First Drive Reviews

Stretch your memories to go all the way back to the end of August, when Labor Day actually held the ironic promise of a few days off. Faked you out, didn't it? Us too. Still, we fondly recall those days of just three weeks ago with a touch of nostalgia. After all, it was the first time the wraps...

Crossovers don't really get my blood flowing. They're useful, to be sure, and some even look decent, in a tall-hatch kind of way. But really, at the end of the day, they're about functionality, not passion. Nonetheless, the sporty model in Kia's crossover range, the 2011 Kia Sorento SX, nails the...

We just got back from driving the 2011 Kia Optima at Road Atlanta, and unfortunately, we don't have much to report. Why? Because we only got a handful of very reduced-pace laps around the track with the car. But we did spend enough time with Kia's latest sedan to give you the 10,000-foot overview...

Coming straight out of a two-hour stint in the Ferrari 458 Italia and jumping into just about anything else, you expect to be...underwhelmed. Not so with the Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Though it takes a very different route, the big-engined baby Aston is, in its own way, even better. Take Aston...

Ancient cars, owners nearly as old, straw hats and pink trousers. While this might be the appearance of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance from the outside, that's not the whole story. It is, to a degree, an accurate stereotype, but nestled in amongst the Delages, Delahayes, Talbots, and Tatras...

When MINI set out on the road to building a bigger, taller crossover, the car world's ears perked up--and if they could have, they'd have formed question marks. A big MINI? Isn't that like jumbo shrimp? The oxymoron from Oxford's ready now for all critics, and after our first drive of the 2011 MINI...

Exotic coupes are a dime a dozen -- actually, more like a million dimes each and up -- but inexpensive sporty hatch-coupes are a fading lot. From the ranks of the old Mitsubishi Eclipse, Toyota MR2, Acura Integra and even the Ford Probe and Mazda MX-6, we're down to a precious few two-doors you can...

Luckily, there’s a lot more to the 2011 Porsche Panamera than a quirky roofline and fastback body.

Whatever you do, don't call the 2011 Mazda2 a Fiesta clone. At least not within earshot of a Mazda employee--that is, unless you're looking to be educated on the many differences between the two. But whether this is Mazda's take on the Fiesta or a unique car in its own right, it's very good, and...

My 18-year-old nephew, on a visit to our house for a barbecue, took one look at this car in the driveway and said, “Um, when?” As in when would he get a ride. His dream car, this car, had arrived. He’s even “driven” various Evos of various years in various virtual...

The 2010 Audi S4 gets about 30 percent better fuel economy than the 2008 S4. What? You don’t think first about fuel economy when shopping for a 333hp super sports sedan? How about price? In that department, too, the new S4 triumphs over old, retailing for $45,900 (manual gearbox) vs. $48,610;...

It's amazing that the 2011 Cayenne can trundle through sand and mud one hour, then after a quick cleanup head right out for hot laps. No other SUV can do that with the same athleticism, finesse, and flavor as the Cayenne.

Hot sauce. It’s what we add to bland fare to give it a bit more kick. The Cayenne, though, has never been bland. You might begrudge the brand’s huge success selling SUVs rather than sports cars, but if you’ve never driven a Cayenne you have no right to judge—these beasts are...

With the arrival of the new 2011 Ford Mustang, it’s safe to say that the Blue Oval pony car finally has the advantage over its arch rival, the Chevrolet Camaro. Not surprisingly, that was the very car provided by Ford for comparison during a first drive event for the latest 2011 model...

The first impression of the $273,515 Conti Supersports is visceral: You think “tuner,” though not perhaps the way you visualize the neighbor kid’s Accord, slammed and given wider rubber. Though, honestly, there is some of that after all. Here though it’s largely not for...

The 2011 BMW 5-Series loses some of the bulk and gains some more focus.

Fans of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt have followed its development closely, and now that the car is in its final year of development the first near-complete prototypes are doing the rounds and we managed to get some seat time--one whole hour in fact--behind the wheel of one. Most readers will already...

When you conjure images of California in your mind, you might see something markedly different from a generation before ours. Golden beaches? How about pollution? The promised land? How about the land of the promissory note? Wherever you sit on the "California dream" spectrum, there's not much...

Spend an hour or two behind the wheel of a Tesla Roadster, and you may walk away thinking that pistons, gasoline engines, clutches, gearboxes, and the many other mechanical bits of a standard sports car are just so...last century. Now you too can experience the rush of pure electric power from the...

The 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6 is due for retail sale this December.