Comparisons

By now, it’s painfully obvious that Toyota isn’t interested in reliving the glorious 1990s. Back in those days, they had the SW20 MR-2/MR-S, the Celica GT-Four and SS3, and let’s not forget the venerable Supra Mk IV. However, sports cars cost a lot to develop and their market niche is insignificant compared to something like a Corolla. You can see why, nowadays, Toyota has two front-engine rear-wheel-drive sports cars and both of which are not pure Toyota products – the GR Supra and GR86. The latter, though, is more worthy of the Toyota badge and here’s why.

Electric pickup trucks are all the rage right now. They are heavy on tech features, look futuristic, are quick enough to put supercars to shame, and come with power figures that will leave your jaws dropped. But in the midst of all this, we’ve lost sight of what matters the most – can it be used as a capable work truck? Yes, automakers have announced impressive towing capacities and whatnot, but are they worthy enough to replace your fuel-powered ‘work’ truck today?

Electrification is the way to go whether you like it or not. Enough and more has been said about the advent of EVs, so we won’t get into that. Every automaker is coming up with their own new offerings, but there are some that stand out. The Kia EV6 is that stand-out model. Built from the ground up, the EV6 doesn’t seem like a half-hearted attempt from the automaker just because it needs to have a presence in the EV market. It is based on a new platform, a new design philosophy, and excels in most of the departments. It isn’t a perfect product, obviously, but it has a lot going in its favor and that’s precisely why it should be the talk of the town and why Porsche should be a little worried.

GMC introduced the Hummer EV supertruck last year and has now followed it up with the Hummer EV SUV. At the onset, it seems like a pickup truck that comes with a roof welded on the bed to make it an SUV. However, there is a lot more than meets the eye. Unlike the Rivian truck and SUV twins, the Hummer EV SUV has been placed as an inferior offering. There is a difference in specs, power outputs, and other things that makes it look like the second fiddle to the EV truck. The pricing, however, is on par for the standard models and there is a difference only in the Launch Edition model.

McLaren promised to roll out a mid-engined grand tourer, and when McLaren makes a promise, you know it’s going to deliver. It didn’t take long for the British supercar brand to come through on its word because the McLaren GT is here, and it looks every bit like the performance grand tourer the folks over at Woking, England said it would be. Classifications notwithstanding, the GT is more potent than the 570GT and more practical than the 650S. It’s also as light as a feather, at least when you compare it to other grand tourers of its ilk. Combine its weight with its power and performance capabilities, and McLaren could be onto something when it described the GT as a superlight supercar with perception-altering potential.

One of Cadillac’s most iconic modern cars, the CTS-V went into the history books in 2019, leaving the American brand without a performance midsize sedan after 15 years. The supercharged V-8 four-door returned in 2021, this time around under the CT5-V Blackwing badge. It’s powered by the same 6.2-liter V-8 as its predecessor, but it packs more oomph and more modern tech, looking to take on the popular BMW M5 and Mercedes-AMG E63. But is it powerful and quick enough to give its German competitors a run for their money? Let’s find out in the comparison below.

Cadillac is back in the performance game with the CT4-V Blackwing. A spiritual successor to the ATS-V, discontinued in 2019, the Blackwing marks Cadillac’s return to the high-performance compact segment. Main entries in this market include the BMW M3, Mercedes-AMG C63, and Audi RS4. The latter is not available in the U.S., so the Blackwing will face competition from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Is Cadillac’s hot sedan for it? Is it powerful and quick enough to give its German competition a run for its money? Let’s find out.

Ford was preparing for the 2021 F-150’s launch for quite some time. The hype surrounding the world’s best-selling truck was immense, but the pandemic threw a spanner in the works and Ford had to settle for a rather subdued launch.

Still, people had their eyes glued to the screens to watch the live steam of the truck’s debut and to see what’s new this time around. The 14th generation needed to be a step up in all the aspects given how Ram and Chevy have upped the ante in the last few years. There are improvements in most of the departments, however, there are also a few things that we would’ve liked better. So, here’s a guide that compares the 2021 F-150 to its predecessor in terms of exterior, interior, tech features, engine options, towing capabilities, and price.

People buy pickup trucks to haul and tow a lot more compared to any other type of vehicle. Even though trucks have gotten better in terms of aesthetics, ride quality, premium features, and so on, the biggest selling points are hauling and towing prowess.

No matter what, this is one thing that automakers can’t compromise on. With the number of trims, engine options, and body styles offered on trucks these days, it can get confusing to get a hang of which truck offers what kind of ratings. So, here’s a comprehensive look at the best trucks you can buy in the U.S. today – the 2021 Ford F-150 and the 2021 Ram 1500.

One of the most important aspects of a truck is its towing and payload prowess. We see automakers improve their ratings quite often, and that has to do with the structural changes made to the truck. However, this is rendered useless if you don’t offer a powerful mill under the hood to pull all the weight.

Truckmakers are known to offer multiple engine options, but you can’t have them in any body style or trim level. All of this can get quite confusing, so we decided to compare them all. We’ve already covered the 2021 Ford F-150 vs 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, so this time, it’s the 2021 Ram 1500’s turn to be compared to the king of the jungle.

For any prospective truck owners, towing and payload capacities play a major role when they’re choosing their future acquisition. Automakers realize this, too, and try to up the ante with every new model they release. The segment’s top two contenders – Ford and Chevrolet – also did the same with their 2021 model year trucks, the F-150 and the Silverado 1500. Given the number of permutations and combinations these companies have to offer in terms of trims, body styles, engine options, and drive layouts, it could get very confusing to filter out the data. So here’s a comprehensive towing and payload guide for these two trucks that break down the essentials for you.

Pickup trucks play a very important part of the American automotive culture. Companies like Ford, Chevrolet, and Ram have capitalized on it and offer their products in various combinations. Ford and Chevrolet offer six engine options each and their spread clashes with each other, but while maintaining exclusivity over the other. For instance, the Ford F-150 is offered with a hybrid engine, but the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 isn’t. The Silverado is offered with three transmissions, but the F-150 only with one. All-in-all, it boils down to your requirement at the end of the day and what fits your bill the best.

We’ve compiled a list of all the engine options offered on the 2021 models of the F-150 and the Silverado, and what trim levels they are offered on.

The auto industry has changed a lot in recent years. Once the leaders of the premium market, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi are now being given a run for their money by brands previously known to produce cheap and uninspiring cars. Like Kia and Hyundai.

BMW was also known for being THE driver’s car, but this feat has been diluted as well. Recently to the point where the so-called uninspiring brands deliver vehicles with matching or even better performance. Before you say that a Kia can’t be as good as BMW (you’re probably going to quote driving dynamics), you need to look at a comparison by AMCI Testing, which reveals that the new Kia K5 out-performs the BMW 330i.

The long awaited second-generation Subaru BRZ is finally here with notable inside and out, as well as a brand-new engine under the hood. The redesign is far from dramatic, but it brings the relatively old BRZ into the 2020s in every aspect. Performance aside, the 2022 BRZ comes with a heavily updated interior that looks fresh and packs more technology than before. Let’s find out how it compares to the outgoing model.

In a rare showing of public humility, BMW is throwing flowers in Mercedes-Benz’s direction. The Bavarian automaker has taken to social media to acknowledge what a lot of people already know: the all-new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is balls-to-the-wall awesome.

BMW seems to think so, too, telling its fierce rival that it is a big fan of the S-Class. It’s a nice acknowledgment from BMW’s part, though it is worth mentioning that the next-generation BMW 7 Series is already in the works. Seems like BMW knows that Mercedes raised the segment’s bar with the all-new S-Class. Now it’s BMW’s turn to meet Mercedes at that level with the next-generation 7er.

The Maserati MC20 is the first supercar to come from the legendary Modenese automaker since the mid-’00s and, right as it arrived, the MC20 has sprung comparison after comparison with Maserati’s last mid-engined creation, the MC12. Many have already labeled the MC20 as the ’spiritual successor of the MC12,’ but we beg to differ.

Maserati just unveiled the MC20, its first proper sports car in more than a decade. Launched some 14 years after the iconic MC12 was discontinued, the MC20 is considered by many a spiritual successor to the

based supercar. But is this new car a proper successor to the MC12? Does it have what it takes to fill the void left after the MC12 was discontinued? Let’s find out in the comparison below.

Jeep took the wraps off the Wrangler 4xe and it seems like an environment-friendly off-roader. Although there were some apprehensions about this new hybrid version of the off-roader, the automaker has made big claims. While the company has hyped the Wrangler 4xe in general, there was one claim that said “New Level of Benchmark Jeep Off-road Capability”. From what we knew before the launch, the 4xe was going to be a hybrid version of the standard Wrangler that would be more efficient and a little more torquey. Now that it has been unveiled, does it offer a new level of off-road capability?

Jeep has provided some information on the Wrangler 4xe’s models and specs, but there’s still a lot that’s not known. So, for the sake of comparison, we’ll be pitting the Rubicon trims of the standard Wrangler and the Wrangler 4xe, and here’s how they measure:

The first-generation Nissan Titan was a bold, brash, revolutionary pickup. Back in 2003, it marched into Detroit’s stronghold with a monster 5.6-liter V8 engine — making a then-mighty 300 horsepower — and an aggressive, head-turning design. It was the first and last time Nissan set out to make a class-leading full-size pickup truck. Nearly two decades later, the current Titan hasn’t changed dramatically under the skin or under the hood.

These days, it’s Ram that’s making waves. In the famously brand-loyal segment, Ram started winning market share with the 2009 model’s unusually smooth ride. It continued its luxury focus by introducing an extra-posh interior in the current generation, which arrived as a 2019 model. Smooth, quiet, elegantly finished, and filled with advanced technology, the current Ram 1500 is a master of civility while still offering commendable capability. The 2020 model also marks the return of a capable yet fuel-efficient “EcoDiesel” engine.

But even if Nissan isn’t making headlines anymore, it never stopped making Titans. It introduced the second-generation Titan as a 2017 model, and it followed up with new features, upgraded infotainment, and some mechanical updates for 2020. We recently spent back-to-back weeks in the updated Titan and an EcoDiesel-equipped Ram 1500. Here’s what we learned about these two trucks.

From the day Ram revealed the TRX Concept, people have been calling it the Raptor-killer. The concept TRX came with loads of off-road accessories, a big engine, and a star factor that made people believe that it could dethrone the Ford F-150 Raptor. Four years later, the company revealed the production-spec 1500 TRX, and it retained almost everything displayed in the concept truck. At the onset, the 1500 TRX is very impressive, but can this new entrant take on the veteran F-150 Raptor with the DNA of the company that has been ruling for decades together?

The McLaren F1 was, for almost 15 years, the world’s fastest car and it still is the fastest car powered by a naturally aspirated engine. Beyond the impressive performance, though, the F1 is a civilized grand tourer capable of seating three adults and, because of McLaren’s unique maintenance and repair program, it’s virtually indestructible.

But it isn’t perfect and the one man that has kept a record of all of its flaws is Gordon Murray, the F1’s designer. Now, as he prepares to begin testing his latest creation, the T.50, Murray was able to open up on all the niggly bits and pieces that annoyed him on the F1 and that he was able to get absolutely right on the T.50.

Alfa Romeo introduced the Giulia with very high hopes as redeeming itself as a producer of thrill-inducing, beautiful but also sporty sedans. To some extent, the luscious Giulia had the desired effect, but it still needs some smoothing around the corners if it wants to take on the die-hard Germans.

The same can be said about the Giulia QV, which certainly got the performance and looks right, but still struggles on the reliability front when it comes to mechanical and electrical systems. But how does it fare when driven next to its spiritual predecessor, the GTV?