Mitsubishi has a problem with its current lineup. Unless you're looking for a Lancer, your options are limited to the Galant mid-size sedan and the Endeavor and Outlander crossovers. Right now, the Galant is contemplating seppuku and the Endeavor hasn't been fully redesigned since it first went on sale back in 2003. The Outlander, however, has something positive to offer. It seats up to seven passengers (in a pinch), has been named an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick, and tops out at 28 miles per gallon on the highway.
Mitsubishi knows having just two competitive vehicles to choose from isn't enough to compete in an industry eager to fill every niche, and the company appears focused on evolving the two lone bright spots in its lineup. The Lancer has spawned many variants, the latest being the Lancer Sportback, a fun-to-drive wagon that doesn't step on the toes of the top-trim Lancer Evolution. The Outlander, meanwhile, recently gave its name to the smaller 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, a five-passenger crossover looking to make its mark in a currently crowded segment.
If the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport had a favorite song, it would be Sister Sledge's "We Are Family." There's no mistaking this CUV for anything other than a product from the diamond-star family. The gaping mouth and muscular haunches leave no doubt that the Outlander Sport got the "good genes" after a night of passion between a Lancer Evo and the larger Outlander. And despite sharing the name "Outlander" with its larger three-row brother, the Outlander Sport is its own vehicle, a compact crossover different in size, shape and demeanor.
Up front, for instance, a jet-fighter nose kicks off an aggressive forward-leaning stance. Sharply cut headlights dig into the face of the Outlander Sport while the roof line pulls tightly rearward along the 169.1-inch long body. That length is almost 15 inches shorter than the larger Outlander, despite the two crossovers sharing the exact same wheelbase and almost the same width. Like a Beverly Hills housewife with a face-lift, this look has to be done correctly or things can quickly turn into a cat-faced disaster. Fortunately, Mitsubishi's corporate face survived the transplant with nary a scar to show for it. A set of 10-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels wearing Goodyear Eagle 225 55R/18 rubber shoes also sit neatly below the ever-so-slightly bulging fenders. These larger wheels come standard on our SE tester, while 16-inchers are standard running gear for the lower-trim ES.
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC side view2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC front view2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC rear view
Inside, the Outlander Sport prefers muted tones, with dark plastic and black cloth the only interior color choices available. Fortunately, the controls are laid out in a simple manner, and we appreciate the climate controls relying on three traditional dials instead of being relegated only to touch-screen control. That screen is left to handle audio and navigation, which it does rather well being responsive to the touch with crips graphics. Pop into Reverse and you'll also get a nice view of what's going on behind the Outlander Sport thanks to the back-up camera that's bundled with the $2,000 nav system.
Unfortunately, laying down two grand for navigation also forces you to opt for the $1,800 Premium package that adds a panoramic glass roof, LED interior mood lighting, a Rockford-Fosgate sound system, Sirius satellite radio and an in-dash six-disc CD changer. All told, you're on the hook for almost $4,000 worth of options if you want the Outlander Sport to tell you where to go.
Sound from the optional Rockford-Fosgate audio system is pushed out to your ears courtesy of nine-speakers, a 10-inch subwoofer in the rear cargo area and 710 watts. Surprisingly balanced, this particular sound system has lost the overbearing bass that used to be a hallmark of Rockford-Fosgate systems.
If you plan on listening to your iPod, Mitsubishi also includes a connector that lets you control the device from the touch-screen or steering wheel-mounted controls. Annoyingly, however, the stereo takes about a minute to recognize the mp3 player each time you turn off the car, and once it does, playback starts from the first song on the unit. It's like teaching your dog to sit, and every time you turn around the pooch forgets where his butt goes. In a word: frustrating.
What's not frustrating is the level of supportive comfort provided by the front seats. Headroom is also a non-issue and visibility is great regardless of where you're looking. The cabin is relatively simple, aside from the touch-screen, but it works in the Outlander Sport's favor.
If you go for a base two-wheel-drive ES model, the Outlander Sport starts at just $19,275. Our all-wheel-drive SE model starts at $22,995 (plus $780 in destination charges), and thanks to a few of those aforementioned fixings reaches $28,570. The Outlander Sport AWD SE's base price, however, is below that of the Honda CR-V EX-L ($26,645), Hyundai Tucson Limited ($26,345) and Kia Sportage EX ($24,795). Equipped like this Outlander Sport, the Kia and the Hyundai are just a few dollar bills away from $30,000 and the Honda climbs past by a Benjamin. So paying over $28,000 for this compact crossover becomes a little more palatable when compared to more expensive competition, and it's made even more so once you raise the hood.
Pull the lever and prop up the sheet metal and you'll see a familiar 4B11 face smiling back at you. Used throughout the Mitsubishi lineup, this 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine produces 148 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 145 pound-feet of torque at 4,200 rpm. That may not sound like much oomph to propel the all-wheel-drive Outlander Sport, but at just 3,263 pounds, it feels quicker than it should be.
The Outlander Sport isn't fast by any means, but the four-cylinder engine gets the job done while returning 24 miles per gallon around town and 29 mpg on the highway. Two-wheel-drive models do even better at 25 city/31 highway. By contrast, the 2011 Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage are 240, 103 and 92 pounds heavier, respectively. Each vehicle also produces more horsepower (32 hp for the Honda and 28 hp for the Kia/Hyundai) and torque (16 lb-ft for the Honda and 23 lb-ft for the Kia/Hyundai) yet return slightly worse fuel economy (21/27 for the Honda and 21/28 for the Kia/Hyundai).
It's not just the weight that helps the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport in the fuel-economy equation. Connected to that 2.0-liter engine is a Continuously Variable Transmission, or CVT, which can be manually "shifted" via a pair of steering wheel-mounted paddles. CVTs are notoriously buzzy contraptions, and the one employed in the Outlander Sport is no exception. Truth be told, the engine and transmission combination would be rather dull without those flippers for manually controlling the fun.
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport rear 3/4 view
The Outlander Sport does have a few tricks up its sleeve besides being able to fake a gear shift. It handles surprisingly well for what's essentially a high-riding, tall-roof wagon. The brakes are quite responsive once you push past the first inch of light pedal travel, but over bumps, the tight Lancer-like suspension reveals some flaws in the Noise Vibration and Harshness department. There was some chatter inside the cabin of our test vehicle and, when rolled down a bit, the windows produced a slight rattle. We could chalk up the window rattle to press-car jitters, but the cabin chatter is probably there to stay.
Those problems aren't enough, however, to make us forget the sporty handling, accommodating interior and competitive pricing of the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC. Will it become Mitsubishi's third bright spot behind the Lancer and Outlander? The company is crowing that 1,290 units of the Outlander Sport were sold last month. That's peanuts compared to the Honda CR-V, which sold over 19,000 units, but does represent nearly a fifth of the entire brand's sales. That's remarkable for a model only a few months old, and tells us that Mitsubishi is giving buyers exactly what they want.
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2011
Review: 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC - Click above for high-res image gallery
Mitsubishi has a problem with its current lineup. Unless you're looking for a Lancer, your options are limited to the Galant mid-size sedan and the Endeavor and Outlander crossovers. Right now, the Galant is contemplating seppuku and the Endeavor hasn't been fully redesigned since it first went on sale back in 2003. The Outlander, however, has something positive to offer. It seats up to seven passengers (in a pinch), has been named an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick, and tops out at 28 miles per gallon on the highway.
Mitsubishi knows having just two competitive vehicles to choose from isn't enough to compete in an industry eager to fill every niche, and the company appears focused on evolving the two lone bright spots in its lineup. The Lancer has spawned many variants, the latest being the Lancer Sportback, a fun-to-drive wagon that doesn't step on the toes of the top-trim Lancer Evolution. The Outlander, meanwhile, recently gave its name to the smaller 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, a five-passenger crossover looking to make its mark in a currently crowded segment.
If the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport had a favorite song, it would be Sister Sledge's "We Are Family." There's no mistaking this CUV for anything other than a product from the diamond-star family. The gaping mouth and muscular haunches leave no doubt that the Outlander Sport got the "good genes" after a night of passion between a Lancer Evo and the larger Outlander. And despite sharing the name "Outlander" with its larger three-row brother, the Outlander Sport is its own vehicle, a compact crossover different in size, shape and demeanor.
Up front, for instance, a jet-fighter nose kicks off an aggressive forward-leaning stance. Sharply cut headlights dig into the face of the Outlander Sport while the roof line pulls tightly rearward along the 169.1-inch long body. That length is almost 15 inches shorter than the larger Outlander, despite the two crossovers sharing the exact same wheelbase and almost the same width. Like a Beverly Hills housewife with a face-lift, this look has to be done correctly or things can quickly turn into a cat-faced disaster. Fortunately, Mitsubishi's corporate face survived the transplant with nary a scar to show for it. A set of 10-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels wearing Goodyear Eagle 225 55R/18 rubber shoes also sit neatly below the ever-so-slightly bulging fenders. These larger wheels come standard on our SE tester, while 16-inchers are standard running gear for the lower-trim ES.
