Want a compact crossover SUV with the looks and exclusivity of a premium ride? While Kia would no doubt like to sell more Sportage CUVs than it does, for reasons we can’t understand it remains near…

2015 Kia Sportage SX Road Test Review

The Kia Sportage delivers loads of style, plenty of room, strong performance, decent fuel economy, an impressive set of features and truly competitive pricing, so why doesn't it sell as well as the rest of its compact crossover cronies? Without doubt this troubles Kia, but as we've learned the South Korean company never shrinks away from a challenge.

Just the same, the Sportage doesn't have a mere molehill to climb, it's a mammoth mountain. First the good news, its place on last year's Canadian sales chart wasn't last. Kia has Mitsubishi to thank for that, its fugly Outlander only capable of attracting 5,330 buyers. The good-looking Sportage, mind you, only squeaked past with 6,025 sales. I couldn't help but find this surprising, especially when factoring in the Volkswagen Tiguan managed 10,096 sales, the GMC Terrain pulled off 11,524 deliveries, the Sportage's brotha' from the same motha' Hyundai Tucson found 11,856 customers, the Subaru Forester more than doubled the Sportage's Read Full Story
Just add a turbo and a sport exhaust to Fiat’s fab 500 and it transforms into a pocket rocket thanks to 135-hp and 150 lb-ft of torque, while 16-inch alloys, a sport suspension, and sport brakes continue…

2015 Fiat 500 Turbo Road Test Review

So you want a 500 Abarth, but finances aren't allowing the $22.5k required? No problem, because Fiat's been listening and now offers a sportier 500 Turbo that will do the job for just under $19k while you're saving up for the world's feistiest subcompact.

I haven't met anyone who's driven the Fiat 500 Abarth and didn't love it, and I must admit the 500 Turbo had a similar effect on me. Ok, its sport-tuned single exhaust didn't growl as impudently as the Abarth's raucous dual pipes, the five-speed manual shifter I enjoyed in my last Abarth tester was replaced by an Aisin heavy-duty six-speed automatic with manual mode (although the five-speed stick still comes standard), plus the turbocharged and intercooled 1.4-litre MultiAir four-cylinder's ultimate output gets tuned down by 25 horsepower and 20 lb-ft of torque when compared to the manual Abarth or 22 horsepower and 33 lb-ft when more appropriately put up against the autobox equipped Abarth, but at 135 horsepower and 150 lb-ft Read Full Story
Are you funky enough for a Nissan Juke? It’s been an automotive oddball for 5 years running, and despite fresh rivals popping up all the time it continues to do well. With a 188-hp turbo 4 standard…

2015 Nissan Juke SL AWD Road Test Review

Cool, weird, wonderful, odd, bizarre, brilliant, fun, fugly… call the Juke whatever you want, but one thing's for sure, it's an innovator.

Five years ago when every other brand was focusing on the burgeoning compact crossover segment, Nissan was doubling its efforts with a subcompact crossover SUV, the success of which has since spurred on an entire class of economical CUVs. Now it's jam-packed with competitors, four having only just arrived for a total of nine rivals strong.

That's right. After the Juke, Mitsubishi came along with its comparatively conventional RVR, followed by the Chevrolet Trax (we won't include its Buick Encore twin here as it sells into a pricier class) and then the Mini Cooper Countryman, while the newcomers include the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, Jeep Renegade, and Fiat 500X. Despite all this new metal the Juke is holding its own, probably because nothing else is quite so extroverted. For 2015 it gets a very mild mid-cycle refresh that should Read Full Story
Even after six years the Jaguar XJ looks stunning. Today on CarCostCanada we review the long-wheelbase XJL Portfolio AWD featuring all-aluminum construction, a 340-hp supercharged V6, 8-speed auto with…

2015 Jaguar XJL Portfolio AWD Road Test Review

You can't just create heritage out of thin air. It needs to be earned over time. The Japanese have long tried to build new luxury brands and only one of three that started has achieved any real success in the full-size flagship luxury sedan segment, although it's difficult to call 167 examples sold throughout Canada last year real success. Then again, Jaguar's XJ has also seen its fair share of skinny years since it debuted decades ago.

