Subaru WRX, with 2-liter boxer, gets own niche

It’s the first ’15.

In a preview run for the Denver Auto Show, the 2015 Subaru WRX showed up this week with a new engine and transmission and refined suspension. An attraction at the Detroit Auto Show two weeks ago, it won’t reach dealer showrooms until March or April.

The WRX will no longer carry the Impreza model name, earning its own performer niche in a Subaru executive decision. The WRX will for 2015 be a model designation for Subaru.

The new, low-slung WRX is built around a 268-horsepower, smaller 2.0-liter, flat-4-cylinder engine and 6-speed manual transmission (replacing a 5-speed manual). When the enhanced STI version of the WRX arrives, it will retain use of the old, 300-hp, 2.5 flat-4.

The new 2-liter’s turbo boost, with direct-injection, provided excellent acceleration in lower gears, and its tall shifter with close pattern was fun to control. I got very familiar with the shift patterns in a 5 p.m. drive on I-25 from Ikea out south to an eatery at 104th Avenue; lots of downshifting in the heavy stop-and-go.

Farther north, on another day, the Subaru delivered good grip and response around town on snow-covered streets, slipping only on a couple cornering maneuvers. The WRX, with symmetrical all-wheel drive, rode on Dunlop Winter Sport 235/45R17 tires.

In preparation for driving the new WRX, I was lent a 2014 Subaru Impreza Sport four-door for a week.

Heretofore, the WRX has been a sport performance version of the compact Impreza line, but the distinction of the two is such that Subaru believes the separation is warranted.

A 148-hp, 2.0-liter flat-4 engine and continuously variable transmission provided economical results for the ’14 Impreza. With an EPA estimate of 27/36 miles per gallon, it averaged 29.7 in overall use.

Near noontime on a Sunday, we guided the Impreza down I-25 from the north, following lots of traffic toward the Denver Broncos AFC championship football game with the New England Patriots at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. We, though, exited the highway at the Boulder Turnpike; our destination was a memorial service at the home of cousin JoDell McDonald, who passed away in December. Liz Saylor, Patty Berglund and Lisa Secor greeted us and many other friends and relatives.

The fact the Impreza was equipped with paddle shifters enhanced use of the CVT and created some downshifting for quicker response. Flat-cushioned, lightly bolstered front seats were comfortable.

The Impreza was reasonably priced at $24,990; its only add-on was a $1,000 power moonroof. Among standard items were heated leather seats, side-curtain and driver’s-side knee airbags, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls, rearview camera, power windows/locks/mirrors, automatic climate control, cruise control, roof rails and front fog lights.

The performance-inspired WRX was introduced in Japan in 1992 and reached the U.S. in 2001.

The new ’15 WRX model is an inch longer in wheelbase at 104.3 and features large hood scoop, rear spoiler and aggressive ground effects. Headlights are narrowed, likened to a raptor’s stare.

Inside, its narrow-cushioned seats and seatbacks are deeply bolstered. The ride is tolerable, even with the sedan’s stiffened sport suspension. Trunk space is fairly tight at 12 cubic feet.

A leather-covered, flat-bottomed steering wheel adds to the sport interior. The speedometer, tachometer, audio and air/heat controls are attractively illuminated in red at night. The audio setup is well-positioned to the driver, though the sound quality and clarity are only average.

With the 6-speed manual transmission, the WRX AWD uses a viscous-coupling center differential to split torque 50/50 between the front and rear wheels. Severe conditions can require more torque one way or the other. The chassis has been stiffened, too, and handling is improved.The suspension is designed with coil springs and stabilizer bars, MacPherson struts in front and double wishbone at the rear.

Pricing for the WRX hasn’t been announced by Subaru, though estimates range from $26,500 to $30,000.

Notes from e-mail

Bud, I don’t usually read the Car sections, but I caught your article Dec. 21 about the Buick Regal AWD. I have had Lincolns for 25 years and looked at the 2013 Lincoln MKZ to replace my 2007 MKZ AWD. In the new MKZ, the shifter is buttons on the dash, and what looks like an iPad for everything else. I don’t know if I want to learn all that new stuff. Would you compare for me the Regal (which I haven’t looked at in a showroom) with the MKZ? I am 76, widow and drive only 4,000 miles a year. – E.F.

