2022 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.5 First Drive Review: Any Good for Under $35,000?

Chevrolet wants you to have your cake and eat it too. The tasty treat is the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, an electric SUV that keeps the edgy look of the Blazer but gives it greater performance, the first electric SS, more interior room, and lets the customer choose the configuration of the powertrain, a unique proposition in an industry where every nameplate is fighting to stand out.By powertrain configuration, we mean the buyer can not only choose trim, color and features—but also whether their Blazer is front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive. That is highly unusual in the retail world. Closest example we can think of is commercial customers in Europe who can choose a front-, rear-, or all-wheel drive Ford Transit commercial van.We'll get back to the surprising powertrain flexibility. But first let's get an overview of the electric SUV that Chevy felt deserved to be equipped to appeal to a wide consumer base globally, including those yearning for the first electric SS.Blazer EV is Whole Different Animal from Current BlazerFor starters, the Blazer EV sprang from a clean sheet. It may share the Blazer name and spirit, but does not share architecture, panels or components with the conventional Blazer with an internal combustion engine, says vice president of Chevy Marketing Steve Majoros. The wheelbase was extended by 231 mm (9.1 inches) to fit the largest battery size in, making it the longest entry in the midsize-SUV segment.The Blazer will be the second Chevy on GM's Ultium electric vehicle architecture which underpins the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV, and the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq midsize crossover. The first electric Chevy from Ultium is the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV full-size pickup due in spring 2023, followed by the Blazer next summer, and the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV compact crossover in the fall of next year. We will get our first full look at the Equinox EV in September.When the current Blazer hit streets in 2018, it ushered in a new design ethos, complete with Camaro and Corvette touches, that carries over to the EV. In this age of dynamic lighting, the Blazer EV is no exception with LED lights that travel to and from the illuminated bowtie in the middle of the light bar for a bit of theater when you approach or walk away from the vehicle. It is most dramatic on the SS with its two-tone color scheme with black fascia and top. The lighting also conveys the vehicle's state of charge: lights dance faster and shine more intensely as the battery's charge increases.Interior Roomier Than the Current BlazerThe architecture and battery pack give the Blazer EV a lower center of gravity and floor which yields more interior space and options for storage areas and clever packaging.Inside the cabin feels airy, with lots of headroom even with the optional sunroof. The low floor and extended wheelbase mean more cargo room, we await specs for the exact amount. Screens in the cockpit are angled and oriented to the driver. There is a 17.7-inch OLED free-form center touchscreen with dimming back light for crisp graphics that fill the screen to the edges—no large areas of dark screen. The driver display adds another 11.0 inches and there is a 3x7-inch head-up display that is standard on the SS, optional on the high-volume 2LT and RS trims. A video display enhances the rearview mirror.The Blazer EV SS we saw was telltale red and black, both inside and out. The red leather seats in both rows are heated and cooled and the cabin benefits from contrast stitching and higher-end materials. Rear seat passengers get vents which are controlled from up front, and two USB outlets. Not surprisingly, the Blazer EV has Camaro-style round air vents. The SUV also has an ionizer to purify the air. You can look up the air quality and some models will have a sensor to automatically turn on the filter to scrub when poor air quality requires it, especially useful for markets such as China.Back to That PowertrainThe Blazer will be offered with a front-wheel-drive unit, a choice of two rear-wheel-drive units, standard and performance all-wheel drive, and three battery sizes. Standard AWD has front drive unit and smaller rear unit. RWD offers more power than FWD and a more dynamic drive. FWD has smaller motor and choice of small or medium battery packs.Here is how the trims play out:1LT: This monochromatic base trim with cloth seats has standard FWD with a small motor in front, standard 19-inch wheels and a range of 247 miles from a single charge. Horsepower and torque figures have not been released, nor have details of the motor and the small and medium batteries expected to be on the base model.2LT: Standard FWD, optional AWD using the smaller of the two rear motors. It will have a range of up to 293 miles. No performance specs yet.RS: Choice of standard FWD with a midsize battery pack or RWD with the larger motor and medium battery pack—you choose where you want the motor—with optional dual motors for AWD. This is the trim with the longest range, up to 320 miles per charge. The RS rides on standard 21-inch wheels and has a heated flat-bottom steering wheel.SS: Standard higher-performance AWD with the larger motor on the rear axle and largest battery. This electric beast will have 557 hp, 648 lb-ft of torque which should propel it from 0-60 mph in less than 4.0 seconds, GM says. It