MPG

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 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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2016 Toyota PRIUS Intros Future-Tech Design, Sharper Handling and 10% Efficiency Bump

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New new Prius made a splashy debut last night in Las Vegas — marking a new phase in hybrid-electric cars right in a desert city that neon and AC made possible. Is this fun-loving mission a disconnect for the ultra-responsible Prius? Not at all: the new Prius adds efficiency and new tech to the classic Prius merits, but injects a healthy share of fun and style for the first time in 2016. What does this mean? Let’s break it down into three buckets: tech, fun and style. TECH The basics are that the new Prius is 2.4-inches longer, 0.6-inches wider …

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Road Test Review – 2015 Hyundai GENESIS 3.8 AWD Is Impossibly Good

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2015 Hyundai GENESIS Review   The 2015 Hyundai Genesis sets a skyhigh bar for luxury sedan excellence. This V6 AWD version is the best-driving and most joyful four-door we’ve driven in years. Why? The Genesis feels inherently right behind the wheel, diving into and out of corners, and singing up to its redline. There is a terrific analog feel to the Genesis at speed — you instantly trust the car implicitly and fall head over heels. We’d even wager most performance sedan owners would prefer the Genesis to the new 535i or E350. Versus the A6 or Cadillac CTS?! No …

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Refreshed 2016 Toyota RAV4 and New RAV4 Hybrid Make NY Debut

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  Toyota is rolling out an update for the 2016 RAV4 that includes a new design for the nose and tail, LED lighting all around and some very cool new cabin tech. The Hybrid is a perfect demo platform for these new features because it will come in two loaded flavors, with the ‘trifecta’ of LEDs up front and LED brake lights as standard. These are likely optional on the cheaper, gas-powered trim lines. In this new and far more appealing nose, the RAV4 runs LED foglamps, LED DRL’s forming a sharp accent line across the top of the headlamps, …

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All-New 2016 Scion iA Poised to be Best Subcompact 4-Door With Sporty Chassis and Upscale Cabin

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Scion’s littlest car in history is also set to be one of its most chuckable and sporty handlers!  This new four-door compact sedan will be priced around $16,000 with just one well-speced trim level and choice between six-speed manual or six-speed automatic. The 106-horsepower four-cylinder sedan is closely related to the new 2016 Mazda2, but offers a sedan bodystyle not available on the Mazda. The style is quite fresh from nose and profile angles, with shapely creases and an overall lean and sporty look. The roof is fairly low, which is refreshing versus the too-tall Ford Fiesta and Chevy Spark. …

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2015 Chevrolet Trax Arriving in January With Base Price of $21,000

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Updated 12.1.14 The Chevy Trax is arriving to Chevy dealers very, very soon! As these latest photos and top 20 features below show, Chevy is eager to make Trax in the compact crossover market sales charts! We were pretty far below the Trax’s actual prices in our ballpark below of $19k to $25k — the Trax will actually start from $21,000 as a front-drive and $22,500 with AWD. Simple trim levels at least mean the LTZ AWD will not be much of a jump up the price ladder – with our new estimate being $27,000 with every available option. Fuel …

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2014 Ford Fiesta Adds EcoBoost Turbo Triple, MyFord Touch and Tinted Lamps!

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The colorful Ford Fiesta is refreshed for 2014 outside and in, enhancing what is already an amazing small-car package. Updates are subtle enough to miss outside, but really to bring the 2014 Fiesta a bit of the ST model’s coolness – without the price jump that comes with the sportiest Fiesta model. The EcoBoost 1.0-liter bumps max fuel economy from 39 MPG up to a whopping 45 MPG with the SFE package. But is it a hilarious riot to drive, as promised by its long-time best-seller status in the UK, home of TopGear and all things cars? We did not …

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Best of Awards - 1000 miles at 100MPH - 2014 M Sport BMW 335i GT 55

Best of Awards – 2014 BMW 335i GT M Sport – 1000 miles at 100MPH… In One Day?

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Orig Published on: Jan 27, 2014 @ 16:37 What car would you pick for the ultimate day of dawn-to-dusk road tripping? Great style, pace and space in back will become far more important than previously thought. The 2014 BMW 328i xDrive GT and 335i xDrive GT are looking better and better to these eyes. Even while prepping the 328d and 328x Touring articles last week: I could not help but liking the 3GT from most angles versus its low-roof-wagon sibling. The nose is really the clinch-point for a car’s style, and the 3GT is arguably more handsome and well-resolved than …

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Black Swan SLS AMG GT3 In Detail — Incredibly Fascinating Aerodynamic Solutions Under Disguise Mirror Wraps

