We drove the 2017 Ford Flex to Squamish from Vancouver and we filled it up with a car full of people. The Flex can set up to 7 people in the car. We tested the car out in the city, off-road and on the highway to get a better feel of the vehicle.

Exterior

The Flex is quite boxy and reminds me of a modern station wagon. It’s long and wide to maximize the space to fit everything inside. The overall look of the Ford Flex has been unchanged except for a few tweaks here and there since it’s debut is 2009. The look is very distinct and will stand out from the crowd. Some people online have created memes to compare it to a toaster or tissue box.

The Limited trim includes lower tier options plus 19-inch wheels, xenon headlights, LED taillights, power-folding mirrors, automatic wipers, additional metallic exterior trim, upgraded wood interior trim, ambient interior lighting, a navigation system and a 12-speaker Sony audio system with HD radio.

There are lots of sensors around the car and a rear view camera to make parking a breeze. I find the sensors sensitive when an object really isn’t that close to the car. It can be good for some people.

Interior

Getting in and out of the vehicle is quite comfortable as the whole car sits low on the ground. With the boxy space, that means there is tons of space inside especially in all 3 rows of seating. Tall adults have no fear sitting in the rear seats.

The car is loaded with great tech features that will help make driving the Flex a breeze. With Sync 3, you can use Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to have a better integrated experience with your cellphone. I love how easy it is to access calls, maps, music, and other items from my phone. A lot of the tech features really helps reduce the blind spots around the car.

There is 3 rows of seating and can accommodate 7 passengers with some extra leg and head room too.

The passengers can control the temperature and fans in the back. Also, there is an AC outlet in the back if you have things to plug in. A nifty feature that you don’t see too often.

When all the seats are up, there is still space to put a few bags and since the floor is lower, you can still fit quite an amount of things back there. When you start collapsing the seats, you have plenty of space to move around large objects.

There are electric buttons to help you configure the seats so you’re not straining your arms or back to adjust.

Drive

The engine has a 3.5-liter Ti-VCT V6 Engine that produces 287 horsepower and 254 pound-feet of torque. Similarly with other cars, if you start adding in more passengers and cargo, the engine will definitely feel it and your gas tank too.

It handles well on tight corners and is responsive.

The ride while in town or on the highway is very comfortable for the driver and passengers. On the way back to Vancouver, everyone else fell asleep.

A cool feature is the keyless engine start and also, you can start the engine with the key fob before you’re in the car.

Final Thoughts

The Ford Flex isn’t a car for everyone.The fuel economy is an important drawback as a tank will definitely cost you. The price is a bit high for the Ford Flex, but if you’re looking for a spacious car to haul around your family and all their equipment across town or across the country, this might be the car for you.

Website: http://www.ford.ca/suvs-crossovers/flex/2017/

The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is a fully electric vehicle and has been growing in popularity in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. Government incentives are provided to those who purchase electric vehicle, thus making the price of electric vehicles very alluring. Some employers will even match the savings, to encourage employees to go green.

I spent a day with Chevrolet Canada to test drive the Bolt EV up and down Highway 1 to test the range of the vehicle to bust any myths about electric vehicles. We made it to and from Squamish from Downtown Vancouver without sweating.

Exterior

This car is in the small wagon vehicle class, but this car was anything but small. It has a clean-sheet design with crossover-like proportions.

Flat battery pack spans the entire length of the vehicle’s floor. Since the batteries are located underneath the car, this leaves plenty of trunk space. There is a false floor, so you can remove it and get more vertical height. If you push the back seats down, you have more space to carry more things around.

Interior

There’s lots of storage space between the driver and the passenger in the front seats. The “Floating” instrument panel and multipurpose, connected centre console has wireless phone charging and a compartment large enough to stow a tablet device. There are also 2 USB ports to enable Apple Car Play/ Android Auto.

The interface of the infotainment system is highly customizable and easy to use. The Bolt EV also is loaded with exterior facing cameras to help you park and see your surroundings clearly.

The vehicle is very well equipped with push-start ignition, it creates it’s own wi-fi hot spot, Bose sound system, active-safety technology, and heated rear seats. Some things that are missed are power seats and a sun roof, but it didn’t bother us.

One thing I noticed with the ample amount of leg room and head space in the back seat. If you’re tall, you don’t have to worry about your legs or head banging into the car.

There are 2 additional USB ports for the backseat for passengers to recharge any of their devices. It really comes in handy especially for road trips or when someone needs an emergency charge for their phone.

One of the other things I noticed was the texture and the panels in the car. It has many triangular patterns and when the light hits it, it gives it a shimmery effect.

Drive

On a full battery charge, you will get 383 km of range, which is amazing. With electric cars, you will notice how quiet the ride really is. Acceleration was smooth as well. Going up and down the highway with a quiet engine didn’t feel like we were going fast until I looked at the km/h.

One another cool feature that took me a while to understand is the Regen on Demand function. There is a paddle on the back of the steering wheel and it helps you break without wearing down on the breaks.

When you press down on it, it helps capture kinetic energy normally wasted during stopping situations and send energy back to the battery.

The electric shifter was very hard to use at first. There’s a button on the left side that you need to press to move the stick. To park, you just press the ‘P’ button. When you put the vehicle into Low mode, you have the ability to bring the vehicle to a complete stop without pressing the break. They call this one pedal driving. It will maintain a zero speed until the accelerator pedal is pressed.

At the end of your trip, you can see how efficiently you were driving the vehicle.

