Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2022 i MotorTrend

May 1964: “There’s no doubt in our minds that this latest personal sporty car from Ford will sell like proverbial hotcakes.” Those were the first words of our first review of the first Ford Mustang, which we called “a fancy filly for fun-loving folks.” (Forgive us; it was the ’60s.) Our afflictive affection for agonizing alliteration aside, we guessed right. Ford hoped to move 100,000 Mustangs in the first year of sales; customers bought four times as many. Within two years, Ford sold a million. The Mustang became a genuine American icon—and we say this with acute awareness the word “icon” is grossly overused in this business—a status it has maintained, for better or worse, for some six decades. Did we know we were witnessing the birth of a legend?…

We’ve waited for Horatio Pagani’s follow-up to the incredible Huayra (code-named C9) and Zonda (C8) supercars for some time. Back in 2019, Pagani dropped some tantalizing hints about the next big thing, the C10. He promised it would pack a V-12 and even a proper manual transmission. The man and his company haven’t disappointed: The C10 is now known officially as the Utopia, and it looks like nothing else on the road. Not only that, but it also indeed packs the manual we were promised, in addition to an available automated gearbox and a twin-turbo 12-cylinder engine. The engine is again built by AMG and is similar to the M158 found in the Roadster BC. But, of course, there’s more power; the Utopia churns out 852 hp and 811 lb-ft…

Talk about things that escalated quickly: Jeep has gone from offering zero electrified SUVs to two in as many years, introducing the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrids in quick succession. More models are on their way, including a full-size Wagoneer EV and two more yet-to-be-detailed options for 2024 alone. But none will be as closely watched as the Jeepiest of them all: the fully electric 2024 Jeep Recon. Appearance-wise, this Wrangler-esque 4x4 falls somewhere between today’s Wrangler Rubicon and a classic XJ Cherokee, with the former’s boxy roofline and the latter’s mostly faired-in bodywork and full front end with squared headlights. Underneath, it’s nothing like either of those SUVs, and it rides on parent Stellantis’ new STLA Large platform. That means it has a fully independent suspension…

Canadian Convert Congratulations to the talented design and engineering team who created the 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5. I am a stick-in-the-mud stick shifter who would never dream of purchasing a Hyundai/Kia, an automatic transmission, or an EV. Then the Ioniq 5 caught my attention, both on the roadways and in your September comparison with the Toyota bZ4X. Its cool ’80s styling reminds me of the original DeLorean more than the Alpha5 EV concept featured in the same issue. I took a rear-drive Ioniq 5 for a test drive and found the strong and silent continuous torque combined with the faint “turbine” sound at full acceleration exciting in a new way. This car/SUV blend felt balanced and well built. The regenerative braking paddles worked well and were also a welcome way…

Ford hasn’t introduced a new named subbrand variant of its pioneering pony car since the Bullitt edition first appeared for 2001. The seventh-generation Mustang ends this long drought with the powerful Mustang Dark Horse. This is no mere appearance package with cold-air induction good for a handful of extra ponies and pound-feet; the Dark Horse represents a serious performance upgrade that lays the foundation for Ford’s combustion-vehicle racing efforts. The latter will range from amateur classes up through global GT4, GT3, NHRA, Australian Supercars, and NASCAR (see page 36). In so doing, Dark Horse is itself a small family of hotter fastback Mustangs, with an offering of optional performance upgrades to suit customers’ personal needs for speed, style, and comfort. The gen-IV Coyote V-8 found in the base 2024 Mustang…

The Hyundai N Vision 74 is the hottest concept car of the decade, and not just because its Tokyo Drift–meets-1980s-box-fenders visuals blew up everyone’s phones when the first images appeared a few months ago. No, the N Vision 74 is much more than stunning eye candy confected under the direction of Hyundai design chief SangYup Lee. This fully functioning, fully drivable concept teases Hyundai’s vision of the future for 21st century performance cars. And it’s totally production feasible. That’s right. Instead of the usual concept car mix of vaporware and unobtanium under the skin, the N Vision 74 uses hardware and technologies you’ll find in existing Hyundai production vehicles. What’s more, Hyundai N brand sources hint that if enough people want one, senior management might well be persuaded to produce…

