Regular Car Reviews

Today we drive Mercedes at it's absolute peak: The R129 SL500. This was an impossible car for normal people to afford in 1995, but now most of us can feel what true luxury feels like. This car still feels new today!

The 2009 Kia Borrego EX is the perfect car released at the worst possible time, and we need to talk about it. A body‑on‑frame SUV dropped smack dab into the salted earth of the late 2000s economy. It was luxury geometry meeting old school capability, yet it vanished after just one year, and lives on today as a bizarre time capsule of the 2000s: a time period where optimism and despair had regular sleepovers. The Kia Borrego EX may not have been right for 2009, but it’s perfect for this week’s Regular Car Reviews. We’ll give you an in-depth analysis, critique, and a test drive of the rare SUV that’s as fascinating as it was forgettable.

Say hello to The Toyota Starlet GT: A turbocharged hot hatch that bring hope In Mean Times(tm). For all the slop out there, and in a sea of boring blob cars... there lies this 1995 Starlet, bringing joy to those who drive it and smiles to those who see it pass buy.

The 1998 Volvo S70 GLT should be dead. It’s nearly 30 years old, has almost 280,000 miles, is missing a cylinder, leaks oil like state secrets, and sounds like it’s one cold start away from an overdue grave. And yet it just passed inspection. In this episode of Race to the Bottom, my ongoing search for the worst car in the world lands on the 1998 Volvo S70 GLT, the most confusing car I’ve ever driven. A bafflingly brilliant highway cruiser that’s as frustrating as it is fun, and as baffling as it is brilliant. I’ll talk about sunk-cost ownership, the inherent value of pre-2000s Volvo, and why some vehicles refuse to die even when logic says they should. The S70 GLT represents the end of an era, but the survival of something that deserves to still be here, warts and all.

The 2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK430 arrived during the Daimler-Chrysler “merger of equals,” when Mercedes thought Chrysler would help them understand the American market. But, as it turns out, Mercedes didn’t need Chrysler in the first place. In this week’s episode of Regular Car Reviews, we’ll talk about the luxury car that catfished America, because while the CLK430 wasn’t an E-Class, it sure looked like one. Powered by a real Mercedes V8 and built on familiar Mercedes hardware, the CLK430 succeeded not because of Chrysler’s presence, but because of their complete lack of participation in any aspect of its creation. Let’s talk about 2000s luxury, merger-era weirdness, and the last gasp of Mercedes acting on instinct instead of focus groups.

On this week’s Regular Car Reviews, I’ll drive the 2022 BMW M4 6MT, a German Mustang for entitled snobs and privileged rich kids. This is the kind of car you get when you have something to prove, but you’re offended by the suggestion that you have something to prove. The BMW M4 doesn’t just reinforce privilege and wealth, it validates why people hate BMW drivers. But are people judging BMW drivers too harshly? Is the BMW M4 more than just a European S550 Mustang? Join us for a test drive, a deep dive, and a critique of this aggressive model of German engineering.

This week on Regular Car Reviews, we take a look at the 2018 Honda Clarity Touring PHEV, the plug-in hybrid EV that asks you to STOP CARING about how a car drives. This is the first Clarity we've ever had on RCR, and it's the latest entrant in the Race to the Bottom, as we try to figure out why this didn't catch on, how it could have been the perfect bridge between EVs and internal combustion, and which aspects make this a car worth buying, and what potentially makes this worth ignoring entirely! Should you go out of your way to buy this California compliance car? Or did Honda miss the mark?

It's time to give up on the Mustang. Because what is there left to say, really? The 1998 Ford Mustang upholds the legacy of an American icon, but doesn't contribute anything new to the conversation, even as it offered something unique in its own time period as part of the SN95 generation. How does this Mustang make American muscle accessible, and how did it attempt to reinvent the pony car for a new generation? This is a special bonus episode of Race to the Bottom, featuring what just might be Roman's final Mustang review ever.

