Pathfinder back on track

The 2022 Nissan Pathfinder is a refreshing change for a vehicle that, ironically enough, had lost its way.

Power out the gazoo

VANCOUVER ISLAND MOTORSPORTS CIRCUIT, DUNCAN, B.C. — Toyota is investing heavily in a market segment it said a dozen years ago had ceased to exist, hot hatchbacks and sports coupes. And it’s coming with a cool new — or at least new to Canada — name: Gazoo Racing.

The Jeep that isn’t

The 2022 Wagoneer isn’t the largest vehicle I’ve ever driven, but it certainly feels like it is.

2023 Toyota Crown brings power, panache and parsimony to market

CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORTS PARK — It’s big, it’s bold and it’s set to become the flagship for Toyota in Canada, a market it hasn’t been sold in since 1965.

EVs with a Vietnamese twist

NHA TRANG, Vietnam — This upstart automaker is only five years old yet is on the cusp of a massive global expansion driven by a jump into the electric vehicle market.

BR-Zee? More like BR-Wheeee!

NEW marketing slogan for the 2022 Subaru BRZ: you’ll be surprised by its usefulness!

A ’ute that’s still cute after all these years

It’s been four years since we bought our 2018 Mazda CX-5, and while the 2022 Mazda CX-5 is, perhaps, the last refresh of this particular generation, no other affordable crossover quite ticks our boxes like our CX-5.

Truck pretender, or contender?

Take even a cursory glance at online pickup truck forums and a fairly constant theme will emerge about the 2022 Honda Ridgeline and all its ancestors.

They’re not real trucks.

True. But who cares?

Those who don’t like the Ridge will fill their pockets with Coloradoes and Silveradoes and F-150s and Rangers. Fine. We didn’t ask you.

Ford’s tiny pickup so popular, you’ll be lucky to find one

SALT SPRING ISLAND, British Columbia — People wouldn’t like the 2022 Ford Maverick, they said. Too small, they said. Not trucklike enough, they said. Well, what do they know, anyway?

Ford in Canada is practically sold out — 4,116 sold so far and more on the way, all spoken for — and is not taking any orders until the order bank for 2023 models opens later this summer.

It’s easy to see why.

The Maverick is compact, fuel-efficient, fun-to-drive and much more handy than its small size might suggest.

Skyrocketing gas prices fuelling increased interest in electric vehicles

When William York, an electrical engineer in Edmonton, took a 15-hour, 1,400-kilometre drive to Seattle, he planned the usual stops — bathroom breaks, meals, an overnight sleep — and arrived having taken roughly the same amount of time as most leisurely trips between the two cities.

The difference? York, 35, drives an electric vehicle.

At a time when gas prices are going crazy, it’s reasonable to expect more Canadian drivers will start to consider electric vehicles. As this story is being written, prices in Winnipeg are $1.739 per litre for regular gas. In Vancouver, $1.969. With only 13 years to go before the federal government’s target date for EVs to comprise all new vehicles sold, the pull towards electric is strong.

For York, dispelling the misconception that EVs aren’t suited for longer distances starts by retelling the story of his Seattle vacation. The limiting factor is urology, not technology.

Look past the me-too styling and the 2022 Forester has a lot to offer

When the Subaru Forester first arrived, a reasonable question was whether it was a low SUV or a tall station wagon. For 2022, that question is reasonable no more.

It’s grown considerably since its early days, to the point that size-wise, it’s nearly indistinguishable from its mid-size crossover competitors. It is taller and longer than my Mazda CX-5 and just a bit narrower, though that only translates into an extra litre of seats-up cargo space (817 for the CX-5 vs. 818 for the Subie). Seats down, however, the Subie’s extra length means the cargo volume beats the CX-5 by almost 500 litres.

While the Forester’s quirky, Goldilocks-approved size — not too big, not too small — is lost, what hasn’t been lost is the benefits to handling of its horizontally-opposed four-cylinder Boxer motor, which keeps the centre of gravity very low.

That motor, a 182-hp, 176 lb-ft non-turbo across the lineup, means reasonable if not stellar acceleration, which is more than compensated by outstanding fuel economy. For the tank I used during my test week, it averaged less than nine litres per 100 kilometres. By way of comparison, I thought our CX-5’s 9.9 l/100km average was pretty good.

Forester a perfect Winnipeg pothole pounder

One of the proudest moments in my career as an automobile journalist occurred a couple of years back when my stepfather bought a Subaru.

My mom, Isabelle, and stepdad Jim Ketcheson (Ketch) had been buying bad cars up to that point at an alarming rate.

In fairness, the Dodge Caliber they had before pulling the trigger on their new Subaru Crosstrek wasn’t the worst vehicle they’d ever owned.

Not even close.

Honda’s hot hatch is back… almost

Just when you thought you’d never experience a Honda manual transmission again…

OK, the stick isn’t entirely vanquished from Honda’s lineup, but it is, or at least had been, reserved for the hotter models of Civic, the Si and the Type R. And then comes along the 2022 Honda Civic hatchback.

To understand the significance requires having driven Honda’s manuals in the past. While its competitors have since, mostly, caught up, Honda was renowned for producing transmissions and clutches so smooth, so effortless that if you couldn’t learn to drive stick in a Honda, you just weren’t trying.

News that non-performance models of Civic would only be supplied with the yawnfest of a continuously variable transmission was disheartening. So it was not without ear-to-ear smiles we heard Honda was sending a six-speed hatchback.