A familiar face just rolled back into the Top Speed garage, but unlike the fully loaded chrome clad bright white baby Benz this GLK is more of a red hot roller skate. You could never imagine how much a color change and a few less options can completely transform the way the compact crossover looks. Aside from the Mars Red paint and lack of running boards this is the same vehicle that we had before, minus a few pricey interior amenities. However the little G Wagen looks less like an off road luxury vehicle fit for a diminutive South American import/export specialist and more like a sporty crossover, and yes with its 20 inch rims pushed far to all four corners and the swept back two box body it is hard to deny the roller skate similarities.
The inside of our Mercedes GLK comes equipped with the $1,750 for Full Leather Seating Package that obviously includes the seats incorporates a leather wrapped steering wheel an Burl Walnut trim which we think is well worth the expense. This time the front buckets don’t have oversized monitors hanging off the backrests, and it is honestly a bit easier on the eyes, but the German design team did leave the dual glass sunroof which goes a long way towards opening up the GLK’s interior. Keeping occupants informed and entertained is a $3,350 Multimedia Package that includes everything from a rear view camera to the Logic 7 DolbyDigital Surround Sound system and a $300 iPod interface.
Powered by the same 3.5 Liter V6 that came in our last GLK350, but unlike mini Pablo Escobar’s four wheel drive Mercedes the roller skate strictly sends power to the rear wheels. As most SUV owners won’t ever take their vehicles off road it shouldn’t be an issue. This does mean that the power plant can send all 268 HP and 258 lb-ft of torque to the drive wheels more efficiently. This sporty red GLK is a more affordable alternative to the last one we saw, especially when you consider the $3,150 Premium Package that includes just about power everything at a savings of over $1,200 if purchased separately. Tack on a very reasonable $970 for the brushed roof rails and plus sized wheel and tires amongst a few other items, this $34,600 GLK added up to a nicely equipped $45,645 premium CUV.
Porsche has just unveiled the seventh generation 911 Turbo at the Frankfurt Motor Show and will go on sale shortly in Germany. As part of the new car’s introduction Porsche Executive Vice President of Research and Development Wolfgang Durheimer talks about the company’s latest high performance creation.
The 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo is a true 21st century super car with more power, a lower curb weight, improved handling, a higher top speed and improved fuel economy. Under the rear deck lid Porsche has placed a 3.8 Liter direct injected flat six engine that delivers 500 HP and is available with Porsche’s new PDK seven speed transmission. Thanks to the new refinements the 911 Turbo now gets an estimated 24 MPG and can sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in just 3.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 194 MPH.
The world’s largest engine builder, Honda has seen the demand for mid size crossovers in the automotive market, and in an attempt to sell more of their highly efficient engines the Japanese automaker plans on surrounding them with some more of these utilitarian sports car shells. Their latest example of this is the Honda Accord Crosstour, based on the sedan, the CUV features a BMW 5 Series GT fastback style bulge in the C-pillar adds a bit more practicality to the already superb sedan especially with a Fall 2009 scheduled debut.
According to the automaker, “Like the award-winning Honda Fit, the Accord Crosstour uses a versatile design to create an interior that functions with the practicality of a larger vehicle." One of the things that will help the forward thinking group of Japanese automotive engineers achieve this is a trick removable storage tray that is integrated in the Crosstour’s trunk. The rear storage area features a built in under floor Hidden Removable Utility Box with a reversible lid measures 8 inches deep and features carpeted edges to prevent marking other items while transporting and durable plastic handles to ensure that the Utility Box can stand up to the heaviest of loads. The rear compartment also features a set of convenient handles that are easily within reach of the tailgate opening that will drop the back seats with only a tug, adding immensely to the crossover’s cargo capacity.
The interior of the Accord Crosstour is intended to enhance the open feeling of the passenger compartment while creating a spacious and accommodating environment for both people and cargo. The exterior styling of the Crosstour takes the CUV design to the next level by integrating a sleek and aerodynamic shape with the practicality that we have come to expect from the Honda Accord. However with the way that the luxury market is going it doesn’t look like we will see the Crosstour in the U.S. at least until it is wearing an Acura badge.