Inside, the Outlander Sport prefers muted tones, with dark plastic and black cloth the only interior color choices available. Fortunately, the controls are laid out in a simple manner, and we appreciate the climate controls relying on three traditional dials instead of being relegated only to touch-screen control. That screen is left to handle audio and navigation, which it does rather well being responsive to the touch with crips graphics. Pop into Reverse and you'll also get a nice view of what's going on behind the Outlander Sport thanks to the back-up camera that's bundled with the $2,000 nav system.
Unfortunately, laying down two grand for navigation also forces you to opt for the $1,800 Premium package that adds a panoramic glass roof, LED interior mood lighting, a Rockford-Fosgate sound system, Sirius satellite radio and an in-dash six-disc CD changer. All told, you're on the hook for almost $4,000 worth of options if you want the Outlander Sport to tell you where to go.
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC interior2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC front seats2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC paddle shifter2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC tachometer
Sound from the optional Rockford-Fosgate audio system is pushed out to your ears courtesy of nine-speakers, a 10-inch subwoofer in the rear cargo area and 710 watts. Surprisingly balanced, this particular sound system has lost the overbearing bass that used to be a hallmark of Rockford-Fosgate systems.
If you plan on listening to your iPod, Mitsubishi also includes a connector that lets you control the device from the touch-screen or steering wheel-mounted controls. Annoyingly, however, the stereo takes about a minute to recognize the mp3 player each time you turn off the car, and once it does, playback starts from the first song on the unit. It's like teaching your dog to sit, and every time you turn around the pooch forgets where his butt goes. In a word: frustrating.
What's not frustrating is the level of supportive comfort provided by the front seats. Headroom is also a non-issue and visibility is great regardless of where you're looking. The cabin is relatively simple, aside from the touch-screen, but it works in the Outlander Sport's favor.
If you go for a base two-wheel-drive ES model, the Outlander Sport starts at just $19,275. Our all-wheel-drive SE model starts at $22,995 (plus $780 in destination charges), and thanks to a few of those aforementioned fixings reaches $28,570. The Outlander Sport AWD SE's base price, however, is below that of the Honda CR-V EX-L ($26,645), Hyundai Tucson Limited ($26,345) and Kia Sportage EX ($24,795). Equipped like this Outlander Sport, the Kia and the Hyundai are just a few dollar bills away from $30,000 and the Honda climbs past by a Benjamin. So paying over $28,000 for this compact crossover becomes a little more palatable when compared to more expensive competition, and it's made even more so once you raise the hood.
Pull the lever and prop up the sheet metal and you'll see a familiar 4B11 face smiling back at you. Used throughout the Mitsubishi lineup, this 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine produces 148 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 145 pound-feet of torque at 4,200 rpm. That may not sound like much oomph to propel the all-wheel-drive Outlander Sport, but at just 3,263 pounds, it feels quicker than it should be.
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC engine
The Outlander Sport isn't fast by any means, but the four-cylinder engine gets the job done while returning 24 miles per gallon around town and 29 mpg on the highway. Two-wheel-drive models do even better at 25 city/31 highway. By contrast, the 2011 Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage are 240, 103 and 92 pounds heavier, respectively. Each vehicle also produces more horsepower (32 hp for the Honda and 28 hp for the Kia/Hyundai) and torque (16 lb-ft for the Honda and 23 lb-ft for the Kia/Hyundai) yet return slightly worse fuel economy (21/27 for the Honda and 21/28 for the Kia/Hyundai).
It's not just the weight that helps the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport in the fuel-economy equation. Connected to that 2.0-liter engine is a Continuously Variable Transmission, or CVT, which can be manually "shifted" via a pair of steering wheel-mounted paddles. CVTs are notoriously buzzy contraptions, and the one employed in the Outlander Sport is no exception. Truth be told, the engine and transmission combination would be rather dull without those flippers for manually controlling the fun.
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport rear 3/4 view
The Outlander Sport does have a few tricks up its sleeve besides being able to fake a gear shift. It handles surprisingly well for what's essentially a high-riding, tall-roof wagon. The brakes are quite responsive once you push past the first inch of light pedal travel, but over bumps, the tight Lancer-like suspension reveals some flaws in the Noise Vibration and Harshness department. There was some chatter inside the cabin of our test vehicle and, when rolled down a bit, the windows produced a slight rattle. We could chalk up the window rattle to press-car jitters, but the cabin chatter is probably there to stay.
Those problems aren't enough, however, to make us forget the sporty handling, accommodating interior and competitive pricing of the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC. Will it become Mitsubishi's third bright spot behind the Lancer and Outlander? The company is crowing that 1,290 units of the Outlander Sport were sold last month. That's peanuts compared to the Honda CR-V, which sold over 19,000 units, but does represent nearly a fifth of the entire brand's sales. That's remarkable for a model only a few months old, and tells us that Mitsubishi is giving buyers exactly what they want.
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC - Click above for high-res image gallery
Mitsubishi has a problem with its current lineup. Unless you're looking for a Lancer, your options are limited to the Galant mid-size sedan and the Endeavor and Outlander crossovers. Right now, the Galant is contemplating seppuku and the Endeavor hasn't been fully redesigned since it first went on sale back in 2003. The Outlander, however, has something positive to offer. It seats up to seven passengers (in a pinch), has been named an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick, and tops out at 28 miles per gallon on the highway.
Mitsubishi knows having just two competitive vehicles to choose from isn't enough to compete in an industry eager to fill every niche, and the company appears focused on evolving the two lone bright spots in its lineup. The Lancer has spawned many variants, the latest being the Lancer Sportback, a fun-to-drive wagon that doesn't step on the toes of the top-trim Lancer Evolution. The Outlander, meanwhile, recently gave its name to the smaller 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, a five-passenger crossover looking to make its mark in a currently crowded segment.
If the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport had a favorite song, it would be Sister Sledge's "We Are Family." There's no mistaking this CUV for anything other than a product from the diamond-star family. The gaping mouth and muscular haunches leave no doubt that the Outlander Sport got the "good genes" after a night of passion between a Lancer Evo and the larger Outlander. And despite sharing the name "Outlander" with its larger three-row brother, the Outlander Sport is its own vehicle, a compact crossover different in size, shape and demeanor.
Up front, for instance, a jet-fighter nose kicks off an aggressive forward-leaning stance. Sharply cut headlights dig into the face of the Outlander Sport while the roof line pulls tightly rearward along the 169.1-inch long body. That length is almost 15 inches shorter than the larger Outlander, despite the two crossovers sharing the exact same wheelbase and almost the same width. Like a Beverly Hills housewife with a face-lift, this look has to be done correctly or things can quickly turn into a cat-faced disaster. Fortunately, Mitsubishi's corporate face survived the transplant with nary a scar to show for it. A set of 10-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels wearing Goodyear Eagle 225 55R/18 rubber shoes also sit neatly below the ever-so-slightly bulging fenders. These larger wheels come standard on our SE tester, while 16-inchers are standard running gear for the lower-trim ES.
Inside, the Outlander Sport prefers muted tones, with dark plastic and black cloth the only interior color choices available. Fortunately, the controls are laid out in a simple manner, and we appreciate the climate controls relying on three traditional dials instead of being relegated only to touch-screen control. That screen is left to handle audio and navigation, which it does rather well being responsive to the touch with crips graphics. Pop into Reverse and you'll also get a nice view of what's going on behind the Outlander Sport thanks to the back-up camera that's bundled with the $2,000 nav system.
Unfortunately, laying down two grand for navigation also forces you to opt for the $1,800 Premium package that adds a panoramic glass roof, LED interior mood lighting, a Rockford-Fosgate sound system, Sirius satellite radio and an in-dash six-disc CD changer. All told, you're on the hook for almost $4,000 worth of options if you want the Outlander Sport to tell you where to go.
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC interior2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC front seats2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC paddle shifter2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC tachometer
Sound from the optional Rockford-Fosgate audio system is pushed out to your ears courtesy of nine-speakers, a 10-inch subwoofer in the rear cargo area and 710 watts. Surprisingly balanced, this particular sound system has lost the overbearing bass that used to be a hallmark of Rockford-Fosgate systems.
If you plan on listening to your iPod, Mitsubishi also includes a connector that lets you control the device from the touch-screen or steering wheel-mounted controls. Annoyingly, however, the stereo takes about a minute to recognize the mp3 player each time you turn off the car, and once it does, playback starts from the first song on the unit. It's like teaching your dog to sit, and every time you turn around the pooch forgets where his butt goes. In a word: frustrating.
