370 Miles in a Hyundai Tucson

What's the easiest way to get from South Bend to Pittsburgh if you don't have a private jet?  Just do the 5 hour drive.  A flight takes more wall clock time as there's no direct path.  We needed to get to Pittsburgh but return home by another path, so I had the brainstorm to do a one-way car rental.

The gentleman at the National counter in the South Bend airport was a really nice guy.  We chatted a bit about people and his plans for the weekend, and it turned out it was his son's 17th birthday.  He wasn't exactly sure what the plan was, but knew he would be spending it with his son.  I mentioned Madeline's recent 17th.

As we were chatting, I saw him do a little sleight of hand and replace the key he originally picked up with a different key.  As he handed it over, he mentioned that he gave me a little upgrade.  I told him that I really appreciated it.

You know, it's really easy to be nice to people.  Just express an interest in their humanity, it's typically worth it, as you strengthen the fabric of society.  He's really no different than me, enjoying the prospect of spending some time celebrating his child's birthday.  

The upgrade ended up being a Hyundai Tucson.  It's a perfectly serviceable car.  

Lots of grill

Enzo loves it!

Here's my quick pro/con list:

Pros:

1. Pretty fuel efficient.  We averaged about 33 mpg, not bad for a small SUV
2. Lots of USB-C sockets
3. Wired/wireless CarPlay
4. Decent headlights
5. Decent stereo

Cons:

1. The digital dash doesn't make sense.  The speedometer is blue, the tach is orange.  There's no redline on the tach, and no numbers on either gauge.  What's the point?  Very odd.
   

   

   Curious speedo and tach, "gauges" with no numbers or redline

   
   
   
   
2. The fuel gauge didn't have a directional arrow to indicate which side the fuel filler is on.
3. The front seats were a little lacking in thigh support for taller people.
4. The ridiculous design of the rear lighting architecture, with the turn signals down low in the bumper.  I think that should be illegal, they're just low and out of the way.

Overall, it's a good vehicle that easily transported the three of us.  It has a pretty good-sized cargo area, plenty of cupholders and power sockets, sufficient power to make time on the interstate, and doesn't attract undue attention.  Perfect for making time.

My favorite car really is the one I have the key to.  I'll drive anything, anywhere.  Spending 5 hours in a capsule with Allison and Enzo?  There are few places I'd rather be.

Heaven!

My Kind of Hybrid

 Yesterday, I got to experience my kind of hybrid: a 2026 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS T-Hybrid.  I had about half an hour behind the wheel, so this is more of an impression than a full-on review.

She's a beast!

Here's a shot from the rear, which I think is a big improvement over the 992.1.

Looks good from behind, too!

So it looks good, but the real question is, what's it like to drive?  The first production hybrid 911.  It was surprising, visceral, and very, very fast.  A single word?  Impressive.  With 532 horsepower and 449 lb-ft of torque, it has an abundance of power.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Climbing into the car, it's immediately familiar to anyone who has driven a 911.  It's bigger than the 964 and much more comfortable inside.  

Starting the car is the first surprise - there's no key, but there is a push-button on the left.  It's OK, but I do like keys.  Second, there's no starter motor.  You press the button, and the engine instantly barks to life.  It feels instantaneous because it is.  There's no waiting, you push start, and the car is on, right now.  I noticed it has a cool engine warmup light that stays blue until the car is up to temperature.  I think that should be standard in every car to encourage drivers to relax until the engine is nice and warm.

The little shifting nub is small and honestly inconsequential. It's not something you're going to end up touching that much once the car is on the move.  I started off in manual mode, shifting with the paddles.  If you have experience with PDK, you'll be right at home.  You pull the trigger and the car shifts.  Immediately.

Throttle response is ridiculous.  The car makes power everywhere.  It pulls quickly, cleanly, linearly, and with no lag at all.  You press the gas and you're rewarded with instant thrust.  What's really interesting is how the car generates that thrust.  At first, I thought something was amiss with the gauges.  I'd prod the throttle, the car would surge forward, and the turbo boost gauge remained flat at 0.  That didn't make any sense to me, until I realized that when I kept my foot in it, the boost gauge would wake up as the car continued to accelerate.

So I paid closer attention to the battery power flow.  When I would stab the throttle, the car would jump forward and the electrons were flowing.  "Ah hah," I realized, "that must be the electric torque fill."  It's really a genius system.  You hit the gas, the e-motor pitches in to thrust the car forward, and then the turbo wakes up, and off you go.

The car gathers speed quickly and effortlessly.  When you keep your foot in it, it is just relentless.  On my favorite test road, it ripped up to 127 mph without any hint of a lack of thrust.  It just kept pulling until I shut it down.  Super impressive.

The car sounds good.  Jump off the throttle and you hear the turbo huffing and puffing like a tuned GT-R.  It sounds angry.  The exhaust note is good, classic 911 with some additional bass which I'm guessing comes from the 3.6 liter engine.  

One thing that really impressed me, beyond the abundant power, was the suspension.  I couldn't believe how well it rode.  With the suspension in default and the car in normal mode, the suspension was, dare I say, cushy!  It was pretty soft over bumps, feeling stable and planted.  Switching the suspension to its more aggressive setting firmed things up, but honestly, it had more compliance than the stock shocks and green H&R sport springs in the 964.  I was shocked (har har har) at how well the GTS road.  Even on my favorite local bit of bumpy two lane, the GTS just soaked up the bumps and felt comfortable and taut.  Super, super, super impressive.

With AWD, electric torque fill, and a pretty quiet cabin, it would be a lovely car to simply drive and enjoy, every single day.

The all-electric dash is fine.  Some people like to complain about it, but I thought it was easy to read and informative.  The shift lights in the tach, the boost gauge, all of the things just make sense.  Toggling to a different screen rotates the tach like I've done in the 964, but doesn't tilt the digits.  Nice touch.  I'm sure there are more things I'd realize with more time in the car.  Really, really impressive machine.

102,000 miles!

 Sapphire turned 102,000 miles last Wednesday:

Successful 102K picture

We were heading down to Clifty Falls to do a little spring break camping.  With only four of us, we didn't use the Thule and just dropped the third row and loaded our gear:

I love vans - they swallow everything!

There's something really wonderful about the first camping breakfast.  Generally speaking, everything is better out doors.  The soft gurgling of the coffee, 

Oh, the anticipation!

Gurgle gurgle

the smell of the sausages, 

Can you smell it?

the sound of the eggs popping, and the English muffins toasting

mmmmmm

all combine to form a magnificent breakfast sandwich.

Amazing!

Few things taste this good!

We did a nice hike and ended up doing the 4 Falls Challenge.  It's a choose your own route kind of thing, and we hiked 4+ miles with plenty of elevation change.  The final climb from the stream to the top of the ridge definitely got the heart rate up!

We ended the evening with campfire pies (savory and sweet) and perfectly roasted marshmallows:

Golden brown

Every trip illustrates how even a few days out of your normal environment can feel like a month.  It was a really lovely trip.

Of course, being the car person I am, I'm constantly looking around at cars on our travels.  This trip turned through the 80s and 90s:

Late 80s Celebrity

Early 90s Grand Prix

You really don't see cars like this very often.  There are a few survivors out there, but they are pretty rare.  I enjoy seeing them and marveling at how automotive design has evolved over the past 40 years.

46,000 miles

 The GLI rolled 46,000 this past Tuesday:

Missed it by 5 miles!

When I was on my way to work, I knew I'd hit 46K miles that day.  However, I went out to lunch with a friend.  Our conversation ranged from elder care to travel north of the Arctic Circle to compelling automotive choices.  It was raining heavily, and I was engrossed in conversation when I dropped him off.

It wasn't until I was on my way home that I checked mileage and saw 46,005.  Subtracting out the five miles, we must've rolled 46K together on the way to the restaurant.

I recently swapped out the winter tires on both vans and the GLI.  The tires really do transform the car, as I'm able to carry so much more cornering speed.  The Michelins have great steering feel, are direct, have respectable grip in the wet, and are a worthy match to the tuned engine.  I'm so happy they're back on the car!

234,000 miles

 The grey van continues to get closer to the moon:

Only 126 miles late!

Again, I'm not really sure when this happened.  I'll pretend it happened when Olivia was on her way to volunteer at the hospital.

So, the moon is about 238,855 miles from Earth.  While it's most likely the van will reach the moon this year, we certainly won't beat the Artemis II mission!

67,000 miles

 The CRV turned 67,000 miles at some point last month:

Missed the shot by 319 miles...

I'm hoping Madeline was driving along, sunroof open, enjoying some spring air.

45,000 miles

 The GLI turned 45,000 miles on March 6:

Just missed 45,000

Luca and I were heading to Chicago to take in a Blackhawks game.  It was a beautiful, chilly evening.  We had just merged onto I-80 and were a bit over ten miles into our Chicago-bound journey when I remembered that 45,000 was approaching quickly.  By the time I queted up the odometer, it was 45,001, and by the time I got my phone up to take a picture, it was 45,002.  Curses!  Oh well, these are the things to be worried about.

Now, you know I love the GLI.  It's a wonderful car, and I get tremendous joy from operating it.  The odometer is one of those minor irritations with the GLI, and modern cars in general.  I think it should always be visible.  At no point am I uninterested in the total mileage on a vehicle.  But on the GLI, the mileage is hidden if you use cruise control or if you get a little close to the car in front of you and get the "too close" warning on the dashboard.  With so much digital real estate available, why is the overall odometer not omnipresent?

So, my list of minor GLI gripes include:

• No omnipresent odometer
• Speedometer increments by 20, and then at the end, 40
• Trunk hinges instead of struts

That's pretty much it.  It's really a lovely, lovely car to drive.  I also really like the ability to close the sunshade while keeping the sunroof open.  I really do like the fresh air.  Even as I write this, it's about 35 degrees outside.  I was just driving around, sunroof open, seat heater on, happy as a clam:

I love an open sunroof!

Of course, my list of likes about the GLI is long:

• Sunroof/sunshade independence
• Power
• Fuel efficiency
• Shifter feel
• Torque
• Handling
• Front differential
• Size/space
• Seat heating/cooling
• How the cockpit is angled towards the driver
• Interior lighting
• Aesthetics
• Pretty much everything