Toyota Invited Me to Drive the 2015 Yaris, Camry, and Sienna

 

 

I recently experienced the end to a major irony in my life. When I was a kid, almost every vehicle my father purchased was a Toyota. Most of them were Cressidas. He also bought 4Runners and Tacomas. I grew up hearing him regularly praise their durability, which he continues to do to this day. My first car was a Toyota (surprise, surprise - it was a Cressida!). I credit my dad for my lifelong love of automobiles and respect for products from the Japanese manufacturer.

 

However, since this April, when I started getting the keys to press loaners, I haven't spent any time behind the wheel of a mass-market Toyota media tester. (I've driven the TRD Pro variations of the Tundra and 4Runner, but I consider those niche offerings.) The automaker recently changed that by inviting me to sample its new Yaris, Camry, and Sienna models at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

 

I arrived at around 9:15 a.m. after almost four hours on the road from the city of Kyle. The stadium's River Club room provided a toasty, welcome refuge from the near-freezing temperatures outside. While devouring a mercifully warm breakfast of crispy bacon and scrambled eggs, I listened to a presentation covering each model - all of which are mid-cycle refreshes - from a few of Toyota's representatives. (I haven't had the pleasure of driving the previous iterations of them, so all I can evaluate the new versions on is how they felt to me, not on how much I think Toyota has improved them.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the words thrown around during the Yaris portion of the talking-up session were "energy," "agility," and "quieter." Then it was time for me to find out which words the hatchback would bring to my mind. I put on my coat, scarf, trapper hat, and gloves and went out to the Corolla Red Stadium West Lot. Toyota and its fleet management company STI gave me and my fellow writers the choice of taking any model out for a 15-, 30-, or 50-minute drive. 

 

 

 

 

I chose a blue Yaris for a half-hour journey down city streets and back roads. You can get the 2015 Yaris with three or five doors and a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic in one of three trim levels: L, LE, or SE. Prices start at $14,845. The top-tier SE is available for as little as $16,820 (with five doors and the five-speed manual gearbox). My SE tester had a four-speed auto, which bumps up the MSRP by $800.

 

 

 

 

Once I was seated in it, I discovered the side windows were wide and offered plenty of outward visibility. The door sill was slightly too high on which to comfortably rest my elbow for cruising. On the other hand, I found the car's 1.5-liter I4 to be peppy in the delivery of its 106 horsepower and 103 pound-feet of torque. The SE's four-wheel disc brakes were well-tuned and engaged early on in the left pedal's travel.

 

Whether I was stopping or going, I couldn't ignore how noisy the new Yaris was. Its engine sounded coarse and unrefined. The P195/50VR16 tires roared. Wind whipped loudly against the outside of the greenhouse. All of this occurred despite Toyota installing acoustic windshield glass, sound-absorbing and -insulating materials, floor tunnel silencers, and under-hood insulators. The next time I'm in my friend Dan's older Yaris, I'll have to see if I can tell whether or not those changes made a big difference.

 

The people who designed the newest Yaris certainly made one. There's no denying the car, whose looks were conceived in Toyota’s ED² design studio in the South of France, stands out, thanks to the X shape to its front end styling and its oversized mesh grille. In all honesty, I don't love the combination. It makes me think of an alien's face. However, I can't say it makes for a boring, nondescript sight.

 

Fuel economy figures of 30 city, 36 highway, and 32 combined (for Yaris models built with the four-speed auto) are certainly pleasing to the eye, but I believe if Toyota uses more modern transmissions, such as six-cog automatics and manuals, those numbers will become even more attractive.* Perhaps the next-generation Yaris will get those kinds of gearboxes.

 

  

Next up was the Camry SE Hybrid. Toyota says it "went bumper to bumper and floor to roof, changing or re-engineering nearly 2,000 parts" when it redesigned its mid-size sedan for the 2015 model year. The company has been making "green" cars for a while, but it only started offering the sporty SE trim paired with its Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain in mid-2014. The total system output from the combination of a 156-hp, 2.5-liter I4 and a 105 kW electric motor is 200 horsepower. That pairing is good for 40 city, 38 highway, and 40 combined miles per gallon (in SEs and XLEs).**

The electronic continuously variable transmission kept me from getting a sensation of where I was on the power band. (Thank goodness for tachometers.) I was cast into the same sort of limbo earlier this year when I tested the 2014 Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, which also uses an eCVT. Both four-doors are equipped with electric power steering. The Camry's had a satisfyingly weighted feel to it at speed and responded swiftly to my inputs. The press release for the newest car states, "Specific suspension tuning, with unique stabilizer bar, absorber valve structure, and control arm bushing components, make this one fun-loving hybrid sedan." My biggest take-away from the underpinnings was that they soaked up bumps well - and I encountered plenty of those on my 30-minute drive.

