Add 23-inch wheels and an extraordinarily long rear spoiler to the muscularly redesigned 2023 Range Rover Sport and its imposing presence raises the question: Has the Sport moved into the full-sized Range Rover’s territory, sizewise?

A glance at the spec sheets for the two dispels the urge to park them side-by-side; the big daddy Range Rover still rules. The Sport, at almost 195 inches in overall length, is a foot shorter and 300 pounds lighter.

Underhood in the ’23 Range Rover Sport SE Dynamic, which I drove in March 2023, is a 3.0-liter turbocharged and supercharged inline-6-cylinder of 395 horsepower/406 lb.-ft. torque mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

Stronger V-8 power is still available in the Range Rover Sport, along with a couple hybrid options; next year is expected to bring an all-electric Sport to the lineup.

Performance is satisfactory from the word “go,” when the supercharger boosts early, then the turbo takes over at midrange. Tied to the AWD setup are selectable terrain choices, with the V-6 power lending smoothness. My overall fuel mileage average was 23.2; the Sport’s EPA estimate is 18/26 mpg.

The well-balanced Range Rover Sport, with air suspension, offers a comfortable ride, highlighted with an interior of plush Windsor leather, power reclining heated rear seats and Meridian sound. The five-passenger interior is attractive, except for the cheap-looking upper panels on the doors, durable but cheap.

The Range Rover Sport reached $100,085 in sticker price with the addition of the wheels, head-up display, heated washer jets, heated steering and pixel LED headlights. Included as standard items are panoramic roof, power sunblind, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto/Amazon Alexa integration, rain-sensing wipers and safety aids adaptive cruise with steering assist, emergency braking, lane-keep assist and traffic-sign recognition.

The Range Rover Sport is built in Solihull, United Kingdom. Among competitors in the luxury midsize SUV field are Mercedes GLE-class, BMW X5, Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne, Genesis GV80, Lincoln Aviator, Volvo XC90, Lexus RX350 and others.

Reader responds

Bud: I’m a loyal reader of your Saturday feature in The Denver Post; regarding one-pedal driving as you mentioned in your review of the Nissan Leaf. I hear lots of reviewers talk of one-pedal driving with electric cars, but, I wonder, how does the person behind in traffic know when you’re braking? If you’re not pushing the brake pedal to slow down or stop, your brake lights won’t let the cars behind you know that you’re about to slow down. This seems like a serious safety concern. Thanks. – George B.

Well, George, when using one-pedal driving, the brake lights will function as if the driver is using the traditional hydraulic brakes. The brake lights illuminate when the accelerator pedal is released, making drivers behind the car aware that it is slowing down.

The 2023 Dodge Hornet has been flitting all about Denver and northern Colorado in this cold week of early spring; it didn’t sit still till it reached the Colorado Convention Center in preparation for the 2023 Denver Auto Show.

The Hornet, an all-new compact crossover, was listed as one of top attractions as the car show returned to the convention center for the first time since 2020.

The Dodge Hornet GT Plus is powered by a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, 9-speed automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive. A plug-in hybrid version, called the Hornet R/T, is expected to go on sale this summer. The gas-powered and hybrid models are the first small product for Dodge dealers since the Dart sport sedan showed up for a relatively short run 10 years ago.

The Hornet is being built alongside the Alfa Romeo Tonale in a Stellantis factory in Naples, Italy.

While the Alfa will compete against luxury competitors Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Mercedes GLA, the Hornet considers its prime challengers are Mazda CX-30, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson.

Prospective Dodge buyers apparently aren’t bothered by the Italian build site, as a company spokesman explained that more than 14,000 orders were received in less than 24 hours after the Hornet’s reveal.

The Hornet is a sporty handler, and gets improved performance from a Sport button on the steering wheel which lends an instant boost of 25 horsepower for 15 seconds. Its 2.0-liter Hurricane engine develops 268 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque.

