The bastion has been razed: After luxury sedans and convertibles, Audi puts a diesel in a sports car, giving the hip TT a new 168-hp, 2.0-liter TDI engine.
Europeans will get the privilege of the low, sporty oil burner starting in June 2008, as the 2009 TT will be on display at the 2008 Geneva auto show.
Road performance might not be classified as formidable, but the TT diesel is no slug. Audi says its 168 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque translate into a 0-to-62-mph time of 7.5 seconds (7.6 for the cabriolet) and a top speed of 140 mph (139 for the cabriolet). Rather more remarkable are the modest drinking habits: 44.3 mpg for the coupe and 42.8 mpg for the convertible in the Euro measuring cycle.
Despite the heavy diesel engine and standard all-wheel drive, the TT TDI coupe tips the scales at just over 3000 pounds, thanks to a hybrid aluminum structure used in all TTs where the front end is made of aluminum and the rear is conventional steel. It is cheaper than the fully aluminum structure of the A8 orR8, and it makes for better weight distribution.
This new common-rail four-cylinder diesel will eventually replace the current efficient—but noisy—unit-injector technology in all VW Group cars with four-cylinder diesels. It’s a sweet engine—we’ve sampled it in VW models—and it revs freely up to 5000 rpm, which is high for a diesel.
If you accept the loosely Rabbit-based TT as a sports car, then there is no vehicle class left without a diesel for Audi. Next up, we hope: the R8 V-12 TDI, which was unveiled as a concept at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
At the Geneva auto show, Mercedes-Benz officials were stressing the company’s green aspirations ad nauseam—and then rolled out the latest AMG model, the 518-hp SL63 AMG. With a 6.2-liter V-8 engine underhood, this car is about as green as your average logging company. The SL63 replaces the SL55 AMG, which was powered by a supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 that produced a mere 510 horsepower. The new car features face-lifted styling and interior revisions, plus a modified version of the company’s seven-speed transmission. The SL63 certainly looks the part. The exterior changes that have been applied to all SL models make the car look more contemporary. The SL63 adds an aggressive front fascia and side skirts to signal its more sporting mien, plus standard 19-inch wheels and tires. Inside, there’s a special AMG steering wheel, gauge cluster, and shift lever to accompany other SL revisions that include an iPod interface and a Bluetooth phone hookup that both work pretty seamlessly. Sophisticated Transmission The most interesting feature of the car, however, is buried from view. Mercedes has decided to mate its conventional seven-speed planetary gearset with a multiplate wet clutch (instead of the usual torque converter) to make the closest thing Mercedes has to an automated manual gearbox. Whereas BMW and Audi have gone the twin-clutch, twin-shaft gearbox route, the AMG engineers cite weight as one reason for their solution. A twin-clutch gearbox that could handle the SL63’s 465 pound-feet of torque would weigh at least 44 more pounds. The fact that Mercedes already builds its own planetary gearsets must have factored in, too. The transmission has five modes, selected by a rotary dial next to the shift lever: standard (comfort); sport; sport plus; manual; and a launch-control function. The sport and sport-plus modes produce progressively faster shifts and heavier doses of revs while downshifting. The manual setting is self-explanatory, allowing the driver control of the ratios via the shift lever or the steering-wheel-mounted paddles. As with the previous SL55, Mercedes offers a Performance package that features more aggressive tuning of the active-body-control (ABC) suspension system; a torque-sensing limited-slip differential; and bigger front brake rotors, up in diameter from an already monstrous 14.2 inches to 15.4. The package will likely cost about $14,000 on top of a projected base price of $133,000. Luxury Cruiser and Serious Sports Car The upshot of all these changes is a pretty special automobile that is both luxury cruiser and serious sports car. Leave the transmission setting