Category Archives: NEW CARS

NEW CARS

Vauxhall Corsa GSE Vision GT: The Baby Griffin Goes Full Godzilla

Right. Vauxhall. The company that gave us sensible hatchbacks, caravanner’s dreams and the occasional warm hatch that tried its best but usually lost to the Fiesta ST in a pub fight. Well, forget all that. Because someone at Luton has clearly spiked the tea with jet fuel and PlayStation cheat codes.

Meet the Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo – a car that looks like it was drawn by a 14-year-old with too many cans of Monster and actually built by adults who know what wind tunnels and CAD software are. On paper, it’s an electric hatchback with 789bhp, a kerb weight of just 1170kg and a 0–62mph time of two seconds flat. That’s Bugatti-baiting territory… from a Corsa. Yes, really.

Your Nan’s Supermini This Is Not

This is Vauxhall’s “Type R moment”, according to design boss Mark Adams. And he’s not wrong. Because while the current Mk6 Corsa is perfectly fine for school runs and supermarket car parks, this one’s packing a dual-motor setup, 590lb ft of torque, and an active aero system that looks like it escaped from Le Mans. There’s a spoiler that extends so far it could double as a park bench, and then pivots up to act as an airbrake. Subtle, this is not.

The whole thing is built on Stellantis’s new STLA Small platform – which will also underpin the upcoming Mk7 Corsa. So, unlike most Gran Turismo “fantasy specials” that sit a metre off the ground and stretch longer than a hearse, this one’s actually grounded in reality. It’s still a Corsa. Just one that thinks it’s a rocket ship.

Gaming the System

Of course, here’s the catch: you can’t buy it. You can only drive it in Gran Turismo. Which means your only chance of getting behind the wheel in the real world is if your name’s Lewis Hamilton or you happen to work in Vauxhall’s skunkworks. But don’t roll your eyes just yet. Adams insists the figures are realistic – “in theory” – and that plenty of the design elements are being readied for production.

We’re talking a transparent Vizor grille with DRLs hiding behind it, a glowing griffin badge, slimmer ‘Compass’ LED signatures, and a properly aggressive stance. Even the bucket seats are clever – hung from the roll cage and split in two to shave weight, in a way today’s heavy EVs can only dream of.

And here’s the kicker: the concept ditches screens altogether. No distracting tablets glued to the dash. Just a few buttons for what matters and a squared-off steering wheel. Refreshing, isn’t it?

A Corsa With Poster Car Energy

The intent here is clear. Vauxhall wants GSE (its newly reborn performance badge) to be what Type R is for Honda: a standalone halo brand that turns school folders and bedroom walls into shrines. And with this thing, they might just manage it.

Picture it: a future where a Corsa isn’t just your mate’s first car, but a genuine poster car. One that doesn’t just whisper affordability but shouts performance. That’s the endgame.

Sure, the 789bhp numbers may remain trapped inside the PlayStation for now. But the spirit – the lit badge, the clever aero, the compact dimensions, the clear sense of attainable excitement – will leak through into the next-gen Corsa. And that’s the clever bit.

Because the Corsa GSE Vision GT isn’t just a fantasy. It’s a signal of intent. A sign that the griffin badge, once content to live in the shadows of VW, Ford and Peugeot, now wants its own piece of the performance playground.

And frankly? We’re here for it.

Source: Vauxhall

NEW CARS

Nissan Teana Plus: China Gets the Altima That Won’t Quit

The Nissan Altima’s future in North America is shakier than a CVT at full throttle. Sales are sliding, SUVs are eating its lunch, and the word “discontinuation” keeps hovering around like an unwelcome in-law. But while the Altima clings to life in the States, its Chinese twin—the Teana—isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it’s getting a makeover. Meet the Teana Plus, a facelifted sedan that’s determined to prove the mid-size four-door still has some fight left in it.

Face Off

The big news is up front, where the Teana has borrowed some design DNA from Nissan’s latest electrified sedans. Darker, sharper LED headlights now flank a chunkier grille with new DRLs baked in. Beneath that sits a wider lower intake, a styling cue lifted straight from the sleeker N6 and N7 models. It’s all meant to drag the Teana into the modern age without actually electrifying it. Think of it as a petrol-powered chameleon trying to look like its hybrid cousins.

From the side, you’d be hard-pressed to spot major changes unless you’re a wheel nerd. New alloy designs—stretching up to 19 inches—provide the only real update, although one trim gets a two-tone paint job with a contrasting roof, which is basically shorthand for “please look at me, I’m premium.” Out back, a full-width LED bar now spans the tail with illuminated Nissan lettering glowing proudly at its centre. Exhaust pipes? Gone. Because hiding the fact you burn petrol is the new cool.

Size Matters (Sort Of)

The nip-and-tuck job has added a smidge of length—14 millimetres, or just over half an inch—bringing the total to 4,920 mm. Width, height, and wheelbase remain unchanged, but the Teana Plus still sits on a healthy 2,825 mm wheelbase, enough to keep rear passengers comfortable while they wonder why they didn’t buy an SUV.

Inside Job

No official cabin shots yet, but expect a digital cockpit, larger screens, and tech updates designed to keep pace with the Camry and Accord. Given how hard Chinese buyers value in-car gadgets, Nissan can’t afford to skimp.

Engines: Same Wine, New Bottle

Under the bonnet, things are familiar. The Teana Plus sticks with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder good for 240 horsepower, feeding the front wheels through Nissan’s trusty Xtronic CVT with eight fake gears. It’s not exciting, but it’s predictable—like ordering fried rice at a hotel buffet.

Curiously, filings also mention a new entry-level engine rated at just 142 hp—actually weaker than the current naturally aspirated 2.0. Why? Nobody knows. Maybe emissions regs. Maybe cost-cutting. Maybe someone at Dongfeng just enjoys trolling spec sheets.

Launch and Legacy

The Teana Plus will hit Chinese roads in late 2025, priced somewhere between ¥179,800 ($25,000) and ¥239,800 ($33,400). The current model will likely soldier on alongside it for a while, because nothing dies in China until the last taxi fleet has finished wringing it dry.

Meanwhile, back in the States, the Altima soldiers on with a facelift from 2022 and endless rumours about the axe. Could it get a Teana-style glow-up? Possibly. But given the SUV-obsessed American market, don’t bet your lease payment on it.

For now, the Teana Plus stands as proof that, in at least one corner of the globe, the humble mid-size sedan still has some life—and some LEDs—left in it.

Source: Nissan

NEW CARS

Nissan X-Trail Nismo Premiere

Nismo, Nissan’s performance arm, has been busy lately. After giving the hulking Armada a suit-and-tie makeover with a splash of track-day attitude, it’s now turning its sharpie toward something a little more… family-friendly. Enter the X-Trail Nismo—Japan’s take on what happens when you send a sensible SUV on a Red Bull and chin-up bar diet.

The official debut is set for August 21 in Japan, but Nissan’s already teased it with a moody YouTube video full of shadowy angles and menacing DRLs. As expected, it’s got the full Nismo wardrobe: chunky front splitter, red pinstripes in all the right places, and enough badges to make sure your neighbors know you bought the spicy one. Expect new bumpers, side skirts, wheel arch cladding, and some rather tasty 20-inch Enkei alloys wrapped in Michelin performance rubber. It’s the automotive equivalent of dad sneakers—only these ones are cut for sprints.

Paint options? Six of them. Three safe single-tone shades—white, black, gray—for those who want their aggression muted. Or, if you’re the type who orders extra chili, three two-tone combos that pair bright body colors with a contrasting black roof. Think Prism White with black, or Cardinal Red with black. It’s a bit like dressing up for a business meeting and then slipping on scarlet socks—subtle, but not really.

Inside, Nissan hasn’t gone full boy racer. Expect black trim, red stitching, and some carbon-effect garnish. If you tick the right boxes, you’ll also get Recaro buckets in leather and Alcantara, plus a Bose nine-speaker setup for blasting Eurobeat on your way to the school run.

Now, before you ask: no, it’s not getting a snarling twin-turbo V6 or a detuned GT-R motor. In fact, the powertrain doesn’t change at all. You still get the familiar e-Power setup—a 1.5-liter petrol engine working as a generator to feed electricity to dual motors. Combined, that’s 211 horsepower and 525 Nm of torque. Respectable numbers, but not the sort to have AMG drivers sweating at the lights.

Instead, Nismo’s magic is happening under the skin. The steering, suspension, and shock absorbers have all been fettled for sharper responses. Even the e-4ORCE all-wheel-drive software gets new code to keep things tidier in corners. Think of it less as a power upgrade and more as a handling masterclass—like swapping out your loafers for racing flats.

So, will we see it outside Japan? That’s the billion-yen question. The X-Trail’s American twin, the Rogue, is due for a full redesign around 2026, and the whispers say a Nismo trim might be in the cards then. Which means if you’re in the States, you’ll have to wait a little longer for your school-run special ops SUV.

For now, though, the X-Trail Nismo is shaping up as a fascinating experiment: take an everyday crossover, dress it like a street brawler, tune the bits that make it dance, and leave the horsepower wars to someone else. It might not be the fastest SUV on the road—but it’ll probably be one of the cheekiest.

Source: Nissan