The Slowest Cars and SUVs We Tested in 2021
Every year, our MotorTrend test crew performs instrumented testing on all manner of cars, trucks, and SUVs—some 220 in all in calendar year 2021. Some are fast—here are the quickest cars we tested this year—others not so much. But even the slowest cars nowadays aren't exactly stuck in the mud. Of all of the vehicles we tested, only one of them was on wrong side of the 10-second barrier to 60 mph, with a small handful taking more than 9 seconds to get there.
As we've seen in recent years, the majority of the slower vehicles we test tend to be compact crossover SUVs fitted with small-displacement engines. Inline four-cylinders of varying sizes are the overwhelming powerplant of choice; some are turbocharged, and a hybrid is usually in the mix in here and there. Efficiency is generally what automakers prioritize with these vehicles, so not surprisingly, straight line speed isn't part of the formula. That, and sometimes a vehicle will have a slightly underpowered engine option given its size and weight, further affecting performance. (The Hyundai Elantra was a case in point, with three separate variants making this year's list.)
There were a few surprises, and a couple of brands (we're looking at you again, Hyundai) featured multiple pokey offerings this year. In the event of a tie (there were several) we moved to quarter mile and trap-speed times to break them. So which vehicles were the slowest of the slow goers? Read on to see our list of the slowest cars we tested in 2021.
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The Drako GTE electric supercar first whizzed upon the car scene during the 2019 Monterey Car Week. It wooed onlookers with its Fisker Karma platform, carbon-fiber body designed by ex-Pininfarina design director Lowie Vermeersch, and exclusive Drako Motors Drive OS vehicle-management system technology. The performance-oriented electric car was more about the love of driving and a passion for awesome sports cars than it was about economy, value, and saving the planet—the standard talking points of mass-produced EVs. It was a lovable car developed by Dean Drako and Shiv Sikand, successful Silicon Valley software entrepreneurs and avid car fans—who just wanted a better-driving car than what they were finding.It's likely you won't find any of these $1.25-million Drako GTEs on the road, if not for the astronomical price, but for the fact that Drako intends on building only 25 units. Some of our MotorTrend staffers were fortunate enough, though, to experience the GTE's four-motor drive system pushing 1,200 horsepower. It was described as "the first electric car we've driven that really feels entirely like a new kind of vehicle. " Its responsiveness, agility, and stability were remarkable. Basically, the thing was dialed. Drako hinted at another model, way back at the end of 2019, pending the success of the company's GTE. "Our next car, which we can do in about a year, will be targeted at around 4,500 pounds," Sikand said. "We'll build 99 of them, at half the price of the GTE. That puts me squarely in Lamborghini Aventador and Ferrari 812 Superfast territory. And I can eat those cars." Sikand smiled at the thought. "That's what we're going to do: provide cars that are just amazing to drive, totally guilt-free, and fast as hell. "'Fast-forward about two years, and it seems Drako Motors' aspiration for another model has come to fruition. It's called the Drako Dragon, and while we don't have all the specifics quite yet on this five-seater, one thing's for sure: it's the GTE on steroids. Everything Drako learned from the GTE, it applied to the Dragon. Drako, when speaking of (some iteration of) the Dragon openly on its website, considered the Dragon an upgrade of the GTE, significantly redesigned and upgraded with essentially no system untouched, "the new pinnacle of electric vehicle performance."Like the GTE, the Drako Dragon was designed by Drako Chief Designer Lowie Vermeersch and his Italian GranStudio team. The Dragon's silhouette shows that it has generous ground clearance with broad, aerodynamic hips. It's a curvy gullwing SUV. Drako touts "world-class" passenger comfort within its five-seat cabin, abundant luggage capacity, and "world-beating" luxury and performance.Like the GTE, the Dragon will use Drako's DriveOS Quad Motor powertrain (allowing for individual control of each wheel's positive and negative torque) and Drako's in-house battery system. The the 2,000-hp Dragon should reach a top speed of over 200 mph, sprint to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, and achieve a 9.0-second quarter-time. Those figures would be surprising—if there was no GTE paving its way. A three-stage suspension system helps smooth roads and trails alike. Yes, Drako mentioned trails and off-road ability.As for the price of the Drako Dragon? We don't have a figure, but it's apparently competitive with the existing super-SUV segment—albeit with double the horsepower. Considering the GTE is over a million buck-a-roos, the Dragon could still easily top the Aston Martin DBX, Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus, and Rolls-Royce Cullinan, for example.As for the guys behind the Drako GTE and now the Dragon—they'll never compete with Elon Musk's Tesla, and they're perfectly fine with that. During an interview with MotorTrend, Shiv Sikand commented, '"We're crazy. You know, I was down in Newport Beach. I met one of the main guys out there who've been around in the industry for a long time. He says, 'Why are you getting into the car business?' Looking at me stupidly, like 'is there something wrong with you?' I'm like, 'yeah, there's something wrong with us. You know, Dean [Drako] and I are kind of crazy. '"'
Funky riffs on SUVs, crossovers, and trucks have been common enough throughout the past two decades, but back near the turn of the century, automakers concocted all sorts of products that landed with a splash but never took the market by storm. Nowadays, trucks with enormous horsepower figures like the Ram TRX or coupelike SUVs such as the BMW X6 are sought after by buyers with the desire (and the cash) to drive something a bit more radical than everyone else. Check out these 10 vehicles from the relatively recent past that would have been seen as much cooler if they first came to market today.
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