Automotive Reviews
Road tests
2005 Suzuki Verona
Nov 7th
The all-new Suzuki Verona is your basic Polite Family Car. It’s a conservative, low-priced alternative to the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, and that’s all it wants to be. This is Suzuki’s first entry in the midsize category, and incidentally the largest Suzuki car ever.
Under the skin, this Japanese family sedan’s got Korean DNA, borrowed from defunct-in-the-U.S. Daewoo. The Verona gets a thorough restyling, as well as the support of a larger dealer network, and keeps its attractively low price. More >
2005 Toyota Matrix
Nov 7th
The guy at the transmission shop rushed out to get a look at the Toyota Matrix. “What is it?” he asked. “It’s pretty cool. Is it a four or a V6?” A grizzled diesel mechanic had a similar reaction when he saw our dark blue test car on his lot. “Is it a four-by-four?” he asked.
Not bad curb draw for a vehicle that’s basically a glorified Corolla wagon, eh?
Oh, right, we know, it’s called a “crossover” and all sorts of other hip-sounding things, but the fact of the matter is, Toyota’s Matrix and its Pontiac sibling the Vibe are intended to do the tasks that have been falling to station wagons for years. The trouble was, a little station wagon just isn’t cool enough for the active-sports crowd to feel good about tossing bikes, boards or tents into one for a long weekend. And that’s where the Matrix comes in. It’s a station wagon at heart, but the tall-sided body and angular design are loads hipper than the average wagon could ever be. For 2005 the Matrix gets fresh styling and Toyota’s Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system. More >
2006 Chevrolet Impala
Nov 7th
Chevrolet’s Impala is the best-selling domestic car on the market (not counting the Accords and Camrys that are built domestically, of course). Didn’t know that, did you? Given the stunningly outdated condition of that particular car, it came as a huge surprise to us.
Impala SS pictured.
That’s okay, though, because Chevy hasn’t just let the model sit passively on its perch waiting to be knocked off. For 2006 the Impala is all-new, whether the sales figures say it needed it or not. A new face, larger interior, and much-improved ride and performance should make its best-seller status a little more obvious. The return of a V8-powered Impala SS model should reduce the car’s anonymity somewhat, as well. More >