Reviews

We’re on record as being huge fans of the Honda Civic Type R. The Type R helped put the Civic onto our 10Best list. It also topped the Toyota GR Corolla and the Volkswagen Golf R in our GRRR hot-hatch comparo, and by no small margin. And who among us could forget its standout Lightning Lap performance, wherein it became the event’s all-time fastest front-driver and the first of that species to break the three-minute mark? As quick and rewarding as the Type R is on circuit and canyon road alike, it’s not perfect. The 2024 Acura Integra Type S, on the other hand, just might be. It retains all the performance-driving goodness of the Type R, but neatly rounds off many of its daily-driving rough edges. Its main drawback is the $51,995 price, which outpaces the 2023 Type R by some $7105. The figure makes more sense when you realize that Acura thinks you’ll cross-shop it with the Audi S3, the BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe, and the Mercedes-AMG CLA35—and maybe you will—but those cars are all-wheel drive and, crucially, lack a manual-gearbox option.More on the IntegraShared Elements Chucking the new Integra Type S between the guardrails along Highway 39 in California, we immediately see that this machine has the same sharp steering, deft handling, and colossal grip as its shoutier Honda sibling. The Acura’s turbocharged 2.0-liter engine has been recalibrated to deliver 320 horsepower and a smidge more part-throttle midrange torque. Reaching peak horsepower requires 93 octane, and on the local 91-octane California brew, we can’t point to any difference—which is no bad thing. The Integra still pulls mightily out of corners, with the Type R’s helical limited-slip front differential and clever dual-axis strut front suspension absolving the Type S powertrain of any of the usual high-horsepower front-wheel-drive sins.The thankfully mandatory six-speed manual gearbox feels as surgical and precise as ever, but Acura has made one change we fully support. The Type R’s metal shift knob, which can get hot enough to cauterize your fingerprints in summer or freeze-burn them in winter, has been replaced with a tactilely satisfying leather-sleeved upgrade. The shift diagram is still engraved metal, so you could brand your palm if you shift like an ape, and determined masochists can opt for a dealer-installed all-metal titanium substitute. Consequently, wounded Type R owners can now visit an Acura parts counter for relief.Much of the Type S’s dynamic goodness derives from the shared platform using the same floorpan, firewall, and suspension hard points. The suspension itself and the adaptive dampers are also identical from a hardware standpoint. All the various links and bushings are shared, and the springs and anti-roll-bar specs are samesies too. In addition, you get the same 265/30ZR-19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires and boffo brakes featuring four-pot Brembo front calipers and two-piece ventilated rotors. After all of this, it should go without saying that both cars share a 107.7-inch wheelbase and broad front and rear track widths of 64.0 and 63.5 inches, respectively.Key DifferencesBut there are differences, and they account for much of the edge smoothing we hinted at earlier. For those who wondered what a Type R with a few dozen extra pounds of sound insulation would be like, the Integra Type S provides an answer. Acura claims that this Integra’s weight is 36 pounds heavier than a Type R. The Integra has more floor and firewall insulation, though those materials don’t account for the entire difference. The Integra body is made up of different stampings and has better strength and noise-attenuating characteristics. What’s more, the software controlling the adaptive dampers has been tweaked. An Acura suspension-development engineer tells us the Integra is programmed with less rebound damping, and it feels like it. In fact, Sport+ might now be the ticket at Lightning Lap, something our man Tony Quiroga opted against when he set the quick time in the Type R. The electric power-steering assist maps have also been retuned, and while response is still razor sharp in all three drive modes, Comfort’s effort levels are now a tad lighter than we prefer.The combined effect of all of this is a more fluid and settled daily driver. The Type S doesn’t feel like it’s being chained down against its will to suffer the roughest bits of tarmac with dampers unable to catch their breath and return to center. And despite the identical footwear, less tire noise finds your ears. Sport and Sport+ are not out of the question on broken pavement, although the Comfort damper setting is still plenty compelling—so long as you customize the Individual mode to dial up the steering effort. Part of the PlanChief engineer Masashi Iwai laid bare the philosophical differences between the two cars, and his explanation snaps everything we’d seen and felt into focus. Essentially, the Civic Type R was conceived with time-attack events and track days in mind. It’s meant to be able to kick ass at Lightning Lap; R is for Racetrack. The Integra Type S, on the other hand, was optimized around the idea of sporty street driving. The translation isn’t as graceful, but S is for Street Sports, or something.Given that vision, other Type S differences start to make sense. Compared with the Type R, it flies under the radar (gun), with a small lip spoiler instead of a stand-up wing (the carbon extension on our sample car is $950 dealer-installed option) and more cleanly integrated (but no less voluminous) air intakes for the radiators, intercooler, and brake cooling ductwork.Inside, the perforated seats are slightly less aggressive but no less grippy, but they do lose their shoulder-harness holes. The driver gets a 12-way power-adjustable seat, and both front chairs are heated. They sit slightly higher too, and while the resulting minor reduction in front headroom might be less helmet-friendly for very tall drivers, there’s still plenty of it. What’s more, red with black isn’t the sole interior theme—Ebony and Orchid with black are available too.On top of that, the LogR data logger is absent, and the stability control lacks competition and fully defeatable settings. The Type S does get a standard 16-speaker ELS Studio premium audio system, and it sounds fantastic. But that’s not the only good noise, because the Type S has a modified exhaust that lacks the Type R’s front resonator. The result is a deeper and less kazoo-like tone that’s quieter in the Comfort engine mode, but one that growls, spits, and pops in Sport+ in a rowdier way the Type R can’t match. The reason? Honda’s Type R is sold across the globe, and some markets get touchy about such things. Acura’s Type S is destined only for North America.The Honda Civic Type R is an absolute blast that we love to death. But the Acura Integra Type S gives the same thrills to nearly the same degree in a more grown-up package that we could live with for the long haul. Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Acura Integra Type SVehicle Type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 4-door hatchback
PRICE
Base: $51,995
ENGINE
turbocharged and intercooled 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 122 in3, 1996 cm3Power: 320 hp @ 6500 rpmTorque: 310 lb-ft @ 2600 rpm
TRANSMISSION
6-speed manual
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 107.7 inLength: 186.0 inWidth: 74.8 inHeight: 55.4 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 54/43 ft3Cargo Volume: 24 ft3Curb Weight (C/D est): 3250 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 5.0 sec100 mph: 11.7 sec1/4-Mile: 13.5 secTop Speed: 167 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 24/21/28 mpgTechnical EditorDan Edmunds was born into the world of automobiles, but not how you might think. His father was a retired racing driver who opened Autoresearch, a race-car-building shop, where Dan cut his teeth as a metal fabricator. Engineering school followed, then SCCA Showroom Stock racing, and that combination landed him suspension development jobs at two different automakers. His writing career began when he was picked up by Edmunds.com (no relation) to build a testing department. More

