Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2022 i Car and Driver

Like many of us, deer have been having a hard time. According to State Farm, as of June 2021 in the U.S., insurance claims due to animal collisions were up 7.2 percent in a year, and two-thirds of those accidents involved Bambi’s relatives (don’t tell your kids). Drivers in West Virginia have the highest chance of hitting an animal, and those in Hawaii are least likely to. But don’t book that flight just yet—wildlife is wild everywhere. MARTENS GERMANY Also known as German weasels, martens love the taste of automotive wiring, engine hoses, silicone, and rubber so much that they’re responsible for more than 200,000 insurance claims annually. It’s a multimillion-dollar problem, with virtually no soft material safe from the unstoppable teeth of these heat-seeking varmints, which are drawn to…

Andreas Preuninger, director of the GT model line, started with the GT group in 2000 and is responsible for developing the Porsches of Porsches. Under his watch, the GT group has produced a greatest-hits catalog of multiple GT3 generations, the GT3 RS and GT2 RS, and the Cayman GT4. We had a few questions for him, including one about his Ram pickup. C/D: What is at the core of the cars built by Porsche’s GT group? PREUNINGER: A GT car should be one that “talks” to the driver, making [them] an integral part of the performance system and offering a maximum of usable feedback, and should be a feast for all senses at the same time. After getting out of a GT car, the driver must feel that urge to…

Production of the second-generation Acura NSX is ending. The reason is simple: In five years, only 2548 sold globally, which must be at least mildly disappointing to the folks at Acura. The NSX is arguably one of the most underappreciated performance cars on the market—but that statement is not without a few caveats. The NSX has struggled to find its way. To close its run, the final 350 cars built will be the new 600-hp Type S edition, which retains everything that was very good about the mid-engine hybrid sports car and adds elements that worked from the GT3 program. Thanks to the race car’s turbochargers pumping up to 16.1 psi of boost (up 0.9 over the standard car), new injectors, and 15 percent more efficient intercoolers, the double-overhead-cam V-6…

Dressed to the nines—some might say overdressed, with those massive patterned grille panels—the BMW iX xDrive50 is a Broadway diva on opening night. It’s theatrical and unapologetic, and it would be excessive if it weren’t also balanced, powerful, and as smooth as the raising of a velvet curtain. Expectations for any new high-end EV are that it’s quick and can go more than 300 miles on a charge. At $104,820 as tested, the iX is certainly high-end and hits its marks on performance and range. Two current-excited AC motors combine for 516 horsepower. Accompanied by a hum, they scoot the 5682-pounder to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds. A 105.2-kWh battery pack provides 315 miles of EPA range. Skip the 22-inch wheels and you’ll add nine miles with the 20s, but…

There is a refreshing honesty to the new WRX. It continues to be a clear descendant of the bug-eyed example enthusiasts fell in love with 20 years ago. Subaru has remained true to the original formula, giving the new one a turbocharged flat-four, all-wheel drive, a standard manual transmission, and bear-hugging front seats. The engine still warbles when the weather is cold, and the suspension, though slightly softer than before, occasionally punishes. It’s a hot-rod economy car. It doesn’t even have adjustable drive modes. Don’t like the way Subaru set it up? Modify it yourself, or don’t buy it. How refreshing indeed. Base models start at $30,100, and the Limited trim we tested goes for $36,990. The powertrains are identical, so expect any manual WRX to hit 60 in 5.5…

The buzz around enormous luxury SUVs has reached fever pitch. To fend off new and enhanced entries from Jeep and Lexus, Lincoln has polished the Navigator by upgrading interior tech and adding hands-free driving capability. Outside, thinner LED headlights flank the gently redrawn grille, while the slimmer full-width LED taillight bar now emits animation sequences when you approach or exit the vehicle. Michael Knight’s K.I.T.T. would approve. The vast, welcoming interior sees bigger changes. A new 13.2-inch touchscreen is crisply rendered and smartly laid out, running Sync 4’s bounty of features—among them a window-rattling 28-speaker Revel audio system. New animations in the digital instrument cluster include swaths of twinkling stars that follow the speedo and tach needles. The second row gains an optional 5.8-inch infotainment touchscreen and dual 10.1-inch monitors,…

