How Far Have Cars Come in 13 Years?

Michael Schlee

 

In the Automotive world, change happens quickly. If you don’t keep pace with the times, you will be left behind. There are several manufacturers who did not keep up with consumer tastes and needs over the past few decades and they are now feeling the pain. I’ll be nice and avoid naming names.

So just how quickly do vehicles change and evolve? Well, I thought I would take a look at 10 popular models that have been around for the past 13 years. I took one example each from 10 popular vehicle categories. Without being too general, there are 3 trends that all of these vehicles have followed; bigger size, bigger power and increased options.

 

 

It is quite amazing just how advanced vehicles have become in such a short period of time. Go back 10 more years and cars will seem down right archaic. Anyway, take a look at how far some of these vehicles have come in just over a decade.

 

 

Toyota Corolla

Year	1996	2009
Make	Toyota	Toyota
Model	Corolla	Corolla
Engine	1.6L DOHC Inline-4, 100HP	1.8L DOHC Inline-4, 132HP
Optional Engine	1.8L DOHC Inline-4, 105HP	2.4L DOHC Inline-4, 158HP
Transmission	5 Speed Manual	5 Speed Manual
Optional Transmisison	3 Speed Automatic	4 Speed Automatic
Optional Transmisison	4 Speed Automatic	5 Speed Automatic
Length	4369mm	4539mm
Width	1684mm	1760mm
Height	1379mm	1466mm
Base Curb Weight	1043kg	1238kg
Mileage City	7.6L/100KM	7.5L/100KM

 

 

Honda Accord

Year	1996	2009
Make	Honda	Honda
Model	Accord	Accord
Engine	2.2L SOHC Inline-4, 130HP	2.4L DOHC Inline-4, 177HP
Optional Engine	2.2L SOHC Inline-4, 145HP	2.4L DOHC Inline-4, 190HP
Optional Engine	2.7L SOHC V6, 170HP	3.5L DOHC V6, 271HP
Transmission	5 Speed Manual	5 Speed Manual
Optional Transmisison	4 Speed Automatic	6 Speed Manual
Optional Transmisison	———————————–	5 Speed Automatic
Length	4785mm	4930mm
Width	1781mm	1847mm
Height	1405mm	1476mm
Base Curb Weight	1270kg	1471kg
Mileage City	9.4L/100KM	9.4L/100KM

 

 

BMW 3-Series

Year	1996	2009
Make	BMW	BMW
Model	3-Series	3-Series
Engine	1.9L DOHC Inline-4, 138HP	2.5L DOHC Inline-6, 200HP
Optional Engine	2.8L DOHC Inline-6, 190HP	3.0L DOHC Inline-6, 230HP
Optional Engine	3.0L DOHC Inline-6, 240HP	3.0L DOHC Turbocharged Inline-6, 300HP
Optional Engine	————————————-	3.0L DOHC Turbocharged Diesel Inline-6, 265HP
Optional Engine	————————————–	4.0L DOHC V8, 414HP
Transmission	5 Speed Manual	6 Speed Manual
Optional Transmisison	4 Speed Automatic	6 Speed Automatic
Optional Transmisison	————————————–	7 Speed DSG
Length	4432mm	4542mm
Width	1697mm	1816mm
Height	1392mm	1420mm
Base Curb Weight	1270kg	1503kg
Mileage City	10.7L/100KM	11.1L/100KM

 

 

Audi A6

Year	1996	2009
Make	Audi	Audi
Model	A6	A6
Engine	2.8L SOHC V6, 172HP	3.2L DOHC V6, 255HP
Optional Engine	———————————-	3.0L DOHC Supercharged V6, 300HP
Optional Engine	———————————-	4.2L DOHC V8, 350HP
Optional Engine	———————————-	5.2L DOHC V10, 435HP
Transmission	4 Speed Auto	CVT
Optional Transmisison	———————————-	6 Speed Automatic
Length	4892mm	4915mm
Width	1783mm	2011mm
Height	1438mm	1448mm
Base Curb Weight	1542kg	1830kg
Mileage City	12.4L/100KM	13.1L/100KM

 

 

