Author Archives: Tim Stevens

The Lotus Emeya brings electric supercar performance for four

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This isn’t your parent’s Lotus. The British maker, once famous for ultra-lightweight sportscars that had no room for creature comforts like air conditioning, heated seats, or even doors, is now part of the Geely family, with designs on a big international presence with big sales.

That’s going to require bigger cars, and while the Eletre SUV was something of a first big departure for the company, the Emeya is a quick second-act. The Emeya is a four-door sedan with a swoopy, coupe-like profile, comfortably seating four and, Lotus says, offering somewhere around 300 miles of range from a 102kWh battery pack.

That’s quite good range for a car that will offer up to 905 horsepower and that can sprint from 0 - 60 mph in less than 2.8 seconds. Quick, yes, but as a grand tourer, the idea is comfort and luxury, and that the Emeya has in spades. But will it be good enough to convert the Lotus faithful? That we won’t know until sometime in 2024, when this enters production. Watch the video below for the full story.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-lotus-emeya-brings-electric-supercar-performance-for-four-130035674.html?src=rss

The Lotus Emeya brings electric supercar performance for four

Posted on by

This isn’t your parent’s Lotus. The British maker, once famous for ultra-lightweight sportscars that had no room for creature comforts like air conditioning, heated seats, or even doors, is now part of the Geely family, with designs on a big international presence with big sales.

That’s going to require bigger cars, and while the Eletre SUV was something of a first big departure for the company, the Emeya is a quick second-act. The Emeya is a four-door sedan with a swoopy, coupe-like profile, comfortably seating four and, Lotus says, offering somewhere around 300 miles of range from a 102kWh battery pack.

That’s quite good range for a car that will offer up to 905 horsepower and that can sprint from 0 - 60 mph in less than 2.8 seconds. Quick, yes, but as a grand tourer, the idea is comfort and luxury, and that the Emeya has in spades. But will it be good enough to convert the Lotus faithful? That we won’t know until sometime in 2024, when this enters production. Watch the video below for the full story.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-lotus-emeya-brings-electric-supercar-performance-for-four-130035674.html?src=rss

Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro S Review

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PROS:


  • Good range and power

  • Wide open interior

  • Improved performance

CONS:


  • Over-reliance on touch surfaces

  • Monotone interior design

  • Overly conservative stability control

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The ID.4's second act proves Volkswagen means business when it comes to EVs

It’s always interesting to watch cars as they evolve on the market. Some stay stagnant before they eventually just sort of fade away. Others, usually products deemed to be of particular significance by their respective manufacturers, see significant updates and improvements over the course of their lives.

As part of the opening salvo of Volkswagen’s EV onslaught on the global market, the ID.4 is certainly a significant car, one that landed to satisfying but hardly glowing reviews. The next step, the Pro S, is here to add a little more: more range, specifically, but more performance and more responsiveness, too. Is it enough to elevate the perspective of this humble EV?

Design

Visually, not a lot has changed about the ID.4 from the initial version that premiered in late 2020, released to international markets in the following year. It’s the same, tall, upright, deceptively large shape — offering similar cargo capacity to the larger Tiguan SUV.

The biggest change is hidden in the floor of the thing: a larger, 82-kilowatt-hour battery pack that pushes the AWD Pro S flavor of the ID.4 a total of 255 miles on the EPA test cycle. That’s 46 more miles than the rear-wheel-drive ID.4 Standard model can manage.

The AWD PRo S quicker, too, much quicker, with 295 horsepower and an estimated 0 – 60 mph time of 5.8 seconds. That’s enough to make it feel like a completely different machine from the generally sedate and calm but comfortable and competent ID.4 Standard.

The overall body shape is still the same, still somewhat shapely but largely anonymous. However, on the Pro S, the creased flares on the rear fenders seem a little more purposeful, somehow. Perhaps it’s just the knowledge that this one has more power to fill them.

On the inside, the story hasn’t changed much. The AWD Pro S you see here was configured with the Galaxy interior (a.k.a. “black”), which adds a bit of a low-rent feel to things. I much prefer the look of the white interior, but that’s not going to fit into everyone’s lifestyle. It’s a shame there isn’t some in-between option that offers both personality and durability.

Only a splash of silver-painted plastic across the center of the dash breaks up the darkness in here, matched by silver handles and three lines of contrasting stitching on each door. Everything else just falls into a sea of dark and darker.

I don’t love the tones, but the materials are generally good, soft-touch plastics and vegan leathers feel good to the hand, and while there’s the obligatory glossy piano black section too, that’s limited, just surrounding the arm rest and generously sized center console.

In fact, everything feels generously sized in here. There’s plenty of legroom and headroom in either the front or rear seats, while the hatch offers a healthy 30.3 cubic feet of cargo space, 64.2 if you drop the 60/40 split rear seats.

That hatch’s upright shape just makes loading cargo all the easier, and the hands-free operation is quick and easy, crucial when your arms are full with heavy groceries.

Technology and Safety

That’s perhaps the smallest bit of convenience tech found on the ID.4, including a climate control system smart enough to know what to do if you tell it your feet are cold. There’s an LED strip integrated below the windscreen used for signaling upcoming turns or active safety warnings. Sadly, though the tiny gauge cluster behind the steering wheel will pull turn information from Android Auto or Apple CarPlay (wirelessly, even), you have to use the ID.4’s clunkier, integrated nav if you want to make use of that LED light show.

That little gauge cluster measures just 5.3 inches and feels cramped at first, but you’ll quickly realize it has plenty of information. It’s mildly customizable, able to provide slightly more room for notifications from the adaptive safety system or for the navigation section.

The bigger interface is the central, 12-inch display, running a user interface that feels a lot like an iPad rotated right 90 degrees. A home button sits on the left with two rows of icons on the right, through which you can swipe, tap, and drag. There are even simple widgets available, showing currently playing media and navigation information.

The interface is comprehensive and easy to use. It’s also a bit sluggish, but “a bit sluggish” is a noticeable improvement over the software that shipped initially on the ID.4.

Sadly, some other user experience aspects have not changed. The touch controls on the steering wheel ironically are still challenging to find by touch yet easy to find by accident. Likewise, there’s no volume knob to be found anywhere, which is a mark against by my book.

VW’s IQ.Drive safety system is present, including features like automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot-monitoring and even Emergency Assist, which can safely stop the car in the case of a medical emergency.

The advanced lane-keep-assist system, Travel Assist, did a great job of keeping the car centered on the highway, modulating speed to match traffic. It’ll even handle lane changes for you automatically when you signal, but the feature is frustratingly slow to actually make the move. In the end I usually just completed the change myself.

