The Leaf, as you are probably aware, is Nissan’s new plug-in electric vehicle, and the first of the new generation of consumer EVs to be released here in the States. Sure, you’ve got the Tesla, and even the more family-oriented Model S, but they’re beyond the reach of the average city-dweller. Priced at just under $33K ($25K including the government rebate), the car is really competing with Accords and Legacys and the like. While it’s easy to suggest that it also competes with the Volt, the pricing and technology really set the two apart; all they’ve got in common is an electric motor. I tried to keep all that in mind when comparing the car in my mind with others on the market.

Exterior

The Leaf is slightly larger than I pictured it. Its closest relative, as far as I can tell, is the Nissan Versa, though the Leaf is a bit longer. While the rear is a bit too rounded for my taste, the lights are boldly designed (and newly re-sculpted for aerodynamics) and the front end is aggressive-looking and unique. I’m told that the body and interior are both “99.9%” final, subject only to the most minor of tweaks.

There is a solar panel (optional) on a small wing protruding from the roof that trickle-charges the car’s 12V battery. I found myself hoping that it would leak a bit of power into the main batteries, but that would be less than useless. Why not have it trickle charge an emergency battery that will take you 1 mile, though? That’d be great.

Opening up the bonnet revealed the modest guts of the Leaf: mostly empty space with piping, brake fluid, and the 12V taking up as much space as the engine itself. The emblem plate pops up to show the charging ports, which are amazingly cool-looking, though anyone who works with industrial electric devices will probably not be impressed.

Interior

The interior seems spacious; perhaps this due to the lack that bulky component usually found in cars — the engine. Seriously, though, the portion of the car dedicated to passengers is more than average for a car this size, I feel. There’s space in the boot for “two golf bags,” or quite a few grocery bags, and the seats of course fold down to make room enough for a Christmas tree or what have you. The rear seat is unremarkable, but seemed comfortable and fairly roomy.

The cockpit area is a mix of the familiar and unfamiliar. The steering wheel is pretty standard, with the usual media and navigation controls built-in. The split instrument panel is a little weird at first; it seems the high-priority items and low-priority items are mixed. The speedo next to the clock, live power level next to the temperature, and so on. But despite this conceptual mix-up, the readouts are clear and responsive. I must have missed where it indicates you’re driving in “eco” mode, which conserves and harvests energy, so that probably could be a little more prominent, but everything else was easily viewable. The dash extends rather far before meeting the windshield, giving you the feeling you’re farther back in the car than you are.

There are a couple readouts unique to the Leaf: the range meter, of course, which provides a live estimate of your range, taking into account A/C and other factors. Then there is the power draw indicator, which shows the rate at which you’re sucking (or replenishing) energy. The dots seem to be on an arbitrary scale, so don’t try to make mathematical sense of them. Lastly, there is a little tree display that “grows” trees if you drive conservatively, and cuts them down when you waste energy with quick acceleration or (I would guess) A/C. A karma readout, if you will.

Radio and navigation are handled by a touchscreen and a few hard buttons; it seemed as or more easy to navigate than others I’ve used. The environment controls are a little over-stylized; there’s a lot of wasted space there, though that may be room for optional dash components (I forgot to ask). Overall the cabin has an air of simplicity, symmetry, and a little bit of newness for newness’ sake.

Drive

Here’s a little video from inside the car — not essential viewing exactly, but what is? Thanks to Nissan’s Mark Perry for holding the camera. On a related note, sorry for the shaky camera.

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There’s much less to put here than in a normal car, especially a manual — which, I should say, I am used to driving. There are two drive modes, normal and eco. Both are “geared” to be pretty tame, I felt; I couldn’t draw a curve of the throttle response, but it certainly wasn’t tuned to provide jump right off the mark, like so many cars around this price. Launch was controlled and smooth; this car is perfect for navigating parking lots. Of course it was very quiet. We didn’t get on the highway, but on a five-lane city street it seemed adequately insulated from street noise.

“Shifting” is accomplished with a simple knob that either goes forwards or backwards, switching into the other mode of drive if you are already in drive, or reverse or neutral. Not a lot going on there, though the shifter is given an inordinate amount of space on the console. I would have liked a little more feedback that let me know I’d “hit” the drive mode, but I think it’s pretty foolproof.

I had a high-ranking Nissan guy in the car with me, so I didn’t try to make any 11s, but I did exceed the speed limit for most of the drive. You get 0-60 in about 10 seconds, not that it really matters — acceleration is fast enough to merge onto the freeway, overtake a slow driver, or quickly juke into an open slot in traffic.

