2022 Volvo C40 Recharge First Test: So Much Cooler Than a Tesla Model Y

Wow, the claims Nanotech Energy makes for its new graphene battery, just presented at CES Unveiled, are impressive: It retains more than 80 percent of its rated capacity through 1,400 cycles, can charge "18 times faster than anything that is currently available on the market," maintains performance at extreme temperatures (-40 to 140 degrees F), holds charge at temperatures as high as 350 degrees and won't catch fire when penetrated with a nail or heated to more than 1,300 degrees, don't require exotic materials, can be manufactured on existing equipment in various form factors (cylindrical, pouch, etc. ), and is going to be produced in a new plant in Nevada slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2022.Given all that, we wouldn't be surprised to learn that driving an EV powered by such batteries also promoted weight loss and prevented tax audits. Here's what we know about the Nanotech Energy graphene battery.Graphene Battery ElectrodesGraphene has been making a lot of news lately, and we explained what it is here, but here's a quickie recap: the graphene in use here is a sheet of one-atom-thick carbon. Nanotech Energy is using graphene sheets to transfer energy to and from its new batteries. Graphene is extremely strong yet pliable, which makes it capable of stretching as the lithium ions come and go from the electrodes, causing volume changes. Graphene's strong electrical conductivity lowers the battery's internal resistance, which lowers internal heat generation, enabling faster charging.OrganoLyte ElectrolyteNanotech Energy has yet to release exact chemical specifications of its proprietary liquid electrolyte, but it has provided MotorTrend with some general information. Most electrolytes in use today involve dissolving a lithium salt in a liquid material composed primarily of linear and cyclic chain carbonates (molecules that involve a carbon atom attached to three oxygen atoms). These liquids are typically flammable (see the photo below). OrganoLyte reportedly is not, if photos (at top) of a propane torch applied to the material are to be believed.While no specifics have been confirmed, the name suggests the material still centers around organic chemistry (meaning its molecules involve carbon atoms and covalent bonding, not ecological farming), and we're assured they're not exotic or expensive.New Proprietary SeparatorThe graphene battery electrodes must be separated by a material through which the ions transfer, and here again Nanotech Energy has replaced the typical polyolefin separator with a new material that improves on polyolefin's thermal stability. This also helps to make the batteries safer.Easy to ManufactureCurrent manufacturing equipment and processes currently in use to make lithium-ion pouch and cylinder batteries can produce Nanotech Energy's graphene battery, and a factory designed to build them is currently slated to open in late 2022.When Can I Buy a Graphene Battery?Perhaps as early as next year, but we expect initial production to concentrate on the consumer electronics market. That's because it's extremely unlikely that sufficient durability, reliability and safety testing on all these new materials when applied toward an automotive use case can be completed in less than a few years.

kia ev6 Full OverviewHey," we said to the MotorTrend test team as it pulled its instruments off the 2022 Kia EV6. "You guys all have something on your face. Something really odd-looking. Goodness gracious, are those … smiles?"Sure enough, the EV6 had elicited that rare sign of positive emotion among our jaded testers, and for much the same reason its platform mate, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, earned that same infrequent accolade. Given free rein from its electronic nannies, it turns out the Kia EV6 likes to go sideways—earlier and even more so than the Hyundai does.Unexpected Results at the Test Track"Wow, I was not expecting this," road test editor Chris Walton said. "Well, I was halfway expecting it because we noticed the rear weight bias [49/51 front/rear]. But I wasn't expecting entry and midcorner oversteer." While the Ioniq 5 showed signs of a willingness to rotate as it careened around the skidpad, the EV6, with its 4-inch-shorter wheelbase, proved to be even friskier than the Hyundai. Walton was so intrigued that he attempted to drift the all-wheel-drive EV6 all the way around the circle, but its front motor kept straightening the car out. "I tried to do the entire skidpad sideways, but I only got about a third of the way around." (The Hyundai, which