In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Green Editor John Snyder and Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale. This episode is all about driving, on- and off-road, and in a variety of vehicles. In particular, the trio are talking about recent experiences in the 2020 Subaru Outback, 2020 Cadillac XT6, 2019 Mercedes-AMG C 63 S and 2020 Hyundai Palisade. At the end, they tackle an interesting and particularly tough "Spend My Money" question involving whether or not to put off purchasing a Jeep Wrangler in favor of a sensible daily driver.
Transcript[MUSIC PLAYING]
GREG MIGLIORE: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the "Autoblog Podcast." I'm Greg Migliore. Joining me today in studio is senior editor for "Autoblog Green," John Snyder.
JOHN SNYDER: Hey, how's it going?
GREG MIGLIORE: It's going good. It's Friday. It's 70 degrees, blue skies and sunny, really good morning to be up and alive. Doug is second. Good times. Associate editor Joel Stocksdale sitting across from me also in the studio. How you doing?
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Pretty good.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, good times. It's, you know, early August. We're still right the thick of summer, good time to drive cars.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, for sure.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's what we're going to talk about today. John just got back from California, right?
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, Northern California.
GREG MIGLIORE: NoCal, driving the Subaru Outback. Joel, you were driving the Cadillac XT6. Where were you?
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Down in kind of the DC, Virginia, Maryland--
GREG MIGLIORE: Gotcha.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: --all that stuff area.
GREG MIGLIORE: So you're a coastal elite right now? Is who you are?
JOEL STOCKSDALE: I guess, driving a big, fancy Caddy.
GREG MIGLIORE: All right, so I was driving a Mercedes AMG C63 S. You know, the S kind of is tacked down there in a slightly awkward way. And I was driving that here and tropical Michigan. John and I have spent some time in the Hyundai Palisade, which is cool. Last week, I spent some time in the Palisades-- not really. I just drove right through them. But hey, that's the connection. And then we will spend your money. We've got a really nuanced, multi-layered one. So let's jump right in.
The Outback is one of my favorite vehicles the industry. It really kind of resonates with me, as a guy who has a young son who I could sort of consider myself owning an Outback. Going back, like, almost 10 years, when I was at "Autoweek," we had a long-term Outback, and I got a ton of seat time in that. I drove to Chicago to pick up some enormous speakers in this, like, random north side neighborhood, and they both fit really well in the back of the Outback.
So to me, it's the kind of car that fits a lot of different stages in your life. It's, like, the right size crossover. It's also basically a wagon, even though it's kind of lifted--
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: --slightly. So whenever they do a new one, I really pay a lot of attention to it. Obviously, you were out there. You got the deep dive. You drove it-- just some initial impressions?
JOHN SNYDER: Sure. Well, yes, it-- you know, I saw this at the New York show and thought-- you know, approaching it from outside, I was like, this looks a lot like the last Outback. But as you get closer, you start to notice some different details, particularly, like, the cladding. There's more of that.
But inside, it looks completely different. And you know, the interior is all sort of designed around this big, almost 12-inch tablet oriented vertically, and it's integrated really well inside. And there's giant cup holders. The materials are-- I feel like you're a lot nicer. The ones I drove had Napa leather and-- but when it came to driving it, it was just phenomenally better.
This is on the Subaru global platform now, which made a big difference for the Forester when I drove that-- quieter, stiffer, just more refined-- and found the same thing here with the Outback. Yeah, it's a big step forward once you get behind the wheel, and you have to drive it to really notice that.
GREG MIGLIORE: Gotcha. I think what's interesting, too, about Subaru is its interiors have made great strides in the last couple years, really.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I mean, Subaru interiors were very-- I mean, you knew what you were getting.
JOHN SNYDER: Sure.
GREG MIGLIORE: It maybe wasn't the strong point of the car. Now, they-- it's one of the selling points, I think. You know, the-- you know, the cars are really looking more upscale. The materials are better. There appears to be more of, like, a game plan for, like, how and where they're putting things. So-- and I mean, this car starts at north of $35,000, almost $36,000.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So I mean, car prices are going up, but that's not nothing. So you expect to have a decent interior for that kind of money.
JOHN SNYDER: And it comes with a lot of things standard, you know. And the very base model doesn't have that big touchscreen. It's got two smaller ones. But you go up one trim level, and it's got it. And it's got, you know, all sorts of optional-- what would normally be optional equipment as standard.
But yeah, it's just really well thought out, really nice storage spaces. There's a space on the passenger side of the center console to, like, stick your phone. There's a nice little cubby sort of below the touch screen where there's an optional wireless charger, which is the first time I've seen one in a Subaru--
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
JOHN SNYDER: --I think.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I'd agree with that. Yeah.
JOHN SNYDER: And then it's got this technology driver focus, which you know, pays attention to your face. It does facial recognition. So it helps with driving, keeping you from getting distracted, but it also has-- you know, it recognizes up to five people and stores their faces onboard.
