Hatchbacks
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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 time was in 2017 when a 33 kilowatt-hour battery was added that delivered roughly 115 miles of range. The 2019 i3's battery will feature a 42.2-kwh capacity. The bigger battery will be standard across the range meaning the i3 REX range-extended model should see a similar boost in range. EPA-rated...
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2019 Mercedes-AMG A35 hot hatch revealed with 302 horsepowerMercedes-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-PowerWe'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 debutHyundai'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, gradsSick 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 -
Rabbit Edition hops into 2019 Volkswagen GTI lineupVolkswagen 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...
Sean Szymkowski -
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 is letting buyers add a custom touch: one of 40 bespoke color options. Called the Spektrum Program, the colors have been carefully selected by VW's team in North America and includes a number of classic hues. For example, a Viper Green Metallic color was originally found on the third-generation VW...
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2019 Opel Astra spy shots and videoOpel 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 videoHyundai'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 $68,995The 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 recordHonda 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 -
This man loves VW Golfs so much, he owns 114 of themDo 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...
Jeff Glucker -
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 inline-4 good for 296 horsepower and 310 pound-feet (295 with manual transmission) of torque. In comparison, the regular Mégane RS makes do with 275 hp and 287 lb-ft from the same engine. The improvement is mainly due to the addition of a new turbocharger with ceramic ball bearings to enhance...
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Mini teases design of electric Hardtop due in 2019Mini 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 carEarlier 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 debutsHow 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 shotsThe 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 -
BMW M4 Gran Coupe in the works for next 4-Series?BMW's 4-Series Gran Coupe is one of the more handsome options in the lineup, though strangely the svelte five-door never received the same M4 treatment that its coupe and convertible siblings benefited from. That won't be the case for the next-generation 4-Series Gran Coupe due early next decade...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
German automaker Opel recently revived its GSi performance trim with a hot version of its Insignia sedan and wagon. Now, Opel has revealed the second model to receive the GSi treatment: the Corsa subscompact. The Corsa GSi is all about agile handling. That's why the car's 1.4-liter turbocharged inline-4 delivers just 148 horsepower and 162 pound-feet. It's still a decent amount though nothing like the 207 hp and 180 lb-ft (206 lb-ft with overboost) that the previous Corsa OPC delivered. Opel quotes a 0-62 mph time of 8.9 seconds and a top speed of 128 mph for the new car. But what about the...
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Production VW ID hatchback to look just like conceptVolkswagen's Golf-sized electric hatchback due in 2020 will closely resemble the show car that previewed it: the ID concept rolled out in 2016 at the Paris auto show. The information was revealed by VW brand design boss Klaus Bischoff in an interview with Autocar published Tuesday. “The...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Next AMG 45 series to have "well over" 400 horsepowerMercedes-Benz is in the process of renewing its range of compact cars. Already we've seen new A-Class hatchback and sedan models and eventually there will be a total eight body styles in the range. The good news is that AMG will continue to tune the cars, this time with two performance tiers: 35...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Hyundai Veloster starts at just $19,385Hyundai has reshaped and reworked its Veloster. After its debut at the Detroit auto show earlier this year, the 2019 Veloster will hit the U.S. market during the second quarter, which is any time now. We know a number of the specs of this quirky hatchback, and now we finally know how much it will...
Jeff Glucker -
290-horsepower VW Golf GTI TCR road car previewed by conceptVolkswagen's Golf GTI race car developed for the TCR International Series is about to spawn a road-going version. To be called the Golf GTI TCR, VW previewed the new range-topping GTI with a thinly veiled concept version on Thursday at the 2018 Wörthersee Tour, a tuning fest with a focus on...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
VW premieres a pair of Golf concepts for WörtherseeWörthrsee is mecca for Volkswagen enthusiasts. Every year, VW fans flock to Lake Wörthersee to share their love and appreciation for the brand. Volkswagen lets its hair down a bit here and offers up some delightful concept vehicles. A number of these cars are designed and built by VW...
Jeff Glucker