Car Reviews

What’s in a flagship? As a torchbearer for its brand, it not only must bring more of everything found in the models positioned below it, it also must do everything better. Or so the thinking goes. Which makes it a curious—and controversial—decision for BMW’s M performance group to choose a big, luxurious SUV, the 2023 XM plug-in hybrid, as both its new lead act and the first M-exclusive model since the M1 supercar of the 1970s. But these are the times we live in. Fortunately, they don’t preclude such a vehicle from being surprisingly good to drive. Quite the contrary. Today’s crop of high-performance SUVs, from the Aston Martin DBX to the Lamborghini Urus to the Porsche Cayenne, offer stunning abilities bathed in varying degrees of opulence. Yet, as some M officials admitted before letting us drive an XM prototype in Austria, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for inherently large, heavy, and utility-oriented vehicles to be focused purely on speed. Better to concentrate on nailing a good ride-and-handling balance than setting a new Nürburgring lap record. Broadly speaking at this stage in the XM’s development (sales won’t commence until early next year), it comes across as a spacious grand-touring machine imbued with the nuanced tactility that is rare among the M brand’s contemporary offerings, which for all their speed and capability can often feel edgy and aloof. Tellingly, BMW M’s engineers cited both the Urus and the statelier Bentley Bentayga as initial inspirations for their flagship’s road manners—decidedly athletic but not hardcore.

While the prototype we drove was still clad in extensive camouflage inside and out—a good or bad thing, depending on your views of the XM concept that the production model should closely mimic in design—BMW did reveal more of the XM’s technical makeup. Compared to its closest mechanical relatives, the X5 M and X6 M, the XM sits lower, and its snout stretches longer from dash to axle. Although the XM will be two rows only, its length and wheelbase—spanning 203.3 and 122.2 inches, respectively—are closer to those of the three-row X7’s. Its unibody is mostly steel draped with aluminum panels, and we expect its curb weight to be around 6000 pounds, split close to 50/50 front to rear. Under the hood is an M-massaged version of BMW’s latest twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 that debuted in the updated 2023 X7 and redesigned 7-series. Hybrid assistance is via an electric motor sandwiched between the engine and the excellent ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, with the combined output of the vehicle we drove amounting to 644 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque—strong but not segment-leading figures, though BMW promises a more powerful setup with closer to the concept’s 750 horses also will be available. An all-wheel-drive system that can route up to 100 percent of the power to the rear wheels is standard, as is an electronically controlled limited-slip rear differential. The fuel tank is situated under the spacious cargo area, making for a somewhat high liftover height, and a lithium-ion battery pack of as-yet-unknown capacity is stashed under the rear seat. Electric-only range is estimated at 50 miles in Europe’s generous WLTP cycle but should still be sufficiently usable by EPA standards.
Our drive was relatively brief on damp mountain roads surrounding Austria’s Salzburgring racetrack, just over the German border. Although the XM’s engine can rev above 7000 rpm, we didn’t need to spin it hard to be squished into the seatback, thanks to the electric motor’s instant low-end torque that almost seamlessly blends into the V-8’s powerband. With the 60-mph time of the model we drove likely in the 3.5-second range, we’ll call it unassumingly quick. Even in EV mode there’s enough thrust to safely pull out into traffic; mash the accelerator past its detent, and the gas engine fires up for assistance. Being a modern BMW, the XM’s expansive curved dash display offers a dizzying array of drive-mode settings, including drivetrain response, steering and brake-pedal effort, ride stiffness, regenerative braking intensity, and more. But even in Sport mode, the active exhaust system’s internal-combustion fireworks were tempered, the aggressive growl of the V-8 sounding distant under the accompaniment of an electronic whir played through the audio system. Far more compelling is the XM’s chassis tuning, to which M engineers took an “old-school” approach. Despite its three-position adaptive dampers and front and rear 48-volt active anti-roll bars—a first for an M car—the XM’s multilink front and rear suspensions are supported by steel coils rather than the air springs we expected to find. That made its combination of astute body control and comfortable ride compliance, at least compared to the X6 M Competition we also drove, all the more impressive. And this is while riding on the standard 22-inch Pirelli P Zero summer tires (21- and 23-inchers will be optional). Those rollers surround big six-piston front and four-piston rear brakes with cast-iron rotors, which smoothly took over from the regenerative braking system when we laid into the left pedal.
Better yet, the action of the XM’s steering—linear, nicely weighted, and blessed with actual feedback—rewards its pilot in all the ways that its lesser siblings (and even some of the M brand’s current coupes and sedans) do not. When pressed about this welcome responsiveness, M officials pointed to the model-specific suspension bushings in the XM’s front end plus the unique programming for its variable-ratio steering rack that it shares with the comparatively darty X5 M and X6 M. But the effect is pronounced in bringing greater confidence and fun to the driver. Aided by rear-wheel steering hardware that can swivel up to 2.5 degrees, which makes the XM feel agile for its size yet eminently stable at higher speeds, the vibe from behind the wheel is reminiscent of the progressive helms that BMW traditionalists have been clamoring for the return of since the days of the E90 M3. That this level of over-the-road satisfaction comes in a vehicle with a back seat that could pass for a cushy living-room sofa—partly a concession to the chauffeur-heavy Chinese market—does little to alleviate the head-scratching surrounding the XM’s existence. That it’s also a plug-in hybrid lends it as much novelty in this segment as additional flexibility. But as BMW’s launchpad into the rarefied air of big-power SUVs costing well in excess of $100,000, it does drive with a cohesiveness that we hope filters down to other BMW models—exactly what you want from a flagship.

A car-lover’s community for ultimate access & unrivaled experiences. JOIN NOW

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

Before it lets you in, the Genesis GV60 takes a deep look into your eyes. Don’t get too excited, its stare isn’t a romantic one. A small camera on the B-pillar gives you a once-over and then unlocks the doors. Once you’re in, there’s more getting to know you because to start it, you touch a fingerprint-recognition button on the center console. The car is electric, though, so you’re not really starting anything. The GV60 is Genesis’s first EV. Without an engine that whirrs to life, the telltale sign you’ve turned on the GV60 is that the glass-like sphere in the center console rotates around to reveal a shifter. It’s a novel bit of design and one we expect will soon spread to the rest of the Genesis range. Like the other Genesis models, the interior has a clean and uncluttered appearance. A glass panel as wide as the Mississippi houses two 12.3-inch displays: gauges directly ahead of the driver and a center touchscreen. Unfortunately, phone mirroring (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) requires a cord, even as wireless systems are becoming the norm—one of the few missteps in the GV60.

