I’m beginning to think that the Lincoln brand is a lot like a cat. That is to say, there have been several times in recent memory when it looked like the brand was going to be killed off, only to have it resurge with seemingly endless lives to spare.

This is another one of those times. The brand had been struggling with mediocre sales over the past decade despite “help” from Matthew Mcconaughey .

But after a rebrand that includes real names as opposed to annoying alphanumeric, along with agreeable, fresh bold styling changes and a greater concentration of luxury and performance, Lincoln has certainly made good use of another one of its lives.

If the smallest SUV offered by the brand, the Corsair, is any indication Lincoln will be just fine for the foreseeable future.

The new corporate styling helps the Corsair stand out as it looks pretty much like a baby Aviator – that’s a good thing. The tail lights look like they were taken directly from a Porsche 911 and joy of joys, the turn signals blink in proper amber colour. Tasteful wheels, body lines and chrome help to complete the look.

When you step inside, it becomes clear that this is far from a simple rebranded Ford effort. Almost everything is unique to Lincoln from the styling, to the quality of materials to ergonomics. There’s real wood trim, for instance, along with plenty of soft touch surfaces and two-tone colour treatments everywhere.

The centre console jettisons outward making it a synch to reach all the knobs and hard buttons. And speaking of buttons, there’s one placed unusually on the steering wheel to operate the Bluetooth (see pic below). I can’t understand why Ford’s engineers would put a button here, but surprisingly I only accidentally hit it twice – far less than I thought I would.

One thing I love is the display which houses the speedo, odometer etc. You can configure it to take a most minimalist approach. This lessons the amount of information that would otherwise distract you.

Volvo tends to be king when it comes to seat comfort but Lincoln has developed a 24-way power seat that aims to take the crown. In theory, this should give literally anyone the opportunity to find the perfect seating position, but the options are so numerous that it is overwhelming and to be honest, even when I found the perfect fit, I still found the seats to be more on the firmer side.

Rear seats are adequate – this is a compact SUV after all, but the can slide rearward by 15 kms for added knee and leg room if needed. Cargo capacity is quite good for the segment with 27.6 cubic feet of space with the rear seats up.

There are two engine options available in the new Corsair including a 2.0 litre four cylinder which churns out 250 horses. There’s also a turbocharged 2.3 litre – which was fitted to my tester – that produces 295 horsepower. Both are mated to an 8-speed automatic. Without having tried the 2.0, I can safely say that the 2.3t is the engine you’ll want. It’s plenty peppy and worlds well with the transmission. That said, its direct competitors still offer V6s which of course offer more power.

The Corsair comes with independent 4-wheel suspension which means it provides the amount of comfort you’d expect from a Lincoln, along with unexpected performance in the bends. It is far from a corner carving 911, despite the copy-cat tail light treatment, but if you’d like to have a bit of fun after dropping the kids off at school the Corsair will oblige.

As you’d expect, technology is not wanting here. You can get plenty of safety tech such as Lincoln’s Copilot 360 Plus. It provides features such as active park assist, reverse brake assist, 360 surround view camera, evasive steering assist, adaptive cruise control and much more. Of course, Apply CarPlay and Android Auto are also available

When equipped with the 2.3 litre engine, the Corsair is rated at 11.1 L/100 kms in the city and 8.2 highway. After a weeks worth of driving in cold weather, I returned 10.5 L/100 kms. Not bad, but I suspect you could do better in warmer temperatures.

The Corsair isn’t cheap, but it is not completely out of line with its competitors, some of which don’t offer nearly as much standard equipment for the price. But as mentioned before, if this is the direction Lincoln is headed, then they are certainly making good use of their extra lives.

It is worthy of a place on your shopping list if you’re in the market.

Corsair Base Price: $43,950

Price As Tested: $65,625

Pros:
-Attractive styling inside and out
-Luxury not wanting
-Good performance and comfort

Cons:
-That’s a lot to pay for a four cylinder
-Firm seats
-Odd button placement on steering wheel

Immediate Competition:
-Acura RDX
-Audi Q5
-BMW X3
-Cadillac XT5
-Infiniti QX50
-Jaguar E-Pace
-Lexus NX
-Volvo XC40

For Porsche, the future is electrifying. And in order to look to its future, it had to look into its past.

The first vehicle built by founder Ferdinand Porsche was an electric car back in 1898 called the P1. It had a range of 79 kilometres and a top speed of 34 km/h.

