I got an hour to burn this morning so I decided to pay my local Pontiac dealer a visit to check out the new G8. Currently they only have the V8 GT and the sales person told me that none of the dealers currently have the V6 version. After talked to the sales for about 5 minutes I was able to get a test drive, it was short but definitely gave me a better understanding about GM's new hottest car. Following are my observations and opinions:
Exterior: From the pictures I have already came to like G8's styling and to see it in person certainly did not disappoint. This car looks GOOD! The 19-inch 5-spoke wheels fit the big sedan very well and the overall flow of this car is very nicely done. Maybe GM should seriously consider having Holden to take over its sedan design projects. I would say the only down side of the exterior styling is the hood scoops, I personally rather not having those but sure enough there are people who like them. The paint quality is mediocre at best, orange peels are excessive and very obvious.
Interior: The interior styling is probably the best I've seen in any GM cars, it is clean, straight forward and ergonomically sound. Fit and finish is night and day compare to the old Pontiacs, especially the last gen Grand Prix, I would say it is now on par with Nissan in this department. However, the orange demo in the show room (it has the moon roof. The one I drove does not) already has a loose headliner and looks like it could fall off at any moment. I don't know whether or not this is an isolated case but seems like GM still has some work to do regarding the interior. Besides the top of the dash and door panels the car is filled with hard, black plastics, which is not a surprise for non-luxury cars now a day. The look is okay but felt cheap when touching it, however it does not feel any cheaper than the Nissan Altima. The seats are supportive enough but the fake leather felt urg... fake, with the 10-way adjustable (6-way power, 4-way manual) it was easy to find a comfortable driving position.
Personally, I don't think the much criticized oil temp and battery gauges on top of the center stack look that bad as many editors have mentioned, it could look much better if the color is not red though. I have to give props to GM for the nicely integrated screen on the center stack, the look is modern and one can get all information from it. If it was up to me I wouldn't put the window switches on the center console but it certainly is not a deal breaker and one could easily learn to live with it. Overall I think it's a job well done for GM, it wouldn't wow an interior critic like me but I definitely appreciate the improvements that GM has made compare to their older products.
Driving: This is where this car shines. The suspension is firm but yet not overly stiff to make the car bumpy over rough roads. Steering is tight and road feel feedback is clear, the car drives smaller than it is (a very good thing) and it takes corners in a confident way with very little body rolls. On the dark gray demo I drove, when the steering wheel is turned there was noise coming from the front wheels, the sales told me it's probably the tires but I am not buying that. Again, I don't know if this is an isolated case or not but that tells us that GM has not yet cleaned up all its quality glitches. Performance wise, the 361-hp V8 is the shining star, the throttle response is quick, sound is great and the endless torque is pretty impressive. This is a very fast car but somehow it doesn't feel "wicked fast" as one would in a 335i or IS350, that's probably due to the weight and size of the car. When the engine is at idle, there are a lot of vibration in the cabin, it is certainly a big turn off and cheapened the car quiet a bit. Last but not least, the brake is etiquette but a little mushy for a sports sedan.
Bottom Line: Honest effort from GM and should give the BMW 550i a run for its money if one only cares about performance. When the overall package has been taken into consideration I would say the luxury sports sedans would have nothing to worry about.
If you are on a budget and looking for a performance car with decent cabin... look no further.
Knowing that the all new redesigned Acura TSX went on sale on 4/24 I went for a test drive on my day off today, the followings are my impressions and observations.
Exterior: Not a fan of the new exterior styling, especially the new Acura corporate grille. The old pentagon design was more sleeker and less "WTF...". I've noticed excessive orange peel on the black demo I drove and the paint quality is obviously not as good as other luxury brands like Lexus, MB and BMW. It's very Honda-like.
Interior: Fit and finish is very good, on par with the Honda/Acura standard. The dashboard has a strong BMW feel to it, the reason of that is due to where the navigation screen is located, right at the center and on top of the A/C vents. Given that I am not a fan of the BMW dashes, I too do not like the new design in the TSX. The old style of having the screen incorporated within the center stack looks much better in my opinion. The big down side of the interior is the utilization of the hard plastic panels. The lower half of all panels inside the car including the dashboard, center stack, center console and door panels are all made of hard plastics. Although the quality is high but it felt cheap when touching it. Also, the aluminum trim is gone and replaced by the metallic paint on plastic; to me that's okay but kind of a downgrade from the previous gen. The interior volume has dramatically improved over the last model, I am 6'1 and were able to sit comfortably in the backseat even after I adjusted the driver seat to my ideal driving position. The best part of the interior is the steering wheel, it is thick and feels very good holding on to it. The seats are supportive but again the leather quality is lacking compare to the leading luxury brands.
