Innehållsförteckning för November 2020 från Car and Driver

While everyone waited with bated breath for an Apple car, Amazon extended its reach into the automotive landscape far and wide. Building and selling new vehicles is big business, but it’s only the tippity top of the industry iceberg. Hundreds of thousands of car businesses exist beyond assembly plants and dealerships. Here’s where Amazon’s presence is having the biggest impact. PARTS AND ACCESSORIES According to automotive marketing agency Hedges & Company, the online parts and accessories market is expected to exceed $16 billion in 2020, with $10.3 billion of purchases made through Amazon. To make online buying easier for consumers, Amazon has established partnerships with local installation outlets, and the Amazon Garage makes recommendations for replacement and aftermarket parts based on the vehicle information users store in their accounts. Amazon…

It took a while for Patient Zero, the Porsche Cayenne, to infect the luxury-car world with its virulent strain of performance and practicality. But here we are, with an Aston Martin SUV. And utes from Bentley and Lamborghini. Ferrari is working on the Purosangue, its jacked-up people mover. It’s all so inevitable—people buy these things, and car companies like to build things that people buy—but also sort of sad. The world needs Kia Tellurides, but et tu, Maranello? Among this glut of 600-hp palanquins, we find the McLaren GT. This is the closest McLaren gets to a crossover, which is not remotely close at all. Hallelujah. The GT is McLaren’s take on dignified utility. It’s a nitromethane-powered chain saw with three cupholders. It’s a polite knock on the door from…

Price As Tested …………………………. $82,575 Base ………………………………………………………… $63,600 Vehicle Type: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 7-passenger, 4-door wagon Options: Explorer pack, $4800; panoramic roof, $1750; heated third row, $1700; Towing pack, $1630; Off-Road pack, $1345; 20-inch wheels, $1200; three-zone climate control, $1075; Driver Assist pack, $1020; black contrast roof, $870; Indus Silver paint, $710; Cold Climate pack, $700; heated second row, $600; Black pack, $600; heated front seats, $500; satellite radio, $300; air ionization, $100; air quality sensor, $75 Audio System: satellite radio, USB and Bluetooth-audio inputs, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay interfaces, 11 speakers Engine supercharged, turbocharged, and intercooled inline-6; aluminum block and head Bore x Stroke ……. 3.27 x 3.63 in, 83.0 x 92.3 mm Displacement …………………………. 183 in3, 2996 cm3 Compression Ratio ……………………………………. 10.5:1 Fuel Delivery: direct injection Turbocharger: BorgWarner…

I have a confession to make: I learned to drive in my mom’s 2006 Toyota Prius, and instead of painting the high-school parking lot with burnouts, I spent my teenage years browsing Prius forums and practicing various tricks for maximizing mpg. There are more efficient cars that would stretch my final gallon of gas over a longer distance, but I’d want my last fling with internal combustion to end the same way it started. And I was sure that my hypermiling expertise would come back to me just as easily as remembering how to ride a bike. The Prius I found for the task was hardly an ideal example of a second-gen car, which, I would like to remind you, was named to C/D’s 10Best list in 2004. This one…

The Nissan Leaf was a shoo-in for success. The Chevrolet Bolt, a can’t miss. The Audi e-tron, an EV that would show Tesla what the big boys can do. Early on, those electric models were lauded as game changers, but the game didn’t change. Electric vehicles have had a rough go of it in the U.S. The Leaf, one of the most popular non-Tesla EVs on sale today, had its best year in 2014, moving a middling 30,200 cars. (For reference, Nissan sold more than 400,000 Rogues here in both 2017 and 2018.) Even with Tesla doing a booming business, selling an estimated 223,200 vehicles last year, overall EV sales in the U.S. actually fell from 2018 levels. And apart from Tesla, no other automaker has delivered a true EV…

Despite automakers’ appeals to the contrary, the relationship between race cars and the roadgoing models they are based on is usually tenuous. However, McLaren’s new 620R is effectively the company’s 570S GT4 racer modified just enough to legally hang a plate on it. You can even dork out and order it in a livery inspired by the race car’s. McLaren already makes the track-ready 600LT. But while the LT is fun to fling around a race circuit, it does so as an eager amateur. The 620R is a deadly serious professional. Like a race car, the 620R is pretty terrible on-road. Minimal soundproofing keeps out noise about as well as a screen door, and even with the adjustable suspension fully softened, the ride is punishing. It is quick but not…

In General Motors’ lineup of large SUVs, the GMC Yukon lives in the narrow patch between the Cadillac Escalade and Chevy Tahoe. Like those trucks, the Yukon has been thoroughly redone and rides on a body-on-frame platform, but GMC has finally excised the old live rear axle for an independent rear suspension. A major benefit is a lower floor, which, along with a modest wheelbase stretch, increases cargo area by 11 cubes and third-row legroom by 10.1 inches. It’s now possible for an adult to ride for an hour back there without complaint. The ride and handling improvements born of the new suspension are subtle but there. The Yukon steers with more grace than before. It’s easier to wield, and its responses are tighter, but it has less grip in…

