Kenton Smith with the 2019 Lexus ES 350 in Calgary.Al Charest/Postmedia A long-time owner of Toyota vehicles, Kenton Smith had never before experienced first-hand the brand’s luxury nameplate, Lexus. That changed when he spent a week in the all-new 2019 Lexus ES 350. His tester was the super-deluxe version, equipped with the top-of-the-line Ultra Luxury Package. “Of course, I’ve seen Lexus models at car shows and on the streets,” the Calgarian says, and adds, “but, I’ve never driven one before, and when it was all said and done, it was really tough handing back the key.” Lexus last fully updated the ES 350 model in 2013 with the sixth-generation and then in 2016 facelifted the luxury sedan with the corporate spindle grille and other refinements. The 2019 version ushers in the seventh-generation, complete with crisper styling and an updated 3.5-litre V6 engine backed up by an eight-speed automatic transmission that sends power to the front wheels. The ES is also available as a hybrid, with the ES 300h model. And, for the first time in its history, the car can be had with one of two versions of the performance-enhanced F-Sport package. Lexus has made the ES 350 longer, lower and wider and upgraded the suspension to increase driving enjoyment. “It’s a super quiet car,” Smith says of the ES 350, “I think one word for me summarizes the Lexus, and I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s ‘refinement.’” Smith learned to drive in Calgary, and he and his older sister shared a 1979 Pontiac Parisienne when he got his licence at 16. However, as often as possible, he got behind the wheel of the family’s new 1986 Honda Civic, because it was equipped with a five-speed manual transmission. “That made it a lot more exciting to drive,” he says. His own first car was a Mazda 626 with a standard gearbox. As his own family began to grow, his last car with a standard transmission was an Acura EL. That was followed by a succession of minivans and SUVs that have been, over the past two decades, almost entirely Toyota products, including Sienna and Venza models. Currently, Smith maintains a RAV4 and a Prius c, both hybrids. When he first saw the Nightfall Mica – a deep navy blue – ES 350, Smith was immediately impressed by the car. He thought it would have ‘the great gaping Lexus grille’, but says, “The grille was proportionate to the overall lines, and the car has a very pleasing shape. The ES looked bigger than I expected it to, but it didn’t end up driving ‘big.’” After opening the door and settling into the premium-leather upholstered driver’s seat, the interior also found favour. “It was a light colour that beautifully complements the dark exterior,” Smith says. “Inside, I think I was surprised by the overall quality of the luxury. I was half-expecting it to be filled with Toyota switches and knobs, but that wasn’t the case, yet it was familiar in the larger sense.” The 10-way power adjustable heated and cooled seat wasn’t overly plush. Instead, Smith says the seat felt ‘fitted and supportive’. At five-feet ten-inches tall, there was plenty of head- and legroom for Smith’s frame. After spending a few days getting used to the Lexus, Smith was full of praise for the performance of the V6 engine that makes 302 horsepower. “The engine had plenty of power, and the eight-speed automatic transmission was unobtrusive,” he says. “If you got on the gas, you could sense it shifting, otherwise it was completely seamless.” On a road trip west of Calgary to Canmore, Smith experimented with some of the technology found in the ES, including the dynamic radar cruise control and lane tracing assist. Although well suspended, Smith says the Lexus never felt like it was floating. He says you could feel the road, but the ride was never uncomfortable. Handling was good, with a nice light effort on the steering wheel in parking lot situations while it tightened up when on the highway – overall, it was well-balanced, in Smith’s opinion. To test the utility of the ES 350, Smith loaded up his 19-year old daughter’s goalie equipment in the trunk. “I got all of her gear in the trunk, and with the sticks through the backseat pass-through, we still got all four of us into the car and down to Okotoks for her hockey game,” he says. “The trunk opened wide, and it was easy to lift everything in. It has a power trunk lid, and while that’s nice to have I think it’s a luxury you could easily live without.” Smith suggests the ES 350 would best suit a family of four, or empty nesters. “It’s not a big, gigantic car and you won’t feel like you’re hauling around a bunch of empty space without extra passengers. But, load them in and they’re going to be very comfortable,” he says, and concludes, “It was tough to give the car back, I really did enjoy driving it.” DRIVER’S JOURNAL Day One: Nice colour combination, high-quality leather. Quiet! Wow, so nice and quiet on the highway. The control for the infotainment system is really awkward. The trackpad is an
Origin: Reader Review: 2019 Lexus ES 350
Review:
Car Review: 2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye
OVERVIEW An absolute brute of a muscle car PROSRidiculous power, equally ridiculous exhaust note, retro-cool styling, surprisingly spacious inside CONSFuel economy, too heavy, zero respect for subtlety, Mustang and Camaro handle far better VALUE FOR MONEYFair — on one hand, you get almost 800 HP for a fraction on the price of most supercars. On the other hand, the performance isnt much improved over the standard Hellcat WHAT TO CHANGE?Nothing HOW TO SPEC IT?Exactly like this Clayton Seams: Surely, cars aren’t forever. They’ve been our go-to mode of personal transport for over a century, but it’s inevitable that the car as we know it, especially gasoline-powered ones, will eventually fade away to make room for a newer form of personal transport. It likely won’t fully happen in another 50, or maybe even 100 years, but surely, it will happen. And when it does, and all the cars are relegated to air-conditioned museums with marble floors, we’ll still talk about the Dodge Challenger Hellcat — the last of the dinosaurs, the car that thumbed its supercharger at convention and threw caution (and tire smoke) to the wind. This is a car for the ages. Specifically the ages of 5 to 15 because principally, the 2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat is a car for children — and childish adults. It has angry cat badges on it, it comes in purple, lime green, bright blue and a handful of other