Hands on with the Nissan Juke

The Nissan Juke is one of those cars that really polarizes people.  Either you like its unusual look…. or you don’t.  Either way, the car is distinctive in its style.  It was much taller than I expected it to be.  From the photos I had seen online, I wasn’t sure if it was intending on competing against the Kia Soul, the Ford Edge or the VW Rabbit.  Standing next to it I felt like it was on par with some of the smaller SUVs such as the RAV-4.

The seats were comfortable, a molded bucket seat, but I felt like I was sitting really high.  The interior was clean without a lot of clutter.  However, I could not wrap my head around what the designers were possibly thinking with the dash instrumentation.  Every time I looked down at my gauges, I felt like I was looking at Wall-E.  The instrumentation is two large gauges, but instead of being set back into the dash, there’s this slight cover that sticks out that looked like a separate piece, but wasn’t.  Thankfully the steering wheel was adjustable, otherwise because of the Wall-E eyes, I wouldn’t have been able to see my instrumentation while driving.

Since the seats were already down in the back, I didn’t bother to put them up and see how comfortable the back seats are to sit in, but it is nice that the back seats fold flat.  Although, because of back pillar curves, when the back seats are up, I felt like there would be virtually no storage space.  You’d have to put the back seats down just to go grocery shopping!

The Juke is available in a 2 wheel drive version with a standard or automatic transmission, or an all wheel drive with a dual clutch system.  Since I can’t imagine having a 2 wheel drive vehicle in Colorado, I test drove the all wheel drive.   Unfortunately, I have not been able to discover if that meant the 2 wheel drive Juke was a 2×4 or a front wheel drive. (My salesperson didn’t know and I had nothing but issues with the Nissan site).

1st gear was extremely sluggish and I felt like it red lined easily without me pushing it very hard so I was already up to 4th gear despite me only going 45.  The turbo whine was really obnoxious and was definitely a contributing factor in quick gear changes despite a lower RPM.  The Juke had a nice turning radius and would easily pull a U-turn which is definitely a plus.  Especially as I see this really only being a car for someone who just wants to drive around town.  One of the other salesman promised me the Juke would put a huge smile on my face…. he was wrong.  It’s a cute little car and well loaded for the price, but I wasn’t very impressed with it.

Update 1-12-2011

After reading this review on Car Throttle and reviewing some of the Juke specs, I have begun to wonder if the salesperson had put the car into the economical mode.  Unfortunately, I really don’t feel like my salesperson knew much about the Juke which definitely didn’t help my test drive.  I might take a second look when I test drive the Xterra but I don’t know if changing modes will help the turbo whine or not.  I don’t know that I can drive an automobile that sounds like an RC Car when it’s revved up.

Hands on with the Outlander GT

Since the Outlander Sport wasn’t powerful enough for me, Aaron, the manager at Quality Mitsubishi though the Outlander GT with its 3.0 V-6 might be a better fit. 

It’s a slightly bigger vehicle and slightly more powerful.  It comes standard with a third row of seats, although I can’t say I would want to sit in them for a long road trip.  For hauling, the third row seats fold flat, however, the back row doesn’t.  This is an issue I currently fight with in my Explorer and have seen in many other vehicles as well.  It definitely limits what you can carry in the back which can be frustrating.

Overall, the interior felt virtually identical to the Outlander Sport.  The dashboard still feels enormous and the stereo is too integrated into the dash for each after market integration.  The seats felt like higher quality than in the sport, but still very boxy and not as nice as what I currently have.  Although the model we took out didn’t have one, a power panaromic sunroof is available.

Driving the Outlander GT was indeed more my speed than the Outlander Sport.  It still had a nice tight turning radius which is helpful when parking but it was still slower than I would like from 0-40 mph.  Especially compared to my Explorer Sport,  but was pretty peppy between the 40-70 mph range.  Passing wasn’t an issue… at least the cars I chose to pass while on the highway.  But, as I said, it was still slower than what I currently drive and not quite as comfortable.

I think if you drive mostly in the city or the suburbs, the Outlander Sport is probably enough of a vehicle and will get you better gas mileage.  However, if you travel on the highway at all, I think I would recommend the GT as the better model.  Regardless though, the Outlanders just aren’t the vehicle for me.

Hands on with the Outlander Sport

A few weeks ago I received an intriguing email regarding the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport.  Mitsubishi had rigged up a vehicle to be driven remotely and would be opening it up soon for test drives.  On the one hand I thought this was completely daffy because honestly, how much can you really tell about a car if you’re not really behind the wheel driving it?  On the other hand though, I thought it was a fun bit of marketing that was sure to get at least a few people talking.

