BMW has long considered themselves as the Ultimate Driving Machine, and they have a ton of support from their loyal drivers, enthusiasts, and journalists. More recently however, it seems that they have taken up more of a stance of “Let’s see how much we can get our customers to pay for our ‘Ultimate Driving Machines.’” Having not driven a ton of BMW’s before, and of course seeing the normal BMW drivers mentality on the road, I have always often wondered why these drivers act like they own the road, and the 2014 BMW M235i has given me somewhat of an answer.

It’s very fun; quick; handles great; ride is comfortable when you want it to be; suspension feels really well sorted; one of the best BMWs of recent that I’ve driven; pricey at $46,575, but comes with no NAV, back-up camera, or blind spot detection; engine sounds nice when in sport mode, but starts to drone at highway speeds, engine sound pumping through speakers gets annoying, comfort mode is much better to live with while cruising; for most fun keep it in sport and transmission in sport mode; shifts are very quick for an automatic, one of the best ones I’ve driven, even better than CLA45′s dual clutch, shifts seem faster too; worried about the durability of the automatic though, seems that if you push the car hard for an extended period of time, it will eventually have problems, still wish this one had a manual, but its a no-cost option, which makes me feel like you should be given an extra set of rims if you choose that, I remember when the automatic was a $1500 option, now its standard, give me back my manual and option of an automatic, i’ll gladly take that $1500 back; seats are very comfortable; no non-sense interior, aside from iDrive, which is a lot better than older generations, but still a little cumbersome until you’re used to it; some neat features like cruise control indicators, if shifter is in manual mode and you press park button, it moves it over automatically; lots of M badges; now I understand why BMW drivers get such a bad rap about driving aggressively and not using turn signals, this car makes you feel you can drive aggressively due to the confidence and handling it provides, and the turn signal stalks are annoying to use, press it all the way down and it stays on, but it moves back up, so sometimes you end up clicking it the opposite way to turn it off, making you look like a jackass; after a week of rain, I still couldn’t figure out how to get the intermittent wipers to work, it was either fast, faster, automatic(which sometimes didn’t want to come on until you’re literally blinded by rain), or manual, I ended up preferring manual; is it a true M car, no, but its pretty good for what it is, definitely at the top of my most fun cars list.

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I haven’t been having enough time to be able to write a full review on this car, but I’ll share with you my notes, and of course my photos!

fast; handling is great; interior quality is great; stereo sounds very good; cruising highway top down very nice, quiet, not windy with windows and air blocker up; PDK transmission is very good; engine sound behind you is magnificent; comfortable seats and seating position; visibility with top down is great; very, very expensive; hard to justify unless you have plenty of money; could be a avery fun car, but its tough because you really need to drive it hard to really enjoy the performance; breathtaking acceleration; can feel the weight in the back around turns, not a bad thing; feels like the rear is hugging you through the turns; turn in is great; steering feels is good, steering not too tight on highway, but wanders a little, but most likely from the huge rear wheels; auto start/top function is kind of funny on this car, sometimes it would turn engine off before car was stopped, also cuts power to auxiliary/cigarrette lighter causing radar detector to keep turning on and off; so many buttons and levers(2 on each side, wipers, lights, cruise, screen functions)

One of the greatest debates out there among car enthusiasts resides with which car gives you the most bang for your buck. You’ll have your fanboi’s for every category, and those that are loyal, just because that’s all they know. For me, I have always been a Subaru fan, so it was hard not to have a biased opinion when it came down to this comparison, but I did my best to keep my heart at bay and test each of these cars with a clear and open mind. Keep in mind also, the 2014 Mitsubishi Evo, is technically the same car that came out as a 2008 model, so the STI already has some clear advantages right out of the gate.

