Crossovers

  • 2018 Toyota C-HR

    Sport-utility vehicles started out as truck offshoots, essentially tall wagon bodies on truck underpinnings. Think of the first Chevy Suburban in 1935, which remained a specialty vehicle (mostly for Texans) for its first 40 years. Fast-forward another 40 years, and my, how things have changed. DON'T MISS: 2018 Toyota C-HR - full review With steadily increasing fuel-economy rules, buyers not only in North America but worldwide are migrated from passenger sedans, wagons, and hatchbacks into what are called "crossover utility vehicles." They look sort of like the old SUVs, but they're built on...

  • 2017 Kia Niro Touring, Catskill Mountains, NY, March 2017
    2017 Kia Niro: gas mileage review

    However you choose to view the 2017 Kia Niro hybrid—Kia says it's a crossover utility, we call it a wagon—it's a good-looking and relatively capacious small car. The debate over segments comes because the Niro has neither the ground clearance of a utility vehicle nor available all-wheel...

  • Lexus UX concept, 2016 Paris auto show
    Lexus UX small crossover may get hybrid version that Toyota C-HR won't

    For better or worse, many Toyota models ultimately donate their underpinnings to the Japanese automaker's Lexus luxury brand. That may not give certain Lexus models the pedigree some purists desire, but it's a fact of life in the modern auto industry—and an effective way for Toyota to...

  • Nio Eve concept, 2017 SXSW
    Nio Eve concept is yet another Chinese luxury electric SUV, this one autonomous

    Chinese startup NextEV is the latest company attempting to replicate the success of Tesla with a long-range electric car. NextEV launched its Nio brand last year in dramatic fashion with the EP9—a 1,360-horsepower electric supercar. At the time, the company noted it was developing a model...

  • 2018 Land rover Range Rover Velar
    Does Range Rover Velar preview Jaguar I-Pace electric-car dash?

    Carmakers often use the same components across vehicles from multiple brands. It's a way to keep costs down by not having to engineer or procure completely different parts for each model. So could some new components in a new vehicle offer a peek at a future model well before it goes into...

  • 2017 Nissan Juke
    Nissan Juke concept to get e-Power series hybrid system as well

    Nissan is a leader in electric cars, but the Japanese automaker has been slow to adopt competitive hybrid technology. In a move that could potentially rectify that situation, Nissan unveiled its new e-Power series-hybrid system in Japan late last year. The system was first demonstrated in a Nissan...

  • 2017 Lexus RX 450h, Catskill Mountains, NY, Feb 2017

    The Lexus RX pretty much invented the luxury mid-size SUV category, and it remains a substantial part of the brand's sales in the U.S. 20 years later. It was also the brand's first hybrid crossover, sharing underpinnings with its larger and less-pricey Toyota Highlander Hybrid sibling. The RX was recently redesigned, and we've now had a chance to test it over a long weekend of mixed use. DON'T MISS: 2016 Lexus RX Hybrid F Sport First Drive We covered 325 miles along our usual test cycle, comprised of about two-thirds highway miles and one-third city and suburban lower-speed traffic. The 2017...

  • Honda WR-V (Indian-market version)
    Honda WR-V: how to make a crossover from a small hatchback

    Crossovers are so popular right now that several automakers are even trying to pass off conventional hatchbacks as high-riding utility vehicles. The latest example of this trend is the Honda WR-V, a new pseudo-crossover for the Indian market. Despite the extra plastic body cladding and...

  • 2017 Ford Escape Titanium 4WD, Kingston, NY, Feb 2017
    2017 Ford Escape AWD 1.5-liter gas mileage review

    Smaller engines with turbochargers have spread throughout new vehicles as a way to meet the increasingly stringent fuel-efficiency rules that started in 2012. But no maker has been as forward about marketing that technology as Ford, which now offers a range of downsized and boosted engines under...

  • 2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid
    Why aren't there more hybrid crossover utilities and SUVs?

    It's one of the most frequent questions asked by shoppers interested in utility vehicles with better gas mileage: why aren't there more hybrid SUVs and crossovers? Following the 2012 demise of the much-loved Ford Escape Hybrid, it took four years for the 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid to emerge. This...

  • 2017 Kia Niro
    2017 Kia Niro hybrid 'crossover' wagon priced from $23,800

    Almost a year after it was unveiled at the 2016 Chicago Auto Show, the 2017 Kia Niro hybrid is finally going on sale. The Niro is Kia's first dedicated hybrid vehicle, and the Korean carmaker has taken an unusual tack in describing its new model. Kia calls the Niro a crossover, but its relatively...