Charging

You can change the Bolt EV at home, at public charging stations or Super Fast DC charging station that can recharge the vehicle in 30 minutes. The first 2 options will take a few hours. You’ll still save money instead of purchasing gas, but you will have to plan trips more carefully to figure out where public charging stations are located. Infrastructure for charging stations is continually growing.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the range of 383 km on a full charge is very impressive compared to some other EVs out there. It starts at $37,795 MSRP, but with provincial incentives, it makes the Bolt EV even more affordable. If you are looking for a more eco-friendly vehicle, the Bolt EV is definitely it. It is packed with lots of technology feature to keep the kids entertained and stay very comfortable no matter how long the trips are. I really really enjoyed this vehicle and I would definitely recommend it to those who are in the market for an electric vehicle.

Website: http://www.chevrolet.ca/bolt-ev-electric-vehicle.html

This week we got to try out Honda’s new Civic Hatchback series! After a long hiatus, the hatchback trim has finally come back to the Civic line. I was a huge fan of the 2001 Honda Si-R hatchback, so I was very excited to see a refreshed hatchback look come to Canada!

The model that we had was the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback LX, which is the lowest trim.

Exterior

Although I adore hatchbacks, I did not particularly like the gaudiness of the 2017 Honda Hatchback LX. Some people do not like the 10th generation of Civics for its hyped up sporty look and chrome, but I actually think it looks like the best one Honda’s ever made.

However, that sentiment did not carry over for me on the Hatchback version. The use of fake plastic vents in the front and back just feel cheap and fake. I would hang my head in shame if any car enthusiast comes closer to check out the Honda Hatchback.

I do like the spoiler and the nice TURBO written on the back windshield. It brings a nice retro feel to the car. I miss the Turbo vinyl on the back bottom doors that the 2016 Honda Civic Touring I reviewed last year had.

I also like the front grill of the car. It feels adequately fierce and angry. There are no LED headlights in this trim, which I think is both aesthetically pleasing and important for better visibility for driving.

Interior

This being the LX, lowest trim for the 2017 Honda Hatchback, it was not chock full of features I was accustomed to my reviews. There was no auto unlocking, no push button start, no flappy pedal gear box for Auto CVT, and no leather. There was also no right merge camera, which I thought was a strange omission as even the Fit had that.

The rearview camera is the same across all the Hondas I’ve seen. When it gets particularly stormy outside, the camera lens can get very muddled, losing its viability.

There is no sunroof in the Honda Hatchback LX, the higher tiers have a full panoramic moonroof.

The fully digital speedometer display and Apple Car Play is always great. However, I don’t know if it was because of the LX trim, but there were some weird issues with connecting my phone with this Car Play. One time I crashed the Honda display system fully.

I think it’s ridiculous that Honda would give you Apple Car Play/Android Auto but no onboard navigation system!

The lack of leather was okay, the stitching was slightly sporty. The leather steering wheel was not the smooth leather in higher tiers and felt like my 2012 Civic’s steering wheel.

Like all hatchbacks, this has a slightly bigger trunk than the sedan version. Not crazy enough to replace an SUV or pickup truck, but definitely more than an average sedan.

Drive

The 2017 Honda Hatchback LX is a joy to drive. The lowest trim comes standard with a 174hp turbocharged engine, that you have to pay $2,000 more for the Honda Civic Coupe.

It was a joy to drive this Civic. the engine was fun to punch and the turns were very accurate and on point. Going back to my normal Honda Civic 2012, it felt like turning a semi-truck in comparison.

Like all Honda’s the engine was gas efficient when it had to be.

Final Thoughts

I think the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback LX highlights the amount of features you get at a higher trim for only $8,000 more. For $8,000 more you get:

• Navigation system
• Auto unlock keyless entry
• Push button start
• 6 more horsepower engine
• Chrome dual exhausts
• Premium leather steering wheel
• Better climate control
• LED Headlights
• Leather seats
• Heated Rear Seats
• Auto-dimming rearview mirror
• Power seats
• 18″ dark aluminum wheels
• Power moonroof
• Smarter windshield wipers
• Blindspot display
• ETC.

I listed all the things that are a huge bonus for me. $8,000 for all of that and more is a steal in my opinion and still less than $30,000. I’d gladly take the 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback Touring instead, please.

So where does that leave us? I think this is a great starting car and trim for a high school student or a university student’s first car. It’s cheaper and it’s fake plastic vents might appeal to that demographic.

Otherwise, I like my hatchbacks to have all-wheel drive. Unfortunately, the Honda Civic Hatchback does not have that option. I think that shows you that this Hatchback is not in the same rugged competition with the Subaru Impreza, rather it is just for city folk who want a hatchback look and added convenience of a slightly bigger trunk.

Regardless, you still get a premium driving feel buying this car and I just can’t wait for the true Type-R to come to Canada. Here is a glimpse of what it looks like.

http://www.honda.ca/civic_hatchback

This week, we spent the time driving the 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring. Be sure to check out my previous 2016 Accord Coupe Touring review, because there will be a lot of similarities.

Exterior

The 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring looks very similar to the other Accords of this generation. Whereas, other car companies go out of their way to show the “greenness” of the car by making it look gaudy futuristic, the Accord just has a nice Hybrid badge on the back.

The Accord has always been a bigger sedan than the Civic counterpart and you can definitely feel it when you’re parking. It fit in the garage quite uncomfortably too tight, which was interesting as the CR-V didn’t have any issues.

Nevertheless, I think it’s a good looking car, sporty enough and moderate enough to fit the general car consumer.

Interior

The interior of the 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid is similar to the one from last year. There is still the physical ring as the speedometer, but it is now surrounded by a LED display, showing the charge of the battery and fuel. I wish they went full digital to be honest, but it’s a good balance.

Apple Car Play and Android Auto are still present which is great, but the same performance issues I had with the 2016 Accord Coupe is very much present. The display takes a good couple minutes to boot up Apple Car Play when the iPhone is plugged in. This is disappointing!

It most likely is the same unit found in last year’s Accord because it has the big black bezel for the Home, Volume, Menu and Back buttons, which are useless and I’ve never had to touch.

The use of the second screen above the GPS is used for a digital clock as well as for camera displays.

The rear view camera and blind spot camera are both very handy for parking and minimizing any blind spots.

An awesome feature that I love in new cars.

The smooth leather seats were for some reason super comfortable in this model! There was a lot of plush cushioning, that it might be my favourite car seat of all time! I also appreciated that there was rear seat heating.

Drive

Being a Hybrid, this car starts eerily quiet. Except for the noisy beeps it makes on start up, there is no engine ignition.

The 2017 Accord Hybrid Touring has a computer that dictates when the car will shift between 3 different Hybrid modes: Regular engine, Hybrid, and full EV. There’s also a button near the automatic gearbox that lets you toggle EV mode manually. I’ve found overall, the Hybrid computer is very finicky.

If you sneeze at the EV Mode, it’ll usually change to a regular engine immediately. You can’t initiate EV mode until you’ve been driving for a few minutes, as the Engine must be warm. EV mode can also be turned off by flicking on the AC.

The longer you drive the car, the easier I found to get the car to switch to EV mode and start using those electric motors. Nonetheless, I found myself pressing the Sport Button to get a more fun drive with snippets of EV mode to save a little bit on gas.

The cornering of this car definitely feels like an EV sedan, with a lot of weight and sliding. I think I prefer the Civic or the Accord Coupe handling a lot more. I think I used 50% less gas in the week than I do on my 2012 Honda Civic, so make of that as you will.

Final Thoughts

Just like the 2016 Honda Accord Coupe Touring, the 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring has the problem “Who is this car for?” This isn’t for the full crazy hybrid car lover, as there are other EV options today for the same price. It isn’t for the budget concious consumers, this being an Accord trim and a Hybrid car. It isn’t for those who like luxury cars.

The 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring was great to drive for a week, but I think the car would drive me crazy in a year. The start up beeping noise and the feeling of randomness from the Hybrid computer gets annoying quickly. That being said, I’ve never driven a huge variety of Hybrid cars so who knows what the standard should be.

Website: http://www.honda.ca/

This week, we drove the all-new 2017 Honda CR-V Touring trim. The touring trim is the highest tier for the CR-V line, similar to the Civics. With this new year, the CR-V has finally caught up with last year’s excellent 2016 Honda Civic Touring.

Exterior

The CR-V has definitely always been almost the same size as a Sedan, but taller with more trunk space. The exterior of the CR-V Touring trim looks big in girth, but can still fit in a parking space made for sedans.

I think the 2017 CR-V Touring looks about as good as its older and more expensive brother, the Acura MDX. At first, I was iffy on the small grill below the Honda logo and shield at the front, but it has since grown on me.

The CR-V looks the best it’s ever been from past generations for sure, catching up to the aggressive sporty stylings, this generation of Civics have. The rims that come with the SUV can be divisive, though, as it looks a bit fat, instead of angry.

The back lights look great as well as the nice dual chrome exhausts. The CR-V definitely looks its part as a semi-luxury SUV. The LED lights are amazing, and I can’t wait to buy a new car soon because once you go LED, you can never go back.

The trunk door is fully electronic both opening and shutting, which is awesome!

Interior

The luxury of the interior of the CR-V Touring had me floored! The leather inside has super plush perforated leather, with great leather accents along the door and at the front. Nothing inside feels cheap.

The luxuriousness extends to the panoramic moon roof, which stretches from the front to back. We kept the cover off the entire time we had the CR-V and it was amazing for natural lighting while driving.

The short stubby transmission gear shift is now a full fledged one that screams control and luxury. There is no longer a foot parking brake, and now it’s fully electronic! The speedometer of the CR-V is finally fully digital LCD, exactly the same as last year’s Civic Touring, which was amazing!

The steering wheel’s leather feels exactly like the Acura MDX, a soft and smooth leather. The CR-V Touring also comes with a heated steering wheel. Although the wheel got pretty uncomfortably hot quickly, it’s great with short bursts driving to work in cold weather.

Finally, the excellent touch screen dashboard is in the CR-V along with Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Check out my previous reviews on how amazing the Apple Car Play is.

The back seats have heated seats, with the controls right below every window control at each car, with 3 heat settings. The back seats have A LOT of room and headspace as well as 2 USB ports. This is probably the best backseat of an SUV I’ve been in. There seems to be a lot more trunk space than previous generations and it would satisfy anyone looking into getting an SUV for trunk space.

Drive

Everything about the 2017 Honda CR-V Touring has been positive until we get to the driving feel of this SUV. Although the CR-V has a turbocharged engine with 190 horsepower, it uses a very similar engine as the Civic. However, because the CR-V is all wheel drive and probably considerably heavier, the engine feels very weak.

The CR-V has Honda’s excellent CVT transmission but lacks the flappy gearbox semi-manual control that the Civic Touring has. In fact, the Sport mode of the CR-V feels very lackluster, with no button, but an option on the transmission box itself.

The steering feel of the SUV feels great, but you have to get used to doing wider turns than a sedan, otherwise you might go over a curb.

Although the CR-V feels weaker in terms of power (even more so with Econ mode on), the gas mileage of the SUV is actually very good. I average 9.4 L/100km which is very similar to my 2012 Honda Civic.

