New Car Review: 2013 Lexus IS-F

It's year-end clearance time!  Gotta move out the '13s and make room for the new 2014 models!
Those of you who've bought a few cars know that, in fact, you can do well by being patient, not needing the latest and grabbing the last remaining of last year's models.

Good case in point, the Lexus IS-F.  In a matter of weeks, as I write this, the photos and words here will be obsolete as an all new 2014 Lexus IS-F comes to market.  But in the meantime, there exists a very, very compelling '13 IS-F and you might be able to score one and save a few bucks.

What is an IS-F?  Well, it's the serious performance variant of Lexus' sportiest model (save the LFA supercar), and if you've read our recent review of the IS 350C retractable hardtop you know we're duly impressed by the goodness of the basic package.

New Car Review: 2013 Volvo S60 T6 R-Design

The phrase “Mid-size Volvo sedan” no doubt causes some eyes to glaze over, especially for those who think they know what Volvo’s all about. But the key is to ask “Which mid-size Volvo sedan?”

Yes, they’re all called the S60, but that car comes in three different turbocharged flavors these days: The T5, a 2.5-liter 5-cylinder with 250 horsepower; the T6 AWD, which adds half a liter, one cylinder, two more driving wheels and 50 additional ponies; and the T6 AWD R-Design, which pulls 325 horsepower out of the same 3-liter six. And that’s the one we’re talking about here.

New Car Review: 2013 Lexus GS350 and GS350 F SPORT




The 2013 Lexus GS350.

The styling of the all-new Lexus GS350 promises so much. It's a study in aggressive angles, a clear and direct contrast to the soft shapes of the GS that Lexus produced up until this year.




The 2013 Lexus GS350 interior.

The promise continues when you slide behind the wheel. The GS, so old-fashioned as recently as 2010 to have sported a cassette tape player in the dash, now has an utterly contemporary interior in which to do business, including a gargantuan video display in the center of the dash (clearly inspired by BMW).

The specs are promising...3.5 liter V6, 306 horsepower, 277 pounds per foot of torque...six-speed automatic with paddle shifters, 17 inch 9-spoke alloy wheels and the usual assortment of Lexus luxury and safety items for a base price of $46,900. Thanks to the six-speed automatic, that brings with it EPA estimated mileage of 19 city/28 highway.

New Car Review: 2013 Cadillac ATS AWD 3.6L



The 2013 Cadillac ATS.

Journalism (automotive and otherwise) is not a great profession if you expect to be told the truth. Oh, sure, it's your job to find and report the truth, but being told it...that's another thing altogether.

Not that the un-truths come in bald-faced lies. Not always. There's a spectrum. For example:

With the Cimarron, Cadillac told us it "behaves like a civilized car should" and "beats the imports at their own game". A bald-faced lie, as those who parted with $12,131 in 1981 dollars for a tarted-up Chevy Cavalier learned the hard way.

A decade and a half later, they told us once we experienced the Catera's European luxury and performance, we wouldn't want to let go. That wasn't true, either, but really wasn't a bald-faced lie. The Catera was European (an Opel with Cadillac badges stuck on it), and the rest can be excused as opinion.

Then came the original CTS. By this point, advertising had matured to the point where it dispensed with hyperbole and just showed us quick cuts of a CTS driving quickly while Led Zeppelin's "Rock And Roll" played for 30 seconds. And then a font that said "Cadillac. Breakthrough."  The implication was that Cadillac had finally found the formula that would let them stand toe-to-toe with BMW.

Not true. But that one we can chalk up to optimism and wishful thinking.

Don't get me wrong. The CTS was then a good car and has gotten better every year since its introduction. But the driving dynamics just weren't there...as good as they have become.

That's why, as I walked to the Cadillac ATS for the first time, key fob in hand, I was prepared to be mildly disappointed. This was the car that, no excuses, was to be Cadillac's answer to the BMW 3-Series. And there was just no way...it was bound to fall short somehow. Most likely in the steering.

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 Acura TSX




The 2012 Acura TSX.

If your age begins with the numbers "3", "2" or "1", you might wonder why people whose ages begin with "4", "5" or "6" seem to think so highly of Honda. And you probably wonder just what the heck Acura is supposed to be.

It was not always thus.

