Once upon a time, Volvo built a neat little sporty car called the P1800 and, after a few years, the P1800 ES, which had a big glass hatchback. They were cool-looking cars and went a long way toward furthering Volvo's image as being about more than just rugged, safe boxes on wheels.
If the rest of the world's automakers aren't taking Kia seriously yet, it may be too late.
With the 2012 Kia Rio, these guys have stepped into serious contender status, and if I were playing with my own money, they might just end up selling me a car.
The Rio has, in the shortest imaginable time, gone from being the worst thing that could happen to you at the rental counter to a car that absolutely nails its intended target in a way a car in this class hasn't done since the mid-1980s glory days of the Honda Civic.
It's the #1 question asked by someone meeting an automotive journalist:
"What's the best car?"
Now, of course, that can only be answered with a question (or more accurately, a series of questions).
"What for?"
"What kind of driving do you do?"
"How many people do you need to carry?"
"How much stuff do you need to carry?"
"What's your budget?"
Occasionally, I'll find myself talking to someone who's really trying to choose between the Audi R8 and a Porsche 911. But 9 times out of 10, it's someone who's looking for something reliable to get to and from work that gets good gas mileage, although sometimes, they'll take their spouse and 1.7 kids on a road trip for a few days.
For many years (a couple of decades, in fact) the Honda Civic was my default, no-risk recommendation. More recently, it's been the Mazda 3. But for the past seven days (and likely for some time to come), there's a new favorite compact car here at TireKicker World Headquarters.
Quick. Name a car George Bush (either one) owned before or after the presidency. How about Bill Clinton (okay, an El Camino with Astroturf in the rear bed is kinda hard to forget)? Ronald Reagan? Jimmy Carter? Gerald Ford?
Obama's previous car choices have sent mixed signals. His last car before becoming Commander In Chief was a Ford Escape Hybrid (also a recent Bill Clinton choice)...but until he announced his candidacy in '07, Senator Obama drove a Chrysler 300C...with a Hemi...leading us to believe he might be lusting in his heart (to borrow a Jimmy Carter-ism) for the new SRT8.
But let's take the Prez at his word. What kind of car is the Volt to live with and drive?
If there's a number that's caused great consternation among Prius drivers since the car was launched, it's the number 50.
That's the miles per gallon that people seem to expect to get from the now-veteran (12 years and counting) Toyota hybrid. And it's the number people rarely have gotten.
I've driven several Priuses (Priii?) a year for each of those 12 years. My personal best has been 48...a number that I would average with some regularity for the first several years. Lately, it's dropped off to 45 or 46.
But in the 2012 Toyota Prius that just left my care this morning.....I averaged 50.4 miles per gallon.
Hatchbacks never went out of favor in Europe, but somehow, in the early-mid 80s, Americans rejected them as too low-rent. Shortsighted, because hatches offer enormous versatility, combining the best attributes of sedans and wagons without having to permanently commit to either.
There have been signs recently that the US ice is breaking when it comes to hatches, and the Kia Forte 5-Door should go a long way toward the thaw. Every bit as good as the Forte sedan we loved so much two years ago, with the enhanced utility of that fifth door in back.
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).
As unloved as the last-generation Toyota Yaris was, this new one will surprise a lot of people. We were among the Yaris' few fans here at TireKicker...considering it a perfectly good sedan in its class...but with a lot of competition at its price-point. It wasn't helped, among automotive journalists or buyers, by the fact that it wasn't an especially attractive car.
Well, Toyota has fixed that, with a 5-door Yaris design for 2012 that pictures don't do justice to. It is an utterly contemporary small car, with clean, crisp lines. It just plain looks good as you walk up to it.
A truly great small car is a wonderful thing. For a long, long time, my vote for best ever went to the 1984 Honda Civic I bought brand new and kept for 14 years and 144,000 trouble-free miles.
But some time back, the old Civic got passed by a small car with all of its virtues (compact size, good interior space, fuel economy and a bigger dose of fun-to-drive than anything else in the class) and all the improvements more than a quarter-century can bring: The Mazda 3.
