Posts from ‘Hybrids’

Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast
Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bum a ride with friends, you’ve come to the right place. Join the editors of Consumer Guide Automotive as they break down everything that’s going on in the auto world. New-car reviews, shopping tips, driving green, electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of great guests. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast.
First Look: 2023 Toyota Crown

2023 Toyota Crown
Last night Toyota officially unveiled its latest production vehicle, and that vehicle wears one of the company’s earliest model names. The new-for-2023 Toyota Crown is a genre-bending mashup of an SUV and a full-size sedan—its unusual shape combines a SUV-like lower body with a low-and-racy fastback roofline, but unlike other “coupe-style” crossover SUVs, the Crown maintains a traditional rear trunk instead of an SUV-style liftgate. The Crown also comes standard with a gas/electric hybrid powertrain; in fact, Toyota offers a choice of two new hybrid powertrains, both with standard on-demand electronic all-wheel drive.
Not ready to make the switch to a plug-in-hybrid or pure-electric vehicle? That’s okay with us. However, with gas prices cresting over $5.00 a gallon, you may be thinking about driving something more fuel efficient than your current set of wheels.
First Look: 2023 Lexus RX

2023 Lexus RX 500h F Sport Performance
Tonight, Lexus took the wraps off its all-new 2023 RX crossover SUV. Long the Lexus brand’s best-selling model, the RX kicks off its fifth generation with a fairly ambitious, from-the-ground-up redesign. It’s built on the new GA-K global platform and introduces an evolution of Lexus’s “spindle-grille” design language that results in a burlier front-end appearance. Four new 4-cylinder powertrains will be offered, three of which are gas-electric hybrids (including a forthcoming plug-in-hybrid model). New features include the Lexus Interface Multimedia System, an expanded Lexus Safety System+ 3.0 suite of safety features, available Digital Key smartphone-app access and starting, and two additional trim levels.

2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe
There’s no moss growing under the feet of Jeep engineers and product planners these days. About a year ago, the brand introduced its first plug-in-hybrid vehicle: the Wrangler 4xe. Approximately 30,000 units found buyers last year, which Jeep says makes the Wrangler 4xe (pronounced “four by e”) America’s best-selling plug-in hybrid. Last summer, the fifth generation of Jeep’s Grand Cherokee debuted with the all-new 2021 Grand Cherokee L—the first Grand Cherokee with three rows of seats. Late last year, a redesign of the traditional two-row, five-passenger Grand Cherokee was introduced on a shorter version of the L’s all-new unibody platform. That’s all history now—along with the equally new Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer full-size SUVs—and Jeep’s engineers are on to their next act: the 2022 Grand Cherokee 4xe. It’s an intriguing mix-and-match that combines the Wrangler 4xe’s powerful plug-in-hybrid powertrain with the redesigned Grand Cherokee.