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2019 Chicago Auto Show Special | Autoblog Podcast #570

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore and Associate Editor Reese Counts discuss the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, including the debuts of the Toyota RAV4 TRD, refreshed Toyota Tacoma, the Mazda Miata 30th Anniversary Edition and the new Subaru Legacy. We also announced our best-of-show winners. We also talk about a couple of SUVs we've had at the office, the new Mercedes-Benz G-Class and the BMW X5. Finally, we spend your money on a new, fun vehicle for winter. Autoblog Podcast #570 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI 2019 Mazda Miata 30th Anniversary Edition 2020 Subaru Legacy 2019 Ram 1500 split tailgate 2019 Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road Chicago Auto Show Editor's Picks Mercedes-Benz G550 BMW X5 Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Chicago Auto Show BMW Mazda Mercedes-Benz RAM Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Videos Original Video

Better as a coupe | 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF First Drive

The sun can kill you. It'll also make you hot and sticky and smelly. It's a real nasty thing despite, you know, making virtually all life on Earth possible. Now, apparently, despite these risks, there are those who enjoy driving around in their car being slowly baked alive by our local star. It's insanity, really, and that's not even mentioning the indignities your hair suffers at the merciless force of the wind. So convertibles, then, who needs 'em? Just take the Mazda MX-5 Miata. Wonderful little car, barrels of fun, but wouldn't it be better off with 100 percent less sun? Besides keeping your dermatologist out of business, a solid roof would also lead to less wind noise, greater structural rigidity, and better safety for the vampire population. Nothing but Ws on the board. Alas, the 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF is not the ideal solution to this perfectly sane line of reasoning. It is not the BMW M Coupe or Porsche Cayman of Miatas. It's more like the 911 Targa of Miatas, although since its rear window lowers, the most accurate analogy would be the Honda Civic del Sol of Miatas. Feel free to put that on a billboard. Admittedly, it's a pretty neat bit of engineering and design, and despite the incredibly flattering comparison above, it is accurate to describe its overall look and concept as unique. RF stands for "Retractable Fastback," which is an on-the-nose description. With the entire roof mechanism in place, it does indeed resemble a fastback in profile. From a rear-three-quarter view, that fastback is revealed instead to be buttress panels with a longer deck and a verticalish window placed between them. The Ferrari 575M Superamerica would be another point of reference, but the Miata RF is far better realized. It's particularly impressive how Mazda's designers managed to carefully reshape the Miata's rear quarters to fit and conceal the buttresses' cut line. From most angles, there's no indication that they're anything other than contiguous with the rest of the car. The little black panels that look like darkened windows at first glance are less successful, but they're also clearly necessary to create the desired buttress look and to conceal the roof mechanicals beyond. Ah yes, the compact mechanicals that make the fastback retractable and subject you to the sun's wrath.

2014 Mazda6: July/August 2013

Our newest long-termer - the Soul Red 2014 Mazda6 seen here - arrived in my driveway at the end of June. Without hesitation, I immediately put it to work as a daily driver, carpool bus and family vacation sled, and it accomplished all of those tasks with aplomb. Now, more than 4,000 miles down the road, I am left convinced that Mazda's latest midsize sedan is one of the best in its segment.
During the past 60 days, I have subjected the Mazda6 to scorching travel across Southwestern deserts, wheezing climbs over 8,000-foot-high Sierra Nevada mountain passes and basking in the cool ocean breezes of Malibu. It traveled with four passengers and a full load of luggage from Los Angeles to Lake Tahoe, and it braved the bumper-to-bumper freeway congestion on a weekday trip down to San Diego. It accomplished everything that was asked of while hardly skipping a beat - it has only required a regular sip of unleaded fuel to keep it moving forward.