2017

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2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF: Driving nirvana with an asterisk

The Mazda MX-5 Miata is the best-selling and most polarizing roadster in history. It’s driving nirvana for its vast fan club. For others, it’s a too small, overrated phenomenon. But the MX-5’s numbers give credence to its enduring popularity. Since its debut in 1989, sales have averaged slightly more than 37,000 units per year through 2016. That’s minimal compared to top yearly sellers like the nearly 800,000 Ford F-150 trucks sold last year. Yet the little two-seat sports car has retained its loyal following for nearly three decades. The overriding reason: The soft-top convertible, hardtop and new RF (retractable fastback) define motoring fun at a fair price. The MSRP for the RF trim, my test vehicle, is $33,825. The RF

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2017 Kia Forte worthy compact option beyond Honda, Toyota

The 2017 Kia Forte is the 10th year of the South Korean compact. It’s among the best of several cars in different segments trying to find a market against some of the country’s long-standing, best-selling vehicles. Matched against the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, Volkswagen Jetta, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda3 and others, the Forte remains unheralded. It’s in the sixth year of its second generation, but for 2017 has a restyled exterior, including more modern crafted headlights and taillights. Available as a sedan in LX, S and EX trim levels, the Kia Forte also has a hatchback variant, the Forte5, in LX, EX and SX trims. The two-door Forte Koup was discontinued after the 2016 model. For my test vehicle,

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2017 Honda Civic hatchback: sporty value gem returns

A small percentage of the car-buying public still enjoys the mechanics of driving. But manual transmissions are increasingly rare. Meet the 2017 Honda Civic hatchback sport. Honda decided this year to make its perennially top-selling compact more versatile, via an imported hatchback. The 10th generation of the sedan, manufactured in England, is available with a six-speed manual transmission. While the efficiency of continuously variable transmissions has simplified driving and Honda is at the automotive forefront with its version, the carmaker also appreciates tradition. Thirty years ago, about 25 percent of new cars sold in the United States featured manual transmissions. Today, it’s less than five percent. The Civic debuted in 1972 and it’s perched between the Honda Fit and the

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: Efficient new hybrid shines

The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime, a plug-in gas-electric hybrid, is a new addition to the country’s largest selling hybrid family. It replaces the Prius Plug-in and it’s the most ambitious Prius on the market. Its exterior design, full of sharp angles and a unique narrow exterior light design in the mainstream automotive industry, removes the stodgy image of previous Prius models. The Prime is chock-full of technology, most visibly the navigation system and infotainment center. It’s an 11.6-inch vertically oriented high-resolution touchscreen, and it dominates the dashboard. It’s standard on the Prime Premium ($29,965) and top-line Prime Advanced ($33,965). It’s not available on the entry-level Prime Plus ($27,100). I drove the top-line Advance trim recently for two weeks during the

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: Into the mountains with ease

Eleven days into coverage of the Amgen Tour of California, I’ve surpassed 1,000 miles while driving the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. My trip began May 10 in Sacramento, and the race just ended in Pasadena. The women raced for four days, including two days in South Lake Tahoe and two days ending in Sacramento. The men raced for seven days from Sacramento to today’s concluding high-speed finale from Mountain High to downtown Pasadena. As the newest and most technologically advanced Prius since the hybrid debuted in the United States in 2000, the Prius Prime is among the few affordable green vehicles that can change the automotive industry. It joins the all-electric 2017 Chevy Bolt and the luxury Lincoln

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Consumer Reports’ 10 2017 Worst Cars To Buy

Consumer Reports has published car and truck lists for decades. Among its recent compilations is its worst cars for 2017 in 10 popular segments, subcompacts to luxury sedans, compacts to hybrids. The list is based on the lowest overall score in each category and based on a complete overview of each vehicle. The criteria combine a road-test score, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction and safety — including government and insurance industry crash-test results. In conjunction with each worst car in each category, Consumer Reports lists its suggested best choice in each category. Here’s what the publication said about 2017 Chrysler 200. It’s the lowest-ranked sedan in the most popular car category: “This category is overflowing with competent, and even excellent, alternatives

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime has short shift, not short shrift

The transfer today for stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California took me from Morro Bay to Santa Clarita, California, and I’ve now driven a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid for a week. I’ve covered 775 miles and averaged 55.9 mpg, nearly two miles per gallon more than plug-in hybrid’s rating. The route from Morro Bay was a coastal trek on Highway 1 and then a diversion to Highway 101 south for about two hours. The route then turned inland on 154 through small hamlets before rejoining 101. The final short stretch into Santa Clarita was a switch to smaller inland roads on state route 126. The drive covered 184 miles. With two brief stops to stretch and

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: Fuel efficient, safety galore

After nearly six full days of driving the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid during the Amgen Tour California, I stopped for my first refuel about two hours into a 3 1/2-hour evening drive from San Jose to Morro Bay, California. The route was primarily a long, straight haul north-south along Highway 101 before an undulating, often single-lane finishing 17-mile trek on Highway 41 into the ocean resort city. I stopped with about 90 miles left in the drive. I filled up the Prius Prime with 9.3 gallons at $3.09 per gallon for a total of $29.00. I’d driven 499 miles. The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is rated at 54 miles per gallon. I averaged 53.3 mpg on my first

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime fares well on the long, winding road

