First drives of Consumer Reports’ latest vehicle purchases

At Consumer Reports we buy, anonymously, all the cars we test, about 80 per year, and put thousands of miles on each of them. So, we are constantly at dealerships buying new vehicles to put through our exhaustive test program consisting of more than 50 tests. As vehicles start the evaluation process, we share our initial, raw impressions through the "Logbook" posts on this blog. When vehicles start the test process, we provide initial First Drive reports on popular models before their road tests are completed.

The most recent First Drives include the Dodge Challenger, Ford Fusion and Fusion hybrid, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Nissan Cube, Nissan 370Z, and Volvo XC60. The full tests of all these vehicles will be published in the coming months.

Dodge Challenger: The classic muscle car is reborn into a powerful cruiser, but faces stiff competition from the revived Chevrolet Camaro and freshened Ford Mustang. Read the complete First drive.

Ford Fusion/Fusion hybrid: The Fusion is well-rounded and enjoyable to drive and is now fully competitive with the best family sedans. Read the complete First Drive.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe: This new coupe is eye-catching and generously equipped with an affordable sticker price, but the manual transmission is not up to par. Read the complete First Drive.

Nissan Cube: This boxy wagon has abundant interior room and great fuel economy for a low price. Read the complete First Drive.

Nissan 370Z: The Z is a true sports car with precise handling and fun-to-drive appeal, but the ride is stiff and road noise loud. Read the complete First Drive.

Volvo XC60: The XC60 luxury SUV is a pleasant vehicle, which showcases the latest safety advances, but it’s not as exciting to drive as it’s competitors. Read the complete First Drive.

We add new First Drives to ConsumerReports.org on a regular basis. These can be found on our First Drives hub linked on the main Cars page and secondary New Cars page. First looks can also be found in the model overview pages (available to online subscribers) until they are replaced with a final road test.

--Liza Barth

Comments

[coolcar]

Will CR eventually test the current-generation Audi TT? It's been out for over a year now...

[GVGiant]

Although they just released a test of small cars within the last few months, I'm wondering if they have tests planned updating popular small cars like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, and adding the new Kia Forte.

I must say, my first impression of the Kia Forte is as good as anything I've seen. This has the possibility of being one seriously good automobile of any size. The SX may test out as well as any small car, and if CR takes fuel economy seriously (and they do) the EX with the new "fuel economy package" needs to be looked at as well.

[david]

Coolcar...if you think a year is long to test the Audi TT, how about the Porsche Cayman S? It's been out for 4 years now. I am hoping for a Cayman S with PDK and a M3 with DCT test.

[coolcar]

GVGiant: CR already tested the Corolla in 2008, and there have been no notabe changes to require a re-test. Changes to the Honda Civic are mainly cosmetic, but Honda added standard ESC. I wonder if this will be enough for CR to re-test it... :)