Watch the 2023 Honda Civic Type R Go For a Little Rip Around Suzuka
The next-generation Honda Civic Type R is on the way. If you've kept up with the latest buzz, then you've seen the red, black. and white camouflaged prototypes several times now. The eagerly awaited hatchback will debut this year as a 2023 model and once again is offered with a manual transmission—an option fast disappearing from the Civic family here in America. But while we continue to wait for the hot hatch's official unveiling, Honda has released footage of the Type R-still under that red, white, and black wrap-zipping through the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. This is essentially video of the same car captured in still photography last month at the same track.
When the 2023 Honda Civic Type R finally arrives, it should feature a more powerful 2.0 turbo-four, somewhere in the ballpark of 315 to 335 hp. In keeping with its track duties and sportier appearance, the front-drive hatchback will come fitted with red-painted Brembo brake calipers as the previous model. As for the inside, it appears that Honda is installing an updated version of the cloth bucket seats in the intense Flamin' Hot Cheetos color.
The teaser video gives us a sense of the all-new Type R's feral capabilities. Listen to that turbocharged sound—okay, at least in this clip, it doesn't sound like much, but the drone-y engine at least seems quick. We can't wait to try out the grip provided by those sticky Michelin Pilot 4S tires or the pull of that turbo I-4 for ourselves, as we expect the less manic-looking hatchback to push performance limits even harder than the predecessor while upping its already surprising maturity even further.
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The double whammy of increasing fuel and vehicle prices has a lot of SUV shoppers not knowing which way to turn. A more efficient modern ride could ease the pain at the pump, but with inflation and rising borrowing costs, many are delaying big-ticket purchases like new cars. Expanding a search to include slightly used SUVs with strong fuel economy might be the way to go if you're looking for an alternative.Knowledge is power, and in our methodology below, you'll find how we came to our tally. Most of the SUVs on this list are subcompact and compact crossovers, but a single midsize offering also managed to qualify. All received an EPA combined fuel economy rating of 27 mpg or greater, and a couple of the entries can be found priced from roughly $15,000. Keep reading to find out which used SUVs under $30,000 have the best fuel economy.About MotorTrend's methodology: The Buyer's Guide recognizes how important a used car purchase can be, which is why we take this so seriously. Our methodology considers many of the same factors in our new-car rankings system, starting with value. The experts at IntelliChoiceconduct extensive research to assess long-term value on 3-5-year-old vehicles, which means our picks start at the 2018 model year. IntelliChoice considers resale value, the cost of insurance, maintenance costs, fuel costs, and more. We prioritize models receiving a Good or Excellent IntelliChoice used-car value rating. An above-average J.D. Powerquality and reliability rating is also a plus. Any vehicle we recommend must have earned anIIHSTop Safety Pick award or NHTSA overall five-star safety rating, and have some used-car inventory with under 80,000 miles (the upper limit on many automaker CPO programs).
