This is primarily an upscale compact luxury SUV, with modern conveniences galore
The compact Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 was introduced in 2010 and designed with younger customers in mind. According to the company, the SUV was aimed at brand-conscious young professionals with an active lifestyle, plus up-and-coming female buyers. There are few, if any, differences between the 2010 and 2011 models. It featured a 3.5-litre V6 engine that…
Comfortable and quiet with all kinds of elbow room and easy-to-understand instrumentation
As of 2022, the Kia Sedona is no longer with us. In its place is the Carnival. While still a minivan, this is a different animal in just about every way. It’s larger, more luxurious, better equipped and more robust. The Kia Sedona was one of the first products to come out of the Kia/Hyundai…
Conveys muscularity and a bad boy persona, with a dash of nostalgia thrown in
Introduced in 2009 and manufactured in Oshawa Ont., the fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro banked heavily on baby-boomer nostalgia. And aside from the fact that it delivered better fuel economy than its predecessors, had better handling and braking, and was more environmentally correct, the driving experience was much the same. This generation of the Camaro was based…
The E-class was one of the prettiest cars on the road and emulated by other manufacturers
Available as a four-door sedan, estate wagon, convertible or two-door coupe, Mercedes-Benz’s E-class was well into its fourth generation by 2011 and still represented the heart of the company’s lineup. Not as pricey or exclusive as the S-class, it was a cut above the C-class stable. It was also one of the prettiest cars on…
This is a lively, stable and road-hungry compact SUV that will surprise you with its prowess
If you have any doubt about the dominance of SUVs in today’s market, look no further than Mercedes-Benz – by my count, they have no less than nine distinct models for your consideration in the 2021 model year. That includes everything from the “entry-level” GLA to the Maybach GLS at just shy of $200,000. For…
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…
More greenhouse gases are released when making an EV than a comparable internal combustion engine
I’m not a climate skeptic. As an environmental scientist/engineer by training, I think climate change is real. But it’s like every other environmental issue: a more-or-less routine engineering challenge, rather than a world-altering disaster justifying the fever-dreams of the radical greens. I am, however, an electric vehicle skeptic. Or, more broadly, I’m skeptical that electric…
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…
Offers style, comfort and performance
I’ve never really fully understood the SUV market. It seems to me that, most of the time, SUVs don’t really excel at anything. They don’t function as well as minivans when it comes to people-carrying or schlepping stuff around; they aren’t usually as comfortable or accessible as a conventional sedan or hatchback; nor do they…
Now and then, a car comes my way I simply can’t get along with
Now and then, a car comes my way I simply can’t get along with. Almost everything about it presents an obstacle to a pleasant driving experience. I seem to spend half my time fussing and fighting with it. In this case, it was the 2021 Lincoln Corsair which, despite embodying the pinnacle of automotive design…