Autoblog

What a difference 20 inches and 1,000 lbs makes. The latest occupant of the Autoblog Garage is the Mercedes Benz C63 AMG. You might recall that a few months ago we tried out one of the big dogs from the Benz lineup, the S63 AMG and came away somewhat awed by the technology but distressed by the driving experience. This time around we got the baby brother of the family and found what may well be the best driver's car in the current Daimler lineup. Ever since the C-class was born as the 190E back in the '80s, Mercedes and BMW have had a back and forth rivalry in the high performance compact sport sedan/coupe segment. As the M3 has grown and evolved over the past two decades, so to has the Stuttgart challenger.

Just like the original M3, the lineage started with the four-cylinder 16-valve 190E-2.3-16 and has grown through a succession of V6 and V8 engines. Despite the nomenclature, this latest edition is stuffed full of 6.2L of AMG V8 dripping with power and torque. Can the latest C63 finally topple the M3 from its throne? Find out after the jump.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

The all-new 2009 Hyundai Genesis sedan has been capturing more than its share of the spotlight this year. The luxury-oriented four-door sedan was launched with much ballyhoo over the summer. With a long list of standard features, a choice of six- or eight-cylinder power, and its sights pointed directly at some heavy-hitting established competition, the sedan rolled into showrooms with high expectations. After a few short introductory drives, Hyundai put both models in the Autoblog Garage so we could spend some time getting a bit more intimate with its new players. How solid is the chassis, engine and powertrain? How does the sedan hold up to the daily grind? How does the late-arrival fare against its status-laden competition? Find out after the jump.

Photos Copyright ©2008 Michael Harley / Weblogs, Inc.

After months of reviewing only family-oriented transportation, this particular blogger began a streak of judging high-horsepower sports coupes. It's damn near impossible to complain about something with more power than anyone should ever need, but after a while my family got tired of trying to shoehorn five-year-old twins into the cramped back seat of a coupe. That's why we were most relieved to see that the 2009 Chevy Traverse was ready for a run in the Autoblog Garage.

The Traverse is the latest though maybe not last Lambda crossover, and since it dons General Motors' high volume Bow Tie badging, it's likely the most significant, as well. It is GM's least expensive eight-passenger crossover while also carrying the distinction of being the most efficient and most powerful Lambda. Does that make the Traverse the best of GM's Lambda litter? We took on the massive people hauler for a week to find out for ourselves.


Photos copyright ©2008 Chris Shunk/Weblogs, Inc.

"What is it?" people will ask. They'll keep going. "It's fast, huh? How fast does it go?" The answer will disappoint them. Yes, it is fast, but when driving the Lotus Exige S240, its 150-mph top speed is not at the forefront of one's mind. Lotuses are more classically described as accurate weapons of destructed mass; light cars that handle as an extension of the driver's body. True to the roots laid down by the Europa, the Exige is a composite monocoque, carrying 1800cc of supercharged Toyota fury admidships.

Many have glommed on to the Elise and Exige as track-day toys, but we wanted to see how this most raucous of Lotuses would do as a desert island car. If all you could swing were the payments for a single car, and you got your kicks by surgically trimming apices, could the Lotus hack it? It's certainly one of the most accurate-handling street cars we've had the pleasure of driving, and it does come with such comforts as power windows, air conditioning, and an Alpine audio system with iPod interface. Sounds like the perfect everyday car for a hardcore enthusiast, doesn't it?


Photos copyright ©2008 Dan Roth/Weblogs, Inc.

Over the past decade, virtually every automaker in the world has first introduced an SUV (or two) and more recently a crossover utility vehicle (or two) in an attempt to address every possible market niche. Volkswagen is no exception, although the German brand was a relative latecomer to the party. Its first attempt, the mid-sized but decidedly heavy-weight Touareg was the first entry, and earlier this year VW added a second smaller CUV called the Tiguan. Unlike the Touareg, which was built on an all-new platform shared and co-developed with Porsche, the Tiguan is more closely related to VW's mainstream car models.

