i'll give it another look, but overall I wasn't impressed from my little research. but that interior is still just so blah -- I think that was introduced in 2010, yeah, I prefer the look of the 2009 interior.

No judgement there, it's a pretty blah and dated interior. Seriously, who still has a number pad on their dash anymore?! The new one should be a big improvement, but that isn't an option yet. My standards were pretty low, and my choices were also limited since I wanted a wagon with AWD.

I still have a number pad in mine. rofl. but it's a nice 10-button favorites for my Sirius channels. and ive actually used it to dial my phone more than a few times -- it's just not the centerpiece of the dash, with tiny little button as the secondary feature.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f38165568f.png


I do have to say, they dropped the ball on one thing. there are dual climate zones, but only the CA model has a "sync" button so both sides are controlled by the driver's temp. often my wife will change her side and if I don't notice, even with mine pegged at full heat, the car wont warm up If here's is still in the middle.

That is something that has bothered me about nearly every dual-zone car I've been in. I drive around by myself about 75% of the time, just give me a sync button!!

^That's interesting. I just assumed because the BRZ had one, that was just a standard deal with dual climate zones.

it should be. what made me angry was reading through the manual and seeing it was an option in CA models. US models have the MAX COOL button instead. The newer c-class got the sync button but MB botched the interior and exterior and motor for that car so doesn't matter.

look at this retarded ipad they bolted to the dash -- wonder how many of these accidentally get ripped off:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b767b81a65.png


recessed is important for glare -- especially for such a glossy fingerprint surface. getting rid of knobs for toggle switches makes my blood boil. Then all these companies replace the best UI in the world (the gear lever) for fucking knobs! it's UI 101.

My wife's CLK 500 doesn't have the sync button either. It sucks!

I hate when Canadian models get simple features we don't! The Canadian version of my car has the option to roll all the windows down from the key fob, and to install a factory trailer hitch and wiring that allows use of some neat stability, parking, and AWD/trans settings. There is no logical reason why we can't have those features. But I guess I can disable the DRLs and canadians can't... hooray.

that reminded me of one other thing I like so much better than my WRX.

HILL ASSIST!

on the wrx it was automatic and fucking awful. It got to the point where if I was on an incline, I'd bring the e-brake up one notch which disabled the feature and allowed my to actually engage the clutch decently. Or I'd push in the clutch and wait the two seconds for it to disable. Hill assist on the wrx was so intrusive and clumsy -- my wife would always ask if I knew how to even drive stick.

on the MB, I simply press down on the brake and it engages, I can stomp on the gas and it takes off the line without any care -- its completely seamless. in fact, I use it all the damn time when I'm too lazy to hold my foot down -- it even keeps the brake lights on. The simple fact that I can engage it whenever I want, not whenever the car wants me to have it, in itself, is better.

but one con: with cruise control, if you're going down a hill and go faster than set speed it will apply brakes to keep you at your speed -- so I often cut off cruise if I'm coasting down a hill. I believe the newer models may have a disable/option for this.

Any thoughts on an N55/DCT equipped 135i? You can find very clean ones for $25k or less. A tune away from M2 power, and it seems the big issues have been fixed or there are known fixes for them.

Biggest issue seems to be retrofitting an LSD is $$$$$$

Haha that's exactly what I have, 11' on Stage 2 Cobb. Currently at 77k miles with the following having failed in 27k of my ownership:

Water pump at ~58k (warranty)
Coolant reservoir ~64k- cracked
Upper coolant hose ~73k- quick connect clamp broke-off

You could get one way below $25k unless you're looking at very very low mileage. I've only done some autox events, can't really comment on LSD. I'd sell you mine ;)

Cooling systems are a known maintenance point on every BMW sold since the E36, so that's not a surprise. It also seems they don't have the HPFP issues.

In Michigan, have you been driving it in the snow and such? Rusty bolts under the car are a no-go for a southerner. It's just not worth the hassle.

I'm seeing clean ones with under 25k miles for $24k. And 75-100k miles as cheap as $13k.

No HPFP problem with N55 as far as I know.

Haha yeah I drive it year round :D, underbody looks good still.

Give 1addicts a visit and check out what up for sale. I'd stick to something under 20k 1 series aren't holding value that great

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0c3b8aaac0.jpg

The daily with the tow rig. 2017 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7l. 2017 Empire 24'x8.5' enclosed trailer. Brake controller, weight distribution hitch 1,000x10,000lbs. Right now the wife is driving this since she wrecked her RAV4. So now I'm driving this:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...94836c1b5a.jpg

a 1996 Miata with a 2000 engine swap. Nothing special.

[QUOTE=turbofan;1460450
And the new CX-9.
[/QUOTE]



20 city / 26 highway MPG on a 4 cylinder 250hp engine....while a v6 toyota highlander 20/27 with 295hp. I'm not sure what Mazda was thinking on the number here

CX-9 2WD is 22/28/24
AWD is 20/26/23.
310 lb ft

Highlander 2WD is 21/27/23
AWD is 20/26/22.
263 lb ft

Pulled from fuel economy.gov. Highlander looks pretty sad when you put it that way.

​​​​​​However it lists different results for different trim levels.

Reality is, real world fuel economy is going to depend more on how you drive than which large crossover you drive. The Mazda performs very well and feels more powerful than the Highlander in most driving situations due to the low end torque.

Horsepower isn't really relevant to mpg, displacement and weight are more relevant. It's impressive that Toyota is getting essentially the same mpg with a 3.5L, although the 8-speed automatic is probably part of that.

The new CX-9 is great, it's a huge step up for Mazda.

--Ian

Well if the weather between St. Louis and Indianapolis doesn't get too bad tomorrow, I'll be leaving OKC around midnight tomorrow to go get rid of the BRZ.

Just got my wife a lease on a 2018 Chevy Volt LT. Great deal and pretty decent daily driver!

Is the volt even something that is fun to drive? Not to sound ignorant, but do you feel like you can pass cars on the interstate with your foot down?