My husband used to be a sales associate at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Montreal, and he’s spent the entire duration of our marriage telling me that no automaker is as luxuriously high-tech as Mercedes. I have never discounted this observation. I’ve just also never felt the need to drive an extremely tech-heavy car. I still have a hard time dealing with a tiny infotainment screen.
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So I think it’s probably a little bit of an understatement to say that the EQS’s offerings are a bit overwhelming. After I laughed out loud at the exterior, I also laughed out loud at the absolutely massive Hyperscreen. I wanted to ask it if it was compensating for something. I wanted to ask why such a cute fella needs such a big screen.
Functionally, the Hyperscreen is great. A single piece of curved glass, it’s a gorgeous feat of technological innovation that works with rapid speed due to an eight-core processor and 24 gigabytes of RAM. You tap on anything, and there’s not going to be lag. You’re immediately transported to the place you chose to go in the infotainment system.
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The graphics are also gorgeous, but again, it’s a little bit Much. There’s a screen for the driver, one of the passenger, and a tall screen in the center, and in those latter two, you can access everything from radio controls to vehicle settings to satellite maps to photo galleries to video games. I did poke around the Tetris game and found it took a while to load but was otherwise fun. I still can’t imagine myself using an infotainment screen instead of my phone for gaming, though.
Even worse, you still get a lot of glare, despite the fact that Mercedes tried its best to avoid that. There’s not really anything you’re going to be able to do about the reflection of the sun when it’s especially bright.
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You can also navigate with conversational commands after saying, “Hey Mercedes.” As in, you can say something like, “Hey Mercedes, I want coffee,” and your car will find you the nearest coffee spots. I used to hate voice commands because it was next to impossible to actually get what you were asking for, but this modern iteration that you see on luxury cars has really changed the game. I don’t have to think up the robotic command I’d need to change the radio station. I can just say it.
The digital dashboard was also one hell of a feature. You can cycle through tons of different displays, most of which are just mind boggling. You can literally have your navigation map displayed on your dashboard — and I don’t mean you get a little box that has navigation. The whole screen turns into a map. I’m sure some folks will enjoy it, but it was massively overwhelming for me.
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As was the augmented reality navigation, which feels a little bit more video game-y than anything else. Maybe I’m just too old to appreciate these things.
Photo: Elizabeth Blackstock
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The Verdict
It’s difficult to offer a verdict for a car that I can’t compare to the other vehicles in its class, I can say that the 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS450+ is a delightful vehicle that transforms much of what makes Mercedes special into a flagship luxury sedan — but it does feel like the German automaker couldn’t decide what it wanted to do. It tried to combine modern austerity with Benz’s traditional elegance, and it works… but it’s probably not going to work for everyone. It didn’t work for me, but it could very well work for you. And you know what? I respect a delightfully polarizing car.
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Photo: Elizabeth Blackstock
Photo: Elizabeth Blackstock
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Now, dear readers, you know how much I love the Smart Fortwo. After all, I own four of them. So it’s going to surprise you to read what I’m about to say.
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The iQ drives better than a second-generation Fortwo.
I got to drive the iQ when it hit the streets in the U.S. in 2011 and honestly, it made my 2012 Fortwo feel like a tractor.
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Photo: Toyota
Where my Fortwo’s hard front suspension would break your teeth on Chicago potholes, the iQ felt like a normal car. Where my Fortwo’s clunky transmission polarized drivers, the iQ’s CVT is smooth. And where my Fortwo’s 70 HP 1.0-liter inline three requires 91 octane or better, the iQ’s 94 HP 1.3-liter inline four is fueled with regular.
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Photo: Toyota
The iQ’s handling is even sharper than a stock second-generation Fortwo.
My only real complaint about the iQ is that the fourth seat is pretty useless at being a seat for adults. I still prefer the go kart feel and striking looks of my Smart, but the iQ does just about everything better.
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Photo: Toyota
I expected — just like Fifth Gear did — for the iQ to take off in sales. But it didn’t. Positive reviews and being good on paper didn’t translate to great sales in the U.S. or Europe. In 2012, Scion sold 8,879 iQs in the U.S. where Smart moved 9,264 Fortwos.
