By Kevin Harrison

For my very first job I had the distinction of being recognized as an artist. Hold your astonished acclaim for me because I was the type of artist that had their title sown onto their shirt. That’s right, according to Subway, I was indeed a ‘Sandwich Artist’.

It was by no means a job I’d recommend to anyone, but it worked well for a gawky teenager still in high school – I didn’t come home with french fry grease all over me for instance, just the undesirable smell of onions and pickles. But I did meet a lot of interesting characters, not least of which was a regular who came by every day for lunch.

This woman intrigued me because at no point during my sandwich artist days was I ever able to figure her out, mainly because of what she always ordered.

She always requested a footlong veggie and, believe it or not, all she got on it was cheese, extra mayo and about half our container of olives. That’s it. My fellow sandwich artists would always be disgusted by her order, but I was just more dumbfounded. Why would anyone get just one toping when you can get unlimited topings at no extra cost?

This happens from time to time in the car world too and BMW has lately dabbled in the same sort of puzzling territory. When the X6 first debuted my immediate thought was why would someone want a less practical more expensive X5?

And now they’ve gone and done it again with their Mini brand with the Cooper coupe. Why would anyone want a less practical more expensive Mini? I drove one to find out.

The thing with modernizing retro designs is that you can only do so much before upsetting the fan base. As such, it’s clear BMW didn’t want to alienate said base as they’ve essentially kept the Cooper’s front end, different coloured roof and similar tail lights for the coupe, all while completely distinguishing it completely with a much lower roof line, a noticeably lowered stance and distinguished 17 inch wheels.

This is a much sportier looking car which is what a coupe is supposed to convey, but it can look awkward from certain angles with that arake backside. It’s almost as if BMW didn’t really know what to do with the back of the car so they just stopped trying. Regardless, there is no design like it today and as a result it certainly generates lots of stares, which I’m sure was helped by my tester’s bright red paint. For the most part they were stares of admiration and they largely came from middle aged women – a market I’m sure BMW did not intend to penetrate when they conjured up the Cooper coupe. I’m still not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Inside everything is very much familiar to Mini fans as everything is largely unchanged from the regular cooper. A few sporty black accents can be found along with typical high quality materials and a quirky centre stack layout.

If you are claustrophobic run far away from the Cooper coupe. The regular Cooper was by no means stadium-like inside but the large windows helped to open up the cabin, whereas the coupe’s low roof and shapely design means not much outside light gets in and, as a result, outward visibility can be difficult when checking blind spots or looking through the tiny rear windshield (which by the way is so sloped that it could really use a rear wiper). While a rear back-up camera could be helpful, the coupe is still easy to park due to its hasty size.

That low sloping roof means sacrificing the two rear seats found in the regular Cooper so the coupe is less practical as well, however its saving grace is that the cargo area is actually bigger than the Mini Cooper hatchback. There is also a ski-pass through for larger items.

My tester gave itself away as the Cooper S model as evidenced by the two exhausts in the centre and the functional hood scoop which feeds air to the 1.6 litre four cylinder turbocharged engine. It produced 181 horsepower and 177 pound feet of torque. That amount of power in such a small package translates into some unintentional spirited driving. It’s hard not to take advantage of instant power available at low rpms, and the six-speed manual really helps you to take advantage. Shifts are fairly smooth, however the clutch can take some getting used to. There’s serious pull once you shift into second with virtually no torque steer to be found. At around 80 km/h an spoiler pops up automatically. While it impedes vision through the already small rear windshield, it is likely much appreciated to keep the coupe stable and from flying off the freeway. It’s possible to keep this spoiler stationary, but I imagine the coupe looks quite ridiculous with the spoiler up.

My tester also came with an optional sport package which includes 17 inch wheels, grippy tires and a firmer suspension. Let’s just say that if you can tolerate a stiff ride, make sure you check off this option.  If you don’t you’ll be missing out on having a ridiculously goofy grin on your face every time you take a corner. To say this thing is planted is an understatement to be sure. Those wheels being pushed out to the corners essentially means you can flog the Mini about with complete peace of mind. There is slight understeer when cornering at higher speeds, but it’s easily correctable. This is probably the most fun you’ll ever have in a car of this size short of a go-kart.

And that’s when it hit me. Mini built this coupe because it’s so crazy that you just have to love it. It’s a bit like, oh, I don’t know, ordering a sub with a just a mountain of olives on it from Subway. In fact, one day I actually asked her about her unusual choice. Her reply?

“Why not? Olives are the most flavorful thing you offer and it’s a bit of a rush to just eat a bunch at once. Besides, no one ever thinks to do it”

While you might be thinking to yourself ‘no one ever thinks to do it because it’s disgusting’, and truthfully you’re probably right, she does indeed have a point. If the most flavourful model in a manufacturer’s brand is dull, then you’re really doing it a disservice. The Cooper S coupe is easily one of the most radical thing that no other brand has thought to do. It is the most flavouful and it certainly gives you a rush. Who cares that it’s not as practical, perhaps not as good looking, or as cheap as a regular Cooper S. If you think that way, stick to your typical lettuce and mayo and buy the regular Cooper S. This car is not for your personality.

If, however, you are crazy like my regular olive-obsessed Subway customer, BMW is eagerly awaiting you at your local dealership with keys in hand to the Cooper S coupe. This is a niche market and BMW has filled it nicely. The only thing better? The John Cooper Works edition of the Cooper coupe. I can only assume that it is like ordering a sub with just jalepenos. The full monty.

Base Price: $31,150

Pros:

• One of the best handling front-wheel drive cars out there
• Peppy turbo
• High quality martials
• Eye-catching styling
• Unique exhaust note
• Good cargo capacity for its size

Cons:

• No rear seats
• Poor outward visibility
• Awkward looking from certain angles
• Bumpy ride, even over smooth surfaces

Overall: 9/10

By Kevin Harrison

With a potential transit strike looming in Halifax, the idea of car ownership may now on some level seem like less of a burden. Since many in the city seem to think our transit service is non-existent in the first place, perhaps a strike will seem like any other day anyway. But for some people like my friend Erin, having absolutely no transit means absolutely no work or social life. She just can’t afford to lose it.

Likewise, she can’t afford a new car either. While she may be able to get a decent second hand car which would have someone else eat most of the depreciation, there’s still that unsettling feeling that something could go wrong with her ‘new-to-her ride’ at any moment. The question then remains, will she have the money to fix it?

With close to zero knowledge of cars in the first place makes car ownership for Erin more anxious than Charlie Sheen at a drug testing lab. Luckily for her, her friendship with yours truly has many advantages not least of which is someone to help her pick out a good reliable used car.

But why ‘settle’ for a used car when a new one is actually within Erin’s grasp? Nissan has just redesigned the Versa sedan and they’re boasting the lowest MSRP of any new car in Canada in the process.  It certainly makes for an interesting new versus used argument.

Has Nissan come up with just a cheap car or a good valued car? I tested one to find out.

The redesigned Versa sedan is much improved looks-wise from the previous generation no matter how you stack it, despite its ability to look awkward at certain angles. Those tiny 15 inch wheels make the Versa seem even further uncouth. And those are the biggest wheels you can get, and you can only get the alloys in the top of the line SL trim. Still, there is grace to be found in the Versa’s design as the front end is decidedly handsome. Likewise the rear quarter view exudes a classy curvacious look. You may need to try hard to find the Versa’s non-awkward sides, but they’re there. The SL trim helps out with chrome accents and the aforementioned alloy wheels.

Step inside the Versa and you’ll notice right away a bit of sparsity in the interior design. Try not to feel around too much either as the Versa’s hard, cheap plastics become apparent when you do. They especially become evident during cold days when the plastics on the centre stack seem to rub together to create one hell of an annoying creaking noise. Only cranking the adequate sounding radio helps to drown out the sound. The cold also seems to affect the Versa’s power windows, which are standard on the SL trim, as they were frozen shut more often than not. This is more the fault of mother nature than the Versa, but it’s clear the Versa is not a fan of the cold.

Nissan likes to market the new Versa as having essentially mid-size interior room for a sub-compact price and boy are they right with that one. To say the Versa is spacious for its size is quite an understatement and I have no doubt that Nissan’s claims of ‘the most head room in its class’ is true. Shaquille O’Neal would likely feel comfortable in the Versa. I might suggest to all the Halifax cabbies using Town Cars and Crown Vics that the Versa sedan would make an excellent, efficient replacement.

Speaking of efficiency, the Versa sedan is rated at 6.7 L/100 kms and 5.2 L/ kms on the highway. It achieves those impressive numbers thanks to the CVT transmission with is standard on the SL trim. While CVT transmissions are generally unfavourable with performance purists, there really is no denying the transmission’s ability to help sip fuel and frankly Nissan has one of the best, if not the best CVT in the business.

That transmission is mated to a 1.6 litre four cylinder which produces 109 horsepower and 107 pound feet of torque. With those numbers it’s therefore unsurprising that the Versa posts a rather slow 9.2 second 0-100 time. The optional six-speed manual in lower trims would likely help with some more get-up-and-go but no matter how you slice it, the Versa is not a fast car. The CVT is rather noisy and intrusive to the cabin as well when pushed. CVT’s tend to work a bit better when mated to larger engines, so the CVT connected to this small 1.6 litre just gives the impression of unrefinement and vulgarity at times. This translates into what seems like the Versa begging you to stop when trying to pass on the highway. However, once at cruising speed the Versa is stable and a tad more graceful.

You aren’t going to get any sort of thrills by flogging the Versa in the bends. Those tiny wheels matched with its tall stance means that any sort of aggressive driving is out of the picture. The Versa does actually have a bit of weight in the steering feel and while point and shoot steering isn’t BMW-like, the Versa very much surprises with its agility when you suddenly crank the wheel. The top heavy feel and screeching of the tires eventually consign you to give the Versa mercy, however.

But here’s the thing. While I may be able to ding the Versa on power, handling, looks, and overall performance, the Versa just plain isn’t made for a guy like me. Its purpose for being is for people like Erin who really want to trade in their bus pass for a fuel efficient, practical, no-nonsense car that will get them from A to B without a fuss. This is really where the Versa shines.

I can’t think of any other new car that can do the ‘regular’ travel routine for such a low price so well. Sure you can name off the Fiesta and Fit, arguably the top contenders in the segment, but then again there’s where the price advantage of the Versa comes into play.

When the Versa is looked at from a typical automotive journalist point of view, it comes up short. But for Joe Public the Versa really does make a strong case for itself for good value. Nissan has essentially closed the gap for people thinking they should buy used instead of new for their budget conscious car purchase. It’s arguably a perfect city car. Great on gas, decent ride for around town, easy to park thanks to its small size and room for all your friends with some to spare. What’s not to like?

