30 Minutes With: The 2017 Jaguar XE 35t AWD

The 2017 Jaguar XE 35t AWD.

Publisher's note:  Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days.  Seven is typical.  Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days.  Our "30 Minutes With" series are cars that we spent half an hour behind the wheel of during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Days in Monterey, California.

Day one of Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca via Laureles Grade.  Once there, you swap cars with another journalist for the drive back, and then swap cars again once back at the Quail. Apart from an hour's lunch, this is your day from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

I jumped in the 2017 Jaguar XE 35t AWD for my first run of the morning (the longest one of the day, from the Monterey Tides Hotel at Sand City, past Mazda Raceway, onto Laureles Grade and then back west via Carmel Valley Road to the Quail.

Choosing Wisely: The 2017 Lincoln MKZ Reserve Hybrid

The 2017 Lincoln MKZ Reserve Hybrid.

The math behind hybrids is critical:  How much more will you pay for using less gasoline?  And how long will it take to make up in fuel savings the extra outlay for the hybrid?

The 2017 Lincoln MKZ Reserve makes it a no-brainer.  Both the gasoline and the hybrid versions cost the same...a base price of $39,670.

The (Almost) 80 Grand Grand Cherokee: The 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT

The 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT.

Apart from the Fiat end of things, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has turned into the toy shop for folks who like their cars speedy.  The new Alfas certainly fill that bill, Chrysler will sell you a 363-horsepower full-size sedan in the 300C, Dodge is giving us 485-horsepower hot rods like the Challenger R/T Scat Pack (to say nothing of the 707-horsepower Hellcat and the coming 808-horsepower Demon) and the Charger R/T as well as its beefier brothers Charger Daytona and Charger R/T Scat Pack.

And Jeep is not left out of the high horsepower fun, either.

Better Late Than Never: The 2017 Jeep Compass Limited 4X4

The 2017 Jeep Compass Limited 4X4.

Nearly five years ago, our Publisher and Executive Editor wrote about the Jeep Compass, noting that it would be leaving the Jeep lineup after 2014.  It was true at the time, but Fiat Chrysler Automobiles changed plans, deciding it would be less than good business to not have an entrant in the rapidly-growing small SUV segment.  So, despite its shortcomings, the first-generation but heavily facelifted Compass soldiered on while a replacement was designed and engineered.

Now it's here---and it is exactly what the Compass should have been all along.

South Korean Sport: The 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport

The 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport.

About a year ago, I had a major revelation while driving the all-new 2016 Hyundai Elantra Limited.  Namely, that Hyundai had built a tight little sedan that could gobble up one of my favorite stretches of twisty road (CA 128 between Rutherford and Winters) without breaking a sweat, with its automatic transmission set in "Sport" mode.

Now, Hyundai sweetens the deal with the Elantra Sport.

Two Liters, Lower Price Tag: The 2017 Lexus GS200t

The 2017 Lexus GS200t.

Lexus is by no means a bargain-basement brand.  But for the second time in just under two years, I find myself reviewing a Lexus GS with a lower price tag.  Then, it was a $2,195 price reduction on the GS350 F-SPORT from 2014 to 2015.  This time, changes come with the price adjustment, because this is an entirely new GS variant.

Sign Here: The 2017 Mazda CX-9 Signature AWD

The 2017 Mazda CX-9 Signature AWD.

We've made no secret of our love for the Mazda CX-9.  During the holidays, we had and told you about the 2017 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring, and last July, spent a week at the wheel of the top-of-the-line Mazda CX-9 Signature.  Now, since that was a '16 model, it's back to the top we go.

The Last Best Sports Sedan? The 2017 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T GLI

The 2017 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T GLI.

It is, these days, a crossover world.  The not-quite-a-station-wagon-not-quite-an-SUV has become the vehicle of choice for most Americans.  And it has done so to the extent that some people who watch and predict trends say the traditional three-box four-door sedan is on the verge of extinction.

If so, and if you are among those who like a good German sports sedan, the 2017 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T GLI is probably the one to rush out and buy.

Prius Fighter? The 2017 Kia Niro FE

The 2017 Kia Niro.

Traditionally, fuel economy has not been enough to make a car competitive with the Toyota Prius.  The sales charts are littered with failures that got close to the Toyota hybrid's vaunted fuel economy, but didn't sell ---because they didn't look like a hybrid.  People who bought the Prius over much of its 20-year history have wanted other people to know they were driving a fuel-saving hybrid just by looking at it.

Well, in its current generation, Toyota appears to have taken the "different" way too far.  The radically re-styled Prius is selling in fractions of the numbers of its ancestors.

So is the time right for a car that delivers the mileage but looks like a conventional car?