Automotive Reviews
Archived
Back-catalog of reviews written before 2008.
2006 Hyundai Sonata
Dec 8th
Don’t call this an “impressive effort,” because it’s the real deal. Hyundai knows what it’s doing, and the all-new Sonata is merely impossible-to-ignore evidence of this fact. This completely redesigned sedan aims to do nothing less than go after the heart of the family sedan market. Flashy and dripping with sex appeal it’s not, but the 2006 Hyundai Sonata is nonetheless a big deal, because it represents just how good the low-priced Korean offerings have become.
Is Hyundai ready to challenge Toyota and Honda on the turf they helped create? Compared to its predecessor, the new Sonata is larger, more stylish and more powerful. Park it next to an Accord or Camry and it fits right in; the bargain-basement look and feel of past Hyundais is long gone. The Sonata is also built in the United States, at Hyundai’s brand-new Montgomery, Alabama plant. More >
2006 Hummer H3
Dec 8th
The notion of a “smaller, gentler Hummer” seems like an oxymoron, but here it is. The latest vehicle from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favorite brand downsizes the burly paramilitary look even further, creating a more affordable and easier-to-drive variant. Hummer’s first mid-size SUV retains the brand’s larger-than-life look and extreme off-road ability, but it’s got a more realistic size, the better to adapt to life in the ‘burbs, right?
Well, sort of. Since it’s based on the Chevrolet Colorado, sharing a platform and powerplant with that pickup, it’s easy to assume that the H3 is intended to be a mass-market family-hauler. Like the rest of the Hummer lineup, though, the H3 is part highly specialized off-roading tool and part boutique vehicle. More >
2005 Hummer H2 SUT
Dec 8th
Go ahead and hate the Hummer H2 if you feel that you must. With a growing backlash against SUV prices fueled (no pun intended) by rising gas prices, it’s an easy target. Rather like hitting the broad side of a barn, in fact. Bear in mind, however, that Hummer has never pretended to be in the business of producing family vehicles or suburban-bully SUVs. The Hummer H1 and H2 exist to be the most capable off-road vehicles available for sale. Ambitious neo-Yuppies who buy H2s as ego boosters and never take them off pavement are giving these trucks a bad name, to be honest.
To underscore its capabilities, Hummer introduced the newest iteration of the H2, the SUT, to the motoring press by taking the trucks to Moab, Utah, an off-roading mecca. There, we drove the trucks on some of the most challenging trails to be had—most of which were marked very clearly, “Stock Vehicles Not Recommended.” The H2 had no problem tackling slickrock slopes and stepped hills of boulders that conventional wisdom considers to be the province of specially modified trail trucks. I drove H2s up some hills that were almost too steep to walk up. More >