As such, I don’t think I’ll hesitate in strongly suggesting to Erin that the Nissan Versa is well worth a look on her car shopping list and yours.

Base Price: $11,798

Pros:

• Truely impressive head room and leg room
• Good fuel efficiency
• Comfortable ride
• Handsome from certain angles
• Great value with low MSRP

Cons:

• Noisy CVT
• A bit underpowered for the highway
• Hard plastics in abundance
• Can look quite goofy from other angles

Overall: 7/10

By Kevin Harrison

Jon Voight turned 73 last week. Can you believe it? The man best known for his role in The Rainmaker in the 1990′s, his outspoken liberal political views and, most notably, for helping to spawn Angelina Jolie has actually been around for over seven decades. It seems like just yesterday he was playing Ben Stiller’s coal-miner father in Zoolander. He certainly has quite the resume.

Although as impressive as it is, the Volkswagen Beetle certainly has done a lot in its 73-year history as well. It’s the most manufactured car based off a single design (though the Porsche 911 could take second place easily). There were 21,529,464 Beetles sold worldwide and that was up until 2003 when that first generation body style officially went out of production. In fact, that body style was the star of my all-time favourite Disney movie (and probably the only Disney movie I’ve ever liked), Herbie. No one could beat the little Bug with the #53 painted on its hood, even though many Lancia’s, Alfa Romeos, Lamborghinis and Ferrari’s tried. Back then as a mini car nut, Herbie, and subsequently the Beetle, earned a special place in my heart. Even to this day when I see a Type 1 Beetle it puts a smile on my face.

I remember being fairly unimpressed with the ‘New Beetle’ which debuted in 1998. While the overall shape of the originally was captured, it’s bubble styling cuteness was hard to overlook. It was clear that Volkswagen was after a specific market with the New Beetle and was not me. Available in a wide variety of bright colours and even a daisy on the dash, the New Beetle become quite a hit with mostly women. Meanwhile I, and pretty much every male on the planet, was left wondering what Volkswagen had done with my beloved Herbie.

Well it seems Volkswagen has had a new train of thought with this all-new second generation New Beetle. Volkswagen realized that in order to achieve their goal of world domination, they had to make a vehicle that pleased both men and women alike.

Have they succeeded?

In order to achieve that harmonious admiration for this New Beetle, Volkswagen had to add a lot more testosterone to the styling, all while not alienating its strong estrogen base. On top of that, they couldn’t strain too far from the original Beetle’s design as the New Beetle is largely a retro based model. So, how do you inject more testosterone into such a shape? Well Volkswagen started by lowering and flattening the roofline. They added a longer hood and wheel arches that look more like bulging muscles rather than cute love handles. However, if Volkswagen truly wanted to completely the muscular look, they would have made 17′s standard instead of 16′s. With that said, the more aggressive design certainly won favour from most of the males in my office. But what about women who grew so found of the previous design? Well apparently a good majority of them can’t tell the difference from the old one based on my very unscientific poll. So, unifying exterior design? Check.

The Beetle has always had a reputation for lots of headroom thanks to its dome shaped design and even with that lowered flattened roof that remains true in the new version. I suspect even the six foot eight inch Lebron James would feel comfortable in the Beetles insides. It’s also immediately apparent when you step inside is a feeling that the Beetle is actually quite wide. And that’s because it is. This combined with the headroom gives the Beetle and airy feel inside the cabin. All the controls are logically laid out and are of typical Volkswagen high quality, however the large amounts of coloured plastic on the dash and alongside the doors makes the Beetle feel more like a  utilitarian vehicle  than a premium vehicle. The rear seats offer adequate leg room, however this is where to roof starts to slope and when Lebron James would rather be playing hockey than sitting back there.

The Beetle actually comes with a flat-bottomed steering wheel which is normally reserved for Volkswagen’s performance injected models like the GTI or GLI. I was surprised by this considering the numbers on paper. My tester came with Volkswagen’s long-in-the-tooth 2.5 five cylinder engine which makes 170 horsepower and 177 pound feet of torque. While that is adequate power for the most part, it’s quite shy from what a performance vehicle should have. On top of it all, the Beetle takes about a decade to come to life from a stand still when you mash the throttle to the floor. However, once it reaches year ten, you can really feel the torque kick in. But while the torque can eventually get you going off the line, don’t expect to win too many drag races. This isn’t actually Herbie, after all. One thing this engine does accelerate at is highway driving. The engine is a bit loud in city driving, but it quietly and smoothly masters the road on the highway. While doing so, it’s returning about 7.8 L/ 100 kms. The Beetle’s outdated engine is a big reason why I question the flat-bottomed steering wheel, however to be fair I suspect you could get more out of this engine when equipped with a six-speed manual, and on top of that, you can also opt for Volkswagen’s much more desirable 2.0T.

Even though the 2.5 falls a bit short in engine performance, the Beetle actually handles fairly well and a big reason why is that it is based on the tried tested and true Jetta. With that said, the hydraulically powered steering wheels gives little feedback to the driver so throwing the Beetle into a corner can be somewhat unnerving with lots of wheel correction to be made while completing the turn. With that said, the Beetle 2.5 successfully blends decent handling with a smooth comfortable ride.

 But is it a car that honestly appeals to both sexes?

My guess is that answer probably relies on which variant you choose. While there isn’t anything inherently wrong with the 2.5, my guess is that women will favour this trim level over men due to its simplicity, it’s softer looks and it’s comfort level. Men would like go for the more aggressive 2.0T with the appropriate style and performance upgrades. In fact, rumour has it that a Beetle R will be gracing our shores and that would be the ultimate draw to get most men to even consider a Beetle. Women with gasoline in their veins would also appreciate this version as well.

So at the end of the day, yes I’d saw Volkswagen has succeeded in breaking down the stereotype of the Beetle being a car exclusively made for women. It may have taken Volkswagen 73 years to do it, but finally we may have a true “people’s car”.

Base Price: $21,975

Pros:

• More aggressive styling
• Good quality interior materials
• Great highway ride
• Slightly more performance oriented, with a good blend of comfort
• Low base price

Cons:

• 2.5 litre engine not the most refined engine in the world
• Lots of lag from stand still
• Little steering feedback
• Interior plastics not consistent with traditional VW premium feel

Overall: 7.5/10

By Kevin Harrison

It costs about $30 million to go to space. Seriously, if you have the dough you can be one of the few people on Earth to ever leave it. Seeing the moon, the stars and even looking back at your home planet would be thrilling to say the least. But then there’s that price tag. Even billionaires, I suspect, would have a hard time swallowing that bill.

So, what can we do for cheap thrills? Well I recently went to see a movie where the real draw was cheap ticket prices that evening. But considering how uncomfortable the chairs were, the schizophrenic audio and the movie itself being about as interesting as a gnat, the thrill part of equation was severely lacking. Cheap yes, thrilling no.

So where is the balance between value and thrills? Mazda thinks they have it nailed down in the form of the new Mazdaspeed3. They’ve been at it since the inception of the Mazda Protege MP3 back in 2001. Have they perfected the recipe?

Mazda had relative success with the previous generation Mazdaspeed3 which debuted in 2007. While that generation Mazda3 hatchback was quite the looker, I didn’t think that Mazda had done enough to visually separate the speed3 from the regular version. It’s much of the same with this generation Mazdspeed3, however it now has a functional hood scoop as well as more eye-catching 18 in wheels. The overall design may be a bit polarizing. For instance you either love it or hate it that your speed3 is constantly happy to see you each morning with that Cheshire Cat grin, but the overall look exudes the sportiness that Mazda wants to convey. I think it’s best angle is actually the rear quarter angle, even though the clear Altezza-style tail lights are a bit played out nowadays.

The interior is generally a pleasant place to be with high quality materials found throughout. The seats have decent lateral support which almost makes you forget the rather cheesy poka dot pattern in the cloth, dash and on the side of the doors. This is standard on all Mazdaspeed3′s and the contrasting colour is always red, regardless of what the exterior colour is. Because the particular vehicle I was driving was red, it seemed to blend in a bit better, but I would imagine it looks a bit awkward with other coloured Mazdaspeed3′s (of which there are only four colours to choose from). Rear legroom is a bit tight but there is a generous amount of cargo room available, especially with the seats folded down. The audio system is easy to get used to and the sound is quite good. If you have a button fetish, you’ll love the Mazdaspeed3′s steering wheel. It can be a bit overwhelming.

The Mazdaspeed3 produces 263 horsepower and 280 pound feet of torque. Mazda claims a 0-100 time of 6.1 seconds and I have no doubt that that’s probably true. The issue is, however, that it could probably be even faster than that. Getting that much power from the front wheels to the asphalt can be a bit of a challenge as the uncle traction control seems to work overtime when the Mazdaspeed3 is pushed from a stand still. On top of that, the Mazdaspeed3 won’t give you all it’s got. In first and second gear, the power is actually limited to reduce torque steer. As a result, shifting into 3rd gear creates quite the unexpected boost of power. This makes highway driving a pleasure and it really is the Mazdaspeed3′s forte. A bit of good news at least is that the formula seems to have worked. Torque steer is reduced to a minimum when accelerating from a straight line. It’s a massive improvement over the previous generation Mazdaspeed3 where you could have easily torque steered into a  tree if you weren’t careful. With that said, torque steer becomes increasingly prevalent when accelerating hard into or out of a corner. This causes the Mazdaspeed3 to under steer if you don’t back off the power.

However body lean is almost non-existent and the Mazdaspeed3 can feel quite composed once you are able to reign the beast in by the horns. In fact, handling is downright great  as long as you don’t push it so hard that the torque steer and under steer become a problem.  One great thing is the exhaust note. It’s loud, but not overly so and it doesn’t have that annoying aftermarket exhaust note found on most 10 year old suped up Civics.

The clutch bites abruptly which takes some getting used to, but once you have it nailed down it becomes second nature and it becomes easy to drive smoothly. The gear shift position is good with shifts being adequate, but it can sometimes be difficult to shift from second to third, and to downshift from third to second.

The ride is firm, but not overly firm for a performance car, especially considering the low profile tires on the 18 inch wheels (which look fantastic, by the way). I’ve read complaints about the ride being overly firm, but I say that’s what comes along with driving a performance vehicle. It’s no firmer than the ride in most BMW’s or Audi’s.

