New Vehicle Reviews (Page 59)

Last week I put my family of five into the 2014 Toyota Sienna and made two hour-long trips from Hickory, NC to Blowing Rock and then to Charlotte. We drove this family-friendly van through the beautiful scenery of Blue Ridge Parkway and then to a church on a Sunday morning in Charlotte. What follows is my impression.

The 2015 Subaru Series.Blue is exclusive and sets itself apart for the standard BRZ sports coupe. What makes it special?

The 2014 Lexus LX570 is arguably the most impressive luxury SUV to ever come out of Japan, but like all luxury models it wears the stigma of not really offering any true “utility” – so I spent the week using the LX570 in the same way that I do my half ton truck and the Lexus SUV was beyond impressive in every way.

In a world of truly “smart” cars, 2015 Acura RLX V6 P-AWS with Advance Package outsmarts the competition. Question: Do we want or require this much high-tech from Acura?

While arguably not the most photogenic luxury sport sedan in its segment, 2015 Acura RLX looks and performance still turns a head or two while outpacing the competition in comfort and safety features. We were pleasantly surprised by RLX more than once.

The Lexus IS 350 AWD is a runaway success for Lexus. The new design has brought in a new wave of buyers and our test of the car explains why.

Over the past few years, General Motors has failed to offer a proper luxury model Silverado, but the 2014 Silverado 1500 High Country solves that problem in a very big way – offering comparable comforts to the likes of the Ford F150 King Ranch and the Toyota Tundra 1794 Edition

I recently had the extreme pleasure of spending time in the 2014 Dodge Challenger Shaker and while some will accused it of being little more than a gussied up Challenger R/T, I think that it is the coolest special edition appearance package on the market today and based on the number of compliments I got on it – so do many other people.

In our review of the 2014 Tundra Double Cab we do the usual things, but also enlist the help of a mechanical engineer, homebuilder, father, and lifelong Ford F-150 owner.

The modern Lexus GS350 F Sport totally changed my perception of the Japanese luxury brand and for the 2014 model year, the only real change is the addition of a new 8-speed automatic that doesn’t improve performance – but it improves fuel economy a bit while preserving all of the qualities that makes the GS350 F Sport so easy to love.

Entry level 2015 Acura TLX retains the fun driving aspect of the outgoing 4 cylinder TSX while capturing the interior dimensions and polish of the TL. We believe that the 4 cylinder TLX will be the best selling midsize luxury sport sedan in Acura’s lineup.

Since driving the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, I have been asked by countless people whether the 6-speed manual transmission or the new heavy duty 8-speed automatic transmission is the better choice so today I will answer the $60,000 question – although there is really no “right” answer to that question.

We believe that Acura TLX will not only elevate the brand to new hights, but change how you and the auto industry measure economy driven performance. TLX is a giant killer.

In a recent 280 mile real road conditions driving trial through the wine country of West Virginia, we determined that Acura’s latest offering has a measurable advantage over BMW, Lexus and Infiniti in handling and superior ergonomics driven comfort.

The Chevrolet Volt is a fantastic extended range electric vehicle so it should come as no surprise that the 2014 Cadillac ELR arrives as the best option for anyone looking to buy a true luxury EV from a company that will still be around in a few years – while also doing away with range anxiety in the true premium style.

The all-new 2015 Subaru Legacy gets a complete remodel. What are three improvements that make it the safest mid-size sedan on the road?

The 2014 Toyota Highlander was introduced to America by the Muppets and their catchy “Aint Got No Room for Boring” theme song that is surely attractive to family minded buyers, but the Highlander fitted with the Limited Platinum brings a luxury feel to this spacious, comfortable SUV.

This past weekend I had the extreme privilege of flying to Portland Oregon to spend some time with the 2015 Dodge Challenger lineup and while we had an opportunity to drive all of the new models, all of my attention was on the new Challenger SRT Hellcat. With 707 horsepower, this is the most powerful American production car of all time and the 6th most powerful in the global production performance car market so while the chance to drive the entire lineup was on hand – for me it was all about the Hellcat.

We revisit Acura’s iconic V6 TL with a final test drive. A great car in a very crowded segment, Acura fans bid farewell to a groundbreaking automotive design.

We bid a fond farewell To Acura’s TSX. Unfortunately, 2006 was the best sales year for the European Accord’s first cousin. We believe that TSX deserves a final test ride and review,
still an exciting performance sedan.

Our review of the 2015 Mazda6 mid-sized sedan with the 6-speed manual finds that the car is a unique blend of old-school sporty driving at a great value, but you will need a smart phone.

The Chrysler Group has introduced diesel powered passenger vehicles in the past with little success but with the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel, the company has put a name to their new diesel technology that will help market it to consumers while the power and efficiency of new 3.0L V6 diesel does the rest as this is one fantastic engine option.

While many of the options in the compact sedan class have gone all high tech and expensive with their new versions, the 2014 Toyota Corolla has been refreshed in a way that improves it in pretty much every way – but without going overboard and jacking the price way up so prospective consumers can get everything that they expect and nothing that they don’t want to pay for from this new Toyota sedan.

The 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X is likely in its final two years of production, but before the rally legend has a chance to race off into the sunset, I had a chance to climb behind the wheel of the mighty Evo X GSR for a week of pure driving pleasure.

Our full review of the V6, all-wheel-drive 2014 Toyota Highlander XLE explains why we think this may be the best family car value in the world.

I got the pleasure of putting a few hundred miles on the 2014 Toyota Tundra at the launch earlier this year and while I was impressed by the new model during normal daily driving – the true measure of a proper full size pickup is the ability to do the harder jobs and in this review, I put the new Toyota pickup through the paces of a proper work truck.

We take the 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Touring Hybrid for weeklong test and see how it performs at altitude.

In my time writing about the automotive industry, no vehicle has had a marketing campaign that has gotten more attention than the Kia Soul, but with the introduction of the new and improved Soul for the 2014 model year – Kia has improved on an already very good compact vehicle that delivers great fuel economy, awesome driving dynamics, a ton of space and an impressive number of features for a surprisingly low price.

We test the all-new 2015 Subaru WRX STI Launch Edition. Who should and shouldn’t buy the newest STI performance car?

We test the all-new 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander with the GT package, 3.0-liter V6 and all-wheel drive. What makes this new Outlander GT good for moms and dads?