Unveiling of a new midsize SUV, the 2019 Ascent, may be the key for continuing a hot sales pace of several years for Subaru in Colorado.

The new one has three rows of seats, will tow up to 5,000 pounds and is the largest vehicle ever built by the Japanese maker.

“The Ascent has drawn more interest than anything I remember with us,” said David Slone, general manager of Greeley Subaru. “Lots of Subaru Outback and Forester owners with growing families are eyeing it for its added roominess, and we’re getting showroom traffic from many who are driving competitive makes.”

The Ascent is 7 inches longer and 900 pounds heavier than the two-row Outback wagon, which has been Subaru’s “cash cow” for 20 years.

Performance for the new all-wheel-drive Ascent comes from a 2.4-liter, direct-injection and twin-scroll turbocharged, horizontally-opposed engine, which burns regular-grade fuel. The 260-horsepower boxer engine (277 lb.-ft. of torque) is mated to a continuously variable transmission, a fuel-saver not normally associated with heavy tow capacity. The Outback, with a slightly less-powerful boxer engine, has tow rating of only 2,700 pounds.

By switching the CVT into manual mode and using paddle shifters, which mimic a traditional 8-speed transmission, I got by just fine, though I did not attempt to tow with it. The transmission fairly quickly locked into a lower gear range, such as 4^th or 5^th, for more immediate response and steady power.

The Ascent puts Subaru into the midsize SUV/crossover mix with the new Volkswagen Atlas, Toyota Highlander, Kia Sorento, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Honda Pilot, Ford Explorer and several others.

Riding on a 113.8-inch wheelbase, the Ascent is trimmed with a bit of cladding, though not so dominant as with the Outback in its early years. Big wraparound taillights and a panoramic moonroof complete the exterior.

Inside, a white leather-padded bar stretches across the width of the dash. Second-row seats slide fully forward to ease entry into the roomy third row. Behind the third row is 17.6 cubic feet of cargo space; fold the third row of seats and that expands to 47.6 feet. Amount of legroom in the third row is determined by how far back the middle row is moved.

Fuel mileage ranged between 19 and 24 for the Ascent. Its EPA estimate is 20/26 mpg.

The Ascent is built in Subaru’s assembly plant in Lafayette, Ind., and offered in four trim levels, including Base, Premium, Limited and Touring. All models are equipped with Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel drive.

Very sensibly designed it is, until a count is made of the cupholders – 19 of them. I don’t remember the ratio; is it one pit stop per four cupholders?

The review model, a Limited trim with $2,950 of options, carried a sticker price of $42,920. Among its add-ons are navigation with 8-inch high-resolution touchscreen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto/Bluetooth, Harman Kardon premium audio, the power moonroof and 20-inch wheels.

A standard feature for the Ascent is Subaru’s EyeSight driver-assistance technology including adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance and automatic precollision braking.

Also standard are trailer stability assist with yaw sensors, three-zone automatic climate control and four USB ports.

One look at the elongated roofline of the Jaguar XF Sportbrake wagon tells you this is a midsizer which competes with the Mercedes E-Class wagon and the Volvo V90.

The XF Sportbrake is considerably larger than the E-Pace SUV. The new wagon measures 116.5 inches in wheelbase, 195 in overall length, 78.2 wide and 58.9 high, with curb weight of 4,145 pounds, a bit lighter than E-Pace.

It has a sloping hood, the long roof and raked rear glass. Staying with its sleek image, the Sportbrake runs on low-profile 35s – Pirelli Cinturato 255/35R20 tires.

Wagons have long been popular in Europe; not so here, though the new Sportbrake and V90 with AWD might lure a few SUV devotees. Jaguar’s last wagon before the Sportbrake was the X-Type, which ended production in 2009.

Performance is a highlight from the Sportbrake’s 380-horsepower, supercharged, 3.0-liter V-6 engine, 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Drive-mode selection allows the driver to adapt from normal response to dynamic or economical or adapt to what is being faced in the way of surface conditions. The shifter is a twist dial on the center console.

