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

We're out and about with the latest Ford Maverick compact pickup... Then, we'll crank up the volume on car stereo upgrades... Next, it's a ten-and-two grip on teen driver safety... Ending with a compact sedan ready for all drivers, the new Kia K4...

So, come drive with us, next!

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JOHN: When the Ford Maverick arrived for 2022, it was a breath of fresh, reasonably-priced air in the macho world of ever more expensive pickup trucks.

But it was not just a cheaper truck, it was the least expensive Ford you could buy.

And more importantly, it was also a great little truck.

And for 2025, Maverick does even more of that traditional truck stuff.

♪ ♪ While it's doubtful the Maverick will ever come close to F-150 sales numbers, it has quickly surpassed Ford's other pickup truck, the Ranger, selling over 150,000 units last year, about three times more than Ranger.

To keep those numbers flowing for 2025, Ford is expanding the Maverick lineup, along with adding features and addressing wants from current owners, many of whom wanted to have their AWD and Hybrid too.

So, the biggest news for '25 is that you no longer need to opt for the 250 horsepower EcoBoost 2.0 liter just to get power for all four wheels, as an all-wheel-drive Hybrid is now an option.

That also means, the 4K towing package can now be added to the hybrid, giving it the same 4,000 pound rating of the EcoBoost, though keep in mind this is still a unibody platform.

Hybrid output remains the same as before; the 2.5 liter, naturally aspirated 4-cylinder working with a 94 kilowatt dual-motor electronic CVT to provide 191 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque.

The all-wheel-drive system is electronically controlled too, but power does flow to the rear wheels through a mechanical drive shaft.

Our Maverick tester was indeed equipped with the new all-wheel-drive hybrid setup, and at our Mason Dixon test track, despite a sluggish launch off the line, we hit 60 in a good 6.7 seconds, just half a second slower than we got with the AWD EcoBoost.

We heard lots of eCVT- induced engine noise going down the track, with no relief for the engine revs, or our ears throughout the 15.3 second quarter-mile finishing at 91 miles per hour.

There was a nice tight and almost nimble feel through our handling course, with very minor body roll and small amounts of understeer.

Spending time away from the track, it's easy to see why the Maverick has become so popular and why buyers love them so much; it's just a fun little truck to scoot around in.

(truck whooshing by) A fairly comfortable one too; upgrades to the interior for '25 include a larger and more functional 13.2 inch touchscreen, with wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and an 8.0 inch digital productivity screen integrated into the gauge cluster.

This also meant reshaping the dash to make room for the touchscreen, and unfortunately the elimination of some manual controls.

Rear seat room remains plenty generous for adults, and the seat bottom easily flips up to access some nicely integrated storage bins.

The Maverick still comes in crew cab configuration only, with a 4.5 foot cargo box.

Would we like a little longer bed?

Sure, but there's plenty of functionality here, and we also acknowledge any additional length would severely hamper the Maverick's approachable, easy to maneuver vibe.

And speaking of maneuverability, Ford has added an even more nimble member to the Maverick family, the Lobo.

This sport truck features a lowered suspension, upgraded brakes, quicker steering, 19 inch turbofan wheels, body kit, and a torque-vectoring rear diff.

It comes exclusively with all-wheel-drive and the 2.0 liter EcoBoost, which is paired with a 7-speed automatic transmission, essentially eliminating a gear from the standard 8-speed.

With all-wheel-drive, Hybrid Government Fuel Economy Ratings are not quite as good as before, now at 40 city, 34 highway, and 37 combined.

We averaged 34.7 miles per gallon of Regular.

That's still a much better than average Energy Impact Score, using 8.0 Barrels of Oil Yearly, with CO2 Emissions of 4.0 Tons.

Even with all the updates, the Maverick remains the lowest price pickup you can buy, and it's still Ford's least expensive offering, starting at $29,840 with all-wheel-drive a $2,220 option.

This nicely equipped XLT hits the sweet spot of bang for the buck at $32,340.

It may not be the sub-20K bargain that it was when it first arrived, but we all know a lot of things have changed significantly in the last three years.

Still, if you're looking for a small, nimble utility vehicle with an open bed on the back, the 2025 Ford Maverick is not only your least expensive option, it's your best choice.

♪ ♪ JOHN: Statistics show that teen drivers are involved in deadly car accidents three times more than adult drivers.

So, a teen advanced car control driving school is one great idea to keep teens and our roads safe.

Our Stephanie Hart traveled to Concord, North Carolina, to show us the lifesaving driving skills that teens are learning to master.

♪ ♪ STEPHANIE HART: I'm here at the zMAX Dragway where teens are learning lifesaving driving skills on three courses like this one, completing a total of six exercises.

This course is designed to simulate wet driving conditions during the B.R.A.K.E.S.

advanced car control driving school.

