regfootball

Astra's butt is nicer!

Five foot pole would hurt

Or focus ST base no recaros. Lol

I think the sonic RS is cool, but it's overpriced for the depreciation it will see, for reasons posted in the post above. I think this mini small car boom is going to level off soon. Save ur coins for a verano turbo

Golf is not a big cog in the NA market for VW.....especially now. The update is not visually different anyways. No reason for VW to really act promptly...

I have been lot cruising many fusions and malibus lately and to be honest the Fusion is less impressive in lower trims especially than what you would think as far as presentation. Still a nice car....but I really like the look of the Malibu more......looks sexier and has more presence, arguably than the Fusion..... Altima has way too thick of chrome on the window surround.....

NEEDS REDESIGN. same basic look for too many years now.

cx5 i reviewed was slower than heck. glad the 3 is not afflicted with that.

of course you are right, but the folks at GM prob think the Trax would eat Sonic, Cruze, and Equinox sales. I tend to think otherwise, I think Chevy would expand sales and take back market share from the Kia Souls of the world. Of course the Encore may go belly up if the Trax WERE here.

t's actually a pretty interesting vehicle but it's got an identity crisis....'what is it'? Not a coupe, not a sedan, not an SUV, the x6 has the same problem. Functionally, this vehicle has no trunk space, rear head room is tight, the rear doors are head knockers on entry. Looks are subjective, but it's sporting looking. If this thing were 10-12 grand or more cheaper this thin would sell really well. No advertising and bad mpg don't help either.

If the Verano I drove was any indication, methinks your right! the Gremlin? Did you stop selling Suzuki's? no longer selling cars.......did that for 18 months....finally after nearly 4 years i am back to doing what i used to do...(albeit still at a lot less dough than precrash)

i sort of like the LS now aside from the weird grille. I do think the LS ES and GS have improved and i sort of really enjoy the new horizontal interiors actually. Would I buy one? No, but at the same time, the LS almost seems nicer to me than a 7 series. The A7 has a bitchen exterior but a predictable interior. I really do think the Lexus cars have improved and while still dull they are not complete snores like they were a few short years ago.

base malibu too?

Encore is perfect for the times, but the price is too high. Size is just right, one class size below the likes of the CRV etc....some folks think those are too big. The SX4's I USED to sell, just a practical partial size larger.......think of the Encore as Vibe sized. But taller perhaps. Or maybe a bit smaller than the Vibe.....The Vibe that is gone, the same size as the Suzuki SX4 companion / replacement next year, the S-Cross.

its an SUV not a sport sedan........would have been easier to say. nice ride, but don't get one if you want a car.

range extender!

