Automotive Reviews

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Big, badass and beautiful? Hummer set for 2022 return

It may be hard to imagine, but the pending resurrected Hummer will have 1,000 horsepower and is being marketed to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in three seconds. The truck was “teased” during the recent yearly Super Bowl extravaganza of commercials and is the idea of General Motors. The new Hummer is scheduled to arrive in dealerships next year. The resurrected Hummer will be made and sold under the GMC brand at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck factory. The automaker is investing $2.2 billion into its mass production of electric vehicles. With the country’s continued increase in truck sales and electric vehicles, don’t be surprised if the new Hummers are the vehicles of choice for pulling small RVs as well

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Best used car buying tips for the every person

Taking your potential new used car to a reputable auto repair shop is the best thing you can do. Have it thoroughly inspected by a professional before you buy it. I’ve found paying for an hour of time is generally sufficient to identify everything wrong with the vehicle. If taking the vehicle to a mechanic is not an option, here are some tips to help keep you from buying a lemon. Buy an ODB Scanner/Reader You don’t need to spend a lot, as they’ll all do what you need here. A Bluetooth OBD reader and the TORQ app for your phone seem to be a pretty popular/good choice. You can expect to spend anywhere from $35 to $100 on a

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2020 Volvo XC40 T5 review: no more SUV malaise

The amalgamation of sport utility vehicles has continued in 2020. About half of the new vehicles sold this year in the United States will be full-on SUVs or crossovers. Many brands are interchangeable, but Volvo has emerged from the cluster of sameness. The Volvo XC40 was introduced last year and for 2020 has a few updates, including varying upholstery and other equipment tweaks and a more efficient interior with new storage areas. But this year’s edition is largely the same vehicle the debuted last year and gained plenty of attention for automotive watchdogs and prominent review sites. A two-row, five-passenger crossover, the XC40 features a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with either a T4 or T5 designation. The T5 offers 248

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2020 Lexus LC 500h defines large luxury hybrid coupe

Car buyers can be particular and manufacturers are willing to oblige. With various trims and optional equipment, some vehicles are available in several-dozen configurations and with widely varying prices. Lexus knows the game as well as any carmaker, which is why it offers the 2020 LC 500h. It’s uniquely positioned in the marketplace as a large luxury coupe with sports car tendencies and impressive hybrid fuel efficiency. Unlike its gas-only sibling, the hybrid trim features a 3.5-liter V6 engine and two electric motors. It’s called the Lexus Multi Hybrid system, combines 354 horsepower and is matched with a unique transmission. It’s a four-speed automatic transmission enclosed within a continuously variable transmission and it works like a 10-speed automatic transmission. Lexus

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#121, Best used cars, best enduring cars from iseecars.com

Julie Blackley, communications manager for the car search engine iSeeCars.com, is a frequent guest on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Blackley writes and distributes monthly studies that analyze automotive data, on topics ranging best used cars to popular car colors to states with the most pick-ups. The wide-ranging categories, according to the website, are aggregations of a massive amount of information tabulated from “proprietary algorithms to objectively analyze, score and rank millions of cars and tens of thousands of dealers, providing helpful insights and guidance to users to find a good car at a good price from a trustworthy seller.” For automotive statistics junkies, the site is a tremendous fix. Blackley was our recent guest in her fourth appearance on The

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BMW regains luxury clout with 2020 M850i gran coupe

Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche all keep stealth watch on competitors’ next moves and then attempt to outdo them. Newcomer Genesis is now in on the fun, and it must be joyful for luxury sedan and gran coupe enthusiasts to observe the rivalry.   Consider BMW. Hoping to regain the front-of-the-pack edge from Mercedes-Benz, it reintroduced its flagship 8 Series last year after a two-decade hiatus. Its 2020 M850i xDrive Gran Coupe debuts this year and continues the stoic brand’s efforts to regain premier honors.   Like its German mainstay rivals’ fans, BMW enthusiasts are as loyal as any carmakers’ followers. It’s hard to fathom they could be more pleased. While combing luxury, craftsmanship and performance, the 2020

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2020 Lexus ES 300 hybrid a luxury sedan showcase

An open-road, long-haul cruise in a luxury sedan is a driving devotee’s joy. But making the trip efficiently can be perplexing. Lexus realized the dilemma a decade ago and debuted hybrid models, including the current seventh generation of its ES series. The 2020 Lexus ES 300h, largely a holdover from the 2019 model, is among only a few luxury sedans combining upscale comfort with economic travel. It’s rated at 43 miles per gallon in city driving and 44 mpg on the highway. They’re segment-best ratings. Lexus also decided variety is important. As a midsize, five-passenger sedan, the ES 300h is available in Base, Luxury and Ultra Luxury models. All trims are equipped with a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine matched with an

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2020 Hyundai Ioniq: Underdog defines value, economy

The 2020 Hyundai Ioniq, the fourth year of the South Korean liftback hybrid and all-electric, maintains the brand’s status as the country’s most fuel-efficient vehicle. Its top-line trim costs several thousand dollars less than the average price of a new vehicle in the United States. The combination of price and economy warrants consideration. What can a new car buyer expect from a vehicle that costs $32,000 and gets at least an estimated 55 miles per gallon? Key Takeaways 55 to 58 mpg combined makes the Ioniq America’s most fuel-efficient non-EV: The Blue trim hits 58 mpg combined; other hybrid trims deliver 55 mpg combined from a 1.6-liter gas engine paired with a 32-kW electric motor. Top-line Limited is priced around

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2020 Cadillac XT6 worthy newbie, won’t alter buying trends

Cadillac entered the sport utility vehicle segment 21 years ago to compete with several luxury rivals new in the family mover revolution. It’s now further expanding its presence in a saturated SUV segment with the 2020 Cadillac XT6. It’s the manufacturer’s first three-row crossover, joining the stately, apartment-sized Cadillac Escalade. It has three rows of seating as a truck-based SUV about weight 1,200 pounds more than its new sedan-like smaller sibling. Cadillac’s debut in the class — the Audi Q7, Acura MDX, Lincoln Navigator, Mercedes-Benz GLE and Volvo XC90 are main rivals — is presented refreshingly. It has only two trim levels. Who needs to make a car purchase based on too many confusing choices with only nuances as differences?

