INTELLIGENCE. INDEPENDENCE. IRREVERENCE.

1 8 N E W E L E C T R I C C A R S , O N LY O N E

EV of the Year
A tire-shredding
EV gives us hope
for the future.

1064-HP CORVETTE LAND ROVER DEFENDER WE GO BACK TO SCHOOL

ZR1 TAKES ON THE 130 AND LEXUS TO LEARN HOW
HYPERCAR WORLD GX550, COMPARED TO TURN BACK TIME
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CONTENTS _SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 _VOL. 70, NO. 5

6 Letter from the Editor

8 Backfires p. 46

UPFRONT
15 Revealed: 2025 Chevrolet
Corvette ZR1
20 Odd Job: Michelin
subjective test driver
22 Speed-warning devices
24 Lamborghini’s hybrid V-8

COLUMNISTS
26 Ezra Dyer
28 Elana Scherr

31
EV OF THE YEAR
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
The cure for electric-car boredom.
By K.C. Colwell

38 42 46
COMPA RISON T EST OVERHEARD ROAD TEST
The New Normal Smack Talk Fisker Ocean One
The Chevrolet Equinox EV and the The Chevrolet Silverado EV A potentially interesting electric
Volkswagen ID.4 strive to please a and the Tesla Cybertruck SUV, the Fisker Ocean One
mainstream audience. have some words. suffers from some rough edges. p. 76
By Andrew Wendler By Ezra Dyer By Csaba Csere

DRIVELINES
76 Porsche 911 GTS

50 60 70
80 BMW M5
82 Mercedes-AMG GT63
83 Volkswagen GTI
84 Ineos Grenadier
FISKER: MARC URBANO

Quartermaster
COMPA RISON T EST ROAD TEST F E AT U R E 86 BMW 540i xDrive
Getaway Trucks McLaren 750S The New Old School 88 Blips
We bug out in the Land Rover We take McLaren’s latest supercar We go to summer school at
Defender 130 Outbound and the for a run up a California canyon in McPherson College to learn how to 92 The Best Odds: Lotus Elan
Lexus GX550 Overtrail+. 115-degree weather. make old cars new again.
By Mike Sutton By Dave VanderWerp By Elana Scherr Cover photograph by Marc Urbano

4 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

THE ENERGY OF
SPACE & SOUND.

The MDX does a lot, but a lot isn’t enough. Introducing the 2025 MDX
with even more, featuring premium three-row seating, an available
high-performance Type S variant with 355 horsepower, a 31-speaker
Bang & Olufsen Ultra sound system, and Google built-in.

MDX with Advance Package preproduction model shown. Production model may vary. ©2024 Acura. Acura, MDX, Precision Crafted Performance, and the
stylized “A” logo are registered trademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Google, Google Maps, and other related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC.
 and fill you in on who does it best and which EV
rises above the rest.

An electric One thing EVs do best is accelerate. We’ll go

so far as to say that EVs have won the accelera-
tion war, with gas cars having signed the armi-

mimics a stice at nearly every stoplight in America. Now

that it has become somewhat normal to acceler-
ate to 60 mph in under four seconds, I’m ready
Letter
from the
Editor
gas car, and to admit that while doing so induces giggles, it
can also be nauseating, upsetting, and even pain-
ful to passengers.
_

Tony
that should While electric-car acceleration is shocking,
the electric motors that power EVs are largely
commodified. Lucid represents one exception,
Quiroga
give us all as the design of its compact motors is novel, but
the sounds, feel, and experience of all motors are
generally indistinguishable from one another.

hope. Sameness is boring. More power or less pow-

er, that’s the only real choice. Differences are
fun; ask any elementary-school teacher. Even
the worst engine I can think of—talking to you,
Mitsubishi Mirage 1.2-liter three-cylinder—is
OUR GRUMPIEST READERS, mistaking cov- more interesting than an electric motor.
erage for endorsement, love to send missives ex- History is filled with ill-conceived charades to
pressing displeasure with our Electric Vehicle of make boring cars less so. CVTs with preset gears?
the Year contest. In case you missed it: It’s in this Eye roll. Vehicles that pump in synthesized en-
The electric surge issue. While some of you would have us shelve gine sounds through the audio system? The Elvis
continues, and the award permanently, we’re not quite ready to impersonators of the automotive world. We’re
our annual test
keeps you on top do so. When EVs become more commonplace— skeptical of fakery, which makes what Hyundai
of the changes. something that will happen over the next few has done with the Ioniq 5 N so remarkable.
Turn to page 31 years—maybe we’ll stop highlighting the best The Ioniq 5 N has two electric motors, but
to see this year’s new electrics in this way. For now, it’s a good through the magic of programming, it can mimic
winner, then go to
caranddriver.com opportunity to examine and explain changes in a gas-engine car with an eight-speed dual-clutch
for more. technology, test advancements, expose failures, transmission. For the first time, an EV has the
joy, the shifts, the power delivery, and even the
sound of an internal-combustion powertrain.
Choosing the mode is up to the driver, which
means you’re in on the ruse. It’s entirely synthet-
ic, but the flavor and the feel are as satisfying as
the real thing. Well, Hyundai has yet to perfect

I L LU ST R AT I O N BY B R E T T A F F R U N T I , P H OTO G R A P H BY M A R C U R B A N O
the sound reproduction, but it’s going to happen.
I hadn’t driven one until recording the Ioniq 5
N episode of Car and Driver’s new podcast, Into
Cars (available anywhere you find podcasts). As
the name suggests, Into Cars puts you into the
most interesting cars of the year. Listen in and
you’ll hear my shock and delight as the Ioniq 5 N
does its gas-car impersonation.
The potential is seemingly endless. Software
coding could make an electric motor repro-
duce the power delivery of an 8900-rpm Hon-
da S2000 or the V-8 in a Ferrari 458 or the big,
lazy Duramax turbo-diesel in a GMC Sierra. And
while Hyundai doesn’t offer multiple engine per-
sonalities, at least not yet, if I owned an Ioniq 5
N, I’d happily fork over the cash to unlock differ-
ent cars. The possibilities mean that for the first
time in a long time, I’m hopeful EVs will have the
character and provide the experience of the gas
cars they seek to replace.

6 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

 Experience
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For more information, visit shell.us/shellrecharge
BACKFIRES _ SIC YOUR DOGS ON US AT: EDITORS@CARANDDRIVER.COM

Think of it as the peer-review section of shine too. There’s also Bon The Cybertruck is certainly an
Ami. Hasn’t scratched yet! enigma. A feeling of déjà vu
the magazine, hosted by your pal Ed. —Charlie Bornemann came over me when I saw its
Mount Dora, FL door-wedge shape, angular
lines, and unpainted stainless-
issue. Then you bring this Looks like a dumpster steel body panels. Then it
load of caca for the May/June built around a plus-size hit me: The Cybertruck is
issue! Consumer Reports, windshield wiper. a DMC DeLorean in Iron
Motor Trend, or Popular —Tom Swartz Man clothing. I hope the
Mechanics could handle that West Melbourne, FL DeLorean estate is getting
type of information. Please royalties from Tesla. I antici-
publish all the information, What a load of crap! The pate that the Cybertruck will
comparisons, pictures, and Cybertruck, you say?! No, have the same fate as the
useful facts about sports cars your sycophantic reporting of DMC. The designs of both
costing at least six figures. it. You practically drool over are too radical for the mass
That’s why my renewals keep the fact that this thing can market, and the Cybertruck
coming for over 60 years! actually move and stop on its will ultimately have a short
—Cleveland Norton Jr. own. Meanwhile, you ignore production run. It will not
San Diego, CA practical shortcomings that win any beauty contests but
I can’t tell whether this make the damn thing useless may go down in automotive
TAKE ISSUE is sarcasm—Ed. as a real-world vehicle. That history as “so ugly it’s cute.”
I’ve subscribed to all the it’ll play well in the next Mad —Rob Yevoli
major car mags since the BEAST IN ME Max franchise is probably the Arlington, VA
’60s, feeling respect for Road I didn’t think it was possible, only thing going for it. Perhaps
& Track but affection for Car but the Tesla Cybertruck we can feature a Cybertruck WEAPON OF CHOICE
and Driver, sort of Paul Frère makes a Pontiac Aztek look tribe versus a Hummer tribe. Regarding the Mustang and
versus Ezra Dyer, obligation handsome [“Just Shoot —Eugene Ely the M2, I see you’re back on
versus joy. Of the reformat- Me,” May/June 2024]. San Jose, CA BMW’s payroll [“Mountain
ted survivors, you’re now the —Ken Chapman Climbers,” May/June 2024].
best—and by a large margin. Advance, NC When you said the Cybertruck —Peter Simos
—Michael Serman had a steer-by-wire system, Guilford, CT
New York, NY Bar Keepers Friend scratches I formed a mental image of
our stainless-steel sinks. my Soap Box Derby car. I was first on the list at my
You were doing excellent S.O.S cleans and doesn’t —Max Kackstetter local Ford dealer for the Dark
work on the March/April scratch. Leaves a great Alexandria, OH Horse. I was assured that the
price would be MSRP. Well,
when ordering became avail-
able, I was called, and I pro-
ceeded to the dealership. I sat
I really like the new look down with my salesman and
and feel of C/D. It’s a ordered everything I wanted.
more polished publica- Then, when he returned
tion and looks good on with the order, I was a little
my coffee table along shocked at the total price of
I L LU ST R AT I O N BY B R E T T A F F R U N T I

with Vanity Fair and the $86,300. I was informed they

New Yorker. But I miss added $10,000 to the price. I
Tony’s little dog! Can said to my salesman “We are
we bring her back? done!” and left the dealership.
—Ed I proceeded to my local BMW
San Francisco, CA dealership. In the showroom
Sure thing. Here’s was a 2023 M2 that was deliv-
what Emmy has been ered just before my arrival.
up to since the mag- It was similarly equipped for
azine redesign—Ed. less money with no markup,

8 CAR AND DRIVER

 COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN
The Mazda CX-50 should well as “just adequate” power,
Plug-in-hybrid feature 6% Compact-SUV comparo 8% certainly be at or near the along with an interior that is
top, but in the Fun to Drive “more practical than pretty”?
General issue 10%
Scherr’s column 12% category, the Ford Escape Are Toyota RAV4 buyers Lud-
“Urine Charge” 4%
should have been given a dites? How about having the
Dyer’s column 1% higher position. You seem word “turd” written on your
Passing
Judgments 1% Quiroga’s letter 1% to decide in advance how back? (Excuse me—TRD.)
Backfires 8% to rank the cars, then fudge Seems Toyota SUV drivers
the numbers to match. don’t care about the basics.
M2 vs. Dark Horse 6% That crap should stop. —Tim Roney
Cybertruck —Barton Bauers Shasta County, CA
road test 24%
Wallingford, CT
Fake Pontiac ad 11%
I’ve been a longtime sub-
The Best Odds 6% Drivelines 2% A while back, I wrote in ques- scriber, and I enjoy the con-
tioning why comparison tests tent, especially tech-related
RED-LETTER GRAPH: The Cybertruck and its controversial had gone from having seven articles and vehicle com-
design had the most readers writing and hitting send. Scherr’s to 10 vehicles (or thereabouts) parisons. However, I find the
column on blinding LED headlights also had y’all fired up.
to only two or three. Much to SUV comparison test quite
my excitement, my letter was interesting in that the RAV4
published [“Backfires,” Sep- ranked sixth out of eight
tember 2023]! Huzzah! And entries, while the RAV4 is
plus a four-year warranty. SMALL WONDERS what a surprise my latest C/D clearly (and consistently) the
I do miss hearing that V-8 What’s up with putting the had in store: a comparison of dominant SUV as a consumer
sound! However, I definitely Honda CR-V in third place eight (!) new compact SUVs. choice as reinforced by sales
made the right choice. [“SUVs for the Real World,” I must say I was correct in data. The RAV4 outsold C/D’s
—Ron Martin May/June 2024]? It has a remembering my enjoyment of first-place finisher by almost
Bluff City, TN CVT, which you endlessly reading through the dregs at 10 to 1 and the second-place
trash in other articles. That the bottom to the cream at the SUV by almost 6 to 1. The
GRANNY TURISMO should be a deal breaker. top. I can’t wait to see what third-place finisher came
“Hexophiles” and “octo- Your readers are interested big comparison you have next. closest to the RAV4 in sales
stans” [“Grand Tourific,” in driving behavior and driv- —Patrick Brose but still lagged by about
May/June 2024]? That’s ing fun. No CVT I’ve been Grass Valley, CA 73,000 units. Hmm, what’s the
enough right there for me around ranks above zero on missing consideration point?
to renew my subscription! a scale of 1 to 10 in the Fun to Your in-depth, well-written —David Martin
—Jim Desty Drive category. And the VW article about the everyman’s Estero, FL
Minneapolis, MN Tiguan—lowest and slowest sport-utility vehicles was up I think it was P.T. Barnum who
except for the Kia Sportage to your high standards. Yet said there’s a RAV4 buyer
LARGE MARGE through the quarter-mile? the bestseller in the country born every minute—Ed.
When I read the specs of the Is that supposed to be fun? is beset by “engine strains” as
über-Mercedes limousine As I began reading “SUVs for
in the May/June 2024 issue the Real World,” hopes were
[“Sensibly Extravagant”], I high. It looked like a solid,
was surprised to see that it is LETTER OF comprehensive comparison
shorter than the cars I owned, of the major players. We were
drove, or rode in during the THE ISSUE optimistic it could help with
1950s and ’60s. The Maybach a possible future purchase
(215.3 inches) is shorter than Elon Musk has succeeded decision. As I read on, how-
mid-priced cars like the 1967 in out-Azteking Pontiac ever, it became obvious that
Dodge Polara (219.6 inches) [“Just Shoot Me”]. many have the same traits:
and the ’68 Buick Electra DeLorean would approve. poor fuel mileage, poor han-
P H OTO G R A P H BY M I C H A E L S I M A R I

225 (224.9 inches rounded —Dave B., Shoreline, WA dling, poor acceleration, weak
to 225), not to mention luxury brakes, etc. Yes, there are a
cars like the ’62 Imperial For getting Elon Musk, few bright spots, but it seems
(227.1 inches) and the ’57 the Pontiac Aztek, and manufacturers have focused
Cadillac Fleetwood 75 (236.2 John DeLorean all in one more on the glam aspect of
inches). The Maybach does concise letter, you win these vehicles and largely
have a longer wheelbase than this vintage Greatest ignored the mechanical side.
all except the Fleetwood. Car Songs collection Of note was the RAV4 engine
—Stanley Kalemaris on CD. Hope your car coarseness, a factor that
Melville, NY has a CD player—Ed. caused us to pass on buying

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 9
BACKFIRES
a new ’99 back in the day. THE EDITORS
With the top five of these
selling 1.3 million–plus units
EXPLAIN
per year, perhaps I’m the one You must be new to the
out of touch. It seems man- concept of a comparison
ufacturers (and customers) test if it doesn’t involve
have decided that these are vehicles costing six fig-
good enough and we should ures [“SUVs for the Real
just overlook the flaws. At World”]. Your top two
these prices, that’s a big ask. picks, the Volkswagen and
—John S. Lowe the Mazda, account for
Freeland, MI less than a third as many
sales as your bottom two
Thank you, thank you, thank picks, the Kia and the
you! Finally, a comparo of Nissan. Clearly, “real people” don’t agree driving dynamics and joy behind the wheel
what now pass as afford- with you. You must not realize that “real in all segments. Not only is a great-driving
able vehicles! “We stopped people” value reliability, warranty, cargo vehicle a pleasure to operate, but the way a
at eight, because eight is capacity, and affordability over engine and vehicle steers, stops, brakes, handles, and
enough.” I wish you had suspension performance when shopping accelerates is also a safety feature, allow-
included the few due for a for a family SUV. It would appear you went ing drivers to avoid accidents. No matter
refresh, since those changes looking for oranges in an apple orchard. the class, scores in the Fun to Drive and
are rarely earth-shattering. —Alan Gasteier, St. Charles, IL Performance categories are critical. If your
Then you could say, “We Sure, Gasteier, and McDonald’s serves the values are different, you can always subtract
stopped at 12, because 12 best burgers in the world. We care about those categories from the scoring—Ed.
are cheaper by the dozen!”
—Dan Alexanian
Olympia, WA
itary. My father had a ’67 is also contributing to the like self-driving cars and
Why no Subaru Outback Duetto Spider that got us all frying of corneas of the don’t want to pilot yourself,
XT in “SUVs for the Real started. My son, in a strange remaining sedan and coupe then maybe you should take
World”? The lifted wagon mutation of the disease that drivers [Elana Scherr’s a plane, bus, train, or back
has a WRX engine and han- causes us to buy cars that column, May/June 2024]? seat next time [Ezra Dyer’s
dles better than all of these Consumer Reports says to —Liston Moser column, May/June 2024].
SUVs while still maintaining avoid at all costs, has a 1986 Brentwood, TN While you’re at it, you should
good visibility. It’s also pretty Suzuki Samurai. The force write for Babies.com. I hear
much invisible to cops. Cops is strong in this family. My solution: When you see they have some cool strollers
think only angry old people —Fred Lees a vehicle with laser-bright that are propelled by others.
drive Outbacks. And I’m not Colesville, MD headlights approaching, avoid —Craig Brookshire
(that) angry or (that) old. fixating on the lights and Great Falls, MT
—Lenn Hann With apologies to the current simply close one eye until Printing this letter just
Valparaiso, IN editors, I so miss the snarky it passes. Upon reopening, increased Babies.com
The Outback is a wagon cynicism of John Phillips, your vision will be 50 per- traffic tenfold—Ed.
and not quite the same Csaba Csere, and Brock cent closer to adjusting back
thing as these SUVs—Ed. Yates. I know you try, but to darkness. A neurologist PULL THE PLUG
it will never be the same. could tell you which eye to What gives? Omitted from
DON GIOVANNI —Charles Nestle close if they knew your LH/ your May/June 2024 list of “all
John Phillips hits it right Altadena, CA RH preference, but you’ll do it 34 PHEVs” on sale in the U.S.
on the mark with that Alfa Apology accepted—Ed. automatically anyway, so don’t is the spectacular Mercedes
Romeo article [“The Best fret that part of the equation. GLE450e, which is both for
Odds: Alfa Romeo Milano,” This Alfaholic misses —Rev. Glenn Niemann sale in the U.S. and sitting in
May/June 2024]. Superb! Phillips’s columns. West Peoria, IL my garage (since last August)
Don’t let him get away. —John Contino I do this when I go to the [“Are Plug-In Hybrids Finally
—Richard DuBois Golden, CO bathroom in the middle Making Good on the Promise
Eureka, CA of the night—Ed. of the Best of Both Worlds?”].
LIGHT ’EM UP It keeps getting omitted from
What J.P. failed to mention Could it be that the increased TAKE THE WHEEL lists, not only of the best SUVs
is that Alfaholism, like other ride height of trucks, SUVs, Ezra, Hagerty’s motto is but also of long-EV-range
illnesses, tends to be hered- and even Toyota Crowns “Never Stop Driving.” If you PHEVs. Consumer reviews

10 Sic your dogs on us at: editors@caranddriver.com

 show 55-to-60-mile EV realize the great urologi-
range, but for some reason, cal advice to be had in Car NUMBER ONE: In
the spirit of biology
Mercedes hasn’t been able and Diaper magazine. education and
to get an EPA range figure. —Mark Donnell keeping it weird, we
(Maybe the basis for a story Franklin, TN published “Urine
Charge” in the May/
in itself?) Is that why the Cough again, please—Ed. June issue. Where
GLE450e was omitted, and else can you get a
is that sufficient reasoning? As a soon-to-be-retired thought exercise
Surely not. If there is an actual urologist with a welcome about EV range,
holding in your
reason for your editorial mat telling guests U R urine, and bladder
decisions, I’d like to know. Inn 4 Fun (get it?), I truly capacity? Nowhere.
Otherwise, get on the ball. appreciated “Urine Charge.”
—Mike Campbell Wondering where you got
Indian Rocks Beach, FL your medical information, you’ve confused rectums 20K on the odometer, it still
What gives is that you which was truly spot on. and sphincters—Ed. looks and rides new, creas-
missed the phrase that says And I, of all people, certainly ing a huge smile on my face
“available at press time with know, when you gotta go, Having left many a road- every time I go for a Sunday
official EPA figures.” No EPA you gotta go. Maybe we can side autograph during long dance . . . I mean drive.
figure, no GLE450e—Ed. nominate C/D for continuing drives through Montana —Charles Sartorius
medical education too? and Wyoming, I was quite Flower Mound, TX
I want to know who are these —Brad Weisner, MD surprised and intrigued to
people paying such a pre- Charlotte, NC learn more about bladder DEEPFAKE
mium for a plug-in-hybrid dynamics in Road & Track. I Regarding the “advertise-
electric vehicle that it would I’ve always looked forward will now think twice before ment” on the inside of the
take five trips to the moon to to the day when I could see whizzing by the next station. back cover [“Pontiac Is
break even. I have a rare 1971 a drawing of a rectum in —Alan Carter Back,” May/June 2024], this
Vega hatchback coupe I want Car and Driver. And joy of Port St. Lucie, FL is what Super Bowl commer-
to sell. It was Motor Trend Car joys, “Urine Charge” had Please, you can’t get this cials would look like if they
of the Year in 1971, so I am not one but two rectums! I sphincter-strengthening were in print. Thank you,
thinking I can ask a premium. guess to make up for get- fun in Road & Track—Ed. Car and Driver and GM.
—Jerry Dawson ting half the issues per year, —Ken Tobin
Hernando, FL we get twice the rectums. I just read your super- Sarasota, FL
—Josh Needle informative “Urine Charge”
BLADDER CONTROL Fanwood, NJ article. Fingers (and legs) I gotta know. The Pontiac ad
Thank you for “Urine Charge” You were so close to winning crossed that future issues was all Dyer’s doing, right?
[May/June 2024]. I didn’t Letter of the Issue, except will have an article about —Brian Tiel
bowel capacity and a Pittsburgh, PA
waste-elimination schedule. It’s never whom you most
I’d like to type more, but suspect or even least
I have to pee. Sorry. suspect. It’s whom you
—Gill Riley medium suspect—Ed.
Key Largo, FL
What gives? Why? A tease? A
ANNIVERSARY PARTY joke? Do Pontiac enthusiasts
Upon reading Tony Quiroga’s amuse you? You think we’re
B L A D D E R I L LU ST R AT I O N BY VIOLET FRANCES

