The Toyota RAV4, best-selling SUV/crossover in the country, has rolled into the world of electrics with a plug-in hybrid.

The new model, 2021 RAV4 Prime, offers up to 42 miles of all-electric drive, lending quite a boost to the Toyota’s overall gas/electric hybrid fuel mileage.

In 350 miles aboard the Prime, during which on three nights I charged the lithium-ion battery pack, the RAV4 posted an average of 51.1 miles per gallon.

In addition to the new battery pack, the Prime uses three motor-generators and a 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder Atkinson gas engine similar to that which powers the RAV4’s regular Hybrid model.  The Prime gains quick, smooth acceleration from the combined 302 horsepower.

To opt for the ’21 Prime over the standard Hybrid is a jump in cost. Sticker price on the well-equipped RAV4 Prime XSE with all-wheel drive is $48,461; that’s about $10,000 higher than the regular RAV4 Hybrid.

Toyota has been the car industry’s hybrid leader for 20 years, since unveiling the Prius in 2000.It’s not surprising that Toyota’s entry into the plug-in hybrid category with a rating of 42-miles all-electric would be highest to date. That surpasses the Ford Escape plug-in rating of 37.

With 42 miles, many commuters would be able to drive to work and back home each day, and by using the plug-in charging overnight, would seldom need gasoline.

The battery pack and electric powertrain swells the curb weight of the compact RAV4 to 4,300 pounds, 600 pounds heavier than the 2019 RAV4 Adventure I drove last year. The Prime’s maneuverability remains impressive, with little difference in feel than that of the 2019.

The RAV4 Prime, built in Japan, can be driven in EV or Hybrid mode, with choice of Eco, Normal or Sport response.

The RAV4 is equipped with a very effective lane-guidance system, which easily moves the vehicle back toward the center of the proper lane.

With the battery pack positioned beneath the floor, the Prime retains 33.5 cubic feet of cargo space, and, with the rear seats folded, that increases to 63 feet. The RAV4, on a wheelbase of 105.9 inches, is 180.9 inches in overall length.

Regenerative braking, which helps in recharging the batteries, is scarcely noticed, as the car coasts when acceleration demand is lifted. Some electric models apply braking on deceleration.

Among options pushing the RAV4’s price to $48k are 9-inch touchscreen for premium audio and navigation, heated and leather-trimmed steering wheel, 10-inch color head-up display and panoramic glass roof. Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth are standard.

Nine to 12 hours is necessary for recharging the Prime from a 120-volt household outlet; it can be done in 4 ½ hours from a 240-volt outlet.

A couple of ’21 Acuras have shown up, back-to-back, at my doorstep, one with a splash of flash and enough improvement to merit a second look; the other is a holdover from established strong qualifications.

The star entry is the redesigned Acura TLX four-door sport sedan, which is lower and wider, and much sleeker from its new upright grille to its carbon fiber spoiler at the rear. The TLX’s wheelbase has been extended by almost 4 inches.

Preceding the TLX for reviewing was the RDX compact crossover, Acura’s best seller.

Acura, based in Japan, is the luxury division for Honda. It has never been big in sales numbers, leaving that to the Honda side of the ledger. Honda sells 10 times more cars and crossovers than does Acura.

The ’21 TLX was equipped with SH-AWD (super-handling all-wheel drive), which makes it particularly suitable for year-round driving in our state.

A turbocharged, 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder engine, borrowed from the RDX, develops 272 horsepower and

280 lb.-ft. of torque; it’s mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. Strong control of the throttle and use of sport setting from the Dynamic Mode dial turns the mild-mannered sedan into a crisp responder. With a nod to higher performance for the TLX, Acura plans to soon resurrect the Type S package built around a 355-hp, 3.0-liter V-6.

The automatic transmission is controlled by a somewhat awkward push-button-type shifter – a push, a pull, a tap. EPA fuel estimate for the TLX is 21/29 miles per gallon; my overall average was 25.2.

