Land Rover Discovery Sport

In Iceland, a kid can be Neptúnus or Torbjörg or Geirþrúður, but you’ll never meet a Moon Unit or a Zuma Nesta Rock born in the island nation. New parents here must choose from a list of 3500 government-approved names or plead their case to the country's Personal Names Committee, a three-person panel tasked with preserving the country’s heritage and protecting its children from a lifetime of mockery.

As overbearing as that sounds, it’s too bad the committee doesn’t consult with automakers. The panel could have stopped Land Rover from abandoning years of history when, in 2005, it dropped the Discovery moniker and began adopting alphanumeric names for some of its models in the North American market. The Discovery became the LR3 (and eventually the LR4) and the compact Freelander was renamed LR2. But Land Rover is now righting its wrong on its own terms, as its newest crossover would almost certainly earn the approval of the Icelandic Naming Committee. The LR2 replacement—even as that model will be sold for at least one more year—is now called the Discovery Sport and is every bit worthy of the name. The entry-level Land Rover, now competent and handsome, no longer makes a mockery of the brand.

Toned, Tanned, and Ready to Sell

The Land Rover LR2 was an awkward and unloved thing. Fewer than 3700 American buyers took one home in 2014, accounting for just seven percent of Land Rover sales. Starting at $37,995, the new Discovery Sport undercuts the all-wheel-drive BMW X3 and the Audi Q5 each by more than $2000, but we’re guessing the Land Rover will win sales based on looks alone. There isn’t a bad angle or errant crease on the Discovery Sport. Its sheetmetal is pulled taut over an athletic frame, creating a design so free of clutter that there isn’t even a reference to the rear bumper lurking under the skin.

The Discovery Sport stretches 3.7 inches longer than the LR2 and offers a third row of seats. It’s also about 9 inches longer than its kissing cousin, the Range Rover Evoque. And the fact that the Disco Sport doesn’t have a roofline as overtly aggressive as the Evoque’s means that headroom and outward visibility are significantly better.

The cabin is finished in typical Land Rover kit with excellent materials and a mediocre infotainment system. That’s significant, because the Discovery Sport is the first vehicle to use Jaguar Land Rover’s brand-new and desperately needed replacement for the fussy and stubborn system we’ve complained about for years.The new InControl system uses an 8.0-inch touch screen that looks sharp, with more color and crisper graphics than the current offering. However, all it takes is a few taps to the screen to realize that the underlying software is still slow to react and occasionally unresponsive altogether.

Press, Pause, Surge, Jerk

Ahead of the B-pillar, the Discovery Sport shares many of its mechanical bits with the Evoque, including a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and a nine-speed automatic transmission. The 240-hp engine, designed and built by Ford, is slow to build boost off the line and isn’t as responsive as Audi and BMW’s turbo four-cylinders. Yet once the turbocharger has spooled up, the Discovery Sport lunges ahead with up to 251 lb-ft of torque. We estimate the Sport, handicapped in part by a roughly 4400-pound curb weight, won’t quite match the sub-seven-second zero-to-60-mph performances of its competition. Figure on the benchmark sprint taking 7.3 ticks or so.

The engine’s slight hesitations are exacerbated by a transmission that downshifts with uncomfortable, pregnant pauses between the accelerator input and the gear change. We’ve had the same complaint in other vehicles that use the same ZF-supplied transmission, including the Jeep Cherokee. Compared with the six-speed unit it replaces, the nine-speed gearbox feels like a step backward. Full-throttle shifts from eighth gear to fourth at highway velocities feel as if they can be measured in full seconds. And while shift quality is smoother than in the Cherokee, the upshift from first to second is still accompanied by the same unpleasant jerk.

Between the engine’s lag and the transmission’s hesitations, it can be a challenge to drive the Discovery Sport smoothly. During part-throttle acceleration—to climb a hill, make a pass, or simply accelerate for a rising speed limit—the Sport takes its time responding before suddenly delivering too much oomph. The result is an unseemly surge that will make your passengers think you’re treating the gas pedal like an on-off switch. Jaguar Land Rover’s all-new Ingenium turbocharged 2.0-liter engine, set to go into production in late 2016, can’t get here soon enough.

