Evelyn Reynolds

Once, no American middle-class household was complete without a goldenretriever, a Walkman for each junior Master of the Universe, a swing set gracingthe back lawn, and a station wagon in the garage next to Dad’s sedan. In today’s digital world, only the dog remains a must-have accessory for the bourgeoisie, and the favorite family hold-all is the three-row SUV. Although the station-wagon segment has shrunk to a niche within a niche, a small bunch of well-to-do nonconformists still like their Allroads, Sport Turismos, and Cross Countrys. Against all odds, however, Mercedes expects an increased take rate for the second-generation E-class All-Terrain. We drove the 2024 E450 4Matic and were smitten by its style and ability.Even though the All-Terrain feels at home on a variety of challenging surfaces and should be capable of tackling loose gravel and deep snow, don’t let the plastic-clad wheel arches, the beefier bumpers, and a bespoke grille fool you: This luxury wagon lacks the serious ground clearance, the steep approach and departure angles, and the fording depth required for serious mud wrestling and rock climbing. Still, this special E-class is not just a pretty pretender. There are underbody protection plates front and rear, and the air suspension can be lowered by 0.6 inch (it lowers automatically above 75 mph) and raised by 0.8 inch (when fully raised, speed is limited to 9 mph).Would-be off-roaders get a new widget with bespoke graphics and detailed information that’s displayed on the optional full-width Superscreen. Available information includes a compass with position details, temperature and elevation readouts, a tire-pressure and temperature gauge, inclination and tilt-angle meters, a suspension-travel pictogram, and a ride-height adjustment button. And there’s more, including hill-descent control that can be set at any speed up to 11 mph. The optional 360-degree surround-view camera system includes a so-called “transparent hood.” This stitched-together view utilizes an underbody camera that turns straddling rocks and crossing streams into a live in-dash video experience.Still, the All-Terrain is too precious for the Rubicon Trail, but riding a little higher than the sedan, it will safely take you right to the doorstep of a remote ski lodge in the middle of a snow storm, tow up to 4600 pounds of snowmobiles or trail bikes, and carry 65 cubic feet of prime claret in its luggage compartment. Even the multibeam LED headlights have an off-road mode that compensates for sharp dips and rises while broadening and intensifying the close-range illumination at low speed. There is no change to the familiar E-class air suspension supported by adaptive dampers and a pair of anti-roll bars, but like all E450 models, the All-Terrain gets the stronger Sport brakes with larger-diameter 14.6-inch front and 14.2-inch rear rotors.The only engine available in the U.S. is the turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six, which now develops 375 horsepower (up from 362) along with 369 pound-feet of torque. Though it doesn’t increase the engine’s peak output, the hybrid-assist system can inject up to 23 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque to improve both drive-away smoothness and kick-down performance. As a result, the portly five-seater can accelerate in an athletic 4.6 seconds from zero to 60 mph, according to its maker. EPA fuel economy estimates are not yet available, but in a full-day drive through the tourist-infested Dolomite Alps, we saw a perfectly acceptable 22 mpg. Since the combustion engine and deceleration events are constantly recharging the hybrid battery, repeat leadfoot action is not an issue except when nailing the throttle for good on the autobahn. Unlike the new E-class sedan, the wagon is not available with rear-wheel steering (due to packaging constraints), and the All-Terrain also can’t be had as a plug-in hybrid.related storiesAlthough one can select different dynamic settings in a personalized driving program, the car works best overall in Sport, which is nicely balanced and commendably involving as long as you can live with the brash, artificially enhanced exhaust note. The inline-six is a gem, now more than ever thanks to the electric torque boost that summons its full instant strength when the combustion engine is still collecting its wits.We hopped from one famed mountain pass to the next, and while the All-Terrain felt big and heavy on the ancient spiraling twisties, the go-almost-anywhere Benz remained stoic and stable pulling out all the stops when the road opened up. Coherent, compliant, and controlled, this car deserves four stars out of five for its strong cornering grip and nicely balanced ride—we had no problem maintaining an energetic flow through bends fast or slow. Although the steering is neither super-precise nor ultra-sharp, it puts you in charge with poise and confidence. The brakes take a bit of effort, and the pedal feels a little numb, but the system delivers the goods with resilience and vigor, again and again.The All-Terrain elements give the new E-class wagon a veneer of go-anywhere capability that speaks to today’s much smaller cadre of wagon buyers. But at its core, this is a true station wagon, rather than a crossover, and therein lies the crux of its appeal.SpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Mercedes-Benz E450 4Matic All-TerrainVehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE (C/D EST)
Base: $75,000
ENGINE
Turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve inline-6, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 183 in3, 2999 cm3Power: 375 hp @ 6100 rpmTorque: 369 lb-ft @ 1600 rpm
TRANSMISSION
9-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 116.6 inLength: 195.0 inWidth: 75.0 inHeight: 58.9 inCargo Volume, Behind F/R: 65/22 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 4700 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 4.3 sec100 mph: 11.4 sec1/4-Mile: 13.0 secTop Speed: 130 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 25/23/28 mpgContributing EditorAlthough 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 August 1989 issue of Car and Driver.Many a road test in this magazine has begun with a giddy description of accel­eration forces so fierce that they momen­tarily halt pancreatic function, or with a rapturous account of an engine more melodious than a thousand thrushes singing a cappella, or with a feverish chronicle of pavement adhesion so com­plete that divots were actually ripped out of the concrete by clawing tires. Well, this review of the new Acura lntegra GS four-door is going to be a little different.We’re fixing to wax lyrical about the silken action of a turn-signal mechanism, because that detail and numerous others contribute to a finesse that sets this car apart from the general run of the mid-price class. The lever glides in response to finger pressure. Without seeming to resist motion, the effort rises just enough to say “hold here” when you wish to give a few blinks to signal a lane change. The limp response of ordinary levers—or, worse yet, the grittiness—is completely absent. Slipping over the detent into the full-turn mode proceeds as smoothly as a swallow of Häagen-Dazs. This Acura mechanism alone feels like it cost as much as a whole monthly payment for some other brands. Glorious-feeling turn-signal levers are not the stuff of spec-page legends. May­be they should be. Because there comes a time in most everyone’s life when heroic speeds and look-at-me styling aren’t enough. An automobile needs to be fine­ly tailored as well, rich in nuance, abounding in detail. We’re talking mature values here. If you’re thinking “car for old farts,” don’t be too hasty. BMW made its reputation in this country with slick machinery packed in don’t-look-twice sheetmetal. Honda’s Acura Division pictures itself in a BMW role, and the new Integra supports that notion. This is a car that’s deeply satisfying in many categories but that won’t draw much notice in a crowd. This new Integra line consists of a three-door hatchback and a four-door se­dan. Moving to a notchback from the old five-door hatchback is a step toward a more conventional market. Moreover, the hatchback has a we’ve-seen-this-be­fore look about it that quiets our ardor somewhat. Taken together, the Integra line seems less youthful than before. Let’s focus directly on the hatchback for a minute. Style, power, and price are the sought-after ingredients in the sporty hatchback class, which also includes the VW GTI, the Mitsubishi Mirage Turbo, the Dodge Shadow Turbo, and such even-more-purposeful players as the Nissan 240SX, the Ford Probe GT, and the Mitsubishi