Driven: Ford Focus ST Diesel Wagon! (Too Bad It’s Stuck in Europe.)

Like every single U.S. automaker, Ford is not averse to wrapping itself in Old Glory when it wants to sell far more solution to patriotic ’Muricans. That’s why Ford F-150 advertisements feature the sort of gravelly voiceovers that make Clint Eas2od sound slightly effeminate—and typically include much more denim than the whole of Montana. But, despite calling Michigan property for a lot more than 25 years, Ford also continues to deny its house marketplace a big percentage of its global model range. And even though we do not really care if we do not get vehicles like the EcoSport and the B-Max, occasionally the neglect actually hurts, dammit.

As right here, with the diesel version of the Focus ST sold in Europe and other parts of the planet where compression ignition is taken seriously. To add some injury to that insult, the TDCi engine is also accessible in station-wagon type. This slight may not be on the very same level as that lengthy ago choice to deny us the Escort Cosworth, but it’s fair to say that a efficiency wagon with a 182-hp diesel engine and a stick shift fairly significantly fills the complete bingo card of stuff we’d like but cannot get. Which is why we took the very first opportunity to get behind the wheel of 1 for the duration of a recent trip to Germany.

Familiar—with Crucial Differences

The view from the driver’s seat is virtually identical to that in a U.S.-spec Concentrate ST hatchback. You sit on the exact same mega-grippy Recaro sports seats, grab the very same chunky steering wheel, really feel the identical pleasingly bulbous gearchange lever, and appear at the identical dashboard, featuring the identical trio of stuck-on supplementary dials for oil and enhance pressures and oil temperature. The only genuine clue that one thing is different, other than the Euro-spec km/h, bar, and Celsius scales for the instrumentation, is the truth that the rev counter turns red just soon after the number “5”.

The engine is a mildly reworked version of Ford’s Euro-spec 2.-liter 4-cylinder turbo-diesel, and even though it is far more than 60 horsepower adrift of its gasoline-powered sibling (with the maximum 182 horsepower arriving at a lowly 3500 rpm), it truly musters more torque: 295 lb-ft at 2000 rpm. On-paper functionality figures are predictably reduced, with a zero-to-60-mph time we estimate at 7.5 seconds and a 135-mph leading speed (in our testing, the gas ST hits 60 in about 6 seconds and has a 150-mph leading speed), but set against that, the TDCi has an official “combined” fuel-economy figure equivalent to 56 mpg on the optimistic Euro test cycle. If the car have been to be run via the EPA ringer, we consider it could best 40 mpg on the highway cycle.

Significantly less Enthusiastic, But Nonetheless for Enthusiasts

There’s no surprise that the diesel lump cannot match the enthusiasm of the gasoline engine. It lacks its spark-ignited sister’s enthusiasm for revs and—despite obtaining far more torque—has far significantly less torque steer in slower corners. But it is smooth and brawny low down, which means that you change gears about half as usually. A derestricted stretch of autobahn confirmed that there is no point trying to push the engine previous the 4000-rpm mark, where it appears to hit a slick of molasses. But tall gearing indicates that translates fairly much specifically to the claimed best speed in sixth—we saw an indicated 220 km/h (137 mph)—with the ST feeling stable and comfortable when driven flat-out. The engine thrums and hums when worked tough, with a sound symposer canceling out most tinkling harmonics at reduced speeds.

Despite becoming slower than the gasoline ST, Ford hasn’t softened the diesel version as Volkswagen does with the Golf GTD. That implies firm spring and damper settings, which do an excellent job of keeping the body in check when asked to make frequent directional adjustments. They also, even so, give a harsh ride over rough surfaces, specifically at greater speeds. The electrically assisted steering shares the gasoline ST’s fast rack and delivers similarly crisp front-finish responses (with much less power-on understeer), and the manual gearbox is just as slick as it is in the gasoline automobile.

