The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport AWD.

Publisher's note: Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days. Seven is typical.  Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days.  Our "30 Minutes With" series features cars we spent half an hour driving during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Days in Monterey, California.

Day one of Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade.  Once there, you swap cars with another journalist for the drive back, get a different car at The Quail, and repeat. Apart from an hour's lunch (this year sponsored by Nissan), this is the day from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., although heavy rains forced us to call it a day at 2:30 this year, reducing the number of cars we could drive.

Car number four for the day was the second Alfa Romeo I've ever driven, just minutes after the first, the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport AWD.

Quail Lodge to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade (courtesy Google Maps).

Laureles Grade is about five-and-a-half miles of non-stop twists and turns between Carmel Valley Road and CA 68, and thus perfect for a pack of automotive journalists and some high-grade machinery.

2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport AWD.

I had a seatmate along for this trip...Alfa Romeo's Product Communications Manager Berj Alexanian, who, in addition to being a valuable source of information about the Stelvio, is a fellow jazz lover.  Good company and good tunes enhance a good drive.

The Stelvio is a crossover built on the Guilia sedan's platform, with the same 2.0-liter, 280-horsepower turbo four (EPA fuel economy estimate 22 city/28 highway) and imbued with the same sharp handling characteristics of the sedan.  That's not the easiest task.  Dynamics change when you make the vehicle taller, but hustling along the twisties of Laureles Grade (a slower hustle than usual, given the rain), the Stelvio felt very nearly as precise and passionate as the Guilia.

$43,995 is the base price for the Stelvio Ti Sport AWD (a front-wheel drive model can be had for $41,995).  For that, you get  the aforementioned mechanicals and handling prowess, as well as a rear back-up camera, front and rear parking assist, remote keyless entry, pushbutton start, a remote start system, stop-start systems, Alfa's DNA drive mode system, a carbon fiber driveshaft, cruise control, power folding heated mirrors, rain-sensitive windshield wipers, heated washer nozzles, a power liftgate with remote liftgate release, hill descent control, an engine cover with Alfa Romeo script, a tire service kit, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, an eight-speaker audio system with SiriusXM Satellite radio, rear dual charging USB ports, a leather-wrapped flat bottom steering wheel, with audio controls, an ambient lighting package, auto-dimming rear-view mirror with microphone, dual-zone climate control, a driver's side instrument panel storage bin, power six-way seats for the driver and front passenger, 19-inch, 10-spoke aluminum wheels, Brembo disc brakes with silver brake calipers with black script, high-performance Bi-Xenon headlamps, LED daytime running lights, LED taillamps, privacy  glass, aluminum roof rails and dual bright exhaust tips.

A very complete, well-equipped machine for $43,995.

2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport AWD interior.

This example also had extra-cost optional equipment:

• Trofeo White Tri-Coat exterior paint: $2,200.
• The Ti Sport AWD Package (Sport leather  seats, 20-inch aluminum wheels, custom painted brake calipers, gloss black window surround moldings, black roof rails, aluminum interior accents, bright aluminum pedals, a sport leather-wrapped steering wheel, steering column-mounted paddle shifters, a power adjustable bolster and sport-tuned suspension): $2,500.
• Convenience Package (Cargo comp adjustable rail system, 115V auxiliary power outlet and a cargo net): $200.
• Driver Assistance Static Package (Blind spot and cross-path detection, auto-dimming exterior mirrors): $650.
• Driver Assist Dynamic Plus Package (Adaptive cruise control with stop and go, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, automatic high beam headlamp control and an infrared windshield): $1,500.
• Dual-pane sunroof: $1,350.
• Navigation: $950.
• Harmon-Kardon premium audio system: $900.

The 2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet.

Publisher's note: Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days. Seven is typical.  Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days.  Our "30 Minutes With" series features cars we spent half an hour driving during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Days in Monterey, California.

