Unable to offer a full-size luxury sedan Infiniti has done the next best thing, stretch its mid-size Q70 into full-size proportions and rename it Q70L. New this year is a 3.7L V6 version boasting the…

2016 Infiniti Q70L 3.7 AWD Road Test Review

Selling cars has become a tough business, with some manufacturers paring back their compact and mid-size four-door offerings in order to provide yet more crossover SUVs to a seemingly unquenchable utility market, but there's no such confusion at Infiniti. Certainly it does very well in the premium SUV sector, its QX60 accounting for more than a third of the brand's Canadian business so far this year, but it's Q50 sedan is second most popular in Canada and Infiniti's number one seller south of the border, so it's not about to abandon the car market.

In fact, an all-new Q60 sports coupe will soon be upon us, while a convertible version of the same model will no doubt show up at a major auto show this fall. The Q70 is not only bigger than the Q50 and Q60, but Infiniti's largest car and therefore its flagship sedan, although to be clear it doesn't compete directly with full-size models from its main competitors. Like a number of other premium brands, Infiniti no longer offers an Read Full Story
Want a thrifty hybrid that’s still fun to drive? Honda’s CR-Z might be the ideal commuter as long as you don’t plan to carpool. It’s only a 2-seater, but it’s big on style, updated for 2016,…

2016 Honda CR-Z Road Test Review

Fuel prices have come down so much over the past year that it's hardly time to consider a hybrid, right? This may be true for some parts of Canada, but where I live pump prices aren't much lower than before last year's oil crash. We were hovering between $1.25 and $1.30 per litre ahead of January 2015 and today's average was $1.18, so maybe now's not the time to buck up for a big SUV or performance-oriented sports coupe. Then again, if your new ride combines great fuel economy with loads of fun, why not?

That's always been the premise behind Honda's CR-Z, but to be honest I never found it offered enough on the fun meter to be taken seriously by enthusiasts. That was before testing this revised 2016 version, mind you, a car that gets some sweet styling enhancements and mild suspension upgrades to go along with the shot of adrenaline you probably didn't realize it received three years ago.

The visual changes are subtle but effective, including a completely reworked lower Read Full Story
The Highlander could win buyers over merely on styling points, but it’s much more than just a handsome face. Even base models get cloth-wrapped A-pillars and loads of soft touch surfaces, whereas this…

2016 Toyota Highlander XLE AWD Road Test Review

Still my favourite midsize crossover from a styling perspective, the Highlander will soon get upgraded for the 2017 model year with a bolder, deeper and edgier version of the current grille, plus modified headlights, taillights and body panels, and a new direct-and-port-injected 3.5-litre V6 with as yet undisclosed output figures, not to mention a more efficient eight-speed automatic transmission. It'll be a significant mid-cycle makeover, but probably not so much that you'll be sorry if you purchase the current version.

Then again, as just noted I happen to really like the current Highlander's blunt truck-like grille and brawny yet sleek, athletic stance. This XLE trimmed variant gets classic circular fog lamps at each corner, an attractive set of multi-spoke machine-finished 19-inch alloys with grey painted pockets to fill out its profile, and silver painted roof rails with crossbars up top, so if you like what you see you'd better act now.

As for the interior, the Read Full Story
If you’re looking for a compact luxury ute with style, loads of standard features, performance chops, good build quality and top-tier safety the Acura RDX is up your alley, standard with LED headlamps…

2016 Acura RDX Elite Road Test Review

The RDX has evolved into quite the head-turner. I certainly take notice when one of the latest 2016 models drives by, and that wasn't always the case. After more than a decade of production including two generations and another two mid-cycle makeovers, the most recent for this 2016 model year, it's matured from an awkwardly shaped teen to a nicely proportioned adult, dropping its trendy hard-edged wardrobe for a more conventional albeit classier look.

I like that Acura has now refined its previous in-your-face "shield" grille into a smaller and more sculpted shape that adds distinctive character without pulling attention away from the rest of the design, thus leaving visual space for the brand's gorgeous trademark LED headlamps, also new for this year, as well as some really nice chiseled detailing around the fog lamps on the lower fascia. Its profile remains long and sleek with sporty fastback-style rear pillars and glass up top plus a stunning set of machine-finished multi-spoke Read Full Story
There are more ways to build an F-150 than Ford probably knows, one of which is the XLT Special Edition Sport SuperCrew V6 Ecoboost 4x4 reviewed today. Of note, the Special Edition adds a tarnished dark…

2016 Ford F-150 XLT Special Edition Sport SuperCrew V6 Ecoboost 4×4 Road Test Review

Be honest. When was the last time you saw a pickup truck that looked so sweet? Styling is critical in the truck segment, and while many will gravitate to the refined lines of GM's trucks and others to the big rig overtones of the Ram, some even drawn to the relative upstarts from Japan, the F-150 pulls in more buyers than any of the above and has done so for as long as most anyone alive can remember.

Ford sold almost 900,000 F-Series trucks in its two northernmost North American markets last year, 118,837 of them in Canada, while its closest rival, Chevy's Silverado, couldn't get past 650,000 in the U.S. and Canada combined, with just 46,407 sold north of the 49th. Of course, we also need to factor GMC into the General Motors equation, its Sierra finding close to 280,000 buyers in the U.S. and Canada, which bumps GM's total half-ton pickup deliveries to about 930,000, while Ram's full-size Pickup managed almost 550,000 units on both sides of the world's longest undefended border Read Full Story