Which begs the question: Has Mazda come up with a perfect recipe for thrills and value? Well, they are damned close. A lot of the Mazdaspeed3′s flaws can be excusable based on its price point alone. There aren’t too many cars out there that offer that much power, with daily driver usability for just over $30,000. It can be an ideal car for a young family on a budget who doesn’t wish to give up performance for the sake of having to carry a stroller and diaper bags for the trip. With that said, I think Mazda could hit the nail on the head if they did one of two things: either make it less powerful (263 horses to the front wheels is a bit much) or give it all-wheel drive. Considering the abundance of power, the added weight of an all-wheel drive system shouldn’t affect performance to any large degree.

So while it isn’t hasn’t achieved performance perfection, it definitely makes a case for itself for value and performance.

Base Price: $32,995

Pros:

·    Great value

·    Strong engine pull on the highway

·    Reasonably planted in corners

·    Good versatility

·    High quality interior materials

·    Good exhaust note

·    Torque steer has been reduced

Cons:

·    While torque steer is less prevalent, it’s still noticeable especially in hard cornering

·    Has a tendency to under steer when pushed hard

·    Steering is a bit light

·    Gearbox and clutch take some getting used to

·    Poka dotted interior pattern

Overall: 8.5/10

By Kevin Harrison

There was once a time when the Mini Cooper was the smallest vehicle you could buy. The year was 1959 and everyone loved the original Mini for its small size, small price and its light, fun-to-drive nature. It was truly a British automotive success story.

The original Mini chugged on for a very long and unheard of 40 years without many changes save for special editions – a testament to the Mini’s appeal. Mini obviously didn’t want to mess about too much with a good thing. But all good things must come to an end and in 2000, production for the original Mini ceased with the brand moving quickly into hiatus as the sale of Rover, which Mini was a part of, was dealt to BMW. BMW then went and winded the Rover brand down.

However, BMW promised to keep the Mini brand alive with an all-new iteration of the Mini Cooper which officially bowed in 2002. The design was definitely polarizing for Mini purists, despite BMW’s effort to keep the design and spirit of the original. Most Mini maniacs had cried blasphemy at the new Mini’s size. While it was still a small car, it was much bigger than the original.

And here we are now with the biggest Mini ever produced. While the Mini Cooper is still selling well today, a common complaint from new customers to the brand was that it was too small for their needs. So, BMW then created a longer Mini with three doors called the Clubman, but it’s polarizing looks and remaining tight quarters kept potential Mini customers begging for something bigger.

Well, BMW listened and now we have the Mini Cooper Countryman – the first ever five-door Mini. Does it have what it takes to wear the Mini badge?

While there is no mistaking the Countryman for anything but a Mini, the styling is still quite the departure for the brand. With the taller ride height, a not quite so flat roof and more shapely headlights than the traditional ovals, the Countryman is a a bit odd looking for a Mini from certain angles. It’s definitely the more quirkier designed model of the Mini family. It’s a look that takes a bit of getting used to, but eventually it charms you into feeling quite comfortable with the looks. Besides, it’s no stranger looking than a Nissan Juke, that’s for sure. That said, it is a looker, but I’m not quite so sure that it’s for the right reasons. Most of the looks on people’s faces were confused double takes rather than glances of admiration. One thing I do miss is the integrated hood scoop that the S model gets for the Cooper and Clubman. The Countryman S does get an additional air intake but it’s located in a small slit under the grille, not in the form of a hood scoop. This takes a bit of the aggressiveness that most Mini S models usually convey.

Inside the quirkiness continues as the Countryman is officially a four-seater thanks to a rail that runs through the center of the interior. You can attach things like a sunglasses case and this, supposedly, makes the Countryman more practical. In reality, more practical would be having a seat in the middle. Still, there is adequate leg room back there and the seats are cushy and comfortable. The dash layout is almost exactly the same as the Cooper with the large speedometer in the centre which, by the way I never looked at once to determine how fast I was going, I chose to use the optional digital speedometer in a smaller gauge behind the steering wheels which is more conventional. Touches of black where polished aluminum used to be gives the Countryman a more sporty look. While the layout takes some getting used to, the quality of materials is superb. There is ample cargo room with the seats up, and that space grows to 41 cubic feet of space with the rear seats down, which is actually more space than in a 5-door Volkswagen Golf.

Power comes from a 1.6 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder capable of making 181 horsepower and 177 pound foot torque. The unit uses a single-scroll turbocharger and has an over-boost feature which essentially gives the Countryman S 192 pound foot torque when the throttle is wide open. 0-100 takes 7.7 seconds with the All4 all-wheel drive and 6-speed automaker that my tester was equipped with. If you opt for a front wheel drive Countryman S with a manual transmission you can shave close to a second off that time. There is some slight turbo lag when trying to get the Countryman going from a stand still.

The thing is, though, the All4 system does an excellent job at keeping the heavy (compared to a regular Cooper) planted. Without it, I’d wager there would be much more understeer in the corners. With that said, handling is quite good, despite the raised ride height. You can’t push it as much as you could a Cooper S, but it’s still respectable and feels every bit like tossing a Mini into a corner should. Find a nice twisty road and the Countryman will feel right at home – as any Mini family member should.

While the shifts in my tester’s automatic gearbox were crisp, a slight delay could be detected and thus, mildly took away from the driving experience. Do yourself a favour and get the Countryman with a proper six-speed manual gearbox. The Countryman S All4 is one of few crossovers that offer a manual transmission with all-wheel drive, so make sure to take advantage of this rare set-up.

So, the Countryman overall is quite deserving to wear the Mini badge. It has all the right ingredients: quirkiness, agility, fun to drive and good on gas. With that said, there is something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on. When you drive a Mini Cooper S, you honestly feel like you’re 7 years old again driving a go-kart only this time on public roads. When you get into the Countryman you feel like a grown up driving a capable grown up’s car. It’s almost like the Mini Cooper S is a kid who gets excited to go to school that day because it’s show and tell, while the Countryman S All4 is a grown up excited to go to work because he has a lunch meeting that day with a prospective and lucrative client. Both exciting, but both in very different ways.

My personal thought is that the Countryman is definitely a worthy competitor in the segment, which likely consists of the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Nissan Juke, but the novelty and the soul of a Mini product is lacking slightly. However, Mini owners that just plain need more space and practicality now have something worthy enough of keeping them in the brand. The only question is, what is the point of the Clubman now?

Base Price: $34,400

Pros:

• Peppy engine
• Excellent handling abilities, despite added weight and ride height
• High quality materials
• Quirky Mini interior and exterior design remain
• Available all-wheel drive with manual transmission
• Good cargo capacity

Cons:

• Automatic transmission a bit delayed when shifting
• A bit of turbo lag
• Only a four seater
• Steep price, especially when options are piled on

Overall: 8/10

By Kevin Harrison

My uncle used to play street hockey with Cliff Ronning and another friend. While my uncle could do well enough for pick-up street hockey, Cliff Ronning  was clearly in another league. Literally. He ended up getting drafted to the NHL. My uncle, on the other hand, decided to take the geology route in life, while his friend decided to have a go at accounting. Let’s call him John.

My uncle still keeps in touch with John from time to time and without fail, John always loves to bring up the time when the trio used to play hockey together. As John remembers it, he used to be able to keep up with Cliff Ronning and sometimes used to best him.

“I probably could’ve made the NHL too,” John always says. He maintains his passion for math (yes, apparently such a passion exists) is what kept him from playing alongside Cliff. But without fail, John always brings up how good he used to be. To be honest, today, John has settled into middle age and likely wouldn’t be able to skate up a rink without stopping to catch his breath at centre ice first before continuing on. And that’s generally what happens when you get older. You become bigger, more sluggish, softer and not quite as agile as you once were.

Some say that this has happened to the new Passat. The car once hailed as a nimble, refined, premium vehicle at a not-so-premium price always scored top marks in the quality and performance part of the family sedan segment. Now, however, it’s much bigger than its predecessor and much cheaper. Does that mean the Passat is starting to settle into middle age?

I took one out to find out.

It’s quite obvious that the Passat is definitely bigger than the previous version. In fact it’s a full 10 centimeters longer making it the biggest Passat produced to date – for North America, that is. The rest of the world gets a smaller version of the North American Passat. Why? Well because traditional mid-size sedans here in North America could probably now be classified as full-sized. Each sedan in the segment is significantly larger than the generation before. To give you an idea, the current generation Honda Civic is the same size as the original Accord was. So, in order to play in the ball game, Volkswagen had to build one specific to our needs  wants and as a result it is the third largest ‘mid-size’ sedan available. The size increase hasn’t spoiled the styling at all, in fact the Passat looks to be among the most elegant of the mid-size sedan segment with a conservative and classy design, almost completely echoing the design language of the new Jetta. It works well and gets a lot of looks from VW fans alike.

Speaking of the new Jetta, a big reason why they are selling like hot cakes nowadays is because the price has dropped significantly from the previous model. It seems to be working well for Volkswagen, however critics seem to share the idea that cost cutting measures have made the interior less appealing. While I have yet to drive the new Jetta, I can safely say that this is not the case for the new Passat, which also gets a steep price cut this year. The interior layout and materials exude a quality and premium feel typical of Passats before it. The only hard plastic I could find was the one surrounding the lower part of the centre stack. That’s a pretty small price to pay considering the Passat’s sub $24,000 base price. In fact, I’m still scratching my head as to how Volkswagen was able to cut the price of this car so much with very minimal sacrifice to quality, ride or refinement. On top of it all, the Passat is about the roomiest mid-size car I’ve been in in a while. Even with the driver’s seat back to my preferred position, there was still an abundance of rear seat legroom available. Likewise, trunk space is large enough to swallow virtually anything you throw at it, especially with the rear seats down. There were a few times when I’d get into the Passat, start it up and nothing would show up on the screen, just the time, when I had previously had the Sirius satellite radio on before I turned it off. Pressing the power button did no good either. I had to wait a good two minutes before the audio system finally came back to life. And, as I experienced in the Touareg, the touchscreen sometimes did not respond to commands.

My tester came with the base 2.5 litre engine which makes 170 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. If I’m honest, this isn’t Volkswagen’s best engine as noise levels can be high and the Passat can seem quite sluggish when accelerating from a stand still. That’s not to say that the Passat is a slouch because once the torque chimes in there is plenty of power, especially on the highway. There is some slight torque steer at times, but if driven in a normal everyday manner, the torque steer is virtually non-existent. The Passat with the 2.5 litre engine is rated at 9.6 L/100 kms city and 6.7 L/100 kms highway which is pretty competitive with its rivals. However, the Passat has the ability to blow its rivals away in the fuel economy department when fitted with the optional and more desirable TDI power plant. Not only is it rated at an impressive 6.5 L/100 kms city and 4.5 L/100 kms highway, its torque happy nature likely makes it more fun to drive. With that said, the 2.5 litre engine is adequate for every day driving duties.

