Car Reviews

From the June 2023 issue of Car and Driver.Route 66 ain’t what it used to be. The Mother Road has long been bypassed by the Interstate Highway System, and most of its once-numerous roadside motels, gas stations, and eateries have vanished beneath the blades of bulldozers. Those that remain generally fall into one of two categories: graffiti-slathered skeletons of their former selves that live on in Instagram infamy or Route 66 memorabilia outfits selling tchotchkes and supplies to infrequent passersby.But the road still has a lot of appeal, especially the more desolate stretches that wander far from the interstate through lonely yet beautiful lands that convey a sense of time travel. These are places where you can see the weather advancing across the countryside as you drive down into the valley to meet it. There are few people out here and even fewer services, making it an interesting environment to take the new Hyundai Ioniq 6 electric sedan off leash on a road trip.The sleek Ioniq 6 sedan shares much with the Ioniq 5 SUV. Both ride on Hyundai’s acclaimed E-GMP platform, with an available long-range battery pack that stores 77.4 kWh of electricity. The Ioniq 6 is available in rear-wheel drive with a rear-mounted motor that provides 225 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque or all-wheel drive with an added front motor that bumps total output to 320 horses and 446 pound-feet. Curiously, Hyundai claims both Ioniqs weigh nearly the same, with the SUV’s gross vehicle weight rating exceeding the sedan’s by just 44 pounds in long-range spec.HIGHS: Cruises with the best of them, attractive and spacious interior, you won’t spend a lot of downtime charging.Measuring Up against the Ioniq 5 SUVThat they look radically different is self-evident, but there’s much to glean from the details. The sedan is 8.6 inches longer than the SUV, while its roofline is 4.1 inches lower. At 0.22, its coefficient of drag betters the cubist SUV’s by 23.6 percent. Combine this with its tidier frontal area, and we estimate the Ioniq 6 enjoys a 30 percent reduction in aerodynamic drag force.ComparisonsThis pays off when it comes to EPA ratings, as our rear-drive SE Long Range test car, a $46,825 machine, is good for a whopping 361-mile range and 140 MPGe combined. Meanwhile, the same best-case configuration of the boxier Ioniq 5 is rated at 303 miles and 114 MPGe combined. On the competitor front, the single-motor, front-drive Polestar 2 sedan is pegged for 270 miles of range and 107 MPGe combined (rising to a Polestar-estimated 300 miles and switching to rear-drive for 2024), while a rear-drive Tesla Model 3 does 272 miles and 132 MPGe. The RouteThis massive difference gave us the confidence to wander far off the interstate, following all the weather-beaten Route 66 fragments we could stitch into an itinerary from Arizona to California. In theory, the Ioniq’s competitors could manage this, albeit with more uncertainty. The old road crosses and recrosses Interstate 40 like an endless braided river, with Electrify America DC fast-charge stations sitting at several of those nodes. The options along our route read as if the station planners were guided by the song lyrics “Flagstaff, Arizona, don’t forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino.” Electrify America added stations in Williams, Needles, Fenner, and Hesperia for good measure, even though those burgs escaped the notice of songwriter Bobby Troup.LOWS: Trunk can’t carry much Route 66 swag, rated range overly optimistic, not terribly quick without all-wheel drive.Our trip began in Phoenix, and the portion that followed Route 66 spanned 381 miles from Flagstaff to Barstow, where we’d leave the “highway that’s the best” to keep an appointment at the test track. There was an initial uphill pull to Flagstaff, and then we persevered to Williams to avoid heavy overnight snow. The Williams fast-charge station occupied our hotel’s parking lot, so we took advantage. From there, we covered the remaining 342-mile meander to Barstow with a brief 24-minute stop in Fenner, California. We could have pressed on to our off-piste overnight in Mojave, but hunger got the best of us, and restaurants surround the station in Barstow.Competent and Confident Through it all, the Ioniq 6 proved to be a sublimely capable road-trip machine, winding in the miles with self-assured competence. Aided by an extra bit of sidewall thanks to the SE’s 18-inch Hankooks, the suspension glides over neglected, alligator-cracked two-lane pavement that fell off the highway department’s priority list decades ago. The steering holds up its end of the bargain, imparting a confident sense of straight-ahead unfettered by crosswinds and scalloped road edges. In the twistier sections, effort builds progressively as the car bends willingly into corners, a precursor to the decent 0.86 g of grip we measured at the track despite narrow 225-mm all-season rubber.Our single-motor powertrain’s 225 horsepower isn’t terribly athletic, but the absence of all-wheel drive keeps the weight down to 4225 pounds. This also gives our rear-drive Ioniq 6 a slight rearward weight bias (46.7/53.3 percent), which puts the power to the ground much more gracefully than the single-motor Polestar 2’s front-drive setup. At the track, the Ioniq 6’s 6.2-second dash to 60 mph handily beat Hyundai’s own estimate, while its ready torque and direct-drive gearbox made quick work of passing maneuvers. Romps of 2.5 seconds from 30 to 50 mph and 3.6 seconds from 50 to 70 mph compare favorably with results from the last BMW 540i xDrive we tested. Its wheelbase is 2.0 inches shorter than the Ioniq 5’s, but the sedan’s front seat offers a far more spacious environment. We’re smitten with the bi-level console and its huge basement, and we don’t mind the window switches and lock button mounted there because this enables full-length floating armrests on nearly naked door panels, allowing one to grasp anywhere to pull the door shut. The displays and controls are more attractive and intuitive than in the Ioniq 5 or its Kia and Genesis counterparts, and they blow away the barren Model 3. The streamliner’s arcing roof does impinge on rear headroom somewhat, but noggin space is still competitive. Besides, there’s plenty of room to sprawl out because of the rear cabin’s breadth and abundant legroom.Supportive InteriorAt a glance of the entry-level SE, it’s not immediately apparent what you’re missing by not stepping up to the SEL or Limited. Sure, the seats are cloth, but they are seamlessly supportive—and heated up front. The steering column isn’t power adjustable, but it tilts and telescopes. Phone mirroring and charging aren’t wireless, but USB ports and places to stash your device abound. Driver-assistance features seemingly want for little, with adaptive cruise control that’s tied into adjustable regenerative braking and Hyundai’s high-performing lane-centering system both present.VERDICT: Who needs a Tesla Model 3 when this exists?A Few WeaknessesAs good as the Ioniq 6 is, it’s not perfect. The trunk’s 11-cubic-foot capacity is weak. The headlights don’t have much reach on a dark desert highway. Also, we managed just 260 miles in our 75-mph range test, which says more about EPA ratings than anything else. The feds’ 361-mile estimate combines city and highway test cycles in a 55/45 split, and the highway portion is not the steady cruise you might imagine. Our test distills a road-trip number, and 260 miles is still a lot where bladders and appetites are concerned. On a back-road tour like this, you’ll likely take your time and fare better with range. After all, if you drive too fast, you’ll be unable to read the Burma-Shave signs as you pass.CounterpointsThere’s real polish here, both in the confident way the Ioniq 6 goes down the road and in the design flourishes that combine form and function in innovative ways. The four dots on the steering wheel reference Morse code for “H” and also serve as state-of-charge indicators while the car is plugged in—silly, but not pointless. We’ll take that over Elon’s fart mode any day. —Joey CapparellaCould the ascendance of EVs be what finally derails the trend of ever-larger wheels? The Hyundai Ioniq 6 shows why it might. When equipped with the 77.4-kWh battery pack, the single-motor version sees its headline-making 361-mile EPA range drop precipitously to 305 miles the moment buyers “upgrade” from 18-inch wheels to 20s. Making the same change on the dual-motor Ioniq 6 results in a 46-mile loss. With EV buyers prioritizing range—understandable, given the still-shaky charging infrastructure—high-style oversize wheels suddenly lose some luster. Fortunately, the Ioniq 6 still has style to spare, even on 18s. —Joe LorioArrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 SE Long RangeVehicle Type: rear-motor, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $46,615/$46,825Options: carpeted floor mats, $210. 
