First Drives

Toyota Yaris Full Overview Every so often Toyota, purveyor of sensible, family-friendly SUVs, minivans, and sedans, builds a car that absolutely blows you away: The 2000GT that debuted in 1965 and was intended to take on the Jaguar E-Type; the rally-inspired Celica GT-Four of the early ’90s; the flawed but fabulous Lexus LFA with its screaming naturally aspirated V-10. The 2020 Toyota GR Yaris is without a doubt a member of this select group. In fact, it might be the best of the lot. You see, this little hot hatch, specifically designed and engineered to allow the Yaris to compete in the World Rally Championship, is perhaps the most focused driver’s car you can buy right now this side of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. First things first: The GR Yaris has nothing in common with the subco...

Ford Mustang Mach-E Full Overview My first Ford Mustang had a 4.6-liter V-8, five-speed manual, and rear-wheel drive. My next one might have two electric motors, a one-speed, and all-wheel drive. The new 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E is an all-electric, four-door, battery-powered SUV that’ll eventually have up to 480 hp and 634 lb-ft of torque. More than that, the new Mustang Mach-E is going to force the world to rethink just what it considers a Mustang. Is it a two-door performance coupe or convertible powered by internal combustion? Or is it a four-door performance SUV with the potential to beat the Tesla Model Y at its own game? ¿Por qué no los dos? I’d argue it doesn’t really matter. What does is that the 2021 Mustang Mach-E is quite good and pays appropriate homage to its...

Rolls-Royce Ghost Full Overview The British are famous for their understatement, so much so you’d believe it if I told you it was codified in common law. Rolls-Royce, the most British of British automakers, treats understatement in reference to its products with the same reverence it treats the Spirit of Ecstasy that adorns them: the utmost. Six years ago, Rolls-Royce launched the Ghost Series II, insisting it was a “subtle” update. Now it presents us with a third-generation 2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost (no “series” appellation) described by a design movement Rolls-Royce itself made up: “post opulence.” A New Sharpness for the 2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost’s Design Much as no Rolls-Royce is ever subtle, it is never unopulent, either. But the new 2021 Roll...

See the Full Model Overview Less is more. Well, maybe. In the case of the 2021 Land Rover Defender 90, less is most definitely less—17.1 inches less, to be precise. Make no mistake, the short-wheelbase version of our 2021 SUV of the Year winner is still a good thing, offering, like its longer sibling, a truly unique combination of luxurious refinement on-road and Jeep-like capability off-road. But whether less of a good thing is actually … a good thing … depends on what you’re going to do with it. The Land Rover Defender 90 is built on the same high-strength, heavy-duty D7x aluminum architecture as the Defender 110. It shares the same powertrains, transmission, suspension, brakes, wheel and tire combinations, many trim items, and a number of body panels with the 110. The family resem...

Kia Sorento Full Overview Don’t expect the new 2021 Kia Sorento to feel like a miniature version of its star sibling, the Telluride. Once you get to know the Sorento, you’ll understand. The three-row Sorento bursts out of the Telluride’s shadow with a more chiseled look than before, a surprising driving experience, and the ability to compete across three segments. Yes, three. Really. Segment-straddling versatility isn’t new territory for the Sorento; the 2021 model simply presents a more effective case for itself. That’s because there’s more of almost everything (except length). Kia stuffs the slightly wider Sorento with more standard safety tech, more power from the base engine, more efficiency in every configuration, more engine options, more interior ...

Ford Bronco Sport Full Overview Ford has clearly designed the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport to be the king of the compact, mass-market, crossover-based, rock-climbers hill. And indeed, a fully kitted-out Badlands model appears as though it may have what it takes to leave its Jeep Renegade and Compass Trailhawk competitors on the unflattering end of a winch. But the majority of Renegade and Compass buyers don’t spring for a Trailhawk, and the same is likely to be true of Bronco Sport Badlands models. So just how livable is that turbocharged 1.5-liter three-banger that “powers” most Bronco Sports? 2021 Ford Bronco Sport 1.5T: Acceleration Domination? Perhaps the most direct comparison is with the Renegade, which also gets a turbocharged three-cylinder—a 1.3-liter unit that current...

