The 2025 Lincoln Nautilus, VW Amarok, and the Ford Ranger!

2025 Lincoln Nautilus Review

Speaker 1 0:04

time now for this hour's car review . I got to drive a 2025 not 24 , but a 25 lincoln nautilus .

Speaker 1 0:14

This was assembled in hangzhou china no no way Hu here , put your glasses on and you tell me Hang Zhu , china , hang Zhu . It's even written in Chinese . Look at that . Hang Zhu , china , hang Zhu . It comes in these trim levels , turned upside down Premier Reserve and Black Label . I had the all-wheel drive Reserve III . This is a midsize SUV Se seats , five exterior changes from last model year . Well , this is the second generation . It was redesigned in 2024 , so this one is pretty much brand stinking . New exterior features one of the best looking rides in the market in my opinion Symmetrical wheel openings with nice elegant body sculpting . Beautiful rear lining with a sunshade over the hatch glass , sleek roof line . What I liked about it ? The black label grille has a very elegant look . Looks like little dots up there in the grille area . They've just seen the little chrome dots Like little stars .

Speaker 1 1:28

Yeah , I don't know what they did , but they did it right . It looks good . Absolutely nothing needs changing on this . It gets an A plus for attractiveness . In my opinion , If you're in the market for a midsize , this is good looking . Interior highlights In the cabin , in the dash , a door-to-door changeable display , Seriously all the way across , underneath the glass , it's all a display . It's stunning . Why didn't I think of that ? And then , if you want to get into changing the stuff , there are changeable little pads on the steering wheel or you can get into it by the center screen above the center stack Mars . I hope you get the chance to drive this .

Speaker 1 2:20

I do too , You're going to agree with me that it is . Everybody that got in this car went wow , look at that , that's nice . Adjustable seating with massage . Awesome quality materials throughout the cabin , classy Lincoln grill for the standard folks like I had . Cargo trunk room , adequate , competitive , plentiful storage space back there what I liked . It makes you want to put on an Armani suit with an open collared shirt and drive around with your chest hairs poking out . That's too , miami Vice .

Speaker 3 2:56

Is it .

Speaker 1 2:56

Yeah , I know , but I kind of fulfill that role , the Miami Vice role .

Speaker 2 3:02

The Vice part . Yeah , I can get a little hat and I could be you need a hat anyway .

Speaker 1 3:08

Um , let's see what could use improvement . On the interior , nothing . It's brilliant in design and execution . I'm telling you , man , don't count

Nautilus Interior and Technology Features

Speaker 1 3:20

america out comes to this sort of stuff . It might be built in Jiangsu , china , but it is really a good-looking vehicle 2-liter , turbocharged , 4-cylinder , 250 horsepower , 280 pound-feet of torque . It's not a rocket ship but it has plenty of power for us regular folks . Tow rating 1750 , so you can put your little jet ski back there with your open-collared shirt . 21 miles per gallon , city , 29 on the highway for combined to 24 . I got 25.5 miles per gallon over 390.5 miles . What I liked about it ? The smooth pull of that little four-banger engine . You can't tell that they're four-bangers anymore unless there's just a base . You know , go-kart lawnmower entry level , and this is not that . Uh , nice power to weight ratio handling , a comfortable american style luxury ride . It is so wheat baby . I was in it , I liked it . Uh , what could use improvement ? Adjustable ride control , but why just let it do its american luxury by itself ? It's fine . I had to come up with something .

Speaker 1 4:34

Um pricing , here we go . The base trim price on this is 61 000 . Price is tested with $70,810 . You can get in one of these for $51,790 . Hmm , competitors Mercedes-Benz GLC $49,250 . Genesis GV70 $46,200 . Or the Acura RDX for $44,700 . Those are the competitors . And that , my friends , is my review of this scrumptious 2025 Lincoln Nautilus . Scrumptious , I don't get too many Lincolns . Scrumptious vehicles it is , and they don't have a lot of vehicles in the choices that you have . But I'll tell you what that is one fine automobile

Performance and Pricing Breakdown

Speaker 1 5:23

, I think .

Speaker 3 5:24

Anyway you have , but I'll tell you what ?

Speaker 1 5:27

that is one fine automobile , I think , anyway . And let's now get to Jeff's car culture the VW Amarok . What Right .

