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HONDA CR-V VTi LX AWD

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It’s been a little over 12 months since we drove the previous Honda CR-V. Introduced to Australia in 1997, CR-V has grown to become Honda’s most successful model globally. Released in July last year the sixth-generation of the five- and seven-seat SUV, like its predecessors, is targeted at families. This time around the styling is more sophisticated and some might say sporty, with particular attention to the interior. As Japanese car makers fight to stave off the onslaught of increasingly better Chinese competitors, Honda was one of the first companies… Read more

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DEFENDER DESIGNED FOR ‘ENDLESS’ SURFING SAFARI

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Surfing can be an expensive undertaking, especially if you need the right set of wheels to reach secluded locations. Enter the Land Rover Defender Pacific Blue Edition, limited to just 15 examples and priced from $129,976 plus on-road costs. Pacific Blue Edition will be sold exclusively in short wheelbase 90 body design with a D250 3.0-litre twin turbo-diesel that delivers 183kW of power and 570Nm of torque. Each of the 15 Limited Edition models will be wrapped in a stunning Pacific Blue matte finish, contrasted with a white roof and… Read more

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TOYOTA ADDS PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS TO ITS MARKET-LEADING HILUX

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Toyota scoured the globe to find something extra for its best-selling HiLux pick-up range. With inspiration coming from the Dakar, one of the toughest off-road endurance events in the world, plus input from the company’s Australian design team in Melbourne and extensive testing here, the result is the all-terrain performance GR Sport dual cab. Seen as a replacement for the range-topping Rugged X, Toyota landed on the GR HiLux racecar that was making its presence felt in one of the world’s toughest off-road endurance events, the Dakar Rally, for inspiration,… Read more

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FORD FOCUS 2011 – 2022

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  Ford Focus is a small-medium European model that has never had the success it  deserves in Australia. That’s probably because dual-clutch automatics sold from 2011 till  2015 had many problems and these led to the complete car being given a poor reputation.   The dual-clutch was replaced by a six-speed conventional torque convertor automatic  transmission in September 2015 as part of a major makeover of the complete range.   Ford Focus is pretty well made these days, though generally not to the extremely high  standards of the Asian models…. Read more

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SAFETY HINTS FROM RACV FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

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Victorian motoring organisation RACV is urging everyone to keep road rules and safety at the forefront of their minds this festive season. 287 lives have been lost on Victorian roads in 2023, up 23.2 per cent (as at midnight 18 December 2023). RACV is calling on Victorian motorists to be mindful of keeping to the left on a multi-lane road (rule 130) and not stopping on a freeway (rule 177), with Victoria Police figures showing almost 10,000 infringements totalling over $1.5 million in fines were handed out to motorists over… Read more

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MORGAN 4/4

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It may surprise some to know that Morgans remained in production largely unaltered for 50 years longer than any other car in the world. Yet hardly any two of the 15,000 or so four- wheeled Morgans built since 1936 were exactly alike as they had all been built by hand like traditional sports cars with a body, chassis and suspension dating from the early part of the century. The body panels, in particular, were worked by hand for the best fit, and were varied like the trim to meet the… Read more

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OOPS . . . TWO CARS FLUNK CRASH TESTS!

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Australia’s independent car safety authority ANCAP has warned car buyers to check ratings after two brand new cars failed to score any stars for safety in crash tests. The cars in question are the Chinese MG5 sedan and Indian Mahindra Scorpio SUV. Both models were unable to achieve even one star for safety in terms of physical or active collision protection. In many areas, ANCAP says this was due to the fundamental omission of safety features that have been commonplace in new cars for many years. “Both brands have misjudged… Read more

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ALFA ROMEO GIULIA VELOCE

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Demand for mid-sized sedans has been declining steadily in recent years as more and more buyers are switching to the more functional SUVs. But if you want some pizzaz in your life, love driving and don’t need to carry lots of stuff in the back then the Alfa Romeo Veloce is well worth considering. There are currently three models in the Giulia range: Ti, Veloce and Quadrifoglio as well as a limited-edition version of the Quadrifoglio called 100th Anniversary to commemorate the first use of that badge in the 1923… Read more

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TASKMASTER OF HUGE PROPORTIONS

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Question: does the Navara PRO-4X Warrior, a latecomer to the ranks, have enough to take on the army of talent in one of the most closely fought contests in the Aussie automobile market? With fully armed dual cab pick-ups the likes of the Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton, Toyota HiLux Rugged, Mazda BT50 Thunder, Isuzu’s D-Max and the US Ram holding the line, the Navara Warrior has its work cut out. Not that Nissan isn’t out to giving things a shake, calling on input from local specialist engineer Premcar, to light… Read more

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NEW MINI COUNTRYMAN 

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  The Mini Countryman has been around since the 1960s when, as a small station wagon,   it sold alongside the classic Mini.    After being off the scene for a number of years, BMW brought it back in 2010, this time as  the first Mini.    While it could be argued that the Mini Moke that was built in Australia until the early 1980s  could be classed as an SUV, the Countryman came with a raft of features not seen in the  cute little Aussie Moke. To start with it… Read more