New Car: 2013 Toyota Corolla Axio

Toyota’s 11th-generation Corolla has emerged in sedan and wagon guise in Japan, offering vital hints to what the redesigned Corolla hatchback will look like when it goes on sale here next year.

Due to make its Australian debut at the Sydney motor show in October – a month after its expected global debut at the Paris show in September – the next Corolla hatch will continue to wear the Auris nameplate in some overseas markets.

While the hatch is expected to go on sale here before the new-generation sedan, Toyota is yet to confirm whether it will reintroduce the Corolla wagon, which would compete with small load-luggers including Hyundai’s i30cw, Volkswagen’s Golf and Holden’s upcoming Cruze wagon.

Toyota has sold more than 39 million Corollas globally since the model’s release in 1996, making it the world’s top-selling vehicle ever.

Both the new sedan - known as the Corolla Axio in Japan – and the domestic market’s Fielder-badged wagon have emerged with a new grille flanked by angular new headlights to form an all-new slim-line front-end design similar to that seen on a number of Mitsubishi models.

In Japan, both new Corolla models continue to be available with a choice of 1.3 and 1.5-litre petrol engines matched with five-speed manual and continuously variable automatic (CVT) transmissions. A fuel-saving idle-stop system is available as an option on 1.5-litre 2WD CVT models.

More significantly, in a redesign that Toyota says “sought a return to the Corolla's origins”, the new Corolla sedan is 50mm shorter overall than before, but Toyota claims to have increased rear-seat knee room by 40mm.

Despite being 60mm shorter than before overall, meantime, the new Corolla wagon offers 90mm of extra luggage space, allowing items up to 4100mm long to be stowed with the rear seats folded. It also now features a rear tailgate made of resin to reduce weight.

“Both vehicles were completely revamped to minimize body size while maintaining the ability to safely and comfortably transport four adults over long distances, thereby achieving a perfect fit for compact cars in the Japanese market,” said Toyota.

The Corolla sedan and wagon’s turning circle has also been reduced by 400mm, from 10.2 to 9.8 metres.
Thanks to: Car Point

New Car: 2014 SEAT Mii FR

SEAT has given its baby Mii a dose of attitude. Pictures and details of a sporty FR version have been released ahead of the car's public debut at this week’s Worthersee tuning event in Austria.

This FR-badged version is mechanically identical to the standard Mii, but adds an array of styling tweaks inside and out. And this concept car could pave the way for a production car.

Finished in Tornado red with black trim on the wheel arches, boot and side sills, the show car also gets red accents on the 16-inch wheels. Inside the red and black theme continues with sports seats and a prominant FR logo on the dash.

Producting marketing boss Ulf Eberhardt explained the concept: “The Mii is a [VW] group product so it does not have 100 per cent SEAT DNA. This is one way of giving it that DNA.

“We will do FR, but not Cupra. It will be sporty, not all-out powerful. We have the technology and the power at our disposal within the group to do more – but that would mean adding a 3,000 Euro package on to a 10,000 Euro car.

Eberhardt is also keen to sustain interest in the Mii by regularly creating new editions, with one a year planned. The first is pencilled in for mid-2013.

Eberhardt also has very clear ideas about how the rest of the line-up should take shape. “SEATs look good, but they need to look more like each other. If they all look different, you get lost in the market, which is a problem for a smaller brand like ours,” he added. For more details click here.
Thanks to: Auto Express

Spied: 2013 Mercedes E-Class Wagon

While the next-gen Mercedes-Benz E-Class is scheduled to arrive in 2015, the automaker is sending the 2013 model under the knife for a face-lift. A prototype wagon version of the refreshed midsizer was caught in public with its new face partially covered up.

We’ve already reported on some of the changes coming to the refreshed version of the popular Benz such as ditching the current model’s quad headlamps in favor of two single-piece units and, judging from the photo, it appears the headlights underneath the camo are simpler and sleeker. The LED daytime running lights also appear to be integrated in the headlight unit instead of their usual place on the bumper.

Although changes to the rear bumper don’t appear to be dramatic, minor revisions to the taillights should shake up the E-Class sedan and wagon’s design enough before the new model arrives in a few years.

The test mule wears minimal camouflage everywhere else, which could indicate minimal changes for the front doors and windows, though the Ponton-style rear side doors may be ditched on the 2013 E-Class. We expect the 2013 E350′s V-6 to get a boost in power and the E550 to get a more powerful and efficient single-turbo V-8.

Thanks to: Motor Trend

New Car: 2013 BMW 135is Coupe & Convertible

BMW will extend its “is” badging to the 1-series starting this fall, when dealers begin taking deliveries of the 2013 135is coupes and convertibles. Whereas the 335is and Z4 sDrive35is are perhaps halfway between normal models and M cars—sort of M Performance cars before such a thing existed—the 135is is more like a 135i with existing off-the-shelf upgrades.

Engine output for the 135is is rated at 320 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque, increases of 20 and 17 versus a standard 135i. The new car also gets an upgraded cooling system with a more-powerful radiator fan and an auxiliary radiator. BMW devotees will recognize these features from the optional $1447 Performance Power kit available on the 135i—but the 135is is built entirely in the factory, while the Performance Power kit is a dealer-installed package. A BMW Performance exhaust, normally a $1250 option, also is included on the 135is. Shoppers can spec their car with either a standard six-speed stick or an optional seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

For interior and exterior upgrades, the 135is borrows from the standard M Sport package, a $1300 perk for normal 1-series cars. It includes an M steering wheel, sport seats—only the 135is seats can be ordered with blue contrast stitching, though—and black exterior trim in lieu of chrome. A black kidney grille ($125 in the BMW accessories catalog) and black side-mirror caps add to the 135is’s darker look. Stainless steel pedals are installed, a $156 value. A new 18-inch wheel design actually is unique to the 135is. And can you really put a price on the special 135is badges affixed inside and out?

