Hi, I'm John Davis and this is MotorWeek !

We're channeling our inner rally pro in the Subaru WRX tS... Dan Maffett goes hands-on with seat repair techniques and materials... We invite a fan to put some rugged off-road muscle into "Overdrive!"

Then, it's back to the pavement in the diminutive Hyundai Kona EV...

So, come drive with us, next!

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JOHN: Building on its global rally heritage, WRX has been a standalone Subaru nameplate, marketed separately from garden variety Impreza, for two generations now.

And while, the current WRX still lacks the full STI treatment, this WRX tS serves up some of that high-performance spice we've been longing for.

♪ ♪ Before we go flat out into our Track Test of this 2025 Subaru WRX tS, lets open the Subaru dictionary so we're all on the same page.

"tS" stands for "tuned by STI;" and "STI" is an acronym for "Subaru Tecnica International," the brand's high-performance sub-group best known for upgrading the WRX... ...oh, that stands for "World Rally eXperimental," in case you didn't know.

(whooshing sound as the car passes by) All that said, STI has been largely dormant for this WRX generation, but this tS sprinkles more of their engineering magic into the mix.

No, that doesn't mean extra power, but does mean significant chassis-related improvements.

(whooshing sound) First, electronically controlled dampers, adjustable through the 11.6 inch tablet-style infotainment screen.

That meant a softer "comfort" mode on the 10+ hour commute to and from Savannah's Roebling Road Raceway.

But once we were there, it was the firmer "Sport+" setting all the way, heightening response from the WRX's throttle and already quick dual-pinion power steering system.

There's still some body roll for rally-esque weight transfer, but it's well sorted and provides the "toss-ability" you want in a WRX.

(whooshing sound as the car passes by) Though, if you do autocross your tS, which we implore you to do, you might feel the 6-piston front, two-piston rear Brembo brakes first.

The bite is strong, giving good rotation in the corners and plenty of "halt" for this 3,400 pound compact with minimal fade, keeping us on track all week... ... until some unfortunate winter weather passed overhead.

No worries here, as Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system got us to the track for some powdered deserts: Frosted donuts served up Michelin style, a set of winter tires different from the grippy Bridgestone Potenza S007 rubber the tS typically rides on.

Some prior hot laps of California's Sonoma Raceway gave credence to those Bridgestone's, and showed us what this hot-compact can do in ideal conditions.

Other tS enhancements are cabin-based, namely these beautiful blue Recaros.

Most of our staff appreciated their moderately-aggressive bolstering on both street and track.

And they're even heated, too.

Another tS-only appointment is this 12.3 inch digital gauge display.

It mimics the standard analog gauges with some additional info, but can switch to a navigation mode for more convenient route guidance.

We do wish our tS came in the new Galaxy Purple or the trademark World Rally Blue, but this Crystal White paint wasn't too shabby, contrasting its Cherry Blossom Red badging and blacked-out lip spoiler.

Otherwise, the tS is like any other WRX, down to the hood scoop funneling air to the top-mounted intercooler.

Underneath is the same turbocharged 2.4 liter flat-4 in all other trims, boxing at 271 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

The freak winter weather stopped straight-line testing, but a 0-60 time estimate of 5.5 seconds is about as spry as you realistically need, pulling strong through most of the tach; though the 6,000 RPM redline required attentive shifting of the 6-speed box, which the tS comes exclusively with.

The throws are precise, if a little long, and the clutch is wonderfully weighted.

With discontinuation of the Base trim, pricing for the WRX now starts with Premium at $36,920.

The tS is at the top of the lineup with the automatic-only GT, both starting at $46,875.

All WRXs continue to be made in Gunma, Japan.

If you're an enthusiast itching to do the tuning yourself, perhaps the 2025 Subaru WRX tS is not for you.

But if you want a plug-and-play experience, this is it.

(whooshing sound) While, it won't exactly bestow the loose-cannon, top-level driving skills exhibited by famous WRC drivers upon you, the tS moves this WRX's game in a direction we've so desperately wanted Subaru to take.