loud colours, and it’s the size of a wooly mammoth. But this isn’t just any run-of-the-mill, 717-horsepower Hellcat. No, this purple people-eater (and tire-shredder) has the $18,000 Redeye package, which bumps output from its supercharged 6.2-litre Hemi V8 engine to an insane 797 horsepower and 707 pound-feet of torque. But what else do you get for your money? Nick Tragianis: First thing’s first — although you may think FCA treats the Hellcat Redeye as its own model, and indeed FCA markets it that way — it’s technically an option package on top of the regular Hellcat. It certainly isn’t cheap, but it comes with a laundry list of goodies all in the name of more speed. For instance, the 2.7-litre supercharger (the largest available on any production car, by the way), is larger than the Hellcat’s 2.4L unit and provides more boost; 14.5 psi in the Redeye vs. 11.6 in the standard car. You also get a higher redline, two fuel pumps, and two final drive ratios — our tester was equipped with the 2.62:1 ratio — plus a few bits off the Challenger Demon, including its Torque Reserve feature, Power and After-Run Chillers, and beefed-up prop shafts, to name a few. Unlike the standard Hellcat, the Redeye is only available with an eight-speed automatic transmission. So, that $18,000 isn’t a complete waste, especially considering the extra 80 horsepower and 51 lb.-ft. of torque. But is it just me, or are the actual numbers not that much more impressive versus the standard Hellcat? We’re talking a zero-to-100 km/h time reduced by a mere tenth of a second — 3.4 seconds in the Redeye versus 3.5 over the regular kitty, and a 326 km/h top speed versus 321. But I suppose those numbers, although piecemeal and ones that will be incredibly rare to experience, are improvements nonetheless. CS: It’s true. Paying $18,000 for more power on an already-overpowered car doesn’t make the most sense, but it’s also a bit of a quagmire to apply logic to a near-800-horsepower car with purple paint. The Hellcat is an attitude machine, attracting jealous stares at red lights and consuming nearby souls every time the throttle is opened. It’s a car that thrives in its wrongness and doesn’t try to fit in for even a second in this mobility obsessed 2019. How does it drive? Violently. At any legal speed, mashing the gas pedal to the floor will send the traction control light flickering for its life as the rear tires squirm for grip and the Redeye catapults itself into the distance. Sure, there are faster cars than the Hellcat; its mid-three-second zero-to-100 km/h time isn’t record-breaking, but it’s the way you get there. The shrill whine from the blower fights for airspace with the tearing V8 exhaust. In a way, you wish it could last longer, but you’ve already passed get a ticket speeds and are now firmly in the go to jail zone. Is the Redeye too fast? NT: Yes, because obviously the regular Hellcat clearly wasn’t fast enough. I firmly maintain the Challenger SRT 392 — or, more accurately these days, the Challenger Scat Pack 392 with the Dynamics Package — is the sweet spot of the lineup, but the Hellcat is truly a different animal altogether. The Redeye is neither light, nor does it handle particularly well, although the 305-section tires do lend a fair bit of grip. But it’s the Redeye’s sheer ferocity and violence that make it entertaining as hell; you’ll crave open stretches of road, highway on-ramps and tunnels. The Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro are far more sports cars than the Challenger will ever be; the Jaguar F-Type offers a far more
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye
Motorcycle Review: 2019 Ducati Multistrada 1260 Enduro
2019 Ducati Multistrada 1260 EnduroDavid Booth / Driving BORMIO, Italy — Italians, especially those living in and around Borgo Panigale, must love big numbers. Like, really big numbers — 1260, for instance, is a preposterous number of cubic centimetres for any motorcycle that dares put Enduro in its name. Ditto for 158 horsepower, and for pistons spanning 106 millimetres across. It’s incredibly over-the-top stuff, the kind of high-performance motor that, not so long ago, that would have done any superbike proud, never mind something wearing saddlebags and kinda, sorta off-road tires. Far more impressive is how Ducati’s — they of Borgo Panigale, where I picked up this monster — Multistrada behaves when you’re not taxing those big numbers. In fact, for the first three days in normally sunny Italy, it did nothing but rain, the Modenese spring doing a fair rendition of our own (albeit with prettier countryside to gaze upon as the heavens poured down upon our slickers). In other words, for safety sake — and the fact that I had she-who-reacts-poorly-to-crossed-up-corner-entries along for the ride — I did nothing but poodle around like I was riding a Gold Wing on a poker run. So, for instance, while the big twin’s frame-twisting 94 pound-feet of torque may build up quite the head of steam at 7,500 rpm, let me nonetheless remind you that big Testastretta grunts like a good’un at a traction-maximizing 3,500. Those huge 106-millimetres may indeed harness the forces of a 158 seriously stout Shetlands, but loping along at an easy five grand in top gear, they are as civilized as a straight-six with perfect primary balance. And trundling along like the proverbial tortoise means that we stretch the Enduro’s huge 30-litre tanks — another huge number — all the way from Modena to Bormio, a ride of some 340 kilometres. And yet Multistrada’s TFT screen had the audacity to claim we had another 160 kilometres in reserve. What I am trying to say is that, yes, this latest, larger-displacement Multistrada is fast. My God, it’s a Ducati with desmodromic valves and pistons the size of manhole covers. Of course it’s bloody fast. In fact, as fast two-up and loaded with luggage as my Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT when I am riding alone. What’s less expected, perhaps — certainly if you were around to sample the, uhm, delicacies of Ducati superbikes of yore — is that the big Duke is a good motorcycle even when it’s not going fast. For one thing, it’s comfortable. More comfortable, in fact, than Ducati’s other Multistrada bikes thanks to a revised seating position that sees your butt about 10-millimetres closer to the ground than the previous 1200-cc version of the Enduro. The handlebar is an even more substantial 30 millimetres lower as well. This last surprised me because I found the lower bars