Enter the all-new Taycan (pronounced tie-kahn) Porsche’s first real effort into producing an all-electric vehicle since the P1.

What an effort it is.

Porsche’s new sports sedan delivers some highly impressive numbers. The ‘base’ model, for instance, produces as much as 563 horsepower. The mid-trim Turbo model produces 670 horsepower and the top of the line Turbo S makes a blistering 750 horses. Its top range is 323 km/h. I was important for Porsche to make a vehicle that was both modern and addressed current challenges to the environment all while preserving the performance that Porsche is known for.

The Taycan uses unique design and architecture. It is one of the only electric vehicles to be made on an 800-volt electric architecture which allows it to offer a powerful 270-kilowatt charging. This allows it to recharge the battery to 80% capacity in just 22-minutes

“Electric vehicles are extremely important [to Porsche]. Part of the development of the Taycan was the introduction of our zero emissions factory…so sustainability and future production cars such as the Taycan Cross Turismo and the battery electric vehicle version of the Macan will be a part of the series, so more electric cars are in the future for Porsche,” said Kristi Ferguson of Porsche Cars Canada.

Porsche of Halifax invited me to check out the new Taycan in mid-trim Turbo and was even kind enough to hand me the keys to try it out. 

The type of power the Taycan is able to put to the pavement is almost indescribable. The best way to put it is to make sure your headrest is in the proper position because you could actually give yourself whiplash. The mid-trim Turbo model can get from 0-100 in about 3.2 seconds.

It has four different driving modes and includes the ability to audibly pump in some futuristic sounds – which I enjoyed because driving something so powerful that emits no noise is a bit off-putting.

Since the Taycan took some of the soul of the iconic 911, you better believe it drives and handles the same way. It feels planted and gives good confidence and feedback to the driver. You can definitely sling it around a track without any issue.

But for normal day life, the Taycan is perhaps even more at home than a 911. It is comfortable, quiet, can fit four people comfortably and is quite versatile considering there’s a trunk in both the front and back of the vehicle.

Nova Scotia’s schizophrenic weather during the winter shouldn’t hold the Taycan back either. It has two electric motors – one in the front that powers the front wheels and another in the back powering the rear wheels which effectively makes it an all-wheel drive vehicle.

Sticker shock is the only real downside here with the Taycan’s price starting at $119,000. Still, the Taycan is just the first electric vehicle to find itself in Porsche modern portfolio. Cheaper electric vehicles from the German company are on their way.

Until then, I’ll happy enough playing the lottery because I’m pretty sure I know what I would buy. And they make it in a funky green colour too!

Hyundai’s current lineup includes a fairly substantial 11 models and that doesn’t include the different variants of the same model such as the electrified version of the Kona or the high performance N version of the Veloster. On paper, it seems as if Hyundai is a fairly well-rounded company.

Not so, according to Hyundai. Something was lacking but with the introduction of the all-new Venue, it now considers it to have filled an apparent void in the line-up.

Where exactly was there a hole? The rapidly growing sub-compact SUV segment where a few models have already been playing in for years such as the Mitsubishi RVR, the Ford Ecosport and the Nissan Kicks. The general idea of these adorable utes is to get first time buyers into something that is both roomy and versatile, all while not breaking the bank on initial price and gas.

And as far as adorable goes, Hyundai certainly achieved that with the Venue. It looks like the Santa Fe and the Kona spent a taboo night together and out came the Venue. Aww! One of the things that Hyundai is doing right these days is keeping the general corporate styling present on their SUVs all while giving them individual identities instead of making them all look virtually the same *cough* Mazda *cough.

With that said, most who saw my tester in person were not a fan of the white roof claiming it to be too much of a rip-off from Mini. But overall, the proportions are good and nice looking wheels with an aggressive front end help the Venue seem modern and attractive.

Inside is where the Venue really excels. There is plenty of head-room and while the Venue is on the narrower side, you never end up feeling wanting for more space. Passengers in the back seat will gain the same great headroom with adequate leg room, but the poor soul relegated to the middle seat will likely only tolerate shorter trips.

As far as cargo room goes, the Venue can swallow typical items like a few grocery bags, but if you need to haul lots of stuff that will mean folding the rear seats down. Its 19 cubic feet is on par with the Ecosport’s 20 cubic feet, but the Kicks offers more at 25 cubic feet. One trick the Venue has up its sleeve though is a two-tiered cargo floor for added versatility.

