I’m just going to say it; the Durango’s styling is a home run. Truly a grand slam knockout. Sporting the new Dodge crosshair grille and a wide stance, the Durango has an imposing presence.

My tester was a fully loaded top-of-the line Citadel model which featured quite a bit of chrome, but it is tasteful. The headlights have a jewel-like quality to them, with some intricate styling tweaks that really make them unique. As much as I love the front end, the rear seems a little plain to me. While not ugly by any means, it lacks the style the front end clearly has.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the 20-inch chrome clad wheels. Personally, I’m over chrome cladding and it just felt tacky. Dodge showed the Durango Citadel with some fantastic looking aluminum wheels during the auto show season. My guess is those are an option, though in my opinion they should be standard.

I also felt the door handles were flimsily on the outside. When you pulled them to open the door the handles felt loose and wiggled. I have since checked other new Durangos and other new Chrysler products, and each seem to have this issue. The handles don’t give you that solid feeling when you pull on them to release the door, and this definitely made an impression on me each time I opened the doors. But shutting the doors would result in a solid thunk, quickly removing the cheap feeling the handles gave me.

Inside the Durango is another home run; the materials are all first rate. I’m not typically a fan of two-tone interiors, especially when the main color is tan, but the black and tan interior of this Durango really looked great. The seats were supportive and the power tilt and telescoping steering wheel made it easy to find a comfortable driving position.

The stalks and center console controls are straight from the Jeep Grand Cherokee parts bin, but that’s OK. The controls feature large buttons that are easy to use and are marked clearly.

Where the Durango differs from the Jeep Grand Cherokee is size; the Durango features a third row for extra passenger capacity. I personally hopped in the back seat and played with all the different seating arrangements. I was highly impressed and actually comfortable sitting in the third row. While you do give up nearly all your cargo room with the third row up, a five foot ten inch male will be more than comfortable sitting in the third row during a road trip. Sadly, you’ll need another vehicle to haul your luggage in.

While the Durango does offers the terrific new Pentastar V-6 engine, my tester was equipped with the Hemi V-8. Rated at 360 horsepower and 390 pound feet of torque, the power is channeled through a one choice five-speed automatic. Yes, I said five-speed not six.

My all-wheel drive tester felt quick, but heavy. The steering was nicely weighted and the transmission programming was well sorted. The all-wheel drive Durango with the Hemi V-8 is rated at 13/20. I am happy to report I averaged 15.6 mpg in mixed suburban driving and 21.3 mpg on the highway with the cruise set north of 70 mph. It is worth noting I also had five people, two dogs, and the rear-end full of luggage when I averaged 21.3 mpg on the highway. Had I gone slightly slower and or had a smaller load, I am sure my mileage would have been even better.

On the way back from the family cabin my family and I ran into one of the absolute nastiest storms I have ever driven through in my life. The rain was coming down in sheets and you couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of you. It was truly terrifying for some of the people in the car. The Durango felt steady and very safe as we drove through the storm (for three hours) and never lost control at any point. I was highly impressed, and am not convinced all vehicles would have driven through that quite as well.

At the end of my week with the Durango there was no question, this is by far the best Durango to date. With a terrific interior and great fit and finish, Dodge has a very competitive SUV in its line-up. While it may not have quite the fuel economy rating that some of the competition does, it has easy to use electronics and large towing capabilities that some of the competition just can’t match. I would definitely recommend the Durango to anyone needing a three-row crossover with towing capabilities.

Full Disclosure- The review vehicle was provided by Chrysler

When I was a kid, I drooled over cars like the Subaru WRX STI, and the Mitsubishi. Not for just for their high output four cylinders, but for their entire drivetrains. Those high output four cylinders combined with the rally bred all-wheel drive systems are just a marvel to behold. When given the chance to have a 2011 Mitsubishi Evo MR Touring in my driveway for a week, I jumped all over it. Is the little rally bred street racer all I hoped? After spending a week with it, I finally have some answers.

The exterior of the Evo is menacing. I mean really, the front looks like it is going to eat you. From the sculpted hood with heat extractors and air inlet, to the gaping mesh grille, it all works. And don’t forget about those scowling headlights.

More than one person during the week asked me what that big silver thing was towards the bottom of the front clip. That my friends, is a nice big intercooler. It helps keep the hopped up four banger cool.

