Winding Road picks their 12 favorite autos, including... the Dodge Sprinter?!
When Winding Road picked their 12 favorite cars of 2008, they went out of their way to diversify. Their "Dynamic Dozen" includes vehicles as inexpensive as the $14,000 Honda Fit up to the $114,000 Audi R8, with everything from the Ford Mustang to the Porsche Cayman/Boxster in between. There are some gaping omissions like the Nissan GT-R and perhaps the Pontiac G8 GT, but Winding Road's criteria stipulated that the majority of the staff had to drive the vehicles in order for them to be nominated, which might explain why some vehicles don't appear.
The list is filled with great vehicles, with one really big (literally) surprise: the Dodge Sprinter. The $37,000 people/cargo hauler doesn't crank through the twisties and it couldn't beat a pack mule in a quarter mile, but WR loves the German-born hauler for its distinct personality and core competencies. It can haul people or things in great quantities, it has very solid interior, has a great service record, and WR claims it's a lot of fun to drive, too.
As surprising as the nod to the Sprinter was, we almost reserved as much shock for the lack of a BMW 3-Series. We were beginning to think that the best-selling BMW was a requirement for any "best" list. They did outline why they chose the 1-Series, though, so that's probably close enough. Hit the read link below to catch Winding Road's top 12 from beginning to end.
[Source: Winding Road]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
teamkitty 5:03PM (1/09/2009)
Sprinter FTW!!!
seriously, it should be #1.
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Phil L. 5:15PM (1/09/2009)
I've always like the Sprinter, and understand why it made their list.
My frustration: The Sprinter could be serious competition for traditional full size, family-hauling versions of the Ford and Chevy vans. But you'll rarely see family-friendly versions of the Sprinter on a dealer's lot. When found, the price is surprisingly high.
C'mon - how about a version of the Sprinter that cuts down height and length slightly (perhaps just enough to fit a traditional garage space), but still has 8 honest potentially-adult-sized seating positions? And find a way to sell it for something in the price range of a comparably-equipped Econoline. The diesel gets great mileage - and the Sprinter has a surprisingly high tow capacity that also allows generous cargo and passenger weight at the same time.
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Mirko 12:24PM (1/10/2009)
"C'mon - how about a version of the Sprinter that cuts down height and length slightly (perhaps just enough to fit a traditional garage space), but still has 8 honest potentially-adult-sized seating positions?"
It's called the Vito. Look on Mercedes' German website.
Phil L. 5:21PM (1/13/2009)
Mirko -
Yet another interesting vehicle we don't get in the US. Plus, with an MB badge, it wouldn't be family-affordable anyway.
JGN 5:18PM (1/09/2009)
I look at the Sprinter and see the perfect sized vehicle for a modern camper conversion, especially with the diesel. I don't know we're not importing more vehicles like these from Europe, they're damn useful.
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Iridium 5:26PM (1/09/2009)
Sprinter based campers are amazingly good vehicles to drive. They handle better than a minivan and get 30mpg on the highway. Even with all the added weight of a bathroom, stove, sink, and seating.
As high and narrow as they are you would think they would get tossed around by the wind but the big van is remarkably stable.
The inline 5 diesel was a better engine than the new V6 though.
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Charlie 5:27PM (1/09/2009)
Re: the lack of 3-series on the list: It ain't what it used to be.
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TigerMil 6:01PM (1/09/2009)
Agreed. I own an E46 M3 and won't buy a new M3 V8...they should have put the V8 in the 1-series or lacking that, the S54 L6 in the 1 series.
FThorn 5:30PM (1/09/2009)
Well, I can honestly say that when the Sprinter came out, I test drove one. I test drive a ton of cars. I did not like it one bit, either. I'd take a VW eurovan over it.
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nagmashot 12:54AM (1/10/2009)
The Sprinter and the VW T5 are not in the same class, the Sprinter is much larger. VW´s vehicle in the Sprinter class is the VW Crafter...
The Mercedes Sprinter and the VW Crafter are the same vehicles, since 1996 VW and Mercedes develops and build their Sprinter class transporter together in the same plants.. the 2.5l diesel in the Sprinter comes from VW...
The VW Crafter
http://www.autowizja.pl/gfx/site/testy/volkswagen_crafter_35_furgon_2.5_tdi/zewnatrz/vw_crafter_9.jpg
AJ 5:35PM (1/09/2009)
Reading WR's top 12 disgusts me. Someone should tell those yahoos that America makes cars too. (Dodge Sprinter is a Mercedes) Actually, there are a lot of peculiar omissions to that list, American or otherwise. Corvette ZR1? Nissan GT-R? Cadillac CTS? None of those? *Scoff*
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Mwmorph 5:50PM (1/09/2009)
What have you been on?
The Ford Mustang is definitely american.
Dodge is now American, albeit privately owned by Cerebus Holdings
Mazda is pretty much American as well with Ford's large stake and the fact that the Mazda3 is essentially the worldwide Ford Focus underpinnings.
Chris Paukert 5:52PM (1/09/2009)
You've got a fair point with some of the omissions (CTS-V, GT-R, etc.), but in order to make the list, the cars had to be driven by the majority of the staff. That left a few likely candidates off the menu.
AJ 5:56PM (1/09/2009)
Don't be so rude. Mazda just bought back a lot of itself from Ford, leaving Ford with only a minuscule amount of stake in Mazda. Sure, the Mustang deserves a spot, but it is the only single car on the list that's actually completely produced by one of the big three. And I'm not just saying that out of bias, like I said in the other post, there are a few Japanese cars that deserve the list.
AJ 5:58PM (1/09/2009)
Furthermore, the Sprinter is a rebadged Mercedes, regardless of the Cerebus ownership. Dodge didn't start cranking out their own Sprinters just because the Mercedes ownership feel through.
kitko 2:58AM (1/10/2009)
Mwmorph,
Mazda's Japanese. It's Focus is based on Mazda/Volvo chassis and uses Mazda's MZR engines rebadged as Duratec. The 5 cylinder engine in the Focus is derrived from Volvo's powerplant. The last generation Probe was Mazda MX-6, Fiesta is based on Mazda2 and I could go on.
Simon 12:33AM (1/10/2009)
We own a 2006 Sprinter and love it. It has the 5-cyl diesel and most people think it's some big gas guzzler. Little do they know that it gets 28 mpg on road trips, it can tow 4400 lbs, and it actually handles well for a van. We have owned Ford Econoline vans in the past and they always had problems. This van has 30,000 miles (in one year) already and no problems whatsoever.
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why not the LS2LS7? 6:07PM (1/09/2009)
Fun to drive seems like a stretch. But the Sprinter is a good vehicle. The big van market needed a change, and Ford and GM for some reason decided not to put an effort forth. The Sprinter deserves the van crown.
If I had anything bad to say about it, it'd be merely that there is still so much ground left to cover in that market. This is a good vehicle, but there is still room to improve this class of vehicle about as much as the Honda Odyssey did for the minivan.
As to the rest, you must be kidding me. C63? The Cayman? The Evo? Isn't the Evo matched by vehicles that cost thousands less?
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Praeliber 6:20PM (1/09/2009)
"but Winding Road's criteria stipulated that the majority of the staff had to drive the vehicles in order for them to be nominated"
That's a shame... Having to actually DRIVE a car prior saying you like it...pfff....
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Frank 7:54PM (1/09/2009)
LOL! Good comment!