Aurelia Butler

Minivans are awesome. They’re vastly more space efficient than the three-row SUVs Americans have flocked to, and their lower ride height tends to both impart dynamic advantages and ease ingress and egress. But imagine how much stretch-out space there would be if you replaced a minivan’s second and third rows with just two princely seats.You don’t have to imagine if you travel to Asia, where the van as executive shuttle is alive and well in countries such as South Korea, China, and Japan. Lexus debuted its new top-dog van, the LM, for luxury mover, earlier this year, and we just got a chance to take the short step up into its rear cabin at an event Lexus hosted at Fuji Speedway for a brief ride (and drive).More on Luxury MinivansLexusLexusNaturally, the rear-seat occupants are kings of the castle, with myriad controls at their disposal. There’s a glass divider between front and back that can be powered up and down as well as turned opaque at the touch of a button. Just below that spanning most of the width of the cabin is a mammoth, 48.0-inch screen. The display has screen-mirroring functionality and can function as two separate halves if two occupants want to display different things. There’s a refrigerated compartment ahead of the rear-seat occupants, and tray tables fold out of the armrests.Almost everything is power-operated: side shades, a separate sunroof shade for each side, and of course numerous seat adjustments. For the first time, both the arm- and leg rests are heated, and an infrared sensor scans occupants’ body temperature in four specific areas and then adjusts the HVAC and seat heating and ventilation accordingly.Although the LM is many inches taller than the minivans sold in the U.S., it’s actually a couple inches shorter in length and wheelbase than, say, a Honda Odyssey. Nevertheless, motor the seat all the way back to nearly flat and extend the leg rest and even this lanky six-foot-five executive wannabe has enough room to fully extend his legs, something not remotely possible in even the most stretched variants of Mercedes S-class. The tunes are enhanced by a 23-speaker Mark Levinson stereo, and the entire rear area is impeccably trimmed in leather and suede.There’s also a new Rear Comfort mode, which dials back throttle response, shifts the brake distribution more rearward, and softens the dampers in an attempt to help the driver keep the boss in back happy. From the driver’s seat, the LM feels bigger than it is because its steeply angled windshield makes for about three feet of dash between gauge cluster and glass.Dave VanderWerp|Car and DriverDave VanderWerp|Car and DriverAll LMs are hybrids, either a LM350h that’s available in either front- or all-wheel-drive that uses the naturally aspirated 2.5-liter inline-4 and familiar planetary hybrid arrangement that makes for a CVT, as in the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. The LM500h gets the turbocharged 2.4-liter and six-speed setup, which in the RX500h makes 366 hp, and comes only with all-wheel drive. If buyers want more passenger flexibility, the LM has a third-row option. Even the more powerful LM500h doesn’t feel terribly fleet, but the ride quality is creamy.Already on sale in China, the LM starts at the equivalent of roughly $200,000, but that outrageous price seems like a Chinese-market anomaly. In Japan, where the LM will be sold for the first time alongside its Toyota Alphard platform-mate, the Alphard’s price range is $36,500 to about $60,000.But no chance it’s coming to the U.S., where not enough people understand how great the minivan can be. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Director, Vehicle TestingDave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver’s vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism. More

Lexus showed a yoke-style steering wheel at the debut of its first EV, the RZ450e, but this steering system has yet to make it into production.We drove a substantially retuned version at an event Lexus held at Fuji Speedway and still think its low-speed response is a little too eager.The company plans to complete development of this steer-by-wire system next year.Not long after Tesla put a yoke steering wheel in the Model S and X in 2021, Lexus showed one in the debut of its first EV, the RZ450e. But the RZ has been on sale for a year or so now, and yet there’s still no sign of the yoke. It turns out the company isn’t yet satisfied with the tuning of this very different steering setup. This is noteworthy because Lexus actually made changes to make the yoke work, such as limiting steering travel to eliminate hand-over-hand maneuvers, as opposed to Tesla’s approach which didn’t include any changes to the underlying steering hardware. More on the YokeWhen we first experienced it in a RZ prototype, we found the low-speed tuning especially difficult to acclimate to. That was well over a year ago, and Lexus engineers have since retuned the steer by wire substantially. The latest version lets the steering wheel turn a little further, too—200 degrees in each direction, rather than 150 degrees initially. We drove the latest setup at a Lexus event held at Fuji Speedway.The yoke itself is a high-quality piece, and it appears to share nothing with its round forebear. Its wiper and turn-signal stalks and paddles are far stubbier, and there are adjustment knobs for volume, lights, and wiper settings on the front of the yoke, each with excellent haptic feel. To enable not having a mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the front tires, the RZ has a number of redundancies in place: for example, an extra battery below the center console ensures that the steering system maintains power even if the primary battery goes flat.LexusTurning to its new 200-degree limit can still be done while keeping both hands on the yoke. And once up to even modest speeds, we found the highly variable ratio of the steer-by-wire system natural and easy to acclimate to. Severe low-speed maneuvers are made easier by not having to turn the wheel nearly as far. But, when trying to make small corrections at very low speeds—such as while rolling through a parking lot at 5 to 10 mph—the front tires respond too eagerly. When we gave this feedback to the engineer riding shotgun, it sounded like he already agreed.When asked about timing, Lexus engineers told us that they hope to complete development sometime next year. Presumably, the yoke will go into production shortly after, although the company says there’s no set timeline for production at the moment. Nevertheless, Lexus says the yoke will be headed to other models in the future, although it won’t say which ones.Director, Vehicle TestingDave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver’s vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism. More

