The grass around our fifth-generation 2026 Range Rover SE LWB was often as high as its 24-inch Pirelli radials as we rolled over bumpy soft sand interspersed with gravel piles. Baby pine trees and tufts of unknown greenery that we maneuvered around rose higher than the 2026 model’s rounded Ionian Silver-clad bonnet.

You may say– didn’t we just see a new Range Rover LWB here in evrider.tv’s website? Yes – a 2025 model with much the same level of equipment. But we just got this 2026 model with a young 2,000 miles on the odometer, and went into the legend of Range Rovers – and deeper into the sand of our Florida neighborhoods.

Let’s get it dirty.

2026 Range Rover SE LWB Has Up To 11.6-inch Ground Clearance

To recap, this Long Wheelbase Range Rover is almost the top of the Land Rover/Range Rover range – 207 inches of aluminum-bodied luxury SUV, its grandpa born in 1970 when the more utilitarian Land Rover company opted to combine the rugged off-road capability of its legendary World War II-born model with a more luxury edge. The pinnacle of that is this Range Rover introduced in 2022, its squareness curved and carved into the slick .29 coefficient of drag you see here, offered in Sport, Short Wheelbase, or this LWB.

This Range Rover can “kneel” to allow owners to more easily ascend into cushy leather seats with a ground clearance of 6.6-inches. Then for trips to Windsor Castle, ground clearance rises to 8.6 inches. But we took this Range Rover deep into a Florida sand scrub rutted with gnarly, bumpy-rooted trees and more. So we tapped in its highest 11.6-inch ground clearance setting via its 13.1-inch touchscreen infotainment display. We needed to get to that electronic wizardry to transform this 7-seat SUV limo into an off-road genius.

Under the aerodynamic alloy, leather and wood interior are multiple off-road modes for Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Ruts, Sand, Rock Crawl – and a way to configure what you want or need. There is hill descent control that automatically taps brakes to control descent. There’s Wade function to lift it high enough to ford up to 35.4 inches of water without ingesting H₂O. There’s also low range and dual locking differentials, plus a multi-camera system with Ground View that shows a simulation of what’s under the hood via a delayed image from the nose camera so you can “see” what you’re going over.

There are displays for altitude, front and center diff lock status, steering angle, and roll angles. It shows steering angle and hill descent control. None are accessible via good old-fashioned dials and buttons, but instead a touchscreen’s worth of menus and sub-menus.

We tapped into the Off-Road mode, then activated Sand mode, eager to test 2026’s upgrades in the Terrain Response system. We flipped the gauge display’s info screen to show steering angle/center differential lock-unlock, then put the Ground View on the center screen to see what was ahead. It is joined by downward angled side mirror cameras to show how close foliage might be getting to the silver flanks.

We nudged the stubby gearshift into Drive and engaged Sand Mode, which backs off throttle response and adjusts Stability Control to allow drive wheels to handle sand better.

The 5,900-lb. Range Rover’s turbocharged 395-hp inline 6 responded smoothly, and we moved out with no digging in of Pirellis. Off-road and Sand mode kept all four tires working without spinning in the fine stuff, even on some stretches where there was more silica than swaying fronds. Our photos show no sand being kicked up either.

The double wishbone front/multi-link rear suspension with active air suspension smoothed out anthills and ruts, while taking rougher edges off higher mounds and some gravelly bumps. The Range Rover’s body was flex-free, quiet and rigid over the washboard surface.

Then we moved to another typical Florida off-road site. It had narrow sandy dirt trails mixed with muddy dips and very wet conditions on either side. Here, the suspension was a bit busier, with gently damped up and down motion and great traction though the tire-deep puddles.

We made good use of the nose camera to eye puddle depth, and side views to make sure the narrow trail’s bushes didn’t scrape. The overhead camera view was a great help, as was the tight tuning radius as we U-turned to get out of dead-end trail.

Despite street-oriented rubber, the Range Rover’s height, allocation of power where needed, electronic air suspension and heritage baked into its luxury meant we never felt like getting stuck was an option.

We did note that Range Rover made evolutionary changes on our 2026 model over the 2025 we tested, including what it calls “a more sophisticated front grille design,” with slimmer gloss black with darker accents, and updated headlight technology. There’s improved aerodynamic elements for better efficiency.

2026 Range Rover SE LWB Interior Has Everything, including Fridge

Inside, our 2026 model’s black stitched leather was joined by matte wood and buff alloy, still elegant, simple and very stylish. The leather seats up front reauire you to tap into menus for heat/cooling, lumbar support and vent positions.

The center console gets more wood and alloy, with an inductive phone charger and USB ports under one timber-clad door, and cup holders under another. A small refrigerator lies under the padded center armrest, while almost hidden buttons open upper and lower glove boxes. It takes too many taps to get into menus, while some touchscreen buttons take multiple taps to input. The station seek button on the steering wheel for the superb Meridian audio system sometimes refused to work. And while there’s a “Hey Range Rover” voice command system, once or twice it just never responded.

Those long rear doors allow easy access to roomy leather bench seats with outboard heating/cooling and individual screens to stream video. You can power the 60/40 second row forward to get in the third row, with just enough room for two adults between cup holders. A clamshell rear power hatch has a carpeted lower one that becomes a shaded seat.

There’s 8.8-cu.ft. of space behind that third row. Power drop that and the second row, and you can haul up to 92.9 cubic feet of stuff. There’s a button in back to lower rear seatbacks for easy loading.

Some say you need its optional turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 with 523 hp to move out in the bush. But our BMW-sourced, turbocharged 3-liter inline six had an adequate 395 hp, and 406 lb-ft of torque, plus selectable four-wheel-drive, eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, and Sport shift.

Eco mode starts off more sedately, but passing power was good. Under full throttle, 60 mph arrived in 6.4 seconds. Tap on Dynamic mode with Sport shift, and this 2,000-mile-old Range Rover quickly powered to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds with quick, slick shifts. It felt agile, easily cornering on asphalt as we averaged as high as 22 mpg. To compare, our 2025 model, with 11,000 miles on the clock, saw 60 mph in 6.9 seconds in the Eco setting with the inline 6, and 6.5 seconds and a bit more exhaust snarl in Dynamic mode. That one averaged 19 mpg in mostly Eco.

Like the 2025 model, the electronic air suspension shrugged off high grass. Seriously good approach angles helped when we found a rare Florida molehill. But most of its travel was on highway/suburban roads, where it was quiet, polite and fairly fun in Dynamic setting, with direct steering feel. For 2026, under-skin changes included refinement in the air suspension for improved articulation, improved approach and departure angles, and enhanced hill descent control system, Range Rover says.

The base price of a 2026 Range Rover SE LWB 7-seater is $120,700. Ours had options like: $10,450 Ionian Silver paint; $1,000 black roof; $1,000 black trim package; $3,500 black wheels; and more, for a final price of $148,240.

Bottom line: How nice to find that the plush Range Rover still retains most of the legendary off-road character that made its Land Rover ancestor so good. We didn’t push the last one, but went deeper into stuff than normal with this one and it delivered. It’ll do just fine at the beach or cabin trail.

2026 Range Rover SE LWB 7-Seater Specifications

Vehicle type – 7-passenger luxury all-wheel-drive SUV

Base price – $120,700 (as tested – $148,240)

Engine type – Turbocharged 24-valve DOHC inline 6

Displacement – 3-liter

Horsepower (net) – 395 @ 6,500 rpm

Torque (lb-ft) – 406 @ 2,000 rpm

Transmission – 8-speed automatic with paddle/sport shift

Wheelbase – 125 inches

Overall length – 207 inches

Overall width – 80.6 inches

Height – 73.6 inches

Front headroom – 38.8 inches

Front legroom – 40 inches

Center/rear headroom and legroom: N/A

Ground clearance – 8.5 to 11.1 inches

Cargo capacity – 8 cu. ft./92.9 w/2nd & 3rd row folded

Towing capacity – up to 7,715 lbs.

Curb weight – 5,932 lbs.

Mileage rating – 19 mpg city/24 mpg highway

The post Luxury Gets Dirty: 2026 Range Rover SE LWB appeared first on EV Rider.

The long, low Lucid Air first showed itself to me – and thousands more – at the 2022 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

There, I saw the ultra-lux EV sedan quietly humming to itself on the close-cropped grass. Iconic race car driver David Hobbs (left in photo), stared at its stunningly crafted chassis, jewel-like electric motors framing low-slung batteries.

I would get a brief drive – calling it “very sleek, but with more character than some current EV sedans.”

Now, there’s a 195.9-inch-long Lucid Air Grand Touring in my driveway, done in Quantum Grey Metallic.

This may be the slickest EV I have ever driven. Lucid calls it the most aerodynamic luxury car in the world, its coefficient of drag a whispery .197 cD – that’s among the slipperiest around. The Lucid Air was born from the idea that other EV makers were not “doing this fast enough,” said Zak Edson, then Lucid’s Vice President of sales and service when he walked me around it in 2022.

More Coverage: Lucid Air Nails EV Sedan Category | What if: Lucid Air Convertible Concept

“Maybe some people think, ‘Oh, another one?’ Really, three percent of the U.S. market are electric vehicles, so we saw a need to have more of these products,” he said. “We wanted to present an offering that was the best possible.”

2026 Lucid Air Is Long, Low & Stylish

The nose is rounded and clean, only a slim slit for multi-element LED headlights and a light bar under a buff alloy bar. Twin vertical light bars with turn signals accent slim side vents. The clamshell bonnet is super smooth, with twin vents that flow air through the rounded front fender upper edges for aerodynamics.

The sedan is lower than waist-high at the nose. Flat-bladed satin silver and gloss black 10-spoke 21-inch wheels wear low-profile Pirelli P-ZERO rubber, with tight clearances to gently flat-edged fenders. The raked windshield starts just aft of the front axle line, then smoothly flows over a low roof, then back as part of an almost fully transparent roof with sweeping C-pillars and a small rear window that flows into a high rear deck with molded-in spoiler.

There’s gently tucked-in curves on the doors over black sill accents, while door handles tuck in when not in use. A slim rear LED light bar wraps around the short tail with a unique clamshell boot lid over a sculpted bumper with reflectors.

The result is low, with long wheelbase and short overhangs, a tightly wrought greenhouse that sweeps over a slick body design – far more elegant than any Tesla. I parked it at our local Caffeine & Octane, and it got lots of looks.

And when I showed it to a friend with a Tesla Model Y, he called it “smooth.” While some were not loving the muted paint job – I like that stealth look. The Lucid has the design advantage, if not as sporty as a Porsche Taycan, which I also love.

Lucid says luxury inside, evident as we slide into the black leather bucket seat with tan piping – a serene and quiet interior.

The sweeping dashtop is defined by tan double stitching, its lower section getting wood and alloy trim with grey alpaca wool underneath, like a tweed jacket.

The windshield continues overhead, sun-visors floating, connected to laminated glass that progressively tints as it heads to a center bar. The rear gets a tinted moonroof.

The flat-bottom leather-wrapped steering wheel power tilts and telescopes. It gets ribbed turbine-like thumbwheels for cruise and volume, with smart cruise and distance setting touch controls below. A sweeping 34-inch arc of digital display places speedometer and information straight ahead.

The left side has touch buttons for climate control, lights, defrost and the like, while the right side offers navigation, weather, distance and other information.

The “bink-bink” sound for turn signals was not loved by those who rode with me. And the arcing A-pillars are thick – you know they are there when you look around them to sightline a turn. But the digital gauge display’s left and right sides became blind spot camera screens – while any cross-traffic issues were warned in the display.

A retractable second screen is below dual-zone climate and fan speed buttons at the head of the center console. It has touch controls for drive modes, seat heat/cool/massage, and 21-speaker sound system. There’s navigation, calling, streaming media, smart home control, and expanded vehicle control features via voice command, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

But the lack of real buttons means diving into menus for simple things like steering wheel and mirror adjust, a/c, even glove box door. And while the novel “Stretch” massage mode was wonderful, it’s noisy.

All doors open almost 90 degrees for easy access. But the sloping rear roofline meant I had to duck to get into the tan leather rear bench seat. Once there, good head and legroom with air vents and a touch panel to handle climate control and rear sun shade.

The unique power clamshell trunk opens wide to 22-cu.ft. of space with a low liftover and storage underneath, rear seat backs dropping to expand that space.

Some folks loved the fact that the front seats were black with tan piping, while the rear seats were tan with black piping – all over a tan carpet that did show some dirt.

