Evelyn Reynolds

10,000-Mile UpdateHere in Michigan, cars are to deer as magnets are to steel: They exert an inexorable pull toward each other. On the two-lane country roads not far from our Ann Arbor office, drivers know they’re going to have a close encounter of the deer kind sooner rather than later. Whitetails pop out of fields of tall summertime corn that line many roads. They bolt out of thick roadside woods at full gallop, suddenly filling your windshield and gone again—if you’re lucky—before you can gasp, let alone hit the brakes. Your author had that exact thing happen just the other day. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that well, though: Our BMW i4 xDrive40 long-termer is the latest victim of a deer-related shunt, so we’ve had to pause our test just before the 14,000-mile mark while the body shop surgeons operate. A couple-hundred-pound deer colliding broadside or running at top speed (35 to 40 mph) into the side of your car can do serious damage—to both parties. We’ve had a few test cars tangle with Bambi, and it can happen anywhere; a deer ran into the side of our long-term 2022 CT5-V Blackwing during acceleration runs at our test track. What we first thought would be cosmetic surgery for the Bimmer—no more than a new left headlight, a replacement hood, a fresh bumper cover, and new faux-grille pieces—has turned out to be a far more extensive hospital stay. Expensive busted components like a $3828 laser-LED headlamp, a $1228 radar sensor, and an arm’s-length list of supports, crossbars, tie bars, ducts, shutters, deflectors, and assorted hardware affected below the i4’s purple Mora Metallic sheetmetal have driven the repair estimate north of $17,000. Thank goodness for insurance. We’ll get back to you with the final tally when the i4 returns to service. Aside from this minor catastrophe, we haven’t had to visit the BMW dealer for required maintenance at all since taking delivery. EVs don’t require oil and filter changes so the first checkup is at 20,000 miles. The dealer, however, did install a set of BMW-spec Goodyear winter tires early on to cure the loopy dry-road handling that we experienced with the Michelin X-Ice Snow winters we’d bolted on (see intro story, below, for the sordid details). Another tire issue cropped up (what is it with this car and tires?) when spring arrived and we took the winters off: We noticed that the Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3s that came on the car had been badly torn up by our standard skidpad testing—something we’ve never experienced with summer tires before. We swapped them out for a set of BMW-spec Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber in the stock sizes. It remains a mystery why the Hankooks that arrived as part of the M Sport package got ripped up during our normal testing, but since i4 owners won’t be doing extended lateral-g testing, we doubt the Hankooks will be a problem in normal driving.As to our daily driving, it was almost entirely sunshine and smiles. Putting miles on the i4 has only reinforced the staff’s sense that this is a BMW worthy of the badge, a car that harks back to the best gas-powered driver’s cars of Bimmers past. As testing director Dave VanderWerp observed, “I maintain my assertion that electrics such as this i4 are better than most of BMW’s gas-powered lineup these days, such as the lukewarm new 5-series.” Added associate editor Caleb Miller: “The i4’s ride is splendid, so placid and really quiet. It handles the roughest roads with aplomb and grace.” Senior features editor Greg Fink enthused, “If range anxiety wasn’t a thing, I’d be asking to take this on all of my weekend road trips.” Indeed, if America’s charging infrastructure were more reliable, the i4 would be racking up miles even quicker than it is, because it’s proving to be both efficient and capable of delivering good range. Several editors noted that the i4 makes the most of its moderately sized 84.3-kWh battery. “I did 234 miles with 7 percent charge left,” said VanderWerp, “so, 250 miles is definitely reachable. Even with the majority of my miles at 80 mph on the highway, it still averaged comfortably over 3 mi/kWh.” To date, our leadfoot staff has averaged 81 MPGe against an EPA-estimated 99 MPGe combined. The EPA pegs the car’s maximum range at 279 miles with the 19-inch tires our car rolls on. Go for the alternative 18-inch rubber and an i4 xDrive40’s combined MPGe crests at 109 and range jumps to 307 miles, according to the EPA. Living with any car will reveal its innermost secrets, and no car is perfect. After nine months with the i4 we’ve discovered a couple of compromises that come with the Gran Coupe’s sleeker-than-a-sedan body style. The rear seat has proven adequately roomy for middle-school-size humans but not so much for adults or infants in rear-facing car seats. About the bulky kidlet thrones, managing testing editor Dave Beard said, “I’m not tall, but my kid’s rear-facing seat is pressed up against my seatback when I have it installed behind me. You have to push the front seats far forward to have room for a rear-facing child seat in back.” And though the i4 is a hatchback, don’t expect the cargo room of a crossover. There’s 17 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats versus 29 cubes in the square-tail X3 SUV; though the i4’s trunk is deep, the sloping roofline means the space isn’t tall. At least there’s a useful cargo-bay cover to hide your stuff from view. The i4 should be back in our hands soon, in time for plenty more warm-weather driving. We’ll keep our hopes up that we can make it all the way to the 40,000-mile mark without another chance meeting with one of our four-legged local inhabitants. Months in Fleet: 9 months Current Mileage: 13,971 milesAverage Fuel Economy: 81 MPGeService: $0 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0Damage and Destruction: $0UPDATE 3/13/2024: We have revised this story since it was first published to incorporate new information about issues we experienced with the winter tires fitted to this long-term test car. IntroductionThe Hyundai Ioniq 5 won our 2022 Electric Vehicle of the Year award. But if the compact electric SUV with origami styling was that year’s valedictorian, the BMW i4 Gran Coupe was surely the salutatorian. The i4 M50 that participated in EV of the Year ’22 wowed us with its poise, power, and chest-compressing speed. Subsequent drives of the then-base-model eDrive40 convinced us that the i4 lineup embodies the same three core dynamic traits—supple suspension, talkative steering, and intuitive handling—that made the best BMWs of the past incandescent automobiles, ones we remember warmly. The i4 proved our initial impressions true by beating a host of impressive gasoline-powered cars to win a 2023 10Best award.Cars that get a 10Best medal hung on them are special enough to warrant a more in-depth look. That’s even truer in the brave new world of EVs. Each new electric vehicle brings its own grab bag of pluses and minuses, any one of which could turn out to be a breakthrough or a fail. BMW gives buyers the choice of electric or gas propulsion in the same vehicle—the i4 is the electric doppelgänger of the gas-powered 4-series Gran Coupe—so we’re eager to see how that strategy plays out in a 40,000-mile test.Going against our instinct to reach for the version with the most power, we ordered the second-most powerful model in the four-trim lineup: the 396-hp, twin-motor, all-wheel-drive xDrive40, which starts at $62,595. That was all the restraint we could muster, though. We couldn’t resist the M Sport package (19-inch summer rubber, plus a racy steering wheel and aluminum cabin trim) or the Premium, Shadowline, Driving Assistance Pro, and Parking Assistance packages. We also sprang for adaptive LED headlamps, Oyster Vernasca leather, and a Harman/Kardon surround-sound system, then topped it all off with a special order of purplish Mora Metallic paint, bringing our test car’s sticker to $77,920. Broken in with around 1200 miles on its odometer, the i4 was a sprightly performer at the test track, with a 60-mph time of 4.4 seconds and a quarter-mile zip of 12.9 seconds at 109 mph. It stuck to the skidpad at 0.89 g and stopped from 70 and 100 mph in 161 feet and 325 feet, respectively. At a DC fast-charger, the i4 replenished its 84.3-kWh battery from 10 to 90 percent in 38 minutes, with a peak charging rate of 208 kilowatts and an average of 104 kilowatts—a solid midpack result. Instrumented testing was the easy part; we’ve now started on the challenges posed by day-to-day living and, dare we say, a road trip or two. The miles that we’ve put on the i4 since it left the test track have reconfirmed our feeling that it’s a finely honed driver’s car. The M Sport package firms up the suspension a bit—but not too much—though we think the i4 would be almost as enjoyable to daily without the sportier chassis pieces or its summer tires. Its behavior on its first set of winter tires is another story, however. We replaced the Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3 summer rubber with a set of Michelin X-Ice Snow winter tires of the same size—245/40R-19 front, 255/40R-19 rear—just in time for a two-week blast of single-digit temperatures, snow, and icy roads to roar through our home state of Michigan. Unfortunately, though, the winter rubber caused the i4’s confident dry-road handling to go south along with the milder temperatures. Suddenly, this highly capable EV sedan started acting like something was amiss underneath. Since we fit all of our long-term vehicles with winter tires, we’re very familiar with the usual additional tread squirm and less crisp dynamics, but this was way more than that. It reacted to steering inputs sloppily and felt wobbly and unpredictable at the rear in brisk low-speed corners. At Interstate cruising speeds, merely nudging the steering wheel off center when making gentle lane changes caused the tail to wag. This was a clear case of cause-and-effect—new winter tires, unnerving handling—so we set out to understand why the normally agreeable i4 was having a violent disagreement with its new winter rubber. More on the BMW i4We looked at