Innehållsförteckning för July/August 2022 från Car and Driver

A few years ago, Hyundai foretold its future: sleek and electric, with design cues pulled from classic and modern inspiration. That was the Prophecy concept, first shown in March 2020. As with all augury, there’s room for interpretation. But our first look at the Ioniq 6, the production car based on the concept, reveals a smooth sedan that clearly references both retro and futuristic influences. The Ioniq 6 follows the Toyota Prius–like Ioniq and the Ioniq 5, an SUV with Atari charm. The Ioniq 6 has a lot to live up to, as both the 5 and the Prophecy concept garnered rave reviews. All Ioniq models ride on the Hyundai E-GMP dedicated electric platform, shared with the Kia EV6 and the Genesis GV60. To give the Ioniq 6 a distinctive…

IT’S ALMOST TOO SIMPLE. Automakers are sprinting full speed ahead toward electric vehicles, and they need offerings that people want to buy. So why not take the bestselling vehicle—the Ford F-150—and make it an EV? Bingo. Some 200,000 people have queued up to buy Ford’s electric pickup, before they could even see one up close or drive it. That’s 10 times the initial annual volume Ford was planning for the Lightning. After multiple expansions to its plant in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford will eventually be able to build 150,000 a year. Are F-150 buyers ready to make the switch to electric? Not exactly, as more than half of reservation holders have never owned a Ford vehicle. These folks won’t appreciate how F-150-familiar the Lightning feels. All Lightnings have the F-150’s generous…

WE’D LIKE TO HELP YOU HAVE MORE FUN. If you have $60,000 to spend on a performance car, you’re clearly looking to smile more. This comparison test is designed to find what sparks joy. Fortunately, the performance cars at this price point are all grin machines. The Nissan Z is the newest entertainer in the segment, and its launch is one of the most anticipated of the year. In addition to its 400hp twinturbo V6, manual gearbox, and tidy size, the Z is priced right. A 2023 Nissan Z Performance starts at $51,015 without options, which are limited to paint and a few skippable trifles. Our Passion Red test car sits at $53,610. Toyota’s GR Supra is the Z’s most obvious competitor. The Supra 3.0 comes with a 382hp turbocharged…

THE VIEW OUT MY EIGHTH-FLOOR HOTEL WINDOW in Warsaw hit the Cold War kid in me. Barren trees lining the empty street, yellow sodium lights and LEDs illuminating the early-spring snow—it looked like something out of a spy film. I was there waiting for a phone call that would be my signal to drive boxes of mysterious goods into a country at war. I could almost feel the ghost of Robert Ludlum. I wasn’t supposed to be in Poland; I was supposed to be on vacation in Provincetown, Massachusetts. But en route, I was diverted by a text from my friend Krista Barnes, who asked: “Can you go to Poland for three days to drop donations, all paid?” That unusual message makes a bit more sense if you know that…

Highs: Eager handling, hatchback practicality, available manual transmission. Lows: No summer-tire option, lacks refinement, price premium over Civic is hard to justify. Whatever pops into your noggin when someone says “Acura Integra” will definitely color your take on the new one. For the nostalgic, this version may seem like a disappointing follow-up to past generations so revered by enthusiasts. As a near member of the Honda Civic family, the Integra is a pricey way to combine the Civic’s best elements—the engine from the Si, the six-speed manual, and the hatchback. Measured against German entry-luxury models such as the Audi A3 and the Mercedes-Benz CLA, this Acura is a less expensive alternative with a little less prestige. It all sounds rather ambitious for the successor to the unassuming ILX. But Acura…

A Maserati SUV doesn’t seem so crazy anymore. Following the success of the Levante, Maserati is introducing its second SUV, the Grecale, a smaller ute whose trident is pointed directly at the Porsche Macan. Designwise, the Grecale is handsome, if not especially original, and looks like a tall, elegant hatchback. The interior, which is adult habitable front and back, impresses with stitched leather on the dash, metal speaker grilles, and a round digital clock with a reconfigurable face. Dual touchscreens control most functions, and the user interface works well. The push-button transmission is just like an early-’60s Chrysler’s, except Grandpa’s Newport didn’t have the Grecale’s shift paddles. Built on the Giorgio platform, which also underpins Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio and Giulia, the Grecale offers three engines. A turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four with…

