Austin Auto Show 2004

Austin Auto Show 2004 Notes taken on cars at the 2004 Austin Auto Show, in the order that I checked „em out. I tried to focus on things that you couldn‟t necessarily learn from websites and car magazines, such as seat comfort and how a 6‟1” skinny male fits in the back seat. I didn‟t pay much attention to trucks and SUVs, since I doubt I‟ll ever buy one. Actually, the most interesting class of vehicles to play around in were the minivans. It became a puzzle to see how quickly I could figure out how to fold down the 2nd and 3rd row seats. General Notes                 Cost to attend show - $5 entry plus $5 park Most expensive car present – Porsche Carrera GT ($440,000) Most expensive car you could sit in – Mercedes CL65 ($181,000) Cars you couldn’t sit in – Porsche Carrera GT, Ford GT, Infiniti M45 Longest line to sit in a car – Corvette (no other car came close) Fastest car present – (According to Car and Driver) Ford GT, followed closely by Porsche Carerra GT. Best seats for a nonluxury car – Pontiac GTO (both front and rear) (runners-up include Saturn Ion Redline, Lexus IS, and Corvette) Best seats for a luxury car – BMW 7 series (both front and rear) Best steering wheel – Corvette Best cockpit – Lexus IS, Mazda RX-8 (note – the Corvette was an automatic, so I couldn‟t get a feel for rowing the gears) Quietest cockpit – Chrysler 300C (the crowd noise virtually disappeared when I shut the door) Neatest feature – Tailgate mode in the Chrysler Town & Country minivan. The 3rd row seats rotate backwards so that you can sit in them with the rear hatch up, facing out the back of the vehicle. Stupidest feature – Torque gauge on Chevy SSR Most versatile trunk – Dodge Magnum Best gauges – Corvette Car I’d like to drive away with - Corvette Overall, I like Lexus the best as far as the interior design of their gauges and controls go. Overall, BMW makes the best seats. Chrysler Crossfire Seats have good thigh support. Bolstering is there but too wide to do any good for me. Good cockpit feel. No steering wheel mounted audio controls. Cramped with top on. PT Cruiser Convertible Nice interior accents. My hair rubs the roof in the rear. It sits tall, which is good for helping leg room, but it needs more rear knee room. 300C Hemi Roomy rear, solid feel, super quiet – crowd noises go away with door closed. A little claustrophobic with the high beltline and low roof due to the sunroof. Very stylish cockpit. A+. Ergonomics lag competitors like Honda though. Pacifica Roomy 2nd row, but 3rd row is just for kids. Also, it‟s not easy to get in and out of the 3rd row. Town and Country (Touring) Good cockpit visibility (I would later find this to be true for all minivans). Tailgate mode! The 3rd row seats can rotate about a horizontal hinge at their base to fold backwards, to that with the rear hatch open, you can sit on the part of the seat that normally supports your back, and rest your back on the part you normally sit down on, while you face out the back of the fan. I thought this was a neat feature, although realistically it wouldn‟t affect my decision to buy this vehicle. Both 2nd and 3rd row seats fold flat. That‟s a big plus in my book. 3rd row requires 3 easy steps to stow. The headrests are integrated such that you don‟t have to remove them to fold the seats, which is another plus for me. You can fit 3 adults in the 3rd row, except that foot room is a little lacking. The second row requires 5 steps and considerably more effort to fold. Plus the front seats have to be up just about all the way to fold the 2nd row down (later you can move the front seats back). There is a line of sliding storage bins along the ceiling of the van. That‟s kind of a neat feature, although it seems like they‟re put together cheaply. (Note: I would later find another van or two with these overhead sliding bins. I finally determined that as long as there were quality storage bins within easy reach of all passengers, it didn‟t matter if they were on the ceiling or somewhere else, so after the initial attraction to the sliding overhead bins, they eventually fell out of favor with me as I preferred the higher quality bins on the sides and such). I bumped my head on the movie screen during egress, but it was ok b/c the screen has plenty of travel on its hinges (I would later find this to be true on all minivans with screens). Oh yeah, the rear seats are 60-40 split folding, which I also like. Sebring Bleh. Rear has good headroom, needs legroom. Seat back tilt is not ergonomic and is also hard to get at from the rear to let yourself out. Dodge Magnum Excellent trunk design, very versatile, useful, modular, and self-contained. Car is