This car does have a spare, though the wheel is bright orange hidden beneath the cargo floor and it will not match up with the fancy wheels and red brake calipers  of original equipment, i.e. get the flat fixed quickly.

Inside the big Jag are white leather seats with black inserts, panoramic roof and motorized covers for closing the dashboard air vents. Cargo space behind the rear seat is a roomy 31.7 cubic feet.

This classy-looking wagon with its power and amenities doesn’t come in the cheaper category of the E-Pace. Sticker on the Sportbrake jumped to $84,245 from a base of $70,450.

Adding $3,495 was a driver-assistance package of adaptive cruise control and speed limiter, 360-degree parking aid, surround camera, blind-spot and park assist. Adding another $3,285 were navigation, Meridian surround sound and interactive driver display. For $2,890 came the four-zone climate control, suedecloth premium  headliner, ambient lighting and rear sunblind. That left $1,805 for the heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats and soft door-close.

I averaged 22 miles per gallon of premium fuel with the XF Sportbrake, close to the middle of its EPA estimate of 18/25.

Every now and then, not often, a new wagon shows up in the U.S. auto industry.

Don’t get fooled into thinking they’re all crossovers. The 2018 Buick Regal TourX is an all-wheel-drive wagon.

My gosh, the last Buick wagon I drove was 22 years ago – the 1996 Roadmaster, the bulkiest-looking wagon ever built. It was 218 inches in length (more than 18 feet), 80 inches wide and boasted curb weight of 4,600 pounds.

As for the new one today, in contrast from its large Buick emblem in the center of the grille out front, all the way back to rear liftgate, its style embodies sleekness, with sloping hood and roofline.

Though it’s a Buick, its assembly line is far from Michigan.

Es ist in Deutschland gebaut. Yes, it is built in a General Motors factory in Russelsheim, Germany.

The TourX is a midsize wagon and will compete against the Subaru Outback, the Audi A4 allroad and the Volvo XC70 CrossCountry.

The Regal wagon has two rows of seats and fits five fairly comfortably. It offers very usable cargo space, 32.7 cubic feet behind the second row. That’s more than the Audi allroad. The wagon sits relatively low, with an easy step-in height.

Performance, particularly brisk in midrange, is from a 250-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine (295 torque) mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission with manual-mode shift; no paddle shifters, though. Twin clutches on the rear differential are able to send torque from side-to-side when needed, getting the power to the wheel that needs it.

Two highway drives, one to Boulder on Tuesday and the other out east of Eaton on Thursday, raised the TourX’s average fuel mileage to 27.5 miles per gallon; its EPA estimate is 21/29. It handled fairly well, even on several gravel-surfaced roadways; a bit of wallow was felt on a couple occasions. Suspension includes front struts and five-link at the rear. It rides on Continental ProContact 235/50R18 tires.

The TourX I’ve been driving this week is the Essence, the higher trim level. Others are the Base and the Preferred. Standard on the Essence model is a hands-free operation of the rear liftgate. Walk around to the back with key fob in pocket, and a lighted Buick design appears on the parking surface beneath the bumper, indicating where to swing a foot to open the gate.

On parking the Buick and turning off its power, if anything has been placed in the rear seat, a chime alert sounds accompanied by a message on the driver info screen reading, “Rear seat reminder, look in rear seat.”

Beginning prices for the TourX all-wheel-drive wagon models are $30,000 for the Base, $33,000 for the Preferred and $35,000 for the Essence.

The Essence review model’s sticker price climbed to $41,550 with optional items forward automatic braking, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, lane-change alert, rear park assist, outside heated mirrors, premium audio, navigation, cornering lamps, panoramic sunroof.

“Toss it,” is the keyword among Ford decision-makers these days, and its significance is apparent in the attractive, redesigned 2018 Expedition 4X4, full-sized SUV.

The new one has shed 300 pounds of curb weight with an aluminum-alloy body, yet offers a roomier interior; also tossed out is Ford’s long-used V-8 power in favor of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, and with a 10-speed transmission, oh, my, what a performer.

