Manual Transmissions, Road Trip Arguments, and Japanese SUVs: This Week in Cars

Subaru WRX TS Review

Speaker 1 0:04

All right time now for this hour's car review . Speaking of wives , mike Mars has a review of the Subaru WRX .

Speaker 2 0:10

TS yes , and it's interesting to note that the TRS is a new trim level for this year .

Speaker 3 0:16

Wait a minute , wait , wait , wait . No the TRS , no the .

Speaker 2 0:18

TRS . My bad , I'm reading ahead . The WRX TS is a new trim level for 2025 . So there are four this year the Premium , the Limited , the TS , which is the new one , and then the GT . We were talking about the TS , that's the one we were driving . Now this is a sports sedan , so it's kind of a . The TS is a sportier track model . It's not for the track , but it's more directed towards the track with the way it's set up , the way things , the , the technology and things just move on the the up front you're going to find the led headlights .

Speaker 2 0:52

You're going to find they're automatic on but they have height adjustment and they have steering responsive . So it's really cool . So you get the headlights to turn when you want them to . Got , uh , black mirror side covers . Got a rear lip spoiler that's black . So it's got a lot of black trim pieces to go on this thing , including the wheels , to give it that sporty look . Now it does . Also , I was interested to find out that it has an aluminum hood . Now that scoop that's on it that everybody knows from the wrx . That is part of that aluminum hood and the front fenders are also aluminum because some gold Brembo braking system set up on it .

Speaker 2 1:28

Now we were rolling on the 19-inch aluminum wheels which are standard on the TS package . And it does not have a spare . It has a retire repair kit , so you need to know that . And it also has a moonroof delete . Again back to that performance concept of this particular trim level . Now inside you're going to find the black ultra suede , ultra suede and leather seating surfaces . Front seats are heated . They're recaro seating . Up front in this particular model it's a 60 40 rear folding seat .

Speaker 2 1:55

Now it does have an 11.6 inch multimedia monitor in the middle of it . Now this is the audio ac , the phone , your , your rear vision camera all that's going to be in there your convenience controls . Now it has a new 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster for the driver . That's where you're going to find all your performance settings that you can set up to monitor how your vehicle's doing . Now there are a lot more controls in this vehicle , but some of the other manufacturers are doing the same thing . They're bur them down in . You got to go down into that monitor in the middle to find some of these things that normally or you used to be able to find them on a button , so you got to do a little digging there . Harman kardon audio system 11 speakers with a 500 watt amp is more than enough to fill this thing up with nice sounds .

Speaker 2 2:40

2.4 , 2.4 liter , turbo , flat boxer type engine , 271 horsepower , 258 pound feet of torque . We had the six-speed manual transmission , which it was really nice to get into a manual after burning automatics for so long . Epa , I didn't get a Monroney with this vehicle , so I had to do a little digging . But it appears that the EPA should be looking at 19 on the city highway , 26 combined for 22 . Now I drove this vehicle 352-point miles and I got 23.7 out of it and I was very happy with that .

Speaker 2 3:11

With this vehicle , sport-tuned suspension does have several different modes , including comfort , normal sport . The sport seating will wrap around you , hold you in place if you're going into the curves a little bit much . This is not a drag car . If you want to play with this car , you want to get out to where there are some curves because you've got all-wheel drive with very responsive steering . Now the premium , the base level on it , is 35,750 . The TS trim level that we were dealing with is 45,750 . And again , I did not get a Monroney , so I don't have an MSRP specifically for this vehicle , but something you can look at to compare it to is the Volkswagen Golf R $48,325 . Toyota GR Corolla $43,529 . And an Audi S3 is $48,700 . So these are all small sports sedans that you might want to look at if you're looking for something in that very competitive segment .

Road Trip Arguments Survey

Speaker 1 4:03

Thank you sir , Time now for Jeff's car culture . Road trip arguments . Oh God , we've all had them , you know we have , and not all of us . I have this is a survey done either .

