What happens when you take a Q50 sport sedan and pump it full of twin-turbo V6 goodness, 7-speed paddle-shifted AWD action, 19-inch rims and luxury galore? You get a 400-hp bundle of fun that’ll sprint…

2016 Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 AWD Road Test Review

I've got good news and bad news. First the bad news: Infiniti has discontinued its multiple award-winning 328 horsepower naturally aspirated 3.7-litre V6 from its Q50 lineup and replaced it with a 208 horsepower 2.0-litre turbocharged four. Ouch!

But wait. Remember there's good news too. That four packs 258 lb-ft of peak torque from just 1,500 rpm and achieves 10.6 L/100km city and 8.4 highway compared to the old 3.7's 12.5 and 8.7 rating, while better yet a completely new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 strikes back in two states of trim, the first using less fuel than the outgoing model at 12.3 city and 8.5 highway while making a competitive 300 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque and the second only increasing highway mileage to 9.1 while dishing out 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, which when hooked up to my most recent Q50 tester was enough to get my heart racing faster than anything this side of an M, AMG, RS, F or V branded super sedan, Infiniti not yet playing in the ultra-performance Read Full Story
Ford Edge or Lincoln MKX? That’s a question buyers of these impressive 5-occupant CUVs will need to ask themselves and one discussed in today’s review of a top-line Edge Sport. Boasting a 2.7L Ecoboost…

2016 Ford Edge Sport Road Test Review

Here are some stats you probably don't know. Ford brand sales are so far ahead of the competition in Canada that even if each and every Smart, Scion, Mini, Mitsubishi and Chrysler sold last year were added to second-place Toyota's lofty 2015 calendar year tally the pseudo-conglomerate wouldn't measure up. Likewise, if you combined Toyota's total sales with Subaru, Kia, Volkswagen, Mazda, Jeep, GMC, or even all of Dodge brand sales Ford would still come out on top.

How does Ford do it? Their F-Series is consistently Canada's bestselling pickup truck and their lineup of crossover sport utilities is most popular too. The Escape dominates our compact category whereas the Edge and Explorer are both strong sellers in the five- and seven-passenger SUV segments respectively, while the wonderfully oddball Flex is actually the niche model that pushes Ford past its closest competitor for top spot amongst midsize SUVs.

So far this year I've reviewed that unorthodox Flex and the Read Full Story
The Micra changed everything when it hit Canadian roads under $10k a couple of years ago, even the fully suited SR auto trimmed model reviewed today barely breaking $17k. This car is well equipped with…

2016 Nissan Micra SR Road Test Review

[caption id="attachment_61694" align="alignright" width="200"] Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press[/caption] This may be the cheapest car in Canada but it certainly doesn't look like it, and it absolutely doesn't drive like it. The $9,988 Micra comes standard with style as well as a fun-loving attitude that sets it apart from compacts costing thousands more. I tested base S trim with its sole five-speed manual transmission last year and absolutely loved it, so this time around I was truly looking forward to spending a week in the top-line SR, but would it be as good with a four-speed automatic? [caption id="attachment_61695" align="alignleft" width="200"] Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press[/caption] In a word, no, but it's still plenty enjoyable. Fortunately Nissan doesn't "reward" Micra buyers who want more features by forcing a standard autobox into the mix like it does with the Versa Note, so you're free to increase your daily dose of good times while leaving a cool $1,000 Read Full Story
Entirely new for 2017, Audi’s longer yet lighter A4 has arrived and is better than ever. Stylish new duds make for the slipperiest aero in its class, while a new 252-hp 2.0L turbo four and standard…

2017 Audi A4 2.0 TFSI Quattro Road Test Review

Audi's slick looking A4 hardly needed any improvements when it comes to design. Most critics still consider the outgoing model one of, if not the most stylish in its compact luxury D-segment, and as you can probably tell by looking around while out on the road, sales were still strong. Still, the German brand is currently undergoing a visual overhaul and therefore all models must comply, the new 2017 A4 sedan and A4 Allroad crossover sport wagon pulling many of their edgy new cues from last year's ultra-modern TT sports coupe and convertible.

