Hyundai Motor Group had a lot of success with its lineup of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) over the last several years, winning lots of awards and also sales. While Ford likes to lay claim to being the #2 selling BEV brand in the U.S. behind Tesla, when you combine the sales of Hyundai, Genesis and Kia, the three brands that comprise HMG, they are well ahead of Ford. (Even if we add Lincoln to Ford it doesn’t help because Lincoln doesn’t offer any BEVs). For 2025, HMG is looking to build on its BEV success by continuing to expand its lineup, adding a new off-road “XRT” variant and moving more production to the U.S..

In early 2022, HMG announced plans for a new assembly and battery plant near Savannah, Georgia that would focus on building BEVs. At the time of the original announcement the goal was to start production in Savannah by mid-2025. But then in August of that year, the Inflation Reduction Act was passed which included a revamp of the clean vehicle tax credit program for plug-in EVs and fuel cell vehicles. 

Under the new rules the vehicles had to be assembled in North America and batteries had to be sourced here or from a free trade partner country to qualify for the incentives. There was a loophole that allowed for people to lease foreign assembled BEVs and get the credit by classifying the lease as a commercial vehicle transaction but that’s a tale for another day. 

At the time the IRA was passed, all of HMG’s BEVs and plug-in hybrids were being produced in South Korea and thus didn’t qualify. So HMG quickly pivoted to try to make as many of its BEVs eligible for IRA credits as soon as possible. Within weeks, HMG announced that it would pull ahead construction of what it was calling the “Metaplant” by nine months with the goal of beginning vehicle production by the fourth quarter of 2024. 

It’s now September 2024 and HMG has already been building pre-production Ioniq 5s in Savannah for some time and will start full production in October. HMG had already previously started production of the Genesis GV70 Electrified at its plant in Montgomery Alabama and production of the Kia EV9 began in West Pointe, Georgia in June of this year. Sometime in 2025, Hyundai will also start production of the Ioniq 9 3-row SUV at the Metaplant. The Kia EV6 and possibly the Genesis GV60 will probably also be produced there as will future hybrid and plug-in hybrid models. 

A Slightly Refreshed Ioniq 5 For 2025

For its fourth model year, the Ioniq 5 is getting a mid-cycle refresh and an interesting new trim level. The mild visual refresh of the standard Ioniq 5 has already been shown off earlier this year in South Korea, The overall look is basically unchanged with all of the sheet-metal being carried over. The lower portion of the front bumper has been revised giving it a slightly more aggressive character with little forward thrust and some black areas. The rear bumper has been similarly recontoured making it look a bit more like it has a diffuser. 

The primary change to the interior is the center console. The forward portion of the console has been rearranged with the cupholders one behind the other to make space for the wireless charging pad up top next to the drink cavities. Some of the buttons below the infotainment screen have also been rearranged and the bezel around the screens has been switched from white to black, but overall it’s largely carryover which is fine because it was already quite good. 

Here’s the old interior, for reference:

One of the complaints many people have had about the Ioniq 5 and many other BEVs is the lack of a rear wiper on the tailgate. This is an extremely important feature in poor weather, and the complaints of its absence clearly outweighed the slight aerodynamic and cost benefit of leaving it off in the first place. 

More Juice

Under the floor, the 2025 Ioniq 5 is getting battery upgrades. The standard range pack gets a capacity increase from 58 to 63-kWh. That will bump the driving range from the current 220 miles to over 240 miles. Extended range variants will grow from the current 77.4-kWh to 84-kWh. That will stretch the current 303-mile range for the rear drive models to over 310 while all-wheel-drive versions will get between 250 and 280+ miles depending on the tire and wheel combination that is fitted. 

According to Hyundai senior manager of product planning, Andre Ravinowich, the updated battery packs use the same cell chemistry as before. However, the internals of the pack have been rearchitected to improve the packaging efficiency and enable more cells to be installed in the same pack volume. 

New Ports

Perhaps one of the most exciting changes for potential BEV purchasers is that the Ioniq 5 will probably be the first non-Tesla vehicle produced with a native NACS/SAE J3400 charge port. That’s the same port used by Tesla and fitted to all Tesla Supercharger stations. In 2023, HMG announced it would join other automakers in switching from the current CCS1 charging port to NACS or what is now officially called the J3400 port. The Society of Automotive Engineers has developed a new industry standard around the Tesla-designed connector that is labeled J3400. 

Having this port built into the vehicle means Hyundai drivers will be able to charge at Tesla stations without using an adapter. However, Ioniq 5 owners will in fact be getting an adapter with the purchase of their vehicle, one which allows them to plug a CCS1 charger into their J3400 port. Over the next couple of years, most other EVs are expected to be fitted with this port as they get updated. 

One downside of this is that HMG’s 800V electrical architecture still isn’t fully compatible with Tesla’s current V3, 400V Superchargers. They will charge, but they remain limited to 84-kW, the same as current Ioniq 5s using Superchargers with the Magic Dock. HMG is working with Tesla on a solution. Tesla has a V4 Supercharger that operates at over 800V, but none of those have actually been deployed yet and it’s unclear if or when this will happen after CEO Elon Musk fired the 500 person Supercharger team during a round of layoffs last spring. In the meantime, the Ioniq 5 will still maintain its 230-240-kW charging capability from functioning CCS1 chargers using the adapter. 

One other relatively minor challenge the Ioniq 5 and its siblings will face initially is on the software side. Partly as a result of the destaffing at Tesla, the HMG vehicles won’t have support for Plug&Charge on the Supercharger network the way Ford and Rivian EVs do. That means that drivers will have to use the Tesla app to initiate and manage Supercharger sessions and provide a payment method. Ravinowich hopes this will be addressed early in 2025.