The Expedition has been around for more than 20 years. When it showed up in the fall of ’96 as a ’97 model, I drove it to Durango and back. That one was 3 inches shorter than today in wheelbase, 6 inches shorter in overall length, was equipped with a 4.6-liter V-8 with tow capacity of 6,100 pounds compared to today’s 9,200 tow capacity with the EcoBoost V-6. EPA fuel estimate back then was 14-18; today’s is 17-23.

Though it sits high on 22-inch wheels, access is eased with power-deployable running boards, the interior is filled with latest tech and soft leather, and the third row of seats is adult-sized. It probably moves to the head of its class, yes, ahead of Tahoe and Sequoia.

The Expedition’s high-end Platinum model carried me, Jan, Kim Parker and Barb Lesser into Denver and Coors Field, where son Kurt Wells threw out the first pitch for the Rockies’ game against the New York Mets. Lots of in-town maneuvers prior to the highway drive resulted in overall fuel average of 17.8 miles per gallon of regular unleaded.

Second-row seating is comfortable and the captain’s chairs allow room between them for third-row access or can be tipped forward. Cargo space behind the third row is 21 cubic feet and expands to 57.5 feet with the third row folded. The liftgate can be foot-activated for hands-free operation.

Response of the 5,700-pound Ford with EcoBoost V-6 is impressive, delivering 400 horsepower and 480 lb.-ft. of torque. With the 10-speed transmission, a terrain management system offers drive modes of normal, sport, snow, sand, mud and tow/haul.

The Expedition, a body-on-frame SUV built off the chassis of the F-150 pickup, is ruggedly readied for offroad duty, with 9.8-inch ground clearance and push-button activation of four-wheel high and low.

While pricing for the Expedition XLT 4X4 begins around $55,000, the sticker on the Platinum model provided to me soared to $81,265. Added features included heavy-duty trailer tow package with backup assist, dual-headrest rear-seat entertainment, full-speed automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control.

With a last bite of key lime pie put away on an April night at the Oceanaire Restaurant in downtown Denver, I crawled into the driver’s seat of the 2018 Kia Stinger GT and drove away from two days and nights of events at the Colorado Convention Center.

The second night was opening of the 2018 Denver Auto Show, following the previous night’s Preview Gala. My evening ended with a dinner offered by General Motors at the Oceanaire.

The Stinger is a rear-wheel-drive sport four-door hatchback, with optional all-wheel drive. Normally, I’d prefer AWD for driving in our state, but in rear-drive setup, it performs much better. Its 3,829-pound curb weight is 200 pounds lighter than with AWD; it is quicker and handles impressively.

Some refer to the Stinger as a luxury fastback; I disagree. Audi, BMW, Mercedes are luxury; Kia and its ilk are not.

This Kia, though, is a standout, even with the fact that its exterior finish is colored like that of an old Fordson tractor. That would be gray; Kia calls it ceramic silver.

Built in Sohari, Korea, the Stinger is 190 inches in length on a wheelbase of 114.4 inches, width of 73.6 and height of 55 inches. Its track is 62.8 inches, both front and rear.

GT performance comes from a 3.3-liter twin-turbo V-6 generating 365 horsepower and 376 lb.-ft. of torque, and mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission with paddleshifters. It can break 5 seconds in a 0 to 60 run. It’s the highest-performance production vehicle in Kia’s history.

Throttle response, shift quickness and steering input adapt to drive modes, including comfort, eco, custom, smart and sport. Launch control can be activated in sport mode. The Stinger averaged 25.6 miles per gallon.

Other Stingers, lesser-priced, are equipped with a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder of 255 horsepower and 260 torque.

Adding stopping power to the strong-running GT are large Brembo brake discs, 13.8 inches in front and 13.4 at the rear. It rides on low-profile Michelins, 225/40R19.

The GT interior is roomy, with deeply contoured, leather-covered seats and a D-shaped steering wheel. The cargo space beneath the rear hatch measures 23.3 cubic feet.

