Cars Break – Page 3 – Car Reviews and more

2016 BMW X6M: Why not?

There are so many ways BMW packages it’s lethal twin turbo 4.4L V8 you might as well go with some extra cargo room. M5 has dominated the mid-sized dragon-slayer sedan category for decades now and the 2016 is no exception. It’s fast, handles well, stops incredibly well, and is basically a super car with a back seat. But what if you could tow a boat and fold the seats down to make room for a welder or cabinet piece?

I guess that’s where the X6M comes in. In short, it’s really weird. If you’re always fantasized about owning 550hp grocery getter then look no further; a grocery getter that has a slightly sleeker profile that the X5. And that’s not an M5. BMW has so many platforms a person has to take up a new hobby in Bavarian naming conventions to keep them all straight.

In the cockpit it’s typically Beemer comforts like heads up display, great sound, adaptive cruise, etc. Moving as quickly as this car does while sitting higher up like an SUV is a weird but fantastic feeling. Even with it’s massive 285mm paws in the rear it can still light them up if you romp on it in 1st gear with the traction control off.

My favorite thing about this car is the raspy, angry exhaust note they gave it. To me it sounds significantly more pissed off than the M5.

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BMW i3: A bit too much future

When you first get in the car you really don’t know where to begin. Even as an experienced BMW pilot I had to fish around for a few minutes to find the engine ‘start’ button much less a hole where you insert and turn a standard key. The dashboard is funky to say the least, never before have I seen a beautiful wooden crevice where you could store a handful of smart phones or a bag of rice in the middle of a dashboard.

Performance is adequate. It’s about like a 4 cyl camry or accord – enough power to get out of it’s own way but that’s about it. It has a nice electronic whirr sound when you get going which is neat. I got the car up to about 90 mph and it still felt stable. However, at low speeds do not try to hot rod around a corner as a the somewhat tall body and very skinny tires make you feel like you’ll roll the thing.

I kind of like the shifter, you twist it with an indicator light telling you whether you’re about to go forward or backward. Cabin feels roomy enough.

At $45k it’s priced about where you’d expect a small EV BMW to come in, but the biggest limiting factor is range. 180 miles even with the gas range extender isn’t going to sell many people, including me. Guess I’ll wait for the Tesla 3 like everyone else.

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2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat: Hell’s Angel

The last time I went 0-80 in less than five seconds was on my motorcycle, and that was no sissy bike. The Yamaha FZR 1000 was king of the hill in the early 90’s; it was a 1000cc 20-valve inline 4 that redlined at 12,500 rpm and that will get you places. 0-60 in under 3 seconds, and it shot me through the 1/4 mi in low 11’s at nearly 120mph. Very hard to do that in a car and nearly impossible to do that on 4 wheels for mid 5-figures. Until now.

Let’ start with the price, $60k. That’s only $84 per horsepower – for reals motorcycle territory! Back in the 90’s liter bikes were all around $12k and had a bit over 140 ponies ($85/hp). Add 26mpg freeway and you’ve got serious value packed into this car. Did I mention that its 707 fire-breathing stallions makes it do mid 10-second quarter mile times w/ drag slicks at sea level? Bye bye P85D, AWD can’t save you now.

See that little fluid tank in the upper left? That’s exclusively for the twin intercoolers. You can put your hand right on that tank after a good burn and it will still feel room temperature. Post-boost the system does its job at getting the air down to a nice 100°F down from about 220 before it hits the heat sync.

Interestingly, the rear tires are only 285’s and so are the front. I would have thought a tail-wagger like this would have gone with something like 315’s to try and keep the back end under control. Guess you can rotate the tires now.

Appropriately, the Hellcat has many, many throwback cues like original Mopar orange on the valve covers and cast-iron block. One of the headlights has been hollowed out to make room for the unobstructed ram-air inlet, and the battery is on the rear passenger side tire to give an extra 50 lbs on the torque twist wheel.

Nods to modern convenience include a huge touch screen display with performance presets or fully customizable mode. The exhaust note is raspy and full-bodied thanks to an electronically actuated valve making Hellcat straight piped at full throttle thanks. Being a BMW guy I immediately noticed the Harman Kardon name gleaming from the two 12″ subs in the trunk – the same company that does premium sound for the Bavarians. Also eco mode will knock you down to 400hp and get you crossover-like freeway gas mileage.

