Sports car reviews
Find more in the Cars.com sports-car buying guide.
4:50 PM PDT, June 20, 2012
Cars.com Expert Reviews
Hyundai powers up 2013 Genesis Coupe
In its first three model years (2010-2012), the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T was not a car I could get excited about (read my review of the 2011 2.0T R-Spec here). Its poky engine and sloppy handling made it under-deliver on its billing as an affordable, rear-wheel-drive performance coupe. Fortunately, the new 2013 version brings relief. (Please note that the Genesis Coupe shouldn't be confused with Hyundai's Genesis sedan, a very different luxury model covered separately.)
4:50 PM PDT, June 22, 2012
Cars.com Expert Reviews
2012 Porsche Cayman
Car enthusiasts often deride mainstream, popular cars as "appliances," saying they don't offer any driving fun. In most cases they're right, but that doesn't mean those cars aren't what most people want.
May 31, 2012
Car review: Bugatti Veyron leads entrants in 200-mph supercar club
Life is different driving 200 miles an hour.
April 21, 2012
Dodge Charger SRT8 revs up your need for speed
There's an insidious feature on the 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. It's located in a little window on the dashboard, between the tachometer and the speedometer. It's a readout that allows you to come to a complete stop, then accelerate from 0 to 60 mph while it times your run.
9:23 AM PDT, April 13, 2012
Cars.com Expert Reviews
2012 Jaguar XF
Jaguar made just a few changes to its XF sport sedan for 2012: nips and tucks to the front end, flashier taillight treatment and an updated navigation system. It doesn't sound like much to rave about, but added to what's already one of the better-driving cars in the segment, it's a winning formula.
4:50 PM PDT, April 13, 2012
Cars.com Expert Reviews
2013 Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang fit my high school zeitgeist like Friday-night football, Nintendo and Green Day. Kids became expert in cajoling deep-pocketed parents to buy one, and Redmond High's parking lot held dozens of candy-red coupes and shiny yellow convertibles. Kids idolized their Mustangs — most of which had feckless, relic, pushrod V-6 engines.
April 10, 2012
Volvo C70 convertible comes of age
When Volvo introduced the C70 convertible in 1999 — the company's first drop-top in decades — the car had the looks, but little else. Typical of a lot of convertibles from the era, the C70 suffered from some serious "cowl shake," a tendency, when driven over rough surfaces like railroad tracks, for the car to shimmy like it had a rubber suspension.
10:54 AM PDT, March 24, 2012
Saturday Drive: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster
The car: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster
March 14, 2012
Nissan flexes its muscle car with 2013 update for GT-R
For years, Nissan performance enthusiasts begged the company to bring its flagship, the Skyline GT-R, to the U.S. And for years, Nissan refused.
February 11, 2012
Saturday Drive: The designer behind Aston Martin's V-12 Zagato
The car: Aston Martin V-12 Zagato
11:32 AM PST, January 19, 2012
Saturday Drive: Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder Performante
The car: Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante
February 7, 2012
2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca: Meet the new Boss
For dedicated performance enthusiasts, it always seems like a good idea: A manufacturer cranks out a limited-edition run of some hot car with equipment that makes it ready to take to the race track. Which is great fun if you are, indeed, ready to take it to the race track. But if you are buying it primarily for transportation, the novelty can wear off quickly.
11:33 AM PST, January 21, 2012
Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante
The car: Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante
December 8, 2011
2012 Fisker Karma is a green machine
The 2012 Fisker Karma sedan is a car to make both environmentalists and ecologists proud.
1:25 PM PDT, October 28, 2011
2012 Ferrari 458 Spider: Top notch from top down
Not for a second will I complain about the usual diet of Hyundais and Hondas and half-ton pickup trucks that those of us who get to test new cars are typically fed, but once in a while, getting a taste of a Bentley, a Lamborghini or Aston Martin gives us a peek into how the other half drives.
September 24, 2011
Charger R/T: Dodge updates its feisty family car
I'm a big fan of the Dodge Charger, and it would be on my short list of four-door sedans if I were in the market for one. But the model I recommend is the one that starts at $25,395, and comes with the excellent new 3.6-liter, 292-horsepower Pentastar V-6, Chrysler's best V-6 in — well, forever.
3:18 PM PDT, August 19, 2011
Steven Cole Smith: Competitors come and go, but the Mazda Miata endures
Look at the 2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata head-on, and the grille and headlights sort of resemble a big grinning face. With good reason: Since it was introduced as a 1990 model, the Miata (Mazda tried to use the global MX-5 name exclusively, but gave up when Americans wouldn't stop calling it a Miata) has faced down multiple challengers.
9:06 AM PDT, August 5, 2011
Steven Cole Smith: Shelby GT350: Fueled by premium gas and testosterone
Can we agree that some cars are for transportation, and some are for, well, other things? The 2011 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 is only incidentally transportation, in the sense that a 100-foot yacht might also be used as a fishing boat.
August 4, 2011
Mercedes Benz SLK350: Remodeled roadster is well-rounded for 2012
The Mercedes Benz SLK is and always has been the pied-a-terre of the company's lineup.
A Charger for road and track
There will always be a segment of the driving public that feels an undeniable need for speed.
July 28, 2011
2012 Nissan GT-R review: Already gone
Rarely is one afforded the opportunity to pilot a car that can reach speeds of nearly 200 mph and hit 60 from a dead stop in the 3-second range. Doing so changes the way you think about modern transportation, given the rest of it goes by so slowly in comparison.