Eclipse/Plymouth Laser turbos. When it comes to style, the Integra’s low-profile tires enclosed in high-profile fender openings further weaken an appearance that’s none too strong to start with. Many of the others in the class look sexier. In the power category, the hatchback’s 130-hp four-cylinder (also used in the four-door) performs nicely, but it’s not in the same league with some of the turbos offered in this class. Then there’s the base price, ranging from $11,950 for the price-leader five-speed to $16,550 for the top-of-the-line three-door automatic. Clearly the Integra hatchback has no price advantage, either. Uh, that’s three strikes, isn’t it?What does the Integra hatchback bring to the party that the others can’t match? Is this a good time to mention mature values, i.e. slick-feeling switches, tasteful instrumentation, precise con­trols, and all-around commendable be­havior? Probably not, because hatchback buyers in this price range are usually looking for something a bit more arousing. Where these mature values are really appreciated is in sedans, and we think the Integra four-door is the more successful model. This is a sports sedan with the right stuff. It’s a bit longer than the coupe—two inches more wheelbase, nearly four inches more overall. It has the slick, buttoned-down feeling that quality-seeking people appreciate and that only money can buy. Honda says the new Integra body is 30 percent stiffer in bending and 90 percent more rigid in torsion than the old model. Both Integra models have a wonderfully solid, creakless, buzzless way of going about their business. Yet this rigidity wasn’t accomplished with masses of steel, because the cars have more glass than ever. The cowl and the hoodline are low in the Honda fashion, allowing a close-up view of the road. And the roof pillars are thin, blocking only 36 degrees of the driver’s 360-degree view.Honda has done something interesting with the side windows: it’s made them frameless. On both the hatchback and the sedan, the glass extends up out of the doors with no metal surrounding it. When the windows are up, they press against a complex and highly resilient seal attached to the body’s door opening. When they are down, the door does not extend above the beltline. The benefits are obvious. The pillars look slimmer. The side glass fits nearly flush with the outer surface of the body. And when the door is open, the part above the beltline intrudes less into your entry-exit space. The obvious concern is leaks. We didn’t try the carwash test, but the exam­ples we drove were uncommonly good at suppressing air-rush sounds at elevated freeway speeds. A less obvious concern is the effect of the resilient, long-travel seal on door closing. If you give these Acura doors only the gentle push required to latch most Honda doors, the glass bounces off the seal, leaving the door ajar. A stronger slam is necessary. That’s a small detail. What will very likely be a big detail for four-door buy­ers—who are generally less enthusiasti­cally inclined than three-door buyers—is the new automatic transmission, a four­-speed with electronically controlled shifts, a lockup torque converter, and a driver­-selected Sport mode that raises shift points in part-throttle conditions. This is one of the few automatics we’ve found that operates happily with a small engine. It knows when to shift—not before 6300 rpm when you’re standing on the gas, thank you very much—and every shift is crisp enough to please those who would normally prefer doing it themselves.Marrying an automatic to this 1.8-liter four-cylinder wasn’t an easy trick, be­cause the engine has a late-peaking torque curve that rises to its maximum at 5000 rpm. Low-speed performance is about what you expect of an 1834-cc unit. The bonus starts at 4500 rpm with a satis­fying surge that continues on up to the 6600-rpm redline. This torque curve is probably the most sporting aspect of the whole car. It provides plenty of incentive to turn up the revs. Good as the automatic is, though, the accurate five-speed shifter is by far the best accompaniment. In fact, as we were pushing our five­-speed four-door through a mountain road in Arizona we momentarily forgot our classification of the Integra as a ma­ture-values car. Handling is much superi­or to that of the first-generation Integra. There are no false signals from the con­trols. The suspension is tauter than usual for a Honda. You feel a direct connection to the job. Our top-of-the-line GS ver­sion (base price: $15,950) had Michelin MXV 195/60HR-14 tires. The fronts judder slightly as they begin to lose adhesion, a clear signal to the driver that the limits are near. Understeer is about right for road driving. The standard­-equipment (on the GS only) anti-lock brakes intercede smoothly. You can move quickly through the twisties in this car without feeling brave. On second thought, mature values don’t mean life in the slow lane; rather, they suggest enough experience to appreciate such composure fully. What, exactly, are these mature values that keep grabbing top billing in this re­view? Some are functional. For example, the Integra sedan has broad capability. The rear seatback folds down to extend the trunk area into the passenger com­partment, allowing the transport of, say, hero sandwiches of heroic length. Think of this car as a low-roofed station wagon. Mature values include styling based on good taste rather than the latest fashion. While the hatchback is a bit too cautious for its mission, the sedan has a look that will still be pleasing ten years from now. Mature values mean ancillary equip­ment that performs as though it were the main event. The new electric (instead of vacuum) cruise-control system is splen­didly accurate. More Integra Reviews From the ArchiveMature values demand comfort, of course. All of the Integras have cloth-covered seats with firm support topped with a thin layer of plush padding. They feel very right for a long day on the road. Lateral restraint is quite good in the front buckets. Adjustable side bolsters, stan­dard on the GS, make it better. Adjust­able lumbar support is included on both the LS and the GS. These adjustments have limited range—not enough, we think—but they are helpful nonetheless. And, finally, mature values entail a multitude of pleasures too small for the thrill seeker to notice. The silken action of the turn signals is one. The buttery stroke and muted “click” of the dash­board rocker switches is another. The precise arc of the radio’s “seek” toggle is yet another. Awaiting you inside the Integra is a festival of subtle textures. To cite just one, the inner door-latch han­dles have a black, grainy coating. There’s no glare. Your fingers don’t slip. And the insulating effect eliminates the chilly feel­ing of the metal. Taken individually, none of these de­tails loom large enough to justify a pur­chase, particularly for a hatchback buyer. But take them all together in a four-door, along with an enthusiastic engine and a poised chassis, and there emerges the quintessence of an automotive thor­oughbred. Maturity is not really neces­sary to appreciate such a car; just being awake is all it takes. SpecificationsSpecifications
1990 Acura Integra GSVehicle Type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $16,245/$17,245Options: air conditioning, $1000
ENGINEDOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 112 in3, 1834 cm3Power: 130 hp @ 6000 rpmTorque: 121 lb-ft @ 5000 rpm 
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 10.3-in vented disc/9.4-in discTires: Michelin MXV195/60HR-14
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 102.4 inLength: 176.5 inWidth: 67.4 inHeight: 52.8 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 51/35 ft3Trunk Volume: 11 ft3Curb Weight: 2686 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 8.6 sec1/4-Mile: 16.3 sec @ 84 mph100 mph: 25.5 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 13.1 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 13.3 secTop Speed: 123 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 204 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.78 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 21 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity/Highway: 24/28 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

