Auto Review: Acura ILX a Worthy Luxury Sport Sedan
At first glance, it’s the look — the aggressive grille, wheels and sharp, Jewel-Eye LED headlights — that suggests Acura is stepping up its game with the 2016 ILX. But the real proof is in its performance — that surge from a dead stop, the quick and smooth upshifts from Acura’s new dual-clutch automatic transmission, the tacky grip on corners. Add to that some new safety features, and you have a compelling argument that the ILX is...
Nuts & Bolts: 2016 Subaru Forester 2XT Touring
Bottom line: The Forester is among my favorite family haulers — one of the best and most affordable all-wheel-drive vehicles in the business, equipped with a reasonably efficient and powerful gasoline engine, comfortable on long highway runs and almost affordable ($36,040) equipped with an advanced driver-assistance system. Ride, acceleration and handling: It gets good marks — meaning easily satisfactory for most of us — in all three...
Nuts and Bolts: 2016 Audi Q3 Prestige
Bottom line: The Audi Q3 remains an excellent choice for small middle-income families interested in transportation safety, style and reasonable fuel efficiency. If the $40,000-plus price of the fully equipped Q3 Prestige bothers you, consider the Q3 Premium Plus, or choose front-wheel instead of all-wheel drive. Ride, acceleration and handling: The all-wheel-drive Q3 Prestige gets good marks in all three. Head-turning quotient: It’s...
Nuts & Bolts: 2015 Passat TDI SEL Premium
Bottom line: The Volkswagen Passat, diesel or gasoline, is a car to consider seriously when shopping for a midsize family sedan. It effectively hits all of the marks —safety, comfort, fit-and-finish quality, utility and fuel efficiency. Ride, acceleration and handling: It gets good marks in all three. The car is highway-competent. It has guts climbing mountain roads. Head-turning quotient: It seriously reminds me of a convent or...
Wheels: The Marketing Pitch Has Swagger
This column is about the 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque sport-utility vehicle. But the annoyance of two General Motors television commercials — one for Buick, the other for Cadillac — keeps grating on my nerves. My mind can’t turn them off, and maybe that is the point of such advertising. You can’t jettison the message, albeit upsetting, from the creative precincts of your head. Both GM spots ultimately are self-defeating for the...