Speaker 3 4:16

Well , it's been done in the United States and also in Great Britain . So they say that one in three admit to an argument . More than a third of drivers admit to having an argument while driving in their car . This study found that there was about 36% of motorists confessed to having carguments that's what they're called Carguments . Okay , so one part of the survey about 2,000 motorists discovered that 50% of the ages of 25 to 44 argued while driving , compared to just about a quarter .

Speaker 3 4:45

25% of people over 70 get in arguments With Martha or Gladys , whoever they are . It's been revealed on the state side that 46% of people are admitting to bickering behind the wheel . But not surprising . Most disagreements occur between partners and break out when setting out for the day . That woman's got a road map in her hand . There's also a little theme with these photographs . I'll tell you at the end .

Speaker 3 5:10

A similar number about 25% of people also get into arguments while visiting with family , family members in the car or going on a family trip . About 21 of people said that in-car conflicts were caused by what ? Shopping tips . Oh my god , who does that ? I'm thinking it's the women . So just about half about 46% of all arguments centered around directions , while about 39% are based on standard driving procedures . You know , turn left here , you're going too fast . Watch out for that school bus , all that stuff .

Speaker 3 5:44

The stress of leaving on time for a summer holiday or a day together in that confined environment of a car is a perfect recipe for an argument . You want to add children to the equation , or perhaps the in-laws ? Not so much of a question and argument , but it's going to happen when it starts , no one knows . And then there's those driving hundreds of miles who have no longer being able to get out of the car to start their disagreement . So it's also amusing . The error of satellite navigation , directions and choice of route , all that technology arguments still happen . So be careful . Driving is a complex task that requires drivers full attention in order to get from a to b without incident . But research has revealed a large portion admit to having in-car arguments . There you go .

Speaker 1 6:32

God , you know there are a couple of those that come to mind .

Speaker 3 6:36

Well , we're going on a hot rod tour .

Speaker 1 6:39

One of those arguments and that was with a former wife Just saying , Just thought I'd throw that out there , oh boy . Okay , all right Time now for this hour's

2025 Mazda CX-70 PHEV Review

Speaker 1 6:52

car review . I had a chance to drive the 2025 Mazda CX-70 . Final assembly location in Hofu , japan . Available trim levels 3.3 turbo , the Preferred , then the Premium , the Premium Plus , the 3.3 Turbo S Premium , thehev premium and the premium plus . Spit it out now have you got all that that you're supposed to have memorized ?

Speaker 1 7:21

trying to take notes over here I had the phev premium plus , which is the top of the line . This is a standard suv . According to your government , that's what they classify it as . Phev means plug-in hybrid electric , if you were wondering . Seats five people . It's all new for 25 . It slots between the 50 and the 90 , cx 50 and cx 90 . It's basically a 90 without the third row . Does that make sense to you ?

Speaker 2 7:48

the 90 is the third row , right same vehicle yeah , yeah , okay , that's good , because a lot of people like me don't like to have that third row and that size of vehicle .

Speaker 1 7:56

Well , you know what , if you've got kids , if you do a lot of taking the baseball team to practice and all that stuff , that's great Absolutely .

Speaker 2 8:04

But for us old men , or the grandkids are older and they don't like that little small seat and won't get back there . You still have grandkids around .

Speaker 1 8:13

Yeah , still got . How old are the grandkids now ? Youngest one's 18 now , so he's not a kid anymore .

Speaker 2 8:22

Well , they're still in school , so I consider them kids .

Speaker 1 8:23

yes , this has a what is considered a melting copper metallic exterior copper and the interior is red Napa leather . Now think about that for a minute . We have a copper exterior and a red leather interior . Sounds European . What Sounds European ? It just . I know I'm old school , I'll admit that . But I'm thinking , okay , black is the only other color available . So I was thinking , you know , maybe something of a tannish or whatever . This doesn't offer . That Sounds luxurious .

