The second-generation Kia Telluride gets a hearty price hike to go with its redesign.
After six years of building up a reputation as one of the best (if not the best) three-row midsize family hauler on the block, we’re getting a brand-new Kia Telluride for the 2027 model year. It’s bringing a bold new look, updated tech and a beefed up X-Pro off-road model, all of which are likely to carry forward its appeal to a wide range of buyers. However, those buyers will pay a higher price to get into a new Telluride.
Kia formally announced the price walk for its updated three-row SUV, and it does include hitting and passing the $40K milestone. The least expensive 2027 Telluride you’ll be able to buy is the front-wheel drive LX model, and that now starts at a $40,735 MSRP (including destination). The S trim kicks things up to $43,635, while the mid-range EX comes in at $46,335. All-wheel drive, if you want it, is available on the EX or the S for an additional $2,000.
Naturally, prices continue ever northward from there. Nearing the top, we get to the 2027 Kia Telluride SX, for a cool $50,335. If you want the top-end SX Prestige X-Pro, that will cost you a cool $58,335. It’s worth noting that is still lower than the high-end price of, say, a Mazda CX-90, but you are still paying a good chunk more than for the old Telluride.
As I mentioned before, though, you are getting more in the process. The 2027 Kia Telluride is physically larger than the old model, while you also get an updated interior with a 12.3-inch touchscreen, tri-zone climate control, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration and a host of driver assistance systems. Higher up the stack, the X-Pro model packs 9.1 inches of ground clearance, a more capable suspension setup, more drive modes and an electronic limited-slip differential.
All gas-powered Tellurides we’re talking about here pack a 2.5-liter turbocharged engine, putting out 274 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque — 50 lb-ft more than the old model’s V6.
A hybrid Telluride will also be available later in the spring. Right now, though, we don’t have formal pricing for that version, which gets 329 horsepower and 339 lb-ft of torque. All 2027 Telluride models will still be built at the Kia’s West Point, Georgia assembly plant, just like the old one.
The 2026 Honda Civic Type R has been confirmed thanks to updates on EPA ratings and pricing.
There’s been some doubt on how long the current-gen Honda Civic Type R will remain on sale in the U.S., but we’re clear for at least one more year. On the whole, the FL5 Type R, based around the eleventh-generation Civic, hasn’t seen any radical changes since it first went on sale in 2023. Nevertheless, it’s still the hottest Civic on the block and a blast to drive, but it’s already been discontinued in Europe…so things have been looking a little dicey for America as well.
Honda officially published EPA ratings for the 2026 Civic Type R, and (shocker) they’re the same as before. What isn’t the same as before, however, is the price.
Here’s the gut punch: It’s another $1,000 more expensive this year. So, if you want a brand-new 2026 Honda Civic Type R, you’ll have to pay at least $48,090 for the privilege. And if you think that doesn’t sound too bad since it’s only another grand, consider a couple things. First, it’s $4,100 more expensive than it was back in 2023. That may feel like an eternity ago, but it’s only been three years, so we’re talking an average price hike of $1,000 so each year.
In the same vein, Honda is also now officially asking you to pay nearly $50,000 for a Civic. It may be the hottest, best and most scintillating Civic you can buy…but it’s still a Civic. An economy car. A car where the base model is nearly half that price, and even it’s sneaking up into the high-$20,000s these days.
Again, the Honda Civic Type R is still a great hot hatch. To that point, demand remains high, so don’t be too surprised if you do wind up paying more than $50K with so-called “market adjustments” to get your hands on one. It also begs the question, where does Honda go from here? A next-generation Civic may well include a hot Type R model, but it seems the way forward would be hybridization. That would increase the power even further, but it would almost certainly make a next-gen model even more expensive.
We’ll have to wait and see, and if you’re the type to just want a gas engine pushing your performance car along, you may want to get one now while the getting’s still (relatively) good.
One of the fun parts of the annual sales number is the so-called “zombie car”.
Parsing the annual sales charts reveal some critical details about where buyers are spending their hard-earned money, and most of the figures aren’t too surprising. The Toyota RAV4 is the best-selling car in America…but it’s always the best-selling car in America (at least for the past several years). You guys also seem fond of bigger SUVs and off-roaders, as I laid out in the last sales-related piece. And then some of you out there…keep buying Dodge Journeys. And I just want to meet you so I can ask, “why?”.
