Buick Envista, Mercedes C 43 and GLS, and Goodwood Revival

the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor James Riswick. They begin the episode with the cars they've been driving, including the surprisingly compelling 2024 Buick Envista. They also review the 2024 Mercedes-AMG C 43 and Mercedes-Benz GLS 580. James recounts his experience at the 2023 Goodwood Revival, before they discuss the news, including rumored electric successors to the Audi R8 and Alfa Romeo 4C. Finally, they reach into the mailbag for an unexpected outcome to a listener's previous Spend My Money question.

Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.

"> the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor James Riswick. They begin the episode with the cars they've been driving, including the surprisingly compelling 2024 Buick Envista. They also review the 2024 Mercedes-AMG C 43 and Mercedes-Benz GLS 580. James recounts his experience at the 2023 Goodwood Revival, before they discuss the news, including rumored electric successors to the Audi R8 and Alfa Romeo 4C. Finally, they reach into the mailbag for an unexpected outcome to a listener's previous Spend My Money question.

Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor James Riswick. They begin the episode with the cars they've been driving, including the surprisingly compelling 2024 Buick Envista. They also review the 2024 Mercedes-AMG C 43 and Mercedes-Benz GLS 580. James recounts his experience at the 2023 Goodwood Revival, before they discuss the news, including rumored electric successors to the Audi R8 and Alfa Romeo 4C. Finally, they reach into the mailbag for an unexpected outcome to a listener's previous Spend My Money question.

Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com.

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

GREG MIGLIORE: Welcome back to the Autoblog Podcast. I'm Greg Migliore. We've got a great show for you this week. We've been driving lots of interesting things, that includes the Buick Envista, the Mercedes C43, and I've spent some time in the Mercedes GLS 580.

West Coast Editor and Senior Editor for all things features and, of course, up and down the West Coast James Riswick went to Goodwood, which sounded like quite an epic trip. And then we'll talk some news. And, hey, we're going to spend your money. If you want us to spend your money, literally your money, that's podcast@autoblog.com. With that, James, what's going on?

JAMES RISWICK: Well, you know, just driving cars, writing about them.

GREG MIGLIORE: It's generally how things work.

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah, yep.

GREG MIGLIORE: It's kind of what we do here, right?

JAMES RISWICK: Yep, my job is car.

GREG MIGLIORE: Sometimes we talk about cars on podcasts. There we go, yeah. All right. All right, we have some really interesting stuff coming up for future podcasts. I'll just tease this out. We've got an M3, which I just picked up from our road test editor Zac Palmer, and our video producer Amr Sayour, they're doing a shoot. Not with that car actually, with the Maserati MC20. I left my wallet in there. My wallet probably brought down the value of that car. So lots of cool stuff going to be on site, going to be on the podcast. Going to make some videos, all that good stuff.

And this week there's no really good way to segue from a couple of basically supercars, to the Buick Envista, but this is way better than you might expect. I've seen a few of these things on the road. I think it looks great. And the Chevy Trax, which is like its sibling crossover, also is quite attractive and selling quite well. So I can't quite believe I'm saying this, but I really can't wait to get into these GM small crossovers. So tell me what you think of this Buick?

JAMES RISWICK: Well, simply put, the Envista is like the best, most competitive, and most relevant GM car I think I've ever driven.

GREG MIGLIORE: Wow. OK.

JAMES RISWICK: And those two things are-- like in terms of best and competitive, OK, well, like Corvette and, you know, like a CT5-V Blackwing, you know, like these great-- but relevant is also the key word here because it's just so wildly-- it's in a very hot important segment. I could see us doing an eight-car comparison and this coming out on top.

GREG MIGLIORE: OK.

JAMES RISWICK: And I'm not sure it would, but I could see it very easily happening. And, I mean, to your point, it looks great. But a lot of things look great. But this looks expensive. The kind of coupe design, that plays into it. The details on it, you know, it has a lot of like tasteful piano black stuff going on the exterior, really sleek headlights.

I asked my wife who's, you know, used to seeing all these cars I drive, how much she thought it cost. She said $60,000. My neighbor made a point to walk over to me while I was luggage testing the Envista, and because he was so impressed, he's not a total car noob, I asked him, well, how much do you think that costs? He said $80,000. Sorry, you went over. And the answer is $29,070.

So, OK. That puts it right in the heart of like the Kia Seltos, the Honda HR-V, things of that nature. It's just tremendous value. Let's talk about that. So compelling design, yes. Space. When you look at it, it has that rakish coupe body. Doesn't seem-- probably not that spacious, but it's actually the length of a Honda CR-V. So obviously, it's not the height of a CR-V, which is why, like its overall interior volume is more like a subcompact in total, and the price as well.

But it has a huge back seat, and the cargo space is really impressive. So apart from the Seltos, the Tiguan-- or the Taos and the Bronco Sport in this segment, I was able to fit more things more easily in the Envista than everything else in the segment. So you actually have practicality here.

The other thing is it's quiet, it is a Buick after all. It's a very refined driving experience. This one has the upgraded Watt's linkage rear suspension, so I'm not sure what improvement that makes. But in terms of just highway comfort, composure, I drove this to Palm Springs in back, it was very comfortable, very quiet.

Now let's talk about the engine because this is one of the reasons the price manages to be so low. This is really on specs, really not that impressive. It's a 1.2-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder. It produces, let's see here just to get it right, 137 horsepower. That seems like something that would be popular in France, not here in the United States. The 0 to 60 time. As tested by MotorTrend, is at like 9.6 seconds. That sucks, right? On paper, not that impressive.

