Be The Cowboy

If you’ve been paying attention to the auto industry lately or read and watch a lot of automotive media, you’ve probably heard the term “soft-roader” tossed around before. It’s a term used by industry voices and pundits like myself for the kind of top-of-the-line, off-road-inspired trims that have added a little spice to many popular family crossovers out on the road over the past few years. Toyota’s latest RAV4 is offered in what it calls the Woodland Edition. Honda has expanded its popular TrailSport sub-brand branding beyond the Pilot and Passport to the latest CR-V. Subaru, on the other hand, has been offering many of its best-selling crossovers like the Forester and Crosstrek in its top-line Wilderness trims.

Automakers have this down to a formula. Give an unassuming, grocer-getter crossover some personality by snapping on some bare plastic cladding on its fenders and bumpers. Replace the fuel-efficient rubber with some knobbier all-terrain tires, and add an inch or two of lift to the suspension, and you get vehicles that weren’t exactly built for boulders, but sure look the part. Though these SUVs get an attitude adjustment for the jungle, data showed that customers were willing to bite for a crossover that’ll make them look more equipped for the trials and tribulations of the urban jungle. 

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This formula works. According to WardsAuto, Subaru’s Wilderness trims across the Forester, Outback and Crosstrek now account for roughly one in seven sales of those models, nearly 250,000 units through 2025. As part of a full rebrand for its bZ (short for “beyond Zero”) line of electric vehicles for 2026, Toyota has introduced the bZ Woodland, a soft-roader model that perfectly accompanies the space next to the newly rebranded bZ (formerly known as bZ4X) crossover SUV. 

While the bZ Woodland is seemingly devoid of the many quirks and stand-out features that many associate with the mythos of today’s technologically-advanced electric vehicles from the likes of Tesla, Rivian or Lucid, I found comfort and bliss in something that felt like the complete antithesis of a modern EV: no-nonsense simplicity. However, one glaring flaw stops me completely from instantly recommending this vehicle to those transitioning from gas to electric for the first time; one that can only be remedied with a lifestyle change that can possibly be very expensive.

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The Almost-Overlander

Where the bZ Woodland actually separates itself from the sea of EVs clogging up parking lots around the New York Metro Area is in how it looks. From the jump, the bZ Woodland elongated shape is reminiscent of a station wagon — a shape so rare among new cars these days, that seeing one feels like an even than an occurrence. Its bare-plastic cladding, raised ride height and the all-terrain tires associated with the “soft-roader” aesthetic of contemporary crossovers further adds to its distinction. It gives the bZ Woodland a “tough guy” look that makes it stand out on the street, especially parked next to the Tesla Model Ys and Fisker Oceans out on the streets of Jersey and the City.

But if you look at it dead-on, straight in the face, you’ll come to an entirely different comparison. The Woodland’s front end wears the same angular LED “hammerhead” daytime running lights as the smaller bZ (and the outgoing bZ4x), and at a glance, that blocky, slatted face is close enough to Tesla’s Cybertruck to make some onlookers do a double take. The comparisons stop there, though. Walk around to the side and the resemblance evaporates — the Woodland’s sculpted, sportier and more aggressive lines read nothing like the Cybertruck’s slab-sided geometry.

Its platform-mate is the Subaru Trailseeker, and it shows. The bZ Woodland’s distinct silhouette gives off the same aura that made rugged wagons like the Subaru Outback part of the uniform for a certain kind of outdoorsy, alternative lifestyle. To be frank, there were times I looked at the Woodland from a distance and thought “it’s a Yakima bike rack away from looking like a proper ‘adventure vehicle’” — the kind of thing the REI and L.L.Bean set likes to imagine itself driving in out in the sticks.

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Smooth As Butter, Sharp When You Need It

On the road, the bZ Woodland drives like no different from the rest of Toyota’s crossover SUV lineup — and that’s a fair compliment. The suspension is soft enough to soak up the bumps and potholes that line the area’s roadways without breaking your spine or your soul. Its steering is fairly light for getting around parking lots and sharp mountain roads, the ride height sits at a comfortable medium between most small cars and tall full-size SUVs, and the glass around you gives you enough visibility to feel at ease threading through town. 

The bZ Woodland is powered by a dual-motor setup powered by two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors that make 224 horsepower and 198 lb-ft of torque on their own. In this combined setup, they make a total of 375 horsepower. While it doesn’t sound like a lot of horsepower on paper, it does the job fairly well for a machine that isn’t touted as the next best performance car. To be real and frank, if it did, it’d be wearing a freaking Gazoo Racing badge for pete’s sake — for all intents and purposes, it fares very well as a well-balanced everyday machine. You can feather it around town for maximum quietness and smoothness, and if you take it on the highway, you don’t have to mash the pedal to get it to merging speed. 

Once you’re already there, cruising at highway speeds feels like absolute butter, with none of the shakes, rattles or general rawness that usually comes bundled with SUV driving. My only complaint is that the bZ Woodland Premium comes with standard roof rails and the one we tested came with optional cross bars, which made a very noticeable buffeting noise that added to the already-annoying road noise from the free-option all-terrain tires at speeds well over 70 miles per hour. No amount of bass or treble from the JBLs can defeat this noise; save some room in your budget for some noise-cancelling AirPods or Beats for your passengers.

But, if you are a spirited driver whose love language is mashing your foot down on the accelerator, you’ll realize the two-face nature of this otherwise-unassuming “family car.” To put it short and sweet: holy sh– is it quick. Push it to overtake a car, or a tractor trailer, and you’re not just clearing that truck — you’re clearing the tractor trailer in front of it, too. We previously reported that instrumented 0-60 times beat Toyota’s own estimates by half a second, going from 0-60 mph in just 3.9 seconds. It feels supercar-quick, no question. 

While it is fast in a straight line, it has some sporting characteristics through the bends. While this is not a car you’re taking to a track day, it stays surprisingly level and composed through tight switchbacks without much body roll. All in all, this tall, station wagon-shaped EV can give you a properly spirited drive in the same way your own family car can, and much, much more.

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Extremely Tactile With No Frills

If you are familiar with Toyota’s bZ lineup, the inside of the bZ Woodland will feel very familiar. The cabin is headed by a large 14-inch touchscreen, as well as a digital gauge cluster displaying vital driving information in front of the steering wheel — a commonplace standard feature in traditional gas-powered cars that seems like a novel feature among electric vehicles penned by designers chasing the Tesla-led “minimalist” design trend. This feeling is emblematic of what I see as the interior design horseshoe theory: at the extreme ends of minimalism and maximalism, you land in the same place, which is pure, tactile comfort. 

From the moment you plop yourself inside, the Woodland feels like a genuinely luxurious space for the Toyota badge, with soft, supple leather-style SofTex trim throughout. While it comes in just two trims, the Woodland comes well equipped for a “standard” model, with dual wireless charging pads, heated front and rear outboard seats, a heated steering wheel, heated and powered sideview mirrors, dual-zone automatic climate control, and eight-way power-adjustable front seats. Upgrading to the Premium trim adds more toys including ventilated front seats, a digital rearview mirror, a panoramic glass roof, and the aforementioned nine-speaker JBL sound system.

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The tech follows the same philosophy. The infotainment system and related equipment are feel as if they’re lifted from other Toyota products, and I mean that as praise. Wireless CarPlay connects instantly and integrates cleanly into the main system, with none of the lag or clunkiness you sometimes get from newer EV-specific interfaces. I have zero complaints about the JBL sound system, either; it’s punchy on the bass while staying crisp across genres, which is more than I need given that I mostly have it tuned to podcasts. While I can praise it for keeping physical controls for the temperature and volume, other climate controls like adjusting temperature and vent modes require tapping the screen, which will trigger the car’s un-disable-able hyper-sensitive driver-attention monitor.

However, practicality is where the bZ Woodland really earns its stripes. Toyota says that it has 33.8 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row, which is deep and usable enough for a family determined to get every dollar out of their Costco membership. Fold the second row down and you’ve got enough room to haul a stack of flat-pack IKEA boxes home in one trip. In addition to heated seats, rear-seat passengers get their own USB-C charging, dedicated air vents, and enough legroom to dribble a soccer ball. Even sitting behind someone like me, who at 5’7″ still likes to push the driver’s seat back further than I probably need to, I’d bet an adult pushing six feet could comfortably sit back there without complaint.