easier on my wonky back. Maybe it‘s because the revised seat also places you closer to said handlebar. Or maybe the cut of the Enduro just fit my gib. Whatever the case, I found the Enduro easier on my posterior than either the 1260 S or the 950 Multistradas I rode recently. Even the adjustable windscreen is quite effective on the long haul, its lowest position sportbike breezy while its highest more than protective enough to ward off rain showers. Ditto for the ride. Ducati’s “Skyhook” suspension offer full adjustability at the flick of a button — OK, the touch of a screen — the electronically adjustable dampers variable between Enduro — compression damping lightened to maximize wheel travel over big bumps — to Sport (compression and rebound damping both tailored for optimized wheel control). It works well, herself giving the big Duke a full princess-and-the-pea two thumbs up. I do have one request though, Ducati: Could I please get just a little more rear preload adjustment in the rear? Even your “two helmets and full suitcases” setting isn’t quite enough for the burden of carrying a month’s worth of ablution products and hair creams. The reason we could carry enough for a full month’s sojourn were the positively cavernous aluminum cargo cases optional on the Enduro. Built by Touratech, they are sturdy, keyed to the ignition lock and can hold a grand total of 83 litres of Lierac Crème Voluptueuse. Rid of expensive face creams, they’ll swallow a full-sized helmet easily. The rear topcase Ducati offers, also made by Touratech, is small by comparison, holding just 38 litres. Nonetheless, the total — 121 litres between the three of them — is impressive and you can stack extra luggage — much needed, if you’ve been following the thread — thanks to the built-in bungee hooks built into the lid of each case. And while I am on about the practicalities one might not expect from the bike, it’s worth noting Ducati has extended the valve inspection interval to a whopping 30,000 kilometres, one of the longest in the industry. Indeed, if recent rider reports are any indication, Ducatis are now more durable than the average motorcycle, an
Origin: Motorcycle Review: 2019 Ducati Multistrada 1260 Enduro
Car Review: 2019 Audi A7
2019 Audi A7David Booth / Driving OVERVIEW My kind of sedan PROSHandling, powertrain, interior décor, exterior styling CONSUhm, that new, totally unnecessary naming system VALUE FOR MONEYDecent for what it is, but optioning out an Audi will quickly break the bank. WHAT TO CHANGE?Could you make one for $40,000? No? Well then, I guess I’ll just have to get a real job HOW TO SPEC IT?I’d have the Technik model with BO sound system and the S-Line and adaptive air suspension packages, but I’d forgo the rest. Like I said, you can go bankrupt optioning out an Audi. I know road tests are supposed to be objective reviews of a car’s performance and utility, with personal prejudice and peccadillos put aside. But Lord almighty, I like this car. I like driving it. I like looking at it. I like playing with its technology. Actually, I pretty much like everything about the four-door coupe Audi A7. OK, maybe not the price — not having a spare $100,000 laying around, begging to be handed over to an Audi dealer, but that’s about it. I drove it around for about three weeks, and other than the need to sell my townhouse to afford one — oh, and a few minor infotainment wobbles — I struggled to find fault with the all-new A7. The look, for instance, is exquisite. Unlike the CLS, which Mercedes-Benz murdered in its second generation and the 6 Series Gran Coupe, which BMW never did get quite right, the second-gen A7 is as sleek and sloping as the original. A little longer, a little wider, the proportions of the A7 are just right, lending an aura of sportiness that the A6 and A8 can’t hope to engender, even though they’re built on the same platform. Inside the cabin, that same good taste continues. The Bang and Olufsen sound system remains my favourite in the business, and Audi has long been touted for classy interiors, using the finest leathers and tightest stitching in any of the categories they were competing in. Now that the competition has closed the gap, however, the company has turned its attention to the man-machine interface between the driver and infotainment system, this latest MMI system a dramatic step forward from the previous generation. With BMW gone off on a “gesture control” tangent, it seems like Audi and Mercedes-Benz will be fighting it out for pride of place among European infotainment systems. Mercedes’ MBUX — don’t call it “em-bucks” — put most of its marbles in voice control, while Audi‘s MMI is a further development of its touchscreen-based system. There is much that has been improved, however. For one thing, there are now two screens rather than one, the upper handling the true infotainment features — audio system, navigation and phone connectivity — while the lower one deals with more pedestrian duties like climate control and heated seats. The division works well as does Audi’s vastly improved handwriting recognition system, which is now virtually perfected; I wrote letter after letter right on top of each other and MMI glammed onto what I wanted right away. This latest MMI might not seem as “trick” as MBUX, but save for a few voice control wobbles, we got along just fine. Ditto for the powertrain. A development of Audi’s 3.0-litre V6, this latest version is turbocharged and pumps out 335 horsepower. It’s also mildly hybridized, a 48-volt starter/generator capable of putting 12 kW (about 16 horsepower) and 44 pound-feet of electrically generated torque back into the drivetrain. Audi uses this little boost to pump power back into the powertrain when you’re coasting at any speed between 50 and 160 km/h, saving you wasted gasoline and reducing emissions. Audi also activates the 3.0L’s automatic start/stop fuel saver — those sometimes annoying that shut down the engine when you’re idling at a traffic light — at 22 km/h. In other words, the motor cuts out long before you reach said traffic light. It’s supposed to further reduce fuel consumption and actually makes the system less annoying, as you’re less likely to notice the absence of internal combustion, what with other car-like noises filling the void. To make that work, however, the engine has to be completely disconnected from the wheels — less the now non-firing pistons become a drag on your coasting — which is at least one of the reasons that, for this second-gen A7, Audi has dumped the eight-speed automatic for a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, the former always creating a little drag on the engine while the latter should, theoretically, be friction-free. I can’t say exactly how much this mild hybridization/engine deactivation saves in fuel, but the V6-powered A7 averaged just a smidge over 10 L/100 kilometres in my hands — not too shabby for a 335-horsepower, two-ton sedan driven by a chronically-late procrastinator with a lead foot. For the record, Transportation Canada officially rates the V6 at 10.7 in the city, 8.2 on the highway, and 9.6 overall. Part of the reason it’s rated so well is that Audi’s
