Car Reviews

It’s not lost on Ford that the F-150 Raptor needs to up its game to keep pace with its new crosstown rival, the highly impressive and far more powerful Ram 1500 TRX. As we learned from a 2020 Raptor SuperCrew’s comparison-test defeat against that big 702-hp Ram, it’s time for the Blue Oval’s beast to get serious. But before it can bulk up the engine room with an upcoming V-8-powered Raptor R variant, the standard truck needs to make better use of the 450 horses it has. Think of the updated 2021 F-150 Raptor as the first strike of Ford’s counterattack.For high-performance off-road trucks that are designed to bomb across open terrain, the suspension’s ability to absorb the terrain is as crucial, if not more important, than raw horsepower. The Raptor ditches the rear leaf springs in this generation and replaces them with coils. While the leaf spring works for the heavy workloads that most pickups endure—including all other F-150s, except the Lightning—that old-school setup can’t maintain good wheel control in brutal high-speed desert conditions. The race trucks that inspired the Raptor abandoned the setup in favor of huge coilover shocks decades ago. Just as important, all of Ram’s current pickups have shown that rear coils also can improve ride comfort and drivability without sacrificing much in the way of cargo capacity.

For the new Raptor, Ford Performance’s engineers reinforced the latest F-150’s frame and fitted the live axle coil springs. Locating the axle are four trailing links and a Panhard rod. Up front, the independent control-arm front suspension has been modified without reducing ground clearance. It benefits from new geometry and a handful of beefed-up components including uprights, lower ball joints, and wheel bearings. To better control the wheel motions, Ford fits Fox’s latest Live Valve adaptive dampers that have 3.1-inch-diameter bodies and internal-bypass chambers. Suspension travel is increased to 14.0 inches in front and 15.0 inches at the rear—roughly an inch more at both ends than the outgoing model and, according to Ford, more than the TRX. That wheel travel is measured on the standard 35-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires. Buyers can upgrade to 37-inch KO2s, which Ford says is the tallest rubber ever fitted to a half-ton production pickup. But what the larger-tired Raptor loses in wheel travel (about one inch), it gains in ground clearance (13.1 inches versus 12.0) and improved approach, departure, and breakover angles. And, like the 35s, trucks with the larger 37s get a full-size spare slung under the cargo bed.
Our drive time came primarily at California’s Dumont Dunes off-road vehicle area, a 7620-acre playground set in the Mojave Desert just west of Las Vegas. But one of the Raptor’s greatest improvements was evident before we even left our hotel’s parking lot: a more prominent and characterful engine note, courtesy of a new active exhaust system. Comprised of an intricately twisted set of equal-length pipes and electronic valves, the system has four settings (Quiet, Normal, Sport, and Baja) that can be toggled independently of the Raptor’s numerous drive modes. Quiet mode is perfect for an early morning departure, while Baja is great for uncorking a loud, menacing growl that pleasantly rises in pitch as you stand on the accelerator. It lacks the intoxicating V-8 roar that seems so fitting in an off-road truck—and which the supercharged TRX does so, so well—but it does lend the Raptor the aggressive voice that it’s needed since the second generation debuted with a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6. That V-6 essentially carries over for 2021, as does the Raptor’s 10-speed automatic and variable four-wheel-drive system with a locking rear differential and an optional Torsen limited-slip front diff. Output remains a respectable 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque, but the engine and transmission have been retuned for a more effective power delivery. In addition to quicker, better coordinated shifts from the 10-speed, peak torque now arrives 500 rpm sooner, at 3000 revs, and full power hits at 5850 rpm versus the previous 5000, which makes it more rewarding to wind out the Raptor’s tachometer. Ford says that it also quickened the action of the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, but they’re still not as responsive as we’d like, and there are too many ratios to juggle anyway. We found it best to let the truck do its thing in Sport mode on the street, which keeps the powertrain on alert yet calm enough to cruise. Switch to Baja for cutting loose off road and all the systems go in to attack mode, including a lenient stability-control system that gently steps in only when the truck starts to get way out of shape.
There’s still no mistaking the Raptor’s turbocharged engine for a big naturally aspirated V-8 as it needs to be on boost to provide meaningful thrust. But its gearbox never stumbled during our day of abuse in the dunes, and the new suspension makes it easier to maintain speed over rough ground. Its front and rear anti-roll bars are softer than before while its springs are a bit stiffer, with the rears being progressive triple-rate units that Ford says help keep the suspension from sagging under heavy loads. The rear-coil setup alone saves a claimed 40 pounds. Our drive didn’t include any challenging paved roads, but snaking through desert washes at close to 100 mph revealed a solid feel to the chassis and improved overall stability. The quick-reacting Fox dampers soak up the impacts as we skipped across the tops of undulating whoop-de-doos at highway speeds, and the rear axle is now more resistant to hopping and shaking when accelerating on loose terrain. Touchdowns from big jumps are smoother than ever. As for the difference between the two tire sizes, the lighter 35-inchers spin up quicker and enhance the truck’s overall sense of agility, but the 37s bring a more substantial and unstoppable feel that we came to prefer. Plus, they better fill out the Raptor’s wheel wells. Unsurprisingly, the 37s also trim 2 mpg from the truck’s EPA highway rating, knocking it down to a wallet-emptying 16 mpg.
Along with some minor exterior tweaks, you can spot the new Raptor by its more pronounced headlight signature and larger marker lights. Big-tired models even can be had with bedside graphics that advertise the size of their footwear. As with all 2021 F-150s, the interior has been freshened with a handsome redesign, nicer materials, and updated infotainment, including 12.0-inch displays for the instrument cluster and center touchscreen. Since most Raptors sell as well-equipped crew-cab models, Ford has killed off the smaller SuperCab version and upped the standard content as well as the base price to $65,840, a $7705 increase over the 2020 SuperCrew model. Several large option groups serve as trim levels, but if you want the biggest tires, you’ll need to swing for the top Raptor 37 Performance package, which is bundled with a ton of other upgrades as a $13,650 upcharge—pushing the price some $7370 above the 2021 Ram TRX’s entry point.So, where does all this put the new Raptor compared to its archrival? The TRX is the standard of this wild segment not just because of its immense power that makes it quicker than some sports cars, but also for its tanklike solidity and awesome composure on just about any surface. The Raptor has noticeably closed the gap, with this next step in its evolution bringing more excitement, refinement, and better at-the-limit control when pounding through the desert. Now it just needs the 700-hp V-8 of the R model.

Specifications

Specifications
2021 Ford F-150 RaptorVehicle Type: front-engine, rear/4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
PRICE
Base: $65,840
ENGINE
twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port and direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 213 in3, 3496 cm3Power: 450 hp @ 5850 rpmTorque: 510 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
10-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 145.4 inLength: 232.6 inWidth: 86.6 inHeight: 79.8–80.7 inPassenger Volume: 136 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 6200 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.3 sec1/4-Mile: 14.0 secTop Speed: 105 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 15–16/14–15/16–18 mpg

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The Pininfarina Battista hums. Not in a “crystals have energy” sort of way, but in a much more real sense—the carbon-fiber bodywork literally vibrates. Why does this electric car tremble? Pininfarina injected the vibes into the Battista with what it calls an E-Heart, which uses two speakers to send audible pulses through the car. Flickering LEDs in the Pininfarina logo at the tail accompany the quivers. “The sound creates a direct connection with what the car is doing,” suggests chief product and engineering officer Paolo Dellacha—even, apparently, when it’s doing nothing more than sitting idle, looking gorgeous.Design house Pininfarina knows something about beauty, having styled 64 Ferraris in its 91-year history. The Battista is its first ground-up automobile, a production version of a concept that debuted in 2018. Named for the company’s founder, Battista “Pinin” Farina, the Battista, with its lavish curves and 1874 horsepower, was brought to life thanks to the investment of Pininfarina’s owners, the Indian conglomerate Mahindra.