Had a chance to drive both the auto and stick CX-5 a couple weeks ago. There is a lot that is really cool about this vehicle. There is a couple things Mazda really effed. Overall don't believe the hype about this feeling like a sports car or anything. It's height and such still make it feel like an SUV. Actually that is the impressive thing about the vehicle. They shaved a lot of pounds from the design but yet when you sit in it and drive it, it feels like a larger, heavier crossover / SUV. It just has better steering and responsiveness from pretty much the rest. It's still not a sedan though. You will not get the sporty feel of a sedan in this vehicle. The major flaw of course is the powertrain. Simply put, the 2.0 lacks juice. There is no way around it. It revs ok but it's not what i would say is quick to build rpm. It certainly does not build power quick. On the manual, it's hard to come to the final conclusion on whether its a deal breaker. The shifter is nice, as is the clutch, and the vehicle works well with what is a fairly linear range of power. It's just not a lot to work with. And I would not call it the smoothest four cylinder either. All the ruckus and vibrations and such are not totally tuned and damped out. Again, it's not bad but it's not top tier in smoothness. But they did not add 200 pounds of stuff to the vehicle so it would improve the NVH 10%. You can at least have fun with the manual, but even I began to think that the character of the vehicle was not suited for a stick. It's a big tall SUV..... The automatic was decent to a point but it just simply needs more power. If you like everything else about the vehicle bad enough, you can talk yourself into living with it. I think I would prefer to wait until the 2.5 comes out. RPM at 70+ was lower on the auto than the stick, which helped (about 2600 vs. 2800). The 2.0 and the match to the decent but not the quickest auto trans means you'll often be left wanting more kick in many situations. The ride was pretty spot on and brakes seemed good. The handling has been overstated I believe. It's good....and feels nice and is fairly tight, but it's not overtly quick. Really for a vehicle like this that has the aura of an SUV it just would be out of character to really feel like a sport sedan. For what it is it's very likable. Interior wise I felt was the stongest suit of the this vehicle. Nicely designed and laid out, nice textures and materials. Seats felt good. Alum like trim was fetching as was the cloth. A couple gripes.....climate control was low and cryptic, and the size of the radio screen is ridiculously small. Really. And a very far reach. The steering wheel made up for a lot of it, was very awesome, right size, felt nice to hold, buttons laid out nice on it. Cargo hold is huge and passengers will like the seating. Seatbacks can dropped from the hatch area and fall down slick. 40/20/40 split is cool. NO BLUETOOTH on the MT. WTF? I think the press has confused people with the CX5 into thinking its like a tall sports sedan. It's not, just a better version of vehicles like the old Escape and Tribute. One could argue that the CX7 had a more sporting aura to it......in any case. For a light SUV to feel this tight and secure, be this comfy, and still have quality ride and handling that an enthusiast can at least be happy with is a nice job. Now Mazda needs to fix the engine problem and add some jazz to the radio setup. This interior previews the Mazda6 interior and I must say that bodes well. Good job Mazda. HIGHS Styling, inside and out Feels well made, inside and out Packaged well, cargo and passengers, lots of room Commanding driver position and great visibility all around Well laid out cabin and controls mostly, fantastic steering wheel, clear gauges Very nice interior plastics and textures and stuff Efficiently designed with low weight yet feels rock sold, stable, heavy and secure on the road 'Very Good' Steering and ride / handling Really nice seats Pretty good shifter and clutch LOWS Engine power and torque lacks, really needs a 2.5 Powertrain / NVH need a little bit more work Climate controls a bit low and a bit cryptic Feel feels tall and high C of G (which it has I guess LOL) Radio is far away and screen (where touch screen would be) is stupidly small Steering could be quicker Automatic could be a little more quick to shift / less lethargic at times Trunk trim a bit cheap in spots Lacks some 'cush' that other competition may have Interior design theme is a bit stoic / conservative / upright A little hard to get the seat adjustment right. SUMMARY It's really a bit trite to pick on the weaknesses of this vehicle, considering the typical traits of vehicles in this class. I would not christen this as the coming of a sport sedan in a CUV package as much as I would call it a well thought out and executed CUV that goes beyond a lot of it's competition but is maybe not the best in any one way. It's consistent and pleasing. The engine is the flaw that keeps it from being a rock star. There are too many other choices that people like in this segment like the Equinox, Escape, and CRV that you could outright say this is a great ride. It's just merely very good. No chance of giving it an A unless they fix the motor. B+

A couple weeks back or so I managed to wind up testing a couple Fiats. Probably don't have much time here.... Fun car, better than I thought (the stick at least). Really would be a decent enjoyable car for someone who could live with the size. Car seems well made and is very affordable. The Pop I drove was a 5 sp manual. Due likely to the light weight of the car, the 100hp +/- motor kept the car on the beat and I didn't really miss a 6 speed much. Ride was fairly decent and the car did not crash on bumps. Interior was classy cute and was pretty comfy for the size. The clutch path and operation was hard to get used to and really it's an ergonomic issue. I'm sure in EU cars like this are more common, I found the seating position a bit too US out of ordinary to ever get jiggy with the clutch. Overall I'd find the car more enjoyable than a stupid Mini. The Sport (with automatic) was not suitable for daily driving. The automatic was too jerky, waited too long, overall not a good match. Car was a little slower too. The sport seats were good at holding you in place but felt a little too overbearing. The ride was more harsh and seemed to expose weakness in the vehicle structure. Of course, this was driving a lot on a busted up road. Still, the Sport would not get any marks for daily driving comfort. Very much like the Fiat overall, but to me some of the comments below plus the unusable size make it a no go for me. Still I rate the car pretty well. If anyone is interested I would definitely encourage you to check one out. HIGHS Lots of color choices to have a unique vehicle Power with 5 speed is not bad. Manual shifter itself is pretty slick Seats and ergonomics are not bad Interior is spacious for the small size and two can coexist inside in front pretty well. Car feels like you got what you paid for and then a little Awesome visibility MPG Sexy sales gals whose dresses almost expose the prize (most likely there are probably some sales dudes too) LOWS Rear seat not much....... Clutch pedal has strange arc and engages not like what you might like, never get used to it Automatic sucks and saps power. Sport seats hard to adjust and a little overdone Some of the gauges and controls were a bit fussy and overly strange Ride on the Sport is too hard and consequently the structure protests and makes cheap sounds SUMMARY I will leave out a rating of the Sport Automatic. Some may like it, but really the automatic itself needs help. If you want to get beat up by the ride and have the car feel sloppy and make groaning noise, that's your bag. If you want Sport you will get a turbo and prob a stick anyways. The Pop manual is what I will rate. B+ because it just does what it does. Some of the ergonomics and clutch things keep it from being an A. More power and a sixth gear would be cool but prob not really needed. It's nice the way it is. This would be a great city car but also not too shabby on the road. I'd actually want to drive a Spark now for kicks.