several factors that might have influenced the car’s handling. The i4’s weight—5056 pounds—could have been one, but it was not too porky for the winters, which have the same load index ratings (98 front, 100 rear) as the summer tires. That means that the winters could support a vehicle with a maximum gross vehicle weight of up to 6834 pounds, roughly 800 pounds more than the i4’s gross vehicle weight rating. Although the margin at the rear axle is barely more than 100 pounds, it’s the same differential as with the OEM summer tires. The Michelin winters have an H speed rating (130 mph) while the summer Hankooks are Y rated (for use up to 186 mph) even though the i4’s top speed is governed to 122 mph. Was that a contributor? Possibly. We suspect that i4’s poor dry-road handling—we found no problems in nasty conditions—is a matter of construction differences related to the X-Ice winter tire’s mission: optimum snow-and-ice performance. While the i4’s high-performance summer tires are internally stiffer and have stiffer tread blocks to optimize dry-road handling, grip, and high-speed performance, the winters need to work well on sloppy roads, and their large, deep, flexible tread blocks squirm more. Something in the tires’ different construction upset the i4’s handling. Michelin said as much in answer to our queries. Though they couldn’t pinpoint a definitive reason for the car-and-tire mismatch, they noted that their Pilot Alpin line of winter tires are “sport oriented” while the X-Ices are not. Indeed, we’ve fitted Alpins to several of our long-termers, including our Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0, and found them excellent handlers on dry roads. But we’ve also run X-Ice winter tires on other vehicles, including our long-term Tesla Model 3, without these dramatic side effects.We contacted BMW, and they told us its dealers carry BMW-spec Goodyear and Pirelli winter tires for the i4 that are not readily available on the open market. These tires have a small star molded into the sidewall that indicates that they have been vetted by BMW to work well on their cars without causing undue degradation to the handling or the stability control and anti-lock brake systems. (Other manufacturers use their own unique symbols for their spec tires.) We opted for a set of Goodyear Ultra Grip winters in the stock sizes ($1335 at our local dealer) and voila! The i4’s secure, planted feel returned as soon as the BMW-spec winter tires were bolted on.What that change proved was that there is nothing inherently wrong with the i4, and that it drives as it should when fitted with the approved winter tires. We’ve been fitting winters to our long-termers for decades without ever encountering an issue like this, so we’ve learned something worth passing along: if you’re about to purchase a set of winter tires, first check to see if there’s a brand-specific spec tire available for your particular ride. That’s the best insurance you can get that the new winter donuts will work well when the roads are clear, not just when they’re covered in snow and ice.With the winter-tire issues resolved, the staffers who’ve put miles on the i4 have already discovered some strengths and idiosyncrasies that can only surface over time. Early on, the i4’s driving range indicator seems to be spot on. Yet, one driver put an expletive into the logbook about his frustration with being locked out of the climate-control system while charging. We’ll have to delve into the many menu options to see if there’s a way to program around that. Another editor doubted that this car’s newest iteration of iDrive is an improvement. We’ll have more definitive things to say about that, about driving range, about winter tires, and much more as the weeks and miles accumulate. And we’ll see how, in our estimation, the i4 stands up over the long haul as a BMW. We have our suspicions, and its status as a 10Best award winner couldn’t be a better start. Months in Fleet: 9 months Current Mileage: 13,971 milesAverage Fuel Economy: 81 MPGeService: $0 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0 Damage and Destruction: $0 SpecificationsSpecifications
2024 BMW i4 xDrive40 Gran CoupeVehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $62,595/$77,920Options: Mora Metallic paint, $4500; M Sport package (19-inch M Aero wheels with summer tires, M steering wheel, aluminum mesh trim), $2200; Premium package (heated steering wheel and front seats, lumbar support, Iconic Sounds Electric sound effects, wireless charging, curved display, head-up display), $1900; Driving Assistance Pro package (Extended Traffic Jam Assistant, Active Driving Assistant Pro), $1700; Oyster Vernasca leather interior, $1500; adaptive Laserlight LED headlights, $1000; Shadowline package (black mirror caps, red M Sport brake calipers, M Shadowline headlights, extended Shadowline trim, rear spoiler), $950; Harman/Kardon audio system, $875; Parking Assistance package (360-degree camera with 3-D surround view, Parking Assistant Plus, Active Park Distance Control), $700
POWERTRAINFront Motor: current-excited synchronous AC, 255 hp, 243 lb-ftRear Motor: current-excited synchronous AC, 308 hp, 295 lb-ftCombined Power: 396 hpCombined Torque: 443 lb-ftBattery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 84.3 kWhOnboard Charger: 11.0 kWPeak DC Fast-Charge Rate: 205 kWTransmissions, F/R: direct-drive
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 13.7-in vented disc/13.6-in vented discTires: Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3F: 245/40R-19 98Y Extra Load ★R: 255/40R-19 100Y Extra Load ★
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 112.4 inLength: 188.5 inWidth: 72.9 inHeight: 57.0 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 51/39 ft3Trunk Volume: 17 ft3Curb Weight: 5056 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS: NEW
60 mph: 4.4 sec100 mph: 10.8 sec1/4-Mile: 12.9 sec @ 109 mph120 mph: 16.1 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 4.5 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 1.7 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 2.4 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 122 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 161 ftBraking, 100–0 mph: 325 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.89 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY AND CHARGING
Observed: 71 MPGeAverage DC Fast-Charge Rate, 10–90%: 104 kWDC Fast-Charge Time, 10–90%: 38 min
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 99/98/100 MPGeRange: 279 mi
WARRANTY
4 years/50,000 miles bumper to bumper8 years/100,000 miles powertrain12 years/Unlimited miles corrosion protection4 years/Unlimited miles roadside assistance3 years/36,000 miles scheduled maintenanceRich Ceppos has evaluated automobiles and automotive technology during a career that has encompassed 10 years at General Motors, two stints at Car and Driver totaling 20 years, and thousands of miles logged in racing cars. He was in music school when he realized what he really wanted to do in life and, somehow, it’s worked out. In between his two C/D postings he served as executive editor of Automobile Magazine; was an executive vice president at Campbell Marketing & Communications; worked in GM’s product-development area; and became publisher of Autoweek. He has raced continuously since college, held SCCA and IMSA pro racing licenses, and has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He currently ministers to a 1999 Miata, and he appreciates that none of his younger colleagues have yet uttered “Okay, Boomer” when he tells one of his stories about the crazy old days at C/D. More

When senior editor Ezra Dyer recently presented the idea that convertibles only need around 150 horsepower to deliver a relaxing and sometimes sporty open-air experience, it made sense. However, the 2024 Mercedes-AMG SL63 S E Performance, which produces roughly five times that amount, presents an interesting counterargument. And after some time behind the wheel of AMG’s latest plug-in-hybrid hot rod, we admit Affalterbach’s mad scientists might have some good points—805 of them, to be precise.Silent and Violent Just like the GT coupe with which it shares a platform, the SL63’s E Performance variant wields a 603-hp twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 with 627 pound-feet of torque, routed through a nine-speed automatic that utilizes a wet clutch instead of a traditional torque converter. At the rear axle is where the E Performance powertrain gets complicated. An electric drive unit consists of a motor with 201 horses and 236 pound-feet, a two-speed transmission, an electronically controlled limited-slip differential, an inverter, and a 4.8-kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack. The e-motor can even send torque forward to the front axle to enable electric-only all-wheel-drive.The SL lives in a world of excess. When the SL badge was initially conceived in the early 1950s it stood for Super Leicht—Super Light, for the monolingual folks. Fast-forward some 70 years later, nothing about the current-generation SL comes off as svelte. Mercedes says electrified elements add roughly 500 pounds to the gas-only SL63, which should put the E Performance in the neighborhood of a chunky 4850 pounds.Speaking of excess, with all the powertrain elements at full tilt, the combined output is a monstrous 805 horsepower and 1047 pound-feet once all that fuzzy EV math is factored in. And just like the equally strong GT63 S E Performance, delightful sensations abound, especially with Race Start engaged. The 4.0-liter V-8 shakes in its mounts and fills the air with pops and burbles. Release the brake and the SL leaps forward, attacking the road ahead. The brutal acceleration waffle-stomps your innards through your rib cage. The electric motor puts out full thrust in 10-second doses before tapering off to deliver 94-hp blasts in 60-second increments. Just as with its hard-topped sibling, we expect the race to 60 mph to be over in under 2.5 seconds, while the quarter-mile wraps up in just over 10. Though we expect the E Performance to return just a handful of electric-only miles, moving