From the July 1991 issue of Car and Driver.Is it fair to say that the average Ameri­can doesn’t know much about Isuzu?If so, too bad for the average Ameri­can, because the new-for-1991 Isuzu Ro­deo shows that there’s a lot more to this Japanese company than just a funny, ly­ing spokesman named Joe. In brief, the Rodeo is a sport-utility vehicle (SUV) that definitely deserves your attention. We won’t wade too deeply into the Rodeo’s background here. But let’s hit a few of the highlights.The Rodeo is built at the joint Isuzu-Subaru plant in Lafayette, Indiana. It’s available as a five-door wagon only, which Isuzu defends by noting that, even given a choice, the vast majority of SUV buyers opt for models with four side doors anyway. (Those buyers who insist on having a sportier Rodeo can opt for its stubby sibling, the two-door Amigo.) The Rodeo rides on a 108.7-inch wheel­base, which is long for this class; but at 176.4 inches overall, it’s compact on the outside. There are two engines (a 2.6-liter four or a 3.1-liter V-6), two transmis­sions, two- or four-wheel drive, and three trim levels. Our test vehicle was a top-­of-the-line Rodeo LS, equipped with the six-cylinder engine, a four-speed automatic transmission, and four-wheel drive. Dick Kelley|Car and DriverSpend a few minutes behind the wheel of the Rodeo and you quickly become impressed by how civilized it is. The steering is light, the cabin is quiet at high­way cruise, and the ride verges on plush. The driving position is excellent—while some other SUVs in this class have the driver’s seat planted deep down below the instrument panel and the door sills, the Rodeo’s helm sits high and comfort­able. Also notable is the ease of entry and exit—you can jump aboard the Rodeo without worrying about smacking your knee on a dash edge or catching your foot on a high rocker panel. Cockpit features include a comprehen­sive and well-grouped array of analog gauges, tasteful materials, and lots of room for heads and legs. The cabin isn’t as stylish as some in the class, but we have no complaints about how it works. There’s room for five in the Rodeo LS (which gets front buckets instead of the base model’s bench). The rear seat­—split on the LS—can be folded flat to form a large rear load floor. More Archive Rodeo ReviewsSpend a few more minutes behind the wheel and you also learn that the Rodeo is no five-door Funny Car. The V-6 is good for just 120 horsepower and 165 pound-feet of torque, so the 4027-pound Rodeo needs 14.7 seconds of heavy breathing to get to 60 mph. That said, the Rodeo moves at its own pace happi­ly—like a marathoner who can go the dis­tance but isn’t interested in the sprints. Fitted with front discs, rear drums, and a standard rear-wheel anti-lock system, the Rodeo stopped from 70 mph in 234 feet—which is on the long side even for an SUV. Judging by the reception our black test vehicle got on the street, Isuzu has scored a hit with the Rodeo’s styling. “Hey, man, awesome-looking truck,” was just one of a slew of similar com­ments. “All right! Cool! This is the new Chevrolet Blazer, right?” beamed the teller at the Taco Bell window. “You got it,” we said back to keep him smiling and nodding, and we managed on exiting to avoid knocking over a Fotomat kiosk.Dick Kelley|Car and DriverNo doubt contributing to our test Ro­deo’s head-turning power were its wheels, snazzy and shiny drilled alloys wearing beefy raised-letter 225/75R-15 tires. The base Rodeo LS ($18,898) comes standard with everything from a leather­-wrapped steering wheel to intermittent wipers and a four-speaker AM/FM/cas­sette system with 80 watts of power. Our test LS was plumped up with such op­tions as power windows, cruise control, air conditioning, and a sunroof—which raised the out-the-door sticker to $21,348. Buyers who want more can tack on a compact-disc player; buyers who want less can move down to the Rodeo XS or S models, the latter of which starts—in four-cylinder, two-wheel-drive form—at just $12,818.So who cares if the average American knows nothing about this talented and tempting sport-utility machine? The im­portant thing is, now you do.Dick Kelley|Car and DriverArrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
1991 Isuzu Rodeo LSVehicle Type: front-engine, rear/4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $18,898/$21,348
ENGINEV-6, iron block and heads, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 191 in3, 3135 cm3Power: 120 hp @ 4400 rpm 
TRANSMISSION4-speed automatic
DIMENSIONSWheelbase: 108.7 inLength: 176.4 inCurb Weight: 4027 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 14.7 sec1/4-Mile: 20.0 sec @ 67 mphRolling Start, 5–60 mph: 14.5 secTop Speed: 89 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 234 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.68 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 15 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity: 15 mpg
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

About six months after its green paint was shimmering on display at last year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas, the Jeep Quadratec JTe concept was covered in dirt, horsing around at Holly Oaks ORV Park in Michigan. About 60 miles north of Car and Driver headquarters in Ann Arbor, the off-road playground, with its bounty of obstacles and varied terrain, provided the perfect environment to find out whether the one-of-a-kind four-wheeler is a true workhorse or just a show pony.A Two-Door Gladiator Is BornIt didn’t take us long to realize that the custom-built Jeep exceeded the lofty capabilities of the Wrangler Rubicon 4xe it’s based on. We easily scaled a sheer rock face in 4L with both differentials locked. We disconnected the front anti-roll bar and flexed the suspension over a section of large boulders. And we also slid the JTe around a gravel pit while we hooted and hollered and kicked up huge dust clouds. That last bit had less to do with vehicle evaluation and more to do with something our therapist calls failure-to-launch syndrome. Sure, 37-inch Nitto Recon Grappler A/T tires and a 2.5-inch Lynx suspension lift help the Quadratec JTe feel extra capable, but the fact that the mini–monster truck is believable as a real two-door Gladiator is a testament to the job done by builder Greg Henderson. Even more impressive, all the fabrication was done by hand, transforming what began as a four-door 2022 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe into the JTe concept, whose moniker combines the Gladiator’s JT model code with “e” to identify the electrified powertrain.Jeep enthusiasts will recognize Quadratec as a go-to source for aftermarket equipment, and the supplier created the idea of a two-door, plug-in-hybrid Gladiator. Currently, Jeep’s convertible pickup truck is offered only with four doors, and the odds of a factory two-door are slim to none. Meanwhile, a plug-in-hybrid 4xe version of the Gladiator will likely become available for the 2024 model year. Like many SEMA builds, the JTe provides a showcase for Quadratec’s aftermarket business, but the company has no intention of building a two-door Gladiator like the JTe for customers. Instead, Quadratec specifically commissioned Henderson to build a hybrid-powered concept to coincide with its ongoing “50 for 50” trail-stewardship initiative, which promotes sustainable off-roading and partners with the nonprofit Tread Lightly! and others to clean up trail systems in every state. This led to a Wrangler 4xe as the JTe’s starting point.Electrifying Jeeps AplentyThen the cutting began. Henderson basically chopped off the back half of the Wrangler’s cab, removing the rear seats and cargo area but leaving the ladder frame beneath. He then resealed the cab using Mopar replacement body panels and fabricated a unique hardtop that’s compatible with Jeep’s removable roof panels. While the five-foot cargo bed was sourced from a regular Gladiator, Henderson had to fill in about 10 inches of missing material. On our scales, the JTe weighs 5635 pounds, which