$65k for a Jeep? It’s not just any Jeep, though. This super-SUV can take on the best from Mercedes AMG, Porsche and Range Rover as far as performance is concerned, and even measures up for luxury and…

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Road Test Review

Want a mid-size performance SUV that can run the wheels off of many of today's so-called sports cars? Step up to the premium brands and there's a wealth of pricy top-line offerings, from Land Rover's new $91,490 Range Rover Sport Supercharged to Mercedes' $104,400 ML 63 AMG, and of course Porsche's impressive $128,200 Cayenne Turbo. A brand that might not immediately come to mind, however, is made by the American brand that invented the sport utility class, Jeep and its shockingly capable yet comparably very affordable $64,895 Grand Cherokee SRT.

There's nothing that even comes close to the Grand Cherokee SRT's performance below its price point or for that matter between its mid-$60s MSRP and the Range Rover Sport Supercharged's stratospheric $90-plus range. So can the homegrown GC SRT actually run with these six-figure Europeans? Despite being the only one of these four under the 500-horsepower threshold, the 470-horse SRT will scoot to 100 km/h in a scant 4.9 seconds, which Read Full Story
Is Buick a real luxury brand capable of going up against BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus? Read automotive journalist Simon Hill’s review of the latest 2014 Regal Turbo AWD for insight into what makes this…

2014 Buick Regal Turbo AWD Road Test Review

Buick's good-looking and decidedly European-feeling fifth-generation Regal midsize sedan underwent a midlife refresh for 2014, coming away with more power for the turbo model, a whole range of available new safety technology, the latest in IntelliLink infotainment systems and, perhaps most importantly for Canadians, a newly-available Haldex all-wheel drive system.

Ironically, following this significant step forward, the 2015 model will see the Regal take a small step back, with the deletion of the chrome-trimmed body-coloured door handles, HD radio capability, and the useful left-hand side net in the trunk, and substitution of the four-way driver and passenger power lumbar adjustment with two-way adjustment, manual child security locks for power units, and Graphite Blue Metallic paint colour for Dark Sapphire Blue Metallic. Other than these updates, the recently refreshed Regal will carry into 2015 unchanged.

I test drove a 2014 Graphite Blue Metallic Regal Turbo with Read Full Story
While it looks like Scion’s newest 2015 FR-S is much the same as last year’s car, one drive will announce that much has changed under the skin. Read automotive journalist Trevor Hofmann’s review…

2015 Scion FR-S Road Test Review

OK, I admit that I was a bit worried when Scion first announced they were changing up the FR-S' suspension tuning for the 2015 model year. Why mess with perfection? The first two years of this Toyota subsidiary's flagship were nirvana for drift fans, or any performance car purist with the ability to hang a vehicle's tail out on a given corner while maintaining control. With some cars this is a recipe for disaster, but with the FR-S it's been business as usual since the model debuted in 2012 as a 2013 model, made even easier (and safer for drift novices) when the model's VSC Sport program is engaged. For 2015, getting tail happy won't be quite as simple.

I experienced this with an updated 2015 Scion FR-S I tested recently. The new model wouldn't let go as easily from its hind end, but it was markedly faster through the corners. The rear stays locked into position longer, and then when push comes to shove the front end lets go a little sooner, subtly understeering in a more traditional Read Full Story
Is there room above the top-line Lamborghini Aventador for another two-seat, mid-engine super coupe? Main rival Ferrari has proven there’s no limit to what a wealthy prancing horse fan will pay to have…

Lamborghini unveils 910-hp Asterion plug-in hybrid hyper car concept

Disappointed? It's difficult to feel let down after seeing the beautiful Asterion LPI 910-4 front to back, or for that matter inside, unless you look over your shoulder for rear seats that aren't there.

It's a true beauty. Like all Lamborghinis, the Asterion's cabin is luxuriously appointed with the finest of leathers, metals and, with respect to classics from the past, camel brown leather detailing that initially looks a lot like wood, while its exterior design returns some much welcome soft lines to the storied Italian company that most recently has been chiseling nothing but doorstop wedges with more hard cut angles than an F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.

