- 6 weeks ago
We compare seven electric SUVs
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MotorTranscript
00:01Did you know that there are more mainstream EV SUVs than ever to choose from?
00:07So in the face of this knowledge, we did the only just and right thing,
00:11which is assemble seven of the best in order to compare them and rank them.
00:21We'll be using the official Motor Trend of the Year judging criteria,
00:25which includes advancement in design, efficiency, engineering excellence,
00:29performance of intended function, safety, and value.
00:33And so without further ado, joining us today are the Chevy Equinox EV,
00:38Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6,
00:42Tesla Model Y, Toyota BZ, and Volkswagen ID.4.
00:47So sit back, relax, and join us on this journey as we figure out which one comes out on top.
00:55Following in the footsteps of the Chevy Bolt,
00:57the Chevy Equinox EV is GM's second affordable mainstream EV,
01:01this one an SUV for the masses.
01:03As the only front-drive car in this comparison,
01:06this Equinox EV LT produces a claimed 220 horsepower
01:10in a Motor Trend-tested 0-60 time of 7.4 seconds.
01:14This isn't exactly one of those neck-snapping EVs you read about.
01:18Instead, it's about comfort and practicality,
01:20with a spacious cabin and dazzling screens.
01:24This front-drive model is also the most affordable one in our comparison.
01:28Just know that there's no more Apple CarPlay or Android Auto,
01:32which could be a sore spot for buyers.
01:34Controversial name aside,
01:38the Ford Mustang Mach-E has continued to impress with its sporty road manners and various trims to choose from.
01:44This premium all-wheel-drive model has features such as a 15.5-inch touchscreen and a B&O sound system.
01:50Options include the Sport Appearance Package, which is new, so it looks more like a GT model.
01:56You get the GT's front fascia, 19-inch black wheels, and red Brembo front brake calipers.
02:02This car is also equipped with one year of Ford Blue Cruise, which is the hands-free driver assist system.
02:08Also, this model gets the optional extended-range battery, which increases the power from 325 to 365.
02:16As one of the first mainstream EVs that wasn't a Tesla,
02:19the Hyundai IONIQ 5 AWD Limited wowed us with its retro-futuristic design and practical interior.
02:26Winner of our 2023 SUV of the Year award,
02:29the 2025 IONIQ 5 gets upgraded styling, better crash protection, improved battery capacity and range,
02:36and Tesla supercharger compatibility.
02:38The IONIQ 5 balances a comfortable ride and controlled handling,
02:41and it comes standard with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
02:45Power is a claimed 320 horsepower.
02:49If you want something a little sleeker and a little more car-like in shape,
02:53the Kia EV6 is your ride.
02:56It also gets a refresh for 2025,
02:58and this means updated front and rear exterior styling,
03:01bigger battery pack options and better range as a result,
03:04and a revised center console.
03:06Now compatible with Tesla superchargers, charging is more convenient as well.
03:10The dual-motor setup in this wind all-wheel drive trim gives it 320 horsepower and a 4.4 second 0-60 time.
03:22Of this bunch, the Tesla Model Y is definitely the one to watch.
03:26The Model Y is the best-selling EV in the world,
03:29so we're very curious to see what updates this so-called Juniper refresh brings.
03:34Visually, the Tesla gets those trendy, full-width light bars that are popular on Chinese EVs.
03:39Though the center console and infotainment touchscreen look pretty familiar,
03:43the seats have been reshaped,
03:45and the transmission selection stock has been removed in favor of touchscreen controls,
03:49just like on the Refresh Model 3.
03:51Other than that, though, the basic battery and motor specifications carry over unchanged.
03:56So, as a reminder, that means 397 horsepower for this long-range all-wheel drive trim.
04:04The Toyota BZ is the stubbornly hybrid automaker's take on an EV.
04:09Recently dropping the 4X part of its confusing name,
04:13the updated BZ can charge faster, offers more powerful motor options,
04:17and revises its dashboard layout.
04:19In the past, we've found its cabin design bizarre,
04:22so it'll be interesting to see whether this refresh brings any improvement.
04:26There's 338 horsepower on tap here with this limited all-wheel drive model,
04:31and we expect the easygoing driving manners of the outgoing car to carry over.
04:36Finally, the Volkswagen ID.4, another popular one for the masses,
04:41probably because it looks and behaves like a normal car,
04:44rather than making being an EV its whole personality.
04:49Since it was introduced in 2020, the ID.4 has enjoyed decent popularity.
04:54Updates from 2024, which only affect cars equipped with the 82-kilowatt-hour battery pack,
04:59as this one is, include a shifter stock and a bigger infotainment screen,
05:04though still with the infuriating slider controls.
