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Car and Driver
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Tested: 2025 Mercedes-AMG E53 Is a Plug-In Hybrid That Rips
More and more performance variants are turning to electrification as the way forward. Based on Mercedes-AMG's latest E53, it's easy to understand why. Although the mid-size AMG sedan is substantially heavier—891 pounds more than a Mercedes-Benz E450 and 850 heftier than the previous E53 sedan—you sure wouldn't guess it by the test results, which have improved in just about every conceivable way. The 2025 E53 takes the turbocharged inline-six from the prior model but adds a new twin-scroll turbo that ups the boost from 16.0 to 21.8 psi, bringing the engine's output to 443 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque, gains of 14 horses and 29 pound-feet. That uprated six gets additional assistance from a 161-hp, 354-lb-ft electric motor integrated into the nine-speed automatic transmission. Total output rises to 604 ponies—one more than the previous E63, which has yet to return—and 553 pound-feet. view exterior photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver HIGHS: E63-adjacent performance, improved braking and cornering, useful EV range. The E53 is an absolute ripper in a straight line, lunging to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds and hustling through the quarter-mile before the clock strikes 12 (11.6 seconds at 120 mph). That's only about a half-second behind the last top-dog, V-8-powered E63, as well as the lighter and more powerful C63, and nearly a second quicker than the previous E53. Plus, we prefer the E's smooth six to the C63's high-strung four-cylinder anyway. The E53 doesn't stop pulling until 174 mph, 43 mph higher than the last E53 we tested. Braking and cornering grip improve as well, stopping from 70 mph in 154 feet and from 100 mph in 307 feet, and its Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires hang on for 0.94 g of skidpad stick. Keen-eyed students of the specifications panel will notice that the E53's 50-to-70 passing time has lengthened by over a second. That's because the engine is off in Comfort mode when nailing the throttle at 50 mph, and there's a delay before it wakes up. Selecting a more aggressive vehicle mode that forces the engine on will improve this stat. view exterior photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver The underlying E-class is already dynamically solid, one of the reasons we voted it on to our 2025 10Best Cars list, and the E53 builds on that excellent foundation. It's balanced and predictable pushing toward the handling limit, thanks to both proper chassis balance and communicative steering. Our biggest complaint is brake-pedal response, which blends regenerative braking before calling on the optional upsized rotors (carbon-ceramic in front) that are part of the $3150 AMG Dynamic Plus package, which also includes an electronically controlled limited-slip differential and active engine mounts. Although the braking performance is excellent, we were never quite sure what left-pedal response we were going to get with light inputs, as the brakes' behavior seemingly changes depending on drive mode and other real-time happenings. LOWS: Flinty ride with a lot of tire noise, nonlinear brake pedal, way heavier than before. Ride quality and interior noise are areas where the E53 takes an unfortunate step back from the luxuriously smooth and quiet E350 and E450. Impacts are sharp, and there's quite a bit of tire slap, particularly with the high tire pressures specified on the door-jamb placard (44 psi front, 51 psi rear). Lowering them by 15 psi to the low-load setting made the ride far more tolerable. The tire noise over our not perfectly smooth test surface is probably why our sound-level reading wasn't better than 72 decibels, way louder than the 67 we recorded in the E450. If the roads aren't pristine where you live, consider the standard 20-inch wheels rather than the optional 21s. view interior Photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver Then there's efficiency, something this plug-in hybrid should do better. We averaged a reasonable 24 MPGe overall and got 29 mpg in our 75-mph highway test loop, which beats its EPA highway figure by three mpg (although the previous E53 did even better at 32 mpg). That's after the 21-kWh battery pack is depleted, which takes 44 miles at 75 mph. As with other Mercedes plug-ins, the E53 handily beats its EPA electric range figure in our highway test. The E53 also has