Driving America: The Best And Worst States Explained

Think your state has the worst drivers? We put that assumption to the test with WalletHub’s 2026 rankings, breaking down where it’s cheapest, safest, and most convenient to own and drive a car—and why it rarely matches what your daily commute feels like. With WalletHub’s Chip Lupo, we unpack a clear four-part framework: cost of ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and access to vehicles and repair. We go beyond headlines to the practical questions drivers actually face: How do gas prices and insurance premiums stack up? Does dealership and shop density change how well people maintain their cars? Where do theft and fatality risks really live, and how do sprawling metros skew statewide averages?

Texas becomes our on-the-road case study. Ranked 13th overall, it benefits from strong access to dealerships and service and competitive fuel prices, even as fast growth and weather nudge road quality down the list. We contrast urban congestion in Houston and Dallas with the relief found on rural stretches, then look at how fatality rates include pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcycles—an essential nuance when speed limits function more like guidelines than rules. For anyone planning a move, budgeting for a teen driver, or weighing a new car purchase, the data offers a map to smarter decisions: fuel, insurance, registration fees, property taxes on vehicles, and maintenance costs all add up differently by state.

We keep it useful with two hands-on segments. First, a Motor Minute on tire disposal that shows the cleanest, legal ways to recycle or repurpose old rubber—retailer returns, city transfer stations, and safe DIY options. Then we take the Lexus RX 450h+ for a deep spin: standout design, refined cabin, satisfying power, and real-world efficiency, with a few ergonomic wishes for more physical controls. If you’re curious where your state lands, how the numbers are built, and what choices actually lower your total cost of ownership, this episode connects the dots from policy to pavement.

Enjoy the conversation? Follow and subscribe, share this with a friend who loves road trips or car talk, and leave us a quick review so more drivers can find the show.

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Transcript

Opening Banter & Show Roadmap

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to another InWheel Time podcast. Welcome to the InWheel Time Car Talk Show just ahead. We talked to Chip Lupo at Wallet Hub about the best and worst states to drive in. I mean, making plans now for vacation, so there's only 50 of them. There's only 50. Maybe 51 soon. Plus, Jeff has his motor minute. I'll review the new Lexus RX 450H Plus. And then we're gonna talk about life in general. And how glad we are to be here. Happy Valentine's Day, Mike and Don.

SPEAKER_03 0:41

Howdy, owdy.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Mike, did you get your kisses this morning?

SPEAKER_03 0:45

Not yet.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Yeah. Well, don't expect them from us, okay?

SPEAKER_03 0:49

It's been a little early.

Setting Up WalletHub’s Driving Study

SPEAKER_01 0:51

Yeah, we love you anyway. Howdy, along with Mike out of this world of ours. We always need more Jeff Zeken, Chief Engineer David Ainsley. I'm Don Armstrong. Glad you could join us for our Valentine's Day edition of the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show. So glad you could join us. We got some lots of news stories about EVs, and hardly any of them are any good. I've got one that's no good. Yeah. Well, I know that we had a guest on here. Uh everybody got mad at me for asking him not to get involved in the politics of it. And he went that way. And Mars got mad at me for kind of cutting him off. And so I wanted to apologize to everybody, but apparently I uh was pretty close to being on the money. So, as you will find out when I read the stories in the next two-hour edition of the In Real Time Car Talk Show. And speaking of money, Chip Lupo is with a company called Wallet Hub, and he joins us now. Chip, good morning to you, and thanks so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Morning, guys. Good to be with you, as always.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Yeah, uh, it's been a while, and how things where are you? You up on the east side, east coast?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

I am. I'm in Columbia, South Carolina.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Oh, very nice. We love Columbia, South Carolina. We do. That's a good place to be. You from there originally?

SPEAKER_00 2:08

I'm originally from North Carolina. I've lived in the Carolinas pretty much my entire life.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Oh, you went down south. Yeah, you moved south. It's warmer. Better weather. Warmer it's warmer down there, isn't it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Well, they call Columbia famously hot for a reason.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

So no, that's it. Because you're in it. That's what I was waiting to hear. Well, there is that.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

I could use, yeah. I want to take that. I want to take that as the thing slogan. Run with it.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

It is Valentine's Day. So uh we wanted to talk to you about this uh study that you guys did. 2026's best and worst states to drive in. Okay, so what was the motive behind this kind of a story?