Nevertheless, the Dodge freaking Journey — an SUV that went into production on the heels of the 2008 financial crisis and went out of production in 2020 — still managed to find some buyers in 2025. Though it’s no where close to the 1.1 million Journeys FCA officially cranked out over the car’s 12-year lifespan, these cars are technically among that batch. In fact, 17 of you purchased a brand-new Dodge Journey last year. At least, I think 17 of you did…I’m curious if someone out there actually bought two.
There are a few reasons why the Dodge Journey is still, somehow, showing up in Stellantis’ sales charts. The automaker is well-known for doing this, as new-old stock Darts, Caravans and even Vipers keep popping up from time to time. So, it may be an accounting move where some dealers somewhere finally shuffled these Journeys off their books. Part of that “accounting” may be finally getting rid of said new-old stock after heavy discounts.
Unlike a lot of modern SUVs, too — including the Dodge Hornet, actually — new examples aren’t exactly cheap, either. When the Journey went out of production, prices stopped at about $30,000, and let’s not forget this is for a three-row SUV. Even if the third row is a time-out box. Nowadays, you have to step a class down and lose passenger capacity to get a crossover whose prices start where the old Journey’s stop.
And while we’re here, in the same time span, you all evidently bought 9 Dodge Caravans, two Fiat 500Ls and 6 (count ’em, six) Darts. You do you, I guess.
Another year gone, and 2025 was still a strong year for car sales.
In countless ways, last year was a whirlwind year across the board. As we work through the first week of January, automakers are reporting their fourth-quarter and year-end sales figures, with some surprising results. While 2025’s news cycle surrounding the auto industry centered around major changes like U.S. trade policy and the expiration of the federal EV tax credit, millions of Americans went out and picked up a new set of wheels. In going through all the data, some notable trends (hits and misses) emerged.
We’ll get into other fun sales trends as well as truck sales over on the TFLtruck website, but this homes in on five hits and misses we noticed when going through sales reports (at least for the automakers that have reported so far).
Hit: Big three-row SUVs (and crossovers)
The song continues, where more and more of you folks settle in to a big ass, three-row SUV. The family haulers gained more ground this year, by and large, with hallmarks like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and Ford Explorer tearing up their respective segments, sometimes with double-digit percentage increases over 2024.
On the full-size, body-on-frame SUV side of the equation, the Chevrolet Tahoe sold 114,202 units throughout the whole year — a 9% increase over 2024. The even larger Suburban did even better, picking up by 32% to sell 58,583 units. So, together, Chevrolet sold more than 170,000 of their big SUVs to remain some distance ahead of rivals over at Ford and Jeep.
(Image: General Motors | Chevrolet)
The Ford Expedition did pick up a bit (10%) off its redesign, for 2025 sales of 84,921 units. The Nissan Armada also picked up by 14% for 17,465 sales.
Rounding out the Big Three’s biggest offerings, the Jeep Wagoneer didn’t fare quite as well. Sales were down 7% for 39,907 units, while the more auspicious and grandiose (read: expensive) Grand Wagoneer fell by 57% to just 5,133 units. Jeep is refreshing its Grand Wagoneer for 2026, and folding the more expensive “Wagoneer” models under the Grand banner, so there will be a wider range of Grand Wagoneers available, rather than splitting things into two separate models.
(Image: Toyota)
The Toyota Grand Highlander continues to be a grand idea, as more folks buy three-row unibody crossovers.
Outside the “truckish” SUVs, three-row crossovers are also notably popular. The Ford Explorer is still the front-runner, with the Blue Oval shifting 222,706 examples of its updated sixth-generation model. The Toyota Grand Highlander, though, shrugged off its 2024 stop-sale to post a 91% increase in sales to 136,801 units.