Final Thoughts

The 2017 Honda CR-V Touring is a steal at $38,090. I made a prediction of how much this SUV would cost, and I guessed $40k. The CR-V finally feels more luxurious than past generations and the panoramic moonroof is just the bee’s knees.

I’m glad Honda is moving the touchscreen with Apple Car Play to all of its models. However, there’s always a couple features missing here and there between Honda models. For example, the CR-V Touring has no right merge camera, but the Civic, Accord and the Fit both do. There are right and left turn blind spot indicators which are nice. The rearview camera is great, but I found got easily blurry in rainy weather.

Overall, if you’re looking for an SUV under 40k, the CR-V should be at the top of the list!

 Website: https://www.honda.ca/crv

The 2017 Ford Fusion Sport is a mid-sized sedan with 5 seats. We got to test drive this car for a week to get a good handle of the vehicle. At this point in my life, a sedan is a great vehicle for M and I. It still has lots of room for our friends and privacy of having things in a secured trunk.

Exterior

The car comes in 3 colours – Lightning Blue, Burgundy Velvet Metallic, and White Gold. The lightning blue is quite stunning. My first car was blue, so being back behind the wheel of a blue car made me feel younger.

The LED lights, 4 exhausts, and the line across the side give the cars a sleek modern feel.

The blind spot indicators on the side mirrors helps inform drivers if there is a car in their blind spot. Handy just in case you aren’t as attentive shoulder checking.

The trunk is spacious and the back seat fold down if you need extra space to move longer objects.

Keyless entry is awesome. You never really have to take the key out. As long as you are standing beside the car, the car will unlock automatically. The car also starts with a push of a button. Just make sure you don’t lose this key.

Interior

Sync 3 and Sync Connect infotainment systems are smarter than previous versions and offer both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. As an iPhone user, I always love to see the compatibility for a customized experience.

When you put the car in reverse, the rear view camera automatically transmits the image of what’s behind your vehicle to your touchscreen when you’re slowly backing up.

There is also sensors around the car and it will warn you when you are too close to any objects around you. One of my favourite standard features as it makes backing in parking and parallel parking so much easier.

The new gear shift dial was  designed to take up less room and open up space for more conveniently arranged cupholders and a UBS port. It took a little getting use to, but it was fun to use. Very sleek. Press the Sport mode for an extra boost in power.

All seats have leather-trimmed seats with Miko suede.

On the drivers side door, I love how I could configure my seat settings. Since M and I are different sizes and have different seat preferences, I always get annoyed when I have to adjust my seat. Now, with this seat setting, there’s a solution.

With smartphones being used in the cars, USB ports is a must.

Drive

The car has a 2.7L V6 EcoBoost engine, 325 horsepower and 350 lb.- ft. of torque, standard AWD and continuously controlled damping. When pushing on the gas, you can feel the power of the engine accelerate.

I loved the pre-collision assist and pedestrian detection features. The sensors detect a potential collision with a car or pedestrian in front of you by alerting you with a heads-up display, which simulates red brake lights, flashes on the windshield, and an audible alert sounds.

This came in handy while I was driving and cars in front of me suddenly break. If you don’t take corrective action and collision is imminent, brakes are automatically applied.

Final Thoughts

From the city, highways and to the suburbs, it was a pleasure testing this car. One of my favourite parts of the car is definitely it’s technology integration to make driving easier.

Website:  http://www.ford.ca/cars/fusion/

The 2017 Ford Escape Sport has arrived and we took it up on a trip to Whistler to enjoy the food, drinks and the beautiful backdrop of the mountains in and around Whistler. After racking up 300kms during the trip, I got a good feel for the SUV along the curvy sea to sky highway.

Exterior

The Sport Appearance Package gives the Ford Escape an edgier look. It comes with:

• 19-inch Black premium-painted aluminum wheels
• Black-bezel halogen projector headlights
• LED signature daytime running lights
• Black-tinted taillights
• Unique black front fender grilles
• Gloss-black painted upper grille with chrome accents
• Black roof rails
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear shifter
• Sporty V-shaped partial leather-trimmed seats
• Gloss-black fog light bezels

These are some good aesthetic features to substitute the Ebony black for the silver trims.

The look of the exterior overall is pretty nice. The black trim and the black wheels give it a nicer look than the silver. It’s a pretty good size for a small SUV. I didn’t have many issues parking either especially when there is the rear view camera to help with parking.

Interior

The interior was roomy and had ample trunk space. With all our luggage piled up in the trunk, we still had lots of room left. The seats were comfortable and no one had issues with leg room. Fitting 5 people inside is no problem at all. The leather trimmed seats made the interior look a lot nicer.

One thing about a car that I love to focus on is the technology. As a person that like to misplace keys frequently, the SYNC Connect allows you to start, lock, unlock and locate your vehicle from virtually anywhere using your smartphone. I rely on my iPhone for a lot of things and if it can find my keys or unlock the car, it’s seriously a blessing so I don’t have remember where I put my keys.

SYNC 3 has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to integrate a limited number of apps from your phone, and displays them on the touchscreen for easy access. Google Maps and Spotify make your driving experience a lot better.

Drive

Driving along the Sea to Sky is quite curvy when traveling along the highway. I found that the Escape has firm ride with responsive handling when merging in and out of lanes. Plus, the blind spot indicator is awesome so you know if there is anything in your blind spot before merging.

Good acceleration and when travelling over 100+ km, it wasn’t too loud.

A unique feature of the 2017 Ford Escape is the Lane-Keeping System. If you start drifting closer to the lane markings, it can apply torque to the steering wheel if it senses your vehicle drifting unintentionally out of its lane. If needed, the system can also send gentle vibration pulses to the wheel to prompt you to steer back toward centre.

