Motorweek; 2209

This time on motor week a new element in SUV he's key is substantial Sorrento and learning the Land Rover way. It's a come drive with us next. Me at my little. TV's original automotive magazines. Brought to you by employees who were conned people. It's on Motor Week time. It's got cars trucks and it's a great show. That's 30 minutes on television my favorite time of the week. I forgot the popcorn. And by. That. What are you looking for. Your host for Motor Week. John Davis. Well hello and welcome again to motor week we're glad to have you with us. When it comes to small sporty cars with a practical youthful appeal there's no doubt that Honda

Civic is a favorite. But today's generation Y buyer doesn't necessarily want a vehicle that's equally appealing to mom and dad. They're looking for something a little more extreme. Want to meet that Nate Honda is doing something they rarely do and that's taking a chance and they've come up with a new concept that they hope will find a home in this narrow and very fuzzy segment of the market. Will they succeed or will they find themselves out of their element. The. If the public reaction we got during our two week fling with the new 2003 Honda Element is any indication of its future success Honda is definitely in their element. But our time spent with the Ohio bill also revealed that even the most well-thought out target group based marketing plan can be completely skewed by reality because behind the marketing honchos went to great lengths to explain how the element is targeted at Generation Y

single males. Plenty of time toting boomers who found it mighty intriguing to unwind the elements cavernous interior is packed with plenty of innovative features that all generations should find appealing. But first let's start with the way they're package the elements box a love it or hate it appearance is drawn from Honda's Model X concept which debuted at the 2001 North American International Auto Show. The two tone body work is stealing composite body panels designed to handle plenty of rough and tumble abuse and the rides on Hondas Global Compact platform structurally similar to the CRV SUV. Foot shorter but almost eight inches taller than the CRV. The element 62 inch track is wider for even better stability. The element also comes with standard 16 inch wheels versus the CRV 15 but then the element really goes its own way with a clamshell style side door configuration with the front doors opening at a 78 degree angle. The rear doors

at 90 degrees and no B pillar to get in the way. The element offered to a wide mini van like side opening for easy loading of friends or furnishing the lowing completely flat floor helps too and the floor is constructed of thermo plastic Olyphant top coat or TPL and coated with your thing rendering it virtually indestructible and extremely easy to clean with a wet sponge. Also easy to clean or the comfortable manually adjustable front bucket seats which are covered in a durable waterproof fabric. Both have 11 inches of poor after travel and the driver gets manual height adjustment but when it comes to seating options that's just the beginning. Both front seats lay flat into the rear seats to form a comfortable recliner 50/50 split rear seat back flat too and you have the makings of a bag for cargo hauling the rear seat flipped up to the sides or removed completely. Versatility continues with a split tail gate that doubles as a seat and a folding front passenger seat that lets you load items up to nine feet long pull will drive elements

add a removable rear skylight to handle the tall items you can't go home without. Back up front behind the tilt steering wheel the driver faces a color keyed 3 pod gauge cluster and to the right an abbreviated center stack that houses in the upper level ex-model the controls for the 271 audio system with an independently controlled sub for this system also features a port to plug in an MP 3 player. The center stack also contains the large CRT style rotary climate controls and a rally style shifter from the swift civic Ehsaan under the hood you'll find this piece 2.4 leader Twin Cam 16 valve 4 cylinder. This high strung little power plant produces 160 horsepower and one hundred sixty one pound feet of torque. Our point guard. Is going to. Be moved to sixty eight point one seconds and on through the quarter mile trap and sixteen point two seconds at eighty six miles per hour the engine revs quickly and our drivers were impressed with the strong torque throughout the riband are elements by speed manual

also received rave reviews for its preciseness in just right field for speed automatic is also available and so is the CRB capable real time for will drive system. Elements handling and ride quality are handled by controlled MacPherson struts up front and due to the low floor a compact double wishbone system in the rear that compact design cuts down on the suspension travel somewhat so the ride is stiffer than the CRV and it's boxy styling makes it look rather ungainly. But those looks are deceiving as the element through our low speed slalom tasked with surprising agility. There's just a tad of understeer at Turn end and a variable assist rack and pinion steering is quick and responsive with a decent amount of feedback. Body roll is also minimal for a vehicle that looks so top heavy. The elements core will drive this braking system is equally up to the task of stopping with large 11 inch rotors and the standard abs and electronic brake distribution we average stop

