Third-Row Seats
-
Two years from now, the electric-vehicle startup Rivian hopes to be making its R1T electric pickup truck at a former Mitsubishi (and Chrysler) plant in Normal, Illinois. If everything goes according to plan, shortly after that, in early 2021, it will start to deliver its other so-called electric adventure vehicle: the R1S all-electric seven-passenger SUV. With the R1S, which Rivian has just previewed at the Los Angeles auto show, much is carried over from its also-hypothetical R1T—including the three model levels attached to 105-kwh, 135-kwh, and 180-kwh battery packs, with four motors...
-
2018 Lexus RX 450hL hybrid three-row SUV priced from $51,600
Lexus invented the idea of a luxury hybrid utility vehicle in a version of its RX crossover well over a decade ago, but sales haven't been strong of late. Cheap gasoline, better fuel efficiency from all types of vehicles due to rising CAFE rules, and a lack of interest in hybrids have all hurt the...
John Voelcker -
Jeep Yuntu Concept for Shanghai may have plug-in hybrid powertrain
The Jeep Yunto Concept made its debut Wednesday at the Shanghai auto show, and it appears to be a plug-in hybrid. The automaker has been tight-lipped about the concept's drivetrain, but the vehicle on display in China clearly shows "PHEV" badges on the front doors. No surprise there, as the Chinese...
Zach Bowman -
2018 Volkswagen Atlas 7-seat SUV unveiled; plug-in hybrid coming, but when?
Volkswagen's 7-seat SUV will launch without a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
Stephen Edelstein -
2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid: brief drive of updated three-row SUV
The 2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid remains the only three-row hybrid crossover utility vehicle sold in the U.S. today. And for the 2017 model year, it's gotten some mild updates. a power increase, and a critical feature for family vehicles: a total of five USB ports. We had a chance to spend half an...
John Voelcker -
2017 Chrysler Pacifica fuel economy review
They say you never really forget how to ride a bike, but if you're Chrysler, you may temporarily forget how to build a minivan. That's just what happened for the company that invented the multi-purpose vehicle more than 30 years ago. Its last generation of Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge...
Andrew Ganz -
Tesla Motors will recall 2,700 Model X electric crossover utility vehicles to replace seat backs in the third row after a recliner unexpectedly slipped during seat-strength tests. The vehicles in question were built prior to March 26, and are all located in the U.S. Tesla said in a letter e-mailed yesterday to owners that it discovered the recliner issue while conducting safety tests prior to starting Model X deliveries in Europe. DON'T MISS: Tesla Model S Recall Announced For Rear-Seat Latch Bracket (Jun 2013) The company will have its Service Centers replace the third-row seat backs, a task...
-
2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid to be offered in four trim levels: Live photos
The refreshed 2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid will debut at the 2016 New York Auto Show.
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Volvo XC90 T8 Plug-In Hybrid: An Owner's First 21 Days
The 2016 Volvo XC90 T8 'Twin Engine' that went on sale last August was only the second plug-in hybrid SUV to be sold in the U.S., after the Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid. Since then it has been joined by the BMW X5 xDrive 40e, and coming up are the Mercedes-Benz GLE 550e, the Mitsubishi Outlander...
Green Car Reports -
2016 Volvo XC90: Gas Mileage Review Of Luxury Seven-Seat SUV
For green-car fans, the all-new Volvo XC90 seven-seat luxury crossover is most notable for its upcoming plug-in hybrid model. But that version will be just a small part of its sales, of which a majority in North America will have the company's supercharged and turbocharged Drive-E engine. The...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid 'No Longer Available,' Infiniti QX60 Twin Vanishes Too: UPDATED
Four months ago, we inquired about the fate of the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid. That version of the popular seven-seat family SUV, with a 2.5-liter four and a mild-hybrid system replacing the usual 3.5-liter V-6, had launched as a 2014 model. We weren't impressed with the car, either in prototype form...