Having a native NACS charging port on the car means that it does support AC charging. The adapters for Ford and Rivian vehicles only support DC fast charging. There are currently nearly 12,000 Tesla Destination chargers at over 4,800 locations like hotels, stores and restaurants that have charging speeds up to 20-kW and the Ioniq 5 will be the first non-Tesla vehicle that can utilize them. 

Let’s Go Adventuring: XRT

Over the past couple of years, Hyundai has begun adding a new trim level to several of its vehicles starting with the Tucson and now the Santa Cruz that is designed to provide improved off-pavement capability. The XRT trim adds some all-terrain tires and a more aggressive off-roader appearance. For 2025, Ioniq 5 is now also available as an XRT. While it doesn’t go as extreme as Rivian’s upcoming R3X, that model is at least two years away from production. The Ioniq 5 XRT will be at US dealerships by the end of 2024 and starts production about 3 weeks after other Ioniq 5 models. 

Like Hyundai’s other XRT models, the Ioniq 5 won’t be a hardcore off-roader challenging Wranglers and Broncos, but it will be more akin to a Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness. The battery and propulsion system are unchanged from the mainstream AWD Ioniq 5 with the same 320-hp and 446 lb-ft of torque from its two motors. Only the larger 84-kWh battery will be available and range will likely be in the neighborhood of 250 miles. 

The big differences are visual and suspension related. The XRT gets a 23-mm (~1 inch) lift for a bit more ground clearance and about double the enhancement the Santa Cruz XRT gets. It also rides on 235/60R18 all-terrain tires. These should give a lot more traction off pavement, and the taller sidewalls will be more resilient to rocks, ruts and potholes. These tires are mounted on new 18-inch black painted alloy wheels with rectangular holes that echo the pixel design elsewhere on the Ioniq 5. Steering, springs and dampers have all be retuned to compensate for these changes. 

Visually, the XRT gets new front and rear fascias with a much more rugged look than street-only Ioniq 5s. The new bumper covers are contoured so that in combination with the added ride height, the approach and departure angles are significantly improved. The approach angle is now 19.8 degrees (2.3 more) and the departure angle goes from 25.4 degrees to a full 30 degrees. The front fascia also features red, integrated tow hooks with a 5,834-lb capacity which should be enough to extract the XRT if the driver goes beyond its limits. 

The XRT designers didn’t want to just slap on the usual matte black bumper and wheel arch cladding so often found on these types of variants (they specifically called out Subaru). Instead they developed a cool digital camouflage pattern that is molded into the black plastic. In the sun, it’s quite clearly visible and has a texture to it when you slide a finger across, giving the car more character. Overall, the XRT has a very athletic stance that builds on the unique character of the Ioniq 5. 

We don’t yet have any information about where the performance levels of Rivian’s R3X will land when it arrives in a couple of years. But HMG has a portfolio of electric propulsion options up to 640-hp that it could easily drop into a speculative Ioniq 5 N XRT if competitive pressures demanded it. Ravinowich says there is no known work happening on such a variant and nothing has been approved, but he also said he wouldn’t be surprised if the N team back in Korea has a development mule running around its sandbox. 

No updated pricing has been announced yet for the 2025 Ioniq 5 lineup, that will come closer to the on-sale date which will be by December. Initially, the Georgia-built Ioniq 5s should be eligible for $3,750 in federal tax credits when purchased. That should rise to the full $7,500 as more of the battery components are localized over the next year or two. Those that opt for a lease can get the full $7,500 passed through from day one. 

The post The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT Is An Off-Road Version Of An Awesome EV Hatchback, And It’s Being Built In America To Get That Sweet Tax Credit appeared first on The Autopian.

Toyota pickups are cherished as legends. They’re some of the stoutest and most reliable vehicles ever built. However, if you’re an American, you’ve missed out on the best in towing and fuel economy, because diesel options simply aren’t available. There’s a neat solution, though—you can drop your gas motor and swap in a tasty engine from Mercedes or Volkswagen. Or from a refrigerator. Yes, you read that right.

It didn’t have to go this way. Once upon a time, Toyota brought perfectly capable diesel engines to the US market. In the late 1970s, you could get a Toyota Pickup with the humble L engine. It was a water cooled single-cammer with 62 horsepower and 93 pound feet of torque. Slow, yes, but steady. It was followed by the beefier 2L, and the turbocharged 2L-T. The latter boasted 84 horsepower and 137 pound-feet of torque, while delivering fuel economy in the mid-30 mpg range.

The diesel engine was dropped for 1986, and Toyota expected you all to forget about the glorious greasy fuel. But you wouldn’t do it! Nor would the broader Toyota fanbase. Thus began a grand tradition of diesel swaps that looked towards the grand oily offerings from Europe, and now towards…refrigerators. Let’s start with the European diesels, first.

Mercedes Diesel Engines: Torquey, Simple, Efficient

The diesel swap is tantalizing for multiple reasons. Diesels are just good when it comes to fuel economy and low-down torque. Both of these things are very welcome in a truck. If you’ve got an old Toyota with a tired gas engine and a wad of cash, it’s easy to see why diesel would appeal. But where do you start? To find out, I spoke to Joseph Peterson. He’s the owner of Doomsday Diesel, a company that specializes in diesel swaps like these. He’s got all kinds of experience in this area, particularly when it comes to the Toyota flock.