The Elephant In The Garage

But for as much as I feel the bZ Woodland gets right, it stumbles hard on the one number that actually matters for EV adoption: range. On a summer day especially, the rate at which this thing consumes electricity can only be described as excessive. In my view, if you are not careful with the electronic gizmos and goodies around the car, including and especially, the air conditioning, the bZ can feel like the EV equivalent of a gas guzzler; which feels antithetical to the idea of switching to electric in the first place. 

The Woodland is powered by a 74.7 kWh battery, and the EPA estimates an effective range of 281 miles from 0-100% on the standard all-season tires, or 260 miles with the all-terrain rubber on my Premium AWD test example — numbers low enough to induce genuine range anxiety. Put those numbers next to the competition and the gap gets harder to ignore. The similarly-priced Tesla Model Y Premium AWD is EPA-estimated at 327 miles, while the top-line Chevrolet Equinox EV RS manages 307 miles in its all-wheel-drive form. For a vehicle intended to be someone’s one and only car, 260 miles simply isn’t enough of a cushion.

For this reason, I’d strongly recommend having a charger at home if you’re going to live with a bZ Woodland, because otherwise you’ll become a regular at your local Tesla Supercharger or Electrify America station. And that’s the real problem: plenty of households considering the jump from gas to electric don’t have a home charger, and don’t have an easy or affordable path to installing one, especially if it means significant electrical upgrades to an older house, let alone a condo, or a rental. For a vehicle so clearly built to be someone’s comfortable, everyday, do-it-all wagon-shaped crossover, that’s a major setback.

Final Thoughts

As equipped, the 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland Premium AWD I tested came out to $50,993, which included the $1,595 delivery, processing and handling fee, $350 cross bars, $105 wheel locks, $275 rear hatch cargo lights and a $1,268 adventure tow package. In nearly every way that matters day to day, the Woodland is a great vehicle. It’s extremely user-friendly, spacious, comfortable and a car that is genuinely quick enough to make you feel like you’re driving something more exotic and expensive. 

To make it much better, it’s wrapped in an exterior that stands out against the Model Ys and Fisker Oceans that crowd the streets of New York and New Jersey. It’s the kind of EV that can amke you consider switching from gas feel easy; though the range number can be a real problem for anyone who can’t simply plug in at home overnight. I want to fall in love with the dang thing, but I just couldn’t fathom something so needy.

Still, given all its strengths, failures, quirks and lemmings of personality, I keep landing on the same thought. Vehicles like the bZ Woodland feel like an “aha moment” for electric cars, the kind I haven’t felt since the Tesla Model S arrived: a step toward a “normal electric car.” It’s a giant feat, though it shouldn’t feel like it. Apart from price, what pushes a lot of people away from EVs is the idea that an electric car has to be an all-digital machine that assaults your senses with technology. 

The Woodland doesn’t ask for that. It offers a no-frills EV experience in a familiar form, and it never once feels like operating a rocket ship. It doesn’t need to conquer an actual woodland to be worth considering, since it already handles the daily grind with ease and looks good doing it too.

Disclosure: Toyota loaned James Ochoa a 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland Premium AWD for one week for this review.

The 2026 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro has some formidable company. The Ford Ranger Raptor brings more power and is especially well suited to high-speed desert running. The Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 has Multimatic DSSV dampers and front and rear lockers, which make it a serious contender on rocky trails. The GMC Canyon AT4X offers much of the Colorado’s capability with a slightly nicer interior. There’s also the Nissan Frontier Pro-4X, although it isn’t as powerful or as comprehensively equipped as these trucks. This group has turned the midsize pickup class into an off-road arms race. Judging by the prices, nobody remembered to set a spending limit.

The Tacoma TRD Pro comes only with Toyota’s i-FORCE MAX hybrid powertrain. A turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder works with an electric motor and eight-speed automatic to produce 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. Those aren’t Ranger Raptor numbers, but the torque is the figure that gets my attention. Strong response at low speeds is useful when you’re easing over an obstacle, climbing a loose grade or trying to keep momentum without launching yourself into the next county. Toyota estimates 22 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway. That’s respectable for a truck like this, but make no mistake: this hybrid is primarily here for muscle.

Toyota has given the TRD Pro hardware worthy of its name. It gets 2.5-inch Fox QS3 internal-bypass shocks with rear reservoirs, an electronic locking rear differential and a front stabilizer disconnect. Multi-Terrain Select and Crawl Control can help manage traction and speed when a trail gets tricky, while the high-clearance front bumper improves the approach angle.

Related: Toyota Tacoma vs Ford Ranger 5-Year Depreciation: It’s Not Even Close

Toyota quotes up to 35.7 degrees of approach angle and 11.5 inches of ground clearance. Those figures don’t make every line on a trail a good idea, but they do tell you this truck was designed to leave the pavement. I would still get out and look before putting a nearly $70,000 pickup on top of a pointy rock. Pride heals faster than a rocker panel.

One of the TRD Pro’s strangest features is also one of its most interesting: the IsoDynamic front seats. They have their own damping system intended to reduce the punishment occupants take when the truck is bouncing across rough terrain. It’s the sort of equipment you expect to see in a specialized off-road machine, not something added merely to justify a badge. The trade-off is that the seatbacks are bulky, and rear-seat space in the Double Cab was never generous to begin with. If you regularly carry tall adults in back, invite them to sit there before you buy. Better to hear their complaints in the showroom than three hours into a highway trip.

That highway trip matters because even an enthusiastic off-road owner will spend plenty of time getting to the trail. The Tacoma’s hybrid torque gives it useful passing power, and the eight-speed automatic helps it behave like a normal pickup when there isn’t a boulder in sight. Still, the TRD Pro’s tires and suspension are chosen for rough ground, so shoppers seeking a plush, quiet commuter should try one of the less specialized Tacomas. This is a truck whose best equipment becomes most valuable once the road turns ugly. On the way home, the 14-inch touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument display provide modern conveniences, although I appreciate that Toyota also gives the driver actual controls for important off-road functions.

It can do truck work, too. The TRD Pro is rated to tow up to 6,000 pounds when properly equipped, which is enough for a modest trailer or a collection of expensive toys to drag into the wilderness. As always, check the specific truck’s payload and towing labels before loading it with passengers, gear and a trailer. The Double Cab gives you a usable back seat and a pickup bed, even if neither is the most spacious answer in the truck world. The appeal is that you can commute, haul, tow and go exploring without keeping a dedicated trail rig in the driveway.

Final thoughts

Here’s where I become less cheerful. Toyota lists the 2026 Tacoma TRD Pro at $64,750 before options and other charges, and a well-equipped example can pass $68,000. That is an incredible amount of money for what used to be considered an affordable midsize pickup. The Ranger Raptor, Colorado ZR2 and Canyon AT4X also ask buyers to open their wallets wide, so Toyota isn’t alone in this madness. It just happens to have joined in enthusiastically.

I still think the TRD Pro makes a compelling case. The Ford is the more obvious choice for fast desert driving, and the Colorado’s front locker gives serious rock crawlers something Toyota does not. The Tacoma counters with a strong hybrid powertrain, a thoughtful collection of trail equipment and enough everyday usefulness to justify driving it the other six days of the week. I’m not over the moon about the price, but I can see why someone who actually uses its capability would pay it.

That has to mean something.

Related: I Drove the 2027 Kia Telluride X-Pro SX-Prestige: $58,335 Buys a Lot of SUV

There is no rational way to look at a Range Rover and see anything less than a posh and polished cruiser. It is tall, sleek, expensive, serene, and snobby. The exterior oozes refinement and thumbs its nose at more plebeian fare. Over the past three generations, it has evolved beautifully to become simpler in its design but also somehow more upscale. The Range Rover even manages to upstage BMW X7s without even trying. It also happens to be capable of scrambling over terrain that would make most luxury SUVs scurry for cover. Its only real competitor is the Mercedes G-Wagen.

If you knew nothing about the legendary Range Rover’s off-road prowess, you’d be convinced by the affluent suburban moms behind the wheel that this SUV was strictly for cruising and shopping. It wears its capability with the nonchalance of someone arriving at a muddy trailhead in the finest athleisure wear the world has to offer. Clad it in Batumi Gold paint ($1,950) and big 23″ turbine-style wheels, and and the bling-factor levels up. My tester’s base price was $134,100 with the twin-turbo V8 enging choice. With options and the $2,150 destination fee, the total price came to $155,535.

A SIinky Range Rover? Yes and Yes.

