Oakland County — The midsize sedan segment’s perennial sales leader, the Toyota Camry, is winning huzzahs for its comely 2025 makeover. Sultry face, coupe-like roof, all-wheel drive.

It had to upgrade. Camry has a galloping herd of competitors breathing down its neck.

Take a look at the Korean tag team — Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited and Kia K5 GT — sitting next to the Camry in my driveway. Chiseled fascias, lean lines, tech-tastic interiors.

“What is that?” exclaimed my friend Mark when he saw the K5. “That’s a nice-looking thing. Looks luxury.”

Detroit automakers may have abandoned sedan segments, but Japanese and European automakers continue to slake our thirst for cars. American makes are gone but not forgotten. To my eye, they once set the standard for looks and ergonomics. Think the aging Ford Fusions, Chrysler 200s and Dodge Chargers that still populate our roads. Dodge has long set the standard for ergonomics with its intuitive Uconnect system, knob controls — even clever goo-gaws like radio volume and station controls on the backside of the steering wheel.

Asian makers have won over customers with their reliability and 100,000-mile warranties (Hyundai/Kia), and now they’re making strides in exterior and interior design. Good looks and handling are a must in the midsize segment to attract customers who would otherwise choose SUV hatchback utility.

Give the K5 and Sonata high-fives.

Lookers

My midsize $39K Kia GT stunner borrows luxury-class tricks like flat-gray paint and colored calipers to turn Mark’s head. Heck, the Korean automaker even poached Audi TT designer Peter Schreyer to sketch its distinctive “Tiger Nose” front grille. Sonata impresses, too, with its sci-fi wraparound LED running light and scalloped shoulders.

The art tour continues inside, where Kia and Sonata share BMW-like hoodless, 24.3-inch jumbotron screens that sprawl across the dash housing a 12-inch digital instrument cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen. The tech echoes the cockpit of a Bimmer 5-series costing twice as much.

Camry was a leading contender for the 2025 North American Car of the Year because it has spent hours at the beauty parlor.

Its face takes cues from the handsome Prius, which got its own extreme makeover for the 2024 model year (scoring a COTY trophy). Alas, that aesthetic restraint doesn’t apply to the rest of the Toyota’s body, which is a maze of sheet metal stampings. There’s a lotta Lexus here, which may be the premium intent.

The Kia-Hyundai twins are sleek, the Toyota busy.

Inside, Camry is more traditional than the Koreans, choosing a hooded instrument display and separate 12.3-inch console screens on up-trim models like my XSE. The Toyota wows with optional red leather seats. Red never gets old and Mrs. Payne enjoyed slipping into Camry’s rouge thrones whenever we went out.

Not to be outdone, Kia dresses its GT with yellow seat stitching — matching the yellow brake calipers on the outside. That’s a lot more coordinated than my wardrobe, where I often can’t match socks, for goodness’ sake.

All three sedans provide ample rear legroom to accommodate friends ‘n’ family.

Ergonomics, technology

The Toyota, Kia and Hyundai also bridge the premium moat by stuffing their cabins with tech. There is little here you won’t find in a much pricier Audi, Bimmer or Caddy.

Adaptive cruise control with lane-keep? Check. Emergency braking? Check. Blind-spot assist? Check. Rear cross-traffic alert for tight parking lots? Check. Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto? Double check. Indeed, my $39K Sonata tester is as easy to operate as it is easy on the eyes, with easy auto unlock and phone syncing.

Cruising Metro Detroit’s congested highways, I put the three Asians on adaptive cruise control to maintain a safe distance from the vehicles in front of me. With traffic racing past in both lanes of the Daytona tri-oval race track — er, I-96 — I glanced at the mirror blind-spot indicators before making a lane change.

Impressive tech, but the brands still have work to do to catch up with the ergonomic geniuses at GM, Dodge and Ford.

The K5 andSonata are built on the same platform and their steering wheels have gone to GM ergonomics school with tactile buttons that I could toggle for cruise speed and radio volume without taking my eyes off the road.