Punch It

While the ID.4 at launch was an easy car to like, its middling performance was something that made it a bit hard to love for many. The AWD Pro S fixes that with 295 hp and 339 pound-feet of torque, improvements of 94 and 100 respectively.

The base ID.4 feels quickish up to 30 and then sort of falls on its face at higher speeds. The AWD Pro S, however, pulls strongly up to 60 and has plenty of punch left even at highway speeds. Those with a heavy right foot will be chirping the tires when launching away from traffic lights and surging forward into gaps in traffic with ease.

The only real fly in this ointment is what happens when you do chirp those tires. It’s actually quite easy to overcome the grip of the all-season Scorpion Zero tires, triggering the ID.4’s traction control system to sweep in like a giant wet blanket. Heaven forbid you begin even the tiniest of slides and the car completely cuts power for a solid two-count before re-enabling the right pedal.

I’m aware that very few ID.4 drivers are going to push their cars this hard, but I’m also disappointed that, given the wondrous ability to create advanced traction and stability control systems afforded to modern engineers by the instantly responsive electric powertrains, Volkswagen didn’t do something just a bit more subtle here. The result is a car that is engaging and fun until it suddenly very much is not.

On the handling side, the ID.4 AWD Pro S is still tuned for comfort more so than cornering. Yes, it does just fine through twisty roads, even offering some surprisingly good steering feedback for a modern car, but the body roll and compliance are definite restrictions.

And that’s just fine. By prioritizing ride quality, ID.4 is able to soak up everything from road imperfections to railroad crossings without passing much of any disturbance into the cabin. It’s on another planet compared to the Tesla Model Y’s harsh, buzzy nature over bumps.

All the more reason to drive it calmly, when you’ll see the maximal range from your ID.4. The AWD Pro S is officially EPA-rated to do 255 miles on a charge. In my testing, I saw 3.4 miles per watt-hour, which works out to a theoretical maximum range of 262 miles from the 77 kWh of usable space in the battery.

Options and Pricing

In the U.S., the Volkswagen ID.4 Standard starts at $38,995. But, if you want the extra power, range, and features of the AWD Pro S you’re looking at a minimum of $51,295.

You won’t need to spend much more than that, really. The car you see here had exactly one option: Aurora Red Metallic paint for a worthwhile $395. That’s one of just three real colors, the other two being shades of blue, along with two whites, a black, and a gray.

A somewhat lackluster palette for a genuinely impressive car. The ID.4’s second act proves Volkswagen means business when it comes to EVs, and with more range and power at a fair price, the ID.4 AWD Pro S is well worth including in your shopping list.

The post Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro S Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class puts TikTok on the road

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The humble sedan isn't seeing much love these days. Most are being put out of production, clearing factory manufacturing lines to make room for ever-more SUVs. But, for Mercedes-Benz, luxury sedans are life, and the E-Class is one of their longest-running.

For the 2024 E-Class, Mercedes-Benz hasn't radically reinvented this stoic sedan, giving it a refreshed look and some new, more efficient engines with hybrid power. But more interestingly, the new E is loaded with interesting tech tricks and toys that, for now at least, are only found on Mercedes' mid-tier option.

The E-Class is Mercedes' first car with a selfie camera and the first car in the world that offers TikTok, WebEx, and Zoom right there in the dashboard. All that, paired with some advanced driver assistance on the highway plus all the luxuries you've come to expect from a Mercedes, creates a sedan that's perhaps a bit too steady for some, but will be right on the money for many. Watch the video below for the full story.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-new-mercedes-benz-e-class-puts-tiktok-on-the-road-220017398.html?src=rss

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Review

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PROS:


  • Long range

  • Quick acceleration

  • Big-truck practicality

CONS:


  • Gigantic proportions

  • Busy interior

  • Cost

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The F-150 Lightning is a superb truck and a wildly versatile EV. I only wish it were smaller.

Ford sold over 650,000 F-150s in the U.S. in 2022, 653,957 to be exact. That’s a remarkable number of vehicles of any sort — Toyota only sold less than half that many Camrys. It’s that volume that made the release of the F-150 Lightning in early 2022 so significant. This truck truly has the potential to be a game-changer, taking millions of the most environmentally unfriendly vehicles off the road and replacing them with emissions-free successors.

That was the promise, and with a sub-$40,000 initial asking price the Lightning was a very tempting release. Now, though, the scales have changed dramatically. As of this writing, the cheapest Lightning, the Pro, starts at $59,974 — $63,474 if you want anything other than the stripped, fleet special. The truck you see here, meanwhile, cost just over $100,000. Given that, is the Lightning still the world-changing uber-truck that it was supposed to be?

It is, but the financial equation is sadly a lot more complicated than before.

Exterior Design

The design of the F-150 Lightning doesn’t offer much in the way of nuance or progressive thinking. This thing looks, very much, just a truck. A big one at that. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as buyers in this segment don’t tend to want anything radical, but you’d certainly be forgiven for not picking a Lightning out of a crowd of F-Series trucks in a parking lot.

In motion it’s a little easier to spot thanks to the distinctive running lights front and back, which span up around the headlights on the nose and between the tail lights at the rear. Those details are far and away the biggest visual differentiator between Lightning and a more pedestrian F-Series. But, look a little closer and you can spot some other cues.

Where the grille should be is just a wide swath of black plastic. Instead of a fuel filler cap on the rear fender, there’s a charging port on the front fender, and a few Lightning badges are scattered here and there.

For every nuance that’s subtly different in the Lightning there are a dozen elements carried over wholesale from the regular F-150. The mirrors still stand out wide and proud, each with roughly the same aerodynamic finesse as a shoe box. Body and bed are still split by the same, vertical, inch-wide gap and there’s even the same number pad on the B-pillar for keyless entry of the old-school variety.

Most significantly: the F-150 Lightning is huge, just like a regular F-150. Trucks in this category have been putting on weight for generations now and this current implementation is positively obese. At 231.7 inches, the Lightning is a whopping 33 inches longer than a Tesla Model X SUV, 45 inches longer than the Mustang Mach-E. It’s 96 inches wide and 78.3-inches tall — too tall even to fit into my garage, as it turns out.

It’s hard to argue with the outright capabilities, and it makes sense for Ford to come out of the gate with a top-shelf electric truck instead of something a little smaller and more manageable (more expensive cars have higher profit margins, after all), but I can’t help wishing this were a little more Maverick and a lot less massive.

