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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.

2023 Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS Review

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PROS:


  • Beautiful styling

  • Superb performance

  • All-weather excitement

CONS:


  • Expensive

  • Slight road noise increase

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The extra weight of the Targa over the Cabriolet for me is small price to pay for the extra style that this flavor of 911 exudes.

There are few more iconic sports car shapes than the Porsche 911, and I’d argue there are no more iconic targas than the 911 Targa. It helps that Porsche is one of the few major manufacturers still making the things, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is the one that defines the template.

What is a targa? Not quite a hardtop coupe, not quite a convertible, a targa attempts to split the difference. Whether it’s something like the split T-Tops of the ’80s and ’90s or the more comprehensive setup you see here, a targa has always been a good choice for someone who wanted the feeling of open-top motoring without all the compromises that a convertible brings to the table.

Compromises

Mind you, there are still a few compromises here. Porsche’s 911 Targa 4 GTS weighs 3,653 pounds, about 200 pounds more than a comparable Carrera 4 GTS, 50 more even than a Cabriolet, but it comes with a number of advantages. Perhaps most significant? The look. That iconic, fat B-pillar roll hoop that defines this car is just as strong as ever on this, the latest version of the Porsche 911, the 992.

Still there and still creating some massive blind-spots, but harkening back to the 1965 911 Targa that kicked all this off. This new Targa is rather more advanced, though, with a power-folding mechanism that drops the top in 19 seconds.

That wide hoop flows perfectly into the giant sheet of curved glass that is the other signature element of the Targa, a pane that is hoisted rearward by the folding mechanism to allow the fabric portion of the top to tuck itself into the rear parcel shelf. It’s a dramatic process.

With the top up, the 911 Targa is very nearly as civilized as a regular 911 Carrera. There’s a bit more road and wind noise, sure, and harsh suspension compressions like separation joints on concrete do tend to jar the nerves, but part of that must also be attributed to the massive 245/35 R 20 front and 305/30 R 21 rear tires on here.

With the top down and the windows down, the driving experience is every bit as good as a convertible. The wind pattern is a bit different, and if you’re the sort who likes to roll with the top down and the windows up you’re going to have some buffeting to deal with. But, drop the windows down a few inches and all that goes away.

Familiar

On the inside, the 911 Targa is little different than a standard 992 Porsche 911. A pair of buttons sit just ahead of the central cupholder, one to drop the top and another to hoist it. Then there’s a single latch positioned above the rear-view mirror that engages and disengages all on its own. The headliner is just as soft and premium as you’d expect on a coupe, though not quite as nice as the Alcantara-like material that covers the inside of the roll hoop.

Creases run through the middle and down either side of the headliner where it folds in upon itself, functional elements that could just as well be design signatures.

But otherwise, everything else is the same, almost entirely monotone Truffle Brown in this example, a chocolate hue that feels eminently appropriate for the ’70s vibe the Targa still carries, bolstered by the optional 930-style leather stitching pattern seen. 911 interiors are still simple and spartan but in the best of ways, a clean look that has everything where you need it. More and more of the more nuanced features of the car have been buried into the PCM’s 10.9-inch touchscreen, but you can still change drive modes, lift the nose, adjust suspension, and toggle seat heaters at the touch of dedicated buttons.

On-wheel controls are comprehensive as well and haven’t moved to capacitive touch yet (thank goodness), providing easy access to the pair of seven-inch displays mounted to either side of the large, 8,000 rpm central tachometer that has a real needle swinging over real numbers. In the center of the dashboard, the Sport Chrono clock peeks back at you, another classic nod.

The car you see here came equipped with Porsche’s 18-way Adaptive Sport Seats Plus, which are just comfortable enough for long drives and just supportive enough for sporty ones. Rear seats are actually tolerable for children, so long as they don’t mind sitting bolt upright.

Row your own

All the interior details here circle the focal point of this 911 Targa, which is the stick shift sitting almost exactly in the middle of the car. This GTS came with Porsche’s seven-speed manual. Porsche’s semi-automatic, dual-clutch DSG transmission will always be quicker and is certainly nicer when stuck in traffic, as I was immediately after picking up this car, but there’s still nothing quite like shifting for yourself.

Which transmission you choose is a personal preference and I’m happy to report that you really can’t go wrong. Pick the manual and you’ll be blessed with short shifts that, at least on this nearly new car, are stiff. You really need to move that shifter with purpose, but the reward is an incredibly engaging feeling. With seven forward speeds there are a lot of gears here to manage, but the shifter linkage is perfectly set up to ensure you always get the next one you want. Auto rev-matching will help it engage smoothly.

Roads were terribly icy when I tested the GTS you see here, wet and covered in road grime at the best of times, but the sure-footedness of Porsche’s all-wheel-drive system meant putting down the 473 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque from the 3.2-liter, twin-turbocharged flat six was never much of an issue. Sure, the tires spun up plenty of times and the car started to slip and slide on multiple occasions, but the Porsche Stability Management system always ensured that I never had to do more than make a slight correction to keep myself going in the right direction. The gigantic Michelin snow tires helped, too, without compromising the inherent feel of this car, a feel enlivened by the optional rear-steering system, which helped hide the Targa’s extra heft.

Acceleration is strong, as you can imagine, the GTS offering 94 more horsepower than the base Carrera. Conditions were bad enough that I never really needed the extra ponies during my time with the car, but it’s always good to know they’re there, and the sport exhaust meant I could hear them all when I wanted to. Or, when it was time to cruise by the neighbors, the flip of a switch muted the experience.

Likewise, another switch lifts the nose up to get over any troublesome piles of snow and ice, just a few features that make the 911 a sublime car for everyday drives. The Targa loses nothing in that regard. The main storage area, up under the hood, is exactly the same as on the coupe. 4.6 cubic feet isn’t a lot by GT standards, but it’s more than enough for a couple of overnight bags or TSA approved carry-ons. Anything more than that will need to fit in the rear seats.

Ride quality is on the firm side but compliant when cruising, engaging and sharp when you want to drive the 911 hard. If there’s a flaw here it’s that the 911 GTS has so much grip, so much poise, that you really need to be moving to feel like you’re pushing the car at all. That’s one of the reasons why winter driving can be so much fun. Those limits are brought down to a level where you can approach them without risking your license.

Pricing and Options

The 911 Targa 4 GTS you see here was quite well appointed. A $156,800 base MSRP rose to $181,610 thanks to that Truffle Brown interior ($6,040 plus another $1,490 for the 930 Leather Package and another $3,030 for the 18-way seats), $3,760 for the Premium Package (including a better Bose sound system and power folding mirrors), $2,090 for the rear-steering system, plus a few other odds and ends and $1,350 destination.

Yes, that is an awful, awful lot of money for a sports car, but today’s 911 is so much more. This is a reasonably practical, reasonably comfortable car that will delight you every day without exhausting you on those days when you just want to get home. While it’s hard to feel good about Porsche charging so much for every little option that you might want, it does mean that you can skew the 911 in whatever direction you want it. Whatever way you choose, you’re going to get something that drives as well as it looks.

The extra weight of the Targa over the Cabriolet for me is a small price to pay for the extra style that this flavor of 911 exudes. It’s not the choice for purists who want the ultimate handling from their Porches, but for those who want to let a little extra light and wind in on sunny days, this is the way to go.

img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-419580″ src=”https://www.yankodesign.com/images/design_news/2023/02/auto-draft/2023_Porsche_GTS4-Targa_Review_yankodesign_41.jpg” alt=”” width=”1280″ height=”853″ />

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2023 Chrysler Pacifica Review

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PROS:


  • Huge cargo space

  • Comfortable seating

  • Endless media options

CONS:


  • Expensive

  • Boring colors

  • Dated infotainment

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

Chrysler's minivan is so incredibly practical that even if you don't have kids in your future, this Pacifica might still be the perfect vehicle for you.

