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Latest News

New Kia Sorento People Mover

Kia Sorento new people mover
Overall Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars Pros & Cons Pro: Features; smooth and potent diesel; warranty; auto braking. Con: Thirst of petrol V6. The Pick: 2021 KIA Sorento Sport+ 5D SUV What stands out? The fourth-generation Kia Sorento seven-seat SUV is the most advanced Kia model to date and, like its predecessor, is beautifully finished inside, generously equipped, and enjoyable to drive. The op...
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Our Three Best Small SUV’s

Our three best small SUV's
We’re in search of greatness. Good design is thorough down to the last detail. Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the user.” You may know this as one of Dieter Rams’ 10 principles of good design. Rams, one of the 20th Century’s great thinkers on industrial design, formulated these tenets in the 1980s but they’re as valuable today as they ever were, all underpinned by one central commandment: “Weniger, aber besser...
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Kia Sorento – Analysis

Kia Sorento analysis
What Stands Out? The fourth-generation Kia Sorento seven-seat SUV is the most advance Kia model to date and, like its predecessor, is beautifully finished inside, generously equipped, and enjoyable to drive. The optional diesel engine is refined and powerful, and a suite of active safety features and Kia’s seven-year warranty bring peace of mind. Pros & Cons Pro - Smooth and potent diesel; warranty; auto braking. Con - Thirst of petrol V6. The Pick: 2021 KIA ...
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Kia SUV’s – Your Choice

Choices from Kia's SUV's
Kia SUV's might only appear to be a three-pronged assault at the moment, but we still field a number of questions from readers wondering which Kia SUV is the best fit for them. The line-up is only going to grow larger as well, with the Kia Stonic compact SUV joining the range later this year and Kia’s on-again, off-again threat of bringing the Niro cross-over EV to Australia. For the avoidance of doubt, let’s run-through the range, detailing the purposes and feature...
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2020 Kia Cerato – Value

Kia Cerato 2020
Pluses & Minuses Pro - Comfortable; pleasant to drive; auto-braking as standard; great GT version Con - Lacklustre engine in non-GT versions; worse fuel economy than previous model The Pick: 2021 KIA Cerato GT 5D Hatchback What stands out? The Kia Cerato hatch and sedan have stylish cabins, strong infotainment suite, and drive nicely, with all versions featuring some kind of autonomous emergency braking and seven-year warranty. The range is topped by a ...
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Ford Ranger – Which One to Buy?

Which is the best Ford Ranger for you
                                                  Wall to Wall Special Editions.....The Choices are Fantastic. Choosing the right Ford Ranger in 2020 is proving to be quite the challenge. There are more than 30 different variants in the Ford Ranger line-up (talk about a growing family!), each with a different combination of engine, suspension set-up, or body design. However, there are some versions that bring a little extra to the table in the battle for your hard-earned money. Of the 2020 F...
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Porsche Panamera

Porsche Panamera
Details for Porsche’s new limousine After a little bit of teasing and a Nurburgring lap record claim, the new 2021 Porsche Panamera has finally been revealed in all its limousine glory. With a broad launch model range, the new Panamera builds upon the previous model with extensive updates, upgrades, and facelifts. Porsche has no less than 12 variants of the new Panamera from launch, accounting for different drivetrains and body styles, from the base ‘Panamera’ model thou...
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New LandCruiser Prado

New Land Cruiser Prado
Which model is the best buy? The Toyota LandCruiser Prado is the quintessential go-anywhere 4WD SUV that’s very comfortable as a day-to-day family car, while being built extra tough for long outback trips. It comes with a 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel engines in five- or seven-seat configurations. Because it’s designed to travel long distances, all but one special version of the Prado is equipped with a big 87-litre fuel tank and a 63-litre auxiliary tank. In showrooms from Oc...
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Dual Cabs Utes in Australia

Dual Cabs in Australia
These days you could be well advised to ignore brand loyalty and you’ll see that some dual-cab utes are worthy of your attention. Despite significant challenges, this year is quickly becoming the best opportunity to buy a brand new car at a cut-rate price we've seen in a long time. If you’re interested in getting the most bang for your hard-earned bucks in the dual-cab 4x4 space, it pays to look past the industry’s top-ranked pairing of Ford’s Ranger and the Toyota HiLux. ...
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The new Kia Sorento is worthy of consideration

The new Kia Sorento
This Korean is on the money Overall Rating Plus & Minus  Plus - Exterior and interior design; comfort; space; equipment; ease of operation; cruising refinement  Minus - Minor diesel engine vibes at idle; petrol engine and lower spec models untested The Wheels Verdict: Nailed it! A hugely persuasive large SUV thanks to the ease and completeness with which it fulfils its intended function. More than that, though, new Sorento imparts a feel-good factor thank...
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2020 Toyota HiLux SR5 – Review