And so when you get into the car, it looks at you. It knows you. It knows your settings, knows where you want everything. And as soon as you start sliding behind the wheel, it starts adjusting everything for you. And our long-term Forester that we're getting is going to have that, too. So I'm excited to try that.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's going to be really good for press cars--
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Just because, you know, it's basically a different driver every night or every couple nights. But I could also see how in a family where, you know, one person drives it. You know, you play with the seats. You get your different radio stations. Then you know, your partner comes back and drives it, and you're like, oh, well, the seat's not where it should be. We're listing to, like, some station you don't want to hear. And then just boom, right back synced up. I kind of like that.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's cool.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, it's cool.
GREG MIGLIORE: A little paranoid about the facial recognition thing. There's a part of me that just feels like that's a little creepy.
JOHN SNYDER: It doesn't it doesn't send anything to the cloud. It doesn't, you know, send data anywhere. It's just stored--
GREG MIGLIORE: OK.
JOHN SNYDER: --on board and yeah, that's it. So I think they're very concerned about those privacy issues and know that their consumers aren't going to want to--
GREG MIGLIORE: Right.
JOHN SNYDER: --have that be a problem. But I'm looking forward to using it.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, no, I think so, too. I think it's one of those things where you kind of-- like, there's that initial, I don't know, hesitation, wariness. But then you're like, OK, it works. It's-- they're not stealing your bone marrow. It--
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: You know, it makes sense. So here's a question for the room. Joel, I'll start with you-- Forester or Outback, which one? They tend to be a little cross-shopped. They offer somewhat comparable features. It's basically comes down to, do you want an SUV or a crossover wagon thing? And this would obviously necessitate you staying in the Subaru family.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: I mean, probably depends on how much money I have to spend. Like, if I had a good amount of money and I could spring for, like, the Outback Turbo, I'd probably go for that. But if I was working on a budget, I think I'd probably go Forester, partly just because the Forester is such a good package. It has so much space. It has such great visibility, and it's a really nice, tidy small package that's easy to maneuver. But if I could spring for the turbo engine, I would take that if I had the option.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think I'd take the Outback just because I really like the Outback, but it's a tough call. I really like the Forester there, too. Definitely I would go for the turbo in the Outback just because that sounds like it's a really good engine. John, you have a choice on either one?
JOHN SNYDER: I'm going rogue on this one. I'm going Crosstrek hybrid.
GREG MIGLIORE: OK, I mean, stunning random pick from--
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Well, if I'd known that was an option, then that would be that I would've picked.
GREG MIGLIORE: Option C.
JOHN SNYDER: But I have to say that, you know, the Forester is good to drive. The Outback is great. You have two engine options. You've got the 2.5 naturally aspirated and you've got the 2.4 turbo, which is awesome because there's a turbo in an Outback again. Both of them feel good. The 2.5 is adequate.
The 2.4 turbo in the XT is really good, and the car just drives so well. It drives like a car, not like a like an SUV. It feels-- you know, I felt like I could have been in, like, a legacy or something. Just-- I was hauling around these corners in-- you know, through the Redwood Forest. And then drove it off road and it was just eating up everything I could throw at it.
The only thing as having some problems with was scraping the bottom of the front fascia going over some deeper ruts. But I was talking to some folks at Subaru, and they are-- this seems like very, like, not-- they weren't very committed to this idea, but they're talking about it, is what they said, offering a quick-release, like, front bumper, lower front bumper. So you could take that off. If you're camping and you're going to go off road and you don't want to scrape it up, you can pop it off.
GREG MIGLIORE: I'm trying to picture how that would look. Like, I want to think that would look really sweet, like, you know, the front end of, like, you know, the Raptor, like you know, the front end of the Colorado, like the off-road version. That sounds kind of sweet. I think I would drive around without a bumper.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, I was really impressed with how this thing climbed hills. The hill descent control is really good in the X mode, and that's standard across the lineup. This thing was really comfortable off road and most comfortable on, like, soft roads. You know, cruising off of some of these logging roads with over gravel and dirt, it just felt really comfortable, really stable. The thing steers really well. The steering is, like, perfect. That was the biggest surprise for me was just how well the steering felt in this Outback.
But yeah, so if I had to choose between that and the Forester, I would probably choose the Outback just because it's nicer and it just drives so well. I don't think I would need the turbo motor here in Michigan. But if I were going to tow, maybe. The turbo can tow up to 3,500 pounds.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think the turbo would be fun to drive-- not having driven either one. But I feel like the naturally aspirated would be just fine for what I would use it for, probably.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, and the-- you know, that gets 33 miles per gallon highway, 29 combined. So that's what I like about that one.
GREG MIGLIORE: Very, solid very solid.
JOHN SNYDER: You lose three MPG with the turbo motor across the board.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's interesting. OK, that's the Subaru Outback.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: It sounds like a really interesting drive. I cannot wait to drive this thing-- can't wait to drive the Forester, too. But again, the Outback is one of my spotlight cars that I tend to really pay attention to, get excited to drive. So yeah, very cool.