♪ ♪ All-terrain vehicles have come a long way in scope and popularity.

With so many folks going out and buying the biggest, baddest rigs, we hope they're also learning how to get the most out of them!

On that score, recently we invited one Jeep owner out to an off-road playground to see what a new Wrangler can really do.

So, let's gas up and air down for the next installment of "Overdrive!"

♪ ♪ GREG CARLOSS: I like it, I like it.

Whoah, I love it.

Oh, I love it, Heather.

HEATHER HARTMANN: Woo!

GREG: Trucks and utilities are more rugged than ever before.

But the reality is, most owners have no idea how capable their vehicle is off road because they've just never hit the trails.

Well, I found a Jeep Wrangler owner who fits that bill and told her to meet me out here at Rausch Creek Off-Road Park.

♪ ♪ HEATHER: Sweet.

GREG: Heather.

Great to meet you.

HEATHER: Nice to meet you, Greg.

GREG: Thanks for coming out.

HEATHER: Thanks for having me.

GREG: Well, I see you brought your Jeep.

HEATHER: I did.

I did bring my jeep.

GREG: Well, we're not going to use it.

We're going to use this one.

I brought a Wrangler 392.

470 horsepower, I hope that's enough for you.

HEATHER: I would say so.

It's pretty dope.

GREG: All right, well, we're going to have some fun today.

But first, let's just get you started off.

Let's get you comfortable with the truck, alright?

HEATHER: Probably a good idea.

GREG: Okay, why don't you hop in?

HEATHER: Awesome.

GREG: Okay.

This is where I'm pretty sure if you had enough speed, you could probably jump it a little bit.

But let's try to keep all four on the ground.

At least for the- HEATHER: For the first lap?

GREG: For the first lap.

HEATHER: Try to keep my promise to my daughter to not flip the Jeep.

GREG: That would be ideal.

I would appreciate that, too.

All right, pick up a little bit of speed.

See what happens.

I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it, I love it.

HEATHER: Woo!

GREG: Oh, I love it, Heather.

That was fantastic.

After we get off here, we're going to turn off, and we're going to head to a slightly more intense section.

And you clearly want to get there very quickly.

(Greg and Heather laugh) All right, Heather, I told you, we're going to kick it up a notch.

This hill is that notch.

We're going to go up and down, but we're not going to do it alone.

We brought along some off-road professionals.

We have Jeff and Kyle.

Jeff's going to be in the car with us teaching you how to work throttle and brake.

Kyle is going to be out spotting, telling us where to go, where to put our wheels.

How's that sound?

HEATHER: Sounds good.

JEFF MAYFIELD: Alright.

Let's go!

Nice and slow.

You know momentum's our friend.

HEATHER: Yeah, I'm a little heavy on the foot.

JEFF: It's okay.

GREG: Lead-foot up there, right?

With this Jeep it's easy to do, right?

With this Jeep it's easy to do.

HEATHER: I didn't realize the hill was this long.

(laughs) JEFF: Heather, you did awesome.

You did perfect.

GREG: That was awesome.

HEATHER: Ooh, I can breathe again.

JEFF: Awesome.

We'll stop right here.

And then we're going to turn around, go down the hill.

GREG: It feels steeper going down all of a sudden.

HEATHER: Right?

JEFF: It's amazing how capable these vehicles are.

It truly is.

GREG: Jeff, I think we should show her what this thing can do on its own.

What do you think?

JEFF: I think that's a great idea.

GREG: Let's do it.

JEFF: All right.

We call it Speed Select.

We will control our speed simply by shifting up and down with the transmission.

Let's try it.

♪ ♪ HEATHER: Oh...my gosh, this is crazy.

(laughs) GREG: You look like a professional from back here.

HEATHER: I kind of prefer it.

I kind of prefer it, actually.

GREG: You prefer this over the actual control?

HEATHER: Yes.

