You have to hear it to believe it
Awesome THX in MKS

We had to kick it because we were blown back in our seats. It was our first experience with a THX-II 5.1 surround sound system driving 8 speakers in the 2009 Lincoln MKS 4-door sedan. Check it!!

Of course there're lots more features to find your favor in the 2009 MKS. We really liked the rear view camera, the Microsoft SYNC voice activated system and seats that can be either heated or chilled. And get this, while there are other vehicles with the seat heaters and coolers, on the MKS they're cashmere premium leather and the even the rear seats are heated!

The 3.7 liter V6 engine has 24 valves so it breathes easily and delivers instant power to offer you the performance you need at your whim or in an emergency. It gets from 14 to 20 miles per gallon cruising around the city and between 19 and 29 miles per gallon depending upon how you drive on the highway.

The price? Loaded with the THX-II option you're talkin' just over $40K.

Courageous on Curves
An Oh So Galant Mitsubishi

If this vehicle was a gentleman, he would be oh so galant. As a sedan, this 2009 Mitsubishi Galant RALLIART-badged, 4-door sedan is also courageous on curves and is a dauntless driving delight.

The 2009 Mitsubishi Galant comes equipped with front seat mounted side airbags, along with side curtain airbags for your safety. For the safety of your children, it has child safety locks and latch system for child seats.

It gets the same miles per gallon as the other 4-door sedan on this page. You can drive it off your local dealer's lot for just under $30K.

Turbo Direct Injection in
Volkswagen's Jetta TDI

I used to have a neighbor who drove an old (‘80s) Mercedes sedan that belched black, stinky smoke every time it rumbled to life. You could hear her coming down our neighborhood street while she was blocks away.

Her license plate was perfect: Smelly One.

The word diesel brings back that and many other stinky sedans from my past, so you can image my skepticism when the Volkswagen Jetta TDI rolled up. Actually, the TDI, which stands for Turbo Direct Injection, snuck up on me with a peaceful stillness never before experienced with a diesel. But when you listen closely, you can still hear the unmistakable purr of the diesel engine.

This is what is called a “clean diesel” and the Volkswagen Jetta is the first model to meet California’s stringent air emissions standards. In other words, it’s not your grandma’s (or neighbor’s) smelly diesel any more.

Acceleration is not quite throw-you-back into the seat power, but once it gets up and going, you are surprised at how fast it goes – and how quiet.

So it’s good for the environment and silent for the neighbors, but how is it for your wallet? When I drove the TDI the diesel prices were the highest on the gas stations’ ever-changing number boards. But I was thrilled to find that I was averaging more than 33 mpg for my mixed bag of surface street and freeway driving. The EPA states an average of 30 mpg in the city and 41 on the highway. That kind of mileage gave me more than 400 miles per tank, which is clearly a plus.

We managed to squeeze four teens and myself into the Jetta for a Saturday night trip to Skyzone, but nobody complained too loudly about lack of head of leg room. Although that could have been due to the fact that most slept the entire hour ride back home.

All this clean diesel technology won’t pull a sticker shock on you either. With an MSRP of $22,270, the Jetta TDI that we tested topped out at $24,169.

Clean emissions, great mileage, quiet ride and a decent price: What’s not to like?