After the 2026 model year, the GR Supra is done. This is it. There are only 1300 units for the US market in the MkV Final Edition spec, and then the curtain comes down on a nameplate that has meant something to a lot of people for a very long time. Let’s see what’s what on this finale.

2026 Toyota GR Supra: Overview

The 2026 GR Supra lineup is three trims, one engine, and your choice of transmission.

GR Supra 3.0 — $56,900.
The entry point. It’s got 382 horsepower from the BMW B58 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six, with an eight-speed automatic standard and a six-speed manual available at no additional cost. Standard features include adaptive variable suspension, an electronically controlled rear differential, Brembo brakes, and a ten-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay. For most people who want a Supra and are not concerned about collecting the final chapter version, this is the rational choice.

GR Supra 3.0 Premium — $62,510.
Adds red Brembo brake calipers with the Supra logo, a head-up display, launch control, a 12-speaker JBL audio system, heated and ventilated front seats, and a wireless charger. The Premium is likely the model to get. If you run out of budget before the MkV Final Edition, start here.

GR Supra MkV Final Edition — $68,550 base, $73,300 as-tested.
The car we’re driving here is a tribute to the last Supra you will be able to buy new. For now. Hardware upgrades over the Premium are real, not cosmetic: larger 14.7-inch front Brembo rotors (up from 13.7 inches), revised suspension bushings, additional underbody bracing, retuned adaptive dampers, retuned electronically controlled rear differential, more camber at all corners, and revised power steering calibration. The chassis is genuinely sharper than the standard car. Exterior treatments include matte-black 19-inch forged wheels, a gloss-carbon-fiber ducktail spoiler, and carbon-fiber mirror housings. Inside: GR-embroidered headrests, red seatbelts, red stitching, Alcantara on the driver seat with the GR logo, and a MkV Final Edition numbered plaque. A GR car cover comes standard, because of course it does.

The GT4 Style Pack on our test car adds $2,995 and has the Undercover matte paint, Toyota Gazoo Racing red-painted carbon fiber mirror caps, GT4 exterior graphics, and a wind-buffeting kit. It also has the Driver Assistance Package ($1,195) for a grand total of $73,300.

One note worth making: there is a more hardcore Final Edition that Toyota built for Europe and Japan. That version gets 429 horsepower, KW suspension, a swan-neck rear wing, GT4-sourced subframe components, and skeletonized carbon seats. American buyers are not getting that car. Still, this one seems pretty good. Let’s check it out.

2026 Toyota GR Supra MkV Final Edition: Inside & Out

Most matte black cars look like primer. This one looks intentional, finished, like the color was chosen with care rather than applied as an afterthought. The GT4 graphics running down the sill and lower body strike me as a bit…much for my personal taste. I felt a little like a yobbo in it, to borrow a term I have been picking up from too many Top Gear reruns. Do I feel comfortable in a Supra? Yes, absolutely. In a Supra with extra “GR” livery and red mirror caps? Not so much. At almost 50, it looks like I’m trying too hard. Your results may vary.

The carbon fiber ducktail spoiler is one of my favorite exterior details. It looks great and ties the matte black aesthetic together with the gloss carbon contrast in a way that works. The matte black 19-inch forged wheels complete the look, though something brighter might be more interesting.

The proportions of the GR Supra remain a point of ongoing discussion among enthusiasts, and I will not settle that debate here. What I will say is that, in person and in this color, the car stops traffic. Not metaphorically, I had people doing solid double-takes and a couple of photos taken. They may have posted “look at the yobbo old guy in the sports car.”

This is where the practicality conversation begins, and the answer to “is it practical” is: it depends on what you consider practical. First, trim specific stuff. There is an Alcantara driver seat, a GR logo stitched into the headrest, red seatbelts, and red stitching throughout. These details are not subtle, and they are not trying to be.

Storage is minimal. There are two cupholders positioned slightly behind the driver, a small cubby behind that, and the wireless charging area. That is essentially the full and complete list of places to put things in the front of this car. If you are accustomed to a crossover’s cubbies, door pockets, and center console systems, the Supra’s cabin will feel like a studio apartment after a house. You just have to bring less.

The wireless charging pad fits a current large-format phone, but only just. After a day or so of watching it smoosh my iPhone 17 Max into the charging area, I stopped using it and started using the cupholder as a phone holder instead. Less elegant, completely functional. CarPlay connected immediately on the first pairing. Returning to CarPlay after the car starts requires navigating a few button presses rather than launching automatically. Three or four inputs are not a crisis, but they could create a daily friction that the car should handle on its own.

Physical HVAC buttons. A volume knob. These are good decisions, easy to reach on the center stack, accessible without menu navigation. After several weeks of reviewing press cars with touch-sensitive buttons and sliders, I want to be clear: buttons are correct. The Supra has buttons. The main touchscreen is on the smaller side by current standards, but it does everything it needs to do without feeling cramped. The driver display clearly shows your current gear in manual mode, which matters when you are driving quickly.

You get 10.2 cubic feet of storage. Good news, though, the hockey bag fits! With the cargo cover removed, my youngest’s hockey bag went in. I was very clear that failure was not an option, because if it did not fit, he was going to have it in his lap for the ride home. Top Gear has documented worse fates. The bag fit. This is now canon. I also got BBQ supplies pretty easily on a trip to the grocery store.

2026 Toyota GR Supra MkV Final Edition: Driving and Usability

The part everyone already knows, and that still needs to be said: 382 horsepower through the rear wheels with a six-speed manual is excellent. The B58 engine, which BMW has been developing and refining for years across multiple platforms, is one of the best inline-sixes currently in production by anyone. It sounds great. It pulls hard. Fun.

The rev-matched downshifts on the manual are the best I have encountered in a press car. Rev-matching on automatics is common and often fairly well done. Rev-matching on a manual transmission, where the system has to read your inputs and blip the throttle on downshift without making you feel like it is doing the driving for you, is genuinely harder to get right. Toyota (OK, BMW) got it right. Each downshift blip is immediate, accurate, and satisfying in a way that makes you want to find a reason to downshift again. The engine sound on that blip is particularly good, as are the little burbles on the overrun. Quite fun.

The Sport mode on the adaptive suspension allows individual setting adjustments, which is how you do it. I ran softer suspension with sportier throttle response and steering weight. The car lets me do that rather than bundling everything into one preset. The ride quality is good, but not exceptional. The Final Edition’s revised suspension tuning finds a workable daily-driving balance, but this is a sports car, and it rides like one. On smooth roads, it is composed and satisfying. On rough urban surfaces, it communicates imperfections. Not unpleasant, just honest.

Stoplight visibility is limited when you are very close to the signal. The low roofline and high door sills mean that the light directly above and in front of you disappears from your sightline. You learn to position accordingly. It is a minor adjustment that sports car drivers have been making for decades, but worth mentioning for buyers coming from higher-seating vehicles.

Speaking of moisture, the driver assistance systems are not available in heavy rain. I know, because the car told me this while I was in heavy rain, which is when I would most want them available and when an unexpected alert is least welcome. I understand the technical constraints. The notification still arrives as a distraction rather than reassurance.

