Innehållsförteckning för September/October 2025 från Car and Driver

hen it comes to raw performance, particularly in a straight line, the internal-combustion engine has already lost the battle with the silent-but-deadly electric motor. But to some, us included, the experience also matters, often more than the numbers. And Lamborghini tells us that’s what it keeps hearing from its customers who say that engine sound ranks in the top three critical attributes they want in a sports car. So, while a Lambo EV will no doubt happen at some point, it’s not on the immediate horizon. Instead, the company just spent a pile of money developing an all-new twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 for the Temerario, which has big contact patches to fill, as it’s replacing the Huracán, the company’s most successful sports car ever. The Temerario’s engine makes 789 horsepower and…

Cadillac Escalade IQ HIGHS: Undeniable visual presence, genuine interior finery, 380-mile real-world highway range. LOWS: Outsize mass, surprisingly cramped third row, long stopping distance. WHY DOES A MOOSE SEEM so unaccountably large? Even if you’ve seen a moose on video, a real-life encounter is likely to begin with “Wow, that thing’s huge.” Sure, a moose is big, but so are elephants and bison, and they look as imposing as one would expect. The key to the moose’s astonishing presence is in the proportions. Something about the way moose are built makes every sighting a revelation. So it is with the Cadillac Escalade IQ. With the air springs in their normal position, the big electric rig is only about a half-inch taller and 1.2 inches wider than a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with…

Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD HIGHS: Solid EPA range, great visibility, nicer interior. LOWS: Too much touchscreen, ergonomic oddities, firm ride. EVEN WITH ELECTRICS JUST a fraction of the U.S. market, the Tesla Model Y was the world’s bestselling car in 2023 (the Toyota RAV4 just barely eclipsed it in 2024). That’s remarkable, but with new EV rivals pouring in, the Model Y, still Tesla’s top seller, receives a batch of updates. Tesla freshened the design with new lights and styling front and rear. The Model Y retains excellent forward sightlines, and rear-seat room is massive for an SUV of this size. Newer, nicer, more upscale materials complement the stark simplicity of a door-to-door horizontal dash shelf with a single touchscreen and nearly no buttons or knobs. There’s still a…

HERE WAS GREAT LAMENTATION in the office when we discovered that the World’s Largest Horseshoe Crab was no more. “Crabbie” had been dismantled and moved from its home in nearby Hillsboro, Ohio, just weeks before our proposed excursion to see it. Rumors say it’s gone to Alabama, perhaps to find a giant mate—horseshoe crabs being rare in saltwater-free Ohio. Not rare in Ohio are other attractions claiming to be the world’s largest. There are more than a dozen stops in the Buckeye State that brag of their bigness. As we crossed the state line from Michigan in six of today’s roomiest full-size SUVs, we were only a Guinness adjudicator short of claiming World’s Largest Large-Vehicle Comparison. Like the oversize objects that lure families (and Car and Driver editors) off the…

Time to Re-Tire Ford Maverick Lobo HIGHS: Raucous Lobo mode, shrewd parts-bin upgrades, rad (standard) wheels. LOWS: Not so sporty in other modes, no extra horsepower, would be a lot cooler if it had a grippier tire. IN THE MOVIE DAZED AND CONFUSED, Matthew McConaughey’s Wooderson brags about his Chevelle’s 390 horsepower—“Let me tell you what Melba Toast is packing right here”—only to be summarily dismissed by Trans Am–driving tough guy Clint. “You gotta get some tires,” Clint says. “These are pizza cutters, man.” He meant that figuratively, but the 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo’s standard Turbofan wheels look like literal pizza cutters [see page 78], and its all-season tires offer about as much grip. The Lobo has a lot of the right ingredients for on-pavement fun, but Melba Toast needs a…

Honda Passport TrailSport HIGHS: Tons of room, quiet cabin, pleasant ride. LOWS: Calling it slow is overselling, a lot heavier than before, practical isn’t exciting. THE MID-SIZE SUV HAS DEEP appeal, but it’s not the emotional kind. The segment is vast and popular because the vehicles are practical. The Honda Passport is every bit as practical as its competition, but it is more than simply a carryall. It starts with the handling. Steering inputs are crisp, and while the Passport doesn’t take to curves like a car—lateral grip for our Trail-Sport model maxes out at 0.80 g—it certainly isn’t clumsy or trucklike either. The standard all-wheel-drive system includes a torque-vectoring rear differential to maximize available traction. The family-biased ride is comfortable, and Honda claims the body is stiffer—50 percent so, and…

