In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. This week's news includes Subaru teasing the next-generation Subaru BRZ, the Jaguar XE departing and the XF getting an update, Honda unveiling the new Ridgeline pickup and the Acura NSX suffering from slow sales. This week they talk about driving two vehicles on opposite ends of the spectrum: the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and the Volkswagen Atlas.
Transcript[MUSIC PLAYING]
GREG MIGLIORE: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the "Autoblog Podcast." I'm Greg Migliore. Joining me today on the phones, as always, is road test editor, Zac Palmer. How's it going, man?
ZAC PALMER: Oh, it's going good over here. How's it going on your end?
GREG MIGLIORE: It's going well. It's fall. It's kind of warm out, which is nice. Trees are starting to turn as I look across my yard, kind of down the-- down into the woods, which is nice. Feels pretty good. Maybe I'll sit on the patio a little bit later. But we've got a great show for you guys, today. Lots of news-- stuff that I think people are even into. Let's see, the next gen BRZ is confirmed. Sort of stating the obvious, but now we know there's going to be a fall reveal date. Fall as in this year, 2020. Not surprising. It's going to be related to the Toyota 86. I know you're blown away by this, Zac, but, you know, it's-- I think it's good to hear that this thing is still in the works. Got some other things coming up, too.
It's the end of the line for some Jaguars, the XE and the XF Wagon. The XF itself, the sedan, it's getting a refresh. New Honda Ridgeline. Pretty major refresh. They only showed one of the trims, at least initially. So Zac, you wrote that, we're going to break that down. Then we're going to talk about a subject that both Zac and I like to just always talk about, that's the NSX. The sales are quite slow. We're going to kind of take another lap around with the NSX, about what the car's like. I wrote a review that just went up actually a couple of weeks ago. Good opportunity to revisit that. Then we've got a couple of reviews for you. The Volks-- the Volkswagen Atlas, of course. Zac, you were in just the traditional SUV, correct?
ZAC PALMER: Yep, just a normal Volkswagen Atlas, not that coupey cross sport that I know you drove.
GREG MIGLIORE: That's what I drove earlier this summer. Had a good time in it. So be good to talk about. So we'll do that. And then perhaps more exciting to the listeners is the Shelby GT350. In fact, maybe we'll even talk about that first in the reviews. But with that in mind, let's get underway. It's like I said, busy show We're going to just run right through these. Plenty and new subjects here.
So I'm excited to hear sort of like-- we used to even put this in headlines, we haven't in a while-- it's officially official that the BRZ will be revealed. I think there was-- enthusiasts were a little nervous that, you know, what was going on with this car. Makes a ton of sense to do it with Toyota. Though kind of curiously, in the story written by one of our freelancers over in France actually, Ronan Glon, that we haven't heard much from Toyota but what's up with the 86. Subaru is doing their car-- let's put it that way. So I'm excited.
This is one of those cars that if, you know, the world of press cars like ended for us automotive journalists, that would be sad, but this would be a car that would be on the shortlist for me. Probably wouldn't get a new one. Might get a used one. It would definitely be, like, a third car. But to me, this is sort of like a modern classic, if you will. The steering, the chassis, the looks. It's got everything that harks back to some of those great 1960s and '70s sports cars that weren't super powerful, but they really-- they did everything you wanted sports car to do. So that's my like too long, don't read, don't listen take. But glad it's coming back, as we thought.
ZAC PALMER: Hey, me too. I know, like, you said there at the start, there was a point in time where I'm not really sure if there's going to be a next gen BRZ, 86. It's a slowish-selling sports car, doesn't have a ton of appeal. So I am seriously pumped that they're bringing it back. You know, we don't have enough of, you know, very cheap rear wheel drive enthusiast-focused coupes and vehicles out there these days.
And honestly, like, from the rumors and from what we've heard so far, it's going to be fixing my biggest problem with it, which has always been the engine. It looks like, you know-- the rumor is that it's going to get a 2.4 liter flat four as opposed to the 2.0 liter, a little more torque. Should hopefully fill in the big dead spot that the BRZ, FR-S and 86 I've had for the longest time now.
You know, even just another, like, 20, 30 horsepower I feel is going to really wake that car up and, you know, make it something that I like even more than what it is now. But it's another interesting point, which you make about Toyota there about, you know, we haven't really heard anything from them about the 86. They've talked for a while now with the Supra. Like, all right, we have the Supra 3.0, that's our flagship sports car. Then we have the 86, that's our mid tier. And then they came out with the Supra 2.0 this year and said, well, this sort of bridges the gap between the 86 and the big fast Supra. They knocked about $8,000 off the price and here you go.
