Circuit of the Americas, Texas — RAAAAAWWWWWWRGH! At 155 mph, the glorious sound of my 2025 Chevy Corvette ZR1’s V-8 echoed off Circuit of the Americas’ pit straight grandstands before climbing 13 stories into the Formula One race track’s iconic Turn 1. At the 150-foot marker, I buried the left pedal, and massive brakes slowed my rocket ship to a crawl for the 90-degree hairpin — the automatic gearbox downshifting rapidly from 5^th to 4th to 3rd to 2nd – WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!

At the turn’s 133-foot summit, the King of Corvettes seemed to pause, as if surveying its domain, before plunging down to Turn 2.

This is rare air.

With an astounding 1,064 horsepower, ZR1 is the most powerful ‘Vette ever and the latest member of an elite club of quadruple-digit-horsepower supercars. Down the slope through Turn 2, the ‘Vette’s acceleration was ballistic. With the V-8 howling behind my ears, I stormed towards the technical Turn 3-4-5-6 esses complex like a four-wheeled tsunami. Powerplant engineer Dustin Gardner says it “feels like you’re strapped to an aircraft carrier. You’re getting fired off in a jet plane.” I’ve never been launched off a carrier, but ZR1 feels like it must be close.

Credit the addition of the largest pair of turbochargers on the planet to the screaming, 5.5-liter, flat-plane crank engine out of the Corvette Z06/C8.R GT3 race car. But this is no stoplight drag queen.

At $174,995, King ZR1 goes toe-to-toe on the world’s greatest tracks (like COTA) with $1 million-plus cyborgs like the 1,063-horsepower, $2.7-million Mercedes-AMG One and 1,160-horse, $3.5 million Aston Martin Valkyrie.

The ‘Vette’s secret sauce? The same mid-engine chassis that undergirds the standard, $70,195, Corvette C8 — the first ‘Vette in eight generations to move the engine from front to rear. Then Corvette engineers weaponized it.

This thing has more artillery hanging off it than an F-15 fighter jet.

Sticky 10.8-inch wide front/13.6-inch rear Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires (Pilot Sport 4S standard). 15.6-inch carbon-ceramic brakes (the largest in Corvette history). Towering rear wing, dive planes and a wing-shaped front splitter for sucking the beast to the ground. Then there’s the LT7 engine — turbos wrapped around its sides like a pair of pythons.

The result is the ‘Vette changes direction through COTA’s esses like Cade Cunningham doing a dribble cut down the lane for a slam dunk. This dexterity of power and nimbleness enables inane performance (not unlike 6’6” guard Cunningham).

The ZR1, driven by its own engineers, has clobbered production-car lap records from coast to coast.

Road America, Wisconsin: 2.08.6 minutes. That’s seven seconds quicker than the Sports 2000 SCCA race class I compete in with 1,350-pound, bespoke race cars that weigh nearly a third less than the 3,950-pound ‘Vette (but ZR1 has seven times the horsepower).

Watkins Glen, New York: 1:52.7 minutes

Virginia International Raceway: 1:47.7

Road Atlanta, Georgia: 1:22.8. To put that in perspective, Lead Development Engineer Chris Barber’s lap time was just shy of the fastest race lap of 1.22.1 recorded last October at the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Series Petit Le Mans race by the 2,700-pound Corvette C8.R race car on racing slicks driven by pro factory drivers Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia. I’m not making this up.

Want more numbers?

I hit 176 mph on the back straight at Circuit of the Americas. That is 40 mph faster than both my Lola S2000 racer and the standard, 495-horse ‘Vette Stingray.

It’s 20 mph faster than the Corvette Z06 equipped with similar tires and 670-horsepower V-8 engine revving to 8,600 RPM.

At Road America, the ZR1 hit 188 mph on the front straight, faster than an IndyCar’s 185 mph. Lucky the ZR1 pace car pulled off after its pace laps at this year’s Indy 500 — or it might have won the race.

Yet, thanks to its 1,200 pounds of downforce, magnetic ride shocks, electronic limited slip differential (eLSD for short) and other performance toys, the ZR1’s ballistic power was surprisingly easy to drive fast around this high-speed F1 circuit. It’s predictable and well balanced, with linear acceleration courtesy of no discernible turbo lag.

Just respect the 828 pound-feet of torque.

