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The Volkswagen Polo is only two years younger than the Golf, yet it took 19 years for Volkswagen to finally determine that its city car would be a good fit for the sporty GTI badge. In between the first Golf GTI of 1976 and the original Polo GTI of 1995, the German brand believed its Passat family sedan and wedge-shaped Scirocco coupe were worthier recipients of the famous trio of capital letters (though there was a supercharged Polo G40 in 1991)...
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...
As the current family favourite in Australia, medium SUVs represent the second-biggest slice of the local new car market – hot on the heels of more affordable (and often fleet-favoured) small cars. The choice of available models is broad with 19 mainstream models to pick from, but in this instance we’ve chosen a pair of haulers that can not only live up to the demands of active family life, but do so with a semi-premium Euro twist...
You don't need to spend a ton of cash to have fun on four wheels, nor do you need maximum power. Sometimes cars with lower performance ceilings, driven near their ragged edge, are the most fun of all. Cases in point, the two you see here. The just-launched Suzuki Swift Sport from Japan and the just-updated Renault Clio RS200 Cup from France, both pocket rockets par excellence...
There’s a titanic battle for the hearts and minds (and cash) of Australia’s ravenous small SUV buyers. In 2017, over 104,000 compact SUVs rolled out of dealer showrooms and into the garages of their new owners. Sadly, only 567 of those sales were accounted for by this French duo...
Petrolhead parents on a budget are hardly spoilt for choice in today’s showrooms – especially if a hatchback is considered a bit too small and they prefer their driving experience, rather than outward view, to be elevated. In the circa-$40,000 price zone, there are just three members of the sporty compact wagon breed: the Renault Megane GT, Skoda Octavia RS, and Subaru Levorg...
Who would have thought there’d be enough action in the small sedan segment of the market to warrant yet another comparison test – our fifth such test since the beginning of 2016? Yet here we are, in a world where the small car is increasingly being seen as a great alternative to the mid-size sedan because, essentially, these new ‘small’ sedans offer better space for your spend than vehicles in the next segment up...
The small car market is one of the busiest segments of the Australian automotive landscape, both in terms of sales and for new product – and 2016 in particular proved to be a big year for the humble hatchback. Sales of small cars may have slowed off a little as people move towards the plethora of small SUV alternatives, but make no mistake: this segment still makes up the single biggest proportion of overall new vehicle sales, and it’s dominated by a couple of big-name models...
Buyers looking for the perfect medium SUV are faced with a bewildering array of options in what has become Australia’s fastest-growing vehicle segment. This year, a staggering one-in-seven of all new vehicles sold have fought in this class, and there are more than 20 offerings from all over the world tussling for your love and money...
Commercial vans are increasingly proving an important part of the Australian automotive landscape. Vans of all sizes – small, medium and large – saw sales increases in 2015, and it’s that middle segment that takes up the majority of sales. There’s a clear sales leader and, surprise, surprise – it’s a Toyota...
Intra-brand rivalries can be fun. Comparing the top-spec variant of one model in a manufacturer's line-up with the entry-level version of another, can often deliver interesting outcomes. And when the gap between them, in sheer dollar terms anyway, is rather close, things can be even more interesting...
