The 2021 Ford Bronco Sport — a Box Worth Buying

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The brand-new Ford Bronco Sport boasts a long list of rugged features. That’s because this compact SUV is aimed directly at drivers who desire to leave the pavement for off-road adventures. And with its distinctly rectangular profile, the Ford Bronco Sport has landed on a list of the best boxy cars. Here’s why this exciting SUV is a box worth buying.

The best boxy cars of 2021

RELATED: The Bronco Sport Could Be Killing Another Ford SUV

U.S. News recently placed the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport on its list “The 14 Best Boxy Cars for 2021.” Vehicles need only a few qualifying characteristics to appear on this list. Primarily, they must have “flat roofs and rectangular profiles.” But U.S. News also uses vehicles’ overall scores based on safety data and expert reviews.

Because this data this fluid, it’s important not to judge a vehicle too harshly for placing last on the list. And that’s where the Ford Bronco Sport has landed, 14th on a list of 14 boxy cars. But U.S. News placed the Bronco Sport last because of its lack of an overall score — this SUV is so new that safety ratings and reliability data are unavailable.

The Bronco Sport shares space on the list with other boxy vehicles, mostly SUVs and crossovers. They include the Jeep Wrangler, Subaru Forester, and Kia Soul. The Volkswagen Golf slips in as the sole car. And the Lincoln Navigator takes the top spot.

The 2021 Ford Bronco Sport at a glance

RELATED: Proof That the Ford Bronco Sport Is Perfect for Biking and Boating

U.S. News calls the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport “a great pick” for consumers wanting a small SUV with “genuine off-road credentials.” Let’s not forget the new Bronco’s namesake, the original Ford Bronco. (But it’s OK to forget the late-’80s Ford Bronco II.)

So far, the newest Ford Bronco appears to resurrect the off-road prowess of its predecessors and, in some areas, surpasses them using new technology designed to flatten the learning curve for newer off-road drivers. The 2021 Bronco Sport earned a 9/10 critics’ rating from U. S. News and a respectable 7.4/10 in performance. However, the interior scored only 6.7/10.

Critics enjoyed the Ford Bronco Sport’s ability to tackle tough terrain with its standard all-wheel drivetrain, off-road suspension, and skid plate protection. On the pavement, reviewers liked the Bronco Sport’s comfortable ride, user-friendly infotainment system, and advanced safety features. The Bronco Sport’s available turbocharged engine provided sufficient power for on-pavement and off-road driving.

Though the testers praised the Ford Bronco Sport for its cargo space, they deducted points for its small backseat, utilitarian cabin materials, and average fuel economy.

The Ford Bronco Sport makes boxy work

Boxy vehicles like the Ford Bronco Sport have advantages and disadvantages. The drawbacks range from cosmetic to real-world aerodynamic issues, including wind buffeting and reduced fuel economy. But these shortcomings are limited on a small SUV such as the Bronco Sport and are quickly outweighed by the advantages.

The first plus to a boxy body is the increase in the interior room by pushing the corners up and back. This interior space has to be divided between cargo space and passenger seating. Ford‘s engineers maximized the Bronco Sport’s cargo space at the expense of some rear-seat comfort. This increased cargo space allows two bicycles to stand up inside using the proper accessories and still have room for all the gear needed for all-day fun.

Another advantage to the Bronco Sport’s flat roof design is carrying gear atop the vehicle. Consumers can choose to adorn their roofs with luggage racks, surfboards, kayaks, roof-top tents, or racks for even more bicycles.

Drivers who desire to roam the backroads and trails of our nation in comfort, safety, and style owe it to themselves to consider the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport.

The post The 2021 Ford Bronco Sport — a Box Worth Buying appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

/by

Do RVs Use Special Tires?

by Gabrielle DeSantis

As the camper and overlanding crazes continue to rage in unison, the RV market is seeing a massive uptick in newcomers. Given the nature of these vehicles (camper trailer, camper van, motorhome, etc.), driving or pulling these heavy rigs can quickly turn dangerous. Unlike your car, RV tires can get a bit more complicated. 

Time to plan your RV road trip | Photo: Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa | Hauke-Christian Dittrich/picture alliance via Getty Images

Ask for help when buying RV tires

RVs can come in many different shapes and sizes. Obviously, a camper trailer and a camper van will use a different kind of tire most times. Similarly, big rig motorhomes also need a specific tire to handle the immense weight. 