May/June 2024 “Letter from funny? Funny how? Like a

the Editor,” I was pleasantly clown? We amuse you? Was
surprised that he included the this a test? Was this Car and
Ford Fiesta ST as one of his Driver or GM? Poking the
many interesting test rides bear that Pontiac enthusiasts
during the past 20 years. are, just to see if we’re still
After reading the original alive? I would think the real
10Best review of the Fiesta estate given to this ad was
ST, I ordered one of those fairly valuable? Maybe not?
little beasts from the dealer, Why so random? Why now?
TWO EASY PIECES: While having both gas and electric capability and it has been my weekend Is my calendar incorrect? Is it
offers some benefits, it also means lugging around two power-
trains. Our list didn’t include plug-ins that weren’t EPA rated, and a distraction ever since. Always April Fools’ in some alternate
few readers missed that disclaimer. garaged and with slightly over C/D universe? Would I buy a

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 11

BACKFIRES
new Pontiac, one with a Fire- LAST HURRAHS I’ve done a lot of thinking
bird on it? Does that Pontiac Y’all should publish let- on it, and I’ve determined
bear you’re poking shit in the ters from people not from that it’s all your fault.
woods? Don’t you think you Irving, Texas [“Back- —Sean Sweaney
should come clean? Will you fires,” May/June 2024]. Nashville, TN
answer these questions? I —Phil Nagy Think more—Ed.
have questions, and I would Arrington, TN
appreciate an honest answer. Sure—Ed. Sorry, I fell behind. Is it too late
—Justin Mardenfeld to send you a pithy comment
Bluffton, SC I’m from Prescott. on your January 2023 issue?
—Kevin Harkins —Jim Brown
I turned to the last page. Prescott, AZ Denver, CO
And, for a moment, my heart
jumped. Could it be? Pontiac
is back?! I owned a 1978 Sun-
bird Formula (my first new
car). It was a loaded black LIKE A PHOENIX: Many of you,
and gold five-speed with including the entire internet,
did not understand that the Editor-in-Chief Tony Quiroga
the Trans Am gold diamond fake Pontiac ad was something Executive Editor K.C. Colwell Digital Director Laura Sky Brown BUYER’S GUIDE Director Rich
mag wheels. In between, and we created for your amuse- Ceppos Deputy Editor, Rankings Content Joey Capparella Managing Editor Drew Dorian
ment. Conspiracy theories ran Associate Editor Andrew Wendler FEATURES Senior Editors Greg Fink, Elana Scherr NEWS Senior
among other rides, I have also Editor Eric Stafford Associate Editors Jack Fitzgerald, Caleb Miller Senior Content and Social
owned a 1977 Astre GT, a rampant before anyone con- Media Strategist Michael Aaron Social Media Editor Carter Fry REVIEWS Deputy Editor Joe Lorio
tacted us for an explanation. Senior Editors Ezra Dyer, Andrew Krok TESTING Director Dave VanderWerp Managing Editor David
1978 Firebird Formula, a 1993 Beard Technical Editors Dan Edmunds, Austin Irwin, Mike Sutton Managing Road Test Editor
Bonneville SSE, a 2003 Vibe Rebecca Hackett Technical Assistants Harry Granito, Jacob Kurowicki, Mary Caye Spieth, Christi
VanSyckle CREATIVE Director Darin Johnson Deputy Design Director Nicole Lazarus Staff
GT, and a 2009 G8. Heck, I Photographers Michael Simari, Marc Urbano Photo Assistant Charley M. Ladd VIDEO Deputy Editor
even thought about buying just attended a four-day Fire- Carlos Lago Producer/Editor Alexander Malburg PRODUCTION Director of Editorial Operations
Heather Albano Copy Chief Adrienne Girard Associate Managing Editor Jennifer K. Misaros
an Aztek because, well, bird festival in the St. Louis Associate Production Managers Nancy M. Pollock, Alissa Zarro Senior Copy Editor Chris Langrill
Research Editor Matthew Skwarczek Copy Editor Meredith Conrow Online Production Assistants
weird is kinda cool. Then, of area with about 250 Firebirds Andrew Berry, Sarah Taylor CONTRIBUTORS European Editor Mike Duff Contributing Editors
course, my heart sank. With from all over. So, you under- Clifford Atiyeh, Brett Berk, Csaba Csere, Malcolm Gladwell, John Pearley Huffman, Jamie Kitman,
Andrew Lawrence, Jens Meiners, John Phillips, Jonathon Ramsey, Sam Smith, John Voelcker
further reading, it became stand my commitment to the Editorial Office 1585 Eisenhower Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48108
obvious that your “irrever- brand. Whoever thought of
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
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Currently I have a rare 1995 watch the internet try ensures the consistency and integrity of our
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12 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

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UPFRONT _RUBBER SOUL _CAN’T DRIVE 55 _HEART OF A BULL

You can have a

Corvette with
1064 horsepower
or a front trunk,
but not both.

Fully Vetted
The new ZR1 brings hypercar power and performance
to Chevy’s illustrious sports car.

_by Greg Fink and Mike Sutton _photography by John Roe

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 15

UPFRONT REVEALED

ZR1-specific vents just

in front of the rear wheels
cool the rear brakes.
Coupes include additional
vents atop the rear fenders
that feed the air intakes.

AFTER 47 YEARS at General Motors, Tadge

Juechter, longtime chief engineer of the Chevro-
let Corvette, is retiring. But Juechter is going out
with a bang, sticking around just long enough to
see the cover come off the 2025 Corvette ZR1.
The C8 ZR1 shares the basic recipe of its C6
and C7 forebears, relying on forced induction
to make big power. Unlike those previous ZR1s,
which had a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 making
638 and 755 horsepower, respectively, the latest
iteration employs a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter
V-8, dubbed LT7, that produces a mind-boggling
1064 horses, making this car by far the most
powerful factory-backed production Corvette
ever. And with a claimed top speed of more than
215 mph, it’s the fastest too.
In a career filled with more high notes than a
Bee Gees album, Juechter is retiring on the high-
est of them. Now that’s showmanship.

COOL RUNNINGS
Maybe the LT7 engine should bear the name
Michael Mann because, like the famed direc-
tor, this new twin-turbo V-8 produces heat. The
ZR1 coupe adopts a number of changes to keep
its cool, including new ducts atop the rear fend- want to limit drag by sticking with the smaller
ers that feed cold air to the intakes. Meanwhile, front air dam and decklid-mounted spoiler that
the engine-compartment cover sprouts a quar- come standard. Even so, the big-winged ZR1 re-
tet of center-mounted openings for additional mains plenty fast, and Chevy assures us that all
heat extraction. Cribbed from the Corvette Z06 ZR1s, regardless of wing size or body style, will
GT3.R race car, these vents form a spine down comfortably crest 200 mph.
the middle of the rear window in an ode to the
split-window 1963 Corvette Sting Ray.
Though the rear storage compartment re- HANDLE WITH CARE
mains, the ZR1 does away with the C8’s front The Corvette ZR1 is to the Porsche 911 GT2 as
one. Instead, Chevy uses this space to accom- the Z06 is to the 911 GT3. All are highly capa-
modate a larger center-mounted radiator and a ble machines, but the former variants are a lit-
flow-through hood with a small extractor spoil- To honor Tadge tle easier to live with away from the racetrack.
er that markedly improves front-end downforce Juechter’s 47 years In the case of the ZR1, Chevy achieves this via
at General Motors
and helps route air over the car’s roof. That hood (31 of which were a trio of suspension alterations, fitting the flag-
spoiler is available in two sizes, the larger of which spent working on the ship Corvette trim with softer springs than the
pairs with a massive rear wing as part of the avail- Corvette), all 2025 Z06’s, firmer anti-roll-bar bushings, and, most
Vettes will feature the
able Aero package to produce up to 1200 pounds bust of the recently important, retuned adaptive dampers. These
of downforce as the ZR1 approaches top speed. retired Corvette alterations, along with the estimated 150 to 200
Those looking to max out the ZR1’s top end will chief engineer. pounds of additional weight the ZR1 carries

16 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

 The ZR1 retains
the C8’s sizable
rear trunk, which
ought to appeal to
those who think
golf when they
hear “Green Hell.”

It may not look much

different from your run-
of-the-mill C8 inside,
but with the top down,
the twin-turbo ZR1 sure
sounds very different.

(we estimate 3800 pounds for the targa, 3900

pounds for the convertible), soften the ride
compared with the Z06.
Those seeking maximum grip will want to opt
for the available ZTK package that adds the con-
tents of the aforementioned Aero pack, swaps in
the stiffer springs from the Z06’s Z07 package,
includes more aggressive damper tuning, and
ditches the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires
of the standard ZR1 for stickier track-oriented
Pilot Sport Cup 2Rs. With or without the ZTK
package, Chevy wraps the ZR1’s staggered rub-
ber, 275/30ZR-20 in front and 345/25ZR-21 in
back, around a set of forged aluminum wheels.
Carbon-fiber wheels are optional and net a total
weight savings of about 40 pounds, a significant
enough reduction in mass to shave a claimed
1.5 seconds from the ZR1’s lap time around the
MRC test track at General Motors’ Milford
Proving Ground.

17
UPFRONT REVEALED

Stopping power, meanwhile, comes courte-

sy of ZR1-specific carbon-ceramic rotors that
measure 15.7 inches up front and 15.4 inches at
the rear. Compared with the optional carbon-
ceramic rotors of the Z06, the ZR1’s use longer
carbon-fiber strands that are both stronger and
better at shedding heat. A vent behind each door
channels additional cool air to the rear rotors.
While the opportunity to drive the ZR1 is still
months away, Chevy gave us a brief thrill ride in
a prototype down a 2.5-mile straightaway. From
a 20-mph roll in second gear, we could feel the
ZR1’s finely calibrated Performance Traction
Management system at work as the rear tires
cleanly hooked up under full throttle, pinning us
to the seatback and rocketing past 200 mph in
less than 1.5 miles. The downforce from the big
Aero package held the car rock steady at speed, Rocket logos
and as for sounds, the LT7 makes a furious howl decorate various
that’s even more menacing than the LT6, despite parts of the engine.
the muffling effect of its turbos. With the new They’re an ode to
the flat-plane-crank
ZR1, the Corvette has officially joined the realm V-8’s development
of hypercars. We can’t wait to drive it. code name, Gemini.

The optional Aero

package and its
massive rear wing
create more than
1200 pounds of
downforce at the
ZR1’s 200-plus-
mph top speed.

Chevy claims the ZR1

exhaust makes about
37 pounds of thrust.
That’s like having six
Estes F15-6 rocket
engines at full tilt
strapped to the bumper.

18
Lucky otherwise endured. For instance, the six-stage oil
pump in the Z06 purposely included provisions

Number LT7 for an unused seventh stage of scavenging. This

contingency allows Chevy to use the same pump in
the ZR1, which needs the additional stage to pull oil
It may seem like a Z06 engine away from its low-mounted turbos.
with two turbos, but the LT7 is so For all the LT6 and LT7 have in common, the
much more than that. two double-overhead-cam engines differ enough
to justify their distinct positions on the alphanumer-
Chevy is adamant that the LT7 V-8 of the ZR1 is ic scale. The LT7 features more robust internals
not just a Z06’s LT6 with a pair of turbos bolted to handle the two turbos’ 20.0 psi of boost. That
on. That’s because the brand developed the two
engines in tandem rather than successively. Even
so, there’s no denying the relationship between
these powerplants. Both displace 5.5 liters, share an
identical block structure, and use what’s effectively
the same forged steel flat-plane crankshaft. The
duo even had a single code name: Gemini, an ode to
the NASA spacecraft of the mid-1960s.
Developing the engines concurrently eliminat-
ed any potential compromises the LT7 may have
The Edge Blue
intake is a nod to the
2009–13 C6 ZR1,
which Chevy nick-
named the Blue Devil.

includes beefier connecting rods and larger pins, as

well as a unique head casting. The stouter pistons
have an LT7-specific crown design, which contrib-
utes to reducing the compression ratio to 9.8:1 from
the 12.5:1 in the LT6. There’s a more boost-friendly
exhaust layout as well.
The new head casting also allows the LT7 to inte-
grate both port and direct fuel injection as opposed
to the LT6’s direct-injection-only setup. In most driv-
ing situations, the LT7 uses some combination of the
two systems, applying the might of all 16 injectors
at full tilt yet relying only on the port injectors at idle
to keep things quiet. When you lift off the accelera-
tor, an anti-lag system adjusts the engine’s variable
valve timing, closes the turbos’ wastegate, and
opens the throttle to keep air moving through each
turbo’s impellers, helping maintain boost for quicker
response when you get back on the gas.
To handle the engine’s 828 pound-feet of torque
(800 of which is available at just 3000 rpm), Chevy
increased the five-bolt pattern of the rear wheels
from 120 to 150 millimeters. The automaker also
fortified the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox with
physically wider gears, stronger input and output
shafts, and a revised lubrication system to keep
things cool during sustained high-speed driving. The
The track-focused
ZTK package replaces gears in the differential are shot peened for addition-
the ZR1’s standard al strength.
Michelin Pilot Sport Gear ratios carry over unchanged from the Z06,
4S tires with a set of and Chevy limits the ZR1 engine’s torque output in
stickier Cup 2Rs.
first and second gears to further improve driveline
durability and maintain traction under heavy throttle
applications. It’s a small compromise in the name of
big horsepower. One heck of a mic drop, Juechter.

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 19

UPFRONT ODD JOB

MIKE NEW’S INSIDE LINE

2000 2012
Visits Michelin’s Laurens Receives assignment
Proving Grounds while to work as a test
enrolled in a college driver with Michelin
vehicle-dynamics class. in France.

2003 2006 2014

Joins Applies for job Returns to Laurens
Michelin as Michelin as manager of
as a test test driver and subjective test
engineer. is hired. drivers.

C/D: What makes a great subjective test driver?

NEW: The main thing we look at is car control and
how natural a feel someone has for handling a
car in at-the-limit situations.

C/D: Is car control instinctive, or is it a skill that can

be developed?
NEW: Some people are naturally gifted at it. Some
people can learn it very quickly.

C/D: What’s a typical day like for a subjective test

driver at Michelin?
NEW: It varies. It really just depends on what day
of the week it is. We’re always working. There’s
no downtime. If we’re not testing or going test-

Tread Head Some product

highlights of Mike New’s
ing, then there’s a lot of things to do: training the
new drivers, doing continuous training for the
current drivers, working on progress initiatives.
Mike New’s work involves a lot of four- career developing As a manager, I’m focusing on making sure the
wheeled play. It’s all part of the job of tires for automakers drivers have what they need, making sure we
and the replacement-
managing Michelin’s subjective test drivers. tire market:
provide the right driver resources to the right
automakers, and making sure we have coverage
_by Greg Fink A 2010–15 Camaro’s for this event or that event.
BFGoodrich Radial
T/A Spec tires
MIKE NEW has one of the best jobs in the auto- C/D: How do you become a subjective test driver?
motive industry. He manages the subjective test B 2009–13 Corvette NEW: The biggest thing is awareness—being
drivers at Michelin’s Laurens Proving Grounds. ZR1’s Michelin Pilot aware that this job is out there and understand-
P O R T R A I T P H OTO G R A P H BY M I C H A E L S I M A R I

Sport PS2 tires

What exactly does that mean? New and his team ing the requirements to apply. If you want to be a
test and give feedback on tires Michelin is devel- C 2009–15 CTS-V’s test driver at Michelin, you have to have an engi-
oping. And yes, these drives very often involve Michelin Pilot neering degree. I get a lot of people who are very
pushing the tires to their limits of adhesion. We Sport PS2 tires interested in the test-driver position, but they
struggle to think of a better way to make a living, D BFGoodrich G-Force don’t know that they have to have an engineering
R1 DOT-legal track tire degree to be able to do the job.

A B C D

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

UPFRONT LAW AND ORDER

plies counterpressure against the driver’s foot

or a governor that restricts the vehicle’s speed to
the legal limit. Drivers can override or deactivate
these admonishments, but the devices must de-
fault to their active state at startup.
Now California is looking to emulate the
EU with legislation that would mandate in-car
speed-warning devices. The bill, SB 961, aims to
make such systems standard in the Golden State
by requiring just about every 2030 model-year
vehicle equipped with either GPS or a front-
facing camera to also have visual and audio
warnings when driving more than 10 mph over
the speed limit. Provisions within the bill would
ensure that drivers can fully disable the systems.
Those championing the technology argue
that it could save lives—consider that in 2022,
18 percent of the passenger-vehicle drivers, or
8236 people, involved in fatal crashes in the U.S.
were speeding, according to NHTSA. Yet even
safety advocates struggle to believe that the reg-
ulations, as written, can do much good. Graziella
Jost, who serves as projects director at the Eu-
ropean Transport Safety Council and managed
a campaign that helped lead the charge for
speed-warning technology, finds the EU’s—and,
by extension, the California bill’s—minimum re-

You’ve Been quirements for the systems to be lacking.

Warned
Speeding
vehicles speeding 35.9%
when involved in
fatal crashes in
2022, alcohol or
lack of seatbelt
The European Union requires all new vehicles to include was also a factor.
speed-warning devices. California’s ready to follow suit. Speeding and no
seatbelt 23.5%
_by Greg Fink Speeding
Speeding, alcohol, and and alcohol
no seatbelt 21.4% 19.2%
EXCEED THE SPEED LIMIT in one of the 27

I L LU ST R AT I O N BY DA R CY M U E N C H R AT H ; C H A R T S O U R C E : N H T S A
European Union countries, and you may get Jost notes that the European Transport
some pushback from your vehicle. As of July, Safety Council’s own testing indicates that driv-
new cars sold in the EU must include a speed- ers generally find an audible warning irritating,
warning device that alerts drivers if they exceed making it likely they will shut off such systems.
the posted limit. At a minimum, vehicles must in- Then there’s the problem of using camera-based
clude acoustic or haptic speed warnings, though sign-recognition technology to suss out speed
the European Commission gives automakers limits. Jost points out the middling reliability of
the latitude to supplant those passive measures such a setup given that its capabilities are con-
with either an active accelerator pedal that ap- ditional on physical speed-limit signs—postings
that can pop up irregularly or be obscured by traf-
fic or the surrounding environment. The systems
GOLDEN HEARING: In 2022, a Hyundai Elantra N driver was cited in California are also prone to misinterpreting more complex
for noise from the car’s stock exhaust system. The state Bureau of Automotive speed-limit signs, such as those in school zones
Repair backed this decision, measuring over 95 decibels (the legal limit) from that apply only during certain hours of the day
the exhaust in Sport mode. However, California law requires such evaluations or conditional speed signage that varies for dif-
to adhere to SAE International standards, which called for testing in modes that fering vehicle types.
stay active through a power on/off cycle, a trait the N’s louder Sport mode lacks. Ultimately, what the EU has implemented,
SAE has since revised its protocol, introducing testing in modes that add over and California’s bill advocates for, stands to an-
1.0 decibel, unless there’s a disclaimer that the mode is for off-road use only. noy drivers more than deter them from speeding.

22 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

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UPFRONT TECH DIVE

The twin turbos are devoid

of tricks such as variable
geometry or electric
assist. An electric motor
on the crankshaft provides
low-end torque as the
turbos work up to their
20.3 psi of peak boost.

Bull’s
Shift
Lamborghini sends its V-10 to the
slaughterhouse to make room for
a hybrid V-8 powertrain with a
screaming 10,000-rpm redline. The V-8 packs a
789-hp punch, with
power peaking
_by Csaba Csere
at 9750 revs, just
shy of the 10,000-
THE LAMBORGHINI TEMERARIO marks the rpm redline.
end of the Italian automaker’s two-decade love
affair with the V-10 engine. Lambo’s latest entry-
level sports car forgoes the formula of the Hura-
cán and the Gallardo before it, with their natural-
ly aspirated 10-cylinders, and instead relies on a The Temerario’s An electric motor mounts to the output end
twin-turbo V-8 and a trio of electric motors. electronics prevent of the crankshaft. Its available 148 horses and
the three motors
The new V-8’s double overhead cams, four from producing 221 pound-feet aid the engine’s limited low-end
valves per cylinder, turbos mounted in the valley more than 187 thrust and mitigate any low-speed lag from the
of the V, and 4.0-liter displacement might lead horsepower at sizable turbos.
once despite
you to suspect it’s related to the 4.0-liter V-8 that having over 440
Two additional 148-hp electric motors ser-
powers the Urus SUV (and other Volkswagen ponies of potential vice the front axle, each powering an individ-
Group vehicles), but the Temerario’s engine is an electric power. ual front wheel. The three motors, all of which
entirely clean-sheet design. draw juice from a 3.4-kWh battery pack, never
Lamborghini’s new engine has a bore of 90.0 make peak power simultaneously because the
millimeters and a stroke of 78.5 millimeters. The system supports a maximum of only 187 electric
unfashionably oversquare engine includes a flat- horses at once.
plane crankshaft, a surprising choice given the Still, that’s enough grunt to push the entire
ease of routing evenly spaced exhaust pulses to powertrain’s peak power and torque figures up
inboard-mounted turbochargers with a cross- to a combined 907 horses and 590 pound-feet,
plane crank. sums that best the outgoing Huracán STO by 276
“The flat crank also provides benefits on the and 173, respectively.
intake side,” says Rouven Mohr, Lamborghini When you factor in that the Temerario ought
chief technical officer. “And it produces the great to undercut the STO’s 2.6-second sprint to 60
sound that we wanted.” mph by a few tenths and eventually top out at
With a 10,000-rpm redline and the turbos over 210 mph, the screaming V-8 engine and
churning out 20.3 psi of boost, the V-8 pushes out three electric drive motors just might have the
789 horsepower from 9000 to 9750 rpm and 538 right combination of personality and power to
pound-feet of torque from 4000 to 7000 rpm. help us move past the V-10’s death.

