Street Life Auto Club

Jumping into the funky Kia Soul, I was first struck by how incredibly red everything was. (One editor said it was like someone had sat in the front seat, closed their eyes, and told the interior designers, “everything I touch should be red.” And then had a seizure.) But once I was past the color, I realized how incredibly well-executed the cabin is. It’s a great example of hard plastics done right. There are lots of varied textures and shapes, and the result is an interior that doesn’t feel cheap despite the dearth of softer materials. Rap on the dashboard or center console and you hear and feel a solidity, too, not the hollowness associated with most vehicles in this price range.

It would be too easy to dismiss the Soul as more marketing than anything—every boxy car since the first Scion xB has been hyped as the choice for people who are so damn awesome that it physically hurts; of course, most boxes are bought by really, really old people—but this Kia is genuinely good. Beyond the cabin, I also was impressed with its manners on our driving loop. The brakes offer good feel, the steering was accurate, and body roll is pretty minimal considering the high center of gravity. My biggest complaint: the boomy resonance and harsh buzziness in the engine compartment when you near redline. Otherwise, I dig.

Our 10Best winners will be announced in our January 2010 issue. Please check for it on newsstands on December 5.

Related posts:

1. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 Kia Forte / Kia Forte Koup – Cheaper Can be Better
2. 2010 Kia Soul Sport – Short Take Road Test
3. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 Kia Forte

Original Post By Google News Erik Johnson

+ The clouds have parted and the sun is shining as our editors hit the loop for day three in search of the 10Best Cars for 2010. Follow along with the editors’ notes from the field. [Car and Driver]

+ Subaru releases a “new proposal for the future of grand touring cars” with the gullwinged Hybrid Tourer concept. [Car and Driver]

+ Mazda will use the Kiyora concept to debut its SKY-G and SKY-D engines and SKY Drive transmission at the Tokyo auto show. [Car and Driver]

+ Bentley insiders reveal that a ragtop version of the company’s Continental Supersports is being considered for production. [Car and Driver]

+ Toyota will recall 3.8 million vehicles as early as next week.  The recall is in response to complaints of sudden acceleration caused by the accelerator pedal snagging on the floor mat.  [AutoWeek]

+ Hyundai, whose prices regularly undercut their direct competitors by large sums, has come out with a sedan that starts at $113,000.  The Hyundai Equus Limousine is far and away the most expensive sedan to come out of Korea, and it has the long wheel base versions of the Mercedes-Benz S-class and BMW 7-series squarely in it’s sights.  [Leftlane News]

+ Earlier this year we compared reaction times of drunk driving and texting while driving, and found that texting is much worse than drunk driving (which is not to say that drunk driving is a good idea).  The market researchers Penn, Schoen, & Berland have found that 93 percent of drivers polled favor a nationwide ban on texting while driving. [Autoblog]

+ It looks as if 2009 will be Kimi Räikkönen’s final season driving for Ferrari on the Formula 1 circuit.  It has been announced that Ferrari has signed Fernando Alonso as Räikkönen’s replacement, and that Alonso will start driving at the beginning of the 2010 season.  [USA Today]

+ After sales were spurred forward in August by Cash for Clunkers, they’ve plummeted in September.  Forecasters are expecting a record seasonal-adjusted low of 8.8 million vehicles.  The last time sales were that poor was in 1981. [Automotive News]

Related posts:

1. Daily Downshift: September 9, 2009
2. Daily Downshift: September 14, 2009
3. Daily Downshift: September 15, 2009

Original Post By Google News Car and Driver

That the Corvette has landed on past 10Best lists is something of an anomaly. It’s loud, rough, and rude in any trim, a far cry from the polished posies we usually pick as our favorites. But it has made the cut because it offers a revelatory level of performance for the money. Even in base trim, this car offers enough to make it intimidating on a public road, particularly those like the ones we orbit during 10Best: as smooth as a highball of Everclear, twistier than a Dan Brown plotline, and—oh yeah—lined with trees. Old, fat trees. Scary trees.

If the base car isn’t necessarily friendly, the Z06—from the moment you fire it up—is downright frightening, the drill sergeant that puts a deadly weapon in your hands and barks that today you become a man. Your hands will shake and your knees tremble, but when the Z06 is done with you, you’ll know what you’re made of. Nobody is chummy with their drill sergeants, but everyone reveres them.

Our 10Best winners will be announced in our January 2010 issue. Please check for it on newsstands on December 5.

