Jeep’s Renegade a fun drive, high-value 4x4 … Young folks wanting a Jeep for its looks and rugged personality, but who are on an entry-level budget and prefer comfort to mudding ability can find refuge in Jeep’s Renegade. This is a multi-trim model that ranges from $20 grand, including delivery, up to $30 grand for... Continue Reading →
2017 Volvo V60 T5 AWD Cross Country
Volvo 's V60 Cross Country touts pizzazz, not smooth ride ... Volvo’s V60 Cross Country wagon/crossover wisely borrows some styling pizzazz from the likes of Mazda, then goes about saturating the vehicle with its usual core competency, safety. Pretty nice combo, but it ladles on enough luxury to push the V60 to luxury-level pricing, but without... Continue Reading →
2017 Infiniti Q60 Premium AWD
New Q60 emphasizes performance, but ride suffers ... Driving similar cars back to back puts both into perspective, an unfortunate turn for the sporty Infiniti Q60. I’d driven the Mercedes-Benz C300 coupe with 4Matic, its all-wheel-drive system, the week before I slipped behind the wheel of the new Q60, which replaces the fine G37 in Infiniti’s lineup.... Continue Reading →
2017 Acura MDX SH-AWD w/Advance & Entertainment
MDX loaded with luxury, high-tech goodies ... Acura’s big MDX sport-ute is loaded with luxury and high-tech items and graced with a quiet interior and powerful V6. The top-of-the-line test model was a bright white MDX SH-AW with both the Advance and Entertainment packages. The SH-AWD stands for Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive. Not sure I’d tout the... Continue Reading →
2017 Ford Escape Titanium FWD
Ford refines its Escape crossover . . . For 2017 Ford has restyled its popular Escape inside and out, plus developed two new engines for the entry-level sport-utility, er crossover. There’s no mistaking the Escape for something else as its profile remains much the same, but there’s a new hexagonal grille, LED trim headlights and revised... Continue Reading →
2017 Audi A4 Premium
Audi's new A4 is the epitome of fun driving ... Here’s a simple truth. It’s fun to drive a car that’s fun to drive. That may seem silly, but let’s break it down. First, cars have taken a back seat to trucks for years now as first SUVs and then crossovers replaced the family sedan... Continue Reading →
2017 Mazda CX-3 Grand Touring AWD
Mazda CX-3 flickable fun, but practical too Small hatchbacks have always been fun to drive and practical too. So why shouldn’t a small crossover with a hatch be much the same? Well, more and more tiny crossovers are being made and mostly they are pretty entertaining to drive. This week’s bright metallic blue (dynamic blue mica)... Continue Reading →
2017 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD Inscription
Volvo's new XC60Â sporty, powerful Hey, this newfound idea of putting some sport into small sport-utility vehicles, or crossovers, is getting to be a trend. Now Volvo joins the sportster market with its 2017 XC60, a compact ute crossover that handles like a sports sedan and kicks some booty with 302 horsepower. And get this, that... Continue Reading →
2016 Lexus RX 450h
Lexus restyles, upgrades its RX 450h The Lexus RX series has been ruling the luxury mid-size crossover roost for nearly two decades and there’s no reason to think the new RX will sully that record run. Lexus and its mainstream counterpart Toyota wised up and started restyling its vehicles and giving them some personality the... Continue Reading →
2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Ultimate AWD
New Santa Fe seats 7, looks better, roomier Hyundai developed its Santa Fe into two vehicles a couple of years ago, the Sport which has a midsize 106-inch wheelbase and the straight-up Santa Fe that’ll seat seven with its longer 110.2-inch wheelbase and more interior room. The 2017 Santa Fe looks even better than its... Continue Reading →