By Tim Scott It all started in the 1970s. My passion for cars as a kid was absolute and completely undiscerning. I was as intoxicated by a Matra Simca Bagheera as I was a Fiat X1/9. School holidays or family trips abroad were spent bothering car showroom salesmen for brochures, and even yielded the occasional jackpot with an invitation to sit inside. A random love of all things automotive, clearly, but there was … [Read more...]

What hasn’t been said about the new Cayman? It’s a sweetheart of the automotive journalism community, and if you’ve ever been behind the wheel of the covered-roof Boxster, it’s not hard to understand why. With mosquito-like reflexes, a highly versatile powerband and chassis dynamics that rival some of the best in the business, the is an attractive package so highly polished that it feels like something much more … [Read more...]

Introduced last year for the 2014 model year, BMW’s F32 series replaces the E92 platform, otherwise known as the 3-Series coupe and convertible. The 3-Series from now on will remain exclusively as a 4-door line, meaning this new generation of two-door BMWs is called the 4-Series. As the name implies, the 4 offers more than the 3 it takes over from and is not just a mere update. The 4-Series is lower, wider, longer … [Read more...]

Frumpy really doesn’t even begin to describe the initial impression when we met the ‘face’ of Nissan’s latest addition to the bite-size, commercial van market. The 2014 Nissan NV200 Cargo SV makes the old Fiat 600 Multipla look downright svelte. Alongside Ford’s newly revamped Transit Connect, and the eventual Dodge ProMaster City, these tiny vans plan on filling a void in a sliver of the market that doesn’t … [Read more...]

Tinker Tailor Cayenne Macan By Lizett Bond The 2015 Porsche Macan. My thoughts instantly turn to Matryoshka dolls. You know, those little Russian nesting dolls. They follow a theme, open one figure and another is revealed, and so forth. Russian fractals. The 1979 BBC series presentation of the John le Carre miniseries, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”, introduces these dolls as a representation of Smiley’s quest to … [Read more...]

It’s easy to pick on the little guy, and Fiat’s 500 has endured plenty of this during its few years on this side of the Atlantic. Chosen as the mascot for the brand’s return to American soil, the ‘little’ Cinquecento was a brave move coming from a very new relationship between Fiat and the Chrysler group. Following a 27-year hiatus from the United States, the anticipation was high, and there was news of several new … [Read more...]

It really had been a sad few years for new sports car buyers, especially since 2008. There were good sports compacts out there (Mazdaspeed 3, Golf GTI, Civic Si), but all were front-drive with rather pedestrian roots. There were also quite a few proper rear-drive sports cars, but unless you wanted to spend Nissan Z or even Porsche Boxster money, the only choice was the ubiquitous Mazda Miata. The Honda S2000 and … [Read more...]

For 2013, GM added quite a bit of flair to the Camaro lineup. Overall, changes were limited mostly to the improved suspension and nicer interiors, but they also introduced the exciting ZL1 Convertible to the public along with the fabulous 1LE, a true driver's Camaro that we tested in the summer. That doesn't mean that the designers and engineers took a break, however, as last year's New York Auto Show brought even … [Read more...]

Our review of the Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn made us realize just how easy it is to like a nice, well thought out pickup, so it was with more than a little excitement that we got to have a crack at another one. This time, the machine in question was the all new 2014 GMC Sierra. Our test truck was a 1500 SLT with crew cab, four-wheel-drive, and the towing package. GM claims that a slight majority of GMC owners … [Read more...]

We previously tested Cadillac's new full-size luxury sedan, the XTS. As a Cadillac, it surprised us because there was front or all-wheel drive instead of rear-drive, a somewhat ordinary V-6 instead of a big V-8, and almost none of the sporty bravado that has characterized several of the company's other recent models. We liked the very well-executed interior and ample space, but otherwise weren't blown away. … [Read more...]

The FX is now in its tenth and final year, as Infiniti's mid-size crossover for 2014 has been dubbed the QX. During its decade-long production run, the FX has shown us that something that something classified as a crossover doesn't have to be agonizingly boring, and even in this last batch of 2013 models they've added some excitement to an otherwise pretty bleak class of car. The most interesting addition has to be … [Read more...]

Now in its seventh generation and called the B17, the Nissan Sentra is of course a long-standing staple in the compact car market, but it has also always lived in the shadows of the Civic and Corolla. The 2014 version is nothing revolutionary and certainly isn't going to rock the compact car status quo, but it still gives you a lot for the money and despite a few shortcomings it is a perfectly capable car with good … [Read more...]

The Nissan Versa is what it is. Now in its all new 2014 design, it represents the modern automobile at one of the most basic levels. It doesn't make your pulse race when you look at it, the interior doesn't make you feel in any way special, and driving it doesn't make for any sort of occasion. It is surprisingly cheap, though, and that's why the Versa has been selling rather well in the entry-level segment. … [Read more...]