More than a year ago, we spent a weekend with a 2016 BMW X5 xDrive 40e luxury plug-in hybrid SUV. Rated at 14 miles of range, it never achieved anything near that number in winter weather. Now our colleague Kirk Bell has driven a 2017 BMW 740e plug-in hybrid luxury sedan that uses the same powertrain. DON'T MISS: 2017 BMW 740e xDrive iPerformance... BMW 740e, X5 xDrive 40e: where do low-range plug-in hybrids fit in?
More than a year ago, we spent a weekend with a 2016 BMW X5 xDrive 40e luxury plug-in hybrid SUV. Rated at 14 miles of range, it never achieved anything near that number in winter weather. Now our colleague Kirk Bell has driven a 2017 BMW 740e plug-in hybrid luxury sedan that uses the same powertrain. DON'T MISS: 2017 BMW 740e xDrive iPerformance...
Honda's green-car strategy for the next decade or so appears to be coming into greater focus. In place of its previous mild hybrids, the Japanese automaker is planning to produce much higher volumes of its two-motor hybrid powertrain, as seen first in the Accord Hybrid mid-size sedan. It also launched the Clarity Fuel Cell sedan last year, and...
Volvo currently offers plug-in hybrid powertrains in its top models—the XC90 SUV, S90 sedan, and V90. As the Swedish automaker redesigns its lower-level models, it will add plug-in hybrid options to them as well. But whereas the current T8 "Twin Engine" powertrain uses a 4-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive, other models will use a...
The 2017 Geneva Motor Show marks the next stop on the annual auto-show circuit. With press days beginning March 7, we aren't expecting an overwhelming number of green cars at the Swiss show this year. A smattering of production and concept cars with some green elements will debut there, though. DON'T MISS: 2018 Lexus LS 500h hybrid luxury sedan to...
There are essentially two types of electric cars on sale today. Battery-electric vehicles are powered only by a battery, while plug-in hybrids have an engine to supplement a more limited battery range. Which type will ultimately predominate isn't clear; each has advantages and disadvantages. DON'T MISS: Plug-in hybrids to catch on more quickly...
Once again, it's the first day of the month following a weekday sales close, when the auto industry turns its eyes to the sales charts emerging from all automakers (except Tesla). For plug-in electric cars, the question this month remains the same as last month: how many Chevrolet Bolt EVs did GM deliver? As distribution of the first affordable...
As in other industries, "big data" is an increasingly common buzzword these days in discussions of electric cars. Last November, several research entities presented relevant data sets and advocated for their use at an electric-car "datathon" hosted by the White House. Putting theory into practice, Ford has now analyzed customer data to analyze how...
Spy shots are continually fascinating, for both future buyers and auto journalists. They can reveal hints about the shapes, design aspects, and powertrains of vehicles that may not hit showrooms for as much as two years. Some recent spy shots of the 2019 Cadillac XT3 small crossover utility vehicle have a very distinctive feature that tells a lot...
California electric utility Pacific Gas & Electric recently took delivery of a pair of new trucks that it hopes will help solve two problems. The first is power outages, whether they are caused by weather or necessary planned maintenance work conducted by utilities. The other is every utility's huge bill for diesel fuel. The large trucks...
Toyota has been by far the most reluctant of recent converts to the idea that battery-electric vehicles might be practical and desirable. Only within the last year has the company moved past its decade-long insistence that all-electric cars were only suitable for tiny, low-range urban uses. Still, old habits die hard, and the company continues to...
The Renault Zoe closed out 2016 as the best-selling electric car in Europe. While the Nissan Leaf continues to lead in worldwide sales, the smaller electric car from Nissan's alliance partner has remained on top in its home market. These consistent performances have cemented the Renault-Nissan Alliance's position as the world leader in...
The 2017 Hyundai Ioniq is the South Korean automaker's first dedicated green model. It will offer three powertrain options in the same body shell: hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery-electric. Those models are just now beginning to hit U.S. showrooms, and we now have pricing information for two of them. DON'T MISS: Hyundai Ioniq Electric beats...
Hyundai is extending the lifetime battery warranty offered on previous electrified models to the 2017 Ioniq lineup as well. The warranty applies to all versions of Hyundai's first dedicated green car, including the Ioniq Hybrid, Ioniq Electric, and Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid. As with previous Hyundai models, the warranty applies to complete failure of...
Time for a quick quiz: which carmaker sold more plug-in electric vehicles last year—both battery electrics and plug-in hybrids—than any other? If you're a reader in North America or Europe who managed to miss our headline, odds are you may answer "Tesla" or "Nissan," based on media coverage of those two companies' achievements. You...
As we roll through the second month of 2017, it's once again time to take a look at the best deals on green cars. This month's batch of deals spans a wide array of models, from one of the best-selling plug-in hybrids to a pair of subcompact sedans. It also includes one of the newest green cars to hit the U.S. market, as well as one held over from...
In the plug-in hybrid game, you move forward or get left behind. When the hybrid maker is Porsche, that applies to power as well as efficiency. The 2018 Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid is the replacement for the previous Panamera S E-Hybrid, and it gets more power, performance, and efficiency in a brand-new vehicle. Everything about this car is new...
While the auto industry at large waited to see if January sales continued as strong as last year's record-breaking total, electric-car fans waited for a different number. That was the number of Chevrolet Bolt EVs sold last month, the car's first full month on sale, albeit in a small number of states. Those states, most prominently California, have...
What's a "green car"? Is it a hybrid? A zero-emission vehicle? One that plugs in? Or just one that uses less fuel than other cars in its segment? It's a perpetual conundrum, for Green Car Reports among others, but it illustrates one of the longstanding challenges in the field. Will the market for green cars expand as more enter the market, or is...