Test Drive: 2011 Ford Fiesta

By Kevin Harrison

Don’t you hate it when someone else’s tastes have a negative affect on you? For instance, I have an inhuman ability to eat spicy food. And I mean spicy. Think of the spiciest thing you’ve ever ate, I guarantee I’ve had spicier. And if I haven’t, I guarantee that I am able to handle it better than you. This may seem like bragging, but it’s really just abnormal. In fact, it’s damned inconvenient. Since my tolerance for spice is so high (thanks to my heritage and just plain growing up with the stuff) it’s hard to find truly spicy food in Halifax that meets my satisfaction. Believe me, I’ve tried. Why? Because North Americans can’t handle spicy food. North Americans apparently prefer blandness. I am seriously addicted to spicy food, so sometimes living here is like an alcoholic living in a prohibition nation.

North American tastes have also been screwing me over in the car world as well. It’s because Americans prefer unnecessarily large vehicles that have a billion horsepower but handle like they are driving on marshmallow roads, and look as though they were designed for Flava Flav. Chrome and shininess everywhere. Basically, tackiness everywhere.

Because of this, we have been deprived of amazing vehicles like the BMW 535d, the Ford Focus RS, and the Audi A1.

Recently there’s been an interesting change, however. It seems the folks at Ford, who make tremendous vehicles for the European market, have finally had a light bulb go on in their heads. Instead of building two versions of the Focus, why not just sell the good one globally? Indeed, why not try selling other product here too?

So here we are, with the Ford Fiesta. The little car is finally available on our shores. Even though we now have Euro Fords, have they still been Americanized for our stupid tastes?

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Test Drive: 2011 BMW 528i

By Kevin Harrison

Photography by Nick Rudnicki

As I start to get older, I start to notice certain changes. Mainly, I can’t eat a hamburger anymore without gaining 50 pounds. I also can’t seem to stay up past 2 am on a Saturday night as I’ll pass out from plain old fatigue rather than copious amounts of alcohol. I also caught myself in one of those ‘back-in-my-day’ moments wherein I was ridiculed by someone much younger than me for not having a twitter account.

“Back in my day…” I stopped short. I couldn’t believe those words came from my mouth.

Now I’m not old by any means, I’m in my mid twenties, but it’s definitely at this point in your life when you notice the changes. And they generally aren’t good ones.

The old adage ‘wine gets better with age’ doesn’t apply to humans. Cheese gets better with age though. So does scotch. But not human beings, I’m convinced of it.

Cars, on the other hand, are hard to figure. Do they get batter with age? The Chevrolet Impala, now into its ninth generation almost certainly has not. The Impala went from being an iconic tourer to a sleek coupe to a rapper’s wet dream to a hold-its-own sleeper to, well, the number one choice of car for people 70 and up. What the hell happened? The Impala used to be cool.

The BMW 5-Series is settling into middle age as well. Now into its seventh generation, is the 5-Series getting better with age? Or is it turning into an old grandpa mobile like the Impala?

I took the newest iteration for a spin to find out.

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Test Drive: 2010 Cadillac CTS 6-Speed Manual

By Kevin Harrison

After President Obama put GM on a much needed diet – shedding itself of brands it didn’t need, he also stipulated that they do something about their gas guzzling line up or else government money would disappear quicker than Jessica Simpson’s sex appeal.

So the restructuring process began. For Cadillac, the new SRX is now Saturn Vue sized, the DTS and STS are going to be axed in favour of a single model and a new entry level Caddy is expected to be introduced to comepete against the likes of BMW 3-series et al.

So where does that leave the CTS?

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Test Drive: 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Highline

By Kevin Harrison

There are a lot of things about North Americans that I really don’t get. For instance why do we like Walmart enough that it has to be open 24 hours? Have you ever bolted up at 4 am wanting to buy a new set of silverware?

Likewise, why are we so opposed to diesels? For some reason we’ve asphyxiated them with a bad reputation, and as a result, North Americans have not responded well to them.

This attitude is in complete contrast to Europe where selling a car without a diesel option is like ordering a hamburger at a Chinese restaurant – it just doesn’t make sense.

VW has been trying for decades to make diesels more mainstream in our market but they hit a bit of a snag in 2007 when stricter emission standards forced them to axe their diesel and revamp it. During that period TDI’s were missing in action in our market.

But they’re back and VW promises them to be even more powerful yet more efficient than before.