05:08But there's more power now!
05:10335 horsepower in this all-wheel drive Pro S Plus model.
05:25So, joining us today are Scott Evans and Aaron Gold,
05:28who have generously donated their time to be a part of this Motor Trend comparison,
05:32which, by the way, is the most ambitious Motor Trend comparison to date,
05:36because not only was it seven cars, it was seven electric cars.
05:40So, all of the compact SUVs we invited, everyone, they are here except for the Aria.
05:46That would have made a very nice, you know, eighth car.
05:49But there were a lot of complexities involved with this test.
05:51Not only are we in a very hot, high desert, all these cars have individual needs,
05:55and also the charging was chiefly part of it.
05:58See, not all the cars have NACs or CCS plugs. It's either or.
06:03And then the fast chargers we were using either were NACs plugs or CCS plugs.
06:07So, in order to get everything juiced up...
06:10Eric, can you please show the kind, ladies and gentlemen, the box?
06:13The box.
06:14We...
06:15Very heavy box.
06:16Rocked around all week with this box of adapters for each car, for each charger,
06:22to make sure that they were properly charged so that we could test them.
06:28Because we had two different kinds of chargers because the big ones are for fast charging,
06:32but you can't use those for slow charging.
06:33You have to have different small adapters for small charging, which makes no sense.
06:37But we were able to charge everything.
06:39I know this looks complex and scary.
06:41This is all to say that, actually, we are moving in the right direction.
06:44Because nobody was stuck looking for a charger that they couldn't use.
06:47Nobody was stuck at a charger trickle charging two hours at a time.
06:51Every single car was able to use the available fast chargers.
06:55So, to start off, actually, we want to start talking about the interiors.
06:58To begin, the Chevy Equinox EV.
07:00What did you guys like about it?
07:02I like that, you know, you get all the same tech features
07:05as the larger, more expensive Laser EV.
07:07You get the same big screens.
07:09You can even get Super Cruise.
07:10I thought the detail of the vents was really nice.
07:12That's something inspired by the Camaro, I believe.
07:14Some of these cars have kind of plain, dreary, plasticky interiors.
07:17I like the way the Equinox's dashboard looked.
07:20Their decision not to even offer CarPlay and Android Auto, I understand it.
07:23Dude, that's unforgivable.
07:25It's a problem for a lot of buyers.
07:26Yeah.
07:27It really is.
07:28Yeah, because then you're forced to use the existing infotainment system.
07:32Which is Google Maps.
07:33It's Google Maps, but the rest of it is kind of cluttered.
07:36It's a little clunky, and it's just something that people are used to.
07:40So, not offering that is definitely a demerit.
07:43So, we move on now to the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
07:45I really like the fact that, this sounds silly maybe, but I like the little steering wheel.
07:51Yeah.
07:52It felt really good in the hand.
07:53And also space-wise, I thought there was plenty of space.
07:55There's a front trunk, which not all of these EVs can claim.
07:58Most of them don't.
07:59Yeah, and there's plenty of other space in the back seat and in the trunk as well.
08:02I'm a very practically minded person, so this kind of like scratched that itch for me.
08:06And that big screen, I like the big portrait style screen.
08:08I actually do.
08:09I think it's a nice way to organize information, and it also makes more sense for your mapping
08:13to see where you're going.
08:14It is, but also like, it ends up with some things are way down here.
08:17Yes.
08:18And when there are physical controls, like the volume knob, which is very cool, the knob like
08:21on the screen, but like the seat heaters are way down here in the corners.
08:24There is Blue Cruise, and that's a nice feature, and we all used it over the course of this testing.
08:29And it does exactly what it says it will do.
08:31It works exactly the way they've advertised it.
08:33It even does the lane changes entirely automatically without your input, but it doesn't overpromise anything.
08:39So the Ioniq 5, what did we like and dislike about the Ioniq 5?
08:42Honestly, my favorite little thing in the inside of that car is the movable center console.
08:47It seems like they're the only automakers thinking about what to do with that center space.
08:52And there's so much about how to get the most storage, how to make it convenient, how to make it comfortable.
08:57My one like gripe is that I'm a very average 5'9".
09:01When I sit in the back seat, I've got a million years of leg room because I have short legs,
09:04but like I've got like half an inch, like one fingers worth of like of a headroom.
09:08And I'm not that tall.
09:09So anyone who's even slightly taller than me is going to be like head in the ceiling in the backseat of the car.
09:14So the Kia, actually, this is not so much endemic to all EV6s, but just this one, that green.
09:21Greens in each way.
09:22It's a really, I love that the automakers are taking a little more chance on colorful interiors again.
09:26And we're not doing the 1980s like all blue velour like interior.