We've driven and raved about Mazda 3s before. In fact, the 2008 Mazda 3 was one of the first TireKicker reviews, on our third day of existence. And a little over a year and a half ago, we sampled the new-gen 2010.
But a year and a half is a long time not to be driving and talking about one of the best buys in all autodom, so we arranged with Chapman Mazda in Phoenix to borrow a just-arrived 2012 Mazda 3 for a week.
Rear view of the 2012 Mazda 3 5-Door
This time, we drew the Mazda 3 S 5-Door Touring model. There are only two flavors of the Mazda 3 5-door...Touring and Grand Touring. The difference between the two cars? $1,570, which buys a power moonroof, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather-trimmed sport seats, heated front seats with 5 settings, an 8-way power driver's seat and a 6-CD, 10-speaker Bose Centerpoint Surround Sound system.
Which is one serious value for $1,570.
But sticking with the S is by no means roughing it. Both cars have the same 2.5 liter DOHC 4 with 167 horsepower that feels like a good 90 more. Both come standard with a 6-speed manual transmission and an EPA mileage estimate of 20 city/28 highway.
Ours had the 5-speed automatic, and in testament to how good the computer progamming behind modern automatics has become, the automatic gets better mileage than the stick...bumping up to 22 city/29 highway.
The automatic was the only option...putting the base price at $22,000 even, plus $795 delivery, processing and handling. So $22,795. For that you get 4-wheel disc brakes, electronic power assisted rack and pinion steering, front and rear stabilizer bars, 17 inch alloy wheels, and the most fun you've had while driving in a long, long time.
Simply put (and we've said this before), Mazdas love to run. They're happy machines. The smiley face front ends are no coincidence. They handle like they're on rails. They live up to the corporate motto "Always The Soul of a Sports Car".
2012 Mazda 3 interior
Look at the instrument panel in the picture above. Everything simple, direct and right where your hand expects it to be. Not to mention tastefully designed and of very good materials and craftsmanship...way beyond what $22,000 normally buys.
The Mazda 3 spent many months on the TireKicker Top 10 Cars (So Far) list early on. With the 2012 Mazda 3, it's back. If you're looking for a small car that you'll love to drive, you've just found it.
UPDATE: If the five-door is so good, how's the 2012 Mazda 3 four-door?
The 2012 Mazda 3 4-Door Sport.
Surprisingly good. Now, you may wonder why there'd be a surprise when all that's different is the number of doors...but that's the thing...the Mazda 3 5-door and 4-door have three big differences beyond the roofline.
One, the Mazda 3 i Sport 4-door (also borrowed from Chapman Mazda in Phoenix) packs a bit less power...148 horses instead of the 167 in the 5-door (you can get the hotter engine by stepping up to the S model four-door).
Two...that difference in power makes a significant difference in mileage: The EPA says the 4-door should get 24 city/33 highway as opposed to the 22/29 in the five-door (both those figures are for the automatic versions...the stick in the four-door bumps it up to 25/33).
And three...price. The Mazda 3 i Sport 4-door starts at $17,555 with the automatic transmission, $2,445 less than the 5-door tested above. Want one for even less? Go with the stick and the base price for the 4-door drops to $16,845. And, if you live in a place where you can live without air conditioning and an outside temperature display, there's the Mazda 3 i SV 4-door at a mere $15,200.
Apart from those three things, everything we said about the 5-door goes for the 4-door. It's a truly terrific small sedan. Once again, we got one without options and the final cost (including delivery) was $18,350...making it the second lowest-priced (as tested) car we've driven this year. The lowest? The 3's baby brother...the Mazda 2.
Extending your brand is a tricky thing...especially if you're well-defined. Take Lexus, for example. The name says upscale, well-built, smooth, quiet and refined.
Lexus has broadened beyond that successfully with their IS 350, a performance machine, and it's done it not all that successfully with the HS 250h.