For some, it would be hard to tell the difference between the last Range Rover and the current (5th) generation. While the current Range Rover, which debuted in 2022, retains the model’s iconic shape, it smooths out the doors with flush handles and simplifies the vertical door appliques. The grille is slightly smaller with a new mesh patter, and the headlight clusters have been reshaped. The Range Rover’s lower fascia now has full-width aperture that incorporates vents and LED foglights.

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The biggest change between the generations is the rear fascia. The result is a more refined and more cohesive look. The back end has no resemblance to the last Range Rover. It loses the blocky taillights and the unifying metallic silver bar. The 5th-gen’s slim vertical taillights are simple but very attractive, helping frame the liftgate with the two black horizontal bars. Since the tailights no longer wrap around on the rear quarter panel, that section looks more refined and more muscular, at the same time. There isn’t a cleaner, more refined look on any luxury SUV.

Power and Smoothness Behind the Wheel

The Range Rover’s road manners are impeccable. No, it’s not a sporty SUV, but it’s seriously potent with the twin-turbo V8. The level of on-demand thrust is significant (0 to 60 mph in the low fours). The 523 horsepower P530 engine is silky but authoritative. What’s even more noticeable is the sublime ride. nd the ride. Its adaptive air suspension has an uncanny ability to take the sharpness out of bad pavement without even trying. Even big bumps are dispatched with ease. The larger 23″ wheels don’t do it a disservice, either, and the Range Rover behaves without feeling isolated and spongy.

The steering is light but accurate, and it’s not hard to place the big Range Rover where you want. There’s ample body roll, but the balance and control are predictable. It’s not sharp like a BMW X5, but the Range Rover isn’t meant to be driven like a sporty SUV. Take it off road, and it’ll display its goods better than just about any other luxury SUV. It comes with Electronic Air Suspension with up to 11.6 inches of ground clearance, Terrain Response 2 with selectable drive modes (Mud/Ruts, Sand, Rock Crawl, and Grass/Gravel/Snow), an Electronic Active Rear Locking Differential, and Wade Sensing for water fording up to 35.4 inches.

One major plus for the Range Rover is its four-wheel steering, one of the best I’ve used. It significantly reduces its turning radius, and on some streets it makes the three-point turn obsolete. Getting into tight parking spots is made similarly easy, and the system provides remarkable nimbleness for such a big vehicle.

Fuel economy is less enchanting. The EPA fuel economy rating for the Range Rover P530 with the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 engine is 16 MPG city, 21–22 MPG highway, and 18 MPG combined. During my week behind the wheel, the Range Rover V8 did just over 13 mpg, and I hardly used Dynamic mode.

Luxury Digs With Some Odd Decisions

The cabin is a mixed bag. While beautiful and rich, it’s not especially accommodating. Despite the high-end leather upholstery, the front and rear seats make you feel like you’re sitting on them rather than in them. The lumbar feels uncomfortable even in the tamest of settings. The middle position in row two is especially punishing with overly dramatic bulges in the cushion and backrest. My tester did not have the optional third row.

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The interior design is restrained rather than in-your-face like the current BMW or Mercedes ethos, with broad two-tone horizontal surfaces, thick and soft leather, and a lack of visual clutter. Even the modestly sized infotainment screen, as well as its placement, contribute to the simplified look. It’s lounge-like with some compromises like the optional piano black plastic on the center console and on the doors (way too much on the doors).

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The curved central touchscreen is crisp and dramatic, but Land Rover’s pursuit of minimalism occasionally goes too far. Aside from the painful absence of switchgear, the Pivi Pro screen is obfuscating, and the inconsistently responsive haptic feedback is annoying. You have to menu dive to make seat support adjustments, get heated/cooled seats, adjust vent aperture, etc. Speaking of menus, they’re not intuitive, and I found myself constantly scanning to find the function I needed.

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It’s difficult to full capture how bad the climate controls are. There’s a haptic temperature slider, but sliding it or tapping it doesn’t bring up the climate menu. That’s a separate icon, and then you can start making changes on the screen. To make things worse, you can move the HVAC vents on the dash by moving the adjustment tab, but you have to adjust the aperture on the touchscreen, which makes no sense. Changing ambient lighting is also an exercise in frustration. At least the angled instrument cluster is crisp and data is easy to configure in the center display.

Final Thoughts

The Range Rover SE is powerful, rugged, sexy, and occasionally impractical in ways that become more conspicuous at this price. As it was meant to be, however, the Range Rover is hard to ignore even with the sketchy reliability. Few vehicles combine this level of comfort, visual appeal, off-road credibility, and on-road power. It is a mountain goat with a personal tailor—and, somehow, it still makes the combination work. You have to get past some usability and comfort issues to do so, but what a show it is.

Climb up into the cab of the 2026 Land Rover Defender OCTA, and you’d be forgiven for missing the memo, at least up front. The OCTA is supposed to be the brand’s most extravagant, ridiculous, over-the-top off-roader, but it isn’t immediately apparent from the driver’s seat. Push the start button, which is the same as you get in the standard Defender, and all that changes.

The car idles differently. It sits differently. The details, those start to emerge too. That little button on the steering wheel isn’t there in the standard ones. The bolsters feel tighter on the seat, and the idea snaps into focus. This is supposed to be the ultimate Defender, and after a closer look around the cabin, it starts to feel it.

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Powertrain And Driving Experience: 10/10

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The Defender OCTA, as the name implies, is all about that V8. It’s a twin-turbo unit, mated to a four-wheel drive system with two locking differentials (one center and one rear). It makes an astonishing 626 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque, and you feel every bit of it. A special OCTA drive mode, accessed through that wheel-mounted button, transforms the experience.

The V8 goes from quiet background noise to obnoxiously loud in an instant; the shifts tighten, and the traction control backs off. Pick up the throttle early on a corner exit (both on and off-road), and the OCTA will ease into a slide. It’s hilarious, but I wish the V8 were a bit more aural in the cabin. Those cheesy pops and bangs sound like distant fireworks, not the tiny explosions they do from the exterior.

Of course, all the off-road capability you’d expect is there. The standard Defender’s software-driven approach to off-roading is still in full effect, with custom drive modes and all the sensors and cameras you could ever want. With huge all-terrain tires backing it up, it’s really just a matter of how long you’ll need to get over an obstacle or up a trail, not whether the OCTA can or not.

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Interior And Technology: 9/10

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There’s a lot of carryover from the standard Defenders inside, but a few things do stand out, first and foremost, that OCTA button on the wheel. The seats, too, are different. These should be in every Defender, and the lateral support they provide is something the rest of the lineup sorely lacks. The suede headliner is a nice touch, too.

The rest of this stuff is standard Defender, which is to say, solid. I love the variation in materials, and the Meridian sound system is pretty strong for what is billed as an off-roader. There’s a lot of features buried in the new 13.1-inch screen, and I’d like Land Rover to further lean into the physical switchgear. That aside, the Defender’s interior is seriously good, and doubly so with those great OCTA-specific buckets.

Exterior Design: 10/10

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I’m an unabashed Defender apologist, at least from an aesthetics point of view. Very, very few cars get the whole “modern-retro-callback” look right, and I think only the Z does a better job of it than the Defender.

Of course, OCTA models get all their own special touches on top. That OCTA badge seen on the steering wheel drive mode button is scattered throughout, as are the bronze accents. I think they go great with this matte blue paint. OCTAs also get their own unique front and rear fascias with amber accents up front. It’s a meaner look than the standard Defenders, and one that lends itself to the more purposeful nature of the SUV.

Cargo, Towing And Hauling: 9/10

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For an SUV of its size, the 110 delivers impressive performance in towing and hauling. The SUV can pull up to 8,200 pounds, and its huge trunk makes it ideal for long trips off-road. I particularly enjoy the fold-flat seats, which greatly enhance the usability of the cargo area. There are also some more thoughtful touches in the back, like a dedicated independently controlled air vent and a strap on the C pillar that can be used to hold smaller items like water bottles or tethers.

Pricing And Value: 6/10

There’s no way around this: the OCTA is absurdly expensive. The lineup starts at $160,250, while the Black starts at $170k. The only true alternative in this segment is the inline-six-powered Mercedes G-Class, which starts at $155,250. While both can easily skyrocket in price, we do have to concede that the Defender at least offers more power and a V8, though the Mercedes’ luxurious interior is still impossible to beat.