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A problem was the iQ’s $16,000 price. While the Fortwo was the cheapest way to get under the Mercedes-Benz umbrella, the iQ had a larger sibling that cost less money.
Photo: Toyota
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A 2012 Toyota Yaris had a base price of around $14,000 and its fuel economy figures weren’t much worse than the iQ. It was a similar story in Europe, where the larger Toyota Aygo was cheaper.
Toyota axed the iQ in 2015, ending its experiment to build a better city car. Even if it didn’t sell, the iQ is a brilliant little car. It’s as if Toyota saw what Smart did and decided that they could do even more.
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Nowadays an iQ can be had for cheap. So if you’re looking for a tiny runabout and a Smart isn’t for you, give the iQ a chance, it might hit the spot.
The Mazda Miata generations average about eight to 10 years, which means the current fourth-generation ND Miata, in production since 2015, is starting to get a little long in the tooth. It’s hard to imagine the Miata being anything other than a rear-wheel-drive gas roadster, but Mazda is reportedly in the midst of trying to electrify it.
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That’s according to Motor1, which obtained the following statement from Mazda this week:
Mazda is seeking to electrify the MX-5 Miata in an effort to have all models feature a form of electrification by 2030. We will work hard to make it a lightweight, affordable, open two-seater sports car in order to meet the needs of customers.
Motor1 deduces from this (or perhaps confirmed on background with Mazda) that this means that the next-generation Miata, the NE, will be electrified, and perhaps that is right but it also seems possible that Mazda might wait for the NF, since 2030 is a good long time from now. It’s also possible that Mazda means all “models” of the Miata will have some sort of electric drive, but it’s more likely that some kind of hybrid or electric version of the Miata will be an option.
Certainly a car company can make a light hybrid (the original Honda Insight was lighter than the current Miata by a decent amount) but it’s not easy, and it always presents trade-offs.
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I also don’t know what the point of electrifying the Miata is, other than Mazda going along with the prevailing sentiment or complying with government regulation, as the manual Miata gets 29 mpg combined. Getting 29 mpg is not stellar, but it isn’t bad either and also it’s not like Mazda sells a ton of these things.
Mazda sold 8,807 Miatas in the U.S. last year, or about three percent of its total car sales in the U.S., a number I wouldn’t expect to be too different globally. Still, the MX-5 is Mazda’s defining product, a car that can’t go away and probably never will. If I were Mazda, then, I’d be trying to figure out what an all-electric version of the Miata looks like, make it, and then show it to the world and explain that the Miata has been with us for over 30 years and this is the version that will be with us for the next 30. Mazda would probably sell at least 8,807 of them.
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The next-gen Audi RS3 is nearly upon us. We know it’ll have the proper engine, as the company not-so-subtly teased by inscribing the firing order of the RS3’s turbocharged five-cylinder on the side of its camouflaged wrap. While Audi’s not quite ready to spill all the beans on its next compact sport sedan (or wagon for lucky customers outside the U.S.), it is offering a sneak peek into a major component: the RS Torque Splitter.
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First, let’s confirm those engine stats. The RS3’s 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine once again delivers 394 horsepower, though that peak power is available for a wider chunk of the rev range, from 5,600 to 7,000 rpm. There’s also slightly more torque on offer, jumping from about 354 lb-ft in the outgoing RS3 to 369 lb-ft in the new one. Once again, it’s connected to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Photo: Audi
The result is a sprint to 62 mph from a standstill that’s about three tenths of a second quicker, at 3.8 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 180 mph provided the RS Dynamic package and its ceramic brakes are optioned. An “entry-level” compact sedan that hits 60 in under four seconds — you couldn’t dream of that 15 years ago.
But that’s not what Audi appears to be most excited about with the new RS3. The company detailed the RS Torque Splitter that sits on the sport sedan’s rear axle in a presentation to media last week. The new system replaces the old rear differential, opting for electronically controlled clutches on each half shaft. These handle torque vectoring, sending power to the inner or outer rear wheels depending on cornering scenarios and slip. Here’s a deeper explanation, courtesy of Audi:
The exact distribution of drive torque always depends on the mode selected in Audi drive select and the respective driving situation. Each of the two multiple disc clutches has its own control unit, which use the electronic stabilization control’s wheel speed sensors to measure the wheel speeds. Other influencing factors include longitudinal and lateral acceleration, the steering angle, the position of the gas pedal, the selected gear, and the yaw angle, i.e. the rotational movement around the vertical axis. In addition, the torque splitter is connected to the modular vehicle dynamics controller as a higher-level entity.