The Ride Is Right

While the powertrain is the Discovery Sport’s biggest shortcoming, the chassis it’s bolted to is this crossover’s greatest asset. It starts with a rock-solid unibody structure that’s heavy on steel, although the hood, fenders, roof, and tailgate are aluminum stampings. As we scrambled over packed ice and rutted trails in Iceland, the Discovery Sport’s body never chattered or quivered. On paved roads, the cabin is seriously quiet, especially impressive considering that our test car rolled on studded winter tires.

Ride quality both on- and off-road is excellent, with none of the contrived “sporty” harshness that afflicts the Evoque. The suspension tuning is a masterful balance of compliant damping and firm body control. A new multilink rear suspension that is shorter and more compact than the Evoque’s strut arrangement creates the extra width between the wheels that allows for the optional third row of seats. Land Rover calls the Discovery Sport a 5+2-seater, which you should interpret as space for five adults plus a pair of two-year-olds. As an occasional-use seat, though, the best part about the third row is its expert packaging. With the last row folded, the Sport’s load floor is just as low as in the five-passenger version. (The seven-seater does, however, lack the five-seat model’s underfloor storage.)

A Family Affair

Under Tata ownership, Land Rover has mastered the redesigns of the Range Rover models. The Discovery Sport suggests that the Land Rover side of the family is about to undergo a similarly successful revitalization. The LR4 soon will be called Discovery once again and a new Defender is due in a couple years. (And, yes, for the first time in nearly 20 years, that ultimate off-road tool will be sold in the U.S.) When it comes to staying true to your heritage, maybe Iceland is onto something.

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2017 Jaguar F-Pace

While we might not be learning much about how the new Jaguar F-Pace will deal with the challenges typically faced by luxury crossovers, we’re certainly having fun.

Jaguar Land Rover’s test facility near Arjeplog in northern Sweden is practically in the Arctic Circle, and at this time of year every surface is covered in either snow or ice. Or, in the case of the 300-foot-diameter circle that we’re drifting a prototype F-Pace around, a combination of both. Although it’s just past noon, the sun is barely above the horizon and starting to fall, and the outside temperature is a bracing negative-22 degrees Fahrenheit. Yet this supercharged V-6 F-Pace seems entirely happy to slide around seemingly indefinitely, the cabin staying warm and the well-mannered chassis politely declining every invitation to spin out, despite the provocation of a pinned-open throttle and the deactivation of every dynamic aid.

It’s a memorable introduction, and it’s fair to say that our first experience of the F-Pace is highly positive. But after a day in various prototypes, many of our questions remained, at best, partially answered. This is not because of any enforced restrictions or signed-in-blood nondisclosure agreements, but rather because we can only report how the F-Pace deals with various types of thoroughly frozen water. While JLR’s Revi Test Center has nearly 40 miles of tracks and courses, most of which are built on the surface of a frozen lake—including one three-quarter-mile section formed in the shape of Jaguar’s “leaper” logo exclusively for our visit—not a single yard of surface is anything other than ice and snow.

The Ice Keeps Secrets

So while we expect that the F-Pace will manifest some steering feel once we’re on proper roads, in Sweden the combination of winter tires and a distinct lack of nearly any surface friction meant it displayed all the feedback and resistance of an early 1980s arcade racing game. Similarly we can extrapolate little from the way it rode over Revi’s glass-smooth surfaces, and we didn’t get to experience the brakes under anything beyond the juddering retardation of a full ABS deployment. What we can confirm is that the F-Pace feels exciting in a way that none of its rivals do—excepting just one.

Yes, Porsche should be very flattered, and the Jaguar development team admits as much. The Macan was launched after engineering of the F-Pace was already well advanced, delivering the sharp realization that it was good enough to effectively reset the segment’s benchmarks. The Jaguar originally was being developed with the target of beating the BMW X3, but the Macan caused the program to be paused for several months for things such as retuning the suspension’s springs and anti-roll bars to be stiffer. According to the development team, that’s also when the F-Pace went from being an SUV to what we’re told to think of as a sports crossover.

Not that such a delay means much in the overall scheme of things. The F-Pace could charitably be described as being at least a decade behind the rest of the luxury segment. Jaguar’s partnership with an existing and highly successful SUV specialist gives some excuse for such tardiness, but it’s probably not much consolation to those who have been trying to sell the brand’s existing model lineup to those convinced they really want one of those spiffy luxury off-roaders. To get away with being this late to a party you have to either sneak in very quietly or make a grand entrance.

