2012 Kia Rio SX Review: The 2012 Kia Rio SX is a fine small, entry-level car. The test Rio comes in a 5-door or hatchback version. The car has a sporty feel created by a stiff suspension and contoured seats. The Rio’s interior is youthful and delivers an understated performance look. These features give Rio a stiffer, more performance oriented feel. The Rio comes with a 1.6-liter direct-injected 4-cylinder engine …
Tags : BestBuys | |
2013 Ford Escape Review: The “king” is being replaced by a better-looking, better-handling and more powerful and versatile king, and regardless of what extenuating circumstances combined to make the Ford Escape the top-selling king of the SUV industry for 2011, Ford’s timing couldn’t be better for replacing it with an entirely new Escape for 2013. Technology and a tough economy are dominating the industry, and the Escape was positioned perfectly …
Tags : BestBuys | FamilyFriendly | |
2012 Honda CR-V Review: The restyled 2012 Honda CR-V is a solid compact sport-utility vehicle. The 2012 CR-V adds a bit more horsepower (5 to be exact) and adds 1.5 cubic feet of cargo space while its length and height shrink a bit. Pricing has continued to inch higher. The base LX model with two-wheel drive now starts at $22,295 and there’s a hefty $810 delivery fee to get it …
Tags : BestBuys | |
2013 Mazda CX-5 Review: Sometimes you can find a cake that is just as tasty without the frosting. Such is the situation with Mazda’s all-new 2013 CX-5. For just $21,490, you can order the base Sport model with just about everything you might want in a compact crossover utility vehicle—one that competes directly against such formidable opponents as the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Hyundai Tucson, Chevrolet Equinox and Toyota RAV4. …
Kia’s youthful and useful Soul joined the small boxy car market four years ago and, amazingly, it seems no less hip today. The car’s rear sloping roofline and funky colors make it stand out from the other practical small hatches. My test drive was a “Moss” metallic greenish brown. There are three Souls. The base starts at $13,900, the Soul+ starts at $16,300, and the tested Soul starts at $19,600. …
Tags : BestBuys | FamilyFriendly | |
2013 Mazda CX-5 Review: Mazda has established a reputation for building vehicles that range from unusual to mainstream, with all of them sharing a heritage of being enjoyable to drive. With its new CX-5, Mazda may have outdone even its own standards — and the analogy of hitting a home run is noteworthy when nearly all competitors are settling for doubles and triples. The CX-5 meets the demands of consumers …
2012 Subaru Impreza Review: In the automotive world, persistence usually is regarded as a virtue; stubbornness not so much. But sometimes it pays off, as Japan’s Subaru demonstrates with its all-new 2012 Subaru Impreza. From its inception in the U.S. back in the late 1960s, Subaru has been persistent, even stubborn, in its dedication to the horizontally-opposed engine, sometimes called a boxer or a flat engine. In that configuration, the …
Tags : BestBuys | |
2012 Toyota Camry Review: It’s not often anyone mentions “Camry” and “sporty” in the same story, let alone the same sentence, but the newest generation of Toyota’s iconic sedan comes close to offering all things to all buyers — including a major advancement in real-world sportiness. The 2012 Toyota Camry, in middle-model trim, offers a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder with its 6-speed automatic transmission augmented by fingertip paddles on the steering wheel …
