Bored with your luxury SUV? Jaguar’s new F-Pace 3.5t R-Sport will surely bring fun back to your commute with 340-hp, an 8-speed auto with paddles, AWD, a sport suspension, 20-inch alloys, a sport suspension,…

2017 Jaguar F-Pace 3.5t R-Sport Road Test Review

A decade and a half ago many questioned BMW's reasoning for entering the SUV domain when it already owned Land Rover. It didn't take long to see the wisdom in that choice with the X5 quickly outselling the entire LR division and immediately becoming one of the most popular vehicles in the German brand's lineup as well as the luxury SUV sector overall. Now with hindsight as our ally we should question Tata group's reasoning for waiting so long to do likewise with the Jaguar brand now that JLR is under the Indian automaker's control, but we won't have to wait much longer for F-Pace sales results to signal if it was a smart move or not.

Initial reaction to the SUV has been positive from both industry critics and prospective customers. Jaguar seems to have nailed F-Pace styling while its driving dynamics are easily up to the most capable in the class, although defining that class is a bit more difficult.

Jaguar seems to be following a more for less philosophy that has worked Read Full Story
Want a little car that delivers big? Ford’s Fiesta Sedan is a good place to start and its mid-line SE trim really dresses things up inside and out with fog lamps, alloy wheels, power side mirrors with…

2016 Ford Fiesta Sedan SE Road Test Review

If you want to judge the core values of any brand, spend some time with its least expensive product. With Ford that entry-level model would be the Fiesta, a car that will surely surprise the uninitiated if given the chance.

The Fiesta is a handsome little sedan, especially in mid-grade SE trim with a few upgrades added, not to mention Oxford White paint. The stylish grille pulls cues from Mustang, albeit with chrome detailing befitting of a little luxe four-door, while the lower fascia incorporates some edgy aerodynamic detailing and sporty fog lamps. Large headlamps take up most of its front corners, while turn signals integrated into each body-colour mirror cap add a bit of upscale class. From the rear, an attractive set of red and clear-lensed taillights bookend a discrete deck lid spoiler, while the back bumper cap gets a diffuser style matte black plastic finisher for a sporty look.

Inside it's a celebratory combination of organic shapes, glitzy piano black plastics, Read Full Story
The Sentra gets updated for 2016 with the Nissan’s new V-shaped grille and other improvements including LED headlamps and new 17-inch alloys that come as part of our tester’s top-tier SL trim. Also…

2016 Nissan Sentra 1.8 SL Road Test Review

Nissan has given the compact Sentra sedan a significant refresh for 2016, continuing a tradition of modeling its smallest four-door after its mid-size Altima. The result is much more appealing styling up front where the brand's more distinctive V-shaped grille now dominates the frontal design along with unique scalloped headlamps that are once again bordered by LED DRLs in top-line SL trim. It gets a more aggressively shaped lower fascia and reworked hood too, plus new wheels all-round, while changes to the rear are much more subtle including slightly reworked taillight lenses and a mildly remolded rear bumper. Inside, a new primary gauge cluster sits ahead of an updated steering wheel, while the centre stack gets some trim detail changes depending on the model.

So how have the changes affected the market? That depends on which market we're talking about. In the U.S., response to the new Sentra has been quite good with 15.3 percent gains so far this year, but its first five months Read Full Story
Honda’s Accord Coupe is updated for 2016 and we review it in Touring V6 trim, complete with 278-hp, paddles, LED headlights, auto high beam, LED blinkers, passive entry, pushbutton start, rain-sensing…

2016 Honda Accord Coupe Touring V6 Road Test Review

If I told you I got more looks from passersby while driving an Accord than the majority of other cars I've driven this year, many of which have been brightly coloured near exotics, would you be surprised or knowingly nod in complete understanding that the car driven was the new ultra-stylish 2016 Accord Coupe? Not that the Accord Sedan isn't a looker as well, it's just so common that we've all grown accustomed to its handsome face.

Yes, the four-door Accord doesn't get the respect it deserves from enthusiasts, unfair being that it's one of if not the best mid-size sedan in the industry. It does everything asked of it and then some, but at least it gets suitably rewarded with strong sales and a high level of owner loyalty. Over the first five months of 2016 its Canadian sales have passed Ford's Fusion for second-place in the mid-size segment behind the Toyota Camry, although to be fair neither of these two competitors boost their sedan sales with a sporty two-door offering.
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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