POWERTRAINMotor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC/, 225 hp, 258 lb-ft Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 77.4 kWhOnboard Charger: 10.9 kWPeak DC Fast-Charge Rate: 235 kWTransmission: direct-drive  
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 12.8-in vented disc/12.8-in discTires: Hankook Ventus S2 AS EV225/55R-18 98W M+S
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 116.1 inLength: 191.1 inWidth: 74.0 inHeight: 58.9 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 57/47 ft3Trunk Volume: 11 ft3Curb Weight: 4225 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.2 sec1/4-Mile: 14.8 sec @ 95 mph100 mph: 16.5 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.3 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 2.5 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.6 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 116 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 168 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.86 g  
C/D FUEL ECONOMY AND CHARGING
Observed: 116 MPGe75-mph Highway Range: 260 mi
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 140/153/127 MPGeRange: 361 mi
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDTechnical EditorDan Edmunds was born into the world of automobiles, but not how you might think. His father was a retired racing driver who opened Autoresearch, a race-car-building shop, where Dan cut his teeth as a metal fabricator. Engineering school followed, then SCCA Showroom Stock racing, and that combination landed him suspension development jobs at two different automakers. His writing career began when he was picked up by Edmunds.com (no relation) to build a testing department. More

The Alfa Romeo Tonale makes a good first impression. It earns major street cred for its styling, which oozes italianità, and its cabin is a tasty mix of old-school analog dials and clever Uconnect 5 digital tech. But when you push the starter button to summon the puny 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine, slide the gear lever into drive, and hit the throttle, sober reality sets in. Fans hoping for a junior version of the vivacious, sharp-driving Stelvio will be disappointed. The Tonale is built for a different mission.Alfa’s compact crossover is carved from the same components set as the Dodge Hornet and the Jeep Compass. Welcome to the world of Stellantis, where mandatory synergies and compulsory differentiation are battling it out 24/7.Unlike its siblings, the Alfa in our market is offered solely as a plug-in hybrid. The powertrain combines a small 180-hp turbocharged 1.3-liter engine and a 121-hp electric motor for a total output of 285 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque. The Q4 suffix confirms that the Tonale is all-wheel drive, but there is no physical connection between the engine and the motor powering the rear axle. Although Alfa claims a commendably brisk 60-mph time of 5.6 seconds, there’s not enough high-end grunt, and the unexciting top speed of 125 mph takes forever to materialize. The sotto voce liftoff exhaust note in Dynamic mode raises goose pimples, but then the noise at high revs kills the acoustic joy.Related StoriesThe 14.8-kWh battery allows feather-footed drivers to cover a claimed 30-plus miles at speeds of up to 84 mph. (Official EPA range numbers are not yet available.) Refrain from unleashing your inner hooligan and Alfa Romeo promises a total driving range of up to 320 miles. Most of the time, the Tonale is a front-driver, but kick-down automatically engages the rear motor, as can the traction and stability control. To the credit of the system, the transition between front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive ranges from virtually imperceptible to mildly entertaining in Dynamic mode with dynamic stability control deactivated, when a subtle front-to-rear torque transfer briefly enlightens the oh-so-fail-safe handling.Unique to Alfa is the DNA mode selector. D signals Dynamic (a.k.a. pure arrabbiata), N stands for Natural (a.k.a. not particularly involving), and A denotes Advanced Efficiency (a.k.a. electric but only while the battery lasts). Why is there no Individual setting to let you compile your favorite combination of throttle response, shift action, damper control, and steering feel?We went apex chasing through the foothills of Monte Mottac, gave it stick on the lightly trafficked A26 autostrada heading for Genoa, and fought our way clench fisted through Milan’s rush-hour maze. The Tonale feels tight and well made, it has strong Brembo brakes that are a joy to modulate, and the ride is sufficiently compliant on all but the most neglected surfaces. The cabin accommodates four in comfort, but the cargo hold is compromised by the bulky electric drivetrain components. We give full marks for the infotainment interface, which is easy to use, comes with an available passenger’s screen, and features wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay along with Fire TV to accommodate video streaming needs. The 10.3-inch touchscreen is supported by a row of direct-access buttons plus more on the steering wheel.Downsides? Yep, there are a few of those, too. The steering is rather vague, light, and woolly. There’s too much play around the straight-ahead position, and the action doesn’t get any keener as you wind on more lock. The Tonale is certainly not undertired, but it feels oddly overdamped and undersprung on bumpy terrain where recurrent floating, heaving, rolling, and pitching motions disturb the uninspiring handling. On the other hand, understeer is reasonably well controlled even when going nine-tenths, the chassis feels well balanced during cornering, and the directional stability is hard to fault too.Back on the debit side, the seats lack thigh and shoulder support, the unnecessarily wide center console steals precious legroom, the available shift paddles mask the wiper and turn-signal stalks, and, at the stated curb weight of 4133 pounds, the Tonale is actually heavier than the last 2.0-liter Stelvio Q4 we tested.The driver can preserve the current state of charge, and it’s also possible to foster the battery on the fly. Depending on the type of connection used, Alfa says it takes between two and a half and five hours to replenish the energy pack.Prices range from $44,590 for the Sprint to $49,090 for the Veloce, which features, among other goodies, the huge paddle shifters, Alcantara-trimmed seats, and adaptive dampers. A sunroof, a Harman/Kardon sound system, 20-inch wheels, a surround-view camera, and the more advanced driver assists cost extra, so we’re talking $50K-plus for a fully loaded Tonale. Not surprisingly, Alfa expects nine out of 10 cars to be leased at still-to-be-disclosed but allegedly highly favorable rates. For packaging and portfolio-management reasons, there will be no Quadrifoglio edition of this compact SUV.According to Domenico Bagnasco, head of vehicle development, Alfa did what it could with the Stellantis platform it was presented with, within the confines of a shoestring budget. “We gave the car more electric power, made it look like a real Alfa inside and out, and taught it decent road manners. The outcome is not a hardcore driver’s car, because that’s not what this segment is about. Instead, we created a user-friendly and wholly competent alternative to the German establishment. The Tonale is easy to drive and easy to live with, yet it shouts Alfa Romeo from every angle and in any gear.” Well said, Domenico. Given the audience of affluent style-conscious urbanites, a baby Stelvio is perhaps not what the market ordered, much as Alfa’s fan base might have liked to see one.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Alfa Romeo TonaleVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base: Sprint, $44,590; Ti, $46,590; Veloce, $49,090
POWERTRAIN
turbocharged and intercooled SOHC 16-valve 1.3-liter inline-4, 180 hp, 199 lb-ft + 2 AC motors, 44 and 121 hp, 39 and 184 lb-ft (combined output: 285 hp, 347 lb-ft; 14.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack; 7.4-kW onboard charger)Transmissions, F/R: 6-speed automatic/direct-drive 
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 103.8 inLength: 178.3 inWidth: 74.0 inHeight: 63.0 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 52/46 ft3Cargo Volume, behind F/R: 51/23 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 4150 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.6 sec1/4-Mile: 14.3 secTop Speed: 125 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 26/23/29 mpgCombined Gasoline + Electricity: 60 MPGeEV Range: 30 miContributing EditorAlthough I was born the only son of an ornithologist and a postal clerk, it was clear from the beginning that birdwatching and stamp collecting were not my thing. Had I known that God wanted me to grow to 6’8″, I also would have ruled out anything to do with cars, which are to blame for a couple of slipped discs, a torn ligament, and that stupid stooped posture behind the wheel. While working as a keeper in the Aberdeen Zoo, smuggling cheap cigarettes from Yugoslavia to Germany, and an embarrassing interlude with an amateur drama group also failed to yield fulfillment, driving and writing about cars became a much better option. And it still is now, many years later, as I approach my 70th birthday. I love every aspect of my job except long-haul travel on lousy airlines, and I hope it shows. More

