Jeep's Grand Cherokee equipped to tackle roads, trails

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen here and in the Cruisin’ News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

Sacramento, California -- With so many compact crossover sport-utility vehicles out there, one almost feels sorry for the old-school fan of the big sport-ute.

Still, there is sizable, quality SUV product to be had -- the recently tested 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve 4X4 for example. With three comfortable, roomy seating rows and packed with safety technology, pleasing comfort/convenience features and peppy performance, it's a capable crowd carrier.

As I've noted in the past, the Grand Cherokee and I have a history.  We go way back, back to Ronald Reagan's first presidential term. A test drive on the East Coast in a founding father SUV convinced me that this was the start of something big.  But I underestimated just how big that SUV wave would be.

The evolution of the sport-ute is on full display in the latest Grand Cherokee.  The boxy sculpting of decades ago has been replaced by downright alluring body work.  The long hoodline looks aggressively attractive in profile, and the grille is robust without being over the top.

The interior cabin is a smile-producing sight, with lots of room for long-legged passengers. Folding the rear seats transforms the SUV into a serious cargo carrier.  The standard hands-free power liftgate is a helpful tool for packing in large objects.

A kickin' audio system and multimedia options are a pleasure, but when you want calm, the Grand Cherokee cabin is surprisingly quiet, even with the engine at full song.

It's a most civilized urban traveler, but the Grand Cherokee also can handle the rough, unpaved roads.  To help that along, the SUV comes with hill-start assist, a trailer-tow package and other off-road systems for trail travelers.

The tester scooted along admirably with a 3.6-liter V-6 under the hood.  Rated at 293 horsepower, the engine actually felt stronger in my hands.  The vehicle tackled steep hill climbs with very little complaint.  Fuel mileage is 18 miles per gallon in the city and 25 mpg on the highway.

The Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve 4X4 earned a suite of max five-star ratings in federal government crash tests, including five stars in the overall score.

Please note, the bottom line on the tester was $73,515 ... or about what one expects in this era of luxurious, feature-loaded, three-row SUVs. 

 If you can afford the fare, you'll be getting a sizable, versatile sport-ute that has evolved admirably since the early days of the sport-utility vehicle segment.

Hyundai's Santa Cruz is a pickup for the rest of us

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen here and in the Cruisin’ News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

Sacramento, California -- Fans of full-size pickups can get pretty snarky when it comes to compact trucks.

They drop words like "wimpy" and "weak" and "undersized" to describe the smaller models. But the bottom line is: not everyone wants a big, hulking pickup.  They want something more nimble, but still capable of carrying the occasional large cargo load.

Enter the tested 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz Limited AWD, a cleverly styled, peppy and utterly functional compact pickup for the rest of us.

Small in this case does not mean stripped.  I was stunned by the lengthy list of standard features packed into my tester.  That was particularly true of safety technology, which went far beyond the usual suspects.  My ride included blind spot collision-avoidance (with view monitor), driver attention warning, lane-keeping assist and forward collision avoidance.

The little pickup was further dressed up with 20-inch alloy wheels, LEDs all around, a power sunroof and heated/ventilated front seats.

Passersby routinely shouted that they liked the looks of the Santa Cruz.  Pickup devotees certainly would wince at the number of times it was called "cute."  To my eyes, it looked sporty with lean-into-the-wind sculpting on the front end.

For all this, the sticker's bottom line came in at $41,810 ... an alluring number in an age where buying a typical, new pickup truck can be a $60,000 transaction.

My tester had a 2.5-liter turbo-4 under the hood, which made it a muscular machine. Rated at 281 horsepower (or 90 horses more than the standard, non-turbo 2.5-liter engine), the power plant enthusiastically snapped the Santa Cruz forward from standing starts and gave more as the revs increased.

The Santa Cruz was rock-solid firm in corners and handled with midsize sedan ease.  It climbed with very little complaint ... with surprisingly little noise making its way into the cabin.

Four-door convenience and comfort added to the mix. Fuel mileage was pretty fair at 19 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.  And no, the truck bed would not be ideal for a construction site, but it's entirely capable of carrying, say, a new washer or dryer back to the homestead.

Overall, the Santa Cruz is the little pickup that can do a lot ... with good value to boot.

Hybrid Corolla Cross delivers just about all you need

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen here and in the Cruisin’ News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

Sacramento, California -- Cruising east on Interstate 80 just outside the community of Auburn, it dawned on me that the 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross was a give-'em-all-you-got vehicle.

What you get is a lot: the venerable Corolla name with plentiful Corolla DNA within the vehicle, a sporty-looking compact crossover, plentiful safety/comfort/convenience features, Toyota's storied reliability and gas-saving hybrid technology.