Let's move on to another very important car for the industry ad for Cadillac and I guess last week, for Joel Stocksdale because he drove it. This is the 2020 Cadillac XT6. This is the crossover that fills the slot Cadillac has had an enormous hole in for quite some time. Every other luxury automaker has been able to, like, sort of round out their SUV lineup. Cadillac's taken its time doing it, but this is a critical entry. This does give them some bandwidth, some coverage in an area where people are buying these things. Let's see. You definitely-- you went up and down the coast in this thing. Some initial thoughts?
JOEL STOCKSDALE: So XT6 ended up being kind of a pleasant surprise. I had fairly low expectations for it. I mean, when it was revealed, it was-- well, it still doesn't look super striking. It's kind of conservative looking. It's a big, three-row crossover. And most disappointingly, it seems to use a lot of existing GM crossover bones. It's got the 3.6 liter V6. It's transverse mounted, so it's either front drive or all-wheel drive, and it just doesn't sound very appealing when this is a company that gives us some pretty fantastic rear drive sports sedans.
But having actually taken it out for a drive, you know, it's better than-- it's more than the sum of its parts. It's really, really quiet. It's really refined. It actually handles decently. I was kind of surprised. It-- body roll is pretty contained. Steering actually feels pretty good in it-- overall, pleasant surprise.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think, you know, reading your review-- nice job on the review, by the way-- I think this kind of seems like it went to chalk. It went according to how I kind of thought it would, you know, shake out. Like, I notice you note that the interior-- you called it a mixed bag. But you also mentioned how, like, the chassis, the steering, it's pretty good. And I mean, that, to me, is what Cadillac, and even General Motors, has been doing for the last few years is they-- like, they have the chassis stuff down. They are dialed in. On almost every area where you need a good suspension, good driving dynamics, they could give that to you.
Powertrains are usually pretty good. I like the 3.6 liter V6. I think that's a strong engine. Looks for Cadillac, little divisive, some people like them. Some people don't. But you know, whatever, I think this is pretty good looking. It is what it is.
JOHN SNYDER: I completely ignored this when it was, you know, on the show floor in Detroit. I just didn't-- I didn't even notice it there. But I saw one going down the highway the other day, I imagine someone who works at GM. And I-- it turned my head.
I was like, wow, that looks good. That looks imposing going down the highway. It looks fresh. It looks-- yeah, I liked it. Big, boxy, looked pretty macho. I came around to it pretty quickly when I saw it, you know, live.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's an interesting take. I also saw one roaming somewhere around here. I feel like it was on Woodward or something. I was like, oh, that thing looks pretty good in real life, much better than, like, on an auto show floor. Press pictures I don't think really do it justice. Random side note, I saw the mid-engine Corvette last night.
JOHN SNYDER: Oh, nice.
GREG MIGLIORE: You want to talk about GM vehicles you want to catch, it was totally un-camoed, manufacturer plates, driving down Maple Road here in suburban Detroit.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
JOHN SNYDER: Did you get to hear it?
GREG MIGLIORE: I didn't. I was in this Mercedes that we're going talk about here in a little bit, had the windows down actually. I think it was just-- it was a busy, loud street, and I just didn't-- the guy clearly wasn't exactly, like, trying to be seen. He was just kind of driving, and I was like, oh wow, that thing looks awesome in real life.
Anyways, back to the Cadillac, interior sounds like it was a bit of a letdown though, Joel, like, kind of a mixed bag. Some of the materials were pretty good. But as Cadillac tends to do, they don't all tend to go together the right way.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, and I mean, that's just-- that's the way the Cadillac has been lately is that they do put nice materials in it. Like, one of the things that has been showing up a lot of our Cadillacs is this carbon fiber where they've, like, woven in copper fibers. It's a really neat finish.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, that's neat.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: So it's like-- it's carbon fiber but with kind of this more gold, metallic kind of glint to it that's really nice. But-- and we were actually talking about this a little bit in kind of an office chat, but GM in general, like their interior design, has this, like, weird, chunky kind of look--
JOHN SNYDER: Yes.
GREG MIGLIORE: Absolutely.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: --that even when it's, like, covered in nice materials, it still looks kind of cheap. And I-- it's frustrating because-- I mean, like we said, like, chassis and Powertrain stuff, GM has down pat. I'd say that the nine-speed in this Cadillac could use a little bit of work. Like, every time I wanted to downshift, it seemed like it had to shift twice, which is a little bit annoying.
But otherwise, not really any complaints there. It's just like, if they could just up their interior game, that would be huge and I think would really get some attention. Because you look at companies like Lincoln and Mercedes and Audi--
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: --like, their interiors are amazing. Like, they look genuinely special, and that's what you spend all your time. So--
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: --and if you're going to spend a lot of money on a luxury car, you want to feel that every time you sit in the car. And touching on exterior styling, I think it's a perfectly fine-looking vehicle. I wish Cadillac had, like, leaned in more on, like, being brash and flashy and, like-- because I feel like one of the things that worked really well for them is-- I mean, the Escalade is still a big name for them.
