'03-For All

A stubbornly slow-to-recover economy. Lingering economic and societal effects from last year's terrorist attack and recent corporate scandals. Detroit's scanty passenger-car portfolio and an ongoing struggle for brand credibility. Looming repercussions from the industry's twin crutches of gigantic rebates and low-rate financing.

Pick one or all from this la carte menu of explanations for why the '03 model year should be fascinating — and tense.

Although most forecasters and industry observers are optimistic about the strength of U.S. light-vehicle sales that will approach 17 million units by year-end, the veneer may be losing its luster. More investors and analysts have become critical of incentive-ballooned sales and their effect on industry profits. The industry responds that everything's fine.

If the '03 model year will be long on business intrigue, it also won't suffer for lack of product. By our count, there are as many as 30 all-new models for '03, accompanied by a raft of significant redesigns or makeovers.

In the crucible that is the U.S. light-vehicle market, competition is fierce, and in our overview of new-for-'03 models, Ward's will focus on segments in which the battle will be particularly hard-fought; the segments themselves are defined by Ward's, which is the most widely recognized segmentation in the industry.

Many '03 models already are on sale and next year will see a string of '04-model introductions. In the interest of continuity, our analysis of models in each segment may include a mix of '03 and '04 models earmarked for launch in the 2003 calendar year. Included is a snapshot of the segment's impact in the U.S. market by comparing sales from the first eight months of this year with like-2001 sales.

Midsize CUV: The Place to Be, Be Seen

Let's face it: This is where the world is heading. Buyers want the attributes of “traditional” SUVs, but quickly are becoming smart enough to know they don't have to lumber around on truck underpinnings to get those attributes.

Enter, then, 2003's single most important model: Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s Pilot. We told you much about the Pilot a few months back (see WAW — July'02, p.50), but to recap, it's Honda's first genuine stab at Explorer/TrailBlazer territory, the out-and-out “heart” of the U.S. market.

The all-wheel-drive (AWD) Pilot's derived from the Odyssey minivan front-drive platform, its 3.5L DOHC V-6, at 240 hp, has the grunt of most domestic V-8s, and it's got a standard foldaway third-row bench. Factor in that unassailable Honda brand and pricing that undercuts Explorer and you've got Ford Motor Co. in a difficult position to defend.

Another player is Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and its Murano. Although there's no third row and it's not going to haul what an Explorer or Pilot will, Murano bears watching because it brings to this once truck-dominated segment even more technical intrigue.

Murano will offer Nissan's peerless 3.5L DOHC V-6 as standard, and it's coupled to a high-tech continuously variable transmission (CVT) to boot. To now, only Audi AG has been able to lash a somewhat powerful V-6 to the efficiency enhancing CVT. Moreover, Murano, unlike Pilot, brings curvaceous sheetmetal to this staid styling segment.

And speaking of carlike SUVs with minivan roots, the year's other bombshell also should impact this segment: DaimlerChrysler AG's 2004 Pacifica. Pacifica will test the other side of the midsize CUV styling scale — its more a cross between a station wagon and a phone booth. So forget the truck-look pretense. Pacifica boldly goes where only the Europeans have dared venture, attempting to convince SUV-crazy Americans that what they really want is a luxury station wagon with headroom and three rows of seats.

We've seen Pacifica's concept-car interior and sheetmetal. If the production model turns out as good, DC's got a chance. But we also wonder if the auto maker's touted cross-continental idea-sharing can improve the under-engineered feel that Chryslers sometimes bring to market. And improve DC must if it wants to snag premium money for Pacifica, which will come as a front-wheel driver (FWD) or with AWD, coupled to a husky 3.5L V-6.

Large Luxury SUV: Do People Want These or Don't They?

Okay, here's a segment that just about anybody with any sense has predicted would crash and burn at the first sign the country's SUV infatuation was ending. Instead, buyers continue to pony up for huge SUVs with gigantic sticker prices.

Any segment that's increasing by double digits is worth watching, particularly in this tight market. But the truth is, the large lux SUV is emerging as a “fashion” segment: only the hottest players now do well with the sort of moneyed buyers who believe this type of vehicle makes a statement.

