2005 Mazda 3s

2005 Mazda 3s

Mazda is currently my favorite car manufacturer and one of my favorite cars of all time is the old 2001-2003 Mazda Protégé. My friends constantly point out the irony of me loving Mazda despite not being very fond of Ford, who own Mazda; but, Mazda is more or less Ford free in terms of their car design and manufacturing practices. In fact Ford tends to nick stuff from the Mazda parts bin for their own cars, rather than it being the other way round. For instance the Mazda developed 2.3 liter engine out of the 3/6 and the Mazda developed chassis from the 6 are in loads of Ford vehicles now.

Since the 3 was slated to replace my beloved Protégé I was very interested to see if it could deliver the same fun. At first I was a bit worried to see that the 3’s chassis was actually nicked from Ford for once, but it was taken from the European division of Ford (and the development work was split between Mazda and Volvo as well) and that makes things alright… plus it was the first car to use that platform. Other than that, the rest is all Mazda… which is definitely good news. So does the 3 have what it takes to win a place in my heart next to the Protégé?

Positives: Before I get to the driving dynamics, let me first comment about the styling of the 3. It’s fantastic (unless you get the wagon which looks like a rhino). I’m sure there will be a few people out there who will disagree (there always are), but the 3 is perfectly styled in my opinion. In keeping with Mazda’s annoying zoom zoom advertising, the 3 looks properly sporty, and at the same time it looks very upscale and refined, or very un-"entry level compact sedan" if you will. The styling will never give off the vibe that you couldn’t afford better and since it’s a Mazda rather than a BMW no one will hate you for having one. Most cars in the compact class look a bit flimsy, at least in some parts, and you’d expect a panel to fall straight off if you kicked it hard enough, but the 3 looks absolutely solid.

The eye pleasing styling continues inside as well. The gauges have a beautiful blue glow with red accents; there’s a very sporty leather wrapped three spoke steering wheel; the buttons and dials on the dashboard glow red at night to help you find them; also, the dashboard itself is made out of relatively high grade plastics and everything looks well put together. If you're not a fan of the red lighting, as some people aren't, there is a reason for it which might sway your opinion. At night, red will catch your eye more easily, and it is also the least straining color of light for your eyes. All in all though, Everything looks upscale especially when you remember this is an entry level sedan. The interior is perhaps a bit too black for my tastes (almost everything is black including the seats and side panels; no real contrast), but overall it’s a nice place to be.

I think the styling is age neutral as well. I admit the car's styling tips the scale more towards the youths; but, a teenager wouldn’t look like he/she is driving his/her parent’s car, and a parent wouldn’t look like they’re driving their kid’s car.

Now we get to the important stuff. How does the 3 drive? Well, compared to the old Protégé, it’s just not as fun… but it’s still awesome. Some of the fun is indeed lost compared to the Protégé, but it has been wisely traded for refinement. This car rides better, is quieter, is faster, and is better put together than the old Protégé… and most other cars in its class for that matter.

So forgetting about the Protégé for now, this car is properly good fun to drive. To start, the pedal response is great; both the gas and brake pedal are precise and easy to modulate. The steering is nicely weighted and provides good feedback. The ride is firm and feels very solid, which means that cornering is flat and devoid of roll. The seat is also firm, but it’s very supportive and overall rather comfortable. All of this combined means that this car delivers that confidence I always talk about, which lets you feel safe taking turns at speeds you normally wouldn’t think of, which in my opinion is what makes a car fun. Fortunately the car doesn't just feel athletic, then under steer its way into a tree when you're feeling adventurous; it really does corner at those speeds you normally wouldn't think of!

Despite the firm suspension this car doesn’t fling you out of your seat and through the sunroof if you hit a bump, though other cars like the Corolla and non-sporting Civics do go over bumps more comfortably, and it is as happy doing a motorway cruise as it is carving up canyon roads. However, I feel that if you buy this car only to do highway miles, it would be like hiring Steve Nash to bag groceries. I'm sure he could do it just fine, but it would be a complete waste of talent.

Now usually you’ll hear me say that despite the good handling abilities of a compact sedan, the engine is a bit weak and limp wristed… not the case here though. The 2.3 liter engine in this car makes it properly quick. If you get a manual, this car can hit 60 in about 7.3 seconds and that’s only a shade off of what a VW GTI can do. I don’t have an official figure for the automatic, but I promise you, it’s still quick. What’s more this engine features variable valve timing witch craft which gives you power no matter where the tachometer needle is. Also, if you find yourself going too quickly and want to slow down, the brakes feel strong and actually are strong, providing class leading stopping distances.

The transmissions themselves are worth some praise too. The manual shifts very smoothly and the clutch is light and incredibly easy to use. Unless you have no clue how to drive stick, stalling a 3 is about as difficult as stalling a team of Navy Seals from entering your house... the manual transmission really is that easy to use. Also, the “manual mode” on the automatic actually works! If you want to up-shift it will do it like most other cars with a manu-matic thingy, but if you want to downshift, this car will do it without suffering from ADD… brilliant!

