Wow. Our long-term 2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS has a ton of convenience features.
I drove it for the first time last night. One pleasant surprise is that smart entry and push button start (which Suzuki bundles together and calls "SmartPass") is standard on our $23,614 GTS (includes freight).
What's amazing is that even the lowest trim level Kizashi S at $19,000 has SmartPass as standard.
Need I remind you that our long-term $90K BMW 750 has push button start, but not the optional smart entry? I didn't think so.
Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ 1860 miles
Categories: 2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS
As I pulled into my driveway yesterday evening, my neighbor came over to ask about the Flex. He is looking for something to replace his SUV that he bought before he had any children. His family is growing and he needs something that will pass the wife test and entertain his two kids.
I explained how everyone on our staff enjoys the Flex and how it is a great road trip car. It has enough room for plenty of kids and all the stuff that gets carted around with them. But I suggested that if he test-drives one, he also makes sure that his wife test-drives it, too.
At 5'4", I have trouble reaching some things in the Flex. I have to move the seat really close to the front to be able to drive comfortably. I swim in the Flex. And I've seen this guy's wife, she can't be more than 5'2".
So, although the Ford Flex is a versatile family vehicle, it may not suit smaller sized humans.
Have you driven a Flex?
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Categories: 2009 Ford Flex Limited
What is it about the Challenger that makes me want to drive into a Springsteen album cover and never stop? You can try and rationalize this car all you want, but the second the V8 soundtrack starts and the convex hood starts bending open skies, your inner Mad Max starts growling about finding some far flat horizon to run down. Is this collective muscle-car unconscious generational? Will younger folk feel the same odd longing to unwind a Hemi V8 until center lines begin to blur? Questions for our varied readership...
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Categories: 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T
I don't really consider myself a member of the International Dipstick Lovers Society, but our long-term 2009 Audi S5 has me considering an application for instatement.
It was easy enough to find the oil level menu in MMI, but I found it strange that what you see above was displayed, oh, four minutes after shutting down the fully warmed engine while parked on level ground.
So I re-started it for a bit and re-checked again a couple minutes later. Same screen. Hmm.
Maybe I'm doing it wrong. So I *gasp* consulted the owner's manual. To check the oil. Yes, you read that correctly.
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Categories: 2009 Audi S5
I can't remember ever backing into something. Well, there was that motorbike in Mexico a few years back. But that was the owner's fault for parking it behind my '84 Chevy Blazer, where I couldn't see it.
If the Blazer had a backup camera like our Audi A4 Avant, the owner of the motorcycle would have saved his turn signal. And I would have saved the 200 pesos I paid him for the damage. Fortunately, my beater Baja Blazer was none the worse for it.
I was glad the A4 has Audi's Parking System when I backed out of a buddy's long narrow driveway this morning, threading the wagon between the stucco exterior of his house and the cinder block wall of his next-door neighbor.
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Categories: 2009 Audi A4 Avant
Everything about the Suzuki Kizashi feels more deluxe and expensive than its modest price tag suggests. The center stack is a good example. The buttons and knobs feel luxury-car solid to the touch, and their movement is well-damped and precise. Nothing is flimsy, nothing is lightweight, and nothing feels anything less than carefully thought-through.
The layout looks great too, with the sort of tasteful metallic accents seen in top entry-luxury sedans. Hello, dark horse. Suzuki has come out of nowhere to deliver one of the most impressive picks in a very competitive segment.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor
Categories: 2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS
The TV show TMZ is popular with several of us here. For those that don't watch it, the show and website chronicle the everyday life of regular people like Brody Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and Suge Knight.
The NFL's Tom Brady is regularly hounded by the paps. His crime?
Being an Errand Boy for his wife and baby mama, supermodel Giselle Bundchen.
Our long-term 2009 Mini E is, like Mr. Brady, the perfect Errand Boy. The torque from the electric motors whisks you up to speed and lets you zip in and out of traffic on your way to pick up toner at Best Buy. And when you have to ship your significant other's packages at the UPS Store, the Mini E's small size make it a breeze to maneuver and park.
But as previously noted, there isn't much room in the cargo area for packages. Those will have to ride in the passenger seat, which will be empty. You didn't expect Giselle to join you for your errand runs, did you?
Hit the jump for the video!
Albert Austria, Senior Engineer @ 5100 miles
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Categories: 2009 Mini E
You don't seem surprised by that statement. I am.
As much as Corvettes squeak, Corvettes leak. Every Corvette press car I've had washed, has leaked. The C5 parked in my garage leaks when you take it through a car wash. It also leaks when it rains. And guess what, so did my 1994 TransAm, which did not have t-tops, as did The Brunette's 1998 Z-28, which did. Notice a trend?
They've all leaked in relatively the same spot too; along the trailing edge of both doors and up where the side windows meet the roof. I've always chalked it up to poor design of the door seals, poor assembly and poor fit and finish. So when I was given the Z06 to shake it down this weekend, I took it through a touchless car wash, just for kicks. And much to my surprise, it didn't leak.
Nice.
Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor @ 44,015 miles
Categories: 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Part of the pleasure of driving the 2010 Volvo XC60 is its smooth-shifting six-speed automatic transmission. When you're cruising around, it climbs through gears almost imperceptibly with no bother to the driver.
And when you want to kick it on the freeway or up a hill, it's always eager to comply with a smooth and quick downshift.
Have any of you driven a Volvo XC60?
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
Categories: 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD
Would you look at the size of that trunk? I mean, that sucker is huge. Maybe it's just the petite size of the girls clothes that News Editor Toepke left in the trunk, but still there's clearly room to spare in there.
Now, there are still some problems. I mean, there are small cargo nets on the sides, but what about stuff that's loose in the middle? Where the net for that?
And the liftover height isn't all that low. The lid doesn't close on its own either. Petty quibbles maybe, but this is a $90K car, shouldn't have to ask for anything at that price.
Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line @ 27,579 miles
Categories: 2009 BMW 750i