After two days of brief, round-trip commutes of only a few miles each way from Harvey’s to Heavenly Mountain Resort, I returned today from South Lake Tahoe to Sacramento in my test vehicle, a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. It’s a plug-in hybrid. I’m driving the new vehicle, the most upscale Prius ever made, for the entire Amgen Tour of California. The women’s race began May 11 in South Lake Tahoe and ends May 14 in Sacramento. The men’s race begins May 14 in Sacramento and will advance to its May 20 conclusion in Pasadena. Driving the reverse route of the 103-mile haul from my home in Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe, I made two brief side stops on the way

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: Cool technology for modern hybrid

The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid is the most upscale addition to the Prius family. Its exterior design removes the stodgy image of many of the models in the country’s best-selling hybrid lineup. The Prime’s interior is chock-full of technology, most visibly the JBL navigation system. It’s an 11.6-inch vertically oriented high-resolution touchscreen. While not available on the entry-level Prime Plus, it’s standard on the Prime Premium ($29,965) and the top-line Prime Advanced ($33,965). I’m driving the Advance trim for two weeks during the Amgen Tour of California, May 11-20. It will take the women’s field from South Lake Tahoe to Sacramento over four days. The men’s race will begin in Sacramento on May 14 and progress to Pasadena

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Car-Buying Trends for 2017 and Beyond

SPONSORED CONTENT Millions of new cars are sold every year, and the car-buying experience can be a hassle for many consumers. The traditional process of purchasing a new car involves a lot of time visiting dealers and price negotiation. Today, consumers are looking for a less time-consuming experience as well as a more convenient option better suited for their needs. The buying process and the must-have features are poised to evolve. Here are some of the top car-buying trends for 2017 and beyond. Online Shopping The biggest advance in the car-buying process in recent years is the use of the internet to help purchasers make a decision. Today, it’s common for consumers to spend most of their time searching for

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2017 Kia Niro: New compact SUV redefines hybrid

The 2017 Kia Niro is new in the South Korean manufacturer’s lineup. It’s a sub-compact hybrid utility vehicle that looks more like a handsome, streamlined wagon. And it performs well enough to earn the loose translation of its name — strength. Unveiled at the 2016 Chicago Auto Show, the Kia Niro uses a 1.6-liter hybrid-electric powertrain with 139 horsepower. It’s built with lightweight metals which help most trims achieve the SUV‘s superior gas mileage estimates: 46 miles per gallon in city driving, 40 miles per gallon on the freeway. Accessories lights are all operated via the hybrid engine. There’s no traditional battery. Positioned in the Kia line-up below the Kia Sportage, the Niro’s strength isn’t so much performance-oriented as it

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime named Green Car of the Year

For the second straight year, Toyota has been awarded World Green Car honors at the New York International Auto Show. The Toyota Prius Prime was named this year’s winner after its sibling, the Toyota Mirai, earned the award last year. The Prius Prime was chosen from an initial entry list of 12 new vehicles from around the world. Tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption, and use of a major advanced power plant technology (beyond engine componentry), aimed specifically at increasing the vehicle’s environmental responsibility, were all taken into consideration. Toyota is no stranger to the World Car Awards program, now in its 13th year. In addition to the Mirai’s win last year, the Toyota Prius earned “Top Three in the World” status

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2017 Honda CR-V: Top-selling SUV still reigns

For more than 20 years, the Honda CR-V has ideally defined the Japanese manufacturer’s reputation. It makes vehicles with a rare combination of style, efficiency, practicality and versatility. It was hard to complain about previous Honda CR-V editions. It’s been the country’s best-selling compact SUV for many years. But with the sport utility segment increasingly competitive, even industry leaders can’t become complacent. The 2017 Honda CR-V is the debut of the SUV’s fifth generation and it celebrates the vehicle’s 23rd birthday. Its exterior and interior designs are new. New safety features abound, and the CR-V is larger inside and outside. Its description as a compact SV is questionable with its expanded spaciousness. The CR-V is only slightly longer, wider and

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2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid: handsome, comfortable, efficient

Ford introduced its alternative energy lineup, including the Ford Fusion Hybrid, in early 2009 as 2010 models. The midsize sedan is now well into its second generation with a healthy list of upgrades for 2017. The Fusion Hybrid has been the most attractive hybrid sedan on the market for several years. But it has a restyled front end and new headlights for 2017, further adding to its sleek exterior lines. The heavily touted MyFord Touch infotainment center has also been replaced by the simplified Sync 3 system. Like a few other manufacturers, Ford has dispatched an automatic standard transmission shifter in the Focus. Instead, there’s a rotary selector positioned on the console. There’s also a new push-button engine starter high

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2017 Volkswagen Passat: Versatile like a blue blazer

Among the manufacturer’s most enduring models, the 2017 Volkswagen Passat extends the eighth generation of the midsize sedan to its sixth year. The Passat, German for “trade wind,” is an elder automotive statesman well into its fourth decade. There’s little flash or overt technology, but the mainstream VW has plenty of appeal via its reserved, classy presentation. The Weekly Driver Test Drive Available in S, R-Line, SE and Premium trims, the 2017 Volkswagen Passat is front-wheel drive and offered with two engines. My test vehicle was the SE trim with a 1.8-liter turbo-charged, four-cylinder configuration with 170 horsepower and a dual-clutch six-speed automatic transmission. There’s also a 3.6-liter V6 with 280 horsepower available on the SE and Premium trims. As

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