It's a car that everybody knows, and it's still, like, a desirable vehicle. And a big part of that is that it screams, look at me. I make lots of money. I have this flashy, glitzy, luxurious vehicle. And I kind of feel like Cadillac should still lean into that.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, like, this is way more car than I need, but I can afford it, so here I am.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think this is pretty flashy, considering the segment. Like, if you look at some of the BMW and Mercedes offerings, there, they're kind of bland. So I think-- you know, Cadillac's definitely going for it. I think they get points, like, the grill, the headlights, the tail lights.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: They probably could have done a little bit more on the sides. It's-- you know, on the sides, it looks pretty standard, you know, button-down, oxford shirt SUV, which, you know, that's fine. So I'm curious, too, where you think this is going to fit in this segment, Joel. You think this is-- it's going to face off against, like, the Lincoln Aviator. And then of course, we've got the Germans. We've got Lexus. We've got-- you know, it's a very crowded field. Everybody's really there. Is this the vehicle that's going to steal some share for Cadillac?
JOEL STOCKSDALE: I think it could in kind of its price tier. Because, like, I don't think it's entirely fair to compare it to, say, like, Mercedes Benz GLS or BMW X7, simply-- I mean, in part because those each cost about $20,000-- like, $20,000, $30,000 more than the Cadillac. And I mean, they also kind of feel, like, $20,000 or so nicer.
But compared with some of the other kind of like really aging, like, three-row luxury, entry luxury stuff, like the Infinity QX60 in the Acura MDX, I think this is a nice vehicle. I think it's much more refined than those vehicles. It drives nicer, and the interior is a little nicer than both of them, too.
I think its toughest competition is going to be the Volvo XC90, which is still an extremely handsome SUV and has a wonderful interior. And I think the Lincoln Aviator could be an issue too, because the aviator is going to offer a lot more power and potentially offer, like, rear-wheel drive, driving dynamics and have a really nice interior for a similar price.
GREG MIGLIORE: One thing that I think frustrates me a little bit with Cadillac is they keep doing very solid things that don't tend to really elevate it out of its current status. So it's like, if you're Mercedes or BMW and you're at the top of the heap, you could sort of afford to, you know, play it conservative, play it safe, do what, you know, everybody expects and get away with it. I feel like if you're Cadillac, you need to sort of go above, like, what these other people are doing.
And I feel like they're playing a little too, like, straightforward. Like, I mean, this sounds like it's a very good, solid vehicle, but it doesn't sound like it's going to knock off one of the German competitors. We also have, like, Lincoln, which also is struggling with some of its sales, but they are elevating themselves. Like, the interiors, the rear-wheel drive chassis that they're seemingly pulling out of thin air, the interiors, the-- I mean, they're good-looking vehicles.
So I mean, you could look over here, and it's like, well, Lincoln is doing this. Like, maybe, like, try to take some of those risks, too. And to be fair, for Lincoln, it's not really paying off for them on the sales chart. Like, Lincoln's not taking down anybody, but the products are being very well received. So--
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, and I kind of wonder if some of it is just that Cadillac is trying to get something onto the market as fast as it can while the crossover market is hot. Because I mean, like you said, they didn't have anything in this segment yet. And I mean, for a while, like, their only, like, car-based crossover was the SRX until they brought out the XT4 about a year or so ago and now the XT6 is coming out this year. So I think part of it may be that, like, they're just trying to get something out and hopefully, like, maybe the next generation push the needle further.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's a good point. And I think it's also fair to note that we're not, like, dogging on this thing. We're saying, like, hey, it's pretty good. There's a lot of good stuff out there.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So any other Cadillac thoughts, gentlemen?
JOHN SNYDER: I just know we'll see a lot of them around here. I just don't know if we'll see--
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
JOHN SNYDER: --a lot of them outside the Midwest.
GREG MIGLIORE: Indeed. I agree with that. Well, a car that you probably will see a lot of outside the Midwest is the 2019 AMG C63 S.
JOHN SNYDER: Yes.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think you'll see maybe not a lot of this car, but it definitely has broad crossover appeal. I drove this thing the last couple nights. John, I'm going to give you the keys for the weekend, I believe. You're a very lucky man.
I really enjoyed this car. I think it's the highest evolution of, like, what I want this size AMG to be. Like, it really-- it's a good version of the C-class. It's a good version of, like I said, sort of the size of AMG. It feels really dialed in.
The steering is, like, really good. It's-- you have this big oval-almost-type steering wheel. Depending on the different modes you could cue up, you could, you know, sort of tune the chassis settings, and you do feel the differences, I think. You know, you can tune up the power train, the suspension, the steering, things like that. And it takes corners well. It feels planted.
It has a gorgeous interior. This one was awesome. I mean, like, silver inserts, black leather, red sort of accents, red stitching. I just tweeted about this, so check that out if you follow me on Twitter. Check out-- you know, we're going to have-- I think Reese is going to do a review of the story later this month on this car.
This one does cost-- let's see, $97,830, so you're almost at six figures for a C-class. So wow, that's a lot of money. For that, you do get the four liter V8 biturbo, 503 horsepower, 516 foot-pounds of torque. So you get, like, that legit AMG Powertrain, or one of the very legit V8s they offer. And I don't know. That is a lot of money for a C-class.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Is that the as-tested price or-- like, what's the base price?
