If you’re a fan of the Buick Enclave you’re not alone as it’s a strong seller amid 7-occupant luxury CUVs. Today we review top-line Premium AWD trim that features adaptive cornering HID headlamps,…

2015 Buick Enclave Premium AWD Road Test Review

If you haven't driven a Buick lately, you really should. Of course, the brand's attractive yet conservatively luxurious styling has to work for you. It's more traditional than modernistic, targeting a market where Lexus used to be before it got all edgy, an elegantly rounded place where creased and creviced Cadillac will never venture. Still, there are a lot of buyers looking for more classic designs that don't necessarily break the mold, where luxury is still expressed in curvaceous bodywork, chromes, leathers and woods. That's Buick, and they're doing a fine job of carrying this torch forward.

As you probably know, the General Motors entry-level luxury division sits below Cadillac and above Chevrolet (and GMC depending on the model in question), and to its credit GM has done a pretty good job of differentiating Buick models from those riding on the same platform architectures. For the most part Cadillac is a separate entity sharing only two models with Buick and GM's more mainstream Read Full Story
A lot of folks are vowing to make their next car a plug-in electric, and no doubt Kia is hoping some of these will buy its excellent new Soul EV. They should consider the compact hatch seriously, because…

2015 Kia Soul EV Luxury Road Test Review

While starting from the ground up is probably the best way to go about building an electric car, Kia's Soul is nevertheless an ideal vehicle to electrify. It has enough cabin roominess and cargo capacity for real practicality, while doling out a significant dose of unique style.

Kia actually claims the compact model was initially designed to accommodate electrification, with the Soul EV only requiring some structural strengthening and a beefier suspension to manage the extra battery weight. It loses a bit of rear legroom and cargo volume in the transition, but the South Korean company's innovative plug-in nevertheless becomes the go-to EV for active-lifestyle pragmatists.

Kia also revised the funky five-door model's styling with blocked out body-colour grille openings up top and down below, the ventilation from the conventionally-powered model's mesh grille inserts not needed anymore as there's no longer a radiator to cool, and the aerodynamic benefits of closing them Read Full Story
With more and more new vehicle buyers heading towards crossovers and the compact segment growing in all segments, the full-size sedan seems like an anachronism, although the Dodge Charger remains competitive…

2015 Dodge Charger SXT Plus Rallye AWD Road Test Review

For 2015, Dodge has given its full-size Charger sport sedan such a significant mid-cycle refresh that it might as well be a complete redesign. Gone is the deeper more Ram-like grille and taller traditional headlights, replaced by a leaner, narrower crosshair with black mesh inserts that flows directly into slimmer ultra-modern looking LED-enhanced combination headlamps, a dark centre bumper cap joining a revised lower grille opening for what looks like one large deep grille when seen from a distance. I don't know which version looks more intimidating, but this one is certainly slick, especially when all the black bits are high-gloss as was the case with my SXT Plus Rallye AWD tester.

The headlights get two thin rows of LEDs with a projector beam housed in their rearward sections, while just below a thicker row of LEDs gets fitted to each corner of the air dam, sharing space with a narrow brake-cooling duct. The entire look is as downright sophisticated as any ex-NASCAR-raced Read Full Story
If you’re looking for a compact 4x4-capable SUV in the volume sector it’s go Jeep or go home, and while such models used to be utilitarian at best, the new Cherokee gives its owners real off-road…

2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk 4×4 Road Test Review

What's a Trailhawk? It's certainly no diurnal bird of prey, no accipitrinae seeking out snakes, lizards, mice, rabbits, squirrels, fish and defenseless birds from a lofty perch above. The Trailhawk can venture where most of the slithering and crawling land-bound creatures on the latter list abide, and do so quickly, although even if it were equipped with a shot of SRT growth hormones (which it unfortunately doesn't get) it couldn't reach the 322 km/h (200 mph) max velocity of a peregrine amid its hunting stoop, but then again it would likely feel quite comfortable at the red-tailed hawk's 193 km/h (120 mph) top d(r)iving speed. And while the Trailhawk's LED-enhanced bi-function halogen projectors shed a fair amount of forward light they're not quite as impressive as the ultra-sharp vision of any old hawk, the four-wheeled animalistically capable off-roader's complete lack of retinal photoreceptors no match for the buteo raptor's million per square millimeter, but at least Jeep's latest Read Full Story
Why does Kia’s Rio sell better than almost any other subcompact on the Canadian market? Keep reading and you’ll find out. Today we review the sporty and luxurious 5-Door SX equipped with a 137-hp…

2015 Kia Rio 5-Door SX Road Test Review

As far as the subcompact car segment goes, Kia is a serious contender. The Rio pulls droves of new car buyers into the South Korean automaker's Canadian dealerships, building all-important market share the brand hopes will one day translate into more profitable compact to mid-size car and crossover sales.