My Evo MR test vehicle sported some very nice light-weight 18″ BBS wheels shod with Bridgestone snow tires. Peeking behind those great looking wheels were a terrific set of Brembo brakes that kept this little beast in control at all times.

From the side view, the Evo MR almost looks like a normal Lancer, almost. The body kit has side skirts that extend from the rocker panels quite a bit, enough to make you pay attention when entering the car. If you aren’t careful, you’ll get a leg full of snow and slush.

My favorite part of the rear is definitely the taillights. Both during the day and even more so at night, they appear to be scowling at you. The MR deletes the big stupid boy racer wing off the trunk, and replaces it with a tasteful lip. Below the bumper lies an aggressive diffuser with two chrome exhaust tips protruding out.

Bottom line on the exterior of the Evo MR: it’s aggressive. The MR ditches the silly wing and makes the Evo almost passible as a car that doesn’t shout “Hey look at me Mr. Police man,” though I did say almost.

Before I get to the interior, lets get one thing straight….this car is about driving. The powertrain is what makes this car. This is evident in the interior.

If you read my review of the 2011 Lancer Sportback ES, you’ll know the interior materials on that car are a letdown. With hard plastics that can scratch easily, it just looks cheap. The Evo shares this interior because it is based off the Lancer.

The touring package blesses the Evo with terrific heated Recaro leather seats that are manually adjustable. These seats are terrific and also worth noting, absolutely not made for overweight Americans. I fit just fine, but many people will find these seats to be uncomfortable. They grip you in all the right places. When flying around a track, your body will not be moving around. That is exactly what you want from sport seats.

Sound was provided by the Rockford Fosgate Punch sound system. This system puts out 710-watts and is connected to 9 speakers and a 10″ subwoofer. In a word, it’s boomy. The highs are messy and the lows are loud, but muddy. In a car like this, how much does a sound system really matter anyway though, right?

Overall the interior is somewhat cheap, but hey, once you hit the go pedal you really don’t care. I assure you of this. Oh, and the seats make up for any problems you have with the crappy plastics.

Now what we have all really been waiting for: the powertrain and driving impressions. The Evo has one engine choice, a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder that has a twin-scroll turbocharger. This is good for 291-horsepower and 300 lb-ft, which of course goes to all four wheels.

The base Evo has a 5-speed manual transmission while the MR model features Mitsubishi’s 6-speed TC-SST transmission. The TC-SST transmission is Mitsubishi’s dual clutch transmission.

The TC-SST transmission has three modes: Normal, Sport, and S-Sport (Super Sport). These modes can be changed via a toggle next to the shifter. One thing to note: you can change the modes while driving, but to put the car in S-Sport you must be fully stopped, and hold the toggle for a few seconds. It is almost like a hidden mode. Normal is what you would expect, normal. Though it does seem to do exactly what you want when you want it in most conditions. Sport takes things up a notch keeping the revs higher, and shifts are a little harder. S-Sport is really just ridiculous for street use, it keeps the revs nearly always above 5,000 RPMS , and hits redline every time. Oh, and it also shifts so hard that you feel like you just hurt the transmission. I almost felt bad for it.

All Evo’s have what Mitsubishi calls Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC). The S-AWC system is a really sophisticated all-wheel drive system. It has more sensors than you can probably count. It also has an active center differential. Taking things even further, we have active yaw control in the rear. This is the part that makes the power go side to side in the rear. When you go around a corner, the power is being moved around to push and pull you, even when the wheels are slipping.

The S-AWC system has three modes which you change using a button near the emergency brake (how convenient). The modes are: Snow, Gravel, and Tarmac. Push the button and it will toggle through the modes. Each mode calibrates the S-AWC for the condition of which you selected. Remember, this is/was a rally bred car.

Driving the car is like piloting a go kart on the road. Though it is a really heavy go kart. At 3,500 lbs, it is surprisingly heavy! Turbo lag is here, but you realize it quick and plan accordingly. From a dead stop if you slam the gas it is a second of thinking “hmmmm” followed by “holy crap” once the revs hit about 3,000 RPMs.

The steering wheel is a nice diameter and the metal paddle shifters that lurk behind the steering wheel are great. They are mounted (correctly) on the steering column instead of on the steering wheel. You always know where they are.

