Now that it’s March, the year finally begins in earnest for 2015 car sales. January and February are slow months, which is why there’s a Presidents Day sale that lasts almost all month. Car sales start to pick up only with the arrival of near-spring conditions (sorry, Northeast), the first of many 2015 JD Power awards, annual car issues from magazine such as Consumer Reports, and the completion of the season’s major auto shows (excepting New York, which starts Easter weekend).
Even lease customers who renew every two to three years may be impressed by how much cars and car tech have improved, with Bluetooth, USB, and rear cameras becoming near universal except on entry trim lines. More mid-priced cars offering high-end driver aids such as lane departure warning, blind spot detection, and even adaptive cruise control.
Here are Extreme Tech’s most important new cars for 2015 — “most important” meaning not just that they’re new, but they also move the industry forward on technology, safety, and driver aids. You’ll notice a lot of SUVs and crossovers on our list. Compact SUVs are now the biggest market segment, 16% of all sales, surpassing midsize sedans. Sedans overall are now the minority of vehicle sales compared to SUVs, crossovers, wagons, and pickup trucks.
Volvo XC90: Geely’s $11 billion investment starts to pay off
The Volvo XC90 is the first all-new Volvo – body, drivetrain, infotainment, cabin – since China’s Geely Holdings took control of Sweden’s lone big automaker in 2009 and then pumped in US $11 billion. Last year we saw the fruits of Volvo’s four-cylinder engine project in the Volvo S60 sedan and V60 wagon. Now comes the midsize XC90 (above and main photo) with impressive safety features, all-wheel-drive, seating for seven, and the Sensus infotainment system with a vertical color touchscreen — like Tesla, only smaller. Volvo is a four-cylinders-only company now, and the T6 (engine code name) hits 316 hp using both a supercharger (driven by a belt) and a turbocharger (driven by exhaust gas) to jolt 4,600-5,200 pounds (2,085-2,360 kg) to 60 mph in six seconds. There is also electric-motor boost with the 400 hp, T8 plug-in hybrid model of the XC90, in which case it’s an electric motor (only) driving the rear wheels.
With the XC90, Volvo hopes to regain the image of the automaker leading on safety. The run-off-road protection package uses five levels of drowsy driver detection to suggest it’s time for a brake plus lane keep assist, in order to forcefully steer the car back onto the road if possible. Failing that, the safe-positioning feature snugs the safety belts to keep occupants more firmly bound to their seats. For hard landings that compress the spine, Volvo stuffs energy absorbing material between the seat cushion and seat frame to reduce impact forces by a third. A separate auto-brake-at-intersections feature – Volvo doesn’t yet have catchy names for all its safety tools – stops or slows the Volvo if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car to eliminate or mitigate the crash.
The Sensus 9-inch touchscreen (above right) uses smartphone and tablet gestures you probably know, including a Home screen button with tabs to access the basics: navigation, audio, phone, and the most recently used app. Climate control isn’t a tab as on Ford Sync, but an always-present band at the bottom of the LCD. At 195 inches long, the XC90 hopes to compete against the Acura MDX, the Audi Q7, the BMW X5, and the Mercedes ML. It’s priced more in Acura territory, starting at less than $50,000 well equipped, and not much more than $60,000 very well equipped. German automakers can spin the same options list into a $20,000 up-charge.
Why the Volvo XC90 matters: Buyers get a Scandinavian design-and-engineering philosophy, one that isn’t German, American, Japanese, or Korean. They also get unique safety features. Choice is good. Affordable choice is better and Volvo offers both.
Honda Pilot: less truckish, more luxe-ish, more tech, same price
The 2016 Honda Pilot was the mainstream hit of February’s Chicago Auto Show. It’s longer for a less-cramped third row, finally offers middle row captain’s chairs, and provides up to five USB jacks. With weight reduced 300 pounds, fuel economy might approach 25 mpg combined.
