Avoiding anonymity is a fight all sedans that aren’t the top sellers in the category must take on. The way to do it is distinguish yourself in a way that the bigger names don’t, and hopefully that will lead to a maintained or growing market share.

Subaru is one of the smaller brands fighting this battle, and I recently tested out a 2018 Subaru Legacy, their midsize sedan offering. While the vehicle has its hits and misses, the good news is that its standard all-wheel drive very strong tech and safety features are standout in the segment, so it does make a name for itself.

With some vehicles, you wonder what you’ll get with each model year, with tweaks coming on every version. And then there are vehicles like the Dodge Durango, which generally hold steady with what they offer yet continue to maintain the public’s interest -- because what they are doing is working.

I recently spent some time in a 2018 Dodge Durango, and I’m back with a full report on this SUV, which you could call the big friendly giant of the three-row SUV segment.

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The short and simple way to describe the design of the Durango is that it’s perhaps the boldest looking of all three row SUVs.  It’s large, heavy and muscular in design, a visual meant to present it as a strong vehicle -- which it is.
Sharing a platform with FCA relative the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Durango is longer than the Jeep and adds a third row and features lots of leg and headroom.

If you look down any street in America, you’ll probably see a Toyota Camry … or two, or three. That’s because it’s been among the top-selling vehicles in this country for a decade plus, and they last, so people hang on to them.

Still, everything needs to change, and as it faces challenges from other sedans and some small SUVs, the Camry has been redesigned for 2018, inside and out. I recently spent some time in on and I’m back with a full report.

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The new look of the Camry starts up front, with a grille full of bright metallic horizontal strips that some will like, and others not so much. The new Camry is also lower to the ground, and I was a fan of the headlamp and taillight designs. 18-inch chrome alloy wheels were also featured.

On the inside, a redesign on the gauges and center console is somewhat improved, but still trails competitors in terms of design. Inside, the vehicle is definitely a quality offering, but it’s far from a luxury feel, featuring some prominent hard plastic. Also, the back seat felt a bit tight for taller people. (You can seat 2 up front and 3 in the rear).
Cargo room is pretty limited too.

In the arena of compact vehicles, Hyundai makes sure to have you covered at all angles. Their Elantra lineup features everything from a Euro-styled GT hatchback model, to an Eco sedan, to a Sport sedan … and then there’s the old standby, a regular compact sedan.

That final one is the version I recently tested, the 2018 Elantra SEL, and I’m back with a full report on how it measures up in the compact sedan segment.

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The big difference when you go to the standard sedan, as opposed to the hatchback version of the Elantra, is less storage space.
By comparison, the GT hatchback offered 25 cubic feet of storage even with the back seats up. In the SEL sedan I tested, that number is 14.4 cubic feet. So if storage is a dealbreaker for you, you need to go the GT route. If you don’t plan to haul a lot of things in the back of your vehicle, you can go the sedan route and save a few grand.

The Jeep brand, without a doubt, is one of the most recognizable brands in the auto world, and has its rabid fans across the globe. But when examining the lineup, highlighted by vehicles like the rough-and-tumble Wrangler and the plush Grand Cherokee, some tend to be more forgotten.

The Jeep Compass (which is larger than the subcompact Jeep Renegade, but slightly smaller than the Jeep Cherokee) is one of those more forgotten vehicles, so it has gotten a refresh in the past year in an effort to get it more up-to-date and boost its profile in the Jeep lineup.

I recently spent some time in a 2018 Compass and I’m back with a full report on what it has to offer.

As the list of entries into the category grows, three-row SUVs must continue to keep their name relevant, even if they’ve been successful for some time.

Such is the case of the Toyota Highlander, a longtime entry in this category full of upstarts, which seeks to maintain its position as one of the top-selling three-row SUVs.

I recently spent some time in a Highlander, and I’m back with a full report. (Note: I tested a 2017 Highlander, but the 2018 model is identical to the 2017 version.)

Pickup trucks are the lifeblood of the auto industry -- with the three top selling trucks topping the charts annually with massive sales numbers, and those three trucks (Ram, Silverado, F-150) always looking to better their position.

The 2018 RAM 1500 marks the end of its current cycle, with the 2019 model launching a whole new look. But fear not, as that doesn’t mean the 2018 model is anything to sneeze at.

I recently spent some time in a 2018 RAM, and I’m back with a full report on what it offers and how it compares in a very competitive truck market.

You know the demand for SUVs is exploding when basically every brand is trying to expand their lineup of large family vehicles as quickly as possible.

VW is no exception to this rule, having finally come around to launching a three-row SUV, dubbed the Volkswagen Atlas. Watching everyone else in the industry cash in on these larger SUVs wasn’t something they wanted to continue doing (it took roughly five years for the Atlas to come into existence, as it started from a concept vehicle in 2013).

This behemoth will never be confused with a Beetle (A Beetle could almost fit inside it, actually), but it’s the latest and best attempt yet by Volkswagen to figure out how to break more forcefully into the SUV sales charts in the U.S.