The hosts kick off with a funny debate about whether USB drives degrade over time, then swap real-life electronics mishaps—like a key fob surviving a wave pool and the practicalities of drying/washing fobs. The main reviews cover the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox and the 2026 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The Equinox earns praise for styling, cabin design, space, and usable AWD, but gets criticized for infotainment/controls, voice-command login requirements, and a somewhat underwhelming turbo feel. The Sonata Hybrid is praised for standout design, comfort, and features, but criticized for a dated-feeling hybrid powertrain and less-than-exciting driving smoothness. They also discuss the shrinking sedan and hybrid markets.
The Unnamed Automotive Podcast has a couple of car reviews this week to share, but not before discussing things like wet keyfobs, pond entry/exit, and Canadian Tire clearance sales! The show eventually gets to the point and Benjamin reviews the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox. Not the electric one, but the gas model that faces off against a meaty segment full of favorites like the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and Ford Bronco Sport. Benjamin has a lot to say about Chevy's plucky crossover, and Sami has a few things to add, but is this oft-forgotten rival worth checking out in such a crowded segment?
Then Sami shares his review of the 2026 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, one of the few sedans out there, and with its own fair share of pros and cons. How can one reasonably pick this over something like the Camry or Accord? Sami explains where the Sonata sings and where it falls flat. Thanks for listening!
"Yeah, of course. I did it one time with a Prius V. And this was a car key fob."
The Toyota Prius is a car that uses both a gas engine and an electric motor. That combination helps it use less fuel than many regular cars. The podcast mentions it because someone washed the Prius key fob.
The Toyota Prius is a compact hybrid car known for using an electric motor alongside a gasoline engine to improve fuel economy. It’s often discussed because it helped popularize mainstream hybrid ownership. In the podcast, it comes up in the context of a key fob being washed, which is a common real-world scenario for owners.
A key card is like a modern “key” that you keep in your pocket or bag. The car can recognize it when you’re near, so you can unlock the doors without taking out a key.
A key card is a proximity-access credential used for locking/unlocking and sometimes starting a vehicle without inserting a traditional key. Many modern cars use this kind of system to make daily access easier.
"I hang it up in the locker so it can like drip dry. [188.7s] Oh, yeah, that's the way most electronics need to be."
“Drip dry” means you let the device dry by letting water run off, instead of using a hair dryer or heater. That helps prevent damage to the electronics inside.
“Drip dry” is a practical drying approach for electronics: let water drain off naturally rather than forcing heat. For key fobs and phones, excessive heat can warp plastic housings or damage internal seals and electronics.
"So the Equinox is the entry level SUV for Chevrolet. If you if you need all wheel drive, because there's there's a sub... And then you have the Equinox, which is larger than both of those two vehicles."
The Chevrolet Equinox is one of Chevrolet’s smaller SUVs, but it’s bigger than their tiniest SUV options. Think of it as the “step up” SUV in the lineup.
The Chevrolet Equinox is Chevrolet’s entry-level SUV in this lineup. In the compact-SUV segment, it sits above smaller subcompact models like the Chevrolet Trax and Chevrolet Trailblazer.
"The trailblazer is the next thing you can buy, which is another subcompact. It's another subcompact, but it's different... Whereas if you know, but philosophically, a tracks is a lifted hatchback... a trailblazer is trying to be a small SUV in the sense that it's chunkier looking."
The Chevrolet Trailblazer is a small SUV that’s meant to be tougher-looking than the smaller Trax. It’s basically the next size up in Chevrolet’s SUV lineup.
The Chevrolet Trailblazer is positioned as the next step up from the Trax, described as a subcompact SUV. The speaker contrasts it with the Trax’s “lifted hatchback” philosophy, saying the Trailblazer aims to look and feel more rugged.
"They made an electric version, the Equinox EV, again, totally different platform."
The Chevrolet Equinox EV is the electric version of the Equinox nameplate. The speaker notes it uses a totally different platform, which is important because EVs often have different packaging, weight distribution, and driving characteristics than gas models.
"If you want to get weirder, you can also get a blazer, which is kind of midsize, but also kind of not because the true midsize is the Traverse, which is their three row option."
The Chevrolet Blazer is another Chevrolet SUV. They’re saying it’s hard to tell whether it’s “midsize” or “compact” because the sizes of these SUVs keep getting bigger.
The Chevrolet Blazer is a crossover SUV that GM markets as a midsize option, but its size can overlap with what some shoppers think of as “compact.” The hosts are pointing out how confusing the naming and sizing have become across the crossover lineup.
"which is kind of midsize, but also kind of not because the true midsize is the Traverse, which is their three row option. So no, it's massive, though."
The Chevrolet Traverse is a bigger Chevrolet SUV with three rows of seats. They’re using it as the example of what they consider a real midsize family SUV.
The Chevrolet Traverse is GM’s three-row midsize crossover, positioned above smaller two-row crossovers. The hosts use it to explain their idea of what “true midsize” should mean—especially compared to the Blazer.
"It still has that chunky look. It still has that Bronco Sport. We can go anywhere we want to go as long as there's a dirt road."
The Ford Bronco Sport is a small SUV that’s marketed for outdoor adventures. In this conversation, it’s being used as a style comparison for the Equinox’s rugged look.
The Ford Bronco Sport is a compact SUV designed with an outdoors-focused image and available off-road-oriented features. Here, the host compares the Equinox’s “chunky” styling to the Bronco Sport’s look, not necessarily its actual capability.
"So it's a it's a turbo for some torque, apparently. ... So this is a turbo so that the torque band is lower..."
A turbocharger is a device that helps the engine make more power by forcing extra air into it. In this segment, it’s discussed as a way to get stronger torque without revving as high.
A turbocharger uses exhaust energy to spin a compressor, forcing more air into the engine for more power. Here, the host is discussing the Equinox’s “turbo for some torque” and how that affects the torque curve compared with naturally aspirated engines.
"There's I'm in the season of frost heaps right now. The roads are very uneven because the roads are all thawing at different rates."
Frost heaves are those lumpy bumps you get when the ground freezes and thaws. They can make the ride feel rough and cause the car to bounce.
“Frost heaves” are bumps and uneven pavement caused by freeze-thaw cycles in the ground. As the roadbed expands and contracts, it can create persistent lumps that make cars bounce and feel unsettled.
"The steering is somewhat heavy. It's not a handler."
Heavy steering means it takes more effort to turn the wheel. That can feel steady when driving fast, but it can be tiring when parking or driving slowly.
“Heavy” steering means higher effort is required to turn the wheel, which can be due to steering assist calibration, steering geometry, or tire grip. It can feel more stable at speed but less effortless in low-speed maneuvers.
"But nitpicking, I don't like the fact that light controls are in the infotainment system now. This is true of a lot of general."
The infotainment system is the big screen in the car that runs the menus. If the headlight controls are inside that screen, it can take more steps than using a simple button.
The infotainment system is the car’s main screen and software interface for media, navigation, phone, and increasingly vehicle settings. When light controls move into it, you may need extra taps/menus instead of using a dedicated physical switch.
"If you have Android Auto attached, for example, there's two ways to access voice commands in this vehicle."
Android Auto lets you connect your Android phone to the car so you can use things like maps and voice control on the car’s screen. In this segment, the key point is that voice commands work differently depending on whether you’re using the car’s built-in system or Android Auto.