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As you’d expect, the Torque Splitter factors into the RS3’s various drive modes, and there are two in particular that are especially relevant: RS Performance and RS Torque Rear. RS Performance is your optimal mode for peak grip in all conditions, aiming to strike that mythical balance between understeer and oversteer. Meanwhile, RS Torque Rear — which Audi has nicknamed “Drift Mode” and cautions is only intended for use on a closed course — sends all the power straight back, and up to 790 lb-ft of torque to either rear wheel.
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The car’s Electronic Stabilization Control system has been tuned to account for the Torque Splitter and can still be turned off, for those who think they know better than stinkin’ computers. The suspension touts new shock absorbers, exclusive to the RS3, and an upgrade with adaptive dampers is available, too. For the first time, Audi will let buyers choose Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R semi-slicks from the factory if they like.
The result of all of these enhancements is “enormously” increased performance, according to Audi — though you’d figure the tires alone would make for a pretty appreciable leap. We’ll be able to share more on the RS3 in the coming weeks; until then, enjoy these pictures of the sedan and its forbidden Sportback cousin drifting all over the dang place.
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Photo: Audi
Photo: Audi
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Photo: Audi
Photo: Audi
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Tesla is having a hell of a time with the whole car business this week. First Elon announced that the Plaid + model was cancelled because the standard Plaid was too good. Then earlier on Thursday Tesla announced it was raising the price of the standard Plaid, set to launch Thursday night, by $10,000. And now the company has been forced to walk back performance claims of the new high-speed Model S. Apparently that 200 mile per hour claim is only true if your car is equipped with optional wheels that don’t yet exist.
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Tesla has recently added a note to its configurator page informing potential customers that “The indicated Plaid top speed requires proper wheels and tires which will be available in Fall 2021.” Allegedly, at least according to a display at tonight’s Plaid Event, the new facelifted Model S is now capable of a drag coefficient of 0.208, which beats the already impressive Mercedes EQS and Lucid Air by 0.001 and 0.002 Cd respectively. That will certainly help the car to achieve a high top speed, but apparently without the right wheels and tires, it’s still out of reach.
When the Plaid was announced last year, Daddy Elon promised it would run 0-60 in under 2 seconds, run the quarter mile in “sub-9 seconds”, go 200 miles per hour, and run on the company’s new more-efficient 4860 battery cells. As we get closer to the Plaid actually delivering, it’s failing ever more of those claims. Not only have the 4860 cells been dropped, but it’s only been able to run a 9.2-second quarter (which is truly bonkers, but not a sub-9). Range has been reduced, the price has been increased, and now the top speed has been pushed back. Just once it would be awesome if Tesla under-promised and over-delivered.
Hitting 200 miles per hour is not an easy thing to do, and it’s pretty much useless on any street car, but the fact that it’s now within reach for a relatively mainstream car is quite an accomplishment. I’m sure that several people will order this 200+ MPH wheel and tire package just for bragging rights, but how many will actually take their Tesla to 200? A dozen? Fewer? It’s a little funny that the fancy new Tesla continues the trend of Tesla failing to deliver on its claims, but if/when this wheel package is released to the public, it’ll make the Model S faster than pretty much anything in that price range. Will that be the electric car’s 959/F40 moment?
I’m guessing that this top speed has less to do with the wheels, but more the tire on which the car rides. Getting an extremely heavy machine like the Model S (already nearly 5,000 pounds in dual-motor guise) to go 200 miles per hour is going to put a lot of stress on those Michelins. Maybe this is a brand new tire that the French tire maker had to develop specifically for the Plaid. I guess I’d rather Tesla err on the side of safety and caution for once than allow people to go two bills in their car without the proper tire for it.
