2019 Honda Fit Review

2019 Honda Fit Review The unique Honda Fit was a prodigy when it burst onto the U.S. vehicle scene as a 2007 model. By using a vivid personality, an athletic chassis, and stunning room efficiency, it instantly embarked on the charm campaign that will win comparison test soon after comparison test, likewise as being a Vehicle and Driver 10Best Autos trophy for seven consecutive many years, effectively into its 2nd generation. Alas, the latest Match continues to be fantastic if not fairly great, handsomer than ever but sorely lacking its predecessors’ eagerness, dynamic refinement, and user-friendliness. Our 40,000-mile long-term 2015 Match earned no shortage of complaints involving its unrelenting buzz at highway speeds, its tiny fuel tank, the fussy infotainment program that lacked a volume knob, and lessened enjoyable in contrast with its predecessors. Now a thorough mid-cycle enhancement for 2018 gives this third-generation Fit a 2nd likelihood to generate a initially impression.

2019 Honda Fit Review

Our initial drive from the 2018 Match was hosted at Honda Effectiveness Growth in California, the R&D and technical-support center for the company’s prolific racing programs (including the SCCA B-Spec racing series that Honda spearheaded back in 2010 with the Match race car or truck). It’s also where the Fit’s natty new HPD chassis and interior bits were developed, accessories that found themselves onto some of your check autos we drove.

For 2018, Honda aimed to hone the Fit’s chassis to quell bobbing, reduce noise levels, enhance the steering’s linearity, and elevate its overall sense of nimbleness. Honda added structural braces around and under the body, swapped the shell-style steering-pinion bearing for a solid one, and installed retuned dampers. It also used thicker acoustic materials inside the doors, wheel arches, and pillars, while new layers of soundproofing materials pad the dashboard and the floor. To reduce wind noise, the new Fit gets an acoustically insulating windshield and thicker front quarter-windows. Remarkably, despite these refinements, weight is essentially a wash between the new and old cars, according to Honda.

Without a pre-refresh Match on hand for comparison, it’s hard to measure the extent to which Honda achieved its ambitions. We can say, however, that the 2018 Match EX-L we drove felt focused and planted as we swept along the Santa Clarita Valley’s rolling two-laners. As we hurled the Match into tight corners, its body stayed calm and the 185/55R-16 all-season Firestone FR740 tires generally remained glued to the pavement before gently breaking away into predictable understeer at the limit. Little additional steering feel seems to have resulted from the updates, unfortunately, yet the Fit traced our intended line with utter precision. All the while, it rode with suppleness and composure, more like a Civic sedan than a stubby hatchback.

We didn’t need any measuring devices to deem the additional cabin insulation a success. While the quietness somewhat clarifies the bleating 1.5-liter inline-four’s engine note-still not our favorite sound, especially as it moans when working with the optional continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT)-its lower overall volume no longer deters drivers from revving it all the way to its 6800-rpm redline. That’s a excellent thing indeed, considering one must hit 6600 rpm before all of your powertrain’s 128 or 130 horses (depending on transmission) show up.

2019 Honda Fit Review - Interior:

Addressing two of our chief complaints is a new 7.0-inch Display Audio infotainment process that comes standard on Sport, EX, and EX-L models. Finally, it offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, and even better, the volume knob is back. While not all wrongs are righted with the 2018 Fit-the front seats still lack lateral support, and Honda wasn’t able to carve out any room for a larger fuel tank-there’s plenty to offset such woes. Along with a sophisticated-looking gauge cluster, there’s the Fit’s trademark 60/40 split rear Magic Seat, which lets you flip the lower cushion up to carry taller items or flop the seatback down, extending the Fit’s heroically low and flat cargo floor. Another big deal for the segment is the availability of your Honda Sensing driver aids, which include not just forward-collision warning, automated emergency braking, and lane-keeping assist, but also road-departure mitigation and adaptive cruise control.