09:31Sorry, what was wrong with the all blue velour?
09:33But I like that we're, you know, doing some color here very thoughtfully and it looks really good.
09:37And it makes the car feel like richer and more expensive than it is.
09:40And again, that center console, I mean, that thing is just a work of art.
09:43It's beautiful.
09:44It's cantilevered.
09:45It combines a wireless charging pad, the shifter, a few seat heating and steering wheel heating switches.
09:50It's a nice integration.
09:51But the unforgivable sin of the Kia is the combination stereo and air conditioning controls.
10:01I hate it.
10:02Hate it.
10:03It's just the worst thing ever.
10:04Let it out to the mountains.
10:05I hate it.
10:06Okay, I'm done.
10:07And what it does is the left dial, for example, if you're in climate is your temperature.
10:10Yes.
10:11Right.
10:12But it's also your volume.
10:13Yes.
10:14So if you have it on stereo and you go to turn up the volume and you happen to grab it in such
10:16a way that your hand brushes the controls, instead of changing the volume, you blast yourself with hot air.
10:21Now we can move on to the Tesla.
10:24So this is the Juniper update.
10:26But beyond that, there wasn't a huge amount of changes inside like seat wise.
10:31So the seats, I think they feel a little more comfortable than the outgoing one.
10:35So the rear seats now have automatic fold down and lift up.
10:38Whereas the other ones were, I think manual.
10:40The clever thing is that when they're just like changing the recline, they move slowly.
10:44So you can get right where you want it.
10:45But if you hold it down, like I want to fold the seats.
10:47It suddenly realizes that what you're doing and it's like, oh, I better speed up.
10:50You don't want to be here all day waiting for this thing to go.
10:52Like it goes quicker.
10:53And I can't believe nobody else has figured that out.
10:55And then I guess we have to talk about the biggest change, I think in the interior of the Model Y,
10:59which is they got rid of the column mounted transmission stock.
11:03And it is now that swipe to drive touch, which is predictive, but not always correct in its predictions.
11:09It's all pretty easy.
11:10It used to be literally a coin flip and it's actually gotten pretty good.
11:13So credit where it's due and having it right there on the right side of the screen.
11:17It's not that difficult.
11:18I mean, versus moving a column shifter or swiping your finger up and down.
11:22It's forgivable.
11:24And then next we have our Toyota BZ.
11:27Ugh.
11:28Okay, let's start with what we'd like.
11:30What do we like about it?
11:31I liked getting out of it to go drive something else.
11:33Okay, what did you like about it?
11:35I liked that they improved the instrument cluster.
11:37They did!
11:38On the original BZ 4X, it was this sort of little screen kind of sticking up and it was just above the steering wheel.
11:44And it was really hard to put the steering wheel somewhere where you could see the whole screen.
11:47Yeah.
11:48And this time they've moved it up and closer to the windshield a bit.
11:50So it's a little easier.
11:51It still feels the steering wheel's kind of in your lap, but like it's better.
11:54I like the seat.
11:55The seat was comfortable.
11:56The seat's very good.
11:57It was very supportive.
11:58I happen to like the old setup, even though it was weird.
11:59Now it looks like they put a big fill-in panel.
12:02Yeah, because they made the vehicle this big and the screen is still this big.
12:05So it's like there's all this empty space on the sides of it.
12:07It's like, why didn't you make the screen better?
12:08And you actually observe it.
12:09It's like big screen and then littler screen.
12:12Why? Why?
12:13The information's too small.
12:14They have this center console that you could land an airplane on.
12:17We haven't talked about the center console.
12:18What's taking up that space in there?
12:20Well, it's too, yeah.
12:21It encroaches your knee space.
12:22Do you decide it's always touching the right side of your calf?
12:24It's always touching.
12:25Always.
12:26It's a flawed design.
12:27And then they tried to fix it, but there's no fixing it without a complete redesign or just a new car.
12:32Last but not least, we have the Volkswagen ID.4.
12:35The, theoretically, EV for the people?
12:38Honestly, I want to draw a comparison since we were just talking about the tiny screen on the Toyota.
12:42The Volkswagen also has a tiny screen.
12:44The graphics are much better.
12:46They're much, it's much easier to read.
12:47It's simpler.
12:48It's laid out much better.
12:49It's simpler.
12:50And it sits right on top of the column where it moves with the column.
12:52So it's always right behind the steering wheel.
12:53It's never blocked by anything.
12:55That's how you do a small screen.
12:56Well, and Volkswagen's stuck to the basics.
12:58It shows your speed and it shows what's around you and it shows whether you turn left or right.
13:02Nice and simple.
13:03But again, they need to put a volume knob back in the car.
