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Car review

Cupra Tavascan

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Two variations of the automotive are provided: a single-motor rear-wheel-drive automotive with 282bhp and a dual-motor all-wheel-drive mannequin with 335bhp. We’re testing the latter, badged VZ. 

Both vehicles use the identical 77kWh (usable) battery and the vary is as much as 353 miles within the single-motor model and 324 miles within the dual-motor. Charging speeds are as much as 135kW for each variations.

There’s promise within the range-topper, with its sturdy acceleration, but a bit like with the Polestar 2, you get the sense {that a} single-motor rear-wheel-drive model might be a sweeter automotive to drive, with virtually 100kg much less over the entrance axle and higher effectivity in addition.

Still, there’s a lot to admire within the VZ. Refinement is at all times spectacular and the Tavascan is a cheerful motorway cruiser, and a quiet companion with it.

There’s at all times a pleasant heft and resistance to the Tavascan’s controls at decrease speeds, together with to the preliminary step-off, which is way extra fascinating than being given all of the obtainable energy when exiting a parking bay and having to decelerate jerkily and simply as shortly. 

It’s uncommon for driving modes to make a lot of a welcome distinction in a automotive, apart from sapping all the facility in eco mode or changing into a little bit of a pastiche of a efficiency automotive within the sportiest mode. Yet the Tavascan’s most potent Cupra mode – which even will get its personal button on the steering wheel – does certainly present the automotive is at its finest. 

The chassis is stiffened – however not made too stiff – and the additional acceleration is welcome but not stomach-churning as in different electrical vehicles with related 0-62mph instances. We left it on this mode for essentially the most half as a result of it felt way more akin to a ‘Normal’ mode in demonstrating the Tavascan as its maker supposed. 

The wheels may also take a squirt of the accelerator out of the nook with out wanting to maintain going within the different course.

Cars

2025 Toyota 4Runner: Every Grade Explained (And Which We Would Pick)

The 9 variations of the 2025 4Runner would be the SR5, TRD Sport, TRD Sport Premium, TRD Off Road, TRD Off Road Premium, Limited, Platinum, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter (proven above). According to Toyota, The i-Force engine will produce 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque, whereas including the hybrid drive ups these numbers to 326 horsepower and 465 pound ft — making the i-Force MAX “the most powerful powertrain ever offered on 4Runner.”

In addition to premiering the 4Runner Trailhunter and Platinum, Toyota has added options to each model of the 2025 4Runner to make all of them off-road prepared. It can be provided in two-wheel, part-time four-wheel, and full-time four-wheel drive variations, with all three drivetrains getting a limited-slip rear differential for added traction. Both four-wheel drive variations could have Toyota’s A-TRAC traction management system to distribute energy the place it’s wanted most. Full-time four-wheel drive with a locking heart differential can be normal on Platinum 4Runners, and an possibility on the Limited hybrid model. 

Trailhunter 4Runners will get ARB Old Man Emu shocks and an ARB roof rack, together with 33-inch Toyo Open Country all-terrain tires. The Trailhunter’s entrance grille has a 20-inch LED mild bar with color-changing lamps, and a 2,400 watt inverter feeds energy to 1 outlet within the passenger cabin, and one other within the cargo space. Trailhunter fashions can even be outfitted with three pre-wired auxiliary cabin switches to wire in winches or further exterior lighting.

Car review

Porsche Taycan

All however the single-motor variations of the Taycan had been on provide to check on the automotive’s press launch in Seville and drives in 4S, Turbo and Turbo S derivatives proved that none desires for plentiful, accessible energy.

Even the 4S, examined with Porsche’s Performance Battery Plus fitted, has a pervasive sense of instantaneous thrust about it. Buy a faster mannequin if you’d like – however there’s no query that anybody would wish to.

In the case of the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S, the automotive’s urge for food for velocity can start to really feel fairly savage when absolutely tapped – however linear and completely responsive accelerator pedal calibration implies that, even right here, you by no means placed on extra velocity than you plan. 