Interior Design

That size does create a truck with an expansive interior. Five adults, even those of a generous girth, will fit comfortably here with adequate headroom and shoulder room and every other kind of room, too. Rear-seating isn’t exactly luxurious, but it is perfectly acceptable, with heating, a pair of USB ports (one A and one C) plus a 12-volt outlet and even a straight-up, three-prong 120V outlet.

In the Platinum trim, the two seats up front add on ventilation plus the usual power adjustments including lumbar. The giant arm-rest flips up to reveal a chasm big enough to store a couple six packs of your favorite beverage. Or, you can fold out the cushioning on top to create a perfectly serviceable workspace. Another pair of storage cubbies cut in on the sides of what would be the transmission tunnel if this thing had a transmission, plus another compartment ahead of the shifter with wireless charging and a pair of USB ports.

The doors are similarly riddled with storage space and there’s not one but two glove boxes. Plenty of places to lose plenty of things, but also a generous place for working. The USB-C ports in the center will keep your laptop charged while you work if you forgot your adapter, and the truck’s integrated WiFi will ensure your kids in the back can keep on streaming on the way to school.

In terms of visual appeal, there’s a lot going on in the interior, contrasting and clashing patterns and subtly different dark shades. White wouldn’t be my first upholstery color for a work truck, but it does provide a bit of nice contrast when entering the Lightning.

Once seated, you’re confronted with a sea of black plastics, some gloss, some textured, some knurled, some embossed with a fake leather pattern, some with a faux brushed metal appearance, and some wrapped with pseudo woodgrain. This mix of materials is a bit jarring and a bit disappointing in any vehicle costing this much.

Technology

The best part of the interior is the massive, 15.5-inch, vertically oriented display sitting right in the middle of the dash. This gives plenty of real estate for everything from climate controls on the bottom to quick access to settings along the top, with numerous tiles slotting in through the middle depending on what you’re doing.

That said, I do wish it had a few of the more subtle tricks from the Mach-E’s implementation of SYNC, like a persistent button on the top for quickly getting back to Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, both of which work wirelessly here and both also serve turn instructions to the gauge cluster.

That cluster is 12 inches, massive compared to that on the Mach-E and is configurable, displaying everything from charge status to pitch and roll for off-roading. The 360 cameras are also useful when you’re hitting the trail, but they’re far more helpful when trying to slot this thing into a parking spot. That can be a bit of a challenge, but with self-parking the Lightning is happy to handle that for you – if you’re not in a hurry.

Other active features include adaptive cruise, lane-keep assist, and automatic emergency braking with evasion. The hallmark here, though, is BlueCruise. This is Ford’s hands-off driver assistance system, capable of handling steering and speed on highways. It’s only available on certain, mapped and divided roads. When you get to one, there’s nothing to do but let go of the wheel.

BlueCruise will do two things: pilot the Lightning and watch you. An infra-red camera built into the dashboard is always studying your eyes to ensure that you’re paying attention, because even if your hands are off the wheel you’re still responsible for taking over. Let those eyes wander too long on a curious roadside sign or a particularly cute dog frollicking in someone’s front yard and the truck will chime at you. Do it again and it’ll chime again, more insistently. Eventually, the system will disable itself and you’ll be on your own.

BlueCruise works well, but the one in the F-150 Lightning isn’t the most advanced flavor of this technology, unable to perform automated lane changes. You’ll still need to handle that yourself.

But the truck can handle itself in a number of other ways, like the recently released Dynamic Hitch Assist system. Just back the car up somewhere near the hitch on your trailer and the Lightning will use the rear-view camera to automatically identify where the ball on your hitch needs to be, then line back itself up perfectly.

Ride and Dynamics

The F-150 Lightning has a traditional look and that very definitely continues to the traditional feel. This thing drives like a truck through and through, but a very comfortable and compliant one. The Lightning is still built on the same ladder-frame design as the normal F-150, but with independent suspension here instead of the traditional live-axle.

That surely helps to increase the ride quality and comfort. The Lightning is compliant on broken roads and surfaces, soaking up railroad crossings and separation joints without complaint. That said, body control is a bit lacking, the big rig having a tendency to float and bob a few moments longer than you might like after a major compression.

Steering is relaxed but acceleration is not. This dual-motor Lightning with the Extended Battery gets to 60 mph in less than 4.0 seconds, which is quicker than many sports cars. It scrabbles off the line with only a bit of a whir and a massive amount of thrust. More importantly, it can tow up to 10,000 pounds in XLS or Lariat trim, which isn’t too far from the maximum 14,000 on a regular F-150. That said, payload is down from 3,325 to 1,952 if you get the larger battery, 2,235 without.

To test that, I loaded the truck up with a couple cubic yards of mulch, just short of the maximum payload, and the truck was still extremely easy to drive, accelerating strongly and braking just as well.

In terms of range, the F-150 Lightning with the larger battery pack is rated for an impressive 320 miles. This Platinum truck, with the bigger wheels and extra goodies, still rates 300 miles per the EPA.

Perhaps more importantly, the Lightning will serve up that battery capacity in many different ways, from the onboard USB-C ports to keep your laptop juiced to outlets in the bed and even more integrated in the frunk for charging tool batteries. Opt for the bidirectional Ford Charge Station Pro, and Ford estimates the Lightning can power an average home for three days.

Whether you use the Lightning as an emergency backup or a jobsite generator, the practicality is real. The one shame is charging. The Lightning tops out at 150 kW charging rate, which is undeniably slow considering the massive, 131 kWh battery pack here. That’s significantly slower than many other EVs that cost less and have far smaller packs.

Pricing and Options

The F-150 Lightning you see here is the top-shelf Platinum trim, outfitted with 22-inch wheels, $495 for the Rapid Red Metallic paint, and $595 for the spray-in bed liner. However, a few things were deleted due to supply constraints, like the onboard scale, which knocked the price down by $650.

Total price, after a $1,895 destination charge is $100,609. That is one expensive truck.

All those price hikes since the Lightning’s initial release are a shame. The Lightning was simply a compelling option for anybody looking to buy a truck. Now, buyers will have to do some math. For contractors, being able to power a job site without a generator rental will surely be compelling. For homeowners, using the truck as a whole-home power source helps make the price sting a little less.

And then of course there are the fuel savings over a traditional truck, which could be substantial.

The math is a little more complicated than before, but that doesn’t change the final result. The F-150 Lightning is a superb truck and a wildly versatile EV. I only wish it were smaller.

