The 2013 GMC Acadia (images ©GM Corp.)

This is our next family vehicle.

Right now we’re rocking a Dodge Caravan and for our family of five including a two, a five and eight year old and it does the trick. Baby seats and access to people that sometimes need help getting their seatbelts done up and undone make a van with two sliding doors the right solution. But in a couple of years our oldest will be entering double digits and our youngest will be in a booster seat. All that access won’t be as important and a vehicle that has a little bit more emotional appeal to mom and dad will be in order.

The GMC Acadia fits the bill.

First impressions–Exterior upgrades

We’d been eyeing the Acadia for a couple of years as the next Yuill-mobile but what helped narrow the field was the fresh new front grille with sunken fog lights that ups the tough factor. My wife likes the look because to her it means “strength”, and I like its beefiness. The rear side glass has also been extended to appear as if it wraps around the back of the crossover which adds a sophisticated feel to the rest of the Acadia’s toughness. It’s a handsome vehicle with a gutsy feeling in a way the Cadillac Escalade has had for years.

What’s it like inside?–Upgrades to the bling

The Acadia received several interior upgrades for the 2013 model year. The touchy-feely parts of the cabin are now finished with a decadent soft finish with French accent and ambient lighting giving the moms and dads up front a small sense of refinement even though they probably just came from the grocery store.

An available tri-zone automatic climate control comes standard on the top two trim levels and is available with the rear entertainment system on the SLE trim and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls is standard on all models.

The Acadia received exterior enhancements giving it a look of refinement and toughness

The big bonus is the options for seating in the second row. Every model can be configured with either seven- or eight-passenger seating. Eight-passenger seating will net you a second row bench with and 60/40 split while the seven-passenger seating arrangement features two captain’s chairs with GM’s Smart Slide system that flips the seat up and slides the back forward to allow access to the third row. Or if you have kids like mine they’ll just jump into the back through the gap in the captain’s chairs.

On the road

For the week I was behind the wheel of the Acadia it took me on my daily city commute as well as on the highway to some roads that last saw new asphalt when you could still die from Smallpox.

While the Acadia’s competitor, the Mazda CX-9, is sportier and lots of fun to drive it doesn’t have the same balance. While under foot, the Acadia handles itself well and won’t shake you like a Polaroid picture on crappy roads. Its suspension has just the right amount of give and if this means its a tad less sporty, I’m willing to make that trade.

Every trim comes with the same power arrangement: a 3.6-litre V6 that produces 288 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque at 3,800 r.p.m. It’s quick if not nimble and pulling away from stop signs or passing on the highway is never unnerving.

A standard rear view camera comes on all trim models and appears on the infotainment screen mounted high on the centre console

Most criticisms of the GMC Acadia take aim at its size. It’s a big vehicle and all the features GM has put in there to negate this fact are needed. A standard backup camera on every trim level and Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert make navigating behind the wheel much easier than if you were left to your own devices.

In the end…

The Acadia starts at $38,735 but the most bang for your buck can be found in the SLT-1 trim level for $43,750. This is where the tri-zone climate control, rear entertainment controls and heated seating surfaces show up along with a bunch of cosmetic upgrades and a 10-speaker Bose audio system. And if you’re buying an Acadia for the same reasons I am–it’s a better emotional fit for you and still has enough room for your kids and all their stuff –this is the model that will serve you best.

2013 GMC Acadia Denali AWD — Specifications

Price as tested: $59,775

Body Type: 5-door, 7- or 8-passenger crossover

Powertrain Layout: Front engine/all-wheel drive

Engine:  3.6-litre V6 w/variable-valve timing

Horsepower: 288 @ 6,300 r.p.m.

Torque (lb-ft): 270 @ 3,400 r.p.m.

Transmission: 6-speed with overdrive

Curb weight: 2,200 kg (4,850 lbs.)

Claimed  fuel consumption:

City: 12.7L/100 km (18.5 US mpg)

Highway: 8.4L/100 km (28 US mpg)

Combined: 10.8 L/100 km (21.8 US mpg)

General Motors and Nissan have signed an agreement for Nissan to produce a small cargo vehicle that GM will sell in Canada and the United States.

General Motors has reached a deal to source from Nissan a small cargo vehicle that will be sold in Canada and the United States.

The two companies announced that they have signed a pact that will see GM obtain the vehicle from Nissan and sell it through its network of Chevrolet dealerships in North America. GM anticipates that the Chevrolet City Express, based on Nissan’s NV200, will be ready for sale in the fall of 2014. GM will announce pricing details down the road.

“Our fleet customers have asked us for an entry in the commercial small van segment, so this addition to the Chevrolet portfolio will strengthen our position with fleets and our commercial customers,” said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president of GM Fleet and Commercial Sales, in a statement.

At present, Nissan sells its NV200 in Canada, the U.S. and various other markets in the world. The NV200 is described by Nissan as a commercial vehicle that is, among other things, both roomy and compact.

The all-wheel drive hits keep on coming from Jaguar.

The 2013 Jaguar XJL 3.0 AWD (photos by Dan Heyman)

When we recently tested the Jaguar XF AWD, we were impressed not just by its dynamics, but by the fact that Jaguar has finally woken up and realized that V6-powered, AWD luxury sedans are necessary, especially in the Canadian market.

We also liked how the six-cylinder power recalled the great Jags of old, perhaps even more so in the case of the XJL you see here. After all, this is Jag’s flagship line, and back in the days of the Mark 2 sedan, when Jaguar was just getting on the fast-saloon map, the six-cylinder engine was there.

Of course, the luxury and opulence remained as well, and even though the current XJ looks as futuristic as it does, we’ll soon see that there’s plenty of that luxury here, as well.

First Impressions

Few cars out there look like the XJL. Yes, other luxury manufacturers make full-size sedans, but where else can you find a roofline this swoopy, a pair of taillights this large matched with headlights this glaring and sinister?

I was enamoured with the X351—as it’s internally called—XJ when it first appeared in 2009 becuase it was such a departure from XJ models of old. There were no more twin round headlamps, no more split kidney grille, no more standard three-box shape. Here was a flagship big sedan that I knew I would always be watching over my shoulder as I walked away after plipping a keyfob.

Styling of the current XJ is unlike any of the competition, and unlike any Jag flagship before it. Looks spectacular

There’s also something to be said for the fact that it was a car I genuinely aspired to own. Remember back in the day, when you’d be hanging out with your friends and discussing the fanciful thought of winning the lottery? What would you do with all that money? Of course being a car guy since the womb, I would always list the cars I would buy; a Porsche Carrera GT, a Lamborghini Countach LP5000QV, a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster—I always had a car for every segment, until I came to the full-size luxury sedan segment and my mind would be blank.

A Mercedes S65 AMG? Too Germanic, too hopped-up airport limousine, too…cookie cutter. A BMW 760 Li? Too weird looking and clinical. An Audi A8L W12? Not bad, but it’s an Audi sedan and nobody dreams of Audi sedans.

This is one car that is absolutely deserving of that proud grille and badge

Then the XJ came along, and I had my dream sedan; after years and years, I had finally found it.

Just look at it—it’s spectacular. It sits just so above the pavement, low enough on its 19-inch “Toba” wheels to hint at the aggressiveness within, but high enough to look like it glides over whatever bump or crack the pavement can throw at it. Some cars look fast when stationary; the XJL looks gloriously luxurious, like fine, silky wine, or the automotive equivalent of what European traders were after when they journeyed the Silk Road in the Middle Ages.

There is very little not to like about the styling of the XJ, unless, of course, you’re a Jag purist and the old way was the only way for you. There’s also the questionable decision about stretching the black framing around the rear window to the D-pillars, which looks weird unless your car is dark coloured, as mine was.

