First Drives

I could feel it within seconds. The high eyeline. The hefty steering. How the body keeled around corners; the redesigned 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 drives like a proper SUV. “Sport Utility Vehicle” is a somewhat ambiguous term these days, but my time in the 2021 GLA 250 showed that it fits that category more convincingly than its predecessor. In its transformation from that tall-ish hatchback, it lost some fun-to-drive attitude, but what it gained is a refined, authoritative demeanor that feels bigger than its subcompact sizing suggests. How Big Is the New Mercedes GLA 250? The dimensional changes indicate its mission. Most significant is height, a full 3.6 inches taller than before. Width increases by 1.2 inches, with 1.8 inches of track added front and rear. The wheelbase is ...

This is more than just a casual midcycle refresh of Bentley’s strong-selling SUV: Every single exterior panel of the 2021 Bentley Bentayga, apart from the roof and the doors, is new. So, too, is the infotainment system and all the switchgear and vents at the center of the dash. And although a quick read of the spec sheet suggests much of the hardware is carried over, our first drive of the 2021 Bentley Bentayga V8 reveals an SUV that feels subtly refined and improved throughout. The 542-hp V-8 is the first of what will be a three-model Bentayga lineup revised and refreshed for the 2021 model year. It will be joined in the first quarter of 2021 by the top-of-the-range, 627-hp, 12-cylinder Bentayga Speed, and in the second quarter by the Bentayga Hybrid, whose PHEV powertrain comprises a 335...

Close your eyes and concentrate on the word “targa.” What does your mind’s eye see? Something with a Porsche badge on the hood, I’m guessing. For me—probably because I own a $500 one—my brain locks onto the Porsche 914. However, I’d guess that for most car-lovers out there, an old (though still lovely) Porsche 911 Targa leaps to mind. Maybe even a soft-window one from 1967. Point is, you think Porsche, even though (almost) every Corvette coupe since 1984 sports a targa roof. Out of the dozens of targa-roofed cars (targa just means a roof panel that pops off while the B-pillars stay put) that have been built—we’re talking everything from the Suzuki Cappuccino to the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse—Porsche was lucky and/or smart enough to copyright the word “Targa” back in 1965. Ironicall...

The 2021 Mercedes-Benz E 450 4Matic Cabriolet isn’t scheduled to arrive in America until later this year, but it already looks like a future classic. Sources in Stuttgart have confirmed what Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Nicholas Speeks told American dealers in June: The convertible E-Class will be axed in the next three or four years—along with its coupe cousin and two-door versions of the S- and C-Class—as Daimler moves to trim its current 45-model lineup. The beancounters have looked at the sales trends and concluded the world has fallen out of love with sedan-based convertibles. The Mercedes-Benz E 450 4Matic Cabriolet shares its 362-hp, 369-lb-ft mild hybrid I-6 powertrain, nine-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel-drive system with the 2021 E 450 4Matic sedan. It also shares the new, ...

There’s something wonderfully calming about driving the 2021 Mercedes-Benz E 450 4Matic sedan. The world outside might be going to hell in a handbasket, but here, in the cabin of the car that in many ways still defines the Mercedes-Benz brand, is a continuity that soothes the soul. Sure, there’s way more visual bling than there used to be—the engineers that created the Bauhausian W124 E-Class in the 1980s would be aghast at the glittery decoration adorning its 21st century successor, inside and out. But they would recognize the effortless competence of its powertrain, the studied confidence of its chassis, and the quiet efficiency with which its technology lends the driver a helping hand. The E 450 4Matic is top dog in a four-model lineup of the face-lifted W213 E-Class Mercedes-Benz sched...

The 2021 Aston Martin DBX is the first SUV in the storied British automaker’s 107-year history. Daimler supplied the engine, the transmission, and the electrical architecture, but the rest of the DBX—the all-aluminum body structure, the anti-roll air suspension, the roomy and practical interior—has all been engineered and executed in-house. Now here’s the thing: This off-road Aston isn’t just a great first-time effort for an automaker that’s never designed and developed an SUV before. It’s great, period. The Aston Martin DBX sets a new benchmark for luxury performance SUVs right out of the box. Range Rover, Porsche, Bentley, even Lamborghini: You’re on notice. This $192,986 Aston Martin SUV delivers a bewitching blend of performance, luxury, capability, and sheer driving enjoyment. How Fas...