Also among the updates is the return in the Fit Sport model. Don’t get too excited, as it’s not actually any sportier, being a Match LX that gets its own unique front spoiler and rear diffuser (both with orange accents), side-sill extensions, black 16-inch wheels, and a chrome exhaust tip. The Sport interior is accented with orange stitching on the leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, plus the upgraded audio procedure found in the EX and above. Like the Fit LX, the Sport offers the Honda Sensing bundle of driver aids as an option; EX and EX-L trims get them standard.

Curious to see what unrealized potential HPD could tap into with its suite of bolt-on accessories, we hopped into a Fit Sport with the six-speed manual gearbox in full HPD drag, including a 0.4-inch lowering kit, side skirts, black 16-inch wheels with two red-painted spokes, and a chunkier rear spoiler cantilevered off the back. Aluminum HPD pedals, red floor mats, and a beautiful titanium shift knob added visual punch to the Fit Sport’s cabin, already a kicky place with its “cross-hatched” upholstery and that orange contrast stitching. A similar package will be offered on non-Sport Fits, too, we’re told.

2019 Honda Fit Review - Features:

Not surprisingly, the HPD enhancements produced flatter handling and what felt like greater lateral grip-we’d love to put this version through our testing regimen-and the slicker feel on the shift knob had us making unnecessary gearchanges just so we could manipulate it. Now that we know how the 2018 Fit feels when adorned with such finery, we can’t imagine getting one any other way. In fact, that has a bit more power, this could make a sweet halo model. Match Si, anyone?

Honda declined to tell us how much its accessory packages will cost at this point. But we do know that the 2018 Fit’s sticker prices are between $100 and $160 higher than last year, depending on trim: Base LX models start at $17,065, Sport models come in at $18,375, and EX models cost $19,035-all with the manual transmission. Another $800 will equip any of those which has a CVT automatic, while the Honda Sensing driver aids will cost LX and Sport customers another $1000. As mentioned, Honda Sensing is included on the Fit EX (even with the stick shift) too as on the $21,395 EX-L model, the latter offered only with the CVT.

Even last year’s slightly dulled Match was easy for us to recommend to family and friends looking for real utility at an entry-level price, and this year’s upgrades make doing so easier. Is the new motor vehicle excellent enough to earn the same adulation as the to start with two Fits? We’ll need to spend more time with it to find out.

2018 Dodge Durango SRT Review

2018 Dodge Durango SRT Review Any person who thinks hot-rod SUVs are just big-engined and aggressively styled versions of their civilian counterparts should really have a chat together with the folks at SRT. They strive to create complete packages. Case in stage: When producing the Dodge Durango SRT, engineers ran the SUV all-around Virginia Global Raceway (yup, the identical one particular we go to annually) with and without the need of an intake within the reduce left corner in the front fascia. The difference was one.2 seconds per lap in sizzling conditions, so the production model has the consumption.

2018 Dodge Durango SRT Review

Acquiring an consumption positioned close to your ground on an SUV removes some utility from your equation. We’re fine with that, and we’re guessing many people serious about this truck would be, as well; this car is not prone to tackle the Rubicon Trail. Using the minimal consumption, fording streams or washed-out roads is out of the query. Along with the SRT’s Pirelli P Zero Run Flat summer time tires, a $595 solution, choose pavement.

We appreciate the concept of an SUV that can accelerate to 60 mph in 4.seven seconds and snap off 104-mph quarter-mile passes in 13.3 seconds. People are functionality capabilities we are able to and do use frequently, while rock crawling is definitely an automotive aptitude we make use of far significantly less usually.

Quickly. Now.

Dodge would love it if we took their word for it that the Durango SRT had turned an NHRA-certified elapsed time of 12.9 seconds instead of testing the motor vehicle ourselves. As with all the Challenger SRT Demon, we really don't doubt Dodge’s functionality claims. We’re sure the Durango SRT manufactured a 12.9-second pass although the NHRA was watching; it’s just the grippy launch surface of a drag strip most likely fully accounts for your 0.4-second difference from our testing, which can be carried out with out that benefit.

