2008 Toyota Corolla CE

2008 Toyota Corolla CE - While other Toyota vehicles such as the Camry and RAV4 have recently received sleeker, more eye-catching redesigns, and something like the Yaris adds some youthful life into the automaker, the Corolla sits, year after year, gathering dust seemingly even while it's still in motion on the road.

For 2008, it once again comes in three trim levels (CE, Sport and LE), but adds a 20th anniversary package that includes such features as power doors and windows, keyless entry and a power moonroof. All nice additions, but keep in mind that the package is a little pricey, adding an extra $3,115 to the cost of the car. In fact, you really can't choose individual options on the Corolla CE; only three expensive options packages are available (ranging from about $2,000).

I would never accuse the Corolla of being a track-bred race car, but it handles well enough around corners and is tailor-made for zipping in and out of traffic on busy city streets (another reason why quick acceleration from low speeds comes in so handy). Despite how small and light it is, it also stays quite composed in adverse weather conditions. I've been blown around quite a bit on the highway while driving a Kia, but I never suffered from frayed nerves in the Corolla. Old reliable, indeed!

On the other hand, an area in which the Corolla is absolutely spectacular is fuel economy. In fact, it's even eligible for a new fuel efficiency incentive program started recently by the federal government. The list of vehicles eligible for the incentive program is full of hybrids and subcompacts, but the Corolla is one of the few compact cars that makes the grade. If there's one thing you can always count on with the Corolla, it is long stretches between visits to the gas station.

The 2008 Corolla isn't so much "bang" for your buck as it is "bore" for your buck. To be fair, it is one of the most durable vehicles on the road and it epitomizes the term "gets me from Point A to Point B." If your top priorities when considering a vehicle are its reliability, simplicity and affordability, consider this your dream car.

2007 Nissan Maxima SE

2007 Nissan Maxima SE - At the heart of every 2007 Maxima is a 3.5-litre, DOHC, 24-valve V6 that makes 255 hp and 252 lb.-ft. of torque and is connected to a continuously variable transmission (CVT). This powerplant makes Maxima one of the fastest midsize sedans on the market. Great bursts of energy are instantly available, giving Maxima the ability to sprint from 0-100 km/h in 6.8 seconds. With an 80-120 km/h time of just 5.4 seconds, passing slower traffic is a shockingly quick exercise.

And you can count not only Passat and BMW 525i in that slower traffic, but Saturn Aura, Lexus ES 350, Infiniti G35X and Acura CSX Type S, according to acceleration tests conducted by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).

Lots of good stuff comes as standard equipment across the Maxima lineup: heated front seats, cruise control, speed-sensitive variable intermittent wipers, automatic dual-zone climate control, power locks/windows/mirrors, a 320-watt Bose eight-speaker audio system with auxiliary input jack, fog lights and leather-wrapped steering wheel with illuminated switches. I really like the keyless ignition ? just turn a switch on the dash with the fob in your pocket. And for valet parking, the key that locks the glove box can be removed from the fob at the press of a button.

The optional leather package (see data box) adds more good stuff and is almost worth the money just to get the power assist that automatically slides the driver's seat back and forth for graceful entries and exits, and that also comes with two memory settings so your optimum driving position is there every time you fire it up.

Our test car also came with the optional GS-based DVD navigation system. By now, regular readers know how I feel about such expensive devices. I'd rather invest a few bucks in some maps. However, I did turn it on in heavy traffic to try to find a different route to Nissan Canada's Mississauga headquarters. When I did, the pointer showed the vehicle in a blank spot as if that stretch of Matheson Boulevard didn't exist. The position of the Nissan building was indicated on a side street — you just had to find your way through a lot of nothingness to get there.

This is a good looking car, especially when seen from the rear, where its kicked up deck with trunk-mounted spoiler and dual exhausts, each with twin chrome tips, warn trailing traffic that this is one serious sedan. Extensive styling changes have been made to Maxima's front end, including a new grille, hood, bumper and headlamps with built-in cornering lights.

The interior also has been extensively reworked with upgraded materials that include real aluminum accents, a new gauge display for better visibility and a redesigned centre stack. The low dash gives a feeling of spaciousness while contributing to good outward vision.

Although more expensive than some competing midsize sedans, Maxima nonetheless offers a lot of style, luxury and performance. It's the kind of car that makes you feel on top of the world when you're behind the wheel, and as another TV spot airing during the hockey playoffs might say, such a feeling is "priceless."

