2018

  • 2018 Lexus LC 500h

    As the industry marches toward greener cars, battery and hybrid drivetrains are expanding into vehicle segments never before concerned with fuel economy ratings or much with emissions. No segment is excluded from this progress, not even luxury grand tourers. Toyota, along with its luxury division Lexus, is the king of hybrids, so it was no surprise when the stunning LC 500 unveiled in 2016 included a hybrid variant--the LC 500h. In a week of testing the 2018 Lexus LC 500h it’s clear that choosing the hybrid model is no compromise over the V-8 model. ALSO SEE: 2019 Lexus ES revealed...

  • 2018 Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Leaf Pro-Pilot Assist and range-anxiety review

    Airport runs are a regular challenge for electric cars. You need to use less than half the range so you can get home, and leave plenty of margin.

  • 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid drive, Napa Valley, Caifornia, Dec 2017
    All else equal, which Honda Clarity would you buy? Twitter poll results

    A majority of those who took the poll—53 percent—were most interested in the Clarity Plug-in Hybrid, with its 48-mile electric range, backed up by another 292 miles of range from its gas tank.

  • 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, Hudson Valley, NY, Apr 2018
    2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid: weekend drive review

    For several years, the Chevrolet Volt was the sole plug-in hybrid with electric range notably above 20 miles—though it became clear Chevy never figured out how to market its virtues to the public at large. Now it has a strong competitor in the form of the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, a...

  • 2018 Nissan Leaf with EVgo fast charger at NJ Turnpike Molly Pitcher travel plaza, Feb 2018
    2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: Is there a fast-charging problem?

    Nissan Leaf owners have found that the car's electronic controls dial back charging speeds with each successive fast charge on any given trip.

  • WaiveCar Hyundai Ioniq Electric
    2018 Hyundai Ioniq Electric "Unlimited" subscription more limited this year

    While global demand for the Hyundai Ioniq Electric appears to be strong, supplies have remained limited. The battery-electric compact hatchback, rated at 124 miles of range by the EPA, forgoes the "weird styling" of contenders like the previous Nissan Leaf. In the U.S., however, the all-electric...

  • 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range electric car, road test in greater Atlanta area, Feb 2018

    “The Tesla Model S was a moment. The Model 3 is a product.” That pair of sentences perfectly summarized the several hours we spent last month with the 2018 Tesla Model 3 kindly loaned to us by reader Jeff Southern of Atlanta. We’d covered more than 100 miles on a variety of highways, back roads, and suburban stop-and-go arterials, testing everything from full-on acceleration to cruise control, on routes from straight-ahead six-lane Interstates to twisty mountain back roads. The Tesla Model 3 turns out to be better, in some ways, than its advance press made us fear...

  • Prof. John Kelly on battery life in Nissan leaf, Chevy Bolt EV [video: Weber State University, Utah]
    Battery life of 2018 Nissan Leaf vs 2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric cars: what manuals suggest

    It's one of the major questions for any electric-car buyer: How long will the battery pack last? And what would it cost to replace it if I do need a new one sometime down the road? Now a new video looks at that question, comparing the different thermal-management technologies in the batteries of...

  • 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid
    2018 Honda Accord Hybrid sedan to go on sale Friday, March 23

    While mid-size sedans are losing the U.S. sales battle to crossover utility vehicles, they still sell hundreds of thousands of units each year. An entirely redesigned Honda Accord launched for 2018 just a few months after a redesigned version of its U.S. arch-rival the Toyota Camry, but the Accord...

  • 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid
    2018 Honda Accord Hybrid rated by EPA at 47 mpg combined

    The EPA has now released the fuel-efficiency ratings for the 2018 Honda Accord Hybrid, and they came in 1 mpg below the combined number the company had hoped to reach. At a drive event last fall, Honda said it hoped the redesigned Accord Hybrid could manage the same fuel-efficiency ratings as last...

  • 2018 BMW i3s
    2018 BMW i3s first drive review: sportier and nearly as efficient

    BMW's Test Fest in Palm Springs, California, at The Thermal Club attracts a broad range of cars. The star of the show is the 600-horsepower 2018 BMW M5. But before I can test that wild sport sedan on the track, I’ll do my best to balance my carbon footprint in the new 2018 BMW i3s. BMW has...

  • 2017 Toyota Prius Prime, Dallas, Texas
    For six months, one in five Prius sales has been a plug-in hybrid

    A funny thing happened to Toyota Prius hybrid sales last month. Almost one in three Prius hybrids sold in the U.S. were the Prius Prime model—the one with a plug. Toyota may be the large automaker least friendly to cars that plug in, so what's that all about? DON'T MISS: Toyota Prius hybrid...

