Quick Spin

Land Rover’s legendary Defender nameplate made its return to the United States just a few years ago. This off-road legend was barred from the United States since it departed before the turn of the century, and made an even bigger space for its off-road-focused competition. In its return, the Defender might be softer than its Series and Defender predecessors. Its increased ride comfort might make your commute easier, but the Defender still offers plenty of off-roading chops if you find yourself out in the wild. Powering this Defender 110 is a turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six that works alongside its mild-hybrid system to throw 395 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque to the wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek executive editor Tom Murphy puts the ’23 Land Rover Defender 110 through its paces. Murphy takes you on a tour of this off-road-focused Land Rover and highlights some of his favorite features. Later, Murphy takes you along for a live drive review. Adding some context, Murphy chats with host Wesley Wren about the Land Rover Defender’s sales, competition, and more. The pair also discuss the Defender in the greater context of Land Rover’s history. Closing the show, the pair breaks down what makes this Defender special.

The latest generation of Jeeps Wrangler launched as the JL-generation in 2017 for the 2018 model year. Almost immediately, car customizers that specialize in Jeeps were stuffing third-generation Hemi powerplants under the hood of Jeep’s legendary Wrangler. It was only a matter of time before Jeep jumped into the fray and stuffed a Hemi under the Wrangler’s hood from the factory. That call was answered in 2020 with the introduction of the Wrangler Rubicon 392. This flagship off-roader takes the supremely capable Wrangler Rubicon and adds a dose of attitude with 6.4 liters of Hemi under the hood. Most recently, Jeep gave the Wrangler lineup a serious update for ’24 and brought the interior into the modern day.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek’s Patrick Carone climbs behind the wheel of the 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 and puts it through its paces. Carone takes you on a guided tour of the Wrangler Rubicon 392 and highlights some of his favorite features. Later, Carone takes you along for a live drive review. Adding to that, Carone chats with host Wesley Wren about the evolution of the Jeep Wrangler 392, its extremely narrow competitive set, and how the updates affect the Wrangler experience. Closing the show, the pair break down what makes this Hemi-powered Wrangler special.

Volkswagen is cutting bait, and unfortunately, the Arteon is going to end up on the cutting room floor after 2024. Still, the short-lived nameplate showed that VW can churn out stylish sedans. Joining VW dealerships in 2019, the Arteon sat atop the VW hierarchy despite sedans losing ground to luxe crossovers and SUVs. However, after slowing sales, Volkswagen formally announced in 2023 that it would be exiting the portfolio. This 2023 VW Arteon packs a 2.0-liter turbocharged I4 under the hood that sends 300 hp and 295 through a seven-speed automatic transmission and into either the front wheels or the 4Motion all-wheel-drive system.

On this episode of Quick Spin, host Wesley Wren hops behind the wheel of the ’23 VW Arteon and puts it through its paces. Wren takes you on a guided tour of the Arteon and highlights some of his favorite and least favorite features before taking you along on a live drive review. Adding to those thoughts, Wren chats with Autoweek executive editor Tom Murphy about the Arteon. The pair talk about why VW is discontinuing the Arteon, the car’s sales performance, and the future of sedans in the marketplace. Closing the show, the pair breaks down what makes the Arteon special.

The BMW 7-Series has sat atop BMW’s sedan hierarchy for nearly five decades. This flagship sedan has changed its look over the years to keep up with trends but has always brought its best to the interior. Despite a shift to crossovers and SUVs in the luxe space, BMW hasn’t ignored its luxury icon. The most recent generation of the 7-Series launched just a year ago and brought along some major changes to the nameplate. Gone is the V12, with a turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 and mild hybrid system powering the wheels. The latest 7-Series also is the most tech-friendly interior to date, with no shortage of touch screens to control creature comforts and an available 31-inch monitor that drops down for rear passengers to watch your favorite content.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek’s Patrick Carone hops behind the wheel of the 2023 BMW 760i xDrive and puts it through its paces. Carone guides you around the latest 7-Series and highlights some of his favorite features before taking you along on a live drive review. Carone expands on his thoughts while he chats with host Wesley Wren. The pair talk about the changing luxury market, the BMW 760i’s features, and more. The two also discuss the battery-electric variant of the latest 7-Series. Closing the show, Carone and Wren break down what makes the 2023 760i special.

The Kia EV6’s been around for a couple of years, with its debut taking place a couple of years ago. In fact, we’ve already taken the EV6 through the Quick Spin wringer a year ago. Well, if the base-power EV6 doesn’t cut the mustard, Kia’s has a battery-electric hot rod in its stable. Dubbed the Kia EV6 GT, this GT variant does share most of the sheet metal with its more pedestrian sibling but does have different front and rear fascias. More importantly, the EV6 GT sends 577 hp to the wheels with a pair of electric motors. This dual-motor GT comes standard with all-wheel drive because of the front- and rear-mounted electric motors. The EV6 GT shares the battery with its less powerful counterpart, which does affect your real-world range, and offers the least amount of range in the lineup. Though, the brutal acceleration might make up for the lack of range.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek’s executive editor Tom Murphy hops behind the wheel of this Kia and puts it through its paces. Murphy takes you on a tour of the EV6 GT and highlights some of his favorite features before taking you along on a live drive review. Adding to that, Murphy chats with host Wesley Wren about the 2023 Kia EV6 GT, its performance and its space in the market. Closing the show, the pair breakdown what makes the EV6 GT special.

