Waaaaaaaaaay back in November when the 2009 VW Jetta TDI was fresh meat around here Erin Riches posted about the sedan's excellent seating position. She had just road tripped the VeeDub to Vegas to break it in and returned raving about the Jetta's comfort and control placement. Near flawless she called it.

Well, nine months later I'm going to second her comments. The Jetta does have a near flawless seating position. But I'm not surprised, VW has always done this right. For decades the company has made it a priority.  

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OK, I admit it. This is a terrible image. The 5,000 mile threshhold caught me off-guard without a real camera.

Luckily, the 5k mark came just as I steered our 2009 Audi S5 into a fuel station. Well, almost: I had to drive a half mile past and come back to nail 5,000 miles exactly at the pump. 

All I had with me was my Blackberry, and cell phone cameras leave a lot to be desired, especially if they spend much time in a pocket.

For the record, it drank 14.225 gallons and the trip odometer read 199.6 miles. That works out to 14 mpg; not one of its better performances.

On the bright side, I bagged some nice suspension shots (with a real camera) earlier in the day. Look for the S5 suspension walkaround next week. Several interesting twists reside in these wheelwells.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehilce Testing @ 5,000 miles  

Yesterday, my son asked to hear a certain song from the connected iPod. "Just say it out loud like in that other car" he said. Good one son, this car doesn't have that feature (Ford's Sync). "But it can start by itself without having to get in for when it's hot right?" Nope, can do that either. "So this car is less expensive than the cars that do those other things, right?" Hmmm, my 6 year old son may be onto something, What do you think, isn't it odd that a Ford or Chevy has better, more useful tech features at a much lower price?

Brian Moody, Automotive Editor @ 15,552 miles. 

Why am I always surprised that you guess these so easily? Yes, the Stig was standing in the trunk of the 2009 Hyundai Genesis.

With 16.0 cubic feet of cargo space, he has plenty of room for all his top gear.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

P.S. Is it just me or does the Stig look a little like the White Ranger?

Magrath: Okay, by training you're a scholar of religion, and I'm a journalist. So let's dive headfirst into a heated, highly sensitive, incredibly difficult business topic: Detroit.
Magrath: You cannot be relevant with a headquarters in the midwest. You can't be impartial and forward-thinking when 8/10ths of the people in your area depend upon you and buy your products.

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Math majors relax, values we've assigned to numerals haven't changed, I'm talking Audi's. Specifically, the A4's clear superiority to the the S5 (though this does apply, in part, to the A5, one of which we do not have in our Long Term fleet.)

The board came 'round last night and there were two new Audis available, it took less than a fraction of a second for me to put a big "MM" next to the A4. I've fretted longer deciding between the Smart and the Nissan 370Z. Now, this wasn't an easy decision because I had hauling to do, or because I was heading out with a group of people and four-doors is preferable to two. No, this is was an easy pick for me because the S5 is one of my least favorite cars.

Want to read why? Or skip all of that and go straight to the comments to tell me off? Either way, follow the jump.

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I climbed into the Dodge Challenger yesterday. Hours parked in triple-digit heat left our black-on-black R/T scorching hot. All thoughts were focused on starting the car and cranking the air conditioning. So I pressed the start button. Key Fob Not Detected.

Four more tries. Each with the same result. I fished through my pockets to confirm that sure enough, the key fob was right there. I tried the button a few more times. Nothing. With sweat beading on my forehead I located my pocket knife, popped the start button off and jammed the key into the opening. Success.

I'm not saying this issue was heat related. But I am saying it was friggin hot at the time. And when I snapped the button back into place today it worked just fine. I won't admit to agreeing with Josh, but in this case, keyless entry sure wasn't very convenient.

Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 7,200 miles

There's no caption contest today for the holiday. But I figured you'd want something fun to do.

So, how about it: What long-term car has our little friend snuck into this time?

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

So I get asked all the time, "Hey, what's the difference between dealerships?" "What happens when a dealership has both premium and non-premium brands under the same service roof?" Well, here's a good visual representation for the only difference in service when you bring a premium (Cadillac CTS-- Top) and a non-premium (Pontiac G8 GT -- Bottom) to the same dealer (Martin Cadillac in LA). Notice the difference? That's the only one.

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

Our 2010 Honda Insight EX has one very important thing that our 2009 Honda Fit EX does not: seat-height adjustment for the driver.

The ability to move the seat up and down goes some distance in making the Insight a more comfortable place to sit. I road-tripped an earlier 2010 Insight test car and found the driver seat adequate for 7 hours of driving.

That said, I think the lower-mounted seat and extra seat-track travel made possible by the Insight's longer wheelbase (100.4 inches versus 98.4 for the '09 Fit) also contribute to a more natural seating position.

Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 913 miles

Just about a week-or-so ago, we brought our 2008 Pontiac G8 over to The Martin Automotive Group in LA for its second called-for oil change. While we were there, we wanted them to check out a vibration we were getting through the brake pedal, and to replace the flip-style key that had long ago stopped flipping.

When we arrived we waited a solid 15 minutes before someone spoke to us, and even then it was only the lot attendant asking us to back up so they could get that limo around. Another 10 minutes passed and a service advisor beckoned. They said, contrary to what they'd said earlier that morning, that they were quite busy ( good for them I suppose) and if we wanted the brakes inspected we'd have to leave the car with them overnight. 

Early the following morning I got a call saying that the car was done. The key fob was out of stock and would take a week or so to come in, but thankfully it was covered under warranty as a new unit runs upwards of $130. The oil service was completed for $39.95-- $15.95 in parts and $20.00 in labor.

They also inspected the brakes...and charged us $65 to do it. Their conclusion is the same one we could have figured out in Dan Edmunds' driveway: we need new pads. Not surprising. We drive this big car pretty hard and it's already got 23,000 miles on the clock. Brake rotors were also on their way out. Following this was bad news and more bad news. (1) They wanted some completely unreasonable fee for a brake job. (2) Martin Cadillac considers the G8 a "very new" car and as such, they don't have brake pads or rotos, they'd have to be ordered which would take 4-weeks.  (3) Every other Pontiac dealer also thinks 2008 is really new and will make you wait two weeks, AND you have to pre-pay IN PERSON. No over-the-phone high-tech credit card payments for them.

Screw that.

We're going to save time, money and hassle by buying these parts online. (If you've got a good recommendation for where to go, love to hear it. We've got our standard places, but who doesn't love a better deal?) Look for more on buying the parts, and then Dan and I installing them, a little ways down the road.

Yesterday they called to let me know that the replacement key fob was in, we've just got to get the car over there to pick it up.

Total cost: 107.64

Days out of service: 1

Irritation level: Very High

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 23,049 miles

Suddenly the interior of our long-term 2009 Ford Flex is showing some age. The small chrome latch on the center console is broken (actually it's about the fall off) and will no longer grab hold and secure the console lid. Funny, the same thing has happened to our long-term Mazda 6.  

And that's not all.  

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During my time in our 370Z, it managed to do nothing but confuse me. I thought liking this thing would be a slam dunk. You see, I like coupes. I like sitting low. I like sports cars. I like the way this car rides. I like the stereo. I even like the way this car looks.

But...

...for some reason, I just wasn't getting it. I knew what I liked about the Z, but I couldn't put my finger on what I didn't like. Then, with great relief, I figured it out.

I'd rather have the truck in which this drive-train belongs; the Nissan Frontier.

Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor @ 8,352 miles

I read about Consumer Reports' dislike of the 2010 Honda Insight with some surprise: Among hybrids, the Mk II Insight simply is not a bad car.

Does it drive like other Hondas? Absolutely not. But I thought by now we all knew, that until we find a smaller, lighter solution than nickel-metal hydride (and even lithium-ion) batteries, hybrids will be weird, awkward things to drive. CR noted, "The Insight... is nothing like the [Honda] Fit on which it is based." No, of course it isn't.

But among all the hybrids I've driven in the last 5 years, the 2010 Honda Insight comes the closest to being a car I could stand to drive every day. It has something resembling steering feel as you add input going into a corner, and that's rare for a hybrid. I also happen to like the firm-ish suspension tuning, which lets you imagine that you are connected to what the tires are doing.

It's a stiff ride, mind you. And not a quiet one. But the Fit's not plush or quiet, either. If you want plush and quiet, you want a 2010 Prius though you'll still have the "clumsy handling" problem.

So, judged as a hybrid, the 2010 Honda Insight is a likable car. Ask it to play like a Fit, and well, it might disappoint you.

Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 882 miles

You may have noticed that the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT was absent from this week's monthly fuel economy summary. There's no sinister hidden meaning here. I'd simply used it as my airport car for a trip overseas and was unable to cough up the data.

So here it is, your Pontaic G8 GT lifetime fuel economy summary through June, 2009.

Best tank: 24.0 mpg
Best Range: 351 miles
Worst tank: 12.0 mpg

Lifetime average: 17.6 mpg

For comparison, the official EPA combined fuel economy rating for this car is 18 mpg, so we've pretty much nailed it.

The average mpg figure represents 23,783 miles of driving. In that time our G8GT burned 1,354 gallons of fuel. That represents about $3,000 to $3,500 at current prices.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 23,933 miles