Reviews

Honda’s Ridgeline has always worked well as a truck. Its towing and payload abilities fulfill most typical hauling needs, and its unibody construction and independent rear suspension deliver the best on-pavement ride and handling in the business. But the Ridgeline doesn’t look enough like other trucks. It rides too low, the nose is too stubby, and the bed comes in only one length, which aligns with other mid-size pickups’ short option. Trucks from Ram, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, and General Motors all cast similarly shaped shadows. The Honda? Nope. It looks like a crossover that’s halfway done morphing into a truck, and that screws with people’s minds and expectations. For 2021, with the second-generation Ridgeline in its fourth year, Honda has decided to butch it up. Make it more trucky. More rugged. Tougher.
The leading edge of Honda’s mucho-macho offensive is the new HPD package. HPD stands for Honda Performance Development, and it’s part of Honda’s push to create cachet (and profits) in the vein of what Toyota’s done with the TRD brand. While Toyota’s off-road heritage evokes jungle treks, African safaris, and United Nations disaster relief, Honda’s history in the dirt is intertwined with motocross bikes, Trail 70s, and ATVs. Honda has campaigned a Ridgeline race truck in Baja, but they’ve still got work to do translating their powersports off-road cred to the automotive side.

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Honda

Ford Ranger vs. Gladiator, Colorado, Ridgeline

Tested: 2017 Honda Ridgeline AWD

All the 2021 Ridgelines get new, taller sheetmetal forward of the A-pillar, with new headlights and a blunter grille. As with most other trucks, that big grille is heavy-hauler cosplay, hinting at massive cooling and air-intake needs. Most of it, however, maybe two thirds of the surface area, is actually blocked off. Only the bottom part is open and allows air to flow through it; much of the air passing into the engine bay actually enters from beneath the bumper.
Functionally, all Ridgelines now get standard all-wheel drive and new 18-inch wheels that increase the track width by 0.8 inch. Inside there’s now a volume knob planted at a corner of the high-mounted center touchscreen. We’re at a strange place when we herald the addition of a volume knob as an important ergonomic innovation, but companies need positive reinforcement when they take this seemingly obvious step. So, good job on that, Honda!

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Honda

For $2800, the HPD package includes black fender flares, its own unique grille, specific bronze-colored wheels, and HPD graphics. If the HPD package looks like a bolt-on accessory kit—the driver’s side rear fender flare has a cutout for the gas-cap door—that’s because it is. It’s one of four new post-production packages that mostly include the usual truck accoutrements—running boards, a hard cover for the bed, roof rails, and crossbars. Notably, the HPD package doesn’t bring any suspension or powertrain changes. It exists to help address the Ridgeline’s biggest challenge: its image.
The HPD treatment is available on all Ridgeline trim levels from the base Sport, which starts at $37,665, up through the $43,595 RTL-E. It’s even offered on the $45,095 Black Edition that orbits atop the line, but that seems like overkill. The Sport, with its cloth upholstery and unpretentious decoration, meshes well with the HPD stuff and at $40,465 total, represents good value in comparison with the competition.

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Honda

The Ridgeline continues to be, by far, the most comfortable mid-size truck for on-road use. The all-independent suspension bolted to its unibody structure is supple, confident, and easygoing. Road divots that can upset a stiff rock crawler like the Tacoma TRD Pro are easily digested and overcome by the Ridgeline. The bouncy tail happiness of some leaf-sprung pickups is completely absent from this Honda.
The Ridgeline continues to include a clever trunk hidden beneath the trailing edge of the tough composite bed. It’s not just storage for Costco purchases—with a drain at the bottom, it’s a built-in cooler. And with a two-way tailgate that swings down or sideways (the 1966 Ford Country Squire’s great innovation, the Magic Doorgate), the Ridgeline is optimized for stadium-parking-lot dining. This assumes, of course, that someday tailgating will return to stadium lots after the last of us get our drive-through vaccination shots there. Besides the trunk and the trick tailgate, the Ridgeline also offers a truck-bed audio system, in which the bed itself is enlisted as a giant speaker. GMC offers speakers in the tailgate, but Honda is the only one to use the bed itself to pump your jams.

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Honda

Honda was eager to show off how capable the Ridgeline is off-road and brought a select group of journalists who would show up to its desert proving grounds to do that. Of course, the Ridgeline will handle virtually any situation most drivers will ever find themselves in. There’s enough ground clearance and suspension articulation to handle surprisingly desperate situations. The three off-road drive modes—Snow, Mud, and Sand—optimize the throttle response, transmission, and torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system for particular conditions. Despite the Ridgeline’s front-drive origins, it can send 70 percent of its torque to the rear end, and then 100 percent of that to either the right or left rear wheel. But there’s no low range for crawling over boulders, mucking through deep sludge, or grinding across ridiculous dunes. Those are the exceptionally rare situations in which the body-on frame trucks have an advantage.
The Ridgeline’s engine remains the same transversely mounted 3.5-liter V-6 that Honda also plops into the truck’s brothers, the Pilot and Passport crossovers and Odyssey minivan. It’s rated at 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque at 4700 rpm. It’s a pleasant enough engine and does a good job propelling a vehicle that weighs in at just under 4450 pounds in its lightest guise. More low-end torque would be appreciated, but the 3.5 V-6 is adequately adequate. A nine-speed automatic transmission operates mostly in the background and responds quickly when you opt to use the column-mounted paddles behind the steering wheel.

