Innehållsförteckning för April 2013 från MotorTrend

Officially, the Toyota Corolla Furia concept is just a design study, but it’s really a showy preview of the next Corolla. The production car was slated to bow at the New York auto show in April and hit showrooms this fall, but we hear sales of the current car are so strong that the debut may be pushed back so as not to interfere. After all, development costs for the current Corolla were likely paid off years ago, so there’s no reason to kill the cash cow as long as sales are strong. Whenever the Corolla does debut, we’re told it won’t look all that much different from the Furia concept. A source says the concept’s sheetmetal is as much as 85 percent production-correct, so figure Toyota will tone down…

You designed it, and now your pick will fight it. Nissan’s Project 370Z track car was built the way you Z-car-loving fans wanted. You voted; they built it. Now, you get to challenge it. Nissan is looking for the baddest 370Z on the road to take on your project car. You submitted your own rides, and we picked a winner. That car and the Project 370Z will square off this March at the Las Vegas Motor Speed Way to crown the king of the Zs. The competitors will be pushed to their limits in four events: a 0-60-0-mph acceleration and braking test, a slalom test, an autocross course, and laps on the infield track. Both cars will be piloted by one professional driver from Nissan and Gran Turismo’s GT Academy…

Injecting a fun factor into an amenity-filled luxury sedan is a tricky procedure. To energize the Lexus IS 350 F Sport’s entertainment value, Junichi Furuyama employed some unorthodox development methods. Here’s his take on how it transpired: “What is ‘fun to drive?’ That’s where we started. The development team had to understand the definition of fun to drive. It is very difficult to put into words, but when we test-drove fun-to-drive cars versus not fun-to-drive cars, the differences were obvious. We decided we needed to truly understand these differences and pit our car against competitor cars on our test track. “At each corner, we analyzed steering feel, brake feel, and speed sensation compared with the rival cars. Overall, ours was not as fun to drive. Systematically, we broke down each…

OK, we’re going to have to break a promise here. A while back we conducted an online elimination round for this comparison wherein we pitted Hyundai’s Azera against Buick’s LaCrosse and Lexus’ ES 350, and stated that the winner (the Azera by a whisker) would subsequently confront the upcoming new Toyota Avalon and Lincoln MKZ. Seemed like a smart plan. And a near-genius one after we drove the new Avalon during our recent Car of the Year festivities. Avalons of yore required knocking back multi-shot espressos before taking the wheel to recall anything afterwards. But this one wowed us—it was a car transformed. So much so that, awkward as it was, it seemed yards ahead of the also new Lexus ES 350. Everything appeared set. Except that our request to…

Today’s compact crossover segment is crowded with strong contenders, including the all-new Ford Escape, which took the top spot in our most recent compact crossover comparison (“Stroller Battle,’’ September 2012. The 2013 Toyota RAV4 didn’t make it in time to take part, but we’ll give the RAV an opportunity to duke it out soon enough.) This embarrassment of riches is a far cry from the late 1990s to early 2000s, when the segment essentially was a two-player show starring the RAV4 and the Honda CR-V. Despite the explosion of newcomers, the CR-V, which continues to lead the way in the sales race, remains the RAV4’s main target. Honda reached the top by making relatively conservative improvements to the CR-V, and Toyota appears to be following the same strategy with the…

Acura has had a tough time hawking its RL flagship luxury sedan these past few years. With U.S. monthly sales in the double digits for all of 2012, it’s refreshing to hear from an Acura rep that the biggest thing the new RLX shares with its predecessor is the first two letters of its name. Indeed, the majority of the car has been redesigned for the new model year—enough to market the car as an all-new machine for a very new era. With increased comfort and luxury a priority for the car’s middle-aged, baby boomer target market, the RLX has a wheelbase and track stretched 2 inches over the RL’s, giving it an improvement in interior space, especially in the limo-like rear cabin, where 38.8 inches of legroom is enough…