What's not frustrating is the level of supportive comfort provided by the front seats. Headroom is also a non-issue and visibility is great regardless of where you're looking. The cabin is relatively simple, aside from the touch-screen, but it works in the Outlander Sport's favor.
If you go for a base two-wheel-drive ES model, the Outlander Sport starts at just $19,275. Our all-wheel-drive SE model starts at $22,995 (plus $780 in destination charges), and thanks to a few of those aforementioned fixings reaches $28,570. The Outlander Sport AWD SE's base price, however, is below that of the Honda CR-V EX-L ($26,645), Hyundai Tucson Limited ($26,345) and Kia Sportage EX ($24,795). Equipped like this Outlander Sport, the Kia and the Hyundai are just a few dollar bills away from $30,000 and the Honda climbs past by a Benjamin. So paying over $28,000 for this compact crossover becomes a little more palatable when compared to more expensive competition, and it's made even more so once you raise the hood.
Pull the lever and prop up the sheet metal and you'll see a familiar 4B11 face smiling back at you. Used throughout the Mitsubishi lineup, this 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine produces 148 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 145 pound-feet of torque at 4,200 rpm. That may not sound like much oomph to propel the all-wheel-drive Outlander Sport, but at just 3,263 pounds, it feels quicker than it should be.
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC engine
The Outlander Sport isn't fast by any means, but the four-cylinder engine gets the job done while returning 24 miles per gallon around town and 29 mpg on the highway. Two-wheel-drive models do even better at 25 city/31 highway. By contrast, the 2011 Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage are 240, 103 and 92 pounds heavier, respectively. Each vehicle also produces more horsepower (32 hp for the Honda and 28 hp for the Kia/Hyundai) and torque (16 lb-ft for the Honda and 23 lb-ft for the Kia/Hyundai) yet return slightly worse fuel economy (21/27 for the Honda and 21/28 for the Kia/Hyundai).
It's not just the weight that helps the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport in the fuel-economy equation. Connected to that 2.0-liter engine is a Continuously Variable Transmission, or CVT, which can be manually "shifted" via a pair of steering wheel-mounted paddles. CVTs are notoriously buzzy contraptions, and the one employed in the Outlander Sport is no exception. Truth be told, the engine and transmission combination would be rather dull without those flippers for manually controlling the fun.
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport rear 3/4 view
The Outlander Sport does have a few tricks up its sleeve besides being able to fake a gear shift. It handles surprisingly well for what's essentially a high-riding, tall-roof wagon. The brakes are quite responsive once you push past the first inch of light pedal travel, but over bumps, the tight Lancer-like suspension reveals some flaws in the Noise Vibration and Harshness department. There was some chatter inside the cabin of our test vehicle and, when rolled down a bit, the windows produced a slight rattle. We could chalk up the window rattle to press-car jitters, but the cabin chatter is probably there to stay.
Those problems aren't enough, however, to make us forget the sporty handling, accommodating interior and competitive pricing of the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC. Will it become Mitsubishi's third bright spot behind the Lancer and Outlander? The company is crowing that 1,290 units of the Outlander Sport were sold last month. That's peanuts compared to the Honda CR-V, which sold over 19,000 units, but does represent nearly a fifth of the entire brand's sales. That's remarkable for a model only a few months old, and tells us that Mitsubishi is giving buyers exactly what they want.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Review: 2011 Ford Explorer Limited
They call it a reboot. It happens all the time in Hollywood when a movie franchise falls flat. After a blockbuster wears out its audience with a string of lesser sequels, the studio starts over, retelling the story from an entirely new angle.
The best example is Batman. The combination of Michael Keaton and director Tim Burton produced critical acclaim and big box office numbers for the first two Caped Crusader films in 1989 and 1992. Then came a new director, Joel Schumacher, who just about killed the franchise with Batman Forever in 1995 and Batman & Robin in 1997. Eight years passed before someone in Hollywood realized the Dark Knight's name could still fill theater seats, and the franchise was rebooted in 2005 with the dark and gritty Batman Begins.
The totally redesigned 2011 Ford Explorer is the Blue Oval's Batman Begins. Ford's most famous sport utility vehicle has desperately needed a reboot ever since the Firestone tire recall in 2000 made it Rollover Enemy Number One. Rising gas prices haven't helped either, but the tire debacle hurt the brand badly, with the Explorer going from this country's third best-selling vehicle in 2000 with 445,157 sold to just over 60,000 bought in 2010. But just like Batman, the Explorer name had value that Ford couldn't let go to waste. And so the 2011 Explorer is the sport utility story retold by Ford from an entirely new angle. The question is whether or not the Explorer's name can still put butts in seats.
Continue reading...
Gallery: 2011 Ford Explorer Limited 4WD: Review
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
Photos copyright ©2011 John Neff / AOL
The new SUV story that Ford is telling is truly different from the original because the new Explorer isn't an SUV at all – it's a crossover utility vehicle. Whereas prior Explorers could trace their lineage all the way back to the body-on-frame Ranger pickup, the new Explorer uses a unibody platform derived from Volvo and Ford sedans, albeit heavily modified to withstand some light off-roading.
Underneath its skin, the 2011 model is most closely related to Ford's other three-row crossovers, the Flex and Lincoln MKT, and it's now being built alongside Taurus and Lincoln MKS sedans at Ford's Chicago Assembly plant. The curious thing is that the Explorer is still called an SUV in Ford's new story. Despite it technically being a crossover, the Explorer gets lumped in with the Expedition and Escape (also technically a crossover) in Ford's portfolio of SUVs. The Edge and Flex, meanwhile, are Ford's official CUVs.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited side view2011 Ford Explorer Limited front view2011 Ford Explorer Limited rear view
What the new Explorer looks like, however, is a Taurus station wagon with a lift kit. Many of the Explorer's new design cues are lifted straight from Ford's large sedan, like its Remington shaver grille sporting a familiar pair of perforated crossbars. The two vehicles also share some surface sculpting, which is most evident on the sides where both feature the same indented door panels and dimpled sheetmetal behind the rear wheels. Ford designers haven't totally broken with the past, however, as some original Explorer elements remain. The B- and D-pillars, for instance, are blacked-out just like they've been on every Explorer since 1991. Ford's designers also made the new Explorer's A-pillar disappear, which further reduces visual bulk and makes the roof look like it's balancing on the strong, thick C-pillars.
Dimensionally, the new Explorer is similar to the one it replaces – a little smaller here, a little bigger there. It's longer, lower and significantly wider than the 2010 model and has more headroom for all passengers. There's a little less legroom for the driver, front passenger and people riding in the very back, but passengers in the middle seats are treated to almost three more inches of legroom. And while overall cargo capacity with all of the seats folded and/or stowed is down from 84 cubic feet to 81, the new model's extra inches of length were put to good use behind the third row of seats, where luggage space has grown from 14 to 21 cubic feet.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited interior2011 Ford Explorer Limited front seats2011 Ford Explorer Limited third row2011 Ford Explorer Limited rear cargo area
Our Limited 4WD tester proved to be comfortably roomy for passengers sitting up front and in the second row of seats, the latter of which were optional dual buckets ($750) with a second-row console ($100). While they do sacrifice a seat compared to the standard 60/40 split bench, the buckets make the third row less claustrophobic and give passengers in the way-back some extra knee room for their inboard legs. It's still not as comfortable as a minivan's most aft seating, but the Explorer's third row is one of the most comfortable in its class.
Our tester also came equipped with the top shelf Rapid Spec 302A package ($4,810) that, in addition to such niceties as Active Park Assist (useful in a vehicle this size), Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring System, rain sensing wipers, HID projector headlamps, a power liftgate, luxury seating package (heated, cooled, 10-way adjustable front seats) and voice-activated navigation with SIRIUS Travel Link, included an impressive power-folding 50/50 split third row. Check it out in the Autoblog Short Cuts video below.
Being the most expensive model with all-wheel drive and all the trimmings, this Explorer's $44,610 price tag ($39,190 base MSRP) did include Ford's controversial MyFord Touch system. We say 'controversial' because it's a love-it-or-hate-it infotainment system. You either love it for its forward-thinking user interface, excellent graphics and industry-leading features, or you hate it because it's a distraction, difficult to learn and slow to respond to inputs. Consumer Reports doesn't like it very much and the Autoblog team is split down the middle, though we universally dislike the stereo and climate controls that come with the separate upgraded Sony sound system.
