varying technical specifications and packaging reflecting the diversity of a market segment that’s come a long way from the days when four-wheel drive was a necessity for farmers,soldiers,and intrepid adventurers rather than a suburban-lifestyle statement.Engines included an I-5 and a flatsix and a bunch of V-6s.We had V-8s,too,including one with quad cams,a supercharger,390 horsepower,and a Jaguar pedigree.We had live axles with leaf springs,live axles with coil springs,independent suspension,and air suspension.
Transmissions? They ranged from four to seven—count ’em— speeds,some with low-range transfer cases,some without. Some of our contenders seated five,others seven.As-tested prices ranged from under $24,000 to more than $75,000. They were an international bunch,too,reflecting the complex globalization of the auto industry and the U.S.market.One contender was all-Japanese (Suzuki Grand Vitara),two were all-Korean (Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage),and three were all-American (Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer twins and Hummer H3).And before you ask about the Jeep Commander, remember the Jeep guys ultimately report to Stuttgart these days.Still,in a nice piece of symmetry,the all-new Mercedes ML is bolted together near Tuscaloosa,Alabama.
DOZEN THE DIRTY WHICHCONTENDERS WILLCOMETHROUGH OURTOUGHESTCHALLENGETODATE WITHMUDONTHEIRFACES ANDWHICHWILLEMERGEUNSCATHED? motor trend 2006 sport/utility of the year ■ words angus mackenzie ■ photograph john kiewicz 104 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 105
Building sport/utes is clearly an American specialty:Despite their Japanese badges,both the Nissan Xterra and Subaru Tribeca are made here (Canton,Mississippi,and Lafayette, Indiana,respectively),and while the bright-orange Range Rover Sport (think Coldplay meets the Sex Pistols) may be British-built, the beancounters who approved it call Dearborn home.But it’s Pontiac’s Torrent that gives us a real glimpse of the auto industry’s New World Order:The V-6 under its hood is made in China. Twelve contenders,11 judges.Technical inspections (would you believe only two of the contenders arrived with tires inflated to the correct pressures?) were followed by three days of track testing.Then came three more days of back-to-back drives around a 35.6-mile road loop and our compact,but challenging, off-road evaluation course—all interspersed with the sort of tirekicking,hood-slamming,seat-folding,and cupholder-counting needed to really get under the skin of each vehicle. We were surprised.We were impressed.And,yes,we were disappointed,too.But,as always,the process led us to the winner.Even if it wasn’t the vehicle many of us initially expected it to be. ■
IN THE END,it all came down to a backroom,a spirited discussion,and a secret ballot:one judge,one vote,one winner.It sounds simple enough.But getting there is far from a simple process. Here’s how it happened… Each of our 12 contenders was put through our regular track-testing regimen at California Speedway:the standard acceleration and braking tests,plus the 600foot slalom and lateral acceleration tests,and the Motor Trend figure eight,our unique road-test snapshot that reveals plenty about a vehicle’s real-world acceleration,braking, and transient responses in a compact and repeatable format.
A sport/utility—even one that’s more crossover than cross-country—is meant to take you and your stuff places you can’t get to in a regular car.And none of this year’s contenders failed that most important test.
THE CRITERIA SPORT/UTILITY OF THE YEAR isn’t a comparison test.We don’t pitch a Hyundai Tucson against a Hummer H3 or a Ford Explorer against a Mercedes-Benz ML.Yes, they’re all sport/utilities,but they’re aimed at very different buyers and deliver very different driving experiences.So how do we decide a winner? Simple.We evaluate each contender against three key criteria:
HOWSUPERIORITYTHEVEHICLEmeasures up to its peers in terms of its utilizationexcellence,advancementengineeringindesign,ofresourcesandsafety.We look at vehicle concept and execution,selection and use of dynamics.Stylingmaterials,packaging,andandinteriorlayout are also considered,as is fuel consumption and primary and secondary safety features.
StateHUNGRYVALLEYVehicularRecreational Area Lap Distance: 0.45 miles Lowestpoint Highestpoint Start/Finish Start/Finish ORO VISTA AVE asphalt stop & go TRAILTILT THE SAND BOX SLIPPERYSLOPE ROADROCKY 25 degrees 19 degrees20 degrees 30 feet FOOTHILL BLVD asphalt stop & go traffic ANGELES CREST HWY asphalt handling & power ANGELES FOREST HWY asphalt handling & power BIG TUJUNGA CYN RD brokenhandlingasphalt&braking 210 FREEWAY concrete ride quality/wind noise SN EW
The little Korean SUVs impressed, scampering around the course with minimum effort.And the usual off-road suspects—the trail-rated Jeep,the ORequipped Xterra,the Hummer H3—barely raised a sweat,as expected.What wasn’t expected was just how accomplished the Range Rover Sport was when the going got tough,20-inch alloy wheels,ultra-lowprofile tires,and all.Xterra and Hummer apart,it was the only other contender we took into the Rubicon-rough sluicebox,and only our desire not to scuff bodywork and rims prevented us taking it all the way through—after the initial exploratory foray none of the judges doubted it would’ve gone the distance.The Jeep Commander may have been trail-rated,but that big body is a tight fit between the rocks.
The track-testing results gave the judges baseline data to work with—and some interesting statistics to chew on:like the Range Rover Sport’s astonishing 112-foot stop from 60 mph,which is sport-sedan stuff.With the track testing complete,judges and contenders assembled at the base of the Angeles Crest Highway to begin a 35.6mile road loop that not only took in the twisting blacktop up,down,and through the mountains,but also gnarly suburban streets and a section of undulating,fast-moving freeway.This road loop wasn’t about racing lines and lap records:It was designed to give every judge the opportunity to drive every vehicle back to back over the same real-world roads. For the final day of testing,we headed north out of Los Angeles to Hungry Valley’s compact off-road obstacle course.We wanted a short,simple loop with terrain that would stymie regular passenger cars and rear-drive trucks,but not prove impassable for the lighter-duty vehicles without lowrange transfer cases and mountains of ground clearance.The combination of lumps,bumps,sand,and hills was ideal— tough enough to trap any old-school offroader that attempted it in 2WD,but not so hard-core that we couldn’t get around it in the Subaru Tribeca.
Elevation
ASIGNIFICANCEKEYELEMENT of this criterion is how well the vehicle does the job its maker intended it to do.With sport/utility vehicles,we consider how well the inherent compromise between on-road refinement and off-road ability has been handled.We also look at how the vehicle may impact on its market segment, change consumertrends.influenceperceptions,andnew-vehicle IT’SVALUENOTAS simple as you might think.We compare each vehicle with its rivals in its market segment.And while a vehicle with a low sticker price might seem to have an advantage,it may not be as good a value as a more expensive vehicle that offers higher performance and build quality along with better functionality, lower running costs,and higher resale. ■ the process distance: 35.6 miles change: 2425 feet
2006 sport/utility of the year ■ words angus mackenzie ■ photographs john kiewicz 106 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
off-road course on-road course Total
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 107 JEFF OnlineBARTLETTeditorialdirector Lives in Florida Doesn’t sleep much NEIL CHIRICO Road test editor Collects Mustangs and Mitsubishi Evos ALLYSON HARWOOD Associate editor/copy Likes ice-hockey and spotting mistakes RON SeniorKIINOeditor Used to work at a boring auto magazine—left TODD DetroitLASSAeditor Forget Motown, he’s MT’s lounge-music meister ANGUS Editor-in-chiefMACKENZIE Still trying to figure out what went wrong FRANK TechnicalMARKUSdirector Mind like a steel trap Owns a Maserati, though KIM TechnicalREYNOLDSeditor Loves FrankGershwin,computers,andLloydWright ARTHUR ST. Editor-at-largeANTOINE Knows LA inside out and mixes a mean martini CHRIS WALTON Senior road-test editor Last man up Pikes Peak before they sealed it MARK WILLIAMS Truck Trend editor Despite that, he loves our long-term 911 JUDGESTHE (From top left to bottom right) ★ ★✜ ✜
FROM CHASSIS upgrades and a new driveline to an interior makeover with fresh amenities,if refinement is what you’ve been wishing for in an Explorer,it’s been granted.It’s quieter (impressively so),smoother,safer,and better equipped.In fact,the 2006 Explorer was poised to dominate this year’s competition.So why didn’t it take home the Calipers? Why didn’t it even wrinkle the envelope it could’ve punched through? Sure,the V-8 sourced from the Mustang GT is admirable and so is the new six-speed automatic.ToFord’s credit,the new engine/trans combo is far more refined,returns better fuel economy,and can pull a (slightly) heavier trailer.The interior is tasteful and quieter than before,too.But all goes awry with the Explorer’s bizarre ergonomics.The driving position is awkward;it’s difficult to resolve the seat-to-pedal-to-wheel conundrum despite adjusting each device to its respective limit.And those nifty new armrests may improve comfort,safety,and access to the door release,but they’ll also contribute to parking-lot door dings. Further,the rubbery armrest lacks a handhold of its own,so,once the door swings open,the separate grab handle becomes difficult to locate.The four-wheel independent suspension earned mixed reviews,too.In the mountainous portion of our drive,it went from feeling confident in one corner to spooky in the next.Staffers complained the Roll Stability Control system initiates too aggressively,too late, and could alarm those it’s intended to protect—novice drivers.Broken pavement on our drive loop did,however,give the Explorer one standout moment.Our topline Eddie Bauer Explorer offered the best and most satisfying control when competitors were bucking and vibrating like paint shakers.Off-road,our 4WD tester was limited by ground clearance and departure angles from true hard-core rough stuff, despite its low-range transfer case.But at least it was a comfortable ride. ■
108 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM ford explorer 2006 contenders 2006 EXPLORERFORD BASE PRICE RANGE $27,175-$36,585 AS-TESTED PRICE $42,715 (V-8 Eddie Bauer 4WD) VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, RWD/AWD/4WD, 5-7 passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 4.6L/292-hp/300 lb-ft SOHC 24-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 6-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 5054 lb (52/48%) WHEELBASE 113.7 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 193.4 x 73.7 x 72.8 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 83.7 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 7050 lb 0-60 MPH 8.0 sec QUARTER MILE 16.0 sec @ 86.8 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 137 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.68 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 57.4 mph avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 30.4 sec @ 0.50 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 14/20 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★★ DESIGN ★★ INTERIOR ★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★ OFF-ROAD ★★★ SAFETY ★★★★★ VALUE ★★★ TO SUM UP Now the strong, silent type, but still soft at heart. MORETHANA FACELIFT, LESSTHAN ALLALL-NEW PHOTOGRAPHSFORSPORT/UTILTY OFTHEYEAR: JOHN KIEWICZ/BRIANVANCE/EVAN WOLLENBERG
IT’S HARD to imagine people clamoring for big,thirsty sport/utilities these days,so perhaps the H3 is just the thing for the times.GM claims it’s as burly and rock-crawling-capable as a Hummer H2 (okay,we’re with you),uses a powerful and efficient 3.5-liter five-cylinder engine (you sure about that?),and is easier to park than many of its kind (sort of).The reality of Sport/Utility of the Year testing proved different.The H3’s city/highway rating of 16/19 mpg is optimistic at best,and the pain at the gas pump is intensified by a 0-to-60-mph sprint that took over 11 seconds.The Hummer may be slow,but it sure is thirsty.In fact,it almost justifies buying the larger,marginally less fuelefficient H2 with its whopping 6.0-liter V-8, which can at least outrun hybrid-driving environmentalists.The H3’s inline-five is derived from GM’s venerable 4.2-liter inline-six that produces 291 horsepower. You’d think lopping off one cylinder would reduce output by about 48 horses. Unfortunately,GM removed the magic 70-horse cylinder.As a result,the 220-horsepower I-5 gives the 4900-pound H3 all the pull and harmonics of a sewing machine.Freeway merging power? Forget it.Similar to our initial experience with a Hummer H2,the off-road-biased H3 took well to the twisty mountain roads—as long as it was pointed downhill. Off-road,the H3 is pure Hummer:damnnear unstoppable over just about anything, though the military-spec pillbox window openings make it hard to aim it between two obstacles at a time.It’s a different story inside,however.Our tester came festooned with the $3125 Luxury package that featured handsome leather seating (surfaces) with Range Rover-like contrasting piping,among other things.The Hummer H3 does one dirty deed exceptionally well and nothing else particularly well—and it ain’t cheap,either.It’s mostly a marketing exercise you wouldn’t want to drive everyday. ■