Chrysler 300 SRT8 version

Chrysler 300 SRT8 version - Then when it had the expected success, it started tinkering with the formula to make the car more powerful and handle better. It's that line of thought that has brought us to the most recent addition, the 300C SRT8.

The SRT8 version is powered by a 6.1-litre HEMI V8 that is 400cc larger and 85-horsepower better than the regular 300C's HEMI V8, for a premium cash outlay of only $7,000 (ouch!).

The results speak for themselves: zero to 100 km/h in about 5.5 seconds, and zero to 100 mph and back to zero in less than 17 seconds. The power comes on quickly and vocally, turning the 300C SRT8 from a Dr. Jekyll like meekness into a brute of Hyde proportions.

The ride is well maintained when it needs to be, belying the full performance potential of the beast until it is unleashed. Once the speed climbs and the road kinks up, though, the true potential of the SRT8 quickly comes to light. Nine-inch wide tires set on 20-inch rims help keep a tenacious grip on the road (Chrysler claims it can withstand 0.89g or lateral force on the skid pad).

And inside grip is handled through the innovative use of suede inserts in the unique seats. The wide-back front seats are well bolstered for support, while the rear seat is rather flat but grippy all the same. The positions are not as well defined back there, but the comfort level is pretty good. As in most sedans, the center position is best left for children, though in this case the floor drive-hump makes for uncomfortable legs.

And if the price tag doesn't give it away, the 300C is very much a Mercedes model (it is based on the E-class, albeit loosely) and the SRT8 adaptation gives it more sport while retaining the comfort and civil ambience of a family sedan, and at the same time creating a car whose competitors are considerably more costly.

2008 Toyota Avalon XLS

2008 Toyota Avalon XLS - The car, which slots into the manufacturer’s lineup above the new Camry and Solara, is the most premium level Toyota you can get — anyone looking for a higher level of standard equipping or luxury touches must get into the Lexus line after this one.

The front end’s changes centre mainly on the new-look bumper and grille, and leave the Avalon with decent curb appeal for a big car, especially when approached from the front. The lights have changed for ’08 as well, with a more hawk-eyed cut to the shape.

The vehicle’s overall lines and angles lend it a stately look, classy enough to take anywhere without feeling like a potato in a diamond mine when the Acura and Mercedes drivers show up, and also enough everyday appeal to feel at home in the parking lot of the big-box stores.

The interior is where the car shows off its upscale tendencies, with all materials and surfaces showing quality and well applied esthetics when you sit down in the driver’s seat. Cupholders and stereo controls are covered in flush-fit plastics when not in use; even the seat-heater controls are pop-up buttons that recess into the console after adjustment.

The Avalon runs with a 3.5-litre V6, pumping adequate horses (268 of them) to the wheels, with 248 lb.-ft. of torque available at a mid-range 4,700 rpm. As you might imagine, the car, while in no way underpowered, is no sport-sedan either. Acceleration will feel a little weak to anyone looking for hot zero-to-100 numbers, though I doubt the tire squawker crowd would shop this car anyway.

The six-speed automatic tranny is quite fluid, and its sport-shift component allows a driver to get the most from the drivetrain when you slide it into manumatic mode. The transmission also boasts a lockup torque converter, and Toyota’s traction control system and vehicle stability control are standard on the XLS.

My tester was optioned up with the Premium Package (which adds $3,280 to the MSRP), one of only two option levels available for the Av, the other's being premium with navigation system. Premium trim tops off the already-excellent level of equipment with more speakers for the sound system (12, total) and rain-sensing wipers, and gives the front seat passenger the aforementioned eight-way power seat the driver enjoys.

While the price is a little steep for the Avalon — it starts higher than either of its main competitors, the Maxima and Accord, and a couple of the people I showed the car to pointed out that the car is creeping into entry-level Lexus territory — I would suggest comparing prices to any of those vehicles after adding a similar level of equipping to the competitors to see how the bottom line stacks up.

Mazdaspeed3

Mazdaspeed3 - The new 2007 Mazdaspeed3 is $30,995, and all you choose is colour. Spending $31K sounds like a lot when you look at the starting price of the Mazda3, $16,795. The deal is more convincing when you see that the cheap car has 148 hp and 135 lb.-ft. of torque and the Mazdaspeed3 has 263 hp and a whopping 280 lb.-ft. of torque. It uses the same 2.3-litre, turbocharged, intercooled engine as the Mazdaspeed6 and the CX-7, both much bigger vehicles. It is a Viking war-hammer of an engine for a car of this size and price.