June 24, 2011
Lotus Evora S: Plenty of punch with supercharged V-6
The proud British automobile industry has taken a beating the past 25 years: Jaguar and Land Rover are now owned by Tata Motors, an Indian company. Bentley is owned by Volkswagen. Rolls-Royce and Mini Cooper are controlled by BMW. And in 1996, Lotus, a uniquely British sports car manufacturer, was acquired by Proton, a Malaysian company.
8:51 AM PDT, May 27, 2011
Steven Cole Smith: Porsche 911 Turbo: Attitude, with a price to match
Legends regarding the "hounds of hell" have existed since Greek mythology, but I wasn't entirely sure what their baying would sound like until the 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo S arrived: Punch the throttle, and there's a pack of them right behind you, and the sound is both exhilarating and a little terrifying.
7:48 AM PDT, April 22, 2011
Steven Cole Smith: Chevy Camaro: top goes down, appeal goes up
Funny how some cars look better, and some look worse when you cut the top off. The Volkswagen New Beetle looks awkward as a convertible, and the poor Chrysler PT Cruiser cabriolet looks like it is wearing a headdress. The sleek roofline that helps define the Ford Mustang coupe is compromised by a soft top.
April 7, 2011
Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet combines open air with utility
Convertibles aren't known for their utility. Cars that can be driven as open-air vehicles or hermetically sealed at the push of a button don't top the shopping lists of many moms who've got groceries to haul and kids to shuttle to skateboard lessons.
10:31 AM PDT, March 14, 2011
Volvo S60 is sporty, elegant and safe
Slipping into the front seat of the new Volvo S60 — with its ultra-slim center console, all-black interior with Volvo's "Shimmer Graphite" metal accents — I was struck by its understated elegance.
3:57 PM PST, February 25, 2011
Test Drive: 2011 Porsche Cayenne Turbo review
Porsche spices up Cayenne sport utility
It is reassuring to know that at 130 miles per hour the new 2011 Porsche Cayenne Turbo will automatically lower itself a little more than an inch to better hug the road. You simply cannot be too careful.
January 27, 2011
2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG: Efficiency and performance in a breathtaking package
When it comes to luxury sport cars, efficiency and performance have been terminally at odds. Twinning the two ideas is akin to pulling together the polarized ends of a magnet. But with its CLS 63 AMG for 2012, Mercedes-Benz has, mein gott, done it.
1:57 PM PST, January 21, 2011
Test Drive: 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe car review
Dodge Viper rumbles into the sunset – for now
Yes, it's a bit odd to be reviewing a 2010 vehicle in the midst of the 2011 model year, but there are two extenuating circumstances: One, the manufacturer didn't cease production of the Dodge Viper until last summer, and since there is no 2011 model, they built some extras to give dealers a few to sell for a little longer.
12:13 PM PST, November 11, 2010
Tesla's electric dream
Sports cars, true high-end performance machines, are often referred to as dream machines. They wildly exceed everyday expectations, they satisfy fully, and they're unattainable in the real world.
1:55 PM PDT, November 5, 2010
Redesigned Jaguar XJ a real pip
There is something about sitting inside the leather-covered interior of the newly redesigned 2011 Jaguar XJ that makes one want to use words such as pip pip, cheerio and all that rot. (Although finding some words in Hindi might be more appropriate, because Jaguar was sold to India's Tata Motors by Ford Motor Co.)
September 17, 2010
Test Drive: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG review
Gull-wing Mercedes turns heads, and tight corners
More than just a return to a gull-wing design, the 2011 SLS AMG is the best-performing Mercedes ever made, despite some quirks that should be ironed out over time.
2:37 PM PDT, September 10, 2010
Test Drive: 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Mazda MX-5 still tops fun-to-drive category
In 1990, Mazda got it right with the Miata, and has not strayed far from the formula with the 2010 Mazda MX-5.
August 16, 2009
Test Drive: 2010 Ford Mustang V-6 Premium convertible
Jim Mateja: Mustang slow out of gate
Chevy Camaro made its long-awaited return for the 2010 model year, prompting Ford to tweak Mustang. Who says you can't teach a 45-year-old pony new tricks?
June 24, 2010
More than $60,000 for a Ford Mustang?
Let's address this and get past it quickly. There have been more expensive Mustangs, but they were all race track-ready cars. Truthfully, this one is pretty close to being a racer. And since it's the best Mustang I've ever driven, and that includes all those race track-only models, the price seems -- well, still expensive. But justifiable.
12:53 PM PST, February 18, 2010
Test Drive
2010 Ferrari 458 Italia: Dashing through the snow in a wicked red sleigh
MARANELLO, Italy — Snow is a beautiful thing.
March 22, 2009
Test Drive: 2010 Chevy Camaro
Jim Mateja: Camaro-o-h-h-h: Coupe hits showrooms
PLYMOUTH, Mich.—Three years since the concept bowed at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show, the Camaro coupe hits showrooms this week.
December 14, 2008
Jim Mateja: 6 degrees of zoom, zoom from top-of-the-line Mazda sedan
Within an hour of taking to the road in the 2009 Mazda6, we were stopped by a 20 something and then a 50 something, both asking whether it behaved as good as it looked.
Copyright © 2013, Chicago Tribune
E-mail
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon