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JAGUAR’S NEW COMPACT SUV: THE E-PACE

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The Jaguar E-Pace is the upmarket British marque’s first entry in the compact SUV market. It joins the larger Jaguar F-Pace that has grabbed a good slice of this important market. The five-seat compact SUV stylists and engineers have aimed at giving it style and practicality in a body that has an almost coupe like rear end. “Our new compact SUV combines the interior space, connectivity and security that families expect with the kind of proportions, purity of design and performance not usually associated with such a practical vehicle.” Ian… Read more

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MERCEDES-AMG G 63: AN UNLIKELY DRAG RACER

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Way back in the mid 1980s I ran hundreds of acceleration tests on a big variety of vehicles at the sadly now defunct Oran Park racetrack. I did the straight-line stuff while Modern Motor’s editor Barry Lake did hot laps. It seemed a bit silly to be photographed sitting in a huge 4WD with the aerodynamics of a house brick – the just launched Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen – but it was our policy to wear skid lids, so we did. I can’t remember what the zero to 100 km/h time was… Read more

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HOT HYUNDAI i30 N: FIRST DRIVE

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In our recent introductory article on the all-new Hyundai i30 N we discussed it in detail, but were asked to respect an embargo on drive impressions until March 29. We carried out extensive road and track tests from Albury, through , Eskdale, Anglers Rest and returned to Albury via the Omeo Highway and Great Alpine Road. The following day we spent at Winton Raceway for no holds barred driving for the part of five hours. Great days, though some of us were green around the gills after about the first… Read more

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HOT RENAULT CLIO R.S. LAUNCHED AT AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

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Renault Australia marked the start of the 2018 Formula 1 season in Melbourne with the introduction of a hot new limited-edition Renault Clio R.S.18. Indeed, the very first Clio R.S. 18 off the production line made its debut there. Based on the Clio R.S. 220 EDC Trophy – the most powerful car of the Clio R.S. range the limited edition is finished in Liquid Yellow, with side mouldings, wheel centre caps front bumper, Renault diamond and R.S. logo on the bumper are entirely black – something that’s exclusive to this… Read more

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POWER AND PASSION FROM A DIFFERENT DIRECTION

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Kia Stinger GT

To Aussies a stinger is a nasty sea creature; the deadly box jellyfish, to be precise. Recently a new ‘animal’ was added to the lexicon and it is neither nasty nor deadly. The Stinger fastback sports sedan is touted by some as being the South Korean automaker’s Commodore and Kia Motors Australia chief operating officer Damien Meredith, says he is confident the Stinger has the attributes which will endear it to Australian drivers across a wide demographic. Mated with Kia’s own eight-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels via a… Read more

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REDHOT LAMBORGHINI URUS ON ITS WAY

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Lamborghini Urus, which the Italian performance car maker calls a Super Sport Utility Vehicle (SSUV), will be coming to Australia in the final quarter of this year. It’s priced at $390,000 (GST and LCT included) plus on road costs and dealers will be happy to take orders now As has long been the tradition at Lamborghini, the name Urus is derived from the world of bulls. The Urus, also known as Aurochs, is one of the large, wild ancestors of domestic cattle. Urus is powered by a 4.0 litre V8… Read more

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HYUNDAI I30 N: THE REAL DEAL

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This is the one driving enthusiasts worldwide have been speculating on for years; a hot-hatch from Korea to compete with those from Japan and Europe. The Hyundai i30 N is aimed squarely at Subaru WRX, Volkswagen Golf GTi and the like. Being a brand new design it has the latest performance components both in mechanical and electronics. You get a lot of car for a pretty modest $39,990 plus on roads. Hyundai’s ’N’ Performance Division is named for both the Namyang R&D Centre in Namyang, South Korea and for the… Read more

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SKODA SUPERB 2009 – 2016

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2015 Skoda Superb sedan

For some inexplicable reason Skoda continues to be the most overlooked marques on the Australian market. This simply doesn’t make sense because the Czech manufacturer is one of the World’s oldest, is now part of the giant Volkswagen Group, and produces some excellent cars well suited to Australian driver’s needs and our local conditions. Skoda Superb is a classic example. It’s a large car that’s longer than the Commodore and Falcon, indeed it’s more in the Caprice, Fairlane range and has limousine-size rear legroom. However, it’s narrower than the big… Read more

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DRESSED-UP tS MAINTAINS SUBARU BRZ TRADITION

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Faux aristocrats such as those who people places like TV favourite Downton Abbey don’t hold the exclusive right to dress for the occasion. Automobiles too have a long tradition of showing off what they are about. One example of this is the BRZ, Subaru’s iconic sports coupe. Born out of a relationship with Toyota by sharing clobber with the 86 to produce a modern motoring aristocrat of its kind. Now Subaru has thrown in new equipment all round but has come up with a new range-topping tS variant. For example,… Read more

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LEXUS RC UPGRADES

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Lexus has introduced significant upgrades to its RC F coupe including an improved infotainment system and expanded safety technology. Infotainment is now shown on a 10.3-inch screen, significantly up from the previous 7.0-inch unit. The Lexus Remote Touch pad is larger and we are assured this is now easier to use. We did criticise the touch pad during our previous testing so will borrow an RC sometime soon and comment on the changes. The controls for the active cruise control system have also been simplified. The topline V8 RC F… Read more