How We’ll Get to Cheap, Long-Range EV Cars, Trucks, and SUVs

ProsSix-speed manual is pure joyLight, tactile handlingIncredible value proposition ConsBrakes need more staying powerHigh and vague clutch engagement pointRevs can hangFor the as-tested price of the Lamborghini Huracán STO, you could buy 15-and-a-half Si-badged Honda Civics, the lowest-priced, least powerful, and third-lightest contender vying for our PVOTY calipers. Did a humble, sub-$30K, front-wheel-drive economy sedan making only 200 horsepower have a chance against all the Black Series/Wings, M's, V's, GTs and GT3s?Abso-friggin-lutely. In fact, many of the supposed shortcomings of the 2022 Honda Civic Si made it stand out in our field of monstrously powered beasts. Subtracting brute force and head-snapping thrust—and much of the associated sound and fury—sharpened our judges' perception of other attributes. "There's something really tactile and raw about the Civic Si that gets me going," director of editorial operations Mike Floyd said. "Its four-cylinder at full chat just sounds so lean and mean."The Civic Si makes a strong value and fuel economy statement, and the Si's mini-Accord styling adds maturity missing from the previous-generation Civic. Engineering excellence is everywhere you look and touch; every judge called out the light, communicative steering and the "delightful" feel and "super-precise" throws of the Si's six-speed manual transmission, as they extracted all 192 lb-ft from the 1.5-liter turbo inline-four."More low-end torque and a longer horsepower peak are exactly what this engine needed," features editor Scott Evans said. "The torque makes it nicer to drive at every speed, and the power no longer falls off at the top end."To be clear, at nearly 15 pounds per horsepower (more than double the load of some other competitors), the Si is slow, but "Who cares?" was the prevailing sentiment. "It's just so stable and confident in a corner," Evans said. "You just want to drive it faster and faster because it's so rewarding. It's still a momentum car, and that's great because it really makes you work on your driving to get the most out of it."Amid the pages of notes on all our competitors, the adjectives "authentic," "approachable," and "attainable" were reserved for the Si. It was the performance vehicle everyone could quietly appreciate. "There is something appealing about seeing myself in an Si that makes me like it even more in this competition, which is loaded with vehicles I could never hope to actually own in my lifetime," deputy editor Alex Stoklosa said.So why wasn't it even a finalist? For one thing, the only other front-driver in the mix, the Hyundai Veloster N, delivered an even more intriguing and irresistible combination of turbo-boosted fun. And there were some blemishes on the Civic Si's otherwise smooth 'n' sporty driving experience. Squishy at first dab, the Si's brakes faded for some judges by the end of the handling course. Although that's a non-factor on the street, it did not bode well for the at-the-limit track sessions the finalists would encounter. Judges also called out the clutch's light pedal and its high and vague engagement point. The engine's tendency to hang onto revs also drew criticism.For some, the Si just wasn't a big enough step up from the already sublime 11th-generation Civic. Other judges were tantalized but left thirsty for the sharper edge and much-needed power boost promised by the coming Civic Type R. So we shall wait for next year. 2022 Honda Civic Si Specifications Base Price/As tested $28,315/$28,515 Power (SAE net) 200 hp @ 6,000 rpm Torque (SAE net) 192 lb-ft @ 1,800 rpm Accel, 0-60 mph 7.1 sec Quarter-mile 15.3 sec @ 92.8 mph Braking, 60-0 mph 110 ft Lateral Acceleration 0.93 g (avg) MT Figure Eight 26.3 sec @ 0.67 g (avg) EPA City/Hwy/Comb 27/37/31 mpg Vehicle Layout Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan Engine, Transmission 1.5L Turbo direct-injected DOHC 16-valve I-4, 6-speed manual Curb Weight (F/R DIST) 2,981 lb (59/41%) Wheelbase 107.7 in Length x Width x Height 184.0 x 70.9 x 55.7 in On Sale Now Show All

Update March 1, 2022: MOL Ship Management Singapore, the company that operated the Felicity Ace ship under the Panamanian flag, has announced the car carrier has capsized and sunken below the surface following the onboard fire. Salvage crews had been battling the fires onboard for weeks in an attempt to salvage some of the ship and its contents. It's unclear if anything from the ship was collected before it sank. The initial blaze is said to have started in the cargo hold, where thousands of cars, including some battery-electric vehicles, were being shipped to North America. Here is the latest statement from the Felicity Ace information resource website:"Initial reports from the local salvage team state that the vessel had sunk at around 9AM local time having suffered a list to starboard. The last vessel position was around 220nm off the Azores. The salvage crafts will remain around the area to monitor the situation. "Update February 18, 2022: Reports now indicate the ship is loaded with vehicles from Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, and VW, including some battery-electric powertrain vehicles that now pose a serious hazard for maritime fire crews attempting to salvage the burning vessel.  This story was originally published February 17, 2022, and has since been updated to reflect new information and developments in the ship's fate and the fate of the cargo onboard. 