Eco mode adjusts two things: the throttle response curve and the amount of energy harvested by regenerative braking or natural motion (i.e. rolling down hill). The full amount of power is still available, but it’s concentrated much more closely to the floor. It slowed us noticeably when going down a hill. Hypermilers will enjoy being able to switch in and out of this mode quickly.

Handling seemed normal for a car of this size. Having only driven it for a few minutes, I don’t feel qualified to make any real observations other than that it went where I wanted it to.

Conclusions

I have always said I wouldn’t buy a new car until I could get a plug-in, and I’ve been looking forward to the Leaf as the first real example of what might be worth picking up. I have to say I was not disappointed. For a city car, travelling distances of 5, 10, 20 miles, it’s absolutely great. It’s got plenty of room for cargo, space for a few friends, it’s quiet — it’s a bit larger than I’d prefer, but for most people it should be a good size.

Nissan is trying hard to downplay the notion of the Leaf going on longer trips, focusing instead on how practical it is for the more common type of driving: commutes and everyday city driving on the order of tens of miles. That can’t eliminate the anxiety a Leaf owner would have, though, if they needed to make a trip that pushes the boundaries of what the car is capable of. As an all-purpose car, you’re better off with gas for now, of course, but that’s because the Leaf represents a generation of vehicles that isn’t yet supported by our infrastructure — a 50-year-old infrastructure based very effectively around petroleum. While thousands of charge stations will be going up over the next year or two, one still feels restricted, as if one is on an electric leash.

The Leaf is a car I’d recommend to anyone who’s already game, but it’s not going to change anyone’s mind who isn’t already interested in getting a plug-in. That’ll happen a few years down the road. But for those legitimately on the fence, I think the Leaf may be a worthy investment.

GM has declared that the Chevrolet Volt is the company’s future, and we can see why after spending a good amount of time behind the wheel of an early test mule. The experience met every expectation we had about the extended-range electric vehicle. It was electric-quick, had instant torque, and was strikingly quiet. The test mule shows great promise that the Volt will be everything GM’s savior should be.

Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of Global Product Development and an all-around man’s man, along with Frank Weber, the Volt’s chief engineer, chatted with us a bit before we got behind the wheel. It’s clear that these high-up GM suits feel very strongly that the Volt is something special. Many, including myself, have called out GM for largely ignoring consumer diesels and hybrids, but I finally understand their positive outlook after our drive.

The test mule we drove clearly shows that the Volt and Voltec platform has a bright future. Really, besides the lack of engine noise in EV mode and the single speed transmission, consumers shouldn’t notice anything different about driving this car. And that’s the way it should be.

The Volt will be a midsize car just like the Chevy Cruze test mule. The ride and handling wasn’t tuned in this early prototype as it was assembled for propulsion testing, but it still rode fine. The electric motor, however, was spectacular. There weren’t any annoying whines or high pitched squeals that normally accompany an electric motor. The tires were the loudest part of the drive.  

GM is stating that the Volt will get up to 60 mph in around 8.0 seconds and is done by the electric motor only. That would be half a second faster than Mini E, 2 seconds quicker than the 2009 Toyota Prius, and 4 seconds under the Honda Insight. Not too shabby in our book. The lack of a conventional transmission makes it feel very peppy and this car shouldn’t have any problems getting up to speed on the expressway.

Think about driving a golf cart. When you mash the gas pedal, it goes and doesn’t slow down for gears to shift. It’s the same thing in the Volt. The car just goes until it tops out without any jerking action that’s normally caused by the transmission.

The Volt will come with two different driving modes. One is for regular accelerate and coast type driving. The other is basically a one pedal driving mode. In this mode (which I didn’t like by the way), when the gas pedal isn’t pressed down, the brakes are instantly engaged. It felt a lot like driving in a very low gear at high speeds. This mode does have a purpose though.

Driving in this mode maximizes the energy regeneration from the electro-hydraulic brakes and therefore, helps keep the battery charged. This mode isn’t meant for expressway cruising, but more for stop and go traffic where the braking action will likely be performed anyway.

We drove the Volt Mule around GM’s Warren Tech Center for about 25 minutes and didn’t use a drop of gas. The Volt isn’t technically a plug-in hybrid. It shares a new vehicle segment called Extended-Range Electric Vehicle with the Fisker Karma. The car has a 1.4 liter engine on-board, but it isn’t connected to the wheels at all. The engine is there to act as a generator and recharge the batteries if they become depleted.

This engine gives the Volt around the same overall range as a standard car and kicks in when needed. We didn’t get the chance to experience the switch over during our drive but we hear that it should be seamless. Also, the Volt will probably have enough noise dampening that the small 1.4L shouldn’t sound that loud inside.

