Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2022 i Car and Driver

Pony Up! The seventh-generation Mustang isn’t a huge departure from the previous car, but would-be cowpokes will see fun new options, fresh interiors, and the menacing Dark Horse. Ford isn’t putting its gas-fed pony car out to pasture. Instead, the 2024 Mustang is galloping into its seventh generation with a mighty V-8, brawny bodywork, and an available manual gearbox. Inside, it’s a high-tech horsey, with expanded digital displays. Don’t worry that the new breed has grown tame, though. Not only will the Mustang offer hoony gimmicks like a drift stick and a remote-rev feature, but it’s also coming out of the gate with a 500-hp version, the Mustang Dark Horse. The design is more evolutionary than revolutionary. The Mustang rides on the same platform as before, with a slightly shorter…

TOYOTA WORE THE STINK OF APPLIANCE-GRADE TRANSPORTATION WITH PRIDE FOR A LONG TIME. Reliability is neither sexy nor fun—unless you’re into actuarial science, in which case, are you reading the right rag? But the past decade has been different for Toyota. It introduced two codeveloped rear-wheel-drive sports cars—the GR86 with Subaru and the Supra with BMW, both 10Best winners—plus a rally-inspired GR Yaris for overseas markets. Now we get the Yaris’s larger sibling, the GR Corolla. Are we crazy, or is Toyota the leading enthusiast brand of the day? The GR Corolla is an absolute beauty. It’s capable of speeds as fast as anyone should feel comfortable going on public roads. The 143-mph governor can be reached on the street, but if you drive that fast on two-lane roads, you…

As any aging punk rocker can tell you, youth is fleeting, and it’s hard to maintain the proper level of shameless rage as you get older. This is the dilemma facing Subaru, as the fifth-generation WRX attempts to please its maturing fans with adult styling and comfort while still holding on to its turbo-whistling, fourwheel-gravel-spitting persona. In the meantime, the Hyundai Elantra N has burst onto the scene, rude and exuberant, with none of the expectations of nostalgia weighing on its spoiler. Which earns the most sport-compact cred? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and may not be what either brand is attempting here, but we’ll assert that neither the WRX nor the Elantra N would be the star of the catwalk. The Subaru is chunky and…

For most of our lifetimes, Mercedes-Benz has defined the luxury car. Its vehicles were elegant, straightforward, well-mannered, technologically sophisticated, and drenched in history. The company seems to be moving luxury in a different direction with its battery-powered EQ models. These changes are immediately apparent in the new EQE. The electrically powered E-class equivalent has a body shape and details devoted to minimizing aerodynamic drag, admirably achieving a coefficient nearing 0.20. However, the editorial eye finds little to savor in the dumpling-like form, which droops at both ends and would be impossible to identify as a Benz without the large three-pointed star decorating its prow. Inside, the EQE hews closer to recent Mercedes designs with fine detailing, lovely wood, and plush leather, though we could do without the optional bordello lighting—thankfully,…

Perhaps you’ve seen a photo of an SUV with one wheel hiked high into the air and thought, “That’s cool.” Except it isn’t, at least not if you’re serious about off-roading. A locking differential might keep you moving, but a vehicle with that much daylight under one tire could suddenly tee-ter as terrain changes, with the suspension unable to fully cushion the landing. The transition can be rough and potentially dangerous. For good traction and stability, you want all four wheels on terra firma at all times. Getting through the tough stuff requires ground clearance along with good approach, departure, and break-over angles, but oft overlooked is suspension articulation. To measure articulation, we drive a test vehicle’s driver’s-side front tire up a 20-degree ramp to generate a Ramp Travel…

Until now, no one would have included in the many reasons to throw a set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R gummies at a sports car that they would improve ride quality. But it’s true on the Z06 when paired with the $9995 carbon-fiber wheels, which shed a claimed 41 pounds. That this most extreme version of the Z06 is amazingly livable over far-from-smooth Michigan pave-ment is surprising, given that this car is also capable of setting many a track record. Going hardcore means you should choose the base targa body style, which saves about 90 pounds versus the convertible, and the $8995 Z07 Performance package. That’s actually a relative bargain, as it includes the carbon-ceramic rotors that cost $8495 alone, which makes the Cup 2 Rs only $500.…

