Transportation

A recent trip to Michigan afforded me the opportunity to test drive the new Mitsubishi Lancer 2.4 SEL AWC 4-door sedan, and I couldn’t have been luckier.

Okay, so this vehicle doesn’t get the best gas mileage on the planet, but I just can’t imagine a better road vehicle.

While it is always exciting to drive a BMW – they don’t call these cars the Ultimate Driving Machine for nothing – I couldn’t help thinking, in advance, that this car would have two strikes against it from the get-go.

These vehicles both deserve a only a brief review: The Prius because not much is new, and the Lincoln MKX because, as Granny used to say, if you haven’t got anything nice to say better to say nothing at all.

In every Lexus, you get all the luxury, and it is done in a high-quality way that will last and last and last. Those things are givens. Here's what sets this particular model apart.

My son, the teen-age car expert, was very excited the day the Renegade was delivered, calling it one of the coolest vehicles he had ever been in. Hard to argue.

My initial enthusiasm for the Outlander was diminished because my very next vehicle was the Hyundai Santa Fe and there is just no comparison. The Santa Fe is flat-out the better vehicle.

If I were one of the other car makers, I would go get a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe, show it to my designers and engineers, and tell them that we pretty much have to build something quite like this for 2018 or cede the SUV space.

When you punch it to get the needed acceleration for entering the highway, for instance, it kicks in with a lot of relish but very little mustard. Maybe I should have said ketchup, because it seemed on the highway that I was playing a game of “catch-up” all the time.

If I were in the market for a smaller, mid-sized SUV this would definitely be on my shopping list. What bugs me is that Mazda could easily fix the little things wrong for not a lot of money, and they should.

The 2016 Lexus RX 350 drives beautifully, has all the “stuff,” is quite comfortable, super quiet, roomy, and has a new bold look that is stunning. Then it hit me: It has hidden flaws.

Following several years of taking heat for being pedestrian, the newly refreshed Camry is once again taking its place among the very finest vehicles on the road.

I thought it drove great. I thought it was among the best handling vehicles of this type I have ever driven. I was thoroughly delighted with every single thing about it – except one. And this one thing, for me, is a deal killer.

The truth is this: There is nothing economical about this vehicle. It is a pure indulgence, plain and simple, but it is one of the most magnificent vehicles I have ever driven.

“Affordability” and “Lexus” don’t usually appear together, and if this vehicle had been more expensive it wouldn’t have dampened my experience. But the price actually floored me.

The automobile business these days is a confusing mess, one driven by psychology more than anything else. There are cars termed “luxury” or “near luxury” because they are badged by one automaker's “luxury” brand.

The Subaru Outback is not the sexy. But it just might be the absolute best Colorado vehicle anyone could have.

And over the years, I have appreciated BMW for driving and performance. I have never driven a BMW that I didn’t think was up to the line’s “Ultimate Driving Machine” slogan.

I’m in a Toyota frame of mind, having driven several of the line’s vehicles this late winter and early spring, and I have decided to deal with these three together in one review basically because there is very little here that deserves its own review.

Almost no one else would link these two vehicles, but the truth is, for me at least, they are very similar. Both the Lexus GX 460 and the Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro are mid-sized SUVs, and they are both handsome, durable and capable vehicles.

If I don’t like a car on any given test drive, I will say so, but the next time I might have a different opinion. Such is the case with this 2016 Subaru WRX STI.

It has been an absolute revelation to see what has been happening to me because I have temporary access to a handicapped parking card for my car. Here’s how it came to pass.

The whole week I had the Highlander Hybrid, from the very minute I got into it the first time to the last day when I begged the agency to give me another week or forever (unsuccessfully), I wanted it.