regfootball

iA not at all worth it

"quintessential dumpy-driving set of ovaries on wheels" ​I love it. Face it, the reason the ilks of CRv's sell is women. My buddy who went through 2 of them and a Pilot he hated too, it was because his spouse wanted them.

DRIVEN 2015 Jeep Latitude FWD 2.4A MSRP 24,730 HIGHS Cheeky little monkey! And this is not bad, it's ok to have one funky Jeep in the lineup....good looks + distinctive Lots of little easter egg Jeep logo finds in different places inside (for example, the Jeep name in the seats and the little Jeep grilles on the windshield) Vast improvement over its predecessors, Compass and Patriorot Headroom, girth, and COMMANDING chair posture in the front (headroom continues in rear) Interesting and well designed interior. Lots of cool detail and plastics are appropriate for this class and price. Nice tan cloth. "To character" gauges and I felt the switchgear and controls were also nicer than expected Don't forget, good ergonomics as well. 2.4 plus nine speed automatic is a good powertrain in this rig. Good acceleration. Decently smooth motor. and...... Most of the time>>>>>, the 8 speed (or is it 9 speed) transmission demonstrates willing kick down and good behavior Good highway car, 1700 rpm at high speed (should make for good mpg right???), reasonably quiet Pretty good stoplight to stoplight too, remember, there are enough gears for any situtation! I liked the steering, I thought it was weighted decently and somewhat quick. Great feeling heated steering wheel is nice and thick and has great button layout. A surprisingly decent interpretation of entry level into the Jeep brand LOWS Small trunk, unacceptably small (smaller than I originally thought but blame the subwoofer for some of that) Smaller and tight second row leg room + low cushion (how did i miss this before?) Not athletic or sporty Every now and then the transmission gets a little busy with a lot of shifting or other funkiness The motor can be buzzy when you kick the throttle down and ask it to accelerate hard on the freeway The aura inside and view out the windshield is more akin to being inside a NASA bubble and looking out instead of a car The side window is glass is really thin and chintzy (seals are less meaty too) and it lets in unexpected noise high in the cabin, probably spoils good noise reduction efforts elsewhere A little bit of a feeling that some of the vehicle dynamics could be refined more, though. For example, it is not on par with the Escape in this way (i know, the Escape is a 'higher' class, but they do ---crossover----***cough**** on prices more than you think) Also, just a little bit of a real sense that Sergio and Tony are lingering somewhere in the trunk. Can you trust Fiat guts? Not really a full replacement for the vehicles one class up, if that is your reason to look. It doesn't transcend the subcompact group. Stick with a Cherokee if you can swing it. SUMMARY I think Chrysler did a pretty decent job with all they needed to do here. This had to be a world Jeep, and be smaller for other markets. It had to coexist and possibly replace the Compass and Patriot. It had have some Fiat guts. It had to have pretty decent mpg. It had to reflect some of Jeep's styling cues, and it had to dial down the butch relative to say, a Wrangler, because of who the market may be for this rig. It's really a stylistic coup, if a bit corny it really stands out and yet can be on the Jeep show floor too. And it does ride and drive pretty decent. It is not top tier, but there is satisfaction in the ride and drive that i think people will believe they are getting what they are paying for and maybe a bit more. Along with that, you get some funky design and show the world you are a fun somebody. There's some little bits of fine tuning here for Tony to do here, if they can keep Sergio out of it. A little more refinement of the shifting, and some NVH bits (thicker side glass for one). My feeling here is the personality is there in spades and the ride and drive supports that adequately for most people. It feels like a substantial vehicle for its class and price, and when you combine personality, value, and good performance, its a win for the buyer. I would give a B+, but i think I could feel Tony hiding in the trunk still. Maybe i give it a solid B for now. Or B+, take your pick. Anyone who checks this out though, i suggest taking a Cherokee out for a spin as well. With a similar powertrain and more lux inside, it may be a better rig for a lot of folks, if you aren't married to the cheeky monkey look.

