The Buick Lucerne was a big, comfortable luxury sedan. The point here is that cars like this aren’t really sold anymore, which is why the “large car” category feels gone.
The Buick LeSabre was a big, full-size American sedan. The hosts are saying this is the kind of large car their dad would have bought, and it represents the old “full-size” benchmark.
GM used internal “body” categories—like B-body and C-body—to sort cars into different tiers. The idea is that C-body cars were the more upscale “premium” big cars, while B-body cars were a step down.
The Pontiac Catalina is an older full-size car. In the podcast, it’s mentioned as a reference point for the kind of cars people looked at as standards.
The Nissan Leaf is an all-electric car, meaning it runs on a battery instead of gasoline. People talk about it because it’s meant for normal daily driving and it’s been around long enough to have a lot of real-world ownership experience.
The Hyundai Kona is a small SUV made for everyday driving. It’s commonly compared with other small SUVs because it tries to offer a good balance of size, features, and cost.
The Chevrolet Bolt is an electric car made by Chevrolet. The hosts are saying it can be a cheaper EV option, but you might not always be able to find one easily.
General Motors (GM) is the automaker behind multiple brands discussed here, including Chevrolet and Buick. The hosts say these cars are built by General Motors in South Korea, tying the models to GM’s global manufacturing footprint.
All-wheel drive (AWD) means the car can send power to all four tires. The hosts are saying these models don’t offer that option, so traction in bad weather may be worse than AWD versions.
The Buick Encore GX is a small SUV. The hosts are saying the Invista is closely related to it, meaning they’re built from a similar base and can be very similar to drive.
The Trailblazer is a Chevrolet small SUV. The hosts are saying it’s closely related to the Trax, so the two cars share a lot of the same underlying design.
The Chevrolet Trax is a small SUV that’s meant to be affordable and practical. The host says it surprised them in a good way after driving it, especially because it had Apple CarPlay and was priced around $24,000 back then.
Apple CarPlay is a way to connect an iPhone to the car so you can use apps on the car’s screen. It’s mainly for things like maps, music, and calls without grabbing your phone.
The Mazda CX-30 is a subcompact crossover that’s often praised for its driving feel and upscale interior compared with many competitors. Here, it’s mentioned as part of the same “segment” as the Trax, CX-30, and Nissan Kix, implying it’s a relevant alternative in the value-focused small-SUV space.
A non-turbo engine doesn’t have a turbocharger. Without that, the engine typically feels a bit less “instant” than a turbo, but it can be simpler and smoother to drive.
The Dodge Hornet is a small crossover that Dodge didn’t keep around for long. The hosts are saying Alfa Romeo used the same basic “bones” for its own version, so they feel related to drive.
Alfa Romeo is the Italian car brand being discussed. The hosts are saying the Alfa Romeo version is based on shared parts/engineering from another car, not completely unique.
“Architecture” means the car’s main design foundation—how the big parts are laid out. If it’s a shared Stellantis architecture, it’s built on the same basic platform as related cars, which can help with parts and service.
Topic
mama spring rally
They mention a spring rally event where they drove the car on a track. It’s mainly there to explain where the driving impressions came from.
“Big wheels and tires” means the car has larger wheels and tires. This often helps the car stick better and feel more responsive, though it can make the ride a bit firmer and tires can cost more.
“Better brakes” means the car can slow down more effectively and often feels more confident when you press the pedal. Here, the hosts are saying this one brakes better than many other cars from the same parent group.
The BMW X1 is a small luxury SUV from BMW. It’s meant to be the cheaper way to get into BMW, but the hosts say it still drives and feels like a BMW—just at a lower price.
The Volvo EX30 is an electric Volvo SUV. The hosts talk about how it was supposed to come to the US with about 300 miles of range and a starting price around $35,000, but tariffs changed the situation and the plan fell apart.
“Fully electric” means the car uses electricity from a battery to move, not gasoline. The hosts mention it because they’re talking about how far it can go on a charge and whether it could realistically be sold in the US.
Tariffs are extra taxes on products coming from another country. The hosts are saying those taxes made it too expensive or complicated to sell the EX30 in the US the way Volvo planned, so the recommendation changed.
A compact crossover is a small-to-medium SUV that’s meant to be easy to drive like a car, but with more space and a higher driving position. The hosts are organizing their recommendations around this type of vehicle.
The Mazda CX-50 is a compact SUV—bigger than a sedan, but not as large as a full family SUV. The hosts are recommending it as one of their top choices in the compact crossover category.
The Subaru Forester is a compact SUV that’s often chosen for everyday practicality and traction. The hosts list it as one of their top compact crossover recommendations.
The Nissan Rogue is a popular family SUV that’s meant to be easy to live with day to day. The hosts say it drives well and feels roomy and quiet, but they also mention some complaints about how its engine and transmission feel.
A three-cylinder engine is an engine with three power-producing chambers. Some people find it sounds or feels a bit buzzy compared with engines that have more cylinders.
A CVT automatic transmission is a type of automatic that changes ratios smoothly rather than using set gears. Some drivers don’t like how it can make the engine sound like it’s spinning up even when the car isn’t accelerating as they expect.
Term
all will drive
They’re talking about all-wheel drive, meaning power goes to more than just the front or the back wheels. It helps the car grip better, but it can cost a bit of gas mileage.
The New York auto show is a big car event where companies show new cars. The host mentions they went there and made videos about which compact crossovers work best for shorter drivers.
The Toyota RAV4 is a compact SUV/crossover that many people buy for everyday use. In this segment, they’re talking about the new one and how the hybrid versions are hard to find right now.
The Genesis GV 70 is a small luxury SUV/crossover from Genesis. It’s praised here for its nice interior and driving feel, and the hosts say it can cost less than similar BMW or Mercedes-Benz models.
A powertrain is what makes the car move—its engine/motor and the parts that send power to the wheels. They’re saying this car can be had with two different setups, and both feel quick and lively.
The Mazda CX-70 is a midsize SUV/crossover from Mazda. In this segment, it’s the two-row version, meaning it’s designed for families without needing a third row. The host says it’s fun to drive while still having practical space inside.
An inline six-cylinder engine is a type of engine with six cylinders lined up in one row. The host says Mazda’s version is especially smooth, meaning it tends to feel refined and not jerky as it runs.
The Mazda CX-7 is an SUV model from Mazda. The host is basically saying it’s a good vehicle to live with, but it hasn’t been a huge seller compared to other options.
The Mazda CX-90 is Mazda’s bigger three-row SUV. The host is saying it’s enjoyable to drive and feels more premium than you might expect, even if it hasn’t been the top-selling choice.
This is a type of SUV that’s not tiny and not full-size—more like a family-size vehicle. “Premium” means it’s aimed at higher-end features and a higher price than the basic versions.
The Lexus RX is a luxury SUV/crossover that’s designed to feel smooth and comfortable. It’s aimed at families and people who want an easy, nice-feeling car for everyday driving and road trips.
The Lexus TX is a bigger Lexus crossover meant for families, with room for more passengers. It’s designed to be especially good for longer trips where you might need the extra seats.
“Floaty” means the car feels a little soft and cushioned, like it’s not reacting sharply to bumps. The host is using it to describe a comfort-oriented ride.
The Lincoln Nautilus is Lincoln’s luxury SUV. The host says it has a great interior and can be bought with a hybrid, and they also bring up where it’s built.
The Lincoln Aviator is a luxury SUV made by Lincoln. It’s meant to feel smooth and comfortable, and in this part of the show they’re praising its interior and driver-assist features.
Blue Cruise is Lincoln’s driver-assist feature that can help the car steer and handle parts of highway driving. The discussion here is basically about how well it works compared to a competing system.
Super Cruise is a driver-assist system that can help the car drive itself on certain highways. They’re saying it’s better than the Lincoln system they’re comparing it to.
A “pillar-to-pillar screen” means the dashboard display is stretched wide across the front of the car. They’re saying it doesn’t feel like a gimmick—it actually helps and looks good.
The Ford Expedition is a big SUV that’s built to tow and handle heavy-duty driving. The hosts highlight that its EcoBoost V6 helps it get better gas mileage than you’d expect for something this large.
The Nissan Armada is a big family SUV. The host says Nissan refreshed it recently and that it uses a turbocharged V6 engine, which helps it feel strong without needing a huge engine.
This is about whether a car is physically easy to park where you live. With big SUVs, size can make parking in a garage annoying or even impossible. The host is saying one SUV was easy to park because it fit.
The Chevrolet Tahoe is a large family SUV from General Motors. The host says the Tahoe is going to be redesigned and get new engines soon. That usually means changes to how it drives and how much fuel it uses.
The GMC Yukon is a big SUV from General Motors. The host is saying the Yukon (along with similar GM SUVs) is going to be redesigned and get new engines soon. That’s important because a new generation can change how it drives and how efficient it is.
