Car Buying Tips

Two Dual-Cab 4X4s face off Believe it or not, the grudge match between the Ford Ranger FX4 MAX and Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain – and is way more profound – than most folk realise. Nearly half a century ago, Holden began importing Isuzu’s preposterously-named Faster to fight Toyota’s (equally ironically badged) HiLux – first as the Chev LUV in 1973 and later the KB, before sticking its own branding on the butt of three subsequent (and highly successful) generations. That started ...
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Facelifted Toyota Camry range features four hybrid variants and one petrol, available from April 2021 Australian pricing and details for the updated 2021 Toyota Camry range have been announced, previewing a set of four hybrid variants and only one petrol offering ahead of an April 2021 on-sale date. Toyota says the line-up rationalisation reflects the strong appeal and sales of the previous-generation Camry Hybrid, which accounted for 70 per cent of the large sedan’s sales. A ...
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Testing Hyundai's mid-size SUV with petrol power Assumptions are fraught with danger. When presented with a one-or-the-other choice, often the option you think is a no-brainer could, in fact, garner the complete opposite response from someone else. Hence when the updated fourth generation Hyundai Santa Fe launched at the tail end of 2020 sans V6 petrol power, it didn’t present as an issue for some. That’s because, in terms of frugality and driveability at least, the 2.2-litre four-cyli...
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A little dash of sportiness  What is the Subaru Forester 2.5i Sport? Introduced in October 2020, this latest variant of Subaru’s popular all-wheel-drive SUV bridges the gap between the mid-range 2.5i Premium and range-topping 2.5i-S spec. Priced at $41,490 before on-roads, it costs $1500 more than the Premium with the extra coin bringing athletic exterior embellishments including dark metallic 18-inch alloy wheels, LED front fog lights with black surrounds, under guard...
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The successor for the Elantra is the N Line configuration. How good is it? Hyundai is out to make small sedans sexy and the new i30 Sedan N Line Premium is the figurehead charged with pulling your heartstrings the hardest. With its ‘unfold macramé’ sheetmetal and achingly stylised cabin design, the regular i30 Sedan’s late-2020 arrival has already given its competent if dowdy Elantra predecessor a swift shove the way of obscurity. Foreign markets persist with old nomenclature for w...
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The new handsome exterior together with a respected and proven drive train, puts the Nissan Navara ST-X well in the frame for ute buyers. With an Australian legacy that reaches back to 1985 and the D21, Nissan’s Navara deserves recognition for its part in building the popularity of utes to the unprecedented levels you’ll find today. Go even further back though and you follow a long bloodline of pick-ups all the way to the Datsun 2225 that had its genesis in 1947. Unlike some relati...
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  Flagship Lexus does the brand proud. The Lexus LS500h Sports Luxury is the epitome of Lexus values. As the brand’s flagship, it signifies everything it knows about interior craftsmanship, engineering attention to detail and cutting-edge technology. In newly updated 2021 guise, Lexus’ engineers have left no stone unturned in their efforts to improve comfort and refinement, resulting in an interesting alternative to the German duo (Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series) that dominate the...
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German brand mid-size SUVs face off. Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, today’s luxury mid-sized SUVs like the Audi Q5 45 TFSI and BMW X3 30i are now as much a part of the story of us as any homegrown Holden or Ford. It just depends on where you are in life. Here, we have the Audi Q5 vs BMW X3. Thirty-odd years ago, with Ps in hand, maybe your choice – like mine – was between a Volkswagen Golf and Nissan Pulsar. A decade on, commitments might have meant a Mazda 6 or Toyota Camry (and a ...
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Mazda 3 Skyactiv X v Focus ST-Line v i30 N-Line v Corolla ZR Small warm hatchbacks for drivers pitched against the Mazda 3 Skyactiv-X. I can sense something about this Mazda 3 is different. First, the sound. A subtle whine creeps into the cabin under acceleration and overlays the engine's zingy thrum. Then there is the peculiar power delivery. For the upper half of the rev range, which eventually signs off at the 6600rpm redline, the Mazda 3 delivers an extra helping of torque while t...
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A great driving car...but that grille.... Plastered to the front of the new Bavarian two-door, the courageous, vertiginous, Bugs Bunny intakes scream that BMW is chasing a new customer with its 4 Series, and neither of them are likely for you nor me. Yet find yourself behind the wheel and you’ll discover the engineers haven’t forgotten us. Far from it. Attempting to nab what would only be BMW’s second COTY award (after the i3’s win in 2014), the three-tiered 4 Series range fronte...
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A luxury prestige hybrid SUV that delivers what you expect? Like most SUV categories on sale in Australia, there’s no shortage of choice in the large premium SUV segment. The Lexus RX trades in this space, and while not representing the traditional German brand of luxury that many flock to for high-riding grandeur, the Lexus RX still trades punches in the sales race amongst the BMW X5, 2019 Mercedes GLE-Class and Audi Q7. It finished 2020 as the third best-seller in its se...