The transmission is a six-speed manual that doesn't mind being thrown from gear to gear. So when you make your shifts, keep your right foot on the throttle a little so you don't lose too many pesky revs. Then you can ride the turbo all the way to speeds at which you will need a very good excuse if you want to keep your licence.

Some American magazines are measuring 0-60 m.p.h. times of six seconds, but it is the execution and delivery of the power that make this such a fun car. Precise and almost overly snappy steering, good, pred-ictable brakes and a tight chassis mean it takes only a soft touch to dive into corners and power out of them. Having front-wheel drive, torque steer rears its ugly head, but doesn't take away from the fun.

You get some good visual bits for your money that give the car an aggressive demeanor that separates it from the standard car, but they're not over-the-top. The bits are 18-in. wheels with 215/45 Bridgestone Potenza tires, blacked-out headlights, LED taillights, a low, wide skirt on the front to give it that big, open mouth under the licence plate, a meaty, round exhaust tip that just pokes out of the rear skirt and a kind of shopping-cart-handle spoiler on the top of the tailgate that is just on the verge of being too big, but looks good anyway.

The feature that really makes the car an easy sell is the combination of speed and utility. The rear seats fold almost flat, and with the hatch open, you can move furniture if you need to. It is only a four-banger, but in the city, the numbers say it will get 11.8 L/100 km -- high for a car of this size -- but a more reasonable 7.6 L/100 km on the highway. If you think of it as a performance car, it's pretty hard to get mad at the pumps.

It would be hard to have more fun for 30 grand, which is likely a big factor in its taking the Best New Sports/Performance car award from AJAC for 2007. It beat out the Volkswagen GTI and the Saturn Sky Redline. It deserves the award not just because it is a fast car, but because it is a reasonable car as well.

Cadillac CTS

Cadillac CTS - The first thing apparent when approaching the new Caddy is the bold and big-badged grille, leading into the sculpted and angular fenders the CTS shares with its brandmates STS and Escalade. The vehicle’s roofline now hosts an (optional) double sunroof, and trails into a squared and elevated rear end, giving the latest-edition CTS an aerodynamic profile designed to lower the drag and silence wind noise inside the cabin.

The powerplant options are a 3.6-litre variable-valve-timed V6 that will bring 263 hp to the package (and 253 lb.-ft. of torque) as the base model; and another 3.6-litre V6 (this one a direct-injection rig) that ups the ante to 304 horses and 273 lb.-ft. There will be a smaller engine choice for overseas markets, a 2.8-litre VVT, but not here. Cadillac is marshalling the horsepower with two transmissions, either a six-speed Aisin manual or a six-speed Hydra-matic automatic, that in my humble opinion is the superior choice.

This was made apparent to me when I got to take a couple of hot laps with a professional driver Caddy had on hand at the track — a good thing, too, to truly see what the CTS is capable of, something I couldn’t appreciate while driving on my own because, quite frankly, I am afraid of the rather wicked corkscrew turn at Laguna Seca.

But in any trim, it's the interior of the ’08 CTS that is the real story here. A complete reworking of materials and dash gives the car the feel of a number of its European competitors. Outfitted with either a monochromatic interior or a very desirable two-tone scheme, the seating is comfortable up front, and while less roomy in the rear, still adequate for adults under six feet.

The look and feel of the dash is very good, with the cascading centre stack flowing into metal or wood-print accents that lend a premium esthetic to the car. Funky LED lighting available for the CTS (inside and out) impart a uniqueness to the cabin when tweaked and dimmed to a driver’s choice. Indeed, if you test drive a new CTS, I recommend doing it at night to play with the LEDs.

A 40-GB hard drive audio system option allows radio to be recorded in real time and then played back — almost like TiVo for audio — which I find both weird and compelling, this idea of being able to “pause” live broadcasts and resume them later, with the option of doing so with high-end Bose 5.1 surround sound.

For those of you who are wondering, there is no CTS-V model for the 2008 product cycle — Cadillac is holding them back until next year — but the basic price breakdown for the two CTS trims available here runs the MSRP between $38,900 for the base to $41,400 for the direct injection model.