The newcomer versus the champ: this isn’t some naff reference to a big money fight, but by the same token, it kind of is – because here we have the much-lauded European that’s all about swagger, going against the stalwart chart-topper with a tremendous record...
We assembled 17 of fittest 'fun cars' under $60k at Sydney Motorsport Park at the recent MotorWorld event and there you, our readers, into the test seats. And we gave the mega test field a spin ourselves. Together, we decide what's hot, what's fun and what is exception value for money...
How does Peugeot's wicked new 308 GTi 270 flagship hot hatch fare against the established might of Volkswagen's GTI Performance edition? We hit the twisty back-roads to find out.
Until recently, Australians shopping for a new city car on a budget wouldn’t have even bothered kicking tyres in a European brand’s showroom. Light Euro tikes have typically been prohibitively expensive to purchase and frightfully costly to service, making their Japanese or South Korean counterparts the default choice...
The term ‘hot-hatch’ is commonly used to describe a hatchback that straddles the line between performance and practicality. Some skew closer to performance than practicality, while others veer the other way. What happens when you have Volkswagen Golf GTI money, though, but don’t necessarily want to blend in with the tartan-clad German crowd? That’s where the French Peugeot 308 GT and Italian Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV step in...
So, you like French brands. You like SUVs. You like the idea of personalising your car to be unique and to stand out from the crowd. Well, you haven’t really been spoilt for choice -- until now. That’s because there are now two models on the Australian market that will tick all of those boxes. They are the all-new Renault Captur and the recently refreshed Peugeot 2008...
Not everyone wants an SUV and even those who crave one may be better off with a traditional wagon – it is a line we’ve heard before, yet the sales charts scream that the people have spoken otherwise. Neither the Peugeot 308 Touring or Volkswagen Golf Wagon can provide the high driving position of a sports utility vehicle, and likewise they don’t sit high enough that you could slide a baby into a capsule without bending down into the car...
Definitions shift over time, none more so in the automotive landscape than with the term ‘people’s car’. What once referred to a German Beetle, French 2CV or an Indian Tata bringing motoring to their respective masses can also be placed in an Australian context...
Call our original small SUV comparison test the elimination round. Earlier this year when we tested this new breed of fully loaded, sub-$30,000 sub-compact ‘softroaders’, the competition was fresh but clearly green (read the full comparison here). Six months on, and the class has shifted up several gears...
Comparing old with new might seem like an unfair comparison because, with few exceptions, new models are bigger, safer, more refined and more economical, often quicker, too. All of which might leave an earlier iteration without a hope. However, the flipside is that previous models are smaller and rawer, which are negatives if you’re talking about a Corolla, but can be desirable qualities in the rarefied realm of high-performance icons...
Buyers and manufacturers are obsessed with all things SUV at the moment, with soaring sales leading to massive expansions plans of high-riding hatchbacks and wagons with tough styling. So it comes as no surprise, then, that a new ultra-small SUV market has emerged beneath the RAV4 and CX-5 compact class...
