We have Subaru to blame/thank for this. While crossovers took the automotive market by storm, Subaru went a step further to make its all-terrain vehicles actually look like all-terrain vehicles. As people began pouring into Subaru dealerships (their sales have been off the charts for the last couple years), other automakers caught on to the rugged design craze.
Since then, crossover utility vehicles, or CUVs, have adopted styling cues that suggest they can tackle any unpaved road, even if that’s far from the case. Toyota’s latest model, the RAV4 Adventure, almost certainly meets those standards. Revealed at this year’s Chicago Auto Show, the 2018 RAV4 Adventure applies some macho bodywork and unique interior accents to the understated crossover.
Starting with the exterior, Toyota added flared wheel arches, black headlight and foglight surrounds, underbody chin and side sills with a painted silver finish, and black 18-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels. The Tow Prep Package is standard on both front- and all-wheel drive versions (yes, you can still have a RAV4 Adventure in FWD for some reason), and increases the CUV’s ride height slightly, updates the radiator, and improves cooling for the engine and transmission oil.
Untouched is the RAV4’s 2.5-liter four-cylinder powertrain, meaning the same 176 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque is served up via a six-speed automatic. While that’s sufficient juice for running about town, it’s not nearly enough for any moderate to demanding off-road exploration. If you’re worried about power and want to stay within the Toyota family, you’ll probably need to upgrade to the 4Runner.
Inside, Toyota announced unique interior trim accents, a leather-wrapped shifter, 120-volt outlet in the cargo area, and Adventure branding throughout. Pricing has yet to be disclosed, but we can expect it to check in somewhere in the high $20,000 range when it goes on sale in September.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.