Android Auto is a smartphone-to-car system that mirrors compatible apps and features onto a vehicle’s infotainment screen. It can also handle voice commands through the phone’s connection, depending on how the car’s software is set up.
"The cargo area is also perfectly fine, no issues there. The load floor is at a good level as well."
The load floor is the bottom of the trunk where you place items. If it’s at a good height, it’s easier to load and unload your stuff.
The “load floor” is the height of the cargo floor relative to the ground and the trunk opening. A lower or well-positioned load floor makes loading easier and can reduce how much you have to lift items.
"because I think, you know, as always, I think GM's major, major killer feature in any of its vehicles is Super Cruise."
GM stands for General Motors, the company that makes cars like Chevrolet. In this segment, they’re saying GM’s Super Cruise is a big selling point.
GM is General Motors, the automaker behind brands like Chevrolet and Cadillac. In this discussion, the host frames GM’s Super Cruise as a major differentiator that can influence how much buyers are willing to pay.
"Tucson comes with a hybrid powertrain and so does the Kia version, the Sportage."
The Hyundai Tucson is a compact SUV. Here it’s brought up because it’s offered with a hybrid option.
The Hyundai Tucson is a compact SUV referenced as having a hybrid powertrain. This matters because hybrid variants can change the driving feel, packaging, and fuel-economy focus compared with the standard gas-only setup.
"and so does the Kia version, the Sportage. I think the Nissan Rogue is gonna come with a hybrid."
The Kia Sportage is another compact SUV. The point here is that it also offers a hybrid version.
The Kia Sportage is mentioned as offering a hybrid powertrain alongside the Hyundai Tucson. In the compact-SUV segment, hybrid availability is a key differentiator for buyers focused on efficiency and lower fuel costs.
"What was the plug-in hybrid Cadillac? I think there was a CT6 PHEV, wasn't there? ... But not a plug-in hybrid."
A plug-in hybrid is part electric and part gas. You can plug it in to charge the battery, and it can still use gas when you need more range.
A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) combines a gasoline engine with an electric motor and a battery you can charge externally. This lets the car drive on electricity for shorter trips, while still having the long-range flexibility of a gas engine.
"We have talked about that stupid truck so much, that Maverick, sorry, I shouldn't call it stupid."
The Ford Maverick is a smaller pickup truck that was meant to be relatively affordable. The hosts are saying that even though it started cheap, the price went up.
The Ford Maverick is a compact pickup marketed as an affordable, mainstream truck. The conversation highlights how its “affordable” positioning can be undermined by price increases over time.
"You know, whether or not you want a Sierra or a Pacifica [2355.6s] or an Odyssey or a Carnival, right?"
The Kia Carnival is a minivan from Kia. It’s aimed at families and competes with other popular minivans, often with a focus on value and features.
The Kia Carnival is a mainstream minivan that competes with the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna by offering a family-friendly layout and strong value. It’s often discussed as a more stylish alternative within the minivan segment.
"And especially in the hybrid segment [2380.1s] where you can get those in multiple trim levels."
The hybrid segment means cars that use both a gas engine and an electric system to improve fuel economy. When hybrids come in many trim levels, shoppers have more choices to match their needs.
The hybrid segment is the portion of the market where buyers prioritize fuel economy and reduced gasoline use. In this context, the speaker notes that hybrids are offered across multiple trims, which affects how shoppers compare options and pricing.
"okay, here's a body on-frame vehicle. It has to look this way, but it's disappointing. It has to fit these proportions with the new platform."
Body-on-frame means the car has a sturdy “skeleton” frame underneath, and the body sits on top. It’s often used on trucks, and it can make it harder to make the shape look as sleek as unibody designs.
A body-on-frame vehicle uses a separate structural frame with the body mounted on top. This architecture is common on trucks and some SUVs because it can handle heavy-duty use, but it can also constrain how designers package proportions and styling.
"I think there's nothing really modern about this powertrain,
[2861.8s] which is probably the worst thing I can say about it."
The powertrain is everything that provides motion—like the gas engine, electric parts, and the gear system. The speaker is saying it doesn’t feel like the newest technology.
“Powertrain” is the combined set of components that make the car move—engine, electric motor(s), transmission, and related control systems. The speaker’s critique is that the Sonata Hybrid’s powertrain doesn’t feel especially modern.
"somebody who has somebody who has to you know, chuck a kid into a car seat or put a stroller into the trunk,"
A car seat is the child safety seat you install in a vehicle. The speaker is talking about how the car’s height and trunk access can make it easier or harder to use.
A child safety seat (“car seat”) is central to the speaker’s practicality argument. Vehicle height and seat/trunk access affect how much bending and lifting are required when putting a child in or out.
"or put a stroller into the trunk, not having a large like that carrying"
The trunk is the storage area in the back of the car. How high it is and how it opens can make loading things easier or harder.
The trunk is where the speaker is focusing the practicality comparison. Trunk height, opening size, and access angle can strongly influence how easy it is to load bulky items like strollers.
"I think that’s what I want to talk about. I want more sedans."
A sedan is a car with a separate trunk. The host is saying they want more of them because they can be easier to live with than SUVs for some people.
Sedans are being discussed as an alternative to SUVs, especially for comfort and ease of use. The speaker’s point is that sedan packaging and access can reduce strain during daily routines like loading a child seat.
"Reach out to us or your key fobs or your key fob. If you have your pond, if you have a key fob lost story"
A key fob is the small remote you use to lock/unlock your car. The host is inviting people to share stories about key fobs, like losing one or having trouble with it.
Key fobs are the wireless remotes used to lock/unlock and often start modern cars. The episode’s call-to-action suggests listeners may share stories related to key fob issues or experiences.
Select text to request an explanation
Hello, and welcome to the Unnamed Automotive Podcast. My name is Sammy Hajisad, and with
me as always is my good friend and fellow automotive journalist, Benjamin Hunting. Say
hi to the people, Ben.
Sammy just hit me with some disturbing knowledge. I want to ask anyone listening, do they think
that over time, USB flash drives quote unquote degrade, or do you think that it's just that
they were crappy to begin with and they were only going to function for a certain amount
of time anyway?
What is the difference between that if they function if they only function over a period
of time?
No, because I'm degrading.
No, because I've had some USB drives that I got brand new that didn't work very well.
So that's what they are.
But to me, that's a quality control problem. But you're suggesting that as like, as I have
some pretty nice brand named one that that no longer works anymore. I don't know what
happened with it.
Well, it could be that you just don't use it properly. Have you thought about that?
We mean, but don't use it properly.
I don't know.
I shouldn't be using it in the fire pit that I have. My USB powered fire pit.
Not in the fire pit, not in the pool. Have you ever?
I cannot. I cannot fathom a life where I do not use my USB stick in the pool. Okay.
Have you ever brought it? Have you ever brought a key fob in the pool?
Yeah, of course.
I did it one time with a Prius V.
And this was a car key fob.
What did you think I meant?
My old place, we used to have like fobs to get into in and out of the door, right?
Oh, I don't I don't live in a fancy city like you.
And a key card kind of thing.
No, I'm talking about like, sorry, we're not all living in the future, Sammy.
No, I'm no big city chicken, but okay.
Yeah. So I would I had a Prius V and that means it must have been like
2013 or 2014, a long time ago.
And I went to this place called.
