Pricing has been set for the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour, which will be offered only in high-line EX and EX-L (leather seating) trims. Opting for the EX-L also means you have the options of all-wheel drive and a navigation system. Slated to go on sale November 20th, the Crosstour will range from $30,380 for the EX to $36,930 for the EX-L 4WD with Navigation.
We recently got behind the wheel of the Crosstour and came away with mostly good impressions of Honda's new niche market, luxury crossover vehicle. Please note that the preliminary specs and pricing data we currently have on the Crosstour are being updated, but the prices reflected in this blog are accurate.
We recently got our first in-person look at the radically redesigned 2010 Jaguar XJ as it was showed off to current Jag owners and the media in Hollywood. If you haven't seen it in pictures already, we've provided plenty of them here, but the car in person is just as breathtakingly different than anything that's come before.
There may be a little XF here and a little Citroen C6 there, but this is a distinctly different luxury flagship that breathes a gust of fresh air into the stale Jaguar brand. It's like Prince Charles went into a closet and reemerged several minutes later as Keira Knightley.
In previous decades, Dodge's full-size pickup was to Ford's and Chevy's what Phoebe on "Friends" was to Rachel and Monica. Phoebes had her share of fans, but Rachel and Monica were by far more popular. That's how it was for Dodge until the mid-'90s, when they introduced the then-new Ram pickup with its Kenworth-inspired styling and strong engine choices.
The gap was closed considerably, and if our experience with the redesigned for 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty 2500 and 3500 series pickups is any indication, should grow narrower still. We got to check out the new trucks during a press preview held at the Canyons ranch outside San Antonio, TX. Though we didn't brand any cattle, we did subject the Ram HD to a Texas-style triathlon.
As Volvo's first dedicated crossover, the 2010 XC60 has helped the Swedish automaker move further away from its dowdy and outdated image of building only safe and sturdy but bland and boxy vehicles. With the XC60, Volvo has created a sexy and sporty crossover while bolstering the company's reputation for innovative safety technology and also offering the kind of cool gadgets that appeal to geeks as well as regular folks.
The T6 AWD version that we tested (sticker $44,240) had all the bells and whistles: premium audio, navigation, Bluetooth and safety and convenience features galore. But we found that the vehicle's tech experience can be very hit or miss.
Forget everything you know about Suzuki. Actually, that should probably be easy, since aside from the old Sidekick, most Americans barely know the brand even exists. "Suzuki? Don't they make motorcycles?"
Well, Suzuki does make cars and it's just unveiled a midsize sedan that is radically different (and better) than anything it's produced in the past. The 2010 Suzuki Kizashi is a bit smaller than most of the increasingly large midsize family sedans, but a little bigger than a Volkswagen Jetta. Actually, Volkswagen is a good reference point, because cover up its badges and the Kizashi is remarkably European in appearance and demeanor.
The Infiniti FX35 isn't for everybody. Compared to more cookie-cutter crossovers, the FX35 -- with its rakish rear pillar and unorthodox exterior styling -- exudes the attitude that it can take you on a ride that other crossovers can't. Why else would Edmunds' staff of normally circumspect scribes have fallen for the FX35's higher-end sibling, the FX50, as evidenced by the many Long-Term Road Test blog posts.
While the FX35 we tech tested doesn't have the full complement of cool tech that our LT FX50 is laden with, it has plenty of bells and whistles to go along with its exterior bling and performance prowess. But all these extras don't come cheap and are packaged so that you can't cherry-pick what you want. Our test vehicle topped out at $46,955 after starting out at $40,950, with the extra $5k consisting of two pricey but extensive options packages.
Say the three letters "GMC" and chances are folks are going to think of big, big trucks -- you know, Yukons and Sierras. For 2010, General Motor's truck division is looking to change that as it dips its toes...no make that does a cannonball into the compact crossover pond with the 2010 GMC Terrain.
Yes, the Terrain is a platform twin to the redesigned Chevy Equinox, so there's not a heck of a lot different under the skin, but it offers a more rugged presence. Just look at those massive fender flares and in-your-face grille. The Hummer H3 and your kids' Tonka trucks have nothing on this rig for attitude. We recently attended a press preview of the Terrain and our impressions follow the jump.
Some cars get more credit than they deserve, while others languish in obscurity because of any number of factors -- lack of brand prestige, poor advertising, odd styling. Yet here are five from popular segments that are certainly worth a test drive.
In bringing the Challenger back in full fire-breathing glory, Chrysler intentionally played on the car's past and the memories of muscle car enthusiasts by giving it a blatantly retro design. But not the in-cabin electronics.
If someone -- say, a car enthusiast we'll call '60s Muscle Car Man -- got stranded on a deserted island for 30 years, he would no doubt instantly recognize the 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 we recently tech-tested. But he would probably have no idea what the screen in the dash is for. (If he guessed a mini TV, he would be partly correct.) Or why all the buttons on the steering wheel are there. Or even what he's supposed to do with the key fob.
But he would be amazed when he found out. And most modern admirers and potential buyer may be too.
Decent power, lots of passenger and cargo space, feature-packed, an imposing silhouette, an upright driving position, a heavy curb weight and a lack of rearward visibility. If you think we're talking about the latest SUV, you'd be mistaken - we're referring to the all-new 2010 Ford Taurus. Yes, the new big bull from Detroit shares some traits with SUVs, but is that a good or bad thing? Our just published full test drive investigates the answer.
We don't cover commercial vehicles very often, as model changes are so infrequent they operate based on Jupiter years. There are rocks younger than the Econoline. But the 2010 Ford Transit Connect is a radically different vehicle that could revolutionize the way businesses (small and big alike) go about their transportation needs.
I was invited by Ford to travel around Beverly Hills yesterday in a Transit Connect, paying visits to three small business with different transport needs -- West Hollywood Picture Framing, Treefrogs florists and event planning, and Hansen's Cakes. The new Ford Work Solutions technologies were also showcased, and I must say, they are impressive and seem useful. Fun pictures and fascinating information to follow.
Audi's entry-level model, the 2009 A3 is a blend of sporty hatchback and luxury wagon. This combination allows the A3 to provide both entertaining handling and convenient utility. You also get all the cachet of the Audi brand, from the exterior styling to the upmarket cabin. But is the A3 worth its comparatively higher pricetag? Our just published full test drive investigates the answer.
Robert De Niro's filmography includes such classics as The Godfather, Heat and, yes, Meet the Parents. Now you can add a 2010 Subaru Legacy commercial to his resume. You won't see it stateside (check it out on YouTube), as it seems Mr. De Niro made the TV spot for the Japan market only. It's a Lost in Translation moment. It's actually too bad he won't be plugging the new Legacy here, though, as Subaru's redesigned midsize sedan could benefit from some added star power.
This time around, the all-wheel-drive Legacy should appeal to more mainstream buyers and not just those who live in rainy or snowy climes. The 2010 Legacy is bigger and roomier (what newly redesigned car isn't these days?), but it's also more fuel efficient and priced more competitively.
We recently had the opportunity to drive the new Legacy at a manufacturer-sponsored event. Highlights and first impressions follow after the jump.
The new 2010 Ford Taurus seems to be the flavor of the week, with consumers and enthusiasts alike clamoring for tidbits of information. We were fortunate enough to take part in a drive from Knoxville, TN to Asheville, NC to sample the 2010 Taurus and the spicier Taurus SHO version. (By the way, Ford's people no longer spell out S-H-O when they refer to it and instead pronounce it as "show.").
A downpour that had us contemplating building a big wooden ark kept us from getting a good grasp on the base Taurus models, but we'll have a full test coming shortly. Fortunately, the clouds parted just in time for us to put the Taurus SHO through its paces on one of the best roads in the nation -- the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our previous post on the Taurus covered our initial impressions of the exterior and interior. Now we'll concentrate on what it's like behind the wheel.
The all-new 2009 BMW Z4 seems a world apart from its predecessor, a car seemingly designed by cleaver-wielding art school students and tuned to take on (unsuccessfully) Porsche's slick-handling Boxster. The new car is beautiful, catching impressed glances from those who pass by. It cunningly sets a new styling course for itself, while honoring successful aspects of BMW's roadster past. But it's the new Z4's handling and performance that really signal this roadster's change in philosophy.
Ford has created quite a buzz lately with its all-new full-size sedans -- the 2010 Taurus and Taurus SHO. We'll have a more in-depth review of how they drive and ride on Monday and Tuesday, but right now we can only provide our static impressions.
Like cute little bunnies, compact luxury crossovers are multiplying, starting with the Acura RDX and BMW X3 a few years ago and now expanding with a new 2010 litter, including the Audi Q5, the Mercedes-Benz GLK350 and this, the 2010 Volvo XC60 T6. It's Animal Planet right in your driveway. This Volvo might seem like a "me-too!" vehicle, but after spending some quality time with the XC60, Mr. Romans came away impressed. It seems those snowbound Swedes might know a thing about building small SUVs after all. What took them so long?
Check out the full 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 Test Drive and tell us what you think about this important addition to the Volvo family. Also which of these baby luxury crossovers would you take home?