The post 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

Lotus’ Eletre SUV shows the company has finally grown up

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We all need to mature someday, and for Lotus, that time is now. Welcome to the Eletre, the company's first production SUV. An electric one at that, with comfortable seating for four or een five. Lotus has been historically known for producing cars that typified the bare minimum needed for enjoyable driving.

The Eletre? Well, it's a lot. It weighs a lot, at about 5,500 pounds. Its styling certainly extends to a point of excess, and that interior is nothing if not dazzling. This thing won't be for everybody, in fact I'm not sure who it is for, but it's easily the highest quality, and most comprehensive, interior that Lotus has ever produced. And, with an Unreal Engine-based infotainment system sitting on top of not one but two Qualcomm SoCs, plus four separate LIDAR arrays, there's no shortage of tech cred.

What is missing? The emotionality of all the cars Lotus has produced until now and, frankly, a clear sense of purpose. After a few days behind the wheel I'm not convinced many folks will truly love this thing, but Lotus simply had to evolve to survive, and this is an impressive first effort. Watch the video below for the full story.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lotus-eletre-suv-shows-the-company-has-finally-grown-up-070031949.html?src=rss

2023 Zero DSR/X Review

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PROS:


  • Engaging handling

  • Excellent off-road

  • Comfortable in any conditions

CONS:


  • Range can be a struggle

  • Expensive

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

A great all-rounder and an excellent entry into the world of electric motorcycles.

While the four-wheeled EV industry is robust at this point, nearly every major manufacturer offering a selection of great options with stellar performance and looks, the electric motorcycle market is lagging behind.

And that’s despite getting something of a head start. Zero Motorcycles launched its first bike back in 2009, three years before Tesla brought the Model S to bear and really split the automotive EV market wide open. Since then, things have been slow to develop on two wheels.

That’s finally changing. Zero’s total sales topped 20,000 last year, volume enough to enable launching more bikes for more types of riding. Their latest is the DSR/X, a dual-sport motorcycle meant for adventure, but can it deliver the kind of silent ease that we’ve come to expect from electric cars?

Design

The DS in DSR/X stands for Dual Sport, a category of bike meant to do anything and go anywhere. Think of this as the SUV of motorcycles, a tall profile meant to facilitate better off-road performance, but with a stance and ride characteristics perfectly suited for long stretches of asphalt, too.

Seen head-on, the DSR/X has an almost insectoid look for it, four rectangular headlights arranged such that the outer two are slightly higher than the inners. They’re like eyes on a spider, only squared.

Its face is certainly distinctive, far wider than your average motorcycle’s mug, but that’s due to aerodynamics as much as style.

When it comes to EVs, range is crucial, and the biggest enemy to range is aerodynamics. You might be surprised to learn that a motorcycle, tiny as it is, has significantly more drag than a car, even a big one like an SUV. Why? By and large it’s thanks to us. Human beings aren’t exactly aerodynamic when traveling face-first, and that’s exactly where a motorcycle puts us.

A wide fairing, like that on the DSR/X, helps to bend the wind around the rider rather than hanging them out in it. That means a wide nose with pronounced bulges, plus a tall, clear windscreen designed to duct air up and over.

The result is a clean, organic shape that’s a bit simple, maybe a little boring, but effective, especially in the DSR/X’s hero color of green, which Zero calls Sage.

Below the bike’s belt line, though, all thoughts of aerodynamics seem to have gone out the window. Here you get a clear look at the bike’s tubular frame construction, battery pack fully exposed for maximal cooling and slung down low for optimal handling. Behind it, the tiny electric motor is directly inline with the mounting point for the swingarm.

Positioning the motor and battery low has benefits from a handling standpoint, but it also has some benefits for convenience. What you’d normally think of as the tank of a motorcycle is actually a giant storage cubby here, not quite big enough for a helmet (not if your head is as big as mine, anyway), but offering plenty of volume for gloves, a rain suit, and even a nice picnic lunch.

That cubby locks with the ignition key. Just above that you’ll find the J1772 charge port, then the handlebars.

Those bars are perched up high on risers, giving you an upright posture when seated. Controls are traditional and good quality, with the only odd addition being a sort of horizontal jog dial next to your left thumb. It’s with this that you toggle through drive modes and settings on the bike’s bright, five-inch LCD that’s easily viewed even on sunny days. More on that in a moment.

Above the LCD is that windscreen, which can be raised a few inches thanks to a set of chunky twist knobs, one on either side. It lacks the power elevation of some luxury touring bikes, but it’s so easy to adjust with one hand that you’ll never miss it.

On the road

The DSR/X is a bit on the tall side, seat height at 32.6 inches, which is just ever so slightly higher than my inseam. That means a bit of a flex to swing my leg up and over the wide seat, but it’s not a strain like climbing on to some other dual sport bikes(An optional low saddle drops seat height by 0.9 inches, while a tall one brings it up 1.5.)

That wide saddle is just soft enough to be comfortable, still firm enough to satisfy your typical adventure rider. The pegs situated far enough below that my knees are at a comfortable extension. In keeping with this bike’s DS aspirations, those pegs are more aggressive than your average motorcycle, wide and open to allow for mud and muck to fall through but with sharp serrations to grab the soles of your boots through it all.

Those, plus the tall bars, make standing up on the DSR/X a breeze. Getting up and out of the saddle is a common thing for dual-sport riders. When you’re off-road, standing up further lowers the bike’s center of gravity, boosting stability on loose terrain. It also gives you a better look at the trail ahead and, if you’re getting a little warm, lets you air things out a bit, too.

Over that kind of rough terrain, scrabbling up over rocks and dirt, the DSR/X is a delight. It’s a heavy bike, 544 pounds, but it feels incredibly easy to manage. That low center of gravity imparts stability but, more so, the power delivery is perfectly tuned for loose conditions.

The DSR/X has 100 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque from its electric motor. That power figure isn’t world-conquering, but the torque number is impressive. Most impressive, though, is how smooth and easy it is to deploy that power. This is a bike just as stable when inching over gravel as it is flying down the interstate.

Helping that is a series of five on-road drive modes and five more for off-road, settings designed to ensure that the rear wheel keeps turning exactly as you want it to, regardless of conditions. Likewise, ABS is standard to ensure neither wheel locks under braking.

If that’s not enough, you can customize your own riding modes and, yes, you can turn off all the safety systems if you really want to let it rip.

My favorite ride mode by far is called Canyon. This gives the bike maximum power but also maximum regen, which more or less gives a motorcycle equivalent of one-pedal EV driving. Here, though, it just means I don’t need to reach for the brake, letting me carve through twisty roads at speed, adding throttle when I need more speed, releasing when I want to slow down.