Regardless, there are no luxury sedans out there—this side of a Rolls-Royce—that look as distinctive as this.

What’s it like inside?

“Opulence” is the word of the day here, whether you’re sat in back or up front

Properly Jaguar, to put it simply, especially when you add the $1,700 Illumination Package and $800 suede headliner. The illumination package gives the vents icy-blue lighting surrounds, while the suede package works as advertised, providing supple-suede to the A-pillars and headliner.

As far as standard features go, if you want AWD and the long-wheelbase body style (this adds 125 millimeters to the overall length and wheelbase, and 133 to rear legroom), you get access to the Portfolio Package that allows you to choose from any number of interior trim options such as special wood veneer types and leather finishes. The Gloss Figured Ebony veneer in our particular model, meanwhile, reflects that feeling of luxury you get after considering the exterior styling.

Vanity mirrors? Check. Climate controls? Check. Over 1,000 mm of legroom? Check. Headroom? Check for the most part, but taller folks in the back will appreciate the optional suede headliner, if you know what we mean

Other details help drive the point even further; the little analogue clock mounted between two vents atop the centre stack is a favorite piece, as is the piano black and real aluminum trim around the centre console and touch-sensitive glovebox release and overhead lights. Even the way the wood on the doors wraps around towards the windshield base and meets behind a customizable nameplate is a fascinating detail; often wood trim can seem a little tacked on, but the way this wraps around the entire cabin makes it seem like the car itself is crafted out of fine wood as opposed to the aluminum-magnesium alloy that it actually is.

And of course the seats are comfortable, supportive and adjustable 12-ways up-front while the rears are heated and cooled, in true limo-like fashion.

Also limo-like is the impressive rear legroom, which, at 1,121 mm is more than what you’ll find in the BMW 760 Li, for example. The rear centre-console also mimics that which is found up-front, giving rear-seat passengers a visual means of adjusting climate control and so forth. They also get a massive armrest with two cupholders and storage aplenty, as well as flip-down lit vanity mirrors that come as standard. Very nice.

Rear-seat passengers get plenty of storage to go with the roominess

If you want the full-executive experience for your rear passengers, however, you may want to consider speccing the Executive Package, which provides a rear sunblind (in addition to the standard side-window sunblinds), fold-down trays and rear seats that recline and massage. At $6,000, however, this option is probably more likely to be chosen by buyers looking at the V8-powered Supercharged or Supersport models.

Of course, that suave styling has its caveats, and here they manifest themselves in a slight lack in headroom for taller rear-seat passengers, although even with that swooping roof, at 946 mm it’s not as bad as you may think.

On the road

Those piloting the car, meanwhile, should be happy with what they’re presented with.

It starts with the Jaguardrive gear select wheel that telescopes out of the centre console upon start-up—you don’t get the self-revealing vents as you do in the XF, but the classically-styled options on the XJ make up for that lack of showmanship—and continues as the digital dash alights and the virtual needles make their way around the faces.

19-inch wheel look the part, but are the tamest aspect of the styling package

That screen will most likely divide opinion—even I have to admit that having a nearly-blank screen staring back at you when you take a seat is a little strange—but the new Range Rover Supercharged has it, the Cadillac XTS has it as an option and the Lamborghini Aventador takes it to a whole other level, so it may be one of those automotive trends—like a touch-pad to replace climate-control buttons and knobs—that is here to stay. Plus, it glows a menacing red when you select “Dynamic Mode”, which is a nice way of saying “yes, I may look like a luxo-barge, but I can hustle, too.”

And it can. That’s a supercharged V6 making 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, all fed to all-four wheels (with a rear-drive bias in normal conditions) through an eight-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shifters.

It’s also crafted mainly of aluminum so even though it looks like a limousine (which it really does), it doesn’t’ drive like one. Power comes on in smooth, linear fashion (peak hp comes at 6,500 r.p.m., peak torque at 3,500) as the big Eaton supercharger gets its legs under it—in keeping with the luxury vibe, there’s nary a hint of supercharger whine even on heavy acceleration. Yes, you’ll get more power from the V8 but this here is power enough to get you to three-figure speeds in a timely fashion.

“What’s that you say? There’s no V8?” No, but not to worry; the supercharged V6 lump packs a punch

Select Dynamic Mode, and throttle response and gearchanges are sharpened while the active damping system firms up to keep body roll in-check. If you want even more response, push the gear-select wheel down and turn it one right form “D”, select “S” mode, pull on either wheel-mounted shift paddle and do the shifting yourself.

Those active dampers are really a shining point with the XJL. It’s a car that looks like it will glide over the pavement and with help with the active dampers that are always actively reading what’s going on beneath the wheels, it keeps things smooth and controlled. Railroad crossings that I swore would rattle my bones didn’t, and pavement cracks and divots that I swore would upset the chassis simply wouldn’t. The long wheelbase also adds to the stability and smooth ride, which is important when you’re going to be ferrying the well-heeled about.

The ride also makes it so you’ll have a hard time determining your speed if you rely solely on the car’s feedback; make sure you keep an eye on that speedo lest you get yourself involved in one of those car chases that big Jags are so famous for in Hollywood.

As complex as the XJL appears to be on the surface with its gear-selector wheel, fancy lighting and so forth, it’s actually a fairly simple car to drive, which is refreshing. No, you can’t select 500 different powertrain and chassis configurations like you can in a BMW M5, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to just choose a single mode if you want a little more performance, or if you want a relaxing drive home from the restaurant. Yes, there’s an AWD system that can shuffle power around depending on your conditions but it’s remarkably un-invasive, only making its presence felt when the conditions get squirrely and the slides borderline. Otherwise, it feels like a proper rear-wheel drive sedan with a nice, big supercharged powerplant up front.

Instruments glow red to signify that Dynamic Mode is active

So the performance is one thing, but it’s how tractable around town that will attract so many. At 5,252 mm bumper-to-bumper (and 3,157 between the axles), it’s long but it doesn’t feel like it; the acid test, for me, is what it’s like to pull out of my snug underground parking spot. If I can do it without either having to reverse or getting out to see how much room I have between the front bumper and wall in front of me, then we have a winner.

This was never a problem with the XJL; nor was threading it through traffic (once you learn to rely a little more heavily on you exterior mirrors since the view through the rear window is pill-boxish at best) and around traffic cones and so forth was a pleasure.

Nitpicks? Well, it would be nice if Dynamic Mode changed the very-light steering a little but you won’t really be clamouring for more steering feel unless you’re really pushing it on a pockmarked, twisty road. Which, for most drivers, is rare in a big sedan like this.

In the end…(or, how I finally convinced myself to give up the keys)

Yes, it was that difficult as I liked the car so much.

It oozes style, personality and even performance and it’s got that old-school, old-money luxury vibe about it that makes Jaguars—both past and present—so attractive.

Aluminum-bezeled aguardrive gear-selector wheel rises to the occasion, literally, when you start the engine

It’s not cheap, but at under 100 grand, it stands as great value in the big-car market. You get the performance of a supercharger without the thirst of a V8, and when you’re tootling around town—one of this car’s strengths—the power on-hand is plenty.

Of course, this is a luxury flagship and many that buy a luxury flagship can’t live without the biggest motor. If that’s the case, know that you can have the 470 hp V8 for less than 10 grand over the V6’s base price, although you will be forgoing some of the niceties and if you tick an upgrade box or two to get those features you’ll start climbing towards the $110,000 level and beyond.

Me? I think the V6 is the way I’d go. I’ve tried the V8, and it’s very good (see that report here) but unlike with,say, a Mustang, with the Jag I don’t see myself pulling up to a V8-powered example in my V6 and thinking “Why didn’t I get the V8?”

The XJL 3.0 is powerful, it’s luxurious, drives well and comes well-equipped. Yes, you do feel like a bit of a chauffeur at times when behind the wheel, but flex your right foot a little and you’ll quickly see what this big cat’s got on the dynamic front.