Negatives: I’m really struggling to think of anything bad to say about this car, but I have found a couple of things by being really picky. First off I’m not a fan of the speedometer starting in the six o’clock position. If you’re used to normal speedometers you’ll be going 60 when you think you’re only doing 40, meaning a speeding ticket is only a matter of time. Another bad thing is uh… I guess the gas mileage could be a bit better, though it’s not bad considering the power the engine puts out… I think that about covers the negatives section…

Conclusion: I can easily say that this is the best compact car you can buy. There are essentially only good things to say about it. It drives like a sports car, it’s reasonably quick, it looks more expensive than it really is, and the only real issue is the speedometer which I think you’d get used to. A well equipped 3s is around 18k and that’s a good price considering what you’re getting, and if you can do without the 17 inch alloys and the extra horse power you can drop 1-2 grand off the price by getting a 3i.

This car is overtly sporty which is why I love it, but because of that it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. For instance if you’re a boring person who feels that driving is a chore, you’ll never appreciate the brilliance of this car. Also, if you’re old, you have a dickey back, or just plain desire comfort over all else in the world… perhaps the Corolla is a better car; however, I only say that because I think that if you cannot appreciate how good this car is, you don’t deserve to have one.

Summary:

The Good: More or less everything

The Bad: I don’t have one… yet…

Verdict: If you’ve got 18k to spend on a car… GET ONE!

Random Stats:

Engine: 2.3 liter I4, 160 hp, 150 lb-ft torque

EPA fuel estimate: 25/32

0-60: 7.3 seconds (manual)

2000 Linclon LS

I didn't have my camera with me... so pictures are from www.edmunds.com

2000 Lincoln LS V6 Sport

Obviously the car I’m reviewing here is a bit dated, so just treat it as a used car review!

I’m quite sad that the LS has been discontinued and no real successor has been named over at Lincoln. The Mazda 6 derived Zephyr/MKZ replaces the LS in the Lincoln line up but it doesn’t replace the LS in purpose. This car was a first for Lincoln, since it was the first thing this branch of Ford offered that can be remotely seen as sporty. This car uses the chassis of a Jaguar S-type and the body shape looks like a BMW with a Lincoln grill. Clearly Lincoln was using a sports sedan recipe, and was trying to appeal to buyers who weren’t around since King George ruled the colonies. For those who were around before the declaration of independence was signed, the LS is offered with tacky chrome accents on the bumpers and you can even get the coveted “Presidential Edition;” presidential edition being a term used to describe a car with a disgusting looking vinyl roof including button latches (I don’t think they’re convertibles though), a presidential seal looking seal on the back pillars, and the ability to appeal to people who are too senile to realize how ridiculous the whole thing looks.

The version I tested was fortunately aimed at people who still have teeth. Getting the sport pack on the LS adds larger 17 inch alloys with grippy sport tires covering them, a firmer “sport” suspension, one of those shift yourself automatic transmissions, and the vulgar bumper chrome gets thrown out. You’ll still look out of place in the car as a teenager, but at least a thirty year old would look at home. That’s a definite improvement for Lincoln when you remember that the Lincoln Town Car’s average buyer is, no joke, seventy years old. In the end though, you wind up with a viable BMW 5-series alternative in terms of looks and drive.

Positives: This car is a proper sports sedan. The steering is heavy and responsive; the car itself feels like it’s hugging the road surface; also, the car grips and handles properly thanks to its rear wheel drive layout. The car has traction control to prevent you from crashing into a tree if you’re over zealous; but, if you feel like testing your ability to power slide through the corners, you can easily turn it off by pressing a switch next to the gear shifter.

This car admittedly will not be as good to drive as a BMW 528, but it’s still pretty good, especially if you consider the price. Used LS’s in good condition can easily be found under 20k, and they’ll most certainly be cheaper to run than a BMW (lower insurance and maintenance costs). This particular LS went for 33k when new and that was about 15k less than the equivalent BMW! So if you were a middle aged businessman you could have bought an LS for yourself, and a Civic for your kid for the price of a BMW 528.

Despite the sport suspension and the narrowish sport tires, this car doesn’t throw your coffee out of the cup holder as you crash over some potholes, which is nice. In terms of a ride and handling compromise, the suspension settings are just right, giving you a good balance between comfort and flat cornering capability; however, if you’re looking for a “soft and luxurious ride” like most Lincoln buyers are, you might not want the sport pack.

Negatives: I hope one day I won’t have to mention the cheap interior on an American car, especially ones that are supposed to represent luxury marques, but seeing how this is an older model, I’ll have to this time. The plastics are definitely higher grade than what you would find in a normal Ford, but the plastics are only Corolla grade at best. The worst bit is the wood trim, which clearly isn’t wood. A Corolla LE has a slab of plastic resembling wood inside of it as well, and I have to say the Corolla’s plastic slab is more convincing. The wood in the LS is literally a gel sticker. I don’t know what the gel is made out of, but you can actually peel off the “wood” and roll it up.

The leather on the seats is clearly of a lower grade than what you would find on foreign luxury cars. The seat is still comfortable and supportive, but the leather is really stiff rather than soft and supple like it should be.