13:08I think of the seven that we have here, this is the most car-like.
13:12Yes.
13:13The rest of these, there is an implication like, you are driving an EV.
13:17Whereas this one's like, you're driving a car that happens to be electric.
13:20Right.
13:21And I think that's good for a lot of people who are not big car enthusiasts, who are not big tech enthusiasts, aren't EV enthusiasts.
13:26It just feels like any other brand new small crossover.
13:31Now let's go over specs.
13:33In order from shortest range to longest range, according to Motor Trend's own test figures, the cars are as follows.
13:40Volkswagen ID.4 All-Wheel Drive Pro S Plus, 335 horsepower, 208 miles.
13:48Toyota BZ Limited All-Wheel Drive, 338 horsepower, 222 miles.
13:55Hyundai Ioniq 5 All-Wheel Drive Limited, 320 horsepower, 234 miles.
14:03Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium All-Wheel Drive, 365 horsepower, 252 miles.
14:10Tesla Model Y Long Range All-Wheel Drive, 397 horsepower, 252 miles.
14:17Chevy Equinox EVLT, 220 horsepower, 262 miles.
14:24And finally, the Kia EV6 Wind All-Wheel Drive, 320 horsepower, 266 miles.
14:32So that's what everything is on paper in practice.
14:35In practice, let's talk about how everything drove the Chevy Equinox EV.
14:39What did you like about how it drove, Scott?
14:41Let's start with you.
14:42I mean, you asked me what I like, but the most thing I remember about that car is torque steer.
14:46It really, it's always tugging at the wheel because it's front-wheel drive.
14:49But you know what?
14:50That car, it's very comfortable and quiet.
14:52It was one of the more quiet ones here.
14:54I really liked that about it.
14:55It was very just easy and pleasant to drive.
14:57What do you think, Aaron?
14:58I thought it was the same, yeah.
14:59I mean, it clearly was down on power and it's a little slop in the steering, but it also
15:03had a kind of nice relaxed demeanor to it.
15:06And I think the most in common, again, as with the interior, the most in common with
15:10Chevrolet's gasoline-powered cars.
15:12I agree with the relaxed driving.
15:14I also was fine with the power, even though it was lower than everything else.
15:18It didn't feel like it was trying to tear my head off and it was very manageable.
15:21I did not like the torque steer and I'm someone who likes torque steer.
15:24We're going to talk about cons now.
15:25I actually like torque steer, but I felt like this car was fighting me the entire time.
15:30And the steering was just very numb and communicated absolutely nothing through the steering wheel.
15:35So that shook my confidence a bit.
15:37As for the Mustang, there was-
15:39The opposite.
15:40The absolute opposite.
15:41There was so much character in this.
15:44Just a fun, athletic, but also chill car if you needed it to be.
15:48Yeah.
15:49This car has way more personality than any other car here.
15:51Yes.
15:52I know the Mustang name is very controversial, but in that regard, it earns it in the way it drives.
15:57It's okay.
15:58It doesn't drive like a V8 Mustang, but it has way more character than anything.
16:01But you know what?
16:02You get that view out the hood, just like you would see in a Ford Mustang.
16:04You got plenty of power under your foot.
16:07Yeah.
16:08I found it very engaging, nice firm kind of sporty ride.
16:11I liked it.
16:12Cons?
16:13Cons?
16:14Cons?
16:15I mean, I really like this car.
16:16I'm like, this is hard.
16:17The ride could be a little bit better controlled.
16:20It was a little bit on the firm side.
16:22I think the Chevy is a little bit more comfortable.
16:24But I think it paid back in the handling though.
16:26So I'm okay with that.
16:27I mean, all of these cars, and this one suffered a bit too, is the tires end up being really loud.
16:31Because they're all on fuel economy, you know, high efficiency tires for maximum range.
16:36And those tend to be very hard, and it means noise in the cabin.
16:39This isn't the worst, but it did stand out to me a bit.
16:42Because it's the efficiency tires, I felt it was a little under-tired.
16:45I was running out of grip a little bit in places.
16:48You could get a little more tire squeal when you ordinarily wouldn't.
16:51And that's something to think about if you want to drive it in a very brisk way.
16:56As for the Hyundai, what did we like?
16:59I'm going to steal something from you, Scott, that you said in deliberations, which is great.
17:02You can tell this is engineered by the same people who did the Ioniq N, which is a magnificent car.
17:07I thought it was such a nice compromise of comfort, visibility, and knowing its way around a curvy road.
17:13Yeah, we treat compromise like a dirty word sometimes, but actually sometimes it's a really good thing.
17:16There has to be a trade-off between handling and ride quality.
17:19That's just a fact of physics.