America’s luxury car maker Cadillac is so confident that the new for 2010 SRX is better than their Japanese and German rivals that they are inviting the public to join them for some back to back test drives. This past weekend Top Speed attended the Cadillac of Crossovers Test Drive Event that took place at the Village of Merick Park, one of Miami’s newest and one of the more upscale shopping establishments in all of South Florida. The event combined a relaxed viewing environment for a host of Cadillac’s new products ranging from environmentally conscious Escalade Hybrids to one very hot CTS Sport Wagon as well as a cooking demonstration with Chef Michelle Bernstein and the all important test drive of not only the new Cadillac SRX, but the BMW X5, Mercedes Benz GLK and Lexus RX350 as well.
Admittedly we were a bit unfamiliar with the new Cadillac SRX when we arrived at the event, but after a quick spin around the block and few minutes talking to a few informative men and women in black we felt like we were ready to start working the showroom floor. The 2010 SRX has been completely redesigned and features a chassis that is unique to the luxury crossover. Where most CUVs have a tendency to look large and round in order to maximize interior space, the SRX’s designers incorporated enough bold body lines and creases to make it look muscular, not that the six lug 20 inch wheels didn’t help. If you look close enough at the rear tail lamps you will also see that Cadillac is bringing back the tailfin. Current SRX models are available with either two or all wheel drive and are powered by a 3.0 Liter VVT DOHC direct injection V6 that gets 18 MPG in the city and 25 MPG on the highway, while a 300 HP turbocharged 2.7 Liter V6 is scheduled to arrive soon.
A few days ago Top Speed brought you a spy shot of a red two door Audi wearing an S5 badge and a pretty gnarly front bumper and after speaking with a few Audi of America representatives we were almost certain that it was a future RS5. Well our friends at the Audi enthusiast web site Fourtitude have discovered yet another special S5 while perusing through parking garage located directly below the Audi Forum across from the factory in Ingolstadt. Sure this car isn’t wearing a set of the signature RennSport blistered fenders, but neither was the red car from last week, and it does have a similar front bumper with oversized openings and a set of matte mirror covers to finish off the high class sorts car.
What makes the tale of this high performance S5 is that the parking garage is just one of the places where Audi executives can park their new cars, and there is one such big wig who has admitted to driving an S5 with an RS4 power plant under the hood. We found out back in November that Audi will be downsizing many of its quickest models. While the current RS6 is powered by a 5.0 Liter twin turbo V10 making 580 HP, but the RS5 will be motivated in the form of the RS4’s 4.2 Liter FSI V8 except that this time output will be bumped up to a tire shredding 450 HP.
By combining the upgraded FSI engine with Audi’s patented Quattro all wheel drive technology the German automaker is about to release a very stylish high performance vehicle into the market that will easily compete with the likes of BMW’s M3 and even an AMG powered C63 from Mercedes Benz. We are also quite positive that the new RS5 will be in U.S. showrooms sometime in the near future.
Just yesterday the forward thinking German automaker Audi took us to lunch in order to tell us a little more about the benefits of their new TDI clean diesel technology. Sure diesel powered vehicles benefit from an already impressive range due to the efficiency of a diesel engine, but there were always the negative stigmas associated with the less refined fossil fuel like horrible cold starts, black bumpers and enough clacking to drive any owner insane; instead the four ringed automaker has figured out how to drastically reconfigure the diesel engine to work with ultra low sulfur diesel and make it much more user friendly in hopes that U.S. consumers will catch the alternative fuel bug.
The model that Audi of America brought down to sunny South Florida to show off the next generation of their TDI clean diesel campaign was a 2009 3.0 Liter TDI Q7, although for 2010 the larger Audi SUV will go under the knife and emerge from the operating room with a fresh facelift, we can still see the benefits of a luxury diesel vehicle. Next year’s model will feature a redesigned grill, new headlamps, new taillights (both beaming with little LEDs), as well as a new set of oversized side mirrors and a new array of wheels measuring up to 21 inches in diameter. Inside the sportiest of Q7’s the dash is adorned with decorative wood inlays and countless chrome accents while the obligatory heated and cooled seats remain and there is even a hand stitched Alcantara headliner available. One piece of technology that Audi is quite proud of is the high end computer chip that drives their new 3G navigation system, the piece was lifted from very advanced gaming systems and allows the LCD display to offer the passengers: a true road view complete with every curve of every off ramp, a topographical style map and the most impressive being the 3D landmark based display; so if you are driving down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C., the White House will show up on your navigation system.