Mechanic rolling a wheel through the shop
Mechanic rolling a wheel | Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images

When buying a used RV, consulting a tire professional could be really helpful in buying the right tires and judging the condition of the current tires. Because RV tires can sit for long periods of time and often run out of life before the tread is low, RV tires require a trained eye to determine safety. 

How to date RV tires

DOT numbers on an RV tire
DOT Numbers | Recstuff.com

RELATED: Beware These Silent Killers of RV Tires as Summer Vacation Approaches

You can learn it on your own, but according to RVShare, there is a code on every RV tire that will specify the exact week of a particular year that the tire was manufactured. 

The basic idea behind determining the age of your tires is paying attention to the last 4 digits of the Tire Identification Number.

According to RVShare, “Tire manufacture date is listed as a 4 digit code at the end of the DOT number. For example, if the last 4 digits of your Tire Identification Number are 4210, that means that your tires were manufactured in the 42nd week of the year 2010.”

Buying old tires, even if they look good, is a hazardous way to go. Take the time to learn how to date your tires so you know when to replace them and buy tires in the future. 

Tire size really matters

This fact is true for all motorized vehicles. Whether motorcycle, car or off-roader, having the wrong size tire can bring loads of misery. RVs ramp up that misery about ten-fold. 

Obviously, the Class A Motorhomes are a different beast altogether than the two-person camper trailers. Vehicles in this weight class require serious tires that often require a much higher air pressure to handle the rig’s weight. 

a truck towing an RV camper with a auto behind.
RV triple towing | Roads Less Traveled

RELATED: Living In Your RV Full-time Might Be More Dangerous Than You Think

As tires are specialized and specific to the RV, so too are the wheels. Everything has to be just right in this department, or problems can occur quickly and violently. 

A car blowout is scary enough as it is, but most cars and trucks are much more easily recoverable in the event of a blowout than a camper trailer or motorhome. The risks are much greater, which makes tire and wheel selection very important. 

Where to buy RV tires? 

Like anything else these days, You can tire shop online. Once you know which tires you need for your rig, it can pay to take your time and do your research.

Sites like DiscountTire.com and TireRack.com can be helpful resources for finding a large selection of RV tires to choose from. Tire manufacturers’ websites can also be a strong starting point for learning about the benefits of different brands. 

This is where that dating code comes into play. What you want to be careful of is buying tires that have been sitting for a long time. If you learn how to date the code or show them to your tire guy, you can avoid buying old, dry tires. This can not only save you money but also save you a dangerous blowout. 

Again, like everything else, RV tire prices can vary wildly. Don’t be afraid to take your time and shop around. This will save you time and money in the long run.

The post Do RVs Use Special Tires? appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

/by

The 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S Just Outperformed Its Range Estimates

by Gabrielle DeSantis

When car shoppers weigh the pros and cons of electric vehicles, two things usually play a key role in which model they buy. The first is the purchase price. The second is the EV’s range. A major concern is that the vehicle’s actual range will be shorter than the estimates, making it difficult to count on the vehicle for long trips. But one EV, the 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S, actually outperformed its range estimate.

Determining EVs’ range

RELATED: It Now Costs $2,500 to Rent a New Porsche Taycan Each Month

The folks at InsideEVs conducted tests they use to estimate the range of various EVs. Though they admit their range tests aren’t perfect, they still provide a pretty good idea of how many miles you can expect a vehicle to travel on a single charge.

When they conduct a range test, one of the first things they do is check the vehicle’s tires to ensure the air pressure meets the manufacturer’s recommendation. Too much or too little air can affect the vehicle’s total range. They also use a GPS to cross-check the speedometer. The final step is ensuring the EV’s battery is fully charged. Whenever possible, they like to use an identical second car on a different course to average the range test results, providing a more accurate total range.

The interesting thing about the range tests is that once the EVs drive in real-world situations, some, such as the 2019 Tesla Model 3 AWD, underperform. But others, like the 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S, exceed the estimated range.

The 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S’s range

RELATED: The Porsche Taycan Is a Cool EV, but Is It Fun to Drive?

The 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S carries a 79.2 kWh battery. But don’t be fooled by the fact that the 4S’s battery is smaller than the Turbo model’s battery. The 4S does just fine on long drives. 

For the range test, InsideEVs used a Taycan 4S equipped with a “Performance Battery Plus.” Going into the range test, the 4S had an EPA-estimated range of 203 miles. InsideEVs’ driver managed to boost that performance by an impressive 37 percent and drove the vehicle for 277.9 miles before the battery lost all power.