Had a chance to drive another one ten days back or so......pretty consistent with the first drive. Like the car a lot. Seat fabric could be nicer. Car seemed smoother and quieter this time around. The car is getting panned in the press and I think that is a bit harsh. Sure there is a lot of competition in the segment, but the notion that the Malibu might be a bad car is absurd. I saw a new Fusion for the first time today and I did not get inside it, but for example regarding interiors, it does not look like the Fusion's interior is of better quality or anything.

I've seen a lot of Velosters. Compare it to a CRZ which is fanboi and useless. The Veloster is at least interesting. Sat in a FOcus ST last week, that car is BITCHEN But compared to a Golf, the golf has an upright dull roof line. THe Veloster is rakish, the golf is not. And no one cross shops VW's and Hyundais. The Veloster may not have serious hardware but if you look at it for what it really is....a Tiburon replacement / 2 door companion to the Accent, it's a darn nice upgrade. I am a bit surprised we'll get the Elantra coupe also. Hyundai is making waves and I do not believe the nuts and bolts of what they sell is all there yet but they are connecting on style points. Something the Hondas and VW's of the world could stand to learn again. An Elantra GT drove by my house a few days ago and that was the first I saw on the new one and I have to admit it looked really good.

so this is how they can pay for the cracked engine block in my buddy's 07 or 08 whatever Civic. "Mr. customer of course we will extend that warranty to 8 years and fix it for free please don't tell anyone, see look at how awesome Honda is please buy from us again one last request please just don't go telling everyone our motors and trannies and such do tend to blow up ok" Acura sedan sales are about as lackluster as their sedan models are distinctive and compelling.

a turbo 1.0 three plus 6 speed or CVT would be the bomb on this car. I drove a fiat the other day. the spark is about like sized. i can see how this kind of car can be the bomb in the city.

i wanted to get around to stroking someone to test this today, but really i cannot get amped over this car. It looks like Altima 3.0. I like the new mpg. But overall it looks on the surface to be sedate.

as of tuesday, I no longer am in the sales gig and no longer sell the wazukis.... but the last couple of days I have test driven a few cars again and i have to tell everyone that if you get a chance just drive the Kizashi. It's a nice simple car with a nice interior and good tactile feel for it's pricing. It's unique (and yes, rare) but perhaps it's best attribute is it's directness and lack of hyperbole. rp2s, glad you like your Kizashi. Everyone I ever sold one to, they love their car more and more all the time. Well, there are a few exceptions. People who were used to things like the auto headlights and remote start on the GM proudcts miss some of those convenience features. There are sometimes some decisions Suzuki makes as far as features and options that really boggle my mind, but the reason is to keep possibly warranty issues and vehicle price down. The older nav + rockford fosgate units were a bit testy as far as playing nice. They dropped XM for 13 because very few folks re-upped on the trial subscription. The best combination of sound and features is the standard radio plus rockford fosgate on the 10-12 GTS and SLS (and the 13 GTS-L front drive). The new Garmin setup for 13 is a peach, does 3/4 of the myfordtouch with a lot less hassle. It just looks like a tack on solution, and does not sound big. My biggest regret was not being able to buy one while I sold em. It's probable I could buy in the next year now though. If so, I would have the Kizashi on my short list of cars. And as much as I love sticks, I think the automatic + AWD would probably be what I would buy. I can probably use my pipelines now to find a real cheap used one with low miles. I have one beef. The Dunlops that S puts on their cars, and the Bridgestones on the SX4, all their AWD cars, are not rated well for snow / wet weather. Why have AWD if the tires are not the best for that? Wazuki makes a good car. The competition is fierce and outmarkets Wazuki. But mechanically the Wazukis are nice and fun and just good solid transportation.

well, ok, i'll qualify. the manual trans front drive cloth seat base tiguan drives like a turd. All the RAV4's I've driven have been sleep inducing. The CRV's while packaged nicely are sort of the same as the RAV's.