along on battery power alone is especially appreciated in the SL. Toggle through eight driving modes to reach Electric and the V-8 shuts right up, leaving just the wind in your hair (or, in our case, what’s left of it) and the airy scents of southern Germany’s freshly baled hay. Mercedes says the SL E Performance can cruise at up to 87 mph in electric mode. There are four levels of brake regeneration available, none of which deliver true one-pedal driving, and the strongest modes are locked out when the battery is nearly full. In the sportiest drive modes the V8’s starter-generator can quickly recharge the battery. Should the battery be depleted upon arrival, the SL’s 3.7-kW onboard charger can replenish the pack in about two hours when plugged into a 220-volt outlet or nearly five hours on a 110-volt setup. Super LegitDespite what its mass may suggest, the SL63 S E Performance doesn’t stomp around like a petulant elephant. Instead, the SL’s standard rear-axle steering helps the car gracefully navigate twisting hillside roads. There isn’t any more feel through the tiller, but whereas the GT’s steering feels reactive, the SL’s is more relaxed; for that, you can thank a structure with 40 percent less torsional rigidity, narrower Michelin Pilot Sport S5 tires, and electronically controlled dampers with softer valving. Like the GT, the SL skips a traditional anti-roll-bar setup and uses a hydraulic anti-roll control system instead. The corners are hydropneumatically linked to mitigate body roll, and the system tuning varies in Comfort and Sport driving modes. In the SL, the system operates at a lower pressure to allow for additional body motion.More on the AMG SLUnsurprisingly, the E Performance pairs its hustle with strong brakes. Up front, six-piston calipers pinch the standard (and massive) 16.5-inch carbon-ceramic rotors. In the rear are 15.0-inch rotors but only wimpy-looking single-piston calipers. While they will clamp down with authority, we can’t overlook the annoyance of the brake pedal’s varying pressure, something we also disliked in the GT’s E Performance variant. The left pedal’s response is never consistent, nor is there an indication of what pedal feel you’ll actually get. Firm and ready, or a smidge of travel? Who knows! Mercedes-Benz’s mysterious moving brake pedal, an intentional choice that will adjust pedal position even under sustained braking pressure, continues to frustrate us. Who asked for this?Then again, who asked for an 805-hp convertible with a plug-in-hybrid powertrain and all-wheel drive? We’re not sure, but hopefully they’re willing to pay supercar money for this high-luster hustler. Its $208,150 starting point is a big pill to swallow, but the dual-major aptitude of the SL63 S E Performance will undoubtedly satisfy any owner who gets their hands on one when they arrive in the U.S. later this summer.SpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Mercedes-AMG SL63 S E PerformanceVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door convertible
PRICE
Base: $208,150
POWERTRAIN
twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve 4.0-liter V-8, 603 hp, 627 lb-ft + AC motor, 201 hp, 236 lb-ft (combined output: 805 hp, 1047 lb-ft; 4.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack; 3.7-kW onboard charger)Transmissions: 9-speed automatic/2-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 106.3 inLength: 185.2 inWidth: 75.4 inHeight: 53.3 inTrunk Volume: 4 ft 3Curb Weight (C/D est): 4850 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 2.4 sec100 mph: 6.0 sec1/4-Mile: 10.1 secTop Speed: 196 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 15/13/20 mpgCombined Gasoline + Electricity: 45 MPGeEV Range: 7 miDavid Beard studies and reviews automotive related things and pushes fossil-fuel and electric-powered stuff to their limits. His passion for the Ford Pinto began at his conception, which took place in a Pinto. More

From the March 1983 issue of Car and Driver.The Porsche 928S is like a favorite song that comes wafting over the air­waves and gets you snapping your fin­gers and bobbing your head, sounding just as fresh and clear as it did when you first heard it years ago. It may not be new, but it’s hard to believe it’s old.The Porsche collection, in fact, con­tains nothing but solid-gold hits these days; Porsches seem not to get older so much as better. Consider the evidence: The once weak-kneed 924 blossomed into the potent 944 series recently. The 911, at nineteen years old, still has the legs on just about all the new iron—and still looks great to boot. Then there’s the subject of this report. The 928 may be entering its sixth year of production, but don’t get nostal­gic about it just yet. The hard-bitten en­gineer-enthusiasts toiling at Zuffen­hausen certainly don’t waste much time lamenting the good old days. A good chunk of the reason Porsches are great drivers’ cars is the firm’s unswerving commitment to the slow but steady refinement of its designs. This flow of development energy has given us the 928S, Porsche’s idea of a new-and-improved, Mk II version. All of this year’s 928 crop both here and in Europe receives the “S” designation and equipment, but the new model isn’t really an attempt to redress any short­comings of the original version. It didn’t need much help. Last year’s car was still at the top of the C/D hit pa­rade, good enough to be considered the primo GT car in the land. No, the 928S is more like the next inevitable evolutionary step—produced because, well, it was time.The wait was worth it. Every one of the revisions makes the 928S that much more mouthwatering. The big news is in the powertrain, where Porsche has accomplished a two-pronged improve­ment, increasing power and reducing fuel consumption at the same time. Porsche started by boring out the 928’s all-aluminum V-8 from 4474cc to 4664. A slight change in combustion-­chamber design allowed a compression­-ratio increase from 9.0:1 to 9.3 and­—presto!—there are now 234 horses at your beck and call, fourteen more than before. (European models, unfettered by our strict emissions controls and low­-octane fuel, have a 10.0:1 compression ratio and deliver 288 hp.) To squeeze a bit more mileage from each tank, the final-drive ratio was dropped from 2.75:1 to 2.27. The gear­box’s bottom four ratios were lowered a bit and spread out a touch farther to compensate, but fifth gear is un­changed, so the engine loafs along at only 3000 rpm at 100 mph in top gear. EPA city mileage remains at 16 mpg, but highway mileage has improved from 25 mpg to 27. Porsche combined the new mechani­cals with what was previously referred to as the competition-package option to create the American S. The goodies in­clude a chin spoiler, a deck-lid spoiler, and flat-faced alloy wheels, all of which combine to drop the drag coefficient of the bulbous body from 0.41 to a more respectable 0.38. A set of 225/50VR-l6 Pirelli P7 radials replaces the 215/60VR-15 tires that were formerly standard. Larger brakes and sport shocks shore up the chassis. Leather seats, air, cruise, central locking, power windows, and more are also part of the deal. The only other significant change—as you might expect, given the increased standard-equipment list—is the price. It’s up to $43,000, from $39,500.It might seem hard to believe, but the feeling around these parts is that the 928S actually gives you your money’s worth in today’s inflated market. Here is one car that can do it all, friends, and never breathe hard. More Porsche 928 Reviews From the ArchiveYou want numbers? Try zero-to-60 in 6.2 seconds (a 0.6-second improve­ment from last year). Quarter-miles zip by in just 14.7 seconds at 94 mph (quicker than before by 0.4 second and 3 mph). Top speed is up to a blazing 144 mph, a dividend of 9 mph, making the 928S the fastest car sold in America. Just for good measure, it stops from 70 mph in an impressive 188 feet and puts an 0.80-g hold on the road. But none of this adequately depicts life with 928. Numbers can’t capture this car’s double-agent personality: a killer instinct coupled with luxocar civil­ity and the kind of bulletproof solidity you’d normally associate with a Mercedes. Aside from its stiff-legged ride, the 928S can be as docile as an Eldorado when you troll down to the cleaners. Call for speed, though, and the needle heads for 120 mph in an effortless gush. It’s all so easy you have to force yourself to put both hands on the wheel at triple­-digit speeds. And on the back roads, there’s more magic than most folks will ever know what to do with. Flights of hyperbole over the 928 are nothing new. This car has been a bullet on the chart from day one; this year, it’s all just a little sweeter. Even the once-balky shift linkage running to the rear transaxle has been tamed. This un­derscores just what makes the 928S, and all Porsches, so special: in each replay of the original, there’s always a little bit more gold. SpecificationsSpecifications
1983 Porsche 928SVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door hatchback
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $43,000/$430,940
ENGINESOHC 16-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 285 in3, 4664 cm3Power: 234 hp @ 5500 rpm 
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual 
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 98.4 inLength: 175.7 inCurb Weight: 3360 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.2 sec1/4-Mile: 14.7 sec @ 94 mph100 mph: 17.8 secTop Speed: 144 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 188 ftRoadholding, 282-ft Skidpad: 0.80 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 13 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity: 16 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDRich Ceppos has evaluated automobiles and automotive technology during a career that has encompassed 10 years at General Motors, two stints at Car and Driver totaling 20 years, and thousands of miles logged in racing cars. He was in music school when he realized what he really wanted to do in life and, somehow, it’s worked out. In between his two C/D postings he served as executive editor of Automobile Magazine; was an executive vice president at Campbell Marketing & Communications; worked in GM’s product-development area; and became publisher of Autoweek. He has raced continuously since college, held SCCA and IMSA pro racing licenses, and has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He currently ministers to a 1999 Miata, and he appreciates that none of his younger colleagues have yet uttered “Okay, Boomer” when he tells one of his stories about the crazy old days at C/D. More