The latter fell short because it's clearly a re-badged Toyota hybrid (one not sold in the States), slathered in so much Lexus luxo that it starts at $37,000 and can be optioned (as ours was) to within a few bucks of $50,000.
Well, this time around, Lexus has done about all it can do if it really wants to sell small hybrids...it's come up with another one, but this time kept the price in line.
The Lexus CT 200h hybrid. Is the world ready for a Lexus hatchback?
How'd they do that? Well, they started with a smaller Toyota. The CT 200h is 14.7 inches shorter than the HS 250h, with a 3.9 inch shorter wheelbase, and it's 8/10ths of an inch narrower. Headroom and front shoulder room, however, are better in the smaller car (sold in the UK in non-hybrid form as the Toyota Avensis).
The gasoline engine is smaller, too...1.8 liters and 134 horsepower as opposed to 2.4 liters and 187 horsepower. And that results in better EPA figures...43 city/40 highway compared to 35 city/34 highway.
As a result of all that, the base price for the CT 200h Premium is $30,900 and it comes with an impressive list of standard features: Moonroof, heated seats, NuLuxe trim interior, three-spoke leather-trimmed steering wheel with audio and cruise controls, a 10-way multi-adjustable power driver's seat with 2-way power lumbar support, SmartAccess with pushbutton start, electroluminescent Optitron gauges, automatic dual-zone climate control, a tilt/telescoping steering column, 4-mode drive mode select, driver information center with trip computer, a six-speaker AM/FM/CD/SiriusXM audio system with USB and miniplug inputs, Bluetooth, power windows and door locks, personalized settings, a tonneau cover and carpeted floor mats.
The 2011 Lexus CT 200h hybrid interior. Lots of gadgetry, but does the quality say "Lexus"?
The tester came with a few options, too: A Premium Audio Package (taking us up to 10-speakers, 6 CD changer instead of a single-play, plus an auto-dimming electrochromic rearview mirror with compass and a Lexus Homeline universal transciever) for $1,125...LED headlamps with auto-leveling and headlamp washers for $1,215, the leather package (perforated leather seats with driver seat memory, rain-sensing intermittent wipers with mist cycle and auto-dimming outer mirrors with memory) for $1,330...a cargo net for $75, and illuminated door sills for $299.
That makes the bottom line with delivery fee $35,819...which is still less than the base price of the HS 250h we drove.
But three things hover over the CT 200h.
One...it's slow. Just a hair shy of 10 seconds 0-60. Those four driving modes we mentioned? They're EV (purely electric for short distances at slow speeds...you'll never use it on the street for more than a few feet) , Eco, Normal and Sport. And that almost 10 second 0-60 time? That's Sport.
Two...do not adjust your monitor. That exterior color is real. It's called Daybreak Yellow Mica. And it's scarier in person than it is in pictures. It also makes the CT 200h look like a cheap little car. Which, when you're a Lexus salesman trying to get someone to part with between 30 and 36 large and one in that color is sitting on the showroom floor, has to make the job a bit harder.
And three...the question of whether Lexus should be in this segment at all. Wouldn't a real Lexus, something a bit further from the Prius, be a better move? Maybe a hybrid version of the IS250?
Then again, maybe not. The CT 200h was the third-best selling hybrid in the U.S. in July, 2011...and in the top 10 for the calendar year to date. If you see what we don't, click the "comments' button and let us know.
The bottom picture is of the much-loved 1984-87 Honda CR-X. If you are between 45 and 65, you either had one back then or knew at least one (and probably more than one) person who did.
Will the new Honda CR-Z (top photo) have that same kind of impact a quarter-century later? Good question. A lot has changed in that time.
Surprisingly, the higher tech of the CR-Z doesn't mean higher mileage. The 1984 CR-X, with a 1.3 liter gasoline-powered four cylinder and a five-speed manual transmission, had an EPA estimate of 36 mpg city/45 highway. And as the owner of an '84 Civic Sedan at the time, I can tell you that's the closest to Gospel the EPA's come in a long time.
