First Drive Reviews

Medical science tells us that neck strain is something to be avoided. It can compress nerves, bulge discs, and can lead to numbness and tingling. Okay, science. We hear you. But we're calling you on your bullshit. Some kinds of neck strain are acceptable. Gratifying. Mind-altering. The Lamborghini...

It’s already claiming the fastest production SUV lap time around the Nürburgring. It’s been sideways on video showing its chops. But now it’s been in our hands for a long day on the road, on the trails, and on the track. Does the 2016 Range Rover Sport SVR really measure up?...

Don’t worry, America, it’s not a wagon. It just drives like one, is as useful as one, and, if you squint at it the right way, kinda looks like one. But it’s still one of God’s Own Vehicles: a fully Merkuh-approved crossover. But I didn’t drive the new 2017 Audi Q7 in...

For decades, enthusiasts have fawned over and flocked to the Volkswagen GTI. Sure, it’s gotten bigger, heavier, and more technologically advanced, but it’s still remained the enthusiasts' choice--the original hot hatchback. But lately, the competition’s getting more fierce with...

Happy, muscle-car fans? Just this past year you've been gifted a 707-horsepower Challenger Hellcat and a brand-new Mustang, with a 500-plus-horsepower Shelby GT350 waiting in the chute. It's been a Super Bowl of a year, with no deflation to spoil the fun. In fact, it's the opposite. A new version...

First things first: yes, this newfangled V car is better than the Germans. For me, anyway. Maybe for you, too. Already half of you are flabbergasting and chuffing, the disbelief—or is it disdain?—like a fine haze of saliva in the air. Well, tough. The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V is that good...

The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V is no stranger to the hearts and minds of enthusiasts, even though it hasn’t yet officially hit the streets. Does it live up to the hype? DON'T MISS: 2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 S First Drive We can’t tell you just yet. But we can give you an early look at some of the...

BMW's X6 M is a venomous cane toad of an SUV, one with some obvious warts. Even so, it's made friends and set trends, spawning imitators in the Acura ZDX (extinct: mercy killing) and the upcoming Mercedes GLE Coupe (viability TBD). It's also an honest-to-God, track-capable car. Mmmmm, crossover...

Will actual Ferrari FF owners truly load up the back with groceries? Will they throw their hiking/climbing adventure gear in the back, or their rifle and hunting dog? Will they ever load the whole family in? Throw a ski rack on the roof and take slick highways up to the mountain? Of course they...

Whipping three tons of steel, wood, and glass through the corner, I settle the wheel, straighten the car, and press the brakes—hard. Coming to a stop, I press and hold the traction control button. It’s time for a $406,000 burnout. Sadly, none of this is on video. Gladly, my head is a...

The whole world seems to be going turbo. That’s mostly a good thing. In the case of the Mercedes-AMG C63 S, it’s a very good thing. While it’s impossible not to love the 6.2-liter M156 V-8 that powered the last C63 AMG, the new M177 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 is a worthy successor...

Fifty shades of grey may be a box-office phenomenon this weekend, but at BMW, it's business as usual. Ever see a Bavarian brochure without some halftone hue? Or five of them? If grey could be anthropomorphized, it'd be the brand mascot. Somehow BMW manages to conjure grey outside of showrooms, too...

DATELINE--Santa Barbara. I may be drifting off to sleep on a sueded pillow of dreams, but it doesn't stop me from thinking of all the vehicles I've been driven in. It's mostly not illustrious. Prom limos. Airport shuttles. White Ford Crown Victorias with pretty red and blue lights. ALSO SEE...

At last, U.S. Land Rover dealerships are slated to get exactly what they’ve been missing. No, we’re not talking about a revival of the iconic Defender...at least not quite yet. We’re pointing to the 2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport, a compact crossover that works exceedingly well...

Depending on your viewpoint, Audi’s adherence to a single, consistent design theme across its entire range, from tiny coupes to large sedans, may seem either brilliant in its message or boring in its monotony. Whatever the case, however, the 2016 updates to the S6 and S7 sport sedan and...

It’s rare that a car aimed so squarely at a competitor does so much so differently and yet comes out with a very similar result. The Mercedes-Benz AMG GT S is just such a car. How so? Well, first of all, from the styling (look at that rear end), to the performance, to the pricing, the AMG GT...

Let's get one thing straight right up front: Despite its model name, the 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG--soon to be a Mercedes-AMG GLA45--is no GL-like utility vehicle. It may have all-wheel drive, but the high-performance sibling of the far more common 2015 GLA250 model sits far closer to the...

Coupe-like crossovers, carbon-bodied sportscars, urban-mode city hatchbacks--BMW can build them all, but when it gets placed in the balances and judged by its hardcore enthusiast audience, the only BMW that matters is the M3. It's the critical nuclear core of the brand and a bellwether for...

There are many things which make a Rolls-Royce a Rolls-Royce, but only one is essential: a certain attitude. The Ghost Series II delivers that attitude in spades. What is that attitude? It’s an air of significance combined with an overt desire for exquisite luxury. The expression of that...

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class has long been an automotive icon, one of the best cars in the world--and for more than 50 years, the vehicle of choice for prosperous German businessmen. Against it, the BMW 7-Series and the Audi A8 still seem like pretenders. In Manhattan or Tokyo or Rio or Dubai, the...