Category: Road Test

Road Test Review

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LEXUS GX 550 OVERTRAIL TAKES TO HIGH GROUND

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  Simplicity is the keynote of good design: ask any mechanical engineer or industrial designer worth his or her salt. Cue the Lexus GX 550, which, the maker says, is designed to act as an extension of the driver’s hands. Simple! The new Lexus GX 550 Overtrail controls have no supersensitive touch pad or buttons and switches of New Age automobiles, just knobs and levers of days of yore. At first glance, the iconoclastic off-roader with the looks of a bare-fisted bush basher, on the bitumen, behaves like a silver… Read more

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SUZUKI JIMNY XL FIVE-DOOR

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A five-door version of the Suzuki Jimny. Who would have thunk? It should make getting in and out of the back a little easier, not that you would want to volunteer to sit in the back. And not that the Jimny XL (that’s what it is designated as) is likely to offer that much more legroom than its sibling, but let’s crunch the numbers and find out. STYLING From the front there’s little to tell the three- and five-door versions of the Jimny apart. Both feature Suzuki’s stylised five-slot radiator… Read more

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SUZUKI SWIFT SPORT TURBO

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It’s ironic that the Swift Sport Turbo is the oldest, unchanged model in the Suzuki lineup, but at the same time still manages to shine as the star of the lineup. Yep. The third generation Sport dates back to the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, it’s still a great little performance package at a super affordable price, and proof positive of the old saying: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In June, 2020, Suzuki added a 48-volt mild hybrid to the car for the European market, but alas Australia never… Read more

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INTRODUCTION TO MAZDA RULING CLASS

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As in life, the automobile world lives by its own class system. So-called social stratification rules cover rungs strictly on a wealth basis. With vehicles measured on price, pedigree and performance the story is replete with strictly observed grades with little or no upward mobility. Most automobile manufacturers over time have stuck to the model playbook of ‘horses for courses’. Now, one of their ilk, Mazda, has broken ranks with a bid to take its larger SUVs upmarket, starting with the CX-60. Mazda has form in this, in the 1990s,… Read more

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SUZUKI SWIFT HYBRID GLX

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Wow. Considering that Toyota launched its first hybrid in 2001. It beggars belief that it took Suzuki until 2024 — 23 years later — to release its first hybrid offering. Talk about dragging the chain. Not only that, but it has been added to a small fuel efficient hatchback that arguably doesn’t really need it — the Swift. The Hamamatsu-based company has however taken a slightly different approach, because the hybrid does not directly power the wheels. So let’s take a closer look at this latecomer to a party that… Read more

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MG ZS ESSENCE PETROL

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The Chinese-owned MG company continues to make an impact on the Australian market with an expanding range and a prominent marketing campaign having it locked into the top ten of new car sales. As with most new brands, pricing has been the most driver of MG’s success with its MG3 hatchback and ZS small SUV both consistently at the top of their respective sales categories. The MG ZS arrived here in late 2017 with what is effectively an all-new model coming here early in 2025. It comes with a larger… Read more

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NISSAN X-TRAIL E-POWER E-4ORCE

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Petrol/electric powered vehicles have been around for nearly a quarter of a century when Honda and Toyota launched their Insight and Prius models respectively. Over the years more hybrids have arrived to the stage where now almost every brand has a variety of them. Indeed, most Toyota passenger vehicles are only available as hybrids. Along the way batteries and electric motors have evolved while the price surcharges have made them much more affordable than the early models. Although Nissan was an early adopter of fully-electric cars, mainly the Leaf hatchback,… Read more

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SUZUKI S-CROSS ALLGRIP PRESTIGE

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Originally known as the SX4, the current model dates back to 2021 and shares its chassis with the Vitara. S-Cross brought a major makeover in styling, with a new front and rear-end design. Inside, the dashboard was updated, with an instrument cluster and 4.2-inch LCD multi-info display from Vitara, A floating 7.0-inch touchscreen became the focus of the infotainment system. Driver assistance was also upgraded with a 360 degree camera, blind spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. Interior space remains exactly the same as the previous generation. The SX4 S-Cross… Read more

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PICK-UP FAR FROM A WORKSHY MATE

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Retaining that thought throughout a week with the workhorse failed to take the edge off initial utilitarian impressions: horses for courses of course. Not that ‘old mate’ harked back to some long-past Luddite era. Depending on the grade, the new WorkMate boasts a line-up of automotive advances such as Bluetooth connectivity, Toyota Safety Sense suite of measures, Toyota Connected Services and power this and that. Performance also is taken to new heights with a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine with V-Active technology. There is still the tried-and-true 2.4 litre turbo-diesel available. All… Read more

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TUCSON ON THE HYBRID ROAD FOR HYUNDAI

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Hyundai has thrown the switch to power up the Tucson, while dimming it down, stopping at hybrid systems as opposed going for full electric vehicle status. In keeping with this are refreshed styling, plus an array of new and upgraded technology. The popular medium SUV, in its fourth generation, has retained the 2.0 MPi petrol and 1.6 T-GTi turbo-petrol powertrains with a choice of two or all-wheel drive. Three trims are now on offer with an optional N Line package available across the range. The Tucson has plenty of pull,… Read more