I can't remember what it's called now.
The story is going so well.
You don't have a time. You don't know the place.
I had an onion in my belt.
You barely know the key, pardon?
I had an onion in my belt, which was the style at the time.
Yeah, that narrows it down.
No, it was this giant water park, Calliope or Calypso.
Calypso, it's a water park between Ottawa and Montreal.
And I had the key in the pocket of my swimsuit.
I don't know why. That doesn't make any sense.
Like, why would I have transferred it from the pocket of my pants
to the pocket of my swimsuit?
You're worried that somebody would would would steal your pants
while in the from the locker or whatever.
I guess I think maybe I had like the key to the locker.
Yeah. And I also clipped in this.
Anyway, the story is I went in a wave pool,
like one of those big wave pools, and I'm in this wave pool
and I feel something hidden against my leg and I'm like, what's that?
And I reach in. Always concerning.
I reach in and it's this Prius V key fob.
And I'm like, oh, no, we're so far away from home.
That was my first thought.
I get back. I get out of the pool.
I go to the locker room.
I hang it up in the locker so it can like drip dry.
Oh, yeah, that's the way most electronics need to be.
Yeah, that's what they say.
They recommend you drip dry anything.
Do not do not like do not like lay flat to dry.
If you drop your phone in the sink, you're supposed to drip dry it.
So I always checking the tag on my key fob.
Yeah, you don't want to use too much heat when you're drying it.
It'll shrink and then you can't get in your car.
Ben, you know what I just made?
That's the side of me realizing how many listeners we've lost already.
If you shrink a key fob, the signal is too small
and it's not big enough to pop the lock anymore.
That's a problem.
So long story short, the key fob worked fine and I was OK.
But that's the only time I've ever done that.
You have to spend the night at the water park.
I hid inside one of the big tubes.
They made a movie.
Yeah, I hid inside one of the tubes until they turned off the water.
And then I got it. I took a nap.
That's also the last time I've been to a water park.
Of course, I knew I was going to ask.
This is why you haven't gone to any water parks with me lately.
So I've transferred my swimming from like the fecal matter
infested water parks of the past to the questionably
infested with things I don't know about pond that I have in my backyard.
Yes. I need to get a ladder.
Sammy recently sent me this really great website.
What's it for for for bargains, Sammy?
What's it called?
It was only for Canadian Tire clearance.
It's still pretty good.
It checks the it checks the stock of your local Canadian Tire for their clearance.
How do you explain Canadian Tire to people who don't know what a Canadian Tire?
A Canadian Tire is it's just a department store,
a large department store that has an automotive component.
So it also has the wire.
Like when things are on sale at Canadian Tire, they're really on sale.
Like they have to get rid of them within minutes.
Like I don't know the way they're still working.
He sends me the first thing I check my local one.
The first thing that comes up is a $250 chandelier that's being sold for $10.
I'm not even kidding.
Like after you sent me that, I immediately checked my local one.
They don't have any.
They don't have any chandeliers.
So it sounds like we're exaggerating, but Canadian Tire, like they think it's got to go.
Like they just slash, slash, slash.
So there's a lot of cool stuff there.
But the reason I'm bringing this up is because getting into my pond is not a problem
because it's a pond I can jump into it.
But getting out, it has like a sloped, gravelly kind of bank.
And it's hard.
And it's weird on my feet because there's all sorts of like creatures and stuff.
So I found a pool, a pool ladder that's intended for an above ground pool.
It's like an A frame ladder.
And I think if I just assemble like three quarters of it, I can dig it into the ground
and then use it to get in and out of my pond.
So it won't look good, but it will be functional.
I have not gone swimming with a key fob.
But similarly, with a Toyota Corolla hybrid key fob, I washed it.
I was in my jeans when I when I did the laundry and I washed it and dried it.
And nothing else.
That's fine then.
Yeah, and everything was OK.
I panicked, though.
So for those of you, are we going to do anything from our normal
intro, do you want to plug your latest publications or anything like that?
Sure, you can find my work at ponds.ca pond life dot com and ultra pond dot are you?
What about your your thing you just sent me?
There's a website that you told me dead air comic dot com.
Oh, yeah, I forget about that.
So I have a new comic book coming out.
The issue is forget about it.
Because I'm in an automotive headspace.
Clearly, we've been talking about ponds.
So like that must mean it's a car podcast.
You I have a new comic book coming out as issue three in the Dead Air series
that I've written two other books on.
A lot of you in the past have supported us on Kickstarter, and it really means a lot.
You can do that again.
If you would like to, it's launching on April 28th, but the pre pre launch
page is live right now.
You can click to be notified on the pre launch page.
Dead air comic dot com.
If you go there and click notify to be sorry, notify me when this goes live.
That helps us out a lot because Kickstarter actually uses the number
of people who are watching or listed for a project to move their algorithm
when it goes live and gets it in front of more eyeballs.
So dead air comic dot com.
You can see the third issue of our comic that's coming out.
And I'll talk more about it over the coming month as we lead up to it.
OK, I won't.
I won't bump any of the publications that I've written for
because we've already taken up way too much of the intro
with conversation about other things, but the people come to this show
to listen to reviews, mostly of cars.
And we've got some cars to review, right, Ben?
That's right, including a car that we've never ever talked about on the podcast before.
Never ever talked about.
We've talked about the electric version, but the electric version is completely different.
It's like just the same name, essentially.
This is, of course, the Chevrolet Equinox.
Of course. What else could it be?
That's a good question.
I don't know. I would say Equinox, but if you want to.
I mean, if you want to be fancy in front of your city friends,
you could say Equinox, Sammy.
I think it wasn't easy.
They should have been it should have been like Equinox.
Well, you just killed the levels on the podcast.
They really hurt myself on that.
I apologize to everyone who has to buy new headphones.
So this is a Chevrolet.
You would you would be able to pick it up at a Chevrolet dealership
if you were going to buy one of these based on Ben's review that he's going to provide.
Is that it? Is that I'm supposed to pick that up and run with that?
Yeah, of course.
So the Equinox is the entry level SUV for Chevrolet.
If you if you need all wheel drive, because there's there's a sub.
What happened to the trailblazer?
Is the trailblazer still available?
Is it still available?
I'm going to I didn't think it was, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm right.
I'm checking it right now.
I'm still there. It's still there because it's a little confusing for Chevrolet
because there's a tracks, which is the entry entry level.
And that's the compact.
Yeah, that's more of a of a hatchback that's been lifted up.
Yes.
The trailblazer is the next thing you can buy, which is another subcompact.
It's another subcompact, but it's different.
Whereas if you know, but philosophically, a tracks is a lifted hatchback.
Yeah, a trailblazer is trying to be a small SUV in the sense that it's chunkier looking.
It doesn't drive quite as well as the tracks from what I remember.
OK, but it's supposed to be more rugged.
And then you have the Equinox, which is larger than both of those two vehicles.
It's a compact.
They made an electric version, the Equinox EV, again, totally different platform.
If you want to get weirder, you can also get a blazer,
which is kind of midsize, but also kind of not because the true midsize is the
Traverse, which is their three row option.
So no, it's massive, though.
It's a very large three row.
So it is all the blazer midsize, for sure.
It's it's it's confusing because some people would put a blazer up against, say, a RAV four.
No way. That's what that's all that's off.
That's offside. I don't like that.