110 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM hummer H3 2006 contenders 2006 HUMMER H3 BASE PRICE $29,500 AS-TESTED PRICE $38,785 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, 4WD, 5-passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 3.5L/220-hp/225 lb-ft DOHC 20-valve I-5 TRANSMISSION 4-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 4943 lb (50/50%) WHEELBASE 111.9 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 186.7 x 74.7 x 74.5 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 55.7 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 4500 lb 0-60 MPH 11.3 QUARTER MILE 17.7 sec @ 77.6 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 139 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.68 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 54.0 mph MT FIGURE EIGHT 30.9 sec @ 0.48 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 16/19 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★★ DESIGN ★★★★ INTERIOR ★★★ PERFORMANCE ★ OFF-ROAD ★★★★★ SAFETY ★★ VALUE ★★ TO SUM UP The looks of an H2 with the performance of an H1. SEVERAL CHIPSOFF THEOLD BLOCK
A FEW YEARS ago,we predicted that Hyundai might one day surpass the domestics and rival the Japanese automakers.That day is here,at least in terms of build quality,price,safety, and warranty;the Tucson proved one of the most surprisingly capable and pleasant players in this year’s contest.Remove the badges,and it’d be hard to tell exactly who builds the Tucson—though that telltale Korean scent is somewhat of a giveaway (do Koreans all use the same interior glue?).Aroma and “squircle”styling notwithstanding,the Tucson quietly earned a place on every voting editor’s short list. This value-packed “little SUV that could” features six stability system,AM/FM/CD stereo,and fiveyear/60,000-mile basic and 10-year/ 100,000-mile powertrain warranties—all dismissable were it not for the Tucson’s performance on our controlled driving loops.Pushed to its limit in the mountains, the optional 2.7-liter,173-horse V-6 remained well isolated and within the realm of cute-’ute refinement,though it did lack power.The suspension performed well when hustled around corners,and,when the tires hit the dirt,the Tucson proved more comfortable than more dedicated off-roaders. The optional AWD system,meant for softroading,had no trouble finding traction in sand,trudging up steep grades,and through the frame twister.Relative to its domestic peers,the Tucson covers the “Superiority”and “Value”requirements well enough to earn our award,but it just doesn’t move the needle enough in the “Significance”category.That comes from innovation and technology,not from merely covering all the bases at a friendly price. ■
112 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM hyundai tucson 2006 contenders 2006 TUCSONHYUNDAI BASE PRICE RANGE $18,095-$23,795 AS-TESTED PRICE $24,000 (est V-6 AWD) VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, FWD/AWD, 5-passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 2.7L/173-hp/178 lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6 TRANSMISSION 4-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 3728 lb (59/41%) WHEELBASE 103.5 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 170.3 x 72.1 x 66.1 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 65.5 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 2000 lb 0-60 MPH 10.7 sec QUARTER MILE 17.6 sec @ 78.1 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 130 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.71 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 60.6 mph avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 30.5 sec @ 0.49 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 19/24 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★ DESIGN ★★★ INTERIOR ★★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★★ OFF-ROAD ★★ SAFETY ★★★ VALUE ★★★★★ TO SUM UP If GM built this, then it’s finally got it. DON’TLOOK NOW,BUT THESEGUYS HAVECAUGHTUP
airbags,ABS,electronic
114 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM jeep commander 2006 contenders 2006 COMMANDERJEEP BASE PRICE RANGE $27,985-$38,900 AS-TESTED PRICE $41,920 (Limited 4WD) VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, RWD/4WD, 7-passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 5.7L/330-hp/375 lb-ft OHV 16-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 5-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 5265 lb (51/49%) WHEELBASE 109.5 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 188.5 x 74.8 x 71.9 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 68.9 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 7200 lb 0-60 MPH 7.9 sec QUARTER MILE 15.8 sec @ 86.8 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 140 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.70 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 55.7 mph MT FIGURE EIGHT 29.5 sec @ 0.54 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 13/18 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★ DESIGN ★ INTERIOR ★★ PERFORMANCE ★★★ OFF-ROAD ★★★★ SAFETY ★★★★ VALUE ★★★★ TO SUM UP Fails to do the one thing it was supposedly designed to do. FIVE’S COMPANY,SEVEN’S ACROWD
DAIMLERCHRYSLER bills the Jeep Commander as the most (offroad)-capable seven-passenger 4x4 available.Unfortunately,there’s the issue of Land Rover’s LR3 and Lexus’s GX 470,both of which carry seven passengers and also are capable in the rough stuff.Built on the proven underpinnings of the Grand Cherokee,the Commander isn’t a bad value;the price for our loaded Limited model with the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 and the company’s most advanced Quadra-Drive II system totaled just over $40,000,which undercuts Land Rover and Lexus.Just like on the Grand Cherokee,three engines, three four-wheel-drive systems,two transfer cases,and two automatic transmissions are available.As a result,the Commander’s price range is considerably wide,but one drive in the V-6-powered model will have you wondering if the parking brake is still on.Consolation lies in the fact that the topline 330-horsepower Hemi engine delivers admirable 13-city/18-highway fuel economy thanks to cylinder deactivation.This is just shy of miraculous when compared with the Hummer H3’s 16/19 rating with only 220 horsepower. It also proved nearly unstoppable on our off-road course,though stiff springs produced considerable head-toss.But the existence of the Commander is difficult to rationalize.It’s supposed to accommodate two more passengers than the Grand Cherokee does—but the third row is all but useless for anyone over three years old: With the seat anchored right on the floor, most normal-size humans end up with their knees around their ears.Compared with, say,the LR3’s astounding third row,the packaging is a joke.So why add 350 pounds of mass and styling that looks like the box the Grand Cherokee shipped in? Go figure. ■
The Sportage (fraternal twin to the Hyundai Tucson) is promoted as the sportier of the two and thus features unique bushings, dampers,and spring rates,not to mention edgier,if somewhat more awkward styling.
AFTER A two-year hiatus,the Sportage made its return as an all-new vehicle for the 2005 model year,but missed last year’s competition due to onsale timing.For 2006,minor changes—airfiltration and tire-pressure-monitoring systems for EX trims—mean the 2006 model is essentially identical to the 2005.
The entry-level Sportage comes motivated by a 2.0-liter,140-horse four-cylinder mated to a five-speed manual and demands just $16,490 from the savings account—less than the 2002 Sportage swiped off the card.But it’s the available 2.7-liter,173-horse V-6,which bumps the price up to $19,690,that’s required to turn the hefty Sportage—3739 pounds for our V-6 4WD tester—into an adequately quick cute-’ute.Paired solely with a four-speed automatic,the V-6 never pinned our noggins to the headrests—evidenced by a
tepid,10.3-second 0-to-60 sprint—but it did a commendable job moving the Sportage up and down mountain roads, thanks to the automatic’s manual mode. Plus,equipped with the available BorgWarner full-time electronic four-wheeldrive system and standard four-wheel independent suspension,the Sportage proved an entertaining curve carver that impressed us with an agile,light-on-its-feet feel and an ability to be safely pushed to the limit.Off-road,the Sportage was equally adept,devouring oncoming ruts, crevices,grades,slopes,and surfaces.But don’t be misled—the lack of a low-range transfer case means the Sportage is still a soft-roader.The new Sportage represents a huge step forward for Kia,especially in terms of interior quality and fit and finish. It’s now a competitive entrant in the segment,but not a big enough leap forward to grab the Calipers. ■
116 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM kia sportage 2006 contenders 2006 SPORTAGEKIA BASE PRICE RANGE $16,490-$22,590 AS-TESTED PRICE $23,965 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, FWD/4WD, 5-passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 2.7L/173-hp/178 lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6 TRANSMISSION 4-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 3739 lb (59/41%) WHEELBASE 103.5 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 171.3 x 70.9 x 66.7 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 66.6 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 2000 lb 0-60 MPH 10.3 sec QUARTER MILE 17.2 sec @ 79.4 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 130 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.72 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 60.7 mph avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 30.1 sec @ 0.51 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 19/23 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★ DESIGN ★★ INTERIOR ★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★★ OFF-ROAD ★★ SAFETY ★★★ VALUE ★★★★★ TO SUM UP A first-rate Kia no longer means traveling second-class. IT’SBA-A-A-A-A-CK. ANDALOT BETTERTHAN YOUTHINK
118 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM mercedes-benz m-class 2006 contenders 2006 M-CLASSMERCEDES-BENZ BASE PRICE RANGE $40,525-$49,275 AS-TESTED PRICE $63,515 (ML500) VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, 4WD, 5-passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 5.0L/302-hp/339 lb-ft SOHC 24-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 7-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 4973 lb (52/48%) WHEELBASE 114.7 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 188.5 x 75.2 x 71.5 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 72.4 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 5000 lb 0-60 MPH 6.6 sec QUARTER MILE 14.7 sec @ 94.5 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 122 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.77 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 59.5 mph avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 28.5 sec @ 0.59 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 14/19 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★★★ DESIGN ★★★ INTERIOR ★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★★★★ OFF-ROAD ★★ SAFETY ★★★★★ VALUE ★★★ TO SUM UP Forget rock-climbing. This is about social-climbing. FINALLY,IT’SWORTHY OFTHE THREE-POINTED STAR
Moreover,Mercedes’s adjustable DC Airmatic dampers can be had on the topline ML500 and the base ML350.Judges deemed our Airmatic-equipped,$63,515 ML500 the quickest carriage on the serpentine tarmac,outgunning even the Cayenne-chasing Range Rover Sport. Chalk it up to a brawny 302-horsepower V-8,a telepathic and seamless sevenspeed automatic,a less porcine curb weight,and a well-engineered chassis.And if the ML500’s $49,275 base price seems a bit too steep,rest assured that,for nearly nine grand less,the 268-horsepower, $40,525 ML350 nips at the ML500’s heels.
lightedMountainssectionML500effortsstructure.Unsurprisingly,Mercedes’sunibodyhavepaidoff,atleastinlightofthefloggedoverourroad-coursethroughtheruggedSanGabrieljustoutsideLosAngeles.Insideandout,qualityiswayup,high-byrichermaterials,tighterpanel
WHEN ENGINEERING the second-generation M-Class,Mercedes set out to improve on the two shortcomings that plagued the first-gen model:quality and on-road performance.To address the former,Mercedes invested over a halfbillion dollars in the M’s Alabama factory, and to quell the latter,it replaced,among other things,the old model’s body-onframe architecture with a carlike
gaps,and a sense of solidity lacking before.This spike in initial quality does nothing but complement on-road driving, which is a far more pleasurable experience thanks to the aforementioned unibody as well as a lower ride height,a longer wheelbase,wider front and rear tracks,and a new four-link rear suspension.