However, in actual practice, this does not feel slow in the least. Its specs are kind of similar to a Toyota Corolla Cross or a Hyundai-- or a Honda HR-V. Those legitimately feel slow. This one does not. Here's why. It is turbocharged, so that power comes on at 2,500 RPM rather than like way up in the band, that making it feel super slow. It has a 6-speed automatic transmission, traditional.

It does not have an 8, 9, 10-speed thing that's going to get lost in its gears. That'll make your downshifts and reactions that much slower, which will hamper a car with a smaller engine. It doesn't have a CVT, which will just suck in general, like most of its competitors do. It does not have a DCT, which will have like weird stuttering and just general odd behavior.

Those are also found in cars in this segment. This is a really smart application of a transmission. Because, despite not having a 10-speed automatic, or a CVT, it still gets 30 miles per gallon combined. Terrific. And it does not feel slow. You can get up to speed very quickly. It is not loud. It is pleasingly quiet. And what you do hear is that kind of like tell-tale snarl bulldog 3-cylinder noise, but it's very muffled. You cannot-- you really don't notice it.

So, yes, it's an inexpensive engine, but it's very well disguised by the engineering. And the same thing is the case in the interior. There's lots of hard plastic around, specifically on the doors and on the center console. This is a 20-ish thousand dollar vehicle. But the design hides it very well. It looks good.

It has this very nice wrap-around tech. Well, it's two screens, but the housing is together. Kia does the same thing. In fact, this car is kind of indicative of a key in that way, that it delivers lots of design for not that much money. So all in-- all told, I mean, this was a wildly surprising car for me, as you can kind of tell. I was not expecting to like a Buick Envista. So wildly impressed with it.

It's yet another really interesting entry in the subcompact space. When the first wave of these came in, it was like hard to recommend any of them because they were so underwhelming. But now, they all kind of have a different take. And that kind of makes it a little easier for people to choose amongst them. You're not just picking amongst general boxes, right, based on price alone. You can pick by design or, you know, like a lifestyle choice.

This one's definitely an on-roader. But if you want something for outdoor adventuring, you have your Crosstreks and your Bronco Sports. And so, really, again, I could see this thing winning a comparison. I've compared notes with John Snyder. He was on the first drive, he agrees. So I could see this being an editor's pick, and a very high rating from us.

It's just really, really good. I mean, I had this at the same time as a brand new Toyota Grand Highlander, Grand Highlander stayed parked. I drove the Envista even though it's a 29-- it's not a very expensive car. Just a nice size. Really, really impressed.

GREG MIGLIORE: You know, I thought you might say something like this. I was talking to Pras Subramanian, who's the Yahoo Finance Autos reporter, and he was just raving about the Chevy Trax. And I'm like, OK, yeah. I mean, I guess. And then I looked at basically sort of like the consensus of all the different reviews out there. And a lot of people really like that. As I looked more, a lot of people really like this Buick.

So it really sounds like GM has gotten the crossover-- the small crossover segment right, for perhaps the first time ever, really. I mean, it's-- I will say this. When's the last time you were truly surprised about a car? You know, it's been a minute for me, frankly. And it sounds like this one, not to do the "that's a Buick" cliche, but it sounds like it kind of hits you that way.

JAMES RISWICK: Well, yeah. I mean, it-- GM phones it in a lot. I won't lie. There are instances like, look at a Chevy Equinox, kind of phoned in, right? This is like good enough category. There's nothing good enough about this Envista. This is like trying hard. Like let's swing for the fences here. This is better than it needs to be. This is to get noticed. This is to make a statement.

And everything about the Trax sure looks like that. I mean, you look at the Trax, and look at the Trailblazer. Like trailblazer somehow costs more. But you look at those two, and you can kind of see what I'm talking about. Like the Trax looks like somebody tried. The Trailblazer looks like, eh, this will work. So, you know, if this is the direction, then great.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, No. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm pretty excited to drive both the Buick and the Chevy version. I'm going to get into them, I think, this month. It's October already, so I'm excited. You know, I want to see what everybody's, you know, so fired up about, so. And to your point, I think it's better than it has to be because they don't usually come this aggressive at such a low price point. You know, because these aren't going to be super profitable vehicles, I would imagine. So it's, you know, it's impressive.

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah. I mean, you know, there are some-- it doesn't have all-wheel drive. That's probably going to be an issue for some.

GREG MIGLIORE: Could be, yeah.

JAMES RISWICK: It's kind of curious why it doesn't, because under-- looking under the cargo area, there's a lot of space under there. I'm surprised they couldn't fit an axle, sure. And given that, like there's enough space down there. I'm surprised you couldn't fit a battery, make this a hybrid. And given the low cost of entry, like you could make a hybrid at a reasonable price. So, I mean, that would make it even better, really, if they could do that.

GREG MIGLIORE: I mean, mid-cycle refresh, right?

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah. Not that GM has hybrids anymore. it's not--

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, that's a good point.

JAMES RISWICK: --what happened before. I mean, GM's hybrid system, like no one drove it, unfortunately. I think I'm like one of the only people who-- one of the only journalists who drove a Malibu hybrid. It was good. Like the powertrain was good. It's a non-plug-in Volt powertrain.

