Innehållsförteckning för May 2020 från Car and Driver

It turns out that the convenience of buying anything—toilet paper, toilet brushes, toilets—with a single tap from the comfort of your porcelain throne isn’t without inconvenience in major cities. Because of our online-shopping habits, delivery vehicles are stacking up in urban areas like cardboard boxes in a dumpster. E-commerce has more than doubled in the past decade, growing from 4.6 percent to 10.7 percent of U.S. retail transactions. The corresponding rise in home deliveries—Amazon’s network alone transported more than 3.5 billion packages globally last year—is clogging city streets with trucks that stop frequently and often park illegally. While trucks make up 7 percent of traffic in major cities nationwide, they’re responsible for an outsize 11 percent of congestion, according to the 2019 Urban Mobility Report from the Texas A&M Transportation…

2023 Hyundai RM20 N Mid-engine cars are like assholes: Everyone has one. Having taken grip at blue-collar brands such as Chevrolet and Ford, mid-engine mania is now working its way into luxury marques known for putting the engine up front, such as Maserati [see page 46] and Aston Martin [see page 33]. Of all the newcomers, though, no vehicle highlights the current sports-car zeitgeist quite like a mid-engine Hyundai. Fortunately, unlike assholes and opinions, mid-engine cars rarely stink. When it arrives in two or three years, expect the Hyundai to bring mid-engine dynamics to a new level of affordability. That’s the hope, at least. As we understand it, the decision makers in South Korea are still weighing whether their car should be a $40,000 Hyundai or a $70,000 Genesis. In…

2022 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 WHAT IT IS The first of several upcoming ultra-high-performance variants of the C8 Corvette. It’s a return to the stripped-down-for-action, high-revving, track-worthy Vette embodied by the 505-hp 7.0-liter V-8-powered C6 Z06 of 2006 through 2013. WHY IT MATTERS The Z06’s new V-8 packs a power curve shaped like a bodybuilder’s bicep. The switch to amid-engine configuration maximizes traction, allowing Chevy to better utilize its mega-horsepower engines for battling everything on the exotic-car spectrum. PLATFORM A muscled-up version of the base C8’s architecture, with wider rubber, stronger brakes, a recalibrated suspension tune, and upgraded powertrain cooling. Flared fenders cover the mechanical bits, and new-for-the-Vette active aerodynamics pin it to the track. POWERTRAIN A naturally aspirated DOHC 32-valve 5.5-liter V-8. Plus, it has a flat-plane crank, just like a Ferrari…

2021 Alfa Romeo Tonale WHAT IT IS A rare beauty in a sea of luxury-subcompact crossovers. Plus it’s Alfa Romeo’s first hybrid model. WHY IT MATTERS Alfa desperately needs more sales if its American comeback is going to last, and considering how good the Giulia and Stelvio are to drive, we’re hoping this ute thrives. PLATFORM The Tonale will ride on FCA’s Small Wide platform that also underpins the Jeep Compass and Renegade, so the chassis engineers have their work cut out to make this Alfa feel as lively as the ones we already love. POWERTRAIN While the concept features a plug-in-hybrid powertrain, the production model may use a conventional hybrid setup. Or Alfa may offer it both ways. In any case, the hybrid system will pair with a turbo inline-four, which…

The Telluride’s goodness has created high expectations for anything new from Kia. So it’s with those lofty expectations that we approach the brand’s new Seltos. Sitting on the border between subcompact and compact, the Seltos edges its way into the lineup in the wafer-thin slot below the Sportage and Niro and above the Soul. After only a few minutes behind the wheel, it’s clear that the Seltos boasts some of the Telluride’s class-climbing excellence. It shares its platform and powertrains with the subcompact Hyundai Kona, but its size and overall refinement allow it to dip a toe into the compact-crossover space occupied by the Ford Escape and the Toyota RAV4 [see “Family Jewels,” page 50]. A 146-hp 2.0-liter inline-four paired with a CVT is standard in the Seltos. It’s powerful…