2026 Lucid Air Offers Wide Range Of Trims

There are four models of the Air – the Pure is rear-wheel drive with 430 hp, and takes 4.5 seconds to hit 60 mph, with an estimated 420 miles of range; the Touring, with dual-motor all-wheel-drive, 620 hp, and 3.2 seconds to 60 mph with up to 431 miles of range. There’s our Grand Touring, also dual-motor all-wheel-drive with 819 hp, a 3-second 0–60 mph, and up to a 512-mile range. Top tier is the tri-motor (one in front, two in back) Sapphire, all-wheel-drive with 1,234 hp, 1.9-second 0–60 mph, and up to 427 miles of range.

Its skateboard chassis shows 10 lithium-ion battery cell packs mounted low. Each motor, which includes single-speed transmission and inverter, looks like jewelry and weighs just 163 lbs.

Our Grand Touring has an all-wheel-drive dual-motor drivetrain, up to 670-hp off the motor at the front axle, and the 671 hp one at the back – total 819 hp and 885 pound-feet of torque, powered off a 118-kWh lithium-ion battery pack with 900-volt-plus charging architecture.

Plugged into a fast-charger, the sedan is said to be able to recoup 300 miles of range in 21 minutes. It can add up to 200 miles of range in just 10.5 to 12 minutes at a DC fast charger. Recharging from 10% to 80% takes roughly 20 minutes, while a standard 240V Level 2 home charger requires 12 to 16 hours for a full charge. Our 5,000-mile-old car still had 200 miles of range after a full week of driving in 90-plus temperatures.

We had three drive modes – Smooth, Swift, and Sprint – which adjust powertrain response, torque vectoring, steering weight, and suspension damping to deliver the 819-hp as needed.

Smooth gives maximum efficiency, with a gentler throttle tip-in and initial throttle response, preserving battery range. Swift tightens the steering feel, with a more responsive, sporty feel that doesn’t get “overly frantic,” as Lucid says. And in Swift mode, all 819-hp and torque flow from the dual-motor setup, bringing it to 60 mph in 3 seconds, Lucid says. I like that all three modes allow for regenerative braking ranging from off, to one-pedal full.

In Smooth mode, steering is direct and weights up naturally, while there is a discrete electric motor whir on acceleration that works nicely to give the driver audible feedback – the car is that quiet so about all you hear en route to highway speed is that nice motor windup and some tire noise. Passing power comes when demanded, the pedal needing only a one-third push before you are at legal speed in a heartbeat – 60 mph came up in an amazing 3.6 seconds, all power and torque online, but with no wheelspin as we stayed straight and true.

2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Sprints to 60 MPH In 2.7 Seconds

Tapped into Sprint mode, and power and torque comes online faster to hit 60 mph in almost 3 seconds flat – incredible for 5,000 pounds-plus. Then came launch control – tap in Sprint mode, then the Launch Control button before you left-foot-brake as you right-foot-push that go pedal. Release the binders – and warp speed – 60 mph in 2.7 seconds, a hint of wheelspin as a bear with a checkered flag pops on the screen. Yes, we lost range playing like this, but it’s addictive – quick, yet in control, and just fine for commuting if you mind the pedal push.

Nothing special under the aluminum skin – aluminum-intensive virtual axis double wishbones in front, with more aluminum used in the rear’s multilink system, steel coil springs all-round with semi-active dampers and torque vectoring.  It’s taut but forgiving over bumps, swallowing them with no head toss. Handling with front and rear motors dividing power where needed was very good – near neutral, stable and fairly flat, no drama no matter how we pushed. You can’t downshift into a turn, but backing off the One-Pedal throttle effectively does that smoothly as regen braking comes in – slow in and power out. In steady-state cornering, it was neutral with a hint of understeer, the Air floating along with nary any body roll. Yes, I felt the weight, but the Lucid was clearly in control.

The turning radius is good for such a wide, long sedan, steering feel loading up naturally, with good feedback in Sprint mode. Our Lucid Air has 15-inch ventilated front discs with 6-piston fixed calipers, and 14.8-inch ventilated rear discs with 4-piston calipers. We did not use them much since one-pedal regen nicely decelerated to a stop when invoked – I even saw some range return to the readout when One Pedal was used a lot. In tests from 60 mph, the pedal had a nice bite high up and great control, with no nose dive at full push.

2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Glitch Seemingly Solved with OTA Update

That said, the Lucid Air was not without some issues.

The frunk power opens and closes from a gauge panel near those for headlight and defrost. But it popped once for photos – then opened an inch on next button tap, then slammed shut – we didn’t use it again. And launch control had an issue. It worked fine the first time. But a second attempt – as per owner’s manual – saw warnings flash as the Lucid slowed – top speed reduced to 50 mph in Limp Home mode with no stability control and flashing “Drive with Caution” messages. We had an over-the-air update available, so I tapped it on and all was fine again.

As for range, we started with 403 miles of estimated range, and checked after we had driven 142 miles, mostly in Comfort mode. There was a claimed 214 miles of estimated range left, meaning displayed range was optimistic, claiming 47 more miles than we had traveled. That said, in a solid seven days of commuting and some side, we still had all that range left – I could average 2-week commutes in this without plugging it.

New for 2026 is the Lucid Air’s access to the Tesla Supercharger network using an NACS to CCS1 adapter. That adds 23,500-plus Superchargers nationwide, capable of pumping in around 200 miles of range in an hour.

Using a V3 Supercharger is quite slow, since the charge speed is capped at 50 kW because of a technical bottleneck. At the newest V4 Superchargers, the Air can charge from 10% to 80% in approximately 20 to 30 minutes, more in line with what you’ll see at 400 kW chargers such as Ionna and others.

And at Level II (240 volts/19.2 kW max), 100% charge could take up to 16 hours depending on the setup. 

There’s no autonomous drive mode yet – but the Drive Assist does work to keep you in lane with hands on wheel and eyes on the road – it checks – and it slows down for curves, and handles traffic well.

The company sold over 9,000 Lucid Airs in 2025, and 5,400 as of June of this year, and is now building the new Gravity SUV in Casa Grande, Ariz. But just as I started driving this sedan, Lucid cut 18 percent of its U.S. workforce, and reduced production at that factory to save money.

A base Lucid Air Pure starts at $70,900; an Air Sapphire starts at $249,000. Our Air Grand Touring starts at $114,900, with $4,000 glass roof, $3,500 Stealth appearance, $5,500 for real leather and suede, and a few more options for a final of $138,700. For 2026, upgrades include a better AC compressor with improved cooling capacity and reduced ambient noise.

Bottom line: At highway speed, this car flows smoothly through the air, very quick yet well-mannered, very roomy and luxurious, yet with an eco-consciousness. Real range is very good; recharging is quick. This is one of the finest EVs I’ve tested. It’s just a pity we had some glitches and a driveline issue that hampered my drive until the over-the-air reboot.

2026 Lucid Air Grand Sport Specifications

Vehicle type – 4-door, 5-seat all-wheel-drive grand touring electric sedan

Estimated price – $114,900 ($138,700 as tested)

Motor type – dual electric motors

Battery – 118.00 kWh/ 14 battery cell packs mounted between wheels in chassis

Power – 819 hp

Length – 195.8 inches

Wheelbase – 116.5 inches

Width – 86.4 inches

Height – 55.5 inches

Front headroom – 39.5 inches

Front leg room – 45.4 inches

Rear headroom – 38.3 inches

Rear legroom/Long Range Battery – 35.8 inches

Cargo space – 10-cu.ft. for the frunk, and 22.1 cu.ft. for the trunk 

Curb Weight: 5,204 lb.

MPGe – City 126/ Hwy 121/Comb 123

The post Swift Transit: 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring EV appeared first on EV Rider.

There once was a Dodge concept car back in 1999, a propane-powered Charger R/T that used many styling cues from the iconic second-generation 1969 Charger, like its wasp-waisted Coke bottle styling, wide sharp-edged fenders and soaring rear pillar (see YouTube video)

It also had four doors, unlike the original, rear handles hidden in the C-pillars to retain that coupe-like look. I drove it, and loved the design – but it was never made. Instead, the Charger line that stopped in 1987 as a compact front-wheel-drive coupe did not come back until 2006, with a bigger 4-door sedan that became home for a revived HEMI V-8.

Then the HEMI Charger died, at least for now, with the “Last Call” edition in 2023; replaced with a new generation for 2024 that due to some delays didn’t actually reach customers until 2025.

Dodge created an entirely clean-sheet next-generation Charger that debuted with a slick Daytona EV, as tested here on EV Rider.

Then came the one featured in this road test – the Charger Sixpack with a 3-liter inline Hurricane six with twin turbos, in two flavors. So when Dodge delivers a Redeye (metallic red) all-wheel-drive Charger R/T with a 420-hp/468 lb-ft engine, you drop in on car shows to find lots of MOPAR royalty or reaction.

At one, a man rolls up in a 2022 Charger Hellcat, then says, “I don’t not like it,” as he checks it out intently. The owner of a 1967 (second-gen) Plymouth Barracuda I parked next to liked it too. So did an old friend who restores classic MOPARS, saying Dodge “did a good job and I like the shape,” showing surprise (many did) at the hatchback; and wondering what aftermarket performance goodies will come. And time and time again, “Is that the electric version?”

Nope.

2026 Charger Is One Of The Biggest Sedans Available

Now while the 2026 Charger R/T looks a tad smaller than its HEMI predecessor, it is not. Our 4-door hatchback is 206.6 inches long atop a 121-inch wheelbase; 84.3 inches wide and 59.2 inches tall. That’s actually longer/larger than the musclebound 2023 models I tested, which were 198.4-inches long atop a 120.2-inch wheelbase, 75 inches wide and 58.2 inches tall. 

Specs aside, this sleek and muscular hatchback sedan’s shape is clearly very retro, retaining some essence of the 2023 model, and hints of that stillborn 1999 concept that I drove. The slim grille has LED headlights connected by a thin DRL line. A center dimple mimics the third-gen (’71-’74) Charger grille’s chrome center bar, and has a backlit Fratzog – the name of a three-pointed split-triangle logo used on Dodge muscle cars in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

The logo has no official meaning. One glows between the taillights as well.

Under our R/T’s slim grille is a slit intake and gaping lower maw over black air dam – menacing yet sleek. That maw and its intercooler are framed by real vents. The hood’s power bump has a vent with “SIXPACK” embossed on it – the Charger Daytona EV’s hood airfoil won’t fit with a gas engine underneath.

That said, our hoodline dips nice and low at the nose, while fenders get nostalgic edges over smooth flares that frame meaty 20-inch Goodyear Eagle rubber on 10-spoke gray alloy wheels, Brembo brake calipers visible inside in front.

Yes, it has four doors – a sleek 3-door is available – but designers did a nice job giving the door design echoes of the 1969 model – wide rear fender upper lines starting on front doors, then widening into edgy hips in the rear. And the almost fastback rear window/hatchback glass seamlessly flows from the smoked glass roof.

The hatch ends with a gloss black spoiler over slim LED taillights that really echo the 1969’s chopped tail. The bumpers get real vents at each corner, and a black lower fascia with reflectors and neatly integrated exhaust tips. Good news – that glass roof was tinted so well, there wasn’t much heat transmitted inside – still, I’d like a shade.  

Yes, the 1999 concept was about 20 inches shorter than this one. But I know this one’s designers had images of that propane-powered could-be around when the new R/T was crafted. Everyone who saw our 4,816-lb. sports sedan said it’s big, and definitely wide – almost as wide as a seventh-gen Wide Body, but smooth in shape, disguising some of that. And having compared this R/T side-by-side with the last-gen Charger, this one may lose some of the last one’s muscular look, but isn’t as comic book character either.

Is the 2026 Charger Bigger Inside Than The 7th-Gen Model?

The 2023 Charger R/T has a 104.7-cu. ft. interior volume; the 2026 has 103.08-cu-ft. of interior space. The driver of the 2023 version has 38.6 inches of headroom and 41.8 inches of legroom; I had a max of 39.1 inches of headroom and 42.6 inches of legroom. But the big winner is the new Charger’s hatch. It has 22.7 cubic inches of space with rear seats up, and 38-cu.-ft. seats down. That’s compared to the 16.5-cu.ft. in the 2023’s trunk.

The black leatherette and suede bucket seats have neat red and white stitching, as does the pleather on the dashtop, armrests and fascia in front of the passenger. There’s ribbed hard black plastic on the doors, and dashboard centerline – warmed up nicely with accent lighting, called Attitude Adjustment. Red was my attitude adjustment of choice. 

Those front seats are comfortable, but look more supportive than they are – the driver gets memory presets, and both get heat and ventilation up front. The thick stitched leather-clad squircle steering wheel offers good grip but very small paddle shifters; audio controls behind, and cruise, with control buttons in front for the 10.25-inch gauge display. That gauge display can show speedometer and tachometer, or navigation map and digital speed, or just speed. 

Then there’s a 16-inch center infotainment display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, built-in Amazon Alexa and TomTom Connected Navigation, although navigation was sometimes slow to load. There’s a real volume and tuning knob. Below is a strip of slightly clunky haptic feedback buttons for climate control.