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Audi A7
Car Review: 2019 Acura TLX
OVERVIEW Acura gets almost everything right PROSGreat engine, sharp handling CONSInterior could look a little more luxury VALUE FOR MONEYLots of features and performance for the price WHAT TO CHANGE?Throw that pushbutton shifter off a cliff HOW TO SPEC IT?Id go all the way to A-Spec The first letter in SUV is meant for “sport,” but that ain’t necessarily so. No matter how low-slung or sporty a crossover is, it simply can’t duplicate what a car can do, and Acura’s TLX is a great example. Good-looking, powerful, and a sharp handler, it proves you shouldn’t send a crossover out to do a sports sedan’s job. The TLX got a makeover for 2018, and so it continues into 2019 with almost no changes. It’s available with a 206-horsepower four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive, and that version adds the top-level A-Spec package for this year. Instead, I had the TLX SH-AWD (Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive), which swaps out the four-banger for a V6. All-wheel-drive models start at $41,190, but my tester, the fully loaded Elite A-Spec, rings in at $51,190. The naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 is a sweet and potent performer, knocking out 290 horsepower and 267 lb.-ft. of torque. It pulls hard, even at higher speeds when you need passing power on the highway, but it’s also smooth off the line when you’re accelerating moderately from a stop. It’s mated to a nine-speed automatic, but no pun intended, that’s where my admiration for this car shifts gears. Not with the transmission itself, which does a creamy-smooth job of changing cogs, but with the hot mess that passes for its shifter. There’s no need to invent the PRNDL lever, which has done us just fine for the last however-many decades (and if you must, a dial shifter is equally good in my books). Here we have a mismatched stable of buttons and a toggle for the gears, requiring you to look down and see if you’ve hit the right one. Please, Honda (and Acura), send this design to the scrapyard. In addition to styling cues, the A-Spec package adds wider tires, sharper-tuned electric power steering, and screwed-down damper settings. It complements the all-wheel drive, which sends almost all of its power to the front wheels in straight-line cruising, but which transfers as much as 70 per cent to the rear on acceleration and hard curves. When you’re rounding a bend, more power goes to the outside rear wheel to help tuck the car in. Between the engine, the suspension, and the car’s relatively light weight, this thing can’t help but put a smile on your face. Inside, the TLX hits some high and low points. The seats are well-bolstered and very comfortable, and on the Elite and Elite A-Spec, the driver’s seat has a power cushion extender, and both front chairs are heated and ventilated (which you adjust with a somewhat confusing set of icons through the centre screen). Legroom in the rear seats is a little less than generous, although a six-foot passenger back there said he had enough headroom. Compensation for that tighter rear leg room is a sizeable trunk, made even more useful with two bins hidden under the floor. The divider between lets you securely stash items within reach, and they don’t roll around the trunk. Acura’s always straddled the fence between sports and luxury, and there’s usually something about its vehicles that suggests it can’t make up its mind. The TLX cabin’s luxury-car quiet, with just a touch of the engine’s throaty growl making its way inside. But then the interior’s plain design, its dash a wide swath of plain hard plastic, looks far less premium than I’d expect in a car that tops $50,000. The infotainment system is divided into two screens, which leaves the navigation up top and the map always viewable. The bottom touchscreen handles other functions, including stereo, phone, climate settings, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and inputting the navigation commands. But here’s another issue. There’s voice recognition for many functions, including some for the nav system. You can talk to the car, and it will obediently bring up and let you select any previous destinations you’ve entered, take you home if you’ve set that address, or find nearby points of interest, such as a gas station or coffee shop. But if you want to enter a new address with voice, rather than tapping it in, you’re out of luck. Cars sold in Canada don’t have that ability. Seriously? At a time when I’m rating navigation systems on whether they’ll let me say the whole address at once, rather than having to keep hitting the “talk” button to speak one line at a time, the TLX can’t do either one? Yes, most people rely on their phones for guidance, but if Acura’s going to stick a map in the dash, it really should have full functionality, and not just for the U.S.-market cars that can listen and obey. This might seem like a relatively minor complaint overall, especially in a car that performs as well as this, but annoyances seldom go away the
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Acura TLX
Car Review: 2019 Volkswagen Golf R
