Tag Archives: volkswagen

EVs Make a Comeback, but SUVs Still Rule the Road in the U.S.

The spring of 2026 has turned the auto industry on its head. The electric automobile, pronounced dead on arrival, has miraculously seen a rebirth. EV owners, until very recently shocked at the low prices their cars were bringing at resale time, now might be wise to hold out for higher bidders. On platforms like Cars.com and Autotrader, online searches for new electric cars and hybrids rose more than 20 percent in March from the previous month. And used EV interest rose 54 percent in March, says Robb Report.

Even if you haven’t previously considered an EV, the fact of $4.50 a gallon gas might change your thinking. Here are some new cars I’ve driven recently, starting with the EVs:

2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 Limited. Three-row EVs are taking off, and we’d have some serious competition in this category if Chinese cars were sold in the U.S. The Zeekr 009, for instance, is simply awesome—three rows with reclining massage seats, plus 4.5-second zero to 60 times.

We still have pretty good choices, though. The Kia EV9, Lucid Gravity, Cadillac Vistiq and Escalade iQ, Tesla Model Y (the bestselling car in the world!), Rivian R1S, and more.

The IONIQ 9 is based on the Hyundai/Kia E-GMP platform and is built (along with the IONIQ 5) in the U.S. at the giant Metaplant near Savannah, Georgia. I saw both models being built recently. The 9, in six- or seven-passenger versions, is basically the same size as the Palisade SUV, but it won’t kill you at the gas pumps. There are multiple versions of this electric SUV, all of them with a 110.3-kWh battery pack. Two are all-wheel drive versions with 303 horsepower, and there’s one single-motor iteration with 215 horsepower and the most range—335 miles. There’s also a Performance AWD model that puts out an impressive 422 horsepower.

I like this very versatile vehicle a lot—it’s basically the best of both worlds, a hugely useful transporter for the whole family with zero emissions and great range.

Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro. The ID.4 has been around for a while, at one time placing high on the EV sales charts. Today, in Pro AWD form it’s an electric SUV with two motors, an 82-kWh battery pack, and 291 miles of range. The MSRP starts at $45,095. A big plus is that the ID.4 comes with a two-year free pass to Electrify America’s large charging network.

I’ve talked to ID.4 owners who love their cars. The dual-motor configuration definitely gives the car some scoot—4.8 to 5.4 seconds to 60. The new ones have improved fast-charging abilities, 10 to 80 percent in 30 minutes. I found this an easy car to live with, and I’d settle for a base model. These are used-car bargains now. I’m seeing used 2023 examples for $21,000.

The combination of weak EV demand and the ID.4’s long time on the market (since 2021) hasn’t helped VW’s bottom line. Sales of the ID.4 were down 95.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026 versus the same period last year. The ID. Buzz, a unsuccessful EV retro version of the Microbus, is skipping the 2026 model year but may be back.

Lexus RX 450h+ Luxury. Buyers who wouldn’t consider a battery EV are taking a second look at plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) such as the 2026 Lexus NX 450h+. The combination here is a 2.5-liter four from the Toyota hybrid stable that pairs with electric motors and an 18.1-kWh battery for 304 horsepower, a 37-mile EV range and zero to 60 n six seconds. That translates to 84 MPGe combined, with no worries about having to find a charging station.

Some PHEV owners never get around to plugging their cars in, which is a shame, because entries like this one can mostly run electric—the average commuter only travels 35 miles per day, well within this car’s battery range. No need to find fast charging—on Level Two, the relatively small battery pack is full up in three hours.

The base Luxury model is around $61,740, with the F SPORT trim at $67,000. These cars are a bit large for my taste, but the interior is a nice place to be with quality materials throughout, a 14-inch touchscreen that hooked up to Apple CarPlay without a lot of fuss, and voice commands that actually seemed to work. The high price is probably deterring some would-be customers.

Audi SQ5 Prestige. This sporty SUV is available in either standard or Sportback form (as above), and as tested in the upmarket Prestige trim the price of entry is a heady $72,595. The emphasis is on the sporty, since power comes from a turbo three-liter V-6 that generates a mighty 362 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. The older SQ5s had an eight-speed automatic, but that’s been replaced by a seven-speed dual-clutch iteration. With these cars, Quattro AWD is standard, as is adaptive air suspension.

People who want this kind of performance are probably better off in a sedan, but Audi tilts this one to trail seekers, with either Balanced or Offroad Plus drive modes. But driven on pavement it can reach 60 mph in just over four seconds. The interior of our test car was dominated by dark quilted leather, in the German manner. The car was amusing to drive, and the acceleration was truly impressive. Oddly, similar performance could be obtained by many lower-priced EVs. That kind of stands the “EVs are expensive” thing on its head, doesn’t it?

2026 Mazda CX-30 Turbo Aire Edition. The CX-30 is in a crowded SUV field (premium subcompact crossover), where it’s hard to stick out from the crowd. It’s powered by a SKYACTIV-G 2.5-liter, 250-horsepower turbo four, and the Turbo Aire version adds unique white leatherette seats with grey suede inserts, as well as a black signature wing and roof rails, plus 18-inch alloy wheels. The price is an affordable $34,410 to $37,240—it’s a fair amount of car for the money.

The CX-30 is docked for mediocre fuel economy—25 mpg combined, and for favor premium fuel (regular cuts the power to 227 horsepower). Given sticker shock at the pumps, fuel economy matters these days.

Genesis G90 3.5T AWD. I’m a big fan of Genesis’ offerings, which do luxury the right way. The G90 is the top of the heap. And note that it’s the only sedan in this listing! The flagship model comes with a standard twin-turbo V-6 producing 375 horsepower, but an intriguing 409-horsepower 3.5-liter E-Supercharger mild hybrid 48-volt version is available. Cosseting air suspension and AWD are standard. If you really want to trick it out, you’d opt for the Prestige Black trim, which adds 21-inch wheels, cosseting massage seats, and the deluxe Bang & Olufsen infotainment system. There’s a “mood curator” system that automatically adjusts lighting, seat massage, the sound system and the curtains to create interior atmospheres that either keep you awake or relaxes you. It can be customized via the infotainment screen.

Genesis tends to make luxury more affordable, but that’s relative and the G90 is never going to be confused with an economy car. It starts at $92,700 in base form, and goes all the way up to $105,750 with the E-Supercharger and Black trim.

Save a bit of money with the only slightly less luxurious 2026 Genesis GV80 3.5T Prestige AWD we also tested. It has an initial MSRP of $82,330, with much the same power on tap, 22-inch wheels and Nappa leather.

2026 Volkswagen Taos SEL 4MOTION. Speaking of top tier, this is the ultimate iteration of the VW Taos subcompact SUV, and in keeping with the brand’s image it still comes in as affordable (starting at $35,900).

The Taos has relatively modest power—a 174-horsepower 1.5-liter turbo engine with 174 horsepower (up from 158) and 184 pound-feet of torque, paired to an eight-speed automatic. The SEL 4MOTION AWD offers very upscale accommodations for the price, including 19-inch wheels, eight-inch touchscreen with BeatsAudio sound, and premium Vienna leather seats with heating and ventilation. But again, it’s in a very crowded field. The safety suite is impressive, as is the cargo area—up to 60.2 cubic feet with the second row folded.

Considering the restrained output, it would be nice if the Taos’ fuel economy was stellar, but its 28 mpg combined is not all that much better than the much more powerful Mazda CX-30 noted above. VW needs a killer model. Its first quarter 2026 sales dropped up to 20.5 percent from Q1 in 2025.

2025 Toyota 4Runner TrailHunter. When I saw the snorkel, I knew that this was a model for really serious trail hunters. Or river forders. I don’t count myself in that number—pavement was invented for a reason—so the charms of this model, cumbersome around town, were somewhat lost on me. Still, I can enumerate them here.

It’s truly impressive that the Japanese have been able to adapt to American tastes, including that weird desire to go “off road”—or at least have the potential to do so. They must shake their heads on the assembly line in Japan.

The TrailHunter comes with a 326 horsepower i-FORCE MAX 2.4-liter turbocharged hybrid drivetrain, generating 326 horsepower and a stump-pulling 465 pound-feet of torque. All those consumers with stumps to pull should take note, as well as those with 6,000 pounds to tow. The AWD is full time, with a locking rear differential. This is 5,500 pounds of SUV, so the 23 mpg combined is not surprising.

The equipment list includes recovery hooks, skid plates to protect the undercarriage, a high-clearance front bumper, the afore-mentioned snorkel that allows the engine to breathe when the car is half submerged, and rock rails. An air compressor is standard, and there are auxiliary switches for add-on accessories. Cargo capacity is impressive, at 42.6 cubic feet behind the second row.

Six New Cars Show That Hybrids Rule

I’m firmly convinced that, despite rollbacks on the federal level and sluggish sales at the dealerships, the car industry is going electric, and I mean globally. In the first half of 2025, plug ins were between nine and 11.8 percent of U.S. new vehicle sales, depending on criteria. It’s a start, and those numbers are much higher in Europe and China (where they’re half of all new sales), and freakishly high in countries like Iceland and especially Norway (way over 90 percent of sales).

The timeline is going to be longer than initially believed, but the changeover is inevitable—dictated both by superior technology and climate imperatives. In the meantime, we are still seeing plenty of old-school internal-combustion cars and trucks hit the market, and here’s a sampling of vehicles I’ve recently sampled.

2025 Toyota 4Runner TrailHunter. Wow, going off road can get costly. My test 4Runner TrailHunter came in at $69,578 with such niceties as a digital key and a tow ball added to the $66,900 base price. And here’s the issue in a nutshell, via Car and Driver, “The 4Runner is tall and ungainly. It is inefficient in packaging and fuel economy, not quick, and expensive for its size. Toyota can’t build enough of them.”

I’ve driven both 2025 and 2026 versions of this vehicle, and it’s not the best ride around town. It’s bouncy and relatively rough riding, and you have to climb into it. The snorkel (excuse me, the High Mount Air Intake) might look cool, but c’mon—who’s fording streams? The bright side of this version of the 4Runner is the 2.4-liter turbo four-cylinder hybrid engine that gets a heavy, non-aerodynamic vehicle to 23 mpg city/24 highway. Still terrible, though, considering that Toyota also makes the Prius that gets up to 57 mpg in 2026 guise. The automaker has gussied up this off-roader with a comfortable interior, heated seats and wheel, but you’ll still be roughing it, whether you go off road or not. The same things that make it good on mountain treks are what makes it difficult on pavement—body on frame construction (expect squeaks down the road) a live rear axle, huge knobby tires on 18-inch wheels.

2025 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Max Platinum. This Highlander (another ultra-popular platform from Toyota) is available with two entirely different hybrid engines, a base 245-horsepower unit and a 362-horsepower Hybrid Max in the Platinum trim you probably don’t need. In LE and XLE you get the base engine, but especially in XLE it’s very well equipped (heated front seats, 12.3-inch touchscreen, power tailgate, wireless charging pad)—and gets 36 mpg combined. With the big engine as tested you get a 5.6-second zero to 60 time (instead of 7.8 seconds) but, really, is that important to your daily life or self-esteem? The thing was snappy, but not exactly a sports car. More relevant is the fuel economy loss with Hybrid Max—from 36/32 to 26/27. The non-hybrid Grand Highlander actually did better in some tests, at 29 combined. Plus, the Platinum ($60,270) is hugely more expensive than the XLE ($46,875). I hope all this is convincing.

