Despite meeting the Highlander on a rain-soaked Texas launch last year, and helping several people purchase or lease one in my full-time role of auto broker, last week was my first long-term exposure to the Highlander. First impressions confirmed: great engine and tranny combo: fast beyond its power rating, thrifty beyond the EPA’s. I saw an average of 22mpg in mixed usage, and frequently did 26mpg or better on highway runs, thanks to lots of little things like more efficient electric power steering. But this also creates the Highlander’s greatest dynamic shortcoming; not only is it artificial, it’s so vague it is hard to maintain an accurate path on the road at times. Aside from that, the ride/handling balance seems well resolved for family usage, and there’s always the Sport model for those who want something more overtly athletic. My own feeling of late is that Toyota is the most American car company there is these days. It sure seems better able to figure out what our fellow countrymen and -women want than the domestic players, if sales figures are anything to go by. But more than that, it nails the middle-of-the-road thing so well. ...

Six months after meeting the C30 on its launch in California, I was looking forward to a week with Volvo’s sexy little runabout. I’d loved that much of its design was inspired by the early 70’s 1800 ES ‘fastback’, and thought there’d be a niche for it amongst the other funky Euro players like the Audi A3 and Mini Cooper. In real-world usage, it proved indeed to be practical and pleasant. It would swallow four comfortably, and the glass hatch opened upon a truly commodious cargo area. The seats were Volvo-comfortable (if lacking in lateral support), and the prodigious torque of the warbling turbo five-cylinder was always appreciated. The manual tranny was much more rewarding to stir than that on the launch car driven last year, but the dumbed-down dynamics still frustrate. It’s not that the C30 doesn’t stick—it has large amounts of grip, and stays planted under duress. But the ride is brittle and lacks composure, and the steering seems over-servoed. Considering how sweetly its C1-platform mates, the Mazda 3 and (first-gen) Ford Focus, steer, ride, and handle, it’s a conundrum why the Volvo is so mediocre in these areas. Yet, as ...