roomy. Lacks sedan-type storage compartments. Claustrophobic with the high beltline, especially for kids who probably wouldn‟t be able to see over the windows. The cockpit has poor visibility, both for things low to the ground (due to high beltline) and things high up such as red lights (due to roof extending too far forward before the windshield starts). One person said that he had driven the Magnum, and that he always had to lean way forward to see redlights, and that it got annoying real quick. Dakota Quad Cab Roomy rear except for foot room. Ram SRT-10 Sport cockpit that screams “truck” and “gaudy” at the same time. Long throw shifter also reminds you that this sporty vehicle is still a truck. The hood had an emblem that read, “Viper Powered”. Under the hood is the Viper engine, with the word “Viper” stamped in large letters in case you forgot. Topic: This truck. My comment: WHY?! Jeep Liberty Uncomfy rear seat. Exiting the rear is so awkward that I hurt my hip bumping into things on egress. Grand Cherokee In the middle of all the buttons on the center console, it has what looks like an “Information Center” button. But it‟s just a label. You can‟t press it in. It doesn‟t do anything. But it looks just like a button. Stupid. Wrangler Primitive. The gauges look like something from the 80s. However, it felt strangely appropriate. This vehicle is supposed to be rugged and primitive, so it fits. I also liked the exterior styling. Egress is tricky for your feet. The floor is a few inches lower the sharp, metallic door sill. So when you‟re swinging your legs around to get out of the vehicle, you have to swing them high or else you‟ll jab them on the metal frame. Some padding might‟ve been nice here. Ford Focus Rear fits me! I‟m surprised. You know, it‟s funny the number of compact cars whose rear seats I can fit into. Yet, there are so many mid-sized cars with cramped rear seats. What‟s going on here? Freestar Same 3 steps to fold the rear as the Town & Country, but it isn‟t split folding. Headrests are integrated. You can fit 3 adults in the 3rd row, but the seats are very uncomfortable. Lack of storage compartments and cupholders, a serious flaw for a minivan. Good visibility. Horribly out of date features. 2nd row doesn‟t fold flat and is uncomfy. Booooo. Five Hundred Roomy comfy rear, comfy front, slightly lacking in ergonomics Freestyle Comfy 1st and 2nd row, but low head room with the sunroof. Difficult 3rd row access. Sort of fold flat 2nd and 3rd row. Mustang My head hits the rear glass, just like the G35 Coupe! Dang it! Seats are just so-so. The interior is nothing remarkable. To me, it tries to mimic the old 60s Mustangs, with the big wheel and lack of bolstered seats, and so some utility is sacrificed to achieve that look. I believe you can still have uncompromised performance, while still being true to certain old school elements. The shifter is still too far forward, although it didn‟t feel as bad as the previous generation Mustang. 300 hp for $25 is tempting, but I would be too disappointed with the other features to ever buy this vehicle. Thunderbird Low head room and visibility. All the buttons look the same, so it‟d be confusing to try to find the button you‟re looking for. Cadillac CTS Sporty seats, low rear headroom SRX Good thigh support (which I find is rare in car seats) STS There‟s something about the STS and CTS seats that just aren‟t comfy. Maybe the lumbar support isn‟t right? Nice luxury feel though. Saturn Ion No center armrest! Ion Redline Great Recaro seats. The seats are definitely the best thing about this car. It‟s funny that this car‟s seats are better than true sports cars costing way more, like the STi and RX-8. Buick Lacrosse Rear has poor headroom and legroom, and I bumped my head on rear egress. There‟s NO excitement or sportiness here. It has the least sport seats I‟ve sat in so far, even when compared to the minivans! Pontiac Bonneville GXP Numerous buttons and labels all run together, rear not as roomy as I would expect (low head room with the sunroof, low legroom), although the leather seems like it is very good quality. G6 Clanky door (although the window was rolled down). Rear is roomy, but the seats are very uncomfortable. Lags behind Japanese cars in terms of storage compartments. GTO Sporty shifter, interior seems kind of lacking in features. Super comfy AND super sport seats!!! Wow! The rear is super comfy. The rear seats are better than the front seats of most cars. There‟s plenty of leg room, decent head room, fairly easy egress from the rear, and there‟s a handy latch within easy access to move the front seat forward from the rear. This car is truly built to