In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Reese Counts and Assistant Editor Zac Palmer. First, they dicuss recent news, including the upcoming next-gen Toyota Land Cruiser, Ford's trademarking of "Scout" and "Bronco Scout," and Ford's $500 million investment in EV startup Rivian. After that, they talk about the cars they've been driving, including the Jeep Wrangler, Cadillac XT4 and Buick Regal GS. Last but not least, they help a listener choose a new car in our "Spend My Money" segment.
Transcript[MUSIC PLAYING]
GREG MIGLIORE: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the "Autoblog Podcast." I'm Greg Migliore. Joining me today in the studio is road test editor Reese Counts.
REESE COUNTS: How's it going?
GREG MIGLIORE: It's going well. And assistant editor Zac Palmer. How are we doing?
ZAC PALMER: Pretty good. Glad to be here.
GREG MIGLIORE: We've got a great show coming up for you. We're going to talk in our news section about confirmation of the next-generation Land Cruiser. That's big news. We're seeing trademarks for the Bronco Scout. That kind of sheds light on something we thought was coming and, frankly, we kind of hope is coming.
We'll also stay in the Ford family and talk about their deal to invest a lot of money-- we'll Talk more about that-- into electric carmaker Rivian. Lastly, we will talk about how many AMGs is just too many. So a little bit of free discussion there, then we'll head over to Drives, where we will talk about the Jeep Wrangler, the Buick Regal GTS, and the Cadillac XT4.
Finally, we will spend your money. So we've got a great show for you. Let's jump right in.
The Land Cruiser, confirmed. We had kind of thought this was going to happen, but with a vehicle like this that, frankly, does hark back to a different time-- this is a bit of a dinosaur that still roams the Earth-- for me, this is exciting news. I like the Land Cruiser. Reports are saying this might go all V6. And generally, I'm thinking this is a good thing. But let's break this down.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, I'm with you on this one. I think you and I have talked on this podcast previously about our love for body-on-frame SUVs, despite their archaic nature, and poor fuel economy, and compromised in a lot of other areas compared to crossovers. But there's-- I don't know, there's something old-school and truck-y about them that I love.
And I love the Land Cruiser, and I love its price, and I really don't love it's comically bad fuel economy. But yeah, great, I'm glad a new one's coming. I'm excited. Like, I'd be excited to drive it.
The V6 news is, I guess, a little disappointing. but I don't know. We all like the Ford Ecoboost, so I'm sure this will be fine. If it makes as much power and it gets better fuel economy, than I don't really see a downside other than the exhaust note. But I'm not driving a Land Cruiser for, like, a big, burly V8 exhaust. So--
GREG MIGLIORE: Truthfully, I like that big, beefy, 5.7 liter, 381 horsepower V8. To me that's, just like a-- it's not quick. I mean, I was at a stoplight, and literally, I thought, oh, I've got a V8. I'll just blast by this guy. Nope, he blew by me. And I think it was like an older Chevy Cruze. You know, obviously, a lot less weight there.
And I was-- may have been drinking my coffee. But it was still one of those, like, aha moments-- like, wow, that guy has 1/2 the cylinders, like probably 1/3 the horsepower, and he just blitzed me. And I was mad, because the lane ended quickly.
I digress. A little bit more context here. This report comes to us from Motor Authority, that caught up with Toyota-- or, Lexus vice president Bill Fay. Shout-out to them for getting this little scoop.
This, we reported on what they reported this week, and was one of the more trafficked stories all week on the site. People just could not get enough of it. Frankly, if you don't like what this sounds like, some of the tea leaves for the Next-Gen Land Cruiser, they are doing a Heritage Edition for 2020, which, I think, looks really good. We saw at the Chicago show.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, I like all the, like, classic accents. I really love the-- that, like, cherry color that-- I don't know if it was a production version or a concept, but whatever was at the show looked really rad, at least in photos. Yeah, I dig the Land Cruiser. And like, I'm glad they're going to keep making it.
And I hope that means there's another Lexus LX, because it's just a Land Cruiser with a nicer interior. And I like Lexus interiors, save for the infotainment system. So I think this is good news. And with the V8, you know, historically, Land Cruisers have had six-cylinder engines, so it's not that big of a noise. But yeah, I agree with you. I like the big, 5.7-liter V8.
GREG MIGLIORE: Zac?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah. So when I first saw this news, I wasn't entirely surprised, actually. I was sort of expecting another Land Cruiser to be coming, especially with the way that everybody loves crossovers and SUVs nowadays. And it's a bit of a legend as far as body-on-frame SUVs go. And
I'm totally fine with them switching to the Twin Turbo V6, actually. I assume they'll use the one that is currently in the new LX 500. That makes more power and torque than the V8 that's in the Land Cruiser right now. And if the price we have to pay for a little bit extra fuel economy and to keep that car within, you know, all the global emissions is a V6, then so be it. Because I think it's way too cool of a car to lose. You know, it's--
GREG MIGLIORE: I think I agree with you. It is way too cool of a car to lose. It's all about image for them, too. I mean, it's definitely-- it's definitely like a boat shoe kind of car. You see these things all over the Northeast. And I think I can say that. I'm wearing boat shoes. It's one of those kind of-- you know, it's an image thing. And it's-- I think it would be a mistake to drop it.
It definitely harks back to Ford with the Town Car. They kept that around forever. There was no real reason to update it because they just didn't need to, but they wanted to keep things in the livery fleets, keep people using these things for transportation, for taxis-- well, not for taxis, but limos, things like that. So they just, by not killing it, it was sort of like a mistake they didn't make.
And I think that's what they, Toyota, is doing here, is by not killing it and then, hey, reinvesting in this lucrative area, you know, it's a good thing.