Front-end enhancements include a “mail-slot”-style grille in the front fascia and integrated heat extractors in the hood. Stiffness-stressed suspension increased handling capability and four-piston Brembo brakes add safety control. EPA fuel-mileage estimates are 21/29.

Inside, Harmon Kardon sound is excellent, and the little Hornet has a real horn, to be heard above the normal street noise.

From a base price around $36,500, the tab climbs to $40,215 with black-finish touches for the “cue-ball” white exterior, active driving assist, intelligent speed assist, surround-view camera and drowsy-driver detection.

Dodge resurrected the Hornet model name, having acquired rights to the name from the Chrysler Corp. purchase of American Motors Corp. in 1987.

I well-remember the original Hornet as a Hudson in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s. The Hudson company built cars in Detroit from 1909 to 1954, when it merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors.

A steady increase in roominess over the years has lifted Nissan’s sleek midsize sedan, the Altima, into a competitive position for 2023 with the segment-leading Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Japan-based Nissan depends on a combination of the Altima and the Rogue compact crossover for almost half of its sales in the U.S. I drove the new Nissan Altima SR four-door into northeastern Colorado.

Also in my possession recently was the 2023 version of the Leaf SV Plus, a front-drive, all-electric, compact hatchback sedan.

On its shiny side, the Leaf has a newly styled grille, a great-looking 5-spoke aluminum-alloy wheel design (if you buy the SV Plus model) and offers a smooth ride.

The other side of the Leaf are the range providers. The Leaf SV Plus is equipped with a 60 kWh lithium-ion battery and 160 kW electric motor for EPA estimated range of 212 miles; The Leaf S has only a 40 kWh battery and 110 kW electric motor for estimated range of 149 miles.

The Leaf, which has been around since 2011, has not been a big seller; it’s those relatively low range estimates that have lessened the sales potential.

Leaf pricing starts around $30,000 for the S and $35,000 for the SV Plus (sticker price on the review model brought to me is $36,985). The Leaf last year was 12^th-best-selling fully electric vehicle in the U.S.

Back to the internal-combustion-engine-powered Altima, which I drove with Bill and Kathy Allen and Jan aboard, out east on U.S. 34 (and I-76) to Sterling. In visiting with sister Norma and Dave Wagner, Jan Lock and Rick Wagner, we were told Sterling now has a public charging station for electric cars and that work has begun on location for a Starbucks store, reinforcing status for Sterling as the trade center for northeastern Colorado.

Underhood in the new Altima is a 2.0-liter, variable-compression turbocharged 4-cylinder engine of 236 horsepower and 267 lb.-ft. of torque. The turbo boost diminished somewhat the normal drone of the continuously variable transmission (CVT), with paddleshifters also in the mix.

Overall performance was very satisfactory; the Altima averaged 32.4 miles per gallon for the 210-mile drive. Its EPA estimate is 25/34. Aided by the boost, there was no apparent lag in passing power on I-76. Ride comfort was compromised by sport suspension for better handling.

Overall lengths of the top-three-selling midsize sedans indicate how closely aligned they are – Honda Accord 195.7 inches, Nissan Altima 192.9 and Toyota Camry 192.7. In its early years of existence, the Altima was shorter at 185 inches. The Accord’s added length contributed to its edge in trunk space at 16.7 cubic feet to 15.4 for the Altima and 15.1 for the Camry.

ProPilot Assist, engaged by a blue button on the steering wheel, keeps the Altima in the center of its driving lane with minimal input from the driver, maintains a preset distance from the car ahead even in slowdowns and accelerations. The ProPilot was first installed in a Nissan product in 2018. Other safety items are automatic emergency braking, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alert and around-view monitor.

The Altima’s appearance became more distinctive this year with new front fascia styling which on the SR trim includes a special “black chrome” grille finish and, inside, a dual-stitch interior fabric design and expanded center-console storage. Rear-seat legroom is a plus.

