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KIA CERATO 2013 – 2018

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2015 Kia Cerato hatch

Kia Cerato is a small-medium South Korean car that’s becoming ever more popular in Australia. This has been partly due to the stunningly long seven-year warranty, but the car itself has been significantly improved since the first models arrived here in 2004. Originally, Cerato was rather plain it is shape but the third generation, launched here in April 2013 has a lot more oomph its lines and sales were strong from day one. These are the models we will be covering in this week’s Used Car Checkout. Kia Cerato is… Read more

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THOROUGHBRED WITH STING IN THE TAIL

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Like a scorpion, the sting of the latest Kia sports sedan is in the tail, where 272 kW and 510 Nm are delivered to the road, and hence to the rear wheels of the Stinger 330S. Mated with Kia’s own-design eight-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels via a mechanical limited-slip differential, the latter gives the car its high-performance pedigree with a claimed sprint from zero to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds, using launch control, and a top speed of 270 km/h. This has led to its uptake by police… Read more

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LEXUS LC COUPE IS UPDATED. NEW CONVERTIBLE IS COMING

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Lexus has given us further details of its LC Coupe and Convertible; the LC Coupe is due in Australia in June, followed by the first ever LC Convertible late this year. The 351kW 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8 petrol engine in the LC 500, and the 3.5-litre V6 multi-stage hybrid in the LC 500h, both benefit from revised transmission set-ups to maximise responsiveness. Enhanced logic patterns for the LC 500’s 10-speed Direct Shift automatic mans it upshifts at higher engine speed when 60-70 per cent throttle is applied. The LC 500h’s… Read more

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JEEP CHEROKEE S-LIMITED

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Jeep Australia has added a new model, the Cherokee S-Limited to its lineup. The provides more than $3,750 worth of value for just $2,700. The Jeep Cherokee S-Limited is available in four exterior paint options: Bright White, Diamond Black, Granite Crystal and Velvet Red. Main features are premium body colour cladding, Granite Crystal on the traditional seven-slot Jeep grille, exclusive Granite Crystal 19-inch alloy wheels and black exterior badging. Inside it has black headliner and A-pillar trim; premium leather trimmed bucket seats with Tungsten accent stitching; door armrest and console… Read more

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MINI ELECTRIC: AUSTRALIAN SPECS AND PRICING

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MINI Australia has announced that the first-ever, all-electric MINI will be priced at $59,900 (national drive away price). A limited number of launch special “First Edition” variants will arrive in local dealerships from August 2020. The MINI Electric Hatch is based on the three-door petrol-powered MINI Cooper S. Visually the front “grille” shape is like that of other MINIs but it’s pretty obvious it’s a dummy. It is powered by a 32.6kWh latest-generation lithium-ion battery, producing 135kW of power that provides a zero to 0-100km/h acceleration time of just 7.3… Read more

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HVIA WELCOMES FREEZE ON HEAVY VEHICLE ROAD USER CHARGE

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Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) has welcomed the federal government’s decision to freeze the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge at current levels. HVIA Chief Executive Todd Hacking says the move is another positive outcome from the collaborative work led by the Government with industry. “Throughout this crisis the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Assistant Minister for Road Safety Scott Buchholz have made themselves available to listen to industry and work through every scenario to protect our industry,” Mr Hacking said. “The freeze of the Road User Charge will provide… Read more

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NEW VEHICLE SALES: APRIL 2020

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New vehicle sales in the Australian market for the month of April 2020 have been announced by Tony Weber, chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI). “A total of 38,926 sales were recorded for the month. This figure represents a fall of 48.5 per cent over the same period last year (75,550 sales), and the largest single decrease of any month since VFACTs figures were first recorded in 1991. Year to date figures for April totalled 272,287 sales, down from 344,088 in 2019, which equates to a… Read more

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LDV T60 TRAILRIDER 2

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The LDV T60 Trailrider 2 has arrived in Australia. It’s the second LDV vehicle to be powered by SAIC’s (Shanghai Automobile and Industrial Corporation), first in-house designed D20 diesel engine. It has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder powerplant that features Bosch’s third generation, high-pressure common rail direct fuel injection technology. It produces 120kW of power at 4,000rpm and 375Nm of torque from 1500rpm. It has the now standard suspension tune designed specifically for Australian conditions. We’ve yet to sample this for ourselves but will road test one soon and come back to… Read more

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TOYOTA FJ CRUISER 2011 – 2016

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Toyota FJ Cruiser is a tribute to the legendary Toyota FJ 40 LandCruiser. That original Cruiser was a rough ’n’ tough old-style 4WD, whereas the new one that was launched here in March 2011 is much easier to live with. It’s also a lot more capable off-road than most people realise. Our launch took place five years after the FJ Cruiser had been introduced in the USA. Many Aussies had seen it over there, or in photos in local 4WD magazines, and lobbied Toyota to bring it downunder. It didn’t… Read more

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IT’S PATHFINDER’S TURN TO TAKE ‘TREK’

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Something tells me I’m into something good – Herman’s Hermits These lines from the ‘60s hit song could well parallel Nissan’s move to scatter its N-TREK tech-and-trimmings package over a range of product from Navara to X-Trail, Patrol and Pathfinder. Shared by the SUV / ute quartet above, Nissan recently added a Special Edition to the Pathfinder N-TREK line-up. Does the titular seven-seat large SUV live up to the ‘something good’ approbation? There are four variants of the Special Edition – two-wheel and four-wheel drive versions of the ST+ and… Read more