Category: New Releases

Hyundai Kona 2021 Review

February 18, 2021

The Hyundai Kona – the second-best seller for the last two years in a row in an overcrowded class of more than 20 small SUVs – has had its first major update since arriving in local showrooms in 2017. Crash-avoidance technology has been added across the 2021 Hyundai Kona range, although only the most expensive models come with the full suite of advanced safety systems – and speed-sign recognition is still not available.   There are six models in the revised line-up, starting with the...

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2021 Kia Carnival Reveiw

January 12, 2021

Thinking about buying a large SUV for your growing family, with no plans of going off-road? Don’t. Buy the 2021 Kia Carnival instead.   It’s impossible to dislike a car, when it happens to be very good at its core role. And the new 2021 Kia Carnival people mover is exactly that. This ain’t no muscular, swooping, coupe-SUV-off-road-shooting-brake-family-sportscar, like so many segment-blurring models that are currently crowding showrooms. The Kia Carnival is a god-damned, unabashed people mover. And...

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2020 Ford Mustang GT Convertible Review

November 7, 2020

If we could apply a Peter and the Wolf style approach to cars, where the characters are described only by music, then the 2020 Ford Mustang GT Convertible would surely be ‘voiced’ by the opening salvo of Bon Jovi’s Raise Your Hands. The combination of Sambora’s catchy, big-hair metal riff, balanced with JBJ’s almost doppler-effect scream, is the perfect metaphor to suit the soundtrack of the perpetual midlife-crisis-encouragement machine. Too much analysis there you think? Well, this is the key...

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2020 Hyundai Venue Elite

November 7, 2020

Hyundai’s compact SUV is becoming more and more common on our roads. Let’s find out if you should join the herd. Elite. It’s a word the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as meaning “the best of a class”. If true, that’s a bold claim for Hyundai to affix to the top-spec variant of its small SUV, the Venue. After all, the small-SUV class isn’t exactly lacking in competition. So, the key question is: Should you consider the Venue above all...

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2021 Kia Sorento Review

September 10, 2020

Kia’s all-new large SUV promises to be better in every respect, but is it enough to take on such polished segment leaders? With an onslaught of incoming fresh metal, the large-SUV segment is going to get a shake-up. And the latest new kid on the block is the 2021 Kia Sorento. Our first taste of Kia’s new large SUV comes in flagship form: GT-Line, with the more expensive diesel all-wheel-drive powertrain. Under the bonnet of our tester lies...

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Ram Warlock Review (limited edition!)

September 1, 2020

The Ram 1500 line-up is about to grow yet again, this time with the addition of a high-riding, tough-looking Warlock limited edition. It will be the fourth model in the revised Ram 1500 Classic range, joining the Ram 1500 Express Quad Cab (with shorter rear doors and a longer ute bed), the Ram 1500 Express Crew Cab (with longer rear doors, more back seat space, and a shorter ute tub), and the flagship Ram 1500 Laramie (with longer rear doors, more back seat space, and a...

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Ford Pass Connect unlocks hi-tech features using your phone

July 19, 2020

The entire Ford range will soon have remote smartphone connectivity once exclusive to electric and luxury cars. Ford is about to introduce remote smartphone connectivity that will allow owners to lock and unlock their car, pinpoint its location when parked, and check fuel levels and tyre pressures from the convenience of their phone. The technology – called Ford Pass Connect – will initially roll out on the Ford Ranger ute, Ford Everest SUV and Ford Transit van, before being fitted as standard on...

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NSW-Victoria border crossings: The drives to do once restrictions lift

July 19, 2020

It’s true that you often don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. All those people planning a Victoria to New South Wales road trip (or vice versa) will know this feeling all too well, after their travel plans were put on a six-week hold with the re-introduction of Victoria’s coronavirus lockdowns. But while the stay-at-home restrictions may mean you’re spending less time on the road, this translates to more time at home, preparing for your inevitable post-COVID road trip....

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2020 MG HS Excite Review

July 19, 2020

The 2020 MG HS is packed full of standard inclusions, and offers a compelling value proposition in what is now the most competitive segment for Australian family buyers. The 2020 MG HS Excite is now a very interesting proposition in a crowded medium-SUV segment. As we found at launch, it’s an SUV that is built to a quality beyond what the price might indicate, and since then we’ve been looking forward to spending some time with...

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2020 Kia Sportage Review

July 19, 2020

In the face of more modern and increased competition, can the Kia Sportage in entry-grade S guise still compel the family buyer to consider it? The medium-SUV segment has come a very long way since the Kia Sportage, familiar now to Australian buyers, first entered the fray. So, too, has the Sportage range, and this time around we test the entry pricepoint to the model – the 2020 Kia Sportage S petrol. As tested here, the Sportage is...

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