Car News

Hyundai is putting the finishing touches on the updated i30N, testing in the German summer at the Nurburgring race circuit ahead of a likely showroom arrival in Australia early next year. As has been reported, the update to Hyundai’s first ever hot hatch will coincide with the arrival of the current model’s midlife facelift.

Hyundai is holding back on rolling out a permanent seven-year warranty across its range to match sister brand Kia – even though it was the pioneer of longer vehicle warranties, establishing five-year coverage more than 20 years ago. Hyundai introduced a seven-year warranty on most models in its range from October through to the end of December in 2019, and has applied the extra coverage intermittently to a smaller number of models in the first half of 2020.

The boss of Nissan Australia is confident the new-car market will recover quicker than expected in the wake of the coronavirus crisis – once production ramps back up to normal levels. “The issue of where 2020 ends up is a really good question,” Nissan Australia boss Stephen Lester told CarAdvice. “We’ve all spent a lot of time looking for whoever it is with the crystal ball that can tell us exactly that.

A short video has been released by Mazda teasing the reveal date of what could be a turbocharged Mazda3. The unlisted video was shared in a handful of tweets by the car manufacturer, replying to rumours of the new turbo model and adding: "Power comes to those who wait". Sounds of an engine being revved can be heard on the video, while graphics indicate the reveal date will be 8 July 2020. In another tweet, Mazda wrote: "Keep calm and stay tuned. Plenty of time to rush where we're going."

Development of the Lexus LC F sportscar has reportedly been suspended, according to Japanese website Car Sensor. The flagship Lexus coupe was expected to launch in late 2020 with a twin-turbo V8, with some rumours suggesting the car would be all-wheel-drive. On June 22, Toyota announced it would be gradually slowing its Japanese assembly lines, blaming COVID-19 for shrinking sales and dwindling factory output.