GREG MIGLIORE: That's the total retail price. The suggested-- the-- basically, the MSRP standard is 74,600.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: OK, so you can have--
GREG MIGLIORE: So that's a little more reasonable.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, because $92,000, that's-- woo, that's a lot. But if you can go easier on the options, it sounds like it's a little more reasonable.
GREG MIGLIORE: Well, what we definitely did-- well, we-- for this, we essentially added every AMG, either flashy or go-fast thing you could get. So we've got, like, a carbon fiber pack on here. We've got 19 AMG forged cross-spoke wheels. We've got performance seats, the digital cluster, I mean, just-- the carbon ceramic brakes, which are like--
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: --this kind of beautiful golden thing. You don't need those to drive around, like, suburban Detroit or suburban anywhere, for that matter. So there's ways to kind of cut costs here. That being said, if you're buying an AMG, are you trying to cut costs in your life? I mean, is this the area you skimp? You know, I don't know. Maybe drop Amazon or Netflix or something before that. I don't know. But the car drives really well. It sounds really good.
AMG's starting to kind of be a little bit like M with BMW, where they offer different ways you could tune the drive character almost excessively. So I was driving around at different points in, like, comfort because traffic is just really bad. Every road is under construction around here. But I'd have the exhaust still blaring, which is kind of fun.
It's a flashy car. It looks really good. I keep always having this, like, internal argument because I love the 3 series. Like, I'm a big fan of the 3 series. But it's just like, the C-class has gotten so good-- the way it looks, inside and out, and then the different power plants it offers-- that I'm almost, like, begrudgingly forced to admit that I think I'd have to cross over to C-class territory, if I were going to buy one of these.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, I was just going to ask.
GREG MIGLIORE: They're just so good. I mean, they look so good. I mean, you look at a 3 series right now, and it's an excellent car. It still conjures up all of the images I want for, like, a 3 series. But--
JOHN SNYDER: It doesn't-- yeah, the 3 series doesn't have that-- you know, that something special that it used to.
GREG MIGLIORE: I was just about say that, exactly.
JOHN SNYDER: And Mercedes seems to be capturing that more and more. That said, I mean, they're both good cars.
GREG MIGLIORE: Oh, definitely.
JOHN SNYDER: But it would be tough to choose between the two, but I think I would also choose Mercedes.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, this is coming to something that I was wanting to ask you guys is that since we've actually been in kind of most of the segment recently. We've had the M3 competition come through. We've had the Audi RS5 come through and the Lexus RCF and now this. I mean, of those, like, which is your choice?
GREG MIGLIORE: That's a tough question.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, I think-- I don't know. I'm going to reserve the right to change my mind after I drive it this weekend, but I'm going with this.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I feel like I'd be your prisoner of the moment, but I also would probably go with this because I feel like all around, AMG is just-- they are just killing it right now. Like, they have it-- like, they're doing a great job.
JOHN SNYDER: I love the interiors--
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
JOHN SNYDER: --that they've been doing. I love the technology they do. It's all-- like, from the infotainment to the driver assist technology, it's all really well refined. It all works great. And I really like that. I appreciate that quite a bit. It adds a lot to the driving experience, especially for me, who commutes, you know, in dense traffic every day. I would take that for that comfort and then I don't know. It's going to be fun, you know, when I get out in the open, so.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's a very comfortable car, too. Like, I was stuck in traffic on the surface streets, and I was not, like, you know, getting that sort of like summer stuck-in-traffic feel where you just-- you want to be out of your car no matter how amazing your car is. It's comfortable. It's-- you know, you can see out of it pretty well. It's obviously flashy, but it's I think it's a very, very solid car.
And I think AMG is doing a lot of the right things right now. I think they've-- in the last decade, they've really found who they are as a modern sort of performance maker. I think they've evolved from just being this, like, German hot ride company that really puts forth well-executed, you know, models in all segments, too.
I think most of the AMGs I've tested lately, whether they were, like, SUV form or even, you know, this, you know, smaller sedan, they've all been good for their segment but also sort of conveyed, like, that spirit of AMG. So really like this car. Any other thoughts on this, guys?
JOHN SNYDER: I just can't wait to drive it tonight.
GREG MIGLIORE: All right. There you go. All right, so we'll shift over to the Hyundai Palisade, very important vehicle for them, of course, also arguably for the industry because this is sort of marking Hyundai's foray into the segment. It's huge. It looks huge.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah. It really does.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think we got to start with the cup holders though, right? Did you do a Nalgene test on this?
JOHN SNYDER: The Nalgene wouldn't fit in these cup holders. They've got these sort of trick cup holders that pop out. They, like, surround your drink.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's a total gizmo. Like, you don't need it. But it's also-- it is kind of cool, though. Because like, say you need to put a bunch of stuff in the center console--
JOHN SNYDER: Right.
GREG MIGLIORE: --close that up. Put stuff there. Like, it would be good for, like, a purse or something.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, you can throw your phone, your wallet--
GREG MIGLIORE: Your phone, yup.
