Tag Archives: design
2019 Hyundai Elantra Gets New Angular Face
The 2019 Hyundai Elantra is getting a radical facelift that gives the compact sedan a more angular look than before. Gone is the rounded front fascia of the current model and in its place is a fascia with lots of sharp corners. Even the headlights and the fog lights change to triangle-shaped units and the grille is also sharper.
The headlights intersect with the grille so this makes for an interesting new design. The base of the headlights match up with the top-most slat in the grille and the lights intersect with some of the grille’s top corners. The two new creases on the hood are also leveled up with the vertical slats in the grille.
The car’s rear is also updated. The taillights, like the headlights, have sharpened corners. The housing of the license plate is moved to the bumper from the trunk lid. The large Elantra lettering stretches across the lid of the bumper. This design is similar to the Sonata midsize sedan.
The changes are attractive but the angular lines don’t specifically fit the sides. Meanwhile, the overall silhouette of the car retains the soft and organic lines of the current model.
The safety features of the car are improved. The 2019 Hyundai Elantra gets a camera-based forward collision prevention, lane-keeping assist, and driver attention alert as standard equipment on the second-lowest SEL trim and above.
On the other hand, all trim levels come with a five-inch touchscreen as standard along with a rear-view camera and dynamic guidelines on the screen.
The base SE model is paired with a manual transmission but equipped with Bluetooth and steering wheel controls. The Limited trim, the top end of the model, has an additional eight-speaker sound system with subwoofer, Qi wireless phone charging, and Safe Exit Assist, which warns drivers of approaching cars when the door is open.
Under the hood, we find the same naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder that produces 147 horsepower. There’s also the 1.4-liter engine that makes 128 horsepower. The Elantra Sport churns out 201 horsepower, but Hyundai said they will have a restyled version later this year.
Getting To Know The 2018 BMW X3
2018 BMW X3 rendering. (Source: TopSpeed)
The BMW X3 is a huge favorite for those who want an everyday car that is versatile, functional, efficient and luxurious. It has been refreshed for the 2015 model year and will be fully upgraded for 2018.
According to a report, the expected upgrades will bring a full redesign of the exterior, improved interior space and comfort, as well as a new diesel engine and plug-in hybrid.
Exterior
The spy shots allowed the rendering of how the 2018 BMW X3 will look like. The new X3 is expected to have a more refined design, but obviously, the kidney grilles will remain. What’s a Bimmer without it? The headlights will be similar to the refreshed 2015 version, but they will be placed a little beyond the lens. There’s a running LED strip from the outside corner, under the bulbs to the lower inboard point. The round fog lights will be carried over, along with air dam, and shortened corner vents.
The sides have been changed a bit. The upper body line now runs straight from the fender back. It is also sharper and a bit more refined than the one you can find on the current model. The wheels have dual five-spoke design.
Interior
The new X3’s steering wheel has a longer bottom spoke with silver buttons and silver insert over the bottom spoke. The instrument cluster cannot be seen because of the cover on the spy shots, but it’s safe to say that it’ll have a digital speedo on the left and a digital tachometer on the right.
The center console looks the same, but there are chrome overlays on the side, and the tech is more refined and luxurious. That is largely thanks to the free-standing and larger infotainment screen that looks like it’s floating from the top of the center stack.
As for the cargo, there should be a 60-40 folding rear seat. The hip and legroom may also increase.
Drivetrain
The next X3 will build on the CLAR platform that is being used on the 3 series and all larger BMW vehicles. It will have a range of gas and diesel engines, as well as an incoming plug-in hybrid.
Rolls Royce’s SUV Is A Daily Car, Not A Monster Truck
There were rumors that Rolls Royce’s new 4×4 SUV was going to be a monster truck. Well, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. BMW’s design chief Adrian van Hooydonk said that it would be “daunting” to build an SUV for RR.
He promised in an interview though that Rolls Royce’s new 4×4 will be “a truly special car,” and that it won’t be a monster truck.
This is certainly good news for everyone who thought that RR’s Project Cullinan would be going toward the direction of building an SUV monster truck. Project Cullinan can be previewed through the Phantom prototype seen in these photos.
The “not monster truck” design has already been approved, and it will assuredly be one drivers can use as an everyday car.
Hooydonk explained that there are a lot of considerations need to be made when building a new model for RR. When the brand started, it had huge wheels that covered a lot of ground clearance because they were used by the Maharajas to travel from Europe to the Far East.
Back then, car companies have yet to categorize cars into sedans, SUVs or trucks. They were just cars, Hooydonk said. Roads back then weren’t smooth, too, so Rolls was built on that premise.
The idea for the new 4×4 is not to interpret the old Maharaja car. Rather, it will be built on the idea that RR cars were used for daily activities across rough roads.
What Hooydonk plans for the 4×4 is to completely move it away from the predicament RR has—that they are too elegant and too sophisticated to be driven. For this “SUV,” Royce wants something that drivers will want to use, instead of to look at only.
To do this, Rolls decides to sit the model on an all-new aluminum space frame structure, which is currently undergoing road testing to ensure a perfectly capable driving experience.
The result? Hooydonk hopes it’s an all-terrain SUV that is fun to drive every day, but not a monster truck, that has a likely V12 engine and the “magic carpet ride.”