Have you outgrown your hatchback or compact SUV? Considering something a lot more practical yet still stylish? Toyota wants you to consider a minivan, and it’s sharp looking Sienna might be just what…

2015 Toyota Sienna LE AWD Road Test Review

One of the best-looking minivans available, especially in sporty SE trim, Toyota found street cred with its third-generation 2011 Sienna when introduced in 2010. Now, four years later, it gets a mid-cycle upgrade for the 2015 model year.

The old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it" certainly applies to the Japanese brand's refreshed minivan, at least on the outside. Exterior styling enhancements are limited to a new headlamp cluster design, optionally infused with a thin strip of de rigueur LED running lights, as well as fashionably late mirror housing-integrated turn signals on top-tier trims, and newly designed taillight lenses.

My tester only featured two of the above, being a just-above-base LE AWD model. Nevertheless it's a pretty classy looking ride as far as minivans go, with a body-colour grille featuring thick chrome trim around its lower half, plus clean lower bumper design with black caps where fog lights would otherwise go if so equipped. These would look Read Full Story
Need a cargo or large passenger van for your business? After decades of full-size E-Series/Econoline van dominance Ford now has a European answer to your problem, the all-new 2015 Transit. Today on CarCostCanada,…

2015 Ford Transit 250 Diesel Cargo Van Road Test Review

There could only be a couple of possible reasons you're reading this review: 1) you love reading about any and all things automotive, or 2) you're a small business owner/operator or medium to large company's fleet manager and in the market for a new panel van(s). If you're in the former camp, please read on and enjoy. Those in the latter lot will want to pay closer attention as the new Ford Transit truly has a lot to offer.

Transit is a new name in North America, but not so in over 110 markets on six continents, some of which have been selling it since 1965. The Econoline/E-Series has been on the market since 1961, having enjoyed best-selling segment sales for the majority of its tenure. Why discontinue a bestseller? Like many blue-oval branded models we've been getting lately, from the Fiesta and Euro-sourced Focus to the C-Max and smaller Transit Connect, the new full-size Transit is now in our market because of the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker's "One Ford" product plan Read Full Story
When the X6 originally debuted, few people knew what to think of it and many industry pundits responded with witty jests about BMW answering a question nobody was asking. The Bavarian automaker has certainly…

2015 BMW X6 xDrive50i Road Test Review

BMW fills more luxury and performance niches than any other automaker, which is no doubt a costly undertaking yet certifies the brand fulfills the individual desires and requirements of each and every client.

Case in point is the unorthodox X6. Totally revised for 2015, with new styling that pulls cues from the recently updated X5, with a bolder front fascia featuring BMW's new signature headlight treatment that butts up against the outer portions of its revised twin kidney grille, more muscular flanks and a rounder rear end sporting more complicated LED taillights, while classy dark brushed aluminum trim gets added to the grille, front-centre "skid plate", brake vents, side-panel engine vents, mirror caps, liftgate lip and lower rear valance, contrasting nicely against my tester's Alpine White paint. The look is fresh and even more aggressive than the original design, not to mention totally unique within its own Sports Activity Coupé segment.

Acura attempted Read Full Story
Downtown Toronto condo or 2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II? Sure that’s a small condo, but nevertheless the $413k needed to acquire today’s subject car could otherwise be put towards a prime investment…

2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II Road Test Review

As far as four-door luxury sedans go, nothing shows you've arrived as adequately as a Rolls-Royce.

Mercedes-Benz is well respected as a premium brand and its new Mercedes-Maybach S 600 a thoroughly impressive luxury car, but it loses out on cachet points due to three-pointed star siblings selling in the $30k range, these vying for the spotlight with Audi, BMW, Jaguar and even premium Japanese brands, whereas Rolls-Royce only has Bentley as a true ultra-premium competitor, and due to the greater portion of last century spent as the lesser brand under parent Rolls-Royce, Bentley has long been deemed the poor man's Rolls in the same fashion as a Tudor wristwatch is the poor man's Rolex. This, along with the fact there are much fewer Rolls-Royce models on the road than Bentleys makes the Goodwood, Sussex-based British marque much more prestigious than anything made in Crewe, or for that matter Volkswagen's Dresden, Germany factory where the Flying Spur is produced alongside the VW Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada, automotive journalist Trevor Hofmann reviews the 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport in mid-grade 2.0T Premium AWD trim. This smallish mid-size crossover SUV is a strong seller because…

2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T Premium AWD Road Test Review

There's no better looking crossover SUV on the market than Hyundai's Santa Fe Sport. With its striking three-slat chromed grille, stylish multi-angled combination headlamps, edgy integrated fog lights, cool aluminum-look front and rear protector-plate bumper inserts, rugged lower body cladding, gracefully upswept greenhouse, sporty rooftop spoiler and gorgeous taillights, it set a styling benchmark when this latest third-generation model debuted in the summer of 2012 as a 2013 model.

Now, three years into its current lifecycle the Santa Fe still looks fresh and cutting-edge. This no doubt aids sales that have seen regular growth since the new model was introduced, 2014's 27,580 unit tally besting all but one previous years' total and making the crossover SUV one of the best-selling models in its class.

Figuring out exactly which segment the Santa Fe Sport fits into is another question. Hyundai's Tucson fills the compact category nicely while the extended-wheelbase Santa Read Full Story
With the 2015 Infiniti Q70L 5.6 AWD, Infiniti has come up with an inventive way to attract the full-size sedan buyers it’s been missing out on since the demise of its 2006 Q45 flagship. Now longer than…

2015 Infiniti Q70L 5.6 AWD Road Test Review

In the automotive sector, attaching an "L" to a luxury sedan's backside normally designates a long-wheelbase version, and fortunately in this particular model naming process Infiniti isn't at all confusing. The new Q70L 5.6 AWD is a longer version of the mid-size Q70 four-door, the 150-mm (5.9-inch) stretch not only making the rear quarters more spacious but also adding stateliness to the car's overall design.

The longer model's grandeur is appropriate for its role as a flagship luxury car, as is its liberal use of chrome. A thick rim of brightwork surrounding the big double-arch black mesh grille initially catches the eye, while another strip bends around the bottom portion of the lower grille whereas significantly more chrome artfully enhances the fog lamps, albeit these details are identical to the regular wheelbase Q70. Likewise for the gorgeous LED headlamps featuring LED "eyebrows" overtop what looks like a spiral of LEDs circling the main bulbs. The chrome window surrounds Read Full Story
We know you want it. Even those with fat wallets have a soft spot for the legendary GTI, and it truly deserves everyone’s respect. Make sure to read today’s review of the all-new 2015 Golf GTI 5-Door…

2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI 5-Door Autobahn Road Test Review

If you're a hot hatch fan, Volkswagen's Golf GTI likely owns a bit of your heart. You may have sidestepped to a different brand that's wooed you with more power or fancier features, but respect must be paid to the pocket rocket that started them all.

I won't bore you with GTI history as more than enough has been said about every generation that's come along over the model's 39-year tenure. Suffice to say the car is now legend.

With the totally redesigned seventh-generation 2015 Golf GTI, Volkswagen hasn't deviated one iota from the classic shape, which should be a relief to traditionalists although none would have bet on Wolfsburg changing it up too much. The car's comfortable upright driving position, roomy interior and stubby good looks have won admirers for almost four decades, so steady progressive evolution it is. This said I think most will be pleased with what VW has done.

First off it's longer, wider, lower and lighter than the GTI that came before, Read Full Story