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First Tests

2021 Toyota Camry SE First Test: Is Good Enough Good Enough?

Toyota Camry Full Overview We all know why the Toyota Camry is the default for many when they need point A to point B transportation. It’s well-priced and spacious, carries Toyota’s reputation for reliability, and has almost always ranged from decent looking to, today, actually handsome. But the midsize sedan segment has recently been shaken up. The new Kia K5 and Hyundai Sonata (among others) all represent stiffer competition than ever before, and we were left wondering: Can the refreshed-for-2021 Toyota Camry keep up with its revitalized rivals? On paper, the answer is yes. The Camry’s SE’s 2.5-liter naturally aspirated I-4 makes a healthy 203 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. That makes it the least powerful Camry on sale, but on the flip side, also gives it a ...

2021 Subaru Legacy First Test: Honest and Decent

Subaru Legacy Full Overview We rattle on about cars that go fast, crush trails, and look like—or literally cost—a million bucks. Those vehicles stir our enthusiast souls, but even though we love to drive, we aren’t every driver. The 2021 Subaru Legacy doesn’t have the attributes that typically make MotorTrend editors salivate, yet it’s a solid vehicle with satisfying comfort, a user-friendly approach, and an easygoing demeanor. What’s more, some of the Legacy’s features aren’t just good for its segment—a few stand out regardless of size, category, or price. 2021 Subaru Legacy: Nice Price, Slow Going While style is subjective, Subaru often jokes that it doesn’t hire expensive designers and passes the savings to customers. We can believe it, as ...

2021 Lexus ES250 AWD First Test Review: Luxury for the Masses

Lexus ES Full Overview “Affordable luxury” tends to be an oxymoron, especially when referring to midsize luxury sedans. But the 2021 Lexus ES250 AWD might be the exception to the rule. Starting at $41,025, the 2021 Lexus ES250 AWD is a bargain compared to other competitors like the Genesis G80 or Volvo S90, both of which are at least $7,000 more expensive. Yes, the Lexus comes with some compromises, like its base naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine. However, the ES250 offers an entry-level price point to the Lexus marque that other luxury automakers don’t offer buyers looking to step into their fold. 2021 Lexus ES250 AWD: Is It Truly Luxurious? See all 31 photos You get a nice first impression when you enter the 2021 Lexus ES250 AWD. Although the cabin doesn’t ...

2021 Aston Martin DBX First Test: It’s Great. Period.

See the Full Model Overview One of the biggest laughs in automotive-themed time travel would be to set the dial to the mid-1990s—the beginning of Aston Martin’s Ford era—and roll up to Aston’s old Bloxham factory in a contemporary Explorer SUV. Posing as a FoMoCo executive in an ill-fitting suit, you’d round up a cluster of Aston’s finest engineers. “I want you to make that,” you smile, pointing at the Explorer, “handle, ride, look, and sound like that,” swinging your finger over to a DB7 in the car park. After a week spent driving the DBX on the road and at our test track, it’s obvious Aston dug deep in creating its SUV. That’s a good thing, considering this is one of the biggest leaps the boutique automaker has ever taken; Aston...

2021 Honda Accord EX-L 1.5T First Test: Honda Knows Best

Honda Accord Full Overview Returning to the trailhead exhausted and faint-brained after a 12-mile hike through the canyons and across the creeks surrounding Mount Baldy, there was no car I’d rather be greeted by than the 2021 Honda Accord. Like an old friend, I knew the Japanese midsizer would welcome me without judgement for my foot stink or quivering quads, and that I wouldn’t have to dedicate an ounce of my depleted energy reserves to frustrations like clunky CVT tuning or inconsistent steering. I approached the car and popped its trunk to pile in my damp boots and dusty backpack, but upon closing the trunklid, the Accord uttered three polite beeps and popped it back open. Closing it again brought the same result. Only after I mindlessly tried a few more times expecting some...

2021 Honda Ridgeline Sport HPD First Test: Truckier By a Nose

Honda Ridgeline Full Overview “Can someone move the Pilot?” someone would call over the radio. “That’s the Ridgeline,” would come the eye-rolling response. Don’t get us wrong, we like the Honda Ridgeline here at MotorTrend, but that exact conversation must’ve played out 50 times during our 2017 Truck of the Year competition. Everyone mistook the Ridgeline for our long-term Honda Pilot. If it had been the 2021 Honda Ridgeline, that never would’ve happened. Let’s just get it out of the way. The 2017 Honda Ridgeline midsize pickup looked like a Honda Pilot large SUV that had been Sawzall-converted into a truck (a surprisingly common trend among Los Angeles pool cleaners). That’s not surprising, given the Pilot and Ridgeline have the ...

2021 Volkswagen ID4 First Test: VW’s Everyday Electric SUV

Volkswagen ID4 Full Overview Thanks largely to Tesla, manufacturer of the quickest car we’ve ever tested, we’ve come to expect great rapidity from electric vehicles. But if EVs are going to become mainstream (and both governmental and automaker pledges indicate that is going happen eventually, ready or not), then they can’t all be high-priced rocket ships for early adopters. Enter the 2021 Volkswagen ID4, the electric ambassador for the post-“Dieselgate” VW. The ID4 is meant to be a true volks wagen, an everyday SUV for everyday drivers. It’s sized, powered, and almost priced to match conventional compact SUVs such as the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. 2021 Volkswagen ID4 by the Numbers We’ve got lots to tell you about the new 2021 VW ID4, m...

2021 Toyota Highlander XSE First Test: A Sheep in Sporty Clothing

Toyota Highlander Full Overview Three-row SUVs are becoming so popular, automakers are adding new flavors to satisfy customer’s wants. The 2021 Toyota Highlander XSE is one such example, its XSE spec offering buyers the sportiest-looking version of Toyota’s three-row SUV. And while the XSE shares the same V-6 engine as the rest of the Highlander lineup, Toyota says it tunes the suspension and steering to deliver a sportier and more dynamic drive. Make no mistake, this is no Ford Explorer ST fighter. And don’t even consider lining the Toyota up against the 475-hp Dodge Durango SRT (let alone the 710-hp Durango SRT Hellcat). The ST and Durango SRT models are true performance SUVs, while the 2021 Toyota Highlander XSE simply changes its styling, steering, and suspension tuni...

2021 Nissan Altima SR VC-Turbo First Test: Impressive Engine, Underwhelming Execution

Nissan Altima Full Overview The age of truly bad cars is now a distant speck in our rear-view mirrors. With few exceptions, you’d be hard-pressed to find a new car that’s dangerously slow, prone to flipping, eager to spin, or waiting to catch fire. Even a vehicle we rank among the worst in a given segment is a perfectly serviceable transportation machine. Such is the case with the 2021 Nissan Altima, which lurks near the middle of our midsize sedan rankings but is hardly “bad.” Wait, What’s a VC-Turbo? The Altima’s greatest strength lies under its hood. Our test vehicle is fitted with the more powerful of two engine options—a 2.0-liter turbo-four developing 236 hp and 267 lb-ft of torque. Nissan labels the lump VC-Turbo for its novel variable compression...

2021 Lexus LS500 First Test: Weird in a Good Way

Lexus LS Full Overview “Who is this car for?” That’s what my buddy Mike asked as he looked around the 2021 Lexus LS500. Mike was in from out of town, tasked with housesitting a hilltop pad in ritzy Bel Air—a locale where luxury automobiles like the LS blend in. He likes cars, so I brought the big Lexus over for him to check out. It impressed Mike, but left him confused. Later, I drove home along sweeping Sunset Boulevard. As soothed as I was by the seat massager, that question still bounced around my head. Who is this car for? We had similar uncertainty when the fifth-generation LS arrived for the 2018 model year. It fit the mold of a luxury full-size sedan, but its stiff ride, harsh powertrain, and snug back seats were atypical of that category. Simultaneously, its sport...

2020 McLaren 620R First Test: A Fantastic Experience Like Few Others

Just look at it: The limited-edition 2020 McLaren 620R has a race car livery, a giant, manually adjustable carbon-fiber rear wing that sits 12.5 inches off of its tail, real diffusers out back, a carbon-fiber roof with an air-intake snorkel, carbon-fiber side scoops, dive planes on the front fenders, and a carbon-fiber hood with twin flow-through “nostrils” to reduce lift on the front of the car. You can even order it with race-number decals. You’re forgiven if you think this is a race car, and you aren’t entirely wrong, either. What Is the 2020 McLaren 620R? Put simply, McLaren has homologated for street use its race-winning GT4-class 570S GT4 factory race car. Without the typical engine-output regulations of a race series, the 620R’s twin-turbo 3.8-liter fla...

2021 Volkswagen Atlas Basecamp First Test Review: Off-Road Testing VW’s Off-Road Atlas

Volkswagen Atlas Full Overview Americans may be chomping at the bit for Ford Broncos, Jeep Wranglers, and Toyota 4Runners, but I’ve long had the theory that an all-wheel-drive crossover SUV on all-terrain tires could go 95 percent of the places that the average Wrangler or 4Runner (and eventual Bronco) owner goes off-road. I’m not talking about anything wild, like rock crawling in Moab or overlanding on the Mojave Road, but instead stuff like high-clearance 4×4 trails that dot national parks around the country, which are usually little more than a glorified forest road or hardpacked sand. While a legion of Subaru owners (including my wife) have been proving me right for years by fitting their Outbacks, Foresters, and Crosstreks with all-terrain tires, VW thought it’d...