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" Reports From Around The World Rare BitWith rich, soft-to-the-touch interior materials and an exacting fit and finish, the GTI may be the most refined car in its segment. The 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI created the sport compact market in the States. And the all-new GTI is true to that spunky original. First, the new GTI comes standard with a 200-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Second, you choose either a slick-shifting six-speed manual or the Direct Shift Gearbox. We spent the better part of an afternoon pushing the little hatch right to its tire-squealing limits on the back roads near San Diego. The all-new chassis has a fully independent suspension, which makes the GTI both a supple ride over city streets and a capable canyon carver. At over 3300 pounds, the GTI is heavy compared to others in the segment. But it&amp;#039;s still one of the quickest. We know tastes are personal, but we&amp;#039;d opt for the cool-looking retro cloth seats over the conventional leather ones. --Ben Stewart The 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI created the sport compact market in the States. And the all-new GTI is true to that spunky original. First, the new GTI comes standard with a 200-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Second, you choose either a slick-shifting six-speed manual or the Direct Shift Gearbox. We spent the better part of an afternoon pushing the little hatch right to its tire-squealing limits on the back roads near San Diego. The all-new chassis has a fully independent suspension, which makes the GTI both a supple ride over city streets and a capable canyon carver. At over 3300 pounds, the GTI is heavy compared to others in the segment. But it&amp;#039;s still one of the quickest. We know tastes are personal, but we&amp;#039;d opt for the cool-looking retro cloth seats over the conventional leather ones. --BEN STEWART Reports From Around The World AUDI Q7: Q Ship The Q7 is Audi&amp;#039;s very first SUV. Given the automaker&amp;#039;s legacy of all-wheel-drive cars, it&amp;#039;s not surprising that the Q7 is more of an all-weather trooper than a mountain goat. And though it is based largely on the same chassis as the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg, the V8-powered Q7 trumps them with its ability to carry seven passengers. The extra capacity is thanks to a longer wheelbase and a new rear suspension. Like its counterparts, the Q7 is nimble for its size. We drove various versions on the twisty cactus-lined roads north of Phoenix, where the cars all lived up to their heritage and genetics. We sampled the 3.6-liter FSI V6 and the 350-hp 4.2-liter V8 drivetrains. We also tried a six-cylinder turbodiesel engine that, unfortunately, we won&amp;#039;t get in the States. Since the Q7 is an SUV, it can tow up to 6600 pounds. But it&amp;#039;s also an Audi, so like others of the brand, it has to be a luxury vehicle as well as utilitarian. The Q7 is available with radar cruise control, a panoramic sunroof and an adaptive air suspension. The V8 model will be available first; it should be at dealers in late spring, with prices starting around $50,000. The V6 will arrive here in September for about $40,000. -- B.S.  Reports From Around The World MERCEDES-BENZ SL-CLASS: Ever Fresh With minor changes inside and a facelift outside, the Mercedes-Benz SL line is ready for another go-around. Power in the SL550 comes from a 382-hp V8 and a seven-speed automatic; the SL55 AMG has a 510-hp V8 and a five-speed. Both do a much more than adequate job of pinning you back in the seat when you floor the gas pedal. While it&amp;#039;s difficult to measure the difference between old and new, a day of driving the SLs on winding roads in Mallorca confirmed an unusually flat ride, especially in the mountains. But given a price between $95K and $126K for one of these cars, you&amp;#039;d expect that. --Jim Dunne Reports From Around The World LEXUS GS450h: Potently Green We can see the self-appointed hybrid police objecting already. The new Lexus GS 450h doesn&amp;#039;t promise 50-mpg fuel economy. Instead, it delivers V8-like thrust with four- or six-cylinder economy. And to us, that makes good sense. The GS hybrid uses a detuned version of the port- and direct-fuel-injected 3.5-liter V6 from the IS 350 and pairs it to two electric motor/generators. The total output of the drive system is 339 hp. A two-stage torque reduction system combines with the hybrid CVT to launch the Lexus to 60 mph in about 5.2 seconds. This is the quickest Lexus ever. When we drove the GS on Hawaii&amp;#039;s Big Island recently, we found the drivetrain&amp;#039;s thrust simply addictive. The flow of torque is absolutely seamless. All while giving us an honest 28 mpg. We think that&amp;#039;s not too shabby for a five-passenger sport sedan. A small badge on the lower rocker sill and unique 18-in. wheels are what give the car away as a hybrid. The GS is available with the company&amp;#039;s Pre Collision System with radar cruise control and active stabilizer bars among other features. The GS 450h starts at $54,900. --B.S.  