ZORA, ZORA, ZR1X! You knew there was room above the ZR1. We knew there was room above the ZR1. Now we know exactly how much. The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X is here to rain all over the hypercar parade with a heapin’ helpin’ of e-motivation. The formula starts with the ZR1’s LT7 twin-turbocharged V-8 and throws in a beefed-up version of the Corvette E-Ray’s hybrid system that adds an electric motor up front. The result is 1250 horsepower, with the overwhelming majority sent rearward. Chevy claims a sub-nine-second quarter-mile, which means your local drag-strip official will have an aneurysm every time one of these things rolls up. The ZR1X also gets the J59 package, with 16.5-inch carbon-ceramic rotors at all four corners, 10-piston front calipers, and six-piston rears. If this isn’t…

IN THE UNITED STATES, affordable automobiles are right there with the red wolf, California condor, and black-footed ferret on the endangered-species list. Just two dozen of the hundreds of new car, truck, van, and SUV models for 2025 sticker for less than $27,000. Not one is a pickup or an electric vehicle. Upstart automaker Slate aims to fill those voids with its Truck, a battery-powered pickup boasting a starting price that we estimate will be around $25,000. With failure rates for EV startups rivaling those of the romantic relationships coming out of the reality show Love Island USA, the odds are stacked against Slate. Don’t write off the fledgling brand just yet, though. Unlike nascent EV automakers that have gone belly-up, Slate has more than just a concept of a plan…

BMW M235 xDrive Gran Coupe HIGHS: Potent turbo four, sharp handling, tech-intensive interior. LOWS: Oxcart ride, low-speed transmission lumpiness, buying this instead of a 3-series. THE 2-SERIES SEDAN serves as BMW’s starter series. The four-door Gran Coupe uses a transverse-engine, front-wheel-drive layout shared with Mini, while the two-door 2-series (an actual coupe) has a traditional longitudinal-engine, rear-wheel-drive format. Can a dose of M help the Gran Coupe fend off impostor syndrome? The new all-wheel-drive M235 has the stats to go against rivals such as the Acura Integra Type S and the Audi S3. Its fizzy, potent powertrain makes 312 horsepower, 11 more than last year. The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission snaps off downshifts, and the high-strung 2.0-liter engine whooshes the M235 forward on a turbo-fed wave of torque. The car rips to…

Lucid Gravity Dream Edition HIGHS: Three roomy rows of seats, Corvette Z06–level acceleration, more fun to drive than other three-row EVs. LOWS: A few rough edges, lower-spec variants will be better values. A SEDAN-ONLY LINEUP IS NOT viable these days, so fledgling EV maker Lucid Motors is introducing the Gravity SUV as a follow-up to its excellent Air sedan. The Gravity’s lozenge form factor is almost minivan-like, but the slippery shape is great for efficiency and range. While this limited-edition Dream model’s summer tires reduce its EPA estimate to 378 miles, an all-seasons-shod Grand Touring version can carry a rating of up to 450 miles. Despite the Gravity’s low roof, deft packaging makes for a sprawling second row and a third row that’s comfortable even for six-plus-footers. The seat cushions are…

IN MY LIFE, I’ve clapped eyes on exactly two Fiat Dinos in the flesh. The first was at the 1969 Can-Am race at Mid-Ohio. That’s where Formula 1 driver Jo Siffert arrived in a gunmetal Dino Spider and kindly said hello to 17-year-old me. The second was 55 years later, when John Bennett of Missoula, Montana, not only said hello to 72-year-old me but passed the keys to his personal 1967 Rosso Corsa Spider. I might have swooned, so brightly has my lust for this car burned. Dino was the nickname of Enzo Ferrari’s son Alfredo (also called Alfredino), born in 1932. He adored engines and proposed a V-6, then still something of a rebellious gesture. But Dino died in 1956, and his father was so grief-stricken that he mandated…