Outlander prompts sticker shock, in a good way

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen on the Business page of The Sacramento Bee’s website – www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

Sacramento, California – Another week, another sport-utility vehicle.  And you might be asking yourself: Why would I want a 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander?

A good, long look at the window sticker should answer your question.

I was stunned at the myriad standard perks on the tested 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 SEL S-AWC. They went on forever.  They were listed in small type because, best as I could tell, they would have needed a SECOND sticker to get them all in there in standard-size type.

Let’s see, there were heated, power side exterior mirrors; halogen headlights; a windshield wiper de-icer (the wipers are rain-sensing); heated front seats; leather appointments; a 7-inch touchscreen with smartphone link capability; steering wheel voice controls and on and on.

Throw in the exceptional safety equipment and a $3,000 SEL Touring Package of extras (that included adaptive cruise control, a heated steering wheel and a lane departure warning system), and the bottom line on the tester still came to only $32,260.

And did I mention the max federal government overall safety rating of five stars?

How about the admirable gas mileage of 24 miles per gallon in the city and 29 mpg on the highway?

Yes, this is a loaded up three-row, seven-seater with a genuine bargain of a price.

With a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine rated at 166 horsepower, it was not a flaming hot rod, but my Outlander responded well, cruised smoothly on freeways and handled downtown gridlock with plentiful agility.  It’s equipped with a continuously variable transmission.

I also found that I could load it up with lots of cargo, such were the spaces and angles available to me when the seats were folded.

Mitsubishi Motors touts the Outlander as its top-selling model, and given all that comes in the package, that’s certainly no mystery.

I walked up to the Outlander not expecting much that was special and came away a week later with the conviction that anyone considering a seven-passenger SUV would be a fool not to have the Outlander on their priority list.

It’s a great compromise between discount, moderately-equipped crossovers and lavishly priced sport-utes.

There's plenty to like in the Mazda CX-5 sport-ute

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen on the Business page of The Sacramento Bee’s website – www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

Sacramento, California – It can’t carry as much cargo as some other sport-utility vehicles.  It’s not exactly laden with high horsepower.  And it tends to make a fair amount of noise when you do ask it for maximum performance.

And yet, I found myself liking the tested 2018 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring AWD SUV on a recent trip over to California’s Napa/Sonoma Wine Country.

I liked the flashy “Soul Red Crystal Metallic" paint job.

I liked the reasonable starting price of $30,945, boosted on my ride by almost $4,000 with some premium options.

I liked the five-seater’s generous helping of standard features, including leather upholstery, a power moonroof and LED lights all around.

I liked the strong lineup of safety features that helped make this CX-5 a “Top Safety Pick” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

I liked its handling characteristics and the way it easily maneuvered through tight parking lots.

And I liked the fuel mileage ratings of 24 miles per gallon in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.

In fact, giving it further thought, the tested CX-5 carried an ample amount of suitcases and wine … more than I could consume over a long stretch.

And the 2.5-liter, four-cylinder engine with 187 horsepower handled pretty much everything I could throw at it, and it cruised easily and quietly on the freeways.

In short, the CX-5 has just about everything the practical SUV buyer would want for family outings, daily commutes and extended road trips … all without dropping 50-grand or spending the family fortune at the gas pumps.

One gripe I had with the tester was the overly sensitive blind spot monitor, which sometimes sounded when I was a good 50 feet beyond a trailing car traveling 20 mph slower than myself.

That being said, this CX-5 stacks up as a worthy competitor to big sellers such as the Honda CR-V, the Subaru Forester and the Toyota RAV4.  I suppose it’s all a matter of personal taste, and if you’re a big fan of Mazda’s motor vehicles. I'm not surprised that the CX-5 is Mazda's best-selling vehicle in the United States.

My ride contributed to an enjoyable week in the Wine Country.  I offer a toast and a sincerely meant CHEERS!

Fiat 124 Spider Lusso two-seater is a small wonder

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo reviews of the latest motor vehicle models also can be seen on The Sacramento Bee’s website at www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

This review first appeared in the March 2018 edition of the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News published out of Folsom, California – mg

Sacramento, California – In this era of look-alike car models, it’s pretty rare to draw a crowd around your vehicle the instant you park it, with assembling spectators breathlessly asking: “What is that?!”

It’s a 2018 Fiat 124 Spider Lusso (photo by CHARLES GLOVER), thank you very much, and I won’t pretend to tell you that I did not relish the attention the test vehicle was getting.  Of course, I eventually realized that 100 percent of the star power was in the car, not me.  But hey, you take what you can get at my age.

Anyway, the two-seat, rear-drive Spider is the definition of cute and sporty.  It’s an adult’s plaything starting at $27,495.  Mine was liberally dressed up with extras – including heated exterior mirrors, a primo navigation system and headlamp washers – that brought the bottom line to $33,725.  As adult toys go, that’s still not too bad.