Day one of Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade.  Once there, you swap cars with another journalist for the drive back, get a different car at The Quail, and repeat. Apart from an hour's lunch (this year sponsored by Nissan), this is the day from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., although heavy rains forced us to call it a day at 2:30 this year, reducing the number of cars we could drive.

Car number two for the day was the most exclusive and expensive car I'd sample (and possibly the most exclusive and expensive of the 60 or so available for drives that day), the 2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet.  The run: From the Quail Lodge to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (and, as it turned out, back to the Quail).

Quail Lodge to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade (map courtesy Google Maps).

Laureles Grade is about five-and-a-half miles of non-stop twists and turns between Carmel Valley Road and CA 68, and thus perfect for a pack of automotive journalists and some high-grade machinery.

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet.

A convertible on a cold, rainy day may seem like a tragically missed opportunity, but the S560 Cabriolet's ability to lower its roof is only one of a multitude of charms and wonders.  For 2018, the 4.7-liter twin-turbo V8 is replaced by a smaller, lighter, more efficient (17 city/26 highway) and more powerful (463 horsepower) 4.0-liter biturbo V8 mated to a nine-speed automatic.

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet.

Not to be mistaken for the two-seat SL, the S560 is larger, a member of the S-Class family, with seating for five (though the practicality of three people in the back would be a factor of their relative size and desire for intimacy).

There were just two of us on this run, yours truly and Mercedes-Benz Product PR Representative Ashley Gillam, who unveiled feature after feature of the Benz from the passenger seat.

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet interior.

Having Ashley along was the right move, because I would have missed out on pretty much everything while drinking in the interior.  Mercedes-Benz has decided to chart its own course for interior design, and I think they've hit a home run.  At this level of luxury automobile, you want to feel you're in something special.  The Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet accomplishes that better than any car I've experienced in 21 years of writing about cars.

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet multi-function display.

That large screen across the top of the dash begins as a 12.3-inch gauge cluster in front of the driver and then seamlessly integrates another 12.3-inch multi-function display for climate control, comfort (including massaging seats, aromatherapy and music not in your library perfectly matched to the smells and the squeezes), driving dynamics, fuel consumption and light settings.

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet multi-function display.

Yes, light settings.  Sure, other cars will let you choose between four or five colors for the ambient lighting in the cabin.  The 2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet offers you 64.

2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet.

So, what's it like to drive, you ask?  Tremendous.  With 516 lb-ft of torque, the S560 Cabrio pulls like a diesel locomotive...just waaayy faster.  The driving dynamics settings can take you from a comfortable cruise setting to a suspension and gearing combination that makes short work of a challenging road like Laureles Grade. And, on straighter bits, Mercedes' semi-autonomous capability is top-notch.

Is there a cost for all this?  Yes.  $133,300 is the base price for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet.  To list the standard equipment you get for that money would have us here half the day, so I'll let Mercedes-Benz tell you.

The test vehicle did have optional equipment, driving that price a bit higher...as in you could buy a loaded Honda Civic with the cost of the options alone:

• Designo Bengal Red/Black exclusive Nappa leather: $3,250.
• Designo black pianolacquer flowing lines wood: $1,300.
• Wood/leather steering wheel: $590.
• Swarovski crystal headlamp accents: $1,750.
• Night View Assist PLUS: $2,260.
• Premium Package (Active multicontour front seats with massage, head-up display, surround view system): $3,500
• Sport Package (AMG wheels and Sport bodystyling and diamond radiator grille with chrome tips, stainless steel sport pedals with rubber studs): $5,900.
• Driver Assistance Package (Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC, Active Steering Assist, Active Lane Change Assist, Active Emergency Stop Assist, Active Speed Limit Assist, Active Brake Assist with cross-traffic function, evasive steering assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Active Blind Spot Assist, PRE-SAFE PLUS rear-end collison protection and route-based speed adaption): $2,250.

The 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i.