24 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

 V1 Gen2 means Range Superiority

V1 Gen 2 warns here Ordinary detectors warn here

Radar works by bouncing a microwave beam off

your car, then reading the reflection.
Radar detectors work by sensing the beam before
the radar gets a clean read.
V1 Gen2’s long-range detection takes place at
a distance beyond the beam. That’s possible
because the beam fades and scatters the farther
■ ■
it travels. Our LNA technology—think of it as an
electronic magnifying lens—looks for the first
faint microwave fragments as they flicker in
the distance.
■
New, and patented, : Detecting
ever fainter flickers creates massive data flow.
jumps the processing rate more than a

other cars.
Range Superiority: LNA’s faint-signal dge
acquisition feeding the high-rate analysis
of
early radar warning. The range increase
on Ka band is especially dramatic. Our new

www.valentine1.com
EZRA DYER COLUMNIST

Volkswagen gave up on cheery four-

seat droptops in the U.S., but the T-Roc
Cabrio shows it still knows the recipe.
PERFORMANCE CONVERTIBLES PRESENT a fundamental contradic-
tion. All convertibles are inherently optimistic and cheerful. Thus, an open
roof undermines whatever brooding moodiness is otherwise baked into the
formula. I once drove 205 mph in a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse
with the top off, and I can say that right around 180 mph, you start wishing
for a roof if only to better hear the German man in the passenger’s seat
screaming for you to slow down. High speeds in a convertible are more fun
in theory than in practice. Next time you’re on a highway doing 70 mph,
count the number of convertibles you see with the top down, and you’ll
learn how many people in your area are trying too hard.
Now that we’ve established that performance cars should be hardtops,
it follows that convertibles are best based on mellow machines. And there
was once a vibrant ecosystem of such cars. The Car and Driver archives
are full of comparison tests that now read like a lost civilization’s scrolls—
Saab 9-3, Volvo C70, and Volkswagen Eos; Toyota Camry Solara, Mitsubishi
Eclipse, and Chrysler Sebring. Oh, the aughts were heady days at a Florida
rental-car lot, my friends. And if you bought a Buick Cascada when you had
the chance, I congratulate and envy you. Now you’re just out there cranking
Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown” as the actual sun goes down, hitting 37 mph
on your way to Dairy Queen, your chill impecca-
ble. I once owned a BMW M3 convertible, and I
can now admit I was doing it wrong.
To do it right circa 2024, I had to go to France. convertible VW that I drove in the U.S., a turbo-diesel Beetle, had 150
That’s where I picked up a Volkswagen T-Roc horsepower, and a diesel Saab 9-3 convertible I drove in Italy in 2006
Cabriolet, the spiritual heir to cars like the Eos had just under 150 horses. To me, this says that 150 or so horsepower
and the Beetle convertible. The T-Roc is nom- is just about right for this sort of car, although the demise of those two
inally a small SUV, with a high beltline and a examples suggests otherwise. In any case, the T-Roc is tuned for lazy
vaguely high-riding stance. But it’s really a car, days on the coast, its transmission quietly slurring shifts, its limber
with a 148-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter four driving suspension soaking up the frequent speed bumps that appear to be
the front wheels through either a six-speed man- randomly placed around the French countryside. It took a while, but
ual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic trans- the French finally got around to slowing down the Germans.
mission. It’s not fast. Nor does that matter. As for why modestly powered, reasonably priced open-top cars
This T-Roc Cabrio was bright teal blue, a flash are on life support in the U.S.? I have a theory, and it turns out I’m
of defiant vibrancy against the overcast sky out- part of the problem. The truth is, affordable convertibles with back
side Marseille. It wasn’t really top-down weath- seats are still popular. But now they’re trucks.
er, but I powered the soft top down nonetheless, The Wrangler, Jeep’s Neanderthal in athleisure wear, is the king
because when you’re in France with a teal-blue of convertibles, with more than 150,000 sales last year. Throw in the
convertible VW, it’s your duty to cheer up the Gladiator and the Ford Bronco, and that’s more than 300,000 con-
world at large. If I could have brought the T-Roc vertibles. For perspective, Volkswagen sold 9511 Beetle convertibles
I L LU ST R AT I O N BY A DA M C R U F T

into the airport, I would have used it to brighten in 2019, the car’s final year. Buick sold fewer than 20,000 Cascadas,
the day of the two customs officers as they faced ever. That’s not because they were bad cars but because they were
a thousand-person line. As for the people in the cars, period. So I don’t blame the T-Roc Cab for its SUV live-action
line, their grimacing ennui was beyond the salve role-playing—the modern convertible shopper wants a truck. As the
of even the cheeriest Teutonic trucklet, as I well script tattooed across my shoulders says, the Dodge Dakota Convert-
knew from recently having been among them. ible walked so the Jeep Gladiator could run.
But out on the road, seat heater toasting and So the T-Roc Cab and its essential car-ishness made me wistful for
sun attempting to shine, all was well. And nearly a category that no longer exists—until I remembered that it still does.
150 horsepower seemed plenty. In fact, the last Hang in there, Mini convertible!

26 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

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ELANA SCHERR COLUMNIST

Sometimes it takes new eyes to

make you appreciate your car and
the roads you drive on.
THERE’S A PROVERB THAT familiarity breeds contempt. I don’t think
that’s true, but it’s common to take things for granted if you spend a lot of
time with them. Take, for example, the city you live in. When was the last
time you noticed the glories of your own town?
I’m an unapologetic lover of Los Angeles, but it’s a place that’s surpris-
ingly easy to travel through on autopilot (both figuratively and, based on
some recent news stories involving unfortunate automotive crashes, liter-
ally). L.A. spreads out like a cat in a sunbeam, sprawling in every direction.
It’s so large, you can’t see the edges. Not that you get that sense when driv-
ing the freeways, whose tall concrete walls reduce the surrounding land-
scape to just the top floors of office buildings and the highest fronds of palm
trees. You could drive around L.A. all day on the highways and never see
anything but rooftops and power lines.
The drive from LAX heading north in particular is not the most glamor-
ous entry to L.A., but my guests Ayaka and Atsushi Hidaka and Yuki Tengan
didn’t seem to mind. When my husband, Tom, and I pulled up to the termi-
nal, they greeted our big crew-cab dually truck with the astonishment of
folks from the land of kei cars, and as we rode up the 405, they kept the win-
dows rolled down and pointed out every Ford Mustang with the enthusiasm
of a teenage horse girl spotting actual equines.
When I visited Japan [“Automotive Omakase,”
May/June 2024], Ayaka was one of the local
muscle-car owners who showed me around. hand, was movie-star famous. “Fast & Furious!” Atsushi said. “Letty!”
When she mentioned that she and her husband Ayaka said. I gave rides, and then we all piled back into the crew cab
were coming to L.A., I felt a great responsibility to and set out across the city.
return the favor. They arrived on a Sunday morn- When you live somewhere, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of driv-
ing, unfortunately a little too late to hit the Cars ing the same roads, mapping out routes for speed rather than beauty.
& Coffees but just in time for brunch. We spent a Even some of the prettiest parts of the city become just background,
fair amount of time on Google Translate working passed by unnoticed while checking the time and stressing about
out explanations for all the ways you can order traffic. It was so different to drive with the Hidakas and Yuki experi-
an egg, but when the conversation turned to cars, encing it all for the first time. When we crested the hill overlooking
everyone spoke the same language. Atsushi told Malibu and the ocean came into view through the mountains, there
us about buying his Plymouth ’Cuda off eBay and was a collective gasp—including from me. Along the Pacific Coast
doing all the work required to make it a reliable Highway, because our guests were interested, I paid attention to all
running car—it was supposedly a reliable running the surfers, the parked Ferraris, the quirky beach houses with their
car at purchase, but we all know how that story little balconies and big prices. On the freeway back toward town, Yuki
goes. They tell it the same way in Japan. pointed out a biker takeover. On the other side of the divider, some 50
Back in our garage, we dug through Holley sport bikes and quads were weaving through the stop-and-go, doing
parts for Atsushi’s carburetor rebuild and show- wheelies. Without his delight, I might have never looked up from the
I L LU ST R AT I O N BY A DA M C R U F T

cased our own projects to an appreciative audi- taillights ahead of me and the ominous red line on Apple Maps.
ence. The 1915 Dodge and the Jensen Interceptor I was bummed about the traffic, worrying that our passengers were
proved the most popular of our car collection. I bored or hungry, but they saw it as a chance to look at the changing
think the Dodge was a hit because it’s unusual; neighborhoods. We crept through the twisties of Griffith Park. From
there aren’t many cars that old in Japan. (Mitsu- the roof of the observatory at the top of the hill, the whole city was
bishi is credited with the first mass-produced finally visible edge to edge. The Hollywood sign glowed pink in the
Japanese automobile in 1917, of which it made setting sun. Ayaka thanked me for taking her to such a beautiful place.
22, so sitting in something from 1915 was an “Dōitashimashite,” I replied. “You’re so welcome.” What I should
especially rare treat.) The Jensen, on the other have said was, “Thank you for reminding me to look at it again.”

28 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

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 2024
EV of the Year

Welcome to the fourth installment of our annual test of new electric

vehicles. The intent of this contest is to keep you in the know on the latest
advancements as EVs approach the practicality of gas cars. To determine
a winner, we put each EV through a battery of objective and subjective
tests and then vote. After the arguments end, the ballots are read, and the
smoke clears, the EV of the Year emerges. This year 18 electrics were on
hand, but only one deserves the title EV of the Year.

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 2024 EV OF THE YEAR

MAKE
THE
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has the
cure for electric-car boredom.
by K.C. Colwell / photography by Marc Urbano

2024 EV OF THE YEAR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

Schumacher. Vettel. Hamilton. Chestnut. Ioniq. They’re all dynasties, though
when we started this award honoring the best in electrification back in
2021, we might have set some different ground rules had we known
Hyundai would three-peat with variants of the same machine. Unlike the
consumer-grade Ioniq 5 (2022 EV of the Year) and Ioniq 6 (2023), this
year’s winner, the Ioniq 5 N, delivers a genuine enthusiast experience with
an electric vehicle that can hit you in the feels like the a 1980s G-body
Porsche 911 Club Sport.
Electric vehicles excel in accel, but their mass is typically massive, and
their general lack of emotion—no stirring noises, vibration, feedback, or
torque interruption—can leave you as numb as a laudanum martini. Gather
a bunch of them as we did for this year’s competition, and EV ennui sets in.
Another 20 miles of range or the ability to recharge quickly isn’t the kind of
excitement that got any of us into this business. We love a different kind of
performance, the kind that presses us into seats, that goads us into bending
into that corner just a bit faster, and that is accompanied by a head-turning
 resides in the 84.0-kWh battery). Nevertheless,
the Ioniq 5 N clears 60 mph in 3.0 seconds, traps
the quarter-mile going 123 mph in 11.1 seconds,
holds 0.96 g on the skidpad, stops from 70 mph
in 153 feet, and tops out at 163 mph. Those are,
with the possible exception of the skidpad score,
sports-car results. A good sports car. But then
you remember it’s a five-seat EV that we classi-
fy as an SUV and that it will cover 190 miles at
75 mph, then charge from 10 to 90 percent in 35
minutes, assuming you’re on the correct charger
[see “Voltage Matters,” page 49]. One more im-
pressive number: $67,495, and this game changer
is yours. Add $1000 for the matte blue paint.
EV of the Year gets scored on four criteria.
The first is value. Done. Moving on.
Second is the fun-to-drive factor. That’s unan-
imous. The only disagreement stems from the
internal-combustion fakery (more on that in a sec).
sound. An EV capable of those things would Because the Ioniq 5 N nails the fun part, it also
stand out above the rest, but this new Ioniq 5 N checks the third box: mission fulfillment. We even
Plunk down goes beyond standing out: It’s a glowing North took it to a track to prove (or maybe disprove) that
$67,495, and you Star in a midnight-black parking lot of electric someone could replace a gas-engine performance
get all you see here.
Well, except for the cars. It’s not “fun for an EV.” It’s fun, period. The car with this EV. And that includes the ability to
Performance Blue 5 N is a car built by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. partake in a drive-to track day and not have to
Matte paint ($1000, We’ll refer you to a few numbers. The 5 N thumb a ride home [see “Track, Rats,” page 35].
above). Oh, and the has 641 horsepower at its disposal. That’s a lot, That leaves the fourth EV of the Year pillar:
floor mats ($210, be-
low). But everything yes, but not as much as it might be if it weren’t advancement of technology. The Ioniq 5 N has
else is included. moving 4849 pounds (a large portion of which the same 800-volt architecture as the two prior
 TIME TRIAL That’s because we didn’t take
our own planning advice; the

TRACK, RATS hotel had no EV charging.

After a 26-mile drive to the
track and taking care of some
To assess whether EVs are photo needs, we started lapping
ready for prime time, we’ve tak- with 81 percent left in the pack.
en them on 1000-mile trips and After 15 minutes (nine laps of
driven them far off the beat- the 1.9-mile circuit), the battery
en path. The result is always was at 38 percent. That’s nearly
affected by charging infra- 3 percent per minute, which
structure. EVs are not for every- means that in track driving, the
one. Some aren’t even available battery discharges at about
in every state. But they are the same rate it charges on the
chipping away at market share, most powerful equipment.
one ion at a time. Now that To mimic what most drivers
we’ve crowned a performance- will initially do, we ran the 5 N in
focused EV of the Year, we Track mode, which conditions
wanted to know whether an en- the battery for sustained
thusiast in a regular place (i.e., lapping (Sprint mode optimizes
not the center of the EV world, all-out power over range),
more commonly called Califor- and cranked all the settings
nia) could drive to a track day (steering, chassis, accelerator
and enjoy themselves. response) to max. No manual
The short answer is: It shifting. No extra noises.
depends. As with any other trip You could spend a whole day
you plan to take in an electric trying to figure out your ideal
vehicle, 10 minutes of research combination of modes, settings,
helps ensure success. and features, but the discharge WeatherTech Raceway
We departed Ann Arbor the rate meant we didn’t have that Laguna Seca has Tesla
night before our track day at kind of time since there was Superchargers, so there’s at
Grattan Raceway in Belding, nowhere to charge at the track. least one track where a day of
Michigan, mostly because we
needed to be there early to
capture photography. The drive
During lunch, we took
the Ioniq 5 N off-site to a DC
charger that unfortunately
EV lapping is possible, and the
Ioniq 5 N can participate once
Hyundai has access to Musk’s
2024
contender
is 134 miles from office door to didn’t charge at its advertised network. So, while the car can
hotel door. The 5 N has plenty rate (shocker), which would theoretically complete a track
of range to get there, but we have made a second track day, it’s the infrastructure that
needed to use DC charging at session feasible. If there were held us back. Until the charging
our destination so we could a 125-kW charger at Grattan, infrastructure expands, Middle 2024 ACURA
have the battery at 100 percent we could have run all day in a America will have to continue ZDX TYPE S
before heading for the track. typical track-day schedule. burning gas on track. —K.C. HIGHS: Refined ride
quality, tranquil interior
ambience, suitably
quick with a 4.3-
second 60-mph time,
winners, placing it among the quickest-charging When Harry Met Sally–quality imitation of a solid General Motors–
EVs we’ve measured. But the N really pulls at four-cylinder with a 6750- or 7750-rpm redline sourced hands-free-
the nostalgic throttle cable with fake sounds and depending on whether you’re in N mode. As long driving tech. LOWS:
shifting. Is it hokey? A little. But it proves that as you aren’t actively thinking, “This is fake,” it’s Needs more handling in
I L LU ST R AT I O N BY C H R I S P H I L P OT

EVs can entertain you like a great gas-powered fun to play with it. On a freeway, the mode is a bit the ride-and-handling
car. This car also has more modes than a modern much, because it makes the sounds of a World balance, underwhelm-
washing machine, which is annoying at worst but Rally Championship car. ing interior for $75,850,
at best lets you tailor the car to your preferences. There’s also N e-shift, which matches the fake performance tires cost
Two buttons on the steering wheel allow for four sound with fake shifting. It’ll bog if you select too extra, chrome exterior
presets. You could spend longer than our two- high a gear and bounce off the simulated redline flourishes resemble a
week loan period trying out all the permutations. if you don’t pull the paddle for an upshift. The landau bar. VERDICT:
Turning on N Active Sound+ and selecting precise pairing of sound and feel is what makes it Acura’s first EV doesn’t
Ignition, the subsetting that sounds most like so convincing. It’ll mimic a powershift, sending a quite fulfill the Type S
a car’s engine, makes the 5 N do a Meg Ryan in shock wave through your back with just the right mission.

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 2024 EV OF THE YEAR 35

2024
contender

Unlock N Drift
Optimizer once
2024 AUDI Q8 you get 1000 fol-
E-TRON SPORTBACK lowers on TikTok.
HIGHS: Polished Kidding. It’s in the
menu, along with
ride-and-handling an overwhelming
balance, a hushed 64 number of options.
decibels at 70 mph,
luxurious cabin finish
and spacious accom-
modations, never amount of head nod. And true to manual-shifting Do a soundtrack and shift fakery count as
flaunts its EV-ness. performance, it’s slower. Should you want to en- technology? They do when the integration is
LOWS: A combined joy the simulated powershifts from a stoplight, so well executed that you can fool yourself or
402 horsepower makes your 60-mph time climbs to 3.5 seconds (you your passengers into believing the car is burning
for a so-so 5.2-second also can’t use launch control in this mode). dinosaur remains. And before any Tesla loyalists
60-mph time, touch- complain that we aren’t giving the Cybertruck its
screen overload, due, know that the one we rented broke on the
another funky toggle second day, effectively parking itself with just a
shifter, can approach few hundred miles on its odometer. A DNF re-
$100,000 with options. sults in a mission-fulfillment score of zero.
VERDICT: A sophisti- The sound and shifting simulacrum isn’t for
cated and refined Audi everyone, and it’s certainly not for all the time,
SUV that happens to but it’s a clever injection of joy that propels the
be electric. Ioniq 5 N ahead of this year’s competition. This is
a genuinely entertaining EV that doesn’t cost six
figures, and it gives us hope for the future. That’s
something worth getting excited about. May-
be not quite vintage 911 Club Sport or 1064-hp
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 excited, but pretty darn
close. That alone merits winning EV of the Year.

19,500
ENERGY ECONOMY
Mercedes-Benz EQS450+ SUV
POUNDS MOVED ONE MILE PER KILOWATT-HOUR

MASS MATH 17,500

VW ID.4 AWD Pro S Chevrolet Equinox EV AWD

Chevrolet Silverado EV RST
Honda Prologue Elite
Mass efficiency indicates how frugal- 15,500
Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD Acura ZDX Type S
ly a vehicle can move its weight. The Fisker Ocean
BMW i5 M60
Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV is best, with Hyundai Kona EV
Tesla Cybertruck*
I L LU ST R AT I O N BY C H R I S P H I L P OT

each of its kilowatt-hours able to move 13,500

Audi Q8 e-tron Sportback
Kia EV9 GT-Line
over 19,000 pounds of the crossover one Polestar 2 Performance

mile at 75 mph. The Chevy Silverado EV

tops four tons but moves its heft efficiently. 11,500
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
The Ioniq 5 N is near the bottom despite a
relatively low curb weight. The EV of the Fiat 500e
*Cybertruck Beast data from C/D, May/June 2024.
Year winner wears summer tires and is 9500

tuned for fun. Fun is rarely efficient. —K.C. 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500 8000 8500 9000
CURB WEIGHT (POUNDS)

36 2024 EV OF THE YEAR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

2025 Hyundai GEAR RATIO MPH PER MAX SPEED
1000 RPM IN GEAR (rpm)
������� 2�26 ����� 7�7 ����������������163 mph (21,000) TEST RESULTS
Ioniq 5 N F

R ������� 2�27 ����� 7�7 ����������������163 mph (21,000) Acceleration

CHASSIS 160 29.3

PRICE unit-construction with a rubber-isolated rear 21.2
As Tested ��������������������������������������������������� $68,705 subframe
Base ����������������������������������������������������������� $67,495 Body Material: steel stampings 140 16�4

12�9
Vehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel- STEERING
123 1/4-MILE 11.1
drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon rack-and-pinion with variable electric power assist 10.3
120
Options: Performance Blue Matte paint, $1000; Ratio ������������������������������������������������������������� 12�5:1
carpeted floor mats, $210 Turns Lock-to-Lock ������������������������������������������ 2�3 8�4
Infotainment: 12�3-inch touchscreen; wireless Turning Circle Curb-to-Curb ��������������������� 40�7 ft
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay; satellite radio (3 100 6�9
months included); 5 USB-C (4 for power only) and SUSPENSION 5.7
Bluetooth inputs; Wi-Fi hotspot (3�0 GB or 3 months F: ind; strut located by a control arm; coil springs;

MPH
included); Bose stereo, 8 speakers 3-position electronically controlled dampers; 80 4�6
anti-roll bar
3�8
MOTORS R: ind; 2 diagonal, 2 lateral, and a toe-control link
2 permanent-magnet synchronous AC per side; coil springs; 3-position electronically 60 3.0
Power �������������������������������������� F: 235 hp R: 406 hp controlled dampers; anti-roll bar
Torque �������������������������������� F: 273 lb-ft R: 295 lb-ft 2�4
BRAKES
COMBINED OUTPUT F: 15�7 x 1�3-in vented disc, 4-piston fixed caliper 40 1�8
Power ����������������������������������������������������������� 641 hp R: 14�2 x 0�8-in vented disc, 1-piston sliding caliper 1.3
Torque ������������������������������������������������������� 568 lb-ft Stability Control: fully defeatable, competition
modes, launch control 20
BATTERY PACK
liquid-cooled lithium-ion WHEELS AND TIRES
Cell Count/Construction ������������� 384/pouch-type Wheels: forged aluminum, 9�5 x 21 in 0
Capacity �������������������������������������������������� 84�0 kWh Tires: Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Elect 275/35ZR-21 103Y 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
Cell Manufacturer: SK Innovation PNCS HN SEC
Onboard Charger �������������������������������������� 10�9 kW
Peak DC Fast-Charge Rate ����������������������� 250 kW DIMENSIONS Results in graph omit 1-ft rollout of 0.2 sec.
Wheelbase �������������������������������������������������� 118�1 in
DRIVETRAIN Length �������������������������������������������������������� 185�6 in Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ����������������������������� 3�3 sec
Transmissions, F/R: direct-drive Width ����������������������������������������������������������� 76�4 in Top Gear, 30–50 mph �������������������������������� 1�5 sec
Final-Drive Ratio ����������������������������������������� 4�71:1 Height ���������������������������������������������������������� 62�4 in Top Gear, 50–70 mph �������������������������������� 1�8 sec
All-Wheel-Drive System: full time with automatic Front Track �������������������������������������������������� 65�6 in Top Speed (gov ltd) ��������������������������������� 163 mph
front-axle engagement and an electronically Rear Track ��������������������������������������������������� 65�8 in
controlled limited-slip rear differential Ground Clearance ����������������������������������������� 5�6 in Handling
Passenger Volume, F/R ��������������������������� 55/52 ft³ Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad ����������������������� 0�96 g
Cargo Volume, behind F/R ���������������������� 59/26 ft³ Understeer: minimal

Braking
COMPETITORS 70–0 mph ��������������������������������������������������� 153 ft
Hatchbacks that can throw a heater� 100–0 mph ������������������������������������������������� 304 ft
Fade: none
A Hyundai Ioniq 5 N B Kia EV6 GT C Polestar 2 D Volkswagen Golf R
Weight
2 AC motors, 641 hp; 2 AC motors, 576 hp; Performance Plus 2�0-L I-4, 315 hp; Curb ��������������������������������������������������������� 4849 lb
direct-drive direct-drive 2 AC motors, 449 hp; 7-sp auto Per Horsepower �������������������������������������������� 7�6 lb
direct-drive Distribution, F/R ���������������������������������� 50�0/50�0%

75 4900 4�5 13�4 165 1�00 550 C/D Fuel Economy and Range
Observed ����������������������������������������������� 69 MPGe
75-mph Hwy Range ���������������������������������� 190 mi
A
Average DC Fast-Charge Rate, 10–90% ��� 129 kW
C 65 4400 4�0 12�6 160 0�96 425 DC Fast-Charge Time, 10–90% ����������������� 35 min

B EPA Fuel Economy

Comb/City/Hwy ��������������������������� 78/84/72 MPGe
55 3900 3�5 11�8 155 0�92 300 Range �������������������������������������������������������� 221 mi

Interior Sound Level

D
Idle ������������������������������������������������������������ 38 dBA
45 3400 3�0 11�0 150 0�88 175 Full Throttle ����������������������������������������������� 71 dBA
70-mph Cruising ���������������������������������������� 70 dBA
Base Curb 60-mph 1/4-mile 70–0-mph Roadholding, 75-mph
Price, Weight, Acceleration, Acceleration, Braking, 300-ft Highway Tested by Dave VanderWerp in Chelsea, MI
$ x 1000* lb sec sec ft Skidpad, g Range, mi

*Includes performance-enhancing options� 37

 With a familiar family-
and reasonably fast DC
Equinox EV and the

The by Andrew Wendler / photography by Marc Urbano

New Normal
38 2024 EV OF THE YEAR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER
friendly shape, usable range,
charging, the Chevrolet
Volkswagen ID.4 strive to be . . .

