Want a built-in vacuum for your car? Honda’s Odyssey has one, along with loads of other practical, convenient and luxurious features, at least when it’s loaded up in top-line Touring trim. That’s…

2016 Honda Odyssey Touring Road Test Review

If you want to know which minivan BMW owners turn to when they need more practicality than anything offered by the performance-oriented luxury brand, look no further than the Honda Odyssey. It's not necessarily the most premium-like when it comes to interior refinements and features, but its ride and handling characteristics feel more Teutonic than traditional Japanese, and understated yet elegant styling looks good while not standing out too much in a crowd.

After all, nobody really wants to be seen while driving a minivan, do they? That may be common thought based upon the segment's anti-status stigma, but it really comes down to one's own personal struggle with ego. Thanks to a little therapy and a lot of self-help I couldn't give a rat's ass what anyone else thinks, so I'm perfectly comfortable behind the wheel of anything with two, three, four or even six wheels, let alone tracks. Hmmm… now we're onto something, a go-anywhere minivan with tank-like tracks. As cool Read Full Story
The stylish new GMC Canyon is now available with the SLE Crew Cab Nightfall Edition, complete with black paint, a body-colour grille, special 18-inch rims, chrome exhaust tips, remote start, a rear window…

2016 GMC Canyon SLE Crew Cab 4WD Nightfall Edition Road Test Review

Do you think kids still debate over which two GM pickup trucks look better? Chevy or GMC? I was a city kid too, but I spent many a weekend and much of each summer enjoying the great outdoors, and when discussing with my friends at school or brother at home I always chose GMC over the bowtie brand, not that there was much else different about the two models. The same applies today, with my personal preference and GMC, although now there are two pickup truck nameplates within each brand.

Back in the '70s only Chevy offered a compact pickup dubbed Luv, which was cute but nothing a real truck fan could get excited about. The Chevy S-10 and GMC Sonoma that arrived in 1982 were quite a bit stronger and tougher looking albeit still compacts, whereas the larger and much more attractive first-generation Colorado and Canyon pickups didn't come along until 2004. After an extremely long initial lifecycle, briefly interrupted by a two-year hiatus between 2012 and 2014, the Colorado and Canyon Read Full Story
Want to have your cake and get to eat it too? The new Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid delivers 202-hp of go-fast fun, Ultimate luxury, and amazing fuel economy rated at the metric equivalent of 2.2 L/100km…

2016 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid Ultimate Road Test Review

Guess how many automotive brands offer a plug-in hybrid or PHEV in Canada? If you came up with 10, you're right. Of these, only five are mainstream volume brands, the others pricier premium marques. Now, of the five more affordable brands remaining, take a stab at how many offer two or more PHEVs? The number is just one, but later this year that number will double when Hyundai's new Ioniq arrives, in regular hybrid, pure electric and plug-in hybrid configurations. Until then, Hyundai will be glad to show you its Sonata Plug-in Hybrid.

Yes, it's hard to believe, but hybrid-forerunner Honda isn't on that PHEV list above, the five including Chevrolet, Ford, Kia, Toyota, and of course Hyundai, whereas the only mainstream brand currently offering more than one PHEV is Ford. The premium brands that purvey at least one PHEV include Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, and yes it's also amazing that luxury hybrid initiator Lexus isn't on that list. Astute readers will also Read Full Story
Everyone knows the Honda CR-V is a good compact crossover, because it sells way to well to be bad at anything, but we bet you didn’t know how luxurious its top-line Touring trim can be. Our tester came…

2016 Honda CR-V AWD Touring Road Test Review

There's a CR-V around almost every corner. Whether one of the latest fourth-generation models that are starting to become most plentiful, or the near omnipresent third-gen version, the still stalwart second-generation model, or the first of its kind that I see everyday parked in my neighbours driveway, the CR-V has been one of Honda's greatest success stories since 1995. As if it was a family pet, some owners would never even consider giving their trustworthy motorized companion up, like that neighbour who's had his since new and drives it nearly every day, while others want to be first to move up to the next generation or most recent mid-cycle update.