2018 Dodge Durango SRT Review - Interior:

Transforming a normal Durango R/T into an SRT will involve swapping out the 5.7-liter V-8 and changing it using the gloriously throaty 6.4-liter Hemi that SRT makes use of in other solutions, then modifying the suspension with stiffer springs (3 % stiffer in front, 16 percent in back), an 18-percent-stiffer rear anti-roll bar, and adaptive Bilstein shock absorbers. The wide-mouth grille, dual exhaust retailers, and hood with obligatory scoop and heat-shedding, rear-facing nostrils total the exterior seem. The rate premium to stage up from a 360-hp R/T to a 475-hp SRT is $16,700, which may possibly seem to be like a lot but-at $64,090 to start-the Durango SRT can be a entire lotta vehicle.

The six-passenger interior-sorry families of seven, no middle bench is offered-comes with conventional leather-and-microsuede upholstery and high-bolstered seats for the front row. Our check auto also came with all the $1500 SRT Interior Physical appearance package deal, which nets carbon-fiber trim, some painted accents, a microsuede headliner, and, for that first time in any Durango, a stitched dashboard cover. The dash is not genuine leather, nevertheless it does a passable impression. Retained will be the Durango’s outstanding third row. Not simply is it pretty easy to get into, it has adequate space for adults. Had we not climbed back there, we possibly wouldn’t have noticed how the bezel around the 8.4-inch Uconnect display and HVAC controls does not line up together with the center console. Now we see that offset-which is associated for the design, not match and finish-every time we drive a Durango.

2018 Dodge Durango SRT Review - Features:

This SRT variant gets eight driving modes, which includes Sport, Track, Snow, Tow, Valet, and Eco. You also can allow the automobile interpret your inputs when in Auto or mix your own personal recipe of transmission, stability handle, all-wheel-drive, suspension, and steering preferences inside the Customized mode. Even within the softest setting, the ride is appropriately taut. Some credit for that trip quality goes to the 119.8-inch wheelbase, that's five.0 inches longer than that of the Jeep Grand Cherokee with which the Durango shares a platform. Suspension damping is ratcheted up to a firm but tolerable degree in Sport. In Track mode, the all-wheel-drive system directs around 70 % of offered torque for the rear axle, however the trip is so coarse it could polish stones.Tow mode splits the torque evenly and turns within the lively noise cancellation. This system, like a giant set of headphones to your cabin, otherwise is lively only when cylinder deactivation also is turned on. The concept is that the greater demands of towing are usually louder, along with the passive noise amplifier that may be the 48-cubic-foot cargo hold behind the 2nd row (17 cubes with all seats up) can generate some taxing tones. Even so, the grumbles on the 6.4-liter Hemi operating on 4 cylinders still are rather apparent.

Our motor vehicle didn’t have the $995 towing bundle. It enables an 8700-pound tow rating, which bests the Chevrolet Tahoe’s by a hundred pounds to lead the class of big three-row SUVs. A spare tire includes the towing pack, as well.

The SRT’s 0.87-g skidpad figure isn’t undesirable, however it isn’t fully representative of this SUV’s handling prowess. For starters, turn-in is crisp, exact, and altogether very un-trucklike. The steering also communicates budding understeer with clarity. It’s rapid and steady at speed, and the anti-roll bar, stiffer compared to the 1 during the R/T, does a commendable career of maintaining the SRT on an even keel.4 295/45ZR-20 Pirelli tires and Brembo brake hardware-six-piston calipers on 15.0-inch-diameter rotors in front with four-piston calipers clamping down on 13.eight inches of iron during the rear-haul the Dodge down from 70 mph in 167 feet, 1 foot longer than desired by the Mercedes-AMG GLS63 and one particular foot shorter than the final Grand Cherokee SRT we tested.

The infotainment screen can existing an array of data that Dodge calls Functionality Pages. Decide on from a handful of gauges and display them both in an analog format or being a scrolling ribbon, like an EKG machine. We’re not certain why one particular would desire a real-time readout in the exact quantity of horsepower becoming utilized, but this can be a relatives hauler and people pages could preserve people entertained on lengthy drives.