Gone are the days when an EV in the driveway sedan as the vehicle of choice for suburbanites.
marked you as the neighborhood eccentric. And While neither had the fun factor to win EV of
although early sales projections have revealed the Year, the competition revealed one of them
themselves to be more than a tad optimistic, to have an edge for mainstream SUV shoppers
electric vehicles continue to roll off the line and considering going electric.
into the garages of everyday consumers. Chevrolet would like you to think the Equi-
Which brings us to the 2024 Chevrolet Equi- nox EV is simply an electric version of its popular
nox EV LT AWD and the 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 internal-combustion Equinox. A quick scan of
Pro S AWD, a pair of family-friendly EVs aimed the dimensions disproves this notion, as the EV
right down the center of Main Street, U.S.A. In is longer and wider with a wheelbase 8.8 inches
addition to all-wheel drive, both feature EPA greater than the 2024 gas model’s.
range estimates of over 250 miles and the cross- The ID.4 doesn’t share a name with any of
over body style that has all but eliminated the VW’s gas-powered SUVs, although it does share

39
 its MEB platform and much of its attendant hard- In contrast, the VW’s steering is a tad darty on
ware with the electric ID.5 (not sold in the U.S.). the highway, and its brake pedal is mushier than

2024
contender
At 180.5 inches long and 72.9 inches wide with
a 108.8-inch wheelbase, the all-wheel-drive ID.4
trails the Chevy EV in almost every dimension.
a Hallmark movie. Otherwise, the ID.4 is fun to
drive, although its tauter suspension sacrifices
some ride comfort. Every control seems lighter,
Yet the VW ekes out more front headroom inputs feel more direct, and the chassis responds
and has 30 cubic feet of cargo room behind the eagerly, encouraging driver engagement.
rear seats to the Chevy’s 26. The Equinox fires The Equinox’s softer suspension filters out
2024 BMW i5 back with greater front legroom. Thus begins a more road irregularities, however, and Super
HIGHS: Blazingly quick statistical tit for tat that exemplifies this pairing. Cruise takes some drudgery out of highway slogs.
in M60 guise with As tested, our Equinox EV carries a $50,795 Just know that missing lane lines and unmapped
plenty of performance sticker price. The LT starts at $43,295; the dual- routes can flummox it. IQ.Drive offers a lower
in the eDrive40 too, a motor, all-wheel-drive setup adds $3300; GM’s level of assistance but functions as expected.
quiet and composed excellent Super Cruise hands-free driving sys- Not only is the ID.4 more agile, it’s also com-
cruiser, nearly intuitive tem costs $2700; and a panoramic sunroof is paratively quick. Sporting a pair of motors good
infotainment interface. $1500. The Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S AWD rolls its for a combined 335 horsepower, the VW laid
LOWS: Artificial steer- dual-motor powertrain and panoramic sunroof down a 60-mph time of 4.8 seconds and cleared
ing feel hampers the fun into its $55,300 base price. (The single-motor the quarter-mile in 13.5 seconds at 98 mph. The
factor, overreliance on Pro S, meanwhile, starts at $51,420.) The only ex- Chevy’s dual-motor setup produces 288 horse-
touch controls, stiffly tra on our $55,695 test car is Aurora Red Metallic power and 333 pound-feet of torque, conceding
padded seats, the $85K paint ($395). Super Cruise is obviously not on the 47 ponies to the Volkswagen. Further stymied by
M60 represents a big VW menu, but the ID.4 does include the IQ.Drive its extra heft, the Equinox requires an additional
upcharge over the $68K system with adaptive cruise control, lane-change second on the run to 60 mph and 1.1 seconds in
eDrive40. VERDICT: and lane-keeping assists, and a few additional the quarter-mile.
An EV so thoroughly driver aids. Our ID.4 tester resides near the top of The ID.4, despite its vague-feeling brake
normal and competent, its lineup, unlike our nearly bottom-rung Equi- pedal, stops from 70 mph in 169 feet. While the
you almost forget it’s nox EV LT. The ID.4’s least expensive single- Equinox requires 178 feet, we must give a special
even an EV. motor trim starts at $41,160, and the Equinox EV mention to its brake pedal, which finesses the
will soon offer one too, for $34,995. transition from regeneration to friction braking
Despite the similar dossiers, the real-world with a grace that still eludes many EVs.
personalities of these vehicles are distinct. As The Equinox’s ginormous 17.7-inch touch-
senior features editor Greg Fink observed in a screen should be intuitive for most despite GM’s
test-defining comment, “The Equinox EV rolls corporate-wide ban of Apple CarPlay and An-
Screen scenes through turns like a cruise ship in rough waters. droid Auto. The Chevy gets bonus points for
(from left): The ID.4
has a small display This Chevy weighs 5041 pounds, but the Volks- having physical HVAC controls but demerits
for gauges and a wagen, which isn’t far behind at 4888 pounds, for the lack of a dedicated knob for drive modes.
much larger one for drives as if it carries half the mass of its bow-tie- The ID.4 Pro S features a 12.9-inch infotainment
infotainment; the badged competitor.” Slow steering and a promi- screen, but even with VW’s latest and fastest-
two displays in the
Equinox EV merge nent on-center valley add to the ambiguous feel responding software, it continues the tradition of
together. at the helm of the Equinox. the brand’s maddening inability to create an in-
 2024 Chevrolet Equinox 2024 Volkswagen ID.4
EV LT AWD Pro S AWD
Base/As Tested $46,595/$50,795 $55,300/$55,695
Dimensions
Wheelbase 116.3 in 108.8 in
Length/Width/Height 190.6/76.9/64.8 in 180.5/72.9/65.2 in
Interior Volume, F/R 55/47 ft3 56/45 ft3
Cargo Volume, behind F/R 57/26 ft3 64/30 ft3
Powertrain
Motors F: permanent-magnet F: induction AC
synchronous AC R: permanent-magnet
R: induction AC synchronous AC
Combined Power 288 hp 335 hp
Combined Torque 333 lb-ft –
Battery
Capacity 85.0 kWh 77.0 kWh
Peak DC Fast-Charge Rate 150 kW 75 kW
TEST RESULTS
Acceleration
60 mph 5.8 sec 4.8 sec
1/4-Mile @ mph 14.6 sec @ 94 13.5 sec @ 98
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph 5.9 sec 4.8 sec
Top Speed 112 mph (gov ltd) 100 mph (gov ltd)
Chassis
Braking, 70–0 mph 178 ft 169 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad 0.81 g 0.86 g
Weight With 47 more
horsepower than
Curb 5041 lb 4888 lb
the Equinox EV, the
Fuel ID.4 accelerates
EPA Comb/City/Hwy 96/101/90 MPGe 102/108/96 MPGe more quickly past
EPA Range 285 mi 263 mi bland, featureless
C/D 200-mi Trip 103 MPGe 117 MPGe buildings.
75-mph Hwy Range 260 mi 240 mi
DC Fast-Charge 10–90%,
Average Rate/Time 94 kW/51 min 109 kW/37 min

viting and engaging user interface. (Maybe new AC charging is basically a wash, with the Chevy’s
2024
contender
partner Rivian could help out.) Apple CarPlay 11.5-kW capability edging out the ID.4’s 11.0-kW.
and Android Auto save the day, and although On a 350-kW fast-charger with the battery
we believe there is not yet a worthy substitute juicing from 10 to 90 percent, the Equinox EV
for physical HVAC controls, the newly back- came out of the gate at 150 kilowatts, peaked at
lit touch-capacitive temp and volume sliders at 158, and averaged 94 kilowatts over the charge. 2024 CHEVROLET
the base of the center screen are better than the Under the same conditions, the ID.4 hit the BLAZER EV RS AWD
previous setup. A remaining annoyance is the ground running at 171 kilowatts, peaked at 186, HIGHS: Confident ride
F/R selector switch for the power windows. Ev- and averaged 109 kilowatts. Charging to 90 per- behavior, $55K starting
ery driver agreed that having to click a separate cent required 51 minutes in the Equinox and 37 price, sharp exterior
“rear” button is both cumbersome and annoying. minutes in the ID.4. That’s a considerable gap, design, massive back
But for most modern EV shoppers, it’s range, but each automaker has its own charging strat- seat, useful steering-
charging, and efficiency that top the list of criti- egy that takes into account factors such as pre- wheel-mounted
cal metrics for decision-making. The EPA grants serving battery life. Two additional unofficial regen paddle. LOWS:
the all-wheel-drive ID.4 a 102-MPGe combined charging sessions at 350-kW chargers in Ohio A 6.0-second 60-mph
I L LU ST R AT I O N S BY C H R I S P H I L P OT

estimate and the all-wheel-drive Equinox EV and Indiana confirmed our findings: Every time, time isn’t turning heads,
a 96-MPGe rating. Our testing revealed fur- the ID.4 finished first, regardless of the weather forgettable dynam-
ther separation, with the Chevy returning 103 or the equipment. ics, silly HVAC-vent
MPGe to the Volkswagen’s 117. The Equinox did Time, it is said, is the currency of life, and we’d placement in the center
squeeze out 260 miles in our 75-mph highway rather not spend what we’ve got left at a charging stack, unintuitive on/off
test, while the ID.4 trailed at 240 miles. station. If we can have a good time burning up procedures, funky driv-
Battery capacities are 85.0 kilowatt-hours for those fresh electrons with the ID.4’s quicker pace ing position. VERDICT:
the Equinox and 77.0 for the ID.4. Chevy says and more playful chassis, we’ll forgive its slightly A solid mid-size EV
the Equinox can fast-charge at up to 150 kilo- funky brake pedal and infotainment irritations muddled by question-
watts, while VW claims the ID.4 can take 175. and give it the win. Nothing weird about that. able details.

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 2024 EV OF THE YEAR 41

Our EV of the Year evaluation is rife with debate,
Sentry mode would capture a conversation
when we parked them next to each other one

42 2024 EV OF THE YEAR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

 imari
p h oto g ra p hy by Michael S
/
by Ezra Dyer

but we never thought the Tesla Cybertruck’s

it had with the Chevrolet Silverado EV
afternoon. This is the transcript. Probably.

43
 We can’t believe the
Cybertruck didn’t
call out the Silverado

2024
contenders
for having a tonneau
cover by Zig-Zag.
And the Chevy could
have pointed out
that the only round
thing we found in the
Cybertruck interi-
or is the rivet that
keeps the accelera-
2024 FIAT 500E tor pedal from
falling apart.
HIGHS: Adorable styl-
ing, nimble proportions,
$34K base price, no-
cost summer-tire option
increases EPA range
to 149 miles. LOWS:
120-mile range at 75
mph means it’s strictly
a city car, subpar ride
over bad pavement,
cheap interior plastics,
some ergonomic ec- SILVERADO: I can’t believe I got parked here vious to dents and scratches. Pretty much the
centricities, diminutive next to you. I hope none of my friends see me. toughest skin on any truck.
back seat and cargo CYBERTRUCK: Because you’ll look so banal SILVERADO: Oh yeah, you sure are rugged.
hold, slow. VERDICT: A next to the most desirable truck on earth? That’s why the exterior-cleaning section of your
charming city runabout SILVERADO: No, because you’re so dorky. owner’s manual says: “Do not wash in direct sun-
with Italian flair, if that’s You’re like if Dungeons & Dragons had a steer- light. . . . Do not use hot water. . . . Do not aim water
your thing. ing wheel. hoses directly at windows, door, or hood seals. . . .
CYBERTRUCK: Ha. I don’t even have a steering Avoid using tight-napped or rough cloths, such
wheel. It’s called a squircle, and it’s less than as washing mitts. . . . Use touchless car washes
one turn lock to lock. only.” And you didn’t even last two days at EV of
SILVERADO: See what I mean? In the Bob the Year before shearing a front half-shaft. I’ve
Seger song catalog, I’m “Like a Rock” and you’re seen tougher EVs from Power Wheels.
“Shame on the Moon.” CYBERTRUCK: Yeah, well, I have native charging
CYBERTRUCK: I’ve never heard of that one. at Superchargers. Where do you charge?
2024 HONDA SILVERADO: It’s a deep cut. Like the ones peo- SILVERADO: At your mom’s house.
PROLOGUE ple get from your bodywork. CYBERTRUCK: More like my dad’s house, with
ELITE AWD CYBERTRUCK: I’m stainless steel, baby. Imper- his permission. Also, you’re boring.
HIGHS: Conservatively
attractive styling,
inoffensive ride and
driving dynamics,
generous cabin space
with lots of stowage,
competitive range and
charging. LOWS: Not
so quick for an EV at
5.9 seconds to 60 mph,
dull handling, bland
interior design, some
GM-based controls
may put off the Honda
faithful. VERDICT: Hon-
da enters the EV game
with a less interesting
Chevy Blazer.

44
SILVERADO: You collect more fingerprints than 2024 Chevrolet 2024 Tesla Cybertruck
the NYPD homicide squads. Silverado EV RST AWD Foundation
CYBERTRUCK: You’re the perfect truck for Base/As Tested $96,495/$96,715 $81,985/$101,985
everyone who ever said, “If only the Chevy Ava-
Powertrain
lanche weighed as much as Gibraltar.” Motors F: permanent-magnet F: induction AC
SILVERADO: Your windshield wiper works synchronous AC R: permanent-magnet
about as well as a squeegee guy with a bucket of R: permanent-magnet synchronous AC
synchronous AC
shrimp gumbo. Combined Power 754 hp 593 hp
CYBERTRUCK: I like your midgate. That makes Combined Torque 785 lb-ft 525 lb-ft
it so people can sleep inside, which should Battery
come in handy since you’re boring enough to Capacity 205.0 kWh 123.0 kWh
induce narcolepsy. Peak DC Fast-Charge Rate 350 kW 250 kW
SILVERADO: And I like your power tonneau
cover. I hope there’s enough room under there TEST RESULTS
for all your emotional baggage. Acceleration
60 mph 4.1 sec 3.9 sec
CYBERTRUCK: I’ve got a 48-volt electrical ar- 1/4-Mile @ mph 12.6 sec @ 111 mph 12.4 sec @ 111 mph
chitecture. Results above omit 1-ft Results above omit 1-ft
SILVERADO: I hear raccoons keep trying to rollout of 0.3 sec. rollout of 0.5 sec.
Top Speed 113 mph 113 mph
break into you because you look like a dumpster.
CYBERTRUCK: You’re just jealous of my steer- Chassis
Braking, 70–0 mph 207 ft 187 ft
by-wire system. Roadholding,
SILVERADO: Sure. Car buyers love steer-by-wire. 300-ft Skidpad 0.72 g 0.75 g
That’s why the Infiniti Q50 is the bestselling car Weight
in the world. Curb 8800 lb 6638 lb
CYBERTRUCK: You’re so porky, when you drive
onto a truck-stop scale, it reads “One at a time!”
SILVERADO: I’ll keep that in mind when I’ve
driven your claimed range of 318 miles and can CYBERTRUCK: I’ve been hearing it’s almost
still do over 100 more—steering and changing ready. Any day now, probably, I’ll get an over-
lanes on my own, thanks to Super Cruise. How’s the-air update and be able to drive anywhere I
that Full Self Driving coming along, by the way? want, all by myself.
SILVERADO: Cool. Do you have a specific date
for when that will happen?
CYBERTRUCK: It’s in beta. Like, the final betas,
2024
contender
probably. Machine learning. AI. Neural network.
Gigabit ethernet. Quantum computing.
SILVERADO: Now you’re just spouting techy
nonsense.
CYBERTRUCK: No, you’re pumping your stock 2024 HYUNDAI
price. What? KONA ELECTRIC
SILVERADO: I’m just saying that I under- HIGHS: Convenient
promise and overdeliver, and you’re out there size, decently refined
with people thinking you can “serve briefly as a and fun to drive, ac-
boat,” your body will stop bullets, and you’re as commodating cabin
quick as a Lamborghini. with plenty of physical
CYBERTRUCK: And all of that is true, which is buttons, usable back
pretty wild, isn’t it? Although the first point is seat, solid range,
true of any truck. It just depends on your defini- improved charging,
tion of “briefly.” starts under $35K.
SILVERADO: Oh, oh—do you hear what I hear? LOWS: Slower than the
CYBERTRUCK: Is that . . . Limp Bizkit? previous gen, doesn’t
RAM REV: [Shouting over “Nookie”] What’s charge as quickly as
up, buttheads?! Who wants to go to Panama other Hyundai EVs,
City? I bet you’re in, Space Fridge! some cheap interior
[Cybertruck and Silverado back away slowly.] plastics, the Limited
SILVERADO: Maybe you’re not so bad. trim has limited value
CYBERTRUCK: You either. Hey, wanna go grab a at $42K. VERDICT:
charge with Lightning? A strong starter EV
SILVERADO: Sure. Let’s say, Electrify America? overshadowed by its
[Silverado and Cybertruck both laugh.] cooler siblings.

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 2024 EV OF THE YEAR

O C E A N
46
 A potentially interesting
electric SUV, the Fisker
Ocean One suffers from
some rough edges.
by Csaba Csere
photography by Marc Urbano

STARTING A SUCCESSFUL CAR COMPANY is hard, as

Henrik Fisker well knows. After working at BMW and Aston
Martin, the talented designer struck out with Fisker Coach-
build (the Fisker Tramonto and the Latigo CS), Fisker Auto-
motive (the Karma), and VLF Automotive (the Force 1 V10).
The latest endeavor, Fisker Inc., produced the Ocean electric.
We sampled the Ocean One, a limited-production launch
edition equipped with everything on the top-of-the-line
Extreme model, plus a few unique features. That means
two-motor all-wheel drive, a total of 564 horsepower and
543 pound-feet of torque, a 106.5-kWh battery promising
360 miles of EPA range, and solar cells on the roof.
This two-row SUV is a little longer and wider than a
Volvo XC60. It looks aggressive, with plenty of bumps and
grinds in the bodywork and a high kickup toward the rear
of the beltline. We encountered a number of passersby who
were smitten by the Ocean’s looks, perhaps taken by its
matte Big Sur Blue paint and 22-inch F6 Vortex wheels.

B L U E S
CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 2024 EV OF THE YEAR 47
2024
contenders

2024 KIA EV9 AWD

HIGHS: Unique design, Fisker follows Tesla’s
sensible cabin layout lead by having nearly all
functions operated via the
with upscale materials, touchscreen. Here, how-
spacious accommoda- ever, the screen can flip
tions in all three rows, from upright to horizontal.
strong 4.5-second
acceleration to 60
mph, a 10Best winner,
very quick charging,
240-mile C/D highway
range. LOWS: We’ve
yet to drive the 201-hp
single-motor version,
dual-motor models The interior is comfortable enough for four On our top-trim example, the solar cells
start at $65,395. adults, though the rear seat cushions are a little embedded in the glass sunroof can provide a
VERDICT: Kia’s winning low and short. Fisker is big on sustainability, claimed 2000 or more miles of driving per year,
three-row-SUV formula and the upholstery in our car consisted of Mali- assuming you don’t regularly park in a shaded lot
works on an EV. Blu microsuede, with various recycled and syn- or a garage. In fact, on our test car, this sunroof
thetic materials on other surfaces. The overall powered about 10 percent of the miles driven. In
effect doesn’t feel rich, though it is functional. our 75-mph highway range test, the Ocean deliv-
In general, the Ocean drives decently. The ered a solid 290 miles.
steering is accurate, and the brake feel isn’t bad. Unfortunately, many of the controls are odd.
But ride comfort could be better on rough roads, For example, the cruise control uses a thumb-
and with a 70-mph sound level of 69 decibels, wheel and a couple of opaque buttons. Annoy-
the Ocean lacks the hushed interior of many EVs.
2024 MERCEDES- In the mildest of the Ocean One’s three drive
BENZ EQS450+ SUV modes, Earth, accelerator response from rest is 2023 FISKER OCEAN ONE
HIGHS: Mercedes sluggish and generally inconsistent. Even keep- Vehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-
opulence, functional ing up with normal traffic seems difficult, which drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon Base/As Tested:
$71,437/$79,212 Motors: 2 permanent-magnet synchronous
available three-row is ridiculous for a car that can hit 60 mph in 3.9 AC Combined Power: 564 hp Combined Torque: 543 lb-ft
packaging, plush ride seconds and cover the quarter-mile in 12.5. In Transmissions, F/R: direct-drive Battery Pack: liquid-
quality, impressive Fun mode, the Ocean is livelier and generally be- cooled lithium-ion, 106.5 kWh Onboard Charger: 11.0 kW
340-mile C/D highway haves as we’d expect. Peak DC Fast-Charge Rate: 250 kW Wheelbase: 115.0 in
L/W/H: 188.0/78.5/64.1 in C/D Curb Weight: 5389 lb
range. LOWS: Six- It’s no sports car, however. The undefeatable
figure price, near-six- stability-control system limits the Ocean’s cor-
second acceleration nering grip to 0.79 g. And stopping distances are TEST RESULTS
to 60 mph, bloblike lengthy, with the SUV requiring 173 feet to halt 60 mph ................................................................... 3.9 sec
styling, significant from 70 mph and 350 feet from 100. 100 mph ............................................................... 10.1 sec
1/4-Mile ........................................... 12.5 sec @ 110 mph
body roll in corners, Fisker enhanced the Ocean with a number of Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
numb steering, tall cowl novel ideas. California mode, for example, opens Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ...................................... 4.2 sec
impedes forward sight- the four main side windows, the tiny and visu- Top Speed (gov ltd) ............................................. 129 mph
lines, dash-spanning ally useless “doggie” rear quarter-windows, the Braking, 70–0/100–0 mph .............................. 173/350 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad ................................ 0.79 g
Hyperscreen is not for liftgate window, and the large glass sunroof with
everyone. VERDICT: a single button press. The Ocean’s 17.1-inch info- C/D FUEL ECONOMY AND RANGE
Unconventional electric tainment touchscreen can rotate from vertical to Observed ............................................................. 79 MPGe
luxury for the whole horizontal in the One, letting you watch videos 75-mph Hwy Range .............................................. 290 mi
family. while parked. When you press what looks like a Average DC Fast-Charge Rate, 10–90% ............. 96 kW
DC Fast-Charge Time, 10–90% ............................ 57 min
glovebox release button, a small “taco tray” ex-
tends from the dashboard. A second mini table EPA FUEL ECONOMY
unfolds from the central console. Combined/Range ................................... 92 MPGe/360 mi

