SUVs
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At the end of September, Toyota and Mazda announced they would form a joint venture with parts maker Denso to design, test, and build components for a shared electric-car platform. Earlier interviews with Mazda indicate that the small Japanese maker will create its first all-electric model for volume production by putting a unique body on top of those underpinnings, also used by Toyota. On reflection, though, that rather begged the question: what about Subaru? DON'T MISS: Toyota electric-car tech to come from venture with Mazda, Denso The Japanese maker formerly referred to as "quirky"...
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2019 Range Rover Sport P400e plug-in hybrid on sale in US in summer 2018: technical details
Six years after Land Rover confirmed it would introduce a Range Rover plug-in hybrid, the luxury-SUV brand has now provided an official on-sale date. A 2019 Land Rover Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid model will both go on sale in the United States in the summer of 2018, likely followed by a...
John Voelcker -
2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: first drive of plug-in hybrid SUV
Not too many people will ever drive the 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, the plug-in hybrid version of the company's mid-size crossover utility vehicle. So it was fitting that the company launched the vehicle on dusty roads in the back country of Catalina Island: roads that not many people are...
Sebastian Blanco -
2019 Volvo XC40 small SUV to become brand's first electric car
Two years ago, the Volvo XC90 large SUV launched to widespread acclaim and awards as the Sino-Swedish brand's first all-new vehicle in six years. It was followed by the S90 sedan and V90 wagon in 2017, filling out its large luxury lineup. The 2018 Volvo XC60 mid-size crossover utility is now...
John Voelcker -
Honda CR-V Hybrid displayed in Frankfurt; US likely next, but when?
Five months ago, Honda showed a hybrid version of its CR-V compact crossover utility vehicle at the Shanghai auto show. Now, a European version of the Honda CR-V Hybrid is being shown at this week's Frankfurt auto show. Having teased it twice around the world, will the hybrid crossover come to...
John Voelcker -
2017 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid: review of plug-in hybrid SUV
The Porsche Cayenne is the second best-selling vehicle in the German sports-car maker's North American lineup, as SUV sales swamp those of passenger cars at luxury brands. A considerable number of the pricey SUV models sold here have been the Cayenne S E-Hybrid plug-in hybrid variant: 1,316 out of...
John Voelcker -
Germany's giant VW Group has said, several times, that it will have 30 different electric cars on sale globally by 2025. Over the last year, it's unveiled three different Volkswagen ID electric-car concepts, two of them thinly disguised versions of future production models for 2019 and 2020. Now, it has shown an update to one of those concepts at the Frankfurt motor show, the Volkswagen ID Crozz utility vehicle that debuted in April at the Shanghai auto show. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen ID Buzz driven: electric VW bus offers unique EV concept The Crozz (pronounced "cross" in German, as in...
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Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell EQ Power plug-in hydrogen crossover launches at Frankfurt
It's a plug-in hybrid crossover, but it doesn't have an engine. It's a hydrogen fuel-cell SUV, but it has a feature no other hydrogen-powered car offers. It's the Mercedes-Benz GLC F-Cell EQ Power, launched Tuesday at the Frankfurt motor show. DON'T MISS: Mercedes-Benz GLC to offer world's first...
John Voelcker -
2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel (very brief) first drive
We spent a few days with a gasoline-powered 2018 Chevy Equinox back in May, but now we've driven a much rarer version. The 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel will start to arrive at U.S. Chevy dealers within two weeks, the company says. On Wednesday, as part of a comprehensive presentation on the five...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai Fuel Cell SUV concept: hydrogen crossover coming next year
Hyundai arrived first to market with the world's first production hydrogen fuel-cell crossover utility in 2013 with the Tucson Fuel Cell, and we have a good idea of what to expect from the brand's follow-up act. The Korean brand unveiled a lightly-disguised concept this week that previews its next...
Sean Szymkowski -
For pickup trucks, more than half all fuel savings come in 2022-2025 CAFE rules
Sometimes, when science and technology issues have economic or political consequences, incorrect or misleading information and analyses can be propagated through the media, leading both decision makers and the public astray. A piece published in April by Forbes, covering the effects of the 2022...
John Briggs -
Nissan Leaf electric car platform to spawn more models, SUV included: report
The 2018 Nissan Leaf apparently won't be the brand's lone electric car for much longer, if a new report with details on plans to expand the electric car's underpinnings to additional models proves accurate. Following the introduction of the second-generation 2018 Nissan Leaf, the electric car's...
