Quick Spin

The BMW 2-Series entered its second generation just a few short years ago. Initially debuting in 2014, the 2-Series garnered praise for being the smallish, rear-drive BMW that leans into the company’s sporting heritage. Well, for its second generation, BMW didn’t rock the boat. The current generation grew slightly from the first and is now a couple inches longer and wider, and sports a longer wheelbase. Split down the lines of four-cylinder and six-cylinder power, and all- or rear-wheel drive, the 2-Series can have a few different personalities. Living up to the BMW lore, this ’23 BMW M240i packs a 3.0-liter I6 under its hood, which sends 382 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque through an eight-speed automatic transmission. That power heads to the rear wheels only but could hit the all-wheel-drive system if optioned with xDrive.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek’s Patrick Carone hops behind the wheel of the 2023 BMW M240i and puts it through its paces. Carone guides you around the M240i and highlights some of his favorite features, and takes you along for a live drive review. Carone expands on his thoughts while chatting with host Wesley Wren. The pair discuss the merits of the 2-Series, the evolution of BMW’s cars, and how this 2-Series drives. They also talk about this BMW’s price. Closing the show, the pair break down what makes the ’23 BMW M240i special.

The Toyota Supra has become a Japanese performance icon since it formally spun off from the similarly iconic Celica in the 1980s. Most notably, the fourth-generation or A80 chassis Toyota Supra has cemented itself as a cultural icon with its starring role in The Fast and the Furious, its inclusion in racing video games, and its success on the race track. The Supra did fall out of the Toyota lineup before the new millennium but was reborn after more than 20 years on the backburner. The reborn Supra launched in 2019 with only an eight-speed automatic behind the BMW-built I6 mill, to the chagrin of manual transmission enthusiasts. Well, Toyota listened to the manual transmission cries and delivered for the 2023 model year. Mated to the 3.0-liter I6 is now a six-speed manual transmission that feeds power exclusively to the rear wheels.

On this episode of Quick Spin, host Wesley Wren hops behind the wheel of the 2023 Toyota GR Supra and puts it through its paces. Wren takes you on a guided tour of this manual-equipped Supra and highlights some of his favorite parts. Later, Wren takes you along for a live drive review of the Supra. Joining these segments, Wren chats with Patrick Carone about the latest generation Supra, its place in the market, and its spot in history. The two talk about the Supra’s lack of competition in the market, and the joy of adding a manual transmission. Closing the show, the pair break down what makes the Supra special.

Honda is ushering in the 11th generation of its famed Accord with the 2023 model year, and this might be the year when the hybrid finally takes the reins. Honda’s 11th-gen Accord brings a totally restyled exterior that follows the styling direction seen with the new Civic and CR-V, with thin lamps and a more minimalist design. Inside the Accord, you’re met with a similarly redesigned interior, which follows the same clean and wide styling seen, again, on the new Civic. Though, unlike the Civic, under the Accord’s hood is a 2.0-liter Atkinson cycle I4 mill that works with a dual-motor hybrid system. This system is good for 204 hp and 247 lb-ft of torque. Of course, the 1.5-liter turbocharged I4 is also available, which mates to a CVT, if you want to forgo the hybrid system. The turbocharged mill does make less power at 192 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque, though.

On this episode of Quick Spin, host Wesley Wren hops behind the wheel of the new Accord and puts it through its paces. Wren takes you on a guided tour of the ’23 Accord and highlights some of his favorite exterior and interior features. Later, Wren takes you along for a live drive review of the latest Accord. Patrick Carone joins to chat with Wren about the latest from Honda. The pair talk about the Honda Accord Hybrid’s specs, its competition, and more. Closing the show, the pair breaks down what makes this Honda Accord Hybrid special.