From the January 1996 issue of Car and Driver.You can make a sport-utility vehicle out of a truck, but you can’t take the truck out of a sport-utility vehicle. That’s the rule of thumb for most SUVs out there (with the possible excep­tion of Jeep’s unibody-construction Grand Cherokee), and the truck heritage shows up in most of these vehicles as imperfec­tions in ride, steering, or structure. But that’s changing. The new Toyota 4Runner, for example, shares only its basic mechanical format with the similarly sized Toyota Tacoma trucks. The first-genera­tion 4Runner, you might remember, was essentially a pickup truck with a fiberglass roof and seats in the rear. The second 4Runner wasn’t that far removed from a pickup either, despite its four doors and dedicated sheetmetal. But chief engineer Masaaki Ishiko insists this latest, third-generation 4Runner doesn’t share the designs for its body, inte­rior, frame, and chassis. Naturally, there are some common mechanicals. The new 3.4-liter V-6 that powered our test car is available in the Tacoma, as is the base 2.7-liter four. But the engineering team endeavored to improve NVH, ride, com­fort, steering feel, and off-road perfor­mance well beyond what is expected of SUVs not wearing Range Rover stickers. Have they succeeded? To a large extent, yes. The new coil-sprung control­-arm front suspension, four-link solid-axle rear end, and stiff body combine to pro­vide a ride that is as placid as that of a good car on smooth pavement. There is very little tire roar from the optional 265/70R-16 Dunlops (225s are standard on all vehi­cles except the V-6 4WD Limited model), and the engine is quiet at cruising speeds. By far the loudest sound was produced by wind at the tops of the doors, and even here the problem is likely to be licked by better door seals in production 4Runners. So the 4Runner makes a good tourer on the highway, even while retaining—for those occasional off-highway excur­sions—the low-tech part-time, shift-on-­the-fly four-wheel-drive system of the old model (now enhanced by a very useful pushbutton-actuated locking rear differential). But you pay for the privilege of four-wheel drive with a lot of extra driveline mass, much of it unsprung (at the wheel end of the suspension). As a result, high-frequency surface corrugations pro­duce vibrations that feed into the cabin through the structure and the steering wheel, as in the last Tacoma we looked at. These impacts are better damped than what you feel in a pickup but are similar in character. The suspension is nonetheless an admirable piece of engineering. The new front-suspension crossmembers, as well as a reinforced rear frame, cut chassis flex to a minimum and allow a pleasant balance between compliance over bigger bumps and body-motion control. A wheelbase now two inches longer than in the previous model undoubtedly helped Toyota engi­neers reduce pitching motions, while a wider track (almost one-and-a-half inches on models with 265 tires) and careful roll-­control tuning make the new 4Runner surefooted and free of lunge or flop in the mountains.A changeover from recirculating-ball to rack-and-pinion steering hasn’t hurt the car’s poise either. It now feels uncom­monly precise and stable as you ease it into the switchbacks. In fact, it was the temp­tation to carve high-g lines along Oregon’s sinuous Pacific coastline on a three-day trip to L.A. that produced some motion discomfort—but no lack of chassis com­posure. The new 3.4-liter V-6 is also a welcome addition to the package, providing a healthy 33-hp bonus over the old 150-hp unit; torque is 217 pound-feet at a relatively lazy 3600 rpm. Although the vehicle’s 3850-pound weight holds 0-to-60 times to 10.0 seconds, that’s a 2.8-second improvement over the five-speed we tested in February 1991. This was achieved in an automatic, and a beautifully calibrated one at that, providing appropriate downshifts at all throttle settings and gentle, slurred upshifts (except at full throttle, where faint jolts were just noticeable).More important to most owners is the fact that the new 4Runner will troll comfortably through the mountains or cruise quickly along highways without demanding big bootfuls of throttle and the torrent of gas these driving tasks often consume. Our overall fuel consumption worked out to 20 mpg, the best ever for a V-6 4Runner in our care. What’s more, the sound of the V-6 being driven vigorously is tuneful and sophisticated, much better than the hoarse gargling of the Vortec V-6 in the Chevy Blazer or the 4.0-liter six in Ford’s Explorer.All of these improvements would count for little were it not for the increases in space realized for the third-generation 4Runners. Headroom and legroom have been improved, adding 3 cubic feet more space up front and 4 cubes more in back. The cargo hold is one foot larger and now accommodates an optional third seat. The door openings are larger, and the climb-in height is lower for easier access. The cargo-compartment floor was lowered by 3.5 inches on 265-tire versions (and by 4.3 inches with the standard rubber) to reduce chiropractic costs. Plus, the rear hatch is now a one-piece gate that opens upward, and it has its own power window. The increase in space eliminates what was formerly our biggest problem with the 4Runner: the new version easily accom­modates our tallest drivers. Although the seats felt fairly good after a day’s driving, they did begin to produce backaches during the three-day haul from Portland to Los Angeles. That aside, the 4Runner’s cabin is a good place to be, and the moon­roof is simply indispensable for viewing giant redwoods, which tower well above the sightline offered by the Toyota’s rela­tively tall greenhouse. More 4Runner Reviews From the ArchiveAll in all, the 4Runner is a remarkably civilized example of the sport-utility genre, with a sophisticated powertrain, a smooth ride, and an elegant interior. Most of the truck genes have been engineered out, but the operation was expensive—the price of the 4wd SR5 is expected to start at around $28,500. That’s rather high, considering the unavoidable side effects of that shift-on-the-fly four-wheel-drive mechanism. And we had to admit during the 1000-mile trip we undertook that we would still have preferred a normal sedan. But that’s why this magazine is called Car and Driver. SpecificationsSpecifications
1996 Toyota 4Runner SR5Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear/4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICEAs Tested (est.): $28,500
ENGINEDOHC 24-valve V-6, iron block and aluminum heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 206 in3, 3378 cm3Power: 183 hp @ 4800 rpmTorque: 217 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm 
TRANSMISSION4-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/rigid axleBrakes, F/R: 12.6-in vented disc/11.6-in drumTires: Dunlop Grandtrek, P265/70R-16
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 105.3 inLength: 178.7 inWidth: 66.5 inHeight: 68.7 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 53/42 ft3Cargo Volume: 45 ft3Curb Weight: 3850 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 10.0 sec1/4-Mile: 17.8 sec @ 77 mph100 mph: 40.4 secRolling Start, 5–60 mph: 10.7 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 5.0 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 7.5 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 102 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 186 ftRoadholding, 300-ft skidpad: 0.70 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 20 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 17/19 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

From the October 2023 issue of Car and Driver.On the family-car evolutionary chart, the station wagon slithered out of the primordial ooze to beget the minivan, which the body-on-frame SUV drove to the brink of extinction. Soon enough, car companies realized that all most people want from an SUV is the look, which led to another form of mass-market people-moving machinery: the three-row crossover.This genetic mutation combines a buff-truck attitude with a carlike driving experience, and just about everybody makes one—hell, even Bentley. Thus, the competition is ruthless, with a new crop of candidates arriving nearly annually. View PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverIndeed, there’s a slew of fresh competitors vying to oust the reigning champ of the segment, the four-time 10Best-winning Kia Telluride. Mazda’s CX-90 brings a new rear-drive platform with turbocharged inline-six power and an upmarket interior. The Honda Pilot is redesigned for 2023 with a new V-6 and a beefed-up torque-vectoring rear end. Toyota’s Grand Highlander Platinum is a hybrid powerhouse, putting 362 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque to the task of family schlepping. Jeep now has the stretched Grand Cherokee L, which adds a third row while avoiding wiener-dog proportions. And, of course, there’s the Telluride, aging gracefully in its fourth model year. Yes, there are plenty of other three-row crossovers—we