I have always felt that once you get your Mach-E, you take your Mach-E auto to Starbucks and get a macchiato [“Half-Full Fridge,” January 2022]. —John Calvert, Salinas, CA Swing and a miss—Ed. Since the Mach-E Mustang isn’t really a Mustang, maybe it should be called the Mock-y Mustang instead. —Jim Heldberg, Pacifica, CA Foul tip. Strike two—Ed. If Ford exports the new Mach-E to Italy, will it be called the Mach-E-Vellian? —Tim Geahan, Grand Rapids, MI Ball, outside—Ed. LETTER OF THE MONTH Any word on the de Sade package for the Mach-E? If you don’t find that hilarious, you can just cancel my subscription! —Eric Howell, Urbandale, IA Going, going, gone! And, the scale-model Acura NSX goes to Howell, for his painful wordplay—Ed.…

Increasing profits is the goal for Matt Windle, managing director of Group Lotus since January 2021. He’s presiding over an explosion of new products and a well-funded future made possible by the deep pockets of Geely. The Chinese giant has pumped more than $3 billion into the plucky but chronically underfunded British sports-car and racing marque. Lotus has said goodbye to standard-bearers—Elise, Exige, Evora—over the past few years and next plans to fire off new products, including its first SUV, like Steph Curry on a three-point tear. Launching as you read this, and due in America this fall, is the Emira, which the company calls its last gasoline-powered car. Coming “late in the second quarter, early third quarter,” according to Windle, is the oft-delayed Evija, a near-2000-hp electric hypercar with…

U.S. regulators have never been excited about headlight innovation. For decades, they stuck us with dim and boring sealed-beams while the rest of the world moved on to brighter quartz-halogen bulbs housed in streamlined fixtures. But the feds came around—eventually. In mid-February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finally approved adaptive headlights, which have been in use in the rest of the world for over a decade. Adaptive lighting is a term for lights that change their intensity, direction, and pattern to match road and traffic conditions. One example: recognizing an oncoming car and cutting off the portion of your high-beam directed at it while shining your brights everywhere else. The blocked light even tracks the approaching car as the relative angle changes. As you come up behind a…

Buyers can’t get enough of leather-lined compact SUVs with status badges, which are now the core of the premium-car market. While consumers are giving up some of the performance and handling of sedans, the demand for wagon-like versatility and an above-the-cars seating position has propelled these SUVs to prominence. Into this white-hot arena Genesis throws its new GV70 crossover, arguably the most important product yet from Hyundai’s nascent luxury brand. Unfortunately, the vast number of vehicles in this segment is matched by the vast scope of the auto industry’s supply disruptions. Vehicle shortages made a giant comparison test impossible. Instead, we opted to take the GV70’s measure against two SUVs that have long stood as templates for the segment: the BMW X3 and the Lexus RX. Most entries in this…

We ordered a long-term Tesla Model 3 for one primary reason: to be able to report on using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software over time. Well, the joke’s on us, because after we spent $6000 on that option (the price is now double that) in 2019, our car came and went without ever getting it. Paying for an option we didn’t receive is definitely a first, one of many when it came to the Model 3. Had we instead invested that money in Tesla stock, we could’ve cashed out with as much as $150,000. Another new experience was being alerted via a mobile app that our car had a catastrophic breakdown while parked. Other than that biggie, which required a new $2500 rear-motor assembly that was replaced under warranty, our car…

ARRIVAL: OCTOBER 2021 MILES: 16,362 OBSERVED MPG: 10 Electric pickups may be starting to arrive, but conventional gas-powered half-ton trucks remain the highly versatile heart of the market. In the case of the 702-hp Ram 1500 TRX and its supercharged 6.2-liter V-8, long-travel suspension, and stunning ability to hit 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, they can also be highly entertaining. Forget that the 88.0-inchwide TRX can cause “claustrophobia in city traffic,” according to its logbook. We’re convinced (for now) that its bellowing roar and 10Best-winning pedigree are worth its day-to-day hassles. Bolstering its popularity are an 8100-pound tow rating and a 1310-pound payload capacity. The fun factor doesn’t come cheap. The TRX starts at $75,175, and our generously optioned version commands an even dearer $91,030. Our maintenance bill thus far…

Nissan took an early lead in mainstream EVs, selling nearly 600,000 Leafs since 2010. For most of that time, the Leaf was the world’s most successful EV. Yet the speed with which Tesla’s Model 3 usurped the title illustrated the market shift toward faster, more expensive, and more exciting EVs. The new Nissan Ariya is considerably better attuned than the humble Leaf to that changed dynamic. Riding on a platform that was co-developed with Mitsubishi and Renault, Ariyas use current-excited synchronous AC motors, just like the new BMW i4 and iX. The frontwheel-drive Ariya has a single 238-hp motor, while the all-wheeldrive dual-motor version offers 389 horsepower and varies each motor’s output and regen to reduce dive and squat motions. The front-drive Ariya, with the smaller 63.0-kWh battery pack, should…

