The Infiniti QX60 is a very popular luxury crossover SUV, and for good reason. Find out exactly why in this review by automotive journalist Trevor Hofmann. Its standard feature set will likely surprise…

2014 Infiniti QX60 AWD Road Test Review

Every brand has at least one go-to model that pulls more buyers in than any other, and Infiniti is fortunate enough to have two. Its biggest seller is the Q50 sport sedan, a highly competitive four-door that deserves its journalistic praise and ownership loyalty, but very close in the Q50's rearview mirror (with respect to sales numbers) is the big seven-passenger QX60 crossover SUV.

The QX60 isn't the lowest priced crossover in Infiniti's lineup, that honour belonging to the compact QX50, but it just might be the best executed CUV in the entire luxury segment, that when combined with its comparatively low price of entry and excellent fuel economy is too much of a good value proposition for many families to pass up.

In case I've got your curiosity piqued, the 2014 QX60 starts off at a very reasonable $43,000 plus $1,995 for freight and pre-delivery prep, and that model hardly shortchanges you on features. Rather, a sampling of the standard menu includes proximity sensing Read Full Story
In the market for a luxury hybrid? If so, Lexus has a lot to choose from, including the new 2014 Lexus ES 300h, a good looking four-door sedan that’s big on roominess, features and fuel economy, plus…

2014 Lexus ES 300h Road Test Review

It's hard to believe that 2014 is just the second model year for the hybrid version of Lexus' most popular mid-size ES luxury sedan. If there ever was a no-brainer in the auto industry this car is it.

For the ES model's first five generations ending in 2012, the Lexus ES shared underpinnings with the mainstream Toyota Camry, which has long offered a hybrid alternative. That Lexus didn't choose to adapt the Camry Hybrid's drivetrain for ES duty is something I have difficulty wrapping my mind around, as it would have been a prime candidate. It's odd then that the brand waited until last year to offer a hybrid variant when the sixth-generation ES moved up to share the new Avalon's platform architecture, but the ES 300h is a welcome addition just the same.

We don't get the Avalon Hybrid here in Canada, our market too small to warrant such a niche trim level for a model that already sells in relatively small numbers overall. It's a shame, as the Avalon is a superb entry-level Read Full Story
We covered the 2016 Kia Sorento earlier this month, but now the South Korean brand has released new photos of the larger, lower and longer crossover SUV and therefore we cover it again. Trevor Hofmann…

Kia releases photos of redesigned 2016 Sorento

Deep into the Kia Sorento's second generation (it's been so long since its 2009 launch, in fact, that the model's comprehensive 2012 mid-cycle upgrade has been considered its third-generation by some), the mid-size crossover SUV is scheduled for an update next year. The first sign of the 2016 Sorento in the metal will be a showcase in Korea later this month, after which it will debut at the Paris motor show on Thursday, October 2 as we reported earlier this month when the brand showed off some artistic renderings, but ahead of these events Kia has revealed the completely revamped model online.

As expected, the seven-seat family hauler gets Kia's new more upright trademark "tiger-nose" grille, complete with its unique three-dimensional diamond pattern mesh insert, bookended by a set of wide sweptback headlamp clusters that butt up against the chromed grille surround in a similar fashion to BMW's recently updated X5. A 15-millimetre lower roofline (1,685 mm) combines with 95 millimetres Read Full Story
Does your lifestyle fit the new 2015 Honda Fit? No doubt the Japanese company hopes so, and is giving a special bonus to those early Fit adaptors who purchase one between now and Halloween. Check out…

Honda Canada prices new 2015 Fit at $14,495

With the advent of the sub-$10k Nissan Micra ($9,998) and the nicely priced Mitsubishi Mirage ($12,498), you wouldn't be out of line to think that Honda might drop the price of its all-new subcompact Fit in order to make it more competitive, but the mainstream Japanese brand also knows its Fit has a strong, loyal following who are willing to pay more for the car's many attributes.

The Canadian price of the base 2015 Honda Fit DX will be set to $14,495 plus freight and pre-delivery prep when it debuts next month, and the Fit's many attributes continue to include the most flexibly utile interior in the entire subcompact segment, much thanks to a deep load floor (the gas tank is in the middle of the car, not the back) and the car's innovative Magic Seats. Honda claims best-in-class cargo with the rear seats laid flat.