I'm sure Honda loves both types of customers, because the first type help to tell great stories about the CR-V's enviable quality and all-round dependability, while the second type regularly fill the coffers, keeping everyone happy from those at the dealer level to the hundreds who build them at Honda's Alliston, Ontario assembly Read Full Story
Need lots of family space but bored of the usual crossover SUV or minivan? Ford has a totally unusual answer in its boxy Flex, boasting a custom tuned look with special Appearance package and top-tier…

2016 Ford Flex Limited Ecoboost AWD Road Test Review

Am I the only one who loves the Ford Flex? I know I'm not totally alone, because Ford sold a grand total of 1,789 in Canada last year and 414 during the first three months of 2016, so more than a few of us square blocks are looking for something unique and innovative while the majority of mainstream volume manufacturers are doing their best to squeeze us into their round holes. The Flex is no round hole, however, in fact it's a bit of square block itself.

Ford has long been one of Canada's most successful automakers, this luxury giving them some latitude to drive down the road less traveled, or in other words to be creative. Some recent examples include the unorthodox C-Max hybrid on the green side (which is filled with many more conventional HEVs and a PHEV too) and fabulous Fiesta ST, Focus ST, new Focus RS, Taurus SHO, plus of course the legendary Mustang in its various states of tune, and lest we not forget the new mid-engine GT supercar (name me another mainstream automaker Read Full Story
As if the 500 wasn’t retro enough, Fiat has created a special 1957 Edition to commemorate the car that inspired its design. Available in just 3 colours, it gets classic FIAT badges, extra chrome trim,…

2016 Fiat 500 1957 Edition Road Test Review

Want a good time? That seems like something you'd see etched into a public restroom stall door. The first time I ever saw something like that it was painfully close to the year this particular car references. Ok, I exaggerate, but it was nevertheless the '60s, when the original Fiat Cinquecento was most popular. This modern-day 500 1957 Edition actually pays tribute to the first year of Fiat Nuova sales; that would be the pre-Cinquecento (500-cc) model, even predating the 499-cc 16.5-horsepower Nuova era, when a 13 horsepower 479-cc version of Fiat's air-cooled, two-cylinder engine powered the same basic car.

That mostly-unchanged model sold a staggering 3,893,294 units from '57 through '75, which is reason enough for Europeans to have wrapped their hearts around it in similar fashion to the way most everyone adored the original VW Beetle, Mini, Citroën 2CV, Renault Dauphine and so many other post-war mass-volume cars (the Beetle was pre-war, but it became popular afterward). Read Full Story
For almost 30 years the Town & Country has been a cut above when it comes to minivans, and top-line 2016 Limited Platinum trim continues this heritage into the model’s final year. Yes, it’s to be…

2016 Chrysler Town

I feel like I'm writing a eulogy to an old friend rather than a car review, the 2016 Town & Country in its final season of availability after 27 years of playing second fiddle to the Dodge Grand Caravan in sales, yet concertmaster when it comes to upscale class and luxury. Still, while the name will disappear a Chrysler minivan replacement is already touring auto shows to rave reviews, the new Pacifica pulling its name from the Pentastar brand's luxury crossover past in order to bridge the gap between ever-popular mid-size sport utilities and the diehard family hauler with sliding side doors.

While I'm tempted to wax strong on the new Pacifica, because I really like what I see and was impressed when poking around inside at Chrysler's auto show stand, the outgoing Town & Country deserves my full attention out of respect alone. After all, few nameplates can lay claim to nearly 30 years of constant production, although it should be noted the previous Town & Country station Read Full Story
An all-new Toyota Prius is a monumental occasion as the world’s bestselling hybrid rarely gets completely revamped, so for 2016 its styling is edgier, performance better, fuel economy improved and feature…

2016 Toyota Prius Touring Road Test Review

Toyota's Prius has looked more or less the same since its second-generation was ushered in way back in 2003. Certainly Toyota updated it, with the third-gen model getting a revised nose and tail in 2009 and a mid-cycle refresh modifying the lower front fascia in 2011, but generally speaking its been the same wedge-like doorstop shape for 13 years, that is until now. Enter the 2016 Toyota Prius, a radical retake on the notice-me-I'm-driving-a-hybrid theme.

Compared to most other hybrids that merely integrate electrified powertrains within a popular model, like Toyota's own Camry Hybrid, the Prius has always been designed to stand out from the crowd, and to that effect the new version achieves its aim dramatically, as there's nothing even remotely like it on the road. It's a sharp looking car, quite literally, with more pointy angles around its multifaceted headlamps and lower front fascia than I care to count, this particular Touring trimmed version made even more expressive by Read Full Story