Acura’s new platform replaces struts with control-arm front suspension, stiffening torsional rigidity and improving handling.

LED lighting and seat cushion inserts are upgrades to a pleasant interior, highlighted also by surround sound audio. Regarding its infotainment advancements, we finally gave up on a request of navigation for Fowler street in a drive to Longmont. It misread all attempts at correct address. Rear seating is tight.

The A-Spec trim, including adaptive cruise, automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and CarPlay/Android  Auto integration, carried sticker of $47,275.

The 2021 Acura RDX SUV crossover was equipped with same 2.0-liter turbo, 10-speed automatic, SH-AWD system as was the TLX.

The RDX is built in East Liberty, Ohio, and the TLX in Marysville, Ohio, 15 miles apart.

Like the TLX, RDX’s trim level was dressed up with leather-trimmed sport seats with Ultrasuede inserts. Sticker price on the RDX was $47,625.

The RDX is Acura’s top seller; TLX is third-best, behind the MDX crossover.

Like other makers, Acura sales are depressed after nine months this year, due to the shutdowns for the Covid-19. Though Acura sales are down 15 percent for the year thus far, the RDX and TLX helped it to a slight increase in the just-concluded third quarter.

Tuesday morning’s rain and light snow was a cool calling for me into the driver’s seat of the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss just an hour before it was picked up by Automotive Media Solutions representatives. It was a last-minute opportunity to appreciate its 4X4 handling on wet highways and some muddy dirt trails.

The pickup was in my possession the previous six days, all of which were hot and dry.

The Trail Boss 1500, modified from the Silverado Z71, has undergone a 2-inch lift on the suspension with Rancho shocks and a 4-inch longer wheelbase, adding stability to its offroad performances.

This one has been upgraded with Chevy’s 6.2 liter V-8, boasting 420 horsepower/460 lb.-ft. of torque, and mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. Response was more immediate and the highway recovery time much stronger than a Trail Boss I reviewed last year with the 5.3 V-8 of 355-hp/383 torque and 8-speed automatic.

The lift for the Trail Boss review model means an extra-high step-in height, for it is not equipped with step rail or running board. The Trail Boss I drove last year had running boards, so entry and exit were no problem.

I gain access by gripping the grab handle on the A pillar with my left hand, stepping very high onto the cab’s floor edge with my left foot and making a pull and leap into the driver seat. Jan, 10 inches shorter in height, can’t do that maneuver, so carried out a 9-inch step-stool for assist whenever she rode along.

 The high step-in drew interesting remarks from Kathy and Bill Allen, passengers on a drive to Strasburg for dinner with Mike and Hannah McKenner, and the following day from Mary Conway and Ken Baldwin, who joined Jan and me on a lunch drive to Kenny’s Steakhouse in Greeley.

Chevrolet might consider, for these lifted pickups without step assists, a Trail Boss-enscriptioned step stool. That could be a step up in the sales battle with F-series and Ram pickups (I’m kidding, friends).

Though a serious offroad competitor, the Trail Boss has a smooth side, too, in which the 10-speed automatic transmission is a major contributor. Even with the Trail Boss’ Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac M&S LT 275/65R18 tires emitting a bit of howl here and there, the highway run to Strasburg confirmed the softer side of this Silverado. Body control is outstanding.

With the bigger 6.2 V-8, the Trail Boss’ EPA fuel-mileage estimate is 14-18; I averaged 16.8. Last year, with the smaller 5.3 engine and a 15-20 estimate, it averaged 18.1.

Tow capacity for the 6.2-liter Trail Boss is 9,300 pounds; that can go over 13,000 pounds with a maximum trailering package and 20-inch wheels.

The 6.2 V-8 adds $2,500 to pricing of the Trail Boss, for which sticker price on this Double Cab review model is $44,510, including a plain, though functional interior.

Several Silverado models in 2021 are to get use of the GMC Sierra’s 6-way MultiPro tailgate; it will be known as MultiFlex on the Chevrolets.

