Monthly Archives: August 2020

Mercedes comfort, AMG performance

The sleekly styled 2021 Mercedes AMG GLE53 Coupe. (Bud Wells photos)

Mercedes-Benz was once known for producing luxury sedans “far superior in comfort” while ceding recognition to BMW and its M division for high-performance success.

By tightening a link to engine-enhancing AMG, results were a rush of adrenaline which Mercedes found to its liking, and, eventually, it purchased full control of the affiliate. AMG-spiked Mercedes products today compete head-on with the Bimmer hotrods.

My comprehension of Mercedes’ move to the performance side of automotive achievement was reinforced through drivetime with three M-B products – 2021 AMG GLE53 Coupe, ’20 AMG GLC43 SUV and ’20 A220 4Matic Sedan with AMG trim.

The new, powerful AMG-enhanced engine in the GLE marks a return to inline-6 design for M-B and it produces 429 horsepower tied to a 9-gear Speedshift automatic transmission and 4Matic all-wheel drive. The straight-six is equipped with two turbochargers and gets even more boost from a mild hybrid setup.

The GLE, like its rival BMW Gran Coupe, is of four-door structure though because of its sharp slope to the rear is referred to by the German carbuilders as a coupe.

It’s definitely a quality interior, even considering the orange armrests and seat inserts. There are leather handles atop each side of the console, sport-bolstered front seats, Burmester surround sound and wide driver-information center and infotainment screen stretch more than halfway across the dashfront.

The new inline-6 power setup, AMG classic red/black nappa leather and a load of optional finery pushed the GLE into S-class territory – $93,195. Though the engine and transmission are German-built, the final assembly of the “coupe” is at Vance, Ala.

Performance of the ’20 AMG GLC43 SUV, which uses a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V-6, is near equal to the GLE’s inline-6. The GLC V-6’s 0 to 60 time of 4.7 seconds is actually a bit quicker than the GLE. The two are rated even in tow capacity, 3,500 pounds.

Large, distinctive grille on Mercedes AMG GLC43.

The GLC’s V-6 horsepower is 385 and it uses the same 9-speed automatic transmission as the GLE, with 4Matic all-wheel drive. Turn circle for either is just under 40 feet. The GLC is built in Bremen, Germany.

The A220 4Matic, Mercedes’ smallest offering in the U.S., gets by with a turboed 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder of 188 horsepower and 221 lb.-ft. of torque. It is mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission.

The little Benz, assembled in Aguascalientes, Mexico, earned an EPA estimate of 24/34 miles per gallon. It is a good handler, riding on Pirelli 225/40R19 tires, with occasional bumpy ride.

The A220 sedan is smallest Mercedes in the U.S.

It is a direct competitor to the BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe (with four doors), which I reviewed several weeks ago. While the Mercedes A220 at 179.1 inches in overall length is a half-inch longer than the Bimmer, its curb weight of 3,425 is 100 pounds lighter than the BMW. Other competitors are the Audi A3 and Acura ILX.

The $48,295 sticker price for the A220 includes heated front seats and heated steering wheel, 19-inch AMG multispoke wheels, driver assistance package (emergency stop, brake assist, steering assist, lane-keeping), high-beam control, navigation and traffic-sign assist and digital instrument cluster.

‘21 Trailblazer may dominate small SUVs

White top and white mirror caps are nice trims to the 2021 Chevy Trailblazer. (Bud Wells photos)

General Motors, in seeking a bigger slice of a small pie, appears to be tossing tradition to the winds.

I’m talking of two new U.S. subcompact SUVs, Buick Encore GX and Chevy Trailblazer, sharing a platform out of GM’s Bupyeong plant in South Korea.

Two weeks after review of the Encore GX, slightly larger than the standard Encore, I added the impressions from the 2021 Chevy Trailblazer. While the new Trailblazer is a small subcompact, its name is reborn from a Chev midsize SUV of 15 years or so ago (2002-2009).

My first thought of the ’21 Chevy is that its ride quality is a bit bumpier than the Buick. Any oldtimer will agree that a Buick rides softer than a Chevrolet.

Sleek style marks the new GX in the Buick Encore line.

Then a look at specifications told me the Chevy, on the same platform as the Buick GX, is an inch and a half longer in wheelbase and 2 inches longer in overall length than the Buick. Don’t ask an oldtimer to explain that (aren’t Buicks always larger).

