Zooming into the final year of its current design, the 2016 Hyundai Accent is still a formidable player in the subcompact field with sporty styling, a 138-hp four, six-speed manual and auto transmissions,…

2016 Hyundai Accent Hatchback GL Auto Road Test Review

Now in the fifth model year of its fourth generation, the 2016 Accent is deep within its product cycle with Hyundai planning a replacement sometime during the next calendar year. That's a good, healthy run for any car, yet sales of the subcompact model are hardly slowing.

Last year the Accent found 23,173 Canadian buyers for both its four-door sedan and hatchback body style, and despite its aging design 2014 was one of only six 12-month periods that saw the model spike over the 20k threshold since well before I first reviewed one in the fall of 2002. The Accent actually dates back to model year 1995, it being the replacement for the much-maligned Excel that was successor to the original Pony, the compact hatchback that started Hyundai off in our country back in 1984. That very year I was selling "competitive" Renault 5s and Alliances across the street from one of the first Hyundai stores to open in my area, and I quickly experienced my leads walk across the road and vanish, never Read Full Story
Few vehicles have had more success at launch than Mazda’s CX-3 mini-SUV, and in today’s review we tell you why it’s doing so well. Styling and refinement are two reasons, as are performance, fuel…

2016 Mazda CX-3 GT AWD Road Test Review

The subcompact crossover class is relatively new compared to larger compact, mid-size and full-size SUVs, and it's growing exponentially. This year alone four models have been added to a segment that still only holds nine competitors combined, although it's seen attrition too. Remember the wacky Nissan Cube?

I happened to like its ovoid second-gen styling, but I was obviously outnumbered by those who were either appalled or simply not interested and therefore the Cube died a quiet death a couple of years ago. Nissan's unorthodox Juke continues on, and is actually more of a true SUV than the taller wagon-like crossover as it offers optional all-wheel drive, which is why it's probably best to leave the funky Kia Soul and even more oddball Scion xB out of this conversation too.

This tiny segment isn't as niche as it used to be either, at least not for smaller brands. The CX-3 currently places third out of eight Mazda models in 2015 calendar year-to-date sales, whereas Read Full Story
LED headlights, ventilated seats, blind spot detection, lane change assist, rear cross traffic alert, lane departure and collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, proximity keyless entry, pushbutton…

2016 Hyundai Tucson 1.6T Limited AWD Road Test Review

As far as compact crossover SUVs go, the Tucson has always delivered excellent value, loads of features and decent driving dynamics, but for me at least, it's never been a looker, that is until now. All-new 2016 Hyundai Tucson? You had me at hello.

OK, it's an overused movie line, the inspiration of which comes from watching too many back-to-back episodes of USA Network's Suits (that drops a lot of classic movie lines), but I could definitely see Gabriel Macht's Harvey Specter emerging from the leather-lined back seat of this third-generation Tucson as he arrives at Pearson Specter Litt, his Manhattan law firm, or maybe that's pushing it. Harvey's more of an Equus kind of guy when he's not at the wheel of his Bentley Continental GT. Instead, let's say that Patrick J. Adams' Mike Ross and Meghan Markle's Rachel Zane wouldn't look out of place up front while heading out of town for a weekend getaway, but as is often the case I seriously digress.

I wasn't too far off the Read Full Story
It only took a year for the new Q3 to become the best-selling subcompact CUV in the premium class and now it gets a surprising mid-cycle refresh for 2016, featuring a new grille and front fascia, new…

2016 Audi Q3 2.0 TFSI Quattro Technik S Line Road Test Review

Europeans have been enjoying small luxury for decades, but the concept is relatively new for we North Americans. Our mindset has traditionally been "big is better," and while this is still reality for the most part, Audi's own full-size A8 luxury sedan still outclassing and certainly out-pricing the diminutive A3 four-door, there's a shift to small occurring in the premium sector that's likely here to stay.

The Q3 is a prime example. Prior to its arrival here last year, Audi's only "compact" SUV model was the Q5. The larger crossover SUV was and still is classified as a compact as there's no segment between compact and mid-size, the latter served by Audi's seven-passenger Q7, but the Q3 more ideally falls into what we normally refer to the subcompact category along with the BMW X1, Buick Encore, Mercedes-Benz GLA, Mini Cooper Countryman and Range Rover Evoque (Mazda's new CX-3 deserves to be considered in this premium segment too as it's extremely good and packed with luxury), Read Full Story
If you want an excellent midsize family sedan without the negative stigma some of this segment’s sales leaders carry, consider the Mazda6. It has been given a refresh for 2016, with subtle changes to…

2016 Mazda6 GT Road Test Review

You could be forgiven for not noticing that the 2016 Mazda6 has been given a mid-cycle refresh, as updates to its exterior styling are quite subtle. In my opinion this is a good thing, however, as it's already a fabulous looking mid-size sedan and any radical changes for the sake of change might have undermined the original design.

