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2019 BMW X4 M40i REVIEW

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Coupe-styled SUVs are an interesting juxtaposition. On the one hand, their swooping rear end appears to challenge the practical nature of SUVs, yet on the other hand they can and do work. The X4 M40i may be a case in point. With a body somewhere between an SUV and a medium-sized hatch and the heart of BMW’s performance machines, there is little question about its ability to impress. STYLING With its sloping back, wide stance and pronounced grille, the BMW X4 M40i cuts an arresting figure. What it lacks in… Read more

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HAVAL H2 CHASING MORE SALES

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Chinese car maker Haval hasn’t had a lot of success in the Australian sales race with its smallest SUV, the Haval H2. So has begun a marketing campaign that sees price drops, added equipment and name changes to the model lineup. The H2 entry model’s title has been changed from MT to City. Pricing is extremely sharp, with the six-speed manual offered at just $19,990 driveaway. The six-speed automatic has a recommended retail just $1000 more, that is $20,990 driveaway. Standard features include 18-inch alloys, keyless entry and start, privacy… Read more

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A ‘TONNE’ OF WORK IN TRITON CHALLENGE

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The Triton has carried the weight of Mitsubishi light truck expectations for more than 40 years, and with the model year ’19 range, there’s no sign of them being offloaded any time soon. As I write this the Triton lies in overall third spot on the vehicle sales charts in Australia. Mitsubishi Australia is keen to keep its place in a weakened vehicle market, with the current model Triton, it says, combining the pick-up truck with passenger car levels of comfort for private and commercial purposes. It carries over, and… Read more

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EXPLORE THE BUSH WITH NEW NARVAS

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When launched in 2017 Narva’s ‘Explora’ LED Driving Light Bar revolutionised the compact light bar market thanks to its ‘Advanced Optic Drive Technology’. This helped the light provide up to 30 per cent brighter light output (2400 Lumens and 1 Lux of light at 269 metres), compared to a conventional LED light bar. (This comparison is based on 12-inch single row conventional LED light bar.) Building on its initial 14-inch single-row Explora bar, Narva is now selling two models for those requiring even more light, but who want to keep… Read more

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MAJOR SAFETY FEATURES ADDED TO HAVEL H9 SUV

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Haval has added many safety features to its H9 SUV range: autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and lane departure warning are now standard across its H9 4WD range. Not only is there significantly more safety but there’s even better news, no price increases. Existing standard features on the Haval H9 Lux include tri-zone air conditioning; a rain sensing sunroof; automatic Xenon headlamps; auto wipers; electrochromatic rear view mirror; a rear camera; park guidance; and all terrain control. The H9… Read more

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MINI CLUBMAN UPDATED FOR 2020

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Perhaps I’m easily pleased – but it intrigues me that the MINI can be bought with two, three, four, five or six doors. Six doors? I hear you ask… Yes the MINI Clubman has a split rear door of the type usually only seen on large, serious 4WDs. For the 2020 season MINI Clubman has had a solid makeover outside and in. The body has a newly designed radiator grille, LED headlights with Matrix function for the high beam. LED foglamps with driving light ring. At the rear LED lights… Read more

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1930 BENTLEY BLOWER

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    Although the Blower’ Bentley was a symbol of the excellence of British engineering and was, in its day, every boy’s dream racer, it was shunned by its designer, W O Bentley, a former locomotive engineer, who believed that engines were everything. If a car needed more power he believed it better to enlarge the engine rather than tune it for better performance. But due to this belief Bentley paid a heavy price for his love of massive powerplants. The chassis and tyres of his cars suffered from having… Read more

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BMW M850i COUPE – A RARE BEAST

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BMW has allocated just eight for the M850i First Edition Coupes for Australia. That’s eight out of 400 being sold globally. All will be painted in BMW Individual Frozen Barcelona Blue metallic paint and rides on Jet Black 20-inch BMW M light alloy wheels in a Y-spoke design. Exterior accents include the extended BMW Individual High Gloss Shadow Line package with high-gloss black treatment to the BMW kidney grille and side air breathers. The M Carbon Exterior Package, usually a cost option on the regular M850i, is fitted as standard… Read more

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RENAULT KOLEOS ZEN REVIEW

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Unlike many of its rivals that have up to five different SUVs in their range Renault has settled on just two models, the compact Captur and, the subject of this test, the mid-sized Koleos. A relatively late arrival on the SUV market Koleos went on sale in Australia in 2008. After facelifts in 2011 and 2013 the current, second-generation, model was released here in 2016. Built at the Renault Samsung Motors plant in Busan, South Korea it shares the same platform, engine and transmission as the Nissan X-Trail. Three variants… Read more

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NEW BMW 7 SERIES ON ITS WAY

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BMW has announced specifications and pricing for the latest version of the 7 Series due for release here in June. In days gone by it would have been called an ‘upgrade’ or a ‘facelift’ but BMW uses the acronym LCI, for ‘Life Cycle Impulse’. The current, sixth generation, 7 Series has been in production since 2015 and the most noticeable change for the MY2019 model is at the front with a 40 per cent larger version of the traditional BMW kidney grille with an aggressive kink at the top; slimmer… Read more