INSTRUCTOR: Get up to 14, and off the gas.

Alright, easy, turn, easy, correct, correct, correct... Whammm.

STEPHANIE: That's what happens when you abruptly turn the wheel during a rear wheel skid.

Through hands-on trial and error, the teens eventually got the hang out it thanks to excellent instructors.

INSTRUCTOR: Alright, off the gas, no brake.

Alright, easy turn, keep turning, keep turning correct, correct, correct, steer to that car.

So, you're getting right here and you're stopping, alright?

Use that hand over steering, keeping steering the wheel to catch back up with the car.

STEPHANIE: As the teens learned, slowly steering into the skid can prevent an accident and keep everyone safe on the road.

AMELIA TELFORD: I didn't know you were supposed to turn into the slide.

I thought just slam on the brakes and that really could be worse.

And it taught me a lot, and it's going to make me more cautious on the road.

STEPHANIE: One hundred eighty teens and parents are participating in the free two-day B.R.A.K.E.S.

advanced car control driving school.

The program is open to most teens who have a learner's permit or driver's license with at least 30 hours of driving experience.

MATT REILY: The B.R.A.K.E.S.

is a non-profit charity that was started back in 2008 right after NHRA star Doug Herbert lost both his boys in a horrible car accident here in North Carolina, and Doug wanted to do something to try to teach other teens how to be safe behind the wheels.

STEPHANIE: B.R.A.K.E.S.

has trained more than 150,000 people in 15 states during the last 17 years.

MATT: Personally, I don't want to see another teen not get that training and not make it home.

At this age, you go into high school with a 50 percent chance that they may get involved in a car crash and with our program we have shown, statistically, our graduates are 64 percent less likely to crash.

So, we're just trying to give the teens more tools in their toolbox to pull from on a Friday or Saturday night and just get them home in one piece.

STEPHANIE: Distracted driving is tackled in this unique exercise, designed to be ridiculously exaggerated so the teens don't forget its important lesson.

INSTRUCTOR: Right there is where I want you to stop, now you're going to do that between 5 and 10 miles an hour, right?

I want you to hold this, and I want you to read it to us out loud as we're doing that.

And I have these balls, and you and I are going to play catch while we are doing all that.

STEPHANIE: The goal?

Don't knock down any cones.

The lesson?

Tell distracting friends to stop it and if they ignore you, pull over.

Another important part of the program is teaching teens to safely share the road with trucks like this one.

I want you to take a look at this.

This scenario could be a potential problem and here's why.

MATT: We never want to hover right over the front end of that truck because he won't be able to stop as fast as your car can stop.

STEPHANIE: The teens also learned if they can't make eye contact with the truck driver in his mirror then they're in the truck's blind spot, a dangerous place to be.

And on this course, the teens find out what they should do, if they drop a wheel off the edge of the road.

GARRETT BURRIS: You come here and you learn, you know, how to drive really well, and it's a great time.

STEPHANIE: Ultimately, teaching teens things they probably didn't learn from a typical driver's ed program or mom and dad.

MATT: I find that some of the teens today aren't as excited about cars, so it gets them excited about driving.

It's a... it's a path to freedom, and when you see that little light bulb go off in their head and they get it, and then later on you read stories and...and get phone calls from the parents that tell us their teen has done something with the training to save them, and they always say "I remember that instructor's voice in my head and it worked," and that makes us feel good.

That's why we keep coming back.

INSTRUCTOR: Alright, don't hit her.

What're you doing?

Uhh!

♪ ♪ JOHN: If we ranked "Must Reads" by weight, we'd have a new winner, as there's almost 12 pounds of information here on America's first post-war sports car.

It's "Nash-Healey: A Grand Alliance" by John Nikas with Herve Chevalier.

Maybe you think you don't need two volumes, 800 pages and 1,100 images to tell the story of Donald Healey's high-performance partnership with Nash Motors; but, if you're a fan of automotive history, you'll be glad to take it all in.

And when you do, you'll know more about Nash-Healey roadsters and coupes, and the men behind them, than just about anyone else.

We're going to turn the mic over to Dan Maffett and guest now, with some very expansive and affordable ideas on upgrading your car's audio system.

So, let's turn up the volume on MotorWeek's "Your Drive."

♪ ♪ DAN MAFFETT: Hey, guys.

I'm here with JR, the training manager at Crutchfield, and we're talking about the infotainment systems in new cars.

ADAM "JR" STOFFEL: Yeah, they're big, they're beautiful.

Huge touchscreens, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Navigation... all that stuff, it integrates with your car, it looks great.

You don't really want to replace it, and, then in a lot of cars, you can't.

Uh, But you can make your car sound much better.

DAN: Right.

There's a lot of accessories and things you can add to improve the quality.

