Cars Guide
Year of the chariot
Australians are set to be spoiled for choice in 2026 with a broad array of new machines on the way in coming months. Here’s a run-down of the new metal you will find on the road this year. NEW BRANDS We welcomed more than a few new names in 2025 -...
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Good things, small packages
Anew breed of electric cars could change the way people think about green motoring. Historically, electric cars have been held back by two factors – high prices and so-called “range anxiety” surrounding how far they can drive. Tiny electric hatchbacks...
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New Year’s revolution
To call the Toyota RAV4 an important vehicle in Australia is dramatically understating it. It was Toyota’s best-selling vehicle in the country in 2024, tallying more sales than the HiLux ute. And that’s for a model that was already known to be on its...
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A Lucid dream
It’s a familiar story: A brand you’ve never heard of is coming to Australia with electric vehicles stocked with premium features and ambition to shake up the establishment. That description could fit roughly a dozen of the new Chinese brands that have...
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An eye on success
One way to get people to consider your Chinese car brand? Pitch as being the most Japanese option from China. That’s one of the ways that GAC Australia is hoping to win buyers, with its ties to Toyota and Honda giving the business a different approach...
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The silent night
Sleeping in a car sucks. Uncomfortable, cold, seat belt buckles dig in your spine, and some early riser knocks on your window at 5am angrily reminding the nature strip isn’t a camp site. It’s been 25 years since I last bedded down in a car. It was on...
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Reporting for duty
The Ford Ranger Super Duty is a four-wheel-drive powerhouse reminding not all vehicles are here to save the planet. Instead, some have proper work to do. This “SD” is a different beast to a normal Ford Ranger (Australia’s bestselling car), featuring...
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Working together
Yes, the new Nissan Navara does look like a Mitsubishi Triton. That’s because it essentially is one, but the newgeneration Nissan Navara has seen a heap of changes you can’t see to make it the most Australian example in the four-decade lifespan of the...
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Prelude to success
By the time the Prelude returns to Australia in 2026, it will be 25 years since the iconic badge was globally discontinued. A lot has changed in the car world over the last quarter century. Back in 2001, sedans were still king, the Holden Commodore was...
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Land of the Rising Sun
Japanese car makers put on a show of force in Tokyo at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, where manufacturers laid out their plans for the road ahead. For the most part, manufacturers played it safe, sticking to familiar territory. Subaru flirted with a...
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The imitation game
Just when you thought 26 utes on the Australian market meant peak saturation, Foton and its Tunland V7 and V9 have entered the chat. You’ll remember the name. The Chinese brand retreated to Beijing in 2019 after seven years of Aussie battling, now...
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Building their dreams
The average car launch puts motoring writers behind the wheel of one new model, usually accompanied by a brief presentation and an opportunity to meet executives. But BYD isn’t an average car company. So there are six fresh cars parked outside the...
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Main battery Tank
The first budget-friendly plugin hybrid 4x4 has arrived. GWM’s Tank 500 Hi4-T PHEV offers a lot of promise for family SUV buyers, with a big battery pack and claimed EV range exceeding 100km, meaning most commutes will be possible on electric alone....
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The ace of pace
Bathurst’s Top 10 shootout is a special moment when a car and driver have the track to themselves in near-perfect conditions. It’s tough to replicate, yet here we are. And you could be here too. Strapped into a racing Porsche with a brand-new set of...
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Never the same again
Australian Tesla owners needed just 10 days to rack up the first million kilometres of Full Self Driving (Supervised) on the road. I contributed to the tally, first with a test drive of a Tesla Model 3 sedan with the software enabled, and then by...
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The heat seeker
In our previous EV comparison, the Tesla Model Y won against some stiff competition. Now, though, it’s up against yet another impressive newcomer – the Zeekr 7X. Is the best-selling EV on Earth the one to go for? Or should you consider the new midsized...
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From rags to riches
In the car industry fairytale, the launch of the new Hyundai Palisade is the moment Cinderella walks into the royal ballroom and leaves everyone stunned. In the same way Disney’s Princess experienced the ultimate ‘glow up’, transforming from humble...