GM claims that the Volt will be able to drive about 40 miles on the lithium-ion batteries alone. That distance, however, is subject slightly to the draw on the electrical system by the heater and A/C unit. We asked the Volt’s head engineer about how much potential distance is lost, and he said only a few miles.

The Volt mule was a blast to drive and we can’t wait to see the final product. The next batch of test mules that merry the Voltec powerplant with the production Volt body and interior are under construction right now and are due in early June. Those prototypes, by the way, are right on schedule according to the original timetable.

If GM maintains the same breakneck development speed, we can see how not only this car, but the Voltec platform in general, can help save the company. There is already work on the next-gen platform and beyond. GM debuted the Cadillac Converj at the 2009 North American International Auto Show which is built on the same goods as the Volt.

Like Frank Weber told us though, GM has put the best of the best on this project and has turned out something incredible in a very short time span. It’s just too bad that the company could not push out other revolutionary vehicles at the same speed.

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The NY Auto Show kicks off later this week, but we’ve already seen a few things worth mentioning. We’re on the fence about the P.U.M.A., the new GTi from VW is nice (details later today), but the Scirocco would have been a lot cooler and then there’s the 2010 Ford Fiesta. Oh yes, the Fiesta from Europe is coming stateside and it’s looking pretty mean. We had the chance to whip this 4-door hatchback around Manhattan during rush hour and it performed admirably.

Biggs and I actually got one of these last year when we were in Germany for CeBIT and it was pretty meh, but this new one is something different. It’s going to come packed to the gills in three trims and sell for under $14k, give or take. Details and specs are still being tweaked because the hatchback is coming from Europe, which has done really well over the pond, but it’ll have 1.6 liters of teeny ferociousness under the hood, much like a little Chihuahua I know.

We can’t say too much about handling, but it’s tight and responsive. We avoided a few kamikaze cabs and unexpected potholes along our trip to midtown. But we’re not sure how it does on the open road or up in the hills. However, it seems pretty perfect for city folk.

On the tech side of things, the Fiesta packs quite a bit of extras that you probably won’t find on comparable models from others. For instance, Sync will be available along with satellite radio and a sound system by Sony. The kicker for me was the push button start. You also get hands-free calling via Bluetooth and a USB port to plug in your iPod that can be controlled from the touch-screen.

Who’s played Gran Turismo on the PlayStation? Remember the 1996 Ford Escort RS Cosworth from GT3 A-Spec? Yeah, well, the Fiesta is the spittin image of that rally car and it looks aggressive as all hell. Check out the gallery.

Besides giving jerks like me a free ride, Ford is tapping 100 “agents” to spread the word, or the Fiesta Movement, by giving them Fiestas for six months. They’ll have little “missions” to go on – whatever that means. Ford is really going after the social media crowd by picking certain “agents” who, they think, are heavy hitters on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and the Blogosphere. Two applicants have more than 30,000 friends on MySpace. Six applicants have more than 20,000 subscribers on YouTube. Seven applicants are bloggers who get more than 100,000 hits per month. Eight applicants have more than 2000 friends on Facebook. And twenty applicants have more than 2000 followers on the Twitter.

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Here’s a quick video I took on my BlackBerry of the PUMA in action. To recap – the PUMA is a two-wheeled Segway that can drive up to 35 miles on a single charge (35 cents per charge) and is capable of going up to 35MPH. Oh, I just overheard one of the higher ups say that PUMA will have a beefed up suspension to handle rough terrain like NYC’s pothole riddled streets. Check back later for a video of our very own test drive. I fear for my life. Heh.

It was a bit windy earlier so you might want to turn down your speakers. The second video has some commentary from the Segway rep, though.

And here’s the official video from Segway.

Oh, and a gallery!

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Test Drive is a new series that we’re starting at CrunchGear wherein we get a hands-on look at new or interesting modes of transportation. It’s not limited to just cars, either. We’ll take a look at just about anything from scooters to rockets and everything in between.

I’ve always been a tad averse to Volkswagens since my days in HS. For some reason, I always associated a VW with a girl’s car. Perhaps the flower holder in the Beetle was a bit much, VW. I simply could not be associated with any brand that touted a flower holder as a feature. Heh. I would have given my right arm for a mint Scirocco, but all the ones I could find were in disarray having been driven hard by those ‘racer’ types. When the parental units are doing the purchasing – you tend to keep your mouth shut and hope they don’t pawn the old family van on you.