17:21And a good compromise gives you a car like the Hyundai.
17:25Like it is comfortable and rides well in everyday situations.
17:29It's very nice to drive.
17:31But then when you do get it on a twisty road, it is actually fun to drive.
17:34I thought it was so agreeable.
17:36You know, it didn't feel like the Mustang was definitely more athletic and at times it felt like it wanted you to drive a little faster than you were going.
17:44But the Hyundai was perfectly happy to just do whatever you needed it to do.
17:48Agreeable is such a great word.
17:50And that's something that's important about all the vehicles in the segment.
17:52It's one of the advantages of electric cars.
17:54You have the power of a sports car and the comfort and the heavy feel of a big family car.
18:00And as for the Kia, I think another pro is remarkably, again, they are the same car.
18:06But characteristically, this one does drive a little more athletically than the Ioniq 5.
18:11It was a little more akin to the Mustang.
18:13I thought it was definitely more spirited and it welcomed more enthusiastic driving.
18:19Anyone says that like all electric cars are the same, they're just, you know, electric motor just goes fast in a straight line, like drive a few of them.
18:25I had the most fun in the EV6.
18:27You know, it has the profile of kind of a hot hatchback and it has that same feel in the way it drives, but it doesn't cross over into discomfort, which is what I really liked about it.
18:36For whatever reason, it didn't connect with me emotionally.
18:38I went and I got, oh, yep, this thing can go quickly around a corner and that's technically impressive.
18:43But the Mustang, I'm like, this is fun.
18:45I'm really enjoying this.
18:46And this, I'm like, this is very cool what this can do.
18:48Did it feel like they were intentionally leaving room between this one and say the GT?
18:53Probably.
18:54Yeah.
18:55But I mean, the EV6 GT is way over the top of me.
18:57Yeah.
18:58That thing is bonkers.
18:59So I feel like this one could go a little harder for me.
19:01As for the Tesla, how did we?
19:05Okay.
19:06So I'll say I liked the heavy steering because it felt like it felt very substantive.
19:12I felt like I was doing something with the steering and the steering wheel was a nice small size.
19:16It felt athletic and boy, did they finally fix the suspension between this one and the outgoing one.
19:23Because the outgoing one, the suspension was so jittery that it actually started to affect the steering.
19:28It made the steering very quick and unsettled and anxious.
19:31And this one just felt a lot calmer.
19:34I did not like the way the Tesla drove at all.
19:37I mean, Tesla's whole thing is the car can drive better than the person.
19:41That's how it feels like it was set up.
19:42I like a small steering wheel, but I thought the steering overreacted when you turned in.
19:47It was very hard to be precise, complete opposite of the Chevy.
19:50I thought the power came on too abruptly, either too much or not at all.
19:54And then you're fighting the traction control system.
19:56To me, if I really drove the Model Y hard, I thought it completely fell apart.
20:01And while the ride was improved, I still think it was horrible.
20:04I thought it was too jittery, too uncomfortable.
20:06I mean, to be fair, it was not amazing like some of the other ones here.
20:08It was better than what the other one was.
20:10It was an improvement, but it's still bad.
20:13And I think all it takes is a drive in the Ford, the Kia, the Hyundai, or even the Chevrolet,
20:18or actually any of the cars here.
20:20A drive in any of the cars here will reveal that Tesla's got a long way to go for ride comfort.
20:24Now, see, I do think we are discounting one thing.
20:27And that is a matter of the engineer's perspective, like the car that they designed and why they designed it.
20:33But a lot of car companies have done this over the past where the way they make a car sporty is like just cranking up the gain on everything,
20:39making the steering really quick, making the throttle really touchy, making the brakes really grabby.
20:43And they've really leaned into that mantra.
20:45And that's made a lot of Tesla owners feel like their cars are super quick.
20:48I mean, they've made their whole name on super quick.
20:50So I understand what they were going for and how that reverberates with some customers, especially customers who don't already own sports cars or drive them regularly.
20:59But yeah, not to my taste either.
21:01How about the Toyota?
21:02I actually like this car more than I thought I would.
21:05It was actually quite fun to drive quickly.
21:07There was good power.
21:08And I didn't mind the low steering wheel position.
21:11It was something to get used to.
21:12I'm just not used to driving something quickly with my arms down here.
21:16I feel like control is up here, but this somehow makes it a little more relaxed.
21:20But I did enjoy driving and I thought I had good feedback.
21:23It was comfortable and the steering was pretty direct.
21:24I've always thought that the BZ has a great chassis under it.
21:26Yeah.
21:27Like it's always been like good to drive.
21:29It's just the rest of the vehicle had issues that needed work.
21:31So and they didn't get rid of that.