If they come back with an 86 that's a little faster, a little more expensive, that sort of know lowers the gap between their super cheap one and their mid tier Supra even more. I don't know if there's anything we should read into that. You know, maybe-- maybe the 86 is not going to be, you know, the same thing as the BRZ. Maybe there'll be some more differentiation this time that the Toyota tries to slide it into their own lineup better. But no, I'm-- this is probably my most looking forward to reveal of the end of the year here. You know, I think a lot of people are looking forward to this reveal, honestly.
GREG MIGLIORE: For sure. And I really think your point is really spot on there as far as getting an engine that gives you just a little bit more power. Because the car, candidly, as good as its reflexes are, could use a little more muscle, you know? It's-- I would like a little bit more beef in this car.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, no, like, the Miata right now, I think, is just the right amount of power in that, you know, you're getting to 60 in about six-ish seconds, whereas the BRZ, you're still sitting around seven, which eh-- I mean, that much of a disparity, I'd actually be more liable to take a Miata over this and lose the rear seats.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, that's a good point. I think I would still end with BRZ or 86, but, you know, it's because I sort of prefer that like the whole setup of the car, if you will. Miata is its own kind of thing. But yeah.
OK, so some sad news out of Jaguar this week. The XE is going away. This sort of came out this week among a flurry of other announcements that the XF wagon is going to go away. And then the XF itself gets a nice upgrade, actually. I think it looks pretty good-- some of the pictures we saw. Let me kick it right over to you, though. XE I'm going to be essentially gone. Your take?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, this is sort of a weird one here. So they did a whole mid-cycle comprehensive update to the XE for 2020, but it actually lost one of my favorite things about the car-- was that 3.0 liter supercharged V6. And they went down to just two different four cylinder options, which to me made the car a lot less appealing, and I wouldn't doubt if it made the car less appealing to a lot of enthusiasts, who were, like, well, you know, this was a sort of unique option in this area. You can get a 3.0 liter supercharged V6 and now it's gone. And now you can't even get the four cylinders-- it's just completely going away.
It's-- it's also a bit of a shame, just because the XE was one of the better driving sedans, I think, in this segment. Pretty good handler. I love the way it looked. You know, this and the Giulia were probably my two favorite looking luxury sports sedans out there. So yeah, pretty sad that it's going away. I might be even more sad about that one that you just mentioned, though, the XF sport break, the wagon, also going away. I'm sure that not a ton of people bought these as Americans tend to do with luxurious wagons. I honestly only remember ever seeing two of them on the road, like, ever.
GREG MIGLIORE: Both press cars, right?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, probably both-- both press cars. I actually never got to drive one. But god, I love the way they look so much. I have a feeling that it's the F-PACE's fault, which is fine. People want to buy crossovers. That's-- that's the way of the world right now. But yeah-- no, it's a real shame seeing both of these you know fun to drive interesting-looking Jaguars going away. I'm sure maybe you have similar thoughts on--
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, absolutely.
ZAC PALMER: --the disappearance, late.
GREG MIGLIORE: To pick it up, the XE is one of the better handling Jaguars-- I mean sedan Jaguars that I think I've ever driven. I mean, it really-- the chassis was so dialed in, the steering was outstanding. The interior was OK. Frankly, the looks of the car, I think it was very trim-specific. I think in its, like, lower trims, it looked almost a little too pedestrian. But as you dress it up just a little bit, it really began to like effect that like Jaguar uniqueness and specialness.
And overall, it was a very handsome car. I think that almost speaks to the fact that like the segment in general, you were seeing, like, you know, Civics, and Fusions-- you know, just that size of car we're getting pretty styled up. Then when you're in an actual luxury brand, it's a little tougher to stand out. But I still think they managed to do that. But again, the dynamics were amazing. Right from the start, you know, one of our previous editors did a really great review of this. Did an extensive track test, just how competitive this was with the Germans. So I'm very sad to see it go.
We had a diesel, which was a very unique thing in the segment, as part of the Autoblog long term fleet. It was super surreal to pull up to like a gas station and get in line behind like a really big truck in this small Jaguar. And, you know, on more than one occasion, somebody would say, hey, man, this is diesel. Like, what are you doing here? And I was, like, no, I'm here-- I'm here for the diesel. And he'd look at the car and he'd look at me and they'd be like, all right, sure. You-- you fill up your car diesel, that's what you want to do.
And so that was-- you know, I thought like to your point too-- that supercharged six, really interesting portfolio of powertrains you could get in the XE. Styling, I think, was good. The handling was outstanding. So yeah, I mean, I'm sorry to see it go, but sedans, smaller sedans-- there's not a huge market for them. So to me, that makes perfect sense.
And then when you get into the wagon, that's the exact thing I just said, only writ large, you know? Even maximize it. You know, there's no market for, like, Sportbrake-- you know, really styled up station wagons. So I mean, we had an XF Sportbrake, I believe it was two winters ago-- and the press cars that come and go as we review them, sometimes, they stick, sometimes they don't. But I remember, like, people were like-- like, fighting over this car. It was gorgeous. And people-- you know, I feel like it was red, bright red, and it was just like, oh wow, you know, everybody wanted it, you know?