While the compact Soul does well in its segment, Kia struggles to sell its three compact Forte models in similar numbers to more established players; ditto for the compact Rondo MPV, smallest Sportage crossover, midsize Optima sedan, larger Cadenza luxury sedan, excellent Sedona minivan, and shockingly good full-size K900 luxury sedan, and not because they're somehow inferior, but more so due to Canadian buyers not having the brand as high on their collective radar. Subcompact buyers, however, know exactly where to find the best value, and the little Rio drives a very hard bargain.

For $14,095 plus $1,485 for freight and pre-delivery prep you can get into a very nicely Read Full Story
Nissan’s Murano might be the best value in the mid-size SUV segment, but decide for yourself by reading today’s review of a top-line Platinum model where you’ll see each trim detailed out, and we…

2015 Nissan Murano Platinum Road Test Review

I don't know about you, but Nissan's new styling direction really speaks my language. Every time I see a new Maxima or Murano pass by, my neck takes a spin and eyes lock on until it disappears in the distance. The Japanese brand is certainly onto something.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to pick up my first Murano in near top-line SL AWD trim earlier this year. I was impressed in almost every respect, but I must say its over-the-top mother of pearl style interior accents challenged my sensibilities to the extreme. I gave Nissan points for bravery, the unique pearled treatment covering almost the entire instrument panel and taking up much of the door panels front to back, not to mention the top cap of the gearshift knob, most of the lower console surfacing, the slit between the two middle armrests as well as the back half of the centre console, but despite once owning a sweet looking golden sunburst Gibson ES 355 copy with a similar effect on its pick guard, fret and head Read Full Story
Lincoln might not be the first name luxury buyers think of when they decide to upgrade, but those looking for a stylish, luxurious, feature-filled, fuel-efficient and reliable premium ride should seriously…

2015 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid Road Test Review

Since this latest MKZ arrived on the scene two years ago I've been a fan of the design. I like that Lincoln has broken out of the staid and conservative luxury car mold, especially in the rear where its sweptback, near liftback styling looks more European than most of today's European models.

Up front, Lincoln's new winged grille is also wonderfully expressive, which together with its narrow, sharply pointed headlamp clusters form a perfect symmetry as they wrap around the front fenders, the entire frontal design like some chromed modernistic form of west coast Haida artwork, along the lines of Tom Speen's Thunderbird. Neat and tidy LED driving lights combine with a thin strip of chrome on each side of the lower valance, an understated element that doesn't take away from the more artistic upper portion of the fascia.

The MKZ's unique greenhouse is highlighted in thick chrome trim, only upstaged by one of the most attractive side mirror designs in the industry, that Read Full Story
The Volkswagen Golf Sportwagon TDI is now a ghost on VW dealer lots or more accurately a mere memory that will no longer line the pockets of VW AG, but an unused photo set and unwritten review gave auto…

2015 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagon TDI Road Test Review

If Volkswagen only sold a diesel-powered pickup truck in North America its current state of affairs would be ripe for a heart-hurtin' country song all about its customers (and everybody else who breathes) being cheated, lied to, left on the side of the road (that's another issue with respect to very low JD Power VDS and IQS rankings), and no doubt someone's dog dying due to NOx emissions ingestion, but the Amarok TDI isn't sold here and either way there's no way the "new" powers that be in Wolfsburg will be able to sing their way out of this one no matter how melodic the tune.

This is where I'm forced to give you my personal apology. No, not for that lame-ass Slim Whitman intro, but more so for the 11 Volkswagen Beetle, Golf, Jetta, and Passat TDI reviews (not to mention the sole Audi A3 TDI review) I've done since the new "Clean Diesel" variant was launched for the 2009 model year. I've been unabashedly positive and even recommended this powerplant over hybrids for regular highway Read Full Story