Hatchbacks
-
Mercedes-Benz has a redesigned A-Class on its hands, and this time around there is both a hatchback and a sedan, the latter of which we'll see here in the United States. They're the first of eight body styles planned for Mercedes' new generation of compacts. Another is a redesigned B-Class minivan. Some of those eight body styles will have high-performance variants developed by Mercedes-AMG. And this time around there will be direct replacements for the current crop of 45 series cars, plus the new crop of slightly tamer 35 series cars, the first of which is the A35 hatch that debuted at last...
-
Toyota surprises at SEMA show with 850-horsepower, nitrous-fed Corolla hatch
Toyota showed up to this week's 2018 SEMA show in Las Vegas with a handful of Corolla Hatchbacks. The highlight was this drift special developed by Toyota Racing Development in partnership with noted professional drift team Papadakis Racing. Called the Corolla Hatchback Drift Demo, the car is based...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Hyundai Veloster N first drive review: Hot hatch, Korean style, Nürburgring bred
Act One: Track time Four cars head out onto the east course at Thunderhill Raceway Park outside of Willows, California. The cars are Hyundais. Yes, Hyundais. This track can be terrifying, with a couple of blind crests, one of which leads to an off-camber right turn. I’m not too worried...
Kirk Bell -
2019 Ford Focus ST spy shots and video
Ford engineers have been caught testing the new Focus ST hot hatch set for a reveal very soon. Ford unveiled a new generation of the Focus in April, and we were meant to get one variant of the popular compact in the United States, a soft-roader called the Focus Active to be sourced from China...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Meet the new sweet spot: 2019 Porsche Panamera GTS debuts
Porsche on Monday unveiled the new GTS version of its second-generation Panamera. Available with either the standard hatch or Sport Turismo wagon body styles, the GTS enhances the Panamera with an extra helping of sportiness but without blowing up the price. The extra sportiness comes primarily...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Toyota Yaris GR Sport revealed at 2018 Paris auto show
Toyota used this week's 2018 Paris auto show to present the new GR Sport version of its Yaris subcompact hatch. GR Sport represents the entry-level trim from Toyota's new GR performance sub-brand launched last year in Japan. GR stands for Gazoo Racing, Toyota's official motorsport department, and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Although all eyes were on the Mercedes-AMG A35 at the 2018 Paris motor show, it's the upcoming A45 that promises real performance credentials. Now we have the latest details on the AMG A45 hot hatchback straight from AMG boss Tobias Moers. The chairman of the management board of Mercedes-AMG told Car Advice in a Tuesday report the next-generation A45 will be an "all-new story" and it has "nothing in common with what you know today." Specifically, he said the A-Class based hot hatch will boast an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, unlike the A35's 7-speed dual-clutch. Additionally, a...
-
2019 BMW i3 debuts with 42.2-KWH battery, 153-mile range
The 2019 BMW i3 starting production in November will benefit from a bigger battery capable of an estimated 153 miles of range, BMW confirmed Tuesday at the 2018 Paris auto show. It will be the second time the automaker has upgraded the i3's battery since the electric car's 2014 launch. The last...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Mercedes-AMG A35 hot hatch revealed with 302 horsepower
Mercedes-AMG has revealed its first take on Mercedes-Benz's new generation of compact cars. The car is the new A35 based on the A-Class hatchback, and it was revealed on Tuesday at the 2018 Paris auto show. The A35 isn't a direct replacement for the outgoing A45. That model is due out later. That's...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Nismo starts EV tuning by upping power on Nissan Note e-Power
We're yet to really see tuners, in-house names included, turn up the power dial in electric cars. Nissan's Nismo unit however has taken an early step in this relatively new field with its Note e-Power Nismo S electric hatch launched Wednesday in Japan. The car's electric motor delivers 134...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Hyundai i30 Fastback N: Forbidden fruit hatch revealed ahead of Paris debut
Hyundai's newest Elantra GT has a sporty liftback variant sold overseas, and the car has just received the N performance treatment. The standard version of the car is called i30 Fastback, and now Hyundai has added the i30 Fastback N version. The car was revealed Wednesday ahead of a formal debut at...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Mini Cooper Oxford Edition offers value for college students, grads
Sick of toting the kids to their dorms a state or two away? Would it help for your college student to have a car to get from campus to that internship? Is your new graduate looking for affordable transportation? Mini may have the answer. On Wednesday Mini announced it is currently offering the...
