Talking Cars 369: Driving the Polaris Slingshot
We discuss what it’s like to drive a three-wheeled vehicle, and answer a question about testing programs for automaker emissions
Main theme: The Slingshot is a three-wheeled street vehicle—built by Polaris, a company known for its ATVs, side-by-sides, and snowmobiles—that blurs the line between a motorcycle and a car. We describe what it’s like to drive a vehicle that has two front tires but only one at the rear, an engine that revs to 8,500 rpm, and forgoes doors, a roof, and much in the way of safety features beyond seat belts, antilock brakes, and electronic stability control. We also discuss how the AutoDrive automated manual transmission, fitted to the model we rented from Polaris, is the Slingshot’s Achilles’ heel.
Audience question: I received a letter from a company asking if it could use my 2018 Mazda CX-9 to gather emissions data for Mazda. Have you heard of this program? And if so, do you think it’s okay if I let it borrow my CX-9 for testing?
Photo: Consumer Reports Photo: Consumer Reports
As with other “Talking Cars” episodes, this one is available free through Apple Podcasts. (Subscribe to the audio or video.) You’ll also find the audio on Spotify (log-in required) and video on YouTube.
- Driving the Toyota bZ4X, episode 368
- Driving the 2023 Acura Integra, episode 367
- What Is an American Car?, episode 366
- Driving the 2023 Genesis Electrified G80, episode 365
- Driving the Nissan Z, episode 364
Have a Question?
We’d love to include it in a future show. Upload your video questions to our Dropbox folder. Please send high-definition (1920x1080) MP4 video files with high-quality audio. Or send an iMessage question to our TalkingCars@icloud.com account.
Talking Cars
Browse the complete podcast archive for past shows.