The big news for 2003 is the Hummer H2. Now owned by General Motors Corp., the Hummer brand adds the H2 nameplate, which joins the outrageous H1 as a somewhat scaled-down yet still over-the-top testimonial to excess. H2 is built on GM's fullsize pickup platform and is powered by a 345-hp 6L OHV V-8. The massive and heavy H2 needs every one of its 345 horses and yields single-digit mileage figures without a flinch. To travel in one is to be an instant celebrity and, appropriately, GM is asking celebrity money, about 48 grand to start.

That's not to say the trendy crowd doesn't have alternatives. New in 2003 is a radically redesigned Land Rover Range Rover. It's got the requisite premium pricetag, in addition to an able chassis and a BMW AG-made V-8, thanks to BMW's development of the beast when the Bavarians owned Land Rover prior to Ford buying the venerable British nameplate.

The segment shows its buyers' stripes when you consider Ford's new-for-'03 Lincoln Navigator (and cousin Ford Expedition). The Navvy has been ably redesigned, including a new independent rear suspension, rack-and-pinion steering and vastly improved handling, not to mention an interior that stands apart from anything with a domestic nameplate.

Yet Navigator sales are down. Is it reflective of Ford's flagging reputation, general waning interest in large SUVs or this segment's brand-of-the-month buyers? We guess it's a bit of all, but Ford needs to figure out something — GM's got the segment hogtied with the H2 and the still-strong Cadillac Escalade, which for '03 adds to its lineup the Escalade ESV, a Chevy Suburban with a Caddy badge.

Luxury Sports/Specialty Car: The Anti-SUV

Two doors, plenty of performance. If you thought that format was dead in the land of SUVs, think again. Last year's intro of the Ford Thunderbird and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus SC430 would have been enough to revive a stalled segment with small volume, but a slew of '03 models — some sporting surprisingly affordable base prices — stand to make this one of the year's more invigorating market microcosms.

Start with BMW's revival of the Mini brand. We get this cutesy, sub-$20,000 4-seat reinvention of the original packaging wonder in either Cooper or supercharged Cooper S variants. The 1.6L DaimlerChrysler/BMW joint-venture engine isn't much in the way of refinement, but the Cooper S's 163 hp and $24,000 price is more than good fun for the money.

There's also Nissan's all-new 350Z (see WAW — Aug. '02, p.60). The car isn't a total home run, but the hardcore Z fans seem to have accepted it, and we certainly won't quibble about a handsome 2-seat coupe with stunning performance from a 280-hp DOHC V-6 and a 6-speed manual transmission, all starting for about $28,000.

Next spring heralds the jump-start of yet another storied nameplate, Mazda Motor Corp.'s RX line. The all-new RX-8 features a scorching 250-hp twin-rotor Wankel engine as its signature feature, this time thoroughly reworked to address some issues that have in the past dogged the rotary engine. The RX-8's unique rear-opening “suicide” rear doors permit access to what is billed as a genuinely inhabitable rear seat. The pricing should mimic Nissan's boldly low buy-in, but it remains to be seen whether sports-car buyers will accept that 4-door layout.

BMW's ready with the all-new Z4, replacing the Z3, a car that started the last decade's renaissance of “affordable” sports cars/roadsters. BMW's excellent inline 6-cyl. engines are standard for the U.S., and there's some cheeky new styling hiding a slightly larger footprint.

As for the more-expensive “luxury” specialty cars, Cadillac's '04 XLR tops the ranks. The XLR features a breathed-on version of the 4.6L Northstar V-8 (see p. 18), which has for the first time been swung around to drive the rear wheels; 315 hp is a number that should provide sparkling performance. Meanwhile, there's a retractable hardtop, only about a decade after Mercedes first did it, and the non-engine greasy parts are shared with the next-gen Corvette. That means XLR is the first vehicle other than a 'Vette ever built in GM's Bowling Green, KY, assembly plant.

Mercedes-Benz comes out swinging with the '03 CLK, which at the top of the line packs 5L worth of sizzling, 302-hp V-8. It's still based on the relatively pedestrian C-Class. Although rack and pinion steering sure helps, we really don't see much difference from the old one.

