Range is where the Rav4 EV clearly has an advantage—thanks to that same set of batteries that take so long to juice up. The EPA rates it at 92 miles of combined highway and city driving when charged in Standard mode and 113 miles on Extended. In testing, Toyota engineers saw range go as high as...
The Jaguar XKS-R represents a kind of supercar that is, at once, both strange to conceive and utterly approachable. That is has legitimate supercar credentials is undeniable: massively fast, quick off the line, spectacular handling both on a track and on the road, gut-churningly beautiful to...
We gazed upon the Cadillac ATS in person, with the words “It’s gorgeous” on the tip of our tongue. It looks quite a lot like the macho CTS sedan, only smaller, and with an overall image that feels simply more elegant.
We enjoyed our rather short drive experience in the big Volvo, though far more when we were crushing highway miles than on the few occasions that we dove into the smaller, curvier Utah roads. That’s not because the S80 felt unstable, or lacked for grip on tight corners, but rather because the...
For 2013, though, the Elantra Touring has been replaced by this, the Elantra GT. Right off the bat, though, we were skeptical of this new body style. While the old Touring was a dedicated wagon, the Elantra GT is technically a five-door hatch, and it loses cargo volume accordingly. It’s down...
From our perspective, the new S60 configuration offers nearly everything that we loved about the original car, but without some of the power that was frankly, a little superfluous. Of course there’s nothing wrong with “extra” horsepower, but the S60 T6 always struck us as a vehicle whose engine...
On one hand the Grand Cherokee offers plenty of utility to back up its SUV credentials. It is a deceptively big vehicle (larger than it looks in photographs) that provides generous space for five full-size adults, plus a capacious cargo area. Some manufacturers would probably try to make an SUV...
The dynamic performance of the Elantra Coupe never really came together. The steering, while decently weighted, lacked a real sense of feedback. Although things felt okay on-center, it was difficult to garner feedback through the steering wheel in the bends. To be frank, we found ourselves...
With the extra power on tap, we found the Turbo to be very forgiving. Shifting too soon and landing too low in the revs was not a huge problem. Just lay into the accelerator, and the forced induction makes up for any errors. Yes, we were surely slower when we did that, but the engine didn’t feel...
Already a strong force in the enthusiast-car space, Subaru believes that it has just the thing with its new XV Crosstrek. Built up on the all-new five-door Impreza, a car that we quite like, the Crosstrek promises the utility of a small, five-door wagon, genuine off-road capability, respectable...
Besides styling, one other area where the Allroad might be different from its crossover peers is in driving dynamics. While we are fans of the 2.0T engine, there is no denying that it shows its stuff best when pulling a relatively light vehicle like the A4. Since the Allroad weighs about...
A whiff of sophistication and elegance seems evident from the first tall step one takes into the LR4 cabin. Materials feel of a high quality if not overtly rich—there are certainly plastics in evidence, though few enough and nice enough that we don’t mind them. Controls are laid out in a...
This particular Corvette proved to be a fascinating piece for review, not because we have any lack of experience with the current generation of the near-supercar, but because of the configuration. The Grand Sport is in the middle of the Corvette range (some might say “sweet spot”), with a...
The basic question with a new car like this really is something along the lines of “what is it?” Because the brand is new and the technology is new and the platform is new, consumers don’t have a basis for setting their expectations. You might not think that is a problem, but in our observation...
The Fit EV retains many of the gasoline-powered Fit’s redeeming qualities, while creating a niche and a personality all its own. Driven by a 92-kilowatt AC electric motor and supported by a 20-kWh lithium-ion battery, the EV has an EPA-certified unadjusted range of 132 miles in the city, and an...
We really can’t overstate how well Lexus did tuning this suspension. While we could feel, and to a lesser extent hear, the impacts, potholes, and imperfections, only the largest ones made it through to the cabin. We weren’t jostled or tossed about, though. Vertical motion was well controlled...
All of those German cars are pretty great to drive, ride in, and look at, so we knew going into our time with the all-new BMW 640i Gran Coupe that the bar set was a high one indeed. Of course, knowing the track record of BMW, it’s no real surprise that the Gran Coupe lived up to the standard set...
In retrospect, though, driving this M6 Convertible at less than eye-bleeding pace for the first part of the morning (eventually we got out of effective range for the local police) was a great idea.
The open-top TR6 was fairly blissful to pilot over a 20-minute jaunt. Sure, the fact that your author’s head protruded over the delicate windscreen frame by a good three inches wasn’t ideal (though his hair looked really rockabilly upon return), but the summary feeling of our driving impressions...