(Used) Devon test drives a Scion with IQ

The Smart Fortwo isn't the smallest car that you can buy in the U.S. anymore. The Scion IQ is designed to compete with the Fortwo, but there's one thing the IQ can do that the Fortwo cannot. The Scion IQ can seat up to four people in theory. Being only so much larger than the Fortwo, can Scion lure customers away from larger more comfortable alternates.

Likes: Nimble around town, well equipped and easy to park.

Dislikes: Looks like a toy car, boot space doesn't exist if rear seats are in place. The stereo control is fiddly and the styling is rather dorky.

Performance: There's only one engine available for the IQ, that's a 1.33-liter four-cylinder with 98hp. Performance is spirited around town, but on the motorway you'll need to plan out overtaking other vehicles. Getting up to speed takes a little longer than you desire. But the IQ is much more peppier than the Fortwo.

Ride & Handling: The IQ is more comfortable to drive around town than the Fortwo. Thanks to an incredible turning circle and light controls. On faster roads, the IQ struggles to stay composed. There's a fair bit of body lean in bends and the front end runs out of grip quickly. The steering often feels vague and there's vulnerability to side winds. Making long journeys hard work.

Refinement: There's an incredible amount of refinement inside of the IQ. Although the door mirrors produce a bit of wind noise. Road noise is also very hushed. The CVT transmission makes the engine sound buzzy and thrashes when pushed hard.

Behind the wheel: The single stereo control on the steering wheel is very fiddly to operate. But it means the center console has extra space for the driver. However, comfort would be improved if the seat was height adjustbale and the wheel moved for reach as well. The heater is controlled via chunky buttons and dials.

Space & Practicality: The IQ in theory is a four-seater, but in reality there's only room for two passengers. The rear seat isn't big enough for kids and eats into the cargo space. So you'll have to choose between people space or cargo space. The boot is totally nonexistent with rear seats in place.

Equipment: The IQ offers plenty of kit for the money. You get six-speaker sound system, air-con, keyless entry and a cd-player. You'll have to pay extra for auto headlamps, fog lamps, rain sensing wipers and climate control.

Buying & Owning: The IQ is more expensive than the Fortwo, but the IQ is a more comfortable car to drive and live with. The transmission is smoother and the brakes are easier to modulate. However, the sheer size of the car may scare away some buyers. Residual values and resale values are unknown because the IQ isn't available in all states yet.

Quality & reliability: It's too soon to say how well the IQ will stand up in long term reliability. Most of the cars engineering is done by Toyota. So there's a piece of mind that you'll be buying a dependable vehicle.

Safety & Security: You get stability control, nine airbags including one that inflates across the rear screen in the event of a rear-end collision. Deadlocks and an integrated stereo makes life for thieves hard.

The IQ only strong points are its smooth transmission, good gas mileage and ease of use around town. However, like the Fortwo - the IQ isn't composed on faster roads. There really isn't much space for four passengers and many buyers will be scared away due to the small size of the car. However, if you desire a small car that's a little less crude than the Fortwo. The IQ is the perfect car for you.

Devon hops in the smallest minivan you can buy (used)

The Mazda 5 is living proof that you don't need a large 4x4 to carry a family around in comfort. It's dinky size means that it's a easy to park and good on gas. All while offering a clever six passenger configuration. In the land of the large 4x4, can Mazda convince buyers going small is all the rage?

Likes: Decent amount of space in the cabin, tons of equipment standard for such a low asking price, low running costs and impressive handling.

Dislikes: Firm ride over some surfaces, interior plastics don't feel up to par, may prove to be too small for some families.

Performance: The Mazda 5 comes with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 160hp. It does a good job of pulling the 5 around town and on the motorway. Fuel economy is decent too. It's not the sportiest engine, and you'll have to rev it hard to get up to speed with the automatic. We'd stick with the base trim for the manual gearbox.

Ride & Handling: The 5 can handle pretty well for a car of its size and weight. However, the trade-off is the ride is a little too firm for some taste. The pay off is solid body control, which is combined with impressive grip and quick steering. This makes the 5 more engaging to drive than other MPVs.

Refinement: The 2.4-liter engine operates very smoothly. There's some wind noise when you pick up speed on the motorway, road noise however is pretty much subdued. All six passengers will love how refined the cabin feels. It's airy and comfortable on long journeys.

Behind the wheel: There's plenty of adjustments for the steering wheel and front seats, so drivers can get comfortable easily. All-round visibility is pretty good thanks to a high driving position, and many functions that can be controlled by the buttons on the steering wheel. The stereo controls on the dash are a bit confusing.

Space & Practicality: The 5 can carry six passengers in somewhat comfort. The second row passengers will feel comfortable, while third row passengers will feel a bit cramped. Plus the boot isn't massive with all the seats up. You'll have to fold down the third row seat to carry anything more than a few suit cases. Headroom and legroom is generous to all but the third row. Which should be left to the kids.

Equipment: The Mazda 5 comes well equipped. Even the base model will satisfy most buyers. Alloy wheels, climate control, stability control and six speaker sound system come standard. Top of the range adds Xenon headlamps, rain sensing wipers, heated front seats and moonroof.

Buying & Owning: The Mazda 5 comes with a low asking price. You'll have to step up to the higher trims to really get the toys that you want. Resale value is strong so your investments will be well protected. Discounts are available, but aren't anything to brag about. Running costs should be low thanks to decent fuel economy.

Quality & Reliability: Mazda's record on mechanical reliability is pretty impressive. So you shouldn't have any worries on that score. The cabin has a solid feel that inspires confidence that the car will last. While many rivals offer classy, soft touch plastics. The 5's is hard, scratchy and rather dour.