So-- but again, not much of a market. You know, when you get it-- like, who is the market for this car? If you need capability, most likely, you want, like, a crossover or something, you know? So that's how it goes.
ZAC PALMER: I think that part of the, I don't know, like, silver lining is that these cars are going away. But at the same time, like, there are a ton of really great options you know as far as sports sedans. You can get a Giulia, you get yourself a 3 Series, the new Acura TLX-- really, really great. And then even in the wagons, Audi has come out with their A6 all road that you can get. Now and if you have an especially large sum of cash lying around, there's the RS 6 Savant. So you're still not without options. They're just sadly not going to be Jaguar options.
I bet maybe if you really want one of those excess Sportbrakes, may be able to get like a super screaming deal on-- on one of them right now, because they're just sort of sitting around on the lots. And I guarantee there aren't many of them. And they're just-- yeah, attempting to get rid of the last few that there are.
GREG MIGLIORE: Wow, that's a tempting thought. I need to really maybe see if there's any out there-- not that I'm in the market for a Jaguar station wagon. But that's a cool car. And I would take the XF Sportbrake over any of those Audis you mentioned. And I do like those Audis, you know? They're very capable, special in their own way. But yeah mean, sorry to see it go.
But maybe we should talk about a market that is super rich right now, and that's pickup trucks. The new Ridgeline is out. You wrote that piece. I mean, obviously, right away, they totally changed a good chunk of the look in large part, I think, to make it stand out a bit from-- more from the Pilot, on which shares the same crossover sort of platform. They're both unibody. And I think it's also sort of like I'll call it like the Ranger or the Gladiator effect.
The Ridgeline-- it's been around, actually, for a while. And it always was kind of its own thing. It was a little bit different than the Colorado. It was a bit different than the Tacoma. More of like, just, this practical truck. Capable, you could tow with it, somewhat fuel efficient. Looks were a little understated. Some would call them plain, subtle. Elegant is another way to look at it.
It's a classic truck. We had a long-termer that I loved. I put a ton of stuff into it. We had a short-termer come through this summer, and I went and got a ton of mulch and dirt and things like that-- not literally a ton, but you know. When you use a pickup truck, you can't really exaggerate those things. But I mean, once you break it down, what are we looking at here-- you know, my takeaway is it seemed like they felt like they had to sort of give this truck a more purposeful look to sort of maintain pace with the rest of the field. But I'd like to hear your take.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, yeah-- no, you wouldn't actually be able to put a whole ton of mulch into the bed. It has 1,580 pound payload capacity. But that's-- that's another point. In general, you know, I think this truck changed exactly what it needed to change. I loved pretty much everything about it. Like you mentioned, we had that long-termer-- I put a ton of miles on that thing. You know, it's the most comfortable, quiet, easy-driving truck there is out there.
It has a ton of really thoughtful features in it like the swing out bed and the actual trunk under the bed itself. Just a super, super pleasant you know truck that sort of drives like a crossover-- that was the beauty of it. The ugly part of it was the fact that it sort of looked like a Honda Odyssey or, you know, to be a little nicer, or even a Pilot from the front. Didn't really look like a truck, at all. But this redesign-- you know, they completely changed all the sheet metal from the A pillars forward, so you get a new-- you know, a nice really big bulging muscular hood. A huge grille up there, you know, sort of in your face. New headlights, new bumper, they throw a skid plate on there.
The only pictures they showed us are actually of this HPD package that you can get on it with these fancy gold wheels and big blocky plastic arches. It made-- it's a little overdone in that. I think I wouldn't go for those gold wheels or the sort of-- I think the arches are a little tacky and not completely thought out. But just, you know, the front end really was the big issue with this truck. And I think that, you know, this redesign will actually help it appeal more to truck buyers while you are retaining all the really, really good parts about it that it used to have. So to me, huge, huge win for this redesign. I think that Honda will probably sell more of them because of this.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I'd agree with that. I think they did the proverbial cliche. They, like, you know, toughened up the front, if you will. I'm not sure I like it more. I'll need to see it in like some other trims, see just like what a more conventional one looks like. Because, you know, like, the Trail Boss for the Silverado, full-size truck, is a lot different than some of the other, you know, Silverado trims. So, you know, I'm going to withhold judgment.
I actually-- I was not in the-- I was in the minority. Like, I really liked the old truck. So I guess I'm actually a little bit, like, hey, what are you doing here, you know? You're kind of messing with, you know, this-- you know, this pretty good execution. I think another thing, too, is in real life, nobody ever walked up to the truck-- at least when I had it-- and they were, like, oh, that's a small truck or you know what. Everybody-- most people when they saw it, they were, like, oh, that's a pretty big truck. Wait, what are you driving there, you know?
