While Toyota is still mum on most of its vehicles slated for the Tokyo Auto Salon, there will be at least a pair of Harrier SUVs, kitted out and providing a closer look at what to expect from the next-generation Lexus RX.

The Harrier went on sale in Japan December 2, and though the Lexus version likely sport the marque’s corporate spindle grille, hard points aft of the fenders are expected to find their way to the US-market version.

Finished in white, the Harrier TRD Sportivo Concept is the product of Toyota’s in-house racing accessory arm. The stock Harrier’s clear plastic grille is replaced with a metallic gray two-section unit with mesh grating. A front spoiler, side skirts and a rear diffuser lower the overall body height by as much as two inches. A sport stainless-steel muffler with dual outlets and 18-inch 10-spoke alloys round out the package. Most distinctively, the TRD Sportivo Concept is equipped with all-clear side marker and taillights, recalling the taillight lenses of former RX hybrids.

Finished in dark blue, the Harrier Modellista Version 1 is a luxury appearance package that adds a jutting front spoiler with chrome plated fins, side skirts with blacked-out accents, and a rear apron with a wide, plated section. Side view mirrors and the rear license plate surround also receive plated accents. The grille becomes a stacked two-opening unit. The overall body height is dropped 1.5 inches and the wheels are 19-inch alloys. All Modellista parts are sold through dealers as genuine accessories.

In addition to the Harriers, Toyota has a whopping 23 Auto Salon vehicles planned. At least six will be variations on the Toyota 86 (aka Scion FR-S), but the automaker is playing those cards close to the chest for now.

The Mazda Flair Crossover is the Hiroshima automaker’s latest foray into Japan’s hotly contested kei car segment. It joins the standard Flair and high-roof Flair Wagon in Mazda’s lineup of urban runabouts, all of which are actually rebadged Suzukis.

The basis for the Flair Crossover, the Suzuki Hustler, was unveiled at November’s Tokyo Motor Show. Billed as a kei car for campers and outdoors sports enthusiasts, its clever packaging touches includes a cargo area with washable floor and rear seat backs, flat surfaces that can double as tables, and storage compartments underneath the seat cushions.

The exterior features a white roof, a design pioneered by the 1960 Toyota Land Cruiser to reflect sunlight and keep the cabin cool (though the Flair Crossover does come with standard air-con). In fact, the overall appearance is that of a shrunken down Toyota FJ Cruiser, particularly with its large, round headlights, body color matched interior panels, and rugged dash and console design. In an increasingly crowded kei car market where dimension restrictions force designers to make everything into a tall box, the unique styling is a refreshing change of pace.

The Flair Crossover is powered by Suzuki’s 660cc DOHC motor with variable valve timing and optional turbocharging. Kei car regulations cap power at 63 hp. Though the only transmission choice is a CVT, drivetrain options include both front- and all-wheel-drive. Fuel economy can reach as high as 69 mpg in Japan’s JC08 testing cycle. Dynamic stability and traction control come standard, as does a front stabilizer bar and skid plate. Mazda boasts that the approach and departure angles are 28 and 46 degrees, respectively, and AWD models even offer hill descent control.

Kei cars comprise over one-third of all new car sales in Japan, but larger automakers typically don’t engineer their own. Mazda sells rebadged Suzukis, Nissan recently entered a kei joint venture with Mitsubishi, and Toyota builds them through their subsidiary Daihatsu, some of which are rebadged as and Subarus. Only Honda, Suzuki (both motorcycle manufacturers) and Mitsubishi build their own kei cars.

Nissan has released a teaser image of a new sports sedan concept heading to the Detroit Motor Show in a couple of weeks. Its name, fittingly, is the Nissan Sports Sedan Concept.

Though details remain sparse, the four-door will herald a new design language for the Nissan brand. Styling cues such as the chrome V grille and more starkly angled boomerang headlights will be propagated throughout the Nissan lineup in the coming years.

