TopSpeed

In the automotive world, reliability and excitement don’t quite go hand-in-hand. The former is a compliment to any motorcycle, but it’s also a tag that kills the latter on contact. Call a bike reliable, and you've basically called it boring, a machine built to be forgotten between the oil changes. This would stand true for most motorcycles, because anything with a high-strung sport bike engine is operating mostly at the threshold of its performance ceiling, leaving very little room to spare.

Are you the type of shopper who is looking for a truck that you'd like to own for the next 15 years or so? A common misconception is that buying the newest and most expensive option available is the best course of action to achieve longevity. However, the reality is quite different.

Adventure bikes are supposed to make you curious about where the pavement ends, but the category has spent years making that proposition increasingly intimidating. Engines have gotten bigger, electronics have become more elaborate, and some flagship ADVs now carry enough mass that turning around on a narrow dirt road deserves its own training course.

I don't know the exact date when carmakers lost the plot on making their wares gorgeous. But I'd certainly peg it before Elon Musk decided that the love-child of a trash compactor and an office copy machine was the ideal design direction for the Cybertruck. Then look at an entirely different car, the Audi A6 that's just been revamped. I've just spent a week behind the wheel, and I can say, without a doubt, it's gorgeous both inside and out. And here's why that still matters.

SUVs have come a long way from the body-on-frame, mud-hunting machines they once were; today, they are the go-to choice for easy family driving. Most brands make one, and the likes of Toyota have for a long time been market leaders in offering space, versatility, good fuel consumption, and reliability in one package. However, they are not alone today, and while the new Grand Highlander Hybrid makes for an exceptional family SUV, the new model of this Kia three-row SUV does things a bit better.

The Porsche 911 Carrera is the entry point to one of the most storied sports car lineups in history — but "entry-level" is a relative term when you're talking about a car this capable. Under the rear lid sits a twin-turbo 3.0-liter flat-six producing 388 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque, enough to launch the rear-drive coupe to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds and on to a 182-mph top speed. By any objective measure, it's a remarkable machine. The problem?

Most shoppers assume the most comfortable SUV is wearing a German badge or carrying a premium price tag. It's an easy assumption to make, but it isn't always true. Some of the smoothest-riding, quietest crossovers on the road never make the top of comparison lists or showroom shopping lists, despite delivering the kind of everyday refinement that matters most during long commutes and road trips.

A car sold on Bring a Trailer recently for $3,600. Not a rolling shell, not a parts donor, but a running sport sedan with a five-speed manual, a high-strung V6, and a chassis fettled by an in-house skunkworks team that measured its work against the best of Europe. Thirty-six hundred dollars. That is used-hatchback money for a machine that once carried genuine junior sport-sedan aspirations. The odd part is not the price.

In recent times, the true budget segment of motorcycles has sort of fizzled out. This is particularly true in the United States, since we don’t have any license levels like Europe. Thus, most bikemakers have their eyes set on making the middleweight segment more approachable rather than whipping out new easy-on-the-pocket entry-level bikes. That has created a shortage of such lightweight small-capacity machines that focus on simplicity and low prices.

Buying a car you can depend on for years is one thing. Finding one that can rack up 200,000 miles without turning every repair into a financial headache is something else entirely. While flashy features and big horsepower numbers grab attention, they're rarely what keeps a vehicle in the driveway for 15 or 20 years. The real winners are the ones that quietly deliver dependable transportation day after day, mile after mile, with minimal drama.