You think so because the size of all these vehicles keeps going up.
Yeah, the sizes of these things don't make any sense.
In fact, you mentioned to me that you you looked at like a website's
like definitive ranking of all of the compact crossovers.
And they had like 18 of them, including like three from a single brand
that were definitely like not in the same.
Yeah, you're seeing stuff like the Sportage and the Tucson and, you know.
But that's what I would say the Equinox really competes against,
like the RAV four, the the the Tucson, the Rogue, the CRV, that like meaty
compact crossover segment.
And we call it compact because apparently we haven't changed our views
on what cars were from the 90s, right?
And Chevrolet, it's odd that they're offering like two subcompacts.
You know, like not many automakers do that.
I don't think Ford even has a current subcompact.
I don't think so either.
I think the only one that with multiple subcompact must be Kia with
the Celtos and the Nero.
And that's a similar kind of situation because the Celtos is again
a lifted hatchback, right?
From we'll drive only.
No, no, I would call the Nero.
Sorry, the Nero is more of like a lifted hatchback.
No, the Celtos is is very much, in my opinion, the Celtos is a non SUV.
You're wild.
The Celtos is based on the Kona.
I would say it's more.
Oh, did I get that confused?
I'm thinking of the one that I think you're swapped, which is the one
that's based on the venue.
I don't know, because the venue is is I don't know if there's a Kia
that's based on the venue, because the Hyundai, Hyundai venue is like the tracks.
It's like the same kind of thing.
It's like from we'll drive basic transportation.
These are all the vehicles we got because hatchbacks no longer exist, right?
Hatchbacks like in quotations, air quotes do not exist when the tracks
is clearly and the kicks is clearly and the Kona and the venue are all kind of basically.
And then you look at like if you go back to Chevrolet, they also have a
bolt right now and I say right now, because it's like what, a single model
of your vehicle?
Yeah, yeah, this is this is ready to go soon.
But then there's also like things like the Corolla Cross.
Do you really call that a crossover or like is it just a better Corolla hatchback?
Right?
I don't think it's better.
Sorry, you're right.
It's it's definitely subcompact though, right?
Because even though the Corolla is a compact car, the Corolla Cross is smaller
than this than the RAV4, which is a compact SUV.
You see how like tangled our brains, our brains are completely wired to talk
about these segments that do not mean anything anymore.
No, because if you I guarantee for all the people who are listening,
no one is out there thinking like, I need a subcompact SUV.
You know, it's like you think I need a vehicle this size and then you go look
at the vehicles that are that size.
Yeah, it's it's just weird, like inside baseball types.
Absolutely.
Yeah, for sure.
So getting back to the Equinox, the other thing I want to point out.
No, no, no, like because like calling the call, like, yeah.
OK, fine, go ahead.
No, no, no, no, I want to hear it.
It's important enough to interrupt.
I want to hear it now.
The CRV is huge.
The RAV4 is massive.
The four is not huge.
The Forester is big.
And the Forester and Outback have like almost identical specifications,
but somehow they're considered different car classes, you know?
OK, but the Equinox, the thing I want to point out about the Equinox as well,
I mentioned that the tracks looks like a hatchback.
The trailblazer looks like an SUV.
The Equinox builds.
I don't think it builds on what the trailblazer has to offer,
but it's in the same headspace in terms of like, here's a ruggedish
looking SUV that is intended to look like a Tahoe or a Traverse, but smaller.
And I don't mean like they have the same mission statement.
I just mean that all of Chevrolet's true SUVs,
they've kind of adopted this aggressive chunkiness.
OK, and the Equinox, it has a lot of that, especially in the front end.
But if you look at it in profile, you also see things that are lifted
from the same game plan as the Bronco Sport, which I think is interesting
because the Equinox makes no attempt to do any offroading.
In fact, if you look at Chevrolet's lineup,
there aren't really any off-road SUVs outside of the Tahoe
until you look at like maybe the Traverse Z71.
I think that's still available.
I don't think there's an off-road version of the Blazer,
at least none that I'm familiar with.
I'm taking a look at what you can build with the Blazer now.
It just doesn't seem to be.
No, so it's the same as the Equinox.
You have an RS version, which is meant to be sporty.
Some of the lower smaller SUVs, they have an active trim level,
which is intended to be like not off-roading,
but kind of like you do outdoor sports. OK.
You know, like you you're like, oh, I can I like to go
and take a kayak somewhere or something,
but you don't get any actual off-road equipment.
So the Equinox, you can get an active version of it.
But even if you have the RS, which is what I drove,
it still has that chunky look.
It still has that Bronco Sport.
We can go anywhere we want to go as long as there's a dirt road.
Kind of look to it.
You don't really see that on the CR-V or the RAV4.
The styling is smoother, more more arrow and more car like, I think.
I think it looks really I think it works really well for the Equinox.
I think it's a good size.
I think the proportions make sense.
I don't find anything about it to be awkward.
And it's also a I mean, if you look at it in profile,
like my first thought is like, oh, this is very generic.
I'm looking at on the website in like a gray color,
which doesn't do it any favors.
But in person, it comes across much better.
And there's a lot going on styling wise.
Like it has kind of a floating roof line that maybe it doesn't need.
It has a pretty busy front end that maybe it doesn't need.
But again, that's what ties it to like the traverse
and the the Tahoe and the suburban and whatnot.
They all have that like beak like big mouth thing going on.
Inside, I was impressed by not necessarily the materials quality.
Because again, this is still an affordable car.
It starts at thirty two thousand for an all wheel drive one.
Thirty grand for front wheel drive.
The it tops out and that's in US dollars.
It tops out around thirty eight thousand dollars.
In Canada, it tops out a lot higher.
The version that I had was the RS is thirty six thousand to start with Canadian.
But with the options that I had, it went up to like forty nine grand,
which is a lot of money to pay for this particular vehicle.
But there's stuff on it you don't need.
Like the giant panoramic sunroof is two thousand dollars.
It has some questionable safety gear.
And I don't mean questionable in the sense that it didn't work,
but just questionable is I don't think I need like rear pedestrian alert
or an HD surround camera.
It's just not not really necessary. OK.
Anyway, getting back to the vehicles interior,
the design is nice like they put some effort into it.
There's some cool angles. There's some cool fabrics.
It's not it's there's plastic everywhere.
But the way that it's arranged, you you're not overwhelmed by it.
You don't realize that you're being, you know, in a sea of plastic.
They've done a good job of giving the cabin some personality.
And that's not a given when you're at this kind of this level.
And usually because these things are so like mass market
and they really gun for like really high sales figures,
like really massive sales figures, they try to make them as generic as possible.
So yeah, for sure.
They end up being these like seas of dark plastic or cloth
with absolutely no personality, no nothing that makes them stand out,
nothing that makes you say when you just take one like look at it,
knowing exactly what kind of car that is. Right.
Yeah. And you can get like a lightish color.
You can go all black if you want, but they have an Artemis gray,
which kind of breaks things up and it's pretty nice.
The infotainment screen, it's got a it's got a decent bezel around it.
It's not just a it's not just a tablet that's plunked on the dash,
but underneath there's buttons for climate control, actual dials and buttons
so I could use it with my gloves on.
The weird, the only weird thing that I would say is didn't need to be in this cabin
is there's a big drive button on the center console.
And it's strange because a knob like where are we here?