Speaker 3 5:36

Well , last week , before we went to the Hot Rod Tour early morning watching TV and I was watching a little bit of the Pope's funeral they had the procession on TV . Oh yeah , this vehicle was in the procession and I could not understand what it was because it looked like a mini pickup . It looks like a .

Speaker 3 5:51

Honda . It looked like a VW because of the emblem . So here we go , michael . So for its second generation , the VW Amarok gets Ford's underpinning that grows the mid-side truck towing , hauling and cabin size . Following months of teasing , volkswagen has finally revealed the next generation Amarok pickup truck . Ford is partnered with Volkswagen . They offer more toughness , more capability , along with more space and more technology into this vehicle .

Speaker 3 6:18

Somebody wrote that Absolutely . What's left for Volkswagen is to confirm when this vehicle is coming to the US , not just yet . Volkswagen sold more than 800,000 copies of the first generation of the Amarok in the worldwide market , but Ford sold over 800,000 vehicles just in the F-150 series . So there you go , volkswagen . Might be a big part of why Ford and Volkswagen are partnering . They want to get the vehicle over to the US and the underpinnings from Ford's new Global Ranger that helped Volkswagen offer the vehicle with more features and capabilities . The vehicle with more features and capabilities .

Speaker 3 6:58

The new Volkswagen Amarok is a 210.6 inch long vehicle . It's around four inches longer than the model it replaces , the previous gen one . The truck is seven inches longer between the wheels and yet Volkswagen has it shortened up after the wheels , after the rear fenders and the bumper spacing that they have on each end . The side benefit is the shorter overhangs . Truck is better approached on off-road angles . Both the towing and payload have increased . Amarok will be able to tow a maximum of 7,700 pounds . That's a lot , very competitive in this segment . Its peak payload is a little over 2,500 pounds higher than the capability of many light-duty trucks and considerably higher than some of them in the us market . Toyota tacoma is around 1600 . As an example , volkswagen plans to offer the tdi diesel in the worldwide markets from 148 horsepower .

Speaker 3 7:46

Two liter four cylinder version to the african market and other parts around the the europe . They got a 3-liter V6 that makes 247 horsepower , which will only be offered in the premium markets , which the United States will be once it happens . The only gas engine is the 2.3-liter turbo , 298 horsepower . It's rumored that it's going to be in North America , but we'll see . With a 10-speed transmission attached to it . Though its bones are shared by Volkswagen , the truck is clearly all Volkswagen . Styling is heavy influences from the VW's SUV and the three-row Atlas , so that's another kind of strange vehicle for Volkswagen to be copying .

Speaker 3 8:29

More than 20 new driver assist features will be offered . These include adaptive cruise control , road sign recognition , six different terrain models . The cabin will also get Volkswagen's digital cockpit display as an option , with a 10-inch infotainment screen , so that's very good for them . Other handy helpers electronically operated roll tonneau cover , which is very cool , high to reveal your truck's cargo inside the cab . Remote control offering that for handy loading and unloading . The truck bed supports

VW Amarok Pickup Truck Overview

Speaker 3 8:56

about 1,100 pounds , so that's cool . You can stand and sit and use that as a jumping-off point , so to speak . Amarok's roof can hold a static load of 350 kilos , which is 772 pounds . So , yes , you can put your mother-in-law up there . This actually goes into what Mercedes was saying about having the camping on the roof of that . The vehicle they have , the amrock , will be built in south africa for sale in africa , mid-east europe and australia . This truck should be , uh , subject to hefty fees of the tariffs if it comes to the us under , uh , the normal plans that we have . So there you go . How fun , yeah .

Speaker 1 9:32

It's a Ford .

Speaker 3 9:33

Ranger . It's a Ford Ranger . And what's in your driveway right now ? A Ford Ranger . Mike's going to do a Ford Ranger .

Speaker 1 9:44

Mr Barnes does have a review right now , as a matter of fact of the Ford . Ranger .

Speaker 2 9:47

It's Michael's review yeah , buddy , it's the Ford Ranger , lariat , lariat .

Speaker 1 9:52

Lariat , not Lariat , oh my God . And this man was born in texas , larry I got that twang .

