We had a fun week with the 2026 Kia Sportage X-Pro and enjoyed its assertive performance and its many tech features including the dual 12.3″ panoramic displays with navigation. Connectivity options included wireless CarPlay. The cargo area offered plenty of room for gardening supplies while fuel economy topped out at about 26 mpg.
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A three-row SUV should be true to the core values of being a Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle. Notably, it needs to have a spacious interior, flexible seating for more than five passengers, and be suitable for both daily driving and longer travel excursions. If you add luxurious accommodations and premium technology to the mix, as in the 2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph that we tested in the middle of a New England winter, then you’ve created a vehicle that not only meets the criteria but also has set itself out to get a lot of attention.
We didn’t expect the QX80 to be a fuel economy leader with its 3.5L V6 Twin Turbo engine, and it wasn’t. But it will get you up and going quickly behind the 450 horsepower and 516 lb. ft. of torque that its powerplant produces. Besides, the more than one-hundred grand a buyer will invest in the Autograph edition of this meticulously crafted machine is not likely intended to impress the neighbors with one’s thriftiness. However, that kind of moolah is good for a queen’s dowry worth of niceties in the QX80.
As a sampler, let’s start with the heated, ventilated, and massaging first and second row seating with heated third row seats. Already, you can see this is no ordinary set of features. And we haven’t even gotten to the 24-speaker Klipsch® Reference Premiere audio system with individual audio control, or the tri-zone advanced climate control system with air purifier and biometric cooling.
Anyway, you could sacrifice and get into the base QX80 Pure edition for about $85.5K, but if you aim for the top, Infiniti has set the starting MSRP for the well-heeled QX80 Autograph that we drove at $110,595.
For a closer look at the features go to the Infiniti QX80 spec page. Meanwhile, enjoy these pics from our weeklong test drive of the QX80 Autograph.
Not a lot has changed on the Infiniti QX60 for 2025, but what has changed will be pleasing to those three-row SUV shoppers who crave more fuel economy. For those who favor power and quick acceleration, those get sacrificed a tad with the step to a turbocharged 268-hp inline four-cylinder engine instead of continuing with the 295-hp V6.
Interestingly, there’s a bit more torque with the turbo-four but that doesn’t equate to faster jumps off the line. It does however allow the 2025 QX60 to hold the line when it comes to towing. It still garners a 6000-lb. rating.
Base MSRP for the well-heeled all-wheel drive Autograph edition gets bumped up to $66,150 from $66,100 last year, but that gets returned in savings at the pump. New EPA numbers estimate 22 city / 24 highway / 24 combined miles per gallon, saving about $1000 in gasoline per year over the 2024 model.
We reviewed the 2024 QX60 back in February of this year. Check that out here. Meanwhile, enjoy a few pics from our weeklong test drive of the 2025 QX60 Autograph AWD.
Affordable luxury are two words that cinch a quick description of the 2025 Mazda CX-70 Turbo S Premium Plus. It checks all the right boxes: Performance – 340 horsepower inline 6-cylinder engine with a mild hybrid boost; Style – nappa leather-trimmed seats; Comfort – 3-zone automatic climate control; Technology – 360-degree view monitor, radar cruise control, front & rear parking sensors.
There’s plenty more, too. Check out this Photo Gallery Slide Show to see what we mean.
For some premium SUVs, it can be a bit of a high wire juggling fete balancing performance, personality and prestige, but not for the BMW X6 xDrive 40i. It assuredly has got its act together. On our week long test drive of the model, it never disappointed us in how well-mannered and sophisticated it would be even when pushed to be brutish.
Some might argue that that ability to remain calm and reserved under pressure is characteristic of the brand. We won’t dispute that other than to note that at times we hoped for a bit more flagrant use of muscle in its demeanor.
Nevertheless, BMW has fastidiously stayed true to form to a fault and that’s where it succeeds. It knows its customer. After all, getting all noisy and raucous while exerting ones power is so déclassé.
To be clear, the X6 xDrive40i does have plenty of power when needed with its 375 horsepower inline 6-cylinder engine paired with a 48V mild hybrid setup. Of course, you’ll pay a bit at the pump for this level of performance, but whose counting when you’ve spent $87,545 to bring home the likes of this test edition that’s loaded with options (see table below).
As for prestige, there’s no line item in the list to describe such an intangible. It comes with the brand’s well-heeled cachet. Even so, the sum total of luxury and convenience features that come with a car like this is not an accident. On paper, they might look like the same stuff you’ll find in the top level trim of many other vehicles. Somehow though, they come together differently in the BMW X6 to create that presence of luxuriousness that you experience as soon as you get in the car, and then gets amplified as you gaze down the road and lean into the accelerator.
| 2024 X6 xDrive40i | Price |
|---|---|
| • Base MSRP | $73,900 |
| Exterior | |
| • Carbon Black Metallic | 650 |
| • 22″ M Dual-Spoke Bicolor 742M Wheels w/ performance tires | 1,900 |
| Interior | |
| • Cognac Sensafin | included |
| • Fineline Black Wood Trim | included |
| Options | |
| • Climate Comfort Package | 1,350 |
| • Driving Assistance Professional Package | 2,100 |
| • Executive Package | 3,450 |
| • M Sport Professional Package | 1,650 |
| • Parking Assistance Package | 800 |
| • Space-saver spare | included |
| • Multi-contour Seats | 750 |
| Additional Costs | |
| • Destination & Handling | 995 |
| TOTAL PRICE (MSRP) | $87,545 |
by Rich Taber
One doesn’t need a photo finish to recognize that Ford has a winner on its hands with the colorful 2024 Bronco Sport Free Wheeling Edition. Does it cross the line, though, with its retro styling?
Apparently, yes it does! And, in a good way, too. Everywhere I went with this charming SUV during my weeklong testing, strangers either nodded approval, gave thumbs-up or called out “Nice car!” affirmations.
Talk about ego boosts. All the attention couldn’t help but slant my unbiased intentions and create good free-wheelin’ vibrations about the five passenger SUV. I think it’s the nostalgia that this edition of the Bronco Sport carries with it. As RPM’s Peter Ciani reported some months ago, “…the Free Wheeling evokes the earthy and colorful, yet restrained, color palette of the 1970s.”
You can read the full original review here on RPM News Weekly – just click the button below.
Meanwhile, we’ve gathered up a new gallery of photos for the vehicle. Have a look. We hope you enjoy the second take of this delightful Bronco Sport edition.