The gauge pod and steering wheel are very Lincoln… that’s the only way to describe them… and don’t really offer any sense of sportyness. Overall the interior gives you the feeling that you’re driving a nimble Town Car, rather than something special.

This car is deceivingly large. If you look at it with nothing next to it, you would think that it was meant to compete against the 3-series BMW and the C class Benz, but the car is actually three inches off the length of a Lexus LS430! The interior space however, does not reflect the external size of the car, nor does the trunk space, but that’s not to say things are cramped… it’s just not as big on the inside as it should be.

Dynamically this car feels smaller than it really is, but the car’s colossal weight can definitely be felt. You can feel the extra mass giving you an additional shove through a corner, but it’s nothing too major; however, the real issue behind the car’s weight lies with Newton’s second law of motion… f=ma. If you rearrange things you get that acceleration = force/mass and with the large mass you need more force to get it to move. What I’m trying to get at is that the 3 liter V6 in this car is simply not powerful enough to accelerate this heavy car with any real sportyness. In fully automatic mode, this car feels really underpowered. Moving into the sport shift mode where you can rev the engine harder by choosing the gears yourself does alleviate this problem a bit, but the onboard computer still up shifts for you just to piss you off sometimes (the excuse is to shift up for you in case you’re not paying attention and thus prevent engine damage). Also, when you want to down shift, the transmission sometimes gets ADD and takes a few seconds before it can be bothered.

Conclusion: Despite the Negatives section being of reasonable length, I actually like this car a lot. The interior is a bit cheap, but you are essentially getting an S-Type Jaguar for half off (and less ugly) and that’s fantastic. There is a V8 option for the LS, which I would advise getting, and that will turn this Lincoln into a reasonably quick muscle car. The V8 is pulled from Jaguar’s parts bin too (V6 is from Ford), so getting the V8 really means you’re getting a cut price S-type!

Unless you actually are purchasing this car using your pension fund, I would really recommend finding an LS with the sport pack installed. The car just drives better with it, and the chrome accent deletion and larger alloys make the LS look less grandpa and more grand tourer. Also, no matter what your age is, please do not get the presidential edition… Everyone will be too embarrassed to talk to you.

Summary:

The Good: It’s a Jag for cheap

The Bad: You’ll have to resist the temptation to peel off the wood trim and roll it up.

Verdict: I like it, and the folks at Motor Trend even named it car of year in 1999!

Random Stats:

Engine: 3.0 Liter V6, 210 hp, 220 lb-ft torque

EPA fuel estimate: 18/25

Does Ford not Like U.S.?

Does Ford not Like U.S.?

Now seriously, is it just me or does Ford not like its home country compared to the rest of the world? For years the cars Ford has sold in the United States have paled in comparison to the rest of the competition, including Mazda which Ford owns! This was okay for awhile because buying a Ford over the competition meant saving thousands of dollars, and buying a Ford never gave off a “I can’t afford better” vibe. The problem with their methodology in modern times though lies with the Koreans. Hyundai also sells cheap cars, but they now make good cars. So if you’re in the market for the best, Honda and Toyota offer cars made with superior quality, and if you’re looking for cheap and cheerful, Hyundai will happily sell you a car with a long warranty. Also, if you like buying American, Chevy and Dodge sell very similar cars, in spec and price, to what Ford puts out. As a result Ford has some major financial troubles due to their losses in the United States. So what about the rest of the world?

Ford isn’t doing too badly in the rest of the world. Does that mean the rest of the world likes the cheap cars Ford makes? No, they like the good cars Ford makes. For example the Ford Mondeo has been and still is one of the best selling cars in Britain. Wait, the Ford what? Ford doesn’t sell a “Mondeo” in the U.S.! That’s very true, and we don’t sell the Taurus to the rest of the world. From the foreign reviews I’ve read, the Modeo is a spectacular mid-size sedan and easily beats the Camry dynamically, and gives the Accord and the 6 a good fright. To add to this, the Mondeo is properly put together and lacks the massive panel gaps and nasty plastics that the Taurus suffers from.

Recently the replacement mid-size for Ford has been the Ford Fusion, which is really a Mazda 6 with poorer build quality and a disguise. Ford is trying to make a move in the right direction by up scaling their cars a bit to not look like a joke next to the competition, but why didn’t we get the Mondeo? Why did a company with financial troubles spend money developing a new car (albeit, developing around an existing design) instead of bringing over a car that they already know is good? It would have been explainable if the Fusion was created to tie us over until the next generation Mondeo (as seen in Casino Royal, as 007’s hire car) gets put into production, but once again the Mondeo is exclusive to the rest of the world. I have to stress the rest of the world part because the photo’s I took and included with this article are from Taiwan! Taiwan is an insignificant car market compared to the United States and yet they’re getting the good stuff.