So it's kind of like Honda's, in that it behaves more like an electric, with the engine, like feeding power to the battery, and then the battery going to the Motor. But if they could do that, that would be fantastic. So we're-- now I'm just, instead of like how to fix it, I'm like let's make it better, which is always a good position.

GREG MIGLIORE: All right, cool. Well, let's shift gears over to-- we have a couple of Mercedes that we went through. Let's go with the C43 first. That sounds a little more fun than the three-row SUV that I drove. But I really like, you know, when I drove two. But we'll start with you. C43.

JAMES RISWICK: Well, I would rather drive the Envista, honestly. Talk about the most surprising car. This is one of the most disappointing cars--

GREG MIGLIORE: OK, all right.

JAMES RISWICK: --is the C43. 1, the suspension, not good. Just very rough. There's something-- I'm not entirely sure if it's rebound or compression, but one of them is not right in this car. And I double-checked. This is why I was looking on the Monroney to see if it had some sort of fanciful, or like the hardcore suspension. It did not. This has the AMG ride control, which is adaptive dampers. And it did not have like 30-inch wheels, they're just 20s.

And so, just driving around town, not pleasant. Just a lot of like jiggling you around. And then, when you're on a mountain road-- so I live in Agoura Hills, California. I am just north of all the wonderland of Malibu mountain roads, or 15 minutes away.

So I can go out there. It was not enjoyable to drive on those mountain roads because the damn suspension was just like knocking the-- was just jostling me around, jostling the chassis around, that it just was not-- it was not pleasant, or even that quick, and I was in comfort mode.

Normally, you put the car in Sport Plus, and you dial the suspension down to comfort, to balance and to provide more stability on mid-corner bumps and the like. Not good enough here. So my question is, if this thing-- if this suspension is not appropriate enough, or is somehow too hardcore for Malibu Canyon roads, where the hell in the United States are you driving this thing?

GREG MIGLIORE: That's a good point. Laguna Seca? I don't know.

JAMES RISWICK: Sure, yeah. You live on a racetrack.

GREG MIGLIORE: You live on a racetrack, yeah.

JAMES RISWICK: Like, cool. And then you're just living with this thing the rest of the time. So that was, like, really frustrating. Also, the transmission, this has a 9-speed AMG Speedshift MCT transmission, totally, like, stock thing. Every time I've driven it before, you put it in sport plus that sucker, you go into-- you break into a corner, it like downshifts exactly the way you would want to. 1, 2, fires it off.

You don't even think about using the paddles, not here. And I'm guessing, it's because this wacky-pants new full-sentence powertrain. This would be your handcrafted AMG 2-liter inline-four turbo with hybrid assist and electric exhaust gas turbocharger.

There's a lot going on in this thing. And I'm guessing with the hybrid, and possibly the-- I'm not going to throw the electric gas turbocharger, is pretty cool. But the hybrid assist, maybe that's causing the transmission, both when driving aggressively and just around town, to just be funky, and not in the right gear a lot.

Just driving from the airport, the initial-- it seemed like the car was just in the wrong gear. I don't know if it was starting in 2nd, or it just was not right, to the point that I was sitting in traffic on the 405 with the paddle shifters. What?

Like, I'm not driving-- I shouldn't be-- like, Mercedes, I just said, I don't use the paddles on a mountain road in them. And yet now I'm on, sitting in traffic with them. So something's-- they haven't gotten that system right. It does have the same four-cylinder as the new Mercedes SL 43, which our review went up-- what day is it? Tuesday.

GREG MIGLIORE: OK.

JAMES RISWICK: Which Zach was impressed with. This actually has more power. This is 403 horsepower versus 375. I wonder why an SL has the gap here. But, I mean, this is-- for a four-cylinder, it's pretty impressive. You have 400 horsepower from a four-cylinder, that's 100 horsepower per cylinder. So hey, actually, you know what? This is another-- this is like the GR Corolla. I just realized. It's yet another car that has 100 horsepower per cylinder. The list is short on that. It's like Bugatti Chiron.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah.

JAMES RISWICK: And like the Dodge Demon, and now the C43. So like, because of that, it should be really cool. But the suspension and the transmission just do not-- it's really disappointing. They need to tweak some things to make it more desirable to drive for me than a Buick Envista.

GREG MIGLIORE: The old Buick Regal GS, the Grand Sport, I believe, also had more than 100 horsepower per cylinder. It was one of the most power-dense vehicles that they had ever built at that point. Random trivia question.

JAMES RISWICK: When? When was this?

GREG MIGLIORE: This is the Regal GS, say, 13 years ago. So yeah.

JAMES RISWICK: OK.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah., we're throwing trivia out in this podcast. let's do some deep cuts here. Have you driven the M3 lately?

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah, yeah, I didn't have a problem with that. that was-- I mean, yeah. it's a sports sedan, so it's on the firm side. But it was not like out of whack like this. apart from having to run it into a pole to make it look better. I would much rather drive that. I'd rather drive the S4, the Audi S4, which is slower than this.

But I very much enjoyed that car, even though it's like 6 years old or something, at this point. But that was a far more composed, coherent car than this Mercedes. It's just too hardcore. Like people buy AMGs around here in LA just because it's an AMG. But they're really going to be suffering for that choice with this.

GREG MIGLIORE: It's interesting. I just literally got out of the M3 CS, and it's pretty hardcore. And it's been a while since I've driven any sort of C-class AMG. And I'm feeling pretty good about my position that I tend to like the M cars more than the AMGs at this, like, sort of segment, if you will, the C and the E.