Another forte is the quality of materials. They are by no means Audi-like, but they certainly befit a vehicle at a much higher price point. One thing I love about modern-day Hyundai designs is they mostly are quite user friendly all while looking attractive.

Under the hood you’ll find a 1.6 litre naturally aspirated four cylinder which produces 121 horsepower and 113 pound foot torque mated to either a manual or automatic in the base model, with automatic being standard on the rest of the trim levels. If those numbers sound familiar it’s because they are virtually identical to the Accent, on which the Venue is based. I drove the then redesigned Accent sedan back in 2018 (the sedan version of the Accent has since been discontinued, but the 5-door is still available) and noted that the amount of power it delivered – despite power being down from the last generation – was ‘adequate’. This time around in the Venue, it feels more sluggish. That’s not to say that the Venue is outright slow, but it certainly shows that it is more of an urban roundabout than a star of the Autobahn. The difference in power feel between the Accent and the Venue could be attributed to the fact that the Venue weighs a bit more. There’s four drive modes including a Sport button, but all that really does is delay shift points, it doesn’t necessarily make it any faster.

I did take the Venue on the highway and it can still hold its own. You do need to plan well ahead for passing slower vehicles and lots on engine noise will intrude to the cabin as a result, but it will still get the job done. Highway driving is made easier with blind-spot warning available on all models except for the base models.

Other available safety systems include Hyundai’s Smartsense which comprises of lane keep assist, forward collision avoidance, high beam assist, and driver attention warning. Strangely, you can only get Smartsense on either the top Ultimate trim, or the trim one up from the base called the Preferred trim. If you pony up more money for the Trend trim then you won’t get these features, according to Hyundai’s website. Very odd packaging of trim levels.

That said, synonymous with the Hyundai name is value, and you certainly get it in the Venue. Standard on all trim levels are heated front seats and mirrors, rearview camera, keyless entry, air conditioning, a 7.8 inch infotainment screen and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Venues equipped with the automatic transmission will get official fuel consumption ratings of 8.0 L/100 kms city and 7.0 highway. During my week with it, I returned 7.1 L/100 kms in mixed city highway driving which is indeed impressive.

But here’s the thing that’s bugging me about the Venue. As impressive as it is when matched against its competitors, its worth takes a bit of a dive for me when compared to its own family. The 5-door Accent, for instance, feels more powerful thanks to weighing less, it has more cargo room, it feels more nimble in the corners and it costs less. You get the same engine and depending on trim, the same Hyundai value. Since the Venue comes in front-wheel drive only, what exactly is the advantage to taking it over the Accent?

That’s the only real part I’m struggling with. But if you take the Accent out of the mix, you’ll find a cleverly packaged, attractive and well valued vehicle worthy of a spot on your car shopping list.

Venue Base Price: $17,099

Price As Tested: $23,421

Pros:

-User friendly interior
-Good standard and available tech
-Excellent real world fuel consumption figures
-Rather good looking

Cons:

-Strange Smartsense packaging
-Sluggish off the line
-Anything you can do I can do better, says the Accent
-No AWD available

Immediate Competition:

-Chevrolet Trax
-Ford Ecosport
-Jeep Renegade
-Mazda CX-3
-Mitsubishi RVR
-Nissan Kicks

I think this is the first time I’ve ever started a pick-up truck review with the interior, but it needs to be acknowledged that this is one of the nicest interiors I’ve experienced in a long time.

I’ve driven fully loaded F-150’s before, Silverados, Tundras – all the typical players, and the interiors of those rigs pale in comparison to the Ram 1500’s interior.

The first thing that will likely grab your attention is the large vertical touch screen that likely took some cues from Tesla or Volvo. It can be a bit intimidating at first – my wife immediately became overwhelmed when I asked her to change the radio station for instance, but as is the case with most modern day FCA products, it becomes easy to grasp to after only a couple of tries. On top of that, it responds to commands quickly and provides a sharp brightness that makes every single icon super clear and easy to identify.

Now, some may not like how a lot of functions are operated through the screen. I’d appreciate hard buttons for the heated seats and steering wheel for example, but there are still hard buttons for features that will most often get used such as the climate control, window defrost and radio tuning.

My tester came equipped with a Mountain Brown/Light Frost Beige interior which ups the ante even more. Everything feels of high quality – enough to justify the hefty price tag of close to $90K. Yes, this is a mid-trim level model and it still can be optioned out close to six-figures.