The Chevrolet Suburban is a very large SUV from General Motors, famous for being roomy. The host says it’s going to be redesigned and get new engines soon. That usually means improvements in driving and efficiency, plus newer features.
The Lincoln Navigator is a large luxury SUV from Lincoln. In this discussion, it’s mainly mentioned as the more expensive option compared to the Infiniti QX80. The takeaway is that you can get similar “big luxury SUV” vibes for less money.
This is about the car’s touchscreen setup. The host is saying an older version used two screens, and they didn’t think it worked as well or felt as modern.
The Lexus LX is a luxury full-size SUV known for comfort and off-road capability. In this segment, the host compares it against the Infiniti QX80, saying they prefer the QX80 but still discuss the LX as another “pick.”
Resale value is what you can sell the car for in the future. They’re saying these models tend to hold their price well, so you’re less likely to take a big loss.
A turbocharged V6 is a six-cylinder engine that uses a turbo to help it make more power. The turbo helps the engine feel stronger without needing a bigger engine.
A V6 is an engine with six cylinders arranged in a V shape. It’s a popular engine type in trucks because it usually gives good power and smooth driving for things like hauling and commuting.
Turbos are devices that help an engine make more power by forcing extra air into it. In this segment, they’re mentioned as something the Frontier avoids, making the lineup feel simpler.
The Nissan Frontier is a mid-size pickup truck. In this discussion, the big deal is that it’s set up in a simpler way—like a V6 engine with an automatic—without lots of complicated turbo or drivetrain options. They also say it’s easier to choose because the truck comes in simpler configurations.
This means a smaller 4-cylinder engine that has a turbo to boost its power. The hosts are basically saying that many competing trucks use this kind of setup, so there are more choices to sort through.
Quad cab refers to a pickup with four doors so rear passengers can get in. The rear seat is usually tighter than in a full-size crew cab, but it’s still more convenient than a two-door setup.
Long wheelbase means the truck is longer from front to back. That can help with stability and space, but it can also make the truck tougher to park in tight spots.
Term
steering at lower speed
This is about how the steering feels when you’re going slowly, like parking. The hosts say it can feel a little hard to steer in tight spots, which may not be ideal for smaller drivers.
The Ford Ranger is a pickup truck that’s smaller than the big full-size trucks. That matters in the city because it can be easier to park and turn in tight spaces.
“Hurricane” is the name Ram uses for a particular engine option. The host is basically saying it’s a great engine and that it’s cheaper than some alternatives while making strong power.
A “Hemi” engine is a type of engine design where the inside of the cylinder head is shaped like a half-sphere. That design can help the engine breathe and burn fuel efficiently, which is why people link it with strong power.
Ram’s “1,500 series” is their half-ton pickup lineup. Here, they’re talking about which engine options Ram offers in those trucks and how that affects what buyers choose.
Ram is a brand that makes pickup trucks. The podcast is talking about it as a good value option and focusing on how nice the truck can be to own and drive.
Coil spring rear suspension is how the truck’s back end is supported and how it absorbs bumps. They’re saying Ram’s setup helps the ride feel nicer and the truck handle better than many competitors.
Resell value is how much money the truck should be worth when you sell it later. They’re saying the Hemi might hold its value better, so the higher price could be partly recovered.
The Chrysler Pacifica is a minivan. In this segment they’re saying it’s great for long highway drives because it’s quiet and has lots of practical space inside.
“Stow ’n Go” is a minivan feature where the middle seats fold down and disappear into the floor. It makes it much easier to switch between carrying people and hauling cargo.
The Chrysler Town & Country is a minivan. It’s designed to carry families and passengers comfortably, and the podcast is referencing it as part of the broader history of family vehicles.
The Honda Odyssey is a popular minivan from Honda. The host is saying Honda plans to make fewer updates to it for now, because the company is concentrating on other priorities like electric vehicles.
The Toyota Sienna is a family minivan that’s available as a hybrid. The hosts are saying it tends to be a smart choice because it holds its value well, even if they don’t find it especially exciting to drive.
Rental fleets are cars that rental companies keep and rent out to lots of different people. When they’re sold after being used for rentals, they can be cheaper than buying the same model brand-new.
The Kia Carnival is a family minivan that focuses a lot on modern technology. The host is saying it has the best setup for screens, apps, and features compared with other minivans.
Android Auto connects your Android phone to the car so you can use certain apps on the car’s screen. It helps with things like directions and music while driving.
The Honda Civic is a popular small car that’s been around for a long time. The hosts like it a lot, but they say it’s gotten more expensive than it used to be for the value.
The Nissan Versa is one of Nissan’s lower-cost cars. The hosts mention it as a recommended pick, and they’re comparing it to the Sentra based on what was available.
The Nissan Sentra is a regular, everyday sedan that’s usually aimed at people who want something affordable. Here, the hosts are basically saying: if the Versa isn’t an option anymore, the Sentra is the next thing to look at.
The Toyota Camry is a popular midsize sedan that’s meant to be comfortable and easy to live with. In this segment they point out it comes with a hybrid setup and is especially efficient on the highway.
The Toyota Crown Signia is a bigger Toyota model that the hosts say is replacing the Toyota Avalon. They’re basically pitching it as more spacious than the Camry, for people who want extra room.
The Lexus LS is Lexus’s top luxury sedan. It’s meant to feel smooth and upscale inside, and here the hosts are basically talking about whether it’s a good buy compared with other big luxury cars.
The Lexus ES is a luxury car that’s built to feel smooth and comfortable, with lots of space for passengers. Here, the hosts are saying the new ES is meant to pick up some of the “big luxury sedan” attention after the Lexus LS is going away. So it’s important if you’re shopping for a comfortable, high-end daily driver.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is one of the most prestigious luxury sedans you can buy. The hosts are saying the Lexus LS used to go head-to-head with cars like the S-Class, meaning it was Lexus’s top “big luxury” offering. It’s a way to show how high the LS was positioned.
The BMW 7 Series is BMW’s top luxury sedan. The hosts are saying the Lexus LS used to compete with cars like the 7 Series, which tells you the LS wasn’t just a “nice” sedan—it was aimed at the highest-end luxury buyers. It also helps explain why the ES is being positioned to cover some of that space.
The Jeep Wrangler is a type of SUV built for off-road driving. It’s known for features that make it feel more open-air, like removable roof and doors, and it’s often discussed because it’s a key model for Jeep.
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is the four-door version of the Wrangler. It’s longer than the two-door model, so it usually has more room for passengers and stuff in the back.
The Jeep Gladiator is basically a Wrangler-based pickup, meaning it keeps the off-road character but adds a truck bed. They’re talking about whether Jeep will start calling it “Wrangler Gladiator” for branding.
“Scrambler” is a Jeep name from the 1980s that referred to a pickup version based on the Wrangler. They’re wondering if Jeep will bring that style back in a new form.
A compact pickup is a smaller kind of truck. It’s not as big as the full-size trucks, and the hosts are using that idea to guess what size a new Jeep pickup might be.
The Jeep Renegade is a small SUV. The podcast is basically saying it could be a smaller version of the Wrangler idea, meaning easier to drive and park while still feeling like a Jeep.
Dodge Dakota is the name of a midsize pickup truck that Dodge used to make. Here, they’re saying Dodge is bringing that name back for a new midsize truck.
They’re describing a Jeep that’s meant to be an off-road vehicle like the Wrangler, but it’s electric and packaged more like a crossover/pickup. The big question is whether an EV can really do the off-road job people expect.
The Wagoneer S is Jeep’s electric model, and they’re saying it struggled to sell. They mention it was expensive, and even after lowering the price, it was still discontinued.
A platform is the shared “base design” that multiple cars use. If two cars share a platform, they’re built with a lot of the same core parts and engineering, which can make them cheaper and faster to develop.
The Tesla Cybertruck is an electric pickup truck. It’s designed to be used like a truck, but it has also been talked about in terms of how well it sells for off-road buyers.
The Dodge Charger is a well-known Dodge model that’s often associated with sporty driving. In this segment, they’re saying it’s staying around for the future.
The Dodge Viper is a high-performance sports car. People bring it up because they’re wondering if there will be a new car meant to replace it and deliver a similar kind of excitement.
The Nissan Z is a sports car that’s usually positioned as a more affordable, fun-to-drive option. The hosts are using it as an example of the kind of sports car they think Dodge will build.
This is the category of trucks that are smaller than full-size pickups, but bigger than the smallest ones. The hosts are saying more truck models are showing up in that same size range.
Car
Ram charger
The Ram Charger is Ram’s electric pickup idea. The “extended range” part means it’s meant to go farther than a typical battery-only electric truck.
“Extended range” usually means the truck can keep going longer than a battery-only electric vehicle. It’s designed so you’re not stuck when the battery gets low.
The Ram Rev is referenced as an earlier Ram electric-vehicle plan that was supposed to come in different battery-range versions. The hosts say those plans were changed or “killed,” and the concept later evolved into the Ram Charger.
