Intelligent Transmission

The advanced 6-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC^® allows the driver to change gears on demand. Adaptive, it also adjusts to your particular driving habits. So when you accelerate rapidly, the transmission takes note and moves the shift points upward to maximize power and acceleration. It also includes preset shift patterns for specific conditions, such as uphill, inclement weather or performance driving.

Unibody Frame

During normal driving, a vehicle’s frame tends to twist back and forth. If it flexes too much, or lacks torsional rigidity, the ride can become jarring and noisy. The high tensile steel unibody frame delivers a smooth, quiet ride, and more precise handling, steering and driving comfort.

Advanced Handling

The front suspension is an independent MacPherson Strut design that employs coil springs, gas-charged shocks and a beefy 27-millimeter stabilizer bar. The rear suspension features an independent multi-link design. Coupled with a rigid unibody frame, road imperfections are absorbed with ease, and excessive rolling that can afflict lesser suspensions is nonexistent.

Good handling is not the suspension’s only role. Along with the whisper-quiet cabin, it contributes to an all-encompassing feeling of luxury, confidence and security, which may not appear on the window sticker, but is not at all that difficult to miss.

The full-time All Wheel Drive (AWD) offers high levels of traction and accurate control in all driving conditions. While the engine-speed-sensing power steering provides more assistance at slower speeds or while parallel parking, and less at highway speeds.