This week on Regular Car Reviews, Brian drives the 1995 Mercury Villager GS, the arch-nemesis of the Dodge Caravan, and a glorified time capsule on wheels! Believe it or not, this is the first Mercury Villager that has ever been featured on RCR, and this collaboration between Ford and Nissan just might be the ultimate 90s minivan. But is it actually a good car? Or is this just reheating the Dodge Caravan’s nachos?

This week on Regular Car Reviews, we go fully corporate with the 2015 Acura RDX, which is basically just a Honda CR-V that went to business school. It’s the first RDX ever featured on RCR, and it’s equipped with the Honda J-Series engine! But can one of Honda’s best powertrains elevate this beyond past Corporate Crowd-Pleaser level? Is this something YOU should go out of your way to buy? Or is it just Business Basic?

Say hello to the expensive Toyota Prius--The Lexus CT200h. It also was not made for Americans. The CT200h was made for Japan, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. This is a small hatchback hybrid that run on the Prius drive line. It look sporty and in the USA they tried to sell more of them by offering an F-Sport Package, but that was an appearance package, nothing more.

On this week’s Regular Car Reviews, we drive one of the biggest surprises of 2026 so far, the 2025 Subaru CrossTrek Premium! This Forester-meets-Impreza has a lot more to offer than you’d think just by looking at it, and we’ll talk about all of the weird engineering decisions Subaru made, as well as the reason the CrossTrek deserves a better reputation than it has.

This week on Regular Car Reviews, the 1996 Mercedes-Benz S420 makes the case for being the best Mercedes ever made! But is it almost TOO good? We’ll go over the history of the disastrous W140 production cycle, why it took over a decade to release, why the chief designer quit, how much it cost compared to its competitors, and whether it was really worth the wait.

This week on Regular Car Reviews, Brian drives the 1991 Cadillac Brougham, one of the last big, traditional, body-on-frame American luxury sedans of its era! It’s from a time when Cadillac was aiming to bring the pre-Oil Crisis 70s vibes and the Malaise Era luxury of the 80s into a decade that was changing too fast for the brand to keep pace. But is this Cadillac Brougham the most 90s luxury car we’ve ever had on RCR, or is it just a glorified land yacht from the Reagan era? Or could it be something else entirely?

I finally ride a Honda Pacific Coast PC800 motorcycle, and now I have to measure every motorcycle against this beautiful machine!

Regular Car Reviews finally drive the 2025 Tesla Cybertruck! The Cybertruck is one of the most polarizing vehicles ever made: part electric pickup, part luxury status symbol, part rolling internet rage bait. This is easily the most controversial vehicle ever featured on RCR, but is it actually as bad as it seems? We’ll talk about Elon Musk’s magnum opus, and why the Cybertruck design, visibility, ergonomics, driving feel, and proportions set this apart from other EV trucks. Is the Cybertruck actually useful, or is it just the world’s most expensive meme? Join us for some brutally honest Tesla criticism, EV truck analysis, and a full scorched-earth teardown of the most talked-about electric truck on the road today.

We drive the undeniable Ford Focus RS. When this car came out in 2016, there was nothing like it, and even today in 2026, there still isn't anything like this. It's the one modern car that feels dangerous. This is something that came right out of the factory and legit wants to put you in dangerous situations.

The 2025 Subaru Impreza is practical, affordable, all-wheel-drive, and an endlessly defensible purchase. But is it worth the cost of sacrificing any kind of passion, personality, or anything remotely resembling real automotive enthusiasm? In this week’s Regular Car Reviews, the latest generation Impreza enters the Race to the Bottom, as I explore why Subaru’s entry-level hatchback is the ultimate step-dad car. This promises comfort, safety, fuel economy, and real world practicality, but for all its dependable stability, it’s also weirdly desperate for acceptance. Is the 2025 Impreza a smart buy, or just another family car for the post-desire economy?

