Quote:
Originally Posted by unhappyguy
This model is replacing the Liberty which was a slow seller and unattractive in its last years. The part of the styling that I am not wild about are the tail lights. I would have preferred that they had kept the vertical rectangular ones from prior designs rather than the horizontal ovals on this new design (not shown here) which, in my opinion, are unoriginal and not traditional.
The original Liberty design was too cute looking for most guys. I think this look is contemporary. As for its mechanicals - the days of solid axles and leaf springs are gone. Rear wheel drive is not very efficient as it's heavier (though more durable), resulting is higher gas consumption. I fully expect that 4-wheel drive will be available and those models, at least, will have good off-road capabilities.
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Good point, it used to be only primative suspensions could cope with offroad, but thanks to modern computer hardware even unibody vehicles can handle all but the very toughest terrain, The Forester (2014) for example. has a new X mode which is very impressive offroad.
To prove the point even further regarding sophisticated AWD, James May of Top Gear completed an off road rally stage using a Bentley Continental GT3 which performed brillantly
For the most hardcore folks there is the Jeep Rangler, Nissan Xterra and Toyota 4 Runner which are built on frames. Lets face though, CUVs and SUVs are now just big station wagons for most of their buyers.