Steering is direct and very responsive. It almost does what you are thinking, literally. With only 2.7 turns lock-to-lock, it does not take a ton of input to direct the Evo. It almost feels like a precision tool meant to listen to your every command.

When you take a corner, it almost doesn’t matter your speed. The S-AWC has a little graph that you can display in the information cluster. This shows you where the power is going in relation to the wheels. Hit the gas and take a corner fast, you’ll see the power go to the front inside wheel and rear outside wheel.

The suspension is somewhat harsh. When I say harsh, some will find it a bit ridiculous. I found it tolerable, though many will not.

With a 14.5 gallon gas tank I will recommend you watch the gas gauge closely. The Evo is rated at 17/22 mpg, but good luck getting that. I averaged anywhere from 14 to 18 mpg. As you might imagine, I went through quite a few tanks of gas. A high-output turbocharged 4-cylinder pulling that much weight literally chugs premium gasoline.

Along with your gas tank issue, make sure you pack light. The trunk has less than 7 cubic feet of cargo space. Between the rear mounted battery, windshield washer fluid tank, and the subwoofer, you will not be taking the kids stroller to the park along with that picnic basket.

So after spending a week with Mitsubishi’s halo car, was it everything I had hoped and dreamed? In a word, yes. I was disappointed that it was so heavy, and while I expected the low rent interior (man you should have see the last generation), the Evo is hard to argue with. At $41,995 as tested, it is not a cheap ride, but it starts at a little over $34k and you can choose how you option it from there.

The the Evo is a ton of coin; heck you are in small premium car territory at that price. You could even buy a Camaro SS or Mustang GT for less money, but they are a different type of performance. Those are brute power kind of cars.

At the end of the day the Evo is a ton of fun, and much more refined than past generations. You just need to know what you are buying for that kind of money. An expensive small car that chugs premium fuel and has little to no cargo room in the trunk. Did I mention the Recaro seats, TC-SST transmission and the mind bending all-wheel drive?

Full Disclosure – The review vehicle was provided by Mitsubishi

Some Photography – Alex Bellus

This new third generation Sportage is so vastly different in almost every way from its predecessors, that it’s amazing that they sport the same name.

The exterior of the new Sportage looks like it fell out of the awesome tree and hit every branch on its way down. Beginning in the front, Sportage sports Kia’s new signature grill, flanked by swept back headlights. The headlights on upper trim models (like this EX) each have a strip of LED eye liner. Chrome trim above the fog lights finishes off the front end.

The sides have sculpting near the bottom of the doors while a character line runs beneath the window sills into the rear tail lights. Door handles and window sills are trimmed in chrome and the roof rails are covered in a with a satin metal-like finish. The side mirrors also feature LED repeaters, which is a nice touch in this class.

Around back the rear is very stylized, with what can only be described as a bubble butt. The rear view almost looks like an alien scowling at you, especially at night. The rear tail lights feature LED lighting.

With the rear window being somewhat small and the large C-pillars being kind of large, it makes for limited rearward visibility. It is clear that style played a larger role than function when it came to the exterior design – the exterior is probably the best looking exterior of any compact CUV on the market currently.

The interior is also stylized, though not to the extent the exterior is. The dash features two different finishes, one smooth and one textured, both are hard and have a low sheen to them.

The center console has a upward slant to it and it rises to meet the dashboard. The climate controls have a shiny piano black finish to them, but it is not distracting. I could imagine this plastic getting scratched easily over time though.

Both front seats were all day comfortable, with terrific seat heaters. Though only the front drivers seat features a cooling function. The front passenger will have to settle for only heat.

As I mentioned on the exterior, visibility is somewhat limited by the rear design. The C-pillars are quite large and the back glass is quite small. Further enhancing the problem are the somewhat large A-pillars in the front. While not as large as some of the competition, they are still large enough to cause some visibility issues. As with the current trend, the belt line on the Sportage is high, so resting your elbow on the window sill while driving is somewhat uncomfortable. The design also cuts into rear seat headroom. Taller passengers will need to sit up front.

Like the exterior, I found the interior to be a huge win. Button placement was all within arms reach and everything was clearly labeled. My only major gripe would be the style over function of some of the design characteristics.