As its official on-sale date draws close, the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe has got many automobile enthusiasts in a frenzy (just not those in charge of casting cars for the latest Fast and Furious flick). To keep the buzz going strong, Hyundai invited members of the automotive press to put the spicy-as-kimchee coupe through its paces at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, just outside of Las Vegas.
In general, we here at Edmunds evaluate vehicles based on real-world driving on public roads. For this event however, we were encouraged to take the Genesis Coupe to its limits on a racetrack, a short autocross and a highly entertaining drifting exercise. Since much has already been written about the Genesis Coupe on Edmunds and Inside Line, we'll be looking at it here from a different slant.
Here at Edmunds, we strive to make sure every demographic of car shopper is provided the most thorough buying advice they can find. Recently, we discovered a gap in our coverage. The world's many leaders, revolutionaries, freedom fighters and international V.I.P.'s don't have the information needed to make informed buying decisions. "Is my military junta best represented by an Escalade or an S65 AMG?" Well, El Generalissimo, we're glad to announce our new series "Car Reviews for Dictators." Enjoy this week's entry, the 2009 Mercedes-Benz G550.
In our informal Face Off comparisons, we pit cars against each other the same the way you do -- in an animated discussion about their virtues and vices. One editor defends the honor of a given car, and the other guy tells him why he's wrong. Then YOUtell USwho's right.
First things first: the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro pictured above is not available for $22,245. Why? The wheels. They're shiny, and they'll cost you. If you don't mind going with 18-inch black "Heritage" rims, though, this car really could be yours for $22 grand and change. The base Camaro LS is a stupefying performance bargain: 300-horsepower direct-injected V6, six-speed manual transmission, performance-tuned chassis from the Pontiac G8, and head-turning style.
Of course, there are other things you could buy with $22 large -- a four-cylinder Malibu, for example, or perhaps a four-bedroom home in Detroit. That's the card for this fight: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro LS vs. Anything Else For $22,245. Let the man-slapping begin.
When the half-baked first generation of Cadillac's CTS luxury sedan gave way to the crisp, mature, refined second-generation model in 2008, we breathed a patriotic sigh of relief. Here, finally, was a no-apologies high-end American car that could go toe to toe with the world's best. The styling was on point inside and out, the cabin materials were up to snuff, and lo and behold, the performance was there, too, thanks to countless chassis-tuning laps on the famed Nurburgring and a sophisticated available 3.6-liter direct-injected V6. We added one to our long-term fleet in March of 2008, and the experience has mostly left us marveling at how good the folks at GM can be when they put their minds (and money) to it.
But that was then, and this is the year of the Genesis. That's what Hyundai calls its new segment-busting premium four-door, and as the name implies, it constitutes an assault of biblical proportions on the luxury sedan status quo. With a base price of $32,250, the V6-powered Genesis 3.8 undercuts the base price of a 2009 CTS DI V6 by more than $6,000 while matching its acceleration numbers. "Too good to be true," the naysayers will cry -- but certainly not too good to join our long-term ranks, and that's precisely what a silver 2009 Genesis 3.8 did earlier this month.
With the long-rumored cagematch between the Smart and Mr. Romans' tricycle on indefinite hold, we agreed that no other pair of wheeled conveyances in our possession was more deserving of a comparison test than this one. Accordingly, your intrepid narrator rounded up three of the usual suspects -- Automotive Editors John DiPietro and James Riswick, and Associate Editor Mark Takahashi -- and we headed for the hills and highways, notepads and stereo-testing CDs in hand. Neither car disappointed, but one consistently outshined the other. Identities revealed below.
In Face Off, we will pit cars against each other, but instead of the full-blown, highly scrutinized, professional comparison test, this is something different. One editor will defend the honor of one car, and make the case for why they would buy it -- and why the other guy is wrong. In the end, you can decide who wins.
While last week's undercard bout pitted the Range Rover Supercharged against the Mercedes-Benz G550, this week's main event is entirely different weight class: the 2010 Ford Mustang GT versus the 2009 Nissan 370Z. Both have trained hard in the off-season and undertaken some corrective cosmetic surgery. Think of this as a companion to the Inside Line brawl that gave the decision to the Z. Will the fans award a knockout this time? The fighters are entering the ring for this real-deal, rear-wheel automobile smackdown. Let's get ready to grumble!
Like punishment? Well, you'll love the 2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe. If not, read the Edmunds road test to find out why you should skip this disappointing sports car.
In evaluating cars, Edmunds editors use the track test numbers generated by our super-exacting testing team. A complete description of what goes into those numbers is here.
But a car is more than its numbers. When writing a test drive, Edmunds editors add real-world driving and usability tests to see how a car might suit the average buyer for that type of car. We determine how difficult it is to install child safety seats, and we see how the trunk or hatch cargo space accommodates a piece of rolling luggage or a set of golf clubs.