Speaker 2 10:00

Now the final assembly location of this is actually in michigan . It comes in , uh , four trim levels the xl , xlt , lariat and the raptor and it's considered a standard size pickup . However , most of us call it a mid-size pickup and of course they've gotten a lot bigger , so maybe it is really and truly a standard size . Sits five people ? Uh , it only comes at a crew cab short bed . You don't have a lot of choices on this . Particular one has automatic led projector headlamps , led fog lights . You got tow hooks up front body colored door handles and side mirrors . Got , uh , running boards on it and I'm not sure why , for somebody like me , they don't help me get in or out . In fact , they kind of hinder it because I've got to step over them and climb over them . They look good . The cargo bed has LED lighting as well , and then the locking tailgate . You lock the doors , it locks the tailgate as well , and we're rolling on the 18-inch aluminum wheels .

Speaker 2 10:51

Now inside , because of the trim level we have , we have the leather seating . The front seats are heated , but there's no venting , there's no cooling on those seats . Got a fold-up rear seat . It's got storage areas underneath it . Got the 12-inch digital driver display so you can configure that a lot of different ways . The 12-inch center stack that's where you're going to find your convenience controls , your nav , your 360-degree surround view camera . You also have the power sliding rear window , which I'm not sure . That's another one of those things . I don't open it much Never did actually so maybe you need it If you do . There it is . It had the B&O sound system with 10 speakers and a subwoofer . That's a Bang Olufsen . Yes , I wasn't sure I could get all that out , so I went with B&O .

Speaker 1 11:32

There is so I went with B&O . I think there's a railroad company called B&O Railroad .

Speaker 2 11:36

Monopoly . It does have USB A and C access points , which I think is great . Some people have already gone to the C and you don't have the capability of using the A's anymore unless you've got adapters . Apart from the hood , we

Ford Ranger Lariat 4x4 Review

Speaker 2 11:55

had the 2.7 liter EcoBoost , and this is a $2,100 option 315 horsepower , 400 pound-feet of torque , backed by 10-speed automatic transmission . So this vehicle is capable of towing 7,500 pounds and you can load it up with a little over 1,800 pounds in the bed . Epa says you should be looking for about 19 in the city , highway 23 , and combined 20 . And this is a regular fuel vehicle , even though it's turbo . So I got 21.3 miles to the gallon across 327 miles and I was very happy with that . Driving this vehicle , it's got a lot of power on it . Once you get it rolling it's a little uh , a little weak off the line maybe , and the engine can be noisy if you're sitting there , putting it under a little bit of duress going down the highway duress .

Speaker 2 12:36

I like that word , yeah , yeah , um , as far as riding or so I'm told it was . Anyway , it rides still like a truck , but it's a nicer driving vehicle . Um , you got plenty of room in the front seats . The back seats are a little bit tight for what I think it would be an adult , but it's usable for a while . Pricing on this thing now . The base trim price for this vehicle was $47,165 . Our MSRP is tested $54,375 . But you should know you can get into a base model of the Ranger for $34,265 . Looking for something to compare that to . Toyota Tacoma immediately comes to mind $33,085 . Toyota Tacoma immediately comes to mind $33,085 . Chevrolet Colorado another popular midsize pickup truck , at $33,595 . If you're looking to step up a little bit , you might look at the Jeep Gladiator . That's going to start at $40,000 . Or the Honda Ridgeline , which is another midsize , even though it's kind of a unibody more of an SUV to me than a truck , but it's considered a midsize at $41,600 .

Speaker 1 13:38

So there's a lot of choices in there to look at . You know one of the things I'm driving I think the same truck Probably . Yeah , anyway , I'm driving it this weekend . The one thing that came to mind was this truck they call it a midsize was in the 1960s and 70s a full-size truck size . If you stop and think about it , that used to be a full-size truck size . If you stop and think about it , that used to be the full-size truck . Because they've grown the full-size truck into such enormous proportions it won't fit in the garage anymore .

Speaker 2 14:06

No , it won't , and that one barely will . I remember my dad had a Ford Ranger for years . It had the little jump seats on the side of it and it would almost fit in the bed of a full-size truck now so it's a lot smaller . But that's my review of the Ford Ranger Lariat 4x4 .

Speaker 1 14:23

Thank you , sir . In Real Time Car Talk continues after this .