regfootball

Well that's kind of my point. The current passat when you get the tan interior with the suede seat inserts is nice. But many of them are sold with vinyl or burlap seats in black. Amazing the difference color and material makes. Lol on the glovebox, true. I don't think the Euro Passats interior with black plastic and burlap seats would be that much better.

I managed to find a new Fusion 1.6 SE manual to take for a spin today. My impression again this time was pretty consistent with before. This one was all black, and to be honest the black cloth interior came off rather well to me this time. The unit did not have the touchscreen, it had regular radio and CC, and that was alright! I came away impressed again with so much about the car as before. The car has a great ride down the road, it feels refined inside, and the ergonomics and dash are great. Visually inside and out this car is a treat. Seats are great, room and space even in the back quite good. My main judgment to make today was to decide if the 1.6 ecoboost had enough pop. I am so torn. At times, it felt like a horse leaping out of the gate. At other times, it felt kind of like my Cobalt. Weak getting out of the gate, coarse, noisy. I am not sure if this is a bipolar engine, or just inconsistent driving on my part. When you drive it right, and it seems creamy and quiet, it is quite convincing that this is a satisfying car perfectly mated to what I believe is a sublime shifter. But then i ask why am I shifting so much, and why are all the 6 gears are absolutely needed so much. In the times you want to lean on the car a lot, you want more pull, but you don't want to gas it because of the noise and lack of torque. I think the car could benefit from being a 1.8 or a 2.0. Sure it would lose some mpg. The main thing i determined today is I think the 1.8 litre Passat has more zip overall and not as much to shift all the time. I am trying to sort of pick between the two. The Fusion is a better car in sooooo many ways, I still believe its the best volume midsizer. But i think the Passat's motor here mated to the stick has more gusto and you don't need to shift so much. This would be solved easily if the Fusion had a 1.8 turbo instead of a 1.6. I bet the 2.0 turbo mated to stick or the 2.3 to a stick in this car would rule. The new 2.7 Ecoboost v6 with AWD and a stick would be a quattro beater. We can dream, right?

wish the hatchback they have in Europe were available here....

anyone think the new Euro Passat's interior is a big upgrade?

I really never followed up on this. I couple weeks ago, I test drove the 5 speed manual version of a Passat S TSi. I would say overall the 1.8 gives a great impression again, and in this case, the 5 speed manual is quite well matched to the car too. I did not miss a 6th gear. The engine has nice enough torque and zip such that 5 ratios is enough. The shifter is very nice, maybe a tish less good than the Fusion 6 speed shifter in that department. But overall its fine. The engine qualities are about the same from the automatic to the manual. There is a little turbo whine, but that is fine to me, its a nice sound. There's a wee bit of lag, and it can take a bit for the torque to build, but its well behaved and linear. It does well paired to either transmission. The easy to shift manual and well spaced ratios coupled with the willing engine mean its pleasing to drive. Even if there is not power by the boatloads, it complements the car, there is a bit of fun, and for general driving and commuting it is refined and can have its instances where it demostrates a surprisingly POPPY feel. The main differences I felt in the Passat this time was due to this being the S base model instead of the nicer SE. The S has,to be frank, a very basic interior. Dark, hard plastic. Budget grade cloth seats. Lack of accents, touch points, or interesting detail. The S has steelies and Hankook tires (or were they Kuhmos?). The ride and handling definitely lacked in comparison to the SE. The quick steering is there, but the narrow crappy tires on steel rims tune out the responsiveness and communication. The ride is not tempered with much cush and it actually seemed like there was maybe more road noise also. Not that it was worse than some other main offenders in class, just that it felt like less than it should be, even despite the fact that the S is quite well priced. Passats should not feel tinny, cheap, noisy and hard riding. Its still more pleasant than the rattle trap Accord. You know (I know too) you get what you pay for. If there were an SEL manual I should try that out and see if it feels much better. One other thing I noticed this time around is the roofline did indeed feel lower and more intrusive than i recall previously. And despite all the rear leg room, the rear seats you sit ON and not IN. Perhaps may not be totally comfy on a long trip for adults. They don't cup you like in the Fusion. Still overall for a car this size and with German traits, for a good price, and be available with a manual trans and engaging engine.....this is a good thing. I am still interested in continuing to pursue this car. I really wish the dash / interior wasn't such a dud.

I've had no trouble pulling 28-30 many times on long trips in the company AWD Journey. I think Chrysler did a good job with the FE on the Pentastar.

I think Cadillac would expect to move at least 2,000 a month of these. And I do think it wouldn't be hard, if they keep a version of it accessible price wise, and if the interior is truly ON PAR with a German car. Also they can distinguish the LTS with a v8. ATS is botched due to small back seat and bland dash. CTS is botched a bit due to some funny styling and questionable pricing. LTS ont he upper end would allow Caddy to move some ATS and CTS pricing down also, get some more volume back there.

