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Sports Wagons - The wave of the future?
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Comments
The later raping of those names should not be held up in evidence of actual foreign superiority at inception.
As for today, going straight fast, on a consumer level, indeed takes less thought, sophistication and crafted equipment than real driving, I agree. But with regard to force-fed four-bangers, you can keep 'em, even the best of them. I may not need a Hemi, but four cylinders is still two shy of a real engine in my small, narrow-minded book! :-]
As for the Magnum, I'm impressed overall with the direction DCX has taken here. Yeah, it's bulky, styled like a truck up front, too big to be seriously fun in the right ways and it's not a car I would ever buy for myself, but it's a great step forward for Dodge and frankly one of the better offerings I've seen of any US marque for its intended purpose.
I think the comparo is silly at best, though.
I wanted good utility and safety features. An engine with a little energy and good gas mileage - Most who have posted about and rated the Maxx give it good marks for the mileage. It has received the JD Power award for quality and earned top marks, along with the Audi in a side impact crash test.
This car has 4 wheel anti-lock disk brakes - Side Impact Air Bags - Traction Control - Remote Starter - V-6 - Adjustable Pedals - Great Utility - and all the normal stuff , Stereo, Air Power Windows, Power Locks etc. It rides much quieter than my Taurus and has more pickup. The power is smooth and the tramsnission shifts responsively. With the GM Discount and it still has a $2,000 rebate on top of that - This car, fully equipped, is $19,300 out the door and I think you would have to look quite hard to find a better value.
I test drove the new G-6. It drove about the same as the Maxx and the styling was better than the Maxx. However the trunk is extremely small and access awkward. To have it equipped with side impact air-bags raises the cost about $2,000 more than the Maxx. Since both are built on the Saab framework, it's hard to justify the additional cost for what is mechanically, the same car.
I also test drove the Hyundai Santa Fe and Mitsubishi Galant. The Hyundai was OK but is known for poor gas mileage and the handling, although secure was vague and a little sloppy. The brakes also had a slight spongy feel to them.
The Galant really isn't in the same league with any of the above - It has a tempting warranty but to equip it with a V-6 and Anti-lock Brakes costs thousands more than the others. Anti-lock has to be purchased with an equipment package that contains many add-ons, you may not want and this package is expensive. Actually full side impact air-bags aren't even available on the Galant - There is an option (another equipment package) that gives you a smaller head protection side air-bag but this offers no protection to the torso.
For me the choice was the Maxx - Very safe car, good handling, good mileage, good quality and a super price. Hard to beat it. Also cost per mile to operate it for 5 years is one penny more than the Accord and equal with the Camry. Just my respectful reasons for choosing the Maxx.
Maxx prices are great, I recall seeing one with rear DVD entertainment for under $20 grand. You'd probably spend $10 grand more for an SUV with that feature.
The SS looks better, too.
-juice
I personally don't need all of the space/power of the Magnum, but it is fun to have at times. It was the exterior styling that really caught my eye and had me watching and waiting for the Magnum since seeing pictures of the concept car a year earlier.
While I did give up some of the fun on twisty roads with the Impreza, the Magnum is definitely more comfortable when relaxed driving is called for, and it can still hold it's own when needed. It's also much quieter at highway speeds as well (~2,000rpm at 70mph -- a definite advantage of the V8), and the gas mileage isn't much lower than what I had been getting with the Impreza.
It does weigh almost 1.5 times as much, but with 2.5 times the horsepower, the Magnum is no slouch (no marshmallow suspension, either -- this was a key item I had to check in the test drive). The weight and RWD configuration (I didn't wait for AWD) definitely do cut into the handling a bit (lots of mass = lots of momentum), so I have to take it a bit easier on the twisties, but it's definitely cruising in style.
Let's look
WRX Sti 300 -> 750
Legacy GT 250 -> 625
I do not think that Magnum R/T has that much power. Even Viper might have problems.
Krzys
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Krzys
Don't forget 390 lb. ft. of torque to move you out quite smartly.
-juice
check the link
Magnum RT
Camaro was great in a straight line, but throw some curves at it...last time I went too Summit Point on a track day the live axles were the ones sliding off at the carousel.
-juice
...you probably haven't driven the cars I've mentioned or you would not have made the "in a straight line" comment... "84 and "99 Camaros corner extremely well...
Summit Point huh... most of us drive on actual roads...
-juice
Yes they are until you get creamed by a larger vehicle. :surprise:
Size is one factor, but not necessarily as important as many people think. Look at my Miata, for instance, tiny as it is the actual death rates are average, no worse. Then look at Corvettes, Mustangs, and Camaros - horrible death rates, far worse than average.
Driver demographics have a bigger effect, by far, than the size/weight of the car.
-juice
juice it is also what the vehicle invites you to do. i am sure you bring more speed to your miata because it invites you versus the forester which does not enjoy high speed cornering. i notice my personality changes depending on the vehicle setup.
in the minivan, the handling makes me drive really sane. the forester xt makes me have fun in bad weather and straight line acceleration. my supercharged mr2, well it just brings out the devil in me.
The Miata will snap to oversteer if you let off the throttle and aren't very careful, since it's harder to control.
We got some snow so I did some tail-wagging in the Forester just yesterday.
-juice
Warning though - I tried it once with snows on just the front, and that really makes the vehicle tail happy. The back tires constantly want to pass the front. I would never advise anybody to use just two snows on a fwd vehicle - must use 4.
-Dudley
HOLD ON, JUNIOR!
-juice