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The 2021 COTY is a compact SUV of real depth and ability, and largely devoid of compromises. ‘Unanimity’ can be a tricky word to say; much harder to achieve. In an increasingly divided and opinionated world, getting a disparate group of individuals to form a unilateral consensus on anything can be near-impossible. The COTY judging process is often no exception, yet for 2021, in a rare moment of great(ish) minds thinking alike, all six members of the judging panel cast their vote for the ...
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Another new model, with more to offer, and new pricing The updated Hyundai Kona range has arrived in Australia boasting new styling, advanced safety features, extra technology and more choice, though prices have risen across the board. The line-up introduces two sporty N Line and N Line Premium variants to the range in anticipation of a Kona N model arriving in the second half of 2021. The Kona electric will also rejoin the range with a facelifted design in March. The...
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A favourite served with extra sauce....... Over their various lifecycles, cars, much like people, tend to get bigger, fatter and more ungainly. But just occasionally, a model will buck the trend as if it discovered the chalice of eternal youth. That’s why the ND-generation Mazda MX-5 is one of the most astonishingly good sportscars in recent memory. Instead of piling on the pounds and inches and following the lead of the NB and NC, the ND returned to first principles and, despite...
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A compact hybrid from a quality stable, ... but Value?..... hmmm Depending on your point of view and intended usage, the new Mercedes-Benz A250e sedan plug-in hybrid is likely one of two things. Either a well-sorted daily EV providing the option of longer trips with zero range anxiety and the convenience of a quick petrol refill, or a well-sorted daily EV saddled with lugging around a few hundred kilos of internal combustion engine that...
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Not convinced of SUV wagons? Here are three great driving and comfort alternatives. Remember vinyl? The LP record? Maybe you don’t. But just as digital formats have taken over the music world, so have new-age packaging and technology alternatives (yes, the SUV and hybrids) colonised the motoring landscape almost to an equivalent extent, largely at the expense of the previously conventional. And yet, here we are, faced with three mid-sized sedans, vinyl throwbacks the lot of the...
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Luxury Plus in this segment of the market...... Mazda’s premium brand crusade seems relentless. A steady upward trajectory in quality, product diversity and refinement took a dramatic up-ramp with the introduction of the BP-generation Mazda 3, putting the company’s small hatchback at the top of the class and its rivals on notice. Ironic that one of the Japanese company’s most affordable models should be the one that elevated Mazda into new premium territory, but the limelight is turning to...
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Mercedes-Benz C-Class will be unveiled in Australia, but when? The next-generation 2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class will reportedly make its debut sooner than anticipated, with the German carmaker expected to whip the covers off later this month. The new model has surfaced in camouflage a number of times in recent months, and the speculative rendering above – produced for Russian website Kolesa – offers a glimpse of how its final styling could lo...
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Is this much power in a very large SUV over the top? There are some cars that are alarmingly fast. The McLaren 720S is one; for very different reasons, the Volkswagen Amarok 580 is another. You can now add the Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 to that list, for this new mega SUV is absurd. It also provides Australia’s first exposure to AMG’s new mild-hybrid V8. Need to Know: New 450kW mild-hybrid V8 Seven-seat functionality Incredible levels of techn...
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A real-world camping trip test in the High Country with the New LR Defender P400 We've driven the new Land Rover Defender a few times – a full test review from Fraser Stronach in December 2020, and our initial pre-vehicle launch drive from Africa back in March 2020 – but we wanted to see how the latest Land Rover fares on your typical long weekend away in the bush with some mates. That opportunity presented itself when our booking o...
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 We welcome the new D-MAX let's see how it compares. ISUZU Ute Australia calls its new-generation D-MAX a ‘third generation’ model, but that undersells its heritage. It may be the third generation Isuzu ute sold in Australia since the brand launched here in 2008, but it’s the latest in a long line of Isuzu utes that stretch back more like six generations and all the way to 1972. In Australia, the earlier Isuzu utes were sold f...
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The 4 series displays a distinct character compared to the 3 series. Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars Plus & Minus Plus -  Body control and dynamics; steering, ride comfort, standard tech, bold styling Minus -  Mild engine notes, polarising front grille WHAT IS THE BMW 4 SERIES COUPE The second generation of the BMW 3 Series’ athletic two-door sibling. WHY WE’RE TESTING IT The new 4 Series Coupe has distanced itself from the 3 Series with an ambitiously bold new ...
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A facelift more than anything but the New Honda CR-V is worth a visit What is the Honda CR-V? Honda’s CR-V mid-sized SUV was introduced in 1997 and the current fifth-generation model arrived in 2017. With consistent improvements and shifting consumer demand, the CR-V has established itself as Australia’s favourite Honda. And after four years of consistent sales in its current generation, the Japanese manufacturer has given the CR-V a light update that leaves the major mechanicals unc...
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The established Forester head to head compared to the RAV4, both in hybrid form. Equipment and value The $39,990 Forester Hybrid L is the cheaper of this pair of hybrid offerings (S is $45,990). Subaru’s EyeSight safety tech is standard and includes items like AEB and radar-based systems (also in the RAV4). The Forester also gets facial recognition, which monitors alertness and can set a seating position. Servicing is every 12 months/12,500km, while it’s covered by a five-year/unlimi...
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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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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 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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