The new 911 Sport Classic is many things: the second model from Porsche’s Heritage Design series, an homage to classic 911s of the late ’60s and early ’70s (most notably the ’73 Carrera 2.7 RS, but with nods to the 2010 997 Sport Classic), and, with a limited run of 1,250 examples worldwide, a must-have for well-heeled Porsche collectors. The uninitiated might mistake a passing Sport Classic for a run-of-the-mill 911, but Porsche geeks will spot differences immediately: double-bubble roof, ducktail spoiler, center-lock wheels (20-inchers up front, 21s out back), and a spot on the doors for a racing number. The unique quarter panels feature the 911 Turbo’s flared fenders but without the usual intake openings, which have moved to the rear spoiler. Porsche modified prototype Turbo tooling to make…

Driving from Los Angeles to the picturesque town of Lone Pine, California, we’re having a deep think about what led us to this point. Who in the world approved dropping a 470-hp V-8 into the Jeep Wrangler to create the Rubicon 392? And at the same time, who at Ford should we credit for the 418-hp Bronco Raptor? The basic vehicles beneath these badass variants are already massively capable off-roaders, vehicles able to take you places few others can. Why the need for absurd power? Neither of these SUVs makes much sense—frankly, they’re preposterous, and we mean that in the most complimentary way possible. Of course, putting them on showroom floors involved much more than simply bolting in beefy engines. Both the Wrangler Rubicon 392 and the Bronco Raptor—a.k.a. the…

UPDATE: 2021 Toyota Mirai “After months of procrastination, we finally tackle the Mirai’s biggest challenge: a road trip.” -Aaron Gold Service Life 11 mo/11,083 mi Avg Fuel Econ 67.2 mpg-e Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $0 (2x inspection, tire rotation; in-cabin air filter) Normal wear $14.99 (wiper blade) Base price $50,495 As tested $52,330 EPA fuel econ 76/71/74 mpg-e We’ve been talking about taking a road trip in the Mirai since first receiving the car, yet we kept putting it off. Truth is, as much as we (mostly) love hydrogen motoring, long-distance driving is a daunting prospect. You think range anxiety in an EV is bad? Most of the country’s publicly accessible hydrogen fueling stations are in California, clustered around the greater metro areas of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and…

Hyundai is on fire right now. Its growth has been steady and relentless for decades, following a path well worn by Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Subaru, and Mitsubishi. It’s easy to think we’ve seen it all before—and we have. Mostly. But Hyundai Motor Group’s next chapter looks strikingly different from that of its Japanese rivals. At the absolute height of their power, Japan’s automakers had the world at their feet. GM and Ford and Chrysler were stumbling and failing as customers they once took for granted switched to buying cheaper Japanese imports that were better equipped and more reliable. Japanese cars had, for the same reasons, all but forced Fiat, Renault, Peugeot, and Volkswagen to abandon markets outside of Europe. At the 1989 Tokyo auto show, strolling past cars like…

Dodge’s electric future is mean, menacing, loud, and … practical? Proof: the Charger Daytona SRT concept that teases the production electric muscle car coming in 2024 and the 2023 Hornet compact SUV that brings a long-overdue entry into the U.S. market’s most popular segment. First, the Charger Daytona SRT. It’s powered by batteries and electric motors but delivers a rumble very similar to—and as loud as—the roar of a Hemi Hellcat V-8. This is Dodge’s vision of its alternative to its present generation of gas-powered muscle cars, which will cease production in December 2023. However, we believe the next generation of those cars will also offer internal combustion engines. The Charger Daytona SRT concept is designed to appease loyal customers opposed to EVs; that’s why it has a multispeed transmission…

Not too long ago, automakers believed hybrid buyers all wanted the same boring, amorphous blob of a hatchback. So they built expensive little cars with underpowered engines and motors, slapped badges like “Prime,” “REX,” or “EREV” on their rumps, and sat around wondering why they were nailed to the same dealer lots SUVs continued to fly off of. And then someone had the bright idea to slap those badges onto SUVs. And wouldn’t you know it—they’re flying off dealer lots. We recently had a chance to spend some time in the new Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 4xe plug-in hybrid, and it turns out one of the latest plug-in hybrid SUVs to hit the streets is also among the most impressive. The Grand Cherokee gets the same setup as the Wrangler…

MUSTANG ENTHUSIASTS SHOULD REJOICE THAT FORD IS EVEN DOING THIS AT A TIME WHEN ELECTRIFICATION IS ALL THE RAGE. Creating the 2024 Mustang, Ford pulled a gutsy and potentially historic move. The seventh generation is likely the last gas-snorting version of the pony car, but the fact it’s purely gas-snorting at all is something of a surprise. Chevrolet is rumored to sunset the Camaro as we know it ahead of an electric replacement in 2024; Dodge has confirmed its Challenger and Charger will offer fully electric propulsion around the same time. The 2024 Mustang team needed to justify its rationale for an internal-combustion-only muscle car, truly a passion project, at every turn, even with management ultimately supporting its moves. After all, Ford is in the throes of embracing electric trucks…

The only actual car Ford builds in North America is the natural choice for the company to send racing, and there will be variants of the new Mustang designed and developed to compete in a wide variety of global racing series. Beginners and Amateurs Racers on a tight budget will find plenty to love and learn with a base Mustang 2.3 EcoBoost. They’ll also be able to upgrade it with the factory Performance package or a few aftermarket goodies. Too tame? Want a manual transmission? Step up to the 5.0 V-8, also upgradable with a factory Performance pack and Ford Performance aftermarket gear. Drivers looking for the ultimate street-legal 2024 Mustang will gravitate to the Dark Horse with the Handling package. Serious Weekend Warriors Once you commit to trailering a…

It’s not just a design exercise. It’s not just a technology demonstrator. As a brand we want to send out the message that there’s an optimistic future.” That’s how Jaekeun Yoo, a member of the Hyundai N brand’s bright and enthusiastic management team, sums up the RN22e. This swoopy, muscular track rat based on the forthcoming Ioniq 6 shows EVs don’t mean Armageddon for true performance fans. “Seeing what’s available and what’s possible, we don’t agree with that perspective,” Yoo says. “We think we can deliver a really exciting product in terms of EV performance.” As a Rolling Lab project, the RN22e is, in the short term, being used to prove out some of the hardware that will be found in the Ioniq 6–based car Hyundai will enter in next…

With the introduction of the limited-edition Sport Classic, Porsche celebrates the 50th anniversary of one of the most famous 911s, the 1972 Carrera RS 2.7. To connect the dots between the original ducktail and today’s Sport Classic, we drove four classic 911 RS models, including both versions of the 1972 car. Ride along and experience the evolution of the RS. 1972 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Sport I begin like the purist that I am with the 911 Carrera RS Sport, the stripped-down homologation version of the then-new, more powerful, and, hopefully, more stable 911. To reduce weight, the RS Sport does away with the rear seats, carpeting, and armrests. The window glass is thinner, the door cards are literally just cards, and the Porsche badge is glued rather than bolted…

Any time you see a picture in MotorTrend, there’s a car missing. It’s the photo support vehicle, and it’s an absolute must-have. Like any other tool of the trade, you need the right one for the job you’re doing, and when it comes to shooting serious off-road tests and comparisons, you need a support vehicle that can keep up with the test subjects. To shoot our Wrangler Rubicon 392 versus Bronco Raptor comparison, we needed another Wrangler. For your typical off-road photo shoot, you can get away with just about any SUV with all-wheel drive and a little ground clearance. But when you’ve gotta keep up with the two best factory-built off-road vehicles ever made, you need some serious hardware. You need a support vehicle that can do everything and…

