Adding M to new 2 series gives BMW challenger

May this Memorial Day Weekend bring happy thoughts and kind remembrances to all, as we enjoy our variable weather.

The roads today, Sunday and Monday will be filled with cars and trucks, including a rush of late-model beauties.

Show me something in a size 2, please, in red metallic, with some flair and a faster-than-heck look.

Matching that request is the 2014 BMW M235i Coupe, which reached showrooms two months ago.

This one competes in a new-to-the-U.S. class of undersized premium models against Mercedes-Benz CLA and Audi’s A3 and S3.

The 235 replaces BMW’s 135i from a year ago. BMW’s model nomenclature is now even-numbered for coupes (2, 4 and 6) and odd-numbered for four-doors (3, 5 and 7). Thus, the 328ix I reviewed in December was a four-door sedan, the 435ix was a two-door.

Beneath the hood of the new M235i is a 320-horsepower, 3.0-liter inline-6-cylinder engine, twin-scroll turbocharged with direct-injection, mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission.

Slip down into the relatively narrow, bolstered, thigh-lengthened driver’s sport seat and participate in the performance. Push the Sport button on the center console and move the shifter into manual mode for more sensitive throttle and quickened shifts. In Sport mode, the coupe will run 0 to 60 in fewer than 5 seconds.

Electronically controlled, sport-tuned dampers enhance the car’s handling. Adding to the impression is the sound emitting from the dual exhausts. The combination of grip and rolling ease is gained from Michelin Pilot Super Sport 225/40ZR18 tires. Adding security are larger M Sport brakes, 13.4-inch discs in front and 13.6 at the rear.

The coupe’s rear seat lacks legroom and headroom. Access and egress are okay, as the front seats, with push of a lever, slide far forward for open space to crawl through. The small coupe is bigger than expected in the luggage compartment – 13.8 cubic feet.

Even at its curb weight of 3,535 pounds, this is one of the smaller BMWs I’ve driven in recent years. Smallest was the Z3 back in the late ’90s. One of the most fun to drive was the 1999 M Coupe, based on the Z3 chassis. The M Coupe, with a long hood and odd-looking rear end, stood only 50 inches in height and was barely over 13 feet in length. Above the rear wheel arches, the body tucked in sharply to rear-quarter windows. It was a rough rider, yet so much fun to drive – a great handler. Under the hood, of course, was an inline-6, generating 240 horsepower and 236 lb.-ft. of torque. In the upper left-hand corner of the windshield was a small-type notice reading, “Over the car’s first 1,200 miles don’t use full throttle and don’t exceed 106 miles per hour; and over the first 3,100 miles don’t exceed137 miles per hour.”

The M package pushed sticker price on the 2014 coupe to $46,025. That’s $5,000 higher than a 2014 328i xDrive GT I reviewed five months ago and $10,000 higher than a ’14 320i xDrive about that same time.

Melbourne red metallic exterior with M badging and black leather interior with alcantra headliner highlighted the overall appearance. The coupe was equipped with moonroof, fine-wood trim, automatic climate control, navigation and AM/FM/CD/MP3 with hands-free Bluetooth and USB, xenon headlights and retractable headlight washers.

The 235 has two usable cupholders, never a priority with BMW, at the front of the center console.

The M235i averaged 23.4 miles per gallon, at the lower end of its 22/32 EPA estimate.

Adding interest for U.S. luxury-make consumers is recent talk from Leipzig, Germany, where the M235i Coupe is built, that within the next year it will be available in this country with BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system.

Notes from e-mail

Bud, I read your column every week and, partially upon your writing, I purchased a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee loaded. And (in regards to your column last week), to think I could have purchased a Kia for the same amount. The Jeep will climb circles around any Korean vehicle. And you can keep the moonroof, as Colorado is the skin cancer capital of the nation. Thanks for your articles. – B.R.

Well, Brent, I can find lots of favorables for both the Grand Cherokee and the Sorento. I will tell you, though, when we host the annual family Christmas gathering, it looks like a Jeep convention outside our home.

