2015 Nissan Murano Platinum AWD

WHAT WE LIKE: Our long-term test of the Nissan Murano nears its completion, thanks to a heavy helping of lengthy road trips. Indeed, the Pacific Sunset–hued crossover is well suited to long journeys, given its excellent seats, ample cargo room, easy-driving character, and decent gas mileage. A couple of staff members have even defended the continuously variable automatic transmission, which has generally been subject to substantial criticism. After a long weekend of driving to and around Chicago, one editor noted, “The CVT enables syrupy, unobtrusive power delivery that seems perfect for this personal-luxury pod.” Testing director Don Sherman agreed, saying, “For all the CVT whiners, realize this is an ideal solution for most owners who don’t need or want jerky shifts on their daily rounds.” In other news, with the back seat folded down, the smooth-driving, plenty spacious Murano was the perfect shuttle for 48 cases of Girl Scout cookies. Mmm . . . Tagalongs.

WHAT WE DON’T LIKE: A red Murano spent some time at the office, and it reinforced feelings that our color choice perhaps wasn’t the best. Gee, who could have imagined that orange might not have been an ideal paint color for a big family hauler? And on the subject of visibility, one driver said the kickup at the rear edge of the hood “hinders the view forward, making maneuvering and parking that much less certain.” It’s a good thing Nissan’s 360-degree Around View Monitor does its job so well. It’s inoperable at highway speeds, however, which has led some drivers to rely more than usual on the blind-spot monitors because the C-pillars are “crazy huge.”

The panoramic sunroof amplifies the sense of interior roominess, but it doesn’t help keep the cabin any quieter, particularly if the power-retractable shade is open, which allows sound waves to bounce off the glass. One driver found road noise so prevalent that she thought she hadn’t properly closed the doors. Also, the navigation system discarded one driver’s destination input on multiple occasions during a trip to North Carolina; he noted that his iPhone provided better routing. And what would an update on our long-term Murano be without some new gripes related to the transmission? Said one driver: “The CVT encourages annoying exhaust boom that reverberates throughout the cabin at vehicle speeds of 30 to 40 mph and engine speeds between 1000 and 1100 rpm.”

WHAT WENT WRONG: As usual, nothing has really gone wrong with this Nissan, which has been extremely easy to care for—not always the case with our long-termers. Since we last checked in, the Murano has twice passed through our dealer’s service bay for scheduled maintenance. The 25,000-mile service cost $59.34, not more than a dollar off from the cost of three of our four previous visits. The 30K service cost a bit more—$87.58—because the cabin air filter was replaced. With winter finally vanquished, we swapped out the winter tires for stock all-season Bridgestones. (The Yokohama winter rubber played a huge part in making the Murano a worry-free cold-weather companion, even in icy, white-out conditions.) On occasion, we have had some trouble linking our mobile devices to the car for streaming audio. Also, when we switched a Bluetooth-connected iPhone from music to a podcast, the Nissan’s head unit continued displaying the artist and song title of what we’d previously been listening to. Radiolab definitely is not Motörhead. Fortunately, this was limited to just a couple of instances.

WHERE WE WENT: The miles keep piling up on long trips. Since our January update, the Murano has carried us to Chicago (twice); Indianapolis; Atlanta; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Traverse City, Michigan. Surely the final 5000 miles will find the Murano crossing another state line or three.

BY SAROTKPS

2016 Mini Cooper S Clubman

Although small wagons have been upstaged by small crossovers, they still appeal to a discerning few who want passenger-car handling plus a little extra cargo capacity without adding the higher center of gravity and additional mass that goes with a CUV.

It doesn’t hurt when the small wagon looks distinctive, either—a particularly strong suit of this not-so-mini Mini Clubman. While it essentially qualifies as a traditional wagon, its styling doesn’t resemble anything else. And it stands out against the flock of CUVs of similar size and price—including its sibling, the Mini Countryman.

Wagons are about practicality, and in this second-generation Clubman that factor has been enhanced by a switch to four conventional side doors rather than the previous arrangement that featured a rear-hinged half-door on the passenger’s side. The rear side doors provide access to a much roomier rear-seat area, a function of the longer wheelbase (by almost five inches) and stretched body shell. Sharing its firm foundation with the new Mini Cooper hardtop and the BMW X1, the latest Clubman is more than a foot longer than the first generation and 4.6 inches wider. There’s also a lot more cargo capacity—48 cubic feet with the rear seats folded forward. The only dimension that doesn’t change significantly is height; at 56.7 inches it’s only 0.3 inch taller than before.

The Mass Factor

The downside of bigger and roomier is heavier. In our evaluation of a 2009 Cooper S Clubman with an automatic, the test subject weighed in at a tidy 2937 pounds; this second-gen version is heftier by 415 pounds.