The Usual Powertrain Suspects

Describing the F-Pace as an SUV’d version of the recently redesigned XF sedanwould be unkind but not entirely unfair. The two cars sit on the same mostly aluminum platform and share large amounts of underlying structure. Jaguar admits that the bodies-in-white of both vehicles are largely the same ahead of the B-pillars, although the F-Pace gets an entirely new subframe for its longer-travel front suspension. The bulk of U.S.-market F-Paces will pack a 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 available in 340- and 380-hp states of tune; we spent most of our time in Sweden with the latter, although we also had a turn in the Euro-spec 3.0-liter V-6 diesel. The American model also will offer a 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine. Some markets will have the option of gasoline four-cylinders, rear-wheel drive, and even manual gearboxes, but U.S.-spec F-Paces will be exclusively available with Jaguar’s all-wheel-drive system (beefed up from its XE, XF, and F-type applications with a larger front differential) and an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The other mechanical components are all unsurprising, with the front control-arm and rear multilink suspension setups closely related to those fitted to the XE and XF. Jaguar claims a respectable 8.3 inches of ground clearance, but the F-Pace does without air springs and only the top-spec versions have switchable dampers. Variable-ratio electric power steering is standard.

The partial disguise worn by the prototype versions we drove served to emphasize how fundamentally wagon-y the F-Pace’s lines and dimensions are. Ian Callum, Jaguar’s design director, doesn’t really do straight lines, and the F-Pace is as curvaceous as any of his sports cars. His enthusiasm for big wheels is equally well known, and the production F-Pace will be available with pieces as large as 22 inches in diameter; despite their Continental winter tires, the prototypes we drove were still packing 20-inchers.

Behind the Wheel

With temperatures cold enough to freeze nasal hairs within seconds, we don’t linger to admire the exterior design. The cabin feels more familiar, like that of an XE or an XF with a slightly higher view, the switchgear and general design ethos clearly shared among the vehicles. The fat center console contains Jaguar’s familiar rotary gear selector with high-spec versions getting both a 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster and a vast, 10.2-inch touchscreen in the center of the dashboard. Sweden reveals one flaw: The thick door panels and low-mounted air vents make it very difficult to keep the side windows frost-free in these Arctic conditions. Despite our having been warned that these are working prototype vehicles, everything felt finished to an impressively high standard.

An abundance of power and limited available grip means there’s plenty of opportunity to experience a handling balance that’s as benign as one of Charles Dickens’s more avuncular characters. As in Jaguar’s existing all-wheel-drive models, most engine output heads rearward until slip is detected, with torque then diverted to the front to help pull it back onto your intended line (or something closer to it). On ice, and in the more aggressive driving modes, there’s a distinct pause before the front axle steps in to do its bit; even in the default Normal mode the rear end will slide slightly. Switching to Dynamic mode, or turning the stability control down or off, produces progressively more of this power-on oversteer, with the lack of a locking differential having little effect on the F-Pace’s ability to hold jaunty angles for impressive distances. On what’s literally the back straight of the cat-shaped “leaper” course there’s enough room to confirm that, even after building up to an indicated 75 mph, the F-Pace still happily—and predictably—claws its way sideways down the straight with the stability-control system switched off.

All of which is fun, but likely irrelevant to anybody who doesn’t possess their own frozen lake to play on. And it’s actually in its most cautious AdSR mode (a.k.a. Winter mode) that the F-Pace impresses most. Jaguar’s chassis team developed what’s described as Adaptive Surface Response (AdSR) as a system that takes input from various sensors to work out approximate grip levels on low-adhesion surfaces before you even turn the wheel, and then tries to help you make the most of them. There’s none of the adrenaline-spiking oversteer of the punchier modes, and throttle response is backed off enough to make you feel as if a length of elastic has been slipped into the mechanism, but the system works subtly to minimize understeer and smooth acceleration without obvious intervention. It’s an ego blow to realize that we’re practically as quick around the twistier courses with the car in this most cautious setting.

The supercharged V-6 deserves praise, too, pulling strongly and delivering linear responses pretty much throughout its broad power band. (The V-6 diesel, although far torquier, feels peaky by comparison and has a far more industrial soundtrack, so don’t feel too badly that we’re not getting it.) The eight-speed gearbox shifts cleanly and, in its sport setting, intelligently under hard use, with the ability to override via paddles behind the steering wheel. Even switching between gears while drifting under full power wasn’t an issue and didn’t upset the car.