Reports From Around The World  MERCEDES-BENZ GL-CLASS: From Alabama  There&amp;#039;s such a rabid following for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class that the company created a whole new model line rather than replace it. Called the GL-Class, this new SUV is the largest passenger vehicle Benz offers, with seating for seven. Essentially a stretched ML500, the GL450 has a 335-hp 4.6-liter aluminum V8 turning all four wheels through a seven-speed automatic transmission. Three open differentials are complemented by electronic traction control capable of driving a single wheel if need be. For serious off-road use, both the center and rear differentials can be locked. But, hey, this is a Mercedes-Benz, so the electronic driver aids don&amp;#039;t end there. There&amp;#039;s traction and stability control, and ABS. When you&amp;#039;re driving in the deep slop, as we did in northern Alabama, the off-road mode changes the ABS&amp;#039;s algorithm to allow better braking. We took advantage of the descent-speed regulator to keep our downhill driving speed to a comfortable 4 to 12 mph. --Mike Allen Detroit Spy Report By Jim Dunne We&amp;#039;ll call it the Outlook. This 2007 1/2 crossover will be the biggest Saturn yet. Details include three rows of seats, eight-passenger capacity and front- or all-wheel drive. This prototype was seen just outside Detroit earlier this year. The six-lug wheels, independent rear suspension and a lot of rear overhang point to a 4000-pound-plus curb weight. It&amp;#039;s easy to tell this is a Ford, specifically an &amp;#039;07 Focus, thanks to the visible three-bar grille. With this car, Ford&amp;#039;s lineup identity change is nearly complete. The grille design started with the Fusion last year; it will spread to the Five Hundred next. Don&amp;#039;t look for this style in the Taurus. You can&amp;#039;t see much here, but this is the 2008 Saturn Vue undergoing cold-weather testing in Michigan. While there are enough hints to tag it as a Saturn, it&amp;#039;s based on an Opel chassis. (Opel is GM&amp;#039;s main European subsidiary.) It appears that the doors, wheels, windows and fenders are all different from the current Vue. Asia Spy Report By Ben Stewart  In case you didn&amp;#039;t make it to the New York International Auto Show in April, here&amp;#039;s the next Nissan Altima. It won&amp;#039;t be for sale until fall. The front-drive sport sedan rides on an all-new chassis, and Nissan engineers promise it will be one of the best-handling front-drive sedans in the world. They&amp;#039;ve even shortened the wheelbase to aid in that quest. We drove a prototype at Nissan&amp;#039;s proving grounds and we can confirm their claim. Kia will launch the Carens, a small crossover, in about 18 months. The company has sold this model in Europe and Asia for some time. But Kia&amp;#039;s Multi S concept at the Chicago Auto Show tells us that the new car is coming stateside. The base Carens gets a four-cylinder engine. Our sources say a V6 model will seat seven. Mitsubishi&amp;#039;s engineers are readying their most sophisticated car ever: the all-new Evolution X. With more than 300 hp, it uses awd and a new paddle-shifted, clutchless six-speed manual transmission to get the power to the ground. Europe Spy Report By Mike Allen We&amp;#039;ve always thought of VW as a maker of small cars for everyman. Looks like we were right--the large, expensive Phaeton and Touareg were failures. So VW&amp;#039;s again concentrating on what it does best: Witness a small SUV based on the Golf. To be named Marrakesh when released, its styling cues come from VW&amp;#039;s Concept A shown recently in Geneva. Okay BMW fans, here&amp;#039;s the new M3 sedan. There will soon be two-door and convertible versions, as well. The engine is a 415-hp 4-liter V8 descended from the one used in the M5. It drives either a seven-speed semiauto sequential gearbox or a conventional six-speed automatic.  Volvo&amp;#039;s new V70 is based on a Ford corporate midsize platform. And it will share some running gear lifted from the Mazda6. But the styling is definitely still Swedish. Other future Volvo models--S60 and XC70--will share these underpinnings and use current Volvo inline engines. In stores now as a hatchback coupe, a four-door GTI is coming any day. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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