Toyota HiLux SR5 review
Has Toyota done enough? What is the Toyota HiLux SR5? The Toyota HiLux is, by some odd twists of fate, one of Australia’s best-selling vehicles, despite the fact that it’s far from the perfect family vehicle. Built tough to endure mine sites and construction jobs, the HiLux’s most popular variant is the 4x4 dual-cab ute. Formerly residing firmly at the top of the heap, the four-door, five-seat HiLux is now kept honest by the likes of the Ford Ranger, with upstarts like the Mit...
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Tesla Driver Collides With Police Car While Watching Movie on Autopilot

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Mail This is the second time in the space of a month that a Tesla driver has crashed while using the Autopilot autonomous driving feature
Twice in a month that a Tesla driver has crashed while using the Autopilot autonomous driving feature. It seems like there’s no end to the number of drivers taking Tesla’s Autopilot at its word, with two drivers crashing in the space of a month in the US while using the semi-autonomous driving software. The most recent crash involved a driver watching a movie while driving, who subsequently drove straight into a highway patrol car that was stationary on the side of a North Carolina...
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Land Rover Defender

Land Rover Defender - code-named L663
How does the new Defender compare to the legend? If there’s a gene that predisposes a person to like the original Land Rover Defender, I’m afraid I don’t have it. I appreciate that people are sentimental about these things, but really, the previous Defender was – and still is – the worst car I’d ever reviewed on a public road. The third-generation Defender – code-named L663 – thankfully comes from different stock, and is tasked with the hardest job of all; placating the cynical f...
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Mercedes-Benz GLA Much Improved

Mercedes-Benz GLA has improved
The formula is much enhanced by the 3-pointed star. The original GLA copped a bad rap. Roundly panned by the press, it was criticised for the simple fact it wasn’t very convincing. It lacked room and ability, plus it couldn’t shake the perception that it was merely an A-Class in stilettos. Of course, none of this really mattered. It still sold remarkably well, though now we have a second-generation GLA. And Mercedes has moved to address the original’s shortcomings with more space, smar...
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Latest Isuzu D-Max has Upped the game

Latest Isuzu D-Max has Upped the game
We like what Isuzu has done.... At the risk of reading from the Captain Obvious handbook, it’s clear that plenty of 4x4 ute buyers do not work from same priority list as car buyers. If strong fundamentals of the driving experience, and inclusion of the latest multimedia and safety tech were 4x4 prerequisites, then the outgoing Isuzu D-Max would have never achieved the level of sales success it has. No, it’s clear that to regularly nudge the overall top 10 best sellers in the coun...
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2021 Hyundai Palisade vs Toyota Kluger SUV Comparison

Hyundai Palisade vs Toyota Kluger SUV's
Is the Hyundai eight-seater good enough to knock off Toyota's segment hero? Hyundai has drummed up enough reason to wedge in another SUV to its Australian range, with the Palisade eight-seat SUV also representing the brand’s flagship product. Seldom do we see eight-seater SUVs gracing the Australian new car market, marking a distinction between the Palisade and the current seven-seat load-lugger of Hyundai’s line-up, the Santa Fe. It may appear that there’s little difference b...
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Small SUVs from Mercedes-Benz and BMW

Small SUV's from Mercedes and BMW
Mercedes-Benz has made some changes to the GLA and is obviously targeting BMW X1. BMW had a good thing going ten years ago. The introduction of the X1 premium small SUVs was a stroke of genius, offering the high-riding BMW at a more palatable price point and at a time where it wasn't being challenged by other manufacturers. That is until Mercedes-Benz threw its hat into the ring, upsetting BMW’s monopoly in 2013 with its first-ever GLA. While the X1 was a high watermar...
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2020 Audi Q3 40

2020 Audi Q3
Now we have quattro available in the Q3. What do we think? What is it? The second-generation Audi Q3 small SUV launched in Australia early last year, offering a single entry-level, front-wheel-drive variant known as the 35. Now, Audi has upped the ante with a more powerful, all-wheel-drive version of its Goldilocks-sized SUV. Known as the Q3 40 TFSI quattro, it sells for a shade under $54,000, or around $10,000 more than the 35. That’s a pretty big jump in price, but it comes...
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We Compare Small SUVs

Which SUV?
Affordable SUVs abound. Here are our thoughts. Choice means competition and competition is great for the customer, and never more has that rule applied than in the small SUV market. With so many competitors fighting for attention in the dinky high-rider segment, the plethora of brands are forced to be hyper-competitive in terms of features, equipment and price. And that's good news for you. There are more than 15 models vying for your money in the small SUV class, but we’re ...
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Volkswagen T-Roc: yet another small SUV/Wagon?