Use Normal driving mode and there’s no noise to talk of from the Taycan’s powertrain. Dial up Sport or Sport Plus as a substitute and there’s a synthesised electrical powertrain noise so as to add some efficiency flavour – however you may flip it off individually in the event you so select, and it’s definitely not essentially the most irksome ‘fake engine noise’ made by a efficiency EV. The approach it helps to telegraph throttle load, in addition to the purpose at which the rear motor modifications from first to second gear, is definitely fairly helpful.

Drivability is saved easy. There aren’t any bodily power regeneration controls, and so the extent of battery regeneration the automotive offers on a trailing throttle relies upon totally on the chosen driving mode (although there’s by no means sufficient for one-pedal operation). 

Porsche has added a push-to-pass button on the automotive’s steering-wheel-mounted drive mode selector knob, which dials up a 10sec hit of further motor energy on automobiles outfitted simply so (Sport Chrono bundle, optionally available larger battery) – however with a lot energy beneath your toe to start with, it’s one thing you seldom discover a want for on the highway.

The blended brake pedal, in the meantime, stays fairly evenly weighted by Porsche requirements – progressive sufficient, and straightforward to module in outright phrases, although missing the suggestions, chunk and warranted weightiness of a typical Porsche brake pedal.

News

Volkswagen ID 3 GTX: 322bhp scorching hatch is EV Golf GTI equal

Volkswagen has expanded its line-up of warmed-up electrical automobiles with new GTX variations of the ID 7 Tourer property and ID 3 hatchback – the latter serving as a long-awaited electrical various to the Golf GTI.

The ID 3 GTX has been on the playing cards because the EV was revealed in 2019 and at last arrives scorching on the heels of the technically an identical Cupra Born VZ, proven final month.

As normal, it’s fitted with Volkswagen’s newest APP550 electrical motor on the rear axle, which develops 282bhp – up from 201bhp in the usual automobile.

The enhance in torque is much more substantial, with the electrical motor placing out 402lb ft. That’s additionally significantly greater than the Volkswagen Golf R’s 310lb ft.

The top-of-the-line ID 3 GTX Performance is extra highly effective nonetheless, producing 322bhp for a 0-62mph time of 5.6sec, which makes it VW’s quickest-accelerating EV to this point.

Beyond the powertrain upgrades, Volkswagen’s scorching hatch has additionally gained a number of chassis and suspension tweaks supposed to present it a extra dynamic character.

The ID 3 GTX options retuned steering that has been configured to supply “greater precision”, and the Performance mannequin has a brand new Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) system – just like the Golf GTI – which makes use of extra sensors to detect wheel motion to enhance journey and dealing with.

The battery has grown in measurement barely for the GTX model of the ID 3, from 77kWh to 79kWh. Volkswagen claims a variety of as much as 373 miles for the usual GTX, although the Performance pack is more likely to scale back that barely.

DC charging peaks at 175kW to present a 10-80% cost in beneath half-hour.

Meanwhile, the ID 7 GTX Tourer comes as normal with a dual-motor powertrain that develops 335bhp and makes use of the identical 86kWh battery because the ID 7 Tourer Pro S.

Electric Vehicles

6 Electric Vehicles That Are Way Cheaper To Buy Than They Look

Hyundai launched the Ioniq in 2016 in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and totally electrical variations and adopted that up with the Ioniq 5 in 2021. The Ioniq 6 got here alongside in 2023 and, identical to the mannequin it changed, took the Car and Driver’s EV of the Year award. According to C&D’s Joe Lorio, this was in no small half because of the Ioniq’s styling. “‘Just look at it,’ we said of the Ioniq 5 when it won, and we could do the same for the Ioniq 6,” he wrote.

The 2024 Ioniq begins at $42,450; state tax credit can take that effectively beneath $40,000, relying on the place you reside. You can select between RWD and dual-motor AWD fashions in S, SEL, or Unlimited trim. Hyundai provides two totally different battery choices within the Ioniq 6, the bigger of which supplies as much as 361 miles of vary in SE fashions. 

Once inside, you will be handled to an inside Car and Driver says it has “a similarly modern and minimalist aesthetic to the Ioniq 5.” High-tech options embrace a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a separate 12.3-inch infotainment display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. 

The Ioniq 6 additionally comes customary with pedestrian detection with automated braking, lane holding, and adaptive cruise management techniques. Like all different automobiles Hyundai sells, it’s lined by a 10-year, 100,000-mile guarantee on the powertrain (which for EVs consists of the battery pack).  

NewsNew

KTM ANNOUNCES 2024 450 SX-F AND 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITIONS

We have seen the Factory Race Team variations now we get all the main points on the manufacturing variations of the 450 and 250 SX-F Factory Edition fashions. Official info and pictures from KTM beneath:

The RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING TEAM will quickly be decimating begin gates and chronometers for the upcoming AMA Supercross season due to the brand new 2024 KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION and the return of the 2024 KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION. Any rider can now get their palms on the most recent iteration of the bike that blurs motion on the observe and the strains between manufacturing facility and manufacturing gear.

The KTM SX-F FACTORY EDITION idea stays the identical: a extremely developed and modified spec of the present manufacturing mannequin oriented in the direction of pure efficiency. The upgrades have been tried, examined and chosen by means of use in competitors.

KTM is aware of that READY TO RACE is extra than simply scorching numbers from the dyno or lap timer. The KTM SX-F FACTORY EDITION fashions have distinction and magnificence, and that’s why aesthetics is vital. As an instance, a KTM SX-F FACTORY EDITION can at all times be simply recognized due to the powder-coated orange body, often a function solely reserved for our ‘works’ equipment.

What do the brand new KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION and KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION have in retailer?

First of all, don’t neglect the very particular chassis. This philosophy stays robust as RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING continues to win races and set information on the highest ranges. With this in thoughts, the 2024 FACTORY EDITION chassis presents optimized flex traits for improved cornering and luxury. Other dealing with alterations for each bikes embody the CNC-milled orange anodized and rubber damped triple clamps. Made from high-grade aluminum, these boast fastidiously tuned steering stem stiffness, excellent alignment of the fork tubes, and exact geometry of the fork clamps to make sure extremely responsive and clean fork motion – to not point out unwavering stability when charging throughout ruts.

The Connectivity Unit Offroad is a vital new addition. This two-part system is mounted between the best fork leg (protected by the brand new form of the quantity plate) and the GPS element on the redesigned entrance fender. The ‘CUO’ permits a wealth of simply adjustable choices for engine conduct and suspension settings through the KTMconnect App. But that’s not all. An official affiliation with LitPro will empower riders to look at their strains, velocity, gearing and lots of different info to make their lap occasions hit the mark.

Feeling and performance are improved much more by different 2024 KTM SX-F FACTORY EDITION specs. Fully adjustable and tool-free WP Suspension enables you to depend on 310 mm of journey with the 48 mm air-type WP XACT entrance fork with redesigned safety rings. The WP FACTORY START DEVICE will assist with these essential holeshots. The shock has new low-friction linkage seals and the 2024 KTM SX-F FACTORY EDITION linkage settings have been reworked for optimum weight saving and stiffness. The linkage bolt is smaller and lighter, transferred immediately from profitable use by the RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING TEAM.

The engine output of the 2024 KTM SX-F FACTORY EDITION fashions is boosted additional by a titanium Akrapovic slip-on exhaust that shaves weight and finesses energy, whereas the unit breathes higher with an up to date air consumption sleeve and snorkel and a white vented airbox cowl (black for the 250) for the Twin Air filter.

Depth is within the particulars for each machines. New radiator shrouds result in improved cooling, and a brand new gasoline tank holder delivers higher body contact. Orange FACTORY body protectors heighten grip whereas the 4-screw FACTORY skid plate and the HINSON clutch cowl stand up to the hardest of hits. Soft, grey ODI grips look pretty much as good as they work, whereas different upgrades embody DID wheelsets (tougher for the larger, quick jumps), a gold chain and Dunlop GEOMAX MX34 tires.

Slide the 2024 KTM SX-F FACTORY EDITIONS to a cease with a stiffer and more durable rear brake pedal materials that may pull the total energy of the Brembo techniques into play. Braking pressure is amplified by the semi-floating 260 mm entrance brake disc and the carbon bolstered FACTORY brake guard.

Other riders gained’t mistake these bikes due to the ribbed FACTORY seat, orange rear sprocket and the unforgettable RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING TEAM colour and graphics units. The 2024 KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION has #4 and #7 choices for riders Chase Sexton and Aaron Plessinger subsequent season. As reigning champion for 2024, Sexton will strap the #1 on his bike for AMA Supercross.

Ready to make a distinction? Ready to make the grade?

2024 KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION and KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION specs:

– 2024 ORANGE GLOSSY FRAME

– 2K ORANGE FACTORY FRAME PROTECTORS

– NEW RADIATOR SHROUDS

– CONNECTIVITY UNIT OFFROAD COMPATIBLE FRONT FENDER

– CONNECTIVITY UNIT OFFROAD

– WHITE (450) OR BLACK (250) VENTED AIRBOX COVER IN BY-PACK

– BLACK ENGINE MOUNTS

– UPDATED SUSPENSION SETTINGS & XACT AER FORK WITH SENSOR TOP CAPS

– RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING GRAPHICS WITH #4 AND #7 OPTIONS FOR CHASE   SEXTON OR AARON PLESSINGER FOR KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITIONS

– RIBBED FACTORY SEAT COVER

– ORANGE CNC FACTORY TRIPLE CLAMPS

– SEMI-FLOATING FRONT BRAKE DISC

– FACTORY FRONT BRAKE DISC GUARD

– FACTORY SKID PLATE

– GRAY, SOFT ODI GRIPS

– DID FACTORY WHEEL SET

– DUNLOP GEOMAX MX34 TIRES

– ORANGE REAR SPROCKET

– WP FACTORY START DEVICE

– GOLD CHAIN

– AKRAPOVIC SLIP-ON EXHAUST

– HINSON CLUTCH COVER

The 2024 KTM SX-F FACTORY EDITIONs will quickly be shredding Southern Californian grime at Anaheim 1 for the launch of 2024 AMA Supercross within the first week of January. Get to a KTM Authorized seller now to order a 2024 KTM FACTORY EDITION, accessible from mid-February onward. For extra info, go to ktm.com.
News

Petrol Jeep Avenger now available in limited quantities

Petrol versions of the Jeep Avenger will be released in the UK in December 2023. The new mild-hybrid variant is set to follow in the second quarter of 2024.

The petrol version will be priced starting from £27,000 and will only come with a manual gearbox. It will be available in very limited numbers.

On the other hand, the mild-hybrid powertrain variant is anticipated to have a starting price of around £30,000 upon its release in December 2023.

The petrol Avenger was initially intended for sale in Italy, Poland, and Spain due to the lack of substantial EV infrastructure in these markets. However, due to high demand from UK dealers, it will now also be sold in the UK.

Jeep stated that the petrol variant will cater to the preferences of its customers, as 80% of its sales consist of pure-ICE vehicles.

Paul Rush, the UK product boss, mentioned, “They [European bosses] asked us to take some. It was a no-brainer to say yes.”

When asked about the possibility of more units being available, Rush indicated that it was unlikely to be more than “a couple thousand” in total.

Petrol Jeep Avenger Details

The petrol Avenger is equipped with a turbocharged three-cylinder 1.2-litre Puretech engine, which is utilized by several other Stellantis models, including the Vauxhall Corsa, the Peugeot 308, and Citroën C3 Aircross.

