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March 2020 COVER STORY

30 Wait, What? Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 vs. Chevrolet Corvette Z51 Forget Mustang vs. Camaro. Ford’s Shelby GT500 is ready to challenge Chevrolet’s flagship C8 for Detroit dominance. Randy Pobst

ON THE COVER Supercars Beware Ford’s Shelby GT500 may have pony car roots, but it’ll roar with the world’s best.

40 Tray Sexy 2020 Toyota Highlander Will Toyota’s thoughtful interior touches be enough to fend off the competition? Zach Gale 44 Butchers’ Benzes 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250 and CLA 250 Once an epithet for its entry-premium cars, Mercedes goes all-in on democratizing luxury. Scott Evans 48 The Best-Handling, Best-Riding Luxury SUV in the World? Probably. 2020 Aston Martin DBX Aston Martin sets the benchmark for comfort and capability.

52 Don’t Call It a Comeback 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hyundai bets on emotional connection to keep you in a midsize sedan. Scott Evans 56 Minor Updates, Big Dividends 2020 Nissan Titan Changes bring the Nissan Titan closer to the full-size pack. Scott Evans 58 Horses for Courses 2021 Audi RS 6 Avant and RS Q8 Audi brings two high-powered, sharp-handling family haulers to market. Jonny Lieberman, Mark Rechtin

62 Because It’s There Britain’s Bloodhound is back—and getting ready to set a new land speed record. Angus MacKenzie 68 Merging Identities 1969 Toyota Corolla IS F V-8 This custom-built vintage Corolla can do 0–60 in 4.3 seconds. Miguel Cortina

Angus MacKenzie

62 40 EST. 1949

VOL. 72 NO. 3

48 MotorTrend (ISSN 0027-2094) March 2020, Vol. 72, No. 3. Published monthly by TEN: Publishing Media, LLC, 275 Madison Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10016. Copyright© 2020 by TEN: Publishing Media, LLC; All rights reserved. Periodicals Postage Paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Subscriptions: U.S. and U.S. Possessions $18 for 12 issues. Canada $30 per year and international orders $42 per year (including surface mail postage). Payment in advance, U.S. funds only. Postmaster: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to: MotorTrend, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235.

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Top Gear America returns! Meet the new hosts and The Stig.

Departments

12 Lohdown The more things change, the more things get insane 14 Intake This month’s hot metal 24 Reference Mark Godspeed to one of the greats 26 Technologue Might this new-concept rotary range extender fly? 28 Interview Mary Barra, General Motors Chairman and CEO 82 The Big Picture Nostalgia: not what it used to be

MTGARAGE Arrival Mazda3 Updates Acura RDX • BMW X2 Chrysler Pacifica • Honda Insight • Subaru Ascent Toyota RAV4 • Volkswagen Atlas Verdict Alfa Romeo Giulia

WATCH TOP GEAR AT MOTORTREND.COM/TOPGEAR! More than 200 hours of programming, including 170 episodes of the beloved Top Gear U.K. series, are at MotorTrend.com/topgear. 8 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

A bad day on the road still beats a good one off it. Stay out there with basic liability insurance starting at $75 a year. Add roadside assistance for less than $1 a month.

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NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF

Trend 3.20

TOP GEAR AMERICA

Dax Shepard, Rob Corddry, and Jethro Bovingdon will host the all-new show on the MotorTrend app WORDS SCOTT EVANS

14 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

Car Guy Cred: These four own 21 vehicles and two trailers between them, though Dax Shepard accounts for 17 of those, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not really sure if The Stig owns a car, or even a change of clothes.

fter an exhaustive search, we’re proud to announce the hosts of Top Gear America, coming exclusively to the MotorTrend app in spring 2020: Dax Shepard, Rob Corddry, and Jethro Bovingdon. Or, as they tell it: two comedians, a guy who’s actually British, and The Stig. “If we’re ever given a script, I promise the viewers that I’m going to light it on ﬁre and throw it away,” Corddry said. “So you can count on me for that, at least. I really think that the strength of this show is going to be an honest interplay between the three of us.” Corddry, like Shepard and Bovingdon, is both a lifelong car enthusiast and a big Top Gear fan. “I feel like that’s the one prerequisite the host should have,” Shepard said. “Cars are my full-time hobby. It’s the only reason I act: to acquire money to buy s--t that you put gas in.” Shepard, known for shows like Parenthood, Bless This Mess, and the movie CHiPS, is no stranger to a track. “Road America is my favorite track,” he said. “It’s unbelievable. The fact that you could hit a deer out on the back straightaway is always thrilling. I think that track is spectacular. There’s so much going on. “I also really like Road Atlanta,” he continued. “It’s certainly a fun track, too. I got to race in that Lamborghini Super Trofeo series at Lime

Rock, and the last turn into the straightaway, the downhill right-hander is a very precarious turn. It’s surreal. You’re all in or you’re all out. And then Fontana, which is basically you’re racing in a parking lot and then the huge bank oval, which is an incredible feeling, as well. And then of course Laguna [Seca], which is basically if you live in California, the track. That’s the track I probably am on the most frequently.” Bovingdon, who doesn’t own a ranch to fill with 17 different vehicles and trailers like Shepard does, is all about the driving. “I love cars, I love driving cars, and I love doing stupid stuff in cars,” Bovingdon said, “and if we get to do all of those things, I don’t see how it can’t be fun and fun to watch.” Bovingdon is well known among MotorTrend subscribers as the co-host of Head 2 Head, where he’s pitted some of the greatest sports cars, trucks, and SUVs in the world against each other. Off camera, he’s been found on the pages and websites of MotorTrend, Automobile, CAR, and evo. In between all that, he occasionally finds time to win his class at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring endurance race and set lap records around the world. “One of my first cars was an E36 BMW M3 GT,” he said. “I’d read it had done an 8:23 lap or something, and I foolishly—having never been to the Nürburgring—was like,

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 15

NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF

You can sign up at MotorTrendOnDemand.com ‘Well, we can probably get that down to eight minutes.’ I spent two years trying to make it do that. The first attempt, I think I did an 8:12, and then every time I went back after that, it broke. One time, it got stuck in fourth gear and I had to drive it back from western Germany to my home in Northamptonshire, north of London.” With two racers on the show, you can bet there will be rivalry between them whenever they get behind the wheel. “I think there’ll be a lot of competition between Jethro and I, in a loving way,” Shepard said. “Obviously, he’ll win, and sometimes I’ll win, and it’ll be devastating when I lose, and I think that’ll be fun for everyone to watch. Jethro’s definitely got the seat-time advantage on me, and I’ve not driven any of these cars. I’ve never driven a McLaren or half the [cars] that he’s driven.” Whatever contests Jethro, Dax, or the producers cook up, you can be sure Corddry will be stirring the pot. “It’s not going to be my role to talk about the technical [stuff ],” Corddry said, also working blue, “as much as it’s going to be to just go, ‘Ooh,’ and ‘Aah,’ and then pit Jethro and Dax against each other, because I want to watch those nerds fight it out.” But behind his “I just fell into this gig” schtick, Corddry is far more than the setup man. He knows his cars. Long before he was driving exotics on HBO’s Ballers and traveling through time in a hot tub, the four-time Emmy Award winner cut his teeth on a ’75 Ford Pinto Wagon with no floorboards. These days, it’s a Porsche 911 Carrera S. “Early on, in my experiences with cars at a young age,” he said, “I made a choice to not get all bogged down in the details. 16 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE STIG

orget any American cousin you may have seen, The Stig has landed in California to ﬁlm Top Gear America alongside Dax Shepard, Rob Corddry, and Jethro Bovingdon. We cornered the reclusive driver and TV personality during a photo shoot in hopes of gaining some insights on the new show. We know The Stig is a driver of huge talent but few words, so we hoped bringing a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, a mid-engine Corvette, and a McLaren 720S into the studio would open things up. Instead, we found The Stig staring at a lamp. MT: Welcome back to the

ofﬁce! Don’t worry about the mess from last time. It’s all been taken care of. The Stig: … MT: I hope the A/C is on high enough in here. I know it’s a bit warmer than you’re used to outside. Does it ever get a little warm under all that gear?

And just get psyched about cars, in general. Yeah, I know what the different sizes of engines are and I understand why, but I don’t bug myself with that. “I told them, when they called me, you know, I was a big fan of Top Gear, the original,” he continued, “and I said, ‘Look, I’m none of those guys. I’m an enthusiast. I’m, if anything else, the audience.’ ... What I love about the original is the interaction between the three hosts. The

TREND I 03.20

The Stig: … MT: I see you’ve had a chance to meet the hosts. Are you excited to be working with them? The Stig: … MT: You’re no stranger to working with celebrities, of course, what with all the stars in the reasonably priced cars. The Stig: … MT: Jethro is from the U.K., as well, and quite a driver himself. Have you two worked together previously? The Stig: … (Editor’s note: At this point, The Stig abruptly wandered off in the direction of the Corvette.) MT: What do you think of putting the engine in the back? The Stig: … MT: Do you support carmakers breaking decades of tradition if it makes a car better? The Stig: … MT: You know, both that Mustang Shelby GT500 and the McLaren over there have more than 700 horsepower. If you could only pick one, which do you drive? The Stig: … (Editor’s note: The Stig turned and walked out the door. We assumed this meant the interview was over.)

audience, they like cars, but also, they’re there to see the interaction. They’re there to see us smile and get all excited. And drive, and potentially embarrass ourselves.” Even if he’s not a walking encyclopedia—though he undersells his credentials— Corddry won’t be boring. “They want me to wrestle The Stig?” he asked. “I’ll wrestle The Stig. I’ll GrecoRoman wrestle The Stig.” Starting this spring, you can stream episodes of Top Gear America on the MotorTrend app.

Our plan to use delicious cake to lure The Stig into removing the helmet predictably failed. More cake for us, then.

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 17

NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF

Intake 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe FIRST LOOK

new Chevrolet Suburban is big. In dimension. In investment. In importance. As the sun sets on the current Suburban, which came out in 2014 as a 2015 model, a new and massive three-row SUV with vast improvements takes its place, extending the life of the longest-running nameplate in automotive history at 85 years and counting. The 2021 Suburban will go on sale next spring, riding on the same new architecture that underpins the Silverado 1500 and Silverado HD pickups, as well as its full-size SUV sibling, the 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. The Tahoe is the SUV for those who tend to carry four people regularly (instead of six or eight) and use all the rear space for cargo. The Tahoe’s wheelbase grew by 4.9 inches to 120.9, and overall length increased 6.7 inches to 210.7. Although it has grown for the 2021 model year, the Tahoe is still a tight vehicle compared with the new 2021 Chevrolet Suburban, which 18 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

is 15 inches longer. Like the pickups that have grown in size, the Suburban is also ofﬁcially massive. The 134.1inch wheelbase is 4.1 inches longer than the outgoing model’s, and the overall length is up 1.3 inches to 225.7. This offers second-row Suburban passengers an extra 2.3 inches, and the third row gets an additional 2.2 inches of legroom. For the ﬁrst time, the Suburban and Tahoe also get a multilink independent rear suspension. Combined with

The interior of the new Suburban (left) and Tahoe (below) adopts cues from Chevrolet’s trucks, which is a step forward but still not class leading.

the longer wheelbase, the new suspension makes for a lower cargo ﬂoor. The Tahoe features 40 percent more third-row legroom and a whopping 66 percent more cargo room behind the third row, giving it best-in-class dimensions, according to Chevy. By comparison, the 2020 Ford Expedition has 25 percent less cargo room behind the third row. The Tahoe’s longer wheelbase also allows for a larger

rear door to make it easier to get in and out. Third-row passengers get an additional 10 inches of legroom, and the second-row seat now slides 5.6 inches. The Suburban’s cargo room grows by 1.8 cubic feet behind that third row. Push a button to fold the second- and third-row seats ﬂat, and the cargo room reaches 144.7 cubic feet, 23.0 more than the old model. GM knows a good thing when it has it: It keeps Magnetic

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Intake

Tahoe RST

Ride Control. The damping system is standard on Premier and High Country trims and an option on Z71. The chassis technology to reduce bouncing, body roll, and vibrations can now be paired with RST

Welcome news: The clunky gearshift stalk is replaced with buttons.

Air Ride Adaptive Suspension, which is an option on High Country and Z71 models. Air Ride offers load leveling at all four corners of the SUV and can adjust the vehicle height by 4.0 inches.

The 355-hp, 383-lb-ft 5.3-liter and 420-hp, 460-lb-ft 6.2-liter V-8 engines carry over, but the active fuel management system is replaced by the more efficient Dynamic Fuel Management. Don’t expect big fuel economy numbers, though, as the new trucks are bigger and heavier. The most fuel-efficient option will be the new Duramax 3.0-liter turbodiesel I-6 that’s available on all but the Z71. It generates 277 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. It becomes a club of one: GM is alone in offering a diesel in a full-size SUV in the U.S. The architecture is flexible enough to accommodate electric motors and batteries in the future if GM wants a hybrid powertrain. But that would not be in the first model year. GM is expected to add pure electric SUVs as well as pickups in the future, but those would be on a totally different, dedicated architecture for battery electric vehicles. The bespoke electric platform will yield an electric pickup in the fall of 2021, CEO Mary Barra said. Our expectation is for an electric SUV to come later than that. For now, all will be mated to GM’s 10-speed automatic, and we applaud the death of the gearshift stalk, replaced by tasteful buttons on the

dash next to the touchscreen, leaving ample room for storage in the center console. GM has been criticized for dull interiors. The SUVs take style up a notch from the pickups but still land below best in class. The cabin is more spacious, some of the materials are a nice upgrade, and stitching is accompanied by piping on the seats. The interior is brighter, with more greenhouse and a first-ever panoramic roof. Wheel sizes range from 18 to 22 inches. A big advantage of the new architecture is its electrical bandwidth, which accommodates more safety and connectivity features. There’s five times the data processing power of the outgoing model to support vehicle diagnostics and over-the-air updates. Suburbans have 30 standard and optional safety and convenience technologies. There’s a standard 10.0inch color infotainment touchscreen plus an 8.0-inch instrument cluster on top trim levels or a 4.2-inch driver information center on LS, LT, RST, and Z71 trims. A massive 15.0-inch head-up display is a segment first. For the back seat, there are available 12.6-inch screens on the backs of the two front seats. Passengers can share screen content or go their own way. There is a built-in Wi-Fi hot spot and easily accessible USB and power outlets, and the system is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible. A Max Trailering package is designed to ease hitch alignment, monitor trailer tire pressures and temperatures, and account for trailer length in the blind-zone alert. A label on the driver-side door jamb will help calculate the vehicle’s exact capacities. Alisa Priddle

REAR VIEW From the MotorTrend Archive ...

Best of the L.A. Show

Hyundai Vision T Concept Make a few tweaks, and you’re looking at the

next Hyundai Tucson. The concept is slightly longer overall on a 5.3-inch-longer wheelbase, and it’s powered by an undescribed plug-in hybrid drivetrain. The coolest trick, though, is the front and rear lighting elements, which look like the rest of the metal trim when they’re off but light up when powered.

Volkswagen ID Space Vizzion Nearly ready for production, it’ll replace the Golf Alltrack by 2022. The ID Space Vizzion (yes, really) is a pure EV thanks to an 82-kW-hr battery in the ﬂoor and a 205-kW rear electric motor. A front electric motor for all-wheel drive is being considered. Volkswagen expects a range of 300 miles. The interior previews VW’s new 15.6-inch infotainment display with all-new software.

Chevrolet Trailblazer Squeezing between the Trax and Equinox, the all-new Trailblazer will only come with three-cylinder engines making 137 to 155 hp. A CVT comes with the small engine and a nine-speed auto with the big engine, which can also get all-wheel drive. Base models are expected to sticker for under $20,000 when it goes on sale this spring.

This issue was dedicated to our sneak preview of the 1970 racing season in Trans Am, NHRA, Can Am, NASCAR, and USAC. Elsewhere, we ran a family sedan comparison featuring the AMC

Ambassador, Chevy Impala, Dodge Polara, and Ford XL, with the Impala inching ahead for the win. We also had our first drive of the AMC Gremlin. “One day some drag racer will probably put a Hemi in it,” we wrote. Turns out, we were right; our very own Roadkill did just that last year.

March 1990 PRICE: $2.95

March 2010 PRICE: $4.99

We unknowingly entered our last decade of Import Car of the Year in 1990, as the award would be folded into Car of the Year at the turn of the century. Nevertheless, our final decade of ICOTY started off with a bang, with the Nissan 300ZX Turbo earning the Calipers.

March served as our Future Cars issue in 2010, but we also had feature stories on Ford’s reborn 5.0-liter Coyote V-8, the new Honda CR-Z and BMW 5 Series, and a sport sedan comparison with the Cadillac CTS-V and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG.

March 1970 PRICE: $0.50

Nissan Sentra Updating to a new platform has given the new Sentra a more sophisticated independent rear suspension to go with a more premium look. A 149-hp four-cylinder engine with a CVT is your only powertrain choice, but it should get better fuel economy. Nissan has moved quickly, and the Sentra is already on sale for a reasonable $20,015 to start.

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 21

NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF The Porsche Taycan lacks the range of a Tesla Model S, but it counters with superior refinement and a more luxurious interior.

L.A. Show Kia Seltos

With 7.2 inches of ground clearance, the Seltos is gunning at Jeep, thank you very much. Arriving at dealers any minute with a starting price under $22,000, it can be had with a 146-hp four-cylinder and a CVT or a 175-hp turbocharged four with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. All-wheel drive is optional.

Toyota RAV4 Prime Worried your hybrid SUV isn’t quick enough? Toyota has a Prime for that. Retuning the gasoline engine, enlarging the battery, and bulking up the electronics and front electric motor (the rear motor is the same) make the RAV4 Prime Toyota’s second-quickest vehicle behind the Supra at 5.8 seconds to 60 mph. Expect 90 mpg-e with a 93-mile all-electric driving range.

Mazda CX-30 Sliding between the CX-3 and CX-5, the CX-30 will come in at $22,945 to start. All-wheel drive is optional, but no matter what, you’re getting a 186-hp four-cylinder and a six-speed automatic. If it looks like a jacked-up Mazda3, that’s because it is. It only has 6.7 inches of ground clearance, but it does have an off-road mode to help you get out of sticky situations.

Buick Encore GX It says Encore, but it’s not like the Encore already on sale. The GX is bigger and rides on a different platform. Two sizes of turbocharged three-cylinder engine will be available, with a CVT for small-engine front-wheel-drive models and a nine-speed automatic for big-engine all-wheel-drive models. The ﬁrst models are hitting lots now, priced at $25,095 to start.