If you pull up next to an Audi Q5 3.0T at a stoplight, you’re in for a surprise. Sure, its cargo area might be loaded with groceries, but make no mistake, this thing is fast. Once that light turns green, the refreshed crossover will go from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.5 seconds, handily outrunning competitors such as the Mercedes-Benz GLK350 (5.8 seconds) and the Acura RDX (6.2 seconds). Only the BMW X3 with its turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six was faster to 60 mph at 5.3 seconds. The Q5 is the latest Audi blessed with the 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 we’ve already sampled (and praised) in much of the automaker’s lineup, from the midsize A6 to the flagship A8. Here, the engine produces 272 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, sending…

“Behold the only long-term garage vehicle named after a city. or a river. or a restaurant? It couldn’t be the kid-friendly movie…” EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON: 29/37/32 MPG BASE PRICE $18,650 PRICE AS TESTED $18,794 Does this Motor Trend Garage introduction qualify as one of those “that awkward moment” Internet posts? Our last subcompact hatchback comparison’s final draft order made the Kia Rio the automotive proxy for Mr. Irrelevant (“Shiftbox Revolution,” April 2012). We aired grievances ranging from driving dynamics to the lack of features onboard. But that was a stripped-out LX, picked to the bone and devoid of power door locks, electric-crank windows, and cruise control for the sake of low pricing. The Rio SX furnishes all three, plus automatic headlights, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, power-folding side mirrors, and backup…

“Be careful maxing out the seat heater. the hotness cometh so fast, there’s nowhere to run once it’s blazing.”@BrianNVance Service life / 9 mo/ 23,699 mi Avg CO2 / 0.97 lb/mi Energy cons / 168 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems / None Maintenance cost / $0 (oil change, inspection, cabin-air filter, engine-air filter) Normal-wear cost / $0 EPA CITY / HWY / COMB FUEL ECON: 18/28/22 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 20.1 MPG Here’s the thing about testing cars in a place like Southern California: It never gets cold enough to evaluate a vehicle’s ability to keeps its glass free of frost and fog, or its passengers comfy when the temperatures plunge. You don’t know how good a car’s warming aptitude is until you take it to a cold, wintry climate…

“Poised, elegant, understated. the thinking person’s alternative to an S-Class or a 7 Series.”@Angus_Mack Service life / 12 mo/17,641 mi Base price / $79,625 Options / Bang & Olufsen Sound System ($6300), Sport package ($5900: adaptive sport air suspension, 20-inch wheels w/summer tires, Audi adaptive air suspension, sport dynamic steering); Driver Assistance Package ($3000: adaptive cruise control, lane assist, side assist), Convenience Package ($2900: keyless entry, power trunk, parking system), LED Headlights ($1600), Solar Sunroof ($790) Price as tested / $100,115 Problem areas / None Maintenance cost / $0 (2-oil change, inspection) Normal-wear cost / $0 3-year residual value* / $46,296 Recalls / None *Automotive Lease Guide EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 18/28/21 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 18.7 MPG It’s sobering to realize you’ve been in the business long enough…

Forget the rumors. We have confirmation from a high-level source at Chrysler that the ACR is already under development. The delay is the tires, according to our source. Apparently, SRT was blindsided by the performance of the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires on the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and is now pressing its own supplier, Pirelli, to develop something even better than the P Zero Corsas the Viper already wears. Why not switch to the Michelins? We hear Michelin won’t sell the Sport Cups to SRT, and it’s a good bet the Corvette team had something to do with that. Our source thinks Pirelli will be ready in time for a calendar year 2014 debut. In addition to tires, there should be plenty of other performance upgrades. Based on the previous…

