Car Reviews

The Mercedes lineup is overflowing with such a wide range of models with confusing names that it’s rather easy to get a little bit overwhelmed.

Despite the evolution, AMG hasn’t lost its touch for stuffing regular Mercedes models full of exceedingly powerful engines and other go-fast bits. The Mercedes-AMG C63 S is a perfect example of this ethos.

If there’s one image that comes to mind when thinking about the Ford F-150 Raptor, chances are it includes a desert backdrop and a truck sailing through the air with four chunky tires dangling beneath. Ford isn’t modest about the Raptor’s ability to scale mountain terrain, blast through deserts, or leap over sand dunes with effortless grace. With expectations sky-high (literally), I couldn’t wait to have a go in their beefy, high-speed, off-road monster.

BMW has long built high performance M versions of their popular 3-Series and 5-Series models, but the company has yet to fix an M badge to their flagship 7-Series. If the company were to build an M7 though, it would probably turn out something like the Alpina B7.

Over the last few decades, sales of station wagons have totally vapourized here in North America. This can largely be blamed on the increasing popularity of crossovers. The one glaring exception to this trend though is the Subaru Outback. Although more of a lifted faux-SUV than a traditional station wagon, the Outback is still incredibly popular among consumers.

The Corolla is, in many ways, the essence of a car. It is completely free of any flim-flam, character, or anything really that makes a car into more than just a transportation device. It is just a tool doing its intended function: transporting people from point A to point B.

Infiniti’s thinking behind this collaboration really only starts to make sense once you take a good look at the QX30, because damn it’s pretty. The sheet metal has all sorts of nice curves and styling touches that, together, make this one of the most attractive small crossovers on the market. It’s the same story on the inside, where all of the shared Mercedes bits really pay off in creating a beautiful cabin.

When you’re an unfamiliar face and going up against a herd of well-established luxury brands, a mass-market friendly, but yawn-inducing, sedan or crossover just isn’t going to cut it for an attention-grabbing grand entry. What’s needed is something eye-catching, unique, and maybe just a little bit crazy.

The Porsche 911 has had over half a century to refine the formula of the most rounded sports car in the market. Making changes to it is not an easy task, but given the age of tightening emissions standards, change is a must. Like the rest of the industry, Porsche has moved with the times and has introduced turbocharging to most of the 911 range in place of its much-loved naturally-aspirated flat-6 engines.

True to its roadster heritage, the latest MX-5 embodies everything a great sports car should. Indeed, one look at the spec sheet reveals what is, without a doubt, the undisputed mixture of automotive nirvana vocabulary: naturally-aspirated engine, manual gearbox, insanely low curb weight with 50:50 distribution, and rear-wheel drive.

Years of sketches, prototypes, bankruptcy, restructuring, and, well, let’s just call it headache, though as sceptical as it may seem, resulted in GM creating something no short of a technological marvel.

The RX has undergone a dramatic transformation, complete with bold styling, a lavish interior, and even a few sporty trimmings, in an effort to reaffirm its hold on the luxury crossover segment.

The Targa combines classic 911 design themes with a highly complex folding roof mechanism to create a sort of semi-convertible, which fits somewhere between the Carrera hardtop and cabriolet.

Despite lacking the flair of many of its rivals, the XC90 is a crossover that has always done very well for Volvo, and it’s not hard to understand why. While Land Rover was busy designing the Range Rover to scale the Amazon, and BMW the X5 to set Nurburgring lap times, Volvo was quietly perfecting the things that arguably matter most to SUV buyers, like safety and spaciousness. The new 2016 XC90 reinvents the family-friendly package with a whole new design and a heavy investment in technology.

Driving the new Scion FR-S down some twisty tarmac borders on the surreal. Every bend, every sweet gear change, every straight line blast just adds to my suspicion that this is one of the greatest enthusiast cars on sale today.

The all-new Ford Edge is in a class by itself. The built-in Oakville, Ontario crossover gets a major overhaul for 2015. And it’s not just Canadians who will benefit from the changes. The Edge will be sold in more than 100 countries in markets in Europe, South America, and Asia.

In 1957, Fiat introduced the world to the 500, a cute, affordable city car that would define its genre for decades. The well-received revival model of 2008 became a huge sales success in no time. It was no surprise then to see it mark Fiat’s return to the North American market when it arrived here in 2011. For 2015, the 500 has matured into a more diverse lineup which, on top of the base model, now includes the Cabrio, the high-performance Abarth, and the midrange Turbo, all of which are now available with both automatic and manual transmissions.

