UPDATE: New Car Review: 2014 Kia Sorento

How popular is the Kia Sorento?

Consider this:  One of the most-read reviews here on TireKicker is a review of the 2013 Sorento, which we published almost two years ago.

Kia's product cadence (the schedule on which they release all-new or significantly updated vehicles) is so brisk that as fresh as the '13 seemed, the 2014 Sorento is clearly a better looking, better-designed, more refined machine.

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 S60 T6 R-Design

The phrase “Mid-size Volvo sedan” no doubt causes some eyes to glaze over, especially for those who think they know what Volvo’s all about. But the key is to ask “Which mid-size Volvo sedan?”

Yes, they’re all called the S60, but that car comes in three different turbocharged flavors these days: The T5, a 2.5-liter 5-cylinder with 250 horsepower; the T6 AWD, which adds half a liter, one cylinder, two more driving wheels and 50 additional ponies; and the T6 AWD R-Design, which pulls 325 horsepower out of the same 3-liter six. And that’s the one we’re talking about here.

New Car Review: 2013 Nissan Z Roadster

The 2013 Nissan Z Roadster.

As a journalist (automotive and otherwise), I work hard to bury my biases, to keep my personal tastes from getting in the way of or into the story. By and large, I think I succeed.

But I have one bias that's best just confessed. I'm a pushover for convertibles.

I think it goes back to my Uncle Ron, who had a succession of them ('55, '59 and '63 Thunderbirds...the '63 was a Sports Roadster...and a '69 Cougar XR-7). From as young as I can remember until age 13 (when he passed away), one of the biggest treats on earth was a ride in one of Uncle Ron's convertibles. The wind in the hair, the warmth of the sun (through SPF 50 sunscreen these days) and all the other sensory delights make open-air motoring a special thing.

That's not to say every car that has a top that goes down wins me over. There have been some wretched convertibles. And even otherwise good ones battle the structural rigidity loss that comes from cutting off the roof. But the good ones are very good. And the Nissan Z Roadster is definitely one of those.

It needs to be, because it was intended to be driven in a spirited way. Small, light, 332 horsepower...this isn't for slow cruises down Main Street on Saturday night. Nissan's engineers have done a great job making sure the structure is solid and confidence-inspiring.