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2020 Nissan Versa: Still cheap, worthy and vastly improved

Nissan worked hard for more than a decade for an unusual honor. Its Versa, named after an acronym for versatile space, was the cheapest new car available in the United States. Not many years ago, the subcompact’s base price was just under $10,000. The Versa’s designation was via price only, not a rap on its quality. It was likely the best new car a buyer on a tight budget could purchase, and served its clientele well.  Key Takeaways Third-generation redesign ends the Versa’s cheapest-in-America title: The $15,625 base price now sits behind the Chevrolet Spark and Mitsubishi Mirage, but the Versa arguably delivers the most substance at the bottom of the new-car market. 122-hp 1.6-liter four-cylinder gains 13 hp over

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2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 paces luxury SUVs

Mercedes-Benz may be the most diverse vehicle manufacturer. It introduced gull-wing race cars and station wagons in the 1950s, about 30 years after the brand debuted. The enduring carmaker’s modern-day sedans still define automotive maturity. The marque also made a hybrid in 1906 and it customized sedans in the 1930s with bullet-proof windows for the WWII German regime. With the 2020 GLC 300, one of its nine sport utility vehicle options, Mercedes-Benz is also at the forefront of the luxury people mover market. It’s the carmaker’s youngest segment; SUVs have been part of the brand since 1997. As a five-passenger, compact SUV, the GLC 300 receives a half-dozen upgrades as the carmaker’s most affordable utilitarian vehicle. But it’s well-disguised as

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TheWeeklyDriver.com’s 2019 Best Cars, Trucks

Welcome to the 13th annual Best Cars and Trucks of the Year list, selected by TheWeeklyDriver.com. As is our logical way, we wait until the end of the year to name our selections. As in previous years, the 2019 choices were selected only from the list of 35-40 cars and trucks manufacturers provided for weekly reviews. Co-host Bruce Aldrich and I will discuss the list on The Weekly Driver Podcast. The 10 vehicles on the 2019 Best Cars, Trucks list include manufacturers from the United States, South Korea and Japan. The Weekly Driver has been writing about our main automotive vent for years. How do prestigious industry publications determine their vehicles-of-the-year selections before the calendar year starts? Selecting a list

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2020 Toyota Prius: hybrid sedan still worthy after all these years

The Toyota Prius, a combined gas-electric hybrid, was introduced into the United States in 2000, three years after it debuted in Japan. It was a dream car for the ecologically minded. But its freakish looks and sluggish engine prompted brutal criticism. It was called hideous to a larva on wheels. Key Takeaways Real-world 58 mpg on an 800-mile Sacramento-to-LA test: The reviewer averaged 58 mpg — more than 10 percent above the EPA combined estimate — negotiating Interstate 5 traffic and the Grapevine grades. Fourth-generation facelift finally looks modern: 2020 upgrades include Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa, a 7-inch center display, and standard safety connection services across every trim. 121-hp 1.8-liter four handles highway pace without flinching: Even with traffic exceeding

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2020 Hyundai Palisade: worthy newbie SUV despite odd name

With the debut of the Nexo as a 2019 model and the Palisade as a 2020 offering, Hyundai now sells five sport utility vehicles. The South Korean manufacturer doesn’t do much wrong. But making more SUVs isn’t much different than making more traffic. There’s nothing good about more driving congestion. And how is it possible to find some area of the SUV segment that hasn’t been addressed? Hyundai‘s answer? The Palisade is the biggest vehicle it’s made. The carmaker’s flagship SUV, the mid-sized Palisade features a 3.8-liter V6 engine with 291 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Gas mileage averages are 19 miles per gallon in city driving, 26 miles per gallon on the freeway. Available with all-wheel drive and

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2019 Lexus IS350, a worthy sporty sedan failing

Comfort, superior ride quality and luxury aren’t often strong sports car characteristics. Feeling the road, shifting gears and making the best of a rugged minimalist interior provides a good chunk of the appeal. The 2019 Lexus IS350 rejects the norm. Defined as a five-passenger small sedan, the IS350 matches a quiet, relaxing and comfortable sedan with an aggressive-looking sports car. It’s ready for some country road shenanigans or long, smooth freeway hauls. The Lexus IS (Intelligent Sport) debuted in North American in 2000; the 350 variant arrived in 2008. Its third and current generation was unveiled in 2013, with a revamp in 2016. While 2020 models have just emerged, the still-available 2019 offering remains largely unchanged from recent years. Three-beam

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2019 Honda Civic: lagging sales, still rules as top-rated compact

The Fit, Civic and Accord, sub-compact, compact and midsize sedan siblings, collectively represent nearly everything right in the automotive industry. If value, durability, functionality, fuel economy, repair efficiency and resale value are important, there’s nothing better than the Honda trio. Yet the threesome, all rated at or near the top of their segments, are rapidly losing new buyers. It’s not logical. The 2019 Honda Civic defines the ideal compact. It’s now in the fourth year of its 10th generation after debuting in 1972. But between generations, Honda, like most manufacturers, makes model adjustments, subtle to substantial. With the 2019 model (the 2020 model is also now available), the Civic’s front end has been restyled; it’s less drastic and more attractive.

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