It’s most commonly the older Toyota pickups that get this treatment. “There are 3 main factors that play into this—price, availability, and emissions compliance,” says Joseph. The US got the Hilux as the Toyota Pickup until the 1995 model year, and Joseph notes that models from 1979 until 1995 are generally the cheapest and most readily available. Later model Toyota trucks can still be swapped, but he notes that things get hairier for emissions compliance for newer model years. We’ll come back to those later.

As for the original Toyota Pickup, these models mostly shipped with the 2.4-liter 22R or the 3.0-liter 3VZ-E V6. “The 3VZ-E was a terrible engine, and most have died, which makes them the prime candidate since the rest of the vehicle is left intact with hundreds of thousands of miles of life left,” Joseph explains. This engine put out 150 hp and 180 pound-feet of torque at best in its final form. It’s quite easy for a stout diesel engine to get close to those power figures, while completely dominating in the torque department.

As for the engines people are eager to swap to? It’s all German, baby. “The Mercedes OM617 and Volkswagen TDI engines are hands-down the most popular,” he explains. “They’re easily accessible and affordable, which is what’s made these swaps popular.” To that end, Doomsday Diesel supplies adapter kits to bolt these engines to the automatic and manual transmissions in these Toyota pickups. Beyond that, it also stocks wiring harnesses, various brackets, and other ancillary parts to make a swapped vehicle fully functional. “The reason the OM617 and TDI are the best candidates for Toyotas is because they’re high-revving diesels that utilize the same axle gearing as the Toyota gas engines,” says Joseph. “That means no re-gear is required for those swaps, which saves the customer a ton of money.”

The five-cylinder Mercedes OM617 is actually a bit of a legend. In the early days of diesel adoption for road vehicles, the Mercedes engine ran counter to the prevailing narrative. Where GM was building gas-derived V8 diesels that couldn’t hang together for a full warranty period, the OM617 would regularly crest 620,000 miles without a rebuild—and keep going. To this day, it’s considered one of the most reliable engines ever produced.  It was the beating heart of the Mercedes-Benz 300D, and later appeared in the G-Class and a number of other models.

The 3.0-liter engine debuted in 1974 with mechanical injection (this is key, because it means there’s pretty much no wiring needed to make the engine run, sans the starter motor), and a humble 79 horsepower and 127 pound-feet of torque. This was later boosted to 87 hp in later years, while torque remained unchanged.  Turbo models first became available in 1978, with 109 hp and 168 pound-feet of torque. These figures climbed as high as 123 hp and 184 pound-feet by 1982. The OM617 line eventually came to an end in 1991.

Volkswagen Diesel Engines Are Also Good, And More Plentiful

The Volkswagen TDI engines are altogether more modern. As we’ve explored previously, they’re a popular choice for people swapping diesels into Ford Rangers, and they’re prized for the same reasons here. They’re compact, cheap, and easy to come by. They were around for a long time, but Volkswagen particularly sold tons of these in Golfs, Passats, Beetles, and Jettas in the 1990s and 2000s.

The 1.9-liter ALH engine is perhaps the most common, a turbodiesel four-cylinder with 89 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque. Stepping up from there, the 2.0-liter BHW offers 134 hp and 229 pound-feet of torque out of the box. Meanwhile, the newer CJAA puts out 140 hp and 236 pound-feet of torque. For its part, Doomsday Diesel supplies parts for 1.9-liter TDI swaps.

Of course, kits aren’t the only option. There are lots of people going their own way with swaps, too. The basic job is to fab up an adapter plate from the new engine to the existing transmission. From there, there’s just the massive job of figuring out how to make everything fit, including intakes, exhausts, and accessories.

Darcy on YouTube completed an ALH TDI swap. He achieved 40MPG over a short test run, but he admits its more like 30 mpg in town.

Ultimately, the choice of engine comes down to several factors. For the most simplicity and reliability, it’s hard to ignore the ancient Mercedes mill. Alternatively, you might find a more modern Volkswagen TDI easier to come by, as well as more refined, economic, and powerful, too. However, they not known for quite matching the bulletproof Mercedes design in the longevity stakes.

As with any stock of used parts, though, things change over time. Eventually, these Mercedes and Volkswagen engines will grow thinner on the ground, and trends will shift elsewhere. In the case of Mercedes, the OM617 has been out of production since 1991. “Mercedes OM602 and OM605 will likely gain popularity in the coming years once the OM617 becomes harder to find,” Joseph explains.

A Mercedes diesel swap sounds meaty with the right exhaust.

Engines Swaps From… Refrigerators?

More exotic options are showing potential, too. “I’m hoping that the Kubota V2203 from reefer units will soon gain popularity once people have seen the couple of swaps I’m currently doing,” says Joseph. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, the V2203 is an engine typically used to drive refrigeration units and small skidsteer construction vehicles. They’re not exactly powerhouses, with the 2.1-liter engine only putting out around 46 hp, but this is a development we’ll watch with interest.

Wait, did we just say that diesel engines from refrigerated shipping crates are getting dropped into Toyotas? You read that right. “California recently banned the V2203 from their state,” says Joseph. “Since a large portion of refrigerated produce travels thru CA, there are tens of thousands of V2203’s being decommissioned, and they’re available for a couple hundred bucks just like an OM617.” How wild.

A random industrial engine might sound like an odd choice, but it really can work in an old truck. “They’re an NA 2.2L 4cyl that come in both indirect injection and direct injection,” says Joseph. “I have bolt-in kits ready to go for both the 22R and 3VZ-E trucks, including transmission adapter and motor mounts.” Just make sure you’ve got the right gearing, otherwise you’ll have some bother.”An R150 manual transmission must be used, mainly for its higher 5th gear, as the W56’s fifth gear is too low,” he explains.