21:33They didn't screw that up.
21:34It does feel like they did a lot of like benchmarking the Tesla because it also has very quick steering.
21:39Yeah.
21:40Again, not to my taste.
21:41I found that steering overly abrupt.
21:44But I'll tell you what I actually really liked about the Toyota was I thought the ride quality was really nice.
21:48It is.
21:49You know, it really did a good job of cushioning the bumps.
21:51It was just a comfortable car.
21:52And, you know, it's a very hard thing to do because these things are all extraordinarily heavy.
21:56And, you know, when that weight starts moving up and down, it's very hard to develop a suspension setup that's going to control that movement without making the thing ride like, you know, the Tesla.
22:05ID.4.
22:06I couldn't get into this one.
22:08Just all the controls just felt a little too loose.
22:10The steering was a little too loose.
22:11The steering was a little too loose.
22:12There was a little too much play in the brake pedal.
22:14And there was not true one pedal driving, which annoys me because I love one pedal driving.
22:20It is one of the great perks of driving an EV, I feel.
22:23So I thought that was a missed opportunity.
22:24The Toyota has that problem, too.
22:25And it's like one of those things that you've designed all the software anyway.
22:28Like, you just need to go to the last 5%.
22:30You're there.
22:31Just turn it on.
22:32And make it up to the customer, right?
22:34Let the customer decide.
22:35Do we like it?
22:36Great.
22:37Here it is.
22:38You can use it.
22:39You don't like it?
22:40Great.
22:41Turn it off.
22:42But, like, we're just not going to do it is frustrating and you're alienating certain customers.
22:44But, no.
22:45So my thing with Volkswagen, I actually did kind of like it.
22:47Yeah.
22:48I thought when we got on the Twisty Roads, I felt a little hint of that, like, Golf, you
22:53know, GTI flavor just buried way down there somewhere.
22:56Like, it had just a little bit of athleticism to it that reminded me of, you know, the Volkswagens
23:01that I really like.
23:02So I thought it did have some character there.
23:05But, yes, it is trying to be very much an everyday commuter SUV.
23:09I thought that was great as an everyday commuter SUV.
23:12It just, the feedback that I was feeling and all the tactile points just, I felt, didn't
23:16justify how much that thing cost.
23:18And, by the way, I'm with Scott.
23:20I like light steering.
23:21Audi does that.
23:22I did like the way the Volkswagen went down the road.
23:24I thought it had a kind of a light on its feet feel.
23:27The way the car drives, except for the lack of one-pedal driving, you know, you can shift
23:31it to the brake mode where it will slow down a lot, but you actually have to put your foot
23:35on the brake to stop the car.
23:37And I know it may sound silly, especially to those who haven't experienced it, that we're so on
23:41about one-pedal driving.
23:42But once you experience it, it really is brilliant to just be able to use one foot to control
23:47the car.
23:48Especially when it's done right.
23:49Like, Chevy and Ford are really good at it.
23:52Tesla's good at it.
23:54There's a lot of them that are pretty good at it.
23:55Hyundai and Kia are good if you can get it into the right mode, which takes, you have to do every single
24:00time you get in the car.
24:01Yeah.
24:02The thing is, I think as a luxury experience, luxury is doing less, right?
24:08Less effort.
24:09And one-pedal driving is the ultimate luxury thing to do where you don't have to use a
24:13second pedal.
24:14So luxurious.
24:15But if we are talking about driving less, we do have to talk about Tesla FSD for just
24:20a moment.
24:21I'd mentioned that, you know, I thought the Ford delivered exactly what it said it would.
24:25And that's my problem with FSD, because it does do very impressive things.
24:28It can navigate itself to your destination if you get off the highway.
24:32And then pause at a yield sign.
24:33That was amazing.
24:34It does very impressive things.
24:35But it's inconsistent.
24:36And there's no, like, warning sign like, oh, this is when it's going to start messing
24:40up.
24:41Like, you're just going along and you've just got to be hyper-vigilant because at some
24:43point, it's going to cross the yellow line.
24:45Like, it did that to me on one road a couple of times.
24:48And then other times it was perfect.
24:50And then sometimes we got to the destination.
24:51Every single person who got to the destination using FSD got dropped off somewhere else.
24:57Someone was in the back.
24:58Someone was across the street.
24:59For me, it pulled halfway into the lane with the turn signal on and just stopped.
25:01It was like, okay, I'm here.
25:02It tried to put me across the road from the destination.
25:06Yeah.
25:07We have to make the point that the programming in Ford's Blue Cruise, and even though we
25:11don't have in this car GM Super Cruise, is very conservative.
25:14If the car has any doubt that it's not going to be able to navigate, it makes it very clear
25:18you need to take over.