It's like a knob. It's like it's like an eye drive controller.
No, it's not that big, but it's on the center console next to the cup holders.
And the drive modes for this vehicle are pretty much like I think it was just
like snow and off road and normal.
So there's no sport mode, which I appreciate because this is not a sporty vehicle.
Let's not pretend, but you're not going to need to access these like on the fly.
It's not something where you're going to be like, oh, I'm glad this knob is here.
Let me give it a twist and get out of danger.
You know, I would have rather have had more storage on the console
and gotten rid of that knob. OK, that's fair.
I think that's that's an appropriate.
I get into that like conversation all the time when I see these electric
electric gear selectors and trying to decide whether or not they've utilized
the freedom that changing the gear selector does, right?
Like in terms of adding more storage space or maybe making the cabin feel a little bit bigger.
You're saying that they didn't just move things to for the sake of moving,
which is so many automakers just do that.
Like, oh, we made we turned all of the
all of the gears into buttons that you have to select and you're welcome.
Yeah, it's awful, right?
The the drive of the vehicle itself.
So I had all wheel drive and what I like about this vehicle is I could turn it on and off
because most of the time you don't need all wheel drive
and you're going to maybe get a small fuel mileage increase
with not having that axler rear axle connected.
The week that I had the Equinox or Equinox, as Sammy calls it in Hamilton,
the there was some snow on the ground for the first half of the week.
And I decided to see how the hill climb was with and without the front wheel.
Sorry, with and without the all wheel drive activated for the most part.
The only thing you notice with all wheel drive on is it tracks a little bit
straighter. There's not as much torque pulling the front steering
if you're on a slippery surface. OK.
So I mean, if you're in deep snow, yeah, it's probably going to help you as well.
But for everyday driving, not really necessary.
What is the powertrain that's that's motivating this thing?
So it's a it's a turbo for some torque, apparently.
It's a turbo for with 175 horsepower.
I don't know the torque number off my that's not an inspiring figure.
175. So you say that.
But isn't that what Subaru has had in every one of its four cylinders
for the last 15 years at 2.5 liter naturally aspirated for,
which we've always said isn't very good.
So this is a turbo so that the torque band is lower than what you would have
in like a thrashier two and a half liter four cylinder naturally aspirated.
I believe it's turbo.
Let me check that.
Don't second guess yourself now.
No, it's too late.
I've already committed to it being a turbo.
Let me pull up the number.
Yeah, it is a turbo.
Interesting thing to note and this is changing.
But for this model year, 26, if you get all wheel drive,
you get an eight speed automatic.
If you get front wheel drive exclusively,
it's a CVT.
I haven't driven the CVT.
It's gone for next year.
OK, that says a lot.
Yeah, so all models will have a speed automatic.
I found the transmission totally fine.
I didn't really have any problems with it.
Where I did notice issues and they're not real issues because again,
this is an affordable vehicle unless you have my $50,000 fully loaded tester.
There's some vacuuming noise from the engine.
It's you can't really avoid that with these small displacement turbos.
When you get on and off the gas, there's the vacuum can feel like
there's a little overhang that's happening.
That's kind of annoying.
It can like you lift off the gas and it sounds like the engines
try to recover from whatever, you know, strain you just put it through.
It's like catching its breath like it's catching its breath.
Really? No, come on.
But all of that said, it's fine.
Like it's not like I ever found the vehicle was really low on power.
I didn't have any issues climbing any hills with it or anything.
It's it's it's going to get you where you need to go on the highway.
It's going to pass people if you need to pass them.
It's just not a sports car.
You're going to have to plan out your passing.
And I often have to do that on the two lane roads around here
because we get I said it before it get caught behind tourists.
They're looking at leaves and stuff and snow and thinking about.
I don't know what tourists think about.
But I'm thinking about trying to get home.
And I have to make use of the limited passing sounds that I have.
So you're not going to be able to pass at will.
You're really going to have to have like the heavens are going to have to open
up and give you the ultimate ideal passing conditions for you to deal with this car.
The the other issue I had with it driving wise
is a suspension is somewhat stiff.
There's I'm in the season of frost heaps right now.
The roads are very uneven because the roads are all thawing at different rates.
And so the cars bouncing around a little bit and it's noticeable.
It translates into a chunkyish feel
in terms of how the car drives.
The steering is somewhat heavy.
It's not a handler.
It's a car that, you know,
it I'm not going to say truck like, but definitely SUV ish
in a way that smaller vehicles from the same manufacturer.
Just to say, like, responsiveness is not like
the smooth or transparent as you would get.
Yeah, like from that's fine.
It's not a knock, but it's part of the car's personality.
The the the weird things about the car.
I mean, the engine and drivetrain,
they maybe hold it back from being great.
Like, sometimes it's a little bit muddy
in terms of power delivery.
But nitpicking, I don't like the fact that light controls
are in the infotainment system now.
This is true of a lot of general.
Oh, yeah, the GM thing.
Yeah, so they used to make you go into the settings
and find the light settings inside a setting screen.
Now you're getting like a little icon at the top
that will shortcut you to the settings
and you can turn the lights on and off there.
What was wrong with just having a button
where buttons have been for the last 75 years?
Like, I know most people don't turn their lights on and off.
They set them to auto and they forget about it.
And that's valid.
I get why a car company might be like,
why are we accommodating a feature
that people don't really use?
But it kind of feels like it's being cheaped out.
Okay, that's fair.
I agree with you.
Is it fair?
I do think it's fair.
I know I say that quite a bit,
but I do think that's an appropriate criticism
because controls are a safety issue, honestly.
And you don't want to be driving and realizing
you need to change your headlight settings
and then have zero response from the touchscreen
when you're trying to adjust them while you're driving.
In my opinion, asking the driver to take their eyes off the road
is a safety faux pas.
I don't think we should be doing that.
And continuing that line of thought.
So if you want to use voice commands
and keep your eyes on the road,
there's a problem with this vehicle as well.
GM is using these Google-based infotainment systems now.
In order for voice commands to work,
you have to be signed into the infotainment system.
Yeah, useless.
That's not helpful.
It gets weirder.
If you have Android Auto attached, for example,
there's two ways to access voice commands in this vehicle.
If you hit the button on the steering wheel once,
it's the infotainment system
that interprets your voice commands.
If you hold the button and you have Android Auto attached,
it's Android Auto.
You're already signed into your phone,
which means the voice commands for Android Auto
work perfectly fine.
And where this comes to play is, again,
we talked last week about my hospital test.
Even if I'm on the navigation screen for this vehicle
and I hit the voice command button
and say hospital or anything,
I can't, it won't work.
If I'm in Android Auto and I long press,
it finds it instantaneously.
That's not a good experience for owners.
Weird.
That's so, that's so poor.
Why make me log in?
Just make it work.
Okay, thank you.
And then think about that, I guess.
What if I'm in an area that,
what if I don't have data transmission?
I think about that a lot, yeah.
Basically, these cars are offloading,
processing to a server now for voice commands.
So in the past, it would be the car that was interpreting it.
And maybe it had a limited vocabulary,
but at least it worked.
Now, like if I'm driving somewhere
and I'm like far from home,
AKA a situation where I would probably need
to use navigation,
if I'm in an isolated area,
I can't use voice commands, period.
It's just not gonna work.
Yeah.
Okay, what else you got with this car?
That's pretty much it.
