Check it out, then start it up At Auto Show
Event to offer more test drives than ever
Special to ADAMM
If you like driving cars or like riding in cars, checking out the Greater Milwaukee Auto Show’s “drive ’n’ ride” events is an automatic win.
This year, at least nine manufacturers — Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeer, Kia, Mazda, Ram and Toyota — will have as many as three dozen models to drive, ranging from subcompacts and small utes to full-size sedans and minivans to rugged pickups and SUVs. A muscle car also is on the roster of vehicles slated to be available for at least part of the show’s run from Feb. 2028 at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee.
Of course, if you’re in the market for a new vehicle, a drive ’n’ ride is must, says ADAMM Chairwoman Mary Ann Scaffidi. “It’s easy to 9o to a manufacturer’s website and—click, click, click — choose the model and the color and the features, then 9o rick your vehicle ur. But you really should touch the vehicle, 9ive it a test-drive… experience the excitement.”
If you like a vehicle you drive at the show, she said, you can follow up at a dealership to take a more thorough drive.
“Each vehicle feels a little different,” said Scaffidi, CEO of the HEISER Automotive Group. “You need to be sure what you’re buyin9 is right.”
But being “in the market” isn’t the only reason to take advantage of a drive ’n’ ride. Here are five more:
• Drive something that intrigues you.
Test drives at the Auto Show allow you to try a vehicle you’ve always wondered about, but never got around to testing. A full-size pickup, perhaps. Or a model you’ve seen around town. Or a hybrid.
“The Prius has been around for a long time,” said James Hicks, certified field sales associate for HEISER TOYOTA in Milwaukee, “but we still have people coming into the store saying they’ve never driven a hybrid.”
Some of those people, he said, assume that hybrids are slow off the line, or that there’s something they have to do when it switches from electric rower to gas. A test-drive dispels concerns like that.
“Hybrids are very responsive,” Hicks said. “They feel like regular cars.”
The “Toyota Drive Center” lists the Prius, Camry, RAV4 and Tacoma pickup as vehicles that may be available Feb. 2528.
• Drive something you’ve never heard of.
The Mazda CX-3 compact crossover is such a fresh face, you’d be forgiven for not knowing a thing about it. But automotive writers have had universally good things to say.
“The CX-3 handles well and is fun to drive on a twisty road,” Motor Trend’s reviewer wrote.
“It handles as expected of a Mazda, with well-controlled body motions, quick response, and excellent steering.
Patrick Olson, used car manager for RUSS DARROW Mazda of Greenfield, said you’ll like the CX-3, too, if you go in for fun vehicles. “Mazda’s done some great things the past few years: The Sky Activ engine technology, fuel economy through the roof, top-notch safety. When you drive these cars, you really feel how much fun they are.”
Mazda3, Mazda6 and CX5 are slated to join the CX-3 at Mazda’s “Ride & Drive Experience” from Feb. 25-28.
• Drive a dream vehicle. What qualifies as a “dream car” differs from person to person, but some real possibilities exist across all manufacturers offering ride ’n’ drives. The Chrysler Corp. alone may offer not only a chance to drive a cute little Fiat, but also a roaring Dodge Challenger.
“The Challenger is a dream car for people of all ages,” said Justin Petrie, sales consultant for WILDE Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram of Waukesha. “We get older people looking to revisit the muscle-car days of their youth, but I just sold a Hellcat to a 20-something.”
Petrie said that since drive ’n’ rides began, people have been visiting dealers to take a closer look at something they tried during the show.
Potential “Chrysler Drive” vehicles include the Chrysler 200, 300 and Town & Country, Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Renegade, Dodge Challenger, Dart and Durango, RAM 1500 pickup, and Fiat 500 and 500X. Feb.
20-21 and 26-28.
• Drive something that’s causing a stir. Chevrolet’s redesign of the Malibu has garnered rave reviews from everyone because of its styling and muscle.
And yet the Malibu remains a family car that includes as an option a way for parents to monitor how their teens drive, said Jim Olsson, new car manager for LYNCH GM SUPERSTORE in Burlington.
“You turn the system on and it mutes the stereo until all the seatbelts are buckled,” he said. “It can regulate speed, note if the collision-avoidance system was activated and provide playback so the parent and teen can sit side-by-side to go over driving habits.”
Some or all of these Chevrolets will be available for “The Drive:” Cruze, Malibu Premier 2.0L, Malibu LT 1.5L, Silverado LT 4x4 Crew Cab, Equinox AWD LT, Traverse AWD, Trax LT and Colorado 4x4 Crew Cab V6. Feb. 20-21 and 27-28.
• Drive a car just for fun. Josh Bohlman, sales consultant for ROSEN Nissan Kia of Milwaukee, said the fun starts before the wheels roll in Kia’s latest models because of features like an available panoramic sunroof.
“The roof is almost all glass,” he said. “It’s really amazing.”
In addition, he said, all of Kia’s models have upgraded sound systems compared to past years — and in the Soul you can get speakers that light up and pulse to the beat.
Kia hasn’t announced which vehicles will be at the show, but plans to offer test-drives every day.