Liz, if you’ve driven Lincolns for 25 years, take a serious look at the new MKZ; it’s an excellent vehicle and you’ll catch on to the shifter buttons immediately. If not, the Regal would be a nice second choice, and, yes, I’ll discuss it with you.

Subaru 11th nationally, 3rd highest in Colorado

Subaru, which ranks only 11th among makes in sales nationally, continued a strong third in sales in Colorado in 2013.

Led by Toyota/Scion with 23,083 sales and Ford with 22,169, sales of new cars and trucks in Colorado in ’13 totaled 176,433, an 11.2 percent increase over the previous year, according to the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.

Japanese-based Subaru, led by Forester, showed a gain of more than 4,000 units in the state. Colorado has been one of Subaru’s strongest sales markets for the past 35 years. Other large increases in total numbers were by Honda and Dodge/Ram.

Biggest percentage of increase was by the make with the smallest number of sales; luxurious Jaguar jumped from 51 to 92, an 80 percent gain. It introduced all-wheel drive for its sedans in the fall.

“Full-size pickups, compact SUVs and compact luxury SUVs sectors continued to lead in market-share gains and have now for the past 10 consecutive months,” according to Tim Jackson, president of the dealer association.

Following are Colorado sales totals for 2013 by make:

Toyota/Scion 23,083; Ford 22,169; Subaru 18,275; Honda 14,591; Chevrolet 13,580; Nissan 11,285; Dodge/Ram 11,178; Jeep 10,277; Volkswagen 6,490; Kia 5,856; Hyundai 5,782; GMC 4,802; BMW 3,621; Mazda 3,582; Lexus 3,240; Audi 2,725; Mercedes-Benz 2,710; Acura 2,120; Buick 1,551; Cadillac 1,379; Chrysler 1,271; Infiniti 1,125; Mini 1,076; Volvo 872; Land Rover 848; Lincoln 676; Mitsubishi 610; Porsche 490; Fiat 430; Tesla 178; smart 147; Jaguar 92.

Elway bronze hands on display at DIA

John Elway was preparing to dip his throwing hand in warm wax, then into cold water, the wax and water again, back and forth, when I arrived at his office in a Toyota dealership on Arapahoe Road early one morning 14 or 15 years ago.

There directing the operations were noted Denver sports sculptor Raelee Frazier and her husband, Frank.

It was the start of an artistic endeavor resulting in the famed Elway Hands bronze, of which 32 sets were made and are valued highly today.

One of the sets has gone on display this week at Denver International Airport in promotion of Super Bowl Week and the Denver Broncos. Overseeing the display creation was Tim Vacca, DIA exhibits coordinator, according to Raelee Frazier.

Mercedes V-Class minivan: An empty shell you can customize

Mercedes’ new MPV, the V-Class, offers seating for up to eight and a host of practical features but without scrimping on luxury or performance.

As such, it could be the perfect vehicle not just for pulling up outside a family-friendly resort hotel, but also for arriving at a red carpet event.

The reason is that despite its huge size the vehicle will be available in two wheelbases, the biggest of which measures 5370 mm the German car company has tried every design trick in the book to ensure that the MPV doesn’t just look like a converted van.

However, like a van, the V-Class should be seen as an empty shell that each customer can customize to suit his or her needs.

The seats are trimmed with leather as standard, while all of the gadgets and driver aids and infotainment elements associated with the company’s executive cars are also present in the V-Class.

Before customization, the car comes with four individual rear seats in two rows which can be moved forward and back to improve access and increase trunk space. A foldaway table between the first row of rear seats is also available.

For drivers with more seating needs, the car can be specified with two rows of three rear seats. They can be fitted so that all rear passengers face each other.

Mercedes hopes that the car will be capable of ticking all of the boxes, whether the V-Class is specified by a driver with a large family, a young couple with an active lifestyle there’s plenty of room in the back for a couple of mountain bikes or a chauffeur.

