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Cartoon: Democrats Kamala Doll Fragile
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 22, 2024
Cartoon: Democrats Kerr Basketball Line Up
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 22, 2024
Cartoon: Democrats Walz Pronouns
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 22, 2024
Cartoon: Democrats Divided Center
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 22, 2024
Cartoon: Democrat Biden Address Late
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 22, 2024
Cartoon: Kamala Plugs in EV
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Cartoon: Olympic Highlights 2024
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 15, 2024
Cartoon: Walz Covidnam Medals
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 15, 2024
Cartoon: Musk Trump Bad Boys
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 15, 2024
Cartoon: Walz Snitch Hotline
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 12, 2024
Payne: What’s a brand worth? BMW X5 xDrive50e vs. Hyundai Santa Fe
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 12, 2024
Brighton — BMW makes a state-of-the-art, all-wheel-drive X5 SUV for $87k with a curved 37-inch dash screen, color head-up display, 21-inch wheels, twin wireless phone chargers, leather seats, Level 2 driving assist, WiFi onboard, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto navigation and panoramic roof.
So does Hyundai. For $51k.
The gap between luxury and mainstream has been shrinking in the electronic age, and Hyundai’s latest Santa Fe SUV is a luxury car hiding behind a mainstream badge. Badges still matter and BMW’s X-ceptional midsize model will continue to justify its rich sticker price with smooth power and that signature twin-kidney grille. But buyers of the Santa Fe can take comfort that they get the same value — in all the areas that matter — for a little over half the price.
The Alabama-made Hyundai even matches the South Carolina-built BMW’s value in offering three-row seats, clever console amenities and bold styling. Yes, styling.
The Santa Fe turned heads around town. The brand has crafted daring wardrobes since the 2009 Sonata sedan (followed by the Elantra compact, three-door Veloster and Ioniq 5 and 7 electric vehicles), and Santa Fe continues the trend. With its upright, blocky stance and horizontal accents, the ute looks like a LEGO married an Ioniq 5.
Look past the Goldfinger-like flat-bronze paint scheme and an H-theme emerges. It’s echoed in the headlights, lower grille and rear taillights that bracket “SANTA FE” stamped across the hatch.
Like Hyundai, BMW has taken the opportunity of a new EV model line to introduce radical new styling — but it’s limited to “I” models like the iX. My BMW xDrive50e (alphabet soup translation: “xDrive” for all-wheel drive, “50” for model, “e” for plug-in hybrid) brings a familiar, muscular Bimmer look with swollen fenders and blacked-out fascia to convey power.
That power is where the price difference lies.
As I merged onto I-96 West, the 3.0-liter, turbocharged inline-6 engine cleared its throat and the Bimmer blew by traffic on the way to cruising speed. The 50e is a battery-assisted, plug-in hybrid system, but the eight-speed transmission still must find its cogs, so don’t mistake it for the instant acceleration of the sister all-electric iX (yours for a further 12 grand premium).
Dropping into a highway cloverleaf, I unleashed SPORT mode, the seat bolsters gripping my torso for the anticipated kick of 483 horses from the combined gas engine and 194-horse AC motor. Complicated? You bet. Pricey? Of course. And heavy.
All that plumbing means X5 tips the scales at 5,573 pounds — just 150 shy of the iX, which carries around 106 kWh of battery. X5 goes XL.
Charge the X5’s onboard, 19.2-kWh battery overnight on a 220-volt home charger (which adds a couple grand more to your $87K bill) and my Bimmer had an indicated 38 miles of pure battery range on tap for a morning appointment in Sterling Heights.
In ELECTRIC mode, I cruised quietly down Telegraph Road, but don’t expect drag-racer acceleration like iX from the small battery. The X5 eased out of stoplights before hitting I-696 west. My 16-mile journey sucked 30 miles of range off the battery as I pushed the big brick through the air at 75 mph. Better to use HYBRID (gas plus electric) mode on highways and leave ELECTRIC mode for neighborhood chores where aerodynamics are less taxing. As governments force the industry to go all-electric, expect the difference between brands to shrink even more dramatically.
The Hyundai gets you around with a simple turbo-4 cylinder powerplant.
No electric motor, no modes, no charger box on the wall. Just the occasional quick stop at the pump to fill to 513 miles of range (the X5 gets 418 miles on gas alone). For further value, the Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers 10 years/or 100,000 miles compared to the BMW’s four years/50,000 miles.
Hyundai is so proud of its turbo-4s that its electric Ioniq 5 N attack rat can replicate its sound on demand. Santa Fe’s 277 ponies are plenty of giddyap and I merged quickly onto the I-696 race track.
That’s all the performance most midsize SUV drivers require. I flogged a BMW X5 M around Autobahn Raceway a decade ago and it was a hoot, but I’m weird like that. If you want to do track days, buy a sportscar.
