This week we give our first impressions of the 2021 Lexus IS, discuss what has changed from the previous model and if the redesign is adequate to make this compact sports sedan stand out against rivals like the BMW 3 series, Audi A4, and Mercedes-Benz C class. GMC revealed its all-new fully electric 2022 Hummer EV, we discuss some of its glamorous features and if it's enticing enough to steal the spotlight from the Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T. Also we breakdown CR's new study on EV wall chargers and provide tips on how to improve the charging experience.
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SHOW NOTES
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00:00 – Introduction
00:34 – 2022 GMC Hummer EV Preview
03:05 – CR’s Wall-mounted Car Charger Study
08:56 – 2021 Lexus IS First Impressions
15:43 – Question #1: Is now a good time to sell an unneeded vehicle?
19:02 – Question #2: Is the Toyota Avalon Hybrid as reliable as the regular Avalon?
23:05 – Question #3: Is leasing a Subaru Crosstrek, Hyundai Venue, or Kia Seltos a good idea?
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Coronavirus Resource Hub
Preview: 2022 GMC Hummer EV Turns an Off-Road Legend Into a Green Machine
How to Choose the Best Home Wall Charger for Your Electric Vehicle
EVs Offer Big Savings Over Traditional Gas-Powered Cars
First Drive: 2021 Lexus IS Makes Evolutionary Improvements
2016 Lexus IS300 Quick Drive
2019 Toyota Avalon Quick Drive
4K Review: 2018 Subaru Crosstrek Quick Drive
2019 LA Auto Show: 2021 Kia Seltos
2019 New York Auto Show: 2020 Hyundai Venue
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Lexus will continue to manufacture most reliable cars . This is because of Japanese attention to detail. Also lexus tends not to stress there engines . BMW and Mercedes equals endless money pit 👌 😎.
Really Gabe? Toyota doesn’t know how to produce sporty cars? I bet you don’t know the first gen IS was developed by the same people that developed the AE86 or that first and second gen GS was based on the Supra. Not to mention MR2, LFA, Celica Lexus SC etc. The IS350 RWD F-sport has the industry benchmark Torsen LSD and was tuned in 1/4 Nurburgring (1/4 length, 1/4 elevation difference) Shimoyama test track. In terms of cooperation with BMW you also are only talking about one side of the story, as if Toyota went and begged to BMW. Without Toyota entering the picture, BMW wouldn’t have produced the Z4 in the first place. Z4 has been terrible sellers for years now and they did stop the production of it for couple of years remember? BMW is also talking about axing the next gen Z4 too.
The new TNGA-L RWD platform of the LS/LC is an excellent platform. Lexus LS is the best handling full size luxury car now. Check out the below video of moose tests where Lexus LC500h with big heavy batteries achieved a higher entry speed during the below moose test than the BMW 840D. Lexus’s entry speed was like the same as C63 AMG S Coupe, car that is smaller in size and more performance oriented.
Keep being biased hater.
Lexus LC500h with heavy battery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6F7B1HUY-Q
BMW 840D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa1qOHupPhA
C63 AMG S
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNWC6RhQmKw
BTW that IS just a temporary placeholder before Toyota comes fully equipped with the inline 6 IS.
Keith, Is that an old Mac back there? Or an Apple II or III? Sweet.
Sell the GTI while resale is high, get the V6 Avalon if you’re keeping it longer than a decade and don’t drive as much (although I’d say look at an Lexus ES due to the comfort and looks), get the Subaru but unless the lease is cheap I’d finance due to the high resale value.
“Bad sound makes good video look bad.” (He made zero effort to avoid the bad room acoustics.) Quality is not uniformly an element of video recording production at Consumer Reports.
Great show, guys! Thanks!
Apple 2c in the background!
19:02 dude just get the V6 avalon lol… you only drive 6000mi per year
In a lease, you don’t pay the sales tax up front.
Stop interjecting uh, um, uh, um, uh, um, ah, um,uh, ah, um . Make them take a speech class. The fellows are professionals who speak like amateurs
The cars that Toby would like to lease (Subaru, Hyundai, Kia) probably don’t make great leases. The manufacturers don’t seem to subsidize the leases much (either through an inflated residual value or additional incentives). However, luxury brands like BMW and Mercedes tend to make better lease deals. He could probably lease one of the luxury SUVs (e.g., MBZ GLC300) for the $300 to $400 / month range with no down payment. The luxury manufacturers greatly inflate their residual values and offer greater discounts / incentives, so I have found leasing to be much cheaper for these luxury brands vs. owning.
Bias as usual.
Please, it’s so difficult to watch with the non-stop “uh uh uhm uh uh uh uhm uh uh uh uhm uh uh uh uhm uh uh uh uhm uh uh uh uhm uh uh uh uhm uh uh uh uhm uh uh uh uhm uh uh uh”. I know everyone thinks they’re a YouTube “Star” these days but it’s NOT something that everyone can do. I FF’d through the majority of this. It’s THAT bad.
That hybrid Camry for a 66 year old driver is overkill, especially if he is only driving 6,000 miles a year. You are not going to save all that much on gas and get worse power delivery. 25 mpg to 44 mpg over 6000 miles at $2.00 a gallon the price savings is going to be: 6000/44 = 136.36 X $2 = $272 to 6000/25 = 240 X $2 = $480. So each year he saves $480-$272= $208. Over ten years he saves $2080. A hybrid will cost about $4000 more so after 20 years of ownership he will break even – not worth it under any circumstance.