Long-Term Road Tests

Long-Term Road Tests http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/  1995-2008 Edmunds.com, Inc. The contents of this feed are for non-commercial use only. Sun, 11 May 2008 22:05:12 GMT Web Crossing(r) Unix-v6.0 built May 6 2008 01:30:43 (source:1029 2008-05-05 23:05:11 -0700)/Unix-6.0 (http://webcrossing.com/) http://backend.userland.com/rss 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI: A Taste For Dirt Sun, 11 May 2008 19:05:38 GMT http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/36 http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/36 Dan Edmunds <dedmunds@edmunds.com> 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally dirt gravel washboard <IMG height=286 alt="A dry lake bed near Interstate 15" src="http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea730a/cmd.233/enclosure..eea730b" width=430> Some pundits have expressed disappointment with the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, singling-out its softer suspension as evidence of weakness. But the WRX STI model exists partly for FIA-homologation for rally competition, so performance on dirt matters, too. A more compliant suspension helps improve mechanical grip on rough roads and washboard dirt and gravel surfaces, so this might be a case of "I meant to do that" on Subaru's part. The Subie and I are in Las Vegas this weekend. A good-sized dry lake sits about 5 miles south of Interstate 15, so I made a detour to try out the STI on a bit of dirt. Time and sunlight were in short supply, but the STI excelled on a variety of surfaces: The lumpy, poorly-paved entrance road--The STI's suspension absorbed the potholes, protruding lumps and places where the pavement had been washed away on this barely-paved road with ho-hum, "is-that-all-you've-got?" confidence. <IMG height=351 alt="Has Scott been here before me?" src="http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea7314/cmd.233/embedded..eea7318" width=430> Rutted, narrow dirt tracks with loosened rocks and whoops from passing dirt bikes and quads--Enough clearance, short overhangs (especially in the rear) and a highish stance menat that negotiating the trails between the "road" and the dry lake itself wasn't a problem. Of course this isn't a 4x4, so there are limits to what the Subie can be expected to do. The dry lake bed itself--Are you kidding? This was a festival of humugous slideways drifts and donuts. If only I'd had more time to play with all of the diff settings and set out cones and timing lights. Perhaps we'll save that for another day. <IMG height=244 src="http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea7314/cmd.233/embedded..eea731a" width=430> Graded dirt roads with a washboard surface--Washboard? What washboard? At speed, at least, I couldn't even tell it was there. I'm not convinced the WRX STI rides the way it does in order to improve ride comfort compared to the last-generation car. It would seem that Subaru engineers kept the rally nature of this car in mind and put a suspension tune on the car that would work well on unpaved roads and tortured tarmac. The aftermarket is always out there for those out there who don't care about that and simply want to optimize the car for track days. Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 2,913 miles http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea7314#cm 2008 Honda Accord EX-L V6: Accord Seat Discord Fri, 09 May 2008 22:05:15 GMT http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/.eea72be http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/.eea72be Glenn McClanan <gmcclanan@edmunds.com> <img src="http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea72be/cmd.233/embedded..eea72bc" height="362" width="430"> This was my first time in the 2008 Honda Accord sedan, and it was generally what I expected. Simple, functional, not-so-flashy, not-so-sporty. The ride was smooth enough but I kept wanting a little something from the engine for passing, etc. that it was never able to deliver. It isn't gravely underpowered but it would be nice to have a little more back-up the times I needed it. It is a V6. I was more excited about the interior, which I think manages to keep things simple while looking pretty stylish. The controls are a bit too clustered together to the point of confusing, but once you get used to it, the center console is very easy to navigate. My single biggest gripe is the seats. To me, they felt inordinately stiff and non-comforting. And I don't mean this in a racing seat way. More in an old VW seat that needs more padding kind of way. If this car was a 1998 instead of 2008, it would be a forgivable, but I think most any new car should feel relatively comfortable after a single night of driving. Glenn McClanan, Broadband Video Producer, Edmunds.com @ 11,770 miles http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea72be#cm 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS: Flat, Featureless Buttons Fri, 09 May 2008 21:05:59 GMT http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/34 http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/34 Doug Lloyd <dlloyd@edmunds.com> <IMG height=283 src="http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea72b5/cmd.233/enclosure..eea72b6" width=430> The display screen in the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS (also our long-term Outlander so I'm guessing it's all across Mitsubishi), drives me nuts. Let me count the ways. First of all, the buttons absolutely stink. They are small, flat, and utterly without texture. Aargh!! I am a big fan of the old-school volume knob, and Mitsubishi's only saving grace is that it has redundant volume and CD-track controls on the steering wheel. But these buttons are utterly useless. Yes, I know, you're supposed to only operate them at a stop. Uh-huh. Not a good idea to look away while driving. I agree. But sometimes you have to, and a flat line of quarter-inch-long buttons doesn't help. It's much easier to have raised buttons, so you can essentially count your way down them with your fingers and keep your eyes on the road. Because here's the other thing. In anything other than bright light, they