In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. The duo kicks things off by discussing news of a possible compact electric pickup truck by Chevy. They also touch on Ford's $2,500 offer to folks who give up their Bronco allocation, the 2024 BMW M3 CS reveal, prospects of an electric Volvo minivan and Hagerty's list of five still-affordable classics that gained value last year. The two also talk about the cars they're driving, including the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 SUV, Hyundai Santa Cruz and our long-term BMW 330e PHEV.
Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.
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GREG MIGLIORE: Welcome back to the "Autoblog" podcast. I'm Greg Migliore coming at you with podcast episode number 765. Are we going to do an episode all about McLarens, the 765 long tail? We will not be doing that. It is a very enjoyable car to drive. I did drive-- I drove a long tail once out at the horse Thief Mile in California.
It's the track that's kind of off to the side of Willow Springs. So, uh, that's about all we have for you on 765. Get into the comments if there's some other, you know, significance in the car world for that. But for now I'll bring in road test editor, Zac Palmer. What's going on, man?
ZAC PALMER: Hey, uh, just enjoying watching this snow out here, excited to go play around in it later today with some-- some all wheel drive cars I have in the driveway with winter tires, so.
[LAUGHTER]
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I like it. I like it. I've got the 330e, our long-termer, the Bimmer with all wheel drive and winter-- winter Nokia tires on it, so thing's been a champ. We've only had maybe two or three significant snowfalls so far this year. This would be, like, I guess the third or fourth, not worried at all, you know?
We-- we ended up having a snow day here in my area for the schools, but I was like, hey. I'll drive. I don't mind. Let's go, you know, if there had been school, but there wasn't. So that thing-- that thing's a sled. We'll get to a little more on what I've been doing with that a bit later in the show. But what two long-- what two winter cars do you have, real quick?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, I've got our EV 6 long-termer right now, and we just-- just actually fitted some Bridgestone BlizzX to that. So we got that for winter, and then I also have a Hyundai Santa Cruz that just arrived in the driveway that we're going to touch on later in the show, as well. So some-- some good all wheel drive Hyundai Kia stuff this week.
GREG MIGLIORE: So let's do a quick rundown here. In addition to all of that, we'll talk about a small, electric truck that General Motors is considering. Ford's giving you $2,500 bucks if you'll give up your spot for the Bronco just because the demand of the supply is so chaotic. We have a new M3, the CS, speaking of BMW review-- reveals, pardon me. A Volvo minivan, question mark. And then we'll talk about Hagerty's list of affordable classics that gained value in 2022.
I always enjoy whenever they put out stuff in their magazine, or their, like, their newsletter, which is how I get most of it. I always find their lists in data on the classic car marketplace to be very interesting. There's a couple of cars on there that resonate with me, which is why we're talking about it. Zac, you probably know the ones. So that's most of it. We'll see what all we get to. In the review section we've got the Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 SUV, the Hyundai Santa Cruz. I've driven that one, and we'll close things out with the long-termer BMW.
So let's get right into it. The small electric truck, this would actually be, as our subhead says, smaller than the Ford Maverick. We did this post earlier this week, end of last week, actually, and this would be very entry level. It would be sort of, like, even below the Santa Cruz that we just mentioned. I'll just jump in here real quick, my analysis, and I want to hear what you think, is I like this idea. I think it makes sense to use the truck footprint to reach a new segment of buyers, you know?
It doesn't have to be a true truck, truck, if you will. Like the Maverick, I think, is very capable, but it was essentially a replacement for the Ford Focus and the C segment, you know? And you're going to bring in people who think, hey. The Maverick, that sounds cool. What's that? That truck looks cool. Let me get that. But it's much more diminutive. It offers more functionality than a Focus ever would. You're offering somewhat of similar, like, price range, so you're going to get customers who are like, well. Hey, I-- I have $20,000, $25,000, $30,000.
Who knows where the market is going to go with inflation. And this is-- this will be my entry point, and I like that. It's almost like what the Ranger used to be, or the S 10, you know? Back when these were really, like, cheap trucks that people would buy perhaps before they had acquired the means to get other things. And you didn't have to buy-- like, you could buy a Ranger and take it to college, you know? You wouldn't buy, necessarily, an F 150, you know, to go to college. The Ranger could be what you would drive from north lot A to go back to the dorms. So I think, kind of a random example, but yeah. I think they should do it. What do you think?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, I think that if the Maverick has taught us anything from Ford is that there is high desirability out there for a small, affordable pickup. Whether it be a hybrid or the two liter turbo Maverick, which is a little more pricey, whatever it might be, people are interested in buying these very small utility vehicles. Making it electric and giving us a base price of around $30,000, as this report suggests, I think that that is an instant winner.
Just any sort of an EV, honestly, around the $30,000 price point automatically lights my eyes up these days because, well, there are not many things around there. I mean, you can probably get into a Nissan Leaf, like a Chevy Volt, but you know, if there's a little Chevy pickup, you know, that has-- has a real bed, you know, you can toss a few people in there, a few things, and go out-- and I don't know, 240, 250 miles of range-- I think that that's-- that's a winner.
And you know, if-- if it follows some of the same trends that GM has-- has been doing so far for its EVs, maybe the initial one is some first edition that cost $45,000 $50,000. But if they can hit that price point with a small truck with all of the features that you need, you know? Have-- have a nice screen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, air conditioning, all of just some basic necessities, I think, that this thing is-- is going to be really, really good. And it would be smart of GM to actually follow through on this.
I know that the-- the report itself is a little speculative as to whether they'll actually develop and build it, but I think that now that the idea is out there, I haven't heard a single person say anything negative about it. I feel like everybody's sort of for this amongst the industry and whatnot, so yeah. I give it two big thumbs up.
GREG MIGLIORE: Sounds good, sounds good. I-- this is one of the reasons I got into reading car stuff, whether it was "MotorTrend" or "Automotive News," is I always like these, like, forward looking future products that try to tie together. You know, hey. This might happen here. Here's a picture of, like, the Chevy Montana, how it could look.
So I just-- I always like this kind of speculative stuff. I think it's really cool. Not speculative, this has been confirmed by Ford spokespeople, that Ford will offer you, it looks like up to $2,500 bucks if you will change your order from the Bronco to something else. This has been reported by us, the "Free Press," "Cars Direct." A number of sites have really picked up on this. It's-- I mean, I'm sure this has happened before, you know?
You're around long enough, there's really nothing that happens for the first time. But this is the first time I can remember it. It's-- to me it's very significant, especially because you know, it's like, you've been waiting for so long, and then this is sort of like, well, it's almost like the-- I don't know, just something to, like, satisfy people, which it is. You know, hey. It's going to be a while. Here's $2,500 bucks. Do you want something else? So I don't know. I mean, would you take the deal.