Like, I like the M5, the M4, the M3, more than their counterparts, at this point. And the M3 has these crazy carbon seats with, like, carbon, like, that basically is like on your sides and between your legs. It's not a comfortable experience. But I still was seemingly more comfortable and ready to drive than it sounds like you were in the C43. So it goes.

JAMES RISWICK: One thing I very much like with Mercedes is their drive mode selection capability.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, it's good.

JAMES RISWICK: So There's the normal comfort sport, Sport Plus. And it's controlled with a little dial on the right, kind of like Porsche and others do. The actual display is in the button itself. So you can see what you've changed. But then on the left side, there's this other little kind of knob, button deal that allows you to very quickly choose different Elements.

So you can put it in sport plus, and then you can put down-- you can change the suspension individually, you can change the stability control, you can change, I think, the exhaust and then the transmission between dynamic, which is the only option, and then manual. So instead of going into a menu, which is really annoying to do that.

Usually, you have to go like-- when you change a drive mode, there's a menu, and you have to press the button. And then the menu comes up, and then you have to slide your hand, and "ahdahdahdah," then you've driven off the road because you were distracted. This way allows you to vary individually fine-tune it. And it's a great way to do it. So the rest of the car-- that thing, very good.

GREG MIGLIORE: It's interesting. I look at some of our competitors, and they-- a number of them do a good job of ranking where different cars sit in their segment. Just for-- I pull up a car and drive, just to see what they thought. And I don't totally get how they do this because it's best sports sedans, like everything. But they have it behind the CT4-V Blackwing, the C63, which, again, to me, that's kind of a weird way to do it. Alfa Romeo, M3, and the M4.

So I would-- even discounting a couple of the, like the dupes if you will, like the C63 and the M4, looks like, at best, it's fourth in the segment, which, you know, hey, that's their take. But I don't disagree with it based on what you're saying. I think I'd take the Cadillac.

JAMES RISWICK: The C63 is the previous generation. This is the highest thing, at the moment. So they're going to make something harder-core than this? Oh, OK. This is going to be a pile of rocks with some gills on.

GREG MIGLIORE: Chiropractic coupons to go with it, cool. All right, well, let's briefly touch on the Mercedes GLS 580. That's what I drove. Assembled in Vance, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Not far from-- what's in Tuscaloosa? I think the University of Alabama is there. That sounds right? Maybe? Roll Tide.

I thought this was a good value. For $124,260, it seemed like a decent value to me. Which, and here's why I say that, I feel like $100,000 is like the new $80,000, especially for SUVs. Factoring in inflation and like, you know, content and all the different things you could get. And it was a very nice interior, you know. You get all the power you might want, you know.

This is the 4-liter biturbo V8, 510 horsepower. It is the mild hybrid system, if you will, so that's OK. And it was like a very-- like when I look at other things I would consider this against, like an X7. I think I liked it more than the X7. it's just like it does a good job, I think, of translating that, like, Mercedes feel to a three-row crossover, you know.

And I don't think Mercedes is ever going to, outside of, say, the G-class, build like a real big truck Navigator, Escalade competitor. So this is as big as it gets. And to use the cliche, like, is it like the S-class of an SUV? I don't know if I buy into all that crap. But it definitely is, I think, a very solid top-of-the-line, you know, three-row crossover for them.

And I liked it. You know, I put a fair amount of miles on it. It was a beautiful shade of shade of emerald green metallic, which, at first, you didn't notice it. But then when the sun would come out, like that's when the neighbors would be like, hey wait, what's that? What's that Mercedes you have? So I think that's kind of a good sign when people are noticing what otherwise could be like a dour doer car, you know, crossover.

And it definitely affects that kind of like, you know, ritzy feel at that point. You know, again, all the stuff you'd normally expect from, like a Mercedes, you know, wood, leather, all that good stuff inside. Wood grain, I should say. Had the AMG wheels on it. That was nice, 22-inchers. That definitely added something to it. I liked it, though, overall.

I think with the seats down, you get a lot of room in the back. With that third row up, you actually don't have much room. We were doing a Kroger pickup, for those of you in the Midwest. And the guy was bringing out our food, because we order like the same thing, like, every week for like shopping. So you just wash, rinse, repeat, and just drive by there, and they bring out your stuff.

We had, like, one, I think, camping chair back there, two camping chairs, after going to soccer, which frankly, for a GLS, that's a pretty good weekend of what you should be testing it, if you will. Is like, sort of, family things. And we couldn't get all the groceries. So I had to, like, move some stuff around. So that's something that it's been a while since I've been in a three-row SUV that didn't seem to have a really good-sized cargo hold. It kind of reminds me of like the old Tahoes back in the day that were gargantuan freighters. But then you'd have that third row up, and you're like, oh, it's kind of tight back here.

So overall, I liked it. I think it's definitely one of the better things in the segment. I think I was always a little skeptical when Mercedes was like, OK, we're going to really round out our SUV lineup. We're going to add this GLS thing. But I think it's solid. I think it's, again, like I said, a decent value. And, you know, great around-town driver, you know, as you would expect a large expensive crossover to be. You can see out of it really well. Steering is light as you would find in that segment, but still good.