A sports sedan in the tradition of past Mopars, the center screen gives access to Performance Pages that include real-time engine gauges, 0-60 mph timers, G-force, quarter-mile times, and more. Along with the Drive Mode selector on the steering wheel, you can access that in the Performance Pages, along with the Eco mode, which isn’t accessible off the steering wheel.

You can set your rpm level for launch control, which lets the engine and transmission computers get the best for quick all-wheel-drive launches. You can also select rear-wheel-drive only. And for a drag strip, you can line-lock front brakes to spin the rear tires only and warm them for better launch grip.

The center console is framed in stitched pleather, which looks cool, but is an unpadded touchpoint for your right knee. There’s a ventilated inductive charger for your cellphone, and storage space under dual USB ports. Then a classic, albeit plastic pistol grip shifter falls readily to hand. A start/stop button and electronic handbrake is nearby, as is a decent storage with 12-volt outlet under the center armrest.

The new Charger gets push buttons to open doors and hood, although manual door handles and a fabric pull strap are near both to use if power fails. We had a squeak from the upper dashboard on bumpy roads, and some icons on the touchscreens took a few taps to work, as did the outside door lock buttons.

The swoopy sedan roofline means I had to duck to get under it and into a very roomy back seat – cool to have frameless side windows. There’s a/c vents, USB ports and heated outboard seats – but no manual door release, only power release buttons under more accent lighting on ribbed door panels. Seat backs split and fold to augment a long cargo area – under a hatchback! That power hatch stunned folks at car shows, and may be a game-changer for some looking at crossovers when they really want a car.

Dodge loves nostalgia when it comes to its modern Charger and Challengers, so SIX PACK originally referred to Dodge’s 1960s-1970s performance package – three, two-barrel carburetors on its 440-cu.-in. V-8. But for now – despite the 2026 Dodge Charger Drag Pak concept’s 5.8-liter HEMI V-8 – no V-8 has been announced for the street. I hope that changes.

But while this is no HEMI, this milder Hurricane six has a nice meaty, rumbly idle and a solid growl under pressure from its twin pipes – complete with a very HEMI-like “whoomp!” on each upshift.

We had no traction issues here with our 5,300-mile-old SIXPACK R/T and its all-wheel-drive, with its 40% front, 60% rear torque split. So we tested it in Eco mode first – a moderate start, then the first turbocharger came online around 2,500-rpm, and we hit 60 mph in 5 seconds. There was precise steering feel and a neat exhaust snarl under load.

Switch to Sport mode, and with more aggressive throttle mapping came a quicker launch and 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, with more aggressive downshifts and passing power, plus an even cooler, yet civilized exhaust snarl. Then in launch control and rear wheel drive only, with the RPM point set at 2,000 rpm, we hit 60 mph in 4.2 seconds, just a hint of wheelspin on each upshift – we pulled over 1G on launch.

To compare, a 2021 Charger Hellcat Redeye with 697-hp from a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 saw 60 mph in 4.2 seconds in Sport mode in our tests, and 4 seconds flat in Launch Control. A 2016 Charger Hellcat with 707 hp saw 60-mph in 3.6 seconds. All are rear-wheel-drive only, traction an issue on straight track runs. Pretty close, I’d say – the new R/T still feels its weight, but the Hurricane 6 and all-wheel-drive give it a more mature launch and clearer moves, if lacking in the gale force sound – sigh.

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Our R/T’s multilink suspension along with serious rubber gave it a taut but supple ride with forgiving feel over potholes and speed bumps – no head tossing, and no hard rebound. Around town, the car was agile, even though we felt its weight. It was quite neutral around corners, the front/rear bias was just fine for quick maneuvering.

Pushed harder, there was a hint of understeer. And when we really pushed it in steady-state cornering, the G-meter showed a solid 1.5Gs, with minimal body roll and good control bar a bit more understeer when powering through, but not hard to handle. The brake pedal had a nice immediate bite and great control of its 15-inch front/14.2-inch rear vented disc brakes with nice Brembo calipers up front, so stops were quick, short enough and controlled with minimal nose dive and no fade, even after some serious use. And that G-Force display claimed a serious 1.5Gs of stopping power.

A base Charger R/T starts at $51,995; ours added some options like the $4,995 preferred package with ventilated front seats, heated front and rear seats, digital displays, power hatch and more; $2,995 handling package with hi-back bucket power seats, line lock, rear spoiler, 20-inch tires, Brembo calipers and performance suspension; plus a $1,395 glass roof and a few more options for a final price of $65,365.

Bottom line: Clearly still a Dodge Charger, just one that’s gone to finishing school for shape, ride and handling. The Hurricane 6 has good power across the band, but I wonder what that 550-hp Scat Pack, or the 670-hp EV Scat Pack would feel like – or a HEMI???

2026 Dodge Charger R/T 5-door Specifications

Vehicle type – all-wheel-drive 5-passsenger sports sedan

Base price – $51,995 ($65,365 as tested)

Engine type – Twin-turbocharged DOHC inline six

Displacement – 3 liters

Horsepower (net) – 420 @ 5,200 rpm

Torque (lb-ft) – 469 @ 3,500 rpm

Transmission – 8-speed automatic w/paddle shifters

Wheelbase – 121 inches

Overall length – 206.6 inches

Overall width – 79.8 inches

Height – 58.7 inches

Front headroom – 39.3 inches

Front legroom – 42 inches

Rear headroom – 37.1 inches

Rear legroom – 33.1 inches

Cargo capacity – 22.8 cu. ft./37.4 cu. ft. w/rear seats folded

Curb weight – 4,816 lbs.

Fuel capacity – 17.5 gallons

Mileage rating – 17 mpg city/20 mpg highway

The post 2026 Dodge Charger R/T Sixpack Puts In Solid Performance appeared first on EV Rider.

The land of Lincoln these days – the automaker, not the President – is a different world than what made it famous among Hollywood stars in the 1950s.

The massive Lincoln Continental, a nostalgic homage to the huge, luxurious sedan of the same name made back when, was shuffled off six years ago. Since then, the Lincoln land has been SUV/CUV, with Corsair, Nautilus, the Ford Explorer-based Aviator, and the Ford Expedition-based Navigator. But that’s just fine.

You see, our 2026 Nautilus is no slouch in luxury or technology, even if it is on the Ford CD4 platform set up to handle front-or-all-wheel-drive midsize and full-size stuff like the Ford Edge and S-Max. And the Nautilus has been popular, with just under 34,000 sold in 2025, out of the 106,000 vehicles Lincoln that crossed the nation’s lots.

So let’s submerge ourselves in the details behind this third-generation midsize luxury crossover, and see why people shell out lots of Lincolns for it.

Our 31-year-old son, lover of tuner cars and racing motorcycles, summed up his first look with, “Wow, that’s a good looking car.”  And indeed, in a stunning pearl white metallic paint on 22-inch Goodyear Eagle GT rubber wrapped around 10-spoke bladed wheels, it does look good. And at just over 193 inches in length and 67.6-inches in height, it looks long and somewhat lower than some other CUVs.

Slim quad LED headlights connect via a light strip centered on a glowing Lincoln crosshair emblem atop a gloss-black crosshatch grille. There’s 6-bar accents at each corner. The low, wide center intake lives over a buff gray and black air dam, with aggressive side inlets edged in more gloss black – real aerodynamics at work here as they flow air over the front wheels.

On the flanks, black fender vent spears are matched by lower sill accents under a somewhat low black roof with slim cargo bars. The roofline flows down as it heads aft, as window sill lines rise, adding to the slim silhouette as the clamshell hood’s shutlines flow along flanks to end near slim wraparound taillights. The rear fascia gets slim exhaust tips in black, framing for neat contrast with the stunning pearl white paint.  

The design has been around for a few years, gaining some distinction with our test vehicle’s black Jet Package with dark styling elements and those bladed 22-inch wheels.

2026 Lincoln Nautilus AWD Black Label Lights Up The Night

The Lincoln is ready to greet its drivers day or night, its grille emblem glowing as front and rear LED light bars pulse, and seas of tiny Lincoln stars project on the ground. There’s curved, high-mounted handles integrated into the doors, then you settle into light gray leather and suede seats with white stitching and piping, plus heat, cooling and massage. One note – to lock the doors from outside, you can tap an icon on the keycode touchpad panel on the gloss black B-pillars. It’s funny how Ford continues to install a keycode panel on its vehicles in a time of phone apps and remote key fobs.

2026 Lincoln Nautilus Label Interior Includes 48-inch Panoramic Display

The interior is done in Navy blue over a deep burgundy with stitched edges – even the door top leather has a soft, touchable feel. Tap the “Start” button amid more padded leather, and the 48-inch panoramic instrument panel wrapping from A-pillar to pillar glows to life. There’s basic driver’s information in front, as well as status of the BlueCruise and driver safety stuff. Flowing right, a navigation map appears – or the backup-overhead camera view. A unique time display and audio info is next, then a configurable display for trip meter, weather/forecast and more.

Perched dash-center in front of unique buff wood trim with pinpoint steel dots is an 11.1-inch-wide infotainment screen for Home Screen (map and audio), or car functions, info screens, etc. That center screen is almost superfluous, since almost anything you need there can also be popped on the widescreen. It’s handy for preset radio stations; or accessing apps or phone functions, while main climate control functions are touchscreen icons on the bottom.

The vents cannot be manually adjusted – tapping the screen’s airflow icon gets a screen image of all vents, and a smartphone-like swipe of each allows adjustment. It works, but is a bit fiddly getting air flow where you want – best do it while parked. The same is true for drive mode – tap a physical console button, then tap one of five smallish drive mode icon on the center screen, sometimes easy to miss while driving.

The squared-off oval steering wheel is low so you can see the widescreen main display. The digital speedometer is straight ahead at the right height to be read without eyes straying off asphalt too long.

If you’re feeling stressed, then park and access the Rejuvenate mode. That wide screen turns into a panoramic waterfall, beach or underwater scene with soothing music. There’s also “Elevated Journey.” Motivational therapists calmly give a pep talk; and do not forget Digital Scent – Mystic Forest, Ozonic Azure or Violet Cashmere – to help. And the wide screen is the bookended by perforated alloy speaker grilles, and sculpted accent corner lighting. But Lincoln missed a trick – there are blank panels at each end that would be cool with blind spot camera displays.

That squared-off oval steering wheel’s thick stitched leather rim feels right, while the haptic touch controls handle audio and cruise – just tap them and a menu appears on the widescreen to show which quadrant of the featureless black square handles  volume, tune, mute and voice command, or cruise control and distance setting.

That center console is framed in padded, stitched gray leather, with piano key transmission buttons, then a crystal-like volume knob that’s elegant, flanked by drive mode, camera, flashers and other buttons. An inductive charger slot is nearby, plus a rubberized nook with dual USB ports and cup holders. The cushy center armrest hides good storage space and more power outlets. And those leather and suede bucket seats have separate power thigh cushions, plus heat, massage and cooling. The driver gets 3 memory presets. They are comfy and fairly supportive.

The Revel Ultima audio system’s 28 speakers offered serious sound. That panoramic display can also be used to surf the web, watch videos or stream movies when parked. There’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Wide back doors open to more leather and suede with white stitching and piping in a roomy 3-person bench seat with great head and leg room, and a long moonroof overhead. Outboard seats are heated, and there’s rear air vents and USB ports. The rear seatbacks power split and fold 60/40 to expand a big, flat cargo area under a hands-free power hatch. Cargo area buttons also drop the rear seatbacks.

Power in our Nautilus comes from a turbocharged 2-liter four-cylinder engine with 250 hp and 280 lb.-ft. of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive. A hybrid version with the 2-liter turbo four has 310 hp with a CVT.

There’s five standard drive modes – Normal, Conserve, Excite, Slippery and Deep Conditions (which shuts down traction control). We did lots of driving in Conserve mode, and found our 7,700-mile-old Nautilus launched moderately, with softened upshifts en route to 60 mph in a decent 7.8 seconds with passing power as needed.

The Nautilus becomes the most fun to drive in Excite, where steering tightens up with a more direct and weighted feel, albeit it’s a bit artificial in feel. And when the right foot goes down, the engine responds quickly, as does the transmission, with a sweeter snarl from the exhaust. We got to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds after a slightly less sedate launch. Passing power in Excite is good, although there’s no way to manually downshift. A “Low” button on the transmission keyboard locks it in a lower gear for descending hills, towing or snow/sand..

A week’s worth of driving in mixed modes netted an average 23 mpg. The last Nautilus I tested in 2024 for a now-retired website hit 60 mph in 7.2 seconds in Conserve/6.8 seconds in Excite, netting a decent 25 mpg in mixed modes.