They’re talking about alternative fuel, meaning energy sources other than regular gasoline. Here, they connect it to electric vehicles and ways to help with driving range.
An extended range electric vehicle is mostly electric, but it has a backup system that helps keep the battery charged. That can make it easier to drive longer distances without charging as often.
The Ford F-150 Lightning is an electric pickup truck. The podcast is talking about what people learned when it first came out—like how well electric trucks work for buyers who want a truck.
The ProMaster City is a small van. It’s the kind of vehicle businesses use to carry people or cargo, especially when they need something easier to handle than a big van.
The City Express is a small van that Chevrolet sold for commercial use. The point here is that multiple companies tried small vans like this, but many didn’t stick with them.
The Transit Connect is a small work van from Ford. The hosts are using it as an example of how other companies tried similar small vans and then stopped.
The Chevrolet Express is a large van. It’s commonly used to carry people or cargo, and the podcast is talking about how different van models have changed over time.
This is about trucks that businesses buy in large numbers for work. The hosts are talking about which brands sell the most and who’s trying to sell more again.
LIVE
Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bummer ride with friends, you've
come to the right place.
Join Jill and Tom as they break down everything that's going on in the auto world.
New car reviews, shopping tips, driving green, electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of
great guests.
This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast.
Consumer Guide Automotive, thank you so much for joining us today.
When you have a chance, check us out at consumerguide.com.
This is super topical because you can go there and check out our 2026 Best Buy picks, which
Jill and I are about to address for the first time yet this year.
Jill, how are you?
I'm doing very well.
How are you?
We're good.
We're super late getting to this this year.
I blame you entirely.
Of course you do.
It's always my fault.
I'm blaming you.
The Best Buy episode is always our most popular episode by far.
Just a little background.
First, that voice, Jill Siminello, contributing editor here at consumerguide.com, North American
Car of the Year juror, and freelancer.
How are you?
For the second time, I'm doing really well.
All right, good.
Yeah, yeah.
Just work with me.
Work with me on the floor there.
I'm working with you.
I'm working with you.
No, I'm good.
You know, we are here on Memorial Day.
The sun is shining, and I actually slept really well last night.
So I'm going to say it's really good.
The outdoors do beckon.
It looks like a very nice day here in Chicago.
I haven't been outside yet.
I have one more day with a test car, so I think I do need to get out and just drive around
a little bit.
But the Consumer Guide Best Buy is a staple of what we do here at Consumer Guide since
1970.
70, 1970.
The Dodge Dart was a Best Buy in 1970.
Go ahead and worry about that if you like.
Actually, Consumer Guide's been around since 1967.
So it took us three years to figure out that we needed to do this, and we've done it ever
since.
Okay.
All right, so the Best Buy picks every year.
We try to pick the best cars in a bunch of different categories.
But as you know, categories are blurring these days, and there are some categories that
no longer exist.
The only category that existed in 1970 really was car.
They're worth sizes.
But basically, cars have all but disappeared, and there is no large car anymore in North
America.
There's nothing really that qualifies as a large car.
Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, like BMW, seven series.
I would call that premium large car, and we do have a pick in that category.
But there is no Buick Lucerne.
There is no Chrysler 300.
There's nothing like that anymore.
Yeah, no Chevy and Pala.
No Chevy and Pala.
The cars my dad might have purchased.
Yeah, no, my dad had, what was it, the Le Sabre.
So I don't know if that was quite full size.
That was his company car of choice.
That was the benchmark large car.
I mean, Le Sabre.
If you were coming after 77, 1977, when General Motors downsized its big fleet of cars, it
had B bodies and C bodies.
C bodies were premium.
B bodies were not.
And the B body cars were the Le Sabre, the Oldsville 88, the Chevrolet Caprice and
Pala, and the Pontiac Bonneville and Catalina.
And those were like benchmark cars.
They were in rental fleets, families bought them.
They were, that was an incredibly popular segment, just the big sedan.
Gone.
No more.
So for 2026 consumer guide picked 32 vehicles in 13 different classes.
If you will indulge me, I'd like to go through those now.
Okay.
Congrats to Nissan for coming up with six best buys this year.
The company with the most, the brand with the most is usually Nissan Hyundai Kia
or Toyota.
Also because they have a lot of vehicles.
Right, right.
So, you know, before you get into the list, can you talk a little bit about what goes
into selecting a best buy?
Yeah, it's a great question.
And one of them is appropriateness for the class.
And by that, I mean, there is a segment that we have identified where consumers are
best served compact crossover, for example.
And my daughter was just shopping for one.
So I'm intimately familiar with this segment at the moment.
But that is a great segment for starters, right?
For first time car buyers, empty nesters, assuming that one of the partners isn't too
large.
These cars can be a little small, maybe a little bit cramped.
But ultimately too, in that category, you want good fuel economy and you want
affordability.
Right.
And those are the big things.
And we'll see it as we go through this particular class.
Affordability is an interesting point.
When the average price of a new car, including pickup trucks is like $50,000,
affordability takes on a whole new meaning.
It does also, but within the segment, even it matters.
So let's go down to these cars and we can talk about that a little bit.
In the class, there's the Buick and Vista, a best buy.
The Chevrolet Trax, those two cars are very closely related.
And we'll talk about them in a minute.
The Hyundai Kona, the Mazda CX30, the Nissan Kicks, and the Nissan Leaf.
The Leaf we could talk about if we want to, but that's an electric vehicle.
And its appeal is affordability and practicality.
And one of the things that you talked about with the Leaf, which I thought was very
interesting, it's really an electric car for people who have already owned an
electric car.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It doesn't have the huge range.
It might be a little bit short on some features, but it's very practical and it
does address the needs of most consumers.
Well, and I mean, for me, the most impressive thing was how affordable it is.
Yeah.
I think it's one of the only, if not the only, electric car that comes in under
$30,000 without any kind of credits or incentives or anything like that.
I think it slipped over 30 this year, but still it's right there.
It's among the most affordable electric vehicles.
There's also the Chevrolet Bolt with a B, but availability of that may be
limited.
So the Buick and Vista and the Chevy Trax are fundamentally the same car.
They're built by General Motors in South Korea and these cars were
incredibly good deals for a while.
They've been beaten up badly by, unfortunately, by tariffs and they're
imported from South Korea and they've had to raise the price on these.
So there's still really good deals.
You could still do them under 30K and they do everything you want them to do.
They're not available with all-wheel drive.
Right.
And a point I make is that there are parallel vehicles to these.
The Invista is very closely related to something called the Encore GX and the
Trax is very closely related to a Chevy product called the Trailblazer.
Right.
If you want to spend a little bit more money and get all-wheel drive, that's a
great way to do that.
Yeah.
Well, you know, and it's funny because when the Trax came out, that literally
what, and people asked me like what the best car I drove that year was.
And I think it's been a couple of years and I was like, it was the Chevy Trax
and they were like the Chevy Trax.
And I was like, because it was so surprising and I feel like it was at the
Midwest Automotive Media Association spring rally and it was the active trim
and it was like $24,000 at that time and it had Apple CarPlay.
It had really nice seating surfaces.
It had all of the things that you could possibly want on it.
And I just, it was, I didn't expect much.
And then I got behind the wheel and it was completely blown away such that I had
a friend who was buying a car and I was like, you need to go look at the Chevy
Trax and she drove it and bought it.
So I am a firm believer in the Chevy Trax right now.
I think that is one of my favorite subcompact cars or SUVs.
Two dings against that car.
The engine can be buzzy and the interior is not as nice as it could be.
Two little dings.
The interior was fine.
It's pretty, it's fine.
It's for the money.
It's fine.
Yes.
Also in that segment, the Mazda CX-30 and the Nissan Kix, the Kix is a lot of
value for the money and you can now get it with all wheel drive.
So if you're in the snow belt, that matters.
The CX-30 is like the luxury take on this segment.
Very nice interior.
All sorts of power.
Even if you get the non-turbo charged engine, but really refined and
quick fuel economy is not great.
Price is higher.
Test drive one.
If you want this stuff, it's a good deal.
Well, and one of the things that I really love about the CX-30 is how it
drives.
It is a driver's SUV.
It's a blast to drive.
You're going to spend a little bit more, but the materials are going to be
more premium.
And the ride and handling is just going to be sportier.
So it has all the things and then some.
Yep.
So let's look at premium subcompad crossovers.
I have a controversial pick.
Okay.
You are free.
You are free to question this.
Okay.
And that's the Alfa Romeo Tenale.
I don't not like it.
How's that?
There you go.
It is.
People might remember the Dodge Hornet.
Dodge sold it briefly.
This was Alfa Romeo's take on that vehicle.
So it is a common Stellantis architecture.
It's not a true Alfa Romeo, but the interior is gorgeous.
It's really quick.
