Personal Picks: Sporty cars, part 2

Continuing our staff's personal insights into the October-issue sporty car test group. (Read: “Personal Picks: Sporty cars, part 1.”)

Rick Small: I was a bit disappointed in the new Subaru WRX/STi. The cars have more power but lost some of the sporty feel in acceleration and handling, thus losing some appeal. The Evo is much sportier with better low-end power and crisper handling. It is an enthusiast’s car with a stiff ride, limited driving position, and plenty of noise that may be too much for everyday use for some people. Definitely a “try before you buy.” And the Volkswagen R32 is nice. Still, I like the 135i best. It fits my tall body better than most competing models, and it’s quick, refined and sporty (but expensive). For a lot less money, the Cobalt SS is also quick, sporty and more fun to drive than you’d think.

Mike Quincy: I had the pleasure of buying the BMW 135i for the test program. When I drove it off the lot, I immediately knew this car was special. Didn’t take more than a few miles to realize that maybe (just maybe) this is the car that will help get BMW back on track. The 135i is a thrill to drive – it’s light, quick, has sensitive steering and fits me perfectly. But what turns the corner for this car is that its controls are WAY easier than any BMW we’ve tested for the last four or five years. There’s no iDrive, no confusing navigation system (although this stuff is optional…I wouldn’t bother). I wrote in the car’s logbook that the 135i is “magical.” I’ll also add that the 135i is a car that I’d drive for the rest of my life. Yes, it’s that good.

Gabe Shenhar: The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo really gets my adrenaline going and puts a big grin on my face every time I drive it. This road rocket is a true driving machine with terrific handling; it’s essentially a go-kart with four doors. But you’ve got to be the most die-hard type to endure this car with its stiff ride and frenetic highway behavior.

That’s why my pick is the BMW 135i. It’s agile and fun yet smooth in every move, whether it’s the clutch action, shifter, steering, or the punchy, linear power delivery of the twin-turbo six-cylinder engine. It rides compliantly and lets you hear only the noises you want to hear. The seat, driving position, and interior quality are first class, as in every BMW. The car is perceived as small and expensive. But since it provides such a spectacular driving experience, close to, say, a Porsche Boxster, it’s a relative bargain in my opinion.

Tom Mutchler: For me, this group of sports sedans brought a bunch of surprises:

·    It’s amazing how enjoyable the BMW 135i is to drive, even beyond the high standards set by the various automatic-equipped 3 Series models we’ve tested. As I wrote before in “From the logbook,” it’s not perfect, but it’s a whole lot of fun.

·    What isn’t a whole lot of fun is driving the Subaru WRX and STi. Going beyond the turbocharged powertrain, I enjoyed driving our base Legacy 2.5i sedan more; it had better steering and body control. Tellingly, Subaru is making major revisions to the WRX just one year after introduction. Too bad they didn’t get it right the first time.

·    The Cobalt SS is the prime automotive example of making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. I liked the supercharged version we tested in 2005, but this turbocharged model is even more fun and refined. It’s truly a welcome surprise.

·    One of the few automotive regrets I have is not buying a first-generation (1991-1994) Nissan Sentra SE-R. The new car, while likely empirically better in every way, just isn’t fun to drive.

Since we combined two price classes here, I have two picks this month. (Let’s assume I need a back seat, so a Miata is out of the running.) For $24K, I’d buy a VW GTI four-door – it’s practical, fun, and well-equipped. At $37K, I would find it very hard to resist an Infiniti G37 coupe. This gentleman’s coupe looks awesome (without all of the boy-racer flippery of the Evo or STi), has a great powertrain, and is roomier than the tight 135i.

One last surprise might be on the horizon: Could the Hyundai Genesis coupe be a contender? The specs and tentative pricing look very promising, but Hyundai isn’t known for building sports cars. We’ll see…

Comments

[david]

With 7 CR staffs writing their personal picks, I can clearly see a pattern here. Five (counting Eric's 128 as 135, and Jeff's dual pick R32/135) picked the BMW 135 as their favorite car. R32 got a couple of votes. Evo got several mentions. No surprise until Tom's write up - Tom picked the Infiniti G37 coupe. Has CR bought the G37 (and Genesis) then for testing?

The three remaining "J"s - Jake, Jennifer, Jon - have yet to published the favorite pick. Speaking of "J", we got Jake, Jeff, Jennifer, Jim, Jon ... I am changing my name to start with a "J" so I can work at CR car testing program. :-)

[Mark]

Very interested in seeing how the Genesis Sedan and Coupe do against the competition. I hope you do both the 4 cylinder and 6. I wonder if they will have different driving and tossability characteristics!

[Ms. Adrian Wiley / Mr. James Pogue]

