Test Drives: Fiat 500, Chevy Volt, Ford Explorer and F-150
It was foggy with a sprinkling of rain, but I didn't care. It was my annual spring day to catch up with new car models not yet driven. Even in the rain, driving the curvy mountain roads of Bear Mountain State Park, north of New York City, is always serious fun.
The International Motor Press Association's Spring Brake event gave me a chance to check out Chrysler Group's recently-released Fiat 500 and the small-car Hyundai Elantra, as well as revisit the plug-in Chevrolet Volt. In bigger vehicles, I drove the redesigned Ford Explorer and tried out the new V-6 engine in its F-150 pickup.
Here are some impressions from the test drives:
Fiat 500
I knew it looked cute, but would it be fun to drive? Just getting in was already putting me in a fun mood: The new 500 has a splash of red all across the dashboard to match the exterior color. And the Fiat engineers clearly had winding mountain roads like this in mind: The "Sport" setting adjusts the suspension for tighter handling. The 500 cruised through those switchback curves like a much more expensive sport sedan, even though this model starts at just $17,500.
Ideally, the 1.4-liter, four-cylinder, 101 horsepower engine would be a bit more powerful, but that is part of the tradeoff for improved gas mileage; the 500 is rated at 30 mpg in city driving, 38 on the highway. (Later in the day I drove the BMW 535 is, and was reminded what of plenty of power feels like - more on that in a little bit.) But the Fiat 500 has a bit of the flavor of BMW's smaller corporate sibling, the Mini Cooper. And that comparison is high praise among small cars.
Next: Hyundai Elantra
Hyundai Elantra
Hyundai's design overhaul took the 2011 Elantra from just a mundane small car to a great-looking contender in this class. The gray test car with a comfortable, handsome gray and black interior looked the part. Its acceleration won't wow you, and it was not gobbling up those curves like the Fiat 500. But that is not why you buy an Elantra. Its precise steering and braking, comfortable ride and -above all -gas mileage rated at 29 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway make it every bit the comfortable commuter.
Next: Chevrolet Volt
Chevrolet Volt
It is always worth a second ride in a breakthrough car - especially in the case of the Volt, since my first encounter with it was brief, and only on city streets.
Interestingly, after a morning of intense driving by a herd of car writers, the Volt had run out of battery charge -- but was still going with its gas-powered generator. It still glides away silently from a stop, powered just by its regenerative braking technology, but then a low engine noise kicks in. With the cell-phone-like battery symbol empty, the dash indicator had switched to showing me how far I could drive before refilling with gas -- 210 miles when I set out.
On the drive up the mountain roads, the Volt was not exciting but felt competent. But here's the point about the Volt that may give it an advantage with buyers: The all electric Nissan Leaf -- after also being driven hard all morning -- had to be retired for charging. The Volt drove on under gasoline power.
Next: Ford Explorer
Ford Explorer
Once the king of SUV sales, the Explorer had come to seem outdated until its 2011 redesign. Much more comfortable than its truck-based predecessor, the new Explorer also has better road manners; it wound through the hilly curves at Bear Mountain with reasonable aplomb, especially for a large vehicle. The electric power assist steering seemed precise.
The Explorer does offer a V-8 engine, but the 290-horsepower V-6 in this test car seemed more than adequate, with a decent rating of 17 mpg city, 25 highway. I didn't take the Explorer off-road, but other reviewers have pronounced it competent there as well.
Next: Ford F-150
Ford F-150
With its twin-turbo V-6 Ecoboost engine, Ford set out to convince pickup buyers -- notable lovers of burly V-8s -- that real men can like V-6s. The 365-horsepower Ecoboost showed plenty of boost when I hit the accelerator, and was noticeably more powerful than a standard Ford V-6, which I had just tried in the Explorer. For a pickup with a high center of gravity, the F-150 also behaved respectably winding uphill through the Bear Mountain curves.
And not only will it go fast, it will pull heavy loads. The V-6 towing capacity is rated at 11,300 pounds, and reviewers who have tried a tow found it held its own with the V-8s.
Apparently, this argument is working with buyers. Ford executives say more than half of F-150 buyers are choosing the V-6, with its mpg ratings of 17 city, 23 highway. The V-6 version of the F-150 starts at $22,790.
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