In addition to nice things like a rear subwoofer, 12 speakers and 390 watts of power, the Sony system also replaces the lower part of your center dash with a completely smooth, glossy black panel of touch sensitive controls for the climate system and a single rotary knob for the stereo controls. With no contours, it's very difficult to perform simple tasks like finding the controls to change fan speed or turning on the rear defroster. Unfortunately, the Sony system is standard on Limited models.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited MyFord Touch2011 Ford Explorer Limited Sony stereo system
What's also standard is Ford's 3.5-liter TiVCT V6 engine. It's the only drivetrain available at launch, though will soon be joined by a high-tech 2.0-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder. For now, however, the 3.5-liter is all one needs thanks to respectable power figures like 290 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 255 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. The EcoBoost four-cylinder will have less power (237 hp at 5,500 rpm and 250 lb.-ft. from 1,750 rpm), but should easily beat the 3.5-liter's EPA fuel economy figures of 17 miles per gallon city, 23 mpg highway and 19 combined. Not opting for all-wheel drive will improve those numbers to 17 city, 25 highway and 20 combined, though we managed to achieve an average of 20.4 mpg over the course of a week with our Explorer Limited 4WD.
An engine is only as good as the parts to which it's mated, and fortunately the rest of the Explorer's mechanicals are equally up to moving and stopping this 4,752-pound vehicle without drama. The six-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly and intelligently, making manual gear selection via the gearshift lever's rocker switch somewhat superfluous. The brakes are confidence-inspiring with a firm pedal feel, addressing one of the long-standing complaints we've had with Ford vehicles on this platform for the last couple of years. And the steering is yet another incremental improvement for Ford's electronic power-assisted rack-and-pinion system, which continues to feel more natural with each iteration. Combined, these elements do their work without being noticed, which is exactly what the busy mom or dad who's behind the wheel wants.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited engine
What they also want are class-leading technology and safety features, and Ford is happy to oblige. Our Explorer Limited 4WD featured common items like a blind sport warning system, rear view camera and electronic stability control system with traction control, but also included unique features like the industry's first second-row inflatable seat belts. Next up is Curve Control, a new system that can sense when the driver is taking a turn too fast, as on a highway entrance or exit ramp, and reduce engine torque and independently apply braking to each of the four wheels to keep the Explorer on its intended arc. The most trick piece of new tech, however, and the one which we used the most, was Ford's new Terrain Management system.
Controlled by a knob right behind the gearshift lever, Terrain Management offers Explorer owners four selectable modes for the all-wheel-drive system: Normal, Mud and Ruts, Sand and Snow. Each of these situation-specific modes will individually adjust the engine, throttle, transmission, traction and stability control systems for that particular environment. We got caught in a nasty snow storm between Detroit and Cleveland while driving the Explorer and were able to at least put Snow mode to the test.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited Terrain Management System
We weren't able to feel any of those adjustments from behind the wheel during our hours of driving through inclement weather, which is a credit to the system's calibration, but we know it works if for no other reason than we're still here to write this review. We also noticed that the Explorer could generally accelerate quicker and cruise faster in the snow than the traffic around it, which could have been the Terrain Management's Snow mode doing its job or just our false sense of security from turning a knob on the dash until a snow flake lit up – a real danger for any well-marketed all-wheel-drive system. Terrain Management also includes Hill Descent Control, though we never found a big enough hill in Ohio to test this system's ability to slow down the Explorer with the assist of engine braking.
What we do have in Ohio is plenty of flat, straight roads on which to evaluate a vehicle's ride, and the Explorer offers a fine compromise between controlled and comfy. The longish 112.6-inch wheelbase, big 20-inch aluminum wheels and general immensity of the Explorer are able by their nature to handle bumps in the road without the vehicle becoming unsettled, while the shocks and springs themselves actually feel firm when being loaded up in a turn. With momentum in all directions under control, the Explorer actually drives like a smaller vehicle, though looking out of that high, expansive hood will never let you forget its size.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited headlight2011 Ford Explorer Limited grille2011 Ford Explorer Limited wheel2011 Ford Explorer Limited taillight
Some 20 years after America met the first Explorer, size is the main thing that's holding this latest model back from ever achieving the big box office numbers of its predecessors. That kind of money is reserved for much smaller vehicles these days. In fact, the top ten best-selling vehicles of 2010 included only one utility vehicle, the much smaller Honda CR-V, which nearly slid off the list at number nine. The CR-V sold just over 200,000 units last year, or less than half what the Explorer sold at its height of popularity back in 2000. Clearly, this size vehicle can't be a blockbuster anymore (unless it's got a bed in the back).
That doesn't mean, however, that the 2011 Ford Explorer can't be a huge success. Batman Begins was a huge success, even though the 1989 original earned a lot more money. Michael Keaton's original cost $48 million to make and earned $411 million worldwide, while the Christian Bale reboot cost $150 million and made $373 million. Nobody would argue the reboot was a bad idea, because that's not what reboots are about. They're about getting back to making a great product, which is exactly what Ford has done with the 2011 Explorer.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited rear 3/4 view
Bonus Fun Fact: The original Batman remained the highest grossing caped crusader film until the reboot's sequel, The Dark Knight, arrived in 2008. That film rediscovered the sweet spot with a little help from Heath Ledger's Joker and knocked the first film from its pedestal grossing over one... billion... dollars. If our little analogy holds true, Ford may have the utility vehicle to end all utility vehicles up its sleeve for this new Explorer's encore.
The best example is Batman. The combination of Michael Keaton and director Tim Burton produced critical acclaim and big box office numbers for the first two Caped Crusader films in 1989 and 1992. Then came a new director, Joel Schumacher, who just about killed the franchise with Batman Forever in 1995 and Batman & Robin in 1997. Eight years passed before someone in Hollywood realized the Dark Knight's name could still fill theater seats, and the franchise was rebooted in 2005 with the dark and gritty Batman Begins.
The totally redesigned 2011 Ford Explorer is the Blue Oval's Batman Begins. Ford's most famous sport utility vehicle has desperately needed a reboot ever since the Firestone tire recall in 2000 made it Rollover Enemy Number One. Rising gas prices haven't helped either, but the tire debacle hurt the brand badly, with the Explorer going from this country's third best-selling vehicle in 2000 with 445,157 sold to just over 60,000 bought in 2010. But just like Batman, the Explorer name had value that Ford couldn't let go to waste. And so the 2011 Explorer is the sport utility story retold by Ford from an entirely new angle. The question is whether or not the Explorer's name can still put butts in seats.
Continue reading...
Gallery: 2011 Ford Explorer Limited 4WD: Review
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
* 2011 Ford Explorer
Photos copyright ©2011 John Neff / AOL
The new SUV story that Ford is telling is truly different from the original because the new Explorer isn't an SUV at all – it's a crossover utility vehicle. Whereas prior Explorers could trace their lineage all the way back to the body-on-frame Ranger pickup, the new Explorer uses a unibody platform derived from Volvo and Ford sedans, albeit heavily modified to withstand some light off-roading.
Underneath its skin, the 2011 model is most closely related to Ford's other three-row crossovers, the Flex and Lincoln MKT, and it's now being built alongside Taurus and Lincoln MKS sedans at Ford's Chicago Assembly plant. The curious thing is that the Explorer is still called an SUV in Ford's new story. Despite it technically being a crossover, the Explorer gets lumped in with the Expedition and Escape (also technically a crossover) in Ford's portfolio of SUVs. The Edge and Flex, meanwhile, are Ford's official CUVs.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited side view2011 Ford Explorer Limited front view2011 Ford Explorer Limited rear view
What the new Explorer looks like, however, is a Taurus station wagon with a lift kit. Many of the Explorer's new design cues are lifted straight from Ford's large sedan, like its Remington shaver grille sporting a familiar pair of perforated crossbars. The two vehicles also share some surface sculpting, which is most evident on the sides where both feature the same indented door panels and dimpled sheetmetal behind the rear wheels. Ford designers haven't totally broken with the past, however, as some original Explorer elements remain. The B- and D-pillars, for instance, are blacked-out just like they've been on every Explorer since 1991. Ford's designers also made the new Explorer's A-pillar disappear, which further reduces visual bulk and makes the roof look like it's balancing on the strong, thick C-pillars.
Dimensionally, the new Explorer is similar to the one it replaces – a little smaller here, a little bigger there. It's longer, lower and significantly wider than the 2010 model and has more headroom for all passengers. There's a little less legroom for the driver, front passenger and people riding in the very back, but passengers in the middle seats are treated to almost three more inches of legroom. And while overall cargo capacity with all of the seats folded and/or stowed is down from 84 cubic feet to 81, the new model's extra inches of length were put to good use behind the third row of seats, where luggage space has grown from 14 to 21 cubic feet.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited interior2011 Ford Explorer Limited front seats2011 Ford Explorer Limited third row2011 Ford Explorer Limited rear cargo area
Our Limited 4WD tester proved to be comfortably roomy for passengers sitting up front and in the second row of seats, the latter of which were optional dual buckets ($750) with a second-row console ($100). While they do sacrifice a seat compared to the standard 60/40 split bench, the buckets make the third row less claustrophobic and give passengers in the way-back some extra knee room for their inboard legs. It's still not as comfortable as a minivan's most aft seating, but the Explorer's third row is one of the most comfortable in its class.
