Viva Mexico! There are some vehicles from major automakers that you can buy in Mexico, but not in the U.S. And they are among the most interesting in the world.
We had a look at what you can buy in our neighbors to the south and picked the seven cars and trucks that you can get there, but not here.
• Chevrolet Tornado: Want to see the coolest pickup truck you can't buy in the U.S.? It's the Chevrolet Tornado. Built off of a front-wheel-drive subcompact sedan platform engineered and manufactured in Brazil, it's powered by a 105-hp, 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. Despite its tidy dimensions and less than robust power, it manages to rate a load capacity of more than 1,600 pounds and has useful items like cargo box steps in the fenders, intermittent wipers and tons of accessories.
• Audi A1 Sportback: You can get all kinds of cool stuff in Mexico, including cars like this Audi A1 Sportback. Smaller than the A3, it's Mini-sized, and available in this four-door Sportback version. It comes with a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder making 122 hp or a supercharged and turbocharged 1.4-liter, making 185 hp. Despite its size, it comes with all the style and quality of larger Audis.
• Audi S5 Sportback: We get the Audi A5/S5 here in the U.S., but we don't get the Sportback version, a four-door hatchback that's meant to counter the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. The S5 Sportback has a 2.3-inch-longer wheelbase than the S5 coupe, and all that extra length goes to backseat legroom. Think of it as a junior S7, powered by a 333-hp, turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 and sporting all-wheel drive, Audi MMI and far more style than the normal S4 sedan can muster.
• Ford EcoSport: While the U.S. has just started to discover subcompact SUVs like the Jeep Renegade and Honda HR-V, foreign markets have had them for a while. Mexico's Ford EcoSport, designed and built in Brazil, is based on the Ford Fiesta and powered by a 145-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The front-wheel-drive baby SUV uses a choice of manual or automatic transmissions. Ford has considered bringing this car to the U.S., but may be waiting to see how the category does before committing its own model.
• Ford Ranger: We've got the new Chevrolet Colorado, but the midsize truck a lot of enthusiasts want and miss is still not coming to the U.S., but it's in Mexico. The new Ford Ranger is available there, but don't feel too bad as options are limited: it comes only with a four-cylinder gas or diesel engine, manual transmission and rear-wheel drive. Still, it can carry nearly 3,000 pounds of payload and ford water that's 31 inches deep, so we'd call it cool.
• Peugeot RCZ: This one's really unusual. French automaker Peugeot hasn't sold cars in the U.S. for a couple decades, but it's still a big global company with a full line of cars and trucks in Mexico. This is the most interesting: the RCZ coupe, a front-wheel-drive sports coupe packing a 200-hp, turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine and styling straight off its 2009 concept-car inspiration. It may not be the fastest sports coupe ever made, with a zero-to-60-mph time of about 7.5 seconds, but its looks can stop traffic.
• Volkswagen CrossFox: Volkswagen's lineup in Mexico is full of unusual stuff, but the CrossFox is one of its more unique vehicles. Take one VW Fox city car, about the size of the Nissan Micra, but add a more robust, high-riding suspension, plastic fender flares, modest skid plates and a roof rack. It's powered by a 101-horsepower, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission driving the front wheels only, so you won't be doing much off-roading; it looks more capable than it actually is.
Also see:
