Originally published March 24, 2012
Doors to the Colorado Convention Center open at 10 a.m. this morning as the Denver Auto Show prepares for its biggest weekend ever.
The five-day car show concludes with sessions running to 10 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
With Jan alongside, I drove in to Wednesday afternoon’s opening in a 2012 Jaguar XF Portfolio, a four-door sport sedan. In town, I slowed the Jag along the curb at Colfax and Broadway long enough for Tim Coy, designer of my automotive pages at The Denver Post, to step into the back seat.
I could have bypassed the parking garage at the convention center, driven the Jag onto the show floor, and it would have looked right in place – a beautifully styled, English-built luxury midsizer.
Feeling a bit below par in recent weeks, I’ve stayed close to home, and it was uplifting to get out and mix with the crowd at the Charity Preview Party.
Five major awards, announced at the party by the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press, included:
Range Rover Evoque as New Vehicle of the Year Ford F-150 as Pickup Truck of the Year Nissan Leaf electric as High-Mileage Vehicle of the Year Audi A6 3.0 TFSI as Car of the Year Jeep Grand Cherokee as SUV of the YearThe Evoque has been referred to as “the half-sized, half-priced Range Rover.” I strongly supported it for the new-vehicle award. I first saw it as a concept at the Detroit Auto Show three years ago and liked it. It is built on the front-wheel-drive-based LR2 as opposed to the bulky rear-drive-based Range Rover, and its $50,000 price is far below the big guy’s tag.
Drivability of the Ford F-150 is as good as it gets with half-ton trucks; it is set for snow-busting, with electronically locking rear differential, offroad-tuned shocks and skid plates, and offers ease of operation with a dial on the dash for engaging four-wheel-high or low range duty. An EcoBoost V-6, a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission and generating towing power equal to that of a Ford V-8, is the reason Ford is, for the first time in many years, selling as many V-6-powered pickups as those with V-8s.
The wonderful new Audi A6 3.0, which I tested in a September snowfall far up Poudre Canyon, offers unusually smooth power from a supercharged V-6 engine and 8-speed automatic transmission. Audi has been refining its Torsen-based quattro AWD system since 1980; in its latest form it can apply up to 70 percent of torque to the front wheels and as much as 85 percent to the rear when necessary. In normal conditions, torque is split 40/60 from front to rear.
The Nissan Leaf electric edged the Volkswagen Passat TDI diesel as high-mileage vehicle of the year; I voted for the Volkswagen. The Leaf is 100 percent electric, with no tailpipe emissions. It offers approximately 90 miles of driving time before necessary recharging of the lithium-ion battery pack. With 110-volt charge, it takes 20 hours. That can be cut to 8 hours by using a 220-volt system.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee was a runaway winner for the second year in a row as SUV of the Year.
Four-wheel independent suspension puts the Grand Cherokee on a par with the smoothest of new carlike crossovers, and the Jeep is available with the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 or the new 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6. Its Selec-Terrain system allows, with a dial on the center console, altering throttle, torque, transmission and transfer case for driving normally, in snow, sand, rocks or, in extreme cases, low-range.
The Grand Cherokee Limited I drove recently was finished with a nicely stitched dash of two-tones, divided by olive ash burl wood veneer trim. Heated steering wheel and heated and cooled front seats were included.
Rear-seat passengers may settle back and enjoy reclining seatbacks, ample legroom and headroom and the panorama sunroof which extends overhead.
The 2012 Grand Cherokee carried a sticker price of $43,775.
Sidebar: Connecting jumper cables
Locate the positive and negative sides of each battery. They should be marked.
Attach the red cable to the positive side of the good battery. Attach the other end of the red cable to the positive side of the dead battery. Attach the black cable to the negative side of the good battery. Attach the other end of the black cable to a section of unpainted metal on the dead car. Start the car with the good battery and leave it running. Turn the key in the dead car and it should fire right up.– Creative Services Staff
