Cars

the-2024-volkswagen-id.4-pro-gets-a-new-rear-motor,-way-more-efficiency

The 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro gets a new rear motor, way more efficiency

car review, Cars, Volkswagen ID.4, VW ID.4 / /

not selling well though —

40 percent more power, 30 percent more torque, and a range boost to boot.

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A silver VW ID.4 next to some graffiti in an alley

Enlarge / The VW ID.4 has a new drive motor and infotainment system for model-year 2024. It’s not the sportiest EV you can buy, but it remains one of our favorites to drive.

Jonathan Gitlin

Volkswagen didn’t wait the traditional four model years before giving its ID.4 electric crossover something of a spiff-up. The tweaks to the model-year 2024 ID.4 are mostly under the skin or inside the cabin—like the recent refresh of the Polestar 2, this update was more about making the ID.4 an easier EV to live with, with more range and more power.

Volkswagen was one of the first automakers to react to Tesla finally making the electric vehicle viable. After the company-wide bet on diesel went up in a cloud of nitrogen oxides and black smoke, VW threw itself headlong into electrification as a way to meet ever-stricter carbon emissions regulations. Already an industry pioneer for the use of highly flexible vehicle architectures that let it build vehicles in a wide range of sizes and shapes with a common set of components and tools, it applied that approach to a line of electric vehicles, all branded under the Intelligent Design, or ID, name.

VW is a global automaker, but automobile tastes are often not global. For Europe, VW designed the ID.3, an electric hatchback that Americans who want forbidden fruit keep asking for, but which generated less than enthusiastic reviews from the people who actually got to buy them. Other models are optimized for China. But for America, with its adoration of the SUV and crossover, VW designed the ID.4.

The ID.4 was designed with America's love of crossovers in mind.

Enlarge / The ID.4 was designed with America’s love of crossovers in mind.

Jonathan Gitlin

Unveiled in the depths of the pandemic, we got our first (if short) drive in a prototype ID.4 in October 2020. Four months later, it was time to try the production version, an EV we proclaimed “a solid effort.” A few months later, we tried out the all-wheel drive ID.4 and checked out VW’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which has been churning out locally made ID.4s since mid-2022.

What’s new?

For model-year 2024, the $44,875 ID.4 Pro keeps its 82 kWh battery pack, but its EPA range jumps to 291 miles (468 km), up from 275 miles (443 km). The reason will probably seem counterintuitive if all you’re used to is gasoline cars—a new, more powerful drive unit that generates 282 hp (210 kW) and 402 lb-ft (545 Nm). That’s a 40 percent increase in power and a 30 percent increase in torque compared to the rear-wheel drive ID.4 Pro we tested in the past.

With internal-combustion engine vehicles, turning up the wick on the power and torque usually means your range plummets. Not so with an EV. The new motor has an improved stator and a new water- and oil-cooling system, both of which mean it can cope better with higher thermal loads—VW says this is “an elementary contributing factor” to the improved efficiency. The one-speed transmission has had its components optimized to reduce friction, and there’s a new inverter with all-new software.

  • A very tight turning circle means this is a great EV for American cities.

    Jonathan Gitlin

  • There’s plenty of room here for your kids’ sports equipment, the monthly Costco run, or a vacation’s worth of luggage.

    Jonathan Gitlin

The battery can also accept a higher rate of power during charging and regenerative braking, now 175 kW, up from 125 kW. That means a 10–80 percent fast charge should take 30 min. While we weren’t able to deplete the battery quite enough to test that, a charge from 35–80 percent state of charge took just 22 minutes at a peak of 155 kW, and just under 31 minutes was sufficient to reach a 92 percent SoC from that starting point.

On the road, and despite its mainstream design, the ID.4 remains a pretty good EV to drive. It has a very tight turning circle (31.5 feet/9/6 m), which is helpful in the city, and on a winding back road it is far better-mannered than a family crossover should be. A shared vehicle dynamics control system with the latest Golf GTI no doubt helps here.

I prefer Comfort mode over Sport; the latter makes the steering heavier but with no more feedback and makes the lift-off regen braking more aggressive. Power delivery is very smooth despite the bump in output.

In any of the three modes (which includes Eco as well as Comfort and Sport) the ride is a little bouncy—US market ID.4s do without adaptive dampers, so it doesn’t change when you switch. And there was a fair bit of road noise from the tires at highway speeds.

I was surprised that, in relatively mild weather, I was able to achieve an average of 4.1 miles/kWh (15.2 kWh/100 km). As the weather got hot and AC was a necessity, this dropped to 3.5 miles/kWh (17.8 kWh/100 km), which is still an improvement on the First Edition we tested in 2022.

The 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro gets a new rear motor, way more efficiency Read More »

the-cruise-origin-driverless-pod-is-dead,-gm-tells-investors

The Cruise Origin driverless pod is dead, GM tells investors

Cars, Cruise, Cruise AV, nhtsa, Origin, robotaxis / /

nobody take the wheel —

The driverless Origin is dead; instead, Cruise will use next-generation Bolt EVs.

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a rendering of a Cruise Origin picking up passengers in the Castro district in San Francisco

Enlarge / As Cruise ramps up its robotaxi service, it won’t be in these cool-looking driverless pods.

Cruise

The Cruise Origin was definitely the least conventional of all the myriad vehicles that General Motors planned to build using its new Ultium battery platform. For starters, it wasn’t a pickup truck or SUV, unlike all the Ultium-based electric vehicles that have gone into production thus far. Instead, the Origin—meant for Cruise, GM’s robotaxi startup—was a true driverless pod design, a box on wheels with the front and rear seats facing each other and no steering wheel at all. But now the Origin is dead, GM said in a letter to investors today.