is 317 pounds heavier than a factory four-door Wrangler Rubicon 4xe we’ve tested. That has a marginal impact on the concept’s acceleration, as its 5.7-second sprint to 60 mph and quarter-mile run of 14.4 seconds at 94 mph are a few tenths behind the stock version. Visually, though, most people wouldn’t know the JTe is different from other heavily modified Jeeps. Hell, we might not have noticed, had we not known better.Apart from relocating the roughly 14.0-kWh battery from under the old rear seats to a higher position under the cargo bed, Henderson left the Wrangler’s hybrid powertrain alone, meaning the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and the electric motor mounted in the eight-speed automatic transmission still combine for 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. On the stock 4xe, electric range is EPA estimated at 21 miles, and its combined fuel-economy rating is 20 mpg, but the JTe’s extra mass, lift kit, and massive tires render those EPA figures irrelevant.More Than a Jeep ThingWe had the JTe at the off-road park for only a couple of fun-filled hours, but afterward we spent several days driving it like any other grocery getter. And on the street, the jacked-up Jeep attracts a ton of attention. Perhaps that’s thanks to the attractive paint job accented by bronze-colored trim and matching 17-inch Lynx Trail Gunner wheels. Or maybe it’s Quadratec’s intimidating Carnivore front bumper, which incorporates a 12,000-pound Res-Q Teton winch. A second 9000-pound winch lives in the rear bumper behind the detachable license plate. By far our personal favorite accessory is the slim 50-inch light bar mounted inside the top of the windshield. It makes stoplights harder to see, but its amber setting looks badass, and unlike many roof-mounted light bars, it doesn’t cause wind noise. Yet there’s no avoiding the excess noise inside the JTe’s cabin, where the sound level is a lofty 78 decibels during 70-mph cruising. That’s four times the sound pressure and twice the perceived volume of a stock Wrangler 4xe’s 72-decibel figure. While the concept’s cabin is cramped and noisy, it isn’t a torture chamber. Regular Wranglers aren’t particularly refined, and the JTe doesn’t feel as far off as one would expect from this Frankenstein-mobile. The Katzkin leather seat covers with Quadratec branding and the 3-D-printed door pockets hint at its modified nature, but because stick-axle Jeeps are often defined by personalization, those details aren’t out of place. The aftermarket Alpine touchscreen is, however, with its bulky bezel and low-res graphics. But it is responsive to inputs, and wireless Apple CarPlay works flawlessly—something we can’t always say about OEM infotainment systems. Our biggest gripes are an incessant squeaking behind the passenger’s seat and what sounds like a hive of angry bees under the hood (we don’t recall hearing that during our last test of a Wrangler 4xe). The other major issue is that the retrofitted cab creates a big blind spot over the driver’s left shoulder, necessitating extreme neck craning to check the left lane. After the JTe initially wouldn’t accept a charge, we reached out to Henderson, whose solution was to “plug it in, unplug it, then plug it right back in.” While that did the trick, it’s obviously not ideal. Quadratec thinks the charging issues could be caused by a communication issue with the aftermarket infotainment, but it is a problem other Wrangler 4xe owners have experienced, according to posts in various Jeep forums.Still, we’ve said worse about vehicles that are built in a full-fledged factory. The Jeep Quadratec JTe was built in a garage in 90 days. Despite that, it always felt fully operational, and we never thought it would fall apart on the highway, which is not something we can say about all SEMA show cars. We can also say that the JTe is an entertaining one-off off-roader.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2022 Quadratec JTeVehicle Type: front-engine, front- and mid-motor, 4-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door pickup
PRICE
Base/As Tested: not for sale

POWERTRAIN
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 270 hp, 295 lb-ft + 2 AC motors, 44 and 134 hp, 39 and 181 lb-ft (combined output: 375 hp, 470 lb-ft; 14.0-kWh [C/D est] lithium-ion battery pack; 7.2-kW onboard charger)Transmission: 8-speed automatic
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: live axle/live axleBrakes, F/R: 13.0-in vented disc/13.8-in vented discTires: Nitto Recon Grappler A/T37x12.5R-17 LT D 124R M+S
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 118.4 inLength: 197.0 inWidth: 73.8 inHeight: 76.0 inPassenger Volume: 54 ft3Curb Weight: 5635 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 5.7 sec1/4-Mile: 14.4 sec @ 94 mphResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 7.0 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 3.8 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 5.0 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 97 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 202 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.72 g
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDSenior EditorEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More

From the May 1991 issue of Car and Driver.9:00 a.m. Monday, Wilmington, Califor­nia—We arrive at Vector headquarters, nestled in an industrial ghetto between the Los Angeles and Long Beach har­bors. Jerry Wiegert has lured us with the promise of an exclusive first crack at test­ing his audacious supercar, which has been the subject of great intrigue and speculation since we covered his first running prototype in December 1980.The decade since then has been long and hard for Wiegert, who, like Ferruccio Lamborghini in the early sixties, decided to take on the established supercar or­der. Unlike Lamborghini, however, who was a wealthy industrialist, Wiegert was a young industrial designer without a per­sonal fortune. Although Wiegert often boasts of the Vector’s ten years of devel­opment, he spent much of the eighties scratching for cash. That he survived is a testament to his dedication to his brain­child and his gift for self-promotion. He scored a financial victory in No­vember 1988, when a public stock offer­ing in the newly reconstituted Vector Aeromotive Corporation raised $6 mil­lion. Wiegert’s company got $4.9 million and the remainder went to his underwrit­er, Blinder, Robinson & Company, which has since filed for bankruptcy. More Archive Supercar ContentThat cash infusion and a later one in­flated what had been Wiegert’s shoe­string operation into a 40,000-square­-foot plant employing 82 workers—the plant we have just entered. Palletized en­gines, bins of suspension parts, stacks of complex castings, half a dozen cars un­der construction, and a score of busy employees fill the final assembly area. The Vector operation is real indeed. David Kostka, Vector’s vice president for engineering, shows us the gray and red engineering prototypes that we are to test as we wait for the truck he has or­dered to haul the cars up to our designat­ed testing sites. 