Built on the E-GMP architecture, a dedicated EV platform shared with the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5, the GV60 comes in a crossover shape and a sleek and attractive one at that. A clamshell hood hides a small storage space up front, and behind the second row there’s 24 cubic feet of space, enough for a full complement of luggage. The brand’s signature split headlight design makes an appearance, as does the winged badge, although it’s slimmer and less in your face than on other models. Two versions will be available at launch: The Advanced AWD model has two electric motors totaling 314 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque, while the all-wheel-drive Performance trim delivers 429 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque with a brief “overboost” of 483 horses and 516 lb-ft available for 10 seconds of silliness.
We drove the more powerful Performance version and can report that from a stop with the overboost activated, the front motor briefly overwhelms the front tires despite the rears also being driven. Judging by the pressure on our spine under full whack, we expect that in 483-hp mode, the GV60 will shoot to 60 mph in the mid-3s. Tackle a few bends, and the GV60 corners securely and has a liveliness borne of its quick steering. An electronic limited-slip differential in back keeps power flowing to both sides of the road, and the front-to-rear torque split lends a rear-drive attitude. The harder you push, though, the more you’re made aware of the estimated 4900-pound curb weight as the Michelin Primacy Tour A/S tires begin to audibly protest. A regen system that’s capable of one-pedal driving keeps the brakes from feeling much stress. Body control is good. The handling is Porsche Macan-like, except the Genesis doesn’t futz with downshifts and upshifts—it just goes.
A camera-based system that reads the road surface keeps the adaptive dampers supple over bumps. Quiet and refined, the GV60 is a convincing luxury vehicle if you drive it calmly. Turn off the ridiculous and headache-inducing Jetsons sound effects that whoosh and whirr in response to accelerator position, and there’s near silence thanks to the absence of road and wind noise. Perhaps some credit is due to the active noise cancellation system with eight microphones that plays through the audio system’s 17 speakers. Whether it’s the noise cancellation or the sound deadening or the aero package, the GV60 is a quiet machine.A 77.4-kWh battery provides 248 miles (Advanced) or 235 miles (Performance) of EPA range. A Level 2 charger will replenish the battery from 10 to 100 percent in about seven hours. Hook up to an 800-volt DC fast-charger, and the battery can go from 10 to 80 percent in a claimed 18 minutes. The Advanced model starts at $59,980, which is roughly $11,000 more than this same powertrain in the Hyundai Ioniq 5, but less than $4000 more than the top Limited-trim Ioniq 5, while the Performance variant starts at $68,980. We’ll have a GV60 for instrumented testing soon, but after our initial time behind the wheel, we can say it’s like at first sight.

Specifications

Specifications
2023 Genesis GV60Vehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Advanced AWD, $59,980; Performance AWD, $68,980
POWERTRAIN
Front Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 99 or 215 hp Rear Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 215 hpCombined Power: 314 or 483 hpCombined Torque: 446 or 516 lb-ftBattery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 77.4 kWhOnboard Charger: 10.9 kWTransmissions, F/R: direct-drive
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 114.2 inLength: 177.8 inWidth: 74.4 inHeight: 62.6 inPassenger Volume: 101 ft3Cargo Volume: 25 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 4700–4900 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 3.4–4.5 sec100 mph: 11.3–12.6 sec1/4-Mile: 12.0–13.3 secTop Speed: 117–149 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 90–95/97–103/82–86 MPGeRange: 235–248 mi

A car-lover’s community for ultimate access & unrivaled experiences. JOIN NOW

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

Like many automakers, Mercedes-Benz is rushing headlong into the electric future—with cars such as the EQS and the EQE—but that doesn’t mean the brand is forsaking its familiar models. Case in point is the C-class sedan, which has been redesigned for 2022. The new C gets updated mechanicals and fresh tech features, but it’s also comfortably familiar in concept and appearance.More than past generations, the latest C-class presents as a junior S-class. That starts with the new design’s proportions. Mercedes describes the new C’s design as “cab-backward”, and the set-back passenger compartment draws a sharp contrast between this car and the lesser A-class (which is departing our market at the end of the model year) and CLA-class sedans, with their transverse-engine, front-drive architecture. The C-class also stands apart from the highly cab-forward, arc-shaped profile of the battery-powered EQE and EQS. Instead, the long hood and the stretched dash-to-axle ratio give the C-class a statelier appearance. This is despite smoother form language overall and a front-end design that adopts the wide, rounded grille shape pioneered by the AMG models, now slightly canted forward. An AMG Line package is available across all trim levels that brings a resculpted lower fascia, rocker panel extensions, and a rear diffuser.

Mercedes-Benz

The car sits astride an inch-longer wheelbase but has grown 2.5 inches in length thanks to a longer rear overhang. Although overall width only increases fractionally, rear-wheel-drive models have a 1.9-inch-wider rear track that pushes the wheels out closer to the edge of the bodywork, while the front track increases by 0.8 inch. The track dimensions for the all-wheel-drive model aren’t available at this time.

As in the outgoing car, the C300 uses a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. (A bigger change comes to the new-generation AMG C-class models, which switch to four-cylinder power as well for the C43 and even for the mighty C63.) For the first time, Mercedes is pairing a four-banger with a 48-volt hybrid-assist system, with the motor-generator integrated into the transmission housing. The electric motor cannot propel the car on battery power alone, but it does make for ultrasmooth auto stop/starts. It also enables engine-off coasting but only under braking as the car nears a stop, which means you can creep up silently to your garage door.

Mercedes-Benz

Rear-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is a $2000 upcharge on any trim level. Once again, shifting duties are handled by the brand’s 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic. The engine’s stated horsepower is unchanged at 255, but torque swells from 273 to 295 pound-feet—plus, there’s an additional 20 ponies and 148 pound-feet available in short bursts from the 48-volt starter-generator, but they do not add to the engine’s total output. The factory-stated time to 60 mph is 6.0 seconds, although we got the previous C300 4Matic to 60 mph in 5.4. The hybrid system effectively helps mask turbo lag at low speeds, and in passing maneuvers or highway merges, the powertrain zips the C-class ahead. As the tach needle approaches 5000 rpm or so, the formerly subdued engine emits a satisfyingly angry snarl, which is a bit of a surprise given that, when you’re standing outside an idling C300, this engine sounds almost like a diesel.The new rear-drive C-class carries EPA fuel-economy estimates—25 mpg city, 35 mpg highway, and 29 mpg combined—are 2 mpg better than the outgoing model but still short of the BMW 330i’s 26/36 city/highway rating. With all-wheel drive, the figures drop by 2 mpg across the board.

