2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid – First Drive Review w/ Video [60 Photos]

Ioniq launches for 2017 as the first direct Prius rival in years.  Yes, I hear you — there are dozens of Prius rivals! And you are right: hybrids and EVs have gained traction in midsize sedans, luxury cars and SUVs at a rapid clip recently.  But no car actually tries to out-do Prius in 2017.  Not the cancelled Honda Insight.  And not the plug-in Chevy Volt, or battery-only VW eGolf. The reasons for this are many.  Mostly because Prius has beaten them all.  Ridiculously good mileage – no matter what.  A formula that surprisingly has never been cracked by another …

Keep reading

2017 Ford Explorer PLATINUM Exterior 33

2017 Ford Explorer Platinum 4×4 – HD Road Test Review

As recently as ten years ago, all you had to ask for was a seven-seat SUV. The options were pretty limited and you found your way into various full-size Suburbans or Expeditions. These days, car shoppers have to get a lot more specific.  There are over 50 SUV and crossover models capable of seating seven.  But they are certainly not all equally capable. The Ford Explorer aims to be one of the largest mid-size SUVs out there – one with real seating in the third row and decent luggage room with all seats up.  The Explorer is very-much an SUV versus a …

Keep reading

2016 Dodge Challenger RT Plum Crazy 18

Plum Crazy 2016 Dodge Challenger R/T – XtremeXperience Wet Track Laps Are Mesmerizing (w/ HD Video!)

It might seem unlikely to kick off a five-part article series about XtremeXperience supercar track days with the slowest, heaviest car in the pitlane. But anyone who has driven a Challenger R/T… a) in the rain or b) on a racetrack …knows that combining those two is a recipe for white knuckles, at the very least. And more likely, one of two endgames: a crawling pace or a big spin-out into the grass. And perhaps from there into a tire-lined safety fence beside the track. So this experience as the first outing of the day at Atlanta Motorsports Park left …

Keep reading

HD Road Test Review – 2016 Audi A6 2.0T Quattro – 5.8s, 550-Mile Time-Traveler

No scoffing at my 2.0T badge! It only takes a block of driving to know: this Audi is a time machine. It takes us into a future of downsized, forced-induction engines that hold their own beside V8s.   And cruise onward while others take the exit ramp to refuel. Power, speed, efficiency and value come standard on the 2016 A6 2.0T.  There are a few option boxes omitted on the test car that we think you will enjoy, however. And one bombshell performance secret to why the 32-MPG A6 quattro is a *must* over the 35-MPG A6 2.0T in its $46k, front-drive guise. The …

Keep reading

Car of the Year Review – 2015 Lexus RC-F

The RC-F was a true highlight among all the cars tested in 2015. And in the weeks since the Lexus sports flagship spent time in my garage, the deep longing and feelings for the car have not subsided. The first week was deep mourning at its absense, and the other seven stages of grief have passed over the CRD team like the eye of a hurricane. Finally, a bit of a light at the end of this tunnel: we must crown the RC-F the Car of the Year. In doing so, we honor its incredible strengths and the legacy it …

Keep reading