Posts Tagged Hatchback
2010 Mazda Mazda3
Mazda Mazda3 Review
The redesigned Mazda3 will impress driving enthusiasts, and it improves upon its predecessors in a number of other areas. If I were in the market, it would be high on my list. But these days, my backbone does as much as my right foot to sway my opinion — and I have to concede that Mazda doesn’t have the most comfortable small car out there. I drove a
2010 Mazda Mazda3
The Cabin
If the Volkswagen Jetta leads the pack in small-car cabin quality, I’m prepared to award the silver medal to Mazda. The dashboard panels have upscale textures and padded surfaces, and most controls feel high-rent for the segment. The windshield and dash slope far forward, giving you a sense of roominess that’s similar to the Civic. Over time I felt like I was sitting above everything: The cockpit doesn’t wrap around you so much as it’s arrayed before you, a layout that might take some getting used to.
The cloth seats have supportive backrests, though there could be more shoulder support; the sport seats in 2.5-liter models are intended to help with this. There’s enough bolstering to hold you in as you sling the car through a corner, but my 5-foot-11 frame never had enough thigh support. Read the rest of this entry »
2011 Honda CR-Z EX CVT
2011 Honda CR-Z EX CVT Review
Honda’s new CR-Z is the incestuous love child of the fun and versatile Fit hatchback and the frugal Insight hybrid. Sharing its basic underpinnings with those cars, the two-seat CR-Z mates a 113-hp, 1.5-liter four-cylinder to the Insight’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system, which combines a nickel-metal hydride battery pack and a 13-hp electric motor. Total system output is 122 hp and 123 lb-ft when routed through the CR-Z’s optional CVT; manual-transmission cars get another 5 lb-ft.
Honda is pitching the CR-Z as a sort of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde “sporty hybrid.” Accordingly—well, and because we love three-pedal cars—our coverage of the
2011 Honda CR-Z EX CVT
CR-Z has thus far focused on cars equipped with the six-speed manual transmission. Honda, however, expects the six-speed to account for about 25 percent of CR-Z sales. As loyal as we are to the clutch pedal, we had to strap our test gear to this CR-Z to see what sport remains in the car for the 75 percent of buyers expected to opt for the CVT.
No matter the transmission, though, the little coupe has a fun and daring shape that snags looks and starts conversations with even the most-car-blind bystanders. Inside, the starship Enterprise instrument cluster provides a wealth of information in a layout that is unique without being confusing and futuristic without being tacky. Read the rest of this entry »
2010 Volkswagen GTI
Posted by Martin in Volkswagen on December 17, 2010
2010 Volkswagen GTI Reviews
The 2010 Volkswagen GTI is redesigned for 2010, this still holds true. The Volkswagen GTI looks rakish but not rowdy; it prefers balance to sheer power. The kids will prefer a Mazdaspeed3 or Subaru WRX, but the GTI will keep its fans and were it not for Volkswagen’s dual-clutch gearbox, which our test car had, I’d be among them. With the dual-clutch transmission, the
2010 Volkswagen GTI
That’s fortunate, because the dual-clutch automatic hates downshifting like Conan hates NBC. It up shifts as soon as possible, with virtually no power interruption, but coaxing a downshift out of the thing takes patience or a swift kick on the gas. Squeeze the pedal entering a bend in the road, and the transmission often stubbornly refuses to kick down to a lower gear until long after you needed it to. The same goes for highway passing. Read the rest of this entry »