What to See at the 2018 Portland Auto Show

Ram 1500 Portland Auto Show
The 2019 Ram 1500 pick up truck. Photo: Meagan Wristen

If you need a new car this is the place to shop for it.

The Portland Auto Show is in full swing at the Oregon Convention Center. It runs from January 25th to 28th, 2018 and it is one of the largest auto shows in the Pacific Northwest.

Here are five of the coolest new cars, trucks, and SUVs I saw at the Portland Auto Show.

2019 Ram 1500 Limited

The 2019 Ram 1500 Limited is Ram’s strongest and most capable Ram light duty pickup ever. It’s the longest, yet the lightest. It’s in the rear seats you will experience the added length. Not only will you have more leg room, but the seats recline 8 degrees. And, it gets 27 mpg with the hybrid system! There is a  brake regeneration system that to re-powers the battery. It’s made with over 50% high strength steel and it can tow up to 12,750 pounds.
They’ve added a charger in back in the Ram box and a 19 speaker Harmon Kardon sound system in the cab.
You can set up to 4 personalized profiles in audio system and they’ve created an on demand Sirius allowing you to stream whatever you want whenever you want. There is even an optional 12-inch Uconnect 4 screen with a split screen mode.
They have also added some excellent safety features like lane departure assist, forward collision warning and parallel park assist.
Other nice additions are hand stitched, hand wrapped leather doors and more open-pore wood. The inside is quieter with laminate glass and active noise cancellation. The key fob now also opens the lift gate with the touch of a button.
There is no MRSP yet, but expect it to be priced in the mid $60’s fully loaded.

This is what we thought of the 2017 Ram 1500

Jeep Wrangler Jl Portland Auto Show
2018 Jeep Wrangler JL. Photo: Meagan Wristen

2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon JL

If you know a “Jeep Enthusiast” then you have probably already heard about the new 2018 Jeep JL Wrangler, because the Jeep people are losing their minds about this new JL version.
This version has some interesting technology and styling additions like 7 USB ports and leather throughout. The one I saw had an 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen in the dash. Up front is a modular high-strength steel bumper and it is winch ready. Jeep owners love to rescue other cars from the mud or snow.
It will come in 3 power trains– a 4 cylinder turbo, a V6 and in 2019, a diesel– each with the ability to tow up to 3500 pounds.
Safety technology has been added like blind spot monitoring sensor, back up cameras, park assist, and rear park assist.
The 2-door Wrangler Sport starts at $26,995 and the 4-door Wrangler Rubicon starts at $40,495. Depending on how you customize your Jeep the price could go as high as $57,000.
2018 Toyota Rav4 Adventure Portland Auto Show
2018 Toyota Rav4 Adventure. Photo: Meagan Wristen

2018 RAV4 Adventure

Toyota has added an Adventure version to their RAV4 lineup. The Adventure RAV4 comes in all wheel drive or front wheel drive. It is built for drivers who love outdoor sports and activities and although it’s not a 4 wheel drive, in AWD it can be capable in many off road situations. It has extended fender flares, heated outside mirrors, heated seats, heated leather wrapped steering wheel, and the ride height is slightly higher. It comes with all weather mats throughout.
A huge addition is the ability to tow. The Adventure can tow up to 2,900 pounds in FWD and up to 3,500 pounds in AWD. You do have to add a Tow Prep Package to the SUV, otherwise it will not have a tow hitch. With the addition of the towing they have also added hill descent control. Hill descent is not the only added safety feature. They also added Toyota Safety Sense with lane departure assist with steering assist, adaptive cruise control, and trailer sway control.
Starting MSRP starts at $27,700 and tops out around $38,000.

Meet the RAV4 Hybrid, one of our favorite small SUVs

Portland Auto Show
Nissan Rogue Star Wars A-Wing. Photo: Meagan Wristen

Nissan Rogue Sport A-wing

Nissan continues having fun with its Star Wars themed cars and displays; Nissan built seven different show cars and this is a good one: The A-wing, which was introduced in 1983 and is the fastest craft in Star Wars. The Rogue on display even has battle damage in the car wrap.  Nissan also has a virtual reality Droid repair bay for people to go through.

2018 Nissan Rogue

I drove the 2018 Nissan Rogue down a country road in Texas near Dripping Springs while at the 2017 Texas Truck Rodeo. With the Pro Pilot assist, it was able to detect the lanes and keep me in the lane. I dropped my hands off the steering wheel and the car started warning me audibly to put my hands back on the steering wheel. When I still didn’t put my hands back onto the steering wheel the car began to apply the brakes. Eventually, it would have come to a stop and turned on the flashers.

We took the Nissan Rogue for a spin through Nashville

Toyota C-Hr Portland Auto Show
See the Toyota C-HR at the Portland Auto Show

2018 Toyota C-HR

C-HR is an acronym for “coupe high rider.” This is a brand new vehicle and new segment for Toyota.
This entry-level sport utility vehicle is already popular in Europe and is now available in the U.S. The 2018 Toyota C-HR gets 31 MPG on the highway and 27 MPG in the city. This small sport utility has a low starting price of $22,500 and taps out with the XLE premium version at $24,350.
Despite having a low price they did not skimp on the safety features. The C-HR as Toyota Safety Sense with adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, pre-collision warning, pedestrian detection that will stop the car, automatic high beams, and lane departure warning.
The driver’s seat has “My Space” feel, with everything designed to point at the driver. They’ve incorporated a Diamond design throughout and it has 18″ wheels.

The Toyota C-HR could be the perfect millennial machine. Here’s why.

Meagan Wristen
Meagan Wristen

Meagan is a travel writer who lives in Dallas, Texas with her three children. Founder of www.MommyTravels.net, Meagan is an off-road enthusiast and car expert.

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