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Test Drive: 2011 BMW M3 Coupe

By Kevin Harrison

There are few things in the world that exude absolute perfection. Much like beauty, perfection can in the eye of the beholder. For instance, the Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo Di Vinci is undoubtedly the most famous painting in the world. The enigmatic facial expression of the portrait however, very much precludes it from being anything but perfect according to some critics. I, on the other hand, would disagree, but then again, I don’t claim to be an art critic.

Is Beyonce Knowles perfect? In terms of physical appearance I would definitely argue in favour, however again, many people have different priorities when it comes to beauty. There are some people that think Ke$ha is perfection after all.

So what exactly is perfection then? In the car world, is it the Bugatti Veyron? The fastest production car in the world can certainly make a case for itself, however at its top speed the tires only last for 37 miles and it chugs ridiculous amounts of fuel. It’s an impressive technological feat, but is it perfection?

Many consider the BMW M3 to be the absolute benchmark when it comes to style & raw performance for every day driving situations. It’s also quite capable of holding its own if you take it to the track. It’s one of the few cars that is capable of doing both. Its competition has been trying for decades to dethrone it as the ultimate performance machine, but the M3 remains resilient even today.

So has it achieved automotive perfection?

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Test Drive: 2010 Audi A3 TDI

By Kevin Harrison

I was driving behind an old Mercedes-Benz diesel a while back and I have to say, it was about as desirable as playing strip poker with your parents. It was just awful.

I actually had to turn my radio up because that diesel clatter was making my ears bleed. Then, despite being 30 degrees outside, I had to roll up my windows because the exhaust coming out of the tailpipe had a rather black/purple-ish hue that would make even Stephen Harper concerned about its effect on the environment. On top of that, the smell was less agreeable than a hockey player locker room after the second period.

For the first time ever, I finally started to understand North American tendencies. Diesels of the past were terrible.

Since then, many automakers have refined diesel technology, most notably Volkswagen. Even though most automakers bailed on the idea of bringing diesels back, Volkswagen stuck with it, leaving them with virtually all the market share. Not a bad move. BMW and Mercedes-Benz have followed suit with each brand offering a small dosage of their diesel technology for open minded North Americans.

Volkswagen has expanded the technology into four of their models. But what if you want a little premium with that oil burner? Well, for the first time Volkswagen has made its famous TDI engine available in the Audi A3. Is it worth it?

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Test Drive: 2010 Subaru Outback

By Kevin Harrison

People love to throw words around all the time when they don’t really make much sense. For instance, the word ‘epic’ is grossly overused. Have you noticed that? Somehow everything is ‘epic’ these days.

“What an epic goal!”

“Epic fail!”

“That pizza I just ate was epic”

And so fourth. But really, the only thing that’s “epic” these days is the tolerance I have for people who overuse the word.

Likewise, people (car manufacturers specifically) are all about the word ‘crossover’. But what exactly is a crossover? Some people say it’s a vehicle that looks like an SUV, but has a car-like ride. Oh really? Then why not just buy a car? Why do you need to ‘crossover’ into another vehicle segment?

In my mind, a true crossover is a vehicle that can handle all the elements. That is, it can handle all sorts of terrain, can swallow all sorts of cargo, can hold its own performance wise, is safe, looks good, is decent on gas, can hold a lot of people comfortably and won’t cost you an arm and a leg. If you’re going to ‘crossover’ different vehicle segments, might as well cross them all to be a true crossover.

A lot of people say Subaru was the first to do this with its Outback. Now completely redesigned for 2010, does the crossover that started the whole craze still have the goods?

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Test Drive: 2010 Volvo XC60 T6

By Kevin Harrison

What is the first thing you notice when you look at Volvo’s latest offering? The large signature LED tail lights?  The strong character lines in the side profile? The 18 inch multi-spoked wheels? There are lots of things that definitely catch your eye with this CUV, but would you believe that the first thing I noticed right away when I saw it in person was actually the emblem on the front grille?

It’s huge, at least in comparison to other Volvos.  A lot of manufacturers are growing the size of their symbols (most notably Mercedes-Benz). But I had to wonder, this vehicle is stunning to look at, why would Volvo want to distract me with a larger emblem?

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Test Drive: 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SE

By Kevin Harrison

Alright everyone, it’s time to get over yourselves. Why? Because you know damned well that SUV in your driveway isn’t quite adequate enough to haul people or stuff, yet you try to get away with it because you say minivans aren’t cool.

Well, you’re right. They aren’t.

But know what’s even less cool? Buying a car for image rather than practicality. If your SUV hasn’t spend an ounce of time off-road, then you are just as image driven as Heidi Montag.