know. If your favorite isn’t here, that’s because it’s due for an incipient overhaul, it posted a mediocre showing in a previous comparo, or we asked for one and couldn’t get it. We also aimed for a mid-$50,000s price point, give or take a few thousand bucks, so that rules out your Dodge Durango Hellcats and Bentley Bentaygas. Think of this like the Academy Awards: It’s an honor just to be nominated. Nonetheless, over three days of pounding pavement and crunching gravel around Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a winner emerged. Try to avoid skipping ahead, because the results might surprise you.View PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver5th Place: Honda PilotThe Pilot is chock full of typically clever Honda engineering. Consider its eight-passenger seating stat, which lends the Pilot people-moving capability on par with minivans and the largest of body-on-frame SUVs. The center seat in the second row is removable, so if you don’t need to accommodate a full Olympic rowing team, you can convert the second row to captain’s chairs and stow the center seat in a cubby under the rear cargo floor. HIGHS: Flexible seating for seven or eight, nice price, tail-happy torque-vectoring rear end.LOWS: Powertrain just wants to chill, interior materials won’t wow you, needs more steering heft.VERDICT: A three-row SUV that’s more of a mutant minivan.Like the off-road-oriented TrailSport, the Elite also gets Honda’s trick torque-vectoring rear differential. Its all-wheel-drive system can send up to 70 percent of the engine’s torque to the rear axle, where an electric motor powers a pair of hydraulic pumps and clutch packs that can then send 100 percent of that torque to either side. Translation: The Pilot was the only vehicle in the test that could hold a drift, howling its way to a first-place 0.84-g skidpad result. It was also the second-least-expensive machine, with an as-tested price of $53,755. Plus, its third row offers easy access. Push a button, and the second-row seat slides forward out of the way. So what gives with the last-place finish?Blame the lack of acceleration. The Pilot uses Honda’s new double-overhead-cam 3.5-liter V-6, which makes 285 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque—five more horsepower and identical torque relative to the old SOHC engine. That nominal power increase is up against significant weight gain (more than 300 pounds compared to a 2020 model we tested), with predictable results: The Pilot got poky. Whereas the 2020 Pilot hit 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, the 2023 needed 7.2 seconds, putting it in second-to-last place in that category here. It was the slowest to 30 mph, pointing to off-the-line sluggishness that never really improves as the revs rise. One tester noted, “When you floored it to pass, you had to hope a car wouldn’t come around the bend a half-mile ahead.” Mind you, this was all with a single human aboard, near sea level. Add a carload of passengers and a mountain grade, and the Pilot will need even more time. View PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverView PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverIf that lack of acceleration and the Pilot’s featherlight steering effort were compensated by a rock-star interior or a breakthrough exterior design, that would be nice. But the Pilot is merely fine on both counts. Compared with the previous generation, it didn’t make any huge leaps forward and took at least one step back. Honda obviously knows how to build fun cars, but this isn’t one of them. Paging Acura: Get that 355-hp turbocharged V-6 over to the Pilot production line, stat. 2023 Honda Pilot Elite AWD285-hp V-6, 10-speed automatic, 4670 lbBase/as-tested price: $53,755/$53,755C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 7.2 sec1/4-mile: 15.7 sec @ 90 mph100 mph: 20.1 secBraking, 70­–0 mph: 189 ftRoadholding, 300-ft skidpad: 0.84 g C/D observed fuel economy: 22 mpgView PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver4th Place: Jeep Grand Cherokee LThe Jeep is a bit of an anomaly here—it belongs, yet it doesn’t. On paper, the Grand Cherokee L aligns with this crowd, but in reality, it fancies itself a more serious luxury SUV. “I am America’s Range Rover,” it seems to say. “If you try to compare me to a transverse-engine anything, I will climb that dune over there and pout.”HIGHS: Sublime isolation and ride quality, stretch-out interior room, beefy towing ability.LOWS: Skinny on features at this price, not quick, seats only six. VERDICT: A slow but otherwise premium experience at a premium price.And a Grand Cherokee is an American Range Rover, if you spend enough money. That’s the challenge in this context—there are a lot of features you can tack on to a Grand Cherokee L that were absent on this one because its $61,000 as-tested price already pushed past our target budget. So: no sunroof, no front passenger’s-side display screen, no V-8. All of those things are available, and going wild with options can rocket the price beyond $80,000. At which point, you might start considering actual Range Rovers. View PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverView PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverThis Limited L seats only six passengers, but all of them hospitably. There’s enough legroom for six-footers to occupy each row comfortably (simultaneously, we should add), and the third row’s scooped-out headliner—sort of like SUV Gurney bubbles—ensures adequate headroom in the wayback. The balanced rear-drive platform and its longitudinally oriented engine pay dividends in both styling and handling, with the Grand Cherokee L notching a second-place showing on the skidpad at 0.82 g. The Jeep was in a dead heat with the Honda in almost every acceleration test, which means the same criticism applies here—needs more power. Although we did like the vocal nature of the Jeep’s 293-hp 3.6-liter V-6, and the Jeep’s 6200-pound tow rating far surpasses everyone else’s 5000-pound max. It also has a ride so frictionlessly serene that at least one of us crawled underneath to see whether it had air springs. Nope, steel coils at all four corners, but expertly dialed in (air springs are standard on the pricier Overland and Summit trims).This points to a philosophical problem for the Grand Cherokee L Limited 4×4: As nice as it is, you know what you’re missing by sticking to a budget. McIntosh audio, nappa leather, massage seats, and a Hemi under the hood could all be yours. But not for $61,000. 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited 4×4293-hp V-6, 8-speed automatic, 4750 lbBase/as-tested price: $54,025/$61,000C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 7.3 sec1/4-mile: 15.6 sec @ 90 mph100 mph: 20.0 secBraking, 70­–0 mph: 194 ftRoadholding, 300-ft skidpad: 0.82 gC/D observed fuel economy: 20 mpgView PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver3rd Place: Kia TellurideThe Telluride has been such a smash hit for Kia that sometimes a civilian would infiltrate our comparo convoy and confuse us. Hey, which one of you put that Pearl Jam decal on the Telluride? Whoops, wrong white Telluride. But in this case, familiarity doesn’t breed contempt since we love the 10Best-winning Kia as much as we always have.HIGHS: All the goodies, magical packaging, refinement and value. LOWS: Lacks the Mazda’s showstopper interior, shorter drivers have a tough time getting comfortable, midpack acceleration. VERDICT: As good as ever and the best value, but the competition is eroding its supremacy.Again, we were amazed at the sheer amount of equipment the Telluride crams in while boasting the lowest price, both the SX Prestige’s base ($51,955) and as-tested ($52,970). The top-trim Telluride wants for nothing, with leather, a faux-suede headliner, heated and ventilated first- and second-row seats, and a panoramic roof. The Telluride is also much roomier inside than its exterior dimensions would imply. What black magic is at work when the shortest vehicle can fit the longest length of pipe—more than 12 feet!