Autos
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What Exactly Defines Cars and SUVs These Days? Marketing Spin and a Regulatory Morass
Quick, look at the picture above. Which of these Volvos is a car, and which is the truck? The Volvo on the left is the V60 Polestar, a fizzing family hauler with 415 hp and 494 lb-ft coursing through its 2.0-liter turbo-four engine and e-motors. It has 5.4 inches of ground clearance and gets 28/33 mpg city/highway fuel economy (70/68 mpg-e on gas and electricity). The Volvo on the right is a (discontinued) XC70 AWD, a refined trundler generating 235 hp and 236 lb-ft through a 3.2-liter inline-six engine. It has 8.3 inches of ground clearance and fuel economy of 18/25 mpg city/highway. On initial inspection, they’re both wagons based on passenger-car platforms. And they sure look like the same type of vehicle, right? Wrong. The V60 Polestar is a station wagon, which means it is classified a...
Micro Changes in Tinytown: 2021 Nissan Micra Loses Diesel, Gains Trims
The Nissan Micra is an interesting, tiny little thing that in an alternate universe (maybe a late-2010s gas crunch?) might have made it to American shores as a gas-saving, subcompact commuter car. After all, it’s loaded with more character than a Versa, and our close Canadian neighbors had been able to buy Micras from their introduction in the early 1980s right up until this year, when it was finally discontinued. And in Mexico, the previous-generation Micra is still available as the Nissan March. But over in Europe, the Micra is still going strong, and it’s been updated for the 2021 model year. The biggest news for the refreshed model—it was all-new in 2017, looking a bit like a tinier Nissan Leaf—is a change in powertrains. A new 1.0-liter, turbocharged gasoline engine is now...
Updated Jeep Compass Debuts in China, Likely Points to U.S. Changes
Jeep’s taken the wraps off of a refreshed Compass in China, and we suspect the updates shown on the off-road-oriented brand’s small crossover will find their way to the U.S.-spec model for the 2022 or 2023 model year. Changes to the exterior of the Compass appear minor, with a new front fascia, reworked grille, and mildly revised headlight bezels replete with LED lighting, adding a hint of additional aggression to the Jeep’s mug. More significant updates appear within the crossover’s cabin. A revised dashboard emphasizes the interior’s width and welcomes a massive infotainment screen and digital gauge cluster, one of which measures in at 10.3 inches and the other at 10.1—we presume both are optionally available and a smaller infotainment screen and analog gauges are standard kit. As in ot...
GM’s Diesel Full-Size SUVs’ Combined MPG Better That of the Much Smaller Infiniti Q60 Coupe’s
We already knew the next generation of full-size SUVs from General Motors—including the 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade—are due to offer a diesel engine option. Now, though, we know just how efficient this powertrain makes the big three-row SUVs—or at least two-wheel-drive iterations. The 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe diesel leads the lineup with a rating of 24 mpg in combined city and highway driving. It’s much more frugal than the gas Tahoe, which tops out at 18 mpg. The beefier 2021 Chevrolet Suburban diesel gets 23 mpg, a sum that bests the gas model’s rating by 5 mpg. For reference, the EPA rates the 2021 Infiniti Q60 sports coupe at 22 mpg combined—regardless of its six-cylinder engine’s state of tune. Similarly, the diesel-powered GMC Yu...
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2021 Range Rover Velar First Look: Velar-ian Steal
We spent a year enjoying the Land Rover Range Rover Velar’s potent engine, surprisingly good reliability, and eye-catching looks. We also adored the luxurious interior, with the notable exception of its glitchy infotainment system. Interior tech is one area that Land Rover promises to improve upon with its latest update to the Velar, which includes an improved multimedia system and new mild-hybrid powertrains, among other updates, for the 2021 model year. Velar customers are able to choose three engine options. The first one—a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 247 hp—carries over from last year. Then there are two new 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder “mild-hybrid” options: one with 335 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque and the other delivering 395 hp and 405 lb-ft of twist. Both ...
