2011 Volkswagen Golf Overviews

Volkswagen Golf

The Volkswagen Golf cant really be called sexy, but there are some classy details baked into its three- and five-door bodies--particularly around the rear door cuts. The interiors solidly designed and built, more so than VWs own Jetta sedan that shares the Golfs assembly line.

Inside, the dash has been refined with subtle aluminum trim, a new three-spoke steering wheel and HVAC controls. The cabin is spacious, but three-door models have the usual problem of stuffing passengers easily into the rear seat. Both models do offer a generous cargo area that’s expands easily with the 60/40 split folding rear seats.

All Golfs use engines familiar to the Volkswagen family: base cars use the 2.5-liter five-cylinder that produces 170-hp and an equal amount of torque. In the three-door, that engine uses a five-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic transmission, while five-doors only get the auto.

The TDI is marginally slower than the 2.5 to highway speeds, but in-gear acceleration is remarkable. The suspension still features MacPherson struts up front with a four-link independent setup in the rear, but the TDI’s gets retuned to offer a sportier feel standard. The four-wheel disc brakes are solid with good pedal feel, and every Golf gets ABS with brake assist and brake-pressure distribution to ensure stops are made swiftly and securely.

Compared to its rivals, the Golf offers refinement and a sense of quality that’s hard to find in North American or Asian compacts. There are, however, definite competitors on the horizon that hope to challenge Volkswagen’s perceived quality.

Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options
The 2011 Volkswagen Golf is a compact hatchback offered in either two- or four-door configurations and in one of two trim levels: 2.5L or TDI. With either trim level, four-door models gain power-reclining front seats.

The TDI models can be equipped with adaptive xenon headlights, a premium Dynaudio sound system, a navigation system and (on four-door models) rear seat airbags.

The base 2011 Volkswagen Golf 2.5L is powered by a 2.5-liter five-cylinder that produces 170 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. These Golf models are classified as partial-zero-emissions vehicles (PZEV) when sold in states with California emissions standards. The EPA estimates fuel economy at 23 mpg city/30 mpg highway and 26 mpg combined for the automatic and 22/30/25 mpg for the manual.
A six-speed manual transmission is standard and a six-speed dual-clutch automated manual (DSG) is optional.

Safety
The 2011 VW Golfs standard safety features include antilock disc brakes, stability control, front-seat side airbags and full-length head curtain airbags. Rear-seat side airbags are unavailable on two-door models, but are optional on four-door models.

Interior Design and Special Features
Simply replacing the VW logo on the Golfs steering wheel with four rings would convince you that you were in an Audi. Thats how nice the Golfs interior is. The Golf is actually much nicer than the new 2011 VW Jetta sedan.

Whether you choose the two- or four-door route, the Golfs interior passenger space remains the same. Access to the two-door Golfs rear seats is made relatively painless thanks to front seats that slide easily out of the way. The split-folding rear seats bump that figure up to 46 cubes.

Driving Impressions
The 2011 Volkswagen Golfs high level of interior refinement is echoed in its composed, solid feel on the road. At highway speeds, the Golf is significantly quieter than other hatchbacks. The Golfs gasoline engine provides smooth power throughout the rev range.

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2011 Nissan Quest Overviews

2011 Nissan Quest

Car reviewers say that the 2011 Nissan Quest is a decent minivan, but others in the class are simply better.
It’s tough to beat a minivan when it comes to practicality, and unfortunately for the 2011 Nissan Quest, it’s tough to beat class-leading minivans like the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna. Reviewers say that the redesigned Nissan Quest is a good minivan.

The Quest is available in front-wheel drive only.
With the Mississippi-made 2004 Quest, Nissan attacked America’s minivan market using the latter strategy.
The 2004 Nissan Quest was designed with the American market in mind. The 2011 is a rebadged JDM Nissan Elgrand. Either the Japanese domestic market likes big butts, or someone in Nissan’s design staff does, because the new minivan’s styling accentuates el Grande backside. There’s a reason the D-pillars aren’t usually blacked out on minivans. Ditto the rarity of high beltlines in the segment. They don’t get much higher than the new Quest’s, and the minivan’s sides appear unusually tall as a result.