Gateway Mazda sold to Shortline

The Mazda man from Malta last week ended more than 50 years in the car business.

To label Emanuel Bugelli a “Mazda man” is perhaps a misnomer; he’s been associated with many marques, and when I asked him several years ago, “After all those years with all those makes, what’s your favorite,” he said:

“I favor no one make over another. It’s all business. With the right people, you can make anything go; that’s more important than any particular make.”Bugelli on Thursday sold the Gateway Mazda dealership to longtime Denver area car dealer Don Hicks and business partner John Bowell, owners of Shortline Automotive.

“Mazda will fit perfectly with our Shortline group,” said Hicks. Shortline’s Subaru, Kia and Hyundai stores are down the street a few blocks from Gateway Mazda on South Havana Street in Aurora. Hicks opened a Porsche business in Colorado Springs about seven years ago.

Bugelli as a young man came to the U.S. in 1961 from Malta, an island off the coast of Sicily, and landed a job as bookkeeper in a car business.

Through the years, he worked his way into prominent management positions with large California dealerships at Vallejo, Woodland, Riverside and San Diego.

Bugelli came to Denver in 1980 as an associate with Doug Spedding. He bought Friendly Ford in 1982 and added a dealership at Silverthorne in 1987. He bought the Mazda store from Gene Osborn in 1988, then several years later divested his other interests and moved his office to the Gateway Mazda location.

Hicks for more than 25 years has operated Shortline Automotive. He is a member of Subaru Chairman’s Roundtable and in 2008 received the Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award for Colorado.

Hicks began his automotive career in 1972 as a salesman for Courtesy Ford in Littleton.

Sale of the Mazda dealership has been in the works for several weeks. It opened its doors Friday morning under its new banner, Shortline Mazda.

V-6-powered '15 Kia Sorento smooth crossover

The 2015 Kia Sorento SX carried me Wednesday noon to Fort Lupton for lunch with Dick Johnson at the Wholly Stromboli. An unusual restaurant name, one not soon forgotten; I likened it to Harry Caray’s tavern in Chicago known as the Holy Cow.

Dick Johnson and I back in the early 1970s worked side by side on the Denver Post city desk. Dick soon turned his excellent writing skills to a career with the Post’s Empire magazine; I followed another fork in the road filled with automobiles. Dick’s gait has slowed a bit, yet he drives an automobile with as much command as ever from his residence in Denver.

The Sorento today is a smooth-operating crossover. Introduced with a truck-based configuration in 2003, the Sorento gave up its offroad aspirations in May 2010 when, as an ’11 model, it unveiled car-based underpinnings. The sales pace more than doubled almost immediately and Kia has sold more than 100,000 Sorentos yearly since.

The Sorento, which received major styling and power upgrades a year ago, shows minor refinements in its front end for 2015.

A large sunroof, 4 ½ feet long, is a brightener in daylight hours, for the interior of the Sorento review model is very dark, with black leather and even the simulated wood trim is of dark cherry finish. Manual sunshades can be raised on the rear side windows.

Lightly bolstered front leather seats, average-sized, are supportive and comfortable.

Legroom is somewhat tight in the second row. The seats slide fore and aft in order to create entry into the third row, where the smaller seats are decent but lack headroom. The third row, when in place, leaves scarcely any cargo space at the far back. Fold the third row and the cargo area expands to a roomy 37 cubic feet. The spare tire is stowed underneath the rear of the vehicle.

Delivering smooth traction with the SX all-wheel-drive crossover is a 290-horsepower, 3.3-liter V-6 engine and 6-speed automatic transmission, which emphasizes strong midrange torque, particularly when in manual mode. A May 11 snowstorm brought into play Kia’s AWD system, which proportions torque to the rear wheels as needed. The driver, with push of a button on the steering wheel, can engage electric-steering adjustments from normal to soft comfort to quickened sport.

Pushing an ECO button on the center console can increase efficiency by lessening downshifts and throttle response. This size vehicle, though – more than 15 feet long and weighing 3,900 pounds – performs most responsively and responsibly in normal mode.

Handling is impressive. The Sorento is shorter than much of its competition and it shows in a tight turning circle of barely over 35 feet.

