After a week in Nissan’s polarizing little crossover, I’ve finally deduced whom it’s perfect for.
The Millennial Motorist
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My previous favorite 7-seater, the Mazda CX-9, was nearly perfect, but lacked cargo space and acceleration. With a 0-60 time of 6.2 seconds and nearly 100 cubic feet of space, the Traverse doesn’t make these concessions.
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BMWs have satisfyingly instant power delivery, surprising efficiency and stellar driving dynamics.
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The flagship of Hyundai’s new luxury brand presents a blatant threat to the XL luxury sedan king, the Mercedes S-Class.
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Gas engines offer more horsepower. Diesel engines offer more torque. What’s the difference?
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The Mini Countryman looks like the result of someone jamming the leftover Russian steroids from the last Olympics into a regular Mini. Nearly three feet longer than its baby brother, the Countryman boasts four doors, five seats, 50 cubic feet of space.
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The ‘18 Tiguan reminds me of my dog, Joy. I didn’t adopt Joy because she’s the best dog, having ranked her stats against other dogs; I simply chose her because she made me feel good.
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To many aficionados, the BMW M3 is the best sports sedan of all time. However, the legendary Bimmer features three chinks in its carbon fiber armor: practicality, dependability and price.
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Mazda’s adorable subcompact retains the agility, if not the acceleration, of its sporty sedan siblings while offering an excellent 34 MPG highway. Plus, I’ve never been more impressed by a sub-$30k interior; in Grand Touring trim, the CX-3 cocoons you in leather, silver and suede.
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Grand touring cars are dichotomous creations boasting both immense power and serene comfort. Like La-Z-Boys with horsepower, GT cars are ideal for childless road trips to the nearest 5-star haven.
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Engineering a three-row SUV to be fun to drive is like teaching sumo wrestlers to perform “Swan Lake”; physics are working against you. Three-rows are too long and heavy to gobble corners like a Porsche.
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What’s unique or outstanding about the Mitsubishi Outlander? Not much. And that’s what makes it great.
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What do you get when you pay $14,000 for a new car? Seats, a steering wheel, maybe some windows that don’t require an upper body workout to operate?
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When you’re the king, you fight to keep the crown. Sadly, car companies don’t fight in a Mad-Max style battle; but we still get to reap some benefits.
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Many carmakers can be accurately summarized with one word. Toyotas are reliable. Mercedes are fancy. BMWs are sporty, and Aston Martins are cool. What, then, are Mazdas?
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The Toyota CH-R isn’t a bad car. It’s perhaps the coolest-looking crossover currently made, handles well, gets 31 MPG and features a curiously stellar standard sound system.
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If the Camry is the frenetic, tech-savvy Millennial of the Toyota lineup, then the Avalon is the calm, taciturn Baby Boomer. More luxurious than most luxury cars, quieter than a monastery, and more comfortable than your favorite chair, the Avalon seems perfect for the aspiring retiree.
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Kia is done playing coy. By marketing a sub-$25k, hybrid, subcompact crossover, its basically screaming “Millennials – GIVE US YOUR MONEY.” Should we, or anyone else, for a Niro?
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Have you ever taken the first bite of a delicious dish and thought “this needs more salt?” With no salt around, you’re left with a dish that’s okay, but could be so much better with a simple addition.
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The 2018 Honda Odyssey’s biggest surprise isn’t its beautiful, high-tech dashboard; those have been in the Honda fleet for a while. Nor is it the styling; recent Hondas, namely the Civic, look futuristic enough to sit on a “Blade Runner” set.
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Kia’s entry into the “semi-luxe” space, the Cadenza seemingly offers everything you could want from a Mercedes E-Class for $20k less. They’re both comfortable, handsome, well-equipped, spacious and dependable. So with Mercs, are you really just paying for the three-pointed star on the front?
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Jim Gaffigan likens driving a pickup to “carrying around a big, empty suitcase.” “Grand Tour” host Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t see the appeal either: “In Britain, everything in the back would get nicked at a stoplight.”
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You’d think Mitsubishi would be on the ropes as a carmaker. None of their models has scored above 2 out of 5 stars in Car and Driver, and they’ve discontinued their Lancer sedan this year after 44 years in production.
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Shopping for a crossover? Who isn’t? The sedan/SUV hybrid is by miles the best-selling body style in America, so manufacturers pour R&D resources into making their crossover the most appealing.
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Seeking that magical balance between sportiness and comfort? The Lexus IS might be for you.
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As rivals like the Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion become more sporty, the heavily refreshed Sonata sticks to its Hyundai guns: quiet, comfort and cabin tech.
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You don’t often hear “Hyundai,” “sporty” and “six-speed” in the same sentence, but that’s precisely what the 2018 Elantra GT offers. A practical hatchback with a peppy personality, the Elantra GT hopes to pry buyers away from the incumbent hatchback king, the Volkswagen Golf.
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As ritzy as it may look, Lexus’ mid-sized sports sedan starts for under $50,000, putting it well within purchase range of an aspirational under-30 in a lucrative industry. But is it worth buying?
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Scion was a radical experiment for Toyota. Why not create a sub-brand just for millennials? The experiment worked, but soon the millennials started swapping their Scions for Toyotas, perceiving them as a step up.
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In 2011, I triumphantly purchased my first car. Leading up to that moment was 1,000 hours of research and 23 test drives. The Carmax folks were glad to see me go.