Category Archives: SUVs / Crossovers

2019 Nissan Kicks: An Affordable Urban Explorer

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For young singles and couples looking for a versatile crossover on a budget, look no further. The 2019 Nissan Kicks should be on the top of your considerations list. When it comes to style, the Kick’s two-tone paint scheme got me more compliments than half of the sports cars I have driven this year. My test vehicle featured a blue body and white roof, which really makes it standout from the crowd. Alternative two-tone choices include orange + black, red + black, white + black, and silver + orange.

When it comes to safety features, the 2019 Nissan Kicks has got you covered. Automatic Emergency Braking is standard; in fact, it is the only vehicle at ~$18,000 in its segment to offer this safety feature standard. Essentially, if the vehicle in front of you slams on its brakes, your Kick will help you come to a complete stop if you don’t apply the brakes quick enough.  Click Here To Continue Reading

2019 Jeep Cherokee Overland: Quick Look

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New for 2019 is the Overland trim level for the Jeep Cherokee. This unique set of options has been magically transforming the Jeep Grand Cherokee from a standard mid-size SUV to a luxury SUV for over 10 years, but now its baby brother has got the fancy pants.

Upon approaching the vehicle, you will immediately notice a premium look. Gone are the plastic brush guard moldings in favor of body color paint to make the vehicle appear bigger. You will also notice large 19″ polished aluminum wheels.

Inside the Jeep Cherokee Overland, you will find an interior fit for a small luxury SUV/crossover. In some cases, it is nicer than comparable Mercedes and BMW models. The Jeep Cherokee Overland is fitted with premium heated and cooled leather seats along with a full-leather dash; something you typically only find on vehicles with a $100k price tag. This type of luxury accentuates the oddity of not having leather on the doors though, instead you get hard plastic.

I guess beggars can’t be choosers though, because the 2019 Jeep Cherokee Overland is priced incredibly well. My test vehicle came fully equipped at a hair over $40k. That may seem like a lot for Jeep, but when you consider that the Mercedes GLC starts at $40,700 without leather seats, a leather dash, or 4-wheel drive.

Chevrolet Traverse RS: From “Mom Car” To “Dad Car”

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The RS badges on the front and rear of the Chevrolet Traverse RS is little deceiving. The RS stands for “Rally Sport,” which will make most people think that the Traverse RS is a sportier version of the regular Traverse. While the options package doesn’t add any additional horsepower or performance, it will transform your seven passenger family hauler from a “mom car” to a “dad car.”

With the RS package on the Chevrolet Traverse, you get a noticeably different look and feel – My four year old self would call it a cool SUV now. All of the polished chromed accents are blacked out to give this mid-size SUV a stealth look. This includes the exterior trim, the grill, and the Chevrolet bowtie. You also get upgraded 20″ wheels painted black to complete the package. You also get black plastic lower moldings to protect the body of the vehicle should you take the Traverse RS off-roading.

So while the Traverse RS doesn’t necessarily live up to the Rally Sport name, it is a worthy upgrade for those who want to feel sporty. I know that is I how I would order one!

If you want to learn more about Traverse, check out my full review here.

VW Atlas: German Engineering For The Whole Family

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The VW Atlas is the brainchild of a group of insanely smart German engineers who were trying to make an SUV that American’s will love; and they got it right! In just over a year, Volkswagen has produced over 100,000 vehicles out of their Chattanooga, Tennessee production facility.  This is an important milestone considering their previous mid-size SUV, the Toureg, saw limited success in the US market. The Toureg was positioned as a luxury SUV and it was expensive. Whereas in contract the Atlas is positioned to be a great value. With a starting price of $30,750 and fully-loaded price of $49,735, the Atlas is able to cater to both economy and luxury buyers.

Family Friendly

When considering the entire VW Group family of SUVs, the VW Atlas is amongst the best for large families. VW sister companies Audi, Porsche, Bentley, and Lamborghini all offer large options (built on a different platform), but the Atlas arguably makes best use of the space with three-rows of full-size seats. That means all of your family members can sit comfortably on a long trip, plus have room for a couple suitcases.  Click Here To Continue Reading

Subaru Ascent: Room For The Whole Family

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New for 2019, Subaru has given us a vehicle that seats the whole family. The Subaru Ascent is the brand’s first three-row SUV. It is a logical next step for the company as American’s are clamoring towards larger vehicles. Subaru’s line up now offers a something for every stage of your life: A Subaru BRZ or Impreza for when you are in your 20s. A Legacy or Crosstrek for your 30s. A Forester for when you have your first kid. The Subaru Ascent for when your family gets bigger. The Subaru WRX STI for when you and your wife become empty nesters. And then the Subaru Outback for when grandkids come into the picture.  Click Here To Continue Reading

The 2019 Jaguar E Pace Is Leading The Pack

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This is not a statement to be taken lightly: The 2019 Jaguar E Pace R-Dynamic is the best compact performance SUV (or crossover) on the market. And using the next few paragraphs, I am going to tell you why…

Performance – Let’s face it, no one is going to (regularly) take their performance SUV or CUV on the race track. Most of the time it will be spent in rush hour traffic or if you are lucky, on mountain roads. So, performance specs are important, but they don’t tell the whole story. If they did, this article would be about the Porsche Macan Turbo with 400 horsepower. The Jaguar E-Pace R-Dynamic only has 296 horsepower in comparison, but it comes in a smaller and lighter package. This makes the car feel much nimbler and infinitely more fun to drive. The Jaguar’s steering is feels extremely precise and delivers excellent throttle response when in dynamic mode. Dynamic mode also allows the vehicle’s differential to deliver 100% of the power to the rear wheels and then gradually shift power to the front should the computer detect any slippage. The 2019 Jaguar E-Pace has an old-fashioned automatic transmission (the Porsche Macan has a dual-clutch), but the E-Pace has 9 gears to deliver optimum power.