The silence, the torque, and the surprisingly nimble character of this big bike make spirited riding like that a real joy.

The Showa suspension too has a good amount of compliance for off-road use without feeling too soft on the road, though it’s easy enough to dial in exactly how you want it, adjustable for preload, compression, and rebound front and rear.

If there’s a catch, though, it’s that riding in a spirited fashion will end the fun quickly. Officially, the DSR/X is rated for 180 miles in the city, but you’d have to use the bike in a very conservative way to get that far. Range drops to just 85 miles on the highway going 70 mph.

As I mentioned above, aerodynamics are not your friend. Likewise, you can’t tap into all that torque, meaning you’ll want to use the bike’s Eco mode.

Ridden in this way I still struggled to get close to the bike’s maximum rated range. In my average, more spirited riding, I’m seeing estimates closer to 120 miles.

That’s a bit of a shame as a bike this fun and this comfortable would be ideal for longer rides. Thankfully, charging is a possibility if you don’t mind some longer pit stops. It’ll take 2.7 hours to fill the 17.3 kWh battery pack from empty, but dropping down to two hours for a 95-percent charge. And that’s on a level two charger. Even on a typical wall outlet, the DSR/X charges overnight.

Pricing and Options

The base DSR/X starts at $24,495 and that’s really all you need. In fact, that’s exactly how the bike you see here is configured. But, if you want a little more range, you can drop an additional $3,200 for the Power Tank, which slots a few extra cells in that storage compartment in the tank. That should boost the bike’s longevity by about 30%.

Another option is the $3,000 6 kW Rapid Charger, which also slots into the tank — meaning you can’t have that and the bigger battery pack. Go for this and charge times drop by half, meaning just 60 minutes for a 95% charge on a level 2 charger.

Other accessories are more for style and, indeed, lifestyle, including things like storage bags and phone mounts.

We’ll actually be spending a full year with this DSR/X and I’ll report back with more detailed range testing as the weather improves and the riding season gets swinging in earnest. Regardless, Zero’s latest bike is a real joy, fun and nimble on the road, stable and easy to ride off.

If you’re looking for a place to dive into the wonderful, peaceful, maintenance-free world of electric motorcycles, this is it.

The post 2023 Zero DSR/X Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

2023 Land Rover Defender 130 Review

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PROS:


  • Sophisticated style

  • Endless power

  • Pampering comfort

CONS:


  • Pricey

  • Limited legroom in SWB

  • Thirsty

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

There aren't many SUVs out there with true pedigree, and among all else that's what the Range Rover delivers in spades.

It’s hard to put a price on poise, on stateliness and presence. I can quantify cargo space and performance figures until I’m blue in the face, but some vehicles offer something a little bit more, something a lot less substantial though no less important.

The Range Rover is absolutely one of those vehicles. Though it has evolved incredibly over the generations, the position it has earned as a posh all-roader has remained strong over the last few generations. What you see here is the latest, fifth generation installment, the most refined and luxurious Range Rover yet and, under the skin at least, the most advanced.

Understated elegance

Take a passing glance and you might not even notice that anything has changed, but closer examination shows that this new Range Rover is quite radically evolved, controversially so. Everything here is smooth to an extreme, winged eyeliner on those now narrower headlights extending mid-way back over the front fenders while the rest of the nose details have been minimized.

The nose is smooth, as is much of the rest of the car, with very little detailing applied to break up the giant swaths of bodywork that cover this 17-foot-long, six-foot-tall SUV. Many have called it too understated, but to my eye at least it looks far from boring.

About the only highlight on that long, gentle journey from nose to tail is the vertical slat detailing on both front doors, a seeming reference to the fender vents on the third-generation L322 Range Rover. Beyond that, even the flares over the giant 23-inch rear wheels are slim.

Above the belt-line, the Range Rover is entirely blacked out, dark tint paired with black paint on roof and pillars creating a simple, clean look. In fact, much of the brightwork on this First Edition Range Rover is darkened, part of a $1,000 options package.

The SUV terminates with a set of taillights that are Lilliputian in comparison to the rest of the Range Rover’s proportions, curiously sized and positioned. It’s a bit odd, much like the new Defender’s tails seem mis-sized, but again like on the Defender somehow it all works. The whole package is stately and sophisticated, especially in the Champagne-like matte Sunset Gold Satin hue here. Even covered in winter road salt it looked good, and that’s not something you can say for most cars.

Interior appointments abound

I’m not convinced that the interior would look so good with similar amounts of muck and grime. The warm, white leather that extends from headliner to floor definitely defines this particular Range Rover as more of a limousine than a proper utility vehicle, but given the extent of the comfort appointments here, that’s appropriate.

This Rover has the Executive Class Comfort package, offering proper executive seating in the rear with massaging for both second-row passengers and even an extending footrest for the right-rear. Shame, though, that there just doesn’t seem to be quite enough legroom to really enjoy it in this short wheelbase model. With the seatback-mounted display units, which can stream media from HDMI, sitting in the back can feel just a little bit claustrophobic despite the generous headroom.

The seats pose another problem should you actually want to carry anything in your Range Rover: they don’t fold flat. Yes, they do fold, automatically even, going through a carefully choreographed sequence of motions and clicks as various latches engage and disengage, but at best they only fold to about a 30-degree angle. Worse, with those seatback displays protruding, they won’t fold without awkwardly pushing front seat occupants forward. Yet more evidence that this particular Range Rover configuration is designed for hauling people.

Up front, driver and passenger have similarly appointed thrones, with five separate massaging routines, each with customizable direction and intensity. Seat heaters are likewise intense and the heated armrests a nice touch on cold days. There are physical, tactile controls for seat heating and cooling, Lang Rover’s dual-purpose knobs that also control HVAC settings, but to fiddle with the massage settings or any of the other hundreds of options here you’ll need to dig into the 13.1-inch touchscreen that floats above the dashboard.

Tech and infotainment

Land Rover’s Pivi Pro infotainment system feels quite solid and responsive, offering plenty of configurability as well as quick access to things you’ll need quickly, like parking cameras — bolstered here by a neat feature that turns your car transparent to let you see what you’re driving over. Though I found the voice recognition infuriatingly obtuse, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay obviate that to a good degree.

Behind the steering wheel is a 13.7-inch, dynamic gauge cluster with three different views: a barebones Focused mode, the traditional Dials mode, and a full-screen nav view. That’s controlled by a touch-sensitive pad that rests beneath your left thumb, while a similar pad on the right handles cruise control. There is at least a physical roller for volume on the left and a rocker on the right for adjusting cruise-control speed, but in general these touch surfaces are hard to use without looking down, a big step backwards from previous tactile controls.