Audi’s S6 takes the tried and true formula of taking a normal, commuter-grade vehicle and adding a dose of excitement with extra power. Nearing its 30th birthday, Audi’s S6 is sticking to the original formula of turning the perfectly serviceable A6 into a highway-eating hot rod. While this S6 eschews the previous generation’s V8 and replaces it with a 2.9-liter TFSI V6. This turbocharged six-cylinder sends 444 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque through an eight-speed automatic before it travels to all four wheels.

On this episode of Quick Spin, host Wesley Wren hops behind the wheel of the 2023 Audi S6 to put it through its paces. Wren takes you on a guided tour of the Audi S6 and highlights some of his favorite and least favorite features. Later, Wren takes you along for a live drive review. Expanding on his thoughts, Wren is joined by Autoweek’s Patrick Carone to chat about the Audi. The pair discuss Wren’s experience with the 2.9-liter V6, the Audi S6’s driving dynamics, and more. Closing the show, the pair breakdown what makes the S6 special.

Dodge’s small-car history goes all the way back to the 1960s with the A-body-based Lancer, which was quickly replaced by the legendary Dart in 1963. Later down the line, Dodge’s compact car portfolio gave us ‘80s icons like the Omni GLHS and the L-body-based Dodge Shelby Charger. There are also noteworthy products like Dodge’s Neon that helped shape the ‘90s. Despite success through the ages, Dodge abandoned the compact car with the demise of its Dart in 2016. Though, Dodge is rentering the small-car field with its compact crossover Hornet. Sharing its platform with the Alfa Romeo Tonale, the Hornet is adding a new entry point for Dodge shoppers, and expanding Dodge’s reach as a company.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek’s Patrick Carone hops behind the wheel of the 2023 Dodge Hornet GT and takes you along for the ride. Carone takes you on a guided tour of the Dodge Hornet and highlights some of his favorite features. Later, Carone takes you on a live drive review of the ’23 Dodge Hornet. In between, Carone chats with host Wesley Wren about the Hornet. The pair talk about Dodge’s history with compact cars, the Hornet name, and the car’s relation to the Alfa Romeo Tonale. Closing the show, the pair breakdown what makes the Hornet special.

Mini’s latest battery-electric Cooper launched a handful of years ago as the Mini Electric. Though, you might know it better as the Mini Cooper SE if you live outside of the UK. This Mini Cooper SE takes the basic bones of the most recent Cooper Hardtop and stuffs a 32.64 kWh capacity battery under the floor and a single, 181 hp electric motor to power the front wheels. The interior, too, sticks with the broad strokes of Mini’s design ethos and features a large circle in the middle of the dashboard that echoes Mini design of yesteryear but is home to a touchscreen infotainment system.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek’s executive editor Tom Murphy hops behind the wheel of the 2023 Mini Cooper SE and puts it through its paces. Murphy takes you on a guided tour of the Cooper SE and highlights some design elements. Later, Murphy takes you along for a live drive review. Adding to the discussion, Murphy chats with host Wesley Wren. Murphy and Wren chat about what sets this Mini’s features, if it still has the Mini’s spirit, and how Mini is doing against the competition. Closing the show, the pair break down what makes this Mini Cooper SE special.

The latest generation BMW M3 might be the most controversial shape in the nameplate’s history. Still, even amid the polarizing styling, BMW’s popular performance variant of its even more popular 3-Series sedan packs a hefty punch. BMW’s latest generation M3 sticks with I6 and has enough suspension to make its hefty shell handle well. Powering this generation of M3 is BMW’s S58 engine, which translates to a 3.0-liter turbocharged I6 that sends 473 hp to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual. If you want more, you can opt for the Competition variant, which cranks power up to 503 hp but at the cost of the manual transmission. Then, if you want even more grip, you can add the xDrive all-wheel-drive system on top of that M3 Competition to get what we have here.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek’s executive editor Tom Murphy hops behind the wheel of the 2023 BMW M3 Competition xDrive to put it through its paces. Murphy takes you on a tour of the M3 to show off his favorite features before taking you on a live drive review. Adding to that, Murphy chats with hots Wesley Wren about the M3. The pair discuss the M3 Competition’s performance, its position in the market, and its polarizing styling. Closing the show, the pair break down what makes this M3 special.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E debuted with its polarizing name nearly four years ago. The battery-electric crossover Mustang hit production the following year and made its way to customers as a 2021 model. The battery-electric Mustang sees some jeers from pony car devotees but has been generally well-received by EV fans. Though, since the Mustang Mach-E’s inception, the market for battery-electric vehicles has only become more crowded. With plenty of competition from crosstown rivals at General Motors, Tesla, and others, the Mustang Mach-E is facing fiercer competition than ever. Available with multiple powertrain and battery combinations, the Mustang Mach-E offers plenty of variety and price points to make it a compelling option.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek associate editor Emmet White hops behind the wheel of the ’23 Mustang Mach-E and puts it through its paces. White takes you on a guided tour of Ford’s electric Mustang and highlights some of his favorite exterior and interior features. Later, White takes you along for a live drive review of this Mustang Mach-e. Expanding on his thoughts, White chats with host Wesley Wren about his thoughts and experiences about his time with the car. The pair also discuss Ford’s semi-autonomous Blue Cruise system and touch on the controversy around using the Mustang nameplate. Closing the show, the pair breakdown what makes this ’23 Mustang Mach-E special.