Weight is the enemy in every area of vehicle dynamics, and more than 400 pounds is a load by any standard. The Cooper S Clubman compensates for this prodigious gain with a new 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder that makes 189 horsepower, versus 172 for the previous 1.6-liter turbo. The earlier Clubman still has the edge in its power-to-weight ratio, but the new model manages to sprint to 60 mph a smidge quicker—6.6 seconds versus 6.9.

The substitution of a new eight-speed automatic in place of the previous six-speed undoubtedly contributes to this element of the Clubman’s performance, which is as brisk as its primary competitors, the Volkswagen Golf SportWagen and the Fiat 500L. The shifts are quick and fluid in full automatic mode, and they’re even quicker when the transmission is operated manually. (Speaking of manual shifting, the standard gearbox is a six-speed stick.)

More impressive than the new Cooper S Clubman’s quickness, however, is its blend of agility and slightly improved ride quality. Mini has long ascribed “go-kart handling” to its offerings, and the new Clubman maintains that tradition. The electrically assisted power steering is quick (2.5 turns lock-to-lock) and accurate. The car’s response is athletic, body motions are minimal, and grip, delivered by a set of Pirelli Cinturato P7 tires (size 225/40), is tenacious at 0.87 g.

Okay, all of that is pretty much what you expect from a Mini, particularly an S model. But typically what comes along with all this Mini-ness is flinty and unyielding ride quality, partially due to another Mini tradition, run-flat tires. This Clubman’s Pirellis are still run-flats, and the ride is by no means cushy, but in this case the chassis team has dialed in just enough compliance to somewhat smooth the rough edges of nasty pavement, expansion joints, and even minor potholes. A lengthened wheelbase and the additional weight contribute to this improvement.

While the Clubman’s greater mass doesn’t seem to inhibit its agility much, it does take a toll in braking. The 2009 Clubman S stopped from 70 mph in 160 feet; the new Clubman’s stops were nine feet longer, although it suffered no brake fade and pedal feel is above reproach.

Predictably, a bigger engine and a bigger vehicle add up to diminished fuel efficiency, but not by much. The previous, 1.6-liter Clubman was EPA rated at 23 mpg city, 32 highway. The city rating increases to 24 for the new car, with its 2.0-liter engine, and the highway figure jumps to 34. We averaged 27 mpg.

Optional Blues

The interior also has undergone a major makeover, distinguished in this test car by a set of race-worthy bucket seats clad in snazzy blue leather. That brings us to the subject of money. Like other Minis, the Clubman’s base price—$28,500 for the S version—isn’t likely to provoke coronary arrhythmia. But also like other Minis, there are many tempting options, and our test subject was loaded with most of them.

For example, those blue leather buckets—officially, Chesterfield Leather Indigo—add $1750. The Sport package, including 18-inch wheels, is $1500. For the Premium package, including a giant sunroof, add $1800. The Technology package, which includes navigation, tacks on $1750. Add another $1750 for the eight-speed “sport” automatic. Before long, you’re perilously close to 40 grand—and our test car didn’t even have the Clubman’s newly available all-wheel drive.

Still, this bigger Mini wagon is a very appealing package. Minor nits include rear-seat head restraints that inhibit rearward vision, which is further diminished by those dual, side-hinged cargo doors. And the rear wipers clear only about half of each rear pane. But it’s far more useful than its predecessor—and far more comfortable, too. Add one of the highest levels of fun-to-drive in the class, plus Mini’s carefully nurtured persona, and you have a small wagon with big appeal .

BY SAROTKPS

2016 Toyota Tacoma V-6 4x4 Automatic

The average as-tested price of the four full-size pickups in our most recent comparison test was $56,409. And that’s not even the half of it: The most expensive half-ton truck right now is the Ford F-150 Limited, which tops out north of $68,000. Hop inside that truck, and you’re greeted by stitched leather, eucalyptus wood trim, and a full-length panoramic glass roof. It’ll even massage your rear end as you tow your boat to the lake house for the weekend with your three kids in the humongous back seat.

While full-size trucks are moving further into luxury territory in their attempt to be all things to all people, mid-size pickups aren’t quite there yet. Even the newest examples of the breed, the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins and the recently redone Toyota Tacoma, still feel like work trucks at heart. That’s not meant as a slight, either—we appreciate an honest pickup and we had mostly good things to say about the TRD Off-Road–equipped Tacoma with a stick shift that we tested earlier this year.