Mercedes-Benz

The chassis features adaptive dampers, but Mercedes’s Airmatic air springs are not offered in the new C-class. The AMG Line package includes a sport suspension, which is not tuned differently but has a 0.6-inch-lower ride height. The C-class offers Eco, Comfort, Sport, Individual, and (with the AMG Line) Sport+ drive settings, but they have little discernible effect on the proceedings. In any mode, body motions are well controlled, but a fair degree of harshness is transmitted to the cabin. Evidently it’s hard for Stuttgart’s chassis engineers to wrap their heads around the idea of a pothole-strewn infrastructure like we enjoy in the U.S. We’d lay some blame on staggered-fitment low profile tires that wrapped the artful 19-inch wheels in our AMG Line sample car, but the situation was much the same in a different C300 that enjoyed slightly more sidewall—18-inch wheels and 225/45 front and 245/40 rear tires.The AMG Line’s meaty rubber did help the C-class hang tough on empty back roads in New York’s Putnam County and across the Hudson in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. Even when the road jogged away from us coming over a blind crest and we quickly jerked the wheel, or when we had to wind on more lock in response to tightening curves, turn-in was responsive with barely any push. Nor was there much in the way of body roll. The C300 would provide a sportier driving experience, though, if the steering weren’t so inert. There’s also more brake pedal travel than we’d like.

Mercedes-Benz

For the driver and passengers, the C-class cabin exudes S-class vibes. The front chairs feel much like those in the senior Benz, with deep but not confining lateral bolsters, while the cushion, which can be lengthened or shortened, offers generous under-thigh support. The 12.3-inch digital instrumentation display and the new, portrait-oriented 11.9-inch central touchscreen are freestanding. Behind them, the dash curves downward, waterfall style. Black wood trim with vertical aluminum lines accentuates the shape, although other materials choices are available. Continuing the theme of freestanding elements, the door handle and seat switches are contained in a pod that sits proud of the door panel, and the forward part of the door armrests appears to be floating. Bullseye air vents return but have been flattened at the top and bottom, and metal speaker grilles contribute to an atmosphere of calculated ostentation.

Mercedes-Benz

The navigation system now features augmented video, as in the S-class. When approaching a turn, the display switches from the map to a forward-cam video feed overlaid with directional arrows and street names. The forward camera can also function as a dash cam. The central touchscreen sweeps up from the center console, and the previous rotary controller is banished, as are all knobs and most buttons. At the base of the screen are touch-sensitive buttons to select the drive mode, to call up the (excellent multi-view) camera, to open the vehicle settings menu, and a touch slider for audio volume (ugh). There’s also a fingerprint-recognition pad, which can be used to access personalized preferences. Climate controls are entirely on screen, occupying the lower section of the display. Audio tuning is also on screen. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard, but wireless device charging costs extra; wired connections are USB-C only.

Mercedes-Benz

The controls on the steering wheel are all touch sensitive. They include a touch slider to raise and lower the cruise control set speed and another for audio volume. Four-way swipe touchpads navigate the driver-information display or move around the central screen. Combine the imprecision of touch sliders with four-way touchpads that frequently give you a vertical-motion response when you’re trying for a horizontal-motion action, and we just have to say: Enough with the touch madness, already.That modern annoyance aside, the C-class should appeal to those seeking a classic Benz at an attainable price. The C300 is offered in Premium, Exclusive, and Pinnacle trim levels, which are priced at $45,250, $47,500, and $51,450, respectively. Even though some expected luxuries cost extra—leather, for example, and adaptive cruise control (which includes automated lane-change capability)—those starting prices seem like something of a bargain given how faithfully the new C-class emulates its six-figure sibling.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Mercedes-Benz C300 SedanVehicle Type: front-engine, rear- or all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4 -door sedan
PRICE
Base: rear-wheel-drive, $45,250; 4Matic, $47,250
ENGINE
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 121 in3, 1991 cm3Power: 255 hp @ 5800 rpmTorque: 295 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
9-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 112.8 inLength: 187.0 inWidth: 71.6 inHeight: 56.6 inPassenger Volume: 94 ft3Trunk Volume: 13 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3900–4050 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.6–5.7 sec1/4-Mile: 14.2–14.3 secTop Speed: 130 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 27–29/23–25/33–35 mpg

A car-lover’s community for ultimate access & unrivaled experiences. JOIN NOW

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

We travel the world to drive new cars, but not today. Today, we’re in Berlin attempting to not drive the Mercedes EQS for as long as possible, while sitting behind the steering wheel. This is the brave new future we’ve been promised for so long: a self-driving car legally operating on real roads.Mercedes in Germany is offering both the EQS and the S-Class with optional Level 3 Drive Pilot support for 7430 euro ($7726) and 5000 euro ($5199), respectively. But finding a road that will allow me to deploy the new Drive Pilot is a challenge, owing to the long list of restrictions around its operation.Although Germany is allowing Level 3 driving automation—on the 1-5 SAE scale that goes from adaptive cruise control to full-Johnnycab robo-chauffeur, this is an “eyes-off-the-road” level of conditional driving automation—vehicles can only do so in very limited circumstances. They must be on one of the nation’s 8200 miles of autobahn highway in traffic traveling at no more than 60 km/h (37 mph) in dry conditions and away from tunnels or construction zones.

Mercedes-Benz

Which is why the journey starts with me scanning Google Maps to try and find just the right level of stau, as the natives call traffic jams. The first plan to take the A111 toward Tegel is stymied by the fact it has been shut down by an accident. Stop-and-go traffic is one thing, but the EQS won’t be able to route itself around the obstruction on surface streets.

The A100 that runs across the south of the city looks more promising, although there are only patches of yellow among the green on the map—and I’m warned that it contains many tunnels, which will limit my chance to experience the system. Who would have thought finding a jam would be so hard? The legalistic reticence is because Germany has adopted UN Regulation No. 157 on Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS), which lays down the restrictions on speed and also the need to limit operation to divided highways, where pedestrians and cyclists are banned. While most of Europe is set to bring these standards into law, the U.S. is going its own way, with different regulations state by state.While it’s both tempting to think of the Level 3 Drive Pilot as being a continuation of the existing Level 2 system, it’s considerably smarter. The existing Drive Pilot has been keeping Mercs in their lanes and a safe distance from other vehicles for several years, and their driver is always in control, at least nominally, and legally responsible if anything goes wrong. Level 3 reverses that equation. Once the car has taken control, it—and in liability terms, Mercedes-Benz—is on the hook for any crashes caused by the system’s negligence.