sufficient electric-only thrust in stop-and-go traffic, which prevents us from having to constantly dip into combustion power to keep the pace. We found the E53 to use only second through sixth gears during electric operation, and the shifting is much smoother than in some PHEVs that, like the E53, have a motor upstream of the transmission. Although we appreciate the E53's impressive electric range, we don't quite understand the included DC charging capability, which is rare on PHEVs. We measured 23 minutes to charge the battery from empty to a 90 percent state of charge, which would gain only about 40 miles of EV range. Unless you're already planning to stop for a separate reason, we don't think this is a wise use of anyone's time. view interior Photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver The E53 starts at $89,150, some $17,150 more than the next-step-down E450 model, which gets a less powerful version of this turbocharged inline-six. Then again, Mercedes is not afraid of a lengthy options list, and the last E450 we tested rang in higher than this E53's starting point. There's still lots of room to climb on the E53, as our car had $20,650 in options, including multiple performance add-ons—the aforementioned 21-inch wheels and tires, brake upgrade, and limited-slip diff. Even the AMG-branded fuel cap costs $110 extra. As with the regular E-class, we'd skip the upgraded infotainment and its selfie-camera frivolity. VERDICT: Inline-six plus electric motor equals massive performance gains. Electric assist enables an impressive duality: The E53 is an upscale luxury sedan that can run mid-11-second quarter-miles, cover plenty of commuting miles electrically, and, even after the battery runs out, cruise along at nearly 30 mpg on the highway. view exterior photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver Specifications Specifications 2025 Mercedes-AMG E53 Vehicle Type: front-engine, front-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan PRICE Base/As Tested: $89,150/$109,800 Options: Pinnacle trim (head-up display, four-zone climate control, projection adaptive headlights), $4150; AMG Dynamic Plus package (AMG steering wheel, active engine mounts, electronic limited-slip rear differential, front carbon-ceramic brake rotors, 174-mph top speed limiter), $3150; black Nappa leather, $2990; Multicontour Seating package (ventilated and massaging front seats, heated front armrest), $2950; 21-inch forged-aluminum wheels and tires, $2600; Driver Assistance package (lane-keeping assist, steering assist, adaptive cruise), $1950; MBUX Superscreen package (larger center screen, front passenger screen, selfie camera), $1500; sun protection package (rear and rear side sunshades), $800; black microfiber headliner, $450; AMG fuel cap, $110 POWERTRAIN turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter inline-6, 443 hp, 413 lb-ft + AC motor, 161 hp, 354 lb-ft (combined output: 604 hp, 553 lb-ft; 21-kWh lithium-ion battery pack; 9.6-kW onboard charger Transmission: 9-speed automatic CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: multilink/multilink Brakes, F/R: 15.4-in vented, cross-drilled, carbon-ceramic disc/14.2-in vented, cross-drilled disc Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S F: 265/35ZR-21 (101Y) MO1A R: HL295/30ZR-21 (105Y) MO1A DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 116.6 in Length: 194.9 in Width: 76.7 in Height: 57.9 in Passenger Volume, F/R: 58/47 ft3 Trunk Volume: 13 ft3 Curb Weight: 5357 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 3.3 sec 100 mph: 7.8 sec 1/4-Mile: 11.6 sec @ 120 mph 130 mph: 13.7 sec 150 mph: 19.1 sec Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec. Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 4.1 sec Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 3.0 sec Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 4.3 sec Top Speed (gov ltd): 174 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 154 ft Braking, 100–0 mph: 307 ft Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.94 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY Observed: 24 MPGe 75-mph Highway Driving, EV/Hybrid Mode: 64 MPGe/29 mpg 75-mph Highway Range, EV/Hybrid mode: 44/500 mi EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/City/Highway: 23/21/26 mpg Combined Gasoline + Electricity: 59 MPGe EV Range: 42 mi C/D TESTING EXPLAINED Tested by Dave VanderWerp Director, Vehicle Testing Dave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver's vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism.
