MotorWeek

Hi, I'm John Davis and this is MotorWeek !

Join us as we see and drive the new dawn of the Chevrolet Equinox... Logan McCombs eyes up suspensions for a bushing breakdown... Stephanie Hart checks out a real estate fix for race track regulars... Then, we'll bring it home in a household sedan nameplate, the Toyota Camry...

So, come drive with us, next!

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JOHN: The compact crossover remains the hottest segment in the auto biz, and continues to see new nameplates jumping into the mix, where they join the Chevrolet Equinox, which has helped define small SUVs for more than 20 years now.

You know, that's a lot of crossing the equator!

So, let's find out if a new 4th generation Equinox is a night and day difference or not.

For most vehicles, regardless of segment, when it's time for a new generation, they tend to look very similar to the prior one, just evolved to be more modern.

Well, not so the Chevrolet Equinox where each generation's design has been vastly different.

And one could argue this 2025 version sees its biggest makeover yet.

Size-wise, the five-passenger Equinox has always straddled the line between compact and midsize crossovers, and that remains the case this time around.

Even with an all-new platform, most dimensions are similar to before, with the exception of width which is up by 2.5 inches, helping it appear even more midsize than ever and the sharpest looking Equinox yet.

RS is the sporty upgrade; it includes 19 inch wheels and black trim outside; flat-bottom steering wheel and RS logos inside.

A new ACTIV off-road inspired model is also available.

And just to clarify, the also-new Equinox EV is an entirely different vehicle on a separate platform.

All trims here in the ICE Equinox get an 11.0 inch gauge display and an 11.3 inch infotainment touchscreen with Google built in; both deliver great information and are intuitive to use, all part of the Equinox's tech-heavy and, yes, cool looking interior vibe.

What used to be called a shifter is now an "electronic transmission range selector."

In the Equinox, like many European cars, it's now located on a steering wheel stalk, opening up more space for center console storage.

Front seats are adequately comfortable, while back seat passengers get additional headroom.

Cargo space is wide and plentiful at 29.8 cubic-feet; expanding to 63.5 with the rear seatbacks folded.

It may look a lot different outside, but it beats with the same heart as before, a 1.5 liter I4 turbo engine rated at just 175 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque.

Front-wheel-drive units now work with a CVT, replacing last gen's 6-speed automatic; all-wheel-drive versions not only get an 8-speed automatic transmission upgrade but an additional 19 pound-feet of torque.

We were happy to have an AWD tester to take to our Mason Dixon test track, but the good thoughts didn't last long, as there was not much power for getting off the line.

It took us a long 8.9 seconds to hit 60 and 16.7 to run the quarter-mile, ending at 84 miles per hour.

Despite a lot of buzzy engine noise, it felt pretty smooth, as did the new 8-speed transmission, though gear changes happened slowly.

The wider platform did make it very stable at speed.

That was apparent in our handling course too, where it really does exhibit a big, proper SUV feel.

Though, that also means a fair amount of body roll with a tendency to understeer.

But, stability systems step in quickly to keep you safe as soon as even minor amounts of slip are detected.

Panic braking from 60 miles per hour was smooth, consistent, and short; 111 feet from 60 with only minor fade.

Standard Chevy Safety Assist includes Automatic Emergency Braking and Lane Keep Assist; an available Safety and Technology Package adds Surround Vision, Rear Camera Mirror, and Rear Pedestrian Alert.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings with all-wheel-drive are 24 City, 29 Highway, and 26 Combined; we averaged a good 27.7 miles per gallon of Regular.

That's an average Energy Impact Score, with use of 11.4 Barrels of Oil Annually and 5.7 Tons of CO2 Emissions.

As before, the Equinox is very sensibly priced at $29,995 to start, with all-wheel-drive a $2,000 option.

From the smaller Trax right up to the body-on-frame Suburban, Chevrolet has drastically revamped their entire SUV lineup in just a few short years with impressive results.

The Equinox has always been a big seller and a great value.

Without a doubt, the 2025 Equinox is much better looking, while also being more competitive than ever.

Obviously, we love to test cars, and one of our favorite testing venues is Dominion Raceway in Thornburg, Virginia.

So, when we saw garage condos popping up near the track we were intrigued.

In fact, it's part of a national trend that's quickly becoming a lifestyle choice for car enthusiasts.

Our "FYI" reporter Stephanie Hart takes it from here.

STEPHANIE HART: The garage condos are for car fanatics who love to race.

This one happens to be one of my favorites.

Definitely impressive.