GREG: Wow.

JEFF: Got it.

All right, so now we're going to use that same system to go down the hill.

HEATHER: Foot is not touching the brake when it's there.

It's there in case I need to.

GREG: You are a rockstar.

HEATHER: You having fun back there?

GREG: I'm having a lot of fun.

Are you having fun?

HEATHER: I'm having a blast.

GREG: Woo!

Nicely done, nicely done.

HEATHER: Pretty proud of myself.

That was...that was intimidating looking.

GREG: Heather, that was a really fun hill.

I saw your confidence go up and up.

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but all we were really doing was just going up and down a hill.

What we're about to do is actual rock crawling, and it's something that a Jeep like this should be able to do right off the dealership lot.

And I think you can too.

So, how's your confidence level now?

HEATHER: Let's give it a shot.

KYLE BUCHTER: Good line.

Just take your time there.

JEFF: Heather, you're doing awesome.

GREG: You're very quiet up there.

Are you-- just make sure you are breathing, correct?

HEATHER: I am breathing.

GREG: Okay.

KYLE: Now, cut hard.

Just go slow.

Let the vehicle do the work.

Nice and easy.

Nice and easy.

GREG: This is pretty hardcore, Heather.

You're hard core.

KYLE: Keep coming.

Nice and easy.

Just like that.

Nice and easy.

Turn this way just a little bit.

Right there.

That's enough.

Keep coming.

Okay, cut hard to the driver's side, as hard as it will go.

Okay, now hold there.

That was a rock.

HEATHER: Yeah.

That was not a good.

KYLE: Nice job.

You did great.

GREG: Heather, give me some.

That was pretty awesome.

KYLE: Nice job.

HEATHER: Woo-hoo!

GREG: What'd you think of that?

HEATHER: That's way better.

JEFF: Like, that?

HEATHER: That was awesome.

That was so much fun.

GREG: Heather, certified rock crawler.

GREG: I don't know about you guys.

I had a lot of fun today.

Heather?

HEATHER: I had a blast.

GREG: We got you a little gift.

This is a one of a kind MotorWeek duck.

You can get this nowhere else, and now you can put it on.

HEATHER: I have, I have room for, like, one more.

GREG: We actually have one more surprise, because we're going to show you what extreme rock crawling looks like.

♪ ♪ BERNIE GARDULA: Let's go for a ride.

We'll show you a whole 'nother world now.

HEATHER: Okay.

(engine noise) Woo!

(laughs) Whoa!

(laughs) Woo!

BERNIE: How was that?

HEATHER: That was fun.

(laughs) JOHN: Thanks again, Heather, for joining us!

Now, if you want to see the full, uncut version, check out the "Overdrive" playlist on the MotorWeek YouTube channel!

Okay, here's the scenario: You've just picked up that new project in need of some interior restoration, or you're just looking to give some new life to the seats in that trusty commuter.

Either way, why replace when you can repair?

That's what Dan Maffett is asking, and answering.

♪ ♪ DAN MAFFETT: There's nothing worse than sliding in or out of your car seat just to realize something in your pocket caught the seat and tore a hole.

Now, we have a seat here that we pulled out of this Camaro, and it's got a couple punctures, a couple tears in it.

Some of these are best left to professionals, and I have one with me today.

This is Steve, The Dye Guy himself.

STEVE CHOPKO: Hi Dan.

Welcome to the shop.

DAN: Thanks, man.

How are you?

STEVE: Good.

DAN: Take a look at this and tell me, what are the steps to fix this?

STEVE: This happens to be a ventilated, heated and air conditioned seat, so we can't go underneath of it and disrupt the fans and the electrics and all, uh, what's underneath the perforations.

So, we're going to have to do a superficial repair from the top with some leather compounds and fills that will flex and dry properly.

But before we do that, we'll have to thoroughly clean the seat, get rid of all the dirt, and the oils and the black.

♪ ♪ DAN: Alright, so stage one is complete.

The seat is completely cleaned.

And I notice that it's actually got, like, a satin look to it right now.

STEVE: A satin look or, as we like to call it, the OEM finish.

DAN: Okay.

So, what's the next step?

STEVE: The next step is, we're going to do a little drying on the repair, er, on the damage.

Then we're going to use some flexible fillers that are made exclusively for leather.

♪ ♪ DAN: So now, I see you've got the first round of compound done, you've got it sanded.

What's the next step?

STEVE: So, the next step is, then we're going to put a finishing compound or a light fill, and we can sand it more, we can feather it more, and then we'll start putting the holes back in it.

So, we might have to do this a couple times, but this is the third step before, or the last step before the color.

DAN: Awesome.

Let's get to it.

♪ ♪ STEVE: I want to, uh, make sure that everything is flat, make a nice repair, so we'll go a little more aggressive, uh, a little faster.

(sanding the leather) Contrary to belief, you can sand leather, just like wood.

That was 220 grit sandpaper, uh, a used piece.

That's good.

We'll smooth out some of the edges; we'll do one more fill.

♪ ♪ DAN: Looks like, we've gotten a lot of progress going on here.

Uh, explain where we're at right now.

STEVE: We've done the last top fill... DAN: Right.

STEVE: ...we've added the holes back, we've cleaned up the holes the best we can.

You can feel a little, maybe, um, we can kinda make that up with some color... DAN: Yeah.

STEVE: And, uh, so we're going to tape off the black, tape off the back, do the primer, do the color.

DAN: Okay.

♪ ♪ Wow, if I hadn't watched you do this process, I would've assumed you replaced all the material.

I mean, I think the tear was somewhere in this middle spot.

STEVE: No, all we did was a repair, and it's a great alternative to replacement.

DAN: Man, that's incredible.

I can't thank you enough for having us and showing us this awesome skill.

Now guys, as always, if you have any questions or comments, hit us up right here, at MotorWeek .

JOHN: So much to do, so much to drive, and it's all on this week's QuickSpin!

♪ ♪ JESSICA RAY: Jeep has been flirting with electrification with their 4Xe models for years, but has finally gone all in with this 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S; and we're just back from San Diego, where we got a chance to take a QuickSpin in the all-electric Wagoneer S Launch Edition which is available now.

Coming in about the size of the Grand Cherokee, the Wagoneer S shares a chassis with the Dodge Charger Daytona, and in similar fashion comes with standard all-wheel-drive thanks to front- and rear-mounted electric motors.

Here in the Jeep, they combine to whip up 600 horsepower and 617 pound-feet of torque, and power is managed through five different drive modes as part of Jeep's Selec-Terrain.

Current max rating is 303 miles of relaxed cruising.

One of the first things I noticed while driving this Wagoneer S is just how comfortable it is.

I mean, this suspension has luxury levels of comfort, and it's just a passive suspension.

It's a pretty simple set up, but it works so well.

It may ride better than most Jeeps, but it certainly looks genuine, seven-slot grille and all; though with perhaps much more attention paid to aerodynamics than any Jeep before it.

Inside the 5-passenger cabin, the vibe is highly similar to the big ICE Grand Wagoneer; premium leather-like materials, plenty of screen space, and even a jammin' 1,200 watt McIntosh sound system.

This 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S Launch Edition stickers for about 72-grand.

But a recently announced Limited trim is on the way for $5,000 less.

And we'll have more QuickSpins...soon!

♪ ♪ GREG CARLOSS: Our 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid long-term arrived just in time for some significant snowfall here in the Mid-Atlantic, and while we didn't exactly drive through the deep stuff, we spent plenty of time on snow covered roads and it performed quite admirably considering we're just working with front-wheel-drive here.

This is the first time Kia has put a hybrid powertrain in their minivan, and it promises up to 33-Combined MPG.

But that cold weather has us off to a very slow start, as our average over the first 4,500 miles of driving is just 26.7 miles per gallon.

