Car Reviews
2021 Mercedes-AMG GT43 4-Door First Test: Pretensions of Performance
Brand purity and authenticity seem to be in peril. At least in the auto industry. Some examples stand out as being notably egregious: Four-door cars are widely being labeled as coupes; signature design elements, such as BMW’s Hofmeister kink and kidney grille, are losing their once traditional forms; and SUVs are morphing into lifted sedans. The AMG brand is undergoing an identity crisis, as well. Whereas it once adhered to a “one man, one engine” principle, its badge is now displayed on cars powered by mass-manufactured powerplants. The 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT43 4-Door is one such car; it looks the part of a super-sedan, but its engine’s specifications are identical to those of the Car of the Year-winning Mercedes-Benz E450, which is positioned as a lesser,...
2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 First Test: Don’t Call It Carroll
Ford Mustang Full Overview Ever since the Ford Mustang ditched its live rear axle, it’s seemed as if the Blue Oval was only interested in providing ultimate handling prowess on Shelby versions. Various “performance packs” and special editions never got it done, and you had to slide into a Shelby GT350 or GT500 to go around a corner properly. With the GT350 retired, however, the curse is broken. The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is a GT350 replacement in everything but engine and carbon-fiber wheels. Poke around the Mach 1, and you’ll find it features a grab bag of GT350 and GT350R parts and ideas, along with some items from other Mustangs. The Recaro seats should look familiar, as should the gaping void where the rear seats would go (a $250 option) in any other Must...
The Ford Ranger SVT V-8 Prototype Tested: Smoke Machine With a Bed
Ford Ranger Full Overview On the occasion of the reveal of the 2022 Ford Maverick—the first truly compact pickup truck from the company since the old Ranger was discontinued in 2011—we took a look in our archives and noticed that the 1996 Ford Ranger SVT V-8 prototype is actually out-muscled by the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost version of the new Maverick. And the V-8, rear-drive Ranger SVT had a lot of trouble getting its tires to hook up, while we assume the all-wheel-drive EcoBoost-powered Maverick will have significantly less trouble. Either way, it’s worth a look back at a fascinating compact muscle truck that never was, and to consider what the similarly-sized Maverick could bring to the table in terms of performance. Read our original first test from August 199...
2022 Kia Carnival vs. Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna: Minivan Luxury Liners
Kia Carnival Full Overview From the 1980s through the late ’90s, families and minivans went together like ketchup and French fries. That was certainly the case among my friends’ families, all of whom drove around Mexico City in white Ford Windstars. Our own green Windstar was easier to spot in our school’s pickup/drop-off line, but its sliding door, spacious interior, and carlike ride were no less perfect for our usual carpool of six. Prior to that van, we had a red Windstar and a white Chrysler Voyager, but those ended up being stolen. See, we told you minivans were popular. But the rise of two-box crossovers and SUVs led to the stigmatization of minivans as an unfashionable mom-mobiles despite off-the-charts versatility and convenience. And just like that, these careful...
2021 Ford F-250 vs. Ram 2500 HD, Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD: Gentler Giants
Ram 2500 Full Overview The heaviest loads and trailers demand a 1-ton diesel dually pickup. But those are unwieldy to maneuver, and their ride quality can be downright punishing when they’re not fully loaded. Plus, to tow more than half of those trucks’ max capacity you need a commercial driving license (CDL). Scale back your towing needs to “operator license” territory (26,000 pounds for the truck and trailer combined), and you’ll find a 3/4-ton diesel pickup with single rear wheels (SRWs) fits the bill much more comfortably. Our MotorTrend Ultimate Car Rankings already assess 1-ton diesel (350 or 3500) pickups and 3/4-ton gasoline-burners, so this 3/4-ton diesel truck comparison explores new territory. The heavy-duty Rams are currently our picks in both of t...
2022 Kia Carnival vs. 2021 Toyota Sienna: High-Spec Haulers
Kia Carnival Full Overview In theory, doing the right thing is easy. Want to lose weight? Eat fewer calories and exercise more, right? Similarly, you might be tempted to think creating the right minivan is easy, too. All you need is a big, blobby shape, lots of seats, and a couple of sliding doors, and the job’s done, right? Turns out, no. Just like dropping pounds, it’s a lot more difficult than it seems to create a well-engineered minivan. They need to handle approximately the same with one passenger as they do with seven or eight. They need to be incredibly safe (think of the children!) yet have nearly every body panel open to create a yawning portal. Plus, it would be good if the seats could go away when an owner wants to turn the soccer taxi into a Home Depot hauler. Getti...