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Honda

We’ve tested a handful of second-gen Ridgelines—such as in this 2019 comparison test, where the Honda finished second—and expect similar results for the 2021 model. Figure on a 60-mph time of 6.4 seconds and a quarter-mile in 15.0 seconds flat, although the nine-speed automatic, which was a change for 2020 (earlier Ridgelines had a six-speed), might be worth a couple tenths.
The Ridgeline is at its best when it’s tasked with the boring chores most of us do most of the time. Yes, it can haul more than 1500 pounds in its bed and tow 5000 pounds. Great. But usually, our trucks are tasked with far less than full loads and maxed-out trailers. And that’s where the Ridgeline shines. It’s a great daily companion and weekend lifestyle warrior.

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Honda

Lately, buyers have been going for trucks that are literally too much for what they need. Ford F-150 Raptors, Ram 1500 TRXs, and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pros are all loads of fun within the context of serious off-roading. But they can be a chore doing daily duty. The Ridgeline is the opposite of that.
Still, it’s about proportions, and the revised styling can’t disguise the Ridgeline’s transverse-engine overhang and a dash-to-axle ratio that evokes the Baja—the Subaru not the race. And until Honda changes the Ridgeline’s silhouette so that it more closely resembles what buyers expect of a truck, it’s likely not going to be accepted by traditional truck buyers. That’s their loss.

Specifications

Specifications
2021 Honda Ridgeline
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
BASE PRICE Sport, $37,665; RTL, $40,645; RTL-E, $43,595; Black Edition, $45,095
ENGINE TYPE SOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement 212 in3, 3471 cm3Power 280 hp @ 6000 rpmTorque 262 lb-ft @ 4700 rpm
TRANSMISSION 9-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 125.2 inLength: 210.2 inWidth: 78.6 inHeight: 70.8 inPassenger volume: 109–110 ft3Trunk volume: 34 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 4450–4550 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 6.4 sec1/4 mile: 15.0 secTop speed: 112 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/city/highway: 21/18/24 mpg

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The auto industry never stops moving forward, and any new model faces a finite lifespan. Yet the revised F-Pace SVR is staring at an unusually premeditated demise, arriving just after Jaguar announced its plan to transition to an all-electric lineup by 2025. In the midst of life, we are in death.
The demise of the F-type SVR means the F-Pace is now the only available Jaguar that was created by Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division. (Yes, the SVR comes from SVO. Naturally.) As with lesser versions of the F-Pace, changes are relatively modest, but they combine to sharpen the SVR’s case against its elite rivals. Before getting into the differences, however, we should first celebrate the SVR’s least changed feature and the continued star of the show—the supercharged V-8.

2021 Jaguar F-Pace Advances with Inline-Six Power

2021 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Boasts More Torque

This is the 5.0-liter unit that JLR introduced in 2009, a development of the Ford-engineered AJ-V8 that made its debut in 1996. Given that the Ford factory in Wales that built it closed last year, we were expecting the engine to also die, but JLR instead opted to move production in-house to keep the venerable engine going for a few more years. It was recently confirmed that it will be fitted to the Defender, but this seems likely to be the last time it appears in a new Jaguar.

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Jaguar

While the SVR’s 550-hp output remains unchanged, it has been given a modest increase in peak torque to 516 pound-feet (up from 502). The standard eight-speed automatic transmission also gets updated software, which helps the revised SVR trim a claimed 0.3 second from the 2020 model’s zero-to-60-mph time, dropping that number to an estimated 3.8 seconds, despite gaining 140 pounds by Jag’s own measure. Somewhat ludicrously, that still doesn’t put it at the sharp end of this ridiculously rapid segment, where faster rivals are nearer three seconds than four.
The Jaguar also wins out on charisma, the supercharged V-8 combining strong performance with a bristly soundtrack that surpasses the (mostly) six-cylinder competition on musicality and delivers its eight-cylinder top-end snarl without any digital augmentation. (The SVR’s cabin even does without active noise cancellation to keep the aural experience unfiltered.) The new SVR has lost the firecracker pops and bangs the pre-facelift version would deliver when the throttle was lifted suddenly under load, and it always defaults to starting in the quieter of its two switchable exhaust modes, which should help improve relations with the neighbors.

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Jaguar

The revised gearbox delivers impressively rapid shifts, especially under the direction of the satisfyingly weighty metal steering-wheel paddles, and it changes gears unobtrusively and intelligently in Drive. The transmission’s Sport mode felt more aggressive than before, downshifting and holding low gears with minimal provocation and delivering an abrupt step-off when leaving the line. Unfortunately, Jaguar’s new miniature gear selector lacks physically defined selections, springing back to a central position after drive or reverse is selected and thereby denying a sense of which (if any) gear is engaged.
Beneath the surface, SVO’s engineering team gave the SVR a thorough makeover. We’re told that every control module in the car is new, and that every dynamic setting has been revised. But these tweaks have done nothing to alter the fundamental appeal of the car’s relaxed athleticism. The SVR feels more compliant than the segment norm, especially over rough United Kingdom roads. Many fast SUVs try to replicate the behavior of lower, sleeker performance cars with firmed-up settings, but the F-Pace uses its suspension more intelligently to fill dips and absorb bumps, while still resisting roll and pitch impressively well. The development team says particular attention was paid to improving the SVR’s ride over high-frequency bumps, although at lower speeds and over large-amplitude undulations the ride did feel firm. After all, 22-inch forged-aluminum wheels do not allow for much tire sidewall.

