Genesis GV60 and Ford Escape PHEV reviews, dual-charge-port GM EVs, electric RVs: The Week in Reverse

Why were the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 recalled?

How much emissions comes from tires, again? 

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending May 20, 2022.  

How does the first luxury relative of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 drive and perform? You’ll want to read our review of the Genesis GV60. And in more of an everyday-driving review of the Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid, we found this model to be lost in Ford’s Energi era, lacking the design- and tech-savvy of the Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. Really, it just needs to commit to the plug-in side a little bit more.

The 2023 Cadillac Lyriq costs $62,990 in single-motor rear-wheel-drive form, or $64,990 in dual-motor all-wheel-drive form, Cadillac announced this week. It also revealed that it anticipates the RWD version to return an EPA-rated 312 miles of range. 

We reported on an unusual patent filing—suggesting that GM might be considering a dual-charge-power layout for its electric trucks. The configuration, as described, would allow a double-layer pack like that in the GMC Hummer EV or upcoming Chevy Silverado EV to charge with either port at 400V, one of them at 800V, or even to charge on one while using the other to send a load—potentially to charge a second EV all from the same charge connector. 

2023 Chevrolet Silverado EV

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 were recalled over rollaway concerns and a software fix that would otherwise sound like a great example for the advantages of over-the-air fixes in its advanced platform. Only these models have to go to dealerships as they don’t yet allow it. 

Kia sees electric vans as playing a key role in its strategy for advanced mobility and autonomous tech. It showed renderings of the first few so-called Purpose Built Vehicles (PBVs), for which it’s targeting various global markets. 

Rendering of Kia Purpose Built Vehicles

Hyundai announced plans for a Georgia electric vehicle plant, along with a nearby battery venture to supply it. With an annual capacity of 300,000 EVs and production set to start in the first half of 2025, the move puts some seriousness behind Hyundai Group’s intent to be—across its combined brands including Kia and Genesis—one of the top three EV sellers in the U.S. by 2026. 

The American firm Sila will provide its silicon anode battery chemistry for the upcoming electric version of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV, the automaker confirmed. The electric SUV will be able to deliver a longer range without packaging sacrifices, thanks to the cells’ higher energy density. 

Honda Prologue teaser – May 2022

The GM-based Honda Prologue EV is due in 2024, and it was teased this week in a design sketch. Although GM will build the Prologue, Honda’s own EVs are in the works, to arrive a couple years later. 

Several new concept vehicles were shown this week from European automakers. The Mercedes Vision AMG concept provides a glimpse of the future of the AMG performance-vehicle brand—including an exclusive platform and its own motor systems. It looks designed to coordinate with the slick EQXX concept, which isn’t a bad thing. And sustainability is the theme for the Renault Scénic Vision concept, which borrows its name from the bulbous Euro-focused people-mover that arrived in the 1990s, but shows the future with a combination of 40-kw battery pack and 16-kw fuel-cell stack providing nearly a 500-mile range—hydrogen tank and hydrogen network still TBA. 

Renault Scénic Vision concept

Based on a report from earlier this week, at least some of VW’s U.S. dealerships were completely out of the loop on its Scout electric SUV brand—bringing questions about whether the German automaker is trying to circumvent dealerships and sell directly. 

New data presented by a UK firm on tire wear again brought an avalanche of comments and commentary from our readers. Could the added weight of EV battery packs greatly increase particulate emissions from tires? We think so, if you look at the firm’s less-extreme scenario.

2023 Nissan Leaf

Amid high gas prices, the operating-cost advantages of electric vehicles have grown even stronger—and they can now be driven at as little as 15% of the cost of gasoline vehicles per mile, found an updated report from an EV industry group. 

A group of experts this week warned that the Department of Energy’s upcoming $8 billion hydrogen hubs could be as dirty as coal—in terms of carbon impact—if the DOE doesn’t declare and define exactly what “clean hydrogen” means. 

Electrify America announced that it’s signed on for 75 MW of new Mojave Desert solar, allowing an annual energy output for the whole charging network to be boosted by 225,000 MWh—more than enough to offset all of its energy use. 

Stela Vita electric RV on Fully Charged Show

Electric RVs are coming within a few years, and as a leading RV maker suggested, pointing to survey results, expectations for charging e-RVs are unrealistic, verging on impossible, given present charging realities. We need a new set of infrastructure solutions—so who will step up? Then we also took a look at the Stella Vita electric RV that started as a student project. With an estimated 372 miles out of a 60-kwh battery pack, a super-aerodynamic form, lightweight construction, and roof-mounted solar panels, is it the future of RVs?

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