It’s not everyday that automakers get do-overs but that is what Acura has done with its smallest family member. For 2016, the entry model to Acura, ILX, sees a slimming of powertrain choices and a freshening of styling and technology – all for the better. A few years ago I thought Acura lost its way with this model but no more.
A minivan is a minivan is a minivan. It is not a sport utility vehicle, it is not an activity wagon and it does not have swagger. But as I recently reminded myself during our week with the Toyota Sienna, the minivan is one of the most useful vehicles on the road today.
I was recently among a small group of auto writers who gathered in Portland to check out the all new fourth generation 2016 Lexus RX 350. You know it as the Lexus luxury utility vehicle, I came to know it as a fun and sporty vehicle that was heavy on good looks, creature comforts, and technological features.
It looks like Honda has done it again. Without asking permission or begging any pardon, the automaker has brought a vehicle to market that is most likely going to dominate its segment. I am speaking of the all-new HR-V compact crossover utility vehicle and I predict that Honda is going to sell a boatload of them.
A new style sedan arrived on the automotive scene a few years back in the form of a coupe/sedan and the A7 is Audi’s entry into that category. From the B-pillar forward the vehicle appears to be a traditional sedan but from that point aft there is a long slope to the trunklid giving this styling its signature look.
This week was all about the 60s. Volvo Cars of North America is preparing to celebrate 60 years of bringing it’s Swedish-born vehicles to this continent. As part of the festivities the automaker is delivering some new 2016 models on the 60-series line–namely, the S60 Inscription sedan, the S60 Cross Country sedan, and the V60 Cross Country wagon.
If this 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport looks familiar it is done so by design, literally. Hyundai employs the “Fluidic Sculpture” theme in all its vehicles and our recent Santa Fe Sport CUV tester had us feeling a bit of déjà vu all week back to the all-new Tucson we recently visited with.
Which Lexus sport sedan is the least known? My point exactly. Many of you did not even venture a guess toward the GS. Lexus re-launched the midsize luxury sport sedan in its fourth generation several years ago and then ushered it into the background. Shame really, as the GS 350 F Sport is a worthy contender for the German competition.
This week’s automotive review is another update of sorts as I had already driven this vehicle within the past year. I am talking about the all-new 2015 Ford F-150 pickup that shook up the consumer truck world by making these vehicles largely from aluminum. The recent week in a King Ranch SuperCrew solidified our impressions from the launch last fall.
Five is more than four. Of course we all learned this early on in grade school but that point was reinforced recently as I spent a week with the 2015 Kia Forte5, the sport wagon version of the Forte sedan. The new Forte5 is certainly more than its four-door sedan counterpart and the number of doors is only the beginning.
Just when you thought station wagons had gone the way of the Dodo bird, Volkswagen releases a new model – dubbed SportWagen – and releases it on the family of vehicle that brought home the 2015 North American Car of the Year crown, the VW Golf. The V-dub Golf S-dub arrived earlier this year and it replaces the Jetta SportWagen.
While U.S. consumers eagerly await the arrival of Ford’s global rally car, the Focus RS, we enjoy zipping around town (or the track) in the sport tuned Focus ST that received some upgrades for the 2015 model year. We spent time recently checking out the updated driving dynamics (steering and suspension) along with styling changes inside and out.
Let me just get right to it, I was absolutely skeptical about this product when I first read the press release – a power bank that will jump start your car. Really. I can charge my cellphone OR jump my car if the battery dies. Really. The Gooloo GF01 Jump Starter Power Bank works, folks. Really.
Hyundai (rhymes with fun-day) is launching an all-new 2016 Tucson Compact Crossover Utility Vehicle and this third generation model is hands down the best yet. The new ride is longer and wider and is stretched between the wheels and features an all-new array of powertrains (including a turbo) making the new Tucson one of the best compact crossovers period.
It’s been a while since I last tested the Ram 1500 pickup and in that time little has changed. The Ram light duty trucks received serious enhancements back then and for 2015 there are only a couple of things to talk about as being new over that last article. This time around we tested the Laramie Longhorn Crew Cab 4×4.
We told you about Ford upgrading the 2015 Expedition SUV last year and we gave you first drive impressions on it’s Lincoln counterpart. Recently we spent time with the long wheelbase version of Ford’s largest land yacht and put the EcoBoosted Expedition EL Limited through its paces and we can tell you wholeheartedly it is grandbaby tested and grandbaby approved.
I think most folks (people like me anyway) remember the BMW 2002 from several decades back. The German automakers has resurrected the iconic 2 Series when they introduced an all-new Coupe last year that hit the streets in the form of the 228i and M235i as the successors to the 1 Series Coupe in this subcompact sport class.
Chevrolet recently pulled the curtain back on a couple of new models headed into showrooms this winter. Actually, these are all-new versions of current models – the Camaro Convertible and the Chevy Cruze – and they will be arriving soon as 2016 models. Each gets new design inside and out, updated technologies, and the latest, most economical powertrain offerings.
In my first trip out to to San Francisco, I had the task of covering a very fun event. Ford’s “Further With Ford 2015”. It’s the fifth edition of the event, the first being in San Francisco. And to be completely honest I had a ball. So much so, I have #FordTrends as a favorite hashtag on Instagram and Twitter now.
Leading motor company Ford Motors, ahead of their 5th annual trend conference, Further with Ford, has announced a handful of the first apps to be compatible with AppLink for SYNC 3, their latest update to their platform.
Has Dodge created the best musclecar ever built in the form of its new Challenger SRT Hellcat? Yes. And no. Purists will argue the supercharged 707hp beast must have a manual transmission to be the ultimate street car, but those folks dwell in the past. The world has evolved and so, too, must we. Welcome to 2015.