Remember sedans? They’re not dead yet, though you’d be forgiven for thinking so considering what’s parked on your street. With more people making the switch to SUVs every year, some automakers have given up on sedans entirely. Hyundai isn’t one of them, and it’s betting that making the 2020 Hyundai Sonata sexy, comfortable, and effortless will convince you not to defect. The way Hyundai tells it, the last Sonata was great but dull. This is, Hyundai says, because they were chasing best- in-class interior space at the expense of design. Believe that if you want, but now they say that’s not enough. SUVs of equal footprint have more space by nature, so they need something else to pull you in. The new strategy embraces the fact that a car purchase is more often an emotional one than a coldly lo...

As the number of SUV derivatives continues to explode, we find ourselves considering new models that slice  the segment ever thinner. High-performance SUVs have been a thing for years now, and sloped-roof SUV “coupes” are becoming a thing, whether we like it or not. Now, the Italians have—inadvertently, I fear—invented yet another SUV subclass with the 2020 Maserati Levante Trofeo: the SUV GT. Readers will be familiar with grand touring cars, or GTs, which are big, comfortable coupes and sedans with equally big engines designed to transport the well-heeled owner across continents as quickly as decorum allows. Fast as they may be, they’re not sports cars per se (though they do generally handle well). Their suspensions are softer, all the better to soak up rough roads and float down the high...

I still remember how I felt the first time I saw a Maserati GranTurismo. I was wandering through a Maserati dealership while my dad got his Jaguar XJ8 serviced on the adjacent lot. It was then, at the ripe young age of 15, that I first laid eyes on what is still—in my humble opinion—one of the most beautiful automobiles of the last 20 years, perhaps ever. After circling it a few times, I let myself inside; the dealer had, perhaps unwisely, left the showroom model unlocked. That Alcantara-clad bucket seat, the fine leather almost everywhere, and the expansive view over a never-ending hood swept me off my size-9 slip-on Vans. It was love at first sight, and I silently swore to myself one day I would, at the very least, drive this very Maserati. At the time, the goal seemed rather lofty. I wa...

Kia is on a roll. It was just last year the automaker launched the all-new Telluride and a new Soul. This year, the all-new Seltos arrived in February, and now the K5 is landing in America. But these are not just any launches; the superior design, quality, and attention to detail in these new Kias stand out. The Telluride became the first Korean crossover to win MotorTrend‘s SUV of the Year, and the charming Soul went pretty far in our Car of the Year evaluations, getting a respectable third place behind the Chevrolet Corvette and Tesla Model 3. The 2021 Kia K5 is hoping to get the same kind of attention, and with its aggressive styling, two powertrain offerings, and the latest technology, it’s making some buzz. The K5 replaces the Optima as Kia’s midsize sedan. Executive...

As the gray metallic 2020 Volvo V60 Polestar Engineered ticked, cooling in the SoCal air behind me, I couldn’t help but wonder, “What is a Polestar, anyway?” You have a right to be confused. Volvo, and its parent company Geely, have spent just enough money to make the general public reasonably aware that Polestar is the name of its new electric vehicle brand. But Polestar also has a two-decade history of developing stonking-fast variants of existing Volvo internal combustion cars in racetrack and street-legal forms. Volvo bought the Polestar racing division in 2016, then quickly made it the symbol for EV development and sales with the Polestar 1 and upcoming Polestar 2. What’s a Polestar? See all 31 photos And yet, Volvo still builds Polestar variants of its interna...

AMG all the things! Mercedes-Benz product planners have been in the grip of AMG mania for the best part of a decade now. Once, the storied AMG badge was only applied to a handful of suitably enhanced Mercedes vehicles. Now it seems almost anything with the three-pointed star is a candidate for an AMG makeover: more horsepower, more noise, stiffer suspension, bigger wheels and tires, all served with a soupçon of menace and carbon fiber. It’s proven a highly successful formula, with premium-priced AMG models now accounting for 12 percent of all U.S. Mercedes sales. But the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 proves that buying the badge doesn’t necessarily mean you’re buying a better Benz. The GLA 35 is, of course, being pitched as the hot version of the redesigned 2021 GLA 250 and 25...