Car Review

If you are looking for a three-row SUV right now... there are TONS of options but honestly, very few are actually SUVs. Most are crossovers and the ones that remain are giant truck-frame based vehicles that frankly are bigger than most families need. Unfortunately there were few options in the middle and that's where the Jeep Grand Cherokee L comes in. 

Mazda is a brand that we haven't had much exposure to recently but it continues to fill a very nice niche of affordable luxury and because it isn't focused on serving a mass-market customer, it can deliver a different design experience than other manufactures. For some people this is the right fit and understandably for others it isn't right. That's why test drives are so important and why I enjoy spending time driving these vehicles over a series of days on different terrain. For this road trip, we took the Mazda CX-9 up to Palm Springs and tested it on a mixture of suburban streets, high-speed interstates, and twisty mountain roads. What we found was a very enjoyable and comfortable ride that while not a standout in terms of power or luxury amenities - hit a very attractive price point that is thousands less than comparable 3-row SUVs from luxury brands like Cadillac.

One of the things I love about living in San Diego isn't just the pretty awesome weather all year round but rather the hot dusty playground located just on the other side of the mountains from where I live downtown. This is area, the Anza Borrego Desert, is an incredibly playground with a mixture of terrain ranging from insanely tough to perfect for novice riders. You guys know how much I love the Colorado ZR2 and so when we got the chance to take it's big brother then Silverado ZR2 for a spin... well... you know I jumped at the opportunity!

Like many advocates for electric vehicles, in the past I've been willing to look past the weaknesses and point to some day in the future when we'll finally "be there". Well I think we've hit that point and while EV's are still mostly limited to sedans and crossover-wagons, the future is bright for bigger vehicles too. Today though, we're talking about our experience taking the all-new Kia EV6 to Electrify Expo in Long Beach where we had a chance to meet with a variety of companies that are filling in the gaps that will ultimately make an EV practical for all prospective car buyers.

It would be an understatement to say that Ford's Bronco was one of the most wildly anticipated vehicles to become available this year. Promising to be a "Wrangler Killer" by taking the decades of engineering that Jeep had invested into it's off road king and offering a new perspective, Bronco has some big shoes tires to fill. Is it able to do so? We took it on one of our favorite trails to find out.

GMC has been one of our absolute favorite truck brands for almost as long as we've been doing automotive features here on ManTripping. They've earned that respect because they continually merge the two things that I think most guys look for when it comes to a set of wheels - rugged utility and ultimate comfort that is wrapped up in a stylish package.

The long awaited all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra is finally here and we had a chance to test it out on some trails in San Diego, patrolling the southern border as well as prowling some of Southern California’s highways. Our summary judgment - Toyota has delivered exactly what they needed to keep existing customers excited about the brand and attract some swing customers with long awaited updates that make this one of our favorite trucks available today.

Let's just get this out of the way, the CT4-V Blackwing is a powerful vehicle in a very compact (subcompact) package... it is also not a car for truck-sized guys like me. As such I honestly felt a bit awkward reviewing it in the way where you know it can do more than you're physically able to accommodate safely. That sucks because this is a very fun little car that offers a unique curve hugging nimbleness that you'd otherwise find only in a vehicle such as the Corvette.

Minivans aren't sexy or cool... right? Well not exactly. While minivans of your youth were more focused on utility than comfort, technology and design, today's current generation of minivans - especially the 2022 Toyota Sienna are a different breed. While utility is still paramount, minivans are truly my top choice of vehicle for long road trips where you'll be riding only on paved roads. Just because the roads are paved though doesn't mean you can't have a great adventure though and that's what we did while exploring Southwest Florida Everglades with a Toyota Sienna.

Volkswagen's ID.4 was both one of the most exciting EVs that I had a pleasure to drive this year as well as one of the most frustrating and confusing. Ultimately though, many of the things that detracted from what ultimately could be one of the best EV options on the market today are "quirky" design elements that I've found in other VW vehicles... though in those, tech is less core to the experience and are easy to adapt to over time.

The Lexus LC 500 is hands down my favorite luxury sports car available today and with the addition of the soft-top convertible it makes it that much better and more enjoyable. While there are other vehicles that boast more horses, more space, more comfort, or other metrics... many of them cost far more and none of them wrap everything in such a perfect package as Lexus does with the LC 500 convertible.

Toyota is still the master of hybrid cars and crossovers and when the current generation of RAV4 launched in 2019, we were immediately drawn to the hybrid version. Not only did it offer a more exciting driving experience but it also offered the obvious boost in mpgs too. Now, with the RAV4 Prime, Toyota takes it to the next level with a combined 302 hp, 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and an EPA-estimated 42 miles of range on battery alone... resulting in an EPA-estimated 94 MPGe!

So, you’re looking for a sub-compact crossover. Well, your choices in this class are numerous! Every manufacturer has at least one and more are on the way this fall.

Two of our favorite trucks are the Chevrolet Silverado and the Colorado ZR2... well now they've come together to create a truck we can't wait to get our hands on next spring. The 2022 Silverado ZR2 takes the existing Silverado to the next level, bringing it closer... and in many ways superior to the current generation Tundra TRD Pro and F-150 Raptor.

In the automotive industry it seems like there are two different core types of trim level packages. The first is purely cosmetic and the second is actually functional. A few weeks ago, we were driving the K5 GT-Line and it left us shaking our head wonder why that trim was even created. It looked great but when it came to delivering on the performance it's good looks promised, quite simply it fell short. Now that we've had a chance to play with the 2021 Kia K5 GT we are even more shocked that the GT-Line exists at all.

The 2021 Kia Telluride SX is a mid-sized SUV that offers an edge. It provides all the power of a traditional SUV at an attractive price point with plenty of technology and amenities like heated seats, connectivity, safety features, and even a 5,000 pound towing capacity that makes this a great option for budget conscious shoppers.

The all-new 2021 Kia Sorento X-Line is the brand's latest iteration of their popular mid-sized SUV. With the addition of the X-Line package, Sorento promises off-road adventure options that normally you might not consider with a vehicle like this. Like all Kia SUVs, it is packed with plenty of tech and safety features and plenty of interior space for your passengers in the third row too. Is X-Line purely cosmetic for the aspirational off roader or is this something that you can use to go places you wouldn't normally take other unibody SUVs? Let's take a look!

This is a different sort of review about a different sort of car. One of the challenges that we face right now is brand confusion and terminology that doesn't always align as neatly as you might want. Some of this is due to terms like "GT" once meaning something but now just simply slapped on anything to make it sound sportier. Others are self inflicted by creating too many trim levels of a model and that's what I see with Kia's K5 GT-Line. It isn't that simple since the GT-Line and GT actually offer different options, making one a much better option for some buyers than the other.

The Lexus RC 350 F-sport is a driving enthusiast’s dream come true. Boasting Lexus’ trademark luxury and performance, the Lexus RC 350 F-sport will be available in two versions: an RWD version for those who love to drive and an AWD version for those who need some extra traction on wet roads or simply more stability when accelerating around corners. Lexus has been making waves with its beautiful sportscars lately, and this new model is no exception.

Sometimes there's a vehicle that should be a home-run but just leaves you wondering who it was designed for. That's the feeling I got following our week with the all-new 2021 Toyota Venza. On the surface, Venza looks chic and sporty, somewhat of a cross between an Avalon and a Rav4. It wants to have the handling of a sports sedan, with the space and comfort of an SUV. Sadly, despite looking sharp, it doesn't fulfil the sporty promise that we were hoping it would.