The CR-Z has a 1.5 liter four...combined with Honda's Integrated Motor Assist. Yep, it's a hybrid...and it is mated to a Continuously Variable Transmission. Progress! Technology! As Thomas Dolby famously yelled when the CR-X was new, "Science!".
Except the EPA estimate for the CR-Z is 35 city/39 highway.
There are explanations for that. One is that regulations and consumer preferences have added so much weight to today's cars that it's not as easy to get great mileage as it was 27 years ago. The CR-X and the Civic it was based on were simple cars...manual everything, air and even a radio were dealer-installed options. And they were light...the CR-X weighed 1,819 pounds. The CR-Z EX with Navigation (the model we tested) tips the scales at 2,707 pounds.
That's just short of NINE HUNDRED pounds more from 1984 to 2011. There's a Kirstie Alley analogy just begging to be drawn here, but neither her lawyers nor Honda's would probably find it amusing, so we'll just move on and consider the CR-Z on its own merits.
The 2011 Honda CR-Z. Leaving tuners and customizers little to work with.
First of all, Honda markets the CR-Z as a "Sport Hybrid". It certainly scores on looks. In fact, the aftermarket has its work cut out for it to make the CR-Z look any more wicked than it already does.
It's available with a six-speed manual transmission rather than the CVT...and our advice is take it. Shift it yourself. It is, in fact, the first manual-transmission hybrid on the market. The CR-Z also has three driving modes, Sport, Normal and Eco. In the interests of maxmimizing mileage, we ran for a couple of days in Eco mode (ours had the CVT). It was, to put it charitably, slow. Normal was decent, considering the limitations, but still a big letdown from the fun factor the exterior promised. Sport....now there's the ticket...but again, it would be better with the six-speed manual.
2011 Honda CR-Z interior. These days, this passes for restraint at Honda.
The interior is the first Honda interior in a long time that didn't feel overwrought. I mean, there are gimmicks...it could be simpler...but it's more attractive than the current (or even the new 2012) Civic instrument panel.
Pricing's on target. The CR-Z with a six-speed is $19,345. With a CVT, it's $19,995...and you're adding weight. Move up to the EX with a six-speed and you'll pay $20,905 ($21,555 for the CVT), but the audio system goes from 160 watts to 360 (it's very good), you get fog lamps, HID headlamps, Bluetooth, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob and textured aluminum pedals.
And then there's the one we drove: The EX Navi. $22,705 with a six-speed, $23,355 for the CVT. The only addition is a voice-recognition navigation system. Say it with me..."My phone can do that".
Our pick: The EX six-speed. It gets you the better audio system, headlamps, foglamps and Bluetooth for $20,905. Flip the switch to "Sport" and have a blast. No, you won't get anything like the EPA estimates of 35 city/39 highway. So what? That's not what anyone is going to buy this car for anyway. It's a nice engineering and PR exercise, but if you're really about saving the planet, the underrated Civic Hybrid is a ton more practical and gets 44 in the city and on the highway.
Boiled down to the basics, the CR-Z isn't a sporty hybrid, it's a sporty car that happens to be a hybrid...the spiritual successor to the CR-X that, because of weight and complexity, can only get acceptable mileage while driven agressively through the use of a hybrid system. And there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, if it hadn't been for the hybrid, Honda most likely wouldn't have built the car. Better living through technology.
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.
It's a picture a lot of us have entertained in our brains...home for the night, having commuted without using a drop of gasoline, our new Chevrolet Volt sitting out front for the neighbors to envy.
But how realistic is that daydream? To find out, we borrowed a Volt from the good folks at Courtesy Chevrolet in Phoenix for four days, shorter than our usual tests, but enough to give us an overall impression of the car Motor Trend has named Car of the Year. First of all, the Volt isn't a purely electric car. It has a gasoline engine, too. But it's not a hybrid.