—inside? The Kia also tied for first place in front- and second-row passenger volume, as well as in cargo volume behind the third row. And, as we’ve raved ever since its 2020 introduction, the Telluride just feels good. The moment you put your hands on the wheel, you sense that this is a refined machine built by people who care. Among the gripes directed solely at the Telluride, one five-foot-three tester opined that the driving position is calibrated to NBA small forwards, saying, “It feels designed for taller people, longer-legged people, bigger-footed people. There’s no seating position where my arms and legs are both comfortable. I end up sort of tiptoeing the accelerator, and my knee starts to hurt.”View PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverView PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverBut mostly, critiques of the Telluride end up framed as juxtapositions against its fresher competitors. The 291-hp V-6 underhood returned only midpack acceleration. Its interior is nice, but some of the materials lack the richness of the CX-90’s.Ever since it came on the scene, we’ve maintained that you can’t do better than a Kia Telluride. We’re amending that statement slightly to say that you have to spend a little more to do better than the Kia Telluride. But the Telluride had a target on its liftgate, and eventually, somebody was going to score a direct hit. Or, as it turns out, two somebodies.2023 Kia Telluride SX Prestige AWD291-hp V-6, 8-speed automatic, 4490 lbBase/as-tested price: $51,955/$52,970C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 6.7 sec1/4-mile: 15.1 sec @ 93 mph100 mph: 17.6 secBraking, 70­–0 mph: 176 ftRoadholding, 300-ft skidpad: 0.79 gC/D observed fuel economy: 22 mpgView PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver2nd Place: Toyota Grand HighlanderIf you’ve driven a Toyota hybrid of the Prius ilk, the Grand Highlander will utterly destroy your expectations for a hybrid. There’s no CVT, no groaning naturally aspirated four-cylinder. This is the new hybrid system that debuted in the Crown, and it’s a riot. The gas engine is a turbocharged 2.4-liter four, the transmission is a six-speed automatic with a wet clutch, and the total output is a swole 362 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque, the latter attained at just 2000 rpm. HIGHS: Hauls ass and families, huge cargo space, best fuel economy. LOWS: Inhospitable third row, unrefined suspension noises, so-so interior finishes. VERDICT: A hulking speed demon with a few foibles.In our unscientific rolling drags on northern Michigan’s uphill passing lanes, the Toyota collected pink slips from all challengers. The subsequent test-track numbers confirmed its dominance, as the Toyota sprinted to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and hit the quarter-mile in 14.3 seconds at 98 mph. At the same time, it delivered the best overall fuel economy, at 25 mpg. This powertrain makes good on the longtime hybrid promise of enhancements to both acceleration and fuel economy.The Grand Highlander’s gusto is even more impressive given its hugeness. Grand indeed, the Toyota took first place in nearly every cargo-volume metric and could swallow the largest flat panel (not quite the prototypical four-by-eight sheet of plywood, but not far off). If only it were a little more generous to cargo of the human variety. The third row would challenge the resilience of a Naked and Afraid contestant, with scant legroom unless the second row is all the way forward. And can we please stop trying to reinvent the shifter? The setup will be familiar to anyone coming from a Prius, but it might confound drivers graduating from the regular Highlander, which has a perfectly useful conventional shifter.View PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverView PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverOther than that, the interior design works well, although moving from the plushness of the CX-90 and Telluride back into the Grand Highlander makes it apparent that the Toyota is leaving the best materials for Lexus’s version, the TX. Supple ride quality does enhance interior comfort, but impacts resonate loudly through the suspension and into the structure. The Grand Highlander is big, fast, and efficient, but it’s not quite the complete package.2024 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Max Platinum AWD362-hp inline-4, 6-speed automatic/direct drive, 4936 lbBase/as-tested price: $59,520/$59,520C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 5.6 sec1/4-mile: 14.3 sec @ 98 mph100 mph: 14.9 secBraking, 70­–0 mph: 187 ftRoadholding, 300-ft skidpad: 0.80 gC/D observed fuel economy: 25 mpgView PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver1st Place: Mazda CX-90You come at the king, you best not miss. It’s as if Mazda had a punch list of the Telluride’s best attributes and went right down, item by item, and surpassed them all. Smooth, powerful engine? The Mazda’s turbocharged 3.3-liter inline-six makes 340 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, enabling a 6.4-second sprint to 60 mph, second only to the Toyota. (The Mazda does require premium fuel to make its full rated horsepower—on regular fuel, it’s 319 ponies.) The CX-90 was not only quickest to 130 mph, but it’s also one of only two vehicles here that even do 130 mph, which speaks to Mazda’s confidence in the CX-90’s high-speed composure.HIGHS: Gorgeous interior, powerful engine, refined manners. LOWS: Tightest cargo volume, needs premium fuel to hit its rated horsepower, it costs how much? VERDICT: A winning balance of luxury, performance, and practicality.When our testers opened the crossovers’ doors for the first time, only one interior consistently drew involuntary wows—the Mazda’s, with its quilted leather and swath of faux suede across the dash. And while Mazdas are known for pleasing the driver, the CX-90 is mighty fine for the passengers too. One logbook note read, “Feels the most business class of the second rows. Everything you’re looking at and touching is nice.”The rear-drive platform enables a rakish long hood and athletic proportions, which are enhanced by the biggest tires in the group—275/45R-21s. Pull out into traffic with an aggressive jab of the throttle, and the Mazda will bark the inside rear tire, reminding you of its rear-biased all-wheel-drive system. Sluggish steering with odd weighting makes the CX-90 seem ponderous on the interstate, but the rest of the experience is quiet and refined. View PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverView PhotosMichael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and DriverAny demerits mainly boil down to price—the CX-90 in this test is expensive. While the 280-hp Turbo Select model starts at $40,970, our loaded-to-the-gunwales Turbo S Premium Plus carries a $61,920 as-tested price. And you know what? It’s worth it. 2024 Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus AWD340-hp inline-6, 8-speed automatic, 4884 lbBase/as-tested price: $61,325/$61,920C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 6.4 sec1/4-mile: 14.9 sec @ 97 mph100 mph: 15.8 secBraking, 70­–0 mph: 174 ftRoadholding, 300-ft skidpad: 0.81 gC/D observed fuel economy: 24 mpgCar and DriverSenior EditorEzra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He’s now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive. More

While the competition to sell EVs in the United States has long been a race to finish second behind Tesla, the Volkswagen ID.4 has been performing increasingly well after early supply problems were ironed out. In the first half of the year, VW sold nearly 16,500 here—more than 10 percent of its total volume, putting it just ahead of the Jetta. But the company hasn’t been deaf to criticism, recently announcing a package of revisions, including a power upgrade and improvements to the user interface.We will have to wait to test the 2024 car in the U.S., but we have had the chance to drive a European-spec car in Germany. This was actually an ID.5, the ID.4’s lower-roofed pseudo-coupe sibling, which isn’t available stateside, but all of the changes are common to both cars. Our Euro-spec GTX trim was broadly equivalent to the ID.4 S Plus.The most significant changes lie under the surface, with the ID.4 and ID.5 getting a more potent rear motor that will be offered exclusively with the larger 77.0-kWh battery in the U.S.; the lesser 58.0-kWh pack continues with the old one for now. Volkswagen’s new AP550 motor, which will also power the upcoming ID.7 sedan, uses a revised rotor and more efficient cooling system to allow for higher outputs and, VW says, more sustained high loads. In the rear-drive 77.0-kWh ID.4, this new motor makes 282 horsepower, while the all-wheel-drive version raises output to 335 horses in Europe with similar output for U.S. cars (officially: “more than 330 horsepower”). Although we don’t have any range claims, Volkswagen predicts that the new motor will boost EPA numbers in both the rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive cars.There have been changes in the ID’s cabin as well, mostly aimed at improving the UI experience. The 77.0-kWh variant’s infotainment gets upgraded with a new 12.9-inch touchscreen. In addition to its greater size and higher resolution, the new screen debuts