I hit up the Atlanta Auto Show today and thought I might share my thoughts and opinions with those who are interested.

I don't feel like going into an mmarshall style analysis but I'll throw a few things in here.

Nissan
First, if the new Murano is any indication of where Nissan quality is headed then everyone else needs to watch their backs. Everything inside that car is so high quality, nice to touch, smooth, and fits together beautifully. They really did a beautiful job here...much more so than anything else in their stable. I was very very impressed.

The new Maxima looks great in person and much lower and sleeker than it does in pictures. The front end does not look as squared off either...it's all very "four door coupe" in person. That said, the car does look smaller than the current one and honestly it looks to have gotten noticeably smaller inside. Not sure how this will fare overall because of the size. Look closely at the pics below...the rear is quite a bit smaller.





Hard to tell with the lack of contrast on a black interior, but honestly it looks rather tight back there.

Additionally the GT-R is huge in person. Sexy, mean, and huge.

Honda
Stopped in for a few minutes because I wanted to sit in the Accord and I also happened upon the new Fit. I didn't bother snapping a ton of pictures of the thing, but honestly it looks so much more "minivan" after the refresh. I really don't care for the changes.



One thing that struck me after sitting in the Accord is that not only are they taking BMW cues from the outside, but the interior is so similar to the 5 series that it's not funny. The shape of the dash and much of the interior is very BMW-esque in person. That said, I do still really like the new Accord. I fail to see how it has a substantially higher quality interior than the Camry though. The door pull, parts of the lower dash and doors are made of shiny chintzy feeling plastic...something none of the reviews seem to have mentioned.

Toyota
No surprises here, but I do have to say that this whole "Toyota quality is down the *****ter and the world is ending" thing has got to stop. I am admittedly a dash stroker like many of you here know. I'll sit, scratch, knock, rub, push, and pull on as much of an interior as possible. I did it in the Camry, Highlander, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, and new Corolla and was just as impressed with every one as I have ever been with Toyota. I have a hunch that Toyota has made some slight changes to the dash materials in the Camry since 2007 because some of the first few models I sat in were a little cheap. The SE, XLE, and LE that I sat in today though were solid, textured beautifully, and felt great. I have even been a little picky about their quality and after today I feel like I can safely say that it has returned 100%. Highlander and Corolla were especially impressive...very solid, well put together, and nicely textured.

Hyundai
Plain and simple, I have read so many people like Meowcat saying that the Genesis is sex on wheels in person...whoops think again. The car is far more eye caching in pictures. In the sheet metal it looks like a refreshed Infiniti I30. BORING and BLAND. Period.

I think the reason that I can't stand the Genesis Coupe is because it looks exactly like the Tiburon. Not that it's a bad car, but if this car is RWD and backs completely different architecture and chassis hardware...why does it look like the FWD 4 cyl econocoupe they have made for the last seven years? It should look different...and it should look better.









BMW
X6 is an abomination. Period. In person it looks like a Prius on steroids. Sit in it and there is almost no headroom in the back...I'm 6'0" and my head touched the ceiling. BMW could have done this better IMO. It lacks the functionality and utility of an SUV, is priced expensively, and is quite awkwardly shaped in person.

Audi
As an Audi fan I was quite disappointed. The new A4 doesn't look "new" at all in person. In fact I might venture to say that the current one is more interesting to look at. It really does look much like the current car with Audi's new corporate face and grille. It's simply alright, and in the face of the 3 series, IS, and G35 I don't really think "alright" cuts it. Not to mention the somewhat lackluster powertrain options.

Also sat in the S5...for a company that is notorious for interiors, there were some door panels and sections in the S5 that felt almost hollow and a bit cheap. I have also decided that I really prefer the Japanese symmetrical waterfall design a la Lexus, Acura and Infiniti to the squared off cold Audi interiors. Love the R8, A6, A8, and Q7 though. Just not too impressed with the A4 in person or the interior of the S5.

 

^^^ NIce mahn!! I am going next weekend and will give my thoughts as well.

 

I kept the review and the pictures short...I didn't want to snap a ton of pictures of cars we have already seen. I just hadn't seen any in person shots of the new Maxima, A4, Genesis Coupe, or Fit. I would share the rest of my opinions, but I've said it all before here and there.

 

I agree about Audi, the new A4 for one is huge, not 185 inches long and Audi is continuing the trend of all their cars/SUVs looking the same, not only within the lineup but generation to generation.

 

Great post MPLexus301, thanks!

It was reviewed on this week's Motorweek - and seemed quite nice. One small thing worth mentioning too is it seems like Nissan is becoming an authority on the CVT (continuously variable transmission), it now being mated to a pretty powerful engine, and Motorweek said it was very impressively smooth and well matched.

Maybe smaller isn't such a bad thing - the Maxima used to be quite small many years ago and the last gen had become HUGE. Wonder how it will relate to the Altima though which had become pretty huge too.

Actually Motorweek in their long term update this week said the same thing, although they still love the Accord and said it's the best family sedan out there, and the most fuel efficient (non-hybrid?).

Dash stroker, lol I think that's illegal in some states.

Anyway, glad to read your report - my problem on the new Camry wasn't so much with materials overall as it was with the 'blue/green' plastic inserts on the center stack on one trim level or other. I thought it looks really cheesy.

And I still think the Rav 4 interior is lame.

