Monthly Archives: July 2019
We’re Captivated By The Honda E Touchscreen Dashboard
Anyone who can work a smartphone can work the touchscreen dashboard of the new Honda E, which, by the way, has already captivated experts. From the exterior to the interior, the Honda E is living up to the hype. The dashboard that has pillar-to-pillar screens is the main event in the cabin.
Honda recently released a video about how a driver can work and interact with its new dashboard. The panel is composed of five high-definition color displays while two six-inch screens on the edges show the feed from the exterior camera mirrors.
The driver will enjoy the 8.8-inch TFT screen in front. This shows the digital instrument cluster. In the middle of that long panel of the screen are two 12.3-inch LCD screens where the infotainment system is located.
These screens can be customized. All the driver has to do is swipe the tiles to move them from the options menu on the left to the column that shows the favorite apps. A button located above the favorites menu cascades the open tiles so the driver can get back to the previous screen.
The input portion is on the left screen and the display portion is on the right. Both the driver and the passenger can work the screens separately. The driver can use the navigation buttons on the left while the passenger can tinker with the DJ on the other side. Depending on what phone is plugged in, both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can be mirrored on the screens. When the car stops, the dashboard can play videos streamed from the phone via the Honda E’s wi-fi hotspot.
The Honda Personal Assistant is integrated with the dashboard. All you need to say is “Ok Honda” to call the assistant. It understands natural speech, much like Siri and Hey Mercedes, when changing the settings in the cabin or online services. A smartphone app in your phone is used as a digital key to lock and unlock the car, as well as to precondition it.
5 Options You Can Choose For The 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette
The 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette isn’t available for purchase yet, but Chevy released an online configurator that we can have all fun with. There are a lot more options than ever before for the mid-engined sports car.
Here are eight of the options you just need to choose for the best-looking and best-performing 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette:
1. Elkhart Lake Blue Metallic
There are 12 colors you can choose from: black, white, silver, gray, red, bronze, orange, and yellow. There are two different shades of blue—the Rapid Blue and the Elkhart Lake Blue Metallic. The latter is the more exotic hue of blue available. The Rapid is a lighter shade.
2. Visible Carbon Fiber
If you’ll have the removable top, you can customize it with a carbon-fiber lid with a transparent finish instead of the standard body color. The transparent lid lets you see the carbon weave. This is a cool option because it will shed some weight off.
3. Z51 Performance Package
This package adds the performance exhaust that brings five more horsepower and five pound-feet of torque. After the package is applied, the total output would be 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. The performance package is also bundled with higher performance suspension, larger brakes, electronic limited-slip differential, and an electronic limited-slip differential.
4. Spectra Gray Machined Trident Spoke
There are six wheels options to choose from, but the rim design that stands out is the Trident Spoke. It has a five-spoke design with Y-shaped elements. The design is available in three finishes: black and silver, Spectra Gray Machined finish and dark gray with silver. The Spectra Gray, with its two-tone look, is the coolest option.
5. Carbon Fiber Exterior Accents
The carbon fiber option is available not only on the removal top, but also on the mirror caps, the front bumper side vents, the front splitter, and the side skirts.
Kia Is Currently Developing A Pickup Truck
Kia ’s chief operating officer Damien Meredith confirmed that Kia will have its own pickup truck, following the footsteps of the Hyundai Santa Cruz concept pickup. The development of the Kia pickup truck is now underway with Meredith saying it will probably debut between 2022 and 2023. This is the same schedule that the Hyundai set for the Santa Cruz.
According to an interview on CarsGuide, the South Korean automaker is planning for a dual-cab, single-cab for the pickup truck. That also includes a dual cab with diesel and petrol options. In Australia, Kia’s executives are confident that this utility vehicle will do well in their market. In a country with a high percentage of sales in the segment, Meredith believed Kia can take a huge chunk of the market there; about 8 to 10 percent market share.
He didn’t reveal anything more about the new Kia pickup but if it will be available to the US market, we doubt very much it will take all its variants with it. Most probably, Kia will only offer the truck with gas engines. The powertrains will be shared with the Santa Cruz, but to distinguish itself from its South Korean cousin, Kia will use a different engine, transmission, and chassis calibration.
The renowned Kia-Hyundai new family of Smartstream will also be likely used in the pickup trucks from both companies.
Both pickup trucks will be compact in size. Kia’s, however, might belong to the smaller segment because Santa Cruz will be sharing its underpinnings with the next-generation Tucson, which is a compact crossover. The Santa Cruz and the upcoming Kia pickup truck will compete in the midsize trucks market, though some may prefer the larger body of the Santa Cruz.
As for the Kia pickup truck, try to imagine it being like the Subaru Baja and the first-generation Ford Ranger. It’ll be nothing like the Honda Ridgeline and Chevrolet Colorado.
New All-Electric BMW iNEXT SUV Nearing Production
BMW is nearing the production phase for its all-electric iNEXT SUV, which will join the market in competition with the Audi e-tron. The latest spy shots gave the best indication of the model’s new design. First unveiled at the 2018 Los Angeles Motor Show, the iNEXT SUV will be the standard of the brand’s all-electric “i” range when it reaches the United Kingdom in 2021.
During the last six months, the German automaker teased us with spy shots of the iNEXT SUV, but this set is the first one to show the car’s interior, including the dashboard. While the SUV has many new features—a large dash-mounted infotainment system and a digital gauge cluster—it is the unconventional, squared-off, two-spoke steering wheel that takes the cake.
Squarish Steering Wheel
According to BMW, the squarish steering wheel was designed to allow drivers to easily switch between autonomous and active driving modes. The shape of the steering wheel also allows drivers to easily determine the car’s steering angle.
The steering wheel is going to be fitted with optic fibers, which will inform drivers when autonomous driving is available. The same optic fibers will also emit sensors that will warn the drivers when it’s time to take control of the vehicle (when it is on autonomous mode).
Curved Infotainment Screen
Recently, BMW also teased a revolutionary curved infotainment screen for the iNEXT. Similar to the floating system that was on the iNEXT concept, the curved infotainment screen eliminates the need for the smaller screen on the dashboard in front of the driver.
The infotainment system will be angled toward the driver. The screen itself will cover the width of the car’s interior but passengers won’t see the lightweight magnesium bracket that holds the system in place as a matter of aesthetic appearance. The screen is made of non-reflective glass.
2020 Audi S6 Prices, Performance Specs Revealed
Audi announced the specifications and prices for the S6 in the US market. The Premium Plus trim level starts at $74,895 while the Prestige trim level is priced at $78,495.
Audi’s newest A6 sedan will officially forego of its V8 engine and replaced it with a V6 engine that makes less horsepower but more torque. The current-generation S6 used a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine but the new model that is based on the latest C8-generation A6 will be suited with the same twin-turbo 2.9-liter V-6 unit found in the RS5.
The new configuration can only make 444 horsepower, which is slightly lower than the current version. The torque output was raised to 443 pound-feet, 37 pound-feet higher than the current S6 in the market.
Unlike the RS5 though, the new Audi S6 has a 48-volt mild hybrid system and an electric supercharger.
There will only be one transmission available, which is a conventional torque-converter eight-speed automatic transmission. Quattro all-wheel-drive will become standard. For options, buyers can choose from a wide range of performance-enhancement features such as adaptive dampers, four-wheel steering, and a torque-vectoring rear differential.
The 2020 Audi S6 will be able to go from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds, Audi said.
While the S6 shares its design elements with the A6, the former can be differentiated by its rear diffuser and spoiler, more aggressive front and rear fascias that have a different grille, front splitter, and extra vents and scoops.
Buyers can choose from either 20- or 21-inch wheels. Inside, the cabin is dominated by sports seats, flat-bottom steering wheel, contrast stitching, and a tachometer display for the digital gauge cluster.