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Jaguar

Riding on Pirelli P Zero summer tires, the SVR delivered both impressive grip and respectable-for-2021 levels of steering feel. The torque distribution of the all-wheel-drive system remains rear biased in all except the Ice and Snow mode, which defaults to a 50:50 split. In the most aggressive Dynamic mode, the SVR is essentially rear-wheel drive, with torque only diverted forward when the rear tires run short on grip. Pushed hard, the SVR feels playful but never wayward, with an electronically controlled differential at the back sharpening responses and optimizing traction. It is also now possible to individualize many of the settings in Dynamic mode, which is represented by a race helmet on the central touchscreen. Drivers can choose between Comfort or Dynamic settings for the engine map, steering, dampers, and transmission, while keeping the rear-bias torque split.
A less welcome innovation is the arrival of electrically boosted brakes. We had no complaints with the huge stopping power generated by the six-pot front calipers, but the new system minimizes pedal movement and felt harder to modulate at lower speeds—although we had mostly acclimatized after three hours in the car.

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Jaguar

Other changes are more welcome. Exterior bodywork gains a little more visual aggression over the comparatively subdued pre-facelift model, with larger vents at the front and sleeker all-LED headlights. SVO says that revised aerodynamics reduce lift by a third and are responsible for the 3 mph increase in top speed (to 178 mph.) The cabin benefits from a smart new dashboard, higher quality trim and a redesigned center console that substitutes upmarket rotary heating controls for the old car’s blue backlit plastic switchgear. The 11.4-inch curved-glass touchscreen is the centerpiece of JLR’s smart new Pivi Pro infotainment system, which both looks and works far better than the old InControl Touch Pro setup.
The F-Pace SVR remains a car that scores better on intangibles than measurable metrics. It’s not the fastest or quickest ute in its segment, nor does it have the most finely tuned dynamics. But of all the muscled-up crossovers, it would be one of the easiest to actually live with. Jaguar won’t be making vehicles like this for much longer. We will miss them when they are gone.

Specifications

Specifications
2021 Jaguar F-Pace SVR
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
BASE PRICE $85,950 
ENGINE TYPE supercharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement 305 in3, 5000 cm3Power 550 hp @ 6500 rpmTorque 516 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 113.1 inLength: 187.5 inWidth: 81.5 inHeight: 65.7 inPassenger volume: 96 ft3Cargo volume: 32 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 4800 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 3.8 sec100 mph: 9.1 sec1/4 mile: 12.2 secTop speed: 178 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/city/highway: 18/15/22 mpg

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It was inevitable that the Chevrolet Bolt electric hatchback would eventually spawn a more SUV-like variant such as the 2022 Bolt EUV (that’s short for electric utility vehicle). The regular Bolt model, which also refreshed for 2022, is a proven small, affordable EV with competitive range. The Bolt’s tall-hatch design already gave off faint whiffs of the utilitarian vibe that today’s consumers gravitate to, but the EUV version takes it a step further with a larger footprint and more SUV-like styling.
To be clear: The EUV isn’t drastically different from the regular Bolt. Both ride on the Bolt’s BEV2 platform and have an electric motor powering the front wheels. Think Bolt plus as the EUV still seems a bit small and narrow for a compact crossover. Six inches are added to the standard Bolt’s overall length and about three inches to its wheelbase, which can be seen in the length of the rear doors and the increased rear-seat legroom. The rear seat is now accommodating enough to be useful for adults on a regular basis, even if they still won’t be able can’t cross their legs and may complain about the lack of air vents. Overall width, height, and track also are up a smidge, although the EUV’s 16 cubic feet of cargo space is strangely less than the Bolt EV’s 17.

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Chevrolet

2022 Chevy Bolt EUV Crossover Starts at $33,995

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2020 Chevy Bolt Prioritizes Range Over Style

The EUV’s styling is inoffensive and borrows heavily from the Bolt and Chevy’s larger Blazer and Trailblazer. What truly separates the EUV from the Bolt (and its non-Tesla competitors) is the available hands-free Super Cruise driver-assistance package—General Motors’s first EV and the first non-Cadillac vehicle to offer the system. Aside from a handful of fully loaded Launch Edition models, the feature is limited to the EUV’s top Premier trim as a $2200 option and includes three years of OnStar service. OnStar is required for the system to operate, so after three years you’d be paying for a monthly subscription if you want to keep Super Cruising.
Chevy structured our short, mostly highway drive to showcase the Super Cruise system, which remains impressive in its ability to stay in its lane and to cover long stretches of divided highway with no driver input, provided the driver-facing camera and infrared sensors determine you’re paying attention to the road. Look away for too long and the system starts beeping, the lights in the top of the steering wheel rim begin to flash, and with the help of OnStar telematics, the car will eventually activate its hazard lights and pull to a stop. Due to the Bolt’s older electrical architecture versus GM’s more advanced EVs, such as the upcoming GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq, the EUV’s Super Cruise setup doesn’t support automatic, one-touch lane changes. But we imagine the capability of the basic system will be a draw for many potential EUV buyers.

