Autos

Here's the thing about being a Big Guy. In fact, here's pretty much the reason I started this column in the first place: while I like a nice, luxurious SUV as much as the next guy or gal - big or small - what I really like about a car is how it drives. And if we're honest, there are few cars that drive as well as the MX-5. Thing is, you won't find many people that are going to tell you that the MX-5 is fit for a king in the passenger comfort department.

In the realm of full-size luxury SUVs, the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class has always stood apart. Introduced for 2002 and with the second generation debuting for the 2013 model year, the GL - which has been given a mid-cycle refresh and renamed GLS for 2017 - is the sole German entry in the segment. Audi's Q7 is probably the nearest European rival, but it's officially classed as a mid-size vehicle and doesn't offer the third-row comfort of the big Benz. BMW's X5 and Porsche's Cayenne? Not even close.

There's so much more to the 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S than its ability to compress your eyeballs into wee-bitty pancakes while inspiring expletives that would make a Russian sailor blush, but such is the ridiculous level of linear g-forces this all-wheel-drive projectile can inflict upon flesh-and-blood humans, once strapped within its leather-lined environs. Say hell-oh to Launch Control. And it's so easy a monkey could do it. No obtuse sequence of button pushing or secret codes required.

With the adaptive cruise set to 105, a clear and sunny four hours ahead, a little Rise Against on the stereo, and the A/C keeping your correspondent crisply chilly on a 30+ degree day, a smug sense of satisfaction arose while driving the new-for-2016 Prius. An on-screen display flickers away in the lower edge of your vision, with arrows connecting the motor, engine and wheels, back and forth, as electricity is generated, stored, dispatched, and blended with gasoline power.

As part of autoTRADER.ca's ongoing commitment to helping Canadians buy and sell cars quickly, easily and with confidence we are excited to announce that new Expert Reviews can now be found at www.autotrader.ca/expert. As Canada's largest online automotive marketplace, autoTRADER.ca is uniquely placed to give Canadians coverage of a wider range of vehicles. This move combines the expert voices and high-quality content of Autos.ca with the scale and technical prowess of autoTRADER.ca.

The mid-size sedan of today is the large sedan of yesteryear. And yet the fuel economy of a mid-size sedan today is the fuel economy of a sub-compact of yesteryear. That statement is even more accurate when you look to the fleet of mid-size sedan hybrid vehicles currently floating about in the market. And with the addition of a newly revised Malibu, Chevrolet is very much in the game. This new Malibu was unveiled in 2016 and immediately elevated the nameplate into contention.

Vehicle Type: Coupe / Convertible Description: The Nissan 370Z is a two-seat sports model built to embody the latest and greatest in a storied line of affordable performance cars from Nissan, succeeding the smaller-engined 350Z. It's not big or practical, and it's only got two seats - but the 370Z is a total riot, and should prove relatively affordable in the used market as more examples pop up.

Cadillac's replacement for the SRX is called the XT5, and though it's similar in spec and size and kit to an abundance of posh-ute competitors, a number of notable differences help it stand apart in a market segment that's more crowded with chrome and leather and glitz than a burlesque expo. Like its ringmates, the XT5 has six-cylinder power, all-wheel drive, a great big sunroof, a spleen-rupturing stereo, and climate-controlled leather memory seats.

The Lexus RC 350 is a car that seems to be a bit confused about what it wants to be. The looks suggest full-on sports coupe. There is an aggressive grille, massive vents in the bumper, sharp side sills that jut from the body, and at the rear are faux diffusers for fake bumper vents. The colour is a retina-searing creamsicle orange that has garnered more attention, looks and thumbs up than anything else I've driven all year. All of that suggests BMW M4 fighter.