First Drives

LISBON, Portugal – It was a fantastic idea to unveil the sporty and dynamic version of BMW’s electric compact in the Portuguese capital. A wonderful city, some 2000 years old, Lisbon has a hilly historic centre with winding interconnected alleys that are barely wider than a small car’s sideview mirrors.

AUSTIN, Texas – Allow me to begin my 2018 Buick Regal first drive review by sharing some interesting facts. Did you know that General Motors’ premium division ranks among the most reliable car brands according to J.D. Power? Yes, it’s true. Also, among GM’s brand portfolio, Buick is the second …

MALAGA, Spain – Remember the controversy when this full-size Porsche sedan was introduced? Purists were very displeased, criticizing its lack of proportion and nauseating tail end design. That was in 2009. Since then, purists have accepted this Porsche and sales have increased progressively. Last year, Porsche’s stylists freshened up the …

ESTORIL, Portugal – Sorry to spoil the suspense, but “fabulous” is the only word that comes to mind after trying BMW’s new M5 sedan on the track. To be fair, I suspect it also had something to do with chasing fellow Canadian Bruno Spengler, 2012 champion of the infamous DTM …

BARCELONA, Spain – How many of you like the Volvo brand? I, for one, have always rooted for the Swedish company. I applauded, and continue to do so, their constant desire to stand out from the crowd with unique design and their unrelenting quest to make the safest cars ever.

MARICOPA, Arizona – All you need to do is look at the numbers to understand how important the Jetta sedan is to the Volkswagen brand. More than 16 million have been sold worldwide since its inception in 1980. This year, more than 108,000 units have been sold in the United …

At death’s door only a few years ago (although cynics would say it’s been more like decades), the Mitsubishi brand seems to be trying to rise from the ashes. The fact that it was purchased by the Renault-Nissan group has improved its future prospects tremendously. While fans still haven’t gotten …

The NX is the second-best selling Lexus model in Canada right after its big brother, the RX. Don’t know much about it? That’s not hard to believe, since it was only introduced in 2014 for the 2015 model year. While Lexus was a pioneer when it launched the RX several …

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, California – Audi A7, BMW 4 Series, Porsche Panamera, Kia Stinger. If you haven't been privy to the auto show circuit or Kia press releases, one would be stumped to find the pattern. Kia products don't enter the luxury conversation—sorry Cadenza and K900. That's at least until now …

MALIBU, California – The current SUV fad is somewhat questionable. Carmakers, who constantly seek increasing sales figures, seem to be releasing a new one each year of different sizes and price points. You’ve got your compacts, your subcompacts, your luxury ones, and even some SUV coupes now. With so much …