Hybrids blend the gas and electric motors in driving, switching between them as conditions warrant. The Volt runs solely on its electric motor, not using a drop of gas...until the battery runs out of power. And at that point, the gasoline engine (a 1.4 liter four) takes over.
Is the 2011 Chevy Volt running on gas or electric? Only the driver knows for sure.
If you can keep the Volt charged, it's possible to drive for days, weeks even, without using a single drop of gas. The range on pure electricity is 35 miles, according to Chevrolet (though we could never get the dashboard display to tell us more than 29 on a full charge). We managed it until day four, when the to-do list required about 55 miles worth of driving, and the car hadn't had enough time on household current to fully charge before the trip.
Still, in 122.9 miles, we only used 1.8 gallons of gasoline...an average of 65.1 miles per gallon. Not too shabby.
The 2011 Chevy Volt interior. Detroit meets Sci-Fi.
What's it like to drive? Very much like a Malibu...roomy, smooth...and, especially on electric power, quiet. There are some "future car" touches...like the gauge clusters (there are two...one which monitors charging, energy use and efficiency that shares the audio/climate control/nav screen, and the one in front of the driver) and the contrasting white center stack that replaces buttons for audio/climate/nav with a touch-sensitive surface. Oh, yeah...and the "whooshzoom" noises that accompany opening the car and starting it. A little too cute. You can turn it down or off (you can also set it to ear-splitting volume and fool the neighbors into thinking a movie with THX is about to start).
The base price is $40,280 and the one we drove had the leather trim package for $1,395, a rear camera and park assist for $695, forged polish 17-inch alloy wheels for $595 and a front license plate bracket for $15. Total price with destination charge: $43,700. But remember, there's a $7,500 tax credit for buying one...so the real bottom line is $36,200. And that is a fair price for what you get.
But should you get one? Well, the key is how much you drive and how often (and where) you can charge. The car comes with a 120 Volt portable charging cord, so you can plug it into household current...but fully drained, it'll take 12 hours to get to a full charge that way.
It's only 4 hours with a 240-volt charger, and Chevy will sell you one of those for $490. Want it installed? That'll be $2,000.
Ideally, there'd be a charging station near where you work, too...but they're not everywhere yet.
Still, our first impression is a good one: It's possible to not use gas or to use a lot less than you otherwise would, and if you have to drive farther than your charge allows, you've got a gasoline engine that can take you 344 miles further (again, according to Chevrolet...we couldn't get the gauge to promise more than 231). That's a nice safety net to have and makes the Volt practical as your only car.
The 2011 Mazda 2 comes in a lot of colors. But this is the one you'll see most.
When was the last time you had your internal fun-meter pegged (we reserve the right to edit comments posted to TireKicker-Ed.)? As in "12" on a scale of 10?
The Mazda 2 will do just that...it had us grinning about as big as the car itself does with the Mazda trademark smile up front.
If you haven't driven it, the temptation is to lump it in with the Ford Fiesta, another member of the mini-car freshman class of 2011...but while the Fiesta is a fine car, where the Mazda wins is in sheer fun at the wheel.
Rear view of the 2011 Mazda 2...promising fun and utility.
There's a difference between speed and power (which, with 100 horsepower and 88 pounds per foot of torque, the 2 doesn't have tons of) and fun. This little puppy begs to be revved high and driven like you mean it. It's a slot car..find the right gear, a winding road and prepare to be entertained despite the low horsepower rating.
How'd they do that? Well, it's not new to Mazda. MX-5 Miatas aren't powerhouses either, but for more than 20 years, they've been one of the most entertaining cars to drive because of their eagerness to rev and their handling capabilities...essentially the same formula as the MGs and Triumphs of the 50s and 60s.
The businesslike instrument panel of the 2011 Mazda 2.
The price is pretty sweet, too. A base of $16,235, which includes a tilt leather steering wheel with cruise and audio controls on it, power door locks and windows, remote keyless entry, air conditioning, floor mats, an AM/FM/CD/mp3 audio system with auxilary input jack, a trip computer, ABS with brake assist, an anti-theft immobilizer, a tire pressure monitoring system, dynamic stability control and traction control, and front and side airbags and curtains.
