Long Term Test: 2015 Jaguar F-Type V6 post #5

While I have spent much time talking up the beautiful sounds and the excellent driving experience of the F-Type, I want to take a little time to really dive a bit deeper into the interior of this car. As one would expect, give the rather premium price tag, Jag has absolutely had to go for better materials in order to compete and has thrown in a lot of the right touches in the right places in order to make the rather intimate cabin feel like it is worthy of its price. Yet, it is not totally devoid of areas worthy of improvement, a reality of any car that is not outfitted with a bespoke interior or priced well into the six-figure range.

Long Term Test: 2015 Jaguar F-Type V6 Post #3

Update #3
Current mileage: 7,520

Our newly adopted little dog hanging out with the big Jag

Unfortunately, I have not been able to spend much time with the Jag these last few months, mostly the result of a very busy year, more time spent on two wheels, and a new addition to my family (see the photo). Still, despite the minimal time spent, there are a few noteworthy items about our experience with the Jag since our last update.

First, just the other night, I was adjusting the positioning of the Jag within its garage space, which is in the third bay of a three-car garage, meaning it has its own dedicated garage door. I must say, it is kind of insane just how wide the Jag feels from behind the wheel at parking lot speeds. Low speed maneuvers, especially in tight spaces, really highlight the terrible rear visibility when the top is up as well as how tall the front fenders feel from the driver's seat. Mix in the generally low seating position, inching the big Jag forward into its garage space from a rather steep driveway was a tad nerve wracking as I definitely did not want to accidentally bump anything. Jaguar really should consider, especially on the convertibles, including the back-up camera as standard equipment and possibly an option for dropping both driver and passenger side-view mirrors down (versus just the passenger side one) to allow for easier parking and protecting the flanks of such a pretty car.

During the last six months, the Jag has also gotten its first proper service visit, the result of a need to address a few niggling issues, including a door rattle that had been present since almost day one. Jaguar, as a luxury manufacturer, does a good job getting dealers to provide a level of service befitting its customers. A Jag loaner, an XF 2.0t was provided, and the slinky convertible was taken in and they made an effort to be as timely about it as they could. But in thinking about the luxury service experience, it is hard to overlook the fact that some new players, such as Hyundai, have flipped the whole market on its head by starting to offer white-glove level service to certain customers. That includes free pick-up of the customer's car, dropping off of a loaner, and essentially making the service experience much less painful. Given the price premium that Jag's command, I cannot help think how much more enjoyable the ownership experience would be if Jag upped its service game even more.

With warmer weather on the horizon, although a potentially seriously wet rainy season due to El Nino, we should have more fun experiences to share at our next update.

Goodbye 2015. Hello 2016!

2015 turned out to be a much busier year for the two of us than either of us had expected. Our day jobs ended up consuming quite a bit of time, which meant there was not quite as much time to focus on test drives and the wheeled world in general. That does not mean that there were not moments in 2015 that really stood out for us when it comes to our favorite wheeled transportation methods. Here are a few moments that we truly enjoyed from 2015, some of our most popular posts, as well as a look at what to expect in 2016.

Events: 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show

Thanksgiving guarantees two things each year to us here at EWBG: eating way too much and a trip to the Los Angeles Auto Show. Over the last few years, the LA Auto Show has started to become one of the large auto shows that people actually pay attention to with manufacturers revealing new concept models and production ready cars in one of the largest automotive markets in the US. With each year, the number of new reveals increased along with the popularity of the test drives that manufacturers offer to attendees. With each successive year, more and more manufacturers set up tents and booths outside the LA Convention Center to allow show goers a chance to sample their latest wares. Let us take a look at some of the cars that we saw at the show this year, as well as some of the cars we test drove.

Long Term Test: 2015 Jaguar F-Type V6 post #2

Update #2

Current mileage: 3,580

In March, I got to spend some extended time with the Jag and the more I drive it, the more I fall in love with it. Using it for day to day tasks, the big cat is extraordinarily friendly as a daily driver. Set the car in normal mode, leave the shifting to the computer, and just enjoy the ride. The suspension is suitably comfortable while retaining its sporty character, absorbing minor road aberrations with aplomb whilst being firm enough to still toss the extra-wide roadster around with ease. Those exquisite manners carry through into the steering, which remains absolutely delightful compared to most of the electronic power steering units I have tried in recent memory. The Porsche Boxster is still sharper, but for a boulevard cruiser, the Jag pretty much nails it in terms of balancing feel with comfort.

To top it off, that extraordinary sound track is available all the time. A touch of the starter button triggers a symphony of sound from the exhaust system and offers delightful accompaniment to even the most pedestrian of activities. Dip the throttle with a little extra aggression and be rewarded by the menacing howl that emanates from behind. Best of all, while just cruising, the Jag purrs along without making excess noise, allowing for a relaxing ride (are you paying attention, Maserati!) and when the noise is wanted, a quick twitch of the ankle summons the bellowing beast.