Kirk Bell -
Volkswagen is digging back into its archives for a special-edition Golf GTI. The Rabbit Edition will join the GTI lineup for 2019. The brand hasn't released pricing or fuel economy estimates for the Golf GTI Rabbit Edition and note the vehicle pictured above is the 2018 Golf GTI. However, we do have some basic information on what to expect. Outside, VW will mark the Rabbit Edition with 18-inch gloss-black aluminum-alloy wheels, a black spoiler, and black mirror caps. Buyers will have the choice of four exterior colors, too: Cornflower Blue, Urano Grey, Pure White, or Deep Black. For a few...
-
Order the 2019 VW Golf R in 1 of 40 custom colors
Volkswagen will unveil a new generation of the Golf next year, the nameplate's eighth, but it might be some time still until the car's R variant is introduced. The good news is that the current Golf R is still a top option for buyers looking for a fast daily driver. And for the 2019 model year, VW...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Opel Astra spy shots and video
Opel engineers are out testing a prototype for a facelifted version of the Astra compact hatchback. The facelifted Astra is expected on sale in markets where Opel operates sometime next year. The tweaks constitute a mid-cycle update for the current Astra which made its debut at the 2015 Frankfurt...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Hyundai i30 Fastback N spy shots and video
Hyundai's newest Elantra GT has a sporty liftback variant sold overseas, and it's about to get the N performance treatment. The standard version of the car is called the i30 Fastback. The latest spy shots and video show a prototype for what's shaping up to be a new i30 Fastback N, a car that will...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Audi A7 priced from $68,995
The original A7 remains one of the best-looking four-door liftbacks on the market. Fortunately for its successor, the designers kept most of the proportions the same, only tweaking things here and there and adding Audi's latest design treatments. The redesigned 2019 Audi A7 is also a technical...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
F1 champ Jenson Button sets 2017 Honda Civic Type R's final lap record
Honda has been out to prove the performance of its Civic Type R since the feisty hatch debuted for the 2017 model year, and its yardstick has been to set the lap record for front-wheel-drive cars at famous race tracks around the globe, including the Nürburgring. The final attempt took place...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Do you have a favorite car? Are you fortunate enough to own it? Josef Juza has a favorite car and it's the Volkswagen Golf. He doesn't own just one, however. Juza currently owns 114 Volkswagen Golfs. “When I sat in a Golf for the first time I just had the feeling that this car had been built for me alone," he said in a statement. "The seat position, driving fun, everyday usability—it was all exactly as I like it.” Juza is a chimney sweep from Austria and he's spent decades amassing his massive collection of Golfs. The first piece of his collection was actually a work...
-
2019 Renault Mégane RS Trophy revealed with 296 horsepower
Renault's RS version of its Golf-rivaling Mégane hatchback is already one of the fastest front-wheel-drive cars in production, but a more hardcore version with extra power and fewer pounds has been revealed. The car is the Mégane RS Trophy, and it comes with a 1.8-liter turbocharged...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mini teases design of electric Hardtop due in 2019
Mini on Thursday gave us our first look at some of the design of its electric Hardtop due in 2019. The vehicle was previewed as a concept at the 2017 Frankfurt auto show, and judging by the latest teasers design elements from the show car will make it onto the upcoming production model...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Q by Aston Martin drops V-8 into Cygnet city car
Earlier this decade, Aston Martin rebadged a Scion iQ and sold the car complete with a wheezy 1.3-liter engine as the Cygnet. It was a cost-effective way for Aston Martin to get its average emissions down but, for obvious reasons, the car was a dud and thankfully killed off a couple of years after...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Second-generation Audi A1 Sportback debuts
How do you angry up a compact car designed to prosper in an urban environment? If you're Audi, the answer is simple. Apply your current design language, which is filled with creases and vents, on top of a new A1 Sportback. Voila! Instant eye-catching city commuter car. The second-generation A1...
Jeff Glucker -
2020 Mini Clubman spy shots
The modern Mini's third-generation family is in the process of being updated. The first members off the line were the Mini Hardtop and Convertible, which were shown in January at the 2018 Detroit auto show. It looks like the Mini Clubman will be the next member to be updated, as evidenced by the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran