The Western Automotive Journalists (WAJ) is an automotive writers group I belong to. Every year, with the exception of the pandemic years, they have held what was called "Media Days". It was held over two days - one day of on-the-road driving, and one day at a race track. The pandemic and shrinking car company budgets put an end to that.
Last year WAJ rebooted Media Days into Best Of The Bay, a two-day affair to drive new cars in the real world, and to vote on the cars we deem "The Best Of The Bay" in specific categories. This year we met in Santa Cruz, CA at the Dream Inn; these are the cars we drove this year with my comments.
The day started off foggy (Santa Cruz is a coastal city) but the cars were ready for us.
Lucid Air Pure If you have never driven a Lucid, and you're thinking of an EV, you should find a dealer and go for a test drive. Forget that it is electric, forget it is so powerful, and just soak in the luxury, the style, and the smoothness. The Lucid Air Pure starts at $69,900.
Lexus GX 550 Premium+ Sorry to say I was disappointed in the Lexus GX 550 Premium+ 4WD. I recently reviewed the Toyota Land Cruiser and frankly I didn't see or feel much difference between it and the GX550, except for price. The GX550 Premium+ starts at $69,250.
Kiia Sorento PHEV Kia just keeps hitting home runs and the 2025 Sorento PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) scores. This is a SX Prestige AWD so it has just about everything you'd ever want Plus its operation is frugal. All for a starting price of $53,090.
Kia Canival Hybrid Kia calls the Carnival a Multi-Purpose-Vehicle (MPV). Call it whatever you want, I just call it a great people mover. The '25 Hybrid SX Prestige may too nice to haul around your kids but there are versions more suited to family life. If you opt for the Hybrid version like this one you can look forward to great fuel economy - up to 34-mpg in the city. The 2025 Carnival Hybrid SX Prestige starts at $52,600 (a base Hybrid starts at $40,500.
Hyundai Elantra N The Hyundai Elantra N is a race car for the street. Its turbo'd 2.0-liter four is rated at 276 hp. Hit the Grin button for an extra 10-hp. But it is much, much more that a stoplight rocket. The N is a well-rounded performance car. It starts at $33,700.
Genesis GV80 Coupe 3.5T Prestige It's odd, I drove a GV80 recently for a week and I felt the GV80 Coupe 3.5T E-SC MHEV AWD was almost completely different. And it wasn't just the extra horsepower. It felt lighter (it isn't) and more agile. I'm not a fan of these "sloped back" vehicles but if I were to buy a GV80 it would be the Coupe. There is limited availability, and it isn't cheap (as tested it starts at $85,750) but it is a very nice ride.
Genesis GV80 3.5T Prestige As I said, I recently drove the above GV80 3.5T Prestige AWD and for the first time in a long time a Genesis didn't WOW me. I can't quibble with the execution, it is a find car, it just didn't move me. It starts at $79,300.
Geneis G80 3.5T Sport Prestige About the worst thing I can say about the Genesis G80 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD is I don't like this paint. If I had the money I would own one. The starting price for the above car is $77,000.
Fiat e500 Fiat e500, the little red EV just about everybody loved. It's cute, and it manuvers where others can't. No it doesn't have a huge range but if I could afford two cars, one would be a e500. The starting price is $32,500 or you could lease it for 36 months at $166 per.
Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat OMG! Do you want an SUV that will eat the competition? Then you want the 2025 Durango SRT Hellcat Last Call AWD. The supercharged 6.2-liter, 710 hp, turns the 5,575 lb SUV into a dragster. If I owned it I would probably lose my license. But with a price of $115,315 as shown I'm safe.
Acura ZDX Type S Acura, like its parent Honda, is late to the EV market. The ZDX Type S Performance Wheel & Tire makes Acura's mark. I heard mixed reviews of the styling (too much chrome) but no one complained about the performance of the 499 hp, dual motor, all electric SUV. All that power does cut into the range, 278 miles versus 313 miles for a single motor model. If you like EVs, and you like Acura, you'll like the ZDX. Price of the ZDX shown started at $74,500.  |
| Photo by Judy & Keith Turner |
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N It seems that many EV makers want to get into the performance segment. I'm not sure anyone really needs an SUV that does 0-60 mph in 3 seconds but if you do, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is for you. It has an N Grin Boost that gives you 641 hp for 10 seconds (versus the standard 601) - it really is neck snapping power. There are different sound modes you can choose. The Ioniq 5 N is not cheap - $66,100 so thankfully not too many testosterone teens will have one.
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| Photo by Judy & Keith Turner |
Range Rover SE LWB 7-Seat I can see why the British Royal Family favors Range Rovers. The SE Long Wheel Base, 7-Seat model shown was the epitome of refinement. Soft leather comforts you. The outside world does not intrude. Although Range Rover has a reputation of being excellent off-road vehicles who in their right mind would risk scratching this? The turbocharged and supercharged 3.0-liter, 6-cylinder's 395 hp is up to the task of whisking you wherever you want to go. I don't live in Windsor Castle, and I don't have a spare $113,400 so I'll pass.
Toyota Camry XSE Not too long ago I spent a week with the Camry XSE and I was impressed. It is an economical family sedan with a sporty side. It's hybrid combination gives enough power to satisfy and return excellent economy. All wrapped up in an attractive package. The XSE starts at a reasonable $34,600.
The 2024 Best Of The Bay votes have been cast. As soon as I know the results I will update this page.
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Hopefully next year we'll have more cars, from more auto-makers, to sample. Come on, it isn't too early to commit.
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