VW’s updated software, which includes shortcut icons at the top of the screen for easier passage between different functions. The new system certainly looks and works better than the old one did, but it is still awkwardly situated above the touch-sensitive control panel for temperature and audio volume, making it too easy to accidentally activate them when using the screen. On the plus side, Volkswagen has responded to criticism of the climate control’s invisibility at night by illuminating it. In addition, the forward/reverse selector has been moved from its slightly awkward position on the side of the gauge cluster to the steering column itself. Other than that, the cabin is unchanged. There remains generous space across its two rows of seats and 30 cubic feet of cargo volume behind. The interior is still functional rather than fancy, and it still features irksome driver window controls that must be toggled between front and rear. The various plastics feel chosen for durability rather than tactile delight, but the range-topping versions on both sides of the Atlantic will now come with a potent new Harman/Kardon audio system. The driving experience remains very similar, with the AWD version feeling effortless and short on drama, but some way removed from the performance of punchier segment rivals. Volkswagen says that the new car is quicker but hasn’t said how much. For reference, we ran a 2021 AWD ID.4 to the 60-mph benchmark in 5.4 seconds. Acceleration in the new car felt keen rather than spectacular—you’re conscious of the considerable weight the motors have to work against; there is no equivalent in the ID.4 range to EV hot rods like the Kia EV6 GT or Tesla Model Y Performance. One performance claim we were able to corroborate—for the European model—is a raised speed limiter. It has gone from 99 to 112 mph, which we confirmed on an unrestricted stretch of the German autobahn. Such atypical use sent the dashboard’s range prediction plummeting, but blowing past slower-moving traffic was huge fun.Related StoriesThe autobahn also proved that the Euro-spec ID.5 felt impressively stable at high speeds, with the adaptive dampers (optional in the U.S.) giving a comfortable and well-disciplined ride. It was equally pliant over urban bumps, too, even on the largest available 21-inch wheels. Volkswagen says that the steering has been given new software to improve feel and bring more forceful self-centering, but we still struggled to detect any feedback or sense of connection to the front wheels. The modest changes to the ID.5 have not radically transformed its appeal. This is a car that promises to be very easy to live with but also almost entirely unexciting—a mixture that has served Volkswagen well through much of its past. A senior VW executive recently told C/D that one of the big challenges for large automakers trying to boost EV sales is moving beyond early adopters and toward the mainstream consumers who make up a much bigger chunk of the market. The sensibleness of the ID.4 and ID.5 would seem to make them well suited to that task.Senior European CorrespondentOur man on the other side of the pond, Mike Duff lives in Britain but reports from across Europe, sometimes beyond. He has previously held staff roles on UK titles including CAR, Autocar and evo, but his own automotive tastes tend towards the Germanic, owning both a troublesome 987-generation Porsche Cayman S and a Mercedes 190E 2.5-16. More

From the April 1997 issue of Car and Driver.Right where you’d nor­mally rest your left foot atop a dead pedal, this firetruck is equipped with a 10-by-11-inch glass window. “The hell’s that?” I inquired, pointing at the floor. “Well, a person would look through that,” said Ted Henson, the director of sales of ARFF vehicles (Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting) at Oshkosh Truck Corporation in Wisconsin. “But at what? Anything you see in that window you’ll have already run over. It’s a porthole, right? When you ford a stream, you can view striped bass?” “Maybe,” he replied patiently. “But actually, this truck can climb a 60-percent grade. When you crest hills at that angle, you’ll be searching for the horizon. And you’ll find it by looking at the floor­—that’ll become your windshield.” Oh, as if, I thought. A human being must crawl on hands and knees to sur­mount a 60-percent grade. So an off-road firetruck, full of water, weighing 64,500 pounds? “You’ll need God’s own winch, plus the pope,” I explained to Henson.We required neither.The Oshkosh Truck Corporation, founded in 1917, specializes in “severe duty” all-wheel-drive vehicles. If you watch CNN, you’ve already seen its giant HEMTTs (“Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck”) pulling Patriot mis­siles, and you’ve probably also seen its 230,000-pound HETs (“Heavy Equipment Transporter”) humping M1 tanks over Kuwaiti dunes. Last year, Oshkosh built 2400 trucks, mostly for combat but also for New York City’s sanitation department, which, Henson says, “is roughly the same thing.” Having perfected the vagaries of eight­-wheel-drive jumbotrons, Oshkosh created the Phoenix, the $350,000 off-road firetruck you see here. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will buy Phoenix trucks to quell wild­fires. And so will airports whose firemen sporadically invade inhospitable terrain—­”like a plane that goes down in the Everglades,” Hensen ex­plains, diplomatically avoiding brand names. Brandishing two water can­nons, the Phoenix lays down a wall of flame suppression, at least until it depletes the 2500 gallons stored in its stainless­-steel tank. And that might not take long. With both nozzles at full aperture, plus three under­belly sprays that inhibit the truck’s tires from turning into black torches as they rest atop scorched earth, the Phoenix can hose itself empty in only 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Naturally, we attempted this in the Wis­consin woods. The roof turret erupted with enough force to peel the bark off four ash trees. If more pressure is required, Oshkosh sells an optional cannon suffi­ciently vicious to pierce the alloy fuselage of a Boeing 737. “Course, for a wildfire, you wouldn’t spray at max flow,” Henson elucidates. “You’d spray compressed-air foam. It’s like Dawn dishwashing detergent mixed with water. Lands on the ground like a soggy quilt.” Two separate tanks hold 70 gallons of foam concentrate, which can quintuple the Phoenix’s on-fire time. Smother a house with this syrupy cocktail, Henson says, and a wildfire could lick at its foundation for two hours before flames would manifest.Once aboard the Phoenix, locating the conflagration is as much fun as extinguishing it. Each of the eight driven wheels (weighing 535 pounds apiece) can travel through 16 inches of deflec­tion—seven inches of droop, nine of compression. We were able to cruise at 20 mph, sans disruption, over dozens of one-foot-high moguls at the company’s soggy off-road test track. You can watch each Michelin buckle as it absorbs the blows before there’s percep­tible suspension impact. When we buried the truck’s nose in a stream, the forward-most tires lost grip and began flinging buckets of muck. Yet the truck never lost momentum, because four other wheels—which, you know, were not even in the same area code as the water beneath the cockpit—­were still agitating dry earth.The Phoenix’s 736-cubic-inch Detroit Diesel produces 445 horse­power at 2100 rpm, flowing not very smoothly through a four-speed Allison automatic. During acceleration runs, the only tire we could smoke was the one parked in the brush fire. The Phoenix eventually plodded through the quarter­-mile in, ah, 32.0 seconds—that works out, in a protracted way, to one second per ton—at a speed of 43 mph. Later, we somehow surpassed the vehicle’s advertised top speed, attaining a giddy 62 mph before panicky pedestrians and paralyzing fear reined us in. For no good reason, we drove the Phoenix through downtown Oshkosh, halting for photos in front of bars: Herbie’s Acee Deucie and the 919 Club, Pinky Harvath, proprietor. I was twice restrained from activating the truck’s siren and red strobes—a Dairy State misdemeanor—although the truck’s Flaming Lemon paint (photographer official Kiley called it “phlegm”) was by itself separating Pinky’s patrons from their pints.Cockpit noise includes colossal tread roar and turbine-like whine from all four differentials. It sounds like a Beechcraft at rotation. Above 25 mph, you shout to be heard. The steering is light but as numb as day-old birthday cake. And it’s bizarre to have the steered wheels articulating behind your back. The driver feels like a tether­ball, observing directional changes more than