The Stinger GT with rear-wheel drive is sticker-priced at $39,250, including forward collision avoidance, smart cruise with stop-and-go, lane-keep assist, dual-zone automatic climate control, 7-inch touchscreen display with navigation, Android Auto and Apple Carplay, Bluetooth, rearview camera, rear-seat temperature-adjustable vents, push-button start and LED mood lights.

In the plans for several years, the production of the Stinger is a laudable attempt to bring some bigtime sport life into “the little company with the long-term warranty.” Kia, like its stablemate Hyundai, is known for the 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

Top model sellers for Kia are the Forte, Soul and Optima in the car line and Sorento and Sportage crossovers.  Rounding out the lineup are Rio and Cadenza cars, Sedona minivan and Niro crossover.

A comfortable, roomy interior, 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and smooth, 10-speed automatic transmission highlighted the 2018 Honda Accord through a 350-miles circle drive to Wray, Sterling and back to Greeley on Memorial Day weekend 2018.

In its 10^th-generation restyling, the Accord sits in a low, wide, sporty stance, 2 inches longer in wheelbase and 160 pounds lighter in curb weight.

Honda has shelved the long-popular V-6 power for the Accord; available are the 252-horsepower, 2.0-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder or a 1.5-liter turbo 4.

Earlier in the week, I tested the Accord’s new power setup in a descent of Big Thompson Canyon from Estes Park to Loveland. Overall fuel-mileage average for the circle drive and the canyon descent was 29.5.

Switching into sport mode and using paddle shifters for the drive down the Thompson, I locked the Honda into 4^th gear and seldom touched the bakes all the way to the Dam Store. Only surprise in both drives was an occasional bit of surge at low-speed acceleration.

The smoothness of the 10-speed was good, an improvement in performance over the previous continuously variable transmission. My first exposure to Honda’s 10-speed came last fall, when Jan and I flew from Phoenix into DIA, where awaiting us was a Honda Odyssey minivan with the first 10-speed automatic in a front-wheel-drive vehicle.

A delight in the weekend drive was an overnight stay at Sterling’s new Holiday Inn Express, four-stories tall with our room overlooking the South Platte River and its lush, green trees and foliage.

This is perhaps the finest looking and best-performing Accord, yet like other midsize sedans, the Accord has suffered a sales decline thus far this year, as consumers look more and more toward the popular SUVs and crossovers.

The cabin is of soft-touch finish, contrasted with leather seats and door inserts and wood trim on the dash. Legroom has been increased in the rear seating area and trunk space is a roomy 16.7 cubic feet. A disappointment was that the extended width of the center stack intruded on the driver’s knee space.

The ’18 Accord Touring I drove is priced at $36,690 and includes safety packages of collision mitigation braking, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control and side-curtain airbags with rollover sensor. Other items include push-button shifter, navigation, premium audio, Bluetooth, CarPlay/Android Auto integration, dual-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front seats and heated rear seats, head-up display, power moonroof and front and rear parking sensors.

Cheapest trim level for the Accord is the LX, and most luxurious is the Touring, which I drove. Others are the Sport, EX, EX-L and Hybrid.

There is no slicker-looking midsize sedan out there, and, now, finally, it’s got turbocharged power.

It’s the 2018 Mazda6 Signature four-door, which has retained its “soul of motion” sleek design in red crystal, and emboldened the front with a larger mesh grille.

The “Six” gains a turbo – a 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder, borrowed from Mazda’s big CX-9 crossover and producing 250 horsepower and 310 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s a superb handler, and, while I’m not a “turbo toe” fanatic, I do appreciate the available boost from beneath the hood.

In an odd twist, Mazda6’s turbo has put a bit of zip in among the midsize sedans, which have been on a severe sales slide all this year. The Mazda6 showed the only increase in sales among midsizers in May. While that’s a positive for the Mazda, its rank in sales has been so low, that, even with the sizable jump,  it outsold only one other model, the Subaru Legacy.

