Category: Used Car Review

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HYUNDAI ACCENT 2000-2015

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2011 Hyundai Accent

Hyundai Accent arrived in Australia in June 2000 as a replacement for the Excel, a car that had proven to be a big hit downunder. Accent never did manage the huge sales of the Excel, but there are plenty of them out there in used-car land. There’s good interior room in this small-medium Hyundai and buyers with pre-teen children can use the Accent as a family car. The boot is roomy and easy to use and has a good shape that’s reasonably easy to load. Hyundai’s Accent has good handling… Read more

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KIA SORENTO 2002 – 2015

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2009 Kia Sorento

Kia Sorento (yes, just one ‘s’ to confuse spelling checkers) is a medium-large South Korean SUV that’s almost true 4WD in its makeup. Though as it the case in most vehicles in this market segment it has been softened slightly over the years as makers realise owners want station wagons rather than off-road 4WDs. The second generation Sorento arrived in Australia in November 2009 and used a beefed up car-like monocoque rather than a body-on-chassis setup that was a genuine bush basher from the old school. The first generation even… Read more

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NISSAN 350Z, 370Z 2003 – 2015

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2009 Nissan 370Z Coupe

The first Datsun Z car was shown at the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show under its domestic name of Fairlady Z. It turned out to be a landmark car, not only for Nissan, but for the entire Japanese car industry, because it proved Japan could produce a classic sportscar. As the name suggests the 240Z came with a 2.4-litre engine. Over the following 26 years the engine size increased progressively, through the 260Z, 280ZX and 300ZX. To the disappointment of many, the Z series was discontinued in 1996, a victim of… Read more

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CITROEN DS19

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The DS 19 Citroen was in production without fundamental change from 1955 to 1975 and was as far ahead of its time when introduced as the 7CV Traction Avant before it. One of the principal features of this car was the unique hydro-pneumatic suspension system which had the interesting effect of flattening rough roads and enabling ground clearance to be varied from 16.5 cm to 29.5 cm. This same hydro-pneumatic also controlled the DS’s brakes and transmission. After a year the DS19 was joined by the less expensive ID models… Read more

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TOYOTA COROLLA 2000 – 2015

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By EWAN KENNEDY CAPTION: A. B.2007 Toyota Corolla hatch C. BODY COPY Toyota Corolla is now in its 50th year in Australia and has consistently been a major player for that entire period, even more so in the last few years when it has been in number one spot outright. Corolla was built in Melbourne until 1999 and fully imported from Japan since then. Significant improvements were made by Australian engineers to suit them to our conditions. Though the cars are no longer made here Australia continues to provide engineering… Read more

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FORD FIESTA 2004 – 2015

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2007 Ford Fiesta XR4

Ford Fiesta is the smallest car in the extensive range of Fords made in, or imported to, Australia. Ford Australia aims its cars at drivers who are looking for more than mere transport, so brings in many cars from designed for and built in Europe. This makes them slightly more expensive, but many keen buyers seem happy to find the extra cash. To this day some confuse the Fiesta with the model it superseded, the Ford Festiva, but they are completely different cars. Festiva was built in South Korean by… Read more

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SKODA SUPERB 2009 – 2015

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2014 Skoda Superb sedan

By EWAN KENNEDY CAPTION: A. B. C. 2014 Skoda Superb wagon BODY COPY Skoda Superb is a large family car; longer than the Australian family sixes, indeed more in line with the Holden Caprice and Ford LTD than the standard Commodores and Falcons. However, the Czech car is not as wide as the Aussie cars. The Superb has limousine-size rear legroom and appeals to families consisting of Mum, Dad and a couple of hulking teenage sons. Three adults in the rear work without too much shoulder rubbing, but two makes… Read more

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MAZDA6 2002 – 2015

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2002 Mazda6 Luxury Sport

Mazda6 was launched in Australia in August 2002 as a replacement for the Mazda 626 and soon built up a good reputation for build quality and reliability, both leading to higher than average resale value. These Mazdas have pretty good handling, while not quite to the highest European standards it’s getting closer all the time. The extra quality of build offered by the Mazdas over Euro cars makes many buyers choose the Japanese. On several occasions in recent years Mazda has been the number one car importer in Australia. More… Read more

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KIA RIO 2000 – 2015

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2011 Kia Rio three-door hatch

Kia Rio was a relatively slow seller in its class after its July 2000 launch. Sales picked up significantly with the launch of a stylish new shape in September 2011. Quite a few of these later models are on the used-car market now and can be picked up at pretty good prices. South Korean made, build quality was so-so on the first generation Rios, but improved significantly in the gen-two cars from August 2005. Rio is up with the best in its class from the 2011 third-generation car onwards. The… Read more

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SUBARU IMPREZA 2000 – 2015

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2006 Subaru Impreza 2.0R

Subaru Impreza is a tough Japanese car that has gained a well-deserved reputation for long life and high resale values in Australia. It is a no-nonsense machine that appeals to Australians with a sensible nature who are more interested I function that fashion. However, the latest Impreza, the gen-four, launched here in February 2012 is less conservative in its styling than its honourable ancestors and is proving a winner in the used-car market. Having said that, there’s still plenty of interest in older models. Subaru’s biggest claim to fame is… Read more