With lots of in-town driving during the week, the ’15 Sorento averaged 20.9 miles per gallon. A similar model in testing a year ago averaged 22.7. High-performance dampers, part of a revised, stiffer chassis, lend improved control over road dips and bumps. The Sorento rides on Kumho Crugen P235/55R19 tires on nice 10-spoke mirror-finish alloy wheels.

An easy-to-uses UVO voice and touch infotainment and navigation system, with SiriusXM/Bluetooth/USB, is included with the Sorento SX AWD sticker price of $39,195. Other amenities include rearview camera, Infinity surround-sound, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, side-curtain airbags, heated and cooled front seats, push-button start, tilt/telescope steering wheel, blind-spot detection, rear air conditioning and power liftgate.Also available with cheaper versions of the Sorento is a 191-hp, 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine.

Notes from e-mail

Bud, I think you missed the 2015 Hyundai Genesis at last month’s Denver Auto Show. It is fully equipped at $56,000 and competes with European sedans that cost $30,000 more. – B.S.

Didn’t miss it, Bill; simply didn’t have space for all the impressive models on display. In fact, one will soon be heading my way for test-driving. Think it competes with European sedans costing $30,000 more? We’ll see.

Bud, I’ve been to Estes Park frequently and I believe you were in a “loading only” zone along Main Street in last week’s photo of the Nissan Frontier Pro-4X pickup. A red truck in a no-parking spot, risky. – S.T.

We parked out front of Granny Gingham’s only long enough for the photo, Steve. In driving on up to the Other Side restaurant, Jan and I pulled up alongside seven Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Always a neat sight. As to your parking comments, five or six years ago, we photographed a new Chrysler 300 in the same spot, when main-street parking was legal.

Cummins 6.7 adds tow to Ram 3500

Its 22-foot length makes it an imposing truck on the road; even more mindful for the driver, though, are the large hips at the rear, 8-feet wide, which demand some care in maneuvering through downtown streets or along narrow offroad trails.

It is the 2014 Ram 3500 Laramie Crew Cab 4-by-4 with dual rear wheels and an 8-foot-long box.

The massive, strong, durable 1-ton truck came my way with the Cummins 6.7-liter turbodiesel inline-6-cylinder engine, boasting 850 lb.-ft. of torque. Loaded up with leather and chrome and navigation and premium audio and heated and cooled seats, the Ram 3500 Crew Cab is base-priced at $48,585. A large 8.4-inch display screen enhances the travel and entertainment features.

Add these options and the truck’s sticker climbs to $66,340:

$10,890 for the Cummins turbodiesel with exhaust brake and the Aisin 6-speed automatic transmission, $1,595 for rear air suspension, $1,200 for the dual rear wheels shod with Nexen Roadian all-terrain LT 235/80R17 tires, $500 for UConnect to Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/Sirius/GPS, $475 for spray-in bedliner, and others.

Among other standard items are remote start, rearview camera, speed control, automatic headlamps, heated steering wheel, 32-gallon fuel tank and locking tailgate. Four-wheel-drive lock is at hand with the twist of a dial on the dash. The Ram averaged 14.3 miles per gallon in a 50/50 split of in-town/on-highway driving. The truck is equipped with a diesel exhaust fluid injection tank, which needs refilled every 5,000 to 10,000 miles.

The 6.7 Cummins’ high torque capability gives the Ram 3500 an astounding tow rating near 30,000 pounds, and makes it a force among the others – heavy-duty Ford, Chevy and GMC trucks. The heavy-duty truck category is among the most competitive of American automotive markets.

A new 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 gas engine has been added as an option for the Ram 3500.

The Ram powertrain carries a five-year/100,000-mile warranty.

'14 Nissan Frontier tackler of rugged terrain

Until this week, it had been four years since I’d driven a Nissan Frontier pickup.

Not a lot has changed; it is still a sturdy, good-looking four-door truck with a very small box on the back.

I remember the first Frontier I drove, way back in October 2000. “It’s my all-time favorite product from Nissan,” I said then after spending a week with it.