So I feel like maybe some of these things you didn't carry it over to the pictures, you know? And part of it was a marketing thing. But, I mean, legitimately, to your point, though, it did have too much of a crossover vibe. And obviously that's-- that's why they felt they needed to change it, because there is a true truck market now.
When they originally launched the Ridgeline, I remember them saying things like well, we think this is actually-- like, we can steal some crossovers from other maybe makes-- you know, people who aren't quite happy with like their options. You know they, weren't trying to cannibalize themselves, but they were trying to get, like, sort of that in between white space vehicle. And, you know, I mean, I think in some sense, they succeeded. But then a decade plus later, they're left with a generic truck. So.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah. I mean, whenever anybody honestly asks me like hey, what truck should I buy, I always ask them, like, all right, so how much do you need to tow? Like, are you going to tow much more than 5,000 pounds? If the is answer is no, I essentially recommend the Ridgeline almost every single time, just because it's actually comfortable to drive around, to daily.
And honestly, like, even if you're in the market for a crossover like, say, a Honda Pilot or a Kia Telluride, and you don't need a third row, buy a Ridgeline, because you're not really taking any penalty, but you're getting all the advantages of a bed. You can do a whole lot of things with it that you might not have been able to before. So-- yeah-- no, I am-- I'm excited about this.
The one small design detail that I feel like maybe we can all get behind is this new dual exhaust design they have out back. I think that's a very cool. They're almost sort of copying like a Ram or sort of like a Raptor that has a cool dual exhaust just, like, coming right out from the bumper. It's not like a side exit like a lot of trucks. It looks a lot more aggressive and sporty. And that's just on the standard truck, too. It has that.
GREG MIGLIORE: Agreed.
ZAC PALMER: It's a nice little small but noticeable touch that I like.
GREG MIGLIORE: I thought it was very thoughtful. I thought they were like, hmm, what can we do that will like actually add something here? And yeah, that was a very well-considered enhancement, I think. So staying with the greater Honda family, Honda Motor Co, let's shift over to Acura. The NSX is quite slow selling. I believe I saw a report that said something, like, 26 were sold I want to say, last year or this year, which is a tiny amount.
I just drove one earlier this year. I know you spent a lot of time in one. You have a lot of strong feelings about the NSX. Why do you think that, you know, we're seeing such slow performance? Is it-- there's a couple reasons I can think of. One is, like, right now, people are buying cars as much. They're not buying supercars as much. There's no need to really in the middle of a pandemic necessarily seek out some of those like sporting opportunities that you might do, although you could argue you could do them socially distant and much of the world is reopening. So I don't know how much that plays into it. But for whatever reason, it seems to be know not moving as well as some of these other super sports cars that we see.
So, I mean, I like it. I think it's a sophisticated take in a segment that often relies on, like, brute force and sort of carbon fiber in your face. But maybe that's it-- it's a little too nuanced. I don't know. What do you think?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, man, like you said, I have a lot of thoughts on the original NSX and this new NSX. Obviously, the new one has been around for a decent amount of time. So you have a lot of people that you know maybe wanted them already, they've already bought them, first of all. And you had the biggest change of going through this generation in 2019, where they actually did improve some things. They made the steering a lot better. The suspension was better. Just the whole way the car drove as a cohesive piece was greatly improved, which is a shame, because people are not buying them now, unfortunately.
I mean, some of the biggest reasons that I could see for that-- you're charging a base price of around $160,000. And for that price, you could also walk into a Porsche dealer and pick yourself up a 911 GT3, if for whatever reason. The NSX you're looking to buy has a bunch of options on it-- I mean, the one that I tested was almost 200,000 at $196,000 before. For that price, you can go get yourself a McLaren.
And it just-- I think a lot of supercar buyers-- I'm sort of generalizing here-- a lot of people that buy that car, you know, you're buying it for the performance, but you're also buying it for the badge. And, you know, Acura doesn't necessarily scream supercar, premium, I have lots of money. But a McLaren on the other hand, yeah, it totally does. And that's-- that's no indictment on the way the NSX drives or anything like that. I think it's a brilliant driver with the combination of the hybrid power and that twin turbo V6. It gives you all the brute force acceleration that you get and one of the McLaren's with their twin turbo V8s. And very similar to a 911-- Turbo 911 GT3, what have you.
It's just, man, there's just not enough people out there that seem to want the car, which is weird, because, you know, there was so much excitement around when it was actually coming back. And it was such a long drawn-out reveal process. I don't know-- that maybe could have turned some people off. It definitely turned some people off with the Supra for, like, years we were hearing about that car. Everybody was just like, give the car to us already.
