2009 Kia Borrego V8 4WD: Performance Fuel economy for the Borrego is compelling — it’s EPA-rated at a combined 19 miles per gallon, and during our testing period we observed an average of 18.7 mpg.

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Audi A4 3.2 Quattro The top three German carmakers have long battled it out for the biggest piece of the lucrative U.S. entry-level luxury sedan market. And historically, Audi‘s had the dubious honor of coming in last place. Although competitive in design, price and functionality (and even a forerunner when it comes to certain technologies), Audi‘s A4 has failed to see North American sales figures that meet those of competing models from BMW and Mercedes. Now, Audi is upping the ante in the hopes that its completely new A4 sedan will be the not-so-secret weapon that will help obliterate that gap.

Test Drive: 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid OK, so the Camry Hybrid isn’t a perfect substitute for a regular Camry. That battery pack had to go somewhere, and Toyota opted to put it above the rear axle, which necessitated some space-eating protuberances in the trunk. The rear seatbacks do fold down, which helps mitigate the compromised cargo volume (10.6 cubic feet versus 15 for the non-hybrid Camry). But if you plan to haul a lot of stuff in your hybrid, the Prius’ hatchback design and flat loading floor make it a far better pack mule. Even Nissan‘s Altima Hybrid, which shares Toyota‘s hybrid technology, sports a somewhat more usable trunk.

Audi A4 3.2 Quattro Audi‘s strategy? More. The 2009 Audi A4 is nearly 5 inches longer and 2 inches wider than the previous model. That size increase makes way for more headroom, more shoulder room and an additional 1.4 inches of rear knee room. Audi also claims the A4 has the biggest trunk in its class.

Lotus Elise SC: Comfort The 2008 Lotus Elise SC is also a physically demanding car to drive. It doesn’t have power steering, so the turning effort is very high (the wheel will feel so light in other cars, you’ll think they have a busted steering rack). And because the ride is so stiffly tuned, the Elise makes a poorly maintained street feel less like motoring and more like rodeo training. There’s also quite a bit of road noise when driving, but that’s somewhat expected in a car like this — and our car had the Touring Pack’s additional sound insulation. So between the suspension, the hard plastic seats and the roar of the road, sensitive or tender-fleshed drivers might walk away feeling rather beat up after a day of vigorous driving.

Test Drive: 2008 Audi TT Coupe 3.2 Quattro On the other hand, Audi‘s optional iPod interface was universally panned. Horribly outdated, it doesn’t display song info and treats the iPod as if it were a CD changer cartridge. The first five “CDs” represent the iPod’s first five playlists, while the sixth plays the first 99 songs in the entire library. Subsequently, we found ourselves listening to five Beatles playlists and a selection of songs from “Across the Universe” to “Blue Christmas.” There’s no regular auxiliary audio jack, and there’s only a single CD slot since the iPod interface replaces the standard six-CD changer.

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Ford Edge Limited
Comfort

The Edge’s cabin remains reasonably quiet at speed, and its supple ride over broken pavement is family-friendly. The leather-trimmed front seats provide excellent support on longer trips, though some of our drivers found the head restraints to be uncomfortably canted forward. Also, the front seats’ hybrid power/manual adjustments are hard to figure — power adjustments for the seatback angle and lumbar support would be welcome. The driving position is further marred by the absence of a dead pedal.

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Mazda MAZDA3 Design/Fit and Finish

Alas, the aforementioned refinement isn’t always in evidence throughout the 3′s cabin. The main offenders are the car’s storage bins, which are lined with removable strips of what looks like cheap Astroturf. The deep bin that lives in the car’s center stack feels unfinished, with a tangle of edges. We long for the smooth surfaces and upscale aesthetics offered by competitors like the Volkswagen Rabbit.

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BRIAN J STRASNICK: Lexus RX 400h: Design/Fit and Finish

As we said before, the RX 400h’s styling still looks fresh. We’re still not fans of the taillights that look like they’re embedded in tin foil, but we still appreciate the sporty, chiseled form. There’s a price to pay for the rakish roof line, however, as visibility to the rear quarters is compromised by the cheeky, canted D-pillars. We recommend springing for the optional back-up camera, which takes the anxiety out of parallel parking.
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