The F-Pace has another, less-exciting weapon to use against the Macan: sensibleness. The rumors from inside Jaguar are that slow sales of its previous station-wagon models mean the F-Pace, and a possible smaller sister, will fulfill the same mission from here on in. It’s noticeably larger than the Porsche in back and has a far more spacious luggage area. These things matter, at least as much as the ability to go sideways on a frozen lake. For a car that we’ve been told marks a radical departure for Jaguar, the F-Pace feels reassuringly unradical in practice. And while there are still many unanswered questions, not the least of which being why Jaguar waited so long to launch a vehicle the market has been clamoring for, the first impressions are excellent.

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2017 Ford F-150 Raptor SuperCrew: Bigger Cab, Same Attitude

In the modern automotive idiom, few names stir up as much enthusiasm—and testosterone—as “Raptor.” Indeed, the moniker of Ford’s brawny, F-150–based off-road sensation ranks right up there with Hellcat, GT350, GT3, and GT-R for many enthusiasts, and it tops all of those among folks with a taste for suspension travel and heading off the beaten path.

And so the introduction of the all-new, second-generation 2017 F-150 Raptor at last year’s Detroit auto show was a much-anticipated event, even though the new truck doesn’t go on sale until this fall. Now, Ford is using the 2016 Detroit auto show as an opportunity to roll out its new Raptor in SuperCrew form.

Based on the aluminum-bodied F-150 SuperCrew, the Raptor SuperCrew rides on a 145.0-inch wheelbase—a foot longer than the standard SuperCab-based model—and has four front-hinged doors and the SuperCrew’s 5.5-foot bed. Aside from that, and the inevitably more capacious rear seat, not much changes compared with the standard Raptor, which we detail in this story.

Frustratingly, Ford still hasn’t disclosed output figures for the Raptor’s engine, which is a version of Ford’s prolific, 3.5-liter Ecoboost V-6. Earlier reports suggested that the engine could produce some 450 horsepower, but all Ford has said officially is that it will outmuscle the previous Raptor’s 6.2-liter V-8, which churned out 411 horsepower and 434 lb-ft of torque. With up to 500 fewer pounds to lug around—thank you, aluminum!—and 10 gear ratios allowing the engine to stay in the sweet spot of the powerband, the 2017 Raptor is expected to be much quicker off the line. It also should be a force to be reckoned with off-road thanks to torque-on-demand four-wheel drive plus a new terrain-response system with six available modes. It’ll be more fuel-efficient, too, if anyone cares.

Watch for both Raptor models to bully their way into dealerships in the U.S. and Canada this fall.

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BMW M6 Gran Coupe: Hotness, Slightly Modified

For all the “four-door coupe” nonsense floating around these days, it turns out that the 6-series Gran Coupe was a great idea. Stretching the wheelbase of the handsome (and proper) 6-series coupe to accommodate an extra pair of portals imparted stunning proportions, and the resulting car has resonated well with buyers. Of course, it wasn’t long before BMW stuffed the beautiful shape with the most aggressive engine available in the 6er lineup, thereby creating the M6 Gran Coupe. This particular model was already fresher than the 6-series coupe, therefore very little has changed for this midterm facelift.

And that's a good thing, as the M6 Gran Coupe is both better to drive and better to look at than the related M5 sedan. Fitted with the familiar 560-hp twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8, it delivers "monstrous performance" according to the carmaker's press release. Zero to 60 takes a claimed 4.2 seconds—we achieved a 3.7-second time with the 2014 model—and top speed is limited to 155 mph even though the car likely could reach about 200 mph without a governor. There is a standard seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, but we hear that you’ll still be able to opt for a six-speed manual.

The M6 Gran Coupe is a rear-wheel-drive car, and the Active M Differential helps put the power to the ground in effective or spectacular ways—it’s your choice. This car likes to play and offers excellent transitional and dynamic behavior. The standard brakes are quite strong, but response and fade-resistance are even better with the optional carbon-ceramic brakes.

While the M6 Gran Coupe keeps its unique "jet fighter" front air intake and its sculpted carbon-fiber roof, there is one clearly visible exterior change: new LED headlights, which also see the turn signals moved from the bottom of the units to the top.