alone, the stability control on (there are three modes), and the ABC in its comfort mode, and the SL63 will eat up highway miles quite serenely. The only clue to its more aggressive demeanor is a truly spectacular V-8 engine note that wouldn’t disgrace a NASCAR event. The transmission isn’t quite as smooth as a conventional automatic in town, but it is way better than the sequential manual gearbox in the BMW M6. Go aggressive on the ABC, transmission, and skid-control settings, and the SL63 is a fast, satisfying back-road car. Nicely weighted, faithful steering is allied to good body control and reasonably neutral chassis balance. On the track, you discover that 4350 pounds of automobile doesn’t respond well to attempts to brake and turn at the same time, when it will plow mightily, but it can be slid around like a much smaller sports car if one is patient on corner entry and uses the prodigious torque to unglue the 285/30 rear tires. Fitted with the Performance package, the SL becomes something of a track star, thanks to better body control, sharper turn-in, and even more powerful brakes. Using the launch-control function, we predict a 0-to-60-mph sprint of about 4.2 seconds. Top speed is governed to 155 mph—the car gets there with alacrity and a soundtrack that is borderline illegal, along with whip-crack upshifts. The SL63 isn’t as sporting as a Porsche 911 Turbo cabriolet, but it is a compelling alternative, and it makes one wonder why anyone needs to spend half a million dollars on an SLR McLaren roadster, unless the customer just wants to flaunt the amount of money he or she has.
The Pontiac G6 is one of the first General Motors products to be sold in the U.S. that shares a platform with European vehicles such as the Opel Vectra. Available initially in sedan and coupe form as a 2005 model, the G6 looks the part, but it hasn’t been the critical or sales success that GM would have liked. (In truth, the Saturn Aura and the Chevy Malibu are far-better-developed versions of the same basic underpinnings.) The G6 comes in three body styles: sedan, coupe, and hardtop convertible. The sedan has a four-cylinder engine in base trim levels, with a 3.5-liter V-6 when sold as a GT model and a DOHC 3.6-liter V-6 engine making 252 horsepower in GXP guise. The coupe comes in GT and GXP forms; the convertible is available only in GT trim. Verdict The G6 is a decent vehicle but is solidly mid to back of the pack compared with more recent GM efforts and the best of the Japanese competition. We like the bold styling, especially on the coupe and hardtop convertible, but the ride and handling are only average, and the interior quality lags behind that of the class leaders. Still, the GXP models offer a lot of bang for the buck, and the convertible is one of the cheapest and most elegant four-place convertibles on the market.
Mercedes-Benz chose Southern California for the worldwide first-drive program of its freshened 2009 SL-class roadster on account of, we thought, its friendly, relatively predictable March weather and access to fabulous roads. Although the blessed Left Coast location has both of those things, Mercedes attributed its choice of locations to something even more significant, asserting that it was bringing us to the roots of the SL-class. That’s right, Southern California is responsible for the very existence of the SL roadster itself. Huh? According to Mercedes-Benz, in the SL’s not-so-humble beginnings—the storied 300SL Gullwing—there was little or no initial consideration for doing a roadster version. The butterfly doors on the coupe were designed to make the big two-seater accessible in tight European quarters, and without a roof, there would be no place to mount them. But according to the “legend,” California’s rich and famous—who didn’t share European space constraints, nor did they care much about Europeans, for that matter—clamored enough to make a case for a roadster version. The result was a beautifully proportioned instant classic. Surprised? Just take a look around Los Angeles and you won’t be. There are more SLs on the road in Southern California, we’d guess, than anywhere else in the world. And so we set off feeling right at home as we got our first taste of the 2009 SL-class. The fact that it