We saw the Origin in person in January 2020 at a flashy reveal event that was light on the details. At the time, Cruise was targeting early 2022 to begin deploying Origins, a timeline that accounted for neither pandemic nor the difficulty in actually developing autonomous vehicles.

By early 2022, Cruise was ready to petition the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, asking permission to begin using Origins on the road. But 2023 was a bad year for the autonomous vehicle company, which had its operations in California suspended after a Cruise robotaxi ran over and then dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco.

The challenge of convincing NHTSA that such a radically different design should be given the OK proved too much for GM to bear, it told investors.

Instead of using Origins, Cruise will turn its attention to the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt, which will cost less per unit than the Origin, helpfully. The next-gen Bolt is a revamp of Chevy’s popular compact EV that will move over to the cheaper Ultium battery platform. The Bolt was GM’s bestselling EV but went out of production last year at the Orion Assembly plant in Michigan, which the automaker wanted to repurpose so it could build electric pickup trucks.

Those electric pickups are now on hold, postponed until mid-2026 GM says. Like Ford, it appears that GM miscalculated the appeal of expensive electric trucks, and as a result the company will not meet its originally stated ambition of building a million EVs in 2025.

The Cruise Origin driverless pod is dead, GM tells investors Read More »

waymo-is-suing-people-who-allegedly-smashed-and-slashed-its-robotaxis

Waymo is suing people who allegedly smashed and slashed its robotaxis

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Waymo car is vandalized in San Francisco

The people of San Francisco haven’t always been kind to Waymo’s growing fleet of driverless taxis. The autonomous vehicles, which provide tens of thousands of rides each week, have been torched, stomped on, and verbally berated in recent months. Now Waymo is striking back—in the courts.

This month, the Silicon Valley company filed a pair of lawsuits, neither of which have been previously reported, that demand hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages from two alleged vandals. Waymo attorneys said in court papers that the alleged vandalism, which ruined dozens of tires and a tail end, are a significant threat to the company’s reputation. Riding in a vehicle in which the steering wheel swivels on its own can be scary enough. Having to worry about attackers allegedly targeting the rides could undermine Waymo’s ride-hailing business before it even gets past its earliest stage.

Waymo, which falls under the umbrella of Google parent Alphabet, operates a ride-hailing service in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles that is comparable to Uber and Lyft except with sensors and software controlling the driving. While its cars haven’t contributed to any known deadly crashes, US regulators continue to probe their sometimes erratic driving. Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp says the company always prioritizes safety and that the lawsuits reflect that strategy. She declined further comment for this story.

In a filing last week in the California Superior Court of San Francisco County, Waymo sued a Tesla Model 3 driver whom it alleges intentionally rear-ended one of its autonomous Jaguar crossovers. According to the suit, the driver, Konstantine Nikka-Sher Piterman, claimed in a post on X that “Waymo just rekt me” before going on to ask Tesla CEO Elon Musk for a job. The other lawsuit from this month, filed in the same court, targets Ronaile Burton, who allegedly slashed the tires of at least 19 Waymo vehicles. San Francisco prosecutors have filed criminal charges against her to which she has pleaded not guilty. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Burton’s public defender, Adam Birka-White, says in a statement that Burton “is someone in need of help and not jail” and that prosecutors continue “to prioritize punishing poor people at the behest of corporations, in this case involving a tech company that is under federal investigation for creating dangerous conditions on our streets.”

An attorney for Burton in the civil case hasn’t been named in court records, and Burton is currently in jail and couldn’t be reached for comment. Piterman didn’t respond to a voicemail, a LinkedIn message, and emails seeking comment. He hasn’t responded in court to the accusations.

Based on available records from courts in San Francisco and Phoenix, it appears that Waymo hasn’t previously filed similar lawsuits.

In the Tesla case, Piterman “unlawfully, maliciously, and intentionally” sped his car past a stop sign and into a Waymo car in San Francisco on March 19, according to the company’s suit. When the Waymo tried to pull over, Piterman allegedly drove the Tesla into the Waymo car again. He then allegedly entered the Waymo and later threatened a Waymo representative who responded to the scene in person. San Francisco police cited Piterman, according to the lawsuit. The police didn’t respond to WIRED’s request for comment.

Waymo is suing people who allegedly smashed and slashed its robotaxis Read More »

a-stripped-out-2024-cayenne-v6-may-just-be-porsche’s-best-daily-driver

A stripped-out 2024 Cayenne V6 may just be Porsche’s best daily driver

2024 Porsche Cayenne, car review, Cars, SUV / /

slightly spicy SUV —

Sometimes a simple spec without all the bells and whistles is the way to go.

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A Porsche Cayenne parked next to a chain link fence by a general aviation airport

Enlarge / It’s all too easy to go nuts with the Porsche option list and spend a fortune, but what if you didn’t do that?

Michael Teo Van Runkle

Porsche’s high-performance variants of the 911 might make for great headlines, proving the incredible potential of the world’s most iconic rear-engined sports car to serve as a track toy and off-road rally racer simultaneously. But while motorsport heritage always factors into any Porsche conversation, the 911 is anything but the top rung of the company’s sales ladder. Instead, the Cayenne and then Macan SUVs have led the pack in volume since 2002, bolstering the company’s financial position and allowing the smaller-scale 911s and 718s to continue production.