An anachronism when new, the final Buick Roadmaster wagon (1991–96) arrived more than a decade into an era of downsized cars with understated exteriors. It sported skirted fenders, woodgrain paneling, and three rows of seats. When the Roadmaster and its B-platform siblings (the Chevrolet Caprice and the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser) appeared, almost all new cars were unibody designs. GM’s full-size wagons for ’91 were body-on-frame dinosaurs, with V-8 power and rear-wheel drive—the ideal template for a sleeper muscle car. The Roadmaster launched as a formal, old-school family hauler. “I think people respected the wagon, although it was a period when wagons were on their way out,” says Ed Welburn, who, before becoming head of General Motors global design, worked on GM’s final rear-drive wagon. Early-’90s families were driving minivans and…

SERVICE Dealer Visits • Scheduled ............................... 3 • Unscheduled ........................... 2 Days out of Service ................... 8 Damage and Destruction ....................... $2400 SERVICE TIMELINE October 8, 2019 68 miles Long-term test begins. December 3, 2019 4107 miles Swapped to Michelin X-Ice Xi3 winter tires in C/D garage. $0 December 25, 2019 5286 miles Model 3 stranded us on Christmas morning. Towed to service center, where dealer replaced rear-motor assembly, high-voltage battery’s pyrotechnic fuse, 12-volt battery, and underbody aero panel under warranty. $0 April 15, 2020 10,627 miles Swapped to OEM all-season tires in C/D garage. $0 May 26, 2020 11,828 miles Dealer lubricated brake calipers and rotated tires. $210 July 28, 2020 14,938 miles Dealer replaced cracked windshield as well as fixed misaligned B-pillar trim under warranty. $1088 November 4,…

ARRIVAL: OCTOBER 2021 MILES: 6678 OBSERVED MPG: 19 We didn’t get the quickest M3 for our long-term test. The M3 Competition has 503 horsepower and available all-wheel drive, but it’s automatic only. Our long-term M3 has a mere 473 horsepower, rearwheel drive, and a six-speed manual. So far we think it’s the right one to live with for the next year. We went bold with Isle of Man Green Metallic paint ($550) and M Shadowline black inlay in the headlights ($300), the better to distract from the car’s noveltysize snout. We also opted for the $900 M Drive Professional package, which brings a track-mode setting, 10-stage traction control (yes, 10), a feature that scores your drifts, and lap-timer functionality through a phone app. With a few more options, our M3 totals…

The Type S version of the Acura MDX appears to be a high-performance model in the vein of the SUVs that wear Mercedes-AMG, BMW M, and Audi RS badges. But we think the real play here is simpler than that: Acura wants to move the MDX out of the near-luxury realm and onto a more prestigious plane alongside the Germans and Genesis. The regular MDX, with its 290-hp 3.5-liter V-6, will continue to constitute the bulk of the model’s sales, thanks to its attractive base price of $49,045. But now the introduction of the 355-hp Type S version allows Acura to play at the higher price points where the fatter profit margins and more discerning customers are. The MDX Type S thus comes armed with a more powerful engine, a…

The Subaru Solterra doesn’t have 500 horsepower or 300 miles of range. It can’t recharge in 15 minutes or power your house. Nor will its design bowl you over. We’d consider it a homework assignment turned in late were it not for its off-road acumen, an unusual attribute among mainstream EVs. It’s only a matter of time before we see a Solterra with a two-inch lift and a set of BFGoodrich KO2s. Like the BRZ coupe, this Subaru was jointly developed with Toyota. Its counterpart is the bZ4X, a name that just rolls off the tongue. But these EVs diverge more than the BRZ/GR86 twins, mostly because all Solterras are all-wheel drive, while the bZ4X has a front-drive variant. With 8.3 inches of ground clearance, decent approach and departure angles,…

The three-row-SUV segment is cutthroat. Since the second-gen Buick Enclave debuted in 2018, nearly all the competition has been overhauled. A new crop of standout players has joined the fray, and now to be a winner in this segment, you need to be great. For 2022, Buick is trying to keep up by freshening its flagship. Immediately noticeable are the Enclave’s new nose and tail. Squinty new headlights flank a more aggressive and attractive fascia with a larger grille, and a similar treatment is applied to the rear. The modest facelift doesn’t do much to dress up the derivative side profile, however. The interior switchgear is refreshingly simple, with a no-nonsense button layout for the audio system and climate controls that will make flip-phone owners feel at home. Those who’ve…