ZAC PALMER: It's-- oh, man. Honestly, it's-- it's kind of silly to me. If I have been in line for a Bronco for say, like, two years now, and somebody is like, yeah. I'll-- I'll give you $2,500 if you don't buy this Bronco, I'm going to say absolutely not. Like, I don't know. Like, the-- the replacements that you could theoretically buy, OK, so you could go buy a Bronco Sport, Edge, Escape, Expedition, Explorer, F-150, or Ranger is what Ford says.
None of those replace a Bronco in my eyes. It's like, if I'm not going to get my Bronco, maybe I'll just go buy a Jeep Wrangler because that's the only other vehicle like this that is-- that is out there. Now, one thing that I will point out is that it's not just switching vehicles that you could theoretically get this $2,500 bucks. If you drop some of the options that are in high demand, Ford says that they'll also give you the $2,500, and you get to keep your Bronco allocation.
Some examples being the color hardtop, the luxe package, and the Sasquatch package. Obviously if you're somebody who wants to go wheeling in your Bronco, you order the Sasquatch package. You probably don't want to cut that because there's a lot of capability there. But you know, I feel like I'd probably be OK, you know, losing the hardtop, swapping to a soft top, and saving $2,500 bucks. And then maybe when demand dies down in a few years, I just go buy a hardtop that, you know, hopefully will be in mass availability at that point.
So from that perspective, yeah, maybe. To go ahead and switch away-- away from a Bronco, though? That-- I just-- I don't think that I could justify that if I'm, like, super jazzed about, like, I want this new Ford Bronco. A Ford Ranger or an Explorer just is not going to-- I don't know-- I feel, get that same-- same desire for an adventuring off-roader.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, same. I-- I think, you know, to me, the Bronco is one of those vehicles that is-- it is a Halo vehicle. It's created a buzz. You want it because of how it looks and what you could do with it, and how much fun you're going to have driving that. I mean, there's some pretty nice things on here that I like a lot, you know? Like, if you were looking to get into, like-- like, I personally have always liked the Ranger even though it's old as hell.
But I mean, the F-150 is on there, you know? The Explorer, the expedition. Like, if you were thinking-- you know, and this is where you'd have to really make a cold case, like, business decision, like-- you know, the family was thinking of getting into an Expedition. I can save $2,500 bucks. Maybe I go ahead and do that. That being said, on most of these vehicles, given the price, it's kind of a drop in the bucket, you know? It's almost to me more of a symbolic move, so I would most likely not take the deal. I would just try to wait it out.
Like you, I would also maybe if, like, I wasn't married to some of these options, I might be a little more flexible there depending also on the climate, too. Like, the hardtop, I think it's the color-molded hardtop is the option, if I really wanted that, I don't know. That is kind of a deal breaker too, you know? So but I might be willing to negotiate there if they were like, hey. We've got this thing on the lot, and go there.
The only people I think I could see really going for this might be-- you know, like when the Lightning was announced, Teslas, some of the electric Cadillacs-- like, we all know people that just throw their name on the online order form, and they're not totally serious for some of these. Maybe if that's you and somehow you're still in the queue, for like, a Tesla, sure. And you're like, well, actually I need a car. I guess I'll take the deal. But I don't think most people would go for this, just given the passion that surrounds the Bronco.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, I-- I feel like if I'm out here ordering a new car, whether it be a Bronco-- maybe I want a Civic Type R, or maybe I want a Subaru or something like that-- like, I sort of want it the way I want it, and I don't want a replacement. I don't want anything else. So I imagine that Ford will get a very small amount of pickup and people that actually take them up on it.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's interesting too because on one hand, it's sort of a good PR move, you know? But also, like, hey. We're doing this. You don't-- like, we get it. We can help you. But they also didn't exactly market it as such. Like, one of the, like, I think it was "Cars Direct" discovered it, and then more of like the mainstream outlets like us, and some of the newspapers picked up on it. It also didn't sound like something they super-wanted to advertise, either.
Like, so I could see it kind of cutting both ways, but yeah. And I mean, one of the blessings and the curses of the Bronco is you can get so many different trims and options. It's very cool, just like the Wrangler. So you know, it's-- I think most people would be pretty particular, you know? You don't go into the-- saying, yeah. Give me the-- give me SEL Trim, Fred. I'll just take whatever, you know? It's like, you want the Outer Banks, or you want the Sasquatch, and you want the options that you could get on that as well, so. Bronco, man.
Let's just shift gears over to the CS, the BMW M 3. This is kind of cool. For those of you listening, this dropped Tuesday evening onto our site. A little bit of a reveal, which, you know, we're kind of in that quiet season in between auto shows. It's not bad. You wrote the story, Zac, pictures are pretty awesome. What do you think of this thing?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, man-- the pictures. It's, uh-- well, it's in this crazy, BMW individual signal green. It's-- it's tough to describe. I don't know. It's sort of like a neon. I don't want to say puke, but like, uh-- a very, very, vibrant green color. And but yeah, if-- if you've done much reading up on the M4 CSL, the M3 CS is very similar, with-- with the few exceptions. Right off the top, auto only, all wheel drive, more power, less weight, and way, way, way more expensive.
You know, it's-- it's pretty similar to what we've seen BMW do with CS models in the past, um, and, uh, yeah. I don't know. It's-- it's definitely for that hardcore BMW M enthusiast. There's no doubt about that. If you, uh-- if you want the absolute best from-- from the factory that is possible, this looks like it's going to be it, you know? And maybe if you didn't like the way the normal M3 looked, well, they gave it a new grille, same grille that's off the M4 CSL, has red accents all over the place, a bunch of carbon fiber everywhere. And one of my favorite touches, which is actually-- I-- I think it's going to be a trend on a lot of new BMW models that are, like, CS, or CSLs, it gets the yellow lights up front.
GREG MIGLIORE: I like those.
ZAC PALMER: Sort of like the racing heritage touch. Yeah, the-- the M5 CS had it last year, and that was the first BMW with those yellow lights, and everybody was like, wow. These are awesome. These are so cool. So I think that BMW read the room and was like, all right. We're going to put the yellow lights on the really cool exclusive models, and this one has it as well. So yeah, 543 horsepower, 0 to 60 in 3.2, $119,000. If-- if you're doing some-- some quick math, that's $36,000 more than an M3 competition xDrive, just the base one.
So I guess, like I said off the top, you really kind of want to want it to go spend the money on this. But it looks like a really cool package, especially if you're planning on tracking it. This is, uh, sort of ready-- ready for the race track as soon as it rolls off, off the factory floor. It even comes with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, so don't even have to buy tires for it. What do you think of this thing? Ha, ha.