Currently the new Sportage features one engine  2.4-liter inline four-cylinder that pumps out 176 horsepower and 168 pound-feet to either the front or all four wheels. The power is routed through a six speed automatic transmission that has manual shift capabilities. The Sportage EX I was in came equipped with all-wheel drive and an electronic locking differential. The current powertrain combined with all-wheel drive is rated at 21/28 mpg, and I saw an average of 19 mpg in mixed suburban driving.

As with the new Sorento, I found the ride in the Sportage to be surprisingly stiff. While I can appreciate a stiff ride, over bumpy roads the suspension can feel jittery at times. Also, the steering is light when at parking lots speeds but firms up a little too much once underway.

While I had the Sportage, Minneapolis was whacked with the largest blizzard we have had in over ten years. I drove the Sportage out into the blizzard and must say I was highly impressed. I did not get stuck once. With over 20 inches of snow in less than 24 hours, I drove this Sportage through worse road conditions than almost any owner will ever drive through. The 18″ wheels with Hankook tires where very impressive and the stability control kept everything in line. I did lock the all-wheel drive a few times, though ground clearance did help as well. I am sure the cold and blizzard driving affected my gas mileage.

The EX AWD is currently the top trim model of the Sportage model. This Sportage featured both the Navigation/Premium Audio package as well as the Premium Package with Leather. Combined with these options and destination, the total price on this Sportage was $29,990.

The Sportage lands in a crowded market. The new Chevrolet Equinox is very competitive, and the Honda CR-V along with the Toyota RAV4 are both segment leaders. So is the new little Sportage finally ready to sell on more than price? The answer is absolutely. With more style, or flair if you will, than nearly all the competition, this Kia is ready to finally sell on design and features rather than a warranty and low price.

Full Disclosure – The review vehicle was provided by Kia

When SUV’s first came onto the market, they were little more then short trucks with four doors.  They have since evolved, but many people in the general public see current CUV’S and traditional SUV’s as the same.  A CUV isn’t like a normal SUV in many ways – starting with the fact that they aren’t body on frame vehicles.  They are unibody and essentially based off car platforms.  They aren’t designed for the same capabilities as a traditional SUV.  The aforementioned baby boomer from earlier was shocked to learn that her CR-V is based off a car.

CUV’s still have all-wheel drive, but most do not have off-road capabilities or even a low range like a traditional four-wheel drive. However, there are some that have locking differentials for deeper snow and sticky situations.  Interestingly enough, many CUV’s are more capable then most consumers will ever need.  With all that said, towing capacities are much lower then that of a typical SUV.  The current Ford Explorer is a typical SUV, being body on frame.  That will all be changing though with the new version that is set to go on sale at the end of this year/beginning of next year.  The next generation Explorer went more mainstream, being unibody.  This trend is continuing to expand among other SUV’s, including the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee (though the Grand Cherokee has always been unibody).  The 2011 Grand Cherokee will also be unibody, though it will still retain hard core off -road capabilities in certain trim levels.

What this all boils down to is perception.  People seem to want an “SUV”, but they do not want the many things associated with them.  That list includes, but isn’t limited to, poor gas mileage, rough ride, sloppy handling and many other things.  There are things people still want though – like increased ride height and the idea of off road capabilities.  So what does this mean?  It means that people want some characteristics of the SUV and not others – and that poses a challenge to marketers.

Volvo has had an interesting run lately.  Just a few years ago sales were good and profits were actually being made.  Now sales are nothing to brag about and the revenues, well, what revenues?  With the pending sale to Geely, the future is really cloudy but they say that letting Volvo be Volvo will be their plan.  That is definitely a plan, but as that may be, every new Volvo launch better go off without a hitch.  The XC60 is off to a good start as Volvo’s new entrant to the entry level luxury crossover market.  This is a hotly contested arena in which large players are throwing their weight around.  The XC60 is a fresh and dare I say, Swedish approach to this category.

The XC60 slots right between the XC70 and the larger XC90.  The interior is nearly the size of the segment champion, the Lexus RX.  The front is spacious with plenty of head and leg room.  The seats were terrific and the tilt and telescoping steering wheel made finding a comfortable driving position a cinch.  The interior is filled with soft touch materials and the gauges are easy to read.  The button lay out is very similar to other Volvos which is a good thing.  Overall, the interior is easily in the top of its class.

