regfootball

https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/car-technology/a22126727/brake-by-wire/

DRIVEN: 2019 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport AWD; (around 50k) HIGHS: -Sexy, sporty, attractive as a crossover these days can be. Love how you can get different colored brake calipers on this thing. -Very comfortable front row seating; lots of room and girth, bolstered seats hug you just right.......disclaimer: I would not get the bolstered seats, I am wider than the bolsters! and I hate climbing over them. The non-bolstered seats are just as comfortable and supportive. I will go so far to say that the seats are VERY GOOD, regardless if you choose bolstered or not. -Love the interior dash layout, and the gauges. The steering wheel is a rockstar, great size and feels nice. Paddled shifters in the right spot for fun, and the media display has a scroll wheel which I would eventually figure out. -I felt there was good visibility out front and back and not too much blind spot on the side compared to other crossovers. Big side mirrors help a lot. -The shapes of the dash plastic and doors give a nice cockpit feel and I was totally good with all the interior plastics, even if they may be slightly below some other luxury marques. -Comfortable thrones in the back. I will note below the leg room is short a bit IMO, but they it is still nice sitting back there. -Perfect height for entry and egress for those aging folks like me. -Well trimmed, large enough trunk, although some may say its a bit narrow. I think that is a perception because of how tall the rear seatbacks are. With seats folded, a very nice cargo area. -Performance, the engine is tractor like.....power builds in a linear fashion and the turbo makes for a nice torquey feel. The throttle is not programmed for an aggressive feel so sometimes you have to let it build to get into the meat of the torque band; it's not lag. When you ask for lots more, it kicks in well and has more than enough power...but the power delivery is not neck snapping. The transmission waits just a bit to kick down. Altogether its well matched and not jumpy like they could have tuned it. -AMAZING steering. Quick rack, great feel, particularly for an SUV. I want to see how this feels in a Guilia now. The steering is definitely the calling card of an Alfa Romeo. I might even suggest most folks (even those who think they are enthusiasts) would like the steering a SLIGHT bit less quick and with SLIGHTLY less weight and heft. But, no complaints. BMW tried making lighter steering and they got criticized for it. If you feel like you are searching for ANY kind of vehicle that has great steering these days, then be sure to check out the Alfas. -The ride was just about spot on. The one I drove had an adaptive suspension, but i am not smart enough to know if it was working or changing. All I know is this sporty car did not drive like a hard riding dump track, which is how older sporty cars were tuned.....firm up the suspension till it wasn't compliant just so you could say it was sporty. Nope, this a nice riding vehicle....I wouldn't even call it firm at all. Just about right to match the steering. -Nice to have a toggle wheel control for entertainment and screens. Just didn't get to figure it out. -You can get one with Red leather! LOWS: -I am going to have to research this, but there is something weird about the brake feel in this vehicle. Almost like a delay between when you press the brake and when it brakes. IS this brake by wire? Possibly.....The braking is fine but ability to feel what is going on, I need to find out more. Once you own this vehicle it may become a nothingburger, but it is a bit strange the first few times you use the brakes. -Maybe not fair to call a "no" since i didn't really use the media controls. Or Carplay. It seems like maybe the controls and menus would take some time to figure out to a high level and are not as glitzy as others' screens. -Although sit up high, and this drives similar to a sedan, this is still not a sedan. This may be the closest to feeling like a sedan a crossover will feel, but there was still that bobbing on the chassis and lightly tippy sensation you get from moving the mass up higher in a vehicle. I recommend if you like the Stelvio, drive the Guilia also (i did not....yet). -Vehicle feels heavy. Not heavy for a crossover (its among the lighter crossovers), but compared to my light sedan its heavy. Since the ride and handling is so good on this thing, it just makes the extra weight compared to a sedan seem that much more heavier on this thing. I feel like if it lost 200 or more pounds it would be that much more amazing. -Rear seat leg room and footspace could be more. This is one of the things they would make me hedge on this vehicle. It's plenty large in front, plenty wide overall. But the back seat would greatly benefit from 3-6 more inches of knee / legroom. For me, for example, as a family ride for the times I am in the backseat I need that room. Alfa buyers typically may not. I do think its close to deal breaker status. -It is your decision if you are confident in the Alfa brand and their reliability or not. I would probably not buy an Alfa (unless with a lifetime warranty). Lease one? 4 year 50k BTB warranty, you would be covered. -I do not know how this compares to the direct competition. Jaguar E or F pace, etc. I just know on it's own it is an attractive option but I surmise compared to BMW, JAguar, Mercedes, etc. you would need to think hard about the status and value equation of Alfa vs. the others. SUMMARY: So this was a fun test drive, and I really like this vehicle. I still prefer sedans and lower cars, I don't like crossovers generally. But this is a nice option to get something that can bridge your transition to a crossover and still have fun driving in comfort that goes with an SUV. I believe most will find the interior just fine and it is very comfortable for the driver and front passenger. It's not so bleeding edge biased toward performance that it isn't an everyday car. It totally is an everyday car. I'll give it an A-, with no egregious vices (except to determine if you like the brakes). And I just caution you that if you go to test one, try a Guilia too and determine if you really want a sedan or a crossover. Also I would say do your homework and test the competition (Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes etc). I'd have no trouble with one of these in my garage....IF I wanted a lux brand or sporting SUV.