Though it’s been 16 years since Honda introduced the first stowable seat with the Odyssey, the industry continues to struggle with how to handle the seats in a minivan. Nissan’s solution with the new Quest: fold them flat atop the floor, SUV style. In all fairness, the former figure excludes a large, 11-cube storage compartment beneath the Quest’s rear floor.

Precise manual control over the CVT, present in some Nissans, is absent here. The revised Dodge Grand Caravan stakes out the firm, tight extreme of the minivan handling spectrum. The Nissan’s steering is unusually light and numb, even by minivan standards, and the pillow-soft suspension tuning permits copious lean in even moderate corners. Even a Toyota Sienna is a driving machine in comparison.
Honda has worked hard to justify the high price of its minivan. First-generation Infiniti M sedan? Fourth-generation Nissan Quest?

The newest arrival is Nissan’s fourth generation Quest, which is totally redesigned and reengineered.
Box on wheels Quest is, despite Nissan’s designer’s best efforts to convince our eyes that Quest is not just such a box. Instead, Nissan designers emphasized the linebacker muscularity Quest’s front face presents and concentrated on visually slimming the sides and rear, an auto designer’s equivalent of vertically striped sweaters and suits. Every Quest features three rows of seats with the second and third rows folding flat to create a completely flat load floor that appears suitable for moving refrigerators and dogsleds.

There are no hefty, bulky second row seats to strain your back during removal, nor garage space needed for seat storage. Just push a lever and second row seats fold. Seating in the third row is comfortable, even with the second row pushed back and tilted towards your knees. Second row seating is similar; it tilts and slides and offers decent knee room.

A minor quibble is that, when tilting the second row forward for third row access, the second row does not anchor for entry support. Nissan Quest uses a hands free key and push button start system. Entry and exit are easy, and the seat height allows an easy step in, no ladders or jumping. Safety is arguably the most important selling point for family vehicles and tire inflation is an under-appreciated aspect of safety. Bad things happen when tires loose even 10% of their pressure, affecting vehicle stability and handling response. Tire pressure monitoring (TPMS) systems are mandated and can warn you of low tire pressure. Power, braking, and steering response are active aspects of safety, the fundamental mechanicals that provide power and grace. In short, Quest is roomy, strikingly designed, and very family friendly.

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2011 Porsche Panamera Turbo S Overviews

2011 Porsche Panamera Turbo S

Porsche has raised the bar for sporty four door luxury cars with the 2011 Porsche Panamera Turbo S. Its 4.8 liter V8 biturbo engine delivers 550 hp, 50 hp more than the already very powerful Porsche Panamera Turbo.  In the Sport and Sport Plus mode of the standard Sport Chrono Package Turbo and during kick-down in normal mode, the eight cylinder engine delivers fully 800 Nm with the so-called over boost function.

The addition of the new base model, 300 horsepower V6-powered Porsche Panamera was intended to broaden the range from its previously limited-to-V8 approach while simultaneously offering both a lower (entry) price point and improved fuel economy. This new engine is no slouch, even finding its routes in the V8 engine powering more expensive models - sans two cylinders.Modified engine control and improvements in the turbo charger are two key reasons for enhanced performance of the car.

The Porsche Panamera is 76 inches in width, making it an especially wide sedan. The Porsche Panamera measures 55.8 inches in height and 195.7 inches in length. This engine has direct fuel injection, infinitely variable intake camshaft adjustment with variable valve lift, an on-demand oil pump, water cooling with thermal management, a variable intake manifold and Auto Start Stop.

Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), (standard on all Porsche Panamera models), varies damper forces in an infinite process and adjusts the dampers to road conditions and the driver’s style of motoring. Incorporating adaptively controlled dampers with infinite adjustment of damper forces, PASM allows the driver, through the PASM button on the center console, to choose among three control maps – Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus.

