A two-box economy car with a heated steering wheel? Heated and ventilated front seats? Heated rear seats? Leather upholstery? Automatic climate control? Big time infotainment screen with navigation? A…

2014 Kia Soul SX Luxury Road Test Review

When I first started in the automotive journalism profession 15 years ago, Kia was a brand relegated to fulfilling needs, not wants. Certainly a new car was and still is considered better than a used one, depending on which car that is of course, but in the brand status pecking order Kia only rose above the very bottom because its South Korean rival, Daewoo, already occupied that spot.

How much has changed in 15 years. Daewoo is history in North America, a memory long since absorbed into the massive General Motors' conglomerate, and Kia, now part of Hyundai Motors Corp., is one of the most aspirational brands in the entire mainstream and even near-luxury sectors. Somewhere between the entry-level Rio and top-line K900 is the Soul, a unique five-door wagon-cum-crossover that truly defies description. When it debuted it wasn't without a similarly oddball caste of cubist competitors, such as the Honda Element, Nissan Cube and Scion xB, and while not the sole survivor in its class Read Full Story
Sports cars don’t come any prettier than the new Jaguar F-Type, and few can compete side by side with the agile new cat from Coventry either. Check out auto journalist Trevor Hofmann’s review of the…

2014 Jaguar F-Type S Convertible Road Test Review

If you really want a premium sports car, there's not much to choose from that truly competes with Porsche's legendary 911. That's why there are so many of them around. It delivers solid, reliable performance for a fairly approachable price point, at least in its most basic trims. Certainly other luxury brands have shot back with sports cars of their own, but the majority are priced substantially higher or don't measure up to the 911's performance and are therefore ruled out of the argument. That is, until Jaguar showed up with its new F-Type.

To say that the British brand has new life since being sold off by Ford's Premium Auto Group division is an understatement. Try a new heartbeat, sourced from all the capital infused by its new Indian-based Tata Motors owners, the same group that injected much-needed funds into Land Rover and simultaneously turned it back into the must-have luxury brand for those fortunate enough to acquire one of its namesake models or top-tier Range Rover Read Full Story
Did you know that a Jeep was quite possibly the first vehicle ever successfully driven in the Antarctic? Check out Trevor Hofmann’s interesting review of the four-door Jeep Cherokee Wrangler Unlimited…

2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Polar Edition Road Test Review

There are retro cars, like the last two generations of Volkswagen Beetle and current Fiat 500, which are inspired by classic out of production models from eons past, and then there are modern-day classics like the Porsche 911, Mercedes-Benz G-Class and Jeep Wrangler that have soldiered on decade after decade with only minor evolutionary changes. One is not necessarily better than the other, but the latter has a certain cachet with purists.

True Wrangler fans are purists for sure, because there's little else as fundamentally simple yet as singly capable on today's roads as this elementally purposeful off-roader. Sure it's a rolling icon that many image conscious, outdoorsy-looking guys and gals want to be seen in on a sunny day, top down, tunes blaring, cruising along a popular city street, some of which will never take their bushwhacking-capable mechanical companion on anything rougher than a gravel parking lot, but those experienced in charting their own paths where roads less Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada, auto journalist and accomplished race driver Alan Sidorov reviews the fabulous new BMW M6 Gran Coupe. Taking to winding backcountry roads in slippery conditions without traction…

2015 BMW M6 Gran Coupe Road Test Review

It was almost springtime when I picked up my latest BMW test car, the M6 Gran Coupé. The German manufacturer is one of the few companies that equip its West Coast fleet with winter tires, so the vehicles are legal on mountain roads during that season. However, the M6 is rear-wheel drive only, and 550 horsepower, so I wanted to drive it at a time when at least some of the power could be put to the ground.

There is no logical reason to need a vehicle like this in North America; rear-wheel drive super sedans are a niche market. The $127,000 starting price tends to limit potential purchasers as well. Needs and want are very different things, and a few days with the M6 Gran Coupé are sure to bring up the want factor in those who appreciate the vehicle's dynamics and potential.