The Focus is the only taste we have gotten of how good Fords can be when they’re designed in Europe (well the GT too, but not many people are capable of getting one). It was a good move for Ford to bring over the Focus instead of giving us another Escort, but this moment of intelligence was as short lived as a fruit fly. The rest of the world has gotten an all new Focus which shares its architecture with the Mazda 3 and Volvo S40. It’s a great little car which actually outperforms the Mazda 3 and it looks fantastic as well; in fact, when I was reading up on it a couple of years ago my friends even caught me saying, “When that comes out in the U.S., I think I might get one.” Unfortunately it never did, and instead of the new Euro-Focus, we got the old Focus with some botox shoved up its tailpipe. Then, Ford announced that there would be a new Focus for 2008, but that turned out to be a bigger let down than before. The 2008 Focus is once again a face lifted old Focus but with “suspension tweaks.” What’s worse is the fact that the new Focus no longer comes in hatchback form and is now uglier than a Ssangyong Rodius (look that car up, you’ll get a good laugh). I’m really surprised that no one on the design team said anything about how the car’s wheel arches make 17 inch wheels look like milk bottle tops. All in all, the United States gets a half assed remake of a ten year old car, while the rest of the world drives something proper.

To make things even worse, cars like the Ford Escape which are offered elsewhere in the world are actually better everywhere outside of America. My father actually owns an Escape in Taiwan, and he says that the rental Escape he drove state-side just felt like a different car altogether. I haven’t driven either Escapes so I cannot comment on that myself, but I have seen them in person, in detail. The build quality of the Taiwanese Escape was just plain better. Everything looked and felt more solid. This was especially true of the interior. American Escapes have the signature cheap plastics and panel gaps that American cars generally have, but the Taiwanese Escape had an attractive well put together interior with quality materials. Why don’t we have that here?

I’m sure some marketing guy or gal from Ford will be able to throw numbers and research data at me defending Ford’s decision to shaft America, but I wouldn’t care, largely because Ford is losing money in America. I just don’t understand why Ford doesn’t bring over its fantastic foreign car models and up its quality in order to properly challenge the competition. Sure, this may bring their car prices up a bit, but the reason why people are buying the relatively more expensive Hondas and Toyotas is because they’re just better. What Ford is doing is like a parent giving their child a cassette walkman for Christmas, and giving the neighbor’s kid the new iPod touch. The only way this would make sense is if that parent just didn’t like his/her own kid.

2006 Chevy Cobalt LS

2006 Chevy Cobalt LS

This will be a rather lengthy review and will not follow my usual positives, negatives, conclusion format; the reason being that I took a rather lengthy drive in this car. So, this will be more of a road test story. I had a job interview in Vancouver B.C. and seeing how it wasn’t really cycling distance from Seattle, a rental car was in order. Being under twenty five, I went with Enterprise because they only charge a ten dollar a day fee for being below that age (Hertz charges something like thirty quid a day!). At the bottom end of the scale you can rent the woeful Chevy Aveo, which is just a rebadged Daewoo, and for a little more the slightly more woeful Dodge Neon which is clearly not worth it. Seeing how I had over a couple hundred miles to drive from Seattle to Vancouver and back again, I decided to pay the extra four dollars a day and try out the latest small car offering from Chevrolet.

The journey into Canada was rather simple… I-5 north until it becomes some randomly named Canadian road across the border and then we reach Vancouver. However, along the way I would encounter city traffic, traffic jams, long straight stretches of highway (of course), curvy bits of highway (I quite liked those), and the annoying queue known as the US/Canadian border.

I started off my rental on Friday, since I needed to leave before Enterprise opened on Saturday. I took my roommates for a light Costco run and a trip over to Target, so I wouldn’t have to pay for campus parking (which is free past 6:00 pm) that day. Fortunately, none of them complained about the back seat not having enough room, but no one praised it as well. The trunk fit everything we needed to fit in it, and I was delighted to find that it used hydraulic tubes rather than manual hinges which can crush your large Costco bought cereal boxes when you try to slam the trunk shut.

The first thing I noticed about the car though, was the much improved interior compared to the previous year’s Cobalt. I always make fun of American cars for their cheap looking interiors, but the Cobalt’s interior trim didn’t look too bad. I have to stress the look part, because most of the plastics are still as hard and cheap as a porn star’s boob job. Of all the cheap plastic bits in the car, the steering wheel was the worst, which is quite a shame because it would be the one bit of the car I would actually have to touch. The steering wheel was made out of the same sort of plastic you would expect to find on a fisher price play house only with a sand paper like finish on it.

The next thing I noticed, which was after about twenty miles of driving, was the rather alarming fuel consumption. During the twenty miles, I complained about the car lacking punch especially for having more horse power and much more torque than the Civic or the Corolla, but over those twenty miles the fuel gauge dropped a quarter tank! I got a phone call from Enterprise asking if everything was going all right, and I complained about the rubbish fuel economy I was getting. The Enterprise guy came up with the thought that the previous renter may have put in cheapest gas imaginable before returning the car, and this turned out to be the case. It was a good thing the car didn’t have a full tank of gas when it was given to me or else I would have had to drive a lot more miles before I could go to a proper gas station and give the car proper gas. After the fill up, the engine had much more punch, but it still felt slower than a Corolla which is way down on power. It’s not as if this car was weighed down by heavy options too, it had manual locks and roll down windows... also, the trunk cannot be released from inside the car. If you go to the airport to pick someone up, you have to shut off the engine, get out, use the key to open the trunk, get back into the car, and start it up again. Not very dignified, but if you’re going to pick up your girlfriend from the airport you can pretend that you wanted to be a gentleman and load her suitcase into the trunk for her… sadly if you’re a girl going to pick up your boyfriend, this action might seem insulting instead, so you can’t use that as an excuse.