Other popular examples include the Kia Telluride (123,281 units; up 7%) and the Hyundai Palisade (123,929 units; up 13%). Interestingly, these two siblings posted an almost exactly even 50-50 split on sales. Surprisingly, despite being ancient at 16 years old, the Dodge Durango also posted a 37% increase, with dealers moving a remarkable 81,168 units last year. The SRT Hellcat’s ongoing presence in the lineup certainly helps, as does its competitive price (and available V8 throughout the lineup) against the competition. While the Dodge brand is in a rough spot right now, the Durango is the one silver lining in an otherwise lackluster year for its sales volume.
(Image: Subaru)
Miss: Sports Cars
Broadly speaking, while SUVs large and small enjoyed sales growth this year, several sports cars didn’t do quite so well.
The Subaru WRX is a good case in post, as Subaru posted its lowest sales ever last year, at 10,930 units (down 41%). It’s a similar story with the BRZ, which dropped 14% to just 2,882 units. Now, sportier cars aren’t relatively high-volume sellers for any brand, but when your flagship performance model barely, barely outsells the Toyota-based Solterra EV’s 10,715 units…there’s a problem (and one of the WRX’s big issues right now is price, starting at just under $39K).
And the story goes on as you move down the line. The Toyota GR86, which is closely related to the BRZ, was down 13% to 9,940 sales last year. The Dodge Charger, another formerly strong seller, is also still down 94% from 2024 (to 2,141 units). The electric Charger Daytona did manage 7,141 sales, but that is still a far cry from the old days when Charger, and Challenger for that matter, would each sell 100,000 units or more.
As the only gas-powered pony car that’s seen continuous sales over 2025, the Ford Mustang did decently, holding its own with 45,333 units sold.
(Image: Toyota)
Hit: Minivans
The recurring theme over the years is one of SUV dominance. 2025 was a surprisingly strong year for minivans, though, as every single model picked up sales over 2024. That includes the Chrysler Pacifica, which holds on to its outright sales lead (110,006 units), but did only get a 2% bump over last year.
Other vans in the class, though, gained significant ground. The all-hybrid Toyota Sienna, for example, picked up 35% to nip at the Pacifica’s heels. It managed 101,486 sales in the U.S. last year. The Honda Odyssey, despite being the onlymodel without a hybrid option at the moment, still gained 10% in sales to move 88,462 units. The updated Kia Carnival (which did finally get a hybrid version) picked up in 2025, to sell 71,917 units (up 44% year-over-year).
(Images: Volvo)
Miss: Station Wagons
While American families are still keeping the minivan humming along, they have continued to fall out of love with station wagons. Not that we have many options to choose from in the first place, but even Volvo is calling it and pulling out of the wagon game here in the U.S. in a few short months. The last remaining V60 Cross Country model is getting the ax by April, and it’s not difficult to see why. In 2025, Volvo dealers moved just 3,630 units. That is up from 2024, but when you see that the XC60 crossover outsold it by exactly 10-to-1, it’s emphatically clear why automakers aren’t chomping at the bit to introduce new wagons.
Some niche models are still hanging around. We finally get the BMW M5 Touring, for example, while its rivals over at Audi with the RS6 Avant and Mercedes-AMG with the E-Class also offer performance wagons. Apart from those high-dollar, low-volume models, though, new wagons are pretty much extinct in the U.S. market.
(Image: Stellantis | Jeep)
Hit: Off-Roaders
If your everyday family bus doesn’t appeal, then there’s a healthy selection of off-road SUVs — and more people continue to jump into the action. The Jeep Wrangler is still the king, selling 167,322 units (an 11% increase) in 2025.
But…the Ford Bronco is quickly gaining ground. Last year, Ford sold 146,007 Broncos, which amounts to a 34% increase. So, Jeep can still claim that it’s still the most popular off-roader even after half a decade of the new Bronco, but the automaker probably shouldn’t rest on its laurels. Fortunately, Jeep knows that, and that’s why we’re getting a new 392 special edition of the Wrangler, called the Moab, as well as a range of other special editions over the coming months.
The Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser also performed well. Coming off a fresh redesign, the 4Runner sold 98,805 units last year, for an 8% increase over 2024. Toyota’s 250 Series Land Cruiser is also hitting its stride, picking up by 51% to sell 43,946 examples in 2025. It’s still nowhere near RAV4 territory, but you see way more 250 Series LCs running about than you do the old 200 Series, since it’s still significantly more affordable.
