Car Reviews

For those who enjoy driving but are compelled by the need to combine performance with a modicum of practicality, sports sedans have long been the perfect choice. Despite the seismic shift towards SUVs in recent years, it’s great to see that some automakers—primarily from Germany—are keeping the faith. The latest example is the new 2022 Audi A3, along with its S3 sporting cousin. The A3 is Audi’s smallest four-door sedan, although this latest version has grown slightly. It’s 1.2 inches longer, 0.8 inch wider, and half an inch taller than its predecessor. Lest you think that it’s a tiny car, the new A3 is the same width and barely an inch shorter than an E90-generation BMW 3-series. Interior volume is also similar, but trunk space is about 10 percent less.

The new model is wrapped in sheetmetal that doesn’t depart much from the outgoing model. The profile is sleek, and the front face is dominated by a large grille. But it’s a subdued look with minimal sculpting, and it is perhaps the least eye-catching of any vehicle in Audi’s lineup. The S3 version is similarly low key, with a coarser grille texture, larger and wider wheels, and a subtle rear spoiler. Improvements in mirror design, underbody cladding, and other details have reduced the drag coefficients by about 10 percent across the board.Inside, however, the 2022 model goes in a new direction with an angular motif that’s carried through the dash, the vents, the armrests, and even the door handles. Not only does it look fresh and attractive, but the new design integrates the 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen instead of having it sprout from the dash like a mini drive-in movie screen.
The driving position is excellent, with the steering wheel’s upper half nicely framing the optional 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit Plus reconfigurable instrument cluster. (The standard screen is a couple inches smaller and offers fewer configuration options.) Headroom and legroom are fine, despite the standard panoramic sunroof. Even the back seat is pretty good, with adequate headroom, legroom, and foot room for someone who’s five feet, 11 inches tall. The rear seatbacks fold in 40/20/40 increments, maximizing the utility of the 11-cubic-foot trunk.Heated power front seats are standard, as is leather upholstery with contrasting stitching, which is now available in gray, brown, or beige. During a two-hour drive, these seats were very comfortable and provided decent lateral support, with slightly larger side bolsters in the S3.
Updated PowertrainsThe powertrains will be familiar to previous A3 and S3 owners, but there are some important improvements. All use versions of the VW Group’s ubiquitous 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine. Unlike in the previous A3, the front-drive car no longer gets a less powerful engine than the Quattro.The new A3 engine uses a modified Miller cycle that improves part-throttle fuel economy and is coupled to a 48-volt hybrid system to provide further efficiency. Output is 201 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque, which is roughly in between the previous A3’s two engines. Coupled again to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, the new A3’s EPA combined fuel economy improves by two mpg to 32 mpg with front-wheel drive and by a massive 6 mpg to 31 mpg for the Quattro. It’s nice to see that, despite the push towards EVs, Audi hasn’t given up on internal-combustion-engine development.
While Audi claims that the front-drive A3 maintains the same 6.6-second 60-mph time as before, the loss of nearly 20 horsepower and 40 pound-feet of torque doesn’t help the all-wheel-drive A3 Quattro, which needs a claimed 6.3 seconds to hit 60—but we predict they’ll be quicker once we get our hands on one to test. If the 24 percent improvement in fuel economy doesn’t console you about this deficit, the solution is to step up to the more powerful S3. The S3’s engine sees power increase from 288 to 306 horsepower and torque boosted from 280 to 295 pound-feet. At the same time, EPA combined fuel economy improves by 2 mpg to 27, and the factory-stated 60-mph sprint time drops by a tenth to 4.5 seconds. In our last test of an S3, it was a couple of tenths quicker than the factory claim, so we might expect a slightly better figure in our testing.
Sporting SuspensionsThe suspension is largely similar to the previous generation with struts in front and a multilink setup in the rear. The biggest change is that the optional, adjustable suspension offered on the S3 switches from magnetorheological technology to more conventional hydraulic dampers. A version of this system with different calibration is also optional on the A3 for the first time.We drove the A3 and S3 through Colorado’s mountain roads, and both take to hard driving with enthusiasm. The A3 Quattro was reasonably strong, offering its 201 ponies willingly and revving strongly to its 6250-rpm redline. The standard paddle shifters work beautifully, and while we’re not fans of the lame-looking stubby gear selector, it does serve nicely to toggle between the transmission’s standard drive, sport, and manual positions.
The chassis has good body control and nice cornering balance, despite undoubtedly having a front-based weight distribution. Only when pushing really hard in tight corners did front grip seem to fade earlier than the rear. The brakes are strong and inspire confidence, though the steering, while accurate, is not infused with great feel. Switching from Comfort to Dynamic mode adds a bit of weight to the steering but not necessarily more feel.The S3 feels immediately tauter than the A3. The ride is firmer, the brake pedal harder, and the engine much stronger. When using full throttle to pass cars on two-lane roads, the S3 feels like it uses all of its 306 horsepower as it shifts crisply a little above its 6500-rpm redline. The engine sound satisfying at full throttle as well, without any artificial soundtrack being pumped in through the sound system.
The S3’s steering in Comfort mode is heavier than in the A3’s Dynamic mode, and it also has a strong sense of self-centering, which feels a bit artificial. In Dynamic mode, the effort increases substantially, to the point where it overpowers any steering feel. The suspension, on the other hand, works very nicely in Dynamic mode, giving the car a taut feel that encourages exploiting the S3’s greater grip.The dual-clutch seven-speed transmission works well in both cars. Exploring low-rpm operation in the upper gears, the S3 displays substantial turbo lag. That’s easily overcome by driving in one of the Sport modes or hitting the kickdown switch, after which the combination of a big downshift and the engine coming onto boost delivers an exciting rush of acceleration.

