In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. This week, they discuss driving the 2025 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid and the base 911 Carrera. Once they wrap up the Porsche section, the two chat about their driving experiences in the updated 2024 MX-5, refreshed Lamborghini Urus S and the Mercedes EQE 350+ SUV. After the reviews, it's time for some current events, as the two dig into the Goodwood Festival of Speed highlights, news of a redesigned Hyundai Palisade, an upcoming electric three-row Hyundai SUV and Audi's new A5 and S5 models.
Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.
TranscriptWelcome back to the auto blog podcast.
I'm Greg mcleary.
We have an awesome show for you.
This is our review section.
The new Porsche 911, including the GTs hybrid version A Mazda Miata and the Lamborghini S for good measure.
We drove the Mercedes Benz Eqesuv.
That's their, I think, pretty attractive new electric crossover.
So that's, that's a review section with that.
I'll bring in uh our road test editor Zach Palmer.
What's up, dude?
Oh, just uh coming off a long weekend of watching Goodwood here.
Uh It's, it's been uh it's been a very busy few days in car news and I guess driving a lot of high horsepower cars here looks like a pretty loaded review section.
I think so.
I think so.
We've had a lot of fun driving these.
We're gonna have a lot of fun talking about them.
It's a nice segue to our new segment.
We're gonna talk about uh Goodwood, some of the cool cars we uh we saw coming out of there and also a couple of crashes.
Uh There's some spy shots uh out of Hyundai as we take a look at the new uh Palisade.
What form it might take, uh, and some news out of OI as well.
So, with that, let's just get right into it.
You, uh, you went to, I believe it was Spain right to drive the new 911.
That is a enormously significant car for Porsche, for enthusiasts everywhere.
Um, I'll toss up, toss the coin.
Should we start with the hybrid or the base air quotes car first?
What do you think?
We should definitely start with a hybrid?
That's the one that I think everyone wants to know about.
Right.
I think so.
Tell me about it.
Yeah, man, the, uh, 911 T hybrid, uh, first hybrid, 911, uh in, in production, uh Porsche actually made, made sure that they specified that at the, uh, at the launcher because they have done like a race car concept, uh with, with, with the hybrid before for uh some fun 911 trivia there.
But, uh, no, this is, this is a hybrid that you wouldn't even really know.
It's a hybrid from behind the wheel.
Honestly, unless somebody told you, um, which, you know, as far as like, uh upsetting the boat for the Porsche faithful, it's probably a pretty safe way to go about hybridizing the 911.
Um, you know, obviously when, when a lot of sports car companies hybridized cars, you get a lot more performance, um and this does have more performance, but honestly, one of the big reasons why Porsche did this was because of emissions as well.
Uh, European regulations have, uh, while they're, they're getting stricter and stricter and Porsche is like, all right, how can we, you know, keep getting more and more powerful and cleaner?
Well, let's add a hybrid that is like unbelievably cool with all of its technology.
Um, my favorite part of it, which is, which is really, really neat is its new electric turbo, uh, which is a very unique turbocharger even more, uh, you know, interesting than Mercedes electric Turbos that they've been doing.
Um, so the way it operates is it uses power from the little, uh lithium ion battery pack, which is actually positioned where the old 12 volt battery pack was right in the front and it uses that to spool up the turbo on its own.
So basically it acts and behaves like a naturally aspirated car because soon as you step into the throttle, uh, you know, you have, you're on boost essentially, which is, you know, sort of that holy grail that, uh, you know, o Ems and, you know, everyone has been going for with all of these, you know, smaller turbocharged engines for a while is to make them feel like naturally aspirated engines.
I think that Porsche's attempt at that is without a doubt, like one of like the best that I have I've ever tried.
Um And, uh, of course, you know, in addition to, you know, you, you having boosts straight away, there is an electric motor integrated into that PDK uh that can add some power of its own and sort of fill in.
Now, it, it doesn't just fill in at the low end, it fills in at the high end, midrange everywhere.
Um And uh ultimately what that ends up netting you is a Porsche that almost feels like it has like a big block V eight in the back of it.
Uh which is an odd thing to say honestly, but like the torque feel and just the, just the sheer creaminess and wide range power that this thing has.
Uh you know, it doesn't necessarily feel like the 3 L twin turbo flat six is that, um, we've, we've been having a 911 for a while and even obviously, all of the naturally aspirated ones that we had before, those were a lot more peaky.
Um These, you know, if you have peak torque right above 2000 R PM and uh you are, you're rocketing away.
Um One of the, the best ways that I could describe that that early torque was, you know, being somewhat surprised the first time that I really got on it out of, out of a corner.
Um, and feeling, you know, that rear end step out way quicker and earlier than it has for any other 99 twos out there.
Um So, you know, you gotta watch out for that, which is, which is great, you know, having all, all of that performance down low makes the car a lot more usable and workable everywhere.
Um, and, uh, and, yeah, I mean, it's, it's, I think it's a pretty safe and good strategy for hybridizing the 911.
It's faster than the previous one without the hybrid.
Um, I had it on track at, uh, Ascari there as well.
The performance is, is wild.
Um, Porsche says 0 to 60 just under three, per, per usual with, with Porsche, it feels quicker than that.
Um, and, uh, and yeah, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's interesting, the, the last thing that I will touch on here is that, you know, when you think hybrid, you also think, oh, it's gonna be efficient all this, this is not any more efficient than the, uh, than the other, like non hybrid nine elevens.
Um, that's because, you know, it's, it's all about performance and, uh, getting emissions to where they want it to be.
You're not necessarily going to get better fuel economy with, with a T hybrid, uh, versus, versus other nine elevens, which is odd to think about.
But, uh, yeah, that's, that's just the strategy in which Porsche took for it.
It's interesting because European companies will look sometimes at, um, you know, sort of green cars a little bit differently than American car companies.
Uh European companies will look at reducing emissions versus just raw fuel economy.
Uh, and that's what we're seeing here with the, uh you know, the 911 hybrid.
Uh and I think that's, that's a very uh interesting approach.
I think it allows, um, you know, it allows this car, it sounds like from what you're saying, have tremendous driving dynamics.
Uh It's not more fuel efficient than, or much more it sounds like than the uh the outgoing GTs, but it is more powerful you wrote in your story just how much uh more usable power you're gonna get too uh than the older car, which I think is very cool.
Uh This reminds me a bit of how Mercedes Lexus, a few other sort of luxury brands.
Uh right when hybrid tech was, you know, moving over to the performance and luxury sectors, they, you know, they were like, yeah, fuel economy is great.
We're trying to do a little bit better but the, the play is almost a little bit like formula one where they try to give you that extra boost uh to the power train.
It's another tool.
So I think that's a very natural way for Porsche to integrate it.
Uh They've been talking about electric nine elevens, hybrid nine elevens for years.