It will impress you, I’m sure.

Back Seat Drivin’

Adam Allen is featured in our Back Seat Drivin’ road test feature, whereby a second Carpages.ca writer gives their opinion on the vehicle being discussed.

Purists and like-minded automotive snobs will look at the “3.0” decklid badge on this luxo-barge and thumb their noses.

“A real Jagu-wire XJ,” they’d sneer, “is powered by a V8, preferably the supercharged one. End of story.”

Nameplate atop the dash can be personalized for a price; wood band around the cockpit is a nice touch

That flies in the face of the XJ’s powertrain origins, as Dan Heyman pointed out in his brief history of what can be found under the bonnet of Jags past in his XF review—six cylinder lumps are what started it all, not big fire-breathing V8s.

The move back to six-pot power shouldn’t dishearten anyone. The supercharged six makes 340 robust hp, and the big Jag didn’t seem lethargic at all when moving away from stoplights or in the passing lane on the highway. It returned decent fuel mileage and never once caused us to miss the bigger engines you usually find underhood. And let’s not forget that the XJ boasts one of the most opulent interiors around, a compelling mix of heady leather, flawless wood trim and a Meridian sound system that rivals some of the mega-buck Bang and Olufsen units that we’ve sampled in the past.

Now outfitted with an AWD system that necessitated a costly redesign on the front suspension and steering systems, it’s got the goods to succeed as a top shelf luxury sedan in snow battered areas like where we live. –Adam Allen

2013 Jaguar XJL AWD Portfolio — Specifications

Price as tested: $99,650

Body Type: 4-door, 5-passenger Sedan

Powertrain Layout: Front engine/all-wheel drive

Engine:  3.0-litre V6, Supercharged, DOHC, 24 valves

Horsepower: 340 @ 6,500 r.p.m.

Torque (lb-ft): 332 @ 3,500-5,000 r.p.m.

Transmission: 8-speed Automatic Transmission w/Sequential Shift manual mode and paddle shifters

Curb weight: 1,884 kg (4,153 lbs.)

Observed combined fuel consumption: 13.7L/100 km (17 US mpg)

2014 Volvo S60

Volvo enthusiasts need only wait until the autumn season to get behind the wheel of vehicles equipped with the company’s new four-cylinder engine.

News of the fall rollout comes on the heels of a development that has seen the company kick off production of the first engine variants in its new, high-efficiency four-cylinder engine portfolio. The move is part of the automaker’s strategy to retain complete control over developing and manufacturing its four-cylinder engines and drivelines.

“With our new engine family, we are focusing on two additional vital properties – driving pleasure and fuel efficiency,” said Derek Crabb, vice president powertrain engineering, in a statement.

According to the carmaker, it has over that past 24 months or so been laying the foundation for the construction of the new Volvo Engine Architecture (VEA). Together with the driveline electrification, VEA replaces eight engine architectures on three different platforms. The new four-cylinder engines, designed to deliver superior performance compared to six-cylinder units available on the market today, will be introduced between this year and 2015. The first variants will this fall be fitted to the Volvo S60, V60, XC60, XC70 and S80, according to Volvo.

Achtung, Deutschland; General Motors is serious about building sports sedans.

The 2013 Cadillac ATS (exterior photos by Adam Allen, interior by Dan Heyman)

Not too long ago, Cadillac unleashed the ATS on the motoring world to great critical acclaim. Despite the fanfare, unshakable links to a couple of Caddy’s skeletons in the closet were inevitable, specifically where the Cimmaron and the Catera are concerned. We can be thankful that those two turds are no longer with us, flushed into the oblivion that is the automotive sewers. They’re gone, and let us never speak of them again.

You can disregard the insufferable efforts of the past, but it’d be foolish to ignore the gaping hole Cadillac has in its lineup where the competitive entry-level position resides. There’s the CTS, but its current dimensions mean it can’t directly compete with anything directly, certainly not in the compact luxury segment. Look for that to change when the next generation hits showrooms packing a footprint on par with mid-size entries like BMW’s 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class and Audi’s A6, but we aren’t here to talk about the CTS, are we?

First Impressions 

Cadillac’s Arts and Science design language suits the ATS well; just look at those LED DRLs

Before moving on it should be said that styling-wise, the ATS draws heavily from its larger brother. That’s a good thing, because Caddy’s Art and Science design language has the dual distinction of being well received by customers as well as helping to shed the brand’s geezer image. To our eyes, the stubby and deftly compact ATS is the best example of it yet.

Neat and tidy overhangs and polished 18-inch rolling stock help to tie the smartly-dressed package together. There’s a pleasing absence of chrome, and where there is chrome it’s appropriately restrained. Up front you’ve got the now de riguer LED daytime running lamps and a smaller version of the CTS grille. Scythes and creases adorn the sides and various panels but they don’t look like they were styled using a ruler and are toned down from what you’d find on a first generation CTS. Vertical LED taillights complete the look out back, and the third brake light doubles as a subtle decklid spoiler (or a tailfin, as this is a Caddy, after all. –Ed.). All in all, you aren’t going to mistake for anything else but a Caddy. 

What’s it like inside?–The Caddy vibe

Overall, the interior is nice, but the dashboard design and CUE infotainment? Meh

The same is true when you step inside–this is American luxury at its finest, and certainly establishes it as a fearsome competitor among the entry-level luxo-performance players. The smell of supple leather hits you when you settle into the comfortable but supportive sport seats. The chairs would be welcome in any car with sporting pretensions, let alone a GM product, and much better than what you’ll find even in the C6 Corvette.

Its a bit cramped back there, but it is comfortable

As good as the interior is, I think it might be the weakest link in the ATS’s package. I love the French stitching and generous use of hi-quality materials, but in the ATS it’s a mish-mash of textures and colors heading in random directions. The dashboard font for the speedo looks like an electroluminescent redux of what you would find in a 1996 Pontiac Sunfire.

Perhaps the biggest culprit to draw my ire was Cadillac User Experience (CUE), Cadillac’s haptic feedback version of MyFord Touch (think touch interfaces and switches that are far removed from conventional switches and knobs). Many who’ve experienced it already have taken it to task enough already. However, as I said when we drove the Ford Explorer Sport, when they do figure this stuff out, it’ll be the new standard whether we like it or not.

The back seats are a little snug too–long trips are sure to be punctuated by breaks to stretch the legs. Despite these gripes, the cockpit still channels the Cadillac vibe.

On the road

18-inch alloys on our tester are sharp

In keeping with the mandate set by the bigger CTS, the ATS has a chassis that has had GM’s best fine tune it to near perfection. In fact, the smaller ATS is a much more willing dance partner, and throughout the course of our test its goodness kept slapping me in the face–a constant (but welcome) reminder of how special it feels, even in mundane commuting. Superbly balanced, hungry for apexes yet compliant and supple, the ATS serves up poise in spades no matter the condition. Likewise is true of the brakes, Brembo-sourced units that feel as up to the challenge as the suspension. Our tester was equipped with an optional and mercifully transparent all-wheel drive system that didn’t intervene at all during our warm week with it. Although it doesn’t corrupt the chassis’ goodness, I’d stick with sending drive out back.

Our tester had the 321 horsepower 3.6 litre V6, the biggest and currently the most powerful engine you can opt for in the ATS. Mated exclusively to a six-speed automatic, it has to be one of the more remarkable drivetrains I’ve sampled from The General lately. All but extinguishing my memories of years of 3.1 litre V6 pushrod propulsion, the current mill is an IndyCar engine by comparison. Super quick to rev, a wonderfully flat and linear power delivery and a snarly soundtrack are complemented by a gearbox who’s clearly paying attention to driver inputs and not some fuel economy algorithm. The paddles elicit rev matched downshifts and don’t be surprised to find yourself downshifting just because you can; I can’t remember the last time I’ve said that about a GM product that wasn’t powered by a V8. Show more maturity than my juvenile throttle discipline and you’ll no doubt do better than my average of 13.4 litres per 100 kilometers of fuel usage.