Driven more calmly, the A3 and the S3 are reasonably refined. While their four-cylinder engines are smooth and quiet, they don’t quite purr with the silkiness of six- and eight-cylinder powerplants. The ride is also good, though the occasional harsh bump does come crashing through the suspension. Even in Comfort mode, these cars remind that they are machines with a sporting orientation.A3 and S3 PricingBoth cars are on sale now, with prices starting at $34,945 for the A3 ($2000 more for the A3 Quattro) and $45,945 for the S3. As usual, all models offer Audi’s Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige packages. Our well-equipped test cars stickered at $44,400 for the A3 Quattro and $57,440 for the S3.For those who like the driving enjoyment in small packages, these new Audis are great choices. They offer a combination of performance, comfort, and efficiency that simply can’t be matched by larger vehicles.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Audi A3/S3Vehicle Type: front-engine, front- or all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base: A3, $34,945; S3, $45,945
ENGINES
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 201 hp, 221 lb-ft; turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 306 hp, 295 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION
7-speed dual-clutch automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 103.5–103.6 inLength: 176.9–177.3 inWidth: 71.5 inHeight: 55.7–56.2 inPassenger Volume: 88 ft3Trunk Volume: 8–11 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3350–3550 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 4.3–6.2 sec100 mph: 11.8–15.0 sec1/4-Mile: 13.0–14.7 secTop Speed: 130–155 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 27–32/23–29/32–38 mpg

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

Not content with just one dedicated off-road F-150 model, Ford has introduced the F-150 Tremor, which bundles a host of Raptor-inspired design cues with some unique trail-ready tech. With a $51,200 starting price, the Tremor is accessible to a broader range of buyers, and it doesn’t require as many compromises as the more performance-focused Raptor. But is it as capable off-road as the Raptor? Yes and no. The Raptor’s high-powered, high-flying antics aren’t something the Tremor can mimic, but rock crawling, hill climbing, and mud flinging are well within the new truck’s wheelhouse. To prove it, Ford set us loose with a 2021 F-150 Tremor at Holly Oaks ORV Park, located about 60 miles north of our Ann Arbor headquarters. The park’s 106 acres includes several steep hills, rocky terrain, and rutted two-track trails.

The Tremor is available with some novel features intended to make navigating off-road obstacles much easier, and most of them work quite well. Trail Control, for instance, works as a sort of low-speed cruise control, allowing for even power delivery while heading up an incline or through a rutted pass, for example. Trail Turn Assist provides more maneuverability in tight cornering scenarios by braking an inside wheel, giving the truck a tighter turn radius.
The Tremor’s available Trail One-Pedal Drive feature could use more time in the oven, however. Like an electric vehicle, the system alleviates the use of the brake pedal, allowing the driver to simply push down on the gas to go forward and let off to stop. Unlike an EV, though, which uses drag from the electric motor to slow the vehicle, the Tremor’s system uses the truck’s friction brakes. The system is difficult to modulate without practice, and abruptly taking your foot off the accelerator pedal at low speeds can actually lock the brakes. In our experience at Holly Oaks, using the feature on a steep downhill slope caused some unwanted skidding. Luckily, the truck also has a more traditional hill-descent control system. A unique styling kit helps the F-150 Tremor look the part too. While it borrows some themes from the Raptor—the vented hood, powder-coated running boards, and a silver bumper bash plate, for example—it also sports orange trim across the exterior and interior to match the Ranger and Expedition Timberline models. The F-150 Tremor is offered only in the SuperCrew body style with the 5.5-foot bed, but there are three trim levels—base, Mid, and High—with various luxury and convenience items. All are powered by a 400-hp twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 and come with a 10-speed automatic transmission.
Four-wheel drive is standard, as expected, and all models come with a locking rear differential and 33-inch General Grabber A/T off-road tires on 18-inch aluminum wheels. A front-axle Torsen limited-slip diff is optional. Going with the Mid trim—a $6065 jump in price over the base version—adds niceties such as heated front seats, the aforementioned trail-driving assist features, a Bang & Olufsen stereo, and an 8.0-inch instrument cluster display that provides at-a-glance info that’s helpful when navigating off-road. The top-end model comes with a more premium cabin that boasts a heated steering wheel, leather upholstery, heated rear seats, a 12-inch digital instrument cluster, a power-adjustable steering column, and adjustable pedals; it rings in at $64,645. That’s a mere $1195 away from the base price of the Raptor. The Tremor’s ride height, however, makes it easier to use for towing and hauling, so buyers needing that pickup practicality might not balk at the near-Raptor price tag.

Specifications

Specifications
2021 Ford F-150 TremorVehicle Type: front-engine, rear/4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
PRICE
Base: $51,200
ENGINE
twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 213 in3, 3497 cm3Power: 400 hp @ 6000 rpmTorque: 500 lb-ft @ 3100 rpm
TRANSMISSION
10-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 145.6 inLength: 231.7 inWidth: 79.9 inHeight: 79.3 inPassenger Volume: 136 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 5600 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.5 sec1/4-Mile: 14.1 secTop Speed: 110 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 18/16/20 mpg

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

Our initial reactions to the 2022 BMW Alpina B8 were like the overawed exclamations of a street urchin meeting a member of high society. In a Dickens novel, the next scene either would involve being adopted by the Alpina or picking its pockets. Work fast, Artful Dodger, this car may look weighed down by wealth, but it’s got quick moves. You’d have to be seriously jaded to not be just a little impressed by Alpina’s take on the BMW 8-series Gran Coupe. Alpina, longtime collaborators with BMW, has taken the stiff, muscular, fighter of a four-door and helped it relax. That’s what Alpina is known for: tweaking BMW’s best with a little sparkle here, a touch of torque there, and most notably in the B8, a more comfortable ride.
Alpina’s changes to the exterior of the B8 are subtle. It gets larger air intakes up front, a black diffuser in the rear, and a saucy little decklid spoiler joined by an Alpina badge on the trunk. The wheels and tires are specific to Alpina, a 20-spoke design in a standard 21-inch size wrapped in custom Pirelli rubber tuned specifically for the Alpina. For those more worried about inclement weather than grip, 20-inch wheels with all-season tires are also available. Peeking out from the thin-spoked wheels are four-piston Brembo brake calipers in bright cobalt blue that clamp 15.6-inch rotors in the front and 15.7 inches in the rear.

