Car News

Mercedes-Benz has announced pricing and specs for the new A250 4Matic, set to arrive Down Under in November. The range-topping A250 offers 165kW of power and 350Nm of torque, put to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. It'll hit 100km/h in 6.2 seconds, while claimed combined fuel consumption is 6.6L/100km.

Bollinger Motors has revealed its second model, the B2 dual-cab ute, with a 120kWh battery pack and a 2265kg load capacity. Under that blocky all-aluminium body, the B2 blends a 120kWh battery pack with electric motors on both axles, good for 388kW/700Nm. It'll hit 97km/h in 6.5 seconds, if that's important to you, and offers a useful 2265kg payload and 3400kg towing capacity.

The Mazda CX-5 has been updated in its home market, confirming the availability of the CX-9's 2.5-litre turbo petrol engine for the mid-sized SUV. Available to pre-order now in the Japanese domestic market, the refreshed CX-5 range is the first model in the company's Japanese line-up to offer the turbocharged petrol powertrain – which makes 169kW at 4250rpm and 420Nm at 2000rpm – while also debuting Mazda's upgraded G-Vectoring Control Plus.

A team of Volkswagen Australia apprentices has made the Arteon 206TSI into a sub-4.0-second car, as a showcase for the World Time Attack Challenge at Sydney Motorsport Park. The modified five-door, dubbed ART3on, makes 360kW and 600Nm from its 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, up from 206kW and 350Nm. That extra grunt has been liberated by a raft of 'Stage 3' parts from RacingLine, including software tweaks and hardware changes like a bigger turbocharger.

Production of an electric Ford Transit van has begun in Europe as part of a partnership with Deutsche Post. Dubbed StreetScooter, these vans start life as a standard Transit chassis built in Turkey. They're fitted with unique bodies and drivetrains at a site near Ford's European headquarters in Cologne, Germany, and finished in DHL's distinctive yellow livery. The venture project employs around 180 production staff, and can make 3500 electric vans per year.