{"id":57245,"date":"2015-04-17T00:31:03","date_gmt":"2015-04-17T07:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/?p=57245"},"modified":"2016-11-25T23:59:05","modified_gmt":"2016-11-26T07:59:05","slug":"2015-waj-media-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/2015-waj-media-days\/","title":{"rendered":"2015 WAJ Media Days \u2013 Ride & Drive and Off-Road Lesson"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2015 WAJ Media Days, held 4\/6-4\/8 in Monterey, California, have come and gone. In case you didn’t know, WAJ stands for Western Automotive Journalists<\/a>, a\u00a0local\u00a0automotive guild in my area. I loved meeting up with local automotive journalists and catching up with brand representatives. A\u00a0ton of car models were on hand for this year’s event again<\/a>, ranging from sports cars to fully-electric vehicles\u00a0to off-road SUVs. The day started off with some rain but it quickly cleared up for our drive \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

2015 WAJ Media Days \u2013 Ride & Drive and Off-Road Experience<\/h3>\n

This time around Frans switched off driving with me. That make it a whole lot easier to take photos and jot down some thoughts. Instead of fighting the senior WAJ members to the sports cars, we chose more family-friendly cars. Here are our first impressions of the seven vehicles we drove:<\/p>\n

2015 Nissan Murano:\u00a0Interior is not impressive, high hood obstructs view, good steering better\u00a0but\u00a0sluggish acceleration<\/p>\n

\"Cars<\/p>\n

2015 BMW X6:\u00a0Seriously strong engine, sensitive acceleration, strange buzzing noise, tight steering, handles turns good, and has a crystal clear HD\u00a0backup screen.<\/p>\n

\"Cars<\/p>\n

2015 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Executive:\u00a0Doesn’t feel big, seats are\u00a0almost too soft but still comfortable, nice console layout, and\u00a0huge panoramic sunroof with mesh cover. Perfect road trip car\u00a0but a bit noisy as\u00a0you can hear sound of road.<\/p>\n

\"Cars<\/p>\n

2015 Infiniti QX80:\u00a0Lots of tech features but missing key components, fantastic\u00a0turning radius, slippery leather interior,\u00a0definitely luxury but I expected more from a car with a consumer demographic making $500K per year.<\/p>\n

\"Cars<\/p>\n

2015 Mercedes GLA250 4Matic:\u00a0Rock hard seats, cramped, suspension too hard so that turns feel unsteady, buttons all in weird places. At least it looks good.<\/p>\n

\"Cars<\/p>\n

2015 Fiat Abarth 500C:\u00a0Very sporty, loud, handles well, no telescoping steering wheel for people with long limbs, clean layout, sport mode changes tone of muffler, and wobbly steering. More fun than practical.<\/p>\n

\"Cars<\/p>\n

2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon:\u00a0Not much can be said of the comfort but the handling capabilities are amazing.<\/p>\n

\"Cars<\/p>\n

2016 Kia Sorento:\u00a0You already know how I feel about this CUV<\/a>\u00a0but now Frans finally got a chance to try it. He kept giving reasons why it’s perfect for our next car \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

We finished off the day with a private off-roading session. This was pretty cool because the experience would normally cost some $1200 per person. Taking the Jeep Wrangler on\u00a0the course\u00a0was definitely a good choice. Check out some of the video footage:<\/p>\n