has 290 miles of range, a sport tuned chassis, Brembo brakes, standard 22-inch wheels and the performance required to warrant the SS badging. We are assured it is a true SS. It easily becomes the quickest Blazer.Charging the 2024 Chevy Blazer EVDepending on the trim, the Blazer EV has DC public fast-charging capability of up to 190 kW which Chevy execs say will add 78 miles of range in 10 minutes. The EV has hands-free start, which means no button to push. Close the door, tap the brake, and the key fob authorizes the SUV to go. The fob also talks to the sensors at the rear of the vehicle to open the tailgate hands-free.The vehicles offer one-pedal driving, activated via a button on the touchscreen. The driver can choose how aggressive the regenerative braking is and can pull on a shift paddle on the steering wheel to make small adjustments to braking strength. Wide Open Watts or WOW is the Chevy family friendly version of the Watts to Freedom or WTF launch mode on the GMC Hummer, a maximum power model to get more current to the inverter for more power to the wheels for takeoff.Super Cruise is standard on the SS; optional on lower trims. Advanced Park Assist does the work for you, and other advanced driver assist systems include reverse automatic braking, forward collision alert, automaker emergency braking, and lane-keep assist with lane departure warning. Ultify allows over-the-air software updates to improve and personalize the vehicle over its lifetime. The Blazer comes with standard and all-season tires, with optional summer tires for performance.2024 Chevrolet Blazer Pricing and On-Sale DateThe Blazer EV will hit the market in summer 2023, launching initially with the most popular trims: the 2LT that starts at $47,595 and introduces leather seats, and the sportier RS with a $51,995 starting price. They will be followed by the high-performance SS with standard AWD ($65,995), and before year's end Chevrolet will add the base 1LT that starts at $44,995. Don't count on federal tax credits to reduce the cost; GM has used up its allotment. But Chevy does throw in free installation of a home charging unit.The Blazer EV will be built in the same Ramos Arizpe plant as the current Blazer, even though they are completely different vehicles and EVs undergo a different build process. GM is spending $1 billion to prepare the Mexican plant. Majoros said it is hard to gauge what the take rate will be of the EV; he just knows Chevy has to be ready when the market moves. "We see this initially as additive volume, so Chevy share should grow."And criminals beware, Chevy will do a Police Pursuit Vehicle model of the Blazer EV that will essentially be a modified SS with the largest battery and a choice of rear-drive or performance AWD, and Brembo brakes.2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Specifications BASE PRICE $44,995-65,995  LAYOUT Front engine, FWD/RWD/AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV MOTOR  557-hp/648-lb-ft AC DC] permanent-magnet electric TRANSMISSION  1-speed auto,  CURB WEIGHT WHEELBASE 121.8 in L x W x H 0-60 MPH 3.9-8.5 sec (mfr est)  EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON EPA RANGE, COMB ON SALE Summer 2023 Show All

bugatti chiron Full OverviewYou need not watch a single Western film to understand the visual metaphor of the hero riding off into the sunset. Once their work is done, the story concludes and they leave the audience behind as the sun sets and the screen fades to black. Sometimes, they ride off slowly, other times they charge off into the unknown. When your story's hero is the 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, the last of its kind, racing into the sunset at 273 mph is the only way to go.After all, this is as much a goodbye as it is a hello. The Super Sport is a new twist on the Chiron formula that'll keep Bugatti craftspeople busy for years to come, but it's also the end of the line. With the company's controlling stake sold to electric supercar startup Rimac, the Super Sport is not only the last Chiron, but in all likelihood the last purely combustion-powered Bugatti road car (the Chiron-based Bolide coming in 2024 will be a track car only).Following on the heels of the record-breaking Super Sport 300+ and the brand-redefining Pur Sport, you may be tempted to think of the Super Sport as a bit of a letdown, but you'd be wrong. Limited to only 273.4 mph, it's nowhere near as fast as the 304-mph Super Sport 300+; and absent the fixed wing, weight savings, and high-grip tires of the Pur Sport, it's not as corner-focused. What it is, however, is a delicious blending of those two cars.The Most Complete ChironDeveloped with learnings from both the 300+ and the Pur Sport, the Super Sport is the Chiron lineup's tour de force. Where either prior model falls short, be it in top speed or handling, the Super Sport steps in. It may be second best at both in absolute terms, but it's the clear leader as a complete car.You can see the melding of purposes when you look at it. Like the 300+, the Super Sport gets a new rear bumper that extends the bodywork nearly 10 extra inches to allow for both a larger rear diffuser and greater taper in the roofline. The longtail treatment, combined with revisions up front, like a similarly enlarged splitter and EB110 SS-inspired fender vents, gives the Super Sport the aerodynamics it needs for top speed runs.Look closer, or start driving, and you'll find it retains a movable rear wing that doubles as an air brake, because this car isn't just about terminal velocity. Likewise, it wears tires fortified to