Of the five premium-branded full-size flagship sedans currently on the market (not including those from ultra-premium brands Bentley and Rolls-Royce), can you guess which one has been on the market longest? You'd be correct in guessing that it's not the Lexus LS I indirectly mentioned a moment ago, but having arrived in 1989 it's not the newest. That would be Audi's A8, which didn't exist before 1994. How about BMW's 7 Series? It can claim reasonable heritage, having arrived in 1977, but the 1972 introduction of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class gives Read Full Story
Sleek styling says this is an all-new Honda Pilot, but there’s a lot more to it than new duds. Under our Touring tester’s metal is a 280-hp V6, 9-speed auto with paddles, idle-stop, LED headlamps…

2016 Honda Pilot Touring Road Test Review

No one at Honda will argue that their outgoing Pilot, which while a good, reliable and utile mid-size crossover, wasn't dated. Its tall, boxy, traditional SUV styling might still work for a true off-roader like Land Rover's LR4, but more often than not the seven-year old second-generation Pilot was overlooked by today's CUV buyer seeking a sleeker, more stylish ride. As of May 2015, this stopped being an issue.

That was the month the 2016 Honda Pilot went on sale, a vehicle that went from passé to preeminent in one very thorough redesign. The only thing that stays the same is the displacement of its standard 24-valve, SOHC, cylinder-deactivated 3.5-litre V6, with everything else new.

Direct-injection adds 30 horsepower and 9 lb-ft of torque for a total of 280 and 262 respectively, while standard six- and optional nine-speed automatics, the latter with a fancy pushbutton selector, steering wheel paddles and idle start/stop make sure it's as up-to-date as electromechanically Read Full Story
Toyota’s Venza is hardly news, but a classy red-brown interior colour scheme and Redwood Edition badging give the 2016 model updated style. Two engines are available, but today we review the new trim…

2016 Toyota Venza AWD XLE Redwood Edition Road Test Review

Since Honda abandoned its unorthodox Crosstour last year, which was more hatchback than wagon and, most would agree, bordered on fugly, Subaru's Outback and this Toyota Venza are the only two five-passenger mid-size crossovers in the mainstream volume sector that venture into more traditional wagon territory. Nissan's new Murano comes close, but its taller overall height puts it within range of the Ford Edge and other more SUV-like crossovers, which is either a very good thing if you're looking for something more car-like, or not ideal if greater ride height is preferable.

When the Venza debuted in early 2009 it was just the ticket for disenfranchised Camry wagon owners (who by this point had been without their beloved five-door for eight years), its first year of sales resulting in 12,375 Canadian buyers, while calendar year 2010 was even more successful with 12,468 units sold and 2011 resulting in a best-ever 13,159 deliveries. Things started to taper off for the 2012 calendar Read Full Story
Who says you need to go big to get high performance luxury? Audi’s S3 defies this belief with stylish big sedan presence, 292-hp turbo power, a 6-speed dual-clutch autobox with paddles, AWD, a 4.9-sec…

2015 Audi S3 Sedan 2.0 TFSI Quattro Progressiv Road Test Review

Every now and then an automaker creates a car that's ideal for a given market, and sales success follows. Enter the new Audi A3 Sedan and its even more enticing S3 sibling.

Small, lightweight, superbly styled and filled with Audi's usual high-quality finishings and ample allowance of features, the premium compact four-door suits Canadian tastes to a twin-scroll turbocharged T, and when kitted out with the extra power and handling prowess of the S variant it becomes the stuff of future legend.

I'm not going to go so far as to say the 2015 Audi S3 will someday be collectible, but there's no doubt it will be highly sought after on the pre-owned market for decades to come as there are few compacts that deliver as much satisfaction behind the wheel, yet come in such a fully livable and accommodating package.

If you're not yet familiar with the S3 Sedan or its A3 compatriot, think S4/A4, only smaller. Where the larger Audi models share Volkswagen group's MLB platform Read Full Story
The popular Hyundai Santa Fe Sport moves into 2016 without Saddle leather and with Beige and Grey leather, neither affecting the 2.0T SE model covered here today. The sportiest of Sport trims, our SE…

2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T SE Road Test Review

It's hard to believe the Santa Fe is entering the final year of its current third-generation body style, because it still looks so good. That's the sign of good design, and reason enough for such strong continued sales. Hyundai sold 32,474 of its regular wheelbase Sport model and long-wheelbase XL during the last calendar year, while the mid-size crossover SUV shows little sign of slowing this year either.

I've been a fan of the Santa Fe since the second-generation arrived on the scene in 2006 as a 2007 model, and became an even more ardent proponent since this third-gen iteration hit the scene in 2012 for the 2013 model year. The original was a good SUV too, although I never warmed up to its styling, but the design progression shown since is evidence of just how far Hyundai has come in all respects over the past decade.

Design reflects sales, as do many other attributes, the success Hyundai is enjoying made clearly evident in its segment-trouncing sales leadership. Read Full Story