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2024 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato Review

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PROS:


  • Stellar all-weather performance

  • Dramatic styling

  • Amazing sound

CONS:


  • Terrible rearward visibility

  • No more Corsa mode

  • The cost

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

A beautiful all-weather supercar, a true joy in inclement conditions, and a hell of a lot of fun even when the roads are dry and smooth.

The Huracan is getting on a bit. Now entering its 10th year of production, it’s not quite as long in the tooth as the venerable Aventador became before it was finally replaced last year, but it’s getting there.

To keep things feeling fresh, the Huracan formula must keep tweaking and extending. Typically, Lamborghini does this by slapping letters like S, SV, and SVJ to its cars, dialing up the power and asking price all the while. The Sterrato, though, is something new, something different, and, as it turns out, something extraordinary.

The concept

The Huracan Sterrato is, quite simply, the ultimate off-road Lamborghini. Sure, the Urus has more ground clearance and would surely be better for climbing up a rocky trail, but the rest of the time it offers little in terms of Lamborghini feel and flare. There was also the LM002 SUV of the 1980s. That thing was a true off-road beast, but having piloted one around Northern Italy, I can tell you that when it comes to actual driving enjoyment, there’s not much to be had.

Meanwhile, the Sterrato looks and drives like a true Lamborghini, just one that’s had a few subtle additions and enhancements to ensure that the fun doesn’t stop when the asphalt does.

That starts with the suspension, which raises the car by 44 mm. Part of that lift is helped by the tread on a set of chunky Bridgestone Dueler AT002 tires mounted to 19-inch wheels. Five wheels, as it happens, with the car you see here outfitted with an optional spare mounted to the roof. That, though, is one option that I can’t recommend against strongly. The Sterrato, you see, doesn’t come with a jack, so even if you get a flat, you’ll have no way to change that wheel.

The engine, the Huracan’s brilliant 610-horsepower 5.2-liter V10, comes with top-mounted air intake, which not only looks fantastic but should help the engine suck in a little less grit on a dusty rally trail.

The rest of the changes are more on the lifestyle side, as ever, “style” being the most important part. The Sterrato comes with a pair of permanently affixed roof rails, to which you can mount crossbars and put whatever accessories you like. The car you see here came into my life with a top cargo basket of sorts, but given my wintery testing, a ski rack would have been more appropriate.

Chunky, bolted-on fender flares at every corner add stance and aggression, while some light underbody protection should keep gravel and the like from damaging that aluminum and composite chassis.

The overall shape and appearance of the Huracan isn’t much impacted. It looks essentially the same as it ever did, just slightly angrier and, most importantly, more ready for adventure.

Interior

On the inside, Sterrato-specific changes are few. Lamborghini offers a pair of all-weather, rubber floor mats that fit perfectly and extend up the sides of the Huracan’s microfiber-lined interior. They’re a must-have if you’ll be braving inclement conditions.

But otherwise, it’s much the same interior as we’ve seen elsewhere in the Huracan. Alcantara is the material of choice, feeling luxurious and looking great, especially with the contrasting yellow stitching and the lurid seatbelts to match. The attention to detail here is impressive, and while many will find the styling a bit excessive, it’s absolutely on-point for a Lamborghini.

The Huracan was recently updated with a new touchscreen interface that is simple but effective. Both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are on offer, but only wired. There’s also Alexa in here if you have an active Amazon account.

More importantly are the various telemetry screens on offer, including a new one for the Sterrato that shows off-road angle information, plus GPS coordinates, just perfect for when you’re really going out there. I found the differential display far more interesting, showing in real-time where the Huracan is sending its power, front-to-rear and side-to-side. As much of my testing was done in low-grip situations, it was a never-ending source of entertainment to see the flow of torque.

While entertaining to watch, you won’t need to spend much time stabbing at that touchscreen. Most of the essential driving controls are right on the steering wheel. Your left thumb controls the turn signals plus flashing or toggling the high beams. On the right, you’ll find the windshield wiper button.

The mode toggle is on the bottom, customized for the Sterrato. Strada is the default mode on top, followed by the racier Sport, and then Rally, a new dedicated, low-grip, high-performance mode that is the hallmark of this car. The final controls within reach are the column-mounted shift paddles, made of metal and standing proud behind the wheel.

While most inputs are on the wheel, the Huracan still has plenty of physical controls elsewhere, including a row of plastic toggles that run above the touchscreen and that iconic, crimson ENGINE START/STOP button in the center console lurking under a plastic protector. Flip that up, stab the button, and everything changes.

Ignition

The Sterrato’s V10 is situated just about a foot behind the driver’s right ear, so when it spins into life, you absolutely know it.

However, to enjoy the engine’s sound, you need to toggle to Sport mode, which opens up the exhaust and adds a fair bit of bass to the experience.

In fact, you’re better off avoiding Strada mode almost entirely. The Sterrato’s default drive mode is extremely, oddly tame. It’s always trying to run you a gear or two higher in the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission than you might like and feels quite reluctant to downshift. It also enables the somewhat annoying engine start/stop feature (which you can quickly disable if you like). Finally, it’s all too eager to drop the V10 down to an inline five-cylinder whenever you’re light on the throttle.

