car buyer – Peter Lloyd

BMW X6 Twin Turbo M50i Review

Posted on November 19, 2019 by admin

Power-packed, premium and polarising – BMW’s third-generation X6 continues to shock and delight Overall Rating Plus & Minus Plus - Performance; interior quality; V8 soundtrack Minus - Polarising design; compromised practicality over X5; heavy The Wheels Verdict: In 2008, no-one knew they needed an SUV and a coupe in one vehicle. BMW came along and planted the seed before sitting back and watching the world’s automakers follow suit. However, the X6 is the genesi...
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2019 Ford Ranger Raptor Review

Posted on November 13, 2019 by admin

Does this vehicle fit in my normal comfort zone? Introduction: The Big Surprise FISH OUT OF water doesn’t quite cut it here. No, this is more deep-sea-tuna-on-top-of-Uluru kind of territory. Complete with Julian Assange-in-a-crowded-supermarket levels of discomfort. You see, I’m just not a dual-cab ute kind of guy. I can appreciate them in a detached kind of way, and understand that they’re exceedingly popular and thus exceptionally relevant to the average Aussie, yet they hol...
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Honda CR-V vs Nissan X-Trail

Posted on November 9, 2019 by admin

Combatant seven-seat Japanese SUVs. Which is for you? The contenders - Honda CR-V vs Nissan X-Trail We get it, sub-$40K seven-seaters aren’t much to get excited about, but the contemporary urban market tells us that crossovers have eclipsed wagons and vans as the choice for growing families. And they’re not all a bucket of boredom, despite the keen pricing of this petrol duo. Beyond the Mitsubishi Outlander – the dead horse that the Diamond Star continues to flog with succ...
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New D-Max vs Ranger

Posted on November 6, 2019 by admin

Let the 2020 fight begin! The top three spots on the sales charts are filled with dual-cab utes – they’re big business down under. So when new arrivals from Ford and Isuzu are announced, people take notice. While the Ranger is more of a spec update, the D-Max has received a significant overhaul and is ready to take on its traditional foes. Here’s how the D-Max vs Ranger stack up in key areas with what we know so far. Engine Isuzu has decided to retain the tried and true 3.0-li...
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Best Selling Cars in Australia

Posted on November 1, 2019 by admin

Brief verdicts of the top ten best selling cars in Australia Want the no-frills, straight-to-the-point info on the ten best selling cars in Australia* but don’t want to wade through pages of road tests? Look no further. Let’s count ‘em down 10. Mitsubishi ASX VERDICT: A compact SUV of decidedly modest talent, but don’t underestimate the pull of something that’s reliable, fairly spacious and extremely cheap. Walk into a Mitsubishi dealer ...
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SUV or Wagon – Which is Best?

Posted on October 28, 2019 by admin

There is a difference of opinion in our office... Wagon or SUV? If it were up to the buying public there is no contest, with SUV sales growing year on year at an incredible rate. But the buying public also meant the Minions movie grossed $1.16 billion US in 2015, so they have a proven record of poor decisions. For me, if there is an equivalently sized and priced wagon, I don’t see any good reason to opt for the SUV. Don’t get me wrong, there are good SUVs, the Whe...
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Hyundai Palisade is on the Way

Posted on October 8, 2019 by admin

8 Seat Flagship In Australia soon. Hyundai will be bringing a new flagship model to Australian shores in the near future, with the Palisade large SUV confirmed for local sale. Sitting above the Santa Fe, the Palisade will rival the likes of the Mazda CX-9, and Toyota Kluger for size, and offers genuine eight-person hauling ability just like the Toyota LandCruiser Prado. The Palisade was previously only build in left-hand-drive,...
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Hyundai Venue – Alternative to a Used SUV

Posted on October 1, 2019October 1, 2019 by admin

20 Sep 2019 Reviews Hyundai Venue - Cheap it is. Overall Rating Plus & Minus Plus - Bold styling; refined ride and keen steering; spacious cabin; generous equipment Minus - Lacklustre atmo engine; wind and road noise can be intrusive; tyres undersell chassis refinement The Wheels Verdict: The Venue is the cheapest SUV that we can recommend someone go out and spend money on and not feel guilty. While there are foibles, notably the gutless atmo engine,...
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New Supra on the Dragstrip

Posted on September 28, 2019 by admin

Against some worthy competitors? Toyota’s claimed 0-100km/h time for the new Supra is 4.3 seconds. That’s seriously quick. It’s identical to a Ferrari F40 or, if you want something a little more contemporary, a tenth quicker than a $218,800 Porsche Cayman GT4, the cover star of our August issue and, if certain other outlets are concerned, the greatest sports car ever conceived. The dyno plots for the A90 Supra also suggest that Toyota’s flagship coupe makes considerably mor...
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Mazda 3 G25 GT Sedan Review

Posted on September 20, 2019 by admin

Up-market GT sedan blends class and sportiness. Overall Rating Plus & Minus Plus - Upmarket interior; high spec level; engaging dynamics Minus - slow speed ride; cabin entry and egress; getting expensive The Wheels Verdict: The new 3 is a massive step forward for Mazda. Yes, it’s more expensive than before, but given the improvements to the product, the monetary increase feels about right. It seems those back at Mazda HQ have been taking lessons in German. ...
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Infiniti on Borrowed Time in Australia