For the better part of a decade, I’ve steered clear of VW – mainly because I don’t drive anymore- but I have to hand it to them with their recent ad campaign. They’re clever and the viral online campaigns are a big time sink, which is smart on VW’s part. VW is one of the very few brands that find a way to thrive and not just survive when times are tough. And what better than to offer a sophisticated looking ride that offers countless amenities, a smooth ride and that doesn’t hit your wallet too hard? Enter the CC.

Admittedly, the CC doesn’t quite have all the tech-related features we look for when taking Test Drives, but there are a few notables from our gadget-obsessed perspective. We drove around the CC Sport edition, which is the base model 4-banger with a 2.0L Turbo that gets a respectable 21MPG in the city and 31MPG on the highway. It comes as a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic with Tiptronic that starts at $27,100. You can opt for the Luxury (same power plant as Sport), VR6 Sport or VR6 4Motion models that have a 3.6L, VR6 powerplant with 280HP that tops out at $39,800, but they only come with automatic transmissions.

When traversing a city you’re unfamiliar with, GPS certainly comes in handy, right? As a $2640 upgrade, the “technology package with MDI (Media Device Interface)” would probably be the one upgrade I’d opt for. And I suppose the Bluetooth option is worth the $275, or of course a dorky $50 Bluetooth headset would suffice as well. So, the MDI supports USB devices other than your iPod, like hard drives or flash drives, and displays ID3 tags with full control over devices via the touch-screen interface. There is, however, a USB port in the glove box as well if you choose not to opt for the tech package. Also included in the package are Sirius satellite radio, CD, DVD and a rear-view camera that’s inconspicuously hidden in the rear badge.

For the gadget-obsessed like myself, the CC has three 12V power outlets placed in the main cabin, rear cabin and trunk. It’s not an AC outlet, but it’s certainly better than nothing and it comes with every trim.

While not available in the Sport or Luxury model, the 10-speaker Dynaudio system puts out a total of 600W for adequate easy listening while on the road trip. Miley Cyrus sounded great, as did Smoosh.

One of my pet peeves is people who leave their blinkers on after they’ve already switched lanes. The CC comes equipped with the Lane Change Feature that blinks three times with just a tap and immediately stops. Can’t you people hear the ticking noise?

Another neat feature of the CC is the electronic parking brake that’s lever- and pedal-less. It’s just a button that you click to engage and disengage. Genius.

One of the simplest housekeeping things to keep in mind with your car is tire pressure. I typically checked air pressure in my car every couple weeks while getting a fill up, but I know some of you are guilty of not doing this or you know someone that is, right? Well, the CC automatically does it for you and alerts you to low tire pressure in the center cluster of the dashboard. Now you don’t have any excuses and you’ll save yourself money on gas and tires with this feature.

Available on the VR6 models are Bi-Xenon headlights that shift 15 degrees in the direction you’re going. I don’t know what it is about these new-fangled headlights that I enjoy, but I dug them on the MKS and CC. It might have something to do with growing up in the West Hills of Portland where all the roads in my neighborhood were twisties.

Well, that’s just a quick summation of the tech-related features of the Volkswagen CC. The CC offers a touch of class and adequate muscle without breaking the bank.

Volkswagen CC

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The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is the latest to join a growing crop of hybrids that doesn’t look like a traditional hybrid. This Fusion hybrid looks almost identical to its non-hybrid counterparts, but easily gets great gas milage while sporting a look most will find acceptable. This hybrid might not get Prius-type mileage, but it’s also larger, more comfortable, equipped with equally impressive electronics, and doesn’t looks like a roller skate.

The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid isn’t a Prius or Insight killer and it never was meant to be. It doesn’t put up the same type of mileage and it can cost a bit more. This car isn’t geared to peeps who want everyone to know that they are hugging trees and saving whales, but rather the everyday man who needs the function of a mid-size car that gets great gas mileage. With a few small exceptions, like different fog light housings and a unique color option, the body is identical to the standard models, which is a good thing as it’s a looker.

The new Fusion body builds upon the styling cues of the original model but throws in an almost Japanese look. The taillights hint of a Subaru influence and the headlights are very Lexus-ish. The grill, however, is all Ford Fusion. Overall, the new style works well and it’s a great looking wannabe sport sedan.

Inside, many of the instruments come from the Ford parts bin with the notable exception of the LCD instrument cluster. Even over 3,200 miles in 8 days, the seats were comfy, supportive and showed their sporty side on PCH 1 in-between LA and San Francisco. My pregnant wife, who rode shotgun on the Detroit to San Francisco trip, found the seats to be sufficient with the aid of a small pillow.

The center instrument column is the glaring exception of the good looking car though. It’s ugly and poorly designed. It’s overwhelming at times with poorly placed buttons and a strange sloping design. The car we drove across country didn’t have a GPS system so perhaps that option improves the look and function.