48
 Solar panels
embedded in the THE TECH
roof help charge
the battery. The in-
terior features eco-
friendly materials,
VOLTAGE
such as the MaliBlu
microsuede in
our test car.
MATTERS
The fastest-charging
EVs rely on 800-plus-
volt energy to
ingly, Fisker buries the odometer in the menus replenish their bat-
of the touchscreen. And while the Ocean offers teries speedily. But
an electronic display of the rear camera feed in if a DC fast-charger
the rearview mirror, it requires that the driver dispenses electricity
change eye focus when shifting from the road to at 400 volts, then the
the display—this quickly grew tiresome. vehicle must convert
And there were several quality issues. The that lower-voltage
liftgate frequently failed to open fully when its input to whatever its
external button was pressed. Sometimes the battery requires via a
climate-control system wouldn’t produce enough DC-to-DC converter
heat; at other times it seemed too cold. A paired built into the car.
phone wouldn’t automatically connect after a re- In that scenario,
start, even though the car showed the phone on charge-rate limits
the list of paired devices. After each start, the car tend to be drastically
operated with low regen, even though the settings lower. For example,
menu showed that high was selected. During on 400 volts, a Lucid
acceleration testing, the launch-control mode Air charges at only
stopped working after a couple of tries. And this 50 kilowatts, about
SUV has the world’s loudest turn-signal clicks. six times slower
All of this suggests that Fisker rushed the than its high-voltage
Ocean’s development and production started peak. Early Porsche
prematurely. Resolving such glitches is not Taycans were also
glamorous work, but it appears Fisker won’t get capped at 50 kilo-
the chance. watts, with 150-kW
capability optional,
although that higher
OBITUARY capacity is now
standard for 2025.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5
Fisker Inc. the sole model Fisker pro- of up to $24,000. and the Kia EV6 can
Fisker Inc. of Los Angeles duced. The first U.S.-spec On June 5, Fisker issued a reach around 120
died on June 17, 2024. It was vehicles were delivered to recall of 6864 Ocean SUVs— kilowatts, half their
seven years old. customers in June 2023. believed to be all the vehicles 800-volt speeds. This
Fisker Inc. was born on The good news for Fisker in public hands in the United issue is increasingly
October 3, 2016, to famed ended soon after. Following States—over a control-unit relevant because Tes-
automotive designer and a grim earnings call this defect. On June 17, the auto- la’s extensive Super-
serial entrepreneur Henrik past March, the company maker’s operating subsidiary charger network,
Fisker and his wife, Geeta announced it would pause filed for Chapter 11 bankrupt- which operates at
Gupta-Fisker, who was development of the Pear cy, effectively sealing the 400 volts, is opening
responsible for finance and SUV and the Alaska pickup company’s fate. up to other makes.
operations. while also laying off roughly As part of the bankruptcy EV drivers may want
In 2020, the company 15 percent of its staff. filings, Fisker agreed to sell to note the voltage
unveiled its first vehicle, the Hope for a major cash in- the remaining 3231 vehicles at their planned
Ocean electric SUV, to be fusion fizzled, leaving Fisker in its possession along with charging stops. A
built by Magna Steyr of Graz, scrambling for capital. The “all relevant source code” to recent charge at a
Austria. Intended to be the bad news compounded, re- a New York–based leasing Supercharger in our
first of a multivehicle lineup, sulting in a pause in Ocean firm as it liquidates its as- long-term Kia EV9
the Ocean wound up being production and price cuts sets. —Jack Fitzgerald didn’t exceed an
80-kW trickle.
—Dave VanderWerp

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 2024 EV OF THE YEAR 49

GETAW
We bug out of the city with the Land Rover
Defender 130 and the Lexus GX550 to see which
pampers us deepest into the backcountry.
by Mike Sutton / photography by Greg Pajo
 But that doesn’t mean you have to rough it. In
search of a capable yet comfortable mount, a dis-
cerning explorer might wonder: Can today’s lux-
ury SUVs break serious trail without shedding
their bumpers in the process?
Lexus believes the answer is yes when it
comes to its 2024 GX550, which builds on the
already hardy bones of the redesigned Toyota
Land Cruiser. That this mid-size SUV also in-
troduces an adventure-themed Overtrail model
to the brand suggests it rivals one of the go-to
nameplates in upscale overlanding, the Land
Rover Defender.
Like all new GXs, Overtrail models are pow- LAND ROVER
ered by a twin-turbo 3.4-liter V-6 backed by a DEFENDER 130
10-speed automatic transmission and a full-time OUTBOUND
four-wheel-drive system with low range and a Highs: A beast on
lockable Torsen center differential. Key figures the trails, thoroughly
include a decent 349 horsepower, a hefty 479 refined, cavernous
pound-feet of torque, and a big 9063-pound tow- interior. Lows:
ing capacity on our Overtrail+ model, which also Bulky size, phoned-
offers fripperies such as massaging front seats. in throttle and
Unlike the street-oriented Premium and Luxu- steering response,
ry trims that can be configured with six or seven complicated
seats, Overtrails have two rows only. But a host of interface. Verdict:
rugged upgrades are included: low-speed crawl Go-anywhere
control, downhill-assist control, various off-road capability and luxury.
drive modes, a terrain-monitoring system, a lock-
ing rear differential, and Lexus’s new Electronic

52 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

LEXUS GX550
OVERTRAIL+
Highs: Impressive
off-road prowess,
responsive chassis,
no-nonsense
ergonomics. Lows:
Compact back
seat, primitive ride
quality, hood flutters
at highway speeds.
Verdict: A pricey trail
basher in need of
polishing.
 a full-time four-wheel-drive system with a two-
speed transfer case. In contrast to the body-on-
frame GX, with its coil springs and solid rear axle,
the Defender uses unibody construction with an
independent suspension at both ends supported
by adjustable air springs, albeit without the abil-
ity to disconnect its anti-roll bars. It also features
an electronically locking center differential, and
its towing capacity is 8201 pounds. The Off-Road
pack ($1250) adds an electronically controlled
locking rear differential with brake-based torque
vectoring. Yet, unlike the Lexus’s manually se-
lectable lockers, the Rover’s are controlled by the
All Terrain Progress Control, Terrain Response 2,
and other electronic chassis systems that come
with the Towing Pack 2 ($1850). Lesser add-ons
helped swell the $86,125 base price to $93,938,
which, in today’s money, amounts to a week’s
worth of Whoppers more than the Lexus.
With our muck boots packed for a proper ex-
pedition, we set a waypoint for Drummond Is-
land, a small, rocky refuge from cell service off
the eastern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Populated by about 1000 full-time residents and
several billion mosquitoes the size of sparrows,
Drummond Island is also home to gnarly wood-
ed trails that show little mercy to soft-roaders
pretending to be the real deal.

INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR

Both test rigs present as premium machines that
are at their most fashionable when covered in
mud. Easy to mistake for the Land Cruiser that
shares its two-box silhouette, the GX looks the
rough-and-tumble part, stocky yet handsome.
Lexus tastefully scaled down the grille to a rea-
Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (E-KDSS), Touchscreens sonable size, and the airy greenhouse offers pan-
which can automatically disconnect the front and (top, Defender’s, oramic views in all directions. The pronounced
bottom, GX550’s)
rear anti-roll bars independently. Overtrail mod- feature off-road fluttering of the hood on the highway is a less-
els also include adaptive dampers and 18-inch menus and than-reassuring trait that’s compounded by a
wheels wrapped with 33-inch Toyo Open Country settings. tinny sound when shutting the doors.
A/T III all-terrain tires. The Overtrail’s $69,250
ask is $5K more than the base GX550’s, and the
well-equipped Overtrail+ ups the ante to $77,250. 2024 Land Rover 2024 Lexus GX550
A Mark Levinson stereo ($1140), a head-up dis- Defender 130 Outbound Overtrail+
play ($900), and a few minor options brought our
example to $80,915. Not exactly beater territory. Base/As Tested $86,125/$93,938 $77,250/$80,915
The Defender 130 Outbound shares the GX’s Dimensions
outdoorsy vibes and eschews the 130 model’s Wheelbase 119.0 in 112.2 in
Length/Width/Height 211.7/79.0/77.6–80.5 in 197.1/78.7/76.2 in
standard three-row seating for five-up accommo- Track, F/R 67.2/67.0 in 66.4/66.5 in
dations. The Outbound treatment is mostly a shad- Passenger Volume, F/R 56/53 ft³ 56/52 ft³
owy aesthetic enhancement, adding dark-finished Cargo Volume, behind F/R 89/44 ft³ 91/46 ft³
accents inside and out, painted panels over the Approach Angle 30.1–37.5º 26.0°
rearmost side windows, and black 20-inch wheels Break-Over Angle 22.0–27.8º 24.0°
shod with Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac all- Departure Angle 24.5–28.5º 22.0°
Ground Clearance 8.6–11.5 in 8.9 in
terrain tires that stand about as tall as the Over- Max Water-Fording Depth 35.4 in 27.6 in
trail’s Toyos. A super- and turbocharged 3.0-liter Ramp Travel Index 331 613
inline-six routes 395 horses and 406 pound-feet Towing
through ZF’s excellent eight-speed automatic and Max/As Tested 8201/8201 lb 9063/9063 lb

54 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

The Land Rover’s
dark-colored interior
(top) is quiet and
spacious but also
rugged. The Lexus’s
cabin (bottom),
on the other hand,
offers brighter hues
yet doesn’t feel
quite as upscale.

55
Lake Huron’s
129-square-mile
Drummond Island is
the second-largest
freshwater island in
the United States.
Along with 150
miles of coastline,
it features over 100
miles of wooded off-
road trails.

The Rover’s hood also wobbles at speed but

2024 Land Rover 2024 Lexus GX550
to a lesser degree, and the 130 generally exhib- Defender 130 Outbound Overtrail+
its the solidity of an ingot. Sized like a bus com- Powertrain
pared with the sensibly proportioned GX, its 14.6 Engine super- and turbocharged twin-turbocharged DOHC
DOHC 24-valve inline-6 24-valve V-6
additional inches of length and 6.8-inch-longer 183 in³ (2996 cm³) 210 in³ (3445 cm³)
wheelbase make it far less nimble. We found no
Power, hp @ rpm 395 @ 6500 349 @ 5200
practical use for our example’s side-mounted Torque, lb-ft @ rpm 406 @ 2000 479 @ 2000
lockbox and deployable roof ladder, but the De- Redline/Fuel Cutoff 6800/6600 rpm 5800/6250 rpm
fender looks capable and expensive. We wish lb per hp 14.9 16.1
you could spruce up the Outbound trim’s cabin Driveline
with color. The black interior made for a dreary Transmission 8-speed automatic 10-speed automatic
contrast next to the Lexus’s tan and olive uphol- Driven Wheels all all
Transfer-Gear Ratio:1 2.93 2.64
stery. Worsened by its massive rear-quarter blind Final-Drive Ratio:1 3.55 3.31
spots, the gloom inside the bunker-like Defender Chassis
had us eyeing its rubber floor mats as yoga pads Suspension F: multilink, air springs, F: control arms, coil springs,
for lunchtime meditation. anti-roll bar disconnectable anti-roll bar
Nor did the Defender win any points for its R: multilink, air springs, R: live axle, coil springs,
anti-roll bar disconnectable anti-roll bar
clumsy side-hinged rear cargo door, though its
massive luggage hold makes it a better stand- Brakes F: 14.3-in vented disc F: 13.9-in vented disc
in for a box van than the GX. The cushy heated R: 13.8-in vented disc R: 13.2-in vented disc
and ventilated front seats in both vehicles were Stability Control partially defeatable, traction off partially defeatable, traction off
deemed equally comfortable, but the opinions of
Tires Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac Toyo Open Country A/T III
rear-seat riders were decisively one-sided: The 255/60R-20 113Q M+S LR 265/70R-18 116T M+S
Rover is the place to be for two or three back-seat POR 3PMSF

56 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

The Defender’s
optional side-
mounted lockbox
looks practical, but
its 0.8-cubic-foot
capacity limits its
usefulness. It also
sticks out like a wart
and scratches easily
on tight trails.

passengers, as the Lexus is stingy on legroom, screen, and manipulating its physical controls on
and its center console extends onto the floor, the center console is more intuitive than having
leaving little room for a middle occupant’s feet. to search through the Land Rover’s complex on-
While both SUVs feature large, vibrant displays screen menus. The Defender, however, earned
for infotainment and off-road readouts, you’re praise for more price-appropriate materials. The
less reliant on the GX’s straightforward touch- GX suffers from some Toyota-grade plastics.

2024 Land Rover 2024 Lexus GX550

TEST RESULTS Defender 130 Outbound Overtrail+
Acceleration
30 mph 2.0 sec 2.0 sec
60 mph 6.2 sec 6.3 sec
100 mph – 17.0 sec
1/4-Mile @ mph 14.7 sec @ 96 14.8 sec @ 94
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph 6.9 sec 6.9 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph 3.8 sec 3.5 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph 4.4 sec 4.6 sec
Top Speed 100 mph (gov ltd) 108 mph (gov ltd)
Chassis
Braking, 70–0 mph 188 ft 180 ft
Roadholding,
300-ft Skidpad 0.72 g 0.71 g
Weight
Curb 5905 lb 5624 lb
Distribution, F/R 46.2/53.8% 54.0/46.0%
Fuel
Capacity/Octane 23.8 gal/91 21.1 gal/91
EPA Comb/City/Hwy 17/16/18 mpg 17/15/21 mpg
C/D 600-mi Trip 16 mpg 16 mpg
75-mph Hwy Driving 19 mpg 20 mpg
75-mph Hwy Range 450 mi 420 mi
Practical Stowage
No. of 9 x 14 x 22-in
Boxes, behind F/R 37/20 33/18
Length of Pipe 145.0 in 133.0 in
Largest Flat Panel,
Length x Width 84.8 x 38.5 in 77.1 x 43.3 in
Sound Level
Idle/Full Throttle 40/78 dBA 37/75 dBA
70-mph Cruise 67 dBA 67 dBA

Tested by Mike Sutton in Chelsea, MI

57
POWERTRAIN AND PERFORMANCE and the quarter-mile mark by just 0.1 second,
At startup, the Rover’s straight-six idles with a posting 6.2- and 14.7-second times, respectively.
diesel-like clatter that grows into a deep growl as Only a few tenths separated the SUVs’ passing-
the revs pile on, its thrust building in a linear, un- acceleration times. The Land Rover needed
eventful fashion. The Lexus’s V-6 is slightly quiet- eight additional feet to stop from 70 mph (188 to
er at both idle and full whack, yet it also struggles the Lexus’s 180), yet it eked out a smidge more
to inspire with a gruff, agricultural tone that we lateral grip on the skidpad. Its humble 0.72-g ef-
never found charming. Both produce the same fort was all the intrusive stability control would
surprisingly hushed 67 decibels of noise inside at permit, whereas terminal understeer limited the
70 mph, though some roar from their meaty tires Drummond’s Lexus to 0.71 g. Both listed enough during cor-
and blocky aerodynamics is noticeable. imposing rock nering to remind us of an America’s Cup yacht
While both vehicles are peppy enough on the staircase was a heeled over in a strong wind, particularly the GX.
test of both the
road, their mechanicals are largely focused on Defender’s lofty The stalemate continued at the gas pump,
optimizing traction and suspension articulation. ground clear- with both SUVs averaging the same 16 mpg over
The GX is more accomplished in the latter area, ance and the our 600-mile trek and nearly matching each oth-
GX550’s pliable
garnering an impressive ramp-travel-index score suspension ar- er on our 75-mph highway test: The Defender’s
of 613 versus the Defender’s modest 331. ticulation. Both 19-mpg result beat its EPA estimate by 1 mpg,
That difference aside, their test results were SUVs made it to while the GX’s 20-mpg score fell short of its rat-
essentially a wash, despite the 5905-pound Land the top, but the ing by the same amount. The biggest difference
Lexus’s running
Rover’s 281-pound weight penalty over the Lex- boards took a was how each vehicle doled out its performance.
us. The Defender beat the GX to both 60 mph beating. Where the Lexus is alert and responsive both
underfoot and at the helm, making it feel half a
ton lighter than it is, the Rover is burdened by la-
zier throttle calibration and vaguer steering. The
result is rather aloof driving behavior that often
makes it feel even larger than it already is.

DRIVING EXPERIENCE
While some pilots preferred the GX’s smarter
ergonomics and wieldier size on long highway
slogs, all agreed that its choppy, unsettled ride
magnified every pavement seam and divot in the
road, despite its tires’ fat sidewalls. We’ve driven
models without E-KDSS that felt more refined
even with passive dampers and larger 20-inch
wheels. Less frequent but just as annoying were
the uncouth stumbles of its transmission when
crawling through traffic at low speeds.
Conversely, the Defender operates with great-
er smoothness, exhibiting better body control, a
plusher ride, and a calmer demeanor wherever
it went. That includes in the woods, where the
Outbound’s higher maximum ground clearance
helped it counter the Overtrail’s better maneu-
verability and suspension articulation. Hike the
Defender’s air springs up to Off Road 2 mode,
and its clearance increases from 8.6 to 11.5 inches.
Thanks to considerably steeper approach and de-
parture angles, nary a scrape befell its underbelly.
It was a towering figure next to the GX, which oc-
casionally ground its frame rails over larger rocks
due to its static 8.9 inches of clearance. That’s not
to say the Lexus didn’t impress at times. Its ped-
als are easier to modulate in the woods, and its
suspension flexed like a Slinky as it clambered up
broken ledges that we initially thought only the
Defender could ascend. A GX driver just needs to
be more adept at reading the terrain and precise-
ly placing the Lexus’s 18-inch wheels—and ac-

58 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

cepting that the GX’s protruding running boards AND THE WINNER IS . . . While the Defender
may look different after the journey ends. Ours As we emerged from the trails, the yin and yang and the GX550 both
exhibit impressive
did (sorry, Lexus). between the GX550 and the Defender remained off-road capability
Though the big Outbound was prone to lifting strong, which is why their scoring came out so to back up their rug-
a wheel in the air over uneven ground, it main- close. Both SUVs balance their weaknesses with ged looks, the Land
Rover’s greater
tained steady forward progress. Its differentials comparative strengths, ultimately reaching simi- refinement makes
automatically locked and unlocked as the condi- lar destinations via different paths. its steeper asking
tions changed, reducing wheelspin, whereas we That said, the GX was the only one to incur price worth the
needed to fiddle with the GX’s locker switches. wounds on its underside during our trip. That extra spend.
Switching to the Defender’s Sport transmission Lexus’s beefiest off-road-oriented model re-
mode and upping the throttle sensitivity in the tains sacrificial side steps is perhaps a hint that
off-road menu somewhat compensated for the the company doesn’t expect many GX owners to
sleepy accelerator pedal. Tricky terrain often stray far from the beaten path. Yet viewed from a
necessitated consultations with each vehicle’s more civilized perspective, the Overtrail+’s brit-
array of exterior cameras, but for different rea- tle ride, flimsy body panels, and underwhelming
sons: The various views were a boon in the Rover cabin are hard sells on an $81K Lexus, even one
when extricating it from tight confines, whereas designed to get dirty. The Defender, on the other
the Lexus’s helped us steer clear of larger ob- hand, takes a narrow victory by complementing
stacles. Unsurprisingly, the Defender’s great- its stout off-road chops with a level of refinement
er maximum water-fording depth (35.4 inches more commensurate with its price. That’s a wel-
to the GX’s 27.6), plus its door-mirror sensors come quality wherever you find yourself.
that double as wading-depth indicators, helped
it stroll through sippy holes that the Overtrail
plowed through like a swamp buggy.

GRAND TOTAL
1/4-MILE ACCELERATION*
SECOND-ROW COMFORT

FEATURES/AMENITIES*
SECOND-ROW SPACE*

POWERTRAIN
TOWING CAPACITY*

EXTERIOR STYLING
REBATES/EXTRAS*
AS-TESTED PRICE*
INTERIOR STYLING

EXPERIENCE
DRIVER COMFORT

FUEL ECONOMY*

PERFORMANCE*
TRANSMISSION
CARGO SPACE*

FUN TO DRIVE
STEERING FEEL
FIT AND FINISH
ERGONOMICS

SUBTOTAL

SUBTOTAL

SUBTOTAL
FLEXIBILITY*

CHASSIS
ENGINE NVH
VEHICLE

BRAKE FEEL
HANDLING

Final
RIDE

Results
Maximum points available 10 10 5 5 5 5 10 10 10 10 5 20 105 20 5 10 10 10 55 20 10 10 10 10 60 25 245
1. Land Rover Defender 9 8 5 5 4 3 8 10 8 10 0 17 87 20 3 10 8 10 51 9 7 8 8 10 42 15 195
2. Lexus GX550 9 9 3 5 5 5 10 8 8 8 1 20 91 20 4 10 8 8 50 10 8 8 7 7 40 13 194

*These objective scores are calculated from the vehicles’ dimensions, capacities, rebates and extras, and/or test results.

59
 It’s not like McLaren’s $333,040 750S, a thor-
oughly reworked and optimized 720S, needs any
extra heat, because it’s already packing plenty of
its own. Its twin-turbo DOHC V-8 now makes
740 horsepower, 30 more than before, and most
of the rear end of the car is metal mesh to let
the excess heat from its 4.0-liter furnace escape
NINE MILE
without melting the bodywork. In fact, the notch CANYON ROAD
cut out of the center of the new, 20 percent larger —
rear wing is there because that section above the Sprouting from CA-395
exhaust would otherwise be at risk of wilting. about 20 miles north-
west of Ridgecrest, Nine
If that horsepower figure doesn’t get your at- Mile Canyon heads into
tention, first appreciate what exceptional times the mountains, eventual-
we’re living in, and then consider the other side ly turning into Sherman
Pass as it climbs 4200
of the accelerative equation: weight. McLaren feet to Kennedy Mead-
claims the 750S is 66 pounds lighter than the ows. The scenery quick-
720S—some of which is due to making lighter- ly changes from desert
to verdant on the way. If
weight content, such as carbon-fiber buckets, you’re not in a 750S, pull
standard. Our car, at 3206 pounds, turned out to off on the dirt access
be 45 pounds heavier. Of course, optional equip- road to get an up-close
ment matters, and the roll bar and six-point har- look at the aqueduct.
nesses in our car could have easily added that KENNEDY
MEADOWS
much back. Still, the 750S is lighter than just
about anything else, including the svelte Porsche
911 GT3 RS. The Ferrari 296GTB may have 79
horsepower on the 750S, but it also weighs 326
pounds more. Lamborghini’s new Revuelto and
CALIFORNIA
Temerario are also going hybrid, meaning they’re
certain to be substantially heavier. The Corvette
has nearly breached the 4000-pound threshold
with the electric-front-axle E-Ray. Pure, light-
weight sports cars and supercars seem headed
toward extinction.
Nine Mile Canyon is in Inyo County, which
always makes us snicker as we consider ways CHIMNEY
PEAK
to work it into some kind of “Who’s on First”
LINNIE
routine. As the road heads west into the Sierra

62
CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 63
 H I G H S : M E G A S T R A I G H T- L I N E S P E E D , L I T H E A N D L I V E LY M O V E S , S T E E R I N G
F E E L F O R D AY S , S H O C K I N G LY S U P P L E R I D E . L O W S : E N G I N E ’ S S H R I E K C A N ’ T
BE HEARD FROM THE CABIN, INGRESS AND EGRESS BECOME TIRESOME.
VERDICT: LES S WEIGHT IS BET TER THAN MORE P OWER .