Buick would be a good diesels brand. I think CTS and ATS could do diesel nice as well. A larger 4 cyl Impala diesel would be a road king. Imagine 45-50 mpg and a huge tank. Don't get a large beverage!

it would be nice to see a standard cab and long box basic truck. if one can get a cheap version of this, and with the 4, it should still be fairly cheap transport. Shouldn't have a problem getting 25 mpg. I bet a 4 cyl basic 6 speed truck would be fun. I didn't look for myself, but can you get a manual trans and AWD together?

Deep discounted 200s and Avengers are going away so Dart has room to breathe now. Flabbergasted at how many people buy Patriots.....

I honestly believe the product people at Chevy do not understand their customers and the segment. If they did, the crap back seat on the current version would have never made it past proto stage. Likewise the narrow and cheap cabin of the 08-12.

ford taurus has a nice big ass trunk, that is your ride. I really don't mind lift backs. I wish there would be a well done split lift back. where the rear glass could stay closed most of the time. I know BMW tried this i think but the way they did it was effed.

Scion, QFT gotta wonder if they shouldn't ditch Scion name. I do like the Auris some though. It's really the matrix less tall. Auris Yaris what is the sound diff.

GM isn't leading in anything anymore. They are just reacting. Ford makes a light F150. OK< we need to also. Midsize sedans are larger and not ugly....ok we need to stretch the malibu out again and rush it to the market 3 series is kicking our ass, we need to make a new model the same size and hope it competes.

We initially thought it was a Buick... But they did a rather poor job hiding the bow-ties on the wheel caps. You can see right through that tape and the mesh covering the grill, as well. Also, It's worth mentioning that in the test group or 4 or 5 prototypes, there were also a few cars for bench-marking: A current Malibu, Fusion, and a Camry. If Chevy does in fact come out with a new Malibu in 2016, then even more Kudos. A 3 year model run for chevy would be absolutely uncommon but it would show them addressing a need pronto.

i certainly did not mean less trunk space. i guess meant that they need to extend and lengthen the green house, and reduce the length of the trunk deck.

Kudos to gm for looking to make their core product current.

First of all, this was on 'the other place' a few days ago. Second of all, I think it's highly likely that this is the next LaCrosse instead of Malibu. Third, all the improvements the story discusses are what the Malibu needs. More back seat, more head room, less of a trunk. Longer wheelbase. I don't see a new Malibu for 2016 but a new lacrosse makes sense. Malibu for 2017 seems right. I would guess they might fleet build the current Malibu for awhile after the next one comes out. My buddy has a 14 Malibu as a fleet car and says it's great. He had one of the prior fen and he says this newer one is indeed nicer.

Wow, saw one one the road today and it sure is ugly . Driving it and just looking at it in the showroom,the ugliness isn't apparent like it is when you see it from a distance passing by. I don't think I could own this because of that.

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/07/22/subaru-class-action-lawsuit-excess-oil-use/

IMO it gives Toyota the chance to steer clear of an AWD Camry, yet it is sort of similar so they will get the buyer that wants an AWD Camry.....or simply just another version of the Camry. Plus they still after all these years pretty much have the AWD market cornered in this class. Especially the cheap side. It bugs me that GM can't seem to figure this segment out. Conversely the Impala which is now in a dead segment, sells like hotcakes.

my parents live a town that is a decent easy part drive from Canada and its a large enough town where the Canucks come down and shop the malls etc. very often. When i went to visit them recently, i went to the mall and i saw two Manitoba Trax within a few minutes. Cute lil thing! I can bet you the Trax will do well. I saw an Orlando too that day and be glad that Chevy did not bring that turd down to the US....... I think sedans would do better if they made them more spacious! For example two cars I tested out this weekend, A passat and Legacy, both have good passenger space but not real good trunk space. I could see bypassing them for a CUV for family use. One car that gets ripped is the Taurus, but to me it's a great family car. Spacious inside even if they say the leg room isn't the best, an adult can still sit back there. Big thing is the 20 cubic foot trunk is in fact a genuine legitimate competitor for a CUV trunk as it is tall deep and wide. You can pack a second level of bags and such and you could probably even get a bike back there. trunk sizes are still pretty small even on many of the larger sedans.

I still have to write up on to but I did drive a manual passat S TSI yesterday. Nice gas turbo mill. And the DIC shows some ridiculous FE numbers when you are cruising around. I would bet 35-40 mpg with this car is no problem at all. Got some pretty ridiculous lease quotes too. Now is the time to get one of these if you like it.