JOHN SNYDER: --your keys, all that in there.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: I did this it was--
JOHN SNYDER: A small dog.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: I did think it was amusing that both of you posted videos of the cup holders on Twitter.
JOHN SNYDER: It reminded me the-- I was driving the Niro EV, the Kia Niro EV has similar cup holders, but they're sort of offset.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, I think the Kia Soul is that way, too.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah. They're cool. I mean, it's, like, a cool party trick. But yeah, not big enough for the Nalgene at all.
GREG MIGLIORE: But the rest of the vehicle, huge.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: A lot of space in this thing. It's the, like, sibling vehicle of the Kia Telluride, which we are definitely looking at as trying to get as a long-termer. So a lot of cool long-term stuff coming. Stay tuned, listeners. Did you do anything in the Palisade?
JOHN SNYDER: I toted my boy around in it, really easy to get a car seat in there, tons of room between the captain's chairs to get to the back seat, roomy back-- third row. You know, it's I drove the Telluride recently, and then I drove this. And I-- the Telluride is a little more, like, rugged, a little more SUVish. This is more like the bourbon crossover material. Not-- I like the-- I like a lot of the design in the Palisade.
In some of the testers I've been in, there's-- like, the quilting is a little weird. It's this very unique pattern. In this one, there's this dash trim piece that's sort of sparkly, which I wasn't really-- it looked like a fishing lure or something. But the infotainment and the digital instrument panel looks great, works well. The car's comfortable to drive. It's pretty quiet. And yeah, it's very wide and solidly planted on the ground. I like it quite a bit. I think I would go with the Telluride, though, just out of style choice.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, me too. And I did like how the Palisade looks. I think those rear tail lights-- this is, like-- the theme of this show is tail lights apparently. But it looks pretty good, I think. But I agree with you. The Telluride just kind of pulls it off a little bit better. It's a little bolder, a little-- slightly more different.
I think for me, the defining moment of this was, like, oh hey, Hyundai Motor Co., as a corporate entity, can make a very credible, large SUV, which is this and the Telluride, of course. So I think it's solid. I think, you know, I like driving it about as much as I like to drive anything in this class. It's, you know, not the greatest moment of your life, but it's not offensive.
You know, it's very capable. It seems like they've priced it in right about the-- you know, the way they should, let's put it that way. It should be competitive. I think the interior's pretty good, too. I mean, they--
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's-- Hyundai does a really good job of loading up these things but not making them look, like, overdone, overwrought. You've got a price over there on that one?
JOHN SNYDER: No, this one doesn't have a price on it.
GREG MIGLIORE: For some reason, I want to say it was $45,000, but I'm kind of pulling that number out of thin air. But yeah, I mean, solid vehicle-- fuel economy, not the greatest thing in the world-- 19 city, 24 highway, 21 combined. But you know, I mean, 3.8 liter V6, which is 291 horsepower, we've put driving that Hyundai Motor Co. engine for years now.
They keep refreshing it a little bit. I don't know. I think it's solid. I mean, Joel, I know you didn't get in this one, but Palisade is an important vehicle. You've probably written about it at some point. Any thoughts on this segment?
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, I mean, this and the Telluride I think are probably about my favorite crossovers in the segment, I mean, based on my experience with the Telluride.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: They're priced really, really well. I mean, the Telluride that we had, the interior felt, like, actually pretty luxurious, but it was still priced like kind of a mid-range, three-row crossover for this segment. And it's like that's genuinely impressive. I don't know-- styling wise, I don't know which I would go with because I like the Telluride's kind of like traditional SUV shape, but I do like some of the detailing on the Palisade.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: I like that it has, like, these big, vertical highlights, kind of front and rear, that almost look like brush guards or push bars on, like, a police car or something. I like the-- I really like the tail light design that has the little, like, thin lines of, like, red light that come through a little gray panel on the tailgate.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: It's--
GREG MIGLIORE: Very cool.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: It's got cool detailing on it that I really appreciate. So it would be a tough choice for me to choose between the two.
JOHN SNYDER: Greg, before we move on, let me ask you this. The feature where when you signal either direction and it shows your blind spot displayed on the instrument panel, did you like that or not?
GREG MIGLIORE: Mmm, I've been going back and forth with this feature for about five or six years. I remember seeing it on the Accord Coupe--
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: --back in, like, 13 or 14.
JOHN SNYDER: So yeah, so Honda has it where it's only on the right side, and it displays on the infotainment screen. This one-- it's kind of neat. When you-- it's for either side. When you signal left or right, it displays on the left or right part of where the speedometer or whatever gauge would go, depending on what mode you're in, on the instrument panel right in front of you, which is kind of cool if you like it. But--
GREG MIGLIORE: I would say-- I didn't look if it's optional or not. I wouldn't pay for it.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Let me put it that way. I liked it, but it also takes a little bit of-- it's sort of like that mirror thing in some of the GM vehicles.
JOHN SNYDER: Sure, yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: --where it takes a little bit of brain recalibration to fully use it. So for me, I-- it was like an extra second where almost my eyes were off the road, that they didn't really need to be.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So I would say I wouldn't probably get it, to be honest. It's cool, but I probably wouldn't get it, to be honest, just because the use case isn't something that's, like, really, you know, relative to me. How about you?
