welcome to the motormouth YouTube channel I'm Zach I'm Andrea and we do full length car reviews all the time but at the end of a year we start to do our top fives we've already put some out so if you like these make sure to subscribe because we're going to be doing more as we head towards towards the end of the year yeah we're super excited about anything else you need to do Andrea well you got to follow along on Instagram at motormouth Andrea I always put a sneak peek of what's coming up on the channel and when the videos are dropping and of course subscribe okay so the way we do this we don't go 543 21 no that's that's old school what we do is we pick five vehicles and we go through the high and low points of each because what's good for one person might not be good for another person and then at the end what do we add in oh then we do honorable mentions and we've got a few coming up on our list stay tuned for that but let's get started with our top five in alphabetical order up first is the Acura RDX some pros of the RDX super spacious it's been out for a while so they have really ironed out any issues that the RDX had at the beginning and you know what one of my favorite things about the RDX tell me what is it the flat floor in the rear seat if you have a larger family and you're always taking a third person in the rear seat boy it is just much more comfortable for them okay so RDX out of the box comes with um some of the most power in this class there are a couple of vehicles that have more stand I'm talking about the base engine uh the gv70 with the 2.5 L turbo and the Stell from Alpha Romeo but this is is really quite competent so that's the positive then you turn your attention to the inside and for some people this is where it falls down for us it falls down yeah this is a a con for us the trackpad and the button shifter that whole center console to me is just a bit polarizing it's a little bit too much Drive modes as well like a giant button there I don't know I mean it could really use a touchcreen and a redesign I don't know how many people love the trackpad when we speak to people who do buy it they say they get used to it and it's not really that much of a big deal Andrew you can have a stone in your shoe and get used to that but uh listen oh that's a bit much I don't like stones in my shoes no no Lexus usually you stop and hop on one leg and get the stone out but Lexus had trackpad in the RX and then they they got rid of it I suspect that's the way this is going to go but right now uh it has a lot of compelling features Andrew mentioned it's a it's a big vehicle in this class now the other thing is in the Canadian Market not the same in the United States they got rid of the base models and they just went asec it's the sportier looking vehicle and they finally added the Adaptive suspension to ASAC but um but that's almost $60,000 with a starting price remember the day and Canada when we used to get the RDX for 46,000 Canadians do you know when that was Andrea that was 18 months ago because they brought out the CRV which is more expensive so they dropped the base models however in the US you can still get some cheaper option you can and the thing about the RDX is that it is really a great allrounder it handles quite well it kind of gives you a bit of a sporty feel um I like it a lot good overall value all right let's get into the specs of this thing the RDX comes with a 2 L turbocharged 4 cylinder with a 10-speed automatic transmission 272 horsepower and 280 lbet of torque standard all-wheel drive in Canada in the us both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options are available unfortunately there is no hybrid or plug-in hybrid option for the RDX here's the price range for Canada will flip to the US in a second it's spendy it starts at $599,000 and goes to $64,000 it's way better value in the United States just under 42,000 to start and the most expensive model is just under 54 ,000 here's the fuel economy 11 lers per 100 kilometers in the city 8.6 on the highway that's 21 MP gallon City 27 MPG Highway next in alphabetical order is the BMW X3 and you know what I really think this one is tough to beat for its engaging and fun drive and tons of Powertrain options so we have two gas models that's the four-cylinder turbo then the inline six Turbo and then in the Canadian Market there's still a plug-in hybrid available not in the United States I'm not sure why they dropped it for the American market for this year but uh that's a more fuel efficient option so Andrea knows me if I was going to pick one of the Drive Lines which one would I choose he get the inline six for sure but you know what there is a more powerful one the x3m yeah which is pretty hot so lots of selection there for sure having driven the x3m uh the handling is next level they take it and they it even but the supension is really crashy so if you live somewhere where you don't have great roads like the northeast of the US or Eastern Canada uh the bumps will will do your head in so that's why I think the X3 40i this the inline 6cylinder is and the other thing that's interesting about the inline six andri people that have it and drive it on the highway if you drive it without burying your foot into it you can get very close to the four-cylinder turbo fuel economy and I also think that it's quite spacious in this class it offers plenty of rear seat leg rooms some cons of the X3 I