However, Kia jumped the shark in designing radio controls that double as climate controls. That’s right, if you want to control the radio, you have to first look down at the console to make sure it’s not set to, um, climate. Otherwise, you might turn the cabin temp to 80 degrees thinking you’re raising the volume. Argh.

Sonata sanely maintains a distinction between radio/climate controls. As does Camry. Alas, the steering wheel control buttons are flat, requiring that I look away from the road to use them.

The sedan trio don’t take a hint from GM/Dodge to put radio volume/station controls buttons on the back of the wheel. Instead, K5/Sonata paddle shifters on the back of the steering wheel are as useful as sneakers on a fish.

None of these boulevard cruisers will tempt you to Hell, Michigan’s twisty roads.

Driving

Performance is what you are really paying for by buying premium these days. Power. Verve. The thrill of side G-forces. At its stratospheric 80grand price, a BMW 550e packs a 483-horsepower hybrid powertrain that stirs a smoking cocktail of turbochargers, six cylinders, and electric motors for gobsmacking acceleration.

The Toyota and Hyundai also offers hybrids … with the sole purpose of thrilling your wallet. At an impressive 44 and 47 mpg, respectively, the Camry and Sonata Hybrid will rarely have to visit a gas station. You’ll rarely stomp your foot on the throttle through a corner, either.

Though their platforms are sturdy, the pair’s handling won’t induce goosebumps. The Camry, however, does offer all-wheel drive over the Hyundai front-wheeler for better winter traction — and 232 horsepower versus Sonata’s 183.

The K5 GT is more ambitious (Sonata has a similar N-Line offering).

Its 2.5-liter turbo-4 gains a whopping 100 ponies over the standard K5’s 191-horse 2.0-liter. Paired with an eight-speed transmission, I zipped to 60 mph in just over 5 seconds (at the sacrifice of 27 mpg compared to the hybrids). Alas, I spun the front tires because the GT trim (like the comparable Sonata N-Line) doesn’t come with an AWD option like models powered by the standard 1.6-liter turbo-4. A head-scratcher, that.

Hybrids will save you at the pump — but they will cost you at sticker. The AWD Camry clocked in at $45K and the Sonata at $39K. With sexy looks and a lot more grunt, the $39K Kia GT is this gearhead’s pick. But if you demand AWD and better fuel economy … well, the Camry will make up that added $6K with fuel savings in about eight years.

Next week: 2025 Rivian R1S

2025 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

Vehicle type: Gas-powered, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger sedan

Price: $38,810 as tested, including $1,150 destination charge ($27,800 Sonata base)

Powerplant: 2.0-liter inline 4-cylinder combined with electric motor, 0.6 kWh lithium-ion battery

Transmission: Six-speed

Power: 192 horsepower, 210 pound-feet torque

Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.8 seconds. (Car and Driver); top speed, 120 mph

Weight: 3,400 pounds (est.)

Fuel economy: EPA est. 45 city/51 highway/47 combined

Report card

Highs: Sleek looks; excellent fuel economy

Lows: No AWD option for hybrid model

Overall: 3 stars

2025 Kia K5 GT

Vehicle type: Gas-powered, front-wheel drive, five-passenger sedan

Price: $39,625 as tested, including $1,155 destination charge ($28,145 K5 base)

Powerplant: 2.5-liter, turbocharged inline 4-cylinder

Transmission: Eight-speed

Power: 290 horsepower, 311 pound-feet torque

Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.2 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 155 mph

Weight: 3,581 pounds

Fuel economy: EPA est. 24 city/27 highway/32 combined

Report card

Highs: Easy on the eyes; premium interior

Lows: GT only comes with FWD; confusing climate/audio controls

Overall: 3 stars

2025 Toyota Camry Hybrid AWD

Vehicle type: Gas-powered, all-wheel-drive, five-passenger sedan

Price: $45,431, including $1,095 destination charge ($29,495 Camry base)

Powerplant: 2.5-liter inline 4-cylinder combined with twin electric motors, 0.6 kWh lithium-ion battery

Transmission: Continuously-variable automatic

Power: 232 horsepower

Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.8 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 115 mph

Weight: 3,774 pounds

Fuel economy: EPA est. 44 city/43 highway/44 combined

Report card

Highs: Pleasant to look at; AWD for Michigan blizzards

Lows: Lacks verve, gets pricey

Overall: 3 stars

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

Marysville, Ohio — The 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz EV has rolled up wins this auto awards season — including North American Utility of the Year — because it’s iconic, roomy and just so doggone adorable.