SPEAKER_00 2:50

And it's interesting because when it comes to stories like these, and I always chuckle at the results because no matter what the statistics tell you, the state that you live in or the city or county you live in is always the worst, has the worst drivers, regardless.

SPEAKER_04 3:05

Yeah, right.

Meet Chip Lupo & Study Methods

SPEAKER_00 3:06

If you're commuting anywhere into any city, they have the worst drivers, no matter what the numbers tell you. But we try to create a comprehensive city, it goes a little bit beyond things, such as uh basic complaints, so to speak, as uh like road safety or commute times or congestion. We kind of take an overall approach and we include things we broke it down into four dimensions, and those are cost of ownership and maintenance, which is one that people tend to overlook a lot when it comes to safe driving, traffic inner infrastructure, safety, and then access to vehicles and maintenance. Another one in which people kind of overlook.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Well, um, I know that you focused in on Texas, and we uh here in Texas certainly appreciate that, and we're gonna get to that as well. Um, and I am somewhat glad to report that um we actually didn't hit first or last in any of the got close, got real close. Yeah, got close, but but there was no we didn't get the best award. And you know what? There are some things that you can say that that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Well, Texas is is is unique in that it is a huge state, and there's a diversity when it comes to traffic and roads. I mean, what goes on in the middle of um say like Midlands, Texas or someplace, is uh way different than it would be in downtown Dallas.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Or downtown Houston. Yeah. Downtown Houston's not too bad. The problem we have here is that the city of well, not the exact city limits, but the overall uh area of Houston, which includes tons of cities, and it it's a big widespread sprawl, if you will, uh, of everything. We've got lots of freeways, and all of them are jammed up now. And I remember a day when we didn't have that many freeways and they weren't jammed up, but that is the case now. So overall rank for Texas is 13th. And I would say that's pretty good, really.

How The Rankings Work: Four Dimensions

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Yeah, very good. One to fifty, and Texas is thirteenth, and uh they get really high marks in the category of access to vehicles and maintenance. Again, now this is one that people tend to overlook, and it includes things such as um, for example, uh auto repair shops per capita, which is key because you have to have uh availability for repair shops now, because if you if repair shops are a not accessible or a overpriced, people are gonna tend to neglect those and they're gonna let their cars and they're gonna keep driving and keep driving until eventually something really bad happens.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Well, um I was kind of surprised at us being fifth in average gas prices. I would have thought that we would have been probably first or second.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Yeah, at two at 277 a gallon, and now Texas is right up there, and here in South Carolina, we're right up there too, despite the gas tax. Yeah, I would have thought it would have been with no state income tax. I don't know what the gas taxes are in Texas, but but still a top five out of fifty, that's not bad at all.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Yeah, yeah. Um, we rank 35th in road quality. Let me let me tell you something. We used to be right at the tip top. Of course, the state is so spread out, and we had in the early days, you know, brand new freeways that went from here all the way to Alaska. Yeah, the roads were great. Not so much anymore, of course. We've had this huge influx of people here, and with that also comes a lot of road damage, if you will.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

I think because the all the the there's so much under construction, I really think people are stealing the roads. Stealing the roads, they're picking them up now and they're gonna rebuild them. Where does Detroit fall in the road category? I'm interested. I'm from Detroit. It should be like 60th.

Texas Overall Rank And Gas Prices

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Well, now Michigan, Michigan ranks um pretty much, let's see, where does Michigan fall? They're pretty much on the low end. Now I know Detroit proper is like way down on the list. Uh I think out of like 100, I think they're like in the 90th. Now, Michigan uh is about uh, let's see, let me pull its exact number for Michigan here. They were pretty, yeah, they weren't uh 37th. 37th over there.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

But you know, the on the other hand, too, and to be fair about it, let's face it that uh the roads up there are subjected to some pretty severe winters. Yeah, I was about to say you got these great big scrapers that go across that road quite frequently. We don't have that here. And it's the quality of the roads.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

And the salts, and the salts that are that they're pouring out on the roads. Yeah, I've driven through the infamous Michigan potholes on the way to Lansing many, many times and through Detroit.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Car dealerships per capita. Texas ranks second. Not a surprise.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Well, car yeah, access to car dealerships. Now, this is new and used dealerships. Now it's important to be able to have access to new new or used vehicles. Again, now I have a 2016 GPA, which I will drive until the wheels fall off.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Now of course you want to be able to drive be able to drive it before then, so at some point you're gonna have to bite the bullet and look at a new or used car, and it's ridiculously expensive now. But it's important to be able to have at least a um a decent number of dealerships close by.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

Well is that does that depend on the city that has or the state that has assembly plants in it? Because not all states have assembly plants. We have up in up in the Dallas Fort Worth area, we've got some in San Antonio. Does that correlate to anything and where it ranks?

