Long Term Reviews
2021 Mercedes-Benz E450 4Matic One-Year Review: Hello to a Family Friend
Mercedes-Benz E-Class Full Overview Mercedes runs deep in my family. From my grandma’s inimitable diesel S-Class—white with pink pinstriping—to the late-’80s E-Class models my parents drove for years, I grew up road-tripping from their backseats. Later, I learned to drive in a 1988 300TE, the same wagon I’d taken naps in during long highway drives a decade earlier. Although my parents moved on to other brands, MotorTrend has a history of its own with the E-Class. We recognized the E-Class as our 1996 Import Car of the Year before experiencing the all-around excellence in the updated E-Class, our 2021 Car of the Year. Now we get to spend an entire year with the 2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and we have some questions. There’s more at stake here than you might thi...
2020 Ram 2500 Laramie 4×4 Yearlong Test: How It Spent Winter
Ram 2500 Full Overview Yes, it’s summer, but we only recently found this winter report tucked between the seat cushions of Guffman, our long-term 2020 Ram 2500 Laramie 4×4. So, we figured we might as well share how the truck spent the colder months in Michigan, where the truck is based with our Detroit staff. When we ordered Guffman, we didn’t check the box for the Ram 2500 HD‘s $145 Cold Weather Group’s grille cover and block heater. That’s because the truck would live in Detroit, not Yellow Knife, and our oil never turns to Jell-O. But because diesels throw off less waste heat than gas engines (that’s part of their efficiency secret), and because the owner’s manual recommends covering the grille at temperatures below freezing—and also becaus...
2021 Kia Sorento First Test: All of the Above
Kia Sorento Full Overview So you want a five-seat SUV. Well, actually, something that seats seven would be helpful. But it shouldn’t be too big. And it must be comfortable, with amenities for everyone. Quick enough, too—who likes going slow? Plus, sometimes you take that dirt shortcut, so it needs off-road capability. Just make sure it’s also practical, safe, and a good value. Is that too much to ask for? The 2021 Kia Sorento has been redesigned this year, and seeks to do all that and do it better than before. We brought in a Sorento SX X-Line AWD—at $43,765 to start, the most upscale, powerful, and off-road(ish) model in the lineup—for track testing and real-world evaluation to find out if this everything-for-everyone strategy works. First Impressions Take a moment to check ou...
The 2021 Toyota Mirai Arrives For a Yearlong Test: Will Hydrogen Make Us Happy?
Toyota Mirai Full Overview Hydrogen as a motor fuel: alive or dead? While some are already shoveling dirt in the grave, others say hydrogen is finally on the cusp of long-promised growth. It’s been nearly five years since we spent six months with a hydrogen-powered 2016 Toyota Mirai in our long-term fleet, and much has changed in the alternative-fuel world, including a spectacular new 2021 Toyota Mirai. Having been mega-impressed by the new car, we thought it was a good time to sign up for another long-term Mirai reassess hydrogen’s place in our rapidly electrifying automotive world. The new Mirai is a much nicer car than the outgoing model, with more range, more luxury, a lower price, and way more attractive styling. The 2021 Toyota Mirai is available in XLE and Limited ...
Mazda’s Dealership Experience Is as Nice as Our 2020 CX-30
Mazda CX-30 Full Overview Our long-term 2020 Mazda CX-30 has been with us for 11 months now, and it has finally called for its first service. That’s less of a commentary on Mazda’s service intervals and more of a reflection of how close to home we’ve stayed in the lost year of 2020. Nevertheless, with our Mazda asking for its first trip to the dealer, we obliged and took care of a couple of recalls while we were at it. Are Mazda Dealerships Nice? Over the past few years, I’ve had long-termers from both mainstream automakers and luxury brands. With Mazda on a march upmarket into the luxury space, I was curious to see what the dealership experience was like—would it be more like a Jeep or Chevy? Or more like an Audi or Mercedes? I was pleasantly surprised to see the M...
The BMW 228i Gran Coupe’s Wonky Shifter Is a Car Wash Nightmare
BMW 2-Series Full Overview As I pulled up to the pay kiosk at my local drive-through car wash, I noticed a sign posted that read, “Tesla drivers, make sure you know how to put your vehicle in [N]eutral before entering car wash.” I smiled, assuming that many Teslas must have struggled to enter the wash before management decided to hang that sign. Fast-forward two minutes, and the 228i Gran Coupe and I were also struggling as we entered the conveyor tracks of the wash tunnel. The attendant motioned for me to put the vehicle in neutral, but try as I might, the BMW’s gear selector kept toggling from drive to reverse and back again. I got nervous, rolled the window down, apologized to the agent, and then told him I’ve found neutral before, but for some reason the secret ...