“I am currently in the R&D process of creating a power-upgrade package, using a turbocharger, which should hopefully bring these to a reliable 150 horsepower and 300-350 pound feet of torque.” If you want one of these oddball fridge motors, though, you should move fast. “It’s paramount that people get out and buy these V2203’s from their local Carrier yards before they get scrapped,” says Joseph. “Many thousands have already been crushed, as they have no idea that there’s any value left in these engines.”

[Ed Note: These Refrigerator units are used in Jeep swaps, too!:

Imagine a diesel in a lightweight flatfender Jeep, with its crazy 5.38 factory gearing and low range. The thing will crawl up Everest! -DT]

A Diesel Swap Is A Commitment

Of course, whichever engine you choose,  swaps like these can be quite a big job. The hardest part, according to Joseph? “Space,” he says. ” I always say this is like putting 10 pounds in a 5-pound bag… a quarter-inch is a mile when it comes to these swaps.” After all, you’re fundamentally putting a big engine in where it was never supposed to go. “This is where my parts come into play,” Joseph explains. “I design parts to make these engines fit specifically into these vehicles.”

Even with the right parts, it can take quite a lot of work to complete a diesel swap successfully.

The other serious challenge? Commitment, and getting things done right. “So many people want to cut corners as well as buy cheaper foreign-made parts, butt his usually leads to swaps that don’t operate as intended, people abandoning their projects out of disgust or aggravation,” says Joseph. “I see it every day, and the best advice I can give is to do your research, save your money, and only commit to the swap once you’re ready to go all-in.”

Newer Models Mostly Keep It In The Family

Indeed, none of this is to say that later Toyotas aren’t in on the party, too. For the latest models, conversion specialists Diesel Toys recommend Toyota’s own 1GD-FTV, as seen in the Hilux and Fortuner in global markets. The 2.8-liter engine is good for 201 horsepower and 370 pound feet of torque in its modern form. Swapping one of these in nets you a truck slightly larger than a Hilux with a similar drivetrain.

However, click through to the company’s builds on YouTube, and you’ll see they’ve done plenty of good work with an earlier engine. The Toyota 1KD-FTV was a 3.0-liter diesel that was the predecessor to the later 1GD engine. It was used in everything from the Land Cruiser Prado to the Hilux, HiAce, and Fortuner. The double-overhead cam engine typically puts out 170 horsepower in stock form, along with a healthy 302 pound-feet of torque.

For something like a first-generation Tacoma, the diesel swap can be a big upgrade. A stock example might have had the 5VZ-E gas engine, with 183 horsepower and 220 pound-feet of torque. The 1KD is almost even on power while offering 37% more torque, which is particularly welcome in a pickup truck. Diesel Toys also notes you can expect fuel economy closer to 26 city, 31 highway—a big step up from the 15 city, 19 highway you’d get with the standard gasoline drivetrain.

It’s worth noting, though, that this swap doesn’t come cheap. A kit for the first-gen Tacoma will cost you $19,500 from Diesel Toys before installation, though a low-mileage 1KD engine is included in that sum. Meanwhile, if you want to swap a third-gen Tacoma to the newer 1GD, you can expect to lay down $24,000 for the kit alone.

If you want, though, you can still go old school. For example, Doomsday Diesel will gladly sell you a kit to stick a Mercedes OM617, OM60x, or VW TDI engine in your first or second gen Tacoma. However, these swaps generally aren’t as popular. “1996 to 2004 Tacomas and 4Runners are not popular for 2 reasons,” says Joseph. “They have shorter engine bays and tight independent front suspension which makes fitting anything a major challenge.” Not only that, but they’re generally rocking good engines from the factory. “The 2RZ/3RZ and 5VZ-FE are all amazing engines that last 300,000 miles, easily,” explains Joseph. “This makes them poor candidates [for swaps] since they don’t break down often.”

Tundra swaps are possible, too, but it’s more challenging. Given the sheer size and weight of the full-size Toyota pickup, you can just about forget about wheezy old Mercedes engines and tiny Volkswagen TDIs.  You need real muscle to push a Tundra down the road.

Examples of diesel Tundra swaps are rare.  Toyota built a concept in 2007 with an 8.0-liter Hino truck engine, but it was so silly as to almost be a joke. Back in the real world, Diesel Toys have indeed swapped at least one 2010 Tundra with the 1VD-FTV diesel V8 out of the 200 Series Land Cruiser. It offers 276 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque. That’s more torque than even the 5.7-liter gasoline V8 that Toyota offered in the second-generation models, which put out 381 hp and 401 pound-feet for comparison’s sake. Diesel Toys notes that you can “almost double” your fuel economy with this swap. However, you’re going to be up for almost $30,000 for the kit alone, before installation fees. The math on how many miles you’d have to drive to pay that off is left as an exercise for the reader.

What People Want

Ultimately, these swaps exist for a reason. People like diesel trucks, and they’re willing to go great lengths to get one. Looking at the matter unemotionally, it’s easy to say that you could simply sell your Toyota and buy a Ford, GM, or Ram diesel instead. But we’re car enthusiasts, and we seldom think in such cold, unfeeling terms.

The fact is that a diesel Toyota truck is out there if you want it. You probably just have to build it yourself. If you do choose to go down that path, just be prepared to invest the time and money you need to complete the job. It’s a grand challenge, but one that can prove very rewarding. We wish you all the luck in the world.