I remember interviewing an executive at the Geneva Motor Show early part of the last, last decade and I remember it was a very close like quarters, the scrum was around, people were um you know, asking him all sorts of questions uh in different languages and it just been a press conference where they're, they used to do this, these like headphone things where you hear it in whatever language you, you know, is, is yours.
And, uh, I feel like I remember whoever the pr guy at the time was, came up to me and was trying to clarify that like, hey, we're, we're not doing a, a 911 hybrid tomorrow because this is like 2012 or something.
Uh, I think the pr guy was burned.
Harling if I remember, right, uh Old Porsche Pr guy from back in the day.
Um, but I digress, what was this thing like on the track?
It feels like a normal 911.
Um, which is, you know, that's, that's, that's sort of the theme of this thing.
Um Honestly, like Porsche can like, throw any old customer that like had a 992 or 991 before it.
And, you know, if you don't tell them it's a hybrid, like, all right, it's, it's, it's just a Porsche 911.
Um, but, uh, no, it, it feels like that.
I mean, even, even down to the brakes, you know, so most hybrids and plug in hybrids have regenerative brakes, um, because that is how you feed uh energy back into, uh the, the battery.
This car doesn't, um, funnily enough.
So, like the two ways that this car funnels energy back into its battery is via the engine.
So while you're breaking, uh, or or, or if you're coasting, uh, it will literally raise the low point of the engine.
So burn gasoline, uh, to feed power back into that battery or it will use the E turbo, uh, which, you know, it does not have a waste gate, but it automatically regulates itself and turns itself into a generator when it's not, uh, needed to actually, uh, pump more air back into the engine and act, act like a turbo charger.
Uh, and that all, you know, feeds, feeds power back into the battery and then you can deploy that power via the electric motor or by keeping that turbo spooled up.
Uh, you know, so you're ready and waiting for that next corner to take off again.
Um, and, you know, it just, it feels like, you know, a big naturally aspirated engine it doesn't feel.
And so the, the actual weight thing was a huge thing for Porsche.
That's, that's why the system sort of is, is the way it is.
Honestly, it only adds 100 and three pounds, uh, versus the, uh, the previous Gen GTs.
Um, so it's still super lightweight.
It's not this big heavy beast on, on the track.
So that, you know, there's, there's been a lot of talk about like the new BMW M five plug in hybrid, how it's over 5000 pounds.
That's not this, uh, this for all intents and purposes just feels like a regular 911.
Uh, that is stinking fast and, uh, you really don't notice any of the, uh, electric trickery happening out there.
Like you don't feel it on the road, you don't feel it on the track.
Uh, it just all goes and works seamlessly in the background which, you know, honestly is probably the way to do it for, for a 911.
Um, you're not gonna upset anyone and there's simply more performance.
Um, so, yeah, it, it absolutely rips around a track.
I had a lot of fun at a Sari.
Uh, it's, it's, it's a really, really cool race track too, you know, you're sort of there in the Spanish Andalusian mountains.
Um, beautiful olive trees, groves all over the place.
Um, it has a sort of Laguna seca feel to it as, as you're going through the hills and, and mountains everywhere.
Just a, a really, really pretty paradise out there in the middle of nowhere.
Um, and, uh, and a great spot to go ripping around in the new 911.
All right.
Well, you talk about like the, you know, the, it feels like a regular 911.
You also drove the, I guess the base, the regular 911, the Carrera, um, you know, bit of a different, uh, sort of animal than, you know, the hybrid, uh, perhaps a little more familiar, a little more comforting for some, although it definitely sounds like Porsha tried to, uh, make the hybrid version as palatable as possible for even the purists.
But, uh, this is a little less expensive.
Uh, it's definitely, uh, the basic model.
How was it, uh, you know, the, the base 911 and, I mean, the, the first base 911 that I drove was, was the previous generation 911 Carrera.
And, you know, there's, there's nothing really based feeling about, like the base 911, I feel these days also.
They start at, you know, nearly 100 $20,000 now, which is, uh, a bizarre figure, uh, for, for folks that have been tracking 911 prices for a while.
I, I remember when I was, I was growing up and going to configure them, you know, they'd, they'd be like it on the, in the nineties or so that you could get a base 911.
But no, now we're into the 120 plus.
Um, but, uh, no, so the, the base cur gets the GTs turbo chargers.
Uh, it gets, uh, some, some extra bits from the big T turbo as well.
That makes it a little more powerful than before.
Uh, you don't really feel that extra power too much.
Honestly, I think it would take like a back to back drive to feel the extra nine ponies that it has.
Um, but, uh, no, it is, it is a lovely, you know, sort of back to basics feeling versus the GTs.
Um, the ones that I drove were both all wheel drive and rear wheel drive and this, this career was just, you know, it felt like just you, the car, it did feel lighter than, than the GTs.
Um And, uh, you know, you obviously notice it doesn't have all of the fancy suspension bits such as the rear axle steering.
Um and the uh the wider track width, larger tires, larger brakes that, that the GTs has.
Um And I got to drive the Carrera alongside the GTs on track and it was a chore trying to keep up to the Gtss in that, in that base Carrera.
Um You uh you see the benefit of all the extra power when you are trying to chase them down on track.
Um And uh honestly, so like looking at the C is, is, is a good opportunity, I think just to mention some of the interior changes as well that, you know, could rock the boat with, with the purists.
And that one of them is they switched from a uh twist key on the left side to a push button on the left side which uh you know, obviously the Tyan was, was the first of the porches to do that, then the Cayenne switched to it, but it feels, you know, a little bigger when the 911 goes away from a twist key into a bet.
And um I think most folk will get over it.
I know I was definitely a little not to be able to twist the key anymore in that thing.
Um And then the other one is, you know, they went to a fully digital cluster instead of having an analog tech and two screens flanking it.
I sort of get why they do that because uh with those two screens flanking it, uh you had to basically pure around the steering wheel rim uh to see those at all.
Um Now at, at the same time, uh I think that anyone who likes Porsche's uh likes to go to analog tech and uh I know that I, I missed it as well there.
Um But you get all these new customizable views, um map navigation, a really cool sort of 12 o'clock uh red line with, with a central tachometer in there.
Um So, you know, so just small stuff like that, you know, that change the experience um not vastly.
So I don't think it's kind of like, oh no, people won't buy the 911 because of this, this new digital age.
But there are, you know, it's these small evolutions in the 911 that uh you know, that it always seems to upset folks, you know, when you go from air cooled to water cooled and then you go from naturally aspirated to turbocharged engines and you start adding more, more things like uh they, you know, they, they have like active stabilization programs with, with the sway bars, you have lu axial steering, just all these things that you know, sort of take you away from, you know, just the most simple basic thing of, of, of driving.
But uh no, I mean, this, this car is still a 10 out of 10 in my book.