The Toyota Prius is all new for 2010 as the Japanese automaker’s most popular gas electric hybrid goes into its third generation of production car status. Our Blue Ribbon metallic [Prius features an all new shape from the previous version that includes a few more aerodynamic touches to get the gas electric hybrid as close as possible to 50 MPG. Toyota’s engineers had a very unique approach to making the new Prius as fuel efficient as possible by adding larger power units. The 2010 Prius features a larger 1.8 Liter engine than its predecessor that by itself makes a maximum output of 98 HP and 105 lb-ft of torque and when combined with the larger 36 HP electric motor gives the 2010 Prius a combined gas/electric output of 134 HP, more than most economy cars.
Despite the larger displacement power plant the latest generation Toyota Prius is able to get an EPA estimated 51 MPG in the city and 48 MPG on the highway thanks to a very concentrated effort to aerodynamically reduce drag and eliminate unnecessary energy loss with a few new sophisticated driving modes, one of which turns the Prius into a true zero emission electric vehicle. Priced with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of just $22,000 the 2010 Toyota Prius is now well within the reach of the average new car buyer and proves to be a perfect solution to the future of personal transportation.
The German luxury car builder Audi showed the world their Lamborghini fighting 5.2 Liter V10 powered R8 Spider at the Frankfurt Motor Show last week, well today they have unveiled a few new images of the four ringed drop top super car that were shot right here in sunny South Florida. As was confirmed at the show, the open air R8 will only be available with the high revving 525 HP FSI ten cylinder engine when it goes on sale next year starting at $227,000.
Weighing in at only 3,792 pounds, the R8 Spider is able to sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in under 4.1 seconds; go from 0 to 125 MPH in a little over 12.7 seconds and reach an incredible top speed of 194.49 MPH, all while consuming 15.79 MPG in the manual transmission version, or 16.92 MPG in the R-tronic variant.
These days, there aren’t a lot of advertising tools as powerful as a good commercial, and while some car brands have succeeded in getting their messages to the TV audience across in 30 seconds, other commercials have failed miserably in doing so.
Thankfully, the new two-minute trailer featuring Volkswagen’s two R-Line vehicles – the Scirocco R and the Golf R20 - had us glued to the tube. The trailer mixed outstanding sound editing with a movie-like video featuring two VW test drivers taking the cars out for a spin out on a G-simulator and later on, out on a real track, all the while emphasizing the amount of G-Force the two cars can reach while setting blistering lap after blistering lap on the circuit.
Take the time out to check it out. If you ask us, it’s even worth multiple viewings.
The Korean automaker Hyundai has just officially unveiled the all new 2010 Sonata in its home market of South Korea, after which the next generation Sonata will follow up with a U.S. market debut at either the upcoming L.A. Auto Show in December, or at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit early next January.
The sixth generation Hyundai Sonata makes use of the automaker’s more fluid design language that has shaped the Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan. The exterior of the new Sonata is made up of a host of complex curves and bold body lines that create character through their refined and harmonized sculpture. The interior of the new Sonata has a very dynamic look that compliments the exterior while refusing to compromise comfort or convenience for the passengers traveling inside. The 2010 Hyundai Sonata is available in nine different exterior colors ranging from Remington Red to Blue Black and even Espresso; a move made in order to appeal to a more diverse younger customer base.
The new Sonata will be powered by a 2.0 Liter Theta II MPi gasoline burning engine cranking out 165 HP and an alternatively fueled LPG variant that generates a maximum output of 144 HP, in either instance the power plants are mated to a new six speed automatic gearbox. When it finally does arrive stateside, Hyundai’s updates to the 2010 Sonata should payoff big time.
Picture Gallery
Post a comment
RSS -
Webmaster free news |