Category: Road Test

Road Test Review

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CHRYSLER 300 IS BIG, BOLD AND INTIMIDATING

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Back in the 1960s and ‘70s the competition in the Australian family car market was dominated by the so-called Big Three. Always given in the order ‘Holden, Falcon and Valiant’, the big six-cylinder and V8 cars dominated the local market and put on a right royal battle. Chrysler Valiant fell by the wayside in 1980 when the company was taken over by Mitsubishi, leaving the field to the other two. Now the position has been reversed with the imminent demise of the Falcon and Commodore leaving a big Chrysler by… Read more

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2016 MASERATI QUATTROPORTE 330BHP REVIEW

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Maserati’s Quattroporte is part of a dying breed. A decade or so ago, the European manufacturers took a huge amount of pride in their range-topping big luxury sedans, cars you can either drive or be driven in, bristling with the latest technology. In 2015, all we hear about are the range-topping SUVs from those makers, with cars like the S-Class and 7 Series fading slowly into irrelevance. While by no means low-tech, the Maserati Quattroporte takes the high style route, focussing on a luxurious interior with that handmade feel. VALUE… Read more

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BMW 1 SERIES 2004 – 2015

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2007 BMW 1 Series coupe

All BMWs are aimed at those of us who love to drive, so the smallest vehicle in the range, the 1 Series uses sporty engines driving the rear wheels. Owners tell us that even heavy-duty commuting is more enjoyable than in other cars they tested before buying a 1 Series. Rear-drive certainly gives the 1 Series excellent chassis balance and smile-to-the-face driving – but it steals cabin and boot. There’s good legroom in the front seats, though foot-width is restricted by the large gearbox housing. However, it’s probably better to… Read more

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SANTA FE TAKES THE HIGH-TECH ROUTE

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Hyundai is one of the most go-ahead car marques on the planet at the moment, introducing new styles and technology at a rate that’s taking many competitors by surprise. Technology that was once only in the domain of the big name Europeans is now coming from South Korea’s biggest car maker. No more is this shown than in the Hyundai Santa Fe Series II we covered in our launch story last week. While mechanical upgrades in the Santa Fe Series II are incremental, in the field of safety it makes… Read more

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INSIGNIA VXR: EXCELLENT OPENING SHOT FROM HOLDEN

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    Holden Insignia VXR is designed and built by GM-Opel in Germany – but its engine is made in Holden’s Melbourne plant. From Australia the engine is sent to Europe to be installed in many cars sold globally. Though the Aussie engine is the big news, there’s plenty of Australian engineering input in many facets of the car which will play an important part of the future for GM-Holden. Very much a sports sedan, Holden says Insignia VXR will compete directly with the likes of Subaru Liberty and Volkswagen… Read more

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2015 BMW 125I M SPORT REVIEW

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The overall competency of the car market means that there are few reasons to really get stuck into criticising a car, whether for a laugh or for good reason. The second-generation BMW 1 Series created an open goal for car lovers – it was almost unfeasibly ugly. Which is a great shame, because underneath that terrible snout was a fine car. The recent mid-life update for the BMW F20 1 Series has ironed out the worst of it while also bringing a bit of a light going-over on the dynamics,… Read more

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2015 RENAULT CAPTUR TCE120 REVIEW

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Renault Captur is a stylish city car that’s virtually a Renault Clio with a taller five-door hatch body. It joins a sudden rash of small crossover SUVs that are taking Australia by storm. In fact these vehicles are a hit in global markets, particularly in Europe where parking in increasingly crowded cities is a huge problem. Note the word styling in our opening to this story, because that’s the number one reason people are giving us when we talk about their buying a Renault Captur. Interestingly, favourable responses are coming… Read more

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2016 AUDI Q3 2.0 TFSI SPORT REVIEW

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When it was launched the Q3 pretty much defined the premium-level compact SUV, catching German rival Mercedes on the hop and making BMW’s initial effort with the X1 looking a bit sad. As the current model nears the end of its life, it’s got one last update to battle BMW’s now rather more sensible second-generation X1 and Mercedes’ recent arrival, the GLA. VALUE The Q3 range opens with a front wheel drive 1.4-litre petrol turbo weighing in at $42,300, topping out at $56,900 for the 2.0 TDI Sport quattro (not… Read more

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NISSAN ON RIGHT ROAD WITH NEW NAVARA

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With the new Dual Cab pick-up launched mid-year and a tranche consisting of King Cab, Single Cab and Dual Cab Chassis to hit the market by the end of November, taking total variants to 27, Nissan could well have ticked all the boxes with its NP300 Navara range. Already Nissan’s best-selling vehicle Down Under, accounting for a third of all sales, the Japanese company appears determined to give the new NP300 Navara every chance of maintaining its lead. The pick-up went through more than 40,000 tests for proven quality and… Read more

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2015 MERCEDES-BENZ CLA SHOOTING BRAKE REVIEW

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Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake is a good looking station wagon which complements the A-Class five-door hatch and four-door sedan. Interestingly, the CLA is similar in size to the recently superseded Mercedes C-Class. The all-new C-Class has increased in size leaving space for the A-Class. It may even be large enough to make space for a smaller model. Mercedes is creatively keen on providing something foe everyone in the prestige market. Our test car the past week was the $89,510 A 45 Mercedes-AMG hotshot. It has an incredible 265 kilowatts of… Read more