Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Comments
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Stunning!
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
For shame... :sick:
short list:
* I was very disappointed that Ford felt the need to lock down more of their vehicles than Porsche. Why? Is the new Fiesta so valuable?
* Very disappointed in the XC60. First Volvo I ever met that I didn't feel comfortable in. The seats try to be SUV'ish while the floor is sedan'ish. So I'm sitting upright with my legs stretched out before me and I wind up FAR away from the windshield and controls.
* Very disappointed in the Camaro. Narrow windows and low ceiling don't mix. By the time I got comfortable, I was almost laying down and could not see the hood.
* New Taurus is too big for my taste. So even with the impressive SHO package, I don't think I'd consider it.
* EX35 - OK, not new, but my first chance to sit in one. I really liked it. I don't know what the complaints are about with the rear seat. Seemed to be just the same as my G on which it is based.
* Mazda3 - very weird grille. The overall shape of the hatch seems to be smoother than current gen. I THOUGHT I sat in one and was pretty impressed with it, till I got out and realized I sat in a 6 instead. Huh. I didn't get to sit in the 3 because my son ran to the next "booth" before I got the chance.
* Metallic brown seems to be this year's color. Volvo, Ford, Porsche, BMW, Infiniti, and several others all had a metallic brown car on display.
And for those counting, yes, I used "very disappointed" 3 times. Possibly exceeding my allocation.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Not really my cup of tea...has a strong mid-late malaise era connotation to me. The Ciera my mom had was kind of a bronze, which is related to brown, and the S-10 Blazer my dad was a nice medium metallic brown, which suited the vehicle perfectly if you know what I mean.... :shades:
But I guess it won't look dirty easily.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I think it's a fad that will whither eventually, but for now its' a pretty cool new addition in the sea of Beige and Sand colored cars. :shades:
I went to the same car show, let's see...
I also tried the doors on the Fiesta. What gives?
The SHO was closed too, IIRC. They've been teasing us with talk of the EcoBoost and when we finally see a product it's locked up? This is a Taurus, not an Aston Martin.
I sat in the EX35 also. I may have been a bit harsh, I could actually squeeze in to that back seat. Not roomy by any means, but technically I did fit behind myself. Plus the trend seems to be small - the Tiguan, Q5, GLK, and XC60 are also not exactly roomy.
Call me practical but I'd pick a Forester XT over any of those. More space for less plus you're not giving up any performance.
The interior is not as nice, though, and I noticed that was true of a lot of the mainstream small crossovers. RAV4, CR-V, even Tiguan, you expect a VW to be nicer inside but it only had about half the upgrades I expected, maybe even less.
Mazda3 - over styled. Honestly I think Mazda hit its peak one generation ago for the 3 and the 6 as well. The new grilles on just about all the models are way overdone, from the CX9 to the CX7 and even the Miata.
Honda had base model Pilots and CR-Vs and those interior seemed lacking also. I think to leave Acura space to be better, well, they did just that, leaving room for improvement all around. Especially the Pilot.
I'll write about the Miata in a seperate post.
They gave it the smiley faced grille that the whole lineup has. It's less bad in the Miata, because it's smaller, but I still prefer the 08's simple oval. The headlights are more cats-eye and less oval as well. Both are OK to me.
The tail lights are now red and they bulge out, which is another new trend I've noticed. I'm not sure I like it, though the rest of the back view is clean.
One change they added is models with the manual trans have plumbing from the intake straight in to the cabin to increase the amount of engine noise you hear. Personally I think that's absolutely ridiculous. My 2008 is borderline too-loud already and that might cross the line and become obnoxious. I would probably figure out a way to disconnect or insulate that.
Inside, I was looking to see if they addressed 3 comfort issues: hard left elbow rest, cup holder that rubs the left knee the wrong way, and a padded center console.
1. The left elbow rest is now padded. Amen. Problem solved.
2. The cup holder is now sunk in to the door, and no longer protrudes. Resolved.
3. Only the cover of the cup holders is padded, and it's sort of far forward. My elbows landed on hard surfaces. Nice try but no cigar.
They also made some slight revisions to the engine, so now the redline is higher, which is cool I guess. More power but only at 7000rpm.
That redline is now actually visible, too. With mine the red marks disappear almost completely at night. Not a major problem unless you are in the 24 hours of Daytona, I suppose, but they still fixed this.
The most important fix was the bottle holders in the doors, ironically, but the 2008s now have a $5000 rebate plus they cost less to begin with, so there's no way I'd choose the 2009 over a bargain 2008.
No regrets.
Maybe they could have put a body color strip on it, or a chrome strip or something to break up the black plastic in the front.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Yes, the SHO was locked up, too. Really ridiculous.
We didn't stop at the Honda display ... which reminds me...
I forgot to mention I stopped to check out and get in the G5. Not nearly worth the money. I think it had a tag on it of about $17k. I wouldn't touch it for that price when I could get a Fit for similar money, which would be a big step up. If I wanted something so tin-can like as the G5, I could buy a Versa and save a bundle.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Chevy had their new small sedan (Cruze is it?) but it was closed.
And I don't like Mazda's new corporate front, either, it's goofy looking. The 6's 'coupe' roofline is style over function.
The 5 door was a little cramped in the back, too close in size to the Mazda3 5 door.
I can see why they made it bigger, but the roofline almost made it more of a 4 door coupe.
American makers picked up on this and began offering various shades of metallic brown during the 1970s but browns haven't been much in evidence since the 1970s.
I think it was the Buick Enclave that reintroduced browns to the spectrum in the last few years.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Not my first choice, although a brown on caramel 6.9 could be fun as a period piece.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2009 Volkswagen CC and the new 2010 Ford Fusion. Both were black and both were stunning cars- especially out on the road driving around.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I think I have only seen one or two Tiguans. I have seen a few of the XC60 too.
Also several new style RX, but those are pretty forgettable.
The new RXs are very common here. We have a large population of Asians from Hong Kong here, with a lot of money, and they seem to buy up the newest and best cars on the market. Hence I see a ton of Benzes, Bimmers, and Lexi (Lexuses ?).
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
It'd be even better to own a highline dealer there...probably good volume for about 20 years now, and the somewhat secretive nature of the money seems to be resistant to the great recession.
Ford Flex in a maroon color. I have seen 2 of them, and both were maroon.
The Volvo dealer on Route 50 in MD had a bunch of XC60s but I still don't think I've seen one on the road.
Saw it at the auto show - very stylish. Doesn't seem as small as the Q5 either.
I couldn't tell if it was a GT or not since it was heading the opposite direction on the highway this morning, but it was black and it looked, um, well,
meh.
It's gonna take some time getting used to the new look.
Production started last week or so, but I doubt any have been delivered to customers already.
First, a Zap Xebra drives by - the heinous looking three wheeled electric beast that is probably a good prediction of what cars will look like once the scourge known as globalization infects motoring and dumbs it down like it does to everything else.
Then 5 minutes later, a new unplated Maserati Quattroporte with a delicious exhaust note.
I remember these had the worst depreciation in the industry, worth something like 22% of the new value after 5 years. The best cars held 55% of their value.