Driven in this way, I managed 15.1 mpg during my testing, which is quite reasonable for a 600-plus hp car. Indeed, that’s precisely why that mode exists. But if you want an engaging drive, step on up to Sport.

In Sport, everything just feels better. The shifts are rougher than before, but they’re lightning-quick and exactly where you want them to be. The exhaust sounds better, the engine is more responsive, and the Sterrato just feels ready to play.

However, it’s in Rally mode when things get wild. This new mode was designed to provide a much more playful experience in low-grip situations, allowing the Sterrato to spin up its wheels with more aggression than would normally be beneficial for a high-grip situation like the Corsa mode was designed for, which is found on other Huracans.

In Rally, the Sterrato is happy to let you let loose, not cutting power for me even when all four wheels were spinning wildly on an icy surface. It did cut power when I made larger steering inputs, being somewhat selective in how much counter-steering was allowed before it decided I needed some help. But it certainly didn’t ruin the fun.

I do, though, lament the loss of the Corsa mode. While the Rally mode is a good trade, it’s a shame you can’t have both. After all, though its suspension is softer, with a proper set of tires the Sterrato would still be a wonderful track day toy.

Regarding the tires, the Sterrato’s Dueler AT002s are rated for mud and snow, but certainly seem better suited for the former. While I wasn’t able to test that condition, I did spend lots of time amid wintery stuff with the Sterrato you see here. The tires didn’t provide the confidence offered by a dedicated snow tire, especially in more icy conditions, but they delivered plenty of grip to have fun. Most importantly, when they gave up that grip, they did so in a clean, predictable manner.

Options and pricing

The Huracan Sterrato starts at $273,177, plus a $3,695 destination charge and a $2,100 gas guzzler tax. The car you see here had a suite of mostly cosmetic options, including $9,800 for the lovely Giallo Inti paint and $7,600 for the sports seats.

It doesn’t take long to add another six figures onto the price of your Sterrato, with this one costing $348,649 in total, but that’s the name of the game with a car like this.

The Sterrato’s performance, however, is anything but predictable. It’s a beautiful all-weather supercar, a true joy in inclement conditions, and a hell of a lot of fun even when the roads are dry and smooth. It’s even more comfortable to drive than a regular Huracan and much less likely to dig its nose into the slightest inclines, too.

It’s the complete package, and while you’ll certainly have to pay for it, it feels very much worth every penny.

The post 2024 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

2024 Audi Q8 E-Tron Review

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PROS:


  • Engaging handling

  • Comfort seating

  • Plenty of storage

CONS:


  • Range still a bit short

  • No hands-off tech

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

A refresh that moves Audi's E-Tron forward in all the right directions.

As far as EVs go, the E-Tron has been around long enough to have seen a few things. Debuting back in 2018, Audi’s first battery-powered ride was a great car in many ways, but it also felt lacking in others. Most notably, its range was on the middling side and its handling made it a pleasant drive but far from a memorable one. Finally, there was the name: E-Tron. It just didn’t really fit in with anything Audi had done before or since.

For 2024, it’s back, and now it’s called the Q8 E-Tron. Despite the new name, now fitting squarely within Audi’s model taxonomy, this is actually a subtle refresh. It’s so subtle that you’d be forgiven for not being able to identify the new car from the old were they sitting side-by-side. But, after having driven both quite extensively, I’m happy to say it’s a refresh that moves the car forward in all the right directions — though perhaps not far enough in some.

By the numbers

The Q8 E-Tron is, like before, a five-passenger SUV that, to my eye, looks more like a tall station wagon. Its height of 64.3 inches splits the difference quite handily between the regular Q8 SUV and the A8 sedan, so it really is its own thing.

It’s available in three trims, with starting prices in the U.S. just under $75,000 on the low end and $85,000 on the high end. The car tested here is a Prestige trim with just a few options added.

It has a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system offering a total system output of 402 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque. The range from the new and larger 114-kilowatt-hour battery is 285 miles per the EPA, while the maximum charging rate is 170 kW. In my testing, I didn’t come anywhere near that EPA rating, averaging 2.3 miles per kilowatt hour at best, for an estimated 243 miles from the 106 usable kWh in that new battery.

But don’t hold that against it. I did all my testing in the winter months, and that result is actually quite good given the low temperatures. Even the best EVs hate the cold. In the summer, I have no doubt that drivers will meet or exceed that EPA figure.

More importantly, the Q8 E-Tron did an excellent job of providing accurate, reliable range estimates based on weather conditions and terrain, something that many other EV makes still struggle with.

Deja-Q

Squint, and you’ll hardly be able to tell the difference between the Q8 and the E-Tron that came before. Put on your glasses, and the differences are still easy to miss. The highlights are definitely in the front facia, which is sharper, cleaner, and fresher than before. Revised lighting, too, makes the Q8 E-Tron have a subtly greater presence than before.

New 20-inch wheels also provide more visual intrigue from the side without compromising ride quality too much, but the overall visual aesthetic of the Q8 is still very much an understated one. That’s doubly so, thanks to a decidedly muted selection of colors. The shade you see here, Plasma Blue, is the most dramatic of the bunch, and yet it easily blends into your average parking lot palette.