Verdict: 9/10

If you’ve got the cash, the Defender OCTA is maybe the most extreme SUV you can buy outside true exotics like the Urus or Bentley Bentayga. The giant BMW-sourced V8 is relentless, and hitting a sub-4 0-60 time in a car that is coming up on 6,000 pounds is truly impressive. The off-road capability is matched by the SUV’s outstanding performance. Put simply, there may not be a cooler, more lavish way to climb rocks.

2026 Mazda CX-30 2.5 S Aire Edition Review: A Little Crossover With a Lot of Personality

Full transparency: I like Mazda. The company has spent years building vehicles that are enjoyable to drive, even when you choose an ordinary engine and stay away from the expensive end of the options list. There have been exceptions, of course, but the 2026 CX-30 2.5 S Aire Edition isn’t one of them. My tester had the naturally aspirated engine, standard all-wheel drive, and a starting price of $30,250 before destination. It’s a sensible little crossover that still remembers the driver is supposed to have some fun. That combination is becoming surprisingly difficult to find.

The Aire Edition is essentially a styling and equipment upgrade built on the CX-30 Preferred trim. Mazda adds black badges, black roof rails and mirrors, and 18-inch black metallic wheels. Inside, it gets white leatherette seats with gray cloth inserts, gray suede-like trim and light stitching. You can also buy a Turbo Aire Edition, but its $34,410 starting price is $4,160 higher. That’s a meaningful jump in a vehicle whose value is a big part of its appeal. The turbo is tempting, as turbocharged Mazdas generally are, but I’m glad I spent time with the less powerful version. It answers a more useful question: Is this CX-30 still worth buying without paying extra for the fun engine?

Powertrain and performance

The standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder makes 186 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque. It’s paired with a six-speed automatic and Mazda’s i-Activ all-wheel-drive system, both standard on the Aire Edition. The EPA estimates 24 mpg city, 31 highway and 27 combined. Those are respectable figures for a small crossover that sends power to all four wheels. For 2026, Mazda also added a brake-based limited-slip function, revised the dampers for ride comfort and kept G-Vectoring Control Plus and Off-Road Traction Assist as standard equipment. There’s quite a bit going on beneath this tidy little body, even if the badges don’t make a speech about it.

No, the non-turbo CX-30 isn’t a rocket. It does, however, respond willingly when you ask it to move, and the conventional six-speed automatic gives it a character I prefer to the continuously variable transmission in the Honda HR-V. The Honda makes 158 horsepower, so the Mazda has a noticeable advantage on paper, too. Around town, I found the CX-30 lively enough to make gaps in traffic without drama. On a faster road, passing sometimes means pressing the accelerator firmly and listening to the four-cylinder climb through the revs. That’s normal for this class, and the engine doesn’t sound as though it’s filing a complaint with management. If you want effortless passing power, the Turbo Aire Edition makes 227 horsepower and 310 pound-feet on regular gas, rising to 250 horsepower and 320 pound-feet on premium. It’s a substantial upgrade, though you’ll pay for it up front and at the pump.

Handling is the reason I’d keep coming back to the Mazda. The CX-30 feels alert and composed through corners in a way many small crossovers simply don’t. Steering response is satisfying, the body doesn’t flop over when you turn, and the whole vehicle feels closer in spirit to a small hatchback than a tall utility box. I can think of roomier ways to spend $30,000, but very few of them make an ordinary drive this rewarding. The CX-30 has about eight inches of ground clearance, which is useful for rough driveways, light snow and slightly rough dirt roads. Its all-season street tires are a reminder of its limits, though. Black wheel-arch cladding and an all-wheel-drive badge do not turn it into a tiny rock crawler, no matter how boldly you point it at a trail.

Exterior and interior design

I still think the CX-30 is a handsome little thing. Some people say its design is beginning to age; I disagree. The proportions work, the surfaces have Mazda’s usual attention to light and shadow, and the Aire Edition’s dark trim provides just enough contrast. I even like it in white, which isn’t something I say about every car. The generous black plastic around the wheel arches and lower body will divide opinions. I understand why Mazda used it: it protects the vulnerable areas and gives the CX-30 a more rugged look. I’d prefer a little less of it, but it hasn’t kept me from looking back at the car after parking it. That’s a fairly good test of a vehicle’s styling.

Related: Chevy May Have Just Given Us an Early Look at the Next Trailblazer

The interior makes an even stronger case. The white leatherette and gray cloth combination brightens a small cabin, while the soft-looking gray trim carries the theme onto the dash. The front seats are comfortable and supportive, and the layout has the clean, slightly old-school Mazda quality I appreciate. It doesn’t try to impress you with a wall of glowing rectangles. The Aire Edition does get the 10.25-inch center display inherited from the Preferred trim, along with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a wireless charging pad. I’m still not completely sold on the screen’s shape and placement, but I appreciate Mazda’s rotary controller and its decision to retain useful physical controls. I can operate much of the car without turning a simple adjustment into a scavenger hunt. The moonroof, heated front seats and dual-zone climate control also help this trim feel more substantial than its price suggests.

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There are practical limits. The rear seat is tight for taller passengers, and the CX-30’s cargo area is smaller than those of some competitors. Mazda lists 20.2 cubic feet behind the second row and up to 45.2 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. That’s usable for groceries, luggage and the occasional awkward purchase, but a small family should bring its child seats and usual gear to a test drive. A bicycle may fit with a rear seat folded and its front wheel removed, depending on the bike. If maximizing interior space is your top priority, the CX-30 is going to make you negotiate with your belongings.

Final thoughts

The CX-30 2.5 S Aire Edition occupies a sweet spot in Mazda’s lineup. Its $30,250 MSRP excludes the $1,595 destination charge, so the starting figure is $31,845 before taxes, options and any premium paint. That’s still appealing for standard all-wheel drive, a well-dressed interior and a vehicle that feels genuinely good to steer. The $34,410 Turbo Aire Edition would undoubtedly be more entertaining in a straight line, but I don’t think buyers need to stretch for it to get the point of this car. The regular engine has enough power, the automatic behaves properly, and the chassis supplies the part that too many crossovers forget.

Related: Infiniti QX60 vs Infiniti QX65: Style vs Substance?

I’d recommend the Aire Edition to someone who wants the security of all-wheel drive and the slightly higher seating position of a crossover, but still misses the size and personality of a hatchback. It isn’t the roomiest choice, and its tires set firmer limits off-road than its appearance might imply. Yet it’s attractive, efficient enough, nicely equipped, and unusually enjoyable at this price. Mazda managed to make a practical purchase feel like a personal choice.

It’s almost adorable. I don’t say that lightly.

Related: 2026 Hyundai Venue vs. 2026 Chevrolet Trax: I Drove Both Affordable SUVs—Here’s My Honest Comparison Review

Look at the spec sheets side by side and the S badge appears to be a swindle. A standard Vantage makes 656 horsepower. The S makes 671. Fifteen horsepower, on a car with this much of it already, is a rounding error you will never detect from the driver’s seat, and Aston Martin charges $5,000 for the privilege.

Drive them back to back and the math inverts. The power is the least significant thing the S trim changes, and the things it does change are the ones that determine how a sports car feels on a road you actually enjoy. This is the version to buy, and the reasons have almost nothing to do with the engine.

What the S Badge Actually Buys

Start with the structure. The rear subframe is now solid-mounted rather than isolated in bushings, which raises torsional stiffness by 5% and, more to the point, sharpens turn-in and gives the front end a confidence it did not previously have at lower speeds. You feel it immediately, on the first corner, before you have touched the throttle in anger.

The final drive ratio drops to 3.083:1, which makes in-gear acceleration noticeably more urgent without changing a single figure in the performance specifications. Stability control has been retuned. A new throttle calibration delivers power more linearly than the standard car manages, which matters enormously in something making 590 pound-feet from 2,000 rpm.

Outside, hood blades vent hot air from the engine bay, a full-width decklid spoiler spans the tail, and quad tailpipes replace the standard exhaust exits. The S badges on each front fender are forged brass filled with red glass enamel. On a car where the base price is $194,500, spending $5,000 on all of that is the easiest decision in the configurator.

The Engine Is Mercedes-Derived and Aston-Finished

Output lands at 671 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 590 pound-feet held from 2,000 to 5,000 rpm, from a hand-built version of the Mercedes-AMG-derived 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8. Power reaches the rear wheels alone through a ZF eight-speed torque converter automatic mounted as a rear transaxle, which is where a good deal of this car’s balance comes from. Aston quotes 3.3 sec, est. to 60 mph and 202 mph.