GREG MIGLIORE: I mean, I love it. I think it's-- you know, it's got all the-- the basics offered as evidence, if you will. It's everything you need. I think with the eight speed and all wheel drive, and then of course all the track goodies, it's just going to be, like, a demon, like-- you know, I'm picturing trying to lap, like, Monticello in the Catskills, Upstate, New York. I think that would be-- like, that's the kind of track that I picture this thing really being at home at. I like the design.
You call it some of the, like, the lighting and accents, which I think just give you a little bit something extra, kind of like a surprise and delight for your money. It would not be, perhaps, what I would go with if I was just looking to get a fast, like, 3 series, or M3 even. You know, I think I would, you know, probably-- I don't think I would go with this. I would probably stay with something, you know, a little farther down the lineup. Or you know, as we saw, I believe this was revealed last year, the M4 CSL. I mean, that, if you really want to get severe and take it to a track, I mean, that thing is just like-- that's a riot. So I think if I were going to, like, really be a track rat, I might go with that one.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, and I feel like-- so just strongly through the comments here-- most of the beef that I've seen from this car since it's been revealed has been the fact that it is all wheel drive and auto only, which all right. Halo BMW, I could see a lot of, you know, purists, you want a rear wheel drive, manual car. Having driven the all wheel drive and automatic M3 and M4 on track, It's pretty impossible to deny that-- that is the ideal setup for this car for track driving, and to have the most fun on track.
I've-- I've driven manual M3s and M4s, and you know, the manual transmission is, unfortunately, not as fun as we wish it would be. It's just-- it's not a really great manual gearbox, so the fact that it is an automatic only doesn't really upset me that much. And that all wheel drive system is just an absolute beast on the track, and you don't have to worry about it feeling any understeering or anything like that. The thing is tail-happy like crazy, and it even has the classic BMW MXDrive drive shut off, where you can throw it in the rear wheel drive mode only and do donuts to your heart's delight. So it can be an absolute hoon mobile, and crazy car if you want it to be still.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, no. I agree with that those takes. I just-- I think, you know, the-- the manual transmissions that I've experienced in different, you know, speedy BMWs, I mean, yeah. They're fun, but you know, to me, the-- they're not as, like, effective on a track as you would be with that 8 speed. And I think if you're going to buy that car, that's kind of what you want to do, you know? You're-- you're trying to make an enthusiast, but also a little bit of a business decision.
And it's-- the 8 speed is a great transmission too, so you know, I mean, I think they sort of made the decision for you. Which is-- which is OK. I don't think I would step up to either of these cars we've discussed, either the M3 CS or the M4 CSL. I would-- I don't even know if I'd do an M3 competition. I think I'd just do an M3, you know? That's kind of where I would land, just a nice sort of daily driver, if you will, for an enthusiast editor-type who wants to, like, have some fun, but you know, I don't know.
Something I-- I don't need to be on that ragged edge of life, you know? And you're not going to roll up to, you know, Laguna Seca in an M3 and somebody's going to laugh at you. Like, you still have everything you need, so that's how I would probably play it.
ZAC PALMER: I-- I don't disagree with you. Having driven a number of the M3 and M4 variants now, all wheel drive, manual, automatic, the most fun I had was still just driving an M4. Not a competition, just a base one with a manual. It was just the most-- I guess the most pure expression of-- of that car, and the fact that you're going 0 to 60 in about 4 seconds instead of 3.2 didn't really bother me that much because I was having more fun, so.
GREG MIGLIORE: At this point, it's like, if you're looking at 0 to 60 times, you've got to go electric if you want to get something below 3, you know? I mean, and there are some crazy cars that are super-fast below that. But as far as, like, the-- the mainstream, like, sort of sports sedans that still have, you know, an internal combustion engine, even with some light hybridization or something. But to me, I don't necessarily care about that, you know?
Like, yeah. You could do 0 to 60 in 2.7 in something-something electric car. But going 3.2 in something that's going to be, like, just this, righteous, you know, snarling, you know, inline 6, that sounds awesome, you know? And who cares about 0 to 60 times? Like really, who cares, you know? I mean after a certain point, let's put it that way.
ZAC PALMER: I-- I completely agree. I think that we had an opinion piece on-- on the site a while ago. Like, we need to stop caring about 0 to 60 times because everything is fast today. Everything is unbelievably quick, so at a certain point it stops mattering, and how our car makes you feel is the most important thing.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, all right. Well let's-- there's no real good transition here because we're going to go over to minivans, but I think this is interesting.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, minivans!
GREG MIGLIORE: This is a report-- minivans, right? Well hey, we're getting one. We're getting a Sienna. I believe it arrived yesterday. More on that to come, right?
ZAC PALMER: Indeed, more-- more to come on a long-term Sienna.
GREG MIGLIORE: But hey, we've got-- I think there's room in the market for more minivans. I say this as someone who has a young child, so maybe I'm a little bit biased here. But there's not that many out there, you know? And at preschool drop off, you get a pretty good cross-section of what's available in the minivan market, and also what people could do with it, you know? You see everything from, like, the top-- what is the top Honda trim? The Elite, or whatever?
ZAC PALMER: Elite, yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Elite, we see those. So but I just think there's more choice, you know? The-- the Carnival is another one. I saw one drop off the other day. This guy has, like, that kind of, like, I always use this term. It's not the right color-- nardo gray. You know, I always go back to what Audi used to put on. It's like RS cars. But that's the color it looks like on this guy's minivan, his Carnival. Looks awesome, the Odyssey, you see a million Pacificas in this area, obviously. A lot of Pacifica hybrids too, and some Siennas as well, and that's it, you know? Ford and GM, no thanks.
They don't want to do it. Luxury makers are not-- that's not their jam. Forgetting if I left anybody out, but that's, like, the ones you see. Let me put it that way. So if Volvo were to get into the space, you can-- you can make some hay, I think. You know, the report last week is basically about a minivan that might, you know, go on sale, like, in the China market, and it's got, you know, we've seen some, like, images, if you will, of it. But it's potentially could come here.
We don't really know, but it would be built and sold there first, and then as, you know, we've reported, it would share some parts with, like, an existing model that we don't really know about. And I'm just kind of reading from Ronin [? Glon ?] one of our contributors reports from last week. So I mean, we're kind of reading the tea leaves here, but I-- let me put it this way. I think if Volvo did a minivan, probably electric for the US, if they sourced it from somewhere else, bingo. Please do. I think that would be a great move for them.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, man. Do I see it happening, though? I feel like the chances are very low of us getting a Volvo-branded minivan here. I feel like Volvo would almost much rather sell the-- the EX 90 electric, big three-row SUV. But man, it sure would be cool to see like an actual Volvo-design minivan.
