2022 Subaru WRX Premium Review – Small Step Backwards

I’ve long been a fan of Subaru’s plucky WRX compact sports sedan. But as you’ll see when our next podcast drops, I found the 2022 Subaru WRX one of my most disappointing cars of the year.

“Disappointing” doesn’t mean “bad”, to be clear. The WRX is still a joy to drive and would still be on my shopping list if I was buying in this class. But it’s lost a step compared to the competitive set, in part because the newest version makes its flaws a bit more visible.

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2022 Ford Maverick Review – Setting the Standard

Ford’s Maverick small truck has been highly reviewed, including by yours truly, so when two (one of each powertrain) arrived at my door within weeks of each other earlier this year, I was curious if my original take would hold up.

Hold up indeed it did, and I came away even more impressed with the truck – though I’d still lean towards the gas engine over the hybrid in most cases. If fuel economy or a few other factors matter more to you, then go for the hybrid. Otherwise, take the gas. But we’ll get to that.

One note: I’d normally do a separate review of each model, but aside from the powertrain differences, the two trucks weren’t significantly different. Yes, one was the nicer Lariat trim, so that changes the feature mix and interior materials a bit – but otherwise the two versions are similar enough in terms of user experience that I’d just be re-writing my own copy for 80 percent of the text if I did separate reviews.

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2022 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro Review - Not Quite A Prius

Making a massive brick-shaped object fuel efficient is a hell of an exercise in engineering, I’m certain. There are certain laws of physics that must be accommodated - mass, friction, and aerodynamics all factor in the equation of turning energy into propulsion. Reducing mass, improving aero, and limiting resistance losses from the tires are all ways one might make a truck use fuel more effectively.


Recovering some of that energy used in propulsion is another method - which is what birthed the hybrid vehicle. Toyota has been the leader in hybrids for decades now, which is why it’s rather surprising that it’s taken so long to bring some Prius magic to the full-size truck market. But here we are, with the 2022 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro - an off-road focused, top-of-the-line package that can only be had as a hybrid. But does a simple battery make this three-ton brute a hypermiling champ?

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2023 Kia EV6 GT Review – Electric Excitement

Standing around outside the Las Vegas Motor Speedway last week, I noticed a bunch of fighter jets taking off and landing from the nearby Nellis Air Force base. It must be unbelievable to feel the G forces when those things accelerate, I thought to myself.

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Drive Notes: 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe

I spent the past few days behind the wheel of a 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe.

Notes? Oh, I have notes.

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2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV First Drive – Still Finding Its Way

Standing in the lobby at Mitsubishi’s suburban Nashville headquarters last week, I looked out the window and saw Nissan’s own HQ just down the street. Even though Mitsubishi tells me that it’s just a coincidence that the two offices are that close to one another, the two companies are part of a larger alliance that also involves Renault. Even if it’s not intentional, one can feel the corporate synergy.

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2022 Mazda CX-30 Turbo Review - The Crossover for Drivers










Yeah, I know. That title is clickbait. Especially as we’ve told you time and again that there are no self-driving cars, and there likely will not be any self-driving cars for quite some time. Every vehicle on our roads today needs a driver.


But not all of them want to be driven.

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TTAC Rewind: 2015 Porsche Macan

While digging up this week's rewind, I saw it surface from one of our own partner forums. So in the interest of corporate synergy, you can take a look over there.

Or you can, you know, just click the link below

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Drive Notes: 2022 Mercedes-Benz C300 4MATIC AWD

Today's drive notes centers around a car I won't review because this loan is short -- just a couple of days, since I am traveling. It's too bad I am not getting a full week with this 2022 Mercedes-Benz C300 4MATIC, but I am enjoying this car. Well, mostly.

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2022 Lexus IS 350 AWD Review - The Choice Is Yours

There may come a time when this fine publication will need a name change lest we fall behind the times. News articles dutifully report that automakers continue to research autonomous driving technologies designed to keep people safer by entrusting the speed and direction of our personal mobility devices to fallible sensors and algorithms designed by the lowest bidding mathematician. 

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2022 Infiniti QX60 Review - The Poshfinder

Like it or not, the big crossover is here to stay. Three rows of seating that would really be better suited to a minivan or - dare I say it - a wagon shall be jacked up slightly so drivers can feel somewhat at ease when surrounded by all of the other tall wagons, pickups, and eighteen-wheelers clogging our roads. 