Unlike my, ahem, Lola’s normally-aspirated 2.0-liter engine, the beast behind your ear in the ZR1 must be let loose progressively, not all at once (or be prepared for lurid slides).

Take it to a track day, and ZR1 won’t wear you out. Neither will it wear out — a key competitive advantage of Corvette’s development by one of the world’s best manufacturers.

This is a point of pride to Porsche GT2 and GT3 owners as well. Those cars run like trains, which is why you find so many at race clubs. Porsche (and Corvette) put their cars through extensive, grueling 24-hour, high-speed durability tests. There’s nothing worse than buying your expensive, exotic dream car and taking it to the shop all the time.

After finishing a track day on America’s premier F1 circuit (or M1 Concourse in Pontiac), King Corvette is comfortable commuting home with the rest of the peasants.

The interior houses the same luxurious stitched leather and digital screens that you’ll find in the base Stingray. It’s a personal favorite (only to get better with a 2026 update) with its square steering wheel for better viewing of the instrument display, thoughtful ergonomics, and camera mirror to see out of the narrow greenhouse. Magnetic ride shocks come with a variety of drive modes for everything from track performance to comfort on the street.

That’s a contrast to Porsche GT3 cars — my benchmark for the best handling supercars — but that come with compromises like harsh suspensions, stiff rides, uncomfortable sets. Corvette engineers call them “20-minute cars”: they’re supreme for 20 minutes on track, but drive them any longer than that on street and you’ll be black and blue.

Corvettes are big cars made for big folks. Like me. The rear hatch will swallow my big tennis bag — or your golf bag. Need more storage? There’s a frunk like a Porsche 911.

Purchase a ZR1 and you gotta track it. Allow me some suggestions: 1) Buy the coupe for better headroom (over the convertible); 2) set aside money for tires (Cup 2 Rs don’t last long channeling 1,064 horses); and 3) sign up for the Corvette Racing school in Pahrump, Nevada (free for ZR1 buyers).

Because you’ll never know the envelope of quadruple-digit horsepower until you’re at triple-digit speed on a racetrack.

2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

Vehicle type: Mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-passenger supercar

Price: $174,995 base including $1,395 destination ($189,680 LT1 coupe and $200,180 convertible models with ZTK Package as tested)

Power plant: 5.5-liter, twin-turbo V-8

Power: 1,064 horsepower, 828 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 2.3 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 233 mph

Curb weight: 3,800 pounds (Coupe est.)

Fuel economy: EPA 12 mpg city/18 mpg highway/14 mpg combined

Report card

Highs: Ballistic acceleration; state-of-the-art interior

Lows: Will drink the Permian Basin oil field dry for a track day

Overall: 4 stars

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

Chelsea — The Baby Escalade is Cadillac’s most mature electric vehicle.

The Vistiq is the fifth and final piece in the GM luxury brand’s EV squadron and, at $79,290, its combination of size, speed and tech make it the best value of the quintet. That value is relative as Caddy’s EV lineup makes a big move to the ultra-luxury EV market (led by its $340K Celestiq flagship) over its outgoing internal combustion models. Expect the EVs to cost $20,000-$40,000 more than their ICE peers.

My all-wheel-drive Luxury model asks a 30-grand premium over the comparable $50K gas-powered XT6 Luxury model, which is retiring after this year.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

On Patterson Lake Road’s rollercoaster in Livingston County, I confidently leapt from turn to turn in the three-ton, three-row, three-story Vistiq despite its girth. Thanks to the 102-kWh battery’s location in the basement, my tester sported a low center of gravity to stay planted through the twisties.

That low CG is an EV trait — but in the smaller Optiq and Lyriq crossovers, it’s, um, outweighed by a lack of nimbleness compared to their 1,000-pound-lighter internal-combustion engine peers. In a three-row SUV class where everything tips the scales over two tons, however, the low CG stands out. Add rear-wheel steer in upper Premium Luxury and Platinum trims, and this is a rhinoceros in tennis shoes.

The rear-drive feature is shared with Papa Escalade IQ, but the electric family’s patron will set you back another (cough) 40 grand. ZOT! I buried my right foot and Vistiq hit 60 mph in a fantast-iq 3.9 seconds merging onto I-94 West. Baby Escalade coming through!

Vistiq is also a technology showpiece. Without taking my eyes off the road, I toggled the raised adaptive cruise switch on the steering wheel and set my speed at 75 mph, then fingered a nearby braille pad for Super Cruise. The steering wheel lit green for hands-free driving.