Did I miss something [“Money Shot,” April 2022]? How long does it take to fully charge a Lucid Air from about 10 to 90 percent on different chargers? How about a fill-up? —Jay Wright, Sacramento, CA For the Lucid Air, taking the battery from 10 to 90 percent on one of Electrify America’s highest-output (350 kW) Level 3 units took 46 minutes. Charging instead on the fastest 240-volt Level 2 hookup, the Lucid Air would need just over five hours to bring it to the same state of charge. On a standard 120-volt household outlet (Level 1), it would be about four days. Answering the fill-up question is more complex. As a battery’s state of charge nears 100 percent, the electronics throttle the charging rate to protect the battery from…

Imagine the day when your car recognizes early signs of dementia or hypertension. Or when vehicle sensors can detect heart anomalies. It’s not such a far-fetched idea, according to John Lenneman, PhD, a scientist who works on an initiative called My Car the Doctor, a joint effort between Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. While these technologies will not create a diagnosis, they can gather data to send to your digital wearables, capturing information through sensors, cameras, and more, as well as monitor driving behavior for abnormalities in pedal use or speed control. Such innovations are likely to become more common and take on particular significance as the world is aging at dramatic rates. It is projected that one in five Americans will be…

TO SHAKE DOWN WHAT WE CONSIDER THE FIRST AFFORDABLE PERFORMANCE SUV, WE MAKE A TRIP TO THE CHEROHALA SKYWAY. ON THE CHEROHALA SKYWAY, sometimes the corners go on for so long, it feels like you’re driving up the side of a spiral ham. There are no gas stations, no convenience stores, and no apparent reasons for this 43-mile ribbon of pavement to exist. It connects Tellico Plains, Tennessee, with Robbinsville, North Carolina, two places that their own residents might admit never needed connecting. They weren’t until 1996, when the skyway was completed after 34 years of construction that cost about $100 million. The whole thing actually started with a joke in the late ’50s, when a Kiwanis Club organized a wagon train across the mountains. But you know how jokes…

SERVICE Dealer Visits • Scheduled ............................... 8 • Unscheduled ............................ 1 Days out of Service ................... 0 Unscheduled Oil Additions ............................... 0 qt Damage and Destruction ............................. $0 LIFE EXPECTANCIES Tires ....................... 55,000 miles Brake Pads • Front ... more than 100,000 miles • Rear ... more than 100,000 miles WHAT BITS AND PIECES COST Headlamp ........................... $1337 Engine Air Filter .................... $34 Oil Filter .................................. $8 Wheel ................................... $736 Tire ...................................... $263 Wiper Blades, F/R .......... $40/$30 Front Brake Pads ................. $146 Carry-on Cases SERVICE TIMELINE May 26, 2021 373 miles Long-term test begins. June 3, 2021 938 miles Took to dealer because driver’s-side door wouldn’t automatically close. Dealer discovered an unseated weather seal. $0 June 12, 2021 5026 miles Took to dealer for 5000-mile service. $0 July 22,…

Highs: Nearly as quick as the automatic, fantastic to drive. Lows: Brutally stiff ride, the quickest has yet to arrive. Tucked away in a lab are Porsche scientists capable of splitting hairs beyond a nanometer. Or so we think. How else could a team develop so many variants of a single car? If the 911 Carrera S isn’t enough but the GT3 is out of reach, split the difference with the new 911 Carrera GTS. The $138,050 Carrera GTS follows the usual formula: Standard equipment includes the sporty options on the Carrera S, such as a 0.4-inch-lower sport suspension, a louder exhaust, and the Sport Chrono package’s dynamic engine mounts, Sport Plus mode, and launch control. To separate itself from the lesser model, the GTS also receives helper springs on…

Highs: S-luxe cabin, traditional style, athletic responses. Lows: Firm ride, touchy-feely controls, mute steering. Mercedes-Benz’s new EVs might be stealing the spotlight, but the brand hasn’t forgotten its long-standing models like the C-class sedan. New from grille to trunklid, the latest C presents as a junior S-class. Unlike the brand’s arc-shaped, cab-forward EVs and the transverse-engine A- and CLA-class four-doors, the C-class, like the big S-class, plays up its long hood and extended rear overhang to a traditionally elegant cab-rearward effect. Under the hood of the C300 is a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine with 48-volt hybrid assist. The hybrid system can’t propel the car on its own, but it will supply 20 ponies and 148 pound-feet in short bursts, helping mask turbo lag. Paired with a nine-speed automatic, the inline-four makes…