Indeed, without the BMW’s extensive powertrain weaponry, the Hyundai is a remarkable 1,000 pounds lighter and I felt it immediately. Some of that added Bimmer heft also goes to sound-deadening. The BMW is one quiet ride even when I put the cane to the inline-6.
Otherwise, the Santa Fe interior is the BMW’s peer in all the ways passengers appreciate.
The twin digital screens in both cars are crisp, quick to the touch. BMW offers a rotary controller so you can manipulate the infotainment screen remotely if you like, but it has the drawback of cluttering the center console — sharing space with Bimmer’s compact, cool Chiclet shifter.
The Santa Fe, by contrast, assumes the smartphone generation will be satisfied with the touchscreen — then offers you two huge charging pads for phones. The BMW, too, offers twin charging pads, but they are harder to access in the forward compartment of the cluttered console. Hyundai further improves console ergonomics by using a steering wheel-mounted shifter stalk and superior, tactile buttons on the elegant, art deco steering wheel that you can operate without diverting your eyes from the road.
The icing on the cake — er, console — is a double-hinged door that is accessible to the rear as well as the front seats. The Bimmer goes with a fashionable (if less useful) butterfly door. Both second rows are comfortable for six-footers and both have individual, seatback USB-C ports so passengers can charge their phones. Both second-row seats will recline, and both offer third-row seat options (of my testers, only Hyundai had the third row).
In these high-tech cocoons, both brands offer a blizzard of goodies in the infotainment screen to entertain you on your drive, including Level 2 driver assist. My favorites? The Hyundai offers special first-to-third-row communication and programmable FAVORITES buttons on the steering wheel (for, say, a shortcut to the phone screen). The Bimmer options automatic lane change while in driver-assist mode and its head-up display can scroll your favorite music stations.
The pair even boast clever storage items. The BMW sports a lower tailgate to help keep backstop items in the boot. The Hyundai offers a second, secret, dashboard glove box for extra storage — maybe where you can stash the 35 grand you saved by buying this fashionable family SUV.
Next week: The new Dream Cruise antiques
2024 BMW X5 xDrive 50e
Vehicle type: Front engine, all-wheel-drive, six-passenger SUV
Price: $74,275, including $995 destination fee ($87,745 as tested)
Powerplant: Turbocharged 3.0-liter, inline-6 cylinder mated with 19.2-kWh lithium-ion battery pack and electric motor
Power: 483 horsepower, 516 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.6 seconds (mfr.); towing, NA
Weight: 5,573 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA 22 mpg city/23 highway/22 combined (as tested); 38 miles on battery alone (mfr.)
Report card
Highs: Multitalented drivetrain; lovely interior
Lows: Crowded console; gets pricey
Overall: 3 stars
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
Vehicle type: Front engine, front- or all-wheel-drive, six-passenger SUV
Price: $35,365, including $1,415 destination fee ($51,715 Calligraphy model as tested)
Powerplant: Turbocharged 2.5-liter, inline-4 cylinder
Power: 277 horsepower, 311 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.2 seconds (mfr.); towing, 4,500 pounds
Weight: 4,487 pounds (as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA 19 mpg city/26 highway/22 combined (XLT as tested)
Report card
Highs: Distinctive style; clever interior touches
Lows: Ummm …
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Cartoon: Walz Weird Kamala
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 7, 2024
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Cartoon Weird JD Vance Upbringing
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Cartoon: Kamala GOP Weird
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Payne: Mercedes GLC Coupe is easy on the eyes — and my back
Posted by Talbot Payne on August 1, 2024
Charlevoix — I love the lines of the Mercedes CLE coupe. Low-slung body, long snout, fast back. But my back liked the Mercedes GLC Coupe SUV better.
Argh. I managed to torque a disc in my lower back on the tennis court this summer and, all of a sudden, the idea of folding my 6’5” frame into low-slung, long-snout, fast-back coupe seemed less appealing.
This, of course, is the fundamental appeal of SUVs — with five-inch higher hip points than their car stablemates, they are easier to slip into. Add their command position seating position for better road visibility, and SUVs have come to dominate the auto market over the last two decades.
But (groan), Payne, they all look so boxy!
Enter SUV Coupe models like the BMW X4, Audi Q5 Sportback and Mercedes GLC. Like its German peers, the 2024 GLC Coupe takes the boxier GLC to the plastic surgeon and gives it the ol’ nip/tuck — flattening out the roof to look more like the CLE. Except, um, the GLC Coupe is jacked up off the ground.
No bother, it’s still more attractive to the naked eyeball — while still accommodating my (creeeeak) back. Rather than bending uncomfortably low into the seat, I simply slid sideways into the GLC Coupe cockpit and … BONK!
Well, not so simply. That raked roofline means I still had to duck my fat noggin under the tight cockpit opening. Happily, seat memory controls are on the door, so I could adjust the seat rearward if, say, wee Mrs. Payne had been driving the Merc before me.