It's fun to drive.
And it's shockingly affordable for the segment.
You can get something called an Alfa Romeo that is really rewarding to
spend time with for a comfortably under $50,000.
Yeah.
Nice car.
And if you're worried about service, you can get the service to virtually
any Stellantis dealer.
You don't have to find an Alfa Romeo dealer.
Well, they actually at the,
at the mama spring rally this year put that on the racetrack.
And it was surprisingly delightful.
Yeah.
Big wheels and tires.
It also gets better brakes than a lot of Stellantis products.
So that's cool.
Also on the list of BMW X1, here's the simple thing.
It's the least expensive BMW and it feels like a BMW.
Yeah.
It is roomy.
It's quick.
It's fun to drive.
Nice interior.
Everything you might want from a BMW at the least possible price.
Nice car.
Also, it looks great and it's available in fun colors.
And then I can't believe that this list is already obsolete.
I had the Volvo EX30 on this list.
But you know what?
The EX30 is still around for this model year.
Oh, I'm, I've lost all enthusiasm just because of what happened.
For people who don't know what happened,
this vehicle was going to be built in China and sold in the US.
And it was going to be a fully electric Volvo with close to 300 miles of range.
All sorts of fun to drive.
What a nice little car.
Like 35 K to start.
And then the tariffs happened.
Yeah.
And everything fell apart for this car.
So if you can find one and they're still priced right, great car.
They are still producing them.
I think you can still order them through the end of this month.
And my friend's mom actually just bought one.
Okay.
So I know, I know they're out there.
I know they're still available.
I know they're still being sold.
And you know, my friend's mom like loves, loves the car.
So our next segment is compact crossover.
This is a big deal because it is by far.
If you exclude large pickups, the most popular consumer segment in the
automotive industry, I've got three picks here.
Hard to pick from this segment because you do have the Toyota RAV4,
which is just coming into dealerships now and the beloved Honda CRV.
But my picks are, our picks are the CX 50, the Mazda CX 50,
the Nissan Rogue, and the Subaru Forester.
Okay.
I have questions.
Yes.
Your hand is up.
I know my hand is up.
I have questions.
The young lady in the front row always sitting in the front row.
So why CX 50 and not CX five?
That's a good question.
65 was in a state of flux and I had not driven the new version yet.
Okay.
So the 65 is a staple at Mazda.
Your question is very relevant because that is their best selling car by far.
And it's really a great crossover.
The new one is also supposed to be great.
The CX 50 is a variant on that a little bit longer,
a little bit sleeker, more crossover looking.
The price is similar.
It's not like you're spending a lot more money to go CX 50.
So that and now the six fifties available as a hybrid.
Yeah.
And it's a really, it's a really good hybrid.
Yeah.
I haven't driven the new CX five yet either.
I think I have it coming next month.
So I'm definitely looking forward to getting behind the wheel,
but I will say the CX 50 is, um, is definitely my cup of tea.
I love the design.
I love the interior.
I like that it's a little bit more rugged and you can do a little more
off roady things in it.
And it is like when, when I spoke to Mazda when this first came out and I was
just like, okay, how, how, how are you going to be balancing these two
vehicles that are competing directly with each other?
And, um, they essentially said that they didn't think that these two
vehicles would compete with each other because one was meant for
somebody who was a little bit more of a lifestyle adventure kind of
person, whereas the other one is more of an urban city type vehicle.
And I was like, oh, okay, you say that.
So I don't, I don't know if they've completely six, you know,
been successful in differentiating the two,
but that was kind of their philosophy at the beginning.
We will never know.
No.
We will never know, but it's a great point.
And they do that across their lineup.
It's very strange.
Uh, Nissan Rogue popular vehicle in this segment got a lot going for it.
The big things that is going for it are right and handling are extraordinary.
The interior is super nice.
Uh, the cabin is quiet.
Also, it does the best job in the segment with interior space.
It feels mid-sized, very roomy.
On the downside, the three-cylinder engine can be buzzy.
It does use a CVT automatic transmission,
which older drivers get cranky about.
Or just enthusiast drivers get cranky about.
Yeah.
Older drivers like me, I wouldn't mind some stepped gears.
I wouldn't mind the transmission feeling a little old school,
but very effective, very good fuel economy, very nice car.
And then finally, the Forester is the Forester.
Yeah.
If you are a Subaru fan, you will never be disappointed by a Subaru.
This car has a certain amount of, of visceral feedback where you can feel it.
You can hear it either like that or you don't,
but, but Subaru's reward drivers with, with a certain amount of driving intimacy.
And yet they're roomy, they're practical, relatively fuel efficient,
less so than some vehicles, largely because of the standard all will drive.
Also all hybrid now making its way through the Forester lineup,
though not yet in the wilderness.
Also, did you know this about the wilderness?
For 2025, they sold the old Forester as the wilderness.
And for 2026, they finally updated it to the new Forester.
It was very confusing.
Yeah.
You know, I think I did know that.
And I feel like they had a recent like Subaru Forester wilderness drive program.
I think so.
I think Ed may have gone on that for us and, but yeah.
So I, and I just drove the wilderness.
I keep to keep bringing up the Midwest Automotive Media Association rally,
but it just happened last week.
So it's on my brain, but I drove that off road last week and it is,
it is a total pill to drive.
It is so much fun.
Yeah.
And you can feel it.
If you like, if you enjoy driving, this is a good vehicle.
The other thing about it, and I just realized this,
I just test drove the wilderness, the new wilderness.
I had it here in my driveway.
I think the Forester may have the most glass area of any compact crossover.
It is so easy to see out of light gets in, you could see out of it.
It's very open and area area.
Nice car.
Well, I did at the New York auto show, I did a video about best vehicles or,
you know, the, the compact crossovers for short drivers and Subaru
Forester and Toyota RAV4 were my top picks because of, you know,
just the visibility out of all the windows.
Yeah.
New RAV4 out there now.
And it's, it's trickling into dealerships.
There's a shortage of them.
Hybrids are especially hard to get.
So we'll see.
I have not spent sufficient time in one yet.
Well, I'm hearing hybrids are hard to get because all of the RAV4s are now
hybrid.
Yes.
I'm sorry.
Yes.
Which is making them harder to get.
Yeah.
Premium compact crossover.
This one is easy.
The Genesis GV 70.
Yes.
And we've talked about this a little bit.
Genesis is no longer a bargain, but they are still strong values.
They have gotten the courage to start pricing their stuff more aggressively.
And that's bad news for consumers, but it just means that the brand is grown
stronger.
But this is a delightful small crossover.
We talked about the Mazda CX 30.
This is like a really big Mazda CX 30.
It is fun to drive really beautiful interior.
You've got a choice of two powertrains, both of which are seriously punchy.
And it does come in much less expensive than a similar BMW or Mercedes Benz
product.
And they're great looking.
Yeah.
No, I have always loved the GV 70 and anything from Genesis, let's be honest, is really
well done vehicle.
But for me personally, the GV 70 is like a right size city vehicle because it's compact
enough that it's easy to parallel park, but it's big enough that you can fit things in
the cargo area and doesn't have a third row.
So you're not trying to squash in, you know, seven passengers.
And I just, I really, I really enjoy the GP 70.
You know, it's interesting about that car too.
Historically, is that up until the time that that car was released, Genesis is just selling
big sedans.
It really, that was the car that kind of changed things at Genesis.
Yeah.
So all right, midsize crossover.
This is a big deal.
This is the family cars.
You can either pick a lot of vehicles in this class or try to be really, really simple.
So we went simple.
We went with the Mazda CX 70 and the Mazda CX 90, which are Mazda's midsize crossovers.
One of them is two row.
That's the 70.
The other one is three row.
These cars are really fun to drive.
They are surprisingly driver oriented while still making all sorts of space for passengers
and cargo inside.
They get a little bit pricey, but one of the payoffs for going with these vehicles is this
super smooth inline six cylinder engine that Mazda developed specifically for these vehicles.
Like it a lot.
Prices are a little high to start, but the standard equipment is very high.
The interiors are very nice and they feel like European sport crossovers.
They are really quite likable.
Yeah.
And I, you know, I thoroughly have enjoyed, I'm a bit of a Mazda fan girl.
Let's, let's, let's just start there.
And, you know, one of the things that I've always appreciated about Mazda vehicles is
just the fact that, you know, even though they don't use the zoom, zoom, you know, advertising
anymore, I really feel like they managed to bring the zoom, zoom, even into, you know,
a midsize SUV, a three row, you know, larger SUV, it still has that sporty fun to drive
nature.
And again, you know, even though you don't have this in the like luxury class, I feel
like there are luxury grade materials on the interior.
Yeah, it's very premium.
And Mazda did state a few years ago that their ultimate goal was to slip up scale slowly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So prices have increased, interiors have gotten nicer.
I don't know how successful this has been for them ultimately.
