Driven Reviews

From the outside, and to the 99-percenters, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan looks like an over-priced BMW or a reworked Phantom with a taller roof that was designed to keep the brand from falling into the abyss of irrelevant brands. In fact, you might actually be right to some extent. The Cullinan does look a lot like the Phantom in the front thanks to the big rectangular grille, boxy headlights, and square front end. And, the brand is owned by BMW, so yeah, there’s some Bimmer DNA there too. That said, the Cullinan is the very first Rolls-Royce SUV and, outside of that, it also introduced a lot of new tech for the brand, including an off-road driving mode and all-wheel drive. Introduced in 2017, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan has been on the market for a few years now, and it’s been staring down the barrel of the Bentley Bentayga ever since. So, how does is hold up three years in? Well, we spent a week with the Cullinan to find out for ourselves, and this is what you need to know.

One of the oldest models in Volvo’s current lineup is still one of its most important. Despite being a six-year-old design now, Volvo is still selling its XC90 like hotcakes. And to keep things fresh, it has tweaked it for the 2021 model year and is offering it with a host of different engine choices.

Jeep Compass has been in the market for over a decade now and has become a staple moniker in the segment now. This two-row SUV is one of the rare models in this segment that can actually be taken off the roads without doubting its abilities. Of course, it’s no Cherokee, but it does a lot better than its rivals in this aspect. Although it features a heavy 2.4-liter engine, the power outputs aren’t that great and the nine-speed automatic gearbox makes the whole drive even more lethargic. However, it comes with a nice interior setup, decent tech features, and aesthetics that will please all and offend none. So, should you pick the Jeep Compass over the Honda CR-V or the Ford Escape?

The 2020 Genesis G70 is just a two-year-old car, but you cannot call it an amateur by any means. The company has managed to crack the code to make a sedan that is strong on performance, drives well in the real world, comes with all the bells and whistles, and feels luxurious inside-out. In a horde of other luxury sport sedans that include the Germans and the Japanese, this South Korean is the underdog that has all the potential to beat its rivals.

A top-spec 2020 G70 recently arrived at Top Speed’s headquarters and here are our impressions.

When Hyundai introduced the eighth-gen Sonata in 2019, it essentially built on top of the already awesome styling that was brought with the seventh-gen’s mid-cycle facelift. Today, the car looks like it sits in a higher price bracket than it does and in hybrid form it delivers some pretty impressive fuel economy figures too. Does the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid have the looks, comfort, and driving experience to nudge itself above cars like the Toyota Camry Hybrid and Honda Accord Hybrid? Well, we just spent a week with the Sonata Hybrid, and we actually have a lot to say about it. Here’s what you need to know.

It took 27 years for the Jaguar F-Type to be born, with its roots tracing all the way back to the XJ41 and XJ42 concepts of 1986. There was also the F-Type Concept back in 2000 and the C-X16 Concept in 2011. Finally, in 2013, this sexy two-seater grand tourer was born and – oddly enough – it was launched as a convertible first with the coupe model to follow a year later. That is, technically where the F-Type’s story stops as it’s been on the market ever since, soldiering on as a first-generation model. It was facelifted in 2019 for the 2020 model year and we’ve been wondering if the now-seven-year-old F-Type has aged as well as other dinosaurs on the market like the Dodge Challenger (2008) and Nissan GT-R (2007). Well, we finally got behind the wheel of the Jaguar F-Type P380 AWD, and let’s just say that we had a lot of fun. This is what you need to know about it.

Drive the new Mercedes-AMG GT C and you will get attention wherever you go. It is a very special car that hopes to go after the Porsche 911. We found the car to be a work of art. This is definitely not an ordinary car. It is extremely quick and full of luxury touches so the question becomes is it worth the price? It really depends on your paycheck so let’s dig deeper.

When we first saw the Genesis G90 at its debut, we know that Hyundai’s luxury arm was onto something, but the G90 suffered from the same thing most new models fall victim to – there was definitely some room for improvement. For the 2020 model year, Genesis revamped the G90 rather extensively, and we finally got a chance to check it out in person. Does the G90 finally live up to the Halo it’s meant to wear in Genesis’ lineup? And can the Genesis G90 wholeheartedly compete with cars like the Lexus LS and Audi A8? It’s time we find out!

The BMW M8 Gran Coupe offers the same rapid and effortless acceleration, impressive interior, and command of the road without the sacrifice that comes with owning the standard M8 – a lack of interior space. In a sense, the M8 Gran Coupe sort of fixes everything that was wrong with the M8 coupe while bringing the M8 to a place where it’s more capable of carrying a family or – at the very least – four full-grown adults. Does the mean that the M8 Gran Coupe is just another four-door coupe or is there more substance to it? We spent a week with one to find out, and this is what we’ve learned.

The Land Rover Defender needs no introduction. After a long run, the company sent it on a hiatus in 2016, only for it to return in a freshed, modern avatar to keep up with the competition. It came out looking a little less old-school, but still as rugged as ever.

This time, it wasn’t just the sturdy build that made it a compelling off-roader, but also the modern gadgets and gizmos that could put the other off-roaders out there to shame. The top trim is dangerously close to the six-digit price territory, but will that stop people from buying it? Or will customers look at other cheaper alternatives, like the Toyota 4Runner and to an extent, the Jeep Grand Cherokee?

Any new version of the Toyota RAV4 is automatically a big deal. Aside from a few big pickup trucks, the RAV4 is America’s favorite vehicle. And it has also been a winner among eco-conscious buyers; not long after the gas/electric RAV4 Hybrid debuted in 2016, it became America’s favorite hybrid — even outselling Toyota’s iconic Prius.

So when Toyota announced the 2021 RAV4 Prime, it was a big deal. Forget about the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, a low-range plug-in hybrid version of a forgettable SUV. Forget about a planned Ford Escape plug-in hybrid, which doesn’t offer all-wheel-drive and whose on-sale date got bumped back a year over fire risks. Forget about various plug-in sedans and hatchbacks, and various expensive luxury plug-in hybrids that can barely crack 20 miles of low-speed all-electric use. And forget about the range anxiety that keeps many people away from fully electric vehicles. No, it’s the RAV4 Prime that promises to make Americans plug in their cars en masse.

We spent a week in the new 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime to see how it bridges the gap between the gasoline and electric worlds. Here’s what we found.

The Buick Encore GX is marketed as a small luxury SUV and it lives up to its name. It comes with a lot of features in the base trim and offers two engine options and drive layouts for you to choose from. The SUV looks decent on the outside, is as spacious as its rivals on the inside, and generates enough grunt to keep you happy pottering around in the city. For tasks like carrying your grocery and taking your kid to school, this urban commuter does its job well. But, expecting anything beyond it is a cardinal sin. With a fairly low starting price and heavy discounts on offer, will you choose this over the Audi Q3 and the BMW X1?

The Kia Seltos is the newcomer to Kia’s lineup. It’s been in production since 2019, but 2021 marks the first year that it will be available on U.S. soil. It has just recently made it into dealerships as Kia begins to roll out its 2021 crop of vehicles, and it’s poised to make quite the disruption in the subcompact crossover market. Of course, let’s be clear, this still isn’t Kia’s smallest model – it’s the model designed to sit between the Soul and the Sportage. Highlights of the Seltos include better-than-expected cargo room, a Bose audio system, and the range-topping engine that’s good for 175 horsepower. What might be even more impressive, though, is the Seltos starting point of around $22,000.

Sometimes, a car needs a full redesign to address a fundamental flaw. Perhaps it’s too small, or too big. Maybe its styling is stale or unappealing. Or perhaps its platform can’t support modern needs.

The 2020 Passat has revised interior and exterior styling, more standard features, and an updated engine. That’s a cheaper set of changes than a full redesign, and Volkswagen is passing those savings on to the customer. Is that enough to excuse the Passat’s old bones? Or are you better off opting for a fresher competitor? Here’s what we learned from our time behind the wheel.

Nissan Frontier is considered to be one of the best workhorses you can buy today. It never had any oomph factor and was happy being in its comfort zone as a work truck. It has remained pretty much the same for 15 years and Nissan never bothered to bring in a new generation because, well, why fix something that ain’t broken?

Given the long wait, everyone expected the next-gen Frontier to get a complete makeover inside out. The Japanese automaker still hasn’t brought out the new generation, but it decided to give us a glimpse of the future by plonking in a new engine and transmission in the same old body.

The new engine and gearbox come at a cost; the cost being $8,000. The starting price of the truck has gone up considerably and a lot of us were confused if it’s worth the hike or not. So, here’s our take on the 2020 Nissan Frontier that arrived at TopSpeed’s headquarters in the PRO-4X trim finished in a Blue exterior shade.

The Range Rover Velar is a fairly new product in the company’s lineup, but an important one. It looks like the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport’s lovechild and even sits in between them in the lineup. There is a lot of part-sharing with the Jaguar F-Pace, but the Velar is more suited to folks who prefer an SUV with better off-road dynamics. In the top-spec, it is loaded with features and comes with a 5.0-liter V-8 that dishes out 500 ponies. The Velar starts around $55,000, but the mouth-watering top trim costs an eye-watering $90,000.

The 2020 Land Rover Range Velar recently arrived at TopSpeed’s headquarters in the top-of-the-line SVAutobiography Dynamic trim, and here’s what we have to say about it.

When Chrysler introduced the Pacifica Hybrid, it rattled to ever-shrinking minivan segment to its core. Not necessarily because it offered some new, ground-breaking technology but because it’s quite literally the only hybrid minivan on the market – at least until the Toyota Sienna lineup goes hybrid for the 2021 model year. Until then, however, the Pacifica gets to wear the crown. We drove the Pacifica just a year ago and we had somewhat mixed opinions about it – has anything changed this time around? Let’s find out!

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio has been on the market just four short years, and the more aggressive Stelvio Quadrifoglio has a year less under its belt. We’ve already learned that the Stelvio can hold its own against everyday luxury SUVs, but halfway through its lifecycle can it still deliver the performance and comfort expected from something that carries an Alfa Romeo badge? Is the Quadrifoglio still worth the $80,500 entry level price in a luxury crossover market that grows, quite literally, by the day? Well, FCA stopped by TopSpeed headquarters with a Stelvio Quadrifoglio to let us find out for ourselves – this is what our week-long experience taught us.

The first-generation 4 Series still looks good to this day. It’s even better to drive, thanks in particular to the 50:50 weight distribution between the two axles and BMW’s affinity for a driver-centric experience - and by that, I don’t mean just the fact that the cockpit points every button, knob, or screen at whoever is sitting behind the wheel.

That genuine appetite for spirited driving is still present in the new 2021 BMW 4 Series, albeit wrapped up in a polarizing package. What I’m really trying to say is that this book should under no circumstances be judged by its cover. That would be a mistake.

In a world where large SUVs are becoming the norm, there’s no shortage of models to choose from. Having recently driven the Nissan Armada and knowing that the Ford Expedition is now two years old as of 2020, we figured it was time to see if Ford’s resident large SUV can hold its own in a highly competitive, constantly evolving segment. After spending a week with the Expedition Platinum, we discovered a lot that we liked and a few things we didn’t – this is our experience and what you need to know.