Just because the words Sports and Utility are theoretically in the definition of the vehicle segment doesn’t mean that sport needs to be part of the equation. We’ve seen many a big crossover that should never see anything more rugged than a dirt path to a youth soccer field - and many a rugged SUV that never actually sees anything more rugged than that same dirt path, so it doesn’t matter much anyhow. These are comfortable family vehicles with easy step-in heights - no more, no less. That hasn’t stopped automakers from tossing the classic luxury playbook at these vehicles, however. Leather, wood and metal trim, big wheels, and the usual advanced tech features abound on the upmarket trims.


The 2022 Infiniti QX60 Autograph is a noble effort from Nissan’s luxury division for this particular market. Light on the ruggedness, heavy on the plush - can the QX60 find a path to sales success?

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TTAC Rewind: 2012 Nissan Sentra Rental Review


Today's TTAC rewind for your late afternoon perusal is about a decade old. Former TTAC'er Jack Baruth was in sunny SoCal and got his hands on a 2012 Nissan Sentra rental.

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TTAC Drive Notes: 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid

Hi there, this is take two of our new series in which I give you short notes on something I am driving or have driven recently. It doesn't necessarily mean a given car will or won't get a full review in the future -- it's just a chance to hit some highlights sooner since it can take some time before a full review gets published. And some cars don't get full reviews, anyway.

Today's ride: The 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid.

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TTAC Rewind: 2018 Lincoln Navigator Black Label

Enjoy your Sunday evening with a look at the 2018 Lincoln Navigator Black Label, words courtesy of our own Chris Tonn.

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2022 Ram 1500 Rebel Review - Li’l Red Imperial Express

Step back in time with me to the Seventies, and imagine being in a boardroom in Highland Park, Michigan. The marketers and advertising copywriters of Chrysler were, at the time, reacting to the personal luxury vehicle trend with the Cordoba. Ricardo Montalbán had worked everyone up into a rich Corinthian lather, all but assuring buyers that good times and sexytime were simply a signature away at the local Chrysler dealer. 


In another room, the Dodge truck folks were trying to compete with crosstown rivals. Adding accessories and other fripperies to the D-series pickup created what was known as the “Adult Toys” lineup - including the black/gold Warlock model, as well as the smokestack-equipped Li’l Red Express. These factory customs acknowledged that people were buying trucks not just for work - and anticipated in part the explosion of the truck market that was to come.


But Khan himself could have never foreseen something like the 2022 Ram 1500 Rebel - a four-wheel drive, five-passenger truck that rides better than the nicest Chryslers and Imperials while handling truck duties better than any Dodge of the disco era. 

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TTAC Rewind: 2017 Kia Niro Hybrid

Today's TTAC Rewind for your Sunday afternoon perusal takes a few years back to 2017.

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2022 Kia Seltos Review - Easy

I suppose I can be an occasional automotive Luddite. I’m mentally throwing wrenches at the twenty-year-old German project car in my garage since it’s not nearly as straightforward to repair as the thirty-year-old Japanese project car right next to it. More than once I’ve pondered the possibility of adapting carburetors to both.

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TTAC Quick Drive: Notable Things About the 2023 Honda HR-V

Hello there and welcome to the first edition of the TTAC Quick Drive. This is basically a short version of a car review that we will apply either when a test vehicle doesn't really need a full review (perhaps its a mild refresh and mechanically unchanged) or we didn't get a lot of miles on a car (perhaps we drive a vehicle at an event for only 15 minutes). We may also use this to preview the full review of a vehicle that will publish later.

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TTAC Rewind: Tracking a Lotus Evora 400

Today's rewind is a bit different than the usual car review.

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2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Review - A New World Of Performance

In the beginning, God created the dinosaurs. He saw that they would eventually decompose into petroleum, and said this is good. And God said let there be bitchin’ V8 engines.


And God said Oh Crap, I didn’t kill off enough dinosaurs to feed these hungry V8 engines. So on the seventh day, he left it to someone else to create EV charging stations way too far apart in sketchy parts of everything that he had made, and he rested.


We are well beyond the book of Genesis when it comes to electric vehicles - we no longer look to an EV as simply an efficient urban runabout not suited to the open road. Witness the big two-letter badge on the decklid of this 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT - yes, there is a healthy dash of grand touring within Ford’s sporty EV. And, should you wish, a touch of sports car joy.

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TTAC Rewind: 2015 Subaru WRX Premium Review

Today's TTAC rewind is a capsule review of the 2015 Subaru WRX.