I like it. Space cargo, what's the story?
Rear seat's good.
Rear seat has a surprising amount of room.
The cargo area is also perfectly fine, no issues there.
The load floor is at a good level as well.
So it's easy to get things in and out.
I think that this is a decent vehicle for people,
even for people who do need a back seat,
which isn't always true for small SUVs.
But it's really a standout in any area.
This is one of those trucks that you get
if you like the styling, you know what I mean?
Like because at this point,
if you're in the middle of the SUV, the compact SUV world,
and you're not looking to buy the absolute best one
and you want to avoid the worst one,
you end up with like five to eight options
that are all gonna be roughly the same.
And they'll have one thing that's better
than the other thing in comparison,
but not one thing that stands out above the whole pack, right?
And I kind of feel like that's where the Equinox sits.
And at that point, if you decide to buy this,
it's because you like something about it specifically.
You drove it, it was for you, you liked how it looked,
or you liked how the controls felt,
or how the infotainment system worked, all of that stuff.
That's, you need to drive this before you make the choice.
And as I always say to people,
drive as many of the vehicles at your price point as you can,
because that's really important for figuring out
which is a good brand for you
and which one kind of misses the mark.
I really love your point of view here.
Personally, it's really difficult for,
I think the average automotive journalist
to determine exactly which car is the best,
because that really does matter on who's buying it,
what their needs are for each segment.
And the compact crossover segment is so,
like we said, there's probably like around 20 cars
that could be classified as a compact crossover.
And there's a bunch of them that are just really
these like high volume vehicles that have zero personality.
And there's a lot of buyers out there
who actually might care about personality
and individuality in their compact crossover.
I know that sounds, that probably sounds crazy to a,
and somebody who's in the automotive industry,
but there's cars that have, you know, we,
so many cars are sort of like a,
can be seen as an outward expression of the driver.
Yeah, they're personality projections.
They're emotional decisions.
You're spending a lot of money.
And what does the CRV say about that, right?
Yeah, yeah.
So there's a lot of,
that's why I really do typically commend automakers
in this segment, in particular,
that try to do something different,
be it in terms of interior exterior design,
powertrain or technology.
Did this Equinox come with Super Cruise?
No, it doesn't.
No.
So that stresses me out because I think, you know,
as always, I think GM's major, major killer feature
in any of its vehicles is Super Cruise.
And I've had Super Cruise be good
and I've had Super Cruise be really like,
it could be better in this scenario,
but it's one of the few car companies
that offers this feature a hands-free driving technology
that is, is wicked.
Like that picture wouldn't work.
It's possible it would push the price of this,
it was possible it would push the price of this vehicle
past what people would pay.
It's already at 49, right?
No, it's at 49 if you load it up.
I mean, the version that I drove,
which is the top tier vehicle, it starts at 36.
So, and that's Canadian.
Yeah. Oh, okay.
So like in the US, this is still a vehicle
that starts like, you know, right around 33, 34.
Okay.
Interesting.
Depending on, depending on if you want all-wheel drive
or front-wheel drive, that's a determining factor
for the lower base price.
Actually, it starts at 31 in front-wheel drive.
But, you know, you can get Super Cruise in the Bolt,
I think, but the Bolt, I believe is being used
or was being used as a prove it to me kind of thing.
Where they're like, we can build this small electric car
that has all these cool features.
With the Equinox, it's not like that.
It's, I think that GM looks at the Equinox and says,
none of its rivals has anything like this.
We don't need to blow them out of the water.
We just need to build something that's good.
So, and then this like catches me off guard in this segment
because, you know, the RAV4, I think the new RAV4
comes with a hybrid-only powertrain.
I think that's the case.
I'm not super confident on that right now,
but I think that's the case.
The CR-V offers two hybrid power, or sorry,
now I think they have more than two power,
new two trims, but they also offer a hybrid powertrain.
Tucson comes with a hybrid powertrain
and so does the Kia version, the Sportage.
I think the Nissan Rogue is gonna come with a hybrid.
I'm not sure what I read about that recently.
I think I gotta press release for it, but I did not read.
It's, is it weird to me that I hope that an Equinox
comes with a more efficient powertrain in the future
or at least an upgraded powertrain
because that 175 horsepower doesn't sound super great to me.
I actually wrote a whole story this week
about automakers that have like done course corrections
or reversals and a lot of the American automakers
are on that list because so many have recently announced
that they're reconsidering their no hybrid policy.
Well, they went all in on EVs
and then they got screwed by government policy
and now they're gonna try to go back to hybrids.
I mean, GM used to offer hybrids.
You could buy like hybrids to dance from them.
That's the Malibu?
Yeah, I think so.
I think it was the Malibu and-
It wasn't great.
Let me be clear.
It wasn't awesome.
They offered hybrid pickup trucks
that had like 25% better fuel mileage around town.
That was better.
Ford offered some really great hybrids.
Escape is a hybrid.
What's the other one called?
The truck Maverick?
And I think I think 50 can come with a hybrid too.
It's just a lack of cars that's like,
that catches me off guard, right?
Actually, I read recently that they're thinking
both, first of all, both GM and Ford
are going back on their word and are going to make hybrids.
GM in particular says they want to make a plug-in hybrid
which would be the first time we've seen a plug-in hybrid
from them since 2019.
And I think that was a Cadillac,
other than the Volt, of course.
What was the plug-in hybrid Cadillac?
I think there was a CT6 PHEV, wasn't there?
Whoa, I don't have any memory of that.
I'm not saying it's not true.
I think there was a CT6 PHEV.
I mean, there was an Escalade hybrid for a long time.
Do you remember that?
But not a plug-in hybrid.
With a six-liter V8?
Yeah, that was useless.
And then I read that Ford is looking
into bringing another sedan,
a under $40,000 sedan with a hybrid powertrain.
Well, if you think about it,
that the only space Ford hasn't filled in their showroom
is like anything affordable
and anything that's a car.
You're so mean.
We have talked about that stupid truck so much,
that Maverick, sorry, I shouldn't call it stupid.
I only call it stupid
because I think it gets so much publicity
for being an affordable, like mainstream.
Yeah, affordable in the sense that its price increased
by $7,000 in the first three years of its existence.
That's like a 34% increase in price.
If any car went up a third of its price.
It's pretty nuts.
That's crazy.
Sorry, we shouldn't deviate too much,
although I do love this topic about it.
Shout out to the F-150 hybrid.
It's a really good vehicle.
Yeah, so I mean, I'll be clear.
I was thinking about this because I think it's so,
we get a lot of new cars and new technologies
and new features all the time.
And I think a lot of people out there
just immediately default to like new car bad kind of thing.
And I actually think it's cool to talk to you
about the Equinox because the Equinox
doesn't get a lot of publicity.
It doesn't have the coolest features or technologies,
but it hits a couple of really good points,
being spacious and relatively affordable,
depending on the price point or the trim level.
And it looks kind of cool.
So it starts to like add up in these right ways.
But again, it doesn't add up to anything impressive.
It adds up to something that's decent and that's fine.
Okay, so let's say like the best sellers in this class
are like the RAV4, the CR-V, and what's the third place?
I don't know, probably Hyundai.
The Tucson.
And then there's like a bunch of like,
you can also consider these like Escape, Bronco Sport.
CX-5, CX-50 are up there too.
I would put this up against the Bronco Sport.
