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. […]

Road Trip: 2012 Honda Odyssey Touring

Story and photos by John LeBlanc SPRINGBROOK, P.E.I. – I’ll have no one accuse yours truly of not being thorough when it comes to big decisions. Take for instance the annual selection of a family vehicle to vacation in. It’s taken me four years—and an equal number of different rides—to come to the conclusion that […]

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.

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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