The Nautilus hits the road with an all-independent suspension; MacPherson struts with coil springs and stabilizer bar up front, and short-long arm with lateral semi-trailing arms in back, all with stabilizer bars and continuous damping shocks as part of an adaptive suspension. Sensors monitor vehicle motion, body movement, steering, acceleration, and braking activities to modify the ride. Driving in Conserve mode, the ride is plush and very comfortable, with a bit of after-bounce as this 4,349-lb. Lincoln easily absorbs bumps and potholes. Things firm up a bit in Excite mode, with tighter control of rebound, but still a bit plush, nicely buffered at full impact. The ride is also quiet, bar some tire noise, although something was rattling in a front door.

Lincoln Nautilus Black Label Has Luxurious, Comfy Ride

As for handling, the Nautilus was secure with all wheel drive, hanging in well with good steering feel in basic cornering. Pushed harder, we had some understeer and body roll, again belying its luxurious suspension tuning, but the all-wheel-drive helped. It is a basic, confident handler, but some other midsize SUVs offer tighter, yet still comfy suspension feel and handling. In a monsoon rain, it tracked well, staying true in lane with all-wheel-drive grip. The lane-keep system is a serious nudger, working to keep this SUV in lane – but it has to stay on to use BlueCruise

For 2026, it has the updated BlueCruise 1.5 hands-free highway driving system, now with Automatic Lane Change. It moves around slower cars, but is not easy to cancel. It also gains a serious face/eye detection system. If you look away for more than a second it tells you “face detection necessary” to keep cruise or BlueCruise on.

Power steering was precise if a bit numb in Conserve and Normal mode, offering a tight turning radius. The Nautilus has 13.58-inch front/12.59-inch rear disc brakes, and offers a fairly tight bite high up, then solid stops from speed with no sign of fade.. But they were sometimes a bit grabby after initial pedal push.

The Nautilus Premier starts at $53,995; our AWD Black Label was base-priced at $77,130, with almost all we had standard bar the  $3,500 Jet Appearance Package with black and satin accents; and $750 for the White Platinum Metallic paint. The final price was $81,780.

Bottom line: The design may be a few years on, but remains stunning – long, lean and shapely – with an amazingly lush feel and look to the interior, complete with widescreen display. It remains a solid contender in its class, but I’d love a tad less plush ride, and just a smidgeon sharper handling.

2026 Lincoln Nautilus Black Label AWD Specifications

Vehicle type – 5-door all-wheel-drive luxury crossover

Base price – $77,130 (As driven – $81,780)

Engine type – DOHC, 16-valve turbocharged in-line four

Displacement – 2-liter

Horsepower (net) – 250 hp @ 5,500 rpm

Torque (lb-ft) – 280 @ 3,00 rpm

Transmission – 8-speed automatic  w/low range

Wheelbase – 114.2 in.

Overall length – 193.2 in.

Overall width – 85.4 in. w/mirrors

Height – 68.2 in.

Front headroom – 39.6 in.

Front legroom – 43.5 in.

Rear headroom – 39.1 in.

Rear legroom – 43.1 in.

Cargo capacity – 36.4 cubic feet/71.3 w/2nd row folded

Towing capacity – up to 1,750 lbs.

Curb weight – 4,349 pounds

Fuel capacity – 20 gallons

Mileage rating – 21 mpg city/29 mpg highway

The post 2026 Lincoln Nautilus Black Label: Worthy Of Luxury Label appeared first on EV Rider.

Jeep’s angular, chunky Cherokee was a trendsetter when it came out in 1984, and remained basically unchanged through its first demise in 2012.

Over three million were sold in what was really the first modern SUV, basic but true.

The Cherokee came back in a compact, semi-square shape in 2002, then renamed the Liberty as a boxier model came out. Cherokee was the name upon the next generation in 2014, only to go back to sleep in 2023.

Now comes the new generation, hybrid only, built in Toluca, Mexico vs. Toledo and based on Stellantis’ STLV Large platform, versions of which underpin Jeep’s Wagoneer S, Dodge Charger, Maserati Levante and some Alfa Romeo SUVs.

And this Cherokee seems to be off to a decent start, with more than 2,400 sold in its first three months.

This first new Cherokee in years hews close to the Jeep formula of what ingredients go into its CUV and SUVs. It starts with the trademarked 7-slot grille seen on most Jeeps since the World War II military hero. U-shaped LED DRLs frame headlights at the outer, upper corners, with slim grille-like accents heading south to black LED fog lights that frame a chunky fender with air intakes athwart a lower honeycomb grille.

• Squared-off fender flares with black trim – check.
• Black lower door sill accents – check again.
• Squared-off-rear hatchback with large taillights over another chunky bumper – check and check again.

The Cherokee has gently curved fenders. The roofline is low but squared off, with black cargo rails – and black side mirrors. And it rides on Nexen Rodian 18-inch rubber, with enough air space between tread and fender to imply it can bounce a bit off road, although it doesn’t get a Trail Rated badge.

Overall, it says modern Jeep, handsome and up to date, but a hint of classic. I like the Grand Cherokee’s smoother looks.

But one car guy friend said “It looks like a RAV4” – hmm?

OK, so it gets some of the Grand Cherokee’s looks – what about its size?

Well, a 2-row Grand Cherokee is 193.5-inches long, with a 116.7-inch wheelbase; the new Cherokee is 188.1-inches long, on a 113-inch wheelbase. It’s got 8 inches of ground clearance, just a tad below the Grand Cherokee base model’s.

2026 Jeep Cherokee Laredo Limited Has Attractive Interior

That height means it’s just the right height to slide into, where we found a comfortable, perforated white leatherette seat facing a very thick stitched leather-rimmed squircle (squared circle) steering wheel with controls for audio in back, and the usual cruise/info screen buttons in front

The squared-off wheel does not block any of the 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, which can be configured to show gauges, map with speed readout, or a simplified look, most with a variety of info screen shown in center or side. Dash center under a/c vents is a 12.3-inch Uconnect 5 infotainment touchscreen with real volume knob and touch icons for seat heat, steering wheel heat and more on the left and right sides.

Our Alpine sound system was good, but the squircle steering wheel blocks the driver’s view of the screen’s left side controls. And a few times, the navigation map blanked out when we were in “Home” screen – split – mode.

The dashtop is finished in stitch-edged black leatherette, with more padded white faux hide under a center trim that resembles plastic corduroy.

Below the center screen, which also displays exterior cameras, off-road and hybrid info and more, is a strip touchscreen with haptic a/c controls that click as you tap, above basic – and slightly hard to see – buttons for low gear, traction control and lane-keep, plus parking sensors and dual USB ports. 

There’s rubberized storage space under that at the head of the wide center console, which gets hard plastic where knees touch, and had some gaps in its inside trim. There’s a big start/stop button, a gear selection knob and buttons for off-road cruise control and auto-hold. There’s big cup holders, and lots of room under the center armrest.

One note – I could use a bit more leg room in the driver’s seat, even when it’s all the way back. But even there, back seat leg room is really nice, as is head room, with rear vents, USB ports, and folding center armrest.

The seatbacks do a 60/40 split and fold flat to expand a seriously big (33.6 cubic feet) cargo area, expanding it to 68.3 cubic feet – but a spare tire takes up the decent underfloor storage space. The rear hatch is power-operated, with a foot wave under the bumper getting it to rise higher than my head.

We did hear an occasional buzz from the dashboard on rougher roads, plus a squeak in back, but the new Cherokee is a solid piece of kit. 

Jeep has backed off plug-in hybrids for now, with the Wrangler 4xe and others gone, and only hybrids in the mix; but a new range of pure EVs are coming. So we have a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder – the gas engine has 177-hp, paired with dual electric motors for a combined total output of 210 hp and 230 pound-feet of torque. A CVT (continuously variable transmission) and standard all-wheel drive funnel the power to the wheels.

2026 Jeep Cherokee Laredo Limited’s Hybrid Set Up Improves MPG

One look at the E-HYBRID status screen shows that this Jeep’s front – and rear axle – are hooked in to the gas engine. There’s a drive shaft aft to turn the rear wheels when needed, or disconnect and run front-wheel-drive for efficiency or just plain commuting. Four-wheel drive engages automatically.

The 1-kWh lithium-ion battery can briefly propel the Cherokee without any help from the engine up to 62 mph, as well as breeze through your neighborhood quietly, or nicely shut off the gas engine at suburban speeds. But just as there is no “TRAIL RATED” badge on this Jeep’s flanks, there’s no low-range available, nor locking differentials. The “Low Gear” button increases torque to all four wheels for better traction on slippery or uneven ground, and puts more power to all wheels. Jeep hints at more rugged Trailhawk version to come with real 4-wheel-drive and off-road equipment.

So on our daily commutes, I chose Auto in the Drive Mode menu – there’s also Sport, Snow, and Sand/Mud. The engine is a bit vocal when pushed, revving to a point as the CVT does the ratio work – there’s no tachometer, so I do not know where it revs to. There’s a bit of get-up-and-go off the line in Auto, the Cherokee cantering to 60 mph in a decent 8.7 seconds, EV first, then gas joins in. Set in Sport, the Cherokee jumps out of the gates, hitting 60 in 8.2 seconds as the engine and electric motors work well together.

Sport mode really makes itself known off the line, where EV and gas combine to get this SUV away from a stop light quickly, or even just when you pass. The gas engine jumps in audibly when it joins the EV system, and revs high at first as the CVT puts its power down with the electric motors. But when the gas engine sleeps and EV takes over in normal cruising, the transition back and forth is quiet and transparent. Oddly, invoking Sport mode automatically turns off traction control with a button tap restoring it.

Auto-engine off is quiet, with no driveline lurch when it brings the gas engine back online. Towing is rated at 3,500 pounds.

We did not feel any regeneration kick in when we backed off the throttle, although the hybrid screen shows it feeding energy back to the battery. We started with an estimated 500-plus mile range from the hybrid powerplants, with an average of 35 mpg during our time with it.

With a strut front suspension and a multilink rear, this 4,295-lb crossover swallows speed bumps, comfortable and refined as it just swallows speed bumps and rougher pavement with no after-bounce or head bobbing. Handling with all-wheel-drive allocating power where needed was solid in our suburban loop, neutral in cornering with no body roll.

Those who want some sportiness will find there’s no way to manually downshift as you come near a curve, but push harder and the 18-inch Nexens in front only show a hint of understeer. And in steady-state cornering, we had more understeer, but mild and easy to back off throttle and stay tucked in line. Overall, handling was good, but maybe a sharper feel would be cool.

The electric power steering was a bit light in feel, but direct in Auto drive mode, with a solid on-center feel which felt a bit artificial. Our 2,200-mile-old Jeep has 13-inch front/12.8-inch rear disc brakes with a firm regen invoked pedal bite up high, then solid braking with some nose dive at full stop, but no brake fade after repeated hard use.

The new Cherokee is a soft-roader, although Jeep says it has very good approach and departure angles – 19.6-, and 29.4 degrees respectively. So we tackled a pine forest route with Drive mode in Sand/Mud, and it had great traction, comfortable rebound over roots and ruts, and no issues fording some shallow ditches. In summer Florida rains or December snow storms in New Jersey, it will do just fine. You also have an off-road display that shows body lean and nose-up/down angle, but only at low speed, plus another screen with engine gauges like voltage, coolant, oil, transmission temperature and more.  

The lane-keep system is very evident when smart cruise is engaged, and you really feel it keeping the Cherokee arrow-straight between the lines – you also get a steering wheel vibration if you go near or over a lane line.

A base Cherokee Drive 4×4 starts at $35,000 with cloth seats and that 210-hp hybrid powerplant. Our Laredo starts at $38,000. It’s add-ons included the $2,000 Limited package with leatherette seats, power liftgate, power front seats, alarm and phone charging pad; $995 Tech Group with off-road info page, in-dash map, Alpine 9-speaker audio and more; $1,595 panoramic moonroof and a bit more for a final price of $45,580.

Bottom line: Welcome back to a roomy, capable, handsome and fuel-efficient hybrid Cherokee that needs a bit more polish – can’t wait for the Trailhawk.  

2026 Jeep Cherokee Laredo Limited Specifications

Vehicle type – 4-door, 5-seat all-wheel-drive sports utility vehicle

Base price – $38,000 ($45,580as tested)

Engine type – turbocharged inline 4-cylinder

Displacement – 1.6 liters

Gas engine horsepower (net) – 177 @ 5,500 rpm

Combined gas/electric horsepower – 210

Combined  torque (lb-ft) – 230

Battery pack: 400V nickel manganese cobalt

Transmission – CVT automatic

Wheelbase – 113 inches

Height – 67.5 inches

Overall length – 188.1 inches

Overall width – 74.7 inches w/mirrors

Ground clearance – 8 inches

Front headroom – 40.3 inches

Front legroom – 41.3 inches

Rear headroom – 40.5 inches

Rear legroom – 38.5 inches

Cargo capacity – 33.6 cu. ft./68.3 w/seats folded

Towing capacity: up to 3,500 lbs.