REESE COUNTS: And I think I'm pretty-- if you talk to Toyota owners, like current Land Cruiser owners, or you talk to Toyota themselves, like, people that buy Land Cruisers are not cross shopping with crossovers. They're not. They want Land Cruisers. They want the truck because they want the capability. They want the towing, and they want the payload.
Chevy's the same way. When I drove the Traverse a couple of years back, we're like, why are you still building the Tahoe when the Traverse has got all this capability? And they're like, they don't cross-shop. These buyers want the Tahoe. I'm sure the Land Cruisers buyers are just the same way. They want this particular vehicle, and they are not looking at anything else.
And I guess it's kind of a flagship product for them, and it's, obviously, important enough globally to do a whole new redesign, rather than just kind of doing refresh after refresh. I'm excited.
GREG MIGLIORE: Me, too. It's one of my-- this and the 4Runner are two of my favorite vehicles that are just out there. I mean, Reese, you and I could do podcasts on vehicles you and I like just because they're old and, like, in some ways outdated, but we like them just because.
So yeah, I think we'll leave it there, and then move along to some more-- a little more-- hmm, this is an off day here. So we'll just leave it there and move along to Ford trademarking Scout and Bronco Scout for what we think could be, perhaps, what the Baby Bronco is actually called. This is kind of-- I think it could be a very cool thing. The spy shots this week were somewhat revealing. You get a good look at this. Zac, you wrote the story. Take us through it.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, so the story here was we spotted that Ford had trademarked the Bronco Scout and Scout name. So of course, as soon as you hear the word "Scout," we all think of International Harvester. They actually still sort of exist. They're making cars in foreign markets, semi-truck stuff, et cetera. They stopped actually selling consumer cars around the US a long time ago. It's been a few decades since anything with an International Harvester badge is on it.
But that is one of the things that, I don't know, makes me question whether this is actually going to be a thing, whether we'll actually see a Bronco Scout in any form. The one way that I think they could though that Scout name on there is if that's what they eventually call the Baby Bronco, which is what we're terming the smaller unibody crossover that Ford is going to come out with. It's going to be based on the Escape chassis-- we just saw that-- and the Corsair is also on that one.
So that's one way they could use the Scout name. Another way, Bronco Scout, is if they decided to do some special edition or first edition. Right off the bat with the Bronco, we could possibly see the Bronco Scout name there, too.
So there's a few possibilities there, or it just might not be anything at all, because the fact that they're going to use the Scout name, it doesn't actually have any Ford heritage to it, so they would be kind of grasping at straws there. Some people might question that. I'm not so sure. But the Scout name, in and of itself, does have a lot of off-road heritage, just because the International Harvester Scout that was out there was, you know, a body-on-frame Jeep competitor way back in the day.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think it's a smart move. I like the name. It's like, in this era of all these different alphanumeric ways to title your car, just keep it simple-- Scout goes good with Bronco, fits in with Ranger. It sounds like a Ford in many ways. It sounds rugged. It sounds like, you know, rough-and-ready. I think it's cool.
ZAC PALMER: I think it could definitely provide the right image. If, in fact, it's used on, like, an Escape-based crossover, this could toughen it up a bit.
REESE COUNTS: I'm no fan of alphanumerics, especially on American cars, but I was really hoping for Bronco II, just because I've got a soft spot for the old Ranger-based Bronco II.
ZAC PALMER: I agree. That was a cool one.
REESE COUNTS: And the Scout thing, to your point, Zac, with the International Harvester, it would be weird. I think among like the off-road community, there's still a lot of love and recognition for the International Scout. But if this is a crossover-based car, then I feel it's probably gonna be like the Chevy Blazer. The people buying this are not people who, like, had any, like, love for the Blazer back in the day.
I think anybody-- if it's a crossover-based one, people buying a Bronco Scout, they don't care about the old International. They want something new. So Yeah, it's a cool name. I like Bronco II. But I doubt, like, there's even enough recognition for that to make it worth their while.
GREG MIGLIORE: Speaking of hot names, among the hottest in the car world right now is Rivian. Just this morning-- if you're listening to this, it's Wednesday-- this morning, we got confirmation that Ford is investing 500 million in start-up electric vehicle maker Rivian. This, to me, is blowing my mind, because all we've heard for the last couple months is GM is going to do this. And that comes on the heels of Amazon sinking about 700 million into Rivian.
So huge news, and it hits on a number of different levels. We're also hearing that Joe Hinrichs will have, potentially, a seat on Rivian's board, which I think is a very interesting move, because that means a very powerful Ford executive now has a very powerful slot on the Rivian board. And then, of course, there could be some cross technical development.
I think the question here is, what is it about Rivian that people keep thinking has the secret sauce? I mean why not, like, Byton, or any other, like, relatively small boutique electric vehicle makers? These guys, like GM was into 'em, then Amazon. It's they just-- they seem to be the spotlight company that people keep wanting to team up with.
So I mean, I've seen their vehicles. They're cool. They, you know, really stole the show at the LA Auto Show. But this is-- I'm kinda blown away by this.
REESE COUNTS: I'm 100% with you. I was just about to bring up LA, too. They made a huge splash in LA. Everybody seemed to like the truck and the crossover that debuted in the past few months. I don't know of anybody that's made bigger waves in the EV segment in the past several years outside of Tesla.
They're coming out. They're hot. Their products look good, and they're getting a ton of investment from major players. Cool, this is good news, as far as I'm concerned. It seems good for Ford. It seems good for Rivian. I'm really interested to see what they're going to come out with in the next couple of years-- Rivian, specifically, but what will Ford take from this with the so-called Skateboard platform that they're going to use?
