First introduced to the market in 1982, it’s now in its eighth generation and has never been better
Things have slowed down a little in the compact sedan market over the past few years. It used to be that when people went shopping for affordable transportation, they’d be thinking about the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cruze, Volkswagen Jetta, Nissan Sentra and so on. But these days, it’s compact SUVs that are catching people’s eyes:…
An affordable, upscale driving experience without having to spend all your time at the pump
Nissan’s Infiniti G25 was meant to compete directly with Lexus’s IS 250 in its second – and, as it turned out, final – model year. The idea was to offer buyers an affordable and upscale driving experience without having to spend all their time at the pump and, hopefully, introduce them to the Infiniti lineup.…
Kia has more electric offerings, Subaru has strong sales month, Nissan sets up American EV plant
Time for a few odds and sods from the automotive world. Vehicles of the year First up, the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) just announced its choices for 2022 car of the year and utility vehicle of the year. The winners are the Honda Civic and Hyundai Tucson. Prevailing over 250 other entries, these…
Powered by 3.8-litre V6 engine mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission
Although things have cooled down recently, Canada’s pickup truck market is still a going concern: at least one out of every four new vehicles sold in this country is a pickup truck of some kind. Manufacturers are falling over each other to get new models to market. They come in all shapes and sizes: from…
As a grocery-getter, the Pathfinder is just fine. Easy to get along with, comfortable and refined
When it comes to redesigning or upgrading their models, carmakers apparently have one rule of thumb: make it bigger. When in doubt, increase the wheelbase, raise the roof height, put in a bigger engine and add more stuff to the interior. Models that start out a modest size somehow balloon over the years to the…
This more mainstream-looking SUV bore some resemblance to its chief rival, the Acura RDX
Built on Nissan’s revamped D platform (the same as the Altima sedan and coupe), the Murano got a revamp in 2011 – a bit of body tweaking here and there, some drivetrain upgrades, a new interior design and a new front grille, among other things. Nissan stylists overhauled the wheel arches and cleaned up the…
Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi and Mazda are all trotting out changes, upgrades and revisions for 2022 model year
It’s that time of year again: car manufacturers are introducing their new and refreshed models for the coming year. Some really are new; others merely breathed upon and updated. Falling into the updated category is the latest iteration of Honda’s Passport SUV. For 2022, it gets new exterior styling that Honda is describing as “bold,”…
The Kicks, despite its odd moniker, is actually a decent little SUV
Of all the car manufacturers, Nissan seems to display the most imagination when it comes to naming its products. Who can forget the Qashqai, Juke, Armada and, going back, the Fairlady and Pulsar. They also had a model in Japan called the Leopard J. Furie, not to mention the Big Thumb delivery truck. More recently,…
New models, retooled favourites and significant new features
It's time for some auto industry odds and ends, random notes and updates that have come my way lately. Subaru Subaru has just announced the pricing structure for the 2022 Legacy and Outback. Available in five trim levels, the newest Legacy continues to have a full-time all-wheel-drive system and can be had with a turbocharged…
A new Outlander, Nissan honoured for safety features, Kia offers a new ‘life utility vehicle,’ Ford‘s new Bronco goes modular
With spring just around the corner, automotive updates, news releases and new vehicle launches are coming thick and fast. Here are a few that have come my way: Mitsubishi has just released its 2022 Outlander. Here’s how the manufacturer describes it: “Based on the product concept ‘I-Fu-Do-Do,’ which means authentic and majestic in Japanese, the…