Car and Driver
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
2025 Porsche Taycan 4S Tested: Prime Spec
Five years on, the Porsche Taycan still stands out among EVs—not just for its looks, but for what it delivers to the driver. It's one of the few that doesn't dull or distort the inputs, or forgo a joyful driving experience, to deliver top-tier performance numbers. As we were reminded recently, with much of the 2025 Porsche Taycan lineup assembled to be sampled one after another on Car and Driver's main evaluation route, if you don't have the track time or the budget for the latest-and-greatest 1019-hp Taycan Turbo GT, which costs $231,995 to start, the 4S might just be the ideal Taycan for public roads. Why? As C/D tested it, the Taycan 4S is one of the few electric vehicles that doesn't drive as if it were burdened with 1000 more pounds than intended or signal a series of chassis-tech band-aids in certain dynamic situations. It's a willing dance partner on back roads, with nearly all the right feedback and the sensations you might expect from a sports car. view exterior photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver The 2025 Taycan 4S, with its optional larger Performance Battery Plus (97 kWh versus the standard 82), is no lightweight at 5143 pounds. Yet there's a new secret sauce that erases perceived mass and makes this model click even more cohesively than the previous one. Beyond the adaptive two-chamber air suspension that all Taycans now use, Porsche has upped its chassis tuning with the optional Active Ride system. This does away with anti-roll bars, harnessing two-valve hydraulic damper tech that can react quickly and precisely at all four corners. The result, as we observed on the choppy, uneven surfaces of our Michigan drive loop, goes beyond improving the ride and expands the envelope of dynamic grip. It can essentially push each wheel downward or pull it upward to build normal, natural cornering forces and an intuitive sense of body control. The trick technology heightens the experience all around. Multiple drivers from our persnickety bunch praised the Taycan 4S's ride-and-handling balance. view exterior photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver There's nothing simple about Active Ride, other than it's simply a must-have on the Taycan. It's a $7140 option on our 2025 test car (and goes up to $7390 for the 2026 model year). It isn't offered on the base Taycan or the new Taycan 4. So with the 4S serving as the entry point for this remarkable technology, it's the Taycan we'd recommend. HIGHS: Active Ride counters EV ballast, superb seats and driving position, charges even faster than before. Our test car, in luminous Ice Grey Metallic, was also optioned with 21-inch wheels and a long list of smart performance upgrades tacked onto its $120,495 base price. Those included the $3260 Performance package, which brings Porsche's Torque Vectoring Plus system, rear-axle steering, aluminum pedals, and the Sport Chrono package. Soft-close doors and a head-up display were there as part of the $6900 Premium package, and an $1130 upgrade brought thermal- and noise-insulated windows in addition to various other extras that pushed the total to $154,685. view interior Photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver Back to the straight-line stuff: In 4S form, the Taycan delivers a baseline 509 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque, and with launch control engaged, that ramps up to 590 horses and 523 pound-feet. In our testing, that was good for a sprint to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds—0.4 second quicker than Porsche's official time and a full second quicker than the rear-wheel-drive 2025 base Taycan we tested last year. The trip to 100 mph takes only 7.2 seconds. Thanks to its two-speed gearbox for the rear motor, the 4S and other Taycans don't run out of electric breath in the triple digits. The 4S did the quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds at 125 mph. Granted, it can't match the brutality of the Lucid Air Sapphire, with its 2.1-second run to 60 mph and 9.3-second-at-153-mph quarter-mile, or the Taycan Turbo GT Weissach, which does a 1.9-second 60-mph dash and a 9.2-at-152 pass of the quarter-mile. But get real: Three seconds to 60 is absolutely a pin-you-back launch. view interior Photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver The Taycan still doesn't offer a one-pedal driving mode, and Porsche insists that you should glide for the best efficiency and dab the brakes to slow. We get it. But with most of the deceleration in light to moderate situations happening via regenerative braking through the motors, it results