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Manual Transmissions, Road Trip Arguments, and Japanese SUVs: This Week in Cars · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: All right time now for this hour's car review.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Speaking of wives, mike Mars has a review of the Subaru WRX.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: TS yes, and it's interesting to note that the TRS is a new trim level for this year.
• 0:16
  Speaker 3: Wait a minute, wait, wait, wait.
• 0:17
  Speaker 3: No the TRS, no the.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: TRS.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: My bad, I'm reading ahead.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: The WRX TS is a new trim level for 2025.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: So there are four this year the Premium, the Limited, the TS, which is the new one, and then the GT.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: We were talking about the TS, that's the one we were driving.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Now this is a sports sedan, so it's kind of a.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: The TS is a sportier track model.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: It's not for the track, but it's more directed towards the track with the way it's set up, the way things, the, the technology and things just move on the the up front you're going to find the led headlights.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: You're going to find they're automatic on but they have height adjustment and they have steering responsive.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: So it's really cool.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: So you get the headlights to turn when you want them to.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Got, uh, black mirror side covers.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Got a rear lip spoiler that's black.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: So it's got a lot of black trim pieces to go on this thing, including the wheels, to give it that sporty look.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: Now it does.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Also, I was interested to find out that it has an aluminum hood.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: Now that scoop that's on it that everybody knows from the wrx.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: That is part of that aluminum hood and the front fenders are also aluminum because some gold Brembo braking system set up on it.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Now we were rolling on the 19-inch aluminum wheels which are standard on the TS package.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: And it does not have a spare.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: It has a retire repair kit, so you need to know that.
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: And it also has a moonroof delete.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: Again back to that performance concept of this particular trim level.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: Now inside you're going to find the black ultra suede, ultra suede and leather seating surfaces.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Front seats are heated.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: They're recaro seating.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Up front in this particular model it's a 60 40 rear folding seat.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Now it does have an 11.6 inch multimedia monitor in the middle of it.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: Now this is the audio ac, the phone, your, your rear vision camera all that's going to be in there your convenience controls.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: Now it has a new 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster for the driver.
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: That's where you're going to find all your performance settings that you can set up to monitor how your vehicle's doing.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Now there are a lot more controls in this vehicle, but some of the other manufacturers are doing the same thing.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: They're bur them down in.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: You got to go down into that monitor in the middle to find some of these things that normally or you used to be able to find them on a button, so you got to do a little digging there.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: Harman kardon audio system 11 speakers with a 500 watt amp is more than enough to fill this thing up with nice sounds.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: 2.4, 2.4 liter, turbo, flat boxer type engine, 271 horsepower, 258 pound feet of torque.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: We had the six-speed manual transmission, which it was really nice to get into a manual after burning automatics for so long.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: Epa, I didn't get a Monroney with this vehicle, so I had to do a little digging.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: But it appears that the EPA should be looking at 19 on the city highway, 26 combined for 22.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: Now I drove this vehicle 352-point miles and I got 23.7 out of it and I was very happy with that.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: With this vehicle, sport-tuned suspension does have several different modes, including comfort, normal sport.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: The sport seating will wrap around you, hold you in place if you're going into the curves a little bit much.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: This is not a drag car.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: If you want to play with this car, you want to get out to where there are some curves because you've got all-wheel drive with very responsive steering.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: Now the premium, the base level on it, is 35,750.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: The TS trim level that we were dealing with is 45,750.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: And again, I did not get a Monroney, so I don't have an MSRP specifically for this vehicle, but something you can look at to compare it to is the Volkswagen Golf R $48,325.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Toyota GR Corolla $43,529.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: And an Audi S3 is $48,700.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: So these are all small sports sedans that you might want to look at if you're looking for something in that very competitive segment.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Thank you sir, Time now for Jeff's car culture.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: Road trip arguments.
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: Oh God, we've all had them, you know we have, and not all of us.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: I have this is a survey done either.
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: Well, it's been done in the United States and also in Great Britain.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: So they say that one in three admit to an argument.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: More than a third of drivers admit to having an argument while driving in their car.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: This study found that there was about 36% of motorists confessed to having carguments that's what they're called Carguments.
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: Okay, so one part of the survey about 2,000 motorists discovered that 50% of the ages of 25 to 44 argued while driving, compared to just about a quarter.
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: 25% of people over 70 get in arguments With Martha or Gladys, whoever they are.
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: It's been revealed on the state side that 46% of people are admitting to bickering behind the wheel.
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: But not surprising.
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: Most disagreements occur between partners and break out when setting out for the day.
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: That woman's got a road map in her hand.
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: There's also a little theme with these photographs.
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: I'll tell you at the end.
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: A similar number about 25% of people also get into arguments while visiting with family, family members in the car or going on a family trip.
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: About 21 of people said that in-car conflicts were caused by what?
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: Shopping tips.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: Oh my god, who does that?
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: I'm thinking it's the women.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: So just about half about 46% of all arguments centered around directions, while about 39% are based on standard driving procedures.
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: You know, turn left here, you're going too fast.
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: Watch out for that school bus, all that stuff.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: The stress of leaving on time for a summer holiday or a day together in that confined environment of a car is a perfect recipe for an argument.
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: You want to add children to the equation, or perhaps the in-laws?
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: Not so much of a question and argument, but it's going to happen when it starts, no one knows.
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: And then there's those driving hundreds of miles who have no longer being able to get out of the car to start their disagreement.
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: So it's also amusing.
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: The error of satellite navigation, directions and choice of route, all that technology arguments still happen.
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: So be careful.
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: Driving is a complex task that requires drivers full attention in order to get from a to b without incident.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: But research has revealed a large portion admit to having in-car arguments.
