First Tests
2021 BMW Alpina XB7 First Test: A Comfy, 612-hp Cannonball
BMW X7 Full Overview If something measuring more than 200 inches long and weighing in at nearly three tons doesn’t sound like an ideal candidate for a BMW M badge, well, you’re right. The X7 three-row SUV, BMW’s range-topping luxury SUV with an imposingly gargantuan profile, is about as spiritually far from standard-bearing BMW M sports cars like the M2 and M3 as you can get. This is where Alpina comes in—for years, Alpina has applied its own luxurious and sporty, M-adjacent treatment to various Bimmers, including those BMW’s own high-performance mavens wouldn’t touch. For years, the latter vehicles included the 7 Series and, well, that’s it. Alpina recently added the 6 Series Gran Coupe to its American lineup (the B6), however, and now the beefy X7 join...
2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross First Test: Exactly What It Needs To Be
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Full Overview Hop into the 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and the first thing you notice are a set of massive shift paddles mounted to the steering column. Huh? They look like they were taken straight out of the Lancer Evolution X from years ago, and they immediately convey a wildly specific message. It’s a message the rest of the Eclipse Cross can’t quite live up to. Paddles this huge are usually reserved for the sportiest automobiles, like Ferraris, and Lamborghinis. Or Mitsubishi Lancer Evos. Seeing them poke out from behind a small crossover’s steering wheel gives you the impression this SUV is built for serious drivers. However, the 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is not made for people who love driving, but rather for a much wider range of buye...
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...
2021 Honda CR-V Touring First Test: Still the Best
Honda CR-V Full Overview They—whoever they are—say it is difficult to be humble when you’re the best at what you do, but apparently they forgot to tell that to the 2021 Honda CR-V, the family hauler that we rate number one among compact SUVs. It’s not hard to believe that Honda would make the best compact SUV in the segment—but what exactly makes it so good? We took a refresher drive in a top-of-the-line 2021 Honda CR-V Touring with all-wheel drive and were reminded of everything we love about the CR-V. Let’s take a tour, front to back. We’ll start with the engine, a 1.5-liter turbo-four that delivers 190 family-friendly horsepower and 179 lb-ft of torque. It’s an engine we waited quite a while for: While other automakers plunged headlong into small-displaceme...
2021 Porsche 911 Targa 4S First Test: Hoop, There It Is
Porsche 911 Full Overview There are some things that should be against the law when it comes to cars. You know, like driving a 2021 Porsche 911 Targa 4S with the top up. OK, maybe we’ll allow it when driving in a thunderstorm or at temperatures below zero, but that’s about it. The reason is obvious: The Targa 4S is flat-out gorgeous when its soft top is safely stowed (after 19 seconds of mechanical gyrations). The Targa 4S is also flat-out fast when you want it to be. Simply hold down the brake, rev its twin-turbo flat-six to 5,000 rpm or so, then let off the brake and drop the hammer. Our test team was able to launch Porsche’s latest 992-series 911 Targa variant to a sizzling 3.0-second-flat 0-60-mph sprint and on to an 11.3-second quarter mile at 122.5 mph. (In case you...
2021 Mercedes-AMG GLA35 First Test: The Hot Hatch of SUVs
Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Full Overview Fast forward a few months and I found myself rolling out in the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLA35. Once again, I could feel it within seconds. Except now, it was different: This sporty subcompact crossover drives nothing like the GLA250—or much like an SUV. Familiar sights remain, like the curvaceous body and swanky, spacious cabin. Yet from behind the wheel, there’s no comparison. Even in this diet-AMG form, one level below the full-fat GLA45, the engineers in Affalterbach banished the GLA250’s slightly tippy handling and easygoing powertrain calibration. Rather, the GLA35 drives like a true performance car. As we found on the road and at the test track, it’s a seriously capable machine. But it’s so rough and aggressive that it cou...
2021 Mazda CX-30 Turbo First Test: Power Can’t Solve Everything
Mazda CX-30 Full Overview We’ve called the Mazda CX-30 lots of nice things. Stylish. Upscale. Agile. But quick? Not quite. Over thousands of miles behind the wheel, the standard CX-30’s acceleration has left us wanting more. That changes for 2021, as a turbocharged engine is added to the options list. In our first drive of the 2021 CX-30 Turbo, we found it to make the small crossover feel much swifter. It packs a punch that’s missing from the naturally aspirated engine. Now we’ve had a chance to track test the CX-30 Turbo and find out exactly how much swifter it is. The results confirm that it’s far quicker than the standard model when you stomp the go pedal. And on the road, forced induction alters the everyday experience. Yet we’re still not convinced ...
2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet First Test: Open Air Artillery
Porsche 911 Full Overview Welcome, everyone, to the quickest cabriolet we’ve ever tested. That’s right—as far as soft-tops are concerned, the 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet sits at the tippy-top of our testing data heap. We’d love to say this is the quickest aire libre rocket sled we’ve shot down the strip, but alas, Porsche’s own 918 Spyder matches the new Turbo S Cab from 0-60 mph with a disc-slipping, 2.4-second scramble. Wowza. As the 918’s roof is of the classical targa variety with a rigid, manually removable center section that must be physically stowed, we’ll crown the Turbo S Cab as the king of the soft-tops. The Turbo S Cab yanks that title away from the 2017 Porsche Turbo Cabriolet, a deliciously fitting coup—or is it cab?—we predict...
2021 Volvo XC60 Recharge T8 First Test: Hybrid Hype
Volvo XC60 Full Overview “I’ve loved being in this thing,” we heard over our shoulder as we made the trek down Highway 1 after a short weekend getaway. That comment came from our high school friend, Luke, who was riding in the back seat of the 2021 Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge. Our little trip was planned to mark a couple of occasions. One, our friend was getting married. Two, with the coronavirus pandemic finally starting to release its stranglehold on, well, everything, it was high time to take a vacation. As sedans and sports cars fade ever further out of view, and SUVs and electric vehicles lurk ever closer, the XC60 Recharge T8 serves as a happy medium between the “right now” and the “eventually.” Its mix of gasoline-electric hybrid power and unders...
2022 Kia Carnival First Test: Is this All-New MPV an MVP?
Kia Carnival Full Overview If you read our First Look review, you already know the all-new 2022 Kia Carnival is quite the looker, chock full of style and technology. You would also know that Kia considers the Carnival an MPV, not a minivan, despite its front-wheel-drive powertrain, dual sliding doors, and spacious, kid-friendly seating arrangements. Whatever you want to call it, we can confirm the Carnival is cart-stoppingly handsome; on our weekly grocery shopping trip, a young man in charge of collecting the shopping carts and a customer driving away both stopped their respective four-wheelers to ask, “Wow, what is that? Who makes it?” Sophisticated, Standout Styling The attraction? Kia’s mystifying new logo on the nose and the Carnival’s sophisticated, standout s...
2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe First Test: Who Needs the Turbo Models?
Porsche Cayenne Full Overview Just as the most expensive wine on the menu isn’t always the best choice for everyone, picking the priciest Porsche Cayenne Coupe model simply because you can isn’t the smartest choice. By track-testing five Cayennes over the last few years including the $148,150 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe you see here, we’ve learned the Turbo and Turbo S E-Hybrid models don’t actually hit the lineup’s sweet spot. Here’s what the Cayenne GTS Coupe does right and where it falls short. How Quick Is the Cayenne GTS Coupe? If you’ve gotta have a V-8, start your search with the Cayenne GTS and Cayenne GTS Coupe. The 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 under the hood produces 453 hp from 6,000-6,500 rpm and 457 lb-ft of torque from 1,800 rpm all th...