While Baby Escalade took over driving duties, I rearranged icons on the 33-inch curved dash screen as I would my phone. I dragged icons for DRIVE MODES, CHARGING and SELF PARK ASSIST (features I used frequently) to the left side of the screen.

GM pioneered hands-free driving in 2017, and has been neck-and-neck with Tesla ever since. Tesla’s Full-Self-Driving system leap-frogged GM cars last year when it went hands-free with navigation, enabling its cars to take you door-to-door across secondary roads and divided highways. Super Cruise is slowly adding secondary roads to its network of mapped, divided highways — but it won’t navigate.

What it will do, like Tesla, is automatically change lanes. At 75 mph, Vistiq sensed slower traffic, automatically applied its turn signal, moved into the fast lane and swept by a line of cars. Safely clear, it automatically pulled back into the slower lane. Terrif-iq.

Approaching my off ramp, Tesla FSD would automatically transition to the slower secondary road. The Caddy? It handed driving duties back to me, the steering wheel light turning red.

Super Cruise comes standard on Vistiq for three years, plenty of time for owners to learn the system. You won’t want to go back. Not standard is an augmented reality head-up display available on Premium Luxury and Platinum trims. Caddy’s been a HUD pioneer, and AR advances the game by placing directions over the road ahead. Alas, my standard Luxury version did not option even a regular head-up display. Neither did it have a frunk for storage like the Escalade IQ — or Rivian and Tesla models.

Baby Escalade doesn’t have big brother’s curved, A-pillar-to-A-pillar 55-inch jumbotron, but the 33-incher does just fine, thank you very much. Especially as the touchscreen is paired with the same console climate touchscreen found in Escalade. Like a scarf and mittens, they make a nice pair.

Not that I touched them much. Vistiq is powered by Google Built-in, so I could talk to the car for many of my needs.

Hey, Google, turn the driver’s side temperature to 68 degrees.

Hey, Google, tune to Sirius XM Comedy Greats.

Hey, Google, Tell, me a joke.

Google: How do trees access the Internet? They log in.

Hey, Google, what was the score of the Tigers game?

Google: The Tigers won on Wednesday, 6-5 against the Red Sox.

Pick up the kids from school in my Luxury tester and it will fit seven passengers across three rows including bench, second-row seats (captain’s chairs optional). Even the third row is comfortable, accommodating my long 6’5” frame. If the second row is empty, I encourage taking a seat in the third row. I dropped the second-row bench seat and used it like an ottoman — stretching my legs so I could work on my laptop.Longer trips, however, are three-row EVs’ kryptonite. The Escalade IQ is so expensive because it packs a mighty 202-kWh battery with 460 miles of range. Vistiq keeps its cost below $100K with a 102-kWh battery that makes similar range (302 miles) as little brothers Lyriq and Optiq.Navigate to your cottage up north (in perfect 70-degree weather) going 75 mph on I-75 and real range is 225 miles — or 75% of EPA estimates. In truth, your range will be 181 miles because charging to over 80% of battery range at a fast charger slows to a crawl.Are we there yet?

To prevent hearing those infamous words from your kids, a 250-mile trip north (to, say, Charlevoix) is best done with one charging stop in Bay City for 20 minutes so the kids can tinkle and stretch their legs. In less ideal temperatures, your range could crater to 50% as it did in a brutal three-stop, subfreezing December trip I took in one of Vistiq’s competitors, the $78K Kia EV9 GT-Line, a couple of years back.

If you have a second home, install a 240-volt charger to ease end-to-end range anxiety. Staying in a hotel? Find lodgings with 240-volt charger so you can charge your battery to 100% overnight for a fresh a.m. start.

Faced with these restrictions, GM buyers may prefer a comparably priced family-sized Chevy Tahoe with Google Built-in, 456 miles of range and more third-row seat and cargo room. Or (horrors) you might cross the road to a Lincoln dealer and pick up a $62K three-row Aviator ICE with Blue Cruise hands-free driving and 505 miles of range.But if you want a three-row EV that can drive you hands-free across Michigan, then Baby Escalade has a leg up on peers from Rivian, Volvo, Hyundai and Kia.

