Vehicles 136

• The new 2022 Honda Civic hatchback will debut June 23.
• Unlike the recently revealed sedan, the hatch will offer a six-speed manual transmission.
• Honda is also moving hatchback production from the U.K. to its plant in Indiana.

Honda is nearly ready to show us the hatchback version of the new 2022 Civic. Along with a teaser image of the new body style that debuts June 23, Honda also confirmed some great news: the hatch will continue to offer a six-speed manual like its predecessor.

We expect the hatch to come standard with the 180-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four that’s optional on the 2022 Civic sedan, as that model’s base 2.0-liter inline-four likely won’t be offered here. LX, Sport, and EX trim levels are sure to be part of the lineup. Along with the manual transmission, a continuously variable automatic will be available.

You can’t see much in this dark, blurry image, but we know that the new hatchback will adopt the same design as the clean and attractive sedan. The key differences will be seen aft of the B-pillar, as the hatchback will have a different greenhouse and more cargo space in back.

Once the hatchback is revealed, we’ll still be waiting to see the new Civic’s performance variants, the Si and Type R. We’re thinking that the new Type R will once again come only as a hatchback, while the Si will surely come standard as a sedan—although a hatchback Si would be an interesting addition.

Look for more information to come about the 2022 Civic hatchback, which will make its live-stream debut on Honda’s YouTube channel on June 23 at 6 p.m. Eastern time.

Our test of a 2021 BMW M550i xDrive showed the car fell significantly short of BMW’s claimed zero-to-60-mph time of 3.6 seconds. We alerted BMW to the discrepancy. The company eventually deduced that a software problem was causing a communication error between the car’s stability control system and its engine computer, which caused turbocharger boost pressure to drop. BMW said it will roll out software updates to the owners of all affected cars (2021 M540i xDrive models are also impacted) starting this summer. What has Motor Trend done for you lately?

This Week in Sheetmetal

Toyota made more than its fair share of news this week. It unveiled the Corolla Cross, a small, yes, Corolla-based crossover, the 228-hp rear-wheel-drive manual-transmission GR 86, a TRD Sport version of the 4Runner SUV, and a carbon-fiber-trimmed special-edition Supra.

SSC, the micro-manufacturer responsible for the Tuatara supercar, has updated its track-only car with an Aggressor model that can make up to an insane 2200 horsepower from a twin-turbocharged 5.9-liter V-8 engine.

Ford promises it will unveil its Maverick compact pickup next week, but we already know at least one important thing about it: eagle-eyed viewers of Ford’s Maverick teaser video noted a hybrid badge on the tailgate, so it’ll fit in well with Ford’s increasingly electrified truck family.

Jaguar announced that its F-type sports car will now only be available with a V-8 engine. The car could previously be had with a four-, six-, or eight-cylinder engine. The V-8 will continue to be available in two flavors: a 444-hp base version or supercharged with 575 horsepower in the F-Type R

Infrastructure Week?

President Biden said on Thursday that he was willing to consider lowering the minimum corporate tax rate to 15 percent if it would convince Republican lawmakers to sign on to a version of his infrastructure funding plan. In Biden’s proposal, he would support lowering the tax rate if Republicans agreed to funding at least $1 trillion in infrastructure spending. The corporate tax rate is now 21 percent, and Biden had previously suggested raising it to 28 percent to fund a roughly $2 trillion infrastructure bill. Corporate tax hikes were supposed to pay for the ambitious plan. Now, the administration is saying that it will focus on tax enforcement rather than tax hikes to close the funding gap.

House Democrats have their own plan to fund at least some infrastructure spending. On Friday, they introduced legislation that would provide $547 million in funding for traditional roads-and-bridges infrastructure projects, as well as funding for passenger rail and other transit systems. That bill will have a hearing next week.