The Mazda6 sold 4,437 units in May, compared with only 2,708 in April.

Total sales for the month among other midsizes and the percentage of decrease are the Toyota Camry with 29,965 and 8 percent decline, Honda Accord 28,212 and 16 percent drop, Nissan Altima 23,030 and 4 percent drop, Chevy Malibu 15,404 and 26 percent drop, Ford Fusion 15,253 and 30 percent drop, Hyundai Sonata 10,728 and 15 percent drop, Kia Optima 10,367 and 1 percent drop, Volkswagen Passat 4,757 and 13 percent drop and Subaru Legacy 3,461 and 25 percent drop.

Combined sales of the 10 above-mentioned midsize models over the first five months of 2018 have declined by more than 116,000 units. Those numbers and more are now increasing the SUV/crossover/truck categories.

Mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, the front-wheel-drive Mazda6 turbo carries an EPA estimate of 23/31 miles per gallon. My overall average was on the lower side, 24.1 mpg. It included an afternoon drive of May 31 to LifePointe Church in Fort Collins for memorial services for Lynette Kelley Fortunato, 68, who resided with husband Mike at Wellington. She died of injuries suffered in a fall from a horse several days earlier. Lynette was a graduate of Sterling High School and met Mike when he was a student at Northeastern Junior College.

Four Mazda6’s  I’d tested in recent years, all with non-turbo 4-cylinders and 6-speed automatic transmissions, averaged in the 32-miles-per-gallon range.

Mazda has dressed up the sedan’s interior, very comfortably, highlighted with a soft nappa leather touch. It rides on a wheelbase of 111.4 inches, is 192.7 inches in overall length and has curb weight of 3,560 pounds. Trunk space is 14.7 cubic feet.

The high-end Signature model was sticker-priced at $36,435; Mazda6 pricing begins at $23,000 for the Sport. Other trim levels are Touring, Grand Touring and Grand Touring Reserve. Among the Signature’s long list of amenities are lane-keep assist, radar cruise control, ventilated and heated front seats, navigation, Bluetooth, trip computer, brake assist.

Offroading along a sandhill trail following three or four rainfalls topped off 10 days for me in the driver’s seat of the 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel Crew Cab 4X4. Earlier, the rugged Rebel showed its mettle in an afternoon drive through Rist Canyon in Larimer County, then glitzed up a bit for carrying us to Denver for a bit of nighttime entertainment.

The Ram, a key player in the highly competitive half-ton pickup market, with the early release of its 2019 model gets a jump on the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan.

The new Ram is 4 inches longer than the ’18 model and 225 pounds lighter through use of high-strength steel in the frame, aluminum hood, tailgate and engine mounts.

Packed beneath the hood of the Rebel is its long-used 395-horsepower, 5.7-liter, Hemi V-8 engine and 8-speed automatic transmission; its shifter is a twister dial on the dash. The Ram is built to tow up to 12,700 pounds with a payload of 2,300 pounds. The growl on startup says it’s a Hemi; standard engine is a 305-hp, 3.6-liter V-6.

The 5,700-pound Ram provides outstanding ride comfort and exceptional cornering capability with its coil springs, new Bilstein monotube shocks/dampers and air suspension. The confidence in cornering and ability to control descents with the 8-speed tranny’s manual-mode gear locks added enjoyment during the drive through lightly traveled Rist Canyon and its adjacent areas north of Masonville and west of Fort Collins.

Our Saturday night drive was to the Goldspot Brewing Co., near Regis University, where son Kurt Wells was singing and playing guitar. Between musical selections, two young women, Cara Ferrier of New Jersey and Valerie Warner of New York, enthralled us with stories of their responsibilities in guiding expeditions for the U.S. Antarctic programs. Imagine tent-sleeping in weather as cold as 50-below.

Even with that smooth highway drive in to Denver and back, the Rebel produced no-better fuel mileage average than 16.3 miles per gallon, one of the few sub-par results in the tests. The Rebel 4X4 is rated at 15/21 mpg.

