2010 Model Reviews

The Focus Is On Luxury Lexus ES sedans have been leaders in the entry-luxury field for well over a decade. The secret to their success has been that they pamper their owners. An ES provides a comfortable ride, a quiet cabin and a lot of amenities. However, for those who seek sportiness too, well, that’s [...]

Off-Road Better Than On-Road How times have changed. Back in the 1990s, truck-based SUVs, like the 4Runner were all the rage—everybody wanted one. Today, most people opt for the car-based “Crossovers,” like the Toyota Highlander. However, there are those who still prefer the traditional “go anywhere” sport/ute. For these folks, Toyota has a redesigned 2010 [...]

Audi Goes Soft Top With A5 Audi rolled the dice when they designed the new A5 Cabriolet. They equipped it with a conventional ragtop roof, instead of a retractable hardtop, like the one on BMW’s 335i. They may lose points with some potential buyers now, but the honchos at Audi decided that the additional weight [...]

NISSAN REDESIGNS SPORT SEDAN The Maxima sedan has been a mainstay in Nissan’s lineup for nearly three decades. Well over two million copies of this flagship model have been sold. Last year, Nissan delivered over 50,000 Maximas in the U.S. in what everybody agrees was a down market. Part of the reason for this success [...]

Zoom-Zoom and Room Too It’s not easy to make a large SUV look stylish, but Mazda has managed to do so with its CX9. It’s sloping hood, upsweeping beltline and open-mouth grille give this sport/ute a jaunty look. While it may appear that the CX9 is just a stretched version of Mazda’s midsize CX7, that’s [...]

The Pilot Soldiers On Unchanged Honda redesigned the Pilot for 2009, so the ’10 model carries on without change, except for some new colors. The current Pilot looks much the same as its predecessor, except for the grille and the headlights. It sports a squared-off look that is reminiscent of early SUVs from the 1990s. [...]

A New Kind of Crossover A new kind of Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV) has emerged recently. These cars are tall like other CUVs, but feature a fastback roofline. The BMW X6 is an example of one—the new Honda Crosstour is another. These vehicles are more substantial than a sedan, but are less bulky-looking than a [...]

A DECENT CAR THAT’S LOST IN THE PACK The Sentra is one Nissan car that hovers in the shadows. You don’t hear much about it. It competes in a market dominated by the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic, and populated by other good choices, like the Mazda3 and the Hyundai Elantra. One of the [...]

A Poor Man’s Infiniti G37? It used to be that you always had a choice when you bought a midsize car. You could select the traditional four-door sedan, or you could opt for the sportier coupe. That’s no longer the case. Now only two moderately priced midsize cars are offered both ways—the Honda Accord and [...]

TSX Gets More Horsepower Last year Acura redesigned its entry-level sports sedan, the TSX, and made it larger. They also incorporated styling cues from its big brother, the Acura TL. This year, the TSX gets a shot of extra horsepower from the TL. The TL’s standard V-6 engine is now an option on the TSX. [...]