The Swedish design, the interior on that would just be magnificent, have three giant rows of Volvo-ness in there. I mean, the-- one of the coolest things about this report is that it would have a dual motor all wheel drive system that is good for around 544 horsepower. So for anybody who is kind of wanting that Pacifica Hellcat, this is kind of the closest idea to it, ha, ha.
GREG MIGLIORE: Your move, Ralph [? Giels. ?] Come on.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, like, when was the last time you, uh, heard of a minivan with over 500 horsepower? I don't think ever, unless it was something from the aftermarket. So that's-- that's just something beautiful that electrification is bringing us. Just slap some big motors in there, and boom, your minivan is going 0 to 60 in, uh, maybe the low 4's, which is just plain hilarious. Want to talk about getting kids to the preschool pickup line on time?
You will-- you'll have no trouble if Volvo releases a minivan with over 500 horsepower. Granted, that power and all that luxury will certainly come with the price. I would expect it to be, like, the most expensive minivan ever sold if-- if for, whatever reason, they decided to bless us with it. But we're heading deep into speculative territory, I feel.
GREG MIGLIORE: Indeed, yeah. I'm more on the hypothetical side of things, right? So I think they could do it. I think it could fit with them too, you know, because Volvo is definitely a brand that-- you know, they play off safety. They have a bit of a premium Halo, as well. So it just feels like that's something that parents of child age, of young children, would steer into, so.
ZAC PALMER: I love it. I-- I mean that, and/or Volvo, please give us a wagon with a rearward-facing third row. I guess there's--
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. No, that would be fun. That would be fun.
ZAC PALMER: An electric-- a big, electric wagon. Bring back the rearward-facing third row, and I might be just as happy, so.
GREG MIGLIORE: There we go. There we go. All right, well let's talk about some affordable classics. This comes to us from Hagerty. It landed in my inbox-- I get their, like, sort of Saturday newsletter where they recap just their different data from the last week or two, and different reports, so I think it's always interesting. I don't get there magazine, but maybe I should. I don't know. Usually the stuff is pretty interesting.
I guess I don't have their insurance, nor do I need to at this moment. But more on that in a minute, maybe. So yeah, I mean, these are just five affordable classics. And I find this interesting when you're kind of watching-- like, I like to have the Mecum or Barrett-Jackson auctions just on, like, on whatever channel they're on. I don't even know what channel it is, like, just in the background, sometimes during the workday.
It's like, almost white noise, and then you look up and you see like a fun car. But I mean to me, the collecting game is-- it is changing. It's very fluid. We're moving past, like, you know-- it's not just, like, you know, traditional domestics, or expensive classics from the '30s, or even, like, the Ragwood stuff. It's like, you know, more enthusiasts of different ages are coming into the hobby, into, like, the area, the industry such as it is. And they're bringing with them different cars, and not everybody has $60,000 grand for a '72 Chevelle, or $100,000 grand for, like, you know, some expensive Jaguar from the '50s, or the '90s, you know?
So that's why I found this piece kind of interesting, because there were so many different things here to it. Real quick, the writer names off the Maserati Biturbo which rose 45%. I thought that's really interesting, and you could get one of those in the $20,000 range. There's a Mitsubishi Starion which I totally forgot about, but is-- I think that's an awesome, like, design from the 1980s.
ZAC PALMER: It's super-cool looking.
GREG MIGLIORE: The Conquest, too. So a couple of Chevy's on here too, and then a Volvo, which you were just talking about, 240. This is the '81 to '93, and then the '73 to '76 Chevelle Laguna Type S, and the Caprice, which is the sister car of the Impala from the mid '90s. We saw a lot of values, they saw a lot of values increase for them, but they're still, like, affordable.
Like, you don't have to have made it, per se, to get one of these cars. So it was my kind of take away from the list. To me, it was just-- it was interesting to see some of those, like, sort of obscure designs like the-- like the Maserati, and the Chrysler/Mitsubishi. Like from the not-too-distant past start to really, like, go up in value, but it's still in like a range where, like, you know, it can be your third or fourth toy car.
ZAC PALMER: No, I, uh-- saying that you could go pick up, I don't know, like, an early '90s Maserati for maybe about $20,000. You know, maybe it sounds like a terrible idea on paper, but--
GREG MIGLIORE: When you say it aloud, it really does.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah. Ha, ha, ha.
GREG MIGLIORE: Maybe not as bad as picking up an early '80s Mitsubishi, but, you know, I don't know.
ZAC PALMER: And you know, I honestly don't really know how these-- these bi-turbos drive, but the idea of it sounds very interesting. Just the fact to have an old Maserati in the garage, it's kind of cool-looking. It's kind of wedgy and fun, and it's cheap. I don't know. If I were to get any of these cars off this list, though, I feel like it would probably be the Starion. That's just-- I feel like more-- more my kind of vibe. It's a cool coupe. It's got, like, a neat, big hatchback glass, and flip up headlights, which God, I just love.
And the interiors on these things are just, like, spaceships, like so, so cool inside. The fact that Hagerty's over here saying that they're in the $20,000 range is actually a little surprising to me in that they're-- they're a little more expensive than I thought they were going to be, but I guess a lot of people are realizing that they're actually super-cool cars. Pretty early turbocharged stuff, and uh, yeah. It's neat. I'm-- I'm going to go ahead and take a guess that-- that you'd be really into the Caprice on this list, but I don't know if there's any-- any others in particular that you'd want to put in the garage.
GREG MIGLIORE: Well, it's funny you should say that. I actually have the Chevelle on here in the garage.
ZAC PALMER: Yes, I remember you saying that a while ago. You had that old Chevelle. Ha, ha.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, so that honestly is what kind of piqued my interest, just when I saw that. Because it's not a car that even like people like us, that read a lot about cars, that's just not one that comes up in, like, your feeds much. So that's slightly, I would say, like, reinforcing because my brother and I are putting some money into, like, our parents' old '73 Chevelle. It's a 350 Malibu. So it's somewhat solidifying that, hey. Maybe it's not just a total money pit.
[LAUGHTER]
You know, I-- I respect the, you know, the-- the iconic, like, '68 to '72 Chevelles that came before it, and those are the ones that go-- easily go for 40, 50, 60, or more, you know, like at auction, or for sale. But to me, this is more like the malaise era muscle car. The Laguna type S is I think one that was lost to history. Even as, like, somebody who likes muscle cars, and likes muscle cars from this era, I didn't know about it until recently.