Off-road,the ML struggled at times,its three conventional open differentials and four-wheel electronic traction-control system proving less proficient than,say,the systems in the Jeep,Hummer,and Land Rover,which offer locking differentials. Given that few M-Class owners will get down and dirty in their vehicles,it’s a realistic trade-off.But it’s one too many to nail this year’s SUOTY. ■
120 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM mercury mountaineer 2006 contenders 2006 MOUNTAINEERMERCURY BASE PRICE RANGE $29,795-$36,145 AS-TESTED PRICE $40,205 (Premier V-8 AWD) VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, RWD/AWD, 5- or7-passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 4.6L/292-hp/300 lb-ft SOHC 24-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 6-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 5075 lb (52/48%) WHEELBASE 113.7 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 193.5 in x 73.5 in x 72.8 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 82.8 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 6980 lb 0-60 MPH 8.2 sec QUARTER MILE 16.1 sec @ 86.3 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 137 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.71 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 53.8 mph avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 30.3 sec @ 0.52 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 14/20 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★ DESIGN ★ INTERIOR ★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★ OFF-ROAD ★★ SAFETY ★★★★★ VALUE ★★ TO SUM UP Ain’t no mountain high enough? Don’t you believe it. IT’SNEW. ITJUSTDOESN’T LOOKIT
MERCURY’S marketing mavens describe the exterior of the 2006 Mountaineer as an “evolution of the Mercury design DNA.”They’re right, because,at first glance,it makes one ponder the logic of lining up the old Mountaineer for a shot at the 2006 SUOTY. Silly us.Although the sheetmetal appears basically the same,the interior,powertrain, and chassis have been revised. The laundry list of improvements is long, but here’s what’s fit to wear:Inside,a redesigned instrument panel,new seats, and richer materials enhance a functional cabin that features newly available powerfold-flat third-row seats.Underhood,a gutsier 24-valve,292-horsepower,4.6-liter V-8 raises output to a competitive level and does so in tandem with a new six-speed automatic.Mercury claims ride and handling are superior due to a stronger frame,an all-new independent rear suspension,a revised front suspension, bigger brakes,and enhanced steering. Extensively revised? You bet.Improved? Hold your bet.While all the above revisions look good on paper,their benefits aren’t as apparent out on the road.The dash,gauges, and center console are more attractive,but they don’t compensate for the poor driving position and the doors’separate armrests and grab handles.With nearly 300 ponies and six forward gears ready to stampede, the Mountaineer felt sluggish and not much livelier than its 239-horse predecessor— even the V-6-powered Xterra smoked it in 0-to-60 and quarter-mile acceleration.The ride was quiet,though it bordered on being too firm,yet it was the handling that underwhelmed and,at times,scared us. Body motions never felt under control,the bigger brakes overheated on occasion,and the Roll Stability Control system suffered from inopportune interventions that prompted a pursuing Chris Walton to proclaim on our mountain test route that it looked like all four tires were going in a different direction.When the tarmac turned to dust,our AWD tester was more than modestly capable and not as smooth-riding as its Ford-badged clone. ■
EVERYONE’S GOT to have an SUV these days—even Pontiac,which made do with the misconceived, misshapen Aztek until just last year,when executives at GM’s excitement brand were wise enough to give it a date with the guillotine.SUV-less heading toward the 2006 model year,Pontiac quickly turned to its sibling,Chevrolet,from which it nabbed the handsome Equinox,then promptly rebadged it Torrent.Besides the obvious exterior alterations and the inappropriate name—really,can anything with 185 horsepower deliver anything torrential?— this Pontiac ’ute is a Chevrolet,which is to say,a well-equipped five-passenger small SUV built in Canada.The Torrent’s standard equipment list is plentiful and includes a 3.4-liter V-6,a five-speed automatic transmission,automatic climate control, ABS,sport suspension,remote keyless entry,and an AM/FM/CD radio—all for a reasonable $24,890.Add the options, however,and that price can fly north quicker than Canada geese in the spring. Case in point:Our AWD tester,which, loaded with side-curtain airbags,OnStar, cruise control,a power driver’s seat,and 17-inch alloy wheels,rang up the register to $29,125.Not exorbitant considering the level of equipment,but not a deal considering the sub-par driving dynamics. For a vehicle meant to generate excitement,the Torrent accomplished the opposite among our judges,drawing criticism for its coarse V-6,unrefined automatic,sloppy handling,and numb steering,the last a result of more play at the helm than in the Queen Mary.Driving dynamics aside,the Torrent doesn’t look or feel like a near-$30,000 SUV—drum brakes reside behind the rear wheels,“premium” cloth seats fail to match the richness of leather,and the interior plastics are aesthetically inferior to those in the Koreans.Off-road,the Torrent survived, rather than conquered,our course.In the end,the Torrent comes across more as a marketing afterthought than a well-planned sport/utility. ■
122 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM pontiac torrent 2006 contenders 2006 TORRENTPONTIAC BASE PRICE RANGE $22,990-$24,890 AS-TESTED PRICE $29,125 (AWD) VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, FWD/AWD, 5-passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 3.4L/185-hp/210 lb-ft OHV 12-valve V-6 TRANSMISSION 5-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 3791 lb (57/43%) WHEELBASE 112.5 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 188.8 x 71.4 x 67.0 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 68.6 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 3500 lb 0-60 MPH 9.0 sec QUARTER MILE 16.6 sec @ 83.0 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 128 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.77 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 58.6 mph avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 29.0 sec @ 0.55 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 18/23 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★ DESIGN ★★★★ INTERIOR ★★ PERFORMANCE ★★ OFF-ROAD ★ SAFETY ★★★ VALUE ★★ TO SUM UP The most exciting thing about it is the name. GM’SEXCITEMENT DIVISION GETSDIRTY. SORTOF
IF THE pecking order of Land Rover’s latest products seems confusing,then let’s clear things up a bit:The new Range Rover Sport slots above last year’s of-the-year winner,the LR3,but below the flagship Range Rover.It’s Land Rover’s entry into the performance SUV market that’s already occupied by Porsche’s Cayenne,BMW’s X5,Infiniti’s FX,and Mercedes-Benz’s soonto-come ML63 AMG.Although the Sport borrows a lot of its dashing style from the upscale Range Rover,it’s actually built using the LR3 platform.What this means is that,for about $20 grand less,you can have a Range Rover that’ll run a photo-finish race with its big brother (choose between two V-8s:a 300-horse,4.4-liter or a 390-horse, supercharged 4.2-liter) and turn just as many heads on Sunset Boulevard— especially in the Vesuvius Orange sprayed on our test car.The Sport is 2.4 inches shorter than an LR3 and 7.2 inches shorter than a Range Rover,but weighs a hefty 5859 pounds.So the impressive grip—aredynamics—acceleration,braking,andon-roadbeyondanythingyou’ve experienced from Land Rover;they’re like watching a 225-pound running back make a 90-yard touchdown sprint.There’s a certain majesty to it all,rather than the sparkle you get from a light-footed receiver over the same distance. Because off-road ability is as central to the Land Rover brand as a rear-mounted flat-six is to a 911,the Range Rover Sport uses the LR3’s terrain-response system, allowing it to go places that would test a trail-rated Jeep—even on the low-profile 20inch sport tires fitted to our Supercharged tester (though in reality how long would they last before the sidewalls get fatally pinched between rim and rock).The Range Rover Sport is a unique compromise:a performance SUV you can take into the rough stuff without having to order a special off-road kit from the manufacturer. ■
124 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM range rover sport 2006 contenders 2006 LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER SPORT BASE PRICE RANGE $56,750-$69,750 AS-TESTED PRICE $75,150 (SC) VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, 4WD, 5-passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 4.2L/390-hp/410 lb-ft supercharged DOHC 32-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 6-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 5859 lb (49/51%) WHEELBASE 108.0 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 188.5 x 75.9 x 71.5 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 71.0 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 7718 lb 0-60 MPH 7.1 sec QUARTER MILE 15.2 sec @ 92.8 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 112 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.78 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 57.6 mph avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 28.2 sec @ 0.59 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 13/18 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★★★ DESIGN ★★★ INTERIOR ★★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★★★★ OFF-ROAD ★★★★★ SAFETY ★★★★ VALUE ★★★ TO SUM UP Less weight/more power here will give the Cayenne a headache. LANDROVER CHASES PORSCHE. HUH?
Subaru’s first entry into the crossover market is a three-row SUV designed to help Subaru hold onto Outback owners looking to trade up.With 4281 pounds to haul around,the 250-horsepower,3.0-liter flat-six struggles,but otherwise the Tribeca does a commendable job on paved surfaces of all types,with a chassis and suspension that initially feel surprisingly sorted and well tuned.The body rolls quite a bit for an SUV with as firm a ride as this, however,and the steeply raked hood leaves you with the impression you’re actually behind the wheel of a minivan. Those with a taste for the avant-garde will appreciate the interior,with its cool wraparound dash a stylish highlight.The third row,allegedly the main reason for the Tribeca’s size and weight,is a disappointingly tight squeeze for all but the smallest of passengers,although the more-thanaccommodating second row moves back and forth on tracks and features one of the biggest stock DVD screens found in a vehicle of this type.Don’t take the Tribeca too far off-road,though:The lack of a lowrange transfer case and ground clearance and that plunging hood makes it difficult to place it accurately between obstacles. Is it an all-wheel-drive minivan? A tall wagon with third-row seating? A sport/ utility vehicle? There’s a curious lack of focus about the Tribeca:You can’t help but wonder if Subaru gave in to pressure to build something it could call a midsize sport/utility,when for years it’s been known for building terrific SUV alternatives.In doing so,Subaru has created a vehicle that lacks the ingredients that made Subarus so appealing in the first place. ■
LET’S JUST say the Subaru Tribeca’s styling is,uh…thought provoking. When it came time to vote,grumbling about its homely looks made it difficult to ascertain favorable comments regarding its road-holding abilities and exhaust note.