Though the Hoover family may disagree.

The fictional Hoovers, of course, are the most famous (infamous?) owners of a 1978 VW Microbus Type 2 (which inspired the ID.Buzz) and which co-starred in the movie “Little Miss Sunshine.” Its quirks on a cross-country trip to California are a comedic highlight of the movie, and the Hoovers would find my upgraded, $66,500 2025 ID.Buzz Pro tester a major upgrade over their ‘70s slug … except that it might be equally maddening on a long road trip.

I didn’t take the ID.Buzz cross country to a beauty pageant in Redondo Beach, but I did take it on a January adventure to see Honda’s new Marysville EV Hub (a good family destination) using, in part, General Motors Co. chargers. Indeed, the trip featured an EV trifecta — three manufacturers (VW, Honda and GM) that are among the most aggressive legacy automakers promising a transition to battery power over the next decade.

My trip was a cautionary tale on how EVs lag ICEs on range. As undeniably cool as Buzz is (I got as many looks as if I had been driving as Aston Martin DB9), it is a challenging vehicle to drive as one of its core functions: a road-trip family hauler.

Maybe there’s a script here for “Little Miss Sunshine 2.”

I filled the Buzz on my home 240-volt garage charger to 100% on a Sunday night with the goal of starting my overnight, 428-mile-round-trip-in-35-degree-winter at 7.30 p.m. Tuesday. If you have a garage and an EV, you should have a 240-volt charger for its efficiency and affordability. Charge overnight and local commutes are easy and cheap. It’s why (along with sticker shock) that EVs appeal to upper-income households — the EV is the daily driver, the gas car the trip mule.

The ID.Buzz is daring in design and even more daring for road trips. With just 234 miles of range, my rear-wheel-drive Pro model has less than half the legs of a comparable 484-mile range, gas-powered three-row VW Atlas SUV costing $45,475 — which, ahem, could make the Marysville round trip without visiting a filling station.

And with regular gas around $2.89 a gallon in Ohio, the ICE round-trip cost ($24) is 50% cheaper than the EV ($36) at fast chargers demanding about 50 cents per kWh. Oh.

My trip south was straightforward despite 50 mph wind gusts that moved the tall ID.Buzz around like it was sailboat jib. A Ford Transit panel truck passed me on I-75 and we were a comical pair blowing this way and that.

I made the trip in 4 hours and 35 minutes with two charging stops — or about an hour longer than an ICE car. Tolerable for the dysfunctional Hoover family — though I suspect mother Sheryl might have been freaked out by the second, late-night charging stop. A Blink fast charger in Dublin, Ohio, was located in a pitch-black lot next to a double-wide trailer. Eerie. I filled up for 25 minutes and was outta there.

The return trip however, would have tested the Hoovers’ patience.

For all its visual drama, the biggest advance of the ID.Buzz over the last Volkswagen EV I drove (sister ID.4) is the navigation system. It’s good. Three years ago, an ID.4 test car was unable to guide me to West Virginia on an urgent trip (I took my Tesla instead). This go-round, Buzz was nearly the Tesla’s match in mapping chargers — and exceeded the Tesla in details like allowing me to set how much charge I had when I reached my destination. With a history of bad experiences, I’ve learned to back up non-Tesla EV trips with the A Better Router Panner charging app — but the VW system was superior to ABRP.

I would need all the navi’s smarts to get home.

Rural north Columbus may be home to two ginormous Honda auto assembly plants, but like much of America, it is starved for charging infrastructure. My Dublin hotel did not have a 240-volt charger — nor did others nearby.