Pininfarina

Building a vehicle from nothing is a big challenge even for a major car company, so Pininfarina wisely teamed with Rimac on the powertrain and carbon-fiber structure. Automobili Pininfarina CEO Per Svantesson insists the underpinnings aren’t exactly the same as what Rimac uses and that the Battista enjoys unique tuning and offers a different driving experience.The mechanical motivation is beastly: A T-shaped battery pack, responsible for a third of the vehicle’s claimed 4400-pound curb weight, contains 6960 lithium-ion cells for a total gross capacity of 120 kWh. (Neither Pininfarina nor Rimac has quoted how much of that capacity will be usable, but we estimate around 110 kWh.) The juice flows to four electric motors, one at each wheel. The brand estimates its range on the European cycle will come in at 310 miles—using the EPA methodology will likely yield a U.S. range of roughly 230 miles—though Battista customers are likely more compelled by the performance. Pininfarina tells us that a run to 60 mph run takes a mere 1.8 seconds and 186 mph comes up in less than 12 seconds. Peak acceleration results in 1.4 g’s forcing you into the seatback. Top speed is electronically limited to 217 mph. Speaking of speed, the company claims it’s possible to go from 20 to 80 percent charge in 25 minutes using a 180-kW DC connection; surprisingly, that’s barely half the rate that the latest Electrify America fast-chargers provide.

Pininfarina

Dihedral doors lift to reveal a cabin outfitted with three screens surrounding the driver: Two tablet-style touchscreens flank a central cellphone-like display for speed. The car annoyingly requires the driver to enter a menu on the left touchscreen to manipulate seating and steering-wheel positions. Once they’re set, the view over the low sloping hood provides excellent visibility, while the high rear haunches and the active rear spoiler force a reliance on the mirrors and the view out the rear window. Five driving modes are set using a milled and anodized aluminum rotary dial that feels like it might have been plucked from the Millennium Falcon cockpit; the sensation it offers is oh-so-reassuringly weighty, precise, and clicky.

Cruising Palm Desert’s suburban streets in the mildest Calma mode feels more Fiat 500e than supercar. Mash the throttle and you’re still a stylish eco-warrior on four wheels, especially if you care to stop for gawkers and point out that the Battista’s supple leather surfaces are tanned with olive leaves and that its carpets come from reclaimed fishing nets. If virtue signaling isn’t your thing, there are sprightlier drive modes that can make the wedgy beast go as wickedly fast as it looks. Pininfarina kept our public-road experience in check by making sure we followed a pace car. As such, the Battista’s otherworldly performance was constrained to mere mortal levels, despite the best efforts of the leadfooted chassis and vehicle-dynamics guru Georgios Syropoulos, who set the pace in a Tesla Model 3. Syropoulos’s résumé includes chassis development on several hot-rod Teslas, including the Model 3, the Model S P85D, and a would-be M3-slaying Tesla “supersport” model that never came to fruition. He also spent years at Lotus as an engineering consultant for the Evora GT4 race program, which might explain his ability to cut a smooth arc through Highway 74’s cambered corners. Even at this elevated pace, the Battista seems unconcerned with corners, thanks in part to its wide track, obviously low center of gravity, and staggered Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R rubber. Adaptive KW dampers automatically adjust their stiffness. In its most aggressive setting, the Battista still manages to feel smooth and controllable, with steering and feel that lean closer toward GT than caffeinated supercar.

Pininfarina

It isn’t until hot laps at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway that the Battista’s true self becomes revealed. Unhampered by having to follow anyone, the Pininfarina is able to show itself. In the fiercest Furiosa mode, even two-thirds of the accelerator’s travel pins your spine to your seat in a wash of acceleration as the gummy Michelins fight desperately to adhere to the tarmac. The instantaneous response of the right pedal is addictive, as is the instant thrust it delivers. There’s no moment of anticipation as turbos spool up, no pause for a transmission kick-down, just raw, punishing thrust that throws the Battista so far down the track, you’ll be thinking about braking sooner rather than later out of self-preservation. The carbon-ceramic brakes do a fine job of scrubbing speed, though the pedal travel in our tester was a tad long, and hard pedal applications sent a vibration through the car. In Furiosa mode, the stability-control system is disabled, and Pininfarina is still working out the final tuning of the torque-vectoring system, but the chassis is balanced and planted if slightly biased toward understeer. Dellacha says that unlike in the Rimac Nevera, which the Battista is closely related to, the tuning is focused more on balanced handling and lateral dynamics, not tire-melting tail-out theater. That explains the lack of a drift mode. Final tuning remains to be dialed in before the Battista meets its first customers later this year, with U.S. deliveries starting in the first quarter of 2022 at a price just north of $2 million. While an EV will never have the soul and drama of a Ferrari V-12, the thrumming bodywork and ridiculous acceleration make it clear that Pininfarina intends to find a way to infuse its electric cars with life.

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The cynics among us thought the Subaru BRZ and its near identical Toyota twin, the GT 86, were doomed. Compact, lightweight, and modestly powered rear-drivers launched in 2013 with a focus on agile handling and easy chuckability. They left us smitten, even if they seemed increasingly out of step as the years passed while the world tripped out on mega-horsepower and 23-inch wheel and tire combos. Mercifully, the world isn’t as SUV-minded as we’d feared, and both cars eked out an existence. Seems the first generation of the Scion/Toyota/Subaru coupes led to 125,000 salesmen closing deals on them, which is an exhausting thought, but that number cleared the way for another generation. Those 125,000 buyers weren’t just any customers; the youngest ones buy Toyotas and Subarus. At barely 30 years old, these folks are right in the demographic erogenous zone that makes carmakers happy. Once in the fold, those folks might stick around for another 50 years.