Genesis G90 The luxury sedan once known as the Equus has been updated with a love-it-or-hate-it new look. Along for the ride is a 365-hp twin-turbo V-6 engine or a 420-hp V-8, both matched with an eight-speed automatic and driving the rear or all four wheels. Price wasn’t announced at press time, but it should be on sale now starting at about $71,000. 22 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

2020 FIRST DRIVE Porsche Taycan 4S he Taycan 4S, a little less powerful than the Turbo but a lot more affordable, will arrive in the U.S. this spring priced from $106,410, undercutting the Turbo by $47,100 and the Turbo S by a whopping $81,200. Buyers will have to forgo some bragging rights when opting for the entrylevel Taycan: The 4S is eight-tenths of a second slower to 60 mph than the Turbo and 1.2 seconds slower than the Turbo S, taking 3.8 seconds for the sprint, and it only does 155 mph, whereas the Turbo twins can hit 161 mph. Two versions of the Taycan 4S will be available. The base model, which is not scheduled to enter production until June, comes with a 79.2-kW-hr battery Porsche calls the Performance Battery. Available sooner is one ﬁtted with the bigger 93.4kW-hr battery used in the Turbo and Turbo S. Dubbed Performance Battery Plus, it’s a $6,580 option. Headline performance numbers—0 to 60 acceleration and top speed—are the same for both 4S variants, partly because the bigger battery adds 177 pounds, bringing it to 4,894 pounds. However, it also allows the front and rear

TREND I 03.20

MIKE CONNOR

MT CONFIDENTIAL Kia is amping up the Optima. Hyundai-Kia

motors to produce more power—482 hp (562 hp with launch control overboost) versus 429 hp (523 hp with overboost) and about 7 lb-ft more torque. The extra grunt delivers a marginal improvement in top-end performance, shaving a tenth of a second off the quarter-mile time, dropping it to 12.2 seconds. What that $6,580 really buys you is a 24 percent increase in range, from an EPA-estimated 201 miles to a Porscheestimated 250 miles. Underpinned by the three-chamber air suspension and 48-volt anti-roll system used in the Panamera, the Taycan 4S rides with the same measured cadence over large humps and heaves. But the body motions are more tightly controlled, and it has less suspension travel than the big Porsche sedan, occasionally settling heavily on the bumpstops through the larger compressions. Steering feel is a little meatier than in a 911 or Panamera, but the response is pleasingly linear with good feedback. The anti-roll system keeps the Taycan remarkably ﬂat through turns,

though you’re always aware of its mass on changes of direction. Mild understeer on corner entry is the default handling mode, even with the optional rear-wheel steering, but midcorner balance and corner-exit traction are impressive. There is no one-pedal driving mode; all energy recuperation, up to 265 kW and 0.4 g, is solely through braking. As a result, the Taycan ﬂows down the road beautifully, slowing only when the driver decides to brush the brake pedal. Although the Teslarati will make much of the fact the Taycan 4S is a tenth slower to 60 mph than a Model S Long Range, costs $26,000 more, and even with the $6,580 Performance Battery Plus has 120 miles less range, they may be tempted by the Taycan’s superior build quality, greater reﬁnement, more luxurious interior, and more coherent dynamics. For everyone else, the Taycan 4S is simply a stylish, fun-to-drive, four-door, four-seat performance sedan that oozes Porsche DNA from every pore and costs no more than a 911. And that may be enough to tempt them to make the jump to electric power. Angus MacKenzie

performance guru Albert Biermann is rumored to have gotten more involved in the forthcoming redesigned Optima, code-named DL3a, so that it can be differentiated more from the Hyundai Sonata, especially on the tamer models. The flip side of that, of course, is there are some not-so-tame Optimas in the pipeline. Kia’s midsize sedan is getting all-wheel drive for the first time, and there’s also a GT version coming with a 304-hp, 311-lb-ft 2.5-liter turbo-four under the hood, hooked up to an eightspeed dual-clutch transmission. Still on

Kia, the other hot whisper out of Korea is of a front-engine, rear-drive Kia coupe powered by the same 2.5-liter turbo-four as the Optima GT. No other detail as yet, but it doesn’t take too much sleuthing to work out it’s likely a production version of the GT4 Stinger concept revealed at the 2014 Detroit show. With Hyundai-Kia’s laser focus on beating Toyota, don’t be surprised if it’s been specifically developed to go after the Supra, at a much lower price point. Purists can relax: There won’t be a Porsche 911 hybrid. The 992 series was designed to accommodate batteries and a motor mounted between the engine and transmission, but the project has been canceled, according to sources in Stuttgart. The hybrid legacy lives on in the latest iteration of Porsche’s iconic sports car, though. First, there’s the wider front track and larger vents in the front bumper, designed to accommodate the battery pack and cooling. And then there’s the new eight-speed PDK transmission, which insiders complain is now bigger and heavier than it needs to be. Jaguar’s next XJ, due by 2021, will be all electric; there won’t be an internal combustion version available. Daimler, though, is having an each-way bet. The redesigned S-Class, due late next year, will offer a full complement of internal combustion engines, plus a plug-in hybrid model with a 60-mile range on pure electric power. Joining it in 2021, however, will be a full-size all-electric limo dubbed EQS. To be built on a new skateboard BEV platform called EVA2, the EQS will feature a large underfloor battery pack and motors at the front and rear axles. Unlike the EQC SUV, which looks much like a regular GLC, the four-door EQS will feature more dramatic styling than the regular S-Class sedan. MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 23

NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF

Mark Rechtin

Reference Mark

@markrechtin

Godspeed to One of the Greats: Jerry Hirshberg, renaissance man

24 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

GETTY IMAGES

he world of car design recently lost one of its iconoclasts when Jerry Hirshberg—pop star, painter, author, and the dynamic force behind cars as diverse as the Buick “Boattail” Riviera, the Infiniti J30, and the Nissan Z and Xterra that saved the company— died after a yearlong battle with glioblastoma. He was 80. But I’ll miss Jerry for far more than his immense contributions to the automotive landscape. I’ll miss a friend and debate partner. Jerry must have missed the “media training” meeting where PR minders lodged clichés and banalities into the craniums of executives, forbidding them to speak freely to journalists. “You can’t script him,” said former Nissan sales boss Mike Seergy, himself no stranger to the piquant comment. With Jerry, it was never an interview, it was a conversation. He wasn’t provocative for provocation’s sake; he just reveled in the act of sparring. Jerry didn’t hesitate when assessing other automakers’ works or when blowing up logjams within his own company via the press. If an outsider brought criticism of a Nissan design, Jerry didn’t get defensive. He got passionate. He saw it as an opportunity to educate rather than hector. The Nissan Design International studio he created had a sand volleyball court out back to help kickstart his stylists’ endorphins. And it wasn’t barbecue ball—the studio’s proximity to San Diego’s beaches meant these guys spiked hard and dug with fervor. Smack-talking your boss, on the court and in the studio, was encouraged. Also encouraged: owning vehicles from rival automakers. (In the midst of an Infiniti product surge, Hirshberg drove an Audi A6.) To break brain-lock from his team of designers, Jerry would close the studio and take everyone to the movies. Those sorts of leadership lessons led to his writing The Creative Priority, still one of the most entertaining management tracts I’ve read. And although NDI created wild concept cars like the Gobi pickup truck, it was the non-car thought experiments that really showed the true breadth of the studio’s talent. There was a world-class luxury speedboat for Yonca Teknik, ski boots for Salomon, and the famed Burner Bubble golf club for TaylorMade. In building furniture for kindergartners, the team discovered tots’ dislike for stereotypical primary colors and a preference for subtleties of hue and shade that even most adults couldn’t discern. All of this then informed the next generation of vehicles. “I never wanted to be interviewed later, saying, ‘If you had seen what we really wanted to do ...’” he once said.

Hirshberg bridled against corporate planners who felt entry-level cars needed to look ordinary and built to price. And when Carlos Ghosn came aboard to rescue the foundering automaker by slashing costs, it was Hirshberg who convinced the fiery new CEO that an expensive resurrection of the dormant Nissan Z sports car would do more to restore the imperiled automaker’s reputation than any other action. Jerry won the conversation. When Hirshberg retired in 2000, it was the day the Z cleared its final design hurdle. Talk about a walk-off home run to win the World Series. But Jerry was more than a car designer. A virtuoso clarinetist, Jerry formed a band in his collegiate years and wrote the song “Sparkling Blue”—which hit the pop charts and earned his band a gig touring with Bobby Rydell, Fabian, and Frankie Avalon. The hit song, about falling in love and spending your life with your sweetheart, was prescient. He met Linda Liss shortly thereafter and wooed her on their coincidentally timed trips to Europe. At the time of his death, they had been married for 56 years. After his retirement, Jerry painted gallery-worthy canvases of bamboo stands so lifelike that, when I saw them, I clumsily asked if he had taken up photography— which led to an hourlong theoretical conversation about expressionism and realism. Of the hundreds of automotive luminaries I have interviewed over the course of my career, there was no person I looked forward to seeing more than Jerry. Under the guise of our professional relationship, there was a friendship that I valued greatly. Our conversations would always run long and yet end too soon. Q

Jerry Hirshberg modestly turned down a promotion to run Nissan global design because he felt the automaker would be better served in the hands of a Japanese native.

NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF

Frank Markus

Technologue Might This New-Concept Rotary Range Extender Fly?

urbine cars seemed inevitable in 1963, when 50 Chrysler Turbine demonstrators hit the streets. Low parts count, reduced maintenance, and absolute smoothness were the selling points, but by 1979 efﬁciency and emissions woes scuppered the automotive turbine. Now, micro-turbine range extenders like those in Jaguar’s C-X75 and Mitsubishi’s MI-Tech concepts are beginning to hit the road. What’s more, there’s a new patent-pending rotary-engine concept that promises to combine turbine- and piston-engine advantages for even greater efficiency and lower emissions. In a traditional turbine, burning fuel isn’t contained and forced to act on a crankshaft. Rather, expanding gases blow against fan blades to rotate a shaft, and excess air provides cooling. However, Astron Aerospace’s new trademarked Omega One rotary engine contains the combustion like in piston engines, improving torque and simplifying emissions control while retaining turbine advantages like air cooling, low parts count, compact size, and smooth operation. The Omega is primarily meant for aviation, but a range extender application for electric cars is being codeveloped. It incorporates various Technologue “greatest hits,” including June 2006’s split-cycle concept of conducting compression and combustion in separate spaces, and homogeneous-charge compression ignition (HCCI). Imagine a smooth gear featuring a single, wide tooth rotating against another perfectly smooth gear incorporating one notch to fit the first gear’s tooth. These rotate in a housing machined to fit tight (0.001-0.005-inch clearance) to the surface of the notched gear and to the outer edge of that single tooth. Side plates complete each enclosure with similar operating clearance to the rotors. The tooth is not expected to need seals, dramatically reducing friction. In one gear pair, the tooth separates the intake and compression volumes; in the other, combustion and exhaust. The compression one is about a third larger, which allows it to “supercharge” the combustion chamber via a small air storage tank that sits between these rotor pairs. Blowoff valves regulate intake pressure (180 to 320 psi is the expected range). Intake air enters the combustion chamber when a port in a rotating plate in the compression tank aligns with a hole in the rotor side plate, positioned where the combustion tooth emerges 26 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

from its notch to begin another rotation. As compressed air enters this large and unrestricted port, fuel is supplied by port and/or direct injectors that provide stratified charge (rich near the plug) at lower rpm or homogeneous charge at higher rpm. Spark-assisted HCCI is possible up to 10,000 rpm. Once combusted, the expanding gases push the back side of that tooth most of the way around its circular path, providing loads of time to extract work from the fuel. Then the exhaust leaves through an open port near where the tooth re-enters its notch, pushed by the front side of the tooth on its next pass. This port can be ducted to a turbo and/or a catalyst. In the computer, this 14 x 15 x 23-inch engine whirs out 600 hp at 15,000 rpm and 1,000 lb-ft, achieving 80 percent thermal efficiency(!). Cooling air from a turbinelike fan blows through the large, hollow shafts supporting the rotor pairs and past the finned outer housing. Only these shafts’ bearings are lubricated, so the combustion chamber is never exposed to lubricant. And the HCCI flash combustion plus low combustion chamber surface area should lower engine-out NOx sufficiently to eliminate the threeway catalyst, which doesn’t work with excess air. There will be excess air, especially under low-load conditions in “skipfire” mode, when the engine doesn’t fire every revolution. These are Astron’s claims. But enough smart people (including some at Los Alamos Laboratory) saw sufficient merit in the concept to fully fund the venture in a matter of days. Now comes the hard part: building and operating a proof-of-concept engine. I’m concerned about the lack of seals and lubrication of the rotors operating at relatively close tolerances, and I worry that parts exposed to varying amounts of heat will expand at different rates, causing interference. Exotic materials and tight tolerances can be budgeted into a pricey aviation engine, but can this be made to work on an automotive range extender budget? Color me intrigued and optimistic about the aviation engine’s future, a bit more skeptical of its automotive prospects. Q

Intake and compression happen in the green area; compressed air is stored in the blue tank, compression and exhaust in the red. The light blue ports above are where compressed air exits the compression rotor and enters the combustion one.

NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF

Interview

I’M VERY CONFIDENT ABOUT THE NEXT GENERATION OF ESCALADE. IT WILL EXCEED EXPECTATIONS.”

Mary Barra Chairman and CEO, General Motors

Will you continue to reduce your car lineup? You’ll see us redeﬁning segments.

We have some products coming in through the clinics that are off the charts. Electrification is your future. The battery

electric truck will be in customers’ hands in the fall of 2021. There’s multiple prongs to the story because it’s vehicles, the battery technology perspective from a cost point, and from a quality, reliability perspective. It’s all the work we’re doing on infrastructure. Range is important. They want beautiful electric vehicles. They don’t want something that looks like a science experiment.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra (left) and Detroit editor Alisa Priddle connect over cars and their shared Finnish ancestry.

mployees past and present agree: Mary Barra is the right leader for General Motors at this time in history. She’s smart and business savvy, knows product, and is capable of managing crises and making hard choices. She has gained the conﬁdence of employees but is still able to be vulnerable and accept help from her senior team. For the full interview, head to MotorTrend.com.

Congratulations on Corvette being the MotorTrend Car of the Year. Was it a big debate to get rid of C7 as opposed to offering both C7 and C8? No. We had

really taken the C7 architecture style as far as we could go without going to mid-engine. So it was time, and it was a huge investment, but it was something we really believed in. People were shocked at the $60,000 price. Can you maintain it? Chevrolet is a home

for Corvette, and “Chevrolet” is American and value and ingenuity and obtainable. We will work really hard to make sure that we always live true to the Chevrolet brand. Can Cadillac get back to where it needs to be? Absolutely. In a fairly crowded

segment, in a couple of months the XT4 was leading the segment. We’ll have the next-gen Escalade. You’ll see us executing at a higher level that really sets a standard. 28 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

Escalade is the jewel of Cadillac now?

It is. I’m excited for people to see how we’ve taken Escalade, the technology and styling, to the next level. [It will be revealed February 4]. Is the next Escalade going to blow the Lincoln Navigator out of the water?

I’m very conﬁdent about the next generation of Escalade. It will again exceed people’s expectations with the next model. It’s iconic. How important are cars to Cadillac?

Luxury cars are different than the mainstream market in the United States. Clearly cars are important in other markets around the world. Does the CT6 have longevity as a flagship? It’s a great vehicle and has Super

Cruise. I’ve never seen a feature with so much customer interest. We also put out the Blackwing engine, which sold out. Does GM have enough SUVs now?

Across all three brands, we’re really well represented. Hopefully people are taking note of the new Trailblazer ... to be in that under-$20,000 segment with a product that is outstanding in styling and performance. We also have very strong mid crossovers and mid SUVs. And we have more coming.

You have said you would like to skip hybrids altogether and go right to EVs.

There’s an inherent cost because you’ve got two powertrain systems. And when you’re a company that believes in the science of global warming, why wouldn’t you get to EVs as fast as you can? Why dedicate a lot of capital and engineering into a segment that doesn’t get you to the end game? You have a huge commitment to AVs, as well. Yes. I’m really proud of the work.

AVs are one of the technical challenges of our generation. General Motors is going after it ﬁrst with safety. Not only is it a technology race, it’s a trust race. We’ll be gated by safety. It has to be safer than a human driver. Is Hummer coming back as a brand or the name of a future vehicle? No comment. Any regrets or concerns with the PSA merger that puts your former Opel and Vauxhall brands in the hands of FCA?

It was great for Opel because combining with PSA secured their future; for PSA, it made them the No. 2 in Europe; and General Motors beneﬁted from the success of that deal and the cost savings that we identiﬁed. So I think on all three fronts it was the right decision. Is GM still a global full line automaker with parts of the world and segments you have gotten out of? I very much consider

General Motors to be a global company, and we’ll continue to strengthen the company. A strong company has more opportunities to invest. Alisa Priddle

3.20 I TREND WRITE US AT 831 S. Douglas St. El Segundo, CA 90245 Email us online at MotorTrend.com or send an email direct to MotorTrend@MotorTrend.com

Your Say... Cops and Jobbers On pages 36 and 37 of your December issue, there’s a picture of all the exotics you used in this road test. My eyes went right to the California Highway Patrol Dodge Charger, parked on the shoulder. At a fraction of the cost of those hothouse exotics—and a good-looking car, to boot—I found the Charger more appealing than the gallery of big-dollar supercars. Not too shabby on the road, either. It tops out at 163 mph, according to the Michigan State Police track tests. Sometimes less is more.

Reader on location This month’s reader on location is Gary Hayvice of Sydney, Australia. He writes, “I have been a reader of MotorTrend since the ’50s and still have a number of copies edited by Walt Woron in glorious black and white, with blue covers. I learnt to drive in New Zealand in my dad’s 1955 Hudson Rambler. With its flash palomino paint and continental tire kit, it was an unbelievable exotic for the time! Please find enclosed photos of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a sculpture from the 2004 Sydney Biennale called “Still Life with Stone & Car.” This art installation of a 1999 Ford Festiva and a two-ton quartz boulder was parked on the Sydney Opera House forecourt while the artist painted a face on the rock, before dropping it on the car, from a crane, crushing it in front of onlookers!

Henry Smith Sorrento, Maine

Reading the specs of the BDC contenders, I noticed that the Bentley Continental was listed at 67.8 inches tall—taller than the Lambo Urus (64.5)! But no worries—I checked back to the last issue (they were both in it), and it said the same thing. There’s a pic of Jonny and Jethro next to the Conti, and unless they’re both 7-plus feet tall, something’s wrong. What’s up? Shlomo Shmulewitz via email

Jonny and Jethro are indeed not 7-footers. The Conti stands at 55.3 inches.—Ed.

Keep Your Meat Hooks Off Kudos to Angus MacKenzie (“The Big Picture,” December) for stating the obvious regarding the distraction of using a touchscreen interface for many automotive control functions. We become incensed at people who use a phone while driving, which is discretionary, but have accepted the mandatory interface of a touchscreen. Many automotive journalists have been on the bandwagon of bigger, shinier screens as a feature while ignoring the drawbacks. I understand the marketing aspects of a glittery increase in perceived content, but other costs may be hidden. It’s difficult to list the cause of an accident as distracted driving when the distraction was part of a necessary vehicle operation.

died per year because of higher speed limits. Ludicrous! Executive editor Mark Rechtin forgot to report that the 100 insurance companies that fund IIHS usurp over $10 billion annually from speed enforcement. As usual, their methodology is dishonest. They use a record safe year, 1992, as a starting point. The “expected deaths” are based on temporarily low fatality numbers. IIHS predicted 2,500 more deaths after the National Motorists Association (and I) rid the U.S. of the national 55/65 speed limit. Result: After 36 states raised freeway limits by 1997, there were 400 fewer deaths. Honest analyses of traffic fatalities show celebration-worthy results. From 1977 to 1986, when the limit was 55, there was an average of 47,000 fatalities per year. From 1995 to 2015, 42,317 per year, and 2015 to present, 37,000 annually. The joy continues. The mileage-based fatality rate (per 100 million miles driven) in 1995 was 1.73. Now it’s 1.09. Greg Mauz Christoval, Texas

Trust ...V1 earns it one ambush at a time. Glenna R., Dallas, TX the arrows! Where’s “Love the radar? They tell me every time. A detector without the arrows is like a car without headlights.

”

Charlie McLaren Whitehorse, Yukon

Does Speed Kill?

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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is again crying “speed kills” (“Reference Mark,” July). Its 1993–2017 “research” speculates that 37,000 people

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TRACK TEST I Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 vs. Chevrolet Corvette Z51

, T I A W WORDS RANDY POBST

30 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

TRACK TEST

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 31

TRACK TEST

ustang vs. Corvette? Go ahead, pinch your thumb and index finger to the bridge of your nose, squint your eyes, and blink hard. When you look again, the words on the page won’t have changed. Rarely has MotorTrend conducted (or concocted) such a bold comparison. But it’s a mad, mad new world we’re in now. Forget the Blue Oval’s sacrosanct rivalry with Camaro, which had always left the Corvette to chase the elusive, pricier Porsche 911. Oh sure, the base pony car models will still compete, same as always. But the top-end Mustang GT500 is so excellent it deserves higher-octane competition. The final piece of evidence: The Mustang Shelby GT500 costs more than Chevrolet’s new mid-engine Corvette supercar when similarly equipped. Game on. The C8 Corvette and Shelby GT500 have stirred up more buzz than anything else that’s come from the Motor City in recent memory. After decades of teases and concepts, the ’Vette finally slides the engine back in the chassis to join the transaxle aft of the driver’s derriere. And after the extremely successful Shelby GT350, which finished a sharply creased second place in our 2019’s Best Driver’s Car, Ford brought in even heavier artillery with a load more horsepower and torque. 32 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

These two contenders offer different kinds of appeal, both inspiring great desire in the high-performance enthusiast world. Both offer capabilities that measure well against far pricier foreigners, without the kind of sacrifices that used to come with the label “Made in America.” Gone (mostly) are the long-muttered utterances about cheap features and fixtures, crude handling, and lack of refinement. Of course, when you look inside these two cars, there’s an immediate difference. The Corvette is an American In addition to the GT500’s driving modes, one can adjust the damping rate and steering weight to suit.

interpretation of a mid-six-ﬁgure European supercar; the Shelby has nearly the same interior as that rental Mustang convertible at the Hertz counter at LAX— albeit with better seats and some minor brightwork tacked on to disguise its cheesy rotary shift knob and plasticky switchgear. Ford’s interior guys still have some work to do before they can declare their Shelby variants to be world-class premium. But this is not a comparison test for value shoppers who peruse our Buyer’s Guide, niggling over inches of legroom and warranty coverage.