In the end…

Man, this engine is the goods; 320 horsepower and a soundtrack to back it up. Too bad they won’t hook it up to the 6-speed manual…

We’ve all been hearing about the ATS for years, and you’d be hard pressed to deny that it was worth the wait; this is the most exciting sedan to come out of Detroit in a long time. Actually, the already-confirmed ATS-V might deserve that distinction even more—it will have Audi’s “RS,” BMW’s “M” and Mercedes-Benz’s “AMG” products firmly in its sights when it arrives for the ’14 model year. Packing a rumored twin-turbo version of the excellent 3.6 litre engine, it promises to deliver at least 450 hp. Couple that with the ATS’ sublimely-executed chassis and you’ve got something that’ll be sure to excite your enthusiast coworkers when shmoozing around the water cooler.

At the end of the day, Cadillac set out to dethrone BMW as the entry-level sports sedan king. The question is did they succeed in doing so? From where I stand, they’ve made good on their promise, and that’s coming from a dyed-in-the-wool 3 Series aficionado. Sure, there is certainly room for improvement—remember that this is a first effort–but to make such monumental strides out of the gate bodes well for the future of the ATS (as well as the next-gen Camaro, which will likely be based on the same platform as the ATS). It’s nice to see General Motors flexing some engineering muscle and showing off what they can do when they really focus on delivering world class product to the masses.

2013 Cadillac ATS 3.6L Premium AWD – Specifications

Price as tested: $55,575

Body Type: 4-door, 5-passenger Sedan

Powertrain Layout: Front engine/all-wheel drive

Engine:  3.6 litre V6, DOHC, 24 valves

Horsepower: 320 @ 6,800 r.p.m.

Torque (lbs-ft): 267 @ 4,900 r.p.m.

Transmission: 6-speed automatic w/steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters

Curb weight: 1,615 kg (3,561 lbs)

Observed Combined Fuel Consumption: 13.4L/100km (17.6 US mpg)

Magellan has announced its latest GPS product for professional drivers.

According to the company, its new Magellan RoadMate Commercial 5370T-LMB GPS device offers space-saving, productivity boosting and safety enhancing benefits for people who make their living traveling the roadways and the highways.

Specifically, the 5370T-LMB GPS makes the most of truck in-cab space requirements courtesy of a five-inch, high-resolution, touch-screen display that adjusts contrast and colour for the most advantageous visibility whether day or night.

The 5370T-LMB GPS also provides drivers with important safety and productivity features such as the following:

• Truck speed limit alerts and real-time traffic updates help prevent holdups.
• ‘Two-Turns’ visibility provides  driver with valuable information about the lane to stay in or to enter when approaching the next turning location.
• ‘Landmark Guidance’ provides drivers with a better way to navigate with audible alerts to familiar landmarks such as gas stations and eateries.
• Integrated Bluetooth wireless technology helps drivers to safely talk hands-free when the GPS device is paired with a compatible Bluetooth phone.
• ‘OneTouch’ helps drivers to bookmark and assign a button to their favourite destinations or searches for faster access.
• Multi-destination routing permits drivers to schedule stops and optimize routes to ramp up efficiency and reduce fuel consumption.
• Customizable itineraries, which factor into the equation truck dimensions and load restrictions, help drivers to plan for road trips.

The 5370T-LMB GPS, which includes free lifetime map updates and traffic alerts, can be purchased from Amazon.ca or on Magellan’s website.

A fresh take on multi-person luxury motoring.

The 2013 Mercedes-Benz B250 Sports Tourer (photos by Dan Heyman)

A few eyebrows were raised when the B-Class first arrived in Canada in 2005; here was a multi-purpose  vehicle (MPV) from Mercedes, a manufacturer known on our shores as a builder of luxury sedans, convertibles and SUVs and besides the base C-Class, very little in the way of affordable, practical cars and nothing in the way of mini minivans like this.

Any doubts were quickly put to rest, however, when the B200 started selling like gangbusters as people were digging the idea of getting a Three-Pointed Star emblem on their car without having to break the bank to get it.

It was practical, too, thanks to a high riding position, room inside for four comfortably, five in a pinch and punchy turbocharged power.

The trouble was, it really didn’t look like a Mercedes. The distinct lack of any front or rear overhangs, the tall roof and spindly wheels were all very divergent from the Mercedes models we were used to seeing, even if there were even smaller models in Europe at the time.

Not to mention that the small-MPV segment in which the B resided was in its infancy over here, with only two other models—the Mazda5 and Kia Rondo—filling out the rest of the competition in the segment.

First Impressions

Styling is worlds above outgoing model thanks to new wheel choices, headlight treatment and added length. Much more hatch-back to the old car’s mini-minivan

So, for 2013 and the Canada-only model’s second generation (after a one-year hiatus), “Sports Tourer” has been added to the model name, the styling has been heavily overhauled and the B250 looks a lot more like its stablemates than it did before; this is a colossal leap forward on the styling front.

It starts with the angular headlights and the LED running lights mounted within the front air dam, which help lower the stance of what is still a fairly tall car at 1,559 millimeters. To put that figure in perspective, know that the Toyota Matrix stands at 1,500 mm, and the enormous Mercedes-Benz S350 sedan at 1,470.

Sport Package adds LED DRLs to already well-styled headlight lenses

Other new touches include two broad creases on either side, a more aggressive rear spoiler and some very sharp new rim choices. The overall result is a much more sports hatchback-like silhouette and stance, and I have to say that this styling package is absolutely worthy of the Mercedes name.

I have to draw special attention to those 18-inch wheels. They come as part of the $2,000 Sport Package and their two-tone dual-spoke styling makes for some of the best stock rims you’ll see anywhere, bar none. They stand as a testament to how serious Mercedes is about pulling the B-Class out of the stylistic shadows and into the foresight of those that may have not taken the first generation as seriously. Even if you don’t select the Sport Package and decide instead to stick with base rims, know that their styling has been kicked up a notch as well.

It’s a question of proportions, really. The new car is longer and wider than the old model, allowing designers to provide a longer hood and lightly more slanted rear hatch thanks to added chassis length. It’s a boon for interior room, as well.

What’s it like inside?

Interior is befitting of the Mercedes name and like the exterior, world’s better than the previous generation

The B-Class benefits from a new focus from Mercedes on their interior landscape. Of course, Mercedes has built great interiors for a long time, but it appears that they felt like the interior was sliding towards being too Germmanic, too-function-over-form in the face of some fresh competition from Audi and Jaguar. They needed a little flare, a little something to add a skip to their step in the interior.

The B250 doesn’t get the colour TFT screen nestled between the gauges that the GLK crossover and C-Class sedans have, but everything else is a colossal step above what was found in the 2011 model.

Rear seating area provides passengers with good headroom, but they’ll have a hard time seeing over the front seats

The dash, formerly a haven for all manner of cheap plastics, boring rectangular vents and square edge after square edge, is now home to some classically-styled round vents, piano-black dash inserts and the addition of the latest Mercedes-Benz steering wheel, which I maintain is one of the best in the biz thanks to its chunky rim, high-quality leather finish and more intuitive controls for your cruise control, Bluetooth and audio controls. In short, it’s a dash that’s befitting of the luxury moniker.

A quality that continues to the seats, which are well padded, finished in fine leather and provide a good seating position for a fine view out. Also helping the view out—for front passengers, anyway—is a massive windscreen and big side windows that help reduce the A-pillar blind spot.

