At first glance, the 991 2014 911 Turbo doesn't appear to be that big of
an improvement over the 997. Output from the 3.8-liter twin-turbo
flat-six goes up by 20 hp and 7 lb-ft to 520 and 487, respectively. The
Turbo S gets a 30-hp bump to 560 from the 997's 530, but torque is
unchanged at 516 lb-ft. Curb weight of both remains at slightly over
3500 pounds, with the Turbo S closer to 3550 pounds. One big powertrain
change is the departure of the manual transmission, with all 2014 911
Turbos offered exclusively with Porsche's seven-speed PDK twin-clutch
automatic. Purists may balk, but even the most skilled drivers will be
hard-pressed to hit the claimed 0-60 marks of 3.2 seconds (Turbo) and
2.7 seconds (Turbo S) without the PDK's lightning-quick shifts.
For those of us whose job or hobby it is to gripe about all things
automotive, here are the facts. The 2014 4Runner continues with
body-on-frame construction and is powered by a 270-hp, 4.0-liter V-6. A
five-speed automatic matches to the engine with a choice of rear-wheel,
all-wheel, or four-wheel drive. Control arms suspend the front corners
and a four-link rigid axle handles the rear wheels (coil springs all
around, of course). The long-standing SR5 trim name retains its
entry-level position. The midlevel, 4WD Trail edition soldiers on with
Multi-Terrain Select, low-range crawl modulation, and the optional
Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System. The topline 4Runner Limited takes on
greater passenger-coddling responsibilities with its X-REAS
self-adjusting suspension and longer list of comfort and convenience
features. An available third row enables a seven-passenger seating
claim.
It all sounds too familiar, right? Our
presumption for the familiarity: In 2010, Toyota announced it would
offer a 157-hp, 2.7-liter four-cylinder in the then-new,
fifth-generation RWD SR5 (with a four-speed auto). It got exactly 1 more
city mpg in the EPA ratings than the comparable V-6 model. And see how
long that lasted.
So what exactly is new about the 4Runner? Let's go through those 16 "new" points.
1. "New 2014 4Runner Features Rugged Exterior Design To Match Its Authentic Off-Road Heritage"
This is the press release title. Makes sense, yes?
2. "…and the redesigned 2014 4Runner receives a rugged new exterior design…"
See point number 1.
3. "The Trail grade features new color-keyed bumpers and overfenders…"
Just when we had gotten used to the black ones.
4. "In addition to the distinctive new grille…"
Toyota updated the 4Runner's front and rear
fascias for a bolder appearance, which meant modifying the graphics,
front grille, and the light housings. The redesigned, smoked headlights
switch from halogens to projector-style illumination, and LEDs are
incorporated into the head- and retouched taillights. The Limited goes
heavier on chrome-plated trim pieces.
5. "Both the SR5 and Trail grades will ride on 17-inch alloy wheels with a new wheel-design for both…"
The Limited model rides on 20-inch wheels (now
painted black). Maybe that's why they're paired with the X-REAS adaptive
shock 
"This is an overall awesome rig to take up to the mountains: It stuck
well to the snow-covered surfaces, and rarely felt like it was going to
lose traction. Driving at about 50 mph up Minaret Rd, the chassis would
occasionally lose grip, but the traction system would quickly actuate,
catch and correct any sliding. At one point, I approached a turn too
fast and began sliding, but only for a moment, as the tires promptly
gripped the snow, allowing the brakes to quickly bring us to a halt. I
was a bit nervous pulling into six inches of fresh snow on the driveway
of our rental cabin, but the Evoque plowed right through without
hesitation. I drove with the snowy/icy surfaces mode engaged most of the
time until the end of the weekend when all the snow had melted off the
roads. And even then I drove over some large ice patches with the
regular mode engaged, but the Evoque glided over them without incident,
proving that the stability system is reliable even if the proper mode is
not engaged.
Room is not very generous inside, either. We had small and large
suitcase, a medium duffel, three snowboards, and a few other small bags
stacked inside, minimizing the already compromised rearward visibility.
My backseat passenger was more then a bit cramped, but be kept his
complaints to a minimum, and in fact, over the course of a few days grew
to love the car's design and style - his eyes were opened to the
benefit of small SUV with lots and lots of luxury amenities. He was also
was charmed by the multi lens camera system and thought all the
different views were a great novelty.
Overall, the Evoque's condensed size and
sure-footed stability system make it a great weekend runner to where the
payment ends and the lifts begin."
| Our Car | |
| Service Life | 8/20,566 miles |
| Average Fuel Economy | 21.7 mpg |
| CO2 Emissions | 0.89 lb/mile |
| Energy Consumption | 155 kW-hr/100 mi |
| Unresolved problems | None |
| Maintenance cost | $0 (oil change, inspection, cabin-air filter, engine-air filter) |
| Normal-wear cost | $0 |
The Regal also swaps out its instrument panel, adding a 4.2-inch color
screen between the speedometer and tachometer. This screen provides
vehicle information, navigation, phone and other features for quick
glances as a driver can toggle through screens with steering wheel
controls. The new Regal GS will use a configurable 8-inch digital screen
for its instrument cluster.