And the condos can be used as a place to socialize, a workshop, or just a private getaway.

And one of the best parts, the Dominion Lux garage condominium is just two minutes from Dominion Raceway, by private road.

STEVE BRITT: These are really high-end condominiums.

Our collector car market here is high-end...uh, and so we...we finish these for a high end collector car person, and a lot of them have a finished loft, some of them have showers, uh...some of them are fully built out, some are, you know, bought just for storage purposes.

STEPHANIE: Will Alexander bought this garage condo recently and was more than happy to show me around.

He's an off-road truck convert who fell in love with road racing and now owns his own business, Contender Motorsports.

WILL ALEXANDER: One of the challenges I had with trying to operate this from home is that, you know, at the end of the day I got to try to pack up and tidy this stuff up because that's also where we have our...our daily vehicles.

So now, I can do more mad science down here in a dedicated space, right.

We have great proximity to the track so I can, you know, do some modifications here and then take it out onto the track, and test and tune and really be able to dial things in, uh, without having to try to worry about the logistics of transport or worrying about track day fees or any of that sort of thing.

STEPHANIE: However, the cost of owning a condo like this one starts at $300,000.

It was a dream purchase for Russ Bartlett, who owns this garage condo.

RUSS BARTLETT: It's a lifesaver because in the winter we put the boat in here, we've got a couple of cars in here, we got a little, uh, seating area upstairs to just kind of relax and we got the racetrack right there.

So, it's perfect.

(engine starts up) It's a community of like-minded, uh...car nuts, so it's a lot of fun and they kind of, kind of get each other.

STEPHANIE: (laughs) Just beyond the car garage condos is the chrome lounge here.

I love its style.

This is a great place to socialize with other car enthusiasts or even host a meeting.

And check this out...this is the Pit Stop, a lift bay where you can make all necessary repairs and maintenance to your car.

There's even a wash bay affectionately named Suds.

STEVE: Some of these people, the Ferrari owners and stuff, will have a traveling mechanic, and so they can come service a car here at the garage condo.

Um, they also have a wash bay that is heated and cooled.

STEPHANIE: Plus, owners have unlimited access to the amenity suite with flat screen TVs, pool, darts, and more.

STEWART BARTLEY: It's a great group of people uh...over there.

We...we've...um...we're-we're building a small community of like-minded car enthusiasts and that's a lot of fun.

STEPHANIE: Which makes track days even more memorable.

JUSTIN GELLERT: Here you can literally...uh, drive out of our condo garage area and drive right over to the track.

Um...technically, its private property so you can drive without a...um, a muffler if you want to, for example, stuff like that.

So...um, that's what I love about this property, is that it's close to the 2.0 mile road course.

WILL: I could not have ever imagined, uh, that I would be part of a community like this.

It's been a lot of fun.

A lot of these guys are more experienced Motorsports enthusiasts and so...uh, it's been an opportunity to learn a lot from folks who have been doing this a little bit longer.

Anytime...um, I'm down here wrenching, uh, folks will be like, "Hey Will, you need a hand?"

So, it's been great to be part of a group like this.

JOHN: Maybe you've heard the term "suspension bushings," and maybe not.

Either way, they are important parts of your car that affect ride, handling and safety.

Logan McCombs is stopping by to make sure we all know just how important they really are on MotorWeek's "Your Drive!"

LOGAN MCCOMBS: One commonly overlooked suspension component is your bushings.

Bushings are used whenever two metal parts that are bolted together, to control movement in the joints.

They absorb road bumps and reduce noise, and vibration as well while you're driving.

The two primary materials used in bushings are rubber and polyurethane.

Rubber is softer, and is used where comfort is a priority.

While, on the other hand, polyurethane bushings are used in high-performance cars, especially in racing, to allow less flex in the joints, which makes the car more responsive.

But the downside is a very stiff ride.

Over time, the round hole here will become oval, or it'll allow metal to move around freely, and give your car a wobbly ride or a sloppy steering feel, or even worse.

There is no set timeframe for when to change your suspension bushings.

They wear differently in every vehicle.

It can depend on the environment where you live, how you drive the vehicle and the amount of stress you put it through on a regular basis.

When suspension components begin to wear out, you'll probably first notice a clunking or a rattling over bumps; you may feel the car react differently when cornering or coming to an abrupt stop.

To check your suspension bushings, first you want to raise your car up off the ground, give the tire a good tug from side to side and top to bottom.

If you feel any movement, looseness in the suspension, that could indicate a problem, and it's time to pull the wheel off and inspect the bushings for bulges, cracks, or check if they have been forced out of place.

Bushing kits are available for many vehicles, but you may find the simplest solution is to replace the entire suspension component, since now most of them come pre-assembled and they already have the bushings in place for you.

A stock replacement front suspension kit for this Dodge Ram, including control arms, tie rods, sway bars, end links, ball joints and shocks, can be had for just around $200.

If you're handy with a socket set, you can replace them yourself and save big versus having a shop do it for you.

If you notice a rattle or a clunk, don't beat around the bush.

Take the time now to see if your bushings are bushed, before you get bushwhacked by a broken suspension.

If you have any questions or comments, reach out to us right here at MotorWeek.

JOHN: From revised to redesigned, we're always ready for another "QuickSpin!"

GREG CARLOSS: You might find yourself nostalgic for the original Volkswagen microbus... and maybe even the original concept for this 2025 Volkswagen ID.

Buzz, first unveiled in 2017.

Well, after years of waiting and one 6-hour flight to San Francisco, we finally drove one.

This time, "flower power" is sourced from an all-electric powertrain.

But like the original, the ID.

Buzz is standard rear-wheel-drive, upgradable to 4Motion all-wheel-drive.

The former sees a single electric motor for 282 horsepower; the latter has an additional motor up front for a total 335 horsepower.

Initial impressions make choosing to leap to the dual-motor setup a real matter of need.

Today, we started out in a rear-wheel-drive Buzz.

You can get all-wheel-drive, 4Motion.

That's what I'm in right now.

I gotta say, I wouldn't make the jump up to all-wheel-drive just for power.

I mean, if you're looking for traction, uh...yeah...I could see that, but I don't think it's, I mean, it's a difference.

It's definitely quicker, but I don't think it's a whole lot quicker.

A 91 kilowatt-hour battery powers all models, with a max range of 234 miles going to rear-drive units; though the all-wheel-drive ID.

Buzz is just under at 231 miles.

That large pack is found underneath the retro-reminiscent bodywork; and the original microbus vibes carry inside where drivers have a commanding view of the road.

It's a good feeling, as is the ample passenger room in both the second and third rows.

Seat folded cargo room is comparable to a full-size SUV.

Despite the old school flavor, modern touches, like the 12.9 inch infotainment system and digital gauges, keep things in the present.

The 2025 Volkswagen ID.

Buzz starts around $61,000, with all-wheel-drive adding an additional $4,500.

This "far out" people and cargo hauler isn't far out from customer's hands, set to arrive stateside this fall.

We'll have more on the Volkswagen ID.

Buzz, and more Quick Spins...soon!

JOHN: Electric vehicle charging is now readily available in most areas of the country and along major travel routes, but many smaller communities still find themselves behind the clean energy curve when it comes to EV infrastructure.

Well, here's a look at one group that's banding together to help create an electric nation.

The upper Midwest inter-tribal EV charging community network, which the project team named Electric Nation, is an EV infrastructure project serving tribal members on 23 Native American reservations across five states.

Aided by U.S. Department of Energy funding, this public-private partnership will introduce 60 level 2 chargers, along with 19 light, and medium-duty plug-in electric vehicles, directly into these communities, empowering them to expand their fuel diversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

ROBERT BLAKE: It always seems that these communities are always last to receive, um...this...these, this type of investment.

How do rural communities participate in this energy transition?

Well, this is a perfect opportunity for rural communities to be a part of that transition.

JOHN: Electric Nation chose their plug-in vehicles carefully, closely matching each one's range and capabilities to their intended use.

Sitting Bull College, in the Standing Rock nation of North Dakota, uses this Ford E-Transit to shuttle students between campus and local destinations.

Traveling about 140 miles daily closely matches the van's range, and allows it to recharge fully overnight.

Two new electric school buses will clear the air for Red Lake, Minnesota students, who often spend hours aboard for their daily school commutes.

This family and child services office in Red Lake nation is now using electric vehicles to transport individuals around the region for appointments, and deliver meals to elder residents.

Boosting economic development for these traditionally disadvantaged areas is equally important.

Vehicles and chargers deployed at key businesses like the Red Lake fishery, trading post and even a buffalo farm, will enable them to stay competitive by reducing fuel costs and to work clean at the same time.

Miles and miles of gravel farm roads are the norm around these parts, so the F-150 Lightning will be especially useful here.

The Electric Nation project is building on the idea of the National Alternative Fuel Corridors, where designated highways, now covering parts of all 50 states, are populated with EV chargers, and clean fuel stations for natural gas, propane and hydrogen.

