All-star break: Our top car reviews from 2017 so far
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Hot Weather Test: 500 miles of burning desert in a Volvo V90
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2017 BMW 530i review: Redesign or big refresh?
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2017 Jeep Renegade Sport Update 1: Living with a Renegade
It’s been about two months since I took the reins of the 2017 Jeep Renegade Sport 4×4. Because the compact SUV’s interior (specifically the interior’s poor fit for a young family) is how I ended up with the keys in the first place, that’s where much of my focus has been in the early stages of the loan. The early verdict: a combination of ooh, oh, meh, and ugh.
Beginning with the first time you sit in the Renegade’s driver’s seat, you’ll notice little stylistic flourishes throughout the cabin that remind you of Jeep’s heritage. There’s a little World War II–era jeep on the bottom of the windshield, a topographical map in a storage bin, a message reminding you to go explore on the push-button ignition, and a big “SINCE 1941” emblazoned above the infotainment screen. (Yes, I’m aware of the it’s-not-a-real-Jeep crowd; I’ll get more into that in the coming months.) These little touches add nothing to the Renegade’s functionality, but it’s fun to hop in your car and notice something new every now and then. There are still no doubt several I have yet to uncover.
I’ve also found the Renegade’s interior adequately spacious. By its very nature, the little Jeep won’t blow you away with its rear-seat legroom or cargo-carrying capacity. But I’ve been leery of putting anyone in the back seat ever since visual assets manager Brian Vance’s struggles with a child seat. As it turns out, normally proportioned adults can fit back there just fine. Would it work as Porter family transportation on a long road trip? Absolutely not. But for everyday driving with everyday people, the second row is plenty functional.
Perhaps my biggest compliment to the interior so far, though, is that I rarely think about it. It’s a simple space that serves its purpose. What it lacks in groundbreaking features, it makes up for by (mostly) doing what it needs to do without frustrating digital volume knobs, complicated menus, or contrived “features” to replace things that have worked just fine for decades. A lot of people might not go ooh when they realize they haven’t complained in a while, but for me, that stands out.
That’s not to say its interior is perfect, though. I spent my first few hundred miles in the Jeep angry at what seemed to be inexplicably poor rearward visibility. I was used to a big, boxy SUV with huge windows and great sightlines, and the Renegade just doesn’t offer that. The quick glance over the shoulder I was used to became a prolonged look, followed by a second look, then an apprehensive glimpse at the rearview mirror and multiple checks in the side mirror. Should I have been doing all those things before? Probably. But it took some getting used to. I don’t count this as a true demerit. More like, “Oh, yeah, mirrors are a thing, too.” I didn’t need to use them as much before. I do now.
Other interior complaints, some mine and some resulting from copy editor Mary Kaleta’s road trip to San Diego: The turn signal is kind of loud, manually adjusting your seat in 2017 is kind of annoying, and the mirrors in the sun visors are so small and so far away that it’s virtually impossible to touch up your makeup before you hit the road.
Finally, I have one major gripe. Our loaner lacks navigation, which is fine. I use my phone’s nav over whatever most cars have anyway. But connecting my phone to the infotainment system is beyond frustrating. The Renegade offers two methods of doing so. While using just the USB cord, though, I’ve found it impossible to both listen to Spotify or a podcast and use my map app’s voice directions. For some reason, when the music cuts out and the instructions for the next turn are supposed to come, I get silence. When the directions are “done,” the music starts up again, but I have no idea where I’m supposed to go next. This problem disappears when streaming audio through Bluetooth. That would be fine if Bluetooth worked seamlessly, but it’s slow to connect, and it’s not always obvious which way my phone is connected until the problem pops up. In an interior that is for the most part praiseworthy in its ability to blend into the background with utilitarian simplicity, this audio issue stands out. Ugh.
More on our long-term Jeep Renegade here:
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First Tesla Model 3 to be Completed by Friday
Elon Musk tweeted late on Sunday night with big Model 3 news.
In his first tweet, he stated that the upcoming Tesla Model 3 had already passed all regulatory requirements two weeks ahead of schedule and that the first (SN1) Model 3 would be completed by this Friday. Earlier this year we reported that production of the Model 3 would begin in July despite Tesla’s first-quarter losses, and the EV maker managed to hit its goal.
Model 3 passed all regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule. Expecting to complete SN1 on Friday
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2017
In his second tweet, Elon Musk announced a handover party for the first 30 Model 3 customers on July 28th. He then mentioned that Model 3 production would reach 100 cars in August and over 1500 in September.
Handover party for first 30 customer Model 3's on the 28th! Production grows exponentially, so Aug should be 100 cars and Sept above 1500.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2017
His third tweet was the shortest and simply stated that Tesla Model 3 production will reach 20,000 units per month in December.
Looks like we can reach 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in Dec
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2017
The Model 3 is expected to have an estimated range of more than 215 miles and should be able to sprint from 0-60 mph in about 5.6 seconds. Prices will start at around $35,000 before government incentives. We hope to learn much more about the car in the coming weeks.