Porsche may be famous for building sports cars and racing machines, but these days, its best-selling models are not sports cars, but trendy SUVs. The Cayenne has long been the German company’s best seller, and closing in on it quickly is the new Macan, the brand’s smallest and most affordable crossover.

Although mini crossovers are only now beginning to explode in popularity with new entries such as the Mazda CX-3, Fiat 500X, and Honda HR-V, Mini has long been riding this trendy segment with its not so mini Countryman. Even though, at its core, Mini is brand that has built its reputation on building small, fun to drive, cars, that hasn’t stopped them from building trendy family movers as well.

The Sonata has been an important model in propelling Hyundai up the mainstream sedan ladder. It really hit its stride with the radically styled 2011 redesign, which was the first Sonata to tip the scale from rational appeal toward emotional appeal. For 2015, the Sonata has received a full makeover that tones down the radical styling, yet still making it a better car in almost every way.

Here’s a bit of trivia. What does RAV4 stands for? It actually stands for Recreational Activity Vehicle, Four-wheel drive. A misleading name, in a way, since four-wheel drive is an optional extra. Perhaps the front-wheel drive models should be called RAV2? In any case, it’s still somewhat fitting when you consider that the RAV4 pretty much founded the screamingly popular crossover segment ages ago.

The compact SUV, or crossover, has become one of the most popular car segments in the automotive industry. At the forefront of this segment, and one of the sales leaders, is the Honda CR-V. Introduced in 1997, the CR-V has earned a stellar reputation for practicality, efficiency, and probably above all, near bulletproof reliability.

Let’s get this out of the way right off the top. Nissan’s new-to-Canada Micra has a base MSRP of $9,998, and don’t let that deceivingly low price fool you. It is simply impossible to drive off a dealer lot in a brand new, four figure-priced car. Once you’ve added in all the necessary fees and taxes, you’ll be leaving the dealership in a hatchback priced at no less than 13 grand. And even if it can be had for that price, how many people are willing to go for a car with windup windows, manual door locks, no air conditioning, and a row-your-own manual gearbox?

It has practically become an automotive cliché to say that Volvo’s have been synonymous with boxy looks and safety, but for as long as I can remember, that’s what they’ve been. Today though, boxy looks have gone the way of the dodo bird. And if you take a close look at the IIHS top safety picks, you’ll know that the highest rated cars in terms of passive safety are not just Volvo’s, but Subaru’s and Chevy’s too. So what then defines Volvo in the modern era?

When the latest Versa Sedan burst onto the scene, it wasn’t exactly met with a warm reception from the automotive press. In a way, it’s not hard to see why. It seems that Nissan’s designers were too focused on rear seat space and rock-bottom pricing to give the Versa Sedan any sense of style. It is an utterly tragic looking thing, which is especially sad when you consider that the only reason the Versa Sedan is even offered is because North Americans generally prefer the “look” of a sedan over a hatchback. So much for looks.

The outgoing Mazda6 hasn’t exactly been the go-to choice when shopping for a midsized sedan. The problem, I thought, was that it was too much of a “me too” car, and as a result, it didn’t really have any outstanding qualities that would justify choosing it over, say, the well-established Accord, Camry, or Altima. Well, fortunately, things have changed, and the completely new 2014 Mazda6 is giving you several reasons why we should start thinking differently.

What I really liked about this vehicle is how much you can fit in the trunk (ie: a full week of groceries or two full overnight bags) and the additional room behind each seat to place my purse as well as the blind-spot monitoring side mirrors that allows you to see when a car is near – it literally eliminates any blind-spots!

Fortunately, the G37 had been replaced by the Q50, and immediately, it looks to be a more serious effort. It has a handsome look that makes the G37 look bland and somewhat anonymous. It has a headline-grabbing electric steering system, Direct Adaptive Steering, which will one day see use in autonomous driving cars. And it can be optioned with enough electronic safety aids to make you think that it can already drive itself.

The first thing that you need to know about the IS350 F Sport is that it’s not a Lexus in the traditional sense. Lexus has always been a luxury brand with a strong focus on quality, reliability, and yes, dullness. That last point is where the new IS350 F Sport breaks the trend.

Compared with the contemporaries, the BMW will be anything but cheap to own over the long-haul. But there’s a price to be paid when you’re the class standard by which all premium sport sedans are judged. In terms of refinement, balance, and engineering, the 3-Series is a pure masterpiece.