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Chevrolet

We’ve yet to drive the 2022 Bolt EV, so we can’t say how differently the EUV goes down the road, if at all. Its brake pedal is pleasantly firm, the action of its steering is linear if devoid of feel, and its relatively low center of gravity lends it a secure, planted feel around corners. Motivation comes from a familiar electric motor rated for 200 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque that is fed electricity from a 65.0-kWh battery pack. Weighing about 100 pounds more than the standard Bolt, we estimate the 3700-pound EUV should get to 60 mph in about 7.0 seconds. The electric motor’s low-end pull is strong, which allows it to surge away from stoplights and overtake slower traffic on the highway with more verve than its 200 horses suggest. We particularly like the EUV’s regenerative-braking setup, which allows its driver to choose between very little regen by default, an on-demand paddle on the steering wheel that can bring the car to a stop, or full one-pedal operation via a button on the center console that remains active between startup cycles.
The Bolt EUV’s cabin is easy to see out of and fairly quiet at speed. We could feel and hear impacts from suburban Detroit’s larger frost heaves and pavement seams, but overall ride comfort is good. Poke around the new-if-somewhat-sober interior and you’ll notice that Chevy has replaced the previous Bolt’s funky electronic joystick shifter with a row of simpler shift buttons. There’s also a new 8.0-inch information display in the gauge cluster and a central 10.2-inch touchscreen, both of which are nicely rendered and intuitive to navigate.
Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity are standard, as is an inductive-charging pad that’s optional on the regular Bolt. But you’ll have to pay extra for heated and ventilated front seats and heated outboard rear seats, which is something you want considering how much electricity turning on the heat requires. Active-safety-wise, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, and lane-departure warning and assist all are included. Rear cross-traffic alert, a surround-view camera system, and adaptive cruise control are available, depending on the model.

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Chevrolet

GM estimates the Bolt EUV’s range at 250 miles, which is nine miles short of the distance it quotes for the smaller hatchback. We have found that the Bolt’s EPA range is quite accurate. Plugged into a 240-volt outlet, the battery is said to take seven hours to fully recharge from a fully discharged state. Both ’22 Bolt models feature standard DC fast-charging capability, with the 55-kW maximum charge rate able to replenish the EUV with up to 95 miles of range in 30 minutes. For comparison, both the Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia Niro EV can recoup electrons at a faster rate (up to 100 kW), but they also cost considerably more than the EUV’s base price of $33,995. The EUV’s price is some $3500 less than the $37,495 starting price of the 2020 Bolt hatchback. The 2022 Bolt’s price is down to $32,990.
In addition to its recent tie-up with EVgo to expand the nation’s public charging network, GM is hoping to entice more buyers into the EV fold by offering to cover some of the initial installation costs of installing a Level 2 connection in the home for eligible buyers of either 2022 Chevy Bolt model. Which seems like a worthwhile benefit considering a Super Cruise-equipped EUV will top $40,000. The Bolt EUV may not be the crab-walking, 1000-hp Hummer EV that many are excited for GM to deliver, but it brings the Bolt closer to having mainstream appeal.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV
VEHICLE TYPE front-motor, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback
BASE PRICE $33,995
MOTORS permanent-magnet synchronous AC, 200 hp, 266 lb-ft; 65.0-kWh lithium-ion battery pack
TRANSMISSION direct drive
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 105.3 inLength: 169.5 inWidth: 69.7 inHeight: 63.6 inPassenger volume: 99–100 ft3Cargo volume: 16 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 3700 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 7.0 sec1/4 mile: 15.5 secTop speed: 95 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST) Combined/city/highway: 113/122/104 MPGRange: 250 miles

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This is a story about a hole, specifically the one concealed by the rear hatch of the new 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo. We point this out because the rest of the car is largely the same Tesla-fighting high-performance electric four-door platform that bowed for the 2020 model year.
For several years now, Porsche has applied its Sport Turismo wagon treatment to versions of the Panamera four-door. A similar formula applies to the Cross Turismo variant of the recently introduced Taycan: new rear fenders, a longer roof, and, in the case of the Taycan, a new rear hatch in place of a trunk. Porsche has yet to release full details of the car, but it also features subtle moldings around its wheel arches and the standard air springs will likely provide a bit more ground clearance than the Taycan sedan. We’ve yet to drive a production model, but we did get a brief stint in a European-spec prototype, which was in California for photography ahead of its on-sale date this summer.

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Porsche Confirms Taycan Cross Turismo Wagon

One of the legendary slices of road in Southern California is a chunk of Sunset Boulevard that runs from the 405 freeway east through Beverly Hills, alongside Bel Air, and down to the pink glamour of the Beverly Hills Hotel. It’s approximately the same route used to film the notorious Ferrari versus Porsche race in the 1984 film Against All Odds. And with traffic lightened by COVID-19 lockdowns, it was a good afternoon to be on that stretch of pavement.