in some fussy behavior where the bite of the pads isn't entirely connected to pedal pressure. The car puts up some impressive stops, though, coming to a halt from 70 mph in just 151 feet and from 100 mph in a fade-free 306 feet. LOWS: Brake feel, back-seat usability, breathtaking out-the-door prices. Our 4S was also the first vehicle we've tested with Hankook's flagship eco-performance tire, the Ion Evo, which is claimed to be made of 45 percent sustainable raw materials and provides reduced rolling resistance. It's been newly added as one of Porsche's OEM offerings and proved to be a quiet and willing fitment. view exterior photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver Porsche hasn't messed with the Taycan's good looks, outside of a refresh of cabin trims and revamped lighting outside along with some ever-so-slight front and rear detail tweaks. Beneath that though, Porsche has managed a lengthy list of mid-cycle improvements to the underpinnings, ranging from new thermal management to aero and rolling-resistance tweaks. And, most notably, there's a bigger battery pack that delivers lots more range: While the 2024 and earlier Taycan with the largest Performance Battery Plus totaled 84 kWh, it now amounts to 97 kWh with the use of more energy-dense cells. The EPA rates the 4S sedan at 295 miles of range on 21-inch wheels, but if you can stick with the base 19-inchers, the car is good for 315 miles—quite an advantage over the Turbo GT's 276 miles. The original Taycan led a charge to 800-volt architectures and especially short charge times. Despite the larger battery pack for 2025, Porsche is making use of a new 320-kW peak charging power (still via a CCS port) and claiming an even quicker 10 to 80 percent charge time of as little as 18 minutes, versus the previous 22 or so minutes. It's also allowing the cells to be charged at their peak rate at a wider temperature range, which should mean owners see the quickest charging stops more often. The Taycan doesn't split its pack into two for 400-volt charging like the Macan Electric and its PPE platform, but it makes use of a charge pump device to boost what it can get from 400-volt hardware like the most common V3 Tesla Superchargers. We'll report back when we have the time to fully measure the 4S's electron draw in the real world. view exterior photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver As before, you can plug a J1772 AC connector into the Taycan on either side (with charge ports just ahead of the front doors), while DC fast-charging via the CCS port is only on the passenger's side. An 11.0-kW onboard charger means that a full overnight charge is in reach for most owners with 240-volt home hardware. VERDICT: The Goldilocks of electric Porsches. Some of us do find the Taycan's interface smoother and more intuitive than the newer Android-based interface in the Macan Electric. But there are certain drawbacks of this physical Taycan sedan package that haven't changed one bit, namely that its back seat is, as one comment aptly put it, is "borderline useless." If that's an issue, there's always the wagon-like Cross Turismo body style, which offers a bit more headroom in back. Consider it a slightly bigger bowl for Porsche's just-right porridge. view interior Photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver Specifications Specifications 2025 Porsche Taycan 4S Vehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 4-door sedan PRICE Base/As Tested: $120,495/$154,685 Options: Porsche Active Ride, $7140; Premium package (head-up display, 14-way Comfort front seats with memory and ventilation, 360-degree camera system with active parking support, air-quality system, adaptive cruise control, soft-close doors, Storage package), $6900; Performance Battery Plus, $5570; 21-inch Aero Design wheels, $4680; Performance package (Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus, Sport Chrono package, rear-axle steering, aluminum pedals), $3260; Slate Grey leather-free interior with Pepita seat inserts, $2200; thermally and noise-insulated windows, $1130; Porsche InnoDrive with lane-keeping assist, $1320; Ice Grey Metallic paint, $800; Porsche Electric Sport Sound, $500; heated rear seats, $360; puddle-light projectors, $330 POWERTRAIN Front Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC Rear Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC Combined Power: 590 hp Combined Torque: 523 lb-ft Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 97 kWh Onboard Charger: 11.0 kW Peak DC Fast-Charge Rate: 320 kW Transmissions, F/R: direct-drive, 2-speed automatic CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: control arms/multilink Brakes, F/R: 14.2-in vented disc/14.1-in vented disc Tires: Hankook Ion Evo 245/40R-21 100Y NFO 285/35R-21 105Y NFO DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 114.2 in Length: 195.4 in Width: 77.4 in Height: 54.2 in Trunk Volume: 14 ft3 Front Trunk Volume: 3 ft3 Curb Weight: 5143 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 3.1 sec 100 mph: 7.2 sec 1/4-Mile: 11.2 sec @ 125 mph 130 mph: 12.2 sec 150 mph: 16.9 sec Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.2 sec. Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 3.4 sec Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 1.4 sec Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 1.9 sec Top Speed (gov ltd): 159 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 151 ft Braking, 100–0 mph: 306 ft Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 1.00 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY AND CHARGING Observed: 89 MPGe EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/City/Highway: 87/89/85 MPGe Range: 295 mi C/D TESTING EXPLAINED
Car and Driver
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Nissan Recalls 444K Models for Potential VC-Turbo Engine Failure
Nissan is recalling 443,899 models for VC-Turbo engines that could possibly fail. The Nissan Altima, Rogue, and the Infiniti QX50/QX55 are models that have or had the complex variable-compression engine with bearings that could fail. Dealers will inspect the engines, and in cases where it's necessary, they will replace the engine for free. Nissan's novel variable-compression-ratio engine is at the center of a massive recall that involves nearly 444K models. The Nissan Rogue is the brand's most popular model in the United States, and as a result, it accounts for the majority of the recall population (348,554 total units). The Nissan Altima, as well as the Infiniti QX50 and QX55, are also among the models that are being recalled. According to a recall report that Nissan submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on June 26, 2025, the issue involves bearing failures. The report specifically identifies the engines' main bearing and the A-, C-, and L-links, which may be defective and could cause engine damage or failure. As a result, Nissan is recalling 2021–2024 Rogues and 2019–2020 Altimas (5685 total units); 84,536 Infiniti QX50s (2019–2022) and 5124 QX55s (2022) are also part of the recall. Marc Urbano | Car and Driver Marc Urbano | Car and Driver Nissan's VC-Turbo engine is the only one in production that can vary its compression ratio. It's designed to optimize either torque or fuel economy on the fly, and it took Nissan two decades and 300 patents to bring it to life. A turbocharged 2.0-liter version of the VC-Tfirst appeared on the 2019 Infiniti QX50 and then migrated to the Nissan Altima. The Rogue adopted a variable-compression 1.5-liter turbo three for the 2021 model year, and it remains the compact SUV's only engine. Nissan states that the bearing failures occur gradually rather than instantly, so drivers will likely have clues that their engine is on the fritz. Along with vehicle warning lights and messages, Nissan says drivers may hear an unusual engine noise or feel the engine running rough. Ideally, people who own vehicles involved in the recall will bring them into their dealer to address the issue before sustaining any damage or failure. Dealers will inspect oil pans for specific metal debris. If nothing is found in the three-pot VC-T, a technician will replace the oil pan gasket, engine oil, and reprogram the vehicle's ECU. Only the engine oil will need to be changed if no debris exists in the turbo four's oil pan. If there is debris where it's not supposed to be, Nissan says that it will replace either engine free of charge. A reimbursement plan will be available for owners whose warranty has expired. Dealers will be notified by July 15; owners will begin to be notified on Aug. 25, 2025. Eric Stafford Managing Editor, News Eric Stafford's automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual '97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a '90 Honda CRX Si. Read full bio
Car and Driver
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
We Build A Lifted Subaru BRZ Wilderness