Our tester also came equipped with the top shelf Rapid Spec 302A package ($4,810) that, in addition to such niceties as Active Park Assist (useful in a vehicle this size), Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring System, rain sensing wipers, HID projector headlamps, a power liftgate, luxury seating package (heated, cooled, 10-way adjustable front seats) and voice-activated navigation with SIRIUS Travel Link, included an impressive power-folding 50/50 split third row. Check it out in the Autoblog Short Cuts video below.
Being the most expensive model with all-wheel drive and all the trimmings, this Explorer's $44,610 price tag ($39,190 base MSRP) did include Ford's controversial MyFord Touch system. We say 'controversial' because it's a love-it-or-hate-it infotainment system. You either love it for its forward-thinking user interface, excellent graphics and industry-leading features, or you hate it because it's a distraction, difficult to learn and slow to respond to inputs. Consumer Reports doesn't like it very much and the Autoblog team is split down the middle, though we universally dislike the stereo and climate controls that come with the separate upgraded Sony sound system.
In addition to nice things like a rear subwoofer, 12 speakers and 390 watts of power, the Sony system also replaces the lower part of your center dash with a completely smooth, glossy black panel of touch sensitive controls for the climate system and a single rotary knob for the stereo controls. With no contours, it's very difficult to perform simple tasks like finding the controls to change fan speed or turning on the rear defroster. Unfortunately, the Sony system is standard on Limited models.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited MyFord Touch2011 Ford Explorer Limited Sony stereo system
What's also standard is Ford's 3.5-liter TiVCT V6 engine. It's the only drivetrain available at launch, though will soon be joined by a high-tech 2.0-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder. For now, however, the 3.5-liter is all one needs thanks to respectable power figures like 290 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 255 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. The EcoBoost four-cylinder will have less power (237 hp at 5,500 rpm and 250 lb.-ft. from 1,750 rpm), but should easily beat the 3.5-liter's EPA fuel economy figures of 17 miles per gallon city, 23 mpg highway and 19 combined. Not opting for all-wheel drive will improve those numbers to 17 city, 25 highway and 20 combined, though we managed to achieve an average of 20.4 mpg over the course of a week with our Explorer Limited 4WD.
An engine is only as good as the parts to which it's mated, and fortunately the rest of the Explorer's mechanicals are equally up to moving and stopping this 4,752-pound vehicle without drama. The six-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly and intelligently, making manual gear selection via the gearshift lever's rocker switch somewhat superfluous. The brakes are confidence-inspiring with a firm pedal feel, addressing one of the long-standing complaints we've had with Ford vehicles on this platform for the last couple of years. And the steering is yet another incremental improvement for Ford's electronic power-assisted rack-and-pinion system, which continues to feel more natural with each iteration. Combined, these elements do their work without being noticed, which is exactly what the busy mom or dad who's behind the wheel wants.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited engine
What they also want are class-leading technology and safety features, and Ford is happy to oblige. Our Explorer Limited 4WD featured common items like a blind sport warning system, rear view camera and electronic stability control system with traction control, but also included unique features like the industry's first second-row inflatable seat belts. Next up is Curve Control, a new system that can sense when the driver is taking a turn too fast, as on a highway entrance or exit ramp, and reduce engine torque and independently apply braking to each of the four wheels to keep the Explorer on its intended arc. The most trick piece of new tech, however, and the one which we used the most, was Ford's new Terrain Management system.
Controlled by a knob right behind the gearshift lever, Terrain Management offers Explorer owners four selectable modes for the all-wheel-drive system: Normal, Mud and Ruts, Sand and Snow. Each of these situation-specific modes will individually adjust the engine, throttle, transmission, traction and stability control systems for that particular environment. We got caught in a nasty snow storm between Detroit and Cleveland while driving the Explorer and were able to at least put Snow mode to the test.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited Terrain Management System
We weren't able to feel any of those adjustments from behind the wheel during our hours of driving through inclement weather, which is a credit to the system's calibration, but we know it works if for no other reason than we're still here to write this review. We also noticed that the Explorer could generally accelerate quicker and cruise faster in the snow than the traffic around it, which could have been the Terrain Management's Snow mode doing its job or just our false sense of security from turning a knob on the dash until a snow flake lit up – a real danger for any well-marketed all-wheel-drive system. Terrain Management also includes Hill Descent Control, though we never found a big enough hill in Ohio to test this system's ability to slow down the Explorer with the assist of engine braking.
What we do have in Ohio is plenty of flat, straight roads on which to evaluate a vehicle's ride, and the Explorer offers a fine compromise between controlled and comfy. The longish 112.6-inch wheelbase, big 20-inch aluminum wheels and general immensity of the Explorer are able by their nature to handle bumps in the road without the vehicle becoming unsettled, while the shocks and springs themselves actually feel firm when being loaded up in a turn. With momentum in all directions under control, the Explorer actually drives like a smaller vehicle, though looking out of that high, expansive hood will never let you forget its size.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited headlight2011 Ford Explorer Limited grille2011 Ford Explorer Limited wheel2011 Ford Explorer Limited taillight
Some 20 years after America met the first Explorer, size is the main thing that's holding this latest model back from ever achieving the big box office numbers of its predecessors. That kind of money is reserved for much smaller vehicles these days. In fact, the top ten best-selling vehicles of 2010 included only one utility vehicle, the much smaller Honda CR-V, which nearly slid off the list at number nine. The CR-V sold just over 200,000 units last year, or less than half what the Explorer sold at its height of popularity back in 2000. Clearly, this size vehicle can't be a blockbuster anymore (unless it's got a bed in the back).
That doesn't mean, however, that the 2011 Ford Explorer can't be a huge success. Batman Begins was a huge success, even though the 1989 original earned a lot more money. Michael Keaton's original cost $48 million to make and earned $411 million worldwide, while the Christian Bale reboot cost $150 million and made $373 million. Nobody would argue the reboot was a bad idea, because that's not what reboots are about. They're about getting back to making a great product, which is exactly what Ford has done with the 2011 Explorer.
2011 Ford Explorer Limited rear 3/4 view
Bonus Fun Fact: The original Batman remained the highest grossing caped crusader film until the reboot's sequel, The Dark Knight, arrived in 2008. That film rediscovered the sweet spot with a little help from Heath Ledger's Joker and knocked the first film from its pedestal grossing over one... billion... dollars. If our little analogy holds true, Ford may have the utility vehicle to end all utility vehicles up its sleeve for this new Explorer's encore.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Review: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
Cadillac has never made anything like the CTS-V Coupe, a $63,000 monster that's half hedonist and half hot-rod. Not only that, Cadillac's never fought in this part of the market before. The brand had monster engines back in its early days, but they were always pulling monster barges that wallowed as much as, well, barges. Here we have a coupe promising to cut up the roads like one of those German knives, but we've heard that refrain so many times before. This time, however, it might be true.If this were 10 years ago, we'd be calling this the Cadillac Eldorado something-or-other. But it isn't and the Eldorado might as well be a Franklin Mint pewter collectable by now. And huzzah for that. The grand tourer with the mythic name was probably the most consistent bright spot in the Cadillac line, but nevertheless, the final version had come down quite a bit from its life at the big-bore top. Thirty years ago it was Boss Hog with steer horns for hood ornaments and celebrities in convertibles that stretched back into yesterday. By 2002 the Eldorado ETC was prescription medication for Mary Kay saleswomen and real estate agents who had discount cards for Denny's.
The following year the CTS was released, a shovel that the brand would use to pick up the pieces of its history. With the CTS-V Coupe, though, Cadillac has built a crowbar with the sole aim of prying open your minds.
It starts up front: a power bulge set among creases carved by a stiletto and angling downward into the slash of stacked headlights. The jutting, angled shield of a grille points down at the central thrust of a bumper that spears its way into the future and finishes with a lipped skirt that drops so low to the ground it might as well say, "There's nothing to see here."
It's as muscled as it is angled, all the way back to the windshield. The impression is that of the upper half of a Mr. Olympia, triceps and deltoids and trapezoids stacked atop one another, but each one as independent as it is ridiculously defined.
Move around to the side and there's welcome respite from the anger leading the way. Once the eye falls away from the bulge and side vent, the expanse is featureless, save for some chrome and a crease rising up to the rear. The visuals don't pop again until you get to the flipping-the-bird spoiler-cum-taillight hanging off the rear deck.
It's the rear that has come in for the most scrutiny, for obvious reasons. The handsome proportions that run all the way to the ends of the doors go all hyena on us at the rear quarter panels, so instead of Mr. Olympia we get terrific strength up top and then "Oh... what happened here?" The highly raked rear glass means the shoulder rises that much higher, and with two inches lopped off the rear compared to the sedan, it also rises more quickly. That's left a blank expanse of metal above the rear wheels that instantly registers as girth. We think if there were another crease, perhaps curved above the rear wheel like an arch, it would help avert a seemingly unavoidable conclusion: "That's a big butt."