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In any case, the tri-motor superfast Tesla is officially launching on Thursday night at 11PM Eastern, and the Tesla website still promises deliveries beginning in June. There are twenty days left in the month to make that true. We’ll see.
The company has been taking deposits for the Plaid since last September. I wonder if anyone who placed a deposit on their Plaid will be backing out of the deal. Either way, it’s a great way for Tesla to get interest free $1,000 loans from hundreds of customers. Man, what a great idea for some free capital injection for your car company!
I just flew out to Seattle to buy a 2006 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, a vehicle so infamously expensive to repair that any one visit to the dealership could cost as much as a whole new car. Not only did the Touareg make it the 2,100 miles home, but it did it without even triggering a check engine light. And, I should mention, the engine under the hood of this SUV has the power to corrupt even the best drivers.
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Like many car enthusiasts, I spent my formative years watching car-focused television and videos. One of the videos that’s still vivid in my memory is watching a blue Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI pull a decommissioned Boeing 747 down a runway at a leisurely pace. That story is incredible in itself, as VW added 15,498 pounds of ballast weight to the already nearly 6,000 pound SUV before hitching it up to the 747.
Since I recently got news that my Passat W8 has met an unfortunate end, I decided to replace it with something even more stupid. I took the gamble and picked up the V10 TDI sight unseen with the only promise being that it didn’t have a check engine light. And what I found out in my 2,100-mile drive home is that the marketing for the V10 TDI isn’t just hype. This thing is as ridiculous in real life as it appeared to be in promotional videos.
Photo: Mercedes Streeter
New, they were expensive. The starting price for the V10 in 2006 was $67,750, or $91,240 in today’s money.
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On the outside and even the inside, the Touareg V10 TDI isn’t much different than its VR6 or V8 siblings. We’ve written about the mind-boggling first-generation Volkswagen Touareg and the technology VW put into it before. You can get the same stuff without opting for V10 power. Here’s the V10 TDI compared to the VR6:
Photo: Mercedes Streeter
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Photo: Mercedes Streeter
Photo: Mercedes Streeter
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Your first sign that something is different about this Touareg is the V10 TDI badge on the back.
Photo: Mercedes Streeter
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Things change once you hop behind the wheel and fire up that V10. American diesels back in 2006 still sounded a bit like a big rig, but this? It’s quiet. It even idles smooth like a well-tuned V6 or V8. But open up the throttle and the engine will take you on an adventure.
The Touareg V10 TDI weighs about 6,000 pounds. It even looks heavy. So when you put the throttle down you don’t expect it to launch like a sports car. But stomp it and you’ll hear those twin turbos spool up followed by a surge of power that keeps you in your seat.
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Photo: Mercedes Streeter
The power in itself is bewildering because it’ll keep you in your seat through every gear and past every speed limit in the land. You’ll run out of road before the V10 runs out of power.
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It’s weird, too, because on paper, the V10 TDI isn’t all that impressive. It makes 310-HP and 553 lb-ft torque. Those are similar numbers to the Ford 6.0-liter Power Stroke V8 of the same year, and those don’t make you feel like you can pull down a mountain or tow a jumbo jet. And, the V10 TDI is able to dispatch 0-60 times in about 7 seconds in the real world.
Where the V10 TDI really shines is on the highway. See a mountain up ahead? The V10 TDI will climb it without breaking a sweat or downshifting. Need to make a pass? It’ll pass anything in your way faster than you can say Ferdinand Piëch.
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Photo: Mercedes Streeter
On my trip home I scored 20 mpg while scooting through the Rockies and it wasn’t like I was trying to be conservative with the go pedal, either.
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There have to be some downsides, right? Of course there are!
You have to remove the engine to do what would be minor repairs on smaller engines. Alternator? Engine removal. Turbos? Engine removal. Starter? Engine removal, or disassemble much of the right side of the car. As you can imagine, that makes anything related to the engine a hilariously expensive repair.
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Photo: Mercedes Streeter
Still, despite the endless warnings from former owners and even our own articles, I couldn’t resist the temptation.
