Toyota's seventh-generation NASCAR racer is here. Like its previous efforts, the Japanese automaker's new race car wears Camry bodywork.
From Self-Charging to Mild Hybrid myth - the nomenclature for modern powertrains is unhelpfully opaque HEV, MHEV, Super Hybrid, REx, P REEV, DM-i, EM-i... The list of brand-specific names for various hybrid powertrains goes on. Manufacturers can call their cars whatever they like, of course, but the prevailing nomenclature for hybrids is unhelpfully untransparent. Much of it is nonsense as well: 'MHEV' stands for 'mild hybrid electric vehicle' yet is often applied to a petrol or diesel car with a beefy starter motor. The technology may very well be useful to reduce fuel consumption, but mild hybrids are electric vehicles in much the same way that a person wearing roller skates is a train. Given that we have reviewed a couple of novel hybrids lately, it's a good time to take a whistlestop tour of how Autocar sees the hybrid world. An awful lot of new cars are mild hybrids, because the term can mean almost anything. Most common is the integrated starter-generator (ISG), effectively a starter motor that can harvest some energy while slowing, to give the engine a little boost under acceleration and make startup quicker and smoother. Some have a small electric motor in the gearbox. Some have an electric turbocharger. Nothing wrong with any of that, so long as it doesn't get presented as some game-changing technology. What unites them is that they can't drive on electric power alone. For that you want a full hybrid, which is increasingly called a strong hybrid, to contrast with mild hybrids. Toyota coined the term 'self-charging hybrid' when it came up with the Prius . Although that makes clear that they take care of themselves, it also makes them sound like perpetual motion devices. As diesels have fallen out of favour, many manufacturers have been following in Toyota's footsteps to boost fuel economy with cars that can harvest energy while braking, to then drive electrically under light loads. Some do more than others. Stellantis and Audi hybrids have only 25-30 electric BHP, so their capacity for electric running is minimal (but not nothing). On the other hand, Toyota, Renault , Honda and Nissan hybrids can cover impressive distances in town with the engine turned off, which in our testing results in enviable urban fuel economy. On the motorway, they tend to be a bit disappointing, because the motor is often too short-geared to be efficient at high speeds. Each of those manufacturers has its own take on the mechanical layout often to arrive at a similar driving experience. If you're interested in the engineering, it's quite fascinating to learn how they work. Toyota has its planetary gearset that works like a CVT; in Nissan's e-Power cars, the engine only drives a generator while a motor drives the wheels directly; Honda and Renault have come up with novel gearboxes to blend the power sources; Audi, Stellantis and Hyundai and Kia have a motor in or on the gearbox. For the uninterested driver, it generally doesn't matter: they needn't do more than simply put fuel in the tank, select D and let the computer sort things out. Plug-in hybrids are in some ways the most self-explanatory. They're like normal hybrids often mechanically the same, except with a bigger motor and battery that you can charge up from the plug to give it a measurable electric-only range. If you do that consistently and don't use the engine much, you will get incredible MPG figures. If you don't plug it in, you're stuck with a full hybrid that's lugging around an extra 200kg of dead battery and so will get terrible economy. Which brings us to the much-discussed range-extender EV. This was a term that made a lot of sense with the BMW i3 REx and Mazda MX-30 R-EV , which had quite a short electric-only range and a tiny petrol tank and engine to generate some extra juice (noisily and inefficiently) in an emergency. The Leapmotor C10 Hybrid EV that we reviewed last week is similar in that the engine never drives the wheels, you're supposed to plug it in and the electric bits are the primary mode of propulsion, but to most buyers it will be no different to any other plug-in hybrid. Any talk of range-extenders is fundamentally academic. Unless the buyer is particularly interested in their car's mechanicals, all they really need to know is whether it wants plugging in or not. But academic pursuits can be very rewarding, of course, which is why we will continue to bring you explanations of how these things work in our reviews. In a digital world, there's something quite pleasing about cogs interfacing.
The Subaru Legacy, which was built to compete directly in the U.S. market, ends its run after 36 years of production.
Work "well advanced" on Defender's smaller sibling – and bosses say it'll be nearly as good off road The new Land Rover 'Defender Sport' will arrive next year as both the smallest model and the first EV in the Defender line-up and the brand's boss has promised it will be "class-leading in the attributes that make it a Defender". The new model, already spotted testing on UK roads, is being developed on a new electric platform by JLR and will be smaller than the current Defender 90. Defender brand director Mark Cameron told Autocar that work on the new model was "well advanced" but wouldn't give a timescale for launch – or confirm if it would use the Sport name. Notably, the model will be the first entirely new product since Defender was turned from a Land Rover model line into a brand (along with Range Rover and Discovery ) under JLR's ' House of Brands ' approach. It will also be the first in an expanded range of Defender products. Defining Defender as a brand Cameron said the three years since the new plan was announced have been spent developing new products and establishing what Defender stands for. He added: "Over the past couple of years, our design and engineering teams have created that red line, the circle that every Defender had to have. That's the DNA." The Defender is currently offered in 90, 110 and 130 bodystyles, along with the hot Octa variant and the commercial Hardtop. Cameron said the focus was on making Defender "a luxury lifestyle brand", adding: "We've got a portfolio of one model with several variants, but I'm working seven to 10 years ahead to build out this whole brand portfolio. "We've got to make sure everything we do as Defender has the DNA of the brand: epic built-to-last, go-anywhere capability." Work 'well advanced' The Defender Sport is an entirely new product rather than an attempt to create an electric equivalent of the current Defender 90 – a decision driven by the design differences required by the use of a bespoke electric platform. Tipped to be just over 4.5 metres long, it sits on JLR'S EMA platform, which will underpin many of the company's future EVs, including the Range Rover Evoque and Velar . The more premium-focused Range Rover and Defender will use the firm's MLA platform, while Jaguar has developed its own bespoke EV architecture, named JEA. Using a platform with underfloor batteries creates "vehicle constraints", said Cameron. He added: "The size of the vehicle and platform will probably reduce wheel travel and articulation compared with a current Defender." But while that means the Defender Sport won't offer the same level of off-road ability as the current Defender line, Cameron has vowed that it will still be designed to offer substantial off-road capability. "What matters to us is that a Defender has to be class-leading in the attributes that make it a Defender," he said. That means it will retain four-wheel drive, suggesting a dual-motor set-up. Cameron said the emphasis on efficiency for EV design – vital to maximise range from the battery – created challenges "given the silhouette of what most people would know a Defender to be: very upright, sharp window angles, a bluff rear end". He added: "The capability we have in our vehicles carries a penalty that works against you when you think about range for an EV. My job is to make sure we retain Defender's DNA, otherwise we become another SUV brand and there are plenty of those." Cameron acknowledged that Defender EV test cars had already been spotted by Autocar's spy photographers and said the firm was "well advanced" with development. He also noted that the firm had put a focus on "maintaining our test cycles", rather than trying to chase a faster development cycle in order to keep up with Chinese rivals. "What has disrupted our industry hugely are shrunken test cycles due to some of the Chinese brands," he said. "Their speed to market is just incredible. But we have always maintained that we need to have at least two winter test cycles and two hot weather test cycles for a Defender. We're looking at ways to shrink our product development time, but we don't want to compromise on quality and longevity and all the things you have to deliver as a luxury brand." Cameron also indicated that JLR has put a focus on where it can best add value, saying: "As a business we're looking at where do we partner, and where do we build in-house, You've got to work out your core competencies. If you look at the EV world, the actual battery pack and the electric drive units have, to some extent, become commodities. But do they give us the torque characteristics and off-road drivability that Defender has to have? Those are big decisions: the quickest way to market is to buy all that in, but that's not necessarily the right answer for Defender." Brand building Cameron wouldn't be drawn on specific product plans beyond the brand's first EV, but when asked how big a potential Defender line-up could become, he said: "Huge." That is likely to include multiple powertrain options given what Cameron called "the complexity of EV adoption", which results in the level of customer demand lagging behind the expectation of legislators. That's a challenge given Defender's global footprint: a majority of its UK sales are currently diesel, while its biggest market is now the US, where electrification is firmly on the back burner. "Our strategy is to offer as much choice for as long as we can," said Cameron. "Clearly with the Defender, because of the capabilities, toughness, the weight and the geometry of it, as long as we can keep selling petrol and diesel with hybridisation and other forms of interim technology, we'll continue to do so." The Defender is currently offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but that is built around a four-cylinder engine and has a limited electric range, because the D7 platform wasn't designed for the technology. Cameron hinted that would change in time, saying: "We're going to be relying on future generations and different architectures to expand those sorts of technologies." Notably, Cameron said Defender's growing international focus could Influence its line-up: "Beyond the UK there are vehicle types that are absolutely suitable [for Defender in certain geographies. The US is now our biggest market, and there are product categories popular there we can absolutely bring Defender into." That suggests a revival of previous plans to develop a Defender pick-up given the size of that market in the US, although Cameron wouldn't expand on specifics. But he noted that growth could also come at the other end of the range, because "in Europe they need small cars for tight streets". He added: "The red line we've got to draw is that any future versions of Defender still have to have the same characteristics that every Defender needs. There's no reason you can't go smaller, bigger, longer, higher and still cover those bases. "The biggest challenge is that we don't want to be all things to all people, so we've got to work out where to [focus] - and it's not about volume for us. It's about building a good, profitable, margin-led business and satisfying customer needs in segments and markets that don't exist today. "If you look at JLR as a business, we've always been at our best when we create segments. Range Rover is a great example. The Evoque was a great example. Defender today is a good example: it reimagined the rugged SUV segment. "So we're going to look carefully at those white spaces in the market where we can credibly have a Defender product. But we won't copy something just to chase volume, because that's not what our business plan is."