Let’s start off with speed and power. The Evo comes packed with a 2.0L turbo-charged engine producing 291hp and 300lb-ft of torque and has a curb weight of almost 3700lbs. The STI is equipped with a larger displaced 2.5L turbo-charged Boxer engine churning out 305hp and 290lb-ft of torque, a carry over from the previous generation, and weighs in at about 3400lbs. The Evo carries a little bit more weight due to its dual-clutch transmission. If you opt for the 5-speed manual, it brings the weight down to around 3500lbs. Both reach their peak HP and torque around the same time. Most magazines have been achieving similar 0-60 times in the mid 4′s for both the EVO MR and the new STI. While I don’t have the necessary equipment, or legal means to test this repeatedly, I can say that they both felt equally as fast, and equally as powerful.

When you think of these kinds of cars, you dont expect to have luxury style interiors, which by no means do you get with either of them, but the interior of the Subaru is a million times nicer than that of the EVO. Subaru has done a great job in increasing the overall quality of materials that they are using in this all new STI. Soft touch dash material, higher quality plastics, comfortable, yet supportive seats. But there is one thing that really stands out in my mind, that steering wheel! The steering wheel may be my favorite thing about the interior. It’s a very nice flat-bottomed wheel, with a thickness that will rival ones you find on BMW’s M cars, and it feels wonderful in your hands. Everything else in the Subaru is all no nonsense. Gauges, instrument panel, center info display are all functional, and easy to use, something you want in a car that is all about the driving experience. Overall, the general feel of the STI’s cabin is a pleasant one, and not a bad place to be, whether you’re a driver or a passenger. The EVO on the other hand is full of hard, ugly plastics, that’s including the entire dash. Like the Subaru, all necessities are within reach, and easily accessible. The saving grace of the EVO’s interior are the Recaro seats. It’s the one thing Mitsubishi has over the Subaru interior wise. They were obviously very supportive, for both enthusiast driving, as well as normal day to day driving. Perhaps that’s where all the money went for the rest of the interior……

So which one is the best car for the pure driving enthusiast you ask? Well, that will depend on what you’re looking for. While these two cars have been competing head to head for a little over 2 decades, and in the U.S. for a little over a decade, I feel they are in two different realms now.

Here are my opinions on both:

2014 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X:
Right off the bat the first thing I noticed about the Evo was how cheap the interior was. The next thing I noticed once I started driving was how stiff the suspension was, and of course the very next thing I noticed was all the rattling going on due to the cheap interior and stiff suspension. Driving further down the road, I quickly realized how good this car felt in my hands. Sure, it may seem that you can feel every little bump, and that’s not how you would expect a $40,000 car to feel, but in this case its a very good thing. Everything down to the steering made me feel 100% connected to this car and the street. I could feel the suspension working, the tires rolling over the ground, every bump and rock in the road. The steering was so precise and immediately responsive, I felt that I could put this car wherever I wanted to and it it would just comply. The combination of the quick shifting dual-clutch transmission, coupled with the quick turn-in made this car very, very fun on twisty roads and hard turns. This car is made to be driven hard and when driven hard, it rewards it’s driver. I did wish it had a little bit more of a throaty exhaust note though, it would have been nice if it had been a little deeper sounding, rather than sounding like a small 4-cylinder engine with an exhaust. It makes me wonder though, as to how Mitsubishi can create something like this, a car with soul and feeling, and also create something like the new Mirage…..but more on that another time.

2015 Subaru WRX STI:
Getting into the new STI for the first time, you realize how much of a step above the Evo the interior is, as well as the previous generation STI. It is leaps and bounds better. The steering wheel and the soft touch dash is the first thing you’ll notice that is much better. Now, Subaru spent all their R&D money on making sure that this car handled amazingly, so much so that they decided they wouldn’t be able to create a hatchback version, and that money spent shows. The difference compared to the last generation is like night and day. You can feel the heft in the steering wheel immediately, and the response of the new 13.0:1 steering ratio is wonderful. The suspension feels much stiffer, but surprisingly if felt more composed than that of the WRX. Handling of the new STI was great and the engine sounds wonderful when keeping the revs high and staying in the power zone. One thing though, as much as I love the current engine in the STI, the power, the sound, the way you need to keep the revs up to feel all that power, it needs a new engine. And I say that with all the respect for that EJ, but its dated, and the other engines out there have surpassed it long ago. With as much work that Subaru did with the chassis and suspension on this car, it deserves, scratch that, it NEEDS an engine just as capable and advanced to really make the new handling shine. If this car had a combination of the low-end torque of Subaru’s new 2.0L in the WRX and the top-end power of the current engine, this car would be perfect. Maybe Subaru will squeeze out 0.5L of the new engine and this dream will happen, but who knows.