THE C8 WILL SIT WELL WITH ITALIAN EXOTICS; THE SHELBY GT500 COMES FROM A MORE PURELY AMERICAN PLACE, THE PONY CAR. This is a track test—the literal interpretation of where the rubber meets the road. The C8 Corvette has come of age— ﬁnally, I might add—with a style and behavior that bring to mind a word like “sophistication.” The Corvette’s new shape will sit well with the German and Italian exotica in the valet lot at the country club. The Shelby GT500 comes from another, more purely American place, the pony car. But since the arrival of the S550 chassis in 2015, the muscular Mustang and its more powerful derivatives have risen above

the hot rods of yore, to compare well with European icons. The ’Vette excels with exotic appearance, precise and agile handling, and balanced power with a nice rush of strong, smooth, jetlike urge. The Muscle-tang crushes like a bodybuilder with brains. Its huge forward forces do not overwhelm its chassis, as in many of the beloved classics we’ve known before. The C8 Stingray carries a lithe, striking new shape that will grab attention from a block away. Its lines do a terriﬁc job of conveying more of a sense of value

Ford brought us two GT500s, one fitted with the $18,500 Carbon Fiber Track package.

and beauty, yet it’s still imbued with a half-century-plus of genetic identifiers. I predict this car will generate more than a few “Oh, wow!” reactions from the public long after it has gone on sale. The Mustang is a beefed-up beast with bulging biceps, based on our well-known sporty coupe. It will light up the pony car crowd, certainly. But among the elites, the Shelby’s familiar muscle-bound shape may still result in upturned noses, window-rattling V-8 rumble or not. Where the Mustang scores more points in this contest is in its competence in motion. At speed, the ’Vette’s strongest dynamic assets are described in a list of two: first, low polar moment, and second, forward traction. Chevy engineers have created a machine that benefits in exactly the ways it should: more centralized mass and the resulting rearward weight bias. The Corvette has long been the bad boy of the racetrack, the Bart Simpson of supercars: rude, loud, cheap, unpredictable, and hard to handle, but fast and fun in its own brash way. Now, the Corvette has finally grown up. The C8 Corvette is more sophisticated, capable, and mature. When the majority of the weight in a chassis is nearer the center of gravity, the car will change direction more eagerly. Formerly carried way up front under those arching fenders, the big engine actually resisted the steering tires as they tried to pull that hunk of metal around to face the apex of a turn. The amidships engine makes the steering feel responsive, more direct, and more precise. It’s less work. The new ’Vette slices its way into a bend in a most delightful way. Too much, sometimes—and this is the tricky part of the setup. Quick response can overwork the rear tires and create oversteer. In several high-speed tests, and again here at Virginia International MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 33

How to Make the C8 Corvette Handle Even Better

n technical director Kim Reynolds’ figure-eight testing report on the 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette Z51, he spoke of strong understeer, combined surprisingly with a fair amount of snap oversteer in this unique limit handling test, one that MotorTrend has used for years as a standard of comparison. I’d like to point out that a good chassis tester like Kim focuses on the negatives, elucidating where it can be better. It’s something I’ve always done as a racer, too, and it’s a key to my successes. So I’m guessing

that the Corvette engineers also read this report, and as a result, we were quite honored that they contacted us and offered to show us how their new supercar works when tuned more for handling at its limits. Enter a team of MT testers and Chevy engineers at Virginia International Raceway. What they did, as reported here, was to alter the wheel alignment with a large increase in negative camber, front and rear. This is where the tops of the tires lean in, to compensate for the cornering loads and body roll of high g-force cornering. The only other modification was to decrease cold tire pressures by 4 pounds, a significant amount, because racetracks heat tires much more than street driving does. Heating tires raises their pressures, and for optimum grip, it’s important to not let those pressures get too high. My synopsis of the on-track performance of the Z51 C8? It’s a vast improvement on the nervous brute that is the C7,

Changing negative camber from a half degree to 3 degrees in front and 2.5 degrees in the rear transforms the Corvette.

34 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

especially when it comes to putting power to the ground, combined with delightfully direct steering response and better-still LS V-8 urge.

Well, the added camber is a real aid to tire grip, spreading the corner load more evenly across the contact patches, which should also help make the tires last longer. But there were a couple dynamic quirks that beg for more attention. I found the esteemed Mr. Reynolds’ recognition of significant midcorner understeer to be still present at VIR, but it’s less intrusive with the increased camber and because the corners at VIR are mostly not the long, steady-state turns found on our figure eight. The majority of VIR’s curves are fast esses and 90-degree

turns, with a lot less direction change. The quick initial steering response and improved shock control was very effective in these types of maneuvers. However, the handling issue that surfaced on the racetrack was that the C8’s rear could come unglued off power—something we racers call trailing-throttle oversteer. But applying moderate power immediately stabilizes the chassis, a very beneficial characteristic. This is fascinating because it is the exact opposite behavior of the front-engine C7, which had terrific corner entry but snap power oversteer. More weight to the rear helps traction under acceleration in the C8. It puts down the LS power well from low speeds, but here’s another chance to be even better: There’s too much understeer midcorner. My hypothesis is that Team Corvette is working to compensate for the off-power oversteer tendency. My humble armchair advice to Mike Petrucci and his engineering team is to use the

terrific limited-slip e-diff, a trick learned from years of racing the tail-heavy Porsche 911. A limited-slip is a very strong tuning device when on or off throttle, as opposed to steadystate cornering. Tighten it up, and the car will want to go straighter and will be more predictable. I rather brashly suggested that they increase the lockup off throttle on that limited-slip e-diff. Petrucci countered that they wanted the car to point to the apex midcorner. “Oh, it does, sir, too much,” I said. “It’s nervous. Your customers will spin it. Make it more stable for when they do a sudden lift off the gas, which they will.” Petrucci, a still-watersrun-deep type, calmly and quizzically replied, “I have never heard our drivers mention off-throttle oversteer.” Well, it’s there, big as life. (I’m not at all sure I said that out loud, but I sure thought it.) Keep in mind these Chevy testers have been driving the twitchy C7 for years, which colors their impressions. Also, power immediately stabilizes this chassis, to its credit. Finish braking and go right to power, and the issue mostly disappears (doing so in the C7 made matters worse). And stability control covers it up. Also, there may well be a forest-for-thetrees effect. When the same

testers drive the same cars for hours every day, they learn very well what it wants. But in a perfect car, it’s a natural thing, no adaptation needed. Isn’t perfect the goal? With more stability from the action of the diff, Team Corvette can reduce the steady-state understeer simply by the book, with softer front or stiffer rear springs and bars. And as for the 80-plus-mph oversteer, hook the e-diff up longer on power, too, to reduce that tendency. This car is not powerful enough to be wheelspinning at that speed, but a Z06 or ZR1 would be. The capabilities of an electronically controlled limited-slip differential may be the magic bullet for squeezing the very best from the Corvette C8 at the track. It’s a fine machine, and these suggestions could put an even finer point on it, leaving no negatives at all on which to focus. Randy Pobst

Randy Pobst is a two-time class winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona with more than 90 professional race wins. Numerous automakers have hired his diagnostic and testing services as a dynamics consultant during vehicle development.

Raceway, we have found some of that in the C8’s track personality. It really will point to the apex entering a corner and sometimes overdo it and end up sideways, with the widely adjustable stability control switch fully off (thank you for providing us with that choice, Chevy). But when you apply your American V-8 torque, then you ﬁnd the greatest improvement in driving the American Sports Car: It puts ponies to pavement. The C8 hooks up. Chevy has taken advantage of placing the engine over the rear wheels, and that loading successfully creates forward thrust far better than any Corvette before. The new ’Vette launches hard from a slow corner or a stoplight/ dragstrip. Check out that 0–60 time, beating cars with far higher power ratings and even some with all-wheel drive. That, my friends, is traction. In fact, the ’Vette transfers weight rearward so well that it sometimes goes into another kind of slide: understeer. The front loses grip a bit prematurely as a result of the light front loads. What to do? Is it bad? No, but this is a brand-new baby, and there’s still something to be learned. We believe we will see the C8 Corvette improve further as the Chevy team learns more about this all-new mid-engine phenomenon. In street-tuned mode dashing around VIR, the ’Vette revealed deliciously instant steering response. It was quick and stable as I carved into a corner, and it revealed snappy trailing-throttle oversteer when I released the brake. Both are clearly inﬂuences of the mid-engine low polar moment. MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 35

TRACK TEST I Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 vs. Chevrolet Corvette Z51

Track Map

MAX MPH GT500 ........... 160.2 mph CORVETTE .... 150.9 mph

VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, ALTON, VIRGINIA Track Length (Full Course): 3.27 miles Track Intervals: 11.97 sec

GT500 ........... 1.36 g CORVETTE .... 1.25 g

1 3 17

CORVETTE .... 1.19 g GT500 ........... 1.16 g

CORVETTE .... 1.40 g GT500 ........... 1.33 g

2 4A

CORVETTE .... 1.17 g GT500 ........... 1.12 g

4B 5A

16A

16B

5B 6A 6B 15 14 13

CORVETTE .... 1.14 g GT500 ........... 1.09 g

GT500 ........... 1.63 g CORVETTE .... 1.42 g Changing the C8’s alignment from Street to Track setting was good for almost 2 seconds around VIR.

7 MAX MPH GT500 ........... 166.5 mph CORVETTE .... 153.6 mph

8A 8B

Our two days of lapping had accumulated a tasty list of Corvette and Mustang lap data. We tested the Shelby and Corvette on different days but under comparable conditions. But which version to pick to represent each car? Randy has always been clear that he dials back a notch when he has a passenger, so all of those laps are out. And his only C8 laps as the solo occupant happened in its track suspension setup. After some debate, we compared this (which is a setup you can easily make trackside) against the base GT500 without CFTP, which is the more comparable, all-around street and track Mustang (and it’s cheaper, too). When a C8 ZR1 ZTK comes along (carbon wheels, anyone?), we’ll be back.

CORVETTE .... 1.16 g GT500 ........... 1.08 g

11 CORVETTE .... 1.18 g GT500 ........... 1.11 g

KEY

12 Cornering 36 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

Braking

Shelby’s Carbon Fiber Track package lowered the GT500’s lap time by more than 3 seconds.

LAP TIMES Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (CFTP) no passenger................................1:56.30 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 no passenger .............................................1:59.68 Chevrolet C8 Corvette track suspension no passenger ...................... 2:00.96 Chevrolet C8 Corvette track suspension with passenger .....................2:01.91 Chevrolet C7 Corvette track suspension with passenger ....................2:03.14 Chevrolet C8 Corvette street suspension with passenger.................. 2:03.68

SPEED COMPARISON 180 GT500 166.5 mph CORVETTE 153.6 mph

GT500 160.2 mph CORVETTE 150.9 mph

150

MPH

120 90 60 30 0

16B

HOW FAR AHEAD? 300

FEET AHEAD

250 200 150 100 50 0 0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

TRACK DISTANCE, FEET GT500 CORVETTE

12,000

14,000

16,000

As I accelerated off slow corners, like VIR’s Oak Tree, the C8’s ground-gripping traction rockets the car forward, and it remains well balanced even though it feels like it might wheelie. I found a consistent gradual side slip in third and fourth gears exiting faster sweepers. The C8 has more power oversteer at 80 mph than it does at 40, which is unusual. The new Corvette’s braking was strong and stable with moderate nose dive. There was some isolation, if not the degree of e-pedal numbness I feared, and the brakes were cooled with some really nice Z51 brake ducts. Last, there was no more float, better suspension damping, but not harsh. Crawling under the hood (see pg. 34), we then adjusted the C8’s suspension to its track settings—which simply comes down to much more negative camber, front and rear. When added to the 8 degrees of caster (the same in Street or Track mode), the Corvette creates camber gain when the wheels are turned, which is especially good for tight turns, and a strong self-centering force for stability and good on-center feel. High caster will also cross-weight a chassis because the outside wheel swings in an arc upward as the inside wheel swings down. These will both typically work to reduce the understeer that we squawked about in earlier tests. The effect of the added camber was much improved grip everywhere, reducing but not eliminating traits of midcorner understeer and drop-throttle oversteer and raising speeds with better manners. The basic traits of midcorner understeer and trailing-throttle oversteer were still there, just not as much. In Track setup, the Corvette’s lap times improved by 2 to 3 seconds with less falloff and better grip on a long run. Tying this all together was an eight-speed dualclutch transmission that worked quite well at full chat, completing the performance of a much improved product. Far more than deserving of the title, this fresh offering is a 21st century new chapter, with more room to improve. One step back with the engine is a giant leap forward for the Stingray. The GT500, on the other hand, has sprung from the loins of another highly regarded thoroughbred, the GT350. As such it comes from a known source that has been developed for years. It shows on track, especially. Whereas the C8 is precise, the GT500 hoons. Toss it around. Grab it by the scruff of the neck. This pony encourages aggression. Its version of refinement manifests in confidence for the driver. MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 37

Gentle esses become harrowing turns when speeds approach 150 mph. The Shelby GT500 Carbon Fiber Track package aero added real confidence.

And the GT500 works in both standard and Carbon Fiber Track Pack form. It is beautifully balanced on track. The steering stays alive all the way through a corner. Quick turn-ins show no evil twitches. Pouring on the ponies rockets it down the straights, and slides come slow and controllably. Within reason. There’s that word again: reason. Use it when you squeeze down the Shelby’s accelerator. The supercharged crossplane Coyote-based V-8 clearly makes all of its advertised 760 horsepower. This is another step into the Brave New World of high technology, and overeagerness with that gas pedal will be rewarded with jail and/or hospital time. Every one of those ponies made themselves known as the Mustang devoured the long back straight at VIR, touching nearly 170 mph, lap after lap. No power fade here, unlike some other American blown V-8s making similar numbers.

38 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

The Coyote belts out a stirring bellow or calms to quiet as a mouse with just a switch of the electronic valves in the dual exhaust, allowing you to decide whether to wake the neighbors. All that thrust goes through a new Tremec dual-clutch seven-speed that exhibited fine behavior on the street and flat out. Manual shifting during a hot lap is just a distraction, and the GT500’s auto mode rivals Porsche’s PDK (yes, really) and does everything I would do, anyway. It even had the savvy to hold a higher gear in places rather than constantly throw out raucous downshifts. On straights, there’s a rewarding “overtorque” feature that gives a little extra shove on each shift, like a manual power shift. Yet in corners, I felt the Tremec smooth those out. Impressive. The track program is really dialed in. The Ford team should be proud. This thrust twists a trick carbonfiber driveshaft into a Torsen gear-type limited-slip differential—a good choice for a front-engine chassis because it doesn’t lock up much off power. This helps get the GT500 pointed into the turn,

Driving modes are selected on the center console. The rollcage Ford installed added weight, but it also added confidence for Randy to push the GT500 to its limit.

and it’s also a non-wear item, unlike the clutch-type diffs. If the driver remains very responsible with the right pedal, the Shelby is responsive and stable. The MagneRide shock system soaked up the curbs and bumps, but it ﬂoated a bit under the loads of pro speeds. Happily, though, when the PS4S tires did break loose, it was mostly a gradual, even enjoyable experience. The GT500 has that magic combination of steering response at the limit: the ability to tighten its line while loaded laterally in the middle of a corner, without losing grip at the back. The Shelby handles this great grunt very well—even with its traction/stability control fully disengaged. (I don’t recommend this unless you’ve completed several professional driving schools, one of which Ford offers with the purchase of a GT500, or have won Daytona at least once.) It’s an incredible thrill, breathtaking, to lay the pedal to the metal. But it requires skill to handle that thrill. Stopping this rig were perhaps the largest rotors (16.5 inches) and Brembo calipers I’ve yet to experience. Although the big Shelby could dive deep, deep into the tight corners VIR presents at the culmination of its long straights, it was here I could ﬁnd my only real complaint: a bit of a long brake pedal, which was a little disconcerting at 170 mph. No fade but

POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT ENGINE TYPE VALVETRAIN DISPLACEMENT COMPRESSION RATIO POWER (SAE NET) TORQUE (SAE NET) REDLINE WEIGHT TO POWER TRANSMISSION AXLE/FINAL DRIVE RATIO

90-deg V-8, alum block/heads OHV, 2 valves/cyl 376.0 cu in/6,162cc 11.5:1 495 hp @ 6,450 rpm* 470 lb-ft @ 5,150 rpm* 6,400 rpm 7.2 lb/hp 8-speed twin-clutch auto 3.55:1/1.70:1

Front-engine, RWD Supercharged 90-deg V-8, alum block/heads DOHC, 4 valves/cyl 315.1 cu in/5,163cc 9.5:1 760 hp @ 7,300 rpm 625 lb-ft @ 5,000 rpm 7,500 rpm 5.5, 5.3 lb/hp 7-speed twin-clutch auto 3.73:1/2.09:1

Control arms, coil springs, adj Struts, coil springs, adj shocks, shocks, anti-roll bar; control arms, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar

STEERING RATIO

15.7:1 2.5 13.3-in vented disc; 13.8-in vented disc, ABS

16.0:1 2.3 16.5-in 2-pc vented disc; 14.6-in 2-pc vented disc, ABS

8.5 x 19-in; 11.0 x 20-in cast aluminum

11.0 x 20-in; 11.0 x 20-in ﬂowformed aluminum, 11.0 x 20-in; 11.5 x 20-in CF composite

245/35R19 89Y; 305/30R20 99Y Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

305/30R20 103Y; 315/30R20 104Y Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2

107.2 in 64.9/62.4 in 182.3 x 76.1 x 48.6 in 36.4 ft 3,587 lb (39/61%) 2 37.9/– in 42.8/– in 54.4/– in 4.0 (frunk)/8.6 (trunk) cu ft

107.1 in 63.7/64.3, 63.8/64.4 in 189.5 x 76.6 x 54.3, 53.7 in 43.8, 44.1 ft 4,149, 4,054 lb (56/44%) 4, 2 37.6/34.8, 37.6/– in 45.1/29.2, 45.1/– in 56.3/52.2, 56.3/– in 13.5 cu ft

PASSING, 45-65 MPH

1.0 sec 1.5 2.1 2.8 3.7 4.6 5.8 7.1 10.8 1.4

QUARTER MILE

11.1 sec @ 123.2 mph

BRAKING, 60-0 MPH LATERAL ACCELERATION

97 ft 1.04 g (avg)

MT FIGURE EIGHT

23.3 sec @ 0.90 g (avg)

3.3-MI ROAD COURSE LAP

120.96 sec (track) 1,300 rpm

1.6, 1.8 sec 2.4, 2.4 3.0, 3.0 3.7, 3.6 4.4, 4.3 5.2, 5.1 6.2, 6.0 7.3, 7.0 11.1, 10.7 1.3, 1.3 11.5 sec @ 129.6 mph, 11.3 sec @ 131.6 mph 100, 94 ft 1.01, 1.05 g (avg) 24.1 sec @ 0.85 g (avg), 23.5 sec @ 0.89 g (avg) 119.68, 116.30 sec 1,550 rpm

BRAKES, F; R WHEELS, F; R

TIRES, F; R

*SAE Certiﬁed

Mid-engine, RWD

2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, GT500 (CFTP)

SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR

TURNS LOCK TO LOCK

some squish. They even bled the brakes for me, yet both test Shelbys felt spongy. This was surprising because I recall complaining that the GT350’s brakes were too strong, requiring only a big toe. Perfect would be somewhere in between. The incredible performance capability of the new Shelby (especially with the Carbon Fiber Track package) moves the Mustang into the supercar realm, it pleases me to claim. Both Shelby models provide such thrills that they represent good value even at these prices—driving with confidence-inspiring and consistent speed that is rare to find at any price. So, to the numbers: Lap times for the C8 Z51 and the standard GT500 were quite comparable, though achieved in different ways. The Shelby evaporates the straights; the C8 carves the corners. The Shelby carries the load of your family, so in spite of its fantastic, predictable balance, the Corvette can leave it in the twisties, driven precisely. Once we tried the GT500 equipped with the Carbon Fiber Track package, however, it was all over for the street ’Vette. The CFTP Shelby is magic on the racetrack, wearing R-compound Sport Cup 2s, carbon wheels, lower and firmer springs/bars/shocks, a proper wing and hell-yes-they-work aero fitments, and much more. Fire it up, and the Shelby is long gone in a blaze of glory. So here’s the greatest difference between these fantastical motorcars. Shelby: raging, proficient power. C8 Corvette: precision, potential, and style. The price, similar. The choice, yours. The pleasure, ecstatic. Q