Indeed, our test car’s wagon bodywork possibly produced more of a difference to the car’s higher-speed dynamic behavior than did the diesel engine. Ford’s numbers say the wagon is 53 pounds heavier than the hatchback, but even that relatively modest boost in mass at the rear of the vehicle is clear, generating it noticeably less willing to tighten its line on an eased throttle. Or, in other words, slightly significantly less amusing. The plus side is a reasonably cavernous load space—33 cubic feet with the rear seats in location, 53 cubic feet with them folded.

On the basis of the car’s versatility and fuel efficiency, we’re going to describe the diesel Focus ST wagon as the most sensible performance auto in the planet. Or rather, in those components of the world that are allowed to acquire such a compellingly distinct vehicle we’ve no doubt that U.S. sales for a manual-shifting diesel wagon would be restricted, but it’d be nice to at least be presented the selection.

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Driven: Ford Focus ST Diesel Wagon! (Too Bad It’s Stuck in Europe.)

Kia Sportspace Concept Debuts, Is the Optima Wagon of Our Dreams

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The Power to Surprise? That’;s an understatement . . .

Kia’s Sportspace wagon idea is so damn gorgeous and close to excellent that we count just 3 items we don’t like about it. 1st, the big ventlike things in the rear fascia look out of place second, the rear license-plate mount requirements to be relocated from the otherwise gloriously spare tailgate and third, the front running-lamp/vent pieces appear to riff a bit as well hard from Volvo’s playbook. Seriously, that is it—we’d eat up the rest of the Sportspace in a single bite, chewing optional.

Now this is the portion where we tell you that the Sportspace is just one more piece of vaporware, one more heart-tugging preview of a Europe-market place-only station wagon that we’ll in no way be in a position to purchase. Properly, that’s only partially true, as far as we know. What we’re hunting at right here, people, is very probably the subsequent-generation Kia Optima mid-size sedan, gussied up in station-wagon clothes in a bid to capture the interest of European types at the 2015 Geneva auto show.

Follow along with us here: The Optima sedan is at the moment sold in Europe in generally the same kind it is sold in right here, and a redesigned version of the car is due this year. It is quite easy to connect the 2 dots with a extremely straight line and assume that this is the new Optima, as we did when Kia teased the Sportspace last week.

Having shown the car in this kind, nonetheless, it would appear as although Kia is at least thinking about adding a liftback model to its European Optima lineup. We’re also glad it does not seem to be following the lead of corporate sibling Hyundai in dialing back the hotness of its mid-size offering. The present Optima wowed the automotive planet with its daring and remarkably upscale style in 2010, and the Sportspace is even a lot more impressive.

Details surrounding the car’s powertrain and interior are forthcoming—we’ll know much more when we see it in particular person next month in Geneva. Our inner nerds have our fingers crossed for some sort of diesel-electric hybrid setup like that in the Optima T-Hybrid concept from the 2014 Paris auto show, but a turbocharged 2.-liter 4-cylinder would much better match the sporty vibe. It is practically definitely front-drive, but all-wheel drive would come in handy when traversing the snowy backdrop in the press images.

Should the next Optima spring forth from the scorching Sportspace comparatively intact, it would right away render Toyota’s newly stylized Camry boring, let alone the conservative 4-doors from Honda, Hyundai, and Chevrolet. The Kia would give even Mazda’s drop-dead-gorgeous 6 a run for its funds. We have our fingers crossed that we can get in on the wagon action—after all, the last Kia-badged station wagon sold in the U.S. was the somewhat dumpy Rio Cinco from the early 2000s, and that is a terrible way to close the book on the physique style.

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2014 BMW 328d Diesel Wagon Long-Term Update: Our Mileage Varies—Upward

Lengthy-Term Road Test Update

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Our mileage moves upward on the odo—and in the fuel log.

WHAT WE LIKE AND WHY: Our diesel 3-series wagon has proved desirable for lengthy trips, with logbookers praising the car’s comfortable ride and huge variety. We could feasibly venture from our Michigan workplace to areas as far flung as New York City, Des Moines, Chattanooga, or perhaps even Hearst, Ontario, Canada, with no stopping when for fuel. If you are into the round-trip factor, note that one particular of our editors drove to Chicago, tooled around for the weekend, and returned to his Ann Arbor residence with lots of variety to spare. We’re also digging the free scheduled upkeep incorporated with our wagon the oil change, inspection, and refill of AdBlue diesel-therapy fluid performed at 10,000 miles cost us practically nothing.