Honda’s SUV audience includes upscale buyers who could afford, say, the Acura MDX, but don’t feel the need to show off, just as MDX owners don’t need to show off with an Audi Q5 or Porsche Cayenne. Today’s Honda chauvinists would be happy with the next Pilot if it rode better, looked more upscale, and offered the driver aids of an Acura. Done, done and done. The 2016 Pilot can be had with adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning and collision mitigation braking, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, and blind spot detection in the form of Honda LaneWatch (a passenger-side camera). The base price is unlikely to budge much from the low thirties.
A year ago, the aging Pilot and aging Toyota Highlander were neck and neck, coming off 2013 sales years of about 125,000 versus the category leader Ford Explorer at 210,000. Toyota shipped a new model Highlander last spring and sales jumped 15% while the aging Pilot fell 15% and now stands below 110,000, barely in the top 10 for SUVs. The new Pilot has the potential to challenge the best sellers when it ships this summer. Honda already has the best-selling SUV in the compact Honda CR-V, which last year got the same treatment – softer, rounder, plusher, more driver tech – the Pilot gets this year. We’ll be watching to see if the larger Pilot’s center stack has bigger and better buttons on the center stack, the drawback that kept the CR-V from knocking off the Subaru Forester as the best compact SUV.
Why the Honda Pilot matters: When sales improve with the new Pilot (they will), it’s further proof buyers want their bulletproof, affordable SUVs to have a little more luxury, style, and ride comfort. The old Pilot will make a great used car for another decade.
Honda HRV: Enter the subcompact sport utility vehicle
The Honda HR-V subcompact SUV is spot-on for the urban dweller who needs to park in a small space, perhaps on-street, and also needs to carry cargo for a weekend away for two, maybe three people. Enter the crossover utility vehicle version of our Editors’ ChoiceHonda Fit subcompact: the 2016 Honda HR-V, which is 169 inches (4300 mm) long, nine inches (230 mm) longer that the Honda Fit hatchback, and 10 inches (250 mm) longer than the CR-V crossover. This is a stretched Honda Fit with a 138 hp engine and all-wheel-drive capability (the Fit is front drive).
As with Fit, the gas tank is under the front seat (you’re safe) and the low-folding second-row Magic Seats, the HR-V’s cargo capacity is essentially the same as the Chevrolet Traverse that is 19 inches (480 mm) longer. And that’s with a deeply sloped roofline on the HR-V. All three HR-V trim lines — LX, EX, EX-L — come with a rear camera, Bluetooth and Pandora radio. The higher trims offer navigation on a 7-inch screen, satellite and HD radio, and the LaneWatch camera — passenger side only — that functions as blind spot detection.
Honda/Acura lead in the compact SUV market (CR-V), have the potential to be best among midsize SUVs (Pilot), have the best bang-for-the-buck premium SUV (MDX), and want to own the subcompact market (HR-V). Somebody notify the anti-trust regulators.
Why the Honda HR-V matters: Nothing else this short carries so much, thanks especially to Honda’s folding Magic Seats.
Mazda CX-3: The subcompact SUV parade keeps on coming
The subcompact SUV is a good idea you can’t keep down. The other serious newcomer is the Mazda CX-3. As the name implies, it slots below the CX-5, now defunct CX-7, and full-size CX-9 crossovers. It’s about a foot shorter than the CX-5, also narrower and lower. Using the 155 hp engine of the CX-5 in a lighter vehicle, it should be cat-quick and return well over 30 mpg cruising the highway. There’ll be Bluetooth, Mazda Connect (smartphone integration), Aha internet radio, and text-messaging (hands-free). As with other recent Mazdas, a control wheel will work with the LCD display, just not with the breadth of what Audi or BMW do with their control wheels.
The Nissan Juke originated the category, which also includes the Buick Encore and Chevrolet Trax. Honda and Mazda, the new kids on the block, look like the strongest players, especially where refinement counts. Compared with the Honda HR-V, the Mazda will have less cargo capacity for those who move a lot of stuff, but the cockpit will be a knockout. Read: It will attract female as well as male buyers.