So what’s my pick? There is no clean cut answer.
If you want a car that you can drive every day and take on the track on the weekends, I think the STI is perfect for that. Its amazing when you push it hard, but livable when just scooting around town. As much as I love the way the new handling of the STI is, I can’t help but feel that EVO is the car for you if you’re able to take it on a track all the time. It is by no means worthy of being a daily driver, unless you like your back to be punished, and don’t really need to use the trunk for anything too big, as its laughable considering how large it’s rear-end looks.

So the STI beats out the EVO 2 to 1…..how is that?
The STI is a complete car. You can take it on a track everyday if you wanted to, and then get in and drive it home to pick up the groceries or kids and not suffer too much. The EVO, on the other hand I would 100% recommend for the track. It handles a little better, and gives better feedback, but your back and your passengers will thank you for not hauling them around town in it. The only limiting factor that keeps the STI from being the ultimate fun daily driver, is that you need to be pushing this car pretty hard to really enjoy the full potential, which local law enforcement might not be too happy with. For this pick, I can’t help but think of the Ford Fiesta ST, and this is coming from a guy who was dead set on buying the new STI.

Where’s the hatchback? That’s really the only question fans of the Subaru WRX will be asking. Short answer is there is no hatchback…..for now….

However, all that money that Subaru used to develop the WRX has been very well spent. Everything is better with this car, and when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. They’ve buttoned down pretty much all the problems I’ve ever had with the WRX. While I do wish they kept the hydraulic steering and the direct mechanically linked transmission, they have done a fantastic job with the electronically assisted steering giving it a quicker ratio than the outgoing model and the cable shifted transmission still feels pretty damn good with quick notchy and precise shifts.

Steering inputs are met with quick results, while not being overly sensitive. It goes where you want it to, and doesn’t have any real dead spots or play on center. The thick flat-bottomed steering wheel feels great in your hands, and really communicates well with the chassis. One new feature that the 2015 WRX has is something called Active Torque Vectoring. This basically will apply brake pressure under hard cornering to the inside front wheel to help the car rotate which helps keep the car feeling more neutral. This all helps give the WRX great balance and handling, keeping it very flat around corners. I wasn’t able to push it as hard as I would have liked due to the fact that this car was fitted with winter sport tires, so you could feel the limitations of the tires under hard cornering, but you could tell that the car had a lot more to show you.

With the previous generation WRX, Subaru had tamed the suspension down a little, making it a little more compliant, which sacrificed some of the handling characteristics that you expect from an AWD sports sedan. For this generation, they concentrated on making the WRX more on target with its rival, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the way the new WRX handles, but those looking for the older generation’s slightly more cushy ride will be disappointed. The ride is stiff. However, the faster you go, the more comfortable it gets. Around town, if you live in areas riddled with potholes and uneven surfaces, your back will hate you, as well as probably your passengers. If there are multiple undulations in the road, the ride does get a little bouncy, but never uncontrollable.

Now, onto the engine. An all-new 2.0l direct injected boxer four has been developed for this generation, which harkens back to Subaru’s WRC days, as well as the introduction of the WRX to the U.S. shores, but boy is it a much different engine. The new 2.0l engine doesn’t have much more horsepower than the outgoing 2.5l engine, but it gains 3 more horses putting it up to 268. Torque is also up to 258lb-ft. The direct injected engine gives much better mid-range torque giving all 258lb-ft starting at 2000RPM and continuing right up to 5200RPM, but what it gains in mid-range torque it loses up top in the upper range of the RPMs. Not many people will be racing around town higher than 5200RPMs, but it’s a noticeable drop in power once you pass that point, especially if you’re used to the extra oomph of the larger displaced 2.5l engine, but that’s nothing perhaps a little aftermarket tuning could cure. Throttle response is very good, perhaps a teensy bit touchy, but overall perfect for having some fun.