Even less has changed on the inside, and that doesn’t bother me so much. The original E-Tron’s interior was a standout, and while it’s perhaps a bit familiar now, it still delivers in all the right ways. It also still bears the indentations in the door cars where the digital side-view mirrors would live in the American version of the Q8 E-Tron, were they legal. Five years after the original E-Tron’s launch, they’re still not.

Though mostly dark and dominated by soft-touch rubbers and plenty of harder, harsher stuff, the look is clean, and everything feels durable. The slash of open-pore wood across the dash, though desaturated and still not providing much visual flare, does at least add some organic appeal to what would otherwise be too cold a space. (Brown leather is also on offer, as well as off-white.)

The primary interface is a pair of touchscreens stacked vertically. The lower is primarily dedicated to HVAC controls and other features like smart home integration, charging, and toggling hill descent control.

The touchscreen above is the more significant of the two, where the bulk of Audi’s MMI lives and where either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto will be wirelessly displayed should you choose to enable it. To the left, there’s Audi’s Virtual Cockpit Plus, augmented further by a heads-up display.

That’s plenty of displays for sure. Though this version of MMI feels more than a little dated at this point, its voice recognition in particular offering little assistance compared to the more recent offerings from BMW or Mercedes-Benz. That said, it’s quick and easy to use, and the haptic pulse received when selecting touch controls is still a pleasant thing.

Interior comfort

At 193.5 inches long, the Q8 E-Tron is a big car, and it makes use of that volume by offering comfortable seating in the front or the rear. Out back, there’s plenty of legroom and headroom, plus a pair of USB-C ports and dedicated controls for rear HVAC, plus heating the rear seats.

Front seats add ventilation, and while the cooling isn’t particularly effective, the heating is certainly the more important part of the equation, and there they do not disappoint. The heated steering wheel, however, could use a few more watts.

Front seats are power-adjustable, with two memory settings, and visibility from the driver’s seat is quite good. The shaping of the A-pillars keeps them from blocking too much of your perspective, while the panoramic sunroof above helps keep things looking lighter and brighter than the dark materials otherwise would.

In practical terms, 28.5 cubic feet of cargo space make for a very livable machine. Fold the split rear seats, which flop down at the pull of a lever at the back of the cargo compartment, and you’re greeted with an expansive 56.4 cubic feet of space. Plenty for the most indulgent of trips to the big-box shops.

The drive

The outgoing E-Tron was pleasant to drive, calm and relaxed, quite nicely composed on the sorts of roads that will try the best of suspension systems. The revised Q8 E-Tron, I’m pleased to say, has lost none of that valuable, though ultimately forgettable demeanor.

What’s added is a surprising amount of engagement. The Q8 E-Tron, when pushed hard and toggled over to Sport mode, is quite fun to drive. No, we’re not coming close to the levels offered even by any member of Audi’s RS family. Still, revised steering and some subtle suspension tweaks help make for a car that’s eager when the road turns away from you.

It’s also eager when that road is straight and narrow. The new Q8 E-Tron feels even quicker than its 402 hp. To get maximum power, you need to be in Sport mode, where the throttle is sharpest. The Q8 E-Tron is genuinely eager, so eager that you’ll only want to deploy that mode when you’re by yourself, lest you threaten the patience — or the stomachs — of anyone else in the car.

They won’t have to worry about getting car sick from excessive regenerative braking, though. Like the old E-Tron, the Q8 doesn’t have much to offer. Tap the left paddle a few times to enable maximum regen, but the maximum is barely any. Audi’s dogged dislike of one-pedal driving continues, which continues to be a shame for any buyer who prefers not to step on the brake pedal so often.

Regarding safety systems, the Q8 E-Tron has a comprehensive stack, including automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alerts, and a lane departure warning system. It was enough to earn it an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award.

However, where more and more competitors offer hands-off highway driving, this SUV is still very much in the hands-on mode. Its lane-keep system also got a little confused when approaching exit ramps where the right painted lines split off to make room for the exit, resulting in an occasional, uncomfortable lurch. But the adaptive cruise worked well, always identifying and reacting to traffic early and smoothly.

Options and pricing

The 2024 Audi Q8 E-Tron you see here had a starting MSRP of $74,400, while the Prestige package added a further $10,400. Compared to the base Q8 E-Tron, Premium Plus adds on the better Bang & Olufsen sound system, ventilated front seats, and the 360 camera. Prestige steps that up further with a basic massaging system on those seats, which are now wrapped in higher-spec leather, with upgraded matrix lighting up front.

This car also blacked out much of the chrome with the $2,000 Black Optic Package, $400 for additional rear side airbags, and $595 for that Plasma Blue paint. Add on the $1,195 destination charge, and you have a final sticker price of $88,990.

That’s a comprehensively equipped and properly luxurious machine for that money. Really, it’s only the range that’s still a bit light compared to the competition, on par with something like the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV’s 279 miles, but short of BMW’s iX, which offers 311 miles for comparable money. But, most buyers will find the E-Tron’s 285 miles plenty enough, and they’ll also find the Q8 to be a comfortable, upscale, and now subtly engaging all-electric SUV.