Also managed through the infotainment display is the launch-control system. Opt for your launch rpm anyplace from 1500 to 3500 rpm, push the launch-control button, hold the brake with your left foot, floor the gasoline, allow go from the brake, and 470 lb-ft and 475 horsepower are unleashed. It is actually that very simple. The Demon engineers, who produced a convoluted launch sequence, could learn a little something from the Durango SRT’s launch simplicity. While it is entertaining to the passengers to truly feel and hear the V-8 prime itself using launch management, we located that a hearty brake-torque launch received the Durango off the line slightly better.

Dodge could have observed a winning combination here. A lot of SUV customers are looking for three-row seating, and there is a smaller sized subset that would like a motor vehicle with the machismo of a muscle vehicle. Until now, the sole other three-row, high-performance option was the $126K Mercedes-AMG GLS63. BMW’s X5 M, whilst quicker and grippier compared to the Dodge, doesn’t present the optional third row that is out there from the frequent X5. It is exactly the same condition with the Selection Rover Sport SVR-if you receive the sizzling engine, you can’t have the third row, and that is small, anyway.Thoroughly equipped, the Durango SRT’s tow rating is greater than people of even the large body-on-frame SUVs from Standard Motors. At $71,270 as tested, the Dodge’s price undercuts any SUV that even approaches precisely the same level of efficiency. So, no matter what off-road utility is lost, there’s no penalty in useful every day attributes. This Durango SRT may have been bred on the racetrack, but it deserves to reside in plenty of garages.

2019 Audi A7 Review

2019 Audi A7 The visually spectacular and very capable A7 is aging like a fine German Riesling. Behind the four interlocking rings about the grille lives a four-door luxury fastback with timelessly attractive styling, typical attributes galore, a refined driving character, and a class-exclusive hatchback physique with copious cargo room.

2019 Audi A7 Review

A conventional 333-hp supercharged V-6 unites with an eight-speed automated transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive in sweetly dynamic trend. The top-spec Competitors model is tuned for additional efficiency with 340 horsepower as well as a stiffer sport suspension. Power-hungry consumers could think about the A7’s audacious alternatives-the 450-hp S7 or even the RS7, with as much as 605 horses-but the conventional A7 is loads quick, and it superbly balances luxury and athleticism. Its interior epitomizes tranquil top quality and boasts top-grade elements.

Getting into the twilight of its life cycle, the A7 remains related by means of compelling efficiency, unexpected practicality, and enduring excellent appears. Like a great wine, it is nuanced and memorable.

What’s New for 2017 - 2019 Audi A7

Audi has ditched the diesel V-6 alternative and bolstered the standard-equipment listing. The base Premium Plus now has Apple CarPlay, Android Car, a Bose surround-sound audio system, plus a new 19-inch wheel design.

The A7 has one of the highest base costs in the crowded mid-size luxury section, beginning at $69,750 for the entry-level Premium Plus trim. Fortunately, that incorporates an amazing listing of normal equipment, Audi’s vaunted Quattro all-wheel drive, as well as a robust supercharged V-6. For an extra $2550, the mid-level Prestige adds luxury bits like power-operated soft-close doors, a head-up show, and ventilated front seats, none of which we need to have. The top-level Competition has performance upgrades and an even fancier interior, but it commences at $77,500. For that price, we’d devote $3350 extra within the 450-hp Audi S7. Sticking with all the well-equipped Premium Plus nets us:

• eight.0-inch MMI infotainment screen with navigation
• Leather seats, heated and power adjustable up front
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Adaptive rear spoiler

We also chose add-ons that strengthen effectiveness and visual appeal. The S line Sport package ($1000) can be a steal, adding unique bumpers, a sport suspension, and distinctive 19-inch wheels. It also unlocks the $1500 20-inch Black Optic package deal, which equips the A7 with greater wheels, adds high-gloss-black exterior accents, and tends to make optional summertime tires offered at no expense. In total, our A7 set us back $72,250.

2019 Honda Odyssey Review

2019 Honda Odyssey Review Minivans will be the antithesis of amazing, and some men and women would possibly rather be viewed wearing an adult diaper on their head for a week than be spotted driving a minivan for even an hour. But we here at Car and Driver-among the gas-huffingest and, let’s encounter it, most judgmental gearheads around-absolutely love minivans.