True, Ford calls the Atlas a concept, but the high-strength steel-framed truck could move to production with minor changes. We’d hesitate to report that the Atlas Concept is the 2015 F-150, but it is safe to say the Atlas is closer to production than not. Making things worse for GM (in addition to stealing the spotlight in Detroit, the Silverado's public debut) is that Ford has released just as many details about the Atlas as GM has about the 2014 Silverado and Sierra, both of which are slated to go into production in the first half of this year. Ford says the Atlas Concept is powered by a “next-generation EcoBoost” engine with start-stop, though no word on exactly which engine is actually under the hood. The Atlas also serves as…

We hear the revamped CTS will be out by the end of this summer after a New York debut, though Cadillac is considering Geneva or Shanghai introductions for global impact. Our sources tell us the new CTS is a real looker, and in fact, many of the spy photographers who thought they were looking at the next CTS-V were actually seeing the base car. It’s that aggressive. Speaking of the CTS-V, we hear rumblings of an all-new, force-fed V-8 based on the new Corvette’s LT1 engine. A final decision hasn’t been made, but we’re told GM is working on a twin-turbo design and a supercharged design, and one of them will be featured in the next CTS-V. The engine may also serve in the upcoming RWD flagship. Speaking of the…

Until now, we’ve assumed the next all-new product from Maserati would be the Levante SUV based on the Kubang concept. While rumors of a smaller sedan have been circulating, it appeared to be farther down the pipeline. Not so. We’re now told that, with the new Quattroporte’s growth into a proper S-Class/7 Series/A8 competitor, the Ghibli is jumping ahead in the line to do battle in the higher-volume and arguably more important E-Class/5 Series/A6 segment. Don’t expect a traditional sedan, though. Our source says the styling will be “four-door coupe” in the vein of the Audi A7. The Ghibli will have the go to back up its show. We’re told its engines will be lifted straight from the new Quattroporte, which means a twin-turbo V-6 to start and a twin-turbo…

Where do you read Motor Trend? Email digital photo(s) of yourself and Motor Trend to: motortrend@gmail.com or mail them to: Motor Trend, c/o Mail, Readers on Location, 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, CA 90245. ELON AND THE BANDIT Reader Greg King poses with the Elon Musk-graced Car of the Year issue outside the infamous O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. King tells us: “When needed, I perform inside the Corral as Virgil Earp and at times John P. Clum, the mayor of Tombstone on that fateful day in 1881.” No idea what he’s talking about? Brush up on your Old West history. Or beter yet, make a road trip out of it. All correspondence must include an address and a daytime telephone number. Any material accepted is subject to such…

Since making their debut more than a decade ago, the Lexus IS and Infiniti Q50 (formerly the G) have been Japan’s only RWD reps in a segment ruled by Germany’s BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Now in their third generation, these two Rising Suns have evolved further, offering standout styling, larger interiors, AWD and hybrid options (the IS 300h will be available only in other markets), and claimed best-in-class status. Which is the best? Turn the page.…

The following scenario will happen: A car-liking passerby will spot the new Infiniti Q50 parked on the street or in a mall garage. He’ll approach the car while declaring to his non-car-liking companion, “Hey, that’s a new Infiniti G.” And then he’ll glance at the badge on the trunk, eyes squinting as he sees the Q50 badge. “The what?” An unforeseen move to rename its entire lineup—all cars now start with Q, all SUVs with QX—in one fell swoop has generated more publicity for Nissan’s luxury marque than has any one of its vehicles in recent memory. The Q50 is the first vehicle out of Infiniti’s Q-loaded chute; that is, it’ll be the first to be formally sold as a Q when it goes on sale this summer. The Q50…

This comparison represents a peek into three heavyweight luxury German carmakers’ state of the art. The Audi S7, BMW 650i Gran Coupe xDrive, and Mercedes-Benz CLS550 4Matic represent a good chunk of their respective brands’ best thinking. But what are these swoopy four-door coupes? (And for the record, we hate the abuse of language that takes place every time a 2-ton sedan is called a “coupe.”) The cynical view is that the Germans invented a meal between breakfast and brunch. All three cars are variants of each manufacturer’s midsize offering: The S7 is built off the A6; the Gran Coupe is based on the F12 6 Series (which is in turn based on the current 5 Series platform); and the CLS is born from the E-Class. So, each company has…

