The CarGurus Blog

Daily coverage of the world of cars.

Trucks & SUVs

Three Superminis You Can’t Buy Here

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SEAT Ibiza Reference 2009dsc00007I love little cars. They generally are much more fun to drive, handle like go-karts, and get great mileage. They populate the entire world… except here in the U.S.A. We do get a few, but not much in the way of real choice, and the ones that end up on our shores are boxy, ugly, under-performing, or all three.

In Mexico I saw what they call superminis everywhere. Some of them, like this SEAT Ibiza (above, right), are really sharp and bigger inside than they look. SEAT (“say-at”) is a Spanish carmaker now owned by Volkswagen AG, like so much else—Porsche may be next—in the auto world. The Ibiza Reference, shown here, comes with a variety of engines, weighing in from 70-105 hp, gas or diesel. Higher-powered, sportier models are available, and they look to be popular in southern Mexico. Tell SEAT to bring us its cars here. They probably won’t, but you can complain about how little choice we have.

2007 Ford KaAnother sharp small car is the Ford Ka, built in Poland, Brazil, Argentina, and maybe someday in the U.S. An older version (probably 2007) is shown here, which is better looking than the new Ka that may come to these shores, according to Alan Mulally. (No, he didn’t say the older one was better looking.) Then it will have the Fiesta to compete with, so don’t hold your breath. If Ford did commit to a full lineup of small cars in the U.S., it could give Fiat/Chrysler and the Asians a real run for their money in 2011. The company’s global reach is surprising. More photos of the new Ka are here.

2009 VW CrossFoxI asked the owner of this VW CrossFox (right) if I could take pix of his car. “Seguramente” [certainly], he said, and I realized I could get by in Spanish with phrases like this and “Si, como no?” for almost everything. One of VW’s line of “city cars,” the Fox series launched a few years ago in Brazil and has spread through Latin America in many iterations. The CrossFox is not much of an off-roader, but is great for Mexican pavement (and the lack thereof), taking the country’s many speed bumps with aplomb. Ask VW why we can’t have this car.

What other foreign-made minis and superminis do you think should be made available to U.S. buyers?

—jgoods

Car Trends: Small SUVs and Well-Equipped Compacts


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Ford received a small bit of good news recently – sales of its Focus compact car (pictured above) were up 24 percent for the month of March 2008. Honda saw sales of its Fit subcompact increase as well, by more than 73 percent. Sales of the Nissan Altima and Honda Civic also were up, by 14 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Those were among the few bright spots in auto sales over the past few months. Sales of trucks and SUVs tanked, as car buyers continued to migrate away from larger vehicles to smaller, more fuel-efficient sedans and coupes. It’s easy to understand why, with gas prices soaring into the stratosphere. And it naturally leaves some automakers (such as Honda and Toyota) in better positions than others.

This shift in car-buying patterns has automakers scrambling to rejigger their fleets, and some are doing that more successfully than others. Ford, for instance, actually posted a profit for the first quarter of 2008 (due in part to the fact that the company has trimmed its workforce substantially and has plans to shut down some shifts at truck plants). And all automakers are eyeing smaller, more efficient cars.

Ford, for instance, has plans to expand its fleet of small cars in 2009 with the addition of the new Fiesta, which Ford calls its first “global” small car. Recently unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show, the Fiesta will be powered by a range of fuel-efficient engines and bring “big car features to the small car segment,” according to Ford.

That’s a trend we’ll be seeing more of in the years to come, as automakers add luxury-oriented features like innovative sound systems to their smaller cars in an effort to attract new buyers. For instance, Ford has added its new Sync feature to some Focus trims, and upcoming trims of the Chevy Cobalt are expected to come equipped with audio systems that include USB ports, so drivers can plug portable thumb drives into their car stereos, adding a new functionality that will make it easier for drivers to take their favorite songs with them wherever they go.

Don’t expect automakers to completely abandon SUVs, but you can expect SUVs to become smaller and more efficient. Audi, for instance, just unveiled its new Q5 SUV at the Beijing Auto Show (although to us it looks more like a crossover vehicle or a hunky wagon than an SUV). Powered by a range of fuel-efficient engines and featuring permanent all-wheel-drive, the Q5 will measure about 15 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 5.4 feet high, giving it a smaller overall footprint than many other SUVs. Audi calls it “an SUV of all-new proportions,” and notes that it will be “sportier than any of its competitors.” Whether it will prove a hit with buyers seeking smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

Toyota Debuts First Crossover Sedan With the 2009 Venza


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With the introduction of the 2009 Venza, Toyota has set out to establish a whole new auto segment, which it calls the “crossover sedan,” according to Bob Carter, Toyota’s vice president and general manager, who introduced the new five-passenger vehicle at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday.