Mercedes-Benz

The system requires a much more complex set of sensors. On the S-class and EQS that includes radar, laser-based lidar, a stereoscopic 3-D camera, and short-distance ultrasound to detect the presence of nearby vehicles. Each has different strengths and weaknesses: Radar is good for range and speed but struggles to separate stationary objects, lidar operates at longer range and can readily separate targets (but the sensor is sensitive to dust and spray), and the 3-D camera is great at classifying different types of road users but struggles with backlighting.That’s not all. There is also a moisture detector in the left front wheel well to make sure the road surface is dry, and there’s a camera on the top of the instrument display to make sure the driver isn’t asleep or obviously incapacitated. Positional data comes from a triple antenna that orientates the car through a combination of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including the USA’s GPS, Europe’s Galileo, and Russia’s GLONASS satellite constellations. The collected data is put through an algorithm that returns positional accuracy better than 3.9 inches. These inputs are then correlated against high-definition mapping—Germany’s entire autobahn network has been scanned for this purpose.

Mercedes-Benz

Only if all the systems agree the operating criteria are satisfied do the pair of “A” buttons on each side of the steering wheel illuminate to show the car is willing to take control. Pressing one of these then brings up a legal-disclaimer warning on the dashboard, which needs to be clicked away each time to satisfy the lawyers. Turquoise lights above the main control buttons then show the car is driving itself. I’ve been using the lesser Level 2 system on my way to the autobahn, the EQS steering, accelerating, and braking on its own as my hand rests on the steering wheel, so switching to the fully automated system in the first patch of slow-moving traffic feels like anticlimactic. Yet the car is now in charge and must give me 10 seconds of notice if it wants me to take over driving. The car then takes up to another 10 seconds to gradually bring itself to a standstill and activate its flashers if the driver fails to respond.

Mercedes-Benz

Despite being liberated from the need to pay attention, it’s surprisingly hard to look away from the road for more than a few seconds. With the turquoise light on, I’m able to legally look at my phone—normally a big no-no in Europe—or to use the center display to watch videos or live TV. Mercedes has even installed a suite of games, although trying to play sudoku on a touchscreen in slow traffic doesn’t feel like I’m making the most of my liberated time. I end up mostly looking at the dashboard display, which shows the vehicle Drive Pilot is following overlayed with an “A.” The sentinel camera prevents me from attempting to snooze; closing my eyes for a couple of seconds produces angry beeps and the immediate start of the hand-back sequence. Drivers also aren’t allowed to recline the seat all the way back or motor it too far away from the pedals to ensure they can readily resume driving if called upon by the system.The hand-back sequence from car to driver is forcefully Germanic, escalating rapidly from a polite ping to a red flashing dashboard display and then a shaking of the seatbelt. Had I failed to respond, the car would have stopped in a live autobahn lane, so I didn’t try that. The approved method for retaking control is to press the “A” button again, but any other control input should also do it. I experience the hand-back sequence repeatedly, rarely getting more than half a minute under automated control. This is largely because traffic speeds up beyond 60 km/h or the vehicle the system is following moving out of range. But tunnels or big overpasses and construction zones or narrowing lanes have the same effect. Even so, the Mercedes engineering team says the record in Germany for continuous use during the development program is well over an hour.

Mercedes-Benz

Nor can the Level 3 system change lanes, even in response to instructions from the navigation system—this is also prevented by the current regulations. But it can move over to create a pathway for emergency vehicles, something it does in response to hearing sirens approaching from behind.Mercedes has won the race to a production implementation of Level 3 driving automation, but in a sensible and unexciting way. It’s hard to imagine too many S-class and EQS owners following the free-wheeling experimentalism of those Tesla owners who film themselves putting what often seems to be excessive faith into that company’s dubiously more permissive Level 2 system. There is no doubt that Drive Pilot is capable of safely handling greater speeds and freer-flowing traffic, the question is when it will be able to do so on public roads—or, indeed, when it will be able to operate at all in the U.S. Given the current restrictions, it feels more like a neat trick than a transformational change unless, of course, you have a predictably tedious slow-and-go freeway commute.

A car-lover’s community for ultimate access & unrivaled experiences. JOIN NOW

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

While the clock on large internal-combustion engines might be close to midnight, we know that the 2023 Aston Martin V12 Vantage is not going to be the final new model launched with a dozen cylinders. The Lamborghini Aventador’s replacement will also stick with a V-12, albeit with hybrid assistance, and Ferrari’s forthcoming Purosangue SUV will have one too. Others may also sneak under the bar.But we do know that the new V12 Vantage will be the last of its line, the final twinning of the company’s largest engine with its smallest sports car. A limited edition of 333 cars will be produced for all markets, and the run sold out within days of being announced last year. And while Aston hasn’t released an official price tag for the car, we’re told that it’s around the $300,000 mark—very nearly as much as the bigger, grander, and quicker DBS Superleggera, which uses basically the same 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged engine. So, can less truly be more?

Aston Martin

Much of the V12 Vantage’s structure is shared with the minimalist V12 Speedster the company launched last year, which was itself based on a heavily modified Vantage Roadster platform. Despite that, there will only be a coupe version of the new V12 Vantage, with its engine in the same state of tune as the Speedster; with 690 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque, the Vantage’s output isn’t too far off that of the DBS. Output is delivered exclusively to the rear axle through an eight-speed automatic gearbox, and while the regular Vantage uses an electronically controlled active differential capable of biasing torque side to side, the V12 has a conventional plate-type limited-slip diff. Our first drive took place in Wales, where we used some of the country’s finest roads—high on the list of the best in the world—and the tight, technical Anglesey race circuit, which sits next to the Irish Sea. While the V12 Vantage’s performance impressed throughout, it was soon clear that, for all its might, the engine only ever speaks with a soft voice.While the regular V-8-powered Vantage is loud and lairy, the V12 exhibits a much more relaxed character. That’s true for the exhaust, which burbles at low revs and zings when the engine is worked hard, but never develops many muscular bass frequencies. But it’s also true for the rest of the car’s dynamic behavior. Despite sitting on stiffer springs than its V-8 sibling (Aston quotes rates that are firmer by 50 percent at the front and 40 percent at the rear), the V12 Vantage still feels impressively pliant over bumpy surfaces. Even the adjustable dampers’ Track setting doesn’t feel overly harsh for road use.