Linking the tribal lands across this vast Midwestern landscape will be 55 DC fast chargers on popular travel corridors and along tourist routes like the Native American Scenic Byway in South Dakota, and at several tribal casinos.

ROBERT: A lot of...uh, tribal nations...um, through our cultural teachings, have a connection to the planet and to the environment, and so being able to reduce our need for fossil fuels is something that speaks to our cultural heritage.

JOHN: The Electric Nation project is analyzing how these electric vehicles perform, especially in extreme cold weather, and includes EV education, outreach and engagement so that the successes here can be replicated in other parts of the country.

It seems only fitting that those with the longest ties to our natural history are taking the biggest strides towards a clean future.

Whether, you call it Camry or Cam-ray, you have to call this Toyota the best-selling sedan in the U.S. for 2023.

Not bad for a car in the last year of its lifecycle.

That's right, the Camry is all-new for model year 2025.

So, let's find out if this 9th generation Camry can stay truly competitive in this world of SUVs and crossovers.

There have been many variations of the Toyota Camry over the last 40 years; some more exciting than others, but all have been incredibly comfortable, efficient, and practical.

That theme carries over for the all-new 2025 Toyota Camry.

Though, it feels like they purposely avoided any type of "wow" factor inside.

Sure, there are the expected big screens for multimedia and gauge display, but they kept them separated, keeping the overall vibe traditional and classy rather than flashy.

They've also retained lots of physical controls, added some unique materials, and attempted to open up the space a bit, knowing that they're going up against EVs these days too, not just usual family sedan nameplates.

The new Camry follows Toyota protocol of basic LE series and more sport-oriented SE series; adding an X in front of either adds a bit more content.

For our XSE tester that mostly means a flashier exterior that includes black trim and rear spoiler, dual exhaust tips, and 19 inch wheels, but it also gets a sport-tuned suspension.

Following the pattern of many recent Toyotas, Camry now has an all-hybrid lineup.

Toyota's newest, 5th generation hybrid system mates to a 2.5 liter I4 engine for the first time.

It works with two electric motors for a 225 horsepower output, 17 more than the outgoing Camry hybrid.

And it delivers up to 51 miles per gallon Combined.

All-wheel-drive versions add an additional electric motor in back for powering the rear wheels for an increased total output of 232 horsepower; and AWD is available for all trims.

Our all-wheel-drive tester did feel quite peppy on the street, with a competent suspension that soaked up bumps easily without feeling soft or floaty.

At the test track, there was great grip off the line, and a substantial punch of power to get us to 60 in 6.9 seconds.

There was a nice little engine growl at takeoff too, but it quickly turned into a consistent droning noise due to the electronically controlled CVT trans.

There are some simulated gears you can play with, but they don't really add much to the performance; our best quarter-mile time was 15.2 seconds at 94 miles per hour.

This is one case where "sport-tuned suspension" seems to really mean something, as this is easily the best handling Camry we've driven.

Minimal body roll, great road feel, and steering that was both tight and responsive.

All-wheel-drive grip was great through the cones, but most people will find it much more beneficial when driving on slippery roads.

The hybrid's regen braking is not the most natural feeling, but in panic stops the brakes clamp down quickly, causing some aggressive nosedive, but ultimately resulting in short, 110 foot stops from 60.

As mentioned earlier, Government Fuel Economy Ratings are as high as 51 Combined, but all-wheel-drive XSEs come in at 44 City, 43 Highway, and 44 Combined, though our lead foot test loop saw just, but still noteworthy, 42.6 miles per gallon of Regular.

Pricing starts with the base LE at $29,535; all-wheel-drive is another $1,525 if you want it.

XSE tops out the range at $35,735.

While, the midsize 4-door sedan in not the suburban staple that it once was, the Camry absolutely remains a staple of the Toyota lineup, and even kept its status as America's best-selling car last year.

So, it looks like there's no stopping the Camry, as the more efficient 2025 Toyota Camry is better-looking, has better performance, and is a better all-around family car than ever.

Well, that's our show, I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, for more MotorWeek , including daily news updates, podcasts, and even complete episodes, cruise on over to PBS.ORG/MOTORWEEK.

And I hope you'll join us next time when we load up a small Ute with room for all, the Mini Countryman ALL4, and a sedan that's more than meets the eye, the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid.

Until then, I'm John Davis.

We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !

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Learn more at AutoValue.Com and BumperToBumper.Com.

We're Tire Rack.

We test tires, then share our results.

We stock over one million tires.

We offer multiple installation options.

We do this because we believe tires matter.

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