Following a full makeover in 2019, Mazda’s Mazda3 returns for 2020 freshly equipped with critical new safety and driver-assistance technology. Mazda is quietly building a reputation for building cars with so-called class above qualities. Its cars excel in matters of fit-and-finish, materials quality and layout…
The last time we looked at Honda’s CR-V, we promised to pass along our impressions of the all-new CR-V Hybrid when we’d driven one. As everyone within shouting-distance knows, the compact crossover is one of the most popular vehicles in the country’s hottest segment. Cumulatively,…
Mazda stamps its latest crossover with dependable family themes. The 2020 Mazda CX-30, a subcompact CUV, is Mazda’s fourth crossover. It squeezes into the Mazda lineup between the CX-3, an even smaller subcompact CUV, and the compact CX-5. By rights, It should be named CX-4,…
Hyundai isn’t coy about the buyers it intends to win with its new Venue CUV. The Venue ($17,350) takes direct aim at young, first-time buyers. They’re typified, Hyundai says, by those living the “fast-paced … urban entrepreneur lifestyle.” As you’d expect given its target, the…
Like most mainstream automakers, Volkswagen has pinned its hopes on its crossovers. The Tiguan compact CUV is the company’s best seller. Its No. 3 is the midsize Atlas. Still, VW’s heritage is rich with vehicles of all types, from practical four-doors to hot little hatchbacks…
The 2020 Toyota Tacoma is a dated truck doing battle with a squadron of modern competitors. Tacoma rides on an aging platform. Its cabin is small and cramped and its ride quality ranges from tolerable to not-at-all-good. Nevertheless, Tacoma ($26,050) easily outsells fresher rivals and…
Here at the Auto Connection, we’re partial to small, lively and well-balanced cars. We like affordable, approachable cars that are fun to drive. Cars the average driver can enjoy day-in and day-out, no track-time necessary. We like reliable, low-maintenance cars that won’t kill you at…
If you fail to approach Toyota’s all-new Supra with caution, you’re a supremely confident driver or you don’t grasp the nature of the beast. The 2020 GR Supra sport coupe is a sharp-tooth puppy that loves to play but sometimes bites. So immediate is its…
Mazda’s CX-5 is Mazda’s best-selling vehicle in the USA. It’s a solid, mid-pack seller in the country’s hardest-fought segment and tops more than its share of the year-end Top 10 lists. This is not a big surprise; the people who write best-of lists tend to…
For a segment supposedly on life support, family sedans are showing impressive signs of life. The Crossover Era has clobbered sedan sales. So dire have been its effects that domestic makers have largely abandoned the segment, leaving it wide open to foreign makers. Makers like…
Two people live in this household. Both have opinions, but only one is compensated for committing them to the page. Where’s the justice? Turns out that the person whose opinions normally go unpublished has strong ones about today’s tester. Midway through our week-long test of…
For 2020, Toyota offers a Clark Kent edition of its full-size Avalon sedan. You know: mild-mannered four-door steps into a phone booth, emerges with a snarl. So it is with the 2020 Avalon TRD. The aggressive new high-end trim stretches the Avalon’s performance metrics in…
Lexus invented the luxury crossover in 1998, when it debuted the midsize RX CUV. Seven years later, in 2005, Lexus dropped its gas-electric hybrid system into the RX, producing the world’s first electrified luxury vehicle. Lexus’s aggressive strategy has stood the test of time. Today,…
Honda is a lower-case automaker in an all-caps world. Better known for its engineering prowess than its marketing chops, it tends to do things quietly. In its understated way, Honda has set some big energy-efficiency goals for itself. By 2030, it plans to be selling…
There’s a new flagship in the Audi fleet, a flagship crossover. The 2019 Q8 is a midsize, five-passenger crossover that embodies the key attributes of the Audi brand. It has a fashionable, coupe-like profile, cutting-edge tech and an elegantly appointed cabin with room for five…
Honda’s Ridgeline pickup poses this question: How much truck does a person really need? And the follow-up question: What is a truck, anyway? The Ridgeline is a compact light-duty pickup just like any other. Except that it’s not. It is to other pickups what crossovers…
Not all that long ago, most of us thought we’d have to suffer to be frugal. You know; hair-shirt stuff. Tinny cars, noisy cabins, weakling powertrains. But once again the auto industry has proven us wrong. Our tester, the 2020 Lexus LS 500h, is the…
Thanks to a lineup rich in affordable sedans, Hyundai survived the Great Recession in fine shape. But when the Recession ended, buyers switched their loyalties en masse to crossovers. Overnight, Hyundai’s sedan-centric strategy lost its steam. As it has proven over the years, Hyundai is…
In this Era of the Ascendant Crossover, it’s a big deal when a major manufacturer releases a new sedan. Domestic brands are especially bearish on sedans. In the past few years, they all have reduced their four-door portfolios, investing instead in crossovers, SUVs and trucks.…
The more things change at Subaru, the more they stay the same. Yes, it’s an old cliche, but it’s worthy. It pertains in spades to the all-new 2020 Subaru Outback. The sixth-generation wagon ($26,645) moves to a stronger, more modern platform this year and gets…
Toyota sweetens its subcompact Yaris lineup this year, with the all-new 2020 Yaris Hatchback. The new hatch ($18,750) joins the existing Yaris sedan ($17,750), with which it shares a platform, a powertrain and cabin electronics. In the process, the hatch ditches its mundane driving dynamics…
If we’ve learned anything from the post-recessionary auto boom, it’s that small and luxurious are no longer mutually exclusive. The Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class is a fine example; the two-row crossover is the company’s best-selling vehicle. In 2019, it outsold all other luxury-compact CUVs. Five models campaign…
The 2020 Chevrolet Colorado is a mid-size pickup with the rugged build of a full-size truck. The Colorado debuted in 2004 as a compact. By 2012, though, its sales had fallen to a point that Chevy pulled the plug. It reappeared in 2015, this time…
So you’re looking to upgrade your daily driver. You’d like something a bit more compelling than your current ride. It should be quiet and comfortable. You’d like it to be well-equipped right out of the box, sans pricey extras. It should also excite your synapses…
“This doesn’t feel like other Subarus,” my wife said, buckling herself into the 2020 Subaru Ascent. “It’s so tall,” she said. She cranked her seat heater to Scorch. “And it just feels different.” Diane is the family’s certified Subaru expert; she’s been driving her Impreza…
