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even on a relatively straight road at cruising pace, the steering needs constant inputs. Refinement is appalling, too – there’s plenty of road noise from the tyres, while wind roar from the almost flat windscreen is noticeable from only 50mph. And if you catch a pothole, the stiff suspension sends the crash shuddering through the cockpit. The smoothness of progress is also undermined by the five-speed auto gearbox, which slurs slowly through its changes, and kicks down roughly as soon as the throttle is pressed… it’s only enjoyable in small doses – as a long-term prospect, this G-Wagen is just too extreme. – AutoExpress

That’s what you’ll get if you read this piece by Andrew Frankel comparing SUVs vs. wagons on 4car.

Here’s an excerpt:

The traditional car classes are collapsing and spaces between them are being filled with an ever increasing array of crossover product. We have [minivans] that don’t carry any more people than hatchbacks and [wagons] that are useless at carrying loads. We have supercars that are never driven fast and convertibles that are at their best with the roof up. It’s hardly a wonder we have no problem accepting as normal the concept of an off-roader that can’t be used off-road.

The Commander is partly an attempt to revive the look of the original, much-liked, much smaller Cherokee – spot the trapezoidal wheelarches and seven-bar grille – but the proportioning has lost much in the inflation. And the obsession with Allen bolts (they appear on the dash, the arches and even in the headlights) seems crass. The point of this rebodied Grand Cherokee? Apart from ruggedness, it’s a seven-seater. The rear pair, which fold to form a flat but high-decked load bay, would be comfortable were the floor not so high that your knees achieve the same altitude as your nipples. That rules it out for most grown-ups. The raised seating of the second row is much better, but thigh support is short. The Grand Cherokee’s offset pedals reappear and the interior, a weird mix of faux military and World of Leather luxury, falls well short. Rearwards visibility is poor, the mirrors rustle at speed, agitating roads agitate the ride and … – Autocar

Click here for images of the RAV 4 as its sold in the rest of the world (America gets the stretched limo version).

The X5 remains our favorite SUV to drive or ride in, but it’s old in car years and lacks the 3rd row buyers have come to expect when trading in their minivans.

BMW’s next X5 will have 3 rows and – we expect – a lighter, less brawny/trucky feel (i.e. more like an enlarged X3). (Hopefully it will have similar interior quality – most of the cars introduced since have a very plasticky – dare we say Japanese? – ambiance).

Click here to witness the test mule being driven as a BMW should be…

It’s exceedingly rare I see something on MSN autos that’s worth looking at and in fact they’ve printed at least one article that’s about as misinformed as journalism gets (e.g. an article claiming ‘bigger tires are better!’ citing sales numbers and interviews with tire company spokepeople as supporting evidence! In fact, there are more reasons to avoid larger wheels than desire them.)

This explanation of all wheel drive systems however has little to fault.

(The only things I’d like to add point out are 1) unless your 4WD/AWD vehicle has a limited slip rear differential or traction control, you essentially have 2 wheel drive and 2) I’ve found full time all wheel drive with a rear biased torque split the most satisfying to drive and that seems to be the way the whole industry is moving).

Last week a friend who takes cars almost as seriously as I do said he didn’t see the point in the Range Rover Sport. I disagreed, my argument sounding a lot like this excerpt from evo:

think of the very first Range Rover, the really cool one. Remember the way it was properly utilitarian as well as being somehow glamorous. Remember how it was a good bit smaller than the current full-house Range Rover and Discovery models. Now imagine it brought up to date…

The modifications by Chrysler’s tuner, Sports and Racing Technology (SRT), have transformed the Grand Cherokee [SRT8] into the kind of machine it should have been all along. The suspension can’t match the adaptability of the air systems used by rivals and there’s a lot of dive under braking and too much rebound over bumps, but it’s a vast improvement over the standard car.

source: evo

UPDATE: from Inside Line:

You can tell where they spent the money. As Executive Editor Richard Homan stated: “One lean into the brake pedal or a turn of the steering wheel makes it clear that this is a performance-engineered project, not a ‘guess it needs more power’ also-ran vanity vehicle. SRT placed the needs of the enthusiast first — engine, drivetrain, suspension, brakes, steering and seats. The best carmaker in the U.S. right now is team SRT.”

...GL class, essentially a stretched version of the M class with 3rd row seating. It’s a familiar DaimlerChrysler trick in a world increasingly bent on platform sharing – after all the Grand Cherokee Commander is a stretched Grand Cherokee with 3rd row seating.

(Autoweek has posted the Mercedes Benz PR photos here; the squashed roof proportions reminded us of the Mitsubishi Montero Sport).

To increase profitability, the Alabama-built R, ML and GL class cars not only share their platforms suspensions and engines but their dashboard, instruments, steering wheel, switchgear, seats and trims as well. Translation: as when wearing a mall-bought shirt, you might not remember what you’re in unless you double-check the label.

We enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek piece on the Mercedes ML not so much because it captures what it feels like to drive the car but because it captures what compels so many to purchase an SUV.

Here’s an excerpt:

it didn’t so much push forward along the road as float six inches or so above it. Possibly worrying and important questions about bulk, heft and likely stopping distances tend to float away in the face of the car’s dangerously charismatic powers.