Despite the increase in size, handling is still very Passat-like as Volkswagen has extended the wheelbase as well. In fact, the Passat now has the longest wheelbase in the class, which is exactly why there’s so much leg room back there. The Passat seems surefooted and body roll isn’t very noticeable. The steering is a bit soft, but not overly so. Again, quite suitable for daily driving. It may not be quite as nimble as the smaller Passat before it, but I’d wager it’s still probably one of the better handling vehicles in the mid-size sedan segment.

The simple fact of the matter is, this new Passat would make John jealous, in fact he should take a page from Volkswagen’s book. While it has grown in size and is a bit softened down, it’s settling in with middle age much more easily than he is. It’s still just as capable, just as good looking, has just as much of a premium feel,  has just as many standard, with the added bonus of a cheaper price and more usable space. So far as I can tell it may be the new benchmark in the ever competitive mid-size segment. It seems the only thing the Passat can’t do would be to beat John at a game of hockey. Hey, nobody’s perfect, right?

Base Price: $23,975

Pros:

• Interior fit and finish
• Interior space
• Classy exterior look
• Decent handling abilities
• More competitive price point
• Engine option availability
• Great daily driver

Cons:

• 2.5 engine a bit noisy and sluggish off the line
• Some torque steer when pushed
• Increased size makes it a bit difficult to maneuver
• Finicky touch screen

Overall: 9/10

Special thanks to Mike Velemirovich of Hillcrest Volkswagen

By Kevin Harrison

My nephew has just marked his sixth month on this earth and he has got to be one of the most entertaining babies around.  A mere tap on the glass of the window will have him laughing in stitches. He seems to have an extreme fascination with place mats and whenever you present him with his favourite glow-worm, he becomes more hypnotized than a young girl at a Justin Bieber concert.

Trying to feed him, however, can be a bit of a challenge. It’s quite clear that the little guy just does not like his apple puree. And trying to trick him to open his mouth by making him laugh with some window tapping doesn’t work either because he then proceeds to just laugh with his mouth closed. Smart kid.

There can be quite frustrating challenges in the automotive industry as well. For instance making an efficient SUV is just as difficult as feeding apples to my nephew. You’ve got a vehicle that’s inherently heavy shaped like a drag producing box with a need for a powerful engine. Not the best recipe for efficiency indeed.

But that doesn’t stop automakers from trying. Volkswagen introduced their first ever SUV in 2005 and it took them until them three years to figure out how to make the Touareg more efficient. The TDI was then born, back in a time when diesel engine technology, for some reason, still left a sour taste in peoples mouths despite the advances in technology to make them cleaner, quieter and more efficient.

The Touareg TDI is back again for this second generation, but it actually faces some stiff competition, from its German peers, of which I thought bested the previous generation iteration of the Touareg TDI.

Is this version a more credible contender?

Firstly, the Touareg is much improved in terms of the interior over the 2010 Touareg TDI. While the previous generation was quite comfortable with high quality materials, this new interior is much cleaner, refined and logical. There’s no mistaking the 2011 Touareg TDI for anything but a premium vehicle once you step inside. The rear seats offer plenty of legroom and will fit three full-sized adults quite comfortably thanks in part to the reclining bench back there. The cabin is opened up nicely by a panorama sunroof. The rear seats don’t quite fold flat, but it still offers plenty of cargo room to swallow up mostly anything you challenge it to. The 12-speaker system is spot-on and as is the navigation.

Outside, the Touareg’s look has been softened in my opinion, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The large twin-spoked 20 inch wheels along with a sleek profile and horseshoe shaped LED daytime running helps definitely help the Touareg to stand out in a good way. It’s a classy look typical of most German designs which captures attention in a graceful, elegant way. Many American and Japanese designers could learn from this simplistic design language.

Power is generated by a 3.0 litre V6 turbo-diesel and makes 225 horsepower and a whopping 406 pound feet of torque. The torque is really the part of the recipe that gets this 5100 pound mid-size SUV off the line in an impressive 6.8 seconds. Torque thankfully chimes in at around 2,000 RPM and boy is it ever a head-snapper. When putting your foot to the floor, there’s no question that the Touareg TDI feels fast.  But perhaps the more impressive thing about this engine is what it does when you are waiting at a red light. The engine is dead quiet. No diesel clatter, not ear bleeding loudness. Nothing. When the light turns green, it feels and sounds as if you’re driving a regular gas engine V6. Even when you try to test that 6.8 second run to 100, there’s still no audible indication that you’re driving a diesel, in fact, there were more than a few occasions when I just plain forgot about it. From inside the cabin there’s no noise intrusion, it’s not until you roll down the window and push the Touareg TDI a little harder that the diesel noise becomes prevalent, and even then it’s not that bad.

The Touareg TDI is rated at 11.1 L/100 kms city and 7.0 L/100 kms highway. I got a combined rating of around 9.7 L/100 kms. Not bad at all considering you can get similar levels of efficiency from a Honda Accord which isn’t nearly as versatile.

Handling is good, but that’s relative. It’s good considering how high off the ground it is and how heavy it is, but don’t expect to set any records in the Nurburgring. The 4motion all-wheel drive system does a good job of keeping the Tourareg TDI planted. The large wheels and low-profile tires likely play a role here as well. The heavy diesel engine produces a bit of understand and can be nose heavy under heavy braking, but overall it feels composed. I never had the chance to try out the Touareg’s handling abilities, but making the Touareg off-road ready is as simple as switching a dial on the console from on-road to off-road.

One feature I really liked was the ‘auto-hold’ feature which does as the name suggests. Whenever I came to a stop on going up a hill, this feature did a great job of preventing the Touareg from slipping backwards when taking your foot off the brake. In fact, I used it in regular traffic as well. In a manual transmission car you can take your foot off the brake without rolling forward, but in an automatic, you can’t. This feature allows your right foot a bit of a brake in between stops. There were a few instances when it seemed as though the auto-hold was hesitant to release the Touareg once you stepped on the gas, however.

Faults? Well, sometimes the touch screen doesn’t respond to commands. And I still find the dial typical of all VW’s difficult to get the sunroof to get what you want it to do. And I prefer a bit heavier steering. And I’m not a fan of rear turn signals that don’t flash amber. As you can plainly see, I’m reaching to find a whole lot wrong with the Touareg TDI.

And here’s the thing. The biggest advantage of the TDI is obviously fuel efficiency, but its inherent torque-y-ness makes combined with good handling makes it quite an entertaining drive as well. It seems as though Volkswagen has been able to achieve the impossible task. I should hire them to feed my nephew.

It terms of its competition, I can now confidently say it’s up there. While the BMW X5 diesel may have an edge in styling and handling, the Touareg TDI is a no brainer against its porkier and more expensive Audi Q7 diesel as well as the much forgotten Mercedes-Benz ML diesel. The Porsche Cayenne on which it is based also has a diesel version, but its safe to assume the Touareg isn’t even close to being in the same league. All in all, however, the Touareg TDI is definitely worth a spot on you car shopping list.

Base Price: $63,135

Pros:

• Good gas mileage considering size and weight
• Capable handling abilities
• Classy, comfortable interior
• Rear cargo and leg room
• Torque-y TDI engine, strong ability off the line
• Easy to use navigation

Cons:

• Fussy touch screen
• Softened exterior styling
• Tire/wheel set up makes actual off-roading difficult
• Steering a bit too light

Overall: 9/10

By Kevin Harrison

This past weekend I met up with a friend that I hadn’t seen in a while to catch up. I suggested a local pub that he had never been to. Once we arrived, I wasted no time in telling him what to get.

“The steak is unreal here,” I said, salivating at the thought. “The ribs are great too. In fact, everything is pretty good, the only thing I wouldn’t recommend is -“

“I think I’ll give the liver and onions a try,” interrupted Andrew, choosing the one item I tried to warn him about. Now, while I realize liver and onions are an acquired taste, I was not suggesting he avoid them due to some sort of personal disgust. It was more the fact that I had tried them before and nearly vomited on the spot. This joint could not make good liver and onions, no matter how hard they tried.

Stupidly, Andrew brushed off my warnings and went with the liver and onions. Not wishing to concede that his decision was a bad one, Andrew managed to put on a forced smile once it arrived and an “mmm” with every second bite knowing full well he was feeling the exact opposite.

Later that night I sent him a text about an unrelated matter and Andrew replied, “can’t talk now, really not feeling well”. The next day I later found out that Andrew’s stomach had smartly rejected what Andrew was forcing down.

Needless to say, being the good friend that I am, I promptly called him up repeating ‘I told you so’ in between laughs.

I also used to do that with friends that bought a car without first consulting me. Usually they’d come home with everything from a Ford Focus, to a 15 year old Mercedes-Benz S-class because they were cheap. The latter is particularly well known for its reliability (or lack thereof) while the former was best known as the best buy for rental companies only. It wasn’t particularly good at anything other than saving you money in initial cost.

Well now there’s a new version out and Ford promises it won’t disappoint and won’t be anything like Focuses (Foci?) of the past. I tried one out to see if it was true.

‘European styling’ is a term every automaker’s PR department gushes about even when it’s not true. With Ford’s new Focus, however, they managed to pull it off. This is mostly because this is the Focus that Europe has enjoyed for the past few years and continues to do so today. The front end is particularly pleasant to look at as it is quite aggressive with large air intakes near the bottom, a stylish grille, fog lights integrated into the body and non-assuming headlights. The side profile of the hatch is sleek and enhanced by my tester’s large five-spoke 18 inch wheels. Side skirts help it from looking like a crossover. In the rear, the European style tail lights and roof mounted spoiler complete the look. Simply put, this is a hot looking hatch.

Inside, fit and finish is the name of the game. The leather feels rich, as does the dash and other materials. Headroom and legroom are a bit wanting, but it’s not as if you’ll ever feel cramped back there. You’ll do just fine, even on longer trips. The seats are comfortable and offer good support with large side bolsters to hug you in the corners. The front driver and passenger seats have five settings for the heated seats. Yes, five. Since it was a steady 24 degrees each day I spent with the Focus, I had no urge to try them out, but I can only surmise that five setting for seated seats is a bit overkill. One, maybe two would do. The dash layout design is clear and sort of futuristic looking. The center screen where most everything is controlled such as audio is still a bit confusing if you’re not used to it, but I got the hang of it after a while. It’s a touch screen that sometimes requires two or three touches before it responds to your command. One thing that pleased me was the lack of annoying cartoon sounds when pushing the screen or a button. That seems to be reserved for the Edge.