Ford Bronco Sport Full Overview “If it were me out here wheeling with our crew,” I said to the Ford employees perched on the hillside beside me, “I wouldn’t have even tried that with a stock crossover.” I wasn’t stroking any egos; I meant it. I’ve brought enough trucks and SUVs back with body damage (or worse) to know which obstacles are asking for trouble. Two hours into wheeling the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport up a reasonably tough trail and already seriously impressed with what the little rig could do, I still wouldn’t have bothered with that obstacle. The initial approach was steep enough to effectively be a stair step. The gully it was in was narrow enough that the only driving line was to take it head-on, straddling the deep, V-shaped ditch ...

Dodge Durango Full Overview In September, we compared the hottest performing SUVs from BMW, Maserati, Mercedes, and Porsche, the winner of which earned a spot in our 2021 Best Driver’s Car competition. Sadly, the 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat is arriving just a few months too late to market to have joined that competition, so we’ll have to wait another year or so to learn whether it can improve on the fifth-of-five finishing order its Hellcat-powered Jeep cousin achieved in 2018’s Best Driver’s Car SUV play-in. The three-row Durango weighs some 200 pounds more than the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, but it makes a touch more power and benefits from three years of development and improvements. To help us place the new Durango SRT Hellcat within the pantheon of über-...

Porsche 911 Full Overview There’s the merest hint of a twitch, caught instantly with the tiniest flick of the wrists. Andy Preuninger keeps his foot down. The corner opens onto a short straight running between trees with hints of the red and gold and brown of autumn among the green. The tach needle swings past 8,000 rpm, a steely manic snarl behind us as Preuninger reaches for the shifter on the center console and plucks the next gear. “A Porsche 911 GT3 is like a human being,” he says, watching like a hawk for damp patches on the tarmac. “It likes warmth. It likes operating in the same temperatures we do, 15 to 25 degrees centigrade. When the dampers and the tires are cold it communicates that it’s not happy.” Andreas Preuninger’s anthropomorphism...

Hyundai surprised the world with the Veloster N a couple of years ago. Not only was the hot hatch a hot rod version of the Veloster R-Spec, it was specifically developed by Albert Biermann, the former big boss behind BMW’s M division. As we experienced on the Nürburgring and the Autobahn, the Veloster N is a different type of machine, combining 275 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque, a limited-slip differential, sport-tuned suspension, and larger brakes. The Korean brand is now applying that same formula to a four-door sedan: the Hyundai Elantra N, arriving in the U.S. next year. The Elantra N should not be confused with the N Line. The N serves as the pinnacle of performance in Hyundai’s world, while the N Line is tamer but still sportier than the regular car. Think of the Elantra N Line as the C...

Even though almost 30 different models comprise today’s Mercedes-Benz portfolio in the U.S., the launch of an all-new S-Class is still a defining moment for Germany’s most successful premium automaker. Mercedes SUVs, particularly the GLE and GLC families, might today be the brand’s volume sellers, but an S-Class is still intended to be nothing less than a statement of engineering excellence and technical expertise that underpins the very credibility of the three-pointed star. The mission statement for the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is thus crystal clear. The 2021 S-Class, codenamed W223, is built on a new platform known internally as MRA2. Effectively an evolution of the current car’s underpinnings, MRA2 has been reworked to package a new rear-steer axle and a large...

When we reviewed the 202o Lexus IS just a few months ago, we lamented how far it has fallen behind the curve. Rivals offered a superior drive experience and more modern interiors compared to the tech-deficient Lexus. Finally, for the new model year, the 2021 Lexus IS receives a thorough update, though not a complete redesign. Are the changes enough to help the compact sport sedan catch up to its competition? By targeting young, performance-minded buyers, Lexus is putting a heavy emphasis on the F Sport line. Almost half of its IS cars will be F Sports, Lexus anticipates. Previously, the F Sport was available on the lower-output IS 300, but for 2021, it can only be had on the top-tuned IS 350, rated at 311 hp. In fact, all 2021 IS 350 models will bear the F Sport moniker. The 350 has always...