Their new centre instrument panel has a front-mounted USB port with a pocket for devices, redesigned climate controls and refreshed, user-friendly design.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I thought the 2017 Ford Escape was pretty awesome on the highway, in the city, and off road. The price point is pretty good and great for those who have a lot to carry in their car.

Website: http://www.ford.ca/suvs/escape

The 2016 Acura TLX Elite is a mid-sided sedan with sporty handling, a roomy interior and luxury features. We tried the car for the week to see how it handles in the busy city and in the quiet suburbs.

Exterior

The exterior with the black colour speaks sophistication and class in this luxury sedan. Good smooth lines along the sides of the car, but nothing too stunning.

There is a good amount of trunk space especially if you’re putting luggage in the back or larger items.

The wheels look ok, but its missing a bit of pop to have it stand out. The overall look kinda blends in on the road. If you are getting a higher end car, you want people to notice.

Interior

The auto-dimming rearview mirror is great for when you’re in a parking garage and need a better view of your surroundings.

The metal and the wooden finishes in the interior clashes a little bit.

The Acura Navigation System and touch screen is decent, but I wish they had Apple Car Pay or Android Auto built-in. The other technology packed into this car is pretty standard, but still above other car companies.

The gear box and the parking break has become more sleek and replaced with buttons. At first, this seemed a bit strange and hard to get used to. It does take a while to get a handle on this, but it will come.

My husband and I share a car and we always had different setting when driving in the car. I’m a tad shorter, so I needed to be a little bit closer to the steering wheel and I prefer to sit more upright compared to him. Once thing I liked about this car is that you can pre-program 2 seat settings so it can save your sitting preferences.

There is a good amount of leg room in the back compared to other cars.

In a hidden compartment, you will find the USB port and the power outlet.

The rear view camera is great for backing up into parking spots confidently. The blind spot indicator by the side mirror is great for helping you merge successfully. These 2 features are great for those who aren’t too confident in their driving abilities. It helps give you more eyes around your car so you don’t get into an accident.

Drive

The engine is 2.4-litre, 16-valve, Direct Injection DOHC, i-VTEC 4-cylinder, and has 206 hp @ 6800 rpm. A pretty strong engine and accelerates quite well. The smart all-wheel-drive system that helps keep you safe on both wet and dry roads.

One touch engine start is a nice feature so you don’t have to dig the keys out of your bag.

One feature that I found annoying was the idle stop, even if I was stopped at a stop sign for a few seconds, the engine would turn off. It doesn’t feel smooth and at first its very jarring. The function is intended for you to save fuel when you are stopped for some time, but most of the time I had to end up turning this feature off since I wasn’t stuck in traffic for a long time.

Final Thoughts

The 2016 Acura TLX Elite performs well, but the exterior is modest looking and doesn’t stand out too much from the crowd. It kinda blends in. If you are looking for a classy car that doesn’t break your wallet, the Acura TLX is a good choice at $35, 490.

Website: http://www.acura.ca/tlx/2016

The 2016 Honda Civic Coupe Touring is the sporty version of the reliable Honda Civic. I have a 4-door Honda Civic, so it was a fun week trying out the Civic Coupe Touring in bright green. At first, the Energy Green Pearl colour seemed a bit jarring as it is a colour I’m not used to. I thought I would get a few looks, but after driving it, no one really noticed the colour at all.

Exterior

The exterior has nice lines that give it the sporty feel. With the Touring, you’ll notice that the handles are chrome instead of the same colour as the body. It definitely has an aggressive look ready too zoom around town.

The shark fin shaped antenna works well with the car.

The LED headlights in the front and rear are bright.

Also the side mirrors have integrated LED for your turn signals. A good was to let others on the road know your intentions so your don’t get into an accident.

The right side also has a camera to make checking your blind spot on the right side easy to bikers or other things that pop up. The rear facing camera is awesome too especially when parallel parking or backing up into a spot.

The 17″ Aluminum Alloy Wheels look pretty good and hold up the car up, but you can still see that the car is still low to the ground. Try not to be too aggressive over high speed bumps.

The capless fueling system is pretty awesome too. No more need to remember screwing on the cap.

Interior

The front seats are lowered, so you get a sporty feel by sitting lower to the ground. The front seats are heated, so in the winter time, you rear can be nice and toasty.

The seats have leather-trimmed seating surfaces.

The back seat seats 3 people, it might be a bit crammed if you have 3 tall adults in the back seats. They have to enter and exit through the driver side or passenger side door.

The technology packed into this car is pretty awesome, wireless charging, Apple Car Play, Android Auto, and WiFi teathering are a few things I enjoy in this car to better integrate your smartphone with the car.

Since I have an iPhone, I really utilized the Maps function so I can use Google Maps. Google Maps is by far superior to the standard map that’s part of the navigation system.

The USB port is a bit hidden, but can be found closer to where you knees are.

Drive

The engine is 1.5-litre, 16-valve, Direct Injection, DOHC, and turbocharged 4-cylinder. There is 174 horsepower at 6000 RPM. The civic coupe also has ECON mode to increase fuel economy.

The parking break has been replaces with a electronic parking break, so it is turned by by a push of a button. It saves room near the gear box and creates a sleeker look.

The glowing electronic dashboard is nice to look at. The car a good amount of power and performs well on hills and on the highway.

Final Thoughts

At $27,555 for the 2016 Honda Civic Coupe Touring, it’s a good price. The Civic Coupe appeals more to those who are younger and looking for a sleek car to impress friends without braking the bank. It was fun to drive this along the highway at faster speeds.