Sporting new design to its grille and headlamps, the 2021 Honda Odyssey showed up at my place in, also, a new hue – forest mist metallic.

The Odyssey is one of three strong minivans battling it out amidst lessening market share for that category. The rivals are the Chrysler Pacifica and Toyota Sienna.

I drove the Odyssey on a Wednesday morning to Sterling where Jan and I joined in a memorial service at Riverside Cemetery for Walter “Wally”Dermer, 85, of Aurora. Wally, raised on a farm at Atwood, in the 1950s attended Sterling High School and Northeastern Junior College, where he was an outstanding wrestler. After his marriage to Janice Ashby in 1958, they moved to Aurora, where they raised three sons and a daughter, Stephen (deceased), Jeff, Mark and Melanie.  Officiating the memorial service was Craig Fortunato, community life pastor at LifePointe Church in Fort Collins.

The drive across U.S. 34 to Wiggins and along I-76 to Sterling produced good fuel mileage from the Honda’s 280-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine with variable cylinder management and 10-speed automatic transmission. For more than 330 miles in seven days, the Odyssey averaged 24.4 miles per gallon.

An interior redesign for the ’21 model enables the second row of seats to fold almost flat for easier removal. That middle row features MagicSlide in which two bucket seats will slide sideways individually with the pull of a handle. Up front, a busy audio/navigation display offers ease of selection. Small inboard armrests on the front seats weren’t particularly comfortable and proved difficult to adjust.

The 203.2 inches of overall length for the Honda van is near the same as that of the Chrysler Pacifica; they’re 3 inches longer than the Toyota Sienna. The roomy Odyssey opens up 38.6 cubic feet of cargo space with the back seats folded.

Standard on all Odysseys in the coming year is HondaSensing safety technology of collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise, lane-keeping, traffic sign recognition and other driver-assist features.

The Odyssey Elite model, built at Lincoln, Ala., carried sticker price of $49,335.

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The annual National Drive Electric Week kicked off in late September, and there I was reviewing the 2020 Chevy Bolt Electric – excellent timing.

The special week “heightens awareness of today’s widespread availability of plug-in vehicles and highlights the benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric cars and trucks,” said Charline Delkhah of WeberShandwick in Los Angeles.

Providing me with the electric Bolt the week before the national celebration was not part of any plan, as far as I know. I did, though, decline the offer of several eco-friendly road-trip routes.

I’ve enjoyed driving a variety of plug-in hybrids and electrics in recent years. One which I can’t shake from my mind was in early March a couple years ago (I forget the brand). Delivered to me on a sunny day, the car’s battery pack “will easily get you to Sterling and back for the funeral of your friend,” an auto executive said. “It will make a good column either way,” I replied jokingly. Overnight, the weather turned cold and snowy, and, with no charging station at Sterling, we found one on our return drive in Fort Morgan with 18 miles of charge remaining in the battery pack. 

The Bolt is a sharp-looking, all-electric hatchback with a range of 259 miles. Its electric powertrain produces 200 horsepower and 266 lb-ft of torque. It is only 164 inches in overall length on a wheelbase of 102.4 inches, with curb weight of 3,563 pounds.

Jan and I on a Monday morning drove the Bolt EV west out of Greeley on U.S. 34 to Loveland, then south on U.S. 287; our destination was Hygiene, the quaint and quiet village northwest of Longmont. The weather was warm, the drive was wonderful.

With the Bolt’s easy turnaround and parking capabilities, we were back and forth and here and there in the little town before driving on west on narrow Hygiene Road to U.S. 36 Foothills Roadway to the south as far as the Greenbriar Inn at Lefthand Canyon, then turned around for the return trip.

Back home, the Bolt’s information center indicated we had driven 98 miles, using only 83 miles of the battery pack’s range. Regenerative braking was a major contributor to the eco success. By pulling a paddle at the steering wheel, the vehicle is slowed gradually without using the brake, converting energy into more electricity to transfer back to the battery. Shift into “Low” mode, lift your foot from the accelerator and the slowdown is much more immediate. The battery pack, very flat, spans the entire length of the vehicle’s floor.