The exterior is typical Volvo with styling that stays with the family but pushes the edges a little. With curvy hips in the rear in place, the front is slightly more aggressive than the current line up.  This front clip is an evolution of the current styling, and we will be seeing these design cues on the 2011 C70 and 2011 S60.  Personally, I am a big fan of the use of light pipes next to the grille.  The fog lights actually provide a good amount of light on the ground, making a noticeable difference when driving at night.

Two engines are available.  The vehicle I was testing was equipped with the base 3.2 liter inline six cylinder putting out 235 hp and 236 ft-lb through the optional all wheel drive.  The optional engine is a 3.0 liter inline six cylinder with a twin-scroll turbo (T6) putting out 281 hp and 295 ft-lb.  Both engines feed the power through a six speed Geartronic transmission.  Geartronic is Volvo’s speak for automatic with self shifting capabilities.  The 3.2 liter is rated at 18/27 mpg while the T6 drops down to a rated 16/22.  I observed an average of 18.2 mpg.  All wheel drive is optional on the 3.2 liter while standard on the 3.0 liter turbo.  The XC60 weighs barely over 4000 lbs which is certainly no light weight.  It is still light when compared to its competitors.  Getting that large mass moving is no small task and the 3.2 liter inline six I was equipped with did its best.  Its best was not good enough to satisfy my urge to get going.  Things were better once started, it was the act of getting underway that took a little longer than I would have liked.  Slamming the gas incurred the vehicle to say, “Oh you want to go now? Ok we will work on that.”  I think the optional T6 engine would be a better choice for me personally.

While the XC60 may not be a canyon carver, it handled itself quite well when it came to quick lane changes.  The mass was kept in check and overall handling was good with less body roll then expected.  This is probably one of the “sportier” handling vehicles in the class.  The steering was not as light as I expected at parking lot speeds but it did feel natural.  On center feel was great while on the highway.  Volvo says the steering is speed dependent.  While I can definitely notice a difference between highway speeds and parking lot speeds, the steering never felt over boosted.

The XC60 comes with some decent technology as standard equipment.  Both bluetooth handsfree for calling and HD radio are standard.  City Safety is the system that can help lessen or completely avoid an impact below 18 mph is standard.  The vehicle I had was by no means loaded but was nicely optioned.  Equipped with the premium package, climate package, convenience package, laminated panoramic sunroof, PCC (Personal Car Communicator), and integrated child booster seats.  Part of that climate package included both heated front and rear seats along with heated windshield washer nozzles.  A rain sensing system is also part of that package.  I did not get to test it due to the lack of rain and abundance of snow.  The convenience package gave me the power operated tail gate along with other niceties.  Oh, and that power tailgate might quite possibly be the loudest power tail gate in the history of power tail gates.  The panoramic sunroof is a crowd pleaser, though I could not test it due to frigid temps and the pile of snow sitting on top of the car.  PCC is pretty cool as a $550 dollar option.  PCC is essentially an advanced keyless remote that has two way communication with your XC60.  When you push the information button on the remote when within 200-300 feet of the car, the remote will “check in” with the car and inform you of the status, including whether the car is locked, unlocked, or a heartbeat is detected inside the car.  If you press the information button outside of the 200-300 foot range, the remote will report the last known status before you went outside of the range.  I have heard strong opinions on the optional navigation unit and will hopefully experience that when I test the T6 model.

Overall, the XC60 is a competent vehicle.  I would definitely rate this high in its class right next to the new Audi Q5.  Gas milage was acceptable with the 3.2 but from the ratings I know that the T6 is thirsty.  Truth be told, I am guessing that is the engine to have in this vehicle since 3.2 is a bit sluggish.  Though I am willing to bet that the general public will accept the 3.2 performance just fine.  In the end, I personally liked the XC60.  It is sportier than the Lexus RX while having almost as much room.  With a starting price of $32,995, the vehicle I was in had a sticker price of $40,645, and for that money you were getting a competent vehicle.  The XC60 is just a few tweaks away from a class leading vehicle.

Full Disclosure- Vehicle was provided for review by a local Volvo dealership.