And yeah, I mean, who doesn't like a 4-liter V8, right? I mean, yeah, it's a twin-turbo, but still, you know, I think it's-- it didn't sound like flatulent or anything like sometimes as engine can in different cars and just solid. And I think, also, the? Airmatic air suspension is always a nice feature you can get. I believe it's standard on this thing, as you would expect. Yeah, I don't know. I liked it. Have you driven a GS lately?

JAMES RISWICK: Oh, no. The last time I drove a GLS was in like June of 2020. I had the AMG one.

GREG MIGLIORE: Different world. OK.

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah, I had the AMG one. To follow up your cargo comment, as you have Mr Luggage Test on the show this week.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yes, that's right.

JAMES RISWICK: It's actually better than, let's see, every-- it's very good, actually, for the segment. Which is not saying much. But in terms of luxury midsize SUV-- luxury three-row SUV, Yeah, like the XC90 is a little better. But that's like-- that's a significantly cheaper. So this is the best thing that I've tested in that. Like a Grand Wagon. Like those full-size-- like a Grand Wagoneer, Escalade, they would be better, but it's actually four, three-row. It's not that bad. You could fit four suitcases back there.

GREG MIGLIORE: Mr. Luggage Test. I need to definitely modify my intro, your walk-up, if you will, when we get you onto the podcast. Forget senior editor for West Coast things, and reviews and features. No, no, Mr. Luggage Test. That's what we're going to do.

JAMES RISWICK: I mean, you know, it's funny. I started them-- I get, like, more unsolicited email about them than anything else. Usually, like people who enjoy them, which is always nice. Actually, it's the only unsolicited email I get.

GREG MIGLIORE: That's good.

JAMES RISWICK: Like, especially in the positive. Anyway, I have the car. I have the luggage. Let's have an easy post to get up there. And as it turns out, I was learning a lot of stuff. Because, you know, we all see like these cargo area numbers, these cubic feet. This has 20 cubic feet. This has 17 cubic feet.

Well, not all of them are created equal. Not every car company measures the same way. There are big differences, like volume is best measured with like ping-pong-- I'm not filling up a cargo area with ping-pong balls, right? You're going to fill with actual stuff. So the shape can also come into play. So there's some that just have like a lot of wasted space because of sloped cargo areas.

The cubic feet, you can't really compare, as I've discovered, like a trunk with a hatchback, or with an SUV. Like sometimes they just don't-- they're not similar. There's a lot of wasted space up high, for instance. So it's been interesting to do it. I've found myself, unfortunately, like, the expert on cargo. It's not something I wanted. But, you know, you do it enough. And now we have like this really huge database of, like, all of these cars.

So if you want to know the actual cargo difference, like how much stuff you can fit in a Kia Sportage versus a Honda CRV, or a Ford Bronco Sport and a Kia Seltos, well, yep. You can see it. So it's proven to be a nice little thing. So that's a sidetrack.

GREG MIGLIORE: No, no. I think people would like to know what kind of luggage do you use? I mean, you can see it in the pictures, but any particular reason? It's your luggage, right? This isn't like--

JAMES RISWICK: No. it's the stuff I've collected over the years, right? It's just stuff that I've purchased. I think I got-- yeah, like one was like my original suitcase I was given to, like, by my parents. Like just for some-- like for a Christmas gift, and then another one I purchased. And the other one is like the fancy bag I use. Which I kind of regret because it's kind of a stupid size.

And a lot of times, like, a similarly sized duffel bag would-- I know would fit, but this dumb thing doesn't. I just grabbed it. So once you're down the river, there's no going back. You have to use the same things every time. So it's my wife's bag she bought from Travel TV show personality Samantha Brown's QVC line.

GREG MIGLIORE: OK, all right.

JAMES RISWICK: So that's what the fancy bag is, folks.

GREG MIGLIORE: Got it.

JAMES RISWICK: Behind the scenes. It's a little duffel bag. It has a roller on it. And then add some other stuff, too, but--

GREG MIGLIORE: We get more emails on luggage tests and cup holder tests than really anything else we do. Like--

JAMES RISWICK: Oh, really? Does John get some for the cup holder test?

GREG MIGLIORE: John gets some cup holder fan mail. I honestly can't believe it. I get emails. A couple companies have literally reached out to us saying, hey, we have this new-- usually it's like a crossover. You wouldn't believe how many cup holders it has. Can we get you the car. And we're like, sure, OK. They're like, we don't even care if you do a review on it. Do the Cup holder test. And I'm like, are you serious? But, sure all right.

JAMES RISWICK: You know, and, well, I got the Grand Highlander two luggage test. That's I--

GREG MIGLIORE: There we go.

JAMES RISWICK: That's why I didn't feel too bad about only driving it at a limited amount because I needed to do it. And, you know, people like reading them, so. And yeah, the cup holder test would be the luggage test sequel. John did it a couple times, like this is your new thing. We need to do this more. People will like them.

GREG MIGLIORE: So tell me I'm wrong. I bet you, a luggage test and a cup holder test is more relevant to most people than a track test.

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah, absolutely.

GREG MIGLIORE: Right? Like need do you need to know how fast we drove to something-something at 9/10 at Monticello on a Misty morning? You probably don't because you're not going to do that. Even if it is the M3 CS. Well, OK, maybe with that, you might. But, I mean, I don't know. It's interesting.

JAMES RISWICK: It's interesting, yeah. It really is. It's like the same test performed to everything, so. And whether that is this, or like driving everything around the Top Gear track, right? Like, I think that's interesting, too, because that track's not very hardcore. It's like a figure eight around an airstrip.