2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (3LT Z51)

DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE TRACK, F/R LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT TURNING CIRCLE CURB WEIGHT (DIST F/R) SEATING CAPACITY HEADROOM, F/R LEGROOM, F/R SHOULDER ROOM, F/R CARGO VOLUME TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30 0-40 0-50 0-60 0-70 0-80 0-90 0-100 0-100-0

TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH CONSUMER INFO

$76,945/$88,305 STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/Yes

$73,995/$80,785, $92,495/$94,365 Yes/Yes

AIRBAGS

8: Dual front, side, curtain, knee 3 years/36,000 miles 5 years/60,000 miles 5 years/60,000 miles 16.0 gal 12/18/14 mpg 281/187 kW-hr/100 miles 1.37 lb/mile Unleaded premium

BASE PRICE/AS TESTED

BASIC WARRANTY POWERTRAIN WARRANTY ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE FUEL CAPACITY EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB RECOMMENDED FUEL

4: Dual front, front side/head 3 years/36,000 miles 5 years/60,000 miles 5 years/60,000 miles 18.5 gal 16/27/20 mpg (est) 211/125 kW-hr/100 miles (est) 0.99 lb/mile (est) Unleaded premium

FIRST DRIVE

WORDS ZACH GALE

ne of the hottest-selling SUVs in the country is back, and its maker is tired—tired—of competitors muscling in on its turf. Redesigned for 2020, the Toyota Highlander demands your attention with exactly the same formula it’s used for almost two decades—wait, that’s not right. Actually, the 2020 Highlander builds on its winning formula with more than just comfort, convenience, and a reputation for reliability. The three-row family hauler boasts improvements that should attract more buyers. But can it challenge the popular Ford Explorer and SUV of the Year–winning Kia Telluride? 40 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

The 2020 Highlander rides on a new advanced platform, but what really deﬁnes this new family hauler is a revised storage tray. Yes, really. First off, don’t knock it until you’ve lived with it—and my sister has. The look of that decidedly unalluring tray put her off during a test drive, but the slim space proved practical the entire time she owned a current Highlander. Extending under the center of the dash and across to the passenger side, the tray in the redesigned Highlander now features a more

2020 Toyota Highlander I FIRST DRIVE

UL F T H G U O H T ’S A T O WILL TOY GH U O N E E B S E H C U O INTERIOR T N? IO IT T E P M O C E H T TO FEND OFF

pronounced separation between the center stack and the passenger side. That change should help prevent your other half’s sunglasses and phone from sliding into your mints and charging cable. Sexy, right? There are plenty more changes where that tray came from. In a turbocharged world, Toyota keeps things natural. Eschewing the forced-induction trend we’ve seen with the Explorer, Subaru Ascent, and others, the 2020 Highlander’s heart remains a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V-6.

Toyota considered a turbo-four, but in the end, the smoothness of the company’s 3.5-liter V-6 won out. Sure enough, the 2020 Highlander V-6 delivers power in a comfortable manner, only interrupted by subtle shift shock from the eight-speed automatic. As before, the V-6’s peak power arrives at a high rpm, and there’s a slight surge of power as it approaches 6,000 rpm. Except you’ll barely feel it, because you’re driving a Highlander, not a Supra. That’s why the rest of the Highlander’s engine changes make so much sense. The

previous model’s inefﬁcient base 2.7-liter four-cylinder and its lower base price have vanished. If you still want a V-6 hybrid in a three-row Toyota product, try the longer-wheelbase Lexus RX 450h L. (Then again, given that third row’s extreme limitations, maybe don’t.) A more performance-focused sixcylinder hybrid has never ﬁt the image of a practical, family-focused SUV, so the Highlander Hybrid returns as a fourcylinder model with only 243 system hp, down from 306 in the previous hybrid. MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 41

With the base four-cylinder engine gone, the Highlander now carries a base price of $35,720. That’s probably more than you expected, but a base Highlander L now includes V-6 power, LED headlights, automatic emergency braking, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with baked-in Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, ﬁve USB ports, and a wheelbase stretched just over 2 inches. Highlander customers demanded more cargo space behind the third-row seats, and the new model can carry 16.0 cubic feet of gear, up 2.2 cubic feet from the SUV it replaces. There’s more space behind the second-row seats, too—with 48.4 cubic feet. Those numbers place the Highlander a bit behind the Explorer, Telluride, and Honda Pilot with the third-row seats up, but a bit ahead of those competitors with the third row down. Small bonus: As you shop for ever-larger three-row SUVs that will barely ﬁt in your garage, keep in mind the Highlander is still slightly narrower and shorter than those competitors. We know you don’t want to hear it, so we won’t tell you about the three-row Toyota

42 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

that can better handle your people and things. (It rhymes with Vienna.) Without sliding doors to ease entry and exit to the second and third rows, maneuvering to the Highlander’s cheap seats requires a pull of a lever to fold the second-row backrest out of the way and a quick shove of the seats forward. Pretty standard. As is the Highlander’s small third row—children won’t mind how high the ﬂoor is, but adults might. Toyota points out the second row now tracks 1.2 inches farther forward, but there’s no disguising this seven- or eight-passenger SUV’s space constraints; some competitors have more room, but few can be described as spacious. Surprisingly, after years of trailing the competition, the Toyota excels with infotainment. One big caveat is that the 12.3-inch touchscreen is an option on the Limited, standard on the fancyschmancy Platinum, but not available for buyers of the more price-conscious L, LE, and XLE trims who get the standard 8.0-inch screen. Now that Toyotas provide Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the

smartphone-mirroring systems display on most of the wide screen’s real estate. The smaller portion can display other info, and a quick swipe or button press switches the locations of the larger and smaller displays. Infotainment downsides? Although the navigation system worked well during our drive, the graphics will either look familiar or dated, depending on your perspective. The same is true of the hybrid’s powertrain display. We’d like to see more hybrid data details for drivers who like to gamify hybrid driving. There are a few other shortcomings you might not notice on a test drive, but will after owning the car for a few months: More ways of adjustment for the four-way power passenger seat (standard on XLE and above) would be appreciated. The two temperature-adjustment knobs on the lower trims lack the awesome grippy material and enormous size we love in the smaller RAV4. The drive mode toggle could be a bit bigger, even though most owners will set it and forget it.

Should I get the hybrid? Yes.

The 2020 Toyota Highlander’s interior material quality is generally pretty good, but materials can’t disguise the cramped back row so common in three-row SUVs. A little more thought to things like USB placement would help, as well.

Already looking ahead, we hope the refreshed 2023 Highlander can move the two 2.1-amp second-row USB ports from just off the floor to somewhere higher in the interior—the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride, for example, have their ports midway up the back of the front seats. Finally, the reflection on the front windshield of the silver trim atop the available 12.3-inch screen may bother some drivers. Otherwise, the 2020 Highlander shoots for middle-of-the-road performance. With 18- or 20-inch wheels, the Highlander cruises comfortably. (Anyone else feeling déjà vu?) The steering has a little life in it but feels too slow to respond for our tastes—you’ll have to turn the steering wheel considerably more to make that next turn. Also, interior quality varies from trim to trim but is generally better than what you’ll find in the Explorer. Lower 2020 Highlander trims announce themselves with black—not chrome—door handles and cheaper materials covering the

That big storage area exemplifies everything we like about the 2020 Toyota Highlander. The information display’s paucity of hybrid driving data is an example of where it falls short.

Buying a Highlander in hybrid form is a smarter choice than it used to be. The new model starts with a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated I-4, which facilitates incredible-for-the-segment fuel economy and an impressive driving range of about 600 miles, depending on the trim. You’ll find the FWD and AWD hybrid available on every trim except the base L version, and no, going hybrid doesn’t mean sacrificing space for your crew or their stuff. What it does mean is better fuel economy at a relatively decent price. The hybrid premium is just $1,400 across the model range. In other words, doing the environment a solid won’t cost you much more. And if this is more about saving money over the long term, the fuel savings should pay back that hybrid premium before your five-year loan is up if your real-world mpg comes close to the SUV’s official 35–36/34–35 mpg EPA ratings. We were pleasantly surprised by how natural the brakes felt—not always the case for hybrids. With 243 combined system hp, the Highlander felt powerful and responsive enough for quick bursts of acceleration through the city. As we found with the RAV4 hybrid, we wish the Highlander’s 2.5-liter engine was a little quieter, but it’s tolerable. On a highway on-ramp, the hybrid runs out of juice compared to the regular V-6 model, but we’d still take the hybrid if it fit the budget. One curiosity: The FWD hybrid seemed to have stronger regenerative braking while coasting than the AWD model. Either way, the hybrid accomplishes more with less (power).

2020 Toyota Highlander BASE PRICE

$35,720-$51,320

VEHICLE LAYOUT

Front-engine, FWD/ AWD, 7-8-pass, 4-door SUV

ENGINES

3.5L/295-hp/263lb-ft Atkinson-cycle DOHC 24-valve V-6; 2.5L/186-hp/175-lb-ft Atkinson-cycle DOHC 16-valve I-4 plus elec motors, 243 hp comb

TRANSMISSIONS

8-speed automatic, cont variable auto

CURB WEIGHT

4,150-4,600 lb (mfr)

WHEELBASE

112.2 in

LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT

194.9 x 76.0 x 68.1 in

0-60 MPH

7.2-7.7 sec (MT est)

EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON

20-36/27-35/23-36 mpg (est)

ENERGY CONSUMPTION, CITY/HWY

94-169/96-125 kWhr/100 miles (est)

CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB

0.55-0.86 lb/mile (est)

ON SALE IN U.S.

Currently

storage area on the dash. Soft-touch surfaces cover parts of all Highlanders, with a leatherlike material on a knee rest on either side of the center console of higher-end models. One cool style note: Some Highlanders use a dark brown for trim on the tops of the door panels and most of the dash; it contrasts well with tan or caramel seats, even if it looks a little odd with the black instrument cluster cover. On the outside, blacked-out A-pillars and punched-out fender flares enhance a design that shows how far the Highlander’s style has come since its boxy beginnings nearly 20 years ago. The 2020 Highlander won’t challenge the Kia Telluride for exterior charm, but it has more personality than the Ascent and thankfully stops short of the Hyundai Palisade’s deal-breaking front styling. In style and tech, the 2020 Highlander has made serious progress. Peel away the flash of a Platinum model in the showroom, though, and you’re left with what we can call “classic Highlander.” Although we’d rather drive a Telluride (except for its fuel economy), the Highlander strives to make things easy or comfortable, just like the three generations that came before it. Little on the Highlander—except for the hybrid’s exceptional 35–36/34–35 mpg city/highway—screams “must buy” in a crowded segment. But consider Toyota’s reputation for reliability, the tighter turning radius, the super-efficient hybrid model, its more capacious cargo area, and the tidy dimensions. There’s some goodness here. Greatness? Hmm. Q MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 43

BUTCHERS’ FIRST DRIVE I 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250

ey, can we talk? You, the car enthusiast who devours MotorTrend for the high-end stuff. And you, too, the retail-ready shopper who comes to us for practical buying advice. You both have lots of questions about the new Mercedes-Benz GLB crossover. But what you really want to know is, simply: Is it any good? Let me respond just as simply: Yes, it is. The enthusiast wants to know if it’s a real Mercedes, one worthy of a three-pointed star among stalwarts like the GLS, GLE, and our 2017 SUV of the Year, the GLC. Does it drive like a Mercedes despite its front-drive underpinnings? Meanwhile, smart shoppers want to know if it feels like a Mercedes inside, if it’s a good value, and whether there’s space for all their needs. Yes, it does all those things. These are fair questions to ask. This is only Mercedes’ second crack at a frontdrive SUV. It’s also taking a risk by mating a compact footprint with three rows of seats. Let’s just get the latter out of the way: The third row is optional, and it’s for

44 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

children only. Why even offer it, then? Because it’s a great selling proposition to get your whole school-run carpool in a Mercedes SUV for a budget price. As shoppers at every price point turn their eyes away from minivans and toward SUVs, especially luxury ones, it’s a market segment just waiting to be served. Similar to its direct competitors, the Land Rover Discovery Sport and VW Tiguan, the GLB’s third row is for emergencies only. The sliding and reclining second row will see far more use, and it provides plenty of space for adults, nearly adult kids, and car seat–bound children alike. The front seats, as always, will get the biggest workout, and they’re up for it, remaining comfortable after 400-plus miles on the road (unlike the seats in the mechanically similar CLA-Class sedan).

If you’re cross-shopping the GLA or CLA- and A-Class sedans, you’ll ﬁnd the GLB’s forward cabin otherwise familiar. The instrument panel and center stack are doppelgängers, and you’ll notice many of the same features. Agree to a high enough price at the dealer, and you can get a combination of adaptive cruise control, advanced lane keeping, and navigation data that functions nearly as well as Tesla’s Navigate on

BENZES Autopilot. Activate cruise, and it’ll slow the vehicle for corners, handle stopand-go trafﬁc, and change lanes when you activate a turn signal. It’ll even display a forward-looking video feed on the infotainment screen with overlay reminder arrows that point you into the next waypoint (albeit a bit late in the process). Sadly, the cumbersome user interface is multilayered and difﬁcult to use. The infotainment screen, at least, is touch

sensitive, but the touchpad controllers on the center console and the steering wheel rarely understand your inputs. Once underway, the GLB rides and drives like a tall sedan, hugging the ground but giving you an elevated view of the road. The suspension rides comfortably while keeping the body reasonably ﬂat in a curve so no one gets thrown around. The steering is responsive and has a nice weight to it without being too

FIRST DRIVES

heavy. Similarly, the brakes offer plenty of stopping power if you need it, but they aren’t grabby, so it’s easy to stop smoothly. Its all-wheel-drive system, should you choose to buy it, is undetectable when engaged, which generally only happens if a front wheel loses traction. The engine’s 221 horsepower is more than adequate. With a pair of adults on board, the GLB 250 doesn’t feel strained getting up to speed when merging with interstate trafﬁc. Give credit to the new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which never stumbles when smoothly picking the proper gear. Compared to the CLA’s seven-speed, the GLB’s transmission is a revelation. The GLB is let down by the interior noise level, particularly tire and wind noise on the highway, which is excessive for a vehicle wearing a Mercedes badge. Raising your voice to be heard in a German car? Unacceptable. The good news is Mercedes didn’t let the accountants price this thing. You would have to check almost every box on a GLB to top $50K. But dial back on the over-the-top options, and you have impressive tech and luxury for the price of a loaded mainstream-brand compact SUV. With more customers prioritizing panache over capacity, the GLB makes a lot of sense. Scott Evans

2020 Mercedes-Benz GLB 250

The Off-Road driving mode sounds nice, but the GLB’s ground clearance is barely better than a sedan, so don’t bother going off-pavement for fun.

BASE PRICE

$37,595-$39,595

VEHICLE LAYOUT

Front-engine, FWD/AWD, 5-7-pass, 4-door SUV

ENGINE

2.0L/221-hp/258-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4

TRANSMISSION

8-speed twin-clutch auto

CURB WEIGHT

3,650-3,900 lb (mfr)

WHEELBASE

111.4 in

LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT

182.4 x 79.5 x 65.3 in

0-60 MPH

6.9 sec (mfr est)

EPA CITY/HWY/ COMB FUEL ECON

23/30-31/26 mpg

ENERGY CONSUMPTION, CITY/HWY

147/109-112 kW-hr/ 100 miles

CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB

0.75 lb/mile

ON SALE IN U.S.

Currently

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 45

FIRST DRIVES

2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 The updated CLA nearly completes its to-do list y wife loves to-do lists. Crossing off each item gives her a little spark of joy, no matter how many boxes are left to check. If the engineers for the redesigned 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 are anything like my wife, it’s safe to assume they have similar self-satisfied smiles. Mercedes introduced the original CLA in 2013 as a hip, inexpensive entry point meant to lure people out of their Accords and Camrys and into a Benz. Although it certainly attracted a fair number of buyers, it also attracted criticism—most notably for its low-grade interior, recalcitrant transmission, and droopy styling. You would be correct if you imagined these shortcomings atop the to-do list for the product planners in Stuttgart. Far and away the greatest progress has been made inside the CLA. The previous car screamed “Cheap C-Class!” The new one emits a technology and style vibe. Not everyone loves the freestanding screen trend, but anyone can appreciate the clear influence from the six-figure flagship S-Class. Options like two-tone color schemes and multicolor accent lighting really help dress it up, for a price. Also available at a price: an eye-opening list of high-tech features, including adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, and the navigation system that automatically allows the car to slow for corners and facilitates lane changes (the latter after you activate a turn signal) while the car is in cruise control mode, similar to Tesla’s technologies.

Equally cool is the forward-facing camera view on the navigation screen that overlays big arrows to show you where to go. It’s great for impressing your friends, but the arrows don’t show up until you’re 300 feet from your turn, which means you may be making a lot of last-minute maneuvers if you keep your eyes on the road (recommended) rather than peering down at the small screen. If you do find yourself making some sharp maneuvers, you’ll be pleased with how the CLA responds. The electrically assisted steering has just the right response for a sporty daily driver, with a good weight to it, and the brakes have just the right amount of bite for confident stopping without being too grabby. It makes a fine trade on ride and handling, as well, the stiffness in the former reflected

in the capability of the latter. It’s enough to make you smile on a back road but not frown on a poorly maintained one. The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is remarkably improved but still feels unﬁnished. It’s considerably smoother than before and does an excellent job of covering any low points in the engine’s power delivery with smart, crisp shifts. It did, however, still yield a clunky downshift here and there, particularly when getting back into the throttle after coasting (for example, when approaching a red light that turns to green before you stop). Upon ignition, the CLA now defaults to its Comfort mode rather than the lethargic Eco mode, greatly improving its responsiveness to throttle inputs out the gate. There are a few other things remaining on the to-do list, however. Interior noise The original CLA-Class fell short of what we tend to expect of a Mercedes, but a redesign for 2020 addresses many of those issues.

46 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

levels can get fairly loud on rough pavement. The front seats are narrow, and my passenger and I found ourselves struggling to get comfortable the longer we were in them. As expected from a compact car, the rear seats remain tight despite the 1-inch wheelbase stretch, and its dramatic roofline restricts headroom. As for minding manners, the intrusive digital assistant will interject any time you utter the word “Mercedes,” regardless of whether you’re addressing the system. And unlike BMW’s similar assistant, you cannot silence the Benz’s pushy virtual passenger. If you’re coming to the CLA for that cool roofline, though, you won’t be disappointed (and if traditional sedans are your thing, there’s now the A-Class sedan). The new styling is sharp and sleek. The shark-nose profile up front is particularly notable, and the rear end no longer sags. With all the improvements and added features, it’s almost enough to make you forget the price has gone up considerably. The outgoing CLA had already climbed from its mainstreamadjacent $30,000 launch pricing to $34,000. Now relieved of its brand-entry status by the A-Class, the 2020 CLA added another $3,550 to the base price just to get started. Our well-equipped tester came in at an eye-watering $54,700. And don’t get us started on the AMG version (see sidebar). Yes, you are getting a lot of tech for your money. And the updated luxury touches have improved the experience. But that pricing is enough to make you reassess those non-luxury brands Mercedes is trying to lure you away from. Mercedes may now provide a far better car than before, but it still hasn’t quite finished its to-do list. Scott Evans

2020 Mercedes-AMG CLA 4S Coupe nd the new AMG models just keep on coming. The redesigned 2020 Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 Coupe sports new AMG family threads and a hand-built 2.0-liter turbocharged fourcylinder engine that packs an impressive 382 hp and 354 lb-ft of punch. Funneling all that mumbo to terra firma is an eight-speed AMG Speedshift dualclutch transmission and the AMG Performance 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive system. The bottom line? A swoopy Corolla-sized four-door that AMG says will zing from 0 to 60 in about 4.0 seconds and reach a top speed of 155 mph—168 if you order the AMG Dynamic Plus package, which also gives you bigger brakes and a Drift mode. It’s sporty, so the ride is very tight. Comfort mode generates a lot less noise, vibration, and harshness than we experienced in the A 220. But Sport+ mode instigated a lot of sharp vertical motions, even on the smooth German back roads on our test route. In anything other than Comfort mode, the CLA 45 Coupe’s ride would be unbearably busy on choppy U.S. freeways. Our testers were all CLA 45 S Coupes, powered by a 415-hp, 368-lb-ft version of the AMG-massaged four-banger that’s sadly not coming to the U.S. It’s a great engine in terms of power delivery—torquey yet willing to spin freely to 7,000 rpm. But

it doesn’t sound that sophisticated, with a grumbly exhaust note in Comfort and Sport modes. But from 4,500 rpm onward in Sport+ mode, that transforms into Billy Idol gargling in the shower. In terms of handling, the CLA 45 Coupe is like a Subaru WRX in a straitjacket—same basic dynamic responses but much more tightly controlled, with less corner-entry understeer and more traction from the rear axle on the exits. The steering is a bit video gamey, without much feel or feedback, but the front end responds adroitly to inputs. The CLA 45 Coupe is of course closely related to the A 220 sedan that drew criticism from judges during the 2020 Car of the Year evaluations for its tinny ride and obvious cost cutting. The CLA 45 Coupe looks and feels more premium. It needs to: No pricing has been announced yet, but the outgoing model stickers at just over $53,000. Angus MacKenzie

2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 BASE PRICE

$37,645-$39,645

VEHICLE LAYOUT

Front-engine, FWD/AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan

ENGINE

2.0L/221-hp/258-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4

TRANSMISSION

7-speed twin-clutch auto

CURB WEIGHT

3,350-3,500 lb (mfr)

WHEELBASE

107.4 in

LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT

184.6 x 72.0 x 56.7 in

0-60 MPH

6.0-6.2 sec (MT est)

EPA CITY/HWY/ COMB FUEL ECON

23-25/33-35/27-28 mpg

ENERGY CONSUMPTION, CITY/HWY

135-147/96-102 kWhr/100 miles

CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB

0.68-0.73 lb/mile

ON SALE IN U.S.