Not that there'll be much chance to get a side-on view, mainly due to two things: the magnetoreological suspension that allows you to take full advantage of 556 horsepower and 551 pound-feet from the 6.2-liter LSA V8. Perhaps better than a technical description of how good the handling is, we'll tell you this: We drove 600 miles round trip to a place with hills and esses, our only desire being to flex all those fast-twitch muscles. And it was worth every mile and drop of gas.
See, Cadillac didn't just make a big, fast coupe, and they didn't even make a sporting coupe – they made a proper, bona fide, sports coupe. The only reason we don't call it a sports car is because it weighs nearly two tons and makes a deep, overt nod toward luxury, the same reasons, in fact, that we don't call a Bentley Continental GT a sports car.
General Motors' ionized handling innovations have been well tested and sorted in gunners like the Corvette, and even with the extra weight they lose nothing in the performance here. Let your eyes lead the way and turn the Alcantara-shod steering wheel to follow. That's how every turn is handled, an additional testament to steering that is plenty precise enough to be turned and set, not sawed at, at the same time as it still feels like a Cadillac around town.
The Michelin Pilot Sport 2s on 19-inch wheels have also proved their grip on numerous ten-tenths sports cars, and aren't any worse off for supporting the Cadillac's weight. We got the feeling we'd burn through them in short order, but with great grip – and great urges to mash the throttle – comes great tire wear. They do, though, also come with noticeable tire noise if the road surface is less than porcelain.
Fifteen-inch rotors up front could have been forged by the God of War, and will slow any advance with an alacrity that borders on the uncomfortable, should you choose. But if you're doing your job right it will rarely come to that. Put the car in Sport, keep the revs up and the engine doesn't have to do too much grunt work. A considered line through a snaking stretch will be rewarded with, "Were we really going that fast?" speeds and the constant need to remind yourself, "This is a Cadillac, right?" It's an unqualified hoot. And the last time we thought that about a Cadillac was in our grandfather's early '70's Eldorado convertible, but for very different reasons...
The only quibbles are found inside, and we will only harp on one of them. The interior materials, one of the quibbles, we'll let slide for now because we've already been told by Cadillac that in two years there'll be a revolution on the inside. It isn't bad, but it's luxurious for a car that costs half as much – the leather only looks like leather at night, never feels like leather, and the Recaros look like leather but feel like wood. It led to us thinking of the sun as "The ugly light." The wood is nice at all times of day, though, and the design is long-haul comfy. And at night the cabin is badass. With high beltlines and black everywhere, it's not like being in the Bat Cave, it's like being inside a real bat. With a radio.
However, the automatic transmission needs to be replaced as soon as possible. Though the beauty queen we've photographed for this review features the standard six-speed manual transmission, the car we actually lived with for a week came with the optional six-speed automatic. As we've come to accept modern Cadillacs with massive gumption, we understand why automatics are the preferred gearboxes. These cars are, after all, Cadillacs. But for heaven's sake equip it with an auto 'box that's as great as the rest of the package. In Sport mode you get the kind of pep you want attached to a 556-horsepower engine, but the frenetic overcomes the luxury and that's an unfair tradeoff. Even when you handle the shifting yourself there's a frustrating gap in the delivery, which is probably only noticeable because you're so excited about how the car feels and sounds and what you want it to do. But Cadillac created that excitement, and it's unconstitutional for them to cheat us out of it.
Even with that, we wouldn't say stay away from the auto. Buyers will probably spend most of their time cruising, and the slusher is perfectly capable during those leisurely runs. It's only that any buyer with sixty-five grand to spend on a CTS-V Coupe has probably been in other high-performance coupes and will know what he's missing. If your'e worried just stick with the standard six-speed.
But we get it: The brand's revolution isn't complete. Let's remember how far Cadillac has come, and not necessarily in a good way. The first Range Rover debuted In 1970 and cost about $4,000 at the time. It was for farmers and people who got dirty. Its cabin was covered in vinyl and rubber so folks could hose it down. That same year, a Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham cost more than $7,000 and offered more than 16 different combinations of cloth and leather interior.
Come to 2011 and the most expensive Cadillac doesn't cost as much as a base Range Rover, and the car leading the crest-and-wreath charge isn't fighting in the top segment, but in the trenches with the 3 Series and 5 Series. If you had told an Eldorado owner in 1970 that one day his brand's best car would be duking it out with the great, great grandkid of the BMW 2002, he'd have laughed. And then shot you for being un-American.
But that's where we are, and automatic or not, we don't advise staying away from the CTS-V Coupe. In fact, get as close as you can to it, and then in it, and then drive off with all available haste. It's not only a fabulous sports tourer – certainly one of the best on the roads – but it is F-U-N. And it's not hard to figure out why. Blend massive power with glee-inducing handling, wrap it in a polarizing exterior design, throw in a cabin that needs a bit more love and sell it all for peanuts, and that, friends, is a Nissan GT-R with a Cadillac badge.
Yes, that's what we said. It might not be great at everything just yet (like leather and plastics), but it's certainly great enough. The next go-round could hit the luxury sports coupe bulls-eye and finally be a competitor for the Europeans without a single caveat. We've been hearing and disbelieving that for more years than we can remember, but no more. Cadillac, you have our attention.
The following year the CTS was released, a shovel that the brand would use to pick up the pieces of its history. With the CTS-V Coupe, though, Cadillac has built a crowbar with the sole aim of prying open your minds.
It starts up front: a power bulge set among creases carved by a stiletto and angling downward into the slash of stacked headlights. The jutting, angled shield of a grille points down at the central thrust of a bumper that spears its way into the future and finishes with a lipped skirt that drops so low to the ground it might as well say, "There's nothing to see here."
It's as muscled as it is angled, all the way back to the windshield. The impression is that of the upper half of a Mr. Olympia, triceps and deltoids and trapezoids stacked atop one another, but each one as independent as it is ridiculously defined.
Move around to the side and there's welcome respite from the anger leading the way. Once the eye falls away from the bulge and side vent, the expanse is featureless, save for some chrome and a crease rising up to the rear. The visuals don't pop again until you get to the flipping-the-bird spoiler-cum-taillight hanging off the rear deck.
It's the rear that has come in for the most scrutiny, for obvious reasons. The handsome proportions that run all the way to the ends of the doors go all hyena on us at the rear quarter panels, so instead of Mr. Olympia we get terrific strength up top and then "Oh... what happened here?" The highly raked rear glass means the shoulder rises that much higher, and with two inches lopped off the rear compared to the sedan, it also rises more quickly. That's left a blank expanse of metal above the rear wheels that instantly registers as girth. We think if there were another crease, perhaps curved above the rear wheel like an arch, it would help avert a seemingly unavoidable conclusion: "That's a big butt."
Not that there'll be much chance to get a side-on view, mainly due to two things: the magnetoreological suspension that allows you to take full advantage of 556 horsepower and 551 pound-feet from the 6.2-liter LSA V8. Perhaps better than a technical description of how good the handling is, we'll tell you this: We drove 600 miles round trip to a place with hills and esses, our only desire being to flex all those fast-twitch muscles. And it was worth every mile and drop of gas.
See, Cadillac didn't just make a big, fast coupe, and they didn't even make a sporting coupe – they made a proper, bona fide, sports coupe. The only reason we don't call it a sports car is because it weighs nearly two tons and makes a deep, overt nod toward luxury, the same reasons, in fact, that we don't call a Bentley Continental GT a sports car.
General Motors' ionized handling innovations have been well tested and sorted in gunners like the Corvette, and even with the extra weight they lose nothing in the performance here. Let your eyes lead the way and turn the Alcantara-shod steering wheel to follow. That's how every turn is handled, an additional testament to steering that is plenty precise enough to be turned and set, not sawed at, at the same time as it still feels like a Cadillac around town.
The Michelin Pilot Sport 2s on 19-inch wheels have also proved their grip on numerous ten-tenths sports cars, and aren't any worse off for supporting the Cadillac's weight. We got the feeling we'd burn through them in short order, but with great grip – and great urges to mash the throttle – comes great tire wear. They do, though, also come with noticeable tire noise if the road surface is less than porcelain.
Fifteen-inch rotors up front could have been forged by the God of War, and will slow any advance with an alacrity that borders on the uncomfortable, should you choose. But if you're doing your job right it will rarely come to that. Put the car in Sport, keep the revs up and the engine doesn't have to do too much grunt work. A considered line through a snaking stretch will be rewarded with, "Were we really going that fast?" speeds and the constant need to remind yourself, "This is a Cadillac, right?" It's an unqualified hoot. And the last time we thought that about a Cadillac was in our grandfather's early '70's Eldorado convertible, but for very different reasons...
