Motor News

Audi is upgrading its Q4 e-tron electric crossover with a new rear electric motor that delivers increased horsepower and better efficiency.The base Q4 40 e-tron model will now produce 282 horsepower, up by 81 horsepower, while the Q4 50 e-tron will have 335 ponies, up from 295 horsepower.Audi revealed these changes for the European market, but we expect the U.S.-spec Q4 e-tron to adopt the same updates for the 2025 model year.Audi is preparing a wave of new electric cars starting with the 2025 Q6 e-tron, but the German automaker is also ensuring that its existing EVs don’t stagnate, announcing a host of upgrades for the Q4 e-tron crossover that has been on sale in the U.S. since 2022. The revisions reach European customers this fall, but we expect the new Q4 e-tron to hit the U.S. market for the 2025 model year, with the changes affecting both the standard Q4 SUV and the sleek Sportback models.AudiWhile the Q4’s styling remains the same, under the skin the crossover is fitted with a new permanently excited synchronous motor on the rear axle, unlocking more power and range. The new motor takes the base Q4 40 e-tron from a meager 201 horsepower all the way up to 282 ponies. Audi estimates a 6.7-second sprint to 62 mph, a significant improvement over the current 7.9-second run to 60 mph, while the top speed increases from 99 mph to 112 mph to match the all-wheel-drive models. The 40 model is currently rated at 265 miles of range by the EPA, which should improve to close to 300 miles when EPA range figures are announced. The all-wheel-drive Q4 50 e-tron, meanwhile, now produces 335 horsepower, up from 295 horsepower. While Audi quotes a 5.4-second dash to 62 mph, we recorded a 5.6-second run in the outgoing model, suggesting the new motor will make the Q4 50 e-tron even quicker than Audi predicts. The 50 model is currently rated at 236 miles of range, or 242 miles for the Sportback, with noticeable range increases expected for 2025. AudiThe Q4’s motors continue to draw from a 77.0-kWh battery, but Audi says revised cell chemistry has shortened charging times, with the Q4 going from 10 to 80 percent charge in 28 minutes. Audi says all-wheel-drive Q4 e-trons will now max out at 175 kW when hooked up to a DC fast charger, versus 150 kW before. In Europe, rear-wheel-drive models are limited to 135 kW, but in the U.S. all models have been capable of 150 kW. Audi is also introducing a function that limits the charge level to 80 percent to extend the battery’s lifespan. The Q4 will now have a post-conditioning feature for the battery, cooling the battery if it exceeds a certain temperature after driving or charging. Audi also claims it retuned the Q4 e-tron’s suspension for a better balance between sporty handling and comfortable cruising, and the steering is said to be more responsive. After Audi added adaptive cruise control with lane-centering for 2024, the Q4 will now be capable of assisted lane changes when using the system at over 56 mph on highways. The system checks to ensure that it is safe to change lanes and when the driver activates the turn signal the vehicle helps the driver steer into the new lane. More New AudisThe Q4 also gains a new optional “character sound” that will be pumped out by two external speakers at the back of the car and two internal speakers in the rear doors. The sound changes based on speed and can be turned off at any time, although the legally required low-speed sound for pedestrian safety will always remain active.While European customers will be be able to purchase the upgraded Q4 e-tron within the next month, the new model will likely reach American buyers sometime next year as a 2025 model. Although it’s unclear just how many of these changes will be shared with the U.S.-spec Q4 e-tron, we expect the new motor to make an appearance, with Volkswagen applying the same upgrade to the related ID.4 crossover for 2024. Prices for the Q4 should increase slightly, and U.S.-specific information should arrive soon.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Associate News EditorCaleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan. More

Hyundai has filed a trademark for the “N74” nameplate within the European Union’s intellectual property office. The trademark is the best clue yet that Hyundai is serious about a production version of the N Vision 74 concept car from last year. While the automaker itself still hasn’t confirmed a production version, the prototype is a 670-hp rear-drive sports car powered by hydrogen fuel cells and batteries. Sometimes dreams do come true and automakers choose to green light the fancy concept cars they show off. Last year, Hyundai’s N Vision 74 made made quite the splash when the manufacturer debuted the car in South Korea. It wasn’t long before many fans (Car and Driver staff included) were asking what it would take for Hyundai to produce it. While Hyundai still hasn’t confirmed a production version of the car, the online forum 7th Mustang spotted that the automaker did file a trademark application for “Hyundai N74” with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). HyundaiThe trademark request was filed on September 20, and the classification covers “automobiles, sports cars, vans, motor trucks, motor buses, and electric vehicles,” meaning the filing is for more than just naming rights. According to the EUIPO, the application is still under examination.We had the chance to drive the engineering prototype version last year, and it was enough of an experience to get us excited for a roadgoing version. That version was Hyundai’s “rolling lab” test bed to allow the manufacturers N performance division to experiment with future powertrain development. HyundaiWe spoke to Albert Biermann about it at the time, and the former Hyundai-Kia R&D boss turned executive technical advisor told Car and Driver, “It is hard for me to see us doing it; at this moment we don’t need such a car.” Fortunately Biermann isn’t calling all the shots over at Hyundai-Kia, and Till Wartenberg—Hyundai’s vice president of N brand management and motorsport has other ideas. In an interview earlier this year, Wartenberg told The Autopian that he wants to see the Vision 74 in production. “My personal wish is to produce this vehicle,” Wartenberg said. “It’s at first probably an investment, but if we could see this vehicle really out there and people buying it, I would be very happy.”More on the N Vision 74 PrototypeDoes Hyundai filing this trademark mean that some version of the N Vision 74 will enter production? Not necessarily, but between Wartenberg’s statements and the recent trademark application, things are looking up for fans who want to see some version of this car on the road. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Associate News EditorJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

This content is imported from youTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Some Chevy dealers apparently still struggle to understand that the weight distribution of the mid-engine C8 Corvette is different from the previous front-engine Corvettes. As a result, we see here another example of a new Corvette being lifted improperly and getting destroyed when it falls off the lift. A YouTube video posted on September 15 by Jason Grubb shows a Torch red Corvette Z06 convertible sitting majestically in the air on top of a dealer’s lift. However, it seems that the technician did not use the proper lift points. A few seconds after the video starts, we watch in horror as the flat-plane-crank LT6–powered Z06 comes crashing to the ground. The good news is that nobody appears to be injured in the mishap. The bad news is that the world might’ve just lost a Z06 convertible because of a stupid mistake. It’s unclear what dealer this incident occurred at.It is bad enough to see the Corvette crash to the ground. But to add even more insult to injury the video shows one of the lift arms ripping through the side of the car as it falls. Because of that, it seems safe to assume the car is a total loss. Writing off a Z06 while it is being pushed to the limit on a racetrack is one thing. But losing one while it is in the hands of the people in charge of keeping these on the road is enough to make any Corvette fan cry.The C8 Z06 was launched with much fanfare. It is a track weapon—becoming the fifth-fastest car around VIR in our Lightning Lap testing—that can best cars from more exotic brands. Some folks have been on a waitlist for years waiting for their car. Many have had to pay tens of thousands of dollars above MSRP in order to put it in their garage. We don’t know anything about the owner of this particular Z06. However, we can be sure they will not be happy when they get the call from the dealership about what happened. If you are the owner of a C8 Corvette, you might want to review page 230 of the owner’s manual with the shop where you get your car serviced. That is the page that illustrates the proper jack points. That conversation just might save your car. More on the Z06 More

Toyota is introducing a few updates to the 2024 RAV4, most notably a new color.Army Green is now available for the Woodland, Adventure, and TRD Off-Road trim levels.The 2024 RAV4 starts at $29,825 for the base LE, while the Woodland hybrid starts at $36,045.Army Green, a paint color already seen on several of Toyota’s bigger trucks and SUVs, is making its way onto the Toyota RAV4 compact crossover for 2024. The cool new hue will be offered on the RAV4’s more rugged-looking trim levels, including the Woodland Edition hybrid, the Adventure, and the TRD Off-Road.The color itself will be a no-cost option on the Adventure and TRD Off-Road models, but on the Woodland Edition Army Green will require a $500 option for a two-tone setup with a black roof. The two-tone option is also offered on the Adventure and TRD Off-Road, and on those models you’ll be able to choose between either a white or a black roof. You can also now pair the Woodland’s Ice Cap exterior color with a black roof. We particularly like how the green looks in combination with the Woodland Edition’s bronze 18-inch wheels.The Woodland Edition also gets an activity mount as standard that Toyota says can accommodate a bike rack or cargo carrier, and it’s now available with a Weather package for $925 that adds heated front seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.There aren’t any other notable changes for the 2024 RAV4 lineup—which also includes XLE, XLE Premium, and Limited trim levels—other than slight price hikes of a few hundred dollars depending on model. The base RAV4 LE now starts at $29,825, the Adventure starts at $36,020, the TRD Off-Road is $39,445, and the hybrid-only Woodland is $36,045. 2024 RAV4s will start arriving at dealerships late this year.More on the RAV4Senior EditorDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More

