MotorTrend August 2022

There was one notably new experience during the otherwise perfectly normal 2023 Genesis GV60 launch (page 17). Instead of using an actual key, the new electric SUV scanned my face and fingerprint to unlock it and allow me to drive off. This was a personal first, but it likely won’t be the last. Genesis’ Face Connect and Fingerprint Reader are just two of many software-enabled functions. The SUV is not only the South Korean luxury automaker’s first EV but arguably also its first modern software-defined vehicle (SDV: page 14). Essentially a euphemism for the internet-connected car, SDVs represent the auto industry’s ongoing silent revolution as the public frets over the comparatively easy transition from internal combustion to electric power. Loosely defined as vehicles whose primary features are enabled through software instead…

The term “software-defined vehicle” has only come into vogue during the past half decade, but the concept’s underpinnings go back half a century to 1970, which could be called a big-bang point for the auto industry. That was the year the first wave of modern safety and emissions regulations started to come into force. Almost simultaneously, a new technology, the microprocessor, was born, and the modern era of automotive engineering was underway. While early efforts to meet those regulations relied heavily on mechanical means, such as vacuum controls and tricks like “lean burn” and Honda’s Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion, those approaches hit their limits quickly. Anyone who has lifted the hood on a vehicle built from the early 1970s to the 1980s will be familiar with the rat’s nest of vacuum…

Badge engineering used to carry negative connotations. Automakers churned out near-identical cars, charging more for the “luxury” versions while cutting corners on true quality. The practice was largely abandoned years ago, though, in favor of “brand engineering”—sharing much of what you don’t see and very little of what you do—in order to create myriad vehicles with decidedly different flavors. The Genesis GV60 and its Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 siblings fully embody this strategy. We’ve driven and been impressed by the Ioniq 5 and EV6, and now that we’ve been behind the wheel of the GV60 Performance, it turns out this brand engineering isn’t so bad. Looking over the new GV60’s specs, it’d be easy to dismiss it as a pricier, luxed-up Hyundai or Kia. All three EVs share Hyundai’s…

We weren’t thrilled with the new Acura MDX when it launched in January 2021. Acura promised the fourth generation of its hot-selling three-row SUV would offer a “premium performance SUV” experience. Instead, the MDX was neither sporty nor luxurious enough to hit its target. The new MDX Type S, however, manages to fix many of the original’s flaws. Whereas the standard MDX is powered by a carryover 290-hp 3.5-liter V-6 shared with platform mates like the Honda Passport, Pilot, Odyssey, and Ridgeline, this MDX takes advantage of the Type S–exclusive engine also found in the TLX Type S. As is the case in the base MDX, the Type S is fitted with a 10-speed automatic, though torque-vectoring AWD comes standard. The most notable change, though, is the new air suspension (an Acura…

Platform sharing is smart. It allows automakers to amortize the cost of fundamental components across higher production volumes and expand the number of models their individual brands can offer without massive investments. For decades, the Volkswagen Group has been a master of the game, using VW bits underneath Audis and Audi hardware underneath Bentleys. Platform sharing is also the reason Audi now offers U.S. customers no fewer than seven EVs—counting body and powertrain variants—while BMW has just two on sale and Mercedes-Benz one. Four of Audi’s EVs—the E-Tron, E-Tron Sportback, and the more powerful S versions of each—are built on Audi’s own EV platform. The sporty E-Tron GT shares its underpinnings with Porsche’s Taycan. And the new Q4 E-Tron and Q4 E-Tron Sportback use the same MEB architecture as VW’s ID3,…

The new Land Rover Range Rover might underwhelm you at first. Watch one pull up to the curb to greet you at the airport, and you find yourself thinking, “New Range Rover? Old Range Rover? Who knows?” You need to walk around back to see its new hidden taillights and Coke bottle hips to be sure. However, over two days of driving the new Range Rover around California’s central coast and wine region, we discovered the latest edition is a remarkably thorough evolution of one of the world’s most famous luxury SUVs. For starters, the Range Rover rides on a new platform. Dubbed MLA-Flex, the architecture allows for more body styles, seating configurations, and powertrain options than have ever been available on Land Rover’s halo product. The new model continues to offer…