Reviews

Nov 23 2011

Review 2013 Lexus GS 350

Review 2013 Lexus GS 350
If the Lexus GS doesn’t look like the sort of car that slows down to let you merge, that’s because the self-important drivers of the competition’s products probably wouldn’t either. While the Lexus folks might blush at putting such a fine point on it, they describe their prototypical customer as someone who wants it all, without compromises. In other words, not the sort of guy you’d want to work for, but exactly the kind you might choose to perform surgery – or represent you in court if you want to sue the doctor afterwards.

Certainly, Lexus has loaded up the GS with a whole bag of new tricks, but its core is largely carryover. The optional V8 engine is gone – nobody bought them, apparently. So the 3.5-liter V6 remains, improved to make it a bit more powerful. It’s now rated at 306 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque, an increase of just three horses and three lb-ft. However, Lexus estimates a fuel economy improvement of two miles per gallon on the highway and one combined when compared to the 2011 GS. The new car’s 0-60 mile-per-hour time remains at 5.7 seconds. The 2013 GS uses the same six-speed, sequential-shift automatic, but with paddle shifters in addition to a standard shift lever. Shifting with the paddles is fast and satisfying, and we like that they are small and well positioned unobtrusively behind the wheel.

Nov 21 2011

2012 BMW 3 Series

2012 BMW 3 Series

The Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Lexus IS, Infiniti G, Acura TL and upcoming Cadillac ATS will not be denied, and the 3 Series doesn’t enjoy the commanding lead it once did. On the other hand, over 12.5 million total sales for The Almighty Three since 1975 is nothing to be sniffed at.

When talking about the sort of high performance testing that we crave, initial drives like this can only go so far in satisfying. That’s because we only got the chance to drive two meat-of-the-sales-figures trims at this Barcelona, Spain launch: the new 320d Efficient Dynamics turbo diesel and the 328i with new TwinPower Turbo in-line four-cylinder.

We chose to focus hard on the 328i since it’s confirmed that we’ll get this 241-horsepower model along with the 302-hp 335i this February. The only other model slated for the U.S. is the 335-hp ActiveHybrid 3, arriving sometime during summer 2012. As to the future of turbo diesel power in the States, BMW North America has said it is quite keen to bring over both the 320d and a future 330/335d, though no firm decisions have been made.

Oct 11 2011

Review 2012 Mercedes-Benz B-Class

Review 2012 Mercedes Benz B Class

Much in the vein of Audi’s Sportback models or BMW’s slow-to-expand Gran Turismo range, Mercedes-Benz thinks it’s time to get excited about various sizes of its “sports tourer” subgroup. Nearly all of the aforementioned are still trying to find proper footing in their bid to be first choice for the world’s practical-minded customers, but the B-Class has had more success than most. Since the launch of the first generation in 2005, around 700,000 of these little boxes have been sold – despite the U.S. being conspicuously left off the list while both Canada and Mexico got theirs. The car’s number one market by far has been the car’s fatherland, Germany. Number two? China, where sales of the car rose 46 percent in 2010.

Starting up the new 1.6-liter transverse-mounted M270 four-cylinder turbo with the latest direct injection (as seen on Benz’s V6 and V8 BlueDirect engines introduced last year), the sound is good and quiet. The previous B200 Turbo received a 2.0-liter four-cylinder good for 193 hp and 207 pound-feet of torque, so despite being 12 percent more efficient, this 1.6-liter turbo is actually down by 39 hp and 23 lb-ft. While the previous range-topper hit 60 mph in under in 7.5 seconds, this 1.6 takes about a tick longer. Fear not – a more advanced 2.0-liter turbo will be ready for when the B-Class goes on sale in the U.S. in early-mid 2014, in sync with the car’s planned midlife facelift.

While pushing this B200 on hilly two-lanes and overtaking brisk Autobahn traffic, the 1.6-liter sounds like a very hard working little four-cylinder, which, of course, she is. It’s a shame that noise-vibration-harshness concerns could not have been addressed even more so. Not that the noise is extraordinary, but we can’t help but feel that it could be tuned more pleasantly for a Mercedes-Benz compact.

Source: AutoBlog

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