In the early 1990s, when the electric revolution was still a twinkle in Elon Musk’s eye, the 10-cylinder engine stood at the cutting edge of powertrain tech. Having motivated Formula 1 racers since 1989 (until 2006), a V-10 was a way for brands from Ford to Lamborghini to add mystique to their lineups. But now there’s just one on the market, and it’s only in six-figure exotics. V-10s have plenty of charm. Most are naturally aspirated and make wonderful noises, and many of them return stellar performance numbers at the track. But tastes change through the years. In the past two decades, nearly every V-10 has been replaced by a smaller V-8, most of which produce more power than the 10-pots that came before. Cases in point: The Dodge Viper’s V-10—the…

Remember waiting? It’s what we used to do as packages crawled across the country to our homes. We stood in grocery-store checkout lines with cashiers and waited as the troglodytes ahead of us scribbled their checks. We dialed up to an internet so slow that you could watch the pictures load. Even in the age of next-day delivery, self-checkout, and gigabit internet, some things can’t be rushed. The 25 cars, trucks, and SUVs in this section won’t reach dealer lots for anywhere from a few months to a few years. Some of them are about to roll down the assembly line. Others haven’t emerged from the design studio yet. We’re telling you about them now, though, because these are the vehicles that will matter, regardless of how many boring crossovers…

2022 Lincoln Mark E WHAT IT IS A powerful and posh electric SUV sold by a 102-year-old brand but built by Rivian, an 11-year-old startup. The name is still to be determined, but clearly there’s heritage to be appropriated with Mark E. WHY IT MATTERS Think of this project as a sneak preview of automaker tie-ups and vehicle development in the future. As electric powertrains become a commodity, the temptation to share mechanical components across brands and companies will be even greater than it is today. PLATFORM Ford recently invested $500 million in Rivian, buying access to the startup’s skateboard architecture in the process. We know that the platform supports air springs and hydraulic roll control similar to the system in the McLaren 720S. The lithium-ion battery pack should be available in…

2021 Hyundai Santa Cruz WHAT IT IS Hyundai’s foray into the pickup market. It follows Honda’s approach rather than the formula that American manufacturers perfected. The unibody truck will be offered with a single bed length, a four-door crew cab, and a choice of four-cylinder engines. WHY IT MATTERS Hyundai is building the Santa Cruz as an affordable and efficient choice for drivers who haul bulky but not necessarily heavy items. Think mountain bikes, kayaks, and camping gear rather than gravel, boats, and cinder blocks. PLATFORM The Santa Cruz will ride on the same basic bones and be built in the same Montgomery, Alabama, plant as the Santa Fe mid-size crossover. POWERTRAIN Expect to see the Santa Fe’s 2.4-liter and turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-fours paired with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. COMPETITION…

SERVICE Dealer Visits • Scheduled ....................... 4• Unscheduled ................... 0 Days Out of Service ........... 0 Unscheduled Oil Additions ....................... 0 qt Damage and Destruction: $0 Repair: $0 LIFE EXPECTANCIES Tires ............... 35,000 miles Brake Pads • Front ......... >100,000 miles• Rear .......... >100,000 miles WHAT BITS AND PIECES COST Headlamp .................. $3000 Engine Air Filters .......... $95 Oil Filter ........................ $23 Tire, F/R ............. $238/$273 Wiper Blades ................ $133 Front Brake Pads ......... $169 Wheel, F/R ...... $1018/$1008 SERVICE TIMELINE September 21, 2018 108 miles Long-term test begins. October 31, 2018 3363 miles We swap to Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 tires ($1079). November 1, 2018 3391 miles We install WeatherTech floor mats ($198). February 6, 2019 10,469 miles 10,000-mile service: Dealer performs oil change and inspections. $253 May 10,…

AMG’s first hot-rod SUV arrived in 1999, when the company dropped a 5.4-liter V-8 into the body-on-frame ML and dubbed it the ML55. Two decades later, many family sedans are quicker than that 342-hp brute, but it proved to Mercedes that there was a big audience for a performance SUV. How big? Of the more than 30,000 AMGs sold annually, half are utes. While the name has changed, the GLE63 S is the descendant of the original AMG SUV. To get 5571 pounds of SUV to perform requires a lot of power. To make that power, AMG stuffs 18.9 psi of boost down the throat of a 4.0-liter V-8 and out comes 603 horses and 627 pound-feet of torque—26 and 66 more, respectively, than this GLE’s predecessor. To ensure that…