It's, like, sort of like a top-of-the-line model that I think it debuted in '74, I want to say. And it, you know, it's just-- it was another high powered, relatively speaking of the time. But all of those Chevelles, especially '73 to '76, specifically, are like, attainable, because the ones that came before them were so-- are so desirable, and so expensive, you know? I like these, obviously, like I've said.
But you know, it's-- it's-- the other thing, too, is with the passage of time. Like, 1973 was a really long time ago, 50 years ago, you know? It's not as much, like-- you know, like, with sort of the malaise era muscle. Growing up, whether it's like the '80s, or even more like the '90s, like with you, you could still see a lot of cars from the '70s on the road. Like, it was not that uncommon. Now it's 2023, you might as well be showing up with a Model T, or a spaceship, or something in between with one of these, you know?
It's not quite like they're as, like, preserved as, like, some of the '60s and '50s muscle cars. And then the Caprice, you know? Yeah, you-- I guess you know me a little bit. It's like an affordable version of the Impala, but you know what I would say, though? Like we were talking about with the Bronco, I don't think I'd go cheap here. I think I'd--
ZAC PALMER: Yeah.
- --I'd go with the Impala. I would keep looking for one. It's outrageous, the-- the premium you have to pay for, like, an Impala SS versus a Caprice. But I mean, I don't know. I-- I kind of bought into the hype, you know? They are the same car basically, but you know, yeah. I think I might-- I would probably still hold out if I were on the market looking for one. I would try to go with the Impala versus the Caprice, but you can always make your own Impala SS, if you will. You know, get one of these, and, you know, you can make one, so.
ZAC PALMER: No, I completely get that, you know? You-- you have a car that you want. The Caprice is not the Impala, and that's-- that's all that sort of needs to be said, honestly.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, no. You're 100% right.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, ha, ha, ha. So that's-- that's cool. I hope that the Chevelle continues to get more-- more notoriety, maybe-- maybe more people will know what it is when you drive by on Woodward, and cruise around in here, so.
GREG MIGLIORE: We'll see. It's-- I believe it's-- it's either in pieces, or it's about to be. A friend of my brother's is kind of, like, working on it. We-- I had never even heard of the Type S until a couple of summers ago. We had an opportunity to buy one. It's sort of like the parts car, which, you know, you could get the car, or maybe it doesn't even have tags or whatever, and then take all the pieces.
And it's cheaper than trying to buy all the other pieces, but it didn't go through. It was a little more than we wanted to pay for a parts car, if you will. Like, it was definitely getting into, like, I don't know if you want to do it this way, but a Type S is definitely sort of a value play too because they are pretty rare. So we do have another parts car that we got at a very cheap-- very cheap rate, and it's got, like, this random, like, '68 Chevelle engine in it. Like, the base V8 for back then. I can't remember what it is, did not come with the car, obviously, originally. It was essentially a good way to get all the body panels at once, so donor cars, man. I don't know. I-- we'll see.
ZAC PALMER: Gotta love them.
GREG MIGLIORE: Indeed, indeed.
[LAUGHTER]
All right, so real quick, the Cadillac Blackwing badges will be available. This is kind of cool, I think. I tend to be of the volition that-- I like to be very minimal with my badging. I like, like, what they do in Germany specifically, where there's just no badges. And then you're like, oh, yeah. That guy's got something. So I tend to think I might do that, but these look pretty good, and they're pretty subtle, too. The font is pretty small. The type is pretty small. I guess I should ask Byron Hurd, our associate editor, who is a Blackwing owner. But I mean, would you go for the badges? I don't know. What do you think?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, so I was actually talking about this with him earlier this week. He's not a-- he didn't really express that he likes the New Black Wing badge all that much. I sort of tend to agree with him in that, like, I wish they'd get a little more creative with it, almost gave it, like, I don't know, made the whole badge black, and/or maybe gave it, like, some black wings, really sort of go into that name itself just because I feel like it lends itself to a little bit of extra flair and-- and design.
But like you said, if you want something that is subtle, this is rather subtle. It just sort of sits underneath the V badge. This is sort of the first time I've ever heard of something where it's like, all right. Maybe you bought the car like a year or two years ago, and the factory has decided, well. I think we're going to start putting Blackwing badges on new cars. So everybody that bought one for the past year and a half can come swing by the dealership and pick up their free Black Wing badge. It's just sort of a weird, funky way of going about it. I don't know if Black Wing owners complained. It was like, oh.
There's no Black Wing badge. It just says V on it. You can't really tell. At the same time, I feel like a lot of Black Wing owners might have liked that. It's like the only way to pick out, like, a-- the Blackwing versus just a regular V, you know, you could see the wider fender flares, the bigger wheels, the bigger brakes hiding under there, the slightly different front bumper and splitter design, a slightly different rear spoiler. Just a bunch of, like, really small things that enthusiasts would notice, but doesn't really set you apart on the road. It's not like there's some crazy wing, or graphics, or wild exhaust system down there that-- that really hints at it. It's a bit of a sleeper look, but if you didn't like that sleeper look that much, now there's a badge that will tell everybody what it is.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think I would do it upon further review just because it's so subtle. Like, it's even more subtle than I initially thought, so I think I would do it. One thing I would recommend to, like, all car companies, when the Hellcat first launched. This was, like, really early. Like, I don't even know if it was a pre-pro car. A few of them said Hellcat on the front quarter panel, like, right next to the tire, and I remember having one in my driveway, and it looked sweet.
I don't know if there was, like, a hang up on the logo or something? Like, because you might notice that the Hellcat crest looks pretty similar to like the Jaguar head a little bit, and I remember hearing rumors back in, like, 2014 that there was a bit of a, like, a hang up. I don't know if that was true, but I just remember that. And I remember the car I had. I'm almost positive it had Hellcat written on the fenders, so I would love it if it said this.
Like, if I had a CT4 or 5 Black Wing, if it just said that right on the front quarter panel, I think that would be awesome. I guess I could do that if I were an owner. I could go get the badge, and put it on there myself. But that's how I would like it to be done from the factory versus-- I think they're on the trunk, right, or on the deck lid in the back?
ZAC PALMER: For the Hellcat, or the--
GREG MIGLIORE: For the Cadillac.
ZAC PALMER: The-- yes, for-- for the Cadillac, they're right there, like, right under the tail light on-- I think on the rear. No, I do really like the way that Dodge does that, where they just put the little Hellcat on the side. And if you get a red eye, the little Hellcat itself has a red eye in it.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, that is cool.