SPEAKER_00 8:45

I think so. Well, I think so, at least in terms where it does um where it does uh have a have an effect is in what we call um it's the average, well, that's the average for uh price of an automobile. Because in states, and I talked to someone from from Detroit yesterday about this, in states like um Detroit or parts of Ohio or some of these right to work states, where they're auto plants, people are going to buy American cars just for the sense of pride. And American cars are slightly more expensive now than than imports because you're factoring in these operating expenses that some of these um union states might have. So people are are gonna spend a little bit more for American American made car just for this, whether it's sense of local pride or the fact that hey, this car that I bought, you know, my uncle helped build these, so I'm doing my part to keep food on his table.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Sure. Now you mentioned sales uh with local car dealerships. Did that include service as well? Because you know, most new car dealerships have a service department.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Right. Now we have a separate um we have a separate category for auto maintenance costs.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Okay. Now and so that would be different than uh the dealership uh aspect of it. So you kind of pulled out the service department and put it in this category?

Road Quality, Weather, And Regional Nuance

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Right. Dealerships is just uh the number of dealerships, physical plants or locations per capita. Yeah, auto maintenance costs is a different thing now. Of course, as you all well know, taking your car to your favorite local mechanic as opposed to a dealership, there's gonna be a huge cost gap there.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

Right. And it used to be when I was back in that day, uh the front end or the sales department supported the parts and service department. Nowadays it's flipped with the parts and service because there's so much warehousing and things that they support the low sales volumes.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Right. And my father worked at a Nissan Oldsmobile uh in the service department many years in North Carolina, and it was exactly as you as you uh as you cited it there. Now, some of the issues with when it comes to auto maintenance costs, of course, they are skyrocketing. And one of the downsides of buying an import, whether some of these have really high resale value, whether they're Toyotas or Hondas, is that when they do start to break down, the parts are gonna kill you. As opposed to an American-made car, like a brake pads or something gonna be like twice as much for a Honda Accord as it would be for a maybe a Ford escort or something.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

I was gonna say a Chevy and Pella. Oh, they don't make it. Oopsie Daisy. Yeah. Okay, so I thought thought this is pretty interesting. Texas ranks 41st in car thefts. Um I at least here in Houston, I it I bet in Houston alone, it's probably at least half that.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

I think in the 20s.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

I don't know. But it's a huge metropolitan area that has millions of people.

SPEAKER_00 11:48

Houston, Dallas, yeah, trucks. Houston, Dallas, and parts of Austin around, yeah, those are all very high areas of theft. Probably not so much in some of the more rural areas, but when you have that many um large sprawling metro area, yeah, the risk of auto theft is very high.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Talk about fatality rates. Uh, 32nd in Texas for traffic fatality rates, and the speed limits, if they haven't uh officially raised the speed limit, nobody really cares about what it is officially anymore. It's like, okay, the speed limit says 65. We're all doing 75.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Oh, of course. That's yeah, that yeah. Speed limits are more for the most part suggestions or guidelines. I was thinking speed limits, especially if you're on that that crazy, what is it? Do they have like a is it like 12 lanes now that circles around Dallas now? Yeah, if you if you're driving a speed limit on one of those um expressways, yeah, you're gonna get run over.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

Yeah. Um I I just found that that was uh an interesting statistic of fatality rates.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Now, track fatality rates can also include um pedestrians or bike or oh, didn't think of that. Yeah, motorcycles.

SPEAKER_02 13:06

Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Which is probably common in a college town like Austin. You know, people a lot of people are walking across campus and you know, and things happen.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

Well, and you're also on your phone when you're driving. You're distracted, you're eating. Now, this one here walking.

Dealership Access, Plant Proximity, And Costs

SPEAKER_01 13:22

This this one here, I'm gonna I'm gonna have to say, Chip, are you out of your mind? Share of rush hour traffic congestion, Texas is in general, Texas, ranked 35th. In Houston, I think we got everybody beat. I mean, it's got to be in the top 10 at least.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Well, you have lots of you have lots of space between the Dallas Metroplex and Lubbock, Texas, to kind of make up for that. So there's a lot of sparsely populated areas the closer you get towards the southern border. Yeah, I mean, if um if not for those, if you're counting just Houston and Dallas and Austin, yeah, it would probably be much lower than that if not for some of these more sparsely populated areas where congested.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

So, Chip, uh, you know, Wallet Hub doesn't do this just to entertain us. Uh, they do this for a reason. And what is the reason that these numbers, statistics, are important in each state?

