Sony has officially pulled out of making an appearance at the MWC 2020 trade show, which is being held at the end of this month in Barcelona. Sony's exit follows a number of other manufacturers including LG, ZTE, Ericsson, Nvidia and Amazon, who will also not be attending due to the increasing health risks around coronavirus.
Nobody expected a 2020 Toyota Camry TRD model before Toyota announced both this sporty sedan and the Avalon TRD at the same time. And even after that, we had a hard time believing that the Camry and Avalon TRD versions would be legitimately compelling drivers. However, the Avalon TRD managed to win some of us over with its surprisingly agile driving dynamics and aggressive design. We were hoping for the same to happen in our week with the smaller and inherently sportier Camry TRD.
The formula for the Camry is similar to the Avalon. Add suspension, sound and styling; keep the powertrain. Toyota calls the Camry TRD's chassis "track tuned." New, stiffer coil springs lower the ride height by 0.6 inch. Combined with more aggressive sway bars and TRD-specific shocks, Toyota says the roll stiffness is increased by 44 percent in front and 67 percent in the rear. Our tester didn't have the Bridgestone Potenza summer tires that come as standard equipment, due to it being cold and snowy in Michigan right now, but the all-season Michelins it did have were mounted to the special 19-inch matte black TRD wheels. Toyota also mounts larger front brakes on the TRD, moving from 12-inch front rotors to 12.9-inch discs, and two-piston calipers as opposed to single-piston clampers. As we foreshadowed before, the Camry keeps its 3.5-liter V6 that makes 301 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque. Even the eight-speed automatic's transmission tuning carries over to the TRD.
The facelifted 2020 Mitsubishi Mirage (also known as the Space Star in select European markets) has reached UK shores.
The revamped supermini has gone on sale in Britain with a starting price of £10,550 OTR, marking an unusual £745 price reduction over the 2019 model which used to start at £11,295.
Sony's design heritage is unquestioned, the company has picked up a number of design awards over the years, including for its Xperia smartphones. This year is no different as Sony has won a 2020 iF Design Award for the Xperia 1, the company's flagship smartphone from last year. Other recent winners include the Xperia XZ3 and the Xperia XZ1, which won a Gold award.
CHICAGO — Honda surprised us with a Civic Type R update at the Tokyo Auto Salon a short time ago, but today's Chicago Auto Show was the first chance we had to get up close and personal with the refreshed hot hatch. Many of the changes are minor, but we were able to learn a lot more about what the updated Type R is bringing to the table. We walked around the car with Honda spokesperson Davis Adams to gain some insight into the design changes.
"Every car gets a mid-cycle halfway in, and also, if anything has been one of our design complaints, it's been the mesh, the fake grille. It's just changed," Adams tells us.
Sony's 2019 mid-rangers, the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus have received a new firmware update that moves the build number from 53.0.A.14.28 to version 53.0.A.14.47. This is a minor update that adds the 1 January 2020 Android security patch. It's only a small update, with no other changes noted. If you've updated please let us know your impressions below.
Acura has put a price tag on the MDX PMC Edition, the limited-run model hand-assembled at the Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio by the same experts who build the NSX.
Of course all the luggage in my garage fits inside the 2020 Toyota 4Runner. I mean, duh, it's a midsize SUV and a boxy one at that. Thankfully, then, there's a lot more to talk about here than answering "will it fit?" There's the matter of just how much stuff you can bring along on a rugged 4Running adventure (holy cow it's a lot!). There's the optional sliding cargo floor, the TRD Pro's jumbo roof rack and the new-for-2020 proximity entry that lets you open the tailgate by keeping the key in your pocket. And oh yes, as always, there's the power-lowering rear window. Now, if you're looking for something a lot meatier to bite into with the 4Runner, read Dan Edmunds' Suspension Deep Dive. But, if you're still hungry, let's commence the luggage test. Here's the cargo hold, which comes with a whopping 47.2 cubic feet of space behind its back seat. For some perspective, I'd consider the Honda Passport to have a ton of space back there, especially when compared to other two-row midsize crossovers, yet it only has 41.2 cubic feet. Now, that 47.2 number is without the sliding cargo floor that you can see up there. To see how much you lose, here's the cargo area without it. It's not insignificant. Here is a better look at the sliding cargo tray. Here is the mechanism that deploys it as well as the little pop-up ledge near the back seats that comes with it. Now, to the luggage. To start, I kept the cargo cover in place and kept the back seat at its fully upright and locked position. As always, I use two mid-size roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D). Snooze. I almost could've stood there from 10 feet away and chucked them inside. OK, but what if I tried to load them all using the slide-out tray. A little harder, but still do-able. Honestly, at this point I started to question how useful the tray was. Perhaps a shorter owner would find it helpful, but even if there's still a ton of space left over, you still lose some, and you also have to make sure to load everything just-so onto the platform to make sure it doesn't topple off and stop the tray in its tracks. Verdict: I'd skip it. But the luggage testing doesn't stop there. Now, let's remove the cargo cover, which is a typical reel unit that easily pops out. Now you can see just how much space is left over, or ... ... How much you can still carry when you fully recline the back seat. And I do mean FULLY recline, because the 4Runner is quite indulgent back there, as your author can attest in the photographs below. As you can see, though, I've hardly been putting the max Tetris effort into this. Let's put the seats back fully forward (still perfectly comfortable), keep the cargo cover removed and see just how much stuff you can fit back there. Boom! That would be all the luggage described above plus a 38-quart cooler, a giant two-person inflatable river raft, a small Harry Potter Ravenclaw backpack and a Graco Pack 'N Play portable play pen. I'd say that's pretty representative of a family weekend 4Running adventure. And if you still have more stuff ... The TRD Pro includes a serious roof rack with four movable cross bars. I'm not really sure what would've been left in my garage to throw up there (plus the weather was garbage, hence the lack of an Army Green photo), so you'll just have to use your imagination. Now, if this reminds you of the FJ Cruiser's rack, that's probably the point. The dearly departed FJ also donated the TRD Pro's Army Green paint for 2020 and the Voodoo Blue paint (pictured) for 2019. Dear Toyota, why can't we have them both every year? And to use the Voodoo Blue truck one more time, here's the always-awesome power-lowering rear window. It is fantastic. Note the spot next to the R in 4Runner. It's a key hole on the 2019 TRD Pro, but for 2020 ... It has buttons that do what they say they do since proximity entry has been added to all trims but the SR5 and TRD Off-Road for 2020. So there you have it. Not only is the 2020 Toyota 4Runner extremely awesome, it's extremely practical too.