The ’23 Altima, assembled in Canton, Miss., carries sticker price of $36,440, including 12.3-inch color touchscreen display with navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth hands-free phone system, Bose audio, leather sport seats, power moonroof, heated front seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, traffic sign recognition.

Low-end pricing begins around $27,000; all-wheel drive is available on certain models. Besides Camry and Accord, other midsize competitors for the Altima are the Hyundai Sonata, Subaru Legacy, Chevy Malibu, Kia K5 and Volkswagen Passat.

Production is ending this year for the Nissan Maxima, which competed against the Toyota Avalon in the full-size sedan market.                                                           

Wow! Two weeks after I revealed the newest Toyota color – solar octane (bright orange) – on the Tacoma pickup, the same hue showed up on the all-new 2023 Sequoia SUV delivered to me.

The blazing new color surprises me on the big, tough, Sequoia, but forget that flash for there are bigger, more important changes of far more consequence.

The ’23 model is the first real makeover of the Sequoia in 15 years or so, sending the new one into the modern automotive mix.

It’s now a hybrid. The only way you can buy it is as a hybrid. It’s gas and electric beneath the hood.

Its V-8 power is the past, it’s been replaced; the future is today with a twin-turbo V-6 engine and an electric motor generator housed between the V-6 and its 10-speed automatic transmission.

Instant response with excellent acceleration is delivered by the powertrain’s combined output of 437 horsepower and 583 lb.-ft. of torque. All this and a jump in EPA-rated fuel economy to 19 city/22 highway from the former 12-16.

The Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Hybrid showed up in time to venture out into a storm as far as the Kersey area before blowing snow drove us back home.

Complementing the Sequoia’s tough-looking exterior is a comfortable interior with well-bolstered, leather front seats, large flat infotainment screen, switch for selecting 2 Hi drive, 4 Hi or 4 Lo, lots of cubby holes and bins for storing small items.

Toyota has replaced last year’s independent rear suspension with solid rear axles. The ’23 model is 3 inches longer in overall length to 208 inches, though it still rides on the same 122-inch wheelbase.

The Sequoia’s catback exhaust still emits a satisfying rumble and burbling sound out the rear pipes.

Built in San Antonio, the 2023 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Hybrid lists sticker price at $80,291. Among features are multi-terrain selection, crawl control, Fox shocks, radar cruise control, lane-departure alert with steering assist, road sign assist, cast-aluminum running boards, auto-leveling LED headlights, aluminum skid plate, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, heated and ventilated front seats, power liftgate with flip-up glass and TRD roofrack.

Among other makes offering full-size, three-row SUVs with seating for eight are the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban and GMC Yukon, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, the new Jeep Wagoneer and Nissan Armada.

Okay, friends, this one’s for all of you who have suggested I drive a car of much-lesser expense on occasion.

It’s a popular compact four-door sedan, a gas/electric hybrid with expanded horsepower.

And, if the hybrid feature isn’t enough especially for us Coloradans, its maker has added all-wheel drive, which is put to good use in this snowy winter of 2022-‘23. All this for $30,000.

It’s the 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid SE AWD; it illustrates sleekness from its sharply sloped nose all the way back to a short-overhang rear deck.

While the car was parked for a photo at Glenmere Lake in Greeley, neighborhood resident Joan Adams walked alongside it, stopped and commented on how well she liked the exterior color. What color is it, she asked. Well, manufacturers go to great lengths to distinguish their particular choice of hue, such as “solar octane,” “midnight lake blue,” “diffused sky.”

I, too, liked the color and had already checked out its definitive name – “dark gray,” I told her. She’s driven Toyotas through the years, including a 1986 pickup for 352,000 miles, and seemed quite impressed with the Corolla hybrid.

Horsepower has been boosted from 121 to 138 for the Corolla’s power sources, a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine and two electric motors. The second motor is rear-mounted to power the rear wheels when needed in response to front-wheel slippage.

Teamed with a continuously variable transmission, the hybrid power still is on the light side, though the transition between front-drive and AWD is seamless. By engaging Sport drive mode, the Corolla accelerates much more responsively than when in Eco or Normal mode. The tradeoff in use of Sport is a decline in fuel mileage.

EPA estimate for the Corolla hybrid is 47 miles per gallon in city, 41 on highway and 44 combined. My overall average after use of all three modes was 40.4 mpg. It rides on Dunlop 225/40R18 tires.

The review model had no power seat, even for the driver, and no heated seats. The interior, boasting good back-seat legroom but somewhat tight in headroom, is fairly plain-looking, with durable sport fabric-trimmed seats. Trunk space is wide, though fairly shallow and amounts to only 13.1 cubic feet.

The Corolla is 182.5 inches in overall length on a wheelbase of only 106.3 inches. Its narrow track is barely wider than 60 inches. Curb weight is 2,850 pounds. It is built at Aichi, Japan.

Pricing begins around $28,000 for the Corolla SE with all-wheel drive and hybrid power; the addition of JBL premium audio, power outside mirrors and blind-spot monitor, boosted sticker price to $30,518. Other trim levels are the cheaper LE and more expensive XLE.

For 2023, all Corolla hybrid models are equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 precollision system, lane-departure steering assist, proactive driving assist and deceleration assist. Hybrid-related items are covered with an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty and the hybrid battery with 10-year/150,000-mile warranty.

Consumers undoubtedly will be shopping for an electric version of the Maverick pickup several years down the road from now, as Ford apparently is waiting only for an expected decline in battery prices before adding the electrified model to the Mav.

The Ford Maverick, which went on sale in late 2021 for the ’22 model year, is one of the hottest small pickups available.

In fourth-quarter results reported in January 2023, the Maverick with 22,568 sales outperformed the Chevy Colorado (20,602), Nissan Frontier (19,830) and Jeep Gladiator (17,587) for runnerup position behind the longtime popular Toyota Tacoma among compact pickups.

If Mavericks eventually roll off the assembly line packing electric power, they will complement Ford’s lengthy dominance in full-size pickup sales from its F-150 and F-150 Lightning Electric models.

My first test of the little Maverick was in May ‘22 in its unibodied, front-wheel-drive, gas/electric hybrid version, based on the Ford Escape and Ford Bronco Sport. It delivered an average of 37.2 miles per gallon from its 191-horsepower, 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, an electric motor and continuously variable automatic transmission.

Coming my way early this year was the 2023 Maverick with turbocharged gas-only engine, all-wheel drive and the new Tremor Offroad Package, including 1-inch lift for added ground clearance, enhanced front and rear suspension and towing capacity increased from 2,000 to 4,000 pounds with the turbo and AWD, but without the Tremor package.

The turboed 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission, generating 250 horsepower/277 lb.-ft. of torque, and its EPA estimate is 22/29 miles per gallon. The Tremor finish lends the Maverick a tougher look, with strong stance. Its bed is only 4 feet, 6 inches in length. The Mav showed solid traction in the snow, with little slippage.

The Maverick is more carlike in ride and handling than, say, the little-bit-bigger Ford Ranger, a body-on-frame pickup. “This is the product for people who never thought they wanted a truck,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley Jr., of the Maverick.

The ’23 Ford Maverick, in Lariat Tremor AWD trim level, carries base price of $29,440; the Tremor option, plus bedliner spray-in and Ford Co-Pilot 360 with adaptive cruise, lane-keeping and blind-spot alert, boosted sticker tab to $37,485. This is almost $10,000 pricier than the front-drive Mav I drove last year.

A very close competitor to the Maverick is the new Hyundai Santa Cruz, also of unibody construction, 4 inches shorter than the overall length of the Maverick, and with a small bed slightly shorter than the Mav’s. Volkswagen also is expected to produce an all-electric small pickup in the near future.