Luxury – Every touchpoint in the Jaguar E-Pace feels ultra-premium. This is especially noticed in the cabin, where high-quality aluminum, leather and plastic materials are used. Jaguar paid close attention to details, to ensure even simple items like the turn signal lever exudes excellence. My test vehicle embraced a particularly sporty style, with red and black leather scattered throughout the cabin. The interior was clearly styled after Jaguar’s F-Type sports car. You know it means business because it is the only other vehicle to have those design cues. This is stark contrast to come of its competitors. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio for instance delivers incredible performance, but the interior feels cheap in comparison the Jaguar E-Pace. The backseats of the Jaguar E-Pace are cramped, but not sports car cramped. Adults are able to fit comfortably for short trips, but this isn’t the performance crossover SUV to get if you plan to have adult sized backseat company on a regular basis. Headroom was fine, but the legroom is marginal. This should be expected though because of the E-Pace’s short wheelbase… it is a blessing (performance) and a curse (luxury).

Price – My test vehicle was priced close to $60,000 fully loaded. While this may seem expensive, competition from BMW, Maserati, and Mercedes can top out at a much higher price point. But they don’t deliver nearly as many smiles on the road. With that being said, typically the larger the vehicle the more it costs, and the E-Pace is on the smaller side.

So, if you are in the market for high-performance compact SUV and interior space isn’t a concern, the Jaguar E-Pace should be on the top of your list. The driving dynamics are second to none, it comes in a refined package, and its price point is well deserved.

Infiniti QX80: Still a modern-day Land Yacht

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When I first drove the Infiniti QX80 in 2014, I was impressed by the sheer magnitude of the vehicle’s size and the plushness of the Infiniti QX80’s interior. Its size and available creature comforts remind me of the gigantic boats from the 50s and 60s. But now you have 4-wheel-drive and heated seats. Infiniti has made a number of updates to this vehicle in the past four years, most notably to the exterior. The 2018 Infiniti QX80 has a more athletic body with sharper lines and a new front facia. The overall shape has been sculpted, but its design language remains congruent with the evolution of the vehicle. As like the QX80 from yesteryear, it is a big, beautiful and sexy machine.

They say that it is what is on the inside that counts. Under the hood is 400hp 5.6L V8 that makes this 5,600-pound car feel peppy (when compared to other vehicles in the full-size SUV segment). The motor also gives the QX80 the ability to tow 8,500 pounds; so, the land yacht is well suited to haul your water yacht to the lake every weekend. Behind the scenes, Infiniti added a few nifty safety features to the vehicle. My favorite is the hydraulic body motion control system, which uses an adjustable hydraulic suspension to minimize body roll. The system magically works by quickly adding pressure to either side of the vehicle based upon which way you are turning. Thus, improving the vehicle’s handling characteristics and decreasing the likelihood of this heavy SUV rolling over should you abruptly have to swerve in order to avoid an accident. My second favorite safety feature is the Infiniti QX80’s predictive forward collision warning. The computer is able to monitor the relative distance of both the car in front of you as well as the vehicle directly in front of it. Based upon the distance between all three vehicles, the QX80 will warn you in advance of a possible forward collision. This is an unnecessary technology for the QX80 because you tower over almost every vehicle on the road, effectively giving you a bird’s eye view of your surroundings… but it is a really cool technology and more vehicles should have it.

The interior of the 2018 Infiniti QX80 is strikingly similar to the QX80 I drove four years ago. The only change I could spot was a new gear lever. Some may argue that an update is due, but to be honest, I love the interior design! It is beautiful with a leather wrapped dash, doors, and seats. The wood trim appears to be carefully carved to shape. Special detail was given to the steering wheel – wood outlines the exterior rim, while leather dresses the inside of the wheel for enhanced grip. The wheel feels reminiscent of a classic British steering wheel due to this configuration. The optional saddle brown leather seats paired with diamond quilted stitching on my test car enhanced the European flavor when siting behind the wheel. Like the previous QX80, the seats on the 2018 model are oversized; giving you the notion that you have a football field of space to stretch out and enjoy the ride. This applies to primarily the front and second rows of seats, but the third-row seats are also quite comfortable. I wouldn’t mind hanging out back there for a family road trip. Should your little ones grow tired on the journey, my test vehicle featured two screens on the back of the front headrests and wireless Bose headphones to deliver a cinematic experience.

Like I said previously, not much has changed for this big and beautiful land yacht in the past four years. But it is still one of the best full-size SUVs that money could buy, and now it is even better. The only sting is that a well-equipped version of the Infiniti QX80 will cost you over $80k.

The Range Rover Velar is the best everyday Land Rover

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Raise your hand if you are reading this and you live in an Amazon Jungle or Alaska. If you are raising your hand right now, skip to the next article. If you are NOT raising your hand right now, keep reading… You likely don’t need the full off-road capability of a traditional Range Rover. I am guessing that your daily commute involves beautifully paved roads and well manicured lawns to go beside them. And that is why Land Rover gave birth to their newest creation, the Velar. Click Here To Continue Reading

The 2018 “Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Ultimate” Ticks All The Boxes

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When browsing a corporate parking garage, it is easy to get lost in the sea of executive and middle management cars. Everyone tends to drive BMWs and Audi’s that cost north of $50,000, but have half of the features of this week’s test vehicle. And arguably, the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport looks better too. I am a big fan of the brand’s new design language, which appears to have a little German and Japanese influence in it. Yet, this crossover utility vehicle was assembled in the USA and is technically more American than a Ford Edge or a Chevrolet Equinox. Click Here To Continue Reading