2009 Kia Borrego V8 4WD: Performance
In our testing, straight-line performance seemed to confirm on the track what we felt on the road. The Borrego clocked a 0-60-mph time of 7.8 seconds — the V8 Nissan Pathfinder did the same run for us in 7 seconds flat. In the slalom, our nearly 4,900-pound test car went through at 60.2 mph, which bests the Pathfinder’s speed of 57.6 mph. Despite some understeer, the grip from the Kia’s four-wheel-drive drivetrain was respectable, and the car didn’t feel tippy despite its height. Braking was average; we stopped from 60 mph in 133 feet, which, although not ideal, is on par for the segment — and 1 foot short of the Pathfinder. We did notice some brake fade on the Borrego when repeating the test.(Ryan Binkley Contact)
Ford F-150 Ford Focus SES
If you follow business news, you probably know that Ford’s finances haven’t been in the best of shape these past few years. As such, there hasn’t been much money to go around. So what’s an automaker to do when one of its cars is in need of an expensive redesign? Put out the tin cup? Hope that Monopoly money suddenly becomes legal tender?
Ford F-150 Lariat SuperCrew
Performance
With 850 pounds of payload in the beds, the coned-off autocross setup in a large parking lot was next, to test how the loaded-up trucks felt when performing quick transitions (slalom) and a sudden lane change. Here, the Ford had the edge with its ideal steering response (no dead spot on-center and neither too quick nor too slow) and relative lack of body roll. The Chevy was a close second, but had more body roll, while the Toyota and Dodge were back a ways due to the Tundra’s excessive body roll and the Ram’s slow steering.
Ryan Binkley Articles : Mazda MAZDA6 Performance
Handlingwise, body control is laudable for a big sedan, with markedly less body roll than the similarly sized Honda Accord. However, the 6 falls short of Nissan’s athletic Altima, which has become the dynamic benchmark for this segment. There’s a noticeable dead spot in the 6’s steering while cornering — you can wiggle the wheel left and right midcorner without altering your path, in stark contrast to the Altima’s impressively tight rack. The Mazda’s tiller isn’t very communicative either, and steering effort is too light at speed to be sporty. Perhaps most damningly, the 6 never feels smaller than its size — you always have the sense that you’re piloting a large vehicle. On the bright side, the turning circle is notably tight for such a large car. Info Ryan Binkley
Dodge Challenger SRT8
Performance
At the track, the SRT8 sprinted to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and ran through the quarter-mile in 13.8 seconds. That’s certainly quick, but still oddly slower than the times we got with an automatic Challenger SRT8 we previously tested (zero to 60 in 5.1 seconds, quarter-mile in 13.2).