  • 2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Jan 2017
    2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid: gas mileage review

    Last year, Nissan sold almost 330,000 Rogues in the U.S., making it by far the brand's most popular model. For 2017, the compact crossover utility vehicle has added a new model, a hybrid that competes with the very successful Toyota RAV4 Hybrid—of which 44,000 were delivered last year. We...

  • Faraday Future FF 91

    Faraday Future unveiled its FF 91 electric car at a special event held during the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. It's a crossover-utility vehicle with a claimed 1,050 horsepower and 378-mile range, the latter courtesy of a 130-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Aside from those ambitious performance claims, the FF 91 has fairly extroverted styling, with bulging fenders, a low roof line, and a grille-free front fascia that advertises the car's electric powertrain. DON'T MISS: Faraday Future unveils FF 91, its first production electric car; deposits open, no price...

  • 2017 Kia Niro, San Antonio, Texas, Dec 2016
    2017 Kia Niro hybrid: first drive report

    According to its maker, the 2017 Kia Niro is the first "crossover hybrid vehicle" sold in the U.S.—but what does that really mean? We drove150 miles in two different versions of the top-of-the-line Niro Touring model two weeks ago, and concluded that the Niro represents an interesting package...

  • Nio EP9
    Nio electric SUV, from Chinese NextEV, to have 'Toyota cost' and 'Tesla range'

    NextEV's Nio brand will offer an electric SUV aimed at the Tesla Model X.

  • Mercedes-Benz Generation EQ concept, 2016 Paris auto show
    Audi e-tron vs Jaguar I-Pace vs Mercedes EQ: electric luxury SUVs compared

    Audi, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz all plan to launch luxury electric SUVs in the next few years.

  • 2016 Tesla Model X
    Consumer Reports' view of Tesla Model X: 'fast but flawed'

    Consumer Reports cited numerous issues with the Model X in a recent review.

  • 2018 Toyota C-HR
    Another tiny SUV? No AWD for 2018 Toyota C-HR subcompact crossover

    The 2018 Toyota C-HR subcompact crossover debuted at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show.

  • 2017 Mazda CX-5

    The 2017 Mazda CX-5 compact crossover is an entirely new design, Mazda says, although you might not see it at first glance. The small Japanese maker unveiled the new generation just four years after it launched the vehicle that now represents fully one-quarter of its global sales volume. But the company also confirmed a rumor first reported three days ago in the Japanese business press: it will offer U.S. buyers a diesel engine option in the CX-5. DON'T MISS: Mazda Diesel Still On Tap, But Performance Must Be Suitable, Exec Says (Feb 2015) Mazda's diesel has had one of the lengthier...

  • 2017 Jeep New Compass Limited
    2017 Jeep Compass launched in LA, new small SUV for growing Jeep lineup

    The 2017 Jeep Compass replaces both the previous Compass and the Patriot.

  • Jaguar I-Pace Concept, 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show
    Jaguar I-Pace electric concept at LA Auto Show: video walkaround

    Electric vehicles are hardly a new concept any more, but they've largely been the province of Nissan and Tesla. Add another nameplate to that battery-powered mix. The future of Jaguar arrives next year, in the shape of this gas-free SUV. Meet the Jaguar I-Pace concept. CHECK OUT: Jaguar I-Pace...

  • 2017 Mini Countryman
    New 2017 Mini Countryman, including plug-in hybrid: 'biggest Mini yet'

    The 2017 Mini Countryman is the first Mini model with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.

  • Jaguar I-Pace Concept, 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show
    Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV concept breaks cover at LA Auto Show

    Luxury electric cars: seems like everyone's doing them, doesn't it? The latest to join the growing pool of pricey battery-electric sedans and crossover utilities is the Jaguar I-Pace, revealed tonight as a concept at a splashy event before the Los Angeles Auto Show. But the British maker has...

  • 2018 Ford Ecosport
    2018 Ford EcoSport unveiled at 2016 Los Angeles auto show

    Like most things at Ford that don't have GT or RS in their name these days, the new Ford EcoSport is about 90 percent hype and 10 percent car. Fortunately, underneath all that ad-speak, the new subcompact crossover utility vehicle is a cute little thing, with some cool features. If Ford can deliver...

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