The Project Car: Sometimes We Just Can't Leave Well Enough Alone There resides in the human psyche an overwhelming urge to fiddle with a good thing. Which is our excuse for project cars. We once stuffed a Pontiac single-overhead-cam inline-six into a Jaguar XK-E. Who but Car and Driver would install two engines in a Honda CRX? On occasion, projects bore actual fruit: a 212-mph Corvette—427 cubes, 603 horsepower—that we built to celebrate the magazine's 40th. A 150-mph 1998 Ford Crown Victoria that almost won the Hooker's Choice Award in a Nevada race. And an otherwise matronly 1996 Mercedes-Benz E320 that achieved 198 mph with a V-12 in its proboscis. Now, a Subaru BRZ joins that glorious pantheon. Imagine you're driving a Toyota 4Runner. A huge one. Or a Jeep. Yeah, a lifted Jeep. With big tires, antennas for comms, and a Dometic cooler full of Klondike bars. Now imagine thumping along your favorite off-road trail, mixing it up in beautiful brown mud while giant tread blocks stomp over downed tree limbs and reveling in the belief that you won't meet traffic along your secret path. Then, you see it. No, you hear it first. It sounds like a swarm of bees fighting in a civil war. Your heart sinks as the noise moves closer. You can't believe what you're about to ask yourself. Is that . . . a Subaru? Marc Urbano | Car and Driver Driving through a limestone mine is slow going. There lies some rather treacherous sand beneath this cavern's standing water, and it's best to keep the lights on to avoid dropping into the three-acre lake. But on our endeavor, traffic would be of no concern. Just north of Pittsburgh is an off-road passage that leads 250 feet underground into a limestone mine that last had a pickaxe swung at it in 1914. The 0.8-mile loop is part of an off-road tour at Mines & Meadows ATV/RV Resort, which usually allows only side-by-sides and other all-terrain vehicles to pass through the mine's 84-inch-wide entrance. However, the resort made an exception for our project Subie. In the past year, we've made some dramatic changes to one of our favorite sports cars, the four-time 10Best-winning Subaru BRZ. Last year Subaru's public-relations department called and asked what we might want to do with a BRZ sentenced to the crusher after living a life of press-car abuse. We don't know what rev-limiter agony this BRZ experienced, but we thought we'd give it a nice final outing before it met a hydraulic press. Shortly after the automaker's offer, Subaru of New England posted an April Fools' joke on Instagram: a rendering of a BRZ Wilderness. That gag became our goal. Marc Urbano | Car and Driver You're reveling in the belief that you won't see another soul on the way to your secret spot. Then, you see it. No, you hear it first. A mere appearance package wouldn't do for our BRZ Wilderness. Instead, our modifications needed to send the BRZ beyond the Target parking lot filled with TrailSports, Rock Creeks, and Timberlines and into some actual mud. To get us deeper off-road than any BRZ has been, this car would need a higher ground clearance, tires with tough sidewalls to survive many jumps, more LED lighting than a construction site, and an exhaust that would make it as loud as a Ferrari 458 Italia at wide-open throttle. Marc Urbano | Car and Driver Marc Urbano | Car and Driver To build it, we started by raising the suspension two inches. Emboldened by the lifted silhouette, we tore apart the BRZ to reduce the stock car's 2840-pound weight as much as possible. This is arguably the most satisfying part of any project: the removal and wanton destruction of things destined for the trash. It's also the easiest. The BRZ shed 35 pounds after we removed the muffler. Its interior underwent a plastecotomy as we gutted it of unnecessary weight, tearing out carpet and 80 pounds of heated front seats. They'd be replaced by proper racing buckets with six-point safety harnesses that would require a quality roll bar (we'll do a safety cage if we take this car racing). Austin Irwin | Car and Driver To get the parts we needed, the folks at Competition Motorsport in West Des Moines, Iowa, invited us to their toy store. Their showroom looks like Fernando Alonso's walk-in closet, with every size, color, and brand of racing suit, helmet, and glove on display. We left with Sparco Evo seats (weighing a mere 15 pounds each) and a bolt-in roll bar made with Docol R8 high-strength steel. The fabricators here can customize tubing for just about any application, and they welded ours together in three hours before sending it to the paint shop. That's quicker than most Car and Driver staffers answer emails. Austin Irwin | Car and Driver With the installation of new bucket seats, six-point safety harnesses, and a roll bar, we were able to rip out more than 20 pounds of airbags and seatbelts. Austin Irwin | Car and Driver To aid in the BRZ's weight-loss journey, Competition Motorsport also sent us home with a lithium-ion 12-volt battery from Antigravity Batteries. It's 21 pounds lighter than the BRZ's original lead-acid unit and helped keep the finished car's weight below 3000 pounds. Subaru didn't have many directives or guidelines but did ask that we not change