The post 2024 Audi Q8 E-Tron Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 Review

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PROS:


  • Stellar range

  • Compelling style

  • Good technology

CONS:


  • Tiny trunk

  • Limited headroom

  • Inaccurate range predictions

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

A comprehensively good car with striking looks and world-class efficiency.

The battle for aerodynamic performance has created some compelling shapes over the years, but it’s mandated far more that would be called boring. Amorphous machines like the Mercedes-Benz EQS and the Tesla Model S haven’t exactly won the hearts or minds of many buyers. But still, it’s an important fight. With buyers demanding ever more range and efficiency from their EVs, a car cheating the wind is even more important now than ever.

The Ioniq 6 is Hyundai’s most extreme aerodynamic experiment yet. With a drag coefficient of just 0.22, it’s the slipperiest car ever from the South Korean manufacturer. Impressively, it’s a figure that approaches or matches other, more boring shapes like the aforementioned Mercedes and Tesla.

Despite that, it’s a car that has a distinctive, fetching shape and a visual appeal all its own. That it looks like nothing else on the road is a good start, that it’s such a comprehensively good car and is available with 300 miles of range is even better.

The Packaging

The shape of the Ioniq 6 is quite basic, just a simple front-to-rear arc that doesn’t by itself offer much in the way of intrigue. But within that low-drag profile is a series of details and highlights that make this sedan special.

The most interesting angle is the rear. Instead of simply tapering down to the ground, designers integrated a large spoiler into the back of the Hyundai. This definitely serves an aerodynamic purpose, but more importantly, it adds an air of sportiness to what could otherwise be a utilitarian profile.

Like the rest of the car, that spoiler is riddled with pixel lights and other details, creating a car that looks as interesting up close as it does from afar. Even the little fin antenna perched up on the roof contains some surprises, a transparent housing that exposes its circuitry when you get up there and really look at it. That is something you will want to do with the Ioniq 6.

Unfortunately, the car’s slippery profile does come with its compromises, starting with storage space. There’s effectively no storage space under the frunk, and the trunk is not much better. The opening to the boot of the Ioniq 6 is wide but low, exposing only 11.2 cubic feet of storage space. That’s about a third less even than the Sonata, a car of otherwise similar dimensions.

In fact, the Ioniq 6 is nine inches longer even than the Ioniq 5. That length does impart some advantages, like a copious amount of legroom in the rear seats. Headroom, though, is more limited. Passable, but far from generous. Rear seat occupants get a pair of USB-C ports and even a 250V three-prong outlet for juicing up more power-hungry devices.

Two more USB-C ports are lurking in the armrest, plus a USB-A port up front and a Qi wireless pad. You’ll need to use one of those ports if you want either Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, because neither is supported wirelessly.

Up front, headroom is acceptable but still not great. I’m six feet tall, and my hair just brushed the headliner with the driver’s seat situated as low as possible. Otherwise, seating is comfortable, power-adjustable and offering adjustable lumbar support plus heating and cooling. That heating is powerful, so much so that even on some very chilly mornings I found its highest setting too intense.

Interface

Like nearly everything else here, seat heater controls are buried in the touchscreen. There’s a small HVAC panel low on the center console where you can adjust temperatures and trigger the defrosters, but otherwise you’re left stabbing at that panel.

It’s a 12.3-inch unit, joined at the hip with another 12.3-inch panel that forms the gauge cluster. It’s the same basic layout as on the Ioniq 5 and it looks and works well here. The two displays are framed in matte silver, giving a clean, cohesive look.

Thumb controls on the wheel make adjusting things like cruise control and media volume easy, while a set of delightfully chunky and tactile stalks behind handle the usual duties for turn signals and wipers. A third stalk, situated low and on the right, is the gear selector. Twist it forward for D, rearward for R, and push in the button on the end for P.

At first, it’s a little easy to get the shifter confused for the wiper stalk, but otherwise, the control layout is intuitive, while the feel of all the controls is excellent.

As is the look of the interior. Though dominated by dark plastics on this particular car that have a bit of a harsh feel to them in places (white is also available), the Ioniq 6 manages to be even more interesting on the inside than on the outside. Subtle ripples on the door cars grow in amplitude from top to bottom, emerging like standing waves as you get close to the handles integrated into large arm rests that feature massive, bright speaker grilles.

Those speakers are from Bose and offer plenty of power to fill the cabin. There’s perhaps not an excess of finesse from the sound performance here, the prodigious bass coming from the trunk somewhat overshadowing the tweeters in the A-pillars and the speaker perched high on the dashboard.

Upturned edges visually dominate the dash itself, flourishes meant to highlight the integrated, digital side-view mirrors present in international markets but sadly lacking in the U.S.-specification car you see here. Still, it’s a compelling look, all of it punctuated by countless little squares, pixels found everywhere from the dashboard down to the generous storage space on the floor between the seats.

Four more pixels are embedded in the steering wheel, each backed by LEDs that sweep in color in response to drive mode and other features. The Ioniq 6’s ambient lighting can likewise be set to cycle as you tap the Drive Mode button on the steering wheel, with green for Eco, blue for Normal, and red for Sport.

If there’s one disappointing thing in the interior, it’s that Drive Mode dial on the steering wheel. The knurled edges make you want to spin it to cycle from one mode to the next. Sadly, it’s just a simple button, toggling slowly from one mode to the next.