was a perfect sunny day in March and we were enjoying California’s trademark fabulous roads was icing on the cake. Just as the Rich Get Richer, the Stylish Get More Stylish Just as the wealthy always seem to find more money in their accounts after making withdrawals, style builds on style when it comes to their rides. The SL’s midcycle enhancement, then, brings with it a few effective styling changes, headlined by a new single-bar grille that evokes most of its SL forebears, flanked by L-shaped headlamps that evoke none of them. But they do tie the SL nicely to the CLS-classfour-door coupe-sedan thing and likely many sporting Mercedes-Benz models to come. To us, the lights look a bit discordant, primarily due to the rearmost edge having the same roundness as the previous SL’s now-dated peanut lights, no doubt to keep Mercedes from having to develop new fender stampings. The fenders themselves on the SL550 and SL600 incorporate modified gill-type air outlets behind the front wheels and bracket a redesigned hood with two stupidly named “power domes,” which, in fact, are neither domes nor anything that gives the car more power (for the real power story in the SL lineup, look no further than our drive of the new SL63 AMG, with its naturally aspirated 518-hp, 6.2-liter V-8—and no power domes). Other modifications found on the SL lineup include larger side mirrors with curious arrow-shaped turn signals and, in the case of the SL550 and SL600, a faux air “diffuser” and trapezoidal exhaust tips at the rear. In all, we’d say the changes are successful in adding presence and a sportier overall look to the car. Whether it’s more attractive is up to the beholder, we suppose. All we can say at this point is that, unlike the previous model, it now looks really good in red. More important, from Rodeo Drive to Indian Canyon Boulevard in Palm Springs, everyone seemed to notice that we were driving new Benzes. New Steering Wheel, New Steering Sensations A sporty new three-spoke steering wheel is the most dramatic change made to the SL’s interior. The only other changes of note are the mildly revised instrument cluster, a more logical COMAND infotainment system, and the newly available three-speed Airscarf system that blows warm air onto your neck. But it’s what you feel through the steering wheel, we’d say, that is more important. The previous steering rack has been replaced by a new variable-ratio system that is a touch slow immediately off-center but gets really serious, really soon as the wheel turns toward 90 degrees. Seldom in our winding mountain driving experience—over the gorgeous Angeles Crest Highway toward Palmdale, back around Mount Waterman and down toward Palm Springs, with a stretch along the 6000-foot-high Rim-of-the-World Highway—did we have to feed the wheel from hand to hand in corners. Although feel and feedback are far from Porsche-like, both characteristics can be considered excellent and perfectly suitable for a sporting six-figure luxury-touring roadster. Want a bit of oversteer? Simply stab the gas—particularly with the stability control (ESP) off—and the big roadster’s tail comes around quickly and predictably, making us feel perhaps a bit more confident on our drive than we should have given the narrow roads, often with steep drop-offs on one side and hungry-looking trees on the other. As ever, ABC (active body control) does a remarkable job of keeping body roll completely snuffed while soaking up all but the most torrid impacts; between the air springs and the solid construction inherent to all recent SLs, we noticed only a few jolts during our entire stint behind the wheels of both SL550 and SL600 models—impacts that probably would have caused much more of a disturbance to lesser cars and their occupants. The SL’s brakes, however, felt a touch artificial as the hypersensitive anti-lock system constantly fiddled with the brake pressure at each wheel, especially when trail-braking into corners or on rough patches. This was most apparent in the SL550, whose 13.8-inch-front and 12.6-inch-rear rotors are each 0.4 inch smaller than those of the marginally heavier SL600. Still, both systems proved completely fade-resistant and more than capable of yanking the big two-seater abruptly down in speed.