And I don't know that the Mazda CX-7 and CX-90 sell that well.
But they are fantastic vehicles to own.
Also, there's a plug-in hybrid version of these vehicles.
Stay away from it.
Tell me how you really feel.
Oh, it's not good.
It feels like a bad hybrid.
You lose the six cylinder engine and you go down to a four cylinder engine.
You have to remember to plug in, whichever, but it's not a simple hybrid.
It's a plug-in hybrid.
So you're not just buying a hybrid.
You're buying a certain amount of commitment.
You're adding to the price and it doesn't make it a better vehicle to drive.
So I'm going to say skip it.
Okay.
Got it.
All right.
You know what?
Let's take a break.
And when we come back, we'll talk about premium midsize crossovers.
Awesome.
All right.
We'll be right back.
Questions or comments?
Drop us a line at carstuffatconsumerguide.com.
That's carstuffatconsumerguide.com.
Welcome back to the Car Stuff podcast.
And we're back.
This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast.
I'm Tom Appel, publisher of Consumer Guide Automotive with me as always, Jill Simanillo.
Jill, we are ripping through the 2026 Consumer Guide Best Buy list.
We are.
Are you ready to keep going?
Now that I've had a kill break, I am ready to keep going.
Did you say a kill break or kale break?
Kale.
Yeah.
Okay.
Good for you.
I'm just saying kale.
Someone left a box of peanut butter Ritz crackers by my desk.
That's like kale.
Yeah.
Totally.
Totally like kale.
Just like kale.
All right.
We got through premium midsize crossovers.
Oh, we got two.
This is an interesting segment.
There's a vehicle on this list.
That's historic.
And it's still on the list.
And then there's the Lexus RX.
And the RX.
It is.
It's the original.
Luxury crossover.
It was car based.
What did that come up for?
Was it 1990?
I think it was.
Or 2000.
Yeah.
But it changed the way people thought about luxury vehicles.
And it's part of the reason that we don't sell that many sedans anymore.
But the RX is still a fantastic vehicle in its segment.
Diminished a little bit by the addition of the TX.
To the Lexus lineup.
The TX is a longer, more third row oriented electric.
I'm sorry.
Premium crossover.
But both of these vehicles do exactly what they're supposed to do,
which is be extremely refined, extremely family friendly.
And perfect for a long road trip.
And it's amazing how well Lexus does this.
And it's amazing how well Lexus does this for less money than Mercedes or
BMW.
Or Audi.
These are just refined, good looking, well finished vehicles.
You can hate the grill.
That's actually like a hobby.
Some people have that.
But ultimately.
Nice vehicle.
And if you are shopping to this segment, it's the one you want to look at.
At least look at first.
Yeah.
No, I mean, you, you can't not look at the RX.
It is definitely comfortable.
I mean, for a while there, they tried to squish a third row in there.
And I was like, yeah, I, I'm the size of a 10 year old.
I can't fit back there.
There's, there, there's no point in even trying.
And so, you know, that's why they brought out the TX,
which has a lot more space and room and all that.
But the, the.
I just, I just really appreciate the RX for its overall ride and handling.
It's not sporty.
Let's, let's be clear about that.
It is definitely, you know, if you want sporty, you need to go to the BMW,
Audi, Mercedes.
This, this is definitely luxurious and a little bit floaty and just comfortable.
It's great for the highway.
It's great for long drives.
You know, it fits luggage for five in the back and passengers for five,
which I would say as the youngest child,
I always had to sit in that middle back seat.
Please don't do that.
Get the three row vehicle if you're going to have three kids.
But I just, I don't know, I like it.
So great for four people and very, very comfortable on the highway.
Yeah.
And I've said this before,
Lexus can slap F and F sport badges on these vehicles all they want.
They're not sporty.
You're right.
They're, but they are incredibly refined.
Also on the list, the Lincoln Nautilus,
we would see more of this vehicle.
We're at not built in China.
Yeah.
And Lincoln's getting its butt kicked in every one of these because of tariffs.
And that's unfortunate because this might be the best Lincoln.
Absolutely beautiful interior.
Nice to drive available with a hybrid.
I don't know why you wouldn't go with the hybrid in this particular case.
But it does what Lincoln does so well lately with controls and with,
with, with digital readout and it does that across the dash thing.
Yeah.
So impressive.
And you would think that that's gimmicky,
but it actually works super well.
Yeah.
Just a fantastic car.
Also not in any way sporty,
but fantastic interior.
Also the revel sound system is incredible.
Yeah.
And, you know,
I think Lincoln as a brand tends to get forgotten.
And I think it shouldn't,
it should not be forgotten because it is,
it's, so I'm driving the aviator right now.
And, you know,
it took drove it to Indianapolis and back and was just again,
so impressed by the overall comfort and use the blue cruise,
which is okay, but not as good as super cruise.
But it doesn't have the same controls and tech that the Nautilus has
because the Nautilus as you mentioned has like the,
you know,
a pillar to a pillar screen that kind of spans the dash.
And you would think it's distracting or as you said,
gimmicky and it's not,
it's just functional and it makes sense and it looks really good.
And I like the tech actually, you know,
maybe I can send you the link.
I did a tech check of the Nautilus specifically digging into that
screen and how not distracting it is.
Yeah.
I don't know if we can do justice to that screen.
No.
Without showing it, but people need to check that out.
And if you're looking for a vehicle in this class,
absolutely check out the Nautilus and Ford's giving them away too.
Lincoln is giving them away because the tariff is so ridiculously high.
Speaking of Lincoln, this takes us to large SUV.
We're going to skip Lincoln for one segment,
but we're going to get back to it.
Related.
Yep. And that is the Ford Expedition.
Yes.
And we call this large SUV, not large crossover because all the vehicles in
the segment are traditional body on frame, ready to tow,
serious heavy duty vehicles that also are really passenger friendly.
But the Expedition, one of many vehicles in the segment,
all of which are very good, gets big points for relatively good fuel
economy from the EcoBoost V6.
And I'm always surprised by how good the handling is for a monstrous
vehicle.
I'm surprised by how button down this feels just driving around corners
on on ramps, things like that.
But, but roomy as it should be because it's huge, but quiet,
well, really well put together, nicely refined interior,
a lot here to like.
The Expedition is a little expensive.
Everything in this segment is, which kind of brings us to the Armada.
Nissan updated the Armada a couple of years ago,
and you don't normally see this when a car breaks into a segment,
especially a segment this profitable,
which is why people try to get into this large SUV segment.
But the Armada is actually priced considerably less expensive.
It's priced below the Expedition by about five grand.
So right there, it's worth checking out.
It also uses a turbocharged V6.
The styling might be over the top for some people,
but the interior is very, very nice.
Yeah, well, I would agree.
And both of these SUVs are quite nice.
I had the opportunity to drive the Expedition at the press preview
first, and I had the, I was able to drive both the max and the,
you know, shorter wheelbase version.
And it was really funny because we got in the max first.
And as I was driving it,
I didn't realize I was in the max because it drove so well and it was,
it drove so much smaller than the,
the sheer size of that vehicle is.
And then I had the regular Expedition at home and, you know,
living in the city,
I always play that, will it fit in my garage game?
And it fit no problem.
It was easy, easy to park in my garage.
Also in this segment,
a lot of General Motors vehicles,
including the Yukon and the Tahoe and the Suburban,
those are nice vehicles too.
They're going to be redesigned.
They're getting new engines.
So we'll talk about them when we have a better sense of what's going on
with those vehicles in this segment.
Yeah.
But not to be overlooked.
Premium large SUV with the Infinity QX80.
We could just pretend this isn't an Armada wearing nicer clothes,
but that's that is exactly with nicer clothes.
That is exactly what it is.
And it's, and it's a nice application of that.
It's good looking, nice interior,
and it comes in much less expensive than the Lincoln Navigator does.
Yeah. And you know,
what I like about the QX80 is the design.
And, you know, we had somebody on when, when I,
because I was like last year,
I had the opportunity to drive the refreshed Armada up in Detroit
and did sat during the Clip's audio presentation.
And we actually had somebody on the podcast who came in to talk about,
you know, tuning the Clip's audio and they tune for both the Armada.
And then, you know, you have different tuning for the QX80,
but, you know, the audio system in this SUV is really good.
The design is good.
The materials are really well done.
And, you know, I like the tech so much better in this refreshed version,
you know, than that weird, you know,
antiquated two-screen system that they used to have.
Yeah. Yeah. It was such a miss before.
It's nice that they finally hit.
Our other pick in this segment is the Lexus LX.
This is a little bit of a, you sound disappointed.
No, I'm just, so I'm using the mobile version of the Consumer Guide website.
Okay.
And I'm scrolling through and I was just like, hmm, okay.
You know, and I will say I like, but I don't love the LX.
I would say I like the QX80 better, but please continue.
Well, no, and there's reasons for that.