The only quibbles are found inside, and we will only harp on one of them. The interior materials, one of the quibbles, we'll let slide for now because we've already been told by Cadillac that in two years there'll be a revolution on the inside. It isn't bad, but it's luxurious for a car that costs half as much – the leather only looks like leather at night, never feels like leather, and the Recaros look like leather but feel like wood. It led to us thinking of the sun as "The ugly light." The wood is nice at all times of day, though, and the design is long-haul comfy. And at night the cabin is badass. With high beltlines and black everywhere, it's not like being in the Bat Cave, it's like being inside a real bat. With a radio.
However, the automatic transmission needs to be replaced as soon as possible. Though the beauty queen we've photographed for this review features the standard six-speed manual transmission, the car we actually lived with for a week came with the optional six-speed automatic. As we've come to accept modern Cadillacs with massive gumption, we understand why automatics are the preferred gearboxes. These cars are, after all, Cadillacs. But for heaven's sake equip it with an auto 'box that's as great as the rest of the package. In Sport mode you get the kind of pep you want attached to a 556-horsepower engine, but the frenetic overcomes the luxury and that's an unfair tradeoff. Even when you handle the shifting yourself there's a frustrating gap in the delivery, which is probably only noticeable because you're so excited about how the car feels and sounds and what you want it to do. But Cadillac created that excitement, and it's unconstitutional for them to cheat us out of it.
Even with that, we wouldn't say stay away from the auto. Buyers will probably spend most of their time cruising, and the slusher is perfectly capable during those leisurely runs. It's only that any buyer with sixty-five grand to spend on a CTS-V Coupe has probably been in other high-performance coupes and will know what he's missing. If your'e worried just stick with the standard six-speed.
But we get it: The brand's revolution isn't complete. Let's remember how far Cadillac has come, and not necessarily in a good way. The first Range Rover debuted In 1970 and cost about $4,000 at the time. It was for farmers and people who got dirty. Its cabin was covered in vinyl and rubber so folks could hose it down. That same year, a Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham cost more than $7,000 and offered more than 16 different combinations of cloth and leather interior.
Come to 2011 and the most expensive Cadillac doesn't cost as much as a base Range Rover, and the car leading the crest-and-wreath charge isn't fighting in the top segment, but in the trenches with the 3 Series and 5 Series. If you had told an Eldorado owner in 1970 that one day his brand's best car would be duking it out with the great, great grandkid of the BMW 2002, he'd have laughed. And then shot you for being un-American.
But that's where we are, and automatic or not, we don't advise staying away from the CTS-V Coupe. In fact, get as close as you can to it, and then in it, and then drive off with all available haste. It's not only a fabulous sports tourer – certainly one of the best on the roads – but it is F-U-N. And it's not hard to figure out why. Blend massive power with glee-inducing handling, wrap it in a polarizing exterior design, throw in a cabin that needs a bit more love and sell it all for peanuts, and that, friends, is a Nissan GT-R with a Cadillac badge.
Yes, that's what we said. It might not be great at everything just yet (like leather and plastics), but it's certainly great enough. The next go-round could hit the luxury sports coupe bulls-eye and finally be a competitor for the Europeans without a single caveat. We've been hearing and disbelieving that for more years than we can remember, but no more. Cadillac, you have our attention.
Review: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
Cadillac has never made anything like the CTS-V Coupe, a $63,000 monster that's half hedonist and half hot-rod. Not only that, Cadillac's never fought in this part of the market before. The brand had monster engines back in its early days, but they were always pulling monster barges that wallowed as much as, well, barges. Here we have a coupe promising to cut up the roads like one of those German knives, but we've heard that refrain so many times before. This time, however, it might be true.If this were 10 years ago, we'd be calling this the Cadillac Eldorado something-or-other. But it isn't and the Eldorado might as well be a Franklin Mint pewter collectable by now. And huzzah for that. The grand tourer with the mythic name was probably the most consistent bright spot in the Cadillac line, but nevertheless, the final version had come down quite a bit from its life at the big-bore top. Thirty years ago it was Boss Hog with steer horns for hood ornaments and celebrities in convertibles that stretched back into yesterday. By 2002 the Eldorado ETC was prescription medication for Mary Kay saleswomen and real estate agents who had discount cards for Denny's.
The following year the CTS was released, a shovel that the brand would use to pick up the pieces of its history. With the CTS-V Coupe, though, Cadillac has built a crowbar with the sole aim of prying open your minds.
It starts up front: a power bulge set among creases carved by a stiletto and angling downward into the slash of stacked headlights. The jutting, angled shield of a grille points down at the central thrust of a bumper that spears its way into the future and finishes with a lipped skirt that drops so low to the ground it might as well say, "There's nothing to see here."
It's as muscled as it is angled, all the way back to the windshield. The impression is that of the upper half of a Mr. Olympia, triceps and deltoids and trapezoids stacked atop one another, but each one as independent as it is ridiculously defined.
Move around to the side and there's welcome respite from the anger leading the way. Once the eye falls away from the bulge and side vent, the expanse is featureless, save for some chrome and a crease rising up to the rear. The visuals don't pop again until you get to the flipping-the-bird spoiler-cum-taillight hanging off the rear deck.
It's the rear that has come in for the most scrutiny, for obvious reasons. The handsome proportions that run all the way to the ends of the doors go all hyena on us at the rear quarter panels, so instead of Mr. Olympia we get terrific strength up top and then "Oh... what happened here?" The highly raked rear glass means the shoulder rises that much higher, and with two inches lopped off the rear compared to the sedan, it also rises more quickly. That's left a blank expanse of metal above the rear wheels that instantly registers as girth. We think if there were another crease, perhaps curved above the rear wheel like an arch, it would help avert a seemingly unavoidable conclusion: "That's a big butt."
Not that there'll be much chance to get a side-on view, mainly due to two things: the magnetoreological suspension that allows you to take full advantage of 556 horsepower and 551 pound-feet from the 6.2-liter LSA V8. Perhaps better than a technical description of how good the handling is, we'll tell you this: We drove 600 miles round trip to a place with hills and esses, our only desire being to flex all those fast-twitch muscles. And it was worth every mile and drop of gas.
See, Cadillac didn't just make a big, fast coupe, and they didn't even make a sporting coupe – they made a proper, bona fide, sports coupe. The only reason we don't call it a sports car is because it weighs nearly two tons and makes a deep, overt nod toward luxury, the same reasons, in fact, that we don't call a Bentley Continental GT a sports car.
General Motors' ionized handling innovations have been well tested and sorted in gunners like the Corvette, and even with the extra weight they lose nothing in the performance here. Let your eyes lead the way and turn the Alcantara-shod steering wheel to follow. That's how every turn is handled, an additional testament to steering that is plenty precise enough to be turned and set, not sawed at, at the same time as it still feels like a Cadillac around town.
The Michelin Pilot Sport 2s on 19-inch wheels have also proved their grip on numerous ten-tenths sports cars, and aren't any worse off for supporting the Cadillac's weight. We got the feeling we'd burn through them in short order, but with great grip – and great urges to mash the throttle – comes great tire wear. They do, though, also come with noticeable tire noise if the road surface is less than porcelain.
Fifteen-inch rotors up front could have been forged by the God of War, and will slow any advance with an alacrity that borders on the uncomfortable, should you choose. But if you're doing your job right it will rarely come to that. Put the car in Sport, keep the revs up and the engine doesn't have to do too much grunt work. A considered line through a snaking stretch will be rewarded with, "Were we really going that fast?" speeds and the constant need to remind yourself, "This is a Cadillac, right?" It's an unqualified hoot. And the last time we thought that about a Cadillac was in our grandfather's early '70's Eldorado convertible, but for very different reasons...
The only quibbles are found inside, and we will only harp on one of them. The interior materials, one of the quibbles, we'll let slide for now because we've already been told by Cadillac that in two years there'll be a revolution on the inside. It isn't bad, but it's luxurious for a car that costs half as much – the leather only looks like leather at night, never feels like leather, and the Recaros look like leather but feel like wood. It led to us thinking of the sun as "The ugly light." The wood is nice at all times of day, though, and the design is long-haul comfy. And at night the cabin is badass. With high beltlines and black everywhere, it's not like being in the Bat Cave, it's like being inside a real bat. With a radio.
However, the automatic transmission needs to be replaced as soon as possible. Though the beauty queen we've photographed for this review features the standard six-speed manual transmission, the car we actually lived with for a week came with the optional six-speed automatic. As we've come to accept modern Cadillacs with massive gumption, we understand why automatics are the preferred gearboxes. These cars are, after all, Cadillacs. But for heaven's sake equip it with an auto 'box that's as great as the rest of the package. In Sport mode you get the kind of pep you want attached to a 556-horsepower engine, but the frenetic overcomes the luxury and that's an unfair tradeoff. Even when you handle the shifting yourself there's a frustrating gap in the delivery, which is probably only noticeable because you're so excited about how the car feels and sounds and what you want it to do. But Cadillac created that excitement, and it's unconstitutional for them to cheat us out of it.