With EVs creeping up many sales charts, even dominating in a few segments, it’s easy to look at humble plug-in hybrids as has-beens, a stop-gap solution for a problem that’s already been solved. But, after spending a week with the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, I’m reminded just how practical these flexible solutions can be.

Sure, global charging networks are incredibly prevalent, but they’re not everywhere yet. Likewise, at-home charging for renters is still a big problem in most places. But the biggest factor working in the Pacifica Hybrid’s factor? This thing is a road trip machine and good ol’ gasoline is still the most convenient way to go in that situation.

Design

So Chrysler’s PHEV is a practical choice for sure, but for a minivan it’s a good looking one, too. The Pacifica is getting a bit old now, current generation introduced in 2017, but it still has a sophisticated style. That said, I confess I’m not a big fan of the teal-ish Fathom Blue Pearl (a $495 option) that this one came painted in. Chrysler offers seven colors to choose from and none are terribly exciting. Personally, I’d go with the flat Ceramic Gray and pair it with the $995 S Appearance Package, which blacks out much of the chrome and comes with matching wheels, but that’s just me.

Keep the chrome and, as you can see in the photos here, there’s plenty of the shiny stuff to be found. Brightwork extends from the logo on the grille up front all the way to the silver insert in the rear bumper. The chrome surrounding the windows is a bit much for me, but the jaunty, bright upward stroke running along the lower doors helps to add a bit of personality to what would otherwise be a dour looking vehicle. The subtle, matching crease that connects the door handles and runs back to form the rear similarly helps keep things interesting.

Out back, the sweep of the taillights pairs nicely with the winged Chrysler logo, prominently placed in the center, while the low bumper makes loading and unloading cargo nice and easy, a task made even easier thanks to the third row of seats that disappear into the floor with the tug of a little strap. That creates 87.5 cubic feet of cargo space, 32.3 with the seats folded up, or a whopping 140.5 cubic feet if you remove the second-row.

Inside

The interior is similarly stately if unexciting, Caramel-colored leather interior pairing nicely with the blue/green exterior. Highlights here are the thoughtful storage areas, like a generous open cubby beneath the center console and a pull-out bin for the second-row that will soon be filled by action figures, charging cables, and half-eaten granola bars.

Infotainment duties are handled by a 10.1-inch touchscreen high in the dashboard, which honestly looks a little small for a modern car this big, but works well. Chrysler’s Uconnect 5 system is very menu-heavy, but it’s also snappy. That’s definitely a nice thing, but the voice recognition leaves a lot to be desired. It’s great for changing in-car settings like temperature and the like but proved hilariously bad at trying to figure out addresses.

Photo Credit: Chrysler

Photo Credit: Chrysler

Better to bring your own, then. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are both on tap here. And there are no shortage of places to connect should you prefer a wired approach. You have a whopping six between the front seats alone, evenly split between USB-A and USB-C. You’ll find more in the second row and another pair way back in the third-row too. No shortage of charging options here.

The Pinnacle trim comes standard with Uconnect Theater, which includes an integrated Blu-ray player that’s tucked down in the center stack, powering either or both of the integrated second-row screens. Each of those has its own remote control. Using those, or through the front infotainment system, the driver or passengers can bring up controls for either of the rear screens, including the Pacifica’s integrated FireTV stick, which can stream directly from the car’s integrated LTE connection. You’ll have to pay for the data, but that may be a small price for hours of quiet cruising.

Photo Credit: Chrysler

Photo Credit: Chrysler

You can also BYO media through the Pacifica’s many USB ports, which again can be browsed via the infotainment screen or remotes in the back seats. Someone getting a little fussy? You can even power off and lock either screen from the front until the troublesome passenger gets themselves an attitude adjustment.

So disabled, your passengers will still have the giant windows on either side to look through and watch the scenery go by, or indeed the massive, panoramic sunroof above that spans clear back over the second row’s seats and comes standard on all but the base Touring L spec. All that glass makes for a bright, open space and, while those in the way back do without the glass above, there’s still great visibility out of the sides.

That third row is remarkably comfortable, even for adults my size, with a set of cup holders, HVAC vents, and even window shades. Again, this is a true road-trip machine.

Photo Credit: Chrysler

Photo Credit: Chrysler

Road Tripping

Big, big miles are no problem in the Pacifica. The ride quality is good and the road noise is admirably muted, especially for a van. That’s even when the engine is running. When the car is burning only battery power it’s even more quiet.

That’s a trick the Pacifica Hybrid can do for up to 32 miles on a full charge of its 16-kilowatt-hour battery. In my testing I managed to do just that, though annoyingly it’s not possible to force the car into an EV mode. By default, on a cold day it’ll run the engine to warm up early, then try to go exclusively on battery until running that dry, then will act like a traditional hybrid. That’s how you’d want it most of the time, but it sure would be nice to tell it to save the battery for later. If you’re going to be droning down the highway for an hour or two before getting into a city, you’d be better off saving that charge for the low-speed stuff to come than blowing all your electrons on the highway.

That’s really my only complaint, though. Even without spinning up the 3.6-liter V6 engine the Pacifica Hybrid is responsive and easy to drive. Dip too deep into the throttle and the engine spins up to help, seamlessly and smoothly adding a total of 287 horsepower, smoother and stronger than most hybrids. That initial EV surge followed by the continual torque of internal combustion makes this an engaging, if not quite exciting drive.

Likewise, steering is direct but not particularly quick and overall handling is capable. You can push the Pacifica hard and have some fun for sure, but your passengers would probably rather you didn’t. When it’s time to haul cargo of the non-living variety, the Pacifica is more practical than many trucks. Again, tug on a strap and the third-row seats disappear into the floor like magic. On a regular Pacifica the second-row seats do the same, but here on the Hybrid you’ll have to carry them away. The process is easy, but they are on the heavy and awkward side.

Seats removed there’s plenty of room back here for just about anything short of a shipping cargo container. The low floor makes loading and unloading easy, and also makes for a stellar bench for either strapping in ski or snowboard boots before hitting the slopes, or untying muddy boots after a long hike. Minivans are of course known for their family practicality, but they are vastly under-appreciated for just how well they fit into an average, active lifestyle.

Efficiency and Safety

Nature-lovers will also probably be drawn to this van’s semi-EV capabilities, and the Pacifica Hybrid’s generous 82-mpg equivalent rating is appealing. In my testing, though, I averaged 27.1 mpg. Most of that was highway, on longer runs that depleted the battery early. If you’re doing shorter, more frequent trips and charging up overnight at home, you’ll do much, much better.

As far as safety systems go, the Pacifica Hybrid comes with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-path alerts, and lane departure warnings. Interestingly, you can equip the adaptive cruise control system separate from the non-adaptive cruise. That was very handy when snow buildup disabled the active cruise system. On most modern cars, that situation would result in no cruise at all.

That said, the lane-keep here leaves a lot to be desired. It typically results in the car ping-ponging back and forth between lines, often losing sight of them altogether, resulting in the car simply wandering off to the left or the right. As far as lane departure systems go, Chrysler’s is far simpler than that offered by other, comparably priced SUVs.