At 3,847 pounds the Vantage is light by modern standards, and specifying the available carbon fiber components lifts the power-to-weight ratio to 394 horsepower per metric ton. What the numbers do not convey is the noise, which is excellent, or the throttle response, which is now genuinely linear rather than turbocharged in the old sense. On a canyon road this thing simply hauls.

Nobody Else Builds an Interior Like This

Aston Martin finally made the cabin its own. Across the Vantage, the DB12 and the Vanquish, the company developed an interior identity that stands on its own rather than borrowing its way to competence, and Q by Aston Martin means effectively nothing is off the table where materials are concerned.

What separates it is the tactile experience. Physical metal knobs, buttons with real weight and a positive action, switchgear that feels engineered rather than sourced. Sitting in this car and operating it is a pleasure before you have moved a foot. Nobody else is doing this anymore. Lamborghini, Porsche and McLaren have all migrated the bulk of their controls onto screens, and in the process they surrendered the connected, personal feeling that proper hardware provides. The S trim adds heated carbon sports seats with embroidered S logos, and the optional interior highlight package brings anodized red billet aluminum controls, contrast stitching and herringbone quilting.

The Shape Has Not Been Improved On

Simply stunning. Proportions carry it: a long hood, a cabin pushed back toward the rear axle, an aggressive tail that closes the design properly. Plenty of sports cars manage two of those three. This one is a class act from any angle.

The details hold up to inspection. The lines, the headlamps, the way the S hardware integrates without disrupting anything. Twenty-one-inch forged wheels wear Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tires at 275/35 front and 325/30 rear, and the frameless swan-wing doors remain one of the great theatrical gestures in this business. Aesthetics are not a small part of why anyone spends this money, and the Vantage delivers on them completely.

Technology Does Its Job

Aston brought infotainment development in-house with the 2025 redesign, and the result is a 10.25-inch touchscreen that responds promptly instead of making you wait. Apple CarPlay Ultra is here, and the Vantage was among the first cars anywhere to get it, with Android Auto supported as well.

The optional Bowers and Wilkins system is best-in-class and worth ordering if sound matters to you. Equally worth crediting is the control layout, which balances physical buttons against on-screen functions properly. None of this is groundbreaking measured against the wider industry, which keeps the score at an 8, but none of it is frustrating either, and several rivals at this price cannot claim as much.

Pricing, Running Costs and Coverage

Pricing starts at $199,500 for the S trim against $194,500 for the standard Vantage. Optioned examples climb fast, and a well-specified test car reached $248,400. Aston Martin does not publish a United States destination charge on its configurator, so the delivered figure runs above the base number.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) figures come in at 15 mpg city, 22 mpg highway and 18 mpg combined from a 19.3-gallon tank. Those are competitive within the segment, where rivals of similar output return the same or worse, and the highway number means the drive to a good road will not punish you. Warranty coverage runs three years with unlimited mileage on basic and powertrain alike, with corrosion protection extending 10 years. Complimentary scheduled maintenance is not included, so you pay for every service from the first one, and on a hand-built V8 those are not inexpensive.

Safety Ratings

No crash data exists. Neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has tested the Vantage, which is normal for a two-seat sports car at this volume and price, since neither agency can justify destroying examples. Buyers who rely on independent testing have nothing to consult.

Standard equipment covers blind-spot alert, collision warning, a driver attention monitor, stability and traction control, front and rear parking sensors and a rear camera. That list is adequate rather than comprehensive and trails what a comparable Porsche or Mercedes-AMG provides on driver assistance. The score reflects sound fundamentals with no verification behind them.

Competition

The Porsche 911 is the benchmark and the comparison has genuinely shifted. A 911 Turbo S now opens above $270,000, roughly $70,000 clear of the Vantage S. Porsche still builds the more clinically capable car and backs it with a far deeper dealer network, but it does not build the more engaging one. On a canyon road the Aston is more fun, more exotic and the better drive, and it costs substantially less. Nobody could have written that sentence about a Vantage five years ago.

Elsewhere, the Mercedes-AMG GT shares this engine’s origins while offering all-wheel drive and a more technology-forward cabin, and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 delivers comparable performance for far less money behind a naturally aspirated V8 that sounds extraordinary. Neither answers the interior. Nothing in this segment matches the Vantage for material quality, switchgear feel or depth of personalization. Depreciation is the Aston’s structural disadvantage against all of them, and it is the strongest argument for buying one a few years old rather than new.

Final Thoughts: 9/10

This is a totally fantastic car, and the S trim is the one to have. The price gap over the standard Vantage is small, and what it buys, the stiffer structure, the shorter final drive and the sharper throttle, transforms an already excellent sports car into a better one. Aston Martin now competes with the Italians and the Germans on merit rather than on charm, which is a genuine change in what buying one of these means. Go in knowing depreciation is steep, the warranty is short and you pay for every service. None of it will matter the first time you find a good road.

Two Weeks With The Genesis That No Longer Needs An Excuse

Genesis used to be one of those brands that required an explanation. You told somebody it was Hyundai’s luxury marque, pointed out how much equipment you were getting for the money, reassured them that the interior really was that good, and eventually arrived at the argument that perhaps paying extra for the BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Audi badge was not automatically the smartest decision.

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I am not sure the Electrified GV70 needs that speech anymore, and that matters because Genesis itself no longer seems interested in giving it. I spent time with the brand at Le Mans earlier this year, where everything from the GMR-001 race program to Magma and the hospitality operation felt designed to make one point: Genesis wants to be judged alongside established luxury brands, not as the interesting newcomer standing just outside the club. The company has also been explicit that it wants pricing power rather than living indefinitely as the discounted alternative to BMW and Mercedes.

Related: Genesis Went To Le Mans To Prove It Belongs In The Luxury Big League

That sounds ambitious until you live with one of the cars. I had the updated Electrified GV70 for two weeks, including a couple of 200-mile family road trips clocking plenty of highway miles, plus errands, town driving, and country roads. Most of that time was spent with the family aboard, so this was not a carefully managed EV test built around ideal charging stops and efficiency runs. I used it as a normal luxury family SUV, which is exactly what most owners will do.

My car was an Electrified GV70 Luxury in Saville Silver with an Obsidian Black interior, fitted with the Comfort Pack, Nappa Leather Seat Pack, Digital Centre Mirror and Serenity Pack. It uses an 84-kWh battery, produces 483 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, rides on 20-inch wheels and carries a quoted WLTP range of 287 miles. With options, delivery and fees, the on-the-road price was £79,975 (about $106,700). You can find something similar in the US for less than $80,000, which is discussed below.

At that sort of money, Genesis can no longer rely on the old argument that it is nearly as good as the Germans for much less. The GV70 simply has to be good enough to stand alongside them.

Design: Genesis Has Stopped Looking Over Its Shoulder

The GV70 looked more athletic in person than I expected. The proportions work better when you are standing beside it, with a long hood, relatively low roofline, broad rear haunches and those twin-line lights giving it more visual width than photographs suggest. In Saville Silver, mine looked stylish and expensive without becoming overly flashy, and one unsure passer-by thought it might be a Bentley.

There are worse brands to be mistaken for and I can see why the comparison happened, particularly around the grille and general visual weight, but the more important point is that Genesis no longer feels like it is borrowing an identity. The twin-line lighting, crest grille and flowing bodywork are recognisably Genesis now, and that is something the brand’s relative youth may actually have helped.

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Genesis executives have talked about being relatively untethered from decades of legacy, which gives the company freedom to experiment with products older luxury marques might struggle to justify. That is more obvious with its wild concepts, wagons, convertibles and Magma projects, but some of the same freedom filters down into a mainstream SUV like the GV70. It does not look like Genesis started with an X3 or Q5 and changed enough panels to create a different badge; it increasingly looks like something only Genesis would build.

Related: Genesis Does Not Want To Be The Discount Alternative To BMW And Mercedes

Interior: Genuine Luxury, Not Good “For The Money”

The cabin is where any lingering underdog narrative really starts to unravel, because this is not an interior that needs to be praised with the qualifier “for a Genesis.” The materials, fit and finish, seats and general atmosphere are genuinely luxurious, and I would put the GV70 comfortably on par with Audi and BMW while placing it a clear step above the Volkswagens I have driven recently.