Curb weight – 4,295 lbs.

Fuel capacity – 13.7 gallons

Mileage rating – 39 mpg city/35 mpg highway

The post 2026 Jeep Cherokee Laredo Limited Gets Electrified appeared first on EV Rider.

The Queen has arrived. Or maybe this 2025 Range Rover SE LWB is transporting a British rock star to their next show at the Palladium.

Either way, this long, smooth drink of British SUV is almost the top-tier luxury member of the venerable Land Rover clan. And while a “regular” fifth-generation Range Rover Sport is 199 inches long, this long wheelbase version ranges out to 207 inches.

So let’s arrive in style – to the sandwich shop – supersize my sub, Kevin.

The formula for this sleek aluminum-bodied shape was born in 1970, when the makers of the legendary Land Rover, a utilitarian go-anywhere SUV beloved by military and farmers, decided the world needed that rugged off-road capability combined with the comfort and on-road refinement of a premium sedan.

This fifth-gen Range Rover was introduced in 2022, aero-carving the previous generation into a super-slick, tightly wrapped design with a very slick .29 coefficient of drag. And while there’s a regular wheelbase, and shorter Sport version, this is the queen of the fleet – and it looks it. This is as long as the Cadillac Escalade I tested recently.

Its distinctive squared-off shape starts with a slim black grille that flows into thinner quad-element LED headlights with DRL slashes that wrap around the corners. They are flush with the clamshell aluminum bonnet, forming design lines that head aft to spear rear fender marker lights.

The aggressive black lower grille gets LED fog lights under a chrome strip, and over a simple pewter air dam, on a very short front overhang. The front doors get black accents that look like side intakes over wider black lower door sills. And it’s nicely planted on 24-inch Pirelli radials on 10-spoke alloy wheels.

Flush door handles pop out of each door. The lock/unlock button on our driver’s door was a bit loose. Glossy black is the design thrust above the beltline, framing sweptback windscreen, side pillars and mirrors, the latter getting LED repeater turn signals with puddle lights that shine a Range Rover on the driveway. In profile, the Range Rover’s shape gets sleeker as it heads aft. The roofline dips as the beltline rises, tapering a bit to meet a sleek hatchback with long spoiler/shade.

The taillights are slim LED bars at rear fender edges, connected by a glossy bar with “Range Rover” in black, and with the step bumper on the bottom. That bumper gets a tow hitch and tucked-in exhaust tips 

Range Rover SE Interior: Luxury-grade Everything, Including Refrigerator

Drop the Range Rover to its entrance/exit ground clearance of 6.6 inches (vs. 8.6 inches normal), and you slide in. “Wow, I’ve never felt such plush” leather seats up front, said a friend. Both get three memory presets, plus heat and ventilation. The dashtop is done in a stitched low-gloss black leather, with a gloss black trim band housing smoked chrome air vents, then white leather over a smoked gray wood. There’s more leather on the lower dash, with accent lighting hither and yon.

The driver faces a thick leather-clad steering wheel with big alloy paddle shifters in back, and haptic touch buttons in front to handle audio, configurable gauges and cruise control. That gauge display can showcase classic gauges, or a map with speed readout, and more. One issue – the audio info screen in one mode sometimes flicked off, and had to be clicked back again.

There’s no physical buttons anywhere – only that smooth expanse of leather and wood. OK, there’s one to the left of the steering wheel to pop the rear hatch. The rest of the controls are in the high-mounted 13.1-inch touchscreen infotainment display that handles wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus navigation, off-road info, surround-view (and other) cameras, climate controls and more.

Tap once, then tap deeper into menus for the heated/cooled seats, lumbar support, drive modes, suspension height, off-road modes, 4-wheel-drive status, even a cool “transparent hood”  view to see what you are driving over.

Yes, a bit too many taps needed for some things – and to get the full navigation map, you have to tap “Home,” then again to access levels that includes the map. Or just say “Hey Range Rover, and ask. It isn’t super quick, but does access many menus hands-free.

The center console gets more wood and alloy, cup holders under one sliding door. Slide them back for a deep storage area. Under a door in front of the electronic gearshift you find an inductive phone charger, plus USB ports. There’s upper and lower glove boxes, while a small refrigerator lies under the padded center armrest. The front seats even have adjustable center armrests outboard of the center cushion.

The rear doors are longer than on the short wheelbase Range Rover, allowing access to 60/40 leather bench seats with big fold-down center armrests, plus outboard heating, cooling and A/C adjustments. The added wheelbase means you’ll have limo-like leg room with power side window shades and a long moonroof overhead. And like the front seats, seat-shaped power controls handle adjustments – and have memory presets integrated into the ergonomic controls.

Switches let you adjust leg room to give more to folks in the third row. You can also power the second row forward for easier access to the third row. There’s just-OK head and leg room back there, with more A/C vents and cup holders.

The power rear hatch is a clamshell with a long upper section, and a smaller lower one that forms a handy seat under the shaded upper to watch cricket. A long rubber floor mat covers the floor behind the third row. It’s flat when it’s power folded down. Multiple buttons power raise and lower second and third-row setbacks with one even dropping the tail a bit more to ease loading. Cargo space is 8.7 cubic feet with all three rows in use, or up to  92.9 cubic feet with second and third rows folded (vs. 83.5-cu. ft. in the short wheelbase version).

Range Rover SE Offers 3-Liter Turbo 6 Or V8

Our Range Rover SE LWB can be had with a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8, or our 3-liter turbo inline six with 395 hp, and a nice 406 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 to 5,000 rpm. Both remain BMW-sourced, the engine swathed in plastic.

There’s a selectable four-wheel-drive system, and eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters and a Sport shift option. You have electronic air suspension, which drops it down for ease of entry; sets it at 8.6 inches of ground clearance for daily running; or up to 11.6 inches in its highest for offroad terrain.

Tapping the Drive Mode screen to select Comfort sees air suspension and throttle set for a comfortable ride and acceleration. Dynamic goes for full engine power, stiffer suspension and sharper shifts and steering. Eco backs off on throttle mapping and climate control to maximize fuel efficiency, while Auto uses vehicle sensors to read the road and select drive parameters.

We set Eco – it resets to Auto when you turn the Range Rover off – and the 5,600-lb. SUV launches briskly enough to hit 60 mph in 6.9 seconds, with clean but unrushed shifts.

Setting Dynamic also changes the gauge to a digital speedometer with bar graph tach. I added a 4-wheel-drive torque split/suspension firmness info box on one side. Slapping the gearshift into Sport mode saw our 11,000-mile-old SUV launch with more alacrity to hit 60 mph in 6.5 seconds with sharper shifts, suspension and steering feel and a bit more exhaust excitement. Driven in a mix of Eco and Auto on mostly highways, we averaged 19 mpg. And it can tow up to 7,450 lbs.

For comparison, a 2026 Range Rover Sport SE Dynamic we tested – smaller and with a turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 with 523 hp – hit 60 mph in 4.6 second and got as high as 22 mpg.

Every Land Rover/Range Rover I have taken off road always keeps as many tires on the ground as possible when going over rough terrain. That’s because of a front and rear independent multi-link suspension with automatic air suspension that keeps every wheel in touch with dirt. There’s also active roll control, and active differential with torque vectoring by braking.

There’s multiple off-road modes for Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Ruts, Sand, Rock Crawl and Configurable. You just have to delve into some menus to get those. There is a Wade function to lift its skirts so it can go through up to 35.4 inches of water.

There’s also low range, hill descent and dual locking differentials, plus a multi-camera system with Ground View, that shows a simulation of what’s under the hood via a delayed image of the nose camera, so you can “see” what you’re going over. There are displays for altitude, front and center diff lock status, steering angle, and roll angles. It also shows steering angle and hill descent control.

OK, in Florida you won’t find many rocks, but we had a pine forest with lots of roots and dips, so we set grass/gravel, which activated the Ground View with front wheel animation and 4-wheel-drive articulation and differential setting, and dove in.

The ride was comfortable but not mushy as we went over tall, exposed roots, through pine straw-strewn dips, and sandy stretches. The Range Rover just kept on keeping on, with no issues, no head tossing from any bumps, and a quiet ride. Going down a gully, traction was solid, all four tires on deck, as the screen showed a steep few degrees of incline.

On the asphalt, the ride was plush in Comfort Mode, swallowing speed bumps with no head bob afterward, and smoothing out bad pavement. In Dynamic mode, it firmed up with a nice buffering at rebound. In corners and expressway ramps, there was a bit of body roll, but this long Range Rover was neutral, shifting power as needed to the wheels that needed it. Push harder in longer, tighter turns, and a hint of understeer showed, but very controllable. The power steering had a precise if slightly overboosted feel in Comfort mode, tightening up but still a bit remote in Dynamic mode. Despite its length, the turning radius was tight enough. And with 15.7-inch front/14.5-inch rear disc brakes, there was decent pedal feel and real bite, with some nose dive but good control on hard braking from 60 mph, and no real fade after some repeated use.

Safety systems include emergency braking.

The base price of a Range Rover LWB is $117,200. Our SE had lots of options like: $2,400 24-inch alloy wheels, $1,200 tow package; $1,000 Comfort Pack with cabin air purifier, refrigerator and more; $1,000 clack trim package; $740 black roof; $650 walnut interior accents and more, for a final price of $128,695.

Bottom line: It’s plush and capable on and off-road, quiet and comfy everywhere, and quick enough to glide you to West Palm or Wa-Wa.

2025 Range Rover SE LWB 7-Seater Specifications

Vehicle type – 7-passenger luxury all-wheel-drive SUV

Base price – $117,200 (as tested – $128,695)

Engine type – Turbocharged 24-valve DOHC inline 6

Displacement – 3-liter

Horsepower (net) – 395 @ 6,500 rpm

Torque (lb-ft) – 406 @ 2,000 rpm

Transmission – 8-speed automatic with paddle/sport shift

Wheelbase – 125 inches

Overall length – 207 inches

Overall width – 80.6 inches

Height – 73.6 inches

Front headroom – 38.8 inches

Front legroom – 40 inches

Center/rear headroom and legroom: N/A

Ground clearance – 8.5 to 11.1 inches

Cargo capacity – 8 cu. ft./92.9 w/2^nd & 3rd row folded

Towing capacity – up to 7,715 lbs.

Curb weight – 5,932 lbs.

Mileage rating – 19 mpg city/24 mpg highway

The post ’25 Range Rover SE LWB 7-Seater Offers Off-Road Luxury appeared first on EV Rider.

Fifty years ago, Cadillac entered the record books with the longest production car ever – the 252.2-inch Fleetwood 75.

This was a 9-passenger sedan powered by an 8.2-liter V-8 atop a 130.5-inch wheelbase – factory-built, not a limousine done by a coach builder. Cadillac made 7,500 of them during its 1974 – 1976 production run – quite a car, according to this cool video by HotCars.

Alas, other than Cadillac’s current CT4 and CT5, and the $300,000-plus Celestiq EV hyper-lux model, there are no long, lethally-luxurious Cadillac sedans around anymore. The last Fleetwood was made in 1996. But you can experience a modern, (almost as) long and very luxurious 7-passenger Cadillac with lots of power, prestige (look at red carpet events) and more tech than any Fleetwood 75 ever experienced with the latest Escalade.

And in this case, it’s the ultimate gas-powered luxury version of the Cadillac SUV – the Escalade Platinum Sport.

We also have had the luxury – pun intended – of testing a 2025 Escalade ESV Sport Platinum in mid-2025, right after its mid-cycle refresh. EV Rider also experienced it EV stablemate, the Escalade IQ. And late last year, we drove the most top-tier, all-wheel-drive long-wheelbase gas version – the 227-inch-long Escalade ESV Platinum Sport.

Now we have the 211.9-inch-long Escalade Platinum Sport. It gets a 6.2-liter V-8 under its bonnet, and the highest-tech interior this side of Cadillac’s CT5 V Blackwing. This fifth-generation luxury wagon has that mid-season refresh’s high-tech interior, plus some. And like the Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL, it has 4-wheel-drive.

Done in Deep Sea Metallic, our Escalade starts with familiar light blade LED DRLs flanking a big, Sport Platinum-specific black shield-shaped grille, the central Cadillac badge glowing at night. There are stacks of vertical multi-element LED headlights, living in intake-shaped inserts. There’s a low center intake on the angular blunt nose, thin black blade accents wrapping into the sides over a lower air dam.

Unlike bespoke Cadillacs of old, there’s some shared architecture – fenders and doors are basically like GM’s cousins, the GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Suburban, roof included. But inside the flat-edged fender flares are 24-inch Bridgestone Alenza rubber on 15-spoke alloy wheels. Black accents lower sill slashes, tucked-in power running boards and side window pillars.

