LOS ANGELES — By early summer the all-new 2016 Volvo XC90 will be rolling into a showroom near you. Volvo is referring to the next generation XC90 as “all new” because almost nothing but its name has been carried over from the 2014 version. Some might take issue with the term all new, as opposed to “totally redesigned,” but Volvo makes a pretty convincing argument for this choice.

INDIANAPOLIS — Honda found out the hard way that just because it put a fancy suit and snooty logo on the working-class Civic didn’t make a luxury car.  We’re talking about the ILX, which shares architecture and assembly space with the venerable compact Honda.  Early ILXs were noisy, rode harsh, and weren’t up to their price.  In fact, many felt the Civic Si was a better all-around car for less coin.  For 2016, the ILX trades sass for substance.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — We ran into real world winter weather conditions while here to test drive the new 2016 Kia Sorento. Wind gusts were up to 50 mph and sometimes more, precipitation varied between rain and sleet, and heavy snow was expected that night. We felt some relief when we were told that Kia had brought all-wheel-drive versions of the Sorento utility vehicle. Front-wheel-drive versions are available.