Asian manufacturers rely on safety and ever greener models

Last Sunday, Sébastien Ogier, who races for Toyota, won his eighth world champion title, at the end of the last rally of the season. He is only one title away from Sébastien Loeb’s record, who wore nine crowns. But there. This is undoubtedly the last for Sébastien Ogier, who will soon be 38 years old. Next year, he will only play a few rounds of the World Rally Championship with Toyota to devote himself to his family. That said, he has a great challenge ahead of him. He plans to run the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Toyota.

And we are talking about this Japanese manufacturer again, in terms of road safety.

The brand has indeed decided to give a small name to its driving assistance systems. They will be called T-Mate. A name deemed more user-friendly. In English, team mate means teammate. And this is precisely the role that these systems can play, by constantly watching over the driver and his passengers. The last generation brings some improvements. For example, the pre-collision system now offers low-speed acceleration cut-off and intersection assistance for the first time, as well as improved detection of oncoming traffic. Other new features include an emergency stop system and remote updates that continuously update vehicle systems.

Kia has just unveiled the new Niro: an even greener model

The second generation of this SUV was presented in Seoul, South Korea. It is the country of origin of this manufacturer, which is part of the Hyundai group. Apart from an even more expressive design, with a so-called tiger front face, the Niro incorporates a new driving mode on the plug-in hybrid version. Its name is Green Zone. When the vehicle is driven in sites where air pollution is sensitive, such as schools, hospitals or residential areas, it switches to fully electric mode. This is a system that BMW already offers, for example. The Niro also introduces headlining made from recycled wallpaper.

And then, Suzuki wins the “Love rating” of the constructors

It is a barometer that concerns distributors, in other words dealers. They appreciate the empathy and the good quality / price ratio of the brand’s cars, in a climate of shortages and rising prices. This is the first time that Suzuki has come to the top of the standings. The scoring criteria were as follows: new vehicles, used vehicles, sale of spare parts, repairs, and even marketing and advertising. And the Japanese brand got a score of 7.5 out of 10. While most brands move upmarket with an avalanche of technology, Suzuki shines with targeted offers, reputable mechanics and attractive prices.


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