126 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM subaru B9 tribeca 2006 contenders 2006 SUBARU B9 TRIBECA BASE PRICE RANGE $31,320-$34,520 AS-TESTED PRICE $39,336 (7-pass LTD) VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, 4WD, 7-passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 3.0L/250-hp/219 lb-ft DOHC 24-valve flat-6 TRANSMISSION 5-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 4281 lb (54/46%) WHEELBASE 108.2 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 189.8 x 73.9 x 66.5 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 74.4 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 3500 lb 0-60 MPH 9.3 QUARTER MILE 17.0 sec @ 83.1 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 125 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.76 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 58.9 mph avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 29.0 sec @ 0.57 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 18/23 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★★ DESIGN ★ INTERIOR ★★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★ OFF-ROAD ★★ SAFETY ★★★★ VALUE ★★★ TO SUM UP Tries to be all things to all people and ends up satisfying no one. NEVERMIND THEFACE,
WHATABOUT THEPERSONALITY?
CHECK OUT the window sticker of Suzuki’s handsome new sport/ute,and you’re bound to think it’s one heck of a deal:V-6 power,five-speed automatic, independent front suspension,and a fourwheel-drive system with a limited-slip differential,locking center differential,and a low range.All this for $25,000! What a steal,right? Well,not exactly.On paper,this Vitara is grand,but from behind the wheel it’s a different story.The 185-horse V-6 lacks muscle and complains loudly when flogged,proof that engineering a powerplant with double-overhead cams and multivalves doesn’t guarantee BMW-like performance and refinement.Although the Vitara features a unique unibody chassis with integrated ladder frame,this does little to assist its on-road handling.Its slalom speed is admirable,but flinging it around twisty canyon roads is another story—the tire squeal came early and loud. With its low-range transfer case,the Vitara at least will take you farther off-road than most of its small-’ute competitors.The rigid frame emits no creaks or groans,and the low-range provides a respectable crawl speed in the rough stuff.Also,the compact size means it’s easy to maneuver on tighter trails,and good outward visibility allows the driver to easily place a wheel where needed.Peek underneath the nicely tailored sheetmetal,however,and you’ll find bits and pieces—including the catalytic converter and rear exhaust hanger—just waiting to be devoured by hungry rocks.
Inside,the Vitara’s interior leaves a good first impression and conveys a somewhat upscale feel compared with other ’utes in this class.Though why is the ESP deactivation button on the center stack the size of a Ronald Reagan silver dollar? Especially since it didn’t make a difference to the dynamics when we pressed it.
Suzuki is one of Japan’s smallest automakers,and the new Grand Vitara exposes the weaknesses inherent in being a small player trying to exist at the mainstream end of the market.Without huge amounts of money to invest in R&D,it’s now fallen behind the very best of the Koreans in terms of vehicle refinement and quality. ■
128 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM suzuki grand vitara 2006 contenders 2006 GRANDSUZUKIVITARA BASE PRICE RANGE $19,594-$25,294 AS-TESTED PRICE $25,294 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, 4WD, 4-passenger, 4-door SUV ENGINE 2.7L/185-hp/184 lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6 TRANSMISSION 5-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT, F/R DIST 3709 lb (51/49%) WHEELBASE 103.9 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 176.0 x 71.3 x 66.7 in MAX CARGO CAPACITY 68.9 cu ft MAX TOWING CAPACITY 3000 lb 0-60 MPH 9.5 sec QUARTER MILE 17.0 sec @ 80.1 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 122 LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.69 g avg 600-FOOT SLALOM 59.9 mph avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 30.3 sec @ 0.51 g avg EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECONOMY 19/23 mpg ENGINEERINGRATINGS ★★★ DESIGN ★★★ INTERIOR ★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★ OFF-ROAD ★★★★ SAFETY ★★★ VALUE ★★★★ TO SUM UP An improvement. But the Koreans are improving faster. ISA GOODPRICE ENOUGH ANYMORE?
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CELESTIALXTERRA IT’SNOTA TRUCKTRYINGTOBEACAR, ORACARTRYINGTOBEAT ORRUCK, AMINIVANTRYINGTOBE ANYTHINGELSE ◆ words allyson harwood ◆ photographs john kiewicz MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 131
AND THE WINNER IS… With its live rear axle,and—in full offroad specification—tall tires and simple transfer case,the new Nissan Xterra seems somewhat old-school against some of its more sophisticated (and more expensive) opposition.But there’s a compelling honesty about the Xterra that won over the judges.Nissan has built a sport/utility vehicle that does exactly what its customers beliesfortune.Beststuffthetough,rugged,versatile,fun—andwant;it’swithrightoptions,it’lltakeyouandyouralmostanywhereyouwanttogo.ofall,it’snotgoingtocostyouaTheXterra’sapparentsimplicityalsoacleverproduct-development
CELESTIALXTERRAnissan xterra 2006 sport/utility of the year 132 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
process that’s allowed Nissan to deliver maximum bang for your buck by repackaging proven components and concepts.The Xterra is based on a shortened version of the versatile, American-engineered F-Alpha platform that underpins vehicles ranging from the Armada and Pathfinder sport/utilities to the Titan and Frontier pickups.Its punchy 4.0-liter V-6 is a stroked version of the engine that powers the sporty 350Z.And although it looks,at first glance,similar to its predecessor,its exterior boasts broader shoulders and a taller physique that translates into more leg,shoulder,and headroom inside. Dimensionally,the wheelbase has grown by two inches,yet overall length has increased only 0.7 inch,improving approach and departure angles,helpful when dealing with obstacles on a trail. Focus and execution,not frills and extras:That’s why the Xterra works. The prior-generation Xterra offered a four as well as the choice of a normally aspirated V-6 or a supercharged variant. In the new Xterra,all you get is the V-6. And that’s no bad thing:The new engine puts out 55 more horsepower and 38 pound-feet more torque than the old supercharged V-6 and has 122 more horses than the I-4.With four-wheeldrive models,the 4.0-liter has secondary mapping that comes into play in 4-Lo to adjust throttle response.While a sixspeed manual is standard,our Solar
The first of many surprises with the Xterra was its performance at the track. Our tester was the topline,4WD Off-
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 133 Yellow version came with the five-speed automatic.Four-wheel disc brakes with ABS are standard,as are dual front airbags.Side curtain and supplemental side-impact airbags are optional.The trademark rear-door first-aid-kit bulge returns,as does an evolved version of the easily recognizable roof rack,now with a covered cargo area.There are even steps cut into the sides of the rear bumper,making it easier to extract gear strapped to the roof. Inside,the feeling of honest-togoodness value continues:You’re not overwhelmed by bells and whistles,but the Nissan has the technology and electronics that keep it from feeling bare-bones.Features in the five-passenger, cloth-only cabin are simple and easy to use.The layout was revised and the HVAC controls improved (now big, easy-to-reach dials),and Nissan added more storage spaces to the front and rear rows.Many judges were impressed by the comfort and support provided by the front seats and the decent storage space with medium-size map pockets, cupholders,and center console. Available options include cruise control and smalleasyinchannels,similarThehookseasyseatsXterrapotentiallyarea:KeepingSpecialpowervolume.AllsatelliteRockfordkeylesscontrols,powersteering-wheel-mountedlocksandwindows,entry,anine-speaker300-wattFosgateAM/FM/CDsystem,radio,andspeed-sensitivemodelscomewithfourports,includingoneintheback.attentionwaspaidtothecargointouchwiththemud-orientedhabitsofbuyers,thebacksofthereararerubberized,thecargoflooristohoseout,andthereare10utilityonthefloor,sides,andceiling.flooralsocontainstwoadjustabletotheUtili-tracksetuptheTitan;thoseandthehooksmakeittosecuregearandbikes.Twoquibblesabouttheinterior:The relentlessly dark color palette of our tester felt somewhat gloomy,and many judges thought the plastics quality could’ve been higher.
FOCUSANDEXECUTION NOTFRILLS ANDEXTRAS: THAT’SWHYTHE XTERRAWORKS
All SUVs have to hold some level of compromise,whether their origins are from a car’s platform or a truck’s (a truck can’t handle like a Lotus;a car can’t tow a large trailer).The Xterra does an excellent job of tackling those concessions to nature and automotive design.It’s a traditional truck-based,body-on-frame SUV.It has an all-steel control-arm front suspension and a live axle with leaf springs in the rear.Yet it performs on road with the confidence of a crossover—it’s fast,handles well,and is comfortable.This isn’t a sport/utility designed just for high-performance driving;it’s not supposed to be able to do all that.But it does.
nissan xterra 2006 sport/utility of the year
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Road model (you can buy an Xterra with RWD only),meaning in addition to the tough,fully boxed frame,it came equipped with a part-time four-wheeldrive system with an electronically controlled transfer case;Off-Road VDC, which includes hill-descent control and hill-start assist;off-road-biased Bilstein shocks;skidplates protecting the oil pan, transfer case,and fuel tank;and 265/75R16 BFGoodrich Rugged Trail tires—not the ideal setup for maneuvering around cones.
Even so,the Xterra’s 58.1 mph through the slalom was beaten only by the nimble car-based SUVs and the Mercedes-Benz ML500.And its 29.4-second time over the MT figure eight was fifth best.The straightline numbers underscored the 4.0-liter V-6’s punch:The Xterra’s 7.7-second 0-to-60-mph time was better than all but two other competitors,the supercharged Range Rover Sport and the 300-horsepower Mercedes ML (and those had V-8s). And it was the only other sport/utility besides these two that recorded a 0-to-100 time before running out of track.
what’s old (school)is new again
Even with performance numbers in hand,some judges were still wary of the old-school chassis on twisty roads and Southern California freeways.But its confident handling,responsive suspension,and solid chassis won many over. Says Detroit editor Todd Lassa,“It’s fun on the handling circuit,neutral with nice steering weight and feel.You can hustle this through curves better than in most crossovers.”Adds senior road-test editor Chris Walton,“This VQ40 engine is everready,and the transmission is smart. THIS ISN’T the first time Motor Trend has been impressed with the Xterra. In fact, it received Sport/Utility of the Year honors in 2000, when the SUV first made its debut. Back then, the staff had to cut through the Gen-X-focused ad campaign to get to the genuine merits of the ’ute. One arena where it shined then, and still does, is off the beaten path. “In low-range, the lightweight 4x4 easily scampered up steep sandy hills that left the heavier vehicles struggling, and, try as we might, we couldn’t get it stuck.” Sounds familiar. Another aspect that impressed the editors was value. Six years ago, the entrylevel, four-cylinder-powered XE started at $17,869, and the V-6 could be bought for $19,019 Fully loaded models topped out at $26,148. For 2006, Nissan hasn’t lost sight of its priorities: Motor Trend’s near-topline Xterra was $28,980, only $2832 more than the 2000 model, and the new base model is only $2931 more than the 2000’s six-cylinder.