Finally I got the notification that the Outlander Sport was available on the internet to be test driven.  Once you clicked through and secured your place in line you were given the opportunity to practice, watch other drivers or find out more about the Outlander.  The Outlander specific site is extremely robust and worth spending a few minutes on to explore.

The practice was smooth and I felt like I got a good handle on how to control it.  The actual “test drive” on the other hand was another story.  There was a lag between you directing the car and it actually doing what you wanted which became very frustrating… and then before I knew it my turn was over.  Needless to say, I barely collected any of the “badges” to compete for the prize they will be giving away.

This was definitely one case where the concept was much better than the actuality.  But, the virtual test drive worked in that  I was curious to see how the actual vehicle drove.

The Outlander Sport is a smaller cross-over vehicle intended on competing with many of the smaller SUV’s on the market.  It’s designed to be very fuel efficient which in the current market is definitely a selling point.

Ground clearance is definitely low, especially compared to my current ride, however, with laws being what they are now, that’s something I’m just going to have to deal with I guess.  The lines are nice.  It’s similar to other vehicles in its class, but I think it’s still somewhat distinctive.  The Outlander Sport is slightly smaller than the other Outlander models so you lose the third row of seats, but not much else.

The hatch area is a little on the small side compared to what I’m used to.  The seats don’t fold flat, but I think it’s rare to find a vehicle where they do.  They do have a pass through in the left back seat though which could be quite useful.

Sitting in the vehicle, I wasn’t very comfortable.  The dashboard is HUGE. I swear it was so big you could lay on it comfortably.  Ok, well, maybe not quite that big, but that’s how it felt to me.  The seats felt cheap and stiff.  I can’t imagine doing a long road trip sitting in them.  Hopefully they get more comfortable with use.  The model I took out had a dual transmission which means it had the paddle shifters.

The Outlander Sport was quiet and had a nice tight turning radius – Definitely good when you need to flip a u-turn or even turn into a parking spot.  The ride was very smooth and car-like.  I quickly discovered however why the Outlander Sport is so eco-friendly…. It was S  L  O  W.  I would be scared to get on the highway in something that accelerated that slowly and I dread getting stuck on the on ramp behind one.

I can see the Outlander Sport being good for city travel, but definitely not the car for me.

Getting Familiar with Mitsubishi

Rally Red Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

The first step in my search was to start visiting car manufacturer websites.  I decided to focus my attention first on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (EVO) as it’s one of the few cars on my list that is currently available.

My initial impression of the Mitsubishi website (once I found the correct URL) is favorable, although I will admit I had to resort to a search engine to find it. It’s mitsubishicars.com if you’re interested.

It’s simple, well laid-out and intuitive.

Mitsubishi Landing Page

It’s easy to find the information you want from many different avenues and in a variety of formats.  There’s plenty of photos and videos for those who want more visual stimuli, there’s plenty of specs for those who want the facts.  They also make it easy to compare the various models within each make.

Now the important part.  How functional is the build your own model aspect of the website.

I’ve narrowed it down to the EVO model and click that I want to build my own.  It next asks me what trim level I want.  I have four options: the GSR, SE, MR, MR Touring.  The photo, price and description changes as I click on each option.  This is very good as your customer may not quite remember which trim package they were liking the best and this provides a reminder without taking up a lot of valuable real estate.

After selecting the model, you are asked to select the color.  It’s a small thing, but the color changes on the photo as I click each option.

As a consumer, this is something I really want.  Yes, some people know exactly what color car they want because it’s their favorite color, others pick a color they think looks best on the car, and others will pick when they’re at the dealership.  Regardless of how they pick a car color, it’s important for the consumer to see their option.  If you have the default as yellow and I want a black car but am forced to see the yellow car every time I make a choice, I may abandon the process before I finish.  Yes, believe it or not, many consumers are that finicky. Not only that, but if I’m building “My Car” than it should reflect the options I’ve selected.

I am next taken to the Packages and Accessories page.  This is an area that could be slightly more user friendly.  You click next to any options you want and it selects them.  The name and price are listed as well as a spot you can click to pull up a description and/or picture.  However, most car companies offer many of these options either separately or as a package, yet no package deals are listed.  Not all of the options have photos, and some are only photos without a description.  The price keeps a running total as options are added and subtracted.

Finally, you’re given a run down of everything you’ve selected and given the option of printing it, or requesting a quote.  Upon inputting your zip code, you are able to select a dealership.  As a consumer, I very much like the option of being able to select which dealership my information is sent to rather than it automatically being sent to my “closest” one because maybe I’ve had experience with a particular dealership in the past and may or may not want to do business with them again.  Or perhaps, I would want a dealership close to work instead of home or for some other reason.  Either way, consumers  like choices.

As part of the information request process, Mitsubishi requests (although they don’t require) your current vehicle make and model.  No big deal right?  I select my year and then my make.  But when I get to the model selection, I run into a hitch.  Apparently the Mitsubishi marketing department only thinks those Ford drivers interested in the EVO drive cars.  There isn’t a single option for any of the Ford SUVs or trucks.  The only options that aren’t currently visible are the Thunderbird and Crown Victoria (which interestingly enough isn’t in alphabetical order like the rest of the options).

Some may say so what?  But this is actually rather important.  All marketing departments should be aware of and abide by the GIGO principal.  (Garbage In, Garbage Out).  If you’re taking the time to request the information, you want it to be correct and useful.  By not offering all options, you’re forcing your customer to either select a different vehicle, or not provide you the information at all.  If the information you’re requesting  is so unimportant that you don’t care if your customer doesn’t answer it, or provides you with incorrect information, than why are you asking it?  You’re wasting your consumer’s time and yours, not to mention you’re  getting inaccurate information which is basically useless.

Now comes the fun part.  It has been my experience that many dealerships try to automate as much of the next step via email and drive you nuts with phone calls.  I will be curious to see how Quality Mitsubishi (my chosen dealership) handles me.

Let the Car Search Begin

I’ve mentioned it quite a bit on Twitter recently, but I’m slowly starting to look for my next car.  I’m a bit of a gear head, so this isn’t a process I take lightly.  Whereas some people go through cars every few years, I tend to stay with one car for a very long time so I put a lot of effort into my search to make sure I really get a car I’m going to love driving for several years.

I’m actually in a great position to start my research as I don’t need a new car.  There’s not much worse than shopping for a new car when you current one is on its last legs.  I’ve been keeping my eyes open though for awhile to see if anything might catch my fancy and this year there are a few cars that have.  As I’ve started going through the process, I thought it might be interesting to share the experience from both my consumer perspective as well as my marketing perspective.

My intention is to share my experience completely from the manufacturer websites to the dealerships to my experience with the cars themselves.  To that end, here is a little bit of background.

My current ride:

I currently drive a ’99 Ford Explorer Sport with a 4.0 SOHC V6.  It’s 4×4 and does well in the snow which is really good as my commute is  currently 24 miles each way.

What I love:

  • 4.0 SOHC V6. I hit the gas pedal and it accelerates well enough to keep up with a stock 3.8 Mustang
  • It’s blue!
  • It handles well in the snow.
  • Ride height isn’t too high, but am able to maintain good visibility over the majority of cars.
  • The way it drives.  Before I bought it I was considering quite a few vehicles, but after getting behind the wheel of an Explorer Sport, I knew it was my next car.  I haven’t had that feeling with another car yet….
  • I’ve personalized it.  I’ve swapped out the turn signal covers (yellow to clear) and added blue lights, I have after market tail lights, tinted windows, a brush guard and an after market sound system.

What I dislike:

  • It’s an automatic.
  • It’s an automatic.  Yes, I’ve intentionally listed that twice as that is truly my biggest issue with it.  I like a standard transmission, especially in the snow.  Unfortunately, in SUVs and trucks it’s nearly impossible to get a standard transmission anymore and unless I wanted to go with a smaller engine, I had to go with the automatic.  Not to mention the fact I would have had to have one special ordered.
  • Manueverability. While it’s acceleration is pretty good, I still have to plan out maneuvers.  At times I am not able to change lanes simply because I don’t have the room and can’t accelerate quickly enough to get the needed room.  I’m not afraid to admit that part of this dissatisfaction probably stems from riding my motorcycle.

What I want in my next car:

  • Standard Transmission – I’m not entirely sold on the new dual clutch transmissions but am open to considering them. Especially as my afternoon commute is often gridlock.
  • Good acceleration – I do a lot of highway driving so I need something that can get to highway speed quickly and won’t leave me in the lurch when I need to pass.
  • Fun to drive – I spend a lot of time in my car, so if I don’t enjoy driving it, why bother buying it?
  • Handles well in the snow – Colorado may not get as much snow as some places, but a rear wheel drive car isn’t a smart decision.  I want to know that I can get home from work in a snow storm.

The options I’m currently considering:

Mitsubishi EVO

Subaru STI

Volvo S80

Nissan Juke

Audi S4

Nissan Xterra

Toyota Tacoma

Ford Explorer

Ford Edge

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