Comparing the Ford Maverick to the Honda Civic Might Seem Weird But Ford Asked for It

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The 2022 Ford Maverick is what the automotive industry considers a “white space” vehicle. It doesn’t exactly slot perfectly into any segment; doesn’t position itself against any one type of vehicle. In fact, the press release for the Maverick poises it straight against the 2022 Honda Civic in terms of both pricing and fuel economy. 

2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT | Ford Motor Company

Comparing the 2022 Ford Maverick to a 2022 Honda Civic might seem a little off, but Ford asked for it. So there must be some merit to the comparison, right? This little truck wants to come in and compete with traditional pickup favorites like the Toyota Tacoma. 

But it also competes with the two unibody trucks. Both the Honda Ridgeline and the upcoming 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz have a place in the competition as well. However, the 2022 Ford Maverick will also face off against the compact cars of people and stuff moving. 

Watch out 2022 Honda Civic, the 2022 Ford Maverick is coming for the compact car segment 

A red 2022 Honda Civic Sedan Touring drives down a city highway
2022 Honda Civic Sedan Touring | Honda

The Honda Civic is easily one of the best cars on the market. It places at the top of charts regularly in places like U.S. News and World Report and Kelley Blue Book. So how can the 2022 Ford Maverick dare to compete with the likes of the legendary Civic? 

Well, it’s actually quite simple. What do people want? The vast majority of the population wants an affordable vehicle that offers versatility, efficiency, and quality. 

Both the Honda Civic and the Ford Maverick deliver on these fronts. However, the 2022 Ford Maverick has a truck bed. Because, well, it’s a truck. Surely this is a clear edge, right? 

Compact pickup truck vs compact car: fuel economy comparison 

Ford says that the 2022 Ford Maverick gets up to 40 mpg on the highway, 33 mpg in the city, and 37 mpg combined. These numbers are for the standard hybrid powertrain. The fuel economy ratings for the optional 4-cylinder gas-powered model––which gives drivers the option for all-wheel drive––are not yet released. 

The upcoming 2022 Honda Civic offers very similar fuel economy ratings. According to U.S. News, the 2022 Honda Civic LX gets 40 mpg on the highway and 31 mpg in the city. Both the Sport and Touring models top out at 37 mpg and 38 mpg, respectively. The least thirsty of the 2022 Civic lineup is the EX model, which gets 33 mpg in the city and 42 mpg on the highway. 

Room for passengers: does the win go to the Ford Maverick or the Honda Civic? 

A blue Honda Civic driving on a city bridge at speed in the dark
2022 Honda Civic | Honda

Up front, the 2022 Ford Maverick offers its passengers 40.3 inches of what Ford calls “effective headroom.” Then it offers 39.6 inches of headroom in the second row. The front and rear of the Maverick offer 42.8 inches of legroom and 35.9 (2.5-liter Hybrid)/36.9 (2.0-liter), respectively. Ford’s new ute provides 100.3 cubic feet of total passenger space. 

On the other hand, Honda says the 2022 Honda Civic offers 39.3 inches of headroom up front and 37.1 inches in the rear. This is where it gets interesting. The new Civic may be a compact car, but it offers 42.3 inches of legroom up front and 37.4 inches in the rear. The Civic gives passengers 99.0 cubic feet of total passenger space. 

The fact that the Civic is roomier in the rear is a big deal, especially for families that have older kids or young children in car seats. Or, for those that plan to carpool with friends.

Which one is actually better?

The new very orange Ford Maverick
2022 Maverick | Ford

These vehicles are starkly similar on paper in many ways. Plus, they both start just over $20 grand when you include the destination fee. It makes absolute sense why Ford is pitting this compact pickup truck against Honda’s famed compact car. 

It’s hard to say which one is “better” per se. The 2022 Honda Civic will still appeal to a vastly different audience than the 2022 Ford Maverick. But that doesn’t mean the Maverick won’t steal at least some buyers away from the Civic.

RELATED: Are New Holland Tractors Reliable?

The post Comparing the Ford Maverick to the Honda Civic Might Seem Weird But Ford Asked for It appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

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Watch: Massive Jaguar Crash At Goodwood Festival of Speed

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is known for two things: the famous hill climb and crashes. Unfortunately, a rare Jaguar XJR-12D had quite the crash over the weekend. It isn’t uncommon for racers to be caught out on the narrow hillclimb at the festival. Thankfully, no one driving the Jaguar was harmed. However, it is quite a shame the vehicle was crashed, as it was a very special and storied race car.