GREG MIGLIORE: It's an old airfield, right?

JAMES RISWICK: Right. But you do everything there. And in the process of that, you do learn certain things. You learn things about a car just driving in a circle on a skidpad. So, you know, just applying the same test to everything, I think, is always very interesting, especially when you have some oddball things. So whether it's putting a minivan on a track, or me doing a luggage test on a Corvette., It's still, you know, I think they're always-- there's a reason people like them.

GREG MIGLIORE: One of the interesting things I think about the pandemic is-- for you, it's always been the same way. But, you know, I've noticed this sort of like, post-pandemic, is I don't get in a car and just drive it like I've been, like, lobotomized anymore. It's like every car I get in, even if it's just to drop like my kid off at school or something. It's like, hey, you can learn something from that, to your point.

Whether it's, hey, I didn't know that's how I could use the infotainment system. Or hey, oh, I can adjust the seat this way. Or hey, look, there's a secret cup holder here. And, you know, frankly, before times, maybe you don't approach it that way. You know you should, but you don't necessarily just because you know it's the job, it's the commute, you know.

And certain cars, maybe there weren't really, you know, a dire assignment that we had to get in on. So that's kind of how I do it. Like I learned things about the M3 just driving it. I thought it was more complicated than-- in some ways than the MC20. The mc20 is straight ahead. You can twist a knob to change the settings of the car. There's an infotainment system that is Stellantis. If you've ever driven anything, this is what it is. And you've got a steering wheel and some gauges in front of you. And that's about it.

The M3, you can do anything you want to that car, any sorts of levels. And literally, I noticed this on my 10-minute drive in the Maserati, and then 10-minute drive back in the M3, when we swap these cars at a video shoot. So, to your point, yeah.

JAMES RISWICK: You know, I think you know the simplicity going back to the Envista. I think that's another part of its appeal. So, you know, yes, it's inexpensive, and that's part of the reason it's simple. But, like, a lot of the stuff that gets slathered on cars, like, you don't need it. It just adds complexity. Most people don't care. They're never going to use it. They're going to be afraid for some reason to press that button, as if it's going to launch them into space.

You know, like it has-- it doesn't have a like a weirdo shifter for the sake of being a weirdo shifter. The touchscreen, it's kind of like the, I'd say, like it's-- GM has like two Android-based Android auto-- or Android automotive operating system systems, so to speak.

There's like, the high-function one, and this is like the lower-function one. And it works fine. It's very clean, looks great, simple. Very easy to use. The gauges don't do anything fancy, but they look fancy. And that's nice. Graphics don't cost a lot. Once you do them once, you just copy and paste, and throw them into a car. So, you know, nothing weird going on with the standard controls.

It's one of the reasons why I often like Kias, you know. I literally own a Niro now, but like the old Niro. I remember getting a plug-in hybrid, and the same thing. You get in, normal shifter. Like easy to use infotainment system. Everything's where it is. This is not too complicated. Get in, and go. Simple. And I think people like that.

And in the entrance, you know, a lot of time, well, let's put a big touchscreen in there. Everything will be simple and minimal. It won't. It's visually minimal, but now it's complicated. You've now complicated everything by trying to minimize the visual. And also minimize your cost of spending for buttons and things inside the car, so.

GREG MIGLIORE: All right, simplicity, it's-- I agree. Something that's simple. It doesn't have to be Miata simple, but I agree. That could be very refreshing when you get in a car like that. So let's run through some news. These two items I thought are kind of interesting. R8 successor rumor, it may be electric and it won't be called the R8. That's what we reported. We've got a pretty wild-looking R8-like concept up there. We'll see.

I mean, this is like an Autocar kind of report, which I think is always, you never know. But this, first of all, I'll say this. I think it'd be kind of cool if they would do it, just because the R8 has always been a car that, in some ways, I think is really resonated with me, you know. At the dawn of the last-- of this century, there weren't that many fun hyper supercars. And Audi was like, hey, we're going to make this R8. Check it out.

And you had that gated shifter. It looked like a spaceship. They were just crushing everybody in ALMS And Mobil MAR races in Europe. diesel power, TDI, you know, throw the bingo card at you. And this car, I thought, kind of exemplified all of that, embodied all of that. So the fact that, you know, they put it on a retirement lap. Joel Stocksdale, our news editor, got to drive that at Laguna Seca. You were actually going to do that. Got a little bit of a cold, if you will.

But frankly, I really thought about doing it, too. I was like, just the way that car sort of captured the zeitgeist, you know, 15, 20 years ago. And just how I remember it, you know, at that time. It would have been interesting to go out on its final laps with it. So I think they should, I think they should.

JAMES RISWICK: I haven't driven one since the original, like right when it first came out. And that thing, when that came out, like the attention you'd got. It was annoying to drive because people would be like driving aggressively next to you to catch up and take phone-- to take photos with their crappy flip phone cameras. And it was a little annoying to drive on that. But the car, in general, was very much like Acura NSX 2.0.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, it's a good way to put it.

JAMES RISWICK: So the same, sort of, like, it wasn't as expensive as all the other exotics. It was more practical in that it was like comfortable, and like the interior controls were normal for an Audi. The trunk was teeny tiny. It. Was stupid. But besides that, unlike the NSX, it was very much like that modern like NSX 2.0. And not unlike the TT, they came up with something kind of like an instant classic. And then it's hard to move on from that. How do you evolve that? And once the moment's done, it's done.