I think that any, I think consumers would have to make their own decision
in this particular case, but the LX is smaller and it is more expensive.
And these are things to consider.
The LX, however, has that sense of quality that only Lexus seems to deliver.
Everything just feels really well screwed together.
It's really quiet. It handles really well.
There's a lot here to like, including the fact that it's not quite as big
as the other vehicles in the segment.
It's just a little bit tidier.
It is, however, very expensive.
Yeah. Doesn't it start at 100,000?
It starts at 108 and goes to 117.
So it's very expensive.
You have to want this vehicle and appreciate exactly what it is to buy it.
But that said, the resale value of these are almost locked in.
So you're not going to get burned, but you are on a lot of money up front.
I like this vehicle a lot.
A little tough to justify unless you appreciate exactly what it is.
Yeah.
And then finally, the Lincoln Navigator.
We talked about that one a little bit earlier.
This is in fact a well-dressed expedition.
And that's fine because it's really well-dressed.
This has the Ravel Audio system.
Beautiful interior.
It's got that great 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 drivetrain.
That is smooth, powerful, and shockingly efficient.
Yeah.
And by shockingly efficient, I mean a vehicle that weighs 6,000 pounds to 0 to 60
in under seven seconds and still gets 17 miles to the gallon.
Hard to fault any of that.
Yeah.
And the Lincoln Navigator was always my test car of choice when my parents lived down in Florida.
And I would go home for Christmas and I would request a test vehicle so that we could all fit in the same car.
So, you know, me and my sisters, none of us have kids.
So it's just six adults getting in the car.
And my brother-in-law and my husband would always sit in the third row and fit fine.
And my brother-in-law is six feet tall.
And so, you know, I always like that if you have, you know, a family and you're trying to put adults in the back.
It is definitely a great and comfortable vehicle.
And with the power running boards, you know, my mom who, you know, has some mobility issues was actually able to get into the car without problems because she could step up in.
I hate the power running boards, but I'm like, I'm 61 and they're always exactly in my way.
Yeah.
Being being not 61 being much shorter than that.
Those running boards are not in my way because they would be much more difficult to just hike myself up into the cabin without using something like that.
Gotcha.
All right.
So this is the mid-sized pickup truck. This is currently what we used to call compact pickups.
But if you take the Ford Maverick out of the picture, there really isn't a small pickup truck.
But we picked the mid-sized pickup, the Nissan Frontier.
And I'd love to get your take on this couple of reasons for it.
One, it's incredibly affordable in the segment.
It is the last mid-sized pickup you can do for under 35 grand.
And there's a certain simplicity to the lineup too.
Just a nice V6 made it to an automatic transmission.
It's uncomplicated. There's no turbos. There's no alternate drive trains.
It's just a very simple, very well put together, fundamentally good small pickup truck.
And I would agree. I really like the Nissan Frontier.
But I have to wonder why it was the only truck that you think is worthy of this list.
This is an either-orce corner situation. If you were to pick something else and all the others are pretty good, I think you opened the door to all of them.
All of a sudden, everything's a small turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
All of them have got extreme off-road versions to offer. And it gets very complicated.
And I think that if you were shopping in this segment, you owe it to yourself to check out the other trucks.
But I want you to check out this one first.
Okay. Now, I hear what you're saying. And I would say in terms of mid-sized pickup trucks, the Nissan Frontier is certainly one that gets overlooked.
I like the styling. interior amenities. I think they did a pretty nice job there.
And you're right. I believe that this is just a quad cab single bed.
Wait, no, they do have a long wheelbase version of the Frontier.
They added that last year, I think.
But they do. It is a very simple configuration, whereas with some of the other trucks, you've got a regular cab, long bed, all of these different options in terms of how you can configure it.
Whenever I go in to configure a pickup truck, I get a little bit dizzy.
Yeah, they're crazy.
There's so many different ways you can figure it and can option it out.
And so there is something to be said for the simplicity of the Nissan Frontier.
I will say steering at lower speed. So like if you're backing into a parking spot or maneuvering through tight spaces, the steering is a little bit hard.
And from a petite driver's perspective, this is not ideal.
For me personally, it's Ford Ranger every day, all day.
But I think for most people, you're 100% right. This is exactly the truck that they should look at.
I have a Ford Ranger coming in two weeks and I'm looking forward to that.
But would you say that the Ranger, I hate to use this phrase, but we use it all the time, drives a little smaller than does the Frontier?
Yes.
Okay, that's good to know.
And I feel like it has a better turning radius as well.
And being in a city environment, turning radius is all. I need the tight turning radius.
All right, we now have to deal with a personal bit of turmoil for me.
And that's large pickup truck.
Okay.
And I'm mad at Ram.
Okay.
And what seemed like we were making, it seemed like we were making progress in terms of efficiency and technology.
And that's all dead now.
It is not all dead. It is just as well as, you know, as well.
I guess.
You know, I thought that the Hurricane engine on the Ram was amazing.
It is amazing. It's still there.
And it's less expensive by what, 5,000, 10,000?
I don't know, a lot of money. I thought it was 1,800 bucks as an option.
Oh, I thought it was more than that.
But it's less expensive than, you know, the Hemi engine and it gets more horsepower.
But, you know, I actually appreciate the fact that Ram gives people what they want.
And, you know.
Not to.
Well, but they're making it available.
And if you want a Hemi engine, go get that Hemi engine and spend more money.
You know, if you want something that has more power and better fuel efficiency,
go for the Hurricane.
Yeah. And we should talk about what we're talking about here.
And that's that Ram dropped the Hemi engine entirely from the 1,500 series,
half ton pickup trucks.
And what with their Hurricane series of engines,
which were efficient inline six cylinder engines that were very smooth,
very powerful and much more fuel efficient than the Hemi's.
And no one bought them.
So answering to market demands, the Hemi engine is back,
but we should talk about why this car, why this truck is the best buy.
And the Ram has a lot going forward, including shockingly nice interiors.
Yes.
Really good ride and handling, partly because the Ram makes use of coil spring rear suspension,
which most of the other trucks don't.
But everything here is really fundamentally good.
If you were to test drive one truck and just drive this one, I'd be okay with that.
There's just a lot here to love.
I would seriously recommend you try the six cylinder engines before committing to the Hemi,
although the Hemi is probably going to get your money back at resell value times.
So whatever.
Maybe we don't know what the future is.
You know what else this truck has that I really like?
What's that?
Adjustable pedals.
Oh, does it still?
Yes.
Ford and Ram are the only two pickup trucks that still have adjustable pedals.
Interesting.
Yep.
All right.
I tell you what, let's take a break and when we come back, we'll talk about minivans.
Awesome.
Questions or comments?
Drop us a line at carstuffatconsumerguide.com.
That's carstuffatconsumerguide.com.
Welcome back to the Car Stuff podcast.
And we're back.
This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff podcast special 2026 Best Buy episode.
Jill, we're ripping through the list.
We are.
Apparently I need to add more commentary.
Yeah.
Well, you know what?
The next segment, which is the last segment actually invites a little bit of conversation
because things have changed for 2026 and 2027 and that is minivans.
Okay.
And there's been some discussion.
And a lot of this might be just people talking, but car makers are suggesting that the minivan
is going to make a comeback partially because minivans are priced somewhat less than crossovers
and because they're so practical and generally consumers at a period of financial distress
tend to become more practical.
So we'll see what happens with that.
But there's two picks in this segment that Consumer Guide made.
And I think, well, I'll be interested to get your take.
One is kind of obvious.
And that's the Chrysler Pacifica.
Right.
This car has been around for a long time.
It is being freshened, but not very for 2027.
It's getting an all new front end.
But what this vehicle does well is what it should do well.
And it's an excellent highway car.
Great use of space, really nice on the highway.
It's quiet.
Upper trim levels are very well finished.
It's just a nice vehicle.
There is a small problem with it, and that's that the price has climbed a lot over the years.
The price of entry is now 46 grand, which is a little bit high.
And it's sort of for that reason that we have also picked the Kia Carnival.
And the Carnival, which I sometimes call the bachelor dad party pad,
partially because it's just great looking.
Yeah, it doesn't look like a minivan.
It's a great looking car, but a lot here to like.
And one of them is a base price under 40 grand and a hybrid version too,
which is pretty exciting.
Now the Pacifica was available as a hybrid.
It is no longer.
Right.
There was a plug in hybrid variant that's disappeared already for this year.
So you've got the very well dressed Pacifica or the nicely finished
and really good looking and hybrid available Kia Carnival.
Yeah.
And, you know, I mean, the Pacifica has to be a perennial favorite because,
you know, Chrysler helped pioneer or did pioneer the minivan segment.
Really good.
You know, one feature that nobody has been able to replicate yet is stow and go.
Now, if you opt for the top tier pinnacle trim, it does not have stow and go,
but you'll still have storage underneath the floor.
