Wednesday, December 30, 2015
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SPECIAL SECTION courtesy of
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TOP 5 CARS FOR 2015!
Nissan Mirano
Honda Civic
Mazda CX3 Audi A4
Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell
Picking top five vehicles for 2015 not an easy task In 2015, more than 60 different new each wheel in order to gain tracvehicles have parked outside Chez tion, just as we do when we start Morgan. walk across ice. Picking five top vehicles for the The Skyactiv-G 2.0-litre, 146 year is virtually impossible such is horsepower four-cylinder, engine is the quality control in today’s design a great little power plant offering studios and auto manufacturing great fuel economy – 7.6 L/100km plants. (FWD) 8.1 L/100km (AWD), comBut here are five models that left bined city/highway. Base price is If you pushed the biggest impression on me for $20,695. differing reasons. If you pushed me, me, I might say my The all-new Honda Civic launched I might say my first two choices just a few weeks ago will undoubtfirst two choices – the Mazda CX-3 and the Honda edly collect the honour as Canada’s – the Mazda CX-3 Civic – were tied for those that top-selling car for the 18th consecimpressed me the most, not because and the Honda Civic utive year. A couple of days behind they are unrivalled but because the – were tied for the the wheel suggests the tenth timing of their release was spot on. cars that impressed generation Civic will set a new I’ve flipped a coin and chosen to benchmark in looks, performance, me the most. start with the all-new Mazda CX-3, safety and fuel economy. described at the launch earlier this Keith Morgan The base model, which includes a year as an ‘urban crossover’. It truly list of standard features that belie is an easy ride in town, which, if its lowly position in the model pecking order, truth be told, is where most crossovers call home. lists at just $15,750 (excluding taxes). The loaded But it performs in the ice and snow of the rural Touring version doesn’t come close to 30 grand areas quite well. The CX-3’s all-wheel drive syswith its base sticker price of $26,990. tem tests the ground under tire in milli-seconds It was the right time for a new Civic and finally before deciding how much power to dispatch to we have one that looks as good as the versions
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available in Europe. Nissan led the crossover charge with the introduction of the Murano almost 12 years ago but its imitators soon outsold it. The sharp-looking third-generation Murano should be a game changer. The external good looks are matched inside but it’s the usability of the controls that make it a real beauty. The touch screen is almost as intuitive as your smart phone of choice. Five passengers will find comfort and room aplenty and fold flat seats add to its versatility. The Murano S starts at just short of $30,000, which includes Bluetooth with streaming audio, keyless entry, dual-zone climate control and 18inch wheels. That’s a lot of extras for what passes as standard fare. I confess I am an Audi fan but most are out of my price range making them an aspirational ride for yours truly. I attended the launch of the 2017 A4 (coming soon!) in the mountainous region outside of the waterlogged city of Venice. It has plenty of perk provided by the turbo charged 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine aided by a responsive seven-speed transmission. No fuel economy numbers yet but, for what it’s worth at this stage, Audi is promising substantial
improvements over the current combined city/ highway of 8.9 L/100kms for the gas engine. Our A4s will all have Quattro four-wheel drive and the seven-speed dual clutch S-Tronic transmission when they arrive in the spring. Inside the very quiet cabin, there are some classy touches: fine grain ash wood inlays lifts and chrome trims raise the A4 in the elegance stakes. The current model base price is $38,500 and I don’t expect the prices for the 2017 model to vary much. Finally, I had a lot of fun in the Hyundai Tucson Hydrogen Fuel Cell EV. Sounds like something from a sci-fi story that could go very wrong. However, there is no combustion of hydrogen and the fuel cell stack has no moving parts. The electrochemical process of combining oxygen and hydrogen in the stack creates electricity used by the vehicle’s electric motor and onboard battery. The only by-product of the process is pure water vapour, resulting in zero greenhouse-gas emissions. It’s the future but right now it is possible to lease one from Hyundai. Now I’m clearing the Morgan Driveway to sample another 60 cars in 2016. keith.morgan@drivewaybc.ca
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