Archive for October, 2010

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2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 4MATIC Wagon

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Review and photos by
Peter Bleakney, CanadianDriver.com

Unbeknownst to most North Americans, station wagons are cool. Europeans, who are less caught up in the SUV/CUV thing, seem to know this. Why else would there be such critters as the BMW M5 Touring, Audi RS6 Avant, Audi S4 Avant, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Wagon and Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon running about over there? Not to mention numerous diesel-sipping wagons from a host of manufacturers.

2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 4MATIC Wagon

2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 4MATIC Wagon

For those with a high-end wagon itch on this side of the pond, Mercedes-Benz now offers a wagon version of the new-for-2010 E-Class, the 2011 E350 4MATIC Wagon. (The previous E-Class wagon was available in Canada as 2009 model year; there was not one for 2010.) (more…)

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2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7

Thursday, October 14th, 2010

Review and photos by
Paul Williams, CanadianDriver.com

With BMW’s ActiveHybrid 7 L, you get everything you’d expect from a 7 Series BMW, and a little less.

2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7

2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7

A little less fuel consumption, that is. Rated at 12.0/8.1 L/100 km, city/highway, this full-size luxury sedan betters its non-hybrid 750Li sibling by about 15 per cent in fuel economy; the 750Li returning an estimated 14.8/9.3 L/100 km, city/highway.

Motive power is a 4.4-litre, twin-turbo V8 gasoline engine supplemented by an electric motor which together produces 465 hp and 516 lb.-ft. torque. (more…)

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2011 Infiniti QX56

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

By Peter Bleakney; photos by Peter Bleakney and Chris Chase, CanadianDriver.com

My kids couldn’t decide whether our 2011 Infiniti QX56 tester was a beluga or a hippo.

2011 Infiniti QX56

2011 Infiniti QX56

This is no slight against Infiniti’s all-new super-size-me $73,000 SUV that, despite my prejudice against such things, impressed the heck out of me. It’s more a comment on how Infiniti’s organically flowing design signature and low-slung xenon headlights bestow upon this seven- (or eight-) seat behemoth the countenance of a large and lovable aquatic mammal. A definite improvement over the outgoing and ungainly 2010 model of which this 2011 is marginally lower, wider and longer, and carries the same price tag.

While the new QX is still a traditional body-on-frame SUV, with a maximum tow rating of 8,500 lbs, there is nothing truck-like in the way it glides down the road, coddling its occupants in a cocoon of quiet luxury. (more…)

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2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS

Monday, October 4th, 2010

Review and photos by
Jil McIntosh, CanadianDriver.com

It’s no easy feat to compete in the midsize sedan market these days, a segment crowded with numerous worthy contenders. Hyundai has always been a player here with its Sonata, but for 2011, it enters with a redesigned model that’s quite a departure from what it was previously, both in its sleek new styling and with the unusual offering of only one engine, and a four-cylinder at that.

2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS

2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS

For 2010, the Sonata came with a choice of 2.4-litre four-cylinder or 3.3-litre V6. This time around, there’s only a four-cylinder, but it’s an all-new version of the 2.4-litre, marking Hyundai’s first direct-injection gasoline engine. The previous 2.4-litre made 175 horsepower and 168 lb-ft of torque; the new engine produces 198 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. That’s why no V6 is offered for 2011, the company says: although the six-cylinder used in 2010 made 249 horsepower, most buyers went for the more economical four-cylinder, and this new engine produces enough grunt that it should keep almost all buyers satisfied. (more…)

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2004-2009 Infiniti QX56

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

By Chris Chase, CanadianDriver.com

Introduced in 2004, the QX56 was the Infiniti’s first full-size truck, added to the lineup as a replacement for the QX4, a much smaller vehicle based on the second-generation Nissan Pathfinder platform.

2004 Infiniti QX56

2004 Infiniti QX56

The QX56 was based directly on the Nissan Armada, which in turn shared most of its dirty bits with the Nissan Titan full-size pickup. As such, the QX56 was powered by the same 5.6-litre V8 (315 hp/390 lb-ft) found in those two vehicles, backed up by a five-speed automatic transmission and standard four-wheel drive with low-range gearing. Note that U.S. buyers got the option of a rear-wheel drive model.

The engine’s output rose nominally in 2007, to 320 hp and 393 lb-ft of torque. (more…)

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