As we noted in our review of the CR-V, Honda's not building bad cars, they're just not meeting the incredibly high expectations of people whose first Honda experiences were in the 80s and early 90s, when just about everything they did was a revelation in terms of engineering, efficiency and ergonomics.

So...wanna know what all the fuss was about, Milennials and late-Gen Xers?

New Car Review: 2012 BMW 328i

The 2012 BMW 328i.

Automotive history is littered with small cars that packed on the inches and pounds until they were no longer small. In a sense, it's already happened with the 3-Series BMW, or else we wouldn't have had a 1-Series going on five years now.

So further enlargement of the 3 in its latest generation might not seem like such a good thing on paper. But this is not The Ultimate Reading Machine. So we drive.

New Car Review: 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8



The 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8.

It's been almost three years since our last test of a Chrysler 300 SRT8. Normally, that wouldn't allow for much in the way of changes, but the 2012 SRT8 is soooo much more car than the '09.

6.1 liters worth of V8 Hemi muscle has become 6.4. 425 horsepower is now 470 (with 470 pounds per foot of torque to back it up). The "Wow!" that involuntarily escaped your lips last time around is now more like "Whooooooaaaaa!". 60 miles an hour comes up in under 5 seconds.

New Car Review: 2012 Volvo S60 T6 AWD R SR

The 2012 Volvo S60 T6 AWD R SR.

In the Swinging 60s, "Sweden" and "Sexy" were synonymous. But by 1968, Volvo was adding "Safe" and "Sensible" to the Swedish image.

It's been that way for so long that you have to be of a certain age to remember the "Sexy Swede" thing. Volvo wants to fix that with the S60.

New Car Review: 2012 Infiniti M Hybrid



The 2012 Infiniti M Hybrid rear view.

In a break with (sometime) TireKicker tradition, we're showing you the rear view of the Infiniti M Hybrid first, because it is how you will most likely see one. You see, just yesterday (9/21/11), no less than an adjucator from the Guiness Book of World's Records and the UK's CAR Magazine certified the M Hybrid as the world's fastest full hybrid.

Now, its 0-60 time of 5.0 seconds is plenty impressive, but CAR decided real speed is best measured in quarter-miles, and there, the M Hybrid did it in an average of 13.9 seconds...tying the 1/4 mile performance of a 1982 Lamborghini Countach, coming within a tenth of a second of the 1998 BMW M3 and within three-tenths of a second of the 2007 Aston Martin Volante and the 2007 Porsche 911 Carerra.

That's gonna sell some cars.

2011 Porsche Panamera Review



The 2011 Porsche Panamera. "Controversial" doesn't begin to describe the styling.

The Nissan Juke. The Scion xB. Those are the two cars that have gotten the most negative comments about their styling while we were driving them. And by the most, I mean a 50/50 split on the xB, 60/40 negative/positive on the Juke.

The Porsche Panamera? 100% thumbs down.

Now, this is rare. Normally, when I roll up in a Porsche...any Porsche...even the Cayenne and especially the 911...there's a lot of oohing and aahing and "omigodiwantone" going on.

Not with the Panamera. "Looks like someone dropped a boulder on a 911" was the frequent review.



Approach the 2011 Porsche Panamera from the front the first few times. It'll help.

The good news is that, especially from the front, there is some family resemblance to the cars we've come to know and love from Porsche. And, while not blindingly fast, at least not in Panamera 4 all-wheel-drive form like our tester, it still is a very quick big sedan...0-60 in 5.8 seconds and a top speed of 159 miles per hour.

That performance is from the 3.6 liter V6, which cooks up 300 horsepower and 295 pounds per foot of torque. With a 7-speed automatic, the Panamera gets an EPA estimated 18 city/26 highway miles per gallon. Which, again, is very good for a big sedan. And it handles very, very well.



The four-seat interior of the 2011 Porsche Panamera.

Inside the car, you can't see what the car looks like on the outside, and you are in a very Porsche environment...at least a Porsche environment as defined by the Cayenne SUV. There's room for four, it's all very plush...but the Teutonic simplicity of the marque's best sports cars? No. Of course, you probably couldn't sell a luxury sedan equipped like that, but the Panamera went the exact opposite direction. There are forty-four buttons on the center console alone. Factor in window switches, audio system stuff and the rest, and the count throughout the cabin gets stratospheric.

