Crossovers
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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 diesel engines GM uses globally, we got some "seat time" in a diesel Equinox. DON'T MISS: 2018 Chevrolet Equinox crossover: only turbo engines, diesel optional Unfortunately, it was a very, very short drive: about 12 minutes, most of it at speeds below 40 mph. We goofed on one part of the route...
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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 -
Smallest SUVs most popular in US Midwest, less so in west, south
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...
Sean Szymkowski -
2018 Mini Cooper S E Countryman All4 review of plug-in hybrid
The makers of the 2018 Mini Coooper S E Countryman All4, the unwieldy name for its first plug-in hybrid small crossover utility vehicle, aren't going to make any friends among electric-car fans. That's because the company has included in its marketing the notion that the car's hybrid powertrain...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Volt may be replaced in 2022 with plug-in hybrid crossover: CrossVolt at last?
Small SUVs are all the rage, steadily eating into sales of passenger sedans and hatchbacks of pretty much every size. It's not just limited to North America, either: the trend is global, which is why several makers have jacked up perfectly standard front-wheel-drive hatchbacks and turned them into...
John Voelcker -
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 over the past few years. With a launch getting closer, the brand released a handful of teaser imagines showing various design patterns, with the promise of "dozens of possible exterior and interior color combinations." DON'T MISS: Volvo to electrify all cars from 2019: 'end of internal-combustion...
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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 -
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 -
Hyundai Kona small SUV revealed, with electric version to come
Hyundai has finally shown the world its subcompact crossover utility vehicle, the 2018 Hyundai Kona. The 2018 Kona marks the brand's first foray into the subcompact SUV segment and will likely arrive in the United States next year or for 2019. The Kona name comes from the tourist spot in Hawaii and...
Sean Szymkowski -
Some crossover SUVs get easier fuel-economy rules, others don't
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...
John Voelcker -
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 -
A chatbot would never lie to you, right? That’s what I wanted to find out when I tested a Facebook Messenger chatbot for the 2017 Kia Niro crossover, which recently won the Guinness Book of World Records for the lowest fuel consumption for a hybrid vehicle. (It was an interesting competition, because two people drove across the United States using only around four tanks of fuel or 48.5 gallons.) DON'T MISS: 2017 Kia Niro hybrid: first drive report Surprisingly, the chatbot is pretty smart. I asked it some basic questions about features and how the hybrid tech works. It quickly provided...
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Nissan electric SUV to be shown as concept car this year
The 2018 Nissan Leaf may be the brand's next electric vehicle to soak up attention, but several reports have indicated that Nissan plans to flesh out its lineup with an electric crossover. That all-electric SUV will likely be previewed with a Vmotion 3.0 concept, which will follow the Vmotion 2.0...
Sean Szymkowski -
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 -
British magazine gets ride in all-electric Mercedes EQ Concept
Mercedes-Benz has big plans for electric vehicles in the future, but its main nod to what those plans will bring thus far is the EQ Concept. Shown at the Paris Motor Show last year, the vehicle represents a conceptual version of the first of many electric vehicles to come from the Germany luxury...
Sean Szymkowski -
What's the lowest acceptable gas mileage for a compact SUV? Poll results
We've driven a lot of compact crossover utility vehicles in recent months. It's a hot category in the new-car market, with all light trucks getting better fuel economy than in past years—and gasoline prices continuing below $3 per gallon in most of the U.S. So we wondered what readers felt...
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 -
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 smaller sizes. Volkswagen has big plans for the segments that sits below what U.S. buyers call compact crossovers. DON'T MISS: VW Teases Affordable Compact Crossover SUV Concept For Geneva (Feb 2016) In that segment, its 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan will arrive this fall to compete with mainstay larger...
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Chevrolet FNR-X plug-in hybrid crossover concept debuts in Shanghai: live photos
After being teased last week, the Chevrolet FNR-X Concept crossover made its debut yesterday at the Shanghai auto show. The new shape, which sports a plug-in hybrid powertrain, is intended to showcase the design talents of Chevy's Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center in Shanghai It's the second...
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 -
2017 Tesla Model X electric-car pricing, feature changes
Tesla has released updated pricing and features for its 2017 Tesla Model X all-electric crossover utility vehicle, including lower prices for both the 75D and 90D models. Like the changes released at the same time to the Model S sedan, the new lineup increases the distance between the two lower-end...
Zach Bowman -
Volkswagen ID Crozz concept for all-electric crossover debuts at Shanghai auto show
The Chinese government wants more plug-in electric cars sold in the country—and quickly. The Shanghai auto show this week demonstrates that multiple global automakers are stepping up to the plate, both with production cars and concepts. The Volkswagen ID Crozz Concept shows what a future...
John Voelcker -
Genesis GV80 fuel-cell concept SUV at NY auto show
These days, it's all but de rigeur that concept cars from major global automakers be shown with some form of alternative propulsion. They may preview future production vehicles powered by plain old conventional gasoline engines, but a plug-in hybrid or other greener powertrain shows the automaker...
John Voelcker