Regardless how the Trailblazer stacks up against its GM sibling, its an impressive small SUV crossover, with its zeus bronze metallic finish, capped with white top and side mirrors trimmed in white with puddle lamps.

It’s a pleasure to drive with its turbocharged, 1.3-liter, 3-cylinder Ecotec engine and 9-speed automatic transmission. Other than a definite low-end turbo lag, performance is responsive at midrange. For all-wheel-drive capability in the front-drive-based Trailblazer, simply push a button to the driver’s right. It remains in AWD mode on restart.

The 1.3-liter engine with AWD earned EPA estimate of 26/30 miles per gallon, and my overall average for 340 miles was 28.8. It rides on Hankook 225/60R17 tires. In my review last month of the Buick Encore GX front-wheel-drive model, I averaged 29.3.

The Chevy review model, in Activ trim level, was very well equipped and sticker-priced at $30,580. Cheaper trims are LS, beginning at $23,500 with AWD, and LT, while the RS is priced same as Activ.  In front-wheel-drive form, the LS and LT versions are equipped with a 137-hp, 1.2-liter, 3-cylinder engine and a continuously variable transmission.

Among interior highlights for the Trailblazer Activ model are leatherette seats and leather-wrapped steering wheel, Bose seven-speaker sound system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capable, driver information center and air conditioning. Safety advances are adaptive cruise control, forward-collision alert, lane-keeping assist, rear park assist and rear cross-traffic alert.

That bit of stretch of overall length of the Trailblazer to the Encore GX created an edge in cargo space behind the back row of seats, 25.3 cubic feet in the Chevy and 23.5 in the Buick.

Chevrolet is already represented by Trax, a leading seller among subcompact SUVs, and the addition of the modern Trailblazer should give the company dominance in that end of the market.

TRD trim adds sport to Avalon, Camry

Supersonic red Avalon is standout in farm country. (Bud Wells photos)

The TRD badge, a synonym for “performance” for years on Toyota trucks and SUVs, has surprisingly been added to Avalon and Camry sedans, and I showed one off in a drive to Sterling in July.

The TRD (Toyota Racing Development) parts and trim were built into a 2020 Avalon four-door, finished in supersonic red with matte black alloy wheels and red brake calipers. It is one of the few remaining large cars sold in the U.S., without including luxury models.

The drive to the northeast was to attend memorial services at Christ United Methodist Church in Sterling for Don Miles, longtime sports editor at the Sterling Journal-Advocate. He served that position, except for three years’ service in the U.S. Army, from 1954 into the 1990s. He was inducted into the Colorado Coaches Hall of Fame in 1973.

When Miles left the Sterling paper for service in the Army in October 1956, it created the opening for me to become a newspaperman at age 19. On Miles’ return in 1959, I moved over to the news side of the J-A and eventually was promoted to editor before moving on to Denver newspapers.

Miles is survived by his wife, Margaret; a son, Jim Miles of Joliet, Ill.; a daughter, Debra Petterson of Peoria, Ariz.; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Regarding this big, front-wheel-drive Avalon (4 inches longer and 400 pounds heavier than a Camry), it averaged 30 miles per gallon for the 200-mile run to Sterling and back to Greeley. Its 3.5-liter V-6 engine develops 301 horsepower, and the powertrain includes paddleshifting capability for the 8-speed automatic transmission.

What makes the Avalon somewhat special and much more competitive with a Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger or Nissan Maxima are the TRD tweaks, such as thicker underbody braces, sport-tuned front and rear suspension that lowers the body 0.6 inch; with the front and side aero skirts, it is noticeably low-slung.

From a safety standpoint, the front brake discs have been increased from 12 inches to 12.9, with two-piston calipers rather than singles. Active Cornering Assist applies braking of inner wheels in cornering to reduce understeer.

Among interior highlights are a shift knob with TRD logo, red-stitched seats and steering wheel and red seat belts. Premium audio is included with 14 speakers and subwoofer, along with navigation, hands-free Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay compatibility. A large trunk offers 16 cubic feet of space.

Precollision system with pedestrian detection is included in the sticker price of $46,147, as well as radar cruise control, lane-departure alert with steering assist and automatic high beams.

Toyota  Camry moves into new territory with TRD trim.

