Table of contents for Buyer's Guide 2018-19 in MotorTrend

If you are considering joining the crowd buying a sport-utility vehicle or pickup, you should know some essential terms before you walk into a dealership. Here’s a basic primer to ensure you are on the right (perhaps muddy) path. Four-Wheel Drive (4x4) vs. All-Wheel Drive (AWD) Four-wheel-drive systems— usually used with pickups and truck-based SUVs—use a selectable transfer case that can shift the vehicle’s power to both the front and rear drive shafts when needed. The transfer case also has low-range gears for difficult off-road situations. AWD systems use a series of differentials and clutches to distribute torque to all four wheels—but in varying percentages depending on the system and conditions. The majority of crossovers and car-based SUVs use AWD systems for their lighter weight and simplicity for light off-road…

It is a common if somewhat lazy marketing technique to give a new product an old name in order to provide it with an instant boost of recognition in the marketplace. In the case of the Nissan Rogue Sport, such name loaning is at least halfway accurate. The new small SUV is essentially a shrunken version of the existing Rogue. With a foot less length and a couple hundred pounds less curb weight, the Rogue Sport’s mission is to give Nissan a beachhead in the lively subcompact SUV segment. But when you get to the second half of the name, accuracy goes out the window. The Rogue Sport is no sportier than the larger (and decidedly unsporty) Rogue. The acceleration is just as poky, and the steering is just as…

Climbing steep hills was effortless for the Power Wagon, but descending was even easier with hill-descent control. “Are you interested in trucks that grow hair on your chest?” my editor emailed me. I looked down at my barren torso and looked up again to read the subject line: “2017 Ram Power Wagon drive.” My dormant macho emotion had been stirred. The 4x4 Power Wagon has one of the longest automotive histories in America. What started as a vehicle to defeat the Axis in World War II, the former Dodge Power Wagon arrived in 1946 with the intention of taking its customers on off-road adventures. Now 71 years and several interrupted generations later, the Ram Power Wagon continues delivering on that promise—but with way more power and enhanced technology. At 149.3…

“We’re already all connected to the Wi-Fi,” Miguel Cortina Sr. says through the window as I approach the scarlet minivan. He’s speaking for himself; his wife, Cecilia; his daughter Fernanda; and his eldest son and Motor Trend en Espa–ol editor, Miguel Jr. They’ve been in the van less than five minutes. The Cortina family has joined me and photographer Robin Trajano on Hawaii’s Big Island for the launch of the all-new 2018 Honda Odyssey, and they’ll be consulting on our review. Yes, I’m a professional car reviewer, but I don’t have children, and I’ve had little experience loading kids and their stuff into a minivan. I can tell you how the Odyssey rides and handles, but the Cortinas have owned seven from four automakers (including two Odysseys) over nearly 20…

Whether it’s basketball or boxing, everyone loves a hard-fought battle between two evenly matched rivals. Sure, a blowout is fun if your team wins, but the games that come down to the last second are the ones we talk about years later. This fight, between the redesigned 2017 Honda CR-V and the also all-new 2017 Mazda CX-5, is one of those fights. About a year ago, we conducted a Big Test of the entire fleet of compact crossover SUVs, and the Mazda and Honda finished one-two—despite being at the tail end of their respective model cycles. That shows you how good they were: still the best even though the competition had four or five years to play catch-up. Now it’s Honda and Mazda’s time to set the benchmark yet again.…

During our compact luxury sedan Big Test comparison, the Audi A4 won in virtually every category, but it just couldn’t win our hearts. Part of that had to do with its design, which showcased Audi’s precision and craftsmanship but was mostly devoid of emotion. For the customer who would choose an A4 if it weren’t for its sedate looks, there’s now the 2018 Audi A5 Sportback to consider. Audi helped pioneer the modern swoopy hatchback sedan with the A7 and followed that with a four-door version of the A5 for Europe. We didn’t get the firstgen A5 Sportback, but Audi has decided to bring the latest iteration Stateside, likely after seeing the success BMW has had with its 4 Series Gran Coupe. The A5 Sportback, along with its sportier S5…

You have to applaud Toyota’s derring-do. Company scion Akio Toyoda has ordered his lieutenants to shake up the franchise midsize sedan. Leaden with a (deserved) sand-beige image, the Camry needed some invigoration and sex appeal, especially as more families were seen migrating from sedans to SUVs. For 15 years, Toyota engineers have taken incremental, calculated risks while maintaining the core values that have kept the Camry atop the sales heap. Why change when the best-selling flavor of ice cream is vanilla, executives would parrot. But those risk-averse days are gone. Example one is the Camry’s daring new sheetmetal. Well, Toyota thinks it’s daring; buyers will judge how much you can spice up a family sedan. Toyota kept an optional V-6 while most competitors commit to I-4s. It also lowered the…