The skies opened up and the sun shone down upon us here at Top Speed recently when we received a call from our test car supplier letting us know that they had something special in store for this weekend. What showed up later on that afternoon was a Viper Red 2009 SRT-10, never before had any shade of red been so adequately named. This is was not our first time getting behind the wheel of the 8.4 Liter ten cylinder convertible, but there is just something about this shade of red that pops along and when combined with our car’s optional lightweight forged rims, showing off those bright red brake calipers, that makes this venomous vehicle something special.
Anyone familiar with the interior of a Dodge Viper will tell you just how minimalist the cockpit of these cars can be, with a few select white face gauges in front of the driver and a few auxiliary dials stacked just off to the side, even the an AM/FM/CD player radio is nothing to write home about. However creature comforts are not what this car is about, even though the interior does looks nicer than we remember, perhaps due to an improvement in materials. One thing that was very familiar was the smell of the V10, the radiating heat it emitted and the feel of that six speed manual shifter vibrating in your right hand, that is because Team Viper set out to make the most visceral performance machine ever built in the U.S.; and they have succeeded. Unfortunately Dodge needed their car back so our pleasant surprise was untimely cut short, but any time spent behind the wheel is well worth it.
With the increase in displacement to a full 8.4 Liters, the maximum output of the V10 has gone up to an even 600 HP and 560 lb-ft of torque. The 2009 SRT-10 can accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in just 3.5 seconds, run the standing quarter mile in 10.9 seconds @128 MPH and reach a top speed of 202 MPH; all while averaging and estimated 12 MPG in the city and a rather impressive 22 MPG when cruising at highway speeds. The only option that our 2009 Viper Red Dodge came with were a set of optional forged rims which brought the modern American muscle car’s rice tag up to $93,000; not too bad for the closest thing you can get to a 1968 Corvette.
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We here at Top Speed have received another fun to drive Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT Limited into our test fleet. Last time we had a look at the new Legacy we were driving the flagship 3.6 R model that is more about riding around in relaxed comfort whereas the Azurite Blue Pearl 2.5 GT model is what the Japanese automaker refers to as their sporting Legacy. The biggest difference between the two cars is their power train, while the R was powered by a 3.6 Liter flat six cylinder engine that made 256 HP and 247 lb-ft of torque and is connected to a five speed automatic transmission which of course fed Subaru’s Symmetrical All Wheel Drive System. Our new 2010 Legacy 2.5 GT uses Subaru’s familiar 2.5 Liter turbocharged flat four making 265 HP and 258 lb-ft of torque and is shifted with a six speed manual gearbox, the combination is good for a 0 to 60 MPH time of 5.9 seconds. Despite the smaller displacement and being down two cylinders, the addition of a turbocharger more than makes up for the difference while taking a few pounds off the front axle at the same time.
The fifth generation of the Legacy received a restyling for 2010 and features a bold new design that features a larger one bar grill and a set of Subaru’s new hawk eye headlamps. On the outside, aside from the larger 18 inch wheels, the only thing that gives away the GT as a performance model is the functional hood scoop that feeds fresh air to the Legacy’s top mounted intercooler. The 2.5 GT wears the same bulging fenders as the rest of the lineup as well as their signature side skirts that jut out more than down, giving the Legacy a very wide and stable stance. The 2010 Legacy is a nod at the future of automobile design with its sweptback windshield and short trunk overhang that is more aerodynamic than the traditional three box shape.
Subaru considers their products to be premium automobiles, and it shows on the inside. Our Limited trim Legacy came with a very attractive leather wrapped steering wheel as well as supple seats and a dash adorned with sophisticated wood trim that carries over into the door cards. The 2010 Legacy has been completely redesigned in the interest of a roomier interior and the new car is the most spacious and luxurious Subaru sedan to date. Starting a just under $30,000 our Limited model benefited from a $3,000 power moonroof and navigation system that brought our 2.5 GT’s asking price up to $34,146; not a bad price to pay for so much machine.
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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.
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We recently received a 2009 Dodge Journey SXT into the Top Speed test fleet. This Deep Water Blue Pearl people mover has seating for up to seven inside with the third row seating and came complete with a host of high tech creature comforts and quite a few clever storage compartments. After all that is what the new Journey is all about, being the epitome of a crossover, the car’s main purpose is to provide consumers with an affordable transportation option that can carry an entire extended family and all their stuff with a smaller footprint than the traditional SUV. The added benefit of these types of children conscious vehicles is that they are being offered with all sorts of infotainment systems that range from in dash DVD players to wireless headphones so that mommy and daddy can enjoy the drive undisturbed, and our car came with all of them.