As it is, Mazda has only modified its grille slightly by replacing the thicker topmost horizontal rung with two thinner slats, resulting in six uniform ribs from top to bottom. These are chromed on as-tested top-line GT trim, while all models get a thicker version of Mazda's trademark bright metal grille surround wrapping around its lower half before becoming even more pronounced as it blends into the newly redesigned headlamps, these incorporating full LED illumination in GT trim. Last but hardly least, GT models get stylish chromed eyelids overtop the fog lamps, which are upgraded to LEDs with the GT. While all of this is good, if you only caught Read Full Story
Are you aware that a gorgeous Audi A5 can be had for less than $45k? For that you get a timeless design, fuel-efficient yet powerful 220-hp turbo-4 engine, 8-speed automatic, Quattro AWD, 18-inch alloys,…

2015 Audi A5 Coupe 2.0 TFSI Quattro Progressiv S Line Road Test Review

Let's face it. Some cars are simply better than others. Take Audi's A5. From styling to engineering it was a winner from day one, and nearly nine years later it's still a beautiful luxury coupe that sells more than five times better than it did when new.

Crazy, huh? After only 35 units left Audi Canada showrooms in 2007, the A5's first full year of sales only resulted in 400 deliveries across the country. I don't know why 2008 was such a dud. Maybe it was an allocation issue or possibly it took a bit of time to get sales traction, but I'd find that latter hard to believe. Just look at it. I could call Audi's PR department to find out the "real" reason and while I'm sure I'd get an answer, I'd likely end up being fed some slick marketing spin, yet that would hardly matter anyway. The hard numbers show that sales picked up quickly, 2009 ending in 1,520 A5s out Audi Canada's collective dealership door, 2010 resulting in 2,309 deliveries, 2013 being the first full year after its Read Full Story
Thinking about an AMG-branded SUV? Give it a chance and BMW’s X5 M might have you reconsidering. Boasting a 575-hp bi-turbo V8 with 553 lb-ft of twist and an 8-speed auto with paddles it shoots to 100km/h…

2015 BMW X5 M Road Test Review

I certainly didn't expect this. I became a diehard M fan at first sight of the original M1 in my dad's Popular Mechanics magazine, which was long before my first stint at the wheel of a '94 Euro-spec E36 M3, followed up by a drive in a second-gen '95 M5 and many more recent M experiences since, but there's no way you could've told me a month ago that my new favourite M-badged BMW would be an SUV.

It's a clear sign that I'm aging and prioritizing what matters most under the luxury and refinement categories rather than all-out performance, but while this X5 M is endowed with what is by far the most enticing BMW interior I've experienced yet, let alone one of the best quality and most stylish SUV cabins ever created, the X5 M is also a mighty skilled performer when called to task. It looks pretty damn good too.

From its blacked out grille inserts to its bolder more aggressive lower fascia, stylish twinned five-spoke alloys on optional 285/35ZR21 front and 325/30ZR21 Michelin Read Full Story
Summer might be waning in some parts of Canada, but this can be the best time to buy a convertible. And with a premium branded compact drop-top starting at just over $40k, what are you waiting for? Meet…

2016 Audi A3 2.0 TFSI Cabriolet Progressiv Road Test Review

Audi hasn't had a sedan-based convertible in its lineup since the advent of the A5 Cabriolet in 2009, at least not in name, so the A3 marks a return to a formula that won a lot of fans over to the four-ringed brand during the A4 Cabriolet years.

The A3 Cabriolet is significantly smaller than any A4 Cab, a car that was already shorter than the A5, so it literally opens Audi up to a new market segment not available to the Ingolstadt brand prior to the new model's introduction last year. Previously, these buyers looked to BMW's old 1 Series Cabriolet or Volkswagen's Eos and others in the mainstream volume sector, but ask any in this latter crowd if they'd rather drive an Audi for the same price and you'll get a vigorous nod.

The A3 Cabriolet can actually be had for a bit less than the current Eos, at $42,600 compared to $42,990, but to be fair VW's four-seat convertible gets a retractable hardtop and is only available in one fully-featured Wolfsburg edition for 2015, plus Read Full Story