Chevrolet Volt test drive. Part one.

 I got the Volt yesterday. For a week.
It had an EV range of 45 miles when delivered to me. (Not the full 53 I was hoping for...)

Still, plenty for a few day-drives.
I was curious about the gas mileage when the car is not in EV mode.
So I used the "hold" mode, which saves "the juice" for later. A very cool feature.

 As you can see. For these few miles, MPG was very impressive.
But I also noticed that it did use some of that juice. By the end of the day, in the "hold" mode, my total EV range was only about 39 miles...
(The picture above was taken today, after charging)

At the end of the day, I plugged it in. At a regular 120 outlet. So technically, it should take about 13 hrs to get a full charge.

Which I didn't need since it still said "39".

But, about 13hrs later, I was still at "just"  49 miles. Not the 53 miles advertised for the full charge.

Maybe that plug at the lot where I parked the car was defective? Or something else...

Who knows.

 
 The rear hatch is really big. And quite heavy.
But the inside cover is just a rather flimsy cloth sheet. Unlike the solid stuff found in most other hatchbacks. Maybe to save weight?

 Someone was asking me about rear legroom. so here it is.
I am 5'11" and drive pretty far from the steering wheel, and that's what's left behind me.
Which isn't bad. Technically, the new Volt has a bit more rear legroom.

And here is what it looks like whith an actual super good looking human.

Someone was also asking about visibility. 

And I was mentioning the rather high position of the rear window.

So this is what it looks like when you turn around. 

Not that you really need to, since it comes with a back up camera.

So far there is plenty of power all the time. If you drive in a relaxed manner, the engine almost never comes on during normal city driving.

And when it does, it is much quieter than before. It just seems to be far away...

Next, I will try to compare MPG when the battery is completely empty.

And, of course, check the actual range of the full EV mode.

GMC Yukon Denali XL Test Drive

The current Yukon/Tahoe/Suburban might be only a little over 2 years old, but they are already super popular.
Around L.A, they are pretty much everywhere.

Last year, GM sold over 152000  Tahoes/Suburbans, and over 71000 Yukons/Yukon XL.
Which is quite amazing.

They also seem to have replaced the TownCar as the favorite choice as a luxury ride to the airport.
(Or to the local Sleazy Hollywood "PullDown" club)
And they do look quite handsome. In a big brick sort of way.

The interior is nice too. Although I am still not sure why they still use the old 70's style column shifter. (Obvious cost saving?) But I got used to it pretty quickly. Even though it does cheapen the whole interior feel and look.

That interior is otherwise pretty nice.
 But, there are still a few cheap plastic bits here and there.
And the fake wood does a great job at... looking fake.

The Bose stereo sounded really good. But the interface got quite annoying a few times.
Like going back to shuffle without being asked to do so. Or just stop playing stuff altogether. etc...

The seats were surprisingly flat and hard.
(Quite a surprise to me since most GM seats are now really good)

Here is a shot of that beautiful "wood like thing".

And, of course. It is super roomy. Front and back. Even the 3rd row seats.

And the back in the long version (Similar to the Suburban) has a huge truck. And a giant space when all the seats are flat.
(That's pretty much the point of getting something that huge isn't it...)

On the road, it is, of course, very quiet.
But, the big 6.2 Liter V8 wasn't as super smooth and quiet as the smaller 5.3 Liter unit available in its Tahoe twin. (or the regular "non Denali" Yukon)

The new 8 speed transmission is mostly fine. But can also be a bit rough at really low speed around town.

The 6.2 Liter Yukon is rated at 14/21 MPG for the 4WD version I had for a week.
I could only get 12MPG in the city. And I was trying very hard...
But got 23 on the Highway.

The ride is pretty smooth, but not as isolated as I thought it would be.
It always lets you know that, no matter how much money you spent, this is still a truck, not a car.

Talking about price, the Denali version I had was priced at $78 825.
Which included about $8000 worth of options.

For my money, I would skip the Denali altogether and get the regular Yukon.
You can still get la loaded version with leather, sunroof etc... And the smoother 5.3 Liter engine
And save around $15 000.

This is something I had to try.
The "Camping in the Yukon" night. And it works. There is more than enough room behind the front seats for an inflatable mattress for 2 people.
And all the extra stuff you need for a cool camping night by the beach.

And with a total of 3 screens, it was a great way to watch the Larry Sanders show again.