Image credits: Diesel Toys via YouTube Screenshot, Owner Builders Unite via YouTube screenshot, Doomsday Diesel/Joseph Paterson, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Toyota, MBZ 4×4

The post Some Geniuses Are Turning Toyota Pickups Into The Perfect Diesel Trucks By Using Refrigerator Engines appeared first on The Autopian.

One of the rarest types of motorcycle out there is the diesel motorcycle. Just a couple of diesel motorcycle designs have ever entered what could be considered mass-production, while most others have been relegated to weird boutique bikes, one-offs, or vaporware. The most successful diesel motorcycle ever built was the Royal Enfield Diesel, a bike that was advertised to achieve an incredible 200 mpg. And now you have an opportunity to own one for the tantalizingly low price of $6,507.

The Royal Enfield Diesel is a product of a different time. This motorcycle wasn’t meant to be fun to ride. In fact, its top speed is slower than that of a Japanese Kei truck. Instead, the Royal Enfield oil-burner is all about saving its rider piles of money. It was never sold in the Americas and the vast majority of survivors are still in India. Even diesel conversions of Royal Enfields are very rarely seen on this side of the world, let alone factory-built examples. It’s been over a year since I last saw one without having to translate an Indian site first.

Sadly, this motorcycle isn’t for sale here in America. However, it’s just a skip and a hop across large ponds in the Netherlands. It’s also a ’90s model, so it’s just a call to an importer and a boat ride from being in your hands. One of you should buy this little guy before I start ringing up importers.

Okay, I know you’re still probably scratching your head over the diesel thing. History is chock-full of diesel motorcycles designed to fulfill specific roles.

The most famous example of diesel power on two wheels is the Hayes Diversified Technologies M1030M1 combat motorcycle. This motorcycle, which I have written about previously, was designed to fulfill the military’s mission of streamlining its fueling process. See, the military saw a problem with the fact that it had to carry around different fuels for its many vehicles. The more vehicles could run on the same fuel, the more simplified logistics became for managing fuel purchasing and allocation. The fuel of choice was JP-8, since that’s what the aircraft already ran on. Thus, the M1030M1 is essentially a Kawasaki KLR650 that can run on JP-8, diesel, or darn near anything else that burns. As a bonus, the bikes got 100 mpg in the field, too, which is great!

I say the M1030M1 is the most famous example right now because it seems like every motorcycle YouTuber has played with one of these in recent months. I’m honestly surprised I haven’t seen a FortNine video on the M1030M1 yet. The M1030M1 is arguably the only other mass-produced diesel motorcycle and it’s believed that only 440 or so were built, so we aren’t talking about a ton of units.

There are plenty more diesels out there, including the Star Twin Thunder Star 1200 TDI sportbike, which used a VW diesel, or the EVA Track T-800CDI adventure bike, which used a diesel from a Smart Fortwo. Then there’s the Boccardo Aero 97, a commuter built around the same idea as the Royal Enfield Diesel, but far less successful. Also outrageously obscure is the Sommer Diesel 462, a German diesel motorcycle. There have even been some diesel muscle cruisers brewed up like the Axiom and the Neander.

Most diesel motorcycles exist not for the fun of the ride, but to save the rider oodles of money. Diesel engines are already efficient, but some builders have found that diesel engines get ridiculous fuel economy when they’re attached to a pair of wheels. Well, that’s most of the bikes above, anyway. Some of them are just weird, like the Thunder Star and the muscle bikes, which were built to prove that diesel motorcycles could be as good or better than gasoline bikes.

Unfortunately, most of those motorcycles are so unknown because they never sold in any real numbers, if they even reached production at all. You’re more likely to get struck by lightning than to find a single Track T-800 for sale. That leaves us back at the HDT M1030M1 and the Royal Enfield Diesel as the only diesel bikes you’re likely to find without straining yourself too hard.

Sadly, the secret is out about the M1030M1 and most of the ones I’m finding for sale are around $15,000, which is insane when they sold for a third of that in government auctions. But if you know where to look, the Royal Enfield Diesel is still affordable!

Why Royal Enfield Went Diesel

The history of the Royal Enfield Diesel, also called the Taurus, is a smidge fuzzy.

Royal Enfield itself says production began in 1993. However, there’s a weird twist in that local news sites like DriveSpark says Royal Enfield started building diesels even earlier in the late 1980s. It’s also easy to find late-1980s Royal Enfield Diesels on India’s equivalent of Craigslist. We’re not sure who is closer to being correct, but the year difference isn’t huge enough to matter.

I wrote about the Diesel last year, and this part will be relevant:

When the Taurus was introduced, a Bullet 350 made about 18 horses from its 346cc four-stroke single. This was good for a top speed nearing 70 mph, depending heavily on conditions. Royal Enfield’s history page doesn’t say why the Diesel was put into production, but DriveSpark reports that it had to do with fuel prices at the time. Diesel was reportedly about half of the price of gasoline back then, making a diesel-powered bike compelling, even if the motorcycle was more expensive upfront.

Housed in the familiar Bullet frame is something different. The Taurus ditched spark ignition for a 325cc diesel single made by Greaves Lombardini in Italy. This air-cooled industrial engine is good for 6.5 HP and 10.7 lb-ft torque. As you could imagine, these are slow and top speed hovers around 49 mph. That makes its performance about on the level of a 110cc gas motorcycle. According to an owner’s manual that I found, these weigh in at a heavy 370 pounds as well.

These engines redline at 3,950 RPM and I have to know how much it’s vibrating at that engine speed. If you were willing to put up with the torture of riding a shaky single-cylinder going no faster than 49 mph, Financial Express Drives says you’ll be rewarded with a whopping 190 mpg to 211 mpg fuel economy.