Ford officials have hinted that preceding the arrival of an electric Maverick will be a PHEV (plug-in electric hybrid) version.

The new, lengthened 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 First Edition was my drive one day in late January – 50 miles to Denver, then out west almost to Golden for a “visit” with Dr. Tom Pott, dentist. On my return route home, though the feeling in half my face was at ebb, my thought process was near peak in respect for the onroad capability and handling of the Defender.

Land Rover planners, owing their existence to offroading, nevertheless ditched body-on-frame construction in favor of unibody for the revived Defender 130, added fully independent/height-adjustable air suspension for down-the-road, smooth comfort.

With strong acceleration, only a very occasional lag is felt in the performance of the 395-horsepower, 3.0-liter inline-6-cylinder engine with an electric supercharger and a 48-volt hybrid boost. The Land Rover’s 5,900-pound curb weight takes a toll on fuel mileage – 19.8, EPA estimate is 17/21. Also available are 4-cylinder and V-8 engines.

Shifts from the German-built ZF 8-speed automatic transmission are near-imperceptible; the Rover’s all-wheel-drive system kept us moving, as it switched back-and-forth from rear-wheel to four-wheel control through deep snow in the streets all over town. A heated steering wheel was welcomed on 0-degree mornings.

The Defender’s long body, 211.7 inches (same as Cadillac Escalade), sports a tough, sturdy-looking front end. Along the sides, the C pillars at window level are covered with what look almost like white, rectangular stick-ons. A squared-off rear end and large spare wheel cover do little for aesthetics. The body sits high, with optional 22-inch wheels, and has no step rails or running boards. It has 11.5 inches of ground clearance.

The 8-passenger interior is roomy and comfortable for all three rows of seating, with Windsor leather and panoramic roof. In full use, all those headrests and the spare-tire cover hinder vision out the rear windows. The Meridian sound system and an 11.4-inch infotainment screen are user-friendly.

Accessing the 130’s Terrain Response system, like I told two years ago in reviewing the ’21 Defender, requires touching a button on the center stack, pushing in the driver-side heat-temperature control knob and dialing in the preferred setting among normal, snow, mud, rock crawl, etc. It offers a mode for traversing deep water in roadways or small streams.  

We all know Land Rovers are of English heritage, have been for 75 years; don’t spread it around, but this one is built in Nitra, Slovakia. Global expansion is the explanation.

Sticker price for the ’23 Defender 130 reached $92,725 with the 22-inch optional wheels at an added $2,000, a package which boosted tow capacity to 8,200 pounds for $1,850 and heated windshield/washer jets/steering wheel for $1,500.

Land Rover, along with Jaguar, is owned by Tata of India. Its LR lineup includes Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar, Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Defender, Land Rover Discovery and Land Rover Discovery Sport.

An 8-inch snowfall Wednesday morning, Jan. 18, set the course between my house and Starbucks for the 2023 BMW M340i four-door sedan and me, and with xDrive all-wheel control and Bridgestone Turanza all-season touring tires the low-slung Bimmer’s grip was as good as I expected.

Streets in my neighborhood had not yet been plowed and the BMW churned through the deep pile with minimal hindrance.

The snow test was a bonus, for Jan and I had made a 135-mile run on Friday of last week through some mountain canyons – finessing the curves in these areas are where the BMW builds its rep for handling.

I’ve driven lots of BMWs. Lots of Mercedes, too.

Both of the German premium car builders are still producing wonderful sedans. When BMW sent the 2023 M340i xDrive here, I mentioned that it is a competitor of the Mercedes-Benz C class 4Matic AMG.

“Of those two brands, which do you suppose you’ve driven most,” I was asked. “Does anyone keep track,” he continued.

“I do,” I said, “I keep track.” Over the past 45 years, even with a few diversions from the driving duties, I’ve tested 108 BMWs and 103 Mercedes. That’s not as many as the number of Fords and Chevys that have come my way, but it is more than the Hondas and Subarus.