Road Trip! Our 2020 Subaru Outback Heads to Utah for a Top Gear America Shoot
Subaru Outback Full Overview When you’re heading to Park City, Utah, and a hotel set amongst mountains and ski lifts, you need all-weather traction, ground clearance, and a sense of invincibility. So my own BMW X7 xDrive40i should be perfect. Well, it should be… but getting winter tires in the 22-inch X7 fitment at the end of the winter season proved impossible. However, thanks to our good friends at Tire Rack, MotorTrend‘s long-term Subaru Outback test car was quickly outfitted with a new set of Michelin X-Ice Snows and I was heading northeast toward Park City. The Outback is very definitely meant for a different audience than the X7 in size, in status, in price, and in luxury. And yet almost immediately I got along with Subaru’s SUV-like wagon perfectly. The ride is a l...
2020 Kia Soul Yearlong Review: The Verdict
Kia Soul Full Overview Lost in the hoopla of awarding the Chevrolet Corvette MotorTrend‘s 2020 Car of the Year was that one of the other podium finishers was the Kia Soul. Although the Soul’s status might come as a surprise to some, those who have been paying attention to the vehicle’s progress through each generation know Kia has been hard at work refining it into a best-in-class vehicle. This studious effort by Kia became even more apparent after spending over a year with a Soul in our test fleet. It’s more apparent than ever that the Soul is a well-built, spacious, comfortable hatchback that cleverly walks the fence between car and SUV, all the while providing an engaging driving experience. In fact, the Soul sits at No. 2 on our vehicle ranking li...
2021 Chevrolet Corvette Long-Term Arrival: 12 Months With the Mid-Engined ‘Vette
Chevrolet Corvette Full Overview Unsurprisingly, we weren’t the only ones smitten by the mid-engine Corvette. All y’all wanted one, too. And that’s where things went sideways. First, a United Auto Workers strike pushed the launch date back from December 2019 to February 2020. Fair enough, collective bargaining is important. Chevy finally got the plant up and running in late February as planned, only to shut it down again in late March when COVID-19 reached pandemic status. Two months went by before production restarted, and Chevrolet was understandably pressed to get cars into customer hands as fast as possible. That’s fair, too. So we waited. And waited. Chevy had to extend the 2020 model year just to make good on all the preorders dealers had taken. Then it was fa...
Cargo Room Is the Biggest Flaw in Our 2021 Toyota Venza
Toyota Venza Full Overview We’ve come to know our 2021 Toyota Venza really well after four months and over 7,000 miles. Not only did we take a two-way cross-country trip in it, the Venza has also been a great family hauler for special family visits. There’s no denying the Venza’s cabin is comfortable and premium, but interior space is not one of its fortes. Whether we look at its cargo or passenger space, the Venza isn’t as roomy as others in its segment or a segment below. This doesn’t mean the Venza has poor interior room, but we’d still like to have a tad more space in our two-row midsize SUV. The Cargo Room Problem More than passenger space, it’s cargo room that’s limited. First, the cargo floor is much higher than in any other SUV in the...
2020 Mazda 3 Hatchback Yearlong Review: The Verdict
Mazda Mazda3 Full Overview What a difference a year makes. We’ll admit that some of us struggled to immediately embrace the fourth-generation Mazda 3, which marked the automaker’s pivot from its sporty image to a viable alternative to established luxury brands. But after 14 months and 19,283 miles with our 2020 Mazda 3 hatchback, we close its logbook filled with more praise than criticism. Our Mazda 3 hatchback and its striking Polymetal Gray Metallic paint brought a lot of style to the MT garage, which is key for an automaker that wants to be considered among luxury shoppers. A few staffers didn’t fully embrace the 3’s thick, unique-looking C-pillar, but overall the hatch’s sheetmetal is curvaceous, cohesive, and handsome enough to peel eyeballs away from est...
2021 Honda Odyssey EX-L: Our Yearlong Odyssey With One Has Begun
Honda Odyssey Full Overview Dear Honda Manufacturing of Alabama employees, Just a quick note to let you know that your 2021 Honda Odyssey EX-L (VIN ending in 7577) has arrived safe and sound, thanks to your colleagues at America Honda Motor Company and the folks at Scott Robinson Honda in Torrance, California. Thanks for painting it in such a lovely shade of Obsidian Blue Pearl; the dark blue really helps the new chrome strip above the redesigned headlights pop and looks stunning against the gray “-L for leather” interior. You might be curious why we picked the Odyssey in the EX-L trim level, versus the fancier Touring or Elite models you build. Well, when testing vehicles, especially over longer time periods, we try to ensure they best represent what a large percentage of the ...
