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Passat R-Line presents a compelling package. Snapshot Passat R-Line wagon returns after two year hiatus 206kW/350Nm powerplant remains with all-wheel-drive Pricing starts at $63,790 Volkswagen's line of hot wagons continue to roll off its German production line and into Australian showrooms, with this month's offering coming in the form of the new Passat R-Line, featuring Golf R power with wagon space. Returning for the first time since the 2019 model ...
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More of the same enhances the offering Snapshot Local launch expected before the end of 2021 Pricing starts at $59,990 for 220i, $30k extra for M240i xDrive All Australian-delivered 2 Series Coupes will be fitted with BMW M Sport pack UPDATE, July 12: BMW Australia has confirmed pricing of the new 2 Series Coupé, expected to land locally towards the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022. The entry-level 220i will start at $59,900 w...
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The 2021 Suzuki Jimny compact SUV range has been subjected to yet another price increase. The fourth generation of the popular moniker will now set buyers back $28,490 plus on-road costs for the base GLX manual and $29,990 plus on-road costs for the top-shelf GLX automatic. This represents a price increase of $2500 and $2000, respectively. It’s also the third price hike the Jimny range has witnessed since its launch back in 2019. That may not sound like a massive amount in t...
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The all-new MU-X for Australia Snapshot Heavily redesigned interior Factory offered rear diff lock Advanced safety features, as per the D-MAX It’s been a long time coming, but Australia is set to receive the new-generation Isuzu MU-X in the coming months. Considering the popularity of the current Isuzu D-MAX, it’s a no-brainer for Isuzu to bring in a more modern version of its seven-seat wagon based on the D-MAX platform. While we will still have to wait for ...
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  More tech and safety comes with price increases for the New Hyundai Tucson Talking Points Three models – Tucson, Tucson Elite, and Tucson Highlander Big price jump at the entry level Three different drivetrains N-Line styling pack option The 2021 Hyundai Tucson range has officially gone on sale in Australia, starting from $38,338 driveaway. It’s also been confirmed the mid-size SUV will be available in three different variants from launch – the baseline Tu...
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Hybrid available in the new model range. Need to Know: Advanced safety and tech features Prices start from $47,650 Available in Australia from June The 2021 Toyota Kluger seven-seater SUV is due in Australia soon, going on sale locally in June. Built on Toyota’s versatile TNGA platform, the fourth generation of the popular family SUV offers a hybrid drivetrain for the first time, as well as a host of new tech and safety features. These new highlig...
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Kia Stonic v Mazda CX-3 v Hyundai Venue comparison - A very popular segment and these 3 are fighting hard SINCE ITS LAUNCH IN 2015, MAZDA’S CX-3 HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY PROVING ITSELF AS THE MAINSTREAM COMPACT SUV TO BEAT AND, IN ITS WHOPPING 15-VARIANT LINE-UP THERE’S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. WELL, MAYBE EVERYONE WHO HAPPENS TO BE LOOKING FOR A REASONABLY PRICED, WELL-BUILT, COMPACT SUV WITH GOOD ROAD MANNERS AND A DUSTING OF ALL-TERRAIN ABILITY. It might be six years old now...
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Details of the new New 2021 Lexus NX  and when it will be coming to Australia Snapshot Based on similar platform to RAV4 Three variants for Aus, one hybrid PHEV not yet confirmed locally Lexus’s most popular model is entering its next generation, with the new 2021 Lexus NX medium SUV now revealed to the world. In a presentation to local media, Lexus confirmed three models of the new SUV will initially come to Australia, with a fourth plug-in hybrid models – the br...
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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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SUBARU has become the latest car-maker to be hit by shortages of computer chips, with part of its Yajima plant in Japan to idle output from April 10-27, reducing production to about 10,000 vehicles instead of around 30,000 units. As Subaru was warning that it was closing one of two lines in northern Japan for two weeks, Toyota Australia confirmed with GoAutoNews Premium that its hybrid models were being hit by delays in electronic parts and...
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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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