If you’ve shopped for an electric vehicle, finding something that costs less than $40,000 is a challenge. Typically, comfort, range, or something else is sacrificed to reach a palatable pricing level. One significant exception is the Nissan Leaf, a model that brought full electrification to the masses in 2011. Its … Read more
The Nissan Sentra incorporates many design details from the Altima. The family sedan still has a place in many homes as these models bring style, value, efficiency, and affordability to the market. Nissan is well represented in this area with models such as the flagship Maxima, midsize Altima, compact Sentra, … Read more
Toyota’s strong-selling Corolla gains an Apex edition. The Toyota Corolla is the world’s best-selling model of all time. Thus, it truly needs no introduction. That said, the current iteration of Toyota’s compact car has seen some changes in recent years, including its first-ever hybrid model. Our review covers the gas-powered … Read more
Upscale Mazda3 is offered as a sedan or hatchback. Small car models are dwindling in numbers as consumers continue to move to crossovers. For the remaining players, including the Mazda Mazda3, offering distinct features is important if customers are to be won to the segment, let alone the marque. The … Read more
The parade of cars is shrinking, but small cars remain in demand. Low prices. Smart styling. Fun driving. These are among the chief attributes you’ll find, at least in some models. Once again, Hyundai proves its mettle by offering a full line of small cars, including sedans, coupes, and hatchbacks. … Read more
A casual look at the automotive landscape over the past half-century and you will see how the Japanese automakers have penetrated the US market to become the automotive powerhouses that they are known as today. From humble beginnings in the late 1950s to its market strength today, companies such as … Read more
All-wheel drive comes to Mazda’s compact hatchback and sedan. The Mazda3 hatchback adds available all-wheel drive, perhaps setting the framework for Mazdaspeed to return. Mazda is a small player in a world of large car manufacturers, but its presence outstrips its size. The company is best known for mainstreaming the … Read more
The best-selling Corolla is the most attractive one yet. When you have the world’s best-selling model and the market is shifting away from cars to crossovers, you have a bit of a dilemma on your hands. On the one hand, you can acknowledge the shift and reduce your investment in … Read more
A summer arrival for the 2019 Corolla hatchback. Updated May 25, 2018, to reflect prices and fuel economy ratings. I’ve checked out new vehicles on showroom floors, at auto show exhibits and also upon various ballroom, convention center and theater stages. I’ve yet to find myself tired of the process, … Read more
Kia’s Forte compact sedan is big on style. Son of a Stinger! At first glance, the 2019 Kia Forte looks a lot like the premium Kia Stinger performance sedan. Those ported design elements provide the Forte with perhaps the most handsome sheet metal amongst small cars, something certain to capture … Read more
Hyundai breathes fresh life into its little sport hatchback. Automakers are responding to a wholesale shift in consumer demand by building more SUVs and fewer car models. This unprecedented shift means some manufacturers are catching up, including Hyundai which will release its small Kona SUV early in 2018, giving it … Read more
Honda’s compact coupe delivers style, pluck, and determination. When it comes to model names, the Civic is one of the most enduring ones of all. Introduced to North America in 1973, this one-time subcompact has morphed into a sizable compact model now bordering on the midsize range. Honda remains one … Read more
The second-generation Chevrolet Cruze is here. Hatchback and diesel variants soon follow. The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car, released in 2011 in North America, two years after its debut elsewhere. This model replaced the Chevrolet Cobalt, itself a replacement model for the Chevy Cavalier. Although its arrival to the … Read more
Some of the best deals are for small cars. You might have your eye on that small SUV, but if you’re trading up from a compact car the incentives for small cars are very strong as we reach the heart of the spring selling season. Consumers continue to shift their … Read more
The second-generation Chevy Cruze sedan is out. Beginning this fall, a hatchback variant will finally be offered in the US market. It almost seems like eons have passed since the Chevrolet Cobalt and the earlier Cavalier represented the bow tie brand’s compact offering. Since 2011 it has been all Cruze, … Read more
Is it possible to pay too much for a new car? Absolutely. And with the average selling price of a new vehicle coming in around $32,500, there’s a good chance that a significant number of consumers must realign their expectations or forego a new car entirely. Happily, Hyundai seems to … Read more
June 25, 2015: Corrected to include accurate details about the body styles the Cruze’s competitors offer in the US market. An earlier Cruze hatchback will set the stage for a new model. The Chevrolet Cruze may be the best compact car General Motors has ever built even though its sales … Read more
The Volkswagen Golf may not be the most profitable model in the VW arsenal, but it is the most popular vehicle built by this German manufacturer. Some 40 years and 30 million models later, the North American market will soon get what the Europeans are currently enjoying: the seventh generation … Read more
Be forewarned: if you have yet to see the all-new Toyota Corolla you may be in for a surprise. Or two. Or more. The Corolla is Toyota’s top-selling model after the Camry, a compact sedan that rolled out stateside in summer 1968. More than 40 million Corollas have been built … Read more
One look at the Sentra and can you say, “Altima?” The compact vehicle market is competitive, one where every car manufacturer has at least one model present. The Nissan Sentra is one of the best known and longest running model names in this segment, introduced in 1982 just as Datsun … Read more
Mazda took advantage of a slow early summer news cycle to unveil the next generation of its popular Mazda3 compact. Through a concerted series of reveals in five cities including New York, this Japanese automaker has followed through on its promise to raise the bar in a tightly competitive segment. … Read more
This fall, Chevrolet will introduce the Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel, the latest variant of this popular compact sedan. The five-passenger front-wheel-drive Chevrolet Cruze has been a hit for the bow-tie brand, but GM has been wanting to extend its appeal to reach car shoppers that are putting a premium on … Read more
A new model is being added to the 2013 Dodge Dart line, the GT. Set for introduction at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this month, the Dart GT will slot in at the top of this compact sedans trim line followed by Limited, Aero, Rallye, SXT … Read more
After several weeks of debate, I decided to make the plunge: I bought myself a MINI Cooper. Like most first-timers, I was hesitant. Do good things really come in small packages? Here are a few things you might not know about owning a MINI Cooper. 1. THE MESSAGE. The marketing doesn’t … Read more