Pricing and Options

But then this isn’t an SUV and there aren’t many other vehicles in this class worthy of comparison to the Pacifica. Minivans in the US are few and none are as posh as the Pacifica can be made to be. This top-shelf Pinnacle model starts at $60,190 and had just one option, $495 for that paint. The less luxurious Touring L starts at $50,495. If you’re more interested in hauling cargo or pets than people, that may be the better buy, but if you need to keep a fussy family comfortable and entertained, the Pinnacle will deliver.

So, yes, you’ll be paying a premium price but this is doubtlessly a premium product. It’s pleasant to drive, pleasant to be driven in, and so incredibly practical that even if you don’t have kids in your future, this Pacifica might still be the perfect vehicle for you.

Photo Credit: Chrysler

The post 2023 Chrysler Pacifica Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

2023 Toyota Sequoia review

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PROS:


  • Bold, stately looks

  • Good power

  • Towing capacity

CONS:


  • Cramped third row

  • Compromised storage

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

A big, capable SUV wrapped in a stately look that gives it the presence to match its volume.

Sometimes you look at a car and look at the name of the car and you’re left with the feeling that the designers and engineers and product planners were pretty far down the list before everyone finally decided what to call the thing. That’s not the case with the Toyota Sequoia, which for the 2023 model year gets a much-needed full redesign.

The sequoia is a tree, of course, but not just any tree. Sequoias are the tallest trees in the world. If that weren’t enough, they’re also the heaviest. Apt, then, that Toyota chose that particular stoic woodland fixture for the name of its biggest SUV, a titanic, three-row machine that will stand large and proud in any company.

Volume Play

How big is it? Well, it’s just 7 cm shorter than Chevrolet’s titanic Tahoe, three cm shorter, and a mere three cm narrower. So, yeah, pretty big, but it fills those proportions well. It looks stately and sophisticated, especially in the Wind Chill Pearl white that my test car you see here was painted.

The Sequoia has always taken styling cues from the Tundra upon which it is based, and thankfully the edgier front-end on Toyota’s redesigned full-sized truck works great here on this full-sized SUV. Big creases in the fenders lead to the headlights up front and the taillights out back, while more creases down low on the doors ensure the thing doesn’t look too slab-sided.

Those creases are highlighted with a bit of brightwork on this, the top-shelf Capstone trim, which pairs nicely with the massive chrome grille out front. (Lesser trims get rather more subtle black grilles, either with horizontal bars or the same honeycomb mesh you see here.) The wheels, too, are polished, measuring a massive 22-inches at all four corners, while the chromed mirror caps ensure there’s plenty of shine throughout.

Interior

The interior, too, has a light and bright look and feel to match the exterior. That’s helped by the cream-colored leather, which the designers thoughtfully included only on the upper portions of the seats. This is a smart move, avoiding the gloomy doldrums found in so many automotive interiors yet also keeping the high-wear areas of the upholstery dark, so you won’t have to worry about stains from blue jeans or brown dogs or anything else that’s liable to come in contact.

That’s typical Toyota family friendliness, which is readily found on even this big, luxurious rig. There are enough cup holders scattered about here for even the thirstiest of little ones and USB charging for every seat, even in the way-back. There’s no in-cabin, middle-seat entertainment offered, but since everybody brings their own media for road trips these days that seems like a smart move.

Starting at the back, the third row is actually reasonably easy to get into thanks to second-row seats that fold forward. But, once those seats are clipped back into position there’s not a lot of room left for luxuries like feet or knees. This is, then, a spot best reserved for little ones. Again, a pair of USB-C ports back here will keep their devices charged up, while manual window shades keep them out of the sun.

Or, if you’re rolling with fewer folks, these seats fold down at the touch of a button. They don’t, however, fold flush with the floor, which makes loading longer cargo a bit awkward. Toyota designers attempted to address this with a moveable rear shelf that can be lifted and then expanded to fill the gap. It’s functional and durable, but it’s also heavy and cumbersome to slot into place.

Second row seats are plenty comfortable, with enough head and leg room to suit adults. Middle passengers have their own USB-A and C ports, along with discrete HVAC controls and even a little plastic storage cubby between the seats.

Up front, though, is of course the most comfortable place to be. The heated and ventilated seats are plush enough for longer trips and wide enough for squirming around when those trips get to be a little too long. Those heaters are also extremely effective; you’ll never suffer from a chilly posterior here. Visibility is great and, with the massive panoramic sunroof, there’s never any shortage of light. That said, the view out the back is limited, whether you use the traditional rear-view mirror or the digital one. The digital mirror has the advantage of not forcing you to look past a truckload of passengers, but the flat colors and lack of contrast just make everything look awfully muted.

Tech

The other displays in the cabin fare better, particularly the 14-inch center display. It sits up high in the middle of the dashboard, up above a comprehensive set of HVAC controls — and a USB-A plug that looks a little bit randomly tacked on there. Toyota’s new (and cunningly named) Toyota Multimedia System is stripped down basic to the extreme, with few controls and menus, but despite that it works well. Everything is easy to find and everything is extremely snappy. Even the voice recognition is near-instantaneous. Overall, it’s a huge upgrade over previous generations of Entune.

But, of course, you can supplant all that with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, wirelessly here, with a Qi wireless charger capable of keeping your phone charged while it drives the in-dash experience.

Another display lives behind the steering wheel, a 12.3-inch virtual gauge cluster that displays all the information you need, with configurable displays showing everything from boost pressure to pitch and roll. If that’s not enough, a 10-inch heads-up display beams intel onto the windscreen, too.

Performance

So you won’t be lacking information, nor power. Every Sequoia trim gets Toyota’s i-Force Max V6, with 437 horsepower and 583 pound-feet of torque thanks not only to a pair of turbos but also a hybrid system. Make no mistake: Toyota’s not really making this out to be an economical choice. In fact, the default gauge configuration shows the power from the hybrid system right next to the turbo boost pressure. This, then, is purely a power move, and the EPA figures show it: 20 mpg is the combined rating on 4WD Sequoia, 19 in the city and 22 on the highway. I didn’t come anywhere near those figures, scoring 16.5 in my testing.

So yes, it’s a hybrid, but not the sort that you can expect to cover any miles in emissions-free. In fact, I struggled to speed to more than a crawl before the 3.445-liter engine spun to life. Even pretending there was a fresh egg between my foot and the gas pedal didn’t help. When it does fire, you’ll hear it. Even in Eco mode that V6 is quite loud. It sounds good to my ear, but it can tend to drone after longer stretches on the road.

Acceleration is strong and towing healthy, the Sequoia, with its Class IV hitch, is rated to tow 8,980 pounds in Capstone trim, 9,520 if you step down to the SR5. Handling, meanwhile, is tolerably good but with some unmistakeable, truck-like vibes that harken back to its Tundra underpinnings. It’s calm and smooth on the highway and deals with minor road imperfections without too much complaint, but bigger bumps definitely upset things.

For anyone coming from a truck, like the aforementioned Tundra, this will all feel very familiar and the Sequoia is quite comfortable for the most part. But, if you’re stepping up from a smaller, crossover SUV, the driving dynamics will feel harsh. Par for the course for something that can tow this much or, indeed, hold its own after the asphalt ends. I sadly didn’t have a chance to properly test the Sequoia’s off-road chops, but with its two-speed transfer case and limited-slip differential at the rear, it should handle itself just fine in the rough stuff.

Options and Pricing

If you are more interested in challenging ruts and rocks, the TRD Pro trim might be more your style, with its locking rear differential and 2.5-inch Fox coilovers. What you see here is the Capstone trim, with a more luxurious intent. It is priced to match. Toyota lists a current base price for the Sequoia SR5 at $56,365. This 4X4 Capstone trim, with about $1,000 in options and a $1,595 destination charge, came in at a rather more dear $80,906. For that you get all the extra flare on the outside, plush posh, multicolor ambient lighting inside, nicer materials, and auto-leveling air suspension.