ford bronco Full OverviewProsDune-bashing, mud-splashing, rock-crawling funShockingly good road mannersUnfazed by potholes and frost heaves ConsHalf-ton weight gainCould have had a V-8Slow steering makes for busy handsFrom the driver's seat of the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor, a pond looks like a puddle, a boulder field looks like a gravel road, and a Mitsubishi Mirage looks like a speed bump. This $70,095 off-road colossus—it's 85.7 inches wide and has 37-inch-tall tires—bounds across the gnarliest terrain and towers over traffic with an air of invincibility that shrinks everything in its path. Objects in the windshield are larger than they appear when you're riding this high, literally and metaphorically.It doesn't take long for this Raptor's immense capability to go to your head. In the same way that the best Porsches make drivers into heroes, the Bronco Raptor turns the person behind the wheel into a villain—reckless, all powerful, above the law. Driving a Bronco Raptor means fighting an incessant urge to straight-line every roundabout. You'll fantasize about blasting by gridlock traffic on the shoulder and turning every open space you pass into an off-road park.Roads? Where We're Going, We Don't Need RoadsTo keep those anti-social and imprisonable impulses at bay, it's important to regularly exercise the baddest Bronco in its natural habitat, which happens to be wherever civilization isn't. Ford has built the Raptor brand around high-speed desert-running antics, and the Bronco abides with big-barrel Fox Racing dampers calming the suspension as it strokes through up to 13 inches of travel in the front and 14 in the rear. Electronically adjustable valving adapts to whatever happens to be pummeling the suspension at any given moment, while internal bypasses cushion the biggest hits.Translation: The harder and faster you drive, the less the Bronco Raptor is fazed by the terrain. In its signature Baja mode, this SUV combines sports-car reflexes with the compliance of a bounce house. The 10-speed automatic cracks off up- and downshifts with perfect timing and the BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires find traction where there is none, all while bombing over terrain that would fold a Honda in half.This Bronco isn't a one-trick pony, though. It will just as eagerly and expertly pick its way through a boulder-strewn ravine with the 360-degree camera system putting your spotter out of a job. It can wade into a waist-deep swamp and negotiate a mud-slicked trail (as long as those washtub fenders fit between the trees). There's a dizzying amount of adjustability in the Raptor's four exhaust modes, three steering settings, four damper calibrations, locking front and rear differentials, front anti-roll-bar disconnect, and the transfer case that offers rear-wheel drive, high-range four-wheel drive, or low-range four-wheel drive. Trying to tune all that via buttons on the steering wheel, atop the dash, and on the center console proves tedious, but Ford has smartly included shortcuts to several useful combinations via the preset GOAT modes (Normal, Off-Road, Rock Crawl, Baja, Sport, Tow/Haul, Slippery) and a customizable MyMode.Those Road Manners Aren't Shabby, EitherThe Bronco Raptor's 0.67 g of lateral grip and 160-foot 60-mph stopping distance are atrocious by any objective measure of on-road performance, but those numbers bury the subjective excellence of how this truck steers, handles, and rides when it returns to the civilized, asphalt world. Thanks to the impossibly wide stance, the body doesn't roll in corners so much as it squats over the outside wheels, creating a surprising sense of stability.The heavy hiking boots pound the pavement and send tremors into the body at city speeds, but just as it does off road, the Raptor becomes supple—even graceful—the faster you go. On the highway, it floats over expansion joints and potholes, making it the perfect vehicle for traversing our pre-apocalyptic infrastructure in comfort and without fear of damaging a tire.At 3.2 turns lock-to-lock, the steering feels slow when you're sliding the Raptor sideways on dirt or hustling down a tight two-lane. Nevertheless, the steering wheel would be at home in a Mazda Miata, both for the way its sculpted rim fits your hands and its exacting precision.How Quick Is the Ford Bronco Raptor?If there's a weak spot in the Raptor's game, it's the engine. The twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 raises output by 103 horsepower and 30 lb-ft of torque compared to the 2.7-liter unit available on lesser Broncos. Yet you wouldn't guess it's packing 418 horsepower from the driver's seat or looking at the numbers. That's because this leviathan weighs 5,778 pounds, or nearly 1,000 more than the V-6-powered Bronco Outer Banks we tested last year. The Raptor hides that weight well in cornering, but it's palpable under acceleration.The Raptor covered 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds and cleared the quarter mile in 14.9 seconds in MotorTrend testing, both just 0.3 second quicker than the Outer Banks model. That's significantly slower than we originally predicted and worse than what the Raptor's weight-to-power ratio suggests it should be capable of. That also places it two whole seconds behind its chief rival, the 470-hp Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392. Yet no matter what we tried at the track, the Raptor returned consistently sluggish runs.The engine also fails to deliver on this truck's nickname, "Braptor." It never so much as blips, blats, rips, snorts, burbles, chortles, barks, or braps. The adjustable exhaust is performative theater, merely amplifying the engine's thrum at part-throttle and low rpm. At full throttle in any mode, the V-6 sounds too flat, too muffled, and too high-pitched for a truck this rowdy.The SUV That Conquers AllIn a motoring world overrun with Wranglers and 4Runners, the Bronco Raptor still stands out as one of a kind. With its appetite for high-speed hooning, its composure on paved roads, and its ability to tackle any type of terrain, it's as close as you'll come to finding a truck that will drive anywhere and over anything. Try to resist the urge.Looks good! More details?2022 Ford Bronco Raptor Specifications BASE PRICE $70,095 PRICE AS TESTED $78,750 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, 4WD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV ENGINE 3.0L Twin-turbo direct-injected DOHC 24-valve 60-degree V-6 POWER (SAE NET) 418 hp @ 5,750 rpm TORQUE (SAE NET) 440 lb-ft @ 2,750 rpm TRANSMISSION 10-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 5,778 lb (55/45%) WHEELBASE 116.5 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 191.0 x 85.7 x 77.8 in 0-60 MPH 6.3 sec QUARTER MILE 14.9 sec @ 91.0 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 160 ft LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.67 g (avg) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 15/16/15 mpg EPA RANGE, COMB 318 miles ON SALE Now Show All