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  • 2020 Toyota Corolla

    The redesigned 2020 Toyota Corolla sedan will soon spawn a hybrid variant, the first gasoline-electric version of the automaker's popular compact car. Toyota made the announcement Thursday as it unveiled the Corolla sedan at simultaneous events in California and China, underscoring the model's global appeal. Toyota was mum on additional details, such as pricing or an on-sale date, about the upcoming Corolla hybrid. More information will come at the Los Angeles auto show later this month, Toyota said. READ MORE: Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid with Toyota tech unveiled The Corolla hybrid should...

  • 2019 Volkswagen Jetta
    Is the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta the most fuel-efficient small car?

    Over the lifetime of a car, small things can make a big difference. When it comes to fuel economy, just 1 or 2 mpg can add up to hundreds of dollars left in owners’ pockets. That may not mean much to luxury buyers, but for compact sedans that start at less than $20,000 and their owners, every...

  • 2019 Jeep Cherokee Overland, Hudson Valley, NY, Mar 2018
    2019 Jeep Cherokee gas mileage review

    While plug-in electric cars are steadily growing in sales, they still pale in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of compact crossover utility vehicles sold each year by virtually every major carmaker. In 2017, Toyota's most popular vehicle became the RAV4 small SUV, supplanting the Camry...

  • 2018 Mazda CX-5
    Mazda CX-5 diesel: engine still MIA in compact crossover utility vehicle

    It's the mystery model, the all-but-legendary vehicle still just beyond reach, years after its maker first announced plans to offer diesel engines. Specifically, it's the diesel version of the Mazda CX-5 compact crossover utility vehicle, first revealed in 2016 and later announced as a 2018 model...

  • 2019 Honda Insight, 2018 New York auto show
    2019 Honda Insight: good-looking 50-mpg competitor for Prius hybrid

    Teased in January as a "concept" without an interior, the production version of the 2019 Honda Insight hybrid sedan has been revealed just before this week's New York auto show. EPA ratings aren't yet final, but Honda says the new Insight is projected to achieve "up to 55 mpg" on the city cycle...

  • 2019 Toyota Corolla hatchback, 2018 New York auto show
    2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback returns at NY Auto Show

    The Toyota Corolla is the world's highest-selling nameplate, having surpassed the Ford Model T and Volkswagen Beetle years ago. It exists in many different models and varieties all over the world, but the U.S. hasn't always been offered the hatchback version. In fact, the Corolla lineup only...

  • 2019 Lexus UX

    After a gestation period of 18 months, the 2019 Lexus UX small crossover utility vehicle is emerging in its U.S. form at this week's New York auto show. One full size smaller than the Lexus RX that launched the luxury crossover segment 20 years ago, the UX gives Toyota's luxury brand an entry in the smaller-than-mid-size crossover segment that's hot, hot, hot these days. And like all mainstream Toyota and Lexus models, there's a hybrid version available. DON'T MISS: Lexus UX smaller crossover peeks out before Geneva auto show That differentiates the 2019 UX from the Toyota C-HR (nee Scion)...

  • 2012 Ford Escape Hybrid
    Will 2021 Ford Escape bring back hybrid model (or plug-in hybrid)?

    Tomorrow, Ford is hosting journalists at an unusual event called "Ford Uncovered," at which it may discuss some of its future products for 2020 and beyond. Key among the questions that attendees will undoubtedly ask will be those about the company's strategy for electrified vehicles. While Ford was...

  • 2019 Volkswagen Jetta
    How 2019 Volkswagen Jetta inched up its EPA fuel-economy ratings

    While plug-in electric cars get lots of media attention, they remained just 1 percent of U.S. vehicle sales last year. And while the Trump Administration appears dead-set on rolling back emission limits and fuel-economy requirements established years ago, that effort will undoubtedly face lengthy...

