2010 Lexus RX 350

 Lexus' RX line has been a strong seller since it first went on sale in 1998. Its huge drawing (many eld have seen income of more than 100,000 annually) have prefabricated it the digit to beat in the luxury SUV category. The newborn generation returns for 2010 with a newborn look, refreshed interior, revised engine, newborn transmission, and newborn technology. It's still available in front- or all-wheel drive, with a 3.5-liter V-6 on its own or as conception of a organism system.

 

 On the outside, the 2010 RX 350 seems to be a contradiction: It was given crisper body lines and enough changes to exhibit that it's a new model, still it takes a certain look at digit to actualise it isn't, in fact, the senior RX sitting in front of you. And whatever could debate that the only abstract the changes achieved was that they made the SUV less attractive than it was before.

 

Along with the newborn style become newborn dimensions: The newborn model is 1.6 inches individual on a 1.0-inch-longer wheelbase, and it's 1.6 inches wider and a touch taller. Headroom is down, but other than that, driver and passengers have more expanse to stretch in the quiet cabin than they did before. The ordinal row is notably roomy, modify though the drawing show only minor improvements in head-, leg-, and hiproom. The driver-side door closes with a overconfident \"thunk,\" and slipping behind the steering rotate of the newborn RX is far from a shock to the system. If you've been in a Lexus, you'll recognize the layout and locations of most, if not all, of the controls. Our RX 350 came with a 12-speaker AM/FM/CD/XM with NavTraffic and NavWeather; aux jack; heated, airy face seats; and a one-touch open/close moonroof. One feature that's newborn for 2010 is the Remote Touch Controller, which functions much like a computer mouse for the nav system, but our tester wasn't equipped with this item.

Lexus HS250h

The LS, Lexus' competitor for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi A8, and BMW 7 Series, ever lagged behind its Teutonic rivals because driving it was a somewhat detached, uninvolved experience. However, for 2010, that may be changing: for the first time, Lexus is offering a sport package for the LS.

The package adds an extra $6185 to the bottom line, and is only offered on short-wheelbase, rear-drive LS models. That extra money gets you exterior visual cues, including body cladding; 19-inch, 10-split-spoke impureness wheels; summer tires; and a unequalled grille. There are also major differences inside. This is the first Lexus on the market where the vegetation (in this case dark brown tree burl wood) has a matte finish, a countenance that we'd like to wager in more of the company's vehicles. There is only one interior colouration scheme in this car, and the matte vegetation goes with Black/Saddle Tan cut leather with contrast stitching. Also unequalled are the sport way in front, which are comfortable on the highway, yet provide terrific bolstering and support in turns.

 

But the Sport help is not just an appearance package. There are those telltale styling cues inside and out, but there's a lot more to it. What makes this the most elating help in the LS line is the addition of a sportier transmission, newborn brakes, and a sport-tuned suspension. The 380-horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8 has ever been backed by an eight-speed semiautomatic transmission, but the Sport trans gets the IS F treatment: it comes with the IS F's paddle shifters and manual mode. Since both of these cars use the AA80E transmission (in the rear-drive LS), it would seem that this was a relatively logical step for the Sport. It brings the hurried shifts that we love in the IS F, and the eight-speed won't automatically shift if the automobile hits redline. In addition, it provides rev-matching throttle blips when downshifting. The newborn trans provides the hurried acceleration of the direct-injection V-8, plus the ability to manually curb shifts with either paddles or the shifter-and really curb them. Up front, there are 14.8-inch Brembo brushwood (these are larger diameter rotors than on the IS F) with high-friction brushwood pads. And the difference is noticeable. Response is excellent, as braking is hurried without being jarring.

 

2009 BMW 335d

Editor at large Arthur St. Antoine was at the 335d's wheel when an oblivious utility of a Volkswagen Jetta, going most 30 mph, rear-ended the Bimmer at a stoplight. \"The 335d took the impact unco well,\" notes St. Antoine.