The initial black and white profile teaser of the Asterion showed the smoother, softer lines we now see in full colour, along with a teaser message that simply stated, "Once perfection is achieved, you can just double it." This led to much speculation, with many pundits (including yours truly) suggesting that four Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada, automotive journalist Trevor Hofmann reviews the 2014 Mini Countryman in Cooper S ALL4 trim. Stylish, efficient, well featured and fun to drive, the Countryman is a CUV for folks…

2014 Mini Cooper S ALL4 Countryman Road Test Review

If you want to know what it's like to drive Mini's new Countryman crossover utility, contemplate this: Does your compact CUV have racing stripes?

Of course, racing stripes won't make a car go faster, but in today's market it takes a fair bit of gall to decal up your CUV's hood with classic Monte Carlo Rally-bred #177 livery if it won't go as well as it shows. As you might expect from Mini, the Countryman moves along quite nicely, especially in Cooper S ALL4 guise, as was the case for my very pretty True Blue Metallic tester.

Well, the colour was pretty; I wouldn't call the car pretty. It's more handsome, being that its big frowning grille looks a lot steelier than the brand's cute and playful car lineup. The bigger crossover's headlight clusters are larger and more ovoid than round, front spoiler deeper and more rugged looking, fenders a bit more muscular and made more attractive at their rearmost edge by a thick chrome engine vent/trim garnish slash, while at the very Read Full Story
Lighter, more powerful with gobs more torque, the BMW M3 is entirely new for 2015. Auto journalist Trevor Hofmann drives it and reports on it while photographer Karen Tuggay shoots it. Blisteringly fast…

2015 BMW M3 Road Test Review

No longer a series, the M3 is a lone four-door sedan for 2015, the coupe and convertible taking on the M4 designation like their non-M 4 Series brethren. For Bimmer purists, this is sacrilege. For performance enthusiasts who will just be glad a compact four-door variant is back in the M fold since its departure at the end of the 2011 model year, this is a moot point that matters about as much as whether 400-plus horsepower is made from a V8 or turbocharged six.

Well, that last point might matter a bit more. For 2015 BMW has taken its M3 and M4 models back to their classic straight-six configuration, no doubt satisfying many of those purists. The previous generation's 4.0-litre V8, while a sonorous jewel that so loved lofty revs, couldn't muster up anywhere near the torque of the M division's latest twin mono-scroll turbocharged monster. The numbers compare old to new as follows: 414 horsepower at 8,300 rpm to 425 at 5,500 rpm; 295 lb-ft of torque at 3,900 rpm to 406 at 1,850 Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada, Trevor Hofmann reports on the new TT Sportback Concept, just revealed at the Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris this week. The new prototype, looking extremely production-ready,…

Audi unveils edgy TT Sportback four-door coupe

With BMW having just introduced its 2015 4 Series Gran Coupe, it only makes sense that Audi would want to fight back with another four-door coupe of its own. After all, it was in the unique sport sedan segment before BMW was, having introduced its A7 Sportback two years before BMW showed up with its 6 Series Gran Coupe. Hence, the TT Sportback Concept just introduced at the Paris motor show: an even more compact four-door fastback based on Audi's iconic TT theme.

The oddity in this particular choice of underpinnings is the "potential TT family" that the new concept belongs to, so announced by Audi Board Member for Technical Development, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg.

"With the TT, Audi created one of the automotive design icons of the last 20 years," says Hackenberg. "In the years since, we have designed our sporty and elegant five‑door Audi A5 Sportback and Audi A7 Sportback. In our Audi TT Sportback concept show car, we are now fusing both concepts Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada, read Simon Hill’s review of the all-new 2015 Hyundai Sonata in top-tier Ultimate 2.0T trim. The new mid-size sedan sports a new top-line engine, but it’s less powerful than…

2015 Hyundai Sonata Ultimate 2.0T Road Test Review

Crossovers may seem to rule the roads these days, but sedans are still the bread and butter for many automakers. Hyundai's mid-size Sonata sedan accounts for over 25 percent of the Korean-based company's North American sales, with the compact Elantra selling an even greater share over the past couple of years. That means over half the company's sales here have four doors and a trunk, before you even count the subcompact Accent sedan, U.S.-only Azera, premium-level Genesis sedan, and top-tier Equus.

It therefore wouldn't have been be surprising if Hyundai had played it safe when redesigning its popular Sonata mid-size sedan. After all, when you're the current number-three seller in Canada, and are competing on a crowded playing field that includes the likes of the Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Chevrolet Malibu, Nissan Altima, Chrysler 200, Kia Optima and Volkswagen Passat, why take risks?

The answer, it seems, is that Hyundai isn't content to be number three Read Full Story