The Bolt rides on Michelin Energy 215/50R17 tires, containing silica-based compound that helps keep the rolling resistance low.

The Bolt competes with the Nissan Leaf Plus, Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia Soul EV and Niro EV and Tesla Model 3.

The Premier trim level of the Bolt carries a sticker price of $43,735.

Rolling along on a Sunday afternoon on a straight stretch of roadway devoid of traffic, I quickly moved this powerful-popping performance coupe into triple-digit speed. Its weighty plumpness and near-foot-wide Pirelli 305/35s at the corners lent it a very safe feel at 110.

It’s the 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody with 797-horsepower, 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi high-output V-8 engine and TorqueFlite 8-speed automatic transmission.

It would be so easy to put this Hellcat three or four 10-mph notches higher to supercede my personal highs for road speed (other than on a track), first aboard a Jaguar XJL sedan in 2010, then a year later in a Cadillac CTS-V Wagon.

Yet, those runs were then, this is now. I’m older and, importantly, Jan is beside me; I’ve always been alone previously with any high-speed testing. Conscience prevailed, I backed off the throttle and we enjoyed the ride home.

The Challenger maintains a keen competitiveness with the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro, dating back 50 years. The 4,500-pound curb weight for the rear-drive Dodge is an indicator that it may be better-planted down the track than its two rivals, which weigh in about 600 pounds lighter. All three are extremely quick.

To drive the high-output Hellcat Redeye is exhilarating. The fun of the run, though, can be an expensive proposition. While the Challenger SRT Hellcat comes in at a base price of $58,995, the addition of Redeye Widebody fender flares, performance tires, competition suspension and a couple-dozen other enhancements pushed sticker price to a whopping $92,445. Included in the options are ventilated laguna leather seats, suede headliner, Harman Kardon audio with 18 speakers, GPS navigation and SRT performance spoiler.

Dodge offers a wide body of Challengers, ranging from the basic SXT around $30,000 to the $90-plus review model I drove. There is the popular GT V-6 with all-wheel drive, and the R/T, R/T Scat Pack, R/T Scat Pack Widebody, SRT Hellcat, SRT Hellcat Widebody, SRT Hellcat Redeye and the SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody featured here today.

With all that power, the Hellcat Redeye’s EPA estimate is 13/21 miles per gallon. My overall average was 14.2, lessened perhaps by a drivethrough at Starbucks.

Honestly, though, during a couple takeoffs at near full-throttle, the Challenger’s rear tires were spinning and rear end was threatening fishtail until I eased my foot.

Eye-catching beneath the hood of the Redeye, in addition to the hemispherical combustion chamber, is the wide green-colored belt which turns the supercharger.

Dodge offers in place of the normal red keypod, one finished in black, which will reduce horsepower to a mere 500.

Adding enjoyment inside the Challenger are Uconnect navigation with 8.4-inch display and the sound system.

The two-door Challenger models are built in an FCA plant in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, across the factory floor from the four-door Dodge Chargers.

-Contact Bud Wells at

[email protected] 

The 2021 Lexus LC500 Convertible, anticipated for a couple of years, has arrived – in style. Beautiful. With a top that drops in 15 seconds, the LC’s appearance was timed perfectly for our warm days and cool-down evenings of August.

Lexus, when it introduced its LC500 coupe three years ago, labeled it a “world-class luxury coupe, with enhanced steering, suspension and braking.”

Regarding the new convertible, add the attribute “stylish,” as in world class leader, noted from its spindle grille and long, tapered hood back to the well-defined rear haunches. Smiles of admiration and awe highlighted faces of family members and friends who were escorted into my garage for viewing of the LC.