was a little bit disappointed with the piano black that was offered in it um Le seats yeah it just didn't feel as upscale as I expected from the X3 but I do like the infotainment system it's controlled still with the center console dial and it is a touchcreen so it does a lot really well and I think if you're you're looking for a vehicle that offers a fun drive an SUV this one is really Ed hard to beat all right let's get into all those engine choices the base model is a 2 L turbocharge 4 cylinder with an 8-speed automatic transmission 248 horsepower and 258 lbet of torque the m40i has a 3 l inline 6 with 382 horsepower the x3m with a twin turbo inline 6 503 horsepower and the 30e plug-in hybrid only sold in Canada with a combined 288 horsepower and 29 km of range here's the pricing in Canada the US in just a second the four-cylinder turbo starts at just over 59,000 the plug-in hybrid at just under 69,000 the m40i with the inline 6-cylinder is almost 75,000 and the x3m is over $95,000 in the United States the base turbo four-cylinder rear wheel drive is just under $47,000 the inline six starts at just under 62 and the M competition is $755,000 here's the fuel economy for the base 4-cylinder turbo 11 L per 100 kilm in the city 8.4 on the highway that's 21 m per gallon City 28 m per gallon highway the inline six is 21 m per Gall City 26 M per gallon highway the plug-in hybrid is only available in Canada and it gets 3.9 L equivalent per 100 km that's 60 m per gallon equivalent up next in alphabetical order is the Genesis gv70 with two terrific engine options a 2.5t and a 3.5t great performing engines and precise steering you can also get it electrified so that's something to consider the electric one is really quite spendy uh but you know what this is a great example of just how tenacious the Koreans are at going after all of the these different segments they have their Mainline cars hyy and Kia they're very good in the luxury division Genesis they do an excellent job especially with interior materials so here's the electric version beautiful Ivory white F leather interior it was stunning beautiful I mean they have taken it to a whole other level when it comes to Interior quality I would say Best in Class at this point the materials are gorgeous there's no piano black there's no hard plastic in their um vehicles I think they've done a really great job you know some cons is that dealerships there's not a lot of them around Genesis doesn't work for everybody if you have to travel 5 hours to a dealership I wouldn't recommend it um so I think that that is a little bit frustrating for people who do want to get into the Genesis brand the other thing is and this is just a little thing um a con is that the center console has has a dial shifter and it also has a dial to control the touchcreen um sometimes I mix that up it's just this little you would get used to it my my biggest pet peeve is the ugly uh base steering wheel you definitely want the sport one that looks a lot better but you know what they're doing a lot right uh We've driven all of them uh the electric is fantastic in fact I think the EV version is one of my favorite electric SUVs however it's kind of only sold with one trim and it ain't cheap no and then um the base 2.5 turbo of the gas models I think is the one to buy I think that's the one to get you know I just think that there's a lot of value Genesis as we see with Hyundai and Kia as well they really load up their vehicles with features so you get a lot for your money especially in this class and they are terrific handling Vehicles as well all right let's get into all the powertrains the Basse gv70 has a 2.5 L turbocharge 4-cylinder with an 8-speed automatic transmission 300 horsepower and 311 PB torque a 3.5 L twin turbocharged V6 with 375 horsepower and 391 lound feet of torque and of course the electric gv70 with up to 383 km 238 M of range it has 429 horsepower and 516 lb feet of torque here's the price range for the gv7 he will do the US in just a second in Canada the base 2 and 1/2 lit turbo starts at 60 Grand and goes to 685,000 the 3.5 L turbo starts at 735,000 and goes to 79,000 and the electric model one trim only $845,000 in the United States the base 2.5t starts at just under 45,000 and goes to just under $57,000 the 3.5t starts at 575,000 and goes to 67,000 and the electric is sold with different trims in the US $665,000 to just over7 $3,000 here's the fuel economy for the base 4-cylinder turbo 10.7 L per 100 km City 8.4 on the highway that's 22 m per gallon City 28 m per gallon highway the six-cylinder turbo is 12.9 L per 100 kilomet City 10 on the highway that's just 19 m per gallon City 24 m per gallon highway now you've probably noticed by now that there is a big player that is not on the list because we are going alphabetically and that's the Audi Q5 we're going to talk more about that in our honorable mentions and why we decided to leave it off the list it is an honorable mentions it's just not in the top five what's up next Andrea we've got the Lexus NX with four powertrain options yeah that's a big deal for this vehicle it's got a regular gas model hybrid a turbo four cylinder and it even has a plug-in I know like I mean is Lexus not just drilling electrification home or what I mean so many options with the NX it's got updated technology from Wireless Apple carplay and Android auto it's got the updated Lexus safety 3.0 and it's got safe exit