When out and about in the Focus the first thing you’ll notice is the steering. It’s heavier than most vehicles in the segment, and believe me, that’s a good thing. Especially considering the focus has a fully independent rear suspension, a wider track and a lowered stance: a great recipe for enhanced handling. Add on those large 18 inch wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport rubber the the Titanium-only sport suspension and you’ve got yourself one hell of a great handling car. Dodge, Toyota and yes, even Honda could learn a lesson or two from this package. The only competitors that feel just as compliant in the handling department is the Mazda3 and Volkswagen Golf. It may be a three-way tie here. But considering throwing the old Focus in a corner was akin to throwing away your dignity, that’s quite the large step Ford has taken. It’s poised, precise, sharp and nimble. As you’d expect, body lean is quite minimal as is under steer – the latter is mostly thanks to electronic stability control.

Power comes from a 2.0 litre four cylinder unit which makes 160 horsepower which bests most of its rivals, not least of which is its predecessor which only had 140 horses, but is outdone in the torque department with 142 pound feet. This is obvious at lower RPM’s where the torque kicks in mostly at higher RPM’s. This makes the Focus quite the screamer at higher RPM’s but mid-range power is lacking, especially for passing duties on the highway.

Speaking of the highway, the Focus is calm and smooth. The six-speed automatic transmission, even though geared for fuel efficiency in mind, shifts smoothly and is responsive when power is needed. I’m not a fan of the push button to change gears manually, but I suppose that’s just more of a preference than a fault. When in regular automatic mode, there does seem to be a bit of hesitation off the line when switching from 1st to 2nd gear.

The Focus’ fuel efficiency is very impressive. Rated at 7.3 L/100 kms city and 5.2 L/100 kms highway, it beats its competitors hands down. I averaged 6.6 L/100 kms of combined highway and city driving. Not bad at all.

Faults? Well the turning circle is pretty large for its size, you’ll be doing lots of frustrating three point turns. When the Focus is sitting at idle, say at a red light, you can feel vibrations through the steering wheel and, well, everywhere else. The privacy cover over the hatch is quite cheap and the string holding it in place actually broke when I opened the hatch once. Oh, and the button for locking the car on the fob is oddly placed in the middle. That makes it harder to know which button is the lock button if you’re just locking the car from your pocket. Yeah, that’s about it. Seriously.

This Focus has made incredible leaps and bounds in terms of pretty much everything. It may not be the fastest, it may not be the most powerful, it may not be the roomiest and it may not be the cheapest but it offers a very complete package that should leave its competitors worried.

The Focus is no longer the liver and onions to be avoided, it’s upgraded itself to the fillet minion. Now when I laugh at my friends for buying the wrong car because they didn’t consult me first, I can now say, “you should’ve bought a Focus”. I used to say you were stupid for even considering a Focus, now I have to say you’re stupid if you don’t.

Price: $25,099

Pros:

• True European styling
• Quality interior materials
• Excellent handling set-up
• Best in-class fuel efficiency
• Solid feeling road manners
• Comfortable seats

Cons:

• Could use more interior room
• Touch screen can be glitchy
• Odd shaking at idle
• Large turning radius

Overall: 9/10

By Kevin Harrison

The last Nissan I reviewed was the Sentra and it got me thinking about Nissan’s specifically, the odd overlap between models. I wondered why the Sentra was necessary since it is quite an old design and seemingly lagging compared to its competition. Besides, the new Versa is just as big and is thousands cheaper. I later came away from the Sentra concluding that the Sentra was much more refined than the Versa and that that alone might be enough to convince some people to plunk there money down for it as opposed to the Versa.

Well here we are again with the same sort of conundrum. The Nissan Altima has gone from an after thought to a credible contender in the mid-size (which really has become full-size) segment. So, why would anyone pay more for a Maxima when the Altima is just as big and just as stylish? Wouldn’t the most value be found in the form of a base Altima as well?

I took one out to find out.

Firstly, you’d be forgiven if you think the Altima is getting on in age. This current generation has been on sale since 2007 and only minor face lifts have taken place since then. The latest came in 2010 in the form of a very slightly redesigned front facia. Everything else, exterior-wise stays the same. For some reason Nissan isn’t in the habit of changing the rear design of most of its models during mid-cycle refreshes. I would suggest they revise their thinking on that, because when viewed from the hind quarters, the Altima looks very outdated. Who uses Altezza style clear lense tail lights anymore anyway? Plus the only thing new for 2011 is the addition of a rear view camera in all trim levels (optional, not standard on the S) and new colours. That’s it. However despite my nitpicking of the Altima showing its age, the design is definitely still more interesting than the Honda Accord or the Toyota Camry.

Inside, soft touch materials are appreciated as well as a well thought out, logical centre stack. The buttons are large and clear. The stereo system is actually decent considering the base model guise. However, on the whole, the interior looks a bit bland. The cloth seats are actually quite comfortable. I had no complaints for the 2 and a half hour trip when I took the Altima down to Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Rear seat legroom is excellent, beating out most of its competition. The rear seats fold 60/40 at the touch of a button and the large trunk can easily swallow 15.3 cubic feet of your junk.

The base 2.5 S comes with, you guessed it – a 2.5 litre 4 cylinder engine making 175 horses and 180 pound feet of torque mated to my tester’s CVT transmission. Anyone who frequents this site knows that I am an avid manual transmission advocate and, for the most part, an avid automatic transmission hater. Why? Well in most cases the automatic tends to rob power. In the Altima’s CVT, it’s very much the case. While those power numbers aren’t earth shattering, they are decent enough to expect some get-up and go. The Altima could barely get up. CVT transmissions are made with fuel efficiency in mind, so the transmission would rather you didn’t have too much fun while driving because, after all, fun driving usually means more gas consumption. As a result, the Altima pretty much whines when it’s pushed and 0-100 takes a longish 8.4 seconds. With that said, the shifts from the CVT were very smooth. In fact, I’d wager to say that Nissan makes one of the best CVT’s in the business. And on top of that, the CVT did its job as a averaged 8.8 L/100 kms with an equal dose of both city and highway driving. The Altima 2.5 S is officially rated at 10.2 L/100 kms city and 7.3 L/100 kms highway. Still, if you want a ride that matches the Altima’s sporty appearance, do yourself a favour and opt for the 6-speed manual. I’m convinced there’s more to this engine than the CVT is letting me see. In fact if performance a la Maxima is what you’re looking for, don’t even bother with the 2.5, opt for the more powerful 3.5 V6.

The ride on the highway is decidedly solid and comfortable. In fact the Altima borders on, dare I say it, Buick levels of comfort. At least Buicks of the past anyway. Everything is quite cushy and relaxed. When pushed to the limit, the Altima’s compliant suspension adds some fun into the mix, despite the cushy ride when driven normally. The fun handling experience could be heightened by more steering response as it feels quite numb.

And that’s the thing. There are plenty of cars out there that do what they were built to do fairly well with an added touch of something else. In this case, the Altima does family sedan decently well with added flares of performance here and there. The Maxima is the opposite. It does performance well, with added touches of family capabilities. It depends on what your priorities are.

In the end, after experiencing the Maxima it very much has its place among the Nissan line up. The Altima is adequate in most respects, but a re-design is definitely in order.

Base Price: $23,998

Pros:

• Excellent rear leg room
• Comfortable seats
• Comfortable ride
• Good fuel efficiency for its size
• Logical interior
• Smooth shifting CVT

Cons:

• Exterior getting on in age
• Drab looking interior
• CVT sucks out performance
• Whiney engine at high RPM’s
• Handling leaves little to be desired

Overall: 7/10

By Kevin Harrison

When I was in university I befriended a guy named Matt who was such a political junkie he could have made Rex Murphy sweat. His political enthusiasm wasn’t limited to Canadian politics either, he could have eaten Bill O’Reilly or Keith Olbermann alive on their own shows. Politics is what Matt lived and breathed, and he wanted to be a politician very badly despite the horrible reputation they hold. A recent survey showed that politicians are the second least trusted professions in Canada just beating out used car salesmen.

But there were a lot of people that bet against Matt ever becoming a politician. Despite his obvious passion for the sport, Matt wasn’t exactly the most approachable individual and sometimes having a conversation with him would  be like talking to a gnat. His appearance was a bit menacing for some reason, mostly because he was about 6 foot 5 and weighed about 250 pounds. His resting face was the same face you’d make if you found out your significant other was cheating on you. And on top of it all, his past wasn’t exactly squeaky clean. Let’s just say that Matt was known to the police.

But despite all that, I was one of the few people that believed he would achieve his dream of becoming a politician. That much passion doesn’t just go away because of road blocks. Ford knows this all too well.

While Ford’s reputation may not have quite overcome the days of Explorers rolling over, Windstars blowing their transmissions or Escorts rusting to the frame, Ford recently kept its head high and decided to move forward without the bail out money that was begged from its rivals. The idea was so simple it’s a wonder why they didn’t think of it before: just make better product.

One of the recent models to come of this new found mantra is the Edge. Does it have what it takes to put Ford back in the game?

The Edge’s appearance is fairly unique to any other SUV on the road. The only one that looks similar is its cousin, the Lincoln MKX. I’ve always sort of wondered why anyone would take an MKX over an Edge since the Edge can be equipped with 20 inch chrome wheels, leather, touch screen navigation and a host of other luxurious goodies. From a strictly subjective point of view, the Edge’s exterior looks good if not prestigious. While I’m no fan of chrome, it’s something that I’ve come to expect of domestic automakers so the amount of chrome used on the Edge isn’t exactly shocking. The side profile exudes a unique sport like appearance, while dual exhausts tips seen from the rear along with, what seems like standard tinted windows (seriously, I haven’t seen an Edge that doesn’t have tinted windows), gives the Edge a very sporty appearance. The Limited Sport model ups the performance touches even more with sport 22 inch wheels (yes, 22!) and blackened out grille – not to mention a power boost to boot. The Edge sport uses the same 3.7 litre V6, which produces 305 horses, that the Mustang uses. The overall design is quite eye-catching.

The good news continues inside as high quality materials are in abundance. There is a decent amount of rear leg room, likewise for cargo room. The Edge can swallow 69 cubic feet with the seats down, although they don’t fold quite flat. There’s a respectable 32 cubic feet with the rear seats up. Most of the Edge’s controls are used from a touch screen which I found difficult to get used to. The layout, while large and clear, isn’t logically thought out in my opinion and sometimes it takes two or three touches to get the system to respond. The goal of having everything in one touchscreen spot is likely to reduce clutter and confusion, however the latter seemed very prevalent anyway. I found it especially difficult to manage the satellite radio.