The M6 is a four-door coupe, built on an M5 chassis. Styling is subtle yet athletic. It is the sort of vehicle that causes people to do a double take, recognizing they are looking at Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada, auto journalist Trevor Hofmann reviews the popular Chevrolet Cruze with its powerful yet thrifty new 2.0TD clean turbo diesel engine. Adding much stronger performance while making…

2014 Chevrolet Cruze 2.0TD Clean Turbo Diesel Road Test Review

The Chevrolet Cruze is a true global car. Drive around Metro Manila, Philippines like I spent a month doing recently and you'll see for yourself, although the majority of examples there run on diesel fuel. The highly efficient model is dubbed Cruze CRDi in the island nation, and in case you haven't already heard is also available here as the Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel or 2.0TD.

I spent a week test driving the new 2.0TD and found it as impressive as all the other Cruze models I'd previously driven, with the added bonus of much better acceleration and, of course, much improved fuel economy, the real reason people pay a little more for diesel power. The engine, a 2.0-litre four-cylinder, makes 151 horsepower and 264 lb-ft of torque (280 with overboost), and being that torque is what primarily gets a car moving the 2.0TD will likely put a smile on your face. It's mated up to a smooth-shifting and efficient six-speed automatic, which is about as good as it gets in the compact class, Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada, Trevor Hofmann reviews the GMC Terrain in top-line Denali V6 AWD trim. Boasting a lot of luxury features, superb power from its 3.6-litre V6 and loads of storage space, the Terrain…

2014 GMC Terrain Denali V6 AWD Road Test Review

Fifteen years ago GMC had a good idea. Create a high-end near-luxury sub-brand within their SUV line for buyers who want a little more style and luxury. Hence, the Yukon Denali arrived in 1998, a near identical twin of the 1999 Cadillac Escalade and therefore somewhat unique from the regular GMC Yukon, which as most people know shared almost everything behind the grille and headlights with the Chevy Tahoe. The original Yukon Denali's grille, headlight assemblies, bumpers, fender flares and body cladding were different from the Yukon, while inside it featured high-grade Nuance leather upholstery, heated front and rear seats, a Bose audio system, and real Zebrano wood accents. In comparison, today's Denali and other GMC models that wear the Denali badge are merely top-line trim levels of mainstream trucks and SUVs. As for GMC's compact Terrain, which first showed its bold chrome-clad grille in late 2009 as a 2010 model, the Denali model introduced for 2013, makes even less of a visual statement Read Full Story
Talk about a knockout, the new Kia Forte5 is a great looking little compact hatchback, especially with top-level SX Luxury upgrades. A bona fide hot hatch with more than 200-horsepower under the hood,…

2014 Kia Forte5 SX Luxury Road Test Review

I read in December that Hyundai Motor Corp. and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. just hired Albert Biermann, now ex-chief engineer for BMW's M performance division, to develop the automaker's performance models and improve ride and handling overall. Now the South Korean dynamo won't only have one of the best designers in the industry making some of the best looking cars available, but Peter Schreyer's rolling sculpture will likely soon get the same wow factor when it comes to driving dynamics.

As for the Forte5, it's already a pretty impressive performer, especially in top-line SX Luxury trim. That's the way Kia suited up my tester, and whoa does it look fabulous. Put the Forte5 SX Luxury next to any of its hot hatch competitors and it'll pull its fair share of eyeballs. A deeply sculpted front fascia filled with multiple chrome and faux-carbon detailed grille openings plus a sweet set of chrome-rimmed LED 'halo-style' projection fogs immediately sets the tone, followed up with dazzlingly Read Full Story
Want a sporty family sedan with superb fuel economy? For 2015 Toyota once again dresses up its fuel-efficient Camry Hybrid in sporty SE duds, and Simon Hill gives it a good weeklong run to find out how…

2015 Toyota Camry Hybrid SE Road Test Review

Last year Toyota introduced a new model to the Camry Hybrid lineup, based on the sporty-minded Camry SE. Like with the rest of the Camry range, the Hybrid SE has been significantly restyled for 2015, with a big, bold new grille and all-new front fascia being the most prominent features. The changes don't stop there, however, and the rest of the bodywork has also been sculpted and refined to present a much more sophisticated overall look - only the roof remains unmodified, and you could be forgiven for mistaking this new Camry for a Lexus.

As in the past, the Hybrid SE shares various distinctive exterior pieces with the conventionally powered Camry SE, and for 2015 this means it has a dark mesh grille instead of a slatted grille, unique 17-inch alloy wheels, a rear spoiler, and a sport-tuned suspension. To my eye the SE models remain the best looking cars in the Camry range, although the difference is somewhat less pronounced with this latest styling update (past SE models got Read Full Story