I had the privilege of having Jim Mocio, an engineer on the F-150 project, along as a passenger – a fine gentleman from Dearborn who was happy to answer any and all questions I had about Ford, their plans, their processes and the F-150. It was a fascinating insight into how things work and how seriously they take themselves.

After about an hour and a half of trucking it down a two-lane country highway, under a canopy of ominous-looking clouds,  through hills of endless fields dotted with oilfield equipment, we arrived.

Drumheller is set into the badlands, and it feels as though you are descending into a valley on another planet when you get there. It is on the Red Deer River, and the area here was settled because of the rich coal deposits. Thank goodness they ended up finding an equally rich deposit of dead dinosaurs, because the ol’ coal industry has taken a bit of a hit. Anyway, if you’ve never been to Drumheller, put it on your bucket list.

Almost everything in the townsite reflects their connection to fossils and dinosaurs. There’s a concrete dinosaur on every street corner, and the world’s biggest dinosaur in the center of town. Drive up out of the valley to a number of places, and you’ll be afforded some of the most stunning vistas of the river and the valley that you can imagine. The hills, the hoo-doos, the abandoned coal mines – there’s so much to see. Plenty of camping, hotels and RV parks can be found, although I know from experience that they are booked solid in the summers.

Luckily Ford Canada had booked our hotel for us. The group came from far and near, and since that encompasses our great nation, we all arrived at differing times. Once we were all at the hotel and settled, we got on a bus and headed to a hamlet called Wayne. Wayne isn’t far from Drumheller but it’s quite a drive there – you need to cross 11 bridges and none of them are wide enough for two cars. Wayne has a population of (roughly) 26 people and once you get there, you feel as though you just drove onto a movie set. It’s a sleepy little place, set into a dusty coulee, and its crown jewel (actually, probably the only jewel) is the Rosedeer Hotel and the Last Chance Saloon. Both were built nearly 100 years ago, and they’ve been in the hands of one family for over 60 years. Thankfully they haven’t modernized, and it retains the rustic charm of an era gone by.

Ford had tables set up for us, and our group matched the town’s population – all of whom I believe were at the Last Chance Saloon that evening. What’s a saloon without stuffed animals on the wall and pickled eggs on the counter? You just don’t see enough of that anymore.

We were serenaded by a local band, who were great, and after a few platters of fried appetizers were brought out, we were led out back to pick our strip loin steaks, throw them on the barbecue and grill our own supper. It was a fantastic way to celebrate being in rural Alberta, and it was a delightful evening. We packed it in relatively early, because we had a 7 o’clock start the next day.

Next morning we jammed into that same bus and headed to the outskirts of town – to a place called Dinosaur Downs. It’s a huge structure, and next to it is a dirt race track and an off-road track. Once you go out behind the building, toward the tracks, you realize they are at the top of the river valley and the views from there are simply spectacular – especially as the sun tries to break through the morning cloud. The complex also has the distinction of being nestled in beside the Drumheller Institution, a federal maximum security prison that is epic in its proportions. Dinosaur Downs was to be our base camp for the day, with each activity branching out from there.

Ford served us breakfast and while we were munching, we were presented with some facts and figures relating to the darling of the Ford empire, the F-150 line-up.

The figures are impressive, and that’s very likely the understatement of the century. Frankly, the figures are something other manufacturers would kill (or at least maim) to replicate. The F-150 is the best-selling truck in Canada – FOR THE LAST 47 YEARS!!! As a matter of fact, they sold over 100,000 F-series trucks in Canada last year. That’s nuts!

We heard about what F-series buyers consider important. Things like all-wheel drive, value, engine choices, fuel economy, towing ability, durability, reliability, low interest rates and cargo capacity. Interestingly, those are in order of importance.

Jackie DiMarco, the chief engineer of the F-150 project, also talked about the adoption of the EcoBoost – 41% of F-series sold in 2012 came with the EcoBoost engine. And Darren Halabisky, the man with the marketing plan and a face that never stops smiling, told us about how things are in Canada. Rosy, it seems – after a record year in 2012, Ford Canada is already up 26% over last year’s sales in 2013 year-to-date. Looks like another stellar year for the blue oval.

Evolutionary changes for the F-150 include a new grille, which looks like it’s starting to pull in some elements from the Super Duty’s C-clamp look, and some nifty new HID headlight pods. Inside, there are some slight styling changes, and everything (including the MyFordTouch screen) is work-glove friendly. Nice for those using their F-series trucks as their mobile office, to be sure.

The Super Duty line-up gets some brake enhancements, an increased towing maximum of 24,700 (!!!) pounds and a new deluxe Platinum trim.

Other news included a new color (Terrain) for the Raptor, as well as bead-lock capable wheels for the off-road crew. What else? Oh yes -  a new model – the top-of-the-line Limited trim. It’s pricey, but it’s the most premium, luxurious truck out there and comes fully loaded. Gorgeous top-grain leather seats, hot 22″ rims, a slightly lowered, sportier stance and an air of exclusivity that just oozes out of that red paint job. Yes, you can get it in black and white too, but why would you want to? Look at that thing! It’s available with the 3.5 litre EcoBoost or the mighty 6.2 litre V-8.

Once the presentation was done, we were divided up into groups, and each was assigned to a different challenge. Luckily we started out with the Off-Road Challenge, and so we headed down the muddy road to the off-road course. In an F-150 Raptor. An off-road worthy truck right out of the box. It’s one of my favorite rides of all time.

The off-road course is tight, with plenty of hairpin corners, tight curves, steep hills and declines (one of them measured at 23 degrees!!!) and to top it all off, it had rained the night before. The Raptor handled everything without breaking a sweat, and the hill descent control left us slack-jawed – you just take your foot off the gas and the brake, and the truck will negotiate the most brutal of downhill paths you can choose. Very cool!

After that, we were up for the Payload course. We were in a beautiful black Super Duty that had 3,000 pounds of payload (in the form of road working equipment) strapped into the bed. We were given directions through town and then up a brutal hill. Frankly the hill would be challenging for many unloaded vehicles, never mind something with 3,000 pound stuffed into the back. The truck didn’t even flinch, and once we crested the hill, we were rewarded with a stop at the Orkney Lookout – which gives you one of the most stunning views of the Red Deer River valley. A breath-taking experience to be sure.

Upon our return to Dinosaur Downs, we were bused to the world-famous Royal Tyrell Museum. It is an institution dedicated to showcasing Alberta’s extraordinary wealth in fossils. I’ve been to the museum before, and it is an exceptional example of passion. You get the impression every employee actually cares about what they are doing there. The displays are second to none, and the facility is stunning. But what I hadn’t done at the museum before was what I got to do that day. We were blessed with an incredible behind-the-scenes tour by one of their leading researchers, Dr. David Eberth. Turns out we already knew him – he was the lead singer of the band we’d enjoyed the night before!

We got a long look at the collections that nobody visiting the museum would have ever seen, and were able to get up close and personal with fossils that hadn’t even been fully extracted yet – even though they’d been found decades ago.

We were given insights into the life of a paleontologist, the science and patience behind this work, and even got to talk to someone who is spending her days removing stone, microscopic bits at a time, from a massive piece of rock – just to expose a number of prehistoric fish embedded in it. These projects often take years or even decades from the day they are discovered to the point of being on display in a museum. It was truly fascinating stuff.

After lunch, we headed back and took part in the Fuel Economy Challenge. We had to follow the exact instructions in our guide book, and our hosts would check to see we covered the precise distances we were told to drive – the goal was to exact the most efficient fuel economy results from our F-150 trucks. It wasn’t easy, because it included city driving, huge uphill segments, u-turns, etc. And a half-ton truck, for Pete’s sake. But we prevailed, and in our 3.7 litre V-6 F-150, we averaged 10.0 L/100 km over the course. Yes, we were driving as efficiently as possible, but that’s might impressive nevertheless. Oh, did I mention we won the challenge? Ford was generous enough to present us with fuel cards for our efforts!

Our final challenge was the Towing course. Our ride was an F-150 powered by the mighty EcoBoost engine, and saddled with a trailer holding a Bobcat. The total weight we were towing was roughly 8,000 pounds and once again, we were given a route to follow. It allowed the truck to show off its abilities, and gave us a chance to test the torque claims, the trailer towing technology such as the trailer brake and the tow/haul transmission settings. The truck didn’t disappoint. Yes, you could notice the weight behind it, but it never failed to pull hard and to effectively move the rig in any way we asked it to. Clearly a truck that’s happy to pull.

That wrapped up the activities, and once we returned our towing set-up to Dinosaur Downs we were given a clean truck to pack our things into along with a bagged snack and a fond farewell from our Ford hosts who were busy readying the whole adventure for the second wave of journalists they were flying in the next day to do it all over again.

It was a fun trip, and provided some insight into the Ford F-150 program. Thank you to Ford Canada for the opportunity to check out what’s new in the F-150 line-up, and for the chance to abuse test the products and see what they can do in real-life situations.

All pictures are from the F-150 Drive Event in Drumheller.

Disclosure: Ford Canada paid for my airfare, accommodations, meals and fuel and provided the vehicles for this test drive event.

If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out more of them under my vehicle reviews tab at the top of my blog.

Let’s get this out of the way right now. Whether you liked it or not, and regardless of what it may have been that you didn’t like – the Boxster has always been a great car.

It was endowed with a mid-engine design that made for a fantastic handling machine, and in look and feel, it was undeniably a Porsche. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but the package was still very clearly a Porsche.

What Porsche has achieved with the all-new 2013 Boxster is nothing short of spectacular – the changes inside and out put this car into a different class in my opinion.

As is the case with every Porsche, you are more than welcome to start checking off option boxes. You can add many thousands of dollars by making your bespoke Porsche. Customizing your Porsche isn’t cheap, of course, but neither is the proposition of getting into one in the first place – the Boxster S starts at CDN $69,500.

Pricing: 2013 Porsche Boxster S

Base price (of specific trim): $69,500

Options: $4,410 Infotainment package (BOSE); $4,290 Premium Package; $1,510 Torque Vectoring; $1,790 20″ Carrera S wheels; $2,050 PASM; $2,110 Sport Chrono Package; $290 Sport Design Steering Wheel; $970 Wheels painted in platinum; $390 Seatbelts in Guards Red

Freight: $1,085

A/C and other taxes: $100

Price as tested: $88,495

See what I mean?

Exterior

Let’s start on the outside. Porsche has taken the familiar Boxster lines and sharpened them.

New, more angular creases follow the shoulder line of the car from front to back, new air intake shapes gape behind the doors, new front and rear fascias make their debut, new rims fill the wheel wells….  Yes, it’s obvious. It’s all new.

I find that the new Boxster has evolved into a more serious, aggressive-looking automobile – and that’s good in every single way. The little things matter. The headlight cluster is more vertical but stays clean. The rear spoiler is more noticeable but beautifully integrated into a sweeping line and into the taillights. The rims – 20″ in diameter, aggressive and stunningly painted in platinum here – are imposing and shod with 235/35s in front and massive 265/35s in the back.

Of course the Boxster is a convertible, and is designed and built around that fact. One thing I was never a fan of was how the original Boxsters looked with the top up. I think the new Boxster looks fantastic – top up or down. Speaking of the top, it’s operable up to 50 km/h, and is well insulated from the elements and noise, using a new mix of magnesium and other materials in its construction, and it’s fast – it takes around 10 seconds to raise or lower. I loved that there is no manual operation or latching required. Hold the switch, and everything is done for you. That’s proper!

