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+--- Thread: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo (/showthread.php?tid=5304)
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - Evan - 10-24-2013
When Anne first got her 2012 focus 2 years ago, I thought everyone complaining about the powershift were a bunch of whiny crybabies. There was no shudder whatsoever. Then at about 10k miles, it would shudder a hair, if it was cold and you were slowly inching up an incline.
Now, at ~20k miles it shudders a bit in 1st gear pretty frequently. She hasnt mentioned it or complained so its not a big deal, but Ive noticed it and it irritates me, especially coming from the superb cx-5 trans.
Probably just as well that she will probably get something a little bigger in a year or so.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - Jake - 10-24-2013
Took the ST back because the clowns in the service department can't bleed a clutch right on their first try.
I'm in a 2012 (last-gen) Fusion. Having a transmission that doesn't suck makes this the superior car, hands down. Even though the new Focus kicks its ass in every other metric.
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Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - Jake - 07-14-2014
Needed a pickup to help move some furniture from my place to a friend's place in DC. She moved from Illinois to start grad school, our moms are best friends, etc etc so I said I'd help out. Everyone I know with a pickup needed it this weekend, so I called up a long-time friend who's a manager at Enterprise in Vienna. Turns out, they rent crew-cab pickups and the "friend rate" is pretty sweet.
$51 got me Clifford The Big Red Truck - a 2014 Ram 1500 with the 5.7L V8 and 8-speed Chrysler slushbox.
![[Image: v6fVmDI.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/v6fVmDI.jpg)
It was an SLT, which means nothing to me other than "sort of base model" but it was reasonably equipped. Had the 5" UConnect touchscreen, pumping through 6 speakers of purely average quality:
![[Image: bmeN97G.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/bmeN97G.jpg)
It was very easy to pair my phone to the Bluetooth, and I hooked up to the USB port to keep it charged while playing music. One confusing bit... on the dash, there's a 12V socket and a USB port. I plugged my phone in to the USB, thinking it would be recognized by the radio. It wasn't. Turns out, there's another USB port in the center armrest that is hooked up to the radio. The dash plug is only for charging. WTF, Chrysler.
The 8-speed has this new rotary-style shift knob:
![[Image: 3xo0BA7.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/3xo0BA7.jpg)
Kinda neat, definitely saves space. The detents between "gear selections" (aka inputs to the Xbox) are firm so it's easy to know how many clicks you've spun it. You can shift/lock in a gear with two buttons on the steering wheel, but they are really slow to respond - any notion of "I'll downshift it myself because sportstruck" is just not gonna happen.
As far as the drivetrain - plenty of power. I think it's like 395 hp and 409 tq. Whatever it was, it was fine. The truck was quick off the line but I'm not sure how it would fare for any sort of drag race from a roll. It was too hard to tell given how many gears it has. The 8-speed wants to get you into the highest gear as quick as possible unless you keep your foot in it about 30-40% or more. The motor will also deactivate 4 cylinders under light load and tell you with a stupid "Eco" light in the gauge cluster. I made sure the Eco light didn't appear too often.
![[Image: 8l9QJct.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/8l9QJct.jpg)
Joey claims I drive everywhere like I'm sitting on a lit cigarette. Even with that claim (he's not entirely wrong...) and some legitimate slow-speed city driving through DC, the truck claimed to average 18 mpg in my hands. Not all bad for the size.
It's really quite large for a 1/2 ton, though. Too big for my liking - it seems to sit higher than the comparable Ford and GM offerings. But, most times I rent a car and hate it because it's some massive shitpile or has big detractors. This was really not bad at all and I don't have anything bad to say about it - other than the front seat headrests are HUGE and impede rear visibility during lane changes. That's all. Everything else was really good.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - WRXtranceformed - 07-14-2014
The new Rams are really nice, the new guy on our team has a loaded out one. I would still prefer a Ford I think if I bought a pickup truck.
I have been in and out of rentals a lot lately, whether through work or now to get my rear bumper fixed. Rented a Chevy Sonic LTZ Turbo which I won't even comment on because it is such a weird awful car. Just got into a new Fusion with leather and some options though and Ford continues to impress.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - Jake - 07-14-2014
WRXtranceformed Wrote:The new Rams are really nice, the new guy on our team has a loaded out one. I would still prefer a Ford I think if I bought a pickup truck.
If I got a brandy-new half-ton, I'd get the Ford.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - .RJ - 07-14-2014
I didnt know you could rent a full size pick'em'up truck. HMMMM.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - Jake - 07-14-2014
.RJ Wrote:I didnt know you could rent a full size pick'em'up truck. HMMMM.