The GLC Coupe is one of a blizzard of Mercedes SUVs and sedans that make the German brand so hard to compete against in the marketplace. While U.S. brands like Cadillac and Lincoln have reduced their model choices to accommodate all-SUV lineups, Merc and BMW still produce gorgeous sedans and coupes as their portfolio halos — even if their sales have declined compared to the more utilitarian utes.
That translates, not into just more customer choice overall, but into more choice for SUV models as designers adopt coupe styling cues. Seen a Cadillac XT4 Coupe? Nope. My GLC Coupe tester featured the expected attractive grille and headlight/taillight display found on other Mercs. The brand’s signature star may anchor the front end, but the ducktail and rear horizontal taillights are this model’s best angle. Toggle the rear logo (just like a VW GTI), and the hatchback rises to offer more utility than you’ll ever find in a CLE.
Slip inside (watch your head) and the style gets turned up to 11.
Mercedes has embraced the big screen era — not with Silicon Valley, Tesla-like simplification — but with Hollywood excess. The lush, graphically-rich hoodless instrument and infotainment displays are complemented with high style. My $67,450 AMG line model wrapped the center console in a tunnel of carbon fiber from which the 12-inch screen rises like an ocean wave — before its topped with rose-shaped air vents. Oooh, it’s a lovely landscape.
But the form requires certain, um, compromise of function.
Maintaining the carbon-fiber tube means that cupholders and a recessed wireless charger are accessed via a sliding door that pinches center console storage room. Buttons to access the 11.9-inch center display? Fugettaboutit.
Back in 2013, Cadillac rolled out the third generation CTS sedan and it was a similar work of art. Putting style on a pedestal, Caddy eschewed knobs for haptic swipe controls. It was lovely, and drove customers like my pal Dicran mad. The current generation GLC (and siblings) are Son of CTS.
Ten years on, electronics are sharper and quicker, no doubt, but swipe controls remain a hit-and-miss distraction. Merc has added a redundant strip of touch controls below the screen, but there are no rotary dials for volume and temperature lest they interfere with the artistic form. Heck, even the panoramic roof was controlled by swiping.
There are redundant steering wheel controls for volume — but Merc has made these swipe controls as well to maintain the smooth, sculpted surface of its twin-spoked wheel. I turned on the radio with a punch of the right steering spoke, then used a slider to adjust the volume. Same for adaptive cruise control.
At speed on I-75 North, I engaged ACC with a pinch of the left steering spoke, then used a slider to adjust the speed in 1-mph increments. It was a hit-or-miss exercise, and will drive some customers screaming from the cockpit.
At this point, I didn’t bother to adjust the temperature. Instead, I tried voice commands:
Hey, Mercedes, adjust the temperature to 70 degrees.
Done. I tried it for radio volume as well.
Hey, Mercedes, turn down the volume.
Success. Alas, ACC is not supported by voice commands.
Owners will figure out the shortcuts that work best for them over time, of course. Then they can enjoy the comfort, style and high tech of the interior, including rear seats that have ample legroom for us tall people. This is what separates luxury today: fine materials, fine details and a fine ACC system that would automatically change lanes when I toggled the turn signal.
Sliding into the Merc on July 4, I punched the starter button, then immediately turned off the annoying STOP-START button next to it. The infotainment screen burst into a fireworks display, wishing me a Happy Independence Day. Ah, luxury.
Though you wouldn’t know it from the drivetrain. In this age of Big Nanny, emissions regulations are forcing brands to the same small-displacement turbo-4 cylinder drivetrains (just wait until nanny requires the same, quiet electric drivetrains).
The Merc’s 2.0-liter four-banger is plenty punchy — aided by a 48-volt battery (which also helps power all those big displays). But its 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque are no more remarkable than a similarly-sized Mazda CX-5 costing $30K less.
Exiting I-75 for the M-32 two-lane headed to Lake Michigan, I selected SPORT Drive Mode for a little fun through the twisties.
Not too much fun, though. Though the GLC Coupe sports a lovely sportscar roof, it still has a healthy 52.6 cubic feet of cargo room with the seats down (and a spare tire beneath should you get a puncture in the wilds of northern Michigan). I had packed the rear cargo area with luggage, sports equipment and electronics for the July 4 weekend —and I didn’t want to break anything.
Including my back.
2024 Mercedes GLC Coupe
Vehicle type: Front engine, all-wheel-drive five-passenger SUV
Price: $58,150, including $1,150 destination fee ($67,430 4Matic AMG Line as tested)
Powerplant: Turbocharged 2.0-liter, inline-4 cylinder
Power: 255 horsepower, 295 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.2 seconds (mfr.); top speed, 130 mph
Weight: 4,450 pounds (est.)
Fuel economy: EPA 22 mpg city/30 highway/26 combined (as tested)
Report card
Highs: Big, family-size proportions; loaded with value, standard goodies
Lows: Quirky shifter, rotary controller
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Cartoon: Fuel January 6th, July 13
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 31, 2024
Cartoon: Democrats War on Supremes
Posted by Talbot Payne on July 31, 2024