Under The Hood

The Boxster S’ 3.4-Litre horizontally-opposed 6-cylinder boxer engine cranks out 315 HP at a heady 6700 RPM. Maximum torque is rated at 265 lb.ft, and it’s available at 4500 RPM. It pulls smoothly from low RPMs, and there’s ample power whenever you breach 4000 RPM. All this juice hits the road through the rear tires, and is channeled through a 6-speed manual transmission. There are less than 3000 pounds of Boxster to schlepp around – 2910 of them, to be exact.

Porsche’s legacy has always been to make the most efficient, highest-performing cars in the world. The Boxster S is rated at 10.5  L/100 km (22 mpg) in the city, and 7.2 L/100 km (33 mpg) on the highway. That’s impressive and even more so, considering the numbers this machine is capable of posting at the track, all day long, every day. The tank holds 64 litres and you’ll be putting premium fuel in it.

The Drive

What does that mean for you, when your butt is planted in the throne behind the best steering wheel in the business? Well, a 0-100 km/h run in 5.1 seconds for starters. What about passing on the highway? Keep things above 3000 RPM and you’ll find yourself slingshotting into any direction you point it. 0-160 km/h happens in 11 seconds flat. Not that I’d know anything about that. *wink wink*

Handling is simply sublime. I was able to throw the Boxster S around at some decent speeds – obviously I never approached the limits of the car, but it is truly remarkable how composed the car stays at high speeds, and more importantly, while maneuvering at high speeds. There is no body roll to speak of, and the mid-engine chassis just responds to any command, almost before you give it. The car seems to know what you want to do, it’s seemingly aware of how quickly you want it done, and to top it all off, it’s fully confident that it can pull it off. It’s a wonderful combination of vehicle clairvoyance and ability. It makes you feel as though you’re the most awesome driver there ever was. Even if you’re not. You’ll have a difficult time finding a more balanced car that’s easier to drive.

Though it always feels substantial, the light weight of this car is immediately noticeable when you turn the steering wheel. It’s crisp and feels as though it’s rotating on the spot. Do it with speed, and you can steer with the rear end any time you want to.

At lower speeds, the regular suspension setting is firm but very comfortable, even over seriously crappy roads (which would account for the majority of Edmonton’s infrastructure). Switch the car to the most focused setting, which is Sport Plus, and the suspension firms up instantly as does the throttle response. As firm as it gets, it still remains supple enough to be more comfortable than many other sports cars I’ve driven. One of the best suspensions I’ve tested.

The manual transmission is surprisingly mechanical. The clutch pedal is hard, and there’s plenty of travel. It’s easy to drive though, and clutch take-up is gentle. The shifter’s gate is a bit notchy, but not in a bad way. In a car with significant power and ability, I appreciate knowing I’ve hit a gear properly, and there’s just enough feel below the surface to satisfy that. It’s not as buttery as I’ve found in other cars, but for this application, it’s nearly perfect. With that said, the clutch pedal’s lengthy travel and required effort get a bit hemorrhoidal in bumper to bumper commuting.

As I mentioned, it’s got plenty of power, and the power isn’t peaky – it’s softer below 4000 RPM, but it pulls smoothly. As with other normally-aspirated Porsches I’ve driven, the car truly comes alive above 3500-4000 RPM. The sounds are there to thrill you – it’s got a mean bark at start-up – raspier and nastier than you might expect. Let it warm up and it comes down a notch, but never lets you forget it’s ready to rock the Casbah whenever you are. Step on it, and you’ve got the perfect volume level. The mechanical symphony directly behind your ear negates the need to turn on whatever sound system is in there, but if you’re on the gas lightly, it’s a relatively quiet ride and would be just fine for extended highway trips.

The chassis on this car is incredibly rigid, especially considering it’s a convertible, and there is negligible flex. The brakes are very well done – linear, easy to modulate, not grabby and powerful when you need to step on them to haul things back down to earth.

Visibility of the road for the driver is excellent, framed by the front fenders. Seeing out the back is a different story, with the windscreen behind you getting the in way – that’s when the top is down. When it’s up, visibility out the back or shoulder-checking becomes virtually impossible.

This incredibly accessible performance is paired with some surprising utility and efficiency. You’ve got two trunks – the deep front well offers 150 Litres and the rear space, more wide and shallower, is 130 Litres. Sprechen Sie road trip for two?

Interior

You don’t get into a Boxster so much as drop into one. Once you’re in the seat – which is power adjustable and heated – you’ll find a highly supportive, bolstered seat. I have a broad back, and I actually found the upper shoulder bolsters were a bit restrictive for me, and just too narrow.

Porsche’s elevated centre console, which you’ll find throughout the line-up now, shows up here too. It’s nice to see Porsche remains consistent with their mind-boggling ergonomics – a sea of similarly-shaped and sized buttons abound, and they’re impossible to use without taking your eyes off the road. You’ll find plenty of room for your head and your legs in this cabin – it’s measurably bigger than the last generation of Boxster. As with any Porsche, the materials are first-rate, the fit and finish is flawless and the cabin, while comfortable and sensibly luxurious, is a model of focus. Exactly what I want in a sports car.

The Verdict

So what do you have here? You’ve got a car that is fresh, beautifully sculpted, low, long and stretched out; fast; efficient; comfortable and most importantly, a blast to drive. You’ve also got a car that will encourage you reach for new heights in terms of your own driving, and it’ll be forgiving when you step over your own limits.

I always said that I would be a bit embarrassed to have a previous generation Boxster. Well friends, the tide has turned. I covet the 2013 Boxster S. I love the dual personality. A car that happily lugs around town at lower RPMs and is easy as pie to commute with. Or a monster that is just as happy to live above 4000 RPMs all day long, and turns into a high-strung ridiculously capable track machine.

I give the 2013 Boxster S an 8.5 out of 10. I’ve driven the same car with the awe-inspiring PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission, and I gave that one a 9 out of 10.

WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) comes from the perspective of a passenger. My bride can’t drive manual transmissions and so she was relegated to the passenger seat. She didn’t appreciate that the wind messed her hair up when the top was down, she didn’t like how loud the engine can get under load, and she definitely didn’t like that the trunk space (while fine for a run to the mountains) didn’t accommodate her shopping needs. In other words, this is the perfect car.

Numbers can never truly convey what a Porsche is really about. The entire driving experience can’t be pigeon-holed into 0-60s and horsepower ratings. And that’s why Porsche continues to move cars that are expensive. Lots of them. It’s because the driving experience is really second to none, and their fabled racing history isn’t just a nice set of laurels they rest on – they build on it, evolve due to it and pass this knowledge, engineering and experience on to the dude who just wants to drive an awesome car. The things they’ve learned in decades on the track have always trickled down to the road cars, and the Boxster S isn’t any different. And it’s better than ever.

Disclosure:  Vehicle was provided by Porsche Canada.

If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out more of them under my vehicle reviews tab at the top of my blog.

Did I take a lot of pictures? You bet I did. I loved this car and I loved photographing it.

Exterior

The Pathfinder has never taken the world by storm in terms of its styling. It’s always done its own thing, and had its own design cues, but it has never been avant-garde. Although it’s never set the world on fire, I’ve always liked it for its simplicity and honesty. And the all-new styling is much of the same. Although it looks like sporty in some pictures and from some angles, it’s very vanilla in real life. I found it to be a nice, unified, smooth look with nary a hint of aggression and very little of its former brawniness.

The design is less rough and tough than in the past, and comes across as sleeker, more urban friendly and subjectively, less masculine. It’s a handsome design that will likely turn very few heads but won’t offend anyone either.

Under the Hood

The Pathfinder has always been truck-based, and that’s changed too. Not only does the Pathfinder’s suit no longer come across as rugged on the outside, it’s made those alterations under the cloth too. It’s now a front-wheel drive car-based cross-over. Though that will be called sacrilege by some purists, that’s actually the vehicle the vast majority of us have needed from day one. Very few of us need the ability to forge our own path off the beaten one.

Surprise, surprise – the Pathfinder uses a 3.5-litre V6. It puts out 260 horsepower at a lofty 6400 RPM and 240 lb.ft of torque at 4400 RPM. That doesn’t seem like a ton of power to drag around 4381 pounds.

Nissan uses their CVT here, a fact that is also unsurprising, since we’re seeing it everywhere in their line-up. Paired with a larger, more powerful engine – as it is here – I find the CVT to be less annoying and quite palatable on a day-to-day basis.

Fuel economy is rated at 10.8 L/100 km in the city, and 7.9 L/100 km on the highway. During my week with the Pathfinder, I averaged 13.4 L/100 km – quite acceptable in this class. This was achieved during a very snowy week, in mostly city driving, an occasional freeway run and with no attempt to drive economically.

The tank holds 73 litres and the Pathfinder swills regular fuel, unlike its Infiniti cousin, the JX35.

Interior/Tech/Convenience

The interior is sculpted into pleasing, albeit boring, lines, but there isn’t a shred of soft-touch plastic on the dash or console. The dash is a vast expanse of hard, black plastic and could host a reality show on hoarding dust, which it collects at an alarming rate.

The seats, upholstered in nice leather, are power-adjustable and heated, are very comfortable. I was surprised to find good bolstering on them too. I had plenty of headroom for my 5’10” frame.

The heated steering wheel offers controls for the driver information screen, phone and cruise functions. It sits in front of two clear gauges which flank a nice, crisp driver information screen.

The center stack starts with a screen on top. The screen handles media, vehicle settings and some fuel economy information. Unfortunately this screen doesn’t boast nearly the resolution it should. The graphics and text are significantly less sharp than on the competition’s screens. Strangely, it’s not a touch-screen, even though it’s within reach. It uses Nissan’s combination of a rotary dial and directional hard buttons to get around. After some use, it starts making sense, but it’s certainly not an intuitive interface.

The screen also handles the back-up camera’s feed.

Below the screen is the audio system, which sounds OK but not great and further down you’ll find a dual-zone automatic climate control system. The console holds the gear selector, two cupholders and a drive-mode selector.

Entry is keyless, the ignition is push-start, and a remote starter comes included.

Second Row

The three second row seats are very comfortable and adjustable – they slide fore and aft, recline and split 60/40. I found headroom to be quite good and the leg room was plentiful for me.

In terms of convenience, the Pathfinder didn’t disappoint me here in the second row. The seats are heated (nice touch!) and there’s an automatic climate control zone for the back seats with ceiling-ducted air vents. The middle seatback folds down to become an armrest with cupholders and a storage bin, and you’ll find two seatback map pockets on each side.

An innovation my family really appreciated was the excellent fold-forward design, allowing for quick, easy access to third row.

Third Row

As expected, the third row is a different story. The two seats are actually reasonably comfortable, and headroom was good. The leg room can be reasonable for adults, but to accommodate that, the second row needs to move forward so much that it becomes virtually unusable. Foot room underneath the second row seats is miserable for adults. The third row seats split 50/50 and there are cupholders on each side.

As with most three-row cross-overs, you could actually transport seven people if the kids are banished to the far reaches of the pathfinder kingdom.

Storage

There’s a nice, large open space underneath the center stack – it’s rubberized and includes two 12V plugs. The glove compartment is huge, but the door bins are a bit useless. There is a nice dual-level armrest bin – a carpeted storage tray on top, and a big carpeted bin below with the USB and 12V plugs.

The trunk offers a good amount of cargo room behind the third row when it’s in use (453 litres) and a significant under-floor storage space (enough for a couple of small duffles). This is nice because many cross-overs make you choose between using the third row or having usable space. Of course, when you do fold that third row down, you’ll have plenty of room (1354 litres) and if you need to help move someone, the second row folds down too, giving you 2260 litres of volume to work with.