No filter. That's the best way to describe what it's like to drive the Morgan Super 3. In most modern vehicles, from a Porsche 911 GT3 to a Tesla Model 3 to a Ford F-150, you're protected by an invisible electronic army, digital shape shifters that seem to warp the laws of physics, changing not just your perception of the road, but also of your talent behind the wheel.Not in the Morgan Super 3. Driving the Super 3 is, essentially, driving the way it used to be, before stability control and lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control established their guardrails of ones and zeros, when the wind streamed through your hair and your elbows stuck out over the bodywork as you wrestled with the steering wheel through turns. It's raw, and it's real.Make the perfect heel-and-toe downshift in the Morgan Super 3, carve the perfect corner, and you know it's all down to you. Make a mistake, and you own it. No filter. And that's what makes the Morgan Super 3 such an irresistible little sports car.The three-wheeled Super 3 takes Morgan back to its roots. The first car this eccentric English automaker built 113 years ago was a three-wheeler, a single driven wheel at the back, and two up front for better steering and stability. Indeed, Morgan built nothing but three-wheelers until 1936 and didn't end full-time production of three-wheeled cars until 1952.The three-wheeler concept was revived in 2012 with the determinedly retro Three-Wheeler, which was powered by an air-cooled, American-made S&S V-twin motorcycle engine mounted transversely across the nose of the car, echoing the powertrain format and layout of Morgan three-wheelers built until 1939.The Super 3 might channel Morgan's origins, but it's anything but a retro car. Look past the number of wheels and lack of electronic frippery, and the rest of it is a thoroughly modern machine.The chassis is a superformed aluminum monocoque, Morgan's first ever. Bolted to the front of it is a large cast aluminum structure that cradles the engine and provides all the pickup points for the multilink front suspension. The single rear wheel is located by a twin-beam swingarm with coil-over shocks on either side, and the beetle-backed bodywork enveloping it is, yes, also superformed aluminum.The floorpan is a non-structural aluminium piece that allows for future powertrain upgrades, including full electric drive.Speaking of drive, the Super 3 rekindles a relationship with Ford Motor Company and Morgan three-wheelers dating back to the F-Series Three-Wheeler built between 1933 and 1952 that was powered by Ford side-valve engines. Under the stubby hood of the Super 3 is a naturally aspirated version of Ford's light and compact 1.5-liter, three-cylinder Dragon engine, used in turbocharged form in the Ford Bronco Sport, as well as the European-spec Ford Focus and Fiesta hatchbacks.The Ford engine drives the Super 3's single rear wheel through a Mazda Miata five-speed manual transmission connected to a bevel box and carbon-fiber-reinforced drive belt. The engine produces 118 hp at 6,500 rpm and 110 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm, which makes the Morgan Super 3 the second-least-powerful car we've driven since the 89-hp Smart ForTwo. (The other car? The 2020 Toyota Yaris XLE, which pumps out 106 hp.) None holds a feeble candle in the wind to Mitsubishi's Mirage, the least powerful new car for sale in America today, which is equipped with a 78-hp 1.2-liter triple.But the headline output numbers don't tell the full story. Because the Morgan weighs little more than 1,400 pounds, those modest outputs deliver spritely performance. The company claims the Super 3 will scoot to 60 mph in about 7.0 seconds and hit a top speed of 130 mph.It feels much faster. That's because the Morgan Super 3 delivers such an elemental, visceral, almost heroic driving experience. It rides so low, you can simply reach over the side and touch the tarmac with your fingertips. It has no roof, no doors, and only vestigial aero screens to keep the bugs out of your teeth.You see the front wheels shimmy and shake and swivel and feel the feedback through the non-assisted steering. You sense millimetric lateral motions through your butt as the single rear tire rides the bumps and cambers the front wheels straddle.The little Ford triple pulls smoothly from low revs, but it really starts percolating from about 3,000 rpm and spins happily to 6,900 rpm, emitting a throaty bark from the optional sport exhaust that exits just past your right ear. The Mazda five-speed transmission is as snickety-snick quick and crisp through the ratios as ever, and the bottom-hinged pedals are beautifully weighted and aligned, perfect dancing partners for your feet.There's a lovely economy about the Morgan Super 3's controls, from the quick throw of the shifter and the short arc of the clutch pedal to the meaty feel of the brake pedal and the lively throttle response. The expressive steering initially feels low geared even though it's only 2.5 turns