The biggest news I found in this test is a huge improvement in power output. Looking back at one of the very early tests of the +Cadillac ATS with this engine done by Car & Driver was a comparison test back in 2012, the ATS 2.0T was noticeably lacking in power compared to the 328i. Although the older tested cars were very different (i.e. lighter, manual equipped RWD versions) than this Cadillac, Car & Driver recently also tested a 2016 BMW 328i xDrive so we can have an apples-to-apples comparison of this AWD, 4-cyl turbo ATS and an AWD, 4-cyl turbo 328i. In the early test, the numbers were: 2013 Cadillac ATS 2.0T 2012 BMW 328i 0-30 mph 2.0 s 2.0 s 0-60 mph 6.3 s 5.6 s 0-100 mph 16.7 s 14.5 s 0-130 mph 34.7 s 26.4 s 1/4 mile 14.8 s @ 94 mph 14.3 s @ 99 mph 5-60 mph (street start) 7.4 s 6.6 s At the time, the car made 272 hp @ 5
A couple of weeks ago, I posted my first impressions of Michelin's PSS vs Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires. I've run PSS's for several years on the Boss, but I'm trying the Indy 500's for the first time. In short, I was worried about the narrower tires (I was running 285/35/18 PSS but could only find the Indy 500 in 275/35/18) and tread squirm, but I was happy with them up to that point just driving on the street. I had the chance to drive on them for three track days now. So what were they like? After my first session, they made an impression that basically persisted for the rest of track sessions on them. Phenomenal, unmatched value. Now, if value is something that stands out above all else, it typically means the compromise between qualities you want and those you don't is less than ideal, but the value is attractive. This is no different. I'll start with the bad, which really boil down to two: ultimate grip and grip longevity. Grip is noticeably l