Stick-shift aficionados looking for a new Volkswagen Golf GTI should act fast. For model year 2025, VW will discontinue the six-speed manual, and this move also affects the pricier and more powerful Golf R. With the refreshed eighth-generation GTI still a fair way away from the U.S., we headed overseas to shake down a European model and see just how much we’ll miss the three-pedal setup.Dwindling global demand apparently no longer justifies the extra outlay and complexity, so customers must either settle for the familiar seven-speed dual-clutch automatic or look to the competition from Japan and Korea. Even more bad news for Americans: The hardcore Clubsport edition, fitted with a torquier 296-hp engine, go-fast cosmetics, and an optional top-speed-lifting Race package that includes an Akrapovic exhaust, won’t make it to the U.S. at all. In Europe, the base model also gets a power upgrade. The fourth-generation 1984-cc EA888 engine develops 261 horsepower, up 20 from the 2024 vintage. Sadly, the U.S. won’t get the extra grunt. For all markets, the maximum torque is an unchanged 273 pound-feet starting at 1600 rpm. According to its maker, the Euro GTI Mk8.5 can accelerate to 62 mph in an estimated 5.9 seconds, shaving a few tenths off the previous best. Although the top speed is restricted to 155 mph, our car managed an indicated 170 mph—also explaining, in part, our disappointing observed fuel economy: 23 mpg recorded over a two-day, 355-mile blast through east-German no-man’s-land.The 2025 GTI wears some more vivid makeup than its predecessor, featuring redesigned high-intensity matrix headlamps, an illuminated Volkswagen emblem, more prominent aero aids, additional blacked-out styling elements, five-dot fog lights, a rear roof spoiler and LED taillamps with optional sweeping sequential indicators. Whereas lesser versions run on 17- and 18-inch wheels and tires, our car featured extra-cost 19-inchers. The Bridgestone Potenzas are sized 235/35 all around for top-notch traction and cornering grip; however, footwear-induced compromises include a brittle low-speed ride, a tendency to tramline along longitudinal grooves, and an occasionally brusque response to transverse undulations.Inside, the premier eye-catcher is a larger and more intuitive tablet-like infotainment. While the center section is loaded with icons, the two programmable touch bars at the top and bottom provide instant access to preferred functions. Imprecise touch sliders control volume and temperature return, but at least they’re now illuminated. The available voice-recognition system is connected to ChatGPT and a much bigger online database. The rearranged gauge-cluster display offers three different views: In addition to two round instruments (Classic), you can summon a mixed bag of tiles (Progressive), or settle for the all-red GTI readout that features a large combined speedometer and tachometer flanked by two secondary gauges. The useful head-up display costs extra. Like all previous GTI models, this one comes with a version of the original neo-tartan cloth upholstery complemented by red stitching and embroidered logos.The GTI Mk8.5 features an electronically controlled front differential lock dubbed XDS+, which masterminds the torque flow at each front wheel via a wet multidisc clutch. The four driving modes are Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Individual. The last invites you to fine-tune the steering, chassis, and drivetrain in multiple discrete steps from laid back to full attack. That’s the good news. The bad news is the absence of the even sharper Special calibration reserved for the Clubsport model. Also known as Nordschleife mode, Special does a better job tying the car down at speed when big bumps, high g-forces, and unilateral irregularities threaten to disturb the flight path. No matter the drive mode, the soundtrack is disappointing. With the exception of a faint turbo hiss under load, the system produces noise rather than music. At least there are no puerile fake interludes to frown at. It also takes consistent high revs and frequent gear shifts to deliver the goods. Even with the transmission in Sport, this Golf is more GT than GTI. Activating the manual mode frees a bit more on-demand energy, but the shift paddles are too small, and why are they made of plastic, not metal? We were further haunted by a frustratingly hesitant throttle response, which turned into a full two-second lag when we put the foot down hard in fourth or fifth gear. Then, suddenly, all hell would break loose with a bang and a jolt before the torque wave straightened again. Not what the doctor ordered.VW brags that Sven Bohnhorst, former senior test driver for Bugatti, was reportedly instrumental in setting up the revised progressive-rate steering. The new tiller may indeed be a tad more precise and direct, but it still isn’t quite quick enough, and it requires too much effort even with the scalable assistance set to its minimum. As a result, the car feels bigger and heavier than it is, as well as less playful overall. The weight of the helm, the pronounced on-center stiffness, and the near-40-foot turning circle make this GTI feel less nimble and agile than early variations of the breed. Even on unrestricted stretches of autobahn where high-speed stability is of the essence, the driver’s palms are kept busy by an odd haptic strife that wells up between the steering and the front axle, especially on bumpy terrain.One of the car’s strongest points are its brakes. True, the base GTI must do with smaller rotors, whereas the Clubsport variant is fitted with bigger discs, but even the standard setup is spot-on in terms of response, effort, and staying power. Linear and easy to modulate, the stopping apparatus is good at building underfoot confidence. The adaptive dampers are, in principle, a good thing too, but while the drivetrain is best left in Sport and the steering in Comfort, the chassis is a little too harsh in Sport and a little too swooshy in Comfort. We eventually settled for an in-between calibration that felt more okay than brilliant. Lift-off oversteer—an emphatic specialty of the unforgettable first-generation GTI—is now an absolute rarity even with stability control disabled and a part-time hooligan at the wheel on a damp and winding road. Don’t even think about reaching for the hand brake, which is a push-button job without fly-off capability.More on the Volkswagen GTIAlthough the latest iteration is a compelling performer, it takes the pricier Golf R to challenge the leading hot hatches from Japan, Korea, and Germany. The base GTI is merely swift, not tarmac-peeling fast. Still only available in front-wheel-drive form, it cannot quite match its all-wheel-drive rivals for off-the-line performance, nor will it blow your socks off above 60 mph when drag and weight enter the equation. As a result, the new GTI drives more like a GLI, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, the Mk8.5 metamorphosis of the ultimate hot hatch rides better than its Asian rivals, is at least as well made, and—unless the $33,190 sticker price balloons when deliveries commence in early 2025—is a good value.Appreciating the numerous talents of the upgraded GTI is easy; falling head-over-heels in love with it is more difficult. But in the U.S. at least, the pool of valid alternatives is drying up fast. And, the last time we looked, the ultimately more desirable Golf R was a hefty $13,700 more expensive. But if you are in the market for a three-letter Golf, why not start by scanning the web for a discounted last-of-line six-speeder?Although I was born the only son of an ornithologist and a postal clerk, it was clear from the beginning that birdwatching and stamp collecting were not my thing. Had I known that God wanted me to grow to 6’8″, I also would have ruled out anything to do with cars, which are to blame for a couple of slipped discs, a torn ligament, and that stupid stooped posture behind the wheel. While working as a keeper in the Aberdeen Zoo, smuggling cheap cigarettes from Yugoslavia to Germany, and an embarrassing interlude with an amateur drama group also failed to yield fulfillment, driving and writing about cars became a much better option. And it still is now, many years later, as I approach my 70th birthday. I love every aspect of my job except long-haul travel on lousy airlines, and I hope it shows. More