The roofline is formally squarish, with black side trim and slim roof rack. In back, LED light blades flow into D-pillars, framing a step bumper over twin rectangular exhaust tips in gloss black. There’s steel fenders, but lighter aluminum hood and doors.

It’s an impressive looking SUV with serious glamour at night –light blades glow as you approach, Cadillac shields projected on the ground. But as edgy and chiseled as it looks, it might not be as elegant looking – in its boxy way – as the longer Escalade ESV.

I told friends what I was piloting, and one said, “Is that the one with the wide-screen dashboard?”

Why yes, it is – 55 inches wide.

There’s a configurable high-res gauge cluster visible through a power-adjustable steering wheel that’s got haptic touch buttons to handle that screen. It can range from map to safety systems, or widescreen nose camera, Night Vision image, even basic drive info.

That flows into a center touchscreen section with driver information, then infotainment – navigation, audio, blind spot cameras when a turn signal is tapped, backup/overhead view for parking, etc. And there’s only smooth black as it flows into a 20-inch front-passenger touchscreen that allows streaming and internet browsing, equipped with privacy filters so the driver can’t see it.

For comparison, the Lincoln Navigator’s widescreen measures 40 inches from dashtop speaker to speaker; the Celestiq’s is 55 inches wide; and the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV/Sedan is 6 inches in width.

We may be in an SUV with Suburban infrastructure, but you’d be hard-pressed to see any Chevy here. Stitched leather and perforated alloy AKG speaker grilles accent the sweeping design, a wide polished slab of wood at the base, accented with buff silver.

Under the sweep of air vents, more stitched black leather. Door panels get wood and alloy trim, plus a unique gray tweed insert over stitched white leather – the tweed also covers the lower dash, disguising the basic plastic seen in Suburbans.

The plush white semi-aniline leather seats get quilted inserts with V-shaped alloy accents in upper seatbacks, plus cooling, heat and massage, and dual memory presets for the driver. All four doors are power operated – brush a finger on the touchscreen at the head of the center console, and they hands-free open and shut – sensors look out for cars nearby and stop them as needed.

There are no physical controls on the sweeping upper dashboard, only touchscreen controls, although some things like headlights or massage are a menu or two down.

More tweed accents the sides of the center console, where there’s a volume knob for a superb 42-speaker AKG Studio Reference audio system with front head restraint speakers. There’s a knurled steel main menu twist/tap control and basic buttons for auto-engine on/off and auto-hold braking. Then more stitched leather with a buff silver “ESCALADE” crest accents the center armrest which hides deep storage and USB ports – the phone inductive charger is next to the lower screen, which also handles climate control along with power door

That center console touchscreen also handles climate control and seat massage, as well as the power door open/close function, auto-high beam, auto-park assist, universal remotes, even the power side steps. But again, some functions require two or more dives into menus to do things, like adjusting cooled seats, or opening the glovebox.

Comfy captain’s chairs with center armrests occupy the second row of this luxury jet on wheels, facing dual 12.6-inch touchscreens with access to streaming content, games or the web, same as the front passenger screen. The Escalade has Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus Wi-Fi Hotspot , but no HD Radio. Those center row seats have heat, cooling and massage.

There’s plenty of room between them to get to a decent-size third-row bench seat with room for two, maybe three adults in a pinch. The center seats do adjust to add rear leg room. Aft of the third row is 25.5-cubic-feet of space; or use buttons back there to drop the 60/40 split third row seatbacks for 72.9 cubic feet of space; or fold second row seatbacks to get a flat 120.5 cubic feet of space. Yes, that’s less than the longer Escalade ESV’s 41.5/94.1/142.2 cubic feet space respectively – you lose an inch or so of legroom in back too. But our Escalade has a shorter (120.9- vs. 134.1-inch) wheelbase, thus is 15 inches tidier to park.

Nice news – the Escalade’s rear window pops open for quick loading of small stuff, or the whole tailgate powers up if needed.

This shorter Escalade is 6,014 lbs. of blue SUV; 174 pounds less than the ESV we tested. So with 420-hp and a healthy 460 lb-ft of torque funneled to all or rear wheels only via a 10-speed automatic, it’s quicker than its longer brother.

With drive mode set for Tour (there’s also halfway hidden buttons for Sport, Tow/Haul, Off-Road and My Mode), in rear-wheel-drive, we saw 60 mph in 6 seconds. Set to Sport, the Escalade made a mellow bellow from its exhaust en route to 60 in a quick 5.5 seconds upshifts are quick. It can handle 1,580 pounds of people and cargo, and tow 8,100 pounds of stuff. A Low Mode button on the steering wheel allows for manual paddle shifting, and it did it fine, holding gears unless you punched it hard, when it downshifted. It returned between 13 and 16 mpg, the latter on cruise-control highways.

To compare, the long ESV did 60 mph in 6.5 seconds in rear-wheel/Tour; and 5.2 seconds in Sport mode/auto AWD, netting about 16 mpg.

It has an independent suspension up front, multilink in back, plus coil-over shocks, stabilizer bars, adaptive suspension and magnetic ride control reading the road and altering shock absorber rates. The result is composed and quiet at speed, barring some tire noise. It’s smooth but just taut enough in Tour mode with quick bump control. Sport mode firmed up the steering, with nice feel, and bumps still had a comfortable edge, even with those 24-inch wheels. Only on some badly pocked pavement was there a bit of suspension jitter once – this was a quiet and composed 3,700-mile-old SUV.

More Cadillac Coverage (story continues below)

2026 Escalade ESV Platinum Sport Review

Cadillac With Corvette Heart: 2025 CT5 V Blackwing

2026 Cadillac Vistiq: Stylish 3-Row Family Hauler

2025 Cadillac Escalade Combines Pace With Grace

Why Former Rivian, Tesla Owner Switched To Escalade IQ

1st Look: 2026 Cadillac Lyriq V

Automatic load-leveling saw the Escalade drop down to help load people or stuff, or go higher if you take it off road – we did not. The brake bias controls for a trailer are on a lower-left dash panel, which is about the only interior piece that still looked basic Suburban plastic.

This big rig was well behaved in daily driving, handling corners quite well for its size and height, even in rear-wheel-drive, where we could feel a hint of power oversteer if we pushed, caught quick by stability control. Slipped into auto AWD, its electronic limited-slip differential directed torque to the wheel with the most traction for a neutral feel and no understeer in corners. Push harder in steady-state cornering – and we got almost no understeer again, which was very reassuring. There was solid traction in the rain in AWD-auto. The brake pedal has decent high-up bite with minimum nosedive and no brake fade after hard use.

Hands-free Super Cruise maintained speed and distance in highway traffic, stopping when others do. There’s full lane-keep, but it did waver in lane sometimes. And the system did shut off sometimes, only to resume a few hundred feet later. The auto-lane change can be set to happen when you want, with the tap of the turn signal, and not when it “thinks” it should, like some others. It even worked on the state highways we tried.

Other driving aids include blind spot cameras that display in the center screen; seat-bottom buzzers to alert you to things closer than they look in the mirrors; and front/rear/side camera views at the tap of a button to see what’s around you. The rear-view mirror is a wide-screen display; the gauge display shows that night vision or wide-screen nose camera image.

A base rear-wheel-drive Cadillac Escalade starts at $93,995; our 4-wheel-drive 2026 Escalade Platinum Sport started at $123,400 with so much standard. The only options: $1,800 for the 24-inch wheels, and $725 for the Deep Sea Metallic paint. Our total was $128,820.

Bottom line: If you don’t need an SUV limo, this Escalade has spacious luxury, serious tech, some cool luxury touches, and still not much to remind you there’s a Suburban under there.

2026 Cadillac Escalade Platinum Sport Specifications

Vehicle type – 7-passenger four-wheel-drive luxury sports utility vehicle
Base price $123,400 ($128,820 as tested)
Engine type – OHV 16-valve aluminum V-8

Displacement – 6.2-liter
Horsepower (net) – 420 @ 5,600 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) – 460 @ 4,100 rpm
Transmission – 10-speed automatic
Wheelbase – 120.9 inches
Overall length – 211.9 inches
Overall width – 85 inches
Height – 76.3 inches
Front headroom – 44.5 inches
Front legroom – 38.2 inches
Second row headroom – 38.9 inches
Second row legroom – 41.7 inches
Third row headroom – 38.2 inches
Third row legroom – 34.9 inches
Cargo capacity – 25.5 cu. ft./72.9 w/3rd row folded/121 w/2nd and 3rd row folded
Towing capacity – up to 8,100 lbs.
Curb weight – 6,014 lbs.
Fuel capacity – 24 gallons
Mileage rating – 14-mpg city/18-mpg highway

The post ’26 Escalade Platinum Sport: High Tech Interior, V‑8 Punch appeared first on EV Rider.

Artist Diana Brewer’s 1952 GMC pickup truck, nicknamed Pa2unia, is a stunning shapely classic design with some handcrafted touches by her.

But as we united this classic, artfully patinated 196-inch-long green pickup with its way bigger great-great grandson, one thing was for sure – it was dwarfed by this high-tech 64-year-old descendant – which does not use petrol as its motivation.

Standing a good foot taller was the 231-inch-long, 75-inch tall 2026 GMC Sierra AT4 EV, as in electric vehicle. And while Pa2unia’s 100-hp inline 6 was a sturdy workhorse then and now, it’s no match for our Summit White Sierra AT4’s 725 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque. But gosh, did they look happy together among some amazing stuff in the Brewer’s Towing Service yard, as family cats wandered over to check it all out.

Then we decided to leave Pa2unia and play with our EV Sierra on Northeast Florida’s roads. After all, Pa2unia looks best in the sun, not shaded by a grandchild.

OK, both the GMC Sierra AT4 EV and Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss EV that we just tested share GM’s Ultium battery platform. So they match each other within an inch or so. There’s also basically the same silhouette.

But the Sierra EV has one thing the Silverado EV does not – a grille, or at least a neat black panel that looks like one. And that black panel makes this EV look more GMC, plus it’s got a cool backlit GMC badge dead center, framed by a lit LED accent.

Outer corners are framed by angular DRLs, while the AT4’s red tow hooks are flaked by LED headlights under a ribbed bumper with the only vent, flanked by fog lights – and over a lower skid plate. Squared-off fenders edged in black frame 18-inch AT4 wheels wearing meaty, knobby off-road Goodyear Wrangler rubber with seven inches of clearance between tread and fender flare edge.AT4’s get a 2-inch factory lift.

There are running boards under smooth doorskins. The roofline is low, with higher sills for a streamlined look aided by the sloping C-pillars flowing into cargo bed sides. LED taillights flank a multi-purpose tailgate over a meaty bumper and more silver skid plates. There’s a folding solid tonneau cover to protect what’s in the bed.

Cool fact – this Sierra EV is about 11 inches shorter than the gas Crew Cab version – it’s big but short overhangs and a cleaner body shape help visually shrink it. I also like the GMC heritage in its look.

The running board does not deploy, and there’s no grab handle for the driver. All other doors get them – so you grab the steering wheel and hoist up and into black leather seats with white piping and stitched accents. Only what’s below that looks like basic GM plastic.

Our seats were 16-way power-adjustable, the driver’s getting dual memory presets, although the lumbar control on the driver’s seat cushion did not work on our 5,100-mile-old truck.

While the Silverado EV gets a sweeping, almost one-piece digital gauge and infotainment display, our Sierra EV starts with a standalone 11-inch screen ahead of the driver. It offers everything from a simplified digital mph readout, to a navigation map with speed, or various gauges. Almost all add a small info screen.

The thick leather-clad steering wheel gets standard cruise and screen selection controls in front, and audio buttons in back, plus a small regenerative braking paddle. It’s adjustable too.

Stacked vertically center-stage, versus the Silverado EV’s horizontal one, is a 16.8-inch touchscreen that shows navigation, EV info and more, with a big volume knob low and center. A main menu screen handily accesses settings, Wi-Fi hotspot, phone and most other controls.

There’s a separate icon to access headlights, as well as a menu for trailering, activating the Wi-Fi hotspot, or sensitivity for regen braking/one-pedal driving. I liked the simulated overhead camera images to help back neatly into spots, plus focused nose and tail camera – great for tight spots, or just centering on a trailer hitch.

The center screen also shows big left and right blind spot camera views when you activate turn signals. Below are more touchscreen icons for climate control along with 8 physical buttons for those that would prefer to skip the touchscreen.

The wide center console is framed in more perforated leatherette, with a neat inductive phone charger atop the storage area’s sliding door. There is additional space and USB ports underneath along with storage under the padded armrest.