The Edge uses a 3.5 litre V6 which makes a class leading 285 horsepower and 253 pound feet of torque. Despite those impressive numbers, the Edge takes about 9 seconds to get from 0-100 and that’s because the Edge is a bit porky weighing in at about 1935 kilograms. The Edge feels heavy too when you first put your foot down, as if there’s some lag until it gets up to higher RPM’s. Once it’s there though, the Edge will happily blast away from the guy in the lane next to you.

As for handling, well the Edge’s weight can be felt here too. There is some body roll, however that is quite common of SUV’s in general, especially in this class. Still, with some care, the Edge will take a corner without too much fuss as long as it’s not pushed too hard. The weight is not an issue in emergency braking however, as the Edge feels solid and will brake from 100-0 in about 40 meters.

Highway cruising is where the Edge really shines. It is quite comfortable, stable and controlled. The engine sounds very much relaxed at as it stays in the lower RPM range, which is great for fuel efficiency. Ford is also going to introduce an Eco-boost model which promises to be 10% more efficient than the 3.5 litre V6. The Edge is rated at 11.8 L/100 kms city and 8.0 L/100 kms highway. I actually returned 13.6 L/100 kms of mostly city driving.

The Edge has a 6-speed automatic which shifts fairly smoothly, however I found it worked even better in manual mode. That said, the small toggle like button used to shift gears yourself is a bit unconventional and does take time to get used to.

Around town, the Edge is fairly easy to drive. Despite large 20 inch wheels, the Edge is comfortable over potholes, mostly thanks to the fully independent suspension. While rear visibility is a bit impaired thanks to the third row rear head rest, the excellent rear view camera makes parallel parking and backing out of a parking space very easy. This back up camera is one of the best I’ve experienced.

There are a few little things about the Edge that annoyed me however. When you push the stop/start button to turn the engine off the driver’s seat automatically moves back about a half a foot for easy egress and entry, however when waiting to pick up a friend and not wishing to idle, I turned the engine off and the seat moved backwards which made accessing the touch screen more difficult. I had to really reach to change the radio station or lean forward altogether. And then there’s all the sounds the Edge makes. Every time you push a button or use your indicators, it makes very goofy noises as if it’s in a Bugs Bunny cartoon or something. Push the power button for the radio? “BOING!” It even got to the point where I pondered not signaling at all when waiting in a queue at a red light until the light turned green because of the silly noise it makes. For the record, I did signal well ahead of time and dealt with the noise by turning up the radio. And while I’m on about the indicators, the indicator stalk is angled more upward than what is considered conventional which also takes some getting used to.

But I’m nitpicking at this point because the Edge really is a great vehicle – easily one of the best in its class and definitely worth a look. It exudes value, prestige and style – something a typical Ford owner of the past may not expect. Hell, this is something that any owner may not expect.

In the end, Matt was elected by his constituency in the provincial government. Although he has currently moved on in another field, he proved that he could do it. His passion and drive helped him achieve his goal. And judging my Ford’s product portfolio of late, their passion and drive also helped them to achieve their goal as well because you’d be hard pressed to find a ‘bad’ model in Ford’s current line up. The Edge is an excellent example, which is why it was nominated for Car Driven’s car of the year this year.

Welcome back to the game, Ford. The bar has been risen.

Starting price: $34,661

Pros:

• Attractive exterior
• High quality interior
• Comfortable ride
• Excellent rear back-up camera, easy maneuverability
• Good cargo space
• Prestigious, solid feel
• Strong power engine at high RPM’s
• Excellent highway cruiser
• Impressive safety equipment

Cons:

• Touch screen confusing/glitchy
• Could use a diet
• A bit bogged down at lower RPM’s
• Annoying noises from buttons/ turn indicators

Overall: 9/10

By Kevin Harrison

I never understood why anyone would buy canned goods. Price advantage aside, the ‘real’ version of peaches, mushrooms, chicken, and tuna etc can all be found in the very same grocery store. It’s all just one aisle over. So buying canned goods is not a convenience thing. Some people apparently just prefer to buy canned versions of above mentioned items. And I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that, however, I prefer my food to be more, shall we say, pure.

This sort of discrepancy sometimes happens with car manufacturers too, and I’ve noticed it with Nissan especially. While the Maxima may be marketed as being of a more sporting nature, and it’s design perhaps more compelling, the Altima is almost identical in size, available power, sharp looks, but costs way less.  This is true of the Versa and the Sentra as well. Why would anyone take a Sentra over a Versa when you get just as much space, more versatility (that’s probably where the Versa gets its name from), better fuel economy and costs less? Does that not make the Sentra redundant? But the public is preferring the Sentra to the Versa. In fact, the Sentra sells approximately two thirds more Sentras than they do Versas.

So, what’s the big draw? I drove the latest version of the Sentra to find out.

Nissan’s Sentra is about a 4 year old design, however it seems as if the Sentra was in need of a refresh years ago. It seems a bit tired looking as Nissan has not significantly changed or refreshed the design over the years. For 2011, Nissan has refreshed the front facia giving it a more corporate look with the signature Nissan grille, larger emblem and restyled front turn indicators. There’s also a few new colours to choose from and new interior cloth. That’s it. My tester had the optional value package which added 16 inch alloys and a trunk mounted spoiler, 60/40 rear seats, keyless entry, A/C, and power mirrors. The package costs about $2,000 however, with current Nissan incentives, Nissan will throw it for free. The added cosmetic upgrades definitely help with the tired looking exterior, but a complete redesign really needs to be in the cards here.

The interior is a decent place to be, however hard plastics are in abundance. All the controls are excellently placed and the seats are fairly comfortable. One gripe however is that they are not height adjustable. One thing I did notice is that all the mirrors never seem to be in the right position, no matter how many times you adjust them. This could be attributed to the fact that they are a bit smaller than average side and rear view mirrors. There is a decent amount of rear seat and cargo room. The Sentra’s interior is adequate for sure, but is mostly outdone by competitors such as the Honda Civic, Ford Focus and Chevy’s new Cruze, which exude a more premium feel. A big cubby hole right behind the gear shift is quite nifty and much appreciated. The stereo sounds about what you’d expect it to sound like in this price point. With such a high rear deck, backing up the Sentra is somewhat challenging but that rear spoiler isn’t completely useless as it provides a bit of point of reference when reversing.

The Sentra is powered by a 2.0 litre four producing 140 horsepower and 147 pound feet of torque. Acceleration is, again, adequate but outdone in terms of refinement from other makes in the class. The optional CVT, however, is smooth. While I’m not a fan of CVT transmissions in general, this one is quite nice. There is no optional manual mode, but since the transmission is so good, it’s almost as if it doesn’t really need one anyway. A six speed manual is standard if you prefer to row the gears yourself. Which you really should. Besides, the six speed manual will at least make the Sentra feel faster. The CVT gives a feeling slowness when pushed since there’s no rise-and-fall RMPs.

The Sentra’s road manners are more Buick like (that is, the old school Buick of yesterday) than performance oriented. This means vehicles such as the Mazda3, Ford Focus and even the new Chevy Cruze have it beat for sportier driving, but the Sentra still offers decently weighted steering -even if it oddly does not translate into much road feel. Still, throw the Sentra into a corner and it will do its best to stay composed even if it loses that composure more often than not.  It’s clear that the Sentra is a bread and butter point A to point B car, not a thrill inducing compact. It may not excite the senses, but what it will do is get you to where you need to go quietly, comfortably and frugally.

Speaking of, with the help of the CVT transmission, the Sentra is able to achieve a combined fuel efficiency rating of 5.8 L/100 kms. Pretty respectable, but with new engines coming from Chevrolet and Honda, the Sentra’s 2.0 litre is outdone in the fuel efficiency category as well. I had the opportunity to take the Sentra down to Bridgewater and I averaged about 6.0 L/100 kms. Not bad at all, but I imagine it could have been better if my tester had cruise control as standard. Even without cruise control, the Sentra exudes a sense of refinement on the highway. It feels more stable than the Versa and certainly has more available passing power.

Which brings me back to my original question: is there still a need for the Sentra since the Versa seems just as capable for less money? Yes. While I feel as though the Sentra is a bit behind the pack in the compact market, it definitely has its place. And when compared to the Versa, you get a much more refined, better looking car that will likely do better at keeping its value and offers quite a variety within the trim levels. The hotted up SE-R comes to mind, for instance, for those who desire an extra kick of performance. The Versa offers no such option.

With that said, the Sentra is still the canned fruit of the car world. It’s not entirely ideal in certain situations, and it’s definitely cheaper (Nissan Canada has pretty decent incentives right now) but getting rid of it seems, well, wrong. Once a complete redesign is on the table, I would suspect that the next generation Sentra will upgrade to fresh fruit.

Base Price: $15,398

Pros:

• Smooth, efficient CVT
• Respectable power
• Comfortable ride
• Lots of interior storage

Cons:

• Tired looking exterior
• Tired looking interior
• Hard plastics
• Uninspiring drive
• Difficult rear visibility
• Sub-par sounding stereo

Overall: 6/10

By Kevin Harrison

This Canada Day weekend, I can’t help but reflect on what makes Canada such a great country. Our championing of human rights, liberation of slaves, invention of the telephone and, well, our amazingness at hockey all comes to mind.

But we have lots to be proud of in Canada when it comes to cars too. No, seriously. Did you know that Canada has its very own super car? It’s called the HTT LC-750 Plethore and it’s damned sexy and quick.

Some automakers also count on us Canadians to actually build their product. With plants in Ontario, automakers such as Toyota, Honda, Chrysler and GM know they can rely on a well built iteration of their product when it’s built by a Canadian. Automakers also like to give us some exclusivity as well. Whether it be Canada-only editions such as the Acura TL A-Spec or the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Affalterbach Edition, automakers definitely see us as a relevant market, despite our small size compared to our American neighbours.

Speaking of our American neighbours, sometimes we’ll even get cars that they don’t get. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class, Audi TT-S and BMW 323i are vehicles that Americans don’t have the pleasure of owning (unless they make the trek north of the border).

There’s another BMW that the Americans don’t get either – at least not yet. The X1 is the smallest SUV the German automaker has ever produced. In a world where gas prices seem as unstable as Charlie Sheen, having a compact SUV seems like a good idea. But is it worthy of that BMW badge on the hood?

Firstly, BMW designs have always been a bit polarizing and the X1 is no exception. BMW decided to differentiate the X1 a bit from it’s bigger brothers, the X3 and X5, given it a long hood and a seemingly lowered stance. The long hood and short rear deck works amazingly on the Z4 roadster, but try the same formula on an SUV and you end up with a rather odd looking vehicle. That’s not to say that the X1 is ugly (though there’s a substantial crowd out there that would disagree), it’s just a bit of an unconventional design for a supposed SUV (or SAV in BMW speak).