64
Nevadas from CA-395, there are a couple of ini-
tial open sections where you can drink in the
750S’s straight-line speed, a McLaren strength.
In 18 years, we’ve run more than 300 vehicles
at our Lightning Lap track test, and the peak-
speed podium is all McLaren: 765LT, Senna,
720S. The 750S will be vying for one of those top
spots—following a quick roasting of its rear tires
to unlock the last skosh of launch traction, it per-
formed an astonishing 2.3-second rip to 60 mph,
0.3 second quicker than the 720S, making it the
quickest McLaren ever. It’s impressively close
to the all-wheel-drive crowd—see, weight mat-
ters—and ends the Ferrari 296GTB’s short reign
as the quickest rear-drive car we’ve ever tested.
However, at the quarter-mile, the 296 narrowly
retakes the acceleration lead, 9.7 seconds to 9.8.
About three miles up the road, you’ll see a izing the accumulators. Supercars typically have
pipe draped over the landscape that disappears all the roll compliance of a rigid-axle tractor, but
clear into the side of the mountain. That’s L.A.’s when the 750S hits a dip at low speed, and one
first aqueduct, which starts about 90 miles far- side—both front and rear—can compress simul-
ther north, ferrying water solely by gravity a total taneously to breathe over it with no head toss,
of 233 miles, a monumental five-year effort com- continuing the 720S’s fantastic revelation that a
pleted in 1913 by thousands of laborers. Against supercar need not ride like one.
the giant expanse, the 9.5-foot-diameter pipe The 750S is also a remarkably good highway
looks unbelievably tiny. cruiser. Sure, there’s some impact harshness—
All this plumbing talk reminds us of McLar- the Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires, the most aggres-
en’s longtime approach of controlling body roll sive of the three options, are likely worse than
with diagonal hydraulic connections between the others—and slight tramlining. But even so,
the dampers rather than girthy anti-roll bars that the 750S is a substantial three decibels quieter
ruin the ride. For this latest third-generation ver- at 70 mph than the 720S, making it not at all out
sion, supplier Tenneco allowed McLaren more of the question to listen to a podcast via newly
tuning latitude than before, including custom- available Apple CarPlay.

Dihedral doors
always draw a
crowd, and the roof
section that opens
with them spares
your noggin when
disembarking.
Just like Rihanna,
McLaren sug-
gests you shut up
and drive with its
unadorned wheel.
Mode switches are
on the gauge-cluster
binnacle.

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 65

 Back to Nine Mile, where we’re sluicing up the before, the effort buildup as cornering forces in-
mountain. It’s super dry now in the summer, but crease remains less pronounced than we’d like.
you can still spot thriving massive trees and sur- The simple Alcantara-covered wheel is thin by
rounding greenery in valleys between two ridges modern standards and free of buttons, with a
that must be able to continue living off long-ago paddle rocking behind it to knock out upshifts
snowmelt from above. This is no pristine road; and downshifts. Everything about the car and
it’s patchy, broken, uneven. It gets cooked in driving experience is focused on the business of
the summer, and up near Kennedy Meadows at going quickly and paring weight. But, when the
6427 feet, the road-edge markers are eight feet adults weren’t looking, someone slipped in a new
tall to keep from getting covered by as much as 12-color ambient-lighting option.
100 inches of snow here in the winter. But the The brakes have a slight initial dead zone, and
road’s imperfections make it a perfect place to then the pedal goes firm and you modulate with
show off the 750S. We mostly keep the Handling pressure more than travel; that part we love. It
setting in its gentlest Comfort mode, where the takes a lot of leg to get the tires to the threshold These extreme
750S dances over the challenging surface feel- of adhesion, but once you do, the stopping dis- carbon-fiber buck-
ets from the Senna
ing lithe, alive, and tossable. Its steering ratio, tances—mostly thanks to the grippier tires—are look less comfort-
borrowed from the 765LT, is marginally quicker much improved: 136 feet from 70 mph. Our car able than they are;
than the 720S’s, and the assist remains hydrau- has the track-brake upgrade, an $18,050 add-on ours had the more
lic, making McLaren one of the last electric- for Brembo carbon-ceramic rotors similar to the generous “touring”
foam. The 750S’s
assist holdouts. The steering is immediate off Senna’s that replace standard carbon-ceramics A/C stayed frosty in
center and alive with road texture, although, as [see “Biased Brakes,” page 68]. Why do they cost the 115-degree heat.

66
 OPINION

COUNTERPOINTS
The best part You think
about driving the McLaren
the McLar- 750S rock-
en 750S is stopping. eting to 60 mph in 2.3
That’s a tiny dis on its seconds isn’t a big
comfort—I would take deal? After all, the
the weight penalty for Lucid Air Sapphire will
the comfort seats over do it in 2.1 seconds.
the Senna-sourced Well, think again. On
race buckets—but its own, a 60-mph
mostly it’s a rave for time is an increasingly
the optional track brainless metric in
brakes, which bring the this electrified age. So
thing to a halt with a let’s bring in stopping
hit like the apogee of a from 100 mph (264
bungee jump. Thrilling, feet versus 303 for the
and also lifesaving, at Sapphire) and corner-
least for a family of Cal- ing at the limit (1.13 g’s
ifornia quail that chose versus 1.04), benefits
the exact moment I that come with over a
came around a corner ton less weight. And
to begin crossing the that’s just the start.
road. You’d think they This McLaren tickles
would have been fore- apexes and skims
warned by the hawk over FIA curbs like it
scream of the McLar- owns the place, and its
en’s V-8, but there they reconfigured exhaust
were, bobbing across, howls and spits in a
button-cute and in way that brings you
mortal peril. The 750S a step closer to God.
tower buzz turned their And yet, when you’re
question-mark head just puttering around,
feathers to exclama- the 750S obliges with
tion points, but they a sedate ride that
almost as much as a Chevy Trax? Because the toddled off unharmed, will fool the average
production process takes seven months. leaving me with only Sapphire owner. All of
This road is not a regular place to spot a super­ open road ahead. Let this melds together in
car, as evidenced by the long stares from the rare me start over here— one glorious package.
passersby, many of whom are piloting some kind the best part about I want this car. No, I
of extreme wilderness­camping rig. Even dusty driving a McLaren need this car. But I
corners with tires scrabbling for traction don’t 750S is open road can’t afford this car.
cause calamity. Once the Trofeo Rs reach opti­ ahead. —Elana Scherr Sh*t! —Dan Edmunds
mal operating temps—not a problem during this
heat wave—they stick remarkably well. On the
skidpad, the 750S’s 1.13­g result bests the 720S’s
1.10 g’s. It takes a lot of effort to get the stability­ slowing. At a glance, the 750S’s organic shape
control light to blink, and even with the system doesn’t appear as overtly influenced by aero­
fully disabled, the high limits aren’t abrupt, and dynamics as many competitors’. But channels
balance—or a sensational slide—is just a dab of running through the doors and draped over the
power away. But before the tires are up to temp, back end get the air to do the car’s bidding. Al­
wheelspin is possible at just about any speed. though the outside temperature was extremely
During an exhilarating drive, you can’t help high, it nonetheless seemed too easy to get the
but notice the active rear wing dancing in the 750S’s coolant temperature above 230 degrees
rearview mirror. It tucks down when accelerat­ and trigger a warning, although it always quickly
ing, then pivots up to act as an air brake when subsided after a brief cooldown period. We also

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 67

 The Sequoia National Forest lies ahead, but
its roads are better for sightseeing than exer-
cising a supercar, so we head back down. From
behind the 750S, you’ll see the 720S’s twin ex-
haust pipes pushed together in a central outlet
and now pointing more skyward. There are two
exhaust tunes; the more lenient U.S. market
gets the louder one with no active valves. From
the outside, the high-pitched shriek as the V-8
pulls to its 8250-rpm redline, punctuated by
mule-kick-decisive shifts from the seven-speed
dual-clutch automatic, is the stuff of dreams.
Unfortunately, that exotic wail doesn’t make
it to the driver’s ear. You hear more of a roar,
which is certainly invigorating and much im-
proved—engine sound is no longer the weak
THE TECH had an issue where the engine went into limp point it was on the 720S. But you’ll never forget
mode and lost boost. McLaren suspects a com- there’s a pair of turbochargers present because
bination of possible bad fuel and lots of heat you’ll hear more high-pitched whistling in the
BIASED soak—the problem eventually resolved itself.
After stopping to check out Chimney Peak,
cabin than in Florida during hurricane season.
You’ll want to keep the revs up, not only for au-
BRAKES the highest in the area at roughly 8000 feet—hey,
it’s only 95 degrees up here—we sized up our re-
dible or visceral rewards but also because the
torque peak—590 pound-feet—is high at 5500
Carbon-ceramic, entry into the severe carbon-fiber buckets from rpm. Much below that, you can find significant
or CCM, rotors are the Senna, a $7600 option. Their outer edge is turbo lag.
made from chopped roughly in line with the sill of the carbon-fiber This latest 750S proves once again that the
fibers oriented tub, so sliding in isn’t as difficult as expected. driving prowess of the 700-series McLaren is
randomly, whereas It’s still somewhat of an awkward clamber to every bit as high as the mountains behind us.
the more extreme get feet and legs over and into the right place, As we switch off the car one last time, we spot
Brembo CCM-R ro- but in the end, this 99th-percentile male fits just a familiar McLaren feature, one so supercar
tors that are part of fine, the intense thigh and shoulder bolstering appropriate that we can’t believe it hasn’t been
the 750S’s $18,050 not impinging on hours-long comfort. There’s mimicked: a display showing how many days
track-brake upgrade sufficient headroom too. However, adjustable the battery can last before it needs a trickle
use patches of lumbar support is bring-your-own, and we kept charge or the engine to run. Although who in
long fibers stitched wishing we had every time we spent an hour or their right mind would choose to wait 29 days
together to form a more behind the wheel. before having this experience again?
specific 3-D design
that’s cured at ex-
treme temperatures
for a much longer
time. A similar
process is used to
create the carbon-
carbon rotors used
in the highest forms
of racing. The long
fibers in the CCM-R
discs are respon-
sible for thermal
conductivity that’s
four times higher
and strength that’s
60 percent greater.
Their lower oper-
ating temperature
leads to better fade
resistance and
roughly three-times-
longer life on track.

68
2024 McLaren DRIVETRAIN
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase �������������������������������������������������� 105�1 in
Final-Drive Ratio ����������������������������������������� 3�73:1 Length �������������������������������������������������������� 179�9 in
750S GEAR RATIO MPH PER
1000 RPM
MAX SPEED
IN GEAR (rpm)
Width ����������������������������������������������������������� 76�0 in
Height ����������������������������������������������������������� 47�1 in
1 �������� 3�98 �������� 5�4 ����������������� 45 mph (8250) Front Track �������������������������������������������������� 66�1 in
PRICE 2 �������� 2�61 �������� 8�2 ����������������� 68 mph (8250) Rear Track ��������������������������������������������������� 64�1 in
As Tested ������������������������������������������������ $449,790 3 �������� 1�91 �������� 11�2 ��������������� 92 mph (8250) Ground Clearance ����������������������������������������� 4�2 in
Base �������������������������������������������������������� $333,040 4 �������� 1�48 �������� 14�4 ��������������� 119 mph (8250) Passenger Volume ���������������������������������������� 47 ft³
Vehicle Type: mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5 �������� 1�16 �������� 18�4 ��������������� 152 mph (8250) Cargo Volume �������������������������������������������������� 7 ft³
2-passenger, 2-door coupe 6 �������� 0�91 �������� 23�5 ��������������� 194 mph (8250) Front-Trunk Cargo Volume ����������������������������� 5 ft³
Options: track-brake upgrade, $18,050; carbon-fiber 7 �������� 0�69 �������� 31�1 ��������������� 206 mph (6625)

exterior trim, $10,200; Ludus Blue paint, $9900; 750S

performance interior, $9400; carbon-fiber front CHASSIS TEST RESULTS
fenders and louvers, $8750; carbon-fiber interior trim, carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastic center section with Acceleration
$8750; carbon-fiber seats, $7600; titanium harness aluminum front and rear subframes
bar, $6150; double-glazed engine window, $6050; Body Material: aluminum stampings, carbon-fiber- 180 18�1
Bowers & Wilkins stereo, $5400; 360-degree park reinforced plastic, sheet-molded plastic 15.3
assist, $4000; Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires, $3850; 160 12�8
STEERING 145 10.7
carbon-fiber sill trim, $3300; carbon-fiber headlight 8�9
1/4-MILE 9.8
rack-and-pinion with variable electrohydraulic power 140
trim, $3050; red brake calipers, $2200; Stealth 7.7
ultra-lightweight wheels, $2000; six-point harnesses, assist
120 6�6
$1750; Stealth exhaust finisher, $1750; titanium Ratio ������������������������������������������������������������� 15�0:1 5�6
locking wheel bolts, $1700; Bright Red contrast Turns Lock-to-Lock ������������������������������������������ 2�6 100 4.8

MPH
stitching, $850; Carbon Black Alcantara steering Turning Circle Curb-to-Curb ��������������������� 40�0 ft 4�0
wheel, $650; volumetric alarm, $500; Homelink 80 3�4
SUSPENSION 2�8
system, $400; fire extinguisher, $300; warning
F: ind; control arms; coil springs; 3-position 60 2.3
triangle and first-aid kit, $200
electronically controlled dampers; hydraulic anti-roll 1�8
Infotainment: 8�0-inch touchscreen; Apple CarPlay; 1�4
control 40
satellite radio (3 months included); 1 USB, 1 USB-C, 1.0
R: ind; control arms and a toe-control link per side;
and Bluetooth inputs; Bowers & Wilkins stereo, 12 20
coil springs; 3-position electronically controlled
speakers
dampers; hydraulic anti-roll control; anti-heave bar
0
ENGINE 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
BRAKES
twin-turbocharged and intercooled V-8, aluminum SEC
F: 15�4 x 1�3-in vented, cross-drilled carbon-ceramic
block and heads disc, 6-piston fixed caliper Results in graph omit 1-ft rollout of 0.2 sec.
Bore x Stroke ��������� 3�66 x 2�89 in, 93�0 x 73�5 mm R: 15�0 x 1�3-in vented, cross-drilled carbon-
Displacement ���������������������������� 244 in³, 3994 cm³ ceramic disc, 4-piston fixed caliper Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ����������������������������� 3�3 sec
Compression Ratio ���������������������������������������� 8�7:1 Stability Control: fully defeatable, competition Top Gear, 30–50 mph �������������������������������� 2�4 sec
Fuel Delivery: port injection mode, launch control Top Gear, 50–70 mph �������������������������������� 2�3 sec
Valve Gear: double overhead cams, 4 valves per Top Speed (mfr claim) ����������������������������� 206 mph
cylinder, variable intake- and exhaust-valve timing WHEELS AND TIRES
Redline/Fuel Cutoff ���������������������� 8250/8250 rpm Wheels: forged aluminum F: 9�0 x 19 in R: 11�0 x 20 in Handling
Power �������������������������������������� 740 hp @ 7500 rpm Tires: Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R F: 245/35ZR-19 (93Y) Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad ������������������������ 1�13 g
Torque ���������������������������������� 590 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm MC1 R: 305/30ZR-20 (103Y) MC1 Understeer: minimal

Braking
70–0 mph ��������������������������������������������������� 136 ft
COMPETITORS 100–0 mph ������������������������������������������������� 264 ft
Supercars getting on the hybrid weight-gain train� Fade: none

A McLaren 750S B Chevrolet Corvette C Ferrari 296GTB D McLaren Artura Weight

740-hp 4�0-L V-8, Z06 with Z07 819-hp 3�0-L V-6 + 671-hp 3�0-L V-6 + Curb ��������������������������������������������������������� 3206 lb
7-sp auto 670-hp 5�5-L V-8, motor, 8-sp auto motor, 8-sp auto Per Horsepower ������������������������������������������� 4�3 lb
8-sp auto Distribution, F/R ����������������������������������� 41�2/58�8%

440 3800 2�9 11�0 145 285 1�18 Fuel

C
Capacity ��������������������������������������������������� 19�0 gal
Octane ������������������������������������������������������������� 93
A
340 3600 2�7 10�5 140 270 1�14 C/D Fuel Economy
Observed ��������������������������������������������������� 12 mpg

EPA Fuel Economy

D 240 3400 2�5 10�0 135 255 1�10 Comb/City/Hwy ������������������������������ 17/15/19 mpg

Interior Sound Level

B
Idle ������������������������������������������������������������ 61 dBA
140 3200 2�3 9�5 130 240 1�06 Full Throttle ����������������������������������������������� 97 dBA
70-mph Cruising ��������������������������������������� 72 dBA
Base Curb 60-mph 1/4-mile 70–0-mph 100–0-mph Roadholding,
Price, Weight, Acceleration, Acceleration, Braking, Braking, 300-ft Tested by Dave VanderWerp in California City, CA
$ x 1000* lb mph sec ft ft Skidpad, g

*Includes performance-enhancing options� 69

THE NEW
OLD
SCHOOL
WE GO TO SUMMER SCHOOL
AT McPHERSON COLLEGE
TO SEE WHETHER AN OLD DOG
CAN LEARN NEW TRICKS.

BY E L A NA S C H E R R / P H O T O G R A P H Y BY R OY R I T C H I E

WE ARE IN A CRISIS OF CREATION. Not just an ebbing of knowledge

and practical skills but a cultural dismissal of why learning how to make
something is important. “Let AI do it” is the rallying cry of folks who think
the arrival is the only part of a journey that matters and that a pastiche of
better work is tantamount to originality. What they don’t realize is that the
decisions made along the way add to the beauty and strength of the final
product. The difficulties of learning the craft are the craft. At least, that’s
what I told myself as I ripped out the stitches on a French seam so crooked
that to name it such would incite a riot in Paris.

CAR AND DRIVER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 71

 which classes they take, perhaps to polishing in
general. This year students came from 37 states,
Canada, India, and the Czech Republic, and their
ages ranged from 17 to 80, with a heavy lean to-
ward the higher number. The majority of students
in the summer program are retirees brushing up
on skills they set aside for careers and families or
finally diving into a hobby they never had time to
try when they were younger.
One likes to imagine that going back to school
decades after graduation would be done with all
the charisma and confidence developed in the
interim. At least, I imagined that. The reality was
that one night’s sleep on a dorm-room cot was
all it took for me to revert to a jittery freshman,
sure I’d get lost on campus and that none of the
other students would like me. Thankfully, my
roommate, Jen Poyer, had arrived early the day
before and already knew her way around. Poyer,
whose day job involves managing herds of bi-
son and herds of tourists for the Catalina Island
Conservancy, was at McPherson to pick up some
restoration skills she could use on her grand-
father’s 108-year-old Republic pickup. Everyone
at the institute had something at home they were
either already restoring or about to work on. Al-
most more important than students’ names were
the cars they had. Over breakfast the first morn-

It’s hard work to learn something new. There Above: The

are so many ways to mess up, and on the first day Small Parts
Reproduction
of classes at the McPherson College Automotive class gets red-
Restoration Summer Institute, the student body hot learning
explored a wide variety of them. On my own, in how to mold
Upholstery & Trim, I managed “too fast,” “wrong and cast metal.
stitch tension,” “no thread,” and “wildly off-line.” Below: In a
One bay over, in the Small Parts Reproduction scenario that’s
class, they were coming to grips with “moved less obviously
dangerous but
dent from this end of trim to that end,” and in still intimidat-
Drivetrain, they were learning “wow, that’s a lot ing, Professor
of gears we didn’t label.” I don’t know what was Dudley demon-
strates how to
happening over in Electrical, but at dinner, pro- punch through
fessor Sam Babb had a faraway look in his eyes, leather, board,
like a man who had seen horrors. padding, and,
Since 2003, McPherson, a small liberal-arts hopefully, not
fingers on an
school in McPherson, Kansas, has offered the industrial sew-
only four-year degree program in automotive res- ing machine.
toration in the United States. In 2007, the college
started a summer program to give those of us not
pursuing a degree a chance to take condensed
versions of its normally monthslong courses. The
cost is $1075 per class, plus $275 for a dorm room
and $200 for a meal plan. The summer program
sells out in minutes, and for 2024, a total of 204
students would study 17 car-related subjects over
a period of three weeks. Many participants enroll
in multiple courses, devoting almost an entire
June to polishing their skills—and, depending on

72 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

ing, I met two ’37 Packards (who knew of each Associate professor of technology Michael Dud-
other and told me there was a third at another ta- ley talked us through the evolution of automotive
ble), an S2000, a Chevelle, two Panteras (owned
by the same guy), several Miatas, and a Fiat.
interiors, from the natural leathers and hair stuff-
ing used in wagons and horse-drawn coaches to CLASS
Getting to know fellow car people is always
fun, but we were there to learn, so by 8 a.m., we
migrated across the quad to a red-brick hall that
the rise of synthetics after World War II and the
accompanying changes in design and construc-
tion. In other classes, they discussed paint chem-
ACT
houses all the shop spaces, including the tidy, istry, fastener pitch, and electron flow. The McPherson
brightly lit sewing lab where I’d be learning not McPherson offers plenty of hands-on time, Summer Institute
to sew my fingers to my tuck and roll. Before we but part of its mission is to send students into classes are bite-
got to treadle, though, we had classroom time. the world with an understanding of how the size versions
automobile fits into and reflects the history of its of the courses
time. Ideally, a McPherson grad will know that in the degree
a 1920 automotive interior is more likely to be program. For
pleated rather than button tufted like a car from $1075, students
1912, and they’ll also know that’s because World can get their
War I caused a labor shortage, and pleated or hands dirty in:
plain seats require less time and fewer crafts-
people than tufted ones. Advanced Paint
The job market for people who studied rub-
berized hog hair is surprisingly active. McPher- Advanced
son graduates have found roles with auction Sheetmetal

Applied Trim &

Upholstery

Babbiting

Brakes

Drivetrain

Electrical

Engine
Rebuilding

Machining

Paint

Sheetmetal
Above left: Small Parts
When Charles
Engels, a Reproduction
retired surgeon,
mentioned that 3-D Design
he’d always liked
European sports
cars, the obvi- Tune-Up
ous assumption
would be that Understanding
he’s a Porsche
or Ferrari man. Early
Nope, he owns Automobiles
two Panteras.