Pricing for the 2024 Mazda CX-30 subcompact crossover is up a significant amount from last year.The base price rises $2045, to $26,370, and the top Turbo Premium Plus trim now starts at $38,625.The new brown-on-brown Carbon Turbo costs $34,165.Mazda’s upward push into the premium market continues to impact new-car prices, including the 2024 Mazda CX-30 subcompact crossover. For the new model year, the CX-30’s base price goes up by $2045 to $26,370, and other trim levels are up by between $500 and $1850. The new Carbon Turbo model (pictured at top), which has a brown-on-brown color scheme, starts at $34,165.There’s a bit of new standard equipment offered in the base CX-30 2.5 S model to offset the price hike, including blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. The CX-30 comes standard with a 191-hp 2.5-liter inline-four, a six-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive.The 2024 CX-30’s trim-level structure is a bit different than before, as the Select is renamed the Select Sport and now starts at $27,875. The Carbon Turbo, finished in Zircon Sand exterior paint and featuring Terra Cotta leather accents inside, is also new to the lineup and is now the cheapest way to get the more powerful turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four with 250 horsepower. The Select, Preferred, Carbon Edition, and Premium models continue on with the naturally aspirated 2.5-liter, while the Turbo Premium and Turbo Premium Plus models start at $36,960 and $38,625, respectively—pushing well into luxury subcompact-crossover territory.All 2024 Turbo models get a larger, 10.3-inch infotainment screen instead of the 8.8-inch screen on lesser models. They also add a wireless phone charger and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Mazda says the updated CX-30 lineup will go on sale later in the fall.More on New MazdasSenior EditorDespite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.   More

Volvo confirmed that it will cease production of all diesel-powered vehicles by early 2024. The announcement comes on the heels of Volvo’s commitment last year to eliminate its research and development budget for combustion engines. The company has committed to selling only electric cars by 2030, and Volvo aims to be a fully carbon neutral company by 2040. Automakers continue to move towards electrifying their lineups in small steps and big leaps, with Volvo announcing Tuesday that it will end production of all remaining diesel models by early next year. In conjunction with Volvo ceasing diesel production, the automaker doubled down on its move towards electrification. Volvo made the decision last year to end development of new combustion engines and no longer spends any R&D budget to do so. Last November, the company sold its stake in Aurobay, a joint venture company that held the carmakers remaining combustion engine assets.Volvo EX30VolvoVolvo hasn’t sold a diesel powered vehicle in the U.S. in decades, but even viewed from a global standpoint, the announcement doesn’t come as a huge surprise given the declining market share held by Volvo’s diesel-powered cars. According to Reuters, the majority of the cars Volvo sold in Europe were diesel as recently as 2019, though in 2022 they made up just 8.9 percent of the manufacturers sales. “Electric powertrains are our future, and superior to combustion engines,” said Jim Rowan, Chief Executive at Volvo Cars, in a statement. “We’re fully focused on creating a broad portfolio of premium, fully electric cars that deliver on everything our customers expect from a Volvo—and are a key part of our response to climate change.”More Volvo NewsThe move is part of Volvo’s roadmap towards 100 percent electric vehicle sales by 2030, and on to its further aims of being a carbon-neutral company by 2040. As far back as 2019, the automaker began electrifying all new models, including hybrid, plug-in-hybrid, and battery-electric vehicles such as the upcoming EX30 and EX90 SUVs. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Associate News EditorJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More

Not so long ago the Car and Driver long-term test fleet featured performance greats such as the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0, the BMW M3, and Cadillac’s Blackwing twins. Naturally, our taste for high-octane performance machines has only grown more insatiable since their departure. Enter the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Powered by a 670-hp flat-plane-crank 5.5-liter V-8, this is a Corvette gone Super Saiyan. Oh, it’s also the fifth-fastest car we’ve ever run at Lightning Lap. Sadly, we aren’t able to run our usual 40,000-mile long-term test format (as we did on a regular C8, a 2021 Stingray Z51). But we did manage to wrangle an extended loan, and we’ll be producing frequent updates to let you know what life with a Z06 is like. From dropping the kids off at school to grocery store runs and potential track days, we’ll be updating you on every mile for the next month or so. 4300–5304 miles: City Living Our first road trip in the Z06 saw us travel from Detroit to Chicago for the Riot Fest music festival. And what better car to bring to Riot Fest than the Z06, which is its own miniature riot? Earplugs are not required for this one, thankfully—although Track mode definitely pumps up the volume. Andrew Krok|Car and DriverThe drive to Chicago wasn’t bad. The magnetorheological dampers and decent tire sidewalls do a good job of keeping the ride from being truly intolerable, but impact harshness remains severe—one particular pothole had us worried that we’d turned one of the front wheels into a square. Noise is ever-present; the targa-style top did a good job sealing out wind noise, but those aggressive Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires made a whole lot of road noise, in addition to tramlining on grooved or wavy pavement.Stop-and-go traffic is not the Z06’s favorite place to be. Left to its own devices, the transmission can be reluctant to upshift out of first. Shifting for ourselves in Manual offers a bit more comfort bouncing between zero and 25 mph.Speaking of bouncing—the tall, slab-sided buildings of Chicago provide the perfect acoustic environment for the Z06. The flat-plane-crank V-8 positively shrieks above 3000 rpm, emitting a wail that may feel out of place in a Corvette, but it feels right at home in a supercar. Andrew Krok|Car and DriverYou know that feeling you get when you can tell somebody’s looking at you from . . . somewhere? That’s every waking minute in the Z06. It’s a long, low, brash wedge with race-car front aero and a wing the size of a dining-room table. It pulls eyes and comments wherever it goes. As you might expect, the dudes are very into it. Here’s a feather for Chevrolet’s cap: One person asked us if the car cost $250,000. Perhaps the biggest concern is fitting anywhere. The Z06 is wide, and the giant canards at each corner of the front bumper look sharp enough to slice an ankle and vulnerable enough to crumble at the first sight of a curb. There are no front parking sensors, merely front cameras activated with a button on the center console. It makes parking a slow and steady job, but one that can be done without much frustration. Parallel parking isn’t as bad since there are sensors at the back. Andrew Krok|Car and DriverVisibility is also a point of contention. There simply isn’t any in the blind-spot region, requiring us to rely heavily on the blind-spot monitoring system, in addition to the occasional head out the window. Not that there’s a risk of accidentally changing lanes into someone; between the noise and the visual theater, people show deference to the Z06 and give it a wide berth wherever it goes. Perhaps all the bad Corvette drivers of yore have secretly benefitted those of us merely trying to weave around double-bunched buses and arbitrarily placed construction horses. Would the Z06 have been our first pick for a trip to the city? Absolutely not. But now that we’re here, we wouldn’t have chosen any other car. Except maybe that McLaren Senna we saw on Michigan Avenue. —Andrew Krok Editor-in-ChiefTony Quiroga is an 18-year-veteran Car and Driver editor, writer, and car reviewer and the 19th editor-in-chief for the magazine since its founding in 1955. He has subscribed to Car and Driver since age six. “Growing up, I read every issue of Car and Driver cover to cover, sometimes three or more times. It’s the place I wanted to work since I could read,” Quiroga says. He moved from Automobile Magazine to an associate editor position at Car and Driver in 2004. Over the years, he has held nearly every editorial position in print and digital, edited several special issues, and also helped produce C/D’s early YouTube efforts. He is also the longest-tenured test driver for Lightning Lap, having lapped Virginia International Raceway’s Grand Course more than 2000 times over 12 years. More

Lexus showed a yoke-style steering wheel at the debut of its first EV, the RZ450e, but this steering system has yet to make it into production.We drove a substantially retuned version at an event Lexus held at Fuji Speedway and still think its low-speed response is a little too eager.The company plans to complete development of this steer-by-wire system next year.Not long after Tesla put a yoke steering wheel in the Model S and X in 2021, Lexus showed one in the debut of its first EV, the RZ450e. But the RZ has been on sale for a year or so now, and yet there’s still no sign of the yoke. It turns out the company isn’t yet satisfied with the tuning of this very different steering setup. This is noteworthy because Lexus actually made changes to make the yoke work, such as limiting steering travel to eliminate hand-over-hand maneuvers, as opposed to Tesla’s approach which didn’t include any changes to the underlying steering hardware. More on the YokeWhen we first experienced it in a RZ prototype, we found the low-speed tuning especially difficult to acclimate to. That was well over a year ago, and Lexus engineers have since retuned the steer by wire substantially. The latest version lets the steering wheel turn a little further, too—200 degrees in each direction, rather than 150 degrees initially. We drove the latest setup at a Lexus event held at Fuji Speedway.The yoke itself is a high-quality piece, and it appears to share nothing with its round forebear. Its wiper and turn-signal stalks and paddles are far stubbier, and there are adjustment knobs for volume, lights, and wiper settings on the front of the yoke, each with excellent haptic feel. To enable not having a mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the front tires, the RZ has a number of redundancies in place: for example, an extra battery below the center console ensures that the steering system maintains power even if the primary battery goes flat.LexusTurning to its new 200-degree limit can still be done while keeping both hands on the yoke. And once up to even modest speeds, we found the highly variable ratio of the steer-by-wire system natural and easy to acclimate to. Severe low-speed maneuvers are made easier by not having to turn the wheel nearly as far. But, when trying to make small corrections at very low speeds—such as while rolling through a parking lot at 5 to 10 mph—the front tires respond too eagerly. When we gave this feedback to the engineer riding shotgun, it sounded like he already agreed.When asked about timing, Lexus engineers told us that they hope to complete development sometime next year. Presumably, the yoke will go into production shortly after, although the company says there’s no set timeline for production at the moment. Nevertheless, Lexus says the yoke will be headed to other models in the future, although it won’t say which ones.Director, Vehicle TestingDave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver’s vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism. More