 

 

 

 

When my right hand wasn't at the 2-o'clock position, it was usually adjusting the radio's volume or the HVAC's fan speed. The controls were easy to reach and allowed me to quickly make changes on the fly so I could get back to focusing completely on my driving. One thing that did distract me was the fact that the Camry was so much quieter - in terms of wind, road, and engine noise - than the Yaris. Then again, it should've been, given the larger vehicle's more prestigious position in Toyota's lineup.

 

 

 

 

 

I looked forward to driving every car at the stadium, but the only one in which I wanted to ride was the 2015 Toyota Sienna. Why? At least one of them in the parking lot (a Limited model) had ottoman-style second-row Lounge Seating. 

 

 

 

 

Before I indulged in that, I took one of the minivans for a 50-minute spin. Like the Camry SE Hybrid, it handled imperfections in the road with aplomb and grace. Its cabin was a serene place to be. Noise levels were pleasantly low. The shifter for the six-speed automatic was quickly accessible. I also thought the brown leather seating surfaces were handsome.

 

Some of the things Toyota added to its "Swagger Wagon" for 2015 include: a Driver Easy Speak option that allows you to communicate to back seat passengers using the van's built-in microphone and rear speakers, a revised grille, visually tweaked headlights and taillights for certain trim lines, a stiffer platform which incorporates more spot welds, a new multi-information display in the instrument panel, and a 30-percent larger side curtain airbag coverage area.

 

 

 

Once I returned to the stadium, one of my colleagues in the Texas Auto Writers Association, Tabetha, who was previously riding in the middle row, switched places with me. Huzzah! I extended the foot rest of my seat and stretched my legs. Even though my feet ended up hanging off the end (I'm 5'10"), my enthusiasm didn't lessen. My mother has always wanted to take a van to visit her sister in Kentucky and I think all five feet of her would be comfortable - and would fit easily - in one of the second row's captain's chairs. I have a feeling I would be quite comfortable covering hundreds of miles in one of these. If my mom, brother, and niece and I end up going to visit my aunt next Christmas, I'm going to try to get my hands on one of these for the trip north. We would have plenty of space because these vans can fit as many as eight passengers. If I were to land a front-wheel-drive Sienna, I would be getting 25 mpg on the highway (and 18 in the city).*** Putting one under the tree would cost a minimum of $28,600 (for a seven-passenger L model).

 

 

 

 

The last Toyota I drove was the Camry XSE V6. Consider it the new pinnacle of Camry sportiness. It starts at $31,370. According to the Japanese automaker, the XSE has "model-specific 18-inch wheels, higher rate coil springs, unique shock absorbers with internal rebound springs, firmer bushings and unique electric power steering tuning. The wheels carry meaty 225/45R18 all season tires." Designers gave the XSE bold, aggressive lines, which are most apparent up front. That gaping piano-black maw you see above is more eye-pleasing on the Camry than it is on the Yaris and looks as if it's on a mission to gather air to cool the 268-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 under the hood. On the Dallas North Tollway, I gave that engine a chance to shine. It didn't blow me away, but it didn't disappoint me. Acceleration was respectable. So are EPA ratings of 21 city, 31 highway, and 25 combined miles per gallon for V6 Camrys.** Coming to a stop was an odd experience, though. The brake pedal had a noticeable dead zone and a stiffness when I first stepped on it. Once I got passed that, things were normal. I can't recall going through something like that in another test vehicle.

Just as my time at Toyota Stadium marked the end of an irony in my life, 3 p.m. marked the end of my time driving the automaker's newest offerings. Given how much Toyota has revised them, it's now clear to me that I was just beginning to learn about them. If you'd like to educate yourself on the 2015 Yaris, Camry, and/or Sienna, visit the Toyota USA Newsroom.

*2015 manufacturer-estimated EPA MPG estimates. Actual mileage will vary.

**2015 EPA MPG estimates. Actual mileage will vary.

***2014 EPA estimated MPG. Actual mileage will vary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dodge Rocks Gas Monkey

     Have you ever seen one of those high school flicks in which a nerdy guy has the night of his life - one filled with fast cars, scantily clad girls, and rock and roll? Well, on the evening of Saturday, Nov. 1, I was that nerd. 

I was living a movie because I attended Dodge Rocks Gas Monkey. Richard Rawlings, of "Fast N' Loud" fame and the owner of the Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas, Texas recently opened the concert venue Gas Monkey Live across the street from one of his two Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill locations.  Given that he's a motorhead and 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of Dodge, it made sense that he agreed to host a giant Mopar gathering in the parking lot of his music hotspot.  Rawlings is also a big Motley Crue fan, so guess who he had break in his new stage? That's right: Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, and Tommy Lee were there. More on them later in this post...