Top up or top down, it’s the best-looker of new autos; better than the BMW 850i convertible, better than the Mercedes-Benz SL550, better than the Porsche 911 and, yes, better than the Acura NSX. That covers the main competitors for the LC500 convertible.

Those foes, particularly the three German firms, will lay claim to superior performance and comfort, with some merit.

Lexus will counter and wave its price tag – sticker price of $111,325. Compare the SL550 at $120,000, the 911 and 850i at $130,000 and the NSX at 150,000.

To build interest in the convertible, seven months ago prior to production, a bidding event at the Barrett-Jackson Auction at Scottsdale, Ariz., was to own the first LC500 convertible. A prototype was shown at the auction; winning bid was $2 million by Kent Stevinson, longtime Chevrolet/Toyota/Lexus dealer in the Denver area. The entire amount went to two charities, Boys & Girls Club of America and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

Stevinson took delivery of the special Lexus, stamped No. 100001. It was finished in structural blue with white leather interior.

The review model I drove showed off very brightly circuit red seats inside against an ultrawhite exterior and black top.

Who wants turbo boost? When power is needed, this rear-wheel-drive Lexus delivers with a naturally aspirated, 471-horsepower, 5.0-liter V-8 engine and 10-speed sport direct-shift transmission with manual mode and magnesium paddleshifters at the steering wheel. Front brake discs are huge, 15.7 inches, with 14.1 at the rear. Strong acceleration is appreciated; so, too, the active sport exhaust.

The interior is enhanced with surround sound audio from Mark Levinson 13-speaker system. Tiny buttons for cruise control and driver information are frustrating.

Sticker price hit $111,325 with options of

• 21-inch forged wheels at $2,650,
• head-up display $900,
• limited-slip differential $460 and
• a touring package of aniline leather-trimmed seats, heated steering wheel, climate concierge with upper-body heating and Levinson-embossed headrests.
• Aiding the upper-body heat is warm air blowing from the headrests.

Included among safety features are precollision system with pedestrian-detection, radar cruise control, intelligent high beams and lane-keep assist and lane-departure alert with steering assist.

The Lexus LC500 convertible, built in Aichi, Japan, is on a wheelbase of 113 inches, 187.4 inches in overall length and curb weight of 4,540 pounds.

Mercedes-Benz was once known for producing luxury sedans “far superior in comfort” while ceding recognition to BMW and its M division for high-performance success.

By tightening a link to engine-enhancing AMG, results were a rush of adrenaline which Mercedes found to its liking, and, eventually, it purchased full control of the affiliate. AMG-spiked Mercedes products today compete head-on with the Bimmer hotrods.

My comprehension of Mercedes’ move to the performance side of automotive achievement was reinforced through drivetime with three M-B products – 2021 AMG GLE53 Coupe, ’20 AMG GLC43 SUV and ’20 A220 4Matic Sedan with AMG trim.

The new, powerful AMG-enhanced engine in the GLE marks a return to inline-6 design for M-B and it produces 429 horsepower tied to a 9-gear Speedshift automatic transmission and 4Matic all-wheel drive. The straight-six is equipped with two turbochargers and gets even more boost from a mild hybrid setup.

The GLE, like its rival BMW Gran Coupe, is of four-door structure though because of its sharp slope to the rear is referred to by the German carbuilders as a coupe.

It’s definitely a quality interior, even considering the orange armrests and seat inserts. There are leather handles atop each side of the console, sport-bolstered front seats, Burmester surround sound and wide driver-information center and infotainment screen stretch more than halfway across the dashfront.

The new inline-6 power setup, AMG classic red/black nappa leather and a load of optional finery pushed the GLE into S-class territory – $93,195. Though the engine and transmission are German-built, the final assembly of the “coupe” is at Vance, Ala.

Performance of the ’20 AMG GLC43 SUV, which uses a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V-6, is near equal to the GLE’s inline-6. The GLC V-6’s 0 to 60 time of 4.7 seconds is actually a bit quicker than the GLE. The two are rated even in tow capacity, 3,500 pounds.

