Boomers Defy Car Makers' Marketing Strategies

[MineralMan]

146. It is. The driver's position is excellent, and the steering wheel is

adjustable for tilt and length. The base model has manual seat controls, but the seats are very comfortable and supportive. I can put my hands on my hips in the driver's seat and not touch the door or the passenger, and there's about 10" of headroom in the front seats. The rear seats, also have plenty of legroom, even with the driver's seat well back on its tracks.

In city driving, it's quite nimble, and the gear ratios in the lower four gears are excellent for city driving. Not much body lean in cornering. The suspension's a little harsh, and there is definitely some suspension noise on crappy streets, but that's true with all of the small cars. On the freeway, 5th and 6th gears are overdrive ratios. At 70, the 1.6 liter engine is running about 3400 RPM. Mine is a manual transmission, but the automatic is also a 6-speed, with similar ratios. 4th gear is a good acceleration gear, with a top speed of around 100 mph, so you're not really thrashing the engine, but it is in its best torque band above 60 mph. No cruise control is available for the manual transmission. Clutch action is very smooth and progressive, and not at all grabby or sudden in its engagement. The shifter isn't quite as precise as I'd like, and the spring-loading favors the 3rd and 4th gear positions. I missed the 5th to 6th shift a few times and shifted into 4th by accident at first. No more. It's fine, but it's not a nice precise sports car shifter. 0-60 acceleration is about 10 seconds if you don't push it too hard. Pushed to its limits, you can manage 9 seconds with the manual transmission. It has always made freeway speed easily on every onramp I've tried. Half throttle is plenty.

I have an issue when driving with shoulder numbness in most cars that extends into my fingers. No problems with that in this car. The seats are firm, but well-designed, and are adjustable, so you can customize your seating position. Visibility is excellent all around, and mirrors are well-placed and wide. Mine are manually adjusted, but the better trims have power controls, and include power folding and heated mirrors. Waste of time for me, really.

The car is reasonably quiet, without a lot of wind or road noise, except for the usual bumps these small cars all seem to have on concrete freeways. Engine, transmission, and driveline noise are minimal, and they've improved the cockpit sound insulation for 2013. I haven't noticed any freeway hop, though, despite the short wheelbase. The car's wide track and corner wheel locations create a good stable feel. Traction and stability control are standard in all models, along with ABS braking. I haven't pushed the car to see how they behave so far.

Cockpit ergonomics are excellent, with sound system and Bluetooth controls on the steering wheel. Instruments are analog and large and well lit, and the digital info screen has several settings, including the usual instant and average mpg stuff, along with at shift point indicator that I don't use. It is designed to produce maximum economy. The sound system is more than adequate, and the higher priced trim versions are even better.