withstand the extreme forces applied at 273 mph but also made of a stickier compound so they can still handle turns at lower speeds. Behind the Super Sport-exclusive wheels are stiffer rear springs, steering calibrated for extreme speeds, and adjustable dampers controlled by programs lifted from both the 300+ and the Pur Sport and applied as needed.Select Your Mode WiselyThe need is, of course, dictated by the driver. Slip inside and adjust the delightfully weighted and self-righting knob on the steering wheel for the day's work: EB for milling about, Handling for back roads and racetracks (primarily the latter), Autobahn for extended high-speed cruising, and Top Speed, which as always must be double-confirmed by inserting a key into a special switch below the driver's left thigh.Truth be told, the selector knob will get its biggest workout performing its most important function: activating the nose lift system before traversing speed bumps and steep driveways. If the presence of such a device weren't enough to make you nervous about damaging the carbon-fiber nose, bear in mind the car lowers itself even further in Handling mode.Handling mode you can quite honestly save for the track. EB mode (for founder Ettore Bugatti), is exceedingly capable, especially once you slot the shifter over into its Sport mode. So adjusted, the Chiron Super Sport's nature changes. Gone is the shockingly demure boulevard cruiser, replaced with an assertive corner specialist. Higher gears are forsaken, engine revs are forbidden from dropping below 2,500 or so, and the car waits with bated breath for your input—ready to leap in any direction at the slightest indication of your desire.Drive Fast, Drive DelicatelyThat's what's truly marvelous and unexpected about this car: It drives delicately. That's not a phrase you'd ever think to use around a car that carries such intimidating numbers, unless you're talking about the $222,500 paint or the even more expensive bodywork. But no, somehow this 1,578-hp, quad-turbocharged, 16-cylinder, 273-mph car that hits 60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds is putty in your hands.There's absolutely no need to wrestle with this car, no matter how fast you're going. It doesn't need to be forced, it needs to be caressed. Brush the throttle and brake pedals with the toe of your shoe. Hold the wheel by your fingertips and gently guide it through its arc. Flick the paddle shifters as you'd whisk a crumb from your table. Angry, ham-fisted inputs will only make you look like a fool.Counterintuitive as it sounds, the Chiron's massive powerplant—wrapped in an even more massive car—shrinks around you as the road bends. As hard as it is to park, it's inversely easy to drive up a narrow canyon road. The steering is light and incredibly precise, completely unfazed by the absurd amount of engine power sent to the front wheels. The body remains flat through corners like a lighter, smaller supercar, but without the usual flinty ride. The precision of movement in every axis just isn't what you expect from something this large, this heavy, this powerful.If you want giggle-inducing power, it isn't hard to get. Anything more than a kiss of the throttle pedal will get you enormous forward thrust if you have the revs up. Stay in it, and the latest, greatest, and probably last electrically unassisted iteration of Bugatti's fearsome W-16 engine makes peak torque from 2,000 rpm all the way to 7,000 rpm and peak horsepower just 50 rpm shy of its 7,100-rpm redline.What's surprising is that in 2022 this car has the turbo lag of a 40-year-old Porsche 911 Turbo at low rpm. Despite the redesigned impeller wheels in the enlarged turbos and their staggered two-stage engagement, dropping the hammer while trundling around does not result in acceleration to hyperspace. It's several confusing beats until anything special happens, but when the bass drops, it'll chirp all four tires. Commit to it, and the otherworldly surge of acceleration will make even the most jaded Tesla owner giggle. Then, it grabs the next gear, and the 0.3-second dip in boost (yes, Bugatti measured it) is just long enough to make the return to full power feel even more apocryphal.Insanely Dignified PerformanceStay committed for more than a literal few seconds, and you'll be traveling over 100 mph. In less than 10 seconds, the time it takes some brand-new cars to reach freeway speeds, you'll be doing 150 mph. Such a tiny window of time in which to experience this car's potential—and the equally scant windows in traffic and weather that would allow for it—will keep you chasing the dragon the length of your drive and the length of your possession of the car.And while it will chirp all four massive tires simultaneously, that's as out of control as it gets. How street tires can control power like this while simultaneously keeping a coupe that weighs as much as a luxury sedan neutral through corners and stopping all that mass like a track day special is a secret only Michelin knows. The grip, in any direction you ask of it, is simply phenomenal and begs you to test it. The more you do, the more you realize just how massively you've underestimated it.In a world in which incalculably less expensive cars can also accelerate this quickly and in which there are approximately three places on Earth where you could ever hope to visit the far end of the Chiron Super Sport's analog speedometer, the fact this car handles as well as does is what sets it apart. People who only care about being the fastest have already bought up all 30 Super Sport 300+ copies, and those