began to straighten later, drifted through two-thirds.)We noticed the same tail-happy behavior = on our public-road test loop: Push the EV6 hard into a corner, and it leads from the back. Which is not to imply you should avoid following Kia EV6s for fear that one will suddenly spin out in front of you—the EV6 has decent grip, generating 0.89 g on the skidpad before Walton decided to do his pro drifter impersonation. Its stability control system will prevent tail-wagging when fully on and curtail it before it gets out of hand in partial-off mode. Nothing dangerous here—just good old-fashioned unleash-the-teenager-within fun."It's a back-to-basics car, surprisingly," Walton said. "You have to get all the braking done before starting the turn-in. It hates trail-braking. The steering is a little lifeless, but it's very precise and intuitive. It doesn't feel like the heavy car [4,693 pounds on our scales] that it is." The EV6's figure-eight time of 25.9 seconds at 0.71 g further highlighted its dynamic bona fides, a number just 0.2 second behind that of the Hyundai.How Quick Is the 2022 Kia EV6?For our acceleration test, we were curious to see how the EV6 stacks up against both the Ioniq 5 and the Tesla Model Y, the current benchmark by which dual-motor E-crossovers are measured. With 320 hp and 446 lb-ft of torque to motivate itself, the EV6 sprinted to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, a tenth slower than the slightly lighter Hyundai but with similar acceleration characteristics. Even with traction control off, the test team reported that the EV6's launch was drama-free with no wheelspin. While its acceleration didn't feel quite as dramatic as the 2020 Model Y Dual Motor Long Range we tested at 4.1 seconds to 60, unlike many other EVs, the EV6's power doesn't feel as though it trails off at higher speeds. That said, the quarter-mile came up in 13.3 seconds at 101.2 mph, again a tenth of a second (and 1.5 mph) slower than the Ioniq 5 and almost a second behind the Model Y.Braking performance was a mixed bag. The EV6's best 60-0-mph stop of 117 feet was fine—better than the Hyundai and the Model Y. But our first hard stop elicited a worrying bang accompanied by a very long stopping distance. The second run gave us the 117-foot figure, but on subsequent stops the performance notably deteriorated. Although the Kia felt more stable under panic braking overall than the Hyundai, we felt the pedal should offer more feedback, and we wish the brakes were more robust in general."The brakes definitely won't last long when driving it like a hot hatch," road test analyst Alan Lau said. "Powerful powertrain but not enough stopping power."A Sporty SUV in a Strangely Shaped PackageWhile the EV6's driving characteristics elicited grins, other aspects of this vehicle seemed to elicit an itching in our scalps—yes, this Kia had us scratching our heads. For starters, there's the price. The as-tested MSRP for our top-of-the-range AWD GT-Line model just crested $58K, a long way from the base model's $42,115 starting price. Even after incentives, that seems like a lot of money given the EV6's price and packaging.The packaging itself was another puzzler. Kia advertises the EV6 as an all-electric SUV, yet its limited headroom—thanks to a rakishly low roof combined with a high floor under which the battery pack resides—make it feel like more of a hot station wagon. Even our shorter staffers noted with some alarm how close their noggins were to the EV6's headliner. That, and the EV6's half-pane sunroof effectively turns the back seat into a cave.Some of the ergonomic choices are really baffling, as well, such as the combination stereo and climate controls. We don't mean that they're combined on one panel; rather, a capacitive-touch LCD screen and a pair of dials switch between these two functions—the left-hand dial, for example, serves as either power/volume or driver-side temperature control, depending on which mode the panel is in. Therein lies the trouble: If, when reaching for said dial with the intention of changing the volume, your finger happens to come close to the auto climate touch-pane next to it, the volume stays the same but the temperature changes. Hopefully you weren't planning to turn the volume down in a hurry, because you're now unable to change it (or press it to turn the stereo off) until you press another section of the screen to change the panel back to the stereo controls. This didn't happen to us just once or twice—it happened repeatedly, even after we knew to look out for it. It's hard to imagine Kia coming up with a worse idea short of mounting the horn