One thing that has taken some getting used to is the auto-start/stop functionality. The system should be straight forward enough, cutting the motor when the car comes to a stop and remaining off until the driver lifts his foot off the brake pedal. The system works quite well and the engagement point that triggers the engine to fire again is easy enough to locate that I have been able to watch the cross traffic's signal and lift my foot just enough at the right moment to bring the engine to life just in time for me to roar off without an hesitation. What has been interesting to experiment with, however, have been the various triggers that cause the system to not engage. For instance, if the steering wheel is off center by more than a few degrees or if the transmission is in manual mode, the engine will remain running. While I have some concerns about the impact on the longevity of certain components, the system truly works well and is a necessary evil given how thirsty the Jag can be.

Last thing of note is that I am rather unhappy with Jag's headunit used in the car. It is a touchscreen, thankfully, but can be so slow to respond at times that I simply run out of time at a stop light trying to enter a destination or set up phone call. At least Jab saw fit to separate out a number of key functions with physical buttons and knobs, so it could be worse. This is one of those times where I absolutely wish automakers would just partner with the major smartphone operating systems and integrate my mobile device into the car's infotainment system more directly. It would go a long way towards improving the user experience and probably make most owners much happier with the initial ownership experience. Android Auto cannot come soon enough.

Still, I cannot get enough time behind the wheel. This is easily my favorite car in our long-term fleet.

Test Drive: 2015 Chevrolet Camaro V6 Convertible

The latest generation of the Chevrolet Camaro has been one of those cars that, to me at least, looks pretty interesting, but I have never felt the urge to drive. While planning a trip to visit some friends and their toddler in Northern California, I stumbled upon a rental car deal using my AAA membership that was too good to pass up. When I left the Enterprise desk at the airport, I ended up driving off with a bright red, 2015 Chevrolet Camaro V6 convertible...for $35 a day. Considering that it was only a mere $3 more per day than whatever crappy sub-compact car I was originally going to get, I definitely call this a worthy upgrade.

Test Drive: 2015 Porsche Macan S

I have a love of wagons, but automakers seem to feel that bringing their wagons to the US is a waste of time and money. Who can blame them? Americans simply do not buy wagons or hatchbacks in the same kinds of numbers as our European counterparts. Instead, my fellow Americans are obsessed with SUVs and crossovers. So what is an enterprising, profit driven automaker to do when its parent company has a crossover that is ripe for the picking? Why, you add another vehicle to your line-up, of course. This is precisely what Porsche has done with the all new Porsche Macan. 

Just as the larger Cayenne is based on the same platform as Audi's Q7, the Macan shares its platform with Audi's Q5. This makes for a relatively compact CUV that still offers decent cargo space. Thankfully, Porsche has injected a bit of flair into the design, making the Macan look similar to its big brother and definitely carrying the family's now signature nose.

Event: Bike Fest 2015 and the Wolfpack Hustle Short Line Crit 2015

Image courtesy of Downtown
Long Beach Associates

Imagine my surprise when I arrived home on Saturday after hanging out with West Brother to find that the streets right around my home closed off to traffic. There was a vague inkling of local retailers and restaurateurs mentioning that there was some event going on over the weekend, but no one had clearly indicated what that event was. And of course, the last few weeks had been so busy, I had not paid that much attention to the little posters popping up in the shop windows. Once I managed to make my way back to my parking space, it was time to go explore and find out what was going on.

As it would turn out, going on literally steps from my front door was the Long Beach Bike Fest, a celebration of all things two wheeled with vendors hawking their wares, local advocacy groups recruiting for members, and, of course, the obligatory biergarten to satisfy the thirst of the throngs of local cyclists who had come to attend. What was not expected, however, was the presence of a closed course race track on public streets. As a part of the Bike Fest, a square track had been cordoned off for the Wolfpack Hustle Short Line Criterium race. The race was open registration, meaning just about anyone with a bike that could pass inspection, could register to participate in any of the 4 races.

Test Drive: 2015 Acura TLX 2.4 Tech

MSRP: $31,445
As tested price: $36,420

It has been exactly eight months since we last looked at Acura's TLX, the replacement for both the TL and TSX sedans. In our first review, we looked at the base model equipped with the 2.4 liter "Earth Dreams" inline-four. We probably could have just mostly ignored the driving experience and focused on the additional tech goodies this Tech Package equipped model we are looking at now has, but that would not be much of a review, now would it?

