A Collection of Automotive Passion
FIAT 500
CLS 63
LEXUS ISF
In the day and age of the hybrid and the green movement I may as well be a cave man. Horsepower is a part of my daily life and well global warming is not exactly friends with the emissions usually associated with high horsepower. So we decided to focus on the lesser side of the power department and take a look at some green fun in Fiat's new 101hp 500 C. A cute, beautiful styled, inexpensive, and economical mode of transportation. Now we could have just reviewed a standard 500 in hard top form, but if you must drive slow at least enjoy it with the top down.
The 500 C is the semi convertible edition of the compact Italian auto. If you look at any of the photos I am sure you can see what I mean by a semi convertible as only the center section of the roof slides back.
The real reason we are driving the 500 C is this little espresso bean is the new hot small car. The reintroduction of the Mini Cooper may have brought the cool back to small economical cars, but the 500 C has brought back the style. Just look at the front of the 500 C and try not to smile. The lines of the car draw back to the original Fiat 500 C but add a modern sexy flare. I am sure you are all familiar with the shape as the original 500 C stars as one of the loveable characters from Disney's Cars.
Design.Function.Purpose
Luxury & Exotic Tunner
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TwinTurb
bo
The 2012 Mercedes CLS63 is like an UFC fighter in a tailored suit. All business even when it rips the still beating heart out of it's opponents chest. Packing an all new 5.5 liter twin turbo V8 with 550hp and 590 ft/lbs of torque(with the performance package option), this makes the CLS63 a tire smoking, autobahn crushing, land bound executive jet draped in black.
The CLS has a sleek and taut body, a rolling work of art. The original CLS's four door coupe design that started it all has evolved and once again changed the game. The hard chiseled line that digs in right before the rear wheels is like a large predator cat poised to attack it's prey. Underneath the sexy body you will find the bones of an E Class, which in turn means the CLS is a great car to drive.
In fact the CLS is a better car to drive. Of course the steering and the suspension have been tuned by AMG making your time behind the wheel a true driving experience. Which is more than just how the car gets around a corner or how it rides on the highway. The experience comes from how the car makes you feel when you strap in behind the wheel.
The cockpit of the CLS63 has the ability to make each journey an occasion. The dash is covered in leather and real carbon fiber. The steering wheel is suede and brushed aluminum with a chunky feel and a flat bottom which is perfect for controlling the car while going sideways. The low roof line makes the cockpit feel like your own custom fitted driving gloves. This is of course aided by the well bolstered seats which happen to be some of the best seats in any car I have ever driven. In addition to being comfortable they also massage you, warm you up, and help hold you in around the bends with Mercedes active bolstering. This system pumps up the bolster to counteract the G forces trying to push you out of your seat.
“On downshifts the CLS barks and rumbles like from, this is the sound of protest. As if the car is s getting into my stride.�
an angry pit bull you are trying to steal a steak saying, why would you slow down now I was just
On the center console you will find the controls for the suspension, transmission, and the AMG button. The CLS63's air suspension has three settings. In standard the ride is still quite firm and the two other setting make the ride unbearable on any stretch of bumpy road. By the same token, on a smooth mountain road the hardest setting takes the body roll out of the big four door coupe and helps you rip around the next corner. On to the transmission settings, C is the standard mode in which the new "C" mode, for "controlled efficiency," the engine goes to sleep at stop lights and the ECO indicator lights up on the instrument panel. This is a very odd experience in a car with 550hp. This first time this happened I thought I broke the car. I pulled up to a light listening to the burble of the V8 with the windows down.
Then all of a sudden silence, thoughts of panic run through my brain. "I just broke $115,000 car!" I am going to have to mortgage my house, but I won't be able to get a loan. Which means I am selling my kidney and possibly a lung to get this fixed. Maybe Mercedes will let me work it off at the factory.......VROOOOOM MM! The engine sparks back to life and I calm myself down by laying down the biggest wall of smoke this stoplight has ever seen. As a result of this heart stopper I turn off the ECO mode and splurged on gas for the rest of my time in the CLS. Although compared to the last CLS AMG this 2012 is rated at 15/22 VS 12/18 in the 6.3 Liter 2011 model and is has more power as well, I love turbo technology.
“All of this speed comes with the most amazing sound track. It is a primitive noise that bellows from the lungs of the fire breathing twin turbos. A music that is remixed from volcanic eruptions, classic V8 muscle cars, and Thor the God of Thunder.�
Now having thrown gas cost to the wind we can address the driving experience in the CLS63. The power in this executive sedan is massive. All this power is needed to hurl this 4,277lb bruiser to a top speed of 186mph and 0-60mph in just 3.9 seconds. This is a incredible feat of engineering that a factory sedan you can haul you kids to school in is capable of 0-60 times less than half a second behind super cars from Ferrari and Lamborghini. All of this speed comes with the most amazing sound track. It is a primitive noise that bellows from the lungs of the fire breathing twin turbos. A music that is remixed from volcanic eruptions, classic V8 muscle cars, and Thor the God of Thunder.
DRKSIDE
On downshifts the CLS barks and rumbles like an angry pit bull you are trying to steal a steak from, this is the sound of protest. As if the car is saying, why would you slow down now I was just getting into my stride. As with any powerful rear wheel drive car you will struggle to lay the power down from a stop, but on the roll the CLS swallows the empty road in large bites. Open the throttle and down the hatch the tarmac goes, "Thank You Sir, may I have another?" it says. The CLS63 is ready to take over the highways by brute force. If Darth Vader drove a car there is not doubt in my mind it would be a CLS63 with the plate DRKSIDE. I am sure the license plate frame would read "My Other Ship is the Death Star". AE
Lexus Steps The ...