The B8 uses the same engine as the BMW M850i, a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8, albeit with Alpina’s own tune. With 612 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, the Alpina is just 5-horsepower short of the M8 Competition, but 37 pound-feet ahead in torque. That’s in keeping with the tuner’s mission, which is not necessarily to outdo BMW’s versions in all-out performance but to make that performance feel more effortless. Alpina says zero to 60 mph takes 3.3 seconds and that the B8 can cruise at a top speed of 201 mph. In our hands, the lighter M8 Competition Gran Coupe has reached 60 mph in 2.7 seconds, so consider Alpina’s estimates conservative. Backing the V-8 is an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, again with Alpina’s tune for a focus on smooth performance. Changing drive modes adjusts shift points and response; leaving everything in Comfort mode will make you forget the car shifts at all. We were unable to test the top-speed claim while running errands, the Nürburgring sadly not on the way to our local Target, but the car’s stoplight scoot is plenty to get ahead of other traffic in order to nab the best parking spot. (Make it a big one; this is a large automobile.) Even in the Sport settings, there is a slight delay to all that power coming in that might fool an impatient driver into thinking this is not a quick car. Stay in it, pal. Just wait. When you get home, you’ll find all your toaster strudel on the far side of the trunk from where you placed them.
A reoccurring complaint with many performance sedans, and particularly the M8 Competitions, has been ride quality. Gone, it seems, are the days when a big luxury car would float over the roads, cushioning the driver and passengers. The B8 looks back to those days. It’s still a willing partner on a winding road, however, with all-wheel drive, a limited-slip differential, rear-axle steering, and active anti-roll bars that keep it upright and pointed in the right direction. But the best use of the B8 is as it’s intended, to bring elegance to mundane commutes and comfort to long trips. It is a luxurious place to spend time. Why would you want it over quickly?Perhaps if you were a back-seat passenger, you’d be less excited about an extended stay in the B8. Although the ride is just as smooth, the rear seats are smaller, and the bottoms are deeply dished with an extreme rake that looks suave when you open the door, but sitting in them feels a bit like falling through the seat of a worn-out rattan patio chair. Getting out might require assistance. Up front is the best place to be, roomy for both driver and passenger, with plenty of soft, aromatic leather to stroke—especially on the comically thick steering wheel—and lots of private tea-room glamour, like the ridiculous yet compelling cut-crystal shifter knob and faceted infotainment dial. One wants to clink a champagne flute against it.
Don’t get blinded by the glitter, though. The interior is attractive, but you can get leather and glasslike accessories in a Genesis for a third of the B8’s $140,895 starting price. The B8 is almost $8005 more than the M8 Competition Gran Coupe, and some of our same quibbles with other 8-series cars extend to the Alpina as well. The big one being, in a car that starts at $140,000, BMW charges extra for the upgraded stereo system and driving-assistance package. For a customer already shopping the M8 but loathe to suffer a bone-rattling ride in pursuit of the ideal fast four-door, the B8 presents the perfect solution. Alpina doesn’t make thousands of B8s, nor does it want to. It’s looking for just the right buyer, someone who already loves the 8-series Gran Coupe’s style but wants more power, comfort, and crystal. Is that you, guvnah?

Specifications

Specifications
2022 BMW Alpina B8 Gran CoupeVehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base: $140,895
ENGINE
twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 268 in3, 4395 cm3Power: 612 hp @ 6500 rpmTorque: 590 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 119.0 inLength: 200.4 inWidth: 76.1 inHeight: 56.0 inPassenger Volume: 97 ft3Trunk Volume: 16 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 4800 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 3.1 sec100 mph: 6.9 sec1/4-Mile: 11.2 secTop Speed: 201 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 19/17/24 mpg

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

From the November 2021 issue of Car and Driver.A mere look at the i4 M50 doesn’t hint at its significance. There’s little to distinguish it from the like-sized 4-series Gran Coupe four-door it’s based on. But this is BMW’s first EV to wear the storied M badge, even if it’s an M50 moniker and not a full-blown M.It earns the M badge, too, as its power and range are a massive leap beyond BMW’s previous i-subbrand offerings. The i4 uses the same 255-hp front and 308-hp rear motors as the iX, but with a higher peak output of 536 horsepower and 586 pound-feet of torque, thanks to a battery that is smaller in capacity but stronger in output. That’s more power than the current M3 and M4 Competition models. Smacking the go pedal brings hard and instant thrust, causing the front end to rise up dramatically as the i4 hurtles ahead. Holding down both pedals when stopped activates launch control, during which it pulses the motors, giving the impression that the car is champing at the bit. Acceleration to 60 mph is expected to be in the three-second range, or as quick as an M3/M4.
The i4 M50’s $66,895 starting price makes it a bit of a bargain in the BMW lineup—that’s less than you’ll pay for even the base M3. There’s also a $56,385 335-hp eDrive40 model with the same 80.7-kWh battery capacity.Adding audio to the experience is a whirring soundtrack whose tone rises and falls with motor speed and gets louder and softer depending on the rate of acceleration or deceleration. Select Sport mode and the sound is overbearing. Switching it off left us marveling at the i4’s silence. There’s no whine from the motors or high-voltage electronics that are usually present in EVs. This is one of the subjectively quietest EVs we’ve ever driven.
The i4 is nearly 1000 pounds heavier than an all-wheel-drive M3, yet the additional mass isn’t obvious when you’re driving. Weight distribution leans rearward, and the center of gravity is 1.5 inches lower than in the 3-series. Like the 3-series, the i4’s steering is light on feedback. Mostly you notice massive grip from the 20-inch Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Elect tires. As in the iX, a curved panel housing two screens dominates the i4’s interior, a setup that will soon proliferate through the BMW lineup.At the rate it sucked energy on a blast from Munich to the Bavarian Alps, the i4 won’t travel much farther than 200 miles. Then again, a Tesla Model 3 Performance, its most obvious competitor, doesn’t do much better.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 BMW i4 M50Vehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback
PRICE
Base: $66,895
POWERTRAIN
Motors: 2 synchronous AC, 255 and 308 hp, 269 and 295 lb-ftCombined Power: 536 hpCombined Torque: 586 lb-ftBattery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 80.7 kWhOnboard Charger: 11.0 kWTransmissions: direct-drive
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 112.8 inLength: 188.3 inWidth: 72.9 inHeight: 57.0 inCurb Weight (C/D est): 5050 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 3.6 sec100 mph: 9.1 sec1/4-Mile: 12.1 secTop Speed: 140 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 85 MPGeRange: 225 mi

