Henry Payne Blog
Cartoon: Biden Fall
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CARtoon: Woke Motors
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Cartoon: Trump Fauci in 2024
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Quirkbox quirk-off: Kia Niro vs. VW Golf GTI
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 1, 2023
Auburn Hills — Amidst the sea of SUVs in today’s market there are a few rebels. With unusual designs, features, accessible pricing and different personalities, they defy convention.
Call them quirkboxes. Two new entries for the 2023 Quirky Qar Qlub are the plug-in hybrid Kia Niro and manual-transmission Volkswagen Golf GTI.
While aimed at different audiences, both hatches are fundamentally utilitarian while coming loaded with state-of-the-art technology, big screens and — most important for this comparo — off-beat features for those who want more from their transportation than a competent appliance.
With lamb chop sideburns right out of a ’70s crime movie, the Niro plug-in offers the duality of gas-or-battery power coupled with unique interior features. The Golf GTI, meanwhile, is that rare driver’s car that offers a manual transmission while modeling the coolest fog lights in Autoville.
I took the quirky qouple for a drive that warmed my soul on an otherwise hideously cold overcast April day.
Niro debuted six years ago in a 2017 Super Bowl ad as a granola-eating, Earth-saving hybrid with (plug in your cloying Hollywood celebrity here) Melissa McCarthy at the wheel saving the Earth for whales, trees, ice caps and rhinos (what, no polar bears?). Oh, please. The ads haven’t gotten any better for 2023 (see the Niro’s mawkish “The Sapling” spot saving more trees) — but Niro has.


Dude, the exterior’s D-pillar black lamb chops run from the roofline to the rear wheels! The sideburns alone separated it from the other SUVs in an Auburn Hills shopping center parking lot — but there is more. Quirky flower blossom wheels. Sci-fi front fascia right out of a Blade Runner matinee. Add Cadillac Lyriq-like rear taillights and the new Niro looks nothing like the cookie-cutter Niro of old.
Volkswagen designs are notoriously evolutionary, and no one will mistake the GTI for anything but a Golf. But the eighth generation is a major upgrade in interior tech (more on that later), and the exterior echoes that advance. Using modern LED technology, the upper light bar is considerably narrower — and more sinister — than past models. The tapered hood is punctuated by five-leaf-clover fog lights that I turned on as I hustled through traffic on this spray-soaked day. Out back, a signature quirk is the VW logo that doubles as a hatchback opener.
Both Golf and Niro are front-wheel drivers but Golf GTI showed off its performance focus in the rain with righteous grip from the Goodyear Sport all-season tires and sophisticated suspension electronics that allowed me to put its 273 pound-feet of torque to pavement with little wheelspin.


Niro’s handling is less-well engineered, and my throttle jabs generally led to wild spinning of the front tires on wet pavement. There was little reward in hustling the Kia into corners anyway as the chassis felt dull compared to the razor-sharp V-dub.
That sharpness is magnified by the six-speed manual’s crisp shifter.
I rowed the VW box through the gloom, maximizing the 2.0-liter tubo-4’s sizable 241-horsepower. In full control, I never missed a shift, never jerked the clutch. The drivetrain was a perfectly tuned instrument of speed. #SaveTheManual.
Niro’s 180 horses and 195 pound-feet of torque are plenty peppy — if well shy of the GTI’s 5.4-second 0-60 mph adventures. But like the Golf with its manual, Niro wants the driver to have some fun. In ECO mode, I used the steering column-paddles to bump up regenerative braking so I could one-pedal drive the Kia like a Tesla.


Switch to SPORT mode in Oakland County’s twisties and the paddles — voila! — became manual shifters, allowing me to row the 1.6-liter gas engine for all it was worth. Plug Niro in at night and you’ll wake up with 33 miles of electric-only range if you push the “EV” button next to the console’s rotary shifter. Lean into the accelerator, though — say, merging onto I-75 — and the gas engine would kick in to help the small 11.1 kWh battery turn the front wheels.
Settle in to a 75-mph commute on I-75, and you’ll find the most significant upgrades for these quirk qars in the dash displays.
Niro gets the same hoodless mono-screen across the dash found in its Sportage and Ioniq siblings. Behind the glass are twin digital displays with the infotainment display clocking in at 10.3 inches. Artfully designed and quick to the touch, the latter is easy to navigate — as were steering wheel-mounted controls. Niro sports excellent adaptive cruise control (like Sportage) so that I could drive virtually hands-free on the interstate.