In fact the cabin is remarkably free of buttons and knobs. Yes, there’s still a tactile volume knob down in the center between seats, and a drive mode knob as well that pops up if you want it, but just about everything else has been consumed by the touchscreen and various other touch surfaces. Even the seat adjustment controls have capacitive touch pads for setting memory.

Other than the on-wheel controls it all works well enough, and it looks good, too. Again I fear the longevity of leather interiors of this color in an SUV, but then the people who buy these are rarely too concerned about long-term viability, and in the moment everything looks stark, clean, and sophisticated. It all feels good, too. Materials everywhere are top-notch, even the headliner and the insides of the pockets in the doors, doors which must be the heaviest portals known to man. Park on an incline and be prepared to throw your weight behind these things to get out.

Ride quality

On the move, everything is quiet and calm and composed. Part of the appeal of those giant rear seats is that they’re actually positioned ahead of a sort of rear bulkhead. That’s I’m sure partly why the rear legroom is a bit compromised, but it does help to cut out the excessive road noise that SUVs can offer. That makes for a fine soundstage for the 29-speaker Meridian sound system, which doesn’t shout for your attention like some premium audio systems, but it deserves respect just the same.

Ride quality is similarly relaxed, with just a hint of stiffness on bigger bumps to remind you that this is indeed a very capable off-roader. Locking differentials front, center, and rear help keep the power moving where it’s needed, while eight separate modes ensure you’ll have just the right amount of throttle response and suspension compliance for whatever you need. There’s even automatic wade sensing for those everyday fording opportunities, an off-road specific heads-up display mode, and the ability to make four different custom configurations. This is, as ever, the perfect companion for posh off-roading.

In its most aggressive on-road mode the Range Rover is certainly willing in this, the P530 engine configuration, the 523-horsepower, 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 not offering much in the way of throttle response. But, give it a moment to build boost and this massive machine surges forward. This is the sort of car that will usher you up to speed quickly and just keep piling on velocity if you’re not careful. It’ll just keep drinking more and more fuel, too. The P530 is rated for 16 mpg city, 21 highway and 18 combined. I netted 20.5 mpg in my testing, most of which was spent on the highway.

Best to use the cruise control, then. It’s adaptive, of course, and works quite well at maintaining speed smoothly in traffic. Sadly, the active lane-keep system doesn’t work so well. It had a tendency to wander in the lane, sometimes jerking the wheel abruptly, which is unpleasant in a big SUV. It seemed to frequently confuse asphalt snakes for line markings, especially at dusk, which left me turning the system off unless visibility was pristine.

Other active safety systems include active blind spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking front and rear with pedestrian detection, and occupancy alerts to ensure nothing (and nobody) gets left behind.

Pricing and Options

This First Edition Range Rover was well optioned and priced appropriately, $158,200 to start but stickering at $169,900 with $7,450 for the Sunset Gold Satin paint (exorbitant but worth it), $1,000 for the blacked out detailing, another $1,000 for the blacked out roof, $900 for the 23-inch wheels, and another $1,350 for delivery.

For that money you could cross-shop this with something like a Mercedes-Benz GLS or even an Alpina XB7. That’s some luxe competition, in many ways even more posh and comforting.

But then they’re not Range Rovers, without the presence, off-road capability, and frankly the dimensions of this thing. There aren’t many SUVs out there with true pedigree, and above all else that’s what the Range Rover delivers in spades.

The post 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Review

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PROS:


  • Aggressive style

  • Roomy interior

  • Solid range

CONS:


  • Harsh ride quality

  • Sluggish infotainment

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

Even though Ford's electric Mustang is no longer the new kid in the stable, it's still a strong runner in an increasingly competitive pack.

The EV market is rocketing forward faster than even we who track these sorts of things could have expected. Global interest in all-electric cars is spiking, leaving manufacturers scrambling to get their battery-powered machines to market. It’s a time reminiscent of the early days of the smartphone boom, when the hottest products were quickly overshadowed by what came next, and those next products never came soon enough.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is no longer one of those next products, now on the market long enough for Ford to get over most of its early production teething pains, long enough for us to get past the debates of whether this thing deserves to be called a Mustang, and long enough even to start the inevitable special editions like the high-horse Mach-E GT. This, though, isn’t one of those, it’s a Mach-E Premium, the trim that most people will at least consider, in all-wheel drive shape and without much in the way of options. How does it hold up to the latest EVs just hitting the market?

Remarkably well.

Design

The Mach-E is EV through-and-through, designed from the ground up to be battery-powered. And that’s where it starts, with the battery, which other than the wheels and tires is the part of the car closest to the ground.

The positioning of that battery pack helped to dictate the styling of this machine, which really does share the overall silhouette of a Mustang. Those pronounced fender flares front and rear, the purposeful squint of the headlights, the angular side windows, it’s all quite familiar.

But it’s the taillights where things are most obvious. The three vertical bars are a Mustang trademark and they’re put to good effect here. Also good: the Cyber Orange color. It has a subtle metallic element that brings out the yellow more than the orange on a sunny day. On a cloudy day you might be inclined to say it’s pale, but come back when the sun’s out and you’ll be smitten.

So, this is very much a four-door Mustang with a hatch, styling literally elevated a few inches to make room for that battery. This one has the larger, 91 kWh battery pack, an $8,600 option, but there is a 70 kWh version for those who don’t need to go as far. That powers either one or two motors depending on whether you want all-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive, giving a range of ranges from 224 on the low-end (for the dual-motor, small-battery edition) up to 314 miles (for the larger-battery, small-wheel, RWD edition).

This car here is on the higher end of the spectrum, offering an official EPA-rated 290 miles on a charge. 346 horsepower and a healthy 428 pound-feet of torque come from the combined forces of two electric motors, positioned down between the wheels to ensure a flat floor inside the car, a generous 29.7 cubic foot trunk, and even a perfectly usable 4.7 cubic foot frunk.

Interior and tech

Though slightly shorter than the Mustang coupe, the Mach-E is remarkably roomy on the inside, glass roof not only making everything look bigger but genuinely helping with headroom front and rear. Sadly there is no shade, though the tint seems to keep the glare at bay.