So yeah, just a whole combination of things, I think, have led to us now seeing like you said, about 20ish sales this year, which is-- yeah, it seems way, way too low for a car that has an entire factory dedicated to building it in Ohio. It's a really cool factory. But I'm afraid they're just not putting out many cars these days.
GREG MIGLIORE: 28, I should say. So shorter than two. But, I mean, there's a great piece about-- we do this zombie cars sort of gallery. There are actually two Dodge Vipers sold last month, somehow. So it's like-- granted, this is, like, trivia, basically. Like, they were on a lot or something, still somehow sold as new. But, I mean, I think that speaks just to the fact that, like, you know, this car is-- you know, maybe its life cycle is starting to run a little bit, you know?
I drove the refreshed ones with all those enhancements, which do make a difference, I think. I think it's-- you know, it's not enough that if you could, I don't know, get a used NSX-- than I would say, hey, pay more. Like, if you somehow had, like, some sort of deal through your local supercar broker, I guess.
But, I mean, they do make the car better. Like, Acura is not letting the car languish. It's still a very competitive interesting car. But the price is a really good point there that you make, Zac. And that's that, I mean, McLarens, Porsches feel special, you know? You do get the badge. And I mean, you see it throughout other parts of their lineup, you know?
We'll get to this on a future podcast, but I'm in a 718 Cayman right now-- the T model, if you will. It's got, like, 3000 horsepower. It's $72,000. There's cloth door strap handles. Yeah, I mean, there's parts of it that are a little conflicting, but at the end of the day, you're like, well, it handles well, it's fast, it looks good. It's a Porsche. I'm OK with that. And you sort of rationalize the rest of it.
And then you kind of look at Acura and say, well, the brand is maybe not quite-- it's obviously not quite as strong as Porsche or even, like, McLaren, you know? So I mean, maybe that's another part of it, too. And again, it's not necessarily about a business-- like, a bunch of raw production for the NSX, because it's never going to be a big volume, even in, like, normal times. But I kind of wonder if everybody who wanted one already has one right now, you know? That's-- that's sort of where it is.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah. That's definitely a real possibility out there. And, you know, the advantage that they-- that the original NSX had in that it was this super reliable easy to use supercar in a world of very unreliable and finicky supercars from Ferrari, Lamborghini. Anything out of Britain was like, oh, watch out, the electronics are going to go out after 100 miles on a rainy road. Well, all the other supercars are just fine now. You know, they've-- they've all learned and their cars are reliable. They're not just a constant mess in and out of the dealership. And, you know, that advantage that Acura had is sort of just dwindled to almost nothing.
It's still-- I still think that they have a bit of added advantage in like calling it the everyday supercar, just because it is so easy and simple to drive. Like, you can throw it in hybrid mode and honestly, anybody that has not driven a supercar or anybody-- that you could have driven the like 150 horsepower Corolla for your whole life, I feel like you could hop into an NSX and not be overwhelmed by what's going on, just because it is that simple and easy to drive, which as I'm saying that, could almost be a bit of a turnoff for somebody who wants, you know, something with atmosphere and, you know, it's going to hit you in the head 100% of the time you're driving it. You know, that's sort of what you get in a Ferrari or Lamborghini mid-engine supercar.
So you have those sort of polar opposites. It's just the philosophy that Honda, Acura has with their-- their supercar. That they had it in the beginning and it's the same now. There's a limited crowd of people who-- who want those certain elements in a 160 to $200,000 sports car, I suppose.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. Yeah, great point. So let's transition to another car that's actually on the way out. That's the Shelby Mustang GT350. Should point out the NSX is not on its way out. But another car that is a relatively low volume. You got to drive it. It was one of the final drives-- probably-- probably the final drive of this car from the press fleet, anyway. Sounds like a very fun drive. I've always been a big fan of the GT350. I sort of like the precision. The right amount of balance and power that car offers as opposed to the GT500, which is just like, you know, raw in your face force.
Obviously, check out the stories. Zac's reviews are up as well as its piece sort of exploring the end of the GT350 and what it all means. But yeah, you know, wrap it up for us, you know? How did you feel about this car?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, man, this-- I have a sort of a weird personal connection with this car going back to when it launched in 2015. I was actually working as a Roush test driver, where we would test drive a bunch of random Fords and Lincolns. We'd drive them around for eight hours a day. And I got to drive around the GT350 when I was doing that. And it was one of the first Mustangs I ever drove. It was, like, the first really expensive, fancy, awesome sports car that I really got to have my way with. And
I fell in love with it then, like, completely. It became my attainable dream car. All throughout college, I was like, man, one day, when I have enough money, I am going to buy this car. And there's-- there's a few you know pretty simple reasons why. And the reasons for why I wanted it that are pretty much the same reasons for why I love it now and why it gets so much praise.