2021 Chrysler Pacifica AWD First Test Review: An SUV Disguised as a Minivan?
Here is a secret Chrysler won’t tell you: For 2021, it’s added an SUV to its tiny lineup—sort of. The brand’s last SUV was the unloved Aspen, which briefly lumbered around circa 2007. And so, after a long hiatus, a high-riding, three-row, all-wheel-drive-equipped family hauler returns to the Chrysler range. It’s called the Pacifica. OK, obviously the Pacifica is first and foremost a minivan. But for 2021, a new all-wheel-drive (AWD) system becomes available, intended to make the updated Pacifica more competitive against today’s crop of three-row SUVs, which have taken over in America’s hive mind as go-to family haulers, despite minivans’ superior packaging and flexibility. In any case, an AWD-equipped Pacifica could the van an ideal, um, crossover for drivers who seek SUV capab...
2021 Chrysler Pacifica Interior Review
Forget Get Shorty’s dust-buster Olds Silhouette, this 2021 Chrysler Pacifica interior makes it “the Cadillac of Minivans.” That’s our assessment after recently crawling all over a pair of upper-trim Pacificas. In fact, its diamond-stitched upholstery might qualify the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Pinnacle for consideration as the Bentley of minivans. Here’s our assessment of the midcycle-refreshed sixth generation of Earth’s most popular minivan. (At 15 million and counting, maybe it’s actually the Toyota Corolla of minivans.) <!– –> Color Us Impressed Sure, you can get an all-black interior if you’re into the Dieter/Schprockets aesthetic, but in these dour times, a splash of color really heightens one’s mood, so most Pacificas get some contrast color. Our favorite hue is Rodèo...
2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid vs. 2021 Toyota Sienna: Hybrids Move the Masses
Before the current millennium started, minivans were America’s must-have family vehicles. For nearly two decades their versatility, interior space, and comfort features attracted families. But the arrival of boxy three-row crossover SUVs—with their unibody platforms, appealing designs, and all-wheel-drive capability—replaced minivans little by little. In the last 15 years or so, about a dozen minivan nameplates hit the guillotine, and during that time more than 10 three-row SUVs hit the marketplace. But minivans are not completely dead—Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, and Kia continue to invest in the segment, launching new models that are keeping families comfortable, entertained, and safe. The 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and 2021 Toyota Sienna are currently the only two gasoline-electric...
2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid First Test: Powerful USP
The burly-fendered, desert-marauding Ford F-150 Raptor is taking a breather this year, but might its killer performance be eclipsed by a mild-mannered, Walter-Mitty-esque new 2021 Ford F-150 hybrid? To find out, we borrowed a 2021 Ford F-150 Lariat Sport 4×4 PowerBoost, strapped our gear to it, and were frankly amazed that—even without fender flares, heat extractors, clearance lights, or any other extroverted design details—it’s ready to race Raptors for pinks. But by the end of our three days with this F-150, it was the power in the pickup box, not under the hood, that most impressed us. <!– –> How Powerful Is the 2021 Ford F-150 Hybrid? Sandwiching a 44-hp, 221-lb-ft electric motor in between the 394-hp, 492-lb-ft 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 EcoBoost engine and the 10...
2021 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class First Look: Bach in the High Life Again
Until recently, modern-day Maybachs have mostly flown under the radar. The “original” 2003 Maybach 57 and 62 largely looked like old Mercedes-Benz S-Classes. Both were unceremoniously discontinued in 2012 after having their lunch eaten by the day’s Rolls-Royce Ghost and Bentley Flying Spur (née Continental Flying Spur). But that started to change with the reconstitution of the ultra-luxury badge as the Mercedes-Maybach sub-brand. The first 2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600 didn’t move any design needles, but the resemblance to Mercedes models was more forgivable, and vehicles such as the special 2017 Mercedes-Maybach G 650 Landaulet and new 2021 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 made the brand relevant to the SUV-crazed ultra-wealthy. With the reveal of the 2021 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, standout styling,...
2021 Range Rover Evoque First Look: Chic SUV Gets Techier
Land Rover pulled the sheet off the all-new second-generation Range Rover Evoque just last year, but it’s already updating its style-forward compact SUV. Among other things, the 2021 Range Rover Evoque receives Jaguar Land Rover’s new Pivi Pro touchscreen infotainment that’s said to be faster and more responsive than the unit it replaces—a feat, it must be said, that would not be difficult to achieve. For 2021, the Range Rover Evoque is offered in five trim levels, with the base Evoque S P250 starting at $44,350 and the range-topping Evoque R-Dynamic HSE P250 priced from $54,450. As before, a turbocharged 2.0-liter Ingenium four-cylinder good for 246 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque comes standard. But now that’s the only powertrain on offer, as Land Rover has stripped the P300 mil...