support rear seat passengers!!! Chevrolet SSR It has a torque gauge??? Why would you want a torque gauge? And it goes up to 400 ft-lbs. Does that thing even come close to making that kind of torque? (Tim checks online: 405 ft-lbs. Hmmm, ok.) Cobalt Enough room in rear Aveo Not bad. Needs a little more rear leg room, but looks good for $12,000. Malibu Maxx Roomy, reclining and adjustable rear seats is a nice feature. Impala Rear needs foot room, boring, lacks storage. Why would you ever buy this car? Malibu Roomy rear, expensive for what you get though. I like the Maxx the best between the Maxx, Malibu, and Impala. Corvette Very nice gauges, perfect wheel, seats supportive but I‟ve felt better. (Note: Later, I came back and spent more time in the seats, and learned that you can adjust the width and lumbar supports just like my GT, and so I found a much-improved configuration, placing the Corvette seats among the best in the show). Mercury Grand Marquis Comfy rear seats, boring. Montego Surprised! Roomy, nice features, storage compartments are plentiful. This car could compete with Honda. It has a huge trunk. I think that‟s the biggest trunk I‟ve seen in a mid-sized sedan. The buttons on the console are a little outdated. Monterey 3rd row cramped, 2nd row cramped in leg room, no fold flat seats, luxurious feel. Lincoln Town Car Polished, but boring. Very comfortable and roomy rear LS Smaller, still enough rear room. Nothing special. (Tim writes in the margin: “Why are these cars $40K+?”) Nissan Z Seats are well-bolstered, but a little firm. Quest Awesome stereo! High tech (wow, it‟s amazing how much more modern the Japanese cars feel than American ones). Roomy rear. 2nd row fold flat in three easy steps, except that the head rest must be removed. However, the head rests are much more comfortable than the integrated ones in other vans, so I guess there‟s a trade-off. The 3rd row takes muscle to put up and down, and you have to remove the head rests first, and it‟s not split-folding, but it only takes two steps. Honda Odyssey Very comfy, very functional. Best folding 3rd row so far – integrated head rests, 2 easy steps, split folding. No fold flat 2nd row! C‟mon Honda engineers, get with the times. (Note: After seeing all vans, I decided that if Honda engineers designed a 2nd row that folded flat as easy as their 3rd row, they‟d easily be my top choice as best minivan. However, as it stands, there‟s no clear-cut winner in my book.) Lexus IS Awesome seats, superb cockpit in features and look. GS Great gauges and wheel, center console a little dated. ES Rear seats very comfy. Beautiful interior. LS Big, luxurious, nothing special. Toyota Seinna Not as comfy as Honda, no fold flat 2nd row. 3rd row is split folding, integrated head rests, 3 steps, takes some muscle. Scion xA Cramped rear legs, needs more front legroom, cool lighting effects (true for all Scions). Scions tend to have the right features I want, and none that I don‟t. (Give me a good stereo and autodown mirrors, for a pleasurable highway cruise). No center armrest though. xB No center armrest. Roomiest rear yet! (among all cars I‟ve sat in so far, not just compacts!). Rear seats need more thigh support. tC Nice cockpit, seats need more bolstering, good steering wheel. Rear is ok, a little uncomfortable, but fine for head room and legroom. Head might bump glass on a rough road. Easy rear egress. Subaru Forester No rear legroom. Legacy Long shifter throws, expensive, roomy rear Acura TL Roomy rear RL Yeah, nice, but whatever (doesn‟t inspire) TSX Rear is probably ok Mitsubishi Galant Rear ok, lack of storage compartments Suzuki Reno Hurt knee on protruding steering column on entry. Roomy rear. Forenza Seems like a good deal for a wagon. Verona Nice value. Competes with Sonata. Aerio On par with xA. Volvo S80 Very sporty and nice front seats. Rear seats also very nice, but lacking in legroom! Needs foot well also. Audi A4 Needs rear legroom. TT Bolstering jabs me in the ribs. A6 Rear seats not that comfy. A8 Super roomy. Saab 92x Center armrest too low, nice shifter, lacks rear legroom 95 Gauges and center console are ugly! Comfy rear. 93 Ok, but ugly interior, which seems to be true for all Saabs. BMW 5 series Rear seats are slightly reclined, which may help explain why they are so comfy. Excellent thigh support in front (extendible?). Z4 Sits too low for my taste. 7 series OMG, lying back in the front seat with the supersoft head rest is HEAVEN! Awesome in rear as well (great thigh support and bolstering!). M3 Nice, center console uninspired, good seats. Mercedes SLK 350 Nearly perfect bolstering. CL65 Super luxury! Awesome seats, some of the best in the show.