Getting in or out of the car regardless of seating arrangements is made simpler thanks to a sliding rear passenger door, while access to luggage and storage space is equally optimized thanks to the rear tailgate’s clever design. The whole tailgate can be opened for full access, or just the rear windshield portion when space behind the car is tight say when parked nose to tail in a side street.

When it officially goes on sale in 2015, the V-Class will be available with a choice of two engines 2.1-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with two-stage turbocharging; and a sportier, more potent BlueTec 3-liter V6 turbo-diesel engine.

Is refinancing your car loan ever a smart move?

A lower car payment, what’s not to like?

It’s an enticing proposition, but refinancing an auto loan can often significantly increase the amount you have to pay over the life of a loan.

The concept of lowering your monthly payments will often outweigh the financial sensibility of that decision, said Jack Gillis, auto expert for the Consumer Federation of America.

And yet, a growing number of borrowers are electing to refinance their auto loan. Last year, auto loan refinance inquiries on LendingTree.com nearly doubled from a year earlier, according to the online lending service. Completed loans jumped 47 percent from the previous year.

But when might refinancing your auto loan be a smart move? Here are four factors to consider:

1. INTEREST RATES

Refinancing an auto loan enables you to pay off your lender and take on a new loan at a more favorable annual percentage rate, or APR.

That means that you generally wouldn’t consider refinancing unless you can get a lower APR. But there is an exception: If you want to lower your monthly payment and are willing to extend the repayment period for your loan. Of course, you will be paying more money over time.

Unlike mortgage loan refinancing, lenders generally don’t charge fees or closing costs to refinance an auto loan. That places a priority on shopping around for the best rate. In recent weeks, auto loan refinancing offers on LendingTree have been available for 1.99 percent for borrowers with the best credit scores.

Check lender websites or portals like Bankrate.com or LendingTree.com.

2. ESTIMATED SAVINGS

The most attractive outcome in any refinancing is to lower the amount of you will repay during the term of the loan.

Maybe you didn’t shop around when you went car shopping and feel you could have negotiated a lower interest rate. Or perhaps your credit score has improved significantly since you took out your auto loan, so you are now able to qualify for a lower interest rate. Refinancing could trim your finance charges.

Paying off your original loan when you refinance could help boost your credit score, as the loan would show up in your credit history as paid off.

Lenders and financial information sites often have online calculators that can help you estimate whether a new loan will save you money.

Many free financial apps are also available for smartphone and tablet users.

3. TERM OF LOAN

Prolonging the life of a car loan also can be risky because unlike real estate which can appreciate cars lose their value over time. Extending the loan term means that you will owe more on the vehicle than it’s worth for a longer period.

This is a terrible position to be in if the car gets stolen or gets in a serious accident or you desperately need to sell, said Gillis.

One rule of thumb: If you have less than two years left on your loan, avoid refinancing. If it’s a cash-flow issue, it’s a consideration, but I wouldn’t do it, said Rick Finch, general manager of LendingTree’s auto segment.

4. LENDER LIMITATIONS

Banks often cap both the amount they will lend and the repayment period for a refinancing. They may also limit the kinds of vehicles that are eligible.

Some lenders won’t refinance loans on motorcycles or recreational vehicles, for example. And typically, lenders will only refinance vehicles that are no older than seven years.

Freshened Hyundai Equus boosts styling, equipment

For the first time since its late 2010 introduction, Hyundai’s flagship Equus luxury sedan is subtly restyled for a more premium appearance and adds more safety equipment, more amenities and a retuned suspension for improved ride.

Thankfully, notable elements of the Equus are not changed including pricing that’s thousands below competitors and a warranty package that includes 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain coverage and free scheduled maintenance with valet car pickup-and-return and free loaner vehicle during the first three years/36,000 miles.

Also not changed: Consumer Reports’ endorsement of the full-size, V-8-powered Equus as a recommended buy. Reliability is listed as average.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, for the base, rear-wheel drive, 2014 Equus in Signature trim is $61,920.

While this sounds like a lot for a Hyundai, Equus buyers get a lot.