The specification obviously helps. My car had quilted Nappa leather, suede across the headliner, pillars and sun visors, illuminated door trim, ventilated front seats, heated seats front and rear, an electric panoramic roof, ambient lighting and a 15-speaker Bang & Olufsen system with Dolby Atmos. The Comfort Pack added Ergo-Motion front seats with massage, memory, cushion extension and adjustable bolsters.

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Those seats were superb, and I had enough long-distance time in them to find out properly. After several hours at a stretch behind the wheel, I arrived without the usual complaints about lower-back support or cushioning. I used the massage and ventilation regularly, and unlike some cars where those features feel like toys added to justify a trim level, in the GV70 they fit naturally into the broader sense of comfort.

There are some more unusual touches too. The Serenity Pack adds an air-aroma diffuser and a UV-C sterilisation box, which sounds faintly ridiculous until you remember that luxury cars have spent decades finding increasingly elaborate ways to make owners feel looked after. Genesis talks about Son-Nim, the Korean idea of treating customers as honoured guests, and after seeing how deliberately the company applies that philosophy to its wider luxury strategy, some of these details make more sense.

Infotainment: Big Screen, Minimal Drama

The updated dashboard is dominated by a 27-inch OLED display combining the instrument cluster and infotainment system, which sounds like exactly the sort of setup that should result in a paragraph complaining about modern cars replacing every function with a touchscreen.

By contrast, the graphics are crisp, wireless Apple CarPlay worked throughout my two weeks, the menus are logically arranged, and I never found myself fighting with basic functions. The rotary controller took a day or so to become completely instinctive, partly because Genesis puts multiple circular controls close together on the centre console, but once I was used to it I stopped thinking about the interface almost entirely.

That is usually the best compliment I can give an infotainment system. The GV70 has plenty of technology, including a head-up display, blind-spot camera views, a 360-degree camera, fingerprint authentication, wireless charging and Highway Driving Assist 2, but none of it dominated the experience or constantly asked me to admire how clever it was.

Having recently spent time in several cars where touchscreen-heavy controls became an entire review topic, the Genesis felt refreshingly settled.

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Family Practicality: Excellent For Four, Less Convincing For Five

Over two weeks, the GV70 worked extremely well as a family SUV, although there is one limitation I would take seriously before buying one.

For four people, it is excellent. There is good rear legroom, the trunk handled everything we needed for both longer family trips, there is enough useful storage around the cabin, and the quietness makes several hours on the motorway much less tiring than it could be.

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The issue appears when you try to put two adults and a baby seat across the second row. I did it, and it is possible, but it becomes a squeeze. If three genuinely usable rear positions are part of your normal routine, this probably is not the GV70’s strongest use case. A family of four should have very little to complain about, but families regularly needing three across should look carefully before signing anything.

That is a more meaningful limitation to me than a spreadsheet comparison of cargo capacities because I actually had the car loaded with people and luggage rather than theoretical suitcases. For our trips, the trunk was big enough and the rear accommodation was comfortable until I asked it to operate as a proper five-seater.

Performance: Much Faster Than It Needs To Be

The Electrified GV70 is properly quick, although the interesting thing is how little the performance defines the car. My UK-spec model produces up to 483 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. The US-market version normally produces 429 hp, with Boost mode unlocking up to 483 hp for short bursts, so American buyers get essentially the same headline experience: far more acceleration than any family luxury SUV realistically requires.

Overtaking takes almost no thought; highway slip roads are effortless, and I never wanted more performance. Most of the time, though, I drove the GV70 like a luxury car rather than a performance EV because that is where its personality feels most coherent.

It is quiet, smooth and relaxed, but Sport mode wakes it up enough that a good country road can become entertaining. The steering is relatively light but sharp, body control is good, and the GV70 changes direction better than its battery weight suggests. I never found myself particularly conscious of that mass, which is probably the more important achievement.

Genesis is currently building a more explicit performance identity around Magma, and company executives have been adamant that the idea cannot simply mean adding horsepower. The cars still need to combine speed with refinement and luxury, and the regular Electrified GV70 already gives them a convincing starting point because it understands that being fast does not require being exhausting.

Related: Genesis’ Stunning Magma GT Supercar Is Now Down To The Numbers

Ride And Refinement: This Is Where The Money Shows

The ride may have been the part that impressed me most, because the GV70 remained composed across broken local roads, country lanes and hundreds of highway miles without the 20-inch wheels ever making the suspension feel brittle.

My car had Genesis’ Preview Electronic Control Suspension, which uses information about the road ahead to prepare the chassis for upcoming surfaces. Whatever the system is doing behind the scenes, it works well enough that I stopped thinking about it. The car deals with poor surfaces without crashing through them, remains controlled when you increase the pace and never gave my passengers much reason to notice what was happening beneath us.

Highway refinement was excellent too. I did not notice intrusive tire noise or wind roar, and the active road-noise cancellation contributes to a cabin that feels properly isolated at speed. Combined with the seats and general smoothness of the powertrain, it made the long road trips feel much shorter than they could have.

That may not be as exciting to write about as 483 horsepower, but luxury SUVs are supposed to make distance disappear, and the GV70 is very good at it.

Range And Charging: Around 280 Miles Felt Honest

Genesis quotes 287 miles of WLTP range for my exact specification, and I was seeing around 280 miles indicated from a charge. For comparison, the 2026 US Electrified GV70 was EPA-rated at 263 miles on the smaller wheels, while the updated 2027 model is currently rated at 250 miles across its listed trims.

Range is therefore good rather than class-leading, but charging is where the Genesis claws some ground back. Its 800-volt architecture supports very fast DC charging, with Genesis quoting 10 to 80% in 19 minutes under the right conditions, while my test car supports up to 240 kW.

For long-distance family use, I care almost as much about how quickly an EV can recover range as how far it can travel in the first place, and the GV70’s ability to take on energy quickly makes its merely good range much easier to live with.

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Price: No Longer The Cheap Alternative

My test car cost £79,975 (about $106,700) as configured. The closest US equivalent is the Electrified GV70 Prestige AWD, which started at $75,350; with Savile Silver and $1,495 freight, the comparable configuration comes to about $77,495.

That still leaves Genesis with a meaningful price advantage in the US, but not one large enough to excuse shortcomings elsewhere. Fortunately, after two weeks with the GV70, I did not find many that needed excusing.

Verdict: Genesis Is No Longer The Underdog

Genesis says it reached one million cumulative global sales faster than any luxury brand in history, and while that “fastest” claim comes from Genesis itself rather than an independent industry ranking, the broader trajectory is difficult to dispute. This is no longer a tiny experiment trying to convince a handful of adventurous buyers that Korea can build a luxury car.

I had already seen that ambition up close at Le Mans, where Genesis parked itself alongside long-established names and quite deliberately started building some of the heritage it cannot inherit. The race program, Magma cars, design concepts and customer-experience push all matter to the long-term brand story, but spending two weeks in the Electrified GV70 gave me the simpler proof point: the product is already there.

It looks distinctive, the interior is genuinely luxurious, the seats are excellent, the ride and highway refinement are among the strongest parts of the car, and it has far more performance than a family SUV realistically needs without allowing that performance to overwhelm the experience. The compromises are real: three across the rear bench with a child seat is tighter than I would want regularly, and the range is good rather than exceptional.

I would not automatically choose the Electrified GV70 over an X3, Q5 or GLC without driving them back-to-back, particularly once you are spending this kind of money, but I would be very tempted, and I would now approach that decision without thinking of Genesis as the outsider that needs to prove itself first.

That may be the clearest measure of how far the brand has come. Genesis spent its first decade trying to convince luxury buyers it deserved to be in the conversation; the Electrified GV70 suggests it is time to stop acting surprised that it is.

Two quick pieces of housekeeping. There is no 2026 Telluride. Kia ended the first generation with the 2025 model year, skipped 2026 entirely, and launched the redesigned second generation as a 2027 model that reached dealers during the 2026 calendar year. Anything advertised as a 2026 is either leftover first-generation stock or this car listed under the wrong badge.

The second item is the actual story. Kia replaced the old 3.8-liter V6 with two powertrains, and the hybrid is clearly the better one, making 329 horsepower and 339 pound-feet against the turbocharged four-cylinder’s 274 and 311, while returning 35 mpg combined instead of 22. Kia also built the X-Pro, the most interesting trim in this vehicle’s history and the only one offering genuine off-road hardware. You cannot order them together. The X-Pro is gasoline only, and that single decision shapes every buying recommendation in this review.