Why the Mazda CX-3 matters: Enthusiasts will appreciate the refined and powerful engine and a well-executed interior. It will help popularize the category, keep Honda on its toes, and force quick redesigns by the others.
Generation 2 Ford Edge: improved supporting cast for the Explorer
The second generation of the Ford Edge, due late this winter, hopes to repay the promise of the 2007-2014 Edge. The 2015 Edge adds a host of technologies for the car and driver. The include: active grille shutters that close to reduce wind resistance; adaptive cruise control with collision warning; auto stop-start; blind spot detection (blind spot information system to Ford); standard rear camera and 180-degree front camera with a washer; cross traffic alert; automated head-in and parallel parking; heated and cooled seats; lane keep assist; and inflatable rear seat belts. Two of the three engines have turbocharging (EcoBoost). All get paddle shifters. Ford says there will be “higher standards for quality and craftsmanship.” The wheelbase is longer and the front seatbacks are thinner to add more front and rear legroom. This may be the last new Ford model without Sync 3, expected this fall.
Ford has a three-prong approach for midsize SUVs/crossovers. The three-row Ford Explorer is the best-selling midsize SUV (210,000 sales in 2014) and is the most SUV-like. The Ford Edge is a smoother, shorter two-row crossover based on the Ford Fusion, but sales have slipped to half that of Explorer, and the new Nissan Muranois very, very good. With the Ford Flex, the company squeezes another 25,000 sales, half in California, out of the three-row, station wagon-like crossover that is little changed since its 2008 debut.
Expect the next-gen Lincoln MKX, based on the Edge (which is based on the Ford Fusion sedan), to ship this year as well.
Why it matters: Ford already sells the most “utilities” (i.e., SUVs, crossovers) led by the compact Ford Escape. The 2015 Edge has the tools to step up from its supporting-cast role.
Hyundai Tucson: another cute ute with more tech and a better ride
Hyundai is looking for sales magic with the third-generation Hyundai Tucson, which debuts this week at the Geneva Auto Show. The formula is known for boosting sales of the follow-on generation: Upsize your compact SUV a couple inches, resolve ride-quality and noise issues, add more technology in the center stack to help the driver. So the 2016 Tucson will offer: collision avoidance / collision mitigation braking, lane-keep assist, blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, automated head-in and parallel parking, auto-open tailgate when the driver approaches with the key, and ventilated as well as heated front seats. LED headlamps are possible.
Not only is the 2016 Tucson three inches longer, but Hyundai claims the shape of the body, swoopy as it is, further improves interior volume. Visually, the Tucson gets a hexagonal grille that is becoming a Hyundai trademark, and asymmetrical wheel arches that should get the car noticed.
To be among the top four compact SUVs, or “cute utes” to some of the car magazines, you need to sell 200,000 vehicles a year (Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV-4, Ford Escape, and Nissan Rogue do now). At just under 50,000 in 2014, Hyundai has its work cut out. The midsizeHyundai Santa Fe, nearing the midpoint of its lifecycle, sells more than twice as many units via a three-row (Santa Fe, nee Hyundai Veracruz) and two-row (Santa Fe Sport) strategy.
Why the Hyundai Tucson matters: Buyers flocked to Hyundai SUVs and sedans as they grew more polished, safe, and reliable. Hyundai will show the new Tucson is keeping up with the competition.
Chevrolet Equinox gets a facelift, not a price lift
Quick, what’s the second-best-selling Chevy in North America after the Silverado pickup truck (which is the second-best selling vehicle, period): Impala? Malibu? It’s the affordable Chevrolet Equinox compact-almost-midsize SUV, followed closely by the Chevrolet Cruze sedan (although in the US alone, it’s Cruze then Equinox). In the US, more than 240,000 Equinoxes sold last year at prices starting at $26,000, plus another 105,000 fraternal twin GMC Terrains. They’re roomy in the second row, ride well, and have good crash test results. Overall they’re not cars to stir the soul.