Letting the Day Go By: A Dream Drive in a Bentley and a Rolls-Royce
A dream drive in a pair of cars from two of the world’s most prestigious automakers, Bentley and Rolls-Royce? Were the world working as usual, we’d jet to old Blighty, pick up our rides in the shadow of Big Ben, and cruise up to a hotel in an old Scottish castle with haunted rooms and a French chef. Another day in the coal mines. But the world isn’t quite back to normal, so we’re simplifying. We plan to meet in Beverly Hills, one of the country’s richest neighborhoods, then waft our way through tony Brentwood and Santa Monica to the ocean. We’ll turn up the Pacific Coast Highway and cruise 30 miles through some of America’s finest scenery before stopping for a picnic on the beach. We’ll take Route 101 up to Santa Barbara, a rather ordinary ro...
Porsche Boxster at 25: 1997* Original vs. 2021 Anniversary Edition
“Putting Porsche in the Pink.” That was the headline on a New York Times story published on January 20, 1996, detailing the German marque’s effort to turn around its finances and reinvent the way it had built cars for more than 40 years. As the newspaper pointed out, the company that produced must-have products for the upwardly mobile during the cartoonishly decadent ’80s—in 1986, North American sales exceeded 30,000 units—had reached its last gasp. Antiquated, inefficient manufacturing processes collided head-on with an economic recession and a misjudged, aging product range to result in just 3,713 sales in the same region in 1993. Threatened with bankruptcy, Porsche had to change. As the 968 and 928—the latter originally and inconceivably meant to replace the 911—...
2022 Ferrari Portofino M First Drive: The Impressionist Review
Ferrari Portofino Full Overview Imagine you’re an editor for FloralTrend, invited on a deluxe junket to Paris to experience a new species of water lily. You arrive only to discover your “experience” involves a dark room full of giant paintings of the flowers done by a mostly blind guy. All you can smell is linseed oil, and they all look blurry. The flowers themselves are just 45 miles away in Giverny, but you’re not allowed to go there. How will you accurately describe these Nymphéas to your readers? That’s the conundrum our first drive of the 2022 Ferrari Portofino M presents. We were invited to Miami with no other journalists or PR folks and allowed to freely drive the 2022 Ferrari Portofino M unchaperoned for 48 hours with two nights pre-paid at a lovely re...
Total (Car) Recalls: What They Are and How to Check if Your Car Has One
Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days—the timeless lyric from none other than Hannah Montana has helped us through more than one internal crisis, and it applies to automakers, too. Once in a while, an automotive manufacturer or one of its parts suppliers will make an error that could potentially put you in danger. Luckily, there are systems in place to right those wrongs. Tens of millions of vehicles are recalled every year in the U.S.—more than 31 million from 786 recalls in 2020 alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). We’re here to spell out why and how car recalls are issued, the cost of recall work, and how to check if there’s an active recall on your vehicle. Let’s dive in. What Is a Car Recall? In the automotive s...
2021 Honda Odyssey vs. 2021 Toyota Sienna: Familiar Foes, Clear Winner
Toyota Sienna Full Overview When the new 2021 Toyota Sienna minivan debuted last year, it was a bit of a shock that the lineup was hybrid-only. But the move makes sense: In order to differentiate itself from the rest of the minivan pack, Toyota left the traditional powertrain behind while still offering a competitive price. The Sienna is also the only minivan to offer all-wheel drive with a hybrid setup. And although the nameplate has spent most of its life aligned closely with the Honda Odyssey and Chrysler’s vans (currently the Pacifica), the hybrid-only move and bold styling set this generation farther apart. Meanwhile, the 2021 Honda Odyssey doesn’t feel as avant garde as the Sienna, but it continues to deliver on the basics that make a minivan great. The Odyssey...
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning First Ride: This Electric Truck Impresses
Ford F-150 Lightning Full Overview But now that it is time to toot its horn, Ford honks loudly. We have not only seen the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning, but MotorTrend was among the first to get a ride in some prototypes; only President Joe Biden has us beat, after having somehow negotiated a spin behind the wheel. Some of the trucks had material covering portions of the interior because surfaces are not final. Engineering-wise, these early-build trucks are still being fine-tuned, with systems in the calibration phase. But Ford assured us the drive experience is close to what customers can expect when the 2022 Ford F-150 Lighting goes on sale in May 2022. Sounds of Silence in a 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning One of the first thing Lightning drivers will notice is … silence. Even the test engineers ...