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The Euro vision
Electric cars made a lot of noise at Munich’s motor show, where European brands launched responses to difficult circumstances. BMW pressed a hometown advantage to promote the first of 20 models set to be based on a “Neue Klasse” (new class) of hardware...
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Retro power surge
Jaunt’s Land Rover looks like a classic four-wheel-drive that someone pulled out of a barn and pressed into service as a daily driver. But there are a few clues that suggest there is something special to this 1958 model. It’s cleaner than expected,...
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Driven to distraction
The self-driving car is almost here. I’ve driven it – and it drove me – on the streets of Brisbane, through roundabouts, intersections, traffic lights and sweeping bends. Without me touching the steering wheel - but ready to take over in a...
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Back from the deep
This is the sort of redemption arc storyline that Hollywood producers dream of. The car we previously labelled “Australia’s most annoying” could now be one of “Australia’s most agreeable” electric SUVs. That’s because Deepal’s local team, based at...
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Done and dusted
You might have heard of the Dacia Duster. Or not. But it’s the Renault Duster that we get in Australia, and this small SUV – built in Romania, sold with a French badge – has been a long time coming. The brand’s importer, Ateco Automotive, has been...
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Tackling a tough task
In a divided world, it’s a rare and wonderful thing when people on the internet reach a consensus. Unfortunately for Kia, that consensus is its much-awaited ute – the Tasman – is very, very ugly. On any forum, video or article talking about the car,...
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On a leap of faith
Subaru’s new Forester remains true to the car that fans love. But is the new Subaru Forester “Strong Hybrid” compelling enough to sway buyers from the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Hyundai Tucson Hybrid, or Chinese newcomers? After driving both the petrol and...
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Driving the future
Just about every car you’ve tried has used mechanical steering. That means the steering wheel has been physically connected to the tyres – it works, it’s proven and it’s safe. So why change? That’s the question Lexus has to answer. The RZ first...
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Cheap SUV surprises
In a market where cheap cars are hard to find, Mahindra’s XUV 3XO takes the title as Australia’s most affordable SUV at $23,490 driveaway. With that price, you’d expect some major compromises. But after a day behind the wheel, it turns out this Indian...
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The heat Zeekr
Tesla hold on Australia’s electric vehicle market is set to face a fresh challenge with the arrival of Zeekr’s medium-sized electric SUV. The Chinese manufacturer will launch its new Zeekr 7X model in coming weeks, positioning the car as a direct rival...
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Super Cruise control
Detroit’s vision for the future of electric motoring is a pimped-out Cadillac that drives itself on highways, offers opulent luxury and is so huge you need a truck licence to drive it. Only America could build the Cadillac Escalade IQ. Australia isn’t...
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Field of Dreams
I’ve just been to China with BYD, and I’m gobsmacked. The brand took us on a tour of one of its eight factories in China – and it wasn’t a factory as you know it. The place was essentially a city. The plant outside Zhengzhou is 10.6 square kilometres...
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Rangers lead the way
Twigs snap and gravel crunches under the allterrain tyres of Ford’s Ranger hybrid as we climb a rocky slope in the bush. Birds sing, leaves rustle in the breeze, and the calm voice of an off-road expert standing outside the car offers quiet coaching...
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The empire strikes back
Cheap Chinese cars have flooded the Australian market in the past few years - now the established automotive empire is striking back. The Hyundai Inster has just arrived in Australia and is the cheapest new electric vehicle you can buy that’s not built...
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Engineering a change
Remember the pandemic? While some of us were baking sourdough or bingewatching Tiger King, car makers were crafting nextgeneration vehicles. In Mazda’s case, that meant the bold effort to make its largest and most expensive cars yet, a family of...
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Riding into the sunset
If you’ve been on the edge about whether to buy a Nissan Patrol, now is the time. Like, literally, get your order in, because this is the best this generation has ever been, and it will be gone before you know it. That’s because there’s a newgeneration...
