News flash! The 2016 Nissan 370Z can be had for under $30k! Yes, you heard us right. That’s $14,000 cheaper than last year’s Z! And it’s got all the performance it’s ever had including a 332-hp…

2016 Nissan 370Z Road Test Review

Say what? A Porsche 911 costs how much? $96,200? And you can get into the similarly powerful, equally dynamic, almost as premium, techier, nearly as legendary and arguably as good-looking 2016 370Z for less than $30k? Something's wrong with this picture.

You'd think with such a logical choice available that performance car fans would be bowling over Nissan salesmen at the door in order to be first in line, but during 2014 the German luxury brand sold nearly twice as many 911s than the Japanese giant hawked Z cars, although the 370Z wasn't priced so kindly in last year's $43,998 base Touring trim. In April the much more aggressively priced 2016 model hit the road running and showroom traffic drove up commensurately with YTD January through July sales reaching 407 Z cars sold, last month accounting for 98 deliveries alone, so total 2015 numbers should easily outpace 2014's second-worst Canadian tally of 411 units. Truth be told, the 911 sales figure I just quoted was for its best Read Full Story
Entirely new for 2016, BMW’s X1 loses its optional straight six and goes it alone with a new less powerful 228-hp turbo four with 258 lb-ft of torque. A standard 8-speed auto powering all four wheels…

2016 BMW X1 xDrive28i Road Test Review

The new X1 is a heretic, at least in a dehumanized mechanical sense of the word. Alternatively we could call it an apostate, iconoclast or dissenter, although BMW would probably rather have us use the terms nonconformist or freethinker.

Why such a dramatic opening? Other than my obvious ploy to get your attention the latest X1 breaks from what was previously considered sacrosanct rear-wheel drive tradition and instead is based on a front-wheel drive architecture shared with the Mini Countryman. Will the majority of X1 buyers care? Not one iota, and neither should you. What should matter more is its category-best performance that'll shoot you from zero to 100km/h in just 6.5 seconds, segment-best headroom from front to back, and best-in-class cargo volume.

More so it's hardly a forerunner into front-wheel drive BMW territory, being that the 2 Series Active Tourer has been available in other markets for two years already plus the new 2 Series Gran Tourer expands on the Read Full Story
Adding to Mercedes’ stylish two-door heritage is the all-new 2017 C 300 4Matic Coupe featuring a standard 241-hp 2.0L turbo four, 7-speed auto with paddles, AWD, Dynamic Select with Eco, Comfort, Sport…

2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe Road Test Review

Mercedes-Benz has long had a following for the sophisticated coupes they've produced over the years. Outside of the über priced classics, a few modern favourites are the 1980s 560 SEC, 1990s E-Class Coupe, and 2000s CLK.

Fast forward to 2017 and there are still tasty coupes on the Benz menu. The S-Class Coupe is a world beater, the AMG GT will leave smoking tire rubber in a straight line for hundreds of feet and the E-Class Coupe represents mid-luxury comfort and performance set to a near S-Class standard.

Just southeast of Quebec and to the left of New Brunswick lies idyllic Maine, a U.S. state also known for lighthouses, wonderful small towns and lobster. Yes, Homarus americanus is a "to die for" gift from the deep seas of the North Atlantic Ocean. It was in Portland, Maine that Mercedes-Benz launched the newest coupe to the family, the 2017 C 300. Of course, one begs to ask: Can the new C-Class Coupe keep the Mercedes-Benz tradition of two-door hardtop excellence Read Full Story
There was a time when subcompact cars were merely basic transportation, but now hatchbacks like the Honda Fit EX-L Navi come standard with 130-hp, 16-inch alloys, auto on/off headlamps, fog lights, proximity…

2016 Honda Fit EX-L Navi Road Test Review

If you're looking to buy your first new car or thinking of downgrading into something more affordable there's plenty available in Canada's subcompact market segment. A total of 14 (soon to be 15) models are vying for your attention, with the segment split up into three segments. The most popular are regular subcompacts positioned just below compact models, the Honda Fit being reviewed here fitting into this category, while below that are smaller city cars that offer anywhere from two to five seats albeit abbreviated versions in back and narrower overall, while there is also a new breed of full and partial electrics either available as dedicated models or trim lines of gasoline powered versions. I'm not going to run through the entire list and make comparisons in this review, but I will recommend you check out this Fit in your quest for the ideal ride.