I mean, this is really huge news. And we've talked about all-electric F-150 that's definitely coming. Is it going to share a lot with that? I mean, I don't know. But this is really, really big news, and I'm not sure we will realize how big it really is for another few months, until we start to see some more news trickle out.
ZAC PALMER: The skateboard is really the key here.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Is that going to be the secret, you know, plan to win the war here? Is that-- because I mean, if so, like, what does Ford do with it? That leads to so many different possibilities, I would think Ford has already spent a lot of time developing the electric F-150 and wouldn't need Rivian for that.
But maybe Rivian could help them make it better. I don't know. To me, I would be stunned if the F-150 with electrification-- stumble over that-- was based on the Skateboard. To me, I would be, like, blown away if they did that. Also, who knows? Maybe that would be the right move.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, I actually saw Mike Levine tweeted not that long ago that the F-150 and the EV Mustang would not be on the Skateboard.
GREG MIGLIORE: Gotcha, OK.
ZAC PALMER: They wouldn't use those bones. This is, the skateboard platform that Rivian has is going to go on an all-new Ford vehicle. So that could most likely be some sort of performance crossover, in my mind. Now, as far as what Rivian brings to the table with that platform, in its most potent form with the R1T, it makes 800 horsepower, has about a 400-mile range.
So this is a seriously premium vehicle. You know, we don't actually know if Ford would, you know, have it turned up to 11 like that. But there's a whole lot of potential for, you know, a super hot Ford product or, you know, maybe even they give it to Lincoln, and Lincoln makes, you know, something like an electric Navigator.
You know, there's-- the possibilities, I feel, are sort of endless with this. If you have that big- that platform that works off-road, you can throw it on a lot, and yeah. I mean, I think it's a great move by both Ford and Rivian for this whole deal.
REESE COUNTS: As with any of these EV start-ups, I really want to see if they can actually build these batteries and scale. And more than anything else, I think that's what's keeping Tesla ahead right now. Their battery technology, from everything I understand, is better than anybody else out there. They can do more with the packaging and their cells, and that's really why they're so far ahead. We can argue the merits of, like, their cars all day long, but nobody can touch on when it comes to battery technology.
But Rivian's promising 400 miles of range, and they bought this old Mitsubishi factory. Like, they have the potential to do it. But as with Tesla, like, we'll really see once they start going into actual production whether they can get the numbers that they expect. So I think that's going to be the, like, stumbling block more than anything else, is yeah, you can build a car, and you could build the bodies and stamp out panels and stuff all day long. But can you build the batteries?
GREG MIGLIORE: I think what's interesting, too, is that Rivian has sort of positioned themselves as, like, the next Tesla. Somehow, they've managed to separate themselves from the herd, and that's why you're seeing all of this investment from these outside companies that want to sort of get in on the ground floor and try to take advantage of it. Because, obviously, buying Tesla would be prohibitively expensive for, like, anybody, basically. But OK, you can't do that, but maybe you could get the next best thing.
REESE COUNTS: Right.
GREG MIGLIORE: So I mean, we'll see. Maybe the Skateboard is the secret thing. It does blow me away, though, because, like, Rivian is not exactly proven. They must have something behind the curtain that they're showing to, like, Bill Ford, and Joe Hendricks, and like, you know, Jeff Bezos at Amazon, and like showing, hey, this works. We can make this as good or better than other OEMs, better than you could do it, better than Tesla's doing it, and that's why you want it.
Because to outsiders like us in the media, we're just like, you know, again, like I said, why are these guys any better than Byton or, you know, anybody else out there?
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, you saw what happened to Faraday. I mean, that was just-- the company came out hot and heavy with two very wild concepts, and it's-- I mean, they're all but gone. I mean, but Byton seems pretty interesting, too, but like I don't think anybody's made a splash since Tesla as much as Rivian has.
And yeah, like you said, I don't know what they're showing behind doors. I don't know what they're telling people. But they've inspired a lot of confidence and are racking up a lot of capital. So yeah, really interested to see what they can do in the next couple of years.
GREG MIGLIORE: I mean, Byton, Bollinger, the list goes on. Faraday, remember Fisker? Karma is now a thing. Like, I don't see anybody trying to buy Karma. So it's like, I don't know. I will say this, though. Not to so negative, it's just more like there's all these questions that come up.
I mean, certainly, an American EV startup maker? Awesome, more power to 'em, you know? You know, sustainable solutions to our transportation problems? Awesome. It's-- you know, but there's a lot of unanswered questions out there, and it's certainly our job to ask 'em.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, well, we'll have to wait and see. But every time I hear news on Rivian, it's usually positive and usually, like, something that gets me even more excited about the brand.
GREG MIGLIORE: So how about we talk about cars we're driving right now?
REESE COUNTS: Yes!
GREG MIGLIORE: We'll move over to what's in the Autoblog fleet lately. And we've had a lot of good stuff, almost too much to talk about. We think you're going to like the drive section today. Cadillac XT4, Regal GS, and the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara. Why don't we go ahead and start there?
Arguably one of the most iconic vehicles of all time. This is the new one, of course-- the 2019 model. Ours came in at 52-- just a little bit over $52,000. It had the turbo four cylinder, which is interesting. First time I've driven that. Otherwise, it definitely felt like a Wrangler to me.
A lot of fun to drive, but every time I drive one, it takes me like a day or two to get used to it. It was like the morning after I took it home. Took it home, I was like, oh, this is fun, but it's a little rougher than I remember. Brought it in, and then it was like, oh, things are kind of clicking. You get used to the wind noise.
The steering, you start to like kind of, again, get used to it, figure it out. You don't mind some of the trade-offs. But overall, I really like the Wrangler. I think they've done what they need to do to keep this for the new generation where it needs to be.
