Driving a V8 for the first time
This fall, a trip to US involved meetings in Elkton, Maryland, Cleveland, Ohio as well as Los Alamos, New Mexico. Since we were three persons travelling, a fullsize car was not fitting all luggage. The first leg, driving from Washington D.C. via Elkton to Cleveland was done with a Chevrolet Trailblazer LT 2006. This car has a 4.2L inline six with about 290 bhp. It was supposed to be fuel efficient but an average of 15 miles per gallon did not impress us. Neither did the 4x4 (although set to 2x4) cruising on the I-80 West.
When we arrived in Albuquerque in the evening I was so fed up with the thought of driving another 4x4 so I asked the guy at the counter for alternatives. He offered me a Chrysler 300 Hemi C 2005 for 200 bucks extra. We agreed on 125. The Chrysler has a 5.7L V8 with 340 bhp and 530 Nm. This was the first time I'd driven a V8. The sound of the engine was of course smooth; one does wish the car was not so soundproofed. The torque was instantaneously noted, and not burdened by the sound of oil burners. The power was however not that impressive. Sadly, the 4 speed automatic transmission is a sad story. Compared to the six and seven speed of modern german cars, this transmission takes you back to the early nineties. It does feature a manual override, but the +/- direction set perpendicular to the driving direction is a tragic design.
What is impressive with this car is the mileage. It actually shifts to four cylinders when the power and torque requirements are limited. The delay is there when hitting the throttle, but it is not significant to the driving experience. We drove this car for 1250 miles and the mileage was 21 mpg. Not bad at all. The car handling is not impressive compared to my BMW 5 seies or a Cadillac CTS but it is a fun car to drive.
On the last leg I rented a Chevrolet Impala 2006. This car is simply horrible. The handling is so bad I'd not recommend driving above 70 miles per hour. The engine is a 3.5L V6 with 211 bhp and 289 Nm. It did not sound great, but it did in fact manage 26 mpg over 1450 miles. I will never rent an impala ever again.
Coming back to my BMW 520i was a pleasure. The handling of the BMW is very much superior to any car I've driven in the US so far. Although only 170 bhp available, the sound of the inline six, the transmission and suspension makes up for the lack of power.
When we arrived in Albuquerque in the evening I was so fed up with the thought of driving another 4x4 so I asked the guy at the counter for alternatives. He offered me a Chrysler 300 Hemi C 2005 for 200 bucks extra. We agreed on 125. The Chrysler has a 5.7L V8 with 340 bhp and 530 Nm. This was the first time I'd driven a V8. The sound of the engine was of course smooth; one does wish the car was not so soundproofed. The torque was instantaneously noted, and not burdened by the sound of oil burners. The power was however not that impressive. Sadly, the 4 speed automatic transmission is a sad story. Compared to the six and seven speed of modern german cars, this transmission takes you back to the early nineties. It does feature a manual override, but the +/- direction set perpendicular to the driving direction is a tragic design.
What is impressive with this car is the mileage. It actually shifts to four cylinders when the power and torque requirements are limited. The delay is there when hitting the throttle, but it is not significant to the driving experience. We drove this car for 1250 miles and the mileage was 21 mpg. Not bad at all. The car handling is not impressive compared to my BMW 5 seies or a Cadillac CTS but it is a fun car to drive.
On the last leg I rented a Chevrolet Impala 2006. This car is simply horrible. The handling is so bad I'd not recommend driving above 70 miles per hour. The engine is a 3.5L V6 with 211 bhp and 289 Nm. It did not sound great, but it did in fact manage 26 mpg over 1450 miles. I will never rent an impala ever again.
Coming back to my BMW 520i was a pleasure. The handling of the BMW is very much superior to any car I've driven in the US so far. Although only 170 bhp available, the sound of the inline six, the transmission and suspension makes up for the lack of power.
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