Does your business regularly haul stuff, deliver packages, need space for tools or require transportation of anything large? If so, Ford has the answer, or at least its Transit Connect cargo van is the…

2015 Ford Transit Connect XLT Van Road Test Review

If you're in the market for a fuel-efficient delivery vehicle or something suitable for hauling around gear dedicated to your small business there's never been a better time to buy into the compact cargo van category.

We can thank Ford for that. Back in 2009 when the blue oval brand started exporting the Turkish- and Romanian-made van to North America there wasn't much competition in the segment, but now Nissan has its NV200, Chevrolet is finally back in the market with a rebadged version of the same Nissan called the City Express, and Ram has its new Fiat Doblò-sourced ProMaster City to go along with its Grand Caravan-based Cargo Van.

Completely revamped last year and now built in Almussafes on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain as well as by Ford Otosan, jointly owned by Ford and Koç Holding in Gölcük, near Kocaeli, Turkey, the second-generation Transit Connect remains the one to beat when it comes to style, performance and overall value, so Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada, Trevor Hofmann reviews the 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab 4x4 in SLE trim with the All Terrain upgrade. While a great looking truck that now boasts one of the most upscale interiors…

2015 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE Crew Cab 4×4 Road Test Review

I, for one, would have been saddened if GMC got the boot in 2009 when General Motors restructured its brand portfolio. It would've been understandable being that some models in the truck and SUV brand's lineup are very similar in design and purpose to models sold under Chevrolet's bowtie badge, such as this Sierra 1500 that's often referred to as the fraternal twin of Chevy's Silverado, but to my eyes the GMC version has almost always been the better looking of the two.

Such was the case with the 2014 redesign that saw both trucks completely reworked from the ground up. The new truck was made stronger and tougher yet more refined looking, not to mention a lot more refined inside, and the result has been nothing less than unanimous praise by professional scribes like yours truly along with kudos from the model's hundreds of thousands of devotees.

That interior is a real piece of work, and I mean that in a most positive way. The 2014 Sierra left behind one of the least Read Full Story
Kia has upset the premium apple cart with its Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class fighting K900 luxury sedan. This full-size, rear-drive, optionally V8-powered flagship four-door delivers…

2015 Kia K900 V8 Elite Road Test Review

What's the world coming to? It's like asking the girl taking orders at the McD's drive-through to biggie size your '57 Dom Pérignon and by all means don't forget to add extra truffles to your foie gras burger. A Kia designed to compete with a BMW 7 Series? Ridiculous!

Think for a moment that legendary luxury brands such as Cadillac and Lincoln don't even offer a full-size rear-drive premium sedan within their current lineups, let alone relative newcomers like Acura and Infiniti, while budget-minded Kia and its South Korean parent company's namesake value-brand Hyundai do. Yes, we certainly live in strange times. Then again, how wonderful life has become for those with a few extra thousand available in their annual automotive budgets.

No matter the angle, the Kia K900 is a beautiful luxury car. Its overall shape is long, lean and athletic, sporty looking for its size yet as elegantly penned as anything in the full-size luxury sedan segment. Put it next to the Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada, auto journalist Trevor Hofmann reviews the all-new 2015 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid and comes away impressed. Delivering blistering performance, zero-emissions plug-in electric…

2015 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid Road Test Review

A decade or so ago, back when Hummers were starting to lose their cool factor, most of us thought the sport utility vehicle was a thing of the past, but creation of car-based crossover utility vehicles, or CUVs, have kept our love affair with the SUV alive despite an overall rise in the cost of living that has included ever-increasing fuel costs.

These last problems haven't affected the premium sector quite as harshly, where all types of luxury utes are selling very well. Porsche has particularly enjoyed tremendous success with its midsize Cayenne, having sold nearly 600,000 examples since it debuted in 2002 (more than 276,000 first-generation models were produced between 2002 and 2010, and over 300,000 units of the second-gen model since 2010), and now 12 years later has introduced yet another spin on its spicy SUV theme.