And just to drive the point home that that's everything you need, that's exactly how Mazda sent the test vehicle...not a single option. Tack on delivery charges and the bottom line is $16,985. Leaves lots of money in your pocket for dues at your local autocross club (or to start your own), as does the EPA estimate of 27 city/33 highway.
Very low bucks...very high fun quotient. You can look responsible and socially concious by driving a small car and then go carve canyons on the weekend (or on unnaturally long runs to the store).
As the price tags of entry-level compacts go up, it's nice to see a car that remembers its basic mission...good, affordable, reliable, economical transportation.
The Nissan Versa isn't anybody's idea of a hot hatch. With only 122 horsepower and a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), it's not going to win any stoplight drag races. But it has more than adequate power for freeway merging and passing, it's very smooth and quiet for its class.
The base price is $16,900 and for that, you get 15 inch alloy wheels, airbags, anti-lock brakes, Vehicle Dynamic Control, Traction Control system, a security system, air conditioning, a 6-way adjustable driver's seat, a six-speaker 180 watt Audio system with auxilary jack and an iPod interface, intermittent wipers front and rear, cruise control, power door locks and windows and keyless entry.
Skip the satellite and nav, though, and you're in the 17s, with an Ultra Low Emissions rating and an EPA estimated 28 city/ 34 highway miles per gallon rating.
We like the Nissan Versa. We like it even more because it isn't pretending to be something it's not...it lets its core virtues shine and reminds us that simple things done right can be very easy to live with.
Well, since then, the Scion tC has been re-done...and this time around, they shipped us one with only standard equipment. The only line on the sticker after base price is $720 for delivery.
Smart move, because it underscores just how complete a package the tC is. For $18,995 ($19,275 if equipped with a six-speed automatic like our tester), you get a nimble, stylish 3-door liftback with a 180 horsepower 16 valve DOHC four-cylinder engine, power steering, 18 inch alloy wheels, vehicle stability control, traction control, anti-lock brakes, electronic brake force distribution and brake assist. There are also 10 aribags, a tire pressure monitoring system, a first aid kit, a panoramic glass moonroof with power tilt and slide, power windows and door locks, remote keyless entry, air conditioning, cruise control, a 300-watt Pioneer AM/FM/CD unit with 8 speakers, auxilary and USB ports and iPod connectivity and a leather-trimmed sport steering wheel with audio controls.
You read that right. That's all standard at a price under $19K if you shift it yourself.
Oh, and the tC just got awarded a 5-star overall crash rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration...remarkable for a car in this size class.
Every good thing about the tC, and we've always been a fan, has been made better in the new one. More power, better handling, and way more car for very little money. Oh, and mileage? 23 city/31 highway, according to the EPA.
We've entered an era where manufacturers are putting economy sedans on dealer lots with stickers of 23, 24, 25...even 26 thousand dollars. That's a hard value argument to make. It's way harder when there's something as deep-down good and well-equipped as the Scion tC for under 20.
When I wrote the first drive impressions of the 2011 Ford Fiesta and promised a full review soon, I had no idea that TireKicker would be taking an unexpected two week vacation...but we did and now we're back and item one has to be to fill in the blanks left by the early look at this very significant car for Ford.
The basic first impressions (a quantum leap forward for American small cars, a serious threat to future Focus sales until we get the Euro-spec model of the Fiesta's bigger brother) all hold true.
But I see I used the word "roomy". I was so eager to get behind the wheel that I neglected to sit in the back seat. After I posted the first drive, my 5 foot 11 son sat back there...or tried to. It wasn't pleasant. And it wasn't much better for my 5 foot 4 daughter. That large trunk that I mentioned came at the expense of rear seat legroom. And while none of the cars in this class (Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Chevy Aveo) are limos, some of them...especially the Yaris and Versa...are better.