11:30 a.m, Angeles Crest Highway—We unload the Vectors in the San Gabriel Mountains. Although the W8’s styling is about fifteen years old, the car is still an ocular magnet. Its snout is higher and longer than the current fashion and the body creases are too sharp, but like the late Lamborghini Countach, the Vector has a timeless visual appeal. Inside, the Vector has the blocky, hand­-tailored, somewhat homemade look indigenous to most limited-production cars, but the fashion theme is jet-fighter cockpit. There’s a computerized instru­ment display on which the driver can choose one of four information displays. And the black-anodized aluminum eye­ball air vents, the Allen-head cap screws, the push-to-reset circuit breakers, and the illuminated square switches not only look like aircraft parts, they are aircraft parts—very expensive ones at that. Not surprisingly, the seating position is very low, but visibility forward is excel­lent, gradually deteriorating as one’s view traverses toward the rear. The Recaro C seats are superbly comfortable, the driv­ing position is good, and there’s ample leg and headroom in the wide cockpit. The tilting, air-bag-equipped steering wheel is a pleasant surprise, but the shift­er is a disappointment. Buried in a well to the left of the driver’s seat, a short lever topped by a crossbar controls the Vec­tor’s three-speed automatic transmis­sion—a much modified version of the GM unit developed for the original Olds Toronado more than 25 years ago. The handle moves through the usual park-reverse-neutral-drive sequence to allow fully automatic operation. When you lift the handle, it becomes a ratchet shifter, shifting up or down a gear with each fore or aft movement. Upon firing up the Vector, we find that the shifter, buried in its tight little well, does not fall readily to hand. When you do grab it, screws protrude from its un­derside and there’s a heavy, sticky action. With the gearbox in drive, the transmis­sion upshifts at very low rpm and refuses to kickdown when you floor the accelera­tor at anything above city speed. Under way though, the red prototype feels tight and solid, although the engine is loud. During our cornering passes for the photographer, the suspension seems supple and well controlled. The power steering is too light, however, and it doesn’t provide as much self-centering action as we like in 200-mph cars. Our photography completed, we head toward our desert test site. The 3680-pound Vector is quick, with the twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V-8 building boost and thrust quickly. Above 4000 rpm, the push is strong enough to make Vector’s claim of 625 hp believable. Soon, however, we find ourselves coasting. The engine is still running, but the transmission has ceased communica­tion with the rear wheels. We glide to a halt on the shoulder of Angeles Forest Highway. After a few minutes of fiddling, Kostka suggests we press on with the gray car, while his mechanic coasts down the mountain with the red car toward a nearby restaurant to summon the truck. 3:00 p.m., C/D desert test site near Ed­wards AFB—Instruments in place, we start our testing. Although Vector litera­ture calls the W8 the fastest production car in the world, Kostka asks us to refrain from top-speed testing because of insuf­ficient high-speed development. Since we’re not paid enough to be 200-mph guinea pigs, we agree, but wonder pri­vately about the overseas owners of the three cars already delivered. Top-gear acceleration is strong, but the transmission is slipping out of third gear. The brakes are powerful; only pre­mature rear lockup extends the stopping distance from 70 mph to 191 feet. We’re ready to do the acceleration runs, but the coolant-temperature gauge has surged to 250 degrees, and wisps of steam are wafting through the louvered engine cover. Kostka suspects an air bub­ble in the cooling system and suggests waiting a bit before adding water. After two hours of waiting and drib­bling water into the Vector’s expansion tank (to avoid cracking the hot head or block with a sudden deluge of cold wa­ter), darkness is approaching, and we de­cide to go to the nearby skidpad. Al­though the surface is wet, the Vector circulates at an admirable 0.91 g, with a touch of tail-happiness at the limit. We suspect it would probably pull in the area of 0.95 g on dry pavement. The skidpad testing overheats the en­gine again, so we spend another hour cooling the cooling system. Kostka final­ly suggests we try an acceleration run. Not only does the temperature skyrocket as soon as we leg it, but the engine deto­nates fiercely and the transmission reso­lutely resists shifting into third gear. We decide to pack it in while the Vector can still limp home under its own power. 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, Wilmington—While the mechanics are puzzling over the gray Vector’s cooling system, Mark Bailey, vice president for production, gives us a tour of the premises. Bailey learned his trade fabricating aerospace components at Northrop, and he is simultaneously enthusiastic about the Vector and frank about the problems gearing up the assembly line. “We’re just now finishing the engineering drawings and fixtures for the parts. Many of the first sheetmetal pieces had to be traced from prototype components.” Despite these handicaps, chassis num­ber 14 is in progress at the frame shop, one of the dozen or so cars somewhere in the production process at any one time. The Vector’s core is formed by a weld­ed chrome-molybdenum steel-tubing roll cage reinforced by riveted aluminum panels and an aluminum honeycomb floorpan. Riveted and bonded aluminum monocoque structures extend from this central core to mount the suspension and driveline components, a well as to provide crush zones and bumper supports. Bailey bemoans the cost of pump­ing the 6000 or so rivets that go into each Vector, but the superbly crafted chassis easily passed the Department of Transportation’s crash tests. The body is made of fiberglass, carbon fiber, and Kevlar composite panels. Each set of panels is individually fitted to a matched chassis, then finished with cata­lyzed paint. The result is smooth body­work, a gleaming finish, and admirably even gaps—quality in keeping with the Vector’s $400,000-plus price. The running gear is equally top-draw­er. The front hubs and uprights are Grand National stock-car pieces. The brakes are huge Alcon rotors with alumi­num calipers all around. The engine is a race-prepped small-block Chevy, assem­bled by a subcontractor using top-grade aftermarket components such as a Rodeck aluminum block, Air Flow Re­search aluminum heads, TRW pistons, and Carrillo rods. Rated at 625 hp with 10-psi boost from its twin turbos, the V-8 had not received emissions certification at press time. But Jasjit Rarewala, the very experienced exotic car certifier in charge, promises that it will pass the tests soon. The powertrain tucks into the engine compartment bolted to a pair of intricate blue-anodized aluminum plates the size of doormats, which attach from the rear bulkhead. The glittering array of pol­ished aluminum, braided stainless-steel plumbing, and heavy-duty heat exchang­ers is an impressive sight. As we photograph the engine, Kostka promises to have the gray car’s overheat­ing problem solved by evening. 7:00 p.m. same night, Wilmington—We leave for another crack at testing, this time at a most unofficial track. Kostka and I make for the nearby Terminal Is­land Freeway, which should be deserted at this hour. In the five-minute drive to the freeway, the engine overheats again. We return to the factory with the Vector bleeding steam from its haunches. Wiegert is tense and unhappy. “The car is sound, you can see that. It has been tested and punished to the max.” He attributes the breakdowns to obsolete parts in the development cars we’ve been driving, explaining: “You put the best stuff in the cars you have to ship.” He seems desperate for us to complete a successful test and presses us to stay until the cars can be fixed. Unfortunately, we’re scheduled to leave for Michigan the next morning. But we offer him an­other shot if one of the cars is repaired before flight time. 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, Los Angeles—The phone jars me awake in my hotel room near Los Angeles International. Kostka says he has the red car running again. We agree to meet in the lobby at 3:00 a.m. Even in the dark of early morning, the arrival of the Vector perks up the hotel’s skeleton staff. Kostka and I hop in, fol­lowed by one of his mechanics in a Sub­urban. This time we head toward Per­shing Avenue—a limited-access divided four-lane road just west of the airport that should be barren at this hour. The red car is running strong. Its tem­perature stays in the low 200s and there is no sign of detonation. After four runs, our best 0-to-60 time is 3.8 seconds, and we measure a standing quarter-mile in twelve seconds flat at 118 mph. Those times are good enough to edge out a Ferrari F40. There was room to go faster, but the car refused to upshift into third gear and the engine was hitting its rev limiter well short of its 7000-rpm redline. I drive over to the waiting Kostka so that he can check it out. He confirms the problems, and we find that reverse is also gone. We call it a night, and I am back in my room at 4:00 a.m. “It costs us substantially more to build this car than it costs Ferrari to build an F40,” says Jerry Wiegert. Judging by the premium components, fine craftsman­ship, and excellent finish of the cars he is shipping, that may well be true. But in development and engineering, we sus­pect Ferrari has outspent Vector. Will the Vector satisfy the demanding supercar buyer? Perhaps. But this ques­tion doesn’t frighten Jerry Wiegert. “My customers are big guys; they’ve got attor­neys, they know what to do if they’re not satisfied.” Is Wiegert himself satisfied? No per­fectionist ever is. “I will improve this car through my team and efforts.”Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
