New Cars and Spy Reports - September 2006
By The Automotive Editors
Wheeled Goddess
Eos splits the difference between Rabbit and Passat while offering what neither one does: a folding metal top.
Greece's Aegean coast is ideal for driving an open-top car. And VW's Eos is an excellent car for the task. Sharing mechanical bits with both the larger Passat and smaller Rabbit, the four-seater is admirably solid and shakefree, while the turbo engine is smooth and willing. More good news: The Eos is surprisingly quiet, top down or up. That top's operation is a spectacle of metallic origami. Constructed in five sections, the top layers itself and stows into the trunk. Unlike other cars with folding hardtops, the Eos has a relatively short windshield thanks to the roof's design. Have to wonder, though, how those tops will stand up to a few years' worth of openings and closings. --DON CHAIKIN
Few, but Fast
You may not see many RS 4s around because Audi figures to sell only a few thousand in the States. More's the pity. It's an astonishingly capable road-burning machine with more torque (317 lb.-ft.) than many '60s musclecars--and 90 percent of that torque is available starting at 2250 rpm. Oh, did we mention that it's also a sophisticated luxury car of elegance and poise? We had a chance to flog the RS 4 around the mountains in Southern California and at the Willow Springs racetrack. The heavy (nearly 4000-pound) sedan is easy to drive at racing speeds. Its eight-piston front disc brakes are more than adequate to the task. The stock tires, we soon discovered, aren't up to a day at the races. Not their fault; they weren't designed for the track. The locking center Torsen differential provides a 40/60 front/rear torque split, making the car handle more like a rear-driver than an even split would. Dynamic Ride Control, an ingenious system that interconnects the fluid in the dampers diagonally, works remarkably well at maintaining control and smoothing out pavement irregularities. The RS 4's base price is around $66,000. --MIKE ALLEN
SUBARU LEGACY 2.5GT SPEC.B
The newest Legacy, the 2.5 GT spec.B, provides three levels of performance at the twist of a knob. The car's SI-Drive offers the Intelligent setting for everyday driving. The Sport setting increases engine power and sharpens the accelerator response. In Sport Sharp, the 243-hp turbocharged 2.5-liter engine reacts even more quickly. The 2.5 GT spec.B, the top of the Legacy line, comes only as a four-door sedan, with a six-speed manual. Prices are not yet available. --JIM DUNNE
Take three laps around the outside of the newly freshened 2007 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and you'd be hard-pressed to pinpoint any changes. Aesthetically, it's a conservative makeover. But under the hood, you really get the goods. The E550 gets the stump-pulling 382-hp 5.5-liter V8 from the S-Class. If you need to move quicker, the E63 AMG will send 507 hp to the rear tires--and your license straight to the impound yard. But the biggest news is the torquey, 210-hp E320 Bluetec diesel, which will meet stringent 2007 federal emissions regulations.
(It won't meet California standards, though.) The six-cylinder E350 will be the only carryover engine in the line; all four engines mate with a seven-speed automatic. Otherwise, the most tangible improvements are found in the front suspension. Subtle modifications to the suspension bushings and a quicker steering rack have created an E-Class that is really a lot of fun to drive when the road bends, as we discovered on some twisting two-lanes in the Swabian countryside. --BEN STEWART
Betting Big
After a serious drop in sales last year, Mitsubishi is betting its bank on the '07 Outlander. After spending a day hammering Outlanders at Mitsu's Okazaki proving grounds near Nagoya, Japan, we think it's a good gamble. Sitting on the same platform as the next Lancer and its Evo hot-rod variation, this crossover was stable on both the tight handling course and vertigo-inducing high-speed banking. Outlander's longer wheelbase, wider track and effective strut/multilink suspension keep body roll to a minimum in the tightest corners. Power is from a new 220-hp 3.0-liter V6. A six-speed, paddle-shifter automatic transmission sends the power along. Outlander offers space for seven, stepping right over its sibling, the Endeavor. It comes as either LS or XLS, each with front-wheel drive or awd. We just wish the interior was as well-executed as the rest of the vehicle. --KEN JURAN
Clutchless Commuting
Working a motorcycle's clutch in traffic is no fun. The Yamaha '06 FJR 1300 with Chip Controlled Shift System moves the clutch for you. Just twist the throttle--that's it. We sampled the system in San Diego traffic and on nearby snaky mountain roads. In some conditions, it's not as smooth as a regular gearbox operated by a good rider. But in traffic, it's an arm-saver. --B.S.
DETROIT SPY by JIM DUNNE
We struck gold when we captured the all-new Chevrolet Silverado completely unmasked at an ad shoot. The Chevy and its GMC Sierra sibling ride on the all-new GMT 900 architecture, like the current Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon. The pickup's styling is conservative compared to Ford and Dodge trucks'. This model, a crew cab Z71 4x4, is probably as macho as it will get. We hear that the heavy-duty versions may get unique sheetmetal.
Big grilles are in. And the folks at Chevrolet try to keep with the times--witness this artist's concept of the next TrailBlazer. Other changes include a revised greenhouse and more slope to the windshield for better aero.
Call it the Mercury that never was. This midsize crossover shared its platform with the Ford Freestyle. It was planned at a time when Ford intended to drop the Freestyle. But within months, the company did an about-face and canceled work on the Mercury version, opting to keep the Freestyle as a Ford exclusive.
EUROPE SPY by MIKE ALLEN
BMW's 6 Series has matured and is sprouting variations. Adding choices is BMW's method of keeping buyers' wallets in hand. Next up is the potent M6 convertible, which will be motivated by a 507-hp V10. That kind of power makes it a serious competitor for the Mercedes-Benz SL600.
About the only complaints Mini owners have concern the car's lack of trunk space and rear headroom. The Traveler, seen as a concept at several auto shows, cures both. Hiding under this test mule's cladding aft of the door and ahead of the wheel is the closing line of a rearward-opening suicide door for access to the rear seats. The wheelbase has been stretched about 3 in., too.
Further blurring the line between sedan and SUV is the BMW Luxury Sport Crossover, or LSC. Carefully sculptured to avoid any vestige of a hatchback or minivan profile, the LSC nonetheless sits higher than a sedan. It has BMW's typically short and aggressive overhangs. This vehicle is probably more than two years from landing in showrooms here.
ASIA SPY by BEN STEWART
Nissan is developing a crossover smaller than the Murano to compete with the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. Internally code-named P32K, the new five-passenger compact will come only with a four-cylinder engine and a CVT transmission. And all-wheel drive will be optional.
Based on a concept shown at New York's auto show last spring, the Honda Element SC hopes to take a bite out of the Scion xB's pie this fall. The platform, which is based on the CR-V, is essentially unchanged. However, a mild 10-hp boost in power, lowered suspension, and larger wheels and tires should increase the sport quotient in this compact sport utility.
Style sells, and Toyota continues pushing toward sportier design. Check out this prototype of the next-generation Corolla due in calendar year 2007. A hybrid version will likely deliver fuel economy close to that of today's Prius. This development will make room for an all-new Prius, due in 2008. That vehicle should be a big step forward: It's turbocharged, packs lithium-ion batteries and offers plug-in charging capability.
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