Number one being that Voodoo 5.2 liter V8, which who knows what the future of that engine. The flat line crank V8, 526 horsepower, 8,250 RPM. It's just-- the best word I can use for the scintillating. It's just such an intense, awesome, immediate powerful engine revs to the sky. I'm always a sucker for something with really exotic high revving engine, and this-- this one really does it for me.
There's a whole lot to the suspension of the GT350, almost to the point where it doesn't even feel like a normal Mustang. Like, you can hop out of a 50 and into a GT350 and it's almost like, you know, hopping out of a 911 Carrera and then hopping into say, a 911 GT3. It honestly seems like, you know, if Ford-- if the Porsche GT you know sporting team were to build a Mustang, it would be that GT350. Like, it's just-- it's elevated that much beyond a normal Mustang.
And, you know, that whole experience in a car that, you know, at the start, it was about $50,000. Now by the end, it's about 61, $62,000. You know, it's-- honestly that-- that price gap isn't a horrible climb for how good of a car it was and how much praise it earned. But, you know, all good things must come to an end. Ford cited the fact that the GT500 is a thing now.
And when you look at the price of the GT350 R versus the GT500, the GT500 is actually a few dollars cheaper, which is pretty weird, considering that the GT500 has so much more horsepower. But no, the GT350 R-- they sort of call it their track-- you know, very, very track-focused, whereas the 500 is a little more Grand Touring, unless you go for the super expensive carbon pack.
But yeah, we'll have to wait to see what Ford has in store for us for the next gen Mustang. Obviously, if they could bring the GT350 back-- they could bring that engine back, assuming emissions, you know, everything's good there. I'm not really sure how-- how that will shake out in a few years when the next gen Mustang comes. But yeah, I'm super, super sad to see this one go. And I guarantee you that I will be on the used market probably not too long-- I don't know, a couple of years. I'll wait for values to start to drop a little bit and be looking to pick one out myself, which is-- I don't say that about many cars, but this one-- this one's that good.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's-- I think it's part of the natural evolution of the Mustang lineup, too. You know, they tend to bring in the different Shelbys and bring in, like, Bullet, bring in just all the different know great Mustang names that we like. You know, we know and love. And then some are around and then some disappear. You know, Mach 1 is coming back versus Mach E, which is kind of its own, you know-- its own stable, to use a horse cliche. Yeah, I know-- it's so bad. But, I mean, it is part of the natural lifecycle.
And I guess kind of quickly here, you did get to drive one. You know, your review is up and I encourage everybody to check that out. But just quick thumbnail thoughts of the car driving it.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, I mean, so, I think it's-- it's just about the right acceleration. You know, 0 to 60 in about four seconds. You have a pretty long first gear, shorter second and third. Awesome to play with on a back road. I think that they've improved the steering feel and the weighting of it over the years. I actually think that this 2020 car is it's a lot better than the original 2015 that I drove. And also, those magnetic shocks, I think, have gotten better over the years as far as finding that right balance between the nice comfortable ride but also, being, you know, rock solid stiff through the corners.
My biggest issue, honestly, with, you know, driving hard on a back road is the tramlining. If you're not on a perfect road, it has a tendency to follow the curves and undulations of the road. And you really have to watch yourself and watch what you're doing. Otherwise, you'll find yourself edging over to the side of the road or into the middle of the road. You just have to really keep a tight grip on the steering wheel. And that's just a factor of the suspension design being set up for the track and the super sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, as well.
But the sound really is the overarching awesome part of it of the whole drive. I honestly believe you cannot drive something else under $100,000 that sounds better than this engine going all the way up and past 8,000 RPM. And still to this day-- I mean, I thought this when I drove the original-- the brakes are some of the best feeling-- you know, right at the top of the pedal super stiff feeling.
It's-- it's not something that you know might point out in other cars that don't have as good of brakes as this, but they're just that good and that impressive. And, you know, it really instills a sense of confidence in you that I do feel a need to point them out, because they're just better than other sports cars, which just adds to the whole old driving experience. You know, it's that sort of thing, like, sure, you don't have the fancy luxurious interior that you would in 100 plus thousand sports car, but don't really want or need that, you know, you can get all the performance in a much cheaper package. So yeah, so long to the GT350. Will definitely be missed by me.
GREG MIGLIORE: Very cool. Me, as well. Yeah, me too. I have good memories. I did one of those right seat like, ride and drives at Grattan, which is a small track in kind of the middle of nowhere here in Michigan right when they first launched this car. And drove around with some of the Ford test engineers who really put that car, like, on the razor's edge, if you will. And really capable.
But let's wrap things up here with the Volkswagen Atlas. There's really no way to transition from Shelby Mustang to a Volkswagen crossover, but it's important.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: You-- you had one for a week or so.
ZAC PALMER: It's actually sitting in my driveway right now.
GREG MIGLIORE: Still in your driveway, all right.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah.