First off, there is no electrified version of the Fit in our market, the Fit EV only available in six U.S. states and other world Read Full Story
Lincoln doesn’t make a compact car so therefore Ford makes up for the problem big time with the luxuriously equipped Focus Titanium. Boasting premium a soft touch dash top, instrument panel, door uppers…

2016 Ford Focus Titanium Sedan Road Test Review

Other than the class-dominating Mustang, Ford doesn't enjoy quite the same level of sales success with its car program as it does with its top-selling trucks and SUVs, but its Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Taurus are important players within their respective segments just the same.

The Focus is especially noteworthy due to the sheer number of models that carry its nameplate, which include both four-door sedan and five-door hatchback body styles, with high-performance ST and RS variants as well as an all-electric version of the latter, plus unique luxury trimmed Titanium editions of both sedan and hatch. You'd think with this much on offer the blue-oval brand would be number one in its category, but compact competition is fierce in Canada and the imports have long held the lead.

The question of sales leadership becomes even more puzzling when factoring in just how superbly finished and advanced the Focus is, from its forward thinking mechanical technologies to its leading Read Full Story
Mini has already added a 5-door hatch and an SUV to its 3-door hatch lineup, so what could possibly be next? How about a really long 6-door wagon that stretches the Mini concept to new maxi lengths? Meet…

2016 Mini Cooper S Clubman Road Test Review

The Mini brand has long been grounded in a less is more philosophy, so simply living with one means you're taking up less space in the world, in a car that consumed fewer materials in its production, goes through much less fuel than the majority of four-wheeled conveyances and concurrently spews fewer toxic emissions from its exhaust, but of course there's more to the iconic British brand than that. Mini is also about having fun while you're saving the planet, two concepts that rarely coexist.

The new Clubman is different, mind you, in that it embodies a more is more outlook. More size, more space, more Mini, if that makes any sense. All said, before we go thinking that Mini has become too big for its britches let's put our reality glasses on and consider how the largest Mini ever fits into the small car market of today. As is immediately evident the Clubman is long, more than 25 centimeters (almost 10 inches) longer than the already lengthened 5 door hatch, which is based on Read Full Story
The 7-seat Pathfinder continues forward into 2016 unchanged, which hasn’t hurt sales one bit. Today we review it in top Platinum trim featuring standard AWD, 20-inch alloys, proximity entry, pushbutton…

2016 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum Road Test Review

It's really tough to get noticed in today's ever burgeoning family vehicle segment, but Nissan has done very well with its lineup of crossover SUVs. Its compact Rogue was a very strong fourth out of 13 competitors last year while sales are up 7.5 percent so far this year, whereas its Murano and the Pathfinder being reviewed here combined for fifth place on the massive 20-model mid-size sales chart, while sales of the two Nissans are up 77.7 and 11.2 percent respectively over the first five months of 2016. What's more, the Pathfinder was third most popular amongst standard seven-passenger SUVs. From all of this one thing should be clear, Canadians like the Pathfinder a lot.

It makes sense of course. We're practical people, still enamoured with our minivans, so a vehicle that does most things a minivan can while looking a great deal more SUV-like should fare well. To that end the Pathfinder provides best-in-class passenger volume‎ and the segment's most accessible third row Read Full Story
The Durango is undergoing massive sales growth that if continuing on its current trajectory will see its numbers double this year, yet it’s just a carryover model that Canadian SUV buyers have collectively…

2016 Dodge Durango SXT AWD Blacktop Road Test Review

Since the Durango debuted in 1997 it's been one tough looking contender, the original a compelling design that remains a head-turner after all these years and the current third generation still fresh and stylish despite its half decade of availability. No doubt the mid-cycle update it received three years ago gave it new legs, although it's taken until now for sales to really take off with the first five months of 2016 nearly matching all of last year's results, the numbers reading 3,036 units as of May compared to 3,659 for all of calendar year 2015. What's going on Dodge? Or maybe I should put that question to Canada's SUV buyers. After all, one glance at this SXT Blacktop and I'm left wondering what's taken them so long to catch on. This thing is pure testosterone on wheels.

Its grey Billet Metallic paint and surrounding body-colour detailing along with its blacked out grille, headlight and fog lamp bezels, mirror caps, wheels and badging made it as intimidating as a highway Read Full Story