 Next week: 2025 Nissan Murano and Nissan Titan

2026 Cadillac Vistiq

Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive, six- or seven-passenger SUV

Price: $79,090, including $1,395 destination fee ($79,890 Luxury as tested)

Powerplant: 102 kWh lithium-ion battery with dual electric-motor drive

Power: 615 horsepower, 650 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Single-speed direct drive

Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.7 seconds (mfr.); towing, 5,000 pounds

Weight: 6,326 pounds

Range: 302 miles

Report card

Highs: Livable interior; Super Cruise

Lows: No frunk; limited range for a family hauler

Overall: 3 stars

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

Clyde Park, Montana — In this small cattle town east of Bozeman between the Bridger and Crazy Mountains, I pulled up in my Cactus Green, 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan SUV tester in front of Glenn’s grocery. A grizzled dude in a cowboy hat and jeans strolled by and I nodded hello.

“Howdy,” he said.

“How do you like my Volkswagen?” I asked.

“It’s nice,” he said before turning into Glenn’s.

In this rural ‘burg in America’s Big Sky west, the VW Tiguan fits right in. Big screens, big back seats, big wheels, big hatchback, big mirrors, big panoramic roof, big massaging seats. It’s been a long time comin’.

Volkswagen came to America to build cars in Pennsylvania in 1978 but the plant closed less than a decade later. In the 2000s, as Japanese Toyota and Honda SUVs soared, VW lagged. In 2008 Dieselgate buried the brand’s signature, diesel-powered fuel economy calling card. In 2020, VW’s first ID.4 electric vehicle landed with a thud.

But behind these headlines, a rose has been blooming.

In 2024, Volkswagen’s SUV sales hit 77% of the automaker’s product portfolio as the entry-level Taos and yuuuuge Atlas three-row made friends with a new generation of American consumers. Like my sister, who (along with her two dogs) adores her Atlas Sport.

Now comes the third-generation Tiguan in America’s biggest-volume, midize SUV segment and Tiggy is Terrific. Three is the charm.

I cruised State Route 819’s two lane with its 70 mph speed limit (love these western states) with adaptive cruise set to 75 mph. Coming up on a truck burdened with cargo, I punched the 214-horsepower turbo-4 and the eight-speed automatic transmission smoothly selected a lower gear and I sped by my prey. Once past, I looked for a red blind-spot warning in the left mirror and — seeing none — merged back into the right lane.

Impressive. And all standard on this $30,920 SUV.

Compare that to the Honda CR-V, which at $31,495 offers 190 horsepower, no standard blind spot-assist and a continuously variable transmission. With its solid build, the Honda deserves its reliable reputation. But the V-dub seizes on its sporty reputation to offer a more stylish experience.

Credit Tiggy’s ID.4 and Golf R DNA. Though the electric ID.4 has struggled to keep pace with Tesla in the U.S. market, it forced VW to reinvent itself as a high-tech brand. Tiguan is refreshingly modern with clean exterior styling that echoes the ID.4’s lean lines — a design that is echoed inside with simple horizontal lines, tasteful dash materials and big digital displays that would make a Silicon Valley computer engineer proud.

Golf R would also be proud. The lean, digital look in Tiggy complements Brother R’s all-wheel-drive corner carving — so much so that the SUV has adopted a top-trim R-Line. That trim line will be further extended later this year by a 268-horse Tiguan Turbo model aimed squarely at the Mazda CX-5 Turbo — the best performance SUV in the segment (and a brand that also leans into its sporty, Miata-inspired DNA).

I look forward to flogging that beast — but, at the affordable end of the segment, the Tiguan also echoes the Mazda for value. Mazda wows with lush materials and standard features. So too, Tiggy. The standard, 12.9-inch touchscreen is easier to navigate than the Mazda’s remote-rotary controlled screen.

Not that the VW shies from rotary dials. Again cribbing from ID.4, Tiguan has moved its shifter to the steering wheel column to free up console storage for an optional phone charger and rotary dial. That dial enables the driver to quickly access drive modes as well as a palette of ambient lighting colors.

Also per its American training, the VW’s ergonomics are solid. Like GM and Ford, Tiggy has placed raised volume, radio and speed controls on the steering spokes so you can easily access these functions without taking your eyes off the road or hunting for them in the computer screen.

The V-dub does not follow GM’s lead on a Google Built-in operating system, which adds another clever voice recognition system to the cabin. Chevy’s elves have their act together these days.