The exterior of the Journey follows the familiar lines that we saw not so long ago on the Avenger; starting off with the flat front end, continuing on with the bulging fender flares and finishing up with the squared off rear end, the design is unmistakably Dodge. The CUV’s body gives it a somewhat aggressive appearance with its bold boxy body lines and signature Dodge four bar grill and oversized light housings, despite being a very friendly family vehicle. On the inside our Journey comes with two tome cloth seats, attractive easy to read gauges, navigation, dual zone climate control in addition to rear air, naigation, flip down monitor for the backseat passengers as well as the aforementioned DVD player and wireless headphone combination. An interesting aspect of the storage minded crossover is that the Journey comes with no less than four somewhat secret compartments. Our Journey SXT rides on a set of 19 inch six spoke chrome rims, and is powered by 3.5 Liter High Output 24 valve V6 connected to a six speed automatic transmission complete with manual shift selection.
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We recently received a Salsa Red Pearl 2010 Toyota Highlander into the Top Speed test fleet. The first thing we noticed when the full size Japanese crossover was delivered is just how big the Highlander is. This gives the 187 HP entry level CUV a more powerful rather than playful, unlike the majority of the crossover field. This should make a few more men fell comfortable behind the wheel when doing the job of a soccer mom. The Highlander that Toyota chose for us to drive is representative of the automaker’s high quality economical transportation options. At around $26,000 the CUV came with everything you need to get the job done, minus a few of the pricey creature comforts that the segment has become synonymous with.
Going along with the economy car theme; our Toyota Highlander is spacious and well laid out, but the seats are wrapped in money saving cloth as opposed to “Corinthian Leather” and while the crossover came equipped with rear air you won’t find any factory mounted screens to entertain the second and third row passengers. That is because the Highlander can seat up to seven passengers safely (did we mention the seven standard airbags) and after all aren’t vehicles more about getting people to their destination than being a rolling entertainment center. However Toyota does offer an optional 9 inch display complete with a pair of wireless headphones that are guaranteed not only to keep the back seat passengers entertained with DVDs, but it will do it in complete silence as well, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Either way our entry level Toyota Highlander has it where it counts, even in basic trim the truck rides on a set of massive 17 inch six spoke wheels and is powered by a 2.7 Liter 16 valve VVT-i four cylinder engine that gets an EPA estimated 20 MPG in the city and up to 27 MPG on the highway. The engine is connected to a six speed automatic ECT-i transmission with a manual shift mode that is supposed to be tuned perfectly for the four banger’s 186 lb-ft of torque, honestly we can’t wait to take this 3800 pound crossover for a spin. Another treat that we found after popping the hood is the equal length 4-2-1 headers that looks like it could have been lifted from the TRD catalog, the piece is the perfect example of how far the Japanese car builders at Toyota go to squeeze every last drop of efficiency out of their vehicles.
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The 2010 Subaru Legacy 3.6 R Limited is an excellent import, any consumer who fails to recognize the niche market Japanese automaker’s latest mid size four door sedan as a viable option when shopping for a new car are seriously missing out. This Ruby Red Pearl 3.6 R Limited is the automaker’s top of the line Legacy, and a pleasant surprise from the all wheel drive automaker is just how luxurious their flagship sedan can be. Subaru is an automaker that we would traditionally relate with Gran Turismo and the World Rally Championship, but in this case the “R” is meant less as a nod towards a high performance racing model, but is more likely to stand for the new Legacy’s relaxed attitude. However that doesn’t mean that the new Legacy isn’t going racing, in fact it is already a GT300 race car, and once you have a look at the flared four door, you will never look at another new Legacy the same way again.
The all new 2010 Subaru Legacy wears a set of the automaker’s aerodynamic hawk eye headlamps up front, stylish 17 inch wheels underneath a set of curvaceously contoured flared fenders, a redesigned rear suspension that makes a more spacious rear bench while under the hood of our 3.6 R is a rather large horizontally opposed six cylinder engine. The 3.6 Liter boxer engine makes a total of 256 HP and 247 lb-ft of torque while getting and EPA estimated 18 MPG in the city and 25 MPG on the highway using regular grade gasoline.