The base Equus comes with premium leather interior, real wood trim, light-emitting diode (LED) headlamps and fog lamps, moonroof, navigation system, three-zone climate control and adaptive cruise control that automatically manages the distance of the Equus to the vehicles in front.

Other standard items: Heated steering wheel, heated front and rear seats, lane departure warning system, rearview camera, blind spot monitoring and soft-to-the-touch, suede ceiling cover.

The upper Ultimate trim version of 2014 Equus carries a $68,920 retail price, including destination charge.

The Equus Ultimate adds, among other things, standard multi-view camera, rear seats that cool as well as warm passengers and a rear entertainment system with 9.2-inch display screens built into the backs of the front-seat head restraints.

All Equus models continue with last year’s 5-liter, double overhead cam V-8 that delivers 429 horsepower. It is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Note the Equus’ 429 horsepower is more than the 386 horses in the rear-wheel-drive, V-8-powered, 2014 Lexus LS luxury sedan that has a starting MSRP, including destination charge, of $73,050.

The base, 2014 LS 460 does not include standard lane departure warning system, blind spot monitoring, dynamic cruise control, LED headlights or heated steering wheel that are on the base Equus.

In addition, the Equus has a full 45.1 inches of front-seat legroom compared with 43.7 inches in the front seats of the LS 460.

Meantime, the competing 2014 Mercedes-Benz S550 delivers 449 horsepower from its biturbo V-8, which is 20 more than the Equus’ naturally aspirated V-8.

But the base, rear-wheel drive S550, which has a starting retail price of $93,825, comes with dual-zone climate control and has less front-seat legroom than the Equus.

Plus, heated and ventilated rear seats, heated steering wheel, blind spot assist and lane keeping assist that are standard on the Equus are options on the S550.

sales of the Equus grew to a high of 3,972 in calendar 2012, then fell 10 percent last year. Not all Hyundai dealers carry the premium Equus.

Also, buyers in the luxury, large sedan segment aren’t pinched for money. Many demand a premium badge on their luxury car, not a badge from South Korean automaker Hyundai which is known value-priced, mainstream vehicles.

The Equus is the first $60,000-plus vehicle that Hyundai has sold in the .

Still, the test Equus Ultimate attracted attention, even when parked curbside. Onlookers walked around the car and kept staring at the Hyundai badge.

They couldn’t resist looking inside at the eye-catching, new-for-2014, light-colored, ivory interior.

They asked about the pull-down, rear-seat, center armrest that was stocked with buttons that control ventilation, rear seat warmth and cooling and even the nav system.

The improvements to the Equus ride were evident as there now are three ride modes activated by push button.

The normal mode is a comfort ride, with good cushioning over road bumps. It afforded pleasant, low-fatigue cruising for six hours on mostly straight highways.

The sport mode is more differentiated, buttoning down the ride for twisty mountain roads where the eager-to-perform V-8 propelled the car in swift fashion.

Yet, the sport mode still allowed body roll in corners and wasn’t overly firm. Note that the air suspension was recalibrated for 2014 and sport mode damping is more controlled than before.

The third mode, snow, is new and provides greater control and safety in inclement conditions.

All Equus models have standard antilock brakes, traction control and electronic stability control, plus nine air bags.

The V-8 and transmission provided smooth power delivery, and the Equus could be driven leisurely without fuss.

It also responded to demanding driving with strong acceleration. Zero-to-60-miles-an-hour time is some 5.5 seconds.

Torque peaks at 376 foot-pounds at 5,000 rpm, and the engine uses either regular or premium gasoline.

Large, luxury sedans that aren’t hybrids or diesels aren’t known for great gas mileage, and the federal government rating for the 2014 Equus is 15 miles per gallon in city driving and 23 mpg on the highway.

But the tester averaged 21.6 mpg in travel that was 65 percent in city traffic.

All-highway travel, especially with downhill runs in the mountains, gave an impressive 25.2-mpg rating.

New amenities like the sizable, colorful center display screen and the larger, bright instrument cluster that changes color based on driving mode were easy to manage and use.

But the automatic distance management of the cruise control system caused sudden, unsettling slowdowns in the tester rather than gradual speed reductions.

