2022 Jeep Commander: new illustrations...

 

These illustrations of the 2022 Jeep Commander are obviously influenced by the new Grand Cherokee. 

Which is fine.

As we already know, the new Commander will be based on a longer version of the Compass and will seat 7.

So far, it will be mostly for the South American market. But who knows, it might be a matter of time until we get it over here. 

As for the interior, you can tell from the Commander teaser on top, it will be the same as the revised Compass Interior for 2022. With 2 more seats...

Battle of the Chinese grilles: which one is worse?

Just when you thought the Lexus grille was a bit much. We have two brand new contenders for the Worst Grille award, both from China.

On top, we have the Roewe iMAX8 Minivan. The rest of the van seems to be a "boring OK" shape. But that front end is truly atrocious.

On top of that, this is sad to see what the old Rover brand has become now...

The bottom pic shows us the all-new Trumpchi GS8 SUV, from GAC Motors. An equally distasteful display of vulgarity.

Which one is your "favorite"?

And, do you think it could get any worse?

 

2022/23 BMW 3 series: new spy shots and illustrations...

The BMW 3 Series is getting a mid-cycle facelift soon. And it looks like BMW will not shoehorn the 4 series grille onto the sedan. Which is good news.

The new front end (illustration matching recent spy shots of the new headlights and bumper parts) looks pretty good.

If not really better than the current one...

It's another story inside. As I mentioned earlier, BMW is quickly installing i4 screens (or similar) in all of their models. This will be the main change to the 3 series interior.

This is what is hiding under the cover. That double screen they are pushing on everything they build. 

Which, I guess is a way for them to save a bunch of money. But it doesn't necessarily fit current interior designs. 

Although, as we have seen with the iX, it doesn't fit in their new designs either.

Mercedes has been doing much better. For years...

Again, if you like the 3 and 4 series, buy one now.

 

2022 BMW X7: spy shots and illustrations of a monster...

Looks like the super chromy BMW X7 will be getting even uglier for 2022.

All the illustrations above seem to have in common an even weirder-looking face for the revised X7.

With even more chrome, scoops, and vents all around that huge grille.

And inside, of course, that double screen from the new iX SUV. This setup is pretty much scheduled to replace all current BMW interior designs. All 3 and 4 series models will be getting this soon.

For those interested in one of these models, I would seriously consider getting one pronto. Before they ruin interiors that are currently quite nice and tasteful.

These are shots of the current X7. The interior is already way overdone. More wood, more chrome. More, more and more of everything never makes anything better looking.

And that new screen won't really make this more expensive or upscale looking.

I guess this is one way to distance yourself even more from the "ultimate driving machine"...

 

Saturn: what could have been...

It's always fun to see these unbuilt designs from various manufacturers. And today, we get to see very early proposals for the Saturn brand, dating back to 1985. Which is a full 5 years before their first models came out.

I always liked the design of the coupe. And I think it still looks quite modern today. The design proposal in the first photo looks a bit too much like a Chevrolet to me...

The sedan proposal looks a bit too weird. While the production version ended up look very similar to the Oldsmobile Cutlass from that same year, 1990.

The Minivan proposal is quite a surprise. Since Saturn never had their own minivan design (The Relay in 2004 was just a rebadged version of the Chevy/Pontiac Minivans.)

What I would really like to see are photos of unborn Oldsmobile and Pontiac designs. I am sure they were still working on new stuff by the time the ax dropped...

 

2022 Hyundai Casper: another spy shot...

The little Hyundai Casper looks almost ready to go.

Again, this is not for the US. But mostly for the Korean and Indian market. Not an EV either as it will be powered by a 1.2 Liter engine.
 

2022/23 VW Jetta: why even bother...

It looks like the Jetta will be getting a facelift for the new year. (Not exactly sure if that's for 2022 or 23...)

As you can see, there won't be much news. It seems the chrome lines within the grille might look a bit different.

maybe the bumper?

Nothing new is expected inside. Except in China, where it will be getting a new dash similar to the Chinese Tiguan. With a large screen on top of the dash.

They still sold over 90 000 of these last year, so they might keep it for a bit longer. Unlike the Passat.

But there are chances it might well be the last generation Jetta we'll see for a while.

 

2023 Lexus RX: new illustration...

The top illustration is new. (The bottom one is something I've posted a few months ago)

Interesting to see different takes on what the next RX could look like. I think the top one is just way too close to the current generation. But the new NX is also pretty close to the previous one. At least until you actually compare both.

It would be nice to see a bit of a new design direction for Lexus. Or at least, a new grille. Or a different take on it...

 

2022 Hyundai Casper: not the ghost...

Just like the famous ghost of the same name, the upcoming Hyundai Casper already looks pretty friendly.

So far, the Casper is scheduled for Korea and India. And will be powered by a small 1.2 Liter engine.

I know this is not scheduled for the US or even Europe. But this already looks much better than the poor Venue we have over here. (Although the Casper could actually be quite a bit smaller)

Which is not the most popular thing either with only about 19 000 of them sold last year. Or about 3 times less than the Nissan Kicks. 

 

2023 Kia Telluride: first spy shots...

 

The Kia Telluride is arguably one of the best-looking SUVs on sale today. And it is very popular. (It is apparently still pretty hard to get one these days)

Which is great for Kia.

As we have already seen spy shots of the revised 2023 Hyundai Palisade, it was just a matter of time until the 2023 Telluride showed up.

And how do you improve on such a great design? You don't...

Unfortunately, it looks like Kia didn't understand that, and will ruin the Telluride a bit for 2023.

Starting with the front headlights on the top photo. The current orange LED design looks great. 

What were they thinking by redesigning it? The new one looks like 2 rectangular shapes instead of one. 

Same thing in the back. Where it looks like the reverse lights have been moved to the bumper. With some weird cheap-looking black plastic trim around it. Kind of like the Hyundai Kona.

While the interior door panel loos exactly the same.

So far, this isn't good news for Telluride fans...

2022/23 Hyundai Ioniq 6: new spy shots...

The only thing we know about the all-new Ioniq 6 i that it won't look anything like the cool Prophecy concept. Which is really too bad.

But if you forget the Prophecy, the Ioniq 6 could still be a decent-looking sedan. 

Probably one of these fastback designs with a tiny trunk opening though...

The interior seems quite roomy (although the front seats on the bottom pic look like they've been moved forward all the way)

It could actually be a worthy competition to the Tesla Model 3. 

We'll see...

 

New Smart SUV: new teaser...

Smart just released a new teaser for their upcoming SUV. (The bottom pic was released earlier)

It will be unveiled in September as a concept. So we can expect a production version sometime next year.

The new small EV SUV will be based on a new Geely platform. That same platform will also be used for a new Volvo model (XC20 or XC30?)

Too bad they left the US market. That little SUV might have finally given them a model that could appeal to a wider audience than their tiny 2 seaters...

2023/24 Toyota Prius: new illustration...

 

A new generation Toyota Prius is now scheduled to be introduced in January 2023.

It is also supposed to be based on a revised version of the current TNGA platform. And will retain the 1.8 Liter engine. The current battery pack would also return. But the engine itself will be modified to be even more efficient, which will result in higher MPG numbers for the new model.

The design will adopt a more coupe-like shape. (The image above is just an illustration)

These are not earth-shattering news. It basically means the next Prius will be an evolution of the current car based on the same platform and using most of the current tech.

It'll be interesting to see if PHEV will be standard. By late 2023, Toyota's own EV will be out. The Prius might be seen as old tech unless they found a way to get some incredible MPG numbers. Or around 100 miles of EV range on the PHEV.

New VW Lamando: a look inside...

 

I recently posted photos of the redesigned VW Lamando for the Chinese market (HERE) 

Today we get to see the interior. Which follows the current trend. Such a trend that it seems everyone is designing the same dashboards these days. A basic dash with horizontal vents and some widescreen on top of it. It was quite original when Mercedes introduced this look (although with round vents) on the E-Class about 4 years ago. But it is becoming the default look for almost everything these days.   (Mercedes has since moved on with vertical screens sticking out of the console.) 

I guess these plastic screens are getting so cheap to produce they are replacing everything. 

Does anyone here miss real gauges? 

Next-generation BMW 5 series: new illustrations...

 

These new illustrations show what an electric version of the next 5 series could look like. (i5?)

I am sure this is actually pretty close since BMW has been pretty predictable for a while now (Except for some of their horrible details)

And it does seem to match the recent spy shots we have seen. 

I am not sure it will be a match for the great-looking Audi A6 e-Tron. Audi made a real effort to design something new, yet unmistakably Audi. While BMW seems to be redesigning the same thing over and over. 

On top of that, Audi seems to be making rapid progress with its batteries.

The E-Tron SUV is supposed to be getting a new battery pack next year with up to 373 miles. A huge jump from the current 250 miles rating. The A6 e-Tron will probably be getting the same thing. 

Good luck to BMW...

(Thanks to a reader for these illustrations)

2022 Mercedes SL: Now the "AMG-SL"...

 

Mercedes just released a bunch of pictures showing the interior of the all-new SL replacement. The AMG-SL.

I guess they wanted to give it more of a sporty vibe by associating it with AMG. On top of that, the new model actually replaces the AMG GT Roadster as well.

While it might be sportier than the current SL, it now has rear seats. 

The interior is basically a blend of all other current Mercedes interiors. With zero original touches. Which is too bad...

It is interesting to see an earlier design sketch (bottom pic). Which actually shows what could have been.

Even though it looks about the same as the production car, it's not. The vents are not as rounded, therefore, are a much better fit behind that huge flat screen.

The flat wood trim would have been a nice touch too. And the console design is much simpler and more modern.

Even though it is very similar, I think the small changes they made to the production interior ruined the design.