2014 Hyundai Elantra Limited on 2040-cars

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The techie choice | 2017 Toyota Prius Prime Quick Spin

The Prius nameplate has been inexorably tied to the green car scene for a long time now. When Toyota unleashed the Prius Prime upon the world, we said it was the best Prius yet. But this is no longer a world where Toyota's hybrids are automatically crowned king. Our recent time with the Hyundai Ioniq trio was a stark reminder that the economical, eco-conscious competition is getting stiffer. We put some miles on a Prius Prime to see how our recent Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid test colors our view of Toyota's prime contender. Our first impression: the Prius design is very clean and inorganic. As sterile as it feels, the design appears to have a lot of actual thought behind it. Our Advanced trim tester is spiritually in touch with the mobile gadget culture, with a huge touchscreen, digitization of seemingly everything, and white and black glossy plastic aesthetic. It's a tech-heavy design that will likely seem familiar to those of us who have been interfacing with Apple designs for the past 10 or so years. The Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid, on the other hand, remains truer to the look and feel most drivers expect from their commuters. It's less about user interface, modes, and drive data, and more about just getting behind the wheel and driving. The Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid hardly even distinguishes itself from its plugless counterparts, opting to go green under cover rather than the in-your-face futurism the Prius projects. It retains the traditional instrument cluster in front of the driver, too, which the Prius Prime lacks. In the Toyota, you'll have to look around the car for the right display with the information you're looking for – there's the huge central touchscreen with all its menus, as well as smaller displays above it on the dash – or you can find your speed on the HUD. The Prius is composed in its handling, but doesn't provide much of the sensory feedback that makes one feel connected to the chassis. The steering feels super artificial, but the car stays fairly flat in the corners without providing too much feedback through the seat of your pants. Hyundai's offering, though, proved to be a surprisingly willing dance partner in the corners. While feeling equally as capable as the Prius, the Ioniq's sense of connection through steering and suspension made the act of stitching one turn after another together enough to get our blood pumping. Sport mode makes the Prius Prime slightly livelier, though.

Hyundai reveals new Creta crossover in India

It's been less than a month since Hyundai told us to start anticipating the arrival of the new Creta, and even less time since it released the first teaser sketch. Now the Korean automaker has taken the wraps off the finished product. Unveiled over the weekend in India, the new Hyundai Creta applies the company's latest design language to a smaller crossover form. Full details have still yet to be released, but those body panels are laid over a structure the manufacturer calls Hive. It makes use of a high proportion of high-strength steel to keep the chassis rigid yet lightweight. Powertrain options – for the Indian market anyway – include a 1.6-liter four with 121 horsepower or a choice of diesels with as much as 126 hp. Hardly earth-shattering stuff, but short of more potent turbocharged offerings, those engines ought to make it perfectly competitive with the company it intends to keep. Relative output and fuel choices aside, the engines channel their power through a six-speed manual or automatic transmission, though there's no mention as of yet of the availability of all-wheel drive. We'll have to wait for a release with a wider purview to find out more. At this point Hyundai isn't showing us around the interior, either, but you can scope out what images have been released thus far in the slideshow above. It'll be a while longer before anyone can determine whether it'll prove a worthwhile competitor to the likes of the Nissan Juke, Jeep Renegade, and Honda HR-V, to name just a few likely rivals. With fellow Korean automaker SsangYong eager to make its mark with the similarly compact Tivoli as well, the Creta will have quite a fight on its hands. Hyundai Showcases the Global SUV- CRETA No. 1512015-06-278 hit • Strong structural strength with adoption of Hive body structure • Stable & confident ride & handling for ultimate driving experience • Powerful engine options with first in segment Diesel Automatic Transmission Chennai, 27 June 2015- Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the country's leading premium car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter today, unveiled India's most awaited stylish, powerful and dynamic SUV - 'CRETA'. The CRETA marks Hyundai's entry in growing SUV segment with strong product offering boosting Hyundai's product line up to a robust 10 product portfolio.

Recharge Wrap-up: Hyundai visually explains fuel cells, BYD T5 electric truck

Are you still unclear about how exactly a hydrogen fuel cell works to power a car? Hyundai is offering a great visual on how its fuel cells operate in cars like the Tucson fuel Cell. Basically, the anode splits the hydrogen molecule into a positive and negative ion. The negative ions are used for electricity, while the positive ions are pushed through a membrane to the cathode, where both ions are combined with oxygen to create the byproduct of water. There's a little more to it than that to make it work in a vehicle, so see for yourself in the infographic below. BYD is launching its T5 electric light truck in China. The truck has a maximum speed of 31 miles per hour, making it mostly suitable for in-city and campus duty. It has a range of almost 250 miles, though, and with its size, the T5 could make a pretty adept delivery truck. The battery is situated under the load bay between the axles, keeping the center of gravity low. Price could be an issue, but government subsidies might help convince some companies to make the switch to BYD's electric truck. See more over at Car News China. The Mahindra Reva e2o electric vehicle will offer a fast charging feature, called Quick2Charge. Normally, the e2o takes five hours to fully charge, but that time gets cut to just one hour with the new option. Choosing the Quick2Charge option adds 45,000 rupees (about $735) to the price of the e2o. The new e2o is supposed to get electric power steering, and, later, a four-door variant. Mahindra Reva is also making an export-only version with Quick2Charge, longer range, electric steering, airbags, and ABS. Read more over at Indian Cars Bikes. The Quebec-Vermont Electric Charging Corridor is set to expand with 14 new charging stations. Melanie Dufresne of the area's tourism board announced that the 240-volt chargers would be installed in Le Haut-Richelieu Regional County Municipality. Drivers will use a special access card to charge at the stations in the region for $2.50. The stations will be installed by the end of the year. To see all the locations and learn more about the announcement, head over to Hybrid Cars.