So, the allure of youth is why the Toyota-bodied, Subaru-powered twins are reborn. The conjoined companies—Toyota recently upped its stake in Subaru to 20 percent while Subaru acquired 0.3 percent of Toyota—went for a second generation. And having just driven the Subaru variant, the 2022 BRZ, to and around Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park road circuit and its new autocross track, we say hallelujah. This twin has returned to scratch an itch that enthusiasts never tire of scratching, and it’s better than ever.The key to the new BRZ’s success is that it fixes a lot of the complaints we had with the original without affecting the purity of the original. It’s still extraordinarily svelte by modern standards despite additional content and safety equipment. Weighing in at a claimed 2815 pounds in its lightest form, it’s just 17 pounds heavier than the outgoing model. A new aluminum roof with a double-bubble form for extra headroom helps as did the engineering team’s heroic effort at resisting the congenital industry temptation to make everything bigger in the second go-around.
In fact, the BRZ is better in all the ways you’d want it to be. The body structure is stronger and more rigid for better handling and safety—a whopping 50 percent jump in torsional stiffness. Outside, it’s beefier looking and more handsome, if still a bit generic and familiar in the taillights and headlights.Looks and rigidity are important, but the biggest difference is under the aluminum hood. The old 2.0-liter flat-four is replaced by an enlarged 2.4-liter flat-four similar to the three-row Ascent’s engine without the turbocharger. Quicker than before, the naturally aspirated engine’s 228 horsepower is now available across the board. Previously, the manual made 205 and the automatic was rated at 200. But it’s the 184 lb-ft of torque at 3700 rpm that gives the car a midrange surge that the old car’s 156 lb-ft at 6400 rpm couldn’t provide. The new engine should drop 60-mph times below 6.0 seconds for the standard six-speed manual. Expect 7.0 seconds flat for the optional six-speed automatic. Acceleration is acceptably brisk, and the power delivery is without the hiccups of the 2.0-liter, but leaving the Ascent’s turbocharger in place sounds like even more fun. Let’s make that standard limited-slip Torsen differential work for its money!
The engine is pleasant overall with a bit of flat-four idiosyncratic sound to make it unique. It gets slightly raucous at the upper reaches of its rev band. While it may not be the fastest car in your town, the BRZ’s low mass and handling give it the ability to hustle through the corners with ease. Shut off the traction control and stability control, and like its predecessor, tail-out antics are easy to call up.Ride quality on the road, though firm, is entirely livable for something that handles so well. Steering is eager, with response so instant off center it initially struck us as nervous, but on the track it proved well-weighted and usefully accurate. Whether you select the 17-inch or 18-inch wheels, summer tires are available. Entry level models get the 215/45R-17 Michelin Primacy HP rubber, while the Limited model is equipped with 215/40R-18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. Both offer decent ride quality—the certain reward for forgoing monster wheels and keeping unsprung weight low.
Subaru tells us that 85 percent of first-gen BRZs were sold with manual transmissions; those numbers were reversed for Toyota’s version. BRZ sales are expected to maintain those percentages, but should the market want more automatics, that can be arranged. The manual not only makes for a quicker and livelier drive with ratios that seemed suited for track work, it also boasts one of the industry’s best shift actions, approaching, if not eclipsing, the Miata’s gearbox. Interior design and the fit and finish have been notched up to 2022 standards. Limited Edition models feature seating finished in microfiber inserts with a red stripe running down their center line, mirroring the red-stitching theme found throughout the cabin. An 8.0-inch infotainment screen and configurable digital instrument cluster bring the BRZ broadly up to technological date. Oh, and there is a back seat. It’s a real place to sit, and it lends some additional practicality along with 6 cubic feet of trunk room (13 cubes if you fold them down), but you wouldn’t necessarily want to cross multiple time zones back there if you’re more than 6 years old.
The BRZ starts at $28,955 with the Limited model opening at $31,455. Those prices should continue to bring in the younger customers as this new Subaru is that rarest of things: a serious sports machine and a serious value proposition. Opting for the six-speed automatic will add $1600 to the sticker of the Premium and $1800 to the Limited trim—which is differentiated by its 18-inch wheels with matte-gray finish, the aforementioned stickier rubber, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-keeping assist. As with automatic Limited models, it also comes with Subaru’s EyeSight driver-assist technology. Because this function will bring the cars to a full stop, the risk of stalling out when brought unexpectedly to a halt means the manual cars don’t get those bits. Fine by us. We’re here to drive.Let’s hear it for Subaru (and Toyota). With advancements in autonomy and the never-ending SUV-ification of the fleet, an affordable rear-drive sports coupe is a rare thing. We will celebrate its affordable and fun performance for as long as they’ll sell it.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Subaru BRZVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE
Base: Premium, $28,955; Limited, $31,455
ENGINE
DOHC 16-valve flat-4, aluminum block and heads, port and direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 146 in3, 2387 cm3Power: 228 hp @ 7000 rpmTorque: 184 lb-ft @ 3700 rpm
TRANSMISSIONS
6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 101.4 inLength: 167.9 inWidth: 69.9 inHeight: 51.6 inPassenger Volume: 78 ft3Trunk Volume: 6 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 2800–2850 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph:5.8–7.0¬sec1/4-Mile: 14.3–15.3 secTop Speed: 140 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 22–25/20–22/27–30 mpg

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We like to think of ourselves as agents of our own destinies, but behavioral science says that we simple humans can be steered toward certain decisions simply by disguising the idea that there’s a decision to be made at all. To arrive at a preferable outcome, sometimes all you need is a gentle prod in the right direction, an unnoticed prompt that often manifests in the form of a default choice. It’s called nudge theory, and auto enrollment in retirement plans is a classic example. People tend to save more money when they have to opt out of a plan rather than opt in. Now, would you like to stick with the 3.0-liter diesel in this 2021 Chevrolet Suburban or do something else? Right. Keep the diesel. Good choice.[editoriallinks id=’834a8a72-794d-4302-86d4-0052525f2383′ align=’left’][/editoriallinks]Ah, if only General Motors auto-enrolled Suburban buyers with the diesel. Were the Duramax inline-six the default option across the line, most Suburbans would likely be diesel-powered. And that would be right and proper, because the 3.0-liter six is perfectly adapted to Suburban duty. Its 460 pound-feet of torque arrive at only 1500 rpm, imbuing the 6272-pound behemoth with an air of nonchalant muscularity in real-world driving. Even in the rare foot-to-the-floor sprint, the diesel Suburban doesn’t feel slow, recording an 8.4-second run to 60 mph. The Duramax’s relative paucity of horsepower—277 horsepower at 3750 rpm—shows up in the tepid quarter-mile stats, with our High Country model crossing the line in 16.5 seconds at 85 mph. But that kind of performance is more than fine for a Suburban, where the horses you’re towing are more important than the ones under the hood. Maybe you want a baritone V-8 and scorching acceleration in a Tahoe RST or a GMC Yukon Denali or a Cadillac Escalade, but the Suburban is inclined toward milder pursuits. The High Country with a 420-hp 6.2-liter V-8 will go from zero to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds, but we bet few ever will. A Suburban has too many beverages in too many cupholders for those kinds of shenanigans. [image id=’0cc2fd02-66e0-4c56-a267-43f9345e27e7′ mediaId=’92beded2-92d9-4837-85e4-9f7d3dc7e6c2′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image][pullquote align=’center’]HIGHS: Smooth and quiet, huge torque, outstanding efficiency.[/pullquote]Plus, the Suburban joins its full-size-SUV GM kin in its aversion to lateral acceleration. Like the Tahoe, Yukon, and Escalade, the Suburban’s stability control system is programmed to intervene at an absurdly low threshold. Forget tossing this thing into a choice on-ramp. You might get slapped down for going too hot into the left-hander at the Taco Bell drive-through. Thus, as with the other full-size GM SUVs, we had to run our skidpad test in low-range four-wheel drive, as that’s the only way to defeat the stability control system. But the diesel models, unlike their gas-powered counterparts, run into a 35-mph speed limiter in low range, which means that the diesel Suburban can only manage a top-speed-limited 0.53 g of lateral acceleration. We humbly suggest that if your vehicle can only pull 0.53 g, then perhaps 277 horsepower is sufficient.[image id=’873ef8ff-fadb-4d3b-9528-1ef55abe2182′ mediaId=’15b280c1-2fad-4c6c-b8b3-28a7fa97dfe1′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’6×4′][/image]It certainly feels that way when the Duramax-powered Suburban is in its element—which is to say, highway driving. With that luxurious 134-inch wheelbase and four-wheel independent suspension, the Suburban glides imperiously down interstates, whether perched on its base steel springs or the optional air suspension with magnetic ride control. At 70 mph, a hushed 67 decibels find their way to the cabin—the same noise level as the Lexus ES350 that we described as cryptlike. Most of that seems to be wind and tire noise, the straight-six emitting no more than a distant thrum from somewhere beyond the firewall, happily firing the gargantuan Chevy down the road while the tachometer needle hangs out down near idle. [pullquote align=’center’]LOWS: Diesel option costs extra in most trims, not as quick as the V-8s, a measly 0.53 g on the skidpad.[/pullquote][image id=’de340583-b173-4525-a672-fd689521770c’ mediaId=’c4271a8c-2f7c-4a7e-8503-220f49ef49fe’ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image]We didn’t get a chance to run our 75-mph fuel-economy test on this Suburban, but when we ran its shorter Tahoe sibling, we got 27 mpg. Both Tahoe and Suburban get the same EPA numbers, which bear out the 3.0-liter’s righteous frugality. Among four-wheel-drive Suburbans, the diesel gets better city mileage than the gas engines manage on the highway. And those 4WD EPA numbers—20 mpg city, 26 mpg highway—might undersell the diesel’s efficiency, depending on what kind of driving you do. On a 45-mile backroads jaunt, the Suburban’s trip computer showed 32.3 mpg. We don’t always trust a car’s assertion of its own wonderfulness, but in this case, we wouldn’t be surprised if the computer was honest. After 300 miles of mixed driving, the fuel gauge was still above half a tank. When you do finally have to fuel up, the Suburban offers a capless filler, a treat for a diesel. Too bad diesel pump handles still tend to be coated with the unctuous slime of petrochemical prehistory, but at least you won’t have to handle them too often. Next to the filler neck is the blue cap for the diesel-exhaust fluid, which you will need to add occasionally to keep emissions in check. [image id=’cd4a4158-bca7-4a8e-8a88-379f05de0d4b’ mediaId=’c5eaa5a8-f470-40a1-b230-486e5800c4f3′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image]The diesel can also tow as much as 8000 pounds (in the same ballpark as the gas models), with a standard exhaust brake adding some big-rig trailer-towing confidence. There’s really no obvious downside to the compression-ignition Suburban—no uncouth clatter, no dearth of power, no huge price penalty. In fact, in High Country trim, like our test vehicle, the Duramax engine is actually $1450 cheaper than the standard 6.2-liter V-8. In the rest of the trims—LS, LT, RST, and Premier—it adds $1045 to the price. Even on the High Country, where it comes with a discount, the Duramax isn’t the default choice. But it ought to be, across the board. If GM wants its customers to see the Suburban in the best possible light—thrifty, torquey, quiet, and smooth—all it needs to do is give them a little nudge.[vehicle type=’specpanel’ vehicle-body-style=” vehicle-make=” vehicle-model=” vehicle-model-category=” vehicle-submodel=” vehicle-year=”][/vehicle]