Capstone doesn’t really get you much beyond the Platinum trim, which starts about $5,000 cheaper. That seems like the right place to start.

So it’s big, capable, has plenty of room inside and out, and wraps it all up in a stately look that gives it the presence to match its volume. It is, in other words, a great choice for those who want to haul lots of folks, tow lots of things, and go to lots of places that aren’t necessarily paved. Toyota’s refreshed big boy delivers.

The post 2023 Toyota Sequoia review first appeared on Yanko Design.

Toyota Corolla Cross Review

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PROS:


  • Comfortable, calm ride

  • Affordable

  • Boomin' sound system

CONS:


  • Underpowered

  • Too few USB ports

  • Somewhat anonymous

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

Toyota's little SUV doesn't exactly reach out and grab you to make a first impression. But, spend some time with one and you'll find a comfortable, capable partner available at a compelling price.

With the rush of every manufacturer on the planet to meet the unyielding need for more and more crossover SUVs, every consumer everywhere seemingly yearning for the things, there’s enough volume there for manufacturers to come up with their own interesting, unique take on the segment. Something quirky, something different, something perhaps a bit weird.

The 2023 Corolla Cross is none of those things. From the conservative exterior to the monotone interior, Toyota’s little SUV doesn’t exactly reach out and grab you to make a first impression. But, spend some time with one and you’ll find a comfortable, capable partner available at a compelling price.

Growing up

It almost feels a bit derivative for Toyota to call its littlest SUV the Corolla Cross, milking nearly 60 years worth of name recognition for small, value-oriented motoring. But the Corolla Cross is very much a bigger, taller version of the stoic Corolla, and for that reason you have to respect the no-nonsense nomenclature here.

That said, for a crossover SUV that shares so much with the sedan, on the outside there’s very little visually to connect the two. It starts up front with a tall, dark grille that itself sits on top of more dark material, some black plastic cladding that runs all the way around the car, forming the lower extents of the fenders, rocker panels, and rear bumper. This gives the car a slightly chunky, vaguely rugged look that’s necessary for this segment.

The blocky fender flares help in that regard, too, highlighting the rear tail-lights, which stand out from the receding flanks of the car. A tiny spoiler mounted on the top of the hatch gives only the tiniest of sporting pretensions, mounted just aft of the only real bit of visual flare: a tiny chrome badge that says “Corolla Cross.”

All that cladding on the front, back, and sides pairs well with the Blue Crush Metallic paint, a color that, like the rest of the car, is pretty straightforward.

While the outside of the Corolla Cross doesn’t share too much with its namesake, it’s a completely different story on the inside. The interior is an almost identical clone of that found in the Corolla hatch and sedan. Mind you, that’s not a bad thing. Surely it helps keep the cost down, a factor I’ll be referencing a lot in this review, but regardless it’s a nicely laid out and well-made space.

The dash is a combination of simple, clean shapes of soft-touch plastics embossed with an unfortunate faux leather pattern, complete with pretend stitching. With so many premium manufacturers like Volvo and Mercedes-Benz going out of their way to offer vegan interiors, I’m inclined to say it’s time for manufacturers to give up on the pretend leather patterns.

Materials overall are good, hard plastics limited to the lower door cards and center console between the seats, though the headliner does feel a little cardboardy. Only the gloss piano black surfaces around the shifter and infotainment system are a real bother. They’re impossible to keep clean at the best of times and, given how your average Corolla gets used, they’re liable to be properly filthy in the wild.

The center stack contains a simple, separate HVAC row with a pair of temperature knobs for driver and passenger, a few physical buttons, and a little LCD for temperature and mode readouts. Up above the vents you’ll find the main infotainment touchscreen, eight inches in the XLE and standing proud out of the dashboard.

This is flanked with another pair of knobs, including one for volume thank goodness, plus eight buttons for going home or skipping straight to various sections of Entune. Entune itself is, well, Entune, dated and tired but perfectly functional. There’s no navigation out of the box, you’ll need to install that separately, but if you’re going to go through the trouble of connecting your smartphone I’d say you might as well just use either Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Either of which work just fine here so long as you don’t mind plugging in.

That means the lone front USB port up front will be used to drive the infotainment experience. There’s a wireless Qi charger, too, but if your passenger wants to gain a little juice and use their phone at the same time they’re out of luck. Rear-seat passengers, meanwhile, get one each of USB Type-A and USB Type-C.

The gauge cluster is a large, centrally mounted LCD. A physical tachometer runs up the left side and, on the right, separate dials for fuel level and coolant temperature. That large central LCD doesn’t offer much in the way of customization, its middle section able to cycle through things like trip info and ADAS status — all the usual stuff and nothing too flashy. Much like the rest of the car, then.

There is, though, one thing that’ll make you sit up and take notice: the nine-speaker JBL sound system. This thing kicks. Sure, it lacks a little finesse, and I had to drop the bass in the settings before I could really hear the lyrics clearly in most of the music I listened to, but for a car this affordable it’s a great system. Bass lovers will find little need to upgrade.

Patient driving

While so much of the car is fair to middling, if there’s one area sure to leave you wanting it’s the powertrain department. The Corolla Cross features a 169-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder paired with a continuously variable transmission. The CVT here does its best to ape a traditional automatic, changing ratios to simulate gear shifts every now and again, but still you’d best get used to the continuous droning complaints of each of the four cylinders whenever you push the accelerator flat to the floor.

And you’re liable to do that a lot. Anytime you want to get up a hill, for example, or accelerate to highway speed. Passing on a two-lane road? You’d best make sure the road is clear for a good, long way before putting on that turn signal. This is the same motor used in the smaller, 175-pound lighter, FWD Corolla. Here, dragging around a heavier, AWD Corolla Cross, it struggles.

It is, at least, frugal. The Corolla Cross in XLE trim is rated at 29 mpg city, 32 highway, and 30 combined. In my mixed testing I came in at 29.2 mpg.

Underwhelming though it may be, lack of performance is not the end of the world. The Corolla Cross is perfectly driveable and, if you’re a little less impatient on your commutes than I, you’ll be just fine. In fact, with the Corolla Cross’s relaxed suspension and comforting ride, there’s no reason to push.

Your back-seat passengers will probably appreciate your taking it easy anyway. There isn’t exactly a massive amount of legroom back there, but it’s enough, plus plenty of headroom. There’s seating for three-across, but unless your guests are small you’re better off keeping it to two and letting them use the flip-down armrest.

When rolling solo, the seats split and fold 60/40, giving easy access to the 25.2 cubic feet of storage space (slightly more, 26.5, if you go with the FWD version). The rear of the car is accessed through a power liftgate (part of the $1,250 Convenience Package), where the floor has handy cubbies on the left and right, perfect for stuffing avocados and other bits of produce from your grocery run that are otherwise liable to roll around on the ride home.

In terms of active safety, the Corolla Cross comes standard with Toyota Safety Sense 2.0, which includes the usual niceties like adaptive cruise and advanced lane-keep assist. It does a fair job of keeping you centered in the lane, but beeps annoyingly any time you stray near the lines.

If you want blind-spot monitoring, you’ll need to opt for at least the mid-tier LE model, which also gives you rear cross-traffic alert, ensuring you don’t back yourself into trouble. Finally, step up to the top-trim XLE and you also get parking assist sensors along with automatic emergency braking.