ZAC PALMER: It's just, like, really, really cool things like that, that I feel like enthusiasts just eat up, small little symbolic things. And that was sort of where I was going with, like, all right. Give us like some Black Wing figurine almost, to give, like, that sort of symbol. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, and this is-- this is too much like a novel, or some weird symbolism, but the idea sounds fun in my head.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I like it. I like it. So let's go transition to electric. You were in the-- let's see. You were in the EQE-- EQS, excuse me. I don't know if I said EQE off the top, but it's the EQS 580 SUV. Last week Snyder, Jon Snyder and I were talking about on this very show, that the EQ name may be going away. Maybe that's not a bad idea, since even I'm mixing them up and I've driven a few of them. But this is the-- the S Class of electric SUVs for Mercedes. That's a headline right there. What did you think of it?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, so I-- I both really liked it, and I was also slightly annoyed by it at the same time. I feel--
GREG MIGLIORE: OK. What annoyed you?
ZAC PALMER: There-- yeah, there are just a few hang ups, one of them being the brakes. I was talking about this with Associate Editor, Joel Stocksdale, last week, too. The regen process modes and everything, they're just not great. Like, there's-- there's not a single one that I-- I was able to settle on that is like, all right. That's just right.
Because when you have it on the strong regen, that is theoretically one-pedal driving. When you get down to about 5 miles per hour, the car doesn't actually coast to a stop. It just keeps coasting, and you actually have to hit the brakes as opposed to just lifting your foot off the accelerator, and having the car stop. So that's kind of annoying, and it's really difficult to do smoothly at that, like, the last second, just bringing the car down to a halt.
And then the only mode that actually does bring it to a full stop is this intelligent recuperation mode, which basically just relies on there being a car in front of you. If there is a car in front of you coasting to a stop, it will also coast to a stop, and that is just slightly nerve racking. It's not adaptive cruise control or anything. It's just sensing that there's a car in front of you, and slowing down with you. And the-- I don't know.
They're just very un-smooth, and the-- the transition, when I did find that transition between regen and actual mechanical brakes, it was also, like, really, really difficult to modulate and un-smooth, which just didn't feel very Mercedes-like. And it was sort of unlike the-- the car in a lot of ways in, like, this is a super-comfy car. Had-- had the airmatic suspension, you know? It rides as-- as well as anything out there. It's one of the things that I really, really did like about it, is just, you know, just like you said off the top, the S-Class of Mercedes, SUVs. It rides like an S-Class. It just kind of glides over everything.
You don't feel the bumps. Another thing that, and going back to the parts that annoyed me, was just the design in general. I don't like the way this thing looks. I didn't really like the way the EQS Sedan looked, either. It kind of just looks like a blob-ish minivan, but not even like a minivan. It's just it feels very-- very devoid of any sort of character or style. Like when you look at a Mercedes-Benz GLS class, like the gasoline-powered one, that thing has presence, you know? It looks expensive. It has a big, bold front end, has a nice, squared off rear. And it-- it just looks like a Mercedes-Benz should look in my eyes. This EQS SUV on the other hand, just feels rather character-- character-less.
There's just not a lot going on. It's very-- everything is smoothed out to get that super-great coefficient of drag, but at the same time I'm going to say that others are able to get a super-low coefficient of drag, and also make their big SUVs look good, like the Audi E-Tron. I think that thing looks really sharp, and it's also very slick through the air, you know? Maybe you don't like the way the BMW I X looks, but at least it's going for something.
I think that the-- the design is-- is a lot more than what this EQS SUV has to offer. But away from the bad, the good, this-- this was a 580. It's quick. It's-- it's really quick, 4.5 seconds to 60 with from-- from the dual motor all wheel drive system, which was really nice. And of course, the interior. If you like the hyperscreen which you've probably seen in a lot of Mercedes at this point, you're going to like this, too.
Super-responsive, really quick, a lot of great luxury features. It-- it feels its price. It was $135,000, so it's, uh, you know, it's way more luxurious than something you'll find in, like, a Tesla Model X. So you're paying for that luxury, and you're also getting that luxury. Just those-- those few refinement things that I feel like Mercedes normally gets right just kind of left me wanting for more in this thing. It just uh-- and also, I'll also point out the range, around 270 miles. It's fine and all, but we're also driving it in-- in Michigan winter.
Like, it was, I don't know, around 25 or so degrees when I had it. Around 100% charge, you know, you're-- you're obviously going to take that hit, and you know, this-- this big, massive, expensive car only reading around 225, 230 miles of range, it's-- you know, it hurts a little, needless to say. Maybe you don't need that range, but when you're paying that much money, I almost feel like I want more from the car, so.
GREG MIGLIORE: I would agree. I think that's where you need the, like, the facts, the metrics to be a little stronger, if you will, to back up the price. It reminds me a little bit, from a design standpoint, of a modern day R Class electric version if you look at it a little bit.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, that's-- that's good, yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: So I don't think that's what they were going for, I think we also need to be careful what we wish for. We've been talking about, specifically, the German car brands, how their design has gotten overwrought. But then it's like whoa, wait a minute. When they go simplistic, you know, you get, like, the EQS, the EQE, the SUV, you know, complimentary vehicles.
They're-- they're pretty austere, you know? They're pretty basic as far as the design standpoint. Obviously elegant, simple. Still expensive, but I mean, you're talking, like, you know, this is a simple look. Let's put it that way. Without the Mercedes 3-point star on it, which I don't know if it glows or not.
ZAC PALMER: It does.
GREG MIGLIORE: Does it glow? Well, thank goodness for that. It probably is cutting into your range too, right? Um, I don't know. It looks a little anonymous.
ZAC PALMER: Anecdotally, it really didn't get that many looks, like, versus even like the EQS Sedan, that thing was-- when I drove it, I got all the attention. I feel like I was constantly--
GREG MIGLIORE: That was a rockstar for me.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, I was constantly breaking necks. With this SUV, I feel like I kind of just blend it into the rest of the SUV traffic on the road, and nobody really gave it a second glance. I was just kind of anonymously moving around, which, ah, maybe if you want that, then it-- it has that going for it, but I don't know. I certainly wanted something with-- with more presence for the price that I was paying.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, so speaking of something that has presence, how about the-- the Hyundai Santa Cruz? I've driven this a couple of times. I've-- I've enjoyed it. It's been a little while now at this point, but it's a very interesting vehicle. We talked earlier about small trucks and the increasing prominence that we're seeing for them, and the attention consumers are paying to them is just-- like, finally, like, that lifestyle vehicle that car companies like throw out there, I think you're starting to see it gain a little bit of traction.