assist I mean I really think it's quite a comfortable vehicle but it is the smallest in this class okay so it is based on the same platform as the Rav 4 you might not know that the NX is based on the Rav 4 so that base model engine is basically copy and paste from RAB 4 that's not the one we recommend I think my favorite of the bunch is the plugin's hard to get is is the hybrid the 350h and then there's the 350 gas the turbo version and then the 450 plus h plus is the plugin which one would you choose yeah I would pick the hybrid I think it actually offers the best value it gets terrific fuel economy the plug-in hybrid the issue I have with it is that those top trims wow they get pricey it's an expensive option um so I would go with the hybrid myself and I think we've actually sold many of those because we keep recommending the NX hybrid it isn't a raor it's based on the same platform but they do lexify it and make it much nicer and more comfortable to drive the interior has all of the latest infotainment system and the bigger screen now there are some downfalls to this and most of it centers around space yeah the rear seat isn't huge although Zach and I have been a passenger in the NX many times and we didn't feel like we were uncomfortable that our knees were hitting the back of the seat the front seat or anything so um I'm not sure how the measurements are but if you look at the cargo space of the NX and you look at the rear seat leg room it does fall short to many of its competitors especially the RDX there is one thing that I don't love about the NX and on those lower trims there's a little bit more piano black than what I'd like to see in a premium luxury model all right let's get into all the different powertrains there's many the Bas nx250 is a 2.5 L 4cylinder with an 8-speed automatic transmission 203 horsepower and 184 lb feet of torque the 350 a 2.4 L turbocharged 4 cylinder with an 8-speed automatic transmission 275 horsepower and 317 lbet of torque the 350h a 2.5 L 4 cylinder with Lexus Hybrid Drive matched to an ecvt it is a combined 240 horsepower finally the 450h plus a 2.5 L 4 cylinder with Lexus plug-in hybrid drive an ecvt and a combined 304 total system horsepower 61 km 37 Mi of EV range here's the pricing we'll do Canada then flip to the United States the base 250 starts at $535,000 the 350 that's the turbo 4 cylinder is 565,000 to 75,000 the hybrid the one we like is just under 56,000 to just over 71,000 and the phev starts at 63,000 and goes to almost $80,000 in the United States the base 250 $405,000 the $ 350 $445,000 the hybrid $445,000 and the plug-in hybrid just under $60,000 here's the fuel economy the base 250 all-wheel drive is 9.4 L per 100 km City 7.4 on the highway that's 25 MP gallon City 32 MP gallon highway the turbo 350 is 10.5 L per 100 kilometers in the city 8.3 on the highway that's 22 m per gallon City 29 m per gallon highway the hybrid is 5.7 L per 100 km City 6.4 on the highway that's 41 m per gallon in the city 37 mesp gallon highway the plugin hybrid is 2.8 L equivalent per 100 kilm or 84 4 MP gallon equivalent and now we're on our last vehicle and it goes to the mercedesbenz GLC now it didn't make our list last year because we were waiting for a all new vehicle we really did go back and forth between this and the Q5 which has many powertrain options available including a plug-in hybrid but we got to say that this GLC is just so good it gives you a real luxury experience refined and EXT extremely quiet cabin yeah so this is all new and the Q5 which going to talk about it again in a moment is at the very end of its run that's the main reason it made it in so looking at it from the outside this is a negative in my opinion it looks from 10 Paces away like the last one I mean you have to really know your Mercedes to know that this is an all new model so they don't stray from what they do they stick with the design on the outside and some people will like that for me I would have liked a little bit more change I think that's really the same with Audi as well I mean they they tweak their vehicles along the way but they really stay true to their consumers and who really love their brand um a con of this vehicle is that there is no plug-in hybrid option or a hybrid however I have heard rumors that a plug-in hybrid is going to be coming to the North American Market when we don't know yeah it is available in Europe right yes the interior is quite beautiful some are not crazy about the large screen at the center console but I have to say it's close to the driver it's easy enough to use but a lot of basic things are done in the screen now yeah we've seen this you know in the S-Class the E-class and now this GLC and C-Class as well at first you're like why is everything on this one big screen now that we've used it on all of those products usability of the system is very simple so the actual way you interact with the screen they've got that nailed uh the fact it's all in the screen is a bit of a negative for me and it's just you know shows loads of fingerprints uh same thing other than that screen the interior isn't that dramatically different than the previous model and then the drive of it as Andrew mentioned off the beginning it's more tune for Pure luxury that's what Mercedes Brands stands for and you're not getting sporty you're getting comfortable yeah and I think that's the key in this category you have a variety of vehicles