2019

The all-wheel drive version of the Toyota Prius introduced last week at the LA Auto Show earns an astoundingly good EPA fuel economy rating of 50 mpg combined—nearly as good as the 52 mpg earned by much of the Prius lineup (LE, XLE and Limited). But the system isn’t nearly as capable as...

At the LA Auto Show, Kia has provided some long-awaited U.S. market details for the Niro EV. Among the most important ones: With a large 64-kwh battery pack, it will offer an EPA-rated range of 239 miles. The Niro, which Kia describes as a “multi-function crossover format,” is built on...

Mazda has revealed its 2019 Mazda 3 compact car, in new-generation form, at the 2018 LA Auto Show. It’s not surprising, given the brand’s go-it-alone strategy this decade, that the new ‘3’ appears to take a different path than key global compact-car rivals in nearly every...

If you want one of the highest-mileage non-plug-in vehicles on the market—like the Toyota Prius, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Niro, or Honda Insight, there’s been one quite significant deal-breaker for many Snow Belt families: All-wheel drive simply isn’t a possibility. That’s due to...

The 2019 RAV4 Hybrid is Toyota’s way of flexing its corporate might. It’s as if the automaker called on each of its departments to create the new hybrid crossover SUV. The folks from design coughed up some 4Runner and Tacoma cues to give it a butch look. The Lexus team chiseled the...

The Jaguar I-Pace is a front-runner—the first fully electric, longer-range vehicle from a long-established luxury brand. But it’s not a “Tesla-fighter” as the I-Pace has often been called. More accurately it exists not to conquest Tesla drivers but to keep...

In our quest to find Green Car Reports’ Best Car To Buy, the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric is shaping up to be the “no drama” candidate. By now, we’ve had four distinct experiences with this small, fully electric crossover—or tall hatchback, depending on how you see it...

Hyundai’s “Unlimited+” electric-car subscription plan, which was only offered in Southern California but originally destined for wider rollout, won’t be coming back at all on the 2019 Hyundai Ioniq Electric, the automaker confirmed last week. When the program was first...

Our first test-drive time with the Hyundai Kona Electric included plenty of what’s very familiar to Los Angelenos: plodding along to the next stoplight on wide boulevards, waiting another few minutes, and repeating—with occasional squirts into traffic gaps and quick merges into the...

The 2019 Honda Insight hybrid hasn't been on sale for long; and yet Honda is already recalling more than 6,000 of them for a rearview camera failure. The problem affects another 226,000 vehicles—2018 Accord models, possibly including some Accord Hybrids. The screen may show up blank, with...

A certain charging cord included in a small number of 2019 Volvo XC60 crossover SUVs may overheat and shock owners, or start a fire, the automaker said this month. Volvo announced a recall for 35 Volvo XC60 T8 crossover SUVs earlier this month to replace the charging cords. The small number of...

That sound you hear isn’t the 2019 Honda Insight’s hybrid powertrain whirring along. It’s the undertaker coming for the vaunted Honda Civic nameplate. The 2019 Insight isn’t just a better hybrid, it’s a better compact car. I spent a week moseying around in an Insight...

In June, we heard that the 2019 Chevrolet Volt will come with a faster charger and more luxury features. Now, CarsDirect has learned how much those features will add to the price. The price of the base Volt LT model will go up $300 to $34,395, including destination and before any applicable federal...

In its latest round of safety tests, the IIHS has awarded the 2019 Honda Insight hybrid its Top Safety Pick+ award. The Top Safety Pick+ is the Institute's highest award, given to cars that perform well in a wide battery of crashes, headlight evaluations, and automatic emergency braking tests. The...

Ford is boosting the battery size and electric range of its Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid sedan for 2019. The new battery will store 9 kwh, up from 7 kwh, to give the 2019 Fusion Energi a range of 25 electric miles, up from 21 miles. The bigger battery should make the Fusion Energi more competitive...

By 2024, Land Rover will have a whole new lineup of hybrid and electric luxury SUVs. As we learned yesterday, that lineup will include plug-in hybrid and electric versions of its small Evoque crossover SUV. Now the company has released pricing for its largest, most luxurious plug-in hybrid, the...

Efficiency comes in many automotive forms: electric powertrains, continuously variable transmissions, smaller-displacement engines. More aerodynamic designs help efficiency, too. With the 2019 A-Class, Mercedes-Benz says it's raised the aerodynamic bar. Mercedes-Benz claims that the new 2019...

Updates to the 2019 Chevrolet Volt will help experienced electric-car drivers maximize their electric driving and minimize the times the gas engine needs to run. The biggest improvement is a new 7.2-kw on-board charger that can effectively cut charge times in half. The advantage for Volt drivers...

Last week, we drove the new 2019 Honda Insight sedan and found Honda's newest compact hybrid roomy and comfortable. During our drive around Minneapolis, its exurbs, and into Wisconsin, we wanted to put to the test Honda's claims that its 1.5-liter inline-4 and 96-kw electric motor combination could...

You could be forgiven for not remembering the two Honda vehicles that have worn an Insight badge before. The first was a quirky hatchback two-seater that struggled for acceptance with mainstream buyers. The second was a Prius-like Prius fighter, egg shape and all. This 2019 Honda Insight is the...