Once you take away the effort, the sweat, and the Lance Armstrong cosplay, riding a bike starts to feel a lot like riding a motorcycle or even driving a car. The thrill of speed, the sense of possibility, and the freedom to roam give you a fresh perspective on your surroundings. That’s the experience riding a throttle e-bike, which still has pedals but can also be propelled with the push of your thumb or twist of your wrist. Legally, e-bikes are restricted to 20 mph when the throttle is in use and 28 mph when the motor is assisting the rider’s pedaling. Some companies are starting to test those boundaries, though, with high-speed modes intended for use on private property. These three e-bikes are a few of our favorites. Rad…

The Ferrari 250 sits at the top of the automotive pantheon, but within its family are degrees of specialness. The short-wheelbase Competizione—faster and lighter than the 250 Berlinetta Lusso thanks to aluminum bodywork from Carrozzeria Scaglietti—will always be among the most desirable. To land one of the 74 original examples, you’ll need an eight-figure budget. Which is why you won’t be surprised to learn that the car pictured here isn’t a genuine Competizione. It’s a 250 SWB Revival, a near perfect re-creation built by GTO Engineering in the U.K. This will be the only time we describe a car with a roughly $1 million starting price as a bargain. GTO’s Revival cars are designed to be driven. They take the legal identities of Ferraris from the 1960s—normally basket-case 330s or…

Think of an affordable rear-drive performance car. Got it? Okay. If the Mazda Miata didn’t at least flash in your mind, you probably haven’t spent enough time with us here. Feel free to go ahead and dial up some back issues if you’d like. Or we can catch you up real fast. Cheap rear-drivers are what get us out of bed in the morning. They pack all the fun of pricier, more powerful cars because they are cut from the same cloth that emphasizes crisp handling and a great driving experience. The reward for taking the rear-drive road is (usually) less filtered steering feel and improved cornering balance. Unfortunately, rear-drive as the status quo gave way to front-wheel drive decades ago, and all-wheel drive has been steadily chipping away at…

A gallon of gasoline might get you a couple of hot laps in a fast sports car or a few dozen plodding miles in a hybrid. But I’d want more from my last fix of liquid hydrocarbons, something not limited by track boundaries and traffic laws. I want to revel in the raw adventure and excitement made possible by internal combustion. My ride would be powerful yet minimalist, albeit with a roll cage and seatbelts. And it would have lots of suspension travel so I’m not penned in by anything so small as a curb. I’m pouring my last gallon into a side-by-side UTV, such as the Honda Talon 1000R. Essentially a two-seat exoskeleton with knobby tires and huge Fox dampers, the Talon is designed for off-road fun and little…

SERVICE Dealer Visits • Scheduled ………………. 3 • Unscheduled …………… 4 Days Out of Service ……. 4 Unscheduled Oil Additions ………………. 0 qt OPERATING COSTS FOR 40,000 MILES LIFE EXPECTANCIES Tires ………… 15,000 miles Brake Pads • Front …….. 35,000 miles • Rear ……… 35,000 miles WHAT BITS AND PIECES COST Headlamp ……………. $923 Engine Air Filter ……… $16 Oil Filter …………………. $7 Wheel ………………… $1366 Tire …………………….. $308 Wiper Blades ………….. $12 Front Brake Pads ….. $180 FIVE-YEAR DEPRECIATION Depreciation data from ALG, based on 15,000 miles per year. SERVICE TIMELINE May 6, 2019 200 miles Long-term test begins. June 12, 2019 4316 miles Pothole strike necessitates an alignment and replacement of right front wheel and tire. $1831 June 25, 2019 5605 miles Local shop patches new tire following…

A chrome-free body, decorative red stripes, and three letters on the grille are easy identifiers that separate the Volkswagen GTI from the lesser Golf. While the 2022 GTI will have all those touchstones, you won’t need them to differentiate it from the eighth-gen Golf. That’s because VW won’t be bringing the base hatch to the U.S. We’ll get only the GTI and, later on, the R. Fortunately, the GTI remains a quick car thanks to the turbocharged 2.0-liter four. VW hasn’t announced final output ratings for the U.S. model, but the Europe-spec versions we drove served up 242 horses from 5000 to 6500 rpm and 273 pound-feet of torque from 1600 to 4300 rpm. The engine’s fat torque supply gives the impression there are gobs of power everywhere. The brand…

If you know where to look, you can find some great unadvertised deals on luxury and performance vehicles hidden within Volkswagen’s vast empire. Want $5000 knocked off the price of an Audi A3? Buy a Volkswagen Golf GTI. The $154,350 Porsche Panamera Turbo does a passable imitation of the $207,825 Bentley Continental GT V8. And the new $89,995 Audi SQ8 is sort of a bargain Lamborghini Urus. Equal parts offensive firepower and rolling bunker, Audi’s new war wagon provides 90 percent of the experience of the wild Lambo crossover at a discount of more than $100,000. Both posh performance SUVs are powered by twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8s, built on Volkswagen’s MLB Evo architecture, and armed with enough high-tech chassis hardware to help a school bus turn a credible Nürburgring lap. Pedants…

