One of the biggest problems with the electric car is found when charging it. And not just from having to deal with the hours that the process can take, but also with chargers that don’t work, are busy, or just a rather frustrating bunch of cables. Well, the people of Ford want to facilitate the supply of the electric car, and its solution is none other than a magnetic charger that will allow us to say goodbye to cumbersome cables.
At the moment, this invention has been registered as a patent in United States Patent and Trademark Office, or what is the same, USPTO. This means that the oval firm has the license to conceive the charger under its brand but it does not have to ever reach production, although the system promises.
Ford patents a magnetic charger for electric cars
We are talking about a charger that, to a certain extent, emulates the system used to hitch a trailer. This is fixed in a garage space, and the car must have its own charging mouth installed in the bumper that will coincide with the “plug” of this magnetic charger, and that is that, after all, it is a simple sheet and not a plug as such.
But beyond the ease that this invention can provide when charging an electric car, we find that it will be compatible with both alternating current and direct current. And if what you are worried about is getting the car right so that the charge starts, do not suffer, because this system It will have extendable arms that will make “plugging in” the car much easier.
In addition, magnetic charging is also designed for plug-in hybrid cars, and it can also be installed in electric cars that have conventional charging sockets. In other words, the system that the American house has devised is designed to work with any electrified vehicle but will it make it to production?
With the first two points of the headline, we could be referring to almost any electric car or plug-in hybrid that has a combustion variant in its range. But with the last point, that he wants to end the SUV with a new concept, it could only be the work of Citroën. And it is that we are talking about the new Citroën e-C4 X, or what is the same, the 100% electric variant of the new type of bodywork with which the French firm is working and that it can end up in our garage for 215 euros per month.
That is the same as Citroën asks for a gasoline C4 X per month, although there are certain nuances that we will reveal a few paragraphs later. But, regardless of this, what the mark of the two chevrons requires of us is to finance to be able to enjoy the car for those 215 euros per month, and that is why we must read the fine print.
This is the Citroën e-C4 X that can be ours for 215 euros per month
But before talking about numbers, it is necessary to clarify that the electric C4 X that would end up in our garage adheres to a specific configuration. In the mechanical section there are no options, since the electric variant is offered with a single engine; but where we do find an immovable point is the finish, forcing the offer to accept the Feel equipment level.
This involves standard elements such as 18-inch wheels, dual-zone climate control, LED headlights, slightly tinted windows, rear parking assistant, 5-inch digital instrument panel and 10-inch touch screen with connection to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto between others.
However, the high point of every electric car is found in its mechanical section, and the e-C4 X is no exception. In this case we come across an electric motor developing 136 hp and 260 Nm of torque. These figures allow a 0 to 100 in 10 seconds and a maximum speed of 150 km/h, and are possible thanks to the power provided by the 50 kWh capacity battery which, in turn, guarantees a range of 360 kilometers under the WLTP cycle.
Now, what are the requirements of Citroën to make our e-C4 X? The first is that we must accept a multi-option system, which makes us face an entry of 11,119.59 euros, 59 installments of 215 euros, a last one of 17,808.79 euros that we will have to face if we decide to keep the car. To this we must add a TIN of 4.29%, an APR of 5.43% and an opening commission of 980.17 euros.
All this amalgamation of numbers causes interest to rise to 4,699.42 euros, making that the total price in installments is 41,613.39 euros. Yes, it is a high figure, especially if we compare it with the 35,934 that a Citroën e-C4 X of the same configuration costs but paid in cash, a price that can decrease to 28,934 if the maximum 7,000 euros of aid granted by the MOVES III plan. However, it must be taken into account that, once the 59-month contract is over, we can return the car, exchange it for another or keep it.
The Citroën e-C4 X in What car do I buy?
And although it is true that the e-C4 X breaks into the market with a different concept with which the brand gradually seeks to end SUVs, and which implies that there are not too many rivals for it, we should know that it is not the only interesting electric car on the market. We discovered this through What car do I buy?the Diariomotor comparator where we find the largest offer of new cars and secondhand of the moment.