True to its quirky mission, the climate and volume controls share the same button on the dash. Which means that — if you forget to choose the correct mode — you may be turning up cabin heat instead of turning up the Stones. Odd? Yes, that’s what we like in Qlub Quirk.
The GTI’s interior, too, is now dominated by a mono-pane housing twin digital screens. Digital goodies include a lap timer for when the weather clears and you want to take the hot hatch out to Gingerman Raceway for a track day. The simple infotainment system is aesthetically pleasing but completely knob-free — which takes time to figure out. One of the things VW has figured out is how to deliver an adaptive cruise system that works with a manual.
Though not quite as competent as Kia’s system, the GTI’s ACC was smooth even as I shifted between fifth and sixth gears on the interstate. That sophistication extended to the VW’s wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay — while the Kia still requires a wire to allow you to mirror your phone.


To prevent my battery from draining while the phone navigated me to Oakland University, VW thoughtfully places a charger at the fore of the console that held even my gigantic Galaxy S20.
Captain Quirk?


I’m a hot hatch guy and the VW brings the heat as one of the best driver’s cars in the market today. The manual may be a rare feature, but it’s prized by enthusiasts. In addition to its prodigious power, GTI also brings a nearly identical application of modern tech for five grand less than Niro. For its extra price, Niro offers more space for rear passengers and their cargo.
Whether your veins run green or hot-blooded red, Kia and VW have a little something different just for you.
2023 Kia Niro Plug-in
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive five-passenger SUV
Price: $40,785, including $1,295 destination fee ($41,635 manual with SX Touring as tested)
Powerplant: 1.6-liter inline-4 cylinder mated to 11.1 kWh battery and electric motor
Power: 180 horsepower, 195 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: six-speed dual-clutch automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.3 seconds (Car and Driver)
Weight: 3,466 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA, 48 mpg city/44 highway/46 combined; 26 miles of battery-only range (mnftr.)
Report card
Highs: Fun with paddles; roomy interior
Lows: No wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto; gets pricey
Overall: 3 stars
2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI manual
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive five-passenger hot hatch
Price: $35,330, including $1,095 destination fee ($36,840 SE manual as tested)
Powerplant: 2.0-liter turbo-4 cylinder
Power: 241 horsepower, 273 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: six-speed manual
Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.4 seconds (automatic, Motor Trend)
Weight: 3,113 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA, 24 mpg city/34 highway/28 combined
Report card
Highs: Fun to drive; upscale interior
Lows: No console knobs; more rear-seat legroom, please
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
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Payne: VinFast VF 8 is an affordable Tesla knock-off
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 25, 2023
Carlsbad, California — Henry Ford wasn’t the only one who saw the potential of affordable transportation for the American masses. For the last half-century waves of affordable foreign vehicles have washed up on U.S. shores. Volkswagen Beetles. Toyota Corollas. Honda Civics. Hyundai Elantras. Millions of them, built to last and cheaper than anything we Yanks could hammer together.
These days electric vehicles are all the rage, and — right on cue — here comes a foreign manufacturer with a more affordable idea. Meet the Vietnamese-built VinFast VF 8. It features interior room, mono-screen, frunk and self-driving tech like the Tesla Model X — for half the price.
Just $56K. Wait, what?
It’s a commentary on today’s EV market that 56 grand (lease for $528 a month with $5,200 up front) is considered affordable. But that’s electrics for you. Governments are forcing an EV transition, and automakers have figured out the demand is among the swells. VinFast brand is targeting affordable luxury — as opposed to affordable mainstream like its predecessors.
If you crave a Model X but don’t have $100,000 (lease for $1,300 a month with $7,500 down) lying around, then come take a ride with me in the VF 8.
Open the door, touch the brake and it’s on. Just like a Tesla. To adjust the mirrors, go into the big 15.6-inch screen to the right of the steering wheel, poke the mirror icon, then use the button on the steering wheel to adjust the mirrors. Just like a Tesla. The steering wheel, too? Yup, son of Tesla.
In fact, my VinFast tester had a frunk, moonroof, two-mode regenerative braking, no AM radio and no instrument cluster behind the steering wheel. Just like a Tesla. Over the hills of Carlsbad north of San Diego, the big ute was whisper quiet but for the whine of the twin electric motors when I put my boot in it. The torque was instant, launching the beast into I-5 traffic like a shot despite its 5,700-pound girth.
Just like a Tesla.