Website: https://www.honda.ca/civic_coupe

It’s M, yet again with another car review! However, unlike all of my other reviews, this one is a Ford! A 2016 Ford Focus Electric to be exact.

Exterior

The Focus line from Ford has always been a mixed bag. I love the hatchback mini style of the Ford ST, which is similar to my love of the older Honda Si-Rs. However, for the rest of the Focus trims, it does look a bit bland. Although it’s a sedan with four doors, it doesn’t feel much bigger inside than a Fit, although it looks a bit bigger than the fit on the outside.

I wanted the Focus Electric to have the over the top “Eco” look that other hybrids and electric cars have adopted to distance itself from the base models.

However, looking at the Ford Electric, nothing really stands out to a by passer that this Focus is nothing more than it’s base trim model, other than the modest “Electric” on the sides and on the back.

Interior

The interior of the Ford Focus is rather tame as well. I do enjoy the plastic/cloth stylings of most North American manufactured cars go for, and the Ford Focus Electric was no exception. The leather seats were really nice and definitely were a step up from the normal leather seats you come to expect in previous generation cars.

The gratuitous amount of plastic usually found in these American vehicles is a bit toned down here, but you can see remnants of it with the center vent on and off dials and the massive monstrosity of steering wheel controls.

I really liked the all LCD display of the speedometer. The left hand side with all the information of your battery and misc. information was really helpful albeit no over the top animations.

I found the GPS screen to be a tad small, but otherwise, having your phone’s playlist available to you without Apple CarPlay was a great experience. SYNC 1 was in the model I was driving which unfortunately did not come with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. You have to pay a bit more for SYNC 3, which enables those smart phone syncs. Otherwise, all of the middle components (climate control, sound control) felt top notch. The Sony powered audio speakers sounded great with deep bass and no distortion.

Ford definitely just took a Focus and fitted it with an Electric Vehicle and battery.

Opening the front, looks exactly like any other normal car. The trunk however, suffers because that’s where the battery lives. This massive block limits the size of the trunk quite a bit. You can probably barely fit a weeks worth of groceries for 2 people.

The small size is also a problem with the back seats. There isn’t a lot of room for the passengers as found in normal sedan cars so keep that in mind.

The push start button was a bit confusing to use at first because the radio doesn’t turn off like other cars. It’s only when you open the door, all the power goes off.

Drive

Being an all electric vehicle, the Ford Focus Electric accelerates fast! There are no gears, so there is no gear changes and the drive feels like you’re driving a glorified golf cart, with a ton of power. Pressing down on the drive pedal, feels stiff at first, but you get used to it. If you keep pressing down though, you’ll notice the batteries draining faster than an iPhone.

I’ve never had to worry about range, but the official range is a 120km, but it seems closer to the 90-100 km range if you drive perfectly. Even less if you’re a speed hog. Therefore this car is great for commuting, but little else. The already announced 2017 model is reported to have 160km, which is a great boost and probably worth waiting for.

The silent motor is great as you quickly realize how you’ve grown accustomed to noisy normal engines. Fun fact, going down hills and keeping your wheels spinning without pressing down on the pedal generates battery power as well as braking. Getting 100% energy returned on my brakes is a great mini-game during driving.

Final Thoughts

The 2016 Ford Focus Electric is an achievement of progress. 2006 me would’ve never guessed Ford would be selling a mainstream EV 10 years down the line. However, there are a lot of compromises to be made by skipping the fossil fuels. Low range and little trunk space. The starting price is high for a car this size that I’d just buy the Focus ST outright instead. There are government rebates that will lower the $29k starting price, but there’s so many other great cars at that price today.

The Focus Electric feels like a good effort by Ford to convert their Focus into an EV, but it suffers from the lack of optimization it could ultimately achieve from starting from scratch. I hope Ford comes out with their own BMW i3s or Tesla Model 3s in the near future!

Website: 
http://www.ford.ca/

Hello! M here yet again with another Honda review, this time a week with the 2016 Honda Accord Coupe Touring V6. This monster of a car had me scratching my head for answers!

Exterior

The Accord looks as stylish as the new Civics and the Coupe part of it makes the car feel very sporty. The back of the V6 version of the trim sports a very handsome chrome dual exhaust, which looks very handsome.

Unfortunately, I felt the Chrome borders around the side windows made the overall luxurious look of the car fall a little towards the tacky side. I still love the front grills and LED headlights, but it is a bit more Chromey than the Civic.

Interior

The luxurious car flavour continues on the inside with all leather and dark wood (plastic) finishes. The Accord Coupe Touring V6 ditches the all digital speedometer/HUD for a manual one, that made me miss the Civic all that more. There is a bit of a digital display in the middle of it that can display gas mileage and other tidbits of information, but it felt dated compared to the Civic.

The Accord however comes with a secondary screen above the main GPS that is used for music and other misc. information. I used it mostly for music and a clock.

The GPS system is the same as the one in the Civic and thankfully comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. I did run into some performance issues with my Apple CarPlay, which I did not encounter at all with the Civic, which could mean the hardware isn’t as up to date, or it was purely my USB wires fault. Nonetheless, it wasn’t as flawless as the Civic’s CarPlay.

There is a plastic compartment right under the GPS screen that was mostly useless space and a USB port. It felt oddly unrefined. There was no Electronic Parking Brake which was odd as the Civic Touring came with one.

There was also no push open gas lid and instead a normal one. All of these signs leads to my suspicion that the 2016 Accord Coupe Touring was produced and pushed out before the 2016 Civic, lacking in some features.