Why aren’t turbos electric? Why have all the hardware of an exhaust-driven turbo when an electric motor would be so much simpler? Plus, it would speed up quicker and be more controllable. You can borrow my hair dryer to test this theory. —George Hovany, Gig Harbor, WA Your description of a turbo spun by an electric motor and without the exhaust-driven hardware is actually an electric supercharger. Mercedes-AMG and Land Rover both employ one in their inline-six engines to provide boost before the turbocharger wakes up. However, electrified turbos, where an electric motor assists the exhaust-driven turbine, are the next frontier. Combining them, as Formula 1 powertrains have since 2014, is all but inevitable. With the turbine, compressor, and electric motor all spinning on a common axle, the motor can…

Commercial airliners don’t just magically leap skyward. To get there, they need ground support—support that often comes from highly specialized vehicles (and sometimes from ordinary trucks, vans, and cars). United Airlines flies about 800 planes and has more than 36,000 vehicles in its ground fleet that pump fuel, load luggage, and haul away human waste at 266 locations around the world. What are the terrestrial machines that keep the flying ones aloft? We spoke with Ray Ames, managing director of United’s ground services equipment, to find out. A BELT LOADER Loaders come in various sizes to serve specific aircraft and have height-adjustable conveyor belts for moving baggage into and out of planes. Most loaders burn fuel—be it gasoline, diesel, or propane—but electric drivetrains are increasingly common. United has 1468 loaders in…

2022 GMC Hummer EV SUT WHAT IT IS A revival of the brand personified by Arnold Schwarzenegger at his beefiest, now an offshoot of GMC and ready to repent for its gas-guzzling past with an electric pickup. WHY IT MATTERS Having learned a lesson from the Volt plug-in hybrid and Bolt EV, GM is finally recognizing what Tesla has long known: Electric vehicles should appeal to our hearts, not just our consciences. Consider this a turning point, with the era of dorky econobox electrics on its way out. PLATFORM The Hummer will pack GM’s new low-cost Ultium lithium-ion battery between the frame rails of an EV-specific truck platform. POWERTRAIN GMC says there will be one-, two-, and three-motor versions with up to 1000 horsepower and a 60-mph time as low as 3.0 seconds. A…

2021 Ford F-150 If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s Ford’s approach to the 2021 F-series. When you’ve sold more than 4 million F-series in the U.S. since the introduction of the 13th generation for the 2015 model year, why tempt fate? The switch to an aluminum-intensive body for the last-generation truck was a monumental endeavor, requiring significant retooling of manufacturing facilities and body shops alike. Ford took smaller steps this time. The F-150’s sheetmetal will retain the same shape but carry a revised nose and new headlights. Astute eyes might also notice different taillights, but overall, this redesign looks more like a mid-cycle refresh than a generational transformation. The changes should be more obvious inside. Attempting to catch up with Ram’s upscale interiors, Ford’s Limited, King Ranch, and…

2021 Audi Q4 e-tron WHAT IT IS A smaller and cheaper electric Audi, aimed at the core of the crossover market. WHY IT MATTERS The Q4 e-tron is one small piece of the Volkswagen Group’s ambitious EV rollout, which should hasten the pace of EV development, offering drivers more choice, quicker charging, and longer range. PLATFORM The Q4 e-tron will be the fourth electric Audi to come stateside but the first to use VW’s MEB architecture designed exclusively forelectric vehicles. VW claims that the platform will host 27 different models sold by four brands by 2022. POWERTRAIN An electric motor on each axle backed by an 82.0-kWh lithium-ion battery. COMPETITION BMW iNext, Jaguar I-Pace, Mercedes-Benz EQC, Tesla Model Y. WHAT MIGHT GO WRONG While the current e-tron delivers competitive real-world range,…

If you’re going to drive something absurd, why not just go for it? A luxury model is a departure from pragmatism, so what does that make the redesigned BMW X5 M, a mid-size SUV with nearly double the horsepower of the entry X5 for almost twice the price? Completely nonsensical, that’s what. With a height of 68.9 inches and weighing roughly 5450 pounds, the X5 M should be too tall and too heavy to be a serious driver’s machine. It casts a big shadow, but it barely has more cargo room behind its front seats than the much lighter and lower-riding 5-series wagon. That’s not really a relevant comparison, though, since BMW doesn’t sell that car in the U.S. So here we are. Starting at $106,095, the X5 M comes…