2019 Honda Odyssey Review

Definitely, our fondness for minivans springs in the similar location as our affection for supercars, hot hatches, and also the like, that is to say our deep respect and enthusiasm for automobiles with a purity of goal as well as capability to execute on it. Heck, we really like things with sliding doors so much that we've two of them in our long-term check fleet appropriate now, a Chrysler Pacifica and this freshly unboxed 2018 Honda Odyssey.

The Honda arrived in our parking good deal in top-spec Elite form, wearing Pacific Pewter metallic paint over Mocha leather upholstery. That usually means it’s gray, as well as the seats are dark brown. There was some thought offered to testing a reduced trim-we’d by now spent time together with the top model for the duration of our first-drive experience-but the Elite packs every single one particular of Honda’s goodies in one box, and there are several new tricks we desired to live with in excess of the course of our forty,000-mile check.

These include CabinWatch and CabinTalk, two parental aids that use visuals and audio, respectively, to help continue to keep better tabs over the kiddos during the 2nd and third rows, along with the Magic Slide seats that let you push together-or pull apart-the outboard second-row captain’s chairs when the center seat is eliminated. CabinWatch displays to the front center display the view (in colour during the day, and applying infrared light during the night) from a smaller camera embedded inside the ceiling just ahead with the 2nd row.

2019 Honda Odyssey Review - Interior:

Turns out young children still need to be Television stars, as ours adore to carry out when it is activated, performing goofy dances, generating humorous faces, plus the like. But a lot more vital, the system makes it possible for us to keep our eyes pointed forward when nevertheless checking on the youthful ’uns. CabinTalk utilizes a microphone to amplify front-seat occupants’ voices by way of both the van’s speakers or, much more usefully, the rear-seat entertainment system’s headphones, pausing Blu-ray movies around the 10.2-inch screen and allowing you to produce like an airline pilot. It’s a fun parlor trick but seems to be the type of characteristic that will get made use of infrequently.

Working with the onboard AT&T 4G LTE connection, the rear screen can display output from built-in apps, such as Epix movies and PBS Little ones Tv, and it can stream content from smartphones connected to the Wi-Fi. We now have yet to really check the system’s enjoyment capabilities, but with our Odyssey already flying hither and yon in the course of summer-vacation season, we’ll no doubt have plenty to report in subsequent updates.

2019 Honda Odyssey Review - Features:

Other items baked into our Elite van-per usual Honda practice, you can find almost no stand-alone options on any trim level-include the handy HondaVac onboard vacuum cleaner, 11-speaker audio, navigation, a heated steering wheel, a power sunroof, automatic wipers and high-beams, and LED exterior lighting. The Elite also packs an 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen at the prime with the center stack that features crisp graphics, but we’ve found some of your virtual buttons to be too tiny and hard to press although over the move, even for a front-seat passenger, ahem, undistracted by driving. You'll find many more features we could list, but Honda prints brochures for a reason.

Honda’s very first 10-speed automatic transmission-and the 1st ever for any front-wheel-drive vehicle-reports for duty on the Touring and Elite trims, which implies it is handling the gear swaps in our van. (Other Odysseys use a nine-speed auto.) We detected some funky shifting behavior from your 10-speed in the course of our very first drive, but no staffer has reported anything amiss with ours so far, and it shifts unobtrusively and rarely if ever busies itself pecking about to get a gear. Odysseys with this transmission also get engine stop-start functionality, which stays out of your way about at the same time as such a technique can. Initially, we wondered if we’d ever practical experience it all through a weeklong trip, where the engine failed to shut down even once, but others have observed it since working regularly at stoplights and in traffic, firing up the 3.5-liter V-6 smoothly and quickly. That V-6 is velvety and, with 280 horses, powerful, and it can yank our 4574-pound Odyssey to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds, tops amid its competitors, including the slightly more powerful Pacifica. As a result of 3400 miles, the Odyssey has returned 24 mpg combined, two mpg far better than what the EPA says to expect.

