Suzuki is preparing a troupe of cute concepts for the 2019 Tokyo motor show, headlined by the compact Wako SPO coupe. Built to embody the tagline "Waku Waku switch for everyone: Excitement for you, excitement for everyone" (seriously), the range of concept cars preview everything from a plug-in hybrid coupe to a self-driving living room on wheels...
Suzuki has become the last mainstream brand to offer a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty as standard across its range. The Japanese brand today dumped its standard three-year, 100,000km coverage period in favour of the five-year term now standard across the industry. Previously, the brand limited its five-year coverage to owners who serviced their vehicles exclusively within the Suzuki dealer network...
On this week's podcast you're joined by Mandy Turner, Trent Nikolic, and James Wong. James attended the local launch of the 2020 Hyundai Venue, and discusses what it's like to drive. Paul Maric speaks with Lamborghini's chief marketing officer, Katia Bassi. Trent was in Canberra last week for the local launch of the 2020 Peugeot 508, and James compares the Kia Picanto and Suzuki Swift...
Toyota and Suzuki have announced a new capital alliance, which they say cements "the long-term partnership between the two companies for promoting collaboration in new fields, including the field of autonomous driving". As part of the new agreement, Toyota will buy 24 million newly allocated shares in Suzuki valued at roughly ¥96 billion ($1...
Former local favourites Ford and Holden are struggling on the sales charts, and things aren't much better at the service desk. Holden (770/1000) scored below the mass market average (788/1000) for customer service satisfaction, narrowly ahead of Jeep (769/1000), while Ford matched the industry average in a consumer satisfaction survey...
On the podcast this week are Mandy Turner, Mike Costello, and Kez Casey. In car news, Evie Networks is planning an EV charge station expansion for Australia, Europe has mandated EV sound generators, the 2020 Land Rover Defender specs have been leaked, and the 2020 BMW X6 and Mercedes-AMG A45 and CLA45 have been revealed...
Daihatsu, Isuzu, Mazda, Subaru and Suzuki are the latest Japanese automakers to join Monet, a firm led by Toyota and Softbank, and with significant investments from Honda and Hino. The company's first goal is to roll out on-demand car services, and by 2023 it hopes to have self-driving vehicles based on Toyota's e-Palette concepts (above)...
Suzuki Australia has confirmed details of the updated 2020 Baleno light hatch ahead of its local sales launch in August. As before, the refreshed Baleno will be available in two trim levels – GL and GLX – with minor styling and equipment revisions depending on grade...
Suzuki has issued two separate recall notices for the 2017-19 Swift and Swift Sport, over concerns about an issue with the airbag controller. According to the company, side airbags, curtain airbags and the seatbelt pretensioner could accidentally deploy when the rear doors are slammed shut because of incorrect software in the airbag controller...
In a speech, Shigeki Terashi, Toyota's powertrain chief, outlined the company's revised electric vehicle plans. As part of its new accelerated timeline, the company is now planning to launch 10 EVs into global markets by the "early 2020s". Late last week, Toyota and Subaru confirmed they would jointly develop a new EV architecture...
Motoring writers don’t really need to buy new vehicles. There are 65 brands in Australia selling new cars, SUVs and commercials that need testing, ensuring our garages are rarely empty. This is why we more commonly own clunkers or ‘classics’ of varying repute; ones we swear will get that restoration some day..