To put that into perspective, Honda says a Grom should hit something like 166 mpg. Of course, real-world numbers for both motorcycles will be vastly different, and the Grom is known for getting closer to 100 mpg in the real world. But there’s no doubt the Taurus is thrifty. Being cheap is the entire mission of the Royal Enfield Diesel. A Honda Grom does wheelies, will hit 55 mph, and is a total ball. The Enfield Diesel rider isn’t having that kind of fun. At the very least, the Royal Enfield Diesel has a nice 3.4-gallon fuel tank.

This Royal Enfield Taurus

If you can hit that magical 200 mpg you’ll be going a whopping 600 miles between fuel stops. Just don’t expect to get there quickly. Even a more realistic 150 mpg is still 500 miles of range! Combine that with the reported cheapness of diesel back then and the Royal Enfield Diesel made total sense. If you didn’t care about having fun, you saved a ton of cash.

Unfortunately, the diesel experiment wouldn’t last that long. Royal Enfield never released sales numbers, but the Diesel/Taurus is said to have sold well. What killed them was stricter emissions regulations and the last diesels rolled off of the Royal Enfield line sometime around 2000.

I’ve done more digging around India’s OLX marketplace longer than I’m willing to admit, but I’ve noticed that Diesels from the late 1990s are worth a lot more than the older ones, but they’re all still dirt cheap for people living in America.

This motorcycle is currently sitting in the Netherlands at Dutch Lion Motorbikes for the low price of €5,850. No description is offered other than the fact that it has low kilometers and a Dutch registration. I can tell you that riding it will be weird. These motorcycles are known for having hilariously awful brakes and a reversed shifter where first gear is up and the rest of the four total gears are down.

Unfortunately, at current exchange rates that translates to just under $6,507. At least the selling dealership says it can arrange worldwide shipping, which is good. All in, and I bet you’ll be well under the $12,500 that an Enfield Diesel sold for on eBay last year.

If you do buy this ride, you’ll have a turn-key diesel bike that won’t be the most thrilling ride of your life, but should be easy on your wallet. And while Royal Enfield no longer makes the bikes, the company is still proud of having produced the most mass-produced diesel motorcycle in history, which is still pretty wild. Just make sure to make a lot of time to get somewhere.

(Images: Dutch Lion Motorbikes, unless otherwise noted.)

The post This 200 MPG Motorcycle Is One Of The Only Mass-Produced Diesel Bikes In The World And It Can Be Yours For Cheap appeared first on The Autopian.

Quick PSA: someone on Facebook is apparently impersonating me using an account called “McMansion Hell 2.0” – If you see it, please report! Thanks!

Howdy folks! I hope if you were born between 1995 and 2001 you’re ready for some indelible pre-recession vibes because I think this entire house, including the photos have not been touched since that time.

This Wake County, NC house, built in 2007, currently boasts a price tag of 1.7 million smackaroos. Its buxom 4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths brings the total size to a completely reasonable and not at all housing-bubble-spurred 5,000 square feet.

I know everyone (at least on TikTok) thinks 2007 and goes immediately to the Tuscan theming trend that was super popular at the time (along with lots of other pseudo-euro looks, e.g. “french country” “tudor” etc). In reality, a lot of decor wasn’t particularly themed at all but more “transitional” which is to say, neither contemporary nor super traditional. This can be pulled off (in fact, it’s where the old-school Joanna Gaines excelled) but it’s usually, well, bland. Overwhelmingly neutral. Still, these interiors stir up fond memories of the last few months before mommy was on the phone with the bank crying.

I think I’ve seen these red/navy/beige rugs in literally every mid-2000s time capsule house. I want to know where they came from first and how they came to be everywhere. My mom got one from Kirkland’s Home back in the day. I guess the 2010s equivalent would be those fake distressed overdyed rugs.

I hate the kitchen bench trend. Literally the most uncomfortable seating imaginable for the house’s most sociable room. You are not at a 19th century soda fountain!!! You are a salesforce employee in Ohio!!!

You could take every window treatment in this house and create a sampler. A field guide to dust traps.

Before I demanded privacy, my parents had a completely beige spare bedroom. Truly random stuff on the walls. An oversized Monet poster they should have kept tbh. Also putting the rug on the beige carpet here is diabolical.

FYI the term “Global Village Coffeehouse” originates with the design historian Evan Collins whose work with the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute!!!!

This photo smells like a Yankee Candle.

Ok, now onto the last usable photo in the set:

No but WHY is the house a different COLOR??????? WHAT?????

Alright, I hope you enjoyed this special trip down memory lane! Happy (American) Labor Day Weekend! (Don’t forget that labor is entitled to all it creates!)

If you like this post and want more like it, support McMansion Hell on Patreon for as little as $1/month for access to great bonus content including a discord server, extra posts, and livestreams.

Not into recurring payments? Try the tip jar! Student loans just started back up!

My daughter pleaded with me this morning to drive faster so we could get to her craft camp, which was a bit of a surprise. Not that she wanted to get to her crafting expediently. She loves to craft. I was startled that she wanted me to go faster. It’s generally been understood in this family that I always drive like Whataburger is going to close in five minutes.

Not anymore. It’s only taken me a few weeks, but my obsession with getting somewhere in the least amount of time has been replaced with a neverending quest to get there with the most efficiency, as determined by the MPGometer in the dash.

It’s not that I’m driving much slower. In fact, the startling reality is that I tend to arrive at my destinations in roughly the same amount of time when I was lead-footing it. How I get there is what’s changed and I think it’s made me a better and safer driver.

