Long-Term Test
AFTER TRACKING EVERY FILL-UP, SERVICE, PROBLEM, COMPLAINT, DENT, AND DOG HAIR, CAR AND DRIVER PRESENTS THE 40,000-MILE EVALUATION.
ARRIVAL MAY 2021
DEPARTURE MAY 2022
Would you ever believe that this green literally, not figuratively-hybrid was the most popular car in our long-term fleet during its 12-month tenure? "No way," you say. Well, despite that we have a parking lot filled with the likes of a BMW M3, a Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0, a Chevrolet Corvette, and a Ram 1500 TRX, a minivan the terminally underappreciated automotive breed that new dads fear and cool moms look down on-was in fact the most popular. Our 40,000-mile test took 350 days. Why was that? Simple: This is one highly evolved minivan.
This all-wheel-drive Sienna Limited arrived back in May 2021, and it stickered for $51,885. We might have gone for a lesser trim, but when we saw Cypress green on the options sheet, we knew that was the van for us. Limited is the lowest trim in which the color was available, and while it's $1960 less than the Platinum, we felt that the Limited had everything we wanted: leather seats, sliding second-row captain's chairs that shuffle rearward far enough to make Yao Ming smile, more USB outlets than a Delta Sky Club lounge, and a 245-hp hybrid powertrain consisting of a 2.5-liter inline-four, three electric motors, and a small traction battery.
Rants and Raves
Vans get no love, which is sad because they're so useful. The Sienna is so good: a silent, supple, no-BS van with 30-plus-mpg fuel economy and a great interior. -TONY QUIROGA
The powertrain isn't bothersome when you're driving gently on flat Michigan roads. But once you get into the hills of Pennsylvania, the engine groans more than my preteen when asked to do her chores. -DAVE VANDERWERP
This story is from the July - August 2022 edition of Car and Driver.
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This story is from the July - August 2022 edition of Car and Driver.
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The Best Odds
SOMETIMES-NOT OFTEN, BUT sometimes-car manufacturers create something semi-wondrous that is also borderline irrational and three-quarters inexplicable to their own marketing types.
Mileage Booster
Kia Carnival Hybrid HIGHS: Big mpg bump, no CVT weirdness, solid ride and handling. LOWS: Shared HVAC and audio controls, second-row loungers can't be removed, changing brake-pedal feel.
Medium Spicy
Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo HIGHS: Lengthy list of features, spacious interior, generous trunk. LOWS: Uncomfortably flat seats, rivals are quicker, only modest grip.
Drivelines
HORACIO PAGANI IS A visionary designer and self-taught engineer.
Suspensions of Disbelief
It's easy to say a vehicle rides well but much more difficult to explain the nuanced implications of that highly subjective statement.
PUMPED-UP KICKS
NISSAN ISN'T SHY about experimenting with its subcompact of ferings. In the recent past, it briefly gave us the adorable Cube, seemingly designed by Hello Kitty, followed by the frog-eyed Juke that somehow spawned a six-figure R-badged super-SUV in other markets.
THE ALFA ROMEO GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO. THE BMW M3 COMPETITION. AND THE CADILLAC CT4-VBLACKWING HEAD SOUTH ONA ROAD TRIP TO FIND OUT WHICH ONE BEST DELIVERS ON THE SPORTS-SEDAN PROMISE.
One of us, gassing up the 2025 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, says, \"No, we drove from Michigan.
SINCE WE APPRECIATE GREAT TALENT IN ALL ITS FORMS, WE ALSO HONOR THE 10BEST TRUCKS, SUVS, AND VANS. INCLUDING ONE WINNER WITH LITERAL BUZZ.
THE DISCUSSION AROUND this year's 10Best Trucks competition had some editors wishing the award were called 12Best.
OUR VERSION OF A 2024 AUTOMOTIVE AWARDS SHOW (SOMETIMES HUMOROUS, SOMETIMES NOT).
America's fastest senior citizen made the save of the year when his Funny Car's engine exploded at Virginia Motorsports Park.
"A ROMANCE THAT BUILDS WITH SPECTACULAR PASSION. THE LONGER YOU DRIVE IT, THE BETTER IT GETS."
When the history of the sports sedan is written, the late-narrative plot twist that few would have seen coming is the emergence of CadillacCadillac!-as the keeper of the flame. And yet, that's exactly what's happened.