MANIFATTURA AUTOMOBILI TORINO NEW STRATOS This carbon-fiber-bodied replica of the coolest rally car ever made starts from $600,000, and that’s not including the Ferrari F430 that each buyer has to supply. PUR SANG TYPE 35 In recent years, authentic examples of Bugatti’s 1920s Grand Prix champion have traded hands for more than $2.5 million. Pur Sang’s replicas go for roughly 10 percent of that despite the painstaking detail poured into them, including handmade square-headed bolts. SUPERFORMANCE GT40 Superformance says that more than twothirds of the parts in its Ford GT40 replica are interchangeable with those in the real thing. A rolling chassis starts at $125,000, and buyers can choose from Ford 289, 302, or 351 Windsor small-block engines or even the modern Coyote 5.0-liter V-8.…

LAND ROVER HAS GONE SOFT. While its Range Rovers are striking and urbane, everything in the lineup seems either too precious or too luxurious for mud-slinging off-road misadventure. The Land Rover Defender is supposed to fix that. More than two decades have passed since Land Rover offered its archetypal nameplate in the U.S. This new one shares nothing with that truck other than a badge, but like the “Jeep Wrangler” and “Ford Bronco” monikers, the words “Land Rover Defender” are more than a name. This SUV has a reputation to maintain, a promise to live up to. Built on Land Rover’s new D7x architecture, the Defender ditches its ancestor’s body-on-frame structure and stick axles for unibody construction and independent suspensions. Some might call it soft. Our thoughts? Put away the…

I want my final taste of gas seared in my brain with my most unforgettable memories: my wedding, the birth of my child, not being asked to the Sadie Hawkins dance in eighth grade. But even the most vivid memories fade with time. Permanent hearing damage will make this moment last forever. I’ve enlisted a Lexus LC500 convertible with its soulful 5.0-liter V-8 and a Chevy Corvette sprayed in radioactive-yellow paint that’s nearly as loud as its 6.2-liter V-8. Using two naturally aspirated V-8s bolted into cars with roofs that open, I’d turn the final throes of internal combustion into an unholy external racket. We’re going to need a tunnel. I split my gallon of 93 octane between the cars in the shadow of Detroit’s Michigan Central Station. The plan…

Differentiating Phase 2019 TESLA MODEL 3 ARRIVAL: OCTOBER 2019 MILES: 17,132 OBSERVED MPGE: 82 Seeing 20 software updates in a span of 11 months, our car has gained horsepower and performance and sprouted new features such as Sentry mode, which is a security system that uses the 3’s cameras to record activity outside the car when it is parked. In the mechanical realm, we got a new rear-motor assembly under warranty after a short in the rear inverter left us stranded. We’re still waiting for the promised full self-driving option that we paid $6000 for, but in April, the Autopilot driver-assist feature got a significant upgrade, and now the car automatically halts at stop signs and traffic lights—even, unhelpfully, when they’re green. In addition to being the only automaker whose…

1940–42 Chrysler Windsor Highlander & New Yorker Highlander In the early ’40s, Chrysler offered its six- and eight-cylinder cars in a Highlander trim, which featured moleskin leather seats with tartan inserts. Unfortunately, Toyota didn’t get the memo about the patterned interior when it co-opted this name for its SUV. 1955–61 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Just like the spectacular Mercedes W196 Grand Prix racer and 300SLR endurance machine, the famous gullwing 300SL had checkered upholstery. For those of you who recoil at the sight of plaid seats, the pattern didn’t seem to bother Fangio and Moss. Benz sells the SL’s fabric now, should you want to make a bedspread or a sport coat. 1975–76 Cadillac Calais Cadillac dabbled in plaids in the ’70s. Cloth-seat versions of the entry-level Calais came with Morgan plaid and vinyl…

The sight of a full-size adult driving the Baby II makes the three-fourths-scale Bugatti Type 35 look like a toy, but it’s not. “According to the EU, it’s too fast to be classified as a toy,” says Ben Hedley, CEO of the Little Car Company, which created the electric Baby II in collaboration with Bugatti. As the name suggests, this isn’t the first time that Bugatti has gone after the affluent Power Wheels shopper. In 1926, company founder Ettore Bugatti created a half-scale Type 35 for his youngest son, which led to a run of about 500 total. Dubbed “Bebe,” this tyke-size car cost 5000 francs when new, making it as expensive as many cars of the period. The new Baby starts at $35,500, and the base model comes with…

There are generally two ways of using pies as economic metaphors. In the first, the pie is growing, so there’ll be enough for everyone, and you can achieve your business and financial goals just by going along for the ride. In the second, the pie is as big as it’s going to get, and the only way to succeed is to take more of it for yourself. However, automotive executives in charge of crossover development are now operating on a third paradigm: the idea that new pies can be baked at will. The 2020 Buick Encore GX is a slice of the freshly baked luxury-subcompact-crossover pie, and it’s wedged between other pieces like the Lexus NX and Volvo XC40. This crossover shares its name with the tiny Encore, but it’s…