The 2020 Acura MDX PMC edition, first unveiled as a prototype at the 2019 New York Auto Show last spring and later shown in production form at the L.A. Auto Show this past fall, is finally arriving in showrooms. And that means we now have actual pricing: $63,745. That includes a hefty $1,995 destination fee, which is $970 more than the charge for a regular MDX and equals that of the NSX supercar. The total represents a $4,470 upcharge over the now-penultimate MDX Advance, at $59,275. What does $4,470 worth of extra specialness buy you? Let us review: Like the previous PMC version of the TLX sedan, the MDX wears trim-exclusive Valencia Red Pearl nano pigment paint, applied with a multi-stage process at the NSX factory. It's set off with gloss-black exterior elements including 20-inch 10-spoke wheels, roof panel, grille and surround, side mirrors, door handles, and antenna, with black-chrome exhaust tips. Inside, the seats are upholstered in black Milano leather with Alcantara inserts and red contrast stitching. Red stitching also appears on the steering wheel, door panels, center console and armrest, and headrests. Floor mats have A Spec logos, and metal shift paddles are also included. Besides the PMC-specific visuals, the model includes a full raft of features, including navigation, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats and steering wheels, adaptive dampers, LED exterior lighting, ELS Studio premium audio, second-row captain's chairs, surround-view camera system, and more. Beyond the content, what makes the PMC edition unique is that it's partially assembled at the brand's Performance Manufacturing Center (thus, "PMC"), where the NSX is built. Production is limited to 300 units for the U.S. market, with another 30 for Canada. Related video:
As it turns out, those rumors are wrong yet again. This is according to Nintendo’s CEO and President Shuntaro Furukawa who said that the company has no plans to launch a new Switch model in 2020. While Furukawa acknowledges that the Switch is in the halfway through its hardware lifecycle, he believes that they can still get more out of the current model instead of releasing a new one.
According to Furukawa, “According to the conventional wisdom for dedicated video game platforms, Nintendo Switch should be entering the midway phase of the hardware lifecycle. But we believe we have built a foundation on which we can pursue further growth opportunities for Nintendo Switch.”
It may be one of the oldest sports cars in production, with the original one being around since 2007, but the Nissan GT-R has been constantly updated over the years, so it's still very competitive.
The 2020 Nissan Titan and Titan XD have gone through some changes for the new model year. You can read all about our impressions of the refreshed Titan here, and all the new details on the Titan XD here — we're about to drive the XD, so look out for first drive impressions on that one soon, too. However, the news today is all about pricing of the improved Titans, which we haven't known about until now. A base 2020 Titan S King Cab will now cost $37,785, a $5,500 increase compared to the cheapest 2019 Titan that money can buy. A lot of this can be explained by Nissan's decision to drop the Single Cab altogether; the King Cab is now the base truck. Comparing apples to apples, the Titan's price rises $2,230 for the S King Cab. To get four-wheel drive, add $3,200. A PRO-4X King Cab will run you all the way up to $49,185. If you go for the full-zoot Platinum Reserve Crew Cab with four-wheel drive, it'll top $60,000 – even Nissan wants a piece of the luxury truck pie. The more capable Titan XD is returning with similar improvements. The diesel is gone, but the gasoline V8 has a bit more power than last year like the non-XD does. It starts at $46,175, a huge increase of $11,590 – due in part to the elimination of the Single Cab model, and also making 4WD standard on the XD (2WD was available last year). What Nissan has done is limit folks' choices into a few much more expensive configuration than before. The PRO-4X costs $55,575, and the most expensive Platinum Reserve trim costs $63,285. That's a lot of money for a truck, but it's no more than what Ford, Ram and GM charge for their luxury pickups. Nissan says the new Titans will go on sale at the start of this year sometime, so look for them in dealer lots soon.
Few segments have expanded as rapidly in recent years as subcompact crossovers, and although the 2020 Honda HR-V certainly remains competitive, the deluge of newer alternatives makes it a lot harder to recommend. That was made clear to us last year when the HR-V participated in a four-car comparison test with the Hyundai Kona, Jeep Renegade and Kia Soul. Each offers a different take on the segment, but in general, we found Honda's entry to be deficient in key basic areas where those competitors are clearly superior. Notably, that would be the HR-V's antiquated and finicky tech interface as well as its slow and droning powertrain. So broadly speaking, the HR-V isn't the strongest subcompact crossover choice. However, its unmatched interior versatility gives it something that should specifically be appealing to those looking to downsize their SUV or, from the opposite direction, seeking a bigger, more practical vehicle that doesn't break the bank. Only the Nissan Kicks comes close to matching the HR-V's cargo versatility, but the Nissan's lack of all-wheel drive will inevitably limit its appeal. As such, considering the HR-V is a must, but so too is checking out the competition.