That last part is new for 2023 and a highly touted feature on my tester: a 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross HV XSE.  A 2-liter, four-cylinder engine anchors the hybrid system, which generates a combined net horsepower of 196.  Fuel mileage is a robust 45 miles per gallon in the city and 38 mpg on the highway.

Hybrid does not equate to tepid performance, however.  The tester scooted along lustily, and Toyota boasts a zero-to-60-mph time of 8 seconds, pretty feisty for this segment.

My ride stood out visually, wearing a saucy yellow-green paint job that Toyota labeled Acidic Blast.  It worked nicely with a jet black interior.

The cabin on the tester was surprisingly roomy, and from the cockpit, everything was thoughtfully laid out -- a la Corolla-style excellence.

For a compact offering, the features list went far beyond typical.  Standard perks on my tester included pedestrian detection, radar cruise control, lane-departure alert, a wireless smartphone charger, rear seat vents and ambient lighting.

A full boat of options -- including a premium JBL audio system and an adaptive front lighting system -- brought the bottom line on the sticker to $36,694. Given the plentiful equipment, just about right, I'd say.

Overall, this vehicle appeals to a lot of customer desires.  You want a practical-size crossover SUV ... that's packed with solid tech tools and longed-for standard equipment ... that will save you money on gas over the long haul ... and won't crush you bank accounts?

Toyota has you covered with the Corolla Cross hybrid.

The heart races behind the wheel of Kia's EV wonder

This review first appeared in the August 2023 edition of the Cruisin' News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

To subscribe to the Cruisin' News, visit www.cruisinnews.com, call (916) 933-0949 or send an email request to subscribe@cruisinnews.com.  Mailed requests for information should be sent to Cruisin' News, P.O. Box G, Virginia City, NV 89440.

Sacramento, California -- In the auto-reviewing game, you sometimes feel awash in a blizzard of motor vehicles. Models and their features start to blend together.  I guess, in some ways, you become jaded.

And then a vehicle like the 2023 Kia EV6 GT with all-wheel drive shows up at your door ... and gets your pulse racing.

I knew from the advance marketing that this all-electric compact crossover was something special. Kia showed the vehicle blazing around racetracks, noting that it was the most powerful production model in the history of the automaker.

But nothing prepared me for the reality that came with seat time.

This fire-breathing, 576-horsepower monster was neck-snapping performance in all its glory.

Over the years, I've driven only a few vehicles where I felt that I had to be extra careful not to let the machine get away from me.  This was one of them.

Just a nudge on the accelerator pressed me into the seat.  A hard hit from my right foot, and it was off to the races.

I'm talking about the kind of performance where you are rolling along amid 70 miles-per-hour traffic, and then suddenly everything around you is frozen to the spot as you blaze off into the distance. A serious rush.

For even well-known high-performance cars, that's the top end. But the EV6 GT takes it up a notch above that.

Positioned on the lower right side of the vehicle's steering wheel is a neon-green button that, if pushed, optimizes all key drive systems and essentially turns the vehicle into a low-level jet.

The GT button response is so strong that I recommend that a driver not push it until he/she is on a wide open stretch of freeway with few cars in sight.  And even then, get ready to hang on and keep that right foot ready to ease onto the brakes, lest you break into triple digits on the speedometer.

Those who have seen the NOS button in the "Fast and Furious" movie franchise (where special effects help produce a breathtaking visual of acceleration produced by a nitrous oxide blast) will appreciate the neon-green button in this KIA crossover.  It produces the same effect.

Naturally, with so much horsepower at hand, all vehicle systems have to be working at optimum levels.  And Kia did a super job with this. The dual electric motors, electronic suspension and electronic limited slip differential work seamlessly to produce eye-popping power and vehicle balance.

Because this is an EV, the over-the-top power production is guilt-free.  The fuel mileage equivalent is 85 miles per gallon in the city and 74 mpg on the highway.

Beyond the performance rush, the tested Kia had a generous lineup of interior comfort/convenience features and was comfortable throughout, with a bottom line on the sticker coming to $62,865.

Steven Center, chief operating officer and executive vice president of Kia America, probably says it best: “Moving toward our tailpipe zero-emissions goals has never been as exhilarating.”

Amen to that, brother.

Sporty Lexus coupe reviewed in latest Cruisin' News

My review of the 2023 Lexus LC 500 coupe can be seen in the latest, September 2023, edition of the Cruisin' News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news and marketplace."

The "Hot Laps" reviews, along with my "Oil Drips" observations on anything with wheels, appear monthly in the publication.

To subscribe to the Cruisin' News, visit www.cruisinnews.com, call (916) 933-0949 or send an email request to subscribe@cruisinnews.com.  Mailed requests for information should be sent to Cruisin' News, P.O. Box G, Virginia City, NV 89440.