“We’re still a little puzzled at how the Taycan continues to consistently beat its EPA range rating whenever an InsideEVs staff member gets behind the wheel of one,” Tom Moloughney of InsideEVs wrote.

Other experts have confirmed the Porsche Taycan 4S’s actual range

InsideEVs isn’t the only automotive publication that noticed the 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S traveled farther than the estimated range. 

Alex Roy of The Drive said the EPA estimate felt conservative and decided he needed to take the 2020 Taycan 4S for a drive to find out how far the EV could go on a single charge. One of the reasons he believed the Taycan’s EPA range might not be accurate was because he had noticed Porsche had a long history of remaining conservative with its estimates. 

He arranged to drive a borrowed Taycan 4S roundtrip from Santa Monica, California, to Phoenix, Arizona. It’s about an 800-mile trip, and he estimated he would need to stop four times to charge the battery. He used various driving modes during the trip. With the vehicle in Range Mode, it reached 297 miles. At that point, the Taycan still had some juice in the battery, but because Roy was near a charging station, he opted to err on the side of caution.

Also, Motor1 reports it should take only about 22.5 minutes to charge the battery from 5 percent to 80 percent.

The post The 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S Just Outperformed Its Range Estimates appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

/by

LongROAD Study Suggests Driving Can Predict Dementia With 88% Accuracy

by Gabrielle DeSantis

A new study called LongROAD suggests that driving demographics can help predict possible cognitive decline with shocking accuracy. Obviously, things like Dementia and other cognitive impairments can affect driving.

WWII veteran Ivan Kurbakov, 100, drives a car in the village of Arkhipo-Osipovka | Dmitry FeoktistovTASS via Getty Images

Still, these new findings are using driving data to show impending impairments that could help people catch these things earlier and keep drivers across the board safer.

Can how someone driving really predict Dementia? 

As machine learning becomes a more regular term in our world, it is also becoming a more useful tool in gathering data. New Atlas reports that studies on how dementia affects driving are fairly well covered. This new study is trying to get on the other side of how dementia affects driving by getting in front of it. 

Driving anxiety can result from heavy traffic and car accidents, such as the one on this highway, Route 93 in Canton, Ohio, where a truck rolled over and the contents were spilled across the highway, causing a long traffic jam on December 7, 2020
Heavy traffic and car accidents are two causes of driving anxiety | Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

The basis of this study is to see if machine learning can predict dementia or other cognitive degradation by tracking someone’s driving habits. Suppose these programs are looking for patterns and driving habits that over time might show degrading cognition. 

What is the “LongROAD” study? 

The Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers or “LongROAD” study tracked nearly 3,000 older drivers for up to four years, offering a large longitudinal dataset. Over the four years of the program, 33 drivers were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 31 with dementia. 

In an interview with New Atlas, Sharon Di, lead author on the new study, said, “Based on variables derived from the naturalistic driving data and basic demographic characteristics, such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education level, we could predict mild cognitive impairment and dementia with 88 percent accuracy.” 

RELATED: The Narrative Around Older Drivers Could Be Changing

88 percent is no small figure. The study admits that age was still the number one factor used in predicting these cognitive struggles but the driving data was a close number two.

Most of the data is made up of “the percentage of trips traveled within 15 miles (24 km) of home … the length of trips starting and ending at home, minutes per trip, and a number of hard braking events with deceleration rates ≥ 0.35 g.” 

The study showed that driving data alone could predict MCI and dementia with a reported 66 percent accuracy without any age demographics. 

What does this mean for aging drivers? 

Overall, the study is still in its early stages. Like most studies, LongROAD will need many more participants and time to better understand the connections between the data and cognitive issues. 

Maybe the most interesting aspect of the study is how it might affect cars and driving in the future. New Atlas notes that the LongROAD study might result in a smartphone app or software inside a car that will constantly monitor your driving patterns to offer clues of early detection of cognitive decline before clinical symptoms become apparent.

Senior author Guohua Li adds, “Our study indicates that naturalistic driving behaviors can be used as comprehensive and reliable markers for mild cognitive impairment and dementia…If validated, the algorithms developed in this study could provide a novel, unobtrusive screening tool for early detection and management of mild cognitive impairment and dementia in older drivers.”

The post LongROAD Study Suggests Driving Can Predict Dementia With 88% Accuracy appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

/by