You make it sound so simple to boost skyactiv. It isn’t. Also, the shorter the gearing, the worse the car will feel with significant power added (see the boosted NC miatas).

I just think it’s highly likely you would have found the same thing on the already-less-efficient Sienna et al. ANY minivan you took out for a weekend loaner would have fallen short of EPA ratings. So you might as well start with the highest number (the Odyssey, according to your research).

This model was before cylinder deactivation too.

Here’s the thing, though- Would you have purchased a different model if you had taken a loaner and discovered the horrible truth about the Odyssey’s fuel economy?

I looked her up...she is American

Ok, I’ll rephrase it for you: YOU being british has everything to do with YOUR defensiveness over what others say about Evans. I hate to think what you’d say if we started trash talking the queen, or Julia Child...

Defensive and in denial. Wow. Let’s break this down for you:

Then your argument for the MQB platform would work for literally EVERY SINGLE AWD vehicle on the planet. The 228 xdrive must have been designed as an AWD platform from the get-go, because it offers more than one engine and drive train, right? Sorry, nope. The 2 series was designed as a RWD platform.

They don’t need to hire me (though that would be cool); they just need to hire one of the interior designers from their sister brand, Audi. Even in the B8 A4 (a car starting in the low $30k range), Audi offered the FREE option of black dash or dark grey dash on the light grey interior.

Yuck. Still a miss. Black or dark gray dash, steering wheel, and shifter go with a light gray interior, but not tan. I’d still prefer this over the tan dash, but for $3k?!

Porsche really butchers light interiors, because they make the dash and steering wheel the same color.

Sorry, but you’re mistaken here. The MQB platform is definitely a FWD platform. The hydraulically operated Haldex is flexible enough to fit into a platform originally designed for FWD cars, but it is not the true quattro system found in platforms that were actually designed as AWD from the get-go, like that of the…

I’m curious why you’re so defensive of Evans. Do you have a similar track record of going around defending Clarkson (or any other Brit) out of some sense of patriotism, or did Evens let you lick his ball sack once and now you’re enamored?

Maybe it’s Evans’ ‘unlikability’ the BBC is going for. Ya know, how people love to hate? Maybe we’ll find ourselves tuning in just to validate our hate for Evans, while we swoon for Sabine and Matt.

Yeah, I wasn’t name-calling or bashing. It’s dumb af when people band together to hate on anything/one. I don’t get why it became trendy to tip Smart cars (maybe just because it was so easy?). That goes more to the Miata dancer/Lambo baby trampoline articles than anything.

I understand that you like the Smart car and that liking something doesn’t require logic, therefor a car purchase doesn’t require logic. I ride motorcycles, so I empathize with illogical vehicle purchases.

I think the sentiment behind what windadvisory is saying is that the only people who can excuse the mediocre fuel economy (for it’s size/displacement) AND weak-sauce performance are Smart car apologists (like you, let’s not kid ourselves). If the only reason the ForTwo is better than a Fit is “because smaller,” then…

I didn’t even read the story before I commented.

This was good. And surprisingly accurate.

Thank you for typing out the obvious reasoning surrounding this entire topic, which Torch actively chose to ignore lest he not have something to publish this morning.