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Volkswagen has finally given its Jetta sedan for North America the power, exclusivity, and extra sporting edge that some enthusiasts felt were missing from the package. The new 2020 Jetta GLI has addressed all those concerns and is now a model with enough brawn and sophistication to go head to head with all the sporty sedans in its size and price brackets. If you’re into fast driving, then you will be happy to note the new Jetta GLI gets the exact same engine as the (Golf) GTI, a standard limited-slip differential, and a snappy six-speed stick shift.

One of the new Jetta GLI’s main rivals is the2019 Honda Civic Si sedan, a very hard contender indeed. The Civic Si has a smaller displacement engine than the Jetta GLI, and has less power, but it is also quite a light car, one renowned for its excellent handling and road manners. It also looks somewhat sportier than the Jetta too, especially if you see its trunk lid-mounted wing, the center exhaust, and the aggressive overall design and stance.

If this were purely a visual comparison to discover which car looked more aggressive, that distinction would automatically go to the Civic Si. But it’s not all about the visuals, especially since the Jetta is more powerful than the Civic and it also has a more sophisticated independent rear suspension that VW doesn’t offer on any other Jetta model.

Not long ago we featured a Top Gear video showing presenter Chris Harris really enjoying himself among rows of ‘youngtimer’ classics bound for auction. Well, I tracked that specific auction down and picked my top 5 cars out of all 103 set to go under the hammer between April 11 - 12 at an RM Auctions event held during the Techno-Classica Essen 2019.

It really was hard to pick, because pretty much any of those cars could classify as a keeper. And, not only are they interesting and rare, but each and every car is in perfect condition - some of these cars will sell for well north of $100,000. Most models are from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, but some are also either older than that or from the early 2000s.

Only weeks after the official debut of the new 2020 Toyota Supra, the Japanese brand has released what could be considered a spiced up version of the same car - the Toyota Supra TRD Concept. Revealed at the Osaka Automesse, the GR Supra Performance Line TRD Concept is a looker, but I wonder do you find it as dashing as the Supra mk4 TRD 3000GT. Yup, that was a thing, and that particular Supra had the TRD developed body kit along with a number of other attachments. I will leave the comparison between the awesome Supra TRD 3000GT with the new Toyota Supra TRD concept for another day, but now, I’d like to explore and propose to you what the modern Toyota Racing Development team prepped for the latest Supra. I told you numerous times that I like the way the new car looks, but can the TRD Concept further sharpen my desire for it?

The 2019 Chicago Auto Show’s big debuts are all over and done with, and as we look back at all the new metal that rolled through the McCormick Place convention center this year, we find that some of ‘em nailed it, while others fell flatter than week-old cola. This piece is covering the latter - the lame, the boring, the “what were they thinking?” debuts that left us scratching our heads and furrowing our brows. Per usual, we wanna know what you thought were the worst of the worst, so post your picks in the comments section at the end of this article!

For an automaker, almost any excuse is an excuse good enough to roll out a special version of a model in the lineup. Be it the anniversary of the company itself or of that model, we’ve seen many dull models celebrate important landmarks, but here are 10 of the ones that weren’t boring nor easily forgettable.

The unveiling at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show of not one but two anniversary models, the Mazda Miata 30th-anniversary and the Volkswagen Jetta GLI 35th-anniversary, got me thinking and made me search for interesting anniversary models from the recent past. Here are ten most interesting from the 21st century - so don’t expect to see Lamborghini’s Diablo SE30 or the Subaru Impreza 22B to name but a few. Those deserve to have their story told another time.

Subaru has revealed an all-new seventh-generation 2020 Legacy sedan at the2019 Chicago auto show, but right off the bat it was criticized for playing it too safe with its design and styling. Some even say it looks nearly identical to the vehicle it’s meant to replace and while that is an overstatement, you really have to look at the fine details to be able to tell them apart.

And that’s what we’re going to do here, put the two models side by side and dissect their differences so that you don’t have to. Besides, Subaru has been doing this whole conservative, evolutionary design approach for most of the last decade now, but if you remember crazy cars like the SVX coupe from the company’s past (as well as the current BRZ), you know it wasn’t always so restrained.

In the press release that accompanied the reveal of the new model, Subaru mentioned it rides on the company’s new Subaru Global Platform it introduced in 2017, its new 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer with 260 horsepower, improved interior with extra tech and last but not least the car’s “bold design” that follows a “Dynamic x Solid” philosophy. But let’s see the two cars side by side first, then start judging them.

The Windy City looks like it’s starting to warm up a little bit now that the polar vortex has passed, and it’s good timing, because the 2019 Chicago Auto Show is bringing the heat with a full list of debuts. Per tradition, CAS will once again occupy the McCormick Place convention center with a variety of new trucks, crossovers, luxury rides, and muscle cars, and Top Speed will be on the scene to bring you all the big news as it happens.