The list of what comes with the car as standard equipment and what's optional is very long and highly dependent on whether you order the Panamera, Panamera S, Panamera 4, Panamera 4S, Panamera S Hybrid, Panamera Turbo or Panamera Turbo S, so we'll just let you surf over to Porsche's website to check it out for yourself.

As noted above, ours was the Panamera 4. Base price $79,800. And Porsche's press fleet folks added Basalt Black Metallic paint ($790), a ski bag ($405), auto dimming interior and exterior mirrors ($420), front heated seats ($525), heated steering wheel ($250), 19" Panamera Turbo wheels ($1,950), a Bose surround sound system ($1,440), SiriusXM radio ($750) and Porsche crest front headrests ($285). Bottom line including $975 destination charge: $87,590.

The only thing missing...at least to this Porschephile who's never met a 911 he didn't like? The roar of the engine. Porsche's sixes give off this wonderful wail when you tromp on the accelerator, but the Panamera V6 just gathers up speed silently. I wonder if the faster Panameras (the S hybrid makes 60 in 5.7 seconds with a top speed of 167, the S 5.2 and 175, the 4S 4.8 and 175, the Turbo 4.0 and 188 and the Turbo S 3.6 and 190) have any of that snarl or if it's all speed.  Hopefully Porsche will allow us to find out first-hand.

Again, you have to remember that the Panamera is new territory...Porsche's response to swoopy luxury sedans like the Mercedes-Benz CLS, Audi A7, Maserati Quattroporte and the Jaguar XJ. And by any objective measure, they've hit the target. 

2011 Infiniti G37 Sedan Review



The 2011 Infiniti G37. Sleek styling, strong performance.

It's always nice to visit an old friend after a long absence and find that the things you liked the most aren't gone, haven't changed.

The Infiniti G37 sedan doesn't come around often enough in the press fleet...2006 (when it was the G35), 2009 and now. Two and a half years between visits. Not only does it never disappoint, it delights.

The '06 was a six-speed manual, but only 280 horsepower. The '09 had 328 horsepower, but there was an automatic (admittedly, a very good, very smooth seven-speed).

This latest visit put the good stuff together...the 328 horsepower 3.7 liter DOHC 24-valve V6, with a six-speed manual. Not only did I get to shift it myself and find the sweet spots in an engine full of them, but the Nissan press fleet people kept the options to exactly one...and a functional one at that: R-Spec high friction brake pads, a bargain at $370.



The fluid lines of the 2011 Infiniti G37 Sedan.

As with so many cars, not selecting options doesn't result in a low-ball version. The $39,450 asking price for the G37 Sedan 6MT (that's the official name for the six-speed manual version) has a huge list of standard equipment, including viscous limited-slip differential, sport-tuned suspension and steering, independent front and rear suspension, front and rear stabilizer bars, Dual Flow Path shock absorbers, sport brakes with 4-piston front and 2-piston rear calipers and speed-sensitive power steering.

You're also treated to a rear sonar system, high-intensity discharge bi-functional Xenon healdights, fog lights, LED taillights, 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels, performance tires, sport headlights, a power moonroof, leather seats (12-way adjustable and heated for the driver, 8-way adjustable and heated for the front passenger), power tilt and telescoping steering wheel, memory seat, outside mirrors and steering wheel, push button start, an AM/FM/SiriusXM Satellite/CD premium Bose audio system with 10-sepakers, a 9.3 gigabyte Music Box hard drive and a USB connection for your portable device.

The 2011 Infiniti G37 Sedan Interior. It looks great even when you're in the seat, instead of looking down through the open sunroof.

The nav system comes standard, too...and includes XM NavTraffic (good) and XM NavWeather (better...a long summer drive with real-time radar in your dashboard can be a life-saver), plus the Zagat Survey restaurant guide. It's also got voice recognition, a rear-view camera, and a 7-inch color display. There's Bluetooth, HomeLink, controls for most of those things on the steering wheel, dual zone climate control and a bunch more (if you really want the full list, click here).

What matters most is this: The bones of this car are so completely and totally right. It is a fast, confident, balanced sport sedan...right on the heels of BMW (a gap it's been narrowing for years) at a lower price. So much of the equipment on the G37 Sedan 6MT enhances that...and (this is not always a given) none of it detracts from it.

A truly great car that breaks the $40,000 barrier only because of the destination charges. That's something to be applauded, bought and driven often.