After briefly revisiting the eerie Blink charger Tuesday morning, I arrived for the Honda Maryville EV Hub tour with 81 miles of charge left.

OK, Hoover family, enjoy the tour and fingers crossed the navi can get us home without grandpa keeling over!

After the tour, the V-Dub charted a course of three charging stops for my trip home. Why so many for a 200-mile range vehicle for a 214-mile trip? Because batteries don’t like cold or highway speeds.

Despite a flurry of news reports claiming EVs have solved the cold range problem thanks to heat pumps, my heat pump-equipped Buzz lost 30% of range in the near-freezing temps. That is, its range was 164 miles instead of 234. Actually, 131 miles (80% of 164), since charging slows to a trickle over 80%.

Add my VW charge setting that I always arrive at a charger with at least 25 miles of range (should the charger not work and I need to find another), and the navigation system has its work cut out for it. No wonder two-car families leave the EV at home.

My first fast-charger destination after leaving Honda for my Oakland County home? A pair of ChargePoint stalls in Marysville.

The first one didn’t work.

After 15 minutes of fiddling with it, I tried the second. Success. But at pokey 62 kWh (compared to state-of-the-art 350 kWh fast chargers) the station took 33 minutes to add 70 miles.

My next charging stop (just off I-75 North in Findlay) brought a pleasant surprise: a fast charger designed like a service station gas pump. GM Energy has partnered with EVgo to create sheltered stations right next to service centers so you can plug in your car without getting rained on (looking at you, Tesla chargers) then go inside for restroom ‘n’ snack. Alas, the chargers aren’t any more reliable. After 10 minutes inside, I returned to the Buzz.

The charger had failed.

I restarted the laborious charging process, beginning with reconnecting the bulky CCS charger, which feels like you’re wrestling a boa constrictor. It would bedevil the Hoovers. “Miss Sunshine 2” would have a field day with that!

Ater 10 minutes, the charger failed again. Content that 72% of charge was enough to get me to my next (final) charging stop, I hit the road.

Happily, Buzz makes all this driving and waiting a pleasant experience. Its wood dash is lovely, and the floating center console gave me both ample kneeroom as well as cubby space. The rear two rows are just as roomy.

My final charge spot was at an EVgo charger in a McDonald’s parking lot, and I resisted the call of the Big Mac (I could put on a lot of pounds at all these charge stops). EVgo names its chargers, and this one was called “Waldo.” As in: Where’s Waldo when you need a charge?

The charger was AWOL on my first connection attempt using my EVgo charge card — but responded when I used my credit card.  Yeesh. After another 20 minutes of charging, I was on the road home.

A gas car would have made the trip in 3 1/2 hours (including 15 minutes for bathroom breaks). The ID.Buzz took six hours.

VW’s reborn Microbus has come a long way in six decades. But road trips can still be a comedy of errors.

Next week: Comparo, Kia K5 vs. Toyota Camry

2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz

Vehicle type: All-electric, rear- and all-wheel-drive, six- or seven-passenger minivan/microbus

Price: $66,045, including $1,550 destination fee (RWD Pro Plus as tested)

Powerplant: 86 kW lithium-ion battery pack mated to rear electric motors

Power: 282 horsepower, 413 pound-feet of torque (RWD)

Transmission: One-speed direct drive

Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.7 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 101 mph

Weight: 5,939 pounds  (RWD as tested)

Fuel economy: 234-mile range (RWD)

Report card

Highs: Good navigation system; roomy, configurable interior

Lows: Low range; pricey compared to gas sibling Atlas

Overall: 3 stars

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

Charlotte, North Carolina — The golden era of Ford racing is coming back.

For the first time since the legendary GT40 dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France from 1966-1969, Ford Motor Co. is returning to the pinnacle of sports car racing to take on the world. The Dearborn-based automaker announced at its annual Racing Season Launch event here that it will enter the World Endurance Championship in 2027 with a full factory LMDh Hypercar team taking on Ferrari, Porsche Penske, Cadillac and Toyota to win the world’s greatest endurance race.