The Drive

The Pathfinder’s CVT, though it still hunts up and down the rev counter, is smooth and works nicely. The vehicle is very responsive off the line, and I found it to be satisfying to drive around the city. When you’re cruising along and step on it to pass, it takes at least as long as a slower automatic to get to the right ratio, but once it’s there, it feels plenty powerful so there’s no passing drama.

By the way, there’s no Sport mode – just regular drive or Low – and no manual shifting of “gears”, an omission that is just fine with me in a vehicle like this.

I did like the drive mode selector – it allows you to choose front-wheel drive (great for dry roads and improved economy), all-wheel drive (where the Pathfinder will determine if you need it or not) or all-wheel drive lock, which ensures it’s always on.

I enjoyed the ride – it’s comfortable and soaks up big hits but never felt too soft. Handling is good, but I thought the vehicle felt very tall and there is quite a bit of body roll around corners – the Highlander stays flatter. And although its road manners are comfortable and always felt controlled, the steering was dead and numb. To the point of irritating me, to be honest. It’s no joy to drive, the Pathfinder, but then again, most big CUVs aren’t.

The driving experience is pretty quiet, but it is not as quiet as the Toyota Highlander in terms of drivetrain and road noise.

There’s a tow mode, and this vehicle included a hitch receiver and plug. The Pathfinder can tow up to 5000 pounds, which is excellent for a CVT-equipped vehicle.

Visibility is pretty good. It has a nice driving position and an excellent view of the road ahead, but shoulder checking is hampered by the humungous second-row headrests.

The Verdict

The new Pathfinder is a well put together, thoughtful and competent ride. It does a great job at what the huge majority of us would ask of a cross-over, and it felt refined while doing so.

I give the Pathfinder a 7 out of 10.

WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) was not as high as I had expected. She liked the driving position and visibility, but said she never felt as in control on the road as she did in the Toyota Highlander or the Chevy Traverse. After digging, I figured out that this was attributed to the steering feel. She also said it felt a bit dark inside and had a tough time figuring out the user interface for the main screen.

I thought the Pathfinder was a great vehicle. Sure, there will always be some adventure-seeking, hirsute, manly men sitting around the campfire, thoughtfully gnawing raw meat and lamenting the loss of “the Pathfinder that could”. But I’m not one of them, and for my daily trail-blazing, I prefer a decent, non-truck-based well-equipped luxurious cross-over with acceptable mileage and plenty of space inside. The new Pathfinder does all that – at a price that makes it seem like a very good value indeed.

Disclosure:  Vehicle was provided by Nissan Canada.

If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out more of them under my vehicle reviews tab at the top of my blog.

Pricing: 2013 Ford Explorer Sport 4WD

Base price (of specific trim): $48,299

Options: $1750 Dual Panel Moonroof; $1,500 Adaptive Cruise/Collision Warning; $500 Towing Package; $700 Voice-activated Navigation; $250 Rear Inflatable Seatbelts; $100 Floor Mats

Freight: $1,550

A/C tax: $100

Price as tested: $54,799

If you couldn’t tell by the pricing, let me clarify – it turns out Ford is heading to the other end of the spectrum with the Explorer Sport. It’s the top-of-the-line, and by Sport, they mean “SHO-engine and stuff”!

The Sport Package

Yep, the Explorer Sport gets endowed with the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V-6 EcoBoost engine. The one that puts out 365 horsepower at 5500 RPM and 350 lb.ft of torque at 3500 RPM. Mmm-hmmm.

Ford also tries to set the Sport’s exterior apart and it looks pretty hot. The wheels are snazzy 20-inchers with unique styling. The restyled grille, lower body cladding and tail gate trim are all black, and the headlights and tail lights get a black-out treatment too. There’s a huge “EXPLORER” badge on the hood. Other than that, it’s all Explorer. Smooth lines, wrap-around rear window, pretty standard stuff now that we’ve seen this Explorer for a few years.

Interior

When you step inside (over the high side lip) you’re greeted with a customary Explorer interior. The materials are decent – you’ll find soft-touch plastics almost anywhere your hand falls – the dash, door panels, etc – although I thought the center console was a bit plasticky and cheap. Fit and finish appear to be very good, and the vehicle offered up nary a squeak or rattle, even over our icy, rutted, chock-full-of-potholes Edmonton roads.

I found the interior to be quite dark – most everything is black, with the exception of a couple of metallicized plastic trim pieces.

The heated, cooled and power-adjustable front seats are trimmed in perforated leather with contrasting stitching, and are “sport-style”. Not sporty enough, in my opinion, as the bolstering could use some help. They are very comfortable though, and nice to look at.

The steering wheel is power-adjustable (as are the pedals), and it has controls for media, cruise and phone functions as well as 2 D-pads. These are used to control Ford’s now-familiar information screens that flank the large center speedo – the left offers up trip meters, fuel economy and vehicle settings while the right allows you to see media, phone, navigation or climate control displays.

The center stack starts with the MyFordTouch (MFT) touch-screen at the top. It manages media, navigation, phone and climate control functions – each one resides in one quadrant of the home screen. Touch any of the corners and that function will take over the whole screen, and you can drill down from there. I’ve gotten used to MFT and I can get by but it’s definitely not the most elegant system. It works once you figure out the basics, and I found the voice recognition to work well.

Below the screen is a soft-touch panel with buttons for the automatic dual-zone climate control system spread around the edge. In the center sits a D-pad with a rotary knob around it, controlling volume and basic tuning functions for the Sony media system, which sounds quite good.

I’m not a fan of how some of the functions I want to access immediately (like heated seats) force me to look at and use the touchscreen. I’d rather they be assigned hard switches or buttons.

The center console has a storage bin at the front (where you’ll find one 12V and two USB plugs), the gear selector, two different-sized cupholders (which I appreciated) and the Terrain Management dial. This lets the driver choose between regular, mud/rut, sand and snow/gravel/grass modes, as well as a hill descent mode – none of which will probably ever get used by 99% of Explorer drivers.

Behind that is an armrest with a storage bin and another 12V plug underneath. Overhead is a dual sunroof – the front one tilts and slides, the rear remains stationary. There are 3 HomeLink garage door opener settings as well.

Second/Third Row Seats

The second row is a 60/40 split bench – three seats, three seatbelts and three headrests. The seats are comfortable, and there’s plenty of headroom for my 5’10” frame. There was enough leg room for me, but someone much taller might feel that it could be bigger. There is a rear climate zone, with a control panel at the back of the center.

Ensuring devices are charged is no problem, because you also get plugs – a 12V and a 110V household one, thank you very much! The middle seating position isn’t great – it’s narrow, hard and there’s a significant tunnel on the floor. The middle seatback folds down to become an armrest with two cupholders and there are two sets of LATCH connectors for kids’ seats.

Tumbling the right side second row seat forward allows access to the third row. Here you’ll find two seats with seatbelts and headrests. I could actually sit there, though certainly not in comfort, and foot space is miserable. That said, my kids were quite happy back there. Headroom is exemplary – especially for a third row.

Storage

The glove compartment has two levels, but isn’t very big and the door bins all around are usable, but not great.

The power liftgate can be activated on the dash, inside and outside the tailgate itself and on the key fob. Speaking of the fob, it provides you with keyless entry, access to the push-start ignition and a remote starter. Nice touch.

The cargo space behind the third row isn’t big (595 litres/21 cu. ft.) but there’s a deep well in the floor, so you can get quite a bit of stuff in there – there’s also a 12V plug.

Fold that third row flat (the seats split 50/50) and you’ve got a very useful 1240 litre/43.8 cu. ft. space. The issue is the actual folding of the third row. You’re faced with a confusing process, using three separate colour-coded straps. Hold this strap, pull that one. Now pull that one, and push the seat. It’s brutal.

Definitely go for the power-folding seat option – it’s a winner. Especially compared to this ridiculous system.

Need more room? Go ahead and fold the second row down. You’ll have a veritable cavern (2285 litres/80.7 cu. ft.) at your disposal.

The Drive

Driving the Explorer, even though this one is sold as a Sport model, isn’t sporty. Let’s just get that out of the way.

This thing is big. The hood is tall, and you can’t see the road ahead of you for love or money. Visibility isn’t great, period. The rear view is skewered if you have the third row headrests up. There are enough pillars and windows on each side to make shoulder checking a drag. Thank goodness for the blind spot monitoring system.

The EcoBoost engine provides solid power, and during everyday driving, it’s always there. But would you pay extra for the Explorer Sport if you didn’t want to enjoy that engine above and beyond everyday driving occasionally? Well, the engine is willing and ready, but when you step on it, it feels as if the transmission gets in the way of any kind of sporty driving. First of all, in an attempt to save fuel, it hunts for higher gears constantly. That’s fine for the majority of our driving. But for some strange reason, Ford doesn’t include a sport mode for the transmission. There’s no programming to tell the transmission to act more aggressively and hang on to gears longer. The only thing you can do to help is shift it manually – using paddles. First of all, the shifts are slow, almost ponderous, and secondly, paddle shifting seems very out of character for a monstrous SUV like this. I’d much rather have a sport mode that I can slap it into, and count on the transmission to do that work for me. But you can’t. And because the transmission takes its sweet time doing anything when you step on it, it never reacts the way you’d want it to.

Also, I felt that the Explorer Sport felt a bit squirrely off the line. Hammer on the throttle, and it felt as though it was squirming – almost like torque steer. Maybe I’m not that far off with this, since regular driving mode biases the torque toward the front and sends it to the rear only when needed.

Though the Sport is purported to have sport-tuned suspension, it doesn’t do much to change the Explorer’s road manners. I like the ride – it’s comfortable and in a straight line, it’s a very luxurious vehicle. Take any corner, at almost any speed, and you’ll immediately feel the weight and the height. There’s tons of body roll, and although grip is good, you never get the impression this vehicle is happy in any curves.

The brakes are powerful, but felt a bit spongy to me.

Ford rates the Explorer Sport’s fuel economy at 13.2 L/100 km in the city and 8.8 L/100 km on the highway. Most of this week was spent on city streets, commuting to and from work, dropping off and picking up kids with a couple of sprints down the freeway. And I averaged a not surprising (but still terrifying) 16.8 L/100 km. I’d hate to see what would happen if you drove this with a lead foot.

The Verdict

So what’s the deal here? Well, I quite like the Explorer. It’s not exciting, to be sure. But when it comes in the guise of an unapologetic large, soft, cushy SUV (as it does in the other trim levels), it does most things pretty well. The fuel economy is horrible, but in line with the competition. The handling is what you’d expect. The road manners are fine and the ride is comfortable. It’s got room for 7 passengers. Everything seems to fit.

WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) was super high. She loved the way this thing drove, the way it rode, the way it moved our kids and the way she could get a day’s worth of spending my money at the mall behind the second row of seats. She did miss the Active Park Assist, and hated the way the third row folded down.

But I’m not sold on this Explorer Sport. I don’t think I’d be ponying up the extra cash for this engine and the “sport-tuned” suspension considering you really can’t get to it. Sure, it looks good. Sure, it’s the fastest Explorer. Sure, it does 0-60 in a shade over 6 seconds. Sure it handles better than the normal Explorer but it’s still not sporty handling, and the transmission hampers any chance of having fun.