Pricing and Options

The base Corola Cross L starts at $22,445. The model you see here, however, is a top-trim XLE AWD, with a starting price of $27,625. $1,465 added on that banging JBL sound system, plus an integrated alarm, while $1,250 brought the power liftgate and sunroof to the party. Self-leveling and auto-dimming headlights add another $615, plus $249 for cargo mats and $299 for the crossbars on the roof rack.

Total price for the car you see here was $32,718, including a $1,215 destination charge. That’s for a fully loaded car, and one that feels like it, but the sweet spot is found on the lower-spec Corolla Cross LE in FWD, which you can get with the brighter, light gray interior and still spec many of the desirable options, walking away with a lot more money in your pocket.

Regardless how you option it out, you’ll wind up with a nice-driving, comfortable, and clean-looking SUV that’ll do a great job of hauling you and all your stuff wherever you need to go — just so long as you’re not in a hurry to get there.

The post Toyota Corolla Cross Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

First Drive New Honda Civic Type R

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PROS:


  • New more mature-looking design

  • Brilliant handling 

  • Quicker and more responsive acceleration

CONS:


  • Exhaust note could be sportier

  • Cabin is very red

  • The LogR data-logger only works at certain tracks

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

This Type R feels seriously quick, light, chuckable and genre-beating. It just gets on with the business of driving as fast as the pilot wants, but making that driver feel like a production car series hero in the process.

It might only be the second Civic Type R model to come to the U.S. but it’s by far the best looking and most epic handling R we’ve ever seen. And Honda tells us that they will take their new road-going scud missile to Germany’s famed Nurburgring circuit ‘soon’ to recapture the “world’s fastest front-drive car” record—the one they lost to Renault’s Megane R.S. Trophy-R back in 2019.

Hurtling at 100 mph into Corner 3 on the Autopolis Circuit in southern Japan, the new Type R was tempting me to push harder. This 2023 Type R has higher cornering speeds than its predecessor and it’s so much easier to drive at the limits of adhesion.

Its weight balance is so well-sorted that you don’t have to provoke it into oversteer to get around a corner quickly. Steering response is pinpoint accurate and superbly weighted and the 4 piston Brembo brakes wipe off speed prodigiously and with little fade.

The 6th-generation is by far the best-looking

But before we dive into the juicy bits, let’s first revisit some of the brand’s history. This is the sixth generation of the Civic Type R, a high performance marque that normally appears at least a year after the base Civic launches. And this time it’s no different. Honda introduced its eleventh generation Civic in 2021, and followed that up with the hybrid version and Type R in 2022 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Civic. This year also just happens to be the 30th anniversary of the very first “Type R” road car—the NSX Type R which went on sale in 1992.

The first ‘EK9’ Civic Type R of 1997 was a tame-looking 3-door hatchback based on the 6th generation Civic. It was very basic with some nice wheels, a rear spoiler and a naturally aspirated 1.6-liter pumping out 182-hp and 118 lb-ft of torque. It was the same story for the ‘EP3’ 2nd generation Type R that came along in 2001. It had new sports wheels, chunkier side skirts, a rear spoiler and a 212-hp 2.0-liter VTEC engine, but it still looked like a bread delivery van. The next ‘FN2’ Type R followed the same formula, even though it looked a little more futuristic.

Fortunately things started to heat up when Honda revealed the more extreme ‘FK2’ model appeared in 2015. That car looked more race car-inspired boasting splitters, wings, vents and a high performance 2.0-liter turbocharged engine packing 306-hp and 295 lb-ft of torque.

Seemingly inspired by the outgoing version, Honda’s stylists threw caution to the wind with the totally over-the-top 5th-generation ‘FK8’ Type R that arrived in 2017. That car had more edges and sharp lines than a Zaha Hadid designed museum, with bigger splitters, wings, vents and hood scoops than any 2.0-liter before it.

Can Honda regain its Nurburgring lap record?

But it was the 5th generation model that put the Type R name on the map when it posted a lap time of 7 minutes 43 seconds around the Nurburgring circuit in 2017, making it the fastest ‘front-wheel-drive car on the planet.’ That record, however was snatched away in 2019 when the Megane RS Trophy-R bettered Honda’s time with a blistering 7 minutes 40 seconds.

To rub salt in the wound, Renault brought their Megane to Honda’s home race track of Suzuka Circuit in central Japan in late 2019, and proceeded to rewrite the Civic Type R’s lap record by three seconds with time of 2 minutes 25 seconds. So it’s a given that straight after Honda recaptures the Nurburgring lap record, it will return to Suzuka to retake its spiritual home record. That should be something to see.

So what about the all-new car? When we say “it’s the best-looking so far,” we don’t really have much to compare with, given that the predecessor employed such busy styling that it looked strangely like something from Transformers. Of course, if you back to the earlier models, the ones that did not make it to the U.S., then we can see the evolution of the series. Even if we compare the new model to the previous five generations, with original version first surfacing in 1997, then we would still say that the latest version is the best-looking.

One look at the all-new model and you can see that it is altogether more mature and less flashy. Gone is that edgy, boy-racer styled, Fast and Furious-inspired design, replaced by more subtle edges and a less angry face. One colleague even suggested that it looked a lot like an Accord, and I had to nod in agreement. One reason—there’s no more 3D protruding hood scoop, a definite sign that Honda is trying to dial down its boy-racer image.

New Type R is more mature but still has plenty of attitude

Mind you, the Type R still has attitude, a lot of attitude. From its improved aero-body and triple exhaust pipes, to its brake-cooling front air intakes to its huge rear wing and rear diffuser, the Type R screams high performance. That’s right, all of the vents are real and functional this time, which adds to the car’s performance and helps to slice precious seconds off of lap times. The rear spoiler is still bigger than anything you would find on an Audi S3 or Mercedes-AMG A35, but this time, the R’s wing sits on shorter, more aerodynamic vertical struts rather than huge vertical metal plates like on its predecessor.

To keep the high performance nuance at max however, Honda retained the cool Ferrari-inspired triple aluminum exhaust design feature and carried over the rear diffuser from the old model. Also, the fake rear vents on the outgoing version have been replaced by a much smoother and more mature-looking rear bumper. The new model also gets a set of black side skirts, like the predecessor, but the stuck-on wheel arch extensions have thankfully gone. Instead, you now get flared wheel arches that have been neatly smoothed to sit flush with the bodywork. In addition, the cool-looking vent behind the front wheel is functional in that it cleans up the airflow coming out of the wheel arch to reduce drag down the side of the car.

All of these upgrades combine to make the new car not only more aerodynamic and planted, but make it look far more mature. It still stands out of course, but you won’t be embarrassed to show it off to your car buddies.

Inside, the Type R hints strongly at what it was made for. With its bright red seats and carpets, red stitching on a black Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel (to help soak up sweat!!) and its aluminum accented dash, the R lifts the adrenalin level even before you fire up its engine. But perhaps, stylists may have used a little too much red. It’s everywhere. The compact aluminum gear knob, that fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, is vintage Honda and puts a smile on your face every time you flick through the gears. I’d argue that it’s mechanical precision and nice short throws are nearly as good as the 6-speed stick shift on the NSX, or at least as good as that on the now-out-of-production S2000.

In the hot seat

Speaking of that engine, there is some good news about that too. The new Civic doesn’t just benefit from weight saving and beefier rigidity, it also employs the most powerful Type R powerplant ever courtesy of its uprated 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. This unit gets revised turbo geometry, improved cooling and more exhaust back pressure to sharpen up its responsiveness. It’s married to that brilliant 6-speed manual gearbox and pumps out 315-hp and 310 lb-ft of torque, increases of 9 hp and 15 lb-ft over the old Type R.