F
Story: Jeff Tyler Photos: Meagan Moncrief
! P U
So I get a text at 10:30pm on a Tuesday asking if I can be in Palm Springs at 7am the next morning. “Why?” I ask. “To test a car, r u in?” 'Hmm, this had better be good', I'm thinking. I tell myself, 'if it is not rear-wheel-drive and over 400hp, I won't be able to make it.' “What are we driving?”
“Lexus IS-F.” “Should I pick up Starbucks?”
Now, I have been a BMW guy since I was a teenager. To me, BMW represented touring car racing history brought to the street in their M models. The M3 and M5 have been the super-sedan category gold standards for years - actually - make that decades. When Mercedes debuted the C63 and Lexus the IS-F, all the magazine reviews declared that the M3 was still the king of the hill, with the C63 and IS-F left lacking. Fastforward to 2011 and Mercedes has fortified the C63 with an AMG Devel opment Package, while Lexus has re-done the IS-F via a much-needed mid-life-cycle refresh. I recently had the chance to flog the C63 at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, and it was an incredible eye-opener for this BMW fan. Gobs of torque and top-end power? A vault-like Mercedes chassis with crisp BMW feel? The C63 had everything I loved about the M3, and then some; and it was even more fun on a racetrack. So when “Lexus IS-F� showed up on my phone that night, I did not even have to think about it. This was the one I had been waiting to try.
Loping along the I-10 West at a casual 90mph in 8th (yes, 8th) gear, the IS-F is rock solid and not even trying. Downshifting into 7th gives you enough torque to shoot a gap or pass, and the fuel mileage in 8th is great – 23mpg highway – for a 420hp V8. It's just good enough to save you the U.S. Gas Guzzler tax, something the AMG and M cannot do. The cabin is not quite your typical Lexus: deep bucket sport seats with a properly thick 3-spoke steering wheel, paddle shifters, and no wood trim in sight. What is thankfully typical Lexus is the dash & Navi layout. All the buttons are where you expect them to be, and unlike the BMW and Mercedes, you do not have to spend hours with the owner's manual in order to use them properly. Out on the smooth I-10, the ride is firm but not jarring; in my opinion a smart compromise between street comfort and racetrack ability.
“
It's as if the Lexus engineers designed in just enough understeer so that should a hamfisted doctor or lawyer decide to take their new toy to the track, they would not suffer the embarrassment of a spin.
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Once we arrive at Chuckwalla, it is time to hit the track and see what this ultimate Lexus is really made of. AutoEclectic's chief editor Patrick wants to get in some hot laps and pictures in the morning before the afternoon heat, so he grabs the camera gear and I hop in the driver's seat. My first impression on the racetrack is that this is a brilliant car – the chassis setup is as good as an offthe-shelf production sedan can be. There is light to moderate un dersteer more or less everywhere around Chuckwalla, but the chassis will rotate promptly with trail-braking or even a sharp lift off the throttle.
If you want the tail to come out, all you have to do is trail-brake deep into a corner while giving the steering a good flick at turn-in; and out goes the tail, just like it should from such a maneuver. During 10/10ths hot lapping, there is a little bit too much understeer for a track machine; but that is to be expected in a showroom-stock vehicle. It's as if the Lexus engineers designed in just enough understeer so that should a ham-fisted doctor or lawyer decide to take their new toy to the track, they would not suffer the embarrassment of a spin. To the trained track junkie, the IS-F's chassis balance is just a spring rate or sway bar change away from perfection.
The gearbox is also fantastic on the racetrack. While it is a traditional automatic connected to the engine via torque converter, there is zero slop between your right foot and the throttle body. In Sport mode, shifts are crisp and instant. Lexus claims they happen in 0.1ms, and that the torque converter fully locks in any gear other than 1st. The result is a silky-smooth 'box around town that does a pretty darn good F1 car imitation at the track. There is none of the “vaguely-connected� feeling that typically accompanies a slushbox. I actually prefer the Lexus and Mercedes automatic gearboxes to BMW's slightly-jerky DCT.
Now, I wouldn't be doing a proper review if I didn't nd something to nitpick about in between all the hot laps and powerslides. When Lexus refreshed the IS-F for 2011, they patched (notice I did not say ““xed”) some key areas that needed attention. The main upgrades are a real TorSen limited-slip differential as opposed to the previous electronically-controlled open unit, and revised spring & damper rates to help with chassis comfort and balance. Why do I say these are “patches?” Well, in my opinion a TorSen LSD has no business being in a 420hp vehicle. Anything faster than a Miata needs a proper clutch-type diff; so why did they not go that route? TorSen differentials allow too much inside-rearwheel spin for a 416hp V8 sedan. And, while bombing around Chuckwalla, I couldn't help but notice that the dampers were just too soft, resulting in an odd oaty feeling during elevation changes. These are two areas where the C63 and M3 are clearly better. The Germans manage to maintain racetrack-ready sharpness in the suspension while still being liveable on the street, yet the Lexus seems to needlessly err on the side of street comfort.
At the end of the day, the IS-F is an incredible achievement when you consider it is Lexus's first foray into the super-sedan market. It is light-years better than the old M3 and C55 AMG, and it competes solidly against the current offerings from Europe. While I do not see the IS-F winning over M3 fans like the C63 has managed to, I do not think that that was the intent with this car. The IS-F seems to simply carve a new place in the Lexus family, and that makes sense when they are already selling GS430s and IS350s. When you factor in Lexus reliability and resale value, this car starts to make perfect sense for the potential super-sedan buyer looking to stay in the Lexus family. AE
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