Speaker 1 8:57

Exterior features beautiful sheet metal design . It's easy to look at , easy on the eyes , well balanced with signature Mazda grille . Great big thing in the middle of it . Smooth , conservative rear hatch design . Wheels coincide with the trim level . Big and beautiful , baby , big and beautiful . What I liked ? I liked the conservative styling . What could use improvement ? Nothing , I mean . The thing looks good .

Speaker 1 9:20

Interior highlights Beautiful quilted look . Seat stitching has a luxury look to it . High quality interior trim pieces include faux wood and a patterned metal finish . Standalone infotainment still is more complicated than it needs to be . Clamshell center console is nice departure from the usual stuff . And trunk room . Well , the cargo room . It's big back there . Cx-70 only offered in the two-row seating , so plenty of room here , space for luggage and golf clubs . Back there you could have a party back . There is what I'm saying . Sit Indian style . Oh yeah , it's all good , but I like the overall high-zoot design and materials . What could use improvement ? Deep red leather interior does not dance well with the copper exterior . That's my opinion .

Speaker 1 10:13

2.5 liter inline four-cylinder engine with a plug-in hybrid system . Together it gets 323 horsepower , 369 pound-feet of torque . Transmission . It's an eight-speed automatic Tow rating 3,500 pounds , which is pretty good for this thing . Automatic tow rating 3,500 pounds , which is pretty good for this thing . Manufacturer's miles per gallon rating up to 56 miles per gallon when you have the battery charged . But remember , this is a plug-in hybrid , electric , so you got to plug it in to charge it up . It doesn't run off the engine like some of the others . Without that , it gets 25 miles per gallon . I got 28 over 417 miles 28 miles per gallon over 417 miles .

Speaker 2 11:02

That's pretty good .

Speaker 1 11:03

Yeah , it's not bad , but I didn't plug it in . Oh well , what I liked . It only goes 26 miles on electric only . I don't know why I put that under the what I liked , because it's not much . So you have to ask yourself is it worth it for the extra charge to have a plug-in hybrid to only go 26 miles on the electric only ?

Speaker 2 11:28

Follow me . Yeah , yeah , yeah . How much does it cost for that extra 26 miles ?

Speaker 1 11:32

Yeah , over the standard gasoline motor .

Speaker 2 11:35

That's getting 23 miles to the gallon 25 . Okay , what could use ?

Speaker 1 11:39

improvement . Under certain scenarios , transmission didn't know what to do at times , turbo lag became annoying at times . Ride and handling sports car-like handling , that whole Mazda thing right through alllike handling , that whole Mazda thing right through all of the different models of Mazda's lineup . What could use improvement ? Adjustable damping , that would be nice . Rides a little stiff , but it's a sporty kind of ride , which is what Mazda is really all about .

Speaker 1 12:03

Base trim price $57,450 . Price is tested $59,275 , but you can get into the gasoline-only model for drumroll $40,445 , which I think is really good for the gasoline-only model Competitors Honda Passport 42.4 . That's a gasoline-only model . Jeep Grand Cherokee 60 , 490 for their PHEV and the Subaru Outback only goes for $29,010 , but it's a gasoline-only version . So there are very few to compare it head-to-head to . That's why I kind of put them all there into the same category , because they are all two rows , but this one is a large cargo area back there in the two row . So that's my review of the 2025 Mazda CX-70 . Perfect , did you like it ? I liked it . Mars , did you have this car yet ? Not yet . You'll be getting it on Friday night next week at 10.30 at night .

Speaker 2 13:04

Why so early ? Well , just because I hate for the guys to have to go all the way back to Dallas at 10.30 at night , so I try and get it as early as I can .

Speaker 1 13:11

You could offer to put them up . Let them spend the night over there in Niterville . It would be an experience for them .

Speaker 3 13:16

I don't think Alba's going to pay them that much , you could sit out and listen to banjo music . It would be great .

Speaker 2 13:22

Oh , yeah , yeah , yeah .