Because of people like you, the minivan population is actually starting to decline. Ford’s once popular Windstar turned Freestar no longer exists, Nissan has halted production of the Quest due to slow sales and Hyundai has scrapped the Entourage after only two years on the market!

But there’s one minivan that has survived the tide, despite the wave of foolish resistance from the public. That’s right, the vehicle that started the whole minivan craze back in the 80′s is still the number one selling van in North America.

Does it deserve such an accolade?

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Test Drive: 2010 Toyota Prius

By Kevin Harrison

I believe in climate change. There really is no reason to not believe it in my opinion. Is it a cash grab by certain companies and corporations? Maybe. Businesses are certainly shifting towards a more environmental angle and are starting to make products that they claim will help save the environment. We usually need to pay more than we’re used to. But really, when are businesses not jumping onto the latest trend? They’re here to make money and if they’re making it at the expense of saving our earth, then I’m okay with that. And if climate change turns out to be a hoax, then at the very least it means that we saved money on energy, fuel etc and we end up with a less disgusting, cleaner earth. So, in my mind there’s really no downside to trying to save our environment.

How we go about doing it is fairly controversial. In the car world, there are many interesting solutions. You have diesel, which has been around since 1892 and thus proven to be the most reliable way to save gas. Then there’s relying on pure electricity – burning no gas and emitting no emissions is pretty sweet… assuming you don’t run out of electricity in the middle of nowhere. But really the same risk of running out of gas exists in the cars we drive today.

Then there are hybrids, likely the most popular way to save fuel and emissions right now. Toyota has the most hybrids out of any manufacturer. The most popular is likely the Prius. In fact, the Prius is so popular that you simply need to say its name and everyone not only knows it’s a Toyota, but knows that it is the car of choice for environmentalists, celebrities and people who order chai lattes at Starbucks – you know, the trendy ones.

There’s no doubt that the Prius is the most frugal car when it comes to gas consumption, but there really is more to cars and driving than how much gas it uses. Is it actually a good car?

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Test Drive: 2010 BMW X6 ActiveHybrid

By Kevin Harrison

There’s a problem with society. Well, there’s many problems actually. But most notably, we seem to always want and demand impossible combinations of stuff.

For instance, we all wish to eat healthy but as soon as companies cut fat or sodium from our foods, we all turn into pouty six year olds. With our arms crossed and our faces full of irritation we declare “I’m never buying this again” because the cheese with 25% less fat tastes like a rubber boot.

No matter where you are in Canada, people will insist that their roads are the worst in the country, as if it were some sort of accolade. But then when taxes get raised or money gets diverted to fix the roads, we all turn into selfish children yet again.

“Fix the roads with someone else’s money, not mine” we all say.

The same can be said for fuel efficiency and the environment. Sure, we’re all concerned about these issues (most of us are anyway), but are we willing to do anything about it? Nope. Because the energy efficient bulb takes a bit longer to reach its peak brightness it’s not worth buying apparently. And if you tell someone they’re going to have to downsize if they’d like to save on gas, they’ll look at you as if you hunt rats in the middle of the night for fun.

So due to these kinds of attitudes, we’re left with things like the X6 ActiveHybrid – a stab in the dark to try to bring us a solution to our uncompromisable problem – power yet efficiency. Has it worked?

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Test Drive: 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD 6-Speed Manual

By Kevin Harrison

Isn’t it funny how things can sometimes grow on you? I once hated olives. So much so that the mere mention of the word made me cringe. Picking them off pizza or salads wasn’t good enough either. If olives were in the vicinity of any type of food I was to consume, I would have preferred to stay hungry. These days? Sure, put olives on my nachos,  put them in my martini, hell, you can put them in my bed for all I care. They’re great. I’m not sure why all of a sudden I have grown accustomed to them, but I have.

The same can be said for the new Acura TL. I absolutely loathed the redesign when it first came out, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt as pictures usually don’t do justice to most cars. I thought it had a disproportionate robotic like exterior that seemed like it belonged in an episode of ‘What Not To Wear’. Seeing it in person just reinforced my urge to regurgitate whenever I saw it.

But something strange happened. The TL, it seems, isn’t so bad as I once thought. In fact, I’d even go so far as saying that it looks quite good from certain angles. Perhaps this is because Acura has decided to put its massive shield on the front grille of all its products so now the look seems somehow more modern and normal? All I know is, it is definitely a looker and I’m happy to say, for the right reasons.

But the TL needs a lot more than just edgy looks if it hopes to offer a different flavour of sports sedan from its rivals.

