New Car Review: 2014 Mazda 6 Grand Touring Sedan (Updated)

Boring.

Bland.

Beige.

Those are some of the one-word labels that get stuck on mid-size family sedans...especially the Toyota Camry, and, until the new one, the Honda Accord.  Well, even if you're not moved by the all-around goodness of the Accord, we dare you to be unmoved by the new Mazda 6.

Even when the midsizers (a group that also includes the Dodge Avenger, Chevrolet Malibu, Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima) were at their blandest, the Mazda 6 has always been more of a driver's car.  Good to see they stepped up their game at the same time (some of)  the other guys did.

Why The 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander GT Deserves A Test Drive

Can the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander GT save an entire car company?

New car buyers, you have a new address to remember.

Your local Mitsubishi dealer.

Yes, it's been a long time, if ever, since you considered the triple-diamond brand for anything with four wheels.  Long enough that the very survival of Mitsubishi as an automotive manufacturer in this country has been in question the past few years.

But this...the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander GT...shows the company is still capable of making very good vehicles.  And ones targeted at the American driver, at that.

New Car Review: 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4X2

In a time when mid-size SUVs can blow right past the $50,000 mark, it's refreshing to drive one that comes in about 20 grand below that.

Generally, the manufacturers like to put their highest or second-highest trim line vehicles, loaded with options, into the press fleets that TireKickers (automotive journalists) like myself drive.

If they'd done that with the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, let's say a top-of-the-line Summit 4X4, we'd be looking at a base price of $50,995.  And as loaded as the Summit is, there's still another $7,000 plus worth of available options.  We could have been bumping up against 60 grand.

But Jeep chose to introduce us to the heavily refreshed 2014 Grand Cherokee by giving us the base Laredo 2-wheel drive.  Starting price? A very reasonable $28,795.  It comes with a 3.6 liter V6 that produces 290 horsepower and 260 pounds per foot of torque, is mated to Chrysler's new 8-speed automatic transmission, and gets an EPA-estimated 17 mpg city/25 mpg highway.

Not too shabby.

New Car Review: 2013 Volvo C30 T5 M R-Design

Once upon a time, Volvo built a neat little sporty car called the P1800 and, after a few years, the P1800 ES, which had a big glass hatchback.  They were cool-looking cars and went a long way toward furthering Volvo's image as being about more than just rugged, safe boxes on wheels.

A few years back, Volvo gave us the modern-day successor to the P1800 ES, the C30.  In fact, a straightforward stock C30 was one of the first cars reviewed here on TireKicker nearly five years ago.

New Car Review: 2013 Kia Optima SX

Kia has come a long way in a big hurry.

From butt of many an automotive joke to low-cost transportation alternative to "as good as what the Japanese were doing five years ago", each step came in rhythmic cadence. The inevitability that Kia would make a fully competitive vehicle was apparent to anyone willing to admit it. It was about a year and a half ago that I admitted not only had Kia arrived there, but with the then all-new Optima, had actually leapfrogged the competition (Ford Focus, Chevy Malibu, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord) in terms of style.

Now comes the next hurdle. And this one may be tougher.

Is the world ready for...and will it buy...a $35,000 Kia Optima?

New Car Review: 2012 Buick Regal E-Assist




The 2012 Buick Regal E-Assist.

Four-cylinder Buick.

The phrase can cause some worry...especially among those of us of a certain age who might remember when such things existed before (Skylarks from model years 1980-1998).

Regular TireKicker readers know that things are much better now, from our recent run in the new, small Buick Verano. Today's Buick 4 is far from agricultural...in fact, it's smooth and quiet and gives little indication that it's not a six, apart from perhaps a little lower urgency level.

But that's the Verano. The littlest Buick. This is the Regal. Not only larger, but the one nameplate in the Buick stable meant to evoke a sporting character. And there is at least one legitimate firebreather...the GS (a full review of which is coming soon). But when you go shopping for a standard Regal, the four is what you get. And, for additional cost, you can get it with E-Assist.

New Car Review: 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport




The 2012 Honda Ridgeline Sport.

When I first started professionally TireKicking (reviewing automobiles) 15 years ago, things were pretty predictable. Most of the major manufacturers made sure one of every model they sold wound up available at least once a year. Sometimes more often. If a model was long in the tooth and about to be replaced, it might skip a year. But by and large, you could pretty much count on yearly refreshers.

As the economy got more challenging, manufacturers got a bit more selective...sometimes only putting vehicles into the press fleet that were all-new, significantly refreshed or that had added some bit of standard or optional equipment that had not previously been available.

And then there's the Honda Ridgeline. I first drove one seven years ago...the summer it was introduced. It was also the last time I drove one. That's right...somehow, the Ridgeline has sat out six years worth of local press fleet duty...until now.

New Car Review: 2013 Kia Sorento

The 2013 Kia Sorento.

Meet the all-American midsize crossover.

Yep, it's a Kia.

I'll spare you all the roaring up in the rearview mirror analogies that seem so unavoidable when writing about Kia's huge and so far unfailing strides from punch line to today's version of what Honda was in the 80s. Short version is this is now and so is the Kia Sorento. It's a right-sized crossover SUV, made in America for Americans and it hits the bulls-eye dead center.

New Car Review: 2012 Honda CR-V





The 2012 Honda CR-V.

Expectations.

That's the problem Honda has at the moment. I've read a few mediocre to bad reviews of the 2012 Honda CR-V, and after a week and 500 miles at the wheel, I can tell you, they're wrong. And it stems from expectations.

Those of us of a certain age watched as Honda went from building underpowered motorbikes to two-door rollerskates like the Honda 600 to world-beating sedans like the 1980s Accords and Civics in what seemed like the blink of an eye...and maintained the edge in quality, reliability and even innovation.

For the past decade or so, Honda's been operating with different priorities, and it shows. Their cars are no longer cutting edge. The simplicity and flawless ergonomics have given way to a fascination with electronics and buttons in the cabin. I've even said it...in a lot of ways, Kia is now building what we (of a certain age) expected from Honda.

But that doesn't mean that their cars are bad...or even less competitive in their categories.

New Car Review: 2012 Toyota Prius

The 2012 Toyota Prius.

Fifty. Five-Zero.

If there's a number that's caused great consternation among Prius drivers since the car was launched, it's the number 50.

That's the miles per gallon that people seem to expect to get from the now-veteran (12 years and counting) Toyota hybrid. And it's the number people rarely have gotten.

I've driven several Priuses (Priii?) a year for each of those 12 years. My personal best has been 48...a number that I would average with some regularity for the first several years. Lately, it's dropped off to 45 or 46.

But in the 2012 Toyota Prius that just left my care this morning.....I averaged 50.4 miles per gallon.

New Car Review: 2012 Jeep Wrangler




The 2012 Jeep Wrangler.

Regular TireKicker readers know of my fondness for purposeful, iconic design. Well, right up there with the Porsche 911 (but one heck of a lot less expensive) is the Jeep Wrangler.

Remarkably, I've never owned one. This, despite spending 16 years of my life in the High Sierras and 27 in the Desert Southwest. Came close once, in Reno in 1978. But the CJ (as it was then known) was crude, thirsty and expensive. I bought a Toyota Corolla instead.

Now, though, the Jeep Wrangler appears to be in a sweet spot...having acquired comfort, practicality and everyday usefulness (well, some of those things, anyway) without sacrificing its rugged go-anywhere capabilities.