SILVIO CALABI: Opinionated at any speed
Silvio Calabi has been reviewing cars since Ronald Reagan removed the solar panels from the White House. He lives in Camden.
Bellwether: Honda Prologue Elite
This is Honda’s third go at an electric vehicle, after the experimental EV Plus and the low-volume, short-range hydrogen-powered Clarity and battery-powered Fit, and likely to be the one that makes it to the big time. A prologue is an introduction, usually to a work of music or literature—or, in this case, to a family of EVs that Honda will roll out in the coming decade. Thus a Prologue is a two-row crossover SUV-like vehicle that occupies the same footprint as Honda’s mid-size Passport. … Read more
Like a Rock: Honda Pilot AWD Black Edition
What is it about “black” that prompts some carmakers to apply it to the top trim level of certain models? Even if the vehicle is finished in, say, Radiant Red? Black is sinister, forbidding, grim, opaque . . . all things that no Honda ever was or likely will be. This 2025 Pilot Black Edition comes with all the available factory upgrades (except the Trailsport’s extra off-road features) plus black badges, exterior trim and 20-inch wheels and, inside, black floor mats and logo’ed leather front… Read more
Modern throwback: Mazda MX-5 RF Club 6MT
As a member of the Mid Maine Sports Car Club, I get to hang with interesting automobiles, including no end of vintage roadsters from Jolly Old England. If you’ve forgotten, or are too young to know, let me remind you that those things (c. 1950-75) are tiny. Today’s average overfed American would be hard-pressed, literally, to squeeze into a 1968 MGB Roadster, and that’s with the top down; a hardtop MGB GT? Get the… Read more
Lipsticked: Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ZR2 Crew 4WD
Traditional full-size, body-on-frame pickup trucks—and their derivative “family-size” sport-utility vehicles—are said to be the most profitable items on the menu in Detroit. At the same time, our appetite for pickup trucks continues to grow. Is it any wonder that Ford, GM and Dodge keep coming up with new ways to put lipstick on the pig? And to compete tooth & nail, hoof & claw with each other in this particular farmyard?
Frugal Beauty: Volvo XC60 Recharge AWD Black Edition
Volvos are . . . safe. Check. Elegant. Check. Comfortable, smooth, quiet, Swedish and green. Check, check, check, check. Green? Yes, for a car, anyway, especially this one. We’ve averaged 42 miles per gallon over about 300 miles, and with a fair portion of those miles on the highway. In town, the computer reported as much as 80 MPG, or the equivalent thereof, when the battery is topped up; this is a plug-in hybrid capable of almost 35 miles of local errand-running… Read more
Subaru Crosstrek Sport
In Subaru’s family of five SUVs, the Crosstrek is the best-seller and also the baby—the smallest and least expensive. But it’s no longer a stripped-out loss-leader. Yes, with a starting price of $26,540, it’s still aimed at younger buyers who are just embarking on their earning years, but in comfort, convenience and features—and of course Subaru’s trademark utility and off-roadiness—it gives up very little beyond interior volume to its larger siblings. And it is… Read more
Toyota GR86 Premium
Like a robin hopping across a lawn newly free of snow, the first rear-wheel-drive coupe of the year signals the end of winter. Except there’s always at least one more snow-rain “event,” which if nothing else helps determine a car’s year-round livability.
While we’d prefer not to drive a GR86 all the way through a northern winter, we now know that it could be done, especially with proper tires. Even on summer tires, in strong… Read more
Hyundai Elantra N M/T
Good heavens, another car with a clutch pedal—this is beginning to feel like physical therapy. That’s what M/T signifies: manual transmission. This one has six speeds, actual toothed gears that engage a driveshaft. The shifter is notchy and precise, with a lockout to prevent accidentally selecting reverse while attempting to banzai away from a stoplight. Hyundai even provides a traditional e-brake lever between the front seats, for those handbrake turns we see in old… Read more
Ford Escape Titanium PHEV FWD
There’s no need to rehash last week’s explanation of PHEVs—Plug-in Electric Hybrid Vehicles—but here we get a close look at a second one, a Ford Escape that also has a recharging cable, an electric motor and a larger battery. How does it stack up against last week’s brilliant Hyundai Tucson PHEV… Read more
Hyundai Tucson Limited PHEV AWD
“At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.” You’re likely too young to remember this famous tagline from adman David Ogilvy, but it popped into my head the first time I eased Hyundai’s new Tucson PHEV out of my driveway. Hushed silence is a quality we associate with luxury, and this 2022 Hyundai is surely quieter than that 1958 Rolls-Royce. (No ticking clock, either.)
PHEV stands for… Read more