And the nav system had snafus, such as when it insisted a church was on the right side of the road when it was on the left.

Rear-seat legroom of 38.8 inches isn’t as generous as that in other large sedans, and the tester seemed to be less insulated than an earlier-model Equus as wind noise and sounds from nearby vehicles were readily heard inside.

Your Toyota might be recalled because of seat fabric

Toyota Motor Corp. is in discussions with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about a possible recall in the U.S. and Canada covering several car models, including the popular Camry, for a problem with seat fabric.

The Japanese automaker has already halted sales of the problem vehicles, which are only those equipped with seat heaters, because the fabric may not clear flammability standards, company spokesman Naoki Sumino said Thursday.

Affected models are the Camry, Camry hybrid, Avalon sedan, Avalon hybrid, Corolla subcompact, Sienna minivan, Tundra and Tacoma trucks sold since August 2012, when the fabric supplier was changed, he said.

He didn’t immediately know how many vehicles were affected.

Sumino said it’s still unclear whether the NHTSA would decide on a recall. There have been no reports of accidents or other incidents related to the fabric problem.

Toyota has been struggling to regain its once sterling reputation for quality after announcing massive recalls over several years, starting in 2009, for a variety of defects including braking, accelerators and floor mats.

Toyota was fined for being slow on recalls, which affected more than 14 million vehicles, and faces lawsuits.

Toyota, the top automaker ahead of General Motors Corp. and Volkswagen AG in global vehicle sales, has promised to be quicker with recalls and more careful with model development to avoid a recurrence of its troubles.

Self-driving cars may prove irresistible to hackers

Self-driving cars will prove an irresistible target for hackers if they ever hit the roads, a top security executive has warned.

Speaking exclusively to the Guardian, Eddie Schwartz, the vice president of global security solutions for Verizon’s enterprise subsidiary, said that the cyber-security industry is still 40 years from maturity, and that the first half of the 21st century will see the number of targets increase exponentially.

All of the major automobile manufacturers are working on self-driving cars, Schwartz explained. For cars to be able to self-drive, they have to be able to negotiate with each other. You can’t negotiate something like that without having some security principles behind it. So cars have to do basic things that we do with each other, like recognize each other authentication.

OK, I authenticate to you, that means there has to be an underlying artefact, a certificate or something like it that says ‘you’re an authorised car, and I’m an authorised car, therefore we can exchange this information really fast.’ And you stop and I turn.

Schwartz described a million applications in the car industry alone designed for machine-to-machine communications with potentially a million underlying security issues.

Even normal cars are susceptible to hacking attacks. In August, a pair of researchers demonstrated attacks on a Ford SUV and Toyota Prius which enabled them to slam on the brakes, jerk the steering wheel, or accelerate the car using a laptop plugged into the the diagnostics port.

In 2011, a different team of researchers managed to penetrate similar systems through bluetooth, mobile data and even a malicious audio file burned onto a CD played in the car’s media player.

But self-driving cars have many more avenues of communication with the outside world, and definitionally less oversight from a driver to correct any errors.

A ransom for your medical data? 

As well as self-driving cars, Eddie Schwartz cautioned that the entire field of machine-to-machine communications, also known as the internet of things, presents an enticing target to hackers.

How many IP-based [internet connected] devices does the average person have in their home today? Most people can’t even count them. If you ask them, they would probably say ‘oh, I have two computers and a whatever’, but the reality is it’s probably more like 20 to 30 if they start thinking about it… You’re going to see a spill from 4 or 5bn IP devices to hundreds of billions over the next 10 years.

Schwartz cautioned that with the growth of new devices and services in the health space the potential for malicious hacks will grow exponentially, including devices that gather intimate personal medical data.

These are going to be embedded solutions. It’s going to be wireless communications or NFC. These are machine-to-machine communications, and for critical care, they are going to have telemetry going on 24/7.

There’s an underlying security and privacy issue: imagine ransom-ware [software such as Cryptolocker that breaks devices and demands a fee to fix them] in that world.

This article originally appeared onguardian.co.uk