Daily Archives: August 15, 2017
Battle Of The SUVs: Mercedes-Benz Versus Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged SUV
There’s nothing more experts, analysts, and fans enjoy than a good old competition between the best of the best, or so we believe. German car Mercedes-Benz and British brand Land Rover have always made their marks in terms of luxury, functionality, and even performance.
For many car experts, the Land Rover Range Rover remains to be the world’s best luxury off-road utility vehicle. While there is a strong argument for that, some would say that the Mercedes-Benz is a more desirable four-wheel-drive off-road vehicle. Obviously, there are both truths to these claims based on Autoblog.
Interior
The argument goes like this: For Mercedes-Benz fans, there’s nothing like staying inside the German automaker’s luxurious SUV, where drivers and passengers will usually spend their time in. There’s a point in that, of course, as no one would stand outside an SUV ogling at it for hours in a day.
That’s pretty much a reality because everyone knows that stepping into a contemporary Mercedes-Benz SUV is a “wow” moment. The interiors have always been posh, luxurious, and exclusive. Even Mercedes’ older SUVs have a special and upscale experience, despite the fact that luxury features of yesterday cannot compare to what they are today.
Reliability and Dependability
Based on the latest Vehicle Dependability Study, which rates vehicles after they have reached three years of use, Land Rover is “average” in terms of reliability. On the other hand, the Consumer Reports and others indicate that Mercedes-Benz owners are rated second for the most-expensive repair bills on average. It sits behind BMW. Again, Land Rover was average in terms of repair needs.
Range Rover issues such as check engine lights, air suspension warnings, and the like appear randomly. In time, these issues go away on their own without the owners having to bring the Range Rover to their service centers or to a local mechanic. Mercedes, on the other hand, has to be brought to a mechanic as soon as an issue crops up. Owners also have to prepare for a massive repair bill.
Tesla Model 3 Gets Funded For Production
Were you a bit worried that the much-awaited Tesla Model 3 won’t see production because of funding? The car business is quite an expensive one, and the production of the Model 3 was almost halted because of it.
But it looks like Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s plan to boost production to 500,000 units by the end of 2018 is now possible, thanks largely to investors’ faith and trust in the young entrepreneur. Unlike many products and concepts that are still looking and begging for investors, Musk was the only face needed for these big businessmen to trip over themselves to raise money for the Tesla Model 3.
Musk was simply seeking $1.5 billion last week, and he managed to raise $600,000 of that four hours after his announcement. Now, we heard reports that he was able to sell a half-million worth of Junk bonds to investors, which totaled to $1.8 billion, surpassing the initial amount he was seeking.
The investment is in the form of “eight-year unsecured bonds at a rate of 5.30 percent.” The investment is not without its risk, of course. Such investment yields bigger profit in the long run, but it’s also possible to lose your money when the company you invested your money in made some bad decisions along the way. Hopefully, we won’t see Musk do that.
One of the biggest challenges that face the production of Tesla Model 3 is its dependency on Gigafactory to supply each and every battery—both the standard- and long-range model. Though there is no problem about bringing in profit from the manufacturing of the battery itself, even Musk admitted that he was worried about the lack of battery cells.
Only time will tell if there’s going to be a shortage of cells in the future. When that happens, Tesla might need to cut short its production of the long-range model of battery and stick with the standard-range model, which uses fewer cells.
4 Things We Can Learn From The 2018 BMW X5
In 2000, BMW finally joined the fray of crossovers with the BMW X5. It has spawned four other crossovers, and has been through three different generational changes. The first one was in 2006 with the E70 X5 for a 2007 model, then the next in 2013 with the current F15 generation.
Based on calculations, it’s about time for us to get another generational update from the BMW X5. We’ve seen spy shots of the new X5 from TopSpeed, and we can’t wait to learn more about it.
1. Exterior
The spy shots did not reveal much about the exterior of the new X5. Although it’s clearly BMW’s crossover, there are no side skirts, a minimal front fascia, and a pair of headlights that look like it came from a 2000 model.
From the sides, the body line along the doors and fenders looks and feels like the current X5. The lower body lines on the doors may be carried over to the production model, but we’ll have to wait and see. Like the rest of the exterior, there is no significant change on the rear, except that those taillights would definitely be a departure from the current generation X5.
2. Interior
What we can expect from the new model is that it will be more comfortable and will be packed with new tech and safety features. The probably upgrades are: softer leather seats with better padding, a different instrument cluster layout (maybe even a TFT display), and a thinner infotainment screen.
BMW’s 7 Series already had the gesture control down pat, so maybe we’ll see that one here, too.
3. Drivetrain
It’s still too early to speculate on what the drivetrain would be for the new X5, although we can expect it to have more power and torque than the current 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque being produced by the 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder.
4. Pricing
The current X5 has a starting price of $54,700 for the sDrive 35i while the range-topping xDrive 50i sells for $71,599. It’s pure speculation at this point but based on the additional upgrades, the X5 might sell for $2,000 more than the current base price.
A New BMW M5 Will Be An All-Wheel-Drive
The 2016 BMW M5.