lock-to-lock. It's then you realize the Super 3 doesn't have a particularly tight turning circle—no bad thing when there are only three wheels on your wagon.It feels a little odd to drive quickly at first, the Morgan Super 3. But you quickly learn that's all part of the three-wheeler experience. The default handling mode is mild understeer, the bespoke, vintage-profile 130/90 Avon Speedmaster tires on the modernist 20-inch alloy wheels hardly offering the footprint to promote instant turn-in responsenor overcome the thrust from the rear wheel.That said, the Super 3 is unlike any four-wheel car when you do get on the power. You don't get the same sensations of roll and squat across the rear axle as you do in a four-wheel car because, obviously, there isn't one. Also, there's no differential, so the drive you do get is instant and unfettered. Get aggressive with the throttle, and you can easily spin up the rear wheel in slower corners—the 15-inch rim is shod with a 195/65 all-season tire—and the Super 3's tail will swing wide, but it all happens progressively.What's so bewitching about the Morgan Super 3 is that from 40 mph to 70 mph on any winding two-lane, you're totally engaged with the art and science of driving. It's a sports car, in the truest sense of the term.Yes, it's minimalist, but cleverly so. You learn to step over the side of the cockpit and brace your feet on an aluminum crossbar in front of the seat before sliding down behind the reach and rake steering wheel. The fixed seats are surprisingly comfortable, and the adjustable pedal box means even those over 6 feet can get comfortable behind the wheel.The interior has been designed to cope with the elements. The seats can be trimmed in water-resistant leather or a vegan technical fabric that's 100 percent waterproof and can be cleaned with bleach. The digital instruments, housed in cast aluminum pods at the center of the dash, along with all the switchgear, will withstand a quick blast from a jet wash.The rectangular "barge boards" along the side of the car that manage the airflow through the cooling radiators on either side of the engine can be fitted with a patented clip system—Morgan's first ever patent—that allows specially designed hard cases, waterproofed soft bags, or racks to be attached to them. The clips, and the hardware that attaches to them, will carry up to 44 pounds. A CNC-machined luggage rack that sits atop the Super 3's bug-tail is also available as an option.We can't buy any of the current four-wheeled Morgans in the U.S. The Super 3, however, is being homologated for sale here, and the first cars are scheduled to arrive stateside in January 2023, priced from $54,000 plus destination and taxes.That sounds pricey when you consider you can buy a well-specified Mazda Miata or one of the Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ twins for under $40,000, cars that are more practical, sensible daily drivers. But the Morgan Super 3 doesn't play in that territory; it's a sports car that can steal the limelight from noisy, mega-horsepower supercars that are only marginally more practical, can't legally be driven any faster, and cost a whole lot more money.Ferraris and Lambos and Porsches are dime a dozen in places like Beverly Hills and South Beach and Houston and Long Island. But a Morgan Super 3? Now that'll turn heads.2023 Morgan Super 3 Specifications PRICE $55,500 (MT est) LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 0-door roadster ENGINE 1.5L/118-hp/110-lb-ft DOHC 12-valve I-3 TRANSMISSION 5-speed manual CURB WEIGHT 1430lb (MT est) WHEELBASE 99.7in L x W x H 141.0 x 72.8 x 44.6 in 0-60 MPH 7.0 sec (mfr) EPA FUEL ECON, CITY/HWY/COMB Not yet rated EPA RANGE (COMB) N/A ON SALE Now Show All
audi s8 Full OverviewAudi's S8 has always flown under the radar. Even the iconic D3 model, launched in 2006, hid its light under a bushel, with a discreet "V10" badge, silver side mirror caps, and quad exhausts the only clues to the 450-hp of mellifluous madness delivered by the Lamborghini Gallardo-derived 5.2-liter V-10 lurking under the hood. The refreshed 2022 S8 maintains the stealth sport sedan tradition.Sadly, the charismatic V-10 is long gone. The D4-generation S8 launched in 2012 with the Audi-developed EA824 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that made 520 horsepower and 421 lb-ft of torque under the hood. For the current-generation S8 that arrived in 2016, that engine was in turn replaced by the Porsche-developed EA825 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, which also sees duty in the Porsche Panamera, Bentley Continental GT, and Lamborghini Urus.That engine carries over unchanged in the 2022 refresh of the S8, its 563 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque delivered with a baritone burble that scarcely rises above a murmur even in Dynamic mode. It may sound like a more plebeian powertrain on paper, but there's nothing wrong with what it delivers: The 2023 S8 will surge from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, a