\"It was ease driveable, and the rear render was intact. The kid's Jetta, the device of the two vehicles, didn't fare so well. The entire front end had stepped backward a some inches, the hood was folded, and the radiator was likely damaged.\" As St. Antoine has stated, the 335d, which would later be restored for around $3500, was ease driveable, so our staff continued to rack up the miles. \"After Art's misfortune a some weeks ago,\" logs associate Web producer Rory Jurnecka, \"the car ease feels unco solid, and I can't believe how little alteration was done to the car. It ease rides and drives just fine.\"

 

 

BMW 3-Series

 You know this car. The underway 3 Series has been around for close to five years, but it remains the direct of every automaker looking to make a name for itself in the mid-size luxury segment -- and it's the standard by which they are measured. Now, it fills the driveways of the suburbs, the streets of L.A., and the pages of magazines. This car? Played discover like a Top 40 track.

So why devote more space to it? Because all that overexposure still hasn't weakened it. The BMW 335i Coupe smartly blends luxury and sport; it's as content zooming along a winding land agency as it is motoring along the bleakest of freeways during those endless agency trips.

Part of its plasticity can be attributed to BMW's much-lauded twin-turbo straight six baritone hood. It's an engine that's not long for this world, as a more fuel-efficient, single-turbo version is in the offing from Munich. We'll woman the twin-turbo's stout powerband and overall tractability. It's deceivingly smooth -- you'll encounter yourself rise substantially above posted speed limits if you don't pay attention. It's docile at baritone rpm, but surges through the tach with immediacy at a tweet of the throttle. The EPA rates the two-door 335i at 17/26 mpg. We averaged 25.3 mpg hwy/hooligan combined.

 

 Lag is a non-issue. In fact, the 335i accelerates as though it has a large move engine, not a turbocharged one. Peak torque, 300 lb-ft, is on touch from 1400-5000 rpm. And the claimed 300 hp leads us to believe BMW is being bashful: The last 335i manual we tested reached 60 indication in 5.1 seconds.

But the acceleration isn't the point. What's most awesome is the sensation behindhand the wheel, the ease of disposing the 5-20 indication reordering of L.A. freeways, the move of wide-open throttle upshifts.

No sporty pretense here. Revs fall quickly between shifts, a welcome modify compared to the deviant amount of time many of today's engines take. The clutch, which crapper feel reddened at first, offers the correct feedback, patch the shifter slots neatly into each cog. The tense mate calls discover agency imperfections and changes in surface through the cabin, patch the delightfully thick-rimmed control wheel transmits the desires of the foam on the road. Once you fall into the rhythm, every bend presents an opportunity to drop a gear, sound redline, and center the sonorous 3.0L song.

2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

 Now here's a Corvette after Martha Stewart's heart. The husbandly diva is forever transforming things found around the concern into lovelier newborn things that sit around the house. In these rather tough times, the Corvette team has condemned a page from her book, ripped it out, and headed to the garage. By scrounging up whatever of their prizewinning action hardware, they've managed to cobble up a newborn car that just might be cool enough to warrant resurrection of the storied Grand Sport moniker.

 

Underneath every the shiny/pretty it's a humble steel-frame LS3-powered 'Vette, to which are fitted a mix of Z51 action collection parts (spring rates, fireman ratio drill transmission gearing and shorter axle ratio on the automatic), and Z06 bits (front and rear fascias, hood, anti-roll bars, brake rotors and calipers, wider tires and the bodywork to counterbalance them). The dry-sump oiling system from the Z06 and ZR1 is also fitted to drill Grand Sports, which means these special motors module today be hand assembled alongside their big-brother stablemates, the LS7 and LS9 engines, in Wixom Michigan, apiece by a azygos technician who module sign his or her work. The exclusive field parts they had to tool up were the front fenders, which feature double-gill cove styling and are made of RIM impressible same the humble car's, the rear lodge panels, unequalled new wheels, and the actual springs and dampers, which are tailored to the GS's unequalled weight and characteristics (they ride almost just same the old Z51's).

 

The Grand Sport replaces the Z51 in the help lineup as the highest performing \"base\" car, but it also allows folks to enjoy the dolphin wide-body attitude and presence of a Z06 in a inferior extremity package that permits open-air motoring in either the removable-roof hatchback or convertible bodystyles. Paying for every those Z06 bits boosts the price by $4510 over the old Z51, but at $55,720 to start, it's about 20 grand cheaper than the aluminum-frame 7.0-liter Z06. Customers hit apparently been clamoring for such a package so aloud that the team expects up to half of every Corvette income to be Grand Sports.