The other thing that’s a bit unconventional is BMW’s lone entry into this segment. The usual suspects have yet to introduce a sub-compact premium SUV in to the segment, though Audi promises to tackle the X1 with the upcoming Q3. Until then, however, the most direct competition comes in the form of the Volkswagen Tiguan and even then it’s a bit of a stretch to compare the two. BMW has seemingly found its own segment, much like they did with the X6.

Inside is a fairly familiar place if you’ve ever sat in a BMW, especially if you’ve ever had seat time in a 1-series. There’s everything you need, nothing you don’t. Some may consider this to be a con against the X1 considering the price point it competes it, but I find its simplicity to be quite refreshing from the fancy gadget overload typically found in most German cars. Idrive is present on this new X1 and even though it’s improved over the old system it is still overly complicated and is probably just as distracting as texting and driving. I wish BMW would make this an option, not standard.

Even though the X1 is smaller than the X3, the interior doesn’t feel cramped, in fact, there’s a surprising amount of room in the rear seats considering its size. That said, you won’t find any Maybach-like legroom back there. One nice perk is the reclining rear seats. Cargo room is good as well and the seats fold to allow for more luggage capacity.

The X1 Xdrive 28i is one of many future BMW’s to come with a four cylinder engine. It is turbocharged and makes a healthy 241 horsepower and 258 pound feet of torque. For those used to the brilliant 3.o litre inline six, fret not because this engine is tremendous. While it doesn’t produce the same grunt of the six, it delivers satisfying amounts of power at low RPM’s. 0-100 takes a respectable 6.5 seconds. BMW decided to go with a four over the six because they were able to maintain the same level of performance that BMW lovers expect, all while returning better fuel economy. The X1 gets approximately 10.2 L/100 kms in the city and 6.5 L/100 kms on the highway. Not bad for a vehicle that weighs about 1,700 kilograms.

The engine is mated to BMW’s new eight-speed automatic that I was able to first sample in the 2011 528i. Back then I said that I didn’t understand the point of so many gears – even with fuel efficiency in mind, but I must admit, in the X1′s four cylinder it seemed to fit surprisingly well. Shifts are crisp, if a bit delayed. As usual, I prefer a manual which unfortunately is not available, so I spent most of my time in manual mode which provides a much more rewarding driving experience. With so many gears to choose from, the automatic never seems to be able to keep itself in the desired gear. Usually the highest gear for the speed I was driving was selected which resulted in a low powerless groan. This helps with fuel efficiency, however the engine noise is a bit unpleasant as a result.

BMW purists won’t be disappointed with its handling abilities either. With the Xdrive’s 40/60 split rear bias, the X1 feels quite sure footed when pushed to the limit. Uncle traction control tends to stay out of the picture unless absolutely needed as well. One thing recent BMW’s have been criticized for is softer steering and I’m happy to report this just simply is not the case with the X1. The steering is nice and heavy which allows for more driver involvement and a more pleasurable drive. The suspension is smooth, yet firm. Basically, it is a BMW through and through.

The X1 is the cheapest BMW you can buy with X drive all wheel drive and it actually offers a decent amount of value considering how poised and involving it is to drive. While my personal preference would be to shell over a bit more dough for a 3-series wagon with X drive, I can definitely see the appeal of the X1. I don’t envision the X1 cannibalizing X3 sales either since the new X3 has grown substantially and has definitely moved more upscale. But for every day Canadians, the X1 just makes sense and would make the perfect vehicle for a Canada Day weekend escapade. Until Audi, Mercedes-Benz or Lexus can come up with a credible contender, BMW has this market all to itself and specifically has the Canadian market all to itself. If the X1 does well here (BMW expects to sell 3,000 per year) then our American neighbours down south may very well be able to experience it. Until then, the X1 is definitely something us Canadians can be proud to exclusively enjoy.

Base Price: $38,500

Pros

• Nice heavy steering
• No penalty for interior room
• Excellent handling abilities
• Strong, efficient engine
• Crisp transmission shifts
• Good value

Cons:

• Questionable looks
• Options can negate value
• 8-speed automatic is a bit unsure of itself
• idrive is still frustrating to use, can be distracting

By Kevin Harrison

I recently went to Vancouver for business related to my day job and I must admit, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had been to Vancouver once before but I was about 14 years old so I didn’t remember much, but there were two noticeable differences this time around.

1) The Vancouver Canucks are a way bigger deal now then they were back in 1994. That was even the year they got to the finals but the New York Rangers ultimately won the cup. I even saw a playoff game between Vancouver and Calgary but I don’t remember 100,000 people littering the streets downtown and cops high-fiving random people in the streets after a Canucks win.

2) I don’t remember there being so many rare and expensive cars being around.

Honestly, the typical cars you see around in Halifax are Civics and Corollas. But in Vancouver their Civics and Corollas are BMW’s and Benz’s. In order to stand out in this crowd you need to be driving a Lamborghini, Ferrari or Maserati to get noticed, and even then you’ll only get noticed if the car is modded to the gills.

But in fact there’s one car that will get you noticed in this performance car haven and it won’t cost you your house either. It’s the Chevy Cruze.

Since “regular” cars aren’t exactly the norm in Vancouver, they actually end up sticking out more than the Benz’s and BMW’s. And that’s exactly what happened when I picked up the Cruze LS for this review. People walking the streets almost gave themselves whiplash as they did double takes when I drove by. It got to the point where I thought the automotive equivalent of “kick me” must have been written on the side of the Cruze or something. I actually only saw one other Cruze the entire time I was in Vancouver, so the rarity of this car had something to do with it for sure, but no doubt it’s rather appealing looks had something to do with it as well.

The Cruze has an aggressive front facia – much better than the Cobalt it replaces. With the corporate bar across the grille, the oversized Chevy badge and the shapely headlights, the Cruze’s best side is definitely the front end of the car. The side profile is decent with hubcaps that don’t actually look like hubcaps (which is nice for a change) but the rear end is sort of where things go a bit astray for me. The rear tail light design does not seem like it was thought out. It kind of makes it look like, well, a $15,000 car. Match that with the unfortunate wannabe chrome on the trunk lid and a hidden tailpipe and you’re left with a pretty uninspiring rear design. Still, the overall look of the Cruze is miles kilometers ahead of the Cobalt.

Same goes for the interior. It really is a pleasant place to be. The seats are made from high quality feeling cloth, though they can start to feel a bit uncomfortable for longer trips. Interior room is plentiful for its size, though when I put the driver’s seat back to my preferred driving position, there isn’t much leg room in the rear seat.There are lots of hard plastics, however I’ll give the Cruze a pass on that considering the class its in. Black inlays along with a bright, well-lit dash help keep the interior from feeling too much like an economy car.

Speaking of economy, GM has made sure to make it a priority in the Cruze. The my base LS tester had a 1.8 litre four cylinder engine with variable valve timing that’s capable of producing 136 horsepower but returns 7.8 L/100 kms in the city and 5.4 highway. In mixed city and highway driving I returned 8.8 L/100 kms. Not so great when compared to the ratings, but that’s on par with cars like the Mazda3 and Mitsubishi Lancer. If fuel efficiency is a high priority, GM also offers an “eco” model of the Cruze which gets a 1.4 litre turbo rated at 7.2 L/100 kms city and 4.6 L/100 kms highway. If performance is your vice, then GM offers the same 1.4 litre turbo, but with more torque at lower RPMs.

The 1.8 litre is adequate for city driving, but I found it lacking a bit for highway. I was never quite confident enough that it would get up to speed while merging on the highway and the 6-speed automatic seemed to rob it of power at the most inopportune times. Shifts seemed delayed and jolty, but shifting the gears yourself helped out in this regard.

One thing that very much surprised me was, despite the jolty transmission, the Cruze can actually be a fairly fun car to drive. Handling is good. Very good, in fact. I took a drive up to Whistler and the road on the way up made me wish I was in a BMW or a Porsche, but I must admit, the Cruze handled it quite well (excuse the pun). It felt sure footed in the bends with minimal body roll. It could use a bit more feedback in the steering wheel, but it definitely is more fun to drive than, say, a Corolla. Unfortunately the slushy feeling brakes induced early braking in some corners, but the Cruze feels like a solid car for the most part.

Despite the unexpected handling abilities, the Cruze feels comfortable and more at home in the city. It handles bumps and potholes with ease and the light steering helps to make the Cruze a bit more manoeuvrable. It’s easy to park, but the high deck lid makes backing up a bit trickier.

But at the end of the day the Cruze is a very good car. I’ve been fairly hard on GM products of the past, most notably the Cobalt, but GM has come out with a very competitive vehicle for this segment. In fact, I’d even wager to say it could beat certain vehicles in the segment.

In Vancouver, you might not fit in without a BMW or a Benz, but in a Cruze you definitely stick out for all the right reasons. It’s a car that is made for this type of environment and it does it well.

Base Price: $14,995

Pros:

• Unexpected handling abilities
• Solid on the highway
• Good interior room
• Great looking front facia
• 6-speed manual or automatic
• Variety of trim levels to please all tastes

Cons:

• Touchy transmission
• Mushy brakes
• Real world fuel economy hard to match ratings
• Uninspiring rear end design

Overall: 8.5/10

(Excuse the poor quality of the pics!)

By Kevin Harrison

Have you ever seen a flock of seagulls fight each other for a piece of bread crumb? Or if you don’t live on a coast, have you ever seen a flock of any-birds fight for a piece of bread crumb? There’s always that one lone bird that fights his way in there only to come up short. And then you end up feeling a bit bad for him because he worked so hard to get a measly morsel of someone else’s discarded lunch but the other seagulls were just more aggressive and driven to get that food.

Volvo is a bit like that bird that tried to get in but didn’t quite make it. It’s not as if they’re not trying, every single model in their lineup is now quite attractive, offers exceptional performance, plus boat loads of safety and luxury. Yet their sales numbers have not seen a whole lot of improvement. Volvo doesn’t usually get mentioned in the same sentence as BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz – the big seagulls that always get the bread crumbs.

The C30 is meant to help lure people into the brand and is marketed as a sporty alternative to the BMW 1-series, Audi A3 and Lexus CT200h. Has it got what it takes to grab a piece of the proverbial bread crumb?

The C30 was initially introduced back in 2007. The styling paid homage to the P1800ES – a hatchback from the 70′s that gained unique style from it’s glass hatchback. The C30 has the same rear end design complete with the glass hatch. In fact, the look of the C30′s rear is probably its best side. The long rear lights typical of Volvo wagons/SUV’s makes it completely recognizable as a Volvo all while the slanted forward glass hatch, large bumper, and short overhang give it a unique look from the rest of the family. Dual exhausts and a roof spoiler lets everyone know that the C30 means business. For 2011 the front facia is completely new and now works a lot better with the rear end styling. The side profile is also unique. Combined with aggressive alloys, the overall look gives the C30 a lot of road presence.

