Ford Australia has had a hole in its product line-up since October 2016. A 4.89-metre hole to be exact, and it went by the name of Territory. There’s been the Everest, of course, but ute-based SUVs still don’t drive like a car-based SUV, and the Ranger-derived Everest is notably more expensive than the Territory was. A solution, however, has arrived from the US...
While we’ve said goodbye to the Commodore and Falcon, the muscle car war hasn’t died off completely. For the first time, it’s the traditional US rivals that square off Down Under, with the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS now on sale (albeit in limited numbers) alongside the 2018 Ford Mustang GT...
Australians have always been fond of turning utes into status symbols – once of the two-doored, V8 variety. The market is quite different today, but the fundamental desires for head-turning load-luggers remain. Enter the trio of desirable workhorses you see here: the Ford Ranger Raptor, Toyota HiLux Rugged X and Volkswagen Amarok Ultimate TDI580...
Does the perfect hot hatch exist? Is your perfect hot hatch someone else's nightmare ride? The latter scenario is probably more likely, but to put the theory to the test, we’ve pitted the all-new Renault Megane RS280 against the reigning champs from our recent hot hatch mega test...
Medium-sized passenger cars, like many other ‘traditional’ segments, are on the nose with Aussie buyers as SUVs continue to star in the sales charts. That makes buyers of cars like the Ford Mondeo and Mazda 6 real winners, with once humdrum medium sedans pushing into near-premium territory as a play to gain buyer attention...
Dual-cab utes have taken over the cities and suburbs of Australia. So much so that both the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger sit in the top-five most sold cars each year. That popularity trend continues in other overseas markets, where the HiLux and Ranger also sell in huge numbers. Mercedes-Benz wants a piece of the premium ute mix and has dipped its toe in the dual-cab ute waters with the all-new X-Class...
Welcome to Part Two of the video feature for our recent 2018 Hot Hatch Mega Test. To recap, we've assembled three all-wheel-drivers and three front-drivers from non-premium marques, with pricing ranging from $43k (i30 N) through to $57,690 (STI Spec R). It's a rich and diverse field with each competitor representing its maker's fastest and most fun-filled efforts...
We pit five of the best turbo hot hatches - and one wildcard sedan - against one another to find out which is the fastest and most fun small rocketship for under $60k. In this video we test outright performance and lap times...
Is there a more vibrant and diverse segment on the market right now than that labelled 'hot hatch'? In fact, is it technically a segment at all, but rather a broad net cast wide enough to include a $25K compact-sized Suzuki Swift Sport at one extreme and larger, circa-$80K Audi RS3s and Merc-AMG A45s at the other? And that’s just hatchbacks...
Dual-cab utes are expected to be more versatile today than ever before. Rough and tough is not enough. The flagship versions must be comfortable inside, safe, and look the part because people want show ponies as well as workhorses. Consider, for a moment, that the eight most popular dual-cab models managed 193,000 sales in Australia last year, which equals 16 per cent of the entire new vehicle market...
They’re more likely to carry dirty nappies and road bikes than a bale of hay, but all eight of the cars on our 2018 dual-cab mega test are, you know, dual-cab utes. That means they still need to be fit for hard work. Has the transition to a life of luxury undermined the inherent practicality of these one-time work vehicles? Here’s a look at how the tray on each stacks up...