But where Chevy’s Equinox takes its styling cues from big brother Silverado pickup, Tiguan looks to Golf R. In SPORT mode, I hit the gas and the playful two-liter engine awoke with a pleasing burble. Interested in towing a go-kart to the track for a weekend? The all-wheel-drive V-dub will tow 1,800 pounds, enough for a small trailer.

My kids go-karted at a young age and they would appreciate the roomy rear bench seat — optioned with heated seats for chilly winter months. VW says 60% of buyers option all-wheel drive, which will add $1,000 to a Michigan buyer’s bill. Volkswagen kept the price steady at just over $30K for the 2025 model year, and, with all the standard gear, AWD is all the upcharge you really need.

For consumers looking for a bit more pizzazz to match the Tiguan’s wardrobe, may I SE-ggest the SE model, which adds leatherette seats and 19-inch wheels to the equation. My SE tester struts out the door for $35,220.

Those with more coin in their pocket may look toward an Audi Q5. But like the Audi, Tiggy now brings a lot of character to the dance floor, thanks to its high-tech, ID.4 wardrobe. Outfit the VW in Monterrey Blue with black package, head-up display and 20-inch wheels (like my $39,230 R-Line Black Edition model), and I wouldn’t shy from parking next to a $50K Q5.

Heck, with $50K in my pocket, I’ll get the Golf R, which will outhustle most Audis on track.

Ahem.

Mrs. Payne is giving me the sharp elbow. Oh yes, we were talking midsize SUVs, not track cars. “How does it compare to a Subaru?” she asks. Quite well. Subie can’t match the VW’s performance with 184 horses and CVT — though the Crosstrek brings plenty of off-road character.

The Japanese brand has made itself at home in the United States by staying true to its formula and asking Americans what they want. The 2025 Tiguan does the same and I expect to see a lot more hanging out in front of Glenn’s grocery in the years to come.

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan

Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV

Price: $30,920, including $1,425 destination fee ($35,220 SE and $39,230 R-Line Black Edition as tested)

Powerplant: 2.0-liter turbo-4 cylinder

Power: 201 horsepower, 207 pound-feet of torque (FWD); 201 horsepower, 227 pound-feet of torque (AWD)

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.7-8.7 seconds (Car and Driver est.); towing, 1,500-1,800 pounds

Weight: 3,563 pounds (FWD); 3,801 pounds (AWD)

Fuel economy: EPA, 26 mpg city/34 highway/29 combined (FWD); 22 mpg city/30 highway/25 combined (AWD)

Report card

Highs: Upscale styling and tech; loaded with standard features

Lows: No mute button; slider volume controls take getting used to

Overall: 4 stars

 Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

Romulus — The FX is back. And so is Toyota attitude.

The Toyota Corolla FX is low, dark and mean. I circled my Midnight Black Metallic tester like Hiccup assessing his Night Fury dragon. Chocolate mirror caps, wheels with machined accents crouched on shortened springs with a chocolate spoiler out back that would make a Corvette proud. This is a Corolla? The vanilla ice cream of compact cars?

The FX is a throwback to the Corolla FX16 hatchback of 1987, when hot hatches were the new, new thing (my first car was the hot-hatch, segment-busting, FX16 competitor, 1984 VW Rabbit GTI). The U.S. was in a trade war with Japan, and Toyota (in the words of enthusiast mag Car and Driver) was “run by a bunch of gonzo back-yard tinkerers.”

The ‘80s are back, baby.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

The rowdy FX16 was assembled in California to avoid the threat of steep Washington tariffs (and get around the Reagan administration-negotiated Japanese import quotas), and Toyota was tinkering with fun toys like the FX16, Supra coupe and innovative engines like dual-overhead-cam hellions. Sound familiar?

Supra came back in 2019, and Toyota’s elves have introduced mills like the 100-plus-horsepower-per-liter, 1.6-liter turbo-three.

As for the FX16, it has actually been reborn as the GR Corolla hot hatch. Like the FX16 and its high-revving, innovative DOHC engine, the all-wheel-drive GR gets a different engine from the standard Corolla — that Godzilla-in-a-briefcase, 300-horse turbo-3. And, like the ‘80s FX, the GR is laugh-out-loud fun — one of the most entertaining cars introduced in the last decade. Period.

The FX is no GR, but it’s plenty OK.

At just $27,635 — a four-grand bump from the base vanilla model — FX is the bargain of the Corolla family. That crouched stance isn’t just for looks. Approaching a series of twisties in Oakland County, I gripped the heavy steering wheel in SPORT mode, which made FX feel rooted to the asphalt.