from 60 and a good one hundred twenty six feet. When it comes to the 2003 elements pricing and availability there's good news and bad news the good news is that prices will start around $16000 for a front drive dx and top out at under twenty three thousand for a well option four wheel drive. Here is the bad news is you'll have to wait until December to buy one because that's when the front end who will drive automatics and front wheel drive manual elements will arrive in showrooms. Couple will draw. Live manual will follow next spring. Only time will tell if this rather daring move for Honda in both concept and styling will pay off. But with its durable jack of all trades interior quality Honda power train and proven four wheel drive system and all around frisky appeal Our bet is there will be plenty of buyers of all ages who find this an essential element to their driving pleasure. The best kind of car accident is the one you will avoid active handling and

stability programs often called EFP or electronic stability programs are designed to help you do just that. EFP works by monitoring a car speed and direction as well as the driver's actions and it automatically applies the brake to one or more wheels to correct unstable cornering conditions. It's high tech hands off. Keep it on the road peace of mind and it's as easy as ESPN coming up learning the lay of the Land Rover. Our master TAC PAC boss is always ready with top notch Karkare advice and now it sounds like he's turning his talents to marriage counseling. This week he shows us how to get hitched. John trailing was very important to a lot of people these days and we have some interesting tips that Bo might make your trailering life a bit easier. Now here's something very interesting this new Hummer H2. But it has a front receiver and it gives you the ability to put a coupling on it so that you

can move your boat or your camping trailer whatever it might be in the forward direction which makes it a lot easier to maneuver. Certainly you couldn't tow that way of course but you can maneuver right now in addition to that remember that a front receiver can be put on just about any truck or sport utility and along with the ability to move things around. You can also use that front receiver for a winch that is designed to slide it into the receiver that way you could use your winch on the front or the rear. It's pretty clever. Now one thing about the trailers themselves. If your trailer happens to have very small tires on it that means that the tires and wheels are going to be turning at a much higher rate of speed than the tow vehicle. That also means that you have to pay attention to tire pressure tire condition and you have to periodically service the bearings and seals on that trailer.

You will avoid disaster that way. Now here's something that is so simple yet so worthwhile. You gotta wonder why didn't you think of it. This is the fulcrum self coupling here which works very simply. It has this V on it. It's folded down. You don't have to hit the trailer tongue exactly because the V will guide it in and when it goes into the. Tongue of the trailer Well watch what happens going forward Dave. Whoa easy there. There we go. It not only aligns the trailer tongue it cop pulls the ball right into the trailer. Makes a great simple hook up right. Takes a lot of the stress out of hooking up your trailer. Here's something else that is a good idea this is a toad doctor. He checks the wiring in the vehicle. How many times you have lights that don't work on the trailer you don't know whether it's in the vehicle or in the trailer. Well this'll check all of the

wiring in the vehicle. Now if you have a light that doesn't work but it does work here you know that your problem is in the trailer and you can fix it very easily. If you have a question or comment write to me the address is Motor Week always Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. 0. Great seeing lots more collector car expert John appen on the auction block today is a 1966 awls. John this one looks like a real beauty. This is a real some and always will be a list of the course the first full sized front wheel drive car since the court of the thirties and I remember these in 1966 they were a performance car that extremely well at Pike's Peak. Greg even if you're not going to go on a hill climb this is one of the most significant. All it will be all designs of the post-war period. Billy Mitchell gave got the styling details exquisite the hidden headlamps the crease fenders that are reminiscent of the 30s classical design combined with a very

aggressive fender flares on the car that look like a muscle car. And they also meant long hood short neck styling. Which is so popular in the mid 60s and these have become very affordable collector cars as well right. Yeah these things are going to run anywhere between six to ten thousand dollars it's not a convertible but it makes a darn nice first car for a collector and it's a lot of performance to boot. So. A challenge in covering the automotive business is staying current. Not only does that require timely testing of all the latest vehicles and keeping up with the goings on in industry boardrooms but also keeping all of our driving skills on the cutting edge. And this weekend while I Reporter Jennifer because novice attends a rather earthy driving school for a most enjoyable refresher course. Manchester Vermont is best described as a quaint town where life is slower and more elegant one where a cozy country bed and breakfast would flourish. It is also the home of the

equinox resort considerably bigger than the average and it provides all the comforts of an ultra luxurious home away from home. And of course you can't forget it's lavish golf course. When visitors come here to escape city life they want to enjoy an elegant beautiful setting which this definitely is. But. Don't judge a book by its cover. Deep in the wild woods of Manchester Vermont you'll find the ultimate ombre experience the Land Rover driving school established in 1997 is a cooperative venture between Equinox resort and the most celebrated off road vehicle manufacture. The school has been a huge success. Come started it because we had offered what we call now adventures in the past and we were traditionally catering to a range of voters who could actually take the time from a 10 day trip and they were not inexpensive imagine travelling you know to different parts of