Related posts:

1. 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Z51 / Z06 / ZR1
2. 2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport – First Drive Review
3. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 Porsche Cayman

Original Post By Google News Jared Gall

If you would you like to save yourself $11,000, read on. For 2010, Jaguar bolted a pair of new V-8 engine options into its XF. Three different V-8s for five different trim levels seems a bit excessive, but we are here to tell you that the new naturally aspirated 5.0-liter is the cat’s meow (we just said that). Pushing 385 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque, the NA 5.0-liter sits in the middle of the range behind the 510-hp supercharged XFR, but in front of the 300-hp 4.2-liter base motor.

With so many options, we don’t blame you for being confused. But after driving the 5.0-liter today during 10Best, I have to say it is a very wise choice. The XF already has a fantastic, quick-acting, six-speed automatic transmission and paired with this motor it makes one dynamic combo. The engine is very responsive with a lengthy power curve and scores bonus points for a snarly exhaust note. Steering is quite communicative and the chassis makes the Jag feel light on its feel. It was truly a pleasure to drive, and will help the XF’s chances of making my 10Best ballot this year.

Our 10Best winners will be announced in our January 2010 issue. Please check for it on newsstands on December 5.

Related posts:

1. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 Audi S4
2. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 BMW 328i
3. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 Lincoln MKS EcoBoost

Original Post By Google News Jon Yanca

The new Nissan Z has two especially commendable aspects. First, it’s lighter and smaller than the car it replaces. Second, it’s got that genius (albeit optional) SyncroRev Match transmission, which, as the name implies, matches revs on downshifts.

To the lightness: It’s not just the 100 pounds shaved, it’s the principle of the thing. Whereas most cars grow more bloated and lumbering with each successive iteration, the Z protests against the rising tide of obesity. And that weight savings, combined with an additional 26 hp, enlivens the Z in an astounding way. It’s almost the match of the Porsche Cayman. Oh, who am I kidding ‹ nothing can touch the Cayman.

Now, onto that transmission. While the idea of a manual that’s not quite manual may sound like a cop-out, I’d urge you to try the thing. No longer do you have to worry about matching revs, or flubbing a shift. SynchroRev Match allows you to focus on the important stuff: the braking zone and corner turn-in. It’s a big help, as the computer matches revs with more precision and consistency than I ever will.

Our 10Best winners will be announced in our January 2010 issue. Please check for it on newsstands on December 5.

Related posts:

1. 2010 Nissan 370Z Touring Roadster – Short Take Road Test
2. 2009 Nissan 370Z – Road Test
3. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata

Original Post By Google News Eddie Alterman

Now in its seventh year of production, Bentley’s Continental line is approaching its twilight years, but we may see yet another variant appear before a replacement arrives in a couple of years. While attending the launch of Bentley’s new 204-mph Continental Supersports coupe—which is pretty damn nice, by the way—I asked Bentley insiders about the possibility of a Supersports ragtop, and they told me it is being seriously considered.

It’s no done deal, though. Indeed, according to Bentley, the Supersports coupe itself wasn’t part of the Continental’s original product plan, but rather is the outcome of simultaneous engineering developments that eeked 21 more hp and 37 additional lb-ft of torque from its 6.0-liter W-12 engine, coaxed faster shifts from its six-speed automatic, and lightened some chassis components. The result, as I found, is a very interesting, if spontaneous by product-planning standards, interpretation of the ultimate Bentley performance car. How can they top that? Well, by untopping it, of course, with a convertible version.

Does the world need another 200-mph convertible? Moreover, does Bentley need an eighth (yes, eighth) Continental model? Probably not, but what the hell, they might as well make it. After all, the bulk of the engineering work for a convertible Supersports is done: the stiffened body of the GTC Speed is already capable of handling the load of an even higher performance version, according to Bentley—especially if it drops something akin to the 243 pounds lost by the Supersports coupe. That weight loss, which came about via new carbon-ceramic brake rotors, lightweight wheels and suspension pieces, carbon-fiber-shelled sport seats, and the removal of the rear seat, could easily be made to the convertible, and frankly, we’d like to see such a thing. Bentley also told us there’s no chance of a Continental Flying Spur Supersports (the badge would be as long as the car).

The 2010 Supersports coupe goes on sale in October for  $273,295. If Bentley’s past Continental timeline is anything to go by, we would expect to see the ragtop appear—if it is to appear at all, that is—around this time next year, with a five-figure price hike.

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Original Post By Google News Steve Siler

Mazda will use the upcoming Tokyo auto show to unveil the SKY-G gasoline engine, SKY-D diesel, and SKY Drive automatic transmission. All three aim to help Mazda achieve its goal of improving its lineup’s fuel economy by 30 percent by 2015. Mazda will once again show its Kiyora concept—first seen at last year’s Paris show—which now features a SKY engine and transmission.

