It's been suggested that Jaguar's top-performing R models are just a smidge too tame-looking; that they're wolves in sheep's Wilton woolens. Design director Ian Callum has fixed that but good with the 2012 XKR-S, an XKR with the volume cranked to about 18, both figuratively and literally. Subtlety is out, starting with a jutting prow that incorporates a black mesh upper grille, a gigantic bottom-breather air inlet, a carbon-fiber splitter, two ram-air vents, and a pair of side-mounted vanes that allegedly help keep air attached to the nose for a smoother flow past the front wheels. Proceeding around the side, the fenders get a lovely horizontal air extractor topped with a black chrome flourish, and the door sills flare out.The calipers are red, too, though Callum wishes management would okay the kelly green used in the R S badges that adorn the grille and tail. The going-away view is dominated by a wing and rear diffuser (both rendered in carbon fiber) and four big chrome tailpipes. The word Jaguar is replaced by a leaping cat emblem centered on the hatch. The front splitter and rear wing reduce lift by 32 and 14 percent respectively, balancing total lift reduction at 26 percent.
Not overt enough? Paint the whole thing in electric French Racing blue. Callum fumes that the U.S. dealer body is balking at this hue, claiming its customers won't go for it. "Well, of course they won't!" he huffs, "This car is about attracting NEW customers!" Inside there's textured metal on the dash and woven soft carbon-fiber-look trim on the door panels and the heavily bolstered seats. Silver switchgear gives way to soft-touch black with easier-to-read white markings. An optional leather headliner is offered.
Body Style: Convertible, CoupeMotor Trend Rating:
Fiat just can't wait for spring. We wouldn't want to wait either if we were behind the wheel of Fiat's latest 500 variant: the 500c convertible. Fiat chose this week's New York auto show to debut the 500c for America. The cute-as-a-button design from the hard-top 500 is carried over, swapping out the roof panel for an electrically folding soft top. The new roof is not a traditional convertible, though -- the A-, B-, and C-pillars remain intact along with the roof rails. What that means is that even with the top lowered, passengers will not get a full open-air experience; a good or a bad thing depending on how much you value your hairdo.
The roof is inspired by the canvas roof that was available when the original Fiat Cinquecento premiered in 1957. While the old car's roof only rolled back to the end of the roof panel and was powered by elbow grease, the 2012 500c's top is electrically actuated and can fold all the way back to rest behind the rear headrests. Driver's can drop the top to its fully open position at up to 50 mph, or fold the roof back to the integrated spoiler to create an open sunroof at up to 60 mph. Opening the rear trunk will cause the roof to lift up, allowing unobstructed access to the diminutive, 5.4-cubic-foot luggage compartment. 
The look of the 500c is almost identical to that of the hatchback; however, Fiat has extended the windshield to help reduce wind buffeting with the top down and to give rear passengers better forward visibility with the top up. Hidden in the new windshield is a reinforced upper cross member to help maintain structural rigidity once the roads get twisty. Color options for the 500c are plentiful, offering the same 14 exterior hues as the hardtop, as well as the choice between ivory or black interior dash and gauge trim. The seats are available in 12 different combinations, with the lower part of the buckets wearing either fabric or leather and the headrests matching the dashboard trim. Buyers will have three choices for soft top colors: nero (black), beige, and bordeaux (red).
The 200 Series hasn't changed much since its debut as 2008 model. Senor Land Cruiser is one of the biggest, baddest vehicles in the Toyota lineup. It was last seen stampeding its way through our 2008 Sport/Utility of the Year roundup, where its off-road chops and surprising straight-line speed (0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds) left a fine impression on the editors, although it didn't have quite enough overall to take home the golden calipers. When this Salsa Red Land Cruiser showed up for a brief visit, I just had to have it. This was my first Land Cruiser drive, so I wanted to do more than push it up and down the freeways. There was still snow on the ground in Southern California's mountain regions, so I loaded up the snowboard gear for a day's romp in the waning white stuff. The drive wasn't short -- the entire roundtrip took close to 300 miles and called for about 18.5 gallons of 87-octane gas. I averaged roughly 16 mpg through a combination of freeway and mountain driving with some wasteful idling periods thrown in, which is in line with the EPA fuel economy estimates of 13 city/18 highway mpg.
