2012 Mercedes-Benz E550 4MATIC Sedan

A new V-8 makes for a better all-weather bruiser.

Mercedes-Benz, like many other carmakers, isembracing the turbocharger en masse in reaction to calls for greater fuel efficiency. Smaller, forced-induction mills are spreading throughout the three-pointed star’s lineup; the only naturally aspirated holdouts are the company’s gasoline V-6s and the mighty 6.2-liter V-8 found in select AMG models. Although such high-tech downsizing rarely comes without a cost—be it sticker shock, underwhelming performance, or overpromised fuel-economy ratings—this 2012 E550 4MATIC sedan seems to pay no penalty.

More of a Good Thing, Less Guilt

The all-wheel-drive E550’s base price of $60,665 is decidedly not cheap, but it’s a scant $190 higher than last year’s model’s, and you now get the company’s new 4.7-liter V-8 with twin turbos and direct injection. It’s good for 402 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque from just 1800 rpm—that’s 20 hp and 52 lb-ft more than last year’s nonboosted 5.5-liter eight-cylinder.

With the aid of now standard all-wheel drive, the additional power is enough to shave at least 0.5 second off a 2010 E550’s 0-to-60-mph and quarter-mile times, with the former now taking 4.3 seconds and the latter passing in 12.8 at 112 mph. Despite the power bump and extra mass of the all-wheel-drive gear (this E550 weighed in at 4411 pounds, 173 more than the last E550 we tested), fuel economy improves from an EPA-rated 15 mpg in the city and 23 on the highway to 16/26. Our heavy-footed average increased from 16 mpg to 18 mpg, too.

Slipping Away

One difference we could do without, however, was the fitment of 18-inch Pirelli P Zero Nero all-season tires (sized 245/40) on our test car in place of the Continental ContiProContact all-seasons that were on the last E550 4MATIC we evaluated.

With the new car’s added weight and the Pirellis reducing the chassis’s grasp on the road to a gentle hug, 70-mph panic stops stretch from 169 feet to 180, and lateral grip slips from 0.86 g to a meager 0.81. Although both tires are authorized original equipment, Mercedes admits that availability at the time of production largely determines which set is installed on a particular car. Unfortunately, there’s no way to determine which brand a particular car will have until it’s off-loaded at the dealership.

Composed and Comfortable

Because the car’s other technical tweaks are limited to a new electromechanical steering setup and an updated calibration for the seven-speed automatic transmission—it is still slow to react to manual inputs from the wheel-mounted paddles—the E550’s on-road behavior remains largely the same as before. The sedan is serene and composed, its hushed refinement offering a soothing retreat for commutes and filtering out the sensation of the impressive straight-line acceleration.

But consider one of Mercedes’ AMG models if you want hair-raising fun on back roads. The E550’s stability-control intrusions are aggressive, and although the steering feels more precise than before, it remains low effort and muted in feedback. Even with the standard Sport package and a special-order Airmatic suspension ($1860)—it offers nearly indiscernible sport and comfort modes, if you’re wondering—blasting down straights is always more enjoyable than aiming for apexes.

Lightening the Wallet

With the elimination of the rear-drive and Luxury-trim variants of the E550, this particular model is the only way to get a non-AMG, V-8–powered E-class sedan for 2012, representing a $2690 increase over last year’s eight-cylinder entry point. Although a dizzying array of comfort, convenience, and safety features is standard, our test car had the $6900 Premium 2 package, with navigation, an upgraded Harman/Kardon audio system with surround sound, satellite radio, iPod integration, heated and ventilated front seats, a rearview camera, bixenon headlights with automatic high beams, keyless access and go, and much more. Also included were a $2950 Driver Assistance package (active cruise control, blind-spot assist, and lane-keeping assist), the Airmatic suspension upgrade, a parking-guidance system ($970), a driver’s seat with active bolsters and massage ($660), a heated steering wheel ($490), split-folding rear seats ($440), and $720 worth of Steel Grey paint, for a grand total of $75,655.

Options notwithstanding, the E550’s base fee is about $4500 less than that of the all-wheel-drive and similarly powerful BMW 550i xDrive. (We’ve yet to test an xDrive variant, but the fleetest 550i Bimmer we’ve sampled trailed this E-class by a half-second to 60.) The Mercedes interior feels statelier, too, although it’s slightly less attractive.

The Mercedes’ minimal gains in efficiency alone won’t save the polar bears, but the E550’s updates let us be more, um, responsible citizens while savoring all the good stuff offered by a gutsy, twin-turbo V-8. We’d have felt even better if our car’s tires had offered up as much enjoyment.

taken from :
http://www.caranddriver.com

2012 Chevrolet Caprice PPV interior

2012 Chevrolet Caprice PPV

A Pontiac G8 in a polyester sport coat.

When, in the throes of bankruptcy, GM ditched its Pontiac brand, the G8 sedan went with it. The good news: That estimable car came back. The bad news: It’s only for cops.