Now, the instrument cluster, which is the most innovative part of the car. Flanking the center-placed speedometer is two LCD screens that display all the necessary info about the automobile: fuel level, hybrid drive status, live MPG, odometer, everything really. These LCD screens work in real time and are very smooth in operation.

This design evolution is a welcome change from the traditional dial-type gauges, but the long term viability is still in question. These screens will probably cost dramatically more to replace than traditional analog gauges and low-cost neighborhood garages might not be able to do the work. Still, these screens are the best part of the car and you must watch the video walkthrough to fully appreciate their function.

Fuel economy is still the most important aspect of this automobile despite the sweet electronics and great styling. We drove this car from Detroit across the plains to South Dakota and then south to Denver. Over the next couple of days we traversed the Rocky Mountains and made our way to LA via Las Vegas. And then up to San Francisco by way of the winding Pacific Coast Highway 1. Over the 3,200 miles of semi-aggressive and fast highway driving, this 2010 Ford Fusion recorded 35.1 miles per gallon, which is slightly less than the EPA estimates of 41 in the city and 36 on the highway.

Many non-hybrid cars can get this type of fuel economy. Even my old 2000 Grand Prix can see similar mileage through carefully and thoughtful driving. We had many miles to travel to get from Detroit to San Francisco so let’s just say “carefully and thoughtful driving” wasn’t a top priority. I can truthfully say that anyone can get over 35 mpg in this mid-size car if I did. You can budget your fuel cost easily ’cause it’s that easy to get that mileage. Seriously, no matter how hard I pushed the car on PCH 1 or how fast I went across the vast emptiness that is South Dakota, this car got 35 mpg. Higher mileage could have easily been attained if the cruise was set at 65 mpg the entire trip, but that wouldn’t have been fun.

Similar hybrids are available from other manufacturers as well. Toyota sells a Camry hybrid, GM offers a hybrid Malibu, and even Nissan sells an Altama Hybrid. This Ford isn’t much different from the other options, which is a good thing as the other models are trend setters. The Fusion has great styling inside and out, a comfortable interior and as a plus, gets slightly better gas mileage than the other options. There isn’t much more that potential buyers could want out of this car.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: Highly recommended.
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This is going to be one heck of a trip: 10 days, over 3,000 miles, two people all in one 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. We have a lot planned for readers on this trip too. A bunch of companies have provided some gear in the spirit of the road trip. Navigon gave us a bunch of GPSs, Jabra is throwing in BT350 headsets and Bluetooth speakerphones. We have Black and Decker power inverters, a couple of WowWee Rovios, and even a Nokia N96 to give away during the trip. Some contest will be on CrunchGear’s main site, and others will be given away to my Twitter followers. (@MJBurnsy) (twitter is your best chance)

Best of all though, we get to spend a bunch of time with what might be one of the hottest hybrids on the road. The EPA claims this thing gets 41 MPG in the city and 32 MPG on the highway. Plus, it has that sweet LCD dashboard cluster. It’s going to great. Stay tuned for the contests, giveaways and info about the hybrid. A contest will go up shortly when we hit the first leg of our trip within an hours. (Hint: It involves you guessing the MPG used between Dearborn, MI and Chicago, IL for a brand new, unreleased GPS unit.)

Editor’s Note: Matt’s expenses at the end of this trip will be paid by the Ford Motor Company. We are not required to write anything good – or anything, really – about the Fusion during the course of the trip although we did choose to partake in the trip because of the technology in the car itself.

Test Drive is a new series that we’re starting at CrunchGear wherein we get a hands-on look at new or interesting modes of transportation. It’s not limited to just cars, either. We’ll take a look at just about anything from scooters to rockets and everything in between.

A wee bit ago I took a spin in the Ford Flex here in NYC. While it’s not a geek’s dream, it does have a few high tech goodies that kept my interest. That’s what we’re going to focus on with these Test Drive features going forward since we’re not an auto blog.

We’ll start off with Easy Fuel. I haven’t owned a car in three years but I remember losing my gas cap once or twice and with Easy Fuel you won’t have to worry about such things any longer. Ford claims that the design cuts the amount of fuel emissions that get released because it’s only open for a short amount of time. I had no way of testing that, but it sort of makes sense. Are there any gear heads in the audience that may know about such things?

After having flown Virgin America I now know what impact ambient lighting has on a person. I never really got the warm fuzzys from Philips ambient lighting products, but Ford’s in-car setup was nice. You can flip through seven colors to find the right color for your mood that’s tastefully splashed across the interior of the car. The in-car refrigerator was probably my favorite nerdy addition. The backseat cooler can fit up to seven 12-ounce cans. You don’t need to spend six figures on a Maybach for that luxury.