Over the years, the truck has become somewhat dated. Its unusually wide turning circle, which creates difficulties in parking lots and on narrow streets, is enough to diminish the high praise. The 43 ½-foot turning radius is 3 feet wider than that of its rival, the Toyota Tacoma.

A 2014 Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab, finished in attractive lava red, carried Jan and me on Monday to Estes Park, by way of flood-devastated Glen Haven. The pickup, on the 8-mile drive from Drake to Glen Haven, was dwarfed by the size of the many trucks hauling patching materials and working the roads for which most of the paved surfaces are gone.

As busy as was the highway, the pace in tiny Glen Haven was almost frenetic, with workers everywhere rebuilding the damaged businesses. The general store, known for daily-fresh cinnamon rolls, expects to reopen within a few weeks.

The Frontier’s ride is comfortable, even with its flat seats and lightly bolstered seatbacks. The rear seating area suffers from lack of legroom. “Well, of course, we have the Titan (Nissan’s full-size pickup),” would be the response of a Nissan salesman.

Power is plentiful from the Frontier’s 4-liter V-6 engine, with 201 horsepower and 281 lb.-ft. of torque, and the shifts are smooth from the 5-speed automatic transmission, operated by a tall shifter. It’s a good combination for the 4,400-pound truck.

The Pro-4X turns the Frontier into a very capable four-wheeler; the twist of an electronic switch on the dash engages four-wheel high or, even four-wheel low range. It uses Bilstein offroad-type shocks and B.F. Goodrich Rugged Trail 265/75R16 tires.

Overall fuel-mileage average, aided by the Big Thompson Canyon descent from Estes to Loveland, was 18.3 miles per gallon. Tow capacity for the Frontier Pro-4X is 6,300 pounds.

The Nissan’s cargo bed, only 59 inches in length, grows through dropping of the tailgate and use of sliding bed-extender bars.

A voice-activated navigation system with color display screen headed several options which raised the Frontier’s sticker price to $36,050 from a base of $31,850. Other extras, in addition to the sliding bed extender, were leather seats (heated in front), heated outside mirrors, power moonroof and roof rack.

A Rockford Fosgate audio system with 10 speakers and subwoofers is standard. Included among other items are USB connection port, dual gloveboxes, front/side/curtain airbags, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, cruise control, rearview camera, dual-zone temperature control, rear under-seat storage bin, automatic headlamps, fog lights, skid plates, sliding rear window, spray-on bedliner and adjustable tie-down cleats in the cargo bed.

Notes from e-mail

Hello Bud, I am still driving my 2004 Chevy Trailblazer up here in Conifer where I have a comfort level when switching into four-wheel drive manually. I know that all four wheels are locked in until I believe it is safe to dial it back to two-wheel drive. Conditions up here can be tricky on ice and snow. I trust my visual analysis of the road conditions and just like to know that all my wheels are working when I turn the dial to 4/wheel. Are there any models being made anymore that still gives me that option or are they all automatic when it comes to needing 4/wheel drive. Can I trust that type of driving that the car will know when to switch power to an individual wheel when it senses the need. – F.D.

Though all-wheel-drive crossovers have gained the spotlight, Frank, I believe models such as the Nissan Xterra, Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner and others offer four-wheel-lock capability. However, don’t underestimate the terrain-conquering capabilities of today’s AWD models; most will take you anywhere you want to go, even in wintertime.

Bud, I noticed the 2015 Audi A3 in last weekend’s Post and I’m confused by it. Does it replace the A4 or is Audi expanding its line of cars? – J.M.

You should read the column, Jess, in addition to looking over the photos. It explained that the A3 is smaller than the A4 and joins Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Acura in a new premium compact sedan field.

Audi introduces 2015 A3 sedan; TDI aids A8L

I was just five bills and some change short of a $100,000 review, when, much to my delight, along came the all-new 2015 Audi A3.

The A3, dismantled as a hatchback a year ago, made a return to Audi showrooms several weeks ago in its new form as a small luxury four-door sedan.

And, yes, its newness and its $36,645 sticker price take precedence over the elegant 2014 Audi A8L TDI and its pricetag – $99,445.

