AUTOS
– Only just refreshed last year, Volkswagen’s Touareg crossover is being given a few minor equipment tweaks for 2016. More important, those changes accompany a hefty, roughly $2000 price reduction across the Touareg’s lineup. With a new base price of $42,705—$2090 less than before—the Touareg still isn’t the bargain hunter’s choice among mid-size two-row SUVs with a luxurious bent (we’re looking’ at you, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Murano, and Ford Edge), but
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– The 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan started at $27,420. Study the compact-crossover segment for even a moment, and it’s clear that the VW’s price is way, way out of step with what Honda charges for a bare CR-V, or Ford asks for a basic Escape. Even taking into account the Tiguan’s premium bend, it’s just a bit too dear to fully compete with the segment heavyweights. This isn’t a new issue,
-It’s not always easy being green. With the price of regular unleaded at four-year lows and big pickups and luxed-up SUVs and crossovers rolling off dealer lots at a fast clip, fewer buyers may be willing to put up with the unpredictable brakes, rubbery steering, and disconnected drivetrain feel associated with many mainstream hybrid sedans. And for those buyers who do prioritize fuel economy, most hybrid models’ vaunted EPA estimates
-We aren’t sure why Audi thinks its 520-hp S8 supersedan is catching enough sand to the face to warrant an even more powerful Plus model, but it went ahead and created such a variant anyway. Indeed, despite being down 57 horsepower on the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG and 15 horsepower shy of the V-12–powered BMW 760Li, the standard S8 has them all smoked to 60 mph, hitting that speed in 3.6 seconds