What else is new? Well, the GoPro-compatible application is now available, the telematics and infotainment systems have been slightly upgraded, and there are new interior and exterior colors. Oh, and "stylistic accents in classy black chrome." While the regular 6-series Gran Coupe gets new mirrors, a new grille, and a new lower air intake, none of these changes carry over to the M6 GC.

In fact, the M6 Gran Coupe may have received the most modest midcycle update we've ever seen. Of course, that's the only modest thing about a model that takes the fight to the Audi RS7 and the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG.

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2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn: The Wraith Loses Its Head

We can already tell that 2016 is going to be a good year for high-rolling sunseekers, as they’ll have a number of new droptops from which to choose. And unless Maybach drops another Landaulet or Bentley finally chops the roof off theMulsanne by next year, no car company will allow the one percent to roll higher than Rolls-Royce, which is adding a second extravagant extrovert to its droptop lineup (below the Phantom Drophead Coupe). Its maker contends that the 2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn is “the sexiest Rolls-Royce ever built.”

Exterior: The Wraith of Dawn

Essentially a convertible version of the Wraith coupe, the Dawn is a lovelier creature than that fixed-roof model; in terms of exterior skin, Rolls says the two cars share only their doors and rear bumper. The rear-three-quarter view of the Dawn is gorgeous, with the rear fenders rising gently to create what Rolls calls—ahem—“the feminine ‘hips’ of Dawn” before tapering in toward the tail. Other noteworthy details are headlamps resembling those of the Ghost II, new 20- or 21-inch wheels, and, of course, the retention of the rear-hinged coach doors. Note how Rolls applied a tasteful pinstripe to the example in these photos to accentuate the Dawn’s newfound curvature. Contrary to the beliefs of most New Jersey car dealers, few of the world’s automobiles can make pinstripes work. This car can.

The top is rendered in thickly padded fabric, not Lalique-encrusted beluga whale skin as we had hoped, and the design incorporates a stainless-steel band at the leading edge of the flat trunk, giving the Dawn a more traditional three-box-coupe look than the fastback Wraith. The rear window is small by design, which “heightens the sense of a private sanctuary when motoring with the roof up.” Rolls describes roof operation as “a silent ballet”—we would expect nothing less in terms of verbiage—and the automaker further claims that the Dawn is the quietest convertible in the world, with French-style exterior seams designed to eliminate wind noise.

“2+2 Does Not Equal 4”

Proud that the car retains the rear-seat legroom of the coupe, Rolls-Royce is adamant about calling the Dawn “a true four-seater,” not a two-plus-two, which the company considers “anti-social” and a “compromise too far,” according to the press release. “2+2 ≠ 4,” they say. But even if it were a little cramped in the back, we’d still find a way to squeeze ourselves inside in order to savor the Dawn’s material opulence, which can be displayed in a fashion like no Wraith possibly can given that the top goes down. The combination of “Mandarin” and black cowhides on the Dawn seen here may not float everyone’s boat (many of us really like it), but no one can argue with the book-matched, herringbone-style open-pore Canadel wood applied in huge swathes on the dashboard, doors, rear tonneau, and the “waterfall” panel between the rear seats. The treatment is nothing short of spectacular. Other interior highlights include wristwatch-style gauges, an audio system from Rolls’ Bespoke customization outfit, and a Spirit of Ecstasy rotary controller with a touch pad rather than a center-stack touch screen, “which might leave unsightly fingerprints at driver and passenger eye level”—the horror!

Powered by a Ghost

The Dawn is propelled by a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V-12 that is lifted pretty much intact from the Ghost II, making the same 563 horsepower at 5250 rpm and 575 lb-ft of torque at just 1500 rpm. The transmission is the same “satellite-aided” eight-speed unit found in the Wraith that will use the GPS to prepare for upcoming hills and curves and select the proper ratio. As for performance, Rolls expects the Dawn will hit 60 mph in 4.9 seconds, while top speed is limited to 155 mph.

Elsewhere under the skin, the Dawn gets the expected structural bracing to ensure adequate rigidity, while the suspension has been reconfigured for the revised weight distribution and body-stiffness properties to facilitate “the expected Rolls-Royce ‘magic carpet’ ride.” Despite the Dawn tipping the scales at an estimated 5700 pounds—several hundred more than the Wraith—Rolls-Royce claims that the new droptop is lighter and more fuel-efficient than the majority of “compromised” two-plus-two convertibles on the market.

A Mighty Pretty Penny

Rolls-Royce says that the inspiration for the Dawn was the Silver Dawn cabriolet, only 28 of which were built between 1950 and 1954. We suspect that the new Dawn will surpass that number in a matter of weeks once production is up and running early next year. Orders are being taken now, with prices starting roughly 20 percent higher than those of the Wraith, according to Rolls, so don’t expect much change from your $400,000 bill. Yeah, that’s almost Phantom money. Then again, for the mega-rich, is that really all that much? And besides, owning “the sexiest Rolls-Royce in history” is a pretty powerful piece of marketing.

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2016 Audi TT Coupe

Imagine you’re an aluminum ingot hot from the smelter, facing all future possibilities.

You could be a sheet of foil tented loosely over a platter of resting meat, or the can keeping a fistful of beer contained in the griller’s hand. Maybe you’ll be the child’s bat pinging a line drive through his window, or a spar in the wing of the Airbus tattooing the blue sky high overhead.

Or are you a gearhead? Sorry, you can’t actually be a gear—most of those jobs go to steel. But you’re needed desperately elsewhere. Engine parts, structural elements, and suspension components have all been cast, extruded, and forged from aluminum for the sake of weight reduction. Or maybe you’re an aesthete, and you’d like to be stamped into a body panel. If you work your way into an Audi TT, you could find meaning in any of these roles. The all-new 2016 TT is the third generation of Audi’s architectural hatchback, and, as before, nearly all of its metal bits—upper body structure, side frames, fenders, doors, hood, roof, hatch, and bumper beams, plus assorted engine and suspension parts—are aluminum. The materials mix shifts around a bit for gen three, though, with steel now used for the engine cradle, floorpan, and firewall. That helps keep weight to 367 pounds, 25 less than the previous car and 242 less than a similarly sized Volkswagen Golf R, which shares a platform with the TT and similarly packs a turbo 2.0 and four-wheel drive.

Powering the new TT is the Volkswagen Group’s redesigned EA888 2.0-liter four-cylinder, which retains the EA888 name but little else aside from bore and stroke. It’s built around a 72-pound iron block that is one of heaviest single pieces of ferrous metal in the car. Integrating the exhaust manifold into the aluminum cylinder head helps the engine get up to operating temperature quickly, reducing startup emissions. In European applications, this engine gets both direct and port fuel injectors, the latter to better mix fuel and air to hit specific emissions targets. But here in the U.S., where our exhaust requirements are different, it’s not a concern worth the investment, and our TTs are DI only.

But it’s still unmistakably the Wolfsburg turbo 2.0, sounding and responding like the engine we’ve experienced in a succession of VW products. Floor it from a stop and there’s a slight delay before its 258 pound-feet of torque peaks at 1600 rpm, and then power piles on smoothly until all 220 horsepower manifests at 6200 rpm. For a car with such an unremarkable power rating, the TT’s performance is impressive: zero to 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds, with the quarter-mile taking 13.8 seconds at 99 mph. That’s 0.6 second quicker to 60 and 0.6 second more fleet through the quarter than a GTI. Switch the exhaust to dynamic mode, and a sound actuator gives the impression of a deeper exhaust rumble.

Shifts from the dual-clutch gearbox are faster and smoother than those of most ­traditional automatics, and kickdowns are instantaneous. Even in manual mode, flooring the accelerator produces a sixth-to-second downshift as fast as a rifle shot. Presently, the only way to get a TT in the U.S. is with DSG and Quattro.

If the TT’s straight-line figures are on the verge of sports-car speed, its braking and roadholding are legitimate sports-car performances. And the sensations associated with them are nearly as impressive. Brake feel is excellent. The pedal travels a touch too much, but pressure is consistently firm once the stopping starts. A 70-to-zero braking distance of 151 feet betters the 10Best-winning BMW M235i, as well as one of the M4s we’ve tested. As does 0.98 g on the skidpad. Audi’s Drive Select system tweaks steering effort, engine sound, four-wheel-drive engagement, and throttle and transmission mapping. In either comfort or dynamic mode, the steering is linear, progressive, and weights up beautifully. It’s breezy and light in comfort, and barbell heavy in dynamic.