Mercedes-Benz isn’t joking with its battery-electric endeavors. The company is rolling out a full line of battery-electric products that are analog to its internal-combustion portfolio. The ’23 Mercedes-Benz EQE and its AMG equivalent fill the battery-electric space for E-Class devotees to make the step toward electric motors and away from internal combustion. Launched last year, the EQE sedan borrows the same styling conventions as the more expensive EQS and follows the established trend of having a hopped-up AMG variant. Starting at the EQE 350+, you’ll get a rear-drive battery-electric E-Class. Moving up to the EQE 4Matic nets you two motors, and the EQE 500 nets you even more power from those motors. Topping the range is the AMG EQE, which throws 617 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque to the wheels and launches you to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek’s executive editor Tom Murphy hops behind the wheel of the ’23 Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4Matic and the ’23 Mercedes-AMG EQE. Murphy takes you on a tour of the EQE 350 and highlights his favorite features. Later, Murphy takes you on a live drive review of this battery-electric ‘Benz. While chatting with host Wesley Wren, Murphy talks about the differences between his experiences with the standard EQE 350 and the Mercedes-AMG EQE. Murphy and Wren also discuss how the cars perform, their respective prices, and more. Closing the show, the pair breakdown what makes the AMG EQE and the EQE 350 special.

The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Coupe follows the formula the company has laid out with these luxe-performance crossovers that eschew utility for style. Mercedes has updated the GLE 53 for ’24 and brought some fresh sheet metal to the 53 models, with a new front fascia and side intakes. The ’24 GLE 53 also gets new tail lights, the selectable AMG exhaust, and the most recent AMG steering wheel. Mercedes-AMG also squeezes more torque out of the 3.0-liter turbocharged I6 hybrid powertrain, and now shoves 429 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque through the nine-speed automatic transmission. While the horsepower figure is the same as the current GLE 53 model, that torque figure adds another 29 lb-ft to the sheet.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek’s Patrick Carone hops behind the wheel of the ’24 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Coupe and puts it through its paces. Carone takes you on a guided tour of the AMG GLE 53 and highlights some of his favorite interior and exterior features. Later, Carone takes you along on a live drive review. Carone chats with host Wesley Wren about the GLE 53 drives, his favorite parts, and if it lives up to the AMG badging. Closing the show, the pair breakdown what makes this ’24 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 special.

While Toyota jumped to the front of the pack with its hybrid Prius when the company launched it in Japan in 1997, the company hasn’t been as quick with battery-electric vehicles. Well, that tide is slowly shifting with the wildly named bZ4X. Toyota’s battery-electric crossover is giving ‘Yota fans a battery-electric option in the dealership, and giving the company valuable lessons in churning out EVs. This battery-electric crossover is powered by either a 201 hp motor in the front for front-wheel-drive models or that same 201 hp motor in the front and an 80 hp motor in the rear to give the bZ4X an all-wheel-drive variant. Feeding this powertrain is either a 71.4 kWh battery for front-wheel-drive models or a slightly larger 72.8 kWh battery for all-wheel-drive bZ4X models.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek’s Emmet White hops behind the wheel of the ’23 Toyota bZ4X and puts it through its paces. White takes you on a guided tour of the Toyota EV and highlights some of his favorite interior and exterior features. Later in the show, White takes you along for a live drive review of the bZ4X where he relays his experience behind the wheel. Adding to those segments, host Wesley Wren chats with White about the Toyota’s features, his experience with the car, and more. Closing the show, the pair breakdown what makes the ’23 Toyota bZ4X special.

It’s hard to believe that Subaru’s Crosstrek is entering its third generation when its first generation kicking off as a 2013 model year. If you can do the math, that shows that this compact crossover has had a lot of growth in a few short years, but hasn’t followed the traditional expansion you’d find with small-but-growing cars. No, Subaru has kept the footprint fairly consistent over three generations, with this most recent example spanning only an extra inch in length. The third-generation Crosstrek also sticks with standard all-wheel drive and a pair of boxers under the hood: 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter flat fours are available, and make 152 and 182 hp respectively. Though, some things did not make the transition into the crossover's third generation. Lost are the manual transmissions and, currently, hybrid powertrains. Though, you can almost expect a hybrid Crosstrek down the line.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Hearst Auto’s deputy editor Jon Langston hops behind the wheel of the ’24 Crosstrek and puts it through its paces. Langston talks about his roles with the Hearst Autos Gear Team before diving into his time with the new Crosstrek. Langston also takes you on a live drive review of this new Crosstrek. Adding to the show, Langston chats with host Wesley Wren about the changes to the third-generation Crosstrek, how it drives and what makes the latest Crosstrek interesting. Closing the show, the pair break down what makes the latest Crosstrek special.