Sean Szymkowski -
The small SUV segment has ballooned into a hugely important market for many automakers, as consumers continue to shift from traditional sedans to crossovers and other utility vehicles. The smallest of the expanding array of SUVs on the market offers the flexibility of a hatchback or wagon, combined with the higher driving position many Americans have come to relish. However, the entire United States hasn't fallen equally in love with small SUVs: one part of the country is responsible for much of the segment's huge popularity. DON'T MISS: Some small SUVs may stint front passengers on safety...
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Jeep Wrangler Diesel already testing, before 2019 launch
The iconic Jeep Wrangler is a tough vehicle to make fuel-efficient. Its separate frame and body add weight, and it has all the wind-cheating grace of a small municipal hospital. The Wrangler SUV only gets redesigned every 10 years or so, so each new generation is a big deal to Jeep fans. DON'T...
John Voelcker -
Small 2019 Volvo XC40 crossover teased before launch, will offer plug-in hybrid
Volvo has never tackled the small crossover segment in the United States, but it's ready to change that with the new XC40. The Volvo XC40 will join the larger XC60 and XC90 as its smallest crossover option in the United States, though a previous generation of the model has found success in Europe...
Sean Szymkowski -
2018 Chevy Equinox Diesel pricing to start just above $31,000
Every now and then, resourceful journalists dredge up automotive news before it emerges in a sanitized press release from the maker in question. So it is with the pricing on the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel, one of two diesel-powered compact crossover utility vehicles expected to hit the U.S...
John Voelcker -
Hyundai targets 1,400 units a year of next-gen fuel-cell vehicle: report
It's public knowledge that Hyundai plans to replace its aging Tucson Fuel Cell utility vehicle with an all-new hydrogen-powered vehicle, and that it has big plans for the future. The Korean automaker showcased the FE Fuel Cell concept in March to provide a glimpse of what to expect when the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV being built now; Europe launch this year, U.S. in 2018?
While Audi and Mercedes-Benz have trumpeted the electric crossover utility vehicles they will offer in 2018 and 2019, a smaller competitor is keeping pace with the German giants. The British brand Jaguar won praise for the design of its I-Pace electric SUV on its debut at last November's Los...
John Voelcker -
What's a truck? If you tell your average suburban family that they're hauling their kids to school and sports practices in a truck, many will push back. "It's an SUV," you'll likely hear, or perhaps, "it's called a crossover"—short for crossover utility vehicle, or a car-based SUV. DON'T MISS: Are you driving a car, a crossover, an SUV, or a truck? Do you care? (Nov 2016) What few people know, though, is that the federal government defines all of these vehicles as trucks. Specifically, "light-duty trucks" that follow similar rules to the pickup trucks that we do think of when we think...
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So what happened to Tesla Model X electric SUV sales, anyway?
A few years ago, before the Tesla Model X electric SUV went into production, company CEO Elon Musk said he thought it could outsell the older Model S hatchback luxury sedan. That hasn't happened. In the first three months of this year, Tesla said it delivered 11,550 Model Xes—but 13,450 Model...
John Voelcker -
Video shoot shows Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV in production form
The British luxury brand Jaguar, far smaller than any of its three German competitors, may be looking to steal a march on all of them. While Audi revealed a concept version of its forthcoming e-tron all-electric SUV 18 months ago, and Mercedes-Benz followed with its EQ Concept last September, the...
John Voelcker -
Acura CDX could migrate from China as luxury subcompact crossover
Acura today has a thin lineup that has as many passenger sedans as crossover utility vehicles. With only the TLX, RDX, MDX, RLX, and NSX to work with, Honda's premium line doesn't compete in a number of important markets. The most glaring absence is in the raging hot subcompact crossover realm...
Brandon Turkus -
Volkswagen T-Roc video teases new small SUV five months early (updated)
Sales of crossover utility vehicles—the ones that look like tough, capable, high-riding SUVs but actually sit on passenger-car underpinnings—continue to surge all over the world. Carmakers are meeting the demand by adding new varieties (four-door coupe utility vehicle, anyone?) and...
John Voelcker -
2018 (?) Honda CR-V Hybrid all but confirmed for U.S. sale after Shanghai debut
It's one of the more frequently asked questions on consumer car sites: why aren't there any hybrid crossover utility vehicles? The Ford Escape Hybrid reigned alone in that segment from 2004 through 2012. Then Ford simply walked away from the segment, replacing it with the underwhelming C-Max Hybrid...
John Voelcker