initiating them. More From the ArchiveThe Phoenix’s eight-foot width ensures that the passenger hovers above the gutter, witnessing the ruination of rural mail­boxes. Even over such impediments, the ride is Town Car smooth. Potholes don’t even register. The brake pedal modulates nicely, although during panic stops, the stored water tends to migrate where it shouldn’t, creating an interesting weight transfer that induces lockup. Hard to tell which wheel; one of eight was my guess. After compacting considerable foliage around the off-road course, we braved the aforementioned 60-percent grade, which, at least when we began, was covered in loose sod. First, the Phoenix’s nose gouged a hole in the cliff face, then its rear bumper buried itself in an avalanche of sediment, this despite the truck’s 43- and 45-degree angles of approach and departure. Just before we crested the hill, with the truck reposing at an angle that would starve most engines of all lubricant, I noticed that the window on the floor was perfectly aligned with the horizon. Had I stepped out the door, I would have plunged 35 feet down the hillside. A groundbreaking truck, this. We know. We broke acres of the stuff. If your local fire department has col­lected 20 grand in code fines, it can equip the Phoenix with entertaining options. Our favorite was NightSight—forward-look­ing infrared radar, which enables the Phoenix to navigate dense, noxious smoke and sneak up on neighbors whose barbe­cued cube steaks are unattended. In 1997, Oshkosh Truck Corporation expects to build 30 to 40 Phoenix fire­trucks. We want one. With both water can­nons gushing, the Phoenix would work miracles as a crowd-control agent at Michigan–versus–Ohio State games. Or drive it to a domed stadium and watch it clean Bigfoot’s clock. Also Bigfoot’s tires, Bigfoot’s shock absorbers, and Pinky Har­vath in row 98.Arrow pointing downCompact arrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
1997 Oshkosh PhoenixVehicle Type: mid-engine, eight-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door firetruck
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $265,000/$350,000
ENGINEsupercharged, turbocharged, and intercooled SOHC 16-valve 2-stroke diesel V-8, iron block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 736 in3, 12,054 cm3Power: 445 hp @ 2100 rpmTorque: 1250 lb-ft @ 1200 rpm 
TRANSMISSION4-speed automatic 
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 270.0 inLength: 412.5 inCurb Weight (with full water tanks): 64,500 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS50 mph: 42.4 sec1/4-Mile: 32.0 sec @ 43 mphTop Speed (drag ltd): 62 mph
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Estimated: 2 mpg
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

Looking in the rearview mirror doesn’t reveal much about where things are headed. In the case of the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupe, that trap is easy to fall into if you dwell on the outgoing C- and E-class coupes when attempting to make sense of the car that’s slated to replace both. The new one doesn’t seem to split any sort of difference, until you realize that the C- and E-class sedans that spawned those predecessor coupes are irrelevant. Both date to 2017.Since then, the C-class was redesigned and enlarged for 2022, entering its fifth generation. A new coupe was not part of the deal, so the two-door carried on with fourth-gen mechanicals. Meanwhile, the old E-class sedan persisted until a redesigned 2024 E-class was recently announced. Again, no coupe for you. With those developments in mind, the emergence of the 2024 CLE explains much about the shuffling going on behind the scenes.More C Than EThe CLE shares its 112.8-inch wheelbase with the new C-class sedan. It’s an inch longer than the outgoing C-class coupe, but well short of the gargantuan 116.6-inch wheelbase of the upcoming E-class. The CLE’s overall length of 191.0 inches falls roughly halfway between the two, while its 73.2-inch width hews a bit closer to the E-class. In short, the CLE’s dimensions make it a credible tweener, but it rides on the shorter C-class’s wheelbase, which makes more sense for a coupe.Fans of the pillarless E-class coupe will be saddened to learn that the CLE has a door pillar like the C-class coupe. But this doesn’t harsh the vibe, as its flanks are smooth and flowing, with subtle fender creases that further elongate the shape. In fact, the “cab backward” description of the fifth-gen C-class sedan is even more apparent here, as the CLE’s extra body length makes the hood look considerably longer. All told, there’s a hint of AMG GT coupe in the proportions, even though the CLE shares nothing with that high-performance two-seater.Instead, the underpinnings consist of the same sort of multilink front and rear suspension layouts as the C-class. This gave the CLE poise and balance on a sinuous drive route along the coastal roads of northern Spain. Unfortunately, the C-class similarities don’t end there, as it also displayed the same driving-simulator steering and brake feel that we bemoaned during our C300 road test. There’s accuracy and predictability in abundance, but the driver feedback loop isn’t adequately developed.We’d like to say the suspension filtered out the rough stuff and took the edge off when the 20-inch Continental tires encountered unpleasant pavement, but we can’t. It absolutely accomplished that, but the cars we tested had a Europe-spec calibration with adaptive dampers and rear-wheel steering that we won’t see. CLE300 base models in the United States will get passive dampers, while the CLE450 will come with position-sensitive passive dampers as part of a sport suspension setup. Theoretically, these should ride smoother than that sounds when you’re driving straight because they will develop less damping when the shocks are near mid-stroke. Time will tell.Two Engines, One Transmission, 4Matic Only Under the hood, the base CLE300 has the same uprated turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder first seen in the 2022 C300. It makes 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, the latter representing a 22-lb-ft increase over the old C300. Step up to the CLE450 and you get a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six that makes a cool 375 horsepower and 369 pound-feet. Both engines feature an integrated starter-generator (ISG) that allows the 48-volt hybrid system to add as much as 23 horses and 151 pound-feet at opportune moments. The ISG doesn’t bolster either engine’s total output, but it does paper over turbo lag and make start-stop episodes virtually unnoticeable.Neither engine sounds particularly enthralling, but the 450’s inline-six motivates the car without hesitation. Mercedes hasn’t disclosed the CLE’s curb weight or estimated acceleration times, but our test of a 2022 C300 provides a clue. We expect the CLE300’s 60-mph time to be no more than a tenth of a second off the 4044-pound C300’s 5.3-second effort. As for the CLE450, we reckon it’ll be a second quicker. Both varieties will top out at 130 mph, according to Mercedes.Downstream, there are no choices to make. Each mill comes paired with Benz’s nine-speed automatic transmission, and power flows from that into a standard 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. Rear-wheel-drive models have been on the coupe menu in the past, but Mercedes isn’t ready to say if they’ll return. They also won’t confirm or deny any subsequent AMG-branded models, but that seems inevitable. One look at AMG’s current C-sedan offerings is all it takes to imagine where that’s headed.A Familiar InteriorInside, the CLE is impressive in terms of design, materials, and the initial impression of the dual-screen layout. It’s a huge case of déjà vu, in fact, because the cockpit looks nearly indistinguishable from the 2022 C300 we tested. That car impressed us with its interior craftsmanship, and so does the CLE. But that utter similarity also leads to the same familiar consternation, as there are no switches or knobs in evidence. The central touchscreen is the go-to place for all manner of adjustments, from climate control to drive settings to you name it. Also, the numerous buttons on the steering wheel are all look-alike touch-sensitive zones.More on the CLE-classThe result is pure lunacy, to the point where we once asked the passenger to change the drive mode so we could keep our eyes on the road in the thick of driving. How’s that for voice control? Admittedly, there’s more capability in this new third-generation MBUX system than one could master in a day’s drive. There are personalization templates, automated AI-powered routines, and a sound and massage “revitalization” utility that pops up if some algorithm thinks you might be tired. Still, the fact that many basic control adjustments are far from self-evident tells you something. But, hey, when parked, it’ll let you do TikTok things or play 2009’s Angry Birds, so it’s all good, right?The CLE’s interior is spatially superior to the old C-class coupe, with more front and rear passenger volume. The biggest gains are a nearly one-inch gain in front legroom and shoulder room and over two inches of added rear legroom. Trunk volume is up too, but the extra back-seat space and luggage capacity still don’t make this a long-distance proposition for four.Mercedes won’t announce pricing information until closer to the car’s early-2024 release date, but our extrapolations suggest the 2024 CLE300 might start around $60,000, while the CLE450 could go for about $75,000. Is blending two coupes into one the right move? It would seem so, as the coupe market continues to shrink while the E-class sedan itself grows larger. But we’re not quite convinced that the CLE coupe has the right combination of ingredients. Ultimately, our take will depend on how well U.S.