News Roundup: Cross Canada in a VW EV, Ford Free Wheeling, New Land Cruiser, More

ID.4 record attempt

Volkswagen is looking at a record-setting drive attempt with an ID.4 EV. German adventure driver Rainer Zietlow left St. John's last week trying to set a Guinness World Record for driving trans-Canada in an EV with the fewest charge stops. Zietlow's drive can be tracked here. Once he arrives in Victoria, BC, Zietlow will turn around and do the drive again. This time, though, he'll be stopping at each of VW's 145 dealers in Canada.

Retro Bronco Sport



Ford is launching a new 70s-inspired graphics pack for Bronco Sport buyers. It's called the Free Wheeling package and it's a re-do of a Ford campaign of the same name from the 1970s. The 2024 Ford Bronco Sport Free Wheeling is a Big Bend-trim with sunset gradient graphics, red-painted wheels, and a unique grille. The cabin of the Bronco Sport is similarly modified with sunset-coloured seat inserts and ombre stitching as well as Race Red door trim. There will also be a Black Appearance package for 2024 that includes matte black wheels, a matte hood graphic, and a black roof as well as black logos inside and out.

New Bolt EV coming



Chevrolet has confirmed there will be a second-generation Bolt EV. The popular and affordable compact electric was dropped from Chevy's lineup and leaves production this year, but GM CEO Mary Barra has confirmed there will be a new one. The new Bolt EV will use GM's Ultium electric architecture, the same underpinnings and battery system used by the GMC Hummer EV and the upcoming Equinox EV. In the announcement, Chevrolet said that 70 percent of Bolt buyers are new to GM vehicles and that 80 percent stay in the GM family. Both are significant achievements for the brand. No word on when we can expect the new model.

Subaru Eyesight with stick shift



Subaru has added its EyeSight driver assistance suite to the manual transmission BRZ for 2024. A sign that the performance model will be sticking around for some time. The automaker also launched a new STI-tuned tS trim. EyeSight brings adaptive cruise, pre-collision braking, lane departure, and other key modern driver assists to the stick-shift BRZ for the first time. It will be standard on all grades of BRZ. The tS model is the special one, with STI-tuned dampers front and rear, Brembo brakes with larger pads and rotors, and Pilot Sport 4S tires. tS badging and black accents finish off the look, and there will be STI logos on the starter button and digital dash display.

New Land Cruiser coming



Toyota is making a long-anticipated reveal this week. The 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser is coming on August 1. All we can tell so far is that the legendary off-roader will have a very blocky grille. The Land Cruiser hasn't been offered in Canada as a new vehicle since 1996 (and it was axed in the US for 2021). We're expecting a Toyota version of the Lexus GX and its driveline options rather than the gigantic J300 Land Cruiser unveiled for the rest of the world in 2021.