I reviewed a similarly priced Explorer Limited, which is really the same vehicle – it came with all the bells and whistles, including the Park Assist and the power folding seats that I missed on this one, and that made much more sense to me. If I wanted a loaded-up Explorer, that’s the way I’d go and I’d leave the “sport” to vehicles that can walk the walk instead of just brandishing the badge.

Disclosure:  Vehicle was provided by Ford Canada.

If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out more of them under my vehicle reviews tab at the top of my blog.

The CR-V starts at $25,990 but my review sample came in the Touring trim level, which is essentially loaded. It rings in at CDN $36,780 including the $1,640  freight and destination.

Under The Hood

The CR-V brings what seems like an antiquated drivetrain to the game. It’s a 2.4-Litre, inline-4. Naturally aspirated. Nothing really special going on. It puts out 185 HP @ 7000 RPM and 163 lb.ft of torque @ 4400 RPM. It lumps this together with a 5-speed automatic transmission – no sport mode, no manual shifting – it’s really starting to sound old-school here.

Chuckle all you want though – the CR-V puts up some great fuel economy numbers, rating at 9.2 L/100 km (25.8 mpg) in the city, 6.6 L/100 km (35.6 mpg) on the highway and 8.1 L/100 km (29 mpg) over the combined cycle. I saw a decent 10.1 L/100 km (23 mpg) in almost purely city driving, with no attempt at being economical. The tank holds 58 Litres of regular fuel – no premium required here.

Exterior

The CR-V was an all-new offering for the 2012 model year, and has carried over for 2013. Honda has done a great job at letting the CR-V grow up. The styling is bigger, yet the vehicle isn’t.  It has the same wheelbase and basic dimensions, and it is essentially an evolutionary model with a very similar silhouette, yet it comes across more mature and bigger than it was, and certainly has some interesting changes.

Up front you’ll find Honda’s new corporate face, which is handsome, if a bit boring, and there are subtle but effective changes at the back as well. The biggest change is the kinked angle of the rear pillar – it’s a nice style element and it actually helps with rearward visibility.

The Touring has nice 17″ rims, as well as fog lights and roof rails. All in all, the CR-V looks like it’s trying to stretch toward a higher-than-entry-level class, and although it won’t turn many heads, it’s a nice-looking ride.

Interior/Tech/Convenience

The CR-V has a nice interior, and it certainly feels more refined than previous generations. With that said, it’s still not fancy or upscale-feeling, and you’re surrounded by hard plastics everywhere, except for a little padding on the door panels. I credit Honda for trying to sculpt some nice shapes and for adding some textures and color contrasts but the materials need to start catching up with the competition. This trim also has some eye-catching grey faux-wood grain across the dash. Of course it looks fake, but it’s a handsome addition.

I liked the small diameter and the thick rim of the steering wheel. It has controls for media, hands-free, phone and cruise control and is manually adjustable for height and reach.

The CR-V’s seats look great and are very comfortable. They’re upholstered in real leather with nice contrasting stitching. I’d appreciate more bolstering but most buyers won’t care. The driver’s seat is fully powered, and the passenger’s seat is manually adjustable. Both are heated, and have built-in flip-down armrests, which I liked very much!

In terms of space, I found good head room for my 5’10” frame, even with the sunroof. The CR-V’s sunroof has power tilt and slide functions.

The layout of the CR-V dash has some new twists. In front of you, you’ll find a bin of gauges with a visual stack of circles in the middle – a big speedo with a round driver information screen in the center.

The CR-V’s driver information screen, while useful, is a bit too small and a bit too busy in its circular form. It always shows instant fuel economy and outside temperature, and lets you access 2 trip meters, oil life, average mileage, odometer and fuel range. There are two “bracket” light bars surrounding the speedometer – they change from white to green when you’re driving economically.

The center stack gives you an additional information screen in the upper dash area and a bigger touch-screen below that.

That upper screen, which is showing up in other Honda products, can display average fuel consumption and fuel range, a compass and a clock, media – what’s playing, wallpaper (any picture you want to upload – seriously though, who does that?!) or it can just be turned off.

The touchscreen below it is bigger, and serves a lot of functions – it controls media, navigation, the phone and is the monitor for the back-up camera. Sadly, as in other applications, the user interface and the fonts were designed by people who hate design. It’s not pretty to look at with those crunchy graphics and text, and the user experience isn’t particularly wonderful. You get used to it though. A neat touch – the back-up camera offers you three different view angles, and I liked that.

The media system feeds off of AM, FM, satellite, auxiliary, CD, USB and Bluetooth streaming sources, and all of them worked well. The auxiliary and USB plugs are in the console bin, along with a 12V plug. The system plays through 7 speakers, including a subwoofer – it sounds alright for a factory system.

Underneath the touchscreen is a dual-zone automatic climate control system, and a pod sticking out of the stack which houses the shift lever. The center console is home to the seat heater buttons, a 12V outlet and some cupholders.

Of course you get power windows, door locks and mirrors – all on the driver’s door.

Rear Seats

The CR-V’s doors open very wide, making for easy ingress – that includes loading or unloading kids. The seats are very comfortable and recline. The leg room and foot room are exceptionally good – almost shocking. Headroom was pretty good as well.

You’ve got 3 seats, with 3 headrests and 3 seat belts back there. I’d consider it a great space for 2 adults. Though the middle seating position is narrow and hard, it would be manageable for a third adult if you’re looking at short distances – this is aided by a nearly flat floor. Irritatingly, the middle seatbelt comes down out of the ceiling, mini-van style. Thankfully, when it’s not in use, it can be stored up there to keep it out of the way.

We transported our three kids, including a full child seat and a butt-booster and they were very comfortable back there. Width-wise, it’s surprisingly roomy. There are 2 sets of LATCH anchors for kids’ seats.

Convenience-wise, you get two seatback map pockets, small but usable door bins, a ceiling-mounted reading light and the middle seatback folds down to become an armrest with two integrated cupholders. That’s it. No plugs, no vents, nothing else.

Storage

There are a bunch of little storage options – small door bins, a neat little tray in the door panel underneath the grab handle, a small (basically useless) bin under the left side of the dash, two long shallow bins on either side of the center console in the footwells, and a small-ish glovebox.

Here’s the kicker. Moving the shift lever up to the center stack allows for a very roomy console, and Honda hasn’t wasted the opportunity. They decided to make the whole thing (short of a couple of cupholders) into a single massive storage compartment with a retractable, scrolling lid. It’s about 16″ long and about 8″ wide, and very deep. To call it useful and flexible is an understatement, considering it’s big enough to smuggle a couple of baby pandas in there. Not that you’d ever do that.

Speaking of huge, the CR-V’s cargo space also feels cavernous. It is much bigger than the outside of the vehicle leads you to believe. You have a very substantial 1054 litres back there, which ramps up to an almost ridiculous 2007 litres with the back seats folded. Nice. A side note – the rear seats don’t fold flat. It’s close, but they do angle up a bit.

The lift-over height and load floor are both quite low – Honda boasts the lowest in the industry – making the space easily accessible and highly usable, even for the vertically-challenged. They throw in a little mesh pocket on the side, as well as a removable, retractable soft tonneau cover. Another innovative touch – Honda has placed a small lever on either side of the trunk – give either of them a quick yank, and the corresponding rear seat (they split 60/40) will quickly fold forward, using a brilliant combination of physics, and mechanics. No electronics that can die on you, and it’s faster than those systems anyway. This set-up should be a lesson to ALL manufacturers. I absolutely loved it, and so did everyone I showed it to. It’s useful. It’s simple. It’s fast. Bravo.

The Drive

Driving the CR-V makes for an overall good experience. I wouldn’t call it fun though. Now don’t get me wrong – offering a mostly bland drive can’t really be considered a strike against it. You’ll see that it does most things really well.

The low-end grunt of this engine is quite satisfying, and although it’s not a quick vehicle, it will jump off the line and it’s great for everyday driving. The engine revs smoothly. Yes, it gets a bit noisy under load and starts sounding a bit honky at higher RPMs but realistically, you’re not buying a CR-V for the sporty engine note and it remains smooth at all times.

The transmission, although missing a gear by today’s standards, is also smooth and very intelligent. I actually never found myself missing the extra gears, and I thought it did a great job.

The CR-V does quite well in terms of road noise, which is a major improvement over the last generation. Wind noise, while reasonable, does pick up quite a bit a highway speeds. Low-speed turns and parking are a breeze, thanks to the electronic steering. Unfortunately that same steering system is a bit of a turd on the road, where you’re left with little feedback and considerable on-center numbness. Too bad, since Honda knows how to do steering right.

The suspension was pleasant. I found the ride was firm and a bit jiggly – especially over things like expansion joints and potholes – but not too harsh. I also felt there was quite a bit of body roll into corners – throw it into a curve and you’ll always be reminded that you’re in a tall vehicle. With that said, the handling is fine and feels very competent around corners and in normal driving.

Honda’s all-wheel drive system is quiet and transparent, but now kicks in sooner than in the past – you no longer have to lose traction with the front wheels to engage the all-wheel drive. Its job is, of course, to maximize traction on crappy surfaces and it does a good job. I drove a 2012 CR-V during Edmonton’s biggest snowfall last winter, and it pulled through everything admirably.

Visibility out of the CR-V is good, and the brakes are powerful enough and effective when called upon.

A final note on the drive – the CR-V offers Honda’s ECON mode. It’s a dash-mounted button, and it’s meant to help you save fuel. Of course, in doing that, it dulls any driving fun there was to begin with, and the softened throttle response and whatever else happens behind the scenes aren’t worth the fractionally better fuel economy in my opinion.

Details

The CR-V’s overhead sunglass holder has a 2nd position, allowing you to leave it partially open, and revealing a convex “conversation” mirror – we have the same thing in our Odyssey van, and it allows you to see EVERYone in the vehicle, which means you can finally see who really hit who in the back seat.

Speaking of mirrors, I like the “expanded view” mirror that Honda added to the driver’s side view mirror – it makes the left inch or so a convex mirror, allowing you to see significantly more than you could in a standard mirror. An old-school blind-spot monitoring system, if you will.

Nitpicks

Aside from the grim-looking graphics and fonts, the less-than-perfect user interface and its susceptibility to sun glare, I have one more issue with that big touchscreen. EVERY SINGLE TIME you start the vehicle, you have to tap the “OK” button on the screen. Otherwise, it turns off. I can’t quite put into words how hemorrhoidal that became over the course of a week. Honda, please trust us to remember the conditions we agreed to once. We’ll be good, we promise.

For such a well though-out and roomy rear seat, it would have been nice to add at least a 12V plug, or better yet, a 110V house-hold plug.

Verdict

As I mentioned at the beginning, the CR-V is a good vehicle. If you haven’t checked one out, you’ll be surprised at the utility and storage space. The rear seat space is impressive by any standards. The overall package is a smart one.

I give the Honda CR-V a very solid 7.5 out of 10.

WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) was pretty high. She found the CR-V very easy to drive, and appreciated the ease of loading things into the cargo space. Also, the fact that she could shop for an entire day and not run out of room put a smile on her face. Of course, that ended up turning my smile upside-down.

I wouldn’t hesitate to add the CR-V to my own shopping list – Honda’s reliability, resale value, and smart packaging make it impossible to ignore this contender. And if this loaded-up Touring trim is more than you wanted to spend, you’ll find almost everything I talked about here in the lower-level cheaper trims. Many buyers, including smaller families, will find much to appreciate here, and there are plenty of reasons why you’re seeing so many CR-Vs on the road today.

Disclosure:  Vehicle was provided by Wheaton Honda.

If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out more of them under my vehicle reviews tab at the top of my blog.