EPA estimates: 17 city/25 highway.

2011 BMW 528i Review

A white four-door sedan...the entry-level model of its series.

Doesn't sound exciting...but it all depends on what that sedan is. If you haven't recognized the photo yet, I'll let you in on the secret. It's the BMW 528i.

And it just may be the most perfect car on the road.

I've always enjoyed BMWs, but I've had three outright revelations while holding a steering wheel with a blue-and-white roundel in the center:

The first, at the tender age of 17, entrusted on a winding road in the Eastern High Sierra of California with a friend's older brother's 2002tii. 38 years later, that still stands as one of the best cars I've ever driven.

The second, in the early 80s, stepping into a 635csi coupe with a price tag of $40,000 (astronomical at the time) and thinking "no car is worth this", only to be convinced after 5 minutes in the foothills west of Reno that it was not only worth it, but that it was, in itself, a reason to go make that kind of money.

And the third, most recently,  a week in the Z4 sDrive35i, which has raised the bar for sporting two-seaters to a level I wouldn't have imagined.

And now, the fourth revelation. The new 5-Series.

It is, quite simply, the best sedan you can buy, regardless of price. However much more money you spend on something else, you'll be buying power or features, not excellence and value. Cars simply don't come more solidly built, more thoughtfully designed, more perfectly balanced than the 528 i.

The one we drove for a week, courtesy Chapman BMW in Chandler, Arizona , came box-stock...zero options. But on the 528i, standard includes a list of features that are extra-cost with most other cars, that is if you can find an 8-speed automatic transmission in another car. Electronic limited slip differential? Four-wheel disc brakes with ABS? Dynamic Brake Control? Dynamic Stability Control? Dynamic Traction Control? 17-inch alloy wheels with run-flat tires? Rain-sensing wipers? Fog lights? Power-adjustable, heated and folding outside mirrors?  All standard.

Not done. 10-way power adjustable driver's and front passenger's seat with four-way lumbar support and memory for the driver's seat, steering wheel and outside mirrors? Leatherette upholstery and dark wood (yes, real wood) trim? An AM/FM/CD/mp3 12-speaker (including 2 subwoofers) audio system with 205 watts of power, including HD radio (makes AM sound like FM and FM like CDs), prepped for satellite radio installation if you choose? Vehicle and key memory? Power moonroof?  Automatic climate control? Power tilt and telescoping steering wheel? Leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio and cruise control functions? Bluetooth? iDrive? Tire pressure monitor? All part of the package.

And now the best part...you get to drive it, too. BMW has forever made the sweetest six-cylinder engines in the world, and the 3.0 liter DOHC inline 6 under the hood of the 528i is no exception. Velvety smooth and pulls like a freight train. Its 240 horsepower is more than adequate for brisk acceleration (as in 6.6 seconds zero to 60).  That's 10 horsepower more than last year's model, and it packs and extra 30 pounds per foot of torque, too (see "pulls like a freight train", above).

Handling is direct and intuitive. Within minutes on the road, the car becomes a direct extension of your hands and your brain. There's immediate, controlled response. Chapman BMW asked me to keep the miles on this one below 200, so I didn't have a chance to take a nice drive on a winding road like Northern Arizona's Oak Creek Canyon (linking the town of Sedona with I-17), but I have no doubt the 528i would have aced it and had me even more impressed.

Icing on the cake: Pairing the 3.0 liter 6 with an 8-speed automatic transmission pays off big in the EPA mileage ratings: 22 city/32 highway.

Yes, 22 city/32 highway. And it's a bigger deal than you think. It means the 528i gets better gas mileage than many small economy cars. Really. Here are a couple of examples from upcoming TireKicker reviews:

Scion xB: 22 city/28 highway.

Kia Sportage: 22 city/31 highway.

So what's it cost?

Base price: $45,050. For the one we drove, add delivery charges, tax and license and you're done. No $45,000 isn't dirt cheap. But go back and look at that list of standard features. Add those to your typical $30,000 sedan and you're at or past $45K in a heartbeat. And is that car as well-built, quick, superbly balanced and does it get 22 in the city and 32 on the highway?

This one's a winner. And it proves BMW is about more than status. There's major-league substance here. Every other automaker should be taking notes.