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Land Rover isn’t commonly associated with the faster and more exciting forms of motorsports. The British SUV maker was formerly known for its patronage of the Camel Trophy and later G4 Challenge, but both of these competitions prioritized slow, cerebral performance above never-lift thrills. When it comes to off-roading, Land Rover’s guiding motto has always been “as slow as possible, as fast as necessary.”The new Bowler Defender Challenge reverses those principles in spectacular style. It’s a rally version of the new Defender 90 that has been designed to attack terrain at speed and soak up the sort of punishment that would break regular SUVs in short order. Up to a dozen identically prepared Challenge cars are going to be competing in a six-round championship series in Britain next year, with hopes of bringing something similar to the United States.

Bowler has been modifying Land Rovers for off-road competition since 1985. Its best-known products are probably the Wildcat and Nemesis, V-8-powered monsters on a spaceframe chassis with styling cues from the last-generation Defender and Range Rover Sport. The company also made a rallying version of the old Defender, and the original Defender Challenge used identical spec cars and ran in the United Kingdom from 2014 to 2016. This was popular, but not enough to prevent Bowler from going bankrupt in 2019; the company subsequently was bought by Jaguar Land Rover and placed in the Special Operations Division.The new Bowler Challenge car is based on the Defender 90 P300 and uses an unmodified version of that car’s 296-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and eight-speed automatic gearbox—an unusual transmission choice for a rally car. That makes it considerably more potent than the Challenge version of the old Defender, which used a 2.2-liter turbo-diesel with just 170 horsepower. A drive on an impromptu rally stage created in one of the rougher parts of JLR’s Fen End test track in England proved the new Bowler is more than fast enough to be thrilling.

Land Rover

Although the driveshafts, differentials, and brake components are all standard parts, substantial changes have been made. The most obvious of these is the addition of an FIA-spec roll cage that has been integrated to the car’s structure with welded joints to the floorpan and suspension turrets. The springs are both stiffer and an inch taller than those of the standard Defender 90, and the Challenge gets remote-reservoir Fox Racing dampers—similar to those that enable the Ford Raptor to do its anti-gravity landings.Other changes include surgery to the regular Defender’s doors: The 2.8 inches that overlap the sills have been removed to reduce the risk of damage from impacts. (Snazzy perforated sill protectors replace them.) At the front is a much simpler fiberglass bumper in place of the standard car’s complex molding, and the Bowler’s radiator is cooled through a mesh-covered aperture rather than the plastic radiator grille. The 90’s low-mounted auxiliary heat exchangers have also been removed due to the risk of damage. Rally cars crash, so repairs need to be as simple and inexpensive as possible.

Land Rover

Beyond the need to climb up, getting in is much easier than with most competition cars. Even the sizeable roll cage doesn’t fill that much of the 90’s cabin. The driving position is slightly offset, as the added structure requires the bucket seats to be further inboard of the seating position in the regular three-abreast Defender. A microfiber-wrapped motorsports steering wheel replaces the regular car’s airbag unit. But as proof of how deeply integrated modern electronic systems are, the two touch-sensitive control panels from the original wheel have been retained and moved to the dashboard. They’re the only way to access certain functions. Bowler has also created a new wheel-mounted shifter for the gearbox, a single paddle that’s pushed forward to downshift and back to shift up.The Bowler version is as easy to drive as the regular Defender. Knobby BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires give impressive off-the-line acceleration on dirt, and although almost all of the production vehicle’s traction and stability control has been coded out of its ECU, the all-wheel-drive system finds plentiful traction. The engine is effective but doesn’t feel bred for motorsports, as the preponderance of low-down torque means there’s little point in running it up to the redline. (Bowler reckons many novice competitors will just leave the transmission in its selectable Sport mode rather than shift gears themselves.) Subjective acceleration felt pretty much the same at 4000 rpm as it did at 5500 rpm.

Despite its combination of a relatively short wheelbase and a high center of gravity, the Bowlerized Defender didn’t feel nervous when asked to change direction, although it does need to be wrestled into tighter corners to keep the front end from washing out. The standard brakes didn’t complain at the modest thermal loadings possible on a loose surface, but their lack of a front-to-back bias adjustability denied the ability common to more serious rally cars to tweak corner-entry attitude through a rearward brake setting. The Landie also lacks that other rallying favorite: a hydraulic hand brake. Once it’s turned into a corner, the Bowler Defender gets its power down cleanly, but the open differentials at each end mean there isn’t any spectacular power-on oversteer.