Volkswagen T-Roc - is this yet another SUV?
  Has this one got points of difference? For a new car, the Volkswagen T-Roc is pretty well seasoned. Perhaps 'new to us' would be a better description, as the T-Roc concept first appeared at the 2014 Geneva Show. It arrived in European dealers in 2017, but has taken another three years to finally make landfall here in Australia. Volkswagen is adopting a toe in the water approach with this car, initially just offering a premium all-wheel drive 140kW version as driven here, but...
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BMW M550i – Top End Performance Sedan

BMW M550i
Sub 4 seconds to a ton should get you interested ........ BMW M550i Let’s face it, while the BMW 530d might be fine for the Victorian and NSW Highway Patrol, if Mad Max was set in today’s world no supercharger would be big enough to lure Max Rockatansky back to The Force to drive a diesel six. But we bet the BMW M550i xDrive might change his mind. Although it’s been around since 2016, BMW has only just recently sorted a right-hand drive version for our market. And BMW Oz ...
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Audi RS6 Avant – a Terrific All Rounder

Audi RS6 Avant
    By Tim Robson, 27 Jul 2020 Reviews Is this the car for all seasons, budget aside? The Audi RS6 Avant sits, or more accurately squats in the small Hunter Valley town of Denham, its cartoonishly huge rims already shaded with the efforts of numerous hard stops. Its paint is battle scarred with the internal bits of a thousand insects. Its barely existent tyre sidewalls are caked in that curious ochre of dust and road grime. And yet, I am head over heels in love. My first gl...
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Mercedes-Benz AMG CLA45 S

Mercedes-Benz AMG CLA45 S
The choice between the CLA45 S coupe and the A45 S hatchback is interesting. While the Mercedes-Benz AMG CLA45 S is mechanically very closely related to that of the A45 S hot hatch – hyper hatch if you like – it chases a rather different buyer. One looking purely for the driving experience has an easy choice: the hatch. It’s an action hero and it’s more than up to the task of entertaining. But it’s not exactly a sex symbol. Anyone who considers style an important aspect to a car w...
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Big Dollar SUV’s in the Mountains

Big Dollar SUV's in the Mountains
Having fun with these high-powered high-riders In ancient Rome, there were certain fabrics so delicate and finely stitched they were called subtilis, literally ‘underwoven’. From that term came the English word ‘subtle’, the notion of qualities understated or concealed. By and large, production cars aren’t long on subtlety. In order for a complex product to communicate its appeal, it is often the case that a certain heavy-handedness is required to hammer home the sell. Take high-per...
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Audi S6 – Tourer with Grunt

Audi S6
Here we go - a muscular Audi and the open road.... There’s no lairy wing at the back nor are the guards pumped to accommodate aggressively wide wheels and tyres, but then again Audi’s S-badged models have traditionally concealed their muscle so well you could argue the badge should stand for ‘Sleeper’ rather than ‘Sport’. So that’s how it is for the all-new fifth-generation S6 that again sets up a game of ‘spot-the-difference’ between it and the more junior A6 55TFSI, which ask...
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Mazda 3 Astina

Mazda 3 Astina
In recent years Mazda has consistently been at the top of Australian buyer’s minds in the small car segment, but the latest generation Mazda 3 has had other ideas. Instead of targeting hard-won buyers of the previous generation - as it's done so successfully with the CX-5 - Mazda has taken the new 3 into a more premium space with a commensurate rise in price. WhichCar has picked up a range-topping Mazda 3 G25 Astina to sample the new range over the longer term and on initial im...
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Compact SUV’s – Best of the Best

Compact SUV's comparisons
Compact SUV's Put To The Test Good design is thorough down to the last detail. Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the user.” You may know this as one of Dieter Rams’ 10 principles of good design. Rams, one of the 20th Century’s great thinkers on industrial design, formulated these tenets in the 1980s but they’re as valuable today as they ever were, all underpinned by one central commandment: “Weniger,...
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2020 Audi S7 First Australian Drive

Audi S7 2020
Four-door sedans and coupes are being outsold by SUVs. The joy of driving though, on the main, still resides mainly in sedans and coupes. The world has gone mad for the SUV and that’s a crying shame, because it puts luscious machines like the 2020 Audi S7 under more pressure than they need to be. I mean… just look at it! Sharp yet subtle, stern yet sensuous… the S7 is a blend of sensible and sass that puts the boxy dimensions of a typical SUV – even the sporty ones – in sharp contras...
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Volkswagen V8 Touareg

Twin-turbo diesel monster!
Twin-turbo diesel power from Bentley Bentayga for VW's premium Touareg Volkswagen has revealed a halo version of its already high-achieving Touareg large SUV that packs a mighty 900Nm twin-turbo V8 punch and can beat a Golf GTI in a drag race. Dubbed the V8 TDI R-Line, the latest addition to the Touareg line-up will appear in Australian showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2020, adding a flagship variant above the existing V6 diesel-only range. Key to the new Touareg’s p...
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AMG E53 Up to Mount Hotham

AMG E53
What a great way to spend a day...... “Because it's there,” was all the justification George Mallory ever needed to climb Everest. Our aspirations are a good deal more modest than old George's – and we're banking on a more gratifying outcome - but the rationale is much the same. Why would you drive from sea level to Australia's highest coach road? We'd prefer to ask why wouldn't you, especially when that road, from Lakes Entrance on Victoria's Gippsland Coast to the alpine resort of...
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