Hatchbacks
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The Chevrolet Spark has found its niche as an urban runabout. But since it's been on sale around the world for a long time, it's time for a replacement. And this time, for now at least, one key version is going dark. ALSO SEE: Surprise 2016 Honda Civic Concept At NY Auto Show Previews Production Car The new Spark is slightly longer and lower than the outgoing model--it's a little sleeker as a result. Chevy's put work into making the Spark look a little more upscale, but still fun. Big, friendly headlamps blend into the grille more neatly this time, but the wild colors like Toasted Marshmallow...
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2016 Smart Fortwo Video Preview
If smaller is better, then you can’t really do much better than the Smart ForTwo. The Fortwo is the city car originally designed in partnership with Swatch, back in the 1990s. This year it’s been redesigned with American drivers in mind. That doesn’t mean bigger—just better...
Martin Padgett -
2016 Chevy Volt In Pre-Production; Prices To Come Next Month
The 2016 Chevrolet Volt was officially unveiled at January's Detroit Auto Show, so there won't be a lot of focus on the new plug-in hybrid with the 50-mile range at this week's New York Auto Show. Instead, it'll be all about the new 2016 Chevy Malibu mid-size sedan, including the new Malibu Hybrid...
John Voelcker -
2015 BMW i3 Video Road Test
If there were ever a brand-reset button in the automotive business, the BMW i3 electric car is it. It's both a compact hatchback and an all-electric car, from the brand that claims to build ultimate driving machines. How does it measure up to that lofty standard? Hi, I’m Joel Feder, and...
Joel Feder -
2015 Volkswagen e-Golf Electric Car Gets Less Expensive Trim Level
When pricing for the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf electric car was announced last August, only one trim level was available, a lavishly equipped top-of-the-range package. Now VW has supplemented that SEL Premium version of the e-Golf with a new, less expensive model called the Limited Edition, at a price...
John Voelcker -
2015 Honda Fit Gets Highest Safety Rating From NHTSA
The 2015 Honda Fit earned a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score from the NHTSA.
Stephen Edelstein -
The new 2016 Chevrolet Volt, its designers and engineers say, carries many features requested by owners of the first-generation Volt built from 2011 through this year. Among them are more electric range, an illuminated charging port ... and a fifth seating position. DON'T MISS: 2016 Chevrolet Volt: 50-Mile Range, 41 MPG, Five Seats, All New (Photos) Note the phrasing, please, because what Chevy calls an "occasional seating position" is not the same as a seat. One of the biggest mysteries before last week's reveal of the new Volt in its entirety at the Detroit Auto Show was exactly what any...
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2016 Chevrolet Volt: 50-Mile Range, 41 MPG, Five Seats, All New (Photos)
The 2016 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car, which will be unveiled this morning at the Detroit Auto Show, is sleeker, has more electric range, and is projected to get higher gas mileage when its engine is operating. The compact five-door hatchback also has a fifth "seating position,"...
John Voelcker -
2015 Honda Fit Video Road Test
If you’re looking for a small hatchback that delivers both fuel economy and flexibility, only a handful of new cars come to mind. Add in top safety ratings, and your list may narrow down to just one car: the latest 2015 Honda Fit. To Honda’s credit, the latest Fit looks less like a...
Joel Feder -
2015 Scion xB Tall Wagon Continues Largely Unchanged
a standard backup camera is the only major change to the Scion xB for 2015.
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Chevy Volt: Front Styling Teaser Photos, Charging Details Released
A bit more of the styling of the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Volt has been revealed, in photos that Chevy released from a sneak preview of the car last night for current Volt owners in Los Angeles. The range-extended electric car will be revealed in its entirety at the Detroit Auto Show in January, but...
John Voelcker -
Scion iM Concept: Compact Five-Door Hatchback For LA Auto Show
One week from today, Scion will take the wraps off a concept car that's a thinly disguised version of its first new production car in several years. The Scion iM Concept, to be formally introduced at the Los Angeles Auto Show next week, is a compact five-door hatchback that's clearly based on the...
John Voelcker -
The fifth and final of our five nominees for Green Car Reports' 2015 Best Car To Buy award is the new 2015 Volkswagen Golf range. It's a completely new, top-to-bottom makeover of the classic compact five-door hathback, now in its seventh generation since launching in 1974. DON'T MISS: Green Car Reports' 2015 Best Car To Buy: The Nominees (Video) The lineup sold in the U.S. includes a pair of turbocharged gasoline engines, an all-new TDI diesel engine with more power and higher fuel-economy ratings. The 2015 Volkswagen Golf range also includes the e-Golf, the first plug-in electric car VW has...
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First 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf Delivery On Friday; Auction Proceeds To Charity
The electric-car sales figures for October showed that one single 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf was delivered to a buyer last month,--even though the car hasn't yet arrived at the VW dealers that will initially offer it. But that single electric Golf hatchback turns out to be a special case. DON'T MISS...
John Voelcker -
2015 Volkswagen e-Golf Rated At 83 Miles Range, 116 MPGe
EPA range and efficiency ratings for the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf electric car are in.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric: Range Pack Standard, Styling Update, More Features
The 2015 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive could feature more standard equipment than the 2014 model.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Honda Fit: Best Car To Buy 2015 Nominee
The second of our five nominees for Green Car Reports' 2015 Best Car To Buy award is the new 2015 Honda Fit, the well-regarded subcompact five-door hatchback. It's the third generation of the car sold in North America, and it's got a new powertrain, dubbed with Honda's EarthDreams label, that...
John Voelcker -
2015 Ford Focus Electric Price Cut To $29,995, A $6K Drop: Report
It appears that the 2015 Ford Focus Electric will get a major price cut of $6,000, bringing the suggested retail price to $29,995--more in line with the best-selling Nissan Leaf. The battery-electric Focus is now in its fourth model year, and only about 4,000 have been sold since it first went on...
John Voelcker -
The first 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf electric car will be auctioned off online.
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2015 Subaru Impreza Updated, Fuel Economy Rises To 31 MPG Combined
The 2015 Subaru Impreza gets slightly better fuel economy, slightly different styling, and other updates.
Stephen Edelstein -
BMW i3 Faces VW e-Golf, Mercedes B-Class Electric Cars In New Reviews
Opinions differ on how the BMW i3 compares to more-conventional electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Honda Fit Gas Mileage: True 40-MPG Subcompact, Or Not?
The 2015 Honda Fit subcompact is an entirely new model, and for North America, it's built in a new plant in Mexico. That means that its launch was necessarily slow and cautious--in fact, it was delayed two months--and then a bumper upgrade to reinforce crash-safety welds hardly sped up the...
John Voelcker -
2014 MINI Cooper: Gas Mileage Review With 3-Cyl Engine + Manual
The 2014 MINI Cooper hardtop is the first entire, top-to-bottom redesign of the iconic British minicar. In its base form, with a new 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine and a six-speed manual gearbox, it runs a bit more than $20,000 and is rated at 34 mpg combined. But it's longer, wider...
John Voelcker -
2015 Volkswagen e-Golf Price To Start At $36,265, Top Trim Level Only
The 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf electric car will be priced from $36,265, VW announced this morning. And the first battery-electric car ever offered in the U.S. by Volkswagen will be offered only in the very top Golf trim level, the SEL Premium model. The 2015 e-Golf goes on sale in November at selected...
John Voelcker