“Yes, it’s a Camry,” I responded the following week to numerous onlookers impressed with the sleek, low-slung, powerful-looking Camry sedan, finished in red. It surely doesn’t fit the image of the long-cherished, four-door family midsizer.

The midsize sedan field, once the largest market in the U.S., has been shrinking for several years.

Other than for the Chevy Malibu, the domestics have either abandoned or are in the process of vacating the midsize and larger  markets. The Chrysler 200 bailed out a couple years ago; since then the withdrawals have included Ford Fusion and Taurus, Buick LaCrosse and Regal, Chevrolet Impala, as well as smaller sedans Dodge Dart, Ford  Focus and Fiesta, Chev Cruze and Sonic and Buick Verano.

Responding to the fact a number of competitors of Toyota are abandoning the midsize field, a Toyota executive said, “We plan to take as much of the remaining share as we possibly can, we’re building for it” (explaining the expansion into TRD trim).

The addition of TRD brings to six the number of trim levels for Toyota Camry; the other five are L, LE, SE, XSE and XLE.

The 2020 Camry TRD V-6 review model, built at Georgetown, Ky., is on a wheelbase of 111.2 inches, measures 194.6 inches in overall length, with curb weight of 3,572 pounds, 300 heavier than lesser-equipped, 4-cylinder-powered models.

With all that power at hand, the Camry averaged an impressive 27.9 miles per gallon overall. Its EPA estimate is 22/31,

Body control is much improved with the new Camry through tuned suspension and stiffer underbody braces.

Its $32,920 sticker price includes cruise control, precollision braking system with pedestrian detection, lane-departure alert and steering assist, hands-free Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, sport seats with red seat belts.

Eastbound Sprinter’s destination: Dewey’s

The diesel-powered Sprinter stands 9 feet tall. (Jan Wells photos)

The huge vehicle showed up at my house on a Thursday morning; a high-roof Sprinter 2500 passenger van, built by Mercedes-Benz.

It stands 9 feet in height, has seating for 12. Behind the driver and front-seat passenger are a second row of three seats, a third row of three and a fourth row of four.

The question I had of “what will I ever do to review all this seating space” was answered when daughter Kathy Allen, mentioning that seven from her neighborhood had planned a drive Saturday evening to Stoneham for dinner at Dewey’s Bar & Grill, and added, “why don’t you and Mom (Jan) drive us there and enjoy the dinner party.

Among the van occupants were, from left, Bud Wells (driver), Nancy and Jon Weaver, Karen Goehring, Will and Jody Kulp, Kathy and Bill Allen. Not  pictured is Ja n Wells, the photographer.

The step-in height of the van is 24 to 25 inches, and those friends we loaded for the drive out east appreciated the fact we had a 9-inch step stool with us to ease access and egress. Those boarding the Sprinter were Karen Goehring, Will and Jody Kulp, Jon and Nancy Weaver and Kathy and Bill Allen.

Excellent performance was provided by a 188-horsepower, 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel and 7-speed automatic transmission for the four-wheel-drive people hauler. The van, more nimble in handling than expected, followed Colo. 392 through Lucerne and on to Briggsdale, then east on Colo. 14 to Stoneham, 70 miles from Greeley.

Dewey’s is known for its steaks, and there was no disappointment, as the group was well-taken-care-of by the establishment’s owner Ron Ladd and staff member Angela Whitman.

The van’s interior is rather austere, it’s designed for work purposes, and there’s little hint of Mercedes luxury anywhere. The backup camera was very small, approximately 2-inch-by-2-inch, confined to one end of the narrow rearview mirror.

The Sprinter held the course very well on the way home in the dark, when the automatic headlamps got a good tryout.  It was somewhat of a rough ride home, particularly in the far-back row of seats.

Price of the Sprinter van climbed to $61,333 from a base of $48,990 with these optional add-ons – jet black paint $1,015; leatherette seats $400; 4X4 low and high range $7,800; driver convenience $1,210; comfort seats and headrests $690.

Mercedes has announced that it will introduce a new engine, 2.0-liter 4-cylinder diesel, this fall (2020) for Sprinter vans. It competes with the Ford Transit, Chevrolet Express, Ram ProMaster and Nissan NV2500.

The Sprinter van’s braking system is superb, and was tested in a near-collision on our return at 10th Street and 35th Avenue when another motorist ran through a red light as the Sprinter began crossing on green. Only quick braking avoided a crash. My reflexes are just fine, thank you.