Aston Martin

There were a few refinement issues on the car we drove—some related to its prior life as a development car, some not. The loud whine from the differential can probably be attributed to the hard use of development work, and we presume the diffs in customer cars won’t sound like that. The V12 Vantage also suffered from an issue we’ve noticed in other carbon-roofed coupes, with certain frequencies of noise seemingly trapped by the roof, creating a drone that was obvious at constant-speed cruising. Plus, the optional carbon bucket seats traded well-clamped lateral support for increasing discomfort after a couple of hours behind the wheel. Any comfort seekers would be well advised to consider the standard sport seats instead. Yet it is very hard to fault the V12 Vantage in terms of performance. The engine might make 108 fewer pound-feet of torque here than it does in the DBS, but it still has more than enough muscle to make the car feel monstrously fast. The automatic gearbox’s tendency to upshift well short of the 6900-rpm redline seems to have little effect on the rate of acceleration.

Aston Martin

But it lacks the edgy feel of the V8 Vantage. The lesser car’s active differential pushes torque to the outside wheel during enthusiastic cornering, producing an entertaining sense of impending oversteer even short of the point at which the rear tires actually run out of grip. The V12’s conventional limited-slip differential doesn’t do that, and it takes slightly more effort to get the car turned and settled into a corner, although traction was impeccable from the Pilot Sport 4S tires. The steering felt great, too, with revised front geometry providing newfound crispness and precision. The V12’s standard carbon-ceramic brakes survived repeated hard use without complaint, although there was some audible grumbling at lower speeds. Yet there is an undoubted mismatch between the aggression of the V12’s design and the gentleness of its dynamic demeanor. The vast rear wing is a case in point, contributing to a claimed 450 pounds of peak downforce and undoubtedly improving the car’s sense of high-speed stability. But it also eliminates a fair percentage of the view through the rear window. Aston says it’s possible to order the car without the wing, although with a consequent reduction in downforce.Driving on the 2.1-mile circuit at Anglesey solidified the impression of a grand tourer in track-rat clothes, to the extent we were glad to have first experienced the car on a fast-flowing road, which seems more like its preferred environment. Although hugely fast, the V12 Vantage does not feel like a natural track car. The engine has little difficulty in motivating its considerable weight—3957 pounds in its lightest configuration, according to Aston—but the mass was evident in Anglesey’s tighter corners. The V12 feels nose heavy when cornering near its limit and needs to be carefully shepherded into bends to avoid running wide, the traction control then intervening hard to keep the rear end under control.

Aston Martin

There is a more permissive Sport setting for the stability-control system, although we soon discovered this allows significant oversteer even at the higher speeds where such driver-flattering modes tend to subtly increase intervention. The result certainly felt exciting, if not especially elegant. And even the quickest changes of the automatic gearbox also felt too leisurely on track compared to the speed of a dual-clutch transmission. As on the public roads, we soon learned it was easier to short-shift and trust in the breadth of the engine’s torque. The V12 Vantage is a hugely likable car, yet also a slightly confused one. The pugnacious design suggests it will offer a supercar-baiting driving experience, yet the dynamic reality is far closer to Aston’s tradition of comfortable grand tourers, like a slightly smaller and fractionally slower version of the DBS Superleggera. Opting to forego the rear wing would obviously remove much of the peak downforce, but it would also make for a more classically elegant car, one with the visual polish to match what’s under the hood. And if enough of those 333 customers go that route, maybe Aston will have to cook up one more really extreme V12 Vantage to use up their supply of giant aerodynamic aids. One can dream.

Specifications

Specifications
2023 Aston Martin V12 VantageVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door hatchback
PRICE
Base: V-12 Coupe, $300,000 (est)
ENGINE
twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 318 in3, 5204 cm3Power: 690 hp @ 6500 rpmTorque: 555 lb-ft @ 1800 rpm
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 106.5 inLength: 177.7 inWidth: 77.2 inHeight: 50.2 inPassenger Volume: 47 ft3Trunk Volume: 10 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3960 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 3.2 sec100 mph: 7.0 sec1/4-Mile: 10.7 secTop Speed (mfr’s claim): 200 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 18/15/23 mpg

A car-lover’s community for ultimate access & unrivaled experiences. JOIN NOW

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

Henry Ford was an employee of and friend to electricity pioneer Thomas Edison, so it shouldn’t be much of a shock that in the early days of his car company, Ford developed an electric car. That early EV never made it to production in large part because the bestselling Model T was just that, a bestseller. Today, the Ford F-series is America’s current sales champ, and Ford has chosen to leverage that brand with its first electric pickup, the F-150 Lightning.

