Reviews

Not everyone can afford to tick all the boxes; some folks simply want a piece of a beloved story. With new Mustangs, that means EcoBoost: the base model and fleet star, the four-cylinder found at Hertz counters coast to coast.The Mustang remains the only true car in Ford’s lineup, the lone holdout in a range of crossovers and trucks. The outgoing generation, which Ford called S550, ran from model years 2015 to 2023. The new car, S650, is basically the old car under a moderate makeover. It looks different, with a nicer interior, and the new dash screens are big enough to eat Milwaukee. If you’re tired of reading, that’s really all that matters. But you probably want to know more—the world is always curious about a new Mustang.For 2024, Ford’s famous pony looks sharper and cleaner, except up front, where it has a mouth like a toothy carp. The base car, whether coupe or convertible, gets a version of Dearborn’s EcoBoost turbo four—2.3 liters, 315 horsepower at 5500 rpm, 350 lb-ft of torque at 3000 rpm. The outgoing EcoBoost Mustang made 310 horses, unless you bought the optional hot-rod pack, which gave it 330. That option is now dead, which stinks. In other smelly news, a 10-speed automatic is now the only transmission, with the six-speed manual axed for the EcoBoost. Boo hiss. The new engine is optimized for efficiency, mostly via reduced friction and mass. The coupe’s EPA fuel-economy ratings have risen 1 mpg combined and on the highway; they’re now 26 mpg combined, 22 city, and 33 highway. EPA numbers for the 2024 EcoBoost convertible are not yet public, but last year they lagged at least 2 mpg behind the coupe’s. As on S550 EcoBoosts, there is an optional Performance pack. For $3475, you get wider wheels and tires, an engine-bay brace, a Torsen limited-slip differential with a 3.55:1 final-drive ratio (as before, 3.15:1 with a clutch-type limited slip is standard), MagneRide adaptive dampers, fixed-caliper Brembo brakes, and a “drift stick” hand-brake lever on the center tunnel. More on the 2024 MustangThat lever is a gimmick but fun. In sane driving, the lever gently engages the electronic parking brake. Punch a button in the dash menus and it becomes an old-fashioned flyoff, telling the brake software to instantly lock the rear wheels, which can snap them into a slide. This feature is neat and giggly, and it works well.About that dash: Some glass cockpits are just try-hard, even if you love screens. This one sticks out like a sore thumb full of pixels. There’s a 12.4-inch display above the steering column and a 13.2-inch touchscreen over the center console. The software interface is clean and mostly intuitive, which is nice, because the interior holds few physical buttons. Still, gross finger smudges and dust gather quickly, and in the Mustang’s lightly retro cockpit, it all wears like a cringey toupee. FordFordFord let journalists try new EcoBoosts on Los Angeles roads and a simple autocross course. We ran the latter in a Performance-package coupe, then took a red Premium-level convertible for a jaunt through nearby mountains. The Performance pack would have been nice there, though the trim we tried is generally more important. The base EcoBoost is the volume play, how most Mustang drivers will meet the name. Like its predecessor, this is a fine car, in the way that Chipotle makes a fine burrito: not great, not terrible, but good enough, given price and style. The seats are comfy and decently supportive. The interior is a nice uptick over the outgoing arrangement, with less hard plastic. Cowl shake is present in the convertible but not annoying. The electronically boosted brakes are a little grabby at parking speeds, but the electronically assisted power steering at least suggests load at the front tires, which means it beats the industry standard.Does a Mustang want a V-8? Sure, but the inline-four offers decent and ready torque, mostly in the midrange. Sadly, the 10-speed automatic is perpetually in a hurry to shift up, dragging the tach needle down the dial, where the engine moans and drones. (If you get the optional performance exhaust, fill the glovebox with Advil, unless you’re indulging in the goofy Remote Rev function that allows you to blip the throttle from afar with via the key fob.) The gearbox has a Low mode but otherwise cannot be shifted manually unless you pay for the optional shift paddles. Remarkably, for all of the above, the tally here is pleasant, with a sense of light occasion. Highway behavior is all-day chill but won’t put you to sleep. The trade-off is dowdy manners on back roads, where the body is controlled but floaty. Sharpening those reflexes would likely mean losing some comfort and mass appeal, and that’s not what base Mustangs are about—not how they find garages in middle America, how they outsell base Camaros and so much else at or below the price.The revised four-banger Mustang is easy to live with, affordable if you squint, and more than the sum of its parts, as base Mustangs have always been. Plus, it has that intangible draw, the pull of the original pony car. This is no V-8, but proximity to power is the next-best thing. The EcoBoost still feels like an attainable chunk of a grand old line, and that probably makes a lot of buyers very happy. With a name like this, that might be all that counts.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe or convertible
PRICEBase: Fastback, $32,515; Fastback Premium, $38,040; Convertible, $40,615; Convertible Premium, $43,540
ENGINEturbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port and direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 138 in3, 2261 cm3Power: 315 hp @ 5500 rpmTorque: 350 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
10-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 107.0 inLength: 189.4 inWidth: 75.4 inHeight: 54.8–55.0 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 55/27–30 ft3Trunk Volume: 10–13 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3600–3750 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.0–6.0 sec1/4-Mile: 13.6–14.5 secTop Speed: 121–155 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 23–26/20–22/27–33 mpg FreelanceSam Smith is a freelance journalist and former executive editor at Road & Track. His writing has appeared in Esquire and the New York Times, and he once drove a Japanese Dajiban around a track at speed while being purposely deafened by a recording of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” He lives in Tennessee with his family, a small collection of misfit vehicles, and a spaniel who is scared of squirrels. More

The bad news about the new Porsche 911 Turbo is that its owners are probably going to get a lot of speeding tickets. The good news is that if they can afford its $110,000 price, they can probably afford the tickets.The new, fifth-generation 911 Turbo is not only the fastest-ever street-legal 911, it’s also the most refined. Spooling up to 125 miles an hour—on the German autobahn, of course—is utterly effortless in this all-wheel-drive sports car. And the urge to push the needle deeper, to tap into its extraordinary acceleration, is very difficult to resist.Traveling at the speed of three miles a minute is not to be recommended if you want to hang on to your driver’s license. But that velocity is so gracefully achieved that you’re always looking for any suitable stretch of blacktop. The 911 Turbo’s performance is simply intoxicating.And you don’t have to work the six-speed gearbox constantly to get that sensation. So broad and strong is the torque spread that even in the very tall sixth gear, you can summon real thrust. Above 70 mph you can leave the Turbo in high gear, forget the lower ratios, and still crush most rivals. Of course, dropping down a cog or two serves up even more blistering performance. Subjectively, this 911 feels closer in character to a big-capacity motorbike than a civilized supercar that weighs 3400 pounds.Porsche has worked hard on the aerodynamics to produce a lift coefficient of minus 0.01 at the rear (slight downforce). In combination with the new 911’s more predictable dynamics, the Turbo tracks dead straight above 150 mph and doesn’t need as many corrections or quite the intense alertness of the previous model (also an all-wheel-drive car), let alone the wayward early cars.What’s missing are the charismatic engine and exhaust sounds of a 911. The two intercooled turbochargers have muted them to the point that it doesn’t sound like a Porsche. It’s tough even determining where the noises are coming from; close your eyes, and this could even be a front-engined car.The water-cooled 24-valve 3.6-liter boxer is, in fact, a turbocharged version of the dry-sump 911 GT3/GT1 engine, rather than a blown and enlarged variant of the naturally aspirated 911’s 3.4-liter powerplant. It shares the block, the pistons, and the camshaft’s chain drive with the GT3 and uses the same head castings, smaller valves, and a different combustion-chamber shape. For the Turbo, Porsche’s VarioCam Plus system offers two intake timing positions rather than the infinitely variable