From the August 1981 issue of Car and Driver.At first blush, nineteen hundred eighty-­one wouldn’t seem to be a year of great change for the Mazda 626. It takes the keen eye of a Mazda salesman to pick a new 626 out of a lineup from more than ten paces, and this year’s specification sheet reads like a photocopy of last year’s. Which is why the 626 is one of this season’s biggest surprises. Truth be known, it’s a very different automo­bile now. The specific subject of this short take is this year’s new addition to the fold, the 626 Luxury. Though Mazda bills the Luxury as a separate model, it’s actually an all-inclusive, check-one-box options-and-trim package. And since 626 Luxurys are little different from standard-issue 626s under the new trim, most of what we say here applies across the board. As you might guess from the quirky name, the 626 Luxury doesn’t come with four­-wheel drive or mud flaps. The package, which is available on either the two- or the four-door sedan, includes fancier upholstery and a heavy helping of comfort-and-conve­nience items—all intended to push the 626 into sporty-personal-car territory with the likes of the Toyota Celica Supra, the Datsun 200-SX, and the Honda Accord LX.Aaron Kiley|Car and DriverYou may recall that the 626 was anything but a stripped-down tin can to begin with. The $7295 base 626 offers the kind of arm’s ­length standard-equipment list that the Japa­nese have become famous for. Just a sam­pling: handsome herringbone fabric uphol­stery, full instrumentation, a five-speed man­ual transmission, an AM/FM-stereo radio, comfortable reclining front buckets with an adjustable lumbar support and a four-way­-adjustable lower cushion for the driver, an electrically operated outside mirror, inter­mittent wipers, a remote trunk release, and a split, folding rear seatback. More Archive ContentLife in the deluxe lane, Mazda obviously reckoned, demanded a whole lot more stan­dard hardware, so the $1800 premium you pay for a 626 Luxury buys another round of equipment. A set of 185/70SR-13 radials on aluminum wheels replaces the standard 165SR-13 tires and steel rims. Halogen headlights are plugged in up front. The pas­senger gets their own electric door mirror. In­side, handsome corduroy displaces the stan­dard car’s fabric. The sound system is up­graded with two more speakers. Other accoutrements include an adjustable steering column, power steering, power windows, an electrically operated sunroof, cruise control, map-reading lamps, a remote fuel-filler-door release, and more. Our car, in fact, had but one option included in its $9685 sticker price: air conditioning. What’s more, all of this good stuff is packed into an interior that rivals an Audi’s for good taste and quality. Funny model name or no, the 626 Luxury still has the look of a European driver’s car, right down to its four-spoke steering wheel. While we’ve always liked the 626 for its Continental ambiance, we loved past ver­sions for their verve. The old 626 had the feel of a half-priced BMW 320i to it. The supple suspension could keep the 626 glued down over bumps that might put some air under the wheels of a Camaro. The steering was accurate. The engine had enough zip to keep things interesting. But alas, that’s all changed. To put it bluntly, the 626 Luxury isn’t much fun to drive—and only part of the problem is the Luxury package. For one thing, the 626’s road manners have gone sharply downhill. The suspension doesn’t seem as ready to cut and run when you twist the steering wheel. (Mazda, howev­er, says the calibrations are unchanged.) The new power steering is rubbery. Worse yet, pavement that’s scalloped near the shoulder gives the front end fits. With every undula­tion the 626 straggles off toward the edge like a nosy puppy; it has to be constantly re­strained. How much of this is a result of the power steering, we really can’t say. But even if the handling of the standard 626 is up to snuff, there’s no getting around the deficien­cies in the engine bay of all 626s. Aaron Kiley|Car and DriverWhile most carmakers have been improv­ing performance of late, Mazda has gone just the other way with the 626. The 74-hp, 1970-cc four-cylinder, a refugee from Mazda’s B2000 pickup truck, wheezes heavily when you push it and performs as if it were pulling a trailer. Though the new 626 has lost only 6 horsepower to emissions regulations in the past three years, the new emissions gear Mazda fitted for 1981 seems to have sapped all the life out of the engine above the 4500-rpm power peak. (The one positive side effect is an im­pressive 17 percent improvement in fuel economy, from last year’s 24-mpg rating to this year’s 28 mpg.) The best the overbur­dened engine can manage is a leisurely 17.3-second stroll to 60 mph, an interminable 5.5 seconds longer than it took the 1979 car. And our test car’s 91-mph top speed is off a whopping 13 mph as well. The net result of this lack of oomph is that you always seem to be whipping the poor en­gine into a froth just to stay ahead of traffic­—never mind playing boy racer. And that observation pretty much sums up the 626’s problem. The solution, we believe, is already on the drawing boards in the form of an all­-new, high-tech, front-drive 626, due in 1983. Given Mazda’s penchant for getting it right, we expect it will prove worth waiting for.Aaron Kiley|Car and DriverArrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
1981 Mazda 626 LuxuryVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door sedan
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $9095/$9685
ENGINESOHC inline-4, iron block and aluminum headDisplacement: 120 in3, 1970 cm3Power: 74 hp @ 4500 rpm 
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 98.8 inLength: 173.8 inCurb Weight: 2620 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 17.3 sec1/4-Mile: 20.5 sec @ 65 mphTop Speed: 91 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 227 ftRoadholding, 282-ft Skidpad: 0.72 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 23 mpg 
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity: 28 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDDirector, Buyer’s GuideRich Ceppos has evaluated automobiles and automotive technology during a career that has encompassed 10 years at General Motors, two stints at Car and Driver totaling 19 years, and thousands of miles logged in racing cars. He was in music school when he realized what he really wanted to do in life and, somehow, it’s worked out. In between his two C/D postings he served as executive editor of Automobile Magazine; was an executive vice president at Campbell Marketing & Communications; worked in GM’s product-development area; and became publisher of Autoweek. He has raced continuously since college, held SCCA and IMSA pro racing licenses, and has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He currently ministers to a 1999 Miata and a 1965 Corvette convertible and appreciates that none of his younger colleagues have yet uttered “Okay, Boomer” when he tells one of his stories about the crazy old days at C/D. More

There’s never been a meaningful reason to choose any GMC pickup truck over its mechanically identical Chevrolet sibling. But that might be changing with GM’s latest generation of mid-size trucks, the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado, both of which are redesigned for 2023. The two are still twins underneath, but the Canyon now packages the Colorado’s best optional elements across its lineup, making it an enticing choice if you can stomach the price.Both these trucks offer fewer configurations than before, with the regular-cab and long-bed options discontinued. That means a crew cab with a shorter five-foot bed is the only combination left, and a turbocharged 2.7-liter inline-four is standard across the board. But while the Chevrolet offers five trim levels and three engine-output levels, GMC has simplified things even further. Every 2023 Canyon has the 2.7-liter’s top output configuration—producing 310 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque—which costs extra on the Colorado and requires checking two separate boxes on most trim levels (the Chevy’s medium-output tune has the same 310 horsepower but less torque, at 391 pound-feet).Four-wheel drive is also standard across the Canyon’s trim levels, save for the base Elevation. And every Canyon features the wider front track from the Colorado’s off-road-oriented trims, in addition to all-terrain tires. This gives the truck a mean-looking stance, although the funky split headlights may be more polarizing than the Chevy’s