This is the third F-150 to wear a Lightning badge. The first two were performance pickups and to a certain degree, this version is, too. With either 452 horsepower with the standard-range battery or 580 horsepower with the extended-range battery, this is the most powerful F-150 by a minimum of two ponies (at least until the Raptor R drops in a few months). It also happens to be the heaviest, but a curb weight starting at some 6400 pounds isn’t enough mass to make this Lightning even remotely slow—we expect the hi-po version to reach 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds. That’s quick enough to dethrone the current Raptor as the quickest F-150, but Ford will need a Lightning R to challenge the Rivian R1T for EV-pickup-acceleration supremacy. (We have yet to test a GMC Hummer EV.) Naming this F-150 “Lightning” isn’t as egregious of a sin as the Mustang Mach-E, a name many of those with blue-oval blood cells consider sacrilegious. Buyers will recognize it as an F-150. But underneath it is closer to Mach-e GT than to any other F-150. All Lightnings get two motors, one on each axle, and a big battery between the frame rails of a modified F-150 chassis, with the biggest mod being the trailing arms that give the Lightning an independent rear suspension. The body is all but identical stamped and welded aluminum. The Lightning gets a closed-off grille with just a small opening for some heat exchangers, a sculpted hood, a flat and armored floorpan, and different taillights.
Though this truck has many parlor tricks—a big frunk that can swallow 400 pounds, an optional tongue-weight scale, and BlueCruise hands-free driving—none are as impressive as how quick it builds speed from a standstill, thanks to 775 pound-feet of instant torque. Mat the accelerator and the front tires spin. Actually, the fronts will spin if you floor the accelerator at any speed below 50 mph or so. The effect is amplified as you load the truck closer to its 2235-pound max payload capacity.It even drives and feels a lot like an F-150. A 50/50 weight balance contributes to very good road manners. Head toss is kept to a minimum when unloaded, and all but disappears if you put 1000 pounds in the bed. Although, with conventional coil springs and dampers, the ride can’t quite compete with the adaptive hardware we’ve come to expect on pickups at this price point. No one buys a pickup because it steers well, and the Lightning doesn’t raise that bar, but it motors down the road with aplomb. A low center of gravity keeps the truck relatively flat through corners, too.
The base vinyl-lined Pro model starts at $41,769 and comes with the 98.0-kWh battery that’s good for an EPA range of 230 miles, while the upgraded extended-range battery brings 131.0 kilowatts-hours of storage and 320 miles of range. The bigger battery is a $10,000 line item no matter the trim, but only fleet customers can spec it to the Pro line. In the next-step-up XLT, selecting the extended-range battery also requires an additional $9500 312A equipment package, which includes otherwise high-dollar options such as Pro Power Onboard (9.6-kW worth of power outlets in the bed and frunk), power seats, a power tailgate, as well as a heated steering wheel and heated seats. So, the average Ford customer who wants 320 miles of range is looking at a minimum of $74,269 for a cloth-interior XLT. An extended-range Lariat, with leather, hands-free BlueCruise, and a massive sunroof, is $5000 more. The top-spec Platinum comes in at $92,669, but those have only a 300-mile EPA range due in part to the 22-inch wheels (18s and 20s underpin other models) and a curb weight flirting with 7000 pounds. The extended-range battery also includes Ford’s Charge Station Pro, an otherwise $1310 accessory that serves as a charging and energy off-boarding connection for your home. You have to pay an electrician to install it (or you should), and to get the Ford Intelligent Backup Power function that can power your home in the event of a utility outage, you also have to pay for and install the $3895 Home Integration System. Bottom line, if you want your Lightning to be a home-generator proxy, it’ll cost you.Another key practicality component to the extended-range battery is a more powerful onboard charger: 19.2 kilowatts to the standard battery’s 11.3. This results in a level 2, 80-amp charging time (from 15 to 100 percent) reduction of eight hours versus 10 for the standard setup.
On the not-so-good front, the Lightning can tow up to 10,000 pounds when spec’d with the Max Trailer Tow package, but it can’t do so for very long between charges. We pulled an 8300-pound boat and trailer at about 65 mph, and the on-board trip computer indicated we were getting less than one mile per kilowatt-hour. This puts the highway range with a trailer of decent size and mass somewhere around 100 miles. That means you wouldn’t want to cover more than 80 or so miles between DC-fast-charger fill-ups because of how fast charging throttles as you near a full battery. With a 150-kW charger, Ford says the Lightning can replenish its battery from 15 to 80 percent in 44 minutes with the small battery and 41 minutes with the big battery. The Lightning isn’t overwhelmed when towing, quite the opposite in fact. It lugs a load quite well with regen and the integrated trailer-brake controller confidently slowing the rig. It’s just not very practical. We can already picture the queue filled with Lightnings pulling snowmobile trailers at the few charging stations on I-75 this winter.

Ford will no doubt sell a ton of F-150 Lightnings. It claims to have more than 200,000 reservations, and a good number of those aren’t existing pickup customers. For many people who use a pickup as a daily driver, and whose idea of hauling a big load is a $400 Costco run or a foursome’s golf clubs in the 5.6-foot bed, the truck is darn near perfect. But if you currently have a pickup and you plan to use a good percentage of the Lighting’s capacity on a regular basis, you might find the current infrastructure lacking. This is no fault of Ford. The infrastructure is constantly growing and changing just like the new-vehicle marketplace. Now, don’t go slapping the Mach 1 nameplate on an electric scooter or make the next GT a return to sedans, okay Ford?

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Ford F-150 LightningVehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
PRICE
Base: Pro, $41,769; XLT, $54,769; Lariat, $69,269; XLT Extended Range, $74,269; Lariat Extended Range, $79,269; Platinum, $92,669
POWERTRAIN
Front Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC Mid Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC Combined Power: 452 or 580 hpCombined Torque: 775 lb-ftBattery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 98.0 or 131.0 kWhOnboard Charger: 11.3 or 19.2 kWTransmissions: direct-drives
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 145.5 inLength: 232.7 inWidth: 80.0 inHeight: 78.3 inPassenger Volume: 136 ft3Frunk Volume: 14 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 6400–7000 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 4.5–5.0 sec100 mph: 11.0–13.0 sec1/4-Mile: 13.1–14.0 secTop Speed: 110 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 66–70/73–78/60–63 MPGeRange: 230–320 mi

A car-lover’s community for ultimate access & unrivaled experiences. JOIN NOW

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

GMC is simultaneously trying to plant its flag as a premium brand and develop more off-road cred with the updated 2022 Sierra 1500. To do so, the company is building off the truck’s most popular models: the king-of-bling Denali and the off-road-oriented AT4. Previously, those two represented the lineup’s classiest and most capable trim levels, but those titles now belong to the newly introduced Denali Ultimate and AT4X, respectively.Along with a noteworthy makeover that includes a reshaped front end and redesigned interior on most 2022 Sierras, the Denali Ultimate and AT4X arrive with exclusive features intended to solidify their preeminent statuses and justify their lofty price tags. For instance, they alone get the new 12-speaker Bose sound system and front seats with more adjustments and massage functions. Compared with the regular Denali, the Ultimate’s cabin is lined with richer leather upholstery, a microsuede headliner, and real wood trim etched with topographical maps of Mount Denali. For its part, the AT4X has added underbody protection, electronic locking front and rear diffs, greater suspension travel, and ingenious Multimatic spool-valve dampers that aren’t offered on the regular AT4.
Here’s the rub: the AT4X starts at $77,395 and the Denali Ultimate has a starting price of $82,795. That’s between $14K and $18K more than the least expensive AT4 ($63,395) and Denali ($63,695). That sounds like a lot of dough for mostly nicer interior materials and upgraded off-road hardware, so to see if the new chart-topping Sierras are worth the ask, we traveled to Southern California, where we had a turn behind the wheel of each truck.