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Well, it it gives people just to give people an idea of the driving habits, where where they live, and of course, joking I said, your state or your city is the worst, but it gives people kind of an eye-opening, and again, now we can we also consider things, for example, like the average um auto insurance rates, which can be ridiculously high. It just gives a broader overview. So when people think about driving, they're not just thinking about congestion or commute times, they're thinking about things of like road quality, access to car dealerships, how much their insurances are, how much it's going to be able to cost with them to maintain their cars or maintain the insurance and just be aware of gas prices. Just an overall view, and also for people who are looking to commute to another or to relocate to another state. It's like how driving.

SPEAKER_02 15:08

Well how did you pull this information together? Is it surveys?

SPEAKER_00 15:11

You go through the the uh it's strictly it's it's strictly data driven, and there's a there's a huge number of um government sources that we rely on, of course, the Census Bureau, FBI, Department of Transportation, and then just a number of um and triple A and a number of other nonprofit and insurance companies and other uh reputable think tanks.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

Interesting. Um you so you you don't I mean, do the insurance companies use this?

SPEAKER_00 15:39

I think so. And that's part of the objective, is maybe that people are or insurance consumers for uh also can look at this like, wow, why am I paying so much for the annual for my annual car insurance? Now for Texas I've noticed that this is the annual car insurance premium is a little over now annually it's two thousand a little over two thousand dollars, thirty-sixth overall.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Which really in the overall scheme of things isn't bad, I would think.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

No, it's not bad enough. Now South Carolina, mine personally for for two vehicles is uh about fifteen hundred. No.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

For two vehicles.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

For two vehicles.

Maintenance Costs, Parts Pricing, And Service

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Well, guess what? Full coverage? Um, I guess we're gonna be neighbors one day. Um so if I'm if I'm in the market to move, somebody's offered me a great job, and Don, hey, you know, here's the carrot. Come on. This would be something that I think that I would be interested in, especially when it came to my cars. Um I've got an old Corvette, doesn't get driven very much, but I don't want to take it to some place that I think that it's gonna get stolen. It's not worth anything to anybody else other than it's just a car. But to me, it's worth something because it's my own personal car. And I would imagine that most people probably think the same way. Unless, of course, they've got some you know special, you know, numbers matching 1963 split window Chevrolet Corvette coupe or something like that. But for every every day, people that uh you know probably have a couple of teenagers coming up and they're getting ready to uh get their first car, I would be interested to know how much I'm gonna have to pay for them and their car to get back and forth to school.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

Right. The insurance obviously is a factor, particularly for like a sports car, even if you're not driving it. And if you're and if you keep a strict budget and a lot of cer uh X amount of dollars every month for gas, you want to take that into account. So if you're gonna relocate to a place like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, you're gonna be paying way more for gas than you would be in Texas.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

And and and for the registration, from what I understand.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

Registrate registration, and some some states do charge property taxes on vehicles too, so that's another thing to find.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

Holy cow. California. Well, there's California. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:55

California, Louisiana has a state tax as well, I found out recently.

SPEAKER_01 17:59

Well, Chip, this is great information. Where where can uh we go to uh get all of the data on this?

SPEAKER_00 18:05

Just log on to wallethub.com and um check out best and worst states to drive. We do have a separate study for the best and worse cities, also best and worst states for teen drivers, best and worse states for summer road trips, lots of related content out there.

SPEAKER_01 18:21

That's awesome. It's great to know. Wallethub.com. And uh this is all information that uh I think everybody would get a kick out of looking at if not in dollars and cents terms, if thinking about moving there or going there for vacation. Chip, it's always great to talk to you.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Always a pleasure, guys. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Thank you. We appreciate you, sir.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Yes, sir.

