car buyer

F-Pace predicted to be Jaguar's top seller ONE of the most important models in Jaguar’s 94-year history – the F-Pace SUV – has officially gone on sale and is expected to make up 50 per cent of the leaping cat brand’s overall volume in Australia in the coming years. It is the latest model in the Tata-owned British car-maker’s new-product rollout that started with the F-Type sportscar three years ago and picked up pace last year with the BMW 3 Series-rivalling XE mid-sizer, followed by...
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Honda NSX Supercar Coming CUSTOMERS will be able to officially purchase a Honda NSX from December 1, but the cars will arrive the month prior. A left-hook pre-production NSX has been on display with a Honda dealer in Melbourne, but an NSX won’t take to Australian roads until the end of the year when they arrive in late November. Honda confirmed to Wheels the NSXs that customers will be able to purchase are set to arrive in Australia in late November, early December, but stressed t...
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Alfa Romeo Bitumen Burner Quadrifoglio is a badge reserved for Alfa Romeo’s fastest, rarest models;Wheels went to drive the latest super-Giulia on home turf. WHAT IS IT? The Quadrifoglio is the high-performance flagship of Alfa Romeo’s Giulia sedan range, designed and developed to battle BMW M, Mercedes AMG and Audi RS for enthusiasts’ hearts and wallets. The Quadrifoglio employs a Ferrari-inspired twin-turbocharged V6 engine, and takes the rear-drive Giulia platform’s already compe...
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3 New Powerplants for Porsche Panamera   PORSCHE’S new second-generation Panamera has been wheeled out to the world in Berlin, revealing a sleeker, more sophisticated luxury grand tourer with a trio of all-new powertrains, including the world’s fastest production diesel. Due in Australia in early 2017, the flagship sedan will kick off with three all-wheel-drive variants, starting with the V6 Panamera 4S at $304,200 plus on-road costs, continuing with the new-to-the-range V8 diesel 4S at $31...
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Seven seats as a free option on mid - and top-spec Mitsubishi Pajero Sport SUVs MITSUBISHI has introduced a no-cost third-row option to higher-spec variants of its popular Pajero Sport SUV to further boost sales in the ultra-competitive pick-up-based SUV market. While only available to mid-tier GLS and range-topping Exceed versions, pricing remains identical to their five-seat counterparts at $48,500 before on-road costs and $52,750 respectively. Entry-level GLX versions ($45,000) c...
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The CX-9 easily passes the ANCAP safety test   MAZDA’S new flagship family bus, the second-generation CX-9, has been given a big thumbs up for safety from Australia’s independent watchdog, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), ahead of its showroom launch later this month. The seven-seat SUV earned five stars and praise from ANCAP chief executive officer James Goodwin who said the vehicle performed “extremely well”. Tested at Sydney’s CrashLab this month, the CX-9 scored 1...
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New tech, Styling & Under The Skin Improvements The Cerato is a key component of the South Korean brand’s overall 39,000-unit sales target this year, and the company is working to ensure the small sedan and hatch range becomes a major consideration for buyers. In 2013, Cerato was number 12 in the small segment; this year Kia expects to be number five. The nameplate is one of Kia’s most successful global models, with more than three million sales globally, while in Australia the Cera...
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V8 muscle car’s seeking an Aussie visa. NEWLY appointed boss of General Motors Global Design, Australian Mike Simcoe, has vowed to support a push for affordable V8-powered rear-drive performance for Holden after the locally built Commodore expires at the end of 2017. Simcoe is too political and smart to name names, but GM is clearly considering a right-hand-drive conversion of the Chevrolet Camaro, either later this decade at mid-life facelift time or when the all-new seventh generation ...
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McLaren 540C ‘entry’ model MCLAREN'S new 540C is the most affordable and least powerful model currently available in its line-up, but with a top speed of 320km/h, zero to 100km/h acceleration of 3.4 seconds and full carbon-fibre construction, the car-maker says describing it as entry level does not do it justice. Slotting in under the 570S and 570GT, the 540C is the most affordable model to be introduced to date with a drive away price of $350,000 and represents the third variant in the ...
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Toyota FJ Cruiser To Go TOYOTA will put its FJ Cruiser retro-look all-terrain vehicle out to pasture in August after five years of “considerably higher than originally expected” sales and more than 11,000 Australian deliveries. The announcement comes as little surprise, as the Japanese car-maker discontinued the model in its key United States market in 2014 when it failed to meet updated North American emissions and fuel economy standards. In Australia, Toyota's FJ sold an average of ...
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M Car in 2 Series - Fabulous MAIN RIVALS High-powered German hatchbacks such as the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG and Audi RS3, which cost a bit less. Or for direct coupe competitors, there are the Audi TTS and Porsche Cayman. THE WHEELS VERDICT It’s too long since the list of legendary BMW performance cars was extended, but the M2 will undoubtedly etch itself into history. It hits a dynamic sweet-spot the current M4 couldn’t quite find. PLUS: Marvellously thrilling agility; inline six’s ...
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Bang for your Buck Standout Price and equipment If you want to add a paddle shift-equipped six-automatic transmission, add $2200 to the bottom line. New negative-pressure bonnet vents, a clever bi-modal exhaust built just for the car and a shortened final drive ratio are standard kit for this hot-rodded Holden. In addition, the SS-V Redline also gets a colour head-up display, new 20-inch rims, rear Brembo callipers to complement the front pair and updated rear FE3 sports suspensio...
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Jaguar SUV  F-Pace drops in the middle of the Prestige German & Land Rover SUV Market. WHAT IS IT? The British marque’s first-ever SUV, 13 years after Porsche proved there was money to be made – lots of it – in leveraging a sports car’s brand image via a family-friendly ‘4WD’. Like others in its field, the Jaguar F-Pace will also be available in rear-wheel drive, and a manual gearbox, however Australia will be exclusively all-wheel drive and automatic. WHY WHEELS WERE TESTING IT? Jag...
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NEW A4 DELIVERS MARKED IMPROVEMENTS ON A CONSERVATIVE THEME UNDER THE SKIN IS THE REAL STORY DESPITE appearances suggesting gentle evolution, everything about the all-new, ninth-generation A4 whispers revolution. All you have to do is take a closer look at the details. On paper, the design is disappointingly samey, but at least, in the flesh, the beautifully proportioned and executed B9 sedan has a quiet and confident grace lacking in some of the Ingolstadt car’s competitors. The Saab 9...
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AN IMPRESSIVE OFFERING AT THIS PRICE POINT SMALL sedans are not massive business in Australia, but in certain Asian markets and the United States, they make up some of the top-selling models. The Hyundai Elantra is one of the car-maker's most popular offerings in its South Korean domestic market and in the ultra-competitive US where it is the company's best seller, with more than 240,000 sold in 2015 alone. Hyundai says the Elantra appeals to people looking to downsize but who have no...
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Infiniti Targets Lexus JUST four years on from its launch in Australia, Japanese luxury brand Infiniti is “stomping on the gas pedal” as it prepares for its biggest product roll-out and dealer expansion since inception. The Nissan-owned brand has had to contend with a small line-up of models, some in niche sales categories, but all if that is about to change, according to Infiniti Australia. Powered by the Renault-Nissan alliance and including the hybrid technology of the group’s Form...
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