Car purshasers, "BEWARE"! My intended and I made a joint vehicle purchase from a car dealership [EDITED], June 5th of this year. We were given an additional key fob that we discovered later that night, didn't work. The next day we purchased new batteries from CVS for it, but it still didn't work. We called the dealership, and were told to return it for another. We drove the nearly eighty mile trip to do so. We were then told it would have to be sent off somewhere to be reprogrammed, but that it would be overnighted to us to save us another trip. It has never been sent to us. Several weeks later we received a call from the dealership asking for additional monies for the tag fees, because they undercharged us. I went into attack mode, and told them since we have a contract they weren't getting another dime; the error was their responsibility, and they would have to eat the loss. However, they promised my intended they would provide him with IPod capatibility for the vehicle as consolation if we'd pay the additional tag fees. He wanted to do it so I agreed, provided they put all in writing (the final tag fee amount, and the IPod capatability promise). I sent them a certified letter restating these terms. We then agreed on a date to meet to finalize the deal. On July 7th, we again drove the almost eighty miles, and got the final tag fee in writing; there was no mention of the IPod capatibility so we asked about it. It was agreed that they would supply it, but we'd be responsible for the installation. Immediately, I wrote an addendum regarding this fact on the final tag fee letter they gave us, and they signed off on it. They still didn't have the key fob available. We never received either, and it's now September 18th. We've made many calls about it, and have been given the run-around, and have also been hung up on several times. We have left a message for the General Manager this Monday night, but never received a call back. This Tuesday, we faxed a detailed letter of explanation, and a copy of the signed addendum to this same General Manager. In it, we made it clear that we're not going to let it go, and that he had 48 hours to contact us to resolve the matter or we'd continue to contact higher-level executives, complain to the Better Business Bureau, contact the media if possible, and even bring forth a lawsuit to force their hand. Unfortunately, he never called. This is an $158 piece of equipment that we could easily afford on our own, but it's now become principle. The blatant disregard, willful disrespect, and gross unprofessionalism they've shown toward us will not be tolerated. We don't know why they've treated us this way (are they prejudice, etc.), and are shocked that all of their employees seem to act the same way in that no one takes our calls, returns our calls, or does anything to help resolve this issue. Look at how a lack of commitment toward customer satisfaction has ruined what could've been a longstanding relationship. Again, car purchasers, "BEWARE"! Does anyone have any suggestions about what we could do to make them keep their word, or are all of our bases pretty much covered? Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated.:-(

[Michael Eby]

I'm not really surprised that the Impreza isn't overly fun on pavement, because it wasn't really designed as a track car to begin with. Subaru redesigned the Impreza with a couple of goals in mind--among them, to take back the lead in rally racing (hence the shorter hatchback body style) and to make the base versions more refined and "mainstream". Judging by sales figures and recent rally results, they're on their way to meeting those goals.

Having said that, the new car's benefits would indeed appear to have come at the expense of its handling. With wide-scale criticism of the latest WRX's "softening", I agree that its recent chassis upgrades and horsepower boost are things that should have been incorporated right from the beginning.

[Tom Mutchler]

David, I've driven a G37 coupe on various occasions. Always a pleasure. Alas, we don't own one in the test fleet. The Genesis coupe isn't on sale yet, but from what I've seen (and sat in) at the auto shows and the specs, it might be a player.

The various staff members are asked to write personal picks. Some months they do, some months they don't. Depending on who you ask, there might have been another G37 vote or two.... :-)

[Derrick G]

Tom,

I think much of the tuning of Hyundais for the U.S. has been dictated from Seoul in the past, with the folks in Fountain Valley getting very little input. But that may be changing. I note the '09 Elantra sedan, Sonata, and Azera are all getting stiffer suspensions and quicker steering, so maybe after a year of criticism the Genesis coupe will be made truly sporty.

[david]

Tom, thanks for sharing the context of your experience on the G37 coupe.

The talk of Genesis brought me into a Hyundai showroom for the first time. I test drove a V6 with a $2000 package option bring the total price to $35,000. My take. Ride appears better than my old VW Passat. I don't think ride is at the E-class level, but I used different road. Handling is pretty good too for such a big car. Steering feel is a bit isolated compared to the VW Passat. Pretty impressive.

[Bob]

I admit to being a GM retiree, and proud of it. I still am amazed at CR's anti-GM and anti-US focus. The Cobalt hit the middle to high end of every criteria and was panned. Even one of the writers made positive comments but none made the article. Not asking for favors, just fairness. Comparing a $37,000 vehicle to a $24,000 vehicle is hardly equivalent. No longer surprised, just disappointed.

[Jon Linkov]

JDavid (the J is silent for your honorary inclusion in the "J" Club!)...

I didn't get my rear in gear and therefore didn't submit a personal pick this month. But in the various discussions I have had with the other Auto staff from Editorial and Tech, I have always come back to .....the GTI.

Yes, I'm an AWD fan (have owned three Audis, and currently own two) and would love, Love, LUV an AWD, 6-spd manual GTI if VW would just get a clue and bring one over. But, alas, they don't. They think we all want V6 engines and automatic transmissions with our AWD cars.

I like the 135i A LOT (even despite the three annoyances I blogged about earlier). But I have a dog and like to bike, and the 135i is too small to put my Rhodesian Ridgeback pup in, and I like a car I can just toss my bike in during those times I don't have the rack on the roof. So no 1 Series.

Yup, the GTI would be it for me. Probably the 4-door, some more aggressive springs/shocks, maybe an engine tweak or two... :-)

[Tom Mutchler]

Bob, sorry you read the article that way. There were two groups of cars tested for this article: $37k-ish high performance sports cars and (somewhat) slower $22k-$25k sports cars.

In that less expensive group, the Cobalt SS was compared with similarly priced competition like the Nissan Sentra SE-R and Subaru WRX. It was far from "panned" in the full review. While the base Cobalt sedan is indeed a lackluster car, the performance-tuned Cobalt SS is a strong competitor. We complimented its performance and handling.

It might not have made the personal pick list here - there are a lot of very good cars in this class - but it did well in our tests.

[jdavid]

Jon, thanks for the write up and for the honorary inclusion in the "J" club. LOL.

GTI is a sensible pick. I have driven one equipped with DSG. Since I am not that proficient in heel and toe shifting, I am leaning towards a DSG/DCT equipped car in my next purchase. I love the interior looks of the GTI especially the steering wheel. I might be bias since I own a B5 VW Passat.