We present a different comparison of the new Land Rover Defender 2020: we are going to face it with the first Defender that received that name to try to tell you what the original concept was until its penultimate generation, what is the concept of the new Defender 2020 and what is the leap that has given between one and the other. Our ultimate goal: find out if the soul of the classic Defender is still alive in the new and all this accompanied by a spectacular video shot on the Galician coast.
Video of Land Rover Defender 2020 vs Defender Classic
The origins
The Land Rover Series I is introduced in 1947 as the European response to the American Jeep of World War II. From the first to the penultimate generation, all have been work vehicles where form was subservient to function. Their goal was to be indestructible and mistreatable to the extreme, capable of carrying tools, cement, animals, people, as well as pulling any draggable object.
As you all know, the latest generation still has great 4×4 qualities and, however it is different. To put it in perspective we have chosen a Defender 110 with a work format, from the first generation called “Defender”. Our copy has 320,000 km.
Land Rover Defender design
Analyzing the design of both cars on all 4 sides, the differences are evident: non-deformable steel fenders have given way to plastic deformation zones and the bottoms protected by the double-beam chassis and metal corners are now made of aluminum and with plastic protections on the doors.
The modern luxury SUV is much less prepared to take all kinds of beatings
Current pedestrian protection regulations will make a car like the old Defender illegal, but the evolution from the indestructible, purely functional car to the modern luxury SUV is also evident. much less prepared to receive all kinds of blows, for example against a tree. In fact, our work Defender has a crack in the roof, the result of a falling tree, precisely, which has not even been repaired over the years: if there is no water entering, there is no reason to fix it.
Interior of the old and the new Defender
The interior of the classic is austere: It’s a pure country car. Materials, settings, gear stick, pedals, steering wheel… Does it make sense to mess around here with greasy work gloves and muddy boots? Clearly the car seems designed for this, and to be washed with a hose.
At the opposite pole, the new Defender is a spaceship. Does it make sense to go in here with greasy work gloves and muddy boots? Not kidding, no matter how much it has rubber mats and has that “industrial” aesthetic, with visible screws. It’s another planet.
The technical aspects of the old and the new Defender
The technical changes are as noticeable or more so than the design changes.
The old Defender based its toughness on a rigid double axle chassis, and its traction capacity to a transmission in which only the center differential is blocked. How could it be such a great off-roader with open differentials front and rear, but no electronics? Well based on articulation and having the 4 wheels always resting on the ground no matter how twisted the situation is. With the central locking and three wheels in support, there is no stopping it and the axes articulate to infinity.
The new Defender uses a self-supporting aluminum body with complex 4-wheel independent air suspension, of variable height. Traction is entrusted entirely to electronics, with a single central lock decided by the car itself, although the rear lock is also included in the top-of-the-range version. The result is a vehicle that is much more efficient, much more comfortable, much quieter and much more capable off-road, but also more fragile and dependent on the brakes working to hold the wheels that are thrown and therefore going to suffer more on long sections of 4×4, in addition to relying entirely on electronics and not mechanics.
They are totally different approaches.
It’s a car? Is it a tractor?… no, it’s a Defender
When you get on a classic Defender, your pulse races because moving it is quite an adventure. Steering wheel and steering, pedals shifted to the left, shift imprecise and full of vibrations, the ergonomics in general with the steering wheel attached to the window… everything is terrible and that’s why it has so much character and charisma. It’s halfway between a car and a tractor, but pulling towards the tractor.
Meanwhile, in the modern Defender everything is softness, although the 2,350 kg are noticeable and it is certainly not an agile car. An abyss separates them and even by modern standards it is an outstanding car on the road, a luxury car to travel in comfort. The feeling of isolation is total.
Video of Land Rover Defender 2020 vs Defender Classic
4×4 capacities of one and the other
Despite what many want to believe, the new Defender is much more capable than the old off-road. By dimensions, it surpasses it in everything except the angle of attack (which is still formidable) and by traction capacity, the electronics are clearly superior to the only central locking that the old Defender has. There is no color, the new Defender goes through where the other would get stuck.