  • 2019 Toyota Corolla hatchback
    2019 Toyota Corolla Hybrid hatchback debuts in Geneva for Europe

    Remember hatchbacks? Actually, come to think of it ... remember passenger cars? You know, the sedans and wagons and hatchbacks that don't have all-wheel drive and aren't jacked up 6 to 9 inches off the ground? They used to roam this fair land of ours, but lately, they seem to have been routed by...

  • Honda CR-V Hybrid introduced at 2017 Shanghai auto show
    Honda CR-V Hybrid to launch in Europe; still no word on US or Canada

    The Honda CR-V Hybrid, a more fuel-efficient version of the company's best-selling compact crossover, has been around for almost a year now. It's on sale in China, announced for Japan, and now, as of Tuesday, it's slated to arrive in European markets early in 2019. As for North America? The company...

  • Two 2018 Nissan Leafs with EVgo fast charger at NJ Turnpike Joyce Kilmer travel plaza, Feb 2018
    2018 Nissan Leaf electric car: four-day winter road-trip review

    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...

  • 2018 Mercedes-Benz A-Class

    The Mercedes-Benz CLA compact sedan made a big splash when it first arrived as a 2014 model, complete with a much-discussed Super Bowl ad spot the previous year. The small, coupe-like sedan was built on the underpinnings of the smallest Mercedes on the market, the A-Class sold in Europe since the 1990s as a five-door hatchback. Last week, the company unveiled a new generation of the A-Class hatch, offering a sleeker design, more fuel-efficient powertrains, and a far more upscale interior that included the new MBUX infotainment system. DON'T MISS: Mercedes-Benz CLA 250: Gas Mileage Review Of...

  • 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid
    2018 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid winter gas mileage review

    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...

  • 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...

  • John and Mimi Porter of San Diego, California, with their new 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, in Feb 2017
    2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car: owners' impressions after a year

    Californians got the chance to buy Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars before everyone else, and the compact hatchback has sold well in the state, aided by its 238-mile rated range. Last February, readers John and Mimi Porter of San Diego shared their first impressions of the new silver Bolt EV they...

  • Honda Insight Prototype, 2018 Detroit auto show

    Pickup trucks took the limelight this year, but a significant green car made a quiet debut. It's an interesting and handsome model that revives a familiar name for Honda. The 2019 Honda Insight is a compact premium sedan projected to get an EPA combined rating of 50 mpg or better. The new Insight is Honda's third try at a dedicated hybrid, each of them a different type of car. DON'T MISS: 2019 Honda Insight prototype debuts in Detroit; 50 mpg or better projected The latest version is a compact sedan, versus the smaller five-door hatchback sold under the same name from 2010 through...

  • Honda Insight Prototype, 2018 Detroit auto show
    2019 Honda Insight prototype debuts in Detroit; 50 mpg or better projected

    At the 2018 Detroit auto show, the Honda Insight Prototype was unveiled Monday to preview a production sedan due later this year. Any new hybrid car from one of the pioneers of hybrid-electric vehicles is notable, and that's what Honda has delivered. Honda called the car at the auto show an...

  • 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...

  • Volvo 40.2 concept
    Volvo to offer multiple electric cars, battery-size options, starting in 2020

    Volvo has confirmed its second electric car for the brand will be a version of the V40 compact hatchback it plans to unveil within the year. Much like the all-electric Volkswagen e-Golf version of the standard Golf, Volvo will roll out a conventional version of its V40 hatchback on the new compact...

  • 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid, Six Flags Magic Mountain, California, Dec 2017
    2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid first drive review (pricing from $28,840)

    Some plug-in hybrid models are easily distinguishable from the rest of the cars their maker sells. Others, like the 2018 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid, are all but invisible. It takes a sharp eye to see the charging port door on the left-front fender or the trim and badging differences that distinguish...

  • First 2018 Nissan Leaf produced at assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, Dec 2017
    2018 Nissan Leaf electric car now rolling off lines in Tennessee

    The 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car will start to appear at Nissan dealers in January, the company said Monday. That availability came in an announcement that the second-generation electric car officially went into production the same day at Nissan's sprawling assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee...

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