setup of the GT3.Each K64 turbo serves its own cylinder bank with up to 12.3 psi of intercooled boost. To cope with such high boost, the compression ratio drops to 9.4:1. Output is rated at 415 horsepower at 6000 rpm and, more significantly, 413 pound-feet of torque across a plateau from 2700 rpm to 4600. The boost is so progressive it’s almost linear. It begins building at 1800 rpm, kicks a little at 2600, and delivers a fevered torrent of power all the way to the 6600-rpm redline and on to the 6750-rpm fuel cut-out. Porsche boasts that this Turbo offers 15 more horsepower than the old one, apparently forgetting the limited edition Turbo S that had 424 hp.Comparing Porsche’s own conservative test numbers, the new 911 Turbo’s 4.2-second 0-to-62-mph time bests the previous (400 hp) Turbo’s time by 0.3 second, and it beats the 911 GT3 by 0.6 second. Our last Turbo and Turbo S test cars both hit 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. The new car’s claimed 189-mph top speed is 9 mph faster than the 993 Turbo and 15 mph up on the semiracing GT3. Icing on the cake: Porsche claims the new Turbo gets 18 percent better fuel economy than its 400-hp predecessor, which serves as justification for retaining the standard 911’s 16.9-gallon fuel tank. (The last Turbo held 19.4 gallons and was rated at 13 mpg city and 19 mpg highway.) Still, make full use of the Turbo’s performance, and you’ll struggle to top 200 miles between fill-ups.Visually, the Turbo is easily the most radical of the 996-generation 911s. The wheel arches are swollen by 2.6 inches, a bi-wing is created by an active rear spoiler that rises 2.4 inches when the car reaches 75 mph (contributing to downforce), and clumsy-looking air-inlet vents in the rear fenders feed air to the intercoolers. Vents reminiscent of the 959 supercar’s are situated behind the rear wheels, adding to the Turbo’s meaner, more squared-off appearance. Yet the nose is rounder and longer to accommodate a third radiator and larger, Ferrari 360 Modena–like air intakes. These changes reportedly increase cooling capacity by 50 percent. The headlights, unique to the Turbo, arch down into the bumper and utilize xenon illumination for high- and low-beam lighting. Porsche says the extra scoops, vents, and wings only bring the drag coefficient up 0.02 to 0.32 relative to the standard 911 Carrera.Naturally, the new Turbo rides on the 911’s optional Sport suspension. The Turbo’s disc brakes are massive 13-inchers, cross-drilled and vented, with four-piston calipers at each corner. Later this year, for the first time on a production car, ceramic composite brakes, which weigh 50 percent less than standard discs, will be offered as an option. Also for the first time, Porsche offers the Turbo with a five-speed Tiptronic automatic. The internal workings are pur­chased from Mercedes-Benz, and engine output is not reduced with the autobox. Standard is a wholly revised six-speed manual. In routine driving, just five per­cent of the power is delivered to the front wheels via a front-mounted viscous cou­pling, but front-wheel torque can increase to as much as 40 percent to discourage oversteer. This 911 Turbo is remarkably easy to drive and simply flies around corners. Just to approach the car’s limits demands insanely high speeds, which eventually invoke Porsche’s electronic stability con­trol system (PSM). Even if you switch off the PSM, the system turns itself back on during braking, modulating each wheel individually to correct any loss of trac­tion. PSM can’t defeat physics, of course, but it provides the car with nearly drama-fee handling. The tires, noisy on coarse surfaces, hint at tramlining, and the ride is firm but not harsh. The 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo, priced at an estimated $110,000, is a refined and comfortable cruiser. And if it performs as well or better than its predecessor, it will rank as the quickest production car available on our shores. If that doesn’t jus­tify the price, what could?Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2001 Porsche 911 TurboVehicle Type: rear-engine, all-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE
Base: $110,000 (est.)
ENGINEtwin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve flat-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 220 in3, 3600 cm3Power: 415 hp @ 6000 rpmTorque: 413 lb-ft @ 2700 rpm 
TRANSMISSION6-speed manual/5-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 92.5 inLength: 174.5 inWidth: 69.5 inHeight: 51.4 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 48/16 ft3Cargo Volume: 4 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3400 lb
MANUFACTURER’S PERFORMANCE RATINGS (6-SPEED)
62 mph: 4.2 sec100 mph: 9.2 secTop Speed (drag limited): 189 mph
PROJECTED FUEL ECONOMY
European city cycle: 13 mpg More

From the November 1997 issue of Car and Driver.Barry Brown is the kind of person who likes to do things himself. For example, when he discovered during the filming of his movie Cloud Dancer that conventional movie cameras could not handle the g-loads generated by the Pitts Special aerobatic aircraft they were using, he designed a camera that could. In Brown’s rambling Pacific Palisades house is a harpsichord he made himself, along with several homemade hi-fi audio components. Outside in the four-car garage are two “prehistoric” racing cars­—a Tasman Cooper-Climax and a Shelby King Cobra—on which Brown has done extensive restoration work. More Full-Size SUVs and Fast SUVsSo it was inevitable that after he bought a GMC Yukon for use as a general runabout and tow vehicle, the car’s various shortcomings would cause him to con­template a few upgrades. One thing led to another, and the startling transformation led Brown to offer limited numbers of what he is calling the SuperSport Yukon. (Or SuperSport Tahoe, or SuperSport Sub­urban, if you prefer.) That SuperSport prefix is borrowed from the hot Chevys of yore. Right off, Brown thought the Yukon needed more power. A K&N air filter working with Doug Thorley headers and a Borla cat-back exhaust system helped open up the truck’s breathing, and a Hypertech plug-in module (compatible with OBD II) revised the spark-advance curve, changed transmission shift points, and took care of the larger-rear-tire size for speedometer accuracy. A Hypertech thermostat opens at 160 degrees instead of the customary 180 for cooler running, and undersized pulleys from the same company reduce engine drag and cut power-steering assist by 40 percent for better feel. A Jacobs Electronics UltraCoil and low-resistance plug leads were fitted to beef up the ignition system, and that was the extent of the engine work until Brown decided to try a supercharger as well. The car we tested wore a Paxton blower making 5 psi of boost, which, in conjunction with Brown’s other modifications, has helped turn the Yukon from about a 10-second 0-to-60-mph sprinter into a sub­-seven-second performer—no small achievement for a 5100-pound sport-ute. Its quarter-mile time improves from 17.4 seconds at 80 mph to 15.5 seconds at 89 mph, and our 30-to-50-mph and 50-to-70-mph passing tests each shorten by about a second. Test results suggest an output of 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet. On the road, that translates to a dis­tinctly muscular feel, with strong acceler­ation available even at higher speeds. But straight-line grunt isn’t the SS Yukon’s most profound characteristic. It’s the way this big truck cuts through a mountain road that really impresses. It turns in cleanly with a minimum of body roll, and it holds the line with more tenacity than you’d ever expect from a vehicle of this type. That’s because the undercarriage has been sig­nificantly enhanced. In front, Bell Tech spindles drop the vehicle two inches and increase its track by 0.5 inch. A beefier 1.25-inch anti-roll bar was fitted, along with adjustable Koni shocks, Energy Sus­pension polyurethane bushings and pivots, one-inch-shorter Bell Tech springs, and A­-arms reinforced and trimmed by Precision Alignment to provide clearance for larger tires at full lock.At the rear, Chisholm Enterprises provided custom leaf springs that lower the ride height by four inches. Custom trailing links with Heim joints from Chassis Engi­neering locate the rear axle, and a one-­inch-diameter anti-roll bar from Bell Tech is added to tame the vehicle’s penchant for understeer. Like the front end, all bushings and pivots are polyurethane, and the shocks are Konis. Adorning the axles are 8.5-by-17-inch Antera 141 wheels, with Yokohama AVS S/T tires: 265/60HR-17s up front and 275/60HR-17s at the rear. To slow all the action down, Brown went to Baer Racing for 13.5-inch vented rotors straddled by four-piston Alcon calipers using carbon-fiber pads for the front wheel and 11-inch rotors for the rear wheels. Powered by Castrol Racing brake fluid via stainless-steel hoses, these anchors are among the most expensive items in the makeover ($6000), but they feel firm and powerful in use, and they reduced the distance taken to stop from 70 mph to just 180 feet. (A Chevy Tahoe LS