The next morning I finally departed for Vancouver. It was going to be a long drive, but fortunately GM fitted an auxiliary in on the stereo, so I could plug in my MP3 player instead of bringing a large stack of CD’s. Another thing that I have to thank GM for is the extra sound insulation they shoved into this car. It’s no Rolls Royce, but for this class of car it was quite nice since I could actually hear the songs being played through the stereo while I was darting down the highway. Speaking of darting down the highway, beware of black Ford F-150’s… I saw one without external beanies and police badging pull a blatantly speeding X-terra over for a ticket.

After a couple of hours I reached a stretch of I-5 north of Everett which I really enjoyed. The road passed through a more mountainous area and thus had some nice sweeping curves and a magnificent view to distract you. The speed limit was reduced in this area, probably because some health and safety people are afraid of you somehow skidding off the road, but I certainly didn’t care because this stretch of road allowed me to probe the fun factor of the Cobalt. Sadly, though the road was a lot more fun than the mundane highway straights, the car wasn’t that fun. The Cobalt handles alright, but the steering feel is a bit numb and the back of the steering wheel rubs annoyingly against the giant slab of plastic behind it. I kept wishing I was in a different car. I obviously would have loved to belt down that stretch of road in an S2000, or a Porsche 911, but I was thinking even a Mazda 3 or a Focus would have made my day.

After an annoying hour and a half spent queuing at the border, and another half hour of driving down some Canadian tarmac, I arrived in Vancouver! I now had to drive into downtown to get to my job interview. I followed my Google maps directions to the tee for fear of getting lost in a city I’ve never been to. Unfortunately the road it had me go down was being dug up for some public transit system, so there was plenty of stop and go traffic as well as potholes and bumps. The cobalt did quite well in these conditions; the car didn’t break my back and jar bits of trim off their mounting points as it went over the road irregularities, even the plastic wheel covers stayed attached.

I eventually reached my destination and started to attach my tie and swap my running shoes for uncomfortable dress shoes. It had been a long drive and surprisingly my @$$ wasn’t sore or numbed over and my back didn’t need a trip to the chiropractor, so kudos to the Cobalt’s comfy seats.

After bombing my four hour interview (it was in an annoying group format) I just wanted to get to my hotel room and relax. There was something I noticed about the Cobalt after leaving the interview, but I’ll get back to that later since it’s a big one. I was going off of four hours of sleep, and thanks to the convenient 1:00 interview time and the slow traffic down Cambie Street, I skipped out on lunch as well making me more lethargic. To get to my hotel I had to use Cambie Street, and unfortunately, the downtown portion of it isn’t quite connected to the Cambie Street Bridge to get out of downtown and I got a bit lost. This fortunately gave me a chance to look around the lovely city of Vancouver and I suggest to my readers to visit this city one day because it is breath taking.

Once I finally found my way to the hotel, I had a new worry. I booked an airport hotel because they’re usually the cheapest without having hookers and drug dealers outside, but the neighborhood didn’t exactly seem posh. To add to the ambiance the hotel wisely (add sarcasm with water) put up massive signs saying that hotel patrons are parking at their own risk, and that there are no security cameras, and no security what-so-ever really. This made me empty out everything in the car, because the locks on the Cobalt are about as flimsy as a rope bridge in Indiana Jones, and if someone tried to break into the car the locks would probably surrender faster than France.

I woke up early to try and avoid border traffic, and decided to fuel up the car first. I saw a gas station selling gas for 2.8 Canadian dollars which looked pretty cheap and decided to pull in… then I remembered that unlike the Brits, the Canadians only use metric, and $2.80 was the price per LITER! I glanced at the fuel gauge and decided to wait until I was back in Washington to fuel up. By the time I crossed the border and did fuel up I was in for a bit of disappointment. The car, while doing only a tiny bit of city traffic and a lot of highway, only got 29 mpg. Sure Chevy advertises 33 mpg and I wasn’t expecting to get that, but 29 mpg is what I get in the city when I drive a Corolla or a Civic! What makes the fuel figure more amusing is the fact that the Cobalt uses an engine with technology GM calls “ecotec.”

Eventually, I made it back into Seattle without crashing and started to reflect a bit more on the car. Is the Cobalt a good car? I didn’t hate it, and it’s not bad; but, it’s not that great. This car is average in every way possible, so nothing about it was really special. In comparison to the old Cavalier, this car is light years ahead, so if you’re a Chevy man this car will not disappoint you; however, if you’re not a Chevy man, this car just isn’t as good as the Japanese competition.