JR: Yeah, and there's a lot of vehicle-specific systems, so you can leave that infotainment center in the dash and add amplifiers, speakers, subwoofers.

What we've done in this Jeep back here is we've added a Rockford Fosgate Stage 5 system, which includes two subs that fit in specific spots in the Jeep, two new roll bar speakers, two new dash speakers, two tweeters, two amplifiers, and an interface called the DSR1 that allows all of that to work with the infotainment system, uh, with the computers in the car, the CAN bus system; so, it is very smart, and it- and it can be completely tuned to the, uh, to the listener's liking.

It's amazing.

DAN: That's incredible, cause that's the daunting part, is when you start plugging new things in, are you going to throw codes on the computer systems?

JR: Right, and if, and if it does, uh, these newfangled things can figure that out and fix that so that your vehicle doesn't freak out.

DAN: That's fantastic.

Now, what if you have something that's not vehicle specific, but you want to still upgrade what you have?

Is that what we have here on this table?

JR: Yeah, we've got a lot of options for that.

Everything from speakers that are made to work with factory radios or amplifiers.

Adding a powered subwoofer is an easy way to make almost any car sound a lot better.

Uh, In this Colorado back here we added this Kicker KEY amplifier, which is a simple DSP amp: Four channels, 50 watts, a lot more power.

You can keep the factory speakers or replace them.

It has a microphone; it analyzes the sound in your car and fixes it for you.

DAN: Wow.

JR: The difference is astounding, and it's not expensive or that difficult.

And if you use a, uh, one of the vehicle-specific harnesses, it will even make it so you don't have to cut the wires in the dash.

DAN: Okay.

JR: You plug these into the outputs of the radio, you send music to the amp, from the amp you go back up to the wires in the dash, and you're taken care of.

So, you're not even going to void any kind of warranty or anything like that.

DAN: Excellent.

And that kind of gets you into the realm of "plug and play."

JR: That "plug and play," that's a scary word.

It's not always so easy to get to everything, remove the dash, all of that stuff; but once you're there, with a lot of these solutions, you can plug and then play.

DAN: That makes a lot of sense.

Well, thank you for having us, I really appreciate it.

And, guys, if you any questions or comments, hit us up right here at MotorWeek .

JOHN: First impressions matter.

That's why we bring you along for every QuickSpin!

♪ ♪ JESSICA RAY: Ascending to nearly the same level of recognition as the Honda CR-V itself is Honda's TrailSport sub-brand.

Putting the two together has now resulted in this 2026 Honda CR-V TrailSport Hybrid.

It is the first TrailSport to use the brand's two-motor hybrid system; and off to San Diego we went for a trial on the trails.

A 2.0 liter 4-cylinder and a pair of electric motors combine for a smooth, quiet delivery of 204 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque.

CR-Vs with all-wheel-drive, standard on the TrailSport, see better low-speed logic, perfect for this grade.

ALEXANDER KELLUM: I'm currently the last car in a convoy of CR-V TrailSports.

Admittedly, this, uh, off-roading that we're doing today does lean a little bit more into soft-roading territory, but I have to admit it's also a little bit more involved than I thought it was going to be.

I mean, we just did a pretty substantial obstacle- I say substantial for a CR-V- we got a pretty wicked downhill there.

We got a little bit of wheel lift which gets to show off how this all-wheel-drive system can apply the brakes as needed to prevent slippage and distribute torque accordingly.

JESSICA: All-terrain tires and skid plate garnishing is about as extreme as CR-V TrailSport hardware gets; though this exclusive Ash Green paint will turn plenty of heads.

The orange contrast accents continue into the cabin, which benefits from a 2026 CR-V update.

Infotainment is larger, now a standard 9.0 inch display, and the 7.0 inch TFT gauge unit can grow to this 10 inch digital cluster, though we applaud Honda for their devotion to analog switchgear.

The 2026 Honda CR-V TrailSport Hybrid starts around $40,000, though an entry-level CR-V starts around $32,000.

They're arriving at dealers now and we suspect will only build upon this utility's success.

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

♪ ♪ GREG CARLOSS: Time to wrap up our extended test time in this 2025 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek.

We loved its open cabin that has it feeling bigger than it is and really appreciated the 29.2 miles per gallon we averaged over 4,000 miles.

The Rock Creek trim definitely adds an edge to this Rogue, and visually speaking, it's quite a sharp edge with the roof rack and all-terrain tires.

Fortunately, those edgy features don't poke holes in its daily driving comfort.

Yeah, the roof rack adds a little mass up top and the tires inherently make more noise on the road, but we were happy with its driving manners these last few months.

The Rogue Rock Creek may be heading out; but believe it or not, our small Fiat 500e is managing to fill the void.