I do agree, a bit of tone deafness on GM's part here, however, Michigan does need to eventually 'get' the global marketplace and quite honestly they are damn lucky GM is still in business, and still has HQ in Michigan. Michigan is not owed factories nor is Ohio by any birthright. It's cutthroat out there, 'foreign' manufacturers have all sorts of plants in many other places in the US and still manage to increase sales and market share and pay those US workers. Move to where those plants are if you want to work in an auto plant. Keep in mind all these plant closures are the first shot over the bow in union negotiation and studying the possibility of moving more production overseas. I am sure GM has it mapped out for the future to bring many more vehicles from China. Mary's GM needs to get a ducking clue, a lot of people want to buy GM because (in the past) a lot of stuff was made here and they want to buy American assembled. There is no good reason vehicles like the Blazer and Silverado should be made in Mexico. Cruze, sure.

A bit ambitious on price. It does not come in stripped version though. And the Passat is so old and drab, even refreshed, you only want the Passat if you want a cheap car now. The Arteon is way nicer and so that alone is worth asking the extra money for. A bit flabby on the flanks, i am getting used to the look though.

You're right, my bad. I read that originally so fast, the Genesis program is not a subscription service. And I doubt anyone who wants a G70 would want to stoop to either of the other two Genesi.

it says you can switch vehicles but i doubt anyone leasing the G70 would want to switch to the others.......ever.....

if you google that there are tons of threads and memes that make fun of the vegans because they do that. when i sold the cars a few years back, we got a smart on trade and i took it for a spin. The whole automanual trans and lawn mower engine was hugely primitive. Obviously a funky little rig, but no f-cking way in hell i would want to be in a head on with a suburban in one of those things. Smart should refocus their marketing and try to appeal to those who want neighborhood cars or cars for things like rental property managers to drive around on site from building to building.

always a recession in hiding somewhere.

"How do you know someone is vegan? Don't worry, they'll ***** tell you"

Bad turbo lag when I drove it

I thought the Mazda CX-9 turbo mill was a dud. Mazda always gets way too much praise for their average stuff. GM’s turbo fours are actually just fine and better in comparison.

They probably wanted to globalize moving to one four pop engine choice for the ct6. Particularly if they end up importing the car from China. If caddy killed the ct6 they’d want to sell the ct6 in China with the new motor Side benefit to the new motor. No recommendation to use premium fuel. Should run fine on typical garbage gas available anywhere in the USA. Another point. It’s not just the 0-60 that suffered. The quarter mile time is off by a second also. That doesn’t suggest the car is improved in highway cruising either compared to the older power train. I would like to see the roll on acceleration number comparison but it bet those suffer as well. Again a backwards decision in a luxury car brand regardless of model or trim positioning. And at the end of the day any car like the CT6 if they want it to be a viable seller in all 50 states the car should have AWD available

