New Car Review: 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek




The 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek.

I have only one complaint about the 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek.

The one they sent me was painted the same shade as Walter White's Pontiac Aztek.

New Car Review: 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Cooper Coupe

The 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Cooper Coupe.

What do you do when you're a decade or so along selling a not terribly practical (as in daily use by a family of four) car?

Well, after making some more practical variants (Clubman, Countryman), you can always make one that's even less practical. Of course, it helps if it's also even more fun than the original. And any time you see the name "John Cooper Works" attached to a Mini, you know the fun quotient has been attended to.




Rear view of the 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Cooper Coupe.

The Cooper Coupe dispenses with the back seat, giving the Mini a trunk instead of a hatch, a seriously racy roofline, and an ability to start conversations in parking lots. Even though you can get a Cooper Coupe three different ways (base, S and John Cooper Works), they're still rare enough that most people think you've had your Mini customized.