OVERVIEW VW’s all-wheel-drive uber-Golf flies under the radar PROSan uncanny blend of comfort, utility, quality and thrilling performance CONSlacks some features expected in this snack bracket, defending its price to non-believers VALUE FOR MONEYgood WHAT TO CHANGE?Heated steering wheel please HOW TO SPEC IT?like this, but without the black wheels Canadians love the Volkswagen Golf R. In fact, according to Volkswagen, in the global picture our take rate for this uber-Golf is off the charts. So, what makes the R so Canadian? Is it because we are so hatchback-obsessed, we’ll spend upwards of $45,000 for a fancy Golf with all-wheel-drive? Or do we, as the strong and silent nation, relate to this car’s understated presence, giant-killer performance, supreme build quality and surprising usability and comfort? I’m going with the latter. The Golf R differentiates itself from the front-drive Golf GTI with its lower stance, standard 19-inch wheels, more aggressive front fascia and quad exhaust tips. Still, unless you go for one the available in-your-face colours like this fabulous blue hue — $2,995 thank you — you’ll likely be motoring about in relative anonymity. Which is kind of cool, because the Golf R truly is a formidable performance weapon and privy only to those-in-the-know. The 2019 Golf R starts at $42,495 with a six-speed manual, and VW’s seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic adds $1,400. It runs with the essentially the same 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder found in the regular GTI, but thanks to a new head, pistons and a larger turbo, it makes 288 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, up from the GTI’s 220 horses and 258 lb.-ft. of torque. The 4Motion all-wheel-drive can send up to 50 percent of torque to the rear wheels, giving the ability to scoot the R from rest to 100 km/h in a tick under five seconds. So yeah, this pricey Golf is quick, but it’s more than just about the numbers. The Golf R’s bandwidth of talent is mighty broad. Sit in the supremely comfortable and supportive leather sport seats, and you’ll view a high-quality interior dominated by an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system and digital gauge cluster behind the lovely three-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel. Standard kit includes GPS navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a decent Fender-badged audio system, and illuminated blue streaks on the kick plates and front door panels. The touchscreen interface is logically laid out and easy to negotiate. Unfortunately, ventilated front seats, a sunroof, or a heated steering wheel aren’t on the menu. This tester’s $1,565 Driver Assistant package adds adaptive cruise control, blind-spot warning, lane-keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, and front collision mitigation. New for 2019 is this tester’s $595 Black Styling Package that ramps up the ‘tude with black 19-inch wheels and carbon-fibre mirror caps. Setting out in Comfort mode has the transmission upshifting early and the adaptive Dynamic Chassis Control in its most butt-friendly setting. Despite the Golf R’s lowered ride height and big 19-inch wheels, the ride is surprisingly good — sporty firm, but quiet and compliant. In this mode, the Golf R does a fine impersonation of a small luxury car. Toggle between Comfort, Normal, and Race modes, and the suspension firms up, the transmission drops down a gear, and throttle response sharpens. Yes, there’s a bit of turbo lag, but once up on its toes, this Golf R dances, lunging ahead on a tide of revs and torque. The dual-clutch transmission bangs off up-shifts, each with a charming whumf from the exhaust. Downshifting, however, doesn’t have the immediacy of some of the better dual-clutch gearboxes out there — Porsche’s benchmark PDK comes to mind. The R’s steering is quick and accurate, grip is tenacious, and it corners with a point-and-shoot neutrality, helped in no small part by electronic brake-induced torque-vectoring. The brakes are strong with excellent pedal feel as well. For all it’s a ability, however, the Golf R is not a track rat like the Honda Civic Type R or raucous like the Ford Focus RS. Conversely, the Golf R doesn’t feel like hot-rodded economy hatchback, either, as its interior appointments, build quality, and overall refinement eclipses that of those admittedly more scrappy and exciting offerings. Volkswagen also gives drivers the experience more urgency by piping a low, growly engine note into the cabin. Personally, I’d prefer my Golf to not sound like a Subaru, but that’s just me. Is there a way to turn it off? With all the options — and this Golf R has everything that’s offered — its sticker is just shy of $50,000 as-tested. Yes, that’s a lot of money for a Golf, and considering you can get into a nicely equipped, front-drive GTI for about $10,000 less, that presents a bit of a conundrum. But here’s the deal: The R is a different animal — it’s an understated sophisticate that is equally happy on the
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Volkswagen Golf R
SUV Review: 2019 Lexus UX 200 F Sport
OVERVIEW Stylish small-sized premium-priced crossover PROSSmooth, mostly quiet, less expensive than competition CONSUnderpowered, front-wheel drive only, some annoying controls VALUE FOR MONEYFair WHAT TO CHANGE?More powerful engine and AWD needed HOW TO SPEC IT?Lexus UX 250h ($39,700) Although not as heavily populated or as popular as the compact and midsize luxury crossover segments, the small luxury slice has nonetheless grown over the past five years to include some city friendly, fuel-efficient, boldly styled products, primarily from European automakers, but, for 2019, now including Japanese powerhouse Toyota’s upscale Lexus brand. If you’re prone to drinking the marketing Kool-Aid, the brand-new UX is, according to Lexus, “the urban explorer that Canadians have been waiting for with a style “designed to enable active lifestyles.” That’s a lot of hyperbole to swallow. The brand’s traditional strengths are sumptuous luxury, cosseting ride and silky-smooth engines in just about all of its product lineup, which now come under scrutiny in what has become the gateway vehicle to the Lexus family, and a supposedly sporting one at that. The biggest issue the UX is going to face — at least the $37,100 (to start) UX 200 — is whether consumers will buy into Lexus’s assertion that it is an actual SUV. You see, unlike the UX 250h (the hybrid version), the 200 is front-wheel drive only. This may not be as big a deal to the downtown snake people with which Lexus hopes to curry favour; this group supposedly more concerned with style, technology and connectivity than they are drivetrains. Being a noted contrarian, not to mention being significantly older than the targeted demographic, I view the UX 200 as essentially a spiffy sort of hatchback, considering its underpinnings are the same as those found underneath the outré Toyota C-HR. And, for many of us baby boomers, performance still matters. Which brings me to the second-biggest issue for the UX 200 — a big dose of “meh” under