Um So, so much fun on both uh road and track.
So, yeah, I'm, I'm excited for the rest of the variants to get uh reveal.
Now in the 992.2 range because these are the only two.
and there's no manual yet, you know, we, we, we're gonna have to wait.
Hopefully the uh the KA S and KA T um offer a manual.
Um And then of course, when, whenever the GT three comes out as well, um they'll bring the manual back, but for 2025 it's uh automatic only.
So hope you want a automatic 911 if you're trying to order one today?
Ok. Yeah, that's, uh, it's an interesting approach but hey, I mean, I think, uh I think this overall, this new portfolio of uh 911 is gonna go over, gonna go over pretty well.
Uh Same.
Absolutely.
I mean, they, they, of course they did, they keep increasing the price, but I think for most 911 buyers, it's probably not gonna be too much of a deterrent honestly.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
That sounds about right.
Well, any other final 911 thoughts before we move on final 911?
Thoughts, uh I think that they killed the hybrid, uh II, I think that they did a really, really good job with that.
Honestly, um, most of the folks that I talked to at the event as well, uh were really enjoying it and, uh, you know, it was, it's just in general, like the event itself was really well run by portion that like they had so many experts and engineers there to explain everything to us because it is such a complex system.
Um You know, it's just, it's just really appreciated to get that big download from them and you know, see the way that they're thinking and understand it.
And I came away very, very impressed with, with how they executed it because I, I think that it had had potential to cause a lot of consternation and I, I think that when everyone else on staff and everyone in the uh general public, you know, actually drive the thing.
Um I think they're gonna really like it too.
All right.
That sounds good.
Well, let's uh transition over to a also very engaging sports car at a much different price point.
This is the Mazda Miata.
Uh I think it's always a highlight of summer when we get to have this come through the fleet.
Uh It's been really, I mean, well done road test editor.
It's been a tremendous summer of sports cars and other exotics uh for the auto blog fleet.
Uh I would put this one up with the uh, the 718 we had earlier in the summer as far as, um, just engagement, top down fun.
Uh, one of the, I think the most ideal summer cars in that sense, uh, it's been a minute since I've driven a Miata.
So I think it really, uh, it, it resonated even more deeply with me than perhaps it has when it felt like, felt like we used to just get more Miatas.
Maybe.
I don't know.
But, um, you know, it was plenty of fun.
I went and picked up a pizza with it and did some other driving.
Uh, you know, one evening, uh, last week, I guess it was, it was even actually raining and I think, just to show you how much fun a Miata is, you put the top down and you still drive unless it's like buffeting with you.
Um, it almost had that, uh, I don't know, almost that Lamar kind of feel with the rain, the wipers going across.
Um, so I had a great time with it and you drove it as well.
Right.
Uh, yes, II, I did drive the Miata and, uh, you know, I, I guess maybe the reason why there haven't been as many Miatas is because it's sort of been the same thing for a while, but they made some significant updates for 24.
Um, you know, it's, it's still like the ND generation.
Um, so it's, it's a minor refresh of, of sorts.
It gets maz latest infotainment system, which was like, really, really necessary because it was still running mass entertainment from what felt like a decade plus ago at this point.
Um So that, that was a huge upgrade, I feel because, you know, that, that was honestly, I think one of the big stopping points for probably a lot of folks to buy the thing.
Um But uh no, now it has Mazda's Latest and Best there.
Um It has a new limited slip diff uh that, you know, is supposed to be better than before.
Um And it has a new uh track stability control mode.
Um So obviously we didn't drive it on the track.
Um So, you know, fill out those uh you know, extra performance upgrades that, you know, are more, more of a track thing are uh you know, it's, it's, it's, it's tough to do on the road itself.
Um But uh I think, you know, there's all these things that uh you know, if, if you want to daily drive it, auto cross it track it like you're gonna find upgrades for you uh with this, uh you know, refreshed Miata, I know that they're calling it the ND three.
We've had ND one ND two and ND three.
So, you know, it's, it's, it's cool to see that, you know, Maz is still iterating on this thing and like you said, like, man, it is, it is just a joy every single second that you're driving it.
Um You know, you really cannot beat the feel of it being so low down the low ss wind in your hair.
Um, it's, uh, it's, it's, it's a special feeling in, in the Miata.
Um, and uh, it's, it's all very affordable too.
It's tricky.
I, I think if I like buddy were no option, I think I would still go with the 718.
Uh I just, that car deeply hit with me.
Uh But the Miata makes it close and then when you look at the price difference, uh as far as, you know, the right or left brain or however you're making your decisions, Miata is never a wrong decision.
Uh It looks like you're wearing a Miata shirt right now.
So I am actually, it's the only book shift, Miata shirt.
There you go.
There you go.
It's a good shirt.
I had that on last week.
I think the day I drove the car seemed like the thing to do.
So, um I mean, just the, the gear shift is outstanding.
You know, it's just, it's such a connected feeling.
Um And I think it looks good.
I, you know, I don't know, I dare say, dare say this is the best looking Miata design is so subjective, but I think they really style this, you know, the ND generation up to the point that it's uh it's competitive with really anything at the segment at almost any price point.
You know, it's classic design tapered.
It's, it's got more attitude than I think it used to but it's not too much.
Um, I don't know, I would consider if I were gonna buy a Miata, I would look at the RF one, you know, maybe even if there was a used one, I like that.
Uh, I was actually at the reveal of that in New York a few years ago, a few years ago, it was probably like eight or nine I think with Eddie Sabatini, our video producer, uh head of video and we're both like, this is the car right here.
So I think from a pure design aesthetic, you know, with those kind of like buttresses going down the back from the seat pillar, I might want that and then it's just a little bit of uh I don't know, like a three seasons car at that point too because you take the roof panel off, even if it's cold out, you turn up the heat, you're OK. Um But yeah, Miata is always good time.
It's always good time.
Yeah, the, the RF was actually the first Miata that I ever drove.
I drove it.
Yeah.
II I drove it, it, I, I still remember it because it was like 100 degrees outside and I was like, wow, thank goodness I have this hard top because I can put this up and protect myself from the sun and run the air conditioning and it, uh you know, but then when it got night outside, it's like, all right, it's like 80.
Now let me roll this top down uh electronically and uh have this great time with this really, really sweet looking design uh that I, I'm 100% with you there.
Like if I'm, if I'm going based on looks, the RF is the one for me because it is, it is such a sweet and really unique looking convertible design, I think, especially for its price point.
All right.
Well, I guess we're gonna go from something, you know, pretty awesome to something else.
That's pretty, uh, well, very interesting.
This is the Lamborghini Urus.
This is the first time I have driven the, uh the Lamborghini SUV.
Uh it's been out for quite some time.
Uh I remember just how significant and even controversial it was that Lambeau was gonna do an SUV.