Every time that a new version of the BMW M5 comes out, everyone gets excited—car enthusiasts and analysts alike. With that, BMW just announced that a new M5 is coming, so we’re now free to speculate what we can expect from one of the car market’s best-driving sports sedans.
Since its release in 1985, the M5 has been setting up the bar high for sportscar-like sedans in the market. It has competed fairly well and over the years, received a variety of upgrades from the German automaker. So diverse was its engine specifications through the years that it has been powered by an I-6, a V-8, and a V-10.
BMW has been consistent in one thing, though—it has always used a rear-wheel-drive system and it worked for many of its adoring fans. This time, BMW’s M division finally decided to walk away from the consistency of a rear-wheel-drive. With too much power on its hand, BMW said that the ultimate 5 Series will use an all-wheel-drive system.
M5 purists would frown upon this intrusion into the system, but the German automaker assured its market that there’s no need to worry about it as the M5 simply produces too much power for it to stay with a rear-wheel-drive setup. Timo Glock, one of BMW’s factory team drivers, said that drivers can still use the M5 pretty much like one with a rear-wheel-drive system.
A few months ago, an M5 prototype was released for testing to car analysts. In general, everyone was in agreement that although the current-generation M5 is capable, it still couldn’t compete with the Mercedes-AMG E63. The prototype, with its all-wheel-drive setup, would be able to do just that. Maybe it can finally request for a head-to-head rematch with the AMG.
BMW will make the official reveal of the all-wheel-drive M5 at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.
8 Things You Can Expect From The 2019 Toyota RAV4
The Toyota RAV4 is looking to claim the best-selling crossover for the Japanese brand. It has surpassed Camry in sales during the first half of 2017, so we are looking forward to what it has in store when the upgraded 2019 Toyota RAV4 finally arrives.
1. More Powerful
The 2019 Toyota RAV4 is going to be powered by a four-cylinder engine though without a turbocharger. The current RAV4 can produce 176 horsepower and 172 lb-ft of torque, and it is fitted with an eight-speed transmission.
2. Another Hybrid
The 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid will be coming back to compete with the Rogue hybrid and the introduction of the CR-V Hybrid that will be arriving in US shores soon.
3. Fuel Efficient
The 2019 Toyota RAV4 promises to be more economical in terms of its use of fuel. Currently, the 2017 RAV4 is EPA-rated at 23/29-30 mpg city/highway with front-wheel drive and 22/28 mpg with all-wheel drive.
4. TRD Sport Variant
The 2018 Toyota RAV4 Adventure introduced a Top Prep package that featured few visual upgrades, making the RAV4 Adventure different from the usual RAV4 though not that much. Toyota is trying to increase the reach of its TRD sub-brand, so we might be seeing a RAV4 TRD Sport trim or another RAV4 Adventure model.
5. Roomy Interior
You will be surprised at how much space the new RAV4 can offer you. It has one of the roomiest interiors ever seen in a crossover, though the RAV4 will begin switching to a new TNGA architecture.
6. Platinum Models
For those who want the Platinum trim, you can expect a premium experience with its rear-seat vents, panoramic glass roof, a color head-up display, and rear cross-traffic braking.
7. Driving Experience is Better
This new midsize sedan was much more improved in terms of driving and handling experience. The competition remains to be the Mazda CX-5 and Honda CR-V.
8. No RAV4 Two-Door
There’s no way the RAV4 would have a two-door version again because Toyota doesn’t look like it would sacrifice the spaciousness we’ve come to love with the RAV4.
3 Things You Should Know About The 2019 Nissan Altima Spy Shots
There are new spy shots of the prototype for the next-generation Nissan Altima mid-sizer. The car will be due to arrive in showrooms in late 2018 as a 2019 model, and will represent the sixth generation of the Altima nameplate.
During the 2017 Detroit auto show earlier this year, the next-gen Altima was previewed through the Vmotion 2.0 concept car.
1. Design
If you have seen the concept, you’ll know that there are numerous elements from it that can now be seen in the production version of the car. There’s much you can see in the spy shots from Motor1 even though it’s in heavy camouflage. The prototype and even the production model both highlighted the angular headlights, V-shaped grille, and floating roof.
The interior showed that the new Altima will have a digital screen in the instrument cluster and a larger screen located at the top of the center stack. For those who still want the feel of touching something in their cars, there are physical knobs for functions such as controlling the volume and temperature.
2. Powertrain
There’s no word yet on what the Altima will come packed with. What we can expect is that a four-cylinder should be the base model while a more powerful option will be offered in the form of a turbocharged four-cylinder or a four-cylinder-based hybrid setup.
The gear selector in the new Altima will be similar with the current model. This means we can expect a CVT and a front-wheel-drive system. An all-wheel drive is still in question, though.
If you’re looking for more driver assistance tech, the Altima can offer that, too. The ProPilot will reportedly be available in the next-generation Altima, including the assistance to drivers in accelerating, braking, and steering in a single lane in a highway. There’s also parking assistance provided by the system.
3. Competition
The next-generation Altima is in direct competition with the Toyota Camry, the Chevrolet Malibu, the Subaru Liberty, the Ford Fusion, the Kia Optima, the Honda Accord, and the Hyundai Sonata.