Like the LaCrosse, the 2014 Regal will also
receive a significant technology upgrade, offering radar-based adaptive
cruise control which will operate even in stop-and-go traffic. The
Regal also adds camera-based systems such as Forward Collision Alert,
Lane Departure Warning, and Rear Cross Traffic Alert systems.
Now that the Cadillac CTS has a baby brother to cover the 3
Series/C-Class market properly, it's free to move up in size, style, and
stature to confront the 5 Series/E-Class segment head on. To that end,
Cadillac design director Mark Adams says his team was guided by "the
three Ls: longer, lower, leaner." Hence this third-generation car is
lengthened by 5.0 inches, with only 1.1 inches of that in the wheelbase,
and much of it in rear overhang. It's also lowered by 0.8 inch, and
thanks to extensive use of aluminum and savvier use of high-strength
steel, the base car is 250 pounds lighter (V-6 models weigh around 175
pounds less) for a claimed best-in-class curb weight of 3600 pounds.
The impressive 7 percent weight savings is
attributable to myriad savings, large and small. Cadillac's first use of
aluminum doors saves 55 pounds all around, while the 8-pound front
bumper beam saves 13.1 pounds, and the rear suspension cradle drops from
69 to 54 lbs. Other tricks include tailoring the B-pillar sheetmetal
thickness to vary from 1.4mm at the top to 1.9mm in the middle,
scalloping away the metal in between the spot welds, and fitting
aluminum brake calipers all around.
To ensure that the lighter weight makes the new CTS one of the most
agile cars in its class, Cadillac equipped it with a longer-armed
version of the ATS' front suspension. It locates the front struts using
separate arms that are bushed to isolate ride events (fore/aft) softly
and handling ones (laterally) more rigidly. This new geometry (plus
wheels with a 0.4-inch greater offset) help widen the front track by
almost 1.9 inches (the wheels widen the rear track by 0.8 inch).
Magnetic Ride Control will be offered for the first time on the base
suspension (with upgraded 18-inch wheels -- 17s are standard). All CTS
models will get Brembo brakes all around, with an up-level package
available on more performance-oriented versions.
When it goes on sale later this summer (production starts in July), the
328d will be offered in both sedan and wagon bodystyles with all options
available on the gasoline models (including xDrive all-wheel-drive),
with one exception -- no manual transmission. The take-rate was just
deemed too small, and it would have presented the conundrum: Bring the
super-wide-ratio Euro box that would blunt performance relative to the
eight-speed automatic, or bring the performance-oriented ratios that
might kill that 40-mpg number?
To meet U.S. NOx emissions regulations, the
engine uses a selective-catalytic-reduction (urea) fluid. The onboard
tank is not expected to require refilling between oil-change intervals
(typically 6000-10,000 miles), unless it's being operated a lot in very
cold weather or at higher altitudes.
On the eve of the New York auto show, BMW offered brief test drives
around its New Jersey headquarters, which revealed the new engine's more
earnest earth-hugging mission. This 328d sedan seems to strike a better
balance between performance and fuel economy, and as such it comes off
as better optimized for drivers inclined toward obsessively Tweeting
their fuel economy. Nevertheless, floor the throttle in Sport+ mode and
it surfs the waves of 280-lb-ft torque, merging smartly with freeway
traffic or easily jumping ahead of a line of dawdlers for the
right-hand-turn lane when necessary. Yet, it feels more at home in the
EcoPro transmission setting. Leave it there, and you'll never feel
either edge of the torque plateau as the car wafts from ratio to ratio
seamlessly. The four-cylinder's firing pulses are enough farther apart
than the six's that it sounds a bit more 
Death Valley is a huge place filled with layers and layers of desert
grandeur, lots of which can be accessed by well-kept, twisty ribbons of
asphalt. These roads are perfect for zipping up and over with the
Evoque's sticky rubber and grip-happy suspension, but I wondered how
those same tires and suspension would do when we'd leave the asphalt?
Our destination was the Barker Ranch via the
Goler Wash. Getting to the mouth of the wash meant slithering down a
fast, gravel-compacted road, then driving a few miles up a large
alluvial fan to the start of the canyon. The Evoque handled all with
ease but not without audible fuss. The low-profile tires result in
plenty of rough road noise drumming into the cabin -- the price you pay
for such big rims.
As we neared the mouth of the canyon, I began to notice that the terrain
looked recently disturbed. Sure enough, the canyon was completely
washed out. Two weeks prior to our arrival, a strong thunderstorm
appeared to have wreaked havoc on the canyon, allowing Goler Wash to
live up to its name. The Evoque wasn't about to go up it, and even the
more capable FJ began to shiver in its boots. Rather then risking
getting stuck, we instead used the newly created terrain at the mouth of
the canyon to learn more about Evoque's Terrain Response System.