The rest of the cabin materials receive top-billing as well, with nice leather covering the door armrests, centre console and most areas frequented by stray elbows or knees. You’ll have a hard time finding any other people carriers that come as luxuriously-appointed as this. If you want to add a little more luxe to the proceedings, then the $1,700 Exclusive Package, which provides two-tone leather and walnut trim. Our piano black set-up looked so nice, however, that it would be a shame to pay more money to lose it.

Rear seats fold nearly flat, providing over 1,500 litres of cargo space

Unfortunately for rear passengers, they don’t have quite the view that the fronts do. In order to provide them with as much headroom as B-Class designers have, the rear seats are mounted low and no higher than the fronts are so the front headrests are right in your face if you’re a taller person. It’s a problem I’ve encountered before, but not quite like this; have a seat in the rear seat of a Ford C-MAX to see how it should be done.

If you don’t require use of the rear seats, they can be folded almost flat, providing 1,547 litres of storage space, and 488 if the seats are left deployed. The former figure is a large one, and a low lift-over height means that all 1,547 litres can be filled quite easily.

On the road

Other markets get a few engine choices, but in Canada all we get is a single 2.0-litre turbocharged unit to choose—never mind the “250” in the model name suggesting a 2.5-litre engine; it’s little more than a marketing exercise to differentiate the current engine from the older model’s less-powerful unit.

Helped by a turbocharger, the 2013 B250 cranks out 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque; before you spend time looking, know those figures are higher than those made by the VW Golf GTI, if you had any question about the “Sport” part of the B250’s “Sport Tourer” moniker.

Optional 18-inch alloys are gorgeous; never thought a people mover could look like this

The transmission is a seven-speed dual-clutch set-up, and whether you like it or not is going to depend on how you’re planning on driving your B250.

If you’re going to be doing more “Touring” than, well, “Sporting”, it will probably suit you well. Gear changes are smooth, and it doesn’t worry too much about making sure you’re going to beat said GTI at the stoplight grands-prix.

If you want more performance from the car, however, you may find the transmission just a little too hesitant to just let you go free to explore the powerband. It’s too smart to let you do that; so smart that it hamstrings the engine a little, unless you deactivate “ECO” mode—which is automatically on when you start the engine—by pressing the button market “ECO” mounted just below the radio controls.

If you do that, you’ll find the B much more willing to stretch its legs. One you throttle in, you’re treated with a satisfying burst of acceleration, which is even accompanied by a fairly perceptible turbo-whistle as the turbines get up an spooling. It feels strange, at first, to be zipping along like this when you’re sat as high as you are in the B (it feels like you’re sitting over the front wheels as opposed to behind them), but once you get more comfortable you realize how nice it is to be seeing what’s going on around you if you are tackling some twisties and need to ensure that the car is properly placed on the road below.

2.0L turbocharged unit makes over 200 horsepower and over 250 torques. Very good

The Sport Package is more than just an appearance package; it also adds some performance upgrades like Direct Control adaptable suspension, Continental ContiSportContact tires and Direct Steering. The features work in unison to provide a more direct feel to the chassis as a whole; Direct Steering gets even more weight added to the steering than the standard electronic power-assist set-up gets, the tires are grippy and the suspension changes its attitude depending on what you’re doing, although that last aspect is not as easily perceived as the others.

That’s because the B250 rides quite firmly at regular, around-town speeds. Most of the time, it’s not a problem but real road imperfections cause more cowl shake and teeth-rattling than I would have liked, making small divots feel like larger potholes. Yes, the B250 starts at $29,900, but all the options brought my tester up nearly 10 grand from that point and the overall ride was not completely worthy of the price tag.

The E-Class sedan can be had with a comfort-tuned version of the Direct Control suspension, and that would be very welcome here.

Also included on my tester was the Driver Assistance Package, which provides passive blind-spot and lane-keep assist. It works as advertised; the wheel is set to vibrate when it senses that you are drifting out of your lane, and it work without a hitch, even when we tried it in some rainy weather where these types of systems can get confused.

In the end…

Aside from that sometimes jarring ride, there are many reasons to enjoy this car.

Firstly, the price. Yes, out tester came nearly fully-loaded, but there are a number of option packages that you could easily skip (opting out of the Driving Assistance Package and Premium Package will save you over $3,000) to get yourself closer to that $30,000 level.

Neo-classical vent roundels and some chrome-trimmed spice to the proceedings inside

The second highlight is that the B250 resides in a class that isn’t that well represented even at the $20,000 level, let alone at the luxury level as this one is here, making the B250 a bit of a pioneer in this regard.

It is, however, a segment that will undoubtedly be expanding over the coming years as minivans and crossovers are deemed too expensive to fill up for more and more people. This way, you still have room enough for two adults and two children plus their belonging one day, and a sport little performance hatch-plus the next.

Thirdly, there’s the styling, cues of which we’re already seeing repeated in other vehicles, most notably the upcoming Kia Rondo. It’s a great-looking little car, one that’s a lot easier to live with, style-wise, than the last offering was by a country mile.

But, come on; a Benz for less than $30 or even 35 grand? That’s hard to ignore.

Back Seat Drivin’

Adam Allen is featured in our Back Seat Drivin’ road test feature, whereby a second Carpages.ca writer gives their opinion on the vehicle being discussed.

I wasn’t so taken with the idea of driving the new-for-2013 B250; after all, I’ve spent some time in the outgoing model. It’s not that it was a bad car, no, but it just didn’t seem to do anything particularly well for the price. Great efforts have been made to clean up the lowest branch on the MB model tree, and thankfully I was wrong to have assumed I’d be in for another dose of automotive banality.

Full-length moonroof comes as part of the $2,650 premium package. It’s nice, but not a necessity as this would be a very airy cockpit even without it

Shedding its travel iron-inspired styling of yore, the sharply-dressed B-Class looks like a taller version of a VW GTI. Our tester was loaded, and the smoked 18-inch wheels that were part of the package looked smashing–especially contrasted with the monochromatic white exterior.

Same deal inside–older B-Class owners would kill for the perfectly shaped steering wheel, the sharp legibility of the gauges and all the electronic toys and safety nets. Really, though, it’s the engine that makes the biggest impression. The turbo four makes similar horsepower and torque numbers compared with an Audi A3, but it feels much stronger and doesn’t grate the eardrums the way some four cylinder units do.

While great strides have been made, there are some areas that lag behind the other measures of progress. The ride is almost laughably harsh, the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox needs to spend a little more time in the oven and just because it’s a baby Benz doesn’t mean it comes cheap. If a premium hatchback is on your shopping list and you don’t fancy a Mini Countryman, definitely try the B-Class. –Adam Allen

2013 Mercedes-Benz B250 — Specifications

Price as tested: $38,500

Body Type: 4-door, 5-passenger multi-activity vehicle

Powertrain Layout: Front engine/front-wheel drive

Engine:  2.0-litre inline-4

Horsepower: 280 @ 5,500 r.p.m.

Torque (lb-ft): 258 @ 1,250-4,000 r.p.m.

Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch automatic

Curb weight: 1,475 kg (3,252 lb)

Observed combined fuel consumption: 8.3 L/100 km (28.3 US mpg)

All-wheel drive and V6 power come to Jaguar’s mid-size sedan.

The 2013 Jaguar XF 3.0 AWD (photos by Dan Heyman)

For 2013, The Jaguar XF has received both an AWD set-up and a six-cylinder engine, two features that give the XF both a throwback to some of its predecessors, and added relevancy in the mid-size sedan market, especially in Canada.