Coincidentally, I had a Yaris sedan the same week, and was able to drive them back-to-back. While the Fiesta dazzled with its newness, edginess and content, the Yaris had more rear and front-seat comfort, a quieter cabin and a smoother ride. And it was a few hundred dollars cheaper, too...staying under $19,000 ( The Yaris had the Sport package, a $3500 option that adds alloy wheels, spoilers, foglamps, leather trimming, power everything and an upgraded audio system) while the as-tested price of the Fiesta hit $19,600 (base for the SEL sedan is $16,320).
Gas mileage was a wash....the Yaris delivering 32 miles per gallon in an even split of urban street and freeway driving, the Fiesta 31.
Honestly, both the Fiesta and the Yaris are way out of the target zone when their stickers get that close to $20K. You can get Corollas, Sentras and Civics (not to mention the 2011 VW Jetta) for that kind of money.The base Yaris sedan starts at $13,365...the base Fiesta at $13,320. That's where the battle in entry-level sedans is likely to be fought.
But will the sedans be the main focus? The Fiesta that makes the biggest splash visually is the five-door hatchback...and the base price for that is $15,120...a big step up, especially when you consider the Yaris 5-door hatch starts at $12,905 (lower than the Yaris sedan price).
The Fiesta leads the class in style...leaving the frumpy Yaris in the dust both in terms of exterior and interior. But these are entry-level vehicles. And while Europeans have a keen understanding of the term "premium compact", the Fiesta's going to have to make a value argument to drivers from the land of Wal-Mart. That could turn out to be a very tall order.
UPDATE: We've now had a chance to drive the 5-door Fiesta...in Blue Flame metallic, like so:
It's the same strengths and shortcomings as with the sedan above, but this time, Ford sent an SE model. And that brings the value equation back into line. The base price for the 5-door SE is $1200 less than the SEL sedan, at $15,120, as mentioned above. And the options list was kept to a minimum: Rapid Spec 203A (SYNC, 80 watt premium audio system, a sport appearance package, crusie control, 15 inch painted aluminum wheels and front parking lamps with black bezels) for $1,245...Ambient lighting and Sirius Satellite radio packaged together for $370...and heated front seats for $195.
With destination charges, it addes up to $17,605, but there's a "Rapid Spec Discount" of $490...so the bottom line works out to $17,115.
EPA estimates say 37 highway/28 city.
At this price, it's worthy of inclusion in your shopping.
Looking for the most fun you can have involving four wheels and a five-figure price tag?
You just found it.
The Mazdaspeed 3 has been a hot ticket for quite a while...but they keep making it better and better...and the new 2010 model just pegs the fun meter all the way.
Turbocharged. Intercooled. 263 horsepower...96 more than the stock Mazda 3.
Put your foot in it and hang on.
Best of all, Mazda's not only making each Mazdaspeed 3 faster, but more civilized.
You might expect a punishing ride. You'd be wrong.
You might expect bargain-basement surroundings (or else how could they sell so much power for $23,195 base?). You'd be wrong.
The Mazdaspeed 3 is so well equipped (18 inch wheels, halogens, cloth & leather seats, killer audio system, Bluetooth, dual-zone climate control) that you could buy it absolutely stock and have a winner.
As it was, the test car only had one option...the Mazdaspeed Tech Package...an audio system upgrade, navigation, alarm and keyless start for $1895. Anything that gets nav alone below 2 grand has to be considered an advancement.
With delivery charges, $25,840...and a bargain in every way.
EPA estimates: 18 mpg city/25 highway. Five star crash ratings, except four for side crash rear seat. Four star rollover.
"The Chevy Aveo is a good car. It's worth a look, a test drive and possibly a place in your driveway or garage."
If they gave a "Most Improved Player" award to cars, the new Aveo would win it, hands-down.