From the April 1980 issue of Car and Driver.The Pontiac Grand Am is the Dr Pep­per of the whole General Motors inter­mediate fleet—so misunderstood. Ev­erybody knows the LeMans; that’s the main-line Pontiac A-body—sedans, coupes, and wagons for Americans who are a bit flashier than Chevy buyers, not so stuffy as those who belt themselves into Buicks and Oldsmobiles. Then there is the Grand Prix, a famous name in the “luxury-personal” class. The Grand Prix is a two-door coupe for the aggressive, successful, self-made man, the guy who is a bit too discerning for a Monte Carlo and wouldn’t be caught dead in a Thunderbird because it’s a Ford. At least, this is what it says in GM’s manual of strategy.Okay, so much for the LeMans and the Grand Prix. But what’s a Grand Am? Apparently the customers don’t under­stand—never mind that they’ve had eight model years since the nameplate’s introduction to figure it out—because Grand Am buyers are lined up none deep at Pontiac dealers everywhere. (There is always the possibility that you folks out there know perfectly well what a Grand Am is and don’t want any part of it, but we’re discounting this scenar­io, not wanting to jerk the rug from un­der the rest of this road test.) As a re­sult, Grand Am sales amount to only about 2 percent of all Pontiac interme­diates. That’s a discouragingly small number for what seemed like such a good idea going in, and Pontiac is be­ginning to back out of the project: the Grand Am four-door was dropped for 1980, leaving only the two-door coupe. Regardless of what ultimately hap­pens to the coupe, the Grand Am must be regarded as a noble experiment. It’s a sincere attempt on Pontiac’s part to make an American “road car,” a ma­chine that’s as responsive and satisfying to its driver as a BMW or Volvo. It’s an extra model added to the lineup beyond the basic LeMans and the obligatory luxury-personal derivative, the Grand Prix. And Pontiac didn’t cheat on the specs, either; the Grand Am is not just a decal job. The car looks different and it drives different. The front-end appear­ance, with its wind-splitter beak and ver­tical grille openings, is unique to the Grand Am. So are the taillight treat­ments, body-side trim, and body-colored bumpers. The interior also has its own special look, a sort of international sporting motif if you pick up on the styl­ing cues as they were intended. The in­strument panel is faced in frosted metal rather than in the Grand Prix’s fake wood-grain, and the steering wheel has bare metal spokes instead of Detroit’s customary molded plastic. All of this is supposed to suggest hardware, machin­ery, equipment—serious business in­stead of frivolous furbelows aimed at the carriage trade. So much for the visual details. The good stuff is not so readily visible. The Grand Am has as standard equipment a suspension package that’s not available, even as an option, on any other Pontiac intermediate. It has stiffer springs—440 pounds per inch in front and 139 rear, compared with 365 and 115 in the base LeMans and Grand Prix. It has huge anti-sway bars—32mm in front and 22mm at the rear, compared with a 28mm front bar and nothing at the rear on the base car. Moreover, the Grand Am has special mounting hardware for the front bar to make it even more effec­tive, specially calibrated shock absor­bers, and a quicker steering gear—14:1 ratio, compared with 15:1 on the Le­Mans. The Grand Am steering gear also has a stiffer torsion bar inside to boost steering effort about 18 percent. There is an optional handling pack­age available for the LeMans and the Grand Prix that includes the massive anti-sway bars but not the stiffer springs and special shocks (which, in addition to having a unique calibration, also con­tain gas-filled bags to pressurize the fluid chamber and thereby reduce foam­ing, a different method of approximat­ing one of the features of the Bilstein). The result of all this suspension tun­ing is a car that behaves altogether un­like the Volvo and BMW tourers that served as the original targets. The Grand Am ends up being what Pontiac thinks a Volvo or BMW should be, and it offers a fascinating glimpse at the American philosophy of car handling as opposed to the European way. The Europeans tend to use relatively high-rate springs and soft anti-sway bars, or sometimes no anti-sway bars at all (Saab, for example). The springs are meant to do most of the work: hold the car up, keep the suspension from bot­toming, provide most of the roll stiff­ness. Since there is a practical limit to the amount of roll stiffness available from springs that are soft enough to provide decent ride, these European cars usually have a fair amount of body roll in turns. Americans don’t like body roll in turns, or at least Detroit thinks they don’t: Good handling and flat cornering are assumed to be just different terms for the same thing. So the Grand Am is intended, first and foremost, to have ex­tremely high roll stiffness. The springs are chosen to hold the suspension up out of the bumpers most of the time—while simultaneously providing a rela­tively low ride frequency (how fast the car bounces up and down on its suspen­sion). Then all the rest of the roll stiff­ness deemed necessary is added with front and rear anti-sway bars. Of course Detroit is not so simplistic as to think flat cornering is the only mea­sure of good handling. According to Norm Fugate, vehicle development en­gineer at Pontiac, the Grand Am was also intended to provide a crisp steering feel when driven straight down the road, and good directional stability. Overall, it was meant to be a quick, responsive handler, noticeably less lethar­gic than the usual Detroit sedan. Okay, enough talk about what the Grand Am is supposed to be. Does it work? Yes, and exceptionally well under most conditions. First, the suspension almost never bottoms—a detail that’s essential to good handling, particularly over rough surfaces, but rarely achieved in American cars. Second, the steering is very accurate, as good as anything from Detroit and competitive on a world level. Third, the ride is pretty friendly, notably in its lack of harshness, softening those sharp impacts you feel when encountering expansion strips and small bumps.More Pontiac Content From the ArchiveYes, you say, but what about han­dling? Handling is hard to quantify. We didn’t check the ultimate cornering lim­its on a skidpad, but they’re commend­ably high, enough to lay your head over like a willow tree in a windstorm when you groove through the expressway ramps. More important, though, is the feeling of control the Grand Am provides. The car goes where you point it and it’s quite stable over bumps—not as good in this category as the best for­eigners, but good nonetheless. You have the feeling of a precision instru­ment of travel, and that, we think, is more descriptive of good handling than raw skidpad numbers.There is one aspect of the Grand Am’s dynamics that we disagree with, however, and that is its tendency to “waddle” on roads with piecrust edges or when one wheel hits a bump. Under these conditions the body rocks side­ways with vigor, playing crack-the-whip with your neck, and it’s uncomfortable. Normally, we’d blame this on the De­troit penchant for using thick anti-sway bars, but engineer Fugate points to cer­tain basic characteristics of the GM A-body instead. He says that the Trans Am has even stiffer anti-sway bars yet less waddle. Whatever the cause, this duck-walking is only a modest flaw in what is otherwise a truly nimble car.In fact, if car shoppers took more test drives instead of judging the Grand Am by its sheetmetal cover, the car would probably be a raving success. Its ap­pearance doesn’t do a very good job of saying what the car is all about, in our opinion, and also in the opinion of a few “men on the street” that we polled dur­ing the course of the test. It’s interest­ing how we car enthusiasts get so used to certain styling cues that we never really question them. For example, the flat metal spokes in the Grand Am’s steering wheel say “sport” to us. A great deal of artistic license has been taken with the traditional sports-car theme—there are no holes in the spokes, for one thing—and this fuzzes up the message, but we still think “sport” when we see it. Others, less aware of tradition, see what they think is an unfinished wheel: somebody left the padding off the spokes. This failure to get the message across—and it occurs in the dashboard as well as on the exteri­or—is probably the reason for the Grand Am’s showroom malaise.Because, if you just drive it, you can’t help being impressed. Somehow, the seats have the right firmness—not the park-bench solidity of Mercedes buck­ets, but just a nice amount of support. The $175 six-way power adjuster pro­vides almost any driving position you could ask. There is a gauge for every­thing, properly weighted resistance to motion in each control, and typical American silence around your ears. And you can have it all for $9729 list, not a bad price in a time when so-called economy cars are bumping $7000, and real, live BMWs of similar dimension are close to $20,000. You even get exotic fuel-saving tech­nology conspicuously laboring away be­neath the floorboards. The test car was equipped with a 4.9-liter, four-barrel V-8 and an automatic transmission—­which means that a lockup torque con­verter is part of the package. The intent of this device is laudably simple and simultaneously high-minded. A torque converter gives wonderfully quick accel­eration at city-traffic speeds but slips at highway speeds, generating heat and wasting gas in the process. But a lockup converter, through the mystery of black­box science, knows when it should freeze solid to produce direct drive: not under full-throttle acceleration, not when you’re creeping through traffic, but, say, above 30 mph when you’re just cruising. You can feel it lock up, sort of like another shift in the automatic. But it’s surprising what an aesthetic nuisance this direct drive is: all the powertrain shudders and stumbles are sud­denly transmitted up into the passenger compartment. You wouldn’t think a sol­id drivetrain could produce such a ruck­us, but it does. Within a few years, De­troit will have this system all smoothed out, just as it’s managed to tame the shake of collapsible steering columns and take the stink out of (most) catalytic exhausts. But in the meantime, you’ll be aware of every gas-saving minute you drive with a locked-up torque converter. That, however, is a quirk not exclu­sive to the Grand Am. But the quick­-response suspension tuning, Pontiac’s rendition of the Good-Handling Sedan, is not available elsewhere. We think it’s pretty special, and even if you’re not looking to buy a car of this description, we think it would be well worth your time to hunt one down for a test drive. Pontiac’s engineering department has gone to a lot of trouble to show us what it can do. At the very least, you should check its papers. SpecificationsSpecifications
1980 Pontiac Grand AmVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $7299/$9729Options: air conditioning, $601; AM/FM-stereo/cassette radio, $285; aluminum wheels, $200; power driver’s seat, $175; power windows, $143; cruise control, $112; rear defroster, $107; power door locks, $93; tilt steering wheel, $81; tinted glass, $75; gauges with tach, $74; limited-slip differential, $68; reclining passenger seat, $67; other options, $349
