Category Archives: Test Drive

Sensible Sedan Shopping @Chevrolet with @Gurdonark

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I went this morning with @Gurdonark sensible sedan shopping.  He has a long daily commute to work, and needs a large compact or small midsize sedan for a daily driver.  He had already tested the Ford Fusion.

I offered to drive, since this was also a great excuse for a day out in my Cadillac STS-V.

Today we started at Tony’s Cafe for breakfast.  My Wife joined us, so that made a pleasant outing, then she headed for her day and we headed to the car dealers.

Here are photos of the Cruze and the Malibu.  They look very similar to me but I think I have them captioned right.

Chevrolet Cruze

Chevrolet Malibu

For Car Shopping, we went to Huffines Chevrolet in Plano.  @Gurdonark wanted to check the Cruze, Malibu, and Equinox, then head over to Huffines Hyundai to check their comparable offerings.

The Chevrolet Cruze replaced the Cobalt.  Although it is smaller than a Malibu, it still had acceptable rear leg room.  The Cruze has a smaller engine, and higher MPG, and the Malibu has more interior room.  Among the base models, the Cruze appears to have better infotainment access, with bluetooth, USB, and ipod ports.

Chevrolet Equinox

The surprise choice of a sensible sedan for me was the Chevrolet Equinox, especially since it is a Crossover SUV and not technically a sedan.  With good gas mileage, plenty of room, a higher driving position, and a mid-20s price the Malibu-or-Cruze comparison quickly changed to an Equinox-or-Cruze comparison.  Since the Cruze is around $5K less money, I think the deal on each would be the way I would decide between these two for a daily commuter.

2.4L Ecotec Engine in the Chevrolet Equinox

 

Huffines has a Hyundai lot on the same property, where we test drove the Elantra and Sonata.  @Gurdonark’s current car is a Sonata. Although they seemed very roomy, they did not test drive as well as the Cruze or Equinox.

We drove around the corner to a Chrysler dealer where we tested the Chrysler 200.  Although it seemed a handsome car it also seems a car waiting for a bottoms-up rewrite and not just the current make-over of an otherwise basic vehicle.

Lunch at Dickey's - beef, turkey, mashed potatoes, broccoli salad, roll

After car shopping we wrapped up with Lunch at Dickey’s BBQ which worked well.

Summary

Among the sensible sedans, I would choose the Chevrolet Cruze.  Among the cars we shopped, I would choose between the Cruze or the Equinox and decide based on the price level I was able to get each one at.

@Gurdonark & Chevrolet Corvette

Among the rest of the cars we saw, I would get the Chevrolet Corvette, or a Camaro SS.

 

Cadillac STS-V visit with TexasJim in Grapevine

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Ran out to Grapevine Texas to meet with Texas Jim and show him my STS-V.  Jim lives out west somewhere, so Grapevine is 30 miles from me and 35 miles from him more or less.

I managed not to talk to the STS-V Nav system the right way, so Jim actually provided turn by turn navigation to get me in to the parking lot where we planned to meet.  Now I have that spot saved in the nav for another visit.  I love that the STS-V has bluetooth so my pocket cell phone becomes a hands-free phone using the 15 speakers in the STS-V when synced.

I’m still driving the Cadillac around dirty, but he had not seen/Driven the V-Series so I wanted to show & discuss.  When I was test driving the Cadillac CTS-V I had brought it out to show, but because it was a Dealer car I could not offer test drives.  Since the STS-V is my car, I wanted to give Jim a chance to try it out.  He posted his take on the experience here.

Jim’s 2006 Cadillac DTS Performance Sedan still looks great at 100K+ miles.

Jim also took numerous pics of the V.  One feature the STS-V has is headlight washers.  They are actually controlled by the same controls as the windshield washer.   So while I sat in the V and hit the washers, Jim grabbed this shot:

Normally that little panel is flush with the front of the car, but on command it lifts up, clearing the nozzles below to spray the headlight covers to wash them clean.  Charming.

We had a nice visit and talked about Cadillacs, and ran the STS-V up and down the highway so he could get a feel for it.  I think we concluded that it would suit him just fine as a next Cadillac.  Actually his 2006 DTS is still going strong so no rush to a new Cadillac.

I like the way the camera autofocus came out on this shot.   The STS-V was produced at Lansing Grand River by UAW 652.   “One Team, One Goal, World’s Best”; well done.

 

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Shots of the new-to-me STS-V

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Here are some shots in day to day driving patina to highlight some of the features of my new 2008 Cadillac STS-V.  I apologize that it is not immaculate, but was just enjoying grabbing some snaps.

Click on images to see larger versions.

The STS-V was made from 2006-2009; this is a 2008 Model.  The 2008 gained a Heads-up Display compared to the 06/07.  The 09 was similar to the 08.  Under 500 of this year/model were produced starting at $78,775.

The V-Series for Cadillac means a performance tuned model that is capable of operating well on the road or track.  That is what a ‘sports car’ used to mean.  This car has a tuned suspension, high performance Brembo brakes, high output powerplant, and extra cooling for all systems so that it can run flat out without misstep.  It has a competition mode for the stabilitrak to yield more control for the Driver in high dynamics. This is a gentleman’s racer.

Cadillac has used a metal mesh as a consistent V-series theme.

Engine Shot – Supercharged 4.4L DOHC VVT V8 making 469hp.  That is a beauty cover, under which the Supercharger sits atop a 4.4L Northstar engine.  For the STS-V the engine actually sits 2″ lower in the chassis for balance.  This also perhaps helped the composite hood fit with only a small power bump.

Each of the STS-V engines, designated LC3, were made by hand by a single Engine Techician.

Here is a dyno graph of the STS-V LC3 engine output:

Tail View; note continued V-theme mesh grill at the bottom

At 17K underside still looks fresh enough.

Nice V touch on the door threshold.  Interior needs a vacuum, but I let that go for the weekend so I could write this for you.

More pics to follow soon with other details.

What do you think of the STS-V?