This Compass SUV is all Jeep, with a few extras

 Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- I don't know what it is about the Jeep brand, but motorheads across the board seem to either love it or hate it.  Very rarely do I chat with someone who falls in between the extremes.

And then there's a subcategory of folks who firmly believe that the only "true" Jeep is of the Wrangler variety, with DNA dating back to the Willys Jeep of the post-World War II era.

Interesting.  But I'm not hung up on such things.

In a recent week in the 2020 Jeep Compass Limited 4X4 sport-utility vehicle, I simply enjoyed the vehicle for what it is -- a subcompact sport-ute seeking attention in a brutally competitive segment.

It does this rather well in several areas.

First off -- good news for classic Jeep fans -- it has the look of a Jeep product.  And it has off-road components and driving characteristics that make it a capable off-road performer, also a plus for those who love old-school Jeeps.

My ride was generously laden with standard equipment for a base price of just a few bucks less than $30,000.  That included electronic roll mitigation, heated front seats, ambient LED interior lighting, windshield wiper de-icer and deep tint sunscreen glass.

Beyond that, the tester was lavishly loaded up with options that included a power liftgate, blind spot/cross-path detection, adaptive cruise control and a special dual-pane sunroof (power on the front, fixed on the back).

All that raised the bottom line on the sticker to $39,130.  That's serious money in this vehicle segment, but it makes the point: this Compass can be dressed up to please a wide range of tastes.

Performance fans will likely find the 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine underpowered for their tastes, but it did the job quite adequately in my outings, which included crowded urban streets, freeway runs and some modest hill climbs.  You'll have to nail the accelerator hard to climb steeper hills, but it gets the job done.

Steering and responsiveness were excellent.

Fuel mileage is pretty fair at 22 miles per gallon in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.

Overall, Jeep enthusiasts should be pleased with this Compass.  A lengthy list of attractive packages should at least turn the heads of consumers in the market for a small, daily driver sport-utility vehicle.

 

Popular, midsize Tacoma pickup is just the right size

 Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- I'll confess that I handle full-size pickup trucks with extreme care, determined not to snap off an exterior mirror in a moment of carelessness ... or worse, ride up and over a parking meter.

No such worries with the midsize Toyota Tacoma.  It's just right on multiple levels -- size, steering and comfort among them.

My tester was the 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro 4X4 Double Cab pickup.  This is not the truck you expect to see at a large-scale work site or on a sprawling ranch.  But it seems perfectly at home as a daily driver and chore doer, in the urban jungle or the busy suburbs.

But what if you want to take it off-road?  Toyota has a plan for that.

Among the off-road-specific features is a selectable, electronically controlled locking rear differential to provide enhanced traction on unpaved surfaces.

And then there's the "Desert Air Intake" feature, essentially a large snorkel that snakes its way up the passenger side A-pillar and tops off just above the roofline. The positioning raises the engine's air intake to a height well above ground-level dust, hopefully sucking up cleaner air.

Very clever that.  But a word of warning: Tacoma owners with this optional feature ($725 on the tested pickup) need to carefully choose a car wash, because a heavy-handed rolling brush can snap off the top of the air intake. Do-it-yourself vehicle washers should be just fine.

My ride had the 3.5-liter V-6 engine under the hood.  With 278 horsepower and  265 foot-pounds of torque, the power plant easily handled all road challenges I threw at it. Fuel mileage was only fair at 18 miles per gallon in the city and 22 mpg on the highway.

The exterior look is pretty much classic midsize pickup, with the expected aggressive-size grille cutting into the wind.

Inside, I found the cabin spacious and thoughtfully laid out, another reason that Tacoma has been the nation's top-selling midsize pickup for more than a dozen years.

For 2020, Toyota added to the Tacoma package with multimedia upgrades (including Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Amazon Alexa capability), new LED lighting and standard Toyota Safety Sense, which includes a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, smart cruise control, a lane-departure alert and automatic high beams.

Please note that my loaded Tacoma TRD Pro 4X4 Double Cab came in at a hefty $49,679 on the bottom line.

For that kind of money, I'd be buying the Tacoma as a long-term investment.  Given all the tested pickup had to offer, I'd consider it a wise investment.

UX sport-ute features Lexus luxury, hybrid system

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- It's an ever-present question in today's car-buying world: Do I want to spend some extra loot to get a luxurious version of a compact motor vehicle?

If the answer is YES, the Lexus UX moves to the head of the class. My recent test run in the 2020 Lexus UX 250h Luxury adds another consideration: Do I want to have a hybrid system in said luxurious, compact crossover SUV?

I suppose it all depends on personal preferences.

Still not sure?  Here are a couple of starting points: I fully enjoyed my time in the UX 250h, which possessed all of the luxurious charms and engineering excellence one expects from Lexus.  And the bottom line on my tester's sticker was $44,700.

That likely narrows things down for a fairly large segment of consumers.  Still interested? OK, let's move on to some details.

The basic, front-drive Lexus UX 200 has won praise from others for its excellent fuel economy, fine fit/finish and value.  Some of those same reviewers have expressed disappointment with the four-cylinder, 169-horsepower engine. But how does that transfer to the hybrid version?

For what it's worth, I found the power source in the all-wheel-drive UX 250h -- a 2‑liter, four-cylinder  gas engine with a hybrid drive system, with a total max output of 181 horsepower -- completely capable of handling city streets, suburban freeways and twisty mountain roads.

My tester looked good riding on 18-inch aluminum wheels with standard run-flat all-season tires. The monster-size grille has received mixed reviews from critics, but I liked the bold look.