Safety & Security: The Mazda 5 comes with advanced front, side impact airbags and side-impact curtain airbags. Traction control, and stability program are standard as well as sophisticated braking system to help you avoid trouble. On the security, all 5's come with both alarm and engine immobilizer.

The Mazda 5 doesn't look like your conventional minivan. It's smaller than a conventional minivan, but that doesn't mean it's not as good. You get a six passenger seating configuration, sliding doors and a long list of features that justify the low asking price. Although the 5 maybe too small for some families, its still a great MPV all round. With responsive handling and low running cost takes the sting out of owning one. Helping the Mazda 5 one attractive offer too good not to consider.

Devon M 

Spending Money at the Movie Theatre: Ninja Assassin

By: Felipe M

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“He looks like he should be in a boy band,” chortled a German law enforcement agent as he looked into a monitor where he could see the film’s protagonist chained up in a separate room as the prisoner, in turn, looks immediately right back into the camera that observes his every lack of movements, concerning the agent enough to ask “He didn’t really hear me, did he?” It is an obvious, funny reference to Korean-born actor Rain who, before playing Ninja’s main role of Raizo, got his start in the entertainment business as a member of K-Pop boy band, Fanclub. The rest of the dialogue for this film is lackluster as the core of this movie is focused on fast-paced action and visual effects to deliver pools upon pools of blood to the big screen.

The main plot tells the story, in flashback form, of a young, perhaps 10 year-old Raizo who was forced to train with the infamous, but stealthy Ozunu Clan to become an effective mercenary killer—or skilled ninja assassin (hence the title of the flick!). You’ll see the Clan attempt to dehumanize Raizo with numerous “pain is weakness leaving your body” exercises as he and many other kids just like him slowly, but surely turn into human killing machines. While at Ninja Assassin Camp, Raizo meets and begins to develop very strong feelings for a girl at the camp who bravely fights the Clan’s attempt to “train” her and even escapes from the camp—only to be captured and executed in front of her fellow Ninja trainees by a fellow Ninja trainee. An obvious turning point for Raizo, he would later attempt his own escape from the Clan only to be captured, maimed, and be left for dead. Now forward to the present in Germany, where the Clan is on the hunt to look for a female agent who is looking to uncover the Clan’s dark secrets and any other time, she would be murdered by the Clan’s highly capable ninjas before she can even inhale her last breath--except for the fact that Raizo gets word that she is on the Clan’s hit list and saves her life. The rest of the movie is a game of hide-n-seek between Raizo, the female agent and the predatory-like band of ninjas waiting to slice the two of them into a thousand pieces.

Despite the somewhat promising storyline, the script fails miserably in developing characters as Raizo is turned into a cartoon character as not only does he inflict unimaginable physical pain and suffering to others, but the damage his own body takes should leave the viewer wondering if the main character should just be killed to stop his own bodily misery. As mentioned before, don’t expect any semblance of dialogue from this film as even great, prefabricated quotes like the famous “I’ll be back” are nowhere to be found. Even the film’s supposed saving grace, the package of action that it promises, is too fast for the normal eye to keep up and even worse is the fact that most action takes place in the dark or, at best, in dimly lit rooms as to take better advantage of the story’s ninjas' stealthy abilities. You’ll find yourself trying to imagine what exactly is going on in scenes as the only clues you have are based on shadow movements before streams of blood begins to flow onto the screen along with flying limbs and body parts, and gushed entrails.

Saving Money through DVD Watching: IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA

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By: Felipe M

A good, yet underrated TV comedy show is the stellar It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which currently airs on FX. The show follows three friends who own and run the day-to-day operations of an Irish dive pub, Mac, Charlie, and Dennis. Also working at the bar is Dennis’ paternal twin sister Deandra, a.k.a. Sweet Dee, and the twins’ father, Frank (played by Danny DeVito). Collectively, they are known as “The Gang.” Each character is different, but what all five have in common is their extreme, self-centered nature. It is this character flaw that creates the foundation of almost every episode of the series. A quick rundown of each character is as follows: Mac exudes a lot of confidence in himself and more times than not, is the member of The Gang who is the first to point out other people’s errors, especially the first to accuse someone of being racist. Dennis is, in one word, Narcissistic. Charlie seems to have a Napoleon/ inferiority complex being the shortest person outside of Frank so, of course, a lot of times he tries to prove to everybody that he’s not inferior and is often the loudest of the bunch. Sweet Dee is an aspiring actress—model, artist, college student, dancer, ballerina, etc. Sweet Dee has a lot of aspirations to become successful, but is not very proactive in reaching those goals and often can be found blaming countless situations and people (mainly her parents). Frank might just be the worst of the bunch.

So why attempt to watch a TV show seemingly full of characters who are full of themselves? Because this show is uproariously funny! The conflict in egos makes for hilarious storylines as each character is always trying to prove they are better than the last and constantly put both friends and strangers down in order to boost their perceptions of themselves providing more twists and turns and betrayals than any reality TV show can attempt to edit in on the final cut. Think Seinfeld with younger actors. The other thing this show has going for itself is the way they fit socio-political issues into each episode as it provides better social satire than any current sketch on Saturday Night Live. So far, The Gang have tackled such as issues as racism, public smoking, sweat shop labor, and other controversial topics. Never leaning too far to the left or to the right, each issue is tackled by characters who think they have an educated worldview, but in reality their views are narrow minded and The Gang usually comes off as shallow-minded people. So the show never feels like it’s insulting people’s political views, but it does shine the light on issues nonetheless to an audience who rarely watch FOXNEWS or MSNBC. Remember, the issues create the setting for each episode, but each episode’s story is strictly character driven.