For model year 2015, along with the most affordable V6-powered Cayenne, thrifty Cayenne Diesel, V6 turbo-powered Cayenne S, even sportier Cayenne Read Full Story
Jeep is the most legendary name in off-roading and the Grand Cherokee is one of the granddaddies of the modern-day SUV genre, the latest version not only an impressive 4x4 but also ultimately fuel-friendly…

2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit EcoDiesel 4×4 Road Test Review

Jeep only just gave its flagship Grand Cherokee model an update last year, so there aren't many changes to the 2015 model. The intensely fun Grand Cherokee SRT that I tested last year gets a minor five horsepower and five lb-ft of torque bump in output for a staggering 475 ponies and 470 twisties respectively, while the same SRT model as well as the Grand Cherokee Summit I'm testing here get active noise cancellation plus additional noise abatement to the windshield and second-row windows to reduce NVH levels, the latter appreciated by the well-to-do crowd this model attracts.

It's no secret that the Grand Cherokee is as loved by the worlds wealthy as it is by global adventurers, its go-anywhere capability almost overshadowed by an interior that easily makes it a candidate for premium status. Jeep's legendary name and the all-round capability that comes with it taking care of the rest. That it looks so very good isn't just icing on the proverbial cake, however, it's absolutely Read Full Story
Perforated 10-way powered leather seats with heat and ventilation? A heatable leather-wrapped steering wheel? 8.4-inch infotainment? Is this a premium luxury sedan or maybe a top-tier sports car? No,…

2015 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Laramie Quad Cab 4X4 Road Test Review

So who's kicking half-ton pickup truck butt in the Canadian market these days? If you guessed Ford with its F-Series you'd be right, but Chevy is no longer number two. That spot has actually belonged to Ram for some time.

It takes two General Motors brands to push Ram off the second-place podium, and not by much. The Ram brand sold 88,521 pickup trucks in Canada last year, an improvement of more than 10 percent compared to 2013. It'll no doubt be some time before Ram gets close enough to Ford for it to even see the big blue oval on the backside of an F-Series truck, but it's been outselling both Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks since 2010, the GM models only achieving 41,959 and 48,046 Canadian sales respectively last year for a total of just 90,005, only 1,484 units more than Ram. At the rate Ram is growing it may not be long before it passes right on by the General's combined dual-brand pickup sales, which may cause some soul searching in Oshawa. Just in case you were Read Full Story
Let’s face it, if you’re trying to compete in the luxury sector without a compact CUV you’re going to lose out. The new Audi Q3 is just one of many new pint-sized crossover SUVs recently added to…

2015 Audi Q3 2.0 TFSI Quattro Road Test Review

I knew there was something Mediterranean about the Q3 as soon as I laid eyes on it.

Somehow, to me at least, it seemed like the kind of vehicle I could see myself meandering through the crowded streets of Barcelona in, pulling up to a quaint bistro in Barceloneta before meeting up with amigos y amigas; casually cruising around Port Vell while checking out all the luxury yachts con mi amor; parking conspicuously near the Rambla del Mar to creatively capture a twosome selfie of the fabulous wooden structure with the Q3 in the foreground; filling up its accommodating cargo hold with all the best brand names after shopping with mi cariño en le Maremagnum; parking it next to the beach so I can enjoy its view along with la hermosa vista del mar Mediterrània; and then later touring through the city to be amazed by all of the breathtaking Antoni Gaudí architectural artwork, from the uncompleted yet incomparably grand Sagrada Família cathedral, to the brilliant Read Full Story
Today on CarCostCanada, auto journalist Trevor Hofmann reviews the 2015 Hyundai Veloster in new base trim with its optional dual-clutch EcoShift DCT gearbox. Sporty, well equipped and highly practical,…

2015 Hyundai Veloster EcoShift DCT Road Test Review

Adding a bunch of fancy features to a car in any given model year is nothing new, but offering a less expensive stripped down version really gets my attention, which is one of the reasons I requested this particular trim level in the sporty Hyundai Veloster, a car that can now be had for a sweet and low $17,999 plus $1,695 in freight and pre-delivery prep charges (plus a $878.34 no-haggle discount at the time of writing).

That's a lot of sports coupe for the money, starting at a price more akin to compact four-door models. It wouldn't be much of a story if Hyundai had left it stark naked, but on the contrary it's filled with the types of standard features that young and young-at-heart buyers want and need, such as a large seven-inch high-resolution LCD video touchscreen, a six-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 compatible audio system with iPod, USB, auxiliary and video input jacks, steering wheel mounted controls, Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity, a trip computer, air conditioning, Read Full Story