The press release states that the Nissan IDx Freeflow and IDx NISMO will join it on stage at Cobo Hall for their North American debuts. The pair recently made a splash at the Tokyo Motor Show by showing a potential rear-wheel-drive Scion FR-S/ Subaru BRZ fighter with styling inspired by cars from Nissan’s rich past such as the Datsun 510 and Skyline.

The press release has led some to speculate that the Sports Sedan Concept takes the IDx concept closer to a reborn 510 (that is, an entry-level front-engined, rear-wheel-drive sedan) but we can confirm that it is not.

Instead, the Sport Sedan Concept’s name is likely a callback to the 1989 Nissan Maxima, the first performance-oriented generation of that model. The Maxima was marketed as the “Four Door Sports Car” in ad copy and even had a tiny, almost unnoticeable “4DSC” emblem on the door pillar. Furthermore, the current Maxima debuted in 2009 and is due for a refresh.

We asked a Nissan spokesman whether the concept is a peek at the next-generation Maxima, but received an answer that would neither confirm nor deny the hypothesis. No powertrain or performance specs were released.

A new 1.8-liter turbocharged engine injects new performance and fuel economy into the Volkswagen Jetta for 2014. Replacing an antiquated 2.5-liter five-cylinder, the new motor offers the same power, more torque and way better fuel economy. Not to mention, as our Ron Doron finds out, the new Jetta is far more drivable than ever before.

A number of other upgrades make the Jetta more livable for 2014; all models gain an upgraded rear suspension and an improved electric power steering system. The 1.8-liter engine, meanwhile, will quickly make its way into the rest of Volkswagen’s lineup over the next year or so.

Join Ron as he takes you on a drive in the thoroughly upgraded 2014 Volkswagen Jetta sedan and don’t forget to visit our Buying Guide for more information on Jetta lineup.

Volvo will officially return to the station wagon segment in the United States and Canada early next year when its $36,215 V60 goes on sale.

The wagon complement to the automaker’s S60 compact premium sedan lineup, the V60 is Volvo’s first traditional wagon in several years; the V70 was phased out after the 2010 model year in the U.S. in favor of the more crossover-like XC70 (which is, admittedly, a V70 with a suspension lift and a body kit).

Functionally identical to the S60, which receives an engine lineup update for 2015, the V60 will be offered in three flavors: Four-cylinder front-wheel-drive V60 T5 Drive-E, Five-cylinder all-wheel-drive T5 AWD and six-cylinder all-wheel-drive T6 AWD.

The big news is the arrival of Volvo’s new 2.0-liter, 240-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder in the T5 Drive-E, which will also benefit from a new eight-speed automatic gearbox. Rated at 258 lb-ft. of torque, the new engine is expected to deliver class-leading fuel economy once official EPA figures are released.

The all-wheel-drive V60s carry over a 250 pony inline-five and 325-horse inline six, both of which are mated to six-speed automatics.

Pricing details
The $36,215 base price, including a mandatory destination charge, nets buyers a T5 Drive-E. An extra $1,800 brings with it leather trim, a digital gauge cluster, a proximity key and uprated 17-inch alloy wheels as part of the Premier package. Adding a further $750 upgrades buyers to the Premier Plus trim with a backup camera and a number of other goodies. Topping the range, at $40,450, is the Platinum with navigation and a premium stereo system.

All-wheel-drive on the T5 adds $1,500, but, again, it substitutes the new four-cylinder motor for a carried-over five-cylinder.

More sport-minded buyers can opt for the six-cylinder T6, which is offered exclusively with Volvo’s R-Design performance suspension and trim package. The V60 T6 R-Design lists from $45,215.

It’s not clear just how much the price premium for the V60 will be over its S60 sibling; pricing for the 2015 S60 has not yet been released. The V60 T5 AWD does undercut its only direct rival, the BMW 328i xDrive wagon, by nearly $5,000. Budget shoppers could put the V60 T5 Drive-E up against the $32,880 Acura TSX wagon, which is better-equipped but significantly less powerful.