“Time to dig into the Rogue’s road-trip experience.” -Kelly Lin Service Life 7 months/5,516 miles Average Fuel Econ 22.2 mpg Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $0 Normal wear $0 Base price $30,090 As tested $33,530 EPA City/Hwy/Comb fuel econ 25/32/28 mpg I must admit: Sometimes, I feel sorry for the Rogue. That’s not because it’s incapable; in fact, the small SUV has proved to be a practical family hauler over the past several months. It’s just that it has endured some unfortunate toddler abuse, and with another baby on the way, things aren’t going to get much better any time soon. Although some stains were a bit difficult to clean, the Rogue’s seats now look as good as new. I also feel bad that the Rogue doesn’t see much excitement.…

“Dealer-installed accessories can be attractive, but are they worth it?” -Erick Ayapana Service Life 10 mo/12,048 miles Average Fuel Econ 23.8 mpg Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $0 (inspection, oil change) Normal wear $0 Base price $41,945 As tested $44,890 EPA City/Hwy/Comb fuel econ 22/30/25 mpg Volvo touts the XC40 as a compact SUV “designed for life in the city and beyond.” And if you hope to take along your bicycle when you go beyond the city, then you have options. A decent array of accessory bicycle carriers are available, but we first wanted to see if we could stuff a bike in the cargo area in a pinch. We were skeptical. But after we folded down the rear seats, removed the cargo shade, and moved the passenger-side front seat…

Since Enzo’s day, Ferrari has pretty much built the cars it wanted to build. The Purosangue, the first four-door four-seater from Maranello, is a Ferrari that Ferrari’s customers wanted it to build. This is not, Ferrari insists, an SUV. It is first and foremost a Ferrari, the company says, and Maranello only builds sports cars. That means cars with impressive performance and dynamics that put a smile on your face. This one just looks a little different from the rest, then, and it makes a case for being a different kind of sports car. We won’t drive it until later this year, but the Purosangue should have engineers at Aston Martin, Lamborghini, and Bentley worried. The Purosangue has the perfect engine for a continent-crushing four-seater. Under the hood is yet…

Genesis will introduce its last new internal combustion engine by 2025, and the brand expects to sell only EVs by 2030. The GV60 is Genesis’ first dedicated electric vehicle, and it directly previews that all-EV future. There are plenty of challenges when producing a first, but it seems like the GV60 was a walk in the park for Genesis. Despite its quirky styling, the compact SUV is roomy, supports charging speeds well exceeding the average, and—perhaps most important—is fun to drive. For an SUV that has Performance in its name, you’d expect it to deliver exactly that. The GV60 Performance does. With two electric motors (one in the front, the other in the rear) combining for 429 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, the GV60 is the most powerful Genesis…

Over the years I’ve covered enough tech and innovation to believe the remaining barriers to self-driving vehicles are primarily legal/political, and secondarily logistical. Here’s an easy shortcut: Build a new “smart city” from scratch—from the infrastructure and political landscape up—and allow no human-driven vehicles. Many smart-city utopias are on global drawing boards today. In Saudi Arabia, The Line is envisioned as a vertical/linear desert city of 9 million measuring 106 miles long by 1,640 feet tall by 650 feet wide. Here in the U.S., cryptocurrency mogul Jeffrey Burns purchased 67,000 acres in Nevada for $170 million to build an electric/autonomous blockchain utopia called Innovation Park. The land is located near hub facilities of Google, Apple, Switch, and Tesla. Meanwhile, Microsoft founder Bill Gates spent $80 million in 2017 to buy…

If you spent your teenage years in the aughts, there was something tremendously appealing about sport compacts like the Subaru Impreza WRX. The bug-eyed, boxer-powered sedan (and wagon) wasn’t just affordable and practical—it was fast for its time. The car packed more horsepower per liter than the Porsche 911 Turbo of the era; the WRX was like the Pontiac GTO of the millennial generation. Following its entry into the American market were more high-power sport compacts from Mitsubishi, VW, Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet, and others. Flash forward to 2022. The WRX has dropped the Impreza name, but the scene hasn’t changed much. It’s is new for this year, as are the Honda Civic Si and Volkswagen Golf GTI—both names also familiar to any enthusiast in the early aughts. And although some…