The IIHS announced that none of the four minivans it tested achieved better than a Marginal rating for overall vehicle safety.The poor results are due to new testing regiments from the IIHS that put a focus on rear-passenger safety.The test included the Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Pacifica, Kia Carnival, and Toyota Sienna.The IIHS released updated crash-test results that show all four minivans on sale in the United States today fail to adequately protect rear-seat passengers in front-end collisions. The results are particularly embarrassing for a segment so sought after by many families. Between the Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Pacifica, Kia Carnival, and Toyota Sienna, none received the top “Good” rating, or even the second tier “Acceptable” from the IIHS. The updated results come as the IIHS implements a new crash test that shines a spotlight on rear-occupant safety. The new test includes an additional dummy seated in the rear seat on the driver’s side. While the driver dummy is the size of an average adult man, the rear dummy is the size of a small woman or 12-year-old child. According to the IIHS report, researchers also developed new metrics that focus on the injuries most frequently seen in back-seat passengers.According to the IIHS, all four minivans provide good protection for front-seat occupants, but each has multiple issues when it comes to safety for the second row. In the Odyssey, which received the worst overall score of the four vans tested, the rear dummy experienced significant forces on the head and neck, and the crash-test video shows that the rear seatbelt allowed the dummy’s head to come too close to the front seatback, further increasing risk of head injuries.This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.The IIHS safety crash test rankings are broken down into four categories. The Good rating being the highest, followed by Acceptable, Marginal, and Poor. Of the four minivans tested, the Odyssey scored the worst with an overall “Poor” rating, while the other three vehicles earned a “Marginal” overall score.IIHSThe less-than-stellar results are similar to the mid-size-truck segment that the IIHS released in June, where three of the five trucks tested earned “Poor” rankings. The subpar results for both classes of vehicles stem from a lack of protection for rear occupants. “The restraint systems in all four vehicles leave the second-row occupant vulnerable to chest injuries, either because of excessive belt forces or poor belt positioning,” said Jessica Jermakian, IIHS vice president of vehicle research, in a statement. “That’s concerning because those injuries can be life-threatening.”More on Vehicle SafetyAssociate News EditorJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

VW has revealed the new Tiguan for the European market, including a new plug-in-hybrid model.The compact SUV’s latest generation has a new look and many new features.The U.S. version of the Tiguan will likely be a long-wheelbase model, and we’ll get more details soon.A new generation of the Volkswagen Tiguan has landed, and while the model shown here is the Europe-spec version, it offers a preview of what the upcoming U.S.-bound Tiguan will look like. The third generation of VW’s compact crossover promises upgraded tech inside, a new plug-in-hybrid powertrain, and more cargo space.VW says that the new Tiguan is slightly longer than before, and it’s based on a newer version of the VW Group’s MQB platform. The version we’ll get in the U.S. will likely be a long-wheelbase variant, as the current U.S.-spec model is known as the Tiguan Allspace in other markets and offers a third row of seats. It also may have some styling and trim differences inside and out.As far as powertrains go, the Euro-spec model gets a wide range of turbocharged engines including gasoline and turbo-diesel options, plus a new plug-in-hybrid setup with a claimed 62 miles of electric range on the WLTP cycle and DC fast-charging capacity—a rarity for plug-in hybrids. We think we’ll get a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four and the plug-in hybrid in the U.S., as many of VW’s competitors including the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson now offer PHEV options.Newly available features for the 2025 Tiguan include massaging seats, a huge 15.0-inch infotainment screen, a head-up display, and adaptive dampers. The gear shifter is now a column-mounted unit like in VW’s ID. models, and there’s also a new rotary controller on the center console with its own small screen that can switch drive modes, adjust the volume, or change the color of the ambient lighting.Stay tuned for more information to come on the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan, as the U.S. model will likely debut within the next few months before going on sale at some point in 2024. This European model is slated to go on sale early next year.More on the TiguanThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior EditorDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More

The 2025 Ford Ranger plug-in hybrid is on the way, but it’s not destined for the U.S. market.The Ranger’s PHEV powertrain will likely make over 443 pound-feet of torque and provide about 28 miles of electric driving range.Ford says Americans who want an electrified truck can choose between the hybrid Maverick, the plug-in-hybrid F-150, and the F-150 Lightning EV.The new Ford Ranger is adding a plug-in-hybrid powertrain, it just won’t be available in the United States. Instead, the PHEV variant will be offered in Australia, Europe, and New Zealand, with production set to start at the end of next year before the first models hit driveways sometime in early 2025.Chart-Topping TorqueThe plug-in Ranger features a turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder with an electric motor and the obligatory battery pack. While Ford doesn’t give specific details about the e-motor, the battery capacity, or the combined system output, the company does claim that the PHEV configuration will provide more torque than any other Ranger. Since the diesel 3.0-liter V-6 that’s available overseas is the current leader with 443 pound-feet, we expect the electrically assisted setup to exceed that figure.FordThose who want drive the PHEV Ranger on electricity alone can expect to go 28 miles on a full charge. Of course, that estimate is based on the optimistic European WLTP test cycle. Ford also says the electrified mid-size truck offers four-wheel drive and can tow as much as its internal-combustion counterparts, with a max capacity around 7700 pounds. The plug-in-hybrid model also offers something those other versions don’t—Pro Power Onboard, which means the truck can function as a generator to run everything from power tools to appliances.FordWhat about U.S. Customers?The U.S. version of the 2024 Ford Ranger is available with multiple powertrains: a 270-hp turbo 2.3-liter four-cylinder and a 315-hp 2.7-liter turbo four. There’s also the might 405-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 that’s exclusive to the off-road-focused, widebody Ranger Raptor. So what about folks who want an electrified pickup truck that wears the new-look Blue Oval badge? A Ford spokesperson told Car and Driver that the company believes it offers alternatives with the Maverick hybrid as well as the F-150 plug-in hybrid and F-150 Lightning EV.More Ranger ReadingThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior EditorEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More