Now I have to get back to the major downfall I noticed about the Cobalt after the interview… the styling. This isn’t a bad looking car, but it doesn’t look modern and would look more at home in the late 90’s. The car itself looks a little flimsily built as well, which adds onto the aesthetic kick in the groin. What I’m trying to get at is that it isn’t necessarily the looks, but the presentation that’s the issue. At the interview there were a few attractive girls there and when we were all leaving two of them were parked next to me. One drove to the interview in an Acura TL, and the other drove in the new Hyundai Elantra. I suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment getting into the Cobalt because it just looked so cheap next to these cars… and one of them was a Hyundai! This might have been a little different if I was driving the SS coupe with alloys and a spoiler, but the basic sedan just lacks the quality look the rest of the cars in its class now have. I’m certain that if Enterprise rented me a Civic sedan, I would have proudly gotten into the car and set off.

Conclusion:
So if you are a Chevy man, and you’re going to ignore all the negative things I’ve said about the Cobalt, what are you getting in the end? Well to list the good stuff, this car is a quiet and comfortable car perfect for commuting. The Cobalt doesn’t roll too much in tight bends, and overall has decent handling. So you’re pretty much buying GM’s version of the Corolla only cheaper; however, this car, like most GM cars, will depreciate faster than a laptop. If you plan on running the car until it has to be towed to the junk yard, the depreciation might not bother you and since this is an all American car, insurance will be less than other cars and spare parts will be astonishingly cheap. Personally though, unless your Chevy dealership offers massive rebates and slashes another couple thousand dollars off the price tag after that… get something else.

Summary:
The good: It’s like a Corolla only less expensive…
The bad: And without the quality, the charm, the excellent fuel mileage, the reliability, the value retention…
Verdict: Much better than the old Cavalier but not good enough.

Random Stats:

Engine: 2.2 Liter I4, 145 hp, 155 lb-ft torque

EPA fuel estimate: 24/33

Observed highway mileage: 29 mpg

EPA mileage estimate changes

EPA mileage estimate changes

Due to numerous complaints about people getting nowhere near the mileage estimates posted on the sales sticker of their car, the EPA has decided to change things up. Essentially the same test is run on the same rolling road, except now the tests are done with brisker acceleration, having the AC on, and some cold weather testing is included. This has unfortunately caused some issues.

The first issue caused stems from the fact that almost no one knows that the EPA testing standards have been changed. 2008 model cars fall under the new standards and the 2007 models are still under the old standards. So if you’re currently buying a small car, and you drop into the local Mitsubishi dealership to look at the new 2008 Lancer, you’ll laugh at the mileage figure. 22/29? The Mazda 3 which develops more power gets 26/32! Naturally, if you care about fuel economy, you’ll exit the Mitsubishi showroom laughing like a maniac, and drop by the Mazda dealership to sign some papers. However, most Mazda 3’s are still 2007’s and the 2008 Mazda 3’s fuel figures are actually more or less the same as the Lancer!

Another issue occurs if you’re just replacing your old car. If you own a Toyota Camry, and you decide its time to get a new one, you might have a heart attack when you see the window sticker on the new car. I’m sure a lot of people will proclaim that technological progress is no more and ask the dealer, “Why is the fuel consumption on the new Camry so much worse than the old one?” Then after the dealer tries to explain that the mileage has actually improved, but under the new standards they look worse, the buyer might feel a little thick, or not believe the dealer and think it was all a part of some sales pitch to hide the truth. On a more practical stand point, this means you can no longer compare the fuel consumption of cars produced past the 2008 model year to older cars.

This all brings me to the main crux of this editorial. I personally like the idea that the actual mileage I will be getting is now closer to the estimates, but personally I don’t feel that was the point of the estimates. The fuel consumption estimates are a standard, like the kilogram, or the minute. In my mind I have a set idea of what is good mileage for a certain class of car, but now I have to reset it and redo my research before complaining about or praising a car’s fuel consumption figures. I never cared that most people couldn’t actually get 41 mpg out of a Corolla on the highway, I just cared that the Corolla put out superior figures compared to a Cobalt (just to serve as an example). Even after the estimation changes a Corolla will still get better mileage than a Cobalt, but now everything gets shifted over. Personally I never used the EPA mileage estimates for anything other than a shopping comparison with other cars and in fact there’s some small print on the window sticker telling you that’s what the mileage estimates are there for. An analogy to better explain what I mean involves people on a diet. So let’s say Jane currently weighs 160 pounds, and ideally she would like to weigh 115, because that’s what most women her height should weigh. Then suddenly, the scientific community gets together and changes the pound into something heavier than before. Jane suddenly weighs 115, but it still doesn’t change the fact that she’s fat.

Another point I wish to make is that it was always possible to achieve the mileage estimates put up in the past, just no one bothered to try. I for one have tried to drive in a relaxed fashion to see if my car could reach the elusive estimates of old, and I actually beat it! The trouble is, most drivers on the road are in a hurry and are a little too happy to slam their foot on the pedals. Contrary to what some people say, applying the brakes doesn’t use up fuel (I’ve heard this said by many people, and I have no idea where it comes from); however, slowing down means that you’ll have to spend more time holding the “gas” pedal down and that does use up your fuel. So if everyone drove like an elderly person and was less nervous on the gas and brake pedals while driving, they would get mileage closer to the old estimates. Sadly, this is not the case. Back to the diet example, only this time with a diet… If Jane decided to go on the Shuh Huqua diet, which promised to cut her weight down to 115 in four to six months, and six months later she weighed 145, she would be furious and say the diet sucked. Now let’s say the diet said to only eat salads with fat free dressing and to go jogging for at least a mile a day; and now let’s say Jane only jogged every other week, and every Friday ate hot dogs and cheese burgers. Naturally Jane won’t get the desired results.