Exercise your right boot generously and the tacho and digital rev bar climb quickly towards its 7000rpm redline, complete with blinking F1-style red gearshift lights. Power arrives in a constant, linear ascent, and almost feels naturally aspirated in the way it climbs. Keep the turbo spinning between 3000 and 7000 and you’ll have prodigious amounts of power ready for the taking. But because of revisions to the chassis and suspension, you’re able to get that power down onto the tarmac better than ever before, a development that realizes quicker lap times.

The Type R continues to use Honda’s automatic rev-matching tech, which is now 10% faster according to Honda. Of course, you can switch it off if you prefer to heel-and-toe for real, but it works superbly when left on. Also, the rev-matching helps to make day-to-day driving smoother and is a helpful feature for those new to manuals.

The Autopolis track was the ideal place to put this R through its paces. As I punched the brake pedal quickly and grabbed 3rd on entry to a 70mph right-hander, the R hunkered down with massive grip from the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires and then launched out of the exit with an almost overconfident “is that all you got?”

This car feels seriously quick, light, chuckable and genre-beating. It just gets on with the business of driving as fast as the pilot wants, but making that driver feel like a production car series hero in the process.
It is very clearly in its element on a race track. But it does feel stiff. We took it for a one-hour on public roads too and while the car can cope with bumps and tram-lines and potholes, the Type R is definitely on the firm side.

When you drive at full throttle on a circuit like this, it occurs to you that the “Fastest front-wheel-drive car in the world” (as Honda says it will be!) was made possible thanks to the development team’s efforts in fine-tuning their Type R entry in Japan’s Super Endurance Series. The difference in acceleration and handling between the previous generation and the new model was eye-opening and grin-generating.
The front suspension has been modified to provide improved traction and turn-in at the limits, while the rears squat nicely thanks to their reinforced rear rigidity, providing better around grip and quicker exits from corners.

To elevate the thrill level on track, Honda has fitted a data logger, aptly named “LogR.” This device will time your laps, but more importantly, determine how good your driving technique is and then give you a score. During my test drive session, former Japan Touring Car and F3000 champion racer Akihiko Nakaya scored 96 points, the best score of the day. My score was a little lower as I was not as familiar with the track as he was, or at least that’s my excuse.

The only downside is that the Type R still doesn’t sound as sporty as it should, even with the new model’s improved exhaust flow and active valve design. If only the designers, or should we say engineers, had added as much aggression in the sound department as they have in the aerodynamics and interior styling departments. It doesn’t bark, pop or crackle like a Toyota GR Corolla, Ford Focus RS or Hyundai Elantra N, and the synthetic exhaust note pumped inside through the speakers needs a tweak.

Expectations are high for the new model, as the previous generation became a hit, selling 47,200 units worldwide. I am half saddened by the thought that this will be the last gasoline version of the Type R that I will be able to test drive on the race track. I am half enthused though to see what the Type R electric version might look like.

Pricing and Options

Rivals from Toyota, Hyundai and Renault, for example will be the Type R’s strongest competitors, especially since they significantly undercut the Honda’s $43,990 base price. As far as options go, the Type R pretty much comes like this straight out of the box. You can choose from one of two Michelin brand tires, including the more road-going friendly Michelin Pilot Sport 4S we used in Japan.

Put up against its rivals, the Type R may be a little more expensive, but then again, if Honda can recapture the R’s ‘fastest front-drive car’ title at the Nurburgring, then the extra status could be a deal-maker.

The post First Drive New Honda Civic Type R first appeared on Yanko Design.

Volkswagen Golf R Review

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PROS:


  • Engaging handling

  • Plenty of power

  • Top-shelf AWD system

CONS:


  • Can feel sleeping

  • Few visual upgrades over GTI

  • Expensive

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

I pushed the Golf R a little harder on the day-to-day, spent a bit more time customizing things, and was left wanting only more time with VW's all-wheel-drive powerhouse.

It’s not often that I get a second bite at the apple with a car for evaluation. Usually something shows up in my driveway, I live with it for a week, and then it disappears again, turning into a proverbial pumpkin with no more lasting presence than a few megabytes on my camera’s memory and some lingering impressions within my own.

However, this is the second time I got to sample this Lapiz Blue Metallic Volkswagen Golf R, and I’m very thankful for that extra go. The first sampling I only had a few days with it and, after handing back the keys, I felt it was a really fun car when pushed hard but kind of bland on the whole. On my second go, I pushed it a little harder on the day-to-day, spent a bit more time customizing things, and was left wanting only more time with VW’s all-wheel-drive powerhouse.

Don’t call it a hot hatch

With Volkswagen’s GTI still merrily filling the role of hot hatch, moving ever up-market but still attainable and fun, the Golf R really has to be something else. Something more, really, And it is: more money, more power, more capability, and in a lot of ways more mature, too.

It starts with the look, which is purposeful but far from randy. The eighth-generation Golf is, I think, a step towards sophistication. The low nose is sharp, with slender, double-fluted headlights and running lights that wrap well around into the front fenders. Below that, the cooling vanes for the radiator and heat exchangers are generous, spreading practically the full width of the bumper and looking a fair bit more aggressive than the hexagonal grille on the current GTI.

Beyond that, visual differentiating factors between the Golf R and GTI are admirably few. There’s a bit of badging here and there, a hatch-mounted wing that’s quite large but fits so nicely into the overall profile of the car it’s easy to miss. The most notable difference is the exhaust, four large pipes sitting low, flanking a petite diffuser that probably doesn’t do much for aero but does clean up the lower extent of the bumper.

Park this thing next to a regular Golf and 99 people out of 100 wouldn’t pick the R out as being anything particularly special. For a lot of performance car buyers that would be a major turn-off. For me, that’s a plus. I like a special car that blends in, a classic sleeper, and the Golf R is definitely that.

The understated vibe continues on the interior. You could call it too dark, and compared to something like the VW ID.4 it certainly is desaturated, but there’s a lot of subtle detail on the inside that is easy to miss but charming when you spot it.

Black is the predominant color but subtle blue highlights add a lot of visual intrigue. There’s the stitched R logos in the seats and blue piping, sure, but look closer and you’ll see that the black leather seats are actually dyed blue, which you can really only see in the perforations.

Downcast, midnight blue lights highlight the wireless charging cubby and blue stitches hold the leather on the steering wheel. Blue over black isn’t much of a highlight, but again, it’s subtle and clean and mature. Only the insert that runs from one door to the other, spanning across the dashboard, doesn’t work for me. It’s a patterned weave of some sort, with an almost carbon fiber look to it that is just a little busy for my taste. Sadly, there are no other options available.

Beyond the chromatic, the interior of the Golf is sophisticated if a bit low-rent for what is a $45,440 car. The Golf R gets custom seat inserts, but otherwise it’s much the same as the GTI. Plastics are a bit harsh and the omnipresent piano black trim collects dust and fingerprints like a hoarder. Carpet-lined door cubbies seem like a nice touch, but sadly the inner side of them is unlined, so anything you throw in there will still rattle away.

Like all modern VWs, there’s a preponderance of touch-sensitive controls to be found, which may or may not be your thing. I like a mix and to my eye the Golf R skews a little too far to the wrong side of touch-obsession. There’s no volume knob, for example, just a finger slider beneath the 10-inch touchscreen, a volume slider that I accidentally hit at least a dozen times in my most recent week with the car.