The Tyranny Of The Gauge

As many of you know, I was quite displeased with my Subaru Forester and chucked it for a Honda CR-V Hybrid last month. After driving a bunch of different cars for a year in search of my ideal next ride, I was quite certain I wanted a hybrid and the CR-V ticked most of the boxes. My heart is still in the Ford Maverick and maybe one day I’ll pick up a cheap used one, but for now, my 2024 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport AWD has worked out quite well.

One feature of the Forester I didn’t even think about until I got rid of it was the “trip-meter” in the small multifunction display on the top of the dash. I’m always curious about my fuel mileage (often terrible) and learned quickly that the only thing I could regularly do to get better fuel economy was to get on the highway, which doesn’t make much sense when getting around outside New York City.

Right next to the fuel economy gauge was a little timer with E/T written above it, which stood for elapsed time. Most cars have this and I’m not sure if it was the prominent placement or just something in my brain is now forever wired to try and make screens happy, but I quickly started logging every trip in my head so I could improve my “score.”

A trip to the grocery store should take 11 minutes. The gym should be 17 minutes. The morning trip to school, on a good day, is a 12-minute journey, a great day is when it only takes 9 minutes, and anything over 14 minutes is a failure. The school trip really took over my mornings.

I’m definitely the kind of person who notes every stoplight and tries to find the ideal traffic pattern, which led me to realize that if I could get on a specific stretch of road in one of the first two cars and speed a little bit I could catch the second traffic light. If that didn’t work, I could always slam the car into the left turn lane and be one of the first four people in line at the turn signal and go the back way around the hospital.

There was a week when one of the lights was switched to a blinking red because of construction and I was ecstatic because I hit the holy grail of a six-minute trip to school. In doing so I also drove a little faster than I needed to, ran yellows, and otherwise drove more aggressively than I probably should in my neighborhood. I’m sure if I just drove like a normal person I’d have made it in seven minutes.

I literally found myself getting angry as the clock started to tick over ten as I’d “failed” that morning. It was a bad way to be.

The Happy Gauge

With the purchase of my CR-V Hybrid I quickly noticed a new quest had entered into my field of view. An MPGometer. Specifically, it tells me how much fuel economy I’ve achieved for the life of the specific trip meter. There were a few delivery miles on my CR-V and those were not very efficient because it was mostly being trucked around.

I quickly reset “A” and made that my main tracker of fuel economy.

Quite quickly I was up into the 38.X range.

As you can see, the CR-V should be getting a stout 37 MPG, which is a vast improvement over the 27 MPG I was supposed to get in the Forester (I got nowhere close, I probably averaged around 24 mpg). My goal quickly became clear: I need to get the CR-V Hybrid to 40.0 MPG on average.

This is one of those challenges that theoretically becomes harder over time as every mile adds to the denominator. Also, the EPA claims it doesn’t perform as well on the highway over longer distances so a road trip might throw this off a bit, though so far I haven’t seen it drop too low.

To my surprise, it’s been way easier and more fun to try and squeeze an extra decimal point of MPG out of the CR-V. That’s what people talk about at race tracks when they talk about “finding a few tenths” right?

How I’m Driving Differently

As previously discussed, the Honda CR-V Hybrid operates slightly differently than some other mass-market hybrids like the Ford Escape HEV or Toyota RAV4 HEV. Those systems generally use a planetary gearset to switch between one of two motor-generators and the gas engine. Honda, instead, uses one powerful motor for driving the wheels directly and the gas engine either as a generator or a combo. Instead of a planetary gear, there are two clutches (one high and one low). The above chart from the user manual explains the modes fairly well.

My CR-V is AWD, but instead of a small electric motor in the rear, as you’d find on many hybrids, there’s a real mechanical linkage and no rear motor (I suspect this will make the car perform better in the snow than a comparable Toyota hybrid and will test it once it gets colder). Because of this, there’s an “ECO” mode, but no “EV Only” mode.

This means that driving efficiently is all about maximizing your time in “EV” mode, which is shown clearly on the dash where a tachometer would normally go. I have a few strategies that seem to work.

You Gotta Learn To Sail

I cannot expertly sail a boat. I’ve helped my friends on their sailboats before and I understand the basic rules, which in no way qualifies me to sail anything larger than a small dinghy (and even then). I can sail a car, though.

What I mean is I can get a car up to speed and find the point of minimal throttle input to convince the CR-V’s computer that it can maintain forward momentum using only the electric motor. If you’re too heavy on the skinny pedal the car will assume you want more juice and kick on the engine, either to act as a generator or, at speeds above 45 mph, to propel the car. I’ve done this for miles on highways.

I call this “sailing” and it’s fun in its own nerdy way. Even though the car doesn’t have a manual, it keeps me engaged in the driving process. This seems like a good strategy as the car does the same thing when it’s in cruise control, though not as expertly.

You Gotta See The Road

If you go to a high-performance driving school one of the first things they’ll teach you is to look down the racetrack. If your eyes are right in front of you there’s no way you’ll be able to set the car up for this corner, let alone the corner behind it.

When trying to hypermile the CR-V I’m doing the same. As smart as my CR-V is, it can’t interpret the road ahead, it doesn’t know the light is about to turn red because the walk signal is counting down to zero. It doesn’t sense a long slow dip in the pavement which means I can coast a lot further.

Some of the most efficient driving I’ve gotten out of the CR-V has been coming home from the gym, which usually involves some interstate traffic that keeps me in the ideal 40-50 mph range where efficiency seems to peak. Additionally, I’ve come to learn that my gym is ever so slightly uphill from my home, so I can coast for long periods of time on the barely perceptible slope.