Land Rover

It’s not that sort of car. Instead, it’s designed to take savage terrain in stride. The firmed-up springs lack the pillowy compliance of a Ford Ranger (or the high-flying Bronco), but the Bowler Defender uses its substantial suspension travel and unflappable dampers to absorb and defuse huge vertical loads without complaint, even when these follow in a rapid succession that would bamboozle lesser shock absorbers. The result is a car that truly feels as happy in the air as it does on the ground, and one that can carry huge speed down bumpy or rutted tracks.While obviously closer to the regular Defender than it is to a cutting-edge rally car, the Bowler Defender still feels like a special experience. It also isn’t ludicrously expensive for what it is, $115,000 at current exchange rates, being close to the cost of the Defender D90 V8 and including entry to six rounds of the Bowler Challenge rally championship next year. The truck itself is street legal and should be capable of many more years of competition beyond that. Bowler says discussion over the launch of a similar U.S. series is underway. We very much hope it goes ahead.

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20,000-Mile UpdateSince we last checked in, the CR-V has led an unremarkable life. We mean that somewhat literally, as only two people have taken the time to comment in its logbook: the first to complain about more hiccups with Apple CarPlay, the second to note the Hybrid’s lackluster passing power on the freeway and its long-winded and “incredibly obnoxious engine note” as you hustle to merge into 70-mph traffic. That said, you have to wonder if this staffer has particularly sensitive ears, as most everyone else finds the cabin a comfortable, quiet place to spend time. Honda even padded the interior with extra sound insulation, and the audio system’s active noise-canceling works to keep engine droning down to 72 decibels at full throttle. This is a huge improvement over the turbocharged 1.5-liter in the base CR-V, which helps generate 78 decibels’ worth of racket when the pedal’s on the floor.[image id=’763a52b7-b289-4831-a184-6fe1bef204db’ mediaId=’2440fae5-2e5a-4db5-ac4d-11d2c5bc7390′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image][editoriallinks id=’cd25e052-b015-4996-a635-b0d1dded3485′ align=’left’][/editoriallinks]Opinions also differ when it comes to the center console. Some like its flexibility and open shelving. Others would prefer a dual-level enclosed setup, thinking it would better utilize the space, but we’re scraping the barrel for critiques here.As for fuel economy, the compact crossover continues to impress around town, with some drivers seeing nearly 50 mpg. When speed ticks up, though, our average tanks. Our 75-mph highway test returned 29 mpg, six shy of the EPA’s highway rating. We’ve mentioned this poor showing before, but it bears repeating, given that the hybrid model is supposed to be the efficient choice. We’ve played around a bit with the steering-wheel paddles, which adjust the level of regenerative braking you experience and should ostensibly improve fuel economy. They’re a nice thought, but without looking at the owner’s manual, we found it difficult to decipher how they function. The system attempts to mimic how a conventional automatic would downshift, but it doesn’t make it easy for the driver to know what’s going on.[image id=’076a1604-8b06-446e-9021-349f69df347e’ mediaId=’57271ffd-49da-4738-b3cb-356785853f54′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image]The car uses chevron graphics in the instrument cluster to show you the amount of regen at any given time, which is odd and imprecise. Numbers would be much easier to read and interpret at a glance. Then, when the system decides its work is done, you receive no feedback that it’s “shifting” back to normal coasting. One commenter noted: “It makes sense that in its default mode, the regen system prevents an accidental paddle slap from locking in unnecessary regen, messing with economy and drivability, but for Honda to design it this way—with the expectation that the user will not understand it—is a bad place to start. Instead, the result is unpredictable, lacks the feedback you’re accustomed to, and is unintuitive to use even if you’ve read the manual.”Since our last update, we took the CR-V to the dealer again for regular maintenance. Dictated by the car and not the mileage, these visits have revealed nothing untoward. After our first appointment, at 10,350 miles, the vehicle asked for another trip to the service bay just over three months and 11,000 miles later. The so-called B1 service required a bit more work and expense than the first stop. For $237, the dealer changed the oil and oil filter, rotated the tires, and inspected the battery connections, brakes, tires, and coolant levels. The tech also replaced the rear-diff fluid. [image id=’b1c0429b-0ffe-42e3-bc5a-d7576128d586′ mediaId=’9797f422-dbef-488e-806b-5991b5df9150′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image]It’s a good thing when service histories are unexciting, but less so on the driving front. As if in hopes of conjuring some old-school Honda feistiness from the electrified CR-V, someone slapped a Type S sticker on its butt. Which is mildly amusing, seeing how this “performance” variant—with 22 more horses than the nonhybrid CR-V—doesn’t inspire spirited driving of any sort. It’s transportation, not entertainment. ­A journey to the store likely passes in a blur, and as you walk through the automatic doors back into the parking lot to a sea of white and silver crossovers, you may wonder which one is yours. We certainly did.We’ll update you with another riveting chapter of the CR-V Hybrid story in about 10,000 miles. We’d hazard a guess they’ll be just as amiable and uneventful as the first 20K.Months in Fleet: 8 months Current Mileage: 23,444 milesAverage Fuel Economy: 30 mpgFuel Tank Size: 14.0 gal Observed Fuel Range: 420 milesService: $309 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0Damage and Destruction: $0View Specs10,000-Mile Update[image id=’035a8513-5476-496a-b096-301943d55aba’ mediaId=’071a3183-fc52-44b7-abfa-fe3a25c0e8ea’ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image]During the long and gray winter months, the long-term Honda CR-V Hybrid spent most of its days traversing Michigan’s flat, straight, and pockmarked roads, eliciting logbook responses of “perfectly fine,” “good enough,” and “I feel nothing when I drive this.” To find out if a much-needed change of scenery would inspire more feelings for the CR-V, we took the Honda on a two-week road trip to Colorado’s mountains.The CR-V fit everything we needed for the 4500-mile trip—a giant duffel, a carry-on suitcase, a large shopping bag, two backpacks, bike helmets, and more—under the cargo-hold privacy screen with room to spare. We had a decent success rate with Honda’s kick-under-to-open-hatch feature, but my passenger noted: “It’s nice when you need it, I guess, but we didn’t. Plus, you look extra silly when you try it and it doesn’t work.” By day four, the novelty had worn off, and we did the much easier thing of using our hands to hit the button on the liftgate or the fob.[image id=’d8c47466-c883-4a4c-aa16-853fafef3bd9′ mediaId=’fbf0350b-c9b4-4f27-b90d-f1e230efbc30′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’6×4′][/image][editoriallinks id=’750d3a51-83c4-4cf5-8878-196f84176130′ align=’left’][/editoriallinks]Up front, we had plenty of places to stash our phones, masks, and snacks. While none of the actual cupholders will accommodate Nalgene’s rather large water bottles, the deep bin between the seats will hold two of ’em and a Costco-size bag of Goldfish. What more could you want out of a road-trip vehicle? Comfort?Sit in any seat long enough and your backside will begin to ache. How long a chair staves off pain is a good way to measure comfort, and the Honda’s front seats kept the soreness at bay for an impressive amount of time. Discomfort began to set in late on day two, after we’d accumulated 15 hours of saddle time in a 36-hour period.[image id=’a0e06d5e-9ae1-4a00-a1c8-2ceb3b40e36b’ mediaId=’393f652c-890e-4ce4-ba90-b0051f6b9763′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image] Once in the mountains, we found we had to constantly fiddle with the automatic climate-control settings, as the cabin felt much warmer than the set temperature. The HVAC didn’t have to work against extreme conditions—the ambient temperature varied between the high 50s and low 70s—but Colorado’s brightly shining sun likely played a role, as did the oft-elevated body temperatures of the two out-of-shape hikers in the vehicle. All the same, we wished for ventilated seats—something Honda offers on the Accord, Odyssey, Pilot, and Passport. The Touring model’s standard wireless charging pad is a good place to set your device—so long as it’s encased. If you’re among the 20 percent of people who don’t wrap their phones in some kind of grippy material, consider relegating one of your cupholders to phone-holding duty. Otherwise, your device will likely slide off the pad even in gentle turns. Wireless charging is great for those times when everyone in your party is out of mobile range and they forget to turn on Airplane mode, thus resulting in several dead batteries. But given you need a cable to use Apple CarPlay in this Honda and that wireless charging is finicky unless the phone is perfectly aligned, the pad is best left to occasional use by passengers.