Chevrolet Trax test drive

 The little Trax is pretty familiar by now.
I remember back when GM didn't want to sell it in the US. (For a while it was sold in Europe and Canada. While the US was only getting the Buick Encore version)

But with a bunch of newcomers like the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3, GM needed something cheaper than the Encore in that segment.

I do like the look of the Trax. It reminds me of a little bulldog. And I actually got nice comments from strangers about the "Orange Rock Metallic" color.

 Inside, everything is just fine. Simple and well laid out.

The version I had for a week was an LT FWD. So seats didn't have leather.
But the vinyl/cloth combo looked good. And they were very comfortable.

The Bose stereo (part of the well worth $1400 Sun & Sound package) sounded great.

 The only thing I really hated inside was the stupid placement of the USB plug.
Inside the top glove compartment. So you either cannot see your phone. Or you have to leave the compartment open for the wire.
Pretty bad.

Maybe things will be better once Apple Car Play is offered on the Trax. (Or just move the USB to the console!)

 The back seat is pretty much what you'd except in a compact.
It's actually fine for most people.

 A roomy truck is what you get.

 On the road, the first thing I noticed, was a pretty bad case of the "video game style steering feel".
I guess most people don't mind anymore. Since it reminds them of the games they play all day.

I still have a problem with it...(Maybe because I don't play video games...)

But, as usual. I did get used to it. Kind of.
The Trax is very easy to drive. The engine feels pretty "peppy". At least around town.
And I never had problems on the freeway.

The ride is always very comfortable. The car feels really solid on any road. (Although the doors feel a bit tiny when you close them)
The whole thing was also very quiet all the time.

The Trax is rated at 26City/34HWY. After a week of driving I did get 26 in the city.
But had no problem getting 39 average on the freeway.

I really enjoyed driving the Trax for a week.
It feels like the right car for the right price. At least the one I got.

Mine was an LT FWD with the "LT Plus package" and the previously mentioned "Sun & Sound package". For a total of $25 215.

I'd say this is really a good price for a nice car with a sunroof and great Bose stereo system.
It's no sports car but it doesn't pretend to be.
I never felt it was too slow.
It is comfortable and quiet. And gets really good mileage for a small SUV. And it does have a nice, friendly personality to it.

The Honda HR-V seems like the more conservative choice in that segment.
But the new Mazda CX-3 is the one to watch.
As a top of the line Grand Touring model is about the same price as the Trax I was driving.
And it includes GPS, Sunroof, Bose and leather.

So, I do recommend the Trax. If you can get a good deal on it.

Skoda Superb joins list of top safety achievers

According to the latest safety test results released by Euro NCAP, the Skoda Superb achieved 5 Stars, thanks to robust crash protection and its Autonomous Emergency Braking systems. The Superb is also equipped with crash avoidance technologies awarded under the Euro NCAP Advanced Rewards scheme such as Multi Collision Brake and Crew Protect Assist.

Among other cars tested, the Hyundai i20 supermini acheived 4 stars which is quite good for its segment, but misses out on the 5 stars due to a lack of an AEB system.

However, the Fiat Panda Cross recveived a modest 3 star rating. The supermini, based on the third-generation Panda 4x4 launched back in 2012, lacked assist technologies and also did not fare well in the latest full width crash test designed to evaluate the protection offered to smaller occupants in the driver and rear passenger seat.

Given below is the list of car safety ratings for 2015 so far, from the Euro NCAP website.

Renault Espace and Suzuki Vitara awarded 5 stars

The latest Euro NCAP safety test results for this year is out and the new Renault Espace (large MPV) as well as the Suzuki Vitara (supermini) has been awarded 5 stars. The later received points for its Autonomous Emergency Braking system (included in the rating scheme since last year).

Also included in the report published this month are the results for the Fiat 500X in the Small MPV category and the Mazda 2 in the Supermini category. Both cars were awarded 4 stars.

Nissan Datsun Go crash test results

The Nissan Datsun Go car which is aimed at the Indian market was recently tested for safety. The car failed spectacularly getting 0 out of possible 5 stars. The car comes without air bags and looking at the video of the test, it would not have done much good even if the car had been fitted with them. If the car can get this badly damaged at just 40mph speeds, I am just wondering what would happen at UK highway speeds of 70mph.

MNCs need to stop pushing lousy products into the emerging markets. And India definitely needs to have some minimum safety standards put in place.

Tesla Model S 2014 scores 5/5 in Euro NCAP crash test

The Tesla Model S electric car has scored 5 stars (the maximum) safety rating after testing by the Euro NCAP.

The 4 door saloon falls under the executive class.

Read the full report here.