I’ll close this section with this. Everyone in a remotely quick car wants to race you. I assume that happens in regular Supras, but even more in matte black with GR on the side. It’s flattering, if annoying. Buyer beware.

Wait, one more usability item. There has been a lot written about the wonky wind noise coming from the mirrors on previous Supras. This one needs a bit of a warning about water intrusion: with any moisture on the windows, whether from rain, wiper fluid, or morning condensation, water finds its way inside when the window is open. On a morning with heavy dew, I got moving, rolled the window down briefly, and subsequently had water dripping onto my left arm for the next several minutes. The window also produces an audible creak when closed in wet weather. This a bit unideal on a $73,000 car, and it is worth knowing before you take delivery in a wet climate.

Summary

This is the last one. For now.

After this, Toyota has confirmed the Supra nameplate is going away, at least in this form. The next generation, when and if it comes, is expected to be Toyota going it alone without BMW’s involvement. The working assumption is a turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid system. Whether it carries the Supra name, whether it delivers anything close to this car’s character, whether it comes with a manual transmission option, all of that is speculation.

What is not speculation is the car that exists right now. The GR Supra MkV Final Edition in Undercover with the GT4 pack and the six-speed manual is a specific, limited, cool thing. It is quick and precise, it makes the right sounds, and it will fit a hockey bag if you remove the cargo cover. The water leak issue is annoying. The interior space is genuinely minimal. CarPlay takes too many button presses to reconnect.

Would I buy one? Not in this spec, if I am being honest. The Undercover matte and the GT4 livery are a look that requires a certain kind of vibe to drive daily. I am more of a manual Stratosphere blue person, personally.

But the car underneath the graphics and the matte paint? Yes. Without question. The GR Supra MkV Final Edition is a remarkable machine and a genuinely sad goodbye. I hope whatever comes next remembers what this one was, and what the four generations that preceeded it were about.

2026 Toyota GR Supra MkV Final Edition
As-Tested MSRP: $73,300 | Engine: 3.0L Twin-Turbo Inline-6 (BMW B58) | Output: 382 hp / 368 lb-ft | Transmission: 6-speed manual | Drivetrain: RWD | 0-60: 4.2 sec (manual) | Fuel Economy: 19/26/21 mpg (city/hwy/combined) | US Production: 900 units total | Color: Undercover (GT4 Style Pack exclusive)

The post 2026 Toyota GR Supra MkV Final Edition: Review appeared first on Hooniverse.

2026 Mazda CX-5: Overview

The 2026 CX-5 lineup runs five trims on a single powertrain. Every version uses the same 2.5-liter SKYACTIV-G four-cylinder producing 187 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque, paired to a six-speed automatic and standard i-ACTIV AWD. The trim decision is entirely about comfort, convenience features, and material quality. Here is the map:

2.5 S — $29,990.
The entry point is genuinely strong. Standard AWD, a 12.9-inch touchscreen with Google built-in, the complete i-ACTIVSENSE safety suite, dual-zone climate control, and cloth seating. For buyers who want the CX-5 experience at the lowest possible price, this is the place to start. The powertrain and driving dynamics are identical across all five trims, so you aren’t giving up anything meaningful under the hood.

2.5 S Select — $31,990.
The first meaningful step up. Adds wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless charger, leatherette seating, a six-way power-adjustable driver seat, and proximity keyless entry. For most buyers, this is where the daily-use feature list becomes complete. Edmunds calls it the best value in the lineup, and the argument is hard to argue with.

2.5 S Preferred — $34,250.
Adds heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a windshield wiper de-icer, a power liftgate, a head-up display, and 19-inch wheels. The right choice for cold-climate buyers and anyone who does not want to think about whether they have enough features.

2.5 S Premium — $36,900.
Upgrades to a 15.6-inch touchscreen, ventilated front seats, a Bose 12-speaker audio system, and a panoramic moonroof. The interior materials step up meaningfully here. This is where the CX-5 starts feeling like a near-luxury product.

2.5 S Premium Plus — $38,990 base, $41,088 as-tested.
The range-topper and the car we are driving here. Adds a 360-degree surround-view camera, a driver-attention monitoring system, rear-seat climate vents, and navigation to the Premium’s already comprehensive feature list. Our Polymetal Gray Metallic example adds a $1,098 appearance package and the destination charge, bringing the total to $41,088. At this price, the CX-5 competes in the lower end of the premium segment, and the conversation is closer than the badge gap suggests.

Let’s get into some details on how we got on with the CX-5 over the course of the week.

2026 Mazda CX-5: Inside & Out

Here is an honest admission: I forgot what I was driving at one point when I came back to it in a parking garage. Not because the CX-5 is unattractive. It is genuinely handsome. But the third-generation redesign, which Mazda has presented as a meaningful evolution, looks from most angles like a refined continuation of what came before. The silhouette is familiar. The proportions are familiar. The face is cleaner and more resolved, the details are sharper, but the overall statement is iterative rather than transformative.

That is not necessarily a bad thing, the previous CX-5’s design has aged well precisely because it did not chase trends. The 2026 version continues that approach. It will still look correct in the background of a TV series several years from now. It just will not generate the kind of parking lot attention that some get. Soul Red would help.

About Soul Red: if you are configuring a CX-5, this is the color. Mazda’s Soul Red Crystal Metallic is one of the best paint options in the segment at any price, and it transforms the CX-5 from anonymous to genuinely striking. Polymetal Gray is a fine color that does the job. Order accordingly.

The 2026 CX-5’s interior is nicely updated, and the materials are genuinely good for this price point. The 15.6-inch screen on this trim is large, sharp, and decently integrated into the dashboard. CarPlay took a beat longer than usual to connect on the first pairing, but once it did, it looked fantastic, filling the entire display. Full-screen CarPlay on a screen this size is a different experience than it is on a 10-inch display, that’s for sure.

Next up, ergonomics. The cupholders in the center console sit further away than I would like. At six feet tall, with arms that aren’t short, I found myself reaching slightly further than comfortable for anything in the front cupholder position. Not enough to be a genuine problem, but enough to notice every time. Just past the cupholders, Mazda has included a small open tray sized well for sunglasses, a wallet, or whatever accumulates in pockets during the day. This is a great location for storage and the right size.

The HVAC controls are the one place the 2026 CX-5’s interior philosophy works against it. Mazda has moved climate controls to a slim, touch-sensitive bar at the bottom of the screen rather than via physical buttons. The touch targets are small, light gray against a light background, and require deliberate precision rather than casual glancing contact. I ended up with the fan on low after an unintended input and spent more time than I should have correcting it. This is the kind of usability friction that probably disappears after weeks of ownership, but it’s worth pointing out. Physical climate buttons exist for a reason, and the CX-5 makes you miss them.

The wireless charging pad fits a current-generation large-format phone, but just. There is not a lot of margin. Placement is successful, retrieval is fine, and charging is consistent once the phone finds its spot.

Rear seat room is adequate for the class. Cargo behind the rear seats measures 30.5 cubic feet and expands to 66.5 cubic feet when the rear seats are folded. The power liftgate on this trim opens smoothly at a reasonable clip.