For 2016, Chevy hopes to inject more competitiveness. 4G OnStar with a WiFi hotspot is standard. Back-seat tablet holders are available. Even the cheapest trim line now gets a backup camera, Bluetooth and a 7-inch touchscreen. Upscale models get the simple-to-use MyLink infotainment system. Not as well known as Ford Sync, MyLink gets the job done nicely. For 2016, Equinox will offer blind spot detection (side blind zone alert in GM terminology), rear cross traffic alert, forward collision alert, and lane departure warning. Adaptive cruise control, creeping down to this class, isn’t offered. The drivetrain choices continue mostly unchanged: four-cylinder engines with good fuel economy if not acceleration, and V6 engines with more pep, less mpg, and 3,500-pound towing capacity. Chevrolet says it has improved some of the cabin styling and fabrics.
Why the Chevrolet Equinox matters: Build a good not great SUV at a good price, add more features for 2016, and you’ll capture 10% of the compact SUV market. For many buyers, a good-enough SAV at a good price is the one to buy.
2016 Toyota Tacoma: Match and maybe raise you, Chevy Colorado
The Toyota Tacoma dominated the market in midsize pickups since its 2005 introduction, before last year running into the new Chevrolet Colorado (and sibling GMC Canyon) that dominated the truck of the year awards. The 2016 Tacoma is Toyota’s first significant upgrade in the decade. The new Tacoma gets a crisper look, improved sound deadening, and one new engine, a V6 with an efficient Atkinson cycle engine like those on hybrids, to go with the carryover inline-four. Fuel injection on the V6 will be a combination of direct injection into the cylinder and traditional port injection, called D-4S technology. One works best at low speed, the other at high rpm. Meanwhile, the 2016 Colorado / Canyon will add diesel engines that Toyota doesn’t offer.
Pickup-buyers are less receptive to driver assist technology, but the Tacoma will be offered with blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert, along with Bluetooth for hands-free calling, navigation, and Qi (“chee”) wireless phone charging. The Tacoma appears to have a wider range of trim lines than the new GM products, including two TRD (Toyota Racing Division) models for off-roading. The off-roaders will even come with a GoPro camera and windshield mount.
The Nissan Frontier is the only other significant midsize pickup truck contender for now.
Why the Toyota Tacoma matters: The Tacoma will return the favor and provide stiff competition to the newer GM pickups, whose appearance serves as a wakeup call for Toyota.
2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata: Aluminum keeps the weight down
A two-seater convertible sports car such as the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata is the last car that needs adaptive cruise control and other driver assists. So it is that the technology for the fourth generation points toward more extensive use of aluminum to keep weight down. The hood and trunk were already aluminum and now the front fenders, rear bulkhead (separating the trunk from the cockpit), bumper supports, even the convertible top supports are aluminum as well. The first US Miata of 1990 weighed about 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilos), and this one, with 26 years of additional airbags, electronics, and bracing, will be around 2,400 pounds, 200 pounds less than the previous MX-5.
The car coming to the US will have 2.0 liter, 155 hp Skyactiv (high-efficiency, low-emissions) engine, six-speed manual or automatic transmission, and 17-inch alloy wheels. It will have the important safety gear such as stability control, anti-lock brakes, and airbags; you can get xenon headlamps, Bluetooth, and keyless entry. There will probably be a navigation/entertainment system. That’s about it. Pricing will start in the mid-twenties.
Why the Mazda MX-5 Miata matters: There’s nothing else like this. For a day’s drive in the country, or a weekend getaway with minimal luggage, nothing could be finer. For longer stints, you need a bigger car with more tech, more weigh, and less of you in control of the car.