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

The Toyota Tundra is old. How old? It’s so old, when it was introduced, the Dead Sea was just getting sick. It’s so old, if you park one outside an antiques store, people will try to buy it. It’s so old, it was introduced in 2007. Which is, uh, 14 years ago. The fact that Toyota still sells more than 100,000 Tundras a year is a testament to the effort it expended on that mid-2000s redesign—a 381-hp V-8 was killer then and still relevant now. But it’s (long past) time for an update, and so the 2022 Tundra gets a thorough overhaul that sets Toyota up for another long production run. Maybe not 14 years this time, though.Gone is the V-8, leaving the ancient Sequoia as the only remaining V-8-powered Toyota in the U.S. All Tundras are now powered by a twin-turbo 3.4-liter V-6 paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. (Toyota, though, incorrectly refers to it as a 3.5-liter.) Hybrid models, dubbed “i-Force MAX,” sandwich a 48-hp electric motor between the engine and transmission, with a small nickel-metal hydride battery mounted beneath the rear seat. The standard configuration makes 389 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. The muscled-up hybrid churns out 437 horsepower and 583 pound-feet of torque. Only the entry-level SR trim makes less power than the outgoing truck, with its V-6 tuned for 348 horsepower and 405 pound-feet.

The other major hardware change concerns the rear suspension, which is now a coil-spring design. Optional air springs enable automatic load leveling but can also be manually controlled, to either lower the rear end to ease loading or raise it for off-roading. Which, given the fixed front ride height, means that the Tundra can Carolina Squat itself.Trim levels mirror the previous-gen truck, starting with the basic SR and the volume-model SR5 and climbing through fancier Limited, Platinum, and 1794 variants. The TRD Pro is now hybrid-only, but the hybrid-adverse can build an SR5 that nearly replicates the TRD Pro’s hardware. The new TRD Off-Road package includes TRD wheels and suspension (though not the Pro’s Fox internal-bypass front dampers and remote-reservoir rears), along with a locking rear differential—the first time an electronic locker has been offered on a Tundra. If you want to go in the opposite direction, there’s also a TRD Sport package that lowers the ride height.
Maximum payload is now 1940 pounds, and that almost-ton of stuff rides in a rugged new aluminum-reinforced composite bed—the “make the whole plane out of the black box” approach to bedliner. Nonetheless, Toyota still offers both a bed mat and a spray-in bedliner as accessories. Why? Because a certain group of people demand so. We won’t say who, but they’d be the ones who make a bunch of money selling you a bedliner for your bed. (They’ll also install a three-inch lift kit, among a portfolio of other accessories.) Those beds are available in 5.5-foot, 6.5-foot, and 8.0-foot lengths, and Tundra buyers can now pair the crew cab with a 6.5-foot bed.