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: There you go.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: God, you know there are a couple of those that come to mind.
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: Well, we're going on a hot rod tour.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: One of those arguments and that was with a former wife Just saying, Just thought I'd throw that out there, oh boy.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: Okay, all right Time now for this hour's car review.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: I had a chance to drive the 2025 Mazda CX-70.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Final assembly location in Hofu, japan.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: Available trim levels 3.3 turbo, the Preferred, then the Premium, the Premium Plus, the 3.3 Turbo S Premium, thehev premium and the premium plus.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: Spit it out now have you got all that that you're supposed to have memorized?
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: trying to take notes over here I had the phev premium plus, which is the top of the line.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: This is a standard suv.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: According to your government, that's what they classify it as.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: Phev means plug-in hybrid electric, if you were wondering.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Seats five people.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: It's all new for 25.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: It slots between the 50 and the 90, cx 50 and cx 90.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: It's basically a 90 without the third row.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Does that make sense to you?
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: the 90 is the third row, right same vehicle yeah, yeah, okay, that's good, because a lot of people like me don't like to have that third row and that size of vehicle.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: Well, you know what, if you've got kids, if you do a lot of taking the baseball team to practice and all that stuff, that's great Absolutely.
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: But for us old men, or the grandkids are older and they don't like that little small seat and won't get back there.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: You still have grandkids around.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, still got.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: How old are the grandkids now?
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Youngest one's 18 now, so he's not a kid anymore.
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: Well, they're still in school, so I consider them kids.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: yes, this has a what is considered a melting copper metallic exterior copper and the interior is red Napa leather.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: Now think about that for a minute.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: We have a copper exterior and a red leather interior.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: Sounds European.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: What Sounds European?
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: It just.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: I know I'm old school, I'll admit that.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: But I'm thinking, okay, black is the only other color available.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: So I was thinking, you know, maybe something of a tannish or whatever.
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: This doesn't offer.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: That Sounds luxurious.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: Exterior features beautiful sheet metal design.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: It's easy to look at, easy on the eyes, well balanced with signature Mazda grille.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: Great big thing in the middle of it.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: Smooth, conservative rear hatch design.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: Wheels coincide with the trim level.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: Big and beautiful, baby, big and beautiful.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: What I liked?
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: I liked the conservative styling.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: Nothing, I mean.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: The thing looks good.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: Interior highlights Beautiful quilted look.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: Seat stitching has a luxury look to it.
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: High quality interior trim pieces include faux wood and a patterned metal finish.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: Standalone infotainment still is more complicated than it needs to be.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: Clamshell center console is nice departure from the usual stuff.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: And trunk room.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: Well, the cargo room.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: It's big back there.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Cx-70 only offered in the two-row seating, so plenty of room here, space for luggage and golf clubs.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: Back there you could have a party back.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: There is what I'm saying.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Sit Indian style.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, it's all good, but I like the overall high-zoot design and materials.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: Deep red leather interior does not dance well with the copper exterior.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: That's my opinion.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: 2.5 liter inline four-cylinder engine with a plug-in hybrid system.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: Together it gets 323 horsepower, 369 pound-feet of torque.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: Transmission.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: It's an eight-speed automatic Tow rating 3,500 pounds, which is pretty good for this thing.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: Automatic tow rating 3,500 pounds, which is pretty good for this thing.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: Manufacturer's miles per gallon rating up to 56 miles per gallon when you have the battery charged.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: But remember, this is a plug-in hybrid, electric, so you got to plug it in to charge it up.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: It doesn't run off the engine like some of the others.
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: Without that, it gets 25 miles per gallon.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: I got 28 over 417 miles 28 miles per gallon over 417 miles.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: That's pretty good.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not bad, but I didn't plug it in.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: Oh well, what I liked.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: It only goes 26 miles on electric only.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: I don't know why I put that under the what I liked, because it's not much.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: So you have to ask yourself is it worth it for the extra charge to have a plug-in hybrid to only go 26 miles on the electric only?
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: Follow me.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: How much does it cost for that extra 26 miles?
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, over the standard gasoline motor.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: That's getting 23 miles to the gallon 25.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: Okay, what could use?
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: improvement.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Under certain scenarios, transmission didn't know what to do at times, turbo lag became annoying at times.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: Ride and handling sports car-like handling, that whole Mazda thing right through alllike handling, that whole Mazda thing right through all of the different models of Mazda's lineup.
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: What could use improvement?
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: Adjustable damping, that would be nice.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: Rides a little stiff, but it's a sporty kind of ride, which is what Mazda is really all about.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: Base trim price $57,450.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: Price is tested $59,275, but you can get into the gasoline-only model for drumroll $40,445, which I think is really good for the gasoline-only model Competitors Honda Passport 42.4.
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: That's a gasoline-only model.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Jeep Grand Cherokee 60, 490 for their PHEV and the Subaru Outback only goes for $29,010, but it's a gasoline-only version.
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: So there are very few to compare it head-to-head to.
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: That's why I kind of put them all there into the same category, because they are all two rows, but this one is a large cargo area back there in the two row.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: So that's my review of the 2025 Mazda CX-70.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: Perfect, did you like it?
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: I liked it.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: Mars, did you have this car yet?
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: Not yet.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: You'll be getting it on Friday night next week at 10.30 at night.
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: Why so early?
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: Well, just because I hate for the guys to have to go all the way back to Dallas at 10.30 at night, so I try and get it as early as I can.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: You could offer to put them up.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: Let them spend the night over there in Niterville.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: It would be an experience for them.
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: I don't think Alba's going to pay them that much, you could sit out and listen to banjo music.
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: It would be great.
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.