I thought it was even at the time more controversial for Lamborghini than it was Ferrari because Ferrari always is kind of, you know, dabbling.
They had the FF you might recall.
Um But for Lambeau to go down this road, it really was a departure.
Arguably, it makes more sense even for Lamborghini to do this because they could draw on the Volkswagen Group's vast network of resources to make this uh to make it an SUV.
Um This has the bit Turbo V eight, which that to me was the first thing I noticed, uh it's a Lamborghini without a V 10.
I thought that was different and having driven the Strato, the Han Strato with its V 10 just a couple of weeks earlier, it's different to be in a Lambo.
That's dare I say a little more on the refined side.
You know, this has a different set of uh competitors, perhaps some of the, you know, the rest of the Lambeau lineup.
Uh I like the design, you know, they definitely were aggressive but it, you know, it's, it's interesting because ours was kind of like a grayish green color and it didn't stand out nearly as much.
Like I had literally had somebody like knocking on my door asking me about the strato, the, you know, the Urus was just, you know, I think, I mean, I don't know, I think from a distance, somebody might even think of it.
It's a Lexus, you know, um, still a lot of fun to drive.
I tend to think if you're gonna buy an expensive SUV like this, you do get that sort of status.
It's a, it's a status symbol without a doubt, but I also somewhat argue you might be better off spending your money somewhere else because you can get an awesome SU VA luxury SUV for half this price with a big engine in it if you'd like.
And if you still want to do the Lambe thing, well, maybe just do that.
Don't bother to you know, go down the SUV road.
Uh, I don't know.
Am I wrong?
What do you think?
No, no, no, not at all.
Um, one thing that I am curious about, um, that, uh, you'll, you'll have to touch on, uh, is, uh, this versus like an Aston DB X. I've not driven the DB X and I, I'm very curious to hear, um, what you think about the two sort of compared to each other.
But um no, this, this car, you know, I've, I've, I've driven a hurricane as well and this does not feel anything like a Lamborghini hurricane, I guess so to speak.
Um It's, it's even tough to like, see that, you know, lineage between like, all right, this is the supercar and this is the SUV.
Um you know, there's, there's the logo there.
Uh there's, there's a few interior things like the flip up, start stop, um Lamborghini stuff in the cluster.
Um But honestly, like my, my big takeaway from, from the car and don't necessarily read this as, as, as a bad thing is that it feels a bit like an Audi Rsk eight that's been, you know, finished uh by Lamborghini.
Um And uh you know, there's, there's so much Audi in there, you know, from, from the steering wheel to the infotainment system to the switches buttons, uh to the feel of the engine, the sound.
Um so much of it does, you know, feel like that Volkswagen um group everything about it.
Um Now, if Lamborghini had made an SUV, that was more like a hurricane with a screaming V 10, very little sound deadening, uh you know, substandard ish tech and, you know, questionable visibility and all that.
Would that make it a bad SUV?
It, it very well might, it would make it a cool Lamborghini but I honestly like for uh the, the sort of buyer who's going to be, you know, buying an SUV and wants to Daily Drive it, like, because the U is, it has shared so much with that Volkswagen group and whatnot.
I think that, you know, it's, it's arguably a better, just general daily driver because of that.
And you can sort of like see Lamborghini straddling that, that line there where it's like, all right, like we want this to be like a usable SUV, we still want it to be sort of Lamborghinis.
And you can tell like it is, it is more extreme, you know, than, than say like an RSQ eight or any Porsche Cayenne that I've driven because it's also built on this platform.
Um You know, the, the, the the engine has, you know, a little bit more zinc to, it feels, feels a bit spicier in the handling realm.
Um And just overall, you know, they've, they've turned everything up a notch to where, you know, it feels like it's finished by a Lamborghini to that extreme like Supercar extent.
Um but uh no, you just have to sort of go into it like realizing, you know, it's, it's a Lamborghini but, you know XYZ things you, you have to understand that, you know, it's still a very daily drivable car.
Um And uh but you know, back to that Aston thought, I guess I am, I am curious about that.
Yeah.
So just on a pure um overall execution, I like the DB X more than I like boo.
I thought it felt more like the powerful yet refined um ethos of an Aston Martin.
I thought they got the styling uh a little bit closer.
I think the Urus gets a little cartoonish which I do like, I think if you're Lambeau and you're gonna do an SUV, you kind of got really dial it up, you gotta put all the angles and creases.
But uh I like the Aston Martin uh a bit better.
I thought it felt like more of a genetically in Aston then this feels like this feels definitely like a Volkswagen group product to me again.
Not a bad thing.
Um For my money, if it were me, I would get a cayenne off of this platform.
Um I did like the Urus better than the Ben Tiga though.
Uh I thought that was more of like a Franken sort of SUV.
Uh We like, I mean, you want to talk about crazy styling, look at the Ben Tiga.
Um But no, I really I just preferred the as in uh DB X. I think it really uh from the power train to the interior, which is just absolutely gorgeous um to the way, and I think that was part of it too, was the design cues on the DB X felt like Aston Martin very purposefully tried to express itself cheesy as that sounds as well as that just very high quality interior.
Whereas the ru felt more like, hey, guys, we gotta do this SUV, let's make it as good as we can.
Uh It sort of went to Lamborghini finishing school, which is sort of how you've been hinting around.
Um But I mean, it's in this day and age, you have to do it, you absolutely have to have something in the segment.
Um We've, we've heard rumors that mclaren is gonna go down this road.
Um I struggle to think who isn't there yet at this point or likely going to be there very soon.
So, um you know, we'll see, I think it'll be interesting if and I'm highly speculated here if Lambeau were to ever try to look at a smaller uh SUV, something that fits in that, you know, uh more like that compact mid-sized tweener spot.
I mean, if you're looking to sell some volume, that's a spot to do it, right?
Um Going through the backlog looking at the history, this was shown in um Pebble Beach in Beijing, uh back about 12 years ago in concept form.
And it's interesting if you Google far enough in the Wikipedia section, uh Gallo Nick and Auto Blog at the time, thought that was gonna be on the sedan, uh which became known as the s to which they did not build, which in my opinion, I wrote about the s to back at that time, it was uh I believe genetically, it was also like a Bentley.
That's something I think they should have really looked at doing.
I thought the Asoke was a beautiful concept.
Uh, and that's where I almost felt like Lamborghini succeeded how Aston succeeded with the DB X.
It felt more like a true Lamborghini.
Not that I drove it but I did see it.
Yeah, and Lambeau has, has a, has a history of, you know, making a low slung sort of sedans, you know, some, some sort of a passenger car as well.
Um, I don't know, I don't know if it would, if it would sell, you know, that they'd have to go sort of the Ferrari route and be like, hey, this is our GT car.
Um, but it sure would be sweet.