Of course, for half the price you wouldn’t expect everything to be strawberries and cream, and it’s not. VinFast’s exterior design was contracted out to Paninfarina — yes, the Italian design house that has made eye-catching wardrobes for Ferrari and Cadillac and Alfa and Citroen. For its VF 8 fee, Paninfarina apparently took, um, a Citroen C5 design off the shelf.
The VF 8 fascia bears Citroen’s “heartbeat” logo — with an inverted V in the middle — giving the Vietnamese wagon a French accent. But the rest of the front is busy, clashing with the simplicity of the interior and elegant flanks that taper to muscular rear fenders. The big screen is waaaay too reflective.
The drivetrain isn’t fully baked. Press the DRIVE button (VinFast is controlled by four raised buttons on the console instead of a Tesla stalk) and VF 8 shudders like you just woke it up from a nap.
Wah-huh? Where we going?
Lift your foot off the throttle after a swift 5.5-second 0-60 mph launch out of a stoplight and the car lurches forward like a six-foot-tall 12-year old on a basketball court whose brain and legs aren’t yet communicating. Hey, it’s VinFast’s first big game, too. They’ll likely get better. Tesla is the world’s undisputed champ at making electric motors (Lucid is pretty good too) while VinFast gets its e-motors from a supplier to save money.


But there are thoughtful touches too that indicate VinFast has done its homework. Talk to Tesla owners and half of them wish their cars came with a head-up display to complement the center screen. VinFast does that and it’s standard on the VF 8.
And then there’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Yup, VinFast offers them, unlike Tesla — perhaps the biggest gripe of the Tesla tribe.
My VF 8 City Plus model upgrades over the base $414-a-month City Eco with a moonroof equipped with both a sun shade and glass opener (operated via the touchscreen, of course). Again, two features some Tesla owners crave.
Just as VinFast has maximized its skateboard, engine-less electric chassis to accommodate a frunk up front, so does it offer palatial legroom in back and good cargo space. VinFast has a flood of product coming in the year ahead, including the compact VF 6/7 and the three-row VF 9. But Vietnam’s biggest company clearly saw white space in the midsize segment. Most automakers have offered their first EVs as compacts — Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5/6, Genesis GV60, Kia EV6 (pause for breath), Jaguar iPace, Audi Q5, Lexus RZ.
The midsize space is uncrowded: the much pricier Model X, Rivian R1S, BMW iX and Cadillac Lyriq.
But despite its value proposition (which includes a $7,500 tax credit when leased, best-in-the-industry, comprehensive, 10-year/125,000 mile warranty and free charger and installation for your home — wow!) the lease-only-for-now VinFast has its work cut out for it. EVs are a luxe buy, and customers with $50K to spend are going to look first at a $55K Tesla Model Y. Heck, they may also prefer a roomy $55K Kia V6, which is also a premium EV at an affordable price.


There’s also the matter of Tesla’s secret sauce — its charging network.
A student of Tesla in its design, operation and retail network, VinFast still couldn’t bring itself — like every other automaker — to invest in its own charging network. VinFast hopes the patchwork of Electrify America, EVGo, ChargePoint fast chargers (subsidized by billions from Uncle Sugar) will be just as good.
Using the VF 8 app, I routed a mock 293-mile journey from Raleigh, North Carolina to Washington, D.C., and the navigation dutifully routed via supercharger (for a 38-minute charge stop) just like my Model 3. Whether the, ahem, EA charger would be functioning, the app didn’t say.
Why did I route from Raleigh, you ask? Because that’s where VinFast is building its manufacturing plant. Like the foreign transplants that came before it, the Vietnamese company is not just banking on affordability, but on being close to its customers. And, of course, to qualify for $7,500 from Uncle Sugar.
Foreign automakers didn’t need subsidies to sell their wares in year’s past, and the $7,500 is evidence EVs are too expensive. Unless you’re a premium buyer.