[image id=’6ca2edd0-3408-41c6-bbab-7386ec5bbca4′ mediaId=’d78256bf-79f1-4774-b453-4a04c70b82d1′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image]Honda’s infotainment system isn’t the worst out there, but it’s also not the easiest to use. One logbook commenter described it in less forgiving terms, saying it’s “ugly and slow and nonintuitive.” For this reason—and because we wanted to binge-listen to the podcasts You’re Wrong About and Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend—we bypassed Honda’s native system and used Apple CarPlay for most of the trip. We made the switch to satellite radio on the last morning of our two-week adventure, when the infotainment system—which had worked flawlessly until this point—suddenly wouldn’t activate CarPlay for either of our iPhones. A simple ignition cycle wasn’t enough to correct the issue. Searching online forums for a solution, we discovered how to reboot the infotainment system. Simply press and hold the volume knob for 10 seconds and you’ll be back to hearing Michael Hobbes explain how you’re wrong about the maligned Ford Pinto.[image id=’1e57962f-ea22-4e87-b657-69065b451fab’ mediaId=’1dbd8a4e-b88b-45d9-a821-835d2d5250a0′ align=’right’ size=’large’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’6×4′][/image]Should you become enthralled with a podcast, the CR-V offers assistance with several aspects of driving. Enable lane keeping and the CR-V will tug at the wheel to keep you from wandering. The adaptive cruise control works to slow and accelerate based on what’s in front of you. Like all of these systems, it leaves a large-enough gap (even if you select the shortest following distance) for traffic to cut in ahead of you, which then causes the Honda to brake, slowing things further. The hybrid powertrain works seamlessly, handling the handoff between gas and electric operation without a peep, but the car’s fuel economy has caused some disappointment. Print director Eric Tingwall went so far as to call it abysmal after he averaged less than 20 mpg on a tank. He wrote: “That was at a near constant 85 mph on winter tires with strong crosswinds, but still.” To be fair, Honda didn’t optimize the CR-V Hybrid for 85-mph cruising, but Tingwall points out that our recently departed long-term M340i averaged 30 mpg at 90 mph. Those of us who drive at lower speeds have fared better. Going west on I-80’s flat stretches, we observed 35 mpg, matching the crossover’s EPA highway estimate. Once we hit the mountains, the number fell well below 30 mpg. [image id=’62e5f9b0-f7bc-4b1f-b06b-322b655d699f’ mediaId=’50e8baef-9506-4c97-851d-a7127f9f2f35′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’6×4′][/image] While the CR-V might not have us crafting love sonnets or jealously fighting at the sign-out board, its comfortable, smooth, and unobtrusive manners are winning our respect. And thus far, the CR-V has upheld Honda’s reputation for reliable transportation, having no mechanical issues. We’ve taken it to the dealer for its first service visit, wherein the technician performed an oil change, tire rotation, and inspections for $69. Stay tuned for more updates as we put on the miles.Months in Fleet: 7 months Current Mileage: 19,091 milesAverage Fuel Economy: 30 mpg Fuel Tank Size: 14.0 gal Observed Fuel Range: 420 miles Service: $69 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0Damage and Destruction: $0Introduction[image id=’99368921-a1ef-466f-a5f3-5d752eb05279′ mediaId=’69e0e4d6-4aef-4429-836e-598d0c34b269′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image]We invited a 2021 Honda CR-V to join our long-term fleet so we could spend some quality time (and 40,000 miles) with Honda’s bestseller and the fifth-bestselling vehicle in the United States. We chose the hybrid because it’s new to the lineup and because we liked the 212-hp fuel-sipping powertrain in the Accord. In the CR-V, the system boosts fuel economy and performance, making it the choice for buyers who want efficiency and power. Those customers will have to shell out for it, though, given the CR-V Hybrid sits at the top of the range. In addition to shaking down the powertrain and seeing if it can deliver the promised fuel economy, we’re hoping this compact crossover—the brand’s first with hybrid power to make it to the U.S.—will give us a glimpse at the future of Honda, which will soon phase out gas-only powertrains in Europe. We ordered a top-of-the-line Touring model loaded with just about everything: leather seats (heated up front), navigation, wireless phone charging, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration, a nine-speaker audio system, a liftgate that opens when you wave your foot under the bumper, proximity key entry, remote start, the Honda Sensing suite of driver-assistance features, and more. Our $37,920 example has but one option: white paint for $395. Perhaps it’s because all of southeast Michigan is currently covered in two feet of snow or because half the vehicles in the grocery-store parking lot are also painted in America’s favorite automotive hue (and shaped like tall boxes), but the CR-V blends in a little too well with its surroundings. We wouldn’t call the color choice regrettable but maybe a bit forgettable.[image id=’ff2ff0dd-fe2a-4bc2-a3ba-20751206a03b’ mediaId=’89c90da5-7407-496b-88c9-7b7f50775fe6′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’original’][/image]Inside, Honda’s inoffensive design, easy-to-use 7.0-inch touchscreen, and highly adjustable center console should satisfy most shoppers in this class if not the nit-pickiest staffers on our masthead. Hybrid versions differ from regular CR-Vs in a few subtle ways. A unitless battery gauge replaces the tachometer in the digital instrument cluster and tells you vaguely how much juice you’re using at any given moment. Honda also opted for a push-button transmission instead of the chunky gear lever used in the core model. Staff reaction to push-button shifters is mixed, but the setup at least makes for a tidy, unobtrusive center console. In the same way a light color creates the illusion that a room is larger than it is, the Ivory surfaces in our CR-V make the cabin appear adequately spacious, which, granted, it is, offering 103 cubic feet of passenger volume. Provided that light-beige leather can withstand the dye in our Levis, the simplicity of this interior all but ensures it will age well.A couple of hybrid caveats to note: Choosing this powertrain nullifies the nonhybrid CR-V’s 1500-pound tow rating, so technical editor David Beard will have to look elsewhere when he wants to tow his snowmobile. Which is just as well, considering the cargo hold probably wouldn’t fit all of his gear. The gas-electric CR-V sacrifices six cubic feet of cargo space (and its spare tire) to the battery. The upside is that, compared with a regular all-wheel-drive CR-V, you gain 9 mpg in combined driving by the EPA’s yardstick. That said, if you drive like we do, you can expect much worse results: We’re currently averaging a mere 27 mpg.[image id=’6bd357c9-6932-4e0f-8a4d-53b67be656ee’ mediaId=’9df72e59-e963-40fa-833b-38a63069fb64′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=” expand=” crop=’6×4′][/image]The Honda’s road manners are in line with the amiable-but-boring norm of the segment. Its smooth ride and secure handling are immediately apparent, but there’s nothing here that’ll make an enthusiast grin—unless of course you’re reading its VIN, which by dumb luck contains a bit of bathroom humor. Floor the accelerator and the powertrain fills the cabin with 75 decibels of sound. That’s quieter than the regular CR-V’s 78-decibel moan at full throttle. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we haven’t had as many butts in these seats as we’d like, but after soft-shoeing it through the break-in period, we sent the Honda to the test track. The hybrid’s drive motor can contribute 232 pound-feet of torque from the get-go, which helps this ute reach 60 mph a tenth of a second quicker than the unelectrified model, but the latter catches up by 70 mph and pips the hybrid at the quarter-mile, 15.9 seconds to 16.1. Our long-termer also lagged behind the regular CR-V in braking (170 feet versus 165) and roadholding (0.80 g versus 0.85). Given both cars wear identical Continental CrossContact LX Sport tires, we suspect the hybrid’s extra 190 pounds are primarily to blame. Fortunately, in the real world, this CR-V seems more athletic than the gas-only version, and its quicker 5-to-60-mph time bears that out. As we put more miles on the odometer, we hope to see some of these numbers improve—particularly the observed fuel economy.Months in Fleet: 2 months Current Mileage: 5131 milesAverage Fuel Economy: 27 mpgFuel Tank Size: 14.0 gal Observed Fuel Range: 370 milesService: $0 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0Damage and Destruction: $0[vehicle type=’specpanel’ vehicle-body-style=” vehicle-make=” vehicle-model=” vehicle-model-category=” vehicle-submodel=” vehicle-year=”][/vehicle]