Currently

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 47

THE BESTHANDING, BEST-RIDING LUXURY SUV IN THE WORLD? PROBABLY.

WORDS ANGUS MACKENZIE

he guttural V-8 growl is as familiar as the iconic winged logo on the leather-clad steering wheel. But overlaying it are sounds never before heard in an Aston Martin: a distant ticking of gravel peppering the underside, the mufﬂed thud of rubber on rock, the swoosh of muddy water cascading over the hood. We’re dancing an Aston Martin DBX prototype through the wilderness of Oman, on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It feels right at home. We’ve covered the oily bits of Aston’s ﬁrst-ever SUV on MotorTrend.com, but here’s a quick recap: The DBX is built on a brand-new all-aluminum body structure engineered and developed in-house at Aston Martin. Under the hood is the ubiquitous 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that powers sundry Mercedes-AMG models as well as versions of Aston’s own DB11 and Vantage sports cars. Developing 542 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, it’s hooked up to Daimler’s smooth nine-speed automatic and a performance version of the company’s 4Matic all-wheel-drive system, with an active center differential and rear e-diff. 48 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

Suspension is by way of triple-chamber air springs with active anti-roll, and 22-inch wheels are standard. The DBX we’re driving is what Aston calls a 1PT—a first production-trial build— which means it’s one of the first cars to come off the line at the newly opened factory in St. Athan, Wales. Riding shotgun is Aston Martin vehicle attribute engineering chief Matt Becker, who points out the steering and suspension calibrations are still being finalized, as is the software that controls the pops and bangs from the exhaust in Sport+ mode. Otherwise—apart from the usual manufacturing process tweaks to ensure things like the door fits and wiper locations are optimized to reduce wind noise—it’s close to the final spec of the DBXs that will arrive in the U.S. in the second half of the year. Prepare to be impressed. The DBX is quick—claimed 0–60 acceleration takes 4.3 seconds en route to a top speed of 181 mph. It doesn’t really feel like it, though, perhaps because we’re now spoiled for choice when it comes to 500-plushorsepower SUVs (see also page 58). And it will go around corners. Becker says it will pull more than 1.00 g lateral

The Aston Martin DBX has an impressively roomy and properly luxurious interior.

Aston Martin DBX I FIRST DRIVE

acceleration on all-season tires and 1.20 g on summer tires. But it’s the ride and refinement that sets it apart from every other luxury SUV on the market today. With the triple-chamber air suspension in its normal GT mode, the DBX flows down the road—any road, regardless of surface—with remarkable poise. Its primary ride has a beautiful, oily plushness, enhanced by a 120.5-inch wheelbase that’s just 0.4 inch shy of that of the new Chevy Tahoe. Superb rebound damping delicately yet precisely checks upward body motions, like a rising balloon being checked with a gentle tug on its string. Despite the 22-inch low-profile Pirelli Scorpion Zero all-season tires (285/40 front and 325/35 rear), impact harshness is well suppressed. There’s only the merest hint of noise and patter over small, sharp lumps and bumps. What’s extraordinary is all that comfort doesn’t come at the expense of cornering. Turning off the gravel road and onto two-lane tarmac that twisted and heaved through Oman’s rocky moonscape revealed the DBX to be an SUV that drives much smaller than it actually is. MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 49

At 198.4 inches long, 78.7 inches wide, and 66.1 inches tall, it’s closer to a Bentley Bentayga than a Porsche Cayenne, but it reacts to inputs with the ﬂuid grace of a genuine gran turismo. It makes a standard Range Rover—shorter, narrower, and with 5.5 inches less in the wheelbase—feel like a linebacker with a busted knee. All-aluminum construction helps. Aston claims the DBX weighs around 4,950 pounds. That’s 140 pounds less than our last Cayenne Turbo, some 350 less than a Bentayga V8, and 862 less than a fully loaded Range Rover SV Autobiography. But the key enabling technology is the ZF active anti-roll system, which can deploy up to 1,032 lb-ft of torque to twist both the front and rear anti-roll bars

against the cornering forces and keep the DBX ﬂat through corners while allowing the long-travel suspension to do its thing. By comparison, Porsche’s only goes to 811 lb-ft on the rear axle of the Cayenne. There’s never the sense you have to make allowances for the DBX’s mass or high center of gravity, especially on change of direction, as you do in other big, fast SUVs, even with the suspension in GT, the softest setting. There’s a little more busyness to the ride in Sport+, but the high output of the anti-roll system delivers greater rear axle roll stiffness, allowing power oversteer thanks to the 4Matic system that routinely sends up to 100 percent of the drive to the rear axle and no more than 47 percent to the front.

There’s also none of the slightly artiﬁcial turn-in response you get from SUVs with rear-wheel steering, primarily because the DBX doesn’t have it. Although the weighting and off-center gain of the steering had yet to be ﬁnalized on the prototype we drove, the 14:1 steering ratio—which splits the difference between the 16:1 ratio used in the Lamborghini Urus and the 12:1 ratio of the Cayenne Turbo—delivered just the right balance of response and stability. Becker calls the DBX “the most complex car I’ve ever done” in terms of dynamic development. The systems integration— making the powertrain, suspension, steering, and braking control systems work together to deliver the right blend of ride and handling—was a major challenge. Starting from an all-new architecture allowed Aston engineers to put the suspension hard points where they wanted them, to push the wheels right out to the corners of the car, delivering truly impressive interior room while shrink-wrapping the sheetmetal around the occupants. But it also meant, Becker says, every detail had to be thought through. “What I’m most proud of is the level of body control and ride comfort the car has, as well as handling performance,” says Becker, who began his career honing the handling of Lotus sports cars. And rightly so. Quite simply, the DBX sets a new benchmark in terms of its balance between ride comfort and dynamic capability. It’s as profound a line in the sand as the original Range Rover was in relation to its contemporaries; it’s the SUV whose manners all others will now be judged against. Yes, some are faster, some are more powerful, and some will grip even more tenaciously. But in the round, regardless of the road, the Aston Martin DBX drives better than any other luxury performance SUV on the market today. Period. Q 2020 Aston Martin DBX

50 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

BASE PRICE

$192,986

VEHICLE LAYOUT

Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV

ENGINE

4.0L/542-hp/516-lbft twin-turbo DOHC 32-valve V-8

TRANSMISSION

9-speed automatic

CURB WEIGHT

4,950 lb (mfr)

WHEELBASE

120.5 in

LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT

198.4 x 78.7 x 66.1 in

0-60 MPH

4.3 sec (MT est)

EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON

Not yet rated

ON SALE IN U.S.

Late 2020

Go where love takes you. Welcome to the all-new 2020 Subaru Outback. ®

The Outback will take you as far off the beaten path as you care to go, all without leaving the creature comforts behind. It’s loaded with tech, along with 8.7 inches of ground clearance + standard X-MODE with Hill Descent Control. For even more go, opt for the ®

available 260-horsepower Direct-Injection Turbocharged SUBARU BOXER engine. ®

Outback. Well-equipped at $26,645.* Subaru, Outback, SUBARU BOXER, and X-MODE are registered trademarks. *MSRP excludes destination and delivery charges, tax, title, and registration fees. Retailer sets actual price. Certain equipment may be required in specific states, which can modify your MSRP. See your retailer for details. 2020 Subaru Outback Onyx Edition XT shown has an MSRP of $36,740.

FIRST DRIVE I 2020 Hyundai Sonata

T I L L A C T ’ DON AL HYUNDAI BETS ON EMOTION IN CONNECTION TO KEEP YOU A MIDSIZE SEDAN

WORDS SCOTT EVANS

emember sedans? They’re not dead yet, though you’d be forgiven for thinking so by looking at what’s parked on your street. With more people making the switch to SUVs every year, Detroit’s automakers have given up on the family sedan. But Hyundai is betting that making the 2020 Sonata sexy, comfortable, and effortless will convince you not to defect. The way Hyundai tells it, the last Sonata was ﬁne but kinda dull. This is, they say, because they were chasing best-in-class interior space at the expense of design. Believe that if you want, but now Hyundai product planners say leading the speciﬁcations charts is not enough. SUVs of equal footprint have more space by nature, so sedans need something else to pull you in. The new strategy embraces the idea that a car purchase is more often 52 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

an emotional one than a coldly logical one. It plays to your heart. Ideally, a car will hook your right brain with sleek, standout design and a comfortable, easy driving experience, then reel in your left brain with a laundry list of standard and optional features at an aggressive price point. Solid strategy by the sound of it, but does the Sonata deliver? You bet it does. Design is purely subjective, but love it or not, it’s hard to deny the Sonata looks more conventionally attractive than the Accord, Camry, or Altima. Even if it’s not your ﬂavor, you have to respect it for pulling no punches. This car stands out, and that alone is attractive. A key piece of design is the sloping rooﬂine, which emphasizes a sedan’s best

attributes by making the car look low and sleek. Thankfully, careful packaging and seat design have mitigated the impact on rear headroom, clipping it by just 0.2 inch. As such, Hyundai can’t claim best-in-class space anymore, but the Sonata’s back seat is still comfortable for a 5-foot-9 adult. The design-forward strategy plays out a little differently inside, emphasizing

K C A B E A CO M

simplicity without sacriﬁcing ergonomics. All the controls and screens are easy to read and manipulate, so you can keep your eyes on the road instead of searching for features buried in menus. Hyundai’s infotainment software continues to be a benchmark for ease of use; the optional digital instrument cluster brings a little ﬂair with sharp animations as you change screens and driving modes. Funny thing is, the Sonata is so smooth and effortless to drive that you would have plenty of time to dig through a complicated system. Get out on the highway, and the car feels so planted and stable that you just want to set the cruise control to 90 mph for a few hours

and see where you end up. It handles long, sweeping turns like a luxury sedan, leaning in and powering through instead of slowing down and taking it easy. It dispatches sharp corners easily, too, but treats them more as a triﬂe than an opportunity to squeal the tires. If you want a sport sedan, there’s a Sonata N-Line for that. This car is about getting the job done. Despite this, it also manages to ride quite smoothly and comfortably. All the other components complement the driving experience, as well. The new 1.6-liter Smartstream turbocharged I-4 makes slightly more peak torque than before but suffers a 1-mpg demerit in both city and highway for it.

Fortunately, the delivery makes up for it. At an estimated 8.2 seconds to reach 60 mph, it’s not especially quick in its segment, but the rich, linear power delivery and clever new eight-speed automatic transmission make the car feel quicker and more powerful than it is. Put your foot down, and the car sweeps up to speed and merges onto the interstate with ease. This engine is available on mid to high trim levels. A substantially upgraded 2.5-liter I-4 is standard, but we didn’t have an opportunity to drive one of those. A pity, since the 2.5 makes more power and gets the same or slightly better fuel economy, the only penalty being slightly less torque. MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 53

Likewise, the responses from the brake pedal and steering wheel feel perfectly weighted and matched to the car’s personality. Nothing is too sensitive or too ﬂaccid—it all responds in the same measured way that makes every input feel consistent. Nothing stands out because everything is equally good. Then there are the party tricks. The Sonata comes loaded with standard safety features, but it doubles down with luxury car gadgetry. A more sophisticated Blue Link app can preload your proﬁle when you get in the car. It can load all your presets, remotely control some vehicle systems, and act as a digital key. Or you can grant driving privileges to someone else or remotely start the engine and pull into or out of a parking space. Take that, Tesla. Whether it’s the tech, the style, the $24,330 base price, or the way it drives like a far pricier car, Hyundai gives you every possible reason to stick with the sedan instead of renouncing it in favor of an SUV. Whether that’ll be enough remains to be seen, but don’t bet against it. Q The 2020 Hyundai Sonata embraces the emotional side of sedans and eschews the spec-centric approach.

54 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

2020 Hyundai Sonata BASE PRICE

$24,330-$34,230

VEHICLE LAYOUT

Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan

ENGINES

2.5L/191-hp/181-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4; 1.6L/180-hp/195-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4

TRANSMISSION

8-speed automatic

CURB WEIGHT

3,150-3,350 lb (mfr)

WHEELBASE

111.8 in

LXWXH

192.9 x 73.2 x 56.9 in

0-60 MPH

8.2 sec (mfr est)

EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON

27-28/36-38/31-32 mpg

ENERGY CONSUMPTION, CITY/HWY

120-125/89-94 kWhr/100 miles

CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB

0.61-0.64 lb/mile

ON SALE IN U.S.

Currently

FIRST DRIVE

The N-Line offers only subtle visual differentiation, but it’s decidedly more sporty.

ars require untold numbers of engineers to go from first sketch to Job 1, so it always seems unfair to lay a vehicle’s success or failure at the feet of just one person. That’s the nature of leadership, though. You revel in the W or hang your head with the L. Albert Biermann didn’t personally choose the parts and calibrations that make the 2020 Hyundai Sonata N-Line drive like it does, but his philosophy has been so faithfully executed in the way it drives, it’s impossible not to recognize his influence. Biermann, as has been extensively reported, came from BMW’s M division in 2015. Before Hyundai poached him to be its performance boss (he’s since been promoted to head of R&D), it would’ve been farcical to compare the way a Sonata drives to a BMW because that wasn’t the dynamic feel Hyundai was seeking. But things are different now. With Biermann’s guidance, every new Sonata has a distinctly Germanic feel, the new N-Line performance trim especially so. Patterned after German automakers’ strategies, N-Line is a street-grade performance trim rather than a full-boat track package. Those are branded just “N,” and the Sonata isn’t slated to become one of those models. Instead, the N-Line trim packages a stouter engine, a dualclutch transmission, larger brake rotors with performance pads, and stiffer suspension bushings and dampers. Not a bad start. In this case, it’s a new 2.5-liter turbo four-cylinder making about 290 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque (subject to final calibration). It’s effectively a turbocharged version of the Sonata’s new base 2.5-liter I-4 and will show up soon in other products from the Hyundai family. Backing it up is a new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic (DCT) not related to the base car’s new eightspeed automatic or Hyundai’s existing seven-speed dual-clutch. This is good because the seven-speed has long had issues engaging its clutches

smoothly at low speeds. Even in prototype form, the new eight-speed DCT has no such issue. Loafing around town, it shifts up and down smoothly and quickly enough to be mistaken for a more common torque-converter automatic. The calibration isn’t finished, and features like launch control and automatic rev matching haven’t been installed. But even driven hard it’s difficult to tell anything is missing. In its most aggressive Sport Plus driving mode the transmission selects gears smartly enough to make the steering wheel paddles superfluous. If you choose to use them anyway, they respond immediately. As of right now, there’s no way to lock the transmission in manual mode, and it’ll automatically upshift at redline, but that’s subject to change. The transmission’s cleverness pairs particularly well with this engine, whose power delivery is decidedly nonlinear. It starts out gently from idle to 3,000 rpm, providing ample torque to get you through your commute. From 3,000 to 5,000 rpm, though, it delivers a fat surge of power that makes the car feel quicker than it likely is. A rough stopwatch test suggests the N-Line will hit 60 mph in 6.0

to 6.5 seconds, roughly 2 seconds sooner than a standard Sonata with the optional turbocharged 1.6-liter engine. The transmission essentially bifurcates these two behaviors, so you get either normal driving behavior or big power. Drive lightly, and the car responds in kind; but put your foot down, and you get all of it. Knowing what the car has in it, Normal mode can feel just a tad lazy if you like sporty driving, but you can coax it with a heavy right foot. Sport mode is a bit aggressive for driving around town, but if you want that sport sedan feel, it’s just right. Sport Plus is for back road stuff. Similarly, the new brake tune is just a mite dynamic in city driving. The initial bite is about perfect, but as you get about halfway into the pedal’s travel, the braking power suddenly increases. Hyundai tells us the final brake pad compound is still being decided, so this, too, is subject to change. Perhaps the final formula won’t smell quite as much after hard driving, either. The engineers may also change the damping, but it doesn’t need much. The firmness is appropriate for a sport sedan and only makes itself known on patchy pavement; you’ll feel every sealed crack in the road, almost as if the wheels are heavy and the suspension filters as much as it can. It’s forgivable, though, because of the handling it gives you. In the Germanic tradition, the Sonata N-Line feels exceptionally planted at high speed. The car sinks down into the road like the best sport sedans, and bumps and jolts don’t faze it at all. On the highway, it makes you want to just cruise, carefree, at triple-digit speeds. On a winding road, you barely brake for long sweepers as the car remains totally composed. Tighter turns encourage you to push the car in a way no mainstream midsize family sedan would. We’ll get the final Sonata N-Line product in the fall as a 2021 model, which will likely start in the $30,000 range.

2021 Hyundai Sonata N-Line Base Price $30,000 (est) Vehicle Layout Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan Engine 2.5L/290-hp/310-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4 Transmission 8-speed dual-clutch auto Curb Weight 3,300 lb (est) Wheelbase 111.8 in L x W x H 192.9 x 73.2 x 56.9 in 0-60 mph 6.0 sec (MT est) EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ Not yet rated On Sale in U.S. Fall 2020

FIRST DRIVE I 2020 NISSAN TITAN

BIG DIVIDENDS

he 2016 Nissan Titan was a monumental improvement over the 12-year-old truck it replaced, but that redesigned model was already outdated the day it was unveiled; it was the truck Nissan should’ve released many years earlier, and it showed. This year, ﬁnally, the refreshed Titan boasts improvements that bring it much closer to competing with segment leaders from Ford, Ram, and Chevrolet. The ﬁrst think you’ll notice is the updated styling, which takes a refreshing step away from aping the Ford F-150 in front and establishes a better identity for the Titan. Unfortunately, that’s balanced with a new tailgate trim piece on top-trim models (not pictured) that looks like it was pried off the back of an F-150. The real news is hiding under the skin. The star of the show is a new JATCO nine-speed automatic, which is worlds better than the seven-speed it replaces. It’s smoother, smarter, quicker to shift, cleverer about when to do it, and devoid of the slop of the old one.

56 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

An updated 5.6-liter V-8 now makes just enough more power to claim “best in class” bragging rights, and a 3.69:1 rear end really wakes things up. Considerably “shorter” (numerically higher) than before, the new rear end makes the Titan jump off the line with the kind of enthusiasm the V-8’s healthy roar always promised but never delivered. Unfortunately, the new transmission hasn’t done anything to improve the truck’s fuel economy rating (15/21 mpg city/highway with four-wheel drive, 16/22 without). None of these updates has improved the Titan’s payload and tow ratings, which still sit at 1,680 pounds hauling and 9,370 pounds towing. Competing domestic trucks can haul hundreds of pounds more and tow thousands more. There’s good news, though, because the upgraded drivetrain lets the Titan tow what it can a lot better. Hitched to a 4,500pound horse trailer, the shorter rear end lets the truck and trailer get moving with authority. The transmission also makes the most of the engine’s prodigious power.