Next up is the Sync system, which I reviewed last month when I checked out the Lincoln MKS. I won’t go into great detail for this drive, but I will mention the new features that Flex supports. Mainly 911 Assist and something called Vehicle Health Report.

911 Assist does exactly what its name implies, assuming your cell phone is connected via Bluetooth. In the event of a car crash, airbag deployment triggers the system to dial out, but it gives you the option to cancel if it’s a minor accident and you’re ok. Emergency fuel pump shut-off also triggers the service. It comes standard and there’s no extra fee. Again, this wasn’t something I tested because I wouldn’t intentionally trigger the airbags to smash open my face, but I don’t think this is something Ford and Microsoft would just throw together at the last minute. But then again, you never know.

Sony takes care of the listening experience and since I was on a ‘driving tour’ with other journos in the car, I couldn’t crank the system up as high as I would have liked. But it’s packed with 12 speakers and satellite radio services.

The last thing I’ll mention isn’t gadgety or nerdy, but I really liked the Vista roof. It reminded me of the Mercedes Benz panorama rooftops that you could get on the ’97 SL600. I’m sure you could have gotten it other models, but that’s the one that comes to mind.

I enjoyed cruising around Manhattan in the Flex and it was neat to see pedestrians stop and stare as six (or was seven?) Flexs made their way through the city. It reminded me of the old Surf Woodies from the 60s and 70s. The 3.5L V6 power plant took an iron foot to get up and go, but it accelerated smoothly. And the cabin remained quiet, even in busy sections of Manhattan. The FWD version musters up 24MPG on the highway and 17 in the city, which I suppose is commendable for a car of that size. These beasts start out at $28,500.

Product Page

Test Drive is a new series that we’re starting at CrunchGear wherein we get a hands-on look at new or interesting modes of transportation. It’s not limited to just cars, either. We’ll take a look at just about anything from scooters to rockets and everything in between.

This ain’t your daddy’s Lincoln Town Car. In fact, it’s completely different than anything you’ve ever seen before. With balls to the wall power and a teeth shattering sound system, the MKS from Lincoln is a whole other beast. And I like it.

Like our other Test Drive features, I won’t get into the gearheadesque details of reviewing a car, but, rather, focus on the technological side of it. I will start with a few notes about how fast it is, though.

Flying down Highway 101 at over 100MPH has never been so comfortable and the exact opposite of petrifying. The 3.7-liter Ford Duratec V6 clone musters up 273 ponies and 270 pounds feet of torque. It’s fast and the AWD system ties the beast to the ground. Acceleration is a little wonky when in Standard drive mode. It revved a bit longer than I would have liked and didn’t want to switch gears. But in manual mode, the six-speed Lincoln was a powerhouse off the line. I had no idea how fast I was going on most occasions. How I walked away from my visit to the Bay Area without getting a ticket is beyond me.

The interior of the MKS is plush, to say the least. Covered in black leather the driver’s chair (as well as the rest of the cabin) is extremely comfortable and I’d say 90 percent of the comfort factor comes from the electronically adjustable seat. Sure, it does the standard adjustments, but the MKS has an adjustable lumbar support. You can pump it up or down depending on your preference and move it down towards your bum or upper-lower back.

Climate control systems are usually pretty featureless, but one aspect of the MKS climate control system stole my heart. I don’t do so well when it’s warm out. I’m not as bad as John Biggs wherein I sweat through my clothing in a matter of seconds, but I heat up pretty quickly. If you suffer from swamp of the ass then the cooling fans located in the bottom and backs of the driver or passenger seat will surely keep your core temperature under control. If you get cold easily you simply need to turn up the seat warmer and vice versa. Three variable levels keep you cool or warm at all times. This just might be my favorite feature in the MKS.

Or there’s the shifting headlight system that turns when you turn (while driving). The only downside and maybe this applies to all cars, but I didn’t think the MKS threw out enough light. I felt like I could only see 10 feet in front of me.

Like most Ford vehicles, the MKS comes with Sync and it sure made getting around the Bay easy. It comes at a price, though. The Ultimate Package will set you back $5715, but it comes with a ton of goodies like 19-inch rims, dual panel moonroofs, adaptive headlamps (turn when you turn), rear view camera, THX built 5.1 surround sound system and a voice activated navigation system. But I like the time sensitive greeting it gives me when I fire up the MKS.