WHAT WE Do not LIKE AND WHY: 1 staffer declared that he didn’t like the diesel engine as a complete: “Once you get previous the ‘cool, it is a diesel wagon’ factor, you see that it’s loud and not as enjoyable to drive as a gas engine.” No other drivers have gone so far as to want for yet another engine, even though several have agreed that the diesel 4-cylinder could call much less consideration to itself. Leaving the automatic engine cease-start off technique disengaged would assist the shutdown and startup are unacceptably harsh for a luxury automobile, and they’re particularly annoying in quit-and-go site visitors.

WHAT WENT Incorrect AND WHY: At the exact same time as our 10K service, BMW performed a recall for the water-drainage grommet at the side of the engine compartment. Fundamentally, a grommet in an underside panel is supposed to let water out but can as an alternative gum up with debris. The answer is to remove it and let the water drain freely. At 14,500 miles, our vehicle threw a warning for premature brake put on and referred to as for the installation of new rear pads. Our dealer verified that the pads still had good, lengthy lives ahead of them and installed a software update that ought to, we hope, put an end to the false alarms.

Exactly where WE WENT AND WHY: As pointed out, the automobile has seen far more highway miles than it had by way of the beginning stages of our 40,000-mile test, venturing to Virginia to serve as a help car for our annual Lightning Lap extravaganza, as properly as to Maryland and the northern reaches of Michigan. The long-legging has resulted in our typical fuel economy jumping by an typical of 2 mpg to 35 general, and we’ve observed a couple of tanks typical far more than 40 mpg. We’re nonetheless quite pleased with the wagon as a entire, but will the bloom come off the diesel-wagon rose for much more of our staff members? We have 25,000 miles left to locate out.

Months in Fleet: 7 months
Present Mileage: 16,457 miles Typical Fuel Economy: 35 mpg
Fuel Tank Size: 15. gal Fuel Range: 525 miles
Service: $ Typical Wear: $ Repair: $
Unscheduled Urea-Answer Additions: $

Continued…

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2014 BMW 328d Diesel Wagon Long-Term Update: Our Mileage Varies—Upward

2014 BMW 328d xDrive Diesel Wagon Long-Term Intro: Lengthy Name, Longer Test

Lengthy-Term Road Test Intro

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Extended name, longer test.

Months in Fleet: 5 months
Present Mileage: 6938 miles
Typical Fuel Economy: 33 mpg
Average Variety: 495 miles
Service: $
Standard Put on: $
Repair: $
Unscheduled Urea-Remedy Additions: $

Yes, a diesel station wagon—could we be far more predictable? One particular of our more fervently held automotive proclivities notwithstanding, we added BMW’s long-haul hauler to our fleet to evaluate the first efficiency-minded 3-series diesel in America in a generation. (The burly 335d from the turn of the decade doesn’t count—it shunned economy in favor of making All The Torque.)

We could have requested the 328d sedan, but having already completed a 40,000-mile evaluation of the gas-fired 328i 4-door, we thought we would switch up the body designs. Plus, the diesel-wagon fetish.

It helped our choice, too, that the sedan’s spicy M Sport package—necessary to score our wagon’s beautiful Estoril Blue paint—is also on the 5-door’s choices sheet. Prior to we get there, even though, here’s what came with our vehicle for its $ 44K base cost: a 181-hp 2.-liter turbo-diesel making 280 lb-ft of torque, an 8-speed automatic with Sport programming, xDrive all-wheel drive, iDrive infotainment, Bluetooth connectivity, power front seats, and an adjustable chassis with Eco Pro, Comfort, and Sport settings. It also packed automatic climate control, auto-dimming mirrors, a power panoramic sunroof, and ambient lighting.