From the outside, the Tundra’s redesign is conservative—huge grille notwithstanding—with a definite Silverado resemblance in the cab, particularly the upward kick of the sheetmetal at the bottom of the rear side windows. But inside, it’s a huge departure from its predecessor. An 8.0-inch center touchscreen is standard, but every truck at the launch event had the optional 14.0-inch infotainment screen. The navigation system is the most obvious upgrade, running a cloud-based system that will automatically store maps offline if you’re heading into an area with spotty connectivity. There’s also a “Hey Toyota” virtual assistant that can understand natural questions and commands. One thing that’s missing from both systems is a tuner knob for the stereo. If you frequently listen to SiriusXM or terrestrial radio, that could be a major aggravation—the hard buttons on the steering wheel scroll through presets, but not from channel to channel. Up above the rearview mirror is the switch to roll down the rear glass, which is nice for talking to hitchhikers riding in the bed.
We didn’t tow with the Tundra, but its 12,000-pound max tow rating is competitive with the other half-ton trucks. It also has a clever backup assist function. Drive around for a bit with your trailer and the truck learns how it behaves, then enables a mode where the truck steers the trailer straight back on whatever heading you put it on. That seems more useful than relearning how to reverse a trailer, which is essentially what Ford’s backup assist requires.With no center differential on any trim, the Tundra’s default on-pavement mode is rear-wheel drive. So, take a rear-drive truck with an open diff, 437 horsepower and 583 pound-feet of torque, and you have a recipe for massive burnouts. The hybrid will lay rubber into third gear—its rear diff is upsized, to handle all that torque—and the standard truck will smoke the tires, too. These things are going to be a handful in the rain. Fortunately, the coil-spring rear end helps imbue the 2022 Tundra with a feeling of precision that was missing in the 2021 model. The whole truck feels more taut and better in control of its mass, both sprung and unsprung.
When it’s time to back off the throttle, the hybrid downplays its electrified nature. Although it’s recapturing energy on deceleration, there’s no display to show that, nor any Prius-style energy deployment graphic. All it has is a gauge showing how much muscle the electric motor is contributing, conspicuously paired with a similar one displaying turbo boost. Where’d that energy come from? Your Tundra won it in a game of poker, or hunted it with a bow and arrow, because that’s what tough trucks do.The fact that Toyota came up with “i-Force MAX” as a euphemism for “hybrid” is a clue that efficiency might not be the main objective here. We still don’t have EPA numbers for the hybrid, but the truck’s own reckoning from its trip computer put the mileage similar to the nonhybrid, which is to say high teens in mixed driving. We’d guess the i-Force MAX picks up 1 or 2 mpg in the city but doubt it betters the 22-mpg highway for the nonhybrid 4×4. The hybrid will go into EV mode at highway speeds, but with only 48 horsepower motivating a 6000-pound truck, it doesn’t take much throttle to awaken the V-6.
Both powertrains are hushed, piping in some synthesized engine noises to provide a little drama when you dig deep on the throttle. So, whether in Eco mode or Sport+, there’s a prominent growl when you floor the accelerator. It’s not bad. And with the windows down, every now and then you catch the sound of the turbos spooling up. Toyota still hasn’t released pricing, but given its approach to the rest of the redesign, we think it’ll land about where you’d expect—ruthlessly benchmarked against the other half-ton full-size trucks. Toyota admits that it doesn’t expect to outsell the domestic trucks, because if the 2007 Tundra couldn’t, what would? Thus, three strategic concessions: air springs only on the rear axle rather than all four corners, no generator function with the hybrid, no full-time four-wheel-drive system that can be used on pavement. Because would any of those things convince longtime Ford buyers to jump to Toyota? Conversely, will their absence drive a loyal Tundra driver to another brand? Probably not. If the 2007 Tundra was ahead of its time, this one is of the moment—however long that should last.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Toyota TundraVehicle Type: front-engine or front-engine and front-motor, rear- or rear/four-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
PRICE (C/D EST)
Base: $37,000
POWERTRAINS
twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.4-liter V-6, 348 or 389 hp, 405 or 479 lb-ft; twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.4-liter V-6, 389 hp, 479 lb-ft + AC motor, 48 hp, 184 lb-ft (combined output: 437 hp, 583 lb-ft; nickel-metal hydride battery pack)Transmission: 10-speed
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 145.7–164.6 inLength: 233.6–252.5 inWidth: 80.2–81.6 inHeight: 78.0 inPassenger Volume: 106–122 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 5300–6400 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 6.2 sec1/4-Mile: 14.9 secTop Speed: 100 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 19–22/17–20/22–24 mpg

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

Look past the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E’s tenuous connection to the brand’s traditional pony cars and you’ll find a very compelling electric vehicle—one good enough that it earned Car and Driver’s first ever EV of the Year award. But the Mustang badge that it wears conjures images of powerful, speed-addled thrills. The Mach-E simply struggles to deliver those in its lower states of tune, which top out at a mere 346 horsepower. For the Blue Oval’s electric SUV to approach the level of excitement expected from Ford’s galloping pony, you’ll need to step up to this Mach-E, the new performance-oriented GT model with its herd of additional horses.

An abundance of power has been a defining trait of Ford’s best Mustang models over the years. While the Mach-E GT’s all-wheel-drive layout means that tire-smoking burnouts are off the table, its combined pony count does climb to a stout 480 horsepower, thanks to a more powerful motor on its front axle (its rear unit is shared with lesser models). That’s more than enough grunt to startle unsuspecting passengers and draw the attention of roadside tax collectors. Aided by 600 pound-feet of torque, it’s also enough to get the GT to 60 mph in a claimed 3.8 seconds, which is more than a second quicker than we’ve recorded for a non-GT version and as rapid as the last 526-hp Mustang Shelby GT350R we tested. Opting for the GT Performance Edition—a $5000 package atop the $61,000 base GT—adds an extra 34 pound-feet of twist and drops the factory-stated zero-to-60 figure to 3.5 seconds. For reference, a 470-hp 2020 Tesla Model Y Dual Motor Performance, which starts at $62,400, needed 3.6 seconds to reach 60 mph in our testing.
Providing the electrons to the GT’s motors is the larger 88.0-kWh Extended Range battery, which is optional on non-GT models. For the 2022 model year, recalibrated energy management programming will increase the pack’s usable capacity by 3 percent, boosting its storage to 91.0 kWh. (Likewise, 2022 Mach-Es with the standard battery will sport 70.0 kWh of capacity, up from the current 68.0.) Ford says these gains will not alter the car’s quoted range, which is estimated at a respectable 270 miles for the regular GT and 260 for the GT Performance Edition. In addition to their increased outputs, both GT models sit 0.4 inch lower on a sportier suspension setup and feature wider 20-inch wheels with 245/45R-20 tires—all-seasons on the regular GT and Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Elect summer rubber for the Performance Edition, the latter being a first for any Mach-E. Performance models also bring a unique wheel design, larger front brake rotors, and adaptive magnetorheological dampers. You’ll be able to spot Mach-E GTs by their red-painted brake calipers (the fronts being four-piston Brembo units), plus GT badges on their rear liftgates, revised front and rear bumpers, and dark-finished grilles with illuminated pony emblems. Also included are front sport seats with larger bolsters. Performance models feature even more embracing Ford Performance units with grippy inserts.
Mat the accelerator and the GT delivers the instant, neck-snapping thrust that the Mach-E’s Mustang-inspired design promises, quickly erasing short straights on California’s Pacific Coast Highway north of San Francisco. It’s difficult to notice the Performance Edition’s extra torque over the standard GT’s, but its stickier tires and upgraded dampers reveal more of the Mach-E’s handling potential. Carry too much speed into a sharp corner and the girth of this relatively tall, heavy crossover is evident, but its overall balance is pleasantly neutral and provides impressive agility and body control. Although you can activate a one-pedal drive setting with maximum brake regeneration via a tap of the 15.5-inch center touchscreen, the more aggressive Unbridled drive mode (there also are tamer Whisper and Engaged settings) brings a decent amount of standard regen while also sharpening the drivetrain’s responses and upping the steering effort. Ride quality is taut but never harsh in this mode and downright comfy by default, even over the few broken sections of pavement we could find. The regular GT with its passive dampers manages most bumps with a similar smoothness, although we did notice some uncouth hobbyhorse motions over large frequency undulations, such as those you might encounter between pavement seams on the highway. As you’d expect, it’s far easier to overdrive the GT when it’s fitted with all-seasons, as those tires can quickly lose purchase when you abruptly unleash 600 pound-feet of torque accelerating out of a tight bend. Unique to GT models is a new Unbridled Extend mode, which is designed to provide sustained performance over longer runs by optimizing the battery’s thermal management and setting all of its chassis systems to full attack. In this mode, the brakes become more responsive and devoid of regen, the steering gets more linear, and the volume of the love-it-or-don’t powertrain synthesizer that plays through the stereo speakers increases slightly (it can be turned off if you prefer near silence). The front-to-rear power split also becomes rear biased, going from 50/50 to 40/60, and the thresholds for traction and stability control intervention are relaxed. More important, those driver aids can now be fully deactivated via a button next to the headlight controls—a feature that Mach-Es have previously lacked. It will be added to all models for the 2022 model year.