I flung my steed into a righthander, and it went right where FXpected. Minimal body roll, minimal push. Sharing an independent suspension with its more expensive GR and XSE siblings, the short-sprung FX rotated beautifully. In sedan form, FX has a roomier cabin than the GX hatch, so I could take three friends to the Sign of the Beefcarver for dinner after I was done carving corners.

Of course, at 10 grand cheaper than the stick-shift GR hot hatch, something is missing, and that’s the drivetrain.

Under the hood is the standard 169-horsepower, 4-cylinder gerbil wheel controlled by the dreaded CVT transmission. Sliding across a corner apex, I nailed the throttle. My Night Fury Dragon was toothless:

DROOOOOOOOOOOONE!

My ears bled. Make it stop. I reached for the stick shift, but that’s only available on GR. I reached for shift paddles on the back of the steering wheel. Same.

DROOOOOOOOOOOONE!

The CVT is why six-speed automatic transmissions in, say, the Mazda3, are prized in the compact performance segment. And why Honda and Hyundai worked hard to implement shift points in their, respectively, Civic Sport and Elantra CVTs. Toyota is content for the CVT to prioritize fuel efficiency.

Add 34 mpg to FX’s long list of standard features: Bullet-proof reliability, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, adaptive cruise control with lane-keep-assist, rear-cross traffic alert, blind-sport assist and 10.5-inch tablet touchscreen display.

The latter is new to Corolla and will be an option on other trims. Positioning is excellent — high on the dash like a Mazda for good visibility, but — unlike Mazda — a touchscreen for easy access. Upon entry, the infotainment system mirrored my smartphone on the screen. Google Maps popped up complete with my pre-loaded destination, and the Sirius XM app played Comedy Greats.

Alas, the new FX is plagued by Toyota’s ol’ ergonomics issues.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

I reached for the volume knob to turn up the volume on a Brian Regan bit, and — um, volume knob?

Curiously, Toyota has chosen a volume slider at the base of the screen instead of a simple knob. Honda and Cadillac tried similar solutions and returned to knobs after owners judged them hard to operate when driving.

I ignored it for the volume controls on the steering wheel, but here too Toyota ergonomics come up short. Where competitors like Hyundai, Honda and Mazda use lifted buttons to select volume and adaptive cruise controls, Corolla’s wheel buttons are flat, necessitating that you take your eyes off the road to find them. The good news is the adaptive cruise features lane-keep assist, so I could afford to look away while adjusting volume on I-275.

Typical of Toyota, the nannies are always close by if you remove your hands from the wheel for too long (Hyundai, for example, will allow you about a minute hands-free) on long hauls.

It was short trips that I really enjoyed — made shorter by the fun-to-drive FX. For Corolla, GR and FX are a needed shot of adrenaline in a segment boiling with performance. In addition to VW’s Teutonic threesome of Jetta GLI sedan and Golf GTI/R hatchbacks, Toyota’s Asian competitors have also stepped up their game.

Most formidable is the roomier Honda Civic with its full range of sedans, hatches and hybrids, starting with the base Civic sedan all the way to the rowdy Type R hot hatch. Hyundai, too, sweetens the deal with a 100,000-mile drivetrain warranty — and is coming on strong with variations of the Elantra sedan, which include a compelling N-line performance line. N for Nürburgring, a nod to the legendary German race track.

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda is an auto enthusiast, has raced the ‘Ring several times, and has been on a mission to push the brand toward more performance. He’s established a Le Mans-winning Toyota racing team, Supra and GR86 sports cars, and GR Corolla. Now he is resurrecting the FX badge.

It’s affordable, stylish, nimble, with — ahem — droooooooning CVT. Keep pushing, Akio!

Next week: 2025 Ford Expedition

2025 Toyota Corolla FX

Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger sedan

Price: $27,635, including $1,335 destination fee ($28,144 as tested)

Powerplant: 2.0-liter inline-4 cylinder

Power: 169 horsepower, 151 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Continuously-variable automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 8.1 seconds (Motor Trend)

Weight: 3,070 pounds

Fuel economy: EPA, 31 mpg city/40 highway/34 combined

Report card

Highs: Balanced, fun-to-drive chassis; new, big screen

Lows: The curse of the CVT; poor screen ergonomics

Overall: 3 stars

 Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.