Sedans

  • 2013 Dodge Dart Compact Sedan

    With only a month remaining before it pulls the covers off what may be its most important car in decades, Chrysler has released details of its upcoming 2013 Dodge Dart. That's the model name it's chosen, pulled out of the archives for the new compact sedan that will replace the uncompetitive Dodge Caliber. The public will see the complete vehicle on January 9. Three engine options The new compact will offer three different engines and three transmissions. One engine is the same 1.4-liter MultiAir four that's used in the 2012 Fiat 500, built in a Michigan assembly plant, but with a...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Sonic hatchback, road test, Catskill Mountains, Oct 2011
    2012 Chevy Sonic Test Drives: Carmaker Looks To Bloggers, Not Journalists

    Normally, when an automaker brings a new car to the market, it invites automotive journalists to get behind the wheel to put the car through its paces and render their professional opinion on how the car drives, feels and performs. But as part of the launch of the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, Chevrolet is...

  • BMW ActiveHybrid 5 Concept
    Luxury Hybrid Sedan Face-Off: BMW 5 v Infiniti M v Lexus GS

    A battle is about to commence, and it could get messy. While Toyota's Prius dominates at the lower end of the hybrid market and is set to tighten its hold further with the Prius V and Prius C, Toyota subsidiary Lexus is set to field its GS 450h luxury hybrid sedan against the Infiniti M35h (a Green...

  • Xtronic CVT, 6th generation  -  for 2013 Nissan Altima
    Nissan Boosts Fuel Economy By Redesigning CVT In 2013 Altima

    One of the best ways to improve fuel economy is to keep a car's engine operating at its most efficient speed, regardless of how fast the vehicle is traveling. That's the principle behind continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs, which use belts and variable pulleys to match road speed to an...

  • 2013 Dodge compact sedan - cropped
    Should 2013 Dodge Compact Be Named Dart, Duster, Camber...Or Caliber?

    With just six weeks to go before the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, where Chrysler will unveil its critically important 2013 Dodge compact sedan, we still know relatively little about it. We've seen a spy shot, and last week we learned that the new model won't be called the Dodge Hornet, a name we rather...

  • 2012 Volkswagen Passat
    2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI: GreenCarReports Best Car To Buy 2012 Nominee

    Hybrids and, more recently, plug-in cars seem to have gotten all the green ink lately, leaving fans of fuel-sipping clean diesels out in the cold. Four makers sell diesel passenger vehicles in the U.S. for 2012: Audi and BMW joined longtime stalwarts Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen a few years back...

  • 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid, road test, Spring 2011

    Though always overshadowed by the more distinctive Toyota Prius, the hybrid model of the Honda Civic compact sedan has been a longstanding competitor in the field of high-mileage hybrid cars. First launched as a 2003 model, the Honda Civic Hybrid has been entirely redesigned for the 2012 model year. Most important for the hybrid model, it uses an all-new and more compact lithium-ion battery pack to power the 15-kilowatt (20-horsepower) electric motor sandwiched between its 1.5-liter engine and continuously-variable transmission (CVT). The result is a gas-mileage trifecta of 44 miles per...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Malibu ECO
    2013 Chevy Malibu Eco Starts At $26,000, Rated 38 MPG Highway

    Chevy's Malibu Eco mild hybrid will deliver near-hybrid highway fuel economy from a starting price of $26,000.

  • 2012 Fisker Karma
    More Fisker Bad News: EPA Calls 20-MPG Karma A Subcompact

    It's been a tough week for Fisker. The startup electric-car company finally got its car approved for sale, many months late, only to have the EPA rate its gas mileage at just 20 mpg in range-sustaining mode. Now, a new wrinkle to those ratings has come out: Based on the volume measurements it uses...

  • 2012 Kia Rio
    40-MPG 2012 Kia Rio Sedan To Start At $14,150

    The new-from-the-ground-up Kia Rio sedan offers 40 mpg highway fuel economy, a wide range of standard safety features and a segment first idle stop and go system, all for a relatively low point of entry.

  • 2012 Honda Civic HF, Palo Alto, California, October 2011
    2012 Honda Civic HF: Quick Drive Of Higher-MPG Civic

    Five months ago, we drove the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid--which gave us slightly more than 45 mpg using "Econ" mode. That's the best gas mileage of any Honda Civic in recent memory. So we were eager to test the new-for-2012 Civic HF model, which forgoes the electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack...