Renault Embleme concept previews a Scenic EV replacement that could use a REx powertrain François Provost slams plug-in hybrids that prioritise combustion engine and have short electric-only range Renault’s CEO wants the car industry to move on from “fake PHEVs” that don’t promote regular charging and embrace range-extender EVs that could potentially be sold after 2035. François Provost criticised short-range PHEVs from both Germany and China as holding back drivetrains of this type in terms of acceptance by consumers and regulators. “They kind of a fake PHEV. The autonomy [electric-only range] is too small and customers are not convinced to charge,” he told journalists on a recent call. Renault is investigating adding combustion engines to its new electric platform that will underpin models such as the next Scenic SUV . However, the French company needs to be sure that authorities in the EU and other countries with tough emissions targets, such as the UK, will allow highly electrified ICE cars to be sold after 2035. “The 2035 objective of 100% BEV makes no sense,” Provost said. By switching the emphasis from driving on the combustion engine to the electric motor, customers will be persuaded to charge regularly for daily trips, he believes, "but in case they need to do 1000 kilometres [620 miles] in a day, they know they can do it without any risk to the autonomy". The EU has come down hard on short-range PHEVs with official fuel economy figures that are rarely if ever achieved by introducing a new emissions standard called Euro 6e-bis, which it says better reflects real-world driving. This has forced car makers to increase the size of the battery to give more electric range. For example, that of the Volkswagen Golf GTE rose from just 31 miles to 81 miles after its battery was nearly doubled in capacity to 19.7kWh. High-end PHEVs from premium brands have some of the shortest electric ranges of all modern PHEVs. For instance, the Audi Q8 TFSIe offers 49 miles, the BMW M5 38 miles and the Lamborghini Urus 37 miles. Chinese car makers have grown in Europe using PHEVs in particular, capturing a quarter of the PHEV market in the UK in 2025 with models such as the segment-leading BYD Seal U, Jaecoo 7 and MG HS. While some of their PHEVs offer long ranges, Chinese makers typically offer a shorter-range budget model too. For example, the Geely Starray comes with either an 18.4kWh or 29.8kWh battery for a 52-mile or 84-mile range. The EU has opened the door a crack to the sale of range-extender cars post 2035 after proposing to reduce the required CO2 emissions reduction from 2021 figures from 100% to 90%. However, PHEVs remain in the firing line for green groups, who say the claimed emissions savings are illusory without any way of forcing owners to plug in their cars.
A vacuum leak can cause a variety of drivability issues in your vehicle. Here's how you can isolate the leak and the steps you should take to fix it.
After the Camry’s major overhaul, we’re still waiting for a new Corolla.
BMW has yet to confirm if the Track Kit will be available for the M2 in the US
US-built Acura Integra Type S and Honda Passport Trailsport head east to ease trade tensions
The US-built Honda Passport and Acura Integra will begin shipping to Japan, but they are left-hand drive. Will buyers in a RHD market buy them?
Denmark's red LED streetlights save electricity, but that's not all they're trying to accomplish. They may make life better for a valuable animal species.
Sherwood police conducted a felony stop based on a faulty license plate reader alert
Before the blinkers we know today, drivers needed to use hand signals to show which way they were turning. This was the case across countries around the world.
The Pacifica’s new look is an “interesting” choice if we’re being polite.
Tyler Reddick continues his dominant start to the season by besting road course ace Shane van Gisbergen by four seconds on his way to a record-breaking three wins to start the season.
When Red Bull has three of the New Zealand's fastest racing drivers compete in ProLite truck drifting and lawn-mower racing events, we all win.
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