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A car like the Toyota GR 86 isn’t supposed to happen in this age of SUVs and electrification. Small and affordable coupes like the rear-drive GR 86 are pretty much dead. And yet Toyota has just refreshed its almost one-of-a-kind sports car, and it isn’t just good, it’s great.We adore high-powered coupes such as the 760-hp Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, but more than often their massive outputs make exploiting their capabilities on the street a lawyer-on-retainer task. In a car such as the 228-hp GR 86, there isn’t a big engine to make up for your cornering mistakes. What you do get is a sensation of speed that runs through the car’s chassis and controls.

Since the structure of the GR 86 is largely the same as the 86 that preceded it, we’d call it a major refresh and not a redesign. It does look new as Toyota changed enough of the exterior design to distinguish the new car from the old. It’s a well-proportioned and downright handsome car with a sleeker greenhouse. Toyota also strengthened the structure with front and rear reinforcements. Previously, the 86 featured an aluminum hood. The new car adds an aluminum roof and fenders to help offset the weight of the new structural components.A very important change is under that aluminum hood. The old 2.0-liter flat-four that thrummed and moaned has been bored out to displace 2.4 liters. Horsepower rises from 205 for the manual version to 228 across the board. (Previously, the automatic made 200 horsepower.) Aside from the sound of the old engine, it had to be revved to 5400 to yield its 156 pound-feet of torque. The larger engine makes 184 pound-feet of torque at a much more usable 3700 rpm. The intake and exhaust plumbing has been smoothed out to improve airflow, and a plastic intake manifold replaces the former aluminum plenum equipped on manuals and features larger ports that feed a revised valvetrain.
From behind the wheel, the changes are obvious. The added 23 horsepower may not sound like much, but an 11 percent gain is a meaningful improvement in a 2800-pound car. We expect the manual-equipped GR 86 to shave time off the last 86 GT’s 6.2-second run to 60. The extra power should be good for a 5.8-seconds run to 60 mph, and the engine is livelier, more responsive, and happier as it spins to the 7500-rpm redline. It sounds better too. There’s a speaker to amplify the engine sound, and that sound intensity varies depending on the selected drive mode, but it’s good enough to believe it’s the real thing.Automatic buyers, which Toyota predicts will be the majority, will find six speeds and paddles on the steering wheel. Revisions include additional clutch plates and a new torque converter to cope with the newfound, well, torque. With the automatic-specific Sport mode engaged, the shift strategy smartens by holding on to gears and wisely downshifting during hard braking. Automatic buyers will also be able to add safety features such as adaptive cruise, collision warning, and lane-departure systems provided by Subaru’s EyeSight dual cameras peering through the windshield.
We naturally gravitate to the six-speed manual gearbox, which has also been treated to refinements and strengthening. The shift lever travels through the gates with a smooth and positive movement. The clutch pedal is on the lighter side, but the engagement is spot on. The GR 86 lacks active rev matching, so you’re on your own for throttle blips when downshifting. The pedal positioning makes heel-toeing somewhat tricky, but with some tweaks to your foot placement, it’s possible. Both the automatic and manual retain the Torsen limited-slip differential, now with taller gearing.The GR 86 will be offered in two trims: Base and Premium. Both of which will supply front and rear LED lights, a digital instrument cluster that changes depending on drive mode, an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that no longer looks like it’s from the dial-up internet era, and a tastefully executed, no-thrills interior that puts function first. The Base model rolls on slide-happy Michelin Primacy H/P tires size 215/45R-17. Moving up to the Premium nets a duckbill spoiler on the decklid, aluminum pedals, heated leather seats with suede inserts, and most important, 18-inch wheels and sticker Michelin Pilot Sport 4 shoes size 215/40R-18.

Piloting the GR 86 around the winding roads of the Catskill Mountains reveals the revised damper tuning is well adept for daily use: not too soft nor too firm. But the true revelation is navigating the straights and curbing of Monticello Motor Club. Toyota tells us they’ve tuned the GR 86 differently in comparison to the BRZ by using a stronger front knuckle, stiffer front anti-roll bar, and different springs. We’ll need to get the two next to each other to sniff out any differences, but when punching it around Monticello, the GR 86 is a delight.A new column-mounted steering motor controls the marginally quicker steering rack. Turn-in is crisp and quick, body roll is contained, and the thin-rimmed leather-wrapped steering wheel sends positive communication as the front tires begin to give up grip. But the most talkative feedback comes through the seat pan as the chassis proudly alerts you’ve reached the limit. The rear tires step out as the GR 86 threatens to move forward sideways only to be reeled back in by subtle steering-wheel motions. It’s the neutral cornering balance, which can be easily upset into oversteer by aggressive throttle applications, that makes these cars so much fun to drive at the limit.
All versions of the GR 86 come with the identical brake package as the previous car. Sliding two-piston calipers clamp 11.6-inch rotors in the front, and 11.4-inch rotors are pinched by sliding single-piston units in the rear. While street driving or autocrossing may never expose much fade, Monticello’s full course did. Previously, Toyota offered a Brembo brake package with larger rotors and fixed calipers front and rear, and we’d like to have that option return. Slowing down from Monticello’s fast straights is enough to overtax the GR 86’s brakes. Toyota promises a track pad will be sold as an accessory. Other bolt-on options include a cold-air intake, short-throw shifter, and cat-back exhaust system. When the GR 86 arrives at dealers, it’ll start at less than $30,000 and come with a one-year membership to the National Auto Sport Association and one performance driving class. Two years of no-cost maintenance is part of the deal too. The GR 86 is proof that the budget coupe isn’t extinct, at least not for a few more years.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Toyota GR 86Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE (C/D EST)
Base: $29,000
ENGINE
DOHC 16-valve flat-4, aluminum block and heads, port and direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 146 in3, 2387 cm3Power: 228 hp @ 7000 rpmTorque: 184 lb-ft @ 3700 rpm
TRANSMISSIONS
6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 101.4 inLength: 167.9 inWidth: 69.9 inHeight: 51.6 inPassenger Volume: 78 ft3Trunk Volume: 6 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 2800–2850 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.8–7.0 sec1/4-Mile: 14.3–15.3 secTop Speed: 140 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 22–25/20–21/27–30 mpg

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Jeep says that the all-new 2022 Wagoneer drives like the “smallest big car.” After spending a day with Wagoneers and Grand Wagoneers, we’d probably drop “smallest” from the phrase. This is because at their core, these 214.7-inch-long SUVs employ the segment’s proven formula: take a full-size pickup frame, include all the big V-8 powertrain options, and build a box on top.It’s hardly that simple, of course. Unlike the Ram 1500, which the big Jeep’s frame is derived from, the Wagoneer benefits from an independent rear suspension that uses a lot of aluminum, as well as a number of other chassis tweaks to improve rigidity and on-road manners. Still, these aren’t lightweight trucks any more than they are small ones. Even with its composite liftgate and aluminum hood, fenders, and doors, the Wagoneer checks in at 6200 pounds. Further up the line, the more feature-filled Grand Wagoneer can rise as high as 6450. All of that heft is hard to ignore when maneuvering these brutes, independent suspensions or not.