Only 2400 were graciously handed over to customers this first run so you’ll have to wait your turn. If you know much about 1960’s hot rods you’ll eat up every inch of this car and fall in love. Romping on the throttle is instant gratification at any speed and you’ll be very, yet pleasantly surprised when you take a corner. It’s every muscle car lovers dream – whoop-ass straight line performance (make no mistake, this is a 200mph car), outstanding streetability, and big value.

Hellcat is a demon on the track and an angel in the street.

2015 Honda Grom: Surf’s up, dude

A Grom, or Grommet is a young surfer. Whether that’s what Japanese designers had in mind for this bike I’m not sure, but it’s hella fun, if you speak adolescent Californian.

The recipe for the Grom is simple: 125cc fuel-injected 4-stroke “real” motorcycle. That means while the bike is fitted with comical 12″ wheels it has a clutch, 1-down 3-up transmission, rear monoshock, and even upside-down forks!

I don’t use the word “fun” lightly with this bike, either. It’s a freaking barrel of monkeys. The Grom is easy to dismiss because of its size but there’s something about the full instrument cluster, silky-smooth motor, and go-kart handling that make this thing a blast to ride in any condition. It even makes a decent trail bike.

Right off the showroom floor you’re going to want to trade out the front sprocket for a 14 tooth instead of the stock 15; it’s really geared too high. Getting started, especially with a passenger, feels like you’re wearing out the clutch which engages at something like 10 mph – an odd feeling on such a compact machine. You’re even rewarded with a higher top speed by giving an incisor to the tooth fairy.

The only annoyance I found was that the turn signal switch is in the wrong place. You’re punished by a blast from the amply shrill horn every time you want to indicate a turn. A few dozen hours aboard should classically condition that out of you I suppose.

For beginner riders I would highly recommend this over a scooter. You’ll be able to keep up with traffic, get real 2-wheeler experience preparing you to move to an SV650 or Ninja 500, and it just looks 100x better than any scooter.

$3200, 225lbs, 100 mpg, 60mph, 4 gears, 2 people. That’s basic arithmetic for a great time especially when you add in Honda reliability and resale value.

2015 GMC Canyon 4×4 Crew Cab: Pacquiao

The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was arguably the biggest sporting event this year and possibly even decade. Floyd Mayweather is undefeated in professional boxing and Pacquiao isn’t far behind. Both fighters are well into their 30’s and sort of came out of a respite for the big event.

With a few losses on their track record, the good ole boys at GM are similarly making a comeback to smaller-than-full-size trucks. I use that hyphenated description because gone are the days of the compact truck, and midsize trucks are nearing the mass of full-size trucks from 15 years ago.

The Canyon is big. So much so that it felt like I was approaching a Sierra at first glance. This version was a crew cab 4×4 with the 6 ft bed (in midsize trucks this is the longer of the two). The truck felt ample and roomy to my 5’10” frame and is probably a boon to those over 6ft when comparing directly to a Tacoma, the other middleweight in this fight.

What surprised me most about the Canyon was that it didn’t exactly deliver a knockout blow when you stepped on the accelerator. I expected a lot out of a claimed 305 ponies. When you give it the juice, the Canyon wants to tie you up and rest rather than throw a haymaker. Weighing in at 4500 lbs it’s a bit lame that the 1/4 mi time is 15.4 when the only slightly lighter (4200 lbs) Taco is running 14.7 with a claimed 236 hp! The tacoma does indeed feel stronger and even has 500 lbs on the Canyon in towing capacity.

But what about price? Surely GM knows it needs to undercut the Taco in order to make any headway. Well, maybe not. At $36k+, GM makes you wonder why you’d pay that much when for $34k you can get a TRD off-road Tacoma. For $36k the Taco gets a 1.75″ lift and custom exhaust among other cosmetics when you add the TRD Pro package. Plus a cool 110v outlet in the bed and an electronic rear locker!

Although the Canyon has gas struts to lift the hood, auto-down rear window switches, wifi, and lane departure warning, it’s hardly enough dancing to distract from the Tacoma, which had the best resale value of any vehicle last year.

Without making all this sound like a Toyota commercial, I will say that the Canyon overall does feel more plush and comfy. Hat tip to GM as well for the 4 USB ports I found- one in the dash, one in the center console, and two in the rear. If there’s one thing lacking from most modern cars it’s an appreciation for America’s fierce addition to smart phones and tablets. Another fun thought was the volume and radio present buttons located behind the steering wheel! Way cool. They feel like those mountain bike clicky shifters you use your thumbs and index fingers on. Nice touch.