Aided by the GT’s precise steering, stable platform, and deep well of torque, Unbridled Extend made the Performance Edition a hoot to fling around a maze of cones set up in an abandoned parking lot. Ford prevented us from turning off the car’s safety nets and sliding around the course’s hairpins with abandon, but we still had enough fun that we didn’t mind the lack of fire and brimstone under the hood, at least for a moment. If anything, pushing the GT’s limits revealed that the Mach-E’s chassis could handle even more rubber underneath it, although larger tires surely would sap some of its range. There are caveats, though: Unbridled Extend prioritizes consistency over outright power, meaning straight-line thrust is less than in the normal Unbridled setting. And it has very strict activation requirements related to heat and current flowing in and out of the battery, so you’ll need to engage it on startup or after the car has sat and cooled off for a bit. We also learned that the Performance Edition’s seats, while otherwise nicely supportive, could work better still at holding the pilot in place during high-g maneuvers. Given the GT’s greater power and poise versus lesser Mach-Es, its upcharge—nearly $10K more than a Premium all-wheel-drive model with similar equipment and the same range—seems reasonable. Compared to the slightly more expensive Tesla Model Y Performance, it’s better built and far more engaging to operate. As a Mustang, the Mach-E is still earning its place among that nameplate’s storied history. But the GT does prove that, with enough horsepower and handling hardware, even a quiet, accommodating crossover can excite a pony car enthusiast’s grey matter.

Specifications

Specifications
2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GTVehicle Type: front- and mid-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
$61,000; GT Performance Edition, $66,000
POWERTRAIN
Front Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous ACRear Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous ACCombined Power: 480 hpCombined Torque: 600 or 634 lb-ftBattery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 88.0 kWhOnboard Charger: 10.5 kWTransmissions: direct-drive
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 117.5 inLength: 186.7 inWidth: 74.1 inHeight: 63.5 inPassenger Volume: 101 ft3Cargo Volume: 34 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 5000 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 3.5–3.8 sec100 mph: 12.0–12.2 sec1/4-Mile: 12.3–12.5 secTop Speed: 124 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 87–90/92–96/81–84 MPGeRange: 260–270 mi

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

After driving nearly every car for sale over the last 20 years, it’s natural for the cars of the past to enter into your thoughts when driving something new. Humans compare experiences to gain perspective, which explains why we were daydreaming about Rolls-Royces while driving Mercedes-Benz’s new electric luxury four-door, the EQS450+. Like a Rolls-Royce Phantom, the EQS is a capsule of luxury and silence that pours itself down the road with unerring grace. Unlike a hard-to-swallow Rolls, the EQS looks like an Advil Liqui-Gel. It’s a lozenge of a car with what Mercedes claims is the lowest drag coefficient—0.20—of any car on sale. That slick bod whips through the air, barely disturbing it, and leads to near silence at extra-legal highway speeds.

Mercredes-Benz

The 107.8-kWh battery sandwiched in the floor also helps keep road noise to a minimum. That big battery also allows the EQS450+ to go an estimated 350 miles between charges. While that range bests the other German electrics, Lucid and Tesla both have models that far surpass that number. Find a Level 3 DC hookup and the EQS can go from 10 percent charge to 80 percent in 31 minutes. On a typical Level 2 setup, the EQS take just over 11 hours to go from 10 percent to 100 percent.Moving the electrons around in the battery is a single motor driving the rear wheels that makes 329 horsepower and 419 pound-feet of torque. It’s not nearly as quick as the 516-hp EQS580, but it’ll shove you into the massaging seats. After the initial thrust from a stop the acceleration tapers off, but 60 mph is yours in a claimed 5.9 seconds. In more relaxed driving, the right-now torque affords the EQS the same sort of effortless waftability that Rolls-Royce has been touting for decades.

