You could be forgiven for thinking the latest Volkswagen Passat was a mid-size Audi. After all, the two brands share the same VW AG parentage and the namesake brand hasn’t been shy about adopting a…

2015 Volkswagen Passat TDI Highline Road Test Review

It's amazing how times change and our perception about what's acceptable changes with it. This is true for politics, social issues and even religion, plus of course the products we buy.

On that last point I first covered the Volkswagen Passat in June of 2002, and the 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine in my test car made 170 horsepower, up 20 horsepower from the year before and therefore well deserving of an emphatic exclamation mark! Likely such excitable punctuation had more to do with my youthful exuberance and inexperience as an auto scribe as it did this model's performance, but just the same that was a lot of power for a base mid-size car back in those days, whereas its upgraded 190 horsepower 2.8-litre V6 delivered considerable performance for the era.

Something we'll likely never see again is an eight-cylinder mid-sizer from a mainstream volume brand, but a week spent with the fabulous Passat W8 in the summer of '03 was enjoyable to say the least, yet Read Full Story
Is there a better value in the mid-size crossover segment than the new 2015 Nissan Murano? Check out today’s review and decide for yourself, but once you’ve added up all that comes standard with the…

2015 Nissan Murano SL AWD Road Test Review

Time certainly flies. A dozen years have whizzed by since I joined Nissan on the first-generation Murano launch program, half a decade has zipped past since testing the second-generation for the first time, three years have disappeared since they gave me their first Platinum trimmed version to review, and here we are now with what just might be the most exciting mid-size crossover utility to hit the market in a very long time. If you haven't already made acquaintances, meet the entirely new 2015 Nissan Murano.

When it comes to styling the new Murano is an absolute head-turner. I'm not going to even pretend it'll be the end all to be all for everyone, but for me and those who appreciate a sporty looking premium level SUV, this mid-size five-door CUV works very well. Ken Lee, Senior Creative Manager at Nissan Design America, I tip my hat to you. It's hard to believe when seen out of doors that the new Murano represents a toned-down version of the Resonance Concept first shown at Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada we review the mid-size luxury standard bearer, BMW’s 5 Series in near entry-level 528i xDrive trim. Complete with a 241-hp 2.0L turbo four, 8-speed automatic and AWD, this model…

2015 BMW 528i xDrive Road Test Review

A couple of decades ago I was walking through a repo yard looking for something to buy and came upon a third-generation E34 with a 518i badge on its backside and 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine under its hood. At the time I couldn't fathom a mid-size sport-luxury car powered by such a tiny inline-four, this being a European grey-market import and therefore nothing I'd ever laid eyes on before, so I passed it by only to end up with a six-cylinder powered 528i of the same era. Strange to think that a couple of lifetimes later, or so it seems, I'd be behind the wheel of an identically named 528i, albeit this time powered by a four-cylinder engine.

Since the original 5 Series debuted in 1972 there's only been one generation that didn't offer a four-cylinder variant, the same 1997–2003 third-generation E34 model that only included gasoline and diesel I-6 engines plus two V8s. It's just that none of them had been marketed on this side of the Atlantic until now. Today's 5 Series Read Full Story
Do you know you can buy a BMW 3 Series for less than $40k? The 2015 320i starts at $35,990 plus freight and fees, while our 320i xDrive tester with its standard 8-speed automatic can be had for just $39,990.…

2015 BMW 320i xDrive Road Test Review

I love the look of the new 3. The elongated twin kidney grille, the way the curvaceous headlamp clusters bleed into that grille, the long, thin engine and brake cooling vent under the bumper finished off with two narrow strips of chrome garnish overtop neat circular fog lights. The car's profile looks sleek for a relatively upright four-door, the greenhouse finished in bright metal to highlight its classic Hofmeister-kinked rear quarter windows, and finally the rear end design capped off with two of the most attractive trademark L-shaped BMW taillights to come along in decades, a couple of unimposing reflectors on the rear bumper just below and a thin strip of chrome embellishment that visually ties in with the chrome exhaust tip at bottom. An elegant set of optional multi-spoke alloys on 225/45R18 Pirelli Centuratos ideally rounds out this particular model's look. Altogether it's BMW minimalism at its finest, and reason enough for this car to rank much higher on the sales charts than Read Full Story
Chrysler has mildly redesigned its 300 series luxury sedan for 2015, and with the revisions has updated the car’s most opulently appointed trim level with a Platinum designation and new level of over-the-top…

2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum Road Test Review

When Chrysler attaches the somewhat overused "Platinum" trim designation to its flagship four-door, which has become the new "Limited" replacement descriptor for top of the line trim for many brands in the auto industry, at least they ante up with something truly special. This latest 300C Platinum is not only the best production Chrysler cabin ever, but it rates as one of the nicer interiors I've experienced within the full-size luxury sedan segment.