Maybe I haven’t spent enough time with PNDs but after using a TomTom XL the weekend prior to receiving the MKS I have to say that in-car nav systems trump any and all PNDs. That shouldn’t really come as a surprise but you should know that Sync works fantastic. It even recognizes voice commands from those that aren’t native English speakers or those with heavy accents. Of course, you have to speak clearly enough for the sytem to register your command, but I was impressed with how well it worked. The only annoyance is the waiting between commands while the system offers you options. Routing and rerouting were snappy and are displayed beautifully on a big 8-inch touch screen. The British lady crammed into the dash is not annoying or berating like the ones found in PNDs.

When you’re roughly one mile from the next turn the display goes split-screen to show you what the exit will look like. If you’ve driven in the Bay or even LA area then you know how complicated some of the on- and off-ramps can be. Needless to say I adored the simplicity and acurateness of the navigation system in the MKS.

Sirius satellite radio service as well as Sirius Travel Link is also offered. Travel Link offers pertinent data to your commute like real time traffic info, fuel prices, movie listings, weather, and sports scores. This service will set you back $7/month.

The center console offers a USB port and line-in port so you can recharge devices and/or plug in your iPod, Zune or “PlaysForSure” devices. A complete list of supported devices can be found here.

Ripping CDs to the built-in Jukebox is simple and whomever had the car before me left plenty of new and great bands to listen to. If memory serves me correctly, it’s a 20GB HDD that cannot be accessed by the owner. Unless you’re one of those nuts that likes to take things apart to see how they work.

Controls on the steering allow you to make/receive phone calls, control music playback and activate Sync without ever having to fiddle with touch screen or controls on the dashboard. I did run into a few occassions where you have to tag-team the system from the steering wheel and dashboard to pull up what I needed to see on the display.

One of the only issues I encountered with the Sync system was hooking up my iPhone 3G. For some odd reason it wouldn’t play back tracks through the system after having paired the device so I could make hands-free calls. I could search and see my library, but nothing was coming through the speakers. After hooking up another iPhone it started to work again. Not sure what happened there, but it was one of the faulty things I encountered during my review. The only other thing I noticed was that it didn’t list everything that was stored on my iP3G. For example, I have two Nico Vega EPs and only one of the albums would show up. But when I played all tracks in my library the EP that was missing was present in the playlist. Has anyone else encountered this?

In case you didn’t know, you can receive text messages while driving and the Sync system reads them aloud if you want it to. There are 15 existing replies you can choose from that makes things easier while you’re driving.

The MKS has keyless entry and a push button start. While the car was on I tried walking away with the key fob to see if the car would shut off but nothing happened, but I’d imagine it wouldn’t start if the fob weren’t in the car when started.

Understand that I haven’t driven in quite some time so I really liked the rear view camera that appeared when the car was put into Reverse. It displays three stages of closeness denoted by green, red and yellow lines. It beeps like all hell when you’re super close, too. There are also sensors in the front bumper that beep when you or something gets too close to you.

Now let’s talk about the first THX 5.1 surround system built for an automobile. Before we get into how it sounds let’s cover the basics. The MKS is equipped with 15 speakers, one 10-inch subwoofer and is powered by a combined 600W amplifier system that’s broken down over 12 individual amplifiers.

The highlight of the system for me is the center slot speaker that powers the Razer THX Mako 2.1 system. That one speaker alone pulls the entire system together to make it sound phenomenal. It’s also not as big as the speaker grill would have you think. The Ford engineers just want you to know that there’s a speaker there. The slot speaker only takes up a small section that’s roughly four or five inches by an inch or so. Those measurements aren’t correct but I don’t think they’re far off either.

It’s a bassy system and even when the bass is turned all the way down the system had no issues making my brain rattle while listening to Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. That’s not a bad thing but it depends on the type of music you listen to. I like bass, but I realize not everyone else does. You’re also going to need to crank up the volume for it to really bother you, too. Sound quality is top notch and cranking up the volume doesn’t affect that.

The THX system offers two Digital Signal Processing modes: Stereo and Surround Sound. Surround Sound was far superior to Stereo mode.

One of the drawbacks to raising the volume is that it makes it very hard to hear the nav system give commands. The system automatically cuts out the front speakers while giving directions but when it’s loud the rear speakers overpower the front. So be sure you have a rough idea of where you’re going or simply turn down the volume.

As a youth, I was into car stereo systems and having a system like this would have been a dream come true. The overall sound quality is crisp and clear.

The AWD MKS was a fun car to drive while I was at home. I know I drove a lot faster and blasted the stereo system louder than I should have, but it sure was fun. It sucks up a lot of gas, though. Estimated EPA is rated at 16MPG/City and 23MPG/Highway. The MKS we tested has an MSRP of $45570.