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TTAC Rewind: 2019 Ford Edge ST First Drive

For your perusal this fine fall evening, we present a first drive from the autumn of 2018.

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2022 Volvo XC90 Recharge T8 Review: Responsibility

Part of becoming a parent is making compromises. Instead of a weekend in Vegas with some friends, you spend your vacation money taking the kids to visit a rat in a Florida swamp. Instead of enjoying a variety of interesting meals each night, it’s chicken fingers with boxed mac and cheese night after night after night.

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TTAC Rewind: 2018 Hyundai Accent First Drive - Comfort Can Be Cheap

Hello again! Today's TTAC Rewind takes us back only a few years.

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2023 Jeep Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer L First Drive – Spacing It Out

We heard them before we saw them.

Our merry band of journalists and PR folks were walking to dinner in Bozeman, Montana on the second night of the 2023 Jeep Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer L press launch when we crossed paths with a bunch of college-aged folks who were walking the opposite way shouting “hi-ho, hi-ho, fossil fuels have got to go!”

If only they could lay eyes on this particular Jeep, which caused one colleague to tweet out a reference to The Simpsons' Canyonero.

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TTAC Rewind: 2018 Volkswagen Golf Family First Drive - Stick With What VW Does Best

Hello and welcome to another edition of TTAC Rewind.

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2022 Audi Q3 Review - Out Of The Shadows

Ever since the late David E. spaketh his missive and/or advertorial on behalf of a sports sedan, a pair of German brands have been the symbols of having made it...or at least being on a clear path to making it. Audi, on the other hand, was the third wheel - occasionally gaining respectability, but too often finding itself fighting against the memory of a vengeful Sunday evening “news” program.


Lately, however, Audi has been cutting their own path, with a distinctive style unlike any other automaker. The four rings within a gaping black grille are being recognized and appreciated as genuine markers of a fine luxury automobile - and not, as once was the case, as simply a nicer Volkswagen.

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2022 Volkswagen Golf R Review – Greatness Comes at a Price

It’s hard to come up with a better hot hatch than the 2022 Volkswagen Golf R. Unfortunately, it’s also hard to build such a sublime vehicle and also make it a bargain.

If you’re on a budget, VW will happily sell you a GTI and you’ll get about 80 percent of the Golf R’s performance. On the other hand, if you have the scratch, the Golf R is worth it.

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2023 Hyundai Palisade First Drive: Almost As Good As A Minivan

Those who have known me for a while - or have been reading the words I’ve been spewing on this and other sites - know that I’m a minivangelist. I’ve owned several (I’ve lost count) of these unrestrained vehicular symbols of virility and/or fertility, and have appreciated their presence in my driveway every time I had to bring home a dishwasher from the big-box store, or shuttle a few stray children about town. There is no vehicle type better suited for suburban families than a minivan.


But nobody wants ‘em.

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TTAC Rewind: 2015 Cadillac XTS Vsport

Hey, Editor Tim here -- we're trying something new. Keep an eye out each Sunday morning for a review from the past, chosen more or less arbitrarily, for you to peruse over your morning coffee.

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2022 Jeep Wagoneer Review – Rolling Confusion

The consensus, at least among us shrimp-sucking keyboard warriors who get paid to review cars, is that the Jeep Wagoneer is a bit of a flop, mostly due to an oddly-proportioned exterior design.

Sure, the overfed journo writes between bites of shellfish, the Wagoneer has a nice interior, an excellent stereo, and an unobjectionable, if unremarkable powertrain. But its looks frighten small dogs.

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2022 Honda Civic Si HPT Review – New Duds, Same Spirit

One could be forgiven for worrying that when Honda updated the Civic, it would muck things up. Make a good thing worse. Especially when it comes to the enthusiast-oriented Si trim.

The eleventh-generation car debuted last year as a 2022, and the Si version followed soon after. As most of you no doubt know, the Si is the hopped-up performance version of the Civic, though it’s not the highest-performance trim. That would be the Type R, which is currently on hiatus for the moment – the 2023 Honda Civic Type R will bow soon.

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2022 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X Review – Back in the Mix

Nissan finally updated the Frontier mid-size pickup for 2022, thus finally bringing an aging truck current.

But staying up to date isn’t always enough. Did the Frontier suddenly become a much stronger competitor?

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2022 Toyota Highlander XSE V6 AWD Review – Not Flashy, Not Fussy

Extremes are easy to write about.

