Car-focused movies, such as the "Fast and Furious" series, show high-speed chases where the hero hits a nitrous button, causing his car to rear up, the front axle leaving the ground. The 2013 Kia Sportage SX felt a bit like that when I mashed the gas pedal. And it was a front-wheel-drive crossover.

The SX version of the Sportage gets near-uncontrollable power from a turbocharger.

The Sportage, Kia's answer to the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape, checks in as a plump-looking crossover. Cargo area with the rear seat up measures 26.1 cubic feet, enough for a … Read more

I figured it would be a slow week when Mitsubishi delivered to the CNET garage a 2013 Lancer that lacked either Evo or Ralliart badges. The rally star Lancer Evo is a glorious little street-fighter, while the Ralliart version is almost as good.

But this 2013 Lancer SE showed me a couple of tricks that ultimately made for some fun driving adventures.

Bargain four-wheel-drive Among Mitsubishi's limited line of vehicles, the Lancer is the stalwart -- an economy car offered in multiple trims, and with some tech options. The Lancer SE delivered to CNET was a midtrim model, above … Read more

Update: Kia released pricing and new details about trim levels on April 19, 2013. The Cadenza wil be available for a base price of $35,100. The Luxury package, referred to in this review as Premium, raises the price to $38,100. Kia set the price of the Technology package Cadenza at $41,100.

Driving the 2014 Kia Cadenza, I contemplated the older-model Mercedes-Benz E320 sitting in front of me, and realized that the Kia had a much better cabin.

The thought of comparing Kia favorably with Mercedes-Benz was unheard of 10 years ago.

Issues of used versus new aside, … Read more

Maserati released photos and a few details of a new car it will unveil at the Shanghai Motor Show. The Maserati Ghibli looks to be an attempt at more of a mass-market car than the Italian maker's other models.

The Ghibli will be offered with a choice of two turbocharged V-6 engines, one of which will burn diesel, mated to eight-speed automatic transmissions. Maserati says the car will come in rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive versions.

The Ghibli is intended to bolster Maserati's plans to sell 50,000 cars per year.

The interior picture shows luxury materials one would expect … Read more

Cars such as Ferraris and Maseratis look beautiful, but unless you live in Monaco you rarely see them on the road. However, there are everyday cars, much more affordable than the exotics, that still offer striking design. These are the cars you are more likely to see -- and notice -- in your local grocery market parking lot. They also illustrate the fact that nice design does not have to be expensive.… Read more

Lexus injected its brand, which had taken the place of Cadillac among AARP members, with a little excitement when it introduced the LFA and the IS-F. While those models have legitimate sport cred, the F-Sport line of cars, exemplified here by the 2013 Lexus RX 350 F Sport, comes off as much less convincing.

In colloquial terms, F Sport is all hat and no cattle.

On its own, the Lexus RX 350 works as a solid luxury SUV. Seating for five, flexible cargo space, and an easy driving character have made it a strong seller for Lexus, and a success … Read more

In announcing the 2014-model-year Panamera, Porsche released details of a new plug-in hybrid variant, a replacement for the current Panamera Hybrid model. The new model, termed the Panamera S E-Hybrid, gets a larger battery pack and more powerful electric motor than the previous Panamera S Hybrid.

Porsche says the 2014 Panamera S E-Hybrid will drive over 20 miles under electric power.

That distance may not sound like much, but it is a robust number for plug-in hybrids. Ford rates its C-Max Energi at 21 miles of electric range, while the Chevy Volt, the leader in the class, rates at 38 … Read more

This is the car that the recently reviewed Audi S7 is based upon, so it's no surprise that the two vehicles are remarkably similar in styling from B-pillars forward. Then again, the same could be said for practically all of Audi's sedans and coupes.

The S6 is a traditional sedan with a proper trunk and a more upright stature. Its looks are more conservative than the flowing lines of the S7. Even when decked out in $1,075 Estoril Blue crystal effect paint, the 420-horsepower S6 seemed to blend in wherever it went. Personally, I think that this … Read more

Piloting the 2013 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 Special Edition in heavy traffic on a damp road, I began to list all the other cars I would rather be driving at that moment. The Challenger looks good and justifies its retro-muscle-car status with a massive engine, but wouldn't be my first choice for making a quick trip out to the grocery store.

The 392 badges on the fenders make a historical reference to an earlier version of Dodge's Hemi engine and recall a time when we used cubic inches instead of metric liters to measure engine displacement. However, those … Read more