we tested went 45 feet farther.) To put the last flourish on a thoroughly revitalized chassis, Brown had NASCAR supplier Sweet Manufacturing build a blueprinted 12.0:1 steering box, and this mechanism puts the cherry on the top of the reworked SS Yukon. There’s precise on-center feel, immediate response to pres­sure at the rim, and linear increase as you wind more lock into the steering. Coming back from our high-desert testing facility, we chose to cut through the mountains instead of droning down Highway 14 into Los Angeles, and this decision may have provided better test data (albeit subjectively) than all the numbers our instruments recorded. To our amazement, the Yukon could be hustled through the hills like a big Mer­cedes or a Bimmer. Because the steering is accurate, the body motions tautly damped, and the tires well up to the task of keeping the big vehicle on the pave­ment, we could maintain a pace that would scare most Yukon drivers witless. Brown still talks about it every time we meet. And the extra engine power and massive brakes are always there when you need them. Of course, the creaks and rattles of the Yukon’s less-than-perfectly solid structure underline the fact that you’re not in a big German limo, but the SuperSport’s road­-going dynamics bear a greater resem­blance to those supersedans than you’d think possible. Which is exactly what Barry Brown wanted. If you want the same thing, you can either go to the same people Brown consulted or have him do the work you want. Brown has divided the SuperSport conversion into packages. The normally aspirated upgrade costs $3700. The super­charger package runs $9725 and includes most of the first package. The suspension kit, at $13,615, isn’t cheap, but it contains several specially engineered components and really transforms the Yukon’s dynamic road feel. The cosmetic package, which includes a billet grille, replacement of the stock vehicle’s exterior trim, rose­wood interior trim, a high-zoot CD player and sound system, extra noise insulation, and the rear wing, runs $3320. The whole package, as we tested it, would run you $27,000 installed. It sounds like a lot, but you end up with a strong sport-ute that goes and handles like a big sports sedan. All for a total cost some­where around $55,000, if you shop smart for your donor Yukon, Tahoe, or Sub­urban. It sounds okay to us.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
1997 Competition Associates SuperSport YukonVehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $57,244/$60,118
ENGINEpushrod 16-valve V-8, iron block and heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 350 in3, 5733 cm3Power: 400 hp @ 4600 rpmTorque: 400 lb-ft @ 2800 rpm 
TRANSMISSION4-speed automatic 
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 117.5 inLength: 199.6 inCurb Weight: 5100 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.9 sec100 mph: 20.0 sec1/4-Mile: 15.5 sec @ 89 mphRolling Start, 5–60 mph: 7.2 secTop Speed (drag ltd): 131 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 180 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.82 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 14 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity: 13 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

The idea of spending more than half a million dollars on a Subaru Impreza that isn’t a works rally car might seem crazy. Yet why should high-end restomods be limited to traditional classics, like re-created Aston Martin DB4s or better-than-new Shelby Mustangs? The Impreza’s motorsports glory and cult following means it can inspire an emotional connection just as strong. That’s something Prodrive has proved by selling the entire run of 25 of its P25s, despite a base price (in the U.K.) of nearly $600,000.Related StoriesMaking the Prodrive P25It’s been a year since we first told you about the British motorsports engineering company’s plans to create the P25—what it claimed would be the ultimate street-legal first-generation Impreza—and now we’ve had the chance to drive the car on a test track in England. Much has changed since Prodrive first announced the project last year, with the finished P25 getting new bumpers and lights, a redesigned rear-wing element, a different interior—and also a power boost. Last year Prodrive promised the P25 would make at least 400 horsepower, but that has now been increased to 450 horsepower, along with what we’re told will be more than the original promise of 442 pound-feet of torque. The engine is a heavily reworked version of Subaru’s long-serving EJ25 turbocharged 2.5-liter flat-four. It has been given forged pistons, stronger connecting rods, ported cylinder heads, and a new Garrett turbo. It also features a popping-and-banging anti-lag mode to keep the turbo spinning when the car is in what is meant to be a track-only Sport Plus mode. And the engine exhales through a bespoke Akrapovič exhaust system. It’s mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox, plus an active electronically controlled center differential that varies the amount of torque sent to each axle.The P25 demonstrator looks immaculate up close, but unlike many “continuation” models, it isn’t all-new. Underneath is an original Japanese-market two-door Impreza WRX STI, one that has been pulled to pieces and then restored and upgraded, with carbon fiber replacing sheetmetal for the roof, trunklid, hood, fenders, and the raised rear wing. Altogether, Prodrive claims that the P25 weighs just 2646 pounds, a figure that seems unlikely to modern eyes—the 2023 BMW M2 is around 3800 pounds—but is a reminder of how light even all-wheel-drive performance cars used to be.Driving the Prodrive P25Our drive took place entirely at the Millbrook Proving Ground in England, on the tight 0.8-mile handling circuit that has been designed to replicate the corners and contours of a rural British byway—which makes it an appropriate testing environment for a car produced by the same outfit responsible for Subaru’s World Rally Championship glory years.Climbing in to the P25 reveals what may be the finest quality cabin ever fitted to an Impreza. Not a high bar given the low-rent plastics of the original car, but now pretty much every surface in the P25 is covered in either carbon fiber or microfiber. Even the switchgear has been redesigned: There’s a panel of miniature rockers on the center console, an engine start/stop button (the first-gen Imprezas just used a key), and an infotainment touchscreen, plus a digital instrument cluster. There’s a sizable carbon-fiber shift paddle on the right of the steering wheel, but none on the left. This is how Prodrive built all of the paddle-shift WRC cars for Subaru: Pull for up, push for down.The engine fires up to a busy, mechanical idle. The P25 is loud but much less raucous than a real WRC challenger would be—conversations are possible without an intercom. The sequential transmission engages first with a clunk, and there’s the novelty of having to negotiate a clutch pedal to get moving. The clutch feels oddly light; it turns out to be actually controlling the clutch electronically, as Prodrive decided a two-pedal system would be too brutal for road use. But once moving, both upshifts and downshifts can be performed without the clutch.SubaruSubaruTrust builds quickly, as do memories of driving this generation of Impreza when it was new. The P25 isn’t quite as playful or adjustable as the original car was, largely because it has substantially more grip and a more disciplined chassis. Boost pressure needs a little while to build at lower revs, but once it has the engine pulls with visceral vigor. It’s less keen to rev than the original car was; the redline is marked at 6500 rpm, while the 22B zinged to 7900 rpm. But there was so much midrange torque, this never felt like a limitation on the tight circuit, especially given the lightning responses of the gearbox. The P25 combines softish springs with firm dampers, using wheel travel to fill dips and compressions but with the Bilstein dampers preventing unwanted secondary movement. There is discernible roll under cornering loads, but only to an extent that helps to orientate the driver to growing lateral forces. The lowness of the boxer engine’s center of gravity is obvious in the P25’s willingness to change direction.But steering feels very different from our memories of the original Impreza, which had slow initial reactions. The P25 feels much more direct and delivers crisp feedback from the front tires. At Millbrook many of these messages were about the limited grip the leading Bridgestone Potenzas had to call on; our drive came after several other hotshoe journalists had taken their turns, and the front rubber was clearly past its best, bringing the need to manage understeer in tighter turns. But traction was superb, and the upgraded brakes, with grooved rotors gripped by six-pot AP Racing calipers up front, delivered huge stopping power without complaint. Prodrive’s engineering team says the goal with the P25 was to create a road-legal car that would be faster than an original WRC-spec Impreza. We didn’t get to confirm that claim, but we can’t imagine that any of the small group of buyers—at least some of whom are in the U.S.—will ever feel their cars are lacking the capacity to create thrills. Let’s hope that at least some of them get driven in anger. Senior European CorrespondentMike Duff has been writing about the auto industry for two decades and calls the UK home, although he normally lives life on the road. He loves old cars and adventure in unlikely places, with career highlights including driving to Chernobyl in a Lada. More