For now, VinFast is only selling in California, which might as well be a foreign country compared to EV adoption in the Midwest. But Vietnam’s biggest automaker has its eyes on all 50 states, and it’s moving very VinFast.Next week: Quirkbox comparo: VW GTI manual vs. Kia Niro Plug-in
2023 VinFast VF 8
Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive five-passenger SUV
Price: $51,000, including $1,200 destination charge ($56,000 City Plus model as tested)
Powerplant: 82 or 86-kWh lithium-ion battery with twin electric motors
Power: 260 horsepower, 368 pound-feet of torque (City Eco) 300 horsepower, 457 pound-feet of torque (City Plus)
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.5 seconds (Plus model, mfr.); towing, 4,000 pounds
Weight: 5,732 pounds (City Plus as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA est. 60 MPGe; range, 191-207 miles (191 miles, City Plus as tested)
Report card
Highs: Tesla Lite; palatial room and head-up display standard
Lows: Rough drivetrain; odd frunk layout
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
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Posted by Talbot Payne on May 23, 2023
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Payne: Bite-size Tonale SUV is a meaty Alfa appetizer
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 18, 2023
Balocco, Italy — Heading downhill on Route SP338 though the Italian countryside, the road narrows to a single lane on the way to Bollengo, a ribbon of fast curves and 180-degree hairpins ahead. I floored my Alfa Romeo tester’s throttle and the steel stallion surged through the tree-lined curves.
I admired the classic Italian scenery in the crib of Lombardy province where Alfa was born 113 years ago. But I am not driving a classic, low-slung Alfa sports car.
I’m piloting a high-riding Tonale SUV aimed squarely at the U.S. market.
Yes, SUV. When it entered the U.S. luxury market in 2015, Alfa Romeo merged into America’s post-Great Recession sales race with one of its great sports cars, the 4C. Nimble, sexy, and deliciously loud, the two-seater introduced Italian personality to a sub-$100,000 U.S. performance market loaded with Hellcats, Shelbys, and Z06s. In 4C’s wake came the whip-quick Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV.
But the times they are a-changin’. SUVs have crushed premium sedan sales, high-tech Tesla electric cars dominate luxe sales, and governments have drawn a big red target around the internal combustion engine for elimination. So for its latest act, the revered Italian brand is leading with an electrified, all-wheel-drive, tech-tastic, subcompact Tonale SUV.
Previewing a stream of pure EVs that will make the brand all-electric by 2027, Tonale, interestingly, is not battery-only like the concept Tonale teased back at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. Instead, this car is produced in Italy alongside the plug-in hybrid Dodge Hornet with which it shares a platform.
I suspect Alfa will make its big EV statement with an all-new, gorgeous Giulia sedan sometime soon (perhaps based on the same all-electric, 800-volt, STLA platform as the wicked Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee). It may even be built in the United States in order to take advantage of generous federal subsidies.


But for now, Alfa needs to sell volume in multiple markets and earn electric tax credits to ward off nanny-state fines. So Tonale is aimed at the heart of a popular subcompact market that includes competitors like the BMW X1, Jaguar E-Pace, Volvo VC40, Mercedes GLA and Cadillac XT4.
Though half-electrified, the Tonale is hardly half-baked. This is a compelling entry.
It’s the best-looking SUV in segment. You had me at the five-hole, phone-dial wheels. Like BMW’s kidneys, Alfa’s Trilobo grille is recognizable but not garish. It’s graced everything from the 1955 Giulietta to the 4C, and Tonale gives it a 21st century interpretation with thin, triple-beam headlights framing the beak-like grille. It looks like a sparrow hawk cruising for prey.
Tonale flanks are toned, simple. Unlike the look-at-me Lexus NX, the Alfa (wrap it any of Italy’s national, red/white/green colors) knows it’s handsome. “It really looks good,” said Mrs. Payne at first sight.
The beauty is hardly skin deep.
Tonale is the only plug-in hybrid in segment along with NX. That means that, under a loophole in federal law, the $44,590 plug-in is eligible for $7,500 tax credit if leased, giving it a huge sticker price advantage over its competitors. And, ahem, Alfa expects 80% of Tonales will be leased.
The plug-in powertrain also means best-in-class power with horsepower and torque numbers that put big brother Stelvio to shame. Exiting Alfa’s Proving Grounds into SP230 (SP stands for Stada Provinciali, aka, provincial road) north to Candelo, Tonale gulped highway as if shot out of a cannon. Thank the 15.5 kWh hour battery that brings seamless torque before the turbo-4 engine spools up.
I first experienced this concept on the E-Ray Corvette. Chevy engineers call it “torque-fill” (as if the 6.2-liter V-8 needs more low-end torque). Tonale’s mere 1.3-liter mill, on the other hand, is transformed by the additional e-torque. Compared to Tonale, the non-hybrid, 2.0-liter turbo-4 in, say, the Giulia Competition, takes all morning before the turbo wakes up.
The Alfa ute’s torque comes on, like — NOW!
But it’s understandable why Alfa didn’t go all-electric on Tonale as, say, Cadillac, did with its Lyriq EV.