Chevrolet Corvette

Year	1996	2009
Make	Chevrolet	Chevrolet
Model	Corvette	Corvette
Engine	5.7L Pushrod V8, 300HP	6.2L Pushrod V8, 430HP
Optional Engine	5.7L Pushrod V8, 330HP	7.0L Pushrod V8, 505HP
Optional Engine	——————————	6.2L Pushrod Supercharge V8, 638HP
Transmission	6 Speed Manual	6 Speed Manual
Optional Transmisison	4 Speed Manual	6 Speed Automatic
Length	4534mm	4435mm
Width	1796mm	1844mm
Height	1176mm	1245mm
Base Curb Weight	1497kg	1474kg
Mileage City	13.8L/100KM	12.9L/100KM

 

 

Mercedes SL-Class

Year	1996	2009
Make	Mercedes-Benz	Mercedes-Benz
Model	SL-Class	SL-Class
Engine	3.2L DOHC Inline-6, 229HP	5.5L DOHC V8, 382HP
Optional Engine	5.0L DOHC V8, 315HP	5.5L SOHC Bi-Turbocharged V12, 510HP
Optional Engine	6.0L DOHC V12, 389HP	6.2L DOHC V8, 518HP
Optional Engine	———————————	6.0L DOHC Bi-Turbocharged V12, 603HP
Transmission	5 Speed Manual	5 Speed Automatic
Optional Transmisison	5 Speed Automatic	7 Speed Automatic
Length	4521mm	4562mm
Width	1811mm	1821mm
Height	1303mm	1295mm
Base Curb Weight	1882kg	1919kg
Mileage City	13.8L/100KM	15.8L/100KM

 

 

Dodge Ram 1500

Year	1996	2009
Make	Dodge	Dodge
Model	Ram 1500	Ram 1500
Engine	3.9L Pushrod V6, 170HP	3.7L SOHC V6, 210HP
Optional Engine	5.2L Pushrod V8, 220HP	4.7L SOHC V8, 310HP
Optional Engine	5.9L Pushrod V8, 230HP	5.7L SOHC V8, 390HP
Transmission	5 Speed Manual	4 Speed Automatic
Optional Transmisison	4 Speed Automatic	5 Speed Automatic
Length (min)	5184mm	5779mm
Width (min)	1991mm	2017mm
Height (min)	1824mm	1877mm
Base Curb Weight (min)	1837kg	2206kg
Mileage City	14.7L/100KM	14.8L/100KM

 

 

Toyota RAV4

Year	1996	2009
Make	Toyota	Toyota
Model	RAV-4	RAV-4
Engine	2.0L DOHC Inline-4, 120HP	2.5L DOHC Inline-4, 179HP
Optional Engine		3.5L DOHC V6, 269HP
Transmission	5 Speed Manual	4 Speed Automatic
Optional Transmisison	4 Speed Automatic	5 Speed Automatic
Length	3706mm	4620mm
Width	1694mm	1815mm
Height	1661mm	1579mm
Base Curb Weight	1293kg	1582kg
Mileage City	9.8L/100KM	9.7L/100KM

 

 

Nissan Pathfinder

Year	1996	2009
Make	Nissan	Nissan
Model	Pathfinder	Pathfinder
Engine	3.3L SOHC V6, 168HP	4.0L DOHC V6, 266HP
Transmission	5 Speed Manual	5 Speed Automatic
Optional Transmisison	4 Speed Automatic	————————–
Length	4780mm	4884mm
Width	1839mm	1850mm
Height	1725mm	1845mm
Base Curb Weight	1769kg	2130kg
Mileage City	15.7L/100KM	14.8L/100KM

 

 

Honda Odyssey

Year	1996	2009
Make	Honda	Honda
Model	Odyssey	Odyssey
Engine	2.2L SOHC Inline-4, 140HP	3.5L DOHC V6, 241HP
Transmission	4 Speed Automatic	5 Speed Automatic
Length	4742mm	5105mm
Width	1793mm	1960mm
Height	1641mm	1748mm
Base Curb Weight	1565kg	1993kg
Mileage City	11.8L/100KM	13.3L/100KM