Some of the credit for the new car's extra speed goes to a more rigid body structure and a curb weight about 15 kg
lighter than the old car's.
It may be slightly
shorter than the old car, but the new X1's wheelbase is a significant 90 mm longer, and height is up by 53 mm.
The battery pack is about the same size, but has a new cell design with 192 cells — 96
fewer than the old car.
I have no problem passing slower traffic since the engine has more get up and
go than my old car.
They also have more room
inside than the old car and get a larger trunk, thanks in part to ingenious gas tank packaging.
A new car is going to cost more to
insure than an old car on average with the exception being antique vehicles of course.
So configured the car will hit 62 mph in 5.1 seconds, a half - second
quicker than the old car, and just 0.3 seconds shy of the outgoing M3 coupe.
Yes, it's
faster than the old car Unofficially, Mazda expects the 2016 Mazda MX - 5 Miata to be about one second quicker to the 60 - mph benchmark than its predecessor.
My car has the sports package so it is a little
stiffer than my old car, a 1999 528i (non-sport), but the 550i is not too stiff at all and corners extremely well.
As with all new A-Class's, the roofline of the new version is 160 mm
lower than the old car, but add in the sporty extras and this A-Class successfully takes the new contemporary look to a greater extreme than models lower down the range.
Offering more load
space than the old car, at 1354 litres with the seats down, the new Shooting Brake will come to market with two diesel engine options and four petrols.
The new 395bhp output (from 5850 - 7000rpm) is nine per cent
greater than the old car's 362bhp, and torque has increased too, from 343 lb ft to 354 lb ft, developed between 1700 - 5850rpm.
That's right, the top - trim - level Eclipse GT puts down a full 53 more horses and 55 more lb - ft of
torque than the old car, now courtesy of the 3.8 - liter V6 borrowed from the Galant (with which, along with the Endeavor SUV, the Eclipse also shares its platform).
Unlike supersized Americans, this new girth isn't detrimental to its profile — it's
slipperier than the old car, cutting the drag down from 0.30 to 0.27.
It also stays flat during high - speed cornering and feels very composed; the Mk10 has a longer
wheelbase than the old car, and it shows in this respect.
The appearance is terrific, but the switchgear and the materials seem
cheaper than the old car's: the climate - control buttons, for instance, are no - where near as good as a VW Jetta «s.
A 9.4 - kWh lithium - ion battery stores a greater
charge than the old car's nickel metal - hydride unit; although the new pack is the same size as before, it weighs 110 pounds more.
Regardless of how it makes power, the 718's light weight, coupled with the 350 - hp boxer - four, make for a measurably quicker
package than the old car.
In addition, the new Mustang has seatbelt pre-tensioners, and more crash
sensors than the old car so the system can better determine how and when to inflate the airbags.
Should the 4 - litre flat - six feature, it could be paired with the GT department's superb six - speed manual «box as well as a PDK transmission, it should offer substantially more
performance than the old car.
The new Boxster S starts with a much deeper, gruffer
sound than the old car but retains that hollowness so distinctive of Porsche's flat - sixes.
The body is 38 % stiffer
torsionally than the old car, with a lower centre of gravity, improved weight distribution and a lower hip point for the driver that improves the driving position.
Those details are mainly noticeable because the cabin as a whole is so much more
sophisticated than the old car's - the penny - pinching trim predictably stands out.
That said, the front seats are more comfortable and
supportive than the old car's, and as I said, the view out the back is tough, though not tough enough to make me want to give up the high beltline and low roof.
That's where the main differences end, however (well, that and the NC's seats, which are much
plumper than the old car's).
As a result, despite being dimensionally
bigger than the older car, the new A4 is 95 kg lighter, but the diesel version absurdly weighs a massive 190 kg more than the petrol A4.
Seating position is comfortable behind the wheel, and there's plenty of room in there, even though this generation is a little
narrower than the old car.
The engine produces slightly more
power than the old car's, at 316bhp compared with 306bhp, but torque remains the same at 295 lb ft.
Space is helped by fitting slimmer front seats, and the new Fiesta is definitely more spacious in the
rear than the old car, with competitive levels of head and legroom.
The new car feels a little more
refined than the old car and we're not surprised: BMW's sales success for 20 years has largely been thanks to evolutionary progression in its models, and this is evident in its latest two - door's driving character.