With the shortest wheelbase of any car yet built on Volkswagen’s super-versatile MQB platform, the TT changes direction quite well for a four-wheel driver. The Quattro system can direct 100 percent of engine torque to either the front or rear axle, and switching the system into dynamic mode biases that output to the rear. Under even light throttle (cornering), Quattro directs torque aft, relieving pressure on the nose and allowing the TT to rotate readily. One thing we wish Drive Select could alter is suspension response. (Adjustable dampers will be stand­ard on the forthcoming TTS.) With our car’s optional 19-inch wheels ($1000), the ride was fairly harsh, though not unduly so for a car with handling this direct.

We will now switch gears and rant until we’re blue about the TT’s fancy new infotainment system. Cleverly designed to cut the passenger out of the equation entirely, it does away with the central display screen, replacing it with three air vents and one large, reconfigurable panel in front of the driver. There are no mechanical gauges anymore, just a digital tach and speedometer that can shrink as necessary to allow other displays—radio, media, navigation, vehicle settings, and telephone—to take up an inordinate amount of space and driver attention.

The driver manipulates these various functions using steering-wheel controls. The passenger can manage them using the central MMI knob and some buttons but can’t see the screen, so there’s little point. Proving how much Audi wants the driver to keep hands on the wheel and use the controls there, the redundant volume knob is positioned just out of reach, in front and to the right of the shifter. Here, though, it is optimally, patronizingly placed for the passenger. (You want something to do, Bradley? Fine. Control the volume.)

On Audi’s website, we came across a plug for the system, promising that it would allow the driver to “be informed, not overwhelmed.” Putting four gauges and more than a dozen different icons on one screen, giving the driver some 20 separate things to look at, doesn’t seem like the best way to accomplish that. Just two years ago, we called Audi’s MMI the least frustrating, most user-friendly infotainment system in the entire industry. As much buzzword momentum as the phrase “distracted driving” has amassed, it seems few automakers are actually doing anything to combat it. And by assigning sole responsibility for these secondary systems to the driver, Audi seems to be asking the chain-saw juggler if he can’t also tune the carburetors while he’s at it.

At least the air vents that replace the infotainment screen are lovely, although they, too, are wildly complex. Some companies publish exploded imagery to show the various components of their body structures or engines. Audi released a rendering of an air vent exploded to show the 20 or so different parts in each. All the HVAC controls are nested inside the vents. You adjust temperature by turning the knob in the middle of the center vent, and you push it to engage the automatic setting. The knob on the leftmost of the three vents controls fan speed. The knob on the right vent selects air distribution. Both driver and passenger have an outboard vent on the dash near the door handle. Pushing the button in these activates the seat heater. It is a complicated but clever and tidy way to package HVAC controls, and the vents and knobs are satisfyingly graduated and hefty (not unlike our nephew, who mercifully got that wrestling scholarship to Central)

Otherwise, the TT’s airy interior is restrained, bordering on the bland—a particular disappointment considering that the first-generation TT touched off a cabin-design renaissance, going so far as to offer baseball-glove stitching on its seats. With a row of toggle switches low on the dash and its clever circular vents, the TT’s interior reminds us of a German Ford Mustang. It’s rendered almost exclusively in a black rubbery material that would be pleasant to plant your face into during a vigorous front-end impact but isn’t otherwise noteworthy. At least the sport seats (another $1000 option) are supremely comfortable.

We’re similarly lukewarm on the car’s exteri­or. The first TT was groundbreaking, unlike anything we’d seen before except maybe in futurist sketches of a reborn Porsche 356. Then the second one was, well, kind of like the first one, but not as shocking. This third generation just looks as if Audi replaced some radiused curves with kinks and called it a day. Unless you park it next to its predecessor, telling them apart is tricky. The TT used to be automotive sculpture; now it’s a small, chunky R8 clone. It’s still pretty and sports some nice detailing but no longer invites the sort of stares the original did.

Indeed, we found ourselves feeling somewhat detached from the TT as a whole. It’s a comfortable and capable sports coupe, but it doesn’t offer holistic driver engagement. An example: We’re accustomed to this engine impressing in more-affordable cars, where it feels like an overachiever. In this context, though, it lacks the personality and immediacy of a suitably premium engine, say BMW’s straight-six or even Ford’s 5.0-liter V-8—just two alternatives available near the TT’s base price of $43,825. With options, our tester climbed to $50,600, at which point buyers looking for something thrilling could be tempted to stretch another few grand for a Corvette.