1991 Vector W8 TwinTurboVehicle Type: mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE
Base: $421,720
ENGINEtwin-turbocharged and intercooled pushrod V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 364 in3, 5972 cm3Power: 625 hp @ 5700 rpmTorque: 630 lb-ft @ 4900 rpm 
TRANSMISSION3-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: control arms/live axleBrakes, F/R: 13.0-in vented disc/13.0-in vented discTires: Michelin Sport XGT PlusF: 225/45ZR-16R: 315/40ZR-16
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 103.0 inLength: 172.0 inWidth: 76.0 inHeight: 42.5 inPassenger Volume: 50 ft3Cargo Volume: 5 ft3Curb Weight: 3680 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 3.8 sec100 mph: 8.3 sec1/4-Mile: 12.0 sec @ 118 mph120 mph: 12.4 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 5.0 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 5.5 secTop Speed (mfr’s claim): 218 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 191 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.91 g 
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (est.)City/Highway: 7/15 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDContributing EditorCsaba Csere joined Car and Driver in 1980 and never really left. After serving as Technical Editor and Director, he was Editor-in-Chief from 1993 until his retirement from active duty in 2008. He continues to dabble in automotive journalism and LeMons racing, as well as ministering to his 1965 Jaguar E-type, 2017 Porsche 911, and trio of motorcycles—when not skiing or hiking near his home in Colorado.  More

If you think you see Honda CR-Vs everywhere, it’s not your imagination. The CR-V is Honda’s most popular vehicle, and Honda claims it to be the bestselling crossover for the past 25 years. It’s not surprising that Honda took a careful approach with the sixth-generation version that debuts for 2023, with the LX, EX, and EX-L models powered by the same engine as before. The CR-V gets an all-new exterior design, arguably the biggest change. A bluff new nose should help the CR-V shed the cute-ute image associated with past versions. It’s not just a styling trick. The latest CR-V also has a longer wheelbase, a greater overall length, and a fractional increase in width. It has just about grown into the footprint of the original Honda Pilot—the wheelbase, in fact, is identical. No wonder it looks all grown up.Related StoriesWhereas that OG Pilot was a three-row conveyance, the CR-V continues to seat just five, though it does so in a roomy, airy cabin. The rear seat in the outgoing CR-V was already one of the most spacious in the segment, and Honda has added a bit more legroom this year. A nearly flat floor makes the rear-seat middle position viable, while ingress and egress are a breeze front and rear. Behind the rear seats, there’s 39 cubic feet of luggage space; cargo volume expands to 77 cubes with the rear seatbacks folded. For the driver, the narrow A-pillars have been moved nearly five inches rearward, and the cowl is lower, making for improved forward visibility.The two powertrains are both making a return appearance, but whereas the hybrid has been heavily revised, the standard engine—a turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four—is effectively carryover. Its musters the same 190 horsepower and 179 pound-feet of torque as before and is again lashed to a continuously variable automatic transmission. Grunt is dispatched to the front wheels or, as in our EX-L test vehicle, all four.With 190 horses dispensed via a continuously variable transmission, the 1.5-liter’s part-throttle response can be syrupy. Mat the pedal, though, and the transmission does a better impression of a traditional gearbox, with revs rising to redline, then dropping back with a simulated shift and rising again. For such a small-displacement turbocharged engine, Honda’s 1.5-liter is largely free of lag. With an 8.3-second run to 60 mph, though, the 1.5-liter has lost some spring in its step compared with the previous-gen CR-V we last tested with this powertrain, a 2020 model that managed a 7.6-second time. The turbo four also is a few ticks behind the 2023 CR-V hybrid, which does the 60-mph dash in 7.9 seconds. In the 50-to-70-mph highway passing test, the base version again trails the hybrid, by 0.4 second.HIGHS: User-friendly packaging, steers with ease, rides well.Fuel economy is unchanged from last year. The 1.5-liter CR-V with all-wheel drive again earns EPA ratings of 27 mpg city and 32 mpg highway. By comparison, the hybrid CR-V with all-wheel drive blows that city figure out of the water with a 40-mpg estimate and notches 34 mpg on the highway. Opting for front-wheel drive adds 1 to 2 mpg to the base engine’s figures and 2 to 3 mpg to the hybrid’s.The new CR-V benefits from a stiffer body structure and additional sound insulation that makes it quieter than before. Foot to the floor, we measured 74 decibels, versus 78 decibels previously. The hybrid, though, gets additional sound-deadening measures and is quieter still, by two decibels under full-throttle acceleration and by one decibel during 70-mph cruising.Grasp the steering wheel wrapped in smooth high-quality leather, and you discover steering that is crisp and nicely weighted, with a solid sense of on-center. It almost could be in a Mazda, but the CR-V’s chassis isn’t as snappily responsive as a CX-5’s. There’s a bit more body roll, and the Honda isn’t quite as eager to dive into corners. Here again, the hybrid, with its stiffer suspension, has the edge. The CR-V EX-L exhibited a class-competitive 0.84 g of grip, just fractionally less than the hybrid’s 0.85 g, rolling on Hankook Kinergy GT tires. At 235/60R-18, those tires’ tall sidewalls help the CR-V take the edge off broken pavement. They contribute to a smooth ride that effectively smoothers bumps while keeping the cabin placidly calm and free of disturbances.Marc Urbano|Car and DriverThe new CR-V’s interior is also free of the frustrations that can arise from weird or wonky switchgear. The shifter has moved from the lower dash in the outgoing model to a more normal position in the center console, and we’re glad to say it remains a traditional shift lever rather than a dial or a toggle. The climate controls are three simple dials (with the vents neatly integrated into the dash trim). All models now have partially screen-based instrumentation and Apple and Android phone mirroring. The EX gets a 7.0-inch touchscreen with volume and tuning knobs, while the EX-L upgrades to a larger 9.0-inch display but sacrifices the tuning knob. Plentiful storage space makes life easy, and despite being only mid-tier in the CR-V’s five-trim hierarchy, our EX-L’s interior had a handsome if straightforward design and quality materials. LOWS: Not as quick as the hybrid, not as economical as the hybrid, not as quiet as the hybrid.The CR-V’s easy everyday livability, overall competence, and lack of obvious downsides earned it a 10Best award this year. That award tells you that the CR-V hits its marks—and the hybrid version just does so a little bit better than this base-engine model. Both are likely to be just as ubiquitous as their forebears.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2023 Honda CR-V EX-L AWDVehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $37,055/$37,510Options: Radiant Red paint, $455
