Sedan of Elderly Leisure
Just two years ago this sedan would have been revolutionary in the family sedan market. Its extra-large proportions, elevated ride height, spacious interior and availability of all-wheel drive put this sedan into an SUV-like category when you consider all of these features’ marketability. Perhaps this is why the Five Hundred just doesn’t get the heart racing; we expect these niceties in all too many vehicular categories in this day and age. Read more…
Second Time Around, Twice The Charm
Recently we had the chance to sample two cars in Mazda’s lineup that, while unique in their own regards, still carried a bit of familiarity with them. The Mazda6 and MPV have both been welcomed into our fleet in the not so distant past, but we again open arm embraced these two like long lost friends. The MPV has little news to speak of since our last rendition in ’04, while the 6 5-door is altogether a different model in the 6 family. Speaking of families, that is exactly who we put to work in these vehicles. Lets check them out! Read more…
Soft-Roading
About mid-April, DaimlerChrysler dropped off a new Grand Cherokee for us to run around in. So, unlike any good soccer mom (more like dad), we loaded up and hit the trails with our V6-powered runabout. Nope, no HEMI in this dude. Someone back at DCX PR headquarters missed the page on the order sheet titled: Options. Read more…
It looks like Mitsubishi is learning from the old advertising mantra that, indeed, sex sells.
While the Eclipse was a hot, voluptuous car in the late 1990s, it morphed into something more dull in the generation that lasted until 2005. It seemingly changed from a Brazilian bikini model to a mousey librarian, trading in its sports-car looks and hard-nosed performance for a softer ride and boring styling. Read more…
A Case Of Mistaken Identity
This is an interesting SUV for sure. In my professional opinion I think the engineers built an SUV with a case of mistaken identity. Regardless, the Endeavor does live up to its nameplate, endeavoring to be more than merely the sum of its parts. Confused yet? No more than the editor writing this review, trust me. Read more…
Hey, This Thing Only Seats Five!
A few years ago, when the “XL-7” descriptor first showed up attached to Suzuki vehicles, it represented a special stretched version of the Grand Vitara small SUV. The longer wheelbase made room for a third row of seats that brought the seating capacity to, you guessed it, seven. The ability to seat seven passengers in a vehicle roughly the size of a Grand Cherokee and sell it in the low $20,000 range was a unique strategy that put Suzuki on the forefront of the race to stuff a third row of seats into every SUV larger then a RAV4. Read more…
Until now, it’s been easy to compare the Mercury Mountaineer to its near-identical twin, the Ford Explorer.
Mercury’s new 2006 Mountaineer, though, would make a better comparison with the bigger Lincoln Navigator.
The Mountaineer is still based on the same platform as the Explorer. It looks pretty much like the Explorer, has the same amount of space as the Explorer and is even assembled in the same factories as the Explorer — Louisville, Ky. and St. Louis, Mo. Read more…
The G6 Makes Pontiac Competitive In Small Cars Again
With the G6, Pontiac is setting a new direction for its vehicles. No longer will they be superfluous designs with yesterday’s dynamics but clean, contemporary vehicles with varying degrees of the driving excitement Pontiac is supposed to offer. Thanks mostly to heavy incentives, the Grand Am sold in healthy numbers, but it wasn’t a vehicle that could take on today’s ever-more-impressive small car competition. Thankfully, when it came time to replace the Grand Am, GM started with its excellent Epsilon architecture and built from there. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that when you build with better components, you end up with a better vehicle. That’s exactly what Pontiac has done. Read more…
When Chrysler introduced the Pacifica in 2004, it was a fantastic family vehicle with only one problem.
Many families couldn’t afford it.
Chrysler tried to make the Pacifica an upscale station wagon with leather seats, fancy technology, and lots of luxurious features to guarantee people knew that Chrysler was now owned by Mercedes. It was a great vehicle — still is — but its starting price over $30,000 was more than many families could stomach. Read more…
The Handsome Newcomer Proves Talented Too
Before the arrival of the Equinox, Chevrolet was sitting on the sidelines of the Small SUV game. In fact, the sidelines would have been an improvement, considering they never let the Tracker out of the cheap seats. Yes, the Tracker was ugly, underpowered, incapable and uncomfortable. Even so, it couldn’t have been that bad, could it? Actually, it was, and Chevy knew it. A lot of valuable time passed before the bow-tie boys got a replacement in the showroom, but now that the Equinox is available, is it a serious player in the still-hot small SUV field? Luckily, for GM, it is. Read more…