DRIVEN 2015 Honda CR-v AWD LX HIGHS Engine plus CVT can deliver great scoot ........when you lean hard on the throttle CVT might actually be the best of such a breed, compared to earlier CVT's, responsive Sufficient cabin girth and front row room Rear seat space is alright for this class too Surprising cargo space with and without the rear seat down Innocuous, if that is your sort of thing Feminine, if that is your sort of thing Cheap and tinny, if that is your sort of thing EPA ratings are pretty good i guess Honda whores out the leases so you are ok there Some parts of the newly revised dash feel soft to the touch Rear cargo latches to dump the rear seats are pretty cool This is about as politically correct as a vehicle can get Satisfies the most basic of vehicle requirements adequately without the fuss of injecting delight or passion into the matter to complicate things. LOWS Searching high and low for ANY style points, there are none Seat cloth is atrocious As a matter of fact, most of the other materials inside, apart from what you see on the dash are atrocious The center stack does not look particularly lavish either Standard rear view camera is small enough to be nearly worthless. Seats are soft and squishy Mirrors inside and out look cheap and filmsy HONDA CANNOT BUILD A CAR WITHOUT THE ENGINE VIBRATION COMING THROUGH THE FLOOR Even though the CVT may be 'best in class', it finally makes you concede that other style automatics just feel more solid, trustworthy, and better. Honda makes a great lawnmower engine, I know this because they put them in their cars too, sounds just like one! CHEAPNESS ABOUNDS Steelies on the LX? WTF Sometimes if you don't work the throttle right, the car dogs real bad and you are a dead duck in traffic. Proof that you need to ring it out to get the scoot. Dead numb steering that is light, but gives not much back through the thin steering wheel. The stupidist way to adjust the steering column. NO DELIGHT ANYWHERE No way any dudes could be caught dead in this vehicle Honda continually makes me believe they are trying to compete with Hyundai for third worldness I just can't recommend this, except I imagine there are women out there that think this is nirvana Gives THE reason for the word 'milquetoast' to exist. SUMMARY I'll keep it short. I wanted to give Honda another chance to change my perception of them, based upon the good press of the revised for 2015 CR-v. Better CVT, direct injection, new interior bits. EARTH DREAMS! This was supposed to be the shizzle! A good friend had a couple CR'vs leased. They turned the last one in recently. He went on all the time about how cheapish and tinny it was. Based on my 15 test drive, it doesn't seem they actually did much with it for 2015. You hope someday the car buying public will awake and try other metal. The Hondas and Toyotas of the world have people hooked into the leasing cycles, and they run the business to support good residuals. Its hard to prove that a comparable Honda actually costs less to own over time than similar makes. But hondaphiles continually bleat about the resale, supposed reliability (how many recalls?) and so on. Even if that is true to the highest level, is the vehicle itself even great to drive? Your results may vary. I think they suck. My opinions on many things don't matter these days. I imagine with PC the way it is today, i am racist if I give an Asian car a D, so I will give it a C. It meets basic competence and ok, is probably an iota ahead of Hyundai in the pecking order. This is a great ride for soulless, joyless people. Why you would get this over an Escape or God, even an Equinox, boggles the mind.

Test drove finally the renegade today and I will get that up later this evening.

agreed. Tony has other issues to work on.

don't worry, your Chevy diesel experience is better than BMW "one should avoid BMWs that are out of warranty." http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-bmw-328d-xdrive-diesel-wagon-long-term-wrap-review

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Medium_Diesel_engine there is also a good article on the to be new 1.6 diesel motor but its on 'another site'. very informative about the specs, extremely promising for diesel fans. I can't not see that 17 diesel NOT cracking 50 mpg highway. Here is a Vauxhall Mokka test drive of the diesel motor too http://www.carscoops.com/2015/03/vauxhalls-mokka-gets-new-16l-diesel-and.html known as 'whisper diesel' http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vehicles/ecoflex_models/cars0/1-6cdti-spec.html

i do agree with what you say here. but lets for a moment look at Subaru, its exploding sales, and their prices are damn close to chevy. With the AWD included. i don't feel a Cruze should have AWD myself. But there really ought to be a Cruze sized crossover. To me, the Trax is snug. I love how the Cruze is in fact very much the size of the old Grand Am. In fact way back in 11 I think i said the Cruze is the new age Grand Am. Really the spirit of the Grand Am lives on in the Cruze. or is it the spirit of this.....

i have to throw in something here, i do agree in principle with your post here. but i did recall seeing a loaded to the gills malibu a few months ago where the msrp was pushing closer to 36k than 35......i may have to try to build one myself and see wth you gotta do to load it up like that. is the 2LZ trim more than the LTZ?

this really the XT5? it doesn't quite have much more presence than an equinox....or captiva

this time offer the diesel in lower trims. that would help. I'll be interested heavily in that diesel if i don't have a 14,15, or 16 limited diesel by then. i do think the 16 Limited will retain the 2.0 diesel. Chevy has to resist pushing up the MSRP so hard. If they price it too high, they will not get the market share this car should get. I see no mention of a 1.8 NA in the base car either, is it gone? Hope so. Maybe the base L or LS will be a good buy with the new turbo mill and 6 speed stick. Cruze gets the diesel, Malibu gets the hybrid, VOlt gets the plug in. Nice job spreading the tech around. "where is the diesel manual all wheel drive wagon"