The ’12 Caprice PPV (Police Patrol Vehicle) powerslides into an era of rare upheaval in the cop-car business. Ford’s Crown Victoria, the body-on-frame stalwart of taxicab and police-car duty, has ascended to that great 24-hour garage in the sky, providing new and exciting fleet-sales opportunities for such unconventional cherry tops as the front-drive Impala. The Caprice (along with the Dodge Charger Police Pursuit Vehicle) represents the segment’s recidivist tendencies: big V-8s up front, powered rear wheels. Hell, the Caprice even has optional wheel covers that’ll fly off during chases.

The pinched front end, with its anachronistically small grille, opposes a rear that steals its horizontal theme from the current Impala. Both revised end caps are designed to provide higher vagrant clearance. But see the car in silhouette and you’ll quickly make out the G8’s bone structure through the Caprice’s sheet steel.

Anonymous styling is a boon for undercover work.

It gets a 3.7-inch stretch between its axles, which gives scofflaws plenty of room to luxuriate—at 112 cubic feet, it’s bigger inside than either theFord Taurus–based Interceptor or the Charger cop cars. And even though it employs a unibody rather than the easy-fixing construction of the Crown Vic, fleet managers will love concessions to swapability such as the bolted rather than welded front crossmember.

We drove the Detective model, with its cloth seats, as opposed to the Patrol model, rendered in fluid-resistant vinyl. Both are available with either a 301-hp version of GM’s 3.6-liter, direct-injected V-6 or (for no extra charge) the G8 GT’s 355-hp, 6.0-liter OHV V-8. A six-speed automatic, installed in both, has a gear-holding sport—nay, pursuit—mode, just like the G8 did.

Because it wore the more basic Detective trim, our press car didn’t have any cool Five-O stuff on it—no partition grate, no lights, and, critically, no rifle holder—but evidence of  the cabin’s copification is everywhere. The front seats are scalloped around the love handles to accommodate utility belts, and the Patrol model has an offset shift lever to clear monitors and the like. An optional auxiliary battery can supplement the standard 700-CCA (cold-cranking amps) unit to help keep lights, computers, and recreational tasers juiced up. The entire driver zone, with its cruller-proof plastic steering wheel and just-the-facts-ma’am AM/FM/CD stereo, feels like a single, vast injection-molded piece, a stark but utilitarian carrier for police-communication equipment. Unfortunately, though, the rear is so roomy and the tumblehome so slight that cops will really have to work to slam a perp’s head into the roof. Here’s hoping that the partition will facilitate this important aspect of police work.

A moment behind the wheel is enough to recognize this as the car born in Australia as a Holden and sent here as the last great Pontiac. The leather-lined cabin may be gone, but what we loved about it before is still here. The ergonomic relationships—pedals, wheel, minor controls—are first-rate, and visibility out is quite good despite the cricket bats posing as A-pillars. Its real appeal, though, is its dynamic integrity, its virtuous and controllable rear-wheel-drive behavior, its quiet and stiff structure. The steering is linear and uncorrupted by power; the heavy-duty brakes are stout and fade-free (even if the cop tires conspire to keep stopping distances at 175 feet); and the spring-stiffened Caprice still loves to get its long wheelbase sideways.

In acceleration tests, the PPV mirrors the G8 GT very closely. It’s off by just a tenth of a second to 60 mph and in the quarter-mile, where it posts 5.3 and 13.9 at 103 mph, respectively. In braking, the Pontiac, shod with Bridgestone Potenza RE050As, beat the PPV  by a significant 12 feet from 70 mph, even though lateral grip is equivalent at 0.84 g. So, if you were to drive, say, a ­Mustang V-6, a Caprice might take you at the line, but you would beat it through corners. This information may prove either helpful or extremely ruinous.

Still, you might wonder why we’re reviewing a car most of us will experience only from the back seat. It’s because this cruiser is a stalking-horse for Chevy’s next rear-wheel-drive sedan, which will wear civilian duds. It will be based on a new version of the Caprice’s Zeta platform, and it will be called Super­ Sport. It will also be the inspiration for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup racer.  And, irony of ironies, there will be a cop version, too

taken from :
http://www.caranddriver.com

2012 Honda Civic EX-L sedan

2012 Honda Civic Sedan and Coupe

The Honda Civic goes mainstream—and leaves us behind.

Honda sells so many Civics that if the car were counted as a brand, it would be the 12th largest in the United States. More Civics went to new homes in the U.S. last year than did Volkswagens or Mazdas. With sales numbers like that, it’s not too much of a surprise that Honda is playing a conservative hand with the redesigned 2012 Civic.

When the previous-generation Civic arrived in 2006, the swept-back windshield and the futuristic styling were a bit of a shock. It has taken us practically the car’s entire life cycle to grow accustomed to the look. Honda designers aren’t taking the same kind of chance again. What we see for 2012 is a careful evolution of the past Civic. Actually, it’s almost more of a devolution, a step toward conformity. All the subtle changes—the longer hood, the sculpted bumpers, and the larger taillights—make the Civic look more conventional than before. They also improve its aerodynamics. Honda claims a lower coefficient of drag, in part thanks to the styling revisions but also because of a smaller grille opening and a flat underbody.