The European version of the S6 will go on sale this summer while the US market will get it by the end of this year starting at $74,895.
There’s A New Lotus Sports Car In The Pipeline
If Geely-owned Lotus wants to survive in the near future, it would refocus its energy on creating a car that mortals can actually afford, and that’s sports cars. While it wowed experts with its Evija hypercar , it also knows the $2.1 million hypercar will not save the company from extinction.
Instead, according to Lotus CEO Phil Popham, $60,000 sports cars will remain to be the automaker’s bread and butter.
Lotus plans to build its next sports car after the last Evija rolls off the production line. Since there will only be 130 units of the Evija, we daresay we’re looking at an introduction next year and launch by 2021. Popham knows the cars Lotus is producing these past years cannot compete in the market for luxury cars simply because they are still too expensive even to the richest of the rich.
The company’s 10-year plan called the Vision 80 has all these mapped out and it looks like the Evija will be the only hypercar we’ll see from Lotus. At least, for the time being.
Popham said the company is planning a combustion-powered sports car that will be introduced toward the end of next year. All models that will be developed, designed, and produced after that combustion-powered sports car will be electrified. In fact, Popham said Lotus will skip using a PHEV powertrain and go straight to fully electric.
So now that we know the next sports car won’t be powered by a battery pack and it won’t even be a hybrid, what will set it apart from its contemporaries? For one, the upcoming sports car will look similar to the Evija because the hypercar, after all, “signals the start of a contemporary new design language.”
The sports car will use the underpinnings of the Evora and will be the most practical car in Lotus’ lineup. The sports car will be bigger on the outside and the inside, but it will also be safer, more equipped, and developed to meet loftier standards than other Lotus cars.
Most Affordable 2020 Hyundai Accent Is Worth $15,195
The 2020 Hyundai Accent is going to have less power output, but more fuel-efficient. It will also have a higher price tag (about $200 more than the previous model). Whether you love the direction that Hyundai went with the Accent or not, you can’t fault the South Korean automaker for wanting to create ripples and waves for their highly successful model.
Not everyone agrees with Hyundai’s decision to bring down the power output of the cheapest car in Hyundai’s lineup to 120 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque. However, there is a reason behind this madness. The previous car made 130 horsepower and 119 pound-feet of torque. Truth be said, the downgrade to 120 horsepower isn’t that much of an issue. It also can’t deliver the better gas mileage that Hyundai is marketing for the Accent.
With the CVT, the 2020 Accent’s gas mileage is up to 33 city, 41 highway, and 36 combined. In the 2019 model, those numbers are paltry— 28 city, 38 highway, and 32 combined. Paired with the six-speed manual transmission, the 2020 Accent’s combined mileage goes up to two miles per gallon. The combined fuel economy is up to 34 mpg in the new model.
The 2020 Hyundai Accent is also coming with a new Smartstream 1.6-liter gas engine with dual-port injection. This engine is paired with a CVT (Hyundai calls it the IVT for Intelligent Variable Transmission) instead of a six-speed automatic in the 2019 model.
The entry-level SE trim with the manual gearbox is priced at $15,195 before a $930 destination charge. That’s a total of $16,125, $200 more than the 2019 Accent. The Accent SE with the CVT costs $17,225 while the two top trims (both with CVT) cost $18,275 for the SEL and $20,230 for the Limited. The last one is $220 more expensive than its predecessor.
New Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 4MATIC+ Shooting Brake Combines Compact And Performance
The new Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 4MATIC+ Shooting Brake is something never before seen in the auto industry. For one, it made a compact sedan perform in the level of a performance class. And more importantly, it now has AMG Torque Control.
This feature allows for selective power distribution to the wheels on the rear axle of the vehicle. In this system, the power distributed to the left and right rear wheels are flexible and comes at different ratios, depending on the given driving situation. This results in better traction, no matter what the driving conditions are, or the course being taken by the car.
There’s also a new Drift mode, which is standard on the S-Model but included in the AMG Dynamic Plus Package that’s optional for the base model.
Exterior
The exterior of the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 4MATIC+ Shooting Brake appeals to the sportier drivers. It has a long bonnet, muscular shoulders, greenhouse with coupé-style window line, and a low rear end. Of course, the AMG-specific radiator grille with the vertical slats clearly identifies the Shooting Brake as part of the Mercedes-AMG family.
Engine
The Mercedes-AMG 2.0-litre engine is currently the world’ s most powerful turbocharged four-cylinder manufactured for series production. But Mercedes-AMG made it better by adding 40 more horsepower, bringing the total to 421 horsepower (for the S-Model) and 500 Newton meters. The base model brings 387 horsepower.
The CLA 45 S 4MATIC+ Shooting Brake requires just 4.0 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h while the base model CLA 45 4MATIC+ Shooting Brake needs 4.1 seconds. The base model’s top speed has an electronic limit of 250 km/h while the S-Model goes up to 270 km/h.
A Peek Into The World of The New Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 4MATIC Models
Entry-level Mercedes users can get their hands on the new range of Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 4MATIC models that have increased performance reliability, innovative MBUX infotainment system, and practicality for everyday use.
Performance
In a statement, the group said that both the SUV and coupe will have increased output, thanks to their 3.0-liter V6 engine. They can now produce 390 horsepower and 520 Nm is available from 2500 to 4500 rpm. The SUV and coupe can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.9 seconds. The top speed is pegged at 250 km/h.
Exterior
At one look, you know that this is from the performance arm of the Mercedes-Benz. There’s the AMG-specific radiator grille with the vertical chrome-plated fins, as well as the LED High-Performance headlamps with flare effect for the daytime running lamps.
On the sides, you’ll immediately notice the AMG light-alloy wheels. The standard set of wheels comes in at 19 inches with AMG lettering. There are five rim options that range from 19 to 21 inches in size.
The sportier look is further accentuated by the read end with its broad apron, diffuser and two round twin tailpipes, and redesigned LED taillights.
MBUX Infotainment System
The latest MBUX infotainment system adds to the cars’ elegance and versatility. There are four ways to control it: with the touchpad, through Touch Control buttons on the steering wheel, via voice control, or via gesture control.
You can activate the system by saying “Hey Mercedes,” opening up features you will not see in any cars. The technology understands nearly all commands—from infotainment to vehicle operation.
Mazda UK Releases Two Styling Packs For The MX-5 Models
Mazda UK revealed two personalization and design packages called the Cup Pack and the Design Pack for its MX-5–easily the world’s best-selling two-seater roadster.
The entry-level Cup Pack is priced at £1,995 while the top-of-the-range Design Pack will cost owners £4,675.
The Cup Pack will allow MX-5 owners to lower the suspension of the car based on a kit from Eibach. It will also have a stainless-steel exhaust system from Bastuck, and 17-inch BBS wheels. The new rim size, however, will only be available for the 2.0-liter, 181bhp model.
The Design Pack, which is one-fifth of the price of the MX-5, will bring all the styling upgrades of the Cup Pack but with the additional body kit to complement the new BBS wheels.
There are more changes inside the cabin, though. The trim materials have been upgraded with Alcantara leather on the gear level, dashboard, hand brake, and door panels. Some more upgrades are scattered all over the car’s interior.
The Cup and Design Packs are available for any of the current generation Mk4 MX-5 and can be fitted by any authorized Mazda dealership. The personalization packages will allow for the further customization of the items, depending on the individuals. Mazda will also have more options available for the car.
The Japanese automaker has already sold more than one million MX-5s worldwide, 134,000 of which are owned by the British marker. The MX-5 was first released in the United Kingdom in 1990.
The release of the styling packages comes just after the launch of 30th Anniversary Edition MX-5. There are only 3,000 units of the Special Edition manufactured, but 550 of those will be sold in the UK—Mazda MX-5’s biggest market. Out of the 550 units, 370 will be soft-top convertibles while 180 will be hard-top RF models.