Just as sportswriters would prefer to cover either contending teams or basement dwellers instead of those that win about as much as they lose, most auto writers find it easier to describe sexy sports cars or to lampoon rolling failures.

This is why writers who are itching to show you how well they can use a thesaurus are almost as happy to see a Mitsubishi Mirage arrive at their home as they would be a Ferrari. Almost.

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2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Review - Filling Niches And Climbing Over Them
Jeeps are meant to do Jeep things. Forgetting the unforgivable first-generation Compass - which offered an optional Rallye package with more plastic lower-bo…
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2021 Ford Bronco Black Diamond Review – Cheap(ish) Wheelin’

Those who’ve studied the build and price site for the Ford Bronco will note that the company labels the upper trim Badlands and Wildtrak versions as the ones you should select if you plan to go wheelin’ often. That’s before even thinking about adding the Sasquatch package.

The "Save the Manuals" crew will also note that the Badlands trim is the only way to get a loaded Bronco with a clutch pedal.

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2021 Jeep Wrangler 4XE Unlimited Sahara Review – Save Fuel, Keep the Wrangle Experience

The idea of a plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler intrigues me. Wranglers that run exclusively on dead-dino juice have never been terribly fuel efficient. That’s true of recent efforts, too, despite overall improvements in automotive technology/design/engineering that have helped even the thirstiest of gas guzzlers become, well, less thirsty.

So it makes sense that a Wrangler that can run at least part of the time on electrons would pique my interest. Even if the alternative powertrain underhood changes little else about the Wrangler experience.

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2022 Mazda MX-5 Miata Review - Driving Distilled


They’re coming for our cars. It may not be tomorrow, but indicators point toward a future where personal transportation options may be severely restricted. Gleaming alloy air-cars two lanes wide may be our transportation solution going forward.


From my stringback-gloved hands, I proclaim. While I’ll take the train should my commute dictate, I still find both solace and pleasure in engaging with a genuine driver’s car. A car that doesn’t need a “SPORT MODE” button conspicuously glaring next to the CVT drive selector knob. In the 2022 Mazda MX-5 Miata, the start button IS the sport mode.

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2021 Land Rover Defender 90 First Edition Review – Expensive Capability

The last time I reviewed a Land Rover Defender, I commented on how I enjoyed its driving experience despite some very British electrical failings such as the radio going AWOL for half an hour.

I expected similar from the two-door version, and to my pleasant surprise, I got the good parts without any real gremlins or bugs.

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2022 Chevrolet Silverado LT Review: Finally, They Got It Right

Over my years in the auto industry, one thing has been made abundantly clear: Truck buyers are loyal. Sure, the occasional fluctuation will occur, but for the most part, Ford buyers will buy another Ford when the time comes, and the same with Chevy, GMC, Ram, and Toyota.


Why, then, do the truck makers keep redesigning? Beyond incorporating new technologies for improved performance, safety, and efficiency, there’s always a risk of alienating their base customers when reaching for conquest sales. Chevrolet did that a few years ago with the Silverado, revealing a truck with an interior that was not nearly as nice as the rest of the industry. The good ship Bowtie has been righted with the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado, thankfully, as even on this LT trim the passenger accommodations have been vastly improved.


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2022 Volkswagen Passat Review - An Early Preview of The Heritage Collection


Most automakers have some stuff in their past of which they’re rightfully proud. Certain landmark models are fondly recalled long after they’ve been relegated. Pristine examples of those beauties will often be rolled out and dusted off either during launches of new, tangentially-related models or during serious lulls in the product cycle where everything on lots is dull. Sometimes, these heritage cars will even be loaned to us journalists for a brief time.


Volkswagen has done this in the past - I’ve seen my colleagues joyously cruising in stunning Beetles and Microbuses. What’s remarkable is this 2022 Volkswagen Passat is nominally a new car, but it doesn’t appear on the Build-And-Price tool at vw.com. It seems to be a curious case where a brand new car has been prematurely shuffled off to the heritage fleet.

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2022 Lexus RX450h AWD F Sport Review- How to Review a Good Car That You Kind of Hate

I want to be perfectly honest with you guys — this is The Truth About Cars, after all — I didn’t like driving the 2022 Lexus RX450h AWD F Sport. It’s not that the Lexus is a bad car, it’s that it’s not the right fit for me … and I mean that both figuratively and literally.