Around town, a little residual body-on-frame jiggle runs through the structure after abrupt inputs or bumps. Out on twisting roads, the big truck rolls—you should really let the inertia settle before turning the wheel in the opposite direction—and to maintain the vehicle’s path, the steering needs constant attention. That softness pays dividends on the highway, where the ride is quite plush and appropriate for road trips. The throwback two-spoke steering wheel offers a vague connection to what’s happening at the tires, and the overall feel is light. Buyers will have to parse through seven Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer trim levels to find their best match. Wagoneers come three ways, all powered by Chrysler’s Hemi 392-hp 5.7-liter V-8, which is backed by the company’s 48-volt eTorque hybrid system and an eight-speed automatic transmission. The electric assist adds 130 lb-ft of torque on initial throttle application and makes for one of the more seamless start-stop systems we’ve experienced. Equipped with the optional 3.92:1 axle ratio, the combo moves the Wagoneer’s mass off the line smartly, and the smooth V-8 doesn’t leave you wanting on the highway.
Grand Wagoneers come in four versions, each with a beefy 6.4-liter V-8. A GW-exclusive intake manifold and exhaust cap the fun at 471 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque—14 horses and 20 lb-ft short of what the engine makes in a Scat Pack Challenger. A robust torque curve gives an easy initial surge; stay in it and you’ll find that the big V-8 loves to run to the top of its rev range. It sounds great, too, if a little out of place. There’s no hybrid system here, but like the 5.7-liter, cylinder deactivation and variable valve timing help make the most out of a gallon. The Grand Wagoneer feels a bit livelier with its larger engine—Jeep claims a 60-mph time of 6.0 seconds—but the lesser Wagoneer, with its electrically assisted 5.7, seems quicker than its claimed 7.3-second time to 60. Buyers might be more interested in the EPA fuel-economy numbers: Four-wheel-drive Wagoneers carry labels of 15 mpg in the city and 20 on the highway; their 17-mpg-combined rating is 1 mpg short of the Chevy Tahoe with a 5.3-liter and the Ford Expedition. Grand Wagoneers manage up to 15/13/18 mpg (combined/city/highway), which makes them similarly less efficient than the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator. The soon-to-be-released rear-wheel-drive Wagoneer Series I will be good for an additional 1 mpg combined.

In a move that attempts to elevate the Wagoneer above the rest of the Jeep lineup (marketers call the Wagoneer a “premium extension of the Jeep brand”), there isn’t a single Jeep badge on it. Yet there’s no mistaking it for anything but a Jeep, and all-terrain tires are offered on the Wagoneer Series II, with 18-inch wheels, and on the Wagoneer Series III, with 20s. There are three optional drivelines: Quadra-Trac I brings full-time all-wheel drive to the Series II, the Quadra-Trac II in the Wagoneer Series III adds a two-speed transfer case and hill-descent control, and at the top of the line, any Wagoneer can be had with Quadra-Drive II, a four-wheel-drive system that nets an electronically controlled locking rear differential. That’s standard on the Grand Wagoneer, optional on lesser models. Wagoneers come standard with a load-leveling setup for the rear suspension. Four-corner Quadra-Lift air springs are optional on the Series II; Series III and Grand Wagoneer models get it standard. The system can raise the truck by 1.7 inches to give it 10.0 inches of ground clearance and up to 24 inches of water-fording capability. Additionally, it’ll drop the truck 0.6 inch at speed for better aerodynamics, plus it can lower the vehicle when parked an additional inch to aid ingress and egress.
But all of that kind of misses the point: If you’re shopping cars this big, the last thing you’re thinking of is hitting fire roads—or for that matter, performance on winding country roads. No, it’s what’s inside the box that matters, and Jeep designers nailed it.The Grand Wagoneer in particular offers a legitimately luxurious experience, not just for its many creature comforts, but in the interior design itself. There’s a lot of wood flowing through the dash and center console. If sculpted American walnut isn’t your taste, you can opt for aluminum trim instead. The seats are large and comfortable, and as you might guess, all rows inside the gigantic cabin are easily accessible. High-end details are dotted throughout, such as the knurled-aluminum gear-selection knob and the leather-wrapped start button (yes, you read that correctly). In typical Jeep fashion, the cabin is filled with reminders of what you’re driving. “Grand Wagoneer” appears in large lettering on the steering wheel, the sides of the seats, and inlaid in the wood in front of the passenger’s seat.
The upright, boxy exterior shape is sure to polarize, but that form gives the Wagoneer best-in-class overall passenger volume, second- and third-row legroom, third-row headroom, and cargo volume behind the third row. It’s seriously roomy inside, enough so to warrant an optional camera for front-row passengers to see who threw something at them from the wayback. The Grand Wagoneer features four screens up front. In addition to the digital gauge cluster, there’s the big center touchscreen—12.3 inches in the Grand and 10.3 in Wagoneer—and, below it, a smaller screen for secondary controls such as seat heaters and massage. An unexpected feature: The bottom screen can flip up, revealing a useful storage cubby with power outlets behind it. Front-seat passengers get their own display flush mounted in the dash.
The sheer amount of equipment that Jeep’s leviathans offer is impressive. Each trim has an extensive list of options, many unique to particular trim levels. There’s an available head-up display with night vision, all the driver-assistance stuff you can imagine, Amazon Fire TV integration in the middle-row screens, and two high-end McIntosh audio systems, the grandest being a 23-speaker, 1375-watt monster with a 12-inch subwoofer. Any lingering small-big-car thoughts will be crushed by the pricing structure. Wagoneer Series II and III 4×4 models arrive at the end of the summer and start at $72,995 and $77,995, although the rear-drive version will drop the entry point to just below $59,995 when it goes on sale in the first half of 2022. Grand Wagoneer models open up at $88,995, with the top-of-the-line Series III starting at an appropriately grand $105,995.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Jeep Wagoneer and Grand WagoneerVehicle Type: front-engine; rear-, all-, or 4-wheel-drive; 7- or 8-passenger; 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base: Wagoneer Series I, $59,995; Wagoneer Series II, $69,995; Wagoneer Series III, $74,995; Grand Wagoneer Series I, $88,995; Grand Wagoneer Series II, $95,995; Grand Wagoneer Obsidian, $100,995; Grand Wagoneer Series III, $105,995
ENGINES
pushrod 16-valve 5.7-liter V-8, 392 hp, 404 lb-ft; pushrod 16-valve 6.4-liter V-8, 471 hp, 455 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 123.0 inLength: 214.7 inWidth: 83.6 inHeight: 75.6 inPassenger Volume: 179 ft3Cargo Volume: 27 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 6200–6450 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.9–7.1 sec1/4-Mile: 14.8–15.4 secTop Speed: 105 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 15–18/13–16/18–22 mpg

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