First off, I was taken aback by its gorgeous two-tone dark blue and ivory white colour scheme. The last time I drove a car with this combination of ultra-rich hues I was also staring out the windshield at a Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament above its imposing grille. Yes, that was the Rolls Royce Ghost Series II, the most recent iteration of the luxury of luxury cars, and hardly bad company for a Chrysler 300C. While I won't even pretend to compare the two, although it should be noted that the 300 had the cool kinked headlamp clusters Read Full Story
There’s no better value in the mid-size crossover SUV segment than the Dodge Journey, and today on CarCostCanada we review a top-line Crossroad V6 AWD version with options, which so-equipped is priced…

2015 Dodge Journey Crossroad V6 AWD Road Test Review

When Dodge introduced the Journey in 2008, expectations were that it would soon replace the Grand Caravan minivan. After all, the GC's sales were down significantly, about half of what they were four years prior in the US and some 15,000 units lower in Canada, and minivans overall were a dying breed, with Ford having axed its Freestar a year prior, GM having already announced that its Chevrolet Uplander and Pontiac Montana vans would shortly follow the same fate (they did in 2009), everyone expecting Hyundai's slow-selling Entourage to die an untimely death (it did so in 2010), and somehow through all this minivan carnage the ill-conceived Grand Caravan-based Volkswagen Routan came and went without many even taking notice. All along the Dodge Grand Caravan continued to enjoy overwhelming sales leadership in the minivan sector, while the Journey held its own in the mid-size CUV segment.

That Journey, which has been a top-seller in the mid-size crossover SUV segment since it arrived, Read Full Story
Volkswagen has given its luxuriously equipped Touareg SUV a mid-cycle update for 2015, including new front styling, new wheels and some updates to the interior, while HID headlamps are now standard. Today…

2015 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Execline Road Test Review

Every time I climb into a Volkswagen Touareg I'm reminded that this is no volume crossover SUV from a mainstream automaker, but rather a premium CUV in every sense of the word. This is evidenced everywhere, from the higher grade of materials used inside the cabin to the way each door thumps shut, but possibly the most obvious clue to the Touareg's upper crust character is the way it drives.  

After pressing one of four proximity sensing buttons at each door for access, a simple push of the start button ignites the engine at which point another suitably premium sound exudes, optional clean turbo-diesel technology. Yes, this is the same diesel as offered in various Audi and Porsche models, VW's direct-injection and turbocharged 3.0-litre V6. It's tuned to produce 240 horsepower from 3,900 to 4,400 rpm and 406 lb-ft of torque from 1,750 to 2,750 rpm and drives all four-wheels by way of Volkswagen's 4Motion all-wheel drive via a state-of-the-art eight-speed automatic transmission, Read Full Story
Nothing is more American than the Jeep Wrangler, yet this iconic 4x4 based on a legendary war hero is actually more popular per capita here in Canada where it sold more than 23,000 units last year. Today…

2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara 4×4 Road Test Review

I've got a special place in the sweet spot of my soul for the Wrangler, and it wasn't because I enjoyed great times in one as a kid or anything so formative. My dad loved the Willys. He lived through wartime Vienna, Austria and Munich, Germany as a child, and then joyously witnessed thousands of the little 4x4s help allied forces liberate the majority of peace-minded citizens from the Nazis. He told me many stories and I'd listen with piqued interest, sometimes at home and oftentimes while away camping or at our family cabin.

On one such vacation in BC's Caribou country we "tested" a Willys from an en route gas station owner who was attempting to sell it, and my dad piloted it up and over some rough ranching territory. The tiny tot of a 4x4 was anemic at best, but it made light work of heavy-duty trails. That was my first experience in a Willys jeep, and it left a lasting impression. He actually owned a Toyota FJ40 at the time, and as I remember had very little positive to say Read Full Story