Toggling through the settings, then rolling through the boulders and
sand allowed my spotters to see how each setting tackles the terrain
with a different approach. Though none of the setting were going to
change the Evoque's lack of robust tire tread or underbody clearance, I
now have a better understanding of the sort of terrain the Evoque is
capable of tackling. An FJ it is not, but it's ability to click off
triple digit speeds on the asphalt while also zipping down the majority
of unpaved roads makes it a unique crossover offering and (mostly)
perfect for visiting a big, vast place like Death Valley.
Now, the good news. Lexus bills the latest IS as having "[kicked] it up a
notch with true sport sedan driving dynamics, state of the art onboard
technologies, and an all-new design that makes it look fast even when
it's standing still." The design certainly plays a big role in an
attempt to shake things up in the world of sporty luxury sedans. The
cabin's modernization brings a familial but fresh take to the center
stack and console. Neat electrostatic switches (a first for the brand,
says Lexus) manage the dual-zone automatic climate control's temperature
settings, perfect for the generation used to finger-swiping their
smartphone touch screens. The F Sport tachometer needle's color can be
changed to red, white, or blue.
Backseat space in the 2013 model was laughable.
For 2014, the IS is noticeably more spacious for passengers astern, with
0.2 inch more headroom, 0.3 inch more hip room, 0.7 inch more shoulder
room, and, most conspicuously, 1.6 inches of additional legroom. Only
time will tell if the exterior design -- with its aggressive stance and
fascias, elongated wraparound taillights, and enormous, pinched front
grille -- will age as gracefully as the safely styled IS 300 and IS 250,
but there's no doubt the 2014 car has attitude. The big(ger), bad(der)
IS 250 F Sport has its wolf's clothing.
Another oddity in the car was the Snow button below the Drive Mode
Select dial (Eco, Normal, and Sport) and stability/traction control
switch on the center console. Pressing it didn't start the car in second
gear, but then again, we didn't have the all-wheel-drive IS 250. To
make sure we weren't part of some funny game, we checked for half-shafts
behind the front wheels, and there weren't any.
These two head-scratcher moments brought variety to this First Test
before we headed to the track. Flat-footing the accelerator and brake
pedals (not at the same time) and timing the paddle shifts just right
(tap early to cover the shift delay, right before bouncing the rev
limiter) on the dragstrip yielded no surprises, with 0-60 mph clocked at
7.2 seconds, the quarter mile at 15.6 seconds with a trap speed of 89.4
mph, and a stop from 60 mph in 113 feet. The last 2011 IS 250 F-Sport
we tested did 0-60 mph in 7.2 seconds, the quarter mile at 15.6 seconds
in 89.6 mph, and braked from 60-0 mph in 114 feet. Both cars are powered
by a direct-injected 2.5-liter V-6 with 204 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of
torque and share identical gear ratios in the six-speed automatic
transmission. The 2014 IS 250's axle ratio is about 5 percent taller and
its curb weight is 93 pounds more, but no measurable effect from the
differences was found here. Under acceleration, the engine pulls
smoothly, but the thought of the IS 350's 306-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 is
always in the back of the mind. There's greater induction noise at
higher load and revs as a result of the F Sport intake sound generator,
but it's nowhere near as obnoxious as it is in the Ford Focus ST.
The 2014 car gives up nothing in terms of sensation and feedback from
the driver's seat. It slices and dices and feels planted all the time.
The steering is direct, predictable, and communicates enough information
to the driver. No one would call this sedan overpowered, especially not
with 255mm meats in the rear. It'll lift-throttle oversteer if forced,
but should drifting be your IS 250 obsession for whatever reason, you'd
probably be better off with a square-stance model.
| 2014 Lexus IS 250 F Sport | |
| BASE PRICE | $39,000 (est) |
| PRICE AS TESTED | $42,000 (est) |
| VEHICLE LAYOUT | Front-engine, RWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan |
| ENGINE | 2.5L/204-hp/185-lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6 |
| TRANSMISSION | 6-speed automatic |
| CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) | 3594 lb (53/47%) |
| WHEELBASE | 110.2 in |
| LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT | 183.7 x 71.3 x 56.3 in |
| 0-60 MPH | 7.2 sec |
| QUARTER MILE | 15.6 sec @ 89.4 mph |
| BRAKING, 60-0 MPH | 113 ft |
| LATERAL ACCELERATION | 0.85 g (avg) |
| MT FIGURE EIGHT | 27.1 sec @ 0.65 g (avg) |
| EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON | 21/30 mpg (est) |
| ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY | 160/112 kW-hrs/100 miles (est) |
| CO2 EMISSIONS | 0.80 lb/mile (est) |