REESE COUNTS: I have never been a Wrangler guy. I've driven JKs. I've driven TJs. I've driven YJs. And they're all kind of garbage, like, to be honest. It's like they're really great at what they do, and, like, nobody has an aftermarket support like that, Jeep. I mean, they are the Mustang of the off-roading community. But they're kind of miserable to live with every day.
And then the JL came out. And I drove an unlimited hard top last year. And I'm like, I don't hate this. And then I drove the one that we've got in the fleet this week. And I'm like, I don't hate this either. This is, like, the first Wrangler that I think I could actually own. And maybe it's because I'm spending more time in 'em, but like, the charms are starting to, like, work their magic on me.
Yeah, I dug this thing. I spent, like, half an hour last night learning how to take the top off. I took my wife and my dogs out for a nice, brisk drive. We turned the heat, and the heated seats, and the heated steering wheel on. And it was nice, yeah.
Like, it still does take a little bit to get used to, like you said, but it's way, , way, way more refined than it ever was. I mean, this is-- it drives better than, I'd say, like, I don't know, even something like a Cadillac Escalade did a decade ago. I mean, it is really, really good.
And it still has the rough ride because of the live axles, and the steering is a little numb, but I don't know. It's nice. And the interior is actually pretty good. I think it looks good. I know it still looks like a Jeep, but all the little updates for 2018, I think, are really great. Yeah, I actually liked it, and I don't know if I've ever really thought that about a Wrangler in the past.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, to your point of, maybe, somebody that didn't like Wranglers before but are now liking this one, I'll just read a few options that are on the sheets. And these are not things that you would have seen in Jeeps of past, you know?
You have leather-trimmed seats, leather-wrapped shift knob, leather-wrapped park brake handle. You have heated front seats, heated steering wheel, remote start, LED lights all around, an 8.4-inch touchscreen. You have an Alpine nine-speaker premium audio system. You have the full Jeep active safety group-- you know, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, advanced brake assist.
These are all not things that are Jeep Wrangler things traditionally. And I think that these kind of luxurious features are what brings people that weren't previous Wrangler hardcore off-roaders into the brand.
REESE COUNTS: People are buying the Wrangler because it looks cool. And I mean, it's the same reason people buy the G-Wagen. And with the JL came out-- I'm sorry, the JK came out back in 2007. Whenever they introduced the four-door, it sold pretty poorly for a few years and then quickly eclipsed two-door sales by several orders of magnitude. And Jeep realized, hey, people are driving these every day. People are using these as, like, their, like, all-the-time car. Let's make it better.
So the interior is better. To your point, Zac, it's got a bunch of, like, luxury options. I mean, you can get adaptive cruise control the Rubicon. I mean, that's pretty wild. I had a friend who was actually looking at these a few months back and messaged me asking if you can get it on the Rubicon, because it's got the different front bumper.
So I messaged Jeep, and they're like, yep, all the options are available on the Rubicon. And that's-- I mean, that's pretty great. You can have your cake and eat it too, now. You get all the off-road capabilities and the looks while not really sacrificing much in the way of, like, day-to-day comfort.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think my big beef was, I'd say, the steering. Even though it's livable, and you get used to it, and it's not that big a deal, it's still a little surprisingly bad, I think. Like, I mean, there were-- it seems like there's things they could have done to make the steering a little better.
Like, the G-Wagen doesn't have steering that's like this, you know, I don't know, unwieldy. It just-- I don't know. That was my beef. And I would go with a hard top, not a soft top. And to me, that solves most of the problems I had with it.
The interior is very nice. Infotainment, FCA is very good. It looks awesome. This specific one, I didn't like the chrome inserts in the grill. To me, that's not like it-- that's not Jeep. That's just not how I would do it.
But I mean, it was a lot of fun. I mean, my kid loved it, and he's, like, a year and a half-- not even. They're so cool. I mean, you can't-- like, the intangibles that you get with a Jeep Wrangler, I mean, they're all still there in spades. It's a fun vehicle.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, and I agree with you about the hard top. I like the looks of it better. It reduces NVH, but like more than anything, the rear hatch usability is really difficult with the soft top. You have to take that whole window out if you want to use the space.
Something I didn't realize until last night when I was trying to load something in there. With the hard top, you just pop it open like you do on, like, any other, like, SUV. On the soft top, it really requires sliding the whole thing out, which is easier than other Wranglers or Wranglers of the past, but still kind of a pain.
GREG MIGLIORE: I would consider like you know removing the top if I owned one and I had a cleaner garage. Because then I would be able to just-- I have a relatively short commute, park it in the garage, drive it to work, park it in the basement, and suddenly, like, you know, you're really living that Wrangler lifestyle, which is cool. But it also was raining the other morning. So hey, that's life in a Wrangler.
REESE COUNTS: I mean, that's what I did today. I took the top off last night. It took me about 30 minutes to figure out how to do it, because I've never taken a top off. And the four-door is not much different than the two-door, from what I can understand. But I was low on experience. I could probably do it in a lot less time now that I know what I'm doing.
But I took it off. I parked it at my garage with the top down. Drove it in to the work this morning with top down. Parked it in the basement with the top down. And if John wasn't taking it home tonight, I probably would have left the top down and taken it back like that. Yeah, if you can work it out like that, the soft tops aren't really that big of an issue. But I still think I'd got with the hard top.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I mean just as far as-- like, I mean, in winter, I mean, it's-- you're gonna want the hard top.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: But let's move along to a car that most definitely has a hard top-- the Buick Regal GS. This is sort of the sportier version of the regular Regal, the latest edition of the Regal. Ours came in at-- wow, this is eye-watering-- $44,110. That's a Buick, everyone. But it's a very nice car it's definitely got a lot of, you know, sporty features on it that make it a good, you know, a significant step up from the regular Regal.