My dog in the small SUV fight is that I strong-armed my sister Natalie into buying a 2010 Subaru Forester. See, when my nephew was born, her two-door Honda Civic just wasn’t cutting it anymore. She wanted something safe, reliable, economical, useful, and easy to get a car seat in and out of. A low price wasn’t a bad attribute, either. Being an unrepentant gearhead, I of course told her to get the turbo XT version with the manual. However, she purchased the naturally aspirated Forester with the old four-speed automatic. Natalie’s only complaint with the car? It’s too slow. As always, she should have listened to her older brother. Regardless, when I told her I’d just driven the new version of her beloved family-hauler, she peppered me with questions,…

“Each worker approaches day-to-day operations with a philosophy based on improvement.” Opportunities like this rarely occur. In November 2012, I visited Lexus LFA Works in Aichi, Japan, to witness the beginning of the end for Toyota’s first supercar. Only a few weeks remained in the model’s scheduled two-year, 500-unit production run. I would be one of last people to see an LFA slowly make its way down the manicured assembly line. I would also be the final journalist to speak with those who made the unique vehicle. In 2008, the takumi selection began, some 8 years after chief engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi started developing the Lexus LFA. This would be the most stringent recruitment for LFA Works manager Shigeru Yamanaka. He needed to ensure that everything at the production facility would…

“Love the Altima’s seats. You can call them inspired by NASA research, but I’ll just call them comfortable.”@zachgale EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON: 27/38/31 MPG BASE PRICE $28,830 PRICE AS TESTED $30,105 It’s impossible to make a CVT sound sexy, but the success of that transmission will make or break the new Nissan Altima sedan. Don’t underestimate the power of class-leading EPA-rated mileage—our Altima 2.5 SL long-termer has it, thanks in part to the automaker’s revised CVT. Even with compact crossovers and sedans rising in popularity, the high-volume, midsize Altima helps pay for more exciting projects like the 2014 GT-R, and there’s nothing sexier than that. For now, the four-cylinder, 2013 Nissan Altima with the CVT, rated 27/38 mpg city/highway, is America’s most efficient traditional midsize family sedan that’s not…

“Bi-xenon headlamps? Check. Navigation? Yup. Backup camera? Uh-huh. It’s hard to want any more stuff at the GT level.” @nate_martinez Service life / 7 mo/13,006 mi Avg CO2 / 0.72 lb/mi Energy cons / 127 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems / None Maintenance cost / $95.95 (oil change, inspection) Normal-wear cost / $0 EPA CITY / HWY / COMB FUEL ECON: 26/32/29 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 26.6 MPG Winter has officially hit L.A., which means a few raindrops have touched our roads and our thermometers show mid-60-degree readouts. Yes, we’re spoiled, but aside from that, I decided now would be a great time to grab some Mazda-approved, dealer-installed accessories. I started with a retractable cargo cover ($190), all-weather mats ($95), roof rails ($250), cross bars ($125), Yakima snowboard/ski carrier ($137)…

The C7 Corvette Stingray is finally here and it’s a significant update, but it’s just the first step. We’re already hearing whispers from the Warren plan about the next Z06 and ZR1. Word is, the next Z06 will keep its monster 7.0-liter naturally aspirated engine, but with even more power. In fact, we hear it could jump from today’s 505 hp to as high as 600. The decision won’t be made, though, until they get the final number for the next ZR1’s supercharged V-8. That engine, we’re told, will be an evolution of the new LT1 V-8 in the base C7. We can only hope it will revive the LT5 moniker of the original ZR-1’s engine. The Z06/ZR1 output logic basically works like this: If the ZR1 makes 675 hp…