But the really cool thing about stow and go, and this is good for people who are buying
a minivan to move people as well as cargo is you can take those middle row seats
and dump will not dump them, but like fold them.
Easily like I can do it.
Me, my 95 pound five foot tall self can easily fold these chairs into the floor of the vehicle
and get them back out again.
You know, other minivans, you would have to physically remove those seats if you want
to use the van to haul cargo.
And I just I find that to be a uniquely awesome feature.
And, you know, if you're not going to stow the seats, you can just use it to store stuff
so that people don't see what you have lying around in your minivan,
whether it's a diaper bag or a computer bag.
So people people don't need to see your stuff.
And but the, you know, those stow and go seats, I think are worth their weight in gold.
And I think that is one of the highest selling points for that vehicle.
I am I am of two minds of stow and go.
Okay.
I think there are people who see so and go fully appreciate what it is and make use of
it all the time.
And I think there are people that fill those basins in the floor with crap like pool toys
and never, ever use stow and go again.
But you've got the space for the pool toys.
I guess.
But for people who don't know, stone goes a wonderful tool.
If you need the versatility where that involves passenger space and cargo space,
because the second row seats disappear completely into the floor.
And then that's.
Yep.
And the third row also.
So what you have is just a giant, a giant load floor without having to lift anything
heavy out of the vehicle.
And having known people who own Chrysler Dodge Plymouth crossover.
I'm sorry.
Minivan's going way back.
Those seats were heavy.
Yes.
They're heavy.
I worked for a company where we sometimes had to boost stuff around and we had a corporate
minivan.
It was Tom's, Tom was the big guy.
Hey, Tom, can you get the seat out of here?
And it's like, no, I don't want to do this.
Yeah.
It was, it was hard.
It was heavy.
It was hard to find a place to stick the stupid seeds.
So it's a wonderful function to have, but I think that some people never make use of
it and they're paying for something they may not need.
And like I said, go get a Kia Carnival.
Yep.
Get the Kia Carnival.
Very nice car, very nice interior, but I like both very much.
And the carnival is still affordable.
Now the other vehicles in this segment are worth knowing about.
Honda still sells the Odyssey.
We just learned that Honda is not going to update the Odyssey much anytime soon as part
of their, their program to, to focus on core vehicles because they spent a lot of money
on electric vehicles that they recently chose not to try to sell anymore.
And of course you've got the Toyota Sienna, which well worth knowing about for a bunch
of reasons, all hybrid available, all will drive lot there to like, including good
resell values, not very excited inside, not very much fun to drive, but an excellent
pick and kind of a no-brainer if you're a Toyota fan.
Yes.
Yeah.
Which minivan would you buy if you had to buy a minivan?
Which one would you buy?
I might go with the Kia.
I might go with the Kia.
Here's the thing about that minivans.
People should know this.
We're talking about new cars.
Minivans are available relatively affordably used.
Yeah.
Some of them get dumped into rental fleets and that helps bring the price down.
So if you are looking for a minivan and you find them expensive new, consider a one or
two or three year old minivan and see what you can find out there.
The bad news is every one of them is going to be white or silver.
The goodness is they're probably going to be pretty affordable.
Yeah.
And I would agree with you.
I would probably also choose the Kia Carnival, but not the hybrid.
I didn't love the hybrid powertrain, just me.
I actually did.
Okay.
I didn't love it.
And to me, it felt still a little bit clunky.
But I like the tech.
I lean very heavily into tech and the Kia Carnival has all the latest and greatest.
It is the most modern of the minivans out there.
So if you want all of the cool screens and apps and functionality like the Carnival is
it now, I mean, all of the other minivans have things and they have screens and they
have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and things like that.
But for me, the way that the Carnival is set up is just the best.
Yeah.
One more thing about the Pacifica too, and I want to give it its due for one particular
thing.
It is unrivaled on the highway.
There are a few vehicles that ride better, ride more quietly or just cover highway miles
better than a Pacifica.
It is the perfect long haul vehicle.
And if you are given to taking the kids on long trips frequently over the summer, this
could be your vehicle.
The refinement on the highway is unrivaled.
It's so good.
Okay.
All right.
Great.
We got through the list and we have a couple of minutes left and there's a story here.
No, we didn't get through the list.
We didn't.
No.
Do I need to remind you you didn't get to small cars?
Oh, thank you.
And mid-sized cars?
We haven't got through it all.
My schedule is completely thrown off now.
Sorry.
I'd wanted to get to this Delandis news story.
Okay, well we can hustle through the rest of this.
We don't have to hustle.
Okay.
We don't have to hustle.
But yeah, small cars.
I've heard of those.
Like we are not done.
Oh, there's a very obvious choice obviously in the small car list that,
that almost can never be forgotten.
And that of course is the Honda Civic.
It for decades has been a perfect small car.
Still really is.
The only problem with the Civic is the price has gotten a little bit high for
what it is.
But other than that, super likable.
The Kia K4 new, newly available as a cool hatch.
Nice car, base price under 25 grand.
So I like that vehicle for people a lot.
I just drove that.
I fit in it just fine.
My fuel economy was good.
It's nicely screwed together.
People should know about this car.
I mean,
people aren't talking about compact cars anymore and they should be.
Especially in a period of time where people are trying to figure out how to
save money on new car purchases.
Well, consider a car.
Don't have to go crossover.
Finally, one of our picks is gone already.
The Nissan Versa.
And I was going to ask, like why Versa not Sentra?
Simply because of limited access to the, to the Sentra at the time.
Got it.
Okay.
I've since driven the Sentra and I'm very high on that vehicle.
Okay.
It is, it is roomy.
It is affordable.
And it's a lot of car for under 30 grand or about 30 grand.
The Versa is gone.
Consider the Sentra.
Consider the Sentra.
Exactly.
A mid-sized car.
Toyota has decided to make this decision really easy for people.
The Camry is still available.
It could still be had for around 30 grand,
though you're probably going to end up spending about 35 grand for it.
What?
Standard hybrid drivetrain.
Really roomy interior.
Unbelievably good highway mileage.
Nice on the highway refined.
Everything you might want in a car, except maybe a super nice interior.
It's a good interior.
But this is a fantastic car.
And then finally, personal favorite.
I actually want to buy one of these.
That's the highest endorsement I can give it.
The Toyota Crown and Crown Signia.
These are more or less replacements for the Toyota Avalon.
And that they are somewhat larger and roomier than the Camry.
And then they have the slightly higher H.
Point to the hip point.
Making it easier for older people and seniors to get in and out of.
No one ever tells you that a car is for old people.
This kind of is.
Which is why you want to buy it, right?
Kinda.
But actually great looking, very practical, fun to drive.
And the Signia, the wagon version.
That is good looking.
Yeah, I do like both of these cars,
but I did not love the interiors for price.
No, and Toyota has been in that position now for a few years,
where for the money,
you might expect slightly nicer interior materials.
But that said, the interiors are nicely screwed together.
I mean, the vehicle feels high quality.
Just maybe more padded surfaces, you know, but whatever.
That's a Toyota.
And now you just have one category left.
And now I have one.
Yeah, yeah.
And this one's sad.
Are you prepared to be sad with me?
I am sad.
Premium large car, the Lexus LS.
I feel like you need to play taps.
We do, because that car is going away.
Also, I think this car is already just gone.
There were 250 heritage additions being built for 2026.
And I think they're gone.
So I don't know if we should have this conversation or not,
or just move on.
I'm sad.
Do we just divert our eyes?
Maybe, maybe just, yeah, look away.
I will say I recently had the opportunity to drive the new Lexus ES.
And I can't tell you what I think just yet.
The embargo doesn't lift until the 27th,
but I will say that I can see them trying to fill some space that
the LS is departing and the ES is trying to capture some of that.
Yeah, I'm super interested in the new ES.
The ES used to sort of define Lexus in the same way that the
Lexus RX crossover did.
Just very refined, very roomy, very passenger focused,
not in any way sporty, but just this wonderful luxury conveyance.
I used to call it the ultimate realtors car.
It would just be the perfect thing to haul people around in.
But the LS is gone.
This was their big car.
It used to compete with the Lexus, I'm sorry, the Mercedes S class,
the BMW 7 series.
But as we've talked about recently on the podcast,
that segment has disappeared.
Yeah.
It's gone.
Lexus is abandoning that segment.
The legendary LS is disappearing.
And I think it's gone gone.
I don't think you can find any anymore.
So goodbye LS.
Shedding a tear.
Yeah.
All right.
Now we're done.
Now we're done.
That was 32 vehicles and 13 classes.
We have about 10 minutes to talk about the very interesting news out of
Stellantis.
Have you checked this out?
I've heard bits and pieces.
I was a bit out of pocket last week and over the weekend,
but I was listening to automotive news and some of the things that
they were having to say about it on their daily drive podcast.
It's interesting because it sort of codifies things a little bit.