completely disappear. <IMG height=287 src="http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea72b7/cmd.233/enclosure..eea72b8" width=430> Granted, the photo is an exaggeration, but not by a lot. And last but not least, directing your attention to the top screen you will notice the "open" button for loading CDs. It causes the whole thing to open vertically, placing said button on a horizontal plane where you have to feel for it to see it to, then close the thing up again. Stupid. Put it on the side. C'mon, Mitsu. You can do better. Turn it into a touchscreen, put the "Open" button on the side, and you're halfway there. Doug Lloyd, Senior Copy Editor, @ 15,636 miles http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea72b9#cm 2007 Honda Civic GX: Fuel Economy Up, Costs Down Fri, 09 May 2008 21:05:39 GMT http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/.eea72b3 http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/.eea72b3 John O'Dell <jodell@edmunds.com> CNG Cmpressed Natural Gas Honda Civic GX <IMG height=287 src="http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea72b3/cmd.233/embedded..eea72b2" width=430 align=textTop> Hey, Hey! We Won't Pay! Home fuel unit has CNG cost down to $2.04 a gallon. After just over 16,000 miles -- <A href="http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2205">hard plastic</A>, <A href="http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2171">intruding hand brake</A>, pitifully poor acceleration and <A href="http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/27">boring exterior</A> notwithstanding -- the Civic GX is humming along quite nicely, and economically, thank you. For sheer driving pleasure it's way down the queue, but as a daily commuter on Southern California's [insert colorful adjective of your choice here] freeways, it ranks way up at the top of my list of cars I want to keep using. Except for two scheduled oil changes at 7,000 mile intervals, a recall to install a safety gasket and a round of tire adjustment when we discovered during Edmunds.com's <A href="http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/401">Earth Day tire pressure project</A> that inflation was high by about 2 pounds, or 6 percent, per tire, we've had no problems, although one might be developing. We'll be making a service appointment because several of us have noticed a very slight and intermittent shiver or shudder when the car is idling. It's unpredictable, but most assuredly there. Feels like it might be caused by a clogged fuel injector nozzle. It's not so significant that we're thinking of an immediate check up, but we'll be asking the service guys at the dealership to look at it during our next scheduled oil change, in about 5,000 miles. Aside from that, things couldn't be better, especially since the home fueling unit was installed in my garage. That has ended the daily detour to find a retail CNG station and has lowered the GX's fuel bills considerably. Regular gasoline is selling for $3.839 a gallon in my part of Southern California and CNG at the admittedly pricey Clean Energy pump near the office is going for $2.849. But $2.036 per gallon is what fuel from the natural gas pump in the garage cost during the past month. That's a 46.8 percent savings over the cost of fuel for a conventional gasoline-burning Civic LX and is 28.5 percent cheaper than fuel from the Clean Energy outlet. The per gallon cost for the GX for April also is down considerably from $2.53 per gallon we <A href="http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2244">computed for March</A>, largely because the April bill from the Southern California Gas Co. included a discount the utility offers households that have a home CNG fueling unit. It cut the average price of natural gas to $1.11 per therm (that's equal to 0.784 gallon-equivalent when the gas is compressed and pumped into the car via the Phill fueling unit. Add the Phill's share of the monthly meter fee from the gas company (about $4.50 in April) and a few bucks for electricity to run the pump (based on our five-year averaging method it was $7.29 for April) and you'll get a total of $53.93 for the CNG equivalent of 26.496 gallons of fuel. The per-gallon price will bounce around a bit each month because of minor adjustments based on total household usage of both natural gas and electricity, but I'm expecting it to stick close to the $2 per gallon mark and will let you know if it gets off that mark by more than a dime on either side. Meantime, fuel economy continues creeping up, thanks in large part to the increased density of fill we're getting with the home fueling unit. (A denser fill means more energy per gallon, thus better mileage.) Overall average since we put the Civic GX into our longterm fleet last June is now is 29.96 mpg, up from 29.38 mpg the last time we figured it 2,385 miles ago and a 5 percent, or 1.5 mpg improvement, from the 28.4 miles per gallon average we recorded over the first 5,234 miles we drove the car. Better yet, in the month since we computed the first home fueling bill, the Civic GX has averaged 31.16 mpg. John O'Dell, Senior Editor, Green Car Advisor @ 16,171 miles. http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea72b3#cm 2008 Cadillac CTS: Highway Ride Fri, 09 May 2008 18:05:42 GMT http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/32 http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/32 Brent Romans <bromans@edmunds.com> CTS FE2 Suspension <IMG height=323 alt="2008 Cadillac CTS -- Brent Romans" src="http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea72a1/cmd.233/enclosure..eea72a2" width=430> The FE2 suspension is the midlevel choice among three different suspension tuning options for the 2008 Cadillac CTS. I know we were keen on getting the max-attack FE3 package when looking to buy a CTS, but I think the (equipped) FE2 is the way to go. I did two one-way trips in our CTS, each about 250 miles and four hours in duration. Based on this, I know I wouldn't want any more suspension stiffness than the FE2 provides if I had to drive our CTS every day. Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor http://blogs.edmunds.com/.eea72a3#cm