Lincoln MKS

Some of these images were taken while driving so they might be blurry.

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The gadgetry in the Infiniti EX35 we tested was intense. Not only is there XM Satellite Radio there is a Bose sound system, front and rear curb sensors, and an amazing external viewing system that initially took my breath away. After driving around in a 2000 Beetle for six years, hopping into the $35,000 EX35 was like visiting Epcot Center after riding around on a carnival merry-go-round for most of your life.

My goal in reviewing this car is to talk about how it made me feel as a geek, not a driver. As a car, it got a respectable 24 mpg on the highway and had strong acceleration. It’s powered by a 297-horsepower V6 engine and features all wheel drive. You’ll get about 17 city and 26 highway mpg and a calm, quiet ride without the height of an SUV.

We took a test drive to Columbia, Pennsylvania, taking the car on turnpikes and smaller highways. The drive was quiet and solid with good handling and excellent acceleration when needed – although the car really revved up when you called any of its horses into play.

So what of all these gadgets? First, you have the sound system. It’s a Bose-branded system with CD, optional hard drive Music Box, and iPod/component input for external devices. The model we tested included XM Radio. All of the features are controlled by a touchscreen and set of buttons on the dash and there are a few basic controls on the wheel which changed inputs, volume, and track/channel while driving. I had mixed emotions about the touchscreen/button combo at first. For example, there was one button marked Status and another marked Info. What did they have to do with each other? What was the difference? In many situations, both would fall back to a “status” screen with current track information as well as some other info. The center dash info screen offered the same odd situation. The center OLED read-out could tell you the outside temperature, the miles left on the tank, and your fuel efficiency – but never at once. You also had control over this read-out in a settings menu that offered more oddness. I didn’t want to read the manual so we fumbled our way through and found all there was to find: in short, you’re dealing with a complex car system that has been dumbed-down in UI in order to improve efficiency.

The audio itself was fine – the XM radio sounded better than the music on the iPod but that could have been the bit-rate on both sources. The dedicated iPod cable in the center compartment, between the two seats, connects your iPod and shows all of your tracks on the screen and allows for easy browsing of the iPod while driving.

The car also included built-in GPS that, in its out-of-the-box configuration, stops responding to input while driving. This was, in short, infuriating. It often got a strong signal while driving, but this limitation was unnerving.

Finally, there is the Around View Monitor. This is honestly what sold me on the car’s value as a family crossover. The Around View Monitor consists of multiple cameras – some in the rear view mirrors and two in the front and back – that creates a 360-degree view of your surroundings. This is an amazing addition to a fairly low-priced car and it was a great help while parking in our tight driveway or on New York streets. The system basically creates an extrapolated, fish-eye view of the world and shows you what you are facing and what’s behind you. You can see folks walking around on all sides and the distance sensors tell you how close you are to walls and other obstacles.

All together, this gadgetry package adds quite a bit of pep to what would otherwise be known as a family station wagon. The back trunk is a bit cramped but by pulling down the seats you have enough room to haul almost anything you need – as you see in the photos we were able to lie a buggy flat in there with room to spare. We wouldn’t recommend the Music Box feature – it’s just a hard drive – but the iPod connector was great.

As a vehicle, the EX35 was strong, handsome, and the gorgeous deep brown paint job – a color verging on scarlet – was striking. As a rolling gadget trove the EX35 was something else entirely. It is a road-hugging crossover with acceptable gas mileage with an internal computer system that will keep any geek happy for miles.

Test Drive is a new series that we’re starting at CrunchGear wherein we get a hands-on look at new or interesting modes of transportation. It’s not limited to just cars, either. We’ll take a look at just about anything from scooters to rockets and everything in between.

Last night in Manhattan at Terminal 5 we were privy to an intimate gathering to check out Chevy’s extended-range electric vehicle, the Volt. We’ve mentioned it here and there on the site, but this was the first opportunity for anyone on staff to get up close and personal. I came away impressed and I’m rarely wowed by anything domestic. It certainly helps that the Volt will be in the upcoming Transformers movie, too.

The Volt represents a shift in the automobile industry, but we won’t know for sure what sort of impact it will have because the Volt won’t hit full production until 2010. I won’t even begin to try and breakdown all the different facets of the Volt as if I’m an automotive pundit, so I thought I’d share the presentation that was given to me by Bob Boniface, lead designer for Volt, and Frank Weber (he sounds like the Governator), Vehicle Line Executive.

You will need to have Quicktime installed to stream the video and you might have to turn up the volume on your speakers or throw some ‘phones on. It’s about 45 minutes, but they explain quite a bit about the Volt and some heated debates ensue a few minutes in.