Theft, Fatalities, Congestion, And Speed

SPEAKER_01 18:40

That's uh Chip Lupo with uh wallethub.com. All right, just ahead, Jeff's Motor Minute and a review of the new Lexus RX 450H Plus. When the in-wheel time car talk show continues right after this. The Tailpipes and Tacos renowned cruising expands to Beaumont. Golden Triangle cruisers will want to experience tailpipes and tacos at the Loopy Tortilla, high ten south in Beaumont near Washington Boulevard. Grab free Loopy Breakfast Tacos with any donation to Shirley's kids. Enjoy a coffee or an adult beverage. Every cruise-in vehicle is automatically entered to win one of the beautiful chili pepper trophies for Best Hot Rod, Classic, and Modern Classic. Tailpipes and Tacos Baumont happens Saturday morning, March 21st, 8 to 11 a.m. If you're a car geek like we are, this is the event you'll want to attend. The Info Time Car Talk Show will be online live, and you may be interviewed upon your ride. Tailpipes and Tacos Baumont edition Saturday, March 21st, 8 to 11am, at the Lupy Tortilla 2050 I10 South in Baumont. The Katie Tailpipes and Tacos happens Easter Saturday, April 4th, 8-11. The Free Tailpipes and Tacos Cruising is a production of Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex Beaumont and Katie. It's pretty good. Apple or Android N-Wheel Time podcasts can be found everywhere, on the stream and through downloads. Whether you're on the road or at home and Jones in for a different kind of car talk show, give In Wheel Time a try. Honest new car reviews, fun, informative interviews with real car people, weekly automotive news, features like Jeff's car culture and Mike's driving destinations, all on In Wheel Time. Check us out on Sirius XM Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music. Mm-hmm. InWheeltime.com has a list, and we know you love lists. We invite you to join us for the live In Wheel Time Car Talk Show every Saturday, 10 to 9 central time, here on InWheeltime.com, YouTube and Facebook. Check us out, it's free. And don't forget 30-minute podcasts of our shows can be had from your favorite podcast store. We can be had. And Mr. Mars, uh, how are things going over there promoting the tailpipes and tacos Beaumont?

SPEAKER_03 20:49

Well, they seem to be going pretty good. There's been a few people asking questions, and uh we're running some we're fixed, we're we are running the spot. Chase is putting some things out as well. And uh, in fact, he's got a couple of pretty nice little videos out there.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Very nice. Okay, we'll check it out.

SPEAKER_02 21:04

Did you get the one I sent you? Let's check out uh the motor minute. Don't recognize that. You bet. Uh there's a lot of things going on about disposing of tires. We talk about tires a lot, winter tires, summer tires. The best way, maybe the easiest way to get rid of your tires is to return them to the retail store where you buy them. Well, most of the stores will accept your old tires if you do buy from them. Uh they can handle it for the recycling for you. It's like taking things back to the recycled areas. You can expect to pay a small fee for this service, but it's the most convenient way to ensure that they're properly disposed of. You don't want to lay them out in the front yard by the curb for the garbage guy. It's important to dispose of these tires right away through a recycling program and not in a way that can be dangerous to your health or the environment. This means never throwing them in a regular track since they're often burned from the landfills. Tires are also one of the common items that shouldn't be put in a recycling bin since they require a separate specialized recycling process. If you haven't bought tires recently and you don't live near a tire retail retailer or a center that sells tires, uh they do have convenient ways to dispose of them. Call your city, call the recycling department, call your trash people. Many local dumps and transportation trans transfer stations can accept used tires for a fee. It's best to call a head and see if they can accept that tire. If you're more on the artistic side and you don't want to uh you know be bothered with that and you might want to use them in the backyard for a flower bed or maybe a planter, things like that if you're more artistic. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

Oh look, honey, there's the uh 15-inch tire that you took off the car 30 years ago. Let's put some daisies in there.

SPEAKER_03 22:41

Daisies are good. Let's go get some 22s because we want to make it a little bit bigger.

SPEAKER_02 22:45

I I like daisies and I like 22s, but the repurpose your tire in the backyard and the garden will help the environment. If you only have a few tires and uh you want to bring them new life by turning them into a plant or a garden, a swing for a tree, which I did when my kids were growing up, uh in an innovative dog bed or outdoor furniture. So there's other ways to do it. Or hippie sandals. Hippie sandals, that's right. So uh just be responsible, don't just throw them away or roll them down the street and hope somebody else is gonna deal with it. But I've seen a lot of things on the on the news lately about illegal dumping and you you see tires all over the place. So just do the right thing. Do they call them hippies anymore? Uh you they call you a hippie. I know.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Yeah, well, there was that. The hippie dippy. Well, I was thinking uh along the lines of you know, um some bums. Bums, bum shoes. Hobos. Hobos.