ENGINE
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 91 in3, 1498 cm3Power: 190 hp @ 6000 rpmTorque: 179 lb-ft @ 1700 rpm
TRANSMISSION
continuously variable automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 12.3-in vented disc/12.2-in discTires: Hankook Kinergy GT235/60R-18 103H M+S
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 106.3 inLength: 184.8 inWidth: 73.5 inHeight: 66.5 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 53/51 ft3Cargo Volume, behind F/R: 77/39 ft3Curb Weight: 3612 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 8.3 sec1/4-Mile: 16.4 sec @ 88 mph100 mph: 22.2 sec120 mph: 40.4 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 8.9 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 4.4 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 5.6 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 121 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 168 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.84 g
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 29/27/32 mpg
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDDeputy Editor, Reviews and FeaturesJoe Lorio has been obsessed with cars since his Matchbox days, and he got his first subscription to Car and Driver at age 11. Joe started his career at Automobile Magazine under David E. Davis Jr., and his work has also appeared on websites including Amazon Autos, Autoblog, AutoTrader, Hagerty, Hemmings, KBB, and TrueCar. More

From the February 1991 issue of Car and Driver.Mouthwatering station wagons come few and far between: the Audi Quattro, the Ford Taurus, the Mercedes 300, the Volvo Turbo. The first three showed up rounded, the last starkly boxlike, but all remain classy and well proportioned. About fifteen months ago, when Honda’s forward thinkers introduced to­day’s Accord sedans and coupes, they showed renderings presented as their own mouthwatering wagon. Its shape promised to outprofile even the world’s most handsome five-doors. Unlike many styling studies, this one was restrained enough to suggest a producible vehicle instead of a pure pipe dream. If the sketch came true, the Volvo, Mercedes, Ford, and Audi stylists would soon be frantically whittling away on some fresh five-doors. Like a cloudburst in the desert, here comes the Honda to gully-wash the sta­tus quo. Yet the Accord Wagon hasn’t come out as svelte as we expected. It lacks, perhaps, in the sheetmetal what looked so attractive on the sketch pad. But get this: the freethinkers who dreamed up this potential flood tide work not out of Honda’s Japanese R&D center and studio but its American think tank and design enclave in Southern Cal­ifornia. More irony: Honda will build the Accord wagon in the States—at its Marysville, Ohio, plant—for sale here and for export to Japan. Honda proves again that it can simultaneously move its markets in fast-forward and rapid­-rewind. Despite the stylish original plan, some details slipped away between the early rendering and the final fendering. The wagon’s bodywork remains leanly hand­some, especially the aggressive nose, slick shell, and glassy cabin. But the win­dows along the appended “boot” don’t blend into its shape—or the shapes of the other side windows—as seamlessly as the artwork led us to expect. The Accord’s liftgate and taillights also fail to mesh as smoothly as they might. Yet overall the wagon comes across as distinctly trim—­and trimmed for distinction. It bears a solid yet agile look, borne out by its basic solidity and dynamics. Concentrations of cargo inevitably cram every station wagon at times. Cargo fills space the way work expands to fill time, the way play takes up leisure hours: The Honda’s cargo capacity, though not huge, can haul plenty that doesn’t re­quire Mayflower movers. The nicely crafted carpet and panels encourage care in loading and unloading. We’d use pads or tarps to blunt heavy items with sharp edges. Cargo-packaging choices include a rear seat split to fold forward in one-­third, two-thirds, or full width according to needs—handy for skis (and crutches for aprés). To fold the rear seatbacks flat, you pull the bottom cushions up and flop them forward. Then you pull the rear headrests from their seatbacks, fold the backs forward, and safely slip the prongs of the rear headrests into receptacles on the backsides of the bottom cushion. A luggage cover mounted horizontally be­tween the rear wheel wells unreels from just behind the rear seat. Configured like a window shade, the cover’s eyelets hook on to tabs near the tailgate, hiding what­ever caboodle you’re carting around. Keeping the caboodle below the sills of the panoramic windows maintains excel­lent visibility out the tail and the right rear quarter. The driver’s B-pillar, the wagon’s only blind spot, stolidly blanks the view to the left rear quarter. Larry Griffin|Car and DriverThe interior dimensions suggest Honda has decided to aim more at birth­-controllers than population-explosionists. You’ll find plenty of room for luggage and four large travelers, but a maximum of only five will fit—and that’s only if the one sitting on the middle of the back seat is small enough to scuttle under a limbo bar without bending over backward. We say “sitting on” the rear seat because it’s as firm as a pew padded solely in shellac. Legroom front and rear proves adequate, extended in back by useful footroom under the front seats. The low bolsters up front make for com­fortable support over long distances, presuming you don’t abuse winding roads as if you were attacking the Suzuka Circuit. But drivers who have long legs will find the Accord’s pedals set too close, its wheel too far. We can’t fathom why Honda fails in this respect to match Nissan, Toyota, and Mazda.Honda packages an air bag in the nifty four-spoke steering wheel, replacing its add-on chrome “H” with the trademark molded into the padded hub cover. The wagon wears the same stylish wheel applied to other Accords. They are—how to phrase it?—unobtrusively eye-catching. Though smooth in the modem aero idiom, their subtle curva­ture, angled inlets, and glossy machining catch the light and flicker like MTV. For an outfit with very little use for chrome, Honda has a way with brightwork; note the crystal-like cuts of the mirrors within the halogen headlights. The high beams throw an even spread of light but also highlight the problems of many head­lights developed for use in countries with low speed limits: too much illumination directly in front of the car, not enough “throw” down the road. So your eyes, overwhelmed by your own pool of light, “stop down” like a camera lens that can’t be overridden—dimming the view of whatever lies further ahead, a dubious situation. Honda’s 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine applies its fuel injection, sixteen valves, and balance shafts to producing a spicy 140 horsepower. Its performance, though flavored more along the lines of nutmeg than tabasco, whips up enthusi­asm and lops off miles. The Accord’s five-speed, front-drive transaxle pulls the wagon’s 3170 pounds from 0 to 60 mph in 9.0 seconds and on up to a top speed of 119 mph. The Accord wagon feels secure till you need better tracking, maximum corner­ing, or absolute braking. Pavement creased by truck ruts causes the chassis to wig-wag. Tricky corners can quickly tax the Goodyear Eagle GAs beyond the wagon’s 0.76-g cornering grip. Worse, maximum braking reveals poor front-­rear balance and sorry 223-foot stops from 70 mph. These test results come as a shock from a chassis that feels good in the brisk driving invited by its basically good balance. Nevertheless, we had hoped the wag­on version of America’s best compact sedan would shine a little brighter. Honda is expected to ask twenty grand for it, a number big enough to rev up our expectations. Still, the Accord wag­on is very tasty stuff. We bet Honda, in short order, will make it maximum delicious.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