You can't-- you either needed to the 911 only happens once. It was not a 911. And the desirability of it, it was more of an instant-- like, people wanted it now. But once they seen it a lot, they don't want it anymore. Unlike a 911, which everyone's seen it, but it's excellence. And it's just been-- who knows? It's a unique situation, really, with the 911. So they do a 9-- if they do a sports car because it was not called an R8. I'm sure it'll be called the R9 e-Tron.

GREG MIGLIORE: VR9, VR10, yeah.

JAMES RISWICK: Right. And yeah. I mean, you know. Like an e-Tron GT, if you made that two doors. Yeah, I mean, that could be a coupe, right? But that's obviously going for something more than that. It'll be interesting to see where high-end sports cars go when they get electric. Because we've seen it, to some extent, with remods, but we haven't really seen it, right? Like I live in a place surrounded by fancy people, of which I am not one. But I'm surrounded by them, and have not seen one of those, so.

GREG MIGLIORE: All right, well, let's go from the R8 to the 4C. I literally just saw one of these while I was driving. What was I driving? I was in the aforementioned M3. Been a long time since I've driven a 4C. I drove one-- we had one for Tech of the Year testing in like 2015. And I drove it around. I don't know what the hell we were testing on that thing at that point. Maybe the engine, I don't know, or the carbon fiber tub. And they were like a Road Test Editor-- not Road Test Editor. What was he at the time? Whatever he was, Steve Ewing, Managing Editor, I think, or Senior Editor. I don't know. He was like, do you want--

JAMES RISWICK: Steven Ewing, he is-- His title is just Steven Ewing at this point.

GREG MIGLIORE: He's back now. He's one of our--

JAMES RISWICK: Yay.

GREG MIGLIORE: You know, freelancing all the time for us, which is great. He's like, do you want to take this thing home? And I'm like, no. I don't want to drive 3.5 hours from around Petoskey to Metro Detroit. That's a bit of a hike in a car that's about an inch off the ground, and has an engine behind your ears. So yeah, I was like, yeah, hard pass. And I think I took like a Volt or a Lexus or something.

I don't know. It sounds like a cop-out, but it just was like, you know what? Car like that is good on a track or in small doses. Not for, you know, taking across the state in late October. And I actually drove one once in New York City, which-- so I've basically driven this car in two of the worst places you could possibly drive one. New York City, Manhattan is not where you want to drive a 4c either. Let me put it that way.

Long story short. Try to bring this all together here. After driving the MC20 from Maserati, I was like, damn this is what they should have done a while ago because it makes me think of, you know, Fangio and all those, like, Maserati guys, and all these wins they claim from like, you know, the 1950s. They're like the, I don't know, the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the automotive industry. Minnesota used to destroy everybody in college football. When's the last time they were good? Like 1937. Literally, that's it. And I think that's kind of how Maserati is.

But you drive this thing, the MC20. You're like, hey, this is awesome. This is pretty. This is great. Alfa needs to do something like that again, I think. I think, why not? Your Alfa Romeo... You got the Giulia. That's beautiful. Stelvio, sure, yeah, OK. You're playing in the crossover game because you can't sell 15,000 cars and be viable. But I think doing a halo car for certain brands is indeed valuable.

So I think, hey Alfa, if you want to bring back the 4C, please do. Who knows? Alfa is always making rumors and, you know. I will say this. This concept thing they did show a while ago. To me, that would be a better approach. I thought the 4C itself was just a little too sharp edge for maybe what people would really associate with Alfa Romeo. I mean, when were they ever really that, you know. And then they roll out this like, you know, mid-engine thing that'll rip your head off. So yeah, 4C. Your turn.

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah, I would say that, in general, like 2-seat-only sports cars, their appeal is minimal. I mean, there's a reason-- even as you go up in price, like there's a reason Mercedes added the vestigial back seat to the SL. Like you don't need a three-row crossover thing, but just a modicum of extra practicality to throw a little bag in the back, to throw your little dog in the back. Like clearly, there is functionality.

I know that. I own a Roadster. And like, I can't go places because I-- like, it just-- it's two people. I can't bring my dog. Could definitely can't bring my son. So like, there's a practicality. And judging by the vehicles that people drive today, even like high-dollar sports cars and stuff, where people could easily just-- this is not their only car. Like, practicality clearly matters.

People have become far more sensible here in the 21st century, kind of, sadly. But either way, like some sort of-- they're going to do some two-seat tiny electric sports car. I think it's going to be just as relevant as a 4C, that it'll need to be something different. I think the R8 kind of suffered from that too. At least with the 911, there is that back seat. And you can-- and the convertible is also more practical. And, you know, that matters.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, no. I mean, as somebody who's been trying to manage the logistics of driving a two-seat supercar with a family, it's quite challenging. Let me put it that way. The MC20, you could do it as your daily driver, but you have one other seat, so pick your friend to go with you.

JAMES RISWICK: It's also when you're going to drive it, right? Like if you're going to go on just a weekend trip with your wife, oh, that's annoying in a two-seat. Like she ain't going to be happy. You might not be happy. But like, you just make it a little bigger, there's a little back seat, little tiny thing. They're there for a reason. People like them.

GREG MIGLIORE: So what you're looking for is like-- so maybe not the Spider, which arguably is Alfa's most iconic car. Are you thinking like a Montreal? That was a beautiful car, something like that.

