Suburban Dad: Road Rally

Suburban Dad went along with some of the Cars.com editorial staff to a road and track rally up in Elkhart Lake, Wis., last week. I was able to drive a handful of cars and SUVs, and here are my verdicts:

Audi Q7
I’m tempted to get one of these, park it in my driveway and just watch TV from the front seat. The Q7 had one of the plushest, most comfortable leather seats I’ve ever sat in. The Q7, which has an aggressive, expressive face, also has a spunky engine and a smooth ride. It has a spacious cabin, huge storage space behind the second row (which included some heavy-duty tie-downs, a nice feature), and a great-looking black-on-black interior. The Q7 had a power liftgate, but Audi might want to think about those moms who are too short to reach the auto-close button, located on the bottom of the liftgate. When the liftgate is up, you’d have to be 5 foot 6 or better to reach it; my wife, at 4 foot 11, would definitely have some issues.

Hyundai Veracruz

If this is what a minivan-free future looks like, I think I’m OK with it. Big crossovers like this one are showing up all over the place, and I think they’ll hold lots of appeal for suburbanites. There are three rows, and although the third one is certainly meant only for kids, there’s still plenty of room in the second row for adults off to dinner or a movie together. It’s also very easy to get to that third row, so it should be a successful carpooling car. In addition, it’s butch enough for the guys yet has graceful lines that would appeal to their wives. It could be a big winner for the soccer-mom crowd.

Land Rover LR3
I recently drove the LR2, and that put the LR3 to shame. Space in the front for the driver and a passenger was small. The engine didn’t have a lot of go unless you were in Sport mode. I tried to get into the third row, but the instructional diagram was darn near indecipherable. The LR3 has one feature, though, that may be its saving grace for a family with tweens and teens: Independent radio controls on the second-row doors, with headphone jacks.

Ford Escape Hybrid
Now, before I talk about this hybrid, I should point out that I tested it in exactly the wrong situation. Hybrids perform best in city traffic, normally relying on electricity at low speeds. I had it on long country roads, rarely below 50 mph, and up big hills. So my experience was a small SUV with a noticeably loud engine during acceleration and OK but not great acceleration. In addition, Ford has been working on improving its models’ interiors, but this one still had a cheap, plasticky feel to it.

Kia Sportage
If I had a young family, the Sportage would make my list of possibilities. It’s a little small for a family with three kids, but for one with one or two children, it might fit the bill nicely. Its acceleration was laggard, but that shouldn’t be a big problem for a family car in regular driving; it keeps drivers from dangerous jolts. Now, fully loaded for spring break might be another matter altogether. It had enough go, though, to pass or get on the freeway. The second-row legroom was tight for adults, but again, should be good enough for kids. There was also a fair amount of storage space in the rear. The Sportage was surprisingly quiet on the open road; I expected a lot more road and engine noise from an SUV in this class. If I were Kia, I’d spend an extra 100 bucks on the stereo and replace the tin-can approach they’ve put in, not to mention putting in an MP3 jack. Also, just so you know, Kia? Cassettes have been dead for a decade. Get rid of the cassette player.

Related
First Drive: 2007 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V (KickingTires)
Suburban Dad: Sirius Satellite TV (KickingTires)
The Urban DINK: 2008 Audi TT (KickingTires)
Hands On: Pontiac G8, Buick Enclave (KickingTires)
Live Blogging From the Track (KickingTires)

Comments

[AudiEnthusiast]

The Q7 with power tailgate has a feature which allows you to set which height you want the tailgate to come up to when you open it. Research thoroughly next time.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh dave got bitchslapped!!!!

[Dave T.]

First off I'm the Urban DINK not the Suburban Dad.
Secondly, it took me some time to find this deep in the Audi press materials:
As an option — and standard on the Audi Q7 4.2 FSI — the tailgate can be fitted with electric
motors, which are activated by a switch in the driver’s door, the remote control and via buttons on the tailgate itself. Two transversely mounted motors in the vehicle operate via a bracket directly at the hinges. A programming function allows the driver to determine the open height position of the tailgate.

So it's not standard on the lesser 3.6 model, and comes in a $1,200 option package. You are correct though Audi Enthusiast. That's the power of group intelligence. Thanks for the feedback.