Apart from new launches, a brand new electrical MPV from Kia was additionally confirmed for India
In the second week of April, MG and Jeep launched particular editions of their SUVs, whereas Mahindra dropped a brand new teaser for its up to date subcompact SUV. During the identical week, Volkswagen introduced important value cuts, whereas there have been some fascinating spy photographs as nicely. Let’s take a look in any respect the vital highlights of the week.
If you might be planning to purchase a Volkswagen Taigun this month, it’s one of the best time because the automaker has implemented price cuts of over Rs 1 lakh throughout a number of variants, with the top-spec GT Plus variants receiving even greater reductions.
Kia Carens EV Confirmed For India
Announcing its future roadmap on the 2024 Kia Investor Day meet, performed in its residence nation, the automaker confirmed the Carens EV for the Indian market. It may very well be probably the most inexpensive electrical MPV in India at launch which is predicted to be launched in 2025.
Hyundai Creta Facelift Crossed 1 Lakh Bookings
The Hyundai Creta obtained a significant facelift in 2024, and simply after three months of its launch, it garnered over 1 lakh bookings in the country. The Creta facelift obtained the primary 50,000 bookings inside a month of its launch.
Episode 83 of the Autocar podcast My Week In Cars finds our resident automotive hacks Steve Cropley and Matt Prior within the management tower at Bicester Heritage, the place the take a look at monitor has a nook now named after Cropley. The lads additionally speak April Fools, Australian butchers and Ford Mustangs in every single place, together with Ford’s boss racing at Goodwood. Plus, after all, your correspondence.
Make positive you by no means miss an Autocar podcast. Subscribe to our podcasts by way of Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts or by way of your most well-liked podcast platform. And for those who subscribe, fee and evaluate the pod, we would actually recognize that too.
Exactly every week after Toyota dropped the first teaser of the new 4Runner, the automaker is revealing a bit extra of the upcoming truck. In a picture and video launched in the present day, Toyota confirmed off the 4Runner’s roll-down rear window, one of many SUV’s signature options. The automaker additionally confirmed the 4Runner’s debut subsequent Tuesday, April 9.
The sixth-generation 4Runner replaces its predecessor after 15 years on sale. That’s historic in automotive phrases, however the 4Runner has enjoyed a U.S. sales surge that started in 2014 and peaked in 2021. Even final 12 months’s 109,951 U.S. gross sales, down from the 2021 peak of 144,469 items, exceeded first model-year gross sales. That’s all however extraordinary within the auto trade.
Like the brand new Land Cruiser, Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, and Lexus GX and LX, the sixth-generation 4Runner will experience on Toyota’s TGNA-F truck platform. As ever, it will likely be a body-on-frame beast, and it ought to slot in beneath the brand new Land Cruiser in Toyota’s off-road lineup.
We suspect that the 4Runner will share its powertrains with the brand new Tacoma pickup. That means a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine as a base, with a hybrid drivetrain a potential future possibility. In the bottom Tacoma this engine makes 220 horsepower, whereas in most different fashions it will get bumped as much as 278 hp. The hybrid i-Force Max powertrain presents up 326 hp from the identical engine paired with an electrical motor.
This week in Autocar, we give our definitive verdict on the brand new Toyota Land Cruiser, element Mercedes-AMG’s new Purosangue beater, and drive the world’s finest hybrid.
News
Mercedes-AMG is about to unleash its electrical super-SUV as a high-powered flagship primarily based by itself bespoke EV platform – we have the lowdown.
Polestar, in the meantime, is lining up a successor to the two crossover known as the 7 – and it is set to be one thing radically totally different. We communicate to CEO Thomas Ingenlath for the total story.
A brand new hardcore, V8-powered model of the Land Rover Defender is inbound as the primary in a line of top-flight flagships branded Octa – we check out what you possibly can count on from the super-SUV.
Rejoice! The new Ford Explorer has lastly gone on sale in Europe priced from lower than £40k – and regardless of its late arrival Ford says the SUV is now higher than ever. We discover out precisely what which means.
The Toyota Land Cruiser has been rejuvenated with a cool retro design and mechanical updates concentrating on higher on-road manners – however can it keep true to its workhorse credentials?
A collection of main upgrades to the motors, battery and chassis are designed to make the Porsche Taycan the most effective EVs you should purchase. Is it?
The Nissan Juke has been handled to a facelift, full with delicate exterior revisions and a model new inside. Can it maintain the identical attraction and carry the nameplate by means of to 2027?
We’re additionally testing the Mazda 2 hybrid, Jeep Renegade eHybrid, and for highway check 5668 we’re within the BMW 530e to seek out out what makes it the world’s finest hybrid.
Features
Audi faces formidable challenges and is present process change on a scale by no means seen earlier than – all below a brand new CEO, Gernot Döllner. James Attwood hears his plan.
Watford Gap providers on the M1 must be knocked down and changed by one thing higher suited to immediately’s period and its travellers, says its proprietor. John Evans finds out extra.
Pick the suitable used automotive and you’ll pay minimal and even no highway tax. Alex Wolstenholme sniffs out some tempting tax-busters, from the BMW i8 to the Range Rover Evoque.
Opinion
Matt Prior riffs on small vehicles just like the Suzuki Swift and Silence S04, and asks whether or not the latter is ‘sufficient automotive’.
Steve Cropley, in the meantime, talks about certainly one of his experiences of the 12 months, clocking vehicles, and the brilliance of Steve Sixty’s ebook on BMW design.
Last week, information broke that Formula One proprietor Liberty Media was reportedly deep into acquisition talks to carry MotoGP rights-holder Dorna into the fold. Now, only a few days later, Liberty Media has introduced that it has acquired an 86% stake for $4.5 billion, giving controlling curiosity within the sequence.
According to Liberty Media’s Greg Maffei, the group’s President and CEO, “We are thrilled to expand our portfolio of leading live sports and entertainment assets with the acquisition of MotoGP. MotoGP is a global league with a loyal, enthusiastic fan base, captivating racing and a highly cash flow generative financial profile.”
He added, “Carmelo and his management team have built a great sporting spectacle that we can expand to a wider global audience. The business has significant upside, and we intend to grow the sport for MotoGP fans, teams, commercial partners and our shareholders.”
MotoGP’s present administration will retain 14%.
Although MotoGP is each the highest degree of worldwide motorbike racing and undoubtedly the shiniest gem in Dorna’s crown, it is also value noting that the deal will see Liberty Media take management of all of these different motorbike racing sequence, too, together with; MotoGP, World Superbike (WSBK), FIM Enel MotoE World Championship, FINetwork FIM JuniorGP, Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup, R&G British Talent Cup, Northern Talent Cup, FIM MiniGP World Series, and the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.
So let’s get into who Liberty Media is and what this may maintain for the way forward for motorbike racing all over the world.
Who Or What Is Liberty Media?
For these unfamiliar, Liberty Media owns quite a lot of different media, communications, and leisure pursuits moreover Formula One. A fast session of its present asset checklist, which is correct as of January 31, 2024, consists of the next holdings:
Holding
How Much Does LM Own?
Formula One
100%
F1 Arcade (full-motion racing simulators)
21 p.c
LV Diamond Property LLC (owns the roughly 40 acres in Las Vegas the place the F1 Las Vegas GP paddock sits)
100%
Meyer Shank Racing (American racing group presently competing within the NTT IndyCar sequence and the WeatherTech SportsAutomotive Championship)
30 p.c
QuintEvents, LLC (sports activities and leisure ticket and hospitality package deal supplier)
100%
Associated Partners, L.P. (investments)
33 p.c
Drone Racing League, Inc
3 p.c
Green Energy Investments
numerous
Griffin Gaming Fund (gaming-focused VC fund)
3 p.c
Inrix, Inc (transportation analytics software program agency)
4 p.c
Kroenke Arena Company, LLC (owns Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena and likewise “includes a 7 percent profits interest based on the value of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche professional sports teams.”)
7 p.c
Liberty Technology Venture Capital, LLC (funding fund centered on Israeli know-how firms)
80 p.c
Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (self-reported because the “largest live entertainment company in the world, consisting of three segments: concerts, sponsorship, and advertising and ticketing.”)
30 p.c
Overtime Sports, Inc (sports activities media firm)
5 p.c
Tastemade, Inc (meals, journey, and way of life digital media firm)
6 p.c
SiriusXM Holdings Inc (satellite tv for pc radio firm offering subscription providers)
83 p.c
Liberty Global is presently chaired by billionaire John Malone, who as not too long ago as November 2023 spoke to the Hollywood Reporter in regards to the rising risk of huge tech firms accruing media pursuits (assume Amazon buying the rights to Thursday Night Football, for instance).
Malone went on to opine that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was doing “a great job”, and THR famous at the moment that Malone can also be a shareholder in Warner Bros. Discovery.
As you could recall, Warner Bros. Discovery merged with HBO Max again in 2022, ultimately occurring to type the Max streaming service which additionally recently obtained exclusive live streaming rights for the MotoGP world championship in the US in 2024. It’s how I watch MotoGP, and it is how numerous different US-based followers will probably be having fun with the present season, as properly.
What About The European Commission’s Strong Antitrust Tendencies?
Both F1 and MotoGP have been right here earlier than. Back in 2006, personal fairness agency CVC Capital Partners briefly owned each top-level motorsport sequence. However, EU competitors regulators at the moment took a dim view of the matter and compelled the agency to promote MotoGP. Later, CVC could be the agency to promote F1 on to Liberty Media within the first place in 2017, in a deal value $8 billion on the time (which might be over $10 billion in 2024 cash).
That was 2006, although. This is 2024, and it is not clear how the scenario, regulators, or different environmental elements may need modified between then and now. Although it is not sports-related, we will say that it is clear EU regulators aren’t afraid to go after mega firms that it believes do not adjust to its present antitrust guidelines.
For additional proof, simply take a look at the continuing European Commission investigations into Apple, Meta, and Google.
Taking All Currently Known Factors Into Consideration, What Does RideApart Think?
Get a bunch of like-minded followers collectively in a single place, regardless of the circumstance, and they are going to have ideas starting from issues like “imagine a world where MotoGP is a support series for F1; doubleheaders, even” (Jonathon Klein) to “no one would be able to afford tickets” (Janaki Jitchotvisut) and “I think the fans would hate it” (Robbie Bacon).
Executive Editor Jonathon Klein additionally had these ideas, “I’m conflicted. I’m a big Formula 1 fan and the way that Liberty Media, in conjunction with Netflix, has reinvigorated the sport has been nothing short of wild to witness. If the company can do that with MotoGP, I’m here for it. But at the same time, I’ve essentially been priced out of seeing most races as Liberty Media has imposed higher and higher ticket prices.”
He added, “I’m also concerned that the level of grift and corruption we’ve seen in recent years within Formula 1 in relation to championship winners and losers, where the sport goes to race, among other aspects within the paddock could spread to MotoGP. The influx of cash to a sport can go either way, but the current leadership of Liberty Media doesn’t seem to care, rather embraces, the grift that was always present in F1. I’d hate to see that come to MotoGP in the same way it came to F1. But I’d like to be optimistic and see greater things for a sport I love and more people to enjoy it.”
Now that the deal is completed, how do you count on it to have an effect on you as a racing fan of any of the sequence concerned? Let us know within the feedback!
Nissan unveiled a sweeping plan final week to promote extra automobiles around the globe. Called The Arc, it outlines 30 new car launches within the subsequent three years as a part of a long-term plan aimed toward transitioning to electrical autos, all whereas considerably rising income. Standing out to us amid all of the monetary speak got here phrase that Nissan and Mitsubishi are pumping up their partnership with new fashions, together with a brand new pickup truck.
Right now particulars on the truck are unknown, except for it being collectively developed between Nissan and Mitsubishi. Automotive News suggests it may in the end function a next-generation Nissan Frontier, but it surely may additionally deliver a Mitsubishi-badged pickup truck again to the States for the primary time since 2009. Back then, Mitsubishi partnered with Dodge to construct the Raider, primarily based closely on the midsize Dodge Dakota. It lasted just some mannequin years, and the Dakota died shortly thereafter in 2011.
Last week, Lotus introduced a brand new programme known as Chapman Bespoke. It guarantees to supply higher personalisation and distinctive choices, proper as much as the manufacturing of one-off automobiles, in your Lotus.
What would Colin Chapman, Lotus’s founder, after whom the scheme is called and whose signature adorns its badge, have thought?
No thought. Never met the bloke. One of my least favorite phrases in motoring hackery is “so and so (company founder] would have approved”.
It’s often proclaimed definitively on the finish of an article to point out {that a} automotive is a real thoroughbred and that it is match to put on the title.
But truthfully, how are we to know what WO Bentley or Charles Rolls of Rolls-Royce would significantly have thought concerning the automobiles that come out of their firm’s respective factories right now?
Big cliché. Silly phrase. I’ve vowed by no means to make use of it so, apart from the events the place I most likely have already got, by no means will.
Anyway, famously, Chapman stated issues about simplifying automobiles and including lightness, which is definitely one thing he did on automobiles made for and derived from racing, just like the Lotus (now Caterham) 7, which was a path adopted by the Lotus Elise after his dying.
And on condition that he sketched out his first automobiles by hand and constructed them a lot the identical method, Lotus thinks he would have been into this Bespoke thought. Chapman was additionally partial, like most entrepreneurs, to creating a couple of quid.
Allowing any individual to color their Lotus the identical color as their favorite nail polish and ending the inside with gazelle disguise in the event that they’re ready to pay handsomely for the privilege (Bentley makes a median of £34,000 per automotive from its Mulliner programme) sounds just like the kind of factor that he may need been completely high-quality with too.
This week, on the event of the New York Auto Show, Genesis made its efficiency ambitions clear. The model debuted its “Magma” project, a coming collection of sporty fashions to sit at the top their respective model lines. Surprisingly, Genesis has additionally introduced on six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx as an official marketing consultant and model ambassador.
In a presentation at a pre-Auto Show occasion Monday, Icxk talked about desirous to be a part of a “winning team,” and Genesis Chief Creative Officer Luc Donckerwolke instructed these gathered to not simply fasten their seatbelts, however racing harnesses too. It’s arduous to not learn this not simply as Genesis desirous to get into efficiency vehicles, however racing too. Combine that with the brand’s increased presence in the Gran Turismo series, and you’ll see the place that is presumably going.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing on the horizon now. “Racing is interesting,” Donckerwolke instructed Motor1 on the Auto Show flooring Wednesday. “We have to find the right moment as well because today, racing with the instability of the regulations, you can’t bet on that, because with electrification all the motorsport regulations are changing. So we have to wait a little bit.”
So it is undoubtedly on the radar, if not one thing we will count on in two or three years. As for Icxk, Donckerwolke mentioned he is “bringing another dimension to the group. It’s a support for the Magma program.”
Earlier within the week, Icxk instructed Motor1 he determined to begin working with Genesis after an eye-opening journey to Korea on Doncerwolke’s invite. “I had the option to chose either to stay in the past, or come in the future and live with some people who are at the present and in the future,” he mentioned. “So it’s just a fantastic option.”
But for now, he isn’t like a Niki Lauda for Mercedes or Helmut Marko for Red Bull sort. At least, not but.
Kia introduced the K4 last week, exhibiting its exterior and never a lot else. But on the 2024 New York Auto Show, Kia is spilling a few of the beans in regards to the 2025 K4 sedan, which fits on sale within the United States later this yr.
The K4 will arrive with two powertrain choices. The commonplace mill is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 147-horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque and pairs with a repeatedly variable transmission.
The non-compulsory engine is a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder. It 190 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque whereas paired with an eight-speed automated transmission with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. If we’re fortunate, a GT mannequin might debut down the road with much more energy; the earlier Forte GT had 201 hp.
The firm’s fourth-generation compact sedan replaces the Forte—nevertheless it’s even greater than the outgoing sedan. Kia says the K4 is the most important compact sedan in its section, measuring 185.4 inches lengthy and 72.8 inches broad. It’s actually greater than the Forte, which was 182.7 and 70.9 inches, respectively.
Inside, the additional size and width translate into 38.0 inches of rear legroom and 37.3 inches of rear headroom. The sedan additionally has 14.6 cubic ft of trunk house.
Kia will supply the K4 in 5 trims: LX, LXS, EX, GT-Line, and GT-Line Turbo. Inside, 30 inches of display dominate the dashboard, with wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto commonplace. Over-the-air updates and Kia’s Digital Key 2.0 with Ultra Wideband are additionally accessible.
A Medium Gray inside is obtainable on the LX, LSX, and EX. Slate Green can also be an possibility on the EX trim, whereas the GT-Line will get Onyx and Off-White interiors. The GT-Line fashions characteristic heated entrance seats, however air flow and the motive force’s seat reminiscence operate are non-compulsory. A Harman Kardon audio can also be an accessible improve.
The K4 adopts daring styling with a fastback roof styling that the corporate calls its “Opposites United” design path. It has a large stance accented by commonplace vertical LED headlights and taillights that take inspiration from the EV9. Kia even hid the rear door handles within the C-pillar.
The GT-Line stands out with distinctive entrance and rear fascias with gloss-black accents, 18-inch alloy wheels, a satin chrome beltline, and gloss-black mirror caps, window trim, and facet sills. The GT-Line Turbo will get much more visible goodies like LED projection headlights, LED fog lights, and distinctive wheels. Both GT trims have multi-link rear suspensions.
Kia additionally retains K4 occupants secure by together with a ton of normal security options. Rear facet airbags at the moment are commonplace, and the checklist of kit contains lane-keep help, ahead collision avoidance, rear cross-traffic alert, and extra. Kia can even supply extra security options like upgraded ahead collision warning on the GT-Line Turbo mannequin.
One factor that is still a thriller is the K4’s beginning worth. The 2024 Kia Forte begins at $19,990, with the $1,155 vacation spot cost. It’ll doubtless tick upward a number of thousand {dollars}, nevertheless it’ll need to undercut the K5, which begins at $26,745 for 2024. Kia says it’ll launch pricing particulars and its exact arrival date nearer to when it’s on sale. The 2025 Kia K4 attain sellers within the second half of 2024.
We proudly introduced it to the world at Climate Week NYC in September final 12 months, and now it’s turning into a actuality: we’ve constructed our final diesel automotive.
On a cloudy Thursday in early February, the plant in Ghent, Belgium, produced its final diesel-powered automotive, a V60. And simply the opposite day, the plant in Torslanda, Sweden, noticed its final XC90 diesel automotive roll off the manufacturing line.
These occasions mark an enormous milestone in Volvo Cars’ 97-year historical past. With this transfer, we’re taking an enormous step in the direction of our ambitions of turning into a totally electrical automotive maker, in addition to reaching web zero greenhouse fuel emissions by 2040.
Goodbye diesel, howdy electrical
For a very long time, our diesel engines had been synonymous with reliability and effectivity, they usually meant an awesome deal to us for a lot of a long time. Indeed, the success of our diesel automobiles performed a big function in our evolution right into a premium model.
In latest years, the electrical revolution has developed faster than most of us might have imagined – and it’s largely propelled by tightening laws round tailpipe emissions, in addition to buyer demand in response to the local weather disaster and a want for cleaner city air. Only 5 years in the past, the diesel engine was our bread and butter in Europe, identical to it was for many different automotive makers. The majority of the automobiles we bought in Europe in 2019 ran on diesel, whereas electrical fashions had been simply beginning to acquire traction.
Today, most of our gross sales on the continent are electrified automobiles. Last 12 months, we elevated our gross sales of absolutely electrical automobiles by 70 per cent, and our international electrical market share by 34 per cent. The figures communicate for themselves, underscoring that the all-electric course we’re now heading in the direction of is the precise one to take, and we achieve this with our flag held excessive.
While our future certainly is absolutely electrical, our blended portfolio consists of some wonderful plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid fashions, which is able to act as an ideal bridge in the direction of that future.
A historical past of satisfaction
As we are saying farewell to our diesel automobiles, let’s discover the way it all started and unfolded. Here are some key milestones in our diesel historical past:
• 1979. Neither Sweden nor Europe is a diesel market. Those who purchase diesel automobiles are usually taxi drivers or long-haul travellers. But folks have slowly begun to see the advantages of the extra environment friendly diesel engines and demand is on the rise. So, we take heed to our prospects and introduce our first-ever diesel automotive: the Volvo 244 GL D6. The engine is highly effective, very environment friendly and the world’s first six-cylinder diesel engine for passenger automobiles.
• 2001. The diesel automotive scene good points momentum. When we launch the Volvo V70, it’s additionally lastly time for us to introduce our first self-built diesel engine. This five-cylinder engine, manufactured on the Volvo powertrain plant in Skövde, Sweden, is to turn out to be an enormous success and can energy many Volvo automobiles throughout Europe. It’s made in a number of totally different variations and is so highly effective that it’s even getting used on the racetrack in a automotive referred to as the S60 Challenge. Also, our buddies at Volvo Penta even determined to make a marine model of this engine.
• 2008. Time for our subsequent massive diesel milestone: the launch of the Drive-E lineup – that includes small but extremely environment friendly 1.6-litre diesel engines. With the solar in your face and the wind at your again, you may go 1,300km on a single tank, and CO2 emission ranges are so low that they get labeled as ‘green engines’ in Sweden. The Drive-E engines are flexibly constructed and work properly in numerous Volvo fashions. With their steadiness of effectivity and efficiency, they mark an enormous step ahead in diesel know-how.
• 2012. We launch the Volvo V60 D6 plug-in hybrid, which is a novel automotive: it’s the world’s first plug-in hybrid fitted with a diesel engine. At the time, it’s our most technically superior mannequin ever – electrical, hybrid and a muscle automotive unexpectedly. And it’s really one thing of an engineering surprise. Depending on the driving mode, it might go so far as 50 kilometres on electrical energy, has a complete vary of as much as 1,000 kilometres, and with 215 horsepower from the diesel engine and 70 horsepower from the electrical motor, it accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 6.2 seconds.
• 2013. For the second time in historical past, we launch a very self-built diesel engine household: Volvo Engine Architecture (VEA). The mixture of upper injection stress and the distinctive i-ART know-how is taken into account revolutionary within the diesel trade. Our prospects can take pleasure in higher gasoline financial system, decrease emissions and excessive output. The new engines are utilized in a wide range of fashions and turn out to be successful within the second-generation XC90. They stay on till the top, powering the final diesel-powered V60 and XC90 we construct.
• 2023. We transfer away from combustion engines by promoting our stake in Aurobay, the combustion engine three way partnership firm now we have along with Geely Holding.
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