If there is one thing I’m enjoying about the new EPA mileage estimates, it would be how it effects the hardcore environmentalist. The car’s hit hardest by this new mileage estimation system are the hybrids; and the big gas guzzling SUV’s and sports cars that I love as a petrol head, are hardly effected at all. It’s easy to see why too. A Prius has, as far as I’m concerned, no power. A dash to 60 takes the better part of your life, and after the other part of your life the car will top out at 100 mph. So, even if you’re not in a rush you’ll have your foot down all the time just to make the car move. Sports cars clearly don’t have this problem, so meeting the new “faster acceleration” part of the new EPA tests means pressing the throttle a tiny bit more than before. As for big SUV’s, these cars get such bad mileage to begin with that a change of 10% in the mileage estimates means a one mpg difference, which feels negligible.

So, the new testing standards have brought about a bit of confusion, the inability to compare the fuel consumption of a modern vehicle to an older one, and some headache to the environmentalists harping about how buying a hybrid will get you a million miles per gallon. In the end I feel that the new EPA regulations on fuel estimates is a waste of time, because the estimates should only be used for comparison purposes and the old regulations did just that.

2007 Toyota Corolla CE

2007 Toyota Corolla CE

The Toyota Corolla is the best selling car of all time, beating even the VW Beetle, which has been around since Hitler controlled Germany. There is nothing that explains why the Corolla has sold in droves. Sure the Corolla gets good gas mileage, and is totally reliable, but unlike the beetle, which is iconic to most of the world, there is no defining reason for the Corolla’s success. The Corolla has never been a special car, and other than the short lived XRS, there hasn’t been a hot one to boost the image like the Type R’s for Civics. So is there something I’ve been missing?

Positives: The obvious plus side to owning a Corolla begins with its unimpeachable reliability. As long as you keep up with basic maintenance, this car stands a chance of seeing you from college to retirement. The next obvious plus side is the amazing gas mileage this car gets. Remember, this isn’t a small hatchback like the Yaris and yet with a manual this car gets 32 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway (The auto is only a shade worse)! This is thanks to the incredible engine under the bonnet. It only produces 126 hp but the VVT-i system in the car makes it far more potent than the figures would lead you to believe. I won’t tell you the details of how Toyota’s VVT-i system works, partly because I don’t fully understand it myself, and partly because it will bore you to tears, but what the system does in the end is give you immediate power at any speed. This makes the car entertaining on the highway, because every time you jab the throttle you are jolted into the seat. You won’t be glued to the driver’s seat like you would in a big V8 muscle car, but for this class of car it is good fun. Now, if you don’t like keeping the throttle glued to the floor, this car will become a quiet highway cruiser instead, which is nice as well.

Even though this was the entry level CE trimmed Corolla and the interior was a symphony of plain beige, you could tell that all the plastics and other trim material was made from quality products. The ergonomics in this car are perfect; there’s no other way to describe it. Everything is where you expect it to be. I found myself adjusting the stereo and the AC (not just the fan power but the temperature and fan outlet knob as well) without even looking, and this was during my first drive in the car. To add the approbation, the seats were fairly comfortable, I was able to fit my friends in the backseat, and we all fit a Costco run in the trunk. Also the car feels solid and well built while driving on the road, and the car glides over bumps and potholes as well as its big brother, the Camry.

All of this makes the Corolla the perfect car for the commuter, and the small family. There is nothing to fault about the ownership experience of this car; and even if something does go wrong with your Corolla, replacement parts (even tires) are cheap and plentiful due to the ubiquity of this car. In addition, if you don’t plan to drive this car until you have to put it into your will, Corolla’s have excellent resale at any age. When you want to trade it in for a new car, you’ll be able to get back most of the money you spent buying it originally!

The not so negative negatives: Predictably as a Toyota, the driving dynamics are nowhere near class leading. The pedal feel is better than other Toyota products I have driven; the brakes and gas pedal don’t suffer from A.D.D. but still feel a bit rubbery. The steering is a bit rubbery as well. Even though this car has very low torque figures, the over assisted steering wheel can still receive a bit of torque steer in the turns. If you jab the throttle mid-turn you’ll get a nervous twitch from the wheel and passengers might think you were trying to correct your turn angle. Now that I’ve said that, the next time you get in a Corolla driven by a friend, I guarantee you’ll notice it. I guess the exterior styling is a bit bland and “elderly,” but buying the S model with alloys will cure that; however the S model is just a body kitted Corolla with a black interior, so it will not cure the handling short falls this car has.

Actually I don’t care about the negatives I’ve listed. I actually love this car.