Interesting - well, I guess we'll see how it plays in the market. I think the 3GS is boring and bland too.

I agree the new A4 is not a step forward - it's crossed the line from elegantly simple to bland/awkard.

You mentioned the Landcruiser and I assume it's the same as the LX570 - I cannot believe that for a vehicle so humongous that the 3rd row seats don't fold completely away instead of chewing up TONS of rear cargo space at the sides. I think that's COMPLETELY lame and will hurt sales of an otherwise stellar vehicle.

 

MP, what did you think of the IS-F simulators?

 

Bit- I do agree with you on the Rav4. All in all I find the Rav4 to be one of the best packages in the small SUV segment, but I simply cannot get over the overly cartoonish features on the interior. The shape of the dash, door pulls, and other aspects are just a little overdone for my taste...if it was more restrained and more mature I think the Rav4 would be the best car in it's segment because it already has everything else.

I also don't disagree with the comment about the blue bits on the Camry interior...they could have laid it out to accommodate less lighting. All the blue just looks a little...foolish.

The Genesis though, eh. Everyone has mentioned how it's so classy and so elegant in person and I would like to meet some of those people because it looks like every other FWD Japanese sedan made in the early 2000s. Same headlights, side flanks, and tail lights as camcordtima and ES/I30. The whole car is very very bland and in person the BMW influence from pictures doesn't even come across, which is sad because that's about as much as it had going for it. For the cars that the Genesis is chasing, I feel like styling is more important than Hyundai has given it credit for. The 5 series, the E class, the GS and the M all have pretty distinct shapes and details. The Genesis is a mash up of everything that is generic about Japanese sedans. Generic Genesis...hmmm

I was really disappointed with the A4 if you couldn't tell. It was one of the cars that I was looking most forward to seeing but in person the car is just...bleh. It looks almost identical to the current A4 but with the LED headlights. There is almost no difference when you see it in person.


1Sick- I didn't use the IS-F simulators. They looked cool though.

 

I completely agree. I would have BOUGHT a Rav4 had the interior been a bit better because it IS a great vehicle in terms of exterior style, dynamics, great engines, space, etc. I find the Mazda CX7 to be quite a bit better and the Ford Edge to be worlds better (but probably more expensive, I don't know).

Yes - it's just 'so close' it's a bit frustrating, you know? Still, I'm not a Camry buyer and it still sells like crazy so what do we know?

lol - still, it's another step forward for Hyundai. Closer... closer...

Did you check out any high end stuff? LS600hL, S-class, new SL, Ferrari, Porsche??

Thanks again for sharing thoughts and pics.

 

I have been struggling with the purchase of a new Camry SE V6 or an 05/06 Camry SE V6 for the sake of interior quality, so I know what you mean. When the Camrys first came out I had a hard time stomaching the shiny plastics and rubbermaid feel of it all...but that really seems to have changed, and again I am quite critical about interiors.

I could definitely buy the new car and be happy with it, and I could deal with the lighting. A few guys on toyotanation.com have altered the lighting so I might look at something like that.

I sat in almost everything. New SL is nice in person. I wouldn't rate the new front end as better or worse than the old one- it's just different. It makes it look like a completely different car to be honest. New C class all the way up to an S65, CL550, refreshed M, G37, Enclave, LX 570 (simply jaw dropping interior in person), Ford Edge, others. Anything specific you'd like to know about?

Oh...two other points I wanted to bring up.

The VW Tiguan is miniature. I had thought it would be roughly the same size as the CRV or Rav 4...um not even close. This thing is the SUV equivalent of a Yaris. It's very, very tiny- almost like a Honda Fit with a bit of extra ground clearance. It will be interesting to see how it does.

I've seen a few Malibus on the street but this was the first time I sat in one. All in all it's nice to see that GM has finally put together a compelling family sedan but...can SOMEONE at Ford or GM PLEASE DESIGN A DECENT DOOR PANEL? This is my inner dash stroker coming out but the door panels on everything from Ford or GM is painfully flat, bland, and boring. Materials in the Malibu were pretty good, though I didn't find them to be as great as they could have been. At least they're starting to get the shape of everything else right (sans door panels).

 

I also saw the Jaguar XF and everyone who was standing around it going, "Man that looks just like the Lexus...dude they copied Lexus...the whole thing looks just like the GS," and I must say that in person, it definitely does.

I had raised the point in another thread that the wood grain on the rear doors looks like a cheap afterthought, and it looks much the same in person. Other than that I really like the car inside and out.

 

How was the int on the new Maxima?

 

Nice write up MP. I enjoyed reading it all.

 

Couldn't really tell from 2-3 feet away, plus black interior hides all of the details. If it's anything like the Murano though, it will be class leading or at least among the top choices. Nissan has really picked it up!

 

all audis look hot when they are new. but after a couple months of being on the market you realize they look just like all the previous audis ever made in history. they get old really fast...the exception being perhaps the R8.

 

MAXIMA
Did the maxima have that flimsy feeling when you slam the door....like all the nissans?
I guess I have to see the front end in person, but that rear end looks good

Hyundai
Yep agree with you there. I see one practically everyday, since I drive by the HQ. Front is like a big RL and rear is the I30 taillight.

Jaguar XF
Got to see one in person. If they kept the concept design, it would've been a big hit. They screwed it up with the stupid headlight...looks too much like a 300c style to me.

Awesome and short review. Post more pictures if you have them