cleaner front-end look. Along with Elevation, there’s also the rugged-looking AT4 trim and the gussied-up Denali, which has nicer interior appointments and a healthy serving of chrome trim.More on GM PickupsWhile the Colorado’s most off-road-ready ZR2 trim level was previously a Chevy exclusive, GMC now offers an equivalent: the Canyon AT4X. It has the same Multimatic spool-valve dampers, 33-inch tires, skid plates, and locking front and rear differentials. Like the ZR2, its rear dampers have been relocated outboard the frame rails and tight up against the wheels for better protection. We found it to be a highly capable 4×4 on the off-road trails GMC planned out for us, with plenty of ground clearance for larger obstacles and loads of low-end torque from the turbo four for getting unstuck. The AT4X also comes standard with all manner of off-road display screens and underbody cameras to keep you informed about your surroundings.We like how the Canyon drives on the road too. Its tight suspension tuning combines with nicely weighted steering and a firm brake pedal to give it a remarkably solid and composed feel for a body-on-frame truck as capable as this. We already liked the way the old Colorado and Canyon drove, calling the Colorado “the best-driving body-on-frame vehicle on sale today” in 2019, and this new generation ups the refinement factor further. The turbo four is a bit grainy, and by GM’s own admission it’s tuned to feel somewhat like a diesel, but we like the shove of torque and we expect it to deliver 60-mph sprint times in the low- to mid-6.0-second range. The AT4X’s only real on-road compromise is the extra noise from its chunky tires.GM hasn’t done much to improve upon the Canyon’s cramped interior; the rear seat remains tight and there aren’t many storage cubbies in the cabin. But the driving position is comfortable, and the dashboard has an appealing look with high-resolution screens for the digital gauge cluster and central infotainment display. The Denali and AT4X variants introduce quilted leather upholstery for a more upscale look, but they won’t quite be mistaken for luxury cars.Unfortunately, the high-trim Canyons do carry luxury prices, going well into the $50,000 range and even exceeding $66,000 for a loaded AT4X with the Edition 1 package. At that point we’d probably start looking at more capable full-size trucks instead. Even the lower-end Canyon models are a bit more expensive than equivalently equipped Colorados, but now when you choose the GMC you’ll know that you’re getting the best configuration of GM’s mid-size pickup platform no matter the trim.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2023 GMC CanyonVehicle Type: front-engine, rear- or rear/4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
PRICEBase: 2WD Elevation, $38,395; 4WD Elevation, $41,695; AT4, $45,395; Denali, $52,495; AT4X, $56,995
ENGINETurbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 166 in3, 2727 cm3Power: 310 hp @ 5600 rpmTorque: 430 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
TRANSMISSION8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONSWheelbase: 131.4 inLength: 213.2–217.9 inWidth: 72.4 inHeight: 79.8–81.7 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 61/43 ft3Curb Weight(C/D est): 4500–5250 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)60 mph: 6.0–6.5 sec1/4-Mile: 13.0–14.0 secTop Speed: 100 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCombined/City/Highway: 18–20/17–18/20–23 mpgSenior EditorDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More

Subaru’s Crosstrek was a hit right out of the gate in 2013. Six years into the model’s second generation in North America, its popularity continues to grow. According to Subaru, 154,142 examples of the crunchy subcompact crossover found a home in 2022, its best year ever. That’s an increase of more than 27,000 units over 2021; not bad for an aging model born from a lifted Impreza concept unveiled in 2011. To keep the product—and the profits—rolling, Subaru has ramped up the supply chain with an international approach. For the new third-gen 2024 Crosstrek, Subaru continues to build the 2.0-liter-equipped base and Premium models in Japan, while it assembles the 2.5-liter Sport, Limited, and upcoming Wilderness trim levels in Lafayette, Indiana. It’s the first time the Crosstrek has been built stateside, though Subaru notes the facility in Japan continues to build 2.5-liter models for overseas markets. The strategy increases production volume and serves as a buffer for any supply-chain difficulties or pesky sociopolitical or economic issues that might throw a wrench in their cash-printing machine. We drove a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Premium 2.0-liter in California earlier this year. The reduced interior sound levels, improved CVT performance, and addition of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were all signs of progress. To get a taste of what an additional half-liter of displacement can bring to the table, we joined Subaru in Woodstock, New York, and settled into a Crosstrek Sport. More on the CrosstrekThe Crosstrek’s 2.5-liter flat-four engine produces 182 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, an increase of 30 horsepower and 33 pound-feet compared to the 2.0-liter. Sharp-eyed Subaristi will note an additional two pound-feet compared to the previous 2.5-liter. More significantly, peak torque now arrives at 3700 rpm, 700 lower than before. The manual transmission option is gone for 2024, but 2.5-liter cars have paddle “shifters” and a manual mode. EPA estimates come in at 26 mpg city and 33 highway; versus 2.0-liter models, the larger 2.5-liter requires a 1-mpg sacrifice in each measure. Both engines score 29 mpg in combined driving. If those numbers paint a mental picture of launching away from stoplights like a WRX, you might want to get out your cognitive eraser. Yes, the Crosstrek’s lower torque peak reduces the wait time when slicing and dicing around town in Sport mode, but steep hills and freeway on-ramps require some advance planning in the throttle department. Still, the flat-four exudes that warm, familiar, willing personality that summons a peaceful grin rather than a mischievous one. Yes, this Subaru is comparatively slow, but somehow it convinces the driver that its pokey nature is endearing rather than irritating. Part of that calmness comes from the dramatically quieter cabin and seat design, as we mentioned in our Crosstrek 2.0 Premium drive story. The updated chassis is 10 percent stiffer yet also lighter, thanks to fewer subsections and 89 feet of structural adhesive. Subaru also claims 20 percent less engine vibration makes its way to the cabin because of various updated mounts, cradles, and component cases. On the downside, the increased use of sound-deadening materials negates the weight reduction. According to Subaru’s figures, the 2024 Crosstrek Sport tips the scales at 3333 pounds, 68 more than the outgoing version. It’s a tradeoff we’d make every day of the week, as that NVH reduction makes the 2024 model a far more pleasant space to spend time. Like the 2.0 base and Premium models, 2.5-liter Crosstreks get a modified version of the WRX’s electronically assisted power steering and larger 12.4-inch front brake rotors to replace the previous car’s 11.6-inch discs. Rears increase in size to 11.2 inches from 10.8 and are now ventilated like the fronts. The parking brake is now electrically operated, which is sure to disappoint at least a few budding rally drivers. Eager to prove the Crosstrek Sport is more than just another lifted hatchback clad in plastic attitude its internals can’t back up, Subaru directed us to the nearby Plattekill Mountain ski resort. Looking every bit the set of a zany ’80s ski movie, minus the cheesy soundtrack and token stoner employee, its gracious owner was game to let us traipse across the property’s less critical bits, meaning not the main ski runs. Preceded by two days of rain, we eyed our Crosstrek Sport’s 225/55 18-inch all-season Falken tires with suspicion. Can the Crosstrek’s 8.7 inches of ground clearance, standard-but-revised all-wheel-drive system, and Deep Snow/Mud mode keep us from sinking door-handle deep in one of several strategically placed mud pits? There’s only one way to find out. With 3500 feet of total elevation, the opportunity for hilarious out-of-control downhill careening was high. Still, the Crosstrek managed to keep us off the “tragedy-for-clicks” side of the internet—for now, anyhow. Ascending the wet, rocky terrain proved relatively uneventful with the AWD system in its Deep Snow/Mud setting, which also engages hill-descent control. Things got muddy as the pitch of the descent increased. Removing our feet from the pedals and leaving the hard work to the software, the car crawled downhill at about 4 mph, alternately increasing and decreasing brake pressure with a stuttering action, occasionally adding throttle and diverting torque as needed with remarkable efficacy. Mud