Even with that, we wouldn't say stay away from the auto. Buyers will probably spend most of their time cruising, and the slusher is perfectly capable during those leisurely runs. It's only that any buyer with sixty-five grand to spend on a CTS-V Coupe has probably been in other high-performance coupes and will know what he's missing. If your'e worried just stick with the standard six-speed.
But we get it: The brand's revolution isn't complete. Let's remember how far Cadillac has come, and not necessarily in a good way. The first Range Rover debuted In 1970 and cost about $4,000 at the time. It was for farmers and people who got dirty. Its cabin was covered in vinyl and rubber so folks could hose it down. That same year, a Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham cost more than $7,000 and offered more than 16 different combinations of cloth and leather interior.
Come to 2011 and the most expensive Cadillac doesn't cost as much as a base Range Rover, and the car leading the crest-and-wreath charge isn't fighting in the top segment, but in the trenches with the 3 Series and 5 Series. If you had told an Eldorado owner in 1970 that one day his brand's best car would be duking it out with the great, great grandkid of the BMW 2002, he'd have laughed. And then shot you for being un-American.
But that's where we are, and automatic or not, we don't advise staying away from the CTS-V Coupe. In fact, get as close as you can to it, and then in it, and then drive off with all available haste. It's not only a fabulous sports tourer – certainly one of the best on the roads – but it is F-U-N. And it's not hard to figure out why. Blend massive power with glee-inducing handling, wrap it in a polarizing exterior design, throw in a cabin that needs a bit more love and sell it all for peanuts, and that, friends, is a Nissan GT-R with a Cadillac badge.
Yes, that's what we said. It might not be great at everything just yet (like leather and plastics), but it's certainly great enough. The next go-round could hit the luxury sports coupe bulls-eye and finally be a competitor for the Europeans without a single caveat. We've been hearing and disbelieving that for more years than we can remember, but no more. Cadillac, you have our attention.
The following year the CTS was released, a shovel that the brand would use to pick up the pieces of its history. With the CTS-V Coupe, though, Cadillac has built a crowbar with the sole aim of prying open your minds.
It starts up front: a power bulge set among creases carved by a stiletto and angling downward into the slash of stacked headlights. The jutting, angled shield of a grille points down at the central thrust of a bumper that spears its way into the future and finishes with a lipped skirt that drops so low to the ground it might as well say, "There's nothing to see here."
It's as muscled as it is angled, all the way back to the windshield. The impression is that of the upper half of a Mr. Olympia, triceps and deltoids and trapezoids stacked atop one another, but each one as independent as it is ridiculously defined.
Move around to the side and there's welcome respite from the anger leading the way. Once the eye falls away from the bulge and side vent, the expanse is featureless, save for some chrome and a crease rising up to the rear. The visuals don't pop again until you get to the flipping-the-bird spoiler-cum-taillight hanging off the rear deck.
It's the rear that has come in for the most scrutiny, for obvious reasons. The handsome proportions that run all the way to the ends of the doors go all hyena on us at the rear quarter panels, so instead of Mr. Olympia we get terrific strength up top and then "Oh... what happened here?" The highly raked rear glass means the shoulder rises that much higher, and with two inches lopped off the rear compared to the sedan, it also rises more quickly. That's left a blank expanse of metal above the rear wheels that instantly registers as girth. We think if there were another crease, perhaps curved above the rear wheel like an arch, it would help avert a seemingly unavoidable conclusion: "That's a big butt."
Not that there'll be much chance to get a side-on view, mainly due to two things: the magnetoreological suspension that allows you to take full advantage of 556 horsepower and 551 pound-feet from the 6.2-liter LSA V8. Perhaps better than a technical description of how good the handling is, we'll tell you this: We drove 600 miles round trip to a place with hills and esses, our only desire being to flex all those fast-twitch muscles. And it was worth every mile and drop of gas.
See, Cadillac didn't just make a big, fast coupe, and they didn't even make a sporting coupe – they made a proper, bona fide, sports coupe. The only reason we don't call it a sports car is because it weighs nearly two tons and makes a deep, overt nod toward luxury, the same reasons, in fact, that we don't call a Bentley Continental GT a sports car.
General Motors' ionized handling innovations have been well tested and sorted in gunners like the Corvette, and even with the extra weight they lose nothing in the performance here. Let your eyes lead the way and turn the Alcantara-shod steering wheel to follow. That's how every turn is handled, an additional testament to steering that is plenty precise enough to be turned and set, not sawed at, at the same time as it still feels like a Cadillac around town.
The Michelin Pilot Sport 2s on 19-inch wheels have also proved their grip on numerous ten-tenths sports cars, and aren't any worse off for supporting the Cadillac's weight. We got the feeling we'd burn through them in short order, but with great grip – and great urges to mash the throttle – comes great tire wear. They do, though, also come with noticeable tire noise if the road surface is less than porcelain.
Fifteen-inch rotors up front could have been forged by the God of War, and will slow any advance with an alacrity that borders on the uncomfortable, should you choose. But if you're doing your job right it will rarely come to that. Put the car in Sport, keep the revs up and the engine doesn't have to do too much grunt work. A considered line through a snaking stretch will be rewarded with, "Were we really going that fast?" speeds and the constant need to remind yourself, "This is a Cadillac, right?" It's an unqualified hoot. And the last time we thought that about a Cadillac was in our grandfather's early '70's Eldorado convertible, but for very different reasons...
The only quibbles are found inside, and we will only harp on one of them. The interior materials, one of the quibbles, we'll let slide for now because we've already been told by Cadillac that in two years there'll be a revolution on the inside. It isn't bad, but it's luxurious for a car that costs half as much – the leather only looks like leather at night, never feels like leather, and the Recaros look like leather but feel like wood. It led to us thinking of the sun as "The ugly light." The wood is nice at all times of day, though, and the design is long-haul comfy. And at night the cabin is badass. With high beltlines and black everywhere, it's not like being in the Bat Cave, it's like being inside a real bat. With a radio.
However, the automatic transmission needs to be replaced as soon as possible. Though the beauty queen we've photographed for this review features the standard six-speed manual transmission, the car we actually lived with for a week came with the optional six-speed automatic. As we've come to accept modern Cadillacs with massive gumption, we understand why automatics are the preferred gearboxes. These cars are, after all, Cadillacs. But for heaven's sake equip it with an auto 'box that's as great as the rest of the package. In Sport mode you get the kind of pep you want attached to a 556-horsepower engine, but the frenetic overcomes the luxury and that's an unfair tradeoff. Even when you handle the shifting yourself there's a frustrating gap in the delivery, which is probably only noticeable because you're so excited about how the car feels and sounds and what you want it to do. But Cadillac created that excitement, and it's unconstitutional for them to cheat us out of it.
Even with that, we wouldn't say stay away from the auto. Buyers will probably spend most of their time cruising, and the slusher is perfectly capable during those leisurely runs. It's only that any buyer with sixty-five grand to spend on a CTS-V Coupe has probably been in other high-performance coupes and will know what he's missing. If your'e worried just stick with the standard six-speed.
But we get it: The brand's revolution isn't complete. Let's remember how far Cadillac has come, and not necessarily in a good way. The first Range Rover debuted In 1970 and cost about $4,000 at the time. It was for farmers and people who got dirty. Its cabin was covered in vinyl and rubber so folks could hose it down. That same year, a Fleetwood Sixty Special Brougham cost more than $7,000 and offered more than 16 different combinations of cloth and leather interior.
Come to 2011 and the most expensive Cadillac doesn't cost as much as a base Range Rover, and the car leading the crest-and-wreath charge isn't fighting in the top segment, but in the trenches with the 3 Series and 5 Series. If you had told an Eldorado owner in 1970 that one day his brand's best car would be duking it out with the great, great grandkid of the BMW 2002, he'd have laughed. And then shot you for being un-American.
But that's where we are, and automatic or not, we don't advise staying away from the CTS-V Coupe. In fact, get as close as you can to it, and then in it, and then drive off with all available haste. It's not only a fabulous sports tourer – certainly one of the best on the roads – but it is F-U-N. And it's not hard to figure out why. Blend massive power with glee-inducing handling, wrap it in a polarizing exterior design, throw in a cabin that needs a bit more love and sell it all for peanuts, and that, friends, is a Nissan GT-R with a Cadillac badge.
Yes, that's what we said. It might not be great at everything just yet (like leather and plastics), but it's certainly great enough. The next go-round could hit the luxury sports coupe bulls-eye and finally be a competitor for the Europeans without a single caveat. We've been hearing and disbelieving that for more years than we can remember, but no more. Cadillac, you have our attention.
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