What cars do their drivers like the most? We’ll have the answers for you in our in-depth look at the JD Power 2022 APEAL Study. The JD Power U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study measures owners’ emotional attachment and level of excitement with their new vehicle.

This year the recently launched Kia EV6 compact SUV and Mercedes-Benz EQS large premium car were two battery-electric vehicles that topped their respective segments. But the vast majority of segment leaders in emotional appeal are conventional gasoline-powered cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs.

The Jeep Wagoneer UV, Jeep Grand Wagoneer premium SUV, Kia Carnival minivan, and Hyundai Santa Cruz midsize pickup were newcomers to the market that top their segments. Consumer excitement with their vehicles actually fell this year, breaking a streak of increases that dates back to 2014. It is only the fifth time in the 27-year history of the study that consumer excitement with their vehicles declined year over year. And we’ll have more, including information on how Tesla owners feel about their cars.

In this week’s road test segment, host Jack Nerad will give his take on the new, cutting-edge 2023 Genesis GV60. It’s the first dedicated electric vehicle from the Genesis brand. The GV60’s new-as-tomorrow features include facial and fingerprint recognition. Plus the vehicle actually has a crystal ball.

Also in the road test segment, Co-Host Chris Teague went truckin’ crazy in the substantially new 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4X. The full-size pickup truck is designed to slug it out off-road, and Teague and Nerad will offer their opinions of it in this episode.

Our special guests this week are Brian Kursar, group vice president, Digital Technology at Toyota Motor North America, and Simon Roberts, Managing Engineer – Cabin Awareness at Toyota Connected North America. Toyota has been improving its infotainment systems by leaps and bounds recently, and we’ll discuss how they’ve been able to accomplish that with them.

In the news, Chevrolet just introduced an all-new Blazer EV that promises to be blazing fast. We were there for the unveiling and will tell you all about it. And Honda has unleashed the newest Civic Type R, so we’ll tell you all about that too.

All this and more in this episode of America on the Road.