The instruments overall are familiar and easy on the eyes. Although I’m not a big fan of the redundant speedometer. There’s a digital readout in addition to the gauge.

The Tl;dr (which means ‘too long, didn’t read’ for those not up to date on their internet speak) version is that Tacoma wins. Power you can feel, more towing, Mayweather-esque pedigree, and big value. With more power and a couple years’ experience in reliability testing, however, Canyon/Colorado could be a force to be reckoned with.

2015 M235i: The Not-So-Little Engine That Can

Pigmy Rocketship. This car officially has a new name. It’s BMW everclear, distilled and crushed up into a powder, snorted through a $10 bill, or taken orally via capsules, your choice. This car really is everything fun about BMW wrapped up in the (surprisingly) most affordable car they sell.

I will admit the badging goes way too far. I wish they would just call it the M2 and be done, but for some reason in Munich if it’s not a real M car, they need to compensate with “this car brought to you by the letter M” and slap in every corner possible. Hubs, steering wheel, front, back, doors, seats, everything has an M on it. Even more M’s than an . . . M car. But 4.3 to 60 mph makes you forget all that. For less than $45k.

And look how practical! You can park it anywhere, and it’ll get 32mpg on the freeway! Plus it looks WAY better than the old 1-series it replaces. That old dog was kinda fugly.

One interesting thing you can do with a 235i that you *can’t do with the other M cars is a brake-stand. I guess they weren’t as careful with the traction control system (of course switched off) on the 235i, but just put your foot 1/3 way down on the brake, hit the gas, and boom you’ve got a 2-tire fire. She’s real pretty in blue, too:

I drove the automatic with paddle shifters and although I’d really rather throw my own gears it was pretty responsive. Shifts aren’t lighting-quick 911 fast, but it’s enough. It’s as much as you can expect out of a true auto-trans and not a dual clutch setup.

If you don’t mind 2 doors and eety beety living space this is a great commuter or weekend track-day toy.

2014 Camaro RS Convertible: Cheap Thrills

This is a fun one. Not terribly fast, and not as fast as you’d think it would be claiming 300hp, but a jolly good time. A 335i has the same hp rating from the factory but that thing can pull a 5.2 0-60 time. The best you’ll ever see out of one of these is about 6 seconds. For those who are into numbers like that, you know there’s an enormous difference in feel between 5 and 6 seconds to 60. It’s a line in the sand between edging on true performance vs light recreation.

What I liked most about this bang-for-budget ride was the exhaust note. It was satisfyingly raspy and seemed to grow twice as loud above 4000 rpm. I was stuck with the automatic but it didn’t hesitate too much when you romped on the throttle.

My wife and I drove with the top down and the heater on full-blast down highway 1 to Santa Monica in November on a brisk night. Highly recommended. Hard to have that much fun in anything else for the money. Also driving by a group of kids and hearing one say “hey!! that’s bumblebee!!” as another retorts “no it’s not” and finally another – “yeah huh! totally bumblebee!” is some good stuff.

2014 BMW 328d: Holy Gas Mileage Batman

Love the torque – an expected opening remark. Some surprisingly don’t love the torque. I took my wife for a ride and the acceleration about did her stomach in.

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What BMW enthusiasts will notice about this 3-series diesel is that it’s not a 335d. I think BMW chose to make this a 4-cylinder car to appeal to mileage nazis. And that it does. With an EPA-claimed 45mpg the 328d is about as fuel-efficient as they come without losing a wheel or adding an electric motor. That mpg number bumps up maximum range to 575 miles!

Throttle response is pretty sloshy down low and not much really happens when you put the car into “sport” mode. Might do away with that feature altogether as shift points are varying and low almost all of the time. The closest I ever got to the 5.5k rpm redline was just a hair under 5000.

Some of the niceties are standard with all the new 3 series: 8-speed auto, standard radio is pretty good with dual subwoofers standard, 50-50 weight distribution, comfortable seats, and outstanding brakes. F30 is the name of this chassis and since its debut in 2012 they’ve switched over to electric steering on all these compact sedans. They say it was for the ladies, I say yuck. Yes, it’s effortless to steer, but it’s also feedback-less and kind of feels like you’re behind the wheel of a minivan. I much prefer my 2011 E90’s hydraulic and heavy, albeit full-of-feel maneuvering.