In April, Tesla was valued at $48.2 billion, $3.1 billion more than Ford, putting the California-based EV automaker just behind General Motors. The announcement of Tesla’s value increasing comes after the automaker reported that worldwide shipments of cars topped 25,000 units, which exceeded analysts’ estimates.
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Mazda Recalls 227,814 Vehicles for Faulty Parking Brake
Mazda is recalling 227,814 Mazda3 and Mazda6 models due to the possibility of the parking brake malfunctioning. No injuries related to the recall have been reported to the automaker.
The Problem: According to the Japanese automaker, water could enter the vehicle’s brake caliper and corrode the parking brake actuator shaft, possibly binding it. This can result in the parking brake not fully engaging or disengaging. If not properly disengaged, the parking brake can drag while driving. If not fully engaged, the vehicle can unexpectedly move if parked on a slope, increasing the chance of an accident.
The Fix: Mazda will notify dealers on August 7th and the recall will begin on August 21st. Dealers will inspect the parking actuator shaft located inside the rear brake calipers, replacing any that are corroded with a new brake caliper that has been modified. If not corroded, the dealer will replace the protective boot kit including new parts. All repairs are performed free of charge.
The Number of Vehicles Potentially Affected: The recall affects certain Mazda3 models ranging from 2014 through 2016 models years and Mazda6 models from the 2014 and 2015 model years, totaling 227,814 vehicles.
The last Mazda recall we covered affected 759,000 vehicles for a rear hatch issue.
Source: NHTSA; Automotive New (Subscription Required)
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2016 Nissan Titan XD Pro-4X Diesel Update 4: Adopting the Titan
When associate editor Scott Evans moved from our long-term Nissan Titan XD Pro-4X pickup to the new Motor Trend 2017 Car of the Year, the Chevrolet Bolt, many on staff thought the larger-than-life pickup would become orphaned. Fortunately, my house in the Downey suburbs has enough off-street parking for four vehicles and wide neighborhood streets for the occasional curb-side parking. And though I’ve never been a truck person, I learned to appreciate their utility during my time as the chaperone for our former long-term 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel pickup. Plus I was curious how the Titan XD with the 5.0-liter Cummins turbodiesel V-8 stacked up to the Ram 1500 with the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel turbodiesel V-6.
The Titan XD has seen lots of use in the 9,000-ish miles it’s been driven since I took over as chaperone two-and-a-half months ago. The “eXtra Duty” pickup has proven useful, but it hasn’t been without some growing pains.
Despite Evans asking the dealer to look at some issues during its first service around the 10,000-mile mark, the Titan XD is still plagued with a few problems. I had the dealer check out these issues during its second service just before 19,500 miles. Our 20,000-miles service consisted of an oil and filter change, a new air filter, new front and rear fuel filters, brake fluid exchange, tire rotation, and brake inspection as well as a tire pressure check and multi-point inspection. The total cost came to $555.81.
The dragging and moaning steering and squeaky front left suspension mentioned in Evans’ previous updates haven’t gone away. In fact, Evans had the dealer lube both systems during its first service, and I had it checked during its second service. Although the dealer could not locate those issues, a month after its most recent visit my girlfriend could hear and feel the binding in the steering system from the passenger seat.
During the Titan XD’s first visit, the service advisor notified Evans of an open bulletin to reflash the TCM (transmission control module), but the new software wasn’t available. When I asked about the bulletin on my visit, the computer system didn’t show any open bulletins for our VIN.
The dealer also wasn’t able to replicate the Bluetooth glitch, which begins with a piercing sound through the speakers followed by a complete infotainment reboot after roughly 10-30 minutes into a phone call. Sometimes it happens two or even three times in the same phone call about 10 minutes apart. When the dealer couldn’t replicate the issue with an iPhone 7 or Samsung Galaxy S6, they suggested the issue was with the iPhone 6 that Evans and I have, though we’ve noticed the issue with associate online editor Stefan Ogbac’s Samsung Galaxy S7, too.
Several more issues not previously mentioned have materialized. The orange backlight for the infotainment system’s buttons and dials flickers—this issue is noticeable at night. About every 1,500 miles, a service engine soon/oil change warning appears on the 5.0-inch screen mounted in the gauge cluster. It even turned on a few hundred miles after its second maintenance visit. The owner’s manual calls for 10,000-mile service intervals. Additionally, the front passenger seatbelt light comes on intermittently even when there is nothing on the seat. Sometimes it comes on several hours into a drive.
Lastly, the tailgate would open intermittently—only about three times out of more than a dozen tries over the course of a few weeks. Whether unlocking the tailgate with the key fob or manually with the key, the tailgate refused to drop when lifting the handle because it appeared that a metal rod near the top of the outside edge of the tailgate wouldn’t budge. The dealer found that the rear door lock was binding. Replacing the tailgate door lock mechanism cured the problem.
Other than those issues, the Titan XD has proven useful for various hauling and towing chores. We’ll have more on those in a future update.
More on our long-term Nissan Titan XD here:
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