Smaller Nissan EV, Toyota Teammate, Polestar 2 review: Today’s Car News
Toyota and Lexus have an assisted-driving system, but it’s being pitched very differently than Tesla Navigate on Autopilot. Nissan could be readying a compact EV next. And the Polestar 2 feels like Volvo performance for the EV age. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
Nissan is reportedly planning a smaller electric crossover to slot below the upcoming Ariya. The model would be sized about like the U.S. market Kicks—or European-market Juke—and have a shortened version of the Ariya’s CMF-EV platform. With Nissan on record saying the Leaf nameplate isn’t going away, it’s unclear whether such a model would effectively be the new Leaf.
Toyota is launching what it calls a “partial hands-free” driver assistance system—think Autopilot alternative—on its Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car and Lexus LS 500h hybrid luxury sedan. Called Teammate, and including “Advanced Drive,” the system permits low-level automation on limited-access highways, and appears to be a conservative approach compared to Tesla Navigate on Autopilot, GM Super Cruise, or Ford Active Drive Assist.
The 2021 Polestar 2 electric car feels more like a Volvo than the XC40 Recharge that actually bears the Volvo badge. It channels the understated Swedish performance mission well, and serves as a niche, otherworldly alternative to a Tesla Model 3 that can seem mainstream next to the Polestar.
And over at Motor Authority: Nio, the Chinese company once pegged as the most likely rival to Tesla—but barely survived a series of financial challenges—has finally produced its 100,000th vehicle.
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