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Porsche

Sunset Boulevard dips, banks, and generally feels perfect for the Taycan Turbo S. The car deftly manages its tonnage through sweeping corners. It squirts through traffic with instant electric torque, and the Taycan dominates the West Los Angeles zeitgeist by being both a badass Porsche and a virtuous electric. The addition of a fifth door does nothing to affect the Taycan Turbo S’s performance credentials. While the Turbo S’s drivetrain is just as quiet in the Cross Turismo as it is in the sedan, the open cargo area does seem to make the noise from the tires slightly more audible. But it will also offer far more space than the sedan’s 16-cubic-foot trunk.
We expect the Cross Turismo model to weigh just slightly more than the over-5000-pound Turbo S sedan. But any difference between how the two body types handle was undetectable on our short drive. The Taycan, unlike many other electrics, isn’t imbued with the type of strong regenerative braking when lifting off the throttle that allows for one-pedal operation. Porsche wanted the Taycan to feel much like its other models, which means using the brake pedal to engage the regen function and the very capable friction brakes.
The substance of the Turbo S model’s awesomeness centers on its two electric motors—one at the front axle and one just behind the rear axle. Filling the space between them is a tray holding 396 battery cells delivering electric current at 800 volts. In normal operation, that’s good for 616 horsepower, but activate the overboost feature with launch control engaged and the output briefly jumps to 750 horses. Torque is simply astonishing, with 774 pound-feet present in overboost from the moment the motors start turning. From our previous testing experience, the Taycan Turbo S sedan warps to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds and obliterates the quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds at 130 mph. A small reduction to the Turbo S sedan’s 192-mile EPA-rated range is expected.

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Porsche

Let us acknowledge here that there is no actual boost involved in any electric car, and that the Taycan’s Turbo S modifier stems from Porsche’s glorious internal-combustion past (and present). There are no turbochargers in the Taycan Turbo S. If that bothers you terribly, but you still want a low-slung Porsche with an adult-habitable back seat, migrate across the showroom to the Panamera lineup. Those come with actual turbos.
The catch with the Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo has nothing to do with its substance and everything to do with its price. To take this brilliant machine home will surely require spending even more than the Turbo S sedan’s $186,350 entry fee. Plan on $200K or so if you indulge in Porsche’s seemingly endless list of options. That may not make the Taycan Turbo S a value proposition, but it is the best driving electric four-door you can currently buy. The big hole in the back of the Cross Turismo just makes it a little more versatile.
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From the December 2010 issue of Car and Driver.
Saab’s 11th-hour rescue at the hands of Spyker recalls one of our favorite stories of redemption. Although few would call GM’s stewardship of Saab “excellent,” it was certainly an adventure, and the parallels to the 1989 cinematic masterpiece Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure are strong. The heroes in both stories coasted for 20 years or so before being saved from the brink of disaster: Bill and Ted by a time-traveling rock groupie from 700 years in the future, Saab by an equally unlikely Dutch supercar maker. And forecasts for Saab’s future under Spyker are dubious—“Bogus Journey” may turn out to be as apt a descriptor for the follow-up to Saab’s GM interlude as it was for the Bill and Ted sequel. Spyker scooped up the gasping Saab for a $74-million song, plus $326 million in shares of the newly formed Saab Spyker Automobiles.

2011 Saab 9-5 Turbo Four Tested

Saab Spyker CEO Victor Muller says that, by 2012, the company will break even, with worldwide sales totaling just 85,000. Saab sold fewer than 18,000 cars in the U.S. in 2008, but its global sales total actually exceeded the magical 85,000 by roughly 10,000 units. And this was with mostly outdated and/or badge-engineered products. Prior to this 2011 model, the 9-5 had gone 13 years without a redesign—twice as long as most cars today.

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Saab

And then along comes this knockout. The taut styling invites long stares, and the aggressively tapered greenhouse and blacked-out pillars identify this as a Saab—the first in a while that doesn’t look like a ’90s model. Two trim levels ultimately will be available. The base model will be powered by a 220-hp, 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four and will be offered with a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmission and front- or all-wheel drive. For now, only  the uplevel Aero is available, powered by a turbocharged 2.8-liter V-6 that churns out 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. This is paired exclusively with a six-speed auto and Saab’s XWD all-wheel drive.
Cool touches abound inside, neutralizing the sea of black plastic in which they swim: The IP needles are rendered in neon-slime green; the shifting-matrix air vents look likethey were inspired by the same ’80s music videos that Bill and Ted watched; and the start button is mounted in Saab’s traditional ignition-switch location on the center console. Nestled into the middle of the speedometer is a high-resolution display showing supplementary  vehicle, navigation, or audio information; a head-up display is optional. In a nod to Saab’s aeronautical past, the IP display can show speed in an altimeter-style scrolling readout that, combined with the traditional speedometer surrounding it and the head-up display, results in triplicate reporting of velocity and zero convenient alibis for the question, “Do you know how fast you were going?”

HIGHS: Bodacious bod, smart luxocar tech inside, seriously sticky cornering performance.

A chassis controller that Saab calls ­DriveSense is standard on Aero cars, optional on the upcoming 2.0T. It offers three positions: comfort, intelligent, and sport, with intelligent being the default. In sport mode, the steering gets heavier, the throttle and the shift mapping become more aggressive, and the shocks firm up. “Intelligent” is the same as “comfort,” but it mimics the sport mode’s shock and steering settings under hard cornering.
Even widely available gadgets and functions are executed here with an extra degree of thought. For example, Saab’s lane-departure warning chime is particularly shrill when the car drifts over a line, but it is programmed not to beep if it detects steering input. So, while most systems scold the driver for making unsignaled lane changes, the Saab does a better job of detecting the driver’s intentions and spares most of the nannying.

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JOHN ROE, THE MANUFACTURER

It’s comfortable inside, too. The fantastic bolstering of the front seats had some staffers suggesting that GM keep these thrones and install them in the Corvette. Firm bottom cushions keep them comfortable all day long. Those confined to the back seat will be pleased, too, as the Saab offers more space than the BMW 5-series and Mercedes-Benz E-class. Saab may not enjoy the cachet of those cars, but comfort doesn’t care.
What appears to be a haphazard scattering of  buttons across the center stack turns out to be highly intuitive, and specific functions are easy to locate. Most tasks are controlled via an eight-inch display, navigated either by poking the screen or twirling a knob below it. The menu structure is logical and the range of options offered is impressive, allowing drivers to tailor exactly what differs, for example, between DriveSense’s comfort and sport modes.

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JOHN ROE, THE MANUFACTURER

Although the 9-5 tested here is the top-of-the-line Aero model with a turbocharged 2.8-liter V-6, its speed is only middle-of-the-road. Zero to 60 in 6.3 seconds isn’t slow, but we expect a bit more from a 300-hp, $50K luxury car. This is the same engine we savaged for its nonlinear power delivery in our review of a Cadillac SRX [August 2010] and the same V-6 that Saab has been using for years. With the 9-5, we noted nowhere near the dissatisfaction we found with the SRX and attribute that to the Cadillac’s extra 400 pounds and resultant slower acceleration magnifying the fluctuations. However, this aging engine is far less linear than the latest direct-injection turbo mills.
Still, power builds so quickly that, in first gear, you need to grab the paddle to upshift by 5500 rpm if you don’t want to crash into the fuel cutoff at 6500. Turbo lag isn’t much of an issue—it’s just one continuous pull unless you’re slow on a shift and hit the redline. Then the drivetrain takes a second to collect itself, shift, and spool back up before you get full acceleration.

LOWS: Awfully expensive for a Buick LaCrosse, could use more power for the money.

The automatic has paddle shifters mounted to the back of the steering wheel, and in manual mode refuses to upshift until ordered to do so. There’s an attempt at mimicking rev-matched downshifts, but the result is obviously an automatic transmission falling down a gear.
The 9-5 rides on GM’s Epsilon II platform, architecture it shares with the Buick LaCrosse and Regal as well as assorted GM products. Up front, Aero models pack GM’s new-for-2010 “HiPer Strut” suspension, a sort of modified MacPherson strut that GM says better maintains negative camber under hard cornering (resulting in a more consistent contact patch) and also reduces torque steer; 2.0T models get conventional struts. Out back, both cars ride on a multilink arrangement. Our results are a testimony to the efficacy of the setup, as the 9-5 was utterly free of torque steer, although all-wheel drive tends to help minimize that, too. It stuck to the skidpad with 0.89 g, a number that matches the last 335i sedan we tested. Braking from 70 mph also approaches the 335i’s, taking 173 feet, just five feet more than the BMW. Saab’s XWD mitigates understeer in the front-heavy 9-5, though the nose still leads the way at the limit.

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Saab

The 9-5’s steering is heavier than the LaCrosse’s and weights up nicely as cornering forces build, but the wheel offers only slightly more feedback than the Buick’s. The car’s cornering ability, however, comes at the expense of ride. Even with DriveSense in comfort mode, the driver feels—and hears—a lot of movement from below. Rotate the knob to the sport setting, and the car’s body is tied even more directly to the road surface. Body movements are much more restrained, but surface imperfections send sharp jolts through the structure. Unless the asphalt is still steaming, it’s better to leave the car in comfort mode.
At the 2.0T model’s expected starting price of about $40,000, the 9-5 is a compelling luxury alternative. But an Aero version loaded up like the one tested here crests $50,000. That price nets a fully loaded 335i, a car that is pretty much perfect. Or, if you need the back-seat space, a comparo-champ Audi A6 3.0T.

THE VERDICT: Strange things are afoot in Trollhättan, and, for once, they are good.

Compared with the pedigreed European luxury marques, Saab is all but invisible to consumers who don’t think it’s already dead. Spyker’s first task is to proclaim to the masses that Saab is indeed destined to survive—and is about to do so with the marque’s best-looking frontman in a long time. While we can’t see the new 9-5 stealing many sales from the German elite, if Saab can keep that break-even point low, the handsome new sedan ought to divert enough sales from GM and other mid-luxury players to keep this new adventure from turning out to be way bogus.

Specifications

SPECIFICATIONS
2011 Saab 9-5 Aero XWD
VEHICLE TYPEfront-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE AS TESTED$52,360 (base price: $48,390)
ENGINE TYPEturbocharged and intercooled V-6, aluminum block and headsDisplacement170 in3, 2792 cm3Power300 hp @ 5500 rpmTorque295 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
TRANSMISSION6-speed automatic with manumatic shifting
DIMENSIONSWheelbase: 111.7 inLength: 197.2 inWidth: 73.5 inHeight: 57.7 inCurb weight: 4265 lb
C/D TEST RESULTSZero to 60 mph: 6.3 secStreet start, 5-60 mph: 7.0 secTop gear, 30-50 mph: 3.6 secTop gear, 50-70 mph: 4.4 sec¼-mile: 14.9 sec @ 97 mphTop speed (governor limited): 158 mphBraking, 70-0 mph: 173 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.89 g
FUEL ECONOMYEPA city/highway driving: 16/27 mpgC/D observed: 17 mpg
c/d testing explained

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The 2021 Maserati Quattroporte Trofeo isn’t weird enough. It ought to be louder than a hyperactive calliope, styled using Dadaesque chaos theory, and have an interior designed for a lobster. The Quattroporte should be for lunatics, not people who just want a Lexus with garlic butter. Yes, the Quattroporte is Italian. But it needs to be really, really, deeply Italian. Like stupidly, insanely Italian.

2021 Ghibli, Quattroporte to Get Trofeo Trims

2020 Maserati Quattroporte Is Not Special Enough

The Trofeo is the high-performance version of the Quattroporte and sits in Maserati’s line alongside the smaller Ghibli Trofeo sedan and the Levante Trofeo SUV. At $148,085 to start, the 580-hp, twin-turbo V-8-powered Trofeo is at the top of three-model Quattroporte line. That’s two steps above the 424-horsepower, twin-turbo V-6 powered, rear-drive S model, and one step up from the $108,685 S Q4, which is the S but with all-wheel drive. The Trofeo is rear-drive only, making this the big, powerful, luxury four-door to buy if lurid burnouts are part of your commute.Keep in mind that the impressions reported here come from limited exposure to proctored laps run around Southern California’s Willow Springs International Raceway. More exposure to the Quattroporte Trofeo on actual streets is pending.
The Quattroporte name, Italian for four-door, goes back to 1963. The first Quattroporte was a zany looking, Frua-designed model that seemed untethered to convention or reason. The first Maserati with a V-8, it seemed to be cross-eyed and going six directions at once. Only 776 were built.

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Maserati

The second Quattroporte was a V-6-powered front-driver that shared its chassis with the Citroen SM and had an awkward and angular body from Bertone. The third generation reverted to rear drive and V-8 with a Giugiaro body. The fourth Quattroporte resorted to a sort of brutalist battleship design ethos. Imposing and massive, a case could be made that its famed supercar designer Marcello Gandini’s least beautiful design. The Pininfarina-designed fifth-gen returned some of the elegance of the early generations. The in-house design of the current Quattroporte debuted in 2013 as a 2014 model and is the least adventurous of the bunch.
While it may be the least adventurous, it’s the fastest of the predecessors. The 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 isn’t new, having been offered in the current Quattroporte since 2014. The engine is a version of the V-8 Ferrari installs in all the current Ferrari models. But while the current Ferrari versions displace 3.9 liters and use a flat-plane crank, the trident’s version has a shorter stroke and a traditional cross-plane crank. Yes, 580 horsepower is a lot of whinny, but the Maserati engine doesn’t have the same rev-happy personality of the Ferrari powerplants nor does it have the same brilliant contralto staccato voice. It feels, in a word, compromised.

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Maserati

Feeding back to ZF’s ubiquitous eight-speed automatic transmission, the Quattroporte Trofeo’s engine lacks the initial gut punch that comes from engines such as the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8s found in Audi’s S8, BMW’s latest M8 Gran Coupe, and the Mercedes-AMG S63. In the roughly 4750-pound Quattroporte, the acceleration lacks the stomach-flipping punch of the German offerings. Maserati claims a 4.2-second zero-to-to-mph mph time, but considering the 523-hp Quattroporte GTS we tested in 2015 did the deed in 4.1 seconds, the Trofeo should break into the high 3s.
As one of the few high-powered sedans that hasn’t yet adopted all-wheel drive, it’s easy to break the rear tires free under acceleration. At least it is when the drive mode is set in Corsa, which dials back the strictness of the traction- and stability-control systems. Corsa is also the correct setting for using launch control. Since this is a conventional automatic, you’re essentially brake torqueing—holding the brakes to raise the engine’s revs to the torque converter’s stall point—and not engaging the high-rpm clutch dump of a dual-clutch automatic. As it takes off from a stop, the Quattroporte wags its tail before biting and thrusting forward.

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Maserati

Maserati has updated all Quattroporte interiors for 2021 with a new 10.1-inch center screen and tweaked the rest with nice use of wood and well-shaped seats. And with its long 124.8-inch wheelbase, there’s a lot of room in front and back.On track, the big sedan turns in accurately and the handling is secure. It hustles around Willow Springs quite well considering its mission is primarily about luxury and not being a track star. Even so, if you’re into carving a canyon road in your big sedan, there are better choices.
Maserati would posit that it doesn’t need to be everything to all customers. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi can fight for the mass market. What Maserati needs to do is reorient itself for the connoisseur of the absurd, for the iconoclasts of the automotive world. The Quattroporte Trofeo is a quick luxury car, but it lacks presence, it lacks flair, it lacks the uniqueness and even goofiness of its forebears. Standing out is what a Maserati should do, the Quattroporte blends in too easily and never excites the senses. Maserati, it’s time to get weird.