who want their Bugatti to drive like a McLaren with twice the power have bought up all 60 Pur Sports. Those who don't want to have to choose have the Super Sport, which will no doubt be sold out between the time we finish typing this sentence and the time you read it. (Update: It did.)This is not, then, Bugatti going gently into that good night. It is not a whimper, nor is it a disappointment. This is Bugatti raging against the dying of the light in the only way it knows how: with the most dignified 1,578 horsepower the world has ever known.Looks good! More details?2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport Specifications BASE PRICE $3,825,000 LAYOUT Mid-engine, AWD, 2-pass, 2-door coupe ENGINE 8.0L/1,578-hp/1,180-lb-ft quad-turbo direct-injected DOHC 64-valve W-16 TRANSMISSION 7-speed twin-clutch auto CURB WEIGHT 4,400 lb (MT est) WHEELBASE 106.7 in L x W x H 188.7 x 80.2 x 47.7 in 0-60 MPH 2.4 sec (mfr est) EPA FUEL ECON 8/11/9 mpg ON SALE Now Show All

Tokyo Auto Salon returned after a one-year, Covid-induced hiatus that saw the cancellation of 2021's expected event. And along with the various tuning firms, parts distributors, and always interesting mom and pop shop-created display vehicles, some of the OEMs take part and show off some of their more enthusiast-focused projects.One of those automakers is Toyota, which regularly attends TAS and always brings something worth a closer look. For 2022, the Toyota Gazoo Racing group went all-in for the annual auto salon with a line of can't miss display cars, throwback parts, and some high-level motorsport competitors.Toyota GR GT3 ConceptThe world premiere of the group's GR GT3 Concept is much more than an exercise in design language and a pop of performance. The idea was to take all the technology, knowledge, and experience that Toyota Gazoo Racing has earned in various forms of motorsport and put them into a single race car. Most expected a modified MkV Supra, but what they got was something entirely different.With Batmobile like proportions, the front fascia isn't like any other Toyota product, using slender lighting that sits within a small gap along the upper portion of the front bumper. The pronounced splitter, accompanied by dual canards on each end, stretches the car out a little further. Out back, a massive carbon fiber wing sits over the rear with a sculpted vents under each side of the full-width taillight. Further down you'll spot diffuser with sharp blades and, in between, the GT3 Concept badging and GR logo.The slippery coupe sports vented front fenders that add considerable width, the rear portions connected to bulky side skirts that carry into the rear quarters. Exhaust exits are integrated into the front portions of the side skirts and the sharp cuts of the aerodynamic side mirrors are an elegant touch. Rolling stock is based on center-lock wheels wrapped in Bridgestone race meats and the suspension places the car's aero just a few inches off the ground. TGR states that they'll be implementing feedback and technologies refined in motorsports competition to develop their GT3 program as well as mass-produced vehicles.GR Yaris: Bite-Sized DynamoThe fan favorite GR Yaris is on display but it's the GRMN model that everyone is talking about. Limited to just 500 units, the three-door hatchback goes on a diet, including ditching its rear seats, and the body gets increased rigidity with additional spot welds and longer structural adhesive. The car's width is increased, and its ride height reduced, both by 10mm. Upon the rear hatch is a unique carbon fiber wing that sits well above the roofline with pedestals that mount to a carbon fiber base. Oh, did we mention the entire roof is also carbon fiber to drop some weight? It is.The transmission gets closer gearing with a low final drive and a mechanical LSD will be added to the mix, while grip and cornering were also improved upon based on feedback from professional drivers who helped TGR further refine the already potent GR Yaris. Toyota says they'll be offering an Update and Personalization Program to help end-users make changes to their cars as they increase their seat time. The Update Program promises additional parts and software updates will be offered along with engine upgrades, while the Personalization Program is based on the owner's driving habits, offering steering control and shock updates, additional aero, and more.Within that group of limited-edition Yaris, 50 models will include the Circuit Package which TGR says will focus on road performance based on feedback from Super Taikyu - Asia's top endurance race series. Available only in a Matte Steel color, the package includes that interesting rear spoiler, specific side skirts and front lip, Bilstein shocks, huge 18-inch brakes under BBS GRMN wheels. An airbag-equipped, fixed-back Recaro bucket seat with motorsport-grade side mounts is available as well. The Circuit Package, along with the standard GRMN Yaris Package will be made available through GR Garages in Japan this summer using TGR's lottery system.Old Is GoldFor those that are enamored with iconic Toyota models of yesteryear, the announcement of remanufacturing OEM-spec Toyota parts for fan favorites like the MkIII and IV Supra, 2000GT, and Corolla AE86 have been celebrated by enthusiasts attempting to restore or give these older vehicles a second life. TGR announced 56 items for the group's six chosen vehicles will be added to the already 33-piece line up as production begin to ramp up. The vehicle list includes those mentioned above, along with the Land Cruiser 40 and 2000GT.