Publisher's note: Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days. Seven is typical.  Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days.  Our "30 Minutes With" series features cars we spent half an hour driving during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Days in Monterey, California. 

Day one of Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade.  Once there, you swap cars with another journalist for the drive back, get a different car at The Quail, and repeat. Apart from an hour's lunch (this year sponsored by Nissan), this is the day from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., although heavy rains forced us to call it a day at 2:30 this year, reducing the number of cars we could drive.

I took the 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i for the first run of the morning (the longest of the day, from the host Monterey Tides Hotel at Sand City, past Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca , onto Laureles Grade and back west via Carmel Valley Road to the Quail.

Quail Lodge to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade (map courtesy Google Maps).

Laureles Grade is about five-and-a-half miles of non-stop twists and turns between Carmel Valley Road and CA 68, and thus perfect for a pack of automotive journalists and some high-grade machinery.

2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i.

The xDrive30i may be the base-level BMW X3, but it is far from a poverty-spec machine.  Starting at $42,450, it comes standard with all-wheel drive,  a 2.0-liter, 248 horsepower twin-power turbo inline four-cylinder 16-valve engine with variable valve control and high-precision direct injection mated to an eight-speed sport automatic transmission with Sport and Manual modes and steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.  That's a combination good for a flat six-second 0-60 time, a top speed of 130 miles per hour and an EPA fuel economy estimate of 22 city/29 highway.

Also standard? Enhanced USB and Bluetooth, 19-inch light alloy wheels, sport leather steering wheel, run-flat tires, satin aluminum roof rails and exterior trim, a universal garage door opener, dark oak wood trim, ambiance lighting, rear seatback adjustment, active protection, active driving assistant, LED foglights and headlights, three-zone automatic climate control, a Wi-Fi hotspot and an anthracite headliner.

Plus...dynamic stability control, brake fade compensation, start-off assist, brake drying, brake stand-by, dynamic traction control, dynamic traction control, hill descent control, four-wheel ventilated disc brakes with anti-lock braking and dynamic brake control, power-folding, heated side mirrors, ten-way power front sport seats with driver's seat memory, 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats, an AM/FM/CD/mp3 Hi, Fi audio system with HD Radio, a leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel, iDrive 6.0 and rain-sensing windshield wipers with adjustable speed.

The '18 is all-new, the third-generation X3, and improvements are pretty much everywhere...from a smoother more cohesive exterior (helped by a 2.2-inch longer wheelbase) to a much more premium interior experience.

2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i interior.

The interior of the X3, a weak point in the previous two generations, has been brought up to a standard befitting the BMW brand.  Materials are of a much higher grade.  Put that together with significantly enhanced driving dynamics (you'll be forgiven for thinking you're in a 3-Series sedan when hustling along a winding road like Laureles Grade) and the interior of the 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i is a pretty wonderful place to be.

Of course, this being BMW, there are options, and in this case, they took a car that was within $2,450 of $40,000 to being within $2,380 of $60,000 (after $995 destination charge) :

• Dark Olive Metallic paint: $550.
• Canberra Beige Vernasca Leather interior: $1,700.
• Convenience Package (Comfort Access keyless entry; panoramic moonroof; lumbar support; one-year subscription to SiriusXM Satellite Radio): $2,850.
• Driving Assistance Package: $900.
• Dynamic Handling Package (Dynamic damper control; M Sport brakes; variable sport steering): $1,400.
• Parking Assistance Package (Parking Assistant Plus; Active Park Distance Control; rearview camera; surround view with 3D view): $1,300.
• Premium Package (Heated steering wheel; front and rear heated seats; navigation; head-up display; Advanced Real Time Traffic Information; remote services): $3,300, but there's also $350 next to the front and rear heated seats.
• Space-saver spare tire: $150.
• Apple CarPlay compatibility: $300.  Android Auto not available.
• Wireless charging: $500.
• Harmon Kardon surround sound audio system: $875.