And don’t you worry – as you can see, it still proudly sports their horrifying naming conventions.

Pricing: 2013 BMW X3 xDrive28i

Base price (of specific trim): $42,450

Options: $3600 Premium package, $2200 Technology package, $300 BMW Apps package, $200 Through Loading system, $450 Satellite radio tuner, $800 Metallic paint

A/C tax: $100

Freight: $2095

Price as tested: $50,000

Under the Hood

BMW launched this revised X3 with its smooth naturally aspirated inline-6. It was a good  (but thirsty) engine, but since we’re headed into Turbocharged, Smaller-displacement Land, the 6 was swapped for their 2.0-Liter turbo inline-4. It cranks out 241 horsepower at 5000 RPM and 258 lb.ft of torque at a deliciously low 1250 RPM.

The power makes its way through BMW’s 8-speed automatic, and on to their xDrive all-wheel drive system. All this to shlepp a 4,111 pound mid-size “sport activity vehicle” around town.

Fuel economy is acceptable – the X3 is rated at 9.7 L/100 km in the city and a very good 7.0 L/100 km on the highway. My week, spent mostly in the city, occasionally with a heavy foot, ended up yielding an average of 11.7 L/100 km. It’s a 67 Liter tank, and premium fuel is recommended. I talked to a few owners that say it runs perfectly fine on mid-grade.

Exterior

I was never a fan of the original (and evolved original) generations of X3s. But I feel that BMW got this one right. It’s very clearly a bigger vehicle – heck, it’s basically the size of the original X5.

The dimensions, inside and out, are great. It’s not a compact vehicle, but it never feels like a monster SUV when you’re looking at it.

BMW’s instantly recognizable front end is well done, and I like the bright LED driving light haloes, or “coronas” as BMW calls them.

It looks as though more attention was paid to the surfacing work in the X3, and it came out looking confidently classy, without making too much of an effort to look tough or rugged. It appears that BMW went with a less-is-more approach and it is an elegant, clean design.

The wheels are handsome too, although they look like they could use another inch in diameter.

Interior/Tech/Convenience

Here’s the biggest change, in my opinion. The roomy cabin offers substantial headroom and room to stretch out. It feels spacious – even more so, because of the enormous panoramic sunroof overhead. I found soft plastics everywhere, and on first inspection fit and finish appeared good. The space felt a bit dark , as this interior trim was the black one, but BMW does liven it up with some nice metallicized parts on the console and elsewhere.

There’s remote unlocking and a push-start ignition. As I’ve come to expect in a BMW, you get a good steering wheel – it’s adjustable, heated, and has controls for media, handsfree, phone and cruise.

Behind it sits a familiar pod of white-on-black gauges coupled with a high-resolution driver information system – the same as in the 328i.

The heated, power-adjustable seats are very comfortable and offer good bolstering. In this trim, they’re upholstered with BMW’s unfortunate leatherette – it looks cheap to me. The strange mottled matte color and patterning isn’t convincingly natural to me, and almost everyone who got a ride commented on this too.

BMW’s clear and sharp widescreen display sits in the upper dash, and it is managed by the somewhat confusing iDrive system – the controller and some hard buttons are located on the console. The sound system is alright, nothing great – it feeds off of AM, FM, CD, satellite, USB, auxiliary and Bluetooth streaming sources.

Below the screen, sits a dual zone automatic climate control system, and below that, some hard buttons and a CD slot. These seem strangely removed from the screen which controls the rest of the media goodies.

The console houses two cupholders, a 12V plug, the strange shift lever (that you eventually get used to) and numerous hard buttons controlling drive modes, traction control, etc.

Rear Seats

If you’re looking for some back seat room, you’ve come to the right place. Getting into the back seats is very easy. You’ll find three seats, three seatbelts and three headrests here. The X3’s rear headroom is stellar for my 5’10” frame, as is the leg room. The two outboard seating positions are very comfortable. The middle seat is narrow, hard and raised and wouldn’t be a great place to spend a lot of time.

In terms of convenience, you get adjustable air vents and a tiny storage cubby at the back of the console, and some great door bins. The middle seatback flips down to form an armrest with a clunky dual cupholder.

Our three kids fit back there pretty well, and you get two sets of LATCH anchors for their seats.

Storage

Storage around the cabin is pretty decent. There’s an open rubberized bin under the center stack, a decent space under the armrest lid (where you’ll also find the USB, auxiliary and 12V  plugs, and excellent door bins. The glove compartment is tiny.

Thankfully, the trunk is very big. It offers 550 Liters of storage , and adds a little floor bin and some storage trays under trunk floor. The rear seats split 40/20/40 to fold almost flat and leave you with a gargantuan 1600 Liter space for cargo. I’m particularly fond of how the middle seat folds down to become a pass through, leaving both outboard seats fully fnctional for passengers. Fantastic flexibility. The space is covered by a retractable, removable tonneau cover.

The Drive

The X3 offers a nice driving experience. It’s not the ultimate driving machine, of course, but in this class, a good driving experience seems to be a rare find. Especially because the X3 is a tad larger than its competition.

The turbo engine is plenty powerful for everyday driving. Step on it, and you’ll notice some turbo lag but it spools up quickly and then it pulls hard and revs happily up to the top if you ask it to. I didn’t find any power drop-off either. Unfortunately, this engine sounds terrible above a couple thousand RPMs – especially compared to BMW’s 6-cylinders. Though power is sufficient, I did feel that highway passing took a little more effort than I had expected.

The 8-speed transmission is fantastic. It certainly hunts for higher gears to save fuel, but you can manually shift it (no paddles on the 4 cylinder though) or put it in Sport mode. It will map your acceleration more aggressively, holds those shift points longer and your steering response quickens. It’s an effective way to enjoy some sportier driving. There’s also an Eco mode, for the environmental weenies.

BMW has added an auto start/stop function that shuts the engine off at a stop. I did not enjoy the rough restarts and thankfully this “feature” is defeatable.

I found the X3’s variable torque split xDrive system to be quite effective in most situations, although it feels more utilitarian and less sport-oriented than some all-wheel drive systems. Which is fine, considering what the X3 is.

The ride is firm, occasionally jiggly, but compliant enough to remain comfortable and it soaks up the big hits very well.

Steering feel is surprisingly sharp and the vehicle responds nicely – I would say the steering is probably the best I’ve driven in this class. The X3’s handling is outstanding for this class of vehicle. I found the vehicle remained very planted, and although there’s some body roll around corners, it allows you to make quick moves on the road and it grips tenaciously in every situation.

I never got the feeling that the X3 is a light-weight (it’s not!) but it feels heavy in a substantial way – it’s reassuring.

Braking seemed a bit spongier than I’m used to with BMWs, but it came on powerful when needed. Visibility is pretty good. The back headrests are in your rear view, and that rear flank that sweeps up made me soil myself a few times when shoulder checking – it looks exactly like a vehicle’s hood is right there beside you.

Things were generally quiet in the X3, but I did notice increased levels of noise on the highway – wind noise in particular. Nothing shocking for a utility vehicle.

Details

I like BMW’s dual-level traction control – one push gives you dynamic traction control that lets you have a few giggles, but kicks in before you hurt yourself. Hold the button for a few seconds and all the electronic grannies are turned off. You know. For fun.

Nitpicks

I am the kind of person that puts stuff in the back seats. My work stuff. My lunch. My bag. Whatever. The X3 auto-locks the doors, but does not auto-unlock. Not when you put it in Park. Not when you open the driver’s door. And that is just stupid. And irritating.

Strangely, at this price, a power liftgate isn’t included.

Remember I said that the fit and finish APPEARS to be quite good? Well, this was an essentially new vehicle. And there were a lot of creaks and rattles over road irregularities. They came mainly from the sunroof and emanated over every big bump or crack in an essentially new vehicle. That makes me wonder what it would be like with 50,000 kms on it.

The Verdict

All in all, the BMW X3 is a fantastic vehicle. The size and cargo space make it a good choice for small families with plenty of flexibility. Add to that an engaging driving experience (especially for this vehicle class) and you’ve got a mid-sized utility vehicle that checks off a lot of boxes. You need to be careful with the options boxes though – start checking them off, and the price skyrockets in a hurry.

WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) was quite high. She enjoyed the driving aspect, and that it was easy to get into. She liked the space in the back, and the fact that she could shop for an entire day and not overfill the cargo space. She definitely noticed the squeaks and rattles though, and she’s not a fan of iDrive. Mind you, is anyone a true iDrive fan?

I wouldn’t hesitate to add the X3 to a shopping list in this class. It offers a ton of utility, comes with a premium feel inside, great styling outside and does most things really well. Is it a good value? Nope. No BMWs are. As a matter of fact, you can get more for less. Depends on what you’re looking for.

On another note, if this is more than you’re looking to spend, and you don’t need all this space, I also reviewed the slightly smaller, more affordable X1. 

Disclosure:  Vehicle was provided by BMW Canada.

If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out more of them under my vehicle reviews tab at the top of my blog.

After some introspective thought, I realize that these four things can be interpreted endlessly. From each person comes a different perspective. Each of us has different life stories to which we would apply these principles. Each person might have their own “stone” they’d wish they’d never thrown, their own word they’d wish they’d never uttered and their own occasions they’ve missed. Also, I think that some of these can play into each other, perhaps more than one of them applying to the same situation in our lives. Whatever the case, I’m not here to interpret it for you.

Yet, I think we’ve all got a story to tell wherein we have at least one of these things that we’d love to recover.

I do. My “stone”? I’d say throwing a stone would hurt someone, or perhaps damage something. It might cause irreparable damage, or perhaps a permanent scar, or it might be a temporary hurt it’s caused, but it still stings. Years ago, I made a decision. I threw a stone, not really thinking any further. Truth is, I threw a number of stones. They all looked very similar, and really, I was doing the same thing over and over again. To this day, I can’t honestly explain why I chose to throw them. But much like little boys that throw rocks, I hadn’t thought it through. I hadn’t really considered any of the consequences. At the time, I even knew there would be consequences. Yet I chose to throw the figurative stone anyway.

Turns out, taken together, these stones made up a big stone. Not a pebble that might cause a slight ripple in the lake of life. Nope. This was one of those monsters  that you need to granny throw, because it’s so big. Remember those? Those that hit the surface with might, followed by a tremendous “ka-SPLOOSH”? And the ripple effect afterward threatened to capsize a number of little ships in the vicinity. Yes, one of them was mine. But worse, my family was in another. And friends in another. I am so very grateful that the ripples managed to smooth out again, as they tend to do, and that the damage I caused remains but a scar. A scar that won’t ever be forgotten, but it will continue to heal and slowly fade. Boy, I wish I could recover that stone I threw.

Words we speak. Yeah, as soft as that sounds, it can have the exact effect that thrown stone can. First of all, you can’t recover it. And secondly, words often speak much louder than actions. And they can leave a much deeper wound behind. Wounds in our hearts hurt more and heal slower, after all. And yes, I’ve cast words to the wind that I wish I could recover. I’ve done it my whole life. I don’t try to. But it’s during those times where we’re not thinking – that’s when those “if I could only recover it” words are spoken. And whether we put thought into what those words might do to someone or not, they still stand a fantastic chance of having a deep impact on someone.

I’ve said words to my kids that I wish I could take back. I’ve often lost my cool, after having asked something over and over and over. I’ve finally had it, and hit my measure. And I’ve lashed out. Just a word or two. But they hurt. They stung. I could see it in their eyes, before the last syllable even passed my lips. And I wished so badly that I could recover those words. But you can’t. You simply can’t.

