Honda Crosstour 4WD EX-L NAV Review

Companies don't have ideas. The people that work for them do.

People retire, die and are replaced by other people with other ideas.

Nothing lasts forever.

Nobody's perfect.

No, TireKicker has not become the official journal of the obvious. I'm reminding myself how we can go from a 25-year string of absolutely brilliant products (virutally everything Honda built from the 1976 Accord onward) to the Honda Crosstour.

                        

I'll usually recall my dad's car dealer friend Jim Ellis' words ("there's an ass for every seat") when considering styling and then default to a phrase like "a matter of taste".

But....no. The Crosstour is ugly. Not quite Pontiac Aztek ugly...but ugly. And with a blind spot the size of....well, a 1976 Accord.

I know BMW started the big four-door hatchback thing with the X6, but if BMW jumped off a building......

What's wrong with it? Well...let's put it this way...it's an Accord...with four-wheel drive, an open hatch instead of a trunk, the aforementioned blind spot, the aforementioned ugliness, and in the case of our tester a price sticker of $36,930....or more than 5 grand more than the bottom line for a loaded Accord EX-L V6 with navigation.

Would you?

Me, either. And, not seeing a bunch of these on the street, I'm guessing most people are passing.

If there is in fact a market for something beyond the Accord sedan in terms of versatility and capability, the best move would be to bring back the Accord station wagon. No, it wasn't much of a hit last time around, but wagons were at their low point in terms of appeal...there's a revival going on now. And the Accord's new larger platform could make for a truly useful machine.

A good looking one you could see out the back of.

                        

Mazda MX-5 Miata PRHT Grand Touring Review

This may be the first car I've driven where the name, if put on a badge, would be longer than the car itself.

It is the heaviest and most expensive Miata I've driven in 13 years of professional TireKicking, but I can't say I love it any less (for just how much that is, see last year's review here). And that's because Mazda is now doing the kind of magic that used to be solely the province of Honda.

Retractable hardtops, while offering security from knife-wielding thieves and a lower level of cockpit noise, usually add weight and cost and steal a large chunk of what little trunk space the ragtop version of a car has in the first place.

But Mazda has kept the weight gain to 80 pounds...lighter than putting a passenger onboard. And because of how it folds into place, it takes up less than one cubic inch of trunk space.

That, folks, is just plain brilliant.

Cost? Yes, it's more. In the case of the Grand Touring model, going with the PRHT (let's just call it the "retractable" from here on out) adds $1860 to the tab.  And while $1860 is $1860, that's less than most cars charge for a nav system that will be obsolete by the time you need new tires.

So the starting point for the retractable Grand Touring is $28,400. Yeah, that's a chunk for a Miata, especially when the base Miata Sport softtop starts at $22,960. But here's what you get by going with the Grand Touring:

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  Run-flat tires


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  Xenon headlights


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  Automatic climate control


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  Advanced keyless entry


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  Leather-trimmed  heated seats


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  Bose audio system


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  Sirius satellite radio


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  Bluetooth hands-free phone capability


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  Dynamic stability control


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  Traction control system

In short, a seriously loaded luxury Miata. And Mazda added the Suspension Package (a sport-tuned suspension, Bilstein shocks and limited-slip differential) for $500....which just enhances this real-life version of a slot car. Bottom line: $31,300 including delivery charges.

                   

If you have never driven a Miata, you owe yourself at least a test-drive. They are addictive cars...delivering what the old MGs, Triumphs and Austin-Healys only promised...embarrassing the earnest efforts of the now-dead Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. If you've dismissed them as merely cute, or a "chick car", you're wrong, pure and simple. 68 percent of all Miatas are bought by men, and it's because they are the next-best thing to a Porsche Boxster at a fraction of the price. They reward energetic, involved driving...20 minutes on a winding road will put a smile on your face that will last all day.

Go.

Buy.

Drive.

2011 Ford Fiesta Review

                   

When I wrote the first drive impressions of the 2011 Ford Fiesta and promised a full review soon, I had no idea that TireKicker would be taking an unexpected two week vacation...but we did and now we're back and item one has to be to fill in the blanks left by the early look at this very significant car for Ford.

The basic first impressions (a quantum leap forward for American small cars, a serious threat to future Focus sales until we get the Euro-spec model of the Fiesta's bigger brother) all hold true.

But I see I used the word "roomy". I was so eager to get behind the wheel that I neglected to sit in the back seat. After I posted the first drive, my 5 foot 11 son sat back there...or tried to. It wasn't pleasant. And it wasn't much better for my 5 foot 4 daughter. That large trunk that I mentioned came at the expense of rear seat legroom. And while none of the cars in this class (Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Chevy Aveo) are limos, some of them...especially the Yaris and Versa...are better.

                        

Coincidentally, I had a Yaris sedan the same week, and was able to drive them back-to-back. While the Fiesta dazzled with its newness, edginess and content, the Yaris had more rear and front-seat comfort, a quieter cabin and a smoother ride.  And it was a few hundred dollars cheaper, too...staying under $19,000 ( The Yaris had the Sport package, a $3500 option that adds alloy wheels, spoilers, foglamps, leather trimming, power everything and an upgraded audio system) while the as-tested price of the Fiesta hit $19,600 (base for the SEL sedan is $16,320).

Gas mileage was a wash....the Yaris delivering 32 miles per gallon in an even split of urban street and freeway driving, the Fiesta 31.

                      

Honestly, both the Fiesta and the Yaris are way out of the target zone when their stickers get that close to $20K. You can get Corollas, Sentras and Civics (not to mention the 2011 VW Jetta) for that kind of money.The base Yaris sedan starts at $13,365...the base Fiesta at $13,320. That's where the battle in entry-level sedans is likely to be fought.

But will the sedans be the main focus? The Fiesta that makes the biggest splash visually is the five-door hatchback...and the base price for that is $15,120...a big step up, especially when you consider the Yaris 5-door hatch starts at $12,905 (lower than the Yaris sedan price).

The Fiesta leads the class in style...leaving the frumpy Yaris in the dust both in terms of exterior and interior. But these are entry-level vehicles. And while Europeans have a keen understanding of the term "premium compact", the Fiesta's going to have to make a value argument to drivers from the land of Wal-Mart. That could turn out to be a very tall order.