Hyundai Veracruz versus Mazda CX-9

Well, this was a fun two tests... the CX-9 and Veracruz are both fine automobiles, but obviously, for us motorheads... there's only one thing that matters... excitement. And the Veracruz just doesn't have any. But the backseat of the Veracruz is a fine place to be if you're taking a long road trip out and can afford a driver.

The CX-9 is fantastic, though... the sound, the power, the driver-oriented stance. It doesn't give up much (if anything) in the way of comfort to achieve its sportiness. Handling is, like the BMW X5, very muscle-car-ish... except that the X5's AWD system allows for a little more tail-happiness than the CX-9, which acts more like a front-driver most of the time. The CX-7 would probably be a better drive, but, sadly, we don't get that here. Too bad, a CX-7 with a 2.0 CRDi would sell like hotcakes.

Doldrums Doldrums Doldrums

Getz article is stalled by the lack of hard testing data on a fresh Getz CRDi. I wonder if HARI (Hyundai's marketing arm in the Philippines) actually cares that their test units might be driving customers away. On a related note: I'm getting sick of testing the same old stuff... I want new cars to test! Wouldn't say no to another Focus test-drive.

The Hyundai Getz was a fine daily driver, but the suspension systems on modern Hyundais are still a step behind the best of the rest. There are Japanese cars with terrible suspension set-ups, too (*cough* Toyota *cough*) but they still feel much more refined than the Hyundai/Kias (at least in this aspect).


Suzuki Alto Article now up

We had a blast with the Suzuki Alto, too. A great illustration of the way weight affects the speed of a car. With only 47 ponies and a dry weight of about 750 kilos, the Alto loses about 3-4 seconds against the clock (to 100 km/h) per passenger. Theoretically, it would go much faster than the 17-18 seconds we got if a monkey were driving it. We're still looking for a monkey.

The Alto is a truly horrid car. Indian build quality, golf-cart tires, a thrashy engine... but the V10-like wail of the three cylinder engine (Imagine a Lamborghini Gallardo, volume at "2" instead of "11"), the lack of nannying understeer (never has 60 km/h felt so... entertaining...) and the wheels-at-the-corner feeling of the tiny little thing made it a blast to drive. Too bad there's nothing else to recommend it for purchase.

Tucson Article up!

Agh. I'm still getting used to working on this Eee PC, so my GIMP-work is a little shoddy... oh well... it's done, it's up, and I'm happy.

As I've said previously, it's not the best CUV out there, but it was a fun little thing, and I'm sad to see it go... especially since this means I'm stuck rowing my own gears again... in traffic... oh joy... but hope looms on the horizon... A test drive of the Santa Fe and Starex loom... as well as one for the CR-V... but then, I'd really like to sink my teeth into a car again. Something nice and zippy...

Hyundai Tucson

I'm currently finishing up an article on the Hyundai Tucson... I didn't expect it to be much of a test-drive... in fact, aside from the diesel engine, I couldn't think of a single reason for anyone to buy the Tucson... but man, does it handle sweetly...

Not many cars nowadays will talk to you about what's happening at the wheels, and not many will give you the adjustability that keen drivers look for in a motorcar... so it's very refreshing to find a compact SUV with a sharp turn-in... and even more refreshing to find one that you can actually trail-brake or throttle-lift into oversteer... quite an entertaining little beast... too bad the interior screams "Corolla" and the diesel in this car is the most gutless of Hyundai's CRDis... 13.8 seconds to 100 km/h... and only when it's cold out... this is a car screaming for a better transmission, an intercooler, and about thirty more horses.

Me? I'd love to have one... buy it? No thanks.

New Year, More Cars

It's been a slow Christmas, dental operation, sensor issues with my red rocket and the general blahness of the season... but now that the new year has started, I'm finally getting into the swing of things. I'll be posting an article on the Kia Carens this Monday, and I'll be doing test drives of the Kia Spectra and the Hyundai Tucson this month.

I'm also hoping to sink my teeth into a Chery QQ, as well as do some photography and a short review of the Alto.

Ahhh.. ain't life grand?

Some updates from Bigbigcar

Have a lot of others on already... just haven't had time to update this Blog.





I really had a blast doing the Focus article... it was long overdue, as I had two features on the TDCi pending and I wrote them into one article... it would be unseemly to post three Focus articles at once, so the other two are probably going to be uploaded "stealth" style... without being reflected on the main page.

Things are going slowly right now... haven't done a test-drive in two weeks and I'm getting pretty antsy... well... maybe next week we'll do one or two little things... ;)

Our website just went up!

It's been over a year since I was approached to get on board this project, and it's nice to see it come to fruitition. It's a site about cars, car buying and driving, etcetera. Some blood, some sweat, some tears, some roasted tires and endless kilometers of test driving. At least we finally have something to show for it. ;)

http://bigbigcar.com

Now all we need are some sponsors.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Two typhoons within spitting distance of each other. No testing. No test-driving. Nuthin. Damn weather.

My right arm for a V-Box

Sorry, no photos with this one...

It's been a slow week for test-drives, so I've been fiddling with a friend's VBox for the past week, and it's disappointing that this supposedly 142 bhp car (++, with my mods) still can't get to 100 km/h in under 8.9 seconds.

I know my driving sucks... but that's not the point... I should be able to get about 8.5 easy. Time for new engine mounts, I suppose... lots of lurch on launch from the soft, cheap replacement parts. But also, it may be time to lower my tire pressures... 35 psi on the street is kind of excessive.

What's interesting is that at 8.9 to 100 km/h and a further 16.1 to 160 km/h, I've matched Car and Driver's 25 second run to 160 km/h. Which means, if I'd gotten the 0-100 km/h right, as per C!'s supposed 8.2 second run, I should be 1.5 seconds faster than stock to 160 km/h. Pathetic... time to sort out my intake again. :)

Ford Focus TDCi

In August, Ford will be launching the Focus 2.0 TDCi on the Philippine market. With 136 hp and 340 Nm (250 ft-lbs) of torque available on overboost, it's got enough muscle to stomp all over the competition while still hitting fuel economy figures of 20 km/l.

The Ford Club of the Philippines was lucky enough to get a preview of this car last Sunday at the Subic International Raceway, care of the Tuason Racing School. It was a fiesta of roasted tires out on the tarmac, with a special guest appearance by none other than Pocholo Ramirez. Articles on FCP coming up within the next week, but here's a teaser.





Oh, it's still a bit nose-heavy, and those tires are cheap, but most everything else comes on horrible tires, and only the Mazda3, locally, has better balance. What the Mazda3 doesn't have is the Focus's unflappable stability (due to much better shocks)and, obviously, that wonderful diesel engine.

I wonder how much I can trade my Lynx in for?