Posted on September 17, 2019 by admin

Late 2020 marks the demise of Nissan’s luxury brand in this country. Infiniti is on borrowed time. Infiniti will no longer sell cars in Australia following a shock announcement released today. The luxury offshoot of Nissan has struggled with sales in recent years, and will wind down its operations before withdrawing from the Australian market completely in late 2020. An official company press release states that withd...
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Hyundai i30 New or a used Focus RS

Posted on September 11, 2019 by admin

New vs Used? Head vs Heart? Hot hatches can provide some of the biggest thrills of any performance car. Find the right road and they’re also devastatingly quick, something the two contenders here can attest. Hyundai’s first foray into the world of hot hatches came as a bit of a surprise – and not solely because of its South Korean badge. It’s more the fact that the i30 N is such a sorted product for something that’s considered genesis for the fledgling sporty N brand. ...
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RAV4 Edge vs Forester 2.5i-S Comparison

Posted on September 6, 2019 by admin

Two of the heavy hitters face off. One of the main attractions of SUVs isn’t just the practical considerations of a tall seating position and easy access to the boot and rear seat, but the promise they make of being the versatile chariot capable of taking you and your family out into the great outdoors for a long weekend Not all SUVs are created equal in this regard, but here we’ve got two midsizers that are arguably the best equipped in their segment as dirt-friendly adventure m...
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Best Service – Mazda Does It Again

Posted on August 30, 2019 by admin

Four play: Mazda has topped the JD Power CSI rankings for the fourth year running. MAZDA has solidified its status as one of Australia’s best brands for after sales service with its fourth consecutive win in the JD Power Australia Customer Service Index (CSI) study. While many of the leading brands underneath Mazda have changed position compared to 2018, all recorded an increase in their respective satisfaction score by an average of 24 points in the study, which ranks the satisfaction lev...
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Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Review

Posted on August 28, 2019 by admin

Carrera 4S - a great drive - despite the weight Of all the sports cars on sale today, the one that least needs all-wheel drive is the Porsche 911. The weight of that 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six pressing down on the rear axle ensures incredible traction in both wet and dry conditions. Nevertheless, since 1989 the Carrera 4 has been a pivotal part of the 911 range, particularly in markets prone to snow and ice, and even in new 992 guise it provides a subtly different driving ...
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Tesla Model 3 – Was it Worth the Wait?

Posted on August 26, 2019 by admin

Was it what we were waiting for? Overall Rating Plus & Minus Plus - Powertrain strength and refinement; EV range; Capable of 250kW DC charging; service costs Minus - Rear seat packaging; austere cabin ambiance; fit and finish; weight in hard driving The Wheels Verdict: The most affordable of Tesla’s now three-model-strong lineup demands you abandon preconceptions of how you interact with a car. The lack of conventional instruments, a purely screen-based use...
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Chevrolet C8 Corvette Offers Bang for Your Buck!

Posted on August 22, 2019 by admin

and the natural competitors line up.... It’s not due into the country until later next year, but already the Chevrolet C8 Corvette has tongues wagging, and GM fans saving their pennies. As Wheels understands, the C8 Corvette will be priced between $150,000 and $170,000 when it arrives on our shores in right-hook form. This gives us a well-defined price bracket to play in when it comes to finding its natural rivals. Before we get into some on-paper comparisons, we nee...
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Defender Going “Nicer”

Posted on August 19, 2019 by admin

The new Defender will be more mainstream ... no longer a 'farmers' vehicle Land Rover says that the new Defender will speak to a new audience, though remain a capable four-wheel-drive. Softer new Defender no longer a ‘farmer’s vehicle’ What is Land Rover’s DNA? For many, it’s an automotive helix spun around the farmer’s truck; a four-wheel-drive that was more comfortable in the paddocks than posing down High Street - even though la...
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Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander 3rd Row Seat

Posted on August 9, 2019August 9, 2019 by admin

Functionality and comfort make rear-row a peaceful exercise. For many families, the decision to upgrade to a seven-seat vehicle is taken soon after news of the impending arrival of a new addition. That third child never eventuated for us – unless you count a pampered and slightly deranged Cavoodle named Bailey – but the extra pew has always held some allure, if only for when extra kids or rellos need to be accommodated. On the occasions when the Santa Fe’s third row has n...
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BMW Looks At Electric Future

Posted on August 5, 2019 by admin

BMW looks at electric cars for the future

The goal is to offer 25 electrified cars by 2025, but other alternatives are in play. You would be forgiven for thinking that widespread global electric vehicle adoption was little more than a fantasy, many decades from the faintest likelihood. But it’s a very different story in almost every other developed part of the world with all the mainstream manufacturers - including BMW - responding to an explosion in electrified vehicle demand. Last year, the German car maker an...
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2019 Electric Vehicle Megatest – an Introduction

