Video: 2026 New York Auto Show Winners & Losers

(upbeat music) We've always quite liked the Volkswagen Atlas here at cars.com, but we always thought the interior was kind of in a bit of a need of a refresh these days. And when we drove the new updated Tiguan, boy, we were really, really impressed with that. And it looks like they did the same thing to the new Atlas. They really did. I mean the last atlas we drove, I call that like 98% awesome, 2% deal breaker. And that 2% was the multimedia system, which they have fixed in this one, finally. I mean there's still some quirks to it. You have the sliders that I know you don't care for, but it's got the central volume now, which I don't think is an issue, but it's the rest of the interior that really got a big glow up and I think it makes a big difference in the Atlas now. Yeah, the competition has gotten a lot better in the intervening years. And this is inarguably, it's an improvement even if I still have issues with it. But I've lived with it for a bit in the Tiguan. It's doable, it's better. The Atlas is finally a lot more competitive with what else there is in the segment, like the Palisade and the Telluride. Yeah, it's giving flashes of old school Volkswagen, like from the 2000s to 2010s tens where it's kind of a little bit more of a mini Audi than it is like an economy car. So definitely winner in my book Winner from all three of us. Yeah. (upbeat music) The Kia EV3 was the 2025 World Car of the Year and we're finally getting it here in the US. This is the 2027 EV3. It's a small, roomy EV that promises a decent amount of range and hopefully some affordability, but we all really, really like this. Yeah, it's really nice in here. I'm actually really surprised at how large this interior is for such a small footprint on the outside. I mean, you'd earlier said that it's the rebirth of the Soul 'cause the Kia Soul has gone away. But this is more than a Soul. This is Soul Plus. This is just room, range, I mean, the only thing that's gonna be a big question is affordability. We don't know how much it costs and that's gonna make a big difference. Now, building on both what both of y'all said, I'm super impressed with the packaging of the new EV3. I sat behind myself in my seating position and it's a remarkable amount of room for this small footprint, big fan of the styling. I do like the fact of that it has kind of a niche performance-oriented GT trim. What I'm not the biggest fan of is the 400-volt architecture. Versus the EV9, the EV6 is 800-volt architecture. But Brian, as you pointed out yesterday, gotta bring that cost down somehow. Dunno the cost yet. Hopefully it's somewhere in low 30s. Probably gonna be more in the mid 30s. But yeah, I'm really looking forward to this and hopefully it sticks around longer than its second mates. Yeah, but if you like the EV9, but thought, hey, I don't really need three rows of seats. This is a mini EV9, and we all like it. It's a unanimous winner. (upbeat music) The 26 New York Auto Show is also our first opportunity to see this, the new 2027 Kia Seltos. And again, it's a winner from all of us. This thing is fantastic and it basically ticks a lot of boxes for a number of us. Yeah, and you've brought this up many times and we keep noticing it. Kia takes a good vehicle and somehow manages to improve it with the next generation. This is better in every respect than the previous Seltos. And that won the last two subcompact SUV comparisons we held. So they had a lot to do, and they really nailed it. So the EV3 is kind of like a mini EV9. This is like a mini Telluride. They did an excellent job through, but you guys were saying they really jizzed up that interior, made it better than the previous generation Seltos, which was much needed improvement. Now, I think, I mean we haven't seen the base model yet, but I'm gonna think this does not feel like a penalty box anymore if you kinda get the base model. A lot of good stylistic touches, love the style. It's gonna be a great car. Yeah. which is something that the Seltos didn't have in the US before. So even more increasing its value to people who are looking at the lower end of the shopping spectrum in terms of price, you get better fuel economy as well. Yeah. You get a ton of choice with the Seltos lineup now - with the extra hybrid engine. Winner from all three of us. Winner. (upbeat music) Chrysler refreshed the 2027 Pacifica, and this is pretty much all they did. This is the front end. No one here likes it. We are not fans of this. No, this is, what the hell is this? I mean, honestly, this has been around, this version of the van has been around for a decade now and this is the brand that brought us iconic things like the latest 300, which was extraordinary. And this, after all this time, is the only thing that they've done to the van to try and keep it fresh, that and the fact that it's more expensive now than it has been in the past, this is called phoning it in. And if this is indicative of where the Chrysler styling is going, I'm gonna be wondering what happened when I see the next thing that they come out with. Speaking of pricing, a little napkin math revealed that the increases done to this with adjusted for inflation about five years ago is not, it is far