Buddy in Philly offered tixs to the NCAA Regionals starring my boys the Duke Blue Devils and I saw it as a change to have my first ever ROAD TRIP in the new wheels.
So from Charlotte, NC to Philly.....

Good Stuff
- smooth, smooth smooth acceleration
- turbo is a joy and powerful (avg about 70-80 mph) and kept up with anybody or anything.
- no mechanical issues to speak, cruise control was easy to use (did notice the buttons on the steering were build for small fingers and take a good solid press to activate the controls.
- runflats. Ok Wash DC folks- man I feel for you. The roads suck there. The section of 95 from the drawbridge to Baltimore- rattled my teeth and put the nads in my stomach a few times. Wow what bumpy roads. That was the only portion of the trip where I did not like the runflats. Otherwise they performed well on the highway as well as taking looping onramps at 60+. The held firm.
- It snowed in Philly and had to run it thru a car wash. Based on some comments in the detailing forum- i kept an eye out for water getting in the boot and sunroof. No such problem.

Actually no negatives to report- the only thing that kinda bugged me was the fuel consumption and generally having to think of fuel more then I am used to. The tank is small and I had to make an extra stop (in my Pilot I used to stop twice)- CM had to stop 3 times. I have not yet gotten to trust the fuel gauge so I was watching it closely. I spent almost as much filling the CM vs my Honda Pilot- more due to the cost of Prem fuel. $4.48 on Philly. I didn't track gallons only dollars and it was almost the same. I know I used less gallons but will track more closely the next road trip.

Overall came away super impressed with "M" - yes that James Bond "M".

 

Great personal review. Thx for sharing.

 

Great review. My wife and I drove from Blacksburg, VA to Exton, PA (almost to Philly) last week to pick up your new CM. We opted to avoid the DC/ Baltimore route and took 81 straight north to Harrisburg and then over on the turnpike. After reading your review of the roads the other direction I'm sure glad we did!

 

Awesome review! I too am a Duke fan, hence part of my screen name.
I took drove my CM from Yonkers, NY to Caledon, ON. Canada. I only had to stop once for gas. I was averaging 32 mpg.

 

I agree with everything you said. When I take my CM to Chicago or Milwaukee, the roads aren't that good up there, which is when the frustration with run flats occur. But then I hit the paved country roads in Indiana and its smooth sailing.

The fuel tank bothers me too. 12.4 gallons is just too small for me to make my monthly trip between Indy and Knoxville without stopping (370 miles). I wish it had a bigger gas tank. But oh well, I just remember its a fun car and all the negatives disappear.

 

@nd3boy- how true- just have fun with the car and everything else falls into place. @fentos- yeah good thing you avoided that strip, wasn't potholes, just where the road has buckled and act like mini speedbumps. I didn't hit them and slide or anything just jarring.
Go Blue Devils!!!!!!!!

 

Nice review. I live in DC and the runflats kill me. There are sections where it's basically small speed bumps at 40-50 mph and it's terrible. It's gotten to the point where I'm starting to hear a faint rattling noise somewhere along the passenger side interior. I'm wondering if the constant jarring of the car is shaking it loose in certain areas...

 

We'll be doing the first road trip in the CM this week. Driving from New Mexico to California and back; about 775 miles each way. Got the pet protector from Mini in the back and having the windows tinted tomorrow (Arizona will be hot). I'll report after the trip.

 

enjoy ur trip zznalg and keep it close to the speed limit. Ha.

 

Can we assume you're running an S model?

 

Yes an S model