“We are entering a new era for performance and racing at Ford,” said Ford chairman Bill Ford. “You can see it from what we’re doing on-road and off-road. When we race, we race to win. And there is no track or race that means more to our history than Le Mans. It is where we took on Ferrari and won in the 1960s.”

The epic battle between Ford and Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966 inspired the blockbuster, Academy Award-winning movie “Ford v Ferrari” in 2019.

After the 1960s, Ford exited from the top-tier prototype class and competed in production-focused class racing around the world. In 2016, it won the Le Mans GT class with a mid-engine GT, and then finished second in the GT class last year with the debut of its Mustang GT3.

The LMDh Hypercar entry marks another level of commitment with a hybrid-powered, 670-horsepower prototype racer that has attracted the world’s best manufacturers in competition not seen since the 1960s, when Ford, Ferrari and Porsche went at it hammer-and-tong to win the top spot of Le Mans’ podium.

The Ford will hit speeds of 200 mph on Le Mans’ Mulsanne Straight while going head-to-head on strategy with the likes of Ferrari and Bloomfield Hills-based Team Penske. which manages the Porsche entry. Penske entered two Porsche 963 prototypes in 2024 in an effort to win the only major trophy that has eluded its chairman, Roger Penske, in his seven-decade racing career but was beaten to the checkered flag by Ferrari with Toyota taking second.

Ford did not give details on whether it will also enter the North American Weathertech Sportscar Series that shares the same Hypercar class rules for LMDh cars with WEC. Like the rear-wheel-drive Ford racer, Porsche Penske and Cadillac entries are also so-called LMDh Hypercars, which makes them eligible for the 24 Hours of Daytona (that Porsche Penske just won last weekend) and the Detroit Grand Prix in June.

Ferrari and Toyota, on the other hand, have produced so-called LMH Hypercars, which are only eligible for the international WEC series because their hybrid systems drive all four wheels and have unlimited development budgets. An LMDh car is capped at a cost of about $1 million.

The distinction was crucial in 2024 as the Ferrari and Toyota LMH Hypercars had better traction and higher straight-line speeds compared to LMDh entries. Stewards are expected to address such disparities in coming years for fairness and competition.

Chairman Ford has been passionate about motor racing, which has informed the family brand since the company’s founding in 1903. The passion runs deep as his son, Will Ford, became general manager of Ford’s racing division, Ford Performance, in 2023. The pair have presided over an expansion of Ford into international motorsport in off-road racing, with a Ford Raptor finishing third in Saudi Arabia’s Dakar Rally this year — and now the announcement that the brand is entering WEC in both the Hypercar and GT categories.

“I am thrilled that we’re going back to Le Mans and competing at the highest level of endurance racing. We are ready to once again challenge the world, and ‘go like hell!’” said Chairman Ford, referencing the “Go Like Hell” book that catalogued Ford’s 1966 Le Mans win.

Ford’s announcement was met with cheers across the globe.

“It is wonderful news to welcome Ford back to the top level of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time in almost 60 years,” said Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which oversees the Le Mans race. “It is a brand that has always had a close affinity with this very special race, and history shows that Ford does not compete to finish second. The renewal of its famous rivalry with Ferrari is truly an exciting prospect.”

Other manufacturers that have entered the WEC series include BMW, Peugeot and Lamborghini.

“(Ford’s) return to the highest level of the discipline is further validation of the success and appeal of the current Hypercar regulations,” said President Richard Mille of the FIA Endurance Commission, which is the licensing body for international motorsport. “Endurance racing’s golden age is right here, and right now!”

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

San Diego — Jeep makes rowdy, off-road dirt kickers that can be stripped of their doors in the wilderness so you can hear the call of the Curve-billed Thrasher, the splash of mud under 33-inch tires and the bellow of a Hemi V-8 at full throttle. ROOOOWWWRRRR!

The Jeep Wagoneer S is not that vehicle.