the engine. So the 228-hp 2.4-liter flat-four is completely stock, which is probably the primary reason the car remains operational today. Perhaps Subaru knew what so many of us know: Engine modifications have left countless projects permanently on jack stands, much to the chagrin of neighborhood associations the world over. Austin Irwin | Car and Driver Austin Irwin | Car and Driver Forced to leave the BRZ's flat-four alone, and our cherry-picker dreams dashed, we consoled ourselves by engaging in a little Sawzall therapy: We sliced the front bumper in half. Inspired by every press release we've read from Bentley and Pagani, we embraced the "bespoke" concept for the bumper's replacement. Making a new bumper is far outside our welding abilities, however, so we headed to Ishpeming, Michigan, to visit Sub-Zero Fabrication. The owner, Cory Dennis, put together a pre-runner-inspired steel bumper in just two days using 18 feet of 1.5-inch drawn-over-mandrel steel tubing. His custom, er, bespoke solution includes a wide removable skid plate with a gap at the bottom that allows small rocks to escape. That bumper isn't there just for looks. It moves the lowest point of the front end closer to the wheels, greatly improving the approach angle. This earned it a ramp-travel-index score of 231, putting it 231 points higher than the $223,450 Porsche 911 Dakar that couldn't even climb the ramp. Cory Dennis | Car and Driver Subaru typically dresses its Wilderness models with black wheels and Yokohama Geolander A/T tires. To optimize off-road traction, we hit up Yokohama for a set of Advan A053 gravel tires in their softest compound. This rally rubber forced us into a 15-inch wheel, so we went all in on the race-car look with Speedline Corse 2118s. KATHRYN GAMBLE | Car and Driver After author Irwin burned holes through steel tubing during a crash course in TIG welding, Competition Motorsport's top welder, Russ Gyles, told us we had a bright future in flute making. KATHRYN GAMBLE | Car and Driver The Advans are a middle finger to every pothole we've hit near our office that's ever bent a wheel or flattened a tire. Built for abuse, they were unfazed by landing 15 or more jumps. On dirt, you can drive to the limits of personal bravery, and their tread will hold grip or slide the car as much as you choose. On the highway, they emit a lovely whine, a sort of tire-noise equivalent of a GT3 racer's straight-cut gears. With most of its sound deadening in a dumpster, the BRZ is as loud at 70 mph as a Jeep Wrangler 392 at wide-open throttle. The soft compound didn't enjoy going around the paved skidpad, which after just two laps grated the outside tread like it was a block of Parmesan. Though to the tires' credit, they still managed 0.85 g on their way out. More ground clearance came courtesy of a 2.0-inch lift using parts from Anderson Design & Fabrication: steel spacers that we attached above the stock struts, 1.5-inch-tall aluminum pucks that we installed between the chassis and the rear subframe. We later replaced the original struts and steel spacers with a set of Yellow Speed Racing (YSR) Dynamic Pro Gravel Rally coil-overs that promised to be more robust than the stock setup. The YSR coil-overs are giant assemblies that use 55-mm damper bodies, have relatively soft spring rates, and come out of the box as tall as the original front suspension with the spacers attached. The fronts were wonderful. They had the BRZ gliding over speed bumps, potholes, and off-road trails with supreme softness. But the rears gave a back-pulverizing ride and sent the rear end of the car airborne over our parking lot's speed bumps when we were traveling as slow as 13 mph. We're hoping a replacement set cures the harshness, but that didn't stop us from taking the BRZ where no sports car has gone before. Marc Urbano | Car and Driver We chased this April Fools' joke into the depths of that limestone mine, pursuing our goal of going beyond the wilderness and deep into the Earth's crust. The mine maintains an average temperature of 56 degrees Fahrenheit, making it a superb place for cultivating Snow Cap mushrooms; it also seems like a horrifying place to be on mushrooms. Holding up the stone ceiling are damp columns of multimillion-year-old rock that were once illuminated by the tiny headlamps atop the helmets of the men working here. Even with the BRZ's approximately 24,170 lumens of aftermarket front lighting flooding the walls (the Alien Lasers spotlights shouldn't be activated within two miles of an airport), this is still an absolutely forbidding and spooky place to off-road. Just wait until overlanders hear about underlanding. Marc Urbano | Car and Driver We replaced the seat-heater