And II, I, I'm not sure if, if they would ever actually dig into that smaller, you know, sort of like a Maccan territory.
Um, it almost feels like platform, right?
That is the thing they do, they really do.
Um, maybe if they did it would be electric and it would have to be very, very expensive.
Um, I mean, this, this, this year is so the, the, the, the one that we tested started right around 220 sticker for 310 after everything.
Um So I don't know, they, you know, they could have room for something starting around 150 I bet.
And then, uh going from there, it is, it's still, I think that's still high, high class enough for a Lamborghini product um to be there.
Um And uh I guess I, I should also mention that this, this year that we were testing was, is the S version um which is the refresh, um has, has the performance engine a few little design tweaks interior tech items as well.
Um I never actually drove the pre refresh but uh the power is, is fantastic.
Uh If this is how quick the performance is, um that is, it is a rocking SUV as, as well.
And uh I sort of like, you know, it has, it has a P Forman engine but the air suspension, so it's very comfortable when you're, when you're driving it everywhere.
It's, you know, it's, it's similar to a cayenne or, or, you know, any of the Q eight RSQ eight products as well.
And that like it's just, it's very drivable.
Like I could see someone driving this to the doctor's office every day as their, as, as their daily driver.
So, yeah, a lot of, a lot of duality there and some meaningful updates as well.
I think for the, I was meeting, uh, associate editor Byron HD to swap cars and I got in the Miata and it was a rainstorm and just mentally, I was like, getting up and, you know, when you're driving an interesting car, maybe there's just, you're excited.
There's also just for me a little bit of nerves.
I mean, I've driven a lot of cars but I also think that's generally a good thing keeps you sharp and it means that like you're, you have a pulse, you, this is important.
You should be if you're not excited to drive a Lamborghini.
Well, what are you doing here?
Right.
But I got in there and I was like, after like a mile and I had driven it a prior night as well.
It's like, ok, I'm just kind of in a Volkswagen group.
SUV.
I wasn't like, you know, it was 100% different than driving, um, you know, in a vent or an Ura Con or something like that.
You know, you're just, you're driving a crossover, you know, and it's immediately when you get in there and there's yes, you could, you flip up the ignition switch, that's super cool.
But the fact that you could use the infotainment system, you know, you're in a different kind of Lamborghini when it's like, oh, hey, I could change the radio pretty easily here.
Everything's working as it should.
What's going on.
Yeah.
No, but, um, very cool.
I think it'd be intriguing to try the se that's the plug in hybrid.
Uh, you want to really sort of recalibrate your brain, uh, you know, Lamborghini plug in Hybrid.
That's, that's something different.
So, maybe we'll get a chance to try that.
Um, speaking of things you would plug in though, let's move along to the EQE Hybrid.
Uh, excuse me, Eqe, this is an all electric, uh Mercedes.
Uh I spent like a night in it.
You spent a little more time in it.
I generally liked it.
I really do.
I like how, uh Mercedes has, uh, that their design could be a bit polarizing but I generally really like the interiors.
Uh not only the electric cars but also of their um uh, of their ice cars as well.
But what's your take on this thing?
Yeah.
You know, it's, uh, it, it has a lot of interesting features I think and one of them just really stands out driving it is, it has, you know, Mercedes full, full 10 degrees of rear axle steering, uh which, you know, sort of makes the same turn on a dime to the point.
You almost have to like, recalibrate your, uh yy, your brain and your hands like, ok, don't turn in so hard at this, you know, you, you, you sort of expecting this, like, nice slow Mercedes relaxed steering and then all of a sudden it's like, whoa, here we go.
Um, but, uh, no, it's, it's, it's really cool and I think that would make it a really nice city car in that way.
Um, the, the, the one that we had was the, the, the 350 plus, which is a single motor, rear wheel drive.
Um, you know, it's, it's not quick, it's not slow, sort of right there in the, uh, the median range or I think, you know, most folks, you know, if you're happen out of like, say like a Gle 350 or even a Gle 450 you know, one of their midrange suvs not am G uh you're gonna be plenty happy with, with the torque, uh the get up from it.
Um And uh range is pretty solid as well.
Uh You know, right around 300 miles charging, uh slightly less.
So I, I charge it once maxed out, you know, right under 100 70 kilowatt, uh charge speed, which is quite middling for, especially for a pretty expensive luxury SUV these days.
Um But, uh, no, I, I really like being inside the thing.
Uh I, the, the, the only thing that I would like a little more of our buttons, I suppose, uh You know, it's, it's a Mercedes, the, the, the, the one that we had was not the hyper screen, uh one, but it is one large screen right in the center with very few buttons to do anything with, uh there's a little more tapping through, through menus, you know, if you want to adjust the driver assistance settings, um trying to change the volume via the little slider that they have over there can be a little trying, uh just, you know, some small usability stuff that uh I think has gotten worse from one generation of Mercedes to another.
Uh Despite obviously the screens being very impressive, quick and uh you know, just nicer to use than previous generation.
Um So, yeah, I mean, I'm still not a fan of the design.
Um The one that uh we had uh the, the, the Eqesuv is probably my favorite of all like the EQ stuff.
Um It's probably the least potatoy looking of, of the bunch.
Um I know it's not, but it's probably not the way that Mercedes would like their designs to be described.
But, you know, the very aero focused design is um not exactly an eye catching pretty piece.
Um I, I think that others have uh managed to very aero aerodynamic designs and not have their and, and I guess also give, give the design some, some real character.
Um So, yeah, I mean, I, I like the EQSUV.
Don't love it.
Um You know, I would, I would probably go for something like a BMW IX uh Audi Q eight Ron uh over it um even, and I have to really consider the Cadillac lyric as well, I think um in this, in this class, which is uh definitely a much better value than, than the Mercedes.
Um So yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's a, it's a tough world out there right now for these electric luxury suvs because there's just more and more of them getting out there.
Um So yeah, it's this, this one sort of middle, middle of the ladder for me, I think overall I really like the QE and I tend to look at most Mercedes, especially like the C and the E class uh ice side of things as being at or near the top of the segment.
I tend to think they're a little bit better than BMW S and Audi right now and we'll talk about this on a future podcast, but I just got out of the new five series and really enjoyed it.
I always like the five series, but at the end of the day, I was like, no, I think the E class is still on top of this.
I still think the C class is still on top of that.
So it's a little weird for me to look at the electric, like the EQE here and think uh middle of the pack here.
I'm not as hung up on the design.
I think as a lot of people are like, you're definitely in the majority.
Uh I kind of like it.
I do think the sedans like the EQE sedan, for example, is a little bit of a better look, I think the SUV side of like the, the Mercedes Electrics, something's lost.
It's a little blobby.
It's a little like to you.
I think you said potatoy or marshmallow.