Surface-Level Snazziness

But what happens when the down-and-dirty Tacoma gets gussied up? At first glance, you might think that the high-zoot 2016 Toyota Tacoma Limited we tested here is doing an imitation of an F-150 Limited or a Ram Laramie Limited. It has a chrome-trimmed exterior, flashy wheels, a leather-lined interior, and a relatively long list of features including blind-spot monitoring, push-button start, and a 7.0-inch infotainment screen with navigation and plenty of smartphone-integration functions.

Don’t be fooled by the snazzy trim: The Tacoma Limited is still more workhorse than show pony. You won’t find any eucalyptus wood inside, just hard plastics and some stitched panels on the dashboard that aren’t particularly upscale-looking. Yes, the seats are upholstered in brown leather, but the hides are stiff, the sort of leather that you won’t feel too bad about getting muddy. The cabin is functional, with a decent number of places to stash small items, and our truck was equipped with Qi inductive charging for compatible devices. The center-stack layout is purposeful, with easy-to-use knobs for the climate controls and infotainment system, and the simplistic gauges look chunky and industrial.

Not Our Favorite Truck Engine

Industrial also describes the feel of the Tacoma’s 3.5-liter V-6. Despite being a relatively modern engine with Toyota’s D4S technology that can switch between direct and port injection, the V-6 sounds about as gruff as the old Tacoma’s 4.0-liter V-6, with lots of intake noise and a grainy sound quality higher in the rev range. Not that we expect Lexus-level refinement from a pickup truck, but the Toyota engine pales next to the new Honda Ridgeline’s smooth V-6.

More disappointing is the powertrain’s performance. The Tacoma’s six-speed automatic transmission upshifts early and takes some prodding to execute kickdowns, conspiring with the V-6’s peaky nature to make the Taco feel more sluggish than its reasonably quick 7.9-second zero-to-60-mph time suggests. Opting for the six-speed manual (not available in the Limited) at least lets the driver make better use of the engine’s powerband; that combination proved to be 0.6 second quicker to 60 mph in our testing of the aforementioned TRD Off-Road model.

When we hitched up a small trailer (weighing roughly 1500 pounds, far short of this Tacoma’s 6400-pound stated towing capacity), we really found ourselves wishing for more midrange grunt. The V-6 doesn’t make its peak 265 lb-ft of torque until 4600 rpm. The 3.6-liter V-6 in the Colorado and Canyon makes 269 lb-ft of torque that comes on at 4000 rpm, and the Nissan Frontier’s 4.0-liter V-6 muscles up 281 lb-ft of torque, also at 4000 rpm. Compare these with the mighty turbo-diesel in General Motors’ rival trucks, with 369 lb-ft of torque available at 2000 rpm, and it’s easy to understand the appeal of that powertrain option. Go up a size, and the Ford F-150offers a twin-turbocharged gasoline V-6 with a whopping 375 lb-ft delivered at only 3000 rpm. When will turbos make their way into the gas engines of mid-size pickups? Sooner rather than later, we figure, and we’ll welcome their flatter torque curves.

The Tacoma Limited did deliver a mostly comfortable ride, with the Michelin LTX tires making for a slightly smoother and quieter experience compared with the TRD Off-Road model’s knobbier Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain rubber. The Michelins also delivered a bit more skidpad grip, at 0.73 g versus the TRD’s 0.70, and stopped the truck from 70 mph seven feet shorter, at 185 feet. Yet both of those figures still fall short of an equivalent Chevrolet Colorado Crew Cab 4x4, which pulled 0.78 g on the skidpad and stopped from 70 mph in 174 feet. And the new, unibody Ridgeline puts all of these trucks to shame with its truly carlike road manners.

Get the Cheap One Instead

We don’t take much issue with the Tacoma’s basic interior and unrefined engine when the truck in question is in the low-$30,000 range. But this Tacoma Limited cost $41,024, approaching the very upper limit of what seems reasonable to pay for a truck this size. That sum will get you plenty of F-150 or Silverado, both of which offer much more capability and refinement than the Toyota, even if this truck is easier to maneuver in urban and parking situations.

And you can still get a decently equipped Taco for a whole lot less than $40,000, too. In fact, that’s what we’d do. A Tacoma SR5 Crew Cab V-6 4x4, for instance, can be had with many of the same options as our Limited test truck (backup camera, navigation, towing package, tonneau cover) for right around $35,000, and a more basic Tacoma SR V-6 4x4 Crew Cab would be just over $30,000. These lower trim levels are much more in keeping with the Tacoma’s rough-and-tumble character, and they strike us as a more logical choice than the loaded-up Tacoma Limited. Leave it to the F-150 Limiteds and Sierra Denalis of the world to wear the luxury mantle—the way we see it, some trucks should just be trucks.

BY SAROTKPS