News

Kia is discontinuing the Rio in the U.S. after the 2023 model year, as reported by Automotive News.The Rio subcompact was offered as a sedan and a hatchback, with both starting under $20,000.It’s possible that the new Kia K3 will serve as a replacement for the Rio, but it will surely be more expensive.The Kia Rio is the latest victim in the string of affordable small-car discontinuations in the U.S. The subcompact sedan and hatchback won’t return for the 2024 model year, a Kia representative confirmed to C/D.The Rio was one of just three remaining sub-$20,000 new cars available in the U.S. for the 2023 model year. With the impending cancellation of the Mitsubishi Mirage, this will leave only the Nissan Versa as a member of this club going forward, although Nissan has not yet announced 2024 Versa information.RIP Small CarsThrough July of this year, Kia has sold 16,554 units of the Rio, a 2 percent decline compared with last year. But the Rio has never been among Kia’s bestselling models, and its low prices likely mean slim profit margins. The compact Forte sedan will now be the cheapest model in the Kia lineup. It started at $20,815 for the 2023 model year; 2024 pricing hasn’t yet been announced.Kia also recently revealed a new small sedan called the K3. We expect it to serve as a replacement for both the Rio and the Forte going forward, but it’s not likely to carry a sub-$20,000 starting price. Look for more information on this new model to come later this year, as it could arrive in the U.S. for the 2025 model year.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.Senior 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

VinFast, an EV startup from Vietnam, revealed EPA range estimates for its second model, the three-row VF9 SUV.The VF9 Eco is rated at 330 miles of range per charge, while the Plus model has a 291-mile estimate.Deliveries are planned for the fourth quarter of this year, with the Eco starting at $83K and the Plus at $91K, before destination fees.VinFast is on a roll. The Vietnamese automaker delivered the first 45 VF8 SUVs to Californian customers in March. Last week, VinFast completed a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, allowing the company to be listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Its stock has since soared, giving the EV maker a market capitalization greater than Ford and General Motors combined at the time of writing. VinFast is now readying its second model for the United States, announcing official EPA range estimates for the VF9 SUV. VinFast VF9 Estimated RangeThe VinFast VF9 Eco trim level is expected to travel 330 miles on a charge, and the Plus model is expected to go 291 miles. The company previously said the VF9 would be offered with two battery sizes, a Standard Range pack and an Enhanced Range unit. It didn’t specify which battery was responsible for the EPA-estimated figures, but since VinFast claims it outperformed its own estimates, we presume the data is for the Standard Range, which VinFast initially predicted would provide between 262 and 272 miles.VinfastThe preliminary guesses for the Enhanced Range model were between 360 and 369 miles, and VinFast’s consumer website now only lists one battery option. Confusingly, the pack listed on the consumer site is a 123.0-kWh unit, which the official press site lists as the Enhanced Range battery. Car and Driver reached out to VinFast for confirmation on which battery pack returned these range estimates. We’ll update this story if we hear back. VF9 PricingVinFast also revealed updated pricing for the VF9, which will start at $83,000 for the Eco and $91,000 for the Plus, before destination fees. This is roughly $6000 more than the previously revealed prices for both models, and puts it on par with the three-row Rivian R1S, which returns either 260 or 352 miles per charge, depending on the battery pack. The segment will be joined by the pricier 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ, which is targeting a 450-mile rating and will also have to contend with the significantly cheaper three-row Kia EV9 that should get up to 300 miles of range.VinfastThe VF9’s battery feeds to two electric motors churning out a combined 402 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. VinFast claims a zero-to-60-mph time of 6.5 seconds and says the VF9 will charge from 10 to 70 percent in 35 minutes on a DC fast-charger. VinFast has already begun deliveries of the VF9 in Vietnam and aims to start putting North American customers behind the wheel of the three-row EV in the fourth quarter of this year.More on VinFastThis 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