The ’80s are back, baby! Kate Bush is still running up a hill, people are unironically wearing Oakley sunglasses, Hyundai unveiled a concept car that looks just like the DeLorean Group B race car that never was, and Top Gun: Maverick was the summer’s runaway box office hit. Our collective unconscious lust for all things retro now extends into MotorTrend’s pages as we pit a 2023 Nissan Z against a 2022 Toyota GR Supra, two Japanese sports cars that have roamed our nation’s streets for decades. Intriguingly, Toyota does not build the Supra; BMW, its partner in the project, does. The new Supra is in fact the hardtop version of the quite pleasant BMW Z4. So aside from body panels, there isn’t much Toyota about the car save for tuning.…

The original 911 Carrera RS is known for two attributes: its larger 207-hp 2.7-liter engine and its distinctive ducktail spoiler. The latter was intended to solve a rear-end stability problem at speeds of 95 mph or so (as low as 75 with a good crosswind). Aerodynamicist Hermann Burst found a straightforward solution: Fit the 911 with a chin spoiler and a kammtail rear end. The former was fine, but the latter clashed with Porsche’s mandate that said the 911’s recognizable shape could not be changed. Burst went back to the wind tunnel and discovered a spoiler shaped just so could provide the same benefits as a kammback. But when designer Harm Lagaay and his colleagues saw Burst’s solution, “We were terrified,” Lagaay says. “We wanted it smaller, more elegant.” Burst and…

Vaughn Gittin Jr. is a great passenger. You might know him better as a superlative driver and a peer to hard-charging, energy-drink-hawking drift kings such as Tanner Foust, Ken Block, and Travis Pastrana. But should you ever find Gittin in your passenger seat, know that he’s as cool as a cucumber. I learned this when I spun his seven-motor, 1,400-hp electric mutant version of the Ford Mustang Mach-E on the infield track at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The turn was a tight left up a crest, and although Gittin had already warned me there was a real possibility of lift-off oversteer, I still spun off the track and onto the lawn. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, easing my embarrassment. “I did the same thing earlier.” That’s probably how he knew…

“It always pays (or can at least save you some cash) to read the freakin’ manual.” -Alex Leanse Service Life 11 months/21,789 miles Average Fuel Econ 22.8 mpg Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $354.18 (2x inspection, oil change, tire rotation; in-cabin air filter) Normal wear $0 Base price $40,965 As tested $42,190 EPA fuel econ 21/28/24 mpg It’s not uncommon for acquaintances and other motorists to comment positively on any new Kia we drive. We typically reply with, “Yeah, Kia’s really stepped up its game in the last decade,” or a quip that similarly distances its rickety econoblobs of yesteryear from the solid, stylish vehicles it builds today. See the Sorento for evidence: The model on sale now is better than its predecessors in every way. As for our long-term…

“More than a year behind the wheel of a mid-engine Corvette has proven to us it’s all the car you need.” -Scott Evans Service Life 13 months/16,512 miles Average Fuel Econ 17.0 mpg Base Price $67,295 As Tested $80,420 Options Z51 Performance pack ($5,995: 3.55:1 axle ratio, elec limited-slip differential, rear spoiler, heavy-duty cooling, performance suspension, brakes, tires, and exhaust); front lift w/ memory ($1,995); magnetorheological dampers ($1,895); GT2 bucket seats ($1,495); red brake calipers ($595); composite rockers ($550); premium paint ($500); carbon flash side mirrors ($100) Problem Areas None Maintenance Cost $400.69 (2x inspection, oil change) Normal Wear $2,062 (set of tires) Recalls Rear halfshaft assembly, airbag malfunction indicator 3-Year Residual Value* $96,800 (120%) *IntelliChoice data; assumes 42,000 miles at the end of three years. More than a few automakers…