John Voelcker -
2016 Honda Pilot Seven-Seat SUV Rated At 22 Or 23 MPG Combined
The 2016 Honda Pilot gets a slight bump in fuel efficiency as part of a ground-up redesign. The new Pilot was unveiled back in February at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show, and we now know that it will achieve an EPA-rated 23 mpg combined (20 mpg city, 27 mpg highway) with front-wheel drive and the...
Stephen Edelstein -
If you need to fit more than five into your vehicle—even just sometimes—and the thought of getting less than 25 miles per gallon in daily driving repulses you, the pickings for U.S. vehicle shoppers are still surprisingly slim. Why are there no hybrid minivans at all, no three-row crossovers you can plug in for electric-only city driving, and so few vehicles in general that will fit six or seven and achieve nearly 30 mpg or more? ALSO SEE: Why Nothing Competes With Tesla Today, Plug-In Hybrids Included The answers aren’t entirely straightforward, as we have to point to a...
-
Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid: Missing In Action, Or Just Slow-Selling?
The Nissan Pathfinder crossover utility vehicle seems to be doing well for Nissan, following its 2013 reinvention as a seven-seat family vehicle rather than the tough truck-based 4x4 that had previously defined the Pathfinder name. There's one model of the Pathfinder, however, that seems to be...
John Voelcker -
2016 Volvo XC90 T8 Plug-In Hybrid 'Twin Engine': First Drive
By the end of this year, there will be several luxury SUV models offered in the U.S. with plug-in hybrid powertrains that let them run 12 to 20 miles on electricity alone. We've now driven one of them, the 2016 Volvo XC90 T8 "Twin Engine" model, which will go on sale this fall. And based on our...
John Voelcker -
2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid: Gas Mileage Test Disappointing
Hybrid SUVs and crossover utility vehicles remain rare compared to the growing array of hybrid passenger sedans and hatchbacks. So we've been eager to test the new 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, one of only four hybrid crossovers. MORE: 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid: Is It Hybrid Enough To Matter?...
John Voelcker -
2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid: Is It Hybrid Enough To Matter?
Last year, we drove a prototype Infiniti JX Hybrid, as it was then called (it's now in production as the 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid). At that point, we wondered whether its mild-hybrid system would be "hybrid enough" to compete against the Lexus RX 450h that spawned the hybrid crossover segment two...
John Voelcker -
2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid: Video From New York Auto Show
The second of two large seven-seat hybrid crossovers at this year's New York Auto Show, the 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid is the glamorpuss of the pair. Known for the first year of its existence as the Infiniti JX, and now redubbed QX60 in a complete shakeup of the model names for Infiniti's high-end...
John Voelcker -
Last week's New York Auto Show had a number of green vehicles, but there were relatively few new production models there that truly qualified as green. So a new hybrid model of Nissan's seven-seat crossover Pathfinder comes as close as we can get. It's likely to be considered by a number of families looking for a large comfortable crossover who want the boost in gas mileage--15 to 25 percent--offered by the mild-hybrid system in the Pathfinder, an all-new vehicle last year. The smaller of two corporate hybrid systems, the one in the Pathfinder has a 15-kW (22-hp) electric motor sandwiched...
-
Third-Row, 7-Seat Family Vehicles With Highest Gas Mileage
We get asked a lot about hybrids with seven seats. The answer is simple: There's only one, the 2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. But the question is really more about fuel efficiency: What family vehicles with a third row of seats that can carry seven people get the best gas mileage? It's a major...
John Voelcker -
2012 Toyota Prius V Station Wagon/Minivan: Arrives This Fall
There's nothing like a story translated from overseas media, concerning a related but not-quite-the-same model of a new hybrid car, to get people all in an uproar. So here's the real deal on the 2012 Toyota Prius V station wagon/minivan: It will still arrive in U.S. dealerships this fall. That's...
John Voelcker -
Guide: How To Get Good Gas Mileage AND Third Row Seats?
"We have not yet fully accepted the fact that we need a new car. Some call it denial. But we do need one." That's how our friend Gordon Platt began a note asking our advice on what cars he should consider as he sets out to replace the family's aging 2003 Toyota Sienna minivan. "What are your...
John Voelcker