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/cadillac/ct6/2019/2019-cadillac-ct6-20-first-test-review/ “At the track, the 2019 CT6 sprinted to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds and finished the quarter mile in 15.7 seconds at 89.2 mph. That's 1.1 seconds slower than a 2017 model we tested to 60 mph and a second slower in the quarter mile. The culprit is GM's new 2.0-liter turbo I-4, which is down 28 hp and 37 lb-ft of torque versus the outgoing unit. Power delivery is smooth, and turbo lag is minimal; however, the new engine is barely adequate for a 3,930-pound car like the CT6. The 10-speed automatic is also poorly calibrated; in typical GM fashion, it shifts quickly but immediately goes to the highest gear, preventing you from taking advantage of the engine's midrange torque. Road test editor Chris Walton noted that the engine likes to short shift well below the engine's 7,000-rpm redline and sounds labored when pushed hard. There is a fuel economy payoff, though; our friends at EQUA Real MPG achieved 23.5/38.5 mpg city/highway during their tests. That's a smidge lower in the city but significantly higher on the highway versus the EPA's official 24/34 mpg rating.” translation: this is not an improvement for anything besides fuel economy reasons. Since the 10 speed is used here then they should retune the engine for lots more power. The premise of this thread was the tranny was limiting the output of the new motor. But that is not the case here. The 2.7 would be a good candidate for the CT6 actually.

The mpg improvements particularly for a big car are impressive however losing that much acceleration for a luxury brand is concerning.

The older GM 2.0 is a good motor, and so is the new one. But the new one is new, which means unproven, and it is slower. It's fast enough in the XT4 for volume models. They will want to look at getting a higher tune of that motor as an option. It is smooth once up to speed, and sporty but it is not blazing quick. It's like a 7-7.5 second to 60 car. I am certain it will cruise well on the highway. The CT6 base 2.0 through 2018 had the old 2.0. When they swapped in the new one for 2019, it lost a second of 0-60 time...i.e. slower. I thought the CT5 just announced was getting the older 2.0? I don't think the new one is slated for the CT5, yet. The 2020 Acadia gets the new 2.0 as an option. I really am jazzing on a Regal, and probably a TourX. The AWD tourX is slower by a bit with the 8 speed instead of the FWD 9 speed sportbacks but maybe that's a good thing. Sounds like the 8 speed tranny might handle power and torque better. Having the older proven 2.0 may be a good thing.

Is This The End of Porsche as we know it? This is bit heading into a dark area. However, brand snobs will buy it.

I was taken aback at how nice the new A Class is. Saw it at the auto show and peeked inside. There was no chance of me squeezing into either the front or the back so I left it at a feel up of the interior bits. The interior dash that looks stupid and cheap in pictures actually looks really good in the flesh. Reader board dashboard screen is actually innovative and will probably spark a trend. Very thin and long ipad basically.

This sort of a merger may work but I’m not sure it raises their world standing at all by doing it.

One of the jarring things on the 2003 Ion was that those rails surrounding the door opening were contrasting color. That threw the world into chaos. They could do that with the Saturn because of the plastic. I hope they don’t get that daring on the CT5 to try that lol

With the new stocky greenhouse, interior room should be improved over the CTS. IF it is, that will bring some people back. If it’s cheaper than the CT6, and has room and performs well it should sell well. The CT4 if that occurs will be a problem because why would anyone want it? The CT5 is adequate as entry level caddy sedan in USA by my feeling. People expect a certain minimum of comfort and size from any Cadillac and so if CT5 delivers that i think sales will be ok, styling be damned.

But not with AWD on the CTS.

wow, some folks can't detect sarcasm vs. seriousness the main takeaway is that its a blocky upright shape that in and of itself is odd and contributes to the clumsiness to the facade of the car.

same part number as on the Ion!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am glad the 3.6 is banished. 2.0 and 3.0 only engine options needed here.

GM parts sharing, I think that rear fixed window on the door is the exact same part number as on the Saturn ion. And that window frame cut, that's done with a t-square on a drawing board. that's almost an exact 90 degree straight line perendicular to the line of the base of the window below. and the edge of the door / frame is almost exactly paralle with it, no hofmeister kink to speak of. that's why it looks like an Ion.

Yes it’s that. On the car and driver Facebook post page there are multiple commenters saying it looks like the Ion