Still Alien Inside

Inside, the Civic keeps the two-tier instrument display that puts the digital speedometer above the analog tachometer. Like the exterior, the interior is immediately familiar yet new. Plastic quality improved slightly, and there is interesting rice-paper-like graining on the door panels. Thinner A-pillars aid forward visibility, and new seats feel more supportive—mercifully, they have less-intrusive lumbar support. A new five-inch display is standard on all models above the most basic DX trim level. Dubbed the “intelligent Multi-Information Display,” the screen sits to the right of the speedometer and gives trip computer, audio, clock, and (on cars so equipped) navigation information.

Although the sedan’s 105.1-inch wheelbase is now 1.2 inches shorter, rear legroom increases by 1.6 inches. Overall length, height, and width all remain unchanged, but the Civic feels wider and more spacious inside. Honda claims shoulder room has increased by nearly three inches. The front passenger certainly feels farther away than before. According to the EPA, the new Civic sedan has 94.7 cubic feet of space inside. That works out to about four more than in last year’s car.

Civic coupes have an even shorter 103.2-inch wheelbase, 1.1 inches shorter than the outgoing model’s. Interior space falls slightly from 83.7 cubic feet to 83.2, or 82.6 with a sunroof. From the front seat, the coupe feels just as spacious as the sedan. The reduction in cubic feet must have come at the expense of the back seat, which we didn’t try to climb into. Would you?

Same Size but Drives Larger

Once we were under way, the impression of increased size and a more substantial feel continued. Tweaks to the strut front and multilink rear suspension yield more travel and a slightly smoother ride. Large impacts seem more distant than before and are absorbed by a unibody structure that is slightly more rigid. Not only is it stiffer, but it’s also slightly lighter than before. The greatest weight loss, 58 pounds, occurs in the EX-L sedan. Other versions are between 20 and 55 pounds lighter than they were last year.

Modifications to the electric power steering include a slower ratio and a rack that is more rigidly mounted. Compared with its predecessor, the new Civic turns into corners with less authority, which adds to the car’s larger feel. The electric power steering is very numb, providing less feedback than before. Overall, the car’s stiffer body, increased sound deadening, and sleepier steering are more about maturity than playfulness. There’s a greater sense of isolation from the road, and drivers who equate isolation with luxury will appreciate the changes. Drivers who relished the small-car—almost sports-car-like—personality of the Civic might be disappointed.

Don’t I Know You? And You?

With the exception of the performance Si model and the fuel-sipping hybrid, every Civic sedan and coupe (DX, LX, EX, and EX-L) will have a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine with 140 hp and 128 lb-ft of torque. (The natural-gas-burning GX also uses the 1.8.) Essentially a carry-over from the previous generation, the engine does enjoy a few changes that add a bit more torque down low and reduce internal friction. The four-cylinder still spins happily, but less of the noise enters the cabin. Without that noise, the engine doesn’t seem to be working as hard as it did in the ’11 Civic.

Another carry-over part is Honda’s five-speed automatic transmission, an $800 option on the lower two trim levels, DX and LX, and standard on all others. A few updates like reduced friction and more-eager torque-converter-lockup programming help boost fuel economy to 28 mpg city and 39 highway for automatic models. (Last year’s automatic returned 25 city and 36 highway.) Meanwhile, purists will be a little disappointed that the five-speed manual can only muster 28 city and 36 highway, up from 26/34.

Buyers seeking even higher fuel-economy numbers will want to consider the hybrid model or the new Civic HF. Available only as a sedan with the automatic, the HF adds lightweight aerodynamic wheels, a small trunklid spoiler, a few more underbody panels, and extremely low-rolling-resistance tires that bump highway fuel economy to 41 mpg; the city number rises by 1 mpg, to 29.

Pricing for the 2012 Civic is largely unchanged from the 2011 model’s. The cheapest version, the DX coupe, starts at $16,355; its sedan counterpart starts $200 higher at $16,555. The LX adds important items such as A/C, power locks, and cruise control, as well as $2050 to the sticker of both the coupe and sedan. For $20,455 (coupe) or $21,255 (sedan), the EX heaps a sunroof, an upgraded stereo, and another 12-volt power outlet on top of the LX. (EX coupes are available with the manual, but EX sedans only come with the automatic.) Another $1500 nets an EX with nav—and removes the option of a stick in the coupe—and $1450 more gets an EX-L—L for leather. If you want nav and leather, it’s going to set you back $24,205 for a coupe or sedan.

Nope; Guess I Don’t Know You

With the latest Civic, Honda has gambled that moving away from sportiness and towards quiet comfort will suit its buyers. Honda hasn’t hedged its bets into the boring realm of the Toyota Corolla, but it’s certainly an unadventurous effort. Aside from being quieter and more efficient, the new Civic doesn’t represent improvement as we define it. The Civic lacks the passion, soul, and entertaining driving dynamics of its predecessor. Mainstream buyers may not care, but enthusiasts surely will

taken from :

http://www.caranddriver.com