German tuner Alpina has announced that its long-lived brand would be fully absorbed by BMW in 2025. Now the time has come to start saying farewell, with the limited-run Alpina B5 GT—just going on sale in Europe and Asia, but not headed to the U.S.—set to be Alpina’s last version of the 5-series.Related StoriesThe term “tuner” doesn’t really do justice to the closeness of Alpina and BMW’s long relationship. Alpina has always been a separate company and is registered in Germany as an independent automaker. But it has also worked with BMW on projects including its high-performance XB7 version of the X7, as well as running race programs and doing contract engineering work for BMW. The level of trust was such that Alpina typically has been given access to new models well ahead of them going on sale, so it could start working on its own variants.Alpina’s 5-series historyMany of the most famous Alpinas have been based on the 5-series, although few of those have reached the U.S., where the brand has normally only imported its largest and most expensive models. The first Alpina version of the mid-size sedan was the E12-generation B7 Turbo launched in 1978, with a turbocharged version of BMW’s 3.0-liter straight six giving it a 155-mph top speed. (At the time, the brawniest car in the regular E12 range, the 533i, could only go 132 mph.) Aimed at the German market, where unrestricted autobahns made top speed relevant, Alpina had found a niche. Faster fives followed: By 1989, the E34-based B10 Bi-Turbo could do 180 mph, and the B5 GT has upped that to 205 mph. Yet that figure is a conservative one, according to Alpina CEO Andreas Bovensiepen—in testing, the B5 GT has gone considerably faster. B5 buyers also tend to use their cars hard, with Bovensiepen saying that 30,000 kilometers (about 18,600 miles) is the typical annual mileage for cars sold in Germany.The B5 GT is an evolution of the B5 that has been on sale since 2018. The model is based on the M550i and uses the same N63-generation twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8, which is also the base for the M5’s S63. The GT has more power than the regular B5 or the standard M5, with a revised intake system and a new ECU taking its peak to 625 horsepower, 26 more than the regular B5 and just two horsepower less than the mighty BMW M5 CS. But the GT wins on torque with a huge 627 pound-feet, which is 74 pound-feet more than the M5. The GT also has a center exhaust section to give it a more muscular tone.Compared to the regular B5, the GT also has a new reinforcement piece on its front bulkhead to improve steering precision, stiffer bump-stop rubbers, and new brake pads. Spring rates, plus settings for the active anti-roll bars and rear steering, are unchanged. The GT rides on bespoke Pirelli P Zero tires that have been developed specifically for Alpina, and they wrap the brand’s traditional 20-spoke alloys, now with an optional bronze-gold finish. The GT also gets some small “dive plane” wings on the sides of its front bumper to improve high-speed stability. Both sedan and Touring station wagon versions are offered, and the limited production run will consist of 180 Tourings and just 70 sedans. The full allocation is sold-out despite a price in Germany that starts at $137,500 at current exchange rates.Alpina B5 GT on the trackSadly, we didn’t get to experience the B5 GT in its natural autobahn environment, but rather on the Zandvoort racetrack in the Netherlands. High speeds were possible but only fleetingly given the limited length of the 2.6-mile circuit’s few long straights. The Alpina coped impressively well with the challenging environment, especially considering a storm the previous day had washed Zandvoort clear of much of the blown sand that often limits adhesion here.BMWBMWWhile the comparison to the BMW M5 is an obvious one, the B5 GT’s character is very different. Whereas the M5 is revvy and angry, the Alpina is much more about low-down muscle. Peak torque arrives at 3500 rpm, and there is little discernible lag; even in Zandvoort’s tightest corners, third gear often seemed a better choice than second. The torque-converter transmission isn’t as quick as a dual-clutch unit but still shifts snappily in its Sport and Sport Plus modes. Manual gear selection is possible through steering-wheel paddles, but leaving the gearbox to its own devices in Sport mode seemed to work nearly as well. Chassis settings are softer than those of the M5, yet body roll is well contained even at track speeds, and the GT’s steering feels crisp and natural. In tight corners, the B5’s front end tended to edge wide under big loadings. The Alpina has all-wheel drive but with a conventional limited-slip differential rather than a torque-vectoring unit. The rearward bias of the power delivery is obvious, but it takes real provocation to make the GT surrender rear-end grip.Switching to the Touring proves that the driving experience is similar, although the novelty factor is much higher. Alpina says the Touring is 220 pounds heavier than the sedan and loses a little structural rigidity, but differences at Zandvoort were limited to the different perspective in the rearview mirror and what seemed to be slightly more noise from the rear of the car. BMW has recently confirmed it will be making a Touring version of the next-generation M5; that will have to be very special to be a more compelling all-rounder than the B5 GT Touring.Sadly, the B5 GT will be the last of its line. Bovensiepen says the logic behind the decision to sell the family-owned brand was simple: Third parties won’t be able to add significant performance to EVs. Alpina’s Classic division will continue and has plenty of greatest hits to work with—the B5 GT is set to be remembered as one of them.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2023 BMW Alpina B5 GTVehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan or wagon
PRICE (Germany)
Sedan, $137,500; Wagon, $140,000
ENGINE
twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 268 in3, 4395 cm3Power: 625 hp @ 6500 rpmTorque: 627 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 117.1 inLength: 196.0 inWidth: 73.5 inHeight: 57.7 inSedan Trunk Volume: 19 ft3Wagon Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 60/20 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 4300-4500 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 2.9-3.1 sec1/4-Mile: 10.9-11.1 secTop Speed: 204-205 mphSenior European CorrespondentMike Duff has been writing about the auto industry for two decades and calls the UK home, although he normally lives life on the road. He loves old cars and adventure in unlikely places, with career highlights including driving to Chernobyl in a Lada. More

From the April 1995 issue of Car and Driver.Power comes in two varieties. There’s steady power—the stuff of hydroelectric dams and the Bud­weiser Clydesdales. Then there’s explo­sive power—what you get from an atomic bomb or, say, Steven Seagal if you yank his ponytail. The latest 900SE Turbo produces power of the latter variety. Unlike Saab’s mellow GM-designed V-6, the pressurized four-cylinder turbo engine is as volatile as Susan Powter at a KFC shareholder’s meeting. Thus, the 900SE Turbo requires an especially attentive hand to make the most of its considerable performance. More Saab Reviews From the ArchiveThe powder keg under the hood is, as in previous 900 Turbos, a blown-and-inter­cooled 16-valve 2.0-liter four. But there the similarities end. The new engine is actually a smaller-stroke version of the 2.3-liter four that serves elsewhere in the 900 and 9000 lineups. It therefore benefits from that engine’s dual counterrotating balance shafts and Saab’s latest Trionic engine-management system. Compared with the old turbo, the new engine also fea­tures a higher compression ratio (9.2:1 versus 8.5), increased boost pressure, and reconfigured software in the APC boost­-control system. The result is a 25-horse­power increase, to 185 horsepower at 5500 rpm. The result of that is a sedan with Carl Lewis legs. The speedo needle flies past 60 mph in just 6.5 seconds and doesn’t stop climbing until it hits 142 mph. (The V-6-powered 900SE, in contrast, runs to 60 mph in 7.0 seconds and tops out at 135 mph.) The turbo four revs with respectable smoothness, though not quite up to the V-6’s standards, and pulls without any dropoffs to its 6000-rpm redline. The sound at full boost is conspicuous and vig­orous—like a giant steam-pressure coffee machine frothing up a ten-gallon latte.JEFFREY G. RUSSELL|Car and DriverThere’s a price to be paid, however, for the Turbo’s sprinting power. As opposed to the flexible V-6, the turbo four demands constant levering of the standard, slightly numb-feeling five-speed to stay within the meat of the power curve. The engine is rated for lots of low-end torque: 195 pound-­feet at 2100 rpm, which sounds like plenty on paper. But in real-world driving, all of our testers complained that simply pulling away from stoplights can be a waiting game. Quick starts require deliberate slip­ping of the clutch, or the engine bogs down. When that happens, for a few mortifying heartbeats Geo Metros and Subaru Justys suddenly seem to possess the accelerative power of a Corvette ZR-1. Then the Saab’s boost comes up and—whoosh!—the Turbo redeems itself in a furious charge. HIGHS: Pressure-cooker power, spacious cabin, zero-omissions equipment list.In fact, thoughtful use of the clutch, shifter, and throttle are required even for relaxed starts. Noted one road tester: “In many cars, I’ll slide away from near-stops in second gear. But if you try that in the Turbo, the boost lag will grow you a beard.” The boost response is fine on the Inter­state, though. Tip into the throttle at highway speeds, and the turbo bites immedi­ately. Without shifting down, you sense a satisfying surge of acceleration—as the car glides forward effortlessly, it becomes patently clear just how much horsepres­sure is amassed underfoot. JEFFREY G. RUSSELL|Car and DriverBefitting a car clearly intended for drivers who take their motoring seriously, the Turbo rides on a chassis that trades some ride comfort for handling control. Compared with naturally aspirated 900s, the Turbo wears stiffer anti-roll bars front and rear, tauter gas shocks, and larger wheels and tires (205/50ZR-16 versus 195/60VR-15s).Not surprisingly, the higher-grade running shoes help the Turbo vanquish its V-6 sibling at the test track. Skidpad grip climbs from 0.77 g to 0.82, and 70-to-0-mph stops drop from 207 feet to 171. Yet while the Turbo certainly feels stiffer than the 900SE V-6 and clomps over pavement breaks, it retains the same stable demeanor as its sister car. Power into a turn and the Turbo understeers resolutely, its tail remaining safely planted no matter the throttle setting or g-load. The Turbo’s only notable histrionics occur when you’re try­ing to power out of tight turns: too much steering lock combined with an immoder­ate right foot will send the inside front tire whirling into a noxious haze.Lows: “Where’s the boost?” power delivery. “There it is!” power delivery. The turbo engine is available only in the three-door and the convertible. The three­-door pictured and tested here presents the driver with the same smartly designed inte­rior and comfortable, upright seats as the five-door. The instruments, controls, and cockpit trim have a neat, modern look: the cabin environment is as Swedish-clean­-and-sensible as an IKEA showroom. Yet familiar touches—the between-seat igni­tion switch, for example—maintain an unmistakable Saab character.Also carried over from the five-door is enough cabin room to transport five adults or Marlon Brando. Doors that open nine inches wider than the five-door’s allow easy access to the capacious rear seat. And that rear seat can be folded flat to produce the same whopping 50 cubic feet of cargo room as in the five-door. There’s a rear-­seat pass-through, too, so if you’re headed for, say, an anti-censorship rally, you can poke your placard handles through the opening and keep the “Beavis and Butt­head for Congress!” signs hidden in the trunk until you get past the PC herd. JEFFREY G. RUSSELL|Car and DriverIn addition to the abundance of room, 900SE Turbo buyers can expect plenty of features. Almost everything is included as standard: anti-lock brakes, dual airbags, air conditioning, power everything, a sunroof, and an AM/FM/cassette system. About the only item not available on the Turbo is the V-6 car’s standard traction-control system. Which would just spoil all that tire-smoking fun anyway.VERDICT: A dynamite sports sedan for those who enjoy handling explosives.The 900SE Turbo lists for $29,460. That’s roughly $3000 less than the equiv­alently quick BMW 325is and about the same as the less swift but also less heady V-6-powered 900SE five-door.The Turbo will be the one chosen by the buyer who played with M80s as a kid.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
1995 Saab 900SE TurboVehicle Type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 3-door hatchback
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $29,460/$29,460
ENGINEturbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, iron block and aluminum head, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 121 in3, 1985 cm3Power: 185 hp @ 5500 rpmTorque: 195 lb-ft @ 2100 rpm 
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 11.2-in vented disc/10.2-in discTires: Michelin Pilot HX205/50ZR-16
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 102.4 inLength: 182.6 inWidth: 67.4 inHeight: 56.5 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 50/41 ft3Cargo Volume: 24 ft3Curb Weight: 3064 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.5 sec1/4-Mile: 15.3 sec @ 93 mph100 mph: 17.8 sec130 mph: 45.7 secRolling Start, 5–60 mph: 7.4 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 12.8 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 9.4 secTop Speed (drag ltd): 142 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 171 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.82 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 25 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity/Highway: 21/28 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

The restomod movement—grafting modern mechanicals into decades-old cars—is an attempt to evoke warm memories by making old crocks (the cars, not us) feel young and fun to drive again. If your automotive hero worship runs to mid-1960s Mustangs, Revology might have the restomod medicine you’re looking for. Of course, you don’t need to be a person of a certain age to lust after one of their reimagined, new-old Mustangs, but you will need scads of disposable income to put one in your garage. More 1960s Mustangs!Revology specializes in 1965–1968 Mustang restomods. The Orlando, Florida-based company was founded in 2014 by Tom Scarpello, a gonzo enthusiast who previously held sales-and-marketing positions at Nissan, Infiniti, Jaguar, and Ford—including head of operations for the latter’s SVT performance group. Scarpello chucked the corporate life to pursue the quixotic quest of building cars, but he brought a mass-market mindset to Revology’s business plan. The company isn’t so much a custom shop as it is a mini-manufacturer. In a twist to the traditional restomod formula, Revology doesn’t restore and modify existing old cars; it builds vintage Ford Mustangs from the ground up with entirely new bodies and then fits them with modern running gear. The end result is closer to what Singer does with Porsches than what a hot-rod shop or private owner might build on a one-off basis.The process starts with welding up new, period-correct, body and chassis stampings to create an all-new shell. After that it’s like a This Old House project: Keep the footprint and update the innards. Revology strengthens the structure with the more robust floorpan and reinforcement plates from the late-60’s convertibles, as well as an x-brace subframe connector; enlarges the transmission tunnel to accept a Tremec T56 Magnum XL six-speed manual or a Ford 10-speed automatic transmission; and reconfigures the engine bay to swallow either of two Ford 32-valve, 5.0-liter Coyote V-8s: a standard 460-hp, 420-lb-ft naturally aspirated version or a Roush-built supercharged mill putting out a claimed 710 horsepower and 610-pound feet of torque. A new coil-over suspension—control arms up front and two longitudinal links, a torque arm, and a Panhard rod in the rear—is then wedged into place.HIGHS: Looks to lust for, Pebble Beach build quality, earth-shaking V-8 thunder. Like large-scale carmakers, Revology has an online configurator where a potential customer—or those just dreaming of becoming one—can try out combinations of paint color, interior trim, and options. Revology’s lineup includes a convertible and two fastback versions of the 1965–1966 Mustang and five variants of the 1967–1968 Stang fastback. They are not bespoke automobiles, though; the company will accommodate a request for a custom paint color or a special shade of leather, but that’s it. Otherwise, you choose from the menu of available options. Revology even backs its work with an unlimited-mileage, one-year bumper-to-bumper warranty and two years for the powertrain, another big-company touch. Judging by the Shelby GT500 test car that Revology handed us, its production process turns out gorgeous automobiles. Build quality was up to Pebble Beach Concours standards; flawless paint, laser-straight body panels, doors that open and close like a modern Mustang thanks to a painstaking process to incorporate latching