2014 Land Rover LR4

Isaac Bouchard The Land Rover LR4 is almost become a singular vehicle in today’s market. As a boxy, truly offroad-capable SUV, it is moving upstream against current trends in 7-passenger crossovers. Yet much of its charm resides in its very contrarian mien. No doubt, as the English company overhauls its product line the LR4 will … Read more

2015 BMW 435i Convertible

Isaac Bouchard The 435i convertible makes an interesting contrast to its predecessor, and is perhaps the clearest expression yet of where BMW is taking the brand, and how it is repositioning this, its midlevel droptop model. Having time in this car just one week after selling my very own 335i convertible made it easy to … Read more

2014 Infiniti Q50S

Isaac Bouchard Short exposure to Infiniti’s new Q50 midsize sports sedan last spring left almost as many questions unanswered as conclusions. A full week behind the fly-by-wire steering wheel of an S model recently helped to reduce the enigmatic quality of this bleeding-edge machine. While the Q50 is built on a heavily revised version of … Read more

2014 Cadillac XTS vSport

Isaac Bouchard In this modern era of platform sharing, the “bones” that make up any single vehicle are critically important to how it stacks up. One could say it was always thus, but just to get an idea of how important it is in our ultra-competitive age, a comparison of Cadillac’s CTS vSport (reviewed here) … Read more

Simple Golf Stretches to Prevent Muscle Soreness

Two quick exercises to do in your home or hotel room Steven Heller Working in Scottsdale, Steven Heller naturally sees plenty of golf vacationers. “By the second or third day, they’re feeling it in their backs, shoulders, legs…and scores,” says the fitness director at Scottsdale’s Westin Kierland Resort and the creator of FORE-MAX Golf Training … Read more

2014 BMW X5 50i M Sport

Isaac Bouchard The third generation of BMW’s game-changing crossover has arrived, and it is an interesting contrast to its predecessors. In M Sport guise, riding on 20-inch wheels (smaller ones look lost in the new bodywork) it cuts an imposing figure, and the detailing is refined—perhaps too much so—on a vehicle that has grown in … Read more

2015 Subaru WRX STI

Isaac Bouchard So much of how we perceive a vehicle—even if we are someone who has spent their entire professional career evaluating them—has to do with where we are at in our life. That thought came to the fore as I climbed into the all-new 2015 Subaru WRX STI for my first drive, for it … Read more

2014 Cadillac CTS 2.0L AWD & Vsport

Isaac Bouchard As Cadillac continues on the comeback trail, getting the new CTS midsize luxury sedan right becomes critical. Helping its case is that the CTS is now correctly sized to compete head-on with the Audi A6 and BMW 5-series, two of the class’ best. Outside, the Cadillac is more flamboyant, yet still refined looking. … Read more

2015 Subaru Legacy 3.6R

Isaac Bouchard There is no doubt Subaru has figured out how to build cars that Americans want to buy; sales go up every year and they have passed many former competitors in market share, while making inroads into southern states that long had been anathema to the brand. The Outback and Legacy have just undergone … Read more

2014 Volkswagen Jetta SE

Isaac Bouchard When this series Jetta came out it represented Volkswagen’s first concerted effort to truly build a car to be competitive in America. Before, its offerings were smaller yet more expensive than Asian players and sales suffered as a result. This model, though, was large and priced right in the heart of the market. … Read more