2005 Toyota buys an 8.7 percent stake in Subaru parent company Fuji Heavy Industries from General Motors. 2007 Subaru starts building the Toyota Camry at its plant in Lafayette, Indiana. (The contract continued until 2016, when Toyota’s factory in Georgetown, Kentucky, absorbed the production.) 2008 Toyota ups its stake in Subaru to 16.5 percent. 2012 Production begins on the 2013 Subaru BRZ and its Toyota counterpart, sold stateside as the Scion FR-S. Subaru handled manufacturing and much of the engineering, including the flatfour engine, while the design was Toyota’s. 2017 Subaru joins a Toyotaled project to develop EV technology, including platforms and batteries. 2018 Subaru introduces the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid, which uses Toyota’s plug-in-hybrid system. 2019 Toyota’s stake in Subaru increases to around 20 percent. 2021 The brands introduce the…

We’re still in the early days of the ramp-up to EVs taking over, and the technology is in flux. With time, automakers gain confidence to push battery packs harder, upping their power output, using more of their available energy, and charging them faster. Comparing the F-150 Lightning with the Mustang Mach-E that launched just a year earlier shows noteworthy improvements. Above an 80 percent state of charge, the Lightning charges about three times faster than the Mach-E 4X, whose charging rate slows to a trickle. And the Mach-E GT can’t make full power for the entirety of a quarter-mile pass, allowing the nearly one-ton-heavier Lightning to run an identical time. We expect subsequent EVs to show continued gains.…

Our steed for the Ukrainian mission was a Romanian Dacia Jogger. Its marketplace calling cards are seven-passenger seating capacity and bargain pricing, but as a supply hauler, it proved to be a fine ride. Its inline-three throws out 90 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque. Low numbers, but enough to get up to speed and stay there, provided you’re patient enough for a roughly 12-second dash to 60 mph. This Dacia is our kind of car: It offers only an easy-shifting six-speed manual. Sitting on the same platform as the Renault Clio 5 and the old Nissan Juke, the Jogger exhibits gratifying poise and encouraging reflexes. Dacia designers included just enough flourishes to bestow presence, especially in our car’s Terracotta Brown Metallic. Inside, nothing looked or felt cheap. The Jogger…

Highs: Hyperscreen lives up to the hype, cavernous cargo hold, quiet cabin. Lows: Dimwitted brake pedal, limited rear-seat headroom, exceptionally heavy. Perhaps Mercedes should rename its EQ subbrand IQ, because the 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS580 feels as if it were developed to appeal to individuals with the emotional quotient of Mark Zuckerberg and the intelligence quotient of Albert Einstein. Although its two electric motors (one at each axle) produce a healthy 516 horsepower, the all-wheel-drive EQS580 is an aloof machine that offers minimal engagement when driven vigorously. All of that grunt pushed the EQS580 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and rocketed it from 30 to 50 mph in 1.5 ticks. But a 489-hp Tesla Model S Long Range Plus hit these same marks in 3.5 and 1.4 seconds, respectively. Blame…

Highs: Spacious interior, adept around town, strong passing performance Lows: High as-tested price, competitors recharge faster, a $40,000 car with a $20,000 car’s interior The Chevy Bolt EUV is running late. Battery fires and a subsequent recall halted production and stopped sales, but now the slightly larger version of the Bolt EV is hitting dealer lots again. With 6.3 inches more length and 2.9 inches more wheelbase than the regular Bolt, the EUV offers surprising rear legroom. Aft of the rear seats, the EUV takes six carry-on bags, one more than the regular Bolt. Width is barely changed, so the cabin seems narrow, and the flat seats’ lack of cushioning had the plastic seat base poking our thighs. Despite its larger size, the EUV is nimble around town. The steering…

If the Mazda MX-5 Miata and the Toyota GR86 were on the show Finding Your Roots, both would trace their ancestry back to wispy midcentury European roadsters. Over the decades, many of those Old World sports cars died out or evolved into bigger and more complex things, leaving only Mazda and Toyota (and Subaru, maker of the GR86’s twin, the BRZ) building basic, pared-down, inexpensive sports cars that deliver old-school fun. If that’s what you’re after, your search starts and ends here. The GR86—substitute the BRZ if you prefer Subarus—and the Miata are the only remaining descendants on the affordable branch of the rear-wheel-drive sports-car family tree. Each is a hoot to drive, but which one is the better starter sports car? To find out, we corralled the most aggressive…