PHOTOGRAPHICASSISTANT: EVAN WOLLENBERG
Despite its rough-and-tumble 4x4 ability, the Xterra did an excellent job navigating Angeles Crest Highway.”It held its own on freeways,as well,having no trouble getting up to Interstate speed and staying there. The five-speed automatic transmission was a good match for the V-6,providing gear changes at the right times without intruding too much on the driving experience. It was equally impressive off-road.On a course that included loose sand,a hillclimb and descent,and a severe side-angle hill, the Xterra remained as adept as a billy goat.It completed our off-highway circuit without difficulty,staying poised from beginning to end—especially through the Sluice Box,a long channel filled with rhinosize boulders,which emulates the famed Rubicon Trail and is off-limits to all but the most hardy 4WD truck.Dial turned to 4-Lo, the Xterra proved its mettle there,going through with little trouble and no scrapes. This is a sport/utility with the capability of much more expensive models,in an honest,durable,value-minded package.It sticks to its genuine off-road-focused guns, and it’s clear in its mission.The design is well thought-out,its execution undeniably competent.Pricing starts at $21,430 for two-wheel-drive S models,and an Xterra with four-wheel drive can be had for $23,530.Ours,with all possible off-road bells and whistles,priced out at $28,980, still a bargain considering its versatility.It’s the best four-door off-roader for the money;on road,it’s quick and mannered enough to compete with V-8 luxury models that cost two or three times as much. Whether it’s touring the backcountry, hauling gear,or just getting from A to B,the Xterra is the right tool for the job. ■
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 135 CELESTIALXTERRA 2005 NISSAN XTERRA OR-V6 4x4 DRIVETRAINPOWERTRAIN/CHASSISLAYOUT Front engine, 4WD ENGINE TYPE 60° V-6, alum block/heads VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 241.3 cu in / 3954cc COMPRESSION RATIO 9.7:1 POWER (SAE NET) 265 hp @ 5600 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 284 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 16.8 lb/hp TRANSMISSION 5-speed automatic AXLE/FINAL/LOW RATIO 3.13:1 / 2.63:1 / 2.63:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar; live axle, leaf springs STEERING RATIO 20.4:1 TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK 3.5 BRAKES, F;R 11.7-in vented disc; 11.3-in solid disc, ABS WHEELS 16 x 7.0-in cast aluminum TIRES BFGoodrichP265/75R16 Rugged Trail WHEELBASEDIMENSIONS 106.3 in TRACK, F/R 61.8 / 61.8 in LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT 178.7 x 72.8 x 74.9 in GROUND CLEARANCE 9.5 in APPRCH/DEPART ANGLE 33.2 / 29.4 deg TURNING CIRCLE 37.3 ft CURB WEIGHT 4451 lb WEIGHT DIST, F/R 52 / 48 % TOWING CAPACITY 5000 lb SEATING CAPACITY 5 HEADROOM, F/R 39.9 / 39.3 in LEGROOM, F/R 42.4 / 34.4 in SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 58.3 / 58.3 in CARGO VOL BEHIND F/R 65.7 / 35.2 cu ft TEST ACCELERATIONDATA TO MPH 0-30 2.7 sec 0-40 4.1 0-50 5.8 0-60 7.7 0-70 10.3 0-80 13.8 0-90 17.6 0-100 22.5 PASSING, 45-65 MPH 3.9 sec QUARTER MILE 15.8 sec @ 87.4 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 130 ft 600-FT SLALOM 58.1 mph avg LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.71 g avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 29.4 sec @ 0.54 g avg TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 2050 rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $27,280 PRICE AS TESTED $28,980 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/yes AIRBAGS Dual front, front side, front/rear curtain BASIC WARRANTY 3 yrs/36,000 miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 5 yrs/60,000 miles ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE None FUEL CAPACITY 21.1 gal EPA CITY/HWY ECON 16 / 21 mpg RECOMMENDED FUEL Regular unleaded
What’s it like out there,Jay?
“If your erection lasts more than four hours,consult a physician.”
Mark Donohue was born March 18,1937.He came to racing comparatively late in life at age 22,but by then he’d already earned an engineering degree from Brown University.His career took off in 1966 when he joined Roger Penske’s racing team.He raced and ■ words steven cole smith ■ photographs rich chenet
A TRIP DOWN
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This is about to get interesting—for us,for Donohue,for Porsche, and especially for Leno,who’ll learn what it’s like to spin a Carrera GT at 182 mph.More about that in a moment.
“This,”saysJayLeno, “iswhatseparatesthe menfromthecomedians.”
MEMORAT198
MPH
IN A MOMENT, Jay Leno will climb into the cockpit of a Porsche Carrera GT in an attempt to set a speed record at Talladega Motor Speedway in Alabama.Leno,of course,is playing the comedian.Grand American sports-car racer David Donohue is playing the man.Both are at Talladega in an attempt to set six records—three apiece—to commemorate similar records set here 30 years ago by race driver Mark Donohue and a Porsche 917/30 Can Am race car.Mark Donohue was David’s dad. Soon,Leno takes to the track for his first solo practice run.Leno has a Carrera GT at home,so he knows how fast the car is,but until now he hasn’t had a chance to explore its limits. Back in pit lane,Leno emerges from the cockpit.
First,some perspective.
THE CARRERA GT is Porsche’s flagship, powered by a 5.7-liter, 605-horse V-10 with a six-speed manual transmission. Going price is $440,000, and, with a $3000 destination charge and a $5400 gas-guzzler tax (EPA rating is a hearty 10 mpg city/15 mpg highway), bottom line is $448,400. Leno prefers the silver version: “It feels like the black car moved around more,”he says;Donohue couldn’t tell much difference.
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 139 (repeat performance)
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140 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM (repeat performance) won in Can Am and Trans Am and,by 1971,had made his first Formula 1 start and won the inaugural Pocono 500 Indy car race.In 1972,he won the Indianapolis 500,and in 1973,won NASCAR’s season opener in Riverside,California,driving an AMC Matador for Penske.The next year,Donohue won the inaugural International Race of Champions.Donohue was,boss Penske has said,“the most consistent driver in the business.”
Two days later,Mark Donohue died at 38.His son David was just eight.Now,David Donohue is 38.And when Porsche asked him if he’d be interested in setting speed records of his own at Talladega,30 years after his father was here,it was an easy decision.
Raffauf was one of the official timers for Mark Donohue’s run in 1975.Now he’s back for David Donohue’s turn.Raffauf’s crew sets PORSCHE, Penske, and Mark Donohue (right) made history on August 9, 1975, when Donohue set the American closed-course speed record in his Porsche 917/30 (top), lapping the speedway at 221.160 mph. (Top right) David Donohue, with Leno.“I have a tremendous amount of respect for what he was able to accomplish,”says David in regard to his father’s feat at Talladega. PORSCHE CARS
✜ COURTESY
NORTH AMERICA
While David hasn’t been able to match his father’s success,many in the business suggest it’s because David seldom has had the best equipment or driven for the best teams.His forays into the NASCAR Busch and Craftsman Truck series were short-lived: “I have some unfinished business with NASCAR,”he says. Donohue’s become a solid sports-car racer,competing with teammate Darren Law in the Grand American Rolex sports-car series in the Red Bull Porsche Fabcar for Brumos Racing.
This time around,Porsche isn’t interested in eclipsing his father’s record,which was set in a full-house race car.The company wants to commemorate the feat in a bone-stock Carrera GT.The only concession to performance is a set of Michelin Pilot racing slicks, essentially the same rubber run at Le Mans,but with beefed-up sidewalls to withstand Talladega’s 33-degree banking.At speed, the 3000-pound Porsche will weigh close to 7000 pounds,thanks to thePorscheg-loading.has two Carrera GTs available:a black one that’s served a long and unhappy life as a press vehicle (press miles are like dog years:multiply times seven) to the point where a new clutch and a newer,less-thrashed silver car are required.The idea is to use the black car for practice,the silver car for record-setting,and that’s how it works out.
“But there really aren’t that many,”he continues.“When I’m at a racetrack,I feel like I’m doing my own thing,being my own person, and there’ve been only a few times where I can really feel a connection.And this is one of those times.”
While some may regard the Talladega event as a publicity stunt, David Donohue takes it seriously.“Being a professional driver after my father was a professional driver,a lot of people assume that, since I followed in his footsteps,there’d be a lot of connections to him and his career.
Shortly after that,Donohue essentially retired,becoming Penske’s motorsport director.But Roger Penske was about to enter Formula 1,so Donohue,having some unfinished business with F1, came out of retirement to drive the car.
A week after setting the Talladega record (see above),Donohue was practicing for the Austrian Grand Prix when,on the fastest corner of the circuit,a tire blew out,sending the car into a catch fence.A track worker was killed and another one injured,but Donohue seemed to come out unscathed—but he’d actually suffered a head injury and quickly lapsed into a coma.
Mark Donohue’s 917/30 had a 5.4-liter,turbocharged,12-cylinder boxer engine.It was blisteringly fast,but delicate:Grand American Racing director of competition Mark Raffauf was there and recalls that Donohue hit a stray piece of duct tape on the track,and it did “noticeable damage”to the bodywork.
“For a comedian,”Leno says,“I did fine.I mean,I think I could beat Carrot Top.Put me against Roseanne or Rosie O’Donnell,and I’ll be competitive.But for a race car driver—well,that’s David.Not me.” ■ up multiple lights and sensors—transponders would be easier,but are less reliable—all hard-wired back to Grand-Am computers. From his standpoint,it goes well until Porsche decides to move some of the timing equipment from one side of the track to another. During the move,some of the wiring is damaged,leading Raffauf on a quick tour of local hardware stores in search of 4000 feet of cable.He finds it.Don’t ask where. Also in attendance at Talladega is now-retired Porsche Motorsports chief engineer Norbert Singer.In 1975,in Germany, his team was working on making Mark Donohue’s 917/30 faster.“It was the first one that had an intercooler,”Singer recalls.He says horsepower was “over 1000,”but press accounts from the run peg the horsepower at more like 1250,possibly as high as 1400.Singer recently went over his notes from that 1975 event:“You know that we set the records in third gear? Third gear and fourth gear were quite close,”he says.“Second gear—that was good for up to about 200 mph.” So what would it take for the Carrera GT to go 221 mph? “A second
Leno sets three standing-start speed records in the same car, the fastest being 156.603 mph.Flying records are recorded from a rolling start,while standing-speed records are recorded from a complete stop.