Powertrain and Driving

The hybrid pairs the 2.5-liter turbocharged engine with electric assistance and a 1.65 kWh battery for 329 horsepower and 339 pound-feet combined, which is 38 horsepower and 77 pound-feet more than the V6 it replaces. Fuel economy lands at 35 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and 31 with all-wheel drive, against 23 for the old engine, and total range reaches 637 miles. Towing drops to 4,500 pounds. A Stay Mode runs climate, lighting and infotainment on battery for up to an hour with the engine off, which parents waiting through practice will use constantly.

The gas engine is no disappointment on its own terms. At 274 horsepower and 311 pound-feet through an eight-speed torque converter automatic, it is considerably livelier around town than the V6 was, because the torque arrives early instead of waiting for revs. Peak horsepower actually falls by 17 against the old engine while torque climbs 49 pound-feet, and the torque is what you notice. Independent testing puts 0 to 60 mph in the mid-to-high seven-second range. Properly equipped it tows 5,000 pounds, and the X-Pro SX-Prestige trim is rated for 5,500.

Load the family and a week of luggage, though, and the hybrid’s extra output stops being a specification and starts being the reason you are not flooring it up every on-ramp.

It’s The Trim You Want

The X-Pro is the version worth caring about. Ground clearance rises to 9.1 inches, an electronic limited-slip differential goes in, all-terrain tires replace the road rubber, and skid plates plus front and rear recovery points make the capability real rather than decorative.

It also looks the part in a way the rest of the range does not, with orange tow hooks and yellow-hued daytime running lights sharpening the off-road character. Then there is the paint. The matte Terrain Brown finish is a $995 factory option, and I cannot name another manufacturer selling matte paint at that price. Nobody. It is also X-Pro exclusive, which is the small cruelty at the center of this whole discussion: the trim with the best color is the trim without the best engine.

What It Costs

The gas lineup runs from $39,190 for the LX with front-wheel drive to $56,790 for the X-Pro SX-Prestige trim with all-wheel drive, before Kia’s $1,545 destination charge. That puts a fully equipped, genuinely off-road-capable three-row SUV at $58,335 delivered, with real-world optioned examples landing near $59,500. Hybrid pricing opens at $46,490 for the EX with front-wheel drive and climbs past $57,000 for the X-Line SX-Prestige trim.

Value remains this vehicle’s foundation. Nothing in the class delivers this much equipment at this money, and the interior quality, feature count, warranty and safety results together build a case rivals have to discount toward. The second generation moved upmarket without surrendering the pricing advantage that made the first one a phenomenon.

Fuel Economy

The hybrid is why this score is what it is. Thirty-five mpg combined with front-wheel drive and 31 with all-wheel drive, in a three-row SUV, changes the ownership math entirely.

Be clear-eyed about the gas version, though. Front-wheel drive examples rate 20 mpg city, 26 mpg highway and 22 mpg combined, which is par for the class and not meaningfully better than the V6 it replaced. The X-Pro on all-terrain tires is the least efficient configuration Kia sells, and yet independent testing has consistently beaten its estimates, with observed results of 20.7 mpg over a mostly off-road route and 21.8 mpg across a week of mixed driving. Buy the gas car for capability, not economy.

Where It Falls Short

Handling is the honest weakness. Steering feel and body control are both on the less direct side, and the steering is simply not communicative. You do not get much sense of what the vehicle is doing underneath you. I will concede that the X-Pro on softer all-terrain tires is the least favorable version to judge this on, but even discounting for that, this is not a vehicle that rewards a good road.

Most three-row buyers will never notice, and for them this is a non-issue. If you are the kind of driver who does notice, drive a Mazda CX-90 before you sign anything, because that is the one vehicle in this class that answers the complaint.

Interior and Technology

Fit and finish sit slightly above the class average, and the cabin is a genuinely pleasant place to spend time. Seats are comfortable, heated and ventilated, and the outward visibility is excellent.

The new steering wheel with its off-center Kia badge is a small detail that does real work reinforcing the rugged character. Space is the substantive gain: the wheelbase grew 2.7 inches to 116.9 and overall length 2.3 inches, with nearly all of it going to passengers, and cargo runs 22.3 cubic feet behind the third row expanding to 89.3 with everything folded. Higher trims add relaxation seats with power leg rests, a massaging driver’s seat, power climate-controlled second-row captain’s chairs and heated third-row outboard seats.

Technology is solid without a headline. The multimedia system responds quickly and the screen resolution holds up, but Highway Driving Assist is the ceiling and it keeps your hands on the wheel. Anyone wanting hands-free highway driving needs General Motors or Ford, because Kia has no answer yet. The premium audio system is a genuine generational improvement over the previous one, which was poor for something marketed as premium. Dual wireless charging pads, USB-C ports in all three rows, a 12-inch head-up display and tri-zone climate round it out.

Warranty and Safety

Nobody in this segment beats the warranty. Coverage runs five years or 60,000 miles bumper to bumper and 10 years or 100,000 miles on the powertrain, with corrosion at five years or 100,000 miles and roadside assistance matching the basic term. Hybrid models carry 10 years or 100,000 miles on the battery pack. That powertrain term is double what most rivals offer, and on a new turbocharged four replacing a proven V6 in a heavy SUV, it addresses the exact worry buyers will raise.

Safety results are strong under demanding conditions. The Telluride earned IIHS Top Safety Pick+ in the Institute’s 2026 award cycle, after IIHS tightened its criteria that year for rear-seat occupant protection in moderate overlap front crashes and raised the bar on pedestrian crash prevention. Qualifying requires Good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front and side tests plus acceptable or good headlights on every trim, which is where many vehicles fail. Ten airbags are standard, including a front-center airbag. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not yet rated the redesigned vehicle.

Competition

The closest rival shares its bones. Hyundai redesigned the Palisade on the same platform with the same powertrains, and pricing and dimensions track closely enough that the decision comes down to styling and which dealer you prefer. The Telluride leans rugged and offers the X-Pro, which the Palisade does not answer. The Toyota Grand Highlander is the efficiency benchmark and carries a reliability reputation Kia is still building, but it cannot match the feature count at equivalent money or the warranty at any money.

Among the off-road-flavored alternatives, the Honda Pilot TrailSport makes the most direct case against the X-Pro with genuine hardware of its own, and the Chevrolet Traverse Z71 shares the intent. Neither offers a hybrid, which is the Telluride’s trump card, and neither matches the interior. On total value, warranty and breadth of powertrain choice, nothing in this segment is currently ahead.

Final Thoughts: 9/10

The Telluride is one of the best choices in its class once you weigh price, powertrains, space and design together. No single element is best in class, and it does not need to be, because the combination beats what anyone else assembles at this money.

Which one you buy depends on how you answer the question at the top. If fuel economy and output matter most, take the hybrid and accept a different trim. If you actually leave pavement, or you want that matte paint enough to swap the tires afterward, take the X-Pro and accept 22 mpg. The vehicle Kia does not sell, an X-Pro hybrid, is the one I would order. Here is hoping somebody in Georgia is reading.

Think about some of the greatest performance Mustang names of the past. GT500. Boss. Cobra R. Terminator. Ford’s latest addition to that storied lineage adds just two letters that sound a bit more like an option code: SC. As I geared up to drive Ford’s latest hot ‘Stang, its name was starting to bother me. With Ford and Shelby no longer attached at the hip, this was the company’s opportunity to revive one of its own great performance names. It could have been called the SVT Cobra R, the Boss, or even the new Terminator, and the exact same car would have been a thousand times cooler.

I kept thinking about that on the flight down to San Francisco, where I passed the time learning Sonoma Raceway in Gran Turismo on my old PSP. My virtual car was a red Mustang SVT Cobra R—a machine whose name and sheer performance carry decades of pedigree. The very next day, Ford handed me the keys to a red Dark Horse SC and sent me out onto the track for real, and I almost immediately stopped caring about its naming convention. Over the course of one jam-packed day, I drove the standard SC through tight California canyon passes, ran the Track Pack down Sonoma’s drag strip, completed six laps of its road course, and then drove the Track Pack back to my hotel in Yountville. The program exposed the Mustang to three very different environments, and it emerged as something much more complete than a mere supercharged engine stuffed into a Dark Horse. The SC might have an underwhelming name, but it feels like the most appropriate flagship for the Mustang lineup in years—even if it isn’t technically the top dog.

