Hearing that all the passes were still open, I jumped in my 94, and head out to the Sierras.
I cannot imagine a better car for such a trip. It cruises with such poise and smoothness on long stretches of US 395, while it roars up the steep hill towards Sonora Pass. Its suspension is compliant enough that the dirt road to Bodie was not punishing. The traction control kept me out of troubles on icy side roads, too, though I was confident of driving on snow, as I learned to drive in Canada in winter.
The only thing is that, without a turbocharger, it often felt as if I was in a higher gear, because of the lack of oxygen. At 10,000 ft, there is 30% less oxygen, so the engine produced 30% less power and torque.
In the end, I travelled just under 700 miles. We are so blessed to live in San Francisco that such a trip can be done over a regular weekend.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150517317658961.380902.666328960
I cannot imagine a better car for such a trip. It cruises with such poise and smoothness on long stretches of US 395, while it roars up the steep hill towards Sonora Pass. Its suspension is compliant enough that the dirt road to Bodie was not punishing. The traction control kept me out of troubles on icy side roads, too, though I was confident of driving on snow, as I learned to drive in Canada in winter.
The only thing is that, without a turbocharger, it often felt as if I was in a higher gear, because of the lack of oxygen. At 10,000 ft, there is 30% less oxygen, so the engine produced 30% less power and torque.
In the end, I travelled just under 700 miles. We are so blessed to live in San Francisco that such a trip can be done over a regular weekend.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150517317658961.380902.666328960