The Jaguar XJR-12D was an insane racer

1991 Jaguar XJR16, a predecessor to the XJR-12D | Gerlach Delissen via Getty Images

So, let’s talk a little history. Back in 1983, Jaguar decided they wanted to do some more racing. However, the brand used a somewhat different approach than simply building a car, slapping their name on it, and going to a race. Rather than do that, the brand relied on several independent owners to run their XJR series sports cars. The program began with the racing team Group 44 Racing, who were intending to race the car in the American IMSA GTP Championship.

The first Jaguar XJR, the 5, was built not in the U.K, but by the race team in Herndon, Virginia. Fast forward a few years, and teams were beginning to work on the car that crashed at Goodwood: The Jaguar XJR-12D. This time, race team Tom Walkinshaw Racing wanted to take it to the most famous endurance race on the planet, Le Mans. Then, in 1990, the Jaguar XJR-12D won Le Mans. As it should’ve, given its 730 hp V12 with a top speed of 219 MPH.

Crashes at Goodwood are very common

Lots of bodywork and hay | JA96

It’s likely all that horsepower played a role in the fate of the Bud Light-liveried Jaguar. The incident, which you can see above, looks like a spectacular crash. The driver rounds a bend and the car seems to simply walk away in an almost suicidal manner. Likely, what happened was far more complex than that. Any number of things can cause an accident when driving as fast as the hero behind the wheel, but it appears to be a simple case of oversteer combined with a narrow track.

As seen above, the rear of the car steps out. Now, that can be due to a number of factors. First, it could have been snap-oversteer, where a driver hops off the throttle aggressively, and the sudden transfer of weight to the front causes the rear to swing out. It’s also possible the driver simply over-corrected and induced the oversteer by mistake. Regardless, it’s best that no one but the car was harmed in the incident.

This won’t be the last crash at Goodwood

The Jaguar XJR-12D at Goodwood preparing to head up the hill
Jaguar XJR 12D | Michael Cole Getty Images

Stakes are high at Goodwood. Holding the record time up the hill in your class is a big deal in the racing community, just like the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Drivers are always flat-out, 10/10ths, ride-or-die, and these things happen in racing. Sure, it makes for spectacular YouTube footage, but a piece of racing history was severely damaged this weekend. Let’s hope the vehicle gets rebuilt and lives to race another day.

RELATED: 2022 Jaguar F-Type P450: More V8

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Dangerous Audi Defect in the Coolant Pumps Leads to Class Action Lawsuit

by Gabrielle DeSantis

You want to assume that your vehicle is pretty safe. You probably also assume that it was designed in a way so it wouldn’t fall apart or suddenly fail. This, sadly, is not always the case, and recalls are then issued to address these issues. Recently, some Audi owners have discovered coolant pump problems serious enough to lead to a class-action lawsuit. Here’s what we know about the suit and the settlement that’s currently underway.

Defects in the Audi coolant pump of certain vehicles

The 2021 Audi A4 Sedan | AUDI AG

In June 2021, a settlement was reached in the class action lawsuit against Audi (Sager et al. v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-13556). The lawsuit charged that “turbochargers were affected by defects in the electric coolant pumps,” says CarComplaints. If the coolant pump overheated, it could start a fire in the vehicle, which would be really dangerous. In addition, turbocharger failure could also lead to engine failure.

The defective coolant pumps are installed in some, but not all, of these models:

Owners can check their car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) at Coolant Pump Settlement, the class action lawsuit settlement website, to see if it is included in the settlement.

The class action lawsuit against Audi

According to the lawsuit, Audi found out about the problem with the coolant pumps by 2016, at the latest. Audi had announced a recall in January 2017. As part of this recall, mechanics checked the coolant pump and turned off its power supply if the pump had a blockage from debris. While this effort was intended to prevent the coolant pump from overheating and causing a fire, the lawsuit says it didn’t correct the issues.

Audi announced a second recall in April, but redesigned coolant pumps weren’t available until November 2018. Dealers did install replacement coolant pumps as necessary until the redesigned ones became available.

While the Audi owner who filed the class-action lawsuit didn’t have a problem with his coolant pump, he filed because of the long delay in redesigned pumps. The lawsuit says that Audi should have given owners and lessees free vehicles to use until the redesigned coolant pumps were ready to be installed.

Volkswagen, Audi’s parent company, “denies all claims of wrongdoing and maintains there is nothing wrong with the vehicles and no warranties were breached,” reports Car Complaints. However, the case has now been settled, so it doesn’t have to go to court.