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More Than A Supercharged Dark Horse

Calling it a modern GT500 successor is the easiest way to explain the Dark Horse SC in Ford lore terms, particularly now that Shelby branding is absent. Its supercharged 5.2-liter cross-plane-crank V8 sends 795 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque through a seven-speed Tremec dual-clutch transmission. But the SC also draws upon the Mustang GTD and Ford’s GT3 program, giving it a more diverse personality than purely straight-line intimidation. Every SC receives MagneRide dampers, forged suspension links, revised geometry, enlarged stabilizer bars, a magnesium strut-tower brace, a carbon-fiber driveshaft, and enormous Brembo brakes. Its wider body and reshaped fascia are actually functional rather than just theatrical, feeding air where it’s needed while making the car look spectacularly serious.

The standard car was my initial introduction to the model. My drive partner and I left Yountville alone, free from the kind of conga line precession that can reduce a first-drive route to mere sightseeing. The road tightened as we headed toward Sonoma, and so did my attention. There is no avoiding the fact that this is a large automobile, and its width never quite disappears on a narrow canyon pass. But its responses quickly shrink the experience around its driver. The steering is intuitive, quick, and fiercely communicative. Its front end reacts immediately, while the chassis remains ruthlessly planted. With its standard Pirelli P Zero R tires warmed up, the non-Track-Pack SC found more grip than any public road sensibly requires. Its ride was equally surprising. The standard suspension breathes with imperfect pavement rather than abusing its occupants, and the Pirellis produce less road noise than the Track Pack’s stickier Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Rs. This is no soft Mustang, but neither is it a car that makes every drive feel like being punished for driving a high-performance track machine on the street.

Its Gearbox Might Be The Biggest Upgrade

The engine is truly absurd, but the dual-clutch transmission might still be the Dark Horse SC’s single most transformative component. Compared with the 10-speed automatic used elsewhere in the Mustang family, it feels like it belongs in an entirely different class of car. It handles traffic smoothly, selects gears intelligently when left alone, and is seriously addictive in manual mode. Each pull of the substantial magnesium paddle produces an immediate, clean response. The shifts are rapid enough for serious circuit work without filling ordinary driving with low-speed clunks or indecision. But still, there’s that engine. Its power feels immediate, but what stays with you is the combination of exhaust rhapsody and mechanical fury. It’s like riding a ferocious steed into battle—a harnessed adrenaline rush that feels closer to a blend of GT500 and GTD than to an amplified Mustang GT.

Normal mode settles things down effectively, but open up the taps and give it room in Sport or Track mode, and all 795 horses make themselves known. The performance is surprisingly approachable, although unquestionably excessive on public roads. What prevents that power from dominating every corner is Ford’s Variable Traction Control system. Rather than repeatedly reminding you how easily nearly 800 horsepower can overwhelm two rear tires, it helps the SC behave like a sports car whose throttle you can trust with your own well-being.

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Sonoma Raceway Revealed Its Natural Identity

The drag strip at Sonoma demonstrated how calmly the SC can accomplish something objectively absurd. We received three runs in Track Pack cars, with Ford’s line-lock and launch-control systems making preparation an intuitive, repeatable process under controlled track conditions. My first attempt allowed some wheelspin, but on the second, the car hooked cleanly and shoved off hard, its dual-clutch shifts feeling almost serene against the force of the acceleration. I covered the quarter-mile in 10.992 seconds at 131.75 mph. Another driver eventually recorded a 10.7-second pass, suggesting Ford had left considerably more capability in the car than I extracted. The time was impressive, but its composure mattered more. The SC didn’t squirm or demand corrections. It gathered speed with the calmness of something engineered to do this over and over again, rather than a road car performing a party trick.

Sonoma’s road course, though, provided the biggest revelation of all. The circuit’s blind elevation changes made my opening lap genuinely frightening. The first tight corners arrive as the track’s dramatic rise and fall obscure what comes next, and the changing load briefly unsettles the car. With this much power waiting under my right foot, building trust took time. But after just a few laps, it had been fostered. Over six total hot laps, after I established my own rhythm, the Track Pack seemed easier to drive as the pace increased. Its steering stayed tight under load, its body barely rolled, and its balance remained willing to rotate without treachery. Variable Traction Control deserves some serious credit here: it allowed meaningful adjustment while preserving the confidence to feed power into corner exits.

The long, sweeping downhill left-hander captured the car at its best. A corner that can make weight transfer feel awkward became easy to attack, with the carbon wheels, Cup 2 R tires, and carbon-ceramic brakes working together to make a two-ton Mustang feel improbably cohesive. The aerodynamics communicated themselves primarily through stability, while the brakes remained consistent throughout the session. This isn’t just a muscle car taught to survive a racetrack—it feels more like a genuine track car that has managed to retain its muscle-car identity.

Is the Track Pack Worth $36,500?

The difference between the standard Dark Horse SC and Track-Pack-equipped models is more subtle on public roads than the EcoBoost-sized price gap suggests. The normal SC already has tremendous grip, excellent steering, and a surprisingly livable ride. It’s quieter, retains its rear seats, and provides most of the same emotional experience, even when speed and space are limited. The Track Pack is firmer and louder, although never punishing. Its Recaros actually proved more comfortable through winding roads because their additional bolstering reduced the effort required to hold myself in place. More importantly, much of its weight reduction comes from unsprung and rotating mass—the carbon wheels and carbon-ceramic brakes—so the car feels more alert where those savings matter most.

If road use will dominate, the standard SC is the better value and arguably the more rational specification. If serious track use is on the agenda—or if it’ll sit still in a collection for the next few—the Track Pack is essential. And yet, if someone is already committing to a six-figure Mustang, I understand the temptation to go all the way regardless of intended use. My preferred specification would be the Avalanche Gray Track Pack with the $3,000 Teal Accent Package. The teal calipers, badges, and seat belts give the car a visual identity its name lacks. Ford’s $10,000 carbon-fiber exterior treatment and equally expensive painted graphics also enhance its presence, but they helped push our loaded example to $169,820. That’s an enormous amount of money for a Mustang—even one that drives this well.

The Cabin Remembers Its Origins

The SC’s greatest weakness has nothing to do with dynamics. It’s the reminder that beneath the carbon fiber and Alcantara sits the cabin of a comparatively affordable pony car. Some panels creaked in our standard car, continuing an unfortunate modern-Mustang tradition. Curiously, the Track Pack we drove home felt more solid despite lacking rear seats, so build quality varied between production examples, and neither vehicle was a prototype. The GTD-derived flat-bottom steering wheel helps, and the Track Pack’s Alcantara covering and Recaros make the driving environment feel significantly more purposeful. The controls are straightforward, the performance settings are easy to navigate, and the screens function well. Yet their presentation and the surrounding materials struggle to convey a six-figure-plus experience.

At least the standard car can function as a frequent road companion. Its rear seats offer little meaningful accommodation, but the ride, visibility, noise levels, and automatic transmission make the rest of the car unexpectedly easy to live with. A manual transmission might make that version even more appealing: imagine a Dark Horse SC conceived like a 911 GT3 Touring, with less track-focused aero, three pedals, and a design built for the road without sacrificing the engine. That’s the version I would find hardest to resist if it ever existed.

Verdict: The Last Of Its Kind, And Perhaps The Best

The Corvette and Porsche 911 are obvious alternatives at this price point, especially once options push the SC even deeper into six-figure territory. Neither, however, delivers quite the same raw, rumbly, and unmistakably American performance-car experience on top of their impressive statistics the way the DHSC does. To me, this Mustang feels more authentically rooted in traditional American muscle than even the Corvette does, what with its newfound flat-plane-crank howl and exotic mid-engine platform dimensions. Calling the Dark Horse SC the ultimate Mustang feels like a complicated statement as long as the GTD exists, but the GTD is a rare and extravagantly priced halo car, almost entirely detached from the Mustang most people recognize. The Dark Horse SC feels like the more natural family topper: outrageous, attainable only to a fortunate few, but still recognizably descended from the budget pony car beneath it.

Ford could’ve given it a cooler name. It could have been a Cobra, a Boss, or a new Terminator. Instead, the company gave two anonymous letters to a driving experience rich in historical identity. The Dark Horse SC succeeds because it feels like the last of its kind and, simultaneously, the best of its kind—old-school supercharged fury made faster, friendlier, and more capable by thoroughly modern mechanical engineering. Whatever “SC” lacks in mythology, this Mustang makes up for it on the road, the strip, and the circuit.

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