The brand’s first electric vehicle is the gateway to Jeep’s luxurious Wagoneer sub-brand and it is quiet. Cradled in my double-stitched Cabo Vinyl throne, I cupped the two-spoke steering wheel in one hand and cruised silently along the California coast. Doors on, of course, for a hushed cabin so I could hear the stirring intro to U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” through 19 McIntosh speakers. S is for silent.

This bliss is only interrupted by the violent, instant-torque acceleration that is also synonymous with luxury today.

SCREEEEEEE! I stomped the accelerator out of a Carlsbad stoplight and my tall, Arizona Arnold Palmer can jumped out of its console cupholder and dumped tea and lemonade all over the faux leather. SCREEEEEEE! The overwhelmed 9.3-inch Falken all-season tires shrieked all the way to 40 mph under the strain of 617 pound-feet of torque, laying rubber past 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. A Jeep record, beating the legendary Hellcat-V8-powered Grand Cherokee Trackhawk beast’s 3.5 seconds.

Violence has a way of exposing flaws, and the S needs snugger cupholders and wider tires. Otherwise, this is a first-class Jeep that will strut into the golf club alongside any BMW, Volvo or Caddy.

Electric is the new luxury and Jeep is there. As it has been for some time with its gas models, Jeep is the rare mainstream brand that is shopped alongside European luxury.

Rupert, should I get a BMW X5, Audi Q5 or Jeep Grand Cherokee?

The Jeep is deserving. Check out the $65K Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve’s thin waterfall console display and thin headlights. Jeep’s mega-ute twins — Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer — take that luxe to another level with appointments like interior wood trim, console icebox and acres of screens.

The S is the gateway to Wagoneer world, and my loaded, 72 grand S Launch Edition is the patriarch of a coming family of models. Think of Jeep as a full-line SUV brand — Compass, (coming) Cherokee replacement, Grand Cherokee — with a passion for off-roading and luxury. The Wrangler and Wagoneer embody those passions.

The Wagoneer S is effortless to drive with superb interior ergonomics (including a Corvette-like square steering wheel for better instrument visibility) instant torque and liquid-smooth drivetrain. No downshift hiccups, no noise, no STOP-START stalls at stoplights. S for serene.

It’s also the same as every other EV in the $70K competitive set: Cadillac Lyriq, BMW i4, Mercedes EQE, Audi Q4 e-Tron, Polestar 4, Tesla Model Y. Luxe brands once differentiated themselves with spicy V-8s, inline-6s, supercharged-turbocharged turbo-4s. Now they’re homogeneous recipes.

In the EV segment, presentation is more important than ever. Design rules.

And Wagoneer S has it in spades. Welcome to the world of exterior and interior architects Vince Gallante and Ryan Nagode. Like New York fashion designers, they make Jeep stand out like Lauren, Hilfiger, LaCoste. Look for the signature alligator on the pocket.

In the case of Jeep, the alligator is its seven-slot grille up front. But what is a grille for if it doesn’t feed air to a gas engine behind it? Fashion. Like BMW’s kidneys, the seven slots are design elements integrated with the headlights that glow day and night. Designer Gallante was inspired by the recessed lighting at the upscale Shinola Hotel in Detroit. S is for Shinola.

Jeep also means boxy, which clashes with EV needs for low drag-coefficient to maximize range. S checks the utility box with healthy interior legroom and cargo (including 3 cubic-feet of frunk space to isolate smelly items like athletic shoes or diapers), though its sleek bullet nose and raked rear glass are more Tesla than Jeep.

Designer answer? A big rear spoiler, which both squared off the slanted rear window and also assisted airflow. Dress S in a yin-yang wardrobe of black roof/white body/black wheels like my tester, and it’s fit for the red carpet at a movie screening.

Speaking of screens, the interior has more monitors than a TV production room: 12.3-inch instrument cluster, 10-inch head-up display, 12.3-inch infotainment display, 10.3-inch climate display (think Audi, a first for Jeep) and 11-inch passenger display. They’re digital, loaded with content … and essential for EV navigation.

Riding shotgun east of San Diego, I used the passenger screen to chart a mock trip to Las Vegas. Then, with the press of a button, sent the route to the driver’s instrument cluster and center console screens. My expert navigator Mrs. Payne would love that.