First, the connection with Jags (or, as Jeremy Clarkson would say, “Jaaaags“) of old: that V6 engine. Like BMW, the six-banger has always been a bit of a staple over at Jaguar; the SS 90, the first ever production Jag (after founder William Lyons changed his company name from SS Cars Ltd. to Jaguar, that is), had a six-banger. 1959’s Mark 2, the car that really put Jaguar on the map in the saloon market, had an inline-six as its only engine type and the E-Type–arguably the most well-known Jag of all time (some would say it’s one of the most well-known cars of all time)–started life with two inline-six options.

Maybe this doesn’t seem huge on the surface, but with an old money brand like Jaguar, these legacies really do matter; just look at the uproar over BMW leaving the naturally-aspirated inline-six architecture behind in favour of turbocharged this and that.

As far as the Canadian connection goes, the ’13 XF marks the first time we’ve seen an all-wheel drive option in a Jag since the Ford Mondeo-based X-Type, which met its demise in 2009 after sub-par reception and sales. Chances are, its low popularity had more to do with the fact that it was the smallest sedan Jag had ever made–it just didn’t have the wherewithal to compete with the selling-like-wildfire Mercedes C-Class and BMW 3 Series sedans of the day—and not the fact that it was AWD as opposed to RWD, especially in Canada.

Here, we love our AWD models, as evidenced by the fact that the XF’s major competition in the form of the V6-powered BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class is available only with AWD. If the Jag was really going to compete, then it stands to reason that it would have to go this route.

First Impressions

Minor facelift in 2011 gave bigger taillights, narrower headlights and some gorgeous DRLs. Looks good

Of course, you can’t “see” an AWD system or V6 engine per se, and the feeling you get as soon as you encounter the XF is that it’s a good-looking car, but at the same time a far cry from Jags of old.

When the XF was first released in 2008, it was tasked with pulling Jaguar out of the dark ages in the stylistic sense; not that their old cars were bad (the E-Type is often regarded as one of the best all-time car designs), it’s just what works well in 1968 doesn’t necessarily do so in 2008. That meant no more twin headlamps, no more BMW-like dual kidney grille, no more three-box shape.

Best…DRLs…ever?

This current XF, however, brings even more to the table after it received a facelift in 2011. That change brought with it even slimmer headlamps (this was a good move; the first XF looked a little cartoonish from the front if we’re honest), slightly different front air intakes and slightly re-styled taillamps.

The result is a fine-looking vehicle with jeweled headlamps that sport some of the best looking LED daytime running lights in the biz, has a proper chromed mesh grille and proportions that lend a more sports coupe-like cab rearward stance. In short, it’s unlike any Jag you’ve seen before, this side of the XJ flagship. Actually, in a case of some slightly backward badge engineering, the XJ actually has its XF little brother to thank for its new stylistic digs as it came out a year after the XF did.

I do, however, take a little issue with the 19-inch wheels on our particular car, as they seem curiously under-styled compared to the rest of the car—I guess when you like this could, the offshoot is certain details may stick out a little more if they’re not implemented correctly.

What’s it like inside?

As good as the exterior styling is, the XF is, after all, a Jaguar and the memories of rich Coventry Leather and proper French stitching that come with that nameplate means a Jaguar needs to have what it takes to go shot for shot with the best in the luxury biz when it comes to interior accoutrements.

In the case of the XF, it does and it doesn’t.

Interior has all the richness you’d expect from a Jaguar, including hideaway vents that only appear once the engine and climate control are turned on

There’s no denying the sense of occasion felt as soon as you open the door and see the gorgeous two-tone seats finished in sumptuous leather, admire the real wood inserts and the rich Alcantara suede draped across the headliner and A-pillars and realize that even through your shoes, you can feel how thick and deeply-grained the carpets are. There is, however, a price to be paid for all this opulence; apart from the wood, all those details are part of the $4,000 Portfolio Pack, which also nets you heated and cooled front seats.

The feeling continues when you fire it up, especially if you have the HVAC system on because if you do, vents that weren’t previously there suddenly materialize as the doors hiding them invert (they stay closed if the climate control system was off when you stopped the car). Other parts of the start-up ceremony have the “Jaguardrive” gear selector dial rising up out of the centre console and the needles making a lap around the gauge faces. You don’t just get into and start up a Jag; you pull the curtain back and let the show begin.

All of this high-techery does, of course, dent the budget and it seems a few features were left out of the mix to keep costs down; there is no lane departure warning system at, for example, no adaptive cruise control at base (you can have it if you’re willing to part with an additional $3,200) and even a blind-spot warning system is going to cost you $2,500, although that sum also nets you intelligent hi-beams (they dim automatically when an oncoming vehicle is encountered), glare-reducing wing mirrors and voice-activated navigation and Bluetooth (although my car wouldn’t recognize “Bay Street” when I tried to input it via voice).

Rear-seat passengers sit low, providing good headroom even with that swooping roofline

Features aside, it’s comfortable as there’s more legroom than a BMW 5 Series and even with that slippery and swoopy roofline, you don’t see a big hit to headroom, even out back where it pretty much equals the much squarer Audi A6. The bucket-like rear seats are a big help here as you sit low in the back of the XF; it may be a little tougher on entrance and egress both due to the low seats and narrow door opening, but is it ever nice once your sat inside.

Up front, it’s a similar feeling—the driving position is good, those seats, as is Jaguar’s wont, are sensational and all the controls are easily reached. The buttons are also finished in a nice rubberized texture that sounds like it should be cheap, but it’s not; in fact, I wish more manufacturers did this as I find it easier both to find the button you want and to press it; I can’t explain it, but it just works so well.

Overall, the texturing, seats and materials used in the cabin are top notch, the experience only let down a little by the fact it’s a little light on features.

On the road

The proceedings are started as they are in many vehicles these days, with a press of a button mounted just ahead of the gear selector wheel. Once done, the V6 makes its presence felt with a strong “harrumph” and sets to a nice, almost indiscernible idle.

Supercharged V6 makes more power and torque than any of the competition from the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW

The right pedal provides access to a supercharged 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, which is a darn sight more than what’s made by either the A6, E350 4MATIC or BMW 535i xDrive, eclipsing the competition by 30, 38 and 40 hp, respectively, and  7, 59 and 32 on the torque front.

Those are some impressive figures and they move the XF much closer to its XFR performance variant than you’d think at first blush, which is, in a word, awesome. Couple that kind of power with AWD and an eight-speed automatic transmission, and you’ve got the performance to match that plush interior.

To really access that power, though, you’ll want to do three things: set the transmission to “S” (the only setting that requires you to push down on the gear wheel as you turn), activate “Dynamic Mode” by holding down the button mounted just below the Jaguardrive wheel and featuring a checkered flag, and hold down either the left or right steering wheel-mounted paddle to access manual mode.

The transformation here is one of the more robust and tangible I’ve felt recently. Dynamic Mode means a quicker throttle response and quicker shift times in either manual or auto mode. It also forces the driver to handle the shifting on his own when in manual mode as it won’t shift up automatically, no matter how long you hold the revs for. This is good, as it allows the driver to get the most out of that powerband.

Peak power comes at 6,500 r.p.m., with peak torque coming at 3,500 and holding until the 5,000 mark. If you really give it the beans and allow the rev needle to sweep past that 3,500 mark, letting the supercharger hit full-song (that’s a bit misleading; there is very little supercharger whine here), you’ll be treated to quite the surge of acceleration, especially when in the 4^th-5^th gear range.

See that button with a checkered flag on it? You’ll want to make use of that

We did notice, however, that the car is a little tougher to drive at around-town speeds when in this mode thanks to that quicker throttle response; leave Dynamic Mode off for these situations.

A feature that is both welcome and derided at once for around-town drives is the auto start/stop system; it works as advertised, turning the engine off when it senses you’re in stop-and-go traffic. It helps with fuel economy–we saw 11.4 litres per 100 kilometers in mostly city driving–but it does get a little annoying after awhile. Luckily, it can easily be deactivated on the fly with a press of a button marked “ECO”–what’s cool about having it on, however, is that the car will turn itself off as soon as you remove your seat belt, as long as you have it in park. Also nice is that unlike other systems of this type available on the market today, your power steering is not affected when in “stop” mode, making left turns in traffic less of an event.