JAMES RISWICK: Sure. I bet you would do better. Probably would do better. Yeah.

GREG MIGLIORE: They had the Montreal from 1970 to 77. Do you think they had a Trudeau edition, at that point? I don't know. Look at it, the different Alfa's. It's quite a checkered history. I think they're actually-- they were on the right track with the Giulia. I drove a Giulietta, which was a fantastic car to drive. They brought it over here to show off the benefits of diesel. And it was a stick shift. And it sort of became the Dart back under that version, which really, a lot got washed out in the wash, if you will, rinsed out in the wash, shrunk in the wash, whatever you want to say.

JAMES RISWICK: I mean, it had the underpinnings. The Dart had the underpinnings of a Giulietta. But that was the extent of the Dart. That was one where like, made good first impression. Subsequent impressions, terrible. It died early for a reason.

GREG MIGLIORE: All right. Well, should we spend some money?

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah. Although isn't this more of a, someone has spent the money--

GREG MIGLIORE: That's a good point.

JAMES RISWICK: --after talking to us?

GREG MIGLIORE: That's a good point. This is Joe Writes. This is an update. He's written us a couple times. Hey, Joe. Thanks for always checking in. He basically was looking for a couple of cars for his daughter's. One he already-- he's taken care of that with a VW. And now, another daughter is looking for a car.

And here is the update. I thought I'd give you an update on what happened. Things never go as planned, of course. He looked at Elements that was something that we recommended. It was on his list. But the prices were ridiculous. So they moved to the Kia Soul. I don't think that was a terrible move. I really liked the Soul. It had character. I won't say it had Soul.

JAMES RISWICK: And to add from his original email. It was Soul and Elements, so obviously you guys, whoever's on blog, was talking about that. The other choices were the New Beetle, the Cube, the xB, the 500-- the Fiat 500 in, quote, "nurse uniform green" OK? And the Mini Cooper. So clearly small, funky cube things were on the table, but He looked at the Element. And Greg, what did he end up buying? Drum roll.

GREG MIGLIORE: This is kind of good, actually, here. We have the-- let's see here, the Mazda MX-5 RF. This is the Grand Touring with the 6-speed manual.

JAMES RISWICK: Yay.

GREG MIGLIORE: Pretty cool, right?

JAMES RISWICK: He got his teenage daughter that car.

GREG MIGLIORE: What a great car to have for like high school and college.

JAMES RISWICK: I mean, it's going to be crap for getting your stuff to college. But the rest of the time, you're going to have fun, you know. No one's going to be able to drive it because it's a manual, so you know that none of your friends' kids are going to-- or none of your kids' friends--

GREG MIGLIORE: That's true.

JAMES RISWICK: --are going to run off with it, yeah.

GREG MIGLIORE: The original safety device, a manual transmission. That's a really good point. Don't bring your laundry home. Do the laundry at the dorms. So you're good, right?

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah. this is a fantastic choice. Just when you do move, you know, you can use the front seat and front-- or sorry, the passenger seat and the passenger seat well as extra storage. I know this. Again, Roadster guy, rinky dink trunk. But again, great. This is fantastic. This is great. I'd love to know why you went RF rather than regular convertible. But otherwise, maybe, sound reasons.

GREG MIGLIORE: Yeah, I think the RF is a great-looking car. I think hot takes some people, maybe myself included, depending on the color and the way you look at it. I think it might be better looking than the regular Miata. I really like those, like, stanchions in the back, the roof line. What's not to like? It's a beautiful car. It's cool.

JAMES RISWICK: This is a wonderful thing that's happened. So, way not to-- I mean, it's almost like you picked what we would have said, as useless people. Because normally, the joke is the answer is always Miata.

GREG MIGLIORE: Sometimes it's not. Yeah.

JAMES RISWICK: Yeah. So as if we were like, yeah, the Elements fight, but have you considered a Miata? As if that would be useful information. But you were like, we didn't say that, and yet you did it, anyway. So good for you. That's well done, Joe. Well let's all have-- let's have a nice round of applause here for you. Yay. Good job.

GREG MIGLIORE: We'll let James Riswick there take us out, right? With the round of applause, hey. All right. So that's all the time we have this week. Congratulations, Joe. I think your family made a great pick here. That's going to be a car-- we actually did a feature recently on the last car you'll ever have. It's pretty rare in your teenage years to get one of the last cars that could qualify, I think. You got a sports car, you're like 16 or 17. You could drive it for the rest of your life if you wanted to. Will it be practical for certain phases? Definitely not. But, I mean, I haven't bought my sports car yet. So congratulations, I guess.

JAMES RISWICK: I would hope that if she takes care of it, that at some point, she will need something bigger. But you should he should get it from her, keep it as for special keeping, so that someday she can take it again. And would have the story of having this Miata forever, you know, for like-- that's what I hope that scenario because like, being able to have like-- that would be one where, I've had this Miata since I've been in college, is a pretty cool story, so.

GREG MIGLIORE: All right, well let's head on out. If you enjoy the show, please give us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you might get the show. Send us more Spend My Moneys. If we've spent your money in the past, and you have an update this good, we'd love to hear from you. That's podcast@autoblog.com Thanks for hanging out with me. Senior Mr. Road Test-- not Road Test Mr. Luggage Test Editor James Riswick. We even mentioned a fair amount of Canadian topics, I guess, right? You know, we got the Montreal in there. That was pretty good. We'll see you next week.

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