A locking rear differential is standard on the Rebel 4X4, with only a button-push for 4-high and 4-low positioned with the shift dial.

A restyled, aggressive-looking grille lends newness to the ’19 Rebel; the extended length of its body may offer the roomiest rear-seating area of any of the half-ton, crew cab pickups.

Even though the Ram’s pricing list showed it with step rails, there was none, and with the lower set from air suspension, it still required a 26-inch step-in height.

A dual-pane panoramic sunroof, power-folding heated mirrors with signals, 8.4-inch touchscreen navigation/audio, heated front leatherette seats, remote start system and blind-spot/rear cross-path detection boosted price of the Ram to $59,150.

Available soon for the Ram, with either the Hemi V-8 or Pentastar V6 power, will be an eTorque, 48-volt mild hybrid technology which can boost takeoff, restart engine on stop/start and help keep the battery charged, as well as reclaim charge from regenerative braking.

Two automobile power sources beyond the norm, one from Nissan and the other from Nissan’s  luxury division Infiniti, have rolled my way.

Particularly smooth is the Nissan Leaf’s fully electric system, which for the second-generation 2018 model has achieved an extended range – to 152 miles. The Leaf was introduced seven years ago, and, according to Nissan, has sold more full electrics than any other make.

Adding interest was the arrival of a preproduction model of the 2019 Infiniti QX50 with its VC-T power; it is the first production vehicle whose internal-combustion engine will actively vary its compression ratio, from 8.0:1 to 14.0:1.

The VC-T stands for “variable compression turbocharged,” which develops 268 horsepower and 288 lb.-ft. of torque from the 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder engine. It is equipped with a continuously variable transmission.

Though it was scheduled for a week’s stay with me, the loaners of the Infiniti came by after only a day to retrieve the QX50 and its special engine. It apparently is needed for an Asian auto expedition; I thought I heard someone say, “to Mongolia.”

I drove it barely over 50 miles – to Fort Collins with Jan for dinner at an Olive Garden restaurant, before relinquishing the keys the next day. In so few miles, it was difficult to identify characteristics of the new engine, which varies fuel/air mixture in the cylinders depending on driving situations (highway or in-city) and throttle demands by the driver. Acceleration was strong when called upon, the steering was heavily assisted and the ride was exceptionally good.

The luxury compact Infiniti SUV is of front-wheel-drive configuration, with available all-wheel drive (formerly rear-drive and AWD).  Premium fuel is recommended for the variable compression engine.

Key competitors, with their traditional engines, are Acura RDX, Audi Q5, BMW X3, Cadillac XT5, Jaguar F-Pace, Lexus RX, Mercedes GLC, Porsche Macan and Volvo XC60.

As for the new Nissan Leaf, it gained extended range through use of an improved 40-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack (up from 30 kWh) and 147-horsepower/236 lb.-ft. torque electric motor. It is surprisingly quick off the line.

The Leaf also introduces an E-Pedal feature allowing the driver to accelerate and brake with one pedal. If e-pedal is engaged, when throttle acceleration lessens or stops, regenerative braking takes over and slows the car at a rate dependent on the easement of the pedal. This is helpful driving in city traffic; the actual brake pedal is still in place, waiting to be mashed by driver when needed.

ProPilot Assist, which I’ve tested in other Nissan and Infiniti products, maintains lane guidance, cruise-distance control and forward-collision warning and emergency braking. The lane guidance kept the Leaf on course, much less aggressively than it did for a Nissan Rogue in December. Though it should reduce driver stress, the ProPilot system reminds drivers that it is “hands-on” in usage.

Nissan says recharging the Leaf’s battery pack takes 35 hours at 110 volts or 7.5 hours at 220 volts. With a third of its range still available, I recharged it to full range at 110 volts in my garage in 20 hours.

The front-drive Leaf is offered in three trim levels, beginning with the S at $29,900, upgraded to the SV at $32,490 and topped off with the SL, which I drove, at $36,200. The addition of the ProPilot Assist boosted sticker price on the review model to $38,510.