Side note-- I really like the looks of the latest generation of the Regal, especially the TourX Wagon. I like that better than the sedan. But just this kind of fast-back look is really good. And then, in GS trim-- which some might say is "grand sport" if you go back to the great '60s and '70s Buicks, it's a good sporty-looking car-- with all-wheel drive, too.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, so I was actually in this one for a weekend, and I got a lot of surprised people walking up to me and being like, hey, is that a Buick? You know, just like the commercials. You know, that never actually happens when you go out in an Enclave or an Encore, you know, any of the other Buicks. But no, this one looks hot.
And I love the sportback, too. I think that is one of the best features of this car, actually-- the fact that you have a hatch, so you can load a crap ton of stuff in there. It's super similar to our Kia Stinger GT, actually, which is one of the cars I would probably consider if I was going to consider this car, too.
But this one, like Greg said, about 44 grand. And for that, you get GM's 3.6-liter V6 9 speed automatic, 310 horsepower. There is no manual option like the old GS that we had just a few years ago, but I really didn't mind the fact that there wasn't a manual. The nine speed in this thing shifted quickly when I had it in GS mode, which is the-- you know, if you're in a car that has sport, sport plus, whatever, it's the most aggressive of the modes. It held the shifts, and you know, it brought it all the way up to red line, no problem.
And you know, the handling isn't that bad, either, for a 4,200-pound car. The adaptive suspension, I thought, was really impressive. When you're in normal mode, super soft, glide over a bunch of potholes. Throw it in the GS mode, and it's actually pretty stiff.
It doesn't stiffen it up enough that the car corners super flatly or anything like that. It's still a bit of a grand tourer in that regard. But you definitely get more of a sports car feeling with your sports car look.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think with the sports car feeling, I would have liked to have seen paddle shifters in this car. I missed those. I think that would have been a really nice compliment to the rest of sort of the dynamics that Buick is trying to affect with this, and perhaps the type of consumer they're going after. I wanted paddle shifters.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, no, I totally get that. I was sort of missing them right off the bat. But after a little while, it is a torque converter automatic, and it doesn't actually shift all that quickly when you do throw it into the manual mode with the slapstick. So I guess I kind of got used to it, and it didn't annoy me as much.
But the one thing that I did love on the interior were those seats. They are, like, some of the best seats that I've sat in in a lot of cars today, actually. You know, it has adjustable bolstering, so you can throw anybody in there, and they're gonna fit, and you're gonna be, you know, held in tightly around corners, you know? And just stupid comfortable, too. You know, take it for a long drive, and I was not complaining at all at the end, even in the GS.
Now, you know, as far as the interior, something that I wasn't a huge fan of is the whole Buick family look that they have going on there. You feel a little bit of the Opel-ness. You know, there's some cheap plastics going on in there, and Buick's interiors don't exactly inspire me.
There's just a whole-- you know, it's just a super basic layout, a bunch of black rubbers and plastics. But overall, you know, good car. Good car, but I would probably take a Kia Stinger or a GT over it, just because it is quicker. It has more power, and depending on how you option it, they're really close in price, too.
REESE COUNTS: That's the thing. Like, this one's right around $44,000, which is about what our long-term Stinger GT would cost. And yeah, I'd take the Stinger. The stinger looks better. It's got more power. I think it's bigger. I'd have to check the numbers, too, but I think it's probably a little bigger, at least in the back seat.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, this is G70?
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, G70. Like, when you really-- like, taken on its own, I actually liked the Regal GS a lot. I drove it almost two years ago at the launch at Milford Proving Grounds, where GM does all their testing and development. And I liked it. And I liked the engine. I mean, you don't really get a naturally-aspirated V6 in anything anymore. And that was good, but I know, I spent a lot of time in our Kia, and I really, really like that Stinger GT.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, it just feels more special, too. You know, the interior of the Regal versus the interior of the Stinger, I'm gonna take the Kia every day. You know, and even the sportback look, you know, you wouldn't actually know that the Regal GS is a sportback just from looking at it from the outside. It just looks like a normal sedan. But the Stinger just brings everything up a whole 'nother level as far as curb appeal.
REESE COUNTS: Now, all that said, I know a lot of dealers were offering a lot of money on the hood of a Regal TourXes, and I'm probably-- like, I'd venture to say that there's some Regal GSes out there that you could get a pretty good deal on. So if you can get one of these for, like, I don't know, mid-$30,000, this is a lot of car for that much money.
GREG MIGLIORE: V6, all-wheel, it looks pretty good. Like, the interior layout, I like. Zac, to your point, some of these materials, not so great. I mean, I like what it is. But there's, like, some of the finer points, like not having, like, paddle shifters. I miss the manual. The nine-speed's great. Like, no problems. I'm just thinking of, like, when you're gonna, like, sort of position a car as this sporty thing, you want-- I think they're missing a few of the things.
Also, I drove the generation before that in Milford, and that car was even rawer, I would say-- the Regal GS, previous gen. It had the manual, and it had flashy wheels. The interior was far worse, as Buick interiors were 8, 9 years ago.
But I mean, that was a little more of, I'd say, a pure enthusiast car. They were, like, trying something. They were going after something, trying to, like, bring these like sort of, like, I don't know, poor man's, like, you know, enthusiast who wants, like, a German sports sedan, but maybe doesn't, but wants a Buick instead.
I mean, to me, they were really going for it with that car, even though it wasn't as good as this one by, you know, any metric. But it just-- you could feel, like, the sportiness. Whereas this one, it's a little more refined, which is fine.
And I don't know. It seems like you've got the Brembo brakes. You've got these big, sporty seats in there, which are really good seats, but they also feel a little, like, discombobulated being in a Regal.