I now have a way better sense of what is uphill and downhill from where I live, though living near the coast means that almost everything is uphill from here.

The CR-V’s Paddles Are For Performance

I’ll be honest, I almost never use the flappy paddles on a performance car if I’m not on a race track. I might reach for them if I see a quick pass coming while I’m on the highway or a rural road, but they’re mostly vestigial for me and, I assume, most people.

The paddles in the CR-V have a more helpful mission, similar to what you’ll find on a lot of electric cars these days. Instead of shifting gears (there is no real transmission to speak of and the ratios for the lock-up clutches are too broad to be useful), the paddles are used to increase or decrease regenerative braking.

On most electric cars, this is a set-it-and-forget-it feature. You set the regen braking you want and you’re good. On the CR-V Hybrid, it’s an active part of driving if you’re interested in saving more fuel. As you begin to slow down in traffic or come to a turn you can actively depress the paddle up to four times to get ever-increasing levels of regeneration.

Even better, in most situations pressing that button will signal to the car that it should slip into EV mode as it begins to decelerate. If you give it enough time or you’re on a slight incline the strongest level will slow the car down entirely, though it’s not quite enough for true one-pedal driving in most situations.

If you find yourself slowing too quickly for traffic you can quickly cancel it by accelerating or, better, by using the right paddle shifter to reduce some of the mechanical drag.

I Am Driving Near The Speed Limit More Often

I still generally go with the “flow of traffic” because I live in the Tri-State area and don’t want to get flattened by an idiot in a Suburban. I also will choose the shortest distance when I pull up a journey on Google Maps because, as much as I enjoy doing this, I’m not going to spend 15 minutes doing this unnecessarily.

This is extremely obvious, but driving closer to the speed limit more often is one of the easiest and most impactful ways to save on fuel. Because I suddenly care more about fuel mileage than I do about raw speed I’ve found myself hovering around posted speeds with a frequency that was not as common before.

As I mentioned above, this seems to cost me very little time overall.

It’s Working!

In driving my daughter to school I briefly dropped to 38.9, but only briefly. I had to get on the highway and there’s a quick merge that requires getting up to speed over too short a distance. I was prepared for it, mentally, so it didn’t bother me. I just coasted at the speed limit for the 1.5 miles to the exit and was back to 39.0 mpg in no time.

For all the effort I put into this, I share the CR-V Hybrid with a wife who is generally disinterested in changing her driving habits to make a few pixels on an LCD change and she seems to do just fine when it comes to economy. While I was gone for a week she took a long trip down the coast on roads that kept her at an ideal speed for the CR-V and was the first person to touch the 39.X range.

As the days get shorter and the weather turns colder I suspect my lighter use of the A/C might result in even better fuel economy as I reach for the mythical 40.0 MPG number.

The post Daily Driving A Hybrid Has Entirely Changed How I Drive appeared first on The Autopian.

If there’s one thing we know about the future, it’s that it has the potential to be both weirder and cooler than you could ever imagine. Case in point: Ariel, famed for the face-rearranging Atom, has built a prototype off-road buggy called the E-Nomad and it weighs just 1,975 pounds. Who says electric cars need to be heavy?

Alright, so there are some compromises afoot to keep the E-Nomad concept so light. For starters, it has no doors or side windows, and its 41 kWh battery pack affords it a range of only 150 miles or so. However, there’s also some seriously cool work done to keep weight light, namely building the bodywork out of flax. Yep, flax, although a different part of the flax plant than the fiber-rich seeds.

Much like linen bedsheets, creating the bodywork for the Ariel Nomad starts with pulling flax fibers from the stems of flax plants, which are then woven into a textile. However, unlike bedsheets, that textile is pre-impregnated with resin, creating a material similar to pre-preg carbon fiber. The resulting product is much greener than carbon fiber while still being incredibly stiff and light. How’s that for a win? The panels are then ribbed on the backside using more bio-composites for extra rigidity, and the front side looks similar to Kevlar on old race cars, a damn cool look.

As for the battery pack, it’s supplied by the wizards at Rockfort Engineering. Sure, the firm’s headquarters may look like part of a nondescript industrial estate in Banbury, but they’ve done engineering work for F1, Formula E, WEC, and WRC teams, top-level motorsports stuff from top-level motorsports minds. The resultant pouch cell battery modules are called Pegasus V3s, and 12 of them combine to store 41 kWh of power and operate at 450 volts.

All that juice then gets fed to a Cascadia Motion IDM90 drive unit with an integrated limited-slip differential and Borg Warner motor. The result? A stout 281 horsepower, a ridiculous figure for an EV weighing less than 2,000 pounds. Ariel quotes a zero-to-60 mph time of 3.4 seconds, more than brisk enough to keep up with some of the quickest street-legal off-roaders around.

Granted, there are a few things we don’t know about the Ariel E-Nomad. Peak charging current isn’t quoted, but juicing up from 20 to 80 percent on a DC fast charger is said to take less than 25 minutes, which means the maximum charging rate is likely fairly low in the grand scheme of things. In addition, this thing’s only a concept for now. Ariel claims it “will monitor consumer reaction to inform its future plans,” which basically means if enough people throw money at the firm, it’ll build an electric Nomad.

Still, it’s hard not to get the sense that an electric off-road buggy you could legally use on the streets would be a ridiculous amount of fun. Removing the roar of an internal combustion engine should get you closer to nature, and there’s something about being kinder to the earth while playing in the mud that feels easy to get behind.

(Photo credits: Ariel)

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The post The Ariel E-Nomad Is An Electric Off-Road Buggy With A Body Made Of Flax appeared first on The Autopian.