The sarcasm is strong with this one.Bob wrote:5.034L V8
Rental Car Reviews
Re: Rental Car Reviews
Re: Rental Car Reviews
That is how you differentiate between the new and older Coyote V8s, right? Also, it's actually 5,038 cc compared to the older 4,951 so I'll fix it.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
New and older Coyote? I think you know more about Mustangs than I do.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
We needed to help some friends move this weekend, so I reserved a pickup from National for $35/day. I was kinda hoping for a new Ram, but when I got to their location, they had everything but that. I ended up with a 2019 Ram Classic Big Horn with the Hemi. A lot of things about it feel cheap, unlike the new Ram. It has massive rear seat room and a fairly big bed. The Big Horn also has decent infotainment and dual zone auto climate, which is a plus.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
So Bob visited with his rental 2018 XT5. It was a high trim of some sort. I will post more later.
For now I want to report that we lined up the XT5 against my STS. We can only find specs on the AWD XT5 which weighs 4,334 lbs, or maybe a tad heavier than my STS. It has the 3.6L V6 making 310 hp @ 6700 rpm (compared to 320 hp @ 6400 rpm for my STS) but also feels like it has a wide torque band, even though the peak of 271 lb-ft is less than the 315 lb-ft my STS makes.
So it seems like they'd be pretty close. Also the rental XT5 was FWD so should be a little quicker from a roll having better power to weight and less driveline loss.
We primarily did two events:
- One from a low speed or possibly a stop. It was starting to sprinkle so the XT5 suffered major traction loss. STS had a major advantage here.
- One from like 30 or something. Bob started in manual 2nd and I let mine kick down automatically. So he got an initial like 1 foot jump but then I just slowly began walking.
So this all makes sense. I would still put my STS in the ~96 mph trap speed range. Good news: it's slightly quicker than a 2018 XT5 which is actually a pretty common type of package these days. Much of the German competition is quicker of course.
Of note for the car itself:
- It had 41k rental miles and other than a slight rear hatch rattle, mismatched and somewhat poorly balanced tires and I guess a light brake pulsation, it appeared to have held up very well. Overall it exceeded my expectations in terms of comfort, performance and handling. My expectations were not all that high.
- The audio system performed well and should please any normal person. I found it to have pretty impressive power output at least rivaling my STS in that regard. However in terms of tuning, I still found the midbass too emphasized and a little muddy, lacking very low bass, and lacking definition on the very high end. To my ear (and I think Bob's), it still did not have the overall clarity and sophistication of my STS (better low and high extension, more flat and pleasing overall, and maybe a tad cleaner) which obviously I am happy with. I continue to value good factory audio, mainly because I find it plenty affordable in a used car even as a high trim option. I guess I will also note that unlike perhaps older or inferior systems, you can pretty much leave the EQ settings all flat and have a good sound reproduction. When you get in a car and feel the need to crank the bass and treble, I question the audio system at that point.
- There seemed to be a ridiculous amount of service room on the back half of the engine. This is a good thing and reminds me of my comparison of the Malibu to the Fusion. Could GM be doing a little better in underhood packaging lately? Who knows.
So it seems like they'd be pretty close. Also the rental XT5 was FWD so should be a little quicker from a roll having better power to weight and less driveline loss.
We primarily did two events:
- One from a low speed or possibly a stop. It was starting to sprinkle so the XT5 suffered major traction loss. STS had a major advantage here.
- One from like 30 or something. Bob started in manual 2nd and I let mine kick down automatically. So he got an initial like 1 foot jump but then I just slowly began walking.
So this all makes sense. I would still put my STS in the ~96 mph trap speed range. Good news: it's slightly quicker than a 2018 XT5 which is actually a pretty common type of package these days. Much of the German competition is quicker of course.
Of note for the car itself:
- It had 41k rental miles and other than a slight rear hatch rattle, mismatched and somewhat poorly balanced tires and I guess a light brake pulsation, it appeared to have held up very well. Overall it exceeded my expectations in terms of comfort, performance and handling. My expectations were not all that high.
- The audio system performed well and should please any normal person. I found it to have pretty impressive power output at least rivaling my STS in that regard. However in terms of tuning, I still found the midbass too emphasized and a little muddy, lacking very low bass, and lacking definition on the very high end. To my ear (and I think Bob's), it still did not have the overall clarity and sophistication of my STS (better low and high extension, more flat and pleasing overall, and maybe a tad cleaner) which obviously I am happy with. I continue to value good factory audio, mainly because I find it plenty affordable in a used car even as a high trim option. I guess I will also note that unlike perhaps older or inferior systems, you can pretty much leave the EQ settings all flat and have a good sound reproduction. When you get in a car and feel the need to crank the bass and treble, I question the audio system at that point.