It's not nearly as distinctive as, like, you know, the internal combustion cars.
So I think that's a problem.
Ironically, I would argue BMW has that problem with the three and the five series.
Like when you look at them, I feel like they've erased uh like the belt line and that sort of hockey stick thing that would, you know, book, end the doors.
And to me it's like this could be a Honda Accord and I feel like Mercedes seems to have caught a case of that with their electrics.
I, I will say this, I, I veer on the like, you know, that like 51% saying like maybe you're not 100% sure of the decision, but you're 51% and that's enough to make a call.
I tend to think they did the right thing here because it does give them a Mercedes Electric Identity and I like, I don't love the designs, but I do like them.
I think I like them a bit more than most people and uh you know, not to get too hung up on it, but it is why people buy cars, you know.
Uh But to your point though, like the Q A Ron much more stylistic, the lyric and tremendous value compared to a lot of these things in the segment, I think, you know, GM has had challenges getting the lyric out but uh I believe they're starting to get it out with critical mass and I mean, we certainly see a lot of them around here and that's another one in this segment that like even with the caveat for your money.
But also it's not G MS fault.
They've come in a little more competitive with the pricing and it's built in, you know, Michigan.
I think.
So.
It's like, yeah, you've got a little, a little more room to run on that price side of things.
So yeah, kind of middle of the pack for me.
And this one, like you mentioned doesn't have the hype screen.
I didn't really miss it in this thing.
Like the screen is still so big.
I honestly think I thought it might have been the hype screen until I went back and looked at the sticker and then you mentioned it.
So, and that's the other thing and BMW S and Mercedes, there's a lot of screens in those cars right now.
Um And Cadillacs and I generally like it, but it's a lot of screens.
Yeah.
No, like something like the lyric, you know, they, they have some nice, nice big screens in there, but they also dedicate a lot of space to like really pretty switch gear that feels, you know, really nice to use.
Like it feels like a luxury product when you, when you're hitting those buttons, flipping those toggles and whatnot, um, versus the Mercedes, like they used to have beautiful switch gear.
That was like that.
But now they've, they've sort of removed it all and that just sort of speaks to the whole minimalistic design outside and inside.
Um, it's just, just the path that, that they have taken and, you know, they'll find people that like it, um, like probably a lot of Tesla buyers and then they'll find people that are a little, uh, you know, I, I guess on, on the other side of the fence, um, like perhaps us right now.
That's true.
Um All right.
So let's, uh, shift gears after an epic new, uh, review section.
Lots of things.
We've been first driving, road testing that are really, I think a lot of fun.
Check out all these stories on site.
Um, speaking of 911 or 911, the car is gonna go up probably by the time this is published.
Correct.
It'll, it'll be live by the time this podcast is up.
All right.
So we got you covered in all kinds of nine elevens, uh, a Lamborghini Han Strato piece, uh, that I pulled together, went up last week.
So you can check out that and I'm sure we have something coming up on the U, uh, probably after the show drops, but we'll have you covered there, check out Zach's 911 1st drives.
Let's talk some news.
Uh, there was a lot going on at Goodwood, lots of cars, lots of, sort of one off kind of concept things built, uh, just for the hill climb and then there were two crashes, uh, which I think, you know, made it a little more newsy than Goodwood would probably prefer to be.
Uh, I don't think that's why they wanna be, you know, getting clicks and getting stories written about them.
Uh, but first of all, let's just talk about some of the cars and then we could get into the crashes.
A bunch of things stood out to me, James Risi has a nice story on the Wrx.
Uh He, uh, he was sort of embedded with Subaru.
Uh, so he did a very, uh, deep, deep dive and this thing is just crazy.
I mean, you look at all the arrow you've got, um, you know, the, like the side flares, the wheels.
It's a crazy looking thing.
Uh It's definitely, I'd say top two or three as far as interesting discussion pieces from, from the event.
Uh What do you think of this thing?
Zach.
Yeah.
So I guess my, my first introduction to this car was watching it fly up the hill on, uh, on, on the Goodwood Stream and I, I mean, I was instantly just amazed like, oh my God, this thing is moving way quicker than any WX should be moving up the hill.
Uh Yeah, just because it is a very, you know, singular focused hill climb design car.
Um I love the like all black stealth out look.
Um I would love to see if Subaru would like to trade our long term Wrx for this Wrx.
Um ha ha, like that would ever happen.
Um But uh no, I mean, it is, it is quite the machine that uh you know, it's, it always seems that Subaru is, is, is bringing something out to the Goodwood Hill climb, you know, whether it be some of the rally cars.
Um II I got to ride with Oliver Solberg on the, on the rally course probably about like five years ago at this point.
Um which was very cool.
And now here they are yet again, you know, building a really, really rad hill climb car, um specifically for Goodwood.
And, you know, I'm sure that they'll take it to other events too and try and set some records.
Um You know, this is uh II I know it was, it was right in the mix with, with most of the fastest vehicles in the uh the low forties in the shootout as well.
Um As I'm, as I'm looking at James's story here, 670 horsepower, 680 pound feet of torque.
Uh Hopefully, you know, all the folks that own the uh most recent current generation Wrx can look at this and you know, if, if they're really wild, take some inspiration, uh for some modifications to the round, uh, to their, to their garage because this is, this is a really, really sweet setup that obviously starts life as a, as a stop Wrx.
Yeah, it's, it's definitely pretty wild.
Uh, there were a lot of cool things that, uh, at Goodwood, I think, uh, the Audi 16 cylinder was something that kind of blew my mind.
I, that's not something you see, car companies do frankly is like build something from the 19 thirties and finish a design uh complete with 16 cylinders.
So that was another one that stood out just for its uniqueness.
Uh It's a silver arrow basically that you can drive.
I, you know, I always think cars from that era are very interesting.
Uh and they have such deep stories.
So that's kind of cool.
Uh Yeah, so I like that one as well.
Uh The MG was pretty gnarly too.
That was another one.
I'll throw that out there.
Um Give me a couple more.
Yeah.
What do you think?
Give me a couple more.
Yeah, they, they, they were celebrating MG at this uh Goodwood Festival of Speed, which I mean, it makes sense.
It's a British brand that has, has, you know, celebrating many, many years on uh on, on this earth of, of existence.
And they, they obviously still exist.
They just uh owned, owned by a Chinese company at this point.
And you know that they had the, the cyber Stirs out there.
And then they also had this Cyber GTs concept that I, I thought was, was, was quite stunning.
But no, I mean, just as, as far as other things at, at, at the hill climb that were impressive, I think that I have to mention the mcmurtry Spiring.
Uh Just, just because that thing, I mean, it comes back every year at this point, but every single time I am amazed at how fast uh Max Chilton is able to get that thing up the hill.
Um Ford had some really awesome stuff.