Dynamically, the Denali Ultimate could be mistaken for a 2019 Sierra 1500 Denali we tested. The ’22 model has the same naturally aspirated 420-hp 6.2-liter V-8, 10-speed automatic transmission, and selectable four-wheel drive. We can’t confirm the new truck hits 60 mph in the same 5.4 seconds, but its deliberate acceleration and baritone exhaust note felt familiar. For folks who want to avoid the V-8’s $1005 upcharge, a Duramax diesel 3.0-liter inline-six with an equivalent 460 pound-feet of torque is available on the Ultimate. The diesel also raises the Ultimate’s EPA combined rating from 17 to 24 mpg. Like its half-ton Chevy Silverado twin, the Sierra 1500 handles well for a truck. Its steering is direct, its brake pedal is firm, and the Denali’s standard adaptive dampers help control body motions and isolate the ride despite the 22-inch rims.
We also got to try its Super Cruise hands-free driving tech on I-5. The system worked great in busy traffic, staying steady around corners at 75 mph and smoothly changing lanes on its own. Still, we’d need a longer test drive to contradict Ezra Dyer’s uneven experience.From any seat in the Denali Ultimate, it’s obvious how much better everything looks than before. The dash layout is more horizontal, and the new 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and 13.4-inch touchscreen give GMC an answer to competitors’ big displays. In fact, the Denali and Denali Ultimate’s new and improved interior is a necessary response to the luxurious cabins in the fanciest Ford F-150 and Ram 1500 models. The snazziest Sierras now have more stitched leather surfaces and sturdier switchgear throughout that effectively elevate the aesthetic, putting them on the same plane as ritzy rivals. However, GMC still trails when it comes to the details. The leather looks shoehorned in some places, and the metallic trim piece that spans the dash feels hollow. The sunroof cover isn’t microsuede like the headliner, and even though the sunroof is power operated, the cover is manual.

The AT4X isn’t quite as posh as the Denali Ultimate. The Sierra’s premier off-roader isn’t offered with Super Cruise, it has less open-pore wood inside, and chrome is nonexistent. Like the Ultimate, every AT4X has a crew-cab, short-box configuration. Unlike the Denali, the 6.2-liter V-8 is mandatory. Our time with the AT4X included a romp around the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and an encounter with a steep, rocky obstacle called Diablo Drop Off. The latter demonstrated the value of the truck’s electronic locking diffs that helped it effortlessly crawl through the sand and over the treacherous terrain. The Sierra’s multitude of camera views ensured we could clearly locate nearby obstacles, the rock rails prevented serious body damage, and Terrain mode made creeping easy by simulating one-pedal driving in 4HI or 4LO. Its deceleration level can be adjusted with the steering-wheel-mounted paddles.We drove the desert portion with the truck’s 275/65R-18 Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac Mud-Terrain tires aired down to 15 psi. The gnarly rubber worked great for our purposes, but it’s different than what’s on the new Silverado ZR2. More obvious is that the AT4X’s front bumper also isn’t as aggressive as the Chevy’s. We wondered why GMC made the most badass Sierra looks less badass than its bowtie-badged brother. We’re told the AT4X misses out on the ZR2 bumper because GMC believes customers like how the Sierra looks and didn’t want to jeopardize that. And due to clearance issues, the ZR2’s slightly larger 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory Mud-Terrain tires are too big for the AT4X. As a result, the AT4X’s 25.5-degree approach angle is 6.3 degrees less than the ZR2’s.
Despite the compromises in bumper design and tire size, the Sierra showed us it’s the most capable pickup GMC has ever built. Its spool-valve dampers did wonders to smooth out the desert’s washboard sections, and we never hit the bump stops even when we crashed over dirt mounds and ditches. Still, the Sierra’s rear leaf springs cause the truck’s back end to bounce and shudder more than the more sophisticated coil-spring setups on the Ford F-150 Raptor and Ram 1500 TRX. Those trucks are both better suited for high-speed desert runs. They’re also better at peacocking. The new 2022 Sierra 1500 AT4X is more subdued and practical, and its narrower width makes it easier to wield on tight canyon trails or on crowded streets. Longtime GMC fans and newcomers alike should appreciate the truck’s expanded capability and improved interior, but with that they’ll have to stomach its bloated bottom line, which occupies the same price bracket as the more extreme Raptor and TRX.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 GMC Sierra 1500Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear- or rear/4-wheel-drive, 3-, 5-, or 6-passenger, 2- or 4-door pickup
PRICE
Base: Pro, $36,295; SLE, $47,555; Elevation, $49,195; SLT, $53,095; AT4, $63,395; Denali, $63,695; AT4X, $77,395; Denali Ultimate, $81,690
ENGINES
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter inline-6, 277 hp, 460 lb-ft; turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.7-liter inline-4, 310 hp, 430 lb-ft; pushrod 16-valve 5.3-liter V-8, 355 hp, 383 lb-ft; pushrod 16-valve 6.2-liter V-8, 420 hp, 460 lb-ft
TRANSMISSIONS
8-speed automatic, 10-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 126.5–157.0 inLength: 211.0–242.4 inWidth: 81.1–81.2 inHeight: 75.7–78.3 inPassenger Volume: 73–139 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 4600–5800 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.4–7.1 sec1/4-Mile: 14.0–15.5 secTop Speed: 100–115 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 14–26/13–23/17–30 mpg

A car lover’s community for ultimate access & unrivaled experiences. JOIN NOW

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

The best thing I saw in Italy was a bus driver shaking his fist at a flock of sheep blocking his way down a narrow road set against a hillside covered in wild lavender. He had a glorious mustache and an extensive vocabulary of what I assume were sheep-related curses. The second-best thing was the dashboard of Audi’s RS Q e-tron, which flashed my name across its digital display. I only saw it for a second, and then I drove through a stream and all I saw was water.

