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 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 [...]
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 [...]
Walking up to my Tangerine Orange Pearl 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek Premium for the first time, the intro to Led Zeppelin’s own Tangerine played over and over in my head. This car looks menacing with its black-painted 17-inch wheels, pronounced fender flares and raised ride height. That ride height adds up to 8.7 total inches [...]
Through the middle of January, it got blisteringly cold in Denver. So cold, in fact, that the TFLcar long-term BRZ’s tachometer began icing over (see above). I’d already driven the BRZ through some nasty stuff, but how would it fare in single-digit ambient temperatures? Walking up to the car, the BRZ let loose its first [...]
You’re a young, upstart professional in a rugged climate with a toddler and a yellow lab – the perfect demographic for the 2013 Audi Allroad. CUVs and SUVs are too large for your bungalow’s parking pad and besides, you want to minimize your footprint. No, the 2013 Audi Allroad doesn’t run on organic flour and patchouli, but it [...]
Review: The 2013 KIA Rio mixes utility with driving fun to make a good economy car cocktail The 2013 KIA Rio got sporty, nicely sculpted styling for 2012 and adds such things as automatic transmission shifter paddles for the top-line SX, a fuel-saving “idle stop-and-go” feature and extra storage space via a cargo floor tray [...]
When it comes to visual appeal, the thought of a wedge-shaped hybrid doesn’t immediately come to mind. But when my Nebula Gray 2012 Lexus CT 200h F Sport arrived for evaluation, I needed an off road jack to retract my jaw to its full upright position. The 2012 Lexus CT 200h’s muscular hatchback profile is [...]
There’s no better small crossover choice than the hot-selling 2012 Honda CR-V. With that said, Korea is on a roll and they have shaken up the compact crossover market with the turbocharged 2012 Kia Sportage SX. Styling The all-new 2012 Honda CR-V features a more sophisticated appearance. Body-lines are deeply sculpted and the [...]
It’s early Sunday morning, something like 4:45am. The ambient temperature hovers around 20 degrees fahrenheit and a layer of thick, icy fog hangs just above the ground. “(Expletive), I’m going to miss my flight,” I thought, as I feverishly ridded my windows of an inch-thick layer of ice. Sure, I’d replaced the 2013 Subaru [...]
The 2013 Subaru BRZ is made with magical pixie dust. Really, there’s no other explanation for why this car makes me feel like a pro every time I get behind the wheel. That is, except for when there’s snow on the ground, or when I have to carry more than one passenger. In theory, practicality [...]
The 2013 Mazdaspeed3 compact hatchback is for those who like fast, responsive small cars, but don’t want to give up a good dose of practicality. The well-equipped front-drive Mazdaspeed3 is a far cry from the standard front-drive Mazda3, which is a pleasant, practical hatchback that is reasonably enjoyable to drive. The $24,200 Mazdaspeed3 looks like [...]