switches with a control for the front 42-inch LED light bar and rear roof- mounted SXSUSA Alien Lasers spotlights. Marc Urbano | Car and Driver A mine shaft is one of the strangest places to drive. It's a lot like parking a car in your parents' garage—a tight fit, overcrowded with stacks of materials that predate your birth. The only vista is darkness, and whatever's living in here will find you before you ever see it. It's fun, but we're still suckers for a good sunset. We put plenty of sweat equity into this build, but the parts alone add up to nearly $15,000. Lamborghini charged more than twice that to turn a base Huracán into a Sterrato, which forgoes a bedroom atop its roof. Our Subie's $46,302 as-tested price is under the starting point of a Honda Civic Type R, which, despite its giant rear wing, isn't getting as many frequent-flyer miles as this BRZ. Austin Irwin | Car and Driver Roof-rack tabs get welded to the roof. We do have regrets. Rear-wheel drive is obviously a significant limiting factor to how far off the pavement you can go. Just getting back to the staging lot of a Michigan off-road park required a running start. Our tent and rally-focused tires cost us in straight-line performance. A 2022 BRZ we tested reached 60 mph in 5.3 seconds and had a trap speed of 100 mph at the quarter-mile mark. With all the stuff attached, our BRZ slowed to 6.1 seconds to 60, and we crossed the quarter-mile 9 mph slower. Racing bucket seats look cool and save weight, but climbing in and out of the cockpit more than twice in a day is a blatant reminder of how much weight we should personally try to lose. We probably also had room for at least eight additional feet of LED lights. Oh well. Marc Urbano | Car and Driver The idea to jump the car with the tent fully open was received with disdain by other tent makers. However, the folks at C6 Outdoor told us to send it. Taking a stock car and making it into exactly what you hope for is never a straight path. It takes hours and hours, which in this case were put in mostly by this author and photo assistant Charley Ladd, whose personal cars languished during the build. Project BRZ continues our tradition of building what manufacturers have yet to make. Here's hoping Subaru's sense of humor is wild enough to sell something like a BRZ Wilderness. Austin Irwin Technical Editor Austin Irwin has worked for Car and Driver for over 10 years in various roles. He's steadily worked his way from an entry-level data entry position into driving vehicles for photography and video, and is now reviewing and testing cars. What will he do next? Who knows, but he better be fast.
Car and Driver
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
171K Mazda 3s and CX-30s Recalled Due to Potential Airbag Fault
Mazda is recalling 171,412 cars due to an issue that may deactivate the airbags, stopping them from deploying during a crash. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall is split between 51,857 Mazda 3s and 119,555 CX-30s. Owners of affected cars will be notified and asked to bring their vehicles to a Mazda dealer to reprogram or replace the airbag sensor. Mazda issued a recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that affects 171,412 cars from the 2024 and 2025 model years. The recall is split between 51,857 Mazda 3 sedans and hatchbacks and 119,555 CX-30 crossovers. According to NHTSA, the recall is due to an issue that may deactivate the airbags, keeping them from deploying during a crash. Documents associated with the recall explain that if the battery becomes completely depleted by leaving the ignition switch in the "ON" position, the Sophisticated Airbag Sensor (SAS) unit will store an internal fault. The fault won't be stored if the battery is depleted in any other way. If the battery is recharged and the vehicle turned back on after being depleted, the airbag warning light will turn on in the instrument cluster and keep the airbags from deploying. Marc Urbano | Car and Driver According to NHTSA documents, the fix is as simple as reprogramming the existing SAS unit with improved hardware or replacing the unit with a newer one. Owners of affected models will be notified by mail and instructed to bring their vehicles to a Mazda dealer to perform the fix. Mazda isn't offering a reimbursement program for the issue, as all affected vehicles should still be under full warranty coverage. The automaker has already notified dealers of the recall, and owner notification is expected to be completed by the end of July. Jack Fitzgerald Associate News Editor Jack Fitzgerald's love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn't afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. Read full bio