The GLC’s V-6 horsepower is 385 and it uses the same 9-speed automatic transmission as the GLE, with 4Matic all-wheel drive. Turn circle for either is just under 40 feet. The GLC is built in Bremen, Germany.

The A220 4Matic, Mercedes’ smallest offering in the U.S., gets by with a turboed 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder of 188 horsepower and 221 lb.-ft. of torque. It is mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission.

The little Benz, assembled in Aguascalientes, Mexico, earned an EPA estimate of 24/34 miles per gallon. It is a good handler, riding on Pirelli 225/40R19 tires, with occasional bumpy ride.

It is a direct competitor to the BMW 228i xDrive Gran Coupe (with four doors), which I reviewed several weeks ago. While the Mercedes A220 at 179.1 inches in overall length is a half-inch longer than the Bimmer, its curb weight of 3,425 is 100 pounds lighter than the BMW. Other competitors are the Audi A3 and Acura ILX.

The $48,295 sticker price for the A220 includes heated front seats and heated steering wheel, 19-inch AMG multispoke wheels, driver assistance package (emergency stop, brake assist, steering assist, lane-keeping), high-beam control, navigation and traffic-sign assist and digital instrument cluster.

General Motors, in seeking a bigger slice of a small pie, appears to be tossing tradition to the winds.

I’m talking of two new U.S. subcompact SUVs, Buick Encore GX and Chevy Trailblazer, sharing a platform out of GM’s Bupyeong plant in South Korea.

Two weeks after review of the Encore GX, slightly larger than the standard Encore, I added the impressions from the 2021 Chevy Trailblazer. While the new Trailblazer is a small subcompact, its name is reborn from a Chev midsize SUV of 15 years or so ago (2002-2009).

My first thought of the ’21 Chevy is that its ride quality is a bit bumpier than the Buick. Any oldtimer will agree that a Buick rides softer than a Chevrolet.

Then a look at specifications told me the Chevy, on the same platform as the Buick GX, is an inch and a half longer in wheelbase and 2 inches longer in overall length than the Buick. Don’t ask an oldtimer to explain that (aren’t Buicks always larger).

Regardless how the Trailblazer stacks up against its GM sibling, its an impressive small SUV crossover, with its zeus bronze metallic finish, capped with white top and side mirrors trimmed in white with puddle lamps.

It’s a pleasure to drive with its turbocharged, 1.3-liter, 3-cylinder Ecotec engine and 9-speed automatic transmission. Other than a definite low-end turbo lag, performance is responsive at midrange. For all-wheel-drive capability in the front-drive-based Trailblazer, simply push a button to the driver’s right. It remains in AWD mode on restart.

The 1.3-liter engine with AWD earned EPA estimate of 26/30 miles per gallon, and my overall average for 340 miles was 28.8. It rides on Hankook 225/60R17 tires. In my review last month of the Buick Encore GX front-wheel-drive model, I averaged 29.3.

The Chevy review model, in Activ trim level, was very well equipped and sticker-priced at $30,580. Cheaper trims are LS, beginning at $23,500 with AWD, and LT, while the RS is priced same as Activ.  In front-wheel-drive form, the LS and LT versions are equipped with a 137-hp, 1.2-liter, 3-cylinder engine and a continuously variable transmission.

Among interior highlights for the Trailblazer Activ model are leatherette seats and leather-wrapped steering wheel, Bose seven-speaker sound system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capable, driver information center and air conditioning. Safety advances are adaptive cruise control, forward-collision alert, lane-keeping assist, rear park assist and rear cross-traffic alert.

That bit of stretch of overall length of the Trailblazer to the Encore GX created an edge in cargo space behind the back row of seats, 25.3 cubic feet in the Chevy and 23.5 in the Buick.

Chevrolet is already represented by Trax, a leading seller among subcompact SUVs, and the addition of the modern Trailblazer should give the company dominance in that end of the market.