No, you don’t have to use premium in a turbocharged vehicle unless the car is engineered for it and the manufacturer suggests or requires it.

“Luckily, you won’t hear much of the engine, because of Buick’s ultra quiet interior, via QuietTuning.”

This is a serious question, because I don’t know anything about modern engines. Don’t you have to put premium fuel in a turbocharged engine? Doesn’t that negate the point of an economy car with decent gas mileage?

I question the cost-cut of the rear wiper. For someone who’s had quite a number of hatchbacks over the years, it’s really invaluable in poor weather conditions (especially winters with road debris/snow/salt/sand/slush accumulating on the rear window).

Ford won’t sell us a Fiesta.

Ok I’ll be the unpopular guy: Toyota RAV4 Prime. First, it’s the most “normal,” car today because these sleek sedans and wagons are not normal anymore, sorry. The RAV4 is the most normal of normal cars just because you can see them just about all the... WATCH OUT THERE’S ONE BEHIND YOU! Second, it’s secretly an EV for…

these are fantastic on paper but i’ve test driven them. if they have 300 horses i sure couldn’t find them.

Ok, so it might not be practical, cheap, or all that useable, but the Honda e is cool as hell and I’m so glad Honda made it. It’s up there with the Ioniq 5 for EV-retro done right and so much more subtle and suave than Mini’s EVs (the new upcoming one, woof). Now do a PHEV, please.

Mazda3 hatch. Styling has no shoulder line with concave doors, sunk-in headlights, long hood with slightly extended dash-to-front-axel ratio. Then there’s the interior, it’s more premium and quiet than it ought to be.

I’ve really liked the new Mazda CX-50. While it doesn’t come across all that well in pictures, the factory widebody look suits it nicely. Every time I see one, the proportions and stance strike me. I have yet to drive one, but I image the wide footprint would make it handle decently as well. 

I saw a new Prius in black and thought for just a second or two that I was looking at a prototype or supercar. It looks fast sitting still.

My wife bought a slightly used 2019 G70 (16k miles) a couple of months ago. It’s only a 2.0 turbo, but it has a clutch pedal which really wakes up the 4 cylinder. Brembos at all four corners, RWD, LSD, leather, and lots of tech. Hyundai did their homework.

What’s more normal than a pickup truck? The hybrid version of the Ford Maverick seems cool to me.  All that functionality and good gas mileage.

The hatch feels at least a little inspired by the Alfa Romeo Brera - it’s not sensible, but it’s at least a little cool.

The Mazda 3 is such a handsome, well-appointed, well-built, and reasonably priced car. Its hardware is a little archaic, but reliable as a result, and I can appreciate its sense of “simplicity” in an increasingly complicated automotive landscape. It’s a practical, sensible car with a heavy dose of style, and that’s a…

For me, it’s gotta be the Mazda3. Not only does it look really great on the outside, the interior looks like it punches above it’s price with nice materials, tech, and buttons (glorious buttons!). Plus, you can get one pretty well equipped for under $25k, and, from what I understand, the drive is a good blend of…

Same, you park it in a garage (possibly even at work too)right? Looking at the lack of fogging on the headlamps is a sign of that. My own car is like a vampire, it rarely stays out in the sun and (back when I had to go to an office) it stayed in the garage.

Nice, do you wash it yourself or take it somewhere?

I’m pretty sure that was from B.F. Skinner’s Walden Two novel. There’s a scene in the cafeteria explaining how they do exactly that--wipe on way on one side and then the other on the reverse--with clear food trays for efficiency’s sake. (Full disclosure: I didn’t finish reading the whole book.)

I forget where I learned this tip but it sounds great: when cleaning glass, alternate directions. For example: wipe up and down on exterior glass, and up and side to side on interior glass. That way, if you miss a spot you can tell where it is by the direction of the smear.