ENGINEpushrod V-8, iron block and heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 301 in3, 4940 cm3Power: 155 hp @ 4400 rpmTorque: 240 lb-ft @ 2200 rpm 
TRANSMISSION3-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/rigid-axle, trailing linksBrakes, F/R: 10.5-in vented disc/9.5-in drumTires: Uniroyal Steel Belted Radial205/70R-14
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 108.1 inLength: 198.6 inWidth: 71.9 inHeight: 53.5 inCurb Weight: 3470 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 11.0 sec1/4-Mile: 18.1 sec @ 77 mph90 mph: 28.4 secTop Speed: 104 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 210 ft 
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (EST)Combined: 17 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

While most automotive conversations these days focus on hybrids or fully electric vehicles, there’s a groundswell of interest in plug-in hybrids, which offer the flexibility of a hybrid but with a plug and a larger battery for genuine electric travel. Our long-term garage has been thick with just about every kind of propulsion except for PHEVs, so when Kia decided to add a more powerful electric motor to its 2024 Niro PHEV, we thought it would be a good opportunity to get better acquainted with this middle-ground approach that continues to grow in popularity.We’ve only previously welcomed two long-term PHEVs to our stable: a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica, which might have been ahead of its time and didn’t hold up to the gasoline-powered Pacifica; and a 2020 Volvo S60, which arrived right at the beginning of the tumultuous work-from-home era and didn’t allow for much EV operation given the lack of home-charging options at the time. Now, we’re back in the office, with new EV chargers about to be installed, so we’ll have plenty of chances to see how much we can squeeze from the Niro, which is rated at 33 miles of EV-only operation. When it came time to choose how we wanted to spec our Niro PHEV, we opted for the SX Touring trim, which starts at $41,515 and comes with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder gas engine paired with an 83-hp electric motor sandwiched between the engine and transmission, as well as an estimated 8.9-kWh lithium-ion battery located under the rear seat. Total output is rated at 180 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. Moving up to the SX Touring boosts the PHEV’s price by $5750 over the base EX, but the features list grows significantly. In addition to increasing the wheel size to 18 inches, the SX Touring adds a power sunroof, a power liftgate, a Harman/Kardon premium audio system, and front seats with both heating and ventilation. We also tacked on carpeted floor mats for $175 and a cargo mat for $95, taking us to a grand total of $41,785. The Niro PHEV arrived with its break-in miles completed, so we were able to jump right into testing. Our initial results include a 7.5-second romp to 60 mph and a quarter-mile pass of 15.8 seconds at 89 mph. That proved quicker than a 2023 Niro hybrid we tested that needed 8.9 seconds to reach 60 and ran the quarter-mile in 16.9 seconds at 82 mph. Weighing in at almost 3500 pounds, the Niro PHEV pulled 0.83 g around the skidpad, while the hybrid gave us a stickier result of 0.87 g. In our 70-mph braking test, the Niro PHEV ground itself to a halt in 185 feet, nowhere close to the lighter hybrid’s more impressive 168-foot stop.It didn’t take long for us to get the Niro PHEV on the road. Almost immediately, we took a trip to Kansas City that had the Kia returning an average of 38 mpg over the course of 1591 miles. But PHEVs introduce an interesting twist: Most PHEVs, including this Niro, are not equipped to be recharged during road trips. They only have the SAE J1772 plug without DC fast-charging capability, so you aren’t able to plug it into, say, your local high-speed Electrify America stall. If you can’t find a basic Level 2 charger where you can park for a few hours, or if you lack access to a 120-volt plug for overnight charging, you’ll probably treat your plug-in more as a regular hybrid. However, if you’re able to charge overnight and you keep the trips short, those 33 miles of estimated EV range should make for minimal gas-engine usage in daily driving. In addition to treating the Niro PHEV as we would any other long-term vehicle, we are excited to dive into plug-in-specific questions during our time with it. How much range can you really get from the battery? How many of our 40,000 miles will we be able to cover on electricity alone? Do PHEVs with a low-range battery even do much? These are all questions we’re looking forward to investigating over the course of the next year. Months in Fleet: 2 months Current Mileage: 6004 milesAverage Fuel Economy: 40 MPGeFuel Tank Size: 9.8 gal Observed Fuel Range: 390 miles Service: $0 Repair: $0SpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Kia Niro PHEVVehicle Type: front-engine, front-motors, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $41,515/$41,785Options: carpeted floor mats, $175; cargo mat, $95
POWERTRAIN
DOHC 16-valve 1.6-liter inline-4, 104 hp, 106 lb-ft + 2 AC motors, 11 and 83 hp, 26 and 150 lb-ft (combined output: 180 hp, 195 lb-ft; 8.9-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, C/D est)Transmission: 6-speed dual-clutch automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 11.0-in vented disc/10.3-in discTires: Continental ProContact RX225/45R-18 95V M+S Extra Load
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 107.1 inLength: 174.0 inWidth: 71.8 inHeight: 60.8 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 55/50 ft3Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 55/19 ft3Curb Weight: 3476 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS: NEW
60 mph: 7.5 sec1/4-Mile: 15.8 sec @ 89 mph100 mph: 20.4 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 7.6 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 3.9 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 5.4 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 120 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 185 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.83 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 40 MPGe
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 48/49/47 mpgCombined Gasoline + Electricity: 108 MPGeEV Range: 33 mi
WARRANTY
5 years/60,000 miles bumper to bumper10 years/100,000 miles powertrain10 years/100,000 miles battery warranty5 years/100,000 miles corrosion warranty5 years/60,000 miles roadside assistance
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDBecca was introduced to Car and Driver magazine at the age of four. She began working for 10Best Cars when she was 16, and then on and off for 10 years. A degree in social work and a brief time in that line of work led Becca back to Car and Driver and eventually on to the fleet side of things, where she produced large-scale automotive launches and events. Becca left the auto industry in 2013 when she went on to become a yoga therapist with a certification from Loyola Marymount University and a then was a Reiki practitioner for six years. A move back from Los Angeles to Michigan brought Becca back to Car and Driver and to her love of cars. More

From the June 1986 issue of Car and Driver.Mary has a little Lambo That makes police go white as snow, And everywhere that Mary goes The cops are sure to show.If Mary got her little Lambo for gradua­tion, she’s probably in over her head. The Jalpa (pronounced “Yahl-pa”) is the sort of grim fairy tale that is aimed at the young­-at-heart, not the graduation-present set. This hairy device makes about as much sense for kids as rotgut and razor blades. It may be small, but it’s plenty potent. Only grown-ups need apply. Of all the adult toys Lamborghini has crafted over the years, it is famous for only one: the almighty twelve-cylinder Countach, which looms larger than life and lower than paint on pavement. The Countach has been around for fifteen years now, but strapping into one is still like straddling a Sidewinder. It is the first step on the ride of your life. Not everybody is cut out to go belly to belly with the big bopper. Some are cut out for a medium bopper. The Jalpa may be smaller and shy on banzai bodywork, but it pumps down deep with much the same de­termination as its big brother. If the Jalpa looks familiar, that’s because it first appeared as the Urraco in 1970, a year before the Countach was unveiled. Sketched in by Bertone as an airy, pointy, graceful coupe, the Urraco P250 burbled out with a spirited 2.5-liter V-8. In 1974, as a hedge against an Italian tax on engines over 2.0 liters, one version of the mid­-mounted motor shrank to 1973 cc—but the power-minded at Lamborghini also produced a 3.0-liter bomb for the faithful, lest they be left too far behind by the Countach. In 1976, an upgraded version of the Urraco, with a targa top, big B­-pillars, a front spoiler, and squared-off fender flares, took the name Silhouette, while the Urraco designation and styling continued in the original. But after only a handful of the targas had been built, the factory found itself in a financial bind. By 1979, both the Urraco and the Silhouette were gone, and only the Countach was left wearing the Lamborghini label. In 1981, the little Lambo reappeared in Europe as the Jalpa. It wore a sharper air dam, cleft in the middle. The visibility to the rear quarters, which had never been better than so-so, was masked off almost entirely by zoomy new roof buttresses along the engine bay. From the outside, the rear-three-quarter angle served to con­vince gawkers that the Jalpa was not a Ferrari with a hormonal imbalance. When gaping at the Lambo’s nose, the gawkers are still not sure—it’s special, yes, and they see that the body is low and wide, and be­neath the cacophony of high-pitched engine noises emanating from the overhead cams they may even pick out the character­istic V-8 rumble—but the arty, clapboard­ish look of those buttresses testifies that this is not just another Ferrari tippy-toe tearabout. Damned if gawkers can tell what breed of Lamborghini this might be, though, when they move in to eyeball