The SKY-D (pictured at right) is a 2.2-liter turbo-diesel concept that Mazda says achieves better fuel economy than equivalent designs currently in production. A low-friction engine block, revised combustion chambers, piezoelectric fuel injectors, and a dual-stage turbo offer a 20-percent economy gain. That reportedly delivers close to 40 mpg in a Mazda 6–size vehicle.

Similarly, the SKY-G is a 2.0-liter gasoline engine that uses low-friction internals, direct injection, and variable valve timing to boost fuel economy and torque by about 15 percent over a current 2.0-liter. Mazda says the result is the fuel economy of the not-for-the-U.S. Mazda 2 (close to 40 mpg) in a car the size of the Mazda 3.

Mazda has also redesigned automatic transmissions for a five-percent economy jump, resulting in the SKY Drive concept (pictured at right). A new, lower-slip torque converter and an updated lock-up mechanism offer a more direct drive feeling, akin to a sequential manual transmission, while reducing fuel consumption.

It all comes together in the Kiyora, a concept car that employs a 1.3-liter version of the SKY-G mill with the six-speed SKY Drive transmission. The futuristic-looking Kiyora reportedly achieves 75 mpg under Japanese testing. A lightweight body, wind-cheating aerodynamics, engine stop-start system, and regenerative braking all help with the economy numbers.

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Original Post By Google News Jake Holmes

This week we are running our annual 10Best test, evaluating 59 cars and winnowing them down to ten winners. All week we’ll be bringing you thoughts from our notepads. Here’s the first from today:

It’s funny how I go through the same thing every year during our 10Best testing. I get behind the wheel of all the new contenders and find that there’s hardly a bad car in the bunch. Some of the new models are so good that I start to wonder if there’s a new benchmark. Then I get into the Porsche sports cars (see yesterday’s blog post) and the BMW 3-series and I realize just how far the competition has to go. These long-time benchmarks are still head and shoulders above the rest.

We have a 328i at 10Best with the sport package and virtually no other options. On its face, it’s a $37,000 compact sedan with manually adjustable vinyl seats. So what makes it so great? It’s unflappable. Throw it into a badly pot-holed sweeper at speed and it sails through without any drama. You hear the bumps and they register as pulses through the steering wheel, but your course never changes. Try that in just about anything else at the same speed, and it will bounce and sidestep its way into the next lane. There’s still no other sedan under $40,000 that can rival the 328i’s steering feel and handling poise, and that’s why I find it one of the most rewarding driver’s cars on the planet.

Our 10Best winners will be announced in our January 2010 issue. Please check for it on newsstands on December 5.

Related posts:

1. 10Best Test Notes – 2010 Audi S4
2. 10Best Test Notes: 2010 Lincoln MKS EcoBoost
3. 2008 BMW 328i

Original Post By Google News Mike Dushane

Skimming through the Subaru Hybrid Tourer concept press release, the second paragraph left us a little confused. “The original point of the ideal grand touring car is its interior design, featuring four independent and comfortably positioned seats. Passengers are enclosed within an atmosphere that provides a surpassing feeling of openness and stress-free reassurance, through the further pursuit of a human-centered philosophy, the essence of Subaru car design, and the incorporation of functions that are friendly to passengers.” Say what? After some head scratching, what we divined from reading that jargon is that this car has four seats and it’s about the essence of nothingness.

Keep Reading: Subaru Hybrid Tourer Concept – Auto Shows

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Original Post By Google News Jon Yanca

Subaru specializes in the unusual—its menu is thick with all-wheel drive and wagons—but then there’s the Forester. It’s the house special of bizarre: An extra-tall wagon that’s not quite an SUV, used to be boxy like one, but emerged from its 2009 redesign looking more carlike. The result is competent in all matters, excellent in none, and very odd looking. It also may be the perfect first car.

The Forester is not fast. Crank the wheel all the way over and stomp the gas and it still won’t chirp a tire. It’s affordable—the base price of just $20,690 is less than a grand more than Car and Driver cameraman Tom Adams paid for his Legacy wagon a decade ago. It’s safe—the IIHS rates it a Top Safety Pick—and the station wagon stigma ensures another sort of safety: kids won’t be multiplying in the terminally uncool back seat.

Keep Reading: 2009 Subaru Forester 2.5X – Short Take Road Test

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Original Post By Google News Jared Gall