This is a lively, stable and road-hungry compact SUV that will surprise you with its prowess
If you have any doubt about the dominance of SUVs in today’s market, look no further than Mercedes-Benz – by my count, they have no less than nine distinct models for your consideration in the 2021 model year. That includes everything from the “entry-level” GLA to the Maybach GLS at just shy of $200,000. For…
The GV80 is a mid-size SUV that feels full size
As an automobile manufacturer (they also make everything from deepsea freighters to power tools), Hyundai has had its share of ups and downs. The car that launched the company in North America – the Pony – was popular but deeply flawed. Subsequent offerings – Excel, first-generation Sonata, etc. – sold well enough but often developed…
More greenhouse gases are released when making an EV than a comparable internal combustion engine
I’m not a climate skeptic. As an environmental scientist/engineer by training, I think climate change is real. But it’s like every other environmental issue: a more-or-less routine engineering challenge, rather than a world-altering disaster justifying the fever-dreams of the radical greens. I am, however, an electric vehicle skeptic. Or, more broadly, I’m skeptical that electric…
Plenty of power, almost completely silent and no worse on gas than most of the competition
Kissing cousin to the 4Runner, the Lexus GX 460 is the upscale version of Toyota’s popular SUV. It has a body-on-frame design and more stuff and a higher price tag, but features the same basic body style, wheelbase, seating capacity and driving experience. In 2011, it was powered by a 4.6-litre V8 engine that delivered…
Offers style, comfort and performance
I’ve never really fully understood the SUV market. It seems to me that, most of the time, SUVs don’t really excel at anything. They don’t function as well as minivans when it comes to people-carrying or schlepping stuff around; they aren’t usually as comfortable or accessible as a conventional sedan or hatchback; nor do they…
Now and then, a car comes my way I simply can’t get along with
Now and then, a car comes my way I simply can’t get along with. Almost everything about it presents an obstacle to a pleasant driving experience. I seem to spend half my time fussing and fighting with it. In this case, it was the 2021 Lincoln Corsair which, despite embodying the pinnacle of automotive design…
The RX 450 is roomy, cheap to run and very comfortable. For most folks in this market, that’s more than enough
Although hybrid vehicles have been around for decades (Ferdinand Porsche developed a gas/electric vehicle in 1899), Toyota/Lexus really got the ball rolling when they introduced the Prius in 1997. The Prius has been phenomenally successful, selling over a million units worldwide, and remains the benchmark by which all other hybrids are judged. So successful has…
Based on the S350 platform, the Mercedes-Benz S400h hybrid was introduced in 2010 and was a completely different animal. It was the first Mercedes sedan to receive a hybrid drivetrain and the first to utilize a lithium-ion battery pack. Th lithium-ion battery pack was – and is – controversial. Under some circumstances, this variety of…
In every respect, the 2020 Aviator is truly a luxury vehicle. Ford hasn’t missed much when it comes to pampering its occupants
Much like General Motors with its Cadillac division, Ford has decided to funnel a substantial portion of its resources into its flagship Lincoln line. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a kind of renaissance from this previously low-key marque. Lincoln has six models in its lineup, four of which are SUVs. Clearly, the powers…
Fussy controls and bad ergonomics take away from an attractive car that should just be a pleasure to drive
Sometimes it seems car manufacturers are rolling backwards when it comes to usability and driver friendliness. Despite – or maybe because of – things like touch screen controls, continuously variable transmissions (CVT), driver-vehicle interface, climate control, etc., etc., some cars are nowhere as driveable as they used to be. No argument, automobiles are more sophisticated…