Back seats offer serious head and leg room for two, even three adults, with a/c vents and heated outboard positions. Seat bottoms fold up 60/40 to reveal storage options. The seatbacks flip forward to offer a platform.

GMC Sierra AT4 EV Offers Tons Of Cargo Space

Like the Chevrolet Avalanche of the early 2000’s, there’s a 60/40 midgate behind the seats that folds down to extend storage space into the cargo bed. Even the rear window can be removed for open air driving.

The Sierra EV has a long laminated clear glass roof – no sliding moonroof – tinted to block UV rays. On sunny days, the Sierra did not warm up, but I’d still want that optional $150 sunshade.

That 57.5-cubic-foot cargo bed has low wheel well intrusion, 115-volt power plugs and a folding metal cover for weatherproof stowage. The MultiPro tailgate has a mini-gate that folds to become a chest-high work table. There’s a step when the tailgate is down;- or a barrier to keep stuff in the bed when it is open. It can handle stuff over 10 feet long. There are steps carved into the outer corners of the rear bumper to ease access to its innards.

With no gas engine under the hood, there’s a frunk with 11 cubic feet of room, plus cup holders, 120-volt plug and drain plugs for picnic ice to melt away.

GM has done EVs right with its adaptable Ultium platform with lots of room for multiple liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery modules down low between electric motors, one at the front, the other in the rear – with Torque Vectoring e4WD. Tap the right icons to select Max Power, and you access 760 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque from its 205-kWh Max Range battery in the AT4 trim. It has an NACS Tesla Supercharger-style port, allowing you to add up to 120 miles of range in 10 minutes at the fastest Level DC charging stations due to its 800-volt electrical system, or a 10 to 80 percent charge in about 40 minutes. At home it can it can gain 25 to 35 miles of range per hour at a maximum rate of 19.2 kW, assuming you have an 80-amp Level 2 charger.

The result is a real truck with real range. We saw 466 miles of estimated range with a 96% charge. GMC saysits rated for 478 miles with a full charge. After 217 miles of highway and suburban driving, with full regen braking, we still had 49% of the battery left, and an estimated 237 miles of displayed range. This full-size EV truck came close (20 miles) to delivering the real range it promised. We never needed to charge it – and averaged 2.1 miles per kWh. No range anxiety here. That’s not too bad for a pickup truck that happens to be an EV. It can tow more than 12,000 pounds, and retain usable range, we are told.

There are four drive modes – Normal, Off-Road, Tow-Haul and My Mode, accessible via the main screen menu display’s Drive Modes icon. My Mode lets you customize steering, accelerator feel and motor sound, from Normal to Sport.

Oh yes – there’s a Thors Hammer icon on that screen, unleashing all 760-hp. And you can also change your one-pedal regen braking reaction from Normal, to High, or off.

We spent most of our test drive in Normal mode. It’s very responsive, with an immediate launch and 60 mph in 5.6 seconds. Tap Thor’s Hammer – the icon pulses with rippling sound effects – and the Sierra EV launched hard to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, no drama, no wheelspin. In that mode, motor noise was amplified, a great turbine-like motor noise, while steering really tightens up.

And here’s the fun part. There’s no Sport drive mode, but tap in My Mode, then adjust its settings – Sport steering, Adrenaline in the Acceleration setting, and Sport for motor sound. Tap Thor’s Hammer – this EV rears up and launches, all wheels grabbing, to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds with no drama. There was no diminution of launch torque, or much range loss when we did a succession of quick launches. And acceleration from a stoplight, or to pass, was great due to instant EV torque that stayed online through legal speed.

Chevy Silverado Trail Boss EV Video Road Test (story continues below)

For comparison, the Silverado Trail Boss EV we tested recently hit 60 mph in a quick 5.5 seconds in Normal; MyMode with sport selected did 60 mph in 4.9 seconds. In maximum power mode, 60 mph came in 4 seconds flat.

Our test truck’s fully independent coil suspension with a hydraulic rebound control smooths out rough pavement. Our ride was quite plush yet controlled, probably helped by the weight of the battery pack. Add in tall Goodyear sidewalls and this truck swallowed speed bumps with a one after-bounce. Regen braking allows you to basically “downshift brake” into turns, where this big truck was neutral with a tad of body roll in suburban cornering. Push harder and there’s some understeer, like most pickups.

Like the Silverado Trail Boss we just tested, there’s four-wheel steering. The rear wheels turn a bit opposite from the fronts to tighten turns. We did a U-turn in my neighborhood that a regular gas Sierra can’t handle. There’s also “CrabWalk” – front and rear tires turn the same way to sidestep stuff – novel, with grins from those who saw it.

The 8,844-lb. GMC’s 14.5-inch front/13.5-inch rear disc brakes had a solid pedal feel and decent stopping power with some nose dive at full stop. In daily driving, one-pedal regen invoked right as you let off the accelerator. It was a bit abrupt until I figured it out, then finessing it is easy, to stop this Sierra EV where you want.

Then we tried this 4-ton EV, with its all-wheel-drive, all-terrain tires, 2-inch off-road lift and underbody protection, on bumpy, dusty Florida woodland roads. Using Terrain mode, which turns off traction control, backs off throttle input and mimics a gas truck’s low range, its easily handled ruts and sandy verges. There was no wheelspin under acceleration.

Super Cruise (included in AT4) easily handled autonomous driving on federal and some state highways, staying on and maintaining lanes hands-free. Unlike some other hands-free systems, this one will only change lanes if you tap the stalk. This is also a very quiet truck, nothing other than a hint of wind and tire noise at highway speed.

And after pitting classic and new GMC nose-to-nose, what did the Brewers think of Pa2unia’s great-great? They loved the shape, technology like its crab-walk and rear-steer, and the EV range. But Pa2unia, as Diane’s pride and joy, is still the GMC to have, they say.

The 2026 GMC Sierra EV Elevation with EPA-estimated 283-mile standard battery, starts at $64,995. Our AT4 Max Range starts at $89,600, with the $2,250 folding bed cover – final price of $93,545; a few bucks less than the Silverado EV Trail Boss we just tested with similar gear.

Bottom line: The range, power, relative agility and room for everything makes this a real choice for a real EV truck – and it looks cool, even next to Pa2unia.

2026 GMC Sierra AT4 EV Max Range Specifications

Vehicle type – full-size 5-passenger crew cab all-wheel-drive electric pickup

Base price – $89,600 ($93,545 as tested)

Powertrain type – dual-motor w/electronic 4WD and torque vectoring, and 205 kWh battery pack

Horsepower (net) – 760

Torque – 775

Transmission – 1-speed transmission

Wheelbase – 145.7 inches

Overall length – 233 inches

Overall width – 83.8 inches w/o mirrors

Height – 78.2 inches

Front headroom – 43.9 inches

Front leg room – 44.8 inches

Rear headroom – 38.7 inches

Rear legroom – 44.3 inches

Cargo bed – 5-foot, 11-inches/57.5 cu. ft. volume

Payload/towing – up to 2,100 pounds/12,500 pounds

Weight – 8,844 lbs.

Range – 478 miles (GM-estimated w/Max Range battery)

The post GMC Sierra AT4 EV Goes The Distance appeared first on EV Rider.

I could make jokes about all the soccer Dads and career Moms who drive a Ford Explorer – I literally drove past dozens as I tested this one.

But in my city, and many counties around, a version of the Explorer called the Ford Police Interceptor Utility is the go-to for those in uniform, mostly in Carbonized Gray. Ours have reflective logos that sort of blend in during the daytime, so with the slimline LED light bar and no cargo rails (standard on police Explorers), they are quite invisible – they are quite invisible –civilian‑looking to other drivers. And my Explorer Tremor’s Vapor Blue Metallic – kind of metallic gray – almost looks like my local Sheriff’s Office’s.

The first Explorer in 1991 looked like what it was – a rear-wheel/four-wheel-drive SUV atop a Ranger pickup. But as of 2011’s fifth-gen, it shifted to a front-wheel/all-wheel-drive platform with turbocharged fours and sixes. Then came the fully revamped sixth-gen atop a new rear-wheel-drive based platform in 2020 – our 2026 Explorer is a 2025 refresh of that model. And one look tells you it’s an Explorer, from its sweptback, almost Range Rover silhouette that’s an evolution of its recent generations. And there’s lots out there – the Explorer has always been a top selling SUV – almost 187,000 in 2023; just over 194,000 in 2024; and almost 223,000 in 2025.

The new grille gets wider, a copper bar accent across the Tremor model’s black honeycomb mesh between LED headlights with strip DRLs. Fog lights live in deep sculpted side vents, while the lower center intake gets copper-colored tow hooks and a silver skid plate. The flanks don’t change from 2020 – gently flared fenders framed in black over gloss black alloy wheels, one spoke done in – yes, copper – wearing off-road oriented 18-inch Bridgestone Dueller A/T rubber.

The familiar rising accent line across the doors is there over prominent black sill accents. Slim roof racks are black. In back, large taillights now get a gloss black bar connecting them over a black bumper with silver skid plate-like accents, a hint of copper in there.

And gaze underneath – there’s a real skid plate behind that bumper, in case you run over a sunken palm tree. And off-road lights flank the Ford emblem – really bright LEDs – but they can only be activated with high beams on, and only after diving two steps into a screen menu.

The 2025 refresh of the Explorer eliminated a lot of physical controls inside, and expanded its digital content. And with our Tremor model, there’s some subtle upscaling going on as well.

Under the padded black dashtop lives a total redesign of what faces the driver and passenger. It does away with the original 2020 model’s multiple buttons. There’s a fine mesh black cloth, then silver trim over textured gray facing the dashboard, with copper thread underneath. Perforated aluminum Bang & Olufsen speaker grills accent doors over more stitched armrests.

Dash center is a wider touchscreen that handles almost every infotainment function you wish, albeit some a menu tap or two down. Only a volume knob remains under that screen and next to some basic safety system buttons over a very handy mini-shelf. That said, our Tremor did not have what I’d expect right on that shelf – inductive phone chargers.

The copper-stitched leather steering wheel rim is thick and grippable, small plastic paddle shifters in back, familiar Ford audio and digital gauge screen controls in front. And that gauge package can go from simple – digital speed – to navigation map, or gauges with info displays that include climb and lean angle, since Tremor models aim for some off-roading.

The plush leather and suede seats get heat, cooling and massage, plus more copper stitching and “TREMOR” embroidered in the seat uppers. They were comfortable and supportive on trips on and off-road. There’s good storage room at the head of the wide center console, trimmed in leatherette with copper stitching, with a rotary gear selector and cup holders, with more space under the – you guessed it – copper stitch-accented center armrest.

Captain’s chairs in the second row have great head and leg room, living under a fixed-glass moonroof with retractable cover, also with “TREMOR” embroidering, plus heat. There’s rear climate control, and USB/12-volt power ports. And there’s room in between to access a usable if low rear 2-person bench seat. The second and third rows fold flat to really expand space – and the last row power drops or lifts. The power tailgate climbs high to clear my head, as well.

2026 Ford Explorer Tremor 4WD Has 5,000 Pounds Of Towing Muscle

The Tremor, and the Police Interceptor can have one of two engines – a 3.3-liter hybrid with 318 hp, or a 3-liter EcoBoost V-6 with 400 hp. I got lucky – my Tremor has that twin-turbo V-6. And while most civilian Ford Explorers play family SUV and never play with in the rough, I opted to run the Tremor up and down a muddy, pot-holed mud path next to a salt marsh, usually home to folks in 4×4’s going fishing.

The Explorer Tremor gets an off-road suspension with an extra inch of ground clearance over family Explorers – 8.6 inches of it. There’s more steel underbody skid plates, revised bumpers with better approach and departure angles, and those knobbier tires to help. Along with the 400-hp V-6, we had a 10-speed automatic transmission, limited-slip rear differential for improved traction, plus a dedicated off-road drive mode with selectable Rock Crawl, Mud/Ruts, Tow/Haul, and Slippery condition selections.

2026 Ford Explorer Tremor 4WD Handles Light Off Roading Well

We activated off-road mode, which backs off throttle input to help limit wheelspin, and move out. The mud road heads downhill through deep puddles pocked with coral-based rocks. Our 4,457-lb. SUV’s multi-link suspension with off road-spec dampers just absorbed those splashing dips without any head toss or harshness. And the tires grabbed and pulled us through the slimy route with no issues. In off-road mode, the main screen shows what’s right in front of that new grille, with tire tracks to show where you are headed – and there’s a 360-degree overhead image of what’s around, plus a big screen image of that tree in back as you reverse. FYI – rubber floor mats kept the muddy footprints contained.

The 40-foot turning radius make it somewhat easier to turn around at the end of the trail – didn’t hurt that the Tremor’s rear axle gets brake-based torque vectoring that locks its inside rear wheel during slow off-road maneuvering. That can cut the turning radius by up to 25%.