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I’m glad, because I’ve never driven an SUV this fun. The V10 TDI is irresponsibly fast and the intoxication of driving it is so corrupting that it could turn Superman into Lex Luthor. It’s a vehicle that somehow doesn’t run out of power; at least, so long as it’s working right. The accelerator pedal is like a gateway drug and somehow, it’s packaged up in a SUV body that can tow around 8,000 pounds and off-road like a beast.
Photo: Mercedes Streeter
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I paid $5,000 for this one and as far as I can tell, it only needs a new dial for the air suspension, a little touch up paint on the tailgate and new tires. Otherwise, everything works as it should. But even after my trip would I recommend you buy one? Absolutely not, unless you have like 10 other cars to drive when it breaks.
The simplest and most genius-brain solution to charging times and range with EVs isn’t one you’ll find in America. In China, though, it’s gaining ground. All that and more in The Morning Shift for June 2, 2021.
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1st Gear: China Is An Alternate Universe For EVs
China is like the American car market in so many ways. It’s huge, for one, (the biggest in the world while we’re number two) and filled with people inexplicably buying sedans and not hatchbacks or wagons. It’s also the biggest market for electric cars in the world, and you see as many Teslas bopping around Shanghai as you do here in New York or Los Angeles.
This is a long intro to the point that battery-swapping stations are taking off there, as noted in this overview story by Automotive News China:
Until 2019, state-owned BAIC Motor Co. and EV startup Nio were the only two automakers offering battery swap services for customers.
[…]
Competition from Tesla and Nio’s success in gaining customers with battery swap services have prompted other Chinese EV makers to take bold steps.
[…]
While Geely is constructing battery swap stations on its own, other Chinese automakers have opted to build facilities along with domestic companies to share costs.
In September, state-owned Changan Automobile Co. launched its first battery swap station in Chongqing along with a consortium of other major domestic companies.
The partner companies include CATL, China’s largest EV battery maker; Aulton New Energy Vehicle Technology Co., a Shanghai-based battery swap station operator; and State Grid, a state-owned power grid operator.
In March, SAIC Motor Corp., another major state-owned automaker, also teamed up with Aulton to kick off operation of the first battery swap station for its EVs.
Aiways, an EV startup, tapped Blue Part Smart Energy, an EV charging facility operator under BAIC, in April to offer battery swap services.
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This is all interesting to see from an American perspective, especially one based out of New York City. Around the turn of the century, NYC was home to the largest electric car company in the world, the Electric Vehicle Company, and it operated using battery-swapping stations right in the middle of Manhattan. The tech is basic. We could go down this route if we wanted to.
2nd Gear: Another Tesla Recall
Some 6,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Ys are getting recalled for loose brake caliper bolts, as Reuters reports:
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is recalling nearly 6,000 U.S. vehicles because brake caliper bolts could be loose, with the potential to cause a loss of tire pressure, documents made public on Wednesday show.
The recall covers certain 2019-2021 Model 3 vehicles and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles. Tesla’s filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it had no reports of crashes or injuries related to the issue and that the company will inspect and tighten, or replace, the caliper bolts as necessary.
Tesla said that loose caliper bolts could allow the brake caliper to separate and contact the wheel rim, which could cause a loss of tire pressure in “very rare circumstances.” The company said that, in the “unlikely event” there is vehicle damage from a loose or missing fastener, it will arrange for a tow to the nearest service center for repair.
Another interesting Tesla story comes from Bloomberg, which has taken notice that everyone is not just copying Tesla’s plans to make attractive and desirable electric cars, but also how Tesla talks them up with ever-grander terminology. Per Bloomberg:
Many of the words speak to the sheer scale of Musk’s ambitions, which are always far grander than people realize initially. A battery factory isn’t just a battery factory, it’s a Gigafactory. (Giga comes from the Greek word “gigas,” or giant.)
A fast charging station for Tesla’s electric cars isn’t just a charging station, it’s a Supercharger. (Tesla has more than 25,000, giving them the largest network in the world.)
The battery packs that Tesla sells to utilities that promise “massive energy storage?” Megapacks.
There are no signs of him stopping. At Tesla’s “Battery Day” in September 2020, Musk talked about reaching “Terawatt-hour” scale battery production. “Tera is the new Giga,” Musk said on stage.
