Auto News 5

Already known for building vehicles of seemingly every dimension, from the subcompact A1 to the three-row Q7 crossover SUV, Audi has found yet another vehicular niche. The 2012 Audi Q3 fits into the newish, compact luxury crossover segment populated thus far by BMW's recently launched X1, which will serve as the Q3's chief foil. The Q3 was previewed by Audi's Cross Coupe Quattro concept at the 2007 Shanghai auto show, and now the production version returns to Shanghai for its official bow.

Another Kia Optima, another car crippled by wretched tires. As with the less powerful Kia Optima EX that we tested in late 2010, this Optima Turbo was shod with Nexen Class Premiere tires. Just as you'd expect, delivering an extra 74 hp to the front wheels does little good when the tires have all the grip of a greased pan. It's a shame that Kia pinched pennies when choosing the tires, because they take away so much from an otherwise excellent car.

I first drove the new Audi A8 on the launch event in Spain, and I liked it. Recently I had a new A8 4.2 here at home in New York, whose mean streets of provide a much more challenging, real-world environment.