Road Test: 2012 Ford Focus Hatchback SEL

Story and photos by John LeBlanc The whingers and whiners; the moaners and groaners; the grumblers and complainers—you know who you are. You’re the greasy wheels who’ve been squawking that automakers here in Canada don’t sell the type of small hatchbacks those lucky bastards in Europe can buy. Sure. Volkswagen keeps flogging its German-built Golf. […]

First Drive: 2012 Kia Sportage 1.7 CRDi

Story by John LeBlanc ZILINA, Slovakia – How serious is Korea’s Kia at taking on the more established European brands? Driving a diesel version of the automaker’s Sportage crossover in the country it was built should give us some clues.

Road Test: 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan Highline 4Motion

Story and photos by John LeBlanc Warning: If you have offspring in the range of 10 to 12 years of age in your household, you have what social experts call a “tweener,” kids caught between early childhood and adolescence. If you’re a Volkswagen dealer, you also have a tweener on your hands, the Tiguan crossover. Like […]

The Crank: Is Fiat (literally) stretching its 500 brand too far?

By John LeBlanc Let’s be honest: if BMW’s modern Mini had been a sales flop, we would never have seen the modern Fiat 500. Like the new Mini, the teeny Fiat is cute, cuddly, and fun-to-drive, with styling that harkens back to an original post-World War Two city car. And just as Fiat has copied […]

Quick Spin: 2012 Chevrolet Orlando

Story and photos by John LeBlanc Canadian-exclusive Orlando a practical family hauler What is it? The Orlando is a three-row, seven-passenger people hauler based on General Motors’ global compact-car platform. With conventional opening rear doors, please, don’t call it a minivan. And in a departure from the norm, the Korean-built Orlando is only sold in […]

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