The drive up and down the mountain was terrible, but that wasn't the Land Cruiser's fault. Horrific visibility kept drivers honest and slow, and the road was slick, especially during the early 30-degree Fahrenheit morning commute. Despite the low speeds, one bend loosened the SUV's Bridgestone Dueler tires from their original path of travel. Yet it only took a brief moment for the vehicle stability control system to intervene, beeping at me in a chastising manner as it corrected the trajectory. I had only begun to realize the entire vehicle was starting to rotate a little too much when the safety systems had already stepped in. Potential crisis averted. Motor Trend Rating: 
Kia is on one helluva roll. A fleet of new vehicles clothed in the latest Peter Schreyer fashion leaves no visible evidence of platform sharing with sister brand Hyundai. Savvy packaging, class-competitive drivetrains, and soaring quality and reliability ratings have helped boost the brand's market share by 48 percent since 2008. Even more impressive, Kia's once-pitiful bargain-basement residual values have climbed 38 percent on average (66 percent for the Optima), making leasing an attractive option. Now, at long bloody last, the company is getting serious about providing some sporting cred to back up its sporting looks. 
Henceforth, when you see the letters SX emblazoned on the rump of a Kia, you can expect to find performance enhancements to go along with the slightly more aggressive fascias and trim that visually distinguish SX models from their lesser brethren. Those enhancements include a healthy dose of vitamins H and T under the hood and/or a bit more starch in the suspension. Heretofore the SX designation simply meant top-of-the-line trim, options, and features, and that tradition continues. 
Launching this fine new tradition are four new or newish models: the Sportage cute-ute and Optima sedan, the Sorento crossover, and the Forte compact sedan, "Koup," and new 5-door. The Sportage and Optima share Hyundai/Kia's impressive 2.0-liter Theta II engine fitted with direct injection and a state-of-the-art twin-scroll turbocharger to produce 274 horsepower and 269 pound-feet in the Optima, with 256 hp and 264 lb-ft in the Sportage (due to differences in exhaust packaging, heat management, and tuning to suit the SUV's duty cycle). The Sorento's standard 3.5-liter V-6 (276 hp/248 lb-ft) is optional on the EX model, but the SX's unique suspension is lowered 0.4 inch and tuned for more sporting ride on its 18-inch rolling stock. 
All Forte SX models share a 2.4-liter four good for 173 hp and 168 lb-ft (165/161 in SULEV trim). That represents a reasonable bump of 17 horses and 24 lb-ft over the base 2.0-liter. The Forte Koup and five-door are the only SX models offered with a manual transmission, though the others offer manual shifting via paddles (Optima) or a plus/minus shifter gate. Everyone is kindly asked to excuse the lame-duck Rio SX, which Kia promises will get truly SXy with the new model, debuting in a few weeks at the 2011 New York International Auto Show. Motor Trend Rating: 
Given its muddied history, we'll forgive you for brushing off Dodge's latest batch of R/T models. Although the R/T badge once signified a vehicle designed to tease, excite, and appease the enthusiast, in recent years, the nameplate was haphazardly applied to almost every Dodge, many of which drove no better than their conventional cousins. The R/T range has been renewed and expanded for 2011, but its original purpose is on the way to being restored. Dodge brand CEO Ralph Gilles has promised all future R/T models will offer a "higher level of dynamic capability" -- and that appears to hold true for the 2012 Avenger R/T, which debuts this week at the 2011 New York auto show.
As is the case with other current models in the R/T portfolio (now including the Charger, Grand Caravan, Durango, and Journey), the new sport-tuned Avenger doesn't receive any wild bump underhood. In fact, it continues to make use of the same 3.6-liter, 283-horsepower Pentastar V-6 found in lesser Avengers, matched up to a six-speed automatic transmission. 
In other words, it's not exactly a configuration that's going to raise eyebrows, quicken pulses, and set Internet discussion boards afire. But wait: In the immortal words of Ron Popeil, there's more. The secret, or so we're told, lies entirely with chassis tuning. Lo, engineers have had their way with the Avenger's suspension bits in an attempt to liven up a front-drive platform long regarded as more milquetoast than magnificent. The Dodge crew says stiffness is increased by 18 percent, while front and rear spring rates are upped by 17 and 12 percent, respectively.
Toyota has endured some tough knocks lately, with a series of recalls over the past year, as well as constantly being lambasted by critics for having "boring" cars. The Venza crossover breaks out of Toyota's safe and conventional mold, at least from a styling standpoint. Granted, there's not much edgy or daring about crossovers anymore, contrary to what the marketing departments want you to think. The unibody, car-based tall wagon is about as ubiquitous now as the mid-sized, truck-based SUV was in the early to mid-90s. The Venza is a relative latecomer to the scene, with the trail blazed by the pre-Facebook era Nissan Murano way back in 2002 as a 2003 model. Ford followed with the Edge for the 2007 model year, and Honda with its oddly proportioned Accord Crosstour in 2009, around the same time the Venza debuted.