Left: The author Upholstery &

demonstrating a Trim
skill she became
very good at Woodworking
during the week:
pulling out incor-
rect stitches.

73
houses and restoration specialty shops, as well
as with high-end customizers and even OEMs,
where fabrication skills are in demand for one-
off builds such as concept and show cars. It turns
out there’s quite a need for people who can both
understand the cultural significance of auto-
mobiles and solve practical problems.
Each day in Upholstery & Trim had a similar
schedule: a morning lecture on some element
of automotive interiors, then a demonstration
in the sewing lab, followed by time for practice
exercises on our own. Some students had previ-
ous sewing experience, but others, like me, had
never even touched a stitch stapler, let alone
run an industrial machine. Brian Martin, senior
director of auto restoration, told me that for the
degree program or the summer school, there’s no
prerequisite to have worked on a car or in a shop
before. “In the application process, we ask for a
portfolio of projects [applicants] have completed. Above: If you’ve
But it doesn’t have to be a car. It could be Lego priced paint
or building birdhouses. It’s really about attention jobs recently,
you know that it
to detail and interest. We’re just looking for some might be worth
sort of mechanical aptitude, some sense that they four years’ tuition
can see a multistep undertaking to completion.” to learn how to
do it yourself.
In the evenings, we had history lectures and At the very least,
field trips to local car collections. Jerry Toews’s taking a week-
demos of early-1900s hit-and-miss gas engines long course will
give you some
alone were worth the trip to Kansas. Afterward, sense of what
as the late-setting prairie sun finally dipped be- you’re paying for.
low the horizon, small groups sat around out-
side the dorms, comparing notes from classes Right: Moses
Avant fits a pis-
and talking more about cars. I’m not sure I had a ton in the block
conversation on another subject the whole week in the Engine
I was there, and I’m not complaining. When Rebuilding class.
Even when
a beer run needed to happen, it took place in a you know how
Model T, and judging by the nonchalance of the something works,
liquor-store clerk, that was a common occur- it’s elucidating to
rence. “I have a goal of owning three Model Ts,” hold the parts in
your hands and
someone told me that night at the picnic table. fit them back
“I’m doing really well. I’m down to five.” Hey-o! together.

P H OTO G R A P H C O U R T E SY O F M C P H E R S O N C O L L E G E

GROUP PROJECT

EXTRA CREDIT
In 2023, McPherson College’s 1953 Mercedes-Benz
300S Cabriolet scored second in class at the Pebble
Beach Concours d’Elegance. Restoring the convert-
ible took seven years, and more than 200 students
had a hand in its revival. From metalwork and trim
to paint and interior, the finished car is a rolling
showcase of the restoration program.

74 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

 Left: A nugget More recently, the restoration program’s fu-
of wisdom over- ture—and the college’s—was assured thanks
heard: “It’s easy
to take things to a $1 billion gift from an anonymous donor.
apart. It’s hard McPherson set out to raise the program’s profile
to put them by getting a student-built car to the Pebble Beach
back together.” Concours d’Elegance, an achievement realized
That’s a lesson
the Drivetrain in 2023, when it won second place in class. “We
students were laughed at when we told people we were
learned well. going to take a car to Pebble Beach that was re-
Below left: stored by students,” said Amanda Gutierrez,
Brandon and McPherson’s vice president for auto restoration.
Ryan, both 17, “It was almost like, ‘Good luck even getting in.
were two of
the youngest
There’s no way.’ Now we’ve achieved it, and
summer-school we’re looking toward what’s next. That’s a pretty
students. exciting place to be, creating these opportunities
They’re de- for students that are really unlike any they can
ciding what to
do after high get anywhere else.”
school. Brandon Back in the summer program, or “car camp,”
has a Model as many of the students referred to it, we were
A, and Ryan
is considering far from concours-ready, but we were starting to
something of get the hang of things. In the Upholstery & Trim
similar vintage. class, we cheered on one another’s pleats and
piping and offered assistance gluing foam and di-
viding fractions. Around the third day, I realized
that I didn’t really know how to read an impe-
rial ruler, so my classmate Wendy Wheeler ex-
plained it to me. If nothing else, I’ve come home
with the math skills of a second grader.
Toward the end of the week, we heard a small-
block Chevy fire up from the other side of the
building. Everyone cheered. Even Babb admit-
ted that his students might not immediately elec-
trocute themselves when released into the wild
Many students have a soft spot for the early at the end of the course. There wasn’t a person
Fords. The automotive program was originally among us who didn’t feel a little more talented
started in 1976 with a grant from local entre- and powerful than the week before. The world
preneur Gaines “Smokey” Billue as a two-year may be full of people looking for shortcuts, but at
associate degree focused on antique-car main- McPherson, they’re enjoying the journey.
tenance, and there are still a lot of Model Ts in
the area. “For an educational purpose, they’re
perfect,” said Martin (who owns at least two
and may have been the one who made the wise-
crack). “The paint gun doesn’t care what it’s
painting. The welder doesn’t care what kind of
fender you’re repairing. They are just bread-and-
butter skills-building cars.”
In the late 1990s, the college administration
questioned the importance of a whole program
devoted to teaching a few kids how to work on
ancient automobiles. There were plans to shut it
down, but help came from Hollywood. Jay Leno
expressed interest and encouraged McPherson
not to shutter but rather to expand the restoration
program. “When I was a kid, you either went to
shop class or you went to regular college. If you
told your parents you wanted to be a mechanic,
they cried,” Leno told me when I asked about his
interest in McPherson. “Intelligent people can
want to work with their hands. To me, the best
combination is when you can do both.”

75
A DIGEST OF TESTS, UNFETTERED OPINIONS, AND SOME INTERESTING MINUTIAE

Drivelines

Stealth Hybrid
Electrifying the 992.2 Porsche 911 GTS doesn’t change our opinion one
proton. It’s still the gold standard of sports cars.

NOT SINCE PORSCHE BLEW air-cooling out chiometry (ideal air-fuel ratio) all the time, with
the back door in 1999 with the 996-generation an electrified turbocharger and an eight-speed
911 has there been a change that upset more dual-clutch gearbox with an integral electric
Porsche fans than the 911’s hybridization. Fans, motor. For now, it’s limited to the GTS, which
however, are not necessarily buyers, and those previously employed a jazzed-up version of the
Active aero with the means will not mind the 21st-century twin-turbo 3.0-liter in the base Carrera. The
shutters in the tech one bit, because if Porsche didn’t tell anyone three-letter suffix is still the second step in 911
GTS’s grille look this updated 992.2 was a hybrid, no one would addiction, following the Carreras but not as in-
awesome when know by how it drives. tense as the Turbos or GT3s. The addition of a
open (above) but
a little slabby The powertrain at issue consists of a new 1.5-kWh 400-volt battery, the small changes
when closed. 3.6-liter flat-six, which operates in perfect stoi- for this facelift, and the 40-pound-lighter en-

76 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

gine, which no longer has any accessory drive The 992.2 sic five-gauge cluster, but the most interesting of
(A/C and all other ancillaries are either electric, interior is largely them is a track-focused mode that arranges the
carryover, save
moved inside the engine, or made redundant by for an instrument tach so the redline is near 12 o’clock. Porsche
the motor in the gearbox), net out to a claimed cluster that is would have scored more points had it kept the
103-pound weight increase for the GTS. now 100 percent tach numbers’ orientation so they locked with
digital and a new
The 478-hp engine and 53-hp motor combine push-button
the twist, like a real clocked tach out of a race car.
for 532 total horses (yes, it’s fuzzy math). That’s ignition. Comparisons to the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
59 more ponies than the outgoing GTS, which, are inevitable, but the two couldn’t behave more
if you believe the claimed weight, will be more differently. There are a lot of EV theatrics in
than enough power to keep the pounds-per- the E-Ray, such as motor whir and Jetsons-like
horsepower ratio moving in the right direction. noises. You even feel the electric torque tug on
The last 911 GTS we tested hit 60 mph in 2.8 sec- the front axle. But the GTS’s optional all-wheel-
onds, so it’s safe to assume the new model will drive system remains a conventional setup with a
at least match that, though we wouldn’t be sur- driveshaft running to the front. Also, just like the
prised if it shaves a couple of tenths off that time. first-gen Honda Insight, the GTS can’t drive un-
The dot-two maintains the 911’s iconic shape, der electric power alone. The Vette, on the other
but a new front bumper incorporates aggressive- hand, can do that party trick.
ly styled active shutters to improve the coefficient
of drag to 0.29. Europe gets an even slipperier
0.27-Cd GTS because it can take advantage of a
partially deployed spoiler in Eco mode, but that
runs afoul of U.S. brake-light regulations.
Gone is the twisting ignition switch to the left
of the steering wheel. Porsche replaced it with a
simple button. There’s been much hand-wringing
regarding this, but our issue with the interior is
instead the fully digital instrument cluster. The
outgoing car had a mechanical tach, and Porsche
says many owners complained about the steering
wheel blocking some of the gauges. But the 911
has almost always suffered from such obstruc-
tion, so we have a hard time believing the 992.1
was the nail in the coffin of analog instrumenta-
tion. Though we suppose if you complain about
something long enough, it’s destined to change.
Anyway, the screen costs less, but at least
Porsche does some cool stuff with this one.
There are seven different views, including a clas-

77
Drivelines

the purest of handling is your wish, stick with

two-wheel drive. The driven front axle seems
to increase the steering’s centering effort and
2025 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA GTS otherwise muffle the feedback just a touch.
Vehicle Type: rear-engine, rear-motor, rear- or all-wheel-drive, 2- or 2+2-passenger, Powertrain chief Matthias Hofstetter con-
2-door coupe, convertible, or targa Base: $166,895–$187,995 Engine: turbocharged and
intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter flat-6, 478 hp, 420 lb-ft Motor: AC, 53 hp, 110 lb-ft
firmed that the 992 was supposed to be a hybrid
Combined Power: 532 hp Combined Torque: 449 lb-ft Transmission: 8-speed dual- from the start, but the engineering team couldn’t
clutch automatic Battery Pack: lithium-ion, 1.5 kWh (C/D est) Wheelbase: 96.5 in decide on what setup to implement. The system
L/W/H: 179.3/72.9/50.9–51.3 in Curb Weight (C/D est): 3550–3850 lb PERFORMANCE they settled on is a good one because it works in
(C/D EST) 60 mph: 2.5–2.8 sec 100 mph: 6.4–6.7 sec 1/4-Mile: 10.6–10.9 sec the background mostly undetected while main-
Top Speed: 194 mph EPA Fuel Economy (C/D est) Combined: 20–21 mpg
taining the crisp dynamics and solid feel we’ve
come to expect from a 911. He also confirmed
there is no chance of this hybrid ever getting a
manual transmission. Not even the leakiest of
Summon all the thrust, and the perception of A small T-Hybrid leaky sources at Porsche will comment on the
boost building is instantaneous. The motor in the decal on the door fate of a three-pedal 911. We suspect one will ar-
is the only way
transmission contributes wait-free scoot while you’d know this 911 rive with the surely upcoming 992.2 Carrera S.
the one in the turbocharger builds manifold is electrified. If Honda could figure it out on the Insight, the
pressure. A display in the central touchscreen great minds at Porsche can find a way.
shows how electrons are being shuffled about, The bad news is that the GTS coupe starts at
but this is a car where you really shouldn’t be $166,895—mega money, but until Porsche sees
paying attention to any screen. sales drop, it will keep raising prices. That’s just
The GTS comes in coupe, cabriolet, and tar- supply and demand, and plenty of people will line
ga body styles, with rear- or all-wheel drive. If up for this water-cooled hybrid. —K.C. Colwell

drive, so there’s no belt; balanced air-fuel ratio,

Lambda ancillaries that weren’t to create exhaust most
Lambda already electric have treatable by three-way
been made so (the A/C catalysts. Engines
Lambda compressor) or are typically run rich to
now internal (the water maximize power at, say,
Don’t fear, a flat-six is pump). The on-demand full load, at the cost of
still the heart of the 911 character of the drive some dirtier exhaust.
GTS. It’s even grown motor negated the need But German regulations
to 3.6 liters from the for variable valve lift require Lambda 1 all the
outgoing GTS’s 3.0. And to broaden the torque time, so Porsche is just
while it loses one turbo, curve, so efficient finger complying with the Man.
it gains two electric mo- followers found their Don’t fret too much.
tors: one in the gearbox way into the DOHC Aftermarket engine
for filling in torque, the valvetrain. tuners will take revenge
other for spooling up But the 478-hp engine and program the engine
the turbo. Both harvest makes just five horses ECUs to run rich with
excess energy. Peak more than the old a Turbo-like 600-plus
boost is up from 18.6 to 3.0. This is because it horses. You can bet
26.1 psi. The engine also operates exclusively at your seat on the Greek electric motor within
ditches its accessory Lambda 1, or a perfectly Council on it. the turbo above.

78 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

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Drivelines

The Incredible Bulk is one thing. Maintaining the flow and manag-
ing the momentum is something else, and that’s
where the substantial weight penalty enters the
The 2025 BMW M5 packs on the power and the pounds. equation. With an estimated curb weight of 5400
pounds, the new M5 is over 1000 pounds heavi-
er than the last M5 Competition we tested. The
THE M5’S NUMBERS ARE WHAT get your at- The latest M5 additional mass is largely from the electrification
tention first. Acceleration? A conservative claim interior puts on a but also because of the car’s larger dimensions,
of 3.4 seconds to 60 mph (we managed 2.6 with light show, but when as the 2025 M5 eclipses the old one by 4.2 inch-
the car gets on the
the 2022 M5 CS). Top speed? With the optional scales, “light” isn’t es in length, 0.9 inch in wheelbase, 2.7 inches in
BMW Driver’s package, 190 mph. Horsepower? the term we’d use. width, and 1.6 inches in height.
There are 717 ponies. Torque? A total of 738
pound-feet churned up by the twin-turbo V-8
and the supplementary electric motor. An elec-
tric motor in the M5? Yep. Like the XM, the new
M5 is a plug-in hybrid. A 14.8-kWh lithium-ion
battery powers a 194-hp motor housed within
the transmission, enabling an estimated 25 miles
on electricity alone.
We’re on Austria’s Salzburgring racetrack for
a taste of the seventh-gen M5. With the 577-hp
V-8 burbling at idle, a unique pre-gearing stage
of the eight-speed gearbox momentarily boosts
the e-motor’s available torque from 207 to 332
pound-feet. The initial action is thus electric, but
one blink of an eye later, the V-8 helps summon
maximum aggregate energy. The accompanying
soundtrack is dominated by the sonorous V-8,
which boasts an adjustable exhaust with quad
outlets, with BMW IconicSounds Electric gen-
erating a subtle synthetic backing track.
At the end of the uphill straight, the digital
speedometer reads 141 mph. Taking off like a shot

80 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

 tenacious roadholding. The key confidence-
Lots of choices to inspiring factors are the front-end bite and the
be made for settings relentless cornering grip that follows. Credit
and modes. Carbon- a stiffer body structure, reinforced suspension
ceramic brake
rotors are on the mounts, a beefed-up strut-tower-to-bulkhead
options menu. assembly, and a massive underhood crossbrace.
Other assets are the four-wheel steering—not
for tightening the turning circle but for making
The powertrain defaults to Hybrid mode, but this mighty mauler more malleable at the limit—
there’s also Electric (good to 87 mph), eControl and the optional carbon-ceramic brakes, which
(battery saver), Dynamic, and Dynamic Plus. bring superior stopping power and impressive
You can adjust the throttle mapping, transmis- stamina. Still, there’s no denying that this is a
sion, damping, steering, brakes, all-wheel-drive big and heavy animal, commendably stable but
system, and energy recovery individually. Oth- somewhat less chuckable, a mammoth mix of
er choices include the M Dynamic competi- mass and momentum, a car that demands to be
tion driving mode (MDM), three levels of shift steered with both hands rather than two fingers.
firmness, and the scalable stability-control sys- After 10 laps, we had just about gotten the
tem. Another layer of calibrations lets you dial hang of the new M5, but that’s when our time
in the Road, Sport, and Track modes. On the with it came to an end. The brief track experience
Salzburgring, the preferred mix is Dynamic Plus, left us with mixed feelings. The blistering accel-
MDM, Track, and the transmission in manual. eration and the awesome top speed are strong
We’re following an M4 Competition xDrive points, but the weight issue is ever present. From
driven by powertrain chief Bernd Barbisch. He the M5, we hopped into the M4 CS, which we
radios to tell us not to switch off stability con- found far more rewarding. Why? Perhaps a cir-
trol or select rear-wheel drive and to use 4WD cuit is the wrong habitat for a tech-stuffed big-
Sport for the best handling balance. The M5 ac- gie like the M5. Perhaps this car is better as an
celerates quicker than the M4, but the M4 gains open-road high-speed cruiser. Or perhaps BMW
ground under braking, through the chicane, and is leaving a bit on the table for future versions of
in the long high-speed corners, where the big the M5. —Georg Kacher
beast experiences more body roll and tire scrub.
“Don’t overdrive the front end,” Barbisch advises.
“Instead, open up the steering early and make full
use of the curbs. It’s a handful, this car, but it does 2025 BMW M5
stick, and it will pull through with a vengeance.” Vehicle Type: front-engine, front-motor, rear/all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
How does the new M5 compare with its pre- Base: $120,675 Engine: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve 4.4-liter V-8,
decessor? Initial impressions suggest that 4WD 577 hp, 553 lb-ft Motor: AC, 194 hp, 207 lb-ft Combined Power: 717 hp Combined
Torque: 738 lb-ft Transmission: 8-speed automatic Battery Pack: lithium-ion, 14.8 kWh
Sport permits a little more rear torque bias, the Onboard Charger: 7.4 kW Wheelbase: 118.3 in L/W/H: 200.6/77.6/59.4 in Curb Weight
electronically controlled limited-slip rear dif- (C/D est): 5400 lb PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 2.5 sec 100 mph: 8.3 sec
ferential feels more playful and progressive 1/4-Mile: 10.8 sec Top Speed: 155–190 mph EPA Fuel Economy (C/D est) Combined:
when you start pushing harder, and the longer 16 mpg Combined Gas + Electricity: 50 MPGe EV Range: 25 mi
wheelbase and the wider track make for more

81
Drivelines hood makes the same 577 horsepower and 590
pound-feet of torque as in the SL63 convertible,
and it uses the same nine-speed automatic trans-
mission as well.
Unsurprisingly, adding all-wheel-drive trac-
tion makes the new GT quite the performer. We
recorded a 2.7-second sprint to 60 mph, 0.3 sec-
ond quicker than the 60-pound-heavier SL63.
The century mark arrives in 6.8 seconds, and the
quarter-mile in 10.9 seconds at 125 mph. While
the GT63’s newfound quickness comes from an
all-wheel-drive launch, the additional mass is
on full display when accelerating from 5 to 60
mph, a move that requires 3.9 seconds. Once
you get used to the accelerator, which does its
best impression of a spring-loaded brick where
the spring is also made of brick, power delivery
is tricky but possible to dole out in increments.
There’s a barely tamed attitude here—get a
smidge too aggressive with the pedal, and you’ll
smack the headrest as the V-8 unleashes itself.
The steering is also on the heavy side, and the
suspension rides a fine line between firm and
harsh in every mode, but the only true dynam-

Ship of Theseus ic miss we found is the nine-speed automatic.