In order to fill the void left by the TSX and TL, Acura, for the first time ever, chose to make two engines available in the TLX: a direct injected 2.4 liter inline-four, and a direct injected 3.5 liter V6 with active cylinder management. What we have here is the TLX equipped with the 2.4 liter engine and the tech package, which includes such additional items like navigation, a premium radio system, premium leather, and a host of additional safety features. Acura's goal with the TLX was to make a car that could, once again, truly compete with mid-size luxury heavy weights BMW and Mercedes Benz. Have they succeeded in building a proper successor to the much loved third-generation Acura TL?

Test Drive: 2015 Audi A4 2.0T FWD Multitronic

MSRP: $35,500
As tested price: $39,900

My experience with the Audi A4 in the past has been relatively positive. Thanks to the car rental company, Silvercar, I have gotten to spend extended time with the A4. However, all of the A4s in Silvercar's fleet are equipped with Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive system. Seeing as how every other mid-size luxury car we have tested thus far have been two wheel drive, it would seem unfair to find a Quattro equipped A4. Besides, testing a front-wheel drive model will help not with just the car's fuel economy, but with its price as the A4 is not exactly the most cost efficient mid-size luxury car.

And thus we run into a problem. Either Audi sells a ton of front-drive only cars, leaving only Quattro models in their inventory, or people only want Quattro cars, thus forcing Audi dealers to minimize the number of front-drive cars in their inventory. The Audi dealer we selected to visit was one of the largest in Southern California, yet they did not have a front-wheel drive A4 equipped as we were expecting. Instead, we had to settle for something close, which did mean the car was missing a few key pieces of equipment we were hoping it would have. Lack of equipment notwithstanding, would the front-wheel drive A4 drive as well as its all-wheel drive counterpart?

Test Drive: 2015 Lexus IS250

MSRP: $36,550
As test price: $42,638

The first two generations of the Lexus IS were, at least to me, not exactly terrific cars. If I had to pick between the first and second generation IS, I would take a first generation Lexus IS300 with the five-speed manual. Why? Because inside its tiny body was the 3.0 liter, naturally aspirated inline-six from a Toyota Supra. Performance notwithstanding, the rest of the car was just merely adequate with an incredibly cramped interior. The second generation Lexus IS never really showed up on my radar as the interior space issue was never really fixed and it was quite boring to drive, aside from the insane IS-F.

Lexus clearly wants to make sure that the third generation of the IS more fun to drive as the first generation, but actually has enough interior space and new technology to compete with the rest of the mid-size luxury class. East Brother has already driven a version of the current IS, but I had yet to, so a proper test of this new 2015 model was in order. What I was really hoping to get out of this test drive was to help shed the image that the Lexus IS is this cramped, tiny vehicle that was only fun to drive because it shared a power plant with the Toyota Supra. Let's see if that happened.

Test Drive: 2015 Mercedes Benz C300

MSRP: $38,400
As tested price: $44,905

The Mercedes Benz C-Class is currently the second best selling mid-sized luxury vehicle, behind only the BMW 3-series sedan and 4-series coupe. But just because you are in the top three selling cars in a particular category, does it automatically mean your car is good? Both East Brother and I have driven various forms of the previous generation C-Class sedan, and with the exception of the C63 AMG, all have been pretty unremarkable. 2015 marks a completely new redesign of the C-Class with an new exterior and interior design, new engines, and lots of new tech. Can this all new model make a serious impression on me, unlike the forgettable previous generation?

Test Drive: 2015 Cadillac ATS 2.5

MSRP: $33,215
As Tested Price: $41,200

Avid readers of our blog will remember that the Cadillac ATS is another vehicle that we have test driven in the past. That one was equipped with Cadillac's then all-new 2.0 liter turbocharged inline-four cylinder engine. This time around though, we wanted to find out how well the ATS' base engine, a 2.5 liter naturally aspirated inline-four would perform in this car. During our first time around, both East Brother and I thought that the ATS was a decent vehicle that needed some polish before we felt it could really compete in the mid-sized luxury big leagues. With three model years under its belt, has Cadillac managed to finesse the ATS enough for it to go head-to-head with the likes of mid-sized players from BMW and Mercedes Benz?

Test Drive: 2015 BMW 328i

This entry marks the beginning of our mid-size luxury sedan comparison. We have opted to look at what should essentially be the volume seller versions of all the 4-cylinder, automatic transmission equipped mid-sized luxury sedans on the market and offer our thoughts on each before wrapping up with a serious look at how they compare against each other. As much as possible, we spec'ed each car as close to a strict set of requirements as possible, requiring no more than 250 hp from a four-cylinder engine for maximum fuel economy, an automatic transmission, navigation, seat heaters, and leather seats. The goal was to approach this as though we were a real buyer looking for a specific setup of car to see what we would really pay if actually shopping today.