That's a pretty good comparison.
Not every version of the Bronco Sport
because I think there are some that outclass it,
but just in general, I think it's a good competitor.
I also want to say that going back
to my North American car companies don't make hybrids,
Chrysler actually makes or has until this year,
they had the Pacifica, right?
Which was really good.
That's a great hybrid.
It was a plug-in hybrid.
That was a great van.
Doesn't exist anymore.
And the Hornet, shout out to the Hornet.
Does not exist anymore.
Plug-in hybrids do not happen in there.
Yeah, but they were there.
They did exist at one point.
I want to talk to you about hybrids
because I'm driving a Hyundai Sonata hybrid.
This is two classes of things that we've seen
kind of like slowly disappear,
which is a hybrid powertrain as we just talked about.
Or it is kind of rare and a sedan, a mid-sized sedan.
Well, to be fair though, in the mid-sized sedan world,
the leaders have stuck it out.
Yes.
The Honda and Toyota, the Camry and the Accord
have both been around for a...
They have gone un...
They have gone...
What is the word I'm looking for?
Continuously?
I don't know.
While the competition has reeled from this segment.
And I'm...
I'm actually...
I will be clear about this.
I think the loss of the Fusion in this segment was really sad.
Like, I actually didn't mind the Fusion.
It was okay.
Dude, shout out to the Fusion Sport,
350 horsepower turbocharged V6, all-wheel drive.
That was a really cool car.
I mean, it wasn't an amazing car,
but like the fact that those statistics were real
and you could buy them in a Ford dealership,
that's pretty awesome.
And in addition to that, like...
Plug-in hybrid, the energy, remember that?
The energy, yeah.
Now, there was this whole...
Like, I think there was some controversy about their mileage claims
or their fuel economy claims,
but it was okay.
Man, I didn't mind it.
I remember it having a massive trunk.
I remember it feeling really like spacious
and it had some decent technology for the time.
So it's always so fun for me to go back into these cars,
this mid-sized sedan segment
and think about all of the competition that they had.
And now it's been like really scaled back,
contracted into these like few cars.
And each one of them has to try to stand out
among the rest of them.
It's like the minivan segment, right?
Like when you go into the minivan,
when you need to buy a minivan,
you kind of have like definitive touch points
as to what you want from each one.
Like if I want the most space or the most fuel efficiency
or a plug-in hybrid,
if you're in the right model year hunting for that,
you know which one to get.
You know, whether or not you want a Sierra or a Pacifica
or an Odyssey or a Carnival, right?
And I think the most difficult thing
about the mid-sized sedan segment
is that it's really well-served.
I think both the Accord and the Camry nail it.
They really are super competitive.
They come with really good powertrains.
They come with lots of interior space.
And especially in the hybrid segment
where you can get those in multiple trim levels.
But the thing is, Sammy,
there's some people who will never buy a Toyota
or never buy a Honda.
And will they consider a Hyundai?
I think so.
I mean, what choice do you have at that point?
So what?
You can also buy like a Malibu, right?
Isn't there like a Malibu lurking around?
No way.
Don't talk to me like that.
There's still a Malibu on sale?
I'm gonna find you a Malibu right now.
There's no, first of all,
when I look at the vehicles like list of at Chevrolet,
it goes trucks, electric, SUV, and Corvette.
There's not even car there.
Okay, it was available in 2025 in three trim levels.
You could get an LS, RS, and LT versions of the Malibu.
So last year, last year you could buy a Malibu.
And I think there might be an Altima still.
Oh, that's a really good point.
How do we forget the Altima?
How, I didn't forget it.
I was just saying, I think there is.
Yeah, it's still there.
Yeah, so there's the Altima is still holding on.
Are there any others that have escaped our attention?
So what is the point is though?
Does the Kia still make a K6 or whatever it was called?
I think it was called the K5.
K5?
I don't think so.
Okay.
I'm gonna try to get a little bit.
Shout out to the Optima, used to be called the Optima.
Used to be called the Optima, yeah.
The problem is I keep trying to go to the Kia website,
but it keeps bumping me to another region.
Yeah, you have to type Kia US into, it's really annoying.
It didn't work for me.
It just like gave me a four, about 404 or whatever.
Now you're at Kia Singapore and all the names.
Yeah, anyways, I can't find K5, K6, K5.
I can't remember what it's called, but I can find Altima.
What I'm trying to say is the Sonata.
The Hyundai Sonata is one of the options in the segment
that are offered with a hybrid powertrain.
That means it goes up against the Camry
and it goes up against the Accord to very good cars.
Like extremely good cars.
Those vehicles both offer really good fuel efficiency
and really good performance.
The thing is they don't really offer good styling.
Isn't that right?
Well, the styling's not bad, but it's not really stand out.
And that's where Hyundai really excels.
I think they've made a really good,
what's the word I'm looking for?
They've really changed the conversation about Hyundai
over the past, I will say, six years?
Maybe even more?
They're definitely a design-first company.
They are now, exactly.
They used to be more value-oriented, right?
I need to add a caveat to this.
So recently, this week was the New York Auto Show
and Hyundai brought a concept vehicle
that they said isn't designed, isn't destined for production.
It's actually, it's supposed to show the platform
that they're gonna be building a body
on-frame pickup truck on.
But instead of bringing the pickup,
they brought an SUV on that same platform.
It looks exactly like a Bronco.
It is extremely a derivative design.
I don't know how they could blow it so poorly.
It's the least interesting Hyundai design
I've seen in 10 years.
And I had been having conversations,
this recently is last week,
about how Hyundai design with colleagues,
about Hyundai design killing it.
Just like coming up with these amazing looking vehicles
and then we end up with something like that.
And I don't know if it's a limitation of the idea of,
okay, here's a body on-frame vehicle.
It has to look this way, but it's disappointing.
It has to fit these proportions
with the new platform.
Yeah, no thank you.
No thank you.
Yeah, it is really a derivative design.
Not only is it-
That looks like a Bronco concept.
Like it almost looks one-by-one.
It looks like a Bronco concept from the 2000s.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, that's because it's all silver, LED,
like overly LED lit.
Too many angles.
Yes.
But I'll go back to the Sonata.
I think ever since 2011,
they've had this really wild design concept for the Sonata.
The current gen and current refresh kind of like toned it down.
They gave it this like light bar look on the front end
and on the rear end as well.
So it's not to say that it doesn't look pretty.
It just looks different.
And I think that's enough for it to stand out
against the Camry and the Accord.
The Accord in particular, I don't think it's an attractive car.
It's a very conservative design.
Bit of an overpipe.
Yeah, the new Camry is pretty cool looking.
But sometimes I look at it and I forget what model year I'm looking at.
Is that a weird thing to say out loud?
I don't know.
We all forget, Sammy.
And the Ultima, it has not changed its visual identity
in a long time, I think.
But let's talk about this Sonata.
One of the major issues with it is that you can't get it with all-wheel drive
with the hybrid.
But that's suddenly an issue, right?
Like it wasn't that long ago that all-wheel drive wasn't common
in the midsize sedan segment.
But this sorry, this is actually just for the hybrid
because you can get an all-wheel drive version of the Ultima
and the an all-wheel drive version of the Camry.
I would love to have seen it.
You know, this would have been the opportunity for Hyundai to make an impact
and and and deliver a.
I think maybe they just looked at how many people were actually buying those.