Finally, there's an all-new Dodge Viper SRT-10 for '03 (see p.65). The car is startlingly improved, yet still refreshingly incorrigible. We're not sure about 80-large for a Dodge, but all of the '03 Vipers, which now come strictly as genuine convertibles, were sold, before the build even started, to owners of the first-generation Viper.

Midsize SUV: Make Room for More

Where do you want to start? This segment now replaces 4-door sedans, if not by sheer volume, then by reputation, as the country's new hot-dogs-and-apple-pie.

The most perplexing new stab comes from GM with the '04 GMC Envoy XUV, a garden-variety Envoy that marries the Chevy Avalanche's Midgate design with a sliding-panel rear roof section that produces a totally open cargo area that can hold tall items.

The Midgate rear bulkhead, meanwhile, drops to allow longer objects to invade what normally is passenger space; the Envoy XUV's Midgate also incorporates a sliding window. This might be a decent idea, but we wonder how many people actually require this many cargo-carrying options.

Kia Motors America challenges the SUV establishment with its Sorento (see WAW — Sept.'02, p.55). Apart from decent driving dynamics, a hard-to-ignore price and solid build quality, the Sorento plays it straight by weighing too much and delivering segment-standard shoddy fuel economy.

Then there's Buick, which is getting the '04 Ranier to bolster the division's rich history of truck-making. The Ranier is, we believe, the 15th badge-engineered version of the successful Chevrolet TrailBlazer, replete with the lovely 4.2L Vortec inline 6-cyl. that makes somewhat pointless the optional 5.3L OHV V-8.

Nor is platform-sharing dead at Ford, which unleashes the Lincoln Aviator, an Explorer by another name. We expect rousing A-Plan response.

Dodge, which refuses to let Dr. Kevorkian visit the Durango, gives CPR in the form of a 5-speed automatic.

Toyota revamps the always-popular 4Runner for '03; it's larger and offers optional 4.7L V-8 thrust. Expect the same, only exaggerated, for its upscale Lexus variant, the GX470, which will fit between the LX470 and the RX300.

Midsize Luxury CUV: Upscale Hotspot

Just as entry and middle luxury cars stole buyers' hearts in the last decade, it looks like middle luxury cross/utility vehicles — typically, car-based SUV-like vehicles priced more than $35,000 — will be the aspirational vehicle for customers seeking to move up in luxury and refinement from truck-based SUVs.

This fertile hunting ground — already patrolled by the likes of BMW's X5 and the segment-leading Lexus RX300 — is the test for Ford's Volvo Cars and its first-ever SUV-wannabe, the '03 XC90. The XC90 (see p. 66) tries to pack a lot of safety and luxury in a 112.6 -in. (286-cm) wheelbase, including an optional third row of seating. It all adds up to a porky curb weight that overwhelms the base 208-hp turbocharged 5-cyl. The optional I-6 is a virtual necessity to haul the 7-passenger XC90's 4,610 lbs. (2,092 kg).

And Cadillac plans to wade in with the '04 SRX. It will feature standard power from an all-new V-6 or the same reworked Northstar V-8 used for Cadillac's XLR roadster. The SRX shares the excellent Sigma platform with the slick-handling CTS sedan, but offers the choice of RWD or AWD and a host of other tech/lux features.

The upper end of this segment — in terms of both price and taste — will be defined by Porsche AG's Cayenne, platform-mate to Volkswagen AG's Touareg, each representing its badge's first attempt at a CUV/SUV. Expect powerful engines, gobs of over-the-top engineering and powerful prices.

Porsche already has announced Cayenne's wake-the-dead starting price of $55,900 for the V-8-packing S, running to a titanic $88,900 for the Turbo, which means it soon will be possible to spend six-figure money on a mainstream CUV.

And keep an eye on Infiniti's '04 FX45, a direct competitor for the Cadillac XLR and the X5. The FX45 is carrying the corporate 4.5L DOHC V-8 and wraps it with some intriguingly bent sheetmetal. It looks sort of like what Bugatti would do if it did CUVs. Now that we mention it, the Bugatti CUV probably is in the works.

Odds & Ends: Segment-Busters and Head-Scratchers