pits, too, presented little challenge. Our Crosstrek navigated them with dogged determination, thanks to the software sorting out the traction and wheelspin particulars. Progress proceeds at a slow and steady pace regardless of any ham-footed accelerator inputs. A second loop of the circuit at triple the speed yielded the same results with an increased odor of burning brakes and mud baking on the exhaust. Prices for the 2024 Crosstrek Sport start at $30,290. That’s the entry point for the 2.5-liter engine, and it is $4000 more than a base Crosstrek with the 2.0-liter. The Sport also includes a wireless phone charger, the All-Weather package (heated front seats, windshield, and exterior mirrors), and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter. A package adding a power driver’s seat, power sunroof, blind-spot detection, and rear cross-traffic alert is a steal at $1920. The $32,190 Limited includes everything on the Sport and adds leather seating, the safety package, a slightly different 18-inch wheel design, and some additional minor trim bits inside and out. Bundling a power sunroof with a Harman/Kardon audio system is an additional $1795, or $2445 with navigation added to the package. Unfortunately, no matter how much you spend, Subaru will not sell you a power front passenger seat. Will most owners ever abuse their Crosstreks as we have? Probably not. By that same token, few buyers who lay down the cash for a set of Atomic Redster skis will ever take first in a single downhill, let alone a record 53 World Cup slalom wins like Mikaela Shiffrin. But sometimes, it’s nice to know that what’s inside the box can actually deliver the goods promised by the packaging. Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Subaru Crosstrek 2.5-literVehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICESport, $30,290; Limited, $32,190
ENGINE
DOHC 16-valve flat-4, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 152 in3, 2498 cm3Power: 182 hp @ 5800 rpmTorque: 178 lb-ft @ 3700 rpm
TRANSMISSION
continuously variable automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 105.1 inLength: 176.4 inWidth: 70.9 inHeight: 63.6 inPassenger Volume. F/R: 55–56/44 ft3Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 55/20 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3450 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 7.5 sec1/4-Mile: 16.0 secTop Speed: 120 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 29/26/33 mpgOnline EditorAndrew Wendler brings decades of wrenching, writing, and editorial experience with numerous outlets to Car and Driver. A rust-belt native and tireless promoter of the region, he once won a $5 bet by walking the entire length of the elevated People Mover track that encircles downtown Detroit. More

From the June 1985 issue of Car and Driver.In case you haven’t checked in with Subaru lately, brace yourself. Respectable, reliable Subaru, the company that finished second in the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index right behind Mercedes­-Benz, the company that led the rush to four-wheel-drive passenger cars, the company that has built its reputation on cars that are “in­expensive and built to stay that way,” is making a bold move. It’s going into the dream-car business.But wait a minute. Don’t let yourself slip into the Lambo-Maser-Porsche mindset. This is something else entirely. Harvey Lamm, president of Subaru of America, says it best: “A lot of people don’t want to make the compromise for that sexy dream car. They might not want a car that’s hard to get into and out of, or one you need to wear a kidney belt to ride in. We want to build civilized dream cars, gentlemen’s sports cars.” And that’s how the all-new Subaru XT coupe came to be. Well, all that and years of coaxing the home office into action. It was Lamm and his cohorts at Subaru of America who convinced Fuji Heavy Industries that it needed to build a sporting flagship for the U.S. market. For all intents and purposes, the XT was conceived in America and is being built for America. And that’s why Subaru chose America for the XT’s world debut. The XT’s mission, then, is to serve as a symbol of Subaru’s move up to a more affluent market, from rural pack horses to high-tech city slickers. “We wanted the XT,” says Lamm, “to be everything Subarus are and everything they’re not.” Come to think of it, that’s exactly what the XT is—and isn’t.More Archive Reviews and Subaru’s Visual HistoryTaking first things first, the XT is a two-plus-two sports coupe based heavily on the firm’s new line of sedans. It borrows the sedans’ port-fuel-injected, 94-horsepower, 1.8-liter, overhead-cam, horizontally opposed, all-alloy four-cylinder engine and their transaxles (your choice of five-speed manual or three-speed automatic). As with the sedans, you can opt for a 111-hp turbocharged version of the same engine. The fully independent suspension, consisting of struts and coil springs in the front and semi-trailing arms and coil springs in the rear, is also sedan-derived. Turbo models can be outfitted with part-time four-wheel drive, which is the kind not intended for dry-road use. All four-wheel-drive XTs are equipped with air springs and electronic height control.So far, the XT is pure Subaru. Techno­logically, it’s typical of everything that’s evolved at the firm in recent years, and it breaks no new ground. That means you should expect the same kind of award-win­ning reliability and above-average dealer service that have long made Subaru owners staunch believers. Once you get past the mechanical stuff, though, look out. This Subaru goes where its predecessors feared to tread. Inside and out, it’s designed to shock you out of any preconceived notions you may harbor about Subarus. The new-wave design will certainly stir up controversy. The XT’s severe wedge shape is clearly striking, different from any­thing Subaru’s done before. Then again, we haven’t heard anyone accuse it of being beautiful. From the rear it looks ungainly, thanks to sharp tapering in the rear quar­ter-window area, a longish trunk lid, and a blocky rear bumper. Following the XT down the road, one is reminded of a Victorian-era bustle. The best we can say is that from some angles­—particularly the side—it’s aggressive and pleasing. There’s no quibbling over the XT’s aerodynamics, however. This car is a four­-wheeled needle. The most slippery model in the line, the front-drive Turbo, registers a drag coefficient of only 0.29. That makes the XT the most wind-cheating car sold in America, about ten percent more slippery than the vaunted Audi 5000. As a matter of fact, the only production cars in the world with better drag coefficients are Renault’s 25 and Alpine, both of which register 0.28 in Renault’s wind tunnel.Subaru claims that there’s no real magic in the XT’s shape but admits to a lot of careful detailing. As it turns out, the firm’s secret weapon in the war against the wind was an American. When the XT’s designer, Kyuchi Akari, was studying at the Art Cen­ter College of Design in Pasadena, he stayed at the home of Alex Tremulis, a free-thinking aerodynamicist and a design­er of both cars and airplanes. (Tremulis’s diverse list of automotive accomplishments ranges from designing the slope-nosed 1961 Thunderbird to consulting on Craig Breedlove’s Spirit of America land-speed­-record cars.) “I gave Kyuchi a quick course in aerodynamics,” says Tremulis. “I just pointed out some areas to look at where there might be flow separation.” The rest, as they say, is history. The XT’s exterior is certainly radical, but it was the interior where Subaru man­agement really gave free rein to its dream­-car fantasies. Although the coupe stretches to 175 inches overall (about the length of a GM J-car), no attempt was made to carve out room for four adults; the XT is a two-­plus-two all the way. Going for the racy look meant dropping the roofline about five inches lower than that of the sedans. The front-seat passengers sit a commensu­rate amount lower, with their legs out straighter. The only nod toward practicality is the fold-down rear seatback, which re­veals a large access hole to the trunk that enables you to haul long objects. Three levels of trim are available: DL (the base model, which has no rear seatlet), GL (non-turbo, front-drive only), and GL-10 Turbo (the full-on electro-kinky model). Our 4WD Turbo test car’s interior was, well—wild, Jack. The Subaru guys really cut loose, pursuing the high-tech Holy Grail as if there were no tomorrow. From the driv­er’s seat, which is covered in eye-straining checked velour, the view around the cabin is heavily NASA. The area directly in front of the driver is dominated by a pair of control pods that reach out from behind the wheel. The pods’ banks of touch switches operate most of the climate-control functions, the cruise control, the ride-height override, the lights, and the wipers. The stylized soft­-vinyl steering wheel has its thick spokes set at the three- and six-o’clock positions, and a couple more cruise-control