I mean, it's hard to say, like, hey, it's a GS, but you don't want these things. So it seems like there's a lot going on there. And the whole, like, comprehensive feel you get when you drive it, it felt a little uneven to me, even though I liked it. I've always liked the Regal GS. So I guess that's why I'm pretty passionate about, like, the total package that this sort of conveys.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, I'm with you. I like-- this one's faster and nicer than the last generation one, but there was something a little special about the rawness of it. I mean, look at, like, Regal GSes back in the day, especially, like, the mid-'80s. I mean, we all, like, love the GNX and the GSX.
And those were cool. And they were, like, real giant-killers. And they were kind of raw and wild, and kind of gave Buick a little flavor to it that it really, otherwise, didn't have back then and especially does not have today.
And this one's good. I just-- I don't know. It comes up a little short for me.
GREG MIGLIORE: Cool, so we'll leave it there and move along to the Cadillac XT4, All-wheel drive, very nice crossover. This is, it's new. It's-- ours came in at, let's see, 54,785, so also not cheap. Lovely little car, little crossover. What do you guys think?
ZAC PALMER: I just hopped out of this car, actually. I was pretty excited to drive it, because it has GM's new 2-liter turbo in it, which is-- this is the first application for their next generation of their little small four-pot there. And I came away a little conflicted about it, actually.
You know, it makes good power, and it moves the car out. The sound was a little, you know, just industrious. It wasn't exactly a sweet-sounding Cadillac engine at all. And that engine is gonna go in plenty of future smaller Cadillacs as well. So quick, not all that emotional, per se.
And just one little quirk I noticed with the transmission. It's a nine-speed auto, and the shift from second to third was-- it's almost like a 500 RPM drop. It was just, it was kind of funny, like, how close those ratios were. But the car as a whole, I think, that somebody that is looking in that segment, it rides really soft.
So you have that-- you know, it's not the big Cadillac sedan ride that people will always know and recognize that brand for, just because it's such a short-wheelbase crossover. But I think they do a decent job of replicating it in the crossover.
And you know, the interior, it was all right. Looking at it in a vacuum, I think it's a pretty decent interior. But I just saw the Lincoln Corsair at the New York Auto Show, and it pretty much just, you know, beats it by a wide margin in my book.
You know, there's just so many better materials. The technology looks better. Just the styling in general, you know, is-- it just looks a lot more new age, like what the standard for American luxury should be.
GREG MIGLIORE: Lincoln has been killing it with interiors lately, so Cadillac, to me, has kind of got to-- like, all of their cars need to look as good as their top trims do for them, I think, to really convey the sense of luxury that they're trying to convey. Because some of the base trim Cadillacs, you get in them, and you're like, whoa.
This one I did like. It's, obviously, optioned up quite a bit. You know, I would tend to agree with you. I haven't been in the Corsair or seen it in real life. But I mean, having been in other Lincolns and other luxury brands, Cadillac is, like, kind of creeping down that road. Like, they're getting there, but I don't think they're quite there.
Like, the materials in this were pretty good. The layout was OK. Infotainment was fine. It was a nice place to spend time. When I was in there, it was-- I mean, to complain about being inside a Cadillac XT4 is definitely a first-world problem, but you know, some of the shapes are kind of weird. You wonder about some of the way the materials are used. And you know, I think what you're going to see is the XT4 is going to move up into that sort of pretty good, but maybe not top of the class In this segment among luxury crossovers.
REESE COUNTS: So I have the same kind of problem with the XT4 that I do with the Regal GS. Taken in a vacuum, it's pretty good. It's handsome. It's got a pretty potent engine. I agree with you, Zac, it's a little coarse for the exhaust note, but it's punchy. I really like the brakes on it. At least, like, when I was parked, they felt a little spongy. But, like, actually stopping, they felt pretty strong.
The interior is really good. The infotainment system's getting better. But like, I started looking at the competitors. I really like the Volvo XC40. I like the XC40 a lot. I drove the new Audi Q3, which-- I drove that late last year, but it's not gonna hit the US until this fall. That thing's really good.
It's that, too, has-- I mean, Volkswagen makes some of the best, like, 2-liter four cylinders out there, and it's-- the Q3 has got pretty much the same one that's in the Volkswagen GTI. So it's a really handsome platform, and the Audi's got a really good interior. And hopping in the XT4, it's just coming up a little short.
GREG MIGLIORE: I will say this: I think it looks pretty good from the outside. You know, comparing it to the Corsair, I think I like the Cadillac better. Than front end is pretty sinister. That grill is awesome. We have it specced out, I think, in one of the kind of flashier, more sinister packages. The wheels look good. This one had, if I'm remembering right, smoky kind of wheels.
It's a good-looking vehicle, and I think that's where Cadillac is sort of winning. But I agree with you, Reese. It's like there's that extra, like, I don't know, 15% from good to great.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, Cadillac exterior design is killer. I mean, I love pretty much everything they've come out with since, like, the first gen CTS back in 2002 or 3. When they really went to that hard-edged design, I've loved everything. Now, they get dated a little quickly, but they look good when they're out.
But then you get in the interiors, and you're like, what are they doing? It's everybody complained about Kia for so long, and they had the button issues. My mom owns an XT5 and, like, had to call me and was like, what is this infotainment system? Like, I mean, my mother's in her mid-50s. She's kind of the target market for Cadillac, and she can't figure this out. And that's, like, not good.
Now, the XT4 seems to be a step in the right direction. There was a lot of buttons. I didn't have any problems, like, even changing the seat controls, or the ventilation, or just, like, simple stuff that was a problem with the Q. But yeah, like, their exterior design is so good, and their interiors are just a little short of what they should be.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's one thing, is you look at, like, the remaking of Cadillac, is two things. One, what are they going to do with the interiors, and how are they gonna, like, sort of rethink them? Infotainment materials, it just-- to me, it's like how they all work together. Like, the materials are nice, but then it's, like, how they're all there. You're kind of like, OK, what's going on here?