To that we added the aforementioned $ 3850 M Sport kit, which consists of 18-inch wheels with efficiency tires (enabling a tenacious .92-g quantity on our skidpad), sport seats, an M steering wheel, blacked-out exterior trim, aluminum interior bits, a black headliner, and sweet-searching physique add-ons. The paint price $ 550, and we also got the $ 650 M Sport brakes, the $ 250 rear-window sunshades, the $ 875 Harman/Kardon surround sound, and the $ 750 360-degree camera display. We also produced the no-cost selection to swap out the garish Estoril Blue plastic dash trim that comes with the M Sport pack for much more subtle gloss-black pieces.

Lastly, we spec’d a sextet (!) of packages. The rundown: Cold Weather (heated steering wheel, front and outboard-rear heated seats, headlamp washers $ 950), Driver Help (backup camera and parking sensors $ 950), Dynamic Handling (adaptive M suspension with Sport+ mode, variable steering $ 1000), Lighting (adaptive xenon headlamps $ 900), Premium (leather upholstery, proximity entry and start, adjustable lumbar assistance, satellite radio $ 2200), and Technology (navigation with touchpad, head-up show, BMW Apps, enhanced Bluetooth and phone integration, genuine-time site visitors information $ 3150).

So, yeah, we generally loaded up this mother, thereby creating a unicorn version of a model that is itself a unicorn. Get in touch with it a sub-unicorn, then. The only alternatives we skipped were auto higher beams and a bunch of ninny assistance things such as automatic parking, active cruise handle, active blind-spot detection, lane-departure warning, and collision warning. Our as-tested price of $ 59,950 falls just a few grand shy of maxed out.

As for the driving knowledge, reactions have largely been optimistic, with the ride, the superb 10Best-winning chassis, and the diesel’s tractable torque all coming in for praise. Staffers have so far bagged on the engine’s gruffness, fairly languid accelerator response, and, predictably, the lofty price tag. We also hate the automatic engine quit-begin, but we really feel that way about fairly significantly all of these systems, and at least there’s a button to turn it off. You have to do so right after each startup, though, which is another annoyance.

Difficulties? We’ve had 1: At 2500 miles, the headlights appeared to go into “truffle-hunting mode,” as one particular commenter put it, the beams becoming aimed far too low. A broken bolt for a proper-front leveling sensor was repaired beneath warranty.

The run to 60 mph was achieved in 7.1 seconds—0.6 slower than the basic gas-powered 320i, but the automobile is sprightly adequate in site visitors. Like most any diesel, our 328d runs out of steam north of freeway speeds witness the additional 14.2 seconds it takes to attain 25 mph from 60. Fuel efficiency so far stands at 33 mpg, just 2 above the city rating, but many tanks have topped 36 mpg. Once we get the vehicle out on some extended road trips—we haven’t ventured farther from our Ann Arbor base than Chicago—we expect general economy to go up. Even as it sits, we can count on practically 500 miles between fill-ups. Watch this space for a lot more updates as we roll deeper into our 40,000-mile test.

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2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon Very first Drive: Much more Mini Van than Most Minivans

1st Drive Evaluation

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Ford’;s “unminivan” is not un-enjoyable to drive. But is it a great household truckster?

• STEVE SILER AND


• THE MANUFACTURER

By each and every affordable definition, the 2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon is a minivan. It’s a van. It is modest. Ergo, it’s a minivan. Duh. But Ford is touting it as the “unminivan,” even turning the term into a hashtag for marketing purposes.

But, by suggesting that the Transit Connect Wagon is anything it is not, or a lot more accurately, saying that it isn’t something that it is, Ford is muddling what tends to make the vehicle distinctive. It is a delightfully simple, fuel-efficient, and space-efficient minibus that is fairly low on frills but extremely higher on usefulness. It is equal parts utility van and compact automobile. As such, it stands in stark contrast to the heavy and bloated road whales at present getting marketed below that modern day misnomer of “minivan.” Okay, we suppose in that respect, it is indeed the “unminivan.”

