Category: Used Car Review

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SUBARU FORESTER 2008 – 2017

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2016 Subaru Forester

By EWAN KENNEDY, Marque Motoring CAPTION: A. B. C. 2016 Subaru Forester BODY COPY Subaru is a quiet achiever in Australia, the Japanese company that has often been ahead of the pack in design. Its Forester is a classic example, decades before SUVs became king the hill in sales in Australia, Subaru was selling all-wheel-drive station wagons. Forester was launched here in 1997 as a relatively mild looking station wagon but later morphed into a medium SUV in styling. In this used car review we pick up Forester from February… Read more

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BMW X5 2007 – 2017

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2010 BMW X5

By EWAN KENNEDY, Marque Motoring CAPTION: A. B. C. 2015 BMW X5 BODY COPY BMW X5 has been major player in the prestige SUV field for many years since being introduced in 2000. These original models are getting on in years so we will start this used car review with the second generation X5 launched here in March 2007. By this time BMW had realised few buyers wanted a real 4WD, so designed a high-riding station wagon that has very competent on road, but only had modest off-road ability. BMW… Read more

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MINI 2007 – 2017

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2012 Mini Coupe

After BMW took over some of the remains of the once great British motors industry in 2000, in March 2002 it revived the famous Mini. The BMW designers stuck to the original styling theme but enlarged the car in all directions to give it added safety and greater interior and luggage space. That new-gen Mini was a hit from day one thanks to a deep understanding of the Mini legend of fun driving and, even more importantly, trendy customisation. As these first cars are getting on in years we will… Read more

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MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS 2009 – 2017

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2009 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

For many decades Mercedes-Benz took a conservative approach with its E-Class, aiming it at buyers who were middle-aged and above. That all changed with the launch of the W212 Series that reached us Downunder in July 2009. Mercedes realised that moderately young, reasonably wealthy people wanted cars from the prestigious German marque, and also wanted stylish machines The W212 was facelifted in August 2013, receiving a large three-dimension grille centred around the iconic three-pointed star. Inside it retained the same overall design, but upgrading of materials increase the feeling of… Read more

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HOLDEN TRAX 2013 – 2017

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2013 Holden Trax

Meet the Holden Trax, a small SUV with big style and lots of personality. Based on the underpinnings of the Holden Barina the Trax has a taller body for added interior room. Trax first arrived here in August 2013 and has sold moderately well since then. When SUVs began to gain in popularity the larger ones were often seen as being 4WDs with all that means in rugged build and tough off-road ability. Thankfully, the little Trax and others in this class don’t even pretend, rather they have a go-anywhere… Read more

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KIA CERATO 2009 – 2016

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2013 Kia Cerato

Kia Cerato is a small-medium South Korean car that’s a quiet achiever in the sales arena in Australia. The introduction of an all-new Cerato in June 2018 is already engendering strong traffic to dealers and quite a few used Ceratos are being traded in. This can result in overstocking – and subsequent price drops to try and shift them. No promises, though… The Cerato first arrived in Australia in July 2004, these earlier models were the first to really benefit from Kia’s determination to improve build quality and are generally… Read more

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JEEP PATRIOT 2007 – 2017

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2007 Jeep Patriot

Even Jeep had to bow down to the inevitable in August 2007. The iconic American marque famed for building ultra-tough 4WDs launched the small-medium Jeep Patriot into the booming soft-road market. Interestingly, the Patriot joined the Jeep Compass, an even softer soft-roader that had been launched a few months earlier. Both sit on passenger car underpinnings, but the square look to the Patriot, rather than the rounded look of Compass, made it the more popular. The square shape of Patriot contributes towards its practical interior, with space for four adults,… Read more

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HONDA ACCORD EURO 2003 – 2015

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2008 Honda Accord Euro

Two substantially different Honda Accords were sold in Australia from 2003; one mid-sized, the other large and almost in the same size class as the Commodore and Falcon. The chassis dynamics of the two Accords mean they attract buyers with significantly different tastes. The smaller Accord, badged as the ‘Euro’ is aimed at buyers who rate handling and overall feel high in their motoring choices. So we will concentrate from the seventh generation Honda Accord, launched in June 2003 in this used car feature. And come back to the American… Read more

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FORD FOCUS 2005 – 2016

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2012 Ford Focus

Ford Focus is a small-medium Euro model that offers better than average ride and handling, that’s even in the standard model which have attracted quite a few keen drivers. Even better, Focus comes in an impressively large number of sports variants. Ride comfort is pretty good in the standard cars, however they can be on the harsh side on rough roads. By contrast sports models may be on the firm side for those looking for comfort ahead of handling. Showing its Euro heritage, Focus is very good at high speed… Read more

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RANGE ROVER EVOQUE 2011 – 2016

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2011 Range Rover Evoque five-door

Range Rover Evoque, launched Downunder in October 2011 is a stylish SUV that can tackle moderately tough conditions when in its all-wheel drive variant. It’s also sold with two-wheel drive, which can be used on forest trails and the like as ground clearance is the same as AWD models. We wouldn’t take one to a beach, though. Evoque looks like it has a very low roof, but that’s a clever illusion. While the roof certainly slopes down at the rear, the angle is not as steep as it seems as… Read more