We'll admit, the rear seats' inability to fold totally flat doesn't help with cargo versatility, but that smaller stature continues to impress for around-town maneuvering.

Its low ground clearance means certain obstacles, like speed bumps, need to be taken more cautiously, though we suppose that is the point.

Otherwise, range anxiety has done little to dissuade us.

Its 141 miles of EPA-certified range feels a tad reserved, even on hot days with the compressor-driven AC on full blast.

Just another perk to having a small cab.

Now at a total of 2,300 miles, this Fiat 500e is far from being the most seasoned in our fleet, but it's proving its worth day after day.

We'll check in on our very seasoned Kia Carnival on the next MotorWeek Long-Term Road Test Update!

JOHN: Kia has a new paint by numbers product strategy; first, trading in years of Optima equity to rename their midsize sedan the K5, and second, giving their compact Forte a reboot as the K4.

So, let's see if it all makes for a brighter spectrum for Kia.

♪ ♪ Sometimes, a vehicle gets such a drastic update that the brand feels an entirely new name is appropriate.

That's the case here, as we're saying good-bye to the Kia Forte and hello to this 2025 Kia K4 sedan.

We've been down this road before, as the Forte itself was once a replacement, taking over for the Spectra in 2010.

Whatever they're calling it these days, it is easily one of the smoothest compact cars we've ever driven, from Kia or anyone else.

It packs in lots of tech, too, with 11 active driving assist features standard and up to 29 available including Emergency Evasive Steering Assist.

A 30-inch-wide housing contains both the 12.3 inch digital gauge display and a 12.3 inch touchscreen for infotainment; but, unlike other similar setups, it's integrated into the dash more than just sitting on top of it.

While there are lots of standard features as we've come to expect from Kia, they've pumped up high-end add-ons too, including Harmon Kardon premium audio, multi-colored ambient lighting, and sporty SynTex covered seats that are both heated and ventilated.

Rear-seat headroom and legroom are both excellent for the class, approaching midsize territory.

All the additional space comes from a wheelbase increase of about an inch over the Forte sedan; it's also almost 2.0 inches wider.

The K4 is a great looking compact 4-door too, but with sport sedan proportions and a definite hatchback vibe.

And on that subject, a 5-door will join the sedan late this year, something that's been missing in Kia's compact ranks since the Forte5's run ended in 2018.

In the meantime, you'll just have to make do with this still huge 14.6 cubic-feet trunk for storage, extended by split folding rear seat backs.

Standard power comes from a 147 horsepower naturally-aspirated 2.0 liter I4 which carries over unchanged from the Forte.

But if you can swing it, we highly recommend stepping up to this 1.6 liter turbo-4 found in the GT-Line Turbo.

Its 190 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque moves things from commuter car closer to sport sedan territory.

It also gets you a true 8-speed automatic transmission in place of the standard CVT, and 18 inch wheels.

At Mason-Dixon Dragway, it didn't exactly pounce off the line, but there was a nice punch of power when the turbo was fully spooled up, getting us to 60 in 6.7 seconds.

Not as quick as some competitors, but that's much improved compared to the 8.1 second runs from the Forte with the 2.0 liter.

We found the 8-speed to prioritize smoothness over sportiness, however, resulting in quarter-mile times of 15.3 seconds at 95 miles per hour.

There wasn't a whole lot of engine noise, but we really felt that small powerplant working overtime moving down the track.

The GT-Line puts some credence to the term "sport-tuned suspension" by ditching the standard car's rear torsion beam for a multi-link setup, working with grippier 18 inch tires, and a quicker steering ratio.

It had us whipping in and out of the cones with ease, feeling quick and agile; easily one of the most fun compacts we've driven this year.

There was very neutral behavior, as we scooted through our handling course at Porsche-like speeds.

The GT-Line Turbo gets 1.0 inch larger front brake rotors too; they delivered plenty of feedback and consistent fade-free short stops, averaging just 100 feet from 60 with minimal nosedive.

(car whooshing by) K4 pricing starts with LX at $23,165 and tops out at the GT-Line Turbo for $29,265.

At its essence, the automotive industry is just a big numbers game.

Whether, we're talking about dollars, horsepower, fuel economy, tow ratings, 0-60s, storage capacity, it's all just numbers.

But more often than not, it's the things that fall between the numbers that really make the difference, and Kia has been winning that game for years.

Considering this 2025 Kia K4 sedan offers features and a level of sophistication well above its price point, it looks like that winning streak will continue.

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 when we get our 45th season off to a prancing horse start with the Ferrari Roma Spider, then head for the hills in the all-new Toyota 4Runner.

Until then, I'm John Davis.

We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !

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We test tires, then share our results.

We stock over a million tires.

We offer multiple installation options.

We do this because we believe tires matter.

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