TESTED: 2015 Subaru Legacy AWD 2.5i Premium MSRP 25,045 HIGHS -a natural and successful evolution of the.....successful previous generation. If you liked the last one, you will like this one -significant powertrain enhancements with the CVT, power delivery, fuel economy, and general drivability. -impressive CVT functioning. It really is ok to own a car with a CVT now! Simulated stepped automatic works well, and overall a lot of folks may not be able to tell the difference from a traditional automatic. -interior, which looks dreadful and cheap in pictures, is actually fairly decent and a bit of an upgrade over the previous model -evolved styling is a bit sleeker than before. -interior space, front and rear is still excellent and likely class leading. Spread those legs out! -more airy cabin than so many of the bunker cabins of its competition. -big side mirrors, hey, it really is nice sometimes! -nice gauges and center stack. -nice steering wheel with lots of buttons. -PADDLE SHIFTERS! -seat cloth is actually quite nice. Seats themselves not all too bad either, overall. -really is a good value for the money in most packages. -has some instances that make it feel nicer than some competitors, some touch points are soft, padded armrest on the doors, quiet sounds when closing doors, fairly quiet ride and drive. -very decent middle of the road driving experience, quiet and comfortable ride, somewhat easy steering, but not a limp flopper. Not a sport sedan but doesn't pretend to be, either. -doesn't 'clomp' over bumps. wow, that is refreshing in this class where the competition is striving to strip out suspension compliance and sound deadening. -Is Subaru becoming a step up brand of its parent, Toyota? Like Buick is to GM? (although the Subarus are not as nice as the Buicks). -Subaru keeps improving the product, and it reflects in its sales. This is a pretty decent comfortable and functional car for a lot of the masses. LOWS -Boxer motor is improved, but still a bit rough and growly at times. The personality of the car would improve with a zingier motor setup. -Thrust off the line and into the midrange is a bit laggard. Part of that might be the minor delay in the CVT response. -Plain straight horizontal dash does its best to remind you of its Toyota brethren with its amazing imaginative design and layout. -Styling really should have evolved more over previous model. -Styling actually is it bit too much of a knockoff of the previous model plus a Taurus, certain Volvos and some Camry. -Front end styling in particular is chunky, blocky, heavy, botched. This is apparent even more in person. Way too much overhang, grille is too far forward and upright (like the new Sonata also) and looks out of whack with the rest of the car. They should have brought the base of the windshield forward some and given it some more rake to minimize the front end some more -Trunk still not very tall or otherwise not very huge either -Front end feels heavy and just a general comment on all wheel drive, you can tell it saps more juice and overall makes the car feel less nimble than some fwd counterparts. Whole car feels a bit unbalanced. Some may think that the nose heavy feel, heft, and weighty feel would make it seem more 'solid' though. -If you found someone who bought a 14 and swapped it out in their garage with a 15 without them knowing, they probably would have no idea its a different car any time....... -Really never crosses much over into appealing to your heart instead of just your head, despite being comfortable, practical, and otherwise quite likable. -JANET RENO still will always dress the same and look the same perhaps....... SUMMARY It's kind of hard for me to rip on much about this car. Subaru has done an amazing job of increasing sales by a lot these last few years, while still keeping its core fans and adding new ones. The cars have shunned their niches like the older smaller Legacies were in, and moved to the mainstream some but still appeal to their old base. A lot of that dual success is due to the all wheel drive exclusivity. But the other side of that is just building friendly, useful, value laden cars. And they have maintained a unique personality doing it, even despite being under the wing of Toyota. If this is a lesson for anyone, its a lesson for the GM's of the world. GM sometimes tries to keep re-inventing the wheel. Witness the Malibu and all its incarnations since the late 90's. You could never really know the message of the car and the message of GM's largest brand's most core product. Subaru just continues to evolve what is successful for them and gradually win new sales by being consistent and having a clear message. The car is good enough to give value for what was spent, and a bit of comfort beyond that. This would be a nice commuter car for a lot of folks I think. I think older folks may like this car too. That doesn't mean a fair amount of young folks won't like it either. As far as the midsize class goes, I think its not as good as a Fusion. Its not as sporty or engaging as a Mazda6. Personally I might lean to a Malibu before the Legacy except that the Legacy interior is larger and the cloth is better. And overall dash design maybe a little more tasteful. I would take a Legacy over the Altima, and over the Accord as well (some may not). It's better than the 2015 Sonata I drove last week. I have no idea yet what the new Chrysler 200 is like. Certain trim Passats I would take over this car as well, but for different reasons. This car is still not near as good yet as say, a Buick Regal. Props to Subaru for finding what it can do well, and now sticking to it. If the car had a bit more throttle response and thrust I would give it an A-. I'll give it a B+ and tell subaru to work on a creamy smaller displacement turbo with nice torque numbers, and working some more on vehicle dynamics as well. past review link for older Subaru Legacy http://www.cheersandgears.com/topic/54210-2010-subaru-legacy-and-outback-and-2010-ford-fusion-twin-test-drive-updated-includes-new-legacy-and-subaru-outback-test-drives/?hl=legacy

So, was it?????