As you’d expect, interior room is cavernous and rear seat leg-room is certainly limo-like. Aside from the massive centre console which could easily swallow a large laptop, there’s storage underneath the rear seats as well. My tester came with a tonneau cover which helped to keep my aunt’s luggage dry as I drove her to the airport in a rainstorm. If all that storage including a bevy of cubby holes and crevices throughout the interior somehow isn’t enough for you, you can opt for the Rambox feature for $1,300. It was equipped to my tester and it will add extra lockable storage on both sides of the bed – but keep in mind, this feature also eats into bed space making it narrower.

The interior certainly isn’t the only notable thing about the 2020 model year Ram 1500. A new option is an e-torque system added onto the 5.7 litre Hemi V8. Explaining this system in laymen terms is difficult, but the gist of it essentially means an extra 130 pound feet of torque on tap and ready to go whenever you are. And it’s ready to go no matter what the situation. It doesn’t matter if you’re accelerating from a stop, or are hovering around 4,000 RPM. It’s there, instantly, when you put your right foot down. It’s almost like a mild-hybrid system where it can self-generate electricity, meaning it can give you that extra punch without using a drop of fuel.

Now, I had to double check to make sure my tester was actually featured with this option because there is no discernible difference from the regular Hemi V8 in the sense that all you need to do is just drive and all the magic happens behind the scenes for you.

New for 2020 is also the availability of a split tailgate. This essentially splits the tailgate not quite down the middle, but it provides easier access to the bed. It’s great if you just want to pop a duffle bag in the back and be on your way, for instance. I have yet to try GMC’s version of the six-way split tail gate, but the way Ram does it certainly makes sense and makes it much more versatile.

Another notable feature is the air suspension system. It can be operated manually or automatically and it does exactly what you think it does – heighten or lower the suspension. When cursing along the highway the system will automatically lower the suspension to generate the least amount of drag for added fuel savings, for instance. And speaking of driving on the highway, my goodness, is it ever comfy. It glides over bumps and other imperfections with ease and without jostling passengers about too much. It certainly charmed us during our two and a half hour trip to Shelburne, Nova Scotia for a weekend getaway, and it handled the packed snow and ice with ease on the highway and back roads.

After about a week’s worth of mixed city-highway driving, I returned 13.7 L/100 kms. Considering this is a large half-tonne with a V8, that figure is actually fairly decent. I would imagine it could do even better without the frigid January temperatures.

Faults? Well, the keyless entry system doesn’t seem to like snow and ice. If there’s any of the white stuff on the door handle, it just won’t respond. Then there’s the dial that is used in place of a traditional gearshift. This has been featured on modern day Rams for a while now, but I still find it difficult to operate it without looking down at it. I tried a few no-look tries and kept grabbing the volume knob by accident. Or, if I wanted to turn the music down, I’d accidentally grab the gear shift. This once made the Ram completely fault abruptly into park when I was reversing out of a parking space. Also, my tester featured the chrome appearance package and I despise chrome about as much as the current President of the United States, but that’s obviously a subjective criticism.

And then there’s that price tag. While it is certainly a luxurious and capable vehicle, I can’t even begin to tell you what sort of vehicles you could get for 90K. A lot more interesting vehicles at this price point and a lot that will certainly hold their value better than the billions of pick-up trucks on the road.

But if you have the dough and fancy yourself to be some sort of posh off-roading enthusiast, this is the vehicle you’ll want to have.

Ram 1500 Base Price: $36,145

Price As Tested (including fees and destination): $88,515

Pros:

-Best interior in segment, hands down
-e-torque adds more oomph without fuel penalty
-Air suspension works beautifully
-Lots of interior space/storage. Split tailgate feature is great

Cons:

-Finicky keyless entry in snowy weather
-Still takes time to get used to gear shift dial
-90K for a pick-up truck is kind of insane. And it isn’t even close to the fully loaded trim model

Immediate Competition:

-Chevrolet Silverado
-Ford F-150
-GMC Sierra
-Nissan Titan
-Toyota Tundra

A couple of years back I noticed a problem for Cadillac: they had very few crossover/SUV offerings in their lineup and far too many sedans and coupes. For someone like me, that isn’t a problem. I love sedans, hatchbacks, wagons, coupes – you name it – if it’s car based, I’m probably a fan. SUV’s and crossovers rarely tickle my fancy. But I also know that I’m in the minority with my preferences. And that was a huge issue for the iconic brand.

The Escalade and XT5 were the only SUV offerings a few years ago. Since then they added the XT4 – a crossover meant to take on the likes of the Audi Q3 and Volvo XC40.