Honda introduced a completely redesigned Civic in 2006, and little has changed since. Available as a four-door sedan or two-door coupe, the Civic boasts accurate steering, strong brakes, a roomy interior, and a willing suspension. The Civic’s styling—the large, fast windshield, minivan-like front end, and UFO-style two-tiered dashboard—incites a bit of controversy, as these are all love-them-or-hate-them elements. Power is adequate with the base 140-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, which is available with a slick-shifting five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic. Shoppers seeking more power might be interested in the Si model that offers a slightly larger and more powerful 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 197 horsepower. The Civic Si is only available with a six-speed manual transmission. For those seeking an uncompromised, near-sports-car-like experience, the Civic Si Mugen sedan keeps the powertrain of the Si but features a multitude of chassis and exterior tweaks. Although all Civics boast excellent fuel economy, some buyers might want to stretch their fuel budget even further. For those who must have Toyota Prius –like fuel economy, Honda offers the Civic hybrid, which couples a small 93-hp, 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine with a 20-hp electric motor to boost fuel economy over 40 mpg. Honda also offers the Civic GX, which is powered by a natural-gas-burning, 113-hp version of the “normal” Civic’s 1.8-liter four-cylinder. The CNG Civic GX is the only production vehicle so equipped for sale in the United States today and is eligible for tax credits, although individuals can purchase one only in California and New York. The GX CNG is strictly available to fleet buyers in other states. For 2008, Civic offers eight different trim levels (DX, LX, EX, EX-L, Si, Si Mugen, GX, and hybrid). Si Mugen, GX, and hybrid versions are only available as four-door Civic sedans. Major competitors to the Civic lineup include the Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Spectra, Mazda 3, Nissan Sentra, Pontiac G5, Scion xB, Scion xD, Subaru Impreza, Suzuki SX4, Toyota Corolla, and Volkswagen Rabbit and GTI. Verdict The Civic distinguishes itself from the rest of its class by offering superb refinement and a somewhat sporty driving experience. Aside from its funky styling, the Civic is easy to love. From a gas-sipping hybrid to the track-ready Si versions, Honda builds a Civic for every lifestyle and budget.
Few cars of the last decade have had the impact of the Toyota Prius hybrid. It wasn’t the first hybrid vehicle to enter the U.S. market, and the first-generation Prius had a quiet reception here, as it was too small, too slow and too conservatively styled to get much attention outside the hard-core environmentalist community. In contrast, the current-generation Prius, introduced in 2004, has attained celebrity status. It’s not just that it’s roomier, more fuel-efficient and cleaner-burning than the original, although these are all good reasons to consider buying one. It’s that this midsize hybrid hatchback looks like no other car on the market and thus allows its driver to make a personal and political statement. Add in the ability to drive a Prius solo in the carpool lane in California, its biggest market, and it’s clear the 2007 Toyota Prius will continue to sell in brisk numbers.The heart of the original Toyota hybrid car is a gas-electric drivetrain the company calls Hybrid Synergy Drive. In the Toyota Prius, the setup consists of a 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine paired with an electric-drive motor that draws power from a nickel-metal hydride battery pack (mounted under the car’s rear hatch area) — together they make 110 hp. A second electric motor functions solely as a generator, recharging the batteries. The primary electric-drive motor can also rejuice the batteries, using energy recaptured during braking. It sounds complicated, but a simplified continuously variable transmission (CVT) deftly shuffles power between the sources, providing smooth, seamless operation from the Prius driver’s point of view. The Prius’ claim to fame is its ability to operate under electric power alone at low speeds, which contributes to its low fuel consumption. With a combined EPA rating of 55 mpg, this is the most fuel-efficient car on sale in the U.S. for 2007.As technologically sophisticated as the Toyota Prius is, it’s a remarkably practical car to drive on a day-to-day basis. Its interior is spacious enough to accommodate a family of four in comfort, and a tight turning radius combined with light, electric-assist steering makes it extremely easy to maneuver in crowded urban areas. The one thing the Prius doesn’t offer is excitement, as its frugal drivetrain and modest handling capability make it one of the most tepid midsize cars on the road. This likely explains the introduction of the ‘07 Prius Touring model, which should provide slightly crisper handling along with a sportier look. If you’re shopping for a Prius, you should also consider the similarly priced Honda Civic Hybrid. Its acceleration is equally pokey but it has better road manners and more mainstream styling. For those who can spend a bit more, Toyota’s own Camry Hybrid offers a larger interior and all the comforts of a regular Camry. If you want to wear your green commitment on your sleeve, though, there’s no better choice for a hybrid car than the 2007 Toyota Prius.
