Home / Archive by category "Car Buying Tips" (Page 5)

Car Buying Tips

New Supra on the Dragstrip

Toyota Supra on the dragstrip?
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...
Read More

Mazda 3 G25 GT Sedan Review

Mazda 3 GT sedan
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. ...
Read More

Hyundai i30 New or a used Focus RS

new or used?
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. ...
Read More

RAV4 Edge vs Forester 2.5i-S Comparison

Rav 4 v Subaru Forester shoot out
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...
Read More

Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Review

Porsche Carrera 911 is getting heavy
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 ...
Read More

Chevrolet C8 Corvette Offers Bang for Your Buck!

C8 Corvette is good value
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...
Read More

The VW Beetle is No More

Volkswagen Beetle Production Ends
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....
Read More

Hyundai Genesis G80 – Return of the Undead

WHAT IS THE GENESIS G80?
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?...
Read More

2019 BMW 330i vs Euro Rivals

BMW 330i vs Audi A4 45 TFSI vs Jaguar XE 300 Sport vs Mercedes-Benz C300 comparison review
The G20 series BMW strives to be the best in it's segment. How does it fare? FOR a car that kicked off its segment in the ’70s, defined the decade of excess that followed, then matured respectfully with the sober ’90s while still being able to push the envelope right out with the otherworldly M3, the BMW 3 Series has lately been stuck in a rut while copycat rivals have risen. Most pundits agree that the Bavarians lost their way around the mid-2000s, when the patchy E90 fell short...
Read More

Test Drive The Hot Mini Cooper SE

Mini Cooper SE is Hot!
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...
Read More

New BMW 1 Series 

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...
Read More

Ford Focus – Holden Astra Comparison

Ford Focus compared to Holden Astra 
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...
Read More

2019 Dual Cabs – Triton 4×4 vs D-Max 4×4 vs Navara 4×4

Dual cab comparisons
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,...
Read More

Mazda 6 Wagon Extended Test

Nothing to hate - lots to like! What I hate most about Hugh Jackman is that there’s nothing to hate about Hugh Jackman. He’s just too much of a good bloke to be hated in any way. That’s pretty much how I’m feeling about the 6 Atenza wagon, which, after five months as its happy custodian, I’m begrudgingly returning to Mazda. It’s not perfect by any means, and there are things I dislike. The A-pillars are overly thick, the infotainment screen is small compared to a...
Read More

2019 CLA is Coming to Australia

Mercedes CLA
Large upward steps for MB's small four-door coupe! Overall Rating Plus & Minus PlusSlick interior; handling poise; sleeker styling MinusClunky gear shifter; bloatware built into infotainment; no wagons for Australia The Wheels Verdict: From a relative bit-part player, the CLA has emerged as one of Mercedes’ quiet stars. The latest model is bigger, prettier and a lot more assured and, for the time being at least, makes a lot more sense to us than a C-Class. ...
Read More

Mazda 3 G25 and Volkswagen Golf go Head to Head

Mazda 3 G25 and Volkswagen Golf
Which one is for You? There was a time, in the not-so-distant past, where small cars from the premium brands could justify their dizzying prices because of not just their badges, but clear superiority in terms of design sophistication, perceived quality, higher grade materials, and extra safety and convenience features. But that was then. In 2019 we’re dealing with a very different paradigm; the arrival of the new, fourth-generation Mazda 3, and the steadily refined VW Golf, are two ...
Read More

AMG GT in Oz late 2019

AMG GT will be in Australia later in the year
The GT coupe gets an update for 2019. Overall Rating .. 4/5 stars PLUS & MINUS Sense of occasion, improved agility, classier cabin Cumbersome at low speed, awkward gear selector, no more power THE WHEELS VERDICT The AMG GT slides into 2019 with a slicker presentation but the dynamics haven’t stepped forward quite so markedly. For those who like a loud and slightly brash coupe or cabrio, that won’t matter. If you really extend the latest GT you’ll find additional...
Read More

BMW X7 Goliath

BMW X7 Goliath 7 seater
7 Seats.....and space to burn..... It’s over-size and about to be over here, so could BMW’s flagship SUV be your new luxo seven-seater family hauler? Ash Westerman delivers the Wheels verdict WHAT IS IT? BMW’s new flagship SUV. WHY ARE WE DRIVING IT? BMW’s USA-based launch program saw waves of journalists driving a fleet of X7s from Florida to Palm Springs in California over six weeks. Wheels was given the 550km leg from Baton Rouge in Louisiana to Houston in Texas. No alligator...
Read More

Holden Colorado – on the Shopping List

Holden Colorado kicking goals
Colorado and Triton kicking goals..... Holden is taking a hit as it restructures some of its passenger car line-up to focus on SUVs, but the Colorado ute is already on the way up. Slipping to tenth spot on the ladder in March, the Lion Brand is picking up some of the pieces to rebuild itself as old faithfuls like the Commodore and Astra continue to drop market share. First quarter-2019 sales figures show the Colorado has enjoyed the strongest sales increase quarter-on-quarter of ...
Read More

What is the Mazda CX-30?