1500: Alpha 12 hp on race gas 1100: Hp on pump gas (as tested) 545: Hp in a stock GT-R 148.3: Speed in mph the Alpha 12 is traveling at the end of a quarter mile 124.8: Speed in mph a stock GT-R is traveling at the end of a quarter mile 11.8: Seconds needed for a stock GT-R to run the quarter mile 9.8: Seconds the Alpha 12 needs 1091: Number of revolutions the Alpha 12’s crankshaft completes in the quarter mile 111: Number of times per second the crankshaft completes a revolution in the quarter mile 2.8: Seconds needed for a stock GT-R to hit 60 mph from a stop 2.5: Seconds the Alpha 12 needs 1.1: Seconds the Alpha 12 needs to hit 30 mph 1.1: Seconds…

Car of the Year Reaction… I want to thank you for picking the Tesla Model S as your 2013 Car of the Year (“Shocking Winner,” January). I know you will receive many negative leters from biter folks who hate change, but for this car to achieve well over 200 miles on a single charge is an amazing breakthrough for the future of the automobile. Every day, I see a brown cloud over my hometown of Phoenix, and I’m sure every city in America has the same problem. Picture the day of clean air and blue skies when this technology becomes cheaper and we all have electrics. Remember, the first calculators cost nearly a thousand dollars and now they cost almost nothing. Thanks again. John DaltrofPhoenix, Arizona For having some perspective…

“WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE ST IS THE BEST-HANDLING AND MOST IMPRESSIVE FRONT-DRIVE CAR I’VE EVER EXPERIENCED. IT’S ALSO ONE OF THE MOST SURREAL.” Looking at the 2012 U.S. market sales, I couldn’t help but notice that Ford sold, um, a lot of vehicles—more than 2.1 million—and Mitsubishi, at just under 58,000, sold, well, not a lot. Talk about disparity. One example: Ford sold 15 times as many Focus compacts as Mitsu did of its best-selling small car, the Lancer. Yowza. Coincidentally, nothing reminds me more of my favorite Lancer, the Evolution, than Ford’s latest and greatest Focus, the ST. Disparity to similarity. I first drove the Evolution—then called the VIII—when it arrived in the U.S. for 2003. For years, Mitsu had sold the Evo in other markets, much to the…

I had never before signed so many Non-Disclosure Agreements. It was mid-November at Nishiura Motor Park in Aichi, Japan, two months before the IS 350 F Sport’s debut at the North American International Auto Show. The security measures were warranted, as I would be the first non-Toyota employee in the world to see it. I would also be the first to drive it. As I pledged my firstborn offspring to the Lords of Lexus, the stylish Junichi Furuyama, chief engineer for IS, walked into the room. Perfect timing. After our introductions, we began the walk-around. “The emotion of the grille envelopes the car,” Furuyama explained as he traced the striking nose. The latest Lexus models wear similar clips. This edition, however, adheres to an aggressive L-Finesse philosophy demonstrated by the…

Looking Back on Japan’s Influential entry-Level, Luxury Players The new Infiniti Q50 and Lexus IS are in proximity to one another in more ways than one. (Hint: It’s the page separation.) But which Land of the Rising Sun son came first? The Q50-preceding G35 was technically entering its third gen in the year 2002 as a 2003 model, but its FWD G20 forerunners could hardly tango with the E30, E36, and E46 BMW 3 Series, or Mercedes-Benz 190 and C-Class. The 2001 Lexus IS 300, launched in the U.S. with just an automatic transmission in 2000, was a valiant shot at the luxury small-car market. Whichever you feel arrived first, one fact is for sure: The G (now Q50/Q60) and IS did and will continue to cross paths in the…

The funny thing about this comparison is that Toyota didn’t want us to do it. They reluctantly agreed to give us a Prius V to pit against the new Ford C-Max Hybrid, but they also insisted on handing over a regular-flavor Prius, too. It’s sad for Toyota, but they can’t control what I write. (Example: The Prius is one of the worst-handling cars on the market.) However, Toyota does have a point, at least when it comes to space behind the rear seat. The Prius V has 34.3-40.2 cubic inches of space in back, depending on where you slide the rear seat. So, yes, the more compact Ford C-Max hybrid’s cargo hold, which carries just 24.5 cubic feet, is more comparable with that of the normal Prius, which offers 21.6.…