Carter notes that many of today’s car buyers are moving away from SUVs to sedans, for a number of reasons – better fuel economy, sleeker styling, and a smoother driving experience, for instance. But in doing so, buyers miss many of the benefits offered by SUVs, including better visibility, roominess, and a large cargo capacity. The Venza “crossover sedan” has been designed exclusively for the North American market to bridge that gap.

In many ways, the Venza resembles many of the crossover vehicles currently rolling off the assembly lines of automakers worldwide, including the RX, the luxury SUV crossover vehicle sold by Lexus, Toyota’s upscale partner. However, the Venza is a tad sleeker and slightly more sedan-like, with a bold grille, a fairly sedan-like front end, and a sweptback roof line and a darkened B-pillar that give the Venza a clean side profile. The back end, however, is distinctly SUV-like.

The Venza offers a roomy, uncluttered interior, according to Toyota, with the shift lever on the center console below the dashboard instead of between the front seats. This frees up the floor console to be used solely for storage. The driver and passenger also sit higher than they would in a typical sedan, providing better visibility, while the rear has a lower cargo floor and split rear seats. In addition, the Venza comes with seven airbags, and is the first Toyota car to come equipped with the Star Safety System, a stability control system found in Toyota’s SUVs and in the Tundra pickup truck.

A 268-horsepower V6 engine will power the Verza when it arrives in showrooms later this year. The V6 will link to a six-speed automatic transmission with sequential shift. A few months after the V6 version appears, Toyota will roll out a more fuel-efficient trim with a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine.

In another day and age, the Venza might have been called a beefy station wagon, but such terminology has gone the way of cassette tapes and 99-cent gasoline. Whether the Venza really does establish a new automotive segment remains to be seen, but it’s obvious that today’s automakers are continuing to design vehicles that appeal to a wide range of finicky buyers.

Infiniti Crosses Over with the 2008 EX35


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These days, it feels like automakers inundate the marketplace with more crossovers than Allen Iverson and Tim Hardaway combined. The latest vehicle to defy conventional classification comes from Nissan’s Infiniti luxury line in the form of the EX35, a mix between an SUV and a coupe. While you may have seen the Infiniti EX concept that debuted at the New York Auto Show last month, don’t expect the same vehicle in the showroom. Infiniti built the EX concept for the sole purpose of showcasing some of the EX35’s innovative features in the body of a taller G35 sedan.

One of the most intriguing features involves a lane departure prevention system. Simply put, peripheral cameras work together with the stability control to paint a picture of your surroundings. When you park, the system relays the data to the screen on your dashboard so you can see everything around you and avoid doling out an unintended love tap to another vehicle. On the road, the system notices if you stray too far out of your lane without signalling and lets off a warning noise to keep you on track. This feature should make driving a little less stressful and a lot safer.

With a capable 3.5 L V6 powertrain, 5 speed automatic transmission, and room for 5 passengers, the EX35 presents an interesting new addition to the Infiniti lineup. Expect this killer crossover to hit your local showroom sometime this fall.

– posted by Taeho Lim

Porsche Ups the Power for 2008 Cayenne


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Perhaps it comes as no surprise — not really big news at all — that the Porsche Cayenne, the sporty SUV from the maker of the venerable 911, as well as the Boxster and the Cayman, is equipped with more powerful engines for 2008. After all, isn’t that what we expect from Porsche? Shouldn’t all the vehicles produced by the iconic German automaker be the best in their fields, the fastest around the track, and the hunkiest in suburban driveways across the country?

Well, sure. But in the Cayenne’s case, particularly the base model equipped with a V6, the extra power is justified, even necessary, when you consider that the Cayenne is a large, heavy vehicle that can always use a little extra umph to move it along the highway. But when you add in the fact that the new 2008 engines are actually more fuel-efficient that their forebears, and that the Cayenne has received some minor styling upgrades that make it more aerodynamic (and yes, again, more fuel efficient), well, just maybe that is news.

Besides, we can’t help writing about the Cayenne, or any other Porsche, for that matter. They’re cars that demand to be noticed. So we’re noticing them — it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

The new Cayenne (which has just arrived in showrooms) is available with a choice of three engines. The base 3.6-liter V6 gets a goose of 43 horsepower, to 290 horsepower, which drives the vehicle from 0 to 60 more than a second faster than the engine it replaced, while the new 4.8-liter V8 (available on the S trim package) receives a boost of 45 horsepower, to 385 horsepower. At the top of the heap is a twin-turbocharged V8, which produces a whopping 500 horsepower, up 50 horsepower from the previous model.

Porsche achieved those boosts in power via direct injection (on all three engines) and variable valve timing (on the V8 engines). The direct injection, by the way, also helps make the engines more fuel-efficient.

Exterior changes are subtle and include a revised front end, which helps improve aerodynamics, as well as new headlights and taillights, and a new rear spoiler. All-wheel-drive is standard across the line. The Cayenne also is equipped with more powerful brakes, and such new features as the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control system, which helps keep the vehicle level under hard cornering. And with all that additional power under the hood, you might be using that new leveling system more than you think.