Convenience, Comfort for the Long-Haul
It is the house as vehicle, or the vehicle as house. Put it this way: When you are going on a long, sometimes rough road trip in a fully equipped 2016 Toyota 4Runner Limited sport-utility vehicle, you aren’t leaving home without any of the things that make a home a home. Everything is there, or certainly there with the aid of easily portable electronic equipment. For 2016, that includes fully integrated cellphone navigation, which is...
A Smarter, Sleeker Hybrid From Toyota
Back in the dark days of automotive history, fuel was cheap and plentiful and Detroit dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Then the Prius came along, offering the first practical hybrid solution, and became the bestselling car in California. Almost a decade later, fuel is cheap and plentiful again, and a changed world awaits the latest iteration of the world’s most successful hybrid. Since the debut of the original, the road has become busy...
Experts Warn Against Long-Term Auto Loan Trend
After a year of record new-vehicle sales, automakers, dealers, and the banks and finance companies that issue car loans are jubilantly exchanging high-fives. Analysts list several reasons for record sales of 17.5 million vehicles in 2015, including an improving economy and job market, low interest rates, cheap gas and growth in leasing. New-car sales also are being driven by easy credit: Consumers, many with marginal credit ratings,...
Elegance, Performance and More
Cornwall, n.y. — It is a car beautiful in appearance and performance. It is small, gifted with a terrifically improved suspension and symmetrical all-wheel drive, meaning it is wonderfully maneuverable in weather fair and foul. Just one note on the latter point: It is a sports car usually shod with summer high-performance tires. Winter demands compromise. To wit: For improved winter traction and safety, sacrifice some handling and...
Wheels: A Case for Life in the Slow Lane
I put it in Sport and left it there. It felt all-around better in that mode, although Normal was in no way offensive. It’s just that Sport appeared to move with more authority, especially on westbound Interstate 66 near the evening rush hour, when some authority is needed. The Audi Q3 Prestige for 2016, the second model year in which the subcompact crossover-utility vehicle has been on sale in the United States, behaved well. It was...
