Here is a showroom picture:
Traihawk Mini-Review
I picked up my silver Trailhawk this evening. I drove about 75 miles to get the feel of it. I am really liking the car so far. I'll jot down some thoughts in this post and will add more as time goes on and I discover other items.
The transmission starts in second gear while in drive. I don't know why Fiat programmed it this way. If you use auto-stick, you can start in first gear. And if at a stop, shifting over to auto-stick puts you in second gear unless you push the shifter forward to select 1st gear.
The transmission won't shift into 9th gear until you are traveling 64 mph or more. Once in 9th gear, it will stay there if speed drops a little below 64 mph. If you press the accelerator harder it shifts to 8th. The engine doesn't have enough power to maintain 65 mph going up a grade in 9th gear, but easily maintains 65 in 8th gear.
The transmission seems to rev match somewhat while in drive and maybe even a little in auto-stick mode. The auto-stick mode works very well, and it holds the gear you select for quite a while. It will auto shift if you rev towards redline or are going too slowly for a particular gear. But auto-stick gets boring quite quickly (I like manual transmissions).
The engine isn't a powerhouse, but it is quite adequate for this size vehicle. I would have loved to have the 2.4 engine mated to a six-speed manual. I wasn't impressed with the 1.4T six-speed Fiat 500L I drove and decided that if I had to get an automatic, it would be the Trailhawk. I'm guessing the Fiat 500L engine/trans will be similar to the one they put in the Sport & Lattitue.
Rock mode starts in first (as we all expected), but will shift to second and even third. Once you exceed ~25 mph, rock mode turns off automatically. Rock mode also has a much different gas pedal feel (programming). You must press the accelerator much further to get it going than in normal mode. This is likely so you can modulate the gas more easily for better control through the rough stuff.
The car handles nicely. All four tires were over inflated (~45 psi). I bled out air until the fronts were at 40 and the rears at 38 to start. The placard recommends 35 psi F & R. Obviously, this car doesn't handle like my Challenger, but nobody expected it to.
This is the first car I had in more than 25 years that had the fuel filler on the right side. That's neither good or bad. LOL
The radio works nicely and sounds great. However the volume via Bluetooth (iPhone 5S) was very low. I couldn't find a setting to increase it. I didn't try a thumb drive yet.
The seats are very comfortable for me. I am an athletic 5'8" at 145 lbs. It seems like the seats are just the right size for me. The cloth material looks robust and should last a long time. Don't know how well dirt can be scrubbed off, but since I'm not likely to take mine off-road, that shouldn't be an issue.
My bicycle fits just fine in the back with the front wheel off. I folded the left side and lean the bike over on the edge of the right side seatback. I use two bungee cords to keep it in place. If you get one without a spare, you can lower the floor a few inches for even more room. You can lower the Trailhawk floor if you take out the spare tire, jack, and little styrofoam thing.
I got the Glacier metallic. The black bumpers & trim work well with this color. The Trailhawk replaces some of the black bumper pieces and mirror covers with a dark gray. The little red bits really look nice with the silver (the hooks, the Trailhawk badge on the rear hatch, and the red surround on the Renegade badges on the front doors).
So far, I'm glad I have this car even though it was tough giving up the 2009 Challenger (was a fantastic car). When I get more time (and it's daylight), I'll take some photos and post them.
The transmission starts in second gear while in drive. I don't know why Fiat programmed it this way. If you use auto-stick, you can start in first gear. And if at a stop, shifting over to auto-stick puts you in second gear unless you push the shifter forward to select 1st gear.
The transmission won't shift into 9th gear until you are traveling 64 mph or more. Once in 9th gear, it will stay there if speed drops a little below 64 mph. If you press the accelerator harder it shifts to 8th. The engine doesn't have enough power to maintain 65 mph going up a grade in 9th gear, but easily maintains 65 in 8th gear.
The transmission seems to rev match somewhat while in drive and maybe even a little in auto-stick mode. The auto-stick mode works very well, and it holds the gear you select for quite a while. It will auto shift if you rev towards redline or are going too slowly for a particular gear. But auto-stick gets boring quite quickly (I like manual transmissions).
The engine isn't a powerhouse, but it is quite adequate for this size vehicle. I would have loved to have the 2.4 engine mated to a six-speed manual. I wasn't impressed with the 1.4T six-speed Fiat 500L I drove and decided that if I had to get an automatic, it would be the Trailhawk. I'm guessing the Fiat 500L engine/trans will be similar to the one they put in the Sport & Lattitue.
Rock mode starts in first (as we all expected), but will shift to second and even third. Once you exceed ~25 mph, rock mode turns off automatically. Rock mode also has a much different gas pedal feel (programming). You must press the accelerator much further to get it going than in normal mode. This is likely so you can modulate the gas more easily for better control through the rough stuff.
The car handles nicely. All four tires were over inflated (~45 psi). I bled out air until the fronts were at 40 and the rears at 38 to start. The placard recommends 35 psi F & R. Obviously, this car doesn't handle like my Challenger, but nobody expected it to.
This is the first car I had in more than 25 years that had the fuel filler on the right side. That's neither good or bad. LOL
The radio works nicely and sounds great. However the volume via Bluetooth (iPhone 5S) was very low. I couldn't find a setting to increase it. I didn't try a thumb drive yet.
The seats are very comfortable for me. I am an athletic 5'8" at 145 lbs. It seems like the seats are just the right size for me. The cloth material looks robust and should last a long time. Don't know how well dirt can be scrubbed off, but since I'm not likely to take mine off-road, that shouldn't be an issue.
My bicycle fits just fine in the back with the front wheel off. I folded the left side and lean the bike over on the edge of the right side seatback. I use two bungee cords to keep it in place. If you get one without a spare, you can lower the floor a few inches for even more room. You can lower the Trailhawk floor if you take out the spare tire, jack, and little styrofoam thing.
I got the Glacier metallic. The black bumpers & trim work well with this color. The Trailhawk replaces some of the black bumper pieces and mirror covers with a dark gray. The little red bits really look nice with the silver (the hooks, the Trailhawk badge on the rear hatch, and the red surround on the Renegade badges on the front doors).
So far, I'm glad I have this car even though it was tough giving up the 2009 Challenger (was a fantastic car). When I get more time (and it's daylight), I'll take some photos and post them.
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
Using a iPud in the Abarth the volume is much lower too. Must be a Fiat thing.This is the first car I had in more than 25 years that had the fuel filler on the right side. That's neither good or bad. LOL
The radio works nicely and sounds great. However the volume via Bluetooth (iPhone 5S) was very low. I couldn't find a setting to increase it. I didn't try a thumb drive yet.
.
The advantage I have found with the fuel filler on the right is most of the pumps that would be on the right are mostly empty at a mass fuel station such as COSTCO or Sams Club.
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
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