WORDS SCOTT EVANS

In previous tow tests, we found the old seven-speed had a bad habit of hanging at redline for what felt like an eternity before finally upshifting. Now, all the parts feel well matched and are working together for a more confident towing experience. Even if the numbers haven’t changed, the powertrain improvements were the missing piece of the Titan’s puzzle. The old truck’s smooth ride and precise steering both carry over to make this a more complete truck. Steering effort is heavier than in other trucks, but it fits the Titan’s macho personality. It’s macho like The Rock is macho, big and tough but able to swagger in a designer suit when the occasion calls for it. The interior is mostly the same, but laminated glass and massive improvements in noise, vibration, and harshness

make it a much more pleasant place to be on a long drive. A 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system offers better graphics, a more usable surround-view camera system, and impressively clear sound from the optional Fender audio system. The updated instrument cluster is familiar to Nissan owners and offers a much larger digital screen with more information pages—though it would be nice if the digital auxiliary gauges had scales or even red lines to give them context. Up top you can add a massive dual-pane sunroof that’s a bit narrower than others Despite few obvious visual interior updates, to preserve space for grab handles on the the unseen changes improve NVH to make ceiling, a thoughtful touch. The “Mature it a better place to spend time. Camo” seat pattern option, though, feels like straight pandering, and the upright 2020 Nissan Titan phone holder appears ripped from a Ram BASE PRICE $36,500-$60,000 (est) truck; likewise the Ford-style air vents. VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, Nissan’s new Safety Shield 360 suite RWD/4WD, 5-6-pass, of passive and active safety features is 4-door truck standard across the board, something ENGINE 5.6L/400-hp/413lb-ft DOHC the domestic competitors can’t all claim. 32-valve V-8 Every truck gets blind-spot warning, lane 9-speed automatic departure warning, automatic emergency TRANSMISSION braking with the ability to see pedestrians CURB WEIGHT 5,500-5,900 lb (mfr) and vehicles alike, rear cross-traffic WHEELBASE 139.8 in warning, rear automatic braking, and 228.2-229.5 x 79.5-80.7 LENGTH X WIDTH automatic high-beams. x 75.4-77.2 in X HEIGHT To those technologies you can add the 0-60 MPH 6.3-6.9 sec (MT est) camera system, forward collision warning, 15-16/21-22/17-18 EPA CITY/HWY/COMB adaptive cruise control, driver alertness FUEL ECON mpg monitoring, and traffic sign recognition. ENERGY CONSUMPTION, 211-225/153-160 For those who tow, the optional trailer CITY/HWY kW-hr/100 miles brake now adjusts both stopping power CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 1.06-1.13 lb/mile and how quickly the trailer brakes apply ON SALE IN U.S. Early 2020 for finer tuning.

None of this, thankfully, has had any effect on the Titan’s off-road capability. Clearances and angles remain the same, and the 31-inch General Grabber tires fitted to the Pro-4X off-road trim level nicely balance on-road quiet and off-road grip. The Bilstein shocks keep the big truck from throwing you around too much when the trail gets tough. Having already dropped the diesel (and scrapping plans for the promised V-6), this year the regular cab and long box are also culled. Expect prices on all remaining trim levels and configurations to rise slightly to account for the new hardware. With a few well-placed updates, the 2020 Titan is finally catching up to the pack. It still isn’t class-leading, but it’s worthy of consideration if you don’t need maximum capability. Q

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 57

FIRST DRIVES I Audi RS Q8 I RS 6

irst things first: The 2021 Audi RS Q8 drives nothing like the platformsharing Lamborghini Urus. I defy you to find anything about the Audi’s driving manners, engine note, shift patterns, steering, braking, design, or styling that would conjure thoughts of its Italian affiliate. Does it drive better than an Urus? I guess that depends on the type of driver you are. And whether “better” is worth it depends on the depth of your pocketbook, as the Lambo is likely $100K upward of Ingolstadt’s edition. In fact, the RS Q8 seems to have more similarity with Audi’s RS 6 wagon than it does the Urus. It’s the same sausage, different shapes in this corner of the Audi delicatessen. Can the Audi match the Urus’ 3.0-second 0–60? Audi suggests a 3.8-second dash to 62 mph (100 kph) is routine. Does that mean the RS Q8 is slower than the Lambo? Not necessarily. A few months back, the Audi Sport unit ran the RS Q8 to a 7:42.253 SUV-record lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

(Lamborghini’s unofﬁcial time is 5 seconds slower.) Tester Frank Stippler says he could have shaved another 4 or 5 seconds off his time if not for intermittent ground fog and patchy wet spots on the track. And all this was with an engine that is down on power compared to the Lambo. Whereas the shared 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 makes 641 hp in the Urus, in the Audi it makes a more modest 590 hp. Not that any ordinary American driver will notice. An eight-speed Tiptronic torqueconverter automatic gets that power to the pavement. It’s mated to an all-wheeldrive system that normally splits power 40/60 front to rear but can swing it anywhere between 70/30 and 20/80. Any more than that, with this sort of power, could damage the driveshaft. Hence, 100 percent rear drive isn’t possible. The RS Q8 gets a 48-volt mild hybrid system that can recoup 12 kW in the trunk battery pack. What’s more, the V-8 engine comes with cylinder deactivation and can even coast, powerless, at speeds from 30 up to 100 mph. Overall, in the

HORSES FOR

58 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

WORDS MARK RECHTIN

FIRST DRIVE

AUDI BRINGS TWO HIGH-POWERED, SHARP-HANDLING FAMILY HAULERS TO MARKET

COURSES WORDS JONNY LIEBERMAN

any moons ago in Utah, I sat incredulous as an angry Volvo employee told me wagons were dead in America. I needed to—the now former employee told me—get over my weird ﬁxation. (Or did he say fetish?) Either way, Volvo was out of the wagon business. Other brands followed suit, including both Bavarian brands, Audi and BMW. SUVs had won. Move along. Times change, however, and Volvo now offers U.S. consumers no fewer than four station wagons. Just two years ago I leased an Audi A4 Allroad. Product planning, it must be said, is much less science than art. This preamble leads us to another new entrant in the American long-roof scene: the all-new Audi RS 6. Technically, it’s the RS 6 Avant, but there isn’t an RS 6 sedan anymore, so all you have to say is RS 6.

The RS Q8 (top) and RS 6 (bottom) share significant portions of the Audi component set, but their audiences likely will be quite different.

It’s fast, it’s fabulous, it’s packed with wonder, it’s gorgeous, and if you’re a fairly rich American, you’ll be able to buy one around late summer 2020. Let’s start with the gorgeous, and why exactly the RS 6 looks oh so good. The only body panels shared with a run-of-the-mill A6 Avant are the front doors, roof, and tailgate. Everything else requires unique stamping. Another part of what makes the RS 6 so hot is that the big signature Audi grille is now frameless, matching the look of the brand’s range-topping halo vehicle, the R8. The ﬁrst ever RS product, the RS 2 wagon, was co-developed by Porsche. Also, Audi builds the R8 and owns Lamborghini. The design intent was to get all that across. To my eyes, Audi’s big hammer nailed it. If the RS 6 isn’t the best-looking wagon of all time, it’s close. MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 59

FIRST DRIVES I Audi RS Q8 I RS 6 There are eight driving mode programs, including two programmable, intense “RS” settings activated from a steering wheel button (the ﬁercer setting negates ESC nannies), and separate Allroad and off-road settings that carry different throttle characteristics; the off-road mapping adds downhill speed assist and optimizes stability, traction, and braking for poor surfaces. An optional Quattro sport differential splits the torque between the rear wheels and has dialed in “a hint of oversteer,” technical project manager Michael Barma says. Most folks won’t reach its full potential, but a stint riding shotgun with Stippler displays its capability, especially putting down power on corner exit. combined cycle, Audi estimates 19 mpg for this track-ready beast. Impressive.

RS Q8: Fastest to Montessori All RS Q8s get an adaptive air suspension with ﬁrmer damping than the base steel suspension offers, plus up to 3.5 inches of ride-height variability for the day you take this beast off-pavement. An electromechanical anti-roll bar (part of the Dynamic package) provides active roll stabilization, which you’ll feel as soon

as you take your first corner at speed: There’s no lurch of weight transfer, no body lean. You’re just carving the radius, the chassis hugging the tarmac flat (good thing for bolstered seats). If not for the RS Q8’s hefty 5,300 pounds of weight as a reminder, you would find yourself forgetting you’re driving a crossover. It also offers standard four-wheel steering, with the rear wheels offering an astounding 5 degrees of steering angle.

2021 Audi RS 6 Avant

RS 6: Audi’s Superwagon Under the yummy sheetmetal sits a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that makes 591 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. Audi claims 0–62 mph in 3.6 seconds, and I’m educated-guessing that number is conservative. The stout engine is mated to ZF’s ubiquitous eight-speed automatic transmission, routing power to all four wheels—because Quattro. The torque split is 40/60 front to rear. As much as 70 percent of the torque can hit the front wheels, and up to 85 percent can be sent to the rears. The rear axle has a sport differential that vectors torque left and 60 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

right as needed; the front wheels have brake-based torque vectoring. The RS 6 is 3.1 inches wider and sits 0.8 inch lower than a normal A6 and can be had with two different suspensions. The standard is air springs at all four corners (which lowers the vehicle an additional 0.4 inch at speed); the option is Audi’s Dynamic Ride Control, which sports hydraulic, diagonally linked dampers. That means the driver-side front damper is tied into the passenger-side rear damper, and vice versa. The optional carbon-ceramic brakes are off Lamborghini’s Urus, and the front rotors are the largest in the passenger-car world (17.3 inches). Opting for the giant carbon stoppers allows the RS 6’s top speed to rise from 155 to 190 mph. Talk about gotta have it! There is now an RS button on the steering wheel that offers two fully programmable modes— RS1 and RS2. Yeah, totes like BMW M cars’ M1 and M2 buttons. If you must steal, steal from the best. Traditionally, big Audis that aren’t the R8 have suffered from one single issue: understeer. Great news: This big, fast Audi does not understeer. I believe it’s due to the sport differential because

BASE PRICE

$120,000 (est)

VEHICLE LAYOUT

Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door wagon

ENGINE

4.0L/591-hp/590-lbft twin-turbo DOHC 32-valve V-8

TRANSMISSION

8-speed automatic

CURB WEIGHT

4,600 lb (mfr)

WHEELBASE

115.4 in

LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT

196.7 x 76.8 x 58.5 in

0-62 MPH

3.6 sec (mfr est)

EPA CITY/HWY/ COMB FUEL ECON

Not yet rated

ON SALE IN U.S.

Late summer 2020

Audi and Lamborghini also took different directions in design. Think R8 versus Huracán, but with SUVs. The Urus is a lithe wedge, whereas the RS Q8 carries a linebacker stance that indicates this was always meant to come from a donor SUV. Part of that muscularity comes from carrying 0.4 inch more width at the front wheels and 0.2 inch at the back compared to a standard Q8. Any more width would trigger serious angst driving in the narrowed lanes of a construction zone. Remember when folks thought 20-inch wheels were extreme? Well, the base rollers here are 22-inchers wrapped in Hankook tires, which at a 295/40 proﬁle have the largest diameter of any tire ever factory-installed on a production Audi.

even on tight, twisty roads the RS 6 doesn’t plow. Yay! Also yay: The dynamic steering is a massive improvement over all earlier versions. Between the two suspensions, I think the hydraulically linked dampers handle better than the air suspension, but only just. The air springs will allow for a bit of off-roading as well as easier loading. You can’t go wrong either way. The cars we drove were Euro-spec cars—actual U.S.spec RS 6s will have louder exhausts. I’m spoiled and jaded, but the RS 6 didn’t feel as maniacally, sadistically quick as its natural competitor, the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S wagon. Rest

There’s also a choice of optional 295/35ZR23s from Hankook or Continental that come with carbon-ceramic brakes instead of the base steel binders. Getting the 23s and the Dynamic Plus package unleashes the governed top speed up to 190 mph. Inside, Virtual Cockpit is the latest version, where the readouts for speed and rpm can appear as numbers pushed to the corners of the display, with a digital panorama in the driver’s immediate ﬁeld of vision and down the center stack. For maximum race effect, the seats have integrated headrests and strong side bolstering (with a choice of Nappa leather and Alcantara, or Valcona leather). But because an owner’s race is not at Laguna Seca but to Laguna Beach, the seats also feature multiple massage functions. Once no longer held captive by your kids’ audio demands, the 1,920-watt, 23-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo will redeﬁne how you hear music—even chestnuts like “Sultans of Swing.” The RS Q8 will arrive at European dealerships in early 2020, starting at 127,000 euros (roughly $140,000). American buyers will have to wait until into late spring or early summer before its arrival here, with pricing estimated at $130,000.

assured Audi will release a mightier Performance version of the RS 6 that should address this admittedly silly complaint. Final verdict: I love the thing. (Shocker, I know.) High-performance wagons are my favorite sort of car, and based on the day I spent ripping around Malibu, I see

What about Jonny Lieberman’s assertion that the RS 6 is a better driver than the RS Q8? “The RS 6 is sportier, with a more performance base and a lower center of gravity,” Barma admits, noting the RS 6 carries 440 pounds less weight. Guess that’s one point for the wagon, until you need to haul stuff. The RS Q8 has 30.5 cubic feet of hatch storage, 60.7 cubes if the second-row seats are down. After all, you might have to stop at Costco or your kids’ hockey practice on the way back from your favorite drive. Q 2021 Audi RS Q8 BASE PRICE

$130,000 (est)

VEHICLE LAYOUT

Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV

ENGINE

4.0L/591-hp/590-lbft twin-turbo DOHC 32-valve V-8

TRANSMISSION

8-speed automatic

CURB WEIGHT

5,300 lb (mfr)

WHEELBASE

118.0 in

LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT

197.3 x 86.2 x 67.2 in

0-62 MPH

3.8 sec (mfr)

EPA CITY/HWY/ COMB FUEL ECON

Not yet rated

ON SALE IN U.S.

Late spring 2020

no reason why the RS 6 won’t take its rightful place in the pantheon of longroofed greats, from Audi’s own RS 2 to Cadillac’s near-divine CTS-V wagon. Remember that, mechanically, the RS 6 is identical to the heavier, slower, uglier RS Q8. The RS 6 is, however, exponentially cooler than any SUV. #BecauseWagon. Yes, the RS Q8 will have no trouble outselling the RS 6, but buying one is following the herd. RS 6 owners will be in a discerning, secret club. Trust me, you want in. Q

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 61

BECAUSE FEATURE I LAND SPEED RECORD

WORDS ANGUS MACKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHS CHARLIE SPERRING

FEATURE

Bloodhound LSR driver Andy Green debriefs the crew after the carâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high-speed test runs in the Kalahari Desert.

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 63

FEATURE I LAND SPEED RECORD

“I

t’s a bit Everest, isn’t it?” For a brief moment, Ian Warhurst doesn’t sound like a mechanical engineer. Echoes of Henry Segrave, George Eyston, John Cobb, Malcolm and Donald Campbell, Art Arfons, Craig Breedlove—brave, quixotic adventurers who dreamed of being the fastest ground-bound humans on earth— reverberate through the room. “You’re going into the unknown, doing something that no one else has done before.” A pause. “That’s got to be appealing, hasn’t it?” A little over a year ago Warhurst was wondering what he was going to do with the rest of his life. Having sold his turbocharger parts manufacturing business to an American corporation, he found himself at the age of 49 wealthy enough never to have to work again. But a WhatsApp message from his eldest son, Charlie, changed everything. “Hey Dad, have you seen that Bloodhound’s getting sold? Why don’t you buy it? Ha ha.” Bloodhound. Warhurst had long known about the British project to set a new land speed record, not the least because he’d followed Bloodhound founder Richard Noble’s 1997 attempt with the Thrust SSC, driven by RAF fighter pilot Andy Green to a new record of 763.035 mph. Noble’s canine-monikered follow-up to Thrust had begun in 2008, and Warhurst had been following its progress closely. He’d been given a gold supporter’s certificate by his brother in 2009 as a 40th birthday present. He’d also seen the Bloodhound car being used to inspire young people to take up science and engineering, a personal passion. By 2018, however, the Bloodhound project had run out of money, the car having run just a handful of low-speed shakedown runs, to 200 mph, on an airfield in Cornwall, England. “I was surprised it was actually going to come to an end,” Warhurst recalls. “So I thought, ‘I wonder if I can help? I’m sitting here with a load of money in the bank and nothing to do.’” Barely 10 months later Warhurst was standing on a dry lake in the Kalahari Desert watching Bloodhound become only the sixth car in history to top 600 mph.

64 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

When Warhurst contacted Noble, he learned bankruptcy administrators were planning to cut up Bloodhound and sell off some of its military-spec hardware. He raced to the project’s HQ in Bristol, west of London, met with chief engineer Mark Chapman, and made a quick decision. “I realized that if I didn’t do a deal when I left the building,” he recalls, “the person coming in behind me would be carrying the angle grinder.” Within a week he’d set up a company and had become the proud owner of a land speed record team. “I had no idea what to do next,” Warhurst admits. “I thought I was just buying the assets and would just hang on to them for a while and hand them back to the team.” But the team—the technicians, fabricators, and support staff—had scattered as the money had dried up. And the sponsors, some of whom had been with the project for a decade, had also moved on. The more Warhurst looked at what he now owned, the more he became convinced that rather than sticking Bloodhound into a museum where people could ponder what might have been, he should enable it to do what it was designed to do: break the land speed record. “The car had been designed; it’d been built,” he says. “All I had to do was get it out to the desert and run it.” Bloodhound was given a new white paint job (“a blank canvas”), the project’s name was tweaked to reflect its mission statement (Bloodhound LSR), and a new logo was developed. Warhurst believed he could find new sponsors to fund the land speed record runs. But first, Bloodhound had to prove itself. Bloodhound had been designed in 2008 to hit 1,000 mph—a big, sexy number well above the existing record—but Warhurst quickly decided it wasn’t something the team should initially chase. “Nobody really knew if it was possible to go 1,000 mph until we got to 850 mph,” he says, “and I’m thinking, ‘850 is a land speed record. That’s massive. Let’s just focus on that.’” The businessman in Warhurst kicks in. “If you have no idea what

Ian Warhurst, right, the man who saved Bloodhound, looks on as the team analyzes data before another test run.

1,000 mph looks like, how can you budget for it?” he asks, pointing out that to be safe, most people would double or triple their estimates and hope they had enough money. “That’s not how I run a project,” he insists. “I want to know what I’m doing, how I’m going to do it, and what the actual costs of that are going to be.” The ﬁrst phase of determining the cash burn involved a carefully planned high-speed testing program across the Hakskeen Pan dry lake in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. “I knew that if we’re going to do something with the car, it had to be straight away,” Warhurst says. “We had to get to the desert and actually do it; otherwise people would start losing interest.” The public target for the test program was 500 mph. “If we got to 500, we’d have all the data we needed to go on to the next phase, the land speed record,” Warhurst says. The team’s internal target, however, was 1,000 kph (621 mph), a nice round

Work started on Bloodhound in 2008. The car has been designed to reach 1,000 mph, well above the current land speed record.

number for the media to digest. Green— still a serving RAF ofﬁcer, the current land speed record holder, and the man nominated to drive Bloodhound from the project’s inception—would drive. Bloodhound arrived at Hakskeen Pan in the third week of October. As part of Noble’s original program, 317 members of the local Mier community, funded by the Northern Cape government, had during previous years moved a staggering 18,200 tons of rock—mostly small stones and pebbles that could be lethally damaging to a car traveling faster than the speed of sound—from 8.5 square miles of the lake surface, enough to mark out 25 separate 10-mile-long tracks with large safety areas on both sides.

