Automotive Reviews
Posts tagged SUV
2005 Volkswagen Touareg TDI V10
Oct 31st
Volkswagen’s fantastic Touareg has garnered its fair share of awards and attention since its introduction last year. This summer the Touareg added a new trick to its impressive resume: torquey, efficient diesel power.
The Touareg diesel was available in Europe from the beginning, but VW brought it to the U.S. to show its commitment to diesel. The five-valve per cylinder 5.0 liter V10 is a direct-injection turbodiesel. The simplified injection system reduces the amount of clatter and soot produced, and the Touareg TDI is quiet on the road. It’s also powerful; it’s hard to argue with 310 horsepower and 553 foot-pounds of torque. Fuel economy is improved by about twenty percent over the V8 Touareg. Volkswagen’s 4XMOTION four-wheel drive system provides power to all four wheels. The Touareg TDI can tow up to 7700 pounds. More >
2005 Volvo XC90 V8
Oct 21st
What? A Volvo with a V8 that wasn’t installed by Maine’s Converse Engineering? Never mind, it’s a Volvo-guy thing. What’s important is that Volvo’s XC90 SUV needed some additional snort, compared to the rest of its class, and now it’s got it. And just like the XC90 itself, which is a luxury SUV with surprising off-road ability, the V8 engine is a large and powerful engine with surprisingly “green” tendencies.
It doesn’t look like it, but it’s actually big news. For 2005, the XC90 is equipped with a 4.4 liter V8, Volvo’s first-ever V8 engine. The new engine addresses the XC90′s horsepower and torque problems, with 311 horsepower. It’s also one of the first in the industry to achieve ULEV emissions ratings. To fit under the XC90′s short hood, the V8 was installed transversely–that is, it’s perpendicular to the car, rather than the usual front-to-back arrangement found in most SUVs. The alternator and other ancillaries are mounted directly to the engine, eliminating the need for brackets. Aluminum construction is used to keep the engine weight down, so the XC90 isn’t nose-heavy. It’s also a narrow-angle V8, to keep the external dimensions as small as possible. The 17/21 fuel economy is respectable as well, especially considering the horsepower on tap. For development work, Volvo tapped the master engine builders at Yamaha, and the partnership seems to have paid off. More >
2011 Infiniti QX56
Oct 17th
I must admit, I had to pause for a moment before meeting the all-new Infiniti QX56. Why did the company bother to redesign it? I wasn’t the only one to wonder, either.
Since its introduction, Infiniti’s full-size SUV has been a badge-engineered Nissan Armada; a capable vehicle, but nothing to write home about. Additionally, the full-size luxury SUV market has collapsed to about a third of what it was at its peak five years ago. Big, gas-guzzling sport-utes would appear to be the last thing on consumers’ minds at the moment, especially those that lack the star power of a Cadillac Escalade or Range Rover. More >