Published by Jason October 4th, 2005
in 3.5 Stars and Nissan.
This car was a surprise. I had never driven an SE-R before, and when I saw I was going to be driving this car for a while, my first response wasn’t joy. However, this car has many layers, and there is a lot to like, and a few things to dislike.
It has a much nicer look than a standard Altima, with modified front end and a subtle body kit. Don’t miss the small fog lights peeking out of the front grill either.
The interior is actually one of my favorites in recent memory. It’s not exotic, beautiful, or really even that stylish, but Nissan does a good job giving you what you want yet not going overboard inside this car. It feels comfortable; the seats are very comfy with leather panels and an embroidered SE-R logo on the back seats reminding you it�s fast, complete with grilled racing-style pedals. The instrument panel is very clean and easy to read. Nothing is overdone and all the needed items are right where you need them. The real highlight of the dash for me though, is the thermostat controls. Very clean, very simple, very quick to adjust. Nothing is worse than trying to figure out what you need to do to simply turn the heat on�
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Published by Jason September 8th, 2005
in 3.5 Stars and Volvo.
For this week’s test I had the opportunity to drive about 1500 miles with two 700+ days of driving. I was looking forward to a more in-depth review with some opportunities not always available with other reviews. Namely, how does this car really feel after being in it for 12 hours straight. Well, when it comes to the Volvo V50, it just feels all right.
Clearly I could have done worse for this trip. I can’t imagine if I would have gotten a Nissan Titan or other ridiculously sized vehicles, or even a two-seater; the wife and I had luggage you know. But as it turns out, wagons make great road-trip cars. We filled this one with two bags of clothes, some food, and a wake board. The back seat laid down nicely and I had no problem fitting it all in. My wife and I hopped in, and we too fit well. It is definitely a smaller car though, which you notice as soon as you sit down and realize how close the passenger is to you.
The biggest and largest complaint I have about this car is that the brake pedal crowds the gas pedal, and there is little room to slide your foot past the brake pedal and onto the gas. When wearing my standard running shoes, which I wear everyday and drive all my cars in, I couldn’t get it past without lightly brushing the brake pedal. This was very annoying and I was irritated after 45 seconds in the car. Luckily, I noticed this the day before the trip, and for the long drive, brought narrower Puma sneakers, which solved the problem. However, it still very irritating to not be able to wear the shoes you want because the pedals are unnecessarily close together. My shoes are a size 12 by the way, not small, but not ginormous either.
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Published by Jason August 25th, 2005
in 3.5 Stars and Lexus.
This car ranks right up there with what you�d expect from a luxury SUV. Comfortable leather seats, large spacious interior, and a host of extras that make driving easier. However, with all of that, there isn�t really a surprise to this car, it�s exactly what you�d expect.
Unlike some other Lexus cars, this one is obviously a descendant of a Toyota, and was referred to as the �Land Cruiser� for the duration of its test. While it still looks nice, it still kind of gives it �just an expensive upgrade� look. However, I was pleased with the small, elegant lighting on the running boards that light up when you unlock the doors with the key fob (not sure if that comes with the Toyota or not). It also had good ground clearance but wasn�t too hard to climb into.
The interior was very nice. All leather, comfortable seats, wood finish and a host of options. This car had the built in navigation system that was pretty easy to use, AND, the screen doubled as a video monitor when backing up. A small camera mounted just below the rear window gave clear vision of what you were backing up into, and was pretty easy to tell how close you were to upcoming objects. �Even I could parallel park this car,� a friend exclaimed, which says a lot considering the size of the car and the sloping width that would make it difficult to really see your edges.
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Published by Jason August 12th, 2005
in 3.5 Stars and Dodge.
The Dodge Charger. What a great time for this car to be making a return to the marketplace, just weeks before the Dukes of Hazzard movie comes out and in the height of “Hemi” marketing. Yet, I wasn’t really excited to get behind the wheel as the marketing for this car really has taken my ability to like it down a notch. I don’t really see anything “unleashed” about it, but evidently, it’s there.
The first thing you really notice about this car is its size. This is not a small, sporty car. Four doors, wide stance, big curves; this car really is a throwback to the old muscle its heritage reminds us of. And when you turn the key, the pitch of the exhaust says again, “American Muscle. ”
The actual driving is fairly generic. A heavy throttle, stable steering, and stiff suspension really make this more of a car you point then steer. However, the mini-Charger-catalog that came with the car described its handling as “spirited,” I’d have to disagree. Now, maybe I don’t know what spirited is, but I think of small cheerleaders doing hand-springs, not heavy muscle cars grunting through the corners. However, your miles may vary.
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