After I checked in at the W Dallas - Victory hotel, one of my friends with Event Solutions International (hi, Mark!) shuttled me over to Gas Monkey Live. There was a chill in the November air that was off-set by the amount of body heat (and firepower) on the ground. Attendees were showing off their Dodge, Plymouth, and SRT rides; eating BBQ; buying memorabilia and commemorative souvenirs; and drinking shots and beers sold by attractive ladies in tank tops.  According to Eileen Wunderlich, manager of marketing communications at Chrysler Group LLC, 2,200 people showed up. Of course, not everyone brought a car to display, but there were still 850 of them parked on the pavement.

After grabbing an adult beverage and some barbecue meatballs at one of the open bars in the Gas Monkey Live, I went back outside to wait in line for a drive in a 2015 Dodge Challenger simulator. The sinister-looking poster car for all bad boys - in which I placed 4th (out of 6, I think) - was gutted in certain places by Dodge's technical wizards to fit special hydraulics and actuators that were linked to a trio of flat screens which showed my position on a virtual track.  All I had to do was steer, accelerate, and brake.  Of course, the real thing would've been better, but the rig Dodge brought was a safe, efficient, and well-engineered use of space. It seemed that everyone wanted to try it - or the Charger R/T simulator next to it.

The line for those "vehicles" was long enough, but it was shorter than the one for the thrill rides in the Challenger Hellcats. Dodge had two of them on-hand and a pair of factory drivers ready to take patrons (riding shotgun) down an 1/8-mile stretch of pavement as quickly as possible. After what seemed to be two hours, it was finally my turn.

Taking a balls-out ride in a car with 707 horsepower felt exactly the way I thought it would. That's not a bad thing. I was pushed back in my seat as if I were in a space shuttle during lift-off. I could feel the rear end of the Challenger squirming as its back tires tried to break free from the tarmac. My driver made minor steering corrections to keep the Hellcat pointed straight and we absolutely cheetah'd our way down the makeshift drag strip. What surprised me was the fact that the traction control was on and the beastmaster next to me took off at the green light without using launch mode. I was impressed. The traction control didn't spoil our fun. It was like a parent who gives their teenager a midnight curfew. "You can have fun, but there are still rules."

Although by the time I emerged from the Hellcat my feet and ankles were aching, I just had to watch a trio of Vipers drifting in their fenced-in nest. A pall of white smoke billowed from each snake's rear rollers, which chirped in protest with each quick direction change. Blue flame tongues flicked out of each serpent's side exhaust pipes.  I witnessed a couple of close calls in which one of the Vipers almost hit a wall. That's the difference between me and a drifter: I would have freaked out, braked too late, and left an $85,000 V-10 dream machine with chain link hash marks on its beautiful, curvy body work.

I proceeded to take a few pictures of the rows upon rows of Chargers and Challengers that surrounded me, then headed back into Gas Monkey Live to get ready to watch Motley Crue rock the house. After excusing myself through several people and finding the appetizer stations picked clean, I chose a spot from which to take in the show. Rawlings came on stage to announce that having the band play at his own bar has been a dream of his since he graduated high school in 1987. While I don't share his ambition (especially because I was a toddler in '87), I can certainly respect it and congratulate him on making a longtime wish of his come true. He never gave up and made the fantasy in his head into a reality. As Rawlings would say: "WOOH!"

I'm not a fan of '80s rock. However, I must admit that Motley Crue killed it! (My phone's video camera and microphone really didn't do them justice.)  They played as if they were a group of dudes in their early 20s. I could feel the sound of the show vibrating through the walls of the men's room. Nikki Sixx sliced off thick wedges of bass sound with his axe. Tommy Lee pounded on the drums as if they slapped his sister. Mick Mars used his electric guitar to send sonic waves from the fog-clouded stage into the crowd of screaming and cheering gearheads. Vince Neil did a little of everything. He sang (with sexy dancing girls in hot pants singing backup vocals behind him). He pumped up the audience. Once or twice, he strapped on a guitar and rocked out with Sixx and Mars, as he's been doing off-and-on for the past 33 years.  The North American leg of Motley Crue's Final Tour concludes on Nov. 22.  Next year, the group will finish its last set of concerts overseas.

Motley Crue is a stadium/arena band, so it was a real privilege to see those guys in a relatively intimate space such as Gas Monkey Live.  The Mopar muscle outside was abundant and got my heart racing (kickstarted, perhaps?). What a bash. The best part? I didn't have to clean up, talk to the cops, or worry about my parents coming home early.  Wooh!

Review: The 2014 Ford Fusion Energi Titanium Plug-In Hybrid

"The future is arriving!"  That's the comment Ford left me when I announced to the Twitterverse that I had picked up my niece from school in the 2014 Ford Fusion Energi Titanium Plug-In Hybrid using only electricity, not gas.  

