MotorMouths

Gripes? Beyond the tippy, ponderous cornering feel and the Lexus IS 250C’s less-than-breathtaking get-up-and-go, not much.
On the other hand, most everything else about it was a delight.

Brakes feel responsive enough. Steering is firm.Styling, ugly in photos, is better in real life. All-in, the GS 350 is a strong start toward an admirable goal. Where you get cheated is space.

In addition to the sweet outside appearance, Evoque has such a classy, comfy interior that the vehicle almost could have square wheels and a steam engine, and you wouldn’t care. And the four-cylinder has enough beans to move the grin meter.

For its good looks, thoughtful packaging, above-average drivetrain, we’d love to give Sportage a hearty recommendation. For its nearly intolerable ride, seats and steering, we’ll do no such thing.

The Kia Soul gets drivetrain updates for 2012 and a few filigrees that make it more desirable without compromising its funky appeal or the plain, old usefulness of a car shaped like a box.

The 2011 Kia Sorento has grown into a credible contender. There were no oversights or flaws in the testers, and they had a classy look and feel. Whether you’d pick it depends mostly on whether you prefer Kia’s theme of stiffness and its starting-price edge.

Distinction is often what sells a car, but the 2012 Kia Rio sedan is endearing among small cars because it lacks distinction — the negative kind that hobbles most subcompacts. Rio’s main virtue is absence of vice; it lacks those unpleasant signals of cheapness.

The 2012 Wrangler’s new drivetrain and the suspension changes that accompany it make it a Jeep to savor. Not only can you still do hardcore Jeep things — slam around off-road, take off the doors and the top, fold down the windshield — but now you also can take it home to meet the family.

As a foul-weather appliance, the Jeep Patriot served quite well. As a solid entry in the very competitive small SUV segment, it seems subpar, even after the three years of changes.

The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is bigger, more powerful, more fuel-efficient and lower-priced than the 2010 model it shoulders deftly aside.

If you need the size, can afford $60,000 or so and a big premium-fuel appetite (midteens with prayer), can live with the quirky steering and (possibly) numb brakes and like a distinctive, often satisfying machine, you might be a match for the new QX56.

The M35h’s fuel-economy benefit doesn’t seem worth the price premium, the odd-feeling regenerative brakes and the palpable shudders when the gas engine restarted to add power whenever the electric motor summoned the cavalry.