switches re­side on the wheel hub. The soft-molded shift lever looks exactly like a video-game joystick, but instead of killing aliens when you press the red button atop the lever, you engage four-wheel drive. Speaking of video games, it’s worth a trip to the dealer just to see the XT Turbo’s electronic instrument cluster, which goes way beyond the familiar readouts for speed, rpm, outside temperature, coolant temperature, and fuel level. When you twist the key, the display screen comes to life with a pictograph of a car seen from the rear, pointing down a long, flat road that disappears into the dis­tance. The “sidewalks” paralleling the “road” are actually the tach and the boost gauge. As the revs and the boost build, the sidewalks light up in a way that makes the car appear to move down the road. When the XT’s air suspension jacks itself up for extra ground clearance, the pictograph rises on its wheel as well. Once you get over the techno shock of sliding behind the wheel, you’ll notice that there’s no shortage of conventional luxury gear, either. All Turbos come with power steering, power door locks, power win­dows, cruise, A/C, a sunroof, a four-speak­er stereo, and much more. There’s even a speed alarm that trumpets your arrival at the double-nickel if you’ve activated it with its separate key. Subaru suggests that this is a good way to keep errant teenagers from exceeding the speed limit. Considering the awful racket this device makes, your kid will either (a) never get a ticket, or (b) go out and buy their own car. When you’re ready to hit the road, dial­ing yourself into a comfy driving position is simple. The seats are nicely shaped and pleasantly firm. For fine-tuning, there’s a bottom-cushion rake adjustment. The steering column tilts and telescopes, and the instrument cluster and the satellite pods move up and down in unison with the column so that everything stays in line. The driving experience, like everything else about the XT, has its high and low points. You won’t be five miles from the dealership before you discover the hard truth about the electronic instrument clus­ter. According to the sidewalk boost gauge, the turbocharger is either blowing for all it’s worth or not at all—and that just ain’t so. The sidewalk tach is just about indecipherable. Subaru’s attempt at high-tech switchgear also falls flat. We’re not saying you’ll never adapt to the control-pod setup, but in one long day of driving we didn’t make much headway. We kept scraping the edi­torial knuckle on the left pod’s support when going for the turn signals, and some of the switches felt cheap. The sliding le­vers for the heater’s fan speed and tem­perature, located on the center console be­tween the seats, are out of your line of vision. The power-window buttons are hid­den in the edge of the armrests, where they’re difficult to operate. We have mixed emotions about the XT’s powerplant as well. This engine has all the right stuff—turbocharging, port fuel injec­tion, overhead cams—but it ought to make quite a bit more power than it does. And it thrums when you press it to the redline. (The normally aspirated engine howls like a riding mower when you lead-foot it.) The flip side is that the turbo four moves the XT reasonably well. Wind sprints to 60 mph eat up only 10.3 seconds, and top speed levels off at 110 mph. Many turbo cars feel flat at low revs, but the XT has plenty of pep around town. The gear ratios seem just right, and boost lag is almost un­detectable. The turbo four also keep its voice down on the highway. Interstate travel, in fact, is one of the XT’s specialties. The driving position and the seat are comfortable for the long haul, the straight-line tracking is quite good, the ride is well controlled, and—thanks to the superior aerodynamics—wind noise is ee­rily absent. Our sound-level meter spotted the XT at just 69 dBA at 70 mph, which is bordering on luxury-car quietness. The XT’s handling isn’t bad either, as long as you don’t ask it to do stunts. Hard chargers will find that the XT gets difficult in all-out canyon-road blitzes. The adhe­sion is all used up at a depressingly low 0.70 g, which is down at the lowly­-econobox end of the grip spectrum. Looking at the XT purely as a sports coupe, it just doesn’t have the talent to run with the leaders in this class, cars like the Toyota Supra, the Mitsubishi Starion, the Honda Prelude, and the Audi Coupe GT. But when the road turns white—or ends entirely—it’s a whole new ball game. The electronically controlled air suspension raises the car an inch and a half for addi­tional ground clearance, and the XT makes you look like a hero. We have yet to find out whether the XT can do everything a Bron­co or a Blazer can, but we bet it handles it­self well enough off-road or on bad roads to satisfy most folks. So it all boils down to priorities. For the XT 4WD Turbo’s fourteen-grand asking price—or a couple thousand less—you can find a slew of better two-wheel-drive sports coupes and sedans. The Honda Prelude, for one, can drive circles around the XT on dry pavement. If you require the added dimension of all-wheel drive, however, the superb Audi 4000S Quattro, at about four grand more, is the only other sporty con­tender below $20,000. In the end, it’s a matter of your personal transportation needs. As we see it, the XT’s ability to press on regardless means that neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night will stay you from the swift comple­tion of your appointed rounds. The only thing you’ll be stuck with is being different.CounterpointMixed messages with this one. I ap­preciate the bold step Subaru’s taken here, and I rather like the avant-garde styling. So do many: it’s a real eyeball snatcher on the street. I find the cockpit design appealing, too; I’m glad to see proper ergonomics receiving so much attention these days. The turbo gives adequate power with no detectable lag, and the four-by-four option is nice to have in all sorts of situations. Although rear headroom is a joke and the spare tire is intrusive, the overall cargo capaci­ty is vast and the little “Uzi bin” under the floor of the trunk looks very useful!But. Although the styling and the side graphics say “sport coupe,” the car won’t take any leaning on at all. The suspension contrives to be both jouncy and floppy, the tires are pathetic, the understeer is truly gross, and the inside front wheel spins at the slightest provo­cation. Engaging the rear wheels semineutralizes the handling balance, but engagement and disengagement are sluggish. Oh, and the engine sounds a bit coarse.I hope they haven’t finished this car yet. —Pete LyonsSubaru executives make it clear that their XT coupe is not intended to do battle with serious sports cars. That’s good thinking, because the XT lacks the handling and the performance to do so. Unfortunately, the XT will find rough going even against those coupes whose sportiness is based more on image than on reality. The major problem is its price. For the fourteen and a half grand the XT on these pages costs, one could acquire any number of very attractive cars. For example, an Isuzu Impulse Turbo, with its designer styling, excellent power, and avant-garde interior. Or a Mustang, a Camaro, or a Daytona, each overflow­ing with sporty features. You could even save a couple thousand on a Prelude, a car with refinement and handling leagues beyond the Subaru’s.Of course, the XT’s ace in the hole is its four-wheel drive. None of its com­petitors can match that feature. For me, though, that single advantage doesn’t offset the XT’s shortcomings, especially its steep price. —Csaba CsereThey titter when I pull up to the pickup window; 5:30 in the morning, and they’re laughing at my XT. Hmmm . . . I’ll tell you one thing: oh-dark-thirty in the morning is no time to climb into this car cold. After an all-nighter at the word processor, you’ll think you’ve come to in a bad dream. Ye gods! Anybody who can make out these controls in the dark gets my vote for standing in when the captain of the Space Shuttle gets food poisoning. I cringe at the plastic of the unborn-alligator headliner, the window controls hidden in the sides of the arm­rests, and the temp and fan controls on the console. In broad daylight, though, the rest of it actually begins to make some sense (help me, doctor). The Little Thrum­mer Boy engine runs fine, though it feels like a nickel vibrator, stressing the unexpected smoothness of suspension and handling, though I haven’t four­-wheel-driven yet, so I can’t gauge that. More cars should be this much fun. I laugh when I look at it. At the pickup window they guessed it was a Pontiac. (Must have been backlash from the Grand Am.) They laughed louder as I pulled away. Were they laughing at me or with me? —Larry GriffinArrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
1985 Subaru XT 4WD TurboVehicle Type: front-engine, front, 4-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $13,768/$14,523 Options: alloy wheels, $480; cassette deck, $200; floor mats, $75.