But I would hope they don't throw out the exterior design with the bathwater, because they're gonna probably want to make some big changes. They're moving back from New York. They have a new president, Steve Carlyle. Johan de Nysschen is gone. He's been gone. They've obviously-- they're making big changes, and they're looking at electrification and other things to really, you know, change who they are.
But I think they're getting it right with the design, so I would hate to see the pivot too far from that and go to something that is more Germanic, or more just bland, or just isn't right. Because I think this is the one piece of the puzzle that they are getting it right. The problem is it's also the flashiest thing to change and make people think you're making big changes to change your exterior design. But I mean, the XT4 looks really good, as far as I'm concerned.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, and to your point about the design there, I was actually chatting with Andrew Smith, who is the head of design at Cadillac at the New York Auto Show. And I asked him, like, hey, we have this new CT5 five here. You know, this is a new step for your sedan design. You know, is this going to carry on with the new sedans that you bring to market? Is this going to be a Cadillac family face?
And he sort of winked at me and said, yes. You know, we're going to do this, but we're going to have some differentiation. So I think, you know, from that, from just that little interaction that I had there, that, you know, overall Cadillac design isn't going to stray too far from what we like today.
Because the XT4 does look good from the outside. That's one of the biggest things that I like about it and possibly, you know, one of the biggest reasons to buy it over an upcoming Lincoln Corsair or the Q3, like you mentioned as well.
You know, but the little things, you know, like you mentioned on the infotainment there, on the XT4, it's one of Cadillac's-- you know, this is their new infotainment where they're going away from Q. And they have this rotary dial there in combination with the touchscreen. And I found it to be a little clunky in use, actually.
Because when you're on, like, the main screen, where you're looking at all your apps with the rotary, you know, it toggles through all the settings. But then, when you go into the radio, all of a sudden, that rotary becomes a tuning knob. And you're changing the station instead of scrolling through the menu items like there. And it's somewhat unintuitive.
And it's same on the navigation. Instead of scrolling through some of the options that you have on the menu navigation screen, you're all of a sudden zooming in and zooming out of the map. And it just-- you know, it's some weird functionality there that, you know, other cars, I think, get right, and this one just didn't hit me the right way.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think they're overthinking it with the infotainment system. I also think-- and to give them some credit here, too-- I think the interior is actually, maybe, in the top half of this segment. Like, I don't love every Lexus interior, to be clear. I think some of the Acura interiors are, you know, a little disjointed. Their infotainment system is very confusing.
I think just with Cadillac, because they're Cadillac, they have a really bright spotlight on them. People in our business are always looking at them like, well, they're doing this. Are they ever gonna, like, sort of get over the hump and, like, get back to the top of the heap? You know, whereas frankly, your everyday consumer isn't obsessing over Cadillac's state of the world. They're just like wondering, is this the car for me or not?
So Cadillac's always a hot button issue. I mean, whatever we talk about it, I think it's got a lot of history. There's no-- like, the XT4 isn't just a little crossover. It's like, this is Cadillac's latest big thing. So obviously, we really dig into it. When we get the CT5 in this fleet, we're gonna be obsessed with that, too.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, and like, I'm sure the CT5 is going to drive great. I mean, most Cadillacs do drive really well. But the XT4 is the important one. I mean, this is what people are gonna buy. This is what people are buying.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's a red hot segment.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah.
REESE COUNTS: Like this-- and I mean, I was just talking about how I'm kind of disappointed with the interior. I think it's moving in the right direction for Cadillac. My problem previously has been they're just kind of busy. I mean, there's a lot of things going on, a lot of materials used, and it just felt like kind of a mishmash of, like, well, we've got perforated leather here, and then we've got, like, suede up here, and then we've got patent leather here. And it was kind of crazy.
This. It was a lot cleaner. I don't love it, but it's definitely moving in the right direction. I'd like to see what the CT5 looks like inside, just to see what the latest Cadillac does. But yeah, I think they're moving in the right direction. They're just kind of doing it a little slowly. But you can't expect change quickly.
GREG MIGLIORE: Cadillac is-- to use a couple of analogies here, they're like Alabama football or Syracuse basketball-- historically proud brand that gets a lot of attention. And if one of those were to-- like, you know, if Alabama goes 8 and 4 and goes to a mediocre bowl game, nobody's saying, oh, hey, that's OK. They're like, why didn't we go to 12 and 0?
That's why, when we look at this car, it's kind of like, well, Cadillac has a pretty good interior. But it's like, I think, most of us are still waiting for them to get back to the top of the heap and wondering when that's going to come. XT4 is a very nice car, very nice crossover, but there are some parts of it where we're like, OK, well, we'll wait and see.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, your football analogy is good. I mean, GM, like the big, like, collegiate programs or any, like, sports, big sports school, they have the resources to be good. Like, they just kind of need to put everything together.
GREG MIGLIORE: And it's like pretty good or very good doesn't cut it. It's like, yeah, and GM would be the first to tell you this. I mean, that's why De Nysschen is not working there anymore.
REESE COUNTS: Right.
GREG MIGLIORE: Is they need-- you know, they want Cadillac to be the top of the food chain, and it's been a work in progress now for-- [LAUGHS] well, most of my lifetime.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, especially, you know, they're not priced any lower than the competition, either. Ours came in just under $55,000. So that's no small bit of coin to spend on a compact crossover.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, I was just looking it up. The C-- or, I'm sorry, XT4, like a base one, is right at $34,000. So this is $20,000 up on a base one. But this has got, probably, just about every option you can get, but--
GREG MIGLIORE: A base XT4 I'd be really interested drive for a lot of different reasons. One, it would be like, this one felt very nice. So I would wonder if, in base trim, you would get that same sense of presence. Also, it's intriguing to see what you could get for a $35,000 Cadillac.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah, I agree. It's-- I've driven a, like, base Volvo XC40. I've driven the base Q3. I've not seen the Corsair, but I'm sure it's probably going to be handsome even in base trim. So yeah, let's see if I can get one of these in the fleet.