Occasions that are missed and time that is gone play together for me. Sure, I could come up with examples of each, and plenty of them. I know we all could. But I have one that will always stick out in my mind. It goes back to 1994. And it is a period of time that has been forever burned into my memory. I think about it a lot – even after 19 years.

It’s when my daddy died. He spent two weeks in the hospital at the end of his life. I had plenty of occasion to be elsewhere. I had plenty of things to do with my time. I was 20 years old. I had a girlfriend. I had places to go, things to do, people to see. I could have had valid excuses to be anywhere but with my dad. But I am so glad I took the opportunity – that I didn’t let the occasion pass, nor the time fly by – to be there at his side. I learned more about myself and life and strength and my daddy’s soul in those two weeks than I had in the previous 20 years.

And when I held his hand during his last breath, and when he finally let go, I knew that I could say I had not wasted one single second of my last two weeks. I knew that an occasion had come that I hadn’t let pass. And time had come, that wouldn’t come by again. But I will never sit back, consider those days, and want to recover that time. I spent it well.

The moral of this story? As I said – I’m positive that, regardless of the size of stone, the harshness of the word, the importance of the occasion – we all have some of these that we want to recover. I do. I’m OK with it. I’m only human, after all.

But when I contemplate those stones I wish I hadn’t thrown, and how badly I’d love to recover them. Or when I shake my head at the words I’ve spoken, and wish they’d never come from me, I also try to focus my attention on those stones I’ve thrown where it’s made a difference. A good one. And those words I’ve spoken that I’d never wish to recover – rather, I wish I’d said more of them and louder and to more people. And I think of those times, that will never come back but that I spent perfectly and those occasions that I didn’t miss.

And I try to be thankful for each one of them. And I hope when my time here is done, I can look back and smile, and though none of them are recoverable, that these good stones, healing words and fulfilling occasions and times well-spent will far outweigh the bad ones.

If you’ve enjoyed this, feel free to browse my Life tab for other posts.

Anyway, the Highlander slots in above the smaller RAV4, somewhere near the truck-based 4Runner, and below the completely ludicrous Sequoia.

I reviewed a relatively base version of the Highlander – the 4WD V6. If you want to spend a few grand less, there’s the 4-cylinder version. If you want more goodies than what I describe here, you’ll need to step up to the Limited. There’s also the Hybrid for those that want to feel better about themselves.

Pricing: 2013 Toyota Highlander 4WD V6

Base price (of specific trim): $35,925

Options: $259.95 block heater

Freight: $1,635

A/C tax: $100

Price as tested: $37,955

Exterior

The exterior looked pretty fresh a few years ago when it came out. Although it’s not as tired as some other designs out there, it is getting a bit long in the tooth. The Highlander has a way of blending into the landscape, and looking decent while doing it. It also has a way of surprising you by its size once you get up close – it’s not a small SUV.

There’s nothing exciting here – it’s a smooth design and nothing stands out. Slab sides, boxed out fenders, a grille that looks like it’s trying to mean business. A pretty boring shape, all in all. I did like the chunky 245-sized rubber, but the 17” rims don’t look nearly as nice as the 19s on the Limited model.

Under the Hood

There are no shocking twists or surprises under the hood either. Toyota’s tried and true 3.5-litre V-6 sits there. The numbers are pretty familiar already. 270 horsepower at 6200 RPM. 248 lb.ft of torque at 4700 RPM.

That power makes its way through a 5-speed automatic (an insulting number of gear ratios these days) and to all four corners via an all-wheel drive system.

The Highlander is surprisingly svelte for this class, tipping the scales at 4178 pounds in this configuration.

Fuel economy is rated at 12.6 L/100 km in the city and 8.7 L/100 km on the highway. During my week with it, I commuted in the city, often driving with a heavy foot and through a fresh, heavy snowfall over the course of a few days, and made it onto the freeway a couple of times. I averaged 14.5 L/100 km – not great, not a surprise. I like that the fuel tank is big – it holds 72.5 litres.

Interior/Tech/Convenience

Inside, the Highlander seems a bit dated too. The design has aged gracefully, but it’s time for an update.

The materials aren’t great. There isn’t a shred of soft-touch plastic to be found here, short of the armrest lid. The hard dash plastic looks great, texture-wise, but it collects dust like crazy. The whole interior comes across as bland, grey and boring.

Speaking of cheap-feeling materials, the grey fabric seats (power adjustable, not heated) reminded me of rental cars from a long-gone era. They don’t feel expensive or luxurious. They aren’t very comfortable either, and more than one passenger commented on that.

The steering wheel has controls for media, phone, driver information screen and hands-free functions.

The center of the dash houses a comically small screen. It serves as the driver information screen, offering fuel economy information (average, instant, since refueling, range), a clock and outside temperature. The size isn’t as much of an issue for this data, but when the rear-view camera picture comes on the screen, you’ll have a tough time seeing what’s going on behind you. Think of having an old iPod screen in the center of your dash, and you’ll get the idea.

Below that is the stereo system. It has a dated dot-matrix display and sounds OK – it feeds off AM, FM, satellite, CD, auxiliary, USB and Bluetooth streaming sources. At the bottom of the center stack is a manual climate control system. The knobs for the stereo and the climate control look strange because they’re the size of a small fist. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen bigger control knobs in a vehicle.

There are some nice touches. The power liftgate can be controlled from the dash, your key fob or on the liftgate itself. There is a heating element under the windshield wipers – flip that switch if the wipers start icing up.

Second Row

The second row has three seats, each with a headrest and seatbelt. The outboard seats are as comfortable as the front ones (not very) and the middle one is, for all intents and purposes, useless. Unless you were born with one butt cheek.

The seats slide fore and aft and recline. There is an exceptional amount of head and leg room in the second row (I’m 5’10”). You get controls for a rear climate control zone and you can exchange that useless middle seat for a more useful center console, which is stored under the front console.

Third Row

The third row has two seats. My two older kids headed back there – the 5 year-old was fine, but the 9 year-old complained that it felt tight for legroom. Needless to mention, the third row is for short distances or for people you hate. Surprisingly, the headroom is very good in the third row.

Storage

Storage-wise, the Highlander does fine. There are 4 cupholders in the console, a change bin on the left underside of the dash and a carpeted bin under the armrest. Oh, and the glove compartment is a tub big enough to bathe a baby in.

The cargo space with the third row in use is pretty minimal but not useless at 290 litres. Fold that third row flat (the seats split 50/50) and all of a sudden, it’s a 1200 litre space. You could also fold the second row seats down (they split 60/40) using a couple of cool latches in the trunk and host a party in your 2700 litre Highlander room. There is a removable, retractable tonneau cover and I love that you can store it under the trunk floor, where you’ll also find additional storage.

A final note on accessing the trunk – the rear window pops open, allowing you to transport long items while keeping the liftgate closed, or you can easily drop stuff in there. A neat little detail.

The Drive

When it come to the drive, the Highlander fits right into my theory that almost every Toyota does what it can to kill the fun in driving.

Let’s talk about the good stuff first. Although it’s never a quick-feeling vehicle, it has plenty of power off the line, and for everyday driving, the Highlander has enough jam.

The ride is fantastic. It will handle any big hits, including ones off the beaten path. The whole experience is smooth. Smooth and quiet.

The transmission is slick, and does a good job at keeping things completely drama-free. There is a Sport mode, and you can also manually shift it with the gear selector. There’s a Snow mode which I tried and found unbearably sluggish.

Though this might not matter to some shopping for this kind of ride, the steering is number than a tub of novocain, and feels completely dead.

The handling is good in terms of the vehicle’s ability to grasp the road, whether its dry, wet or snowy, but there’s a ton of body lean and it is clear the Highlander doesn’t want you to throw it into a curve.

The all-wheel drive, while competent at moving things forward, is front-wheel biased, so it will almost invariably understeer. Now let’s say you want to have some fun and kick out the rear end in the snow. Good luck. When you turn off the traction control, the stability grannies still put their foot down sternly as you slide and put a stop to the fun. And inexplicably, the vehicle turns the traction control back on. After you consciously turned it off. Thanks, Toyota, for pouring water on the fun parade.

If you want to head off the beaten path, the Highlander offers decent ground clearance and a hill descent mode.

Visibility is good – it’s a nice commanding view of the road, but the headrests from both the second and third row get in the way of your rear view.

Nitpicks

Nitpicks? I’ve become pretty accustomed to finding heated seats in most vehicles here in Canada. Certainly in those that price out to the tune of 38 grand. I was taken aback not to find them here.

I also feel as though Toyota is trying to milk the most they can out of dated tech and mechanicals before throwing an update our way. A 5-speed automatic? In 2013? Come ON! The only way they could insult us more would be to offer a 4-speed automatic. Oh wait, they do. In the Corolla.

Pairing a phone in a Toyota without a touchscreen (such as this one) is done through the hands-free system and takes about 20 steps. It’s probably less painful to put your arm through a meat grinder.

The placement of the trunk lid opener button is terrible – it’s completely blocked by the steering wheel.

The Verdict

So, what’s the verdict? Well, as an appliance, the Toyota Highlander does its job.

It will transport you, your family and whatever you need to bring from point A to point B and there won’t be any drama. It doesn’t look bad, although the styling is beginning to get a bit tired. The interior, in this trim level, feels a bit cheap and dated, although it does most everything you need too.

Everything about the driving experience feels numb and detached. If you want to have any kind of fun driving your vehicle, this isn’t the one for you. With that said, many bigger SUVs don’t offer a boatload of driving fun.

WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) was low. She, the lover of minivans, advised me that it was “boring” to drive. She absolutely hated the small screen for the back-up camera, and she said the Highlander didn’t react the way she expected it to on the road. Smart girl.

The Highlander is a vessel of utility, comfort and space, and offers reliability and excellent resale value. If those things matter, and you don’t need your vehicle to have a soul, you might like it.

In the Highlander movies, there can be only one. Thankfully in the SUV world, there is more than one to choose from. And if you’ve got your heart set on a Highlander, keep in mind that the 2014 Highlander has been revealed and will be available this year.

Disclosure:  Vehicle was provided by Toyota Canada.

If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out more of them under my vehicle reviews tab at the top of my blog.

The 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe must then fit into one of these two categories as well. I’m happy to tell you that it has taken me by surprise.

The Santa Fe starts at a measly $26,499 – that’s for the 2.4-litre front-wheel drive base trim. I reviewed the second-from-the-top-of-the-line 2.0T AWD SE.

Pricing: 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T AWD SE

Base price (of specific trim): $35,299

Options: none available

Freight: $1,760

A/C and other tax: $129.70

Price as tested: $37,188.70

Exterior

Hyundai goofily describes the new Santa Fe with the words “Rugged Elegance”. Come ON! Who comes up with this stuff? Anyway, thankfully there’s very little rugged and much more sporty elegance. Very few people these days care about the rugged aspect, and I’m glad to report Hyundai didn’t bother with it here, short of describing it that way.

The front end starts with a very visible chrome grille, which is flanked by large, expressive headlight pods. They’re swept back, with cool projector detailing and nifty LED accent eyebrows. The sides incorporate fenders that don’t flare out very far, a mild crease that eases its way back and side glass that comes to a very distinctive pinched kink at the back. The rear flanks jut out a bit, but that’s a visual cue more so than reality – it’s achieved by squeezing the upper part of the rear so that it’s narrower on top. It looks good.

The rear end, while perhaps the Santa Fe’s least exciting side, is well done too. Interesting shapes blend those fat rear flanks, the tail lights and the creases on the tail gate, while the rear spoiler and the perfectly-sized exhaust pipes add touches of sport.

The 19″ rims are particularly handsome and striking, and they’re shod with meaty 235/55-sized boots.

The design is relatively elegant, and added a shot of much-needed excitement to the Santa Fe which was starting to look pretty dreary. I like the way the sheet metal flows and the look is upright, balanced and has just the right amount of sophistication.

Under the Hood

This is the upper trim drivetrain – a 2.0-litre turbo-charged 4-cylinder. Pretty common stuff these days. This one cranks out 264 horsepower at 6000 RPM. That’s all well and good, but us North Americans care more about torque. And it certainly has plenty of that. 269 lb.ft at an incredibly low 1750 RPM. Yum!

The power goes through a 6-speed automatic and on to all four wheels – when required.

Fuel economy isn’t terrible. It’s rated at 11.0L/100 km (21 mpg) in the city and 8.4L/100 km (28 mpg) on the highway. Though these seem unimpressive, I appreciate that, if nothing else, they’re closer to reality than the competition’s ratings. During my week with it, I drove it mostly in the city, with a few sprints down the freeway. I typically don’t speed more than 10 km/h over the speed limit, but occasionally dropped the hammer too. I averaged 12.8 L/100 km (18 mpg) which isn’t bad at all in this class and considering the performance this vehicle offers. I’ll get to that later.

The Santa Fe has shed some weight versus the last model – this configuration comes in at a very acceptable 3862 pounds.

Interior

The materials in the Santa Fe are pretty nice. They’re mostly soft-touch plastics, although you can’t get your fingers into the dash. It’s more like a rubberized material, but it’s certainly nicer than hard plastics. Textures vary throughout the interior – maybe a bit too much. I liked the styling of the dash and door panels – it’s adventurous sculpting without going overboard. Fit and finish is good, but not spectacular.

The seats, heated and trimmed in leather, are very comfortable.

The heated, manually-adjustable steering wheel is decent, but felt a tad slippery to me. It has controls for the media system, phone and handsfree functions, cruise control and the driver information screen. Behind the wheel sit two big, easy to read gauges. I enjoyed the use of smaller display areas in the center of those gauges. That normally wasted space houses small raised digital displays (that look like tiny hockey pucks) showing your fuel, outside temperature, engine temperature and gear selection. Between the gauges is a very crisp, clear driver information screen. It allows you to see what’s playing on your media system, some vehicle settings, fuel economy (range, average consumption), and 2 trip meters.

The Santa Fe’s center stack starts with a media system on top. It’s anchored by a small 4.3″ touch-screen, which is surrounded by hard buttons to access the main functions. The screen is pretty easy to read considering how tiny it is, and I found it to be quite responsive to touch. Media sources are AM, FM, satellite radio, CD, auxiliary and USB audio. It sounds pretty good most of the time. The screen also acts as the monitor for your back-up camera. The camera’s picture is augmented by parking distance sensors with audible alerts for the rear end.

At the bottom of the stack sits a good dual-zone automatic climate control system. I appreciated the simplicity of the layout on the stack – nothing complicated, and everything works (and makes sense).

The center console is home to the shift lever, two cupholders and an armrest. Overhead is a really, really big panoramic sunroof – there’s a powered sunshade, and the front panel tilts and slides back.

The Santa Fe has keyless entry, and a push-start ignition.

Rear Seats

The space back here is airier than you might expect, thanks to that huge sunroof. There are three seats, three seatbelts and three headrests. The heated seats are very comfortable (well, the two outboard positions are) and are adjustable fore and aft, and recline as well.

The middle seating is not comfortable, and is narrow and too firm. It could accommodate an adult if need be. This is very typical of any vehicle these days. The head room and leg room was good.

In terms of comfort and convenience, you get adjustable air vents and manual sun shades on each side and a 12V plug at the back of the center console. There are decent door bins, two seatback map pockets and that middle seatback folds down into an armrest with two cupholders that slide out.

Our three kids were very comfortable back there, and the doors open wide to access children’s seating. You get two sets of LATCH anchors for their seats if you need them.

Storage

I found the storage to be pretty good overall. The glove compartment is big enough, and there is a rubberized bin under a pop-up lid in the center of the dash.

The door bins are a useful size and include bottle holders.  There is a large open bin at the front of the center console – it’s rubberized, and you’ll find auxiliary, USB and two 12V plugs there. It’s a nice space to drop things into like your smart phone. There is also a big carpeted bin under the armrest lid – it includes an organizer tray.

At first glance, you can tell the trunk space is huge – you’re given 1003 litres to work with. On top of that, you’ll find significant and highly useful storage space under the load floor. There’s another 12V plug back there too. You can cover up your mess with a removable, retractable tonneau cover.

What’s that, you say? You need more? MORE?! That’s all you people ever do. Take, take, take. Anyway, where was I? Oh right. MORE! Sure, Hyundai can do that for you. You can fold the rear seats using handles in the trunk – they split 40/20/40 – the middle one folds down on its own to make a pass-through which adds some fantastic flexibility. Fold them all down, and you’re left with a spittle-stopping 2025 litre space. Wow.

 Nitpicks

My Santa Fe had one major annoyance and that was the rattle from the bottom of the windshield. It announced its presence over any kind of road irregularity. Since I live in Edmonton, it was incessant. I decided to talk to a few owners of the new Santa Fe that I ran into at the grocery store or gas station. Every single one of them had more mileage on their odometer and all indicated their vehicle remained rock-solid and completely rattle and buzz free. I’m hoping that this was an anomaly then, rather than par for the course.

This trim level has no power lift gate, though you’ll find it in other crossovers at this price. Speaking of the lift gate, the leading edge of the tailgate is only about an inch taller than me at 5’10″ – if you’re 6′ tall, you’ll be banging your melon on that thing. Every time. It even dared to mess with MY coiffure –  a cardinal mistake, Mr. Hyundai Lift Gate. One I won’t forgive twice.

The Drive

I’m going to be honest here. I was very pleasantly surprised. The smoothness with which the new Santa Fe goes about its business should concern much of the competition.

The Santa Fe has a lot of power. Being a turbo, there is lag, but it’s insignificant during everyday driving. There’s plenty of jam for anything you’re doing around town, and when you need more, this thing simply surges ahead when you step on it. It’s but a moment of lag, and when the boost comes on, the Santa Fe provides tremendous power at any speed. Passing at highway speeds is a non-issue, as is getting into any speed of traffic. That being said, it was also easy to drive slowly and comfortably.

I couldn’t believe how little commotion the engine made, even when I had it soaring up past 5000 RPM. No strain, no fuss. Smooth. Pretty impressive.

The ride was amazing. Buttery smooth and quiet over anything I drove over. Including our Mongolia-sized pothole collection here in Edmonton. It is truly a luxurious riding crossover, and felt very refined in terms of its motions over any irregularities.

The handling was also excellent. In terms of capability, the Santa Fe never disappointed, and at times, felt as though it was inviting me to have some fun. Throw it into any corner, and you’ll find the grip to be tremendous. The one thing that dampened my spirits a bit was the amount of body lean. There’s a lot of it, but you can rest assured that when you need to get through some curves in a hurry, the Santa Fe won’t back down.

Interestingly, you can adjust the steering boost between three levels – comfort, normal and sport. The differences are noticeable and I ended up leaving it in sport mode as it was a well-balanced setting. The steering feel throughout the range is pretty numb, but the response to your inputs is actually quite good. I did find the steering ratio was boosted a bit too much at lower speeds, and often I found the wheels had turned more than I’d expected them to in places like a parking lot where I was driving around slowly. I’m sure you’d adjust to this, but it caught me off guard a couple of times.

Continuing for a moment with the smoothness thing… the 6-speed automatic transmission is exemplary. It shifts imperceptibly almost all the time, even under heavy throttle, yet it’s intelligent enough to be in the right gear much of the time. Occasionally I wished it hadn’t hunted for the higher gears so soon to save a drop of fuel, but that’s no different from any other automatic out there. The transmission can be shifted manually with the gear selector – the manual shifting mode is accessed by sliding the lever to the right, then tipping it forward or backward to shift. I was taken aback by the speediness of the shifts. I found them quicker and more accurate than in some vehicles with sportier intentions and costing significantly more than the Santa Fe.

The Santa Fe offers an active eco mode – depress the button, and prepare to be depressed. It takes everything down a notch to save fuel, but it’s no fun.

The all-wheel drive is front-wheel-drive-based, so it’s the old slip’n'grip system. You’ll feel those front tires squirming under the power for a brief moment before the power is transferred to the rear end. Of course, to the vast majority of drivers, that won’t matter, and it’s the most economical system that makes sense for almost every driver. There is a 4×4 lock mode, but I’m not clear if it just ensures all-wheel drive is always on, or if it actually locks an axle. The Santa Fe also has hill descent control for all you rugged-living, hirsute off-roaders out there.

Visibility is pretty good, although I could never tell where the front of the vehicle was because the angles drop off pretty sharply. That had me guessing a few times when parking it in tight spaces. The brakes, though not the most communicative, were effective and powerful when called upon.

I was also impressed by the sound levels in the Santa Fe. There’s a nice muted growl when you step on the gas, but other than that, the drivetrain is quiet. The road and wind noise were also well-controlled.

If you need to, you can tow up to 3500 pounds.

The Verdict

I think Hyundai did a great job in putting together a modern, current crossover that packs a punch in terms of performance, utility and comfort. I’ve noticed when talking to people that Hyundai still hasn’t completely overcome the stigma of building lower-quality vehicles. That’s a shame, because from what I’ve seen over the last 5 years, they’ve really come a long way. They simply make good cars.

I give the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport a 7.5 out of 10.

Short of the irritating buzzing sounds in this review unit (which I will chalk up to journalist abuse rather than a reflection of build quality), I found little that I didn’t like about the Santa Fe. I can’t say how gracefully the avantgarde styling will age, but for now, it’s a great-looking ride that offers a lot – especially at this price.

WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) – well, she liked the Santa Fe. A LOT. She commented on the perforated leather seats (saying they looked great and were very comfy) and that it was very easy to drive. She loved the size of the trunk – it handled a day’s worth of her and her sister’s shopping. And she really liked the ergonomics inside, saying everything suited her and everything made sense. High praise.

It’s a crowded class the Santa Fe competes in, to be sure, but the 2013 2.0T Sport certainly holds its own and competes fiercely.

You’d be missing out if you don’t give it some serious consideration if you’re dabbling in 5-seat crossover territory.

Disclosure:  Vehicle was provided by Hyundai Canada.

If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out more of them under my vehicle reviews tab at the top of my blog.

Exterior

In terms of styling, the Encore has the Trax handily beat. Its tidy proportions are sculpted, but not overstyled – I like how they integrate the very slightly flared fenders. It has very short overhangs, front and rear, and the beltline is quite high, angling up even higher as it makes its way to the back. The Buick chrome waterfall grille shows up here, but in my opinion, it’s the best application of it yet.

I really liked the shiny, polished 18″ rims and the 215/55-sized rubber that might look a bit skinny on another ride looks just right on this smaller vehicle. The headlights are massive units, and have interesting details. The blue corona rim around the projector looks cool, and the foglights below are very nicely done. Front and rear fascias have “skidplates” on the bottom, giving it a hint of ruggedness – unnecessary, of course, but it’s not overdone. The tail lights sweep forward, blending into the character crease that makes its way back, following the lines of the door handles.

