2018 Kia Niro PHEV gas mileage review: outrunning expectations

2018 Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid Competition improves the breed. And that’s exactly what the Kia Niro brings to hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Prius Prime. Compared with the Prius, the Niro is taller and roomier. Likely to its benefit, it looks like a small crossover SUV, though with only front-wheel drive, it's no kind of SUV. It does offer the crossover advantages of...

2018 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid price drops by $1,350

2018 Hyundai Sonata HybridThe 2018 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid may cost car shoppers less, the company announced last week. The price drop on base models will save buyers $1,350 on 2018 models, which should help the car attract more customers. It comes in the same two trim levels as before. Base models will start at $33,350, including destination. The Sonata Plug-in...

Volvo’s electrification push expanding to every corner of the market

2019 Volvo S60When it launches its 2019 Volvo S60 T8 Polestar Engineered next year, the Swedish automaker will nearly complete a startling turn toward electrification in less than a decade that began with a small-volume wagon in 2011 and will soon incorporate a full battery electric vehicle and every model in showrooms. Later in 2019, for buyers in the U.S...

2018 Kia Niro hybrid nets top Safety Pick+ award, when properly equipped

2018 Kia Niro Plug-In HybridTick all the right boxes and the 2018 Kia Niro earns a Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS, the crash-testing agency said last week. To get to the highest-rated Niro, buyers need to opt for LED headlights and automatic emergency braking, features that can be paired together only on the Niro EX trim level with the optional Premium Package or the...

2019 Hyundai Ioniq preview

2019 Hyundai IoniqThe 2019 Hyundai Ioniq returns this year as an inexpensive alternative for green car shoppers on a budget. Its lineup has fully matured now; the Ioniq is available as an affordable hybrid, a slightly more expensive plug-in hybrid, or a fully electric model available in limited areas. We say: green, greener, or greenest—no bad pick. The most...

So nice, why not twice? Two hybrids planned for next-generation Porsche 911

2018 Porsche 911 Carrera T first driveTaking a page from its successful Cayenne and Panamera E-Hybrids, which have seen the biggest sales jumps of any plug-in cars in recent monthly sales reports, Porsche is planning to build two new hybrid versions of its defining 911 sports car. The 911 is being redesigned for 2019, code named 992, and experts expected that it would offer a...

Volvo ditches diesel, but will half its cars be electric by 2024?

2017 Volvo S60 and V60 PolestarVolvo says it is going all-in on electric cars in an effort to turn the company into something of a Tesla alternative. To that end, the company has announced that half its cars will be battery electric models by 2024, according to a report in Road & Track earlier this year. It has also dedicated its high-performance Polestar brand to selling...

7 things we learned in 9 years, and where green cars are headed

Chevrolet Bolt EV being charged outside Go Forth electric-car showroom, Portland   [photo: Forth]More than four years ago, this site looked back at its first five years of coverage to assess what had changed—and what we'd learned. Now, we're repeating the exercise. In February 2014, Green Car Reports had published about 9,800 news articles. The number is now up to more than 16,800. Much has changed since then, however. We've broken down...