Mid-Size

Is it possible that Toyota’s existing partnership with BMW could extend into a Lexus? That’s what a report from Japan’s Best Car magazine is saying. According to the report, the next-generation Lexus IS sports sedan will be powered by the same 335-horsepower, 3.0-liter, turbocharged, straight-six that you can find under the hood of a recently released Toyota sports car that’s been dominating the news lately. If the reports are true, the next-generation IS could share the same engine with the Toyota Supra and, by extension, the BMW Z4. Whether using that engine is enough to elevate the IS’ standing in the premium compact luxury market remains to be seen. It would definitely be interesting to see it compete against BMW and the almighty 3 Series with an engine that comes from, well, BMW.

Porsche is officially going to have several versions of its Taycan all-electric model, one of which will be an estate or wagon model that will most likely be called Sport Turismo. The Taycan Sport Turismo is exactly the same as the sedan model, but with a bigger trunk and more practicality.

It’s actually going to be the first mass-market, purpose-designed, all-electric wagon ever, and no, the handful of coach-built Tesla Model S wagons don’t count.

The rest of the package remains unchanged, so it’s only going to be sold with an all-electric powertrain (don’t be fooled by the fake exhausts on the back of the camouflaged prototype in these photos provided by our spies) which will provide great performance, as well as a large lithium-ion battery pack for decent range.

Design-wise, expect a slightly more toned down version of the Mission-E Sport Turismo concept that debuted at the Geneva motor show this March. Porsche is apparently also going to make a higher-riding crossover-style version of this wagon, but it will be the sedan and wagon that will be the two main models.

But even if Tesla doesn’t make a production wagon variant of its Model S, that model is going to be the Taycan and Taycan estate’s main rival because it is already quite well established in its segment.

Update 02/20/2019: The Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo has been caught testing in the wild again, and this time it sports even less camo that the last time we saw it. This time we actually get to see the roofline and the rear end. Check out the spy shots section below to learn all about it.

Honda established its Swindon, UK plant back in 1985 and it functioned pretty well until the late 2000s credit crunch when the manufacturer closed about half of it. Before the financial crisis that really made its presence felt in 2008, Honda was making the Civic, CR-V, and Jazz in Swindon, but after the restructuring job, it only kept Civic production going at the site - now it looks like it plans on closing the facility for good, in 2021 or 2022.

Four years after dropping jaws on the floor of the North American International Auto Show, we learn the Hyundai Santa Cruz Concept could finally come to our lives in the next few years. Just don’t expect the production version to look anything like the concept that caused a ruckus in Detroit back in 2015. Time is the biggest culprit behind this shift. It’s been four years since Hyundai unveiled the Santa Cruz, and a lot has changed within Hyundai during that time. The company’s new decision-makers are taking a different approach from the regime that championed the concept’s production back then. It remains to be seen how the different stylistic approach affects the production model’s appeal, but that’s also just one of many questions that Hyundai needs to answer before the production pickup arrives.

Toyota had an eventful time at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show. It was not just the Sequoia getting honored with the TRD Pro badge, or Toyota presenting the 2020 Tacoma. The automaker revealed the TRD Off-road version of the RAV4. Toyota’s trusted compact crossover was beefed-up and launched with more off-road capability. Does the RAV4 TRD Off-Road make a compelling case for itself as an ’off-roader"?

BMW has very recently launched its first ever X7 SUV, a seven-seater that occupies the top position in the manufacturer’s high rider lineup. With a starting price in the U.S. of $73,900, it is $13,200 more expensive than the smaller X5, so it needs a good story to help get sales moving. In this case, it needs one that turns everyday obstacles and situations into fantastically exaggerated mythical encounters.

If you think the new 2020 BMW 7-Series grille is too big, but you still want the car, then why not buy the most powerful and fastest version of it so that people don’t have a chance to see your car’s monumental nostrils? That version is the reworked 7-Series called the 2020 Alpina B7. It was just revealed last week in Palm Springs and is touted as the world’s fastest three-box sedan.

The new 2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI is just right. Presented at the 2019 Chicago Motor Show, the new hot Volkswagen compact sedan gained the much-needed overhaul with a fine upgrade that came from none other than the parts bins of the Golf GTI and the Golf R. It is a thoroughly improved car, with a 2.0-liter, turbocharged, gasoline engine, a fresh new look, and a far more advanced suspension compared to the lesser units. Let me just say it - rear multi-link. It has it.

With the new model introduced in Chicago, Volkswagen USA officials actually noted that the new car will come with two trim levels, while the limited edition GLI 35 serves as sort of a high-end model of the GLI world.

Now, we’ve already learned a lot about the new Volkswagen Jetta GLI, but what about the Volkswagen Jetta GLI35?

First arriving on the scene in 1989, the Legacy nameplate has served as Subaru’s flagship sedan for six full generations. Now there’s a new seventh-generation arriving for the 2020 model year, and it’s framed as “the most advanced Legacy in the model’s 30-year history.” Sporting a revised exterior, oodles of new technology and luxury features in the cabin, as well as a new platform and a new turbocharged engine option, the Legacy is feeling fresher than ever. But with segment competition tightening, does the Legacy have what it takes?

Volkswagen has launched a new 2020 Jetta GLI that borrows a lot of Golf GTI visual cues, as well as its powertrain and more advanced suspension. But the new GLI is only so extreme and, in fact, in China and other markets, you can actually get an even more powerful version of it that isn’t branded as anything special. The GLI is only the most powerful Jetta you can buy in North America.

Volkswagen has finally given its Jetta sedan for North America the power, exclusivity, and extra sporting edge that some enthusiasts felt were missing from the package. The new 2020 Jetta GLI has addressed all those concerns and is now a model with enough brawn and sophistication to go head to head with all the sporty sedans in its size and price brackets. If you’re into fast driving, then you will be happy to note the new Jetta GLI gets the exact same engine as the (Golf) GTI, a standard limited-slip differential, and a snappy six-speed stick shift.

One of the new Jetta GLI’s main rivals is the2019 Honda Civic Si sedan, a very hard contender indeed. The Civic Si has a smaller displacement engine than the Jetta GLI, and has less power, but it is also quite a light car, one renowned for its excellent handling and road manners. It also looks somewhat sportier than the Jetta too, especially if you see its trunk lid-mounted wing, the center exhaust, and the aggressive overall design and stance.

If this were purely a visual comparison to discover which car looked more aggressive, that distinction would automatically go to the Civic Si. But it’s not all about the visuals, especially since the Jetta is more powerful than the Civic and it also has a more sophisticated independent rear suspension that VW doesn’t offer on any other Jetta model.

Acura revamped theRDX last year and gave it a more aggressive face coupled with a sporty profile. All that is great, but the new car is lacking when it comes to mid-range torque. That’s where Hondata jumps in with its Flashpro system that gives you the ability to extract 45 more pound-feet of torque at the peak of the curve over the 280 you get from Acura.

Mid-range torque is a very important aspect, especially when we’re talking about SUVs. The RDX is Acura’s compact crossover offering and, while it does offer 28 pound-feet of torque more than the previous RDX with its 3.5-liter V-6, there’s still room for improvement. Hondata has already released ECU kits for the Civic and Accord, and now it’s the RDX’s time to shine with extra torque and, also, more power across the band.

Dodge vehicles have always been known for their bold, in-your-face looks. To spice things up a little, Dodge has decided to bring back the lime green color that was seen on almost all the Dodge cars in the 1970s, and it’ll do so at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show. With the 2020 Ford Shelby GT500 and the Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE being in the news lately, is this a move out of desperation? Perhaps, Dodge has taken up the ’challenge’ to ’charge’ its range. Bad pun, eh?

Update 02/14/2019: We’ve updated this review with images and video of the lime green 2019 Dodge Charger taken at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show. Check them out for yourself in the gallery at the bottom of this page!

It’s been more than three years since Bentley introduced the Bentayga, its first-ever SUV, and the highly anticipated Speed model is here to boost the nameplate’s performance pedigree even further. The first Bentley SUV to carry the badge taken from the Continental, the Bentayga Speed is the quickest, fastest, and more capable British hauler yet.

The Rock Creek Edition is a special-edition version of the Nissan Pathfinder that includes new accessories and a few extra features at no additional cost. Introduced at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, it freshens up the somewhat dated fourth-generation Pathfinder, which was launched in 2012 and went through a mid-cycle upgrade for the 2017 model year. Offered on SV and SL grades (no soup for you if you want the base model or the range-topping Platinum trim), it costs only $995. Nissan says it will save you $1,315 compared to a similar vehicle with all those features ordered separately, but is it worth it? Let’s find out in the review below.

It was not just Mazda which brought an anniversary edition model to Chicago Auto Show.The MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary Edition might have stolen the limelight, but Chrysler and Dodge have launched anniversary editions of their minivans as well. Perhaps, they went unnoticed because they are humble minivans and not some fancy roadsters. Oh, automotive enthusiasts, thou art mean.

Introduced for the 2017 model year, the XT5 is Cadillac’s first ever compact crossover. Originally sold alongside the massive Escalade, the XT5 now slots between the XT4 and theXT6. At the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, after three years on the market, Cadillac launched the Sport Package, a limited-edition bundle that adds a bit of variety to the crossover’s three-trim lineup.

The XT5 Sport joins similar versions offered for the smaller XT4 and the larger XT6 SUVs. It gives the XT5 a darker, slightly more aggressive appearance, but it doesn’t change anything under the hood. The Sport package is available with the Luxury and Premium Luxury trims, meaning it comes with a wide range of standard luxury features and technology, sitting just below the range-topping Platinum model. Let’s see what it offers.

Modern compact crossovers are some of the most popular types of vehicles nowadays, and one of the nameplates that helped establish this trend is the Toyota RAV4 that debuted in 1994. But ever since the first generation, now seen as a classic of the genre, Toyota has been watering down the RAV4 formula. This trend peaked with the previous-gen model that, in my eyes, was the least desirable RAV4 ever.

Don’t get confused by the ASX nameplate on this newly released 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport crossover. The ASX is a name stashed on the back of the European Outlander Sport, and as the new one will be released at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show, it is only logical. What seems less logical is yet another facelift for the Outlander Sport. The car has been around since February 2010, and for the past nine years, it received exactly three facelifts (this being fourth). This means that the third generation of the Outlander Sport has exactly five different looks. While previous redesigns haven’t been, what one would call...ahem... exhaustive, the new redesign is. The new 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport received a full visual makeover with the styling cues reminiscent of all new Mitsubishi cars. So, it looks a lot like the Eclipse Cross then.

The 2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI is the latest performance-oriented version of the compact sedan. It’s based on the seventh-generation Jetta what was unveiled for the 2019 model year, and just like its predecessor, it rides on underpinnings borrowed from the Volkswagen Golf GTI. More aggressive than ever design-wise, the 2020 Jetta GLI is also the most powerful GLI ever built. Powered by a turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, it comes with 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. For the first time ever, the Jetta GLI comes close to the Subaru WRX, although it still doesn’t have an all-wheel-drive system. Find out more about the new Jetta GLI in the review below.