The upshot:Porsche’s Carrera GT goes very fast and doesn’t break.And there’s only minor damage when Leno spins.
Oh,yes,that spin:Leno’s streaking down the front straight,having just passed a timing trap at 182 mph.“He got too close to the wall, and he lifted,”Donohue says,“which suggests just how sensitive the car is at those speeds.”
ononwide.Itongreataboutsays,laughing.“Itengine?”Singerwouldtake800horsepowerandadealmoregrip.Thetiresthat917were20incheslookseasyouttheretheoval,butitisn’t.You’retheedgeallthetime.”Runningattopspeedinastreet
Leno heads toward the infield,spinning at least five times across the track,then onto the grass,hitting only an orange marker cone. Leno’s version:“It was…a deer! A deer jumped out in front of me!”There is no photographic evidence of the spin,so,as Donohue says,“It’s our word against his.”
car is at least as challenging as going fast in a car made for nothing else.The Carrera GT,at speed, “is intense,”Donohue says.“There’s a narrow line around the track. I don’t have a choice of going high or low;I’m just guiding the car. You place it the best you can and let it tell you when it really doesn’t want you to make any more input.”The Carrera GT doesn’t like to be corrected. Soon,practice is over,and it’s time to set records.But plans to have everything done by noon go by the wayside;it’s late afternoon by the time everyone’s ready to go fast.“I just ran 184,” says David,“and that’s fast.Every mile an hour after that is going to be really,really Meanwhile,Leno,whenhard.”
he isn’t on a cell-phone making deals for more cars,entertains.“This track,to me,is a big oval.To a real race-car driver like David,they break it down into little pieces.And the concentration required…” Donohue shrugs.Sure,it requires concentration,but so do a lot of careers.“Like vascular surgery,”Donohue says.“Can you imagine the concentration it takes to perform vascular surgery?” “Which is one reason I don’t do vascular surgery!”
(repeat performance) ✜ ✜ ✜ “ Ididfine,for a comedian Imean,. IIthink couldbeat CarrotTop. ” ✜ ✜ ✜ ✜
142 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
One note about these records:They are,says Porsche communications manager Martin Peters,“Grand American records,since the Grand American sanctioning body is conducting the tests.”Since the FIA doesn’t handle the timing,they can’t be considered for world-record status,and Porsche and Grand American aren’t sure if they can even call them North American records.So they’re Grand American records,which is great,but prior to the event there have been no Grand American records,so whatever the cars run will be the record.
When it’s time to set records,things gets serious.Donohue sets three flying-speed records in the production category,including a closed-course record for the 2.66-mile track of 196.301 mph.He also sets records for the measured mile at 198.971 mph and the measured kilometer at 195.755 mph.
(comparison) CALIFORNIANIGUEL,LAGUNACOSTCOCOURTESYLOCATION 144 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER2005 145 ■ words kim reynolds ■ photographs brian vance FORD FUSION SEL vs.HONDAACCORD EXvs.HYUNDAI SONATA GLS vs.TOYOTACAMRY LE familyvalues Aislesix:cornflakes,detergent, whitebread,sensiblefamilysedans
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MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 147
ONE MORNING it happens. You glance in the mirror while stabbing at the wall outlet with the shaver plug to see a rumpled 47-year-old guy glancing back.A guy with a wife,a feisty five-year-old,a wailing newborn,Graco’s finest booster and reverse-facing child seats,and strong opinions about the LATCH system.And then—blink—you’re also a guy with a big, illuminated light bulb over his head.
Realization:All those automaton-driven Wonder Bread sedans,such as this comparison’s Honda Accord,Toyota Camry, and newcomers Hyundai Sonata and Ford Fusion are your friends now—they can store a pallet of 40-count packages of diapers in a locking trunk so your single pals can’t see them,ride comfortably in consideration of a newborn’s fragile neck, don’t tumble laterally off a corner if you suddenly swerve,and they aren’t finicky— and they aren’t minivans.Most important, they represent a value-for-the-money quotient that would be the envy of a Chinese Dixie Cup factory.Could there actually be more to this car thing than quarter-mile slips and slalom times after all? Your reflection is sadly nodding yes. This edition of our popular family-sedan four-way represents an interesting encounter.Although they could pass for any quartet of cars in any Home Depot parking lot,there are seismic implications here: Two—Toyota’s Camry and Honda’s Accord—represent an almost untoppleable status quo.Another spearheads the furious advance of the Korean manufacturers trying to do to Japan Car Inc.what the Camry and Accord did to Detroit.Completing the circle is Dearborn’s quixotic gambit to recapture its past sedan glories.
Speaking of bets,want to wager on these four sedans’origins? It’s odd enough that all are North Americans,but what does one make of the lone “Detroit”car being built in Hermosillo,Mexico,while our Honda’s birth certificate says loftysedanmaybecarSpanishbigfetchersmappedturftenetmostcoupledagainHyundai’s,Montgomery,Alabama.TellToyota’s,Georgetown,Kentucky;andMarysville,Ohio;ourouruswhichistheAmericancar?OurtermsofbattlewereV-6enginestoautomatictransmissionsinthetypicaltrimavailable.Followingthethatracehorsesarecomparedaroundovalsandpoodlesatdogshows,wearoutethatdroppedourfamilydirectlyintotheirnaturalhabitat,afatnodeofSouthernCaliforniamocksuburbia.Maybeourfourth-placeCamryLEtestwasjusthavingabadcarday.OrthepedestalAmerica’sbest-sellinghasbeenpreeningitselfonisn’tasaswe’vethought.Atlowspeeds,its
(comparison)
(comparison) 148 DECEMBER2005 MOTOR TREND.COM bear of the group.Senior tester Chris Walton claims the steering is light,almost electrical boost-like (confirmed around our 200-foot skidpad where the Camry required a group low 3.8 pounds of effort at 0.5 g cornering rate).And the aforementioned tardy reply to the brake pedal results in a continuous state of high-alert in dense traffic.While our LE’s track-site stopping distance bettered the Accord’s dismal 149 feet by five,its sleepy reactions are far more consequential (at 65 mph,you’re covering 95 feet per second;do the math).
The 190 horsepower (per the SAE’s latest guidelines) available from the 3.0-liter DOHC V-6 is up to most chores,and,in the car’s 2005 LE incarnation,is otherwise freshened by a modestly redesigned grille, headlamps,taillights,chrome shifter base, and interior door handles.Ensconcing yourself within the Camry’s belly is like opening a textbook titled “Ergonomics Done Right.”with chapters on clearly marked gauges,rotary dials for ventilation tuning,and useable doodad binnery.Only the audio system’s “mode”control,located where the radio’s tuner customarily resides, fractures the perfection. A car like the Camry needs to be measured against the expectations of its typical owners,who,for the most part desire a HyundaiaboutcitizenryAmericanweresomberlylimousine-likemidprice,well-crafted,reliable,andexperience.Andhereitis.RememberthemomentwhenyounoticedthatJapaneseproductsnolongerineptcarboncopiesofdesigns?WesuspectJapan’sisgettingthatsameclammyfeelingnowbecauseourthird-placeSonataisoneaccurateCamry
five-speed automatic lurched on downshifts.The concrete-induced tire-whirr decibels were two settings higher than any of us remembered,and its stopping feel recalled the heyday of cable braking. Demerits against a car that otherwise gives vanilla a good name,being erstwhile quiet as a librarian with laryngitis,comforpedic riding,and as solid as a poured-concrete foundation.Butthevanilla can get a bit thick.Roadtest editor Neil Chirico calls it the teddy
FORD FUSION SEL
which time you need to just trust in Toyota’s legendary reliability. But we don’t drive window stickers.In three-dimensional metal,plastic,glass,and paint,the Sonata is an uneven Camry alternative.The doors slam with a thinner thud.Inside,the waterline of cheaper hard plastics along the dash and door panels is an inch or so higher,so your eyes notice them more.Over micro-bumps,which the Toyota’s suspension absorbs without a ripple in your latte,the Sonata’s chassis quivers;on worse surfaces,its suspension skips and patters.But its steering and braking are crisper.“Nowhere near as soft and unresponsive as the Camry,”says Chirico, though Walton remains unimpressed:“The brakes are simply ‘there’and the steering is lacking in feel.”These areas may improve when the Sonata is equipped with the more aggressive 17-inch wheel/tire option,which Hyundai tells us eight out of 10 V-6 buyers are taking.With the group’s second-highest horsepower (235),the Sonata predictably posted the second-fastest 0-to-60-mph time of 6.8 seconds,though,while holding the “on”switch for long starts you begin thinking there might be a Cuisinart somewhere on that standard equipment list,too.
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Inside and out,the Sonata is conservative but attractively sculpted,with plenty of space front and back (particularly after the HONDA ACCORD EX facsimile.Get out the micrometers.Length: Camry,189.2 inches;Sonata,188.9 inches. Wheelbase:Camry,107.1 inches;Sonata, 107.4 inches.Nod along with me here.Umhum,Hyundai came up with this car on its own.Now you tell one. Where our Sonata GLE differs most alarmingly,though,is in price and standard features.Straight up,V-6-equipped against V-6-equipped,the Sonata undercuts the Camry by $2175.While slapping on the table standard stability control,traction control,a manumatic shift toggle,front side and curtain airbags,a 0.3-liter-larger engine with 45 more horsepower (delivering two-mpg-better highway mileage),plus five-year/60,000-miles limited and 10-year/ 100,000-miles powertrain warranties.Think of the last two as roughly one-third-bigger guarantees than Camry offers,during
150 DECEMBER2005 MOTOR TREND.COM HYUNDAI SONATA GLS
The 221-horsepower Duratec V-6 makes a respectable showing of itself (0-to-60 mph in 7.2 seconds),abetted as it is by the sixspeed transmission (a nice change from the norm,where the domestic entrant in a comparison reliably shows up a gear short of the rest).Peculiarly,your sole option for manually downshifting is the L slot,which drops you two gears,depending on circumstances.Unlike the Ford 500,which came to market with one arm tied behind its back—a motor too small for its size—the Fusion’s hit the ground swinging. Where the Fusion’s perfect game aches a
Unapologetically sourced from the happy Mazda,the 2.1-inch-beamier and 3.4-inchlonger Fusion is no worse for the stretching needed to match Camry/Accord scale.It’s downright exuberant on twisty roads,in fact,a prancing,road-embracing sedan that left Chirico musing that its personality owes more to Bavaria than Hiroshima.What’s striking behind the wheel is the steering’s high effort (five pounds around the skidpad at 0.5 g) and how steeply the effort ramps as you dial off center.The brakes,too,have a businesslike feel on first touch—though the good first impression sags as heavier brake force is administered.