ENGINEturbocharged flat-4, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 109 in3, 1782 cm3Power: 111 hp @ 4800 rpmTorque: 134 lb-ft @ 2800 rpm 
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/trailing armsBrakes, F/R: 9.5-in vented disc/8.9-in discTires: Bridgestone SF-237 Steel185/70HR-13
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 97.1 inLength: 175.2 inWidth: 66.5 inHeight: 52.6 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 52/29 ft3Trunk Volume: 12 ft3Curb Weight: 2640 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS30 mph: 3.0 sec60 mph: 10.3 sec1/4-Mile: 17.4 sec @ 79 mph100 mph: 39.7 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 15.2 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 13.1 secTop Speed: 110 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 208 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.70 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 15 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity/Highway: 25/30 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDDirector, Buyer’s GuideRich Ceppos has evaluated automobiles and automotive technology during a career that has encompassed 10 years at General Motors, two stints at Car and Driver totaling 19 years, and thousands of miles logged in racing cars. He was in music school when he realized what he really wanted to do in life and, somehow, it’s worked out. In between his two C/D postings he served as executive editor of Automobile Magazine; was an executive vice president at Campbell Marketing & Communications; worked in GM’s product-development area; and became publisher of Autoweek. He has raced continuously since college, held SCCA and IMSA pro racing licenses, and has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He currently ministers to a 1999 Miata and a 1965 Corvette convertible and appreciates that none of his younger colleagues have yet uttered “Okay, Boomer” when he tells one of his stories about the crazy old days at C/D. More

Recently leaked spy pics forced BMW’s hand in releasing early photos of the next-generation Mini. But before that happened, we got to drive a camo-covered example—specifically, the all-electric Cooper hatchback in SE trim.Kudos to chief designer Oliver Heilmer and his team, who contemporized the brand icon in a radically reduced yet emphatically modern manner. Although the official launch is still some six months away, we can now also tell you more about the advanced technology behind this masterfully evolutionary shape. Most importantly, we were able to gather initial driving impressions in a pre-production car on an entertaining handling course and over a one-hour mountain-road loop through Salzburg and Tyrol in Austria. Although the cabin of the pre-production car is still covered with drapes of black cloth, the two major innovations—a much larger circular center touchscreen and the bar of toggle switches below it—are totally undisguised. The latter contains five elements: parking-brake button, gear selector, volume knob, on/off toggle, and Driving Experiences selector. Since there is no minder in the passenger’s seat, we leap from the default Core setting straight to Go-Kart mode. The name says it all. Go-Kart speeds up the action, reduces driver assistance to a minimum, and sharpens the feedback. Not enough drama? Deactivate dynamic stability control (DSC) and brace yourself for an ample measure of liftoff oversteer enhanced by a device known as GMV, short for yaw moment enhancer.Related StoriesThe handling course is a short track, and our hosts set up plenty of cones to slow us down, but a couple of corners are wide enough to pay homage to “the Rally Professor,” Rauno Aaltonen, who competed in a Mini Cooper S. Heavy rain and near-freezing temperatures warrant interesting grip levels, there is an entertaining angst-inducing right-left-right up-and-down corner combination to be mastered, and the guy in the JCW lead car lets it all hang out for the heck of it. Good man. Front-wheel drive is, of course, a limiting factor through the lone 180-degree bend, where the two bad choices are either too much understeer or too little traction. But as soon as the 243 pound-feet of instant torque grabs the tires, the Mini picks up speed quickly and keeps accelerating seamlessly until that blind right-hander calls for a change of direction, velocity, and balance. This is fun, and we’re still only going seven-tenths. Feeding the electric motor is a 53.0-kWh battery, which in real life needs to be recharged every 200 miles or so. No provisional EPA consumption figures are available, but tentative European estimates suggest the U.S. model will be rated considerably better than the 110 MPGe rating assigned to the current SE. That said, after 15 laps in full hooligan mode, the onboard computer dropped to 29.5 kWh of remaining charge. Never mind. The top speed, which in today’s Mini EV is restricted to 94 mph, reportedly will be increased to 125 mph in the new SE. Acceleration from zero to 62 mph is a claimed 6.7 seconds, which suggests the new one won’t be substantially quicker than the last Cooper SE, a 2020 model, we tested. But there is more grunt to come, starting with the dual-motor 313-hp All4 (including 14 additional horses summoned by an overboost function), followed by a fully electric John Cooper Works edition. Meanwhile, the Cooper SE keeps on drifting through every corner it can find with the tail-out antics actively supported by the aforementioned GMV, which is a welcome addition.On public roads, Green driving mode will be the choice only for dedicated conservationists determined to better their personal consumption and range records. The rest of us should be perfectly happy with what the mainstay Core mode offers, namely an adaptive mix of instant on-demand performance, navigation-assisted predictive driving, and long-legged cruising that can either be relaxed or energetic. In addition to the three Driving Experiences, the powertrain and steering can be locked into Comfort or Sport. As far as the stability-control system goes, the spiciness scale ranges from Sport to Sport Plus to DSC Off. Customers also can choose from four different wheel sizes and opt for a sportier suspension setting. The redesigned seats are comfortable and generously adjustable, but long-legged drivers may have a problem reaching the low-mounted toggle bar. The small optional head-up display is of the pop-up type, which limits its appeal. Although the three-spoke steering wheel is studded with buttons and multimode switches, the main user interface is the notably larger round touchscreen in the center of the dash. One can scroll through numerous menus on the hi-res main display, but vehicle speed, range, state of charge, performance, and cabin temperature are always prominently displayed. And there’s more to come, including over-the-air updates, third-party app integration, additional experience modes, on-dash projections from your private image library, a wide variety of sound and light stagings, automatic radar-trap warnings, multiple user profiles, bespoke ambiance variations, digital personalization—you name it. In addition to four different new trim levels, Mini is going to introduce at least three mood settings provisionally named Calm, Heritage, and Vivid, which are supported by 3-D technicolor orchestration. Too much marketing BS? Thankfully, the unique driving experience remains. After all, dynamics always were and still are Mini’s main forte. The new battery-powered Cooper SE is chuckable yet composed, concurrently involving and balanced, refined but never lackluster. Silence that puerile soundtrack and enjoy the trademark handling and roadholding qualities Sir Alec would be proud of.Contributing EditorAlthough I was born the only son of an ornithologist and a postal clerk, it was clear from the beginning that birdwatching and stamp collecting were not my thing. Had I known that God wanted me to grow to 6’8″, I also would have ruled out anything to do with cars, which are to blame for a couple of slipped discs, a torn ligament, and that stupid stooped posture behind the wheel. While working as a keeper in the Aberdeen Zoo, smuggling cheap cigarettes from Yugoslavia to Germany, and an embarrassing interlude with an amateur drama group also failed to yield fulfillment, driving and writing about cars became a much better option. And it still is now, many years later, as I approach my 70th birthday. I love every aspect of my job except long-haul travel on lousy airlines, and I hope it shows. More