Subaru has never been known for their luxurious interiors, and the new WRX still won’t be known for that, but one thing Subaru does get right is functionality. Compared to the last generation WRX the interior is a huge step up. There are nice soft touches all around, and the plastic bits don’t feel overly cheap. The layout of all the controls are easy to use, and all within reach. The faux carbon fiber on the dash isn’t terrible, but it would have been nice if it was either real, or perhaps be given the option to have it as a brushed aluminum look as well. The seats were very comfortable, while still offering good support and side bolstering for sporty driving.

I hope you enjoy the sounds of the engine, because the stock stereo is terrible, one thing that Subaru has never really been great at. Although they do offer a Harmon Kardon option, which I would certainly recommend if you want to have a somewhat decent stereo. The only other gripes I had was the lack of some of the more convenient features like automatic door locks, as well as an auto up/down function on all the windows, and not just the driver’s. These are two things that I feel should really be standard equipment on cars in this price range.

The exterior is going to leave you loving it, or hating it. I personally think it looks great. The lines are nice, the front end looks aggressive, and while the wide-body looks subtle, it gives it a nice hulking look to it. Sure, many people will say the front looks like the current EVO, but is that a bad thing? I think the front end of the EVO looks fantastically mean, but the Subaru pulls it off a little softer, and a little more elegantly. But those stock wheels! Not sure what Subaru was thinking with that one, but it’s easily curable now that the WRX and STI share the same bolt pattern, so wheel swaps are easily doable now.

Is the new WRX the best WRX ever? The short answer is yes. The long answer, is also yes, yes it is. The new WRX picks up where the old WRX left off, and makes it nearly the perfect car for fun that money can buy, the only thing that could make it better would be to add a fifth door.

While you wouldn’t call the Mazda3 as mainstream as say a Honda Civic or a Toyota Corolla, it is definitely a car that should be strongly considered when looking at the compact car segment. Why, you ask? There are plenty reasons why. The first being, its not so mainstream, every other car on the road you see isn’t going to be what you’re driving. The second is because of the interior. I recently drove the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 and I’d have to say the interior of that is very comparable to the Mazda3′s interior. You could say that that’s saying a lot for the Mazda, or speaking very lowly of the Mercedes, but I assure you that it’s not an insult for either.
To say that this new Mazda3 is good would be an understatement. The Mazda3 is very good. So good in fact, that I had to try really hard to find something I didn’t like about it. Those items would be: the small tachometer, the out of place and slightly cheap feeling nav unit, and lack of power. That’s it! Thats all I was able to find I didn’t “like” about it, and that was me really being nit-picky.

So let’s tackle those issues.

1. Small tachometer
Its a compact car, so space is limited, so I can understand the need for smaller instrumentation. On the automatic version, however, the tachometer is front and center, which I think should be the other way around. If you’re driving a manual, you’ll pay more attention to your revs more than if you were driving an automatic, so naturally you don’t want to strain too much to see where you are. Given the layout for both setups are clean and look nice, this is something I think could be fixed in future releases. With that said, it’s most definitely not a deal breaker.

2. Nav/Infotainment Screen
While the quality of the screen is very nice, it feels as if it was just slapped on there. It’s almost like after they designed the dash, someone said, “Oh crap, we forgot to make space for a nav/infotainment center! Let’s just throw this screen on top of the dash.” It feels kind of sturdy up there, but I’d be scared some random dashboard cleaner at the local car wash would be overzealous with wiping the dash down and break it off. But the crispness of the screen makes you forget all about that.