mechanisms from the current sixth-generation car, and a beautifully assembled interior speak to meticulous craftsmanship bordering on art. Even the car’s underside is sanitary. Still, these are hand-built cars, which means this level of perfection is stunningly expensive. The least costly car in the Revology lineup, the 1968 Mustang 2+2 fastback, has a base price of $248,345. Shelby GT500s, Revology’s top model, start at $320,600. Our six-speed manual test example had a full nappa leather interior ($10,475), painted Wimbledon White LeMans stripes ($6575), an Alcantara headliner ($1125), Dark Blue Metallic paint ($975), front-seat headrests ($950), and flush-mount hood latches ($635), bringing its sticker to $341,335. Yes, that’s Ferrari money, and you could pick up a well-restored original Shelby GT500 for about half that—so why wouldn’t you? Because, as Scarpello points out, “you’d be driving a 56-year-old car.” That’s the point of restomods: evoking the warm nostalgia of the past blended with a modern driving experience. We get why 167 people have so far been seduced into purchasing a Revology Mustang—33 of them popping for the GT500. It does exactly what it’s supposed to.LOWS: You probably can’t afford one, you’ll probably never drive one, you’ll probably never even see one.The GT500’s standard Roush supercharged V-8 lights off via a push-button start—a 7.0-inch Pioneer infotainment screen incorporating Apple CarPlay and a backup camera is another modern interior feature—and comes to life with an ominous thunderclap through its catalytic-converter-less Borla exhaust. Its booming V-8 bass note rises to a brazen roar when you pin the throttle, an event that never lasts long given how quickly the GT500 hurls itself down the tarmac. The sound of this engine is enough to cause the brain’s clock to flip back to the muscle-car era of the late 1960s, when Mustangs battled Chevy Camaros and AMC Javelins in Trans-Am competition and fought it out in impromptu street races across America. We shy away from putting specialty cars through our track-testing decathlon because experience has shown us that almost none survive it. The first Revology GT500 we drove, equipped with a 10-speed automatic, also had issues. The front of the GT500 is filled with the same radiators and intercoolers you’d find in today’s sixth-gen Mustang equipped with the same powertrain. The modern Mustang flows significantly more air through its nose than the cars from the ’60s. During acceleration runs to 150 mph, the intercooler circuit cooked itself and eventually, the modern electronics would pull power. With our findings, a determined Scarpello vowed to make it right. Three additional cooling fans now move air across the exchanger, and there’s an additional oil cooler, as well as a 3-D-printed ram air boot so cleanly integrated into the radiator core you’d think it was originally engineered that way. Scarpello prevailed upon us to give Revology a second chance with this six-speed manual model, and it emerged unscathed. The numbers it produced confirm what our backsides had already told us: It’s bloody fast, ear-piercingly loud, and does its best work in a straight line—much like the original Shelby GT500. Back in 1967, we tested a Shelby GT500 equipped with a three-speed automatic. Powered by a 7.0-liter, 355-hp V-8, it was quick for the time, turning in a 60-mph sprint of 6.5 seconds and a quarter-mile run of 15.0 seconds at 95 mph. That’s almost exactly what a Honda Odyssey minivan will do today. So much for fond memories. The Revology GT500 is quick for this era, with a 3.7-second 60-mph dash and a quarter-mile blast of 11.7 seconds at 124 mph—virtually identical numbers to those turned in by our 668-hp, six-speed manual long-term Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. And that ungodly full-throttle roar? It peaks at 98 decibels, according to our sound-level meter, roughly the same as a Corvette Z06 at full wail—and it seems even louder.The original GT500 was a more refined follow-up to Shelby American’s rough-edged GT350s. We summed it up then as “a grown-up sports car for smooth touring.” Across 56 years, the Revology GT500 also has a similar softer side balancing its wild-child powertrain. Revology’s remake is pleasant around town, with light clutch and shifter efforts and progressive brakes. It’s also comfortable threading its way down two-lanes at a brisk touring pace, but despite its modern running gear, it doesn’t have the steering feel, seat-of-the-pants connection, or sheer grip that encourages attacking sweepers and hairpins as confidently as you would in a current Mustang GT. Rolling on 245/45ZR-17 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, the GT500 corners at 0.88 g on the skidpad, certainly far better than what we would’ve seen back in ’67 but about what we saw from the latest Honda Accord, proving there are limitations to a chassis developed some 60 years ago. A modern, 3847-pound curb weight, nearly 500 pounds heavier than a 1967 original, also doesn’t help. Stopping power comes from Wilwood brakes—six-piston calipers clamping 13.1-inch rotors in front and four-pot calipers pinching 12.9-inch rotors in the back—and without the help of anti-lock brakes, stops from 70 mph happen in 179 feet.Point the Revology GT500 down a highway, though, and it’s a happy cruiser, with a supple, well-judged ride and unflappable straight-line stability. It’ll lope along comfortably at extra-legal speeds, its standard air conditioning keeping the cabin cool in summer. It settles down to 79 decibels at 70 mph, plenty loud but not so annoying that it would keep us from taking it on jaunts to Cars & Coffee gatherings or even on longer drives.With but 33 Revology Shelby GT500s in existence, the chances of you catching a glimpse of one are about the same as bumping into Taylor Swift at your local Costco. Oh, well. Scarpello says his customers “have an emotional connection to old Mustangs.” They might have wanted one when they were kids or owned one and wished they hadn’t sold it, and now they have the money to reward themselves with a new-old one. Lucky them. VERDICT: Sixties nostalgia meets new-age engineering in a ride that evokes muscle-car-era fun.We’re just happy these rare beasts exist. The Revology GT500 overflows with throwback charm sweetly updated to the present, thanks to vintage looks, show-car build quality, and a large dose of adrenaline. Or, to put it in ’60s parlance, it’s a cool car, man. Real cool. Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
1967 Revology Shelby Mustang GT500 Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2+2-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $320,600/$341,335Options: Porsche Schwarz nappa leather interior, $10,475; painted Wimbledon White stripes, $6575; Alcantara headliner, $1125; Dark Blue Metallic paint, $975; front-seat head restraints, $950; polished flush-mount hood latches, $635
ENGINE
supercharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port and direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 307 in3, 5038 cm3Power: 710 hp @ 7250 rpmTorque: 610 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
TRANSMISSION
6-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/live axleBrakes, F/R: 13.1-in vented, grooved disc/12.9-in vented, grooved discTires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S245/45ZR-17 (99Y)
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 108.0 inLength: 186.6 inWidth: 70.9 inHeight: 51.6 inCurb Weight: 3847 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 3.7 sec100 mph: 7.8 sec1/4-Mile: 11.7 sec @ 124 mph130 mph: 12.8 sec150 mph: 19.2 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.4 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 4.3 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 7.9 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 6.7 secTop Speed (C/D est): 170 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 179 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.88 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 12 mpgDirector, Buyer’s GuideRich Ceppos has evaluated automobiles and automotive technology during a career that has encompassed 10 years at General Motors, two stints at Car and Driver totaling 19 years, and thousands of miles logged in racing cars. He was in music school when he realized what he really wanted to do in life and, somehow, it’s worked out. In between his two C/D postings he served as executive editor of Automobile Magazine; was an executive vice president at Campbell Marketing & Communications; worked in GM’s product-development area; and became publisher of Autoweek. He has raced continuously since college, held SCCA and IMSA pro racing licenses, and has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He currently ministers to a 1999 Miata and a 1965 Corvette convertible and appreciates that none of his younger colleagues have yet uttered “Okay, Boomer” when he tells one of his stories about the crazy old days at C/D. More