outpaced inflation and it's just not a good value play these days. Not so much anymore, but I mean the fact that this is the only thing that they've done to the van, this is a loser in my book. Yeah, it's a loser for me too. This is one of those times where we say a new version might get you deals on the old one, get the old one. (upbeat music) Here we are over to what is inarguably the most interesting concept of the show. Now, we don't usually cover concepts here at cars.com, we like to talk about what's real, but this thing is real cool. This is the Hyundai Boulder concept and it is the Jeep Wrangler, the Ford Bronco, that Hyundai competitor that Hyundai is gonna build. Yeah, they've said that they're gonna build a mid-sized body-on-frame pickup truck in the US by 2030. And instead of showing us the pickup truck, they showed us this the SUV version of what it could possibly be. But all the bones are here. I mean, this thing apparently has a solid rear axle, it has an independent front suspension, 37-inch off-road tires. It's got all the right stuff. And it looks appropriate too for somebody who might be interested in like a Nissan X-Terra that's also gonna be coming in a couple of years, or a Jeep Wrangler or a Ford Bronco. So, you know, as a Jeep owner, this thing is really intriguing to me. Yeah, you guys like it. You called it a winner. I'm calling it a loser, not because of anything that it's doing now, but I've just been burned too many times by concepts and one misstep with an off rotor and it could go from winner to loser in real life. So until I see a production version that isn't crazy expensive, that isn't, you know, suddenly an EV that no one really seems to want for off-roading, I'll wait and see. So I'm gonna call it a loser for now, but I really want to eat those words. I think it's a winner. You think it's a winner? I think it's a winner. I understand why you think it's a loser. And again, we're all hopeful that it won't be. (upbeat music) Now, we come to the newest and largest EV in Subaru's lineup. This is the 2027 Subaru Getaway. I'm starting this one out because I, unlike these two, actually like this SUV. I've driven plenty of the Toyo-baru mashups, which is a trail seeker, the CHR, all those kind of Sotera, all those cars. I really like the way they drive. They drive quite nice. They give a lot to Subaru fans, more than they kind of do for Toyota. But from hearing from you two guys, you guys do not like this thing very much at all. I think you said the word right there that puts me off this thing. Toyo-baru It's like every one of the Subaru electric vehicles is a Toyota that's been re-badged and slightly reworked and has a little bit of different standard equipment, but there really isn't any differentiation between them anymore. And I think Subaru is losing something from that. Not to mention the fact that a lot of the names of the Subaru EVs are getting a little weird. Yeah. Getaway is not my favorite new car name, but what really bugs me about this is a max charging speed, fast charging of 150 kilowatts. It's a three-row SUV with a slow-charging speed that takes it from potential road tripper to basically really big commuter vehicle. And there are alternatives with three rows that charge faster that I would rather have. Yep, like the Kia EV9. Honestly. All I need to say is, 420 standard horsepower along with standard all wheel drive, winner in my book. Loser in Mine. The fact that it's not all that different than the Toyota makes it a loser in mine too. And our last of the winners and losers at the 26 New York Auto Show is this, the 2027 INFINITI QX 65. Now, it's a new coupe SUV from INFINITI based off the QX60. And I gave this thing a loser rating because not for the way it looks. I mean, I'm not a fan of the whole genre to begin with, but I think it actually looks okay. It's what's under the hood that made me give it a loser badge. This is the same four-cylinder that is used in the QX60, and I'm not a fan of that powertrain at all. See, I'm gonna flip the script on that one. I actually don't mind this powertrain too much. It's like a commuter engine, not so much the fiery, sporty heart that the shape is kind of advertising. My take is, I fricking hate this segment, man. It is not a good segment. It's a dumb idea to begin with it all. I do generally like infinity. I like the paint, but this thing is a total loser in my book. Also, what happened to the QX55? We've already moving on to 65. That's crazy. Yeah, I'm with you both actually. I don't like SUV coupes and I don't like this powertrain, so there really wasn't much of a chance of this being a winner in my book. I do think it looks pretty good for what it is, but admittedly for me, the bar is in hell when it comes to SUV coupe styling. There's not many I even, yeah. Yeah, the one caveat about this thing is that it, despite the sloping roof line, there is a decent amount of headroom in the back. So I mean, they're not getting the penalty of the whole SUV coupe thing, but overall, it's still a loser in my book. Loser. Yeah. So those are our verdicts of the winners and losers of the 26th New York Auto Show. What do you think? Do you agree with us or are you wrong? 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