Audi brought me to Italy to get a taste of what its racing drivers experience piloting the RS Q e-tron in the two-week-long Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. Just replace nearly 6000 miles of skyscraper-high sand dunes, rocky desert terrain, and high-speed navigation with three laps around a small dirt track on a perfect spring day on a farm in Sardinia. Here, the biggest distractions were the cows, all of which were wearing cute little bells, like in the cartoons, and the farmers, who kept offering me homemade wine, even though it was 9 a.m. Emil Bergkvist, an actual Dakar co-driver, sat to the right of me in the RS Q e-tron’s passenger seat, so in some ways, it was sort of like driving in the real race. The RS Q e-tron is a monster. It’s wider than a GMC Hummer EV—a hulking space capsule of carbon fiber with air vents large enough to crawl through and 37-inch BFGoodrich tires as knobby as an arthritic knuckle. Audi’s race machines always have an intimidating presence, from the flattened R18 Le Mans racer to the wide-bodied RS5 of the DTM series to the brand’s prior Formula E car, with its insectile folds and wings. The body of the RS Q e-tron has all the scoops and fat fenders—and a general sense of violence—of Audi’s past racers, but sits high on a double-wishbone suspension replete with Reiger gas shocks as thick as my thigh. It looks less like a race car than a weapon, a stealth bomber on wheels. It’s also one of only three built (done in a very short time and at a cost in the millions), so Audi was really hoping I, and the rest of the media members it brought out to drive this machine, would avoid running it into a cow while drunk on morning wine.
The densely packed development timeline of the RS Q e-tron saw the vehicle go from an ambitious idea at the beginning of 2020 to a dune-jumping, stage-winning racer in January 2022. This tight schedule forced the RS Q e-tron’s development team to rethink everything they knew about building race cars. Audi’s racing history includes decades of developing all-wheel-drive vehicles for the purpose of driving in the dirt. The brand has also put in time competing in endurance racing. Less familiar to Audi, though, was off-road endurance racing, and in order to send teams to Dakar, it needed to build a completely new car. The difficulty of the task was amplified by the brand’s desire to enter an electric vehicle. Audi knew its electric motors were up to the task courtesy of its now-defunct Formula E team, but it needed to find a way to ensure there was enough electricity on board to power these motors for the many miles that separate each stage of an off-road endurance race such as the Dakar Rally. “If we’d wanted to make it to even the first fueling stop on battery power [alone], we would have required a trailer to haul it,” joked Benedikt Brunninger, technical project leader for the RS Q e-tron. When Audi started work on the RS Q e-tron project, the FIA still did not have rules in place that were applicable to the electric racer. By the time the car hit the starting line, its powertrain’s output was limited to 288 kilowatts (approximately 386 horsepower), and its onboard fuel capacity was capped at 300 liters (approximately 79 gallons). Wait, fuel? Audi worked around the electric RS Q e-tron’s potential range issues by equipping it with an onboard generator, making it sort of the reverse of the brand’s hybrid Prototype-class Le Mans racers. While those cars used electric motors to give a power boost to the internal-combustion engine, the RS Q e-tron uses its front- and rear-axle-mounted motors to power the drive wheels and its turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four (cribbed from the RS5 DTM racer), which mates to a third electric motor, rigged to serve as a generator, to recharge its 52.0-kWh battery pack.
That makes it a series hybrid, an electric car with a surprising muffler in the rear, and a decidedly non-electric sound while recharging. The software that connects the multiple systems and keeps everything running and charging is so complex that several miles of wiring reside in the car. From an environmental standpoint, running a gas engine for hours to charge an electric motor is arguably no better than simply relying solely on an internal-combustion powertrain. However, the problem-solving done to bring the RS Q e-tron to life may ultimately lead to more efficient hybrid powertrains in the future. Audi developed the RS Q e-tron’s DTM-sourced engine for endurance racing, which makes it well suited for the task of running at high revs for extended periods of time when the desert racer calls upon it for recharging purposes. With little need for the engine’s full powerband, the RS Q e-tron’s engineers tinkered with the engine by upping its compression ratio and lowering the turbo’s boost in order to improve fuel efficiency. Fabian Titus, one of the combustion-engine development engineers for the car, told me there were initially some concerns about modifying the four-cylinder for the Dakar race. “Normally, if an engine is at high rpm, the car is moving fast, so you don’t worry about overheating,” he said. “Here, if it is charging in the dunes, it might be barely moving.”
There were also worries about getting enough air to the engine while also keeping out grit and sand. To address those issues, the four-cylinder gets a protective box, replete with fans for cooling. Speaking of cooling, Saudi Arabia can drop to freezing at night, and there’s no time for engine-oil warmers or idling in the pits. To test what might happen if the engine fired up cold, the team took a retired DTM car, left it outside in the German winter, and started it up the next morning. “I was ready to run if it blew up,” said Titus, “but it was fine, it wasn’t a problem.”The system can automatically kick on the engine at a predetermined battery charge level, but the driver can also start the four-cylinder at will, which Bergkvist did on our second lap around the track. He warned me it was a strange cognitive experience, going from the hums and clicks of the motors to the engine’s steady 5000 rpm no matter the position of the accelerator. It was especially off-putting during braking to hear no change in the roar and feel no less vibration from the middle of the car. It was also shockingly loud, though not loud enough to drown out my suggestion to Bergkvist of taking the jump in the middle of the course. “Ah, yes. No,” he said, pointing firmly toward the straightaway to the right of the hill.
Even without a sweet jump, I could tell the RS Q e-tron must be extremely capable in rough terrain. I was the last member of my media group to drive the car around the small track, and its previously smooth dirt surface was thoroughly plowed and furrowed from my colleague’s behind-the-wheel antics. Truth is, though, I didn’t even realize the course’s deteriorating condition until much later, when I ran it in a lightly race-prepped Audi Q5 and nearly had my teeth knocked out. The RS Q e-tron bobbed over the ruts like a fishing float, the cabin suspended so far inside the big fenders that Bergkvist had to remind me a good one-third of the car was hanging out on either side of our viewpoint. It felt strange to aim for an apex so far from the edge of the track and realize your tires are still slightly up the berm. Other than the engine note, everything in the RS Q e-tron is soft. The steering is as light as a ’73 Chrysler’s, which makes sense when you imagine driver Mattias Ekström spending full days digging this thing through sand dunes. It’s sort of fun once you get used to it: a little tip of the wheel, wait for the body to dip and recenter, get back on the accelerator. It’s a delicate process for such a brutish machine. During races, the RS Q e-tron offers a set amount of energy recuperation through braking, but for my drive, it was off—full coast and traditional brake pedal feel. The nose dove like a fishing eagle every time I stepped on the brake and bounced back up when I got back on the accelerator.
I was just getting the hang of letting the Audi rear up on the straights and surf through the turns when Bergkvist announced the cool-down lap. I let the body settle down into a quiet loaf and turned it back toward the pits. Battery-electric vehicles are currently the darlings of automotive marketers, but the problems faced by the Audi team in preparing for Dakar are not so different from those today’s car shoppers must consider. What’s the range? Where can I charge? It’s possible the answer for consumers might be the same as that for racers. If gasoline-electric hybrids return to fashion, then Audi may just lead the charge.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

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