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2023 Mazda CX-50 Review – Playing Dress-Up

Americans have got a fever, and the only prescription is more crossovers. Virtually every automaker trying to do business in this country has some sort of lifted wagon – if not a handful. Large ones, small ones, performance ones, economy ones. No convertible crossovers anymore, thank goodness. They’re shoehorning a crossover into nearly every possible market segment.

Here, we have the 2023 Mazda CX-50, with a name very much like their popular CX-5. And it’s very close in size to said CX-5. Of the six distinct non-electric vehicles offered by Mazda, four are crossovers – but why did they bring us something so very clearly similar to something they’ve been selling well for many years without replacing it?

Oh, and don’t give Mazda any ideas about a Miata crossover, please.

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2022 Lexus NX 350 AWD Review - Getting with the Times

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Lexus’ NX compact crossover. I’ve found it to be fairly sporty – in general, and not just by staid Lexus standards – and overall more engaging to drive than the larger (and highly popular) RX, but also a bit cramped inside. Not to mention that the NX, like most Toyota and Lexus products, just seemed a step behind when it came to infotainment.

Lexus addressed two of those criticisms with the current model and did so quite nicely.

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2021 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Premium Convertible Reader Rental Review – California, Not Quite Dreamin'

John Muir once wrote, “The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark,” and when you’re pushing 60, as I am, “the dark” isn’t just an abstract concept anymore – it’s quite real.

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2021 BMW M4 Competition Review - Heart Trumps Looks

Almost every automotive journalist and enthusiast I know hates the new BMW grille – the one that took the twin-kidney look and made it as bucktooth as a beaver.

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2022 Kia Forte GT Review – Words Matter

I’ll grant that I’m not a university-trained linguist, but I will forever cringe when I encounter egregious misapplications of the English language. Examples include the otherwise-excellent Alanis Morissette applying the term “ironic” to simple coincidence, and the ever-present misuse of “literally” by my kids when describing a figurative.

In the realm with which I’m more familiar, we can consider the heinous mislabeling of sundry sedans and crossovers as “coupes” due to their sloping rooflines. Another is the haphazard use of the “GT” badge, a violation that most automakers have made over the decades. GT, of course, originally implied Grand Touring – and has been since claimed by various racing series to denote race cars that have been based upon street cars.

I’m not certain which definition was in mind when the 2022 Kia Forte GT was in development.

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2021 Honda Ridgeline AWD Sport HPD Review - Slightly More "Truck" Than Before

One of the things this author has always appreciated about the Honda Ridgeline is its car-like qualities. More than once, the phrase “Accord on stilts” has escaped my lips when talking about the Ridgeline with fellow auto scribes, and I meant it as a compliment.

Imagine my dismay to find that the refreshed 2021 Honda Ridgeline felt jussssst a bit more “trucky” than before.

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Quick Spin: 2022 Ford Lightning

Over the past two months, I’ve had two chances to take a Ford Lightning for a quick spin — once around the scenic village of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (which you probably know as the home of the famed Road America racetrack) — and once around the block in a part of Chicago dotted with strip malls.

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2022 BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe Review – The Ultimate Something Machine

Is it possible to be both overwhelmed and underwhelmed? Does the whelming up and down cancel itself out, leaving one with just the right amount of whelm? Or is there some sort of exponential curve, resulting in either a surplus or deficit of whelmification?

The red squiggly lines provided by the good people behind Microsoft Word tell me that I’m stretching the bounds of both language and reason here – but reason may not have been in the room when the folks in Munich plotted this 2022 BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe. Heck, we can quibble on the language there, too, when considering the traditional definition of a coupe. But looking at the specs and the window sticker can lead one to conclusions that are occasionally not delivered upon slipping behind the wheel, thus leading to my conundrum.

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Rental Review: The 2020 Audi A5 Sportback, a Bit Damp

It’s a new week, and I’m back with another German car Rental Review for your enjoyment! Today’s rental is one of two American market entrants into the premium compact five-door liftback segment, and not a car one expects to find in an Enterprise lot. Presenting a 2020 Audi A5 Sportback, two years and 50,000 rental miles later.

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2021 Ford Bronco Sport Outer Banks Review - One for the City

A big part of the marketing push behind the Ford Bronco Sport since its launch has been centered around the vehicle’s outdoors/off-road capabilities.

What’s not being said is how one needs to buy the top-dog Badlands trim to really unlock those capabilities.

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Rental Review: The 2021 BMW 530i XDrive, Interference at No Cost to You

As a fan of the midsize luxury sedan class, it’s sad to see how many manufacturers have given up on the segment. The German trio still has their stalwarts, but Japan gave up in 2020 (RIP Lexus GS), the only American still in the ring is the Cadillac CT5, and its outlier status is accompanied by newcomer Genesis with the G80.

It’s a dying class, which is why your author was especially pleased to spend the Memorial Day weekend with a longstanding headliner of the German luxury sedan genre: A 2021 BMW 5-Series.

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2022 Nissan LEAF Review – Horse Firmly In Front Of Cart, But Path Not Yet Determined

While I’m nobody’s idea of an environmentalist, I do my best to make an effort here and there to reduce my impact on the world at large. I recycle what I can. I try to choose products that are reusable where possible. I try to leave my thermostat reasonably cool during the winter and encourage my kids to follow President Carter’s advice to put on a damned sweater.

I live, however, almost exactly two hundred miles from Detroit – the font from which all of my media loan vehicles spew forth. Until quite recently, I was thus unable to sample electric cars such as this 2022 Nissan Leaf, since the advertised range wasn’t quite enough to get such a car to me. As such, the following shall be both an assessment of Nissan’s EV and of the state of charging infrastructure in non-coastal areas.

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2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Review - Style Over Utility

Those of us with memories longer than a goldfish can think back all the way back to last year and remember the hype surrounding the Hyundai Santa Cruz. A hype train that quickly derailed when Ford’s Maverick launched just a few months later and proved itself better at doing “truck things” than the Santa Cruz.

Thing is, as great as the Maverick is, the Santa Cruz is still a pretty cool little trucklet – if you understand its limits.

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2022 Nissan Kicks Review – Stays In Its Lane

Lawyers are the fun police, aren’t they? Always getting in the way of you doing something interesting and/or stupid, right? Every week when I get a new vehicle to test, it’s prefaced by a few pages of legalese to be electronically signed, with a number of restrictions and prohibitions on what you can and cannot do with the vehicle.

Upon scheduling the delivery of this 2022 Nissan Kicks, I spoke with a Nissan representative, thinking I might be able to weasel my way past one of those lawyerly lines keeping my teenage daughter, turning 16 the day the Kicks arrived, from driving the smallest Nissan. No dice, I’m afraid, so I had to put myself (figuratively, of course) into her shoes, imagining what the Kicks might be like for a new driver.

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2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392 Review - Jeep In Excess

No one needs a V8 in a Jeep Wrangler. But sometimes brands do things just because they can. Which is the case with this particular Jeep – there’s a freakin’ Hemi underhood, for no other reason than Jeep can do it.

Well – there’s one other reason. The company can rake in some serious cash.

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2023 Nissan Z First Drive - Old Dog, New Tricks

Meet the new Nissan Z. Same as the old Z.

Well, sort of.

Nissan has worked hard to hype the new Z – yet it’s an open secret that the new car shares some of its bones with the previous-generation car.

Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

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2022 Ford F-150 Lightning First Drive - Ready for Duty

The words ‘all-new’ and ‘seismic shift’ are too frequently hurled around by those who peck their way around a keyboard between visits to shrimp-laden buffet tables. Still, when the country’s best-selling vehicle – the image of which is so closely tied to America that it might as well have a baseball hat and an apple pie in its glovebox – is fitted with an entirely new method of powering its way down the freeway and around job sites, even the j-j-jaded TTAC team will sit up and take interest.

Compared to other efforts in the electric pickup truck space, such as ridiculously angular examples loudly and annoyingly defended by fanbois jihads groups of rabid admirers, the Ford F-150 Lightning actually exists in vast numbers and is actively being cranked out of a factory near Detroit. There’s no shortage of vaporware in the EV truck segment, with numerous Barnum-like companies making grandiose promises amounting to naught, taking the hopes and cash of others down along with them.

With the F-150 Lightning, Ford is definitely *not* peddling vaporware. It’s here, it’s real, and we drove several examples last week in – where else? – Texas.

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2023 Kia Sportage First Drive - Looking for Attention

I’ll admit it – I sometimes forget Kia’s Sportage exists.

That’s not because the current-generation Sportage is a bad vehicle. No, it’s because it competes in a crowded class and certain stalwarts and newcomers have commanded the market’s attention in recent years.

Enter the 2023 Kia Sportage. Thanks to a major redesign, this five-seat crossover is ready to ram its way back into the spotlight, for better or for worse.

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  • Joe This is called a man in the middle attack and has been around for years. You can fall for this in a Starbucks as easily as when you’re charging your car. Nothing new here…
  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)