2016 Toyota Prius: Redefining the hybrid car again
The fourth-generation, 2016 Toyota Prius will likely break new ground on fuel economy, passenger comfort, and design. Making all that happen may delay production start until the very end of 2015. The undercurrent of each Prius generation — 1997, 2003, 2009, hopefully 2015 — has been a 10% improvement in fuel economy. With the Prius now rated at 51 mpg city, 48 mpg highway, 50 mpg combined, even the math-challenged can see we’re talking about a 55 mpg Prius, a car that would meet the most stringent current government plans for 2025 fuel economy a decade early.
The new Prius is expected to have higher-efficiency, smaller and lighter electric motors. With the fourth generation, the Prius may be offered with nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries for lower cost or lithium ion (LiIon) for more electric-only range. Or it could go lithium ion-only and reduce the space needed for batteries. The car will adopt the Toyota New Global Architecture, a common architecture with similar, if not the same, parts for the body.
The six-months delay in production start may also be attributed to Toyota management’s desire for a sleeker look to attract a new generation of buyers. Two decades is a long time for the essentially same silhouette.
How do you get another 10% efficiency gain out of the next Prius circa 2020 for a 60 mpg Toyota? Toyota is now testing silicon power semiconductors in the power control unit (PCU). They offer one-tenth the electrical resistance of today’s silicon-only PCUs, which account for about 20% of the electrical power loss in a hybrid car. The silicon carbide PCU would also fit in one-fifth the space.
Why the Toyota Prius matters: Toyota accounts for two-thirds of hybrid sales. With each generation, it’s clearer the Prius is not a quirky car with a complex powertrain, but, merely, a car. One that will get more than 50 mpg now and also when gas goes back to $3 or more per gallon.
Top car #11: Rolls-Royce SUV shows the future of luxury transportation
If you’re counting, this makes 11 new cars for 2015: 10 that will probably ship and one thunderclap announcement due around 2018: a Rolls-Royce SUV.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has a long history of vehicles that performed capably off-road. Just not since Britain had colonies. In February, the company announced it will be developing “a car that offers the luxury of a Rolls-Royce in a vehicle that can cross any terrain [and] meets our customers’ highly mobile, contemporary lifestyle expectations.” Translation: We’re building an SUV. Renderings by outsiders suggest a tall wagon / crossover such as envisioned by automotive manipulator Theophilus Chin (image above) or a sloped-back vehicle on the order of the BMW X6.
Rolls-Royce said the vehicle will be aluminum-bodied to save weight, it will arrive in about three years time (suggesting a 2018 model), it will be built in England, and it embodies the company founders’ values in creating cars in the last century “taking top honors in rigorous overland adventures such as the Scottish Reliability Trials, the London to Edinburgh event, and the Alpine Trials.” Parent BMW won’t call its $75,000 X5 SUV an SUV, so neither will Rolls-Royce; RR won’t use BMW’s “sports activity vehicle” phrasing, either. We can hardly wait to hear the terminology.
To that we’d add: Rolls-Royce was leaving money on the table without an SUV, crossover, or tall wagon for customers in the Middle East, Russia, Asia and the Americas, the home of big SUVs. Already in the market at $100,000-plus (with options) are: the best-sellingMercedes-Benz GL (25,000 US sales yearly in the big-ticket, big-honker SUV class), the Porsche Cayenne (Porsche’s best-seller), Land Rover Range Rover, Cadillac Escalade, and announced SUVs from Bentley, Lamborghini, and Jaguar. The price could be anywhere from $200,000 and up. A long wheelbase on the RR SUV allows for a spacious second row (no third row). The Rolls-Royce SUV will be based on the BMW X7, a 200-inch (5100 mm) three-row SUV due in 2016. The X7 will better compete with the Mercedes GL than does our current high-end SUV Editors’ Choice, the BMW X5.
Why the Rolls-Royce SUV matters: This is the tipping point (figuratively, not literally) for SUVs. The luxury car of the future is a crossover or SUV with tons of interior space, high ride height, and the ability to handle treacherous terrain such as the gravel road leading to your Beaver Creek ski house.
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