Thanks to: Car and Driver

New Car: 2013 Toyota Estima

The Toyota Estima has been given a facelift for 2012, about three years after the last update which saw Toyota giving it a minor revision to the shape of the headlamps.

For the 2012 facelift, the Estima’s front end has been given a new aggressive look, with a lot of angular detailing on the front bumper, and a front grille design that now follows the bottom edge of the headlamp.

There are not many changes at the rear of the car – the Estima continues to have a sleek silhouette, giving it a sportier look as opposed to the huge boxy “VIP style” look that its bigger brother the Alphard carries. There are new alloy wheel designs, a revised set of exterior colours (total of 6), and Toyota also says they’ve improved the interior tirm and textures.

Engine options also continue to be the same – either a 2.4 litre four cylinder 2AZ-FE making 170 PS and 224Nm mated to a CVT gearbox, or a top of the line 280 PS 344Nm 3.5 litre V6 engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Various gadgets that were already on the pre-facelift Estima continue with the new model, such as the Lane-Keep Assist (LKA) system which detects the lane markers on the road and takes control of the electric power steering to keep the car on course, and the Adaptive Front-Lighting System low beam headlamps wihichswivels according to steering position to help light up the upcoming road around a bend.

The Estima is also equipped with a S-VSC system, an enhancement from the regular VSC system, which can use the electric power steering to apply appropriate steering torque to help stabilize the car.

Thanks to: Paultan

New Car: 2013 Chevrolet Trax

Chevrolet will introduce the Trax compact crossover at the Paris Motor Show this September. Although the Trax is scheduled to go on sale in 140 different countries, Chevrolet won’t bring the new model to the U.S. market.

The Chevrolet Trax isn’t a huge surprise, given that in March we saw patent drawings previewing a Chevrolet-badged crossover that was based on the new 2013 Buick Encore. The car has also been reskinned for European markets as the Opel Mokka, but producing a Chevrolet version will help General Motors sell the Trax in so-called emerging markets like Asia, South America, and so on.

Chevrolet confirms that the Trax won’t be sold in the U.S. because it would allegedly infringe on the territory of the Equinox crossover. Still, there is quite a large margin between the vehicles: the Equinox is 19.3 inches longer and 2.6 inches wider than the Buick Encore, on which the Trax is based. With that in mind, it’s not impossible that the two crossovers could attract different types of buyers. Regardless, the Equinox is one of Chevrolet’s strongest-selling vehicles, so the brand would be loathe to reduce that sales momentum by introducing the Trax in our market.

The Trax will first launch in Mexico by the end of this year, and then Chevrolet will roll out the crossover around the world. There’s no word yet on powertrain options or equipment, though the company promises the Trax, “delivers the flexibility, great fuel economy and car-like handling that urban explorers around the world require.” We wouldn’t be surprised if the same engines found in the Mokka wind up in the Trax; if so, expect buyers to choose between a 1.6-liter I-4, a turbocharged 1.4-liter I-4, or a 1.7-liter turbo-diesel I-4. Expect any of those three engine choices to be mated with a six-speed automatic transmission, along with either front- or all-wheel drive.

Thanks to: Motor Trend

New Car: 2013 BMW M135i

BMW pulled the wraps off of the new three-door 1 Series and the performance-oriented M135i. The high-po version comes courtesy of BMW’s M Performance division, but, sadly, the brand has no plans to bring the car stateside yet.

Powering the range-topping M135i is BMW’s sweet 3.0-liter inline-six, with 320 hp being sent to the rear wheels through either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic. Differentiating the M-tuned model from lesser 1ers are M-specific suspension, aerodynamic body kit, unique interior trim, and, of course, the six-cylinder engine.

The M135i is the first car from BMW’s new M Performance Automobile line to use a gas engine as well; the others – notably the M550d, X5 M50d, and X6 M50d — all use turbocharged diesel engines. Similar to the three larger M-tuned cars, the M135i will also be available with xDrive all-wheel drive. For buyers who want more flexibility from their hot hatch, BMW will also offer the smallest M Performance car in both three- and five-door variants.

While we may not be seeing the hatchback M135i stateside any time soon, take a good hard look at the three-door model – it gives us a fairly solid look at what the next-generation of 1 Series coupe and convertible will look like. Both of those models will most definitely be ported to North American markets come 2014.

Officials are saying very little about those models, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the next 1 Series range is punctuated by with the 170-hp, turbocharged 1.6-liter I-4 used in the new 118i, and the 320-hp engine found in the M135i. There’s also a chance the turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4, used in the new 328i, 528i, and X3 xDrive28i models, could be added as a bridge between those two extremes.

We’ve heard no indication of such, but if BMW were interested in gunning down the next Audi A3 – which has found success here in the U.S. with its TDI diesel engine range – the European 120d’s 2.0-liter turbo-diesel I-4 could also potentially be added to the lineup as well.

Until those plans become concrete, you’ll have to simply pine over the M135i from abroad. In the meantime, BMW also released a video of two M135i three-doors playing a game of tag in a rain-soaked cargo dock, complete with plenty of the straight-six’s sweet exhaust note.

Thanks to: Motor Trend