This vintage Fusion featured a tastefully revised interior, with available leather upholstery
In 2011, the Ford Fusion came out with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine, plus a choice of two V6s and a hybrid. Ford introduced a six-speed transmission the previous year and there was an all-wheel-drive version, so they were covering all the bases. The all-wheel-drive version was kind of intriguing. It came with the largest engine…
Performance is excellent. Lively acceleration, smooth power delivery and whisper-quiet in operation
I want to congratulate Mazda for fitting their 2021 CX-5 compact SUV with the most unco-operative stereo system I’ve encountered in 35 years of testing automobiles. It’s so difficult to access and use it might as well not be there. I couldn’t figure out how to change stations without having to consult the owner’s manual…
It featured some great equipment: 17-inch alloy wheels, AC, heated mirrors, privacy glass and more
Available with front-drive or all-wheel-drive, Mazda’s CX-7 continued on as a steady if unspectacular performer for the company in 2011. This vintage of the CX-7 was essentially a carryover from 2010. While the CX-7 SUV didn’t share its platform with any Ford products, it featured an interesting assortment of components from other Mazda products –…
The GV80 is a mid-size SUV that feels full size
As an automobile manufacturer (they also make everything from deepsea freighters to power tools), Hyundai has had its share of ups and downs. The car that launched the company in North America – the Pony – was popular but deeply flawed. Subsequent offerings – Excel, first-generation Sonata, etc. – sold well enough but often developed…
The GTI is more than enough for most drivers
Essentially unchanged from 2010 to 2011, this generation of the Volkswagen Golf GTI model actually debuted in the fall of 2006. In the 2011 version of this hatchback, power is ably provided by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine that develops 200 horsepower and 207 foot-pounds of torque. Transmission choices are a six-speed manual or a…
From the funny little Toyota zipping around the Olympics to the Honda Monkey and Acura NSX to the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and Fefe Dobson
Time for some automotive odds and ends that have come my way lately. First, if you’ve been watching the Tokyo Olympics, you may have noticed these funny little model cars zipping all over the place. They’re especially obvious during the athletics events, such as shot put, javelin, relay races and so on, where they schlepp…
Priced from about the $10,000 range right up to the low $20,000s
Like its upscale brethren – the Acura MDX – the 2011 edition of the Honda Pilot was a candidate for one of the homeliest models in the SUV market. Offered in four trim levels, it bore a strong resemblance to the Ridgeline pickup and featured a chunky body style with one of the least appealing…
The year's version of this mid-size pickup truck has plenty of bells and whistles, but can it live up to the reputation of its predecessor?
A few lifetimes ago, I decided to bring in the new year by taking a long hike up a well-known trail near Harrison, B.C. The Clear Creek trailhead is on the road to Port Douglas on Harrison Lake, and makes its way northeast, until it kind of peters out somewhere just west of the Fraser…
Standard equipment level was high: air conditioning, cruise control, power door locks, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls
Overhauled, restyled and re-engineered in 2009, the 2010 edition of the Mazda6 was also on the receiving end of refinements and various upgrade of a comparatively minor nature. Some models got a push-button start feature, while others featured a blind spot monitoring system. But for all intents and purposes, the 2010 and 2009 Mazda6s were…
The Kicks, despite its odd moniker, is actually a decent little SUV
Of all the car manufacturers, Nissan seems to display the most imagination when it comes to naming its products. Who can forget the Qashqai, Juke, Armada and, going back, the Fairlady and Pulsar. They also had a model in Japan called the Leopard J. Furie, not to mention the Big Thumb delivery truck. More recently,…
Why mess with success?
Reintroduced with sliding side doors and a new body style in 1999, Honda’s Odyssey has been a success story ever since. Over the years, this minivan has become more powerful, with a host of upgrades and engineering goodies. But its basic dimensions have remained about the same. Why mess with success? In 2010, it came…
One of the most unrelaxing vehicles I’ve ever driven
When the Japanese automobile industry was just getting on its feet in the 1950s and 1960s, one of the ways it accomplished its goals was by emulating other manufacturers. For example, the concept of assembly-line production, using just-in-time technology, was taken from General Motors, which introduced it during the Second World War. Similarly, when companies…
Plenty of power, almost completely silent and no worse on gas than most of the competition
Kissing cousin to the 4Runner, the Lexus GX 460 is the upscale version of Toyota’s popular SUV. It has a body-on-frame design and more stuff and a higher price tag, but features the same basic body style, wheelbase, seating capacity and driving experience. In 2011, it was powered by a 4.6-litre V8 engine that delivered…
Last year, Ford produced its last car. And if there was any doubt about Ford’s plans to be a company synonymous with pickup trucks – and hybrid drivetrain technology – the new Maverick should confirm its desire to move even further away from conventional passenger sedans. Not to be confused with the unremarkable Maverick sedan…
When you purchase a Camry, you usually get a four-wheeled appliance that at a minimum gives you years of hassle-free motoring
The year 2010 wasn’t the best of times for Toyota. Unintended acceleration complaints and floormat glitches were giving the company fits. No model in the company’s lineup, it seemed, was immune and Toyota appeared to spend most of its time putting out fires. But as it turns out, this was a pretty good year for…