Quick Spin

Kia showed off the Telluride as a concept in 2016 and started churning out these three-row people moves in 2020. This production version of the Telluride loses some of the wild concept styling choices, but still carries attractive styling and a solid list of features. Largely carried over from the 2021 model year, the Telluride sees some light updates. The biggest change: the logo. The latest Kia Telluride sports the new, striking Kia badge that helps set it apart from the models from last year. Kia also adds a 10.25-inch touchscreen to its media system. Under the hood, you’ll still find the 3.8-liter naturally aspirated V6 that sends 291 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque through the standard eight-speed automatic transmission.

In this episode on Quick Spin, Patrick Carone hops behind the wheel of the 2022 Kia Telluride and puts it through its paces. Carone guides you around the Telluride and highlights its exterior and interior features. Carone also takes you along on a drive review of this Kia and shows off how it drives in real-time. Adding to the show, host Wesley Wren chats with Carone about the Kia Telluride, its price and what it brings to the market. Closing the show, the two break down what makes this car special.

With winter just around the corner, it’s time to get your car ready. For those fortunate to live in moderate climates, that means basically nothing. Though for those living in frigid climates, that means throwing on a set of winter tires. Winter rubber gives you better cold-weather performance than your beloved summer tires and can help give you enough traction to safely drive when the temperature drops. Though, winter isn’t the only reason the change your rolling stock.

On this bonus episode of Quick Spin, host Wesley Wren joins Hearst Auto’s Gear Team member Collin Morgan to chat about all the reasons you’d want to change up your wheels and tires. Focusing on the seasonal shift to winter, the two discuss the advantages of winter tires compared to summer and all-season tires. The two also highlight a way to store your winter or warm-weather tires. Closing the show the two shine a light on the importance of properly reinstalling your wheel and tire assembly when it’s time to swap them out.

Off-roading and adventuring are as popular as ever and automakers have noticed. Extra cladding, more space and special off-road modes are becoming staples of compact and midsize crossovers. Naturally, Mazda isn’t going to ignore this popular trend and drummed up the CX-50. While the CX-50 shares the same bones as the CX-50 it's larger, has extra cladding and now features a standard all-wheel-drive system. Powering this CX-50 is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder mill that mates to a six-speed automatic. In base trim, this 2.5-liter makes 187 hp and 186 lb-ft of torque. If that’s not good enough, Mazda also offers its turbocharged 2.5-liter engine that makes 256 hp and 320 lb-ft of torque on premium fuel or 227 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque on 89 octane gasoline.

On this episode of Quick Spin, host Wesley Wren hops behind the wheel of Mazda’s latest crossover and puts it through its paces. Wren takes you on a guided tour of the Mazda CX-50 to show off its style, features and interior. After the tour, Wren takes you along for a live-recorded drive review. Expanding on his thoughts, Wren is joined by Patrick Carone, and the pair talk about the differences between this Mazda and its crossover stablemate the CX-5, off-roading crossovers and more. Closing the show, the two talk about what makes the 2023 Mazda CX-50 special.

Acura’s MDX might not be the most exciting crossover. Even its more stylish RDX stablemate jumps off the page more than the three-row MDX. Though, the addition of the Type S package and its turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 turns this people mover into a more interesting machine. This engine replaces the standard, naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 and makes 355 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque. That’s a 65 hp and an 87 lb-ft bump over the standard MDX. Acura also makes the Type S available with the legendary SH-AWD system that takes advantage of all of that extra power. Of course, Acura also expands the luxury appointments for the MDX Type S, which includes premium leather materials and massaging seats.

On this episode of Quick Spin, host Wesley Wren hops behind the wheel of the 2022 Acura MDX Type S and puts it through its paces. Wren takes you on a guided walk around that highlights the MDX Type S’s features before taking you along on a live-recorded drive review. Adding to the show, Patrick Carone hops into the discussion about the MDX and the pair talk about its price, competition and market position. Closing the show, the two break down what makes this Acura special.

The Subaru Outback started its life as a wagon all the way back in the ‘90s. Built on the bones of the Subaru Legacy, the Outback has grown considerably over the last three decades. Now a crossover, the Subaru Outback helps give Subaru customers a flat-four-powered SUV that still scratches that wagon itch. This sixth-generation Outback came online a scant few years ago for the 2020 model year and has recently tacked on the Wilderness Edition. This Wilderness Edition adds some extra cladding, a mild lift and all-terrain tires. Powering the Outback Wilderness is a 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-four that sends 260 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque through a continuously variable transmission and into a standard all-wheel-drive system.

In this episode of Quick Spin, Patrick Carone hops behind the wheel of the Subaru Outback Wilderness and puts it through its paces. Carone walks you around this Subaru and highlights some of the model’s special features before taking you along on a real-time drive review. Joining the show, host Wesley Wren chats with Carone about the Subaru Outback’s new model, its position in the marketplace and how it felt. Closing the show, the pair talk about what makes this Subaru special.

Lincoln’s flagship Navigator was launched in 1998 as a response to the increasing demand for luxurious full-size SUVs. Spanning four generations, Lincoln’s top-flight SUV has gone head to head against Cadillac’s wildly popular Escalade. This fourth-generation Navigator entered Lincoln’s lineup in 2018 and helped bring Lincoln’s flagship SUV into prominence once again. This generation Navigator uses Ford’s 3.5-liter EcoBoost for power and sends 440 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque through a ten-speed automatic transmission. From there, power travels to the rear wheels or all four wheels if you opt for the four-wheel-drive variant.