Sport mode

While not as satisfying as a knob to twist, the resulting transformation is still very rewarding, the Ioniq 6 morphing from gentle cruiser to performance-minded hooligan machine with just two taps.

In Eco mode, the cool green ambient lighting matches the calm and quiet cabin. In this mode, the Ioniq 6 is a real pleasure to breeze your way through traffic or down to the shops. The suspension on the Ioniq 6 is tuned to the soft side, a feel that’s just short of floaty.

The priority was clearly on ride quality, which is generally good, though the low-profile 20-inch wheels and tires can be a bit harsh on sharp bumps, like broken concrete highways and separation joints. Those looking for the ultimate in cosseting will want to spec the 18-inch wheels and tires found on lesser trims.

Tap twice to cycle into Sport Mode, and things get rambunctious. Though the suspension doesn’t change, the throttle response is sharpened to a point where this dual-motor all-wheel-drive unit leaps forward. 320 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque are now readily and eagerly applied to your most subtle whim.

The power is easily enough to overcome the grip offered by the low-rolling-resistance tires here, and once the car’s traction control system detects a hint of spin it neutralizes the power output. Driving the Ioniq 6 hard, then, is a game of managing grip, not asking too much lest you draw the attention of the traction or stability control systems.

With that soft suspension and prodigious dimensions, the Ioniq 6 will never be a sports car. But its strong acceleration will leave nearly anything else on the road in its wake, and it’s a genuinely good time to dart through traffic circles and sling out of fast bends. And, with the regenerative braking set to maximum via the wheel-mounted paddles, there’s little need to remove your foot from the accelerator.

Flog it like this, and the Ioniq 6 won’t come close to its EPA rating of 270 miles on a charge from its 77.4 kWh battery pack. With a combination of hard driving and highway speeds in cold temperatures, I still averaged 2.9 miles per kWh for a theoretical maximum range of 225 miles.

That’s actually quite good, given it was flirting with freezing during my testing. And, because I wasn’t going easy on the accelerator. Driven in more temperate conditions and with a bit more frugality, I’m confident that 270 mile figure is achievable.

That said, I was disappointed by the car’s inaccurate range predictions. In one long, 120-mile highway stretch, the car initially estimated I’d have 80 miles of range remaining when I got to my destination. When I arrived, fewer than 30 miles were left on the clock. That’s despite my using the integrated navigation system, so it knew exactly where I was going and how I was going to get there.

That was a letdown, but Hyundai’s latest Highway Drive Assist system at least impressed. The Ioniq 6 stayed rock-solid, centered in its lane, slowing up or speeding down based on traffic in a casual, no-fuss way. The car will even change lanes on its own, only requiring that you, the driver, signal the change. It worked reliably but slowly, the car often pondering a full three seconds before making its move. That’s too long when there’s traffic about.

Pricing and Options

Hyundai Ioniq 6 pricing starts at $41,600 for a Standard Range, single-motor model. The model I tested here is a top-shelf Limited Long Range AWD with 20-inch wheels and a $56,100 MSRP. The lone accessory added was $210 for floor mats. Add the $1,115 destination charge, and you have a final asking price of $57,425.

As fun as the Ioniq 6 is with two motors and all the power they bring, to me, the Ioniq 6 is best when driven more casually and frugally. Given that, I’d spec it with the single-motor long-range SE version. That starts at just $45,500 and, though slower, is rated for a remarkable 361 miles on the EPA cycle.

You’d find me hypermiling my way to work, enjoying the kind of range generally only found in cars costing much more, cars that don’t look and feel anywhere near as interesting as this.

The post Hyundai Ioniq 6 Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

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.

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.

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.

2023 Volvo S60 Recharge review

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PROS:


  • Clean looks

  • Frugal power

  • Great sound system

CONS:


  • Uneven power delivery

  • No Android Auto

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

A great driving, great looking, and of course incredibly safe sedan that will serve you well until you're ready to jump over to join the EV lifestyle.

The current generation S60 is getting a little long in the tooth. Introduced in 2018 and iterated over the years since, in 2023 it’s all a bit familiar. That’s especially true with a swath of interesting cars starting to make their way over the Swedish horizon, electrified offerings following in the footsteps of Volvo’s all-electric X40 Recharge and the upcoming EX90.

But, for those who aren’t quite ready to commit to the battery-electric lifestyle, Volvo’s current plug-in Recharge powertrain, as seen here on this S60, is a compelling choice. With an estimated 41 miles of range and 455 horsepower to boot, it’s both fast and potentially frugal, a no-compromises sedan. Or… few compromises, at least. Does it stand up in the face of newer, fresher competitors, especially in a market where the humble sedan is increasingly verboten?

Design

On the style side, Volvo’s attempting to freshen up the S60 with what it calls the Black Edition. It is simply but appropriately named, and if you like things that are colored black, you’re going to love this. The car is, of course, black, but so too the wheels and the trim and even much of the branding

It’s black-on-black to an extreme, to the point where a friend likened it to Knight Rider. This thing is rather more modern looking than a 1980’s Pontiac Trans Am, though — even if the current design of the S60 is now turning five. That’s old for a car with premium aspirations, where fresh looks are an important element of prestige, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is still a very good looking car.