Beneath the touchscreen there’s a small panel with four capacitive touch buttons for adjusting driver-assist settings, climate control, car mode, and a shortcut to bring up the auto-park functionality. These are not actual buttons. Press one and the only feedback you get is a very loud click sound through the speakers.

Steering wheel controls are likewise capacitive touch and a little harder to find without looking than traditional buttons, but here at least the embedded grooves and crosshatch shapes keep your thumbs falling in the right direction. Usually.

Blissfully, the shift paddles behind the wheel are real, physical things that really move when you pull them.

Volkswagen’s latest infotainment system seems far more snappy now than it was when I first sampled it, generally responsive and, with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, has all the smartphone integration you need.

The 10.25-inch virtual gauge cluster is extremely customizable, with each side showing you any of about a dozen different telemetry readouts, from mpg to turbo boost, while the heads-up display gives you even more data. You will not be uninformed while driving this car.

Putting it into D

The Golf R is available with a six-speed manual transmission, an option that only American cars received and something that I am very thankful for. But, whereas I said you should order your Nissan Z with a stick, with the Golf R I think the DCT is the way to go.

That’s the transmission equipped on the car you see pictured here and it is an impressive thing. With seven speeds there’s always a right ratio and the car does a fine job of making sure you’re in it. Slender, wheel-mounted paddles are right at hand should you feel like overriding things, and if you do the car is happy to hold that gear up to redline.

That’s mated to a series of clutch-type differentials to handle getting power where you want it. This new all-wheel-drive setup is far racier than the previous generation, capable of distributing power exactly where it’s needed and doing proper torque vectoring. This means the outside rear wheel can get a bit (or even a lot) of extra torque. This helps push the car out of the corners, reducing understeer and making sure the Golf R keeps heading in the right direction even in low-grip situations.

All that is controlled by an advanced driver assistance system with four modes: Comfort, Sport, Race, and Custom. Then there are two additional, limited flavors within Race: Drift and Special. Drift accentuates the rearward power of the car, while Special is a, well, special configuration designed expressly for use on the Nurburgring. That’s a bit silly and not particularly useful for the vast majority of Golf R purchasers, but still you have to love it.

In Comfort mode, the Golf R is surprisingly tractable. Despite the skinny, 235/35 R19 tires, ride quality is very good. You’ll get more bumps and buzzes in the cabin than you might on a base Golf, but it’s really not bad at all. And, considering the Golf has all the active safety niceties you could want, like adaptive cruise and automatic lane keeping, this would make a fine machine for a road trip.

Snap the car into Sport and honestly, nothing much changes. This I think is where the car fell flat for me last time. It gets a little louder and the adaptive chassis control a bit firmer, but the throttle response and transmission are still just about as lazy as in Comfort. The car still feels reluctant.

Step up to Race and things finally start to get interesting. Now the transmission is far more aggressive and the power delivery more satisfying. There’s a nagging, constant amount of turbo lag while the 2.0-liter four-cylinder builds all the way up to a whopping 33 psi, but drive it like you mean it and you can get around that.

In Race, however, the car needlessly firms up the steering the way most cars do. Thankfully, in the Custom mode you can dial up all the engine and transmission aggression you want and pair that with the softer, Comfort steering. That’s my preferred mix and, driven like this, I really fell in love with the Golf R. Again, you have to be very aware of that turbo lag and drive it hard to get maximum performance, but the harder I pushed the more the Golf R delivered.

Losing grip, gaining respect

The most eye-opening time in the car for me was a quick run after a heavy rain. I knew that’d be my only chance to really test the grip on the car and the first time I got on the power coming out of a corner I was rewarded. On a lot of all-wheel-drive cars, over-exuberance with the throttle results in immediate, terminal understeer.

On the Golf R, whenever I lost traction it was at the rear, and no I wasn’t in Drift mode. Again and again I’d stomp my foot down like a hoon, wait for the boost to surge, then have to countersteer quickly as the tail stepped out. Mind you, the traction control stepped in quickly to ensure things didn’t get out of hand, but that the car’s nature is to wag its tail coming out of the most mundane of roundabouts really changed my perspective. This is largely thanks to that new AWD setup squirting a little extra power to the outside wheels.

And, once I learned to rely more on the paddles to choose my own gears, my enjoyment just increased. Though the transmission can shift in the blink of an eye, if you’re not driving on the ragged edge it has a tendency to drop down into fuel saving mode. The more I shifted myself, the more time I spent in the racer modes, the more I loved the Golf R.

But it does still feel a bit flat in the in-between times. You really have to throw the car into R mode (or your custom flavor) and drive it hard to get the most out of it. Casual cruising with the odd stabs at the throttle will likely underwhelm.

Pricing and options

In the US, the Golf R has a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $44,445. The car you see here is equipped with the classy Lapiz Blue paint and the Titan Black Leather interior. To get those options you’ll have to pay… actually nothing. They’re no-cost, meaning the only additional cost on the car you see pictured here is the $995 destination, bringing us to the $45,440 final cost.

Through the online configurator, the 7-speed DSG gearbox shows as a $800 option over the six-speed manual. Beyond the usual floor mats and wheel locks, that’s about it. Really, you’re looking at a car that is far from cheap but is fully equipped without having to tick any boxes.

The post Volkswagen Golf R Review first appeared on Yanko Design.

HUAWEI Eyewear Review: AirPods for your eyes??

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PROS:


  • Slick design that cleverly hides tech

  • Lightweight and comfortable

  • Great Bluetooth range (20+ feet)

CONS:


  • Missing the lower-end bass notes

  • Audio leakage means others can hear you

  • Lack of outlined touch-sensitive area

  • Limited global availability

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The HUAWEI Eyewear are a pretty good solution in search for a problem. In a world where tech-infused eyewear just hasn’t caught on (with Google, Snap, Facebook, and Bose all trying and relenting), Huawei is taking on a fashion-first approach with stylish, sleek eyewear that just happen to also function as personal audio gear.

While the landscape for smartphones, tablets, and laptops gets increasingly competitive with legacy and new brands all fighting for eyeballs, Huawei’s always focused on its own trajectory towards innovation and cutting-edge tech. There’s a lot Huawei can offer beyond the everyday smartphone or laptop, with the company foraying comfortably into smart home audio and now even smart glasses. The tech giant announced the HUAWEI Eyewear, a hybrid pair of stylish spectacles that house some impressive tech underneath. No, these aren’t AR glasses, but are rather audio devices disguised as eyewear. Pop them on and you don’t need earbuds, or that’s at least what Huawei wants you to believe. We managed to get our hands on a pair to test them out. Chances are you won’t be able to buy them anytime soon if you’re in the USA, Canada, or the EU (they’re slated to be available in China, Japan, and Malaysia)… but it’s important to look at it as a milestone of what’s capable in the tech world, and also as a proof of concept for a new idea – the idea being, “Can spectacles replace AirPods? And should they?”