JOHN SNYDER: I like it. I like it quite a bit. Again, like, I don't know how useful it is. I-- I'm in the habit of looking over my shoulder every time I check. But this-- actually, like, you know, you can't see everything when you look over your shoulder. There's--
GREG MIGLIORE: I didn't merge on the expressway, though. I would like to merge onto, like, 696 in rush hour and see how much that helped because I'm like you. I'm compulsive. I'm, like, turning my head to the point where that's probably more dangerous than just checking your blind spots. So that's interesting. So you like it? OK.
JOHN SNYDER: I-- yeah, I'd probably get it if I were getting either of these cars because it was on the Telluride, too.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, I like it, too. You can get it on the Kia K900 also, which is where I experienced it.
JOHN SNYDER: OK, cool.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: And I think it's great. I like that it actually offers both sides because that's kind of my chief complaint with Honda Lane Watch was that it was only for the right hand side. And I get the reasoning behind it. At the time, the only screen that was in the car was the infotainment screen. And they're like, well, we don't want you looking right to check your left side. We still want you to actually, like, use your mirrors and, like, check your blind spot. But with this, I mean, now you've got both sides. And I like that it shows up in the instrument cluster display.
GREG MIGLIORE: I really like that.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, totally.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Because one of the other things that bothered me about lane watches that since it was in the center screen, it meant that if I was going to scan over to the right, instead of, like, looking at my rear view mirror, I would have to, like-- I'd have to, like, tell myself to look down at the center console or a center stack. And I don't know. I'd just rather be able to like glance down, mirror, mirror, blind spot and--
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: --have that quick scan, have, like, all those different views.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's a good way to do it. Yeah, no, it's cool feature. So you mentioned the K900. When did that come out? I'm almost wondering if this is, like, a tech of the year feature that we may-- maybe we need to, like, take a closer look at because it's iterative, compared to Honda.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Let's see. I'm trying to remember when I went and drove the K900.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's been a while.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: I think it might have been last fall or something.
GREG MIGLIORE: Gotcha, OK.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: So I don't know if--
GREG MIGLIORE: It might be out of the calendar year.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: I don't think we would have been able to get the car--
GREG MIGLIORE: No, that's a good point.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: --in time for tech of the year, so maybe it could be this year.
GREG MIGLIORE: OK, might be one we work in there. I don't know.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, I mean, I'd like to get more people's opinions on it, for sure.
GREG MIGLIORE: Absolutely. Cool. All right, that's what we've been driving. We can move on to Spend My Money. We've got a good one here-- a little bit a long one, but it's also pretty nuanced. This comes from Jeff in South Florida. So there's two scenarios here, and they're kind of, like, similar. Let's put it that way.
He wants a Jeep Wrangler. He drives a lot, 20,000 miles per year. He needs something for gas mileage. I know about the Wrangler.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, that's--
GREG MIGLIORE: That's a-- it is what it is. The Wrangler would be about $54,000, according to the way he would spec it out, which is he'd want the Sahara model. He has a 2013 Accord, which we've referenced, like, five times on this podcast already With 128,000 miles, two kids, 10 and 6.
So here's a couple of the scenarios-- keep the Accord for daily work and buy the Wrangler at the end of this year or early 2020. Figures the Accord is good for another few years-- keep the new tires, the fluids. Oh, he did those recently. Or buy a Honda Clarity. See leftover 2018 model year for sales, which he's seeing for about $29,000. That's a pretty good deal, considering it's about $37,000, you know, full price. Federal rebate gets it down to maybe around $20,000 that he would owe. That's a pretty good deal of Clarity, I think.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Calculating that, you know, he'd pay it off after about a year and then get the Wrangler. Also his work has a car charger, so free energy. So basically, his thoughts are immediate fun versus possibly the better long-term move. Joel, you are our ace for Spend My Money. The ball is in your court, sir.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, this is-- this is a tricky one because his Accord definitely has plenty of time left on it. I mean, he can keep rocking that as long as he wants. But definitely for that amount of driving every year, it would be really nice to have something like the Clarity. And the clarity would offer a big jump in fuel economy over his Accord. I think-- I guess-- hmm.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, man, it's-- it's tough. I keep going back and forth. Like, you know, it makes sense to just sort of roll with the Accord and drive it into the ground, you know? But that is just such a good price for a Clarity, and the Clarity is a really nice car to drive. It would be a huge upgrade.
Yeah, it's tough. I'm leaning-- I was originally going to say keep the Accord, get the Wrangler now. Keep the Accord, and drive that into the ground. But I've gone the other way. This is-- I think the Clarity is just too good of a deal. I would get that. You're going to like that, especially if you're spending 20,000 miles in it a year. It's going to be a huge quality-of-life increase and easy on the budget, especially with the free charging at work.
And then, you know, in a couple of years, get the Wrangler and see what's available. Maybe your priorities will have changed by then. You maybe won't want the-- that particular Wrangler. Maybe you'll find something used. You know, I don't know. But I'm going with option B, get rid of the Accord, get the Clarity, wait on the Wrangler.
