Vehicle(s): 2007 VW Golf City with air-conditioning, ESP, side/head curtain airbags and luxury pkg Jetta City with air-conditioning, side/head curtain airbags, automatic transmission, ESP, luxury and convenience pkgs. Price as tested: CDN$18020 (Golf City) CDN$22300 (Jetta City) Performance: Both Cities are powered by VW’s ancient 2.0L engine. This is a 2-valve-per-cylinder DOHC engine with 115hp [...]
Vehicle: 2007 Suzuki SX4 JLX auto AWD Price as tested: CDN$23690 Handling: The SX4 shares the same chassis as the very worthy Japanese Swift hot hatch. Combined this platform with its advanced 3-mode AWD system, SX4 is a vehicle that’s years ahead of the unremarkable Aerio it replaces. This 3-mode AWD system is a nifty [...]
Vehicle: 2007 Mazdaspeed3 Price as tested: CDN$30995 Performance: Just like every Mazdaspeed products have gone before, the MSP3 is powered by a turbocharged engine. In MSP3′s case, its an upgraded 2.3L DOHC 16-valver with DSI, or Direct Injection Spark Ignition. DSI is Mazda’s term of direct injection technology similar to VW’s FSI. This 2.3 liter [...]
Vehicle: 2007 BMW 335i Coupe with Sports Pkg, Premium Pkg and Comfort Access Price as tested: CDN$58550 Performance: The codenamed E92 3-Series Coupe is powered by one normally aspirated straight-6 and the highlight of this review, an advanced twin-turbocharged 3.0 liter straight-6 with Double VANOS variable valve timing technology. While the entry-level 328i “only” has [...]
Vehicle: 2007 Acura RDX Price as tested: CDN$41000 Performance: Powered by RDX is one of the world’s finest turbocharged 4-cylinder engine in the world. Its a 2.3 liter i-VTEC DOHC, which shares the same engine structure with Acura’s excellent 2.4 liter i-VTEC normally aspirated unit currently resides in TSX. In RDX’s case, this powerplant is [...]
Vehicle: 2007 Pontiac Wave Uplevel sedan with 15″ wheels Price as tested: CDN$17085 Performance: Wave is basically Pontiac’s version of Chevrolet Aveo. Both Wave and Aveo share the same underpinnings, right from the body panels to powertrain. The only differences are the grille and badging. Don’t expect any remarkable performance as Wave motiavtes by a [...]
Vehicle: 2007 Toyota RAV4 Sport 4WD with Pkg B Price as tested: CDN$34750 Performance: RAV4′s biggest criticism has always been power, or therefore, lack of. The previous two iterations have always felt sluggish and unrefined even with the upgraded 2.4 liter version in facelifted 2nd generation. With the introduction of the 3rd generation, RAV4 finally [...]