Mercedes-Benz is all-in on its BEV efforts and is almost constantly expanding its battery-powered portfolio. While most pay attention to the higher-end EQ models like the EQS or are waiting to see what the EQG will look like in production trim, the entry point to the battery-electric ‘Benz lineup is its EQB. The ’23 Mercedes-Benz EQB is split into three models, with the most affordable 250 variant giving you a single motor and 245 miles of range from its 70.5-kWh battery pack. This single-motor variant sends 188 hp and 284 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels. Jumping to the EQB 300 and EQB 350 nets you more power and all-wheel drive from the dual-motor drivetrain. Of course, those models also will set you back more money.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek Executive Editor Tom Murphy hops behind the wheel of the ’23 Mercedes-Benz EQB 250 and puts it through its paces. Murphy guides you around the EQB and highlights some of his favorite features before taking you along on a live drive review. Murphy also talks about his time road-tripping this BEV through more rural parts of Michigan. Joining the show, host Wesley Wren chats with Murphy about the EQB, its competition and more. Closing the show, the pair breakdown what makes the EQB 250 special.

The 2023 Ford Escape Is a Tale of Two Crossovers Ford’s Escape gets a refresh for ’23, but it has tough competition across the room. Ford’s Escape helped it capitalize on the growing interest in smaller ‘utes when it launched in the early 2000s. Ford’s Escape has been a staple of its lineup for over 20 years and entered its fourth generation just a scant four years ago for the 2020 model year. Despite being relatively new, Ford took the Escape back to the drawing board for ’23 and gave it a styling update. This update gives the Escape a new front fascia, which gives the car more attitude. The ’23 Escape still rides on Ford’s C2 platform, which also underpins the Escape’s cross-dealership rival: the Bronco Sport. Powering the Escape is either a turbocharged 1.5-liter, a turbocharged 2.0-liter, or a 2.5-liter engine that works with a traditional hybrid or plug-in hybrid system.

On this episode of Quick Spin, host Wesley Wren hops behind the wheel of the 2023 Ford Escape and puts it through its paces. Wren takes you on a guided tour of the updated Escape and highlights some of his favorite features. Later, Wren takes you along for a live drive review of this updated escape. Joining the show, Patrick Carone chats with Wren about the Ford Escape and where it sits in the market, and where it sits in Ford’s portfolio. The pair talk about how Ford splits the difference between the Bronco Sport and its platform-mate Escape. Closing the show, the pair breakdown what makes the Escape special.

The BMW styling department has likely started more conversations than its team ever considered. The latest polarizing product is the 2023 BMW XM. This plug-in hybrid crossover deviates from the brand's alphanumeric naming structure and leans into the company’s M-Division heritage. Powering this hopped-up hybrid is a 4.4-liter V8 that works with an electric motor to advertise 644 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. The engine itself is responsible for 483 of that hp and 479 of that torque figure. This works with the eight-speed automatic and all-wheel-drive system to launch this crossover to 60 mph in under four seconds. If that’s not enough, the electric motor can move this XM under electric-only power as far as 30 miles with the 19.2-kWh battery.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Patrick Carone hops behind the wheel of the ’23 BMW XM and puts it through its paces. Carone guides you around the XM and highlights some of his favorite features before taking you on a live drive review. Carone also chats with host Wesley Wren about the BMW XM to give this hybrid some context. The pair discuss its price, its heritage inside of the BMW brand and more. Closing the show, the two break down what makes this BMW special.