It’s a year of reinvention for General Motors’ full-size sport-utility vehicles. For 2021, GM creates a new architecture for its big SUVs. It has an independent rear suspension — like those found on cars and crossovers — and a longer wheelbase. We tested a 2021...
This year, Subaru beefs up its entry-level Crosstrek hatchback with more power, a new trim and updated safety tech. The compact Crosstrek reprises the lifted-wagon format that birthed the Outback and set Subaru on its off-roading-lite path. Based on the Impreza five-door hatchback, it debuted...
Car companies and doctors have more in common than you would think. To wit, Nissan’s Rogue compact crossover is the company’s best-selling car and one of the best-selling vehicles in the U.S. Nissan is in the midst of redesigning its entire product line, and now...
A small player in a land of giants, Mazda has created a unique survival strategy. It leverages its under-the-radar stature with engaging, fun-to-drive cars with “above class” refinement and style. In their upper trims, its vehicles approach European-level elan. The 2021 Mazda3, illustrates the point....
If cars were ice cream, the 2021 Toyota RAV4 would be the Baskin-Robbins of compact crossovers. RAV is available with three powertrain choices. Its six-trim lineup that includes two with robust off-road capabilities. It’s not the roomiest, most elegant or best-handling car in the segment....
I’ve been driving the string-straight roads of southern Wisconsin for the past month. The longer I’m here, the more I miss the rambling roads of home. It’s no surprise there are so few sporty cars here; there’s nowhere to drive them. Which threw a wet...
A few years back, a friend with an eye for handsome cars unloaded on Volvo. “Volvo builds ugly cars,” Bill said. He wasn’t malicious, but he was emphatic. He didn’t need to say, “And it always will”; his tone said it. For several years, flat...
A true test of the 2021 Honda Odyssey would involve a clutch of kids and a pile of gear. Load ‘em up and head out for a ski trip, a post-pandemic visit with the grands or a weekend or a weekend of camping at Priest....
Like every automaker, Cadillac sells boatloads of crossovers but struggles to move sedans. GM’s luxury division has complicated the task by targeting its four-doors at the luxury sport segments where German cars dominate. This year, Cadillac takes a fresh run at the entry-level subcompact gang....
My wife Diane and I just wrapped a 1,7750-mile road trip from our home just outside town to Kenosha, Wisconsin. We crossed mountains, took in the vast grandeur of the northern plains and marveled at the devastation — and stench — of the oil-well states....
To spend a week driving a BMW 8 Series convertible is to be reminded that people love a beautiful car. Heads turned everywhere we drove. As BMW’s new flagship, it epitomizes the company’s stated quest to build the Ultimate Driving Machine. It doesn’t fully live...
Sometimes, revolutions begin quietly. Last year, Infiniti debuted the all-new four-cylinder VC-Turbo. Installed in the engine bay of the 2019 QX50 compact crossover, it’s the industry’s first production engine to feature variable compression ratios. Variable compression has been a holy grail for automakers for years....
It’s not unfair to ask why a forward-thinking company like Mercedes-Benz would build a crossover that’s too powerful for American roads, gulps large quantities of high-test fuel and sports a $113,950 list price. They build them not because the world needs them but because people...