Much like the more upscale Acura ZDX and BMW X6, it's best to think of the Venza as a highly stylized version of a more pedestrian model. In this case, that model is the Highlander SUV. Sharing near the same wheelbase and basic dimensions as its more reserved sibling, as is usually the case, the more comely Venza makes some sacrifices for its beauty. Simply put, the Highlander is more practical and capable. In total passenger volume, the Highlander trounces the Venza by more than 37 cubic feet. In cargo capacity, the Venza's Celtic-themed kin bests it by more than 10 cubic feet with the rear seats up, and by a substantial 25 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. Max towing capacity on the Highlander is also 1500 pounds greater than on the Venza, with a nearly identical powertrain. The key difference? The V-6 Highlander still soldiers on with a five-speed automatic, while the V-6 Venza gets a six-speed. The one, and increasingly important, area in which the Venza bests its larger sibling is fuel economy. The all-wheel-drive V-6 Highlander rates 17/22 on the EPA cycle, with the sleeker, 400-pound lighter Venza AWD returning 18/25. For those seeking even greater fuel economy, the Venza is also available with a 2.7-liter four-cylinder shared with the base Highlander that returns 21 city and 27 highway mpg on the front driver, and 20/25 on the all-wheel-drive model. Considering the minimal fuel economy penalty with the V-6, and the fact it offers 86 more horsepower, go with the six.
Land Rover's crystal-ball department reckons the global lux-ute market is going to expand by 35 percent over the next five years, and it wants a big bite of this widening slice of profit pie. How best to get it? Expand the Range Rover brand while shrinking its footprint, both physically and environmentally. 
This could have been accomplished lickety-split and on the Tata-Nano cheap by pounding the LR2's sheet metal into the shape of the similarly compact LRX concept vehicle, but that's evidently not how the new Indian parent company rolls (praise Vishnu!). No, the LRX is being developed into the Range Rover Evoque the hard way -- by reimagining every detail to perform in a way that befits its bucks-up branding, while remaining faithful to the popular concept car's initial design and packaging. 
First, the basics: The Evoque will be available in the U.S. as a two- or four-door, with the two-door seating four or five passengers. In place of the LR2's Volvo-designed 230-horsepower, 234-pound-foot I-6 is a Ford-built 2.0-liter turbocharged direct-injected engine good for 237 horses and 251 pound-feet. (It was developed alongside the Explorer's EcoBoost mill.) Power flows to the ground through a six-speed automatic transaxle and a standard Haldex Gen-IV all-wheel-drive system. Other markets will get the option of a 2.2-liter diesel that can be teamed with a manual transmission, auto start/stop technology, and front-wheel drive for max fuel economy. Get a free and easy new car price quote in minutes.
While Jaguar toils away at designing a new and "proper" C-segment car to replace the unlamented X-Type (it's three to four years away), the XF ranks as the volume model. As such, the company has been clucking and fussing over it almost constantly since its 2008 launch. For 2012, the interior and exterior get a good going-over. Exterior enhancements were predicted by the CXF concept that appeared just prior to the production launch, and they leverage technology that now makes some of that concept's styling cues production feasible. Examples include the LED daytime running lamp treatment (which has come to be expected on cars in the class), and the "Tron"-look light-blade taillamp illumination that now extends onto the decklid. 
The whole nose is new, including the fenders, fascia, grille, and the aluminum hood, which features a longer, taller power bulge and a little flick on the trailing edge to get the air up and over the wipers for reduced wind noise. (XFRs also get functional hood vents.) The crosshatch grille is set an inch deeper and stands slightly more upright to better resemble the XJ's, and comes in a chrome or gloss black finish (XFR only). The hood cutline above the headlamps lends the visage a slightly more sinister scowl. The little chrome blades in the lower fascia have a more sculptural twist, while the XFR gets a much more aggressive jutting chin with two chrome-ringed air inlets. (The one on the driver side is now blocked off for improved aerodynamics, as it proved unnecessary for cooling.) 
Fender ornamentation trades the vertical graphic for a sleeker horizontal one atop a sail-shaped "vent" like the CXF's. Around back, the chrome plinth that conceals the trunk release, reverse camera, and license-plate illumination no longer spells out Jaguar, and hence has been visually slimmed with a strip of piano-black. A leaping cat centered above this chrome strip now provides the brand identity, and new oval exhaust outlets replace the more difficult to align trapezoidal ones. R models get a new spoiler to aerodynamically balance the more aggressive front chin, and the lower fascia features a venturi look (they're never very functional with this much ground clearance). New wheels for all models complete the exterior transformation. 