- There seemed to be a ridiculous amount of service room on the back half of the engine. This is a good thing and reminds me of my comparison of the Malibu to the Fusion. Could GM be doing a little better in underhood packaging lately? Who knows.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
A few more XT5 thoughts.
- It was roomier than I expected. The size footprint seems pretty reasonable for general non-third row family usage.
- Seats were firm and had pretty much zero bolstering. Our SRX has considerably more seat bolstering.
- Being an up-level trim it had some fancier features like auto high beams. I thought the auto high beams worked more responsively than my STS does.
- It also had rear dual zone auto climate, rear heated seats, front ventilated seats and stuff like that.
- It had non-MR adjustable suspension. In tour I thought the ride was almost supple even over rough pavement, and even with the 20" wheels. This is good. I did not try to compare to sport. Bob can fill in for that.
- The steering surprised me. It was variable ratio and had a decent feel on center then quickened toward lock. I also thought it felt pretty responsive immediately off center leading to an overall much more nimble feel than I expected. It actually felt more tossable than my STS even if ultimate handling may not be as good due to physics.
- The V6 felt good. It had a wide torque range, sounded decent and was responsive. Even though it is a tad slower than my STS, it gets considerably better fuel economy. I think Bob logged some mid to high 20s on the highway. Also, being FWD, the thing can just destroy the front tires if you punch it off the line. There is also torque steer but really only at lower speeds and obviously during very hard acceleration which is not a normal condition. In the northeast I'd probably still select AWD but only after driving and researching both (price, weight, fuel economy, performance).
- Against the market I don't know how compelling the XT5 really is, but taken in absolute terms, I found it to be a perfectly decent, nice driving vehicle with good space, overall performance and efficiency. Given that it is a midsize luxury crossover, I did NOT find it to be "basically the same as driving a minivan." That is worth pointing out. In fact, if its market competitors are BETTER than this, then I can completely understand why these are so popular, at least among a demographic that would otherwise be buying a $40-60k midsize luxury sedan if the crossover did not exist.
- It was roomier than I expected. The size footprint seems pretty reasonable for general non-third row family usage.
- Seats were firm and had pretty much zero bolstering. Our SRX has considerably more seat bolstering.
- Being an up-level trim it had some fancier features like auto high beams. I thought the auto high beams worked more responsively than my STS does.
- It also had rear dual zone auto climate, rear heated seats, front ventilated seats and stuff like that.
- It had non-MR adjustable suspension. In tour I thought the ride was almost supple even over rough pavement, and even with the 20" wheels. This is good. I did not try to compare to sport. Bob can fill in for that.
- The steering surprised me. It was variable ratio and had a decent feel on center then quickened toward lock. I also thought it felt pretty responsive immediately off center leading to an overall much more nimble feel than I expected. It actually felt more tossable than my STS even if ultimate handling may not be as good due to physics.
- The V6 felt good. It had a wide torque range, sounded decent and was responsive. Even though it is a tad slower than my STS, it gets considerably better fuel economy. I think Bob logged some mid to high 20s on the highway. Also, being FWD, the thing can just destroy the front tires if you punch it off the line. There is also torque steer but really only at lower speeds and obviously during very hard acceleration which is not a normal condition. In the northeast I'd probably still select AWD but only after driving and researching both (price, weight, fuel economy, performance).
- Against the market I don't know how compelling the XT5 really is, but taken in absolute terms, I found it to be a perfectly decent, nice driving vehicle with good space, overall performance and efficiency. Given that it is a midsize luxury crossover, I did NOT find it to be "basically the same as driving a minivan." That is worth pointing out. In fact, if its market competitors are BETTER than this, then I can completely understand why these are so popular, at least among a demographic that would otherwise be buying a $40-60k midsize luxury sedan if the crossover did not exist.
Re: Rental Car Reviews
I recently rented another XT5 with the base suspension (non-adjustable) and 18 inch wheels and it was fairly disappointing. I think the base MDX is superior to the base XT5 in terms of driving dynamics, but the XT5 does seem to be improved significantly by the optional suspension.