Car News

Mitsubishi has announced an update for their 2020 Outlander Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV), which includes a new driveline, and updated specifications and pricing. It’s a simple range, starting at $50,990 drive-away for the Outlander ES. This has heated cloth seats, and eight-inch infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and DAB radio.

Jozef Kaban, former head of design for Rolls-Royce, BMW and Skoda, has been appointed as the chief designer for the Volkswagen brand. Kaban will begin his new job on July 1, 2020, presumably because of a non-compete clause in his contract with the BMW Group, where he worked from early 2017 until October this year. From 2017 to March 2019, Kaban was the head of design for the BMW brand. He then moved on to a similar role at Rolls-Royce.

Peugeot was last seen racing at Le Mans in 2011 but now they’re roaring back onto the track. The French automaker is partnering with Rebellion Racing to produce a new hypercar for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the new Le Mans Hypercar category in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The program will kick off in 2022. Per WEC requirements, the racecar will be a hybrid but Peugeot and Rebellion Racing have yet to reveal any details of their car’s powertrain.

The Toyota Yaris GR-4 will have all-wheel drive and an aggressive widebody kit, a new video from Toyota has confirmed. Wrapped in the same camouflage as the Toyota Supra prototypes preceding the long-awaited production car, it appears the Yaris GR-4 will be a successor to the previous-generation Yaris GRMN offered in Europe. Toyota initially planned to reveal the car at Rally Australia in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, but the rally was cancelled because of bushfires.

BMW's new entry-level car, the 1 Series hatchback, has scored top marks in ANCAP crash testing – but the new Peugeot Parter fell short, thanks to a missing piece of active safety technology. The Partner van's autonomous emergency braking system can't detect cyclists in testing, limiting its 'vulnerable road user detection' score – and its overall rating to four stars.