When Honda promises dramatic styling, there’s usually a collective groan from the Car and Driver nerve center. We’ve heard that line before, and the result is invariably as exciting as a meal of oatmeal and water. But this time, the Accord coupe has the handsome design that’s needed in the coupe market. It’s not quite as slinky as the brand-new ’08 Altima coupe, but its svelte lines are arguably better balanced and offer more room—three more cubic feet of interior space (93 versus 90)—but the trunk is far bigger at 12 cubic feet (compared with the Altima’s 7). Because of its superior sedan underpinnings, the Accord coupe is a better machine than the Altima. It’s certainly fast. The sonorous and smooth 3.5-liter V-6 engine makes a solid 268 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque, enough to motivate the car from 0 to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, 0.2 second quicker than the Altima. The Accord reaches 100 mph from rest in 13.6 seconds, 2.1 seconds earlier than the Nissan. The six-speed manual transmission fitted to our tester was slick and easy to use.
The Honda FCX Clarity is a technology of the future and may always be just that, but nonetheless, the Japanese automaker is cautiously bringing out its hydrogen fuel-cell car for a stroll. Starting this summer, Honda will lease the FCX for a fixed three-year contract at $600 per month without an option to buy. Production numbers are privately held, but Ferraris will be as common as paper clips by comparison. The lessees will be selected by a committee at American Honda Motor Company based largely on geographic location. If you don’t live in greater Los Angeles, where several of the nation’s few publicly accessible hydrogen stations currently pump the ethereal gas for about $5 per kilogram (the FCX holds 5.3 kilos, good for up to 270 miles of real-world driving, says Honda), forget about making the cut. Hand built mostly from steel and some aluminum in Honda’s dream-car factory in Tochigi, Japan, the place that produced the Acura NSX and the Honda Insight hybrid, the Clarity’s eureka innovation is called the V Flow, or vertical flow stack. Fuel cells make electricity by inducing hydrogen atoms through a membrane that strips away their electrons. Honda’s design uses stamped stainless-steel generating plates that are grooved with vertical gas channels shaped in a wave pattern that increases surface area and leverages gravity to drain out waste water, an important factor in power production and cold-temperature startup. Meanwhile, the plates are cross-cut with horizontal coolant channels that more efficiently control internal temperatures—all of which allows Honda to increase electrical output from its previous stack by 16 percent to 100 kilowatts while shrinking the volume by 21 percent and the weight by 30 percent to 148 pounds. In the Clarity, the stack is not much larger than two desktop-computer towers and fits neatly into a tunnel between the front seats. A single 45-gallon tank behind the rear seats stores gaseous hydrogen at up to 5000 psi, and a small lithium-ion battery pack buffers the stack’s power delivery and stores energy from the regenerative brakes. Sized between the Civic and Accord, the 3600-pound Clarity disappears in traffic and drives like the Accord with which it shares its control-arm front suspension. Instead of engine growl, a distant motor hums and a slightly disturbing, stepping-on-a-cat scream emanates from the Roots-type compressor feeding outside air to the stack. A split-level, Syd Mead–inspired dash features a blue hydrogen “consumption ball” that grows larger and turns amber the more you press the gas pedal. After shelling out $21,600 over three years, you’d be forgiven for expecting to own at least part of this smallish sedan rather than a wad of canceled checks. Honda doesn’t agree. Plated with platinum catalysts and lined with exotic membranes, fuel cells are still NASA-priced. The Clarity is a money-losing experiment at encouraging hydrogen infrastructure development, the company says. Be part of it or don’t. Chances are, you’ll never get the choice.
