Why Mess With Success?: The 2016 Toyota Tacoma Limited 4X4 Double Cab

The 2016 Toyota Tacoma Limited.

How good, how dominant in its category, was the last-generation Toyota Tacoma?  The answer is that it sold, largely unchanged, in good numbers for a decade.  Now it's time for a new one and while there are several significant changes, Toyota is smart enough not to alter the basic recipe,.

Changes: The 2016 Honda Pilot AWD Elite

The 2016 Honda Pilot AWD Elite.

With nearly 300 different nameplates on the market, there's no way to drive them all in 52 weeks unless you're a major outlet with a large staff (Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Road & Track, Automobile). TireKicker aspires to that, but we're not there yet.  With two writers, one in Arizona and myself in Northern California, we manage to drive and review a shade over 100 vehicles each year.

If we're not in a certain car one year, we'll probably see it the next.  Worst case, the year after that.  So how is it possible that our last review of the Honda Pilot was seven years ago this week?   So much has changed since that review....most of all, the Honda Pilot itself.

Latter-Day Legend: The 2016 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid

The 2016 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid.

About two and a half years ago, I was pretty much the lone voice in the automotive journalism wilderness praising the Acura RLX. Despite its quantum leap improvement over its predecessor, the RL, my fellow tirekickers were largely unimpressed.  And so, tragically, were buyers.

I say "tragically" because I stand behind my review from 2014, and am prepared to go even further after my week in the 2016 RLX Sport Hybrid.

The Sporting Camry: The 2016 Toyota Camry XSE

The 2016 Toyota Camry XSE.

Eighteen years ago, James Schefter wrote a book called "All Corvettes Are Red".  For its eight-generation existence, the prevailing wisdom is that all Toyota Camrys are beige.  Neither is true, and the Camry XSE is Toyota's way of proving that.

Hitting The Sweet Spot: The 2016 Honda CR-V Touring

The 2016 Honda CR-V Touring.

Eleven months after our last week in a Honda CR-V Touring, we get another...and though there's not much new between the 2015 and 2016 models, our appreciation deepens.

Mixed Emotions: The 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club

The 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata.

Never before have I been so conflicted in writing a review.  Regular TireKicker readers know the Mazda MX-5 Miata has long been one of our favorite cars and has occupied a place in the TireKicker's Best Cars list on the right of this page since we began that list more than five years ago. I've eagerly awaited this new generation.  And now that I've driven it...

A Whole New Thing: The 2016 Hyundai Tucson Sport

The 2016 Hyundai Tucson Sport.

If you want a sense of just how big a leap forward the 2016 Hyundai Tucson Sport is, look no further than our review of the 2014 Tucson. The pictures alone tell the tale.  The last-Gen Tucson was a 2009 vehicle in a 2014 world.

Excellence (Slightly) Refined: The 2016 Lexus IS350 F-SPORT

The 2016 Lexus IS350 F-SPORT.

Less than two months ago, I wrote the latest in what has become a series of TireKicker reviews praising the Lexus IS350 F-SPORT.  So why another?  Because that was the 2015 model, and I have just driven the 2016.

Honey, I Shrunk The CX-5: The 2016 Mazda CX-3

The 2016 Mazda CX-3.

If you've read TireKicker before, you know of our admiration of and appreciation for the Mazda CX-5. In the past three years, what had been the "baby" Mazda crossover (smaller than the CX-9 and CX-7) never put a foot wrong.  But now, the CX-7 has been dropped from the lineup, the CX-5 is the middle child and there's a new baby in the family.