Driven

  • 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus  -  Driven, March 2019

    If more power, a 226-mile range, and a $39,405 base price—before considering the full $7,500 federal EV tax credit you can still get—collectively seems like the sweet spot for the Leaf, you probably have GM to thank. Nissan has admitted that it never planned to push the Leaf above a 40-kwh battery pack and beyond a rated range of 150 miles. But with the introduction of the Chevrolet Bolt EV in 2015, it stepped up its plans for the second-generation Leaf, which made its debut last year. By shoehorning a new 62-kwh pack into the 2019 Leaf Plus, Nissan now has an electric car that...

  • 2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid LE, Willamette Valley, Oregon, June 2017
    2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid video road test

    The 2018 Toyota Camry is the latest generation of the car that launched a category—the mid-size hybrid sedan—way back in 2007. While competitors in that segment now include the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, and Kia Optima, the Camry Hybrid remains one of the most...

  • 2017 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Aug 2017
    2017 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid: review of plug-in hybrid SUV

    The Porsche Cayenne is the second best-selling vehicle in the German sports-car maker's North American lineup, as SUV sales swamp those of passenger cars at luxury brands. A considerable number of the pricey SUV models sold here have been the Cayenne S E-Hybrid plug-in hybrid variant: 1,316 out of...

  • 2016 Nissan Sentra 1.8 SR in upstate New York, April 2016
    2016 Nissan Sentra 1.8 SR CVT gas mileage review

    The Nissan Sentra compact sedan has been with us since the 2013 model year, but it received a number of updates and new features this year. Nissan's goal was to keep the high-volume compact sedan in the running against the new and well-received Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, and Chevrolet Cruze...

  • 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage, Bear Mountain State Park, NY, May 2016
    2017 Mitsubishi Mirage GT quick first drive

    The 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage gets a host of updates, but remains a very basic economy car.

  • 2016 Scion iA, upstate New York, Sept 2015
    2016 Scion iA: Gas Mileage Review Of High-MPG Subcompact Sedan

    Gas-mileage ratings are rising every year in virtually every vehicle segment, but most buyers expect smaller cars to deliver the highest numbers of all. That's true, to a point, although minicars like the Smart ForTwo two-seater and the Fiat 500 tend to be rated lower than longer and more...

  • 2016 Mercedes-Benz C 350e plug-in hybrid, San Francisco, March 2015

    While BMW leads the Germans with five different plug-in electric vehicles announced, Mercedes-Benz is close behind with three. A few months ago, we had the chance to drive the 2016 Mercedes-Benz C 350e, the upcoming plug-in hybrid version of the new generation of C-Class luxury sedan. The C 350e will go on sale this fall, around the same time as the GLE 550e plug-in hybrid version of the company's refreshed mid-size SUV (nee ML-Class). DON'T MISS: 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE 550e Plug-In Hybrid SUV Arrives This Fall And the pair will be accompanied by the 2016 S 550e full-size sedan, which for...

  • 2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco, Malibu, California, Oct 2014
    2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco: Gas Mileage Review

    The 2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco is the Korean maker's most fuel-efficient mid-size sedan that doesn't use a hybrid powertrain. And it highlights the two parallel paths that automakers are taking as they work to boost gas mileage ratings to meet steadily rising corporate average fuel economy rules. The...

  • 2016 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring AWD, Catskill Mountains, New York, May 2015
    2016 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring: Gas Mileage Review Of Small SUV

    The Mazda CX-5 has always been one of our favorite compact crossover utility vehicles, not only for its fuel efficiency but also for its capacious functionality and fun-to-drive nature. First launched as a 2013 model, the CX-5 has been lightly updated for 2016 with minor tweaks to styling...

  • Volkswagen Beetle Dune Hybrid concept, New York City, May 2015
    Volkswagen Beetle Dune Hybrid Concept: Quick Drive

    A large red electrical shutdown switch inside a car says it all: You're driving a prototype. New York City passers-by who looked approvingly at our shiny bronze Volkswagen Beetle Dune concept car didn't know it, but the butcher-looking Beetle was running on a hybrid system not currently offered in...

  • 2016 Fiat 500X, Bear Mountain State Park, NY, May 2015
    2016 Fiat 500X AWD: Quick Drive Report

    The 2016 Fiat 500X drives more like a tall car than a shrunken SUV.

  • 2015 Ford Focus SE EcoBoost, Bear Mountain State Park, NY, May 2015
    2015 Ford Focus EcoBoost: Brief Drive Of 1.0-Liter Three-Cylinder Sedan

    The 2015 Ford Focus EcoBoost may be the most European car Ford sells in the U.S. It's fun, but not fast. It handles well, and has a small engine that requires energetic use of the manual gearbox to keep up with traffic. That all means that very few U.S. buyers will ever consider it, since fewer...

  • 2015 MINI Cooper S 4-Door Hardtop, Catskill Mountains, NY, Apr 2015

    In various forms, the MINI has been with us for more than half a century--but its image has always been shaped by the two-door model. The original BMC Mini had two doors and a small trunk; the BMW MINI from 2002 is a more conventional three-door hatchback. Now there's a five-door hatchback model as well, putting the 2015 MINI Cooper squarely into the heart of the global subcompact market. DON'T MISS: 2015 MINI Cooper - review Or, as MINI calls it, a "Hardtop 4-door" (that also happens to have a cargo hatch that goes unmentioned). We drove the newest third-generation MINI Cooper three-door...

  • 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Apr 2015
    2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid: Gas Mileage Review Of Plug-In Hybrid

    The 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid is a comfortable, relatively fast, and fairly fuel-efficient luxury sport sedan. It's rated at 16 miles of electric range, but we didn't achieve that in cold and snowy upstate New York "springtime" weather. We strongly suspect that very few people who've driven...

  • 2016 Smart ForTwo (European version) - First Drive, Barcelona, Nov 2014
    2016 Smart ForTwo: First Drive Of European Version

    The 2016 Smart ForTwo minicar will arrive at U.S. dealers this fall. When it does, it will be playing the redemption card every chance it gets. Smart was created to counter the increasing global trend toward urbanization. One way to make cities more manageable is a microcar that fit the needs of...

  • 2015 Honda Fit  -  First Drive
    2015 Honda Fit Video Road Test

    If you’re looking for a small hatchback that delivers both fuel economy and flexibility, only a handful of new cars come to mind. Add in top safety ratings, and your list may narrow down to just one car: the latest 2015 Honda Fit. To Honda’s credit, the latest Fit looks less like a...

  • 2015 Chrysler 200, Catskill Mountains, NY, Dec 2014
    2015 Chrysler 200 Four-Cylinder: Gas Mileage Review

    The 2015 Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan is a good-looking, comfortable, and modern entry in a very competitive segment of the car market. Part of the Fiat-led product renaissance at Chrysler, it replaces the grim, dated previous 200 derived from the old Sebring and largely relegated to car-rental...

  • 2014 Tesla Model S P85D, road test, Dec 2014  [photo: David Noland]
    2014 Tesla Model S P85D: First Drive Of All-Electric AWD Performance Sedan

    As a long-time Tesla Model S owner—almost two years now—I was naturally eager to get behind the wheel of the new dual-motor P85D. I’d had a couple of brief stints in 416-hp P85 loaners while my standard S85 was in for service. Those had been exhilarating enough, almost scary. What...

  • 2015 Audi A3 TDI, New York City, Nov 2014

    The 2015 Audi A3 is the first all-new version of the compact luxury car since it was launched in the U.S. as a 2006 model. And there are a lot of changes. Most noticeable is its evolution from a five-door hatchback to a four-door sedan, facing it off neatly against the Mercedes-Benz CLA (also a compact, front-wheel-drive sedan). DON'T MISS: 2015 Audi A3 Review The understructure is all new, built on a shared VW Group architecture that's also used for the 2015 Volkswagen Golf and the upcoming new Audi TT sports car. These underpinnings will ultimately spawn dozens of vehicles--including the...

  • Volkswagen Passat HyMotion hydrogen fuel cell prototype  -  Los Angeles, November 2014
    Volkswagen Passat HyMotion Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle Prototype: Brief Drive

    The 2016 Toyota Mirai may have been the biggest news in hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles at last week's Los Angeles Auto Show, but it wasn't alone. VW Group brought two fuel-cell prototypes to the show's green-car ride and drive program, and we spent 15 minutes driving one. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen Golf...

  • 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car, Newport Beach, CA, Nov 2014
    2016 Toyota Mirai Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car: First Photos From Test Drive

    The 2016 Toyota Mirai is getting a major launch just before this week's Los Angeles Auto Show. It's clear Toyota considers this a vehicle every bit as seminal as its very first Prius hybrid of 1997. The Prius comparisons came regularly during a day of presentations yesterday, and then again this...

  • 2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco, Malibu, California, Oct 2014
    2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco: Quick Drive Of Higher-Gas Mileage Small Turbo Four

    The 2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco is the most fuel-efficient version of the Korean maker's mid-size sedan, aside from its Sonata Hybrid model. And this year, the Sonata Hybrid uses the carryover body from the last-generation model--meaning that if you want the highest-mileage Sonata with the new and more...

  • 2015 Subaru Legacy 2.5i, Catskill Mountains, NY, Sep 2014
    2015 Subaru Legacy Gas Mileage: We Test Both 2.5i And 3.6R

    Subaru sales have surged over the last decade, taking the quirky Japanese brand from its Snow Belt niche into more and broader markets. This year, the redesigned 2015 Subaru Legacy is a viable contender to go head to head with the most mainstream mid-size sedans: Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Ford...

  • 2015 Honda Fit EX-L Navi, Catskill Mountains, NY, Oct 2014
    2015 Honda Fit Gas Mileage: True 40-MPG Subcompact, Or Not?

    The 2015 Honda Fit subcompact is an entirely new model, and for North America, it's built in a new plant in Mexico. That means that its launch was necessarily slow and cautious--in fact, it was delayed two months--and then a bumper upgrade to reinforce crash-safety welds hardly sped up the...

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