From the April 2000 issue of Car and Driver.The good news for the station-wagon faithful is that for 2000, the palette of available two-box nameplates from which to choose broadens by two to 19. Newcomers this year include the Saturn L-series, the BMW 323i, the Volvo V40, and the Ford Focus (which replaces the Escort and Mercury Tracer wagons).It’s tempting to think the market is finally listening to us. For years, we’ve commended the wagon’s lower center of gravity, better power-to-weight ratio, easier maneuverability, and inherently more carlike handling behavior relative to minivans and sport-utility vehicles. And wagons can generally match the cargo capacity of utes. By our practical measurements, the average family wagon (the four in this test are the biggest you can get these days) can carry more boxes, a longer pipe, and a bigger piece of plywood than can the average of the last 11 small and mid-size SUVs we’ve comparison-tested.But as much as we’d like to think we’ve convinced our fellow motorists to climb down from their high-rise, low-efficiency, view-blocking SUVs and get back on the ground floor of dynamic driving enjoy­ment, the facts suggest otherwise. Wagon sales have just kept pace with the booming car market while SUV sales continue to expand with the vigor of fissioning uranium. Now, other magazines might be con­tent to wring their hands and pose rhetorical questions about when the dopes buying SUVs will wise up and discover the virtues of the wagon, but not this one. We dig deep to answer even the rhetorical questions. In this instance, we figured the best way to do that was to load up four family wagons and set a course for New Orleans—the epicenter of American voodoo wor­ship and practice—to consult the ancestral spirits for some definitive answers. Of course, the fact that N’awlins lays claim to the oldest bar in the U.S., the best food in the South, and some of the most outra­geous nightlife in Christendom was imma­terial in our choice of a destination for this winter retreat. Really. More Wagon Reviews From the ArchiveWe last compared family wagons in July 1994. Of the six vehicles in that face­-off, three have been discontinued (the wagon variants of the Honda Accord, the Mitsubishi Diamante, and the Toyota Camry). Two have been redesigned—­twice (the Mercury Sable and the Subaru Legacy). The winning VW Passat has been significantly upgraded to share engines and a basic suspension design with the Audi A4. And a single newcomer joins the family-wagon segment this year—the Saturn L-series. So let’s head south to the marshes, bayous, and plantations of Ascension Parish and the bustling boulevards of New Orleans during Carnival in search of the best family wagon—via our traditional objective and subjective tests—and some ethereal prophesying about the future of wagoning. Laissez le bon temps rouler! 4th Place: Subaru Legacy Outback Limited We’d better admit right up front that this Outback Limited model, dressed in SUV drag with knobby tires, cladding, and jumbo fog lamps, was not our first choice of Subarus for this test. On this trip, we’re wagon advocates, remember? Loaded to the gills with dual sunroofs, leather, an in­-dash CD changer, heated seats, and even heated windshield wipers, this Subaru busted the budget big time at $27,900. What’s more, all that luxury burdened it with a portly 3625-pound curb weight—porkiest in this group. Had a less opulent, more sporting $24,190 GT wagon been available—especially ­with a manual transmission—the results might have been different. HIGHS: Quiet, rigid body structure; luxurious appointments. LOWS: Insufficient power and rear-seat space, poor handling from high-rise suspension.VERDICT: The perfect rig for families that always take vacations in the rain or snow.For 2000, a rather mild restyling job belies bigger changes beneath the Legacy’s skin. The structure has been beefed up, with special attention paid to side-impact protection. Two beams now reinforce each front door, and the rear wheel-arch structure is fortified, as are the B-pillars. Unibody reinforcements mean the new wagon resists bending twice as well as the old one, which translates to an exceptionally rattle- and shake-free ride. Changes to the flat-four engine are similarly deceiving. Although it produces nearly the same peak output as last year’s engine (165 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque) from the same 2.5 liters, the engine is all-new. Its single-overhead-cam design is more compact and more fuel efficient and is said to crank out more low-end and part-throttle performance than its DOHC predecessor. That may be true, but it’s not enough to overcome the friction and rotational inertia of the standard all-wheel drive and that scale-pegging curb weight. A couple more cylinders or a turbo or both are urgently needed.At the track, the Sube ran just ahead of the 155-hp Taurus, reaching 60 mph in a leisurely 10.7 seconds. Passing requires advanced planning, and momentum conservation becomes the order of the day.Exacerbating the weak straight-line performance in a test that never ventured off-road were the Outback’s sport-ute-pretender underpinnings. The suspension is raised, and taller P225/60HR-16 Firestone Wilderness tires are fitted to provide 7.3 inches of ground clearance (an inch more daylight than tarmac-only Legacys). This setup provides commendable ride isolation over sharp impacts but results in more fore-and-aft hobby horsing over dips in the road, more body roll, and peculiar behavior in transient maneuvers. There’s some imprecision as the tire tread blocks lean in curves, and the body rolls noticeably before taking a set. We think the GT’s 205/55R-16s would work better here.Our Subaru fell short in one other area of perhaps greater importance to the vacationing family. The rear seat, which thoughtfully provides headrests and shoulder belts for three, lacks head and shoulder room for three teenagers. Nixing the dual sunroofs would help.On the plus side, the cargo hold ranks average in this group by most of our measurements, and the luggage rack is the only one to offer crossbars with accessory mounting points. The Legacy wagon also felt extremely refined and well-built—only the Volkswagen was quieter on the highway.Put simply, the Outback just isn’t our kind of wagon. But if its SUV-like trap­pings fool anyone into choosing it over an Explorer, we’ll endorse it heartily.2000 Subaru Legacy Outback Limited165-hp flat-4, 4-speed automatic, 3625 lbBase/as-tested price: $26,590/$27,900C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 10.7 sec1/4 mile: 18.0 sec @ 76 mph100 mph: 36.1 secBraking, 70­–0 mph: 184 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.75 g C/D observed fuel economy: 24 mpg3rd Place: Ford Taurus SEThis is as close as any vehicle comes to the station wagons of the Donna Reed and Brady Bunch eras. The Taurus and its Sable sibling are now the only middle­-class family wagons to offer a third rear­-facing seat, and thus passenger seating for eight. Our Taurus was the longest and widest car in this test, and not surprisingly, it offered the most space for carrying pas­sengers and cargo. It hauls 81 cubic feet of stuff with the rear seats folded down (just one cubic foot less than an Explorer holds). It has the longest and most useful roof-top luggage rack. The rear glass opens independently of the liftgate for loading grocery sacks. And when not in use, the well where the third seat stows can be used as a lockable storage area. The only hitch is a cargo shade that’s mounted so low above the floor that anything taller than 11.5 inches makes a bulge in it. (Shades in the other cars offer four to eight more inches of clearance.)HIGHS: Runaway winner in the cargo-hauling contest, similarly high marks for safety and value. LOWS: Noisy engine comes up short on performance, rear bench belongs in a park. VERDICT: The wagoniest wagon of the bunch.Also racking up big family-value points is the Taurus’s safety record. In 1999, it was the only mid-size car to receive a top five-star rating for both the driver and front-seat passenger in government crash tests. And for 2000, “smart airbags” that tailor their inflation rate and force to the size and position of the occupant have been added, along with seatbelt preten­sioners and force limiters. Among the other revisions made to the new Taurus are larger and brighter headlamps, new sheetmetal (except for the doors), and tweaks to the steering and chassis to improve directional stability. The chassis work was well worth the effort. This large wagon has not been reborn as nimble and tossable, but it is now communicative and well-behaved, going precisely where it is pointed with modest and tolerable body roll and absolutely no surprises. Its large size and lowest-in-test grip (0.74 g) caused it to run the lane change more slowly than the other cars, but it negotiated the cones with greater ease and poise than the next-best Subaru. Where the Ford comes up short is in performance, refinement, and seat com­fort. Here again, our vehicle-availability juju let us down, as the only Taurus we could lay our hands on came with the low-­tech 155-hp Vulcan