the hood. Currently, the small luxury crossover segment consists of the BMW X1 and X2, Mercedes GLA, Audi Q3 and Volvo XC40. The common thread to all of these crossovers, in addition to all-wheel drivetrains, is that they are powered by 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinders. Horsepower ranges from 208 in the GLA 250 to 248 in the XC40. The UX 200, meanwhile, is powered by a naturally aspirated 2.0L four-cylinder — the same as in the new Corolla Hatchback — putting out a meager 169 hp. (Anteing up for the UX 250h results in a net system output of just 181 hp from its 2.0L engine and electric motor.) And in both cases, power is routed through a continuously variable transmission, whereas the competition is fitted with regular automatics (or an available six-speed manual in the case of the Countryman). Even tipping the scales at a very trim 1,500 kilograms — partly attributable to the use of aluminum for the doors, front fenders and hood and tailgate frame — one of the UX 200’s strengths will not be scintillating acceleration. Switching from either Eco or Normal to Sport mode does give the impression of a little more urge. At least the engine is decently quiet under normal operation, though, like most small four-cylinders, turbocharged or not, it takes on a coarser edge at higher revs when passing power is called for. OK, the UX is left wanting in the powertrain and drivetrain areas; thankfully its handling dynamics are up to snuff. It hangs tough in the turns, thanks to a low centre of gravity, not to mention active cornering assist, a function integrated with the vehicle stability control system that helps the Lexus set a tight line through a turn by applying some brake control on the inside wheels, mitigating understeer. There’s a solid weight from the electric power steering as well. And its ride is quite comfortable as well, maybe not RX 350 comfy but more than acceptable considering its shorter wheelbase. 2019 Lexus UX Brian Harper / Driving The cabin, though not as luxurious as other Lexus products, is nonetheless cleanly styled with a modern yet simple vibe, a counterpoint to the UX’s boldly aggressive exterior. Some controls fall easily to hand, yet Lexus insists on retaining the “remote touch interface” (RTI) track pad — with haptic feedback — to work the functions featured on the centre console touchscreen. Designed, says Lexus, to feel as familiar to use as a smartphone, the RTI utilizes operations such as double tapping, squeezing to zoom and flicking to mimic common phone gestures. This works much better when the UX is stationary, not nearly as user friendly when it’s in motion, any bump in the road making the very sensitive pad frustrating to use. Further complicating things, the volume and tuning knobs for the audio system are now sliders located at the base of the armrest instead of on the centre stack where they can be easily seen. There’s plenty of room up front for taller
Origin: SUV Review: 2019 Lexus UX 200 F Sport
Car Review: 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus
With a full-charge range in the 350 kilometre neighourhood, the Leaf Plus eliminates range anxiety for the daily commuter. OVERVIEW A real-world EV with plenty of onboard tech, including cutting edge semi-autonomous driving features PROSMore powerful battery pack; Spacious cabin CONSRecessed rear cargo deck VALUE FOR MONEYExcellent (particularly as it qualifies for provincial and federal EV rebates) WHAT TO CHANGE?Added bolstering to front seats and the addition of manual regen paddles HOW TO SPEC IT?As is I had to chuckle when I first jumped into the 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus and looked at the full-charge range: 390 kilometres. Almost seven years to the day, back in May of 2012, I recorded the full-charge range of the 2012 Leaf on the first day of a six-month long-term test for my nascent EV blog, Driving Unplugged: 155 kilometres. Had you of asked me back then to guess what the 2019 Leaf range would be, I honestly would have thought that double that 155 would be quite something. Needless to say, the Plus’s near-400 km range is impressive. And just as that first-gen, early adopter Leaf was a technological marvel in so many ways, so too is this second-gen version. What has also changed is that Nissan’s best-selling EV is no longer one of just a handful of all-electrics vying for cash-conscious consumer’s dollars as it was seven years ago. Back then, the competition was the costlier expensive Tesla Model S—introduced a month after I took possession of that 2012 Leaf—and the quirky Mitsubishi i-MiEV—which I had for a long-term test following my time with the Leaf and came away underwhelmed. Today, there’s EV competition from many manufacturers, including BMW (i3), Chevrolet (Bolt), Ford (Focus), Hyundai (Ionic and Kona), Kia (Niro and Soul), Smart (EQ fortwo), Tesla (Model 3) and Volkswagen (e-Golf). And those are just the EV models in the same price ballpark as the new Leaf Plus. Needless to say, the competition is fierce in the EV sector in 2019, and will just become tougher in the coming years. Great for consumers; a challenge for automakers. As much as Tesla is credited with spurring the burgeoning EV revolution, the humble Leaf, which debuted in 2010, can make a strong case as the vehicle that truly plugged the world into the benefits of going electric. As of March of this year, more than 400,000 Leafs have been sold, making it the planet’s best-selling highway-capable electric car. However, as with Tesla, much of those sales took place when there was little to no real competition. So, this first-ever Leaf Plus might have the name of the heavyweight champ, but does it have the ability to retain and hold that title? My week driving it certainly brought back memories of my half-year of seat-time in the original. It’s quick off the line and is a sharp handler like its predecessor; many of the controls are very similar (i.e. round gear selector); and its spacious and airy cabin belies its hatchback configuration. But of course there are marked differences. First off, there’s that aforementioned range, and subsequent increased power output. The ‘Plus’ in the Leaf Plus refers to its upgraded 62 kWh battery pack and 160 kW electric motor, combining for a horsepower output of 214 and 250 lbs.