(comparison) marshmallow seats nearly swallow you). Which nicely brings us to an interesting final detail:our Sonata’s cloth seat fabric.If you’ve never ridden in a Tokyo taxi,here’s your chance to pretend to be in one.The Koreans are so,so close. After a few laps around Spanish-revival utopia,it became apparent that this fourway matchup was subdividing into two concurrent head-to-head pairings.You have the sense that the first two cars,the Toyota and Hyundai,were invented to ease hapless drivers through yet another week’s sorrowful commutings.The Fusion and Accord,on the other hand,view those hours behind the wheel as time not wasted. Of the two,the Fusion is the more polarizing.If 90 percent of what matters about a car to you is how it feels in your hands,the V-6 SEL version of this Mazda6derived sedan could be your prize.If your checklist of automotive requirements has more than one box,the picture’s hazier.
Voilà! A flat cargo floor in about the time it takes to read “pop,pop.”Brilliant. Our topline SEL V-6 base priced at a Camry-like $22,360,though you can select a lesser V-6-equipped S or SE if you’re looking to eke into the Sonata’s subterranean price range.The trouble is,those pesky Hyundai standard features scramble any efforts at simple comparison (for instance,the Fusion doesn’t offer stability control at any price, and ABS is an option on price-leader models).Maybe Alan Greenspan could figure this out,but our tea leaves are saying the Fusion’s a bargain. Will it also be Dearborn’s Phoenix of sedans? As it sits,it could be.But there’s a shadow hanging over it in the form of a question:Can Ford shake its habit of presenting a promising car to the world and then forgetting to develop it? The Camry and Accord didn’t become the category’s gold and platinum standards by appearing once and never improving.
Ergonomically,there are extreme examples of sharp and blunt thinking.Last first:At the center stack’s base,where the other three cars relegate occasional-use bins (sensible,given the location’s eyediverting distance from the road),the Fusion locates the ventilation controls.And ensuring your eyes will be kept from the road even longer,those controls are manipulated by nearly flush buttons.However,what could function better than the folding rear seat? From the open truck,easy-reach levers trigger springs to slap either of the split rear seatback’s horizontal by remote control.
MOTOR TREND.COM bit is in moments of rawness lurking in the shadows.Noise levels here Hum and Whoosh where they hum and whoosh in its rivals.The heel of your throttle foot can sense an unexpected tingle of engine vibration from the floorboard.Little stuff, yes,but it accumulates. More obvious is the disappointing grade of the interior:the clunky texturing,the ancient green illumination of the dials at night,the styleless,rectangular shape of the sound-system cluster.While the interior is fairly attractive,the look has become so Ford-ubiquitous that one staffer quipped, “I’m not sure if I’m in a Fusion or an F-150.”
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TOYOTACAMRY LE (comparison
(comparison) Walton,reflecting on our comparisonwinning Accord’s performance,says it somehow feels the most adult here in terms of poise on its toes.Not as sporty as the Ford,nor as squishy as the Toyota,but it’s a good compromise.The Accord doesn’t triumph here just because its porridge is just right,however.Not only does the interior rocket ahead in quality,it’s in another orbit in style.Stepping from the Toyota,Ford,or Hyundai into the Accord is like checking out of the Monterey Best Western and into the Lodge at Pebble Beach. And the standard extends to the Honda’s granitelike structure,too,which serves as an imperturbable basis for a taut yet absorbent suspension.On dimpled pavement,it can seem double-espresso busy as it nervously reads every cranny of road,but somehow the most objectionable spikes in the texture are unfailingly blotted out before they reach your desk. Behind the wheel,the Accord is nimble, but not devoid of awkwardness.Walton: “There’s a nonlinearity in the steering’s response.”Entering a corner you feel “an initial delay,then a gain as the tires grip,and finally a caboose feeling to the rear end.” Likewise,two drivers scorned the brakes as hair-triggered,jerking regardless of how calculated and gentle the pedal touch.
Perhaps the Accord’s sorest point is middling grip displayed during our stopping tests—149 feet from 60 mph.“One forty nine?”was heard over the walkie-talkies.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”Here the finger points to the modestly sized Michelin Energy MXV4s,then back again at Honda for not asking Bibendum for grippier tires.
However,the combination of their eager wheelspin—and the car’s 240 bubbling horsepower—took the Accord to 60 mph in a group-best 6.6 seconds.
■ ■■ ■ ■ ■ 1ST PLACE 2005 HONDAACCORDEX V-6 Hey, Bob, do we stock this with the bulk items or in fashion apparel? ■■ ■ ■ ■ 2ND PLACE 2006 FORDFUSION SEL V-6 The register in sporting goods is now open. ■■ ■ ■ ■ 3RD PLACE 2006 HYUNDAI SONATA GLS V-6 There’s now a plain-wrap choice that saves $$$. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 4TH PLACE 2005 TOYOTA CAMRY LE V-6 The proven reliability you know in an even more convenient package! 154 DECEMBER2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
price comparison would be the reasonablytrimmed LX V6 at $25,650 (possessing a typical roster of popular features,but substituting drum for rear disc brakes).All of which highlights an unavoidable conundrum:the Accord's sticker premium. Are they worth it? Depends on your investment portfolio,but for the extra cost of a fancy option package elsewhere,the Accord delivers a driver’s sedan without peer in its category in construction and taste.Our advice? Break the piggy.Tip over the couch.Find those nickels to make up theWhichdifference.brings us back to our 47-year-old in the bathroom mirror.And a second lightbulb that’s now appeared above his noggin reading:A Wonder Bread sedan can be not only a friend.It can be a relationship.
At a price of $29,850,our EX V-6 version, with “NAVi”,was overequipped for this meeting (most notably,its nav system),and we knew this going in.A last-minute snafu resulted in the correct and revised,fourmore-horsepower 2006 version not quite reaching our doorstep in time.A better
MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 155 2006 FORD2005 HONDA2006 HYUNDAI2005 TOYOTA FUSION SELACCORD EXSONATA GLSCAMRY LE POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Front engine, FWDFront engine, FWDFront engine, FWDFront engine, FWD ENGINE TYPE V-6, alum block/headsV-6, alum block/heads V-6, alum block/headsV-6, alum block/heads VALVETRAIN DOHC, 4 valves/cylSOHC, 4 valves/cylDOHC, 4 valves/cylDOHC, 4 valves/cyl DISPLACEMENT 181.1 cu in / 2967 cc 182.9 cu in / 2997 cc204.0 cu in / 3342 cc182.8 cu in / 2995 cc COMPRESSION RATIO 10.0:110.0:110.4:1 10.5:1 POWER (SAE NET) 221 hp @ 6250 rpm240 hp @ 6250 rpm235 hp @ 6000 rpm190 hp @ 5800 rpm TORQUE(SAE NET) 205 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm212 lb-ft @ 5000 rpm226 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm197 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm REDLINE 6550 rpm6800 rpm6500 rpm6200 rpm WEIGHT TO POWER 15.6 lb/hp14.1 lb/hp15.1 lb/hp17.9 lb/hp TRANSMISSION 6-speed automatic5-speed automatic5-speed automatic5-speed automatic AXLE/FINAL DRIVE RATIOS 2.93:1 / 2.55:13.42:1 / 2.60:13.36:1 / 2.80:12.65:1 / 1.93:1 SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Control arms, coil springs, Control arms, coil springs,Control arms, coil springs,Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilinkanti-roll bar: multilink, anti-roll bar; multilink, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll barcoil springs, anti-roll barcoil springs, anti-roll bar coil springs, anti-roll bar STEERING RATIO 16.0:115.0:116.9:115.8:1 TURNS LOCK-T0-LOCK 2.52.93.33.2 BRAKES, F;R 11.8-in vented disc;11.1-in vented disc; 11.8-in vented disc;10.8-in vented disc; 11.0-in disc, ABS10.2-in disc, ABS 11.2-in disc, ABS10.5-in disc, ABS WHEELS 17 x 7.0, cast alum16 x 6.5, cast alum16 x 6.5, cast alum15 x 6.5, steel TIRES, F;R P225/50R17 93V M+SP205/60R16 91V M+SP215/60R16 94V M+S;P205/65R15 92T; Michelin Pilot HX MXM4Michelin Energy MXV4 S8Michelin Energy MXV4 S8Bridgestone Potenza RE92 DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE 107.4 in107.9 in107.4 in107.1 in TRACK, F/R 61.6 / 61.3 in61.1 / 61.2 in62.0 / 61.4 in60.8 / 60.4 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 190.2 x 72.2 x 57.2 in189.5 x 71.5 x 57.1 in188.9 x 72.1 x 58.0 in189.2 x 70.7 x 58.7 in TURNING CIRCLE 40.0 ft 36.1 ft35.8 ft34.8 ft CURB WEIGHT 3449 lb3377 lb3543 lb3392 lb WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION 61 / 39 %62 / 38 %63 / 37 %61 /39 % SEATING CAPACITY 5555 HEADROOM, F/R 38.7 / 37.8 in 38.3 / 36.8 in40.1 / 38.2 in39.2 / 38.3 in LEGROOM, F/R 42.3 / 37.0 in 42.6 / 36.8 in43.7 / 37.4 in41.5 / 37.8 in SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 57.4 / 55.6 in56.9 / 56.1 in57.4 / 56.9 in57.5 / 56.7 in CARGO VOLUME 15.8 cu ft14.0 cu ft16.3 cu ft16.7 cu ft TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 2.4 sec2.5 sec2.3 sec2.4 sec 0-40 3.93.63.6 3.7 0-50 5.35.05.25.3 0-60 7.26.66.87.2 0-70 9.58.68.97.3 0-80 12.111.411.59.7 0-90 15.414.214.412.8 0-100 19.417.517.516.0 PASSING, 45-65 MPH 3.73.23.43.9 QUARTER MILE 15.5 sec @ 90.3 mph15.1 sec @ 93.1 mph15.2 sec @ 92.5 mph15.6 sec @ 89.3 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 137 ft149 ft134 ft144 ft 600-FOOT SLALOM 63.7 mph avg60.3 mph avg61.2 mph avg60.7 mph avg LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.80 g avg0.75 g avg0.76 g avg0.78 g avg MT FIGURE EIGHT 28.0 sec @ 0.59 g avg29.0 sec @ 0.56 g avg28.64 sec @ 0.57 g avg28.3 sec @ 0.58 g avg TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 1900 rpm1800 rpm1950 rpm2050 rpm CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE $22,360$29,850$21,495$23,320 PRICE AS TESTED $25,135$29,850$22,395$24,651 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL No/yesNo/yesYes/yesYes/yes AIRBAGS Dual front, front side, f/r curtainDual front, front side, f/r curtainDual front, front side, f/r curtainDual front, front side , f/r curtain BASIC WARRANTY 3 yrs / 36,000 miles3 yrs / 36,000 miles5 yrs / 60,000 miles3 yrs / 36,000 miles POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 3 yrs / 36,000 miles3 yrs / 36,000 miles10 yrs / 100,000 miles5 yrs / 60,000 miles ROADSIDE ASSIST PERIOD 3 yrs / 36,000 milesOptional5 yrs / unlimitedOptional FUEL CAPACITY 18.0 gal17.1 gal17.7 gal18.5 gal EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON 21 / 29 mpg21 / 30 mpg20 / 30 mpg20 / 28 mpg MT FUEL ECON 19.1 mpg22.2 mpg19.6 mpg21.8 mpg RECOMMENDED FUEL Unleaded regularUnleaded regularUnleaded regularUnleaded premium
IN A WORLD where paradigms shift with the speed of an SMG gearbox and tomorrow’s vision becomes yesterday’s news just as quickly,it takes guts to step out onto the automotive equivalent of a narrow ledge.Hardly surprising,then,to find the firm that brought us the rotary engine— twice,no less—again pushing the envelope of convention.Its latest leap of faith is the Mazda5. Mazda has dubbed this space station (a micro-minivan by form) a multi-activity vehicle in the hope of distancing it from garden-variety soccer-mom specials.The Mazda5 complements unique-in-class 2+2+2 flexible seating with free-spirited style and high-value pricing,the better to generate buzz among the iPod crowd. Sport or upline Touring,the Mazda5 shares basic platform elements with the Mazda3.Key changes include a wheelbase stretch from 103.9 to 108.3 inches,a redesigned floorpan that creates theaterlike elevation for the second- and third-row seats,and a 6.5-inch roofline hike.That bit of geometric twiddling yields 142 cubic feet of interior volume,enough to earn this cheeky,not-so-little upstart formal status as a midsize station wagon.