Though many of the details are lost in the monochrome stylings, those Thor’s Hammer headlights look great, situated low on the car’s steeply angled nose, either side of a grille that features a grid-like pattern that contrasts nicely with the otherwise subtle shape of this sedan.

Things have a generic flow over the front fenders before getting interesting again with the pronounced creases above the rear wheels, my favorite design cue on the entire machine. Out back, a subtle lip protruding from the trailing edge of the trunk lid helps add some personality to the posterior, while the big, bold tail lights continue the trend set by the headlights. They’re also incredibly hard to miss, a safety feature in their own right.

Personally, I’ll always be more of a fan of these lines as applied to the V60 wagon, but I can’t deny this sedan still looks fresh, even if the Black Edition makes its most notable shapes a lot harder to spot.

The black-on-black theme continues to the interior, though some of the brightwork has survived here to break up what would otherwise be a very monotonous place. The S60’s interior got a bit of an up-do in 2022 with the introduction of Android Automotive, a very mild refresh that still looks quite nice. The knurled and polished metal band across the dashboard here highlights the shape of the dash and leads nicely to the Bowers & Wilkins speaker grilles embedded on the doors, though the highlight is the central tweeter poking out of the middle of the dash. It’s an excellent sound system and well worth the $3,200 up-charge.

Leather sections lead subtly to textured rubber expanses in an interior that’s generally full of nice materials, only a small section of dust-magnet piano black plastic surrounding the central shifter cheapening things up a bit. But, the Orrefors Sweden crystal knob itself still adds a good dose of class to the joint.

Sadly, the drive mode roller knob that formerly lived ahead of that shifter has gone, which means if you want to go from Hybrid to Power to Pure to Constant AWD modes you’ll need to go digging into a sub-menu in the 9-inch touchscreen. That’s a disappointment if you like to toggle through modes as frequently as I do.

That touchscreen runs Android Automotive, not to be confused with Android Auto. Automotive brings the full Google experience right into the car. Sign in and you can directly install apps like YouTube Music and Spotify to run natively with or without your phone. What it does it does well, offering easy access to your address book, contacts, even calendar appointments so your car will probably know where you want to go before you even tell it.

Sadly, there’s a lot of stuff it still doesn’t do. App selection is still a fraction of what’s available on Android Auto and it just doesn’t seem to be growing. Meanwhile, in-car features like the 12.3-inch virtual gauge cluster don’t have nearly the breadth of customization nor the depth of available information found on competing systems.

Android Automotive does pair nicely with that gauge cluster and even the heads-up display, so you have full navigation instructions everywhere you look. And, crucially, Google has finally added Apple CarPlay support, so iPhone users will have easy access to all their phone’s media. However, if you’re an Android User, Android Auto is still missing and, along with it, its hundreds of compatible apps.

Moving back to the more tangible aspects of the car, front seats are eminently comfortable and customizable, and the heaters built into them as well as into the steering wheel are among the most powerful in the business. Truly a blessing on a chilly morning.

Rear seating is slightly less accommodating but still quite comfy, with decent headroom and plenty of legroom and, yes, powerful heaters back here, too. There’s a small pass-through between the seats for skis or similarly skinny cargo, but both seats fold flat at the touch of a button, expanding the S60’s paltry 11.6 cubic feet of cargo capacity. That the V60 offers 22.9 with the seats up is yet another box in the wagon’s favor in my book, but if you’re the sort who prefers a trunk to a hatch, it’s workable.

Driving Dynamics

The S60 is far from a sports car but, with 455 hp and 523 pound-feet of torque on tap, it certainly gets up and moves like one. Most of the time, anyway. The powertrain here is a little complicated. Up front you have a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine making 312 hp on its own. That power exclusively goes to the 19-inch front wheels, here wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero tires.

Out back you have another, wholly separate powertrain. This is a 143-hp electric motor that drives only the rear wheels. Put the car into Pure mode and it’ll pull from the 14.9-kilowatt-hour battery pack to move you silently and emissions-free. Volvo says you can get 41 miles on a charge and I actually did slightly better in my testing, despite the cold this time of year. That battery charges via a level-two charger, so if you make a lot of short trips and can plug in between them you could be looking at a very good fuel economy.

However, tap into the maximum power delivered by the gasoline engine up front and you’ll probably be looking at something closer to the 30 mpg city, 33 highway that the EPA rates the S60 T8. In my testing, which included a fair bit of all-EV driving tempered by equal amounts of spirited driving, I averaged 35.5 mpg. That’s quite far for a car this heavy with this much power. But again, you could do a lot better if you’re a frequent charger.

Again, this is a complicated powertrain and on the road it unfortunately feels a bit complicated. In EV-only Pure mode the car actually has good torque and is reasonably quick, only feeling flat when you get up to highway speeds. Put the car into Power mode and things get rather more lively. The engine fires up and you get maximum power and responsiveness.