2026 Mazda CX-5: On the Road

The CX-5’s reputation is built on how it drives, not on what powers it, and the 2026 continues that tradition. With just 187 horsepower in a vehicle that weighs about 3,800 pounds, it is not a performance spec. It is just adequate for daily driving, highway merging, and getting places without drama, but it will not surprise you with urgency. Sport mode sharpens throttle response a little, and keeps the six-speed automatic in gear longer, making the engine feel more willing without changing output. It helps. The car is still not quick.

The steering has genuine weight and feedback, the chassis responds to direction changes with precision, and the whole car feels smaller and more athletic than its footprint implies. The turning radius is impressive: one clean lock on my standard street test, with no three-point correction required. For a compact SUV with standard AWD, that kind of maneuverability is truly appreciated in daily urban’ish use.

The ride quality is composed without being stiff. Mazda’s suspension tuning has always threaded the needle between sporty and comfortable better than most in the segment, and the 2026 continues that balance. It absorbs road imperfections without transmitting harshness while still communicating enough of the road surface to feel engaged rather than isolated.

The seats are comfortable and well-shaped but light on bolstering. In normal driving, this is not noticeable. In the kind of corner-taking that the chassis actually invites, the lack of lateral support becomes apparent. The CX-5 will handle more enthusiastically than the seats will hold you through. This has always been a mild tension in the CX-5’s character, and the 2026 does not resolve it.

The i-ACTIVSENSE driver assistance systems are well-calibrated and unobtrusive by segment standards. Radar cruise control holds speed and following distance cleanly. Lane-keeping assist is present without being aggressive. The 360-degree surround-view camera on this trim is excellent, high-resolution, and lag-free, making a genuine difference when parking in tight urban spaces.

The speed limit alert system is active by default and announces itself when you exceed the posted limit. This is a…feature. It is also a feature that becomes maddening on roads where the speed limit is posted lower than the flow of traffic, which is most roads. Finding the setting to adjust it required some menu navigation. Worth doing on day one.

Summary

The 2026 Mazda CX-5 2.5 S Premium Plus at $41,088 as-tested is a near-luxury compact SUV that charges a near-luxury price without quite delivering a near-luxury powertrain. With 187 horsepower, it’s honest transportation. It just is not exciting transportation, and at this price point some competitors offer significantly more output.

What the CX-5 does offer is a driving experience that remains impressive for the money, solid interior materials, and a design that should age well. The HVAC touch controls are a genuine usability miss. The cupholder placement is a minor annoyance. Everything else is a considered, well-executed compact SUV that takes the segment seriously.

One more time, for anyone configuring: get it in Soul Red.

2026 Mazda CX-5 2.5 S Premium Plus
Base MSRP: $38,990 | As-Tested: $41,088 | Engine: 2.5L SKYACTIV-G 4-cyl | Output: 187 hp / 186 lb-ft | Transmission: 6-speed automatic | Drivetrain: i-ACTIV AWD (standard) | Fuel Economy: 24/30/26 mpg (city/hwy/combined) | Cargo: 30.5 cu ft (seats up) / 66.5 cu ft (seats folded) | Assembly: Japan

The post 2026 Mazda CX-5 S Premium Plus: Review appeared first on Hooniverse.

Ken Carter is the man who attempted to jump a car more than a mile. His mode of transport? A rocket-powered Lincoln Continental with small wings. As you should remember, Carter attempted the jump with his car shooting off a 1,400-foot ramp and taking to the sky, only to break apart in the air.

Carter was injured in the crash, but lived. He attempted another jump years later, which sadly took his life. But what a wild life he lived. And that St. Lawrence River jump is set to become cinema history with a new movie.

Jay Baruchel takes on the role of Ken Carter in the film The Stunt Driver. Ben Foster and Ed Helms are also set to star in the movie. Check out the trailer above.

The film comes out September 25th, and I can’t wait to see it. Baruchel is a great actor, and this story needs to be told to a larger audience.

I shared the news with Hooniverse Co-Founder Tim Odell (Mad_Science), and he replied, “It’s Titanic for men…” which is a perfect description.

The post The Stunt Driver Will Be A Must-See Film appeared first on Hooniverse.

To earn the S moniker, the DB12 gets more power. Aston Martin pushed the boost on the twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine to arrive at 690 horsepower. That’s up over the standard car’s 671. Torque remains the same at 590 pound-feet, and all the oomph is sent out back via an eight-speed transaxle setup.

The suspension also receives attention by way of a retune and a thicker rear anti-roll bar. And the pieces do indeed add up to a sharper DB12. But this car remains a grand tourer, and that’s quite alright.

Power delivery arrives with a slight lag, but then comes on like a cannon shot. There’s a bit of roll as you set up for corners, but once tucked in, you can rocket through a given corner. Each action item requires a moment of hesitation that’s perfectly fine in a proper grand tourer, but would be a bummer in a true sports car.

The Aston Martin DB12 S is a truly wonderful machine with brilliant styling and a delightful interior space. Just don’t pretend that the S badge has morphed it into a track beast. After all, the drive mode on this one goes up to Sport+, while the Vantage goes a notch further with a true Track mode.

The post Aston Martin DB12 S: Gorgeous Grand Tourer… But Not A Sports Car appeared first on Hooniverse.

Hummer Is As Hummer Does

I first drove the GMC Hummer EV back in 2023 and public awe has hardly ceased since then. Thanks largely to its sci-fi styling and simultaneously to its sheer size (it measures 216.8 inches long, 86.7 inches wide, and 79.1 inches tall), the Hummer Pickup has massive visual presence. We wouldn’t go so far as to call it dripping with curb appeal, but it’s an eye-catching, attention-drawing thing that succeeds on this front just as the General Motors teams intended: People stare at it wherever it goes.

Inside is just an extrapolation of the outside: Big, blocky, chunky controls and copious space. Materials are so-so and quality isn’t exactly the name of the game, yet we doubt anyone in the market for a new Hummer is cross-shopping it with a Porsche. Maybe a Cybertruck, versus which the build quality might as well be that of a Lexus, but this is a different class of vehicles and class of buyers. Machismo reigns above all else.

Imperfect, But It Almost Doesn’t Matter

Driving the Hummer is, frankly, underwhelming and polarizing. The ride quality is crashy, undoubtedly a consequence of the size, weight, cannon-sized air springs, and 22” carbon fiber wheels. It’s also just not particularly engaging, which is a bummer given how much tech is on board. They could have made it sporty, yet instead it feels as if it’s fighting physics and its own existence to stay restrained and buttoned down. This truck is an overweight linebacker hopped up on ten energy drinks and stuffed into a Halo-derived Master Chief costume. It works, but you get the sense it has to try very hard to make it work.

There’s a few other issues to touch on, again relating to quality. The roof panels creak incessantly over rough roads, and the panels can’t be dimmed so you bake inside on a hot day even with the A/C cranking. The air suspension on my test truck also got stuck on its highest and second highest modes multiple times while the vehicle was in my care.