Base MSRP: $32,950
MSRP as Tested: $50,000

BMW's latest version of its 3-series sedan, dubbed the F30, is a car that we have reviewed before. However, the previous car we tested came equipped with the "M Sport" package as well as a six-speed manual. Being enthusiasts, this is normally the type of car we would go for, but not everyone is an enthusiast that wants a sporty suspension and a manual transmission. What if we just want a nice, mid-sized luxury sedan that would shuttle us from point A to point B without having to worry about a stiff suspension setup or rowing our own gears? And so we set off to the local BMW dealer in search of such a 328i, and came across this particular model equipped with the "sport line" package.

Test Drive: 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI SE 4-Door

The Volkswagen Golf GTI is one of those cars that I have always wanted to like, but find difficulty in doing so because there always seems to be some kind of major flaw that is difficult to overlook. When I had heard that an all new GTI was ready to make its debut, I was hesitant to get excited about it. After reading about the car though, I began to get more excited about it. Apparently, this is a car that is so good, Motor Trend magazine had named the latest generation of the Golf its "Car of the Year." As soon as my local Volkswagen dealer got a stock of manual equipped GTIs in its inventory, I headed over to see why Motor Trend enjoyed this car so much.

Test Drive: 2015 Kia K900

I do not think I could ever see myself driving anything larger than a BMW 5-series or Acura RLX. Giant luxury barges really are not my thing. These are cars that are expected to be more comfortable in the back than in the driver's seat; a car you would own if you had a driver to shuttle you around in. While the Kia K900 was never on my radar, the opportunity to have a Kia employee drive one to my front door to test drive one came up. Hey, if they are willing to bring the car to me and allow me to test it around my neighborhood, why not?

During our visit to the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, East Brother and I spent some time at the Kia test drive event driving the new Soul EV. Also at the event was a K900 "product specialist" who was signing people up for personal test drives of the Hyundai Equus based K900 luxury sedan. While our original intention was to test the K900 at the auto show, both East Brother and I figured an extended test drive around familiar roads would give us a much better insight to how the K900 performs.

Second Look: 2015 Honda Accord Sport

It has been almost two years since we first looked at the latest generation of the Honda Accord Sport. Our first test took place at night time, so we were unable to get any good pictures or even get a good look at the car. As I am currently considering a second car to use as a daily driver, the Accord Sport popped back up on my radar. I figure now would be a good time to give the car another review to see if our initial impressions of the car still hold up now that the ninth generation Accord has been on the market for two model years.

Welcome to 2015!

Welcome to the new year! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and has had a chance to relax, unwind, and rest up for what should be an eventful new year. To kick things off, we started our year with a brand new addition to our long-term fleet, which we will be introducing soon. There are also several new road trips, many new test drives, as well as a handful of other exciting opportunities that we will are looking forward to sharing with everyone.

However, to help us make sure we are giving you what you want, we would love to hear, through the comments or by filling out our contact form, about any ideas or suggestions you have for things you want to read about. If we end up using your idea, we will thank you with a small token of our appreciation, so please make sure we have a way to reach you.

Both of us here at East-West Brothers Garage want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Drive safe, ride safe, and keep the the rubber side down.

Test Drive: 2015 Chrysler 200S

Let's be honest, the last generation Chrysler 200 was just plain. Plain awful. It really had no redeeming qualities as the interior was a dreadful place to be and it was so boring to drive, I was surprised that I managed to complete that trip without ending up in a ditch somewhere after falling asleep at the wheel. Luckily, the folks at the new, post-Fiat acquisition, Chrysler saw fit to replace the soporific old 200 with a brand new sedan that not only looks fantastic inside and out, but they also built it on a brand new chassis and added some new drivetrains that should help the 200 finally be a genuine competitor in the crowded mid-size segment.

From when I first laid eyes on the car at the New York International Auto Show earlier this year, I knew that I had to find the chance to take one for a spin. During a recent trip to the DC area, I had the opportunity to pick up a relatively new (just over 2500 miles on the clock) Chrysler 200 as my ride for a weekend.

Test Drive: 2015 Acura TLX 2.4 P-AWS

With the TSX and TL now officially gone from Acura's line up, a void was left between the compact ILX and almost full-sized RLX sedans. Rather than introducing another generation of the TSX and TL, Acura decided to replace the two cars with one and call it the TLX. The TLX is supposed to have the positive qualities of its predecessors: the nimbleness of the TSX and the power and space of the TL. Acura is also hailing the TLX as a true competitor to the BMW 3-Series, going so far as calling the BMW out on its website. With a pair of brand new direct injection motors - a 2.4 liter inline-4 and 3.5 liter V6 - some major weight loss, and a host of new technologies, has Acura hit the mark? Most importantly, does the TLX take us back to the days when Acuras were fun to drive cars with great interiors at a great price?