SPEAKER_02 23:34

Yeah, bum shoes. Oh, you're talking about sandals. I got you know, I did have a pair of sandals that were actually made for that. They just took the tire tread. Yeah, I got you now, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:42

And the brand on it? Yeah, brand markings.

SPEAKER_02 23:45

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:46

Well, of course. Jeff's would be, you know, some knitto or some sort of you know, Michelin racing or something.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Sticky compound.

Why The Data Matters For Drivers

Data Sources, Insurance Rates, And Relocation

SPEAKER_01 23:55

All right, time now for this hour's car review. Had a chance to drive the Lexus RX 450H plus. I've told the story a bajillion times. I really had no experience with Lexus until, well, this has uh probably the 1980s, early 2000s. You own one. I did. Uh it was an RX 350, and it was the original RX, and absolutely love that thing. Anyway, this is not that. This is the brand new 2026 Lexus RX 450H Plus. So here are the trim levels 350, 350H hybrid, 350 F Sport, 350H F Sport, 350 luxury, 358, 350H Luxury, 450H premium, 500H F Sport, and the 450H Plus, which is what I had. So I had the top of the line. Nanny nanny boo-boo. Um, this is a PHEV. Uh that's a hybrid. Uh, five seats, exterior changes from last model year. Well, it was completely redesigned in 2023, so it's really this design is only three years old. Um, exterior features include the oversized Lexus grille with squinty, high-mounted headlights, arrow windshield, really laid back, upswept and side sculpting on it. Really looks good with some very nice wheels. It doesn't make any difference. Which trim level that you choose, there's going to be a wheel for that car specifically. Bustle butt rear with uh built-in sunshade over the glass back there. This is a very unique-looking vehicle, and that's part of the reason that I like it. It doesn't look like all the other SUVs out there. Overall design gets high marks. What could use improvement? Nothing. Keep it coming. Interior highlights, high zoot design that leans toward the minimalist look. In other words, you're not going to find a lot of buttons and switches in this. Standalone instrument cluster and a great big infotainment screen. Non-cluttered center console, read minimalist, awesome upholstery and comfortable seating. Uh cargo, well, that area back there behind the second row of seats bigger than you think. But I liked, again, high marks for design and materials with that Mark Levinson sound system, it is top-notch. What could use improvement? Like to see some instrument controls like a volume knob. That would have been nice. Uh, because what you wind up having to do is look at the screen, which takes your eyes off the road, which most people have their eyes off the road and into their phones. Uh, I think that uh a few more buttons would have been nice for some of the functions, but that's just me. Engine 2.5 liter four-cylinder plug-in hybrid of 304 combined horsepower, CVT transmission, tow rating, believe it or not, 3,500 pounds, which is a lot. A miles per gallon city. Well, uh, it's 85 miles per gallon electric, 35 for the gas only. Did I plug it in? I did not. So in my gasoline heyday that I that I had this car for the week, I got 31.3 miles per gallon over 405.4 miles. What I liked about it, it has enough power that leaves you satisfied. That sounds almost kind of like an old cigarette commercial, doesn't it? Ah, satisfaction. What could use improvement? Get the full hybrid version unless you only travel 35 miles uh per charge a day. Uh that would be my suggestion. Uh good-looking car. Yeah, it is. And they also have the gasoline, strictly gasoline version of it as well. What I liked about it, I liked all of it. What could use improvement? Nothing on this top-of-the-line trim. So how much? Base trim price?$73,310. This is top of the line now. Price is tested,$78,569. If you just want to get in one, it starts at$50,525. Competitors, Mercedes-Benz GLE 450E$725, BMW X5$76375. Or how about this? The Acura MDX Type S non-hybrid is$77.3. Wow. Expensive. Next week I'm going to review the Hyundai Santa Fe, and I think that you'll really enjoy that. So tune in for that. Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, send us an email. The address is info at inwheeltime.com. We are back after this quick break. The award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show now reaches millions of folks around the globe each year. Check us out on Inwheeltime.com, YouTube, Facebook, and don't forget our podcasts. Catch our live show every Saturday, 10 to noon Central Time. The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show has informative automotive guests, new car reviews, along with popular features including driving destinations, Jeff's car culture, the latest car news, cruise-ins, and racing days. It's all on inwheeltime.com. Join us. That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show. I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheeltime.com website. Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music. Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.