The Mazda5’s interior skews as young as its sheetmetal,although a bounty of hard, black plastic trim,and aluminum-look accent bits creates a high-contrast glarefest in bright sun.Better news when it comes to gauge legibility,switchgear placement,and the comfort level of its supportive front buckets,smartly wrapped in stylish,two-tone fabric.Rounding out the mix is an extensive feature set.Even at $17,995,the Sport boasts air-conditioning, power andrearTouring,whichfront-side,andtouchesremote,andwheel-mountedcontrol,tilt/telescopingwindows/locks/mirrors,cruisesteeringcolumn,audiocontrols,keylessAM/FM/CDaudioplussafetylikedeformablepedals,front,side-curtainairbags.Theopensat$19,510,addsaspoiler,sidesills,apowermoonroof,six-discCDchanger,plusoptional
A mini minivan that defies tradition and redefines practicality ■ words bob nagy ■ photographs john specialkiewicz delivery (newcomers) ■ 2006 mazda5 166 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
DVD navigation and rear-seat entertainment systems.Twomore key Mazda5 assets are easy entry and outstanding versatility.It starts with low-effort,sliding rear-side doors that open four inches wider than those on an MPV.Step in,and adult-scale second-row buckets provide four inches of fore/aft travel, plus a one-touch mechanism that simplifies access to the third-tier 50/50-split bench. The rear perches are best occupied by kids, although adults hung back there with few complaints,save for the lack of reading lights and HVAC vents.Dipping the seatbacks bumps cargo room from around seven cubic feet to a generous 44.That figure almost doubles when the second row is put to sleep and yields a 63-inch-long flat floor.The large,composite-skin liftgate makes loading everything from bikes to boogie boards a breeze,and it extends high enough to shelter an upright six-footer.
Pony count also slips,from 160 to 157, while still arriving at 6500 revs.The net effect is a palpable—albeit liveable—ding in the zoom-zoom index,whether the engine is paired with the standard fivespeed manual transmission or optional four-speed manumatic.On the upside,the former duo earns solid 22/27 mpg city/highway EPA ratings. Driving dynamics and ride compliance of this unconventional troop carrier still have Mazda written all over them.The underlying chassis bits,ABS,and electrohydraulic power steering system are recalibrated for a demanding duty cycle and feel equally capable of challenging rushhour traffic or a twisty two-lane.Despite the Mazda5’s added height,enthusiastic cornering elicits little body roll,and grippy 205/50VR17 all-season tires on alloy rims keep the Mazda well grounded. Although alien to America,the versatile vanlet segment is approaching a sevenfigure scale worldwide.Mazda’s looking for its newest team member to account for about 10,000-15,000 of those units annually right here.Acceptance among young, active lifestylers—including current Mazda3 owners who just want more capability—will be key in determining the Mazda5’s success in the U.S.But with gas prices creeping toward $3 a gallon,and the ability to get a well-equipped 5 out the door for around $20 grand,its multifaceted appeal could end up extending well beyond the primary targets. ■ 2006 MAZDA5 BASE PRICE $17,995-19,510 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front engine, FWD, 6-pass, 4-door minivan ENGINE 2 .3L/157 hp/148 lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4
Mazda5 motivation comes from the same high-energy 2.3-liter DOHC four used in the Mazda3s.Here,however,it’s forced to contend with an additional 500-pound weight penalty.An ECM remap lets torque peak at 3500 instead of 4500 rpm,but total output dips from 150 to 148 pound-feet.
TRANSMISSIONS 5-speed man; 4-speed auto CURB WEIGHT 3350-3400 lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 108.3 in LENGTH xWIDTH xHEIGHT 181.3 x 69.5 x 64.2 in 0-60 MPH 9.0 sec (MT est, auto) EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON 21-22/26-27 mpg
ON SALE IN U.S. Currently MOTOR TREND.COM DECEMBER 2005 167
(tuners)
words&photographs john kiewicz
The Super Street editors went with Mopar’s Stage I system,which incorporates larger fuel injectors matched with a reprogrammed computer.The ECU calibration delivers increased wide-open- and part-throttle boost,improved turbo response,a “boost hold” feature during wide-open throttle shifts,revised ignition timing,and
Mopar Dodge SRT-4
a revised first-gear boost map for harder launches.Adding to the power mix is an Injen cold-air intake kit,while a Mopar Performance 2.5-inch mandrelbent exhaust system sports fourinch-diameter tips.Power is routed through an ACT heavy-duty clutch mated to an ACT lightweight flywheel.Helping put the power to the pavement is a Mopar performance front differential and a set of Kumho Ecsta V700 tires mounted on lightweight Work Emotion CR 17x7.0-inch alloys,plus Mopar Performance adjustable coil-over shocks.During acceleration testing,the Kumhos squealed as the DOHC I-4 produced copious wheelspin and strong torque steer. Despite tire smoke,in a quartermile showdown,the Stage I SRT-4 beats a stock SRT-4 by over one second. When the road turns,the Mopar SRT-4 further increases its distance over a stocker.The tires,coil-overs, and power team to deliver a handling uppercut to its SRT big brother the Dodge Viper—the SRT-4 delivers a 71.9-mph run versus the Viper’s 70.4.When it’s time to trim speed,the SRT-4 does so with authority thanks to Wilwood four-piston calipers that clamp 11-inch rotors. The Super Street SRT-4 also features the requisite slathering of body stickers.The C-Wings carbonfiber hood,decklid,and rear spoiler are as much about weight savings (carving off a combined 23 pounds) as they are about having the proper pimp-daddy coolness factor—the SRT-4’s ultralow ride height further conspired to have us high centered in numerous driveways.Time to raise up the coil-overs. ■ market parts and hardware from Mopar Performance.“In the slalom, you need to drive it like a Viper— small throttle adjustments make for large results,”notes test-driver Chris Walton.The tuner SRT-4 is brutish for a four-banger,yet it’s far from Mopar’s most powerful Stage III setup.
Small Kid, Big Punch
SOURCE: WWW.MOPARPERFORMANCE.COMPERFORMANCE:MOPAR2005 SRT-4Mopar SRT-4 Power 230hp271hp 0-60 mph 6.0sec5.0sec Quarter mile 14.4@100.813.3@105.6 Braking, 60-0 mph 118ft108 600-ft slalom 65.9mph71.9mph Lateral acceleration 0.88g0.92g 168 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
2005
WHO IS Dodge kidding? One drive in a Neon-based SRT-4,and you’ll know the advertised 230 horsepower is an underrated sham.Pull the trigger on a turbocharged SRT-4,and it spins its front hoops harder than a nitrouspowered Vegas roulette wheel.For SRT-4 owners who desire even more torque steer,Mopar Performance offers a wealth of bolt-ons that up the SRT-4’s 2.4-liter I-4 by 10 horsepower (Stage I),35 horsepower (Stage II), or even 120 horsepower (Stage III). Super Street,one of MT’s sister magazines,recently finished a buildup on an SRT-4 that makes use of a combination of after-
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Motor Trend P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. Customer Service e-mail address: motortrend@palmcoastd.com. coverage december 1955
192 DECEMBER 2005 MOTOR TREND.COM
Yeah, We Got Hemis
MOTOR TREND Magazine (ISSN 0027-2094) November 2005, Vol. 57, No. 12. Copyright 2005 by Primedia Specialty Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Published monthly by Primedia Specialty Group, Inc., 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA90048-5515. Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, California, and additional mailing offices. Canada Publications Mail Sales Agreement No. 40008153. Return undeliverable Canadian Addresses to DHL Global Mail, 7496 Bath Road, Unit 2, Mississauga, ON L4T 1L2. Subscription rates for one year (12 issues): U.S., APO, FPO, and U.S. possessions $18. Canada $31 (price includes surface mail postage to Canada and GST—reg. no. 872093125RT0001). All other countries $33. Subscription information: Send address changes to Motor Trend, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 321420235. For subscription assistance: Motor Trend, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235, 800/800-6848; motortrend@palmcoastd.com. Back-issue orders: January 2003 to present, Client Logic, (toll-free) 866/601-5199; (e-mail) mailorder@primedia.com;backissues1993to December 2002, editorial offices, 323/782-2220.
If one’s good, two’s gotta be better
TRENDMOTOR ARCHIVE (archive) words matt stone
THE NATIONAL Hot Rod Association Top Gas ranks have always lived in the shadow of the faster,more exotic Top Fuel class.But Gas served as the stomping grounds for several drivers who ultimately became big names. There were also some interesting technological experiments going on during this era,such as these twin-engined rail dragsters popular in the late 1960s through 1971,the final year for Top Gas in NHRA.Twins were popular with the crowds,too,based,if nothing else,on the sheer audacity of the concept.The car in the foreground was named Night Train,while the one in the rear was Bill Mullins’Tank.Typical quartermile times were just under seven seconds at 195 to 200 mph.Each of these blown early-gen Chrysler Hemis was good for between 600 and 750 horsepower,so figure around 3000 total ponies represented here,if all the cylinders were firing just right.How times have changed: Together,all four engines put out about half the power made by just one of today’s Top Fuel motors. ■
