Category Archives: NEW CARS

NEW CARS

Lexus Builds a Van So Fancy It Needs an Extra Axle

Lexus just had its best year ever. Eight hundred and fifty-one thousand, two hundred and fourteen cars left its showrooms in 2024 — the most since the brand first burst onto the scene in 1989. By any sensible measure, you’d think that’s the perfect time to keep calm and carry on polishing the chrome.

But “sensible” has clearly been banned at Toyota HQ.

Because, dear reader, Lexus is about to launch a six-wheeled minivan. Yes, six wheels. Not an SUV, not a super-saloon — a minivan with three axles and, apparently, the soul of a luxury flagship. The sort of thing that sounds like it should be parked outside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building rather than the valet stand at the Tokyo Ritz.

The House of Lexus Goes Mad (In Style)

This whole madcap adventure comes from Toyota’s grand plan to shake up its luxury division. Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries says Lexus can now “move more freely” and “push forward as a pioneer.” Translated from corporate-speak, that means: we’ve made enough money to get weird again.

And weird they shall. A teaser for the upcoming concept — due to be unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show — shows something that looks part spaceship, part Bond villain shuttle. It’s said to sit above the current LM, Lexus’s already-posh take on the Toyota Alphard/Vellfire, which itself is basically the world’s nicest airport shuttle. So where do you go from there? Add another axle, obviously.

The LS Lives… as a Van?

Chairman Akio Toyoda, never one to avoid a headline, hints that this rolling experiment might even revive the fabled LS badge. The LS has long been Lexus’s stately saloon, the quiet, V8-powered embodiment of Japanese luxury. But according to Toyoda, the “S” no longer stands for sedan — it now stands for space.

“It’s an incredible challenge,” he says, noting that Lexus customers still expect the usual cocktail of silence, comfort, and unflappable composure — only now, on six wheels. The development team has been instructed to “discover and imitate no one.” Which, frankly, sounds less like a design brief and more like a samurai mantra.

Luxury Has Left the Lounge

Here’s the logic: in markets like China, the luxury van is king. Chauffeur-driven family pods such as the Volvo EM90, Buick GL8, and a fleet of futuristic Chinese rivals (Voyah Dream, Denza D9, Zeekr 009, Xpeng X9) are redefining what premium motoring looks like. While the West obsesses over SUVs, the East is quietly turning the van into the new limousine.

So perhaps Lexus isn’t crazy at all — merely ahead of the curve. Expect the concept to ditch combustion engines entirely, likely going full-electric with the sort of smooth, silent torque delivery that suits a rolling penthouse. Production? Don’t expect anything before 2027.

The End of the Sedan Era

The venerable LS sedan is apparently bowing out soon, replaced not by another leather-lined saloon, but by this bold, six-wheeled, chauffeur-first spaceship. Lexus calls it a “dramatic transformation.” We call it… intriguing madness.

Will traditionalists revolt at the idea of an LS-badged van? Probably. Will Lexus care? Not even slightly. Because, after years of playing the polite understudy to Mercedes and BMW, Lexus is finally doing what it does best: ignoring everyone else and building something entirely different.

So yes — Lexus may have just lost its marbles. But if this is what happens when they do, then please, keep them rolling.

Source: Toyota

NEW CARS

Kia Telluride: The SUV That Broke the Aging Curve

For most cars, hitting middle age means one thing: the slow, inevitable slide into obscurity. The paint fades, the shine dulls, and the sales charts begin to sag like a cheap suspension under too much luggage.

But not the Kia Telluride.

This big, square-jawed family bus from Korea has been defying the laws of showroom physics. It’s been around since 2019, which, in SUV years, is roughly two monarchs and three iPhones ago — yet it’s selling better than ever. Last year, Kia shifted an eyebrow-raising 115,504 Tellurides in the U.S., and 2025 is shaping up to be another record-breaker. Through September, it’s already up 13 percent. In other words: while other SUVs are losing steam, the Telluride is out here doing CrossFit.

Still, even immortals need a replacement eventually. And come November 20th, at the 2025 Los Angeles Auto Show, Kia will pull the covers off the second-generation Telluride. Don’t rush to your dealer just yet, though — the new one won’t actually arrive until the 2027 model year, likely in the back half of next year. The current model soldiers on for one more lap as the 2025MY, proving you can be both old and desirable if you’ve got the right proportions.

Now, Kia’s teasing us — literally — with a pair of moody teaser shots. The SUV lurks in the shadows like a heavyweight boxer waiting for the bell. What we can see looks… promising. Still boxy, still bold, but now wearing Kia’s sharper, more futuristic design language. There are vertical lights at both ends, and the face has a whiff of EV9 about it — though, unlike its electric cousin, the Telluride keeps a proper grille because, well, this one still burns dinosaur juice.

Speaking of which, under the bonnet things are expected to mirror its corporate cousin, the new Hyundai Palisade. Translation: you’ll have two main options. A good old-fashioned 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V6 with 287 horsepower for the traditionalists, or a hybrid setup pairing a 2.5-litre turbo four-cylinder with twin electric motors, good for 329 horses and 339 lb-ft. Both setups will come in two- or four-wheel drive — and neither sounds like it’ll have any trouble dragging a family, a trailer, or an ego uphill.

Size-wise, brace yourself for more of everything. Hyundai has stretched the Palisade by around 2.5 inches overall, with a 2.7-inch longer wheelbase, meaning your third-row passengers might actually feel like humans rather than luggage. Expect the Telluride to follow suit — bigger, broader, taller — a subtle evolution from “handsome” to “don’t-mess-with-me” territory.

Price? The outgoing Telluride starts at $37,885, while the latest Palisade kicks off at $41,035. Expect Kia’s new flagship SUV to move a little upmarket — not by much, but enough to let you know it’s serious about the premium family hauler game.

So there you have it. The Telluride story isn’t ending — it’s just leveling up. The old one still sells like hotcakes, and the new one looks ready to keep the momentum rolling. In an age of electric revolution and crossover clones, Kia’s big gas-burning bruiser is proof that sometimes, old-school still sells — especially when it looks this good doing it.

Source: KIA

NEW CARS

Chery Tiggo 9: The Seven-Seat PHEV That Wants to Shock the Establishment

China’s automotive surge continues — and this time, it’s not another budget-friendly crossover or rebadged curio. Meet the Chery Tiggo 9, a seven-seat plug-in hybrid SUV that’s just landed in the UK with a spec sheet bold enough to make European rivals twitch nervously in their heated leather seats.

Starting from £43,105, it’s undercutting the plug-in versions of the Volkswagen Tayron and Kia Sorento, yet promising more of, well, everything. More power, more range, more toys — and, yes, more seats.

The Power Play

Under the bonnet, there’s no humble hybrid humdrum. Chery’s latest Super Hybrid setup pairs a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine with two electric motors and a starter-generator cunningly tucked into the gearbox. Total output? A slightly bonkers 422bhp and 428lb ft of torque.

That’s Audi SQ7 territory in a family-friendly Chinese SUV. The 0–62mph sprint? 5.4 seconds. Fast enough to make your passengers spill their oat lattes while you smugly mention that this isn’t even a full EV.

Range Anxiety? Never Heard of It.

With a 34.5kWh battery, the Tiggo 9 claims up to 91 miles of electric-only range on the WLTP cycle — the longest of any plug-in hybrid currently on sale. That’s more than double what most PHEVs manage before firing up the engine. And when you do need a top-up, its 71kW DC charging capability means a 30-to-80% refill in just 18 minutes. That’s dangerously close to proper EV territory.

Inside: A Tech Buffet

Forget bargain-basement interiors — this thing’s fully loaded in just one trim level, the aptly named Summit. Heated and ventilated seats front and rear? Check. Massage function? Of course. A 14-speaker Sony sound system, 20-inch alloys, dual-zone climate, ambient lighting, wireless charging — all standard.

Front and centre sits a 15.6-inch touchscreen running wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, joined by a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster. It’s all very glossy, very modern, and very unrecognisable from the Cherys of old.

Europeanised and Civilised

According to Chery, the Tiggo 9 has been “fine-tuned for UK and European roads” at its R&D hub in Germany. Translation: the ride won’t rearrange your spine over British potholes, and the steering might even feel connected to the front wheels.

The Bigger Picture

Chery’s been busy this year. After Omoda and Jaecoo stormed into UK showrooms, the brand itself followed up with the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 — both decent mid-sized SUVs that proved the Chinese invasion isn’t just about low prices. Now, with the Tiggo 9, Chery’s gone premium-hunting.

And this is just the start. Next year brings the Tiggo 4, a smaller petrol-powered crossover aimed squarely at the Jeep Avenger crowd.

So, the question isn’t whether Chery can compete — it’s how quickly everyone else will have to catch up.

Because if this 422bhp, seven-seat, 90-mile-EV-range monster is the shape of the family SUV future, the Germans and Koreans might want to start sweating.

Source: Autocar