The ride quality has impressed us so far, with expansion joints and frost heaves ironed smooth despite the Elite’s largish 19-inch wheel-and-tire package. The steering is faithful if a bit light for some of our drivers-there’s some back and forth about preferences between the Pacifica’s and also the Odyssey’s steering-but the van tracks straight and true. For those not into steering for themselves, the Elite’s standard Honda Sensing bundle of driver-assistance and safety-tech features includes a lane-keeping-assist program (LKAS) that, in conjunction with the adaptive cruise control, provides a measure of semi-autonomous functionality above 20 mph (below which the adaptive cruise annoyingly deactivates). Provided that the lane is properly defined, the LKAS automatically steers to maintain the Odyssey between the lines. Our early experiences say it does so with varying success; straight-line cruising is little problem (you even now need to deliver a minute amount of steering input each so often to let it know you’re there), but we haven’t worked up the trust to let the method handle anything extra than gentle sweepers, as it sometimes seems to lose the plot until the van is just about to cross the outer line before applying steering to regain the proper path. It’s possible additional exposure will find us warming to LKAS’s nuances, but so far it looks a lot more suited for Nebraska than, say, the hills of West Virginia.

Although our Honda hasn’t yet made it to those destinations, we have ventured to Kentucky and to Ohio-getting to Kentucky from here usually involves Ohio, but these were separate journeys. There’s plenty of time remaining in our 40,000-mile check for it to wander much farther afield, as well as to reveal major foibles. But we’re enjoying our time with all the Odyssey, and neither it nor the Pacifica will get a great deal time to amazing off between trips. It turns out that minivans are additional our style than goofy headgear.

2018 Nissan Titan Review

2018 Nissan Titan Review The Titan has the exact same workhorse DNA as its pickup-truck peers, which effects in related bodily attributes: immense exterior dimensions, remarkable capability, and extraordinary versatility. What separates the Nissan from its huge-selling domestic rivals-besides their decades of branding and devoted followings Not around you would consider.

2018 Nissan Titan Review

Pickup consumers who likelihood a glance at the Titan will find a civilized cabin, a customizability cargo box, along with a focused off-road trim. Within the surface, Nissan’s latest try to lure buyers from domestic light-duty pickups seems properly conceived. Too poor the Titan suffers from an unoriginal style and design, a rougher trip than rivals, and obsolete infotainment. Nissan’s Titan is evidence that playing during the pickup-truck major league is straightforward; it is winning that is difficult.

After the first-generation Titan invested a lot more than a decade in relative obscurity, Nissan entirely redesigned its half-ton pickup for 2017. It arrives 1 year following the company released the tweener Titan XD in an attempt to bridge the gap among light- and heavy-duty pickups. The common Titan shares its Single Cab, King Cab (quick four-door), and Crew Cab configurations with all the Titan XD, also as its exterior physical appearance. Even though the two Titans look almost identical, the light-duty model is created on the various chassis that has a wheelbase that is about a foot shorter for crew-cab versions. It has been rumored that a V-6 engine might be out there in 2017 around the half-ton, but that stays to become witnessed.

Trims and Solutions We’d Pick out:

The Titan ranks near the bottom of our truck-of-choice list. For that optimum pickup-truck expertise, see the 10Best-winning Ford F-150 or either of GM’s perennial contenders, the Chevrolet Silver ado 1500 as well as GMC Sierra 1500. Nonetheless, the Titan is not devoid of merit. We believe the two-door frequent cab presents a terrific value to industrial customers who really do not have a Ford, Chevy, or Ram logo tattooed on their hindquarters. Regardless of its restricted passenger capability, the regular-cab Titan has an eight.2-foot bed, V-8 energy, and a number of typical features we appreciate. These incorporate:

• A damped tailgate that opens and closes easily
• Blue tooth audio and phone streaming
• Key less entry with push-button get started
• Electrical power windows and door locks

The base, regular-cab S model commences at $30,775; four-wheel drive adds $3030 to each and every Titan. We would throw while in the S Comfort & Utility package ($800), which adds an overhead storage console, a spray-in bed liner, along with a Class IV trailer hitch. That combination is good for $31,575 of commercial-grade usability and convenient comfort.