There was a brief period of time when many people thought the EV revolution meant we’d be stuck with a future full of slow, uninspiring cars. If anything, the current march toward electrification has proven the opposite: Through the process of shoving a bunch of electrons through a wire like a Tokyo subway stuffer, humanity is sending 9000-pound affronts to God to 60 mph as quickly as some supercars. But now that everyone can do it, what makes a vehicle with impressive performance stats stand out?That’s the question that Mercedes-AMG and others are figuring out. The 2023 AMG EQE isn’t Fast Mercedes’s first crack at an answer, and it’s far from the last. At its core, it retains AMG’s mantra of shoving lots of power into otherwise “normal” cars. But beyond that, it feels like it’s still hunting for that unique angle that’ll help these fast, low-center-of-gravity EVs stand out from all the other fast, low-center-of-gravity EVs.To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, we’ll start with the AMG EQE’s known knowns. A pair of motors produces 617 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque, rising to 677 and 738, respectively, when using the standard Dynamic Plus package’s brief overboost function. With at least 70 percent in the battery (more on that later), we reached 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds, 0.4 second quicker than the manufacturer’s estimate. The quarter-mile mark came and went in 11.2 seconds at 119 mph. Passing maneuvers are impressive too—30 to 50 mph required a scant 1.3 seconds, and 50 to 70 only took 1.7. Not bad for a car that weighs 5547 pounds.HIGHS: Blistering performance, pricing undercuts gas equivalents, decent efficiency for modern muscle.Of course, that weight comes back to bite. Even with the free-of-charge optional Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Elect tires (265 section width up front, 295 out back) and honkin’ brakes (16.3 inches front, 14.9 rear), the AMG needed 168 feet to stop from 70 mph and 339 feet from 100 mph. That is not ideal for a performance car; hell, the 520-pound-heavier BMW i7 xDrive60 we tested managed to do a better job by nine and 21 feet, respectively. Three intermediary stages of brake regeneration are on offer—none, some, and more—while true one-pedal driving is locked behind an Intelligent regen mode that varies regen and physical braking based on proximity to traffic, which can be tricky to predict and thus doesn’t instill a whole lot of trust; neither does the brake pedal in general, which moves in tune with regen strength, leading to inconsistent feel at various speeds and rates of deceleration.More on the EQE SedanThe AMG EQE is a sufficiently deft handler for its mass. It achieved a solid 0.92 g on our 300-foot skidpad, exhibiting some mild understeer on its way ’round. In more real-world scenarios, we appreciate just how planted the EQE feels at all times. Standard rear-axle steering, which can turn up to 3.6 degrees, adds more precision to the AMG’s cornering, but the car still feels more like a speedo-smashing hammer than a delicate lateral-g scalpel. The adaptive air springs offer three different levels of stiffness (Comfort, Sport, and Sport+), but we feel less of a difference between these modes than we do in comparable gas models; even at its most rigid, there’s still an underlying hint of softness to the whole show. Hanging out under the floor is a battery with 90.6 kWh of usable capacity. Mercedes estimates total range at 225 miles, and the automaker’s EV estimates are usually pretty accurate. It didn’t come as a surprise, then, that our 75-mph highway test yielded a range of 230 miles. That’s 30 miles less than we achieved in the vastly less powerful EQE350 4Matic.Thankfully, if you had a little too much fun rearranging your organs with your right foot, changing vehicle modes can help you squeak out the juice needed to reach the next charger. The AMG EQE’s full output is only available in the powertrain’s Sport+ mode; Sport limits the motors to 90 percent, Comfort reduces it further to 80 percent, and Slippery pegs the car at half power. As with any electric powertrain, the maximum output also decreases as the battery loses charge; the EQE will keep track of your missing horsepower on the digital cluster’s power gauge, which conveniently marks the “redline” as it lowers. When it comes time to charge, the AMG will accept up to 170 kW on a DC fast-charger, refilling from 10 percent to 80 in 32 minutes, according to Mercedes. On to the more polarizing stuff. Maybe you like the ovoid styling, maybe you don’t. You can’t deny that our EQE’s specific 20-inch wheels are imposing, though, and the Panamericana-style front grille is the easiest way to spot the AMG at a distance. The interior is barely any different from the more pedestrian EQE, save for some Affalterbach-themed bits. The dash-spanning 56.0-inch Hyperscreen is absent from our car, but we don’t miss it; the wood trim that replaces it looks and feels nice, and it doesn’t accumulate fingerprint oils at a depressing rate. Wireless smartphone mirroring is standard no matter what, and that’s what most people care about anyway.LOWS: None of the EV sounds are particularly good, looks like a wet egg, feels like AMG is still finding its footing in new era.As equipped, our EQE includes two sound profiles, the default profile and the Performance one that comes with Dynamic Plus. If you like futuristic wub-wub noises, have at it. But to our ears, the default mode sounds like added wind noise, while Performance generates something closer to added tire noise. Each profile has three different levels of loudness, ranging from “you can barely hear it” to “somehow, the Germans engineered drone into an EV.” We say turn it all off and listen to the actual tires.The AMG EQE before us rings in at $110,150, a small bump over its $108,050 base price, thanks to a $250 110-volt charging cable, the $750 Night package that blacks out the exterior trim, and the $1100 Acoustic Comfort package that aims to mitigate interior noise. Strangely enough, this number is a bit of a bargain, considering the soon-to-be-discontinued AMG E63 S 4Matic+ starts a few thousand bucks higher. Despite that sense of throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, there’s one hell of a performance car comprising the underlying current of the 2023 Mercedes-AMG EQE. It’s mighty quick, it can make a lot of noise, and it’s fun to chuck around without being a discombobulated mess in daily driving.Being offered an overwhelming amount of driver choice is a bit of an existential issue for AMG, and it’s only deepened as electrification takes hold. In addition to the four standard vehicle modes, an Individual mode lets you choose among four powertrain settings, three suspension settings, and three e-noise volumes—36 distinct combinations. And this is in addition to the myriad screen layouts, ambient lighting scenes, brake-regeneration strengths, you name it. How can an AMG vehicle have a distinct feeling if you get into five different EQEs and they all feel vastly different from one another?Perhaps it’s in this glut of choice where AMG’s future lies. Let Affalterbach set the meter, but it’s up to each driver to fill in the specific notes. For the time being, as everyone finds their footing in this burgeoning era, that’ll do.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
Mercedes-AMG EQE 4Matic+Vehicle Type: front- and mid-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $108,050/$110,150Options: Acoustic Comfort package, $1100; AMG Night package, $750; 110V charging cable, $250
POWERTRAIN
Front Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous ACMid Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous ACCombined Power: 677 hpCombined Torque: 738 lb-ftBattery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 90.6 kWhOnboard Charger: 9.6 kWPeak DC Fast-Charge Rate: 170 kWTransmissions: direct-drive
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: multilink/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 16.3-in vented disc/14.9-in vented disc Tires: Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Elect PNCSF: 265/40ZR-20 104W MO1R: 295/35ZR-20 105W MO1
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 122.8 inLength: 196.9 inWidth: 75.0 inHeight: 58.8 inPassenger Volume: 104 ft3Trunk Volume: 15 ft3Curb Weight: 5547 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 2.8 sec100 mph: 7.4 sec1/4-Mile: 11.2 sec @ 119 mph130 mph: 14.3 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.2 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 3.1 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 1.3 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 1.7 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 146 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 168 ftBraking, 100–0 mph: 339 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.92 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY AND CHARGING
Observed: 65 MPGe75-mph Highway Driving: 77 MPGe75-mph Highway Range: 230 miEPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 74/74/73 MPGeRange: 225 miSenior EditorCars are Andrew Krok’s jam, along with boysenberry. After graduating with a degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009, Andrew cut his teeth writing freelance magazine features, and now he has a decade of full-time review experience under his belt. A Chicagoan by birth, he has been a Detroit resident since 2015. Maybe one day he’ll do something about that half-finished engineering degree. More