You have to love a car named Vanquish. Like Challenger, Viper, and Diablo, a great name hints at the vehicle’s persona. In this case, it suggests you’ve not only defeated an opponent, but obliterated him from existence. It’s a proper name for a flagship, which will be the Vanquish’s role when it replaces the DBS. And what a promising flagship it appears to be. Underneath its carbon-fiber bodywork and around the 5.9-liter V-12 sits a chassis built primarily of aluminum, the construction of which comes from the knowledge gained from the exceedingly rare and prohibitively expensive One-77. Much of the Vanquish, including its overall shape, echoes that car. The guise isn’t exactly new for Aston Martin, whose design evolves at a slowly measured pace, but, hey, the same is true…

The old New Beetle was a charmer, but its Hello Kitty cuteness, bud vase, and Malibu Barbie editions meant the female/male ownership ratio was similar to the viewership of the Lifetime and OWN cable channels. The lower-case-n new Beetle manned up last year, and its convertible spinoff does so to an equal or greater extent for 2013. At 6.0 inches longer, 3.3 inches wider, and 1.1 inches lower than its bubbly forebear, it has a meaner, more purposeful stance. The reshaped roofline loses 1.4 inches of front headroom, but gains a half-inch in back, and the wider body adds a welcome inch of rear shoulder room. Total interior space rises from 78.0 to 81.4 cubic feet; the trunk expands from 5.0 to 7.1; and the revised body is 20 percent…

“Having the rdX as a long-termer allows me to combine two of the things I love most: driving and spending time with my son.” Service life / 7 mo/13,469 mi Avg CO2 / 0.89 lb/mi energy cons / 155 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems / None Maintenance cost / $82.00 (oil change, inspection) Normal-wear cost / $0 EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON: 19/27/22 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 21.7 MPG Now that my son is a little older, he appreciates going for a ride in the car with Daddy more than before. Don’t get me wrong; he always likes going for a ride in “Mommy’s cool car,” but when it’s just he and I going for a ride in “Daddy’s cool car,” he gets especially excited. Oh, and he pretty much calls…

“For much of the last 12 months, this has been what I see leaving work each day. Almost time to turn her in…sigh.” @edloh Service life / 11 mo/22,640 mi Avg CO2 / 1.31 lb/mi Energy cons / 228 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems / None Maintenance cost / $385.46 (2-oil change, inspection) Normal-wear cost / $2526.92 (4 OE Dunlop tires, mounting, balancing) EPA CITY / HWY / COMB FUEL ECON: 16/23/19 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 14.8 MPG I have a confession to make: For the last few thousand miles, Godzilla has been driving around with a hideous blemish on her beautiful nose. It happened several months ago, but I’m only now able to talk about it. A frazzled staffer (who shall anonymously carry the shame of his atrocity), in…

“It’s not fun, but it’s feature-rich, looks good, and gets the job done.”@kougarov Total Mileage / 12 mo/24,843 mi Base Price / $21,205 Options / Technology Package ($2100: navigation, rear camera, 360 wat audio, auto headlamps, keyless-go), carpeted floormats ($95); iPod cable ($35) Price As Tested / $23,435 Problem areas / Passenger-door ratle; peeling steering wheel Maintenance cost / $373.13 (3-oil change, tire rotation, inspection; 1-engine-air filter) Normal-wear cost / $0 3-year residual value* / $14,154 Recalls / None *Automotive Lease Guide EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 28/38/32 MPG AVERAGE FUEL ECON 26.5 MPG A few months before Hyundai sent our 2012 model year Limited-trim long-termer, we put the 2011 Elantra ahead of eight of its compact competitors in one of our famous comparos, praising it as “really stylish, authentically…