quick drive
Quick Drive: 2011 BMW X5 xDrive35i
The BMW X5 has long been one of my favorite “sporty” SUVs, which is to say that it’s really just one of my favorite SUVs to drive, period. The X5 manages to be a big, useful vehicle while still seeming categorically car-like in terms of driving experience. With the roundel out front I’d guess that’s what most potential buyers will expect, too.
Quick Drive: 2011 Nissan Cube 6MT
In the past I’ve found the Cube to be utterly charming. Maybe it is because it seems to make no major claims about driving dynamics, and so sets expectations on the low side, but in the event I’ve genuinely had fun in the Cube. And this, despite our past testers having continuously variable transmissions (normally an object of derision, though Nissan CVTs are among the best). This time Nissan shipped us a Cube with a six-speed manual, which caused a small wave of joy to shudder through the Austin office.
Quick Drive: 2011 Porsche Panamera 3.6
For me, there is a certain excitement that comes when driving a Porsche—any Porsche, really—I suppose because long experience with the brand has proven that there’s an unbreakable social contract at work. When you climb into vehicle that wears the famous Stuttgart badge, you can rest assured that it was designed and built by serious men and women who understand quality and solidity and, above all, care just as much about the qualitative aspects of driving as you do.
Quick Drive: 2011 Land Rover LR4
Three things stood out about the LR4, and these could make it the SUV to beat in the mid-sized class…
Quick Drive: 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie 4×4
Let’s not mince words. Dodge’s Ram 2500 Laramie 4×4 is not one of those kinder, gentler pickup trucks you’ve read about that claim to possess certain car-like virtues. No sir, this is a big, burly, muscular, manly truck that looks down (quite literally) upon most of the vehicles with which it shares the road.
Quick Drive: Mazda CX-7s Grand Touring AWD
I remember that Mazda’s first ads for the CX-7 touted it as a cross between a sports car and an SUV. Allowing for some inevitable poetic license, I’d say those ads were at least half true.
Quick Drive: Suzuki Grand Vitara XSport V-6
Viewed in isolation, the Grand Vitara comes across positively. It has good room, lots of features and drives acceptably. Still, I couldn’t help feeling that the Grand Vitara would have been a standout car 5-10 years ago, but is middle-of-the-pack in 2010.
Quick Drive: 2010 Infiniti EX35
You have to applaud Infiniti for trying to put some dynamic character in almost every vehicle it makes, even when that might not be what is expected. In the case of the EX35, we have a mid-sized SUV that feels a lot like you might expect a SUV would feel if it had a lot of G37 DNA.
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