I'll get to how good the '09 Aveo is in a second, but here's what it had to overcome: Raised on the somewhat snarky automotive writings of David E. Davis, Jr.,Jean (Lindamood) Jennings, John Phillips, P.J. O'Rourke and others, I've got a smart-aleck streak in me (okay, it was there before I ever picked up a car magazine).
After testing the first Aveo five years ago, someone asked me what I thought. I broke into song, using my best Harry Belafonte impression (to the tune of The Banana Boat Song [Day-O]):
A-Veo
A-Ve-e-e-o
A-Veo come and me wanna walk home
A-Veo
A-Ve-e-e-o
A-Veo come and me wanna walk home
Is piece of crap Korean car
A-Veo come and me wanna walk home
Is piece of crap Korean car
A-Veo come and me wanna walk home.
There may have been more. I really don't remember. But it was that bad. A bottom-line Daewoo freshly acquired by GM with no time to do anything but slap a couple of Chevy badges on it and ship it to the USA.
Well, time and development are wonderful things. Yes, the Aveo is still small, inexpensive and Korean-built, but now it's Korean as in "keeping up with Hyundai's growth curve".
You either like or don't like the shape of a subcompact hatchback. There's not much room to work with, so most look like the Aveo from the windshield back. Chevy's taken the step of adding what's becoming the family nose (the bold, split grille from the Malibu) to the Aveo...giving it a longer hood and making the entire car look quite a bit more substantial.
Inside, well...somebody's been inside a Volkswagen recently. Better-than decent plastics, the top half of the dash grained like VW, in a tasteful two-tone (the tester was the mid-range 1LT trim level). Every surface attractive to the eye and to the touch.
The $13,595 base price brings with it a year in OnStar's Safe & Sound plan, air conditioning, a rear window defogger, a tilt steering column, front and rear floor mats, and armrest, height and lumbar adjustments for the driver's seat, and a 180-watt premium audio system with six speakers, AM/FM/CD and iPod jack. GM's vehicle fleet folks loaded it from there...$425 for power windows, door locks and remote keyless entry, $925 for a 4-speed automatic transmission, $440 for anti-lock brakes and $250 for cruise control. Total tab: $16,295, including delivery.
That puts it in the reach of some tempting larger alternatives like Honda Civic. But the payoff is at the gas pump: The EPA says 25 city and 34 highway...both believeable figures based on how little the fuel tank needle moved during my week with the car.
Oh, and the safety statistics are impressive too: Five stars for driver and passenger in the frontal crash test, four stars for both in the side crash and rollover tests.
Like everything but the price? The base LS model starts at $12,625. If you can live with rolling up your own windows, locking your own doors, not having a remote and living with four instead of six speakers (and less wattage) for the audio system, you're set...especially if you live someplace where air conditioning isn't a must. If you need air, then it's a dealer-installed option, the price is likely to be at the dealer's discretion, and you're probably dead even or better off stepping up $900 to the 1LT and getting it standard from the factory.
Even without the grim first-gen Aveo to compare it to, the new Aveo is a solid pick for subcompact buyers.
UPDATE: Some mid-year changes have been made and they're not good. First, base price is up for the 1LT...it's now $14,100.
But more troubling is the smell in our second Aveo tester this year. There is a strict no-smoking rule in press vehicles...and like all strict rules...especially aimed at journalists...it occasionally gets ignored. Doesn't happen as much as it used to, really.
But the Aveo smelled like someone smoked a carton of the worst cigarettes on earth and then tried to cover it up with a can of air freshener.
I parked it after a day and a half. Couldn't stand to be in it.
The GM reps took the car in and had someone try to find the problem....was it in the HVAC ducts? In the compressor?
Nope.
It was in the seats. More accurately...the glue for the seats. When it gets hot...as it does in Phoenix in the summer...it smells like this.
Now, it's never exactly cold in Phoenix...a locked car in sunlight in January can get over 90 degrees inside...and the first car didn't smell like this, so I don't know what's up. Maybe some have it and some don't.
But if you go shopping for an Aveo...spend some time in it before you let the salesman turn on the air, okay?