its badge. The Jalpa script is illegible even up close, so it’s all guesswork unless they manage to make their question heard over the constant commotion of the howling engine. The serious gawkers manage, be­cause they want to know badly enough to make themselves heard. To hold their attention, tell them that only 50 to 70 factory-certified Jalpas will reach the States this year. Countaches, with about a hundred on the way, seem common in comparison. (Feel free to leave out the part about the big boppers being flown over, while the little Lambos come by slow boat from Bologna.) Our test car came from Lamborghini East, located in North Bergen, New Jersey, which handles U.S. distribution east of the Mississippi and, because of a marketing quirk, in Houston, Texas. In order to clear the Jalpa with the feds, Lamborghini installs all necessary safety and emissions hardware at the factory, and the importer tests each car for exhaust cleanliness upon arrival in the U.S. Lamborghini East is a very small opera­tion, a hands-on kind of deal. Boss Joe Nastasi spearheaded the legalization of the Countach engine, and he personally crawls over and through each Jalpa to give it the mechanical equivalent of a shave, a haircut, and a pat on the back before send­ing it out the door. Sure enough, through efforts that apparently extend all the way to the top at the factory, our Jalpa rolled out to meet us with every thread in place and almost every ruffle tucked away. Except for a smattering of detail faults, the Jalpa’s interior and exterior prove suit­ably if not wildly trick, and the interior is especially handsome. Our test car was out­fitted with tan leather seats trimmed with red piping. The same deft combination, which followed the straight-and-true na­ture of the padding and sewing, carried through to the dramatic door panels and armrests. The seats are more supportive than those in, say, the Ferrari 308, though less so than those in the new 328. The Jalpa’s deep torso bolsters do what they can for cornering, and the pronounced butt pockets keep you in place during braking, but the seats lack good under-­thigh support. What seat padding there is feels very firm, in keeping with the Jalpa’s no-nonsense approach. It has to be firm, because driving the Jalpa requires extra effort. The steering is heavy, the clutch is a bear, the shifter should be an exercise device for arm-wrestlers, and even the long-­throw gas pedal requires major muscle. No nonsense is the dominant theme throughout the Jalpa’s interior. The driv­ing position props you up suitably for get­ting to grips with the handy, sporty, and exceptionally handsome three-spoke wheel. Its tilt is reasonable for ease of winding and unwinding, requiring little displacement of your shoulders as your hands cross over the top of the steering arc. Plenty of legroom for six-footers stretches down into the inward-canted footwells, and the right-side recess con­tains a handy tubular foot rest. Seen through the wheel, the tachometer and the speedometer live in saucer-sized recesses that bracket a smaller oil-pressure gauge. High on the dash above the console, an an­gled binnacle houses water- and oil-tem­perature dials, a fuel gauge, and a row of switches. Most of the climate controls hun­ker lower on the console. Heating proved fine in cold weather, though Old Man Win­ter gave our Jalpa no chance to strut what­ever stuff its air conditioning can bring to bear. For some reason, Italian exoticar manufacturers favor odd mixtures of con­trol shapes; Lamborghini pairs rectangu­lar heater and defroster controls with round vents, a contrast made more appar­ent by their stark black finish amid the warm glow of tan leather. When the Jalpa wears its targa roof pan­el, you’ll find a surprising amount of lug­gage space behind the seats, but pop the top and it usurps the spot. No problem: there is plenty of room for several soft cases in a cozily carpeted trunk behind the engine, though this cell is engine-heated and therefore not recommended for trans­porting hamsters, unless they’re the per­manent-press models. Like the Countach we tested two months ago, the Jalpa has a vastly better finish than Lambos of old. The paint is so smooth it could make you forget that or­ange peel ever existed. Not that you can see much of the outside surface from the inside—except to the rear, as mentioned. The back window is about the size of a Band-Aid, and the third brake light hangs down at the top to hamper vision further. The inside rear-view mirror shivers at about a three on the Richter scale. Luckily, though the door-mounted mirrors also have a bad case of the quivers, they work much better than the cosmetic peepers that adorn most exotics: they swivel through a wide range at the touch of a but­ton, and they’re good-sized. The Jalpa’s blind spots, however, make another good case for accelerating into holes when changing lanes. In our experi­ence, any Italian V-8 provides a suitable cure for poor visibility, and the Jalpa’s is no exception. The deep-throat throttle action may momentarily mislead you into think­ing that not much is happening, but press the point with extra zeal and you suddenly find your kit and caboodle hammering along well beyond the point of launch and ready to program for reentry into the ap­proved traffic pattern. Track testing quickly puts the lie to the long-travel throttle ac­tion: 0 to 60 romps up in 5.8 seconds, the quarter-mile in 14.5 seconds at 93 mph. Top speed is estimated at 148 mph—no match for the Countach, the Ferrari Testa­rossa, or even the new 328, but not alto­gether shabby. Braking from 70 to 0 re­quires 192 feet. Modulation on the track or road is excellent, and the brakes squeeze the Jalpa smoothly down into corners, the taut chassis exhibiting minimal dive. The independent strut-type suspension soaks up lumpy stuff without throwing the Jalpa off its stride. The steering, however, needs attentive hands: though it admirably seeks straight-ahead on smooth roads, it quickly forgets its sense of direction over bumps and dips. As is typical of Lamborghinis, the Jalpa’s handling is much closer to neutral than most Ferraris’, feeling crisp and rewarding at the first brush of the wheel. Brush it wrong, though, or confound the balance with a big change in power, and most of the poise goes out the window, leaving you to do battle with unpleasant oscillations be­tween understeer and oversteer. In other words, this little Lambo rewards solid, well-judged driving technique. Feed it only to the point where it nibbles, which is not far short of where it bites. More Lambos From the ArchiveInside, all is uproarious, with bellows and buzzes and thrums and overloads and blank spots and glitches and smoothness thrown together to tug at your sense of dy­namic right and wrong. The Jalpa hollers for your attention, then does its best to dis­tract you. Just when you begin to feel you’ve got the flow in order, the car tweaks you to prove that mastery is hard to come by. Because the Jalpa exacts penalties for its peculiarities, it can be more difficult to drive than a lesser machine. But when you drive through the difficulties to tap its nat­ural rhythm, it makes you appreciate the potential of fairy tales all over again. Testing Tribulations The sad tale of the bad-luck Jalpa.When a car like the Lamborghini Jalpa shows up, the Car and Driver office buzz­es with excitement. The opportunity to drive such an exotic makes up for a lot of late nights under deadline. Unfortu­nately, our Jalpa experience quickly turned from a beautiful dream into a re­curring nightmare.Our first attempt to test the Jalpa, at the Chrysler proving grounds, ended when the printer in our fifth-wheel com­puter refused to produce anything but gibberish. Efforts to coax it into opera­tion, while Lamborghini representative Stanley Gruen looked on patiently, were unsuccessful. We would have to return to the test track at a later date, after get­ting the test equipment repaired. We’ve learned to take such minor set­backs in stride, but we were unprepared for what happened next. On I-94, driv­ing the Jalpa from Chrysler back to the office, we were startled to see in our headlights a rapidly approaching wheel­-and-tire assembly. It had somehow come loose from a semi-trailer and was now bounding across the median and heading straight toward the Lambo’s windshield. With only a split second to react, we were unable to dodge the wheel and tire completely, and the Jalpa’s left front corner was destroyed. Luckily, we were unharmed, except for a few deep psychological scars. Gruen took this catastrophe calmly and made arrangements to have the broken bull trucked back to Lambor­ghini East’s New Jersey headquarters. A trucker arrived the next day to retrieve the car, but his winch was hooked to a dead battery and was on the verge of falling apart. Fortunately, he also had a hand winch. Unfortunately, he was short of both chain for it and money to make good this deficiency. Two hours, one loan, and a trip to the hardware store lat­er, he and the Jalpa were on their way. The next week, with the test equip­ment repaired and another Jalpa await­ing us in New Jersey, we flew east to fin­ish our testing and photography. Naturally, it rained for two days, which precluded testing and made photogra­phy next to impossible. We did get a few color photos during a momentary lull in the downpour and promptly shipped them back to the office. They were lost in transit. Other minor tragedies includ­ed a broken front spoiler as the Lamborghini people were unloading their car from a flatbed truck, and a bro­ken tooth as the technical editor was eat­ing dinner. A week later, we decided to try again. The weather forecast called for sunny skies, so we made reservations for an­other trip to New Jersey. This time, the trouble started before we even got off the ground. Our flight to Newark was canceled because of mechanical problems, and the most timely alternative flight was booked solid. Our choices were to wait three hours for another plane or fly to Philadelphia and have a longer drive to the track. We chose the latter option and ar­rived at Englishtown Raceway about an hour and a half late. The weather was perfect, but the Lamborghini was no­where to be found. The thought that the driver had got tired of waiting and left for home was too painful to contem­plate. Fortunately, he and the Jalpa soon showed up and we quickly mounted our fifth wheel. Our only remaining worry was that the printer would fail us again, but this time it worked perfectly. Fortune, it seemed, was finally on our side. Then we discovered that the cable from the fifth wheel to the computer had devel­oped a break during shipping. Was there no mercy? Somehow, we managed to keep our sanity, jerry-rig a repair, and get the wheel working again. We completed our mission without further incident and got the test results that appear at the end of this story. The plane didn’t even crash on the way home. —Csaba CsereSpecificationsSpecifications