some with a more engaging drive but if you really really want that smooth refined quiet cabin that real luxury experience you're going to find it with the GLC in this compact class and that's why it made our list the GLC 300 has a 2 L turbocharged 4cylinder with a 9-speed automatic transmission it has a 48volt mild hybrid system and a combined 255 horsepower and 295 lbet of torque the AMG GLC 43 will be arriving early 2024 and the AMG GLC 63 SE performance SUV will be arriving later in 2024 here's the price for the GLC 300 it starts at just under $59,000 in the United States the glc300 rear wheel drive is $47,000 and the all-wheel drive $49,000 fuel economy is rated at 10.4 L per 100 km City 9.1 on the highway that's 23 MP gallon City 31 MPG highway so there's our top five luxury compact SUVs what's your favorite pick what would you buy type below let us know all right let's get into the honorable mentions at first is the Audi Q5 with plenty of Powertrain options I think it's a great allrounder is just gotten a little bit older um I find that the interior with the touchcreen sitting on top of the dash doesn't work for everybody because petite drivers are finding it very difficult to reach the touch screen that's the feedback I've been receiving and the reason for that is that this is and the one of the reasons it's not on the less that's at the very end of its run so it got a midcycle refresh and what they did was they used to have a control wheel here in the center that's how you controlled the screen uh MMI system and they got rid of it so now there's a hole there and instead of controlling it here you have to actually physically control it on the screen so for petite people that's a bit of a reach so it wasn't designed for that they did that because of Apple carplay and Android auto so that's the part of the vehicle that is really falling behind but when you look at functionality engine options the way it looks it still is a greatl looking vehicle all of that still holds up and we said the same thing last year of the GLC even in its final year it was still a competitive vehicle yeah for sure um I think that if you enjoy Audi's it's still still a good option but I just feel like it needs some updates needs something you know it's just not holding up when you look at all these other brands coming out with new features I also find the steering on Audi models to be extremely light if you like that you'll love the Q5 up next is one of my favorites the Porsche Macon it didn't make our list it's a pricey one and it's not an affordable option for everybody okay so these are luxury SUVs uh but sort of top of the mountain when it comes to handling and overall packaging the maon does a very good job we love Porscha we're sitting in a Porsche but this is a specific vehicle for specific task if you're a couple like us with no kids perfect or if your kids have moved out even better you don't have to pay for everything anymore um we're not there yet we're not there yet um but the reason is because rear seat leg room and cargo space is a pre premium they it just doesn't deliver on those fronts but is it engaging and fun and a wonderful vehicle to drive absolutely it does everything so well so um I would definitely consider it if I didn't have to put somebody in the back seat all the time especially if you are a family and you're still using car seats I wouldn't put my mother-in-law back there she wouldn't go anyway uh up next is the Volvo XC60 I actually think that this is a great vehicle for a couple reasons the drive is refined and it's smooth and the cabin remains quiet and I think Volvo does terrific Interiors just beautiful so Volvo was way out of the gate long before everybody else would plugin hybrids and they've had plug in hybrids in their vehicles for many many years and it's a good option if you want to average down your overall fuel economy and because they've been doing it for a long time you would hope they'd have it all kind of figured out uh but that's a very popular option for many and it gets good range as well I mean you could stay within that daily range daily no problem at all um and then if you just charge it every night you have a clean Drive you'll rarely hit the pumps with that plug-in hybrid and one last point on the Volvo they have designs that stand the test of time so the interior of this XC60 has been around for several years still looks great outside of this vehicle it's been around for many years still looks great if you design something well I guess Q5 Falls in that category as well it looks good for years sure I also think um Volvo has some great interior color options that make the vehicle even look more upscale a con of the Volvo is some people just don't like the Google system um they feel that Google is listening to them I don't mind it I've got an Android phone and yes Google does listen this is going to be the back end for many new brands going forward the Google Automotive it's not Android auto it's Google Automotive it's the backhand system and that's what it runs on so I think we're all done here Andrea we got five and a few extras hope you enjoyed it like I said type below let us know what you think what's your top five and what would be your number one pick all right don't forget to subscribe because we're doing more of these and Andrea it's motormouth Andrea to follow along on Instagram and we'll see you in the next one see you next time