1991 Honda Accord EX WagonVehicle Type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICEAs Tested: $20,000 (est.)
ENGINEDOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 132 in3, 2156 cm3Power: 140 hp @ 5600 rpm 
TRANSMISSION5-speed manual
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 107.1 inLength: 186.0 inCurb Weight: 3170 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 9.0 sec1/4-Mile: 16.8 sec @ 82 mph100 mph: 28.6 secTop Speed: 119 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 223 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.76 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 24 mpg 
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity: 24 mpg (est.) 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More

There’s something to be said for knowing you have a good thing going and improving on a formula without upending it. That’s the guiding principle behind the 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLE53. This performance SUV throws a little more of everything into the mix, and while the result is largely the same as before, there wasn’t a lot here that needed addressing.There’s still a supercharged and turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six and a 48-volt starter-generator under the hood making a total of 429 horsepower, but thanks to a bigger turbocharger and some revised software, torque is up from 384 to 413 pound-feet. The electric motor contributes 21 horsepower and 148 pound-feet, helping fill in torque gaps down low and between gear changes rather than at the engine’s peak. That impressive shove is routed to all four wheels through a nine-speed automatic transmission.More on the Mercedes-AMG GLE53It’s a wonder what a little extra twist can do. In our testing, the revised GLE53 performed better in nearly every scenario compared to the 2021 GLE53 Coupe. The sprint to 60 mph required 4.4 seconds instead of 4.7. The updated GLE covered the quarter-mile in 13.0 seconds at 107 mph, shaving four-tenths of a second and adding 4 mph. Accelerating from 30 to 50 mph happened half a second sooner. Comparing outside the family, you’ll blow the doors off a Genesis GV80 3.5T, but a Porsche Cayenne GTS will still gap you by a fair bit.The only figures that didn’t improve were braking and skidpad grip, both of which were about even with the 2021 GLE53. Even fuel economy is nearly a wash; on our 200-mile, 75-mph highway fuel-economy loop, the new GLE53’s 25-mpg result is just 1 mpg lower than the outgoing version. And that still handily beats its official 23-mpg EPA highway rating.HIGHS: Perkier than before, loads of desirable standard equipment, negligible fuel-economy penalty.One of the things that makes the GLE53’s powertrain so peachy is how smooth it is. Power delivery always comes on strong as the electric supercharger zips the turbo up to speed to minimize lag without much perturbance from gear changes (they’re smooth too), and the electric motor’s torque-filling nature keeps the powertrain feeling strong no matter where the tach needle is. Most stop-start systems have trouble hiding some shudder under restart, but not this AMG—this is one of the least dramatic setups we’ve driven. It’s almost good enough to warrant being left on. The GLE isn’t as unflappable when Pure Michigan’s roads rear their ugly heads. Our test car arrived wearing optional 22-inch wheels wrapped in Yokohama Advan Sport V107 summer rubber, and the dub-dubs did not play well with Ann Arbor’s craggy local pavement. The ride was a little flintier and noisier than we’d expect of a large, plush SUV riding on a standard air springs with an $87,900 starting point. Unless you live in Palm Springs, we’d stick with stock. Sportier modes exist to flatten the handling and make corners a little more exciting, but with 5238 pounds to lug around, the AMG GLE53 never really feels like a true speedster—it’s more like a defensive lineman who can surprise with his 40-yard-dash time. The steering is generally unremarkable, and the same can be said for how the pedals feel underfoot.LOWS: Interior is a little dated, some large-wheel ride harshness.The GLE53’s interior retains the top-tier fit and finish we’ve come to expect from higher-end Mercedes vehicles, although it’s beginning to feel a little long of tooth. The black-and-cream two-tone motif doesn’t suffer from monotony, but its vent-heavy binnacle and the continued presence of a now-outdated infotainment touchpad remind you that a mid-cycle refresh doesn’t redo everything. AMG’s new double-bladed steering wheel makes an appearance ahead of a pair of 12.3-inch displays that cover gauge-cluster and infotainment duties. While the latest version of Mercedes’s MBUX software in here doesn’t have the visual punch of a Hyperscreen, it’s still responsive and easy to use, and smartphone mirroring is standard. The best updates to the GLE’s cabin come in terms of equipment. Stuttgart threw everything but the kitchen sink in here during the mid-cycle refresh, and it’s all standard. This year’s kit swells to include a dual-mode exhaust, a Burmester surround-sound upgrade, augmented-reality navigation, surround-view cameras, an electric panoramic sunroof, and nappa leather upholstery.Then again, considering the base price rose nearly $10,000 alongside the refresh, there’d better be more to enjoy. Our test car kept it pretty calm in terms of optional equipment. Adding nappa leather and microfiber to the steering wheel cost $500, while heating the windshield-wiper nozzles and the steering wheel only required $450. The wheels were the sole big-ticket option at $3950, while the Night package, which swaps all the exterior brightwork to gloss black, tacked on another $750. All in, this GLE53 carried a $93,550 window sticker, which is at least 20 grand less than you’d spend on the GLE63 and its 4.0-liter V-8.VERDICT: This nicely refined hybrid performer brings even more to the table.Mercedes didn’t really need to do much to the GLE53 to keep it relevant, and it’s clear the company didn’t feel like messing with success. A little extra oomph, some more standard equipment, and a little aesthetic nip-tuck was all that was needed to keep this hybrid feeling fresh enough.Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
2024 Mercedes-AMG GLE53 4Matic+ SUVVehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $87,900/$93,500Options: 22-inch AMG Cross-Spoke forged wheels, $3950; AMG Night package (black exterior accents, AMG exhaust system in black chrome), $750; AMG performance steering wheel, $500; Winter package (heated steering wheel and windshield washers), $450
ENGINE
supercharged, turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve inline-6, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement: 183 in3, 2999 cm3Power: 429 hp @ 5800 rpmTorque: 413 lb-ft @ 2200 rpm
TRANSMISSION
9-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: multilink/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 15.8-in vented, cross-drilled disc/13.6-in vented discTires: Yokohama Advan Sport V107F: 285/40ZR-22 100Y MO1 Extra LoadR: 325/35ZR-22 114Y MO1 Extra Load
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 117.9 inLength: 194.4 inWidth: 79.3 inHeight: 70.2 inCurb Weight: 5238 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 4.4 sec100 mph: 11.2 sec1/4-Mile: 13.0 sec @ 107 mph130 mph: 21.4 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.2 sec.Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 5.0 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 2.9 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.6 secTop Speed (C/D est): 155 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 154 ftBraking, 100–0 mph: 308 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.85 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 18 mpg75-mph Highway Driving: 25 mpg75-mph Highway Range: 400 mi
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 20/18/23 mpg
C/D TESTING EXPLAINEDSenior EditorCars are Andrew Krok’s jam, along with boysenberry. After graduating with a degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009, Andrew cut his teeth writing freelance magazine features, and now he has a decade of full-time review experience under his belt. A Chicagoan by birth, he has been a Detroit resident since 2015. Maybe one day he’ll do something about that half-finished engineering degree. More