-spec models perform on familiar soil.Arrow pointing downCompact arrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE 4Matic CoupeVehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE (C/D EST)
Base: CLE300 4Matic, $60,000; CLE450 4Matic, $75,000
ENGINES
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 255 hp, 295 lb-ft; turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter inline-6, 375 hp, 369 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION
9-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 112.8 inLength: 191.0 inWidth: 73.2 inHeight: 56.2 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 55/37 ft3Trunk Volume: 15 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3900–4100 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 4.2–5.2 sec100 mph: 11.0–14.5 sec1/4-Mile: 12.9–13.9 secTop Speed: 130 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 26–27/22–23/32–33 mpgTechnical EditorDan Edmunds was born into the world of automobiles, but not how you might think. His father was a retired racing driver who opened Autoresearch, a race-car-building shop, where Dan cut his teeth as a metal fabricator. Engineering school followed, then SCCA Showroom Stock racing, and that combination landed him suspension development jobs at two different automakers. His writing career began when he was picked up by Edmunds.com (no relation) to build a testing department. More

The recipe for a commuter car is simple. Take one part efficiency, mix in one part practicality, add two parts affordability, and garnish with a bit of style. Since its inception, the Hyundai Kona has stuck to that basic formula, even going so far as to inject some driving verve with the hopped-up N variant. For 2024, Hyundai redesigned the little runabout, adding about six inches to the body and nearly $2000 to the starting price. But at $25,435, the Kona is still one of the most approachable cars on the market, and it hasn’t lost the sense of what made it great in the first place, even if its new dimensions eat into acceleration and fuel economy.A Fresh New LookUp front, the 2024 Kona maintains the same basic shape but adopts a simplified and more modern look. A razor-thin running light spans the width of the car. The old grille is gone, and its replacement features active shutters to help with airflow. Changes to the back mirror those at the front, with a sleek red running light stretching from corner to corner. If those touches aren’t enough, the N Line model ramps it up with body-colored cladding and an eye-catching rear spoiler, as well as N Line–specific bumpers and wheels.Hyundai pulled out all the stops to make the cabin a nicer place to spend weekday mornings and evenings. Customers who experience actual weather will appreciate the optional heated and ventilated seats and the available heated steering wheel. The old model’s gauge-cluster and infotainment screens are out, replaced with Hyundai’s more modern pair of 12.3-inch displays combined inside a single-piece bezel. There are a handful of useful USB-C connections for front and rear passengers for easy charging.The shifter has migrated from the center console to the column, opening storage space between the front seats. The result is an unconventional yet practical center console, great for handbags or other large items. Strangely, the new stowage doesn’t actually close, so hiding items in a parked car is harder. Blissfully, physical climate controls made it through the redesign. In most trims, the Kona has grown by 5.7 inches from nose to tail, improving rear legroom while adding six cubic feet of cargo capacity. To maximize the amount of usable cabin space, Hyundai reduced the thickness of the front seats by 30 percent, further improving rear legroom. Most adults will find the back seat to be reasonably accommodating for a short commute (far better than before), though the rear seats lean awkwardly far back.Still Sufficiently SprightlyBoth previous-generation engines make their way back into the new Kona. The SE and the SEL rock a somewhat anemic 147-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder connected to a continuously variable automatic transmission, while stepping up to the N Line and Limited trims brings the peppier 190-hp turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder. The turbo four thankfully loses the last generation’s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission in favor of a much smoother eight-speed torque-converter automatic. The last turbocharged Kona we tested bustled to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds, but considering the addition of a slightly heavier transmission and the overall growth of the car, we expect the new model to add a tenth or two. While the redesigned Kona hasn’t exactly turned into a canyon carver, it’s more than capable of generating some fun. In the event that you’re running late for work, the Kona responds well to urging. The chassis behaves nicely, and the suspension does well to absorb the brunt of any road imperfections. The N Line and Limited test vehicles we drove were equipped with standard 19-inch wheels, and the lesser trims’ 17- and 18-inch rollers should be more competent at eating up bumps. Turning the rotary drive-mode dial into Sport pumps some extra weight through the steering wheel but doesn’t do much in the way of actual feel. More on the Hyundai KonaThe Kona comes standard with front-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive is optional across the board for just $1500. The last-generation Kona offered good fuel economy, although it was average among class rivals. Given its new dimensions, we expect our fuel-economy test results to slip for the new generation. Official estimates also hint at this possibility: In its front-wheel-drive guise, the new Kona has an EPA rating of 31 mpg combined with the 2.0-liter engine and 28 mpg combined with the turbo 1.6-liter. That represents a modest 1-mpg dip from last year’s base engine but a 4-mpg hit for the turbo. The 2024 Hyundai Kona is a slam-dunk for most commuters. The longer wheelbase adds to the practicality without dramatically altering the driving fun we fell in love with when this small SUV debuted. The addition of new convenience tech, including blind-spot and surround-view cameras, furthers the argument for the Kona. Despite its growth spurt and commensurate price bump, as well as small hits to acceleration and fuel economy, the Kona continues to bring an enjoyable and youthful attitude to the doldrums of city driving. Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Hyundai KonaVehicle Type: front-engine, front- or all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
SE, $25,435; SEL, $26,785; N-Line, $31,985; Limited, $32,985; AWD prices $1500 higher
ENGINES
SE, SEL: DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-4, 147 hp, 132 lb-ft; N Line, Limited: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 1.6-liter inline-4, 190 hp, 195 lb-ft
TRANSMISSIONS
SE, SEL: continuously variable automatic; N Line, Limited: 8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 104.7 inLength: 171.3–172.6 inWidth: 71.9 inHeight: 62.4–63.6 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 53–55/47 ft3Cargo Volume, behind F/R: 64/26 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3000–3500 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 7.5–8.6 sec1/4-Mile: 16.0–17.0 secTop Speed: 125 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 26–31/24–29/29–35 mpgAssociate 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