One interesting feature of the Legacy 3.6 R is that the flat six engine is only available with a 5 speed automatic transmission that has been beefed up to work with the flatter torque curve from the bigger power plant. Our 2010 Subaru Legacy 3.6 R came well equipped, and would have set us back somewhere around $31,000. If you ask us, that is a great price to pay for such a relaxed all wheel drive sedan experience.
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Subaru is upgrading their lineup with an all new Legacy for 2010, and while we enjoyed driving the larger sedan, we have to admit that the 2010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited we recently test drove offered a similar experience to the old four door wagon alternative, and that is certainly not a bad thing. Like all Subarus our Forester came from the factory with symmetrical all wheel drive so it can go anywhere, because it is a Forester the cabin is quite roomy and thanks to the boxy layout there is plenty of storage space for whatever adventure you can dream up.
Our 2010 Subaru Forester had fun written all over it from the tall stance to the oversized fog lights, moon roof and bold 17 inch rims that looked strong and sturdy enough thanks to their thick spokes to get the Forester anywhere you can imagine. The car’s 2.5 Liter Boxer engine makes 170 HP and thanks to Subaru’s SPORTSHIFT four speed automatic is about as much fun as you can have while getting as much as 26 MPG on the highway in a Low Emissions Vehicle with anything from your band’s equipment to your children’s soccer gear in the trunk.
Not only was the outside of our Subaru Forester 2.5 Limited energetic, the interior was well adorned with leather wrapped surfaces, a large LCD navigation display that only added to the appeal of the spacious cabin. Our Forester also came standard with a host of safety features like six air bags, ABS, VDC, four wheel disk brakes, a reinforced chassis developed by the WRC championship winning automaker and a whole bunch of five star safety ratings to back it up.
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We recently received a Deep Water Blue Pearl 2009 Dodge Avenger SXT in our Top Speed test fleet. The Avenger is the smallest sedan in the Chrysler lineup and because of that it carries a few styling cues from its larger brother, the Charger. Aside from the captivating pearlescent paint our Avenger’s most attractive feature are the blistered fender flares that house 18 inch thick five spoke rims and the bold hump in the rear quarter panel that gives this little front wheel drive four door the stance of a bona fide muscle car along with the sharp front lip and rear wing.
The Avenger’s seats are wrapped in stain resistant black cloth while almost every other surface is made out of some kind of plastic, but the Dodge design team did manage to dress it up with some shiny trim in a few key places, like on the door speaker, handle and lock. Our Avenger SXT also comes with a few nice interior appointments like Chrysler’s uconnect multimedia GPS system that incorporates the radio, hard disk navigation unit and Sirius real time traffic information into a well laid out touch screen display right in front of the driver. Just below that piece of user friendly technology is one of the coolest cup holders in any vehicle, because it will either heat or chill your beverage depending on what you want it to do.
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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.
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We here at Top Speed recently had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of an Imperial Blue Metallic 2010 Chevrolet Camaro RS for an extended period of time and we have to say that we enjoyed every minute of the modern day muscle car experience. The Camaro RS combines the fuel efficient 300 HP direct injected V6 that gets as much as 29 MPG with the aggressive styling as the powerful Chevrolet Camaro SS with its 20 inch wheels wrapped in high performance rubber, high intensity discharge headlamps, rear spoiler and polished taillight bezels as well as unique RS badges all for only $31,530.
Back when we spoke with the car’s lead Exterior Designer Luciano Nakamura, he assured us that the 2010 model is not a retro Camaro, but instead a 21st century muscle car inspired by the classic bow tie wearing pony car with its strong shoulders and classic Coke bottle shaped waistline while the interior is quite a different story, including touches like a flat rimmed steering wheel and a four pack of accessory gauges to give the new Camaro a 1960s Americana feel.
The 2010 Camaro comes complete with all the amenities we have come to expect from a modern car like dual stage frontal and side curtain airbags as well as Stabilitrak traction control, four wheel disc brakes with ABS, tire pressure monitoring system and of course, General Motor’s fabulous OnStar system complete with convenience features like turn by turn navigation and a very peace of mind granting automatic crash response.
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