The Honda Pilot, which launched in 2002 as a 2003 model, was one of the first crossover vehicles to offer three rows of seating. Built on a unibody platform shared with the Odyssey minivan and loosely based on the Accord, the Pilot weighed substantially less, felt more carlike, and returned better fuel economy than its body-on-frame competition. In recognition of the Pilot’s all-around excellence, we awarded the Pilot a 5Best Trucks award for large sport-utility vehicles from 2003 to 2007. For 2008, the Pilot finally fell off the list in favor of the newer and sportier Mazda CX-9. Still, the Pilot offers a good driving experience, strong acceleration for its class, and enough interior space for eight people plus cargo. All Pilots are powered by a 244-hp version of Honda’s familiar 3.5-liter V-6 that boasts fuel-saving cylinder deactivation. However, EPA fuel-economy estimates are a relatively thirsty 16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway for a two-wheel-drive Pilot and 15/20 for four-wheel-drive models. Now entering its sixth model year, the Pilot exists in a world filled with newer three-row crossover vehicles and is beginning to feel a bit dated. It’s good, then, that a replacement for the current Pilot is due for the 2009 model year. The 2008 Pilot is available in four trim levels (VP, EX, SE, and EX-L), and each offers front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. In the three-row-SUV category, the Pilot faces competition from the Buick Enclave, theDodge Journey, the FordExplorer, the Ford Taurus X, the GMC Acadia, the Hyundai, the Jeep Commander, the Mazda CX-9, the Nissan Pathfinder, the Saturn Outlook, and the Toyota Highlander. Verdict The Pilot is an excellent SUV that exhibits carlike handling and easily hauls up to eight people and their goods. Although the competition has copied the Pilot’s formula and subsequently caught up in the past six years, the Pilot still offers three-row comfort for about $30,000.
One of the signature numbers in the musical A Chorus Line features a struggling starlet justifying a bevy of elective medical procedures to bring her looks up to par with her talent. “T*ts and *ss,” she claims, are all she’ll need to bring everything into balance. “Keep the best of ya, do the rest of ya,” she croons. In much the same spirit, Acura has reworked its talented but image-challengedTSX, which is sold in Europe as the Honda Accord. Adding—ahem—size and content where it matters, but retaining the previous model’s handling characteristics and essentially the same powertrain, Acura keeps the 2009 TSX in its sweet spot beneath the larger, pricier, and much more powerful TL while making the TSX a far more convincing premium-brand proposition. Bigger, but Not Much Heavier The first thing you notice is that the TSX is bigger—by a bunch. Its increased width (3.0 inches), length (2.2 inches), wheelbase (1.4 inches), and track (2.6 inches) contribute to newfound road presence that, like the lanky nerd you remember from high school who sprouted a full coat of toned muscles over a summer, ought to have Audi A4, Saab 9-3, and Volvo S40 drivers doing double takes. What you don’t see are the TSX’s new structural components, including a stronger rear bulkhead, new roof crossmembers, and integrated frame rails, many reinforced by welds instead of bolts for added rigidity. The trunk space hasn’t grown, however. Meanwhile, Acura’s claim for the accompanying weight increase is a fairly reasonable 160 pounds overall. More Space, More Goodies The dividends of the TSX’s larger, more capacious cabin include its ability to closely follow its big-brother TL in style, feature content, and ergonomic sensibility. Even without the optional features-laden Technology package, which includes a navigation system that incorporates not only real-time traffic reporting for 76 markets but also weather reports along the way, the TSX is loaded with features such as leather trim, Bluetooth connectivity, iPod integration, and fantastically snug sport seats. The Technology package, however, is one box you’ll definitely want to check if only on account of its surround-sound audio system designed by sound engineer Elliot Scheiner of ELS, who was on hand during our preview to personally show us just how sparkling sound can be. Besides its 10 speakers and DVD-Audio capability, it also features a cool “note” function for XM radio that makes it easy to identify and tag songs to recall at a later date. With the push of a button, the note function captures 10 seconds of up to 30 songs and saves the text indicating song title, artist name, and XM channel. Sure beats scribbling song titles down when you’re hustling along at 80 mph.