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2020 VOLVO XC40 T4 INSCRIPTION

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The very Swedish Volvo XC40 midsize SUV has an excellent blend of style, performance and practicality. And it goes without saying it’s one of the safety vehicles on our roads. A new model, the XC40 Inscription was recently added to the range. A midrange variant, it features a powered front passenger seat, leather-trim, ambient interior lighting and a powered tailgate. A fascinating insight; by far the most commented-on feature of the XC40 Inscription we have been driving is the Orrefors Crystal gear selector. A great collaboration between the two upmarket… Read more

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CARS WITH FAULTY AIRBAGS MAY BE DE-REGISTERED

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Faulty Takata airbags can go off without warning and kill or serious injure you. Despite a long campaign by car companies and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) there are still a total of 537,000 vehicles in Australia with faulty Takata airbags. The 537,000 vehicles tend to be from outer suburban areas of large cities, country areas, lower socio-economic groups and when English isn’t the first language of the vehicle owners. Tony Weber, chief executive of the FCAI, said that while local automotive brands had worked hard to complete… Read more

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RENAULT KADJAR IS ON ITS WAY

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Renault Kadjar will join the already crowded mid-sized crossovers in Australia when it arrives in November. Renault Australia Managing Director Anouk Poelmann says, “Starting from $29,990 RRP the Renault Kadjar is designed to be at home in any environment, features a strong visual identity, contemporary design with a focus on quality and will sit in the middle of Renault’s three-strong SUV range”. At the front Kadjar carries over the C-shape light signature from the Renault range. It strengthens it by integrating LED indicators into daytime running lights. Front and rear… Read more

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JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE SUMMIT

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Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit is the famed American company’s most luxurious variant. It features a refined front with LED foglights. The restyled rear fascia has dual trapezoidal exhaust tips. In addition, the body-coloured side-sill cladding, wheel arches over the 20-inch alloys, mirror caps and door handles further deliver on the premium elements of Summit. Platinum chrome adorns front and rear lower fascia applique, side window surrounds and side sills, roof rails, tail lamp bezels and rear step pad Making its mark very obvious there’s exterior badging on the Jeep seven-slot… Read more

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PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE REFLECTED IN NEW-GENERATION MAZDA

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The name Astina might not be as old as the hills but the eponymous Mazda certainly goes back well into the past century; to 1963 in fact, when the small family car had its roots in the Familia. Progressing through the Mazda 323 and Protege to the sixth generation in 1989 when the new five-door fastback version was called the Familia Astina in Japan and was sold as the 323F or 323 Astina elsewhere. Thirty years later the Astina is still going strong as the top model of the Mazda3…. Read more

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MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS (JCW) CLUBMAN

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The fastest ever production MINI, the John Cooper Works (JCW) Clubman is coming to Australia. Extensive changes to the John Cooper Works four-cylinder TwinPower Turbo petrol engine makes it produce 225kW, an increase of 55kW over the previous model, and 450Nm of torque. The result is a zero to 100km/h time of just 5.1 seconds. The 55kW power increase is thanks to internal revisions including a reinforced crankshaft drive, new pistons with modified compression, adapted connecting rods with bush-less bracket, modified injection valves with increased flow rate and a newly… Read more

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NEW HYUNDAI VELOSTER

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All-new 2020 Hyundai Veloster uses the same 2+1 door sports design that was such a feature of the original model. Now with a low and wide frontal design Hyundai’s signature cascading grille, sculpted wheel arches and sporty rear diffuser. Veloster is available with a choice of 2.0-litre Atkinson cycle engine (110kW & 180Nm) or 1.6-litre turbocharged (150kW & 265Nm) powertrains, the latter featuring up to 275Nm over-boost function. The entry 2.0L MPi engine is offered with a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Veloster Turbo and Turbo Premium… Read more

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FORD RANGER WILDTRAK X

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And now something very special for those who love driving small pickup trucks. The first-ever Ford Ranger Wildtrak X combines premium Ranger technology, upmarket features and comfort with enhanced equipment levels. Ranger Wildtrak X features exclusive 18-inch black-finish alloy wheels, black wheel-arch flares, black front nudge bar with LED light bar. It also has a snorkel to take full advantage of Ranger’s best-in-class 800mm water wading, as well as to combat dusty roads that can clog up the engine’s air filter. Inside, premium features include leather-appointed seating with Wildtrak orange… Read more

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NEW BMW 1 SERIES: FIRST DETAILS

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BMW Australia advises that the all-new BMW 1 Series will be in Australia later this year at a date to yet to be revealed. The third generation 1 Series will initially be sold with two models, the 118i priced at $42,990 and $63,990 for M135i xDrive. On-road costs have to be added to these figures. Powered will be provided by BMW TwinPower Turbo engines, including the most powerful four-cylinder engine ever in a road car from BMW, the M135i xDrive. As previously used only on the BMW i3 pure-electric car,… Read more

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ALL-NEW LAND ROVER DEFENDER

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New Land Rover Defender is finally here – and it looks like a Defender. Some had feared it would be thoroughly modernised, perhaps even streamlined. But that would have created a storm of complaints from those defending the Defender and thankfully it didn’t happen. To quote Land Rover design chief, Gerry McGovern: “The new Defender is respectful of its past but is not harnessed by it. This is a new Defender for a New Age.” The model names are as before: 110 and 90, but these numbers no longer indicate… Read more