Still, that's above average for a vehicle this size and way better than the 22.6 we got in the V6-powered Carnival a few years back.

The Carnival Hybrid uses an upgraded version of the Sorento SUV's setup which pairs a 1.6 liter turbo-4 engine with a larger 54 kilowatt electric motor to produce a combined output of 242 horsepower, 15 more than the Sorento.

The V6 powered Carnival certainly has plenty of get up and go, but the electric boost from this hybrid system adds just a little bit more.

And despite the power still going only to the front wheels, it feels like it gets to the ground more efficiently.

That's to say we're spending less time spinning our wheels here than we did in our previous long-term Carnival.

With warmer weather on the way, we'll see how the sun is shining on our Subaru Solterra, on the next MotorWeek Long-Term Road Test Update!

JOHN: With Hyundai expanding their fantastic lineup of IONIQ EVs, it's easy to forget about the Kona, which has been available in all-electric form since 2019.

In fact, this 2nd gen Kona was designed as an EV from the get-go and adapted to employ ICE powertrains for those who are either not ready or not willing to go down the full EV path.

It's a great strategy, one we're about to dive further into.

♪ ♪ As we nudge closer to the theoretical end of the internal-combustion engine for our personal transportation, it's vehicles like this 2024 Hyundai Kona, available with both ICE and electric powertrains, as in this Kona Electric, that are best equipped for this transition, allowing consumer demand to be the sales driver.

All Kona Electrics are front-wheel-drive, available in SE, SEL, and Limited trims.

The base SE gets a 133 horsepower motor and a range of 200 miles from its 48.6 kilowatt hour battery.

SEL and Limited get a larger 64.8 kilowatt hour battery, and a bigger 150 kilowatt motor producing 201 horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque.

This Limited is rated for 261 miles, but based on our highway-heavy driving loop, we'd put the actual range closer to an impressive 290 miles.

With DC Fast charging, the Kona Electric can get to 80 percent in 43 minutes, and with the charge port mounted right up front, we like the convenience of being able to just pull right up to the charger without worrying about which side the port is on.

Now, this is not the kind of EV that feels crazy fast wherever you go, but like most EVs it clearly has an edge over gas-fueled competitors.

And it was plenty quick at our test track, where despite a hesitation to deliver full power immediately off the line, 60 miles per hour arrived in just 7.1 seconds; plenty quick for a commuter car and half a second quicker than its turbocharged ICE counterpart.

Power did seem to taper off towards the end of the track, but we still managed to clear the quarter in a decent 15.6 seconds at 92 miles per hour.

Stops from 60 were well-controlled and consistent, averaging 110 feet with good initial bite, and an acceptable amount of nosedive.

This 2nd generation Kona is much roomier inside than the first gen, and while there are some EV-oriented aspects to the new design, the overall layout appears fairly traditional, and it shares everything with the ICE version.

The large horizontal 12.3 inch touchscreen display with navigation sits more in front of the dash than on top of it, and merges directly with the 12.3 inch digital driver's display; both are standard.

Rear seat space is good, as is cargo capacity at 25.5 cubic-feet; 63.7 with rear seatbacks folded, and there's an additional, though small, storage space up front under the hood.

Pricing starts at $34,070; that's about eight-grand over a base ICE Kona, but certainly at the low end when it comes to battery electric vehicles.

Top Limited comes in at $42,440.

A sportier N Line version is set to arrive next year.

The Kona design is a great package, made even better with the option to go Electric.

And even with all the push to go full EV, there are still relatively few inexpensive options for buyers to choose from.

This 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric is one of the best yet, making it one of the easiest ways to join the EV lifestyle.

Well, that's our show, I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, for more MotorWeek , including daily news updates, podcasts, and even complete episodes, cruise on over to PBS.ORG/MOTORWEEK.

And I hope you'll join us next time for a flat-out track test of the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe and an in-depth look at a sedan staple, the Toyota Camry.

Until then, I'm John Davis.

We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !

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