3. Power
The model I drove had Mazda’s 2.0L Skyactiv-G engine with 155hp, not your most powerful option. You could opt for the 184hp 2.5L engine, but then you’d be unable to row your own gears. The standard engine felt peppy, but it had nowhere near the pep that the previous engine had, which was disappointing. On the upside, it boasts a proud 40mpg on the highway, which is impressive for such a fun car. While you won’t be winning any stoplight drag races with it, the Mazda3 is a very fun car to drive quickly, so again, this is not a deal breaker.

So what does the Mazda3 do well? Pretty much everything else. The ride is firm, but comfortable, making it fun around town, and compliant on the highway. The interior is very nice as I said, with many qualities that point to a much higher class of vehicles. All soft touches are of high quality, and most plastics don’t feel cheap like some others in this segment. Seats are very supportive, and comfortable. It was very easy to find a comfortable seating position, and even though it’t in the compact class, the rear seats had a decent amount of legroom to fit a couple of adults fairly comfortably.

So, the Mazda3. A perfect choice for those who don’t want to buy an appliance. A car for someone looking for something different, fun, and honestly, a step above the other options out there. So the next time you’re out car shopping for a compact car to scoot around town, put the 2014 Mazda3 at the top of that list.

The Corvette is an American icon. When it first appeared in 1953 as a show car, it was met with so much enthusiasm that GM decided to make it into a production model, and it came out later that year. Seven generations later, and it’s still in production, and still loved as much as back then. While many will argue which is the best Vette ever made, I’d have to say without having ever driven another version besides the Corvette C6 ZR1, this is a great American sports car, hell, maybe even an American super car.

While it’s no Ferrari or Lamborghini, the C7 Corvette is well on it’s way to being a contender for bang for your buck. For a cool $51,000 you can be sitting in one. What does that $51,000 get you? I’m glad you asked.

You’re no longer looking at cheap, recycled parts, the same steering wheel as a Chevrolet Malibu, or decent performance. No, you’re looking at a very well crafted machine, filled with luxurious touches, and great overall performance. Looking over this car, GM took in every detail, from the soft touch leather dashboard, to the knobs that control the climate controls, everything feels well thought out, and well executed. The digital gauges add a very nice touch of the future to the cabin, but don’t worry, you still have some analog gauges there as well to even it all out. The seats are very comfortable as well. It didn’t take much to find a comfortable seating position, and while you’re pretty low to the ground, it didn’t feel like it.

Previous years exterior designs were never as controversial as this one. Some may think its too aggressive looking, but I think it looks just right. It has enough aggressiveness to have people take a double take when passing by, which is what the Corvette needed. Yeah, you see Corvettes a lot more than you’ll see Ferrari’s, which is partially the reason why previous generations get overlooked easily. But this one, you need to take a look at again, just to be like, “Wait, this is a Corvette? An American car company built something so exotic looking?” And exotic it is. Over the course of the 16 hours I had this car I had people stopping me, asking me questions about it, heck, some people were even pulling u-turns as the drove by just to get out and look the car over as it was parked on the side of the road.

Now, the performance parts. How can you go wrong with a 6.2 liter V8 pushing out 455 horsepower, 460 if you opt for the performance exhaust as in the car I had. Transmission choices are either a 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters, or a true enthusiasts transmission of a manual 7-speed with active rev-matching. Yes, thats correct, a 7-speed manual in a Corvette. While I’ll say that the 7-speed manual transmission in this car is pretty good, it did feel a tiny bit clunky, and many times I would find it hard to find the gear I was looking for. Trying to get from 2nd into 3rd I’d sometimes end up in 5th, and trying to go from 4th to 5th I’d sometimes end up in 7th, but most of the time, I’d end up somewhere in between. I’m sure with some more time in the car it would all become second nature to me, but it would take some time.

