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In the Poconos, a Cornucopia of Cars

The International Motor Press Association (IMPA)’s “Spring Brake” event is a chance, in warm weather, for auto journalists to drive a wide cross-section of new cars. The setting May 21 was the Camelback Resort in the Poconos, skiing in the winter and a water park in the summer. The idea was simple: Drive the cars up the mountain to the parking lot at the top, then drive them back down again. Repeat with another car. Here’s a rundown of the drives:

Mazda CX-90 Premium Plus. The Premium Plus CX-90, the top of the line, starts at $57,325. The model replaces the less-high-end CX-9. Mazda is not known for luxury cars, and the CX-90 is a conscious effort to offer a competitive three-row SUV, but it doesn’t stand out in a crowded field. Automakers were eager to get rid of the inline six (in favor of V-8s) in the mid-1950s, but it’s literally a badge of honor in this model. The 3.3-liter engine is turbocharged, with versions offering 280 or 340 horsepower. Handling was not all that agile on the mountain roads, especially with the company showing what it can do with its ever-popular Miata. Also sampled was the CX-50 Turbo Meridian Edition ($42,670) which seemed a happy compromise between utility and performance.

Honda Civic Type R. The car, resplendent in bright red, was a throwback of sorts. Few manufacturers are offering hot hatchbacks with manual transmissions these days. The Type R starts at $45,890, which is of course exorbitant for a Honda Civic, but not so bad when considering the performance. The car sure looks the part, with spoilers, hood scoops and air dams in profusion. The bright red seats wear red seatbelts and sat on red carpets, and red also shined through the wheels from the Brembo brake calipers.

The turbocharged two-liter four is a popular engine globally, and in this configuration it yields 315 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, enough to get it to 60 in less than five seconds. And it handled beautifully through the mountain curves. Every bump is felt through the steering wheel, which is a good thing if you like your car to communicate its experiences. But speed bumps felt like mountains. The car was also kind of noisy, which might make it a bit trying as a daily commuter.

Lucid Air Pure. These EVs do everything so well, and with such performance, that it’s hard to see the added value of the traditional supercar. The Air Pure is the single-motor version, starting at $71,400—the cheapest Lucid. And yet it showed the same quality materials as the upper trims, which peak at the $250,500 Sapphire (capable of sub-two-second zero-to-60 times). The Pure, with its motor driving the rear wheels, offers an impressive 430 horsepower and 4.3-second zero-to-60 times. It’s full of thoughtful touches, such as the below-floor storage in the trunk, the 12-way power seats and the neatly integrated central screen. The 92-kilowatt-hour battery pack yields 410 miles of range. If the battery runs low, it can recoup 300 miles of range in 21 minutes at a fast charger.

The Pure felt like a smaller car on the hillclimbs. Lucid, whose funding was recently replenished with $3 billion from stock sales and the Saudi private wealth fund (which owns 60 percent of the company).

Hyundai Ioniq 5N. Consumers will pay a premium to buy the performance version of the Ioniq 5 electric car, $67,475. But the money buys access to as much as 641 horsepower. With two electric motors the baseline is just over 600 horses, but the N Grin Boost feature (activated by a big red NGB button) temporarily (up to 10 seconds) pushes that up to 641. The styling is very much from the same styling school as the Honda Type R—full of big wheels and sticky tires, with spoilers, fender flares and go-faster protrusions galore. You either love it or hate it. The cabin is more subdued than said Honda, and quite tasteful.

Acura MDX Type S SH-AWD. The three-row MDX is a bestseller for Acura, considerably outselling the two-row RDX. The Type S, starting at $68.450, is the sporty version, if that’s not a contradiction in terms when discussing a big SUV. The three-liter turbo V-6 engine produces 355 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque (a gain of 65 hp and 87 pound-feet over a standard MDX). The SH-AWD stands for “Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive System.” The car was nicely appointed and finished, with a nice-sounding ELS Studio sound system. Second-row passengers get useful climate settings. The mountain road was probably not the best place to test out its capabilities, but it did not resemble a sports car in any fashion.

 Genesis G70 3.3T AWD. This kind of luxury sedan is more something I can see in my garage. All the Genesis cars are impressive, and there’s no sense that there are two levels above this one—the G80 and G90. The only compromise is rear-seat legroom in this more compact car. The G70 was refreshed in 2022, and sports a 300-horsepower, turbo 2.5-liter four in base form or, as tested, a 365-horsepower 3.3-liter V-6. You’ll pay $51,700 to get into that power plant. This car seemed to have just about everything, quiet when needed, a top accelerator when that was needed. The Lexicon stereo was nice, as was the two-tone beige-and-black interior. The G70 is in BMW and Audi territory.

Ford Ranger Raptor. I’m pretty out of the demographic for this one. The only truck I’ve admired recently is the Ford Maverick (hybrid version), and the Tremor version of that one, on the stand here, was always being driven by someone else. The $57,065 Raptor is very boy racer, and hard to see as an actual work vehicle. Its twin-turbo V-8 produces 405 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. It’s only available as a crew cab, with a smallish five-foot cargo area. The big knobby tires gave it a very rough ride, especially on acceleration, and it was noisy as all heck. But that’s what these buyers want, isn’t it? The interior was on the garish side, dominated by a big vertical 12.4-inch center screen.

Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition. This wasn’t actually on the Toyota stand; it’s the car I drove to the Poconos. I just wanted to put in a word. For $37,470 in the Woodland version, the owner gets a really reliable and versatile small SUV that can deliver 37 mpg overall. Great suite of safety features. The 580-mile cruising range meant we could drive it up to Boston and back without visiting a gas station, and the trip to the Poconos was similar.

Testing the 2024 SUVs, Hybrids, EVs and Performers

As most of you know, I write about cars for a living. While the money isn’t spectacular, the fringe benefits include review cars for the week. If I was a movie critic, I’d get into films free. When I tell people about this, they say, first, “How did you get that job?” Then they think a bit and say, “I could do that job.” Who knows, maybe they could, but I’m the one who gets the keys, at least right now.

Here are quick hits on some cars that have been in my garage recently, all 2024 models:

Lexus UX 250h F Sport Premium. Hybrid SUVs hit a sweet spot in the market right now, so an upscale off-roader that gets good fuel economy (42 mpg combined) will undoubtedly attract tire kickers. The small size makes it easy to park but rear-seat passengers might want something roomier. The hybrid drivetrain produces 181 horsepower, yielding a car with fairly leisurely acceleration—around eight seconds to 60. The F Sport hybrid (above) starts at $44,120.

Lexus RX 500h F Sport. This one’s interesting, a biggish crossover SUV that’s been set up as a performance car. A bit schizophrenic, that. And the styling is a bit ungainly. But the car sure moves out. With a 2.4-liter turbo four and a pair of e-motors, there’s 366 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. That’s a 91-horsepower upgrade from any other RX. The 500h can get to 60 mph in just 5.5 seconds. Given the luxury appointments and size, it’s not surprising the car weighs more than 4,700 pounds. It’s pricey at a starting price of $63,800.

Adding to the bottom line are some options you might want, including the Mark Levinson infotainment system, which includes a 14-inch touchscreen and updated navigation ($2,265). Unless the kids get cold easily, skip the heated rear seats ($1,230).

Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin Ultimate and XC60 Recharge eAWD Ultimate Dark. Volvo is in a good position to support customers who want to go green, with either battery electrics or plug-in hybrids in several sizes and prices. There’s also the Polestar offerings, with related powertrains, to consider (both companies are owned by China’s Geely). The specs on the XC40 (above) are impressive—293 miles of EV range, fast-charging capability of 10-80 percent in 28 minutes, and 402 horsepower on tap. It can reach 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. The Volvo is attractively styled, inside and out, and a very comfortable cruiser. Google is built in, and there’s an onboard air purifier. It’s a quite nice approach to electrification with seating for five, but rather pricey at $53,745 (the Core model; for the Ultimate version with updated Harman Kardon sound and adaptive cruise, it’s $60,095).

The XC60 Recharge is a plug-in hybrid that wrings 455 horsepower and 523 pound-feet from a two-liter four-cylinder turbo motor and a pair of electrics for AWD. The EV range is 35 miles, but the whole car will go 560 miles without needing to stop—a big advantage of PHEVs. It’s impressive that the XC60 Recharge delivers 63 MPGe but moving all that weight without electric assist yields 28 mpg. In normal operation you should save $1,500 in fuel costs over five years, compared to an average new car.  The SUV is quite luxurious inside, with features like Nappa leather and a crystal glass gear shifter. There are lots of thoughtful touches, and also Volvo’s state-of-the-art safety tech. Rear seat passengers will have plenty of legroom, and also heated seats. This is another pricey one at $67,850. The Ultimate Dark option produces a blackout treatment.

Toyota Highlander Hybrid Platinum Hybrid AWD. Toyota’s strategy of concentrating on hybrids and PHEVs is starting to look smart in the current marketplace. And the Highlander Hybrid (above) is going to win over a lot of fans. The hybrid drive (the same one that’s in the RAV4 Hybrid) yields 36 mpg combined. It can reach 60 mph in a bit over eight seconds, so no speed demon—but who buys a Highlander for performance? Frankly, if you’re buying a Highlander there’s no reason not to get the hybrid version, because there are no compromises in the passenger compartment or roadability, just a modest bump in the price. Don’t expect a roomy third row, but the Highlander is quite utilitarian otherwise. Families, unless they took Cheaper by the Dozen literally, are likely to love it. The LE starts at $40,970. The up-market Platinum (like the test car) is $51,425 before additional options.

Hyundai Kona Limited AWD. Hyundai and Kia are on a roll in 2024, producing some of the best cars in the world, beautifully styled and highly functional, at an attractive price. The Kona (above) is a good entry point, and even in its top form, the Limited, it’s still only $33,175 (the base model is $25,625). The extra money gets the upmarket 1.6-liter turbo motor that’s good for 190 horsepower. There’s an attractive cabin with a pair of 12.3-inch displays that sit together in a wide oval pod. The accent lighting is neat.

The Kona was updated for 2024 with a longer wheelbase and thinner front seats, which combine to make the back seat more comfortable. The fuel economy could be better: it’s 24 mpg city and 29 highway.