The newest addition to the lineup should be a hit on paper. It’s smaller and more car-like than an Escalade (not to mention much cheaper). Plus, comparatively, the Escalade is about as old as Betty White. And it’s starting to show in its exterior design.

The XT6 on the other hand has Cadillac’s new design language which is currently making its way through the lineup with all-new models and mid-cycle refreshments. The overall look is good and markedly attractive from certain angles, but I think one of the XT6’s direct competitors, the Lincoln Aviator, has a much more appealing exterior design. There’s something about the front end of the XT6 that makes me think of older design from the past, though admittedly, the black mesh grille on the Sport model helps to minimize that.

As you’d expect from a three-row crossover – and indeed a Cadillac – interior quality and space are in abundance. The simplicity of the design means competitors like Mercedes-Benz are going to have the edge, but it still looks and feels upscale.

My colleagues like to critique the shifter as being difficult to get used to, but personally I’m just happy it’s not push buttons. And speaking of buttons, you do at least get some to control the climate. The rest are haptic-touch which respond to commands better than I expected, but hard buttons are still preferable. And actually, you have the ability to ask the XT6 to do a lot, meaning the button thing may be a non-issue.

Connectability is one of the XT6’s forte’s. It comes equipped with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and setting either up is as easy as plugging in your phone. That’s it. The XT6 will do the rest of the work and have everything at the ready for you whether it be Google maps, Spotify, reading texts for you or directing you to that new Thai place that you’ve been meaning to try. I noticed no issues at all – no lag, no ‘please repeat command’, nothing.

The XT6’s other trick is comfort. It has a compliant suspension, but it’s also quite comfortable – and it’s easy to get your ideal seating position too. All seats are decently comfortable – even the third row once you get back there. While they are still on the tighter side when it comes to leg room, they still offer more room than the Escalade’s third row. That’s because the ‘Lade rides on a body-on-frame platform while the XT6 does not. Fold both rows down and you’ve got a cavernous space that will swallow just about anything.

Power is delivered through a 3.6 litre V6 which is good enough for 310 horses and 271 pound feet of torque. Being a heavier vehicle, some may want a bit more power on tap, but my biggest issue is with the number 400 they slapped on the tailgate. What does 400 signify? Well, it represents the amount of torque. Except instead of putting 271 on the back, which represents torque in pound feet, Cadillac decided to measure it in newton meters which is 367. That still doesn’t explain the 400 figure you say. Well that’s because GM decided to just round it to the nearest 100 to make it a nice clean figure. Why company would go through such lengths to represent a figure that most people don’t care about anyway is beyond me. Imagine being a new XT6 owner and having to explain to your neighbour why there’s the number 400 on the tailgate. How embarrassing.

Anyway, the power delivery is quite smooth and muted, but more sound can be heard when you put your right foot down to the floor. The nine-speed automatic cycles through gears effortlessly.

I put 1,300 kms on the XT6 – majority was highway – and not once did I ever feel fatigued or uncomfortable. If you do lots of long distance driving then this is your vehicle. Passing on the highway is usually a breeze and any bumps are taken care of before you jarringly feel them inside the cabin. When in corners, the XT6 feels adequately composed, but it is certainly undeserving of the ‘Sport’ name. That exercise is largely cosmetic except for one feature which is the twin-clutch AWD system.

Official fuel consumption numbers come in at 13.5 L/100 kms city and 9.7 highway. As mentioned, most of my time with the XT6 was highway driving. I landed at 9.9 which is definitely close to its target. I imagine it will be even easier to hit or beat the 9.7 highway rating in warmer temperatures.

You’ll have to pay a pretty penny for it though. My tester came in over $80K. That’s a lot of dough but when compared to the Escalade it’s a pretty good bargain. And when sized up against its direct competitors, the XT6 can certainly hold its own in most regards, and even excel at a few others. If comfort with the latest tech is your jam, give the XT6 a spot near the top of your shopping list

XT6 Base Price: $60,998

Price As Tested: $81,328

Pros:

-Great bargain when compared to Escalade
-Good tech that loads and responds to command quickly
-Excellent ride comfort
-Loads of interior space

Cons:

-Few hard buttons
-Still tight in third row
-Ridiculous naming scheme for torque figure

Immediate Competition:

-Acura MDX
-Audi Q7
-BMW X5
-Infiniti QX60
-Lexus RX-L
-Jaguar F-Pace
-Lincoln Aviator
-Volvo XC90