It is incredibly easy moving the front seats for passengers to ride in the back. The back was surprisingly spacious but obviously not as comfortable as a Sedan. You don’t buy a Coupe to bring 3-4 people around usually.

There are also 2 seat settings by the drivers side door, so you can have your adjustments every time you get in the car.

Drive

The 2016 Honda Accord Coupe Touring V6, is a beast of a machine. This 278 horsepower 3.6-litre i-VTEC engine accelerates incredibly fast and can leave skid marks easily with the back sticking out. There is a joy in driving this car, and I hoped it would’ve had a full on Sport Mode option, but it does not. It does have the CVT flappy gear shift, which the Civic lacked and increases the fun factor of driving this car.

I would say it was the most fun and responsive Honda I’ve tested so far!

Final Thoughts

The 2016 Honda Accord Coupe Touring V6 is a head scratcher for me. At $37,000 I don’t think you’re getting the great features the $27,000 2016 Civic Touring has. You are spending money to get a great engine, but if you’re the type of person who dishes out money for a more powerful engine, I’m pretty sure you can spend the same amount on another prestigious engine car brand.

The Accord is definitely not a race car, but tries to be a normal person’s race car with it’s fun torque. It was a thrill to drive, but I would really wonder what type of person will buy this car. The Accord doesn’t have the brand name recognition for gear heads than the Honda Si-R’s or Hyundai Genesis does, which starts from $29,000.

Website: http://www.honda.ca/

M here, and for 1 week I got to drive the new 2016 Honda Fit EX-L Navi. This car taught me that I’m way older than I thought I was. Although it’s fun to drive, I wanted more features and ultimately a bigger car.

Exterior

The Honda Fit didn’t really change all the much between generations. In fact, in some angles while it may seem sleek and sporty, other angles made it seem too round and soccer mom car-ish. The red definitely screamed domestic, instead of sporty. Unfortunately there is no option to put in stock LED headlights.

I still love the proximity key entry system, which means I don’t have to take out my key fob to open the car while entering!

Interior

The Honda Fit is incredibly spacious inside. There’s plenty of trunk space and space for back seat riders. I was surprised on how the driver seat was even when put in it’s lowest setting. The EX-L Navi is the highest trim of the Fit you can buy, so I was very disappointed by the lack of a power seat. The adjustment of the seat was finicky at best.

There was also a lack of any space to place your smart phone while it’s connected to the USB. The small space next to the gear shift could barely hold my iPhone 6+ in place, and would fall off easily. This gear shift area was my biggest grievance of the Fit’s interior. The heated seat buttons were placed in such way, that I would always accidentally press one when placing my phone down. It was frustrating. Speaking of frustrating, the parking brake was also very finicky. Whenever I released the parking brake, it would catch on one of the bottom clicks, not fully going down without another effort.

The best thing about the interior is the cupholder on the left side of the steering wheel. This cupholder could hold a Venti sized drink comfortably, and I found myself using it a lot more than I initially thought.

The navigation system is the same that is found in the Civic, but lacks Apple Carplay or Android Auto. The system seemed to be slower too. The navigation software found in the 2016 Fit definitely is a lighter and less fleshed out system than what is found in the Civic. I found it annoying to work with overall.

The Fit EX-L Navi does have Honda’s nifty LaneWatch blind spot display, which helps you merge right and parallel park. It also comes with a rear camera, but I did find it slow to start with the Fit’s Navi hardware.

All the seats are foldable into various configurations, so if you need to move any large cargo or make an IKEA trip, it’s possible.

Drive

The highlight of the Honda Fit EX-L Navi is the way it drives! This model is fitted with an all new engine that Honda touts is more powerful, yet more efficient that previous ones. The engine is very zippy and driving it with the paddle shifts was incredibly fun.

This small but powerful engine comes with some drawbacks though. The engine is loud when revving, and even in idle, the engine clicks can be noticeably heard in the car. The Econ mode found in all Hondas is completely useless here, as lowering the revs of the engine makes the engine shift unbearably slow, which causes the driver to push harder (which defeats the purpose of keeping L/100km low). Turning Econ mode off is suggested as the fuel efficient engine does it’s job without it.

The steering of this car is surprisingly light, showing off how much of the power-steering the car gives you.

Final Thoughts

At $22,000, I don’t know why anyone would buy a Fit EX-L Navi, when they can get the 2016 Honda Civic EX for $1,000 more. The Civic EX has all the major features of the Fit, but adds in a more powerful engine and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Fit is a fun car to drive and I think you can justify getting the lower trims if you’re on a budget or if it’s your first car of university. It’s fun and easy to drive and I think car modders can mod the car for impressive results. My wife and I had a Fit in university, but now I can’t imagine myself owning one, as gadgets and space become more of a concern.

Website: http://www.honda.ca/

M here, and for 1 week I got to drive the new 2016 Honda Civic Touring. This is the best Civic made ever!

Exterior

This is the best looking Civic sedan ever made. I’m still partial to the Hatchback Si-Rs of old, but for the first time I think the Civic looks a tad better than it’s Acura counterparts.

My favourite part of the exterior is definitely the back headlights. It feels futuristic without being too corny. I felt like a mid 30s, suave man, driving this thing around, which is harder to imagine while driving Civic’s previous models.

LED Headlights feel like a necessity for all modern cars after driving the Civic Touring. Anything else feels like a car from the 80s-90s.

Interior

The mature, sophisticated, luxury sedan feel from the exterior continues on inside. The leather trimmings and shiny dark (what I assume plastic) wood, is a great accent.

The speedometer and accelerometer are both fully digitally realized in a LCD display. They’ve taken the dual screens from previous Civic models and combined them all into one screen behind the steering wheel. I remember Audi touting this feature for their new A8s and seeing this here was awesome! You can customize what you see in the bottom center of the display, such as audio, gas consumption, etc.