If there is an angle that could be called the Encore’s ugly side, I’d have to say it’s the rear profile. It’s a bit of a hunchback, and quite a narrow vehicle, giving it the appearance as though it’s nervous and is clenching its butt-cheeks together. But it’s not a terrible angle, and the rest of it appealed to anyone who came over to check it out and ask questions. They finished the back off with a classy oval exhaust tip.

I had a number of people (women and men alike) say that the Encore was probably styled for the female demographic. But everyone said they liked it – and I agree wholeheartedly. It’s a smart, stylish design that throws some elegance and some fun into the mix. It’s just a shame that they’re still hanging on to those silly faux portholes on the hood. Silly, I say!

Under the Hood

The diminutive engine that greets you when you pop the hood might remind you of a mouse peeking out of its hole in the wall. It’s that small. It looks like you could get another engine in there.

So what is it then, this mouse? It’s a 1.4-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder. The numbers aren’t astounding, but that’s not the whole story. It puts out 138 horsepower between 4900 and 6000 RPM, and makes its peak torque (148 lb.ft) available to you at a low 1850 RPM.

The power makes its way through a 6-speed automatic, to all four wheels using a front-wheel-drive-based all-wheel-drive system.

Fuel economy is rated at 8.9 L/100 km (26 mpg) in the city and 6.7 L/100 km (35 mpg) on the highway. My week with it was typical for my reviews. Daily commuting, occasional heavy foot, no effort to conserve fuel and a few freeway/highway sprints. I averaged 10.3 L/100 km (23 mpg) which isn’t amazing for a small vehicle, but it’s actually pretty good. The fuel tank holds 53 litres and the Encore doesn’t require premium fuel.

Interior/Tech/Convenience

The interior is crafted out of very nice materials. I’ve come to expect upper-crust interiors from Buicks, and this one didn’t disappoint. Fit and finish was pretty good, and you’ll find soft-touch plastics everywhere. Dash, door panels, you name it. This particular one had the dark interior, which gets a bit sombre. I’ve seen the lighter interior option in pictures, and it’s lovely.

The heated leather seats are very comfortable, and offer a surprising amount of bolstering. That’s a good thing! They are power-adjustable fore and aft, as well as for the lumbar support. The recline function, however, needs to be done manually. This had me scratching my head in the Trax as well. The driver’s side seat has a 2-position memory setting and a flip-down center armrest. Too bad, so sad for the passenger if they want to rest their left arm anywhere.

The manually-adjustable heated steering wheel is decent. It has controls for cruise, media, handsfree and phone functions. The Encore is started with a key – no push-button starter here. The key fob has remote lock/unlock functions, as well as a remote starter. I liked that last feature.

Ahead of you is a bin with the standard Buick gauges. I really like them, because they are easy to read and classy. The markings on the bezels make them look like a nice watch, rather than an automobile gauge. Between the two main gauges is GM’s standard driver information screen. It’s not pretty, with its crunchy green text and graphics, but functionally I have no complaints. It allows you to switch between timer, average fuel economy, fuel range, two trip meters and it always shows your gear selection, a compass and your odometer at the bottom.

The center of the dash has a hooded screen sticking out of it, running Buick’s Intellilink system. Although it works fine, the interface is starting to show its age. I much prefer the simpler, boiled-down approach I found in the Chevy Trax – the MyLink system is one of the simplest, most-effective I’ve used in a long time, and I hope it makes its way through GM’s products. Anyway, the screen here handles your media (sources are AM, FM, satellite radio, CD, auxiliary, USB and Bluetooth streaming), your phone functions, the navigation system, some vehicle settings and the back-up camera. You navigate around it with a rotary dial, and by pushing the ring around it as an ENTER button. It takes a couple of tries, but it ends up making sense. Of course, you can also operate it through voice command, if you want to. Good luck with that. The screen is too far away and therefore there is no touch-screen function.

The BOSE system sounds really good, by the way.

On the center stack, below the screen on the dash, is an ungainly sea of same-coloured buttons. It would be impossible to use any of them without taking your eyes off the road – thankfully, you wouldn’t need to use them very often. Underneath that is a dual-zone automatic climate control system.

There isn’t really a center console, just a collection of things between the seats. Here you’ll find the gear selector, a traditional parking brake lever, two cupholders.

Overhead you’ll find a small powered tilt/slide sunroof.

Driver assistance tech is quite complete. You get lane-departure warning system, forward collision alerts and front and rear parking distance sensors with audible alerts (augmented by the back-up camera of course). The rain-sensing automatic wipers are a nice touch as well.

Rear Seats

There are three rear seats – each has a seatbelt, and the outside two seats have headrests. The two outboard positions are very comfortable, but the middle one is very tight and barely usable for an adult. The fact that there is barely any foot room behind the center console doesn’t help either. The head room back there is good for my 5’10″ frame, and the leg room is certainly acceptable for this size and class of vehicle.

There’s not a lot going on in terms of convenience. You get a 120V household plug at the back of the center console (a fantastic feature that should be standard in every vehicle!) and two seatback pockets – one mesh, one solid fabric. The door bins back there are shallow, but offer a bit of extra space. The middle seatback folds down to become an armrest, and it has two cupholders in it.

If you’re throwing kids in the back seats, and by throwing I mean gently placing, you’ll find good space for two of them. There are two sets of LATCH connectors for their seats. Our three kids actually felt cramped width-wise – it’s just not a very wide vehicle. But two of them would find it very roomy.

Storage

The standard glove box is a good size, and you also get an upper glove compartment in the dash. It is totally rubberized, and although it’s not huge, I find it a very useful space.

I liked the angled, rubberized open bin under the center stack. It’s perfect to drop things like a smart phone into, and it also has 12V, auxiliary and USB plugs.

The front door bins are quite useable, with little added sub-bins under the door grabs. The left underside of dash houses a pop-out bin and at the back of the center “console” there’s a scrolling lid, covering a small, rubberized storage bin.

The cargo area is quite big at 533 litres with the rear seats in use. Fold the seats down (they split 60/40) and you’re looking at a 1371 litre space, which affords you great utility. I found the load floor to be at a perfect height in terms of convenience, and there is a small storage bin on either side of the trunk as well.

The trunk space is covered by a removable hard tonneau cover that swings up and out of the way with the tail gate. This also adds a parcel shelf if you need every cubic foot available on a road trip or something like that.

The Drive

I really liked the high driving position. It affords you an excellent view of the road ahead and around you. With that said, those rear flanks sweep up and join with those massive rear pillars, making it difficult to shoulder-check – especially on the passenger side.

It’s not a fast vehicle, that much is clear from the moment you start driving it. But that’s not the point. The driving experience is a lively one, and the chassis is dynamic enough to make it fun enough.

The power builds in a very linear manner, but it never feels as though it has a lot of jam under the hood. With that said, it’s plenty for everyday driving. You probably don’t want to pull out of a side street in front of a speeding car and passing someone on the highway requires a bit of planning and a few seconds longer than more vehicles need. But during the week I had it, I rarely wanted for more power.

The transmission is relatively smooth, although there is often a split-second of hesitation between shifts. The smoothness isn’t interrupted, but the power feels as though it is, albeit very, very briefly. I’m not sure if software retards the ignition momentarily between shifts, or what the story is. It’s not intrusive, and you get used to it after a couple of drives. The transmission seems to be mostly interested in saving fuel, and it hunts for higher gears right away. When you step on it to pass, it takes a couple of seconds to downshift to the right gear. You can also manually shift gears, using the top-mounted rocker on the gear selector. It’s not a great solution, but it’s better than the ones in some other vehicles. Namely the thumb-toggles on the left side of the gear selector which is my most disliked manual shifting option. Shifts here are pretty slow, and therefore I found little use for manual shifting. Let the auto-box do its job and you’ll be set.

The ride is firm, but in a sporty way, not a bad way. It remains comfortable and well-controlled. I thought the handling was quite good as well. The Encore actually has just under 8″ of ground clearance, which is respectable. That also raises the center of gravity, and you end up with quite a bit of body lean around corners. But it’s not alarming, and it hangs on tenaciously when you throw it into curves. It obviously prefers the straights, but it will do just fine in the twists too, considering it’s a small crossover.

The Encore weighs 3254 pounds in this trim. That makes it a relative feather-weight for an all-wheel drive crossover, and it’s certainly light enough to run around town with ease. It never feels heavy or bloated.

There is some minor road noise, but overall, it’s a quiet vehicle. Drivetrain and wind noise levels are very good, unless you’re really stepping on the gas. In that case, you’ll get a nice little snarl from under the hood, and then things get a bit buzzy over about 4000 RPM. But it’s not something that’s really intrusive.

The brakes are fine – nothing too powerful, but they always worked well. The all-wheel drive is slip-and-grip so you’ll always feel the front end trying to grab before it digs its heels in. But for most folks, it’s perfectly effective, and it did as good of a job on our crappy, snowy Edmonton streets as it did on our crappy dry, pot-holed Edmonton streets.

This is probably clear to most readers, but if you’re still wondering, towing is not recommended with the Encore.

Nitpicks

Although the Encore comes well-equipped, if I had choices here, I’d very happily forgo something like lane-departure warning in exchange for a power liftgate. A power liftgate is a pretty big deal to many buyers, especially on a crossover. Especially in the premium segment.

I didn’t enjoy the extra step of having to tumble the rear seat bottoms forward before you can fold the seatbacks flat. It’s not a big deal, but it’s pretty unusual these days. A small annoyance.

The Verdict

I loved almost everything about the Encore. I really enjoyed the stylish exterior, and the high-quality interior. I felt the performance was fine for normal, everyday driving, and for a family of four, this vehicle would cover just about every need and want. There’s plenty of driver tech, plenty of comfort and plenty of luxury.

WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) was very, very high. She absolutely loved the styling, saying it was nearly perfect for a small crossover. She liked the way it drove, appreciating that it never felt big while on the road or making its way around a parking lot. She also commented on the cargo capacity, noting that she was able to easily fit a Saturday’s shopping in – which is quite a feat, I assure you. She did miss the lack of a power liftgate though.

There has to be a catch, right? There is. Encores start at $27,130. Why, that’s not bad at all, you exclaim! You’re right. But this one, the almost-loaded Premium trim with options, is the one I’d want. And I’m sad to say that it sneaks right up on 40 grand.

Pricing

2013 Buick Encore Premium

Base price (of specific trim): $34,455

Options: $1100 express open sunroof; $995 white pearl tri-coat; $995 navigation/audio upgrade; $100 oil pan heater

Freight: $1550

A/C tax: $100

Price as tested: $39,295

I left the pricing until the end, because it was really the first thing that soured my outlook on what is otherwise an awesome vehicle. There’s little I’d change about the vehicle itself, and I think Buick did a bang-up job in taking the Chevy Trax and making it their own, putting their premium look and feel into this tiny crossover. Truthfully though, I’d have to consider the competition at the $40,000 price – and there’s plenty of good stuff available for that kind of money. If my mind was set on the Encore, and I can see why someone would be smitten with it, I could easily live without the options on this one, bringing it back down to around $34,000. Which is too bad, because it would be great to see this thing priced around $34,000 and include all these goodies. At that price, I’m guessing they’d be moving boatloads of them. It will be interesting to see how this pricing strategy works for Buick. ‘d love to see plenty of Encores on our streets, because all in all, they’re a great little vehicle – I’m just not convinced people are going to be willing to pony up that kind of dough for a loaded one.

Disclosure: Vehicle was provided by Don Wheaton Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac.

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