On The Road

Having just driven the fabled – but previously unknown on these shores – 2018 Audi RS3, we now know what all the fuss is about. This is the best small sports sedan selling for under $75,000 that we’ve driven recently, and easily bests the comparable models from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar.

Courtesy of Audi
The Audi RS3 features a turbocharged 2.5-liter 5-cylinder engine that pushes 400 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque.

Coincidentally, in a report last month about the vehicles Saudi women are buying now that they can legally drive for the first time, we heard that one of the favored models is the RS3, which already has a reputation for being a drag-racing and drifting “bad boy” car favored by young Saudi men.

The interesting thing about automotive repair is that there are so many moving parts, and we can’t always assume that common trends or problems will manifest themselves in the same way.
Just take the 2002 Subaru Forester L we recently worked on. The owner of the vehicle, which has logged 103,027 miles, brought it to the shop because the check-engine light came on.

I recently took the second part of the League of American Bicyclists Smart Cycling training program. 

I’d like to thank not only the Valley Transportation Authority for making it available, but also the reader who asked me to address training, which incentivized me to take the course.

The course is a prerequisite for becoming a LAB Certified Instructor, which I plan to do later this summer.

After giving a positive review last month to a VW Golf compact station wagon selling for approximately $27,000, a friend who prefers to sit higher in today’s traffic asked about comparably priced compact SUVs.

courtesy of Volkswagen
The new Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen comes with a 6-speed manual transmission. The car gets 31 mpg on the highway.

The 2018 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen with all-wheel drive and 6-speed manual transmission may be the most practical vehicle that you’re unlikely to spot on the SUV-friendly streets of Los Altos.

With a total sticker price of under $25,000, it is one of the least-expensive cars we’ve driven this year, but it includes all the necessary safety features – such as stability control and a back-up camera – of any new car on the road.

We’ve endured some really hot days lately, which makes me appreciate air conditioning that much more.