Framed as the “largest” and “longest-running” auto show in the U.S., the Chicago Auto Show has been going strong since 1901, and this year, it will once again offer up roughly 1,000 vehicles for our collective admiration. We’ve listed the big names slated to show right here in this in-depth guide, plus we included all the info you need to know if you want to attend the show yourself.

The Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 returned after five years with more power than ever, a menacing body kit and, for the very first time, a race-spec rear wing. With more than 700 horsepower coming from a supercharged V-8, the Shelby GT500 is notably more powerful than its traditional rival, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. So which modern muscle car is good enough to compete with the 2020 Shelby GT500? I think it’s the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye, a car that FCA created to bridge the gap between the regular Hellcat and the drag-prepped Demon. Here’s how they compare.

Diesels have received an increasingly bad rep over the past decade. They’ve been shunned by some as too dirty to run, a view strengthened by all the climate change advocates throwing their arms in the air announcing our impending mass extinction by global warming. However, there are those (rare) people who still appreciate the good old compression-ignition engine and who will go to great lengths to retrofit a car they like with an oil burner to satisfy themselves.

On my quest to find the craziest diesel swaps that the internet has to offer, I’ve assembled this list of ten examples that are not only cool but also support the idea that a diesel swap is a valid swap... at least in my mind. Keep in mind that some of the swaps on the list are easier to achieve than others as they require an extensive reengineering of the vehicle.

In some cases, the (often bigger) new engine won’t fit where it intended to, and it either gets moved to the middle of the car or serious hacking of the engine bay and firewall need to take place. But once the work on one of these is done, it will not only be super fast (if you use a turbocharged diesel) but also frugal. And, if you tune it well (which you should), it won’t spew out that much sooty black smoke out the back (or the hood, side, or wherever you feel like re-routing the exhaust to).

On the River Thames, in the heart of London, and on the deck of a 105-meter ship known as St. Helena, Alejandro Agag, Formula E Founder and CEO, announced a new electric SUV race series called the Extreme E. This is a whole new motorsport project that will take electric race cars to the most remote places on Earth. Continental Tires, the Founding Partner of Extreme E, provides full support to the project and it will, naturally, supply tires for the electric race SUVs. The outline of the Extreme E race event includes up to 12 teams, with super powerful electric off-roaders that will travel the world on a former Royal Mail ship and race at the most lonesome and secluded destinations.

It is an epic global mission that will showcase electric SUVs and their off-road proves in racing format, and, even more importantly, raise awareness of climate change with equal gist. The transport ship St. Helena will be home to electric SUVs that are at the very frontier of what the automotive world can achieve. Apart from cars and tech, St. Helena’s quarters will host teams, engineers, and crew involved with the Extreme E project. This ship will basically transport racing enthusiasts and their beloved SUVs to the most awesome racing venues where they’ll have a ton of fun. Let that sink in a bit. No pun intended.

For that fact alone, I can only say that this is, ladies and gentlemen, “the biggest adventure of our time.” Those are the same exact words that Agag proudly chanted during the Extreme E introduction.

All of this is so overwhelming that I am left speechless. And, as if this weren’t enough, the experience will be available via digital streaming service. I mean. Perfect! This is #cargasm in making.

The sleek 2019 Mazda CX-9 SUV is one of the least-obvious rivals of the 2020 sixth-generation Explorer. The two models share nothing in terms of exterior design, and this affects the cabin as well. The Mazda is also only available with only one engine and one transmission, and you can only get it with either FWD or AWD. There’re a lot of options if you’re in the market for a three-row SUV and Ford should take into consideration all of its rivals if it wants to keep topping the sales charts with the latest Explorer. Sure, the Mazda CX-9 isn’t for the same kind of person as the Ford but, size wise, they play ball in the same league so here’s how the two stack up against one another.

The 2020 Toyota Supra made its highly anticipated debut at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show. While some were anxious to meet the BMW-based coupe, most die-hard enthusiasts weren’t pleased that the successor to the iconic fourth-gen Supra doesn’t have pure Japanese engineering. Now that all the commotion is over, it’s time to see how the Supra compares to its rivals. Now that the coupe is smaller, it’s well-suited to take on the Porsche 718 Cayman. Let’s find out if it stands a chance.

As one of the most anticipated Toyota vehicles in recent years, the newest 2019 Toyota RAV4 debuted as a completely redesigned model. With an all-new exterior, new modern-age interior, and more tech than ever, the new RAV4 managed to jump up the highest step in the imaginary hierarchy of the compact SUV segment in one swing. Safety was paramount for Toyota engineers, and the new RAV4 now has a full safety suit as standard. This includes features like automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and lane departure alert with steering assist. No other similar car has a safety suit as comprehensive as the one in the Toyota RAV4 in its standard form. Regardless of all the imaginable family-friendly features, the Toyota RAV4 somehow managed to stay cool with an appeal that never ends. Now, I’m going to give you 12 awesome facts about the new 2019 Toyota RAV4.