We’ve now reached the point where every battery factory — even those being made by competitors — is called a gigafactory, regardless of its physical size or planned output. “Nissan in advanced talks to build battery gigafactory in UK,” reported the Financial Times. “Stellantis discussing conditions with Rome to build gigafactory in Italy,” said Reuters.
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Would Tesla be where it is if everyone just called gigafactories what they are? (They’re just regular factories.)
4th Gear: Toyota Scaling Back Olympic Plans
The Olympics in Japan seem to be still on somebody’s schedule, even if the people of Japan seem less than stoked on a global travel-fest in the midst of a still-ongoing global pandemic. Of course, this has huge implications for … high-profile industrial manufacturing that hopes to use the Olympics as a sales and marketing opportunity! Reuters has a broad report on it, and I’ll just take out this little section on Toyota:
For global sponsor Toyota Motor Corp., the Games were a chance to showcase its latest technology. It had planned to roll out about 3,700 vehicles, including 500 Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell sedans, to shuttle athletes and VIPs among venues.
It also planned to use self-driving pods to carry athletes around the Olympic village.
Such vehicles will still be used, but on a much smaller scale — a “far cry from what we had hoped and envisioned,” a Toyota source said. A full-scale Olympics, the source said, would have been a “grand moment for electric cars.”
A Toyota spokeswoman declined to comment on whether there were any changes to its marketing.
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5th Gear: Biden Blocks Trump Plan For Arctic Drilling In Alaska
This is not a total win for climate, but it’s something, as the Financial Times reports:
The Biden administration has announced it will suspend the Arctic oil drilling rights sold in the last days of Donald Trump’s presidency, reversing a signature policy of the previous White House and handing a victory to environmentalists.
[…]
Tuesday’s decision marked a victory for environmentalists and activists, a pillar of Biden’s support in last year’s election, who have begun to grow impatient with some of the White House’s climate actions. The administration recently opted not to intervene to force the closure of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline and has supported a major Alaska oil project approved during Trump’s term in office.
“In general the Biden administration is acting vigorously on climate change,” said Michael Gerrard, founder of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. “This action on ANWR is quite consistent with that. The actions on the other two projects do not seem so consistent.”
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I’ll take anything I can get at this point!
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Neutral: How Is Your Car?
My Bug refused to start the other day just as I had loaded the car up for a multi-day road trip. With rain coming down, it refused to start even when I flagged down a ‘90s Infiniti for a jump. I ran out and got a new battery and it did start, but was running like shit until I found a half-bare wire leading to the coil. Some electrical tape later and we were on the road, though I’m still finding the car getting hot and leaking oil around some seals I know I just replaced. Stopping after one mountain pass I saw vapor rising out of one of the two carburetors. Time for a tune-up!
It has a mouthful of a name, but you may never drive a car as muscular as it is desperately fun. It’s the 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody, baby!
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I’m in the middle of a full week with this magical machine, and even though the weather hasn’t been ideal for my first outing in a rear wheel drive performance car that boasts almost 800 horsepower, I’ve been having one hell of a time. Not only is the most satisfying gas-guzzler I’ve ever driven, but everyone in my entire family has been fielding questions about it wherever we go. I dropped my younger sister off at her math class, and all the preteens were ogling at the window. I dropped my mom off at the Nissan dealership to pick up her Armada, and she had to let people know that, no, this isn’t actually her daughter’s car. My neighbors hear the doors unlock and wait outside to ask if that’s what they think it is. My grandpa won’t stop asking for photos. My brother asked if he can have the engine to put in his Scamp. I think this is the first time my mom has been legitimately impressed by the fact that I write about cars, whereas most of the time she’s just glad I’ve found something to do that makes me happy.
Photo: Elizabeth Blackstock
It’s definitely a vehicle that demands attention, which has taken more adjustment from me than dealing with mad wheel spin on damp roads (although I’ve quite enjoyed scaring the shit out of my sister with that whole situation). No one has ever paid attention to my Mazda 2 aside from once when it was parked at COTA and someone drew a penis on the window in dust.
And I figured that, if I’m going to be writing about this fella, I should know what you want to know before I take this sweet fella out for a long weekend drive.