For model year 2024, the facelifted third-gen Cayenne now comes in seven trim levels, including the technologically advanced and startlingly quick Turbo E-Hybrid, which offers 35 miles of all-electric range and a 3.5-second sprint to 60 mph. And yet a base V6 Cayenne offers a far more attainable entree into what it’s like to own something other than a fully loaded, paint-to-sample uber-Porsche that can easily cost well over $200,000.

Revisiting the Cayenne SUV

A V6-powered Cayenne starts at $79,200, or almost $20,000 more than the smaller gasoline-powered Macan crossover. But the larger platform allows for a more refined vision of Porsche luxury on the interior, with more headroom, legroom, and cargo capacity. Despite the additional size, however, the latest iteration of the Cayenne never sacrifices the spirit that originally put the Sport in Sport Utility Vehicle. And even a small-displacement turbo V6 still delivers the highlights of Porsche performance, engineering, and reliability.

Porsche hasn't announced a replacement for the Cayenne yet, but we bet it will be electric.

Enlarge / Porsche hasn’t announced a replacement for the Cayenne yet, but we bet it will be electric.

Michael Teo Van Runkle

I took this 2024 Cayenne for a week loan in Los Angeles six months after selling my own 2006 Cayenne Turbo. Half a year without a Stuttgart SUV serving as my daily driver never dampened the impressions that originally inspired my purchase of a high-mileage Typ 955, though—especially that burly 4.5 L twin-turbo V8 pumping out 450 hp (335 kW) and 457 lb-ft (620 Nm) of torque. With a stout Aisin six-speed automatic transmission, 18-inch wheels shod in big knobby tires, and an adjustable air suspension system, my Cayenne Turbo handled far more difficult off-roading trails than I ever expected, all while still being able to cruise home on the freeway at with equal aplomb.

Since that undeniably over-engineered first generation—split between the 955 and later the 957 facelift—the Cayenne has evolved into a leaner, more consumer-focused SUV. The next generation, known as the 958, dropped the two-speed transfer case, locking differentials, and electronically disconnecting sway bars from the platform. With less truck-iness baked in, second and now third-gen (Typ 9Y0) Cayennes nail the sporty side even more effectively.

The biggest difference comes down to sheer weight. Without the substantial heft of a more complex driveline and powered by smaller displacement engine options throughout the lineup, the current Cayenne now tips the scales at 4,678 lbs (2,122 kg). Compare that to my Turbo, at 5,200 lbs (2,359 kg) before I bolted on steel skid plates, a swingout rear spare carrier, and bigger tires, and the difference in horsepower stats versus the V6-powered base Cayenne starts to seem less significant.

There's not much to see under the hood.

Enlarge / There’s not much to see under the hood.

Michael Teo Van Runkle

The single-turbo V6 receives ratings of 348 hp (260 KW) and 368 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque, though the latter figure peaks at just 1,450 rpm and explains the ability for a full-size SUV to manage a 0–60 time of just 5.4 seconds when equipped with the Sport Plus package and Launch Control. That’s a long way off from a Turbo GT, sure, but it’s better than the V6’s raw specs on paper perhaps suggest.

A stripped-out 2024 Cayenne V6 may just be Porsche’s best daily driver Read More »

gazelle-eclipse-c380+-e-bike-review:-a-smart,-smooth-ride-at-a-halting-price

Gazelle Eclipse C380+ e-bike review: A smart, smooth ride at a halting price

bosch e-bike motor, bosch motor, Cars, e-bike, e-bike review, Features, gazelle, gazelle eclipse, gazelle eclipse C380+ / /

Gazelle Eclipse C380+ HMB review —

It’s a powerful, comfortable, fun, and very smart ride. Is that enough?

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Gazelle Eclipse C380+ in front of a railing, overlooking a river crosswalk in Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.

Kevin Purdy

Let me get three negative points about the Gazelle Eclipse out of the way first. First, it’s a 62-pound e-bike, so it’s tough to get moving without its battery. Second, its rack is a thick, non-standard size, so you might need new bags for it. Third—and this is the big one—with its $6,000 suggested retail price, it’s expensive, and you will probably feel nervous about locking it anywhere you don’t completely trust.

Apart from those issues, though, this e-bike is great fun. When I rode the Eclipse (the C380+ HMB version of it), I felt like Batman on a day off, or maybe Bruce Wayne doing reconnaissance as a bike enthusiast. The matte gray color, the black hardware, and the understated but impressively advanced tech certainly helped. But I felt prepared to handle anything that was thrown at me without having to think about it much. Brutally steep hills, poorly maintained gravel paths, curbs, stop lights, or friends trying to outrun me on their light road bikes—the Eclipse was ready.

It assists up to 28 miles per hour (i.e., Class 3) and provides up to 85 Nm of torque, and the front suspension absorbs shocks without shaking your grip confidence. It has integrated lights, the display can show you navigation while your phone is tucked away, and the automatic assist changing option balances your mechanical and battery levels, leaving you to just pedal and look.

  • The little shifter guy, who will take a few rides to get used to, is either really clever or overthinking it.

    Kevin Purdy

  • The Bosch Kiox 300 is the only screen I’ve had on an e-bike that I ever put time into customizing and optimizing.

    Kevin Purdy

  • The drivetrain on the C80+ is a remarkable thing, and it’s well-hidden inside matte aluminum.

    Kevin Purdy

  • The shocks on the Eclipse are well-tuned for rough roads, if not actual mountains. (The author is aware the headlamp was at an angle in this shot).

    Kevin Purdy

  • The electric assist changer on the left handlebar, and the little built-in bell that you always end up replacing on new e-bikes for something much louder.

    Kevin Purdy

What kind of bike is this? A fun one.

The Eclipse comes in two main variants, the 11-speed, chain-and-derailleur model T11+ HMB and the stepless Enviolo hub and Gates Carbon belt-based C380+ HMB. Both come in three sizes (45, 50, and 55 cm), in one of two colors (Anthracite Grey, Thyme Green for the T11+, and Metallic Orange for the C380+), and with either a low-step or high-step version, the latter with a sloping top bar. Most e-bikes come in two sizes if you’re lucky, typically “Medium” and “Large,” and their suggested height spans are far too generous. The T11+ starts at $5,500 and the C380+ starts at $6,000.

The Eclipse’s posture is an “active” one, seemingly halfway between the upright Dutch style and a traditional road or flat-bar bike. It’s perfect for this kind of ride. The front shocks have a maximum of 75 mm of travel, which won’t impress your buddies riding real trails but will make gravel, dirt, wooden bridges, and woodland trails a potential. Everything about the Eclipse tells you to stop worrying about whether you have the right kind of bike for a ride and just start pedaling.

“But I’m really into exercise riding, and I need lots of metrics and data, during and after the ride,” I hear some of you straw people saying. That’s why the Eclipse has the Bosch Kiox 300, a center display that is, for an e-bike, remarkably readable, navigable, and informative. You can see your max and average speed, distance, which assist levels you spent time in, power output, cadence, and more. You can push navigation directions from Komoot or standard maps apps from your phone to the display, using Bosch’s Flow app. And, of course, you can connect to Strava.

Halfway between maximum efficiency and careless joyriding, the Eclipse offers a feature that I can only hope makes it down to cheaper e-bikes over time: automatic assist changing. Bikes that have both gears and motor assist levels can sometimes leave you guessing as to which one you should change when approaching a hill or starting from a dead stop. Set the Eclipse to automatic assist and you only have to worry about the right-hand grip shifter. There are no gear numbers; there is a little guy on a bike, and as you raise or lower the gearing, the road he’s approaching get steep or flat.

Gazelle Eclipse C380+ e-bike review: A smart, smooth ride at a halting price Read More »

formula-e-wraps-its-10th-season-this-weekend—what’s-next-for-the-sport?

Formula E wraps its 10th season this weekend—what’s next for the sport?

Cars, Formula E / /

gen3 eco sounds good —

Team bosses and Formula E’s CEO tell us what has worked and where things go next.

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Antonio Felix da Costa, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3

Enlarge / Antonio Felix da Costa leads the way into turn one at Portland International Raceway.

Sam Bagnall/Formula E

PORTLAND, Ore.—Formula E wraps up its 10th series with a pair of races in London this weekend. It’s been a competitive manufacturer’s championship between Porsche and Jaguar. This weekend, seven drivers are still in contention to win the driver’s title after a double-header in Portland on June 29-30 that saw cars going five-wide down the main straight as they reached the highest top speeds of the season. It was the second visit by Formula E to the picturesque Portland International Raceway, and Ars spoke with some of the sport’s bigwigs to see what they think it’s getting right and where the technical evolution of the cars is headed.

Formula E has come a long way since 2014. Racing then exclusively in city centers, the cars were slow at first. And even as they developed, they carried too small a battery to complete even a relatively short race distance. There was a big upgrade in 2018 with the start of season five: The Gen2 car now has battery packs sufficient for 45 minutes-plus-a-lap races. The Gen2 car raced well, too, even putting on a better show at Monaco than Formula 1 has been able to muster for decades.

We expected another big improvement in lap times when the Gen3 car arrived at the start of last season. The Gen3 car featured much less weight and much more power, but also a change of tire supplier. Originally meant to last multiple race weekends, the rubber supplied by Hankook this season and last has much less grip than the Michelins it replaced. That’s kept cornering speeds relatively low and made the cars even harder to drive.

There are no bad drivers in Formula E, but the cars are hard to handle.

Enlarge / There are no bad drivers in Formula E, but the cars are hard to handle.

Sam Bagnall/Getty Images.

That is not necessarily a bad thing, as the series has always written the rules to make things hard on the drivers and teams. For example, while the battery packs are larger now, they still don’t actually have quite enough charge to complete a race distance without careful energy management. But while the race officials get data-rich telemetry streams from all the cars during a race, the teams have to rely on each driver keeping tabs on their own state of charge and reporting that back via radio to the engineers in the garage so the boffins can calculate the optimal strategy.

More technical changes are in store. In 2025 and 2026, the series will move to the Gen3 Evo car, which will have on-demand all-wheel drive and more grip from better tires, among other tweaks. Meanwhile, everyone in Formula E has been thinking hard about Gen4, which is due to arrive for season 13.

What has worked?

I asked Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds, as well as some of the team principals, to start off by blowing their own horns a bit—what’s Formula E been doing right? “We’ve just announced our Gen3 Evo car, which gets to 60 miles an hour in 1.8 seconds, and we’re still an infancy business, only 10 years old, still playing around with early tech. So I think over time, a massive strength of ours is how that technology allows performance of the car to improve,” Dodds said.

At Portland, we saw pack racing down the main straight.

Enlarge / At Portland, we saw pack racing down the main straight.

Simon Galloway/Formula E

McLaren team principal Ian James, who previously led Mercedes to a Formula E championship before it quit the sport, was proud of how far Formula E has come over the last decade. “Gen2 really saw a step forward in that respect and a professionalization of the whole series. I think with Gen3 we’re really starting to unlock the performance potential of electric motorsport. And we’re going to see that take another notch up in Gen3 Evo,” James said.

Existing as a relevant arena for electric vehicle R&D is Formula E’s big strength, according to Nissan team principal Tommaso Volpe. “Representing a big car manufacturer in the sport I think the main strength is how relevant it is for a big transformation that is happening in mobility… using electrification as a key technology,” Volpe said. This is something that the motorsports cannot claim. They have other strengths, but they can not claim to be that relevant, purely speaking from the R&D perspective,” Volpe said.

For a company like Nissan, the primary benefit is still getting its EV tech in front of eyeballs, something Formula E’s deal to stream races live over Roku has no doubt helped. But there are other benefits to participation. “You cannot use the same motor, but the efforts that we put in place when we develop a Formula E car, in maximizing the energy efficiency of the hardware—so the materials we use, the solutions, the design—is something that is absolutely relevant for the core business and you can transfer some of these ideas and experience,” Volpe said.

Formula E wraps its 10th season this weekend—what’s next for the sport? Read More »

the-mazda-cx-90-phev-gives-luxury-car-vibes-for-a-mainstream-price

The Mazda CX-90 PHEV gives luxury car vibes for a mainstream price

car review, Cars, Mazda CX-90, plug-in hybrid / /

love the interior —

This big Mazda is one of a handful of plug-in hybrid three-rows on sale today.

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The front of a Mazda CX-90 with graffiti in the background

Enlarge / Can the big Mazda CX-90 make up for how disappointed we were with the last electrified Mazda we drove?

Jonathan Gitlin

Fairly or not, the Mazda CX-90 PHEV had a lot to make up for. The last electrified Mazda we drove was the abysmal MX-30, a cynical compliance car that proved too unpopular to remain on sale. That was a small hatchback crossover with suicide doors and a cork interior. The CX-90 PHEV, Mazda’s full-size SUV, is a much more substantial proposition, with seating for up to eight and starting at a reasonable $47,445.

You may miss out on some of the very newest bells and whistles found in the latest German or Korean luxury cars, but as electrified three-rows go, there’s a fair bit to like about this one.

Tech specs

The CX-90 uses a newly developed Mazda platform for larger vehicles, with rear-biased all-wheel drive powertrains. There’s a turbocharged mild hybrid inline-six cylinder engine available in two different levels of tune, but the one we’re interested in is the e-Skyactiv G powertrain, which pairs a turbocharged four-cylinder engine generating 189 hp (141 kW) and 192 lb-ft (260 Nm) with a 173 hp (129 kW), 199 lb-ft (270 Nm) permanent magnet synchronous electric motor.

  • If you need a gigantic SUV but also want it to be a PHEV, you don’t have too many choices. This one comes with a lot of good safety tech and not too much in the way of digital distraction, plus a great interior.

    Jonathan Gitlin

  • With the third row of seats in use, there’s 14.9 cubic feet (423 L) of cargo volume. Drop the third row flat and that grows to 40 cubic feet (1,133 L). Fold down the middle row as well and you can fit 74.2 cubic feet (2,101 L) of stuff back there.

    Jonathan Gitlin

  • A standard-size parking bay doesn’t leave much room.

    Jonathan Gitlin

Total combined output is 323 hp (240 kW) and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm), all of which goes to the wheels via an eight-speed planetary gear transmission that uses a wet clutch instead of a torque convertor. Mazda says there’s a North America-specific tune that, by the sounds of it, has a peppier torque curve for better acceleration than the versions sold in Europe or Asia.

There’s a 17.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack with an EPA-rated electric-only range of up to 26 miles. Add a full tank of gas to that and the CX-90 PHEV should go 490 miles, according to the regulator. Charge times are about 2.5 hours with a 240 V level 2 charger, and there’s a charge button on the center console that will use spare power from the internal combustion engine to recharge the traction battery while you drive (with an attendant hit to fuel economy as you do).

In normal mode, as long as the battery has more than 20 percent state of charge, the car will default to using the electric motor alone for propulsion. In this combined gas-plus-electric mode, the EPA rates the CX-90 at 56 MPGe. Below 20 percent SoC, the engine stays on and maintains some charge in the battery, which Mazda says is so the EV assist is always available.

There’s also an EV mode, although if the throttle pedal passes the kick-down point, the ICE fires up again, and the car reverts to normal mode. Sport keeps the engine fired all the time and adds electric torque, but at 5,243 lbs, this is not an SUV that will ever feel sporty to drive.

  • I don’t know about you, but my trips to Costco are not often long enough to get a meaningful charge in the battery. Particularly if there’s snow on the ground.

    Jonathan Gitlin

  • In late spring, things went a lot better.

    Jonathan Gitlin

  • Charging stats.

    Jonathan Gitlin

  • The powertrain with a cutaway showing inside the electric motor, which is packaged between the engine and transmission.

    Mazda

Once the battery is fully depleted, fuel economy plummets as the relatively small engine works hard to keep this large SUV in motion—just 25 mpg (9.4 L/100 km) combined, according to the EPA.

The Mazda CX-90 PHEV gives luxury car vibes for a mainstream price Read More »

aventon,-a-major-e-bike-maker,-tries-its-hand-with-a-hardtail

Aventon, a major e-bike maker, tries its hand with a hardtail

Aventon, Cars, e-bike, e-mountain bikes, electric bicycle, mountain bike, Ramblas / /
Image of a large, rugged frame with hefty wheels and a straight handlebar.

Enlarge / Aventon’s Ramblas hardtail mountain bike.

John TImmer

Full suspension mountain bikes are complicated beasts, with sections of the frame that pivot and a shock absorber to moderate that pivot. These parts help limit the bumps that reach your body and keep your rear tire in contact with the trail across all sorts of terrain and obstacles. The complexity and additional parts, however, boost the costs of full suspension bikes considerably, a situation that only gets worse when you electrify things.

As a result, some of the electric mountain bikes we’ve looked at are either very expensive or make a few too many compromises to bring the price down. Even aiming for middle-of-the-road compromise hardware costs in the area of $5,000.

But there’s one easy way to lower the price considerably: lose the full suspension. The electric “hardtails” from major manufacturers typically cost considerably less than a full suspension bike with similar components. And because the engineering demands are considerably lower than in a full suspension bike, it’s easier for some of the smaller e-bike companies to put together a solid offering.

So over the course of the spring and into the summer, I’ve been testing two hardtail mountain bikes that were recently introduced by e-bike specialists. First up is the Aventon Ramblas.

The hardware

Aventon is one of the larger dedicated e-bike makers and offers a wide range of bikes at competitive prices. Most of them fall into a sort of generic “commuter” category, though; the Ramblas is the first offering from the company made for a specific audience (though it’s also categorized as a commuter option on the company’s website). It’s also the first bike the company is offering above the $2,000 price point. At $2,899, it’s actually more expensive than one of the electric hardtail models being cleared out by Trek, a company that does not have a reputation for affordability.

What do you get for that price? Solid low/mid-range components from SRAM, including its NX Eagle drive train. There’s a dropper seat, a front suspension from RockShox, and Maxxis tires. The fork is coil based, so it doesn’t offer much in the way of adjustment—what you start the ride with is pretty much what you’ll spend the entire ride experiencing, unlike many alternatives that let you firm up the ride for pavement. (It has a rebound adjustment at the bottom of the fork, but the effects are subtle.) Aventon doesn’t list who makes the rims on its website, and there are no external indications of the manufacturer there.

A mid-motor combined with a huge range of gearing ratios makes for a winning combination.

Enlarge / A mid-motor combined with a huge range of gearing ratios makes for a winning combination.

John TImmer

Overall, it’s about what you’d expect from an entry-level offering. I don’t have any concerns about the durability of the components, and their performance was mostly fine. The one thing that did concern me was the plastic cover over the battery, which didn’t fit against the frame snugly and was only held in place by relatively weak contacts at each end. It’s enough to handle some water splashed off the front wheel, but I wouldn’t trust it to protect the battery while fording anything significant.

Saddle and pedals are matters of personal taste, and many people will argue they’re irrelevant because any serious cyclist will want to replace them anyway. But that’s far less likely to be true on the budget end of the scale, so I did most of my riding on what came with the bike. The pedals, while lacking the threatening-looking screws of serious mountain bike offerings, worked out fine when paired with a sticky set of mountain bike shoes, though I felt I had a bit more confidence going over bumps on a ride where I swapped in my clipless pedals.

The saddle, however, was a problem, in part because the frame was a bit too small for my relatively long legs. The saddle has a relatively slick surface that, when combined with my road biking shorts, meant I tended to slide toward the back of the seat over time. A better-fitting frame might have solved this issue (the large version was supposedly rated up to my height, but I clearly should have gone for the XL).

The RockShox forks don't offer much in the way of adjustments, but they work reliably.

Enlarge / The RockShox forks don’t offer much in the way of adjustments, but they work reliably.

John Timmer

Speaking of the frame, Aventon has detailed measurements of the geometry available if those make sense to you. But my experience was that the bike was fairly compact in the seat-to-handlebar dimension, leaving me feeling that I was leaning over the handlebars a bit more than I do in other bikes. It wasn’t uncomfortable; it just felt different.

Aventon, a major e-bike maker, tries its hand with a hardtail Read More »

the-2025-lucid-air-is-now-the-most-efficient-ev-on-sale

The 2025 Lucid Air is now the most efficient EV on sale

Cars, Lucid, Lucid Air / /

weird maths —

A standard heat pump has made an already-efficient car even more so.

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A blue metallic Lucid Air seen head-on

Enlarge / The Lucid Air was already the most efficient EV on sale in the US, but for model year 2025 it goes even farther on a single charge.

Lucid

Lucid has just revealed the details of its model-year 2025 updates, and among the tweaks to its handsome electric sedan is an impressive bump in range efficiency. The entry-level Lucid Air Pure, which starts at $69,900, can now travel 420 miles on a single charge of its 84 kWh battery. That equates to 5 miles/kWh (12.4 kWh/100 km), making the Air Pure the most efficient electric vehicle for sale today.

The range bump is mostly thanks to Lucid making a heat pump standard across the range, after first adding one to the ultra-powerful, ultra-expensive Air Sapphire.

Lucid has also upgraded the computer hardware that oversees the Air’s various subsystems. The automaker says it has tripled processing power and doubled the system’s memory, which should translate to faster and better infotainment. And Lucid has made its advanced driver assistance system standard across the lineup, too.

While the Air Pure might be the first production EV being sold to reach 5 miles/kWh, it isn’t the longest-range Lucid Air for sale. That remains the $110,900 Grand Touring, which can go 512 miles (824 km) on a single charge. The 2025 Lucid Air Touring, which slots between them, has a range of 406 miles (654 km) and starts at $78,900.

While still a relative minnow compared to Rivian, Lucid has been on something of an upward trajectory of late. Price cuts have undoubtedly helped it have a record Q2, delivering 2,394 cars for its best three months so far.

Who did this math?

In addition to claiming 5 miles/kWh for the Air Pure, Lucid also notes in its press release that it has achieved “a record 146 MPGe rating” for the car.

Lucid’s model-year 2025 data isn’t in the EPA’s online fuel economy database yet, so Ars can’t check the slightly more detailed information there (which should break out the MPGe figure into city, highway, and combined figures), but 146 MPGe is only equivalent to 4.3 miles/kWh; 5 miles/kWh is 169 MPGe.

We asked Lucid about the difference, and the company told Ars that with EVs, losses in the charging process from resistance in the cables and from heating the battery make a difference.

“The reason we don’t love MPGe is that batteries are the real expense for EVs—not electricity. If you can be more energy efficient when actually driving, you can reduce the capacity of the battery pack in the vehicles you build—reducing cost, reducing weight, and reducing the natural resources you need per vehicle. On the other hand, it’s nice to minimize energy lost during charging, but if you get only 2.5 mi/kWh on the road, you still are stuck with the big expensive battery pack,” Lucid told Ars.

(This does not change the fact that MPGe is derived by multiplying miles/kWh by 33.7, the amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline, but when the EPA calculates that number it includes charging losses.)

Despite the incongruent math, the 2025 Air Pure still beats the 2024 model, which makes do with a combined 140 MPGe and 410 miles of range, according to the EPA.

The 2025 Lucid Air is now the most efficient EV on sale Read More »

porsche-expands-the-macan-ev-range-with-two-new-models

Porsche expands the Macan EV range with two new models

Cars, porsche macan / /

now there are four —

The entry-level Macan starts at $75,300 and goes on sale in Q4 2024.

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A green Porsche Macan 4S

Enlarge / Porsche has doubled the number of Macan EV models it offers, with the Macan 4S (pictured) and an entry-level Macan. This one also wears an optional off-road kit.

Porsche

The first deliveries of Porsche’s new Macan EV are still a few weeks away, but today the automaker announced it is already expanding that lineup. When the car broke cover in January, we were shown a pair of variants: the all-wheel drive Macan 4, and the powerful Macan Turbo. The two new versions slot around those cars—there’s a rear-wheel drive, single-motor Macan as the new entry-level car, and a Macan 4S that fills the gap between the two already-revealed cars.

Macan

The entry-level Macan uses the same rear drive unit as the Macan 4 we tested in April. Doing without a front motor means a weight savings of 243 lbs (110 kg) from the front of the car, which should have a positive benefit on handling, even if this will be the slowest Macan in the range.

Slow being a relative term here, for we are discussing both a Porsche and also an electric car. A nominal output of 335 hp (250 kW) is more than sufficient for day-to-day driving, and the motor can overboost to 355 hp (265 kW) and 415 lb-ft (562 Nm) for standing starts in launch mode. Do so, and you can hurl the basic Macan down the road to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds.

The single-motor Macan uses the same 800 V, 100 kWh battery pack as the other models in the range, which can fast-charge at up to 270 kW. Porsche hasn’t released an EPA range estimate for this model yet, but it should be well in excess of the 300-plus miles that range tests have returned for the all-wheel drive Macan 4S.

  • The rear-wheel drive Taycan was a great EV to drive, and I am prepared to bet the RWD Macan will be too.

    Porsche

  • The entry-level Macan should be eligible for the federal tax credit if you lease one.

    Porsche

The Macan will start at $75,300, and Porsche expects deliveries to begin in Q4 2024.

Macan 4S

The all-wheel Macan 4S uses the same front-drive unit as the Macan 4 and Macan S, but it gets a different rear-drive unit with a 600 A silicon carbide inverter. Overall power output is 442 hp (330 kW), but launch control increases that to 509 hp (380 kW) and 578 lb-ft (784 Nm). That drops the 0–60 mph time to 3.9 seconds.

Porsche fits adaptive air suspension as standard to the Macan 4S (as well as the RWD Macan), and rear-axle steering and torque-vectoring is an option for the 4S. Like the Macan, the Macan 4S should start arriving in Q4, with a starting price of $84,900.

  • The Macan 4S exists for someone who thinks the 4 isn’t quite enough, but the Turbo is just a bit too much.

    Porsche

  • The Macan is quite handsome when you see it in person.

  • The Macan 4S interior.

    Porsche

  • Off-road mode gives the Macan a little lift.

    Porsche

There’s also an off-road package available for people who think their Macan, Macan 4, Macan 4S, or Macan Turbo needs to look a little more rugged. This changes the front bumper to a design that allows for a greater approach angle (17.5 degrees). The air suspension also increases the maximum ride height by 0.4 inches (10 mm). And the new bumper (as well as side skirts, diffuser, and roof rails) can be painted gray, to make them stand out, or body color.

Porsche expands the Macan EV range with two new models Read More »

china-tells-wto-that-us-ev-subsidies-are-unfair-trade-barriers

China tells WTO that US EV subsidies are unfair trade barriers

Cars, Chinese EVs, tariffs, world trade organization / /

trade war continues —

China says it’s unfair that only EVs made in North America qualify for tax credits.

