Drew Dowdell

Does anyone else notice a big drop in fuel economy when using the air conditioning? For people with automatic climate control do you ever manually turn off the air conditioner?

You have a point there.

You're mixing things up. I prefer larger displacement engines to small ones of similar output. 5-10 lbft here and there don't really matter.

It's better than the Altima, Accord, Passat, Arteon, Regal, and Malibu. Only the Camry and Regal GS have more. Maybe Maxima too if there is price overlap. But we may be finally moving into an era where torque is king again and we can finally get away from these relatively useless HP numbers.

Ford unveiled the 2020 Escape ahead of the New York International Auto Show and yesterday I finally got my chance to check it out. The Escape’s overall shape has lost some of its edge. It is now more rounded and car-like born out by the fact that it is longer, lower, and wider than the current model. From certain angles in the front, it almost looks to be a Tesla, an association I’m sure Ford won’t mind me making. In back, it has lost almost all of its character. Scrape the badges off and I couldn't tell you what manufacturer this car came from. Inside is a mixed bag. The dash is laid out in a simple organized fashion and I like how it no longer juts out at you as the outgoing model does. The screen is well placed and easy to reach. My experiences with Sync3 in the past have been good, so I expect that will carry over into this Escape. The rear seat room is good for the class, though the rear seats do sit lower than I would like. Where I’m let down is in the quality of materials. Everything seems to be made of hard plastic. The door panels in the rear were especially tupperware feeling. One strange item is the unusual placement of the engine start/stop button, down and behind the steering wheel almost as if they were intentionally making it hard to reach. I did back to back comparisons with Ford’s competition at the show and I would put the new Escape near the bottom of the list on interior quality. It is even a step backward from the current Escape. The Escape will have four powertrain choices, a 1.5-liter turbo, a 2-liter turbo carried over from the previous generation, and making a return is the hybrid version, powered by a 2.5 liter 4-cylinder. A plug-in hybrid will also be available, but only in front-wheel drive form. The most interesting of these engines is the 1.5 liter. It is a 3 cylinder EcoBoost producing 180 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque. It is capable of running on just 2 cylinders during times of light load. I liked the 1-liter 3-cylinder EcoBoost in the Ford Fiesta, and if this new 1.5 liter runs the same, that would be a good thing. Driving impressions will have to wait till later this year when the Escape goes into production. Overall I think this Ford could and should do better on the interior quality. A 3-cylinder turbo may be a hard sell no matter how good the mileage is and Ford will have an interesting time convincing customers of that. You can read more about the 2020 Ford Escape from the release article below. View full article

It will be interesting to see if they can do that in a single-turbo car and keep the lag down. They haven't kept the lag down on the existing 2.0 yet. My bet is they'll use the electric turbocharger in combination with a regular turbo.

Reports out today: Sonata going to get a hybrid version and an N-Line version with over 275 HP.

It just shows that you still don't understand how horsepower works after all these years.

0-60 doesn't really matter in this class either. What matters is responsiveness. The turbo torque comes on at a crazy low rpm. With the right gearing it will feel quicker.

Peak horsepower doesn't matter. Deep torque curve does. If the 8-speed does its job, it should still feel plenty fast with the 1.6T

Yup. I'll be back there tomorrow

This looks way better in person. Again, GM cars don't seem to photograph well but look good in person.

They're not letting people into the Rivian at the moment. I'll see tomorrow, but it's unlikely.

New XT models with 260-horsepower 2.4-liter turbocharged BOXER engine Debut of Onyx Edition XT trim level with unique exterior and interior Tablet-style high-definition SUBARU STARLINK 11.6-inch touchscreen New Hands-Free Power Gate Available segment-exclusive DriverFocus Distraction Mitigation System Standard EyeSight Driver Assist Technology with Advanced Adaptive Cruise Control and new Lane Centering The 2020 Outback delivers the optimal blend of SUV capability and car-like ride and handling with standard Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, Active Torque Vectoring, Vehicle Dynamics Control and X-MODE with Hill Descent Control. The 8.7 inches of ground clearance for all Outback models is greater than that in many SUVs, yet the Outback maintains a comfortably low step-in height for both front and rear passenger entry. For the first time since 2009, the Outback lineup offers a turbocharged engine. Standard on XT models, the 2.4-liter turbocharged BOXER engine delivers robust all-around performance with 260 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 277 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm. Meanwhile, the standard naturally aspirated 2.5-liter BOXER, with direct injection and nearly 90 percent of its parts new, delivers 182 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 176 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm. All 2020 Outback models are paired with a CVT featuring an 8-speed manual mode function with steering wheel paddle shifters. The 2.4-liter turbo delivers a 3,500-lb. towing capacity, the most of any Outback in history, while the 2.5-liter provides more than a 600-mile range on a single tank. Manufacturer’s estimated fuel economy is 26/33 mpg city/highway for the 2.5-liter and 23/30 mpg city/highway for the turbo. The 2020 Outback offers a peaceful cabin that is almost 3 dB quieter at highway speeds. Subaru engineers worked extensively to find ways to reduce unwanted noise coming into the cabin, fitting the Outback with new door weather strips that feature a baffle in the mid-section and dual lips on the roof side for improved quietness. Sound-insulated glass, which uses a sound-insulating inner film for the windshield and front-door glass, has been adopted, while glass thickness all around has been increased for quietness SUBARU STARLINK In-Vehicle Technology offers an integrated cockpit experience by allowing the driver to control entertainment and vehicle settings through a large touchscreen display. Pricing for the 2020 Outback will be announced closer to this fall’s on-sale date. View full article