8 Passenger SUV: 2011 Buick Enclave Review
The 2011 Buick Enclave, a premium crossover SUV, is the luxury offering from the trio of platform-sharing SUV’s by General Motors. The sister vehicles being the Chevrolet Traverse and the GMC Acadia, all of which are designed for people-hauling plus cargo-carrying and can tow. I recently spent a week driving an Enclave CXL-2 All-Wheel-Drive. I had spent time in the Chevy Traverse that I previously reviewed on The Auto Channel.
The 2011 model is virtually unchanged from 2010; but why change a good thing. Lauded as the first modern Buick with high levels of refinement, the Enclave is luxury-sedan quiet. The moment you get in the high-quality luxury appointments are evident. I was impressed by its responsiveness, quiet operation, minimal wind and tire noise, and smooth-shifting transmission. Acceleration and available engine power is adequate for the usual driving situations. Its quiet cruising is a pleasantry.
The Enclave is constructed with an integral uni-body and frame architecture, is offered in front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, with one engine/transmission combination, a 288 Horsepower all-aluminum 3.6L V6 mated to a 6-speed automatic. Using the recommended regular unleaded fuel, EPA fuel economy ratings are 17 City mpg and 24 Highway mpg for the front-drive model and 16 City mpg and 22 Highway mpg for the All-wheel drive. The 22 gallon fuel tank should allow for all-day driving with around 500 miles between fuel stops.
Seating configuration for 7 or 8 is available with 23.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row seat. I prefer the 7-seat configuration that has two individual captain’s chairs in the second row and 67.5 cubic feet of cargo space behind them with the rear seat folded.Enclave’s second-row seats feature Read more…
Categories: 4autochannel, Auto Review, Buick, Car Review Tags: Buick, Enclave, Passenger, Review
Car Review: 2011 Volvo S60
During the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show keynote, Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby discussed his plans to shift the Swedish automaker away from the rest of the premium segment. This doesn’t mean that the quality of materials or craftsmanship is going to suffer, but instead of creating products that are specifically engineered to compete with the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Volvo will be working to reaffirm its own unique Swedish brand identity.
The 2011 Volvo S60 points the way forward for the brand’s new groundwork. The ‘naughty’ new sedan is stylish, luxurious and has the guts of a true sporting sedan, but it just doesn’t come close to the sort of precision we find in an Audi A4 or BMW 3 Series. Fine, then, that the Volvo has plenty of other impressive qualities to give it a unique edge over the competition. Consider it a premium sport sedan for people who don’t want the stereotypical premium sport sedan.
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Car Review: 2011 BMW Alpina B7
Try as it might, the BMW M3 Coupe can’t lose the BMW Alpina B7. The two of us are an unlikely automotive pair, playing cat-and-mouse on one long road to nowhere deep in the reaches of an unincorporated area of the California coastal mountains. The air is cool and the canyons are mostly quiet. Only the sound of two wailing V8s breaks the silence.
While the M3 dives into the corners with confidence, the B7 launches out with ferocious conviction. The M3 pulls energetically on the short straights, but the B7 puts its power down with resolve and steadily reels the smaller coupe back in. Even mid-corner, when the BMW M3 is in perfect step, the B7 clenches a slightly wider line but still holds its ground.
We’ve been at this game for more than an hour, and neither of us is willing to raise a white flag. Only the illumination of the low fuel light in the smaller coupe has us calling it quits. Want to learn what it takes to harass an M3 owner?
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First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG
Sometimes, luxury isn’t about having more – it’s about having less, albeit artfully architected. Just ask BMW, which lops off a heaping helping of headroom and cargo space to turn its well-conceived X5 into the costlier, less utile X6. Admittedly, the X6 isn’t particularly artful, but its rival, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport is. Both vehicles are more indulgent – and more costly – despite offering reduced lebensraum and less exotic mechanicals.
Perhaps the originator and best practitioner of this less-is-more movement is Mercedes-Benz, whose designers adroitly took the last-generation E-Class, lopped off gobs of headroom and trunk space, added some CLS badges, and then proceeded to give the four-seater a much larger price tag. Given that luxury and practicality are nearly polar opposites, perhaps this trend shouldn’t be that surprising. The ability to fritter away utility in favor of fashion is arguably the ultimate statement of luxury (“We could be rational, but why be so sensible, dahling?”).
Categories: Auto Review, Car Review, Mercedes-Benz, Sedans/Saloons Tags: Mercedes-Benz
Bentley Continental Supersports is a whiter lighter shade of pale awesome
In the superluxe world, we’re used to this maneuver: add a few horsepower, shave a tenth or two, sew in a few extra threads, name your exclusive new interior color something like “Algerian Beet” and voilà, a 50-percent price premium for three-percent more car. On the surface, the Bentley Continental Supersports is a GTC Speed that has gone on The Biggest Loser, Extreme Makeover, and Alter Eco. But you know what they say about the proof and the pudding, so the question is whether the Supersports is a nameplate special or a genuinely higher evolution of the baller’s favorite steed. We spent a day in the wilds of New Jersey and upstate New York, along with a few hours at Monticello Raceway to find out. Ladies and gentlemen, allow us to introduce you to the first Continental you can feel.
Think of the Bentley Continental Supersports as Usain Bolt: both are hypothetically too big to perform as they do, but they do it anyway.
Categories: Auto Review, Bentley, Car Review, Coupes Tags:
First Test: 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible
Oh come, ye armchair engineers. Tell us that removing a stressed member as important as the roof is bad. Regale us with stories of chassis flex and cowl shake.