For the A3 is a car of the future. It pits Audi against the Mercedes-Benz CLA, BMW 2 series, Acura ILX and others on the drawing board in a field of small premium models that is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years.

Though somewhat smaller, the restyled A3′s exterior looks very similar to the A4 midsize model. At an overall length of 175.4 inches, the A3 is 10 inches shorter than the A4; it is 7 inches shorter in wheelbase and, at 3,362 pounds, is almost 200 lighter in curb weight.

The A3 quattro all-wheel-drive sedan is a nimble performer, with its 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine of 220 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque. It is mated to an Audi S-tronic, 6-speed double-clutch gearbox that shifts smoothly and quickly, particularly when moved into manual mode.

It’s a crisp handler with strong low-end acceleration and cruises economically, earning EPA estimate of 24/33 miles per gallon. I attained the 33-mpg mark in a 100-mile highway drive; several days of in-town maneuvering lowered overall average to 29.6.

Relatively wide, bolstered, supportive front seats are an interior highlight, along with a panorama sunroof and an MMI navigation screen which pops neatly into view from inside the dash above the HVAC vents and controls. There was no rearview camera in the review model, though one is available as part of an optional $1,400 driver assistance package.

The A3′s reduced size takes a toll – somewhat tight rear-seat legroom and a small trunk of only 10 cubic feet. Cutting into all-around vision are extra-thick B pillars and wide headrests.

The A3 with quattro power and turbocharging carries a base price of $32,900. Adding navigation, CD/DVD player, HD radio, heated front seats and mirrors, heated windshield-washer nozzles and aluminum inlays and surrounds boosted sticker price to $36,645.

Dual-zone automatic climate control and a driver-information system head a list of standard items, which also includes antilock disc brakes, Sirius satellite radio and curtain airbags and knee protection.

Suspension for the quattro setup are MacPherson-designed A arms in front and four-link independent rear. The A3 rides on 17-inch wheels with Continental 225/45R17 all-season tires.

An A3 convertible is expected to be added to the lineup this fall.

Adding interest a week ago to my time in the flagship ’14 Audi A8L quattro sedan was its power source, the 3.0-liter, TDI clean-diesel engine, which was added as an option in the past year, and is matched up with the maker’s smooth 8-speed Tiptronic transmission.

The diesel raised the 4,500-pound A8L’s EPA rating to 36 miles per gallon on the highway. With 240 horsepower and 408 lb.-ft. of torque, the TDI carries the big, long four-door about with decent acceleration.

There is no better legroom than that in the rear-seating area of the A8L; other amenities include double sunroofs, the two little audio tweeters which rise up from the ends of the dashboard, the massaging front seatbacks and LED strips along the headliner.

Other options in the $99,445 price included Bang & Olufsen advanced sound, adaptive cruise control, lane-assist detection and 20-inch wheels.Adaptive air suspension and speed-sensitive power steering are standard items on the A8L, along with music interface with iPod cable, navigation, power-folding and heated exterior mirrors, four-zone automatic climate control, power rear sunshades, power trunk opener/closer and front/side/side-curtain/front-knee/pelvis-torso side airbags. Supplementing the rearview camera is one of top-view angles.

Only distraction I could find was with the 7-inch-high, block-letter TDI identifier on the outside of the front doors. That’s a bit much.

The Audi A8, competing with the BMW 750Lxi and the Mercedes-Benz S550 4Matic, is built at Neckarsulm, Germany.

Notes from e-mail:

Bud, you described the Volkswagen Jetta TDI well as a great combination of high-mileage and good hill-climbing power. I have a TDI Sportwagen and can get 20-22 miles per gallon (instantaneous read) climbing Mt. Vernon Canyon at 65 miles per hour. On a flat, pure freeway driving at 65 mph, I can easily get 50-60 mpg. I can also put two bicycles and luggage for two in the back without breaking down the bikes. – R.W.

I understand, Rob. Few automotive power sources will attain and exceed tbeir EPA estimates as easily, on a straight highway run, as will the Volkswagen and Audi TDI models.