In the off-road SUV space, though, the real star of the year is the redesigned 2026 Honda Passport. It may not be as hardcore as the Wrangler Rubicon or Bronco Badlands (or Raptor), but the boxy SUV sold a remarkable 55,321 examples last year. That’s a whopping 70% increase over the last-generation model, and vindication of Honda’s decision to separate the Passport from the larger, three-row Pilot.
Miss: EVs (but it’s not as bad as you might think)
With the federal tax credit disappearing on September 30, electric car makers were anticipating a major fallout in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t quite the sales collapse some might expect, with some EVs still keeping up the pace when you zoom out and look at full-year performance. Others, like the Honda Prologue which shifted just 932 sales in December (an 88% drop-off)…not so much.
Still, some cars like the Jeep Wagoneer S did gain momentum in 2025. Jeep dealers shifting 10,864 examples in the model’s first full year. The expensive Cadillac Escalade IQ also sold a staggering 8,115 examples, representing a 1,111% increase over 2024 (which wasn’t a full sales year, keep in mind). 8,115 sales may not sound like much, but when you consider the IQ costs at least $130,000, that’s a pretty solid number.
If it weren’t for EVs, Volkswagen would have suffered an even worse year than it did (there’s a bit of foreshadowing for you). The ID.4, despite earlier production issues, still managed to sell 22,373 units in 2025, an increase of 31.4%. The ID. Buzz also shifted 6,140 units, even though that wasn’t enough to save it from what VW insists is a temporary hiatus for 2026.
GM also fared well in the EV race. The Chevrolet Equinox EV doubled its sales from 2024, selling 57,945 units. Sales did drop off in the fourth quarter (as expected), but if EV sales are set to plummet, Q4 didn’t totally wipe out this car’s momentum.
Tesla, for its part, managed to deliver 1,636,129 vehicles globally in 2025. While it doesn’t break down region-specific sales, the company continues to produce a staggering number of EVs, with the Model 3 and Model Y comprising the vast majority of those sales. While it’s still a major player, it does face real challenges from Chinese automaker BYD, at least in markets outside the U.S., as Tesla lost its best-seller title in 2025.
Major Hit: Small SUVs (of course)
As ever, the meat of the market is with compact crossovers/SUVs, and 2025 was another year of massive sales. That said, major players like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V didn’t see major gains, even if they did pick up a little steam from 2024. In fact, Toyota dealers sold 479,288 RAV4s this past year. That’s a huge number of course, but represents a 1% increase overall, year-to-year.
It’s a similar story with the #2 contender. The Honda CR-V racked up 403,768 sales, or a 0.6% increase over 2024. Mind you, they’re still way out in front of the other small crossovers rounding out the top 5 bestsellers.
The Chevrolet Equinox had a great year, coming off a fresh redesign. Chevy dealers moved 274,356 examples (and this is just of the gas-powered SUV), representing a 32.1% increase. The Equinox EV didn’t do badly, either, picking up 100% more sales than it did in 2024 (57,945 units).
Jeep scrubbed most mentions of the 4xe PHEVs — including the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee 4xe — from its retail website.
Over the past several years, Jeep touted its 4xe plug-in hybrid models as the best of both worlds: All-electric driving for your commute or a trail run, with gasoline convenience and peace of mind should you actually want to take your Wrangler into the remote reaches. Now, though, if you hit up Jeep’s official website to build your own Wrangler or Grand Cherokee 4xe, you’ll immediately notice a problem. You can’t.
While an update to the 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee is imminent (and that makes sense why you couldn’t build one), you can’t even look at the 2025 Grand Cherokee 4xe anymore, either. Neither model shows a plug-in hybrid option, as folks over at CarBuzz initially spotted, so you can only configure the gas-powered versions.
You used to be able to see 2025 Model Year 4xe models, so there’s definitely been an update to the website reflecting their removal. Now, that could be a mistake, or Jeep could be updating its configurators for 2026. That said, again, the regular 2026 Jeep Wrangler is still there. You can also spec 2026 versions of the Compass, the Gladiator, the Grand Wagoneer and even the Cherokee. The PHEVs are just nowhere to be seen, at time of writing.
We reached out to Jeep for more information, though notably did not get a response just yet. We’ll come back and post an update if and when we find out more. There may be an official notice soon, if the change is indicative of major changes within Jeep’s brand strategy like eliminating 4xe plug-in hybrid models. Let’s not forget, Jeep did officially scrap the Gladiator 4xe project, so we’re not treading a completely unprecedented path here.
Jeep’s updated Grand Cherokee Trailhawk was going to be a 4xe-exclusive model…but now there’s no mention of it at all on the brand’s website.
4xe has been a troublesome thorn in Stellantis’ side, thanks to recalls.
Certain Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe models have been under recall for loss-of-power and potential fire risk. In November, Jeep expanded a recall campaign to cover more than 320,000 examples of both 4xe models for potential fire risk in the U.S. market, so the 4xe powertrain hasn’t been trouble-free for the automaker…or for owners. Failures of the 2.0-liter gasoline engine supporting the plug-in hybrid system are also an issue, with Jeep still working on a long-term fix. The engine recall also triggered a stop-sale, so new 4xe PHEV vehicles aren’t making their way out to dealers (and we did hear from industry sources that new 4xes haven’t made their way onto lots for months).
Is the recall related to the abrupt lack of options for 2026 4xe models? It’s possible, though again we don’t have any official word from Jeep at the moment. Right now, though, it seems you are plum out of options if you did want to pick up one of Jeep’s popular plug-in hybrids. You’ll either have to go for a gas-only version, or wait for more information to emerge. The brand’s fully electric models, including the new Recon and Wagoneer S, are still listed.
We still have yet to see the first Afeela actually make a production launch, but Sony and Honda aren’t stopping with just one model.
CES 2026 is in full swing in Las Vegas. While most of the debuts center around tech, with AI playing an even larger role, there are some nuts-and-bolts car reveals to discuss. That includes Sony Honda Mobility with the Afeela Prototype 2026 SUV, a logical follow-up to the upcoming Afeela 1 sedan.
Of course, given the venue and general vibe of up-and-coming car makers, both the Afeela 1 and Prototype 2026 aren’t “cars” as such. They’re a “creative entertainment space”, Sony Honda Mobility says, with much of the focus being on the how developers can approach Afeela’s technology, rather than the technical specs of the car or SUV itself.
Afeela is pitching Level 2+ semi-autonomous driving at launch (hands-off, eyes-on), with eventual Level 4 “equivalent” capability. Down the line, the brand aims to have its vehicles be more or less autonomous without human intervention, so occupants can focus on entertainment. Part of that entertainment includes the Afeela “personal agent”, a conversational AI-based system using OpenAI aimed at “enhancing the relationship between people and mobility to make it more personal”.
The company also outlined its plan for developers and creators to jump in on personalizing the owner’s experience, including in-car themes, decorations and apps. One of those creators is Japanese producer Tomoko Ida, who demonstrated three unique sounds she created for the electric motor that the Afeela 1 can make during acceleration.
Both the Afeela 1 and production version of the 2026 Prototype SUV will use a token-based incentive model build around cryptocurrency. In the process, crypto technologies will use an “x-to-earn” concept for incentivize developers to focus on work around mobility services to “accelerate co-creation”.
Ok, when will the cars actually arrive?
As far as the existing Afeela 1 sedan is concerned, there hasn’t been too much change since the last times we’ve seen various prototypes roll out into the public sphere. When it does go on sale later this year, that car should cost around $89,900 to start. That sort of price tag won’t make Sony Honda Mobility’s joint venture a high-volume one at first, though the automaker seems perfectly content to be have a “niche” standing where the technology and co-creative development approach is the core focus.
Any car business needs to shift some units to survive, however, and that’s the SUV will ultimately come in. Sony Honda Mobility says that, after launching deliveries in California this year, it will expand into Arizona in 2027. The U.S.-market launch of the production-spec SUV based on the Afeela Prototype 2026 is slated for sometime in calendar year 2028, at least according to the company’s current roadmap.
Despite Sony and Honda both being Japanese companies, top brass within the Afeela business insist the brand will primarily be focused on the American market. It does not currently have plans to expand to Europe, though it may sell a limited number of vehicles in Japan. We will have to wait and see there.
Oh yes, we have another new series to start the new year, and it’s bringing in the new Tesla Model Y!
Over the years, we’ve tested our fair share of Tesla vehicles. Picking up a new, updated Tesla Model Y Juniper wouldn’t seem like charting much new ground, if you look at it on its face. Sure, Tesla tweaked the front and rear end, but otherwise it would be a case of “been there, done that”. But there’s more to the story than that, and that’s what we’re going to mainly explore in this new video series. Tesla has been refining its tech over the past few years, too, and the headline feature these days is Full Self-Driving — and we’re keen to try it out.
Not just in a vacuum or a week-long test, either. In this new series, dubbed “Hands-Free 2000” (and we’ll get to that name in a second), Roman charts out our method to really put Tesla’s FSD technology and claims through their paces. We leased this brand-new 2026 Tesla Model Y, so we have plenty of time to get into the minutia about actually using and living with FSD day-to-day.
Over the coming weeks, the team’s first port of call will be the Hands-Free 2000. Over several weeks and 2,000 miles of driving, the goal is to work out how much Tesla’s most popular SUV can actually drive itself, without our human intervention. Is it really possible to cover all that distance, to where the automaker’s name for the technology is actually appropriate? Or…is it going to be a complete and utter disaster?
In its own blerb, the Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is currently available in North America as well as some other global markets. “Tesla uses billions of miles of anonymous real-world driving data to train Full Self-Driving (Supervised) to take care of the most stressful parts of daily driving while helping make the roads safer for you and others. When enabled, your vehicle will drive you almost anywhere with your active supervision, requiring minimal intervention”, the company says.
And over the coming weeks, the key words “almost anywhere” and “minimal intervention” will be the main focus. That’s all coming to TFLEV over the next few Monday mornings, but for now, Roman goes into more detail about actually picking up the Tesla and what the customer experience is like. In short…it had its frustrating points.
You’re looking at a teaser for one of Mitsubishi’s most exciting reveals in awhile.
Over the past decade or so, Mitsubishi has mainly focused on value-minded (if somewhat formulaic) crossovers like the Outlander Sport, its larger brother and the Eclipse Cross in between. All three models are responsible for keeping Mitsubishi’s car business going, but from an enthusiast’s perspective, they’re not much to write home about. But things may be about to change, since we have a 60-second teaser showing what should be the new Montero.
Of course, there’s not a lot you can actually see at the moment. Nothing that spy shots haven’t already more or less revealed, anyway. It is further confirmation that Mitsubishi has another SUV on the way, though, and this could be an SUV with a difference.
See, those old enough to know Mitsubishi’s past know its rallying pedigree. That all started with the Pajero, a boxy and remarkably capable SUV Mitsubishi built for nearly 40 years. We knew it as the Montero here in America between 1982 and 2006, while it carried on in overseas markets through 2021. Mitsubishi took their SUV rallying almost immediately after its launch, to tremendous success which the automaker is all too keen to remind us about in the teaser below.
That teaser also includes the Triton pickup truck (also known as the L200 in some markets), which currently competes on the rally stage. After showing both the new truck and the old SUV as a symbol of Mitsubishi’s heritage, we see the running lights and boxy shape of what, by all accounts, is the upcoming revival of the Montero.
Now, at this point, Mitsubishi hasn’t outright confirmed much information about what it has coming, when it may debut or when this SUV will go into production. It has trademarked the “Montero” name with the US Patent and Trademark Office, and the company has said there are several new models coming in the next few years. Beyond that, it’s more educated guesswork, including a hunch that the 2028 Mitsubishi Montero may debut in pre-production form sometime this year. It will likely also be fairly similar to the hotly anticipated Nissan Xterra, though it seems Nissan’s version may arrive first.
At any rate, if Mitsubishi is teasing it, we’re not that far off from a premiere and more information. Short of the company reintroducing the Lancer and its rally-bred Evolution variant (keep dreaming), this is one of the biggest reveals Mitsubishi could make to set it apart from its everyday crossover lineup.
