“[We] could feel it within seconds,” we wrote in our First Drive of the 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA250. Within a few feet of setting off, we knew: This little Mercedes drives like a real SUV.
Fast forward a few months and we found ourselves rolling out in the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLA35. Once again, we could feel it within seconds. Except now, it was different: This sporty subcompact crossover drives nothing like the GLA250—or much like an SUV.
Familiar sights remain, like the curvaceous body and swanky, spacious cabin. Yet from behind the wheel, there’s no comparison. Even in this diet-AMG form, one level below the full-fat GLA45, the engineers in Affalterbach banished the GLA250’s slightly tippy handling and easygoing powertrain calibration. Rather, the GLA35 drives like a true performance car. As we found on the road and at the test track, it’s a seriously capable machine. But it’s so rough and aggressive that it could be [...]
Fifty years after Tom McCahill invented “zero to 60,” it remains the road-test’s benchmark number. Simple to understand, easy to compare, McCahill’s 0-to-60-mph yardstick captured the public’s imagination. Bolstered by frequent use in automotive advertising, nought-to-sixty took on a significance way beyond its true value. Nobody cared about other figures. Forget quarter-mile times, esoteric 45-to-65-mph passing numbers; only top speed gets close to resonating with enthusiasts in the same way.
Thomas Jay McCahill’s first road test, on a 1946 Ford, appeared in the February 1946 issue of Mechanix Illustrated magazine. Readers soon learned that, as well as his elementary, much quoted 0-to-60 time, McCahill provided irreverent, vibrant words that made the car live for the reader. McCahill entertained, combining a quick—if sometimes corny—wit, exaggerated metaphors and similes, and a stimulating and original writing style with serious foundations. You always knew if a new model met with his approval. McCahill didn’t believe in hiding behind euphemisms. [...]
“I’ve loved being in this thing,” we heard over our shoulder as we made the trek down Highway 1 after a short weekend getaway. That comment came from our high school friend, Luke, who was riding in the back seat of the 2021 Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge. Our little trip was planned to mark a couple of occasions. One, our friend was getting married. Two, with the coronavirus pandemic finally starting to release its stranglehold on, well, everything, it was high time to take a vacation.
As sedans and sports cars fade ever further out of view, and SUVs and electric vehicles lurk ever closer, the XC60 Recharge T8 serves as a happy medium between the “right now” and the “eventually.” Its mix of gasoline-electric hybrid power and understated luxury was deemed ideal for the journey from the sprawl of Los Angeles to the more hoity-toity surroundings of Paso Robles, California. And while Luke and [...]
Genesis is developing a habit for cramping BMW’s style. First it usurped the 3 Series as our go-to luxury compact sedan with the G70. Now the Genesis GV70 compact SUV is trying to get in on the X3’s turf, and the stunning new offering is priced to go toe-to-toe with ze German and other heavy hitters in the small luxury SUV space.
It’s a Compact Luxury SUV-Eat-Compact Luxury SUV WorldThe entry-level GV70 will start at $42,045, making it much cheaper than the equivalent BMW X3, whose starting price is $43,995. While undercutting BMW, the GV70 comes with a 2.5-liter turbocharged I-4 that makes 300 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque—more horsepower than the four-cylinder X3 has—along with a massive 14.5-inch touchscreen infotainment display, Genesis’ suite of driver aids (which included lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross traffic alert), and all-wheel drive.
Speaking of, the BMW comes standard with rear-wheel drive; to step [...]
The 2022 Aston Martin V12 Speedster costs the equivalent of a million bucks and doesn’t come with a roof. Or even a windshield, for that matter. It’s expensive and impractical and breaks no new ground in terms of its layout, technology, or design. It’s a rich person’s toy, a 12-cylinder, twin-turbo plaything for people with money to burn—a pointless automotive frivolity. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Let’s be real, though: With a handful of exceptions like the Ford Model T, Volkswagen Beetle, Citroën 2CV, and the original Mini, among others, the automobile has rarely been simply about rational transport. If it was, we would all drive sensible hatchbacks or multi-function minivans rather than lusting after snarling 600-horsepower performance cars or jacked-up station wagons masquerading as macho off-roaders. So, we ought to cut the 2022 Aston Martin V12 Speedster some slack. This Aston Martin is not meant to change the world; it’s simply meant [...]
