2007 Car Reviews

Like its predecessor, the second-generation X5 disappoints when it goes off the beaten track. Instead of offering a height-adjustable air suspension, it can be had with such pavement-oriented goodies as active steering, adjustable antiroll bars, and switchable more

The notions of a big car and a coupe generally stand in opposition to each other. Coupes are personal, sculpted, sporty, intimate. Big cars are expansive, spacious, luxurious, accommodating. The Mercedes-Benz CL-class is one of the few cars that attempts to br more

Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote that: "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." What a shame it is that he didn't live long enough to buy himself something with a heap of torque so that he more

When you boil it all down, there's only one thing to say about the new Mini: it looks a lot like the old Mini. Yes, it's better; yes, it's faster; yes, the engineers continually emphasize the number of parts that aren't shared with the outgoing car. But the po more

The original Volkswagen Rabbit was an excellent small car. Unfortunately, VW soon began to Americanize it, thinking we wanted more luxury features. We didn't. It was already the best in its class, and the embellishments watered down all its German-engineered a more

Honda's roller-skate-sized Civic put the company on the map in America during the first gasoline shock back in 1973, and since then, Honda has been cranking out successive--and usually excellent--iterations of its small car, regardless of where a gallon of unl more

The Mazdaspeed 3 is the hottest sport compact to roll this year. Check the facts: 263 hp, a fortified chassis, and a racy cabin for a base price of $22,835. Radar guns see a demure econobox. The reality is that affordability, practicality, and stealthy velocit more

San Francisco - With gasoline prices again taking residence in the national consciousness and demand for small cars rising, the already-blazing competition in the compact segment is heating up. Fortunately for Nissan, it had already gone back to the drawing bo more

Saint-Genis, France - It's always nice to get a gift from your rich German uncle. Mercedes-Benz has handed off a 215-hp, turbocharged and intercooled, 3.0-liter diesel V-6 to the Chrysler Group, which has stuffed it under the hood of the 300 sedan. With 376 l more

More sophisticated lines and better materials underscore the Altima's relentless march upscale. more

As Chevy's iconic Corvette has passed through each successive generation, it has transformed into a bona fide supercar, a ride that can step into the ring with the world's best and leave un-bowed. But that transformation has come at a price--literally. A base more

You know what I'd do if I owned a 2007 Porsche Boxster? I'd find someone with a 2006 Boxster, and I'd pull up next to him and say, "Excuse me, but what's it like to have only 240 horsepower? I have 245 horsepower, see, so I'm curious how the other half lives." more

The CX-9 shares the same gaggle of parts as the Ford Edge, but it's been engineered as a seven-passenger vehicle, so the Mazda's wheelbase has been stretched 2.0 inches and the vehicle is 13.9 inches longer overall. more

We don't tend to think of the Germans as creative visionaries--they're far too logical for that. But every so often, Germans solve an engineering problem so creatively that it becomes art. more

Mercedes-Benz has been building diesel automobiles since the 260D of the 1930s, so it's no surprise that Mercedes is the first and only manufacturer to make a diesel passenger car that meets newly tightened U.S. emissions regulations for 2007. With its new V-6 more