The result is a thoroughly modernized A4 four-door featuring a bigger, broader, more sharply angled hexagonal grille, new scalloped headlamp clusters with standard HID projectors or as-tested rectangular LEDs surrounded by squared-off LED DRLs, a crisp lower front fascia with new corner vents, reshaped LED turn signal-infused mirror caps, a familiarly arcing rooftop, a nice upswept rear deck lid that no doubt aids the new model's unfathomably Read Full Story
Which premium brand makes the best luxury CUV? Volvo makes a good argument for its new 2016 XC90 after a complete redesign that boasts a 316-hp turbo and supercharged 2.0L 4-cylinder, 8-speed auto, AWD,…

2016 Volvo XC90 T6 AWD R-Design Road Test Review

Can one vehicle reestablish an entire brand? Yes, if that model slots into the luxury sector's most important mid-size crossover SUV segment and even more critically is as good as the new 2016 Volvo XC90.

Of course Volvo has a number of appealing models within its ranks, but as impressive as the S60, V60, XC60, XC70 and others are, and as enticing as the upcoming S90 and V90 appear to be, the new XC90 is available right here and right now, has been responsible for nearly half of the Swedish brand's Canadian sales so far this year, and represents the new face of Volvo, both aesthetically and intrinsically.

It wasn't long ago that Volvo came across as a slightly apprehensive premium player, with styling, performance and equipment levels that made it seem as if it was riding the centre line of life, with one set of tires in the fast lane of high-performance luxury and the other two dawdling along in the slower lane of reliability, safety and fuel efficiency. Since then Read Full Story
A hybrid electric Subaru has always made sense, and now with the introduction of the upgraded 2016 Crosstrek a mild HEV powertrain is on the menu. Complete with the same 148-hp 2.0L four as the regular…

2016 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid Road Test Review

Frankly, after Toyota bought an 8.7-percent stake in Subaru way back in 2005 that's since expanded to just under 16.5-percent, I expected a hybrid much sooner than this 2016 model year. Now, a decade later, the Japanese brand's storied boxer is electrically assisted, and while this move might not seem necessary when considering the Crosstrek already achieves good fuel economy for an all-wheel drive crossover and Subaru has long offered some of the cleanest PZEV vehicles available, it at least goes a step further to enhance the brand's image.

Let's face it. Unless we're talking about Toyota's Prius, that's found initial and repeat sales numbers no challenger has come anywhere near duplicating, hybrids aren't exactly burning up the sales charts. They were having enough challenges attracting would-be buyers before last year's plunging oil prices, but now that a litre of regular unleaded costs less than we've seen in years, electrification isn't quite as popular as it used to be. Read Full Story
Does it really matter that the 2016 Mustang GT Convertible’s headlights are HID, taillights LEDs, door uppers soft, seats covered in leather plus 3-way heated and cooled, HVAC system auto and dual-zone,…

2016 Ford Mustang GT Convertible Road Test Review

There's no bad day for a Mustang GT Convertible, although the hot spring weather we've recently been enjoying on the west coast is ideal for dropping the top and ripping up the asphalt. The GT's big 5.0-litre V8 produces noise that piques the ears and turn heads quickly, that is if my tester's bright yellow paint hadn't already seared their eyes. This car attracts attention in my city as easily as any mid-engine exotic, not to mention most Porsche 911s and BMWs. No wonder Mustangs sell so well.

Two-door sport models are at the very best niche players within most brands' product portfolios, but Mustang remains a critical component to overall blue-oval success. Last year Ford's pony car outsold the subcompact Fiesta hatch and sedan combined, as well as the Taurus and two of the brand's SUVs, with a total of 6,933 sales in Canada alone, although its U.S. numbers for the 2015 calendar year were staggering at 122,349 signed, sealed and delivered.

Of course, that wasn't even Read Full Story
Jeep’s little Renegade is selling up a storm across the continent, therefore today we review a near loaded Trailhawk version with the larger 184-hp 2.4L four-cylinder, advanced 9-speed auto, standard…

2016 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Road Test Review

To most consumers Jeep is that iconic 4x4 brand that seems to have been around forever. It epitomizes rough and ready off-roading, that thought immediately conjuring up images of one of its many models trailblazing through a thickly wooded forest, trudging knee deep through marshland, fording a fast moving river, or spewing sand from oversized tires as it speeds up and over a dune, there's really no substitute for Jeep when it comes to serious 4x4s.

Of course there are, but none can trace their off-road roots back to 1941. Although to be fair, both Bantam and Ford built very similar utility vehicles for the U.S. World War II effort, simultaneously with Willys-Overland, the company that kept building them after the war under the CJ "Civilian Jeep" moniker, at least until 1953 when Kaiser and W-O joined forces to form Willys Motors, renamed Kaiser-Jeep in '63, a company that was gobbled up by American Motors Corporation in 1970, until AMC fell under the partnership and eventual Read Full Story