Review: 2014 Chevrolet Malibu

Integrity is hard to find in the dating scene. While many girls use it sparingly to accent what's already there, a growing number put on so many tons of makeup that even their mothers can't recognize them when they go out – which may have been the point, come to think of it.

Anyway, many guys pursue these girls having no idea that their apparent beauty is an iron mask. By the time it comes off, irrevocable promises have already been made. So these guys feel cheated – and the use of makeup is ruined for everyone...

It's the same with cars.

Review: 2014 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited

Ever shopped for an electric toothbrush? It sways you with the idea of better cleaning than a regular one. But while you're already getting an electric toothbrush, you might as well get one with a timer. Or the one with three different types of cleaning heads. Or one that also shoots mouthwash between your molars.

Pretty soon, you get the feeling that those $230 could have been better spent on something else...

Let me come back to that.

Review: 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo

The first-ever FIFA World Cup happened in 1930. Having then been in existence for 67 years, it was about time for football to have an organized international competition...

The country I'm from has been playing football for most of the sport's existence. So when word about the Cup got out, it wasn't a question of if we were going – it was a question of organizing ourselves. Ultimately, our final placement (fourth) was eclipsed by the legendary events that led to it.

Like all other 'football nations', we've since developed a dedicated fan-base for whom the world stops when a match is on.

DfTC – The Event Itself

To what extent does technology help drivers get out of trouble? In short, it helps a lot.

All-wheel drive and various control systems made us forget, for instance, that the X5 was an SUV while we threw it around corners. Better yet, they made us forget we were driving in horrible weather in the first place!

Just think about that for a second. That's like saying you can skydive without a parachute and not die on landing.

But that's only true to a certain degree...

DfTC – 2014 BMW 435i xDrive

Having done a couple laps with the 428i and (regular) 435i, you prepare to take the next car 'round the second track for all it's worth: the 435i M Sport, the one with the magic suspension...

Hammer down through the slalom, taking each turn faster as you go. By about turn three or four, the back end of the car already starts to lead the direction of travel – despite the all-wheel drive – squishing a cone or four in the process. Not to worry though: to keep the correct side facing forward, all you have to do is lift off and the car finds traction.

Just as you're about to enter the brief straight you notice that, because of a giant puddle and an errant cone from somebody's previous run, you're not sure if its entrance lies through the giant puddle or right next to it...

You flip a mental coin and end up in the right place.

So down the straight you go, into a 90-degree turn and...BOOM! You're blind!

DfTC – 2014 BMW X5 xDrive35i

As always, a professional driver briefs our group on the point of our impending adventure. "Push the car until you feel it just slightly start to understeer and then let the systems do their thing," he says.

Alrighty then.

So you head out for your first run in the X5 M Sport. To say that this truck is confidence-inspiring is an understatement, despite both being in a lake and being an SUV.

Having gradually built up some very nice speed in the slalom, you charge the roundabout only having lifted off – no brakes applied.

The X5 seems to be holding on as you steer it through...