25:19FSD assumes it can do everything and it can't.
25:22And the problem with FSD, and I see it as an ethical issue, is if it does something wrong,
25:26you don't just endanger yourself.
25:28You endanger the person coming down the road that you're going to turn right in front of.
25:32And let's not beat around the bush.
25:33FSD does that.
25:34We've all had experience where it just crossed a double yellow line.
25:37It's not a safe system and it amazes me that regulators have not stepped in about FSD.
25:43And credit where it's due, they have finally put a driver monitoring camera in it that
25:46does actually pay attention to what you're doing and is better about making you keep your
25:51hands on the steering wheel.
25:52Like, they have made improvements in the safety of it, but it is still very much an unfinished
25:56project and is still, yeah, putting other road users who did not sign up to be beta testers
26:03into that situation.
26:05And that feels not good.
26:08And let's not forget that if FSD goes wrong, it's not like you just reboot the system.
26:13You get T-boned by a semi and wind up in the hospital.
26:16Yeah, the stakes are high.
26:17Here's a fun fact about six of the cars here.
26:21They are all NACS compatible, which means you can charge them at select Tesla superchargers.
26:27This is great news, heightened convenience for everyone.
26:30The only exception is that ID.4 over there, Volkswagen says that NACS compatibility is coming imminently.
26:36So either this year or next year, not really quite sure yet.
26:39But that is great news.
26:41It means that you don't have to spend as much time looking for chargers that you have to use.
26:45And of the cars here, the Kia, the Hyundai, and the Tesla charge the fastest.
26:50And that means you don't have to sit at the charger for super long.
26:54Anyone who's delved into EVs knows that the charging networks are not all created equal.
26:58And the Tesla superchargers are the most abundant and generally the most reliable.
27:03They're usually working. It will make your life so much easier to be able to plug into those.
27:07Because we found even this week, some of these older chargers that were here, you know,
27:11are half of them don't work.
27:13There are issues. They work for five minutes and then they error out.
27:15But we took them to the brand new chargers. Those worked great.
27:18We didn't have superchargers. We had to use the adapters.
27:21That's annoying, but very soon all cars will be Tesla compatible and you won't have to even do the adapters anymore.
27:26So it's rapidly getting better.
27:28Yeah, this is really good news. And I think with everything that we had here and all the headwinds we had,
27:33we were front and center. We saw what ownership looks like in 2025.
27:37Right. So we have talked about specs. We've talked about range, charging, interiors, driving, impressions.
27:45Now the final thing to do is to rank them from one to seven.
27:49This is what everybody was waiting for.
27:51So let's do it from least to best because I like to build a little tension.
27:55I will preamble this by saying none of the cars we invited here are bad.
27:59They are all good cars and anybody who buys them will have a nice customer experience.
28:04But this is within the confines of all seven that we had.
28:07And last place was the ID.4.
28:10And that was because of value. We found that it was quite expensive for what you got.
28:17The range wasn't that great.
28:19In the end, it just didn't give you as much for your money as the other cars here.
28:22Yeah, I remember sitting in the inside of that car and writing notes and looking around being like,
28:26they want like 60K for this interior. Like, jeez.
28:29And in sixth place, the Toyota VZ.
28:32We talked about how the previous VZ4X was not good.
28:37And this one makes that better, which we love to see.
28:41But it still doesn't make it even kind of competitive with the rest of what we have here.
28:46You know, there's only so much you can do to improve a flawed product.
28:50And this just doesn't feel to me like the best that Toyota can do, especially given the confidence of all their other products.
28:56Right. I mean, it's very loud inside of those tires.
28:59The center console is huge and an inefficient use of space.
29:02The gauges and steering wheel are still kind of a weird, awkward position.
29:06The range is still just okay in this group, especially.
29:10It's just a lot of things that still need to be better.
29:14Yeah, it needs work.
29:15I mean, I'm looking forward to see the third version of this car.
29:20I'm sure the all new VZ will be great.
29:22Yes, maybe they'll just keep cutting off letters.
29:24It'll just be the B eventually.
29:26But, you know, that's what keeps it in sixth place.
29:28So in fifth place is the Chevy Equinox EV.
29:33And this one we will say it is not because it is front drive or lower in trim.
29:39No, the issues that we had with it have everything to do with any Equinox EV that they would have sent us.
29:46You know, we didn't really love how it doesn't have Apple CarPlay.
29:49Some of the build quality materials, there were some issues there.
29:52Same. Yeah, it's a perfectly nice car, but the, you know, the materials don't carry all the way to the back.
29:57The experience gets worse the farther back.
30:00Like a lot of these cars doesn't have a front truck, but some of them actually do.
30:04It doesn't have CarPlay.
30:05Like there's just things missing that even if you got a fully loaded one like we had asked for,
30:08like it still wouldn't be better than kind of middle of the pack.
30:11It also doesn't charge that fast.
30:13It's very slow to charge.
30:14Yeah.
30:15And in fourth place, the Tesla Model Y.
30:19Yes, it improved over the old Model Y, but it's, you know, it still has kind of like Tesla annoyances.
30:28Like why is there no real roof?
30:32Why are we so hot in these cars?
30:34Why is that a thing?
30:36Right.
30:37They kind of went through and changed the things that people probably complained the loudest about, right?
30:41Like it rides better, still not great, but better.
30:44Better.
30:45The interior is nicer.
30:46So they got those things, but they did almost a little more than the bare minimum.
30:51They moved it forward.
30:52They improved it a bit, but they didn't really do anything that they didn't have to do.
30:56And we do have to talk about the, I feel, danger of autopilot and FSD.
31:01People who think that the car is more capable than it is are probably endangering themselves.
31:08And that feels irresponsible.
31:09And to be fair to Tesla, the Model Y is the best-selling SUV in the segment.
31:13It would behoove them to keep it relatively the same.
31:15The problem is because of the Model Y, all these other cars have improved so much.
31:19And the Model Y is just getting left in the dust.
31:21And to me, I was frustrated by the fact that it did many things really well and many things really badly.
31:27And it averaged out to right in the middle, which is where it ended up.
31:30You also didn't love how it looks, right? You don't love how it looks.
31:33I'm making peace with the light bar, the Cybertruck-inspired light bar, but the rear end is just not good.
31:39Like, what happened there?
31:40Third place, which is the Ioniq 5.
31:42The Ioniq 5 has been around for a while, but there's been small improvements here and there that just keep making it better and better and better.
31:50The overall package is great. We love the way it looks. We love the interior. We love the interior design. We love the way it drives.
31:56But this one is just, it feels very modernized and just fresher for 25.
32:01Right. It didn't, this is a previous SUV of the year winner.
32:05It is.
32:06And for good reason, but it hasn't changed a whole lot from then.
32:09And that was only a couple of years ago, but the others in this group have moved forward.
32:13And so it's, you know, a little bit stuck in place because again, it didn't need to be that much better, but it's no longer like right at the cutting edge either.
32:21It's worth noting that the competition between second and third place was very, very, very close.
32:26Yes. And that's what put the EV6 ahead of the Ioniq 5 because we felt its advancement in design was definitely something to applaud.
32:35Yes. Yes. This refresh, it wasn't a huge refresh, but they, again, went and made like the right changes to take this car that was already very good and really kind of push it forward and make it even better and even more compelling.
32:46It also had the best range of everything that we had here. Interesting because again, same car, but it's just that shows you what the power of engineering or of aerodynamics because it is just a smaller amount of car to move through the air.
33:01So it is, it takes some of the price for our range test. Right. Longest range, fastest charging and still like a good value. Not the most expensive car here by any means.
33:10Yeah. So this was good. This was, this was very hard for us because of course the very first place then by process of elimination in this comparison is the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
33:20There was almost, I think more than half of us that wanted this car to be first place. And it's a very similar conversation to what we had with the Kia and the Hyundai products, which is the Mach-E has been around for a while, but Ford has just been quietly making improvements over and over and over so that this just keeps staying fresh and at the top of the pack.
33:41It had character. It was fun to drive. It has good range. It has good value. It looks nice. We really liked it. We had a, we had a ton of fun in this car.
33:49Yeah. This is the power of incremental improvement. Blue Cruz keeps getting better and more impressive. I swear they've started to sprinkle in some like of the handling magic from the Mach-E rally off-road one into this one to make it even more fun to drive.
34:02The materials throughout the car feel richer than a lot of the others here.
34:06It feels premium.
34:07And they, they carry back. If you sit in the back seat, you still get the, the, you know, neat fabric trim and the contrast stitching. It doesn't feel like you get, you know, cheaped out anywhere in the car.
34:16And it's also one of the few here that actually has a usable frunk.
34:19And you know what? And there's just a core competency to it. It's a reminder that Ford is not a technology company. Ford is a car company.
34:26And they haven't forgotten the basic things that make an SUV really, really good. All of which are incorporated in the, in the Mustang Mach-E.
34:33For me, this is just a great all around vehicle. And that's why for me, it was the number one choice.
34:38And so we are so happy to announce the winner of this comparison test is the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
34:43For the entire comparison, head on over to MotorTrend.com to read it.
34:46Thank you so much for watching and we will catch you on the next one.
34:50Bye.
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