What an enjoyable drive it was aboard the Bimmer M340, over to Loveland, on up U.S. 34 as far as Drake, then the back road through Glen Haven to Estes Park, slipping onto U.S. 34 as far as the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, and back to Estes, down the canyon and home.

I’ve made this drive many times, and let me say of the BMW M340, its cornering capabilities may be the best of anything I’ve piloted to Estes. My first-ever run up the canyon was in my 1948 Ford V-8 two-door sedan in the summer prior to my senior year in high school many years ago.

Complementing the longtime sportiness of the 3 series in recent years is noticeably more comfort and softness.

The review model was equipped with BMW’s famed 3.0-liter, twin-turbo, inline-6-cylinder of 382  horsepower; tied to its 8-speed automatic transmission is a 48-volt mild hybrid system of added horsepower for a boost in passing power and added acceleration. An M sport package delivers adaptive suspension, steering and differential.

The M340 is 185.7 inches in overall length, with wheelbase of 112.2 inches. At 17 cubic feet, its trunk space is larger than that of the Mercedes C300 sedan.

The mountain drive in the M340 recorded fuel mileage of 27.8 miles per gallon, right in the middle of the EPA estimate of 23 city and 32 highway.

The BMW’s sticker price of $67,160 included Harman Kardon surround sound, dynamic cruise, heated steering wheel and mocha vernesca leather.

Honda’s bread-and-butter car, the 2023 CR-V compact crossover, showed up in early January 3 inches longer in overall length, a bit wider with stiffer suspension, an all-new gas/electric hybrid powertrain, a roomier cargo area and a boost in rear styling with vertical LED taillights.

The CR-V, now in its sixth generation, is Honda’s best-seller, ahead of Accord and Civic sedans and HR-V and Pilot SUVs.

American Honda, builder of Honda and Acura automobiles, is headquartered in Torrance, Calif., for the Japanese company. I’ve commended Honda before on its predilection toward quality products, and this week couldn’t help noticing some positive statements concerning a ton of adversity over the past two or three years.

Of all the major auto manufacturers, Honda took one of the biggest hits in sales from chip shortages, interest rates, etc., in the past year, a decline of 33 percent. Lack of inventory has hurt all car builders. The decline for Honda continued into last month (December 2022) when car sales were down almost 4 percent and trucks dipped almost 15 percent from the same month a year ago. The headline on the company’s year-end sales report, though, was “American Honda posts positive finish to tough sales year as increased supply helps meet strong demand.”

“It’s all about supply issues,” said Mamadou Diallo, vice president of auto sales for American Honda Motor Co., “and when we have the inventory to meet strong customer demand, our sales will continue to rebound.”

With the CR-V’s curb weight at just under 4,000 pounds, fairly smooth performance is delivered by the new 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated 4-cylinder Atkinson-cycle engine and dual-electric-motor hybrid setup with 204 horsepower and 247 lb.-ft. of torque. Transmission is of continuously-variable design. Drive modes are Normal, Sport, Eco and Snow.

By engaging the “B” position from Drive on the transmission selector, with paddle shifters in effect, a light amount of regenerative braking is felt. It helps slow down the CR-V in deceleration. This is added reliance to the electrical side of the powertrain.

In one 50-mile highway drive, with the B mode used for about half the miles, we topped out at an average of 34.7 miles per gallon. The CR-V Hybrid’s EPA estimate is 40 in town, 34 highway and 37 combined.

Standard on the CR-V Sport Touring model I drove is an update to Honda’s Real Time AWD system, which is quieter than past models and is capable of sending up to 50 percent of engine torque to the rear wheels, improving traction in slippery conditions.

The lane departure system, when engaged, provides well-centered guidance down the highway. Also included in Honda Safety Sensing are adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation braking and traffic-jam assist.