  • Two 2018 Nissan Leafs with EVgo fast charger at NJ Turnpike Joyce Kilmer travel plaza, Feb 2018

    The first generation of mass-priced electric cars with ranges of 60 to 90 miles simply didn't have enough range to be used outside predictable daily commute duties and local errands around town. Sure, four-fifths of vehicles in the U.S. cover less than 40 miles a day—but that other fifth matters a lot when paying $30,000-plus for a new vehicle. So we were eager to get our hands on a 2018 Nissan Leaf, the second generation of the world's highest-selling electric car, EPA-rated at 151 miles of range. DON'T MISS: 2018 Nissan Leaf review We spent four days with a 2018 Leaf SL, the...

  • 2018 Fiat 500e
    2018 Fiat 500e preview

    When the Fiat 500e electric minicar launched in 2013, its range was rated at 87 miles, but its most distinctive feature was its wickedly fun-to-drive character. Six years later, the fun driving remains the same—and the range has fallen slightly to 84 miles, based on changes to EPA test...

  • 2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
    2019 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid video preview

    As they say: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. The first Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, launched for 2011, wasn't one of the better examples of the class for drivability. But Hyundai has updated its mid-size hybrid three times since then, with each generation getting markedly better. DON'T...

  • 2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
    2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, Plug-In Hybrid released at Chicago auto show

    What the auto industry calls a "mid-cycle refresh" can range from indistinguishable to very evident. The 2018 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid falls into the latter category, with new front and rear styling, changes to the interior and dashboard, and numerous added safety and connectivity features. The hybrid...

  • 2018 Lexus RX L, 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show
    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...

  • 2018 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell at hydrogen fueling station  [photo: Chris Baccus]
    Why a Fiat 500e driver got a Honda Clarity Fuel Cell as his next green car: low cost

    When marketing executive Chris Baccus leased a 2015 Fiat 500e three years ago, he intended to keep his 2007 BMW 335i as a "fun car," and use the electric Fiat just for commuting. Within six months, he'd sold the BMW altogether. Part of his interest in the Fiat, he admitted, came from an article...

  • 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid

    Nearly a year ago, we published a gas-mileage review on the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, the South Korean brand's Toyota Prius challenger. We saw 49.5 miles per gallon over 565 miles of driving. Now, we've tested the Ioniq Hybrid in more extreme conditions, on the cold, wintry roads of Detroit, Michigan. Not only did we cover exactly 400 miles on those frosty roads, we did it during the madness of the Detroit Auto Show, which led us to spend more time than usual driving in stop-and-go city conditions. DON'T MISS: 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid: gas mileage review The Ioniq Hybrid is by far the most...

  • 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid
    2018 Kia Niro preview

    Most highly fuel-efficient dedicated hybrids are compact five-door hatchbacks, the most popular vehicle segment globally. When Korean maker Kia was drawing up plans for its first dedicated hybrid vehicle, it took a different path. The wagon it came up with—it calls the Kia Niro a crossover...

  • 2018 Nissan Leaf
    Looking at leases on 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: how do they stack up?

    This past Tuesday, the 2018 Nissan Leaf—an entirely redesigned second generation of the pioneering electric car—officially went on sale in the U.S. It's quicker and has more features than its predecessors, not to mention a significantly longer range: 151 miles combined, according to the...

  • 2018 Nissan Leaf
    2018 Nissan Leaf electric car gets 151-mile EPA range rating

    When the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car was unveiled last fall, the company said it would have a range of "140 miles or more." That had risen to "150 miles or more" by the end of last year, and now we have the final confirmed figure. The EPA combined range rating for the second-generation Leaf is...

  • 2018 Smart Fortwo 10th Anniversary Edition
    Special-edition 2018 Smart Fortwo electric minicar marks 10 years of two-seater in US

    Birthed from the uncommon alliance between watch company Swatch and Mercedes-Benz, Smart's goal was to bring a stylish city car to the masses with a level of personalization not seen in other models. The first Fortwo rolled off the line at Smartville (in Hambach, France) almost 20 years ago, but it...

  • 2017 Kia Soul EV
    2018 Kia Soul EV gets bigger battery, range boost from 93 to 111 miles

    Updates to conventional cars come in a predictable pattern. Once a new model is launched, it gets only minor tweaks to features, prices, and paint colors for two or three years. Then in the third or fourth year, it gets what the industry calls a "mid-cycle refresh": some updated sheetmetal, perhaps...

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