2025 Audi S5 Coupe Prestige. Prestige is definitely the word here, and you pay for it, in this case a bottom line of $73,345. That buys a very, very capable and sophisticated car, powered by a three-liter 362-horsepower turbocharged V-6 engine with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic and quattro AWD.

This is more car than I actually need or could possibly justify buying, but that’s not to say I didn’t love my week in it. What’s not to like? It’s attractive, fast, comfortable and (amazingly enough after all the SUVs) a grand touring car! That means it’s set up for long hauls and smooths out the highway for you. At 60 mph and above it’s an effortless drive. The standard Sportback rear gives lots of luggage space under the hatch.

The central 14.5-inch infotainment screen is visually appealing. The Prestige line gets you the quite nice upgraded digital gauge cluster, a head-up display, a 360-degree camera, and also confusing and unnecessary on-screen climate controls. Philistine that I am I get excited when I see a Bang & Olufsen audio system, and I think I actually can tell they sound better than, say, a boombox from Walmart.

2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0T SE. The big news about the “pocket rocket” GTI is that VW has gotten rid of the manual transmission option, perhaps an inevitability as manuals are even disappearing at Porsche and Ferrari. Honestly, half the fun of owning these cars is shifting them, but VW is bowing the sheer inability of the driving public to drive stick.

This version is an update of the GTI, not a major model change. In place of the manual is a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, with an “S” mode for faster shifts. You’re stirring a two-liter, four-cylinder turbo engine with 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, held over from previous model years. Fuel economy at 27 mpg combined could be better, but a 5.6-second zero to 60 time is impressive. There are some new colors and badges and new 19-inch wheels. The GTI is still fun to drive but, for me, not quite as much fun. Prices range from $33 to $42,000. The SE tested is $38,645.

2025 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Grand Touring. As a Miata owner myself, I (and many of my auto journalist colleagues) don’t have to be sold on the model’s virtues. It is, still, the only real choice for a fun to drive, inexpensive, easy to maintain two-seat convertible. But it’s gotten more sophisticated. Mine’s a 1999, and even that one has far more creature comforts than the NA first seen in 1989.

The RF has a power retractable top, that works very well in practice. That’s a Miata tradition. The early ones have a top that you just throw back, compared to the complicated, leaky Cub Scout tents seen on the British sports cars the Miata blew out of the water.

The Miata still starts around $30,000, and the engine in all Miata is still a modest four-cylinder than in two-liter four here produces 181 horsepower. Yes, you can still go manual with a six-speed box. These new ones are even more responsive and good handling than my ’99, thanks to very direct steering.

The well-appointed RF Grand Touring is near the top of the line, and costs $38,785. Fuel economy at 29 combined isn’t bad, but requiring premium gas is a negative. The Miata may not be the best car for 60-mile commutes—it’s a bit small for that—but as a weekend car it’s peerless. It’s too bad more people don’t think so. Mazda sold just 8,103 Miatas in the U.S. in 2024, a minor downward trend from 2023.

2025 Toyota Crown Nightshade Edition. I’d like to think that cars like the long-Japan-only Crown can find a place in the American market. Toyota loves hybrids, makes great ones, and in this case stuffs its 2.5-liter driveline (236 combined horsepower) into a well-equipped sedan that retails, in this case, for $48,765. Leave the options list alone—the test car had a $165 “side puddle lamp” you probably don’t need.

In some ways the Crown is like an entry-level Lexus, which may have you scratching your head about the need for it, but under either badge it’s a nice car. The eCVT transmission takes a little getting used to, but it’s a factor in the 41 mpg combined (42 city/41 highway) fuel economy.

I liked the 11-speaker JBL sound system, the leather-trimmed heated seats (front and rear), the matte black 21-inch wheels, and the panoramic glass roof. Really, it’s a good example of the state-of-the-art sedan in 2025. The trick is getting the public to care about sedans again.