The Honda HR-V is one of your many choices in a small crossover. Like all of those, it has some strengths, weaknesses, features, and functions that could make it the right choice for you. But it depends on what you’re after. Your writer found the HR-V to be a very willing and eager driving...
It’s about time. Just over 20 years since the first Honda Insight arrived on US shores—beating the Toyota Prius to US market by a year—the company has launched a hybrid version of its popular CR-V crossover. And it couldn’t have come a moment sooner. The Prius, not the Insight,...
While success is never guaranteed in the car industry, launching an SUV in North America these days comes pretty darn close. At the risk of oversimplification, a carmaker needs only roll the thing out and then sit back and watch buyers flock to dealerships to hand over their money. I realize...
Manufacturers of trucks are wising up. They seemed to have figured out that not everyone needs (or wants) an enormous Ramerado Latinum Carbon Lithium Edition pickup truck the size of three football fields. It is not uncommon for a truck buyer to want something with a rugged appearance. The bed,...
Sometimes I feel like GM’s truck and SUVs merely exist in the background. Just like ordinary scenery that you zoom past. Sure, you see a lot of GMCs on the road, but most seem like workhorses consigned to schlep tools and equipment around for landscapers and plumbers. There’s nothing wrong...
There’s no getting around it: the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is a calculated business move. And there’s nothing wrong with that. VW has seen the tide-change that’s sweeping across both America and Canada. The majority of its sales in the US last year weren’t from...
I well remember being in a massive throng of car journalists on media preview day at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2013 for the reveal of the seventh generation (C7) Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. A next-generation reveal for an icon like the ‘Vette is a big deal, and it was the talk of the...
There’s a bit-part character in Mad Men whose portfolio is filled with “the cure for the common X” taglines. If Danny Siegel got any amount of seat time with the 2020 Volvo XC90 he’d almost surely call it the cure for the common SUV. And he wouldn’t be wrong. The...
Family sedans aren’t the biggest draw to showrooms these days, with crossovers and SUVs taking centre stage and providing most of the profits. Still, a few customers in the outfield (*raises hand*) prefer a four door car for their daily tasks. The stalwart Toyota Camry has been around for...
Like the Cheshire Cat slowly vanishing from the Queen of Hearts’ croquet field, the mid-size four-door sedan is disappearing from this country’s automotive marketplace. Two of the Detroit Three are busily pulling the plug on Fusion and Impala. And the Charger and 300 soldier on with...
The latest A-Class is proof that following the crowd has its advantages. That’s precisely what Mercedes-Benz did when it dropped the original A-Class’ “sandwich bar” platform. This design debuted with the first-generation model in 1997 as a safety feature, directing the...
The Volkswagen Passat is one of those cars that make a critic feel spoiled. There is nothing loudly, annoyingly, nor dangerously wrong with it. And yet, it doesn’t really do enough to earn a really glowingly positive review. And I think I’ve identified exactly what I want from it: I want it to...
There was a time when nobody could out-weird Subaru. It was long the go-to brand for granola types seeking a rig with power always going to all four wheels. In fact, if you wanted an all-wheel-drive coupe with bizarre windows or a station wagon with most of its roof lopped off, Subaru was the only...
The Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage are two popular choices in the compact crossover segment, and for good reason: they share a lot in common. Hyundai and Kia both own portions of each other, and it’s lead to the two working together on much of their lineups. The Tucson and Sportage are one...
How do you increase the reach of America’s best-selling non-pickup? If you’re Toyota, you add a whiff of off-roading ability, embodied here in the RAV4 TRD Off-Road, new for 2020. Don’t let the mountain-scaling, river-fording fantasy take hold too quickly now. This isn’t...
