Improving awesome! _ Driving the new C 63 AMG S coupe is an exercise in restraint. I suspect that owning one, then, will be that and many more things. The car’s purpose is simple. To be the best C-Class ever. And it just might be. Along with its sedan counterpart, the C 63s are head and shoulders above the rest.… Read more →
Baby Got Sportback _ It’s yet to be determined whether Canada will be getting the “Sportback” (a.k.a. wagon) model I drove in Austria this summer, but we are getting the RS3 in sedan form, and that is a very good thing. Powered by the same 2.5L five-cylinder turbo as the TT RS, and developing 367 horsepower and 343 lb-ft of… Read more →
Check Box for Wagon _ I test drove a handful of new Golfs during a recent trip to Germany. This 2015 VW Golf R Sportwagen is one of them. My travel cohorts and I each got seat time on and off the autobahns, as well as some interesting secondary roads in between Munich airport and the small, lakeside town of… Read more →
Maxima 4DSC The Original Family Fun-Haver _ I have many fond memories of the Maxima from my high school days. It was the mid-to-late ’90s when my best friend often arrived in my driveway or out front of school to pick me up in his mom’s third-generation 1992 GXE model. He also owned a Mazda RX-7 10th Anniversary Edition (may… Read more →
The Ace of Laguna Seca _ Carroll Shelby would be proud. No question. Were the Godfather of factory performance still here to take one of these out for a rip, he’d be impressed. Undoubtedly. Perhaps even in tears. They’re that good. The 2016 Mustang Shelby GT350 and GT350R are not only the most powerful naturally-aspirated ’Stangs Ford has ever built,… Read more →
Dream Weaver _ For many, dreams are the closest they will come to experiencing a car like this. I thought it would be fun to change that for a lucky few. So, instead of a long drive in the country, this time I went for a relatively short drive around my neighbourhood and other affluent parts of Oakville to gauge… Read more →
XC90 Inscription: Volvo’s Secret Weapon _ Volvo has built some impressive vehicles the past few years. The S60 sedan, V60 crossover and their Polestar counterparts are chiefs among them. Go ahead and add the new XC90 to the list. Though not a tuned-up Polestar model, the test mule is a 2016 Volvo XC90 T6 AWD Inscription. And it’s gorgeous. At… Read more →
Kick-Ass Caddy for Grocery Gettin’ _ The new ATS-V has little more than half the displacement of the even newer CTS-V. It develops 464 turbocharged horses compared to its brethren’s 640 supercharged Detroit ponies (on two fewer cylinders I might add). It starts at nearly $26,000 less than the CTS-V. There’s clearly a little bro, big brother relationship going on… Read more →
Manual GT4 Exists to Excite _ The Porsche Cayman GT4 does not pretend to be something it isn’t. So, what is it then? The all-new GT4 is pure unadulterated fun for the enthusiast driver, and it is available exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission to appease purists. Compared to the GTS, it is lighter (by 35 kg, for 1,340 kg… Read more →
AMG! Better When Wet? _ I’ve driven many AMGs the past few years, but none have gotten me as excited as the new 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT. Even the bodacious SLS AMG – now officially my second favourite AMG – no longer has the same appeal. With a $149,900 entry ticket, the uprated GT S coupe is a stout performer right… Read more →