Hilariously Fast And Maneuverable

The saving grace for the driving experience is two-fold: The immediate, massive speed (thanks to 1,160 horsepower), which allows the 9,063 pound pickup to rocket from 0-60 MPH in under 3 seconds. It’s hilarious, pointless, and truly terrifying. And for $131,770 as-tested, it should be exciting. It delivers on this front, especially when you engage Watts to Freedom mode.

Also positive is the maneuverability, which benefits enormously from aggressive rear-steer. Instead of the traditional lumbering steering of a full-size pickup, the Hummer has a tiny 37.1-foot turning circle with four-wheel-steer engaged. Parking the truck in a tight lot is still a high-focus experience, but the way the Hummer can pivot seemingly on the spot transforms its cruise ship size into something you can actually manage when other cars are parked close by.

What Really Matters Here Is The Wow Factor

Enough ragging on this thing. Of course it’s bad on paper and in “reality;” the Hummer isn’t meant to be evaluated like a normal truck, after all. The Hummer is something that exists for the experience first and foremost. And with the Hummer, I gave a group of kids a truly unique experience, letting them play around in the Hummer and explore one of the weirdest and wildest vehicles on sale today.

It started when I got wind of an upcoming section of my older daughter’s daycare curriculum. The topic for one week would be “cars,” so naturally I jumped at the opportunity to show my love and passion for the topic, offering to bring in a vehicle for show and tell. Thanks to the team at FMI who arrange the loans for the majority of vehicles I review, we lined up what turned out to be the perfect kid-pleaser.

A few weeks later, I rolled into the daycare parking lot in the middle of one morning of “car week” with the Hummer ready to impress. The front roof panels were off, the windows down, and the truck looking properly mean against the crossovers and small sedans that filled the rest of the vicinity. The kids walked out of the school’s front door and their jaws dropped.

After copious yelling and shouting about how cool (and big!) the Hummer is, I tried my best to talk to the kids about gas versus electric and the likes, but they probably couldn’t have cared less; this was all about the real life monster truck sitting up front. After a few minutes of ogling the behemoth we let the kiddos climb into the cabin via the driver side back door, crawl through the cavernous cabin (with the second row seats folded up), look up at the sky through the open top, and then hop out the passenger side rear door. We took a group photo with everyone loaded up in the truck’s bed, each kid wearing a massive smile only the Hummer could have been responsible for.

Eventually my show-and-tell time was up, so I explained the truck’s CrabWalk mode, how the rear tires will turn the same way as the fronts at low speeds, and told them to watch carefully as I drove away. Whether they did or not is irrelevant; as I drove past the school on my way home, every single one of them was standing up front, waving manically at me– and perhaps more so at the Hummer. The silly electric concoction from General Motors makes gods out of mortals, at least in the eyes of three- and four-year-old kids. Days later, kids in my daughter’s class were still telling me about how cool they thought the Hummer was.

It’s hard to endorse a vehicle so needlessly large and inefficient, but the Hummer is a certain kind of lovable that just doesn’t exist in most modern vehicles. You drive this, and in the eye of children and onlookers, you are a superhero. At least for a day. There’s no doubt that novelty will wear off once the realities of living with a truck larger than the britches it’s trying to fit in outshine the fun factor, but in small doses the smiles can’t be beat. And to a group of kids? Smiles are what matter.

Yay

• Presence only a Hummer could muster
• Party tricks aplenty
• Good maneuverability for its size
• Exceptional speed, especially given the vehicle’s mass

Nay

• Terribly inefficient for an EV
• Weight and dimensions impact everything from livability to practicality
• Too macho and in-your-face for most
• Woefully expensive

The Takeaway

• Star of the show wherever it goes– especially daycare– the GMC Hummer H3X Pickup is a real-life monster truck not so well suited to the real world in which it lives. Imperfect as it may be, it’s excellent at achieving its desired effect, and though it doesn’t really need to exist in the first place, we’re still glad it does.

(The manufacturer provided insurance and a fully charged battery for this loan, and thanks as always to the team at FMI for arranging and coordinating logistics).

The post 2026 Hummer H3X Pickup Review: Larger Than Life appeared first on Hooniverse.

Still, we have a vehicle with tremendous power, a comfortable interior, and body panels formed into the perfect vehicular shape: the wagon. I recently spent a long weekend with a particularly peanut buttery BMW fast wagon on a family trip to the Pacific Northwest. Our goal? Find Orcas. The car? Absolutely perfect for our planned adventure.

After a day spent exploring Seattle, my family and I settled in for an hour-long drive north of the city. We needed to catch a ferry in Anacortes, Washington, which would shuttle us to San Juan Island. Escaping an urban space like Seattle is exactly what you want to do when you have access to a luxury longroof.

There’s a plugin-hybrid powertrain hiding beneath the polarizing Sepia Brown paintwork. That color, by the way, is a $5,000 option, and I don’t believe it’s even available for the 2027 model year (the tester here is a 2025). You can easily outrun the opinions of those who dislike the hue thanks to a combined output of 717 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. Forward thrust arrives thanks to a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 engine paired with an electric motor.

On its own, the gas-swilling mill generates 577 hp and 553 lb-ft, while the AC motor can dole out 194 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque. An eight-speed automatic sends power out to all four wheels, but you can get rowdy if you want and run the car in a rear-wheel-drive-only mode. With my wife and daughter in the car, the weather lightly sprinkling, and highway ground to cover, I opted to keep all four wheels putting power to the ground.

Once in Anacortes, we were lined up to load onto the ferry. Depending on which lane you’re sent down, the corners can be a bit tight. Since the M5 Touring arrives with rear-wheel steering as standard kit, this proved to be a non-issue for the 200.6-inch long wagon.

Arriving in Friday Harbor and exploring the island’s roads, I expected to find that I was piloting the only BMW wagon within a few hundred miles. I was wrong when I pulled up to a local Oyster house and parked next to an M-swapped F80 wagon, complete with a manual gearbox.

After seeing as much as we could from land, it was time to park the M5 for a bit and head into the ocean. If you want to get close to the Orcas, you need a proper vessel. The NAIAD rigid hull inflatable is described as the 4WD of the sea, and it allowed us to get up close and personal with a family of Orcas. It’s always fascinating to see truly glorious animals in their natural habitat. More people should find ways to get closer to nature like this, and perhaps opinions about how we’re treating the world around us could change. I certainly felt the same after a trip to Africa in 2025.

What won’t help change the world is a car like the BMW M5 Touring. However, I do think a plugin-hybrid can serve as a great bridge vehicle. Not just the M5 Touring, since it’s so niche, but the PHEV in general. Owners can get used to operating electric vehicles while retaining the ability to fuel up anywhere and cover long distances with minimal worry. Additionally, when used in performance applications, a hybrid powertrain can deliver tremendous power.

The other side of the discussion, of course, is that they have to deliver that much power since they now weigh so much more. But in a vehicle like the M5 Touring, I do believe the powertrain is well applied. I’ve heard reports of mixed feelings regarding the driving dynamics, but on this trip, I wasn’t pushing the vehicle hard. The ride was comfortable, pleasant, and even slightly entertaining when my family finally fell asleep on our drive back to the airport in Seattle.

The weather, once again, began to drizzle. But I managed to work my way through growing traffic as we moved closer to the city, all while my family slept comfortably in the M5 Touring. As a road trip car, this thing is fantastic. And it should be, considering it starts north of $120k. As tested, this particular brown BMW rings in at $145,475. That’s a fantastic amount of cash, but it’s also a truly fantastic amount of power for a fast wagon in a small competitive segment.

Even at that price, BMW shows no issues selling every one it makes. In fact, the wagon is selling as well as, if not better than, the sedan version. This has led BMW brass to now consider bringing over the new M3 Touring. Audi is considering offering its new RS5 Avant here in the US. And even Genesis has a wicked concept wagon in the G90 Wingback.

Perhaps the wagon revival is just around the corner. And then all of us longroof fans are in for a whale of a good time…

The post Searching For Orcas In A BMW M5 Touring appeared first on Hooniverse.

2026 Volkswagen Tiguan: Overview

The 2026 Tiguan lineup is a pretty straightforward situation. You get four trims, one powertrain, and a clear progression of features from the base S to the top-of-range SEL R-Line Turbo we are driving here. All versions get a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and an 8-speed automatic transmission. AWD is optional on lower trims and standard on the SEL R-Line Turbo.

Tiguan S — $32,280.
The entry point, and it’s a genuinely strong one for the price. Heated front seats, wireless charging, an adaptive front lighting system, natural voice control complete with ChatGPT integration, and Volkswagen’s full IQ.The DRIVE suite of driver-assistance technologies is standard. Front-wheel drive comes standard, and AWD is available. At this price, the Tiguan S undercuts a lot of the competition while giving away very little in daily usability.

Tiguan SE — $37,280.
Adds a panoramic sunroof, a larger 15-inch touchscreen, a Harman Kardon premium audio system, leather seating, and ventilated front seats. AWD is available. For most buyers who want the full Tiguan experience without climbing to the top of the range, the SE is the sensible landing spot.

Tiguan SE R-Line Black — $40,030.
The style trim. Adds R-Line exterior treatment with gloss black accents, 20-inch black wheels, R-Line interior badging, and black exterior mirror housings. It’s got the same powertrain as the SE. For buyers who care about how their Tiguan looks in a parking lot, this is the one.

Tiguan SEL R-Line Turbo — $43,085 base, $45,410 as-tested.
The range-topper, and the car we’re driving here. The powertrain steps up from the 201-horsepower unit in lower trims to a 268-horsepower version of the same 2.0-liter turbo four. AWD is standard. The SEL R-Line Turbo adds massaging front seats (!), ventilated seats, a head-up display, a digital instrument cluster, power-folding mirrors, heated rear seats, a cargo area privacy cover, and R-Line exterior and interior treatment throughout.

The window sticker on our test car adds Avocado Green paint ($850), Amber Brown leather interior (no charge), and AWD (no charge at this trim). As-tested: $45,410. Let’s see what’s what.

2026 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line Turbo: Inside & Out

Avocado Green is a lovely choice. Paired with the Deep Black roof option, it comes across as deliberately styled rather than accidentally bold. The two-tone treatment works better than you might expect on paper. In a segment full of Silver, White, and Titanium Gray, Avocado Green is a excellent.

Beyond the color, the Tiguan SEL R-Line’s exterior treatment adds a front spoiler, side skirts, rear diffuser styling, and R-Line badging throughout. The 20-inch wheels fill the arches properly without being too showy. The overall stance is compact and purposeful without pretending to be something more aggressive than it is. It is a good-looking small SUV that does not get overtaken by trying to be too sporty or upscale.

The Amber Brown leather interior is a strong pairing with the Avocado Green paint. It is a warm, earthy combination that gives the cabin a personality that beige interiors don’t quite match. The R-Line trim adds stainless steel pedal caps and ambient lighting across the dashboard, and the overall effect is a cabin that is just dramatic enough to look good.

The 15-inch touchscreen is the focal point, and you also get the configurable VW Digital Cockpit Pro instrument display just ahead of the wheel. CarPlay immediately and completely takes over the main screen, and the system’s integration is clean. The Harman Kardon 12-speaker audio system is quite good. Really good. The kind of good that makes you bump the volume up a few notches just to see what it’ll do.

The massaging front seats are standard at this trim level. After a week of press cars where this feature was conspicuously absent (looking directly at you 2026 Audi RS 6 Avant Performance and ur expensive plastic blanks!), finding them standard on a $45,000 Volkswagen is amazing. VW has an excellent setup, multiple patterns, adjustable intensity, very useful on longer drives.

The wireless charging pad works reliably. Placement is sensible. Retrieval is easy. After a stretch of inconsistent wireless chargers in recent press cars, a pad that simply does its job without drama is worth noting.

The cupholders in the center stack are sized in two different formats for front-row passengers, which sounds like a small thing and is actually a small thing, but is the kind of small thing that signals someone thought about how this car gets used.

The heated rear seats are great, even though it’s summertime in the D.C. area at the moment. The cargo area privacy cover is standard at this trim. The cargo under-floor storage solution provides a useful secondary area for items you want accessible yet out of sight. The hockey bag fit just fine, but the stick ended up partially in the back seat.

2026 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line Turbo: On the Road

The 268-horsepower version of Volkswagen’s 2.0-liter TSI engine is the best upgrade at this trim, and it earns its place in the spec sheet. The power delivery is smooth and linear rather than dramatic: the Tiguan SEL R-Line Turbo does not jolt or surge, it simply accelerates with a confidence that the lower-powered trims do not quite match. Highway merging, passing, and getting up to speed from a stop all feel appropriately effortless for a compact SUV at this price. It is not a performance vehicle, but it does not drive like a dull compact SUV.

The 8-speed automatic handles the power cleanly. The Shift logic system is well-calibrated for normal driving, and in Sport mode the transmission sharpens responses without introducing harshness. The 4MOTION AWD system on our test car delivers grip in the corners and in the wet without you having to think about it.

Ride quality is composed. Not soft, not firm, just right. The Tiguan absorbs road imperfections without transmitting them to the cabin, and its NVH levels are reasonable for this class. It does not have the isolation of something twice the price, but it doesn’t feel like it is trying to achieve that either. It feels like exactly what it is: a well-engineered German compact SUV.

The head-up display is excellent: clean, well-positioned, and readable without polarized sunglasses, causing the washout issues that plague some versions. Speed, navigation prompts, and driver assist status are all visible without eyes off the road.

Parking the Tiguan is easy. The footprint is genuinely compact, the surround-view camera is high-resolution and responsive, and Park Assist handles parallel and perpendicular spots with minimal drama. After spending time in press cars that feel outsized in urban environments, the Tiguan’s manageable dimensions feel like a feature rather than a compromise.

One small detail that impressed: the volume control falls immediately to hand on the steering wheel, and the track-forward-and-back controls are in the expected position and work without looking. These are baseline expectations that a surprising number of vehicles still manage to get wrong. The Tiguan gets them right.