2011 Ford Taurus SHO Review

Return with me now to those thrilling days of yesteryear...before (well okay, just as) midsize muscle cars were coming on the scene...when a big car with a big engine was the hot ticket.

In Ford's case, we're talking about 1965:

Yes, they called it "The Velvet Brute"...a Galaxie 500 with a 425-horsepower 427 cubic inch V8 stuffed under the hood. You could even get it with a manual transmission. Well, full-size powerhouses didn't last much longer and if it hadn't been for Chrysler's 300C, Ford might never have tried the new Taurus SHO, but we're sure glad they did.

Oh, sure there were SHOs in the early 90s, but that was a smaller car...the Taurus' mission in life is to be the BIG Ford...so the SHO has a lot more in common with 7-Liter Galaxies in our book. And that's a good thing.

The Taurus SHO looks and feels special. The 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6 is a serious engine...and the SHO keeps the serious stuff coming...with a six-speed automatic transmission (with paddle shifters), all-wheel drive, a sport tuned suspension, Advancetrac with electronic stability control, high intensity projector headlamps and more.

And the interior kicks things up several notches too...possibly the best big American sedan interior I've been in for years, if not decades.

The SHO is even defensible on green grounds...getting an EPA estimated 17 city/25 highway miles per gallon...not that far off the base Taurus SE's 18/28.  And the safety aspect? Not to worry. Five-star crash ratings all around (four for rollover).

Where the difference comes in is the price tag. There's no question you get every penny's worth, but the still sobering fact is that the base price of a Taurus SHO ($38,020) is $12,600 more than the Taurus SE.  And when equipped like our tester (heated and cooled front seats, power moonroof, upgraded Sony audio system, heated rear seats, power sunshade, blind spot monitoring, rain sensing wipers and automatic high beam headlights, adjustable pedals, red candy metallic tinted paint, adaptive cruise control with collision warning, voice-activated navigation, multi-contoured seats and delivery charge), it'll crack $46,000 before package discounts (which whittles the tab down to about $45,600). You can't load an SE beyond $27,466 even if you check every single option box.

So, loaded, we're talking about an $18,000 difference in price tag. Don't get us wrong. We love the SHO. We'd gladly own one. We could even make the case for the price based on what you get. But this is America, where the "deal" moves cars more than merit or features...and where perceived value is a major factor, especially in a down economy.

Is there a sufficient market for a $45,000-plus Ford Taurus? Sure hope so, because it's one heckuva car.

2011 Dodge Charger SRT-8

Never underestimate the power of something that looks this mean.

It's kinda easy to do, given that the Dodge Charger has been with us for 5 years now and a new one's on the way. We've seen it too many times in airport car rental lots and giggled as Mark Harmon and the gang on NCIS make the 6-cylinder ones they drive try to look menacing.

But five minutes in a Charger SRT-8 is enough to wipe that smirk right off my face...and replace it with a great big ear-to-ear grin.

                             

Tromp on the pedal of an SRT-8 and the rear of the car is what everyone else on the road is going to see.

Yes, it has a Hemi. 6.1 liters worth, putting out 425 horsepower with 420 pounds of torque. The 5-speed "AutoStick" automatic transmission is up to the task, though a real six-speed manual would be ideal.  Whatever...the point is brute strength and the Charger SRT-8 delivers big time.

According to the window sticker that came with our tester, it's the official passenger car of NASCAR, which makes perfect sense. This is what NASCAR used to be. Take a big standard car, stuff the hairiest engine possible under the hood and hang on.

Sophisticated?

Refined?

Elegant?

No...but a big barrel of fun for a reasonable price. Base is $38,180. Yeah, that is awfully close to $40K. Find me this much performance for less than this money and maybe I'll change my mind.

Of course, you can load these up and that's just what the Dodge PR people did. This one had the SRT Option Groups II and III, roughly $2,800 worth of options including an upgraded radio, 13 high performance speakers, a 322-watt amplifier, a 200-watt subwoofer, surround sound, Uconnect, iPod control, a security alarm and a nav system.

Throw in the power sunroof ($950), HID headlamps ($695), performance tire and wheel upgrade ($250), rear seat video system (in a sedan?) ($1,480) and the inevitable gas guzzler tax (13 city/19 highway) of $1,700 and your bottom line after $750 destination charge is $46,850.

If your heart and your bank balance say yes, there's a lot of fun to be had here.