But it is one thing to overcome an obstacle and quite another to overcome thousands of kilometers of constant mistreatmentand this is where time will have to put each one in their place and show us the hardness and reliability of the complex suspension and traction systems of the new Defender, with dozens of articulated parts and precision gears where before there was a double rigid axle. on docks.
TT DIMENSIONS
Defend Classic
Defend Modern
Attack angle
49th
38º
ventral angle
15th
28th
Output angle
35º
48º
ground clearance
250mm
291mm
Behavior in the field
We arrive at the natural terrain of the old Defender and we find ourselves again with two different worlds. On one hand we have vibrations, looseness, noise beyond power and a suddenness of reactions typical of a tractor. The old Defender is awkward and clunky, a brute car that unceremoniously shakes us and stuns us. But it is also a car that feels indestructible and makes you want to drive faster knowing that it doesn’t matter and that nothing will stop you from moving forward. Its turning radius is particularly horrible, making any maneuver difficult.
At the opposite pole, we have the new Defender with an independent air suspension that it isolates us from the outside while elevating us above the ground. The silence is almost total and the absolute ease of handling. Once again we find a luxury car that pampers and protects us, full of aids and cameras so that we never have to get out to look and so that we never get stuck. The isolation is so great that it takes some of the excitement out of any adventure, but it’s still an impressive car off the road.
Conclusions: is the soul of the old Defender still alive?
We are going to draw some conclusions and I am also going to give you my personal opinion about this generational change, in case you find it interesting or if it contributes something to your own reflection.
Starting with the obvious, the new Defender shares with the previous one some excellent off-road qualities, some certain aesthetic features and the name. For all the rest, It is a modern and different product in everything from its predecessor.
The next question that we have left in the air is whether, in this modern translation, Land Rover has been able to keep the soul of this classic alive. My opinion is that NO, because Land Rover has not dared to do it. The soul of the Defender has been lost because the essence of it was the simplicity of it, the robustness of it and all those noises and discomforts that gave it character.
Companies do not live on romance, they live on results
Land Rover has done what it believed it had to do: act as a company and make the most of the name and aesthetics of a classic in its collection to achieve the maximum level of sales and economic profit today, because Companies do not live on romance, they live on results And this is the product that the market demands today… or is it not?
I personally have the feeling that Land Rover already had a luxury SUV with 7 seats, variable height air suspension and the best autonomous forward and traction control system on the market and that car is called the Land Rover Discovery. As other brands demonstrate, such as Jeep with its Wrangler, Mercedes with its G-Class or Suzuki with its Jimny, there is a demand for cars faithful to their tradition, their original aesthetics and their founding values and Land Rover has lost the opportunity to bring to market a true country beast without frills and without complexes which a lot of people would buy anyway even if it was to ride on tarmac, it would be lauded and ubiquitous in the media and even if it didn’t sell as well as this one will, it would help sell the rest of the range by keeping the essence of the range alive. brand.
As great a product as it seems to me, I’m afraid that It is not the new Defender that I and many like me had dreamed of.
Note: We want to thank Grelolandthe Galician company that organizes 4×4 adventures in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, its collaboration with this video, the locations and the permits.
Video of Land Rover Defender 2020 vs Defender Classic
With Forza Motorsport grabbing the headlines last week despite not having resolved the question of its release date, other competitors are looking to carve out a niche in a completely promising 2023 in terms of virtual racing. This is the case of Ubisoft, which in theory is working on a title called to claim that position among open world video games, a theme that on Xbox/PC seems to be completely monopolized by Forza Horizon to date.
It is at this point where Ubisoft she seems determined to claim a piece of the pie. Together with the developer of Ivory Towerthe company seems to be ready to give the green light to the presentation of the natural successor to The Crew, a new title that since practically last October had been called with the internal code of ‘Project Orlando’ and of which many details were unknown at the moment. It was expected that This could be the next installment of the saga, specifically The Crew 3but everything seems to indicate that the gala company is behind a rebranding.
Five years have passed since the launch of The Crew 2 (May 2018, while The Crew hit stores in December 2014), so the times that Ubisoft has always handled point to the launch of a new racing title. once it seems have completely exhausted all that flow of seasons and DLC’s through which all the content of the second installment has been expanded with new vehicles, events and game modes.