For older adults, be forewarned that this Spider rides VERY low to the ground.  I pretty much had to fall down into it.  There was just enough room to swallow up my 6-4 frame and allow me to drive the car… just enough.

Getting out of the vehicle was my biggest challenge.  I had to employ the “swing two feet to the pavement, jump out of the car strategy” to get it done.

Not that I looked forward to getting out of the Spider.  For such a small vehicle, it was loaded with a surprising number of comfort/convenience perks.  The soft top was a hook/manual configuration, but it fell back into place and out of harm’s way with very little effort.

The best part was the ride.  No surprise there.

The Spider has a 1.4-liter, four-cylinder, multi-air turbo power plant under the hood dishing up 184 horsepower.  Given the light weight of the vehicle, that number of horses propels the Spider forward in a serious hurry.  It’s a noisy, aggressive rush.  A classic Euro sports car thrill.  I couldn’t get enough of it.

For those who get nervous in dicey freeway traffic, the Spider might take some getting used to.  You are riding very low to the ground amid 18-wheel trucks and assorted monster-size sport-utility vehicles, and some might feel intimidated.

And with the soft roof, exterior noise from those loud, neighboring vehicles does register in the cockpit.

I was not intimidated, simply because the Spider’s high-performance capabilities made it so easy to get out of harm’s way in a split second.  A quick blip on the accelerator, and I found myself gliding along in clean, open air in a heartbeat.  Plus there was the added bonus of the tester’s top-flight agility.  It could carve out spaces between cars easily, with rock-solid stability and perfect balance.  Very nice.

And the four-wheel anti-lock brakes functioned quite well to boot.

All in all, this Fiat is an ideal ride for those who enjoy the old-school pleasures of driving.  With two seats and enough trunk space for perhaps one suitcase, obviously, it’s not every motorist’s cup of tea.

But if fun is your primary goal, this Spider is worth collecting.

Having it all is just part of owning the LX 570

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen on the Business page of The Sacramento Bee’s website – www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

Sacramento, California – So sure, when you get the primo Lexus sport-utility vehicle, you expect to see a hefty number on the sticker’s bottom line.

But even my jaded eyes blinked hard when I saw $99,315 on the tested 2018 Lexus LX 570.

That’s more than I paid for my three-bedroom home when I moved to California in the mid-1980s.

Welcome to the era of the super-loaded, high-priced SUV.  I’m sure plenty of people can afford a hundred-grand for a new vehicle, and for the record, those folks get a lot in the LX 570.

It’s an imposing-looking vehicle at first glance, particularly with that monster-size grille and riding on 21-inch alloy wheels. LED headlights and taillamps look sharp as well.

The package includes an adaptive variable suspension, a blizzard of on-board airbags, multiple braking-enhancement features, leather surfaces with rich wood trim and enough safety technology to impress a veteran astronaut.

My ride included extras, like a 19-speaker Mark Levinson audio system and a handy-dandy cool box in the center console, presumably to keep my splits of Dom Perignon chilled.

Yup, this is pretty much a rolling five-star hotel room.

And on the roll, it’s a sweet ride.  The 5.7-liter V-8 is rated at 383 horsepower and 403 foot-pounds of torque.  Mated to an eight-speed, sequential-shift automatic transmission, that power package moves the LX 570 down the freeway with buttery-smooth, reading-room-quiet authority.

Cars tended to move out of the way of the tester, and I confess that it was easy to suddenly hit 80 miles per hour, a surprise because it felt like 50 mph by the seat of my pants.

In downtown settings, you have to be a bit more forceful with your right foot to get the LX 570 out of harm’s way.  And getting it settled into tight parking spots is no picnic.

Not surprisingly, fuel mileage ratings are a dreadful 13 miles per gallon in the city and 18 mpg on the highway.  That said, fuel economy and gas pump savings are not the appeal of this vehicle.

The target audience has money to burn and a desire for a big vehicle with seemingly every perk known to the auto industry.  If this is you, I am officially envious.

Hot VW hatchback reviewed in latest Cruisin' News

Check out my review of the 2018 Volkswagen Golf GTI Autobahn five-passenger hatchback in the latest, April 2018, edition of the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News, published out of Folsom, California, by John Sweeney and Evonne Sotelo.

The “Hot Laps” reviews, along with my "Oil Drips" observations on anything with wheels, appear monthly in the publication.

To subscribe to the Cruisin’ News, visit www.cruisinnews.com, call (916) 933-0949 or send an e-mail request to cruisinnews@mac.com. Mailed requests for information should be sent to Cruisin’ News, P.O. Box 1096, Folsom, CA 95763-1096.