There is little question that this is an immensely sorted powertrain, but I did find it to be let down, somewhat, by the chassis. I would have liked to have seen Dynamic Mode tighten up the steering and suspension a little, which it doesn’t, because steering feel is a little numb here. It adds weight to the car and softens it a little in the face of some of the competition, especially the BMW. DM doesn’t change the suspension damper settings, either.

Dynamic Mode does, however, relax the hold that the electronic stability and traction controls, allowing for a little tail-out slip but you have to really push it to get to that point.

Bottom line? You have power to spare with the XF, but if you want a truly dynamic and sporting experience, you’ll probably have to consider the XFR.

In the end…

Of course, that’s why performance variants of vanilla saloons exist, so buyers do have options in both the luxury cruiser and performance sedan segments.

380W Meridian sound system sounds as rich as the interior that houses it feels

The XF stands firmly in the former, where it actually performs rather well thanks to that plush, spacious interior and a ride that leans more towards the softer side. Not to mention the quiet engine, lack of wind and road noise and a great 380-watt, 10-speaker Meridian audio system.

However, even with all those extra features that our car had, the MSRP sits below $80,000 and it’s not hard to get it below $70,000; skip the Portfolio Pack, for example, and you’d pretty much be there. At that point you’re in the same ballpark as a similarly-equipped Audi or BMW, but with all that extra power that those two simply don’t have.

But then, you’d be missing out on what makes this Jaaaag—any Jaaaag—special; it’s about the experience, the plush, high-grain leather, the swiveling vents, the suede headliner and all that icy-blue lighting. It’s a proper, old-money and old-world motoring example with just enough performance to anchor itself in the 21^st Century.

2013 Jaguar XF 3.0 AWD — Specifications

Price as tested: $74,500

Body Type: 4-door, 5-passenger Sedan

Powertrain Layout: Front engine/all-wheel drive

Engine:  3.0-litre V6, Supercharged, DOHC, 24 valves

Horsepower: 340 @ 6,500 r.p.m.

Torque (lb-ft): 332 @ 3,500-5,000 r.p.m.

Transmission: 8-speed Automatic Transmission w/Sequential Shift manual mode and paddle shifters

Curb weight: 1,880 kg (4,145 lb)

Observed combined fuel consumption: 11.7L/100 km (20 US mpg)

Ever wondered what a racing champion of yesterday could do with the tools of today?

We have, and apparently, so has BMW. Thing is, BMW actually has the means to find out and they have done so, by placing 1989 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) champion Roberto Ravaglia in the car of last year’s champion, Canadian Bruno Spengler. Spengler, in turn, was to give Ravaglia’s car the beans

Both their cars are BMW M3 racers, one from the car’s first E30 generation, the other from the current E92 generation, both are on Germany’s Hockenheim race track on the same day, and while it’s a short video, both have some pretty interesting things to say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlh2LZw1yGo

A great application of hybrid tech.

The 2013 Ford C-MAX Hybrid (photos by Dan Heyman)

The current Ford Focus is very good; there’s a practical sedan version, a sporty hatchback version, an upcoming turbocharged version that will rival the best in the hot-hatch biz and even an electric version.

What there isn’t—and hasn’t been in North America since ’07—is a wagon version. Which is too bad, because it exists in other markets, where it looks great and has room to spare.

We North Americans, however, are not completely out of luck. For we have the C-MAX, which shares its Global C Car platform with the Focus (making it part of the manufacturer’s new “One Ford” family), and even its model name in other markets, where it’s called the “Focus C-MAX” by some.

The C-MAX has a proper rear hatch leading to a nice, wide opening, a royal seating position for both driver and passengers alike and a silhouette that reflects so many of these funky mini-minivans seen Europe-side, a vehicle segment that, with the exception of maybe three models, has been preciously under-represented on our side of the pond.

With the C-MAX, we’re effectively getting two new additions to the segment, as there is an upcoming Energi model, featuring plug-in electric technology.

First Impressions

From the front, the C-MAX may be mistaken for a Focus by some, but from this view its a people-moving multi-activity vehicle all the way

The family relations to the Focus are immediately visible, whether you’re considering the headlight lens shape, the lower grille or even the 17-inch multi-spoke wheels, which are shared with the Focus Electric.

Out back, the divergence is a little more apparent; the rear hatch is nearly vertical, the roof spoiler has been reduced over that which is found on the Focus hatch and the enormous wraparound taillights from that vehicle have been eschewed in favour of a slightly more traditional horizontal shape; it appears that pillar-climbing taillight lenses the likes we see on Volvo wagons are no longer, as the Mazda5 has also gone the horizontal route. From the rear three-quarter view (see photo above) there is no mistaking the C-MAX Hybrid as anything other than a direct competitor to the Mazda5 and Kia Rondo.

Grille recalls item seen on Fusion sedan, which, in turn, looks like it’s from an Aston Martin. Which is nice

Other neat stylistic flares are the creases bisecting the door handles along the sides—this is an important touch because I would imagine that the sides would look pretty slab-like and cheap without them. They also help to lower the slightly canted-forward stance of the tall (as in, 1,623 millimeters tall) C-MAX and providing a more ready-for-action athletic look in the process.

This is all good, because the current Focus is a great-looking car and there’s no reason why a people mover shouldn’t at least look good while it’s doing its job.

From the front, meanwhile, you get the near Aston Martin-like trapezoidal grille behind which hide active shutters that can open or close to reduce drag and fuel consumption, slanty Fiesta-ish headlamps and, on the higher SEL trim package, a nice set of foglamps to lower the stance a little.

It may be a bit strange-looking to some—that’s what tends to happen in less explored segments such as this—but it’s nevertheless a futuristic hatchback/people-mover mix, the likes of which we’ll be seeing more of going forward.

The one thing I would like to have seen, however, is a sliding door; there’s a larger Grand C-MAX in European markets that features this, but it will be quite some time before these small MPVs can ever really be considered a 100 per cent viable option over minivans or crossovers.

What’s it like inside?

Surprisingly comfortable, actually; it doesn’t feel as small as the exterior packaging suggests.

It’s a Ford alright, easily distinguishable by chunky wheel, MyFord Touch screen flanked by vertical vents and oddly-shaped shift lever

It starts with the seating position, which is higher than most hatches, having you feel like you’re sitting atop the C-MAX as opposed to in it. Usually, I’d take issue with this because it can make you feel disconnected from the proceedings going on beneath you. Here, however, in a car made to excel in the urban environment where the view out is paramount, the seating position is just about right.

It makes placing the C-MAX on the road easy, while lane-changes in tight traffic are undertaken with nary a worry. Parking, meanwhile, is easy and can be made even easier on SEL models by speccing Active Park Assist. However, considering how easy it is to do, I’d save the $2,500 it would take to get this feature. A big help in the outward visibility regard are the small triangular windows mounted ahead of the wing mirrors, removing what would otherwise be a significant blind spot.

Rear seating room is ample, the C-MAX’s tall roof leaving plenty of headroom back here and up front

Back seat passengers, meanwhile, get over 1,000 millimeters of headroom and just under 1,000 of legroom, making for a very comfortable ride for them, also helped by rear seats that appear to be mounted a little higher than the fronts, providing a good view out for the rear passengers to match that of the fronts. This is an airy cockpit, even without the $1,200 fixed panoramic sunroof standalone option available on either SE or SEL models.