Vegas was 323 miles way and I had just 242 miles on the battery. I’d need to charge on the way.

Like Tesla and Cadillac Google-Built-in navi systems, the Jeep included charge stops on the way. With a twist. Conveniently, S allows you to set the state of charge you’d like to have when you arrive at your destination so that you’re not gasping for electrons on arrival (I chose 30%) — and then sets the route.

To maximize time, Wagoneer S planned two fast-charger stops of 20 and 28 minutes each — adding 48 minutes to the 4.5-hour drive. Not very luxurious. And S lacks a hands-free driving system like its Cadillac and Tesla competitors that makes long trips more relaxing. Worse, when I navigated to a local La Jolla fast charger for a charging test, the charger was out of order.

Which is another reason that EVs have found their niche in the luxury space — most owners have multi-car garages, so they can install a 240-volt charger for local commutes (Jeep will throw in $600), then take, say, their gas-fired 600-mile-range Grand Cherokee on road trips to Vegas.

The 617-torque Wagoneer shares its STLA Large electric platform with Dodge’s first EV, the 650-torque Charger Daytona, and could use the Dodge’s wider 12.3-inch rear tires for Woodward stoplight launches. But at a porky 5,667-pounds, the Wagoneer S — like Charger Daytona EV — didn’t tempt hooliganism in the twisties.

Neither did it tempt me to go off-road.

I set the regen pedal to max for one-pedal driving, turned on a lower seat massage, opened the panoramic roof and enjoyed the drive. S is for spoiled.

Next week: 2025 Nissans remade, Murano and Armada

2024 Jeep Wagoneer S

Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV

Price: $71,995, including $1,795 destination fee (as tested)

Powerplant: 100-kWh lithium-ion battery with dual electric-motor drive

Power: 600 horsepower, 617 pound-feet torque

Transmission: Single-speed direct drive

Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.4 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 132 mph; towing, 3,500 pounds

Weight: 5,667 pounds

Fuel economy: EPA MPGe 97; range, 303 miles

Report card

Highs: Awesome acceleration; screen-tastic interior

Lows: Too much power for tires; no access to reliable Tesla charger network yet

Overall: 3 stars

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

San Antonio, Texas — I’d like to start my review of the 2025 Volkswagen Taos subcompact SUV from the backseat.

It’s terrific. I can easily sit behind myself. I’m 6’5” and my knees don’t even touch the seatback in front of me. I can cross my legs, and my giraffe neck isn’t stuffed into the roof. In fact, I have plenty of headroom under the panoramic glass roof. That’s right, a panorama roof in a $32,025 SUV, a rare find in this subcompact segment.

My reviews of compact V-Dubs usually start in the front seat of terrific corner carvers like the Golf GTI/Golf R hot hatches or Jetta GLI pocket rocket. But the Taos is no more interested in carving corners than roast beef. Happy to leave the motorhead antics to its car brethren, the SUV aspires to be a vintage V-Dub like a Microbus: affordable, entry-level utility vehicle.

In a market buffeted by high electric vehicle-development costs, government mandates and product cancellations, one of the most pleasing trends in recent years has been the burst of affordable new entry-level utes. Not just affordable, but loaded with a Santa’s workshop full of goodies. Utes like the quick Mazda CX-30, rugged Subaru Crosstrek and 2023 Detroit News Vehicle of the Year, Chevy Trax.

Like its fellow mega-brand Chevrolet, Volkswagen has bet the farm on EVs and has been rolling out expensive SUVs like the (Microbus-inspired) $60K ID.Buzz and $45K ID.4 while ditching more affordable sedans like the Passat and Golf. Customers can be forgiven for thinking the German brand had pivoted from affordable bratwurst offerings to a premium menu of Jäeger Schnitzel with Paprika Mushroom Sauce entrees.

The 2025 Taos is a welcome reminder that VW makes good brat ‘n’ potato salad for the whole family.