GREG MIGLIORE: Is this the two row or the three row?
ZAC PALMER: This is the three row. It has the base engine, actually. It's the 2.0 liter turbo, but it also has all wheel drive. That was something new that they did for '21 when they updated the car. So it is-- there is something new here and it is worth talking about, because they did some design changes. I think that the front end looks a little classier now than it used to. It got some fancy new LED lights in front and back. It gives it a more modern look, I think.
However, I honestly think-- like, the biggest issue with this car before was just the super drab and plain interior. I mean, you don't really expect something flashy in this class, but at the same time, like this is just about as drab and plain as it gets. Like, even a Pilot, the Telluride, Palisade, Explorer-- pretty much all of them have a little more pizzazz-- interesting trim, shapes, design-- going on inside. And it just-- you don't get that in this Atlas. It's a very-- this is big, blocky, American crossover, and not much excitement.
There are two things that they updated that I like more about the interior. It gets a new infotainment system. It's a new 8 inch touchscreen. It's a lot faster than the previous one. I think it works a lot nicer. And it just looks-- it has a nice glossy black appearance, sort of upscale. Get, like, tiny, like, cheap Audi vibes. Not completely there. But the response and user experience is verging on that.
And I really like the steering wheel, too. They gave it, like, almost a steering wheel out of a car, which I always like. I never like, you know, when there's a big blocky steering wheel, feels like a truck. Some-- some people may want that in a big crossover, but this almost feels like the steering wheel out of a Golf. It's very thin and just a really nice feel in the hand, was more than I was expecting for a crossover.
So, I mean, driving it is just about the same as it was before-- comfortable, you know, decently wide inside. That-- that engine is plenty-- plenty torquey for just me in there. Maybe if you fill up all three rows and luggage, you might want the V6 at that point. But, like, the biggest thing, I think, that was missing in the driving right now is there's, like, no active safety features at all in this thing. It's the SE-- so it's the trim level just above the base. $37,800 for those counting. And yeah, it doesn't have anything like lane departure, no lane keep assist, no adaptive cruise.
And I just feel like that that should almost be a standard feature on something like a family crossover, where safety is typically top of mind for the people buying the thing. I know that a lot of other manufacturers do make all that stuff standard. You look at any Toyota or Honda these days, and they have the full, full suite of safety equipment there standard for you. So that was just a bit of a miss and disappointment I feel like they could have come out with when they had this mid-cycle refresh.
But I know that you had the Cross Sport, as well.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah. that's a better segue than by a transition. I had the Cross Sport a while back. And what really struck me is this reminds me of almost like a discount or sort of poor man's X4 or X6, because I thought it really did look that good. I thought it really affected the premium sporty look that some of those, like, BMWs do, but at a much lower price. Very attractive. I thought it actually did look like sort of like that coupe-styled crossover that was cliched, but in this case, the roof and the hatch was kind of-- curves down and looked sporty. It had the big wheels, it had the right amount of trim, which-- and by that, I mean it was-- you know, there were some nice furnishings and pieces that made it sort of pop. But it wasn't, like, crazy like some of these like cartoon, almost sport appearance packages you see.
And I mean, I think-- in a way, I'm surprised you don't see more of these-- like, Ford, I am surprised, almost hasn't gone down this road. I mean, they have the Explorer which is just, like, you know, bread and butter, money printing, you know, all that things as far as a cliche in that segment. That's a reality for Ford. But I actually think there is more room in sort of like the crossover coupe, like, mainstream market, you know? And I think Volkswagen is doing it right.
In a way-- not in a way-- the Atlas I drove felt more interesting and special than the last, like, conventional just three row or more traditional SUV style than what you had. Now granted, I haven't driven it since the refresh, but it's still, I mean, relatively similar. And I think the Atlas in general, like especially the SUV style, gets lost in the field with all the domestics, which are strong with-- I mean, really, almost everybody has an SUV in this segment that is generally quite competitive. So.
ZAC PALMER: Yeah, no, I mean-- as I sit here and look at photos of the Cross Sport, yeah, I mean, it sort of makes me think, why are the others not doing this, too? Because I mean-- I mean, some of the crossover coupes, I think, look a bit bloated and almost, like, overweight for their own ungainly proportions. But this one is slick. It's sharp. It has some really nice lines on it. And honestly, like, it's one of the few crossover coupes that I can get behind.
I think that Volkswagen Audi have that design down better than everybody right now. Like, the Audi Q8, I think, is an awesome foil to the Q7. You know, it's sort of a crossovery coupe style. And even the Porsche Cayenne coupe is similar. And just the proportions are right, the lines are right. Unfortunately, I think that BMW and Mercedes are missing in the styling department for their crossover coupes these days. But, I don't know, if you had to choose, would you go the-- just the normal big Atlas or the Atlas Cross Sport?