GREG MIGLIORE: So speaking of spending money, let's move along to Spend My Money, one of the most popular segments of the podcast. So writer is writing to us with about a budget of under $30,000. "Had an '03 Jetta, and then had a used Golf Sport Wagon. So looking for something very similar to that with about $30,000 to spend."
Let's see, basically, it's gonna be used for commuting. The gentleman is 6'4", so he needs some headroom. Would prefer a manual. So this is really turning into a bit of a unicorn. "Also, the Subaru lineup is out entirely due to headroom issues." Asks if he's a lost cause, and do we have any suggestions? Cheers, Justin.
So hey, thanks for writing. You're really making us earn our keep on this one. Thoughts, guys?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, so right off the bat, you know, there is a lot of asks with this spend your money. Just rolling through a few things, you know, you need a car that's low to the ground. You need under 30 grand, has to be reliable, manual transmission-- which is a real kicker here. And the space, you know, you're really limited here with your selection.
I did a little looking around, and a car that comes to mind is a used BMW 3 Series wagon. So you'd have to go back to model year 2012 is the newest one you can get with a manual transmission. That was back when BMW was still putting an inline six cylinder in their 3 series, before they switched over to the 2-liter turbo with the base car.
So that pretty much hits everything except for the reliability. I bet that if you get a low mileage one, though, you're 3 Series Wagon will be at least somewhat reliable. And you're gonna to have a ton of fun, because you're driving a German wagon.
So that-- I couldn't think of many more beyond that. You're looking for a really nice one, it'll be, you know, in the $20,000 range, somewhere between 20 and 30, if you do some looking around. It might take a little while to find one in your exact specifications, since you are looking for a manual, but I think you can get pretty much everything on your list with that car.
GREG MIGLIORE: That is a really great choice. I think I would go with that as well. I'm just gonna kind of riff off yours. That's a great idea. I can't think of one that I think would be that much fun to drive. You certainly would look cool doing it. You know, you're kind of like you know, the tweedy professor. You know, a number of cool image plays there.
Would handle great. Reliability can be a little tricky probably would be. But I would say make friends with your local Beamer dealer. And I mean, there's a few people in my neighborhood that have BMWs of, you know, various segments. There's a convertible one. There's a guy who has a sedan.
I just-- I keep looking at these cars thinking that I kind of want one. So sure, wagon, absolutely. If you can find it for that price point and it doesn't have too many miles on it, sweet.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, you're trying to find a manual wagon that's not a Volkswagen or a Subaru is really kind of difficult. Maybe I'll tell you try to find a golf without a moonroof or a sunroof, because, like, you're really going to have some trouble finding anything else that is-- you can find wagons, you find manuals, but not together much anymore.
But I'm gonna throw out another BMW. Just the actual answer is, like, try to find a Golf without a moonroof. That's, like, my actual answer. My oddball answer is to find an E39 BMW 5 Series, like a 328i with a six speed, or maybe a five speed. Get an early one, a pre-Vanos car. They're pretty reliable. Check the forums. Most of the problems have been sorted out. I've actually been looking at these from time to time.
So yeah, that's your-- I mean, you're talking 20-year-old car now, so that's its own thing. So take this with a grain of salt. They're really cool, though, and they drive well. It's like the classic BMW, arguably the best generation 5 series there ever was.
I think the design still really holds up. It's gonna be bigger than anything else you've driven recently. And I mean, it's gonna have a nice, like, sweet, naturally aspirated V6-- I'm sorry, inline 6. So that's my one answer, but my actual answer is, try to find a Golf.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think Reese has a very, like, sort of practical, but also, he gives you the really fun option, too. So the tricky part is, you know, you've got that, you know, commute. So that's something you're gonna want to think about there, Justin. What do you really want to live with? What are gonna be most comfortable in?
The manual part of this is gonna be-- that's going to be tough. Just doing some quick searches here on the internets, those are few and far between, but they can be had. If you're willing to make that trade-off, you can look at a whole-- you know, there's just more options out there for you. You can look at the prices, look at the different, you know, how many miles are on there. But let us know how it turns out.
REESE COUNTS: If you're willing to forego the manual, check out the Regal TourX. I mean, this is-- we were just talking about the GS, and now, like, it's kind of disappointing. I actually really like the TourX. It's a wagon, which is great. It's got a really nice 2-liter. It drive well. And again, they're putting-- I've seen these things for, like, $25,000, and that's a lot of car for 25 grand.
GREG MIGLIORE: And it's a brand new car, too.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: I mean, suddenly, you're going from, hmm, can I drive this kind of beater older BMW or an older Volkswagen, to a brand new car with a warranty, with the latest stuff in it. That's a really good observation.
REESE COUNTS: Yeah. Oh, also, I mean, talking about warranties, Volkswagen is doing, like, the seven-year, like, people first warranty, or whatever it is. I think only Kia's really beating them right now. So keep that in mind. If you've got sunroof issues, take it to the dealer. I don't know. My actual answer is, buy a Volkswagen. I hate to just keep harping on about it, but it's what you want.
GREG MIGLIORE: All right, we'll have to leave it there. Thanks for being with me this week, guys. Great show. We always enjoy spending your money. "Autoblog Podcast" is produced by Eric Meyer. He also does the theme music. This is Skyway Traffic. We'll let them take us out.
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