Where the exterior goes out of its way to show its pony car heritage, the interior design does little to draw the mind back to the stable — except for the horses dancing across the various displays on start-up. Though everything is functional and well laid out it’s all a bit busy. On the door cards, one embossed leather pattern clashes with a tight triangular mesh surrounding the controls, contrasting again with a woven mesh over the B&O speakers. The dashboard has the same woven highlights and leatherette pattern, plus a generous amount of fake carbon fiber. Finally, on the steering wheel there’s a different leather pattern that contrasts with yet another clashing texture covering the airbag, buttons surrounded by sparkly plastic of a different color than anything else on the interior.

It’s all ostensibly black yet none of it goes together well. The materials, at least, are reasonably fine, soft-touch most places you’ll want to touch.

At the rear there’s seating for three on a 60:40 split folding rear bench. No seat heaters or climate controls back here, but there is at least a pair of small HVAC vents and a couple of USB ports, one -A and one -C. Two more USB ports up front for the driver and passenger, plus wireless charging, which more people will probably go for given the wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Front seats are basic but comfortable, power adjustable in the usual ways plus lumbar support, and three memory settings on the driver’s side. These settings can be saved to a driver profile system accessible via the prominent, 15.5-inch central touchscreen, so the car will identify you via your key fob or smartphone and get your seat where you want it before you occupy it.

Ford’s Sync 4A infotainment system fills that display well. The main interface is a bit overwhelming with all the menus, heavily derivative of the Model S. It’s effective enough but I wish I didn’t have to bring up a menu to pop the trunk or frunk.

The navigation experience is simple but comprehensive, serving up lists of local chargers plus details on all the junk food available on the next highway exit. When you do hit the charger, you can fire up YouTube on the main screen or play any of a half-dozen games, titles that seem to exist to prove a point rather than to provide long-lasting entertainment.

My only real problem here is the sluggishness. When cycling the HVAC temperature or toggling the seat heaters, there’s just short of a full second’s delay between your tap and the car’s response. Worse, when you move from one screen to the next, you’re often greeted with a pop of static through the speakers.

That can be painful given how powerful the sound system is, this Premium model having the 10-speaker B&O sound system. It certainly delivers a lot of sound with a real tendency towards bass, but is painfully lacking on the top-end.

That’s a bit like the motors, as it turns out.

Performance

If you purely look at the power numbers here you’d be forgiven for believing this is a sports car of a true Mustang nature. After all, 428 lb-ft of torque is more than a Mustang GT. But, there is of course another number you need to consider, and that is weight. This Mach-E, with its dual motors and larger battery, weighs 4,838 pounds. That’s about 1,000 more than said coupe GT.

When it comes to hard acceleration, you feel that mass. Yes, the Mach-E scoots forward from a stop sign or light with enthusiasm, but before you’ve hit 30 the power begins to fade. That’s even if you go to the car’s sportiest mode, evocatively named Unbridle. This is not a slow car — 4.8 seconds to 60 is far from humble — but a Tesla Model Y, even the plain Long Range model, feels quicker.

The Mach-E, though, is way more engaging in the corners. The Mustang turns sharply and, though the steering doesn’t have much in the way of feedback, the chassis is quite communicative through your seat, giving you a good idea of what’s going on. Low-rolling-resistance Michelin Primacy tires will also speak, squealing loud and proud whenever you get anywhere near the limit. Impressively, it was almost always the rear tires that spoke first, the Mach-E showing its roots by constantly spinning up the back when accelerating hard out of corners. Even with the traction control well and truly enabled this Mustang likes to shake its tail.

That engaging drive through the corners comes at a real ride quality penalty. On the 19-inch wheels and tires the car is harsh over bumps and can feel more than a little unsettled when cornering on poor surfaces. Looking for a little more comfort? Try and spec the smaller, 18-inch wheel and tire package if you can.

On the safety side, Ford has recently rolled out an update to its hands-off BlueCruise system, and the car I tested was one of the first to receive this update. Similar to General Motors’ Super Cruise, BlueCruise uses infra-red cameras to monitor driver attention and, on approved roads, allows fully hands-off driving. With the new version, the car will also handle automated lane changes (though the driver needs to prompt them with the turn signal stalk), and will even hug one side of the lane or the other to provide more room when passing cars.

I spent multiple hours using this system and it proved completely reliable and confidence-inspiring. It doesn’t seem to quite have as many highways cleared for use as Super Cruise, but I drove for well over 100 miles in one go with my hands off the wheel, only briefly taking over when going through toll booths. Whenever my eyes wandered — either when scrolling through media in YouTube Music for too long or pondering an upcoming fast food joint — the car was quick to prompt me to pay attention to the road ahead. That’s a very good thing.

Beyond that, the Mach-E has Ford’s Co-Pilot 360 active safety suite, including adaptive cruise, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping, automatic emergency braking, and automatic high-beams.

Pricing and Options

The lowest-spec Mustang Mach-E, the Select, starts at $45,995. The car you see here is the higher-shelf Premium trim, with its starting price of $57,765. Add on $795 for the Cyber Orange paint and $8,600 for the extended range battery, plus a $1,300 delivery charge, and you have a final price of $68,370.

While it’s a little less responsive in a straight line than a Model Y, it’s still overall a better driver, offering more visual style and personality to boot. The market is moving forward, but even though Ford’s electric Mustang is no longer the new kid in the stable, it’s still a strong runner in an increasingly competitive pack.

The post 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

2023 Land Rover Defender 130 Review

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PROS:


  • Clean, stately looks

  • Stellar off-road performance

  • Seating for eight

CONS:


  • Thirsty

  • Lots of wind noise

  • Optional adaptive cruise

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The Defender 130 is a mighty package, and not just because it's so big.

Adventures are better with friends. The grandest of scenery looks finer when you have someone to share it with, the most grueling of hikes feels that much more rewarding at the summit. It stands to reason, then, that a bigger Defender capable of hauling even more people in even more comfort would offer an even greater experience than a smaller one.

And it does, for the most part. The Land Rover Defender 130 is literally grander, 13.4-inches longer than the 110 or a whole 30.6 more than the 90, making room for a third row of seats and potentially seating eight adventure-seeking adults. 

But are the compromises and extra cost worth it?

Exterior design

The current design of the Land Rover Defender is three years old now but it still looks fresh, riddled with styling cues that are curiously modern for a machine making such a strong heritage play, drawing on 70-odd years of legacy and containing just enough throwback touches to look familiar. It’s impossible to look at this and not feel ready to head out into the wilderness.

It’s an SUV that draws the eyes and holds it, starting with the headlights that shine out from what looks to be a disapproving brow. The generous aluminum guard up front will keep the worst of the brush off the paint and plastic while the high rear bumper and exhaust advertise this thing’s 28.5-degree departure angle. That’s down from 40 degrees on the Defender 90 and 37.5 on the 110, though the approach angle of 37.5 is the same on all three and the ramp angle is only 0.3 degrees off from the Defender 110. In other words, you’re really not giving up that much off-road performance for the extra length.