  • 2012 Mercedes-Benz S 350 Bluetec
    2012 Mercedes-Benz S 350 Bluetec Clean Diesel: Quick Drive

    What can you say about driving a Mercedes-Benz S-Class? It's luxurious, smooth, powerful, packed with features, impressive on the road, and very, very large. Now you can add another adjective: green. While the S 400 Hybrid has been in the mix for two years, Mercedes-Benz is launching a clean-diesel...

  • 2012 Subaru Impreza hatchback, Connecticut, Sept 2011

    Subaru is known for its no-nonsense, durable, all-wheel drive Forester and Outback crossover utility vehicles. What U.S. buyers don't seem to know is that the company also makes compact sedans and hatchbacks. For 2012, Subaru has restyled its Impreza compact, increasing interior space while keeping overall length and width the same, lightened it, and fitted it with an all-new engine and the Impreza’s first continuously variable transmission (CVT). The new engine and transmission combine with a weight reduction of 110 pounds to improve gas mileage considerably over the previous model...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, road test, Catskills Mountains, October 2011
    2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ Sedan: Weekend Test Drive

    "Bracket creep" is the phenomenon where each successive generation of a car gets slightly bigger. It's what allowed the Honda Civic to evolve from the 1973 model, which today we'd call a minicar, to the compact it is today. The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, deemed a subcompact by GM, is a prime example of...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Sonic
    2012 Chevrolet Sonic: What Do You Want To Know About New Subcompact?

    The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic is the first subcompact car built in the U.S. in a very long time, and one of several new Chevy models that aim to lift the carmaker's overall fuel efficiency. We'll be driving at least three separate 2012 Sonics within four weeks, so we're seeking your input. What do you...

  • 2013 Dodge compact sedan - cropped
    2013 Dodge Compact Sedan: More Info On Chrysler's Most Crucial Car

    The most important car that will be unveiled at next January's Detroit Auto Show may be the new 2013 compact sedan from Dodge, the first all-new vehicle designed by the combined Chrysler-Fiat companies. This morning, spy shots have leaked out and GreenCarReports has a small nugget of information on...

  • 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5
    2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5: Taking Hybrid Luxury To Next Level

    Exit one BMW hybrid, enter another. Next March will see the U.S. launch of the 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5, the second hybrid sedan in the Germany luxury-car maker's lineup. And the ActiveHybrid 5 marks an important evolution: It's the first BMW that uses the single-motor hybrid system jointly...

  • 2012 Mercedes-Benz C 250, Maine, September 2011
    2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class: Four-Cylinder C 250 Drive Report

    The onslaught of four-cylinder engines into vehicles that previously wouldn't have had anything lower than six cylinders continues. It's in the service of gas mileage, and the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C 250--with a 1.8-liter turbocharged and direct-injected four putting out 201 horsepower and 229...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Sonic  -  First Drive

    We found the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic to be fuel-efficient, comfortable, and in 1.4T form, the most refined model in this class, and one of the most engaging to drive.

  • The Infiniti M35h's fastest run. Image: Infiniti
    2012 Infiniti M35h Is The World's Quickest Full Hybrid

    Kicking off the car's launch in Europe, Guinness World Records has certified the Infiniti M35h hybrid as the "world's fastest accelerating full hybrid."

  • 2011 Coda Sedan
    2012 Coda Sedan: LA Times Drives Elusive Compact Electric Car

    “In America, we like everyone to know about the good work we’re doing anonymously,” Jay Leno explained to Top Gear’s James May, discussing his views of the green-car mentality in the U.S. His point: The models we buy affirm their conscientiousness (and our own) with...

  • 2013 Lexus GS 450h teaser
    2013 Lexus GS 450h Hybrid: LED Headlamps, Possible Plug-In Later

    While Lexus unveiled its all-new 2013 GS 350 sports sedan at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, it showed off only the gasoline GS 350 model. Details of the future hybrid version, the 2013 Lexus GS 450h, remain under cover until the company launches the car officially at next month's...

  • 2012 Audi A8 Hybrid
    Audi A8 Hybrid: For Europe In 2012, For U.S. Sometime Later, Maybe

    Historically, German automakers were slow to move into hybrid-electric vehicles, relying exclusively on diesel engines to boost fuel efficiency. That's in the past, though, and the Volkswagen Group is aggressively spreading its hybrid powertrain across models from many of its brands. But while VW...

  • 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid
    2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid: First Drive

    The all-new 2012 Camry Hybrid gets excellent gas mileage, of up to 43 mpg city, 39 highway

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