1986 Lamborghini JalpaVehicle Type: mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door targa
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $57,850/$57,850
ENGINEDOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and headsDisplacement: 213 in3, 3485 cm3Power (C/D est): 250 hp @ 7000 rpmTorque (C/D est): 230 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm 
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/control armsBrakes, F/R: 12.0-in vented disc/11.0-in vented discTires: Pirelli Cinturato P7F: 205/55VR-16R: 225/50VR-16
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 96.5 inLength: 170.5 inWidth: 74.0 inHeight: 44.9 inPassenger Volume: 50 ft3Trunk Volume: 6 ft3Curb Weight: 3332 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 5.8 sec1/4-Mile: 14.5 sec @ 93 mph100 mph: 16.5 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 9.0 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 7.4 secTop Speed (mfr’s claim): 148 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 192 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.83 g 
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (EST)Combined/City/Highway: 15/18 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

Fun fact: A male hippopotamus can easily weigh 5000 pounds. Though they’re typically mild-tempered, when provoked their jaws can deliver a lethal bite that is said to be the strongest of all land-dwelling creatures. As it turns out, hippos have a lot in common with the Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E Performance. Not only does this two-door hatchback tip the scales at nearly two-and-a-half tons, the top-dog E Performance PHEV powertrain delivers one powerful bite. Sit Down. Shut Up. Hold On.The GT63 S E Performance’s extra mass is brought on by electrifying the powertrain. Just like the pure-gasser GT63, under the hood lies a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8; here, the eight-pot is tuned to 603 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque and pairs to the brand’s nine-speed automatic with a wet clutch in place of the traditional torque converter. At the rear axle is an electric drive unit that consists of a motor with 201 horses and 236 pound-feet, a two-speed transmission, an electronically controlled limited-slip differential, an inverter, and a 4.8-kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack. Besides a few mounting points, this arrangement is identical to the hardware found at the back of the C63 S E Performance. Mercedes claims the e-unit adds nearly 500 pounds to the already porky platform. By our math, that places the GT63 S E Performance right around 4800 pounds. Staggering. But what’s more astounding is the powertrain’s combined outputs of 805 horsepower and 1047 pound-feet, routed to all four wheels. By now you’ve likely noticed the numbers don’t add up. The combined horsepower amounts to basically rounding errors. The combined torque, however, is more confusing. A long-winded explanation from Mercedes-AMG engineers—and an even more complex formula that would have Albert Einstein scratching his head—has us taking their word for it. But merging out onto Germany’s autobahn leaves no room for second-guessing. The electric motor puts out full thrust in 10-second doses before tapering off to deliver 94 horses in 60-second intervals. The acceleration is teeth-clenchingly relentless all the way to 190 mph. We have no doubt in this car’s ability to slam into its governed top speed of 199 mph. In fact, it feels like the car has an easy 220 mph in the bag, but engineering the rotating bits to work beyond 200 mph is a costly endeavor. Mercedes claims 60 mph arrives in 2.7 seconds with Race Start activated. The seats’ stitching patterns embedded in our back suggest something much quicker, maybe even a top-10 spot on our acceleration leaderboard. Like many of you, we were a bit put off by the second-generation GT resorting to an all-wheel-drive-only platform. For those who wish to try their luck, there’s a not-so-advertised Drift mode that decouples the front axle, sending all 805 horses to the the rear tires. You (and your tire budget) have been warned. Stop, Drop, and RollFor being such a portly fella, the GT63 S E Performance certainly doesn’t drive like it. This speed demon skips a conventional anti-roll-bar setup and instead uses a hydraulic anti-roll control system much like the ones found in McLarens and Rivians. The corners are hydropneumatically linked to mitigate body roll, and the system tuning varies in Comfort and Sport driving modes. Slithering through the twisty hillsides of southern Germany, the anti-roll system—and the standard 2.5-degree rear-axle steering—brilliantly masks the GT63’s weight, its body staying level through faster sweeping corners and rotating through tighter switchbacks. All of these helping hands add to the curb weight, but when you’re already a little chunky, a few extra calories won’t hurt. Though it’s hard to find any faults with the ride quality on Germany’s buttery road surfaces in any of the three suspension modes (Comfort, Sport, Race), the steering leaves us wanting a more. There’s not much feedback making its way up from the car’s Michelin Pilot Sport S5 rubber, and off-center inputs are awfully reactive, leading to frequent corrections while turning into a corner. Thankfully, the steering is slower to respond to inputs at triple-digit speeds, but there’s still an annoying learning curve to it. More AMG High-Powered HybridsNaturally, a heavy car capable of such intense velocities needs a big brake package, and the E Performance delivers the goods. Monster 16.5-inch carbon-ceramic rotors pinched by six-piston calipers live within the front wheels, while 15.0-inch units and an off-putting single-piston caliper reside out back. We can safely say that this system comes in handy when a clapped-out Opel decides it needs the autobahn’s left lane. We can also safely say that no one will enjoy the brake pedal’s varying pressure. Sometimes you push on it and it’s nice and firm, other times there’s travel to it. It’ll even move around underfoot during sustained pressure. It’s an extremely odd pedal strategy that no one in the world ever asked for.The Upside DownWhile the GT63 S E Performance’s mission is clearly eye-pain-inducing acceleration, its electric side has an air of sensibility. Surely, an estimated seven miles of electric-only driving is nothing to brag about, but it allows stealthy travel through a town or city, only to unleash exhaust-pipe hellfire on the other side. The GT63 is decidedly not quick in Electric mode, but considering 201 horsepower is responsible for pushing roughly 4800 pounds, forward momentum is adequate. With the nine-speed’s clutches open, Electric mode routes torque forward through the center differential to enable all-wheel drive. The rear gearbox executes its one-two upshift imperceptibly, but on more than one occasion the downshift arrived with an audible clunk. Its plug-in capabilities are clearly marketed for Europe’s gasoline-unfriendly city centers, but its 3.7-kWh onboard charger should replenish the battery in about two hours when connected to a 220-volt outlet. We suspect no one in the United States will actually plug in, as the V-8’s starter/generator is plenty capable of robbing Peter to pay Paul in Race mode. Four levels of regeneration are on tap too.The GT63 S E Performance’s lavish and technology-rich interior offers plenty of space for its front passengers, and while the back seat is optional, we’d call it mandatory. There’s only enough headroom in back for small children, but the rear seat is the only way to get the folding divider that unlocks more cargo space. And that’s critical in the E Performance, as the electric drive unit’s load-floor bulge eats up five cubic feet compared to the nonhybrid GT63. Yes, the GT63 S E Performance is a heavy car, but that’s just the way she goes these days. If horsepower—aided by the roar of a gas-fed V-8—can keep pace with weight gains, so be it. Just make sure there’s plenty of bite, which is definitely the case here. We expect pricing for this ultimate grand tourer to start in the neighborhood of $200,000 when it arrives later this year.SpecificationsSpecifications
2025 Mercedes-AMG GT63 S E PerformanceVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-motor, rear/all-wheel-drive, 2- or 2+2-passenger, 2-door hatchback
PRICE (C/D EST)
Base: $200,000
POWERTRAIN
twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve 4.0-liter V-8, 603 hp, 627 lb-ft + AC motor, 201 hp, 236 lb-ft (combined output: 805 hp, 1047 lb-ft; 4.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack; 3.7-kW onboard charger)Transmissions: 9-speed automatic/2-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 106.3 inLength: 186.1 inWidth: 78.1 inHeight: 53.3 inCargo Volume, Behind F/R: 19/6 ft 3Curb Weight (C/D est): 4800 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 2.4 sec100 mph: 6.0 sec1/4-Mile: 10.1 secTop Speed: 199 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 14/12/19 mpgCombined Gasoline + Electricity: 45 MPGeEV Range: 7 miDavid Beard studies and reviews automotive related things and pushes fossil-fuel and electric-powered stuff to their limits. His passion for the Ford Pinto began at his conception, which took place in a Pinto. More