A lot happened in the four years since we last drove the second-generation Subaru Tribeca. Two new countries declared sovereignty, more than 40,000 species were discovered, and an exuberant Antoine Dodson rose to YouTube fame in mere days. But unlike the ever-evolving globe it traverses, the 2011 Subaru Tribeca remains roughly the same mid-pack contender it was when it debuted as a 2006 model. And after a week behind its three-spoke wheel, we have a better understanding why. But before all the juicy details are revealed, some important data must be considered. If an ever-changing lineup of contenders incuding the Toyota Highlander, Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, and Dodge Durango wasn't enough reason for a major mid-cycle revitalization, consider the Tribeca's sales figures.
Dealers moved 16,790 Tribecas in 2007, when a revamped model was introduced with a more efficient 3.6-liter flat-six, updated five-speed automatic, and a less offensive snout. A year later, that mark fell to 10,975 units. In 2009, sales dwindled to 5930 units. Last year, Subaru sold just 2472 Tribecas in the U.S. By comparison, industry giant Toyota sold 92,121 Highlanders. The good news for Subaru is the rest of its lineup is selling relatively well. Subaru's product planners implemented a few packaging readjustments for the 2009 and 2010 model year Tribecas, which included dropping certain trim designations and establishing a standard seven-passenger seating configuration. The changes obviously have had little effect on sales.
BMW has teased us numerous times with its upcoming 2012 M5 super sedan. With the Concept M5 premiering soon at the Shanghai auto show, we may not have all the details on the M5, but we're just about there. 
The heart of any BMW M5 is its powerful engine, and the soul is its rear-wheel drive. While BMW has yet to release any output figures, the engine should at least match the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 in the X5M and X6M that produces 555 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. BMW says the new blown eight-cylinder will have a higher output than the 500-hp, naturally aspirated, 5.0-liter V-10 that we enjoyed in the 2010 M5. To increase efficiency 25 percent over the V-10, which was rated at a mere 11/17 mpg, the 2012 model will use an automatic start-stop function in combination with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to help save fuel. Drivers less interested in fuel economy will be happy to know BMW still uses M Drivelogic to tailor the DCT's performance to an individual driver's taste. 
While the powerplant may attract a lot of attention, those in the know realize BMW's suspension is what makes taking an M to the track or a favorite back road so rewarding. Riding lower than a typical 5 Series, the M5's suspension tuning will take advantage of decades of racing knowledge and countless development hours spent lapping the Nuerburgring. For 2012, the M5 uses an Active M differential to split power between the rear wheels, which improves handling by allowing the outer wheel to spin faster in a turn. Putting the power to the pavement are lightweight 20-inch, five-spoke, forged alloy wheels wrapped in 265/35 ZR20 Michelin tires. BMW assures us the M5 has large enough brakes to lap the 'Ring right from the showroom. Get a free and easy new car price quote in minutes.
This looks familiar, doesn't it? We drove a 2011 BMW X1 about a year and a half ago, and if you're looking for the differences, you're not going to find them in the pictures. But this really is a different vehicle. Less than two years isn't nearly long enough on the market to spur a mid-cycle facelift, so the changes to the 2012 X1 aren't readily apparent - until you step on the gas. The updates are under the hood, where it matters most. But why then does the X1 have the same xDrive28i model designation? That we can't answer. Ask BMW.
What we can tell you is what's new: a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine. Last time around, the X1 was rocking a 258-horsepower 3.0-liter inline-six with 228 pound-feet of torque and nary a turbo in sight. The straight-six was a good engine, and when you wound it out, the X1 did a pretty good impression of a 3 Series wagon, which it more or less is. But then, your average driver doesn't typically wring out the engine, even if that's how BMW engines are best enjoyed. 
Conscious of this, as well as of the ever-tightening fuel economy and emissions regulations, BMW has decided to downsize. That is why the free-breathing inline-six is on its way out in favor of the new breathed-on four-banger. On paper, the advantages are many. Zero-to-60 mph acceleration actually drops by 0.7 seconds, BMW says, to just 6.1 seconds. Average fuel consumption, as measured on the European cycle, improves by 5 miles per gallon to 30 mpg average. CO2 emissions drop by 35 grams per kilometer. Get a free and easy new car price quote in minutes.