From the February 1991 issue of Car and Driver.When Subaru announced it was going to bolt a turbocharger onto its best se­dan, we happily anticipated the arrival of a Legacy From Hell. Imagine: 217 horse­power, 0 to 60 in 6.9 seconds, four-wheel drive. Why, John Buffum could nose this car out of the showroom Friday night and return on Monday morning with a massive SCCA PRO Rally trophy wedged into the back seat.”No, no, not that car,” said Subaru’s Fred Heiler when we asked about this Legacy Sport Sedan’s stateside arrival. “This is a tamer version, a more main­stream car for the U.S.” Uh-oh. You hear the word “main­stream” and you just know it’s going to include “Baby on Board” signs and a free tape of John Denver’s greatest hits. Here’s the bad news: We won’t see the 217-horse four-cam be­cause (1) it’s expensive to build, (2) it was intended only as a rally homologation ex­ercise, and (3) it doesn’t jibe with Suba­ru’s image in America, which, as it hap­pens, resembles nothing so much as a medley of John Denver’s greatest hits. What we get instead is a Legacy Sport Sedan with a diminutive water-cooled IHI turbocharger that raises the SOHC 2.2-liter boxer’s output from 130 to 160 hp. Rocket shoppers will be disappoint­ed, although the force-fed engine’s more significant statistic is the extra 44 pound­-feet of torque payload arrives 1600 rpm sooner than it did before. HIGHS: Smooth turbo, a real road grabber.All of which is more important than it sounds. This turbocharged engine feels as smooth as a normally aspirated one, with the juice delivered from 2000 to 5500 rpm in a fat, seamless flow. That was Subaru’s intention. The turbo’s inlet is tiny, and both the angle and the curva­ture of its turbine blades are designed for rapid spool-up. Throttle response is very good, and there is no turbo lag. In fact, there’s no boost gauge in the cockpit. If it weren’t for the chrome “Turbo” badge on the Legacy’s rump and the subtle air intake near the base of the windshield (a scoop that does indeed work, force-feed­ing air directly atop the turbo snail in the interest of cooler operation), a lot of driv­ers would not know that this growly, whiskey-throated boxer was breathing artificially hard. Under the whip, the Legacy Sport Se­dan accelerates smartly, but the 160-hp engine is not entirely responsible. Some of the credit goes to sage engineering. This car weighs 3140 pounds, good for a five-passenger sedan with full-time four-wheel drive. It sprints to 60 mph in just 7.9 seconds and clears the quarter-mile in 16.1 seconds, which makes it a half­second quicker than the equally powerful Nissan Maxima SE. We’re not talking about gobs of power here, and it’s tough to keep your right Florsheim out of the 8.7 psi of available boost. The penalty is a 19-mpg ob­served-fuel-economy figure—and the Sport Sedan insists on drinking premium unleaded. We took the wheel for an eight-hour drive with Masaru Katsurada, the car’s chief engineer. Katsurada wanted to pro­vide higher steering effort, as well as more aggressiveness from the spring rates, the anti-roll bars, the bushings, and the tires. But the final tuning, he groaned, would require a process he hates: a herd of engineers, product plan­ners, and general hangers-on all bicker­ing and nit-picking and fussing with the settings until, he said, ”I’d have a suspen­sion with the personality of a committee, which is no personality.” Katsurada’s solution: “I pointed at one of my engineers, a rally driver named Eiji Tatsumi, and I said to him: ‘Tatsumi, you select settings. You drive alone. You change suspension until you are happy. No one else. Then drive Legacy to me. That is the suspension we build.'” And that, he said, is what happened. The engineer’s rally roots apparently were not deeply buried. He retained the Legacy’s long wheel travel and its rela­tively supple ride. At warp speed, the car still steps over railroad crossings and B­-road yumps with grace and composure. But when the struts and springs ap­proach the limit of their strokes, they are now 70-percent stiffer than those on non-turbo Legacys. In day-to-day driving, the ride is nearly as compliant as the standard sedan’s (which makes you ask, “Why don’t all Legacys have these springs?”), and you feel the added stiffness only in the struts’ last inch of travel. The system clearly works: witness our Sport Sedan’s 0.80-g skidpad performance. LOWS: Indifferent styling, tacky plastic stuff inside.The unique tuning extends to the steering’s variable assist, which bleeds off far more quickly than the standard Legacy’s. This is a worthwhile improve­ment, although we’d still prefer more on-­center feel above 45 mph. Katsurada’s engineer mated six-inch­-wide alloy wheels to Bridgestone RE88s. For no extra money, you can specify all­-season RE92s if you live in a really filthy climate. But don’t do it unless you have to. Connected to four-wheel drive, the stickier RE88s offer generous grip and fine straight-line tracking, even during a near-blinding downpour on the greasy roads of the Green Mountains in Vermont. Moreover, we are loath to tamper with any tire-suspension combination that can stop from 70 mph in 173 feet, matching the stopping distance of a BMW 535i. Subaru’s full-time all-wheel drive is a well-sorted system that is both reliable and virtually transparent in operation, and it accounts for less than a 200-pound penalty. In the Sport Sedan, the slick five­-speed manual is mated to a mechanical center differential with a 50/50 front/rear torque split. Viscous clutches pro­vide limited slip for the rear and center differentials. To cope with the additional torque, the Sport Sedan has a new hy­draulic clutch with a pull-type release bearing. For some reason, this has made the clutch pedal stiff, and there is now more takeup vagueness than we appreciate. Tearing along our favorite roller­coaster roads, the Sport Sedan rarely runs out of stick, but neither does it en­courage you to toss it into turns. Hustle the car in rally-driver fashion and it sim­ply plows resolutely, elongating the radi­us of its turn with the monotonous predictability of a Johnny Carson monologue. You can alter this trait in only one way: lift off the throttle and the front tires will bite instantly, returning to the business of steering and—presto!—you’re back on course. Product-liability lawyers will hate this car. Buyers drawn to the Legacy Sport Se­dan won’t need to spend much time jawing with salesmen—not a single op­tion is needed. In addition to the stan­dard four-wheel drive and Bosch ABS, the deal includes air conditioning, power windows, central locking, cruise control, a moonroof (which rattled like an an­noyed diamondback in our test car), a sonically spectacular Clarion-built 80-watt stereo with four speakers, and spe­cial front seats with new (and nicely shaped) squabs and backrests. The Legacy’s cabin is still awash in life­less plastic surfaces whose tacky grain makes a mess of the doorsills, most of the dash, the headliner, the A-pillars, the sun visors, even the steering-wheel hub. Su­baru’s leather-laden Legacy LSi would be just the ticket, but no turbocharged engine is offered in that model. Bottom-line time: the Sport Sedan is carefully engineered, capable, and fast in its class. But it is also a car that drives like it looks—largely benign and bland, somehow failing to excite. This $19,350 turbocharged Subaru would draw a lot more attention if it were priced to compete with $16,000 Honda Accords and Mitsubishi Galants. Instead, it finds itself within $650 of a nasty brawl with true luminaries in the hot $20,000 sports-sedan niche. It is, for example, neither as fast nor as firmly planted as the Ford Taurus SHO. It puts out the same 160 horsepower and rides as capably as the jewel-like Nissan Maxima SE, but it is not as luxurious, as finely finished, nor as satisfying to drive. VERDICT: A B+ in Engineering, a C in Fun 101.This revised Legacy’s principal al­lure—and the hook on which the marketing mavens seem dangerously willing to hang most of Subaru’s recently dwin­dling fortune—is maximum traction: four-wheel drive and ABS. That may carry the car to glory in Vermont, and it may give John Denver a rocky-mountain high. But it makes the car a quirky choice—a kind of Subaru hallmark, come to think of it—in most other areas. The Legacy Sport Sedan is a car we respect more than we desire. Arrow pointing downArrow pointing downSpecificationsSpecifications
1991 Subaru Legacy Sport SedanVehicle Type: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $19,294/$19,357Options: floor mats, $63
ENGINEturbocharged SOHC flat-4, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionDisplacement: 135 in3, 2212 cm3Power: 160 hp @ 5600 rpmTorque: 181 lb-ft @ 2800 rpm 
TRANSMISSION[S]5-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 10.9-in vented disc/10.5-in vented discTires: Bridgestone Potenza RE88195/60HR-15
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 101.6 inLength: 177.6 inWidth: 66.5 inHeight: 53.5 inPassenger Volume, F/R: 47/36 ft3Trunk Volume: 14 ft3Curb Weight: 3140 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 7.9 sec1/4-Mile: 16.1 sec @ 84 mph100 mph: 24.2 sec120 mph: 57.3 secTop Gear, 30–50 mph: 11.4 secTop Gear, 50–70 mph: 10.1 secTop Speed: 129 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 173 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.80 g 
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 19 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMYCity/Highway: 19/25 mpg 
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED More