Mike Lale
The instinct is logical: leave later, drive faster, arrive at the same time. A 400-mile drive to the mountains, the beach house, or the family reunion happens every few months, and gaining 30 or 40 minutes of it back by pushing the cruise control ten miles an hour higher seems like a reasonable trade. Most … Read more
The trip is a weekend drive to the lake cabin: two adults, two kids in the second row, a dog, a 62-quart cooler, a stroller, and whatever else the car ends up absorbing in the driveway. Folding the third row is not an option because the third row has people in it. Folding the second … Read more
Mountain roads are a specific kind of problem for motion-sensitive passengers. Not the kind of problem that a better driver fixes, or that stopping for air resolves quickly, or that a reassuring window-down break fully resets. The lateral acceleration from a switchback at 30 mph sits almost precisely in the frequency range that the human … Read more
Compact SUVs sell well on the promise of doing everything. Commuting, road trips, light off-road, occasional towing. What the window sticker does not advertise is what happens to fuel economy the moment a trailer clips onto the hitch. Real-world data from vehicles like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V show highway mpg dropping 30 to … Read more
The front row gets the strongest AC output, the cleanest airflow, and the controls within arm’s reach of the driver. The third row gets whatever is left over — after the air has traveled the full length of the vehicle, passed through two rows of seats and human bodies, and arrived at the rear of … Read more
The front row gets the strongest AC output, the cleanest airflow, and the controls within arm’s reach of the driver. The third row gets whatever is left over — after the air has traveled the full length of the vehicle, passed through two rows of seats and human bodies, and arrived at the rear of … Read more
A four-hour drive is long enough for the wrong car to become a problem. Stiff entry and exit at every stop. A steering wheel that pulls in Sport mode after hour two. Climate controls buried in touchscreen menus when someone in the back is cold. An air suspension bounce on undulating pavement that sends the … Read more
The filter said “EV charging available.” The hotel confirmed it on the phone. You arrived at 7 PM with 22 percent battery, plugged in, went upstairs for dinner, and felt like you had solved the road trip. By 6 AM checkout, the car shows 58 percent. The next leg is 180 miles. The math doesn’t … Read more
The camping gear has to go somewhere. The SUV is already full of people, and what’s left is a choice between strapping a cargo box to the roof or bolting a hitch carrier out back. Most buyers decide based on access, aesthetics, or what they already own. Almost none of them run the aerodynamic numbers … Read more
The dashboard of a new SUV looks cleaner than ever. One wide screen, no knobs, no buttons, nothing to interrupt the sweep of glass and carbon trim from door to door. It photographs beautifully and sells the car in the showroom. Then someone in the back seat needs more air, the driver reaches for the … Read more