inside the cabin.Speaking of inappropriate noises, while all EVs are required to have an external noisemaker at low speeds (to warn the sight-impaired of their otherwise-silent approach), the Kia pipes in a droning faux engine note at all speeds, not unlike what Audi does in the E-Tron GT. Except in the E-Tron GT it sounds cool. In the EV6, it just grated on our nerves.Kia EV6 May Not Be a Great SUV, but It's Pretty GreatSo yes, the EV6 has some challenges. Perhaps if Kia marketed the EV6 as a hot hatchback rather than an SUV, we might be a little less baffled. As a sporty electric car, though, we're as pleased as can be with the Kia EV6's test-track results and their real-world implications. We've known for a while now that the speed and smooth power of electric cars can make them a lot of fun to drive, but the Kia's tail-first antics were not the sort of fun we were expecting from an EV—and we call that a very pleasant surprise, indeed. Hey, Kia, how long before we can get a rear-drive version of the EV6 in for testing? Walton's eager to drift it all the way around the skidpad.Looks good! More details?2022 Kia EV6 AWD GT-Line Specifications BASE PRICE $57,115 PRICE AS TESTED $58,105 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front- and rear-motor, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV MOTOR TYPE Permanent-magnet electric POWER (SAE NET) 320 hp TORQUE (SAE NET) 446 lb-ft TRANSMISSION 1-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 4,693 lb (49/51%) WHEELBASE 114.2 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 184.8 x 74.4 x 60.8 in 0-60 MPH 4.5 sec QUARTER MILE 13.3 sec @ 101.2 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 117 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.89 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 25.9 sec @ 0.71 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 116/94/105 mpg-e EPA RANGE, COMB 274 mi ON SALE Now Show All

mercedes-benz g-class Full OverviewMastery. It's exceedingly rare, though I've seen it with my own eyes a few times. Caught an Alfred Ladzekpo drum solo once. Front-row seats at a Johnny Cash concert a quarter of a century ago. Performances that transcended what feels possible and ascended to the realm of the magical. But what does any of this have to do with a China Blue 2021 Mercedes-AMG G63?I've driven more cars than I can count all over Los Angeles. None has received a more positive reaction. Human beings seemed to be universally smitten with this China Blue G. Some degree of mastery is needed to achieve so much positive feedback. But can this softly leathered, pastel blue G-wagen be a masterpiece when it's a universe away from its not-so-humble origins? Initially conceived by the Shah of Iran as a military vehicle, the G has transcended every definition and categorization car marketers can think of. Remember, Mercedes was done with the G-Class back around 2007, and the GL (now the GLS) was supposed to replace the icon. Didn't quite work out that way. A quickie Google just showed me a 2021 G63 with an MSRP of $190K and 1,100 miles on the clock on sale for $340,000. What other vehicle on earth does that?After spending 72 hours with this particular G and contemplating how the concept of mastery applies to it, what can I say? What can I add to the conversation about an SUV that's literally selling for $150K over sticker, used? A little bit, I hope.The G63 would be better as an EV. Here come the slings and the arrows, I know, but hear me out. Yes, the twin side pipes make an awesome noise. Only AMG could have figured out a way to make twin-turbocharged V-8s sound this deeply angry, and the short-piped G might be the loudest and most brutal of them all. However, the EPA estimations for this 5,784-pound solid steel wildebeest are 12/16/14 mpg—terrible, and that I barely cracked 10 mpg was even worse. I'd like to leave my son a world worth inheriting, and if this G were an EV, it would ever so slightly help move us toward that goal.Nearly three tons of China Blue fun is already heavy, and going electric would obviously make the thing even heavier. How heavy are we talking? The downright amazing Rivian R1T weighs about 7,150 pounds, and that's a bit more than the 6,750 pounds I bet an EV G would clock in at. The Rivian has four motors, while the the Mercedes-EQ EQS580 has but two. But even if the upcoming EQG580 (Mercedes' lousy nomenclature, not mine) weighs more than the Rivian, its efficiency will likely more than quadruple, as the R1T is EPA-rated at 74/66/70 mpg-e. That's, frankly, huge.An electric G would probably be quicker, too. Not that the current car is a