First Drive: 2010 Toyota Prius

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

YOUNTVILLE, Calif.–With more than one million sold worldwide – about 14,000 in Canada since 2000 – the Prius has become the best-selling, most-recognizable hybrid in the world, and a halo car casting Toyota in an eco-friendly light. Read more

Comparo: Five frugal sports cars

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

If you think about it, the first sports cars – the iconic post-World War II cars from MG, Triumph or Alfa Romeo, powered by small displacement four-cylinder engines – were relatively green for their time.

Then a certain chicken farmer named Carroll Shelby from Texas came along and stuffed a good ol’ American V8 into the pretty little British Ace roadster. And the rest, they say, is automotive history. Read more

Comparo: Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG vs. Lexus IS-F

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

Calabogie, Ont.–In its quarter-century-long war with rival German automaker BMW and its vaunted M3, Mercedes-Benz drew first blood in the battle of compact sports sedan V8s with the C 43 AMG in 1998.

A decade later, eight cylinders are more common in this class than speeding tickets.

Toyota is one of the latest to join the thundering herd with its premium brand Lexus and the new IS-F.

While Audi’s RS4 is still on hiatus, the Cadillac CTS-V wasn’t available and BMW Canada didn’t want to put its M3 on the Calabogie track, we were left with the Johnny-come-lately Lexus stacked up on the road and track against Mercedes’ latest in a long line of compact V8 hot rods – the C 63 AMG.

Here’s how they performed when matched head-to-head. Read more

First Drive: 2009 Porsche Cayman S/PDK

Story, video and photos by John LeBlanc

JEREZ, SPAIN–As most of its middle-aged fans will appreciate, today’s Porsche 911 is not the flyweight sports car it started out as 44 years ago. A little heavier, a little larger around the middle – definitely less agile – Porsche has slowly moved its halo vehicle from pure sports car to more of a grand touring machine.

Porsche has been careful not to let the junior model’s performance close in on the 911’s performance advantage, however easier the Cayman is to drive than its more challenging (and powerful) big brother.Cue the Cayman, the coupe version of Porsche’s Boxster roadster. The hardtop’s arrival three years ago garnered standing ovations from purists looking to rekindle the spirit of smaller 911s of years gone by for about two-thirds the cost of a base model 911 Carrera 2+2.

But that was so last year. Read more

First Drive: 2010 Volvo XC60

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

SAUSALITO, Calif.–There’s no guarantee that eating high-fibre foods or taking the stairs instead of the elevator will lead to a long, healthy life. Similarly, buying a new vehicle based on its outstanding safety credentials in no way guarantees accident-free driving.

But try explaining that logic to the well-intentioned folks at Volvo. Read more

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