Sport Plus thrills with the performance and agility of a full-fledged Porsche sports car.
Panamera is available with Servotronic speed-sensitive power steering which functions at high speeds by keeping the steering firm and taut. The Porsche Panamera comes equipped with eight airbags, including dual front, side-impact and curtain airbags

When the driver selects Sport or Sport Plus mode (the Sport Chrono package is standard), the ECU will allow over boost to 590 pound-feet of torque. With standard all-wheel drive, Porsche says the Panamera Turbo S will sprint to 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds (knowing Porsche, that’s conservative) and deliver a terminal velocity of 190 mph.

The interior features standard bi-color leather upholstery (black/cream is an exclusive Turbo S combo) and Agate Gray Metallic is a new exclusive exterior color. The Porsche Panamera Turbo S goes on sale this spring.

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2011 Mazda2 Overviews

2011 Mazda2

The 2011 Mazda2 hopes to bring some of the "zoom-zoom" driving Mazda is known for to the mushrooming subcompact class.

One of those is the Mazda2. The 2011 Mazda2 has seating for five in a compact hatchback body. The Mazda2 makes some sacrifices -- cargo space is small -- but in return it promises buyers a super-cute urban runner with good city fuel economy and a nice interior. "The Mazda 2 is not a breakthrough performance,” Edmunds explains.

Buyers who’ve waited to buy a super small car are in luck. If youre interested in the Mazda2, you should also check out the Mini Cooper -- but bear in mind that the Cooper, though it offers excellent performance, starts at about $4,000 more than the Mazda2.

The Mazda2 has two trims: Sport and Touring. The Touring trim adds nicer cloth seats, cruise control, a six-speaker stereo and steering-wheel mounted stereo controls. The 2011 Mazda2 Sport starts at $14,730 and the Touring model starts at $16,185.

Now you can add the 2011 Mazda 2 to that list of price-conscious hatchbacks. On the plus side, the Mazda 2 is quite sporty to drive, and indeed this is one area where Mazda is quite proud of its new entry-level car. The list of standard and available features for the Mazda is quite short, too.

Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options
The 2011 Mazda 2 is a five-passenger, four-door subcompact hatchback that is available in two trim levels -- Sport and Touring. The Sport comes standard with 15-inch steel wheels with wheel covers, air-conditioning, full power accessories, a tilt steering wheel and a four-speaker CD/MP3 audio system with an auxiliary input jack.

The 2011 Mazda 2 is powered by a 1.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine that produces 100 horsepower and 96 pound-feet of torque. The EPA estimates fuel economy at 29 mpg city/35 mpg highway and 32 mpg combined for the manual transmission and 27/33/29 mpg for the automatic.

Safety
Standard safety features for the 2011 Mazda 2 include antilock brakes (discs in front/drums in rear), front-seat side airbags, side curtain airbags and stability and traction control. The 2011 Mazda 2s interior is comparable to other hatchbacks in this economical price range. With those rear seats in place, cargo capacity is 13.3 cubic feet, which is small for a hatchback.

This European-flavored North American city made an appropriate setting for our first drive of the Mazda Mazda2, a car aimed at small-car buyers in densely populated urban centers.

Now Mazdas updated version (they call it the third generation) for the U.S. market and Fords first—the Mexican-built Fiesta—arrive almost simultaneously. Mazdas 1.5-liter twin-cam four is rated at exactly 100 hp, 20 hp less than Fords 1.6-liter Duratec. It pairs to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic.

Mazdas 29 city/35 mpg highways rating with the manual makes it the most fuel-efficient car the company has ever offered in North America.

Not quite offsetting the power output and transmission differences, though, is that Mazda has been far more diligent about paring weight from the Mazda2. The five-door hatchback (Mazda doesnt offer the four-door sedan that is Fords base model) weighs only 2306 pounds with the manual gearbox, and 53 pounds more with the automatic. Thats about 250 pounds lighter than the Ford and a crucial element of Mazdas effort to give its car street creed, despite the power disadvantage.

The low-inertia motor and tuning of the electric power steering made it just about the best unit weve experienced in a front-wheel-drive car in terms of feel and precision. The car felt agile and lively and carved through the corners admirably.

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