Talking Cars 369: Driving the Polaris Slingshot

Mike Monticello
·2 min read

We discuss what it’s like to drive a three-wheeled vehicle, and answer a question about testing programs for automaker emissions

By Mike Monticello

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?

"Talking Cars" panelists Alex Knizek, Mike Monticello, and Jake Fisher.

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.

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