For 2015 it will also be one of the sportiest models in the subcompact class thanks to a standard 130-horsepower 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, which Honda Read Full Story
After all these years does Toyota’s iconic Prius still measure up to the bevy of newer hybrids it’s up against? Read Trevor Hofmann’s review of the 2014 Prius to learn his opinion, and find out…

2014 Toyota Prius Road Test Review

Every year Toyota gives us a Prius to test, and every year I reach the same conclusion: the Prius is a great car.

Even the first-generation Prius was a good car, not just a good hybrid. Back in 2000, the four-door five-seat compact model's only HEV competitor was the even more compact first-gen two-seat Honda Insight, which wasn't even partially practical, couldn't go any faster than 60 km/h up a long hill after running out of electric juice (something I learned firsthand), and looked downright weird and wacky like some sort of Tokyo Drift-tuned Citroen DS21 (although nowhere near as cool as the pneumatically-suspended Parisian). It was thrifty on fuel but wasn't a good all-round car, and poor sales were the result. Ever since Honda has been playing hybrid catch-up, while the best-selling Prius has never looked back.

As you've probably heard, Prius continues to outsell every other type of hybrid combined, the model having now passed the three-millionth sold mark worldwide. Read Full Story
Why does BMW’s 7 Series remain so popular with premium luxury sedan buyers year in and year out? Read Trevor Hofmann’s road test review to get his take on the subject, after test driving one of the…

2014 BMW 750i xDrive Road Test Review

When I was young there were only three big luxury cars that caught my interest. OK, I just lied. During the annual auto show, always at my father's side, we ogled Bentley Ts, Rolls-Royce Silver Shadows, Maserati Quattroportes, and even Aston Martin Lagondas let alone Bitter SCs and other oddball offerings, but Cadillacs and Lincolns couldn't even turn our heads. No, we admired Jaguar styling, gave respect to Mercedes-Benz engineering, and longed to own a BMW 7 Series.

It seems that some things don't change a heck of a lot. Certainly Bentley and Rolls-Royce rule the upper echelons of the luxury four-door segment, but most don't have the $200,000-plus needed to partake. The rest of us scrubby unwashed proles need to "settle" for cars farther down the six-figure range, near where my 2014 BMW 750i registers in at $105,500, plus $2,095 for freight and pre-delivery prep. It's not the base model, the six-cylinder-powered long-wheelbase 740Li starting at just $99,800 plus freight, but Read Full Story
Cadillac has taken a slightly more conservative approach with its new 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe than it did with the radically rakish outgoing CTS Coupe, and only time will tell if the new model is more…

2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe Road Test Review

It's rare that I absolutely gush over an automobile. After all, as an automotive journalist I drive about 80 new vehicles every year. And yes, we're talking Porsches, BMWs, Benzes, Bentleys and Bugattis. So when the press folks at Cadillac offered up the all new 2015 ATS Coupe, my interest was piqued because I like the direction Caddy is moving in, but I was not ready for the superb effort that is the ATS Coupe.

The ATS is the baby of the Caddy lineup, with Big Daddy Escalade at the top of the heap, and XTS, ELR, SRX and CTS in the middle. The ATS can be considered in many ways a baby CTS, which in itself is a compliment. So imagine my angst when Cadillac announced that the scorching hot CTS Coupe, with its performance "V" variants would be eliminated from the lineup, replaced initially by the smaller ATS Coupe, with performance models to follow at some point in the future.

I immediately thought "Caddy is punking out. They want a cheaper coupe, and will somehow sacrifice Read Full Story
No one can argue against the engineering prowess of either Nissan or Mitsubishi. One makes a world-class supercar and the other a four-door rally car replica, both capable of dominating their pricier…

Mitsubishi and Nissan to build joint venture electric car

Let's face it, coming to market with a new plug-in electric vehicle hasn't proven to be a very sound business model. Certainly there's a lot of positive exposure for the brand, both Mitsubishi's i-MiEV and Nissan's Leaf helping to shed a greener light upon the two automakers, but from a dollars and sense profit scenario, it's a losing cause. Reason enough, it seems, for two of the very few mainstream electric vehicle producers to combine forces for an upcoming EV.

According to Japanese daily newspaper Nikkei, Nissan and Mitsubishi have formed a joint venture to produce a small, affordable EV that will come to market by 2016 or 2017. The publication cites 1.78 million yen as the target price, which is just a bit over $19,000 CAD.

This new alliance follows a similar team-up to develop and build the Dayz and Dayz Roox microcars in Japan, while reportedly there are other shared projects in the works as well.

According to the report, the two automakers will announce Read Full Story