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Strong hybrid contender
The last Subaru Forester eBoxer hybrid was mild. The new one? It’s strong. Is it the difference between ordering a weak latte or a triple-shot macchiato? Well, maybe not, but it’s a massive improvement … as far as I can tell. That’s because the...
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Crossing the Tasman
Fittingly, given the bumpy road ahead, the new Kia Tasman ute has incredibly well-sorted suspension. I’ve driven just about every ute on sale today. Having been bounced around by models that work reasonably well on smooth roads but ride like an empty...
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Shanghai surprise
Calling the Shanghai Auto Show massive is understating it. The biennial exhibition is an enormous undertaking, with thousands of vehicles on show across 75 football fields worth of interior space, and millions of visitors from home and abroad attending...
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The power trip
The Tesla Model Y used to be the only answer. A handful of years ago, the midsize electric SUV segment had one option for those shopping with a realistic budget. But in 2025 there are dozens of rivals to the stalwart model for similar money or less....
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The fuss-free EV
The plan was simple: fly into Barcelona, eat tapas, drink cava, and drive south along the Mediterranean coast in a car that wouldn’t need charging every 300km. When told I’d be doing this in a Leapmotor C10 REEV, I’ll admit it wasn’t the car I had in...
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The late, great option
Ihate being late. I hate when other people are late. But you know what? In this instance the idiom “good things coming to those who wait” is bang on. That’s because the Volkswagen ID. 4 Pro and ID. 5 GTX electric SUVs might be well behind schedule, but...
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Anything but crazy
Cheeky marketing in Europe for Kia’s latest electric car played on the backlash against Tesla sweeping the globe. A close-up photo of the Kia’s “EV3” badge was accompanied by a bumper sticker saying “I bought this after Elon went crazy”, which played...
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One step closer
We’re rapidly accelerating to 60km/ h, I see a red light and traffic ahead and – my God – there’s no driver! It’s your typical Hollywood disaster scene, but I’m not screaming, nor heroically diving into the driver’s seat saving the day. That’s because...
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A creamy soft serve
Appropriately enough for an electric car that sounds like an ice cream truck, the Geely EX5 might be the most vanilla car on sale. Low-speed driving in this SUV is accompanied by gentle music that could be mistaken for Greensleeves. Like the 30 cent...
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Start your engines
Formula One has always been about the race, the skill of the drivers, the roar of the engines, and the thrill of the chase to the chequered flag. But over the past decade, another race has been unfolding beyond the track, where the world’s most...
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Building a speed temple
Tony Palmer is a man of faith. Dressed head-to-toe in black, there’s a quiet reverence to his voice as we tour of the most ambitious automotive project in the nation. “Black Rock is Australia’s first driving resort,” he says. “When I drove through...
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Driving for change
In a setting where tradition meets disruption, one newcomer stepped on to the fairway, ready to challenge champions. I’ve been to a lot of car launches, but this one was different. Imagine some of the worlds best professional golfers teeing off in the...
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Welcome to Raptor Park
Sliding through a gravel corner before lining up a jump and catching air in Ford’s Ranger Raptor, it occurs to me that this could be the best performance car with Australian DNA. The ute’s howling V6 twin-turbo engine fires it out of the corner with...
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Looking for change
There’s plenty of old in the new Mazda BT-50 ute. It is still tough, capable and practical in a way that won’t offend the ute faithful. So much so that it’s no different to drive than the Isuzu-based model that first arrived in 2020. While the BT-50...
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Revving up sales
Motorsport is in the fast lane for car makers keen to boost sales in an increasingly competitive market. Brands such as BMW, Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari and Porsche sent their best cars, drivers and personnel to Bathurst last weekend, where hundreds of their...
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No small matter
The latest version of Kia’s small car isn’t small at all. Formerly known as the Cerato, the brand’s Toyota Corolla rival is now called the Kia K4. Larger than the previous version, Kia says the car technically meets the car industry’s definition of...
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Hide and Zeek
So you want an EV but not a Tesla? Don’t stress, China has you covered. About a dozen new brands have earmarked Australia as a place to do business. Zeekr, Deepal and XPeng are three of the newcomers hoping to not only get people looking sideways from...
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Driving the future
Future roads will be fascinating, and the world’s largest tech event has offered an indication of how they might look. The 2025 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas saw the automotive industry show cutting-edge technology, groundbreaking innovations,...
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The poor man’s Toyota
Looking for an adventure machine but don’t want to be the latest Toyota LandCruiser or Nissan Patrol to carve its way across the Simpson Desert? Porsche thinks it may have a solution - and it won’t blow a hole in your bank balance. The sports car...
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KIA
Kia kicks off the year with the K4, a replacement for the Cerato, in January. The compact EV3 electric car arrives in March, followed by updates for the EV6 and Sportage in the second quarter of the year. But the most important development is the Kia...
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Tuns to like on big ute
For years there have been big US pick-up trucks on Australian roads, and now Toyota has officially entered the sales race, with the new Tundra on sale here from $155,990 plus on-road costs. That’s a whole lot of coin, but this is a whole lot of...
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AT A GLANCE
VW ID. BUZZ PRICE: From $87,990 MOTOR: Rear electric, 210kW and 560Nm WARRANTY/SERVICE: 5-year unlimited km, $2250 for 10 years SAFETY: Five stars, seven airbags, auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring and rear cross...
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THE PEOPLE’S PONY
The Ford Mustang was a popular champion in our online reader poll, accounting for almost a quarter of 18,000 responses with more than 4300 votes counted earlier this week. Toyota’s Prado was second with a touch under 4000 votes, ahead of the...
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Best of the best
This is our most diverse field of Car of the Year finalists yet. The nine cars representing the best of 2024 cover several bases. Petrol, diesel, electric, hybrid and plugin hybrid power are represented, as are utes, sedans, four-wheel-drives, coupes,...
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Big Korea Move
Everything about the Hyundai Ioniq 9 is big. This is a sizeable car that reflects Hyundai’s substantial ambition. As an enormous electric SUV, it will be the most expensive car in the Hyundai showrooms. Which also means it is a big gamble. This...
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What a feeling
Months late and 15 years after its predecessor the new Toyota Prado has finally arrived Down Under, bringing with it new underpinnings, improved off-road credentials and the ability to tow 3.5 tonnes. While the fourth generation of Toyota’s smaller...
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Big fish out of water
How does a Shark cope in the outback? That was our dusty mission with the allnew BYD Shark 6, the latest do-it-differently challenger in the dual-cab ute market that looks set to undergo a revolution. The first plug-in hybrid ute on the market does...
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California dreaming
The most remarkable thing about the world’s first selfdriving taxi is how unremarkable it feels. Initially nervous at the prospect of strapping into Waymo’s driverless cab, the vehicle’s smooth driving technique and careful decision making soon put me...
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Sharing the ride
From cab ranks to suburban garages it wasn’t long ago that the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore were the favoured rides for so many Aussies. These days it’s the Toyota Camry and Tesla Model 3 flying the sedan flag and keeping ride share operators...
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A challenger steps up
The Kia EV5 is an electric SUV that could shake up the establishment – including those powered by petrol. Sourced from China, fitted with a low cost BYD battery and with a Tesla-baiting price tag, it comes with aspirations of tempting buyers away from...
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Shark takes the bait
In the animal kingdom of utes, the BYD Shark is emerging as a real contender alongside the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux. After test driving the Shark, it’s clear that this vehicle is in the same league in terms of power and capability as Ford’s...
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Win on Sunday, sell on Monday
Raptor feels like an appropriate name for a beast soaring through the air, its tyres straining to touch the ground like the talons of a bird of prey. Ford’s Ranger-inspired rally weapon is one of the world’s wildest race cars, designed to drive...
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The American dream
Cadillac is ready to sell the American dream to Australians. The brand synonymous with status and success was the car of choice for US royalty, from Hollywood stars to presidents. Owning a Cadillac wasn’t about getting from A to B. It was a statement –...
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