-ft of torque. For comparison’s sake, the regular 2019 Leaf is equipped with a 40 kWh battery pack and 110 kW motor, which translates to a full-charge range of 243 km, horsepower of 147 and a torque number of 236. Then there are the two ‘blue’ buttons, one found on the centre console and one on the steering wheel. The first is the e-Pedal setting, which when engaged is the epitome of one-pedal driving, allowing you to accelerate, decelerate and stop by using the accelerator pedal alone. ‘Game-changer’ is a term thrown around too frequently in the automotive world, but use the e-Pedal in stop-and-go traffic and you’ll come to appreciate how revolutionary this technology truly is. Other EVs might have similar systems, but none work as well at this one. On the steering wheel is the Pro-Pilot button, which activates a semi-autonomous system for single-lane highway driving. Unlike the e-Pedal, this kind of tech is onboard many vehicle these days, and while pretty cool, apart from trying it out to see how it works, I’m still more comfortable with being totally engaged in the act of driving. Call me old school. So, the Leaf Plus is by far the best performing Leaf to date, from range to power, and also boasts some cutting-edge driving aids that, while not put the joy back into driving, at least take some of the tedium out. But I do have a couple of quibbles. First, the regen braking controls are, in my opinion, outdated. In 2010 the ‘B’ selection on the gear shifter was great, allowing you to manually crank up the amount of friction applied to put energy back into the battery pack. But in 2019, there are much better manual regen options, most notably the Chevy Bolt’s
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus
Car Review: 2019 Mazda3 Sport GT
OVERVIEW Mazda puts the sexy back into the compact hatch segment PROSBest-looking hatchback in a long time, typical Mazda sportiness, well-contented CONSTight back seat for taller passengers, poor rearward visibility VALUE FOR MONEYVery good WHAT TO CHANGE?Manual shifter could be better HOW TO SPEC IT?Sport GS with Luxury package and i-Activ AWD ($28,900) “An aspiration for all drivers.” That is the very ambitious theme behind the development of Mazda’s latest and greatest Mazda3 compact sedan and hatchback. Yet, over the car’s 15-year history, the 3 has consistently punched above its weight, offering something inherently sportier and more enjoyable to drive than the average, budget-based compact car — certainly enough to shame the likes of the Toyota Corolla, Nissan’s Sentra, Honda Civic (more often than not), departing Chevy Cruze and a number of others. So, maybe the new 2019 model’s aspirations are not such a stretch after all. Without question the Mazda3, available in sedan and hatchback (Sport) body styles, has truly upped its game. The company has quantitatively and qualitatively improved the car’s performance and handling dynamics while reducing cabin noise and increasing feature content. Still, for the first day or two, something felt a little off. More specifically, the configuration of the tester — a front-wheel-drive Mazda3 Sport GT with a six-speed manual transmission — seemed to befuddle my perceptions. Allow me to explain the initial confusion: The Sport hatch comes in three specific trim levels — GX, GS and topline GT. The GT tester, already generously equipped, was further upgraded with a $2,500 Premium package, adding a bunch of convenience features, including a head-up display, navigation and a lovely leather-lined cabin in a deep red hue. So it seemed strange that a manual transmission would be standard at this $28,600 price point — even though the figure is still below any sort of luxury price threshold. Furthermore, if you were blindfolded and placed inside, not knowing you were in a Mazda, the manual would be the only immediate indication you weren’t in something costing appreciably more. (By the way, kudos to the interior engineers whose efforts to quell noise, vibration and harshness were clearly successful.) So, among compact hatchbacks, the tester was clearly no budget-based economy car. But, could it be considered a hot hatch? Well, on one hand, look no further than the Sport’s delightful 2.5-litre four-cylinder, standard in the GS and GT trims. Its 186 horsepower and equivalent torque had to move a mere 1,390 kilograms of car, so acceleration was brisk enough, zero to 100 km/h in the low 7s. Equally, the engine was far quieter and much smoother than I remember in other Mazda models. And looking at the 3 Sport’s primary competition — Corolla Hatchback (168 hp), Civic Hatchback (180 hp), Subaru Impreza 5-door (152 hp) and Hyundai Elantra GT (161 hp) — the Mazda had just a bit extra in its back pocket when cutting through traffic. On the other hand, just throw out the VW GTI, Civic Si or the upcoming Elantra GT N Line for comparison — the 3 Sport has no answer to these, never mind the heavy hitters (Golf R, Civic Type R, Impreza WRX, et al). Unless Mazda relents and surprises the long-suffering faithful with a new Speed3 (unlikely), the best that can be said about the 3 Sport is that it’s sport-ish. And though I’m a dedicated three-pedal guy, I think I’d choose the six-speed automatic if a new Mazda3 was to take up permanent residence in my driveway. Admittedly I’m spoiled — my own NC Miata has one of the best manuals in the biz, with foolproof shifts and short, precise throws. The Mazda3’s manual box is good, but, naturally, it just didn’t have the same crispness. And maybe it was just the tester, but the shifter would sometimes get hung up in the gate when moving from neutral into first. Not all the time, but enough that I found it easier to move the lever into second and then straight up into first to assure it was in gear. A couple more days driving allowed me to prioritize my expectations and truly enjoy the car. In my mind, the 3 Sport GT is an all-’rounder, balancing good performance, typical Mazda sporty handling, some really nice comfort and convenience features, and an inspired shape that breathes new life into the somewhat staid compact hatch segment. It’s easily the best-looking hatch since the Giugiaro-designed VW Scirocco more than 40 years ago. Still, there is one fairly significant negative about the Sport’s sleek, rounded styling — thick C-pillars and a tapered roofline that severely compromise rear-view visibility. If it weren’t for the fact the GT comes with a standard backup camera as well as blind spot monitoring and cross-traffic alert, this could be a big problem in urban use. Also, depending on who’s occupying the front seats, rear-seat legroom for taller passengers can be on the skimpy side.