It was right.  The company's high-tech sedan made me feel as if I were a member of the Jetsons.  I went from driving a car with a conventional internal combustion I4 to a vehicle with an Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder coupled with an 88-kW electric motor, a 35-kW lithium-ion battery pack and an electronic continuously variable transmission.  

I never thought I would connect a car to an electrical outlet, but I ended up doing just that with the included 120V charger.  Seven hours later, I was ready to drive an EPA-estimated 21 miles.  The trip to my niece's school was silent, but it spoke volumes about how much I was still in the past.

See, I had not been behind the wheel of a hybrid or a plug-in before I drove the Fusion.  After giving the right pedal a deep footprint,  I was not impressed with the pure-kilowatt results, nor was I confident that they would give me enough pick-up in a panic situation.  The plateau in power was obvious.  Don't get me wrong - I'm not one of those guys used to driving big, powerful trucks and muscle cars who thinks everything should make at least 300 horsepower.  Nevertheless, I was still underwhelmed.  I did appreciate the ability to bypass gas stations for short jaunts, though.

Initially, I found the performance of the 188-horsepower gas engine and electric motor combination to be similarly lackluster.  It felt gutless.  However, in its defense, I think the car seemed slower than it actually was.  During acceleration, the speedo needle seemed to move quickly enough.  I blame the eCVT (and my life-long existence in the traditional slushbox present) for my confusion. Its lack of gears made it hard for me to tell exactly where I was in the power range.  I felt as if I were floating in space.  In fact, the experience was so discombobulating that my fuel efficiency ended up dipping as a result.  I kept leaning into the throttle pedal in an effort to get my bearings.  My average miles per gallon went from around 43 to just under 40.  

There was nothing confusing about those figures, though - they were easy on my wallet.  They were at or only slightly below the EPA's estimate of 43 combined MPG, too.  (The agency rates the Fusion Energi Plug-In Hybrid for 44 city and 41 highway MPG, and 100 MPGe with a full charge.)

The exterior styling was just as easy on my eyes.  Design team leader Chris Hamilton and his crew found a way to give a midsize family sedan some visual flavor.  Credit them and an Aston Martin-esque front grille, a roofline which slopes dramatically in the rear and tail lights reminiscent of the Maserati GranTurismo.  A coat of rich Deep Impact Blue paint helps, as well.  Only the 17-inch wheels were a let-down.  They just seemed too small in relation to the amount of sheet metal riding atop them.  

Inside, I heard a substantial amount of tire noise from the Michelin P225/50 R17 rubber surrounding those rollers.  The 2.0-liter engine made an equally unpleasant racket.  It emitted a guttural, unsophisticated and droning baaaaaaaaaah that detracted from the cabin's otherwise enjoyable atmosphere.  I don't expect a Ferrari symphony, but I believe Ford should at least tune the I4 to sound a little less obnoxious and more civilized.  

All controls seemed easily accessible while I was on the move.  The switch for the headlights was no exception, but I didn't need to reach it because this particular Fusion had automatic front halogen units.  

In the back seat, I was able to sit comfortably behind the driver's throne adjusted to my size and preferences.

 

Pressing a button to the left of the steering wheel opened the trunk, a compromise between room for the lithium-ion battery pack and luggage space.  I was able to fit my overhead carry-on suitcase in it, but only on its side.  Let's hope these power plants go the way of cellphones and shrink over time.  Until then, there's a small price to pay for savings at the pump.

 

 

The Charcoal Black and metallic trim made an aesthetically simple but attractive wrapper for an impressive array of technologies.  Some were included in my tester's $40,500 base price.  For instance, SYNC with MyFord Touch and a reverse sensing system were no extra charge.  Others, such as the $995 Adaptive cruise control which imperceptibly kept a selectable distance between me and the vehicle in front of me, were options.  Navigation was $795.  A $1,140 Driver Assist Package told me when I was drifting out of my lane, monitored my blind spot and kept me from getting clobbered by cross traffic when backing up.  After a total of almost four grand in bells and whistles and a destination and delivery fee of $795, my Fusion Energi media loaner rang up at $45,120.

One of its competitors, the Honda Accord Plug-In, has an almost identical base price of $40,570 when you include tax, license, registration and destination charges.  While its 47 city, 46 highway and 46 combined mpg numbers are higher than those for the Fusion in this review, its maximum electric range of 13 miles falls short of the Ford's, as does its 570-mile total reach (the Blue Oval is good for 620).

My week with the Ford Fusion Energi Titanium Plug-In Hybrid was certainly a glimpse into the years to come in terms of power train technology, safety and infotainment features, and gas mileage.  It also provided me a look at the things that can be improved now to make a better green car in the future.

via [Ford]