On paper, a midsize truck with a diesel powertrain and bad-ass off-road gear sounds like a recipe for fun.
And based on our first drive of the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison, it is – provided you actually get an opportunity to leave the pavement behind.
On road, however, in an urban environment — well, you get a truck that’s not much fun at all.
Volkswagen just revealed the new Tiguan. For next year.
Why did the brand take the virtual wraps off the refreshed version of the Tiguan a year and a half before it goes on sale here, as a 2022 model? Because Europe gets it first. It goes on sale there “shortly.”
Might as well just gather media via Skype and tell us all about it now, apparently.
Add the Toyota Corolla to the list of nameplates that were accused of losing the plot in recent years, before being righted — at least partially — by a redesign or refresh.
We’ve talked about this with the Nissan Altima (and Sentra, and Versa), as well as other vehicles. Now, it’s the Toyota’s turn.
I got my grubby mitts on a Corolla Hybrid and put it through its paces around Chicago. I’ve been critical of the car before – the last-generation model’s steering felt like it was constantly out to lunch, and the seating position was uncomfortable, especially for a tall, beer-gutted dude like me.
These flaws might’ve been acceptable if the car didn’t also feel downmarket, even accounting for its price point. Honda, Hyundai, and others were offering compact sedans that were even with (or better) than the Corolla for similar money.
Toyota took a step in the right direction with the Corolla hatch, but did the sedan follow? Well, sort of.
The name Americans have come to associate with Kia’s midsize family sedan is dead, but you probably knew that already. Hopefully you’ve recovered.
On Tuesday, Kia pulled the wraps off the U.S.-market K5, the automaker’s replacement for the long-running Optima (which carried the Magentis name in Canada until 2010). Riding atop a third-generation N3 platform, the midsizer grows in length, wheelbase, and width, while slouching closer to the road.
For the coming model year, Kia also saw fit to equip the newly renamed model with a more potent uplevel engine and all-wheel drive, but the liftback you might think exists behind the backseat is all in your head. (Read More…)
If you detected a whiff of sarcasm in that headline, your nose wasn’t off. Yes, style and beauty is entirely subjective, but the range-topping Bentley Bentayga has never found itself at the top of any writer’s sexiest-dressed list.
And that’s okay! It’s big, it’s bold, and it sells, so Bentley naturally loves anything that generates profits in a market quickly shying away from traditional body styles. Still, better is always possible, so the marque took the Bentayga to the plastic surgeon. (Read More…)
Mitsubishi burned a lot of what little street cred it had left by taking the name of a once-beloved affordable sports coupe and plunking it onto yet another crossover.
The good news, if there is any, is that the crossover that now bears the nameplate is more than a little quirky.
The bad news – it’s not an affordable, fun-to-drive sports coupe.
Not to mention that the brand may soon be history, at least on these shores.
Rivian wants to dazzle you with excessive range and dirt-flinging tank turns. Ford wants you to feel virtuous while behind the wheel of an F-150. General Motors wants to crush things beneath the wheels of the monstrous GMC Hummer EV.
Lordstown Motors’s electric pickup, on the other hand, doesn’t want to be everyone’s best friend. The fledgling automaker, owner of GM’s former Chevy Cruze plant in Northeast Ohio, unveiled its first product Thursday, beating Ford and GM to an electric pickup debut. (Read More…)
The Nissan Altima was once in the mix with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord in the mid-size sedan conversation.
That’s no longer the case, and hasn’t been for some time.
Nissan is working hard to get back in that mix, and while the 2020 Altima takes the right strides forward, there’s still more work to be done.
The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon gain visual refreshes for 2021, but the updates foisted upon General Motors’ midsize twins won’t win over those who enjoy keeping their pickup expenditures to a bare minimum.
For the vast majority of the buying public, however, the revamped trucks might be viewed as an improvement over what came before. (Read More…)
You’re forgiven for forgetting the Volkswagen Arteon exists.
That’s not necessarily the car’s fault. It’s a fairly good large sports sedan, but it plays in a class that has been overshadowed by the crossover craze, and top-level Arteons are priced so that similar Audis start to look appealing.
As I wrote when the car launched, the biggest challenge the Arteon faces is finding the right buyer.
It’s very unlikely this is the first car that comes to mind when someone thinks of Volkswagen.
Toyota made significant changes to the new-for-2020 Supra just one year into its lifespan, adding a new, cheaper four-cylinder model and bumping the output of the previously solitary inline-six version. That’s not the only hardware change in store for the resurrected sports coupe, either.
For many, whether or not they ever get into a Supra will come down to price, and that’s where the new GR Supra 2.0 enters the fray. (Read More…)
The Bullitt and GT350 appear dead for 2021, but fear not. Those who find the Ford Mustang GT just a tad underwhelming can soon opt for a Mach 1, which combines various attributes of those three aforementioned cars in one retro package — though perhaps not as retro as some would like.
It’s also not as plentiful as some ‘Stang fans would prefer, either, going on sale in the spring of 2021 as a limited-run model capped at, well, no one knows how many units. (Read More…)
Unveiled late Monday, the next-generation Lexus IS sedan’s identity should be no secret to those familiar with the current model. Toyota Motor Corp’s premium rear-drive sports sedan is a clear descendant of what came before, keeping the previous model’s proportions and many of its lines. Certainly, there’s only so much you can do with a corporate spindle grille.
Now alone in its mission, what with the midsize GS’s recent passing, the new IS doesn’t try anything radical. It’s not a game changer, smashing segment conventions. Rather, it simply tries to do better. (Read More…)
No one would accuse the current-generation Rogue of oozing too much testosterone. Few, if any, in its class do. The compact crossover sold very well, however, making it an absolutely crucial product for a company reeling from two financial body blows.
A bloated business and declining sales mingled with pandemic woes this year, making it all the more important for Nissan to streamline its operations while releasing new and improved product. And the 2021 Rogue is indeed improved. (Read More…)
Cadillac is a brand beleaguered. Part of the reason is its misadventures in Crossover Land.
In a world where Acura, Lexus, and others are serving up premium crossovers at premium prices, and building competitive vehicles while so doing, Cadillac has served up something that’s more like a glorified Chevy.
That, obviously, is a problem.
Recent Comments