“We couldn’t run over the same piece of ground twice because the car breaks up the baked mud surface,” Warhurst says. “We needed multiple tracks so we could build speed slowly and safely—going up in 50-mph steps, comparing real-world results with theoretical data.” Bloodhound would run at Hakskeen Pan in “desert spec” for the very first time, the wheels with rubber tires used for the 200-mph test runs in Cornwall replaced by solid forged aluminum wheels measuring 35.4 inches in diameter, weighing 198 pounds each, and designed to spin at up to 10,200 rpm without being torn apart by centrifugal force. The wheels have a V-shaped profile that digs 0.6 inch into the dried mud when Bloodhound is stationary but is designed to make them plane across the surface at speed like a speedboat on water. At 500 mph, with just the tiniest fraction of metal in contact with the ground, the giant discs act more like rudders than wheels. The first task: Firing up the Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine, whose 20,000 pounds of thrust—equivalent to 54,000 horsepower—is usually applied to powering the Eurofighter Typhoon, Europe’s front-line jet fighter. The engine had been in storage

Andy Green makes a check of Bloodhound’s parachute after a 350-mph test run.

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 65

at Rolls-Royce since 2017, where it was filled with a corrosion inhibitor fluid. It took a few attempts to start, a task made more difficult by the 1,968-foot altitude and desert heat. But once the 25-strong Bloodhound LSR team had fixed a few minor issues (such as a faulty fuel pump sensor and a leaking coolant tank), Bloodhound was ready to roll. Warhurst wasn’t the only one excited to see Bloodhound on the move in the desert for the first time: “I had people coming up to me shaking my hand, in tears, because they’d worked so hard for so long to finally get the car running.” The ever-cool Green, however, treated the carefully designed series of test runs with the professional detachment of a test pilot. First, a static engine test, followed by a 100-mph check of the steering and Bloodhound at 628 mph, the sixth car in history to go faster than 600 mph.

66 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

brakes. Then a 200-mph run using max power without reheat—the afterburner— and a coast-down to establish rolling resistance. And ﬁnally, a 350-mph run using full reheat—Bloodhound thundering from 50 to 300 mph in 13 seconds—with stability tests before and after peak speed, then a coast-down after engine shutdown to measure rolling resistance without the jet engine’s idle thrust. This run also allowed to team to collect data on parachute deployment. Finally, it’s the morning of November 16. Sunny, the temperature a mild 77 degrees, winds no more than 3 to 6 mph. Green straps in for Run 34. A white line runs from under Bloodhound’s low-slung nose straight across the baked brown crust to the far horizon. Green throttles up then lights the afterburner. Bloodhound takes just 7 seconds to go from 100 to 200 mph, and just 30 seconds after that to blast past 600 mph. Throughout, Green’s calm, clipped commentary sounds like someone reading a shopping list. The team thought they’d hit 600 mph, the target for this run. But two of the three GPS units conﬁrmed Bloodhound had brushed 628 mph—1,010 kph—before Green lifted. Bloodhound had proven it had the potential to beat the land speed record and passed the 1,000-kph mark for good measure. Warhurst and the team celebrated then packed up and headed back to Britain.

To break the land speed record, Bloodhound will need to be ﬁtted with a rocket motor to provide additional thrust. The original design called for a hybrid rocket fueled by hydrogen peroxide and a carbon-based material, with a fuel pump powered by a 5.0-liter Jaguar V-8 engine. In theory that setup would produce enough thrust to take Bloodhound to 1,000 mph. But, Warhurst says, taking the land speed record can be achieved with a less powerful mono-propellant rocket. And technological advances over the past decade or so have offered some simpler and safer solutions.

LAND SPEED RECORD I FEATURE

THE GIANT, V-SHAPED WHEELS ACT MORE LIKE RUDDERS THAN WHEELS. Norwegian rocket maker Nammo has developed a mono-propellant rocket powered by concentrated hydrogen peroxide that decomposes into steam and oxygen when pushed through a special catalyst mesh and delivers about three-quarters the thrust of the RollsRoyce jet engine. Instead of a Jaguar V-8 internal combustion engine powering the fuel pump, an electric motor will pump 42 liters of fuel per second into the rocket motor for 20 seconds. It’s a safer, more compact, more reliable solution, and the weight of the batteries can be better distributed in the car. The upgraded electrical system will also allow Bloodhound engineers to replace hydraulically actuated systems with faster, more reliable electric ones.

Assuming the funding is in place, the plan is to return to Hakskeen Pan in 2021 to attempt the record. “If we go in July and August the temperature there ranges from 32 to 68 degrees F, which is great for the jet engine, great for the humans, and great for the concentrated hydrogen peroxide, which you don’t really want sitting in steel containers on a hot desert ﬂoor,” Warhurst says. The target? To average more than 763.035 mph over a measured mile, in two directions. That means dealing with a debris ﬂow from the front wheels that can bend metal, countersteering against the gentlest crosswinds at 500 mph and more, and going supersonic for an extended period, something no other car has ever done. (Thrust SSC went supersonic for just over a second on its

record-breaking run in 1997, triggering two almost simultaneous sonic booms.) The science says it can be done. But until Green has throttled up, lit the afterburner, ignited the rocket engine, and driven Bloodhound through that mile in 4.5 seconds or less—each way—it’s still a journey into the unknown. “I don’t wrestle this every day,” Warhurst says. “I’m doing it because it should be done.” Q

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 67

FIRST TEST I 1969 Toyota Corolla IS F V-8

hat is this thing? I ask myself this as I deliberately drive the speed limit in an immaculately restored 1969 Toyota Corolla up Interstate 15 toward Victorville, California. From the outside, this looks to be a pristine vintage Corolla. But a closer look reveals so much more. The ﬁrst clue are the wide fender ﬂares that give it a more muscular look. Toyota connoisseurs with eagle eyes will then notice that this Corolla is a bit wider and longer than when it rolled out of the factory. Peering inside, its push-start button, Lexus infotainment system, and sporty seats are by no means from the year of Woodstock. Then, from under the vintage sheetmetal, comes the deep, throaty note

of a V-8 engine and the swift shifting of a modern eight-speed automatic. This car has definite head-turning appeal. So what is it? Its official name is the 1969 Toyota Corolla IS F V-8. The more complicated answer is that it’s a restored first-gen Corolla with a 2010 Lexus IS F powertrain and chassis. That alone should arch your eyebrows. But it’s the story behind it that truly matters. Racer and tuner Ryan Millen, whose brother Rhys is known for being a top competitor in drifting, built this piece of art for Javier Quirós, a well-known Costa Rican businessman. His father, Xavier Quirós Oreamuno, started Toyota’s fourth-oldest distributor in the world. That’s where the back story starts. Xavier started his business importing American Motors and Toyota cars into

Costa Rica. Back in the ’70s, Costa Ricans enjoyed racing around a soccer stadium, but Toyota cars were always left in the dust. Having access to both automakers, Xavier had the idea of putting a Rambler American Scrambler V-8 in a 1967 Corolla. The engine swap didn’t help the Toyota at all, but after the car was retired, Javier bought it and drove it every day on the streets of San José while in college. “It was the worst!” Javier said. “The cabin smelled like fumes all the time, and

MERGING WORDS MIGUEL CORTINA PHOTOGRAPHS ROBIN TRAJANO

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FIRST TEST

stiff to drive. Although the powertrain was left intact, Millen added Borla mufﬂers and redid everything. The Corolla was customized to Quirós’ liking. The chrome trim and side marker lamps have been deleted. Even Toyota’s big boss and Quirós’ close friend, Akio Toyoda himself, had some input on the car—he suggested the Corolla be ﬁnished in a different tone of green. After a handful of color reviews, Quirós and Millen chose the Olive Green exterior paint. So how does Millen’s baby handle under MotorTrend testing? “It’s happy to drift and exit corners at whatever power oversteer angle you wish,” testing director Kim Reynolds said. “Very communicative and obviously good power.” Road test editor Chris Walton was pleased with the way the engine behaved. “Once underway, the engine really comes alive and roars,” he said. “Upshifts were very smooth, though slowish by today’s standards. In the end, the acceleration was right on top of an IS F. Fun!”

The lack of ABS, however, made the Corolla a bit difﬁcult to control when entering the corners, causing the rear to ﬁshtail a little bit. “It’s OK to deal with that in an open parking lot,” Reynolds said, “but on a narrow road it could get dicey.” Millen said the car will have full ABS before it’s shipped to its owner in Central America. But when I got a chance to get behind the wheel on the freeway, I was extra cautious with my speed, lest I have to give more than moderate brake pedal pressure. The 5.0-liter engine responds well to all throttle inputs, and I was particularly impressed by the deep growl of the IS F engine in this application. Press on the throttle, and its profound sound will turn heads. Even when going up the demandingly steep Cajon Pass, the Corolla was happy to pass the lines of struggling 18-wheelers and delivery vans. But besides its handling, what impressed me the most was the bizarre juxtaposition between the interior and exterior. Although the exterior is vintage and well

ALTHOUGH THE EXTERIOR IS VINTAGE, THE INTERIOR FEELS MODERN.

1969 Toyota Corolla IS F BASE PRICE

$10,000 (est)

PRICE AS TESTED

$250,000 (est) Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door coupe

VEHICLE LAYOUT

The Corolla’s interior came straight from the 2010 Lexus IS F and is a bold contrast with the car’s exterior design.

restored, the interior feels modern and contemporary. Its sporty bolstered seats, infotainment screen, shifter, and instrument panel came from the Lexus IS F. As such, it felt peculiar to drive, especially as I was grabbing onto an Alcantara-upholstered steering wheel while looking out and seeing the old-school side mirrors mounted way forward on the fenders. This unique approach distinguishes this Corolla. What Millen was able to accomplish, and with such attention to detail, is impressive. Besides getting tested by MotorTrend, the Corolla has already seen some action. The car was shown at Toyota’s dealer meeting earlier this year, and before it makes its way to Central America, it

will venture from Southern California to Dallas, where it will be driven by Bob Carter, executive vice president of sales at Toyota North America. Asked whether the car will be on display at the enormous Toyota campus in Plano, Texas, Quirós said he hadn’t thought about it, but it might be a good place to reside while he waits for the export permits. So, you might ask, what does it cost to have

ENGINE

5.0L/416-hp/371-lb-ft DOHC 32-valve V-8

TRANSMISSION

8-speed automatic

CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)

3,351 lb (54/46%)

WHEELBASE

93.0 in

LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT

156.0 x 72.0 x 54.0 in

0-60 MPH

4.3 sec

QUARTER MILE

12.6 sec @ 112.1 mph

BRAKING, 60-0 MPH

151 ft

LATERAL ACCELERATION

0.93 g (avg)

MT FIGURE EIGHT

25.8 sec @ 0.73 g (avg)

EPA CITY/HWY/ COMB FUEL ECON

Not rated

Ryan Millen transform an old Corolla into a modern-era, supercar-abusing, tire-melting dragstrip demon? A cool quarter-million bucks. Quirós and Millen are not done yet. They’re starting to work on a new project that involves a 1967 Corolla two-door, similar to this one. If this Corolla IS F serves as an example, you can bet the next one will be just as good or even better. Get out your checkbooks. Q

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 71

UPDATE ACURA RDX

UPDATE BMW X2

Updates on our long-term fleet

MT ARRIVAL: 2020 Mazda3 EPA CITY/HWY/COMB Fuel Econ: 25/35/29 mpg

“We’re hoping to find a bit of leftover ‘zoom zoom’ in our year with a manual Mazda3.” Erick Ayapana Base price $24,420 As tested $28,420 ur new long-term 2020 Mazda3 hatchback proves we’re not quite ready to accept the automaker’s change of course. In case you’ve missed the news, Mazda is looking to focus less on its sporty and fun image and more on its new path to becoming a

legit luxury brand. The new Mazda3 is the first official effort to reflect that pivot. That said, we’re having a tough time completely erasing Mazda’s fun image. That’s why we ordered our Polymetal Gray Metallic hatchback with a six-speed manual (which automatically gets you the fancy Premium package). We think it’s a fair compromise. The manual gearbox’s take rate will be low, about 3 percent by Mazda’s estimate. But those brave few will be rewarded with a much more engaging driving experience that only three pedals can provide. A 2.5-liter fourcylinder rated at 186 hp and 186 lb-ft of torque is the sole engine choice for the Mazda3,

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and it feels much peppier with the shorter-geared manual (first gear is almost 10 percent shorter than in the optional six-speed automatic). The leather gear shifter is satisfying to operate, and the brake and accelerator pedals are spaced well enough to execute your frisky heel-toe urges. Overall, it’s a solid manual gearbox. Some staffers lament that the new Mazda3 has lost some of the sporty bite we’ve admired in its previous

generation. And although that might be true at limit handling, I’m quite happy with how the new 3 carries itself around town and through the twisties. And besides, most Mazda3 owners aren’t aspiring to reach 1.0 g lateral acceleration on their way to Church’s Chicken. So with that in mind, my year with the new 3 will focus on how well it gets me through my daily slog on Interstate 405 and weekend road trips. A long list of features should keep me busy and entertained. When it comes to tech, our Mazda3 packs adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, a head-up display, a large and clear 8.8-inch infotainment screen, and Apple CarPlay. Other standout features include LED headlights that swivel in the direction you’re turning, a powerful Bose sound system, a sunroof, and rain-sensing wipers. Meanwhile, the interior is a sharp mix of red leather seats, knurled switchgear, and metal speaker covers that wouldn’t look out of place in a Mercedes-Benz. With all these goodies, our Mazda3 somehow manages to come in below $30,000—$28,420, to be exact. A base model Mazda3

BMW X3

UPDATE CHRYSLER PACIFICA

FORD F-150

MAZDA3 ARRIVAL

NISSAN KICKS

RAM 1500 LARAMIE

GENESIS G70

HONDA CIVIC TYPE R

UPDATE HONDA INSIGHT

TOYOTA RAV4 UPDATE

VOLKSWAGEN ATLAS UPDATE

SUBARU ASCENT UPDATE

HYUNDAI KONA

JEEP WRANGLER

VOLVO S60

VOLVO XC60

2019 Acura RDX

hatchback is about $4,000 cheaper and is also impressively equipped; oddly enough, though, the base model can’t be paired with a manual transmission (same goes for the midlevel Preferred package). If we were to cross-shop our

long-termer, we’d be looking at a VW GTI and perhaps the 2020 Honda Civic Sport Touring hatchback, which is now available with a manual. I’ll have plenty of observations in future updates. Because this is a hatchback, I’m eager to see how practical and spacious the rear passenger and cargo areas will be. Can the 3 coddle me like a luxury car on a long drive to San Francisco? And with gas prices on the rise, we’ll see how close it can get to the EPA’s rating of 25/35 mpg city/highway.

2020 Mazda3 Hatchback Vehicle Layout Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door hatchback Engine 2.5L/186-hp/186-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4 Transmission 6-speed manual Curb Weight 3,027 lb Wheelbase 107.3 in 0-60 MPH 7.4 sec Quarter Mile 15.7 sec @ 90.6 mph Braking, 60-0 MPH 115 ft Lateral Acceleration 0.85 g (avg) MT Figure Eight 26.8 sec @ 0.63 g (avg) Energy Cons, City/ Hwy 135/96 kW-hr/100 miles CO2 Emissions, Comb 0.68 lb/mile

PAUL LAGUETTE

Height 56.7”

Width 70.7 ”

17 ngth

5 . 6”

Service life: 8 mo/14,837 mi • Avg Fuel Econ: 20.0 mpg

“Parking in the sun all day isn’t ideal, but it’s nothing the ventilated seats and A/C can’t handle.” Zach Gale Avg CO2 0.97 lb/mi Energy cons 169 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $134.29 (oil change, inspection, tire rotation) Normal-wear cost $0 Base price $46,895 As-tested $46,895 EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ 21/26/23 mpg cura has a solution for your stolen package issue, and it doesn’t involve a special trip to an Amazon Locker. Instead, Acura—along with Honda, GM brands, Volvo, Ford, and Lincoln—offers Key by Amazon compatibility. AcuraLink has benefits beyond Amazon delivery to your car, but that’s the reason we gave it a try. The AcuraLink app offers some free basic services. It starts with a dashboard that shows your mileage, fuel range, and tire pressure. Among the many perks in the complimentary basic package is Send Destination, which allows you to send a location from the app to your nav system. I’d find this more useful if I weren’t already so attached to Apple CarPlay. The RDX’s nav system is all right to use with voice commands, but nothing beats the ease of CarPlay. For Amazon to deliver packages to your Acura, you need an Amazon Prime subscription

and a subscription to the Remote level of AcuraLink. At the moment, Remote is $110 a year after a six-month trial. Sounds expensive, right? But actually, it makes sense, especially if you’ve leased your RDX. Besides Key by Amazon in-car delivery, the Remote level of AcuraLink includes remote engine start, remote lock/unlock, and the ability to keep track of whether your kid has driven above a certain speed or beyond a geographic zone you’ve established. The only problem I have with Key by Amazon is that, at least for now, Amazon won’t deliver to a parking structure. This meant I had to park my RDX, which has black leather seats, outside in the sun for the length of my workday. By itself, package delivery doesn’t justify AcuraLink’s $110 a year for the Remote level, but for a buyer who will use the other available features, Remote could be worthwhile.

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 73

Despite being a big three-row crossover, the Ascent retains much of what makes a Subaru a Subaru.

UPDATES

2019 Subaru Ascent

Service life: 10 mo/16,211 mi • Avg Fuel Econ: 21.0 mpg

“Instead of keeping a wheel on dry ground, I wanted all four to get wet.” Alisa Priddle Avg CO2 0.92 lb/mi Energy cons 160 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $0 (oil change, inspection, tire rotation) Normal-wear cost $0 Base price $39,970 As-tested $43,551 EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ 20/26/22 mpg he Ascent is a three-row family crossover. Does that mean it loses the Subaru adventurous spirit? We took the Ascent on a road trip to an off-road park in Genesee County, Michigan, to test its mettle in the wilds. With colleague Frank Markus in tow, we left MotorTrend’s Royal Oak office and headed north on a dreary day after a weekend of rain. Those two factors meant the park was empty when we arrived, and we found no shortage of water to ford or mud to slog through. Frank was spotter, tester of water depths, and the voice of

reason when I started to get cocky. Getting stuck would mean a long walk back to the parking lot and a call for a tow. The Ascent has a hitch in back but only an eyelet in front to slide a tow strap through. A typical stretch of wet Michigan weather had created perfect conditions to test the standard X-Mode, which uses lower gear ratios to generate extra power at the wheels that have grip. We started with smaller ponds and progressed to bigger ones as our confidence mounted with each successful water passage with virtually no slippage.

2018 BMW X2

Service life: 7 mo/10,683 mi • Avg Fuel Econ: 24.0 mpg

“Color choice is crucial with the X2. It looks good in white, but painted in gray, olive, or black, the shape goes all but invisible.” Brian Vance Avg CO2 0.81 lb/mi Energy cons 140 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $0 Normal-wear cost $0 Base price $37,395 As-tested $44,920 EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ 23/32/26 mpg s compelling as the X2’s exterior design is, time spent in similarly sized but higher-roofed compact SUVs (including the X1) is a reminder that the X2 is challenging to see out of in all directions. The squatted roof, high beltline, and smaller panes of glass result in great curbside appeal yet lead to compromised visibility. This includes the small rear window; when you look through it, your sightlines are decidedly cropped. With a high beltline comes tall windowsills, which make it hard to see where the corners of the vehicle are and thus makes it

74 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

WET MICHIGAN WEATHER HAD CREATED PERFECT CONDITIONS TO TEST X-MODE. The Ascent drove up, over, or through all obstacles on the somewhat moderate trails we chose. It navigated a steep dirt hill with a sharp left between trees and over terrain that left the front passenger-side tire happily spinning in the air until the vehicle inched forward and touched down gently.

It climbed a rock pile and the foothills of a boulder patch. The suspension impressed on a series of dirt moguls; the 8.7 inches of ground clearance cleared every mound. Hill descent control kicked in whenever the nose was pointed down. It worked seamlessly but made sure we knew it was putting in the effort with a loud grunching sound, like a tennis player grunting with each shot. At the end of the day, the Subaru Ascent returned to the MotorTrend office with a spectacular mud splatter and a happy driver. Good looks sometimes come with compromised viewing angles.

hard to park in tight spaces. The X2’s overall compactness helps overcome this challenge; for the most part, it’s a cinch to park. Good visibility or not, the X2 is my preferred city car to navigate the dense streets of West Los Angeles. It’s easy to squeeze into tight parking spots or past oncoming traffic on narrow residential streets and alleyways. Furthermore, the high-res backup camera makes for perfect parking jobs when paralleling to a curb or backing up to those big blue trash cans on garbage day. Just make sure to avoid curb-feeling with the large rims; they poke out slightly past the low-profile tires. The X2 has lots of user-friendliness built in and is bestowed with thoughtful add-ons that make life easier. The hands-free hatch, for example, works seamlessly. After-work jogs in the Hollywood Hills are made easier by pocketing the X2’s key fob and leaving my phone and wallet in the netted cubby on the right side of the cargo hold. Upon return, a quick foot swipe below the rear bumper opens the hatch to reveal my hidden belongings and a ledge to sit on to change out of my running shoes. I’m not a fan of the X2’s engine stop/start feature, but I do appreciate that the kill button is directly next to the ignition button, making it easy to switch off as soon as the engine fires up.

