Hatchbacks
Geneva 2010: ABT Sportsline Tunes Golf R to 310-hp
Leave it to Germany’s largest and most popular Volkswagen tuner to take something as cool as the brand new Golf R and make it even better! With VW’s 4MOTON all-wheel drive and a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder the Golf R is already seriously badass, but ABT has tuned the 2.0 TFSI engine to 310-hp, allowing for…
Geneva 2010: Volkswagen Polo GTI Gets 178-hp from 1.4-Liter TSI Twincharger
Barring the unlikely scenario that Volkswagen releases a Polo R, the Polo GTI is now the sportiest mini-Golf offered in Europe. Sadly, VW sill has no official plans to bring the Polo (including this new GTI model) to North America. Read on to see why that’s such sad news. Powering the car is VW’s impressive…
Geneva Preview: Volkswagen CrossPolo Adds Tough Exterior to Sporty Hatch
Joining the sporty Polo GTI model at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show will be the crossover-styled CrossPolo. With new front and rear bumpers, side skirts and fender flares, all in a black plastic, the sporty hatch gets a rugged off-road look. To complete the look it also gets some roof rails, as well as some…
Lexus CT200h Officially Revealed With Worldwide Sales to Begin This Year
After a leaked brochure earlier this week, Lexus has has now officially revealed the CT200h hybrid hatchback with news of “worldwide sales.” Set to debut next week at the Geneva Auto Show, the car was initially designed for Europe, but according to the Lexus press release Toyota’s luxury arm will offer the car in other…
Leaked: Lexus CT200h Brochure Shows New European Hybrid Hatch Ahead of Geneva Debut
With a debut set for next week, a brochure of the European Lexus CT200h hybrid hatchback has leaked out online, although details are still hard to come by. The car is powered by a 1.8-liter VVT-i 4-cylinder engine, an electric motor and a nickel-metal hydride battery, although no output numbers are available yet. Power does…
Geneva Preview: Volkswagen Polo GTI Revealed Ahead of Geneva Debut
Volkswagen has released three images of the 2010 Polo GTI, which will be introduced at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show in March. The 2010 Polo GTI will be powered by a 1.4 liter TSI engine, claiming 178 bhp, and a seven-speed DSG transmission. The GTI version stands 0.6 inches lower and uses stiffer suspension than…
Geneva Preview: Subaru Impreza XV Model to Get Rugged New Look
Subaru will use the 2010 Geneva Auto Show to debut a new Impreza XV model in Europe and judging from the car’s description we think we’ve seen it before. In a brief press release Subaru describes the Impreza model as having many of the items featured on the U.S.-spec Impreza Outback Sport. What that means…
Volkswagen Golf R Launches in Europe With 265-hp and AWD
Volkswagen has just officially launched the high-performance Golf R model in Europe, just days after its first North American showing as a concept at the Montreal International Auto Show. As an even-higher performance version than the iconic GTI, the Golf R gets an upgraded version of the same 2.0-liter TFSI 4-cylinder as well as VW’s…
Spied: Lexus LF-Ch Hybrid Hatchback Production Model Partially Revealed
A collection of amateur spy photos have emerged online showing what appears to be a production version of the Lexus LF-Ch concept, which first debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show last year. With a slightly less aggressive style, a new rear hatch and some OEM-equipment wheels, it is likely that Lexus is preparing this new…
Report: European MINIs Get Updates for 2010 Including Larger, More Efficient Base Engine
MINI has just announced a list of engine enhancements for its European lineup in 2010, many of which are expected to be carried over to other markets. For starters, both the Cooper and Cooper S models get a slight boost in power. The Cooper gets a 3-hp jump to 122-hp, while torque is rated at…
Montreal Auto Show 2010: Volkswagen Golf R “Concept” Makes North American Debut
Apparently not all big debuts happen at the Detroit Auto Show. Volkswagen made a splash at the Montreal Auto Show, by showing, for the first time in North America, the Euro-spec Golf R. First unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show last year, VW has yet to confirm this model for production in North America, but…
Detroit 2010: Chrysler Displays New Hatchback Concept Based on Italian Lancia Delta
With little more than a new grille and badging, Chrysler is displaying a possible future hatchback model at the Detroit Auto Show. With little else new other than some facelifted models for 2010, the unnamed Chrysler hatch stays true to the premium outlook that the Fiat-controlled company has for the brand. The large five-door hatch…
Detroit Preview: Chrysler to Show Fiat 500 Models Including Convertible, Abarth and Electric Versions
***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here*** Chrysler might not be holding a press conference at the Detroit Auto Show in just a few weeks time but the automaker is planning to draw crowds at its booth by showing off a long list of Italian machinery, including several Fiat products that are expected…
Report: Audi A1 Not Headed to North America
Over the next several months Audi will unveil a cleveryly divised marketing plan to pump up interest in its upcoming A1 model. But if you live in North America, just ignore it all, as the luxury German automaker has no plans to deliver the car to the U.S. Previous reports had suggested that the car…
Report: Audi A1 Launch Countdown Starts Today With First Teaser Images
Audi has just launched a marketing campaign that will culminate at the Geneva Auto Show in March, when the German automaker officially introduces the world to the A1. Audi says its new A1 will be the first premium vehicle offered in the subcompact segment. Ahead of the Geneva debut, Audi will reveal the car and…
Report: Lexus Considering a Premium Hatchback for the U.S. Market Says Company Exec
Rumors that a Lexus might bring a premium hatchback model to North America have been swirling since the automaker first introduced us to the LF-Ch concept at the Frankfurt Auto Show a few months back. Toyota’s luxury arm then stoked those flames by announcing that the premium hybrid hatchback concept would be shown at the…
LA Preview: Lexus Gets Serious About LF-Ch Hybrid for North America With Showing in Los Angeles
After initially announcing that the production version of the LF-Ch hybrid hatchback concept would be offered exclusively in Europe, Lexus has hinted that it may bring the model to other markets including North America. After creating a feedback page for the car on its website, Lexus has now made the biggest move towards an acknowledgment…
Report: Volkswagen Golf R Confirmed for North America as GTI-R Model
Volkswagen has confirmed that the high-powered all-wheel drive Golf R, which debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show last month, will be sold in North America. Powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine (the same powerplant found under the hood of the Audi TT-S) the Golf R makes 265hp and 258 ft-lbs of torque. Volkswagen estimates…
Tokyo Preview: Lexus LF-Ch Hybrid Hatchback Concept to Get Japanese Debut
Lexus has announced that along with the world premiere of a new two seater supercar concept, it will show the LF-Ch hybrid hatchback concept for the first time in Japan. Unveiled last month at the Frankfurt Auto Show, the LF-Ch is expected to lead to a production model, in Europe, by 2011. Lexus sees the…
Report: 2010 Hyundai Accent Blue Edition Gets 36 Highway MPG
Hyundai has just announced that a new “Blue Edition” Accent model will join the “Blue Edition” Elantra, offering improved fuel economy for a car that’s already great on gas. Hyundai says the new 3-door hatchback model offers a 9 percent improvement in fuel economy with a new rating of 27/36 mpg (city/highway) with either the…
Report: 2011 Ford Fiesta to Debut at L.A. Auto Show in December
Ford has announced that the 2011 Fiesta will officially debut at the L.A. Auto Show this December. While no official details have been released, expect it to be quite similar to the European versions. Both a hatchback and a sedan model will be offered. We recently tested a European-spec version of the Fiesta and we…
Report: Lexus Studying Premium Hatchback for U.S., Wants Your Thoughts on the LF-Ch Concept
While the official word from Lexus is that the LF-Ch concept is set to become a premium-level hybrid hatchback in the European market only, Toyota’s luxury arm is also (rather obviously) studying the possibility of bringing the car to North America. Lexus has just launched a new page on its U.S. website, with a link…
VIDEO: Volkswagen Golf R and Scirocco R Hit the Track
Last week Volkswagen took the wraps off the Golf R at the Frankfurt Auto Show, with the high-powered hatch joining the Scirocco in VW’s expanding “R” category. Now VW has released a short video of both cars in their ideal environment – the race track. Along with some stylish bodywork and interior treatments, the Golf…
Fast Impressions: Ford Fiesta Euro-Spec Test Drive
With Ford getting ready to launch the Fiesta sub-compact in North America, the big American automaker decided to bring over a few of the European-spec models to give the media an idea of what to expect. Competing against cars like the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Chevy Aveo and Hyundai Accent, Ford arranged for…