No one is going to buy the Continental

yes they have! imagine if every GM car was a home run like this. 5 stars, A+. Sign me up, perfect car for me. I might even do the 5 door. 2017, diesel 1.6 too, bet that cracks 50 mpg. This really is my kind of ride, economical, fun, has more oomph now. WHY WOULD ANYONE GET A SENTRA OR COROLLA

MULE this looks like a Chinese company practicing faux design YUK

my opinion remains that the Continental concept is a turd.

yuk

C/g doesn't need any mgscros

Drew's pretty spot on on this thread. I tested an escape recently. Can't believe I hadnt. It's pretty good. Now I do say an MKc is missing a nice interior.like the mks it still has cheap ford plastic and bits. But using the escape as basis for an MKc here is alright. Crossover buyers don't need alpha platforms. Lincoln needs to upgrade the interior and justify its price more. But sales don't lie. Where are the new Cadillac crossovers ??????

Wow the sixteen concept still looks amazing.

Cadillac has some issues with why the current models are not selling, apart from the fact they aren't German. Styling, not stunning even if ok Can't do art and science without doing it full bore so the softened art and science look doesn't register Odd grille front ends Interiors improved but still don't match Audi (and have a lot of borderline tacky bright work ) seat leathers still look lesser GM and instrumentation is not wow. Cue has been railed in the press Ambitious MSRP push has backfired can't move up prices like that No good lease deals ever And perhaps most importantly. Cadillac has always been about large and comfortable, especially to the traditional Cadillac demographic. Now you have people who won't buy Cadillac sedans because they are not large enough inside , particularly the backseat. ATS CTS they want to be volume sellers but middle age white men who caddy has relied on for sales won't even look at an ATS because they can't fit in the back or it's still a bit small in front. CT6 finally brings back the hope that a Caddy will have ostentatious size and it will outprice the market there. That may bode well for the chances of a Buick Avenir sales wise. CT6 out of the gate has a price issue. And the same oddness in the front end. I can tell Caddy is trying to create some edgy look with small headlights and an understated grille but they just haven't nailed the formula here yet to get a new signature look. CT 6 does look low and lean and long that is going to be ok. CT 8 will need to look taller and bulkier. I think they will expect and need 15-20k yearly sales in the US from the CT 6 and I think in the end they will adjust price to get it. Also to move to push the sales of the brand in other markets as much as possible. CTS AND ATS should both be moving 40k in the US. If Caddy cared, they would change the sedan ATS to the ATS L body with extra length and then give it a new dash. Put it the new powertrains. Then, create insane lease deals to move the car. CTS, fix the front end and interior bits that need it. Move the 3.0tt into that car. Adjust pricing and lease deals. Get these cars out there. In the end after you do that and try to plug in some niche models, the big elephant in the room is the lack of Cadillac crossovers. My boss now and my last boss both drive Cadillacs! Which one? SRX. in one case traded his CTS coupe for it. I am guessing the women in their lives had something to do with it. Audi and now Mercedes and even Porsche kill with crossover sales. Caddy can do all it wants with sedans which you think the mid age to old white guy core market has been for caddy. But the market today is dictated by women and their preferences and so you get people shelling huge bucks for Q5's etc. and now the guys are getting older and finding out there is something to sitting up higher and not having to bend and contort , you just slide in. We can talk all we want about Caddy sedans but they have to address the big crossover problem more than anything. They need to get a buyer base that is something other than older white men. Don't discount this either. The recession wiped out the ability for a lot of Cadillac intenders to get that next Cadillac ever. And the economy the last 6 1/2 years has been so crappy to the people who would have been their customer base. These people have given up on the idea of ever getting a caddy again because of no financial hope to. BMW and the likes get generations in with cheap leases and now watered down models like the CLA. Tesla has maybe taken some luxury intenders away too. Simply put, Cadillac is forced to find basically all new demographic base of buyers and they simply have done nothing of the sort. The move to New York may help some with this. But it's not going to solve the fact that they have no idea how to go out and capture the hearts of all the people that actually can throw away money on a car these days. Nobody exists today like they did 40-50-20 years ago who can and wants to throw it at a Cadillac. In particular too. Very very few women register with Cadillac.

when the stuff hit the fan in 09 and everyone was trying to save Chrysler but trashing Saturn and Pontiac, I said we needed to let all of Chrysler die. I didn't predict this playing out then and now, but to me it was never a good idea to let Fiat take Chrysler when it was better to preserve what GM had. It would have cost less and screw Chrysler fans IMO.

i think the 4.3 from the Silverado would be a nice engine option in this thing too.

apparently Hyundai is schlepping Sonatas for zero down and 200 a month now, that explains why i see so many of them now, despite their nothingness.