Call the Tremor a pretty legit off-roader for the basic stuff like a dirt trail, forest road or rainy beach – no mountain roads to test in Florida, though.

Back on the asphalt again and set in rear-wheel-drive, we checked how the Tremor handles commuting and shopping duties.

In Eco mode – you have to select it each time you fire this Explorer up, since it reverts to Normal mode – the 7,000-mile-old SUV moves out well, rearing up a bit as it gains turbo boost to hit 60 mph in a 5.3 seconds with a subtle exhaust growl. Tap in Sport mode, and as the steering loads up with a bit more feel, the Explorer seems to pull out of the hole quicker en route to 60 mph in a quick 4.8 seconds, its exhaust a bit meatier. Paddle shifters respond well, a l’il throttle blip on downshifts.

With the V-6, it can tow up to 5,000 pounds of trailer. Auto-engine shutoff was transparent when it refired – no lurch. And driven mostly in Eco mode, we averaged up to 25 mpg.

Our test of a 2020 Explorer SVT with twin-turbo, DOHC 3-liter V-6 giving 400-hp (w/premium) and 415 lb.-ft. of torque took 6.5 seconds to hit 60 mph in Sport mode. Observed mileage was 20 mpg.

The chassis is designed with rear-wheel-biased all-wheel-drive unless you select Sport or an off-road mode, with MacPherson strut in front, and multi-link rear. Yet even with it being a bit taller in the saddle, and with more offroad-specific rubber, the Explorer Tremor had a taut yet nicely supple ride that handled bumps quickly, good buffering at compression on all but the sharpest potholes, and a fairly quiet ride at speed.

Set in Sport, power steering stiffens up with a nice direct feel, if a bit artificial. The Tremor also invokes all-wheel-drive in Sport mode, adjusting power distribution to the wheels as needed. So it stayed neutral with a little body roll around corners, powering nicely out. Power harder in a turn and we got a bit of understeer, but the handling remained predictable. And in steady-state cornering, understeer was more evident, but it did not plow off course. The brake pedal on our test vehicle had a nice bite early, good control and decent stopping power.

We had BlueCruise autonomous driving, which maintained speed, distance and the lane (with a bit of hunting) just fine on interstates and many state highways. I still don’t like auto-lane change – it activates if someone ahead is slower than preset speed – and it takes a steering jerk to shut it off.

The base rear-wheel-drive Explorer Active 100A with turbocharged 4-cylinder engine starts at $38,465; our four-wheel-drive Tremor 4WD started at $48,465 with a $11,850 Ultimate package with fixed moonroof, ambient accent lighting, B&O Sound System and a few more goodies, plus $495 Vapor Blue paint, $455 entry keypad and some other items for a final price of $64,495.

Bottom line: Seriously powerful with solid handling on-road; capable on moderate off-roading, and real roomy in its nicely lux interior – looks cool too.

2026 Ford Explorer Tremor Specifications

Vehicle type – 5-door, 3-row/six-passenger all-wheel-drive off-roadable SUV

Base price – $48,465 ($64,495 as tested)

Engine type – aluminum block 24-valve, dual-turbocharged DOHC V-6

Displacement – 3-liter

Horsepower (net) – 400

Torque (lb-ft) – 415

Transmission – 10-speed automatic w/paddle shifters

Wheelbase – 119.1 inches

Overall length – 198.8 199.3 inches

Overall width – 89.3 inches w/mirrors

Height – 69.6 70.2 inches

Front headroom – 40.7 inches

Front legroom – 43 inches

Middle headroom – 40.5 inches

Middle legroom – 39 inches

Rear headroom – 38.9 inches

Rear legroom – 32.2 inches

Cargo capacity – 18.2 cu. ft./47.9 w/3rd row folded/87.8 with 2nd and 3rd row folded

Towing capacity – up to 5,600 lbs.

Curb weight – 4,631 lbs.

Fuel capacity – 20.2 gallons

Mileage rating – 17 mpg city/22 mpg highway

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What’s in a name?

A proper question as we test this 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness – not too long after we trod the pavement, and some grassy fields, in the new Outback Premium.

Yes, the sheet metal is the same, but this Subie’s different – more attitude, 80 more horsepower, and a bit more off-road.

Do not forget, the 2026 Outback has been moved into a more SUV-like shape by designers at what was formerly Fuji Heavy Industries. So let’s see what’s in a name – and a design.

In the beginning the Outback started as a gently-cladded version of the Subaru Legacy sedan and wagon decades ago. Over time it gained ride height and more serious fittings so it could handle what many other folks’ crossovers and SUVs did. Think things like fields and beaches. So the first thing we see with the Outback Wilderness, other than that boxier, chunkier shape; is a far more serious set of body cladding front, center and rear.

Subaru sold almost 169,000 Outbacks in 2024, its highest since 2019. Outback sales dipped to just under 158,000 in 2025, while the factory says it sold 37,626 as of April this year, versus 51,435 in the same 4-month period in 2025, down 26.9%.

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The Outback Premium has its share of angular black plastic in its lower air intake and side fog light pods. The Wilderness gets a more serious dose. The black grille gets “SUBARU” written large as its center bar over larger honeycomb and accent pieces. There’s no Subaru star emblem here. It’s flanked by thick black bars that go from the slit LED DRLs that live under the hood’s corner edges, right down to the lower cladding where they flank the intake and skid plate accent. Big, round fog lights get Wilderness-specific copper rings for a serious standout look. The real headlights live below the DRLs’ black trim.

Geometric black fender flares with real rear venting frame slightly chunkier, all-terrain 17-inch Bridgestone Dueller rubber on semi-gloss black 10-spoke alloys. Lower side cladding is deeper, taller, more willing to take a beating when you sling dirt.

The roof rack is chunky as well. It’s able to handle 220 pounds of stuff, and almost four times more when parked, if you want to mount a rooftop tent. A copper-colored Wilderness badge is affixed to accent panels on each C-pillar.

Most of this body is aluminum. Only the rear quarters are steel. And to make sure you know it’s an off-roader, the center of that alloy hood is done in matte black to lessen reflections on the trail. The new Outback Wilderness sure looks more the part of an off-roader, and less a family station wagon.

Along with the “OUTBACK” name embossed on lots of the black cladding, there’s a real skid plate behind the front bumper to help with off-road travels.

Copper Accents Adorn 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness Interior

The copper accents outside continue inside the Outback Wilderness, as driver and passengers easily slide into the faux leather seats due to the increased ride height. And since this is the Wilderness model, the gauge and navigation screen show off welcome animations of a mountain range, sunrise and all.

The boxier shape sits atop the same 108.1-inch wheelbase as the more sedan-shaped predecessor. That does seem to translate into a bit more room, particularly above our heads. The StarTex (waterproof faux leather) seats feel supple, with heat up front and nice copper stitching, as feet rest on swirl-patterned black rubber mats, and hairdos have “Wilderness”-embossed head restraints.

The chunky leather-wrapped steering wheel is copper stitched inside. It gains a copper bottom spoke accent, small paddle shifters behind, and the usual buttons in front. Manually adjustable, it offers a clear view of a configurable digital display that can show a 160-mph speedometer and 8,000-rpm tach, or map with speed display, or other streamlined options.

It also displays Subaru’s safety systems, like blind spot sensing that shows when something’s ahead or beside you, or if you are drifting out of a lane. The EyeSight safety system monitors where the driver’s eyes go. If you glance away too long at the audio system or car beside you, it garners a “Hands on Wheel” flashing red alert.

The 12.1-inch navigation touchscreen has a volume knob with all other systems attached to menus accessed by a left-side row of icons. The system is a bit slow to fully warm up when you start, and some items are a menu or two down. But I liked that many needs can be accessed by a simple “Hi Subaru” voice command, then asking for the function.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, and there’s HD Radio as well. And while you can adjust climate control via the screen, there are dual zone temperature knobs and real buttons below to handle the basic stuff. 

More copper accents the gearshift next to cup holders and there is an inductive charger for your cellphone along with USB ports. The 360-degree/overhead/side camera button is there, as are other driving controls. I really liked the flannel-like cloth lining the door map pockets, to keep water bottles from rattling.

The rear seats have decent leg room, and good headroom, perfect for two adults with a/c vents. They fold fairly flat to access a larger (32.6- to 34.6-cu.ft) cargo area. If you drop both second row seatbacks there is 80.5-cu.ft. of space. There’s a soft, washable security cover as well that can be set up like a hammock to hold wet clothing. The power rear hatch opens high enough to clear my forehead, which is appreciated.

Overall, there’s a sense of sturdy richness here. We have tested an Outback Premium recently with 8.7 inches of ground clearance and a normally-aspirated 2.5-liter BOXER (opposed-four) engine with 180-hp and 178 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,800 rpm. But this is the G.O.A.T. Outback. It has 9.5 inches of ground clearance and a turbocharged 2.4-liter BOXER with 260-hp and 277 lb.-ft. of torque at 2,000-4,800 rpm. Both get power funneled through a Lineartronic CVT, this one with 10 simulated speeds vs. 8, plus paddle shifters and all-wheel-drive. There are no drive modes, just an X-MODE mud and snow option.

Extra Subaru Outback Wilderness Horsepower Makes A Difference

That added power revealed itself at launch. Our 3,973-lb. (232-lb. more than the Premium) Outback Wilderness, on all-terrain rubber, grabbed and got to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds. The engine revved to between 5,000- and 6,000-rpm as the CVT’s belt and pulley did its thing. That compares to 7.9 seconds for the lighter, less powerful Outback Premium.

The continuously-variable transmission did a decent job of simulating up- and downshifts in regular driving, and even as it varied between rpms under harder acceleration, it remained fairly quiet doing so. We averaged about 21 mpg, which is a tad less than the Outback Premium. The auto-engine off system was clean enough shutting the engine off at stops, but lurched a bit re-firing as I went from brake to gas.

The Outback Wilderness’s electronically controlled dampers allow for firmer or softer suspension tuning depending on road, or off-road surfaces, based on sensor inputs. The result was a supple yet taut ride over bumps, with no harshness on any speed bump except for sharp little ones, where the rear suspension thumped a bit on rebound. The other result was minimal body roll despite the added height in turns. The Outback Wilderness was quite neutral in corners, and well-mannered in steady-state turns under power in roundabouts. There was almost no understeer in tight, twisty two-lanes.

All-wheel-drive not only showed its ability in the dry, but in a 30-minute Florida gullywasher. On slick, fresh, very wet asphalt, traction was solid straight and curved.

And with X-Mode, when sat-nav put us on a narrow dirt road in a downpour to get from one road to another, traction in the mud was fine. Each wheel did its job. The ride over holes and lumps was controlled and comfortable. The two X-Modes cut out at 25 mph. But there’s also a hill-descent control.

Steering was a tight 2.3 turns lock-to-lock, with decent feel and acceptable power assist. It had better feel than the Premium. The 12.4-inch front/11.8-inch rear disc brakes had a decent pedal feel, and a tad of travel before bite on our 4,700-mile-old test car. They stopped the car straight and drama-free. There was a tad of nose-dive and ABS at full stop, but no fade after hard repeated use.

We also had a bit more time to get used to the EyeSight Driver Assist, which looks at the driver’s eyes to make sure they are looking at the driving world. It is hyper-sensitive, beeping if I looked too long at a merging car or my gearshift. The adaptive cruise control offers a sometimes firm lane centering and steering wheel feedback. But it does alert you to those in the left and right rear blind spots – and can be backed off via the in-screen menu, albeit one a layer or so down.

The base Subaru Outback starts at $34,995; Our top-line Outback Wilderness gets all we had standard for a final MSRP of $44,490.

Bottom line: A very complete, all-weather mini-SUV, for a price.

2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness Edition Specifications

Vehicle type – 4-door, 5-seat all-wheel-drive sports utility wagon

Base price – $34,995 ($44,490 as tested)

Engine type – turbocharged 2.4-liter 16-valve DOHC aluminum boxer 4-cylinder

Displacement – 2.4 liters

Horsepower (net) – 260 @ 5,600 rpm

Torque (lb-ft) – 277 @ 2,000 – 4,800 rpm

Transmission – CVT automatic with 10-speed – manual mode and paddle shifters

Wheelbase – 108.1 inches

Height – 67.5 inches

Overall length – 191.7 inches

Overall width – 74 inches w/mirrors

Ground clearance – 8.7 inches

Front headroom – 40.5 inches

Front legroom – 43 inches

Rear headroom – 40.5 inches

Rear legroom – 39.5 inches

Cargo capacity – 34.6 cu. ft./80.5 w/seats folded

Towing capacity: up to 3,500 (800 more) lbs.

Curb weight – 3,973 lbs.

Fuel capacity – 18.5 gallons

Mileage rating – 21 mpg city/27 mpg highway

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