2019 Volvo V90 Cross Country T6 AWD Review

2019 Volvo V90 Cross Country T6 AWD Review In the game of automotive masquerade that is certainly the butch-wagon section, dark-gray textured plastic may be the equivalent of the kid’s cowboy hat. It is the matte-plastic wheel-arch trim (and occasionally bumper-cover decoration) that says to consumers: “I’ve now become one thing else. Let’s play.

2019 Volvo V90 Cross Country T6 AWD Review 

And, although they need to certainly see the plain previous station wagon underneath, consumers want to oblige. The dress-up wagons sell so much greater than their donor versions that Subaru and Audi don’t even bother providing the non-butch versions anymore. But if dark-gray plastic could be the critical to success in this game, think about the following weird fact: In the event you spend ample to your V90 Cross Country, Volvo paints those bits the color with the entire body, creating the Cross Nation search practically identical to your stand­ard V90 wagon the business also sells but on specific buy only. We don’t declare to understand this.

But boy, would a buyer spend ample if he chose a Cross Country outfitted like our test motor vehicle. For 2017, the sole available drivetrain configuration may be the T6 model, which includes a supercharged and turbocharged 316-hp two.0-liter inline-four, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive. It carries a $56,295 base price, but our check automobile price $69,440 the moment it was loaded up with soft-leather interior trimmings, massaging front seats, heated rear outboard seats, four-zone climate management, a Bowers & Wilkins audio system, head-up display, air-spring rear suspension, metallic paint, and other niceties. (For ’18, Volvo will also offer a less expensive 250-hp T5 model.

2019 Volvo V90 Cross Country T6 AWD Review - Features:

This drops the Cross Country inside the pricing chasm between the A4-based Audi Allroad and the Mercedes-Benz E400 wagon. The Volvo will be the size on the Mercedes with an engine the size with the Audi’s.

Even so, that four-cylinder generates impressive output (with 295 pound-feet of torque to go with its load of horsepower). And the 4266-pound Cross Country’s 5.9-second run to 60 mph is plenty quick, if not quite on the pace with the Germans. The problem will be the way in which that power is delivered. It surges and ebbs. If you’re riding the torque wave, this wagon feels genuinely quick. Fall off it, though-as you frequently will-and the motor vehicle feels breathless and wimpy. Climbing back up takes a moment, and the engine moans at the effort. The Cross Nation turns in a middling braking performance, requiring 173 feet to stop from 70 mph. And the brakes are grabby and difficult to apply consistently. Its steering is indifferent.

2019 Volvo V90 Cross Country T6 AWD Review - Interior:

We’re glad to note that, despite wearing optional 20-inch wheels (in place of stand­ard 19s), the Cross Nation rides more comfortably than the somewhat flinty sedan on which it’s based. Put the mode selector into dynamic should you want a less comfortable ride. The Cross Country’s structure feels stouter than the sedan’s. We chalk that up to the cushier ride. This is good, because we really want the V90 to be great. It looks stunning (especially in non-Cross Nation dress), and the interior is beautifully designed and finished. It’s roomy and practical. And dammit, we like wagons, even when they’re festooned.

But for $70,000, we want more than a cowboy hat. In truth, we don’t want a cowboy hat at all, but you know what we mean.

2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Review

2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Review, In relation to traversing Michigan potholes, you will discover two approaches. Most people employ the balanced-human method: Plod with the minefield thoroughly, taking it straightforward in hopes almost nothing gets bent. The 2nd tactic demands additional, properly, let’s call it dedication.

2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Review

Each and every automobile features a safe velocity at which it'll fly right over the craters, occasionally skimming their edges but under no circumstances dropping a wheel far sufficient under the surface to accomplish harm. It’s the automotive equivalent of the supercross racer in the whoops. When perfectly executed, the two are efficient means to acquire residence. Approach two includes the reward of finding there sooner and the danger of, say, removing an axle in the motor vehicle.

Our long-term Ford F-150 Raptor SuperCrew, then, can be a $64,800, 450-hp dilemma killer. That it tears a commercial-truck-sized hole inside the environment although completing a 14.2-second quarter-mile at 97 mph and hits 60 mph in only five.5 seconds, properly, these points are just gravy.