You know what I mean?
I think that's I do think that there's a segment for it
because the Ultima, I feel like did the Ultima come first?
I'm not saying there's not a segment for it,
but does is Hyundai realistically going to pull those buyers away
from people who've already bought all-wheel drive from another brand?
You know, why not just focus exclusively
on people who want maximum fuel mileage?
Additionally, there used to be a plug-in hybrid version of the Sonata.
Yes.
And that's no longer a thing.
What? And as a result,
we're left with this relatively mundane power train
that makes under 200 horsepower.
I think significantly under 200, 200 horsepower.
Let me make sure I've got my figures.
What do you say significantly?
Do you mean 175 like in the equinox?
Yeah, something around those those figures.
Let me get the why do I not have this at hand?
Like always I ran out.
It's almost like we've been talking for an hour.
One hundred and ninety two horsepower.
OK, all right.
You're very proud of that number.
One hundred and ninety two is actually one horsepower more
than the non hybrid, non-turbo version of the Sonata.
I'm sure it has more torque, right?
The hybrid.
Yeah, because it has the electric motor.
I'm looking at it right now.
But more to the point, I want to know how it drives.
I don't. It doesn't even tell me.
I don't care so much about the the numbers
because realistically, hybrid numbers can be a little bit of voodoo.
It's it's more about how it drives and how the power delivery arrives.
And it was acceptable.
It's acceptable.
That's the right way to put it.
It's not exciting.
It's not it doesn't stand out to me with how quickly or how
lazily it is at either turning on the gas motor or or turning it off.
It's OK.
I'm really struggling to find a way to make it feel like
this is high end, because I think other hybrids that we've had
can really feel like they only turn on the gas motor when it's absolutely necessary.
If you're going to drive slow, you're going to at least, you know,
not use up a lot of gas.
So I don't feel that happening here.
I do think that the gas motor is predictable in terms of when it turns on
and when it when it shuts off.
It features a six speed automatic transmission,
which I've had some strange, like, I don't know, misfires, I guess,
on the transmission changing or either getting into gear,
especially at lower speeds around the city, where I think hybrids tend to be
at their best.
I just didn't feel it being super smooth.
And do you think that Hyundai just brought their old hybrid system
and put it into the new platform?
Yeah, I do.
I think there's nothing really modern about this powertrain,
which is probably the worst thing I can say about it.
But at the same time, I will add a few more positive things here
because I think it looks it looks pretty sharp.
I think the interior design is pretty good, too.
I think the feature availability is strong.
I've got everything.
I there's very little in this car that I was I was looking for.
I have a range of something that in America,
it's a split between the mid trim and high trim version of this car,
the Canadian model that I have, in that it's missing just,
I think, sunshades and a wireless phone charger on my trim level.
OK.
But otherwise, it's pretty solid in terms of feature availability.
And it doesn't have wireless Android Auto, which caught me off guard.
But we've talked about the advantages of both wireless charging
and wireless Android Auto on previous episodes.
I do find them to be very useful to me.
But you've said that sometimes just overheats your phone and messes things up.
I think that this car is really spacious in the cabin.
It has a pretty nice split between the front and rear spaces
in so that I can have a rear facing car seat in the rear passenger seat.
Is your son able to hit you with a shoe
from the back seat?
I have had to remove his shoes during the wet weather
because I don't want him putting footprints all over the leather seats.
OK, Mr. Fancy, once again.
So I'm really in the city with his leather seats.
I have really had to tone that down.
But you know what?
Yeah, I think he could.
I still think his backhand throwing that he does
from that rear facing car seat is really impressive.
But at the same time, I have been able to keep, you know,
a decent space between the seatback,
the front passenger seatback and the rear facing seat.
So they're not touching each other,
which is usually recommended for car seat installation
that they shouldn't be touching.
And that front passenger is not really impacted negatively
in terms of leg room, which is really rare,
especially when you're looking at compact crossover.
It's like the equinox that you're talking about.
So many times I get into one of these cars
and I have to move that front seat quite a lot.
And that driver's knees are touching the dashboard
and it's really uncomfortable.
So I found that the interior space of these things
can be actually really surprising.
I will also add that it is relatively easy to get used to
in terms of driving it.
It has good steering speed, good steering ratio,
and it has really decent features and technology.
So I found it to be not high tech,
overly like ambitious in terms of technology,
but pretty pretty balanced
in terms of how it approaches the driver
and technology and features.
So is this a car you would recommend?
Like there's only four cars in this in this space, right?
Yeah, if if if design is important to you,
if the exterior design of this car really stands out to you,
the other the other options will not do.
It just they will not.
They just won't work.
That's the first thing that makes the Hyundai Sonata worth buying.
Is that enough to overcome the kind of
you weren't so happy with the drive trains?
I think there's more performance
and more efficiency found on the Camry and Accord.
The pricing on this car starts at twenty nine thousand
in the U.S. and ranges all the way to thirty eight thousand.
While in Canada, there's just one trim level of this car.
And it is the mid trim and it starts at around forty thousand dollars.
So I don't think that's a really
I mean, it's it's a better price in the entry level
all wheel drive version of the Sonata.
So it just depends on whether or not you want all will drop in Canada.
You either choose between having an all wheel drive
Sonata or a hybrid Sonata.
Like the pricing is it's a hundred dollars difference.
And that's your choice, basically.
And I would take the I think I would take the hybrid over the all wheel drive here
because I think the potential for better fuel efficiency is is worth it.
Is there anything else you want to say about the Hyundai Sonata hybrid?
I want more sedans. I want them.
I want to see more of them.
What do you want about what do you want about them?
Is it the fact that they drive so much better than SUVs?
Yeah. And I actually found so somebody who has somebody who has to
you know, chuck a kid into a car seat or put a stroller into the trunk,
not having a large like that carrying
like not having to pick them up and pick them up this high
and put them into the car over here is it's surprising.
It like actually like over the over the week of testing this car,
I'm like, hey, actually, my back doesn't hurt that much or my because I have had.
I don't have to like this less distance for to carry him.
Just give it time. Time comes for us all.
That's true. I think that's it.
I think that's what I want to talk about.
I want more sedans.
I'm glad to hear that I that some automakers are reconsidering their no
sedan policy, but it will be interesting to see how long it takes to get them.
So if you want to talk about something with us,
the sedan related or not sedan related or talk about your back pain,
there's a lot of ways you can do that.
Reach out to us or your key fobs or your key fob.
If you have your pond, if you have a key fob lost story,
that would be interesting as well.
You can get to us on unnamed automotive podcast.com.
You fill out the form.
There's a contact form there.
Click submit and it ends up in our inbox.
Or you can email us the old fashioned way, Benjamin at Benjamin hunting.com.
You can also find us on social media.
We're usually on Instagram.
I'm at Sanbury underscore ha like you're laughing and Ben is at hunting Benjamin.
What are we, what are we going to talk about next week, Sammy?
I don't actually have anything booked next week.
I'm going to see if I can get on that sometime soon, but what are you got?
What do you have?
I'm going to be continuing this deep dive into the world of Chevrolet
crossovers and SUVs with a take on the Chevrolet Trax,
which is a vehicle that we historically have liked a lot of the podcast,
but time has gone by and is going to hold up.
That's a great teaser.
We'll see you next week.
Bye everybody.
Bye bye.
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