Uh They had the Raptor T one plus, but I was even more entertained by the Mustang GTD that was roaring up the hill.
Uh you know, throwing up massive clouds of smoke and just in general being a, a rowdy crazy thing uh to hopefully entertain all of the Brits with some crazy American muscle.
Um You know, those, those are some of my standouts.
There were some really cool.
Uh II I mean, obviously there's, there's always really cool old F one cars there.
Um They were doing a bit of a Nikki Lauda celebration but I saw so they had, they had some of his cars and just cars that he had been involved with.
Um And uh it just also with that F one connection, Max Verstappen was there.
So Sergio Perez, uh Yuki Sonoda took an old Honda R A 272, I think up the hill.
It's like a guy that was, so it was like a 19 sixties or 19 seventies Honda Formula one car.
Um, so that was super rad.
Um It was, it was really funny as, as they were talking to Yuki after he's like, yeah, this is like the first race car that has ever, like, fit me properly because he's, he's like 52 and very, very small even for an F one driver.
So it was, it was sort of funny to see him like, yeah, this is, this is the right size way back when had really, really small F one cars.
Um So yeah, just tons of cool people, tons of cool cars and per usual, really, really great watching.
I, I know that I had it uh tuned on uh last, last Friday um as, as, as we were writing.
So very cool, very cool.
Then a couple of crashes, uh West Coast editor, senior editor for all things features and reviews, James Rizzi was there and he covered the Pastrana crash.
Uh And then of course, the lotus crash was kind of gnarly as well.
Um It does speak to the fact that as much as this is a uh celebration of car history, the way it's set up, it's intrinsically a bit more dangerous than say, rolling on to, you know, the 18th Fairway at Pebble Beach, you know, or I would always compare it a little bit to like the Monterey Historics or whatever they're called these days, you know, where, like these vehicles are doing stuff.
So, uh, there's always an element of danger, uh, glad nobody was hurt.
Um, yeah, I mean, I, I kind of wonder if going forward they might look at some different regulations or, uh, guide line things.
I don't know.
It, it seems like two like this in one year is not insane.
It's not unprecedented but, um, definitely got everybody's attention around the car world.
Yeah.
No, it uh I mean, that, that, that Lotus one especially speaks to just how powerful cars are getting these days, especially with electric motors.
I mean that that Lotus had 2000 horsepower.
Um So, I mean, even for a trained professional driver, uh I know I would be quite intimidated, stepping into the seat of that.
Uh So and uh yeah, clearly things did not go as planned for it.
So it always amazes me every single time that there was a crash, just how well those hay bales stand up to it.
Um I don't know, I, I haven't actually looked into them to see if there's, you know, some actual deeper technology behind there that they have hiding behind the pretty facade of the hay bales going all up and down the hill.
But it obviously does make you wonder a little bit with all these cars that are like quite literally going sideways and being pushed 1112 10th past the limit up the hill.
Um it's a, it's a great spectacle to watch and, yeah, clearly a little bit dangerous as well.
All right.
So we got some, uh, some actually actual car news, newsy news, uh will transition over to uh Hyundai Palisade spy shots, which came out this week.
And I thought, uh the big takeaway here is, it looks like they're kind of uh going down the road of perhaps the Santa Fe.
Uh when you look at it, the front is uh definitely it appears to be more squared off, like who really knows?
Right.
Um You know, there's always so much chemo on these, but I like the Palisade is in its current form.
They tweaked it a little bit with that most recent uh refresh.
We had a very uh you know, much loved long termer.
I was actually just referencing that for a long term update uh with our Mazda Cx 90 looking at some of the better large crossovers we've had and, you know, just looking at this, it looks like they, they're gonna go down that more, maybe boxy kind of road.
We'll see.
I think it's also a situation too where when they roll the Santa Fe out, we all were like, what are they doing here?
This looks nothing like anything else in their lineup and perhaps this is the answer.
So I right or wrong.
Where do you land on this?
If this is the direction Hyundai chooses to go?
So I really like the look of the Santa Fe.
I know that it's, it's not a, a universal opinion uh for, for folks online just looking at internet comments uh to say the least.
But um I don't know, I, I don't necessarily think that the Palisade should be, you know, trying to copy the Santa Fe or, or just trying to do the, you know, the same thing.
I think it's kind of cool how Hyundai has a bunch of cars that all look different.
It's, it's not like the same design language all the way across the portfolio.
Um And I think that the Palisades design as, as it stands is, is a really cool thing.
You know, it's sort of regal looking.
It's, it's, it's much more stately than something like the Kia Telluride.
Um You know, something like Telluride is a bit more rugged and the Palisade is this more luxurious, refined uh vehicle and if the Palisade goes, uh you know, more towards like a off-road ish design, uh there's less, less differentiation amongst all of the three rows and, you know, maybe you're leaving some, some folks out, you know, that, that might prefer the Palisades, you know, cleaner and, you know, just less, less ruggedized design that this almost appears to be going for.
So, I don't know, I, I'm probably on the side of uh just I like this less than what it was before.
Oh, yeah, that's an interesting way to put it So you like the overall aesthetic of the Santa Fe, but you don't like it so much on the pellet.
That's what the Senator said.
I would, I would love for some differentiation, I guess.
Is I agree.
Yeah, that's one of the, when we first saw the Santa Fe, that's one of the, I thought the strong selling points was, it, was for, it, was that, hey, they're doing something different.
Every single car doesn't look exactly the same just in a slightly different size.
Uh But one thing you've seen with Hyundai over the is they take risks with their styling and you know, the Sonata one car of the year was a groundbreaking design, but very quickly they were able to change it.
Uh And then when people didn't quite like the more conservative appearance that it had, they went back to something even kind of, you know, swoop here than before.
So Hyundai takes risks with design and we just kind of roll with it.
Um My guess is this is gonna look a little better in the sheet metal once we see it.
Uh But right now it kind of looks like a big Tahoe with uh I don't know, kind of a weird looking Santa Fe front end grafted onto it.
And I don't know, I think the Palisade managed to look borderline premium.
So II I it troubles me that they might lose that like lightly creased kind of curvy aesthetic that I think really went well with the Palisade name.
It was just a subtle, good looking vehicle.
So we'll see.
Yeah, I think that we're fully aligned there.
All right, three row SUV, coming out of Hyundai, it looks like it would be a sibling of the EV nine, which makes all the sense in the world.
Um, we're hearing word of this and it could arrive next year is a 2026 model.
Um, Actually, even later in 2024 we're kind of speculating that this could be the final production version of the seven concept, which was not very far along.
If you look at these pictures, we had of the seven concept from uh a while ago.
Uh I mean, I think this is what they're gonna probably end up doing.
Uh because, you know, Hyundai and Kia are, they are separate, but they also share a lot and it would make sense that it's Hyundai's turn to get um something off of this platform in the electric space.
