First Drive

Sometimes, expectations weigh heavy on you. Big names, promising big things, and with big implications: the 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS is a prime example. After spending two full days driving the German automaker's attempt to redefine luxury through Zurich, Switzerland, it almost comes as a relief to report that the EQS surpasses all my expectations of Mercedes-Benz. To risk a cliche, it's the S-Class of electric luxury, redefining what a modern-day high-end sedan embodies through form and function.

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Some rivalries run deep. The 2021 Ford Bronco is a legend reborn, a fresh SUV at a time when the market is ripe for them, and boasts a long laundry list of goodies its predecessors could hardly dream of, but all we really want to know is one thing: can it truly take on all-conquering Jeep Wrangler? After all, the Bronco nameplate first appeared back in 1966 to compete with the International Harvester Scout and, you guessed it, the original Jeep CJ-5.

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If high-output gas engines are facing their gradual curtain call at the hands of electrification, the 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series is going out with a howl. Fiercest of the tuning division's Black Series, it's a 720 horsepower track-ready, road-legal monster GT where excess comes as standard. It's also a reminder of what AMG has traditionally done best - and that big changes are fast incoming.

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The S-Class is hands down the best-selling luxury car in its class, so where do you begin in trying to describe a whole new generation? For as long as I can remember, the S-Class has always been a hotbed for world-blazing technical innovations. From the first-gen Sonderklasse - or "Special Class" - revealed in 1972, to the 8th-gen W223 model at my disposal, the S-Class sits at the pinnacle of the luxury car hierarchy. I was spoiled with unprecedented levels of comfort, sportiness, refinement, and an eye-watering lineup of technologies.

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When you arrive late, you can either slink in through the back door, or make a dramatic entrance: Jeep chose the latter. The 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L may be the first three-row of its lineage, but arrives to a crowded market of strong rivals. That it manages to stand out among that group is a testament to just how big an improvement this SUV is over its predecessors.

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It's hard to express just how important the 2022 Honda Civic Sedan is. Gateway to Honda ownership, nearly 3 out of every 4 Civic buyers end up coming back to buy another Honda: screw up your updated model, then, and you're basically saying goodbye to a generation of new brand loyalists.

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The 2021 Jaguar F-PACE needed a serious interior upgrade, and now it has one and is all the better for it, and if that sounds blunt then it's only a reflection of just where the luxury SUV's real problem always lay. Sure, for the new model year and this mid-cycle refresh, the British automaker also tackles range complexity and tidies up its pricing, but the reality is that cabin not concept had been the F-PACE's problem from the start.

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Sometimes the answer to a problem is right in front of you, and in the case of the 2021 Jaguar XF sports sedan I mean that literally. Sole remaining sedan in the automaker's US line-up, the XF has to ace both the luxury and the engagement benchmarks at a time when consumer appetite continues to swing to SUVs, and when its lavish competition has never been stronger.

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Some cars encourage you to flirt with the ridiculous. On the one hand, you could argue I'm the perfect audience for the 2021 Land Rover Defender 90. My partner and I have two incomes but no kids, we live in the Midwest where snow is an annual occurrence, and heck I even have the British accent to go with this most British of automotive icons.

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The 2021 Acura TLX Type S is a return to form for Honda's premium brand. Long renowned for offering spirited performance alongside the Integra Type R, the Type S arguably couldn't have returned at a better time. In a market where sedans comprise less than 38-percent of new premium vehicle sales, the TLX Type S is a compelling attempt to lure enthusiast drivers back from the domestic crutches of sport-utility vehicles and homogenous crossovers.

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Japanese automaker Infiniti is the first to admit its all-new 2022 QX55 four-door crossover is not meant for everyone. And they mean it, too. It’s a fact not only stated on its official website, but the top brass at Infiniti believes in carving a niche in the growing coupe-crossover segment. “Infiniti has always been a brand that believes in defying conventions,” said Payman Kargar, Senior Vice President and Global Chairman of Infiniti Motor Company. “We believe in making vehicles that are not for everyone but mean everything to some.”

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The Chevrolet Bolt EV has long been the electric car that automotive writers will tell you to buy when you ask them for advice, even though they know you probably won't, but perhaps the 2022 Bolt EUV will prove more convincing. Now in a fashionable crossover body-style, and with aggressive pricing along with freshly-available tech like Super Cruise, Chevrolet has taken maximum advantage of a familiar platform to set what's arguably the new benchmark in a growing segment.

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