Rocky Mountain Driving Experience

[dmuramoto]

Today I had the opportunity to test over 15 cars at High Plains Raceway (HPR) in Colorado. They ranged from the 2011 Hyundai Elantra to the Jaguar XKL, Dodge Charger and the Nissan Leaf. The event was held to allow members of the Rocky Mountain Auto Press (RMAP) to experience a wide variety of cars at a single venue. We drove on the 1.2-mile HPR short course and fortunately, I know that circuit well.

Nissan was present for the 2011 RMDE and all of the cars they had showed well, both on and off the track. The NISMO 370Z was among the fastest (and best handling) cars out there and the Leaf was a hoot to drive at speed. Rick Kulach from Nissan came out to help journalists unfamiliar with the 370Z and even allowed a certain EIC to get in a hot few laps in the Z. They were the only carmaker with enough confidence in a crossover (Murano CrossCabriolet) to put it on the track. It acquitted itself well, with adequate power and predictable handling, although soft suspension and CVT transmission won't make it a track car by any means.

I was surprised by some of the cars, like the sheer power and solid platform of the M-B CLS63 AMG sedan. For such a large car, that 6.2 twin turbo just launches it down the straight and it has brakes and handling to match. The new Caddy CTS-V coupe also offered blown V8 power and was extremely quick. But special kudos go to Ford for the 2011 Boss 302 model. Their chassis offered excellent feedback and was matched with a 444-HP V8 that makes it IMHO, the KIng of the Ponycars by a wide margin! Only problem is, I'll be racing several of these cars in the SCCA car wars this year and now I know how good they really are.

No times were posted and only a few mishaps were part of the day. A connecting rod failure and fuel surge affected two cars- neither of them Nissans. A few surprising failures: the new Scion tC coupe was uninspiring, with a sloppy gearshift, tepid dynamics and weak horsepower. Also suffering from poor petal placement for heel-toe shifting was the Golf GTI, although it's overall handling charcteristics helped mask it. The Lexus CT200h was plain boring, a yawnfest even at full-bore down the backstraight.

If anybody has any questions about how these cars compare with any of our favorite Nissans or Infinitis, post 'em up!