So I think it'll be good.
Uh Perhaps, you know, really thinking two chess moves ahead here, maybe that's a reason they're changing the look of some of their ice cars.
Uh suvs is to try to get their ducks in a row with the electrics.
Uh But natural move is my take here for Hyundai.
Yeah, I I'm honestly a little surprised it hasn't uh been revealed yet.
I know that when Hyundai group did the uh the Palisade and the tell you, right, they were sort of revealed, like back to back really, really close together.
It only makes sense that the Eb nine has, has a Hyundai Twin.
Um And II I suspect it'll, you know, take a, a lot of uh cues from the ionic five ionic six, you know, if they're very pixel like design.
Um and, you know, just sort of go its own way.
Uh and probably not like anything like a Palisade.
Um unless uh the Palisade, like we were just talking changes so much that it looks like the EV version again.
But uh yeah, no, it, it, this is, you know, pretty much exactly what uh we should expect hoe to be doing.
Um get a three row SUV out there because frankly, there's, there's not a lot of them, it's like the EV nine or you want the R and R one S. Um And uh that's, that's pretty much it at, at that price point.
Now, there's also the uh Mercedes EQSSUV, but it's not a big wide world out there yet for uh three row SUV choices in the electric landscape.
So, yeah, hopefully we'll uh see it soon and I, I bet that it will go on sale soon too since it'll probably just be the uh the Hyundai version of, of the EV nine.
Sounds like it will be a good thing.
I really like the EV nine.
So I have no doubt.
I will probably like the uh the, the Hyundai version.
So we'll close things out here with the fact that, uh, I mean, in simple terms, Odes killing coups, which is just very weird.
Um And then the A five sedan and we're gonna see the A five Avant Wagon which were revealed, um, are gonna take this place of the A four and then this is where it gets really confusing and you could read Ronan Guan's story here.
S five replaces the S four.
So it's a little odd, especially when you look at O D's history and who they stand for or what they stand for and just how good their coups have been.
Uh I also kind of, I think of the German luxury segment.
There's still plenty of room for sedans, but car companies of all stripes are pulling back from that sort of segment, but you still see some critical mass for coups even though they're very much an endangered species as well.
So I've always liked the S four and the S five and many other Audi coups, you know, we know the R eight is gone.
It's been gone.
I guess that's technically a coup even though it's obviously something totally different.
What do you make of this?
I'm also very, I think it's, it's very confusing for even like somewhat red in enthusiasts.
So what do you think of this?
Yeah.
You know, it is, it, it really is confusing.
That is, that is a good way to put it in that like, Audi's whole naming scheme is changing.
Um, I know that this caused a lot of issues when BMW switch things up and they're like, all right, the odd numbers are for the sedans, the even numbers are for the coups and the convertibles.
You know, that's why we have the three and the four series.
Um, we have the seven and eight series and so on and so forth.
Um, and that, and, and there, you know, Audi is sort of doing that, but that's not exactly what it is either because they're doing, the odd numbers are for gasoline powered vehicles and reportedly the even numbers will be for electric.
Um, so that's certainly a bit odd.
But hey, that's why the new Audi A five sedan is a gasoline powered vehicle.
There's not an electric version of it.
Um, Audi did reveal the A five Avant alongside it.
That's not coming to America.
Um, that will be a European only thing, uh, the wagon at least.
Um, and I wouldn't really expect that to change because the old A four V was only sold, um, in the, uh, in, in Europe as well.
And while we had the A four all road, uh, we never had like the, uh, the, the, the Rs four V and the, uh, the performance versions of those wagons.
Um, so, yeah, that's, that's, you know, the new naming scheme and also no more coups or verts.
Um, so if you want like an A five convertible or, you know, an, an S five coop now is the time to go do it, uh, because there will be no more after this, uh, starting as of the 2025 model year.
Um, the cars themselves, I think, you know, they look really great.
I think it's, it's, it's another, you know, really solid looking Audi design, um, all around and, uh, you know, when, when it does come here, I, I think it'll be cool because it's still a sport back.
Um, which frankly to me is preferable over something like an A four sedan.
I like the hatchback.
It's more utilitarian, I think it looks better too.
Um, so, you know, I'm, I'm not super mad about the fact that like the a four sedan with a gasoline engine might be, uh, mi a. Um, but, uh, I mean that it sounds like it'll come back in electric form.
Uh, if Audi does, in fact, stick with this new name change where even our electric and odds are gasoline powered so have fun learning that, I suppose.
Um, way to break it down though, that, that clearer than I let off of it.
So that's a good way to break it down.
It'll, it'll probably take us all a good year or two plus to figure it out.
But, uh, you know, as, as Audi launches more and more into this, this new naming scheme.
But that's, uh, yeah, that's, that's where we're going.
All right.
All right.
I, I do like to say Five Avant though.
I, to your point, I think it's unlikely we get that here, but that looks pretty good.
Sign me up for that.
That, that would be a lot of fun.
Oh, yes, I, I agree.
Um, I guess we get the Big Wagon Rs Six Avant.
Um, which actually with this new naming scheme, it will no longer be the Rs Six event, it will be the Rs Seven A A.
Uh When the new one comes around presuming that America gets it again.
Like, like we did before because odd numbers are gasoline powered.
So, yeah, just some more, some more fun things to think about.
All right.
Sounds good.
Well, we've had a very full show.
Uh, we have no spend my money this week, but if you'd like to have us, uh spend your money, we would love to do.
So, uh, this podcast at auto blog.com.
Uh What, what's going on in your life?
Do you have a drink or?
I don't know, cooking recommendation.
We'll close things out with that.
Yeah.
So II, I, I've been buying a lot of Oberon recently but I, uh I did uh get this, this, this new shorts Lager.
Actually, it's a, it's a Mexican Lager.
Uh It was really good.
It had sort of like a tinge of lime to it.
It's shorts beer.
So it's a, it's a Michigan beer.
They're always doing fun experimental stuff.
And, uh, yeah, I know.
So I got a little six pack of that for the, for last weekend and I can, I can definitely recommend it.
That sounds quite good.
That sounds quite good.
Yeah, I think I'm gonna grill some, uh, probably barbecued chicken thighs or I might make coconut chicken thighs.
We'll see.
Nice.
I'm gonna be grilling the same.
I got, uh, some, some bratwurst from, from the local market here.
Few, a few different kinds.
And I, uh, the, the, no.
Yeah.
Is, uh, is, is WW, would go perfect with that as well.
So little, uh, grill action coming up sounds good.
Well, that's all the time we have this week.
Enjoy, uh, the Auto Blog podcast.
Uh, we hope you do.
Uh, please give us five stars on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get the show again.
If you'd like to spend your money, that's podcast at Auto blog.com, send them to us, be safe out there and we'll see you next week.
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