Car and Driver - USA (2019-10)

92. CHARTING THE CHANGES. CAR AND DRIVER. OCT/2019

New Cars for 20 20 Toyota — Volvo

Volkswagen

—

Atlas Cross Sport: See

review, page 53.

—

Minor trim changes: Arteon,

Atlas, Golf/GTI, Jetta, Tiguan

Dead: Beetle, Golf Alltrack/

SportWagen/R

RAV4: Fresh from a complete
redesign last year, the RAV4
now offers a TRD Off-Road
trim that has the same
increased ride height as the
existing Adventure trim plus
twin-tube dampers, unique coil
springs, and bump stops from
TRD. Dark exterior accents
and chunky fender flares
amp up the buff look, Falken
Wildpeak A/T Trail all-terrain
tires wrap around matte-black
wheels, and TRD logos and red
accents are sprinkled about
the interior. The TRD Off-Road
is available only with the
RAV4’s 203-hp inline-four and
all-wheel drive.
—
Sequoia: The aging Sequoia
finally receives a TRD Pro
trim to align it with much of
Toyota’s truck and SUV lineup.
The package provides Fox
dampers, a front skid plate,

and 18-inch BBS wheels.

The Sequoia’s 381-hp V-8

and six-speed automatic are

unchanged, but a cat-back

exhaust is optional. To make

the TRD Pro look beefy, it gets

a new grille with prominent

Toyota script, a roof rack,

aluminum running boards,

and some TRD Pro–exclusive

colors, including Army Green.

Volkswagen Passat: This big mid-sizer gets a

refresh, with all-new exterior sheetmetal (save

the roof panel) lending it a decidedly Audi resem-

blance. Well, except for the unfortunate oversized

grille, which looks like a surplus Atlas part. Interior

trim pieces get a slight upgrade, but the basic look is

largely familiar. VW squeezed another 23 pound-feet

of torque out of the standard turbo 2.0-liter four-

cylinder, which now makes 207 pound-feet but the

same 174 horsepower as it did before.

Supra: See comparison test,

page 20.

—

Tundra: You can no longer

order the 4.6-liter V-8 or the

flex-fuel version of the 5.7-liter,

leaving only the standard and

lovely 381-hp 5.7 V-8.

—

Yaris: While Toyota boasts that

the all-new Yaris hatchback

has a distinct “bulldog-like

stance,” we would suggest

that its gaping maw is more

catfish than brachycephalic

pooch. Regardless of species

characteristics, the Yaris

hatchback is based—as is its

sedan counterpart—on the

Mazda 2, which is not sold

in the U.S. It is powered by a

1.5-liter four-cylinder good

for 106 horsepower and 103

pound-feet of torque mated

to a six-speed automatic. The

Yaris sedan ups its value game

in 2020 by providing standard

Android Auto and Apple

CarPlay compatibility.

—

Minor trim changes: 4Runner,

86, C-HR, Land Cruiser, Prius

Prime, Sienna, Tacoma

Unchanged: Mirai

Dead: Prius C

HOT HYBRIDS

Last year, Volvo intro-

duced the hotted-up T8

plug-in-hybrid powertrain

to the S60. For 2020,

the T8 option expands

to the V60 and XC60.

Horsepower rises to a

healthy 415. Compared

with the base V60 and

XC60, hybrid models

receive upgraded brakes,

suspension mods, larger

wheels, and gold-colored

seatbelts and calipers.

Volvo

—

V60: Surprising no one, the

familiar Cross Country

treatment arrives for the V60

wagon. It includes more plastic

body cladding, standard all-

wheel drive, and 2.4 additional

inches of ride height compared

with the regular V60. Starting

at $46,095, it comes only as a

T5 model, with a 250-hp tur-

bocharged 2.0-liter inline-four

and an eight-speed automatic

transmission. The all-wheel-

drive version of the regular

V60 replaces its T6 powertrain

with something better [see

“Hot Hybrids”].

—

XC60: See “Hot Hybrids.”

—

Minor trim changes: S60,

S90, XC90

Unchanged: V90/Cross

Country, XC40

Dead: S90 T5, V90 Cross

Country T5