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HYUNDAI INSTER IS CUTE, CUDDLY BUT PRICEY

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Inster is Hyundai’s smallest and most affordable SUV. Built on the same platform as the Picanto from Hyundai’s sister company Kia it’s marginally larger but more than double the price. Most of that price premium is because Inster is any EV on a compact SUV body whereas Picanto is a 1.2-litre petrol hatchback. Inster is effectively a fully-electric version of the petrol-powered Hyundai Casper SUV that went on sale in its home South Korean market in 2021 but never made it to Australia. Inster’s closest Kia rival is the EV3… Read more

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HONDA HYBRID LOOKS DOWN THE ROAD

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 Median strip to Monaco and much more in between, Honda has it all pretty-well covered. The powerplant specialist is a cut above with its premium mowers, and under sweeping new regulations in Formula One, has looked to the future of the automobile through extended electrification and the use of sustainable fuels. As far as cars are concerned, Honda was at the front of the grid with its Insight, in 1999, among the first to bring electric power to the production automobile. However, Insight was soon out of sight as the… Read more

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MAZDA CX-90 MOVES TO MATCH EUROPEAN ARISTOCRATS

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  Mazda has been hard at it to match the European haute couture of SUVs from the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Range Rover. Now, the Japanese automobile manufacturer has paused to take stock of its high-end ambitions. The move is intended to enhance equipment at the same time as paring prices for the Mazda CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90 models, resulting in MY26 3.3 litre inline-six petrol and diesel variants priced the same across all grades. At more than five metres long, the wide-body CX-90 is a seven-seater in… Read more

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GWM HAVAL H6 ULTRA PHEV REVIEW

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A mid-sized SUV, the Haval H6 is the best-selling model from Great Wall Motors (now GWM) with total global sales in excess of 4 million. First sold here in September 2016 the current, second generation, version replaced it in April 2021 with a 3rd Gen due to arrive in January 2027. Originally powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, a 1.5-litre turb- petrol/electric hybrid was added in April 2022 with a new plug-inn (PHEV) hybrid variant as part of an upgrade in mid-2016. The PHEV is this week’s review. H6… Read more

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KIA STONIC GT-LINE

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For those who have been living under a rock, the news is that electric vehicles in Australia are selling their socks off. According to industry analyst VFACTS in August EVs outsold petrol, diesel and hybrid new vehicles. Brands such as BYD, Tesla and Omoda Jaecoo helped drive electric vehicles to record market share, up 4.9 per cent on the same month last year. EVs accounted for almost one quarter of the overall new-vehicle market, at 24.9 per cent – a record level of market share for this powertrain. A comprehensive… Read more

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JAECOO J5 – BETTER THAN THE PRICE SUGGESTS

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If you’re in the market for a small SUV that’s not going to break the bank, the Jaecoo J5 could be the answer. But be sure to check out the competition, because parent company Chery markets what is essentially the same car under different names with different price tags, including the Chery C5 and Chery Tiggo 4. The J5 is available in petrol, hybrid and EV form, but both the hybrid and EV cost considerably more. Setting the trio apart are styling and equipment levels. STYLING The J5 is a… Read more

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PRELUDE TO A HYBRID WAY OF LIFE

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The new Prelude is something of an enigma. The Honda that rolled out all-wheel steering in the late 1980s, and a decade later, the Insight, one of the first to bring electric power to the production automobile, has just come on to the market as if standing still, for after 25 years, innovation is sparing in the MY26 generation sports coupe. The Prelude e:HEV rolls on a Civic Hybrid platform with the same 135kW powertrain and rides on a Type R-based suspension and Brembo brakes. More Civic than savage, at… Read more

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PLENTY STILL GOING ON WITH MAZDA CX-5

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  It may have been the runt of an exclusive Mazda SUV pack, but the CX-5, in its 14-plus years on the road, led a storied life. Since its inception in 2012, the mid-size has been revered around the world, recently amassing five million sales. Locally, more than 325,000 sales have made the CX-5 a household name, topping the Mazda Australia range, except for the Mazda 3, for the past seven years. The third generation beckons. Vinesh Bhindi, managing director of Mazda Australia, says the CX-5 will continue to hold… Read more

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CHERY TIGGO 9 PHEV – SUPER IN NAME ONLY ELITE

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  Let’s get something straight. Wheels magazine (is it still a magazine?) may have recognised the Chery Tiggo 9 as Australia’s best value large SUV. But they’re talking about the top of the range Ultimate model, not the entry Elite which is the one most punters will end up buying at this end of the market. And the Elite is a quite different beast, front-wheel drive, with a smaller battery, less powerful drivetrain, less electric only range and of course less equipment. But it costs less and it still seats… Read more

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AZAMI FLAGS UNIQUE MAZDA SUV COLLECTION

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For some reason Australia is the only market to get all four Mazda cathedral-like ‘Large Architecture’ SUVs – the CX-60, CX-70, CX-80 and CX-90. Indeed, Oz stands alone as the only right-hand drive market in the world to get the CX-70. The CX-70 is basically a CX-90 with two rows of seats rather than three and comes only in two trims – GT and Azami – with an optional SP Package and the G50e inline six- cylinder petrol engine. Introduced in 2024 as a sportier, two-row alternative to the CX-90,… Read more