full 1.1 seconds quicker than its 550-pound-lighter Lambo-powered predecessor could manage.In simple terms, the 2022 S8 is an A8 with the lot. Standard equipment includes rear-wheel steering, a sport rear differential, and predictive active suspension. The suspension uses actuators at each wheel to counter cornering loads rather than electrically twisting a stabiliser bar across the axle, and it delivers a surprisingly supple ride with very low noise levels even though the big sedan scarcely rolls through corners or pitches under acceleration and braking.The 2022 face-lift, which also extends across the regular A8 range, is little more than a subtle nip and tuck. The most visible change is at the front, where the single-frame grille has been made even bolder and more aggressive. It's still roughly hexagonal in shape, but it's wider, and the corners on either side have been positioned closer toward the bonnet. The new grille, which makes the slightly slab-sided S8 look lower and wider, is flanked by more upright air intakes and redesigned headlights.At the rear, bazooka-caliber chrome exhaust pipes peek out from under a rear bumper that has been redesigned to incorporate a new diffuser graphic. Customizable digital OLED taillights feature a continuous light strip that runs the full width of the car.America's S8, like those in Canada, China, and South Korea, is built on the long-wheelbase A8L platform. That means a 5.1-inch stretch in the wheelbase compared with the rest of the world's S8, but the standard rear-wheel steering system endows the car with surprising agility in tight corners. High-speed stability is superb.With their engine slung out ahead of the front wheels, big Audis have always tended to push when you gas the accelerator a shove. But despite carrying 56 percent of its weight over the front axle, the S8 turns in nicely, and the sport diff ensures the rear wheels get maximum torque to the tarmac. This is a big sedan that is calm and fast, confident and comfortable, the sort of car you could happily hustle 600 miles through the Rockies in a day and step out at the end of it feeling relaxed.Four new colors have been added to the S8 exterior palette, three of them available in the U.S.: District Green, Firmament Blue, and Ultra Blue, the last of which is the signature shade for the 2022 refresh (which may end up arriving in American dealers as a 2023 model). The standard wheels are 20-inch double-five-spoke pieces, with 10-spoke 21-inchers in either silver or black available as an option. Europeans can order their S8 with a full white leather interior. American customers are offered black or black with either cognac brown or merlot red inserts.No, nobody's going to look twice at the new S8 when it arrives here in spring, priced from $118,995 (a decrease of $12,950 from the 2021 model). Especially if you order one in anything other than the punchy Ultra Blue. But that's an intrinsic element of this car's appeal.The 2022 Audi A8 story is a mix of good and bad news. The good news is the subtle refresh gives Audi's somewhat conservative flagship sedan a more arresting presence on the road, and all cars come with the sportier S-Line design tweaks being offered on the A8 for the first time, plus the customizable OLED rear lights.The bad news is the model lineup has been rationalized. The PHEV powertrain will no longer be offered, and if you want a V-8, you'll have to reach for the top shelf and order the S8. Mind you, that's not a bad option.What that means is Audi's flagship luxury sedan now comes in only one flavor for America: long wheelbase and with the 340-hp, 369-lb-ft 3.0-liter V-6 under the hood, which is known as the A8L 55 TFSI Quattro in Audi-speak. Prices start at $87,595.The $3,400 Executive package adds 20-inch wheels—19s are standard—and adaptive cruise with traffic jam assist and turn assist, among other things, while the $3,250 Comfort Plus package includes goodies such as noise-reducing dual-pane glass and massaging front seats. The $5,400 Luxury bundle brings rear-wheel steering plus interior upgrades such as power rear seats with lumbar and memory functions.New for the A8 worldwide and available on U.S.-spec cars are a pair of optional Black Optic packages, one priced at $1,750 that offers high-gloss black exterior trim items and silver and black multispoke 21-inch wheels, the other priced at $2,750 and adding black-painted 10-spoke 21-inch wheels, black Audi badges,\ and black-painted brake calipers.Looks good! More details?2022 Audi S8 Specifications PRICE $118,995 LAYOUT Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan ENGINE 4.0L/563-hp/590-lb-ft twin-turbo direct-injected DOHC 32-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic CURB WEIGHT 5,300 lb (MT est) WHEELBASE 123.1 in L x W x H 208.7 x 76.6 x 58.5 in 0-60 MPH 3.8 sec (mfr est) EPA FUEL ECON, CITY/HWY/COMB 14/23/17 mpg EPA RANGE, COMB 369 miles ON SALE Spring 2022 Show All
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