The GPS display is finally button free, instead going for touch screen buttons. The best thing about the GPS is the integration of Apple Car Play and Android Auto.

A specific smart phone USB slot is provided to sync seamlessly with your device.

I love Apple Car Play, something I don’t think I can ever drive without. Honda’s new GPS software is snappy and great looking, but Apple Car Play let’s you use Apple Maps (Not as great as Google Maps, but a step above car GPS).

Not only that, you essentially have iTunes in your car, letting you access your music playlists, Apple Music, Spotify, and Apple Radio. Podcast and Audiobook listeners can rejoice having their own buttons and menus, you never have to look down on your phone in your car ever again. You can call and check text messages from your phone straight from the screen as well.

The inclusion of an Electronic parking break is a great touch in accentuating the luxury in luxury sedan.

The blind spot and rear camera display is great for those who have problems merging right and reverse parking.

However, there’s a severe lack of simple blind spot indicators for both sides, which is a head-scratcher omission.

There is nothing special going on in the trunk either.

Filling the Civic Touring with gas was confusing as I couldn’t find the fuel door button, but the new Civics have a simple push mechanism on the fuel door. It opens up to a cap-less fuel tank. I never knew these existed, but now I have another “must-have standard feature” to add to my list.

The steering wheel buttons were a major step down from previous models. These plastic-y clicky buttons felt cheap and out of place in an otherwise luxurious interior. The volume control on the steering wheel was especially atrocious, having you glide your finger across a ridged plastic tab.

Drive

The handling and drive feel of the Civic has now been honed to perfection. When I was test-driving my Honda Civic 2012, I knew I couldn’t switch over to the better equipped, better looking Hyundai’s at that time.

The turbocharged Civic Touring engine was a joy to rev! Although there’s no explicit Sport Mode button, you can shift the Automatic gearbox to S mode, which basically does the same thing.

Econ mode is still relevant here, helping keep the revs low in high traffic conditions. The Civic Touring felt like it could both be a responsible daily driver, saving gas at 7L/100KM, but can change to a monster whenever you felt like it. If you haven’t driven a Civic yet, run to a dealership to find out what you’re missing.

Final Thoughts

Driving the 2016 Honda Civic Touring was immensely satisfying. I thought I was driving a mid $30k car, but in reality, this car costs $27k. That to me was a huge shock and it’s definitely a steal. I can forgive the omissions of a power trunk and forward facing camera at that price, but I still would’ve liked to see a simple blind spot indicator for both sides. The right side merging camera is definitely helpful, but I also merge left! The digital screens in the car steal the show for sure. My actual car is a Honda Civic 2012 highest trim and it’s amazing how far mid $20k-$30k sedans have come along.

We got a chance to drive the new Acura 2016 MDX Elite SUV for a whole week. What began with criticism, ultimately led to a love of a luxury SUV.

The MDX Elite is the highest equipped of the MDX SUV line by Acura and it sure feels like it.

The exterior is very simplistic looking, no harsh lines and a handsome metal plate adorning the Acura logo. The LED headlights is the real star of the show.

The interior is a nice blend of the soft touch material from all of Honda’s and Acura’s cars, high quality leather, real wood, and metal.

I did miss the digital speedometer that is in my Civic, but I did appreciate the tactile feedback from the touch screen.

There are 2 seats in the third row that could easily fit a couple of kids, or with some adjustment 2 adults!

This does sacrifice some trunk space though.

Once you go Push Start, you can never go back to having a key ignition start.

The MDX also sports a really cool non-stick gearbox. The flappy pedal gearchanges on the steering wheel does make the SUV feel more sporty too. Even if the stickless gearbox was neat, I was disappointed by the super stock feel and inclusion of the parking brake. I expected a button for the parking brake found in other luxury SUVs, but the MDX Elite has the same parking brake as my in-law’s CRV.

You have the standard auto climate control, but I was pleasantly surprised with the cooling front seats! They were divine! In mornings, I loved the heated steering wheel as well!

The coolest feature by far in the MDX Elite, is the 360 camera. Parking is a breeze with both collision detection and the superb 360 camera view. I marveled as I parked with robotic precision in every stall.

The feature that was the most finnicky to deal with was the Auto Idle Engine Stopper. There is a convenient button on the Gearbox that turns this feature off or on. However, after my first drive of the car, it never reactivated itself, regardless of me turning the mode on or off. Looking online, there seems to be others who are confused as well. I also wasn’t too impressed with the Adaptive Cruise Control, as it made the auto gear shifting uncomfortable and made the drive feel less refined.

The most important buying decision of a car is how it drives. Honda and Acura just nails the complicated balance of tension and give for both the suspension and steering assist. The IDS (Integrated Dynamic System) lets you select different driving profiles that affect the steering assist, suspension, and automatic gear shifts. Sport Mode tightens up the suspension and greatly decreases steering assist, so you can feel every curve. Of course, going into Sport mode also increases the revs you get from gear shifts. Make sure to tap the D/S button on the gear box to fully go into Sport mode.

My favourite mode and the mode I was on the most in my week driving the car, was Comfort. Oh man, do I already miss the loose and easy steering assist and the pillow soft suspension. You can make the MDX feel like a muscle car by activating Comfort Mode and putting the drive on Sport. When I first picked up the MDX, the average fuel consumption was 17.1L/100KM, but when I returned the car, I brought that number down to 13L/100KM. Yep, I’m awesome. Driving the MDX Elite was a joy day to day.

Website: http://www.acura.ca/mdx