Fuel mileage on the 250h is a fuel-sipping 41 miles per gallon in the city and 38 mpg on the highway.

From there, things keep getting better ... that is to say, more impressive and luxurious.  The impressive part included a max five-star federal government overall safety rating and a super-long list of state-of-the-art safety and multimedia features.

On the luxury side, standard fare on the tester included a treasure trove of LED lights (headlamps, running lights, taillights, turn signals and door handles), heated exterior mirrors, a moonroof, rain-sensing wipers, heated/ventilated front seats and a Siri voice-command system.

Optional extras on my ride included a head-up display, a wireless charger and a heated steering wheel.

So, you have to ask yourself: Am I willing to spend some $45,000 on this Lexus crossover with hybrid assist?

The ball is in your court.

Kia Forte GT: Small sedan with large performance

This review first appeared in the September 2020 edition of the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News published out of Folsom, California – mg

Sacramento, California – There are many ways to describe the Kia Forte GT, but I think the Massachusetts-based auto website, CarGurus, gave it the best shot: "A sport sedan hiding in plain sight."

Maybe even better: A high-performing sport sedan hiding in plain sight.

Parked on the street, the tested 2020 Kia Forte GT compact didn't prompt much to get excited about.  To be sure, it looked nice enough, with an attractive chop and dual exhausts on the back end. My ride was dressed up with a four-spot of high-quality, 18-inch Michelin tires.

Still, memories of the basic 2-liter, in-line 4 Forte engine rated at only 147 horsepower did not get my pulse to racing.

But this is the GT version, with a 1.6-liter turbo-4 under the hood.  That makes all the difference in the world, as I quickly discovered.

With the Forte weighing in at less than 3,000 pounds, the 201 horsepower power plant moved the Forte out with eyebrow-raising gusto.  I had to grab the car back under control the first time I nailed the accelerator on a freeway entrance ramp.

And I was greeted by a satisfying, deep-bass exhaust note in the bargain.  No mere compact here.

And yet there were numerous charms in my tester. It was nicely equipped for a reasonable starting price of $22,290.  The addition of numerous extras on the tester -- including power/heated/ventilated front seats, a rear cross-traffic collision warning system and a Harman Kardon premium audio system -- brought the bottom line to a still-reasonable $26,445.

The Forte includes state-of-the-art safety features far beyond what one expects from a compact sedan.  That includes the automaker's Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist Car system, which bailed me out of a tight spot just a few years ago.

Other charms are more basic.  The interior is surprisingly roomy in this segment.  You get 15.3 cubic feet of cargo space in the back.  And fuel mileage is excellent at 27 miles per gallon in the city and 35 mpg on the highway.

Kudos to Kia for adding this sporty GT offering for the 2020 model year.  It provides a heart-racing option beyond the standard Forte daily driver.

The Forte GT comes off as a prototypical, affordable suburban chore-doer, and an easy-to-handle transporter for the crowded urban jungle.

Hybrid Sonata reviewed in the latest Cruisin' News

Check out my review of the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited in the latest, October 2020, edition of the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News, published out of Folsom, California, by John Sweeney and Evonne Sotelo.

The “Hot Laps” reviews, along with my "Oil Drips" observations on anything with wheels, appear monthly in the publication.

To subscribe to the Cruisin’ News, visit www.cruisinnews.com, call (916) 933-0949 or send an e-mail request to cruisinnews@mac.com. Mailed requests for information should be sent to Cruisin’ News, P.O. Box 1096, Folsom, CA 95763-1096.

Mazda6 has the goods to compete in midsize segment

 Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- The Mazda6 midsize sedan has long received high marks for attractive styling, sporty handling and a nicely appointed interior cabin. All that stood up in the recently tested 2020 Mazda6 Signature model, which came with a ton of standard features and was priced at a fairly reasonable $36,620 on the sticker's bottom line.

But wait, there's more: A max five-star federal safety rating in crash tests and strong fuel mileage numbers at 23 miles per gallon in the city and 31 mpg on the highway.

All things considered, the Mazda6 is a wise choice in the mega-competitive midsize sedan segment, and most of my auto-reviewing colleagues seem to agree.

However, some have found the 2.5-liter turbo-4 lacking at 227 horsepower.  I would not be among that crowd.  In my test runs, which included busy surface streets and Sierra Nevada foothill ups and downs, the Mazda6 performed admirably, with just the right amount of the aforementioned sport-tuned handling.

Firm steering and monorail stickiness on sharp turns were a pleasure.  I also found that I could zip around freeway pokes with very little effort, even when squeezing the apex of a sharp downhill turn.

Sure, my ride was the priciest of all five Mazda6 trim levels, but the standard package was generous beyond the norm.  A full suite of state-of-the-art safety features was bolstered by heated/ventilated front seats (Nappa leather-trimmed), a kickin' 11-speaker Bose audio system, a power moonroof and much more.

The Mazda6 remains a sleek machine in 2020 trim.  The 19-inch alloy wheels and rear spoiler on the tester did not look like add-ons, but enhancements.

Simply said, the Mazda6 is a worthy midsize daily driver.  Alas, it resides in a killer-competitive segment, lining up against luminaries as the Volkswagen Passat, the Nissan Altima, the Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord, the Subaru Legacy and the recently reviewed Hyundai Sonata.

So, going in, you have to know what you want, and perhaps be willing to deal with a harder-than-usual edge at the Mazda lot.  Mazda fans won't need convincing.  The trick will be getting undecided shoppers' heads to turn away from some of those heavyweight midsize sedan brands and focus on the Mazda6.

Fortunately, the Mazda6 has enough going for it to lure sedan shoppers into its ballpark.