The settlement terms of the class-action lawsuit

Under the terms of the class-action lawsuit settlement, certain Audi owners are eligible to have the warranty extended on their vehicle’s turbocharger (but not on the coolant pump). Four different categories can qualify. The four categories are connected to which recalls have or have not already been performed on the Audi vehicles as of April 12, 2021, and how long the turbocharger warranty will be extended. See the class action lawsuit settlement website for more information.

If an Audi owner did have to pay to repair or replace the coolant pump before September 14, 2018, the owner could be reimbursed once the settlement is final. Work done at an Audi dealership can be fully reimbursed, while work done at an independent service center can be reimbursed up to $542. Additionally, Audi owners may be able to request reimbursement if a rental car was needed while recall work was done on their vehicle’s coolant pump.

The final fairness hearing was held on June 16, 2021, and the final day to file a claim was June 26, 2021. If the court approves the settlement, owners don’t need to do anything to receive warranty extensions but will need to submit any claims before the due date for any reimbursements.

RELATED: Now’s the Right Time to Buy a 2021 Audi Q5

The post Dangerous Audi Defect in the Coolant Pumps Leads to Class Action Lawsuit appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

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Is the 2022 Kia Telluride Night Fall Edition Worth the Upgrade?

by Gabrielle DeSantis

You already know that the Kia Telluride is a great-looking SUV. Heck, how could it dominate as one of the most popular options without having tons of style? But you can make it look even better with the 2022 Kia Telluride Nightfall Edition. 

What comes with the 2022 Kia Telluride Nightfall Edition? 

2022 Kia Telluride | Kia

The 2022 Kia Telluride Nightfall Edition brings the Telluride to the dark side by replacing all of its chrome with tons of blacked-out elements. It includes the new Kia logo. Only it’s blacked-out with an exclusive design. 

Plus, the package includes 20-inch alloy wheels in gloss black with dark-treated lug nuts and center caps. The roof gets black roof rails, and the doors have gloss black lower side molding. There are black skid plates, a black front bumper, and a side air-duct garnish. The LED headlamps and fog lamps feature blacked-out inner bezels. 

The 2021 Nightfall Edition colors include Snow White Pearl, Everlasting Silver, Gravity Gray, Sanger, Dark Moss, Black Copper, and Ebony black. Each model features body-color door handles too. 

How much is the Nightfall Edition? 

There’s a bit of a catch. The 2022 Kia Telluride Nightfall Edition is only available with the all-wheel drive models of the top two trims, the EX and the SX. The 2022 Kia Telluride begins at about $32,760. This is a little more than the 2021 model, which starts at $32,190. 

The 2022 EX model starts at around $37,790, and the SX trim begins at about $42,690. The price of the Nightfall Edition for the 2021 model is $1,695. It’s unclear if this price has increased for the 2022 model. 

With the EX trim, you gain a smart power liftgate, ventilated front seats, leather upholstery, and an 8-way power passenger seat. Faux wood appliques replace the metal painted trim, and the side windows use the same sound-deadening acoustic glass found in the windshield. 

The SX trim features high beam assist, Harman Kardon audio with 10 speakers and a powered subwoofer, a dual-pane sunroof, and a 360-degree surround-view monitor. Plus, the side mirrors tilt down to help you reverse, a digital display screen includes a blind-view monitor, and the 10-way power driver seat has memory and a thigh extension cushion. 

But you do not get an increase in power. The Telluride has a single powertrain option which is a 3.6-liter V6. It pumps out 291 hp and 291 lb-ft of torque. When properly equipped, the Telluride can tow up to 5,000 lbs. 

What’s new for the 2022 Telluride? 

A black 2021 Kia Telluride Nightfall Edition midsize SUV travels on a two-lane through green hills
2021 Kia Telluride Nightfall Edition | Kia

Along with the new logo, the 2022 Kia Telluride includes a 10.3-inch touchscreen that replaces the 8.0-inch unit. Each trim level also has standard fully automatic temperature control and semi-autonomous adaptive cruise control. 

The semi-autonomous adaptive cruise control system utilizes the navigation system to actively adjust the SUV’s speeding around corners. Other safety features include forward-collision warning, automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring. 

So, the Nightfall Edition seemingly just includes looks, but it does look good. Plus, the features included with the EX and SX trims turn up the heat to provide an increased sense of comfort, luxury, and control. 

RELATED: Is a Fully Loaded Kia Telluride Worth the Price?

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