And my worst fears that Chrysler and Dodge might soon disappear seem
to be without merit.
I'm like unfounded told you.
Unfounded.
Yep.
Yep.
I was wrong.
Can you say that again?
I was wrong.
Thank you.
I'm married.
I say that all the time.
Now can we teach my husband how to say that?
I can't.
Sorry.
Some interesting news here.
If we go to Chrysler, the Pacifica sticks around.
We talked about how that was already refreshed for 2027,
but two new products coming,
three new products coming from Chrysler that are promised.
We don't know much about them.
They seem to be crossovers.
One called the airflow,
one called the arrow and one called the arrow cross.
Go ahead.
I was going to say the airflow.
We've seen a concept of that for many years,
whether or not it will be the same thing or not.
TBD.
Yeah, I don't know.
The airflow concept was weird.
This looks very much like it's under.
We're looking at drawings of these vehicles under wraps.
Yeah.
So all we know is the shape,
but I think that Chrysler is bringing three crossovers to market.
One of them will be mid-sized.
Two of them will be small.
They're promising that the small ones will come in under 40 grand.
That's exciting.
So we'll see where these go.
Airflow, of course, is a legendary name in the Chrysler Lexicon.
It goes way, way back to the 30s when they were selling these ridiculously
beautiful aerodynamic and just these design heavy cars that they could not give away.
They were way, way ahead of their time, but legendary for their design.
Very art deco, very cool.
So it's nice to see that name come back.
Yeah.
Interesting stuff here at Jeep.
Jeep seems to be doubling down on the Wrangler name.
Okay.
And they've, on this chart, they have the Wrangler,
the two door vehicle that we've known in love for decades.
And they're calling the four door unlimited again,
which they got away from.
Okay.
So the Wrangler, the Wrangler Unlimited,
which is just the four door Wrangler,
the Wrangler Gladiator that we didn't call that Wrangler before.
We just called it Gladiator.
So a certain amount of reinforcement of that.
And then I don't know what this is going to be.
The Wrangler Scrambler.
And Scrambler was a pickup truck based on the Wrangler back in the 80s.
It was really cool looking.
I wonder if it's going to be a compact pickup because it seems Ram is bringing
out the Rampage, which is a compact truck.
Okay.
That makes some sense.
So you're thinking they'll call, they'll use the name Wrangler,
but it'll actually be a subcompact or I'm not a subcompact,
but a true compact pickup.
Yeah.
Either that or I could see it hitting more of the Renegade size.
So compact version of the Wrangler.
But to me, because they're bringing back the Rampage,
I think that the compact pickup truck makes more sense.
Yeah.
The Rampage of course,
going to be the new small Dodge pickup.
Yeah.
So they're bringing back the Dakota and the Rampage, right?
Yeah.
Dakota.
We now know that the midsize pickup is going to be called Dakota.
No brainer.
Yeah.
But then Rampage,
which I think everyone would have guessed it's just a name that Dodge
had lying around and it's branding portfolio.
It's a great name and they use it in other countries.
So that'll be a Maverick style size pickup.
These are great things for Ram.
Ram needs more than just pickup trucks or just a full size pickup.
So the other interesting thing here at George,
the new Cherokee is out.
What's that?
I'm sorry, jeep.
Dodge Cherokee, what?
Yeah.
So that vehicle is written about.
I actually have a short review from our friend,
Ed Piatrowski already up on the website.
And then it looks like they're going ahead with the recon.
Okay.
Yeah.
Which they're not calling Wrangler.
Just recon,
but it is an electric Wrangler style off-road pickup or off-road crossover.
Yeah.
Built on the same platform as the Charger and the Wagoneer S.
That may not be long for this world.
The Wagoneer S?
No, the recon.
The Wagoneer S is going away.
The Wagoneer S has had some problems.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That didn't sell well.
It was expensive.
They lowered the price and that's already gone.
It doesn't show up here at all.
But the recon, a little bit more off-roading,
and it'll be interesting to see too,
in the aftermath of Tesla having done so poorly in selling in the Cybertruck
as an off-road vehicle,
I'm very excited to see what Jeep can do with the recon.
And I suspect it'll be a very good off-roader, but we'll see.
Right.
We have Dodge.
The Durango sticks around.
That's their mid-sized crossover.
The Charger sticks around.
No surprise there.
And then they have a vehicle called the GLH,
which is, that's a heritage name.
There was once a product, the Dodge Omni GLH.
GLH at the time stood for goes like hell.
And this looks like a sporty little crossover.
We'll see what that is.
Dodge did not have success selling the Hornet.
Small crossover.
So we'll see.
And then it looks like Dodge is bringing back a sports car.
People are talking about it as a Viper replacement.
I suspect it'll be much less expensive.
Yes.
And much less committed than that.
I think it'll be more in line with something like a Nissan Z car,
for example.
Yeah.
I could see that.
And then finally, we get to Dodge.
We talked about the RAM page.
Dodge is going to play in the Ram.
Ram, thank you.
The sub, I'm sorry, the Maverick size vehicle,
the Dakota, which they need badly.
Now that vehicle, that segment's getting a little crowded now.
Yeah.
Right.
There's a lot of trucks all of a sudden in the,
in the mid-sized pickup truck class.
Right.
And then finally, they're still going with the Ram charger.
Which is interesting, the extended range pickup truck.
We'll see.
Because there was, of course, the Ram Rev,
the Ram electric vehicle.
And at first there was going to be like a 500 mile version.
And then that got killed.
And then it was going to be like a 350 mile version.
And then that got killed. And all of a sudden there wasn't a Ram Rev
anymore.
No, the Ram Rev became the Ram charger with an electric vehicle
with a extended range, you know, powertrain.
Yeah. And that's kind of the last electric thing here.
That's that any bit of sort of innovation on their part in
terms of alternative fuel.
We'll see how that works for them.
It's supposed to answer because it's an extended range electric
vehicle.
It answers questions about range.
And one of the things that we learned from way back when,
when the F-150 Lightning was launched was that electric pickup
trucks were having a hard time with range and towing.
Does this answer that problem? Maybe.
Maybe.
Maybe.
And then finally, I don't know how many people know about this
or care, but the Promaster City is back.
This is a small version of the Promaster.
They used to sell a version of this vehicle in the U.S.
What was weird is that everyone sold these small vans for about
a minute and then gave up on them.
Chevy had the City Express, Ford had the Transit Connect.
What am I forgetting here?
Oh, and Nissan had the NV200.
I think it was.
And now the Promaster City.
But Dodge, a Ram is very serious about getting back into commercial
sales.
I think they haven't done that well.
Commercial fleet light duty truck sales are dominated in the
U.S. by Ford.
And I think Ram sees this as a chance to get back into that
segment and maybe make a little commercial money.
So we'll see how that goes.
Yes.
So we should probably talk about all this stuff with San Fierani,
someone like that, just to sort of get a handle on what all this
means.
But of all the information here, of all the stuff we just talked
about, I'm kind of interested in this reasserting of the Wrangler
name.
Yes.
I think that's interesting.
I think they think maybe they lost their way a little bit.
I don't know.
But I'm really interested to see what the Wrangler Scrambler is.
And I think you're right.
I think that could be a small truck.
Just a guess.
I'm pulling back into my pickup truck plus SUV talk routes for
that one.
Yeah, I hadn't thought of that because I couldn't figure out
what that would be otherwise.
But Scrambler is a good name for a small truck.
So there you go.
Yeah.
And it's a heritage name and people remember it fondly.
So it's exciting.
Could be something fun.
All right.
Guess what we did.
I think we over talked this week, but it was a good show.
I certainly over talked.
I'm tired.
All right.
I need to talk nap.
Yes.
I need to kill nap.
I need to sit down and watch some, some gun smoke.
But really, who doesn't.
This girl, this girl does not.
All right.
Anything else going on, Joe?
Nope.
I, you know, I think we've got a lot of good stuff to talk about
next week and to follow up on next week.
Sounds good.
All right.
Big thanks to producer Margaret.
Thank you, Jill.
This has been the consumer guide car stuff podcast.
Let's talk more about cars again next week.
Next week.
Remember to check us out at consumer guide.com.
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Please drop us a line at car stuff at consumer guide.com.
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Thank you for listening.
About this episode
Memorial Day in Chicago sets the tone as the hosts walk through Consumer Guide’s long-running Best Buy picks and why “large car” categories have basically vanished. They break down the 2026 list’s scope—32 vehicles across 13 classes—and then zoom into practical shopping: affordability at ~$50,000, compact crossovers, and family-friendly minivans with Stow ’n Go. The conversation also covers EV and tariff fallout, plus truck and luxury SUV recommendations.
This week's episode is dedicated to the 2026 Consumer Guide Best Buy pics. In total, 32 vehicles in 13 individual categories are covered. You can check out the complete 2026 Best Buy list here. For a look further back, click here for the 2025 Best Buy list.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