When the Tiguan was introduced in Europe at last years Frankfurt Motor Show, VW made a big deal of the fact that it was the only CUV in the world powered exclusively by "charged" engines. Technically this is not true, as the Acura RDX currently has only one powertrain available, a 2.3L turbocharged four-cylinder. Nonetheless, all five of the engines available in the European Tiguan have either turbocharging or both a turbo and supercharging. While Europeans get a choice of four-cylinder engines running on gas or diesel, buyers here in the U.S. are stuck with only the most powerful gas engine, a 200-hp turbocharged and direct-injected unit. Find out what it's like to live with VW's new compact soft-roader after the jump.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

It says something when an automaker sees fit to give the tachometer a place of prominence in the gauge cluster. "We're serious," it implies. Unamused sports cars like the Porsche 911 assign the rev counter a level of gravity beyond being a glorified "engine is running" idiot light. Fortunately, the Paprika Red Subaru Impreza GT 5-door that recently arrived in the Autoblog Garage stated its intentions clearly by placing this most important gauge in its "proper" place. New to the Impreza range, the GT model is a chafing dish full of original WRX simmering through an automatic transmission. An autobox may seem anathema to the 224 horsepower turbo-fed boxer, but we were pleased to discover that all the fun is not sopped up by a spongy tranny.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Dan Roth / Weblogs, Inc.

For the 2009 model year, Suzuki will begin offering navigation as standard equipment on all SX4 Sport models. Starting at a buck under 16K, the new 'Zook is the cheapest car in America so equipped, and that news was very well received by the media and car shoppers alike. In fact, so positive was the response, the decision was made to begin offering the GPS navigation about six months early as part of the TRIP package. We were intrigued by the idea of a low-cost commuter car coming standard with such a desirable feature, so we decided to procure one such TRIP-equipped 2008.5 SX4 Sport for testing. Is the navigation nothing more than a gimmick to get you into a sub-standard car, or does the SX4 have more going for it than just being well equipped? Read on to find out.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Jeremy Korzeniewski / Weblogs, Inc.

When the Volkswagen Touareg first arrived around five years ago, the SUV became the first production home to Volkswagen's then-new V10 TDI engine. However, as the old saw goes, "Time waits for no man"... or machine apparently. After a relatively short run, Volkswagen's 5.0L V10 turbodiesel is soon being consigned to the scrap heap of history. Increasingly stringent emissions requirements have meant that the V10 could only be sold in 45 states for the last two years with sales in the large market of California being verboten.

The Touareg will, of course, live on, and the TDI version will be transformed early next year into a new 50-state legal version using the same 3.0L diesel V6 that propels the Q7 we drove during the recent Audi Mileage Marathon. The Touareg itself was not only the first application for the diesel V10, it was also Volkswagen's first SUV. The architecture of the Touareg was developed in cooperation with long-time "friend" Porsche who happen to use the same platform for its Cayenne. Later, Audi popped out its own longer wheelbase variant as the Q7. Find out what it's like to live with this lame duck diesel beast after the jump.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Finding the ideal luxury sports car is a Goldilocks proposition: cars that fulfill either descriptive – luxury or sports – are piled high as Annapurna. For instance, the Ferrari F430 is a luxurious sports car, but it's not a luxury car. The current CL63 is a sporty luxury car, but it's not a sports car. Try to find a conveyance in which the little girl with the golden locks would sigh "This one is just right" – a car that has the sporting reflexes to keep her heart beating and a cabin supple enough for her to unwind in when the twisties are finished – and you see the field is disturbingly minuscule. Against all odds, the SL63 is that car: Goldilocks' Golden Mean. Follow the jump to find out how and why, and check out the gallery of high-res images below.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Jonathon Ramsey / Weblogs, Inc.

The world's maddest battles usually earn a brief sobriquet: Red vs. Blue, Holyfield-Tyson, Lingerie Bowl. Although the battle we'll describe today isn't finished, the clash of HUMMER vs. Any Decent Off-roader – especially HUMMER vs. Jeep – has made so much noise on Autoblog alone that we decided it was time to investigate. Not having a Jeep at our disposal, we pitted an H2 against the Toyota Landcruiser on three trails in the California desert to find out if either of them had any quit – or if they'd keep going but complain about it. Follow the jump for the answer we came up with, and check out the gallery of off-road shenanigans below.


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