The automatic volume reduction when reversing, which I noted in the RS 6 review last week, is present here as well. It is becoming a recurring detail actually helps when backing a vehicle into a tight space. Or maybe I’m getting old.

Summary

The 2026 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line Turbo at $45,410 as-tested sits in interesting territory. It costs more than some mainstream compact SUV alternatives, and it does not offer three rows or hybrid powertrains to justify the premium on purely practical grounds. What it does offer is a more considered driving experience, a more distinctive design, a cabin that feels genuinely upscale for the price, and a feature list that includes massaging seats and a head-up display at a point where competitors are still talking about heated steering wheels as highlights.

In a segment where the safe play is also the forgettable one, the Tiguan SEL R-Line Turbo is the Volkswagen answer to whether a compact SUV can have a personality. It can. This one does. And at just over $45,000 with a real engine, Harman Kardon audio, massaging seats, and Avocado Green paint, it makes that personality look like a very reasonable choice. In the end, I was surprised by the Tiguan, and in this case that’s a good thing!

2026 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line Turbo

Base MSRP: $43,085 | As-Tested: $45,410 | Engine: 2.0L TSI Turbo 4-cyl | Output: 268 hp / 295 lb-ft | Transmission: 8-speed automatic | Drivetrain: 4MOTION AWD (standard) | Fuel Economy: 22/29/25 mpg (city/hwy/combined) | Cargo: 17.2 cu ft (seats up) / 47.8 cu ft (seats folded) | Assembly: Mexico

The post 2026 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line Turbo: Quite Surprising appeared first on Hooniverse.

The forever car question is back. Is it still the one?

Audi RS 6 Avant Overview

The 2026 RS 6 Avant lineup is pretty focused: three versions of the same essential vehicle, distinguished by output and equipment. All are built around a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with a mild-hybrid assist system, an 8-speed Tiptronic automatic, and Quattro all-wheel drive.

RS 6 Avant — $109,900.

The entry point, which is obviously a relative term at this price. It only gets 590 horsepower, 590 lb-ft of torque, and hits zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds. Standard equipment includes 21-inch wheels, adaptive air suspension, Bang & Olufsen audio, sport seats, and the full RS driver interface. This is the RS 6 for buyers who want the performance wagon experience without diving deeper into the options list.

RS 6 Avant Performance — $130,700.

The car we’re driving here. Output jumps to 630 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque. Zero to 60 in 3.2 seconds. The Performance adds a sport rear differential, revised suspension tuning, 22-inch wheels, and an RS-specific performance brake system as standard. This is not a trim upgrade with a different badge. It is a meaningfully different driving experience.

RS 6 Avant Performance with Audi Sport Package — $141,000+.

Raises the top speed limiter from 155 mph to 190 mph, adds carbon ceramic brakes, and adjusts the suspension for track use.

Our tester carries the ceramic brake option ($9,000 from the matte carbon package) and the RS Design package in blue ($3,000), among others, landing the as-tested figure at $158,865. That number includes a gas guzzler tax of $1,300.

Audi RS 6 Avant Performance Inside & Out

The wide body, the pronounced wheel arches, the long roofline that flows into the rear, and the Avant stance that makes it look like it is moving even when parked. In Glacier White with matte carbon trim, black roof rails, and blue brake calipers peeking through the wheels, our test car looked genuinely spectacular. I still prefer a more interesting color, but it’s better than the black one we tested in 2023.

The proportions are simply right. Compare it to the current BMW M5 Touring: the BMW looks slightly overwrought, like it is trying to communicate its performance. The RS 6 Avant does not try. It just is. The result is a car that will look correct ten years from now, which is a rare quality.

One honest note on the 21-inch black wheels that come standard on this trim: they are not the move. The black finish reads as anonymous on a car this distinctive, and the RS 6 Avant deserves something that lets the design breathe. There are brighter, more interesting wheel options in the Audi catalog that would do the exterior proper justice. The ceramic blue brake calipers on our test car, visible through the spokes, are genuinely beautiful. Give them a wheel that shows them off.

The RS 6 Avant Performance is a nearly $160,000 car. The interior earns that number in most places and falls short in one specific, frustrating one that might be important to people who can afford this car.

Let’s start with what works. The dual-screen setup, with the main infotainment display flanked by physical shortcut buttons on the left and a dedicated climate and comfort screen below, is one of the better implementations of the multi-screen layout currently available. CarPlay cleanly takes over the primary screen, while the physical buttons remain accessible for quick jumps back to native functions. The lower screen handles HVAC without requiring menu navigation. It is a setup that works well for daily use. On a bright day, glare on the lower screen is a real problem. The small metal strip at the bottom of the upper display acts as a reflector, making the lower screen difficult to read when the sun hits it at the wrong angle.

The carbon fiber trim in our test car is genuine and looks excellent. You can tell immediately. It has the right weight and texture, and the blue threading woven into the fabric ties directly to the Mercato Blue stitching on the seats and the blue seatbelts. It is a coherent interior design story, told in detail, and it reads as intentional rather than decorative. The Alcantara-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel is, without exaggeration, one of the best in the business. The material has a warmth when heated that leather cannot match. Leather gets hot. Alcantara gets warm.

RS sport seats are excellent. They are deeply bolstered, well-ventilated on the first two settings, and appropriately firm for a car built to be driven hard. The heat is well-calibrated. Level two is genuinely pleasant. Level three will remind you it is there and burned my heiney a bit.

(Somehow I was so excited to drive the car, I forgot to take more interior pics. These are from Audi.)

Now the disappointment. Reach down on the side of the driver’s seat where the massage controls would be, and you find plastic placeholder inserts. Blanks. The massage seat option is not available on the RS 6 Performance, apparently in the name of keeping the focus on driving dynamics. I understand the argument. I disagree with the conclusion. At $158,865, buyers have earned the right to a lumbar massage on their commute. Audi makes some of the finest massage seats in the segment. The person buying this car almost certainly has other Audis with massage seats and will notice the absence of them here. It is a strange omission on a car that otherwise refuses to compromise.

My iPhone paired immediately on first connection. No hesitation, no confirmation loop, just connected. After a week of press cars that required multiple attempts and menu navigation, this landed as a genuine luxury. The wireless charger in the center console fits the iPhone 17 Pro Max with just enough room to spare. Getting it back out while driving requires some attention. Fortunately, the charger sits deep enough in the console that if you leave it in the car while running an errand, it is out of sight and not advertising itself. One practical note, there is no clear way to power off the wireless charging pad, which raises the question of what happens if you set something metal down on it. I did not test this for obvious reasons.

The volume knob is positioned within the natural reach of the driver’s right hand, which may sound like a baseline expectation, but it is not universal in this segment. The steering wheel also carries a rotary volume control that works predictably. Track forward and back fall easily to hand without looking. These details combine to create a driving experience that does not require you to take your attention off the road to manage basic functions.

Audi RS 6 Avant Performance: On The Road

You press the RS button on the steering wheel.

Let’s go.