The ultimate power in this mode is very strong, but the delivery still leaves a bit to be desired. At lower speeds, when the engine’s eight-speed transmission is in a lower gear, the car surges forward smoothly and powerfully. But, sometimes you catch that transmission in the wrong gear. Put your foot down and you get a quick kick of torque from the electric motor. Then, everything seems to pause as the transmission drops a few cogs and the gasoline engine joins the party unfashionably late. For the driver it’s an awkward feeling. For the passengers, it’s downright nauseating.

You can learn to drive around it with a little bit of extra care, not unlike dealing with a car with a laggy turbo, but it also impacts the handling. When pushing through a corner, getting on the throttle aggressively can result in either the front or the rear losing grip first depending on which drivetrain has more torque to offer first.

The core handling of the car, though, is certainly quite tractable. There’s a fair bit of body roll, no surprise given the 4,425-pound curb weight, but those Pirelli don’t give up their grip easily. Overall, the S60 offers a good balance of comfortable cruising with just enough engagement in handling to keep things fun.

For quieter times, there two other drive modes: Hybrid which is what the car falls over to when the battery charge is depleted, and Constant AWD, which ensures you’ll have both powertrains working together. This is very useful for ensuring reliable behavior in low-grip situations like snow or ice.

Pricing and Options

A base Volvo S60 Recharge Core starts at $52,345. What you’re looking at here, though, is an Ultimate spec car with the Black Edition package. The Ultimate spec adds key features like Volvo’s Pilot Assist active safety system, including adaptive cruise, plus niceties like the heads-up display and 360 camera. The Black Edition starts at $57,950, though the black paint itself is another $695 on top of that. Add $3,200 for that Bowers & Wilkins sound system, $750 for the climate package (which heats the steering wheel, rear seats, and washer nozzles), plus a $1,095 destination charge, and you have an out-the-door price of $63,690.

To me, the notion of having a Volvo without all the active-safety features would be a strange one, so I’d suggest stepping up at least to the Plus. The $2,700 premium over the Core gives Pilot Assist and the 360 camera. But, if you have the budget you can step all the way up to the $69,225 Polestar Engineered flavor, with better suspension and better brakes.

The S60 Recharge’s value sweet spot is definitely closer to Plus than Polestar, but you do you. Regardless of flavor, you’re getting a great driving, great looking, and of course incredibly safe sedan that will serve you well until you’re ready to jump over to join the EV lifestyle.

The post 2023 Volvo S60 Recharge review first appeared on Yanko Design.

2023 Kia Niro EV Review

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PROS:


  • Great styling

  • Comfortable ride

  • Attainable pricing

CONS:


  • Slow charging

  • Fewer fun colors on EV

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

Can an EV with middling range and a traditional cabin layout compete? It can when it looks this good, drives this well, and is priced this competitively.

With the industry increasingly moving towards electrification, more and more dedicated EV platforms are hitting the market. Designing a car from the ground up to be battery-powered has some significant advantages when it comes to cabin layout, battery placement, and ultimately range. But, it has some drawbacks too — namely, cost. Designing such a platform is not cheap, and by limiting a new car to be exclusively battery powered means ruling out the majority of buyers who aren’t ready for a wholesale switch wholesale to the EV lifestyle.

Kia has such a platform at its disposal, E-GMP which underpins the EV6 as well as corporate cousins the Hyundai Ionic 5 and the Genesis GV60. However, Kia’s other EV, the Niro, has taken a more graduated approach. Here, Kia has managed to offer one car in three flavors: series hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and full-on electric, made possible by more flexible platform that can fit motors, engines, or both.

But can an EV with middling range and a traditional cabin layout compete with modern, dedicated EVs? It can when it looks this good, drives this well, and is priced this competitively.

Design

The outgoing Niro was a fine looking car, fresh enough without being too radical, part of Kia’s earlier wave of design statements to define itself not as a value brand but as one truly doing something different. With the new Niro, Kia truly seals the deal with something stellar.

Though the car has a new style, its sheetmetal is wrapped around the same familiar, practical shape. The Niro EV is classified as an SUV, but it’s on the extremely small side of the crossover spectrum, really more of a tall wagon. Regardless, it’s a practical shape that’s great for small families or anyone with an active lifestyle.

An active lifestyle and a love for progressive styling cues. The most significant one is found at the C-pillar, of all places. Kia calls it the Aeroblade and it’s far and away the most striking design element on the car — but only if you pay a little extra to get it in a contrasting color, like you see here. This form is physically separated from the rest of the body, a sort of bridge with a functional vent leading to the back of the car.

It’s the sort of styling element commonly seen on high-end sports cars and, while its functional need is questionable on a low-power EV, the aesthetic appeal is without doubt. It looks fantastic.

The rest of the car looks good, too. Headlights are situated low and wide, on either side of a faux plastic grille that’s just a repeated texture of black plastic forming a modern face for the car. That Aeroblade dominates the side view, along with color-contrasting kick plates low on the doors.

Tail-lights are almost fully integrated into those C-pillars, leaving the rest of the rear looking a bit plain by comparison. But, a generous hatch spoiler adds some spice, while a rear-window wiper is greatly appreciated.

On the inside, things are a little less radical but no less welcoming. Perhaps even more so. The pale gray interior on the Kia Niro EV Wave trim you see here creates a light effect that’s a lot less dour than the seas of black vinyl we’re increasingly seeing inside modern cars. That its upholstery is made of recycled bottles definitely helps you feel better about things. Your mood will also be lifted by the sunroof, which isn’t panoramic but still lets in plenty of its namesake.

