Car News

It'll be many years before we'll know if newer badges like the Hyundai i30 – now 11 years young – will ever be able to lay claim to an almost ancient heritage, but the Corolla nameplate certainly can. (Indeed, Toyota Europe recently realised just how valuable that is.) Likewise the Volkswagen Golf, the Honda Civic, Jaguar's XJ… these are all badges with a lineage that reaches back decades. Not just a dozen car generations, but a couple of human generations, too.

Renault has this week announced its upcoming electrification push at the Paris motor show, including an all-new electric model and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions of three core models. Headlining the French brand's stand will be the new K-ZE concept, which is a new crossover-styled electric vehicle that will spawn a production model scheduled to hit the Chinese market first in 2019.

The Skoda Kodiaq RS crossover has been revealed a day before the start of the 2018 Paris motor show. Under the bonnet there's a 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel making 176kW of power at 4000rpm, and 500Nm of torque between 1750 and 2500rpm. All that torque is channelled to the ground via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and an all-wheel drive system.

The new Renault Megane RS280 might be an easier car to daily drive than its hard-riding predecessor, but it still looks and feels special on road and on track. In the hot-hatch world, it’s always been a bit of a left-field choice amongst bigger sellers like the Golf GTI/R, and as such has never really hit big sales numbers. The same is still true, according to Jean Calcat, international sales general manager at Renault Sport.

Volkswagen will offer a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty across its range until December 31. Michael Bartsch, Volkswagen Group Australia managing director, said customer reaction to the promotion will be "very informative". Led by Hyundai and Kia, there's been an industry-wide push toward longer warranty coverage over the last 12 months. Honda, Holden, Ford and Mazda have all announced five-year warranty periods, up from the traditional three.