You’re probably wondering, is 630 horsepower notably more impressive than 590 horsepower? Yes, yes, it is. The RS 6 Avant Performance does not build power the way a naturally aspirated engine does, where you feel the crescendo coming and have a moment to prepare for the next wave. The twin turbos deliver an immediate, slightly alarming sensation in the best possible way. On the highway, pulling out to pass something with your foot down produces a result that belongs in a different category than most things wearing wagon bodywork.

RS mode completely transforms the car’s character. The exhaust opens, the throttle response sharpens, the transmission holds gears with more aggression, and the car becomes something that sounds as serious as it goes. In normal mode, it is composed and quiet, a supremely comfortable long-distance machine that returns reasonable fuel economy and asks nothing difficult of you. The dual personality is not a marketing claim. It is a genuine engineering achievement, and one of the things that makes the RS 6 the answer to the forever car question for people who live real lives with their vehicles.

The paddle shifters deserve their own mention in the context of the recent Maserati Grecale Trofeo review. The Trofeo’s paddles are large, fixed, and quite satisfying to use. The RS 6 Performance’s paddles are smaller and move with the steering wheel rather than staying fixed to the column. In most driving situations, this is a non-issue. In situations where you want to make a quick sequential downshift while the wheel is turned, the smaller moving paddles require a little more deliberate reach. Neither approach is wrong, and honestly, when I wanted to downshift through a parking garage, I used the shift lever, which falls easily to hand.

The steering wheel, heated and Alcantara-wrapped, communicates what the front wheels are doing with a precision that makes the RS 6 feel smaller than it is. Parking garages and tight parking lots require attention at this width. The car is long and wide, I couldn’t even get my car cover all the way onto it. The automatic volume reduction when reversing is a thoughtful touch. You are already concentrating on not clipping something. Not having to reach for the volume knob simultaneously is a nice touch.

The driver assistance systems are worth documenting. On the highway, with three cars ahead running at speed and no indication of hazard, the pre-collision system issued a high-pitched alert and executed a brief emergency brake intervention before canceling itself. Nobody was stopping. Nothing had changed in the traffic ahead. It was a false alarm, and it was, to put it plainly, terrifying in the moment. This kind of false positive erodes trust in the system over time, which is exactly the wrong outcome for safety technology. Sensors can fog in morning dew conditions, which may have been the case here.

Finally, the sun visor situation, which has now appeared in two reviews. The driver’s side visor has its grab indentation on the right side only. Reaching for it with your left hand is awkward. Like Inigo Montoya, I am not left-handed, though I often drive one-handed on the right side enough that it catches me. The Grecale was the same, so that’s European cars in a row with the same design choice.

Summary

Here is what the 2026 Audi RS 6 Avant Performance is: a 630-horsepower family wagon, capable of 190 mph with the right package, wearing optional ceramic brakes, all for $158,865 as tested.

It is truly one of the best cars currently on sale. It is quick enough to embarrass dedicated sports cars at a stoplight and composed enough to carry your family across three states in comfort. It is beautiful from every angle and understated enough to park in a regular lot without attracting the kind of attention that makes you nervous. It has a gas guzzler tax on the window sticker, and it has earned it. The omission of the massage seat is a genuine miss. The glare on the lower screen in direct sunlight was mildly annoying. The false positive from the pre-collision system was memorable for the wrong reasons. All easy fixes.

None of that changes what this car is. I drove the 2023 RS 6 Avant and called it a forever car candidate. The Performance variant has more power, better brakes, and a sharper tune. The answer to the question has not changed.

It is still this one.

2026 Audi RS 6 Avant Performance

Base MSRP: $130,700 | As-Tested: $158,865 | Engine: 4.0L Twin-Turbo V8 + 48V mild hybrid | Output: 630 hp / 627 lb-ft | 0-60: 3.2 sec | Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic | Drivetrain: Quattro AWD | Fuel Economy: 16 mpg combined | Assembly: Neckarsulm, Germany

The post 2026 Audi RS 6 Avant Performance: It’s Still the One! appeared first on Hooniverse.

Part of that– and much of the 86 twins’ charm– is how little extra fluff exists. This is a sports car that really leans on the roots of what driving is about.

Sure, it’s comparatively slow. Even a minivan or crossover can beat it in a drag race. The 2.4-liter Boxer engine makes 228 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque, and it very much is still a low number in the grander automotive landscape, but driving the BRZ is all about perspective. You feel like you’re going fast, even if you aren’t; nobody reading this needs an introduction to the concept of “slow car fast,” but it’s something that never gets old when you get out from behind the keyboard and sit in the driver’s seat.

Using the BRZ’s gearbox never gets old, either. While the Miata’s engine might be more charismatic, the Subaru’s transmission is decidedly more precise and rewarding to use. Not that this is a comparison test, but as the two most affordable driver’s cars on sale today, it’s impossible to not draw comparisons.

Let’s avoid that and focus on the BRZ. And focus on the BRZ we should, because it’s perhaps one of the best things on sale at any price. It’s so pure that it genuinely feels like a look into the past, a window into a time when sports coupes were more prevalent and CUVs/SUVs were reserved for those who didn’t have a want but rather had a need for four-wheel-drive capability or the spaciousness that generally came with the associated vehicles back then.

Even though this generation of car is only a few years old, driving the BRZ truly feels nostalgic, and its outright speed tells a similar story. Ripping off supremely rapid 0-60 MPH and ¼ mile times isn’t impressive anymore, so the BRZ’s ~5.8 and 14.5 second times (respectively) are hardly anything to write home about.

It doesn’t diminish how much fun being behind the wheel of this car is, though. Blast through the BRZ’s first two gears and you feel like a high-schooler again, slamming upshifts in a fury to extract every ounce of performance from a car that you can approachably find the limits of within the confines of a normal road.

Better yet, the delicacy of the chassis allows for you to drive the car at a certain tipping point uncommon in cars today. The steering can be manipulated to the finest point possible concurrent with being able to use the transmission and power to dance the back end around. On a back road, to quote a cliché, it’s effectively telepathic. What you tell the car to do, it does.

And that’s a joy that’s scarce among modern vehicles. You take a penalty for it– the BRZ is small, tight, cramped, inefficient relative to its footprint, and comparatively slow– but in the end, who cares? For a laugh, you can use the BRZ as an everyday, errand-capable car; yours truly packed it full of a quarterly Costco run’s worth of household needs, and it showed just how important the design brief for fitting four track wheels/tires in the car is when you actually want to use it as your only car. A car seat even fits, though work on your acrobatics and prepare to do your best impression of a contortionist to make install of said seat happen.

In the same price range, only the Miata lands higher as far as driving joy goes. But there’s no question it lacks in usability; I drove my NC Miata year-round as a DINK, but in my week with the BRZ tS I was able to throw my children in the back. Anything roughly the same size and amount of fun with the capability to do so will cost more or be drastically worse to drive.

Buyers in the market for the BRZ aren’t trying to maximize their efficiency or practicality; otherwise, they wouldn’t be in the market for a BRZ in the first place. BRZ (and GR86) buyers want fun at the forefront– with a splash of daily usability– and everything else falls behind such on the list of important traits. Amenities, as such, suffer; the infotainment is more circa 2016 than 2026, and that’s about as much as you get when it comes to tech (though Subaru EyeSight is present and nice to have from a safety perspective). The heated seats barely heat, and the seats are manually operated.