Mercredes-Benz

Yet what really reminds us of the Spirit of Ecstasy is the suppleness and silence of the suspension as it glides over the tarmac. Not much of the outside permeates the EQS’s cocoon. The long 126.4-inch wheelbase certainly helps attenuate bumps, but it’s the tuning of the standard air-spring suspension that maintains the serenity despite our test car’s 21-inch wheels wrapped in Goodyear summer rubber. Those sticky tires provide excellent grip despite the Benz’s estimated 5600-pound curb weight. Press it hard into a corner and it remains flat, and the low center of gravity born of the massive battery in the floor seemingly drills the car into the center of the Earth. Steering efforts are light and don’t pick up much even in Sport mode, but the easy efforts help mask the heft and size of this S-class-sized hatchback.

Mercredes-Benz

Four-wheel steering turns the rear wheels up to 10 degrees in opposition of the fronts at low speeds, helping to shrink the turning circle to 35.7 feet, making this very big Benz feel like an A-class. There’s an ease and luxury to the whole driving experience, that is only interrupted by the brakes. Hitting the brakes in the EQS starts with energy regeneration from the motors and then blends in the stopping power of the four massive brake rotors. Stepping into the brake pedal is an initially mushy experience that doesn’t slow the car much. Keep pushing and you reach a hard point where the pedal resists being moved further. Press harder and the deceleration finally hits, but it takes a lot of pedal pressure to get meaningful braking, and by then you’re sailing towards that burgundy Corolla at an alarming rate. Using those unnatural-feeling brakes can be largely avoided by pulling on the right paddle behind the steering wheel twice. Do so and you get the maximum regeneration (what Mercedes terms Recuperation) that largely eliminates the need to touch the brake pedal and allows one to speed up and slow down in traffic by using only the accelerator. That max regen mode won’t bring the car to a complete stop though. The system slows the car to about 5 mph and then continues to creep ahead. There is an additional regen mode that requires you to hold the right paddle called Intelligent Recuperation. It utilizes the adaptive cruise-control radar and camera systems to optimize regeneration based on the surrounding traffic, the topography, and the twistiness of the road. When engaged, it’ll bring the car to a stop provided the car in front of you has stopped. It certainly works, but it’s not smart enough to stop at a stop sign or red light and will only react to whatever the car ahead is doing.

Mercredes-Benz

Aside from this being Mercedes’s first car built on its new EV platform, the other big news is the so-called Hyperscreen. The Hyperscreen consists of three screens that are covered in a massive glass panel that spans the width of the dashboard. The three touchscreens control nearly every function in the car, from setting an interior temperature to a game of Tetris. As a new system, it takes a bit of getting used to, but after a few hours of experimentation we became comfortable with scrolling through radio stations, looking up the outside air quality, setting a destination on the native navigation system, and pairing a phone to the system. Once paired, we largely skipped Benz’s system for Apple CarPlay. There is also the option of talking to the EQS. Saying “Hey, Mercedes” wakes the EQS’s virtual assistant that can help with a number of controls from setting the temperature to making a phone call. It works surprisingly well, but talking to your car always seems just a little silly. The Hyperscreen certainly looks like the future, but the instrument display in front of the driver is set high. That elevated cowl is the exact opposite of the low and simple dashboard of a Tesla Model 3 or even a Model S. The brain adjusts to it, but without an engine ahead of you, why does the cowl need to be so high?

Mercredes-Benz

We also questioned the lack of a frunk. A cabin air filter and some other ancillaries live under the fixed hood, but the EQS makes up for that deficiency with an absolutely massive amount of cargo space under the hatch. And, if that’s not enough, the rear seats fold away.There’s also a lot of space in the rear seat—leg-crossing, stretch-out space. Sitting in the rear seat you realize that this car is a reimagining of the S-class. In addition to the S-class appointments, performance, technology, and space inside, the EQS comes with an S-class-like price. The least expensive EQS450+ starts at $103,360, moving up to the Exclusive Level adds $3400, and the appropriately named Pinnacle Level comes in at $109,560. Pricing for the more powerful EQS580 opens at $120,160, requires an additional $3400 for the Exclusive trim, and for those who want it all, the Pinnacle will wear a $126,360 window sticker. Aside from the acceleration, the smaller motor EQS450+ is the same luxurious experience as the EQS580. If you never floor it for more than a couple of seconds, you’ll never feel like you should have gone with the quicker car. The EQS450+ is just as quiet, just as refined, and just and lovely as the more expensive EQS580. So, for those who don’t think every car that’s next to you at a red light is competition, you’ll be just fine.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS450+Vehicle Type: rear-motor, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback
PRICE
Base: $103,360
POWERTRAIN
Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 329 hp, 419 lb-ft Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 107.8 kWhOnboard Charger: 9.6 kWTransmission: direct-drive
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 126.4 inLength: 207.3 inWidth: 75.8 inHeight: 59.6 inCargo Volume: 22 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 5600 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.9 sec100 mph: 11.2 sec1/4-Mile: 14.5 secTop Speed: 130 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined: 95 MPGeRange: 350 mi

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More

A lucid dream is one in which you are aware you are dreaming and can exert some degree of control. That seems to describe the state of mind of those who brought the all-wheel-drive Lucid Air Dream Edition to life because, by all rights, it shouldn’t exist. The team that CEO Peter Rawlinson assembled not only was building the airplane while they were flying it, they were also hyping and financing the complicated endeavor at the same time.On paper, the results are just as jaw-dropping as they are easy to disbelieve. How could a first-time carmaker burst out of the gate with a stunner of an all-electric sedan that produces an eye-watering 1111 horsepower and 471 miles of EPA range in Performance spec and delivers an unprecedented EPA range of 520 miles in the 933-hp Range spec? The gracefully styled Air looks long, low, and wide, so it just has to be a portly sled that’s hiding a huge battery pack and a massive pair of motors, right?