Where like, maybe you just want, like, something that looks like this and has a bed even if you don't totally need it, or you think you need it, but you don't, you know? For a while when we went to midsize trucks, like 10, 15 years ago, I remember, you know, like, RAM in particular was, like, scoffing at GM. They were like, what are you doing? Who needs this thing? I-- you know, joke was on the-- the gentleman. I forget the CEO's name, but yeah. Look at how well GM did with that, and where's your midsize truck 15 years later? Point being is, like, maybe those mid-sized trucks weren't the, like-- the, like, daily driver utility lifestyle vehicle.
They were basically trucks, you know? You drive around a GMC Canyon or a Ranger, and that's still a lot of truck. But you get into the Maverick, the Santa Cruz, who knows? Maybe a GM electric small-type thin, and that's something anybody might want to drive for any reason. So all of that is to preface, what did you do with the Santa Cruz?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, so the, uh, man-- I'll sort of start this off with my initial opinion of the Ford Maverick. Weird way to start, maybe, but when I initially drove that, I drove it in its two liter turbocharged form and I thought, wow. This is a really fun truck. This thing is quick. It handles well. It has a lot going for it. And I hopped into the Santa Cruz, and it was the-- this thing is a limited turbocharged model, fully loaded, and thought, wow.
That Maverick was a little boring to drive, actually. This Santa Cruz is, shockingly, a bit of a riot. The 2.5 turbo engine is super-powerful. The transmission is pretty quick to shift, and this thing handles much more like a nicely planted crossover than a pickup truck. I was just mostly shocked at how much fun it was to drive.
GREG MIGLIORE: Agreed. Yeah, I agree.
[LAUGHTER]
ZAC PALMER: So and-- and that's even versus that-- that Maverick, which I thought was actually pretty fun to drive too. So if you like driving, this thing is not a penalty box. This thing is not like a pickup truck, like an F-150. Don't expect it to be anything like that. It's actually going to be fun. A few things on-- on the interior, feel like Hyundai has some learning to do with, like, what maybe truck buyers might want. And maybe it's not a traditional truck buyer who buys a Santa Cruz, but I feel like at the same time, this thing is, like, loaded with touch haptic buttons.
Even the volume knob is this touch haptic thing that you have to press, as opposed to, like, just twisting a knob. It feels like a bit of a mess with a truck. Like, the Maverick is full of these nice, clicky buttons everywhere, and-- and great knobs. The Santa Cruz is like, all right. We're going to have this very tech forward look, but it just-- it's not as usable, and it-- it's honestly kind of annoying on a daily basis to use those controls. But I mean overall, this-- this thing is, you know, I feel like it's a slightly different buyer than a Maverick because the fully loaded Santa Cruz I'm at is $41,000.
Maverick doesn't get much more than $30,000 at this point. You know, if-- if you're looking at something that has-- has a small bed, and you actually want to still have fun with this thing with-- with-- with the turbo engine, I feel like it makes a good argument for itself. I just feel like it's not a traditional truck buyer. Like, if you're more of a traditional truck buyer, you're going to like the Maverick a little more than this. This is sort of where I feel like I finally land on it. Great design, though. I feel like right as you said off the top, it has-- has great presence. Those front DRLs are actually really cool. The, uh, the LEDs poking out through the snow as we're getting a ton of snow right now has-- has been really neat, and yeah. Really big thumbs up for the Santa Cruz, but I just don't feel like it has as much widespread appeal as-- as the Maverick as it stands right now, so.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. I-- I agree. I mean, that was to go back over a year, that was sort of the vibe in the fall of, you know, 2021, when they were both out there sort of, you know, brand new vehicles competing head to head. And it was a situation where, you know, I think people initially thought, wow. The Santa Cruz looks amazing, but it may end up being a little more of a niche product. In the Maverick, frankly, for right or wrong, got all the benefits of being a Ford truck, you know?
So I think you get people who maybe are already in a Ford store looking, and they're like, well. This could work, you know? And you get that nice sort of middle of the Venn diagram between somebody looking for, like, an Escape, or a Crossover or something, or maybe they would have been a Focus buyer. And then they're in there and they see that, and they look at the size, and it's really appealing. Or somebody else, like I was talking to this guy again in preschool pickup, this was last year, and he had-- I forget what he. He had some sort of truck, and he just wanted the Maverick.
He was like, this looks cooler. That Ranger looks like a truck from 1990 or something. And I was like, yeah. I don't disagree with you, man. Like, so, and again, you know, you start to really think. Well, it's got a bed. It can do certain things that you need it to do on the weekends. It's enough of a truck-like vehicle for most people, again. So I really think there's a place for the Maverick on that sense, but the Maverick you could drive at any point.
And then the Santa Cruz is just, you know, the powertrains are really interesting. I think, you know, I found it very fun to drive. Blasting around Hyundai, did a local drive. Hit this, like, State Park, I want to say, and just kind of blasting around through those rural roads when it seemed like everybody was on vacation. This was last August-- two Augusts ago, jeez. So I agree with you. I mean, at the end of the day I don't think the sales numbers-- like, this is a good example of where products don't necessarily have to beat each other.
They can just serve their own needs for the company. Like, it doesn't really matter to Hyundai if they outsell the Maverick, which they probably won't. Just you know, you've got a product that wins with a certain customer base, and it's always been well-received. I haven't heard anybody give it really a truly negative review, so I would like to drive it again pretty soon. I'd imagine we'd have a lot of fun in the snow later.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, the-- the one that I am really curious to drive now that I've driven the turbocharged one is the naturally aspirated one. That, I mean from-- from everything that I've heard, it could be-- well, not anywhere near as good as the turbo just because those that have driven the new Tucson and Sportage with its naturally aspirated 2.5 liter have not really liked that engine, and Hyundai has yet to put one in the press fleet with that naturally aspirated engine. Everyone's been the turbo, but maybe one of these times when-- when we're going to do a Santa Cruz, we'll actually get to drive that base engine because that's-- that's a cheap one, and honestly, I bet that's the one that most people will-- will be buying, that go out and buy Santa Cruzes, so.
GREG MIGLIORE: Good point, yeah.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, I can definitely recommend the turbo. It's-- I-- the jury's still out on the cheap one, though.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, fair. I should tailor-- my comments do apply to the turbo, you know? The other one-- like, we've driven that engine, the 2.5 and other things. But yeah, I mean until you drive it in that-- that little pickup, we'll see. It's-- I also think, too, you might be willing to be more forgiving in some of the other Hyundai models because you're just getting the whatever crossover.
You take the four cylinder. Maybe you're not expecting it. Whereas with the Santa Cruz, I think there is a little bit of a like, hey. You're getting something kind of different, special, and new, so you don't want it to drive like a dog, so we'll see. We'll see.