Cruising down SP143, I came across an electric Pininfarina Battista hypercar plugged into a roadside fast charger. I rolled up next to the $2.2 million rocket ship, its driver having a smoke while his steed recharged. Buongiorno! The sci-fi cyborg boasts other-worldly numbers: 1,880 horsepower; zero-60 mph in 1.76 seconds; 217 mph top speed. Incredible! But it wasn’t going anywhere until it charged its massive 120 kWh battery.
With a 13.5-gallon gas tank, Tonale can fill up (petrol costs a stiff $7-a-gallon in Italy) in five minutes and be on its way. But the Alfa can also go all-electric when needed.
Further north, I entered the village of Candelo, which began a stretch of urban road that also ran through the city of Biella. Tonale can travel 30 miles on electrons alone and I’d reserved all of it with the press of the E-Save button on the console. Entering Candelo, I engaged battery power by rotating the Drive Mode selector to A (for Advanced Efficiency).
Candelo/Biella are not EV-only zones — yet. But the ban on gas-powered cars in European cities is coming. Milan will ban diesel cars from the city by the end of this year. Milan, Rome, London, Munich and Paris are already penalizing non-EVs. Expect American cities like New York, San Francisco, LA to follow — cities in states crucial to Alfa sales.
I motored through the towns on battery power alone, using all but 9 miles by the time I hit the SP338 twisties.
I rotated the dial to D (Dynamic) and the Alfa noticeably stiffened. Dynamic mode puts all systems on full alert: turbo-4 driving the front wheels, e-motor driving the rears, six-speed transmission, shocks. Andiamo!
The steering column bears the brand’s trademark bat-wing paddle-shifters, but they went unused thanks to the silky transmission — and all that torque at the end of my right leg. Tonale is not tuned as aggressively as the Hornet (which rivals the Mazda CX-30 in aggression) and falls short of the best-in-class BMW X1.
Of more interest to daily users is the SUV’s usable rear seat (Tonale claims best-in-class interior room) and significantly upgraded electronics. A remote Alfa app and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto are standard, as are twin digital displays, adaptive cruise control and blind-spot assist.
The latter pair are must-haves, and on Italy’s narrow streets they came in handy time and again. Alfa has taen pains to improve its quality — “I don’t want to make any trade-offs on any items related to quality,” emphasized CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato at Tonale’s media launch here. Time will tell if Alfa can shrug that monkey off its back. It’s crucial to the brand’s success. But Tonale is instantly recognizable inside as well as out when you press the steering-wheel-based ON button. Just like the 4C.
And like 4C, I took the Tonale on the test track at day’s end. It couldn’t hold a candle to the sports car’s electrifying handling around the Balocco Proving Ground. But with its electric motor, the SUV was more responsive than its stablemate exiting corners. Alfa hasn’t changed, and everything is changing.Next week: 2023 VinFast VF 8
2024 Alfa Tonale
Vehicle type: Front engine/rear electric motor, all-wheel drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $44,590 including $1,595 destination ($56,090 Veloce as tested)
Powerplant: 1.3-liter turbo-4 cylinder mated to 15.5 kWh lithium ion battery and rear electric motor
Power: 285 horsepower, 347 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.6 seconds; top speed, 125 mph
Weight: 4,140 pounds (est.)
Fuel economy: EPA est. NA (est. 26 mpg combined); 30 mile range on battery only
Report card
Highs: Alfa presence; waves of torque
Lows: Interior not on par with German competitors; handling lacks confidence of BMW X1
Overall: 3 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.
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