The definition of status symbol for over 40 years, the Mercedes-Benz SL lost its ability to directly withdraw from the bank accounts of the wealthy in its last generation. That SL drove and performed better than any other, but after decades of elegance, the design—a nose-heavy, squaredoff look—had buyers spending elsewhere. Enter the new SL, a smooth and shapely convertible that ditches the retractable hardtop for cloth. No longer a two-seater, the new SL adds a pair of small rear seats, which might not be useful for hauling humans but will hold a couple of roller bags. You’ll need to store them there since the eight-cubic-foot trunk only holds one. This reinvention of the SL makes it slightly more practical, but Mercedes keeps the pendulum from swinging too far toward…

In the beginning, the Range Rover’s appearance—upright profile, slablike body panels, unadorned sheetmetal—was the product of a utilitarian, functiondriven design. The latest version’s evolved look is again upright, smooth, and simple, but for the opposite reason: The Range Rover has become an art object. That’s as true of the interior as the exterior. The leather-everywhere cabin looks and feels like the environs of a six-figure automobile. As on the outside, the theme is seamless integration. The interior door handles are so smoothly integrated that first-time passengers often struggle to find them. In-cabin tech has the requisite modern depth and complexity. The seats’ massage function, for instance, requires its own menu page for choosing among 125 combinations of three settings: mode, area of focus, and intensity. Spelunking through the menus uncovers…

Enjoyed your article on the Buick Roadmaster wagon [“Road monster,” May 2022]. It brought back memories of my favorite picture of all time in your magazine, of Granny in an LT1 Roadmaster sedan smoking the tires. She is probably doing it in Car and Driver heaven right now.—Randy Gay, Columbia, MO Gay’s memory lands him a cool little Ford GT model he won’t soon forget. Also, the guy dressed as Granny in our October 1993 issue is alive and well—Ed.…

WEALTH AND POWER. For decades, that’s what big luxury sedans have represented. They’ve been the flagships of upmarket brands, making journeys supremely comfortable while conferring a special status upon owners. Hotel parking-lot valets leave them out front. Movie and TV directors use them as props to signal prestige (think Succession). There are twice as many large luxury SUVs on the market today as large luxury sedans, but when a big, black, expensive sedan pulls up, it still gets attention. Several brands continue to build these cruise ships, so it seems like the right time to take the pulse of the luxe-sedan segment by pitting two important upscale nameplates against the standard-bearer. The Mercedes-Benz S-class has long been the luxury car others are judged by. An S500 4Matic was the natural…

There’s a reason retired athletes, family trusts, and private equity like to park big chunks of cash in automotive dealerships. And it isn’t necessarily that they like cars. In the United States, the sale of automobiles annually accounts for close to a trillion dollars in economic activity, and it turns out that situating yourself somewhere near the receiving end of all of that money changing hands is a pretty good place to be. Lately, it’s been better than ever. Yet all that is great and good about being a car dealer is about to change dramatically. Or maybe it isn’t really, depending on whom you talk to. In a time of plenty, carmakers and car dealers—whose interests are not always aligned—are bracing for big changes. How big and of what…

While BMW is busy electrifying its automotive lineup, its Motorrad motorcycle division is still dreaming up creative ways to burn gasoline. Witness the 2022 R18 Transcontinental and its freakish powerplant: 1.8 liters of displacement, two horizontally opposed cylinders, two in-block cams, four pushrods, eight valves. This thing is an engine with handlebars. And it lives up to its name. With a claimed weight of 941 pounds, the R18 Transcontinental feels like half a car. It’s unwieldy in a crowded parking lot, but on the highway, it feels ready to devour a few states at a time, that huge twin thumping out its 116 pound-feet of torque at the merest twist of the throttle. Its 91 horsepower isn’t impressive for something so huge, but this engine, like the clockwork behind Big…

“For just a little more per month …” the showroom slickster begins, pressuring the unsure car shopper trying to stick to a budget. For the buyer wavering between an Audi A3 and an S3, we say give in to the upsell. The latest A3 is far less satisfying than its S-badged sibling. Freshly redesigned, Audi’s compact sedan maintains a sensible size and is rendered in crisp sheetmetal. Inside, there’s a fantastic driving position and narrow pillars for unhindered sightlines. There’s also, however, hard plastic everywhere: the door grab handles, the upper door panels, the center console. And our test car’s Agate Gray wood inlays look like they popped out of an injection mold. Audi apparently believes buyers can be hoodwinked by a screenintensive interior design, one that banishes all physical…