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China money RMB and USA USD

Getty Images

The ongoing dispute between the United States and China over electric vehicles shows no sign of abating. Today, Reuters reports that China has asked the World Trade Organization to set up a special panel to determine if US EV subsidies are an unfair trade barrier.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has been the most significant climate legislation in US history, with hundreds of billions of dollars of funding for the clean energy transition. Among its many details, it revamped the federal tax credit for buying a new electric vehicle.

In the past, a credit of up to $7,500 was tied to a plug-in vehicle’s battery capacity. But it’s now tied to where the car and its batteries were assembled, as well as where the battery minerals come from. Final assembly of the vehicle must be in North America, for example, and ever-increasing amounts of the battery pack’s content and value must come from North America or a country with which the US has a free trade agreement.

Even more troubling for Chinese automakers is a rule from the US Treasury Department that prohibits tax subsidies for vehicles manufactured by companies linked to “foreign entities of concern,” a category that includes Russia, North Korea, Iran, and China.

The measures were included in tax credit rules after extensive lobbying from automakers and unions in the US and politicians from both sides of the aisle. Pressure from the automotive industry also succeeded in getting the Mexican government to promise not to subsidize new Chinese EV factories south of the US border.

In May, US President Joe Biden levied a new 100 percent tariff targeted at specific Chinese imports, including EVs. In Europe, similar fears over the impact of heavily subsidized Chinese EVs on domestic car production saw the EU raise new tariffs of up to 37.6 percent on Chinese-made EVs, despite objections from the German auto industry.

China’s action at the WTO actually predates the new US EV tariffs—it first went to the trade organization in March, arguing that the US tax credits hinder fair competition and break existing WTO agreements.

China’s commerce ministry told Reuters that protectionist EV subsidies from the US “undermine international cooperation on climate change.”

China tells WTO that US EV subsidies are unfair trade barriers Read More »

partial-automated-driving-systems-don’t-make-driving-safer,-study-finds

Partial automated driving systems don’t make driving safer, study finds

ADAS, advanced driver assistance systems, Autosteer, Cars, IIHS, lane departure, lane keeping, partial automation, partially automated driving, road safety / /

hands on the wheel, eyes on the road —

Many driver assists do increase safety, but little evidence lane keeping is one.

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A Nissan steering wheel with ProPILOT assist buttons on it

Enlarge / Nissan’s ProPilot Assist was one of two partially automated driving systems to be studied for crash safety improvements.

Nissan

Driver assists that help steer for you on the highway haven’t contributed much to road safety, according to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute. That’s in contrast to other features often bundled together as “advanced driver assistance systems,” or ADAS, many of which have shown a marked reduction in crash and claim rates.

“Everything we’re seeing tells us that partial automation is a convenience feature like power windows or heated seats rather than a safety technology,” said David Harkey, IIHS president.

However, we should note that, as a follow-up to a pair of earlier studies published in 2021, the new research by IIHS and HLDI focused on two older partially automated driving systems, model-year 2017–2019 Nissan Rogues with ProPilot Assist and model year 2013–2017 BMWs with Driving Assistant Plus.

Those earlier studies found plenty of benefits to some ADAS features. Of BMW’s various collision avoidance systems, many reduced the claim frequency for various types of vehicle damage, property liability, and injury claims.

Crash rates

But when IIHS’s senior vice president of research, Jessica Cicchino, analyzed crash rate data for this population of cars, she found that despite an apparent modest reduction, there was no significant difference in lane departure crashes between BMWs equipped with lane departure warning and prevention and cars fitted with both systems plus partial automation, versus cars without any steering assist, after controlling for variables like driver age, gender, model year, and so on.

However, BMWs with lane departure warning and prevention did have significantly fewer lane departure crashes during daylight hours than cars without such systems.

The ADAS in Nissan Rogues did significantly lower rear-end and lane departure crash rates, with the greatest benefit being in the cars with the most assists (partial automation as well as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane departure prevention) versus Rogues without such systems.

But Cicchino found those effects persisted on surface streets and roads with speed limits lower than 35 mph (56 km/h), speeds at which ProPilot Assist won’t keep centered in a lane unless following another car. That suggests some other factor at work here—possibly the fact that the better-equipped Rogues also had more effective headlights, IIHS says. (This year, IIHS started requiring an automaker to fit all trim levels in a model with the best headlights in order to be eligible for a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ rating.)

Not the first time lane-keeping has claimed credit

This isn’t the first time that a different bit of equipment bundled together under a specific trim package or option has confounded attempts to determine the safety of lane-keeping systems. In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Ars that Tesla misattributed the safety benefit of its Autopilot partially automated driving system when in fact, the safety impact was likely due to automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning.

Testing for the safety of lane-keeping systems is more challenging than other crash-avoidance systems, because it must be actively engaged by the driver as opposed to constantly monitoring for danger, like an imminent forward crash. Not everyone with lane-keeping systems engages them, and even those who do don’t engage them on every journey.

Studies that look at actual telematics data from cars, which would accurately record when such systems are turned on, would help better answer this question, according to the study. And even then, the benefit is likely to be small—only 6 percent of police-reported crashes in the US “were run-off-road or same-direction sideswipes resulting from unintentional lane departures, or rear-ends, that occurred on interstate highways,” Cicchino wrote.

“With no clear evidence that partial automation is preventing crashes, users and regulators alike should not confuse it for a safety feature,” Cicchino said in a press release. “At a minimum, safeguards like those IIHS promotes through its rating program are essential to reduce the risks that drivers will zone out or engage in other distracting activities while partial automation is switched on.”

Partial automated driving systems don’t make driving safer, study finds Read More »