the world. As Discovery Owners were coming into the family into the fold in the United States we wanted something that was more accessible. So 80 acres in the Landrover kicked off what became one of the most notable off road establishment in the country one that according to Bob Burns allows people to explore the full capabilities of their SUV. We see a lot of the media you know people buy these wonderful sport utility just to go to the grocery store. And we're trying to spam them. The neat thing we see from that is that exposure and maybe it's a safety a comfort level. But they come from the get from the school safety and comfort levels that will increase as experience instructors teach you how to take your SUV to the roughest terrain and bring it back in one piece. We probably have you know rough numbers about a dozen instructors that come in and out we have some part time guys but that instructor and a small number of actual full time instructors there are definitely outdoor people. And coming in on the school day and the neat thing about the guys that are here that are very

enthusiastic about the product about off roading if they're not getting a lesson odds are they might fail their own vehicle off road somewhere exploring in parts of Vermont and elsewhere. And just as serious Land Rover fans modify their vehicles you can customize the course you take. There are quite a few different packages from the shortest two to as long as eight hours courses ranging from Off-Road basics to winching in advanced older Crawl's are available. It all depends on what you want to get out of your experience. But make no mistake this course is not about flying through the mud and tearing it up. It's all about getting through the tough trails while preserving your sport utility vehicle and the environment. You know when you see the TV commercials it's always airborne miracles and splashing through through water crossings and puddles and that no one's vehicle no one's off road vehicle or maybe the motorcycle manufacturers were designed to do the speed you know the vehicles are designed for slow speed a lot of suspension travel nuts with a four wheel drives about to get it through the difficult terrain.

When you attend a Landrover driving school you are learning the correct way to go off roading but you're also having a lot of fun in the process. And with over 8000 guests having already completed the school many more than once it's probably safe to say that the Land Rover driving school is the ultimate off road vacation experience. You've heard us say it before. We get a kick out of people's reactions when they're passed by our Lightning yellow 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Rosie rally while the O.C. is a poser. All trim wheels and body parts and no extra go. It still invokes miles and is spot on with the current economy car customizing craze. But we long for the high performance Lancer Evolution 7 due in February with more than twice the power of our 0 0 rallies 120 horsepower to leader for while capable. It still makes us timid when passing. Even with the solid shipping 5 speed manual that's standard. No complaints on interior room reliability or economy however. They're all high points of the new Lancer

mileage is twenty nine point seven per gallon so far after fourteen thousand five hundred miles and 10 months with us we just wish that when the light turns green you had something more than show. Tiny with a bit more go is this fun and flexible Suzuki Aereo OSX. Up next on motor weeks long term road test update. Now let's check back in with Jennifer as she brings us up to date on all the latest Motor News. Anyone who spends a lot of time on the roads especially in congested urban areas knows it's very difficult to predict. An accident but research shows that there are recognizable warning signs leading up to most collisions. Mercedes-Benz has developed a safety system called pre-state that reacts to these pre-crash warning signs and a variety of ways to optimize passenger safety. Mercedes-Benz researchers discovered that over two thirds of all accidents are preceded by skidding emergency braking or some evasive maneuver. Having this input provides us with valuable seconds to activate this

pre-crash protective system the system monitors input from active and passive safety systems like ABS brake assist and the e-s peace stability program to determine how to prepare the passenger in the event of an impending accident. For instance an emergency braking situations pre safe will activate new resettable electric seat belt tensioners to hold passengers firmly in position before impact. In the event of a skid which can be a precursor to rollover pretty safe will automatically close an open sunroof presale is going to look at the angle of the seats the front passenger seat and also the rear seating positions. And if they're in a recline position pretty safe is going to bring them into a more upright angle. Pre safe will not affect the seat Beller seating position of the driver but according to Mercedes officials more precise developments are in the near future. Including side windows that automatically close and movable padding that moves occupants into a more upright position while absorbing the impact. At the same time pretty safe is

available now in the 2003 Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan. And that's it for this week's Motor News. Presumably underneath this rubber suit is Ford's 2004 Winstar. But the only obvious clue to the Winstar future look is this huge sliding side door that will make access to the third row seat much easier. Also look for that third row seat to fold flat into the floor like the land on AC. It's a little clearer is this sketch released by Ford showing Mercury's forthcoming new minivan the 2004 Monterey. The Monterey will compete in the $30000 luxury minivan segment and will be powered by a four point two leader V-6 features like three row curtain airbags power adjustable pedals and forward and reverse object sensing systems are standard and like the Winstar the monorail will have a flat fully third row seat. Look for the Winstar and Monterey to debut in the fall of 2003.

In 1995. He turned a small sport utility segment on its ear with the introduction of the value packed Sportage. It was a big success for Kenya and mark them as a brand to be taken seriously. Now as a division of Hyundai here has set their sights on the crowded and fiercely competitive midsize SUV segment. With this all new Sorento it certainly looks capable but can the Sorento handle a tough crowd. Well the 2003 Kia Sorento looks like it's pretty top itself. That's because the mid-size Sorento is a good old fashioned truck type body on frame design rather than the car based unibody platform used by import brand competitors like the Honda Pilot in Toyota Highlander styling however is anything but old fashioned. The Sorento is angular lines mimic those of luxury sport utes like the Acura MDX and the Mercedes Benz m-L.

Not a bad period to copy. It rides on a one hundred six point seven inch wheelbase about the same as the MDX but its one hundred seventy nine point eight and overall link puts it at the short end of the midsize segment. This to flatter style frame rides on a well damn double wishbone front and five links solid axle rear suspension the Sorento is not only the most solid Kiya that we've ever driven but feels as strong as many more established competitors on road ride quality however is a bit choppy particularly over broken pavement when put to work. Off road however the Sorrento makes up for a pitching ride with a re-assuring solidity that tells you that this is one very tough truck chassis. While also quite agile. Off road on road handling while competent by truck standards still needs to be a little sharper to match that of many car based SUV body roll is substantial and side to side transitions a bit abrupt. The power rack and pinion steering is light but lacks feel. Sorento buyers may not

get car like handling but they do get a V-6 that most cars wish they had the same 3.5 leader dual overhead cam V-6 engine used in the Sedona minivan. Here it delivers 192 horsepower and 270 pound feet of torque enough to tow thirty five hundred pounds. The only transmission is an unobtrusive four speed automatic. It's linked to just the rear wheels or all four through the grades part time shift on the fly set up or up level. E X is sophisticated full time torque on demand for by for transfer case. Both units have a low range for top going. Something the pilot and the lander lack. Our test Sorento elex four by four was no slouch in Street Traction either. Zero to 60 takes 9.1 seconds with the full quarter mile and 17 seconds at 74 mph not the quickest in its class but not bad for 40 255 pounds an SUV. Power is concentrated down low giving energetic storage and builds smoothly through it. Also strong mid-range.

Things come to a halt by standard for will disgrace with optional abs which stuff the Sorento from 60 in a reasonable average distance of 131 feet. There's plenty of nosedive but good pedal feel makes it easy to bring the Sorento to a safe stable stop. Of course no modern SUV will win buyers if it doesn't have a roomy comfortable interior. And once again the key is surprised us the airy interior is a very clean design materials especially plastics are still a bit utilitarian. But the E X had some wood tone in Chrome for a more like serious appeal. The bit in Finnish are miles ahead of the Kia Sportage as are safety features. The Sorento offers front and rear side curtain airbags as standard equipment. The analog gauges are reasonably clear but rather geeky and shaping. While the front bucket seats are firm and supportive both leather and power adjustments are available on the X switches for the standard AM FM CD stereo or simple and plain.

And if you take the plusher ATX route you get a choice of high end Delphi 10 speaker systems was steering wheel controls. Rear seat room is perfectly adequate for 6 foot adults and a 60 40 split seat folds flat to expand total cargo space to sixty six point four cubic feet. Again at the small end of its class. But then the Sorrento also has a small price. The mid size 2 will drive Sorento Alex has a 900 thousand nine hundred ninety five dollars base price and four wheel drive for twenty one thousand seven hundred ninety five dollars. Choose the all most luxurious to will drive easy access and the price starts at twenty two thousand seven hundred ninety five dollars. While the top line x 4 by 4 goes for twenty four thousand five hundred ninety five dollars most brands charge that much for a well equipped mini you. Clearly the 2003 key is Sorento highest strength style performance and impressive value. In short everything it needs to handle the tough midsize sport youth crowd. Plus while we expect Sorento to be a screaming success most of the screams will be coming from its competitors.

I hope you'll join us next week for more motorways. Well test a new V8 sport you from like says the G x 470 and Chrysler's retro 5 PJ Turbo. I'm John Davis. Well see that. To learn more about Motor Week TV's original automotive magazine visit PBS online at PBS dot org or America Online keyword PBS to order a video cassette of this program. Call 1 800 2 2 3 3 6 7 8 extension sixteen eighty five. Motor Week has been brought to you by Pep Boys. Their coffee table. What a great cars show the best. And now it's over. Time flies when you're having fun. There's always next week. Yeah only one hundred sixty seven hours till next week's show. It'll be worth the wait. And by the king

for a Monday. Oh. Yes.