The Eyewear comes with a contact-point charging cable that plugs into the base of the stems

In theory, this means it’s somewhat possible (although not advisable) to charge these while you’re wearing them

First Impressions

If there’s one thing I give major props to Huawei for, it’s the fact that they take design incredibly seriously. I don’t think I’ve come across a single Huawei product that’s had a boring, lackluster design. Their MateBook X Pro was easily one of the most spectacular MacBook competitors on the market, the Sound X saw Huawei partner with Devialet to create a magical speaker that looked as powerful as it sounded, and perhaps my personal favorite, the P50 Pocket really pushed the boundaries of what a luxury foldable phone could look like. Similarly, the HUAWEI Eyewear look incredibly stylish – but more importantly, they look like stylish glasses, not stylish tech wearables. Huawei’s been incredibly careful in ensuring that its spectacles are slim, lightweight, and fashionable. One could argue that the spectacles feel a little TOO lightweight, although that might sound a little pedantic. The temple stems house “ultra-thin 128 mm² large amplitude speakers” that beam-form the audio right into your ear when you’re wearing the spectacles. You don’t need earpieces, and these aren’t bone-conducting spectacles either. The audio drivers are designed to channel the audio waves right to your ear (somewhat similar to the ones found on VR headsets), giving you a bespoke listening experience while you have the glasses on. It’s a clever idea but it begs the question – why?

The Idea

Quite a few questions come to mind with this device. For starters, why does such a device even need to exist? Will the average Joe and Jane ditch their TWS earbuds for it… and more importantly, will people actually go through the hassle of getting their prescription lenses fitted into this ‘audio eyewear’? The answers I personally have don’t give much clarity either. The eyewear are tech accessories, designed to support your existing gadgets, be it the phone, laptop, or tablet. The eyewear itself doesn’t rely on any OS or cooperation from a third-party company that may be restricted from working with Huawei. It’s an easy win for the tech conglomerate, and shows their ability to innovate beyond your ‘run of the mill’ products. Audio eyewear is a niche not many companies have explored. Bose tried making something similar and abandoned the project almost immediately. Aftershokz and Zungle have created audio glasses in the past too, but they rely on bone conduction – an audio technology I personally detest and wouldn’t consider a replacement for traditional in-ear audio devices. Facebook went as far as partnering with Ray-Ban to create glasses with cameras built into them, although I don’t remember anyone being excited or optimistic about those. In fact, it’s been over a year and Facebook (sorry, Meta) has been suspiciously quiet on sales and whether the product’s been a commercial success. My gut feeling is that it hasn’t. Here’s what my thoughts are with the HUAWEI Eyewear (and they’re solely my personal opinions) – people like glasses the way they are. They’re a hybrid fashion/medical device (given that they correct vision), so there’s a reticence when it comes to injecting consumer tech into them. My specs sit on my face nearly 17-18 hours a day, so having speakers that close to my ear for those prolonged periods of time just feels like something I wouldn’t want. Besides, the fact that I’d have to take my specs off to charge my earphones seems incredibly counterintuitive because I’m practically blind without my specs. Am I the HUAWEI Eyewear’s intended audience, though? Probably not. So let’s just put a pin in that and take a gander at how they work and how they sound.

A comparison between the temple stems on a regular pair of acetate glasses and the HUAWEI Eyewear

The Device

The HUAWEI Eyewear, objectively, are incredibly stylish spectacles with an open acoustic design that delivers audio straight to your ear without blocking them – this means you can listen to music and calls while still hearing the world around you. It’s impressive on paper, but not as impressive as the fact that the eyewear look deceptively like regular eyewear. They come in a variety of styles and formats, from wayfarers to aviators to rectangular and round frames in full-rimmed and half-rimmed varieties. The tech fits in the spectacles’ stems, which are, impressively enough, not too thick and don’t add too much weight to the frames either. While wearing them, they didn’t feel too heavy, and more importantly, they stayed in place without slipping off. The spectacles grip the face pretty well, thanks to the arc-shaped stems and the elastic hinges that flex comfortably as you wear them. The HUAWEI Eyewear comes with an all-day battery, supports connections with multiple devices (up to 2 devices simultaneously), and just like your TWS earbuds, comes with touch input on the side that lets you tap, slide, press, and pinch to control playback and answer/reject calls. Huawei touts the Eyewear’s Reverse Sound Field Acoustic System which allegedly provides a private listening experience, and a hydrodynamic wind-proof microphone design that reduces noise during calls… so we decided to put the Eyewear to the test to see how good it was.

The Audio

Ultimately, the true value of Huawei’s audio-glasses comes from exactly how good (or bad) the audio is… and the verdict isn’t particularly rosy. Here’s where things work in favor of the glasses – the audio isn’t bad. It doesn’t really compare to having actual AirPods in your ears, obviously… but then again, what it attempts is completely different from your average earphones. The sound is clear and distinct, but lacks detail, especially in the lower frequencies. I tried wearing a hoodie to see if it affected the audio and surprisingly, it enhanced my listening experience. The hoodie contained the sound waves, amplifying them and making my audio louder and more discernible. However, the claim that the HUAWEI Eyewear provides a private listening experience falls a little flat on its face. There’s a significant amount of audio leakage, and anyone sitting/standing within 3 feet from you will most likely be able to hear what you’re hearing. It almost seems like ‘open ear design’ and ‘private listening experience’ don’t ever go hand in hand, because even bone-conducting earphones have the same problem. A hoodie might help prevent excess sound leakage, but that seems like a rather odd way to enforce privacy, in my opinion.

The Eyewear comes along with a solf microfiber-lined fabric case that makes it easy to carry around

The User Experience

My overall impression of the UX can be boiled down to two simple words – needs work. Just like any first-iteration product ever made, whether it’s the first MotoRAZR, the first Pixel Watch, or even the first Nothing phone, I have a principle that I often encourage everyone to live by – The first iteration will always have a few flaws. If you want to avoid early adopters’ remorse, buy the second iteration. Design is an iterative process, and you can only solve problems after you identify them. The job of the first product, in a lot of ways, is to help identify those problems. Users express their concerns, and it’s only after they do that companies can build a second, better, more user-friendly product. To that end, it seems like HUAWEI’s Eyewear (given that it’s the company’s first independently-made smart glasses) needs a little fine-tuning. As far as its tech goes, it works rather well. The Bluetooth connection feels incredibly seamless and works up to 20 feet comfortably. The battery life is good, although I don’t know what the battery’s overall lifespan will be. The audio quality is acceptable, but the low-end frequencies need work, and the wind-canceling on the microphone needs a little reconsideration too. The lack of private listening honestly feels like a given at this point, and I don’t see it as something that’s realistically achievable, although I’m probably the harsh skeptic here. There are, however, a few rather glaring concerns I have. For starters, the glasses boast swappable front halves, but this seems easier said than done. At the risk of breaking the hardware, I decided not to apply too much pressure to decouple the front from the temple stems. The second problem I have is with the temple stems themselves. There’s no physical/visual/tactile demarcation that tells you where the touch-sensitive area on the temple stems lies. I found myself struggling to find the right place to tap, swipe, pinch to input my gestures, and it feels like something that will require a long, arduous learning process. A simple matte patch on the glossy plastic temple stems could have easily solved this problem. Finally, and perhaps my biggest concern yet, is the fact that this product brings planned obsolescence to eyewear. When I buy a new pair of spectacles, I wear them for nothing less than 5 years… although my gut tells me the battery on these temple stems don’t have a lifespan that long. This effectively means I have to replace my temple stems every 2-3 years to retain my spectacles – a feature that I personally don’t see myself doing. If it’s any consolation, I don’t really consider myself being the target audience for this eyewear anyway, because Huawei’s website doesn’t indicate whether I can get prescription lenses fitted into these spectacles. For other people who just like the idea of having spectacles/sunglasses with audio devices built into them, I’d say it’s worth a shot. It’s priced at roughly $240 too (converted from its Malaysian price), which places it somewhere in the mid-range tier. Don’t expect it to blow your mind, but if you’re open to pleasant surprises, the HUAWEI Eyewear will certainly deliver.

The post HUAWEI Eyewear Review: AirPods for your eyes?? first appeared on Yanko Design.