In this episode of Quick Spin, executive editor Tom Murphy puts Lincoln’s Navigator through its paces. Murphy highlights the Navigator’s features and interior before taking you along on a live drive review. Adding more context to the Navigator, Murphy chats with host Wesley Wren about the Navigator’s competition, its sales history and its price. The pair also talk about where the Navigator would excel, and how it stacks up against Cadillac’s Escalade. Closing the show, the two talk about what makes the 2022 Lincoln Navigator special.

Owning a car and maintaining a car does put add at least some extra work into your life. Even if you’re not out in the garage pulling an engine, there’s some extra work that’ll stumble your way during the whole car ownership experience. That’s pretty clear. Though, those degrees to which you’re willing to step into the fray of auto maintenance and repair differ wildly between the average person that just needs to clean up some dog hair from their Subaru Outback to the person that is fighting rust to liberate an exhaust system.

So, on this special episode of Quick Spin, we partnered with The Gear Team to dive into some fun gadgets that make your car ownership experience easier, more informed or more invasive. The Gear Team’s Collin Morgan joins host Wesley Wren to talk about some of the gear that staffers have used in the Gear We Use section and shared their thoughts and experiences. Ranging from a glove to clean up cat hair to magnetic induction heaters, there’s something in this sample size to pique the interest of those that pay to have their oil changed and those that want to tackle rusty projects.

Battery electric cars give automakers an opportunity to reset their entire lineups, perspectives and standards. This powertrain reset is giving every automaker an opportunity to head to a different school and make new friends and customers. While Kia has come a long way from its bargain-basement Sephia days, there is still some stigma around the Korean automaker. Well, Kia’s lineup of EVs is looking to lay a foundation for a stigma-free Kia experience. This Kia EV6 is available in single and dual motor layouts, which subsequently translates to rear or all-wheel drive. The single-motor Kia EV6 only sends 167 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels, whereas the all-wheel-drive variant sends 320 hp combined to the pavement and 446 lb-ft of torque.

On this episode of Quick Spin, Autoweek Executive Editor Tom Murphy hops behind the wheel of a 2022 Kia EV6 and puts it through its paces. Murphy shows you around the new Kia EV and highlights its features, before hopping inside the car to highlight its interior. Later, Murphy takes you along for a live drive review. Adding to the conversation, host Wesley Wren chats with Murphy about the growing EV space, the EV6’s competition and where this Kia sits in the sales charts. Closing the show, the two break down what makes this Kia special.

Volkswagen’s carved out its brand identity and its portfolio’s familiarity over decades of carefully navigating the often-shaky automotive seas. This experience helps folks understand what they’re stepping into when they climb behind the wheel of their next VW, and it helps give the company’s fans more of what they crave. That said, the shift to electrification can come with a handful of hurdles and it’s easy for a company to pivot its styling to reflect the new experience. Well, the VW ID.4 helps ease Volkswagen fans into the EV experience while still giving them a lot of that VW spirit in the cabin. The VW ID.4 is a key product in VW’s growing battery-electric portfolio and could be a spiritual successor to the perpetually popular VW Golf.

On this episode of Quick Spin, host Wesley Wren hops behind the wheel of the VW ID.4 Pro S and puts it through its paces. Wren takes you on a guided tour of the VW ID.4 Pro S and highlights its features and quirks. After that, Wren takes you along for a live-recorded drive review of this battery-electric VW. Adding to the conversation, west coast editor Mark Vaughn joins the show to talk about Volkswagen, the ID.4’s competitive set, and how the ID.4 feels. Closing the show, the pair talk about what makes the ID.4 special.

The Mazda Mazdaspeed3 is one of the coolest hatchbacks to roll out of a Mazda factory. It had all the attitude you’d want from a sporty hot hatch and more than enough power. Unfortunately, the Mazdaspeed banner is gone. Though, the good news is that Mazda’s hatchbacks are still kicking. The latest generation Mazda 3 hatchback made its way to the streets in 2019 and has gone the last few years with few major changes. Though in 2021 the folks at Mazda dropped in the 2.5-liter turbocharged engine found in other Mazda products and turned its sensible hatchback into a sleeper hot hatch. The 2.5-liter turbocharged I4 has the same power as we’ve seen in its other products: 250 hp and 320 lb-ft of torque. Those numbers shrink when using non-premium fuel to a still peppy 227 and 310 lb-ft. Managing all that power is a six-speed automatic, which sends power to all four wheels.

On this episode of Quick Spin, host Wesley Wren hops behind the wheel of the Mazda 3 to put it through its paces. Wren walks around the 2022 Mazda 3 Turbo and highlights its styling and exterior features before climbing inside the car to show off its interior. Later, he takes you along for a real-time drive review. Adding to the show, Wren chats with west coast editor Mark Vaughn about Mazda’s hatchback history, the Mazda 3 and the current hatchback climate. The two talk about the Mazda 3’s dynamics before discussing what makes the 2022 Mazda 3 special.