ArcaMax

Mazda is one of the few brands still selling a sedan, and it's one of the even fewer sedans that's also available as a hatchback sedan -- and with a manual transmission -- and that's something as rare to find in anything new today as cigarette lighters.

What It Is

The Mazda3 is a compact sedan/hatchback (five doors) and the competes with the ...Read more

Until three years ago, you couldn't buy a small truck in this country. And you still can't.

But you can buy a small pickup that looks like a truck and can do many of the things you could do with a small truck, such as carry a load in a bed and pull a 5,000-pound trailer.

Which, for the record, is something many of the small trucks you can't ...Read more

A few years from now -- maybe as soon as a year from now -- we may look back upon the 2025 Honda Pilot very much as we look back on the V12-powered (and even V8-powered) ultra-luxury vehicles of 20 years ago.

Because the Pilot comes standard with a V6 -- and that's getting to be a luxury. Even in luxury-brand (and luxury-priced) crossovers from...Read more

What is the difference between Volkswagen's Taos -- and the better-known Tiguan?

About $5,000.

There's more to it than that, of course. But also less.

What It Is

The Taos is a compact crossover -- and so is the Tiguan. The latter was VW's smallest (and least expensive) crossover until the Taos slid into that slot when VW added it to the ...Read more

Imagine going back in time to the heyday of the V8 muscle car in the late 1960s and early '70s with a brand-new Prius hybrid -- and beating almost all of them in a drag race.

While averaging close to 60 mpg.

That's what you might call a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too situation.

What It Is

The Prius is -- as everyone knows -- a hybrid designed...Read more

At one time, you had multiple options if you were interested in a midsize family sedan and didn't want to spend more than about $25,000 for it.

Your options have been reduced to one: the 2025 Chevy Malibu.

What It Is

The Malibu is the last car Chevrolet still sells -- and the last midsize family sedan anyone still sells with a base ...Read more

Kia's forte is undercutting its rivals (and then some) on price -- without cheaping out. If anything, the new K4 sedan -- which replaces the Forte as Kia's most affordable offering -- looks expensive.

Even though it's the least expensive new sedan you can buy.

What It Is

The K4 is a compact, entry-level sedan that competes ...Read more

Practically every car company has been trying to maintain the power/performance of the smaller engines that have been replacing larger engines -- in order to comply with federal fuel efficiency and emissions regulations -- by turbocharging these smaller engines.

Nissan has been doing that too. But it has also been doing something else.

Have ...Read more

If you are looking for a small car, there are just a few left to choose among -- and only one that's instantly recognizable and like none of the rest.

It's the Mini.

What It Is

The Mini is the iconically British three-door hatchback made by BMW. The modern -- BMW-built -- iteration is actually a larger car than the original Mini ...Read more

Finding a new car that comes standard with a manual transmission is almost as unusual as finding a new car that still comes standard with a manual, grab-handle emergency brake.

How about one that comes standard with both?

What It Is

The WRX is the street-legal iteration of the World Rally Cup Experimental race cars that Subaru racing teams ...Read more

A couple of months ago, I reviewed the plug-in hybrid version of the Kia Sorento crossover and compared it with its Hyundai-badged fraternal twin, the Sante Fe.

This week, the comparison's with the non-hybrid version of the Sorento.

What It Is

The Sorento is one of just three small crossovers that has room for seven rather than just five ...Read more

The Nissan Rogue is an unassuming small crossover that is also Nissan's bestselling model. More finely, Nissan sells so many of these unassuming small crossovers -- around 270,000 per year -- that it makes up for Nissan's other models that aren't selling well.

So it's really important -- to Nissan -- that lots of people keep on buying new ...Read more

When something is replaced by a new thing, it is assumed the new thing is an improved or otherwise better thing. A good way to find out is to compare the thing that was replaced with its replacement.

The 2025 Ram 1500 pickup used to be available with a 5.7-liter (and 6.2-liter) V8. Those V8s have been replaced with a pair of ...Read more