But, who cares? The seats are supportive and comfortable, the driving position is excellent, and you have a manual handbrake. Naturally-aspirated engine up front, rear-drive out back, stick shift in the middle. As far as “the perfect automotive formula” goes, this is damn-near spot-on.

The Landscape

Perhaps by now I’m beating a very, very dead horse. The BRZ, despite the Miata technically being a competitor, is really in a class of its own. Subaru’s variant starts at $35,860, with the tS we tested carrying a base price of $36,360 and as-tested price of $37,756. Over at Toyota, effectively the same vehicle starts from $31,400. The Miata starts at $30,430 and the Club trim– most comparable to the tS tested here– is $33,930 before options, many of which you want (like the Recaros and Brembo brakes), bringing the “best” Miata to around $40k. Go to the retractable hard-top RF and those numbers jump to a base of $38,450 and $41,900 for the Club (with the Recaro/Brembo package included in the latter’s price). Fun is pricey, as it turns out. One rung up the fancy ladder, BMW’s 2-Series Coupe starts at $42,200 and for the sporty M240i you have to spend $53,600.

Consider the BRZ the place in the venn diagram where the Miata Club and M240i overlap, albeit it’s more practical than the former and more dynamic than the latter, all while staying closer in price– and cost of ownership– to the Mazda. It was co-developed between Toyota and Subaru after all, and we don’t doubt the two companies want this joint venture to stand as something they can be proud of. Which they should be, considering the BRZ/FR-S/GR86 is coming up on fifteen years of production (over two generations), which is no small feat in the modern era. In a world littered with CUVs and SUVs, building and selling a sports coupe for that long should be hailed as nothing short of a miracle.

All of this is to say, the BRZ tS is a damn good time and, even with so few actual competitors, it’s fantastic when considered in a vacuum or otherwise. With a two-plus-two cabin and a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, manual-transmission configuration, the BRZ is in a class of few regardless of price. It’s a pure, true sports car that makes you happy to drive so long as you can ignore the outside world. Camaro pulls up next to you at a stoplight? They will smoke you. But will you have a bigger smile in the BRZ if you can be blind to others’ flaunting? Hell yes.

Yay

• Chassis from the automotive gods themselves
• Excellent handling, cornering, and steering feel
• Great gearbox

Nay

• Buzzy engine that could use more character
• Excess road nose from the front end
• Gas mileage isn’t what it could be

The Takeaway

• The 2026 Subaru BRZ tS is a truly excellent sports car with fun to be had in spades and the added bonus of real-life daily usability.

(The manufacturer provided insurance and a tank of fuel for this loan, and thanks as always to the team at FMI for arranging and coordinating logistics).

The post 2026 Subaru BRZ tS Review: Same As It Ever Was (& That’s A Good Thing) appeared first on Hooniverse.

A lot of things to like…

Let’s look at the list of equipment, which tells most of the story here and comprises so much of the Kicks’ price (since it’s light on some driving-focused niceties, which we’ll get to later). There’s a massive slew of safety tech on board– something entry-level buyers are particularly interested in– including things like automatic front/rear braking, pedestrian detection, rear cross traffic alert, lane departure warning, blind spot warning and intervention, intersection assist, parking sensors, and the list goes on.

Most notable is ProPilot Assist, which is Nissan’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) which is basically adaptive cruise control that can function in stop-and-go traffic, plus allows for basic hands-free functions. Big stuff for a small, relatively inexpensive car.

As for the luxuries, there’s a lot going on here, too. The interior has a 12.3” digital dashboard which is matched by a 12.”3 infotainment screen set in the middle of the center stack. There’s automatic HVAC, a big sunroof, USB-C plugs, keyless entry and start, and remote start as well. The funky exterior (which we like the design of quite a lot– or at least the front half– given the confines of the car’s class) has LED headlights and low beams plus LED daytime running lights. The Canyon Bronze Metallic paint won a lot of fans, too.

…And some things that are just so-so

Not all is spectacular though. The 2.0L DOHC 4-cylinder engine makes 141 hp and 140 lb-ft torque, which is adequate for pushing around the ~3,300 pound Kicks (extremely light by modern standards), but the Xtronic CVT is still fairly loathsome to live with especially when you ask it do so something other than accelerate at a leisurely pace. The EPA ratings of 27/34/30 MPG city/highway/combined is also mediocre and well behind class-leaders.

The ride quality, too, is rough even for the standards of a sub-compact crossover. Maybe the $34,715 as-tested price (optioned up from a $28,160 base price) is what makes us think it should be a little less impacted by imperfect surfaces. For the price, we think Nissan could have equipped it with better shocks. Then again, this was a press car, so who knows what life it lived before arriving in our hands.

Low entry price creeps up quickly, but a very solid vehicle overall

More on that price: Roughly $35k is a tiny amount by modern standards (the average new car sold in 2025 was around $50k), but the as-tested price can easily get you into a larger vehicle should you want it. The back seat of the Kicks is decidedly small, and you can get a very well-equipped, much more car-seat friendly Rogue SV AWD for the same money. Then again, we applaud Nissan for continuing to build truly small cars, as they work great in tighter situations, and if nothing else the truck is fairly sizable even if it comes at the expense of the rear seat. And not everyone needs a back seat for regular use, so we’re just glad a small “hatchback” (even if they call it a CUV) exists in the Nissan lineup.

On the road, the Kicks is unremarkable. It felt right at home driving through New York City en route to the New York International Auto Show, easily popping around in traffic and caring little about the city’s rough surfaces, but it’s not particularly fun or engaging to drive (which comes as no surprise to us). It’s a nimble, easy-to-drive thing with good visibility, proportions, and maneuverability, and spending time behind the wheel is quite easy. Just don’t expect it to be a driver’s vehicle.

Ultimately, the Kicks is a very competent vehicle all-around, albeit one that could be magnificent had it been built with more insulation from road/wind noise and a traditional gearbox rather than the CVT. The big kicker (ha) here for sales numbers is that the Kicks boasts a lot of equipment for the money, which is what buyers want these days, and that alone will move units.

Yay

• Tons of tech and safety equipment for the price
• Easy to drive and live with
• Amenities galore
• Small footprint makes for high maneuverability

Nay

• Tight rear legroom
• Fuel economy lacks behind class standards
• Crashy ride quality
• Substantial road and wind noise

The Takeaway

The 2026 Nissan Kicks SR AWD is a good vehicle, showing how much an automaker can do when they cram a lot of features desired by the car-buying masses into a small package. Those not wanting something slightly larger (a la Rogue) will find a lot to like in the Kicks, but it’s worth prospective buyers’ time to look around at the competition to see what can be gained by a better powertrain and/or more NVH prioritization. There’s a lot to like on the surface here, but we can see the novelties wearing thin once the shine and newness has worn off.

(The manufacturer provided insurance and a tank of fuel for this loan, and thanks as always to the team at FMI for arranging and coordinating logistics).

The post 2026 Nissan Kicks SR AWD Review appeared first on Hooniverse.