They don't have tow hitches installed, I already looked.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - JPolen01 - 07-14-2014
If you need a hitch, look at a uhaul/penske box truck.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - Jake - 07-14-2014
That would be the best pace truck EVER.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - Jake - 08-08-2014
2014 BMW 328i xDrive M-Sport
My 128i has an "extended maintenance package" on it from a past owner, which covers oil/brakes/wipers til July 2015 or 100k miles. So, when the brake pad warning came up on Wednesday night, I called BMW of Alexandria and dropped the car off. This package also gives you a free loaner car. I was handed the key to an Alpine White '14 328xi:
![[Image: FVNBIUn.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/FVNBIUn.jpg)
Quick details on this thing. The "xi" or "xDrive" means it's AWD. It's powered by BMW's N20 motor, which is a 2.0L turbo 4-cylinder, rated at 240 hp and 268 tq. The transmission in this one is the ZF 8-speed automatic, same as what every other manufacturer is putting in everything. No paddle shifters (but they are an option).
Mine is equipped with the "Sport Line" package, which gets you the traditionally great BMW sport seats, different wheels (that I like), and some different trim, including a red stripe across the dash and on the key. It's also got the Cold Weather pack (heated front/rear seats & steering wheel), rear view camera, parking sensors (front and rear), HIDs, keyless go, and a moonroof.
Found the sticker in the glovebox. Not a cheap car:
![[Image: rBkrPet.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/rBkrPet.jpg)
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Oh wait, no, that's just the 4-cylinder clattering to life when I pressed the Start/Stop button.
Seriously, the noise this motor makes is one of the biggest letdowns of the car. It's not very "BMW" sounding, and I know they've had 4-cyl motors before. Those had a bit of a snarl or growl to them. This one sounds like a Focus at idle and not much better when you're romping on it. The car will (by default, but you can disable it) shut the motor down at stoplights. The auto-restart is miserable and completely bereft of refinement, which, given the price of the car... not good.
![[Image: SEkGBdx.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/SEkGBdx.jpg)
So anyway, once you get the clatterbox a'clattering, how does it all drive? Very well, actually. The car is larger than the outgoing E90 3-series but lighter. This AWD model still manages to weigh 3,600 lbs. Regardless, if you can get over the noise of the N20, the power it makes is pretty impressive. This car scoots when you pin the throttle.
The ZF 8-speed is largely tuned for comfort and MPG in this application and wants to get into 7th or 8th gear quickly. However, it doesn't hesitate to drop three or four gears and push you back in the seat when you get all "more throttle!" on it.
There's a button near the shifter that lets you choose between EcoPro, Comfort, Sport and Sport+ drive modes. EcoPro makes the throttle operate on dial-up, I guess to make you less likely to drive quickly? Comfort is your every-day go-to and it's... fine. Sport stiffens up the electronic power steering and only allows the transmission to use gears 1-6, while revving higher between shifts. Sport+ stiffens up a bit more and turns off the DSC for you.
![[Image: ynf8ZKw.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/ynf8ZKw.jpg)
Let's see, other notes...
* AWD is AWD. It plows into turns and straightens up after a second, once the system starts moving power around. I'd buy RWD, I think.
* The latest iDrive is pretty good. The screen is higher-resolution (think "Retina" iPhone display for pixel density) and the control knob has a touchpad on the top so you can draw letters to enter your destination, I think.
* You can have "Sport gauges" come up on the screen, ooh!
![[Image: rhP8Uxu.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/rhP8Uxu.jpg)
* It's comfy. This F30 3-series is the same size as the older E34/E39 5ers. It would be a fantastic highway cruiser, and I bet the 4-cylinder would get 30 mpg at 75-80 mph.
* Looks sharp in white, I'd buy white or blue.
* Mine has the "base" audio system with 7 speakers and 205 watts of amplification. No under-seat subwoofers (that's the Logic7 "hi-fi" system) so anything with a lot of low-end gets muddy and loses clarity. Overall a very good base system, though. Worlds better than most.
My biggest takeaway from this 328 is that I don't know if I'd buy it. If I were shopping the 3-series/A4/C-class type of car, I don't know if the BMW would be my favorite or a good "go-to." I drove Mike D's A4 and liked it a lot, and I think the new C-Class is very pretty. I'd have to drive them all and cross-shop. It's just not that special in 4-cylinder, AWD, automatic form, and I think the competition in this segment is pretty fierce.
