2010 CADILLAC SRX TURBO AWD PREMIUM
Cadillac’s second rendition of its SRX crossover is new for the 2010 model year, with a smaller footprint and renegotiated interior appointments. Cadillac undertook to downsize its compact sport-utility vehicle, the SRX, for 2010. Gone are the V-8 power and the tall, upright lines. Gone, also, is third-row seating. The new model is smaller and sleeker, but just as stylish and well-equipped as the original.
The new model is slightly smaller than the SRX it replaces in every dimension. Where the first iteration used the CTS sport sedan as its chassis base, the 2010 SRX has an underbody family resemblance to the handsome Saturn Vue. Still its a good-size machine, with 190.3 inches length, 75.2-inches wide and 65.7 inches height. The wheelbase is 110.5 inches and, in All Wheel Drive guise, the SRX has seven inches of ground clearance.
There are mechanical differences between Cadillac SRX models to go along with their price tags. Where the base model (and seven of nine offerings) come with a 3-liter V6, the AWD Premium sports a 2.8-liter turbocharged engine that considerably ups the horsepower from 265 to 300 horsepower at 5500 rpm. Torque is 295 ft-lb at a stump pulling 2000-rpm, handy for moving the AWD models 4387 pounds of weight. All the SRX models have shiftable six-speed automatic transmissions, which in the AWD Turbo Premium model allows easy cruising: at 75 mph, the engine turns 2250 rpm at 80 mph.
2010 ACURA MDX
The MDX will be near the top of the shopping list for drivers who want a reasonable-size three-row crossover with sporty handling and a strong-sounding engine.
Even with nineteen-inch wheels, the MDX rides surprisingly well, much better than the Four Seasons Audi Q5. Acura’s 300-hp V-6 powers the chunky MDX with authority, and it sounds good doing so.
The interior is nicely finished, not a work of art but uniformly good materials quality and no fit or finish issues. Lots of buttons on the dash could be better grouped by system, but even as is, it’s better than wading through onscreen menus, and there are knobs for some important functions.
The 3.7-liter V-6 has been around a while now, but doesn’t feel dated and has enough power and torque to scoot the heavy MDX around town .
What Acura needs is an infotainment controller like BMW’s iDrive, Mercedes’ Comand, or Audi’s MMI. The center stack is littered with more than 50 buttons that are quite daunting to sift through. Acura already has the large knob/joystick that interfaces with the display, but the dynamic nature of the screen is underutilized. Most of the onscreen functions are mere repetitions of what you can achieve with physical buttons.
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