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Test Drive: 2010 BMW 550i GT

By Kevin Harrison

The first thing you need to know about this car is that the pictures in this review or any pictures you find online don’t do it justice at all. This car is a looker. This was evident from the very moment I picked it up. At the first set of lights I arrived at, there was a young fellow in the lane next to me in a previous generation Audi A4 who looked the car up and down, then promptly gave his approval with a huge grin and a thumbs up. A man crossing the street ahead of us seemed to be hypnotized by the white signature BMW halo headlights staring back at him. I checked my review mirror to find a couple in a minivan pointing to the car and chatting it up. As I took off when the light turned green, the big V8 growl was enough to make an old woman waiting for the bus do a double take.

In fact, this car gets so much attention from pretty much every gender and age group you can think of that I was told the BMW dealership where I picked up the 550i GT had received seven calls that day alone from people asking about it. They had apparently seen me driving around town and wanted to know what it was and wanted to know more about it.

For the first time ever, BMW has launched a hatchback version of the 5-series. And also for the first time ever is a different body style being offered for sale ahead of the sedan. Usually the sedan debuts first, then a wagon variant follows a few months later. The redesigned 5-series sedan is not even out yet. This can only mean that BMW really wishes to prove that it can do more than just sedans and coupes, of which they are typically known for.

Have they succeeded?

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Test Drive: 2010 Acura ZDX

By Kevin Harrison

People who are indecisive are pretty much the worst. I know, because I’m one of them. At any given moment, I can never make up my mind. Even over little things that one shouldn’t have to think about. For example, today I couldn’t make up my mind at Subway.

“Do I want a six inch or a foot long today?” I asked myself. That’s-what-she-said jokes aside, how difficult can it actually be to decide your level of hunger? And how annoying was it for the people behind me, who have already made up their minds, to wait for me make up my mind? I can only presume most people decide these sorts of things before leaving their cars. I ended up with a six inch and after consuming it in about 30 seconds, my worst fears were realized. I had made the wrong decision. I could have easily eaten a foot long.

Luckily this annoying tendency is non-existent for me when it comes to cars. I know what I like, and I know what my priorities are. If a car doesn’t meet them, it’s on to the next one. No second guessing.

But there are others in our indecisive club that aren’t so lucky when it comes to cars. They can’t make up their minds and usually end up with a minivan of some sort with ridiculous wheels and a spoiler. They want a coupe-like car that’s fast, that can handle off-road and snowy conditions, that has enough room for cargo and their family, that turns heads, is good on gas, good on power, has the latest luxury and technology and gives you a commanding view of the road.

Acura thinks they have an made something for those indecisive folk: The all-new ZDX.

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Test Drive: 2010 Hummer H3

By Kevin Harrison

Ever notice how bad timing happens way more often than good timing? For instance, I somehow found myself at a baby shower that was organized by my office for my very pregnant boss. I was roped into helping to organize it. What was even more puzzling than that was I was put in charge of coming up with fun games so that people didn’t gouge their eyes out after the awkwardness set in when they realized that they were indeed at an office baby shower. I’m not sure whose clever idea it was to have a male help out with a baby shower because all I kept coming up with were drinking games and inappropriate jokes during the whole process.

Then someone had an idea to get all the staff to bring in baby pictures of themselves and then our pregnant boss would have to guess who’s who. Still in inappropriate joke mode, I then decided to blurt out “well she’ll be able to get Judy’s picture right away because her’s will be the only picture in black and white”. Right at that moment, Judy, our Executive Director, had walked in the room. The look on her face could only be described as anything but amused. Why did she not come in about 5 minutes earlier when I had actually complimented her for her homemade potato salad she brought in the day before?

Likewise, why did the first ever African American President of the United States have to get elected right after one of the worst President’s in their history? He left the country in the worst possible condition and now President Obama must somehow fix all the problems that someone else created. As a result, Obama’s approval ratings are at an all-time low as people seem to want quick fixes to things that take time. So now because of this bad timing, the next time an African American offers his/her candidacy for President, all people will remember is how Obama didn’t fix things on the double and then said candidate will get no where before even getting started.

And so, the bad timing continues on in life with the latest being this very review. Fresh from Car Driven’s bad timing department comes our test of the Hummer H3. This is bad timing in many ways. Firstly, very few people are now in the market for a gas guzzling SUV so Hummer’s SUV only lineup isn’t exactly on the public’s radar. Secondly, and most importantly, it was announced just a few days ago that Hummer is going to cease to exist.

So why did I even bother?

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