Hello New Toyota Prius. You got yourself a Glow Up didn't you? You don't look half bad, but are you really an improvement? Regular Car Reviews finally drive the 2025 Toyota Prius Prime! The Prius is one of the most defended vehicles ever made, because it’s one of the most criticized cars in automotive history. In its first generation, it represented a weird future. But today, it’s a symbol of a future that’s already arrived, an anti-Tesla where appearances matter less than affordability, consistency, efficiency, and the ability to go about your day without being noticed. But is this really, as Toyota describes it, the Hybrid Reborn? Or is this hybrid business as usual? We’ll talk about the evolution of the Toyota Prius through the years, whether or not this latest glow-up actually helps the Prius, and why competence might just be the new excellence. Join us for a fair, honest, and in-depth critique of one of the most divisive hybrid cars on the market today.

This week on Regular Car Reviews, the 2008 Toyota Tacoma 2WD Manual takes us back to a simpler time. No oversized ego, no lifestyle cosplay, hardly any actual features, and a fairly plain aesthetic by modern standards all add up to give us the kind of pickup truck that makes modern trucks feel ridiculous. It’s not the prettiest truck, the fastest truck, or the most capable Tacoma ever built, but it still holds value better than most of its contemporaries. But do any of these things actually mean it’s a GOOD truck? Is it still useful in 2026, or is this simply a truck for nostalgic sentimentality? It’s been a while since we’ve had trucks on RCR, so join us for an in-depth review and critique of one of the most important trucks of its generation.

This week on Regular Car Reviews, it’s one of the most unique JDM vehicles we’ve ever reviewed: the 2000 Nissan Paramedic. This JDM ambulance has retired from service as a Japanese rescue vehicle, and has made its way stateside thanks to RCR legend Tony Airlines! Based on the E50 Nissan Elgrand, powered by a 3.3-liter VG33E V6, and built by Autech for emergency medical service, the Paramedic is a heavy, thirsty, underpowered, and overloaded hero van that’s far from your standard JDM import. It’s a vehicle built for the worst day of someone’s life, and somehow that makes it one of the most meaningful cars we’ve ever reviewed. But how is the actual driving experience for this 26-year-old Nissan Paramedic? Is there more here than the novelty of a JDM ambulance?

I have a new favorite car, and it’s the 1987 Merkur XR4Ti! On this episode of Regular Car Reviews, Ford’s unexpected luxury gem enters the Race to the Bottom, only to find itself aiming for a spot in my Top 5. Based on the Ford Sierra and masterminded by automotive genius Bob Lutz, the Merkur XR4Ti is one of the most ambitious cars of the 1980s, as it tried to launch an entirely new European-style American luxury brand. It was a good idea and an even better car to launch it with…so what went wrong? What’s the story behind this gloriously absurd, turbocharged, manual transmission American luxury car built by Germans and sold in Lincoln-Mercury dealerships that had no clue how to sell them? What’s with this weird design geometry? And how does this German hot hatch handle all that turbocharged power? Let’s get this show on the road!

The 1998 Dodge Viper GTS is one of the loudest, dumbest, smartest, most dangerous American performance cars ever built, and on this week’s episode of Regular Car Reviews, we’re going all-out. This 450 horsepower monster gives you an 8.0-liter V10, a 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive, and no help whatsoever. Forget driver assistance, you don’t even get traction control, stability control, or ABS. But could the second-generation Viper GTS ever exist today? Or could it only exist in an era before Chrysler lost touch with American car culture? We’ll talk about its ridiculous proportions, its unhinged performance, its absolutely brutal fuel economy, and how this is the anti-Cybertruck. (I promise it’s not what you think)

This 2GR-swapped 1991 Toyota MR2 might be the most ambitious MR2 we’ve ever reviewed, and in this week’s Regular Car Reviews, we’ll explain why. This has anxious, 21-year-old energy with the workhorse, blue collar performance of one of the most durable engines Toyota ever made. But does this engine swap actually make this a better car? Or does it detract from all the things that make the MR2 special? Why even engine swap this in the first place?

It’s Regular Car Reviews vs. the 2025 Volvo V90 Cross Country Ultra! The V90 runs on the venerable B6 AWD powertrain, and delivers characteristically-dependable Swedish engineering. And it just might be the most boring rich guy car on the market. A comfortable $66,000 waste for owners who don’t understand the value of a dollar. But can a wagon with mild hybrid power, all-wheel-drive, a comfy cabin, and unchallenging design become the new object of desire for the wealthy? Or is the V90 Cross Country simply a car for people too wealthy to care what else their money could have bought?

On this episode of Regular Car Reviews, we drive a 2013 VW Golf R with an APR Stage 2 Tune. It's making about 350hp. When you tune VW's they get ANGRY! And this Golf R is no exception. The power comes on fast and then plateaus to redline. It's so usable. We also go into detail about how Peter Stormare helped shaped the perception of Performance VW's in North America.

The 1994 Chevrolet K1500 Silverado should be exactly the kind of old truck that reinforces my lifelong dream of being a truck guy: a GMT400 Chevy 4x4, a 6.5L turbo diesel, a rebuilt 4L80E transmission, a limited-slip rear differential, and the kind of mechanical simplicity that makes old pickups feel so much more honest than the tech-heavy stuff you see today. But bad news: this K1500 is legitimately one of the most unpleasant trucks I’ve ever driven. In fact, this truck made me sick. Literally. But can it make my Bottom 5? In this episode of Race to the Bottom, I’ll talk about the history of the iconic GMT400 Chevy truck platform, why I hate this truck despite loving the concept of it, and why I have a lot of admiration and respect for this truck in spite of how much I dislike it. I’m ready for the disagreements on this one. (Maybe)

The 2022 Ford Escape PHEV should be an easy win, in theory: it’s a practical plug-in hybrid SUV with good fuel economy, surprisingly robust EV range, and the versatility of a more traditional crossover. But despite the potential of its hybrid efficiency, modern tech, commuter-friendly practicality, and unproblematic design, this Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid is PAINFULLY mid. In this episode of Race to the Bottom, I’ll talk about the recalls, the build quality issues, the fuel economy, electric range, reliability concerns, and long-term ownership headaches, to find out why this hybrid SUV fails to deliver on the affordable, commuter-friendly practicality that SHOULD have made this a slam dunk for Ford. But can the 2022 Ford Escape PHEV make my Bottom 5? If you’re shopping for the best used hybrid SUV, researching Ford Escape hybrid reliability, wondering whether the Escape PHEV is worth buying, or just looking for a brutally honest take on one of the most aggressively average crossovers o

The Nissan Skyline R34 is one of the most desirable JDM cars ever built, but what happens when it isn't a GT-R? On this week’s Regular Car Reviews, we drive the rare 2000 Nissan Skyline R34 25GT sedan powered by the naturally aspirated RB25DE NEO inline-six and explore why this overlooked four-door might actually be the better option if you’re looking into R34 ownership. One of just 274 post-facelift, non-turbo sedan Skylines ever made, this is the car that proves that Nissan was once one of the world’s most exciting automakers. But can this JDM legend escape the shadow of the GT-R and import icons like the Mark IV Supra? Or is this simply a Japanese Mustang?

The 1968 Mercedes-Benz 280 is the official car of Old World Quality, but what happens when you swap it out for dot-com-era engineering? In this week’s Regular Car Reviews, we’ll drive this E55 AMG-swapped classic Mercedes, and explore how the 280S changed our perception of Mercedes-Benz quality, discuss how the W108 recontextualized luxury in a body that completely revolutionized automotive safety, and get into why this car was too perfect but too late. With a classic Benz body, modern AMG power, W210 E55 components, custom suspension work, and the soul of a highway warrior, this Mercedes 280 just might be the most ambitious build we’ve ever had on RCR. And it’s definitely worth the wait.

On this week’s episode of Regular Car Reviews, we drive the 2008 BMW 135i Convertible, the most normal BMW ever made. The E88 is that rare car that cares less about what it means to own a BMW and more concerned with what it means to drive one. This is a compact, turbocharged luxury car that represents two extremes: your first real taste of something nice, or the final taste of what you might be letting go. But how does the 135i compare to its contemporaries? How does the E88 bridge the gap between luxury and prestige? And how will this premium-badged, overgrown Matchbox car make your life better? It’s not Monday without RCR (or so we’ve been told), so get on in here.