EV, hybrid and gas-powered: Some interesting cars coming in 2024
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN
(CNN) — Next year will see the introduction of some new, genuinely affordable electric vehicles as well as a couple of interesting options for the ultra-wealthy. We’ll also see the return of some classic model names.
Chevrolet Equinox EV
While there are already plenty of electric SUVs on the market, what will make the Chevy Equinox EV stand out will be its price. Prices are expected to start around $30,000 making the Equinox EV one of the cheapest electric vehicles you can buy.
This won’t just be a Chevy Equinox with its gas engine replaced with battery packs. It will be an entirely different SUV, sharing much of its engineering with GM’s other EVs such as the Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer EV. The starting price will be for a stripped-down, front-wheel-drive version with 250 mile driving range on a full charge. More expensive models with all-wheel-drive and longer driving range will also be available, of course, for more money.
Volvo EX30
Speaking of cheap, the all-electric EX30 won’t be just an inexpensive electric Volvo. It will be the least expensive Volvo model, period, gas or electric.
As you’d expect, the base $35,000 price tag will be for a fairly stripped down single-motor rear-wheel-drive version. Ones with all-wheel-drive and more features will, of course, cost more. Still, the EX30 will be among the most affordable EVs on the market and even the cheapest version will offer up to an estimated 275 miles of range. Inside, Volvo designers came up with clever highly flexible interior storage spaces for this small SUV.
Volkswagen ID. Buzz
The VW ID. Buzz is already available in Europe, but Americans are getting a special extra-large version of this retro-styled van with more space and a standard third row of seats, allowing the car to fit up to seven passengers. It’ll still be a bit shorter, front-to-back, than competitors’ gas powered minivans, like the Chrysler Pacific. That’s thanks, in part, to the fact the ID. Buzz doesn’t need space for a gasoline engine.
It’s styled to bring to mind the famous VW Microbus. It will be available in an all-wheel-drive version with electric motors capable of producing up to 330 horsepower, much more than the classic one with its tiny gasoline engine.
Cadillac Celestiq
While General Motors is making electric vehicles more affordable with the Equinox EV, its new Cadillac Celestiq is another matter altogether. Prices for this individually hand-built electric vehicle start at around $300,000, ten times the cheapest Equinox EV, but that’s only the beginning. The Celestiq is highly customizable and customers can order a wide variety of individual colors and options.
It’s an attempt by GM to recapture some of Cadillac’s 1950s glory when top-end models could command something close to Rolls-Royce prices. While Cadillac has unveiled a few concept cars in recent years that hinted at this level of opulence, the Celestiq is the first of these that will be offered to customers.
Toyota Land Cruiser
The Toyota Land Cruiser is returning to the US market about three years after the model was last sold here. But it’s returning in a very different form. This time, it’s a smaller retro-styled SUV competing directly against the Jeep Wrangler and another revived classic, the Ford Bronco.
It’s part of a much larger industry trend toward SUVs and trucks with serious off-road capabilities, like the new Ford Bronco. Despite its classic looks, the new Land Cruiser will be available only as a hybrid, with a gas engine and an electric motor combined to produce up to 326 horsepower. The company expects it to start around $55,000.
Ferrari Purosangue
With almost every major ultra-luxury maker offering an SUV, including Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce, Ferrari is now offering one as well. Actually, Ferrari doesn’t call the Purosangue an SUV since this vehicle has no pretense of off-road driving capability. But it does have the (relatively) high seating position SUV drivers like. It also has four doors, although the back ones are somewhat hidden to maintain that classic Ferrari sports car look.
Powered by a 715-horsepower V12 engine, the Purosangue has a sophisticated suspension system to help maintain the sort of cornering capabilities Ferrari is famous for even with this tall body style. Prices start at around $400,000. The first US customers will be getting their Purosangues early in 2024.
Ram 1500 Ramcharger
The Ram 1500 Rev and Ramcharger will go on sale late next year. The Rev is the Ram brand’s first fully electric truck and will be available with a driving range up to 500 miles before needing to recharge.
The Ram 1500 Ramcharger is a plug-in hybrid but it’s different in some important ways from most plug-in hybrid vehicles. It has a 6-cylinder gas engine in addition to powerful batteries and electric motors but it can go as far as 145 miles on battery power before needing the gas engine. That’s a greater EV-only range than most plug-in hybrids can manage. Also, it can use DC fast chargers to quickly refill its batteries which most plug-in hybrids can’t. Together, these factors mean Ramcharger could be used like a fully electric vehicle with the gas engine needed rarely.
Honda Prologue
Honda has not been on the leading edge in electric vehicles. While Honda has offered electric vehicles in the US before they’ve mostly been niche models in niche markets, like California. The Prologue will be Honda’s first real mainstream EV model. It will be built using GM’s Ultium EV technology so it will share a lot of its underlying engineering with the Chevrolet Equinox.
The question is whether Honda, starting with another company’s engineering, can make something that’s stands out enough in a crowded field of electric mid-size SUVs to attract buyers. But the Honda brand name does carry serious weight with consumers. Prices for the Prologue are expected to start close to $50,000.
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