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Mazda3 Sport GT
Car Review: 2019 Audi RS 5 Sportback
2019 Audi RS 5 SportbackPeter Bleakney / Driving OVERVIEW Absolutely lovely sports sedan PROSHandling, powertrain, interior CONSWhy do I have to pay extra for RS suspension when I bought an RS model? Ditto the 20-inch wheels and sport exhaust? VALUE FOR MONEYIt aint cheap WHAT TO CHANGE?Audi’s option strategy HOW TO SPEC IT?Well, if I want a real RS, it seems I have to actually buy RS options David Booth: Not so very long ago at all, the only truly sophisticated six-cylinder engine in the luxury segment belonged to BMW. Thanks to having all six of its pistons in a row, BMW’s inline-six is perfectly balanced — both primary and secondary vibrations cancelled out, as the engineers say — revving in harmony, and though a few fans of big-inch V8s may beg to differ, producing exhaust music more alluring than anything this side of a V12. It was, for quite some time — like, about 25 years — my favourite powertrain. V6s, by comparison, were ill-mannered and coarse-sounding affairs, the kind of engine you deliberately put in a lesser trim, hoping the customers got the message and optioned up to the smoother-running (read: more expensive)V8 automakers really wanted to sell them. Always an afterthought, some were merely 90-degree V8s with two cylinders lopped off — I’m looking at you, Mercedes — the resultant bastardization a cacophony of ill-timed internal combustion and clattery vibration. Throw in today’s propensity for turbocharging, which may help power but does nothing to add character to the exhaust, and it’s little wonder that, until recently, V6s were simply second rate. Jaguar started the rebirth of the V6 with its F-Type, all supercharged power and biting exhaust. More followed, even Cadillac managing to make the V6 sound soulful in the ATS-V. But no one has been more successful than Audi, the 2.9-litre V6 in the RS 5 Sportback we tested the perfect witness. Never mind its 444 horsepower or its 443 pound-feet of torque. What I truly appreciated — the reason I’d buy an RS 5 — was the absolutely delightful noise emanating from its quad pipes. “Ripping silk” is a too-oft used metaphor for a sweet-sounding engine, but few internal combustion engine — certainly no V6 — deserves that descriptor more than the RS 5’s 2.9L. Peter Bleakney: I concur. It’s a sweet-sounding mill (as long as you have Dynamic mode selected), generating a deep-chested purr plus all the requisite anti-social woofs, pops and farts on upshifts and overrun. It also does a fine job of hauling this fetching five-door Sportback around with eye-widening gusto. Sure, 444 horsepower doesn’t sound like a whole lot these days, but really, who needs any more than this? And turbo lag? Nary a whiff, as far as I can tell. But you know what really slays me about this special hi-po Audi, besides it sexy swollen fenders, big black grill and red paint? It’s a freakin’ hatchback. And that means my upright bass and I can blast from zero to 100 km/h in under four seconds, slice up a winding road with all the precision Audi Sport has baked into this rakish missile, and arrive at a gig in high style. Okay, that would be the case if I had the $84,350 to buy this RS 5 Sportback, but I’m assuming this one has a pile of options as well. How much are we talking? DB: You’re right, Peter. By the time you’re out the door with the RS 5 we drove, you’d be looking at close to $120,000. You’d have to go back to having a “real” job, which, fortunately for you, would be playing that bass, upright or not, for Anne Murray. Aside for me working overly hard on the name-dropping, though, the one thing that kills me about high-end Audis — and I suspect this is a lesson learned from Porsche — is that everything worthwhile is always a high-cost option, no matter how stratospheric the base MSRP. Twenty-inch wheels, for instance cost $2,500. What’s the point of buying the sportiest of Audis — that would be anything wearing an RS badge — if you’re not getting the biggest tires right off the bat? I get the carbon-ceramic brakes; they’re mondo expensive and not everyone needs ‘em. But $4,800 for a “sport package” that “adds” RS sports suspension, RS sport exhaust and RS Dynamic steering? What’s an RS car if it doesn’t come with big wheels, sports suspension, and dynamic steering? OK, that’s my rant for today. I will say, Peter, the thing handles a dream, edging ever closer to BMW’s full-on M products in terms of outright road-holding. PB: Yep, this RS 5 certainly exhibits all the classic handling characteristics of any just about any overachieving Audi — with the exception of the more organic V10-powered R8. And by that I mean a somewhat cold and clinical, but devastatingly effective demeanour that, if you were to look up “point and shoot” in the Webster’s dictionary, you’d see a picture of the RS 5 Sportback. Lean into this thing and it just grips and goes, and the back end almost gets a bit playful in Dynamic mode — hey, it was raining — but
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Audi RS 5 Sportback
All about car 