Buried in San Antonio rush hour traffic, my Taos tester (starting price, $26,420) was bubble-wrapped in standard safety equipment including forward collision alert, blind-spot assist, lane-keep-assist and adaptive cruise control. If I was also being buried by snow (instead of bathing in Texas sunshine) I would add all-wheel drive for 1,700 bucks for a total of $28,120.

I was a fan from Day One, 2021 when VW introduced its first subcompact SUV to the U.S. Its interior room, generous standard features and all-digital displays were fundamentals sorely needed in an entry-level segment aimed at single-car families who prize utility.

Check the affordability box, and you have a gateway drug to the similarly roomy Tiguan compact and three-row Atlas SUVs. VW has become a split personality brand of fun toys like the 241-horse Golf GTI and 228-horsepower Jetta GLI and the Atlas rolling living room. Taos was definitely a Son of Atlas, but still noticeably light on grunt. I mean, 158 horsepower? Seriously?

For Taos 2.0, VW engineers have injected the 1.5-liter turbo-4 with a dose of steroids to 174 ponies. That’s more like it.

When the traffic cleared, I nailed the throttle and the V-Dub leapt forward, its eight-speed automatic transmission smoothly throwing off shifts before I settled at 75 mph and set cruise control again. You won’t get the cheerful exhaust grunt or handling of the GTI/GLI hellions, but Taos has raided their wardrobes for a more athletic look.

The lumpy fascia has been cleaned up with a leaner, more horizonal grille and taillight elements (similar to Jetta, which also got needed facelift this year). Combined with toned shoulders and front hood, the Taos looks much healthier to go with its improved power.

The facelift continues inside, where Taos complements its standard tech with a tablet infotainment screen for the Gen-X laptop generation. Taos could use more console room (how about freeing up space with that nifty steering column-mounted shifter in the ID products?) to match its legroom, but it was enough space to keep my smartphone charged in a day of driving.

Taos does not suffer the ID models’ battery range anxiety, and I set off into the Texas wilderness with 360 miles of gas range and no worries of finding a filling station.

My smartphone wirelessly took over the dash displays, navigating to my destination while synching to my Google cloud account’s Sirius XM stations, contacts and so on.

But the steering wheel is my favorite feature.

It comes heated standard to warm up my cold mitts on a 40-degree December morning (20 degrees back home in Detroit), and its cornucopia of features means you don’t have to remove your hands to operate the automobile.

With my right thumb, I toggled through my favorite radio stations. With my left thumb, I adjusted volume. Cruise control buttons are intuitively arranged on the left spoke, so I never had to look away from the road, and the right spoke allowed me to thumb through screen menu items like Google Map directions and tire pressure. Like all VWs, the Taos has one glaring ergonomic omission — no radio mute button. Odd.

The Taos should be attractive to young couples given its price point — but also to empty-nesters looking to downsize. Why drive a supersized two-row Atlas Cross Sport when the Taos easily swallows four passengers? For such customers, Taos offers premium goodies like the panoramic roof, a blue interior and fancy 19-inch wheels on the top-grade SEL trim. My Moss Green, SE Black model was pretty stylish too, at just over $32K.

Taos has stepped up its game in a ferociously competitive segment. Once known for stubbornly resisting American driver preferences, this little brat is as American as a Big Mac. It even has condiments like a spare tire under the rear hatch.

In case I got a flat in the Texas boonies.

Next week: 2025 Jeep Wagoner S

2025 Volkswagen Taos

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

Price: $26,420, including $1,425 destination fee ($32,025 FWD SE Black as tested)

Powerplant: 1.5-liter turbo-4 cylinder

Power: 174 horsepower, 184 pound-feet torque

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.0 seconds (Car and Driver est.); top speed, 125 mph

Weight: 3,300-3,600 pounds (est.)

Fuel economy: EPA est. 28 city/36 highway/31 combined (FWD); mpg 25 city/33 highway/28 combined (AWD)

Report card

Highs: Roomy interior; more athletic look

Lows: Lacks joy-to-drive of Golf/Jetta siblings; mute button, please

Overall: 3 stars

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