First Drive Reviews

There are only two ways a third-generation Audi S6 Avant makes it to the U.S. It’s either a blackmarket car that was imported here and federalized at a completely absurd cost that isn’t worth it to make it street legal, or, it was custom-built. This 2007 S6 Avant is the latter...

Jeep crows about its Wrangler being the standard for off-road driving. As my colleague Andrew Ganz found in Arizona, the 2018 Jeep Wrangler is a dynamite car in the dirt. While the 2018 Wrangler, a JL to all the fans, certainly will be a fixture on trails and in mud bogs, it's also the vehicle that...

It was a bright, sunny February afternoon in Chicago when I picked up the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. Still, with temperatures in the 30s, the conditions weren't ideal for such a performance beast. No matter really. I wouldn't be taking this 707-horsepower SUV to a track anyway. I'd just be...

Cape Town, South Africa - The South African landscape is unusually parched. Late January is midsummer here, and the country is in the throes of a drought that threatens the water supply. Day Zero is April 16, about a month before the rainy season that could stave off this water crisis. It's an...

The Lincoln Navigator was once the gold standard for luxury SUVs, but it faded into history as time—not to mention limited investment from parent company Ford in its luxury brand—marched on. For 2018, the Navigator has been reinvented with the lofty goal of once again becoming the...

Subaru’s STI division has a recipe for more fun. Add liberal amounts of better handling, a dash more power, then bring the heat. In the case of the $50,000 2018 Subaru WRX STI Type RA, the recipe is fully baked. After spending a day with this special edition model—limited to only 500...

The Infiniti brand is difficult to pin down. Its struggle to introduce a cohesive brand identity and driving character and hide Nissan underpinnings overshadows impressive interior materials and exterior aesthetics. Few premium brands have had to prove their credentials so often. With the 2019...

The Subaru BRZ has been focused on handling and fun since its introduction in 2011. Dynamic drivability comes naturally in a lightweight sports car, after all. For 2018, the STI-tuned Subaru BRZ tS sharpens its handling further—nearly to the point of leaving bare the car’s power...

Walk up to your Byton and an exterior camera knows your face. The door unlocks and you open it. The car boots up and it knows your name. It knows your health data, reads your blood pressure, checks your schedule, and streams whatever video was on your smartphone. It even knows where you need to go...

The decision to do away with a sedan shape and offer the 2018 Buick Regal as a hatchback (called Sportback) and a wagon (called Tour X) is an odd one at first blush. After all, mid-size sedans traditionally have been among the strongest selling vehicles, while hatchbacks and especially wagons have...

Rip out the heart of a C7 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, shove it into a four-door luxury sedan, and what do you get? The 2018 Cadillac CTS-V. With far more horsepower than anyone truly needs, loud noises that will instantly put hair on your chest like a Chia Pet, and a chassis that should be a dynamic...

With anticipation comes expectations. Before venturing to Tucson, Arizona, to experience the 2018 Jeep Wrangler, we assumed that it would be more refined, more livable, more comfortable, more efficient, and more feature-laden. And it delivers all those superlatives. But what we also expected was...

Matthias Erb, the engineer tasked with turning VW’s North American operations from car importer to full-on development office, isn't able to relax for long. Last year, VW finally got competitive in the American crossover market with its redesigned Tiguan and new Atlas. This year, it’s a...

Volvo is reinventing itself with fresh products, the latest technologies, new 4-cylinder and electrified powertrains, and ground-up platforms faster than most believed it could. Now that it has successfully captured the automotive world's attention with the flagship XC90 and S/V 90 models, it's...

Shooting through the streets of Barcelona behind the wheel of the 2019 Volvo XC40 is doubly appropriate. Not only because the Spanish city has been dubbed “Gothenberg South” after regular visits by Volvo engineers, but also because the XC40 is the automaker’s version of Juan Ponce...

A cynic could argue that the 2019 Land Rover Range Rover P400e PHEV is a compliance special for the well-heeled. But the reality is that adding an electric motor both keeps the world's flagship SUV a viable option for city dwellers in places like London and points toward the future of off-roading...

To Porsche enthusiasts, the Panamera may be heresy. The engine is up front instead of mounted in the middle or the rear. The Panamera debuted in 2010 and immediately became the brand's second-best selling car. Heresy be damned. Now in its second generation, the 2018 Panamera atones for some of the...

Ever since Chevrolet relaunched the Camaro, it’s effectively been poking Ford, almost trying to provoke its oldest rival with cars like the SS 1LE, Z/28, and ZL1. And Ford has spent the past several years politely asking Chevy to stop with a short string of competitors in the Boss 302, GT500...

ALGARVE, PORTUGAL – The most fearsome, trackworthy Porsche is no longer the naturally aspirated GT3. If Nürburgring Nordschleife lap times mean anything to you, the wondrously capable 918 Spyder has also been eclipsed. The latest King of the ‘Ring and sharpest weapon in the Porsche...

For a long time, the Ford Expedition was forgotten—perhaps, even forgettable. Last redesigned in 2007, the SUV received next-to-no attention until 2015, when Dearborn decided to drop a 3.5-liter Ecoboost under the hood as part of the mildest of refreshes. It was fine, the “C's get...