#CarReviews

Today I am testing a 2024 Lexus GX 550 Premium AWD that may have just come from the national launch event.

The Toyota Prius was once reviled by most enthusiasts and often the butt of jokes, even in pop culture. Prius drivers were stereotyped as left-lane camping, NPR-listening, Green Party-voting smug virtue-signalers.

When you think of performance Mitsubishis, the Outlander PHEV is almost certainly not what comes to mind. Each time I drive one I’m surprised at how good it is, specifically its handling. A seven-passenger PHEV crossover shouldn’t handle this well. I’d previously driven it on closed tarmac and dirt courses. Each time I’d leave both the autocross and track and think—why is this so fun? It shouldn’t be this fun.

Today I bring you a honey of a car that has very few flaws and an expensive yet reasonable price.

Let's get into the pros and cons of the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA35 4Matic.

Today we have another bit of basic transport from Chevy, though this one is a step up in terms of price and size from the Trax I recently reviewed.

I dug the Trax's combination of utility, sport, and affordable price. Would I feel the same about the 2024 Chevrolet Trailblazer AWD RS?

The more I review crossovers and utility vehicles, the more I evaluate them by how well they just simply work for commuting duty. With exceptions for performance and off-road versions. Those with luxury-brand badging and/or premium pricing get viewed through that prism.

This is, hopefully, a common-sense approach. Most of you readers may be enthusiasts, like I am, but these vehicles aren’t built for that. They are utilities before they are sporty. So that’s the way I look at it.

Viewed through that lens, the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas generally works well. And with some upscale feel, to boot.

It’s not uncommon for vehicles to get slapped with labels based on stereotypes. One of the more derisive ones I’ve heard over the years is a pejorative reference to mid-size luxury crossovers as “parent mobiles.” Although it’s usually more sexist than that, with moms taking more flak than dads, for reasons I don’t need to explain.

Perhaps, though, this stereotype doesn’t need to be so negative. If you need to haul children and/or pets and/or aged parents around the suburbs and you have the means to shop upmarket, you could do worse than the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC.

Two Drive Notes for the price of one this week, due to travel last week.

Up today: The 2024 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro.

Welcome back to Drive Notes -- a recurring feature in which I give you a few brief notes on what I am driving or have driven recently.

Up today: The 2024 Lexus TX 350.

Spend any time on various social media subcultures populated by car enthusiasts and you’ll certainly be confronted by the discussion topic known as “The Two Car Solution.” Sometimes, the phrasing is different, and sometimes, you’ll be presented with limiting factors such as “Pick the two best cars for all driving tasks from the same automaker,” but invariably, it assumes the respondent shall choose to sate each and every driving need with these two vehicles.

Having one of the first entries into a segment can really help an automaker. It’s even better if said entry is done well. Enter the 2024 Kia EV9 – a three-row large SUV with an electric powertrain that is one of the first vehicles of its type on the market.

Last week's ride was the 2023 Hyundai Elantra Limited. Here are my first-take thoughts on this commuter-focused compact.

I recently reviewed the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Premium and my biggest critique, at least from a driving dynamics standpoint, was a lack of guts.

The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Sport is meant to address that criticism. Want a Crosstrek that’s a bit more fun? This is your trim of choice.

Today I say goodbye to a funky EV hatchback that has charmed me in some ways and left me befuddled in others.

Like it or not, electric vehicles are part of our world today. While I shall never tire of the sweet sounds and scents of internal combustion, a number of forces are converging to make it entirely possible that we shall see the end of the traditional gasoline engine as we know it within our foreseeable lifetimes. We may grasp onto our fuel pumps with our cold, dead hands, but for those who appreciate buying and driving new cars somewhat regularly, we need to get on board with the alternatives.