well, I'll spare you the gushing comments about creature comforts in the '03. But here are a coupla tidbits on the tech side that may be of interest to the (sadly) few 100 owners in the clan:
- the 5 speed is great, it really feels much peppier than the 4. (No OD switch left, btw).
- Still has CDL switch, as well as Power and 2nd, though.
- mileage is not as good as expected, computer says 15.5 mostly on the freeway (with 87) and about 14 in town. What the ???
- The thing came with 18" wheel (had no choice) with somewhat low profile tires (Dunlop Grand trek 275/60R18, not too bad actually, bit firmer than Michelin LTX M/S but still road tires). Still the 5x150 pattern but bigger wheel (17” at least) to accommodate bigger calipers I guess. This is really a pain, though. I wanted to rig a second set with offroad tires, but for the sake of me, short of custom or using adapters, I can not find any steel wheel that will fit. And not too keen on taking the 18s and skinny tires on rocky roads... I was wondering about this size bizness before, and apparently it is indeed an issue. If you get a newer 100, get the 17" wheels!
- Can’t see any significant difference underneath compared to the earlier 100s.
- Ride is fairly similar to earlier 100s, any difference likely overshadowed by tire characteristics.
More later.
Eric
- the 5 speed is great, it really feels much peppier than the 4. (No OD switch left, btw).
- Still has CDL switch, as well as Power and 2nd, though.
- mileage is not as good as expected, computer says 15.5 mostly on the freeway (with 87) and about 14 in town. What the ???
- The thing came with 18" wheel (had no choice) with somewhat low profile tires (Dunlop Grand trek 275/60R18, not too bad actually, bit firmer than Michelin LTX M/S but still road tires). Still the 5x150 pattern but bigger wheel (17” at least) to accommodate bigger calipers I guess. This is really a pain, though. I wanted to rig a second set with offroad tires, but for the sake of me, short of custom or using adapters, I can not find any steel wheel that will fit. And not too keen on taking the 18s and skinny tires on rocky roads... I was wondering about this size bizness before, and apparently it is indeed an issue. If you get a newer 100, get the 17" wheels!
- Can’t see any significant difference underneath compared to the earlier 100s.
- Ride is fairly similar to earlier 100s, any difference likely overshadowed by tire characteristics.
More later.
Eric