Sport
7 Things Learned From a Week with the 2014 Range Rover Sport V8 Supercharged
The most athletic Range Rover on the roster is all-new for 2014. We spent a bit of time with the Sport in Detroit earlier this year, but we were left wondering how this split-personality SUV would fare on the city streets of Los Angeles and along the twisting canyon roads of the San Gabriel Mountains. Range Rover Sports of the past garnered a reputation that preceded them, for better or for worse depending on who you talk to. But regardless of what context you’re referring to the 2014 V8 Supercharged model in, the fact that it’s got a whole new bag of tricks isn’t up for debate. To go along with our POV test drive through Los Angeles and along Angeles Crest Highway, we’ve put together a list of some of the new SUV’s most notable highlights.
Driven: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
For 2013, though, the Elantra Touring has been replaced by this, the Elantra GT. Right off the bat, though, we were skeptical of this new body style. While the old Touring was a dedicated wagon, the Elantra GT is technically a five-door hatch, and it loses cargo volume accordingly. It’s down from a maximum 65.3 cubic feet to 51 cubic feet, although with the second row up, there’s less of a sacrifice, only 1.3 cubic feet is lost (23 cubic feet versus 24.3 in the old model). Overall interior volume is down from 125.5 to 119 cubic feet.
First Look: 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG
This is the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG. Based off the new-for-2013 GL550, It may be the fastest seven-passenger vehicle money can buy.
First Look: 2013 Lincoln MKS
Lincoln’s Ford Taurus-based MKS is getting a refresh for 2013. The standard 3.7-liter V-6 will now net 300 horsepower, a 26-horsepower gain from 2012. Despite the added power, highway fuel economy is up 3 miles per gallon to 28 highway (and 19 city) mpg.
First Look: 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG
If there’s one thing that Mercedes-Benz has taught us over the last few years, it’s that the suffix “63 AMG” is a powerfully entertainingly one. Certainly the C- and E-Class get along fine with AMG-tuned V-8 engines, and given what a leap forward we found the basic ML this summer, we expect the high-po version to be the best driver’s SUV in the history of the model. (Small expectations, yes?)
Driven: 2012 Subaru Impreza
The night before we were to drive it, Subaru gave us a presentation on the new Impreza, detailing what made this vehicle a better machine than the generation before it, as well as giving us a chance to finally meet the vehicle in person. The 2012 model ditches the 2.5-liter engine for a new 2.0-liter boxer four, providing 148 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. This allows for a significant increase in fuel economy (27 city, 36 highway mpg for cars equipped with the continuously variable transmission), without sacrificing speed. In fact, the new Impreza is capable of hitting 60 miles per hour from a standstill in under 10 seconds—not amazing, but better than before.
First Look: 2010 BMW 5-Series
BMW unveiled its all new, sixth-generation 5-Series today in Munich, Germany, bringing to an end a lengthy wait to have a first look at the new car, and instantly offering a stern competitor for the recently launched Mercedes-Benz E-Class line.
Driven: Showdown – Mustang GT, Infiniti G37, And BMW 328i Convertibles
For some time now we’ve been doing brief, direct comparisons of test cars at the request of our readers. Naturally, anyone considering a car will have a short list of other cars that are considered competitive. We think the information requested has been helpful, so we’re formalizing the idea in a new series called Showdown. This is the first article in this series, so let us know what you think, in comments.
Someone shopping for a convertible around the $40k mark would probably have at least one of these cars in mind. Since these three cars are full of surprises, we thought it would be useful to cover them in Showdown format as a way of highlighting the choices buyers face. Note that to keep these three cars within shouting distance of each other, we tested the Mustang GT Premium with manual transmission against the base G37 and the base 328i convertible (which was only available for test with an automatic).
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