Lucid Motors

Actually, no. Each of the two electric drive units has the capacity to produce 670 horsepower apiece, but each one weighs just 163 pounds and can fit into a carry-on suitcase. That’s a power density of 4.1 horsepower-per-pound, folks—about triple that of a 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V-8 without its requisite transmission, prop shaft, or rear differential. The Lucid figure, on the other hand, represents complete coaxial drive units that include the electric motor, power inverter, differential, final-drive reduction gear, and a pair of embedded axle drive flanges.What’s more, the battery pack that drives these electric machines is not an unspeakably large monstrosity. Lucid is getting that bonkers range out a 112.0-kWh battery because the Air’s EPA combined efficiency of 125 MPGe for the Dream and 131 MPGe for the Grand Touring are better than compact EVs like the Chevrolet Bolt EV (118) and Hyundai Kona Electric (120). The pack does weigh a smidge over 1500 pounds, but it can be forgiven because it is a stressed member of the body structure that represents some 40 percent of the car’s overall torsional stiffness.

Lucid Motors

According to a Lucid supply chain specialist we talked to, the secret sauce was the decision to design and build all of these powertrain components and the battery pack in-house. Off the shelf or even Tier-1 supplier-developed components would not allow for the design optimization that was necessary to pull off the kind of power, range, and packaging efficiency Lucid was after. Chief engineer Eric Bach summed up the unwavering clean-sheet philosophy by saying that the team started by “targeting the limits of physics, not other vehicles.”The desire for ultimate range and packaging efficiency led to a system that runs at as much as 924 volts instead of the typical 400 volts or the Porsche Taycan/Audi etron GT’s 800 volts. Doubling the voltage reduces the amount of current, and thus heat. That’s one of many reasons why so many of Lucid’s powertrain components are more heat-resistant and compact.The diminutive size of the motors adds up to a remarkable amount of interior space, trunk volume, and frunk volume. Front legroom is absolutely immense, and the only thing that gets in the way of an excellent driving position is the cumbersome touchscreen-based steering-column tilt-telescope and side-mirror adjustment scheme that’s admittedly better than Tesla’s, but not by much. Apart from that, the 34.0-inch floating 5k display screen makes a stunning centerpiece to an exceedingly well-trimmed and attractive cockpit.

Lucid Motors

Rear legroom is nearly as generous, but the posture is somewhat akin to a chaise lounge. The Dream and GT front seats are mounted low against the underfloor battery pack. While this helps facilitate the Air’s ultra-sleek roofline, it means back-seat passengers can’t tuck their feet under the front seats. The upcoming Touring and Pure models solve that with an 18-module battery instead of a 22-module pack, with the four absent ones right where rear passengers’ feet naturally rest. The trade-off will be 400-odd miles of range instead of over 500, but that hardly seems a problem.Underway, the Air Dream immediately impressed with a seemingly bottomless well of torque and ridiculously easy speed. The roads around Lucid’s Casa Grande, Arizona, assembly plant are no place to plumb the depths of this car’s potential, but we did stand on it hard enough to inadvertently test the headrests. Suffice it to say there’s no reason to doubt any of Lucid’s power figures, its 2.5-second 60-mph acceleration claim, or the 9.9-second quarter-mile estimate. Still, those are numbers for the sold-out Dream Performance model. We expect the 800-hp Grand Touring model to rip off a quarter-mile in 11.0 seconds. And the Dream Range model should fall in between.

Lucid Motors

We tried out all three driving modes: Smooth, Swift, and Sprint. Each offers differing levels of motor response, damper calibration, steering effort, and regenerative braking. Smooth offers more regen than Swift or Sprint, the theory being that drivers in a sporting mood want to control and feel the friction brakes. The two systems are not blended in any way, so the pedal feels predictable and authentic. Those who prefer a strong level of regen braking can select a High setting to conjure up 0.30 g in any mode, which we found highly entertaining when hustling through a tight, decreasing-radius freeway ramp. The front suspension is a multilink design with a virtual pivot steering axis that is a boon to steering precision and straight-line stability. The rear uses a different multilink design called integral link. Both make bushing tuning more straightforward when it comes to comfort and performance. Electrically assisted power steering produces consistent feel and a strong sense of straight ahead despite the disparate effects that came with power application, regen braking, and friction braking.

Lucid Motors

We half-expected to see air springs under the Lucid Air, but it uses steel coils. That was fine because there’s no need for height adjustment here. Lucid sourced Bilstein DTSky dampers with independent control of rebound and compression, and the combination delivered an appropriately smooth ride in Smooth mode. Our main gripe was the road noise produced by the optional low-profile (35 series) 21-inch Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Elect tires on one particularly nasty stretch of asphalt. Back-seat occupants noticed it more, but we’re willing to chalk it up to coarse asphalt meeting the sportiest of three tire offerings. If you needed another reason to not go for the 21s, EPA range drops to 481 miles when they are spec’d. The Lucid Air Dream Edition is sold-out, but you can reserve a $139,000 Grand Touring and expect delivery in the early part of next year. You can also reserve a Touring or the $77,400 Pure, but those won’t be added to the production mix until the latter half of 2022.This was a short drive on unchallenging roads. There’s still a lot to learn about the Lucid Air, but what we gleaned from this encounter was huge. Lucid is the real deal and has seemingly redefined how efficient an electric powertrain can be. Others in the EV biz need to wake up.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Lucid Air DreamVehicle Type: front- and mid-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base: Air Dream, $169,000
POWERTRAIN
Motors: 2 permanent-magnet synchronous ACCombined Power: 933–1111 hpBattery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 112.0 kWhOnboard Charger: 19.2 kWTransmissions: direct-drive
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 116.5 inLength: 195.9 inWidth: 76.3 inHeight: 55.5 inPassenger Volume: 98 ft3Cargo Volume: 23 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 5200 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 2.5 sec100 mph: 5.5–5.9 sec1/4-Mile: 9.9–10.5 secTop Speed: 168 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 111–125/110–126/111–125 MPGeRange: 451–520 mi

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io More