Edmunds: 5 game-changing vehicles you'll want to know about

If you’re thinking about buying a new car but don’t need one right away, now is a great time to show a little patience. Generally, waiting until the fall of winter can create an opportunity to purchase an all-new or significantly updated vehicle. The 2025 model year is jam-packed with big updates for some of the most popular vehicles. To give you an inside scoop on what’s coming down the pike in the next few months, the automotive experts at Edmunds have picked five vehicles that promise to be well worth the wait.

Cadillac’s Optiq SUV will be a new option for electric SUV shoppers who might have otherwise considered an Audi Q4 e-tron, Genesis GV60 or Tesla Model Y. A follow-up to the larger Lyriq luxury SUV, the smaller, less expensive Optiq targets the mainstream in a big way. Considering the standard all-wheel drive, 300 horsepower and estimated 300 miles of range, it should be compelling. Another reason to be excited is that Cadillac’s hands-free Super Cruise driving feature is standard equipment. Edmunds has found Super Cruise to be beneficial in making driving in heavy traffic less fatiguing.

Estimated on-sale date: Late 2024

Starting price: $54,390, including destination

Mazda’s CX-50 is Edmunds top-ranked small SUV. It boasts a classy interior, sporty handling and a decent off-road capability. For 2025, the CX-50 will add hybrid fuel efficiency to the mix as well. The new hybrid version will borrow its powertrain from the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. While there is not an official EPA figure yet, Mazda estimates it will get 38 mpg in combined city/highway driving. That’s 10 mpg better than the CX-50’s most efficient base engine. With 219 horsepower, the hybrid is more powerful, too.

Estimated on-sale date: Late 2024

Starting price: $35,390, including destination

The Ram 1500 REV will be the automaker’s first electric truck. Its dual electric motors will produce up to 654 horsepower and allow a max tow rating of 14,000 pounds. That’s significantly more than the 10,000-pound maximum towing capacities of the electric Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevrolet Silverado EV. Two battery options will be available. The standard pack should propel the 1500 REV to an estimated 350 miles while the bigger battery will be good for an estimated 500 miles of range. Ram also says the 1500 EV will have multiple household-style power outlets to power tools and equipment for recreational use, job sites and more.

Estimated on-sale date: Late 2024

Estimated starting price: $65,000

A new 911 is always a big deal, but this one is particularly special. For 2025, the 911 is going hybrid. However, Porsche didn’t hybridize its iconic sports car just for better fuel economy. Here, the hybrid is about performance. The powertrain exclusive to the 911 GTS combines a turbocharged flat-six engine with a hybrid system to produce an impressive 532 horsepower. Besides the extra oomph, the hybrid system also helps to improve responsiveness at low rpm. Other changes for all 2025 911s include standard rear-axle steering and a fully digital dashboard.

On-sale date: Available now

911 GTS starting price: $166,895, including destination

Toyota’s 4Runner is getting a much-needed overall for 2025. This midsize SUV is thoroughly modern but still has all the qualities that made prior editions so popular. Toyota has dropped the old V6 in favor of a new turbocharged four-cylinder good for 278 horsepower. A 326-horsepower hybrid version will also be available. Inside, the new 4Runner sports an available 14-inch center touchscreen and chunky control knobs and switches. Of course, the latest 4Runner won’t skimp on off-road capability. The new Trailhunter version, for example, will have additional ground clearance, 33-inch off-road tires, a locking rear differential and more.

Estimated on-sale date: Fall 2024

Estimated starting price: $42,000

The 2025 model year is jam-packed with big updates for some of the most popular vehicles on the market. These models we listed above will have some significant advantages over a vehicle in the here and now. Buyers shopping for new wheels will have a lot of exciting options to choose from in the next few months.

This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds.

Chase Bierenkoven is a contributor at Edmunds and is on Twitter

This photo provided by Toyota shows the 2025 4Runner. The new 4Runner has new engines, an updated interior and even more off-road capability than before. (Courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. via AP)

This photo provided by Porsche shows the 2025 911 GTS. The GTS has a new hybrid powertrain that significantly improves performance and low-speed responsiveness. (Courtesy of Porsche Cars North America, Inc. via AP)

This photo provided by Ram shows the 2025 Ram 1500 REV. It will be Ram's first all-electric pickup and will have up to an estimated 500 miles of range. (Courtesy of Stellantis via AP)

This photo provided by Mazda shows the 2025 CX-50. It receives a new hybrid powertrain option that will get close to 40 mpg. (Courtesy of Mazda North American Operations via AP)

This photo provided by Cadillac shows the 2025 Optiq. A small crossover SUV, the new Optiq is fully electric and comes standard with a hands-free driving feature. (Courtesy of General Motors via AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded near simultaneously across Lebanon and in parts of Syria on Tuesday, wounding members of the militant group Hezbollah, the Iranian ambassador and dozens of other people. Officials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack at a time of rising tensions across the Lebanon border.

A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that “several hundred” people, including members of the group, were wounded in different parts of Lebanon when their handheld pagers exploded. He said a few Hezbollah fighters were also wounded in Syria when the pagers they were carrying exploded, and said it was believed to be an Israeli attack.

It wasn’t immediately clear if people were killed.

The Associated Press reached out to the Israeli military, which declined to comment.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, close to the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, said on its Telegram channel that Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador in Lebanon, has a superficial injury and is under observation at a hospital. Another semi-official Mehr news agency, also on its Telegram channel, reported that Amani was wounded by a pager explosion.

Photos and videos from Beirut’s southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their pants pockets.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members not to carry cellphones, saying that they could be used by Israel to track their movements and to carry out targeted strikes.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry called on all hospitals to be on alert to take in emergency patients and for people who own pagers to get away from them. It also asked health workers to avoid using wireless devices.

AP photographers at area hospitals said the emergency rooms were overloaded with patients, many of them with injuries to their limbs, some in serious condition.

The state-run National News Agency said hospitals in southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs — all areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence — had called on people to donate blood of all types.

The news agency reported that in Beirut’s southern suburbs and other areas “the handheld pagers system was detonated using advanced technology, and dozens of injuries were reported.”

The Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media said the explosions were the result of “a security operation that targeted the devices.”

“The enemy (Israel) stands behind this security incident,” the official said, without elaborating. He added that the new pagers that Hezbollah members were carrying had lithium batteries that apparently exploded.

Lithium batteries, when overheated, can smoke, melt and even catch on fire. Rechargeable lithium batteries are used in consumer products ranging from cellphones and laptops to electric cars. Lithium battery fires can burn up to 590 C (1,100 F).

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing near-daily for more than 11 months against the backdrop of war between Israel and Hezbollah ally Hamas in Gaza.

The clashes have killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border. On Tuesday, Israel said that halting Hezbollah’s attacks in the north to allow residents to return to their homes is now an official war goal.

Israel has killed Hamas militants in the past with booby trapped cellphones and it’s widely believed to have been behind the Stuxnet computer virus attack on Iran’s nuclear program in 2010.

Abby Sewell and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, and Josef Federman, in Jerusalem, contributed to this report.

Police officers inspect a car inside of which a hand-held pager exploded, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Police officers inspect a car inside of which a hand-held pager exploded, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Police officers inspect a car inside of which a hand-held pager exploded, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A Civil Defense first-responder carries a wounded man whose handheld pager exploded at al-Zahraa hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Civil Defense first-responders carry a wounded man whose handheld pager exploded at al-Zahraa hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)