Shifts can be both harsh in the most aggressive
setting and more sluggish than we expect from
Mercedes-AMG GT63 HIGHS: Hoot-and-a-half performance, a sports car.
devilish good looks, four driven wheels. LOWS: Larger and The GT63 is agile when the going gets later-
heavier than before, slow transmission, four driven wheels. al. We averaged 1.06 g’s on the skidpad, a 0.02-g
improvement over the SL63 and identical to the
final first-gen GT we tested. That doesn’t mean
THE MERCEDES-AMG GT isn’t on its own The bigger cabin it feels like the old model, though. The old GT
branch of the family tree anymore. Moving away has room for a had a rear-weight bias, but now the front-to-rear
from its beginnings as a stand-alone sports car, couple of big new weight balance is flipped, with 54 percent of the
screens up front
the second-generation GT now shares most of its and an optional mass up front. And feeling the front end pull
underpinnings with the SL-class convertible. It’s back seat. when leaving a corner is a new experience.
grown in nearly every dimension, and while it’s
still a blast, it delivers a different experience.
The old GT practically shrink-wrapped it-
self around the driver, but this German has been
hitting the bierwurst between generations. The
second-gen GT is 6.7 inches longer, 1.8 inches
wider, and 2.6 inches taller than its forebear. It’s
also 546 pounds heavier than the previous gener-
ation’s base model, weighing in at 4245 pounds.
A significant side benefit to this embiggening,
though, is space. The interior feels far less com-
pact, and there’s now enough cabin area for an
optional Porsche 911–style rear seat that won’t
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY M I C H A E L S I M A R I

accommodate any headed horseman. It makes a

pretty good parcel shelf, though. The GT’s cargo
hold grows from 10 to 11 cubic feet, further ex-
panding to 24 cubes with the optional no-cost
folding rear seat.
Some of the weight gain also comes from the
GT’s most polarizing update for 2024: all-wheel
drive. Though never offered in the first-gen GT,
it’s now standard, as is rear-axle steering. The
twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 living under the

82 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

 The 2025 Volkswagen GTI stays on
the path of righteousness.
THE LIST OF CURRENT vehicles exploring the GTI’s charms,
that maintain a real spiritual we didn’t bother to fiddle with
connection to their decades-old the revised infotainment and
predecessors is a short one. The HVAC controls (although we did
Porsche 911? Undoubtedly. The admire the steering wheel’s new
Jeep Wrangler? That’s another physical buttons, which replace
one. Based on a brief drive of a ever-frustrating haptic controls).
pre-production version of the
latest Europe-spec Volkswagen
GTI, we believe it’s worthy of the
same claim.
Set to launch in the U.S. in
early 2025, the new GTI is tech-
nically a mid-cycle refresh of the
eighth-generation GTI. Dubbed
the Mk 8.5 in Volkswagen par-
lance, the update brings a num-
ber of mild tweaks: redesigned
The new AMG GT lacks the raucous rear- lighting elements, restyled
drive sports-car nature of the old one, but with bumpers, new 19-inch wheels, Instead, we headed for an
newfound cabin space and some welcome tech and, curiously, an illuminated VW unrestricted stretch of autobahn,
upgrades, the second-generation car is far more emblem in the grille. where we punched through all
livable as a daily driver than its predecessor. In Europe, the turbocharged seven speeds of the GTI’s dual-
Does it feel like an SL with a roof? Yes. But that 2.0-liter inline-four gets a small clutch automatic, settling into a
doesn’t make it less of an AMG GT; it’s just a dif- power bump, but the U.S. engine cruise at approximately 124 mph,
ferent AMG GT. —Andrew Krok remains at 241 horsepower and well short of the Europe-spec
273 pound-feet. If there is an GTI’s claimed 155-mph top
aberration in the GTI’s brilliant speed. (We expect the U.S. mod-
narrative, however, it’s the termi- els to retain a 128-mph limiter.)
nation of the stick shift. The car remained rock solid, qui-
2024 MERCEDES-AMG GT63 COUPE Though the manual is sorely et, and blissfully indifferent to its
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear/all-wheel-drive,
2-passenger, 2-door hatchback Base/As Tested: missed, the GTI’s spirit shines full load of four passengers and
$178,750/$211,810 Engine: twin-turbocharged and through. Other classic elements their baggage. For now, at least,
intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and are still in place, including sup- it seems that the GTI’s legacy of
heads, direct fuel injection Displacement: 243 in3, portive and comfortable seats, blending practicality, price, and
3982 cm3 Power: 577 hp @ 6500 rpm Torque: 590
lb-ft @ 2500 rpm Transmission: 9-speed automatic
direct and responsive steering, performance is secure.
Wheelbase: 106.3 in L/W/H: 186.1/78.1/53.3 in and a willing engine. Lost in —Andrew Wendler
C/D Curb Weight: 4245 lb

TEST RESULTS
60 mph .............................................................. 2.7 sec
100 mph ............................................................ 6.8 sec
1/4-Mile ....................................... 10.9 sec @ 125 mph
130 mph ........................................................... 11.9 sec
150 mph ........................................................... 17.0 sec
170 mph .......................................................... 25.4 sec
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ................................. 3.9 sec
Top Speed (mfr claim) ................................... 196 mph
Braking, 70–0/100–0 mph ......................... 153/299 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad ........................... 1.06 g

FUEL ECONOMY
C/D Observed .................................................... 14 mpg
EPA Combined .................................................. 16 mpg

83
Drivelines isn’t enough to make the roughly 5900-pound
Quartermaster accelerate like a BMW with the
same smooth-as-honey straight-six.
Ineos claims the truck can reach 62 mph in
8.8 seconds, which means it would lose a drag
race to a Ford Maverick hybrid. The Quarter-
master’s claimed 14-mpg highway fuel econo-
my is slightly worse than the 720-hp Ford F-150
Raptor R’s. However, the truck seems built more
to withstand time than to cheat it.
The front and rear live axles with 4.10:1
gears come from a famous Italian tractor com-
pany—Carraro, not Lamborghini—while Dana,
of Maumee, Ohio, supplies the driveshafts. The
two-speed transfer case, with a 2.50:1 low-range
ratio, is from Mexican supplier Tremec, and
Cleveland’s Eaton makes the available front and
rear electronically locking differentials.
The Quartermaster’s roughest edge is its
steering, a hydraulically assisted recirculating-
ball setup similar to what’s in Jeep Wrangler
and Gladiator models. Here, the steering feels as
responsive as a tail rudder.

Introducing The interior environs, though, are supremely

rad and could convince someone they’re driving

Mr. Worldwide a vehicle from a long-standing automaker. The

high-quality materials match the clicky knobs
and switches. The ceiling-mounted panel looks
Looking like a pickup constructed of Lego bricks, the Ineos like something out of an airplane cockpit, and
Grenadier Quartermaster is indeed something different. the doors close with a satisfying thud.
Every Quartermaster comes with a four-door
cab and a 5.1-foot bed that can accept a full-size
THE INEOS GRENADIER Quartermaster flies spare on either side, rather than mounting one
the flags of many nations. The British-owned in the center and hindering rearward vision as
chemical conglomerate developed the truck in the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and the GMC
with help from Austria’s Magna Steyr, which Canyon AT4X. The Ineos’s 1840-pound pay-
builds the Mercedes-Benz G-class (and, previ- load capacity bests both the Chevy and the
Whereas others
ously, the mighty Pinzgauer military ute of the give drivers a GMC as well.
Swiss Army). The vehicle is assembled in a for- dashboard full Why is the $88,500 Quartermaster pickup a
mer Mercedes-Benz plant in Hambach, France. of screens, the $15,400 upcharge over the Ineos Grenadier SUV?
A BMW-sourced turbocharged 3.0-liter Quartermaster The difference is largely due to the 1960s tariff
gives them a
inline-six with 281 horsepower and 332 pound- headliner full on light trucks, or “chicken tax,” which hits the
feet of torque hides under the hood. That output of switches. imported Quartermaster with a 25 percent vig.
That makes it far pricier than the most extreme
and expensive version of any other mid-size
pickup. But if the German powertrain, Italian
axles, safari-ready styling, and ambitious price
weren’t enough of a hint, this rig isn’t intended
to be a mainstream offering. —Austin Irwin

2025 INEOS GRENADIER QUARTERMASTER

Vehicle Type: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
Base: $88,500 Engine: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve inline-6,
aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection Displacement: 183 in3, 2998 cm3
Power: 281 hp @ 4750 rpm Torque: 332 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm Transmission: 8-speed
automatic Wheelbase: 127.0 in L/W/H: 212.6/76.5/79.5 in Curb Weight (C/D est):
5900–6000 lb PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 8.6 sec 1/4-Mile: 16.7 sec
Top Speed: 99 mph EPA Fuel Economy (C/D EST) Combined: 14 mpg

84 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

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Drivelines
2024 BMW 540i xDRIVE
Vehicle Type: front-engine, all-wheel-drive,
5-passenger, 4-door sedan Base/As Tested:
$65,895/$83,595 Engine: turbocharged and intercooled
DOHC 24-valve inline-6, aluminum block and head,
port and direct fuel injection Displacement: 183 in3,
2998 cm3 Power: 375 hp @ 6250 rpm Torque: 398
lb-ft @ 1850 rpm Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Wheelbase: 117.9 in L/W/H: 199.2/74.8/59.6 in
C/D Curb Weight: 4365 lb

TEST RESULTS
60 mph .............................................................. 4.0 sec
100 mph .......................................................... 10.2 sec
1/4-Mile ....................................... 12.5 sec @ 111 mph
130 mph .......................................................... 18.2 sec
150 mph .......................................................... 26.8 sec
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.2 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ................................. 5.0 sec
Top Speed (gov ltd) ........................................ 152 mph
Braking, 70–0/100–0 mph ......................... 163/328 ft

FUEL ECONOMY
C/D Observed .................................................... 28 mpg

The Dating Game 75-mph Hwy Fuel Economy/Range .... 37 mpg/580 mi

EPA Combined .................................................. 28 mpg

BMW 540i xDrive HIGHS: “I can’t believe it’s not a V-12” smooth-
ness, luxury-car isolation, compact-car fuel economy. LOWS: Feels
larger than it is, aloof handling, some steering feel would be nice. ness to the handling, largely due to the steering,
which is light on both effort and feedback.
Still, we’re grateful for the turbocharged six.
EVERY NEW CAR IS a pretty good first date. We also like the look and finish of the 540i’s inte-
It’s the second and third dates when annoyances rior, although the digital gauges could be easier
start to reveal themselves. Add in some compe- to read—the cluster offers different display op-
tition, and it becomes easier to separate the one tions, all terrible—and the infotainment system’s
you want to settle down with from the rest. menus are daunting at first. The rear seats are
When the BMW 540i xDrive visited our of- adult-ready, and front-seat comfort is excellent.
fice, we were charmed by its incredible inline- You’ll be fidget-free for the duration of a tank of
six, an engine free of harshness or bad vibes. gas, which at 37 mpg will last 580 miles.
It’s strong too, with 375 horsepower giving the Graced with charm and an engine so smooth
4365-pound 540i the ability to leap to 60 mph that you’d think a V-12 might be under the hood,
in 4.0 seconds. The powerful six has a good the 540i xDrive is more about luxury than sport-
mate in its eight-speed automatic partner. Gear- iness. The 5-series used to be the mid-size sports
changes are smooth, and downshifts come quick- sedan to beat, but the more dates we went on, the
ly. There’s a slickness to the entire powertrain, as more it revealed itself to be less of a big 3-series
if friction does not apply. It pays dividends in fuel and more of a smaller 7-series. —Tony Quiroga
economy, with the 3.0-liter returning 37 mpg in
our 75-mph highway test.
Sounds like love, right? Well, we were pret-
ty smitten—until a 2024 Mercedes-Benz E450
rolled in like an attractive contestant number
two. Next to the Benz, the 540i suddenly felt a
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY M A R C U R B A N O

size too big. There’s a sense that there’s less glass,

and as a result, the cabin seems more confining.
Drive the two back to back, and the BMW’s reac- A high cowl and belt-
tions and feel-free steering make it seem heavier line make the 540i
seem larger than it
than the Benz, despite weighing 101 pounds less. is from behind the
Both have a supple ride, though the Benz’s op- wheel. The virtual
tional adaptive dampers can go softer than our gauges are difficult
BMW’s electronically controlled units, making to read; BMW would
benefit from a retro
them more suitable to Michigan roads. The 540i gauge option like
takes corners with ease, but there’s an aloof- the Ford Mustang’s.

86 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

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TrueCar, Inc. (“TrueCar”) operates this information publishing website (“Service”) that features pricing, performance, technical and safety data available for new and used car/truck purchases at participating dealers. The lowest
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Drivelines: Blips H I G H L I G H T I N G T H E D E TA I L S T H AT M AT T E R

versed course and announced $152,895 T-spec Takumi Edition

another year of production. features purple paint, a green
Considering that Dodge’s simi- interior, a red-scripted engine
lar move with the Durango SRT badge, and a gold-plated VIN.
Hellcat resulted in one of the
dumbest class-action lawsuits
of all time, we expect rational,
measured responses from
the would-be collectors who
bought a 2024 Rubicon 392.

A CROWN JEWEL A SPEEDY SWEDE

You can do a lot in 30 seconds,
The Toyota Crown Signia is a hybrid SUV or lifted wagon, but the Koenigsegg Jesko
depending on how you look at these things. A 240-hp power- Absolut can do more. At an
train—a 2.5-liter inline-four and three electric motors—propels airfield in Örebro, Sweden, the
the Signia to 60 mph in 7.0 seconds, and the car’s chassis man- 1600-hp hypercar claimed the
aged 0.82 g on the skidpad. Both are decent figures for a vehicle THE IN-BETWEENER world record for accelerating
focused on isolation and a smooth ride. And it’s precisely the The Mercedes-Benz CLE- to 400 km/h (249 mph) and
car’s tranquil, almost Lexus-like demeanor that we enjoy, along class replaces both the C-class braking back down to a stop,
with an equally comfy interior and a relatively low base price of and E-class coupes, and it completing the whole assign-
$45,040. One downside is that the CVT keeps the engine dron- covers both bases surprisingly ment in a g-force-filled 27.8
ing, and we couldn’t match Toyota’s 37-mpg highway estimate well. The 4262-pound CLE450 seconds and breaking three
on our 75-mph highway loop, where the Signia returned 32 mpg. we tested is the sprightlier of interstitial records in the pro-
Regardless, this is a wholesale upgrade over the departing Ven- two variants, using a 375-hp cess. The previous record hold-
za, which had the charisma of a Popsicle stick. 3.0-liter inline-six to zip to 60 er for this ridiculous feat was a
mph in just 4.1 seconds. It’s family relation, the Koenigsegg
a gripper too, rounding the Regera, with a 28.8-second
skidpad at a sticky 0.92 g. The showing. Before that, the title
skidpad test. While the M35i is CLE looks good and performs belonged to yet another
fun to chuck around, we’re not well, but we wish for a more Koenigsegg, the Agera RS,
huge fans of the surging en- connected driving experience. which required 33.3 seconds
gine response, the overly firm for the same run. We would still
ride, and the dual-clutch auto- love to test a Jesko, but the line
matic’s lack of smoothness. Its went cold after a CC V-8 broke
21-mpg observed fuel economy during testing in 2001.
didn’t impress us either.

X 1 : G R E G PA J O ; W R A N G L E R , C L E , CX - 7 0 : M I C H A E L S I M A R I
JOLT COLA: THE CAR
Please take away BMW’s ac-
cess to the espresso machine.
The company has given the
X1 a caffeinated variant to
match the X2, and the results MINUS ONE GODZILLA
are what you’d expect from a Pour one out for the Nissan
mouse hopped up on amphet- GT-R, because 2024 will be the
amines. A 312-hp turbocharged final year of the R35 generation
2.0-liter inline-four shoves the in the United States, and there’s TOO CLOSE FOR
BMW X1 M35i to 60 mph in FINALLY FINAL no word of a successor. Two COMFORT
4.7 seconds on the way to a Someone needs to teach Stel- limited-production models with The Mazda CX-70 PHEV is,
13.3-second quarter-mile at lantis the definition of “final.” 565 horsepower will com- for all intents and purposes,
106 mph. That’s a fair bit quick- The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon memorate its departure. The a CX-90 PHEV without the
er than the decaf xDrive28i 392 Final Edition was set to $132,895 Skyline Edition rocks third row. These two models
variant, but the two trims retire after the 2024 model the classic Bayside Blue paint share bodies, powertrains,
remain just 0.02 g apart on our year, but the automaker has re- with a blue interior, while the pricing tiers, and—as our

88 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

Drivelines: Blips NAME GAMES

Breaking the Code

testing revealed—performance wheels through either the stick
figures. Amputating the third or an optional seven-speed ONLY A FEW YEARS after it appeared, the EQ designation for EV
models may be banished from the Mercedes-Benz lineup. That got us
row saves only 52 pounds, so it dual-clutch automatic. It’s part thinking: How many times has the brand changed how it names its vehi-
wasn’t a surprise when the two of a larger Jetta refresh for cles since the 19th century? With some help from Mercedes-Benz Classic
vehicles both reached 60 mph 2025 that brings new styling researchers, we’ve put together a rundown of the automaker’s naming
schemes, from the literal beginning of automotive history until today.
in 5.9 seconds. Their skidpad inside and out, as well as a
and braking results are very new infotainment system. The
close as well. What’s funnier is base Jetta, however, loses its 1886
that cargo volume behind the manual option. Patent Motor-
wagen is the 1890s
second row is identical, at 40 first Benz. Badges are
just regular
cubic feet. THE HARDLY DAVID- names
SON’S SHORT FUSE Early 1900s (Victoria,
With 84 horsepower, 194 Some badges start Simplex).
pound-feet of torque, and an to display tax/
engine/super-
estimated 60-mph time of 3.0 charged horse- 1928
power (Mercedes Three-digit
seconds, the LiveWire S2 Del numbers
24/100/140 hp).
Mar electric motorcycle is a appear
delight. Just know that if you (Type 400,
1934 Type 630).
ride fast, you might not ride far. “K” Kompressor
Whereas the manufacturer- badges denote
supercharged Late 1930s
reported highway range from models. “S” appears,
the estimated 8.5-kWh battery standing for
MANUAL, SAVED is 70 miles, that’s at the ol’ the popular
1954 “Super” name.
Unlike its GTI hatchback sibling, double-nickel (55 mph). When “SL” badges
the Volkswagen Jetta GLI we took the S2 Del Mar on our appear on
escaped its mid-cycle refresh 75-mph highway range test, it “Super 1950s–70s
Light” cars. Some high-
with a manual transmission. traveled a mere 50 miles. performance
The spicy Jetta variant con- models get
1950s–70s a separate
Letters like “C” designation
for coupe and (300 SEL 6.3,
“D” for diesel 450 SEL 6.9).
appear after
three-digit
numbers (300D). 1972
“S” now
means
Sonderklasse

I L LU ST R AT I O N BY A N DY P OT T S ; J E T TA : J A M E S L I P M A N ; L I V E W I R E : M I C H A E L S I M A R I
1977 to represent
Station wagons the flagship
appear with sedan model.
a “T” badge
for “Tourism
and Transport.” 1993
Each model
series gets
2000s its own letter
Turbos start to with a three-
shrink engine digit number
displacement denoting engine
but not the size (C220,
numbers on E300).
the badge.
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CAR AND DRIVER® (ISSN 0008-6002), VOL. 70, NO. 5 September/October 2024, is published bi-monthly, 6 times “GL” badging,
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November/December, by Hearst, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, U.S.A. Steven R. Swartz, President & Chief introduced four-door
Executive Officer; William R. Hearst III, Chairman; Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Executive Vice Chairman. Hearst Autos, Inc.: with the coupes get
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90 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER
 Hop in and buckle up as Car and Driver goes
deep into the most interesting cars on sale.

The Podcast from the

Last Word in New Cars.
Hosted by Tony Quiroga and Eddie Alterman.
LISTEN NO W!

AVAIL ABLE NO W ON YOUR FAVORITE PL ATFORM

 1991–93
LOTUS ELAN

The cars I recall most fondly were neither the prettiest funneling into understeer to protect the
nor the quickest. Certainly not the most expensive. heavy-handed. I further admired its ab-
They were machines that emerged willfully peculiar sence of torque steer, the gratifying five-
and intractably idiosyncratic. by John Phillips speed shifter, and the warm oasis of ex-
clusivity the car so gracefully conferred.
Rare? Do you know why there’s no se-
YOU THINK YOU REMEMBER THIS Isuzu Impulse. I remember thinking of cret handshake among Lotus owners?
car. You don’t. What your memory is the Elan as a monumentally svelte and Because Lotus owners assume there are
summoning is the original ’60s-era Lo- sophisticated Geo Storm GSi—an opinion no other Lotus owners.
tus Elan that was the size of a beehive I dared not utter because the Lotus’s base Lotus should have called the Elan the
and so fragile that it could be demol- price of $40,989 back then would as easi- Alas, because its fate stateside seemed
ished by, well, bees. Under review here ly have secured a Nissan 300ZX Turbo, a sealed not long after its first oil change.
is the Norfolk company’s second shot Mazda RX-7, or a Chevrolet Corvette. As few as 559 came here, with sales sti-
at Elanism. It resembled the first like a Car and Driver, in fact, assembled all fled by typecasting. That is, Lotus builds
football resembles a soup tureen. four in Asheville, North Carolina, where only knife-edged track stars, right?
The Elan M100 arrived in the States the Elan was already tied to the whip- Not this time. The Elan’s suspen-
for 1991 and was, from every angle, a ping post. Turbo lag. No ABS. Room be- sion was Cadillac compliant, its cushy
soothing Peter Stevens moonbeam, a hind the seats for a divorce decree only. flat seats could swallow country-club
melted two-seat wedge with a smiley Seething vortexes plucking at the un- backsides, and the cockpit was a fes-
face, gorgeous even with lid erect. At the lined top. And the Isuzu engine tended to tival of funereal gray, dark gray, and
time, it was as if a Soviet space chimp buzz beyond 5000 rpm, although it glad- blackish gray, eschewing the Euro
had landed on a rooftop in Muncie, In- ly revved to 7000 and could summon 60 version’s striped upholstery because
diana. “Well, hell, it’s cute as a bug,” on- mph in the mid-sixes. Patrick Bedard Americans, well . . . who knows? En-
lookers cooed. “But what do people do and I—seemingly alone—were smitten. thusiasts would later forgive a Porsche
with such things?” Japan’s infusion, of course, repre- SUV, but not a Lotus that Aunt Karen
Lotus USA never possessed cash suf- sented reliability, an attribute previous- could drive to mah-jongg. I remember
ficient to answer that question. At the ly unstudied in Hethel. Ford twin-cam wondering whether GM, then Lotus’s
time, Lotus hoped to peddle 1000 Elans die-hards rioted, but we paid to have landlord, held up a Buick Reatta as a
annually, quadrupling the brand’s sales them smothered. template. Like the Reatta, the Elan was
and ensuring survival. It helped not at At least one of the new Elan’s traits more a “personal luxury coupe,” an ur-
all that buyers were as likely to locate a would have tickled Mr. C. At 152.2 inch- bane commuter that was practical even
I L LU ST R AT I O N BY A L E X I S M A R C O U

Lotus dealer in an abandoned bowling es, the car was the size of a dessert cart, in snow. More like the then-aborning
alley as anywhere else. measuring 16.3 inches shorter than the Mercedes-Benz SLK. It nonetheless
This was the first all-new Lotus in RX-7, with an 88.6-inch wheelbase— represented Lotus’s admirable small-
about 15 years. We initially agonized stubbier than a contemporary Miata’s. It bore approach to speed, with perhaps
over its front-wheel drive, which would was thus a featherweight at 2452 pounds, too much emphasis on “bore.”
have inflicted upon Lotus founder Col- 432 pounds slimmer than the RX-7. Pointing to the Elan’s footwell, I said,
in Chapman a second fatal heart attack. With so little mass shifting from post “Look, no dead pedal.”
Moreover, it was propelled by a 162-hp to post and Lotus’s suspension tweak- “Brit understatement,” Bedard re-
turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four whose ers at intellectual apogee, the Elan plied. “It’s saying, ‘Hey, pard, I’m not
usual nest was within the nose of an emerged balanced, generally neutral, that kind of car.’”

92 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 CAR AND DRIVER

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*Between 4/1/24 and 6/17/24, the average savings off MSRP experienced by consumers who connected with a TrueCar Certified Dealer through the Car and Driver Car Buying Service and who were identified as buying a new vehicle
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For questions about the Car and Driver Car Buying Service please call 1-877-924-7764.
TrueCar, Inc. (“TrueCar”) operates this information publishing website (“Service”) that features pricing, performance, technical and safety data available for new and used car/truck purchases at participating dealers. The lowest
possible price is not guaranteed. The Service is not available in all locations.
Certified Dealers are contractually obligated by TrueCar to meet certain customer service requirements and complete the TrueCar Dealer Certification Program.
Neither TrueCar nor Car and Driver brokers, sells, or leases motor vehicles. Unless otherwise noted, all vehicles shown on this website are offered for sale by licensed motor vehicle dealers. Used vehicles are subject to prior sale.
 The new Kia Sorento
X-Pro and Turbo-Hybrid.
Three rows of unstoppable.

With the 8.2-inch ground clearance and all-terrain tires of the Kia Sorento X-Pro, the 34 combined MPG of the Kia Sorento
Turbo-Hybrid, and the available Active AWD of both, the Sorento family of SUVs is taking capability to new heights.

2025 Sorento SX Prestige X-Pro AWD and 2025 Sorento Hybrid SX Prestige AWD shown with optional features. Some features may vary. MPG based on EPA estimates. Actual mileage may vary with trim,
options, driving conditions, driving habits, and your vehicle’s condition. See fueleconomy.gov for more details. No system, no matter how advanced, can compensate for all driver error and/or driving
conditions. Always drive safely.