AJAC TEST FEST 2005: Sport Utility Vehicle

Story by Mark Atkinson
Photos courtesy CNW Group

SHANNONVILLE, ON – Every year, the automotive orgy that is Test Fest takes place at Shannonville Motorsport Park, two hours east of Toronto.

By putting category nominees through back-to-back on-road and on-track testing, Test Fest gives voting members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) the opportunity to drive new and heavily revised models in a controlled setting. The purpose of this four-day high-octane extravaganza? To find segment winners across 11 categories, and to determine the annual AJAC Car and Truck of the Year awards.

As in the past few years, both Russ Bond and I were present and accounted for. Bond-o was assigned the very difficult task of picking the best in the Sports/Performance and new-for-2006 Modern Muscle groups. Lucky dog… At any rate, you can read about his experiences – both good and bad – in another post.

As for me, I had the opportunity to do double-duty as well, taking on the Sport Utility Vehicle and Sport Sedan classes.



First off, the SUV category had nine contenders, certainly the largest of this year’s crop, which made for a long day of testing. The nine were all 2006 versions of the Ford Explorer, Hummer H3, Jeep Commander, Kia Sportage, Mercedes-Benz ML350, Nissan Xterra, Range Rover Sport, Saab 9-7X and Suzuki Grand Vitara. Phew!

This was perhaps the most difficult category to judge, simply because of the wide range of prices and target audiences. What makes SUV different from, say, Multi-Purpose Vehicle, is that the SUV criteria includes off-road testing, while the MPV’s hit the low-speed Nelson track.

On-road testing proved one thing: the Range Rover Sport Supercharged is one bad-ass piece of machinery, as it should be for a price of $97,250! That supercharged 390-horsepower V8 pushed the 5,600-pound behemoth down the road with vigor, but the taught performance-biased suspension and 20-inch wheels with low-profile gumball tires certainly looked like they’d be a hindrance off-road.



Who were we to doubt Land Rover when it came to mud-loving vehicles, though. Despite the nasty conditions, the RRS/S handled everything with aplomb thanks to its very tasty and trick Terrain Response Control System. It’s basically a set-it-and-forget-it knob that allows you to dial in what conditions you’re driving in (or over) and the computer sets the ride height, brake bias, ABS sensitivity, traction control, etc., to get you where you need to be. Amazing.

And how did the others stack up? The ML350 is quiet and sophisticated inside, with definite improvements in construction and drivability, even though the exterior is simply an evolution of the previous model.

Coming down a notch or two, the mid-priced offerings were slightly more prosaic. The facelifted Ford Explorer is slightly less than breathtaking, and despite a homerun for the interior design, the materials inside are just too hard and brittle to really impress. It drives, well, just like you’d expect an Explorer to drive. The Saab has a very pretty face, but shows too much of its body-on-frame Chevrolet Trailblazer roots. While the V8 engine sounded great and had plenty of shove down low, it quickly runs out of breath and is hamstrung by the sloppy four-speed automatic. It also suffered the embarrassing disappointment of being the only SUV contender to not complete the off-road portion of the testing, mainly because of ground clearance issues.



While is looks like it can tackle the Rubicon Trail straight out of the box, the Jeep Commander was actually the best all-rounder of the bunch. Its HEMI V8 and five-speed automatic are very refined and the ratios well matched. The interior – while not top-shelf – is tasteful and comfortable. As a result, the Commander is a great highway vehicle, tracking straight and true with great damping. While the looks might drive some away, spending some more time with it will see the design mature, like day-old mud on the rocker panels.

The two hardcore off-roaders of the bunch, the H3 and the Xterra were completely different animals. While the H3’s looks are typically shocking Hummer outside, they’re combined with probably the best GM interior in, well, forever. The Xterra is very much an evolution of the old model, including the theater-style roof and tube-frame roof rails.



Interestingly, the Xterra was the only one of the bunch that (as equipped) could be put into two-wheel-drive for extra fun on gravel roads. The rest were all given some sort of full-time all- or four-wheel-drive, some with lockable differentials, and others with electronic traction/brake control to keep the tires from spinning.

The Xterra also ranked highest in the fun-to-drive category, thanks to its grunty V6 engine, sharp throttle and rear-wheel-drive configuration. The interior isn’t really anything to be proud of, but Nissan advertises that as an asset, and it’s functional, if a little dour. The H3’s main complaint comes from its engine, or lack of it. Even with the five-speed manual, the Hummer is underpowered and unrefined.

The ‘bargain’ entries in this group, the Kia Sportage and Suzuki Grand Vitara may look similar on paper, but were very different in execution. The Kia is a great effort by the Korean hotshot, with good equipment, decent driving dynamics, and genuine off-road ability, despite a road-biased all-wheel-drive system.



The Suzuki, however, was a revelation. The truck looks wonderful, inside and out, and truly handles well. Turn-in for an SUV was amazing, especially given its obvious off-road capabilities, and body lean was kept to a minimum. The only complaint is the lack of power; the small V6 engine doesn’t produce enough poke to satisfy, making for a momentum-focused driving experience. Think of it as the Miata of SUV’s…

Conclusions? Well, to be honest, the RRS/S truly is an exceptional vehicle, but the AJAC voting system takes price into account, meaning that expensive vehicles usually don’t fare as well in the end. Chances are it’ll be either the Suzuki Grand Vitara or the Jeep Commander.