ECO

Auto Industry Insider: 7 Car Upgrades to Consider in 2020

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Looking to improve your car in 2020? The start of a new year is always the best time for making changes and improvements in all areas of your life, including your vehicle. Whether you want to improve the look, comfort or performance of the car (or all three) there are lots of good options for ways in which you can make improvements which will help to make this the best year with your car yet. You do not always have to spend a fortune to make big improvements to your car either – read on for a few suggestions for …

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2018 Kia Niro PHEV LX – ~240MPG Road Test Review – By Ben Lewis

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Last year we tested the Kia Niro hybrid, and it came away as one of our favorite vehicles of the year. Here was a hybrid with the practicality of a small crossover, excellent fuel economy, and best of all, it was truly fun to drive. We’d gladly have one in our driveway – and it would make a perfect day-to-day partner to some rip-snorting, fuel guzzling, socially questionable weekend toy. Plugging into the latest and greatest While hybrids have been around for quite a while now and become extremely successful, getting people into full EV electric vehicles has been a …

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2017 Renault SYMBIOZ Concept Car (and House!) – Holistic 2030 Nature-Mobile

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You know we love a good Renault concept around here.  They generally present a future design language on a wild, unrealistic bodystyle. But the advent of electric cars can be really freeing.  SYMBIOZ envisions a car that perfectly fits into its environment and makes a showpiece of everything that passes by these glass windows and roof.  The flatpack battery is Tesla-style and lets the front end be cut to nothing, the overall height radically low and the width stretched to the extreme.  Advanced ultra-strong materials mean SYMBIOZ can pass crash tests even without typical crumple zones.  And with all the …

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2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid EXTERIOR 34

2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid – Road Test Review

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Ioniq is really a charmer on the road.  This is a car that can out-eco a Prius and yet also sling itself around corners like a balanced Lotus. 50 mpg has never been so easy, or fun!  No plugs needed and no range anxiety.  Ioniq is good enough to make you really rethink the logic of a full EV.  This just seems so much smarter and more versatile.  It is a seamless normal-car replacement.  Smoother than a normal sedan’s drivetrain and just as easy to own. We spent a week testing the Ioniq’s limits in a high-performance drive video.  And …

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2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid – First Drive Review w/ Video [60 Photos]

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Ioniq launches for 2017 as the first direct Prius rival in years.  Yes, I hear you — there are dozens of Prius rivals! And you are right: hybrids and EVs have gained traction in midsize sedans, luxury cars and SUVs at a rapid clip recently.  But no car actually tries to out-do Prius in 2017.  Not the cancelled Honda Insight.  And not the plug-in Chevy Volt, or battery-only VW eGolf. The reasons for this are many.  Mostly because Prius has beaten them all.  Ridiculously good mileage – no matter what.  A formula that surprisingly has never been cracked by another …

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Road Test Review – 2017 Hyundai Elantra Eco – By Carl Malek

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With the recent resurgence that Hyundai has undergone the past few years, its truly remarkable just how much progress the brand has made over the last 10 to 15 years. Once known for making cars that excelled at being cheap reliable transportation (and not much else,) the current lineup has evolved to offer customers a premium driving experience, while still being a great value for many budgets. This was apparent in the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Limited Turbo we recently tested, but how has this sweeping change affected the more mainstream oriented Hyundai Elantra? and can it repeat the same levels …

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2017 Hyundai ELANTRA ECO - HD Drive Video Review 2

HD First Drive – 2017 Hyundai ELANTRA ECO

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    Just the HD drive video and 40 pics of this plucky little sedan. One pic for every highway MPG this advanced-tech compact can achieve?  Yes indeed.  32-mpg city and 40-mpg highway are the audited, confirmed EPA numbers on this most-efficient Elantra ever. No full review today. Our time in the car was too brief to really make many lasting impressions.  Do recall loving that seven-speed DCT and 128-pony, 1.4-liter turbo engine.  Less the stinky brakes/clutches after a fast drive and those embarrassingly tiny alloy wheels.  At least they painted up the mini alloys a discrete anthracite grey to …

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Road Test Review – 2015 Lexus NX300h – Future-Proof Cruiser

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By now you have definitely done a double-take on seeing the 2015 Lexus NX on the road. At first, another of the RX cavalry. Then new creases, new LED graphics and a sleek and low roofline make clear this is no RX. With the lean and chic nose look off the RC and IS, the NX is a deeply stylish crossover in all three of its trimlines: NS200t, NX F Sport and the NX300h tested here.  Both the base turbo four and this uplevel Hybrid model share their appearances, with only the F Sport getting the aggressive front chin spoiler, …

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2015 Hyundai Sonata ECO Review 2

HD Video Drive Review – 2015 Hyundai Sonata ECO Introduces 1.6T and 7-Sp DCT

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The 2015 Sonata ECO is the perfect blend of the base Sonata and the loaded Sonata Sport 2.oT. With styling inside and out that is darker and sexier than the base model, the Sonata ECO wears a tasty black chrome for its grille that really moves the car’s look upmarket. At least from the front. From the side and in profile, the ECO is a bit more humble. 17-inch low-rolling resistance tires look a bit silly and undersized, while a single exhaust pipe out back is down by half versus the Sonata Sport 2.0T. But where the ECO really pulls …

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TESLA MODEL S ANIMATION2 HEADER

OP-ED: Tesla Increasing Already-Hefty Risks + Online Build Shows $72k Model S Is Tech Vanguard Bargain vs. Accord PHEV at $45k

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As my Tweets previewed a few minutes ago: “When you or I flip a coin, there are two possible total outcomes. When Tesla flips a coin, it lands as a still-spinning Rubik’s Cube.” PART 1: DEVILS ADVOCATE DISCLAIMER — OPINIONS ONLY We have been pretty hard on Tesla recently for a variety of reasons that have little to do with the excellence of the firm’s main product: the Model S sedan. Before you write this off as uninformed Tesla ‘hating,’ please note a few things about his article right at the top:   The Model S is ** by far** …

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New Kia Soul LED Coolness Hookah Bar 32

New Kia Soul Scores on LED Coolness – A Hookah Bar on Wheels!

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The 2014 Kia Soul is hugely revised for 2014, with helpful updates throughout to enhance comfort and style. Many people do not understand these boxy compacts. Allow me to illustrate the ideal target market: teens whose nights out might include much more “cruising around” than actual destinations. For these aimless but high-mile young drivers: an upright seating position, thumping audio, and fresh style are the key buying metrics. Pace? Not really mandatory. A multi-hose hookah pipe might be a popular option, if offered, however… or would have been with my pals back in the day. With pricing from just $15,000, …

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