The revamped 2013 Toyota Avalon sedan is a far cry from the first Avalon, which debuted for 1995 as a stretched, roomy version of the Toyota Camry with a front bench seat (remember those?) and a column shifter. Toyota called it the “most American of Toyotas,” and it was sort of a Japanese Buick. The [...]
The all-new 2013 Audi RS 5 almost feels like a race car for the street, with its glued-to-the-road suspension, strong brakes and awesome, high-revving 4.2-liter V-8 that generates 450-horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. That naturally aspirated V-8 is good for an oh-my-gosh 0-60 m.p.h time and, says Audi, an electronically governed top speed of [...]
The 2013 Dodge Durango and Chevy Traverse are both three row family haulers that directly compete against each other in the market place. The Dodge Durango is a butch and brawny AWD Crossover based on a stretched Jeep Grand platform while the brand new Chevrolet Traverse is one of Chevy’s best selling family haulers. Both [...]
The all-new 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid is designed to outgun the popular Prius V model, which is the largest Prius hybrid model. That’s a big job because the Prius is the darling in its various forms of the hybrid-car crowd. However, the front-drive C-Max appears to be a fairly well proven vehicle in that Ford [...]
The 2013 Dodge Durango and Chevy Traverse are both three row family haulers that directly compete against each other in the market place. The Dodge Durango is a butch and brawny AWD Crossover based on a stretched Jeep Grand platform while the brand new Chevrolet Traverse is one of Chevy’s best selling family haulers. Both [...]
The redesigned, sporty 2014 Mazda6 is set to challenge the Big Guys in the sedan field. The 2014 Mazda6 is a slickly redesigned mid-size sedan that retains Mazda’s sporting nature, while providing lots of practicality. The new front-drive Mazda has to be good because it’s in a tough market. Rivals include the well-established Toyota Camry [...]
The new 2014 Mazda6 is one of the most attractive, front-drive, four-door vehicles out on the road today. The Skyactive, 2.5-liter engine is wonderfully efficient returning 30 mpg combined while providing enough power to make one smile. This is a special car and Mazda put significant time and effort into the design. In another TFLcar [...]
The mid-size 2013 Santa Fe Sport crossover has rakish new styling similar to that of Hyundai Sonata and Elantra sedans. It also has car-like road manners and plenty of room. The Santa Fe Sport should do well, even though it’s up against rivals such as the Honda Pilot, Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Edge, Nissan Murano and [...]
The compact front-drive 2013 Mazda3 four-door sedan or hatchback provides driving kicks and decent roominess. The 2013 Mazda3 has a good number of minor upgrades and updates from its predecessor. The 2012 model got more-aggressive styling and a new, fuel-saving 155-horsepower 2-liter fuel-stingy (and oddly named) “Skyactiv” (no “e”) engine. That four-cylinder engine delivers an [...]
The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu is a very good car, and that may be its greatest flaw. Being magna cum laude in a class full of summa cum laude standouts such as the new Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion, and Volkswagen Passat just isn’t enough in today’s mid-size family sedan marketplace. Despite its failure to [...]
The new 2013 Cadillac ATS can equal or match European sports sedan rivals. But, thanks to its mega-horsepower CTS-V, Cadillac is only mildly compared by some to prestigious sporty Euro nameplates such as Audi, Mercedes and BMW. After all, you can’t build mostly pure luxury cars for about 100 years, then suddenly get a sporty [...]
Many new automakers often held out making a convertible version of their standard hardtop models, but Volkswagen began building Beetle convertibles in 1949, very soon after its first rear-engine, four-seat hardtop model was built. The Beetle convertible was a good move. The rear-engine model was gobbled up, with more than 330,000 made over a 32-year [...]
The 2013 Volvo S60 is still as Swedish as a big chunk of lutfisk with lingonberry topping. Foreign buyouts can be harrowing for automotive companies, but Zhejiang Geely has done absolutely no wrong to this vehicle. The 2013 Volvo S60 is not only worthy of competing with the world’s best, including the Audi A4, BMW [...]
The Ford Flex looks distinctive, but its boxy styling clearly signifies that this is mainly a conservative family vehicle. But owners can stare when others try stuffing lots of people and cargo into a less-roomy vehicle. The Flex, which has front- or all-wheel drive, features three seating rows and can handle seven people when all [...]