Priced at $39,845, the CR-V Hybrid provides a comfortable interior with leather, a 9-inch color touchscreen, Bose premium audio, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto integration, Bluetooth. The CR-V interior warms very quickly on a cold, winter morning, helped by remote start and heated steering wheel.

Christmas Week 2022, my word what a busy time with bitter cold and deep snow; travel duties, though, were handled with ease by the Hummer EV Pickup, General Motors’ blockbuster entry among the rush of electric vehicles.

Its curb weight is more than 9,000 pounds and three electric motors develop almost 1,000 horsepower.

It is 86.7 inches wide, 7 inches wider than a full-size GMC Sierra pickup. Wheelbase is 135.6 inches and overall length 216.8. Its small box is 5 feet in length.

Sitting in the driveway of son Dale and Sandy Wells’ home in Johnstown on Christmas afternoon, the Hummer’s size drew comments from many of the 50 family members gathered for our annual dinner.

A day earlier, Christmas Eve morning, my old traditional greeting of “Merry Christmas” was tossed from the open window of the Hummer in a “drive about town” in Greeley.

Turned back by black ice in a Toyota Sequoia Hybrid the week before in our attempt to visit relatives in Sterling, the journey was completed in full length on Monday, the day following Christmas. while driving the 2022 GMC Hummer.

Son Brent joined Jan and me for the drive and we visited with Norma and Dave Wagner, Jana Lock and Pat Ogley while there.

Preparing for the drive, I spent an hour Monday morning at a ChargePoint station at Village Inn at Greeley Centerpoint, sharing space in the four-station area with one other electric, an older BMW i3. Replenishing the Ultium battery pack of 210 kWh capacity to almost full raised the estimated range of miles to 300. The charge for lifting the energy level from 60 percent to about 92 percent was $45.57, including $7.73 for a parking fee. Thus, in this instance, the almost-$38 cost for the electric charge was more costly than it would have been to similarly replenish fuel for a gasoline-powered Hummer. The drive to Sterling and back covered 210 miles, while the battery pack was reduced from an estimated 297 miles to 47 for an estimated use of 250 miles.

As part of the Hummer’s Super Cruise, the lane-changing and lane guidance features are among the best of any I’ve driven and tested. The system consistently maintains center-lane position for the Hummer, and in self-driving mode will signal, then initiate a move into the next lane for passing or accommodating heavy traffic along the lanes.

This longtime gig of mine, driving and reviewing new cars and trucks, began 45 years ago, Christmas Eve 1977. I left the Denver Post newsroom at 15^th and California about 4 p.m., Jan picked me up and drove out north to Griffith Chrysler Plymouth in Northglenn, where I was handed the keys to a 1978 Chrysler Cordoba.

All these years later, we’re transitioning as hundreds of variations of electric cars and trucks are heading our way, very swiftly, very quietly, even against fears and warnings of some analysts that electric-car charging may overload the power grid.

General Motors appears to have engineered a superb set of advancements for the Hummer electric.

The Hummer is pricey; sticker price on the review model I am driving is $110,295. It is built at the Detroit-Hamtramck factory. On sale in limited production, the GMC product is special, for in its newness it rivals the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup, the Mercedes-Benz EQS450 Electric, the BMW i4 M50, the Audi e-tron GT and others.

The Hummer’s estimated tow rating is 7,500 pounds, with an estimated payload of approximately 1,300 pounds.

We tested Hummer’s “crab walk” mode, in which the rear wheels can turn as much as 10 degrees and will mimic the angle of the front wheels to assist a diagonal move in parking or offroad; it almost seems as though it is “scooting” over.

It is equipped with air ride adaptive suspension, trailering package, 13.4-inch color touchscreen, navigation, Bose premium sound, remote start, heated steering wheel, spray-in bedliner, multipro tailgate, transparent sky panels and enhanced automatic parking assist.

One-third of the space in the small pickup bed is dominated by the upright spare wheel and tire, which can be removed to create more cargo room.