It has been a while for an automobile review. The reason I haven't been doing them is because I've run out of new models for the most part. What is available at National or I get at Hertz have been repeats.
A worthy repeat is the Ford Edge. This crossover is fun to drive and very powerful. It does not get great gas mileage, however.
The Edge is roomy roomy and the vista sunroof that covers pretty much the entire roof is way cool. Though in hot Dallas there aren't many times it is worth opening.
I did finally get a Ford Focus when I was in Michigan. I have a fondness for the Focus because it is the successor to the Escort which was my very first car to own. The new Ford Focus is tons of fun to drive. The interior is sweet with easy to use controls and easy to read gauges.
The version I had was equipped with an interior ambient light system that let you change the color of the lighting. Not sure what purpose it really serves but was neat. The Focus gets good gas mileage. According to the MPG gauge the vehicle as getting around 31 mpg. You gotta figure that rental cars are not driven with gas mileage in mind...I know I don't.
Also, the Focus has a feature that I've seen on Hondas. When you use the windshield washer, the spray goes and the wipers go for a few swipes. Then, on their own, the wipers make another swipe a few seconds later to get rid of the inevitable drips. Nice!
This week I have a Pontiac Vibe. Since Pontiac is going away it might not be of any use to review this one...except...when I parked it at the hotel, next to it was a Toyota Matrix. Obviously the Vibe is the Matrix with a Pontiac name. The two are identical except for tail lamps.
The Vibe is fun to drive. It is small and zippy but it is also probably the noisiest for wind and road intrusion that I've ever driven. You have to manually crank the radio to continue to hear because the road and wind just howl through this puppy.
The speedometer doesn't have enough lines or gradations so it is kind of tricky to see what speed you are traveling at. The A/C works well to cool the interior down quickly.
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