News Roundup: 2024 Hyundai Sonata, $10 Million Car Theft Squad, and Tesla’s Bad Yoke

Welcome to our roundup of the biggest new stories on Driving.ca from the past week. Buckle up and get ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard to keep up in digital traffic.

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Here’s what you missed while you were gone.

Hyundai shows off a beautiful new 2024 Hyundai Sonata

2024 Hyundai Sonata Photo by Hyundai

The Hyundai Sonata has received a makeover this year, and the first batch of images suggest it looks pretty good indeed. No mechanical upgrades were noted, but visuals of the “aero-friendly exterior design” hint at the sedan’s new styling, dubbed “The Sportiness.” Highlights include front horizontal lights and hidden headlamps, new taillights and a redesigned bonnet — but you really have to see the whole car to appreciate the importance of the upgrade.

Things are perhaps a little more familiar inside in terms of layout, but the added premium materials bring a new level of class. And Hyundai has embraced the curved display trend, in this case with a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch infotainment screen. Guests at the Seoul Mobility Show will get their first glimpse of the new Sonata in the flesh right now before it goes on sale worldwide.

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Peel police nab car thieves sitting on $10 million worth of stolen vehicles

Ontario police intercept container of stolen vehicles Photo by @OPP_HSD /Twitter

Peel Regional Police arrested a number of individuals and seized 78 vehicles worth a total of $10 million in an operation called “Project R&R”. The Range Rover was the most common nameplate in the group, and apparently a group of the vehicles were pinched from supposedly safe locations such as lots at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport and underground garages.

The arrests are a sign that the police system is working hard, but thieves are also advancing their strategies. And Canada may be seen by some as a honey pot. “Canada has been a bit of a free-for-all, but it’s a very strong statement that proactive law enforcement has taken a big step,” said Brian Gast, vice president of investigations at the Equite Association, which worked with police during the sting.

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Police have laid 34 charges against four people and say more are to come.

Bad yoke: The Tesla store sells replacement wheels for the steering yoke

Tesla Model S Plaid yoke Photo by Justin Pritchard

Tesla is one of those fast growing brands. Elon waits for no one. He has the money and executes the ideas. But not all of the EV company’s ideas are hits. Consider the relatively recent reinvention of the brand’s steering wheel. It wasn’t broken, but they decided to “fix” it by adding a rectangular yoke-style steering gear to its rack. Well, people hated it.

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Harley-Davidson has created its most powerful v-twin engine yet

Harley-Davidson competing in Moto America’s new King of the Baggers series Photo by Harley-Davidson

If you’ve watched the wildness that is the King of the Baggers moto series and believe this level of fast-paced, risky fun is for you, good news. You can speed up too! Because HD has taken the factory out of these motorsport bikes and is offering it as a box engine. For $10,440 you could be cruising around the local track with Screamin’ Eagle 135ci Stage IV Performance Crate engine power your Harley. The plant produces 130 horsepower and 143 lb-ft of torque, about 41 percent more horsepower and 28 percent more torque than the standard Milwaukee-Eight 117 V-twin. Harley also suggests running the Screamin’ Eagle Ventilator Extreme air cleaner and a slightly “muted” Street Cannon exhaust.

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The new crate engine is designed to fit any 2021 or later touring Harley. Will not fit Harley trikes.

Toyota is teasing the new Tacoma, possibly arriving on April 4

@toyotausa Instragram post teasing the new Tacoma Photo by Toyota USA on Instagram

But the post is also definitely a cheeky nod to a leak made by Toyota’s Brazilian faction earlier this year, when internet sleuths revealed design drawings of a truck on the patent office’s website and sparked much speculation about the new Tacoma. This new post features the current model year Tacoma sitting in front of a building labeled “Brazilian Patent Office” and accompanied by the caption “patented good looks.” The image also features a white truck that is likely the new Tacoma from the side, but it’s blurred enough that you can make out details. If these numbers are what we think they are, this image will be in focus in just a few days. Stay on the line.

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Digging into the 2024 Porsche Cayenne

2024 Porsche Cayenne interior Photo by Porsche

The Taycan set a new bar for Porsche digital controls, but the 2024 Cayenne might just clear it. Porsche has a double dose of the new SUV with even more screen options and fewer buttons than before, including a freestanding 12.6-inch curved display that uses anti-glare filters instead of a hood lid, and the option of a 10.9- passenger screen for navigation and media. This second screen, which can stream video, is angled away from the driver to avoid distraction.

The 2024 Porsche Cayenne will make its full debut at the Shanghai Auto Show on April 18, 2023.

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