We will listen. Then we will politely disagree and point to the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible as evidence. Counterintuitive though it may be to the number crunchers, cutting off the roof has made the Camaro a better car.
Of course, Chevrolet didn’t simply Sawzall-off the roof and kick the Camaro to the showroom. If you’ll recall, the original Camaro Convertible Concept debuted four years ago, a year to the day after the original Camaro Concept. A topless car was always in the cards, but then, so was bankruptcy.
After multiple delays, sun worshipers will finally be able to buy Chevrolet Camaro Convertibles very soon. And what a happy crowd it’ll be, because the convertible takes everything good about the Camaro and amplifies it. It looks better, sounds better, and is a better car to drive, all of which is directly attributable to the new hat.
Read more…
Categories: Auto Review, Car Review, Chevrolet Tags: Chevrolet
Arrival: 2009 Acura TL SH-AWD
For 2009, Acura made drastic changes inside and out to its fourth-generation Acura TL. With edgy, albeit polarizing exterior styling and a sporty, tech-laden interior, the new TL shows no signs of getting lost in the entry-luxury crowd. Long Acura’s best-selling model, the TL is now available in either front- or all-wheel-drive configuration, with the former offering a 3.5-liter, 280-horse V-6, the latter a bigger 3.7-liter rated at 305 ponies. Both are backed with a five-speed automatic; a slick six-speed manual will be available with the 3.7 for the 2010 model year.
Per Acura’s usual approach, the TL comes in base trim or with a $3730 Technology Package that adds a 440-watt ELS audio system, navigation with traffic rerouting and Zagat restaurant reviews, Bluetooth, and a decklid spoiler with backup camera. For another grand, the all-wheel-drive TL, dubbed SH-AWD for its “Super Handling All-Wheel Drive,” can be had with high-performance summer tireson 19-inch alloys (versus 18s).
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First Test: 2010 Porsche 911 GT3
It’s the sound that hits you first. Roll into the throttle at 2000 rpm and rising above the raspy whir behind is a single sonorous wail — like the bass notes belted out by the Wagner tubas of Der Ring des Nibelungen.
This Wagnerian tone lasts for only a second as the rapidly soaring engine speed leans out the brassy resonance and elevates the pitch to that familiar flat-six howl. But this is no normal Porsche 911, this is the 2010 Porsche GT3 — the purest evolution of the breed.
As in versions past, the GT3 badge means normally aspirated power and a heavy focus on racing — a tradition Porsche does not take lightly.
Just look at the intensive give and take that went into the 2010 GT3′s engine development. Displacement jumps from 3.6 to 3.8 liters via enlarged cylinder bores (100 mm to 102.7 mm) that require steel liners weighing 7.7 pounds more than the previous version. Stricter European emission standards demanded a more sophisticated version of VarioCam, Porsche’s adjustable intake and exhaust camshaft system. This added another 4.4 pounds, yet Porsche claims the 2010 GT3′s entire engine weighs 2.2 pounds less the previous version.
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First Drive: 2009 Chrysler Sebring
For 2009, the Sebring sedan and convertible are mechanically unchanged, but receive numerous changes to their list of standard and optional features. Most notable is the deletion of all-wheel drive, previously available as an option on the Limited model; all Sebring models are now front-wheel drive only. The base vinyl convertible roof has also been deleted, with all convertibles using a cloth soft top, and two trim lines offering an optional retractable hardtop.Engine choices for the Sebring are a 2.4-litre four-cylinder with four-speed automatic, a flexible-fuel 2.7-litre V6 with four-speed automatic, and a 3.5-litre high-output V6 with six-speed automatic and manual shift mode. The 2.4-litre is standard on LX sedan and convertible; the 2.7-litre is standard on Touring sedan and convertible, and on Limited sedan; while the 3.5-litre is standard on the Limited convertible and optional on the Limited sedan.
Features on the LX sedan include 16-inch steel wheels, air conditioning, electroluminescent cluster with exterior temperature gauge, floor mats, power locks with keyless entry, heated mirrors, CD/MP3 stereo, cloth seats, 60/40 split-folding rear seat, cruise control, tilt and telescopic wheel, tire pressure monitor warning lamp, power windows, and variable intermittent wipers.
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First Test: 2009 Audi A6 3.0T quattro Sedan
Try splitting a market segment. That is, encapsulate the positives of both ends with none of the negatives. The Audi A6 does it deftly, bridging the space between the midsize Audi A4 and full-size Audi A8. Naturally, it shares engines with both, a 3.2L V-6 and a 4.2L V-8. But for 2009, it receives something in between: Audi’s new supercharged 3.0L V-6.
Underhood the 2009 Audi A6 3.0T, the supercharger provides 11.6psi maximum boost to produce 300 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. Max torque is available from 2500 rpm to 5100 rpm, where max horsepower starts and stays until the 6800 rpm redline. The result is eyebrow-raising acceleration as you pull the six-speed automatic’s paddle shifters and watch as the digital speedometer slot-machines into triple digits. And that seat-of-the-pants sensation translates to the hard data: Acceleration to 60 mph takes 5.4 sec, just a tenth off the pace of the outgoing Nissan 350Z Track. Sure, the Z reaches the quarter-mile mark a little over a tenth faster, but this A6 is an inconspicuous, all-wheel-drive, 4139-lb sedan.
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