GREG MIGLIORE: I agree with you. After looking at this, I think the very pragmatic approach is just keep the Accord. Run it into the ground. Get the Wrangler. Then you're only putting out money for one vehicle in this, like, immediate short term. Not quite sure, you know, how much of a restriction money is because obviously, that would be the better, more frugal play is just keep the accord and then get the Wrangler. You're buying one less vehicle.
But I mean, if you really kind of make a couple of moves here into the future, I would get the Clarity as well. I mean, it's just-- it's such a screaming deal. There is a quality-of-life increase here. There is the ability to obviously save some money on fuel, to, you know, get that sort of good feeling you get from, you know, driving a green car, from letting your employer charge it every day. That's kind of good.
And you're still leaving the Wrangler at the table. Like, this isn't, like, a this or that. Like, you're not saying get the Clarity and forget about the Wrangler. You're just waiting a year or two for the Wrangler. So I would do that. Get the Clarity. Wait a little bit of the Wrangler.
And the other thing too is you could always just say, hey, I'm going to get the Clarity. Start the clock on the Wrangler. And then, like, August of 2020, go get the Wrangler, you know? I mean, I think that's entirely reasonable, too. So I would also go with column B. We'll finish up with you, Joel.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, I think what it's going to come down to is how much-- like, if this guy is listening, like, figure out how much you-- like, do you really, really want to, like, walk into the showroom, order exactly the Wrangler that you want with every single spec that you want, or if you're OK with getting a used one. And I'm not saying one or the other is the way to go. But if you do want to, like, pick out exactly the color and specs that you want on a Wrangler, I would say go ahead and get the new one. Keep the Accord.
If not, if you're fine with getting a used one, maybe even getting some features that you hadn't planned on getting, because you can get a very high-trim one for less money if you buy it used, then I'd say get the Clarity and pick up a used Wrangler. So I guess it really comes down to, like, both of these choices are good. Do you want the new ones specced exactly the way you want, or are you willing to save some money and maybe get one that isn't exactly what you want, maybe has some stuff that you didn't think you-- didn't know you wanted.
So I don't know. I guess I'm-- I guess I'm kind of waffling a little bit. I think I would probably lean toward getting the Clarity and getting a used one because-- especially if you get that Clarity and then run that into the ground--
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: --that will save you so much money in the long run.
GREG MIGLIORE: You're really making a couple of different chess moves here, and actually, I think the long-term play is the smart play here. You're going to be spending a little bit more money, but I think you're going to be happier. I think ultimately, you know, more money will have left your bank account. But ultimately, it's, like, the smarter, long-term, like, distribution of funds I think, if you will, versus just saving a little bit of money on the front end and then just running that Accord into the ground.
My other psychoanalysis of this is you're bringing this up. You're probably, on some level, ready to be done with the Accord. I mean, maybe there's that part of it, too. You know, you want something new, want to try something different. But I mean, it's a nuanced question. I think, Joel, you bring a very nuanced answer to it.
JOHN SNYDER: I feel like the margin of error between the two choices is nil. It's pretty-- I mean, you're not going to-- there's not a wrong answer. And if you just gotta go with your gut and do one or the other, it's not going to be the end of the world if, you know, the other one would-- you won't even notice that the other option would have been better. I think you're fine either way. But--
JOEL STOCKSDALE: And yeah-- and I mean, in this sort of situation, like, if you do have, like, your heart set on, like, a specific, like, color and body style of Wrangler, like, I'm not one to turn you down because, like, I would love to be able to do that at some point in my life, just be able to walk in and be like, this is exactly the car I want in this color with these options. Like, this is mine.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah, absolutely.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Like, I'd like to be able to do that sometime in my life. So I--
GREG MIGLIORE: I think a Wrangler would be-- I would like to do that with specifically a Wrangler.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah, yeah.
JOHN SNYDER: Yeah.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: But yeah, so it depends on how you're feeling. But yeah, these are both-- both are solid options.
JOHN SNYDER: But we're all leaning toward option B--
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Yeah.
JOHN SNYDER: --which includes the Clarity.
JOEL STOCKSDALE: Mm-hmm.
GREG MIGLIORE: So I think we'll leave it there. Jeff, we are hopefully giving you clarity. See what we did there?
JOHN SNYDER: Oh.
GREG MIGLIORE: On that note, we're going to head out. It's almost the weekend. It's nearing noon Eastern time on Friday. Have a great weekend. Download the "Autoblog Podcast" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're so inclined, please leave us a great rating. That helps us get the word out about the Autoblog Podcast. Be safe out there. We'll see you next time.
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ERIK MAIER: Hey, everybody. This is podcast producer Erik Meier here. I just wanted to chime in at the end of the episode and let everybody know that "Autoblog" has merchandise now. We've got t-shirts, coffee mugs, hoodies, throw pillows, you name it. You can find it all at redblubble.com/people/autoblog or you can just search Autoblog on redbubble.com. As always, thanks for listening to the show, and we'll see you next week.
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