The Holden Cruze SUV was launched in Australia midway through 2002 and was imported until 2006. It didn’t enjoy the success anticipated for it, partly because most buyers in the 4WD class were looking for medium to large vehicles during that period. Though the name’s the same, these older models More
Volkswagen up! was launched almost a year ago, yet hasn’t managed to make the splash on the Australian sale’s charts that we had anticipated. So it made sense to carry out a re-test and see what we think about it almost 12 months down the track. STYLING One of our More
When we attended the launch of the revised Kia Optima sedan in January time constraints meant we could only take it for a short test drive. We have now spent a solid week in a new Optima in our home territory of the Gold Coast and Brisbane, so can provide More
Honda has made a major change of direction in its fifth generation Odyssey people mover. Previously it has followed passenger-car, station-wagon lines, making it easy to drive and park and – dare I say it? – more popular with female drivers. Odyssey now has an extra 150 mm in height More
Audi A6 is a medium-large car much loved by those who like a solid touch of sportiness in their transport. As well as the standard A6 models, Audi also sells a good range of high-performance versions. Called, in ascending order, Audi A6 S Line, Audi S6 and Audi RS6, they More
Toyota Prado 4WD received a major upgrade in 2013 and we have just enjoyed a pleasant week in one of the significantly improved 4WDs from the company that dominates this field in Australia. We found it enjoyable to drive both on-road and off, though, as is usually the case there More
After several recent weeks in Italy, driving close to 4000 kilometres, on business then a most welcome holiday, I saw only a single crash, and that was but a minor bump. Given the severe winter weather and the unbelievably-crowded roads we experienced that lack of any real incidents was most More
BMW is about to launch yet another all-new model, the X4. A smaller brother to the BMW X6, it has been shown in Europe and will come to Australia in the final quarter of 2014. Using BMW’s new naming system, which gives even numbers to sports models, and where X More
Proton Exora, priced from $25,990, drive away, is quite simply the most affordable seven-seater in Australia. The Malaysian-made compact people mover also carries a large carrot in the form of free servicing for the first five years or 75,000 kilometres. And there is no skimping on equipment, with reverse parking More
The Toyota Crown has always offered good value for money but has never sold in large quantities, unlike smaller Toyota vehicles, compared with comparable Holdens and Fords. Perhaps its rather bland and conservative looks have contributed to this situation for on driving aspects alone it was at least equal to More