And while the TT’s chassis improvements are impressive, with this base car outcornering and outbraking even the old TT RS, the car itself feels aloof. Despite excellent steering and body control, the data broadcast to the driver’s backside is dominated by reverb from the stiff suspension and large wheels. It’s so stable and planted that it needs more power to come alive and dance. The TTS’s additional 72 horsepower and 22 pound-feet of torque should achieve that, but, despite its looks, a mini R8 this is not. In fact, we’re not quite sure what the TT wants to be.

One day, this aluminum ingot may be ground up, melted down, and re-formed into other stuff—maybe several hundred very handsome soup ladles. Meanwhile, it’s no longer serving as the fashion accessory it once was, nor, in this configuration at least, as a true, premium sports car. For now, it’s just a fastidious aluminum dumpling—one rife with possibility.

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Mercedes-Benz SLC pricing and specification revealed

With a few AMG-badged exceptions the first three generations of Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster have never been drivers’ cars in the mould of the Porsche Boxster, but they’ve certainly been successful. 670,000 cars down the line, the fourth generation now gets a new name: SLC.

The change is designed to position the latest car alongside the C-class in Mercedes’ range, just as the GLC does in its respective crossover niche. What hasn’t changed is the meat of the car itself – the SLC is largely a facelift of the third-generation SLK.

Prices and specification have now been announced for the new range. UK models start with the SLC 200, priced at £30,495 on the road, rising to £46,355 for the range-topping Mercedes-AMG SLC 43.

The AMG flagship trades the old SLK 55’s V8 for a 3-litre biturbo V6. It develops 362bhp between 5500-6000rpm, with a thumping 384lb ft of torque from 2000-4200rpm. Progress should be swift, with a 4.7-second 0-62mph dash and the usual limited 155mph top speed.

Newly-developed front and rear axles underpin the AMG model, as do new engine and differential mountings. An optional handling package swaps the rear diff for a limited-slip item, also AMG Ride Control adaptive adjustable damping. Brake discs are larger than standard SLCs and a host of visual cues distinguish it from lesser models – 18-inch AMG alloy wheels, AMG body styling and several interior touches are all present and correct.

At the other end of the range, the new SLC 200 uses a 2-litre turbocharged engine with 181bhp. It comes as standard with a six-speed manual transmission (producing 150g/km of CO2 in this form) or the new 9G-Tronic automatic transmission, which drops this figure to 137g/km. The automatic model costs £1485 more than the manual, at £31,980 in Sport trim. Sport models are identifiable by 17in alloy wheels; AMG Line cars have 18in wheels.

AMG Line trim is also available on the SLC 200, starting at £34,495 for the manual and £35,980 for the auto. The 9G-Tronic transmission is standard on the 2-litre, 242bhp SLC 300, as is AMG Line trim. It's priced at £39,385 on the road.

The auto is also standard on the SLC 250d. As before, this will be the choice for those doing high mileage – CO2 emissions of 114g/km and combined economy of a claimed 64.2mpg give it supermini-style frugality. It starts at £32,995 in Sport trim, rising to £36,995 for AMG Line cars.

A Dynamic Handling package is optionally available, lowering suspension by 10mm, and adding adaptive damping. A sports exhaust system is also available on the SLC 200 (when the automatic ‘box and AMG Line or Sports trim is selected), and standard on the SLC 300.

Styling changes are subtle both inside and out. At the front there’s a new grille, revised headlights and a redesigned bumper, while the rear lights are also of a new design. Mercedes’ LED Intelligent Light System is an optional extra (for £1150), adding adaptive functions and promising daylight-style illumination.

The folding hard top – an SLK feature since the very first car – can now be operated up to 25mph. There’s also an optional automatic boot separator that splits roof and luggage space, preventing the roof opening should the boot be full.

Heated seats and the Airscarf neck-warming function are standard, with the unique Magic Sky Control roof an option – allowing occupants to lighten or darken the glass-panelled roof at the touch of a button.

The new Mercedes-Benz SLC will hit showrooms in March 2016 – 20 years on from the launch of the first-gen SLK – with orders beginning now.

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