Meyers Manx unveiled the Manx 2.0 Electric as a reimagining of the original dune buggy that captured hearts in the 1960s. The electric buggy is the first vehicle produced under the new leadership, which took control of the company shortly before original designer Bruce Meyers’s passing.The 40.0-kWh battery, the largest of two options, has a claimed 300-mile range and promises 202 horsepower and up to 240 pound-feet of torque.UPDATE 8/22/23: Meyers Manx has announced preliminary pricing for the Manx 2.0 EV, which will start at $74,000. The recently revealed Resorter NEV, which has a 25-mph top speed, has a base price of $49K. The company is currently accepting $500 deposits for both models on the Meyers Manx website.In Car and Driver’s April 1967 issue, we featured the original Meyers Manx on the cover, front and center. Our road test proclaimed it “all things to all men.” The only thing they could all agree on, we said, was that the Meyers Manx was “more soul-freeing, leaping, bounding, uninhibited fun than anything else they’ve ever driven—on or off the road.”Back in the Day; C/D ArchiveFifty-five years later, the beloved dune buggy aspires to be all that and more as it gets reimagined for 2023. Announced Monday evening, the Manx 2.0 Electric brings all the adventurous, off-road fun of the original, just powered by a battery. The design of the Manx 2.0 closely follows in the original’s footsteps with its rugged yet voluptuous silhouette, but the newest incarnation is a bit more refined than its predecessor, thanks to the enclosed rear to cool the electric motors. No air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle engine hanging out the back here. Still, the Manx 2.0 stays true to the monocoque chassis legacy of the original, making it light—the heaviest 2.0 is claimed to weigh 1650 pounds—and strong on rough terrain. It also features independent rear suspension and regenerative braking, which should shoulder most of the braking load.Inside, the Manx 2.0 will have two battery options: a 20.0-kWh battery with a claimed 150 miles of range or a a 40.0-kWh battery with 300 miles of range. Those are very ambitious claims given that a Chevy Bolt EV needs a 66.0 kWh battery to achieve a 259-mile EPA range rating. That would also equate to efficiency of roughly 225 MPGe for the Manx, or nearly 100 MPGe higher than the most efficient EV on the market today, the 132 MPGe rear-drive Tesla Model 3. Sure, the Manx is substantially lighter, but it also wears knobby tires and its aerodynamics are sure to be hindered by the open cabin. While the company has yet to release power specs for the smaller battery, the bigger option sends 202 horsepower and up to 240 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels through two motors, which should get you to 60 miles per hour in an estimated 4.5 seconds. The motor, inverter, gear train, and brakes will be housed in a single unit. The Manx 2.0’s motor unit attached to a battery pack.Elana Scherr|Car and DriverThe first batch, totaling just 50 buggies, will ship in 2023 as part of a beta program, but once the Manx 2.0 reaches a wider audience, it will come with a suite of options like A/C and heat, as well as a smart screen, according to Meyers Manx CEO Freeman Thomas. Thomas, designer of the New Beetle as well as others like the original Audi TT concept, joined Meyers Manx as CEO in 2020 following the brands acquisition by venture capitalist and Manx enthusiast Phillip Sarofim. Sarofim acquired Meyers Manx from Bruce and Winnie Meyers shortly before Bruce Meyers died at age 94 in 2021, and now the duo, according to Freeman, want to “carry his legacy into the future.”It’s a powerful legacy. Bruce Meyers almost singlehandedly started the kit dune buggy craze when he decided, despite being more acquainted with building sailboats and surfboards, to build a dune buggy out of a Beetle in his Newport Beach, California, garage in 1964. It quickly became a sensation after it broke the timed record for a run from Tijuana, Mexico, to La Paz over rocky, desert terrain. When the route was organized into the first ever Baja 1000, known as the Mexican 1000 in 1967, the Meyers Manx was crowned the victor. However, an electric Manx also has a history. Bruce Meyers revived the Meyers Manx brand in 2000, and in 2014 he partnered with Las Vegas-based battery company Rev-TEC to create an electric concept known as the Manx V. The V had 86.3 horsepower and a top speed of 64 miles per hour. Volkswagen, too, got in on the fun with a 2019 concept inspired by the original Manx called the I.D. Buggy. More On The ManxCertainly, the Meyers Manx has had quite the journey since we put it on our cover all those years ago. However, with the reveal of the Manx 2.0 it’s clear that, no matter where the auto industry has gone, seemingly nothing enamors enthusiasts quite like the Manx. 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.Editorial InternSasha Richie is a local of the Detroit area, so cars have always been a big part of her life. Some of her fondest memories include driving her dad’s 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am in the Woodward Dream Cruise the summer after she got her license and going to drag races with her grandpa. Currently finishing a Bachelor’s in Russian at Duke University, where she is the Sports Managing Editor of the Duke Chronicle, Sasha is excited to join the Car and Driver team for the summer. More

The 2024 Toyota Tundra, specifically the mid-tier Limited trim, adds a Nightshade appearance option and a standard digital gauge cluster.The 2024 Toyota Sequoia Limited sees the same changes, plus their TRD Off-Road packages add new content.The ’24 Sequoia also has a newly available dealer-installed 3.0-inch lift—just like the kit already revealed for the Tundra.With full-sized proportions, the Tundra pickup truck and Sequoia SUV are Toyota’s two brawniest models. For 2024, their mid-tier Limited trim levels benefit from some changes that make them more desirable, including a newly standard 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a newly optional Nightshade appearance package.Blacked-Out Big RigsThe stealthy Nightshade look has become a Toyota staple, with the aesthetic available on everything from the compact Corolla to the Camry family sedan to the hybrid Venza SUV. Now offered on the Tundra and Sequoia Limited, it adds black-painted wheels, black mirror caps, and a black grille with a body-color surround.ToyotaSimilarly, the TRD Off-Road package that can be paired with the Limited trim on both full-sizers receives a color-matched grille surround and black mirror caps. Plus, the next-level Platinum model now can be had in TRD Off-Road guise—provided it’s equipped with four-wheel drive. Unlike before, the Tundra and Sequoia’s Platinum and 1794 Edition offer a head-up display separate from the load-leveling rear suspension. However, we think those who will splurge for one of those options will probably opt for the other, right?Jacked-Up Full-SizersLast year, Toyota introduced a 3.0-inch lift kit developed by its TRD division, and it can be equipped on all non-TRD Pro versions of the Tundra and Sequoia. Along with jacking up the ride height by 2.6 inches, it increases approach and departure angles and works with the full-sizers’ driver-assistance tech. Bilstein monotube shocks, taller red-painted front coil springs, forged upper control arms from Roush Performance, and more are part of the setup. The TRD lift kit costs $3995 (not including installation) and can be installed at Toyota dealerships on all 2022 and newer models.toyotatoyotaWhile Toyota hasn’t yet released pricing—or images, for that matter—for the 2024 Sequoia, the newest Tundra can be configured on the consumer site. The truck’s base price is $41,815 for the entry-level SR trim, $53,705 for the Limited, and just over $64K for the fancier 1794 Edition. Of course, adding four-wheel drive and/or opting for the hybrid V-6 powertrain will up the cost even more. Both upgrades are standard on the ’24 TRD Pro and Capstone, which start at $73,980 and $80,695, respectively.Extra Tundra and Sequoia ReadingThis 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.Senior EditorEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More