After our recent review of the 2010 Audi S4, our appetite was only growing to get into more sports cars. Luckily, the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550 arrived, and our cravings were filled.

The 2010 E550 is at the top of its game in every aspect, from the styling to the features. The styling of the E550 is superb, with sleek and strong lines and commanding wheel arches. And, of course, Mercedes-Benz, like any good luxury manufacturer, included all of the basic standard features you’d expect: wood/leather trim, Bluetooth, Sirius satellite radio, telescoping steering wheel, aux input for media players, panoramic sunroof, and color-display info-tainment center in the dash.

Discuss the M-B E550 in our E Class Forum.

Under the hood, the E550 boasts a V8 engine that produces 382 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 391 lb-ft of torque at 2,800-4,800 rpm. With this engine, the E550 does 0-60 in about 5 seconds. However, like with any sports car, or vehicle with a big engine, you sacrifice your fuel economy for the performance. With the V8, expect to get 15 mpg city and 23 mpg highway.

This Benz is also top of the class in the safety category.  Compared to its competitors, it is the leader in comprehensive safety features, boasting basics like the seven standard airbags and seat belt tensioners.  The Mercedes engineers also included the Attention Assist System that continuously monitors 70 parameters to track the driver’s tendencies to keep an eye on their drowsiness on the road.

Now for the million dollar question, or in this case, the fifty-thousand dollar question: All of that is great, but what does it cost?  For the base model, the E350 with a V6 that produces 268 horsepower, pricing starts at $48,050. But, if you opt for the E550, base pricing starts at $54,650. Our tester, with the premium package ended up at $63,705.

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Join Jessi Lang as she takes the 2010 Audi S4 out for a ride. The S4, though modeled after Audi’s A4, puts a little more pizazz into the body. The grille, with the chrome slats and S4 badge, 19″ alloy wheels, and matte finish over the side mirrors are just a few of the things that set the S4 apart from the A4 exterior.

Under the hood, the S4 is definitely more man than the A4. With the 3.0 L supercharged V6 TFSI, you’ll have no problem taking someone off the line. The V6 produces 333 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 325 lb-ft of torque at 2,900 rpm, doing 0-60 in 5 seconds. Even with the supercharged engine, the S4 gets surprisingly good mileage for a sports car, with 18 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.

The handling, performance, and suspension of the S4 lives up to the Audi reputation. Pair that to the various options like navigation, the Audi Drive Assist Package and the Prestige Package, and the S4 can justify the as-tested price of $59,150. However, if you’re looking to save a bit, you can always skip some of the upgrading, like paying to have your leather interior seats bumped up to the silk Napa leather.

We recently tested Toyota’s Venza, a car that looks suspiciously like a CUV. However, don’t go into the Toyota dealership asking to see the Venza SUV or minivan, because the salesmen, if he knows his stuff, will immediately correct you with something along the lines of, “looks are deceiving, the Venza is actually a car.”

Now you may ask, “where do they get off calling this a car?” The answer comes in the roots of the Venza’s styling. Like most of Toyota’s vehicles, the Venza’s base style and shape comes from the ever-popular Camry sedan. However, the Venza is much more open than your typical sedan, with a minivan-like interior feel (and storage space), plenty of cupholders, and a panoramic roof. Toyota even went so far as to include an armrest that is perfect for those who live out of their cars, with plenty of storage that can be configured to your liking.

We tested the 3.5L V6 engine that produces 268 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 245 lb-ft of torque at 4,700 rpm (18 mpg city/25 mpg highway). Basically, this is a practical car that is still fun to whip around in. The V6 model, with AWD and fully-equipped runs around $38,200. If that is a little pricey for you, you can opt for the FWD 4-cylinder (21 mpg city/29 mpg highway) that starts around $25,675.

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We recently got to test the 2010 Insight, the hybrid electric car from Honda. The Insight is the main competitor to the Toyota Prius, and definitely shines at some key points when compared side-by-side to the Prius.  For comparable models on a Prius versus an Insight, the Insight would come in almost $4,000 cheaper.  Our tester model was the the fully-loaded Insight EX with navigation, with a base price of $19,800 and an as-tested price of $23,810.  At that price, you would only be able to get a Prius sans navigation with the second out of four trim levels.

But, price isn’t everything.  The Honda Insight is less powerful than the the Prius, getting 98 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 123 lb-ft of torque at 1,000-1,700 rpm.  While we realize you won’t be buying the Insight for its power, the folks at Honda put in paddle-shifters to control the CVT so you could at least pretend that you are zipping around at sport car-like speeds.

And finally, to probably the number one thing people are concerned with when purchasing a hybrid, the fuel economy.  The Insight gets very respectable gas mileage for a hybrid, averaging 41 mpg in mixed driving or 40 mpg city and 43 mpg highway.  With the gauge right in front you of, you can easily see if you are being economical in your driving style.  Honda took the fuel-saving aspects of the Insight to the extreme, including a “Econ Mode” button that you can push for additional precautions to prevent wasteful driving.

Join our new host, Jessi Lang, as she reviews the 2010 Kia Forte.  The 2010 Forte is one of many in the small economy sedan segment, but it seems to bring a lot more bang for your buck.  The exterior is well-styled, without any lines or angles that feel out of place.  On the interior, you get standards that are frequently extra cost with other manufacturers; Bluetooth, an AUX jack, voice activation, steering wheel controls for audio, and Siruis radio all come standard on the Forte.

We tested the Forte’s EX model.  It is paired to a 2.0L engine with 156 horsepower @ 6,200 rmp and 144 lb-ft of torque at 4,300 rpm.  If you want a little more pep, you should opt for the Forte’s SX model, with a 2.4L engine that produces 173 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 168 lb-ft of torque at 4,000.  With our engine option we got very good mileage stats, with the averages at 27 mpg city and 36 mpg highway.

Base price for the Kia Forte starts at a low $13,695.   Our tester, the EX, started at $16,800 and came nowhere near $20,000 with the add-ons, topping out at an affordable $18,090.

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