If you don’t need the back seats, then you’ll be happy to discover that they fold easily and almost completely flat, leaving 1,490 litres of easily-loadable (thanks to low lift-over) cargo space. That number does shrink quite exponentially, however, when you leave the rear seats deployed, leaving just 694 litres of space. You can also split the seats 60/40 if you want the best of both worlds. Or, be sure to make use of the underfloor storage found both in the cargo area and below the feet of second-row passengers.

The cargo area is accessed either manually or via a power liftgate (this will coat you $1,000, however) and SEL models can be had with a hands-free foot-activated power liftgate for $1,700, which also gets you a back-up camera.

Fold-flat rear seats provide 1,490 litres of easily-loadable cargo space

Style-wise, there’s little mistaking this for a current Ford product; may of the details found throughout the line-up can also be found here, such as the dual-TFT instrument cluster, big wheel with nice thumb grips at the 10 and 2 o’clock positions and some nice brushed-aluminum accents. There’s also a version of Ford’s MyFord Touch system (part of a $2,200 option package that also gets you sat radio and navigation) but with one important difference: like in the Focus and Escape, you don’t have to rely solely on a touchpad interface as you do in the Explorer and Fusion, which is a good thing because the system in those two vehicles is much more temperamental than that which is found here.

The one issue I do have with the system found in the C-MAX, however, is how deeply recessed the touchscreen is, making the lower two quadrants a little tougher to reach for clumsier folks like myself.

Seats are comfortable, if a little flat but perhaps the manner in which you get to them is more of a highlight; you step more down into the C-MAX as opposed to having to climb into it. Entrance is made even easier thanks to that high seating position, thanks to the seat that comes halfway up your thigh. These hybrid-types may not be at their best on long road trips, but I sure wouldn’t mind taking this one, save for a few caveats that we’ll get to in the next section.

On the road

17-inch multi-spoke alloys shared with Focus Electric look good

Current Ford products that use the C Platform are very able-handling cars, so I was not surprised when I found the C-MAX exhibiting many of the same handling traits found on the likes of the Focus and Escape.

These include immediate turn-in as the car darts in whichever direction you ask it almost as soon as you twist the wheel thanks to a very small deadzone. The chassis, meanwhile, exhibits a very neutral attitude with very little body roll and an overall feeling of agility that you may not expect from a people mover like this.

Of course, that’s the beauty of basing your MPV on a smaller platform like this one, and it’s something the Europeans have been doing for a long time; about time manufacturers realize that in this age of soaring gas prices, there’s room for small people-movers like this.

The other phenomenon that soaring gas prices have led to is the proliferation of hybrid vehicles, another box the C-MAX checks.

It’s powered by a 141 horsepower inline-four mated to a 35 kW permanent magnet synchronous motor, which in turn is powered by am 1.4 kWh lithium-ion battery, which seems to have become the battery-type of choice as nickel-metal hydride batteries have been deemed too large and heavy for most applications; indeed, you could probably kiss a lot of that cargo space found in the C-MAX goodbye had it not been for the smaller, more shapeable Li-ion unit.

The combined system makes up to 188 hp in charge depletion mode, allowing you to cruise at up to 100 kilometers-per-hour in EV mode for short bursts. That’s great, but where the set-up really comes into its own is in the daily grind, where forces like braking and coasting are allowed to do their work and keep the battery and electric motor charged and the car running in EV mode.

Energy gauge is small, but once you decode it, works well

When “EV” appears below the power gauge mounted to the left of the speedometer, it’s indicating that the motor is ready and able. Once you do throttle in and head off, keep your eye on the two outside bars (see photo, right); if the inner bar is lit, it means you’re running on EV power. If the outside is lit, that means gas power and if both are lit, you’re in hybrid mode. The battery icon on the right, meanwhile, indicates when the battery is charging (an arrow above the icon glows) or depleting (the opposite arrow alights).

An offshoot of the dual system is some real punch off the line, too, as both power sources work in unison to get you away from that stoplight in a jif.

Be careful, as we were, and you should have little trouble seeing below 6L/100 km in city; I saw 5.9.

What you don’t avoid here and indeed, what you don’t avoid in most hybrids is a Continuously Variable Transmission as opposed to a conventional automatic gearbox.

I’m not a huge fan of CVTs as they rob the driver of the powertrain control that they’re used to having, but they are nevertheless one of the best ways to save fuel since they don’t have to spend time shuffling through gears; they just tighten or loosen the chain that connects the planetary gears within the system, sort of the way a bicycle transmission works. You’ll still get some unseemly noise coming from the transmission, however, which is especially apparent in a car that features an almost silent electric-only mode.

If that transmission noise bothers you, you’ll also want to be sure to keep the windows up when moving at higher speeds; this car is designed to be frugally driven so you’d think its shape should reduce drag as much as possible but with the amount of wind noise you hear with the windows down, you wonder if they may have missed something when in the wind tunnel.

In the end…

I liked my time with the C-MAX; it won’t excite the driver as much as, say, a Ford Focus would but there’s more involvement here than you might think thanks to that lively steering and punchy motor.

Which is a bonus, really, because the C-MAX is an able people-mover as well, and one I’d take over its closest hybridized competition, coming in the form of the Toyota Prius V. That car is a touch bigger than the C-MAX, but its $27,425 starting price is higher than that of the C-MAX (it starts at $27,199) and the Toyota entry doesn’t look as good. Not to mention that the drive from the C-MAX is so much more involving, it has more power and the interior is less heavy on the plastics.

The C-MAX also keeps things frugal, can be used for a variety of applications and will seat four comfortably—all the things a vehicle like this is supposed to do. Better still, if you want even more economy, you can go ahead and opt for the plug-in electric version, which we’ll be reviewing later this spring.

Could we be seeing a changing of the guard in the multi-person motoring landscape? I think so, and Ford is ahead of the curve with the C-MAX Hybrid.

Back Seat Drivin’

Adam Allen is featured in our Back Seat Drivin’ road test feature, whereby a second Carpages.ca writer gives their opinion on the vehicle being discussed.

2.0L four-banger is paired with a 35 kW electric motor for a max hp output of 195 hp

Hybrids serve their purpose in two ways: one, they say to the world “I give a crap more about our planet than you do because I drive a Hybrid” and two, save fuel while cutting emissions. You can argue that the two are one in the same, but one thing that won’t be disputed is Hybrids are not sports cars.

Just ask Honda, who laid an egg with its CR-Z, a car with a Hybrid drivetrain that was supposed to capture some of the magic from the early 1990’s CR-X. Guess what? It didn’t. Car enthusiasts weren’t buying it, literally and figuratively.

Ford isn’t making anything remotely resembling a promise of sharpened handling and pedigreed suspension tuning, yet the CMAX delivers on both accounts. This is a Hybrid that’s actually fun to drive. Its Focus roots endow it with a zest for fun that’s largely absent in Hybrids.

The dashboard interface keeps you engaged and makes extracting every last drop of energy from a litre of gasoline become a game of sorts. I got 6.3L/100km (NOW who’s got the heavier foot? – Ed.) and that was exclusively trundling around town, in lots of stop-and-go traffic.

Think of this as the Focus wagon we won’t get, with a drivetrain that does its utmost to save you money at the pump and keep the polar bears happy, too. –Adam Allen

2013 Ford C-MAX Hybrid SE — Specifications

Price as tested: $29,979

Body Type: 4-door, 5-passenger multi-activity vehicle

Powertrain Layout: Front engine/front-wheel drive

Engine:  2.0-litre inline-4

Horsepower: 141 @ 6,000 r.p.m.

Torque (lb-ft): 129 @ 4,000 r.p.m.

Electric motor: 1.4 kWh, 120V lithium-ion battery, 35 kW

Combined max hp: 188

Transmission: Continuously-Variable Transmission

Curb weight: 1,505 kg (3,177 lb)

Observed combined fuel consumption: 5.9 L/100 km (40 US mpg)