2018 MERCEDES-AMG G 63

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been around since the late 1970s when it was created as a rival for the Range Rover. It was originally called the G-Wagen an abbreviation of Gelandewagen or “cross country vehicle” for which there can be no argument because it’s right up there with the toughest off-road vehicles on the market. The shape of the G-Class has changed very little over its four decades and the latest model retains the same iconic boxy design that clearly appeals to its loyal buyers. There have however been significant… Read more

HYUNDAI ELANTRA FACELIFTED

Hyundai Elantra Go

The complete Elantra range has received a facelift, with a cascading grille, redesigned headlights and taillights, an integrated bootlid spoiler and lower diffuser. Inside there’s a revamped dashboard, a Supervision infotainment cluster, a new steering wheel design, as well as new trims and finishes. Hyundai Elantra Active now has an 8.0-inch touchscreen satellite navigation system paired with an eight-speaker Infinity premium audio system with a DAB+ radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Because the Elantra Active has moved upmarket, a new Elantra Go has been introduced. It has a… Read more

NISSAN NAVARA ST-X REVIEW

The big news in the Australian new car scene in recent years has been the rapid growth of SUV sales which saw them overtake conventional passenger cars for the first time in 2017. Only slightly less spectacular has been the jump in sales of pickups / utilities with Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger occupying the top two spots in overall vehicles sales last year – and certain to do so again this year. While Nissan Navara sales lag a fair way behind HiLux and Ranger it still accounts for almost… Read more

HONDA CR-V 2007 – 2017

2013 Honda CR-V

Honda CR-V was an early entrant into the SUV market when it arrived Downunder 21 years ago. Since then it has pretty well followed the typical path of vehicles in this class. That is, it began as a reasonably serious small 4WD that had an external spare wheel and gradually morphed into a large station wagon with limited off-road ability. We are looking here at the CR-V Series 4 models from October 2007. These took a major step to being family wagons, with added interior space and slightly softer suspension… Read more

MAZDA INTRODUCES UPMARKET CX-3 AKARI LE

Keen to hold onto second place in the hard fought Australian sales race Mazda has introduced what it describes as a, “premium range-topper” to the small SUV market – the Mazda CX-3 Akari LE. The emphasis is on the interior where the seats are finished in Dark Russet Nappa leather, the centre console and armrests are have colour matched synthetic leather. All are finished with white stitching, offset by Pure White synthetic leather panelling on the seats, doors and dash. Dash mounted air vents are accented with a Pure White… Read more

MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE CROSS EXCEED

Mitsubishi’s Eclipse Cross sits somewhere between the Japanese marque’s ASX and Outlander but has a personality all of its own. Its compact dimensions belie its spaciousness and complemented by generous inclusions, this SUV is punching above its weight. The Eclipse Cross is offered here in Australia in three grades, the mid-level LS, the newly arrived entry-level ES and the top-spec Exceed. The versatile crossover is pushing hard to make its mark in a segment that surprisingly still has some wiggle room. STYLING The Eclipse Cross may very well be one… Read more

TRIUMPH TR6

Car manufacturers don’t really set out to make bad quality cars, but the 1970s were notorious for cars with serious defects. The Triumph TR6 was one of the numerous makes that embodied serious defects due to shoddy quality control. The Triumph TR1s, TR2s and TR3s of the 1950s and 1960s were great little sports cars and even though they required the occasional bonnet lift to fix their odd little quirks, this was accepted and even considered part of the fun of owning a sports car at the time. As British… Read more

HYUNDAI i30 N LINE

Building on the success of the new Hyundai i30 N hot hatch the South Korean marque has introduced a new i30 N Line which replaces the previous i30 SR range and is priced from a pretty reasonably MLP of $26,490. Hyundai i30 N Line has more aggressive looking front and rear bumpers, sits on 18-inch alloys with high-performance Michelin tyres, and a sports suspension tune. It can easily be identified by N Line badges. Inside there are front sports seats, an N Line steering wheel and gear knob, red highlights,… Read more

PORSCHE MACAN S GETS BIG-POWER V6 TURBO ENGINE

Porsche has expanded its Macan range with the introduction of a new 3.0-litre turbo-petrol engine in the Macan S. The engine delivers up to 260 kW and has a maximum torque of 480 Nm. When fitted with the optional Sport Chrono Package, new Porsche Macan S accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.1 seconds. Macan is very much a sports SUV and features staggered tyres working with the Porsche Traction Management 4WD system. On the front axle, spring forks made from aluminium replace the previous steel components to… Read more

2019 MITSUBISHI TRITON

A couple of months back Mitsubishi Australia gave us information on what is virtually an all-new Triton. Now the Japanese maker has provided us with pricing. At a date yet to be announced in January 2019 the media launch will be held, probably in Tasmania. In the meantime we have had the chance to sit in the Triton and crawl over and under it, Triton has a huge front face using the Mitsubishi Dynamic Shield design. While it has been used in others in the Mitsubishi range, this shape works… Read more