This small SUV, priced at around £27,000 (which is £8500 less than the EV), will only be available in Altitude Plus trim, with no additional options aside from the paint color.

Mild-hybrid Jeep Avenger

The mild-hybrid model, expected to have a starting price of around £30,000, will utilize the same 1.2 Puretech 48V unit found in the Peugeot 3008. This petrol engine is combined with a 28bhp electric motor integrated into a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

It will be offered in Longitude, Altitude, and Summit specifications, aligning with the electric car version of the Avenger.

Cars

Toyota’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Keep You Safe

The most recent versions of Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), 2.5 and 2.5+, offer six key functions that enhance safety while driving. The pre-collision system is capable of detecting vehicles and pedestrians in both daytime and low-light conditions, as well as bicyclists during the day. It provides visual and audible alerts to warn the driver, and if no action is taken, the system applies automatic braking to halt the car.

Additionally, the pre-collision system now incorporates intersection support and emergency steering assist. The former identifies vehicles and pedestrians when making turns, while the latter helps stabilize the vehicle during emergency maneuvers to avoid obstacles.

Moreover, TSS 2.5 and 2.5+ feature full-speed dynamic radar cruise control with low-speed following, stopping, speed matching, acceleration, and deceleration functions. TSS 2.5+ also includes curve speed management, which uses the camera and built-in yaw sensors to reduce vehicle speed when navigating curves. Other TSS features include lane tracing assist and road sign assist.

Featured

The Toyota IMV 0 Is A Cool Customisable Pickup Concept


Of the various versions teased, a couple of potential customisations really caught our eye

Toyota is renowned for producing exceptional pickup trucks, as exemplified by the popular Toyota Hilux. Recently, the Japanese automaker unveiled the IMV 0, a new concept pickup designed to showcase the future of pickup trucks. While the complete details of the concept will be revealed at the upcoming Japan Mobility Show, Toyota has given us a glimpse of the customisation possibilities with the IMV 0 through various renders. Here are a few that have stood out:

Ambulance

One intriguing customisation option is the ability to convert the IMV 0 into an ambulance. The cabin can accommodate two people, while the rear can be transformed into a small structure equipped with emergency medical equipment. Although specific technical details have not been disclosed, it is expected to include oxygen support, basic medical supplies, and a stretcher. Due to its compact size and robust build, this ambulance concept can effectively reach difficult areas faster than traditional ambulances.

Off Roader

Another enticing customisation possibility is transforming the IMV 0 into a capable off-roader. This involves fitting larger profile tires, wheel arches, a more robust bumper with tow winches, a roof rack, and a covered rear section that functions as a secondary cabin for additional occupants. Despite these modifications, the 5.3-meter-long design still provides ample space for a storage bay. Although specific details have not been released, this customisation is likely to include necessary mechanical enhancements.

Adventure RV

For those seeking recreational possibilities, the IMV 0 can be customised into a stylish adventure RV. The back of the driver’s cab can be fitted with a specially designed cabin that offers space for 4-5 passengers along with furniture and appliances.

Capsule Bar

Toyota plans to showcase a modified version of the IMV 0 as a capsule bar at the Japan Mobility Show, where visitors will have the opportunity to play and win prizes. What are your thoughts on this concept? Would you like to see something similar at the next Auto Expo in India? Feel free to share your opinions and thoughts on the IMV 0 in the comments section below.

Motorsport

Alpina B7 To Make a Comeback with BMW 7 Series Facelift: Report

Alpina, a German company known for its modified BMW models, has been successful in certain markets by offering exclusive alternatives to BMW’s performance cars with a discreet appearance. However, the company is likely to change its strategy in the near future. According to a recent article by BMW Blog, Alpina will become part of the BMW Group, with the Munich automaker taking control on January 1, 2026. While specific details about Alpina’s role within BMW are yet to be revealed, it is highly possible that the B7 will be reintroduced as the company’s flagship sedan.