Posted on July 27, 2019 by admin

Electric Vehicle: Yes or No? EV's ... Do we take the plunge yet? IF THIS is the future you can keep it. I’m watching punters pull up to the bowser at the Shell servo in Euroa, fill up and nip off. Meanwhile, I’m faced with a bank of out of commission chargers and a Jaguar I-Pace, a BMW i3, a Nissan Leaf and a Renault Zoe that need charging. Only one of the four DC chargers works. The high-capacity ABB chargers’ software won’t talk to the battery array. The Zoe can’t charge here at ...
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The VW Beetle is No More

Posted on July 22, 2019July 22, 2019 by admin

THE FINAL VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE HAS ROLLED OFF THE PRODUCTION LINE 23m+ models later, the Beetle is no more VOLKSWAGEN is entering a new era as a car maker: for the first time since it restarted production after the Second World War, it won’t have a Beetle in its model range. Though the third-generation model you see here is only loosely connected to the original “people’s car”, the retirement of the long-running model brings to an end VW’s 81 year run of on-and-off Beetle production....
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Hyundai Genesis G80 – Return of the Undead

Posted on July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 by admin

Overall Rating Plus & Minus PlusComfort; discretion; great after-sales package MinusFeels old; no smartphone mirroring; questionable resale values The Wheels Verdict: Exhuming the Genesis and giving it a modest refresh and rebadge doesn’t seem a formula for success, but there’s a small market niche – and small is all that Genesis needs right now – that will adore the formula of this relaxed and refined highway cruiser. WHAT IS THE GENESIS G80?...
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Electric Porsche 911

Posted on July 14, 2019 by admin

Lusting after an all-electric 911? Good luck! HERE’S some news sure to please sports car enthusiasts the world over: Porsche has no plans to build an all-electric 911. That might sound a little obvious, given how sacrosanct the 911’s iconic recipe is, but nothing is a ‘sure thing’ in this modern, electrified age. Audi, for example, has confirmed the next TT and R8 will both be fully electric. And Jaguar is rumoured to be going full EV with the next F-Type. Plus, Porsche is somethin...
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Porsche Cayman GT4 Revealed

Posted on July 1, 2019July 1, 2019 by admin

Details on Porsche’s new 718 Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder, including Australian pricing and when you get one New 6-pot Cayman Delivers. Porsche has pulled the sheet off its hyped 718 Cayman GT4 and Boxster Spyder relation. While it looks similar to the car we knew before, it delivers a masterpiece we wanted underneath - an all-new 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat-six. Though both the 911 GT3 and the new GT4 features a 4.0-litre flat-six, the new engine is not simp...
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Test Drive The Hot Mini Cooper SE

Posted on June 22, 2019 by admin

Electric Hot Hatch LAST time Mini turned its three-door hatch fully electric, the rear seats vanished, boot space shrank and weight increased 300kg. That was back in 2008, just 600 were leased, but the Mini E did inform development of the BMW i3. Now the i3’s repaying the favour by donating its EV technology to a proper series-production electric Mini, the packaging compromises all but eliminated. Promisingly, ‘Cooper S’ has been inserted between ‘Mini’ and ‘E’. We’re driving...
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New Volvo S60

Posted on June 16, 2019 by admin

Sedan and wagon, value pricing and performance.... Volvo says that its new sedan and wagon duo will deliver a knockout punch in the premium mid-size market. We know what you’re thinking - of course they’d say that. But we did drive it last month in Sweden and first impressions are that this is no Scandinavian to give the flick. What’s better is that the expected volume seller we drove is more affordable than first thought. Both the S60 sedan and V60 completes a generational up...
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New BMW 1 Series

Posted on June 11, 2019 by admin

BMW’s all-new 1 Series range – front wheel drive is the discussion piece. BMW’s all-new 1 Series has been officially revealed and it’s sure to divide opinion. Let’s just say it’s deviated quite a way from the established 1 Series template that we’ve become used to ever since the car first launched in 2004. In the intervening 15 years, we’ve accepted the baby BMW as a rear-drive hatch, then spawning coupe and cabriolet variants. But BMW has finally realised that a rear-drive hatchbac...
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Ford Focus – Holden Astra Comparison

Posted on May 30, 2019May 30, 2019 by admin

Small car imports from Ford and Holden in a face-off. As far as fair fights go, this one may raise an eyebrow from both the bookies and the managers of both combatants. In the blue corner is the box-fresh, fourth-generation Ford Focus, a car Blue Oval insiders tout as “the best Ford we’ve ever built.” In the red corner we have the seventh-generation Holden Astra, an accomplished small car, no question, but three years older than the Focus, and a perennial underachiever on the Aussie sales c...
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2019 Dual Cabs – Triton 4×4 vs D-Max 4×4 vs Navara 4×4

Posted on May 27, 2019 by admin

A facial makeover, plus safety and mechanical upgrades for the Triton necessitate a comparison to it's logical rivals. WHAT YOU see here is Mitsubishi’s new 2019 MR Triton. It’s not so much of an all-new model but more a mid-life refresh of the fifth-generation MQ that arrived in Australia four years ago. Most obviously the MR brings distinctive new styling, but there’s also new active safety kit and, the most significant mechanical change,...
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