Advertising and marketing bluster aside, the Transit Connect Wagon is normally fairly likable. Primarily based on Ford’s global C platform, which also underpins the Focus and the Escape, among other items, the Transit Connect Wagon drives a lot more like a modest auto than a minivan or a utility vehicle, with surprisingly quick turn-in and some semblance of road feel via the wheel. Our test drive was limited to the confines of Ford’s Dearborn proving grounds, where the Ford hounds assured us that we would maintain sane speeds, but we came away impressed with its light-on-its-feet demeanor and the way in which it typically quashed body motions. Thanks to its special suspension tuning compared to the cargo van, added sound insulation, and fully lined ceiling and walls, it is significantly quieter than the cargo model with which it shares its slab-sided physique, highly styled dashboard, and fuel-efficient powertrains.

We sampled the quick-wheelbase, 5-passenger wagon with the optional 178-hp 1.6-liter EcoBoost 4-cylinder engine, as nicely as a long-wheelbase, 6-passenger model powered by its only engine, the 169-hp 2.5-liter 4-cylinder. Even with 3 aboard, the quick-wheelbase EcoBoost model felt the friskiest—no surprise there—with some turbo lag but enough scoot after the turbo rush kicked in. The 2.5, for its element, didn’t look to lack power below our benign driving regimen, but it may want for far more oomph if far more seats had been filled. And for what it’s worth, the EcoBoost engine—a $ 795 choice on the short-wheelbase model—achieves 1 to 2 more mpg than the 2.5, according to EPA estimates.

Virtually a Minivan

Most Transit Connect Wagon consumers will be satisfied with merely sufficient performance for them, the ability to carry folks and things is far much more essential. Ingress and egress are a cinch—there’s no ascent to the driver’s seat, you just open the tall door and slide in sideways. The rear seats are set equally low in the structure, amplifying the impression of Notre Dame–like headroom, though taller passengers may possibly be looking at the tops of their knees. Overlook placing the rest of the basketball squad in the far back—that space is strictly for youngsters. Additionally, the second-row seats are rather cumbersome to fold flat and/or obtain access to the third row.

Outward vision is amazing to the front and side, and is certainly far better than the cargo model out the rear. The cabin’s ergonomics will be familiar to any individual who’s driven other current Ford cars: the instruments are housed in a hexagonal cluster, even though ancillaries are displayed within a cowl-covered data screen (with offered MyFord Touch and Sync) perched above banks of stylized audio and climate controls. As with the cargo version, the Transit Connect Wagon features a complete-width aircraft-style shelf above the front visors for little things like, say, an iPad to show movies to the kids, since the Transit Connect does not offer a rear-seat entertainment method. And of course, all-in cargo space (104.2 cubic feet of it in the lengthy-wheelbase version) is pretty outstanding. Thank you, flat-folding seats, T-square walls, and sky-higher roof.

But alas, there is a palpable cheapness inside that a single never ever experiences in other modern day minivans, evidenced in glimpses of physique colour in the A-pillars, exposed seat hardware, and challenging plastics covering pretty much almost everything that you cannot sit or stand on, amongst other factors. And several of the myriad possibilities taken for granted in minivan-dom, such as accessible multizone automatic climate handle, premium audio systems, power sliding doors and tailgates, and sunroofs that open—are missing from the Transit Connect Wagon.

Then there’s the matter of value. At $ 25,520, the cheapest, brief-wheelbase, 5-passenger wagon fees virtually as considerably as a loaded Mazda 5 Grand Touring or a base C-Max hybrid, the latter achieving roughly 17 a lot more mpg. A completely dressed 6-passenger model with MyFord Touch, leather seats, and a fixed-glass moonroof can surpass $ 34K, at which point any quantity of “proper” minivans, to say nothing of the V-6–powered, 6-passenger Flex, represent very appealing options.

If there is a sweet spot for the Transit Connect Wagon, it would be in 2-row, quick-wheelbase form with EcoBoost and Sync. In that 5-seat guise, it does not take itself too seriously, with favorable dynamics, fuel efficiency, and bread-box utility. Anything else, and it’s trying to be a true minivan. And we’ll give in and agree with Ford on that: It’s one of those.

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