It’s been 22 years since the first-generation Toyota RAV4 arrived in US shores. Back then, compact-based crossovers or small SUVs were as ubiquitous as smartphones, emojis, and selfies - in short, it was a tiny market, compared to the behemoth it has become today. Who would have thought larger SUVs would take the place of family sedans or station wagons as the everyday driver?
It was pretty clear when Porsche announced the 2018 Panamera 4 E-Hybrid Sport Turismo that it wasn't going to be your normal hybrid. The closest the automaker's cars get to green is usually their paint job, after all, but the shapely Sport Turismo claims to be more eco-conscious than you'd expect. Of course, since this is a Porsche it couldn't just be about saving the planet.
In a growing line-up of electrified options, the 2018 BMW i3s still somehow stands out. Much has been made of the i3's divisive external design, and in many ways the new 2018 i3s only exaggerates that: bigger wheels, more aggressive bumpers, and gloss-black trim. As I found behind the wheel, though, the i3's key charm remains what's inside.
I’ve never been a fan of the Audi TT, the shape is too bulbous for my liking and I’ve found previous generations underpowered. So, it’s fair to say I approached the 2018 TT RS with trepidation. Could this most-potent of the TT family win me over with its balance of practicality and performance?
The Jaguar I-PACE isn’t quite as easy to pin down as you might think it would be. Yes, Jaguar’s first all-electric car has had all the usual Tesla comparisons; yes, we’ve already found it surprisingly adept off-road and even on the race track. When I got behind the wheel myself, though, it turned out to be very different to what I’d been expecting.
The EB-5 electric bicycle might be the best bicycle I've ever ridden - and I've been riding bikes my whole life. I've never lent much credence to the idea of using a bicycle with a motor. I always thought it was a bit counter-intuitive to put gas in something that's otherwise the symbol of green living. But with the EB-5, it's all the good parts about the motorized bike, and none of the bad.
The 2018 Range Rover LWB isn’t bulletproof, but you certainly feel that way from behind the wheel. LWB here stands for Long Wheelbase, and means more length added to what’s already the largest model in Range Rover’s line-up. Despite that, it’s an unexpected note of restraint in a sea of vast luxury trucks.
If Lexus wanted to convince us that it was neither boring nor unimaginative, the 2018 LC 500 is the car to do it. Born of a melodramatic concept, translated with painstaking care to mass production, and tasked with changing decades of preconceptions at a price that's reasonably affordable, it's no surprise that the LC doesn't quite hit every note. Still, the delta between what this V8 GT promises and what it delivers is impressive.
Tesla may have convinced drivers that Autopilot is the pinnacle of driver-assistance technologies you can actually buy on a new car today, but Cadillac might have Elon Musk beat. Quietly added mid-year to the 2018 Cadillac CT6, Super Cruise is the first hands-off adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping system on the market. It's promise is straightforward: on the right road, the CT6 luxury sedan will handle speed, braking, and steering, without pestering you to keep your hands on the wheel.
Android Auto Wireless may now be arriving on select phones and head-units, but iPhone owners wanting wireless CarPlay don't have to wait - it's available now. While there's plenty to like about the 2018 BMW 640i xDrive Gran Turismo, not least its 3.0-liter, 335 horsepower engine, I had one particular spec in mind for testing. With iPhone X supporting wireless charging, and CarPlay wireless available in a growing number of vehicles, is it worth spending more on the option if you're buying a new car?
The clouds are dark, ominous; pregnant with rain and perhaps worse. California may be the Golden State, but I've lived through the sudden spite of its leaden winters and know too well how scenic roads can unexpectedly become slippery routes straight into the ditch when nine months of dust meets sheets of water. With the keys to the 2018 McLaren 720S in my pocket for just three days, the prospect of tempering my exuberance or - worse still - breaking one of the few cars that have made it to the West Coast is seriously lacking in appeal. Unlike the Egyptians, we British have no Sun God to pray to.
The SUV market is getting crowded, fast, and carmakers are scrambling to have their own models stand out. At first glance, Volvo's new 2019 XC40 might not fit the bill, both figuratively and literally. Its smallest SUV, the subcompact looks like a seriously shrunken version of the company’s larger XC60 and XC90. Yet the XC40 is looking to prompt a shake-up much bigger than its footprint, with a new platform under the sheet metal and a new way of adding one to your garage. I got a chance to take the new XC40 for a spin, to see if it has what it takes to stand tall among larger vehicles in its segment.