New Car Review: 2013 Nissan Pathfinder

If you surf around on the web, Googling things like "2013 Nissan Pathfinder review", you'll find more than a few autojournalists bemoaning the fact that the Pathfinder is no longer about rugged off-road utility and has become a carlike crossover.

That's true...but here's a little secret gleaned from driving a few Pathfinders as news vehicles in television:

The last generation wasn't the best vehicle for that kind of thing (off-roading) anyway.  It had become too big, too ungainly.  For the past nine model years, the best choice for adventure where the pavement ends at your Nissan dealer was...and still is...the Xterra.

Time to either kill off the Pathfinder or re-invent it.  And given that crossovers are a thing, killing it would be leaving money on the table.

New Car Review: 2013 Hyundai Azera

By this point, I'm going to assume that you've paid enough attention that you're aware Hyundai is no longer the punch line to a joke.  They worked on quality control for most of the last decade, comfort and convenience after that and moved on to power and even....(gasp!) styling.  And in the process, made a couple of standard-bearers (Toyota, Honda) look stodgy.

With the Azera, Hyundai is moving into a highly competitive but somewhat smaller niche of the car market...the big full-size sedan.  It's head-to-head now against Toyota's Avalon, the Ford Taurus and the Chevrolet Impala.

And, in what should come as a surprise to no one, Hyundai turns in a thoroughly worthy effort.  In any other year, it would probably walk off with the prize, but there's the truly remarkable 2014 Chevy Impala to contend with.  So, how's the Azera stack up?

New Car Review: 2014 Chevrolet Impala

By now, you've no doubt heard that Consumer Reports has gone gaga over the 2014 Chevrolet Impala.  I mean, the Amish have heard.

When CR takes a first-year American sedan and leapfrogs it over everything but the Tesla Model S and the BMW 135i, giving it a rating of 95 out of 100, that's news.  Especially when last year's model got a 63.  That's the difference between "buy now" and "kill it with fire" in Consumer Reports-speak.

But CR also said it considers the Impala competitive with the Audi A6, the Lexus LS460L, the Acura RLX and the Jaguar XF.  Which makes me think that Consumer Reports, long the dullest, dryest read possible when it comes to cars, has found its inner hype machine.  They should schedule a lunch with Motor Trend to talk about the possible long-term effects should the product not live up to all that (Car of the Year 1971: Chevrolet Vega....1974: Ford Mustang II...1976: Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare...1980: Chevrolet Citation...1983: AMC Alliance)

So, here's the rational counterpoint to Consumer Reports.

New Car Review: 2013 BMW X1

Comes a point when a crossover becomes so carlike that the term "crossover", much less "small SUV", no longer really fits.

The BMW X1 is at that point. With low ground clearance, this really is more a station wagon than anything else, though BMW likely won't be happy I said that.

New Car Review: 2013 Buick LaCrosse



The 2013 Buick LaCrosse.

Almost three years ago, we reviewed the then-new Buick LaCrosse and came up with the conclusion that while their advertising was targeting Lexus, the car itself was close in a lot of ways but only won when price got factored in. That Lacrosse was the CXL model and it ended up costing $31,000 and change...which put it nearly 10 grand below a comparably equipped Lexus ES350.

Well, Buick has dumped the direct hit on Lexus from their advertising, and now has five trim levels...LaCrosse (base, which starts at $31,660), Leather ($33,870), Premium I ($35,285), Premium II (also $35,285) and Touring ($39,240). As you'd expect, Touring is loaded...to the point that the only two options on our test car were rear-seat mounted thorax air bags ($350) and the Crystal Red paint ($325). With $875 destination charge, the bottom line shows $40,790.

New Car Review: 2013 Audi A4 2.0T quattro tiptronic

The 2013 Audi A4 2.0T quattro.

As we've noted here at TireKicker before, the worst part of a successful car is keeping the ball rolling...doing the freshening needed to keep the car relevant without losing the thread and screwing it all up. Last time around, two and a half years ago, I worried that Audi was letting the magic of the A4 slip away.  If they were, they fixed it in a hurry.

The 2013 Audi A4 2.0T quattro is simply tremendous. A car that pulls of the trick of feeling utterly contemporary and timeless at the same time. The timeless thing is important because Audi's had the A4 pretty close to perfect for a long time. To wander too far from what has made an A4 an A4 for the past decade or so would be courting disaster.

New Car Review: 2012 Lexus CT 200h Premium F Sport




The 2012 Lexus CT 200h Premium F Sport.

Regular TireKicker readers will recall that just 13 months ago we were puzzling over the place of the CT 200h in the universe...or at least in Lexus' lineup.

Our questions revolved around whether Lexus needed another small car (question since answered...they've killed off the over-priced HS 250h, the closest Lexus has ever come to the Cadillac Cimarron or Lincoln Versailles).

Well, sales are up 500% so far this year over last, so apparently, there is a market for a small Lexus hybrid hatchback.

Now...how about a performance model?

New Car Review: 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Cooper Coupe

The 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Cooper Coupe.

What do you do when you're a decade or so along selling a not terribly practical (as in daily use by a family of four) car?

Well, after making some more practical variants (Clubman, Countryman), you can always make one that's even less practical. Of course, it helps if it's also even more fun than the original. And any time you see the name "John Cooper Works" attached to a Mini, you know the fun quotient has been attended to.