You do give up some design purity. The side profile of the 130 is generous, looking every bit the sixteen-foot-long SUV that it is, especially parked next to a Defender 110. It looks like all the extra length comes aft of the rear axle because it does, both sharing the same 119-inch wheelbase. 

But, some sacrifices must be made in the name of practicality, and in the case of the 130, that practicality comes in the form of internal volume.

Interior design

Third-row seating is the 130’s hallmark. Getting back there is a bit awkward, as the second row only slides forward a few inches, leaving a narrow gap to duck through. That, plus the height of the Defender, means those headed to the way-back may need a boost. But, once you get there it is surprisingly comfortable. I’m six-feet tall and I had plenty of headroom and shoulder room.

There’s even good visibility from the third row, thanks to generous side windows and even a separate sunroof overhead. Surprise, being relegated to the third row here isn’t quite the torture you might have expected.

Things get better as you travel forward. The second row seats are just that bit more spacious, sliding and reclining or, if you need the maximum 76.1 cubic feet of cargo space, folding flat along with the third row. Leave all the seats up, though, and there’s just a token bit of storage behind the rear seats, enough for a run to the grocery store and not much else. 

On this SE trim Defender 130, second-row occupants have their own climate controls, but no heated seats and not even a token USB port for charging. They do, however, get some sun from the second, panoramic sunroof. 

Up front is the best place to be, power captains chairs with memory offering good support and plenty enough adjustability that you can drop them down low when motoring on the highway or hike them up when hitting the trails for a little better perspective over the hood. 

The overall interior design is purposefully chunky and mechanical, with plenty of exposed Torx screws, grab rails everywhere, and so many little storage compartments that you’re sure to collect at least a few of your friends’ smartphones with every journey. Up front there’s a pair of USB ports, one A and one C, along with a separate Qi wireless charging port, taking advantage of the wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay here.

Those are displayed on a 11.4-inch, widescreen infotainment display that is a perfect size, running Land Rover’s latest Pivi Pro infotainment experience. It has a clean, dark aesthetic and offers plenty of functionality, perhaps most important being an endless series of displays showing everything from angle of inclination to wading depth. 

The gauge cluster is also fully virtual, situated behind a steering wheel with a leather wrapped rim and what feels like a metal center, powder coated white. The color contrast and the stout feel of the material are a great match for what this machine can do.

On the road

The Defender 130 is a big, tall, off-road focused SUV and so you’d be readily forgiven for thinking it’d have all the handling prowess of a freighter, but you’d be wrong. To be fair, it is not a machine that likes to be rushed. Turn the steering wheel to enter a turn and you’ll find yourself reaching for more rotation before the Defender reluctantly comes to your desired line. But, relaxed handling does not mean bad.

Air suspension lifts the Defender 130 up to 11.5 inches of ground clearance when off-road. For on-road duty, it also provides great compliance. The 130 doesn’t skitter and jump across rough surfaces at speed like older Defenders, at least partly thanks to the modern, unibody construction and the independent suspension. It’s a genuinely pleasant commuter.

At higher speeds there’s a fair bit of wind noise, which should come as no surprise given the general shape of this thing. It’s also quite susceptible to cross-winds, also predictable given its prodigious cross-section. The 700 watt, 14-speaker Meridian sound system is more than capable of handling the wind noise, though the lane-keep-assist is a little less able when it comes to addressing the wandering. I found it unreliable on anything but wide, well-marked highways. 

But it’s a fine highway cruiser, so much so that you might forget even this up-sized 130 is happiest while wading through the muck and the mire. With permanent all-wheel-drive bolstered by locking center and rear differentials plus a two-speed transfer case, the Defender is a legit performer in even the worst of conditions.

That’s all driven by Land Rover’s 3.0-liter inline-six engine, in either P300 trim with 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, or P400, which steps things up to 395 hp and 406 lb-ft thanks to a mild hybrid system. Those are good numbers, but with this thing tipping the scales at over 5,500 pounds, there’s a lot of mass to move.

The Defender 130 with the P400 accelerates capably, even at highway speeds. The eight-speed auto shifts smoothly and, while it isn’t the most aggressive at downshifting for acceleration, does a good job of grabbing the right cog without giving anyone in the car whiplash. I saw 19.5 mpg in my testing, right on par with the 17 city, 21 highway, and 19 combined EPA estimates.

Drive modes are accessed through the left knob in the center console, which does triple-duty as the HVAC temperature knob and, with a push, also cycles seat heating and ventilation settings. Nudge the drive mode toggle and this wheel also lets you scroll (slowly) through seven different drive modes, starting with the typical Eco and Comfort then ranging into wilder stuff like Sand and Wade. Not good enough? Four separate custom Terrain Response modes await your tinkering, specifying how strong you want the engine to be, how firm you like your steering, and precisely how much wheelspin you want. 

It’s perhaps a bit much, but then that’s what this thing is all about.

Pricing and options

If you’re looking to buy a Defender you have a lot of decisions to make. First of course is which length, with the shortest, the Defender 90, starting at $55,100. The bigger Defender 110 actually starts at a lower price $53,500, while this guy, the Defender 130, starts at $68,000 for the S model.

But, if you want the more powerful P400 engine, you’ll need to step up to the SE, which starts at $78,300, adding on some other niceties like 20-inch wheels and LED headlights. From there you have your choice of nine exterior colors, four upholstery options, and an endless configuration of interior trims and tweaks. Tick all the boxes, add on all the advanced off-road and towing features, and you’ll be into the six-figure territory.

All Defenders have a comprehensive active safety package including automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, and a rear cross-traffic alert. Sadly, adding adaptive cruise costs a whopping $1,200. 

This Defender SE had the $750 Advance Off-Road Capability Pack, giving those configurable drive modes, plus $1,700 in interior upgrades including those 18-way adjustable seats. $700 for the Cold Climate Pack, and another few styling options plus a $700 tow hitch receiver and $1,475 destination charge meant an $88,025 final price.

Opting for the 130 does mean making some sacrifices when it comes to on-road manners and ultimate off-road performance, but Land Rover’s biggest SUV doesn’t come up short in either department, powering through terrain that would leave many lesser SUVs stuck while carrying a full family plus dogs and cargo. It’s a mighty package, and not just because it’s so big.

The post 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 Review first appeared on Yanko Design.