Car Reviews and Ratings

2007 Nissan Cube Review

By Jonny Lieberman
April 25, 2008 - 15,580 Views

After spending a few days in Nissan's Cube, I was reminded of Orange County's Mar Vista housing tract. Built in the 1940s by designer Gregory Ain, the development deployed basic shapes (squares and rectangles) to give the suburban spread a high degree of architectural sophistication. Of course, people considered these "flat roof" houses a commie plot (so to speak); builders only erected 52 of the planned 100 homes. The Nissan Cube sells for $11k in Japan. In the same way as Mar Vista, the Cube offers a whole lot of chic for a little bit of green.  

2007 Nissan Cube Review continued »

2007 Nissan Cube rating summary and performance review

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 83 comments

2008 Infiniti G35x AWD Review

By Jonny Lieberman
April 23, 2008 - 13,981 Views

When launched, the Infiniti Q45 was infinitely more desirable than Lexus's stuffy LS400. Unfortunately, Lexus had already eclipsed Mercedes as the brand Black Sea immigrants asked for by name, and BMWs remained the must-have nouveau riche accessory. Although today's M45 is best-in-class, BMW 5-Series' still runs the schoolyard. Meanwhile, Infiniti (and everybody else) is striving to wrest control of the all-important, profit-laden next class down. So how does Infiniti's AWD 3-Series fighter stack-up?

2008 Infiniti G35x AWD Review continued »

2008 Infiniti G35x AWD rating summary and performance review

Posted in Infiniti | Car Reviews | 49 comments

2008 BMW 135i vs. 335i Review

By Mike Solowiow
April 21, 2008 - 22,572 Views

After testing BMW 135i and 335i coupes back-to-back, I can reveal that there are only two good reasons to purchase the smaller, cheaper car. Either you need a track day machine or you're an idiot. Otherwise, spend the extra bucks and buy the 335i coupe. The 335i coupe is more attractive, more enjoyable to drive, holds its value better and offers far more real road usability than the 135i. If BMW had made the 135i as a lightweight, no-frills, Bahn-burning turbo rocket ship, they would have created a truly unique, desirable automobile. But they didn't.

2008 BMW 135i vs. 335i Review continued »

Posted in BMW | Car Reviews | 61 comments

2008 Mercedes-Benz GL 320 CDI Review

By Jay Shoemaker
April 18, 2008 - 16,040 Views

I flew into Los Angeles with aspirations of driving something powerful; I had visions of some mighty motor displacing six liters or more. Anything with the letters AMG on the back would have suited me just fine. Instead I was staring at a gigantic Mercedes GL 320 CDI. That's CDI as in "diesel." I reckoned it was going to be a long drive to San Diego. I reckoned wrong.

2008 Mercedes-Benz GL 320 CDI Review continued »

2008 Mercedes-Benz GL 320 CDI rating summary and performance review

Posted in Mercedes-Benz | Car Reviews | 43 comments

2009 Subaru Forester L.L. Bean Edition Review

By Michael Karesh
April 16, 2008 - 22,053 Views

Subarus are supposed to be the Birkenstock sandal of the automotive world; simple, robust cars with a certain sense of style that doesn't care about current fads. Alternatively, you could say a Subie used to be what a VW used to be (before Ferdinand Piech started messing with the brand) plus a boxer engine (once a key VW characteristic) and standard all-wheel-drive. In recent years, Subaru's image has become less and less clear. The automaker's desire to escape the granola ghetto first gave us the Tribeca, and then the new Impreza. And now we have a new Forester; an answer the question that in the past didn't have to be asked: what is a Subaru?

2009 Subaru Forester L.L. Bean Edition Review continued »

2009 Subaru Forester L.L. Bean Edition rating summary and performance review

Posted in Subaru | Car Reviews | 65 comments

1990 Corvette LPE ZR-1 Review

By Sajeev Mehta
April 14, 2008 - 22,715 Views

Until now, TTAC has only reviewed new cars. Due to popular demand, we've decided to experiment with reviews of pre-loved automobiles. This raises some important questions. Should we compare the used car to its contemporaries, its latter-day incarnation or an equivalent-priced new car? Or should we just review it "as is" and let TTAC's Best and Brightest hash out those issues in the comments section? As the Brits say, we're going to suck it and see, beginning with Sajeev's review of a Lingenfelter-modified 1990 ZR-1 Corvette.

1990 Corvette LPE ZR-1 Review continued »

1990 Corvette LPE ZR-1 rating summary and performance review

Posted in Chevrolet | Car Reviews | 73 comments

2008 BMW 135i Review

By Justin Berkowitz
April 11, 2008 - 46,508 Views

History is bunk. Although cars like the Jaguar XK120, Shelby Mustang and Porsche 911 have become legends, their modern equivalents offer far superior driving dynamics. And greater reliability. And safety. But it is their "soul" that resonates: the combination of icnoclastic style and man - machine zeitgeist. So when enthusiasts (and BMW PR) started comparing the new 135i to Bimmer's venerable 2002, expectations were sky high. The reality is more like a fat guy limbo dancing under a pole raised six feet off the ground.

2008 BMW 135i Review continued »

2008 BMW 135i rating summary and performance review

Posted in BMW | Car Reviews | 156 comments

2008 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ 4×4 Review

By William C Montgomery
April 9, 2008 - 24,597 Views

To evaluate the all-new 2008 Toyota Sequoia, I spent some quality time with comparable full-size SUVs from GM and FoMoCo. In back-to-back-to-back tests on the highways and byways of Denton County, Texas, I pitted the new Sequoia Platinum against the 2008 Ford Expedition King Ranch Edition and the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ "White Diamond" edition. Let's not beat around the Texan brush: the Tahoe outshines its competitors as the best all-around full-sized SUV. Here's why...

2008 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ 4×4 Review continued »

2008 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ 4x4 rating summary and performance review

Posted in Chevrolet | Car Reviews | 71 comments

2009 BMW X6 Review

By Jonny Lieberman
April 7, 2008 - 39,842 Views

To understand the new X6, you must go back a few years to the 2001 X Coupe Concept. This was the first time the world got a look at BMW's vision of a jacked-up sports car that "deliberately questioned existing preconceptions." Nothing whatsoever made it from the concept to the production X6-- save a bit of flame surfacing and the chutzpah necessary to give well-heeled motorheads what they didn't know they needed: a jacked-up five thousand pound, four-door, four-seat, all-wheel-drive sports car.

2009 BMW X6 Review continued »

2009 BMW X6 rating summary and performance review

Posted in BMW | Car Reviews | 129 comments

2008 Pontiac G8 GT Review

By Michael Karesh
April 4, 2008 - 43,223 Views

The first time GM attempted to create a BMW 3-Series fighter, we got the Cadillac Cimarron. After 27 years of trying again (and again and again) to take on the rear-wheel drive driver's car, we've got a rebadged Australian import that goes by the name Pontiac G8. No question: the G8 is a far better automobile than the Cimarron (what modern car isn't?). But it's still no 3-Series. Frankly, it's not clear what it is.

2008 Pontiac G8 GT Review continued »

2008 Pontiac G8 GT rating summary and performance review

Posted in Pontiac | Car Reviews | 127 comments