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The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has long been the oversteer king of Deutschland. We all recall Clarkson cooking many, many sets of tires in his — and even trying to locate a replacement in rural North Carolina a few years ago. So how would this car do on the track with that handling attitude and tail-first handling mantra? Well, of course. But only once it spent countless hours in the wind tunnels of Mercedes-Benz. For racecars, the engineers’ brief on aerodynamics is much easier overall than road-going supercars. Yes, tons of downforce and Yes: zero lift whatsoever, no matter what it …

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PICKUP TRUCK SURVEY: What Are 350 Lb-Ft and 30+ MPG Worth? Nissan Seeks Input on Future Diesel Frontier

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Survey Link: www.tinyurl.com/nissanfrontiersurvey The Nissan Frontier Diesel was an exciting surprise for a smash-hit Chicago auto show this year. This is an exciting discovery from the photos below: The Boost Gauge Goes Up To 35 PSI! That is a lot of boost. My Subaru Legacy GT’s OEM turbo maxed out at 12.2 PSI. Okay, but what about the WRX STI? Only 15 PSI. Second exciting photo realization? If a Diesel Frontier is in the pipeline with this Xterra roof rack, could the diesel also fit in Nissan’s next-gen SUVs? Third one? New rear long-tail spoiler tells me this truck has …

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Empire Records Generation — 2014 Accord Hybrid EX-L on Sexy Sugar High to Battle Mazda6 and Ford Fusion

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Shock me, shock me, shock me… with that deviant behavior. – Empire Records (1995), Warner Bros. 2014 might be the year hybrids really start to blossom as a tech option that does not have to ruin your style like a light-green Prius. Case in point is the deceptively handsome Honda Accord Hybrid EX-L – shown in silver here – and even the Accord Hybrid Touring is a bit less dorky for this year.   [Wearing nothing but a MusicTown apron] Gina: Welcome to MusicTown, may I service you? That is great news for Honda. Have you seen the Ford Fusion …

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2015 Subaru Legacy Sedan -- More Lux and Tech in Cabin -- Finally Some Exterior Style -- Even 36MPG Highway 12

2015 Subaru Legacy 2.5i and 3.6R Sedans — Much Quieter — Far More Tech Inside — Finally Some Exterior Style — Even 36MPG Highway!

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The all-new 2015 Legacy launched today in Chicago, with great news all around for Subaru fans. And even enough unique features to entice those curious about the cult-like following of these AWD cars. Subaru’s are fantastic and very rewarding to drive — with handling balance and sure-footed-ness no Camry can ever match. 2015 Legacy Summary points: — This is the Legacy Sedan only, in 2.5i and 3.6R flavors (equipment lists detailed below). — A future Outback is a sure thing, but is not part of today’s big Legacy launch. — A future Legacy GT may join the fun eventually, but …

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Best of Awards – 2014 Ford Taurus and Taurus SHO – Biggest Trunk and EcoBoost Turbo Innovator

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EcoBoost is coming on-line in a big way! The popularity and roll-out of turbo Ford engines owes a big thanks to this SHO — the first intercooled twin-turbo Ford in decades. With the announcement of the F-150 this month, Ford confirmed that a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 will join the truck line-up. The 6.0-liter V8 is replaced by a 5.0-liter delivering similar power, but no turbo V8’s yet. That is when the SHO will get really, really exciting! For now, this is a huge and comfortable car that also has big passing power and sprint pace on demand.   As a …

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2014 Audi Q5 Hybrid Shows Guts of 2.0-liter TFSI: 245HP and 354 Lb-Ft … Without The Electrics!

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The Audi Q5 is really becoming a huge, huge success for Audi in America. Unlike many markets, there really is no volume ceiling in the premium mid-size SUV segment.   Without stats on hand: the Q5 in any flavor and any color is definitely one of the fastest cars out the door of Audi dealers nationwide. The Flavors include the below options, with a Hybrid snuck in at the buzzer. Pricing for the Hybrid Prestige matches the SQ5 with a base price in the $52,000 range. What seems most exciting about the Hybrid is that its wick is cranked far …

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2014 CLS45 AMG

Race Start Video: 2014 CLA45 AMG Shows Impressive Launch Drama + 4.5s to 60mph

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Mercedes-Benz is evolving its marketing and product positioning drastically. Executive rumblings from a few years ago indicated the brand was making serious changes to lower its perceived demographic – but it all just seemed like lip service at the time. Well, the arrival of the CLA-Class surely confirms that they were very serious. Serious… about getting playful. The CLA is launching in the American market as the front-drive CLA250 and the all-wheel-drive CLA45 AMG. Both run a highly advanced new platform, engine, transmission and electronic architecture. What perhaps previously took 0.002 milliseconds to transfer info from rear ABS sensors on …

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