In the center of the car you will find a dial. On that dial you have some options. Weather, Eco, Tour, Sport, and Track. I kept it mainly in 2 modes, Tour and Sport. Tour mode is what I’d like to call your everyday mode. It’s comfortable, smooth, and just overall very pleasant. The exhaust isn’t too loud, unless you really get on it, the ride is very compliant and easy on the hind quarters. This is the kind of mode you use driving around your community neighborhood at the early hours, or if you’re on long road trip.

My favorite mode, however, was Sport. This gave the suspension a more aggressive feel, a little more jarring, but not unbearable. It also tightened up the steering feel and made the exhaust much more pronounced. This is the mode you’d drive in when you want to hear the roar of that LS3 engine, and when you want everyone else to hear it too.

No matter which mode you’re in, planting your foot into the floor will always give you a nice rush. Plant it hard enough and that back end likes to come loose like a wet noodle. Before you know it you’re hitting 60mph, which is claimed to be around 3.8 seconds. Keep that throttle pegged, and you hit triple digits in no time. The engine just begs to keep going, and hearing the noises that it’s emitting makes it very hard to pull that right foot back. But alas, unless you’re on a track you shouldn’t be hitting those speeds, but it sure is fun trying to get up there.

So is this new Corvette a true super car. Of course not. But it’s pretty damn close for what you’re paying for.

When I was a little boy, I remember thinking to myself, “Gee, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could shrink down in size so I could fit inside my Hot Wheels cars so I could drive them around and do the loop!” Well, since that is pretty much impossible, Chevrolet and Hot Wheels teamed up to bring us something us adults can actually fit into. For many, this is a dream come true, for others, its just another way to make some money from some suckers. While at first I was a little skeptical of this appearance only package upgrade, after driving around for a day, it brought me back to my childhood days. Now, you can get the package on any version of the Camaro, but if you want to have the most fun, I’d advise you to get it on the SS. For some pretext, I drove the original 2010 Camaro SS when it first reappeared back in 2009.
While it was a vast improvement over the previous generation of Camaro, I felt a bunch of things lacking. The steering felt numb, the shifter was clunky, and you just felt generally unconnected to the ground and the car. While the car was plenty quick, I got bored of driving it just as quickly. It just didn’t feel like a driver’s car.

Fast forward to 2013, and with the addition of some new updated parts, I can say that the steering feel, shifter feel, and connectedness on this 2013 Hot Wheels Edition Camaro SS is much better. Overall feel for the road has increased, as well as responsiveness. Rather than feeling like I was just floating on the road, I can feel what lies beneath, and can get a better connection to the car. A nice added feature to 2013 is the dual-mode exhaust, which basically lets the Camaro be nice and quiet, until you really get on the gas, and what a wonderful sound does that make! It’s no wonder why people get into so much trouble in these types of cars, it begs to be opened up, and listened to.

One must be careful, however, as the rear end likes to break loose with any kind of overzealous right foot, even with traction control on. But if you want to leave a nice double solid black line, traction control can be defeated, and the burning of rubber can commence.

Now back to the dream as a kid driving a Hot Wheels car. Being in this car, and seeing the kind of attention it got surely felt good. The Kinetic Blue Metallic paint when properly polished up looks beautiful, and while its not Spectraflame, it sure does get the job done of standing out. This Hot Wheels car has their logo emblazoned all over the car. There are embroidered seats, aluminum door sills, and emblems everywhere to let you, and everyone else around you, know that you’re driving around in a Hot Wheels branded car. To make it even more complete, they gave this edition a nice classic Hot Wheels feature, Redline wheels, albeit subtle Redlines, that really only true Hot Wheels fans will notice and appreciate. Oh, and there’s one more thing, Hot Wheels even put into production a 1/64th scale mainline diecast car replicating the real life sized Hot Wheels Camaro, which you see in the photos.

So, is this a car for the masses? No. Will it appeal to everyone? No. Would I buy one with my own money? Sure, if I had plenty of it. It could be a great heirloom to pass onto future generations of Hot Wheels collectors. But beyond that special feeling that you are driving a true to life Hot Wheels, this is nothing more than a gussied up Camaro, which I’m sure one day, maybe, will become a collectible.