Rear view of the 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Cooper Coupe.

The Cooper Coupe dispenses with the back seat, giving the Mini a trunk instead of a hatch, a seriously racy roofline, and an ability to start conversations in parking lots. Even though you can get a Cooper Coupe three different ways (base, S and John Cooper Works), they're still rare enough that most people think you've had your Mini customized.

New Car Review: 2012 Toyota Prius V




The 2012 Toyota Prius V.

Toyota's expansion of the Prius into a full family of cars begins here with the Toyota Prius V.

We can hear the puzzled readers now: "Prius V? What are Prius A through U like?" No, this is V as in roman numeral for the number 5. So it's "Toyota Prius 5". Why? Because it has five doors (okay, it also stands for "Versatility", according to Toyota).

New Car Review: Nissan Leaf



The 2011 Nissan Leaf. Park one next to a Juke and contemplate automotive styling.

 Nissan Leaf. No gas, and as the decals on the sides say (yep, our tester had them), "Zero Emission".

The interior of the 2011 Nissan Leaf: Futuristic, but functional.

It's a very nice, modern car. Not terribly gimmicky, yet with enough dashes of obvious tech here and there to remind you of your cutting-edge status. It drives well, is surprisingly quick, very quiet (no gasoline motor noise, for one), and is roomier inside than the outside suggests (the Nissan Tardis?)

$33,720 puts one in your driveway (our tester, with optional splash guards, ECO Design Package..that's the decals on the doors, Hologram 3D door entry plates and center console applique'...Protection Package, floor mats and cargo area mat, cargo net and safety kit, came to $35,430 with destination charges...but subtract the $7,500 tax credit and you're at $27,930).

Better yet, let that money put it in your garage, where hopefully you'll have the optional ($2,200) 240 volt charging station installed. The advantage...the ability to fully recharge a very-nearly-drained Leaf in just 7 hours. Use the charger that stashes in the trunk and hooks up to your household 120V current and it'll take 14.

Like optimism? You'll love the 2011 Nissan Leaf's range meter.

Nissan's early PR for the Leaf suggested a 100 mile range was attainable. The EPA, however, doesn't agree, and has issued a 73 mile estimated range on a full charge. Even that, though, can be optimistic. How you're driving, whether you're using the air conditioning, and things beyond your control such as traffic patterns, can all affect your range.

When the Leaf was dropped off for our test, it showed what the picture shows above...83 miles. But a 15-mile roundtrip from my office to run an errand brought that down to 57. No problem. I'd made arrangements with the building supervisor for a parking space next to a 120V outlet in the company garage. I'd get six hours worth of charge (not quite enough to get it to full, but giving me a comfortable cushion for the 25 mile drive home that evening).

Except.

The Leaf kept tripping the circuit breaker. Turned out to be the outlet's fault, not the car, but it meant no charge, and a drive home in rush hour with no more juice than was in the car.

57 minus 25 is 32. But the Leaf showed only a 19 mile range by the time I pulled into my driveway that evening....and it was estimating a 14-hour full recharge on household current. More trouble. I'd just finished a double shift. It was 7PM. I needed to leave for work at 4AM. That's only 9 hours of charging time.  I left the next morning showing 55 miles on the range meter, with a 25 mile drive (same as last night, just the other direction). Good news...it wasn't rush hour. Bad news...it wasn't rush hour. What that means is that while there wasn't much unpredictable about 4AM traffic, it also meant running 65 miles per hour on the freeway, which eats the charge quicker than say, 40 or 45.

The range meter showed 22 when I got to work. Thankfully, the building supervisor had sent an email. A good outlet had been located and blocked off for the Leaf. The bad news? The Leaf again needed 14 hours on 120V household current, and I was only going to be at work for 8.

The panel around the Nissan logo on the 2011 Leaf? That's the flap that opens for the charger.

This could have gone on forever, but Nissan scheduled a short loan. They dropped it with me at noon on Thursday, and picked it up the following Monday morning. So I finally got a full charge between 1PM and 3AM Friday afternoon/Saturday morning, but I wasn't commuting on Saturday and Sunday. I drove it for errands through the weekend on that one charge. And after giving it a full charge Sunday afternoon until 4AM Monday, I drove it to work and Nissan came and picked it up.

So what did we learn? A few things:

1. The Leaf is a much better electric car than the General Motors EV-1 of the 1990s, a car whose range meter could go from 80 miles to 45 in just three miles. It is far more comfortable, carries more people and their possessions and is simply more practical.

2. If you drive more than 10 miles one way to work in a day, spend the $2200 for the 240V charger for your house. You'll have a full charge when you leave each morning and reserve power for lunch runs and unforseen emergencies.

3. If you drive more than 25 miles one way to work in a day, seriously consider doing whatever it takes to get a second 240V charger installed where you work. Again, a full charge in the morning, a full charge to get home on and reserve power for the stuff that comes up. If you can't make a 240V work charger happen, think twice about the Leaf.

4. If you ever have days where you drive more than 75 or 80 miles, or if your life or job are simply unpredictable in terms of how much and where you might have to drive at any given time, there's probably a better option for you.

Still, purely electric vehicles have a place in the future of the automobile, and there's no doubt Nissan will improve and refine the Leaf as battery technology improves. It's a good car, a commendable effort, and for some drivers, a solid choice.