First Drive Reviews

Just what is Trail Rated? For years, Jeep has separately branded its most off road-oriented models. Years ago, it was the Up Country package. Today, it's the Trail Rated badge, which is affixed to all Wranglers and certain versions of Jeep's Renegade, Compass, Cherokee, and Grand Cherokee. Yes...

There’s no substitute for the right tool. How do I know that? Decades of hammering nails with a meat tenderizer. Don't ask. Off-roading requires the right tool, and Chevy owners have waited a long time for that equipment to show up in their Snap-On chests. Fast-rewind to the 2015 LA auto...

The nose draws to a point. It's an arrow. The tail tapers like the business end of rifle ammo. It squares up, impossibly mean in its stance. The 2017 Ford GT sets the newest benchmark for things that look fast while standing still. Lots of street cars ape track machines. Ford developed its striking...

As soon as sports car fans discovered the Miata was a fantastic roadster, some started asking for a stylish coupe version. That was probably a couple days after the first Miata hit the street in 1989. I'd argue that the 2017 MX-5 Miata RF answers that call. Coupe, roadster, or targa? The latest...

I don't think there's a single brand that has a stronger identity than Volvo. Hear me out. Its focus on safety and reserved, stylish design with just a hint of Swedish flair and modernism survived Ford's perpetually rudderless, mismanaged Premier Automotive Group. Meanwhile, anyone who thought...

It was the question burning on our minds for all of 10 minutes: What's the quickest way to conquer a mountain? Around, or over? Like a forced induction race between a rabbit and a super-powered rabbit, we took the strongest examples to Sugarloaf mountain. Motor Authority editors Andrew Ganz and...

The Toyota Tacoma's "just right" recipe has long made it a leader among smaller (but still rather large) pickups, and this year the most capable out-of-the-box Taco TRD Pro offers an even more compelling reason to get dirty. It's sort of a "Raptor Lite," an off-road-ready pickup built up to save...

The Acura MDX is the most popular three-row luxury crossover vehicle, says Honda's premium division, with 850,000 sold since 2001. The vast majority of those were sold in North America, since the Acura brand is almost entirely focused on the U.S. The MDX was also Acura's highest-selling vehicle...

Though it may seem like the terms “Honda Civic” and “hatchback” are inextricably linked, in truth the brand as well known for its lawnmowers as its family cars has had an up-and-down relationship with tailgates. The Civic hatchback is back for 2017, a more practical (and not...

We have a tough time nailing down what “performance” means anymore. Automakers work really hard telling us that every car has sporting potential—right down to a minivan. We’re easily not convinced. We know “sssspeed” when we see it, and Audi’s twins here...

I'd like to start this review by prattling on about how this 550-horsepower super sports car can slay the toughest track set before it. I'd love to wax poetic about its relentless grip, its composure at speed, its hunkered down feel in sharp bends, and the feeling of joy it imparts to the driver as...

Americans have made it clear. We don't like wagons anymore and haven't for quite some time. That makes it hard for automakers to justify building them despite enthusiasts screaming and running with pitchforks. This, of course, presents a problem for an automaker like Volvo, whose history is tied to...

Everyone has a parent or friend's parent who owned a Volvo. Why? Because the cars are known for being sensible and safe, and that's what you buy when you have a family. But today, there are Volvos available in Cyan Racing Blue with a little blue badge, and these aren't the sensible Volvos you...

When a Bugatti Chiron fires up, the sound it produces is loud—surprisingly, dramatically, crazy loud, even while idling at a mellow 650 rpm. Sixteen cylinders, eight liters, four turbochargers and six exhaust pipes can do that. But if you’re lucky enough to be manning the driver's seat...

In the burgeoning crossover world, there's always room for one more. Enter the Mini Countryman, which is all-new for a late 2017 model year introduction. It's a smart, focused reboot of what has become the brand's second best-selling model. But success in the Mini world isn't the same as a hit for...

What's the right amount of horsepower? After driving hundreds of different cars in my career, I'm very confident the answer isn't “As much as humanly possible,” otherwise we'd all be driving around in Top Fuel dragsters, and that'd be a real nightmare during rush hour. And we'd be deaf...

Its impossible not to notice that the 2017 Mercedes-AMG C43 has too much tire. The 225- and 245-millimeter, 19-inch Pirelli P Zero rubber sticks to the road like hot Doublemint, and the standard traction control setting has a short leash anyway. Back and forth in the C43 along coastal roads, we...

The word hybrid is indelibly attached to the Toyota Prius, a vehicle renowned for its frugality. And when the suffix plug-in is added, perhaps the first car to come to mind is the Chevrolet Volt. Both cars are true green machines that save owners money over the course of ownership, as well as at...

Drivers dread the moment they effectively "run out of talent." That sinking feeling in the bottom of your stomach when a turn goes pear-shaped and the car goes sideways isn't exactly thrilling. For some, talent runs out on the day's last lap, when tires are hot and tensions are hotter. For others...

Las Vegas – If it were a teenager, it'd do things just “for the lulz.” Fiat Chrysler is starting to take that approach, and it's making this Italian-American brand one of the most absurd automakers on the market. CAFE standards? Start stuffing a supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8 into...