At the moment there is no official confirmation, but everything indicates that instead of The Crew 3, it would skip the chronological order to be baptized with the name of ‘Motorfest’, precisely a theme very similar to that presented by one of its rivals, including Forza Horizon itself. Rumors suggest that at first could have been designed as a new Downloadable Content Packbut that finally it has been decided to create a completely new game around this idea, in this case with the island of Oahu, Hawaii as the main framework in which all the action would take place.
When can the new The Crew Motorfest arrive?
From Insider Gaming they pointed out that should arrive by next fiscal year, which should frame it in a release that should arrive between April 2023 and March 2024, although it would not be surprising if with episode 2 of season 7 already released for The Crew 2, little by little the title begins to say goodbye to and to give way to a new open-world racing video game and very oriented to a more arcade and casual style driving.
The E3 of this 2023 is scheduled for mid-June, so it would not be ruled out that a few weeks before this new driving title can already be seen, as well as other proposals that we have previously highlighted, among which should highlight precisely TDU Solar Crown, the final date of Forza Motorsport or the new era of the WRC and EA Sports. For now, an image leaked this past weekend and subsequently withdrawn due to a “rights owner claim” has only fueled this feeling that something new is cooking.
If all this were fulfilled, we would all have a rival to Test Drive Unlimitedtoo curiously based on an island like Hong Kongcompletely explorable, while the selection of Oahu by Motorfest, would be a kind of return to the origins of TDU, whose part of the original team is currently working for Ivory Tower and also chose the Hawaiian island as the protagonist of the title of 2006-07.
In recent days we have talked to you at length about one of the great launches of this year, which has already been revealed in all its splendor. One of Hyundai’s most important products is completely renewed, grows and improves in every way and aims to repeat the success that its older brother, the Hyundai Tucson, has been witnessing since its launch and that led it to become the car best seller in Spain last year.
As we have been telling you, the new generation of Hyundai Kona has attended a deep renovation. And it will not only be one of the great launches of this year, but also one of the models for which it would be worth waiting to buy a new car.
However, what about its predecessor? Still a smart buy?
The Hyundai Kona will be completely renewed this year, growing in size, quality and equipment and, predictably, its price will also be higher
An economical SUV with an ECO label
today you can buy a Hyundai Kona from €19,640. But in our opinion the smartest purchase is not the cheapest Hyundai Kona, which is equipped with a 120 hp gasoline engine. It is worth increasing the budget and choose the 1.0 TGDI MHEV of 120 CV, a gasoline micro-hybrid with an ECO label, whose price already rises to €22,090.
To enjoy this offer Hyundai requires two conditions. The first, finance a minimum amount of €12,500, with a minimum term of 36 months and a minimum stay of 36 months. The second, deliver a used vehicle, which has been owned by the buyer for at least six months prior to purchase.
The difference of €2,450 not only means enjoying the advantages of the ECO label, but also much more complete equipment. If the cheapest Kona already has a rear parking camera with active guides and entertainment equipment with an 8″ touch screen and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, the €22,090 Kona adds 16″ alloy wheels, an electric parking brake , rear parking sensor and fully digital instrumentation with a 10.25″ screen.
For €22,090 we can buy a hybrid Hyundai Kona with an ECO label
As we told you, the Hyundai Kona will be replaced by its generational replacement. And both because of the upward trend in the prices of new cars, as well as the evolution that the Hyundai Kona has undergone in this second generation – it has gone from being the size of a SEAT Arona to reaching the heights of the SEAT. Ateca – its price is expected to increase accordingly and most likely to be close to that of the Hyundai Tucson, which now starts at €26,525.
In the coming months it would not be ruled out that the first-generation Hyundai Kona still enjoys even better prices and offers, as the time of its replacement approaches and the period in which the brand will have to liquidate the stock of the old Kona, to replace it with the new model. In any case, and given that with the current situation there are no large stocks of vehicles and the evolution of prices continues to rise, the current offers could be the best that the Hyundai Kona enjoys before its generational replacement.
If what we are looking for is an urban SUV with an ECO label, there are offers on the market as interesting as this one:
New generation Hyundai Kona, which will arrive at dealerships this year.
It seemed that it had everything to face to succeed: we are talking about the Lightyear 0, the first production car of the young Finnish manufacturer that, just two months after the start of production, completely stops your assembly indefinitelya. It promised unprecedented efficiency and an exceptional contribution of energy thanks to its solar panels, but the brand has decided to suspend its production to focus on other projects. What has really happened?
In Diariomotor we have talked at length about Lightyear 0, a sort of 5,083-meter-long sedan coupe, whose main objective has been to become, to begin with, the first mass-produced solar vehicle and, second, one of the most efficient vehicles on the market. Of course, it is not a cheap car: With a starting price of more than €200,000 and a limited run, the Lightyear 0 is one of the most exclusive vehicles on the market.
With a Cx coefficient of just 0.19 and the integration of 5 square meters of solar panels, the Lightyear 0 was intended to become a benchmark for greener and more exclusive mobility.. Just a few weeks after the start of production and making public the intentions of giants like Arval, a company with which the manufacturer had signed a purchase agreement for 10,000 units, now the brand’s CEO surprises the world by announcing the indefinite suspension , from the production of the Lightyear 0.
The Lightyear 0 stops, but it does so for a good cause
The words of the head of the company, lex hoefslootleaves no room for doubt: “The entire Lightyear 0 development process has offered our company a multitude of very valuable lessons in recent years. Now we are redirecting all our energy towards the construction of the Lightyear 2 to make it available to customers on time.”
In other words: in a resource-constrained environment, the manufacturer has decided to set aside the Lightyear 0 to focus all its efforts on the creation of the Lightyear 2an electric car that inherits all the solar technology from its older brother but in a much more reasonable and affordable format, since according to the brand it will have a starting price of around €40,000. With a body halfway between an SUV and a sedan coupe, this kind of crossover should be on our streets in a couple of years, although the reservation process is already open.
According to the brand, the Lightyear 2 will have a real autonomy of approximately 800 kilometers, also allowing the transformation of solar energy into electricity thanks to the solar panel system installed both on the roof and on the hood of the body. There is now the question of what will happen with the reservations of the Lightyear 0 that were already signed: the little more than 900 units that were originally going to be manufactured were already in fact sold, And while the Lightyear 0 production pause is initially just that, a pause, everything seems to indicate that the Lightyear 0 won’t be hitting the streets for a long, long time.
Alpine’s future is gradually being uncovered and today we are going to discover how in that future Lotus could gain more and more presence. With the intention for Alpine to grow to have up to 5 different cars in its rangethe French firm points directly to Porsche, preparing everything for put rivals on the streets for the Macan and Cayenne models.
Lotus Eletre 2023 07
Laurent Rossi as CEO of Alpine has confirmed that the French brand will have two new SUVs in its range, two cars that will be placed above the Alpine GT X-Over crossover that we will know in the coming months. These two new releases are with which Alpine wants to achieve a definitive position within the segment of premium and sports car manufacturers, targeting Porsche and Maserati directly..
In Alpine’s plans we find a roadmap between now and 2026 where a sports version of the new electric Renault 5 already appears, an electric crossover in the form of a GT X-Over and a successor to the Alpine A110, which will also be electric, but which It will be developed in collaboration with Lotus. However, this alliance with the British Lotus would not stop here, as Alpine’s CEO has already hinted that Lotus is the natural partner to address the development of the newly confirmed SUVs outside the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.
The marriage between Alpine and Lotus to create two SUVs capable of fighting with the Porsche Macan and Cayenne sounds quite suggestive
Bearing in mind that Lotus already has its first SUV model on the market, the Lotus Eletre, and that the closeness between the Renault group and Geely (owner of Lotus) is growing, it would not be unreasonable to think of an even closer relationship between Alpine and Lotus to share development costs, technology, platforms, etc. Both brands seek growth in volume based on the same philosophy that speaks of electric cars, with a marked sporty profile and pointing directly to the Porsche range.