Additionally, the manufacturer's listing of "cubic feet of cargo space" doesn't tell you how wide or high the space is, or if there are wheel wells that intrude into the space. So sometimes we stack up storage boxes in a test car's cargo space to determine how much of that space is really usable. (I call it the "Costco test.")
What if we haven't recently tested the vehicle you'd like to see? Then you're likely to find our impressions by reading our Model Reviews. The reviews touch on topics such as safety, powertrains/performance and driving impressions. They'll give you a good idea of how we think the vehicle fits in with its competitors, its pros and cons, and whether it's worth your consideration.
Each Wednesday in the Idle Chat Lounge (read: a musty sectional in Karl Brauer's garage), Brent Romans and Bryn MacKinnon, two editors at Edmunds.com, pontificate on a topic that's kinda about cars.
Today's Idle Chat Topic: The 2010 Kia Soul's + and ! Trim Level Names -- Silly or Cute?
Mr. Romans: You may not have noticed, so I'll fill you in -- Kia's new compact hatchback, the 2010 Soul, comes in four trim levels: Soul, Soul +, Soul ! and Soul Sport. Yes, really. We've test-driven the Sport and pronounced it good, but why the trim-level contrivance? (And why just plain "Sport" after the quirky symbols? It'd be like naming your first two kids Rotherhithe and Tzeitel and then naming your third Ed.) I can only wonder what's next -- "The 2011 Soul, now in +, !, !!! and :-P trim levels!" Put me down for silly.
Ms. MacKinnon: Agreed, Brent. And I wanna know what conversations on the Kia lots sound like. "Yeah, I wanted to see one of those ! Souls." "Well, ma'am, we're fresh outta !, but we've got plenty of + that you'll love." Huh? I once met a girl whose name was pronounced "star" but was spelled Starr* with the asterisk. Just because they say so, doesn't mean it's right. But as long as we're playing, might I suggest a super-stripped base version called - (pronounced "minus") and a ; (pronounced "wink") that features a headlight setting which turns the Soul into an on-purpose padiddle?
Chrysler has become a symbol of a lot of what's wrong with the domestic auto industry, and the company is the odds-on favorite as the first of the Detroit Three to go belly-up. Chrysler's minivans have never gotten much love either and are often thought of as the butt of a joke.
But the company -- and its minivans -- are on the cutting edge tech-wise. The '09 Dodge Grand Caravan, for example, features some of the latest and greatest in-car technology available, including satellite TV and Rear Cross Path detection. The Caravan's rear-seat entertainment and uconnect Bluetooth hands-free phone systems are among the best in the business, and the vehicle can be equipped with Swivel 'n Go seating with a retractable table that folds out of the floor.
I've spent the last week driving a 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, a $73,000 luxury SUV meant to provide all the appeal of the traditional Escalade but with a sincere nod to Mother Earth. Whether you want to talk value, performance or just plain logic there's one undenaible truth to this vehicle -- it's a complete boondoggle.
Since it was first introduced earlier this decade, the Infiniti G35 and later G37 have consistently toppled more expensive and more pedigreed luxury cars in comparison tests. Even if that BMW or Audi were technically better cars, the Infiniti's significant price and feature content advantage were often too good to ignore. Well, the G37 just got a taste of its own medicine.
The little Korean engine that could, Hyundai, keeps churning out impressive new machines. For power junkies and driving nuts, the 2009 Hyundai Genesis Coupe is the most important yet. With rear-wheel drive, 306 hp, a sport-tuned suspension, Brembo brakes and downright sexy styling, the Genesis is aimed directly at the Infiniti G37 Coupe that costs thousands more -- $14,000 more in this test.
Which comes out on top? Which coupe's cuisine reigns supreme?
Living in Southern California definitely has its advantages for the adventurous. Given that our offices are just minutes from the surf, hours from the snow-capped mountains and desolate desert, we had no shortage of locations to put the 2009 Nissan Xterra Off Road
through its paces.
It's got soul but its not a soldier. At least that's how The Killers would describe this funky hatchback, but in a way, the 2010 Kia Soul is a colorful little soldier tasked with the mission of changing the Korean automaker's image. Gray and boring will no longer do; vibrant and sporty is the new creed. Who knows how people will warm to it, but the Soul certainly meets those two criteria.
But behind its styling lies a practicaly four-door hatchback that provides copious passenger space in a well-equipped package that emphasizes value. Frisky and with low-effort controls, the Soul joins a growing cadre of compacts that combine impressive function and frugality in an affordable set of wheels. It's got soul and sensibility.
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