CIAS 2010: Perceptions

A good friend and I attended CIAS 2010 (Canadian International Auto Show) recently. We spent most of our time looking at practical, realistic cars (there was more time spent at the Honda booth than at Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini put together), and here are some of the conclusions I came to (with the aid of a complex 1-10 rating system.)

"LIKES" -- My favorites, cars that impressed me beyond my expectations, designs that were particularly well executed.

1. Lincoln MKS -- I was drawn back to this car. The clean exterior styling and comfortable, slightly conservative interior were very much to my liking. I liked the comfortable seats, the use of real wood in the cabin (as opposed to plastic), and the use, overall, of fairly high quality materials. I would nitpick a few things with Ford -- like the fact that the latest big Lincoln isn't rear-wheel drive and doesn't have a proper V8 -- but overall the split-wing wonder was a pretty slick addition to the showroom floor.

2. Buick Regal GS -- If you thought the Lincoln MKS carried a brand stigma, "you ain't seen nothin' yet." The Regal, however, promises to resurrect Buick. Based on the excellent Opel Insignia, the GS model shown at CIAS will be available with a 2.0L turbo engine and a 6-speed manual (!) On a Buick (!) It looks great too.

3. Hyundai Genesis -- Hyundai's "luxury" sedan had seats that were easily on par with those in the Mercedes-Benz S500 and doors that shut out noise better than those on the BMW 535i. The exterior styling is forgettable, but the cabin is really excellent. Plus, the Genesis comes with, unusually in this day in age, a 4.6L V8 and native RWD.

4. Volvo S80 T6 -- In my quest for well-made interior components, the S80 delivered: the arm-rest action is very well engineered. I've always liked this car; it seemed to be about the right size from every angle, and was quite comfortable for both the driver and front/rear passengers. If I had to buy one, I'd get the top-end version with AWD and the 4.4L V8.

5. Mercedes-Benz CLS -- this car, the least practical in the world, has been on sale for a long time now, but I still like its flowing lines and coupe-like stance. The interior was a little forgettable (as in most Mercedes, I found), but there was more room than I had expected.

Honorable mentions: Chrysler 300C (much better than I expected it to be, and great value for money); BMW 535i (a nicely made car, but likely not worth the $70k asking price); redesigned Ford Fusion Sport/Mazda 6 (both competent mid-size sedans, but each with very different strengths and weaknesses); Hyundai Elantra Touring (the interior felt cheap, but, like most Hyundais, this compact wagon/hatchback represents fantastic value for money); Jaguar XJ "L" (gorgeous styling, brilliant interior that we weren't supposed to sit in, hefty price tag.)

"DISLIKES" -- My least favorite cars on the floor. These either fell extremely short of my expectations or were just plain bad, or both.

1. Cadillac CTS (all models) -- I'm sure these cars are as mechanically excellent as GM says they are, but the astoundingly bad interior fit and finish made the inflated premium price-tag look ridiculous.

2. Toyota Prius -- I love the planet too, but the tree-hugging (?) Prius has an interior fitted with some of the cheapest, ugliest hard-touch plastics I've seen in a long time. Maybe next time, Toyota.

3. Lincoln MKT -- I wanted to like the unusual MKT, I really did, but the car's undoing for me came when the only way I could sit at all upright in the third-row seat was if the tailgate was open. If you're going to have third row seats, make the car high enough so that normally sized people can sit in them!

4. BMW 330d -- The quintessential yuppie uniform felt to me, on the inside at least, more than a little like the quintessential '90s Pontiac or Chevrolet. The cabin design didn't look well-considered, and there was more hard-touch plastic than I would've hoped to find on a $45,000 car.

5. Ford Taurus -- As with the MKT, I really wanted to like the Taurus. The so-so interior quality, claustrophobic back seat (not something you should find on a car only marginally smaller than Buckingham Palace) and terrible rear sight lines made me quite disappointed in Ford's newest large car. Interestingly, as I've noted, I loved the MKS, which is basically a luxurious derivative of the Taurus.

Dishonourable mentions: Lincoln Navigator (the '90s are over: crass, conspicuous consumption isn't cool anymore); Kia Rio (very few redeeming qualities, but that's what everybody expects so some slack must invariably be cut); Land Rover Range Rover Sport (a proper Range Rover should be able to ford the Amazon without difficulty; the Sport model looks more at home on the shores of the Hudson); Dodge Avenger/Chrysler Sebring (stay away unless you like hard-touch plastics, poorly fitted panels, and tinny-sounding doors); Acura ZDX (Stylish wrapping makes for a rather spatially tight interior.)

Those are my perceptions, at least. Feel free to comment.

Cheers!