MT GARAGE

2018 Volkswagen Atlas Service life: 13 mo/25,062 mi • Avg Fuel Econ: 19.9 mpg

“It’s fixed! After a year of frustration, the Atlas can finally make a U-turn!” William Walker Avg CO2 1.07 lb/mi Energy cons 187 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $80.40 (oil change, inspection) Normal-wear cost $0 Base price $36,165 As-tested $38,265 EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ 18/25/20 mpg veryone loves a good mystery—after the fact. The quagmire of why our long-term Atlas had the turning radius of a Greyhound bus has frustrated me from the first time I tried to make a U-turn. Unfortunately, without any point of reference, I chalked up the Atlas’ lack of agility to the fact that it's a large three-row SUV. If you read my previous update, you’ll know I was able to get behind the wheel of another Atlas, which shed light on our long-termer’s problems. It turns out, we were right. After multiple visits to our local Volkswagen dealer could not

remedy the situation, VW North America asked us to relinquish the keys for a week to see if they could diagnose the reason for our Atlas’ issues. What they found was that prior to the Atlas joining the MotorTrend long-term fleet, “A replacement steering rack was fitted to the car, and the correct software wasn’t implemented when the change was made.” A fresh set of tires and the implementation of the correct software made all the difference in the world. We didn't retest the retuned Atlas with our GPS testing equipment, but from the seat of my pants the

2018 Chrysler Pacifica

Service life: 10 mo/16,283 mi • Avg Fuel Econ: 19.4 mpg

”You can learn a lot about a minivan by spending two weeks on the road with a 1-year-old.” Alex Nishimoto Avg CO2 1.00 lb/mi Energy cons 177 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $63.54 (oil change, inspection) Normal-wear cost $0 Base price $45,440 As-tested $48,430 EPA City/Hwy/Comb Econ 19/28/22 mpg fter two weeks on the road in the Pacifica, I’ve gained a new appreciation for its luggage-swallowing cargo area and have grown to love its onboard vacuum. I’m also now an expert at in-car, side-of-the-road diaper changes. Road trips are such great learning experiences. As we did two years ago in the long-term Mini Clubman, my wife and I meandered our way up to Reno, Nevada, for her biennial family reunion. The difference is this time we had a 1-year-old along for the ride. Fortunately, we also had a much

Atlas now turns and steers like the other Atlases I’ve driven. Along with the significantly improved turning circle, the overall steering feel has been improved. It’s also possible that knowing something has been fixed just makes me think it feels better, but after racking up more than 25,000 miles with it being “broken,” it sure seems better to me, placebo effect or not. With the sun setting on my year with the Atlas, I find myself in a little bit of a pickle. I spent the better part of a year driving and evaluating the big VW with a fairly significant issue that

affected my daily experience with it. With the short amount of time I have remaining with the Atlas, I need to take a hard look at my overall opinion. I need to put some miles on it, and fast, so that I can try to recalibrate before it leaves.

It’s hard to beat the Pacifica when it comes to flexible cargo storage solutions.

bigger vehicle than the Mini. I thought that, with the third row folded, we should have more than enough space to fit two weeks’ worth of stuff—yet we still managed to fill the cargo area from wall to wall. Hitting the road was like a game of Tetris, but a less fun version where you arrange overstuffed carry-on bags and packages of diapers. After a few minutes of cramming and stacking, though, we were on our way. I also found the floor wells for the Stow ’N Go seats—when not hiding one of the captain’s chairs—useful for keeping things out of sight. For months I couldn’t figure out why my radio presets would never save. On the road, while parked for a bathroom break, I learned that they’re tied to the seat memory settings. To get the Pacifica to remember your favorite stations, you first have to make sure a driver profile is selected. Another useful Uconnect tip came from a reader, who informed me that the 360-degree camera can be accessed in fewer than two taps. (Previously I said it was hidden away in a menu.) From the Apps menu, simply press and hold the icon, and you can drag it down to the main toolbar. Now to address the reliability elephant in the room. The stalling issue appears to have been fixed. A powertrain control module reflash did the trick; our Pacifica hasn’t stalled once in the roughly 10,000 miles since the fix, including the 2,000 miles during this trip. All’s well that ends well, I suppose. Connectivity isn’t a problem.

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 75

UPDATES

2019 Toyota RAV4 Service life: 2 mo/4,130 mi • Avg Fuel Econ: 26.7 mpg

“Although I wouldn’t turn down a posh Limited model, the RAV4 XLE has the right features at the right price.” Kelly Lin Avg CO2 0.73 lb/mi Energy cons 125 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $0 Normal-wear cost $0 Base price $29,945 As-tested $31,509 EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ 25/33/28 mpg e’re getting comfortable with our RAV4’s charms and quirks. Although it’s one of the most fuel-efficient entries in its segment, it’s not as spacious as some of its rivals. With 98.9 cubic feet of passenger space, it falls short of the Honda CR-V (105.9), Mazda CX-5 (103.6), and Subaru Forester (111.9). Rear legroom is 37.8 inches, putting it once again behind the Honda (40.4), Mazda (39.6), and Subaru (39.4). Step inside, and you’ll find the RAV4’s cabin feels narrow. This is true no matter which version of the RAV4 you pick.

Although there are some things you can’t change, six trim levels provide plenty of ways for consumers to customize the RAV4. Which one hits the sweet spot? Let’s take a closer look. Base models have the essentials, including a comprehensive suite of safety features. XLE models like our tester slot just above the base trim and feature alloy wheels, automatic headlights and foglights, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power adjustable driver's seat, Smart Key, and push-button start. If you’re the no-frills type, there’s no need to upgrade from the comfortable

2019 Honda Insight

Service life: 6 mo/7,156 mi • Avg Fuel Econ: 48.7 mpg

“It’s all quite civilized—and remarkable for our $25,229 hybrid—but as we’ve discovered, the Insight isn’t perfect.” Edward Loh Avg CO2 0.40 lb/mi Energy cons 69 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $0 Normal-wear cost $0 Base price $23,850 As-tested $25,390 EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ: 55/49/52 mpg n the time we’ve had our 2019 Honda Insight long-term loaner, we’ve mostly encountered stop-and-go city driving. We’ve used these miles to test the Honda Sensing suite of driver assistance features, primarily adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane keep assist (LKA). Although the systems must be activated separately, they work well in concert and provide just the tiniest taste of what a driverless future may hold. With hands on wheel, ACC and LKA systems activated, and a cruising speed set, the Insight stays within well-marked road lines and moves with the

76 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

cloth seats. The XLE is currently just $1,295 more expensive than the base (2020) model. About $2,700 more expensive than the XLE, the XLE Premium brings SofTex synthetic leather upholstery and a power liftgate and moonroof. Adventure models are more expensive still, boasting a more aggressive exterior with high-rise roof rails and large over-fenders, as well as increased ground clearance. It also gets an 8.0-inch touchscreen instead of the standard 7.0-incher. TRD Off-Road models build on this trim with special suspension, wheels, and tires for trail driving. Cresting

$36,900 with AWD, Limited RAV4s feature a dark brown interior, heated front seats, and navigation, which you can probably skip in favor of smartphone integration. We think the XLE is the trim where the best price and features intersect. At $31,509, our RAV4 XLE comes in comfortably below the average price of a new vehicle today, even with options tacked on. Our tester has optional all-wheel drive and a Convenience package with the best features of the XLE Premium—a power liftgate and moonroof—for under $1,300.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are among the Honda Insight’s cool standard features.

flow of traffic, even down to a 1- to 2-second full stop before resuming travel again. With a stop longer than that, the driver has to tap the accelerator to reengage the ACC system. It’s all quite civilized— and remarkable for our $25,229 hybrid. But as we’ve discovered, it’s not perfect. Cars and lines, yes. Lights and signs, no: Because ACC can track the car ahead and provide a safe following distance and LKA keeps the Insight centered in its lane, it’s easy to think the systems see everything else around you—including approaching stop signs and signal lights turning from orange to red. But they absolutely do not, so stay alert and engaged. Slow, corners ahead: Say you have ACC set to 35 mph and it’s tracking the car ahead. You’re both approaching a 90-degree right-hand turn, and as the car ahead slows, so does your Insight. But when the car ahead makes the turn and disappears from view, your Insight no longer registers it and thus speeds up—right into the corner. Not exactly what they teach you in driver’s ed— and another reason to remain ever vigilant. Eyes up: In another scenario, imagine you’re cruising with ACC set to 35 mph again, but this time there’s no car being tracked immediately ahead. In the distance, there’s a car in your lane, stopped at a signal. The Insight should register it soon enough and begin braking. My issue is one of personal preference: The system responds slower than I’d like. If I wait for the system to engage, the response feels more like a panic stop, which is in marked contrast to how the system works in stop-and-go traffic.

MT GARAGE

Verdict: 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Q2 Ti Sport “Every time I see it, I can’t help but love the stance, the way it seems to be charging forward even when it’s standing still.” Scott Evans Base price $41,440 As tested $51,635

Service life: 13 mo/21,926 mi Avg Econ/CO2 24.1 mpg/0.80 lb/mi ome people worry the machines will rise up against us when they become self-aware, but I reckon they’ll all be too self-conscious to try it. If my long-term 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia heard half the mean things folks said about it, it would never leave the garage. That would be a crying shame, because like all stereotypes, those nasty generalizations aren’t really true. The Alfa is a great car, no matter what the internet says. Remember Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Or the way Han Solo treats

78 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

SPECS Options Sport RWD ($2,500: 19-inch all-season performance tires, sport fascias and interior/exterior trim, sport seats and steering wheel, aluminum pedals and shift paddles, yellow brake calipers); Driver Assist Dynamic Plus ($1,500: adaptive cruise control with stop, auto high-beams, forward collision/lane departure warnings, infrared windshield); dual pane sunroof ($1,350); Sport Performance package ($1,200: active suspension, limited-slip differential); leather dash and door uppers ($995); Harman Kardon premium audio ($900); Driver Assist Static package ($650: auto-dimming mirrors; blind-spot and cross-path detection); Blue Metallic paint ($600); 19-inch aluminum wheels ($500) Problem Areas None Maintenance Cost $443.87 (2 oil change, air filter, inspection) Normal-Wear Cost $0 3-Year Residual Value* $29,600 (57%) Recalls 1: Reprogram PCM software to quell backfiring and overheating catalytic converter. *IntelliChoice data; assumes 42,000 miles at the end of three years

droids? Ever stopped to think about the truly awful things you’ve said to your printer? Ignorance, for our machines, is truly bliss. Despite this, I often find myself complimenting the Giulia when I’m alone with it, just to prop up its self-esteem. I try not to be patronizing; nobody likes that. What do people say? Mostly that same old line about Italian car reliability. If the whole country of Italy weren’t so easygoing, it would have a complex, too. Fact of the matter, though, is my Giulia’s been as good as or better than the average car in our long-term fleet. In 12 months and 20,220 miles, the Giulia made four trips to the shop, two planned and two unplanned, but even that doesn’t tell the whole story. The first of the two unplanned stops was at the tire shop for a nail in the tread, hardly Alfa-specific. The second we initiated ourselves, not because there was anything wrong with the car but because with 17,000 or so miles on the clock, it didn’t seem fair to put it in a head-tohead comparison with a brand spankin’ new BMW 330i M Sport without at least a checkup. While giving it a once-over, the tech found the only mechanical issue of the car’s life to date and one we were unaware of: a tiny coolant leak from the turbocharger. A new O-ring on the coolant

2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Q2 Ti (Sport RWD) DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT ENGINE TYPE VALVETRAIN DISPLACEMENT COMPRESSION RATIO POWER (SAE NET) TORQUE (SAE NET) REDLINE WEIGHT TO POWER TRANSMISSION AXLE/FINAL DRIVE/LOW RATIO SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR

WHETHER TAKING DOWN BMWS OR CHAUFFEURING IN-LAWS, THE ALFA ROMEO GIULIA WAS A CHAMP. inlet was all it needed, but the tech did the coolant outlet O-ring, too, to be safe. The whole thing was covered under warranty. The other two stops were for routine maintenance, the first just short of 10,000 miles and the second just over 20,000, both prompted by the car. The first set us back $171.67 for oil, filter, and washer fluid, plus another $25.68 for unauthorized oil and fuel “conditioners” the dealer slipped in. The second stop was a steeper $272.20 for just an oil and filter change, because dealer number two marks up a quart of oil 87 percent and the filter 97 percent higher than dealer number one. It also charges 69 percent more for labor, so let that all be a lesson to shop around. A recall was also performed free of charge during the first service to prevent backfiring, an issue we never experienced. At $443.87, the maintenance wasn’t cheap, but it still cost less than our 2017 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro for the same service ($561.36 for two oil changes and inspections). On the other hand, our 2012 BMW 328i Sport didn’t cost a dime in maintenance; BMW throws that in for free the first three years or 36,000 miles. Then again, that BMW’s steering rack failed and had to be replaced at 14,500 miles. All that time the Giulia spent not breaking down like everyone predicted it

STEERING RATIO TURNS LOCK TO LOCK

would, it was busy handling situations it wasn’t intended for. This is a sport sedan through and through, yet when I had to take a detour down a 3-mile Forest Service road around a washout and when I got caught in a late-season snowstorm, it behaved as though it were driving down fresh pavement on a beautiful spring day. The compliance in the suspension kept it riding nicely in the dirt, and the Pirelli P Zero summer tires didn’t mind the cold. It worked damn well in the situations it was intended for, too. Whether it was taking down that BMW 330i M Sport or chauffeuring my mother-in-law who’d recently had a double knee replacement and my 6-foot-6 father-in-law in the back seat, the Giulia was a champ. It wasn’t perfect, though. The infotainment system developed a bug where it occasionally reset itself within the first minute or two of starting the car. It would show up, stick around for a few days, then disappear for months. It’s kind of like an app crashing on your phone—annoying but quickly forgotten until it happens again. I also took issue with the programming of the parking sensors (too eager to turn off when you still need them) and the automatic engine stop/start system (too eager to activate when the interior is still too warm or too cold). Software isn’t what won this thing Car of the Year, though. Faced with a decision between a technological marvel and a car that inspires you to drive, we took inspiration. Every time I mindlessly caressed the big, metal shift paddles, every time I turned the knob to Dynamic mode, every time I whipped around a freeway cloverleaf and dreamed about skipping work and going for a drive instead, I remembered why cars like this win awards. Q

Front-engine, RWD Turbocharged I-4, alum block/head SOHC, 4 valves/cyl 121.6 cu in/1,993cc 10:01 280 hp @ 5,200 rpm 306 lb-ft @ 2,000 rpm 5,500 rpm 12.9 lb/hp 8-speed automatic 3.15:1/2.02:1 Multilink, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar 11.8:1 2.4

BRAKES, F; R

13.0-in vented disc; 12.5-in vented disc, ABS

WHEELS

8.0 x 19-in cast aluminum

TIRES

225/40R19 89W; 255/35R19 92W Pirelli P Zero AR

DIMENSIONS WHEELBASE

111.0 in 61.3/63.9 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 182.6 x 73.7 x 56.5 in TURNING CIRCLE 35.4 ft CURB WEIGHT 3,600 lb WEIGHT DIST, F/R 50/50% TRACK, F/R

SEATING CAPACITY

SHOULDER ROOM, F/R

5 38.6/37.6 in 42.4/35.1 in 56.1/53.6 in

CARGO VOLUME

13.4 cu ft

HEADROOM, F/R LEGROOM, F/R

TEST DATA ACCELERATION TO MPH 0-30

1.7 sec 2.6 0-50 3.8 0-60 5.2 0-70 6.8 0-80 8.6 0-90 10.9 0-100 13.6 PASSING, 45-65 MPH 2.7 QUARTER MILE 13.8 sec @ 100.6 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 110 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.91 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 25.6 sec @ 0.71 g (avg) TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH 1,600 rpm 0-40

CONSUMER INFO BASE PRICE PRICE AS TESTED STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL AIRBAGS BASIC WARRANTY POWERTRAIN WARRANTY ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE FUEL CAPACITY

$41,440 $51,635 Yes/Yes 8: Dual front, front side, f/r curtain, front knee 4 years/50,000 miles 4 years/50,000 miles 4 years/Unlimited miles 15.3 gal

REAL MPG, CITY/HWY/COMB 23.1/30.1/25.8 mpg EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON

24/33/27 mpg

ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB

140/102 kW-hr/100 miles 0.71 lb/mile

RECOMMENDED FUEL

Unleaded premium

MARCH 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 79

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NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF

Angus MacKenzie

The Big Picture The 2020 Land Rover Defender shows nostalgia ain’t what it used to be

ike Cross aims for the gap in the trees and guns it. There’s a muted snarl from the 400-hp straightsix under the hood, the hiss of rubber on wet gravel, and the whoomp! whoomp! whoomp! of muddy water exploding from potholes. Cross is slouched in the driver’s seat, relaxed but eyes laserfocused, as he waltzes 5,000 pounds of SUV through mud-slicked corners with deft, minimalist movements of the steering wheel, his right hand periodically making the short reach across to the high-mounted shifter to grab another gear. The road straightens, and Jaguar Land Rover’s chief engineer for vehicle integrity buries his right foot. We hit 100 mph, hovercrafting over the cratered surface on the long-travel air suspension. Then it’s hard on the brakes and three quick snicks of the stubby shifter, ready for the rapidly approaching 90-degree corner. Off the brakes, turn in, and on the power. The big SUV slides gracefully for a moment before being collected with a quick flick of the wrists. The four-wheel-drive system digs through the surface slush and propels us toward the next corner. We’re doing 100 mph. And in a Land Rover Defender, no less—the all-new 2020 long-wheelbase 110, powered by JLR’s new turbocharged mild hybrid 3.0-liter engine, to be precise. It has an eight-speed automatic, computer controlled all-wheel drive, height-adjustable air suspension with variable rate shocks, 20-inch alloy wheels, and a nice, comfy interior with heated leather seats and a state-of-the-moment infotainment system. This ain’t your daddy’s Defender … I learned to drive in one of those, my old man’s 1960 Land Rover Series II, foxed and faded army green paint inside and out, a raggedy canvas top that flapped like a tent in a hurricane at 30 mph, and no syncro on first or second gears. It could pretty much go anywhere. Anywhere but 100 mph, unless you drove it off a cliff. I loved that old Series II, though, and I still lust after one, but as something

Mike Cross, JLR chief engineer for vehicle integrity (left). 82 MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020

to take out and drive when I have nowhere to go and all day to get there. Noisy and clunky and slower than a wet weekend in Cleveland, with off-on drum brakes all round, a hair-trigger clutch, and steering that had you grunting with effort, it would be utter misery as everyday transport. The previous Defender, out of production since early 2016, wasn’t a million miles removed from that crude old Series II. Sure, it had a nice torquey diesel four-banger under the hood, a six-speed manual with synchromesh on all the gears, sophisticated permanent four-wheel drive, plus smooth-riding coil springs and disc brakes. But it felt older than Methuselah the moment you wheeled it into traffic. Like a Morgan Plus 4, the Defender was an automotive curio; a time-warp machine whose oldeworlde quirks had survived simply because it had been quietly parked up a developmental cul-de-sac while the modern world drove by. Truth be told, it was a noisome, tiresome thing to drive any great distance. It would be easy to criticize the 2020 Defender as too heavy, too complex, too expensive. If you put on rosecolored glasses and just look at the numbers, it seems a valid criticism, but as my ride with Cross proved, this new Defender is much more rounded and accomplished, more able to do more things more competently, more efficiently, more safely than the quirky old one ever could. Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. JLR knows that for it to be a sales success, the 2020 Defender must not only be an SUV with character and capability that pays homage to its past but also, more important, offer all the comfort and usability today’s consumers expect. “It was a given it had to be the best off-road,” Cross says, “but once that was achieved, we wanted to make the car as good as it could possibly be on-road so it was easier to live with.” Amen to that. Q

The Land Rover Defender has always been known for its off-road prowess. With the new generation, however, it adds a healthy dose of everyday usability that previous Defenders lacked.

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