Specifications

SPECIFICATIONS
2021 Maserati Quattroporte Trofeo
VEHICLE TYPEfront-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
BASE PRICE$148,085
ENGINE TYPEtwin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement232 in3, 3799 cm3Power580 hp @ 6750 rpmTorque538 lb-ft @ 2250 rpm
TRANSMISSION8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONSWheelbase: 124.8 inLength: 207.2 inWidth: 76.7 inHeight: 58.3 inTrunk volume: 19 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 4750 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)60 mph: 3.9 sec100 mph: 9.2 sec1/4-mile: 12.2 secTop speed (mfr’s claim): 203 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/city/highway: 16/13/20 mpg

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The Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 AWD isn’t a great sports coupe. The great ones offer more engaging handling, better and more responsive steering, and even a manual gearbox. Those are all things we might get when the Q60’s cousin, the new Nissan Z, arrives later this year.

2021 Infiniti Q60 Starts at $42,675

Tested: 2017 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400

The current Q60 debuted in 2017, and we’ve always found it to be more on the luxury spectrum than the sports-car spectrum. It’s certainly not the newest or most compelling sports coupe in its ever-shrinking segment, but the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400’s engine still has what it takes to make us smile whenever one comes around.
The Red Sport 400 part of the name refers to the horsepower output of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 under the Q60’s hood. Power comes in at 400 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. Base versions get a low-energy version of the engine with 300 horsepower. The new Z-car will employ a similar version of this twin-turbo powerplant, and that can’t come soon enough since the 3.7-liter V-6 in the current 370Z is long past its sell-by date. That Z is also expected to come with a standard six-speed manual transmission, whereas the Q60 buyer can only get a seven-speed automatic. Less likely to make it to the new Z is our test car’s ($2000) all-wheel-drive system. Like the standard Q60, the Z will be a rear-driver.

Infiniti

Winter weather prevented us from testing the 2021 car, but Infiniti hasn’t changed the Q60’s powertrain since we tested one in 2017. With all-wheel drive, a 400-hp Q60 posted a fleet 4.4-second run to 60 mph and a quarter-mile pass in 12.8 seconds at 111 mph. It’d likely be even quicker if the seven-speed automatic would shift faster.
Slow shifts or not, we did appreciate the growls from the Red Sport’s boosted V-6’s exhaust, particularly at lower engine speeds. Running it near the 7000-rpm redline, however, leads to some gruffness. We were impressed enough by the tones coming from the exhaust that we looked under the car and noticed it had a $718 dealer-installed performance exhaust system that wasn’t listed on its window sticker.

Infiniti

There were no such tweaks to the chassis. There’s nothing glaringly offensive here; it just all seems a bit dull and not in line with what you expect of a 400-hp coupe. Back in 2017, the Red Sport measured 0.88 g of lateral grip and stopped from 70 mph in 164-foot stop, numbers that would be good for a family sedan but are only fair for a sports coupe.In Michigan, dry pavement is a rarity in January, but the roads dried and we ran out to our 10Best driving loop to shake the Q60 down. On our favorite loop, the Infiniti lacked the joy and composure of competitors like the Audi S5. Even an A5 is more fun than the Q. Infiniti offers a Proactive package ($1700) that adds Direct Adaptive Steering (DAS), a steering-by-wire system that Infiniti has been playing with for years. We’ve never loved that system and the steering weirdness it creates, but even without it the Q60 still lacks the responsiveness we expect in a sports coupe.

Infiniti

Along with the thrust from the Red Sport’s engine, much of the Q60’s appeal lies in its shapely bodywork. Our test car’s $695 Slate Gray paint and $2280 carbon-fiber trim made it a head turner. It’s a shame the interior’s dated look doesn’t match the exterior. Infiniti’s stacked infotainment screens and the materials aren’t commensurate with our test car’s $65,703 as-tested price. Base versions start at $42,675, and that’s about where this interior plays.
The list of cars you could buy instead of this Q60 Red Sport 400 is long and includes the Audi S5, BMW M440i xDrive, and Mercedes-AMG C43 4Matic coupe. All of those choices offer more refinement and are more engaging and enjoyable to drive than the Q60. A Lexus RC350 F-Sport comes closest to the Q60 Red Sport’s mien, but while the Lexus two-door can’t match the Red Sport 400’s power and acceleration, it does cost significantly less. In fact, moving up to the V-8 powered 471-hp RC-F requires a mere $1297 more than the as-tested price of our Q60. The RC-F and the Q60 Red Sport 400 aren’t even in the same league. While we’re looking forward to a Z-car with the Q60’s strong twin-turbo engine, even with 400 horsepower the Q60 Red Sport 400 itself isn’t a compelling choice.

Specifications

SPECIFICATIONS
2021 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport
VEHICLE TYPEfront-engine, rear- or all-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe
BASE PRICE$59,125
ENGINE TYPEtwin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 183 in3, 2997 cm3Power: 400 hp @ 6400 rpmTorque: 350 lb-ft @ 1600 rpm
TRANSMISSION7-speed automatic
DIMENSIONSWheelbase: 112.2 inLength: 184.4 inWidth: 72.8 inHeight: 54.5–54.9 inPassenger volume: 85–86 ft3Trunk volume: 9 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 3900–4050 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 4.4­ sec100 mph: 10.5 sec1/4-mile: 12.8 secTop speed: 150 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/city/highway: 21–22/19–20/26–27 mpg
c/d testing explained

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