Still though, very good car. Just not for me.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - SlimKlim - 08-08-2014
I didn't really believe that it sounded so miserable, i thought you were just gazing down from your straight-6 high horse, but nope....
(skip to 5:50)
[youtube]sMFTJ0DEznI[/youtube]
I think that might sound worse than my VW when the hood is open, which is a huge accomplishment. These power plants are undeniably the way of the future, Lauren's 2.0T appliance family sedan makes as much power and torque as a V8 from the mid-90s, so you'd think the premium manufacturers would be working double time to make them feel smoother and sound better.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - .RJ - 08-08-2014
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - BLINGMW - 08-08-2014
After hearing this engine in person.... they might as well have made it a diesel if it's going to sound like that. DI, high compression, turbo, all the added complexity of a diesel PLUS the ignition system of a gasser, without the fuel economy bonus of diesel. Why. :dunno:
As I understand, you can disable the start/stop "feature", which is good. Whatever little fuel this sewing machine uses at idle, I'll just save the battery and starter, and have it ready to go when I am thank-you-very-much.
Oh, and call it a damn 320. Christ.
At least it looks better than the E90 IMHO.
Jake Wrote:I bet the 4-cylinder would get 30 mpg at 75-80 mph.15yr old tech, worn out E46 with a proper 6cyl can do that. Heck, so can an E36. This pile better get 60MPG.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - WRXtranceformed - 08-08-2014
I got a Chrysler 200 as a rental the other day. It might be the worst car ever, in the history of cars. I found no redeeming qualities to it, other than a reasonably comfy seat.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - SlimKlim - 08-08-2014
BLINGMW Wrote:Oh, and call it a damn 320. Christ.
They sell a 320i, I'm disappointed you don't know that. I assumed you would've spec'd out a 320i sport package/manual "jalopnik" edition a few dozen times by now, seems right up your alley of no-frills manual-trans german commuter cars.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - G.Irish - 08-08-2014
I drove a 328i xDrive for the Acura TLX launch last week too, I'd agree that it's a pretty good car but hard to stomach for the price. I also think that BMW needs to get a more advanced all-wheel drive system in place since some of the competition is leaving them behind on that front.
But man, that 2.0T in the 328i is pretty freaking stout. Not as nice as the old 3.0L inline-6 but it has so much thrust and torque you're not left wanting for the performance of the 6-cylinder. The sound is a bit offensive, even with BMW's active acoustics in the interior to make it sound better.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - BLINGMW - 08-08-2014
SlimKlim Wrote:They sell a 320i, I'm disappointed you don't know that.You know what, I actually did NOT know that. :oops: Sure, they've had it everywhere else for years, but.... huh, look at that. Ok building one now.
*edit* wait, it's a turbo as well? That's odd. So two 2.0L turbo engines, one called a 320, the other a 328, with wildly different power. They could get 180HP out of the 2L without a turbo. Odd. :dunno: Just odd. So far not impressed (surprise!)....
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - SlimKlim - 08-08-2014
Still too expensive IMO. You're looking at almost $36k for 190ish? horsepower, sport package, plastic seats, no lumbar support, no keyless, no auto-dim, no heated anything.
If you want to not have back pain you're forced to get the premium package which lumps the one thing you want with $3k worth of shit you dont (what the fuck is a storage package?). So it becomes quite possibly the slowest $39k car on the market.
EDIT: Yeah, I assume it's cheapest to simply detune the 28i motor. I'm sure plenty of people will end up buying 320is for cheap on the used market and having them tuned to 328i power levels.
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - BLINGMW - 08-08-2014
SlimKlim Wrote:So it becomes quite possibly the slowest $39k car on the market.:lol: that is hilarious and also quite possibly true. Way to go BMW!
Re: Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo - SlimKlim - 08-08-2014
Blows my damn mind. For a while I was convinced the prices had skyrocketed on them and even accounted for inflation that the F30s had to be considerably more expenses than the E46 was. Nope. I just wasn't old enough at the time to realize/care how expensive new BMWs were. The price increase are pretty much in line with inflation rates since the early 00s.
It just blows my mind how little you get for your money when you cross shop BMWs against "non-premium" shitbrands like VW. For $39k you can have a 180hp sedan with decent suspension, 1 drive wheel, plastic seats, and "options" I would consider standard features on a premium brand. AKA, garage door opener, lumbar support, keyless entry, sunroof, etc.
For about the same money, assuming the MKVII won't come with a huge price increase, VW will give you a 296hp AWD manual trans hatch with real leather seats, lumbar support, navigation, heated seats, automatic wipers/lights, HIDs, etc etc.
Wat.