A Dodge Viper may get more attention, but the XKR is less likely to go insane, carry you into a tree and kill you.

“Aw, nuts,” I said to myself when I stepped out of the Volkswagen R32.  “Now I’ve got to add another parking spot to my dream garage.”

Even though construction materials for dream garages are cheap, I don’t say that as frequently as you might think.  This time I had a good reason to because the unassuming Volkswagen Golf you see here is a very special car indeed.  The 2004-only R32 is the hottest Golf ever to grace U.S. shores.  It’s also the first North American Golf with 4Motion all-wheel drive (which …

We’ve driven the Acura RSX plenty of times since its introduction in 2001, so when the updated 2005 version arrived we decided to do something different with it.  Acura’s sport-compact hatch is the darling of legions of car modifiers and cruisers everywhere, and its prowess on the track is undisputed.  But how well-equipped is the RSX for a road trip?  We packed up a handsome copper-colored RSX Type S and headed to the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, to find out.

For 2005, the RSX Type S gets a minor …

It’s hard to say exactly what first draws the eye to the 2003 Nissan 350Z.  It might be the grille-less nose, or those big wheels.  Maybe it’s the silhouette, which seems to slope away on all sides from a single point in the middle of the roof.  It’s certainly not the Nissan badge, because all during our test drive people were asking, “What kind of car is this?” in spite of the prominent nomenclature front and rear.

The new 350Z is an all-out, front-engine, rear-drive sports coupe, intended to take on …

Land Rover’s Freelander has been a best-seller in Europe since its introduction in 1997, but the British off-road specialist hasn’t chosen to import it until recently.  As the smallest Land Rover ever sold in the U.S., the Freelander is playing to a new crowd.  Unlike the premium-priced Range Rover, the Freelander is right in the thick of the compact and mid-size sport-ute market.  Thanks to the off-road prowess implied by the Land Rover name, the Freelander’s natural enemy is the popular new Jeep Liberty.  For 2004, Land Rover is even …

For some reason, it seems like every time I get a Volkswagen GTI, I end up at a car show.  My drive in the 2003 GTI VR6 was no exception; within hours of picking the car up, I was hanging out in a parking lot with a bunch of Subaru WRX owners, talking shop.  It’s a testament to the GTI’s name and ability that this unassuming hatchback was able to draw nods of favor from guys who were used to 300-plus horsepower super-sedans.

Volkswagen’s GTI has been around for a long …

The design carries hints of several Hyundai concept cars–the Talus contributed its greenhouse, and the HCD8 predicted the basic shape of the Genesis Coupe. Don’t remember either of those concepts? It’s not important, they’re just ancestors.

For some reason, automotive journalists have always disliked the Saturn S-series.  Ever since the brand was born in 1991, the little subcompact four-door sedans and two-door coupes have been criticized by the motoring press as being unambitious, poor performers, and downright dull.

Funny thing is, the lack of critical acclaim hasn’t hurt Saturn’s fortunes in the least.  The lineup has expanded to include a larger sedan and wagon and just this year Saturn debuted its first sport-utility vehicle.  It wasn’t that long ago that Saturn built its two-millionth car.  With things …

After an hour with the MINI Cooper I had made up my mind:  they couldn’t have it back.  The MINI people were just going to have to build another one to give to the next journalist, because this one was mine.  I’d write them a check for any amount.  I’d barricade myself in the garage with it if I had to.  I wouldn’t be taken alive.  The MINI and I could escape to Canada and start a new life for ourselves, on the run.

Was it simple holiday madness, or is …

As sport-utility vehicles grow in popularity they move farther and farther from their utilitarian roots, sprouting carlike features and pavement-friendly suspensions that are no better in the mud than a Corolla’s.  In the face of this evolution, Jeep would like to remind you that its 4×4s, which arguably started the craze in the first place, are still far from civilized.  And that’s a good thing.  To this end, two special-edition Jeeps hit the showrooms in 2003, and neither of them has grocery-getting on its mind.  The Wrangler Rubicon and Liberty …