GREG MIGLIORE: Depends on what I was doing. It was sort of, like, my main like family hauling vehicle, I'd probably get the main Atlas, if you will, just because, you know, you want as much space as you possibly can. And I believe the Cross Sport only comes with two roads, which would make sense. There's no third row back there. So if I was looking for, like, a family hauling SUV, you know, to put, like, my family and my dog in-- you may have heard her barking earlier-- like, I think you want the SUV.
But if it was more of like-- sort of like the commuter car, if you will, like, maybe one parent in the family is, like-- whatever your child care arrangement it is-- but, like, you know you're taking the kids to school or something and then the other parent is maybe commuting by themselves or something, or just you want more of a crossover car-- like a crossover-- then this is more of the viable option. But yeah, I mean, if I needed one the whole to haul everybody around, I'd probably do the SUV. How about you?
ZAC PALMER: Yeah. I mean, so I sort of look at the LS Cross Sport as an alternative to the Tiguan--
GREG MIGLIORE: Sure.
ZAC PALMER: In that they're sort of similar size-- although you can even get a third row in the Tiguan these days.
GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I forgot about that. That's weird.
ZAC PALMER: But no, if you're like-- if you're considering a two row Tiguan, you know, maybe consider spending a little bit more money, you can get this far more stylish vehicle with to me, a more interesting engine option in the 3.6 liter V6--
GREG MIGLIORE: For sure.
ZAC PALMER: --above the 2.0 liter turbo in the Tiguan. But yeah, just like you said, if I'm for some reason hauling a bunch of people around constantly, which not currently my lifestyle, I would have to go for the big Atlas in Volkswagen's lineup. But do-- do keep that Cross Sport in mind if for whatever reason, you're considering a Tiguan, I think.
GREG MIGLIORE: It's very cool. Yeah, like, honestly, that's why, like, literally three months after I have driven it originally, I'm like, hey, let's talk about it. Because it really did sort of stay with me. It was a cool-- cool crossover.
ZAC PALMER: Yep. Lots of curb appeal. Lots of it.
GREG MIGLIORE: All right. Well, that's all the time we have this week on the "Autoblog Podcast." Thanks for listening. Be safe out there. Have a great weekend. Enjoy fall. And we'll see you next week.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd for a gasoline-powered installment. They lead off by diving into the Tesla layoff news from this week before leaving electrification behind for a bit to talk about not one, but two production V12 unveilings. …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. The Tesla Model 3 Performance has been revealed, and we discuss Tesla's first-quarter results. Mercedes unveiled its G 580 with EQ Technology. A VW factory voted to join the UAW. The Ford Mustang celebrated …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. The two kick things off with a loaded review section, starting with the 2024 Cadillac Lyriq Sport 3 then moving along to the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy. After that, they dig into …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd, who joins us fresh from the floor at the 2024 New York Auto Show. They start with an overview of the show and this year's big debuts, then pivot to other news for talk …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. In the news, BMW revealed the Neue Klasse X EV, Jeep Wrangler drops the V8, Ford Mustang gets a 810-horsepower supercharger kit and Shell leans into EV charging. We look back on the life …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd. They start off discussing a couple of vehicles they've both driven — the 2024 Ford Maverick Tremor and the 2024 Volvo C40 Recharge 2WD. From there, they pivot to Byron's first drive of the …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by News Editor Joel Stocksdale. They lead off with the 2024 Dodge Charger reveal, followed by various EV startup news including the reported death of the Apple Car; rumors of a tie-up between Fisker and Nissan; and when we'll finally …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor James Riswick and News Editor Joel Stocksdale. Joel shares his experience checking out the Tesla Cybertruck in Chicago. James leads a discussion concerning GM's track record with the Ultium EV roll-out and the company's history with …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd. They start out talking about Scout's new facility in South Carolina and what Volkswagen Group wants to do with its new truck and SUV brand. From there, they briefly revisit the General Motors F1 …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Electric, John Beltz Snyder. This week, they've been driving the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, Kia Seltos and Autoblog's long-term WRX (which has a CD player). They discuss the Chrysler Halcyon concept and what it means for a possible …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor James Riswick. We kick off the week by reviewing cars we've been driving, including the new Lexus GX, Land Rover Defender 130 Outbound, Jaguar F-Pace, Hyundai Kona and our long-term Subaru WRX. Next, we break down …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Electric, John Beltz Snyder. In the news, F1 snubs Michael Andretti, Jeep shows off the electric Wagoneer S, Mazda reveals the updated 2024 Miata, Mary Barra talks about future plug-in hybrids, and Rivian is set to …
In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by News Editor Joel Stocksdale, and they cover a wide range of topics. They discuss refreshed models from GM and VW including the new Blackwing Cadillacs, the Chevy Equinox, and the GTI. They also talk about the upcoming Jeep …