pushrod V-6. The smoother 200-hp Duratec DOHC six would have added just $695 to the price­—that’s $200 less than the price of the leather seats (an admittedly useful option for spill cleanup in a family car, now that vinyl is taboo). Saddled with the poorest power-to­-weight ratio, the Taurus finished last in all the drag-racing categories. It lumbered to 60 mph in 10.9 seconds, accompanied by a coarse growl and vibration felt through the steering wheel and the optional adjustable pedals. Vibrations also rippled through the chassis when traversing rough roads, all of which conspired with a rather plasticky-looking dash to give the Ford a rather low-rent feel. The other egregious misstep involves seating comfort, especially in back, where occupants find themselves on a hard, flat raised bench. And those carry-over doors mean that adults riding back there still get an eyeful of C-pillar when they glance to the side. The Taurus can carry more travel toys and diversions, but comfier seats and better driving dynamics might make parents and kids happy traveling with a bit less in the next two wagons.2000 Ford Taurus SE155-hp V-6, 4-speed automatic, 3521 lbBase/as-tested price: $20,450/$23,320C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 10.9 sec1/4 mile: 18.1 sec @ 76 mph100 mph: 44.3 secBraking, 70­–0 mph: 196 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.74 gC/D observed fuel economy: 23 mpg2nd Place: Saturn LW2 Saturn’s new “large” sedan and wagon series is loosely based on the European Opel Vectra, and in this test, that Euro her­itage expressed itself as exuberant perfor­mance. Our upmarket LW2 model’s stan­dard 182-hp, 3.0-liter V-6 (the LW1 gets a 137-hp, 2.2-liter four-cylinder) easily powered this, the lightest car in the test at 3249 pounds, to victory in nearly all our acceleration tests. It dashed to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds and through the quarter-mile in just 16.0 seconds at 87 mph, its four-­speed automatic snapping off smooth shifts quicker than Bourbon Street balcony boys can toss a necklace to a flashing passerby. The Passat nipped at the Saturn’s heels in the standing-start tests, but the LW2’s quick-witted gearbox helped widen the performance gap in the passing and street-start contests. Saturn also aced the lateral-grip test, with 205/65HR-15 Firestone Affinity HP tires that hung on for 0.79 g. The LW2 was praised for its generally sprightly, dynamic behavior, but its chassis could not quite match that of the Passat for poise and finesse. Stiff anti-roll bars on the Saturn resulted in more pronounced head toss over one-wheel dips. In quick transient maneuvers such as the lane change, the LW2 was more likely to step out in the rear, giving the VW a nearly 6-mph advan­tage in that test. And the Saturn’s strut-­front suspension transmits a bit of torque steer if the wheel is rotated at all with the hammer down. HIGHS: Willing boy-racer drivetrain, good seats and cargo space. LOWS: Saturn-familiar styling and panel fits, noisy engine. VERDICT: Devotees of the marque will be more than satisfied.Inside and out, the LW2 ranked second in size and hauling capacity. With the rear seats folded flat, it can accept 71 cubic feet of dunnage—one cube less than can a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Passenger space front and rear falls within one cubic foot of the larger Taurus, and the rear seat is reason­ably comfortable, offering good thigh support despite its lower seating position relative to the other wagons here.Saturn wins another gold star in the value category. Our cloth-upholstered model with anti-lock brakes and traction control cost an impressive $22,890, and it’s precisely the Saturn we’d order. Skip the $1095 leather package (its front buckets are less comfortable) and the $220 premium speakers, one of which is on the floor of the cargo area, where it could easily collect dirt and grit. Mitigating the strong value rating, however, is the LW2′ s scarcity of features and amenities and its low levels of refine­ment. That strong-performing engine, found elsewhere under the hoods of the Cadillac Catera and Saab 9-5 SE, feels as though it were bolted directly to the frame. It vibrates the car at idle, and it projects its voice clearly through the firewall at an unpleasant volume. Lots of wind and road noise penetrate the cabin, too, increasing fatigue on cross-country treks. And as with the smaller S-series Saturns, the plastic body panels are attached with lots of room to expand in the heat, meaning that in the winter a nutria (see glossary) could prac­tically squeeze through the door gaps. Reliability, practicality, and value have long been hallmarks of the Saturn brand, and its disciples will feel right at home in this new model (they probably won’t even notice the noise and the panel gaps). 2000 Saturn LW2182-hp V-6, 4-speed automatic, 3249 lbBase/as-tested price: $21,800/$22,890C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 7.8 sec1/4 mile: 16.0 sec @ 87 mph100 mph: 21.8 secBraking, 70­–0 mph: 186 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.79 gC/D observed fuel economy: 22 mpg1st Place: Volkswagen Passat GLS V-6All right, here we go again­—yes, this $27,880 V-6 Passat is expensive, and in this company, it clearly looks like it’s slum­ming, down for a visit from the genuine-wood class. We requested a base Passat GLS powered by the feisty little 150-hp, 1.8-liter turbo priced at $22,525 to start, but only the new-for-2000 2.8-liter 30-valve V-6 was available.HIGHS: Bucks-up fit, finish, and chassis finesse. LOWS: Bucks-up price. VERDICT: Rear-seat comfort and cargo capacity meet a family’s needs, driving dynamics will delight the enthusiast.That engine adds $2600 to the price, and mated to the $1075 five-speed automatic transmission, it generates velvety-smooth and quiet acceleration from any speed. It takes 8.0 seconds to hit 60 mph, about twice that for the quarter-mile. Those numbers are within a half-second of the 1.8-liter Passat wagon we tested in November 1998 (with a manual transmis­sion). That means that even if we’d gotten the car we asked for, the Passat’s finishing order at the drag strip would not have changed. (Its fuel economy might have been better, too. Over our 400-mile trip, the V-6 Passat gulped premium at the abysmal rate of 20 mpg.) That base car also runs on the same superb Audi A4-derived chassis, with the same multilink front and trailing-arm rear suspension that presses the tires to the tarmac with unmatched preci­sion. The same laser-accurate, frictionless steering that communicates every nuance of road-surface data. The same Continental 195/65HR-15 tires that generate modest grip (0.76 g here) in stoic silence. Our Passat sailed through the emergency lane change without drama at 62.7 mph, feeling as if the gates had widened by at least two feet.Out in the real world, the Passat’s exceptionally rigid chassis absorbs bumps and imperfections quietly and with no gut­-jiggling repercussions. Highway miles slip by in near silence at 70 mph, with just a 67 or 68 dBA whisper—and that’s with either engine. And the Passat acquits itself well in the people- and stuff-hauling categories as well. Despite being the shortest car in the group, measuring 13.8 inches shorter than the Taurus, its upright greenhouse makes the most of interior space. With the seats up, it matches the Taurus’s 39 cubic feet of cargo capacity; the rear seat is five cubic feet smaller, but vertical C-pillars and the large, square windows make it look and feel bigger than the Taurus, which accounts for its first-place ranking in the rear-seat comfort category. (Top marks in the styling column further vindicate the choice made regarding greenhouse shape.) The rear doors also open wider for easier access. Alas, when the seat are folded down, the Passat’s smaller size can no longer be disguised—the max capacity is 56 cubic feet, the smallest in the group. Adding to the impression that this car is visiting from the next rung up on the prestige ladder are the Passat’s impressive build quality and luxury touches, such as free scheduled maintenance for two years or 40,000 miles and a 10-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty. We agreed unanimously that Volks­wagen’s latest Passat makes the most artic­ulate argument for buying a wagon rather than any of the more cumbersome hauling devices, regardless of which engine is specified. And for the SUV faithful hooked on all-wheel drive, VW’s new 4Motion system will soon be available on V-6 automatic models, priced at just $1650.As we headed home from sunny New Orleans, belching day-old Cajun spices and nursing Hurricane hangovers, we were convinced of the veracity of Priestess Miriam’s prophesy: “Station wagons will return!” 2000 Volkswagen Passat GLS V-6190-hp V-6, 5-speed automatic, 3382 lbBase/as-tested price: $25,125/$27,880C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 8.0 sec1/4 mile: 16.2 sec @ 87 mph100 mph: 22.0 secBraking, 70­–0 mph: 187 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.76 gC/D observed fuel economy: 20 mpg More