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FRIEND OF THE FAMILY COMES BEARING GIFTS

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After a month of Mazdas, behind the wheel of everything from a Mazda2 mini to a big BT-50 pickup truck, