2019 Hyundai Santa Fe Se 2.4 on 2040-cars

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Hyundai testing more variants of top-secret commercial van

The commercial van market in the US is exploding with new products at the moment, with entries from Ford, Ram, Nissan and others. And we are seeing images (again) of Hyundai testing its own van in Europe, as well, though it's not known whether the model will make it to the US. While the company has offered work vehicles overseas in the past, this one appears to be a direct competitor to European vehicles with large bodies and tiny wheels like the Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.
The latest images show off not just the standard commercial van but also the pickup version, and interior for the first time. According to our spy shooters, Hyundai did not want people to see the inside of the test vehicle, reaching out specifically in an attempt to secure the pictures you see here. It's hard to say what's worth being so secretive about, but that big infotainment screen certainly looks like a nice addition. We still aren't sure whether the Korean company has opted for front- or rear-wheel drive for the model, but the gearshift suggests that it's using a six-speed manual transmission.
The pickup truck version has a cab that looks just like the standard van. Testing this variant suggests that Hyundai is addressing the need for multiple body configurations in the commercial space.

2019 Hyundai Veloster will start at $19,385

Hyundai's 2019 Veloster hatchback will start at $19,385 for the 2.0-liter with a manual transmission when it arrives at dealers in the coming weeks. It'll also be available in Turbo and R-Spec trim configurations, which start at $23,785 for a manual and top out at a $29,035 starting price for the Turbo Ultimate fitted with a dual-clutch transmission. All prices are inclusive of Hyundai's $885 freight charge. Hyundai unveiled the 2019 Veloster as the car's second generation at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Production of the Veloster began in March in Ulsan, South Korea, while Hyundai says the hot hatch will come to U.S. showrooms in the second quarter, or before the calendar flips to July. Engine choices include a standard 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder, which makes 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque, a slight uptick over its predecessor, and a 1.6-liter turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder that makes 201 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque, the same as before. The former is coupled with a six-speed manual or automatic transmission and three selectable driving modes, while the turbo is mated to a standard six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters mounted to the steering wheel. R-Spec manual-trans models will get a B&M Racing sport shifter later on. Fuel-economy numbers are in from the EPA and start at 25 miles per gallon in the city, 28 on the highway and 28 mpg combined for the 2.0-liter manual, and they top out at 28 mpg city, 34 highway and 30 combined for the automatic dual-clutch transmission found in the top-of-the-line Turbo Ultimate model. All models get lane-keeping assist and forward collision-avoidance assist, which helps apply braking when the front camera detects an imminent collision, plus available safety tech like high-beam assist and driver attention warning. A 7-inch LCD touchscreen is standard, as is Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration. Upgrade to the 8-inch touchscreen and you get next-generation Blue Link remote safety and diagnostic service, traffic flow and incident data via HD radio and premium audio from Infinity. Related Video:

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla battery degradation graphed, Hyundai plans fuel cell hub in Korea

A man has created a graph of Tesla Model S battery degradation over time. Merijn Coumans of Holland is tracking the owner data gathered on from Model S owners in a single file and graphing it visually. Coumans continually updates the graph of drivers' maximum ranges to give a look at battery degradation over the life of the car. Coumans tracks mileage and even number of visits to Superchargers in his data. Tesla provides an eight-year battery guarantee regardless of mileage. Read more at the Steinbuch blog. US plug-in vehicle sales are expected to surpass 300,000 when the data is tallied at the end of this month. That is 30 percent of President Obama's goal of 1 million battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids by the end of 2015. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz admitted the US won't reach the goal, saying, "We're going to be a few years after the president's aspirational goal of the end of 2015, but I think that we are within a few years of reaching that goal." Green car analyst Alan Baum projects the 1 million EV milestone will be met in 2018. Read more at Hybrid Cars. Hyundai and the South Korean government plan to create a hub for fuel cell technologies. Hyundai and Kia will give up unused patents to automotive startups focused on fuel cells at a recently launched innovation center in Gwangju. "Hyundai Motor will offer substantial assistance in the whole process of corporate growth ranging from the development of ideas to industrialization to making inroads into global markets," says South Korea's President Park Geun-hye. Hyundai hopes this will make the city a center for hydrogen technology. Read more at Just Auto. Mayor Boris Johnson has approved a cycling superhighway for the city of London. Set to be built along the Thames embankment, the system of cycling lanes could help encourage more people to ride their bikes, reducing automotive traffic congestion and relieving pressure on other transit networks. Opponents are upset that the cycling highway will increase driving time across the city, and call cyclists a "loud minority," whose numbers doesn't justify the new lanes. Read more at Treehugger. Kansas and Nebraska are joining the challenge against the EPA's new ethanol emissions rules. The EPA's Moves2014 regulations seek to reduce automotive sulfur emissions by 60 percent, but, says Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the ethanol emissions measurement model is faulty and was adopted without public comment or review.