Conclusion: The reason why I love the Corolla is the fact that it gives off a special vibe when you drive one for an extended period of time. There is something about it that’s endearing, and it gets under your skin. Add this to a faultless ownership experience and the short list of negatives goes away. Unless you commute through tight winding mountain passes, or fancy a track day once in awhile, the handling will suffice for everyday driving. In fact I feel that the negative aspects of this car add to its charm. I cannot really explain it, but borrow a Corolla for a weekend and you might know what I mean.

I’ve driven older Corollas before and I think it’s just this generation that gives off that endearing vibe, so I still cannot explain why this is the best selling car of all time. I believe that if I had around 17k to blow on a car I would drive to the Toyota dealership, then veer off and buy a Mazda 3 (because it really is better)… but if for some reason I didn’t veer off, I don’t think I would ever regret my purchase.

Summary:

The Good: Everything, but the handling

The Bad: I wish it handled better; then it’d be pretty much perfect

Verdict: I’ll take it

Random Stats:

Engine: 1.8 liter I4 126 hp, 122 lb-ft torque

EPA mileage estimates: 30/38 (auto) 32/41 (manual)

I heard if you try really hard you can get this car from 0-60 in 8.3 seconds (with a manual). For a car with only 126 hp… that’s amazing!

Is owning a Hyundai no longer embarrassing?

Is owning a Hyundai no longer embarrassing?

I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are a large number of Hyundais rolling around especially compared to as little as five years ago. So what has changed?

To start, let’s talk about the Korean auto industry, which started out more or less as a protected monopoly of sorts. Korea places incredibly large taxes and importation fees on foreign cars, so unless you are ridiculously rich, a Korean car is the only car you can really buy. These taxes were set because they were necessary to ensure their citizens actually bought Korean cars. For instance, if you had a choice a couple of decades back to buy a Hyundai or a Honda for roughly the same price, I’m sure you would have gone and bought the Honda, simply because everything about it was better. The trouble with this policy is that the Korean car makers would probably make a shoddy car to make more money, and keep making shoddy cars because no one can afford to buy a foreign car. Fortunately the Korean government had a solution. Competition is the greatest motivator in business, and Korean car manufacturers were required to export a large quantity of cars to capitalize on this idea. What this meant was that they would face daunting competition in the foreign market, and if they did not try to compete by making a good car, their respective car company would simply die off.

Korean companies did originally make vastly inferior cars compared to their rivals, but they sold their cars at bargain prices in order to entice some buyers; and it worked to some extent. The downside though, was the image that was given off. If you drove a Hyundai, it meant you simply cannot afford better, and the exterior styling confirmed this to people who had no idea what a Hyundai is. This image worsened as time went on, since if you drove an old Hyundai, the paint was probably peeling off and black smoke exited your tailpipe.

Hyundai and their subsidiary Kia, decided it was wise to try and shake off the image of poor quality their cars had by offering the longest warranty on the market. Surely, if a car company gave you a ten year warranty, they had to be pretty confident the car will make it to the end of that warranty without exploding. This idea worked, since people started buying Korean, because it seemed like they had nothing to lose. By curing the quality concerns, this started Hyundai’s image building, but it did not cure the cheap, inferior car image.

In 2002, Hyundai restyled the Tiburon into a truly beautiful car, and despite what many people would like to think, it’s what’s on the outside that counts. There still weren’t many Hyundai’s around, but most of the ones you did see were Tiburons, usually with a teenager blasting loud music inside. The car itself was pretty good, except the V6 engine (which is unfortunately still used today) was rubbish. 2.7 liters 170 hp, and fuel consumption that would make an SUV driver happy (18/26). This rubbish engine problem plagued Hyundai ever since it started selling cars, but happily it’s all changed.

The 2006 Hyundai Sonata, with its Accord copying styling, was a major step forward for Hyundai. For the first time, the exterior of the car looked to be of quality and the interior, especially if you get leather and wood, rivaled the competition. Then the 2007 Accent, and Elantra (and the SUV’s) came out and they took the same step up in visual quality. If you line the previous generation Hyundai range against the current one, you will probably be staggered by the progress. Because of the revitalized styling, I’m starting to see Hyundai’s everywhere, even in the slightly wealthier parts of town. The engines on offer for the new Hyundais put out good figures too, which in some cases surpass the Americans, but are not quite as good as the Japanese. It now makes sense to buy a Hyundai, since they are cheap, reliable, well made, and reasonably good looking cars. Kelsey Grammer will even tell you on the television adverts that buying a Hyundai is just the smart thing to do.

To get back to the original question at hand, is it no longer embarrassing to own a Hyundai? I think so, the new ones admittedly. Hyundai’s don’t give off that sense of cheapness they used to, and since they build a good car and sell it for less than the competition, (as opposed to building an inferior car and selling for less) no one can really make fun of you for making a poor car purchasing decision by only thinking with your wallet. I’m not saying that everyone should run out and buy a Hyundai over every other car in the market (they’re not THAT good), but I believe that owning one now is no more embarrassing than owning a Toyota, i.e. it isn’t.