Driving: Right off the line the car felt much faster than the previous model, which is not a surprise given that this new 2.4 I4 has 6 more lb-ft of torque. However, when pushed hard, the lack of horsepower immediate shows, in my opinion 201hp is definitely not enough for this car. I took the car around PV on some twisty roads to test the steering response, overall it's very precise and the car will go where the wheel is pointed at. Suspension is firm but very comfortable on rocky roads, the car felt very confident through corners with minimal body roll. One criticism I have for the new TSX is that Acura has replaced the hydraulic power steering with electric-assist. Because of that, the road feel is not as "crisp" as the previous gen and the steering felt much lighter. Oh, by the way, the brake is very Honda-mushy as expected.
Overall I would say this is an mediocre effort from Acura. It won't shock the world but will continue to provide a decent product to the customers who are looking for an affordable entry level luxury sedan.
I took my IS350 to track day for the first time on Friday (04/18) at SOW (Street of Willow). After running 5 sessions (~40 laps) here are some of my thoughts and observations:
1. The track is fairly smooth so driving on it was an enjoyment.
2. At a short track like SOW with many turns and short straight aways, high horsepower cars (like mine) have limited advantages. The real "kings" are those nimble and tossable cars like MiniS, Evo, WRX, Civic, and S2000.
3. The paddle shifter on my car works better than I expected, I was able to toggle between 3rd and 4th gear around the track "almost" like a car equipped with real manual tranny.
4. The IS350 is a worthy car on the track at hands of an experienced driver. My instructor (Sherman) took my car around the track at an amazing pace, some of the stuffs he did were pretty amazing and I'd never thought were possible. He operated the paddle shifter just like a real manual tranny and much to my surprise he said he actually like using it! Maybe those auto editors should talk to Sherman next time before they decided to bash the IS...
5. Even with the Eibach springs, there are still too much body roll in my opinion. So before I take it to the track again next time I'll try to get the strut and sway bars installed.
6. The stock brakes on the IS350 performed superbly, it never faded.
7. The stability system (VDIM) on the IS350 was very intrusive. At one of the turns if I carry too much speed into it, the VDIM will go active and cut off the gas. It was very annoying but later on I've learned to adapt my driving according to it. On the other hand, I think IS350 is a very safe car to take to tracks because it is impossible to spin out due to the intrusive VDIM. There were numerous times I could easily spin out but was saved nicely by it. I thought about using the "paddle dance" to have it disabled but decided against it due to my inexperience.
Overall I think it was a pretty good first try for me and I had really learned a lot by having Sherman ride with me for 2 sessions. I would definitely do it again probably as soon as later this year when the weather gets cooler.
I have to say that there is nothing awfully exciting right now or in the near future for me. If I absolutely must have to get a new car within the next 12 months here are some candidates:
Acura TL - SH-AWD + 300hp is inviting but again if the size remains roughly the same then it's a bit too big for my taste. 300hp would not be "enough" to offset the added weight by SH-AWD, something like 330hp is more desirable.
BMW 335di - I got a feeling that this thing will be even more expensive than the petrol 335i, which would be too rich for my blood.
BMW 135i - Again, kind of expensive for such a little car. The one in my liking would be around $43k...
Infiniti G35 - I'll definitely consider this if something happens to my IS350...
Lexus IS250/350 Coupe - Another candidate if bad things happen...
Pontiac G8 GT - I am really liking this car right now, a poor man's 5-series at around $32k loaded. The only downsides are the gas-guzzling V8 and its GM heritage.
Based on the list looks like I'll be driving my current ride for a long time to come.
$40k for a Buick? $32k for a Buick with an ancient V6 that produces less than 200hp? What the heck are they thinking? To be honest, at $34k the V8 CXL Special Edition is not that bad of a deal if one is into V8 American land yachts but that brings up the question: Who the heck is going to buy the Super given that the CXL Special Edition has similar performance with $6k less?
If Buick is tired of selling sedans they should just tell us...
//
Personally I think V6 engines that develop less than 200hp, regardless of displacement, are just plainly pathetic. Why bother, seriously, since the modern day 4-bangers are capable of achieving the same performance while doing it more efficiently (fuel economy wise). Here's the list of cars that are equipped with sub-200hp V6 engines:
Chrysler Sebring:
Dodge Charger:
Jeep Compass:
Jeep Patriot:
Kia Rondo:
Kia Optima:
As you can see, there are not a whole lot of them. Why? Because it's pathetic that's why!
Recently reported, Acura is working on a “huge shift” next year that will move the brand closer to tier 1 luxury brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. There is also a chance that we'll see Acura's version of M/AMG/RS/F.
Here's what I thought:
Well, before walking Acura needs to prove that:
1. It can build a legit 5-series fighter - Leave the 550i out of the picture for a moment, I would like to see a RL that can hang with the 535i in terms of acceleration, build-quality and handling.
2. It can build a legit 3-series fighter - Give the new TSX a 300hp V6 or at least the turbo-4, SH-AWD, 6-speed auto and manual trannies.
3. It can find some real wood trims to put in their damn cars!!!
Seriously, I don't think those are tall orders for Acura so if they can't even do that they should just forget about being a tier-1 luxury brand all together, much less of competing with the M/AMG/RS/F.
