Every important car news story breaking today, one convenient read
Thanks for joining us this Friday July 19th 2024. Notably in car news today: Porsche will keep the V8 alive with two more Panamera variants announced, and the Tesla Cybertruck is easily outselling one of its biggest rivals, the Ford F-150 Lightning.
The V8 isn’t dead! Porsche Panamera gets two more performance variants
Two more variants are set to join the Porsche Panamera range
Porsche Australia is introducing two more variants for its Panamera model, a GTS and the flagship Turbo S E-Hybrid.
The GTS will get the typical GTS treatment with black highlights and unique alloy wheels and will, most importantly, use a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine producing 368kW/660Nm.
Meanwhile, the top-spec Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid uses electrification and a turbo-petrol V8 for combined outputs of 575kW/1000Nm and is capable of sprinting to 100km/h in 2.9 seconds.
Porsche Australia is yet to confirm pricing for these two additional variants.
Tesla selling more Cybertrucks than Ford’s F-150 and Rivian R1T
The Tesla Cybertruck is selling better than the electric Ford F-150 Lightning in the US
Tesla is said to have sold more units of its Cybertruck in the USA recently than what Ford has managed to shift with its all-electric F-150 Lightning.
According to Road & Track and US registration information, Tesla registered more than 3907 units of its Cybertruck (in May), while Ford shifted 2353 of its F-150 Lightning. Rivian, meanwhile, sold 1237 units of its R1T pickup for that period.
This is despite the fact that the Tesla Cybertruck starts at USD$80,000 (AUD$119,000), while the Ford F-150 Lightning starts from a vastly more affordable USD$57,090 (AUD$85,000).
The US-built Cybertruck is still unconfirmed for Australia, however on Tesla’s local website the pickup is still available to view, with those interested able to sign up and ‘get updates’. Tesla has stopped pre-orders for the model on Aussie shores.
Suzuki to partner with Toyota on hybrid tech: report
Suzuki is set to get new hybrid tech thanks to a Toyota partnership
Suzuki is set to engineer new hybrid tech for its models thanks to a technical partnership with Toyota.
According to reports from Automotive News, Suzuki will partially rely on Toyota’s existing hybrid powertrains as well as software systems.
By 2030, Suzuki plans to introduce six electric vehicles in Japan, five in Europe and six in India, according to Automotive News.
Toyota currently holds a five-percent stake in Suzuki. The Japanese automaker, who offers Swift hatch and the Jimny off-roader, will join Mazda and Subaru in borrowing technologies from Toyota to build future products.
Stronger supply for Hyundai’s facelifted Tucson midsize SUV
Hyundai’s facelifted Tucson range will have stronger supply at launch
The freshly updated Hyundai Tucson midsize SUV will have stronger supply at launch, although there will still be some constraints on the new hybrid variant.
Speaking to media at the launch of the facelifted Tucson, Hyundai Australia Product Planning Manager Sam Dabestani said that relief from supply constraints on several models comes with “healthy supply” for the new model at launch: 2700 units at local dealers and compounds, 1300 en route to Australia, and 1000 awaiting shipment in Korea.
The brand says it is expecting around 40 percent takeup on the new hybrid based on supply, although they say that it could be as high as 70 percent if there were no supply constraints.
Tucson is currently Hyundai’s most popular model in Australia, with 9462 new vehicle deliveries to date, if fifth in its segment behind its midsize SUV competitors, the Toyota RAV4 (25,405), Mitsubishi Outlander (14,443), Mazda CX-5 (11,920) and Kia Sportage (10,474).
Hyundai Tucson Premium Hybrid reviewed
Hyundai Tucson Premium Hybrid 2024 driving rear 3
Chasing Cars journalist Olek Novak’s review of the 2024 Hyundai Tucson Premium Hybrid was published, including his thoughts on the Kia Sportage Hybrid and Toyota RAV4 Hybrid competitor.
In terms of positives, Novak noted the Tucson’s polished ride and handling, smooth hybrid drivetrain and the availability of all-wheel drive as areas the new Tucson Hybrid did very well at.
Novak has very few negative points for the new Tucson, noting that the front-drive version was less sure-footed than the all-wheel drive and that prices have gone up for the facelift.
Novak concluded his launch review by recommending the Tucson, saying “on initial impression, the Tucson Hybrid certainly appears to be a promising mid-size hybrid SUV and doesn’t seem to deliver any noticeable shortfalls compared to its main competitors”.
