Electric Cars
Noisy, windy and with turbo lag. The newest crossover Lexus TX 2024 passed its first test drive a few weeks before the start of sales
Introduced in the US this summer, the 2024 Lexus TX large crossover will go on sale locally this fall. It is not surprising that the Japanese have already conducted the first test drive of the new product for local journalists – they must “prepare the ground” before the start of sales. True, they chose a strange place for testing – the track of the Fuji Speedway race track: this is a completely alien “habitat” for a heavy family seven-seater car with a length of 5.16 meters.
We didn’t manage to drive much – only 15 laps, but this was enough to understand that the car’s sound insulation is not good (perhaps Lexus will still improve this point, since they brought prototypes for a test drive), there is strong understeer, and turbo lag is still noticeable (although not pronounced).
On the other side of the scale, there is a very spacious interior with seats in the third row that are suitable not only for children, but also for adults. And at the same time there is still enough space for small bags in the back. Another interesting point: despite the fact that prototypes were tested, the interior was very well put together.
In general, a sports car from a large crossover is so-so, but as a family car, the Lexus TX 2024 fully justified itself. Despite the fact that sales will start soon, retail prices have not yet been announced. The estimated price of the basic version is 54 thousand dollars, but top-end copies will be much more expensive. Journalists were given a Lexus TX 350 AWD with a 2.4-liter turbocharged engine producing 275 hp for a test drive, but there will be more interesting versions: the hybrid TX 500h with 366 hp. and the TX 550h+ plug-in hybrid with a 3.5 liter V6 engine and 406 hp.
Electric Cars
Mitsubishi has given up: due to sales falling to zero, the company is stopping car production in China
Mitsubishi Motors is ending vehicle production in China amid weak sales and fierce competition.
The Japanese automaker said on Tuesday, October 24, that it will restructure the joint venture between Guangzhou Automobile Group and Mitsubishi Corp. and will record a loss of $162.3 million fiscal for the year ending March 31, 2024.
Mitsubishi will exit the joint venture, Mitsubishi’s share in the joint venture will be transferred to GAC, and the companies will continue to cooperate to provide after-sales services to customers.
In 2019, Mitsubishi sold 134,500 cars in China, in 2022 – 34,575 cars. In January of this year, sales amounted to 1,530 cars, and in April dealers did not sell a single car.
In the summer, Mitsubishi Motors suspended its operations in China indefinitely and began cutting staff.
Electric Cars
The most reliable Hyundai cars have been named. List of 10 models, according to RepairPal and JD Power
Hyundai has long transformed from a budget brand into a world-famous brand that is already competing with Tesla in the electric vehicle market. The South Korean automaker’s lineup includes everything from high-performance cars to electric crossovers. At the same time, many people have a big question: how reliable are Hyundai cars?
According to RepairPal, Hyundai is a very reliable brand, with a reliability rating of 4 out of 5. This makes Hyundai as reliable a brand as Toyota. RepairPal also ranks Hyundai as the fourth most reliable brand and says you’ll spend an average of $468 on annual service.
First place in the ranking was taken by the 2021 Hyundai Accent sedan, one of the brand’s most affordable and popular models. The reliability of this sedan is rated by JD Power specialists at 90 points out of a possible 100, and its maintenance will cost an average of $444 per year.
Second place went to the 2019 Hyundai Sonata. JD Power rates its reliability at 89/100, and its maintenance costs an average of $458 per year.
The 2015 Hyundai Tucson compact crossover rounds out the top three. Its reliability is rated at 86/100 and its maintenance costs are $408.
The most reliable Hyundai cars:
- 2021 Hyundai Accent;
- 2019 Hyundai Sonata;
- 2015 Hyundai Tucson;
- 2019 Hyundai Elantra;
- 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe;
- 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz;
- 2022 Hyundai Palisade;
- 2020 Hyundai Kona;
- 2022 Hyundai Venue;
- 2019 Hyundai Veloster.
Electric Cars
A student has invented a cheap way to convert cars with internal combustion engines into hybrids
An Australian student has just won a prestigious award for his conversion kit, which can turn internal combustion engine cars into hybrids at a very low cost. He claims that its design allows for bolt-on installations to be completed in one day. The issue price is only $3,200.
The auto industry is moving toward electrification, but the challenge of reducing carbon emissions is here to stay. ICE cars, which existed before and even during the transition to green cars, are not going away anytime soon. The startup Rapid Electric Vehicle Retrofits will offer owners the opportunity to electrify their car for a small fee.
According to Alexander Burton of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the key to its success is its special pancake-shaped axial flux motor. It bolts to the wheel hub and has a rotating plate that sits between the brake rotor and the wheel. Burton says each engine can produce 67 hp.
He’s testing a prototype in his Toyota Corolla, with the motors mounted to the rear wheels and a 15 kWh “standard battery” positioned where the spare tire would normally be. At the same time, the power reserve on all-electric traction is about 100 km.
During the tests, the system was not connected to the internal combustion engine at all, but they could operate simultaneously to reduce the amount of fuel burned by the engine. In full EV mode, the system will keep the 12-volt battery charged and power the lights, air conditioning, and so on. However, Burton needs to refine some parts of the design.
Apple will unveil something “terribly fast” on October 30
Apple today announced a big official event – it will take place on October 30th. Teaser images promise something “spooky…
Xiaomi 14 beats iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro: it has a thinner screen bezel
Xiaomi has published the first image comparing the newest Xiaomi 14 with its competitors. The latter, of course, included the…
The key to effective searches for alien signals has been found in changing the approach to processing SETI signals
The new study used a known population of exoplanets for SETI searches and extrapolated to a much larger, unknown population…
Toyota unveils space rover for off-road expeditions to the Moon
Space Mobility is a quad-motor buggy that runs on high-density batteries and has one motor on each wheel for maximum…
-
News3 days agoSpace delivery at a new level: NASA delivered 70 grams of material from the asteroid Bennu in the OSIRIS-REx mission
-
News3 days agoJapanese startup Iwaya offers near-space tourism in a hot air balloon
-
Phones7 days agoAndroid 14 breaks Google Pixel 6. Google recommends buying a new smartphone
-
Components7 days agoAre we waiting for 10 GHz on the Core 15900K? The new Core i9-14900K processor was overclocked to a record frequency of 9.1 GHz