What is the Mazda CX30?
Here's the logic - straight from the source...... Vinesh Bhindi is all about offering choice. Mazda Australia's CEO sits back and smiles when asked why the CX-30 is here. “It fits in very nicely with our strategy which is to offer as broad a choice as we can in Australia. If you look at what's happened in the past few years, it's clear that consumers enjoy choice,” he says. “Australia has the most comprehensive SUV choice of any Mazda market.” “It's still too early to t...
Read More

SUV Coupe – WHAT is that?

what is a SUV Coupe really?
As we wait patiently they will die...... We’re an inclusive bunch here at Wheels, celebrating cars in all shapes and sizes. Well, almost all. No matter how hard I try to be accepting of the things, I’m really struggling with SUV Coupes. You know the ones – high riding trucks with a gently raked rear window – that deliver the dynamic compromises of an SUV with the packaging shortcomings of a fastback. They’re like a perfect storm of ineptitude. Porsche is entering the fra...
Read More

HSV Camaro Update

HSV upgrade
Some tweaks to looks and drive train! HSV has confirmed it will sell the updated MY19 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS in Australia later this year, with new styling and two new transmissions, one of which features a Mustang-shaming burnout mode. The updates accompany the arrival of the wild-new Camaro ZL1 and mean that Aussies will finally be able to access MY19 Camaros via HSV.  The legendary US pony car was updated Stateside last year, but HSV has until now been converting pre-facelift ...
Read More

Corolla Sales Dwindle

Corolla sales dwindle
Toyota Australia remains unconcerned.... Until recently, the Toyota Corolla has been a venerable sales juggernaut, providing Toyota Australia a license to print money. However, now sales have begun to slow, with rivals like the Mazda 3 and Hyundai i30 eating into the Corolla’s sales dominance. Worryingly for Toyota Australia, the introduction of a new generation Corolla seems unable to stop the slow-down, with a number of poor sales months since it was introduced l...
Read More

HOW LEXUS DEFEATED THE ‘BEST CAR IN THE WORLD’!

Lexus LS400 - one of the best
When Chris Goffey tested the Lexus LS 400 for Top Gear in 1990, he claimed that it was “petrifyingly good”. A rather appropriate turn of phrase, because the bosses at Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar must have felt a little petrified when Japan’s first global luxury car wafted into view at the 1989 Detroit Auto Show. Twenty years on, it would be easy to be a tad dismissive of the LS 400, maybe rolling out the tiresome reference to the ‘Japanese S-Class’ as...
Read More

New RS5 Sportback – Civilised Driver’s Car

New Audi RS5
Audi's RS5 Sportback could be just the ticket! WHAT IS IT? Audi’s mid-size performance flagship, packaged in a svelte yet practical five-door body style. WHY ARE WE DRIVING IT? We’re well familiar with the coupe variant of the RS5, and the wagon version (RS4 Avant), so we were keen to see how the dynamic abilities married with the specific packaging attributes of the Sportback body. MAIN RIVALS Mercedes-AMG C63S Estate, or, if you can live without the hatch an...
Read More

Small SUVs That Won’t Bust Your Budget

Small, well priced SUV's
 Driving pleasure can come in a variety of SUV shapes and sizes Tiny dancers: Mazda CX-3 Maxx and Toyota C-HR 2WD AUSTRALIA’S second-best-selling small SUV has much going for it – striking design, stylish interior, great seats, strong performance, quality engineering – but the Mazda CX-3’s biggest ace is choice. Nothing else in its class offers the dazzling smorgasbord of petrol, diesel, front-drive, all-wheel drive, auto and manual flavours. Sixteen all up, in fac...
Read More

Seven Seater SUV Comparison

seven seater SUV comparison
Holden have debuted a seven-seater SUV that is a valid entrant in this market. How does it compare to the incumbents? SEVENTY years ago, to the very day this issue hit the stands, a nervous General Motors unveiled the first Holden, a cream 48/215 sedan. Based on a rejected wartime Chevrolet proposal out of Detroit, it was exactly what our car-starved nation craved. Of course, the ‘FX’ and every one of its 31 locally manufactured successors have since woven themse...
Read More

Ferrari 812 Superfast, Wow!

Ferrari 812 superfast
Ferrari have taken the fundamentals of a super GT, and added a dose of something extra THE soft pre-dawn light has gone. The dew-ridden fields are a memory, darkness expanding as we plunge further into the forest. Now the strongest illumination comes from the shift lights; red, then a bluey purple as the V12 screams towards 8900rpm. It should be glorious, though it isn’t. Wet patches lurk in the shadows, leaf litter causes the Pirellis to shudder, and there are broken branches, smas...
Read More

New BMW 3 Series Here in March

new BMW 3 series
Two four-cylinder models will be the trailblazers. THE FIRST examples of BMW’s lighter and more driver-focused 3 Series will arrive in Aussie showrooms this March with prices starting from $67,900. The first seventh-gen 3 Series models to be made available locally will be the 320d and 330i, both of which are powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine (with the oil-burner using twin turbos), and both gain M Sport interior and exterior treatments as standard equi...
Read More

New Porsche 911

New Porsche 911
Porsche's icon does not change often....but when it does.... Porsche’s new 911 will arrive in Australia around April. Codenamed 992, it replaces the 991 generation of the rear-engined German icon introduced in 2012. The $265,000 S and $281,100 4S versions will lead the charge. These prices represent small increases over the current models. The 992 will bring perhaps the single greatest change in the long history of the 911. It has been engineered to accommodate a hybrid dri...
Read More
Top