For 2011 the base 2.4i model has been dropped. The only model now available is the T5 which means a turbocharged 5-cylinder. Volvo has been using T5 engines ever since the 90′s and while it’s a unique engine, it works out quite well. It produces 227 horsepower and 236 pound feet of torque. It will go from 0-100 in 7.1 seconds with an automatic transmission or 6.7 seconds if you opt for the optional 6-speed close ratio manual transmission. If you choose the latter, which you really should, you’ll more than likely have to special order it. Apparently Volvo doesn’t sell many manual transmission vehicles period. In fact they account for less than 10% of their overall sales and that number is probably less now since the S40, V50 and new S60 don’t offer them anymore. The C30 is the only Volvo you can currently buy with a manual transmission. Anyway, if that 0-100 time seems sluggish for a small car with 227 horses the reason why is due to the C30′s weight. It’s quite heavy because, being a Volvo, it is jammed full of safety technology. This is good if you ever get T-boned by a Hummer, but not so great for fuel efficiency and performance.

As a result, acceleration is a bit interesting. The numbers on paper make it seem a bit slow and when you first get in and drive the C30 T5, the numbers seem accurate. However once you drive it a bit longer, the C30 actually ends up feeling faster than when you first got in. This sensation is surely driven (excuse the pun) by tire squealing every time you stomp your right foot down, even with the traction control on and even in my tester’s 5-speed automatic. The good news is, torque steer has no home here and neither does turbo lag. When you put the power down, it’s there and ready to go. Gear shifts in auto mode are a bit schizophrenic, as if it’s changing it’s mind when you stomp on the throttle. It can’t quite decide which gear is the best to be in for the amount of power you desire. Sometimes it switches between gears so fast that it feels like it’s a diesel engine set up. This problem is easily fixed in manual mode, and fixed even better with the 6-speed I would imagine, since you can get it to its 7,500 rpm red line much easier.

When the C30 is not being pushed hard, it feels like the base 2.4i used to feel like: comfortable & quiet – a real pleasure to drive. Only stomping on the throttle awakens the turbo and the C30 becomes a different animal.

Handling is good, but the C30 is outdone a bit by its competitors here. It feels sure-footed and stable, but it’s almost as though the C30 is working hard to achieve those results where it just comes more naturally to, say, the BMW 1-series. With that said, the C30 does not disappoint for thrills when pushed to the limit, it just feels as though it could be a bit tighter. It’s almost like going to Subway then realizing halfway through that they’re out of pickles. The sub will still end up tasting good, but you know if could have been a bit better with the pickles.

The interior is excellent with quality materials, good ergonomics and a unique overall design. The “waterfall” centre stack looks cool and allows for storage space in behind. My only real gripe is that the steering wheel felt a little too big, as if it was taken from a bus or something. But the interior of the C30 is a very nice place to be. Being a 4-seater, rear space isn’t exactly plentiful but four adults could definitely be comfortable for shorter trips, especially since the rear passengers get bucket seats like the front passengers do. And my goodness are the seats ever comfortable. Orange stitching around the seats help give liven up the interior a bit with a more sporty look. As comfortable as they are, though, they could use a bit more side bolstering for aggressive driving. Volvo would be well advised to offer some sort of sport seat option in the C30.

The rear hatch won’t give you insane amounts of cargo room, but it is quite adequate for every day driving, especially with the rear seats folded down. Watch when loading and unloading objects however. The unique rear design means it’s pretty easy to accidentally scratch the paint of the rear bumper.

So then, I’d say the C30 is a very good car completely worthy of your consideration. It is, however, that lone seagull that couldn’t quite get at the crumb of bread in terms of performance; it is outdone by its competitors (if only slightly). But maybe it’s being stacked up against the wrong competitors. Volvo very much wants it to compete with premium German cars, however with the C30 T5′s relative low starting price and decent power, it seems to be more of a Volkswagen GTI, Mazdaspeed3, Mini Cooper S and Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback competitor. And when it’s stacked up against that lineup, it very much is the seagull that was able to get the bread crumb. It is an excellent, comfortable daily driver that can offer up satisfying doses of performance should the mood strike you.

Do yourself a favour and put the C30 T5 on your shopping list if you want a good looking, comfortable daily driver with a light under its bushel.

Base Price: $30,995

Pros:

• Eye-catching exterior styling
• Excellent interior layout/quality materials
• Very comfortable seats
• Decent performance when desired
• Virtually no torque steer/lag
• Low starting price
• Standard safety features galore

Cons:

• Rear seat room is tight
• Big steering wheel
• Inconsistent automatic
• No sport seats available

Overall: 8.5/10

By Kevin Harrison

You’ve probably heard by now that Mitsubishi has apparently decided that this generation of the Lancer Evolution will be the last that it will build. Now, this is quite tragic. Aside from the fact that the Lancer EVO is the best car that Mitsubishi makes and can make cars that are tens of thousands more money sweat on the track, there is another reason why this is a bad idea.

To help prove my point, let’s play a little word association game. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘Montreal’? If you said, the Canadians, strip clubs, poutine or terrible roads, you’d be right. How about when you hear ‘Charlie Sheen’? If you said Two and a Half Men, terrible actor, terrible haircut, manic depressive or coke head you’d also be right. All those things can be associated with Charlie Sheen.

Now, what about Mistubishi? If you said EVO and couldn’t think of anything else, well don’t feel bad because I’d wager a lot of people wouldn’t be able to come up with much else either.  And that’s my point. Mitsubishi killing off the EVO would be like Chevrolet killing off the Corvette. What would they be left with?

But Mitsubishi is pretty adamant that their new direction be focused on fuel efficient vehicles and there’s nothing wrong with that necessarily, especially since fuel efficiency isn’t an area where the EVO excels. But what kind of brand would Mitsubishi be without the EVO? Surely the regular Lancer would be able to hold its own?

I tried a Lancer Sportback SE to find out.

If you remember the previous generation Lancer Sportback, you probably remember a wagon (not a hatchback) that had a striking resemblance to a Volvo V70 from the back and a rather awkward stance from certain angles. What’s that? You don’t remember the previous generation Lancer Sportback? Well that’s probably because Mitsubishi barely sold any.  To their credit, that didn’t stop them from trying again with this new generation and it’s much improved looks-wise.  The car is identical to the already attractive Lancer sedan from the front of the car to the rear doors. Then Mitsubishi gave it a proper sportback and voila, you have a Japanese hatchback that looks the part and is ready to take on all your stuff. However there’s one small gripe I have with the design of the tail lights. I’m glad Mitsubishi decided to give the Lancer Sportback amber turn indicators (as all cars should have in my opinion) but man are they ever useless when looking at them head on. They’re barely noticeable. They’re clearly visible when looking at them from the side, which makes sense since they’re wrapped around the body, but there were more than a few times when I noticed that someone had to almost panic stop behind me because they didn’t realize I was turning, even though I had the indicators on. Also the wheels are kind of a boring design and look too small on the car. The optional 18′s definitely help complete the look.

Inside however, there’s some big detail that seems to be omitted. Upon first glance the interior seems decent, but when you actually get in and spend some time in there you realize that there are more hard plastics here than a mannequin. With that said, all the controls are where you’d expect them along with some controls on the steering wheel to help keep your hands on the wheel. Sound quality is about what you’d expect from a car in this price range, but one odd omission seems to be the lack of an auxiliary input. Also, with a salutations message on the dash every time you start the engine and a message that reads “see you” every time you turn the engine off, the Lancer Sportback comes off as a bit tacky. All that combined with wiper spray jets that seem like they can’t be bothered to work adequately and you quickly become reminded that this car is indeed a base car in the low $20,000 range. At least that large hatch is the Sportback’s saving grace. With the seats folding almost flat, cargo room is a good 445 litres of space.

The Lancer Sportback SE gets a 2.0 litre 4 cylinder engine that produces 148 horses and 145 pound feet of torque. This is adequate power for every day driving, but if you’re looking for a bit of EVO-esque thrill from your Lancer sportback, the Ralliart edition is the way to go (it gets a turbocharger that brings those numbers up to 237 horses and 253 pound foot torque). The unit in the SE is far from refined – in fact engine noise is quite intrusive to the cabin and it isn’t even a pleasant sound. It sounds quite buzzy like it’s running on bees or something. The CVT automatic transmission didn’t help either, all while completely sucking the power when pushed hard (CVT’s are made for fuel efficiency in mind).  0-100 takes the same amount of time it takes i to have a baby. It feels pretty slow.

Now, since Mitubishi is capable of making the Lancer EVO handle like it’s on rails, I have to admit, I was expecting a lot in the handling department, even from the SE. I was mighty disappointed. Body roll is abundant and the overall composure felt lazy. It’s almost as if the Lancer Sportback is plain uninterested in being a car, let alone a sporty hacthback like its name insinuates.

And this goes back to my original point. Without the EVO, what does Mitsubishi have? Sure the Outlander is nice and the RVR seems promising, but the Eclipse is laughable as a performance car, the Galant is decades behind in the mid-size market, the Endeavor is about as old as Betty White and this new Lancer (which really should be the main focus of this car company) is a bit like a gourmet meal at a fancy restaurant. It looks appealing but the small portions that never seem to correspond in quality with the price leaves you unsatisfied.

With competition in the form of the Mazda3 hatchback, Kia Forte 5-door, and the Subaru Impreza (hell you could even throw in the Honda Fit) the Lancer Sportback comes up short. Which is a shame because I really wanted to like this car. But I can’t, there’s just much better value out there.

And that’s what I don’t get. If a company has the capability of making an EVO, wouldn’t at least some of that knowledge and technology trickle down the family lines? And we’re not even talking far down the family line, the Lancer Sportback is like a cousin to the EVO. In the end, if this is Mitsubishi’s new direction, then give me that petition that’s going around the internet to save the EVO. Because even though I believe in investing in fuel efficient technologies and fuel sipping vehicles, that doesn’t excuse making sub par product. And to be clear, I’m not comparing the EVO to the Sportback because that would be stupid. I’m just saying that a car company that makes a car like the EVO should also be capable of making an impressive ‘lesser’ version of their halo car.

Now when we all hear the word Mitsubishi, all we’re going to associate it with is the word “meh”.

Base Price: $23,083

Pros:

• Great cargo space
• Steering wheel mounted controls
• Great exterior looks

Cons:

• Buzzy engine combined with CVT
• Interior plastics
• Uninspiring driving dynamics
• Sub-par fuel efficiency with compared to competition

Overall: 6/10