Safety First

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that traffic deaths in the U.S. increased by 7.2 percent in 2020, to 38,680. That’s even though the pandemic and its many side effects meant that Americans drove 13 percent fewer miles than in 2019—and even though new cars have more safety and crash-mitigation technology than ever before. NHTSA says the jump in fatalities is due to an increase in risky behaviors like impaired driving, speeding, and not wearing seatbelts. The data is still preliminary but currently points to the worst year for traffic deaths in the U.S. since 2007.

And there was some hubbub last week about Tesla’s decision to rely only on cameras (as opposed to cameras and radar) in its Autopilot self-driving suite. After Tesla announced the change, NHTSA removed labels saying the Model 3 and Model Y came with certain safety features, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) removed the 3 from its list of Top Safety Pick+ cars. Those changes weren’t because the new camera-based system is necessarily unsafe, but because neither NHTSA nor IIHS (nor anyone else) has yet tested the new cars to determine whether the camera-based system still performs forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking functions. So don’t panic, but do beware: In announcing the change, Tesla said some cars will be sold with limited Autopilot functionality as software catches up to the equipment change. Those cars will eventually receive over-the-air updates to restore the full function.

Further Reading

Automakers aren’t the only companies being pushed towards a greener future: Shell Oil was ordered by a Dutch court to reduce its emissions by 45 percent before 2030 to remain in compliance with the Paris Climate Accords (a ruling the company says it will appeal). And there are three new members of ExxonMobil’s board determined to push the oil giant to confront climate change.

The Wall Street Journal‘s daily podcast examined the concept of electric pickups, and American Public Media’s Marketplace explained the summer rental-car shortage.

The New York Times has a meditation on Mazda’s quiet sales successes during the pandemic year.

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• In our testing of the 2021 BMW M550i xDrive, we expressed surprise at a slower-than-expected 4.1 second time to 60 mph. A retest dropped that time to 3.9 seconds, still short of BMW’s 3.6-second claim.
• The issue hampering standing-start acceleration lies with a miscommunication between the engine computer and the car’s stability control module, which results in a drop in turbocharger boost pressure.
• Owners and dealers are being notified of the issue and that the fix will arrive this summer.
  

UPDATE 6/2/2021, 3 p.m.: BMW, in a release, said the problem explained in this article also affects all 2021 540i xDrive models, which will also get the software fix.

BMW will be informing 2021 M550i xDrive buyers and dealers this week that the 523-hp sports sedan isn’t as quick as promised. In standing-start acceleration, the ’21 M550i can’t quite deliver on the claimed 3.6-second zero-to-60-mph time. Earlier M550is are apparently not affected. The problem lies in a communication error between the stability control module and the engine computer that results in a drop in turbocharger boost pressure. BMW promises an over-the-air software patch will be coming this summer that will get the two modules to work better together and allow the car to meet BMW’s 3.6-second zero-to-60 claim.

This news comes after a recent test of the 2021 BMW M550i xDrive left us puzzled by its slower-than-expected acceleration. While a 4.1-second leap to 60 sounds pretty fleet for a 4480-pound four door, a 5336-pound X5 M50i with an identical twin-turbo V-8 and eight-speed automatic hit 60 in 3.9 seconds. And, of course, there’s the matter of BMW’s 3.6-second time. We regularly beat, or at least match, BMW’s quoted zero-to-60 times. Also, the automatic and the M550i’s all-wheel-drive system make a good launch nearly idiotproof. Thinking that perhaps a lower-than-recommended octane went into the test car’s tank, affecting the 556-hp twin-turbo V-8, or that some other issue had hobbled the car, we invited the M550i back for a retest.

In the second go-round, acceleration to 60 mph dropped from 4.1 seconds to 3.9, but clearly, something was amiss. Thinking that the M550i we had in Michigan might be an outlier, we requested one out of the Los Angeles press fleet. At that point, BMW informed us it was looking into the matter. A few days later, we learned that we wouldn’t be getting an M550i in California because the issue wasn’t limited to the Michigan test car. We’re hoping to try a fixed M550i as soon as the software patch lands.

This isn’t the first time our testing has exposed cars that fell short of their promises. When the 1999 Ford Mustang Cobra went on sale, its revised 4.6-liter V-8 promised 320 horsepower but delivered 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, a tenth slower than its 305-hp predecessor. The additional power had us expecting a run closer to 5.0 seconds, and we wrote about it. Ford blamed a flawed and more restrictive intake. To fix the cars, the out-of-spec manifolds were replaced and a less restrictive exhaust went in to deliver the promised ponies.

Two years later, the 2001 Mazda Miata’s horsepower went from 140 to 155, but C/D testing showed the new car to be slower than the old one. The disappointing acceleration led Mazda to confess that the 155-hp number came from a Japan-market version that didn’t meet U.S. regulations. Customers of the early 2001 Miatas were offered a buyback for their cars, but if they chose to keep their cars they’d receive free service for the remainder of the three-year/36,000-mile warranty. Mazda also threw in a $500 gift card as a further mea culpa.

• Kia has released three teaser images of the upcoming redesigned Sportage.
• The new model will debut in July and should reach the U.S. market in 2022 for the 2023 model year.
• We expect it to offer a hybrid powertrain for the first time.

We’ve already gotten an idea of what the next Kia Sportage will look like, and now Kia has shared some teaser images showing the exterior and interior of the new version of its compact SUV. The company also confirmed that the Sportage will make its global debut in July, meaning it should reach the U.S. market early in 2022 as a 2023 model.

The front end looks to have an interesting lighting setup, while the rear end is shapely and has taillights that look similar to the new EV6 electric car’s. Kia’s new logo is, of course, prominently displayed up front. The interior features a huge screen setup that appears to span nearly the entire width of the dashboard; we think it’s likely that there will be separate digital gauge cluster and infotainment screens connected by a single piece of glass.

The front end looks to have an interesting lighting setup, while the rear end is shapely and has taillights that look similar to the new EV6 electric car’s. Kia’s new logo is, of course, prominently displayed up front. The interior features a huge screen setup that appears to span nearly the entire width of the dashboard; we think it’s likely that there will be separate digital gauge cluster and infotainment screens connected by a single piece of glass.

• McLaren has released a version of the Elva with a windshield, but it still doesn’t have a roof.
• The addition adds a claimed 44 pounds.
• It has the same 804-hp twin-turbocharged V-8 engine.

We respect the purity of purpose of the McLaren Elva, the stripped hypercar lacking any form of physical weather protection. But we have more difficulty understanding McLaren’s announcement of a version that will have a windshield, but still no roof. Isn’t that missing the point a little?

The actual logic behind the half-naked Elva is a more prosaic one. It is illegal to sell a car without a windshield in some parts of the world, and some states in the U.S. The company says it also anticipates that some buyers in less restricted markets will also prefer to the additional security of safety glass over the modest protection offered by the unadorned Elva’s clever Active Air Management System, which uses ducts and vents to divert airflow to create a low speed ‘bubble’ around the passenger compartment. McLaren anticipates the screen will add around 44 pounds in weight.

The rest of the Elva is unchanged, with an 804-hp version of McLaren’s 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8. The company claims that the car accelerates to 62 mph in 2.8 seconds, and to 124 mph in just 6.8 seconds. The company makes no claims about the new car’s top speed, but we would be surprised if the windshield didn’t improve its high-speed aerodynamics. Yet the addition doesn’t improve the car’s looks; instead, it just emphasizes just how striking the unglazed version appears.

McLaren originally planned to produce up to 399 of the Elva, each with a $1.7 million base price. That production figure has been substantially reduced, as the company began to realize the limited appeal of a car with so much performance and so little weather protection. McLaren has now pledged to make no more than 149. That figure still seems high compared to the limited-to-12 Bentley Mulliner Bacalar—which does have a windshield, but no roof—and the limited-to-88 Aston Martin V12 Speedster which is equally naked.