Sami then explains how confusing his time in the 2022 Mercedes-AMG GLB35 was. Is this a hot hatch? A 'cheap' Mercedes-Benz that costs more than $60k? Or is it yet another in a line of front-wheel drive Silver Star-badged rides that continue to miss the mark at the entry level?

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Sami gets his hands on the accessible and impressive 2022 Honda Civic, a "compact" car that's as long as a not-so-old Honda Accord. The pair wonder if compact cars are gone for good while Sami explains the major differences between this Civic and the previous generation.

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Sami heads into crossover country to match up the compact 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander three-row versus the mid-size 2021 Kia Sorento in a bid to discover whether it makes sense to get more features and less passenger room in a compact SUV or instead enjoy the extra space of a modestly-equipped mid-sizer choice.

Plus, listener questions!

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• EV Pulse's Learn EV Feature Is Live! — The quickest way to compare electric vehicles on the Internet.
• Check out Benjamin's Graphic Novel Code 45 — Dragons, drugs, and underground raves beneath the streets of Montreal. Launches June 1st on Kickstarter at www.code-45.com.
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• Review: The 2020 Lexus GX 460 Is a Big, Comfy SUV That Can Actually Handle a Trail — In the automotive industry, history and heritage are sometimes confused with a reluctance to move forward. Case in point: as sport-utilities and crossovers have blown through showrooms like a category-five storm, reshaping consumer tastes and vehicle lineups at every single price point, Lexus has stubbornly clung to an old-school template for both the LX 570 and GX 460. These hulking body-on-frame designs have more in common with the original truck-based platforms that once ruled the SUV roost than the smooth, car-like people-movers that have come to dominate the discourse.
• IS THE 2020 LEXUS GX 460 SUV A WORTHWHILE LUXURY UPGRADE OVER THE TOYOTA 4RUNNER 4X4 — Why did Lexus choose to stand apart from rivals like BMW and Audi by delivering a traditional truck in a market that's more apt to go for a sport-utility that's based on a sedan platform? In a word, cost.

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• 2019 ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QUADRIFOGLIO: SUV PERFORMANCE SET TO 'OVERKILL' — So it goes that in 2019 it's possible to find a trucklet with as much thrust and nearly the same levels of grip as supercars from a decade or so previous. The expectation that a full-zoot hot rod SUV be able to pivot like a pro, despite its towering center of gravity and typically ponderous weight, has lead to vehicles like the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio—a crossover that stretches brand credibility to the max by way of its family-courting practicality and over the top go-fast feature set. Surprisingly? It kind of works.
• On the Road: 2019 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S — It might sound strange, but compact high performance SUVs are now so common on dealer lots and in driveways across the country that a natural pecking order has begun to emerge. Gone are the days when a small crossover with big power was an anomaly—we've now reached the point where every major Euro player has folded its sport-utility offerings into their mainstream tuning tier. Just like with sedans and coupes, buyers have multiple flavors of fast to choose from when seeking out their next hatchback-on-stilts for daily duty.

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• Chevrolet Colorado Side Curtain Airbags Keep Deploying On Easy Off-Road Trails — The Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 is supposed to be a rough-and-tumble, body-on-frame, solid rear axle-having pickup that can handle off-road trails with ease. And yet, a number of trucks’ airbags are deploying on mild off-road trails, leaving owners with major hassles. Here’s what’s going on.

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• First Drive: Electronic charm school civilizes the wildest C-Class family members, the 2019 AMG C63 and C63 S — Even though the rowdiest members of any family eventually grow up, they don't always entirely mature. Mercedes-AMG has been walking a delicate line with its entire lineup over the past several years in a well-intentioned effort to refine what has traditionally been one of the woollier gatherings of hairy-knuckled luxury sports cars. They’re branded with the Silver Star, to be sure, but still wild enough to buck their riders in a bellowsome display of horsepower and oversteer.
• 2019 Mercedes-AMG C63 First Drive Review — Sometimes, to help tame the beast you must first sharpen its claws. So it goes with the 2019 Mercedes-AMG C63 and C63 S, a full-fledged family of monsters wrapped in a golden fleece that does little to mask the sheer brutality of their twin-turbo output. Rather than dial back any aspect of the C63’s formidable character, AMG has instead elected to digitally parse its power by way of a host of high-tech helpers that secure its purchase on terra firma more effectively than in the previous model.

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• 2017 Mercedes-AMG E43 Review — Automotive branding breeds unusual beasts, and nowhere is this truer than in the ever-shifting landscape of German luxury sedans and their performance counterparts.

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• 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT R - First Drive — I'm sitting in the driver seat of the GT R on Bilster Berg's pit row, listening to AMG Driving Academy chief instructor Reinhold Renger as he goes over the finer points of the bright green monster's high-tech wizardry. Although the R may share its basic shape with the street-oriented GT and GT S editions of the coupe, mechanically this most belligerent member of the AMG family is as different from the base car as a straight razor is from a Schick. Despite his willingness to demonstrate how I can dial in as much or as little traction control as I may desire using the dash-mounted knob, Renger helpfully suggests that, of the GT R's four drive modes, I stick with "Sport+" and avoid "Race" until I've had at least a few laps at speed under my belt. "You know, because, well, this is a lot of car," he says, looking me directly in the eye. A pause, and then he repeats this for a second time. "A lot of car."