So, you see, owning a Raptor in Michigan is just pragmatic. Here, the road shoulders certainly are a burial ground for long-dead Caprices, Plymouths, Silverados, and, yes, F-150s that couldn’t hack the wet, freezing misery. What improved approach to celebrate potholes, frost heaves, and shweckled wheels than to embrace them with a truck unburdened by this kind of worries? We couldn’t visualize a single, so we ordered a Raptor to check for 40,000 miles.

Impulsiveness - 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Review

The good news is, each and every Raptor comes with the same wildly capable hardware: a twin-turbo three.5-liter V-6, a 10-speed automated transmission, BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires, Fox dampers, and a penchant for inducing bad impulse control.

And what would a gratuitous truck be with no a gratuitous solutions list? Ours is loaded with $11,660 in add-ons, starting up with the $9345 Products Group 802A, which supplies a Torsen limited-slip front differential (a locking rear diff is common), 360-degree cameras, remote begin, dual-zone automated climate handle, Sync 3 infotainment, a trailer-brake controller and backup aid, and much more. We then piled on these à la carte additions: 17-inch forged-aluminum wheels, a heated steering wheel, second-row heated seats, a tailgate step, and also a spray-in bedliner. And, not surprisingly, ours is dark gray-Magnetic, in Ford-speak-with black wheels.

Outrageous Utility - 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Review

Just for sport, we’ve begun lining up Michigan’s ever-sprouting potholes and smoothing them to cream with the Raptor’s ever-buttery bypass dampers. Emboldened by its prodigious amounts of wheel travel-13.0 inches in front and 13.9 in the rear-we’ve taken to charging by means of greater than street imperfections, on the other hand. Periodically, we run via our regional off-road park-sideways, of course-just to send the locals right into a tailspin because the Raptor chews via filth mounds and rooster tails just about every sand wash, spewing an unending stream of Michigan alfisols from all 4 tires. Did we mention its 510 lb-ft of torque?

It flies-and lands, even-with considerably more poise than any three-ton wingless automobile should. It's also, by a wide margin, probably the most well-liked vehicle in our long-term fleet. And that is a fleet that presently includes a Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport, a Ford Shelby GT350, and also a Porsche 718 Boxster S. Drawing weekend reservations months ahead of time, the huge Ford is in as a lot demand like a $40 per night VRBO on Monaco’s Mirabeau corner.

It is a machine that completely aligns your would like: “I could possibly be middle-aged, but I nevertheless indulge the occasional airborne railroad crossing,” together with your needs: “I have two dorky children plus a ton of crap to haul all around.” On and on, it is the embodiment of outrageous-massive, coarse, rapid, and capable of consuming curbs at freeway speeds. It is actually to subtlety what Charlie Sheen will be to decorum. But, as an everyday car, it is also characteristic rich, stunningly comfy, and remarkably simple to dwell with. The large goofball is flawlessly joyful to cruise the expressway in quiet, frost-heave pooh-poohing ease.

Major, Lousy, Daring - 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor Review

Its corpulence doesn’t avoid it from remaining quick around the eyes. Over 6 inches wider than a conventional F-150 and beefed up with flared fenders front and rear, the issue is really a distinguished giant. It’s also fraught with styling that reveals its goods, like holes inside the front bumper to present off its beefy suspension pieces and the three.0-inch-diameter dampers that support it stand proud of Michigan’s numerous volumes of matter-of-fact pickups.

But beneath all its desert-hammering skin, there’s nonetheless a genuine, usable four-door pickup capable of towing an 8000-pound trailer, hauling 1200 pounds in its bed, and taking individuals dorks to college. This duality is what makes the Raptor so attractive. We’re seeking forward to your up coming 35,000 miles. (Bonus: The odometer does not measure distance traveled off the ground.)

Hence far, about 5000 miles in, we’ve discovered only three faults: 10 is as well quite a few gears. It’s too broad for at the very least one particular nearby auto wash. At complete throttle, it honks like a Pontiac Sunbird while in the Holland Tunnel. But, great Lord, practically nothing has ever cared much less about potholes.