Family Cars

Audi recently unveiled its very own charging lounge concept. It is currently opening the first of them to the public at a very visible location, i.e at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center in Germany.

Audi is testing this new charging model in action for the first time with this pilot location. The fast-charging station features reservable high-power charging bays, along with a lounge area with a vending machine that will serve customers as they put some juice back into their EVs.

Toyota Avalon is entering the 2022 model year with just a few minor updates across the lineup. The biggest addition is the new XSE Hybrid Nightshade Edition offered for the first time. As a result, the 2022 Avalon will be offered in six configurations with the option of two different powertrains: XLE, Limited, Touring, XLE Hybrid, XSE Hybrid Nightshade and Limited Hybrid. Prices will range from $36,375 for the XLE version to $43,075 for the Touring version. The new XSE Hybrid Nightshade Edition will be priced at $40,700.

Hennessey Performance is celebrating Christmas by delivering Christmas trees as fast as possible. The company’s previous sleigh, a Jeep Trackhawk, managed to deliver it by touching speeds of up 181 mph. But, this time, they want to get it done even faster. So, they’ve upgraded their sleigh to an Audi RS6 Avant that’s been tuned to make 800 reindeer; err., I mean 800 horses. They tried the same with a tuned Porsche 911 Turbo S recently, but it failed. But, the Audi RS6 Avant managed to break the record and is now officially Hennessey’s fastest Christmas tree transporter!

Some years ago Cadillac tied a Christmas tree to the roof of a CTS-V Wagon to perform a holiday burnout. Six years later, Hennessey Performance tied a tree to a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk to give us the world’s fastest Christmas tree. Sort of.

If you haven’t seen a Christmas tree run at 181 mph, this is the video you need to watch.

Remember the famous Christmas lights scene from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”? Well, the Griswolds reunited last year after two decades to reprise that scene, with the only change being the addition of a Ford Mustang Mach-E this time. Ford roped in Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo to play Clark Griswold and Ellen from the Christmas-themed movie. Do you the Griswolds managed to have a drama-free Christmas this time at least?

Performance luxury sedans are the perfect middle ground for those seeking comfort, practicality and performance in a single package. And while we have gotten plenty of great examples like the BMW M5, Mercedes AMG GT63, Porsche Panamera, and others, there are those that came to us as concepts, but never delivered in the real world. Here are the most prominent culprits.

Maserati was supposed to unveil its second SUV, the Grecale, on November 16th, 2021. However, because some supply problems the official launch date has been moved for sometime in the spring of 2022.

This doesn’t mean however that the company has stopped testing the next Grecale or that is not considering new versions of it. In fact our spy photographers caught the next Grecale Trofeo out for some first testing sessions. The car was even dressed in proper red Christmas camouflage.

Being the most compact VW SUV you can buy right now, we are genuinely surprised by how good the Taos is. While the Tiguan was the most compact till now, the Taos, being the smallest, is surprisingly comfy in the rear which, in our opinion, is quite rare in this segment. It is decently powerful, packs a good amount of cabin and driver assistance features while holding a cheap price tag of $22,995. So, what do you get for that price?

Edmunds recently got the chance to pit two of the most powerful stock top-tier Mustangs against each other in a series of drag races. One of them is a treat to the ears, while the other can do some pretty spectacular launches. Any guesses? Well, the answers are obvious, aren’t they?

I am of course talking about the Shelby Mustang GT 500 and the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT. The guys were at Willow Springs for this shootout. Now, let’s look at the numbers, shall we?

Ever since its official launch everyone agreed that the new generation Ford Ranger is quite a departure from the old Ranger. While its design is not a huge improvement over what we were used with, the new Ranger is fresh and its Maverick inspired look fits it very well.

But what if the new Ranger design will inspire a few other trucks?

A few days ago our spy photographers caught the upcoming Maserati Grecale Trofeo out for a testing session dressed in red camouflage, just in time for Christmas. Now, the car dropped the red camouflage and continues its testing session in North Europe under extremely cold conditions.

The Subaru XV/Crosstrek is arguably one of the pioneers of the small SUV segment. Back then, the Impreza-based crossover SUV was ahead of its time with barely any other vehicle competing in this segment. It eventually became one of Subaru’s best-sellers in this crossover-hungry world. Fast forward to 2021, and Subaru is already celebrating 10 years of the XV/Crosstrek nameplate by unveiling a special edition model exclusive to the Japanese market.

The first generation of the Subaru Impreza debuted in 1992, which means that the compact all-wheel drive (AWD) car will be in its 30th year in 2022. As a way to celebrate, Subaru is unveiling the new Impreza Black Accent Edition that’s limited to Japan.

Body-on-frame SUVs have seen a rise in popularity in North America as of late. The Toyota 4Runner, for instance, continues to sell well despite being more than a decade old. And then we also have a ton of new body-on-frame SUVs such as the Ford Bronco, which was a sales hit for the Blue Oval brand. Soon, the next-generation Ford Everest is expected to debut, but it probably won’t reach North America.

The Audi RS Q8 is the most powerful SUV Audi has to offer, and just a detuned version of the Lamborghini Urus. And, despite being a heavy SUV - 5,291 pounds - it still goes from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds. German tuner Manhart found a way to improve things even further, despite not offering any aerodynamic upgrades.

You probably don’t remember the Kia Carens. It was last sold in August 2010 due to MPVs being unpopular in the United States. The Carens still went on sale as the Rondo in Canada, but only until the 2017 model year, yet again a victim of SUVs and crossovers.

The new Acura MDX Type S establishes a few highlights for the automaker: the MDX is the first Acura SUV to wear a Type S badge, but it is also the most powerful, best-handling, and most lavishly equipped Acura SUV ever.

The 2022 MDX Type S will arrive at dealers just a few days before Christmas, so, if you have $66,700 there’s an idea for a present!

Toyota and Lexus recently unveiled 16 upcoming electric vehicles (EVs), and this includes the RZ. As a reminder, the Lexus RZ is not the company’s first EV. That would be the UX 300e, but this will be the first Lexus model to ride on a dedicated EV platform,

When you think of 1980s Mercedes-Benz cars, you probably think of the bulletproof W124-generation or maybe its smaller brother, the 190E (W201), also known as the “Baby Benz”. But what you probably didn’t know is that, in the 1990s, a tuning company called Schulz took a Mercedes 190E and turned it into the first Mercedes hatchback, way before the A-Class and BMW 1 Series. It’s called the Mercedes 190E Stadt (City).