slouch. Our test SUV hit 60 mph in a quick but not otherworldly 3.9 seconds. Does the 577-hp G63 have any real competition? Not really, and that's part of what makes it such an icon. The 5,122-pound Jeep Wrangler 392 with a 470-hp V-8 hits 60 mph in 4.2 seconds, whereas the 835-hp Rivian R1T does so in 3.1 seconds (or 3.2 with off-road tires).The G63's quarter-mile time is 12.5 seconds at 109.9 mph, which is respectable for a brick. Nearly as bricklike, the 392 is on the G's heels with a 12.9-second run, though its trap speed is just 100.4 mph. That Rivian truck? It initially smokes the AMG with an 11.6-second blast down the quarter (or 11.7 on the off-road meats). But note the R1T's trap speed: just 110.8 mph. Looks like the Rivian's accelerative advantage is over after 1,320 feet.As for braking, it took AMG two years after the G63 launched in 2019 to come up with 20-inch wheels that would fit over its massive rotors. China Blue here rode around on 22s. Braking from 60 mph took 116 feet, which is neither great nor bad. Pretty average for a passenger vehicle, actually. The Wrangler 392 takes a spooky 133 feet (though, sadly, that's decent for a Jeep Wrangler), whereas the R1T stops from 60 mph in an even worse 135 feet. Let's hear it for those 14.8-inch front/13-inch rear rotors.Around our figure-eight test track, the G63 pogoed its way around in 26.8 seconds, exactly as quickly as a Mini Cooper S Convertible. Not quite sure what that means. The Jeep 392 turned in an embarrassing 29.3-second performance. For various reasons, we have yet to figure-eight a Rivian, but we will. That said, heavy pickup trucks tend to perform poorly in that particular test.Aside from the dreadful fuel economy numbers and a comically expensive barrier to entry—this example stickers at $180,150, before dealers add on their cruel market adjustments—is there anything not to love about the 2021 G63? No, I can't think of anything. It's perfectly sized (about the same as a Wrangler Unlimited and four-door Ford Bronco), and around town, it's just a joy to drive. Especially if your idea of joy is imperious, effortless cruising that makes you feel like a master of the universe. To use the parlance of our times, G-Wagens just hit different.I've heard some rumblings about Mercedes' impressive MBUX touchscreen system being unavailable (yet) on G-Wagens, including from a friend I partially strong-armed into buying a G550. But he's since recanted, telling me, "I like the scroll wheel better than a touchscreen, and there are no fingerprints all over the place."Like most owners, he'll never take his G off-road. However, I have no such scruples, and I took a different G63 equipped with the new AMG Trail package on some pretty treacherous trails, and the luxo-truck performed admirably. Scraped its chin a few times, but that's nothing a 1-inch lift wouldn't solve.Are we talking about an automotive masterpiece? I wager we are. The 2021 AMG G63 is as close to the mythical notion of perfection as a vehicle is likely to get. Others playing on this elevated field? The Porsche 911. That's kinda it.Here's what I mean: If the excellent Honda Accord went out of production tomorrow, I'd be miffed, but a dozen competitors would eagerly step in to take its place. Did anyone lose sleep over the death of the Ford Fusion?Like Mercedes with the G-Wagen, there was a time when Porsche actively tried to kill off the 911. But exactly like Mercedes and the Geländewagen, Porsche just couldn't do it. Irreplaceable? Essentially. What both Stuttgart-based manufacturers figured out is that the world would be worse off if their icons weren't in it. If that doesn't make a machine a masterpiece, I don't know what does.Looks good! More details?SPECIFICATIONS 2021 Mercedes-AMG G63 BASE PRICE $157,500 PRICE AS TESTED $180,150 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, 4WD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV ENGINE 4.0L/577-hp/627-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 32-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 9-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 5,784 lb (54/46%) WHEELBASE 113.8 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 191.9 x 79.3 x 77.4 in 0-60 MPH 3.9 sec QUARTER MILE 12.5 sec @ 109.9 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 116 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.78 g (avg) MT FIGURE EIGHT 26.8 sec @ 0.68 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 13/16/14 mpg ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 259/211 kWh/100 miles CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 1.37 lb/mile Show All