ZAC PALMER: One day, hopefully.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, all right. So we'll just close things out. As long as I have the 330 E, I've been talking about it on the podcast. Since we last spoke about it-- let's see, I talked about slamming-- I think I mentioned when I took it to the airport, I was able to, surprisingly, get a lot of luggage in the back, three very large suitcases, so that was good. But since then, having returned I've been, frankly, more aggressive about charging it in my garage, trying to use the home charger.
It looks like, perhaps given the cold-- I know it's, like, rated at 20 miles of range-- the car will say things like you can like you're 40%, and then I look at it and it's, like, filling up is like 16 miles of range. And I'm like, OK, so it sounds like all I'm going to be able to get is 16 out of that, which, again, not particularly usable. That's frustrating. It's also frustrating filling it up, which I did again last Friday. That's annoying. Just-- it's like the best and the worst of all worlds because you get a small gas tank, and you know, it doesn't have much electric range. On the other hand, what I found is being aggressive about charging it, like, I will maybe go do like a morning school drop or something, come back, charge it.
Charges all afternoon, and then when it's time to go out for, like, an evening, get some takeout or whatever, or go out to eat, you've basically returned what you used in the morning, whether that's anywhere from, like, 5 to, like, 10 miles of range. And you can really start to conserve your-- your gas using it that way, which I do think is nice. It's definitely-- and you know, I won't beat this death-- but it's definitely if you have, like, a charger at your workplace or something where you can just, like, roll in, charge it, like we used to have at our own office, you're good.
You won't use any gas for most of the time, but-- or at your home. But if you're just using, like, the-- the level one charger that comes with it, it's always going to be kind of like, you know, a quicksand, you know? Trying to get a little bit in there, and then unplugging it. Trying to use it, and plug it back in, you know, and that's how I've been using it. I have not pulled it in mainly because of the garage situation just to let it charge fully overnight, so that is on me, 100%.
I'm not blaming BMW or the infrastructure on that, but you know, say you lived in an apartment or something, or you just didn't have the hookup in the garage, you would be reliant on that. So that's a little bit of frustration, but otherwise, I mean, it's still fun driving a 3 series. You know, no complaints on that front. The car is a handsome car, sporty to drive, you know? Seat heaters, steering wheel heaters are great. I mentioned the winter tires are handling things well. I don't have to go anywhere today, but I might just go out later just to go out in it. You know, it might be fun.
It's got the orange light pipes that everybody who gets into it love. You know, the interior is kind of an orange-ish brown, or just orangish brown. It's a great car, otherwise. And I know you had it earlier in the year, and you've written about some of the charging, and the-- the fuel challenges. I mean, what do you think?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, yeah, going back to what you said at the start there, the-- the range with, like, a full charge and whatnot. I-- I did a range test with it right around the end of winter last year, and I managed to, on-- on a 100% full charge, mind you, also in relatively cold weather, 38 degrees outside-- I managed to get 25 miles out of it.
GREG MIGLIORE: Nice for you.
ZAC PALMER: So you know, and that was-- it certainly wasn't reading 25 miles at-- at the start of the trip, you know? It's reading a much lower number, so what the actual range estimate, and then what you ultimately get, at least in my experience, I found it, you know, it tends to beat that estimated number. Granted if you're driving on the highway, that's certainly going to go down. I-- I used Woodward Avenue for-- for our range test, which if you're familiar with the area, that means you're basically just going to be sitting at 45 miles per hour constantly the whole way.
If you time the lights right, there's no stopping. And yeah, just all the way down and back, 25 miles. I was-- I was pretty impressed with that, especially with the relatively low EPA rating. But uh, yeah, no. I'm-- I'm excited to get back in-- in 330E here. It's-- it's definitely been a while since-- since I've driven it, and yeah, I mean, once-- once we get past the winter, we'll get the good, stickier all-seasons back on there, and get back to enjoying the 3 series for what it's meant to be, having fun around corners, which this thing's pretty good at.
GREG MIGLIORE: Indeed. It's-- it's definitely a fun 3 series to drive. That's for sure. Cool, man. Well, I think we hit everything, managed to get a fairly tight show in here. I don't know. It's snowing like hell. What's your winter beer, or winter drink collection to-- recommendation to hang out by the fire, or after you maybe you do the snow blower, snow thrower, or shoveling. What are you going to have after all of your winter stuff?
ZAC PALMER: I've been doing a lot of stouts as of late, just feels like the winter mood. I got these barrel aged Guinness Stout's not-- not too long ago here. They were pretty good. I picked up some-- some Czech dark lager. It was, um, some-- some Griffin Claw beer, which is always great. I love-- love Griffin Claw, up in-- up in Birmingham Michigan, there. So yeah, that's-- that's really what I've been drinking as of late, just anything that's-- that's dark, and has a nice-- nice wintery feel to it, I suppose.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think it's Guinness season. That's what I may be reaching for. Just I have these-- I have, sort of, the tall cans which just pours a really nice pint. It has the nitro, the ball in there. So I might do one of those. I also, after shoveling, which I think is going to have to happen. It's really starting to come down here.
I don't know, I like to sometimes find whatever, like, just like whatever's in the fridge. Like a Coors Light or something, and just drop that in the snow because it's the equivalent of lawnmower beer. And then by the time you're done, it's usually not frozen. If it's frozen, you're doing it wrong. But it's just-- it's cold as it could be, and then, you know, you've been outside for half an hour, or an hour doing all this work. Another 10 minutes drinking a beer is just a nice way to kind of calm down, reset.
ZAC PALMER: The mountains are blue by the time you're done shoveling, right?
GREG MIGLIORE: We'll see. Yeah, a little Labatt. We'll see what's in the basement fridge. That's-- that's what we'll be going for, just like a lager or a pilsner, yeah.
ZAC PALMER: I know that I have some old No, Yeahs in the fridge still.
GREG MIGLIORE: Oh, those are good. Yeah, those are OK.
ZAC PALMER: It feels-- it feels a little like a summer beer, but I feel like it fits the same mold as, like, going to grab a Labatt after shoveling. Maybe I'll do that tonight. That sounds like a pretty good idea, actually, ha, ha, ha.
GREG MIGLIORE: Sounds good. No, Yeah. I would go with a No, Yeah. And if you like the podcast, please give us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. It's also available on autoblog.com if you're looking for more-- more ways to get it, however it is easiest for you. Let me know. Again, enjoy-- enjoy the snow. Be safe out there. Thanks for hanging out this week, Zac, and we'll see you next week. Bye now.
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In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. Jeremy is fresh off the first drive of the 2024 Jeep Wrangler, and Greg has been driving the 2023 Kia Niro PHEV. In the news, Velocity Modern Classics just added the F-100 Signature …