Up front, there’s a 10.25-inch display running Kia’s extremely familiar UVO infotainment system, which is simple and snappy and works well enough, including both wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Front seats are comfortable, if a bit flat.

Out back there’s plenty of room, too, with a wide bench seat and generous space for those who are either long of leg or long of torso — or both. There’s even heated rear seats, plus a pair of USB-C ports cunningly integrated into the sides of the front seats for charging.

The most important charge port, though, is up front between the headlights. The Niro EV supports DC fast charging of up to 85 kW, which will give an 80 percent charge in the 64.8 kWh battery pack in about 45 minutes. That’s a bit slow by modern standards. A full charge will take closer to two hours, or if you’re charging at home on a level 2 unit, it’ll take just shy of eight.

Maximum range of the Niro EV is 253 miles according to the EPA. I wasn’t able to test that as my time of testing was fraught with awful weather, including temperatures well below freezing and strong headwinds. So, my rating of 2.6 miles per kWh, or a theoretical maximum range of 169 miles, isn’t applicable unless you happen to be driving through the Arctic.

The Drive

EVs, even affordable ones, should be fun to drive, and the Niro EV is no exception. Though its 201 horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque are on the low end for a vehicle weighing 3,800 pounds, it accelerates well and will definitely get out ahead when darting from one intersection to the next.

It’s only at higher speeds, on the highway, when things start to feel a little flat. Here the Niro seems to lose the battle against the increased air resistance and the higher RPM demanded at these speeds. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still more than capable of moving well through traffic and passing, but it doesn’t quite leap forward with the same aggression as at lower speeds.

The Niro EV’s steering is light but the car responds quickly to your inputs. Push it hard through corners, though, and the result is just more body roll. No, despite that trick vented C-pillar, this isn’t a sports car.

That’s okay. The Niro EV excels at the more important things for this class of car, like delivering quiet and calm ride quality. The Niro EV’s comfortable suspension and generous sidewalls ensure it stays relaxed even over broken asphalt, interior quiet throughout thanks both to that isolation and the silent drivetrain.

It’s a perfect place for listening to your favorite murder mystery podcast on the way to work, though the seven-speaker Harman Kardon sound system punches above its weight with solid bass for when you’d rather spin up some music.

The Kia is also good at swallowing your stuff. 22.8 cubic feet of cargo space at the rear is a bit low, but that jumps to 63.7 with the seats folded down. And, while there isn’t a proper frunk as such, there’s a tiny compartment up there with enough room for a loaf of bread and some miscellaneous condiments. Perfect for small picnics with close friends.

All that is backed up by a comprehensive safety suite. The Niro EV Wave has Kia’s latest Highway Drive Assist 2 system, which improves on the first edition of HDA with some additional functionality. As ever it does a great job of keeping the car centered in its lane on the highway, adjusting speed as needed based on traffic and doing so without abrupt jerks on the brake.

HDA2 adds on the ability for the car to automatically change lanes to get around slower traffic — with your blessing, of course. This is still very much a hands-on driver assistance system. It’s not quite up to the same level as GM’s Super Cruise or Ford’s Blue Cruise, both of which will allow the driver to take their hands off the wheel. But, HDA2 still does most of the busy work of highway driving, making the experience a lot more relaxing.

It’s bolstered by blind spot monitoring with cross-traffic alerts and automatic emergency braking and collision avoidance with pedestrian and cyclist detection. You really couldn’t want or expect much more in a car of this category.

Options and Pricing

The car you see here is a Kia Niro Wave, which starts at $44,450 and differs from the base Wind trim by adding on things like LED lighting, Highway Drive Assist 2, a bigger infotainment display, and the ability to use your smartphone as a key. This car also has a few options, like $155 for floor mats, $395 for the Snow White Pearl paint, and another $195 for the (very necessary) contrasting gray C-pillar.

The most expensive add-on, though, is $1,300 for the Wave Preserve Package. This includes the heated rear seats, but more significantly adds on a heat pump. A heat pump allows an EV to warm the cabin in a far more efficient way than basic resistive heating. At temperatures down to freezing, the car will spend less electricity keeping you warm, leaving more power in the battery for going far.

If you live somewhere cold, you’ll definitely want to tick that box, even if you don’t care about keeping the rear-seats warm.

Add on the $1,295 destination charge and you’re looking at a final price of $47,790, but you could get into a Niro EV for as little as $39,550. That compares to 38,690 for the base version of the plug-in hybrid Niro and 26,590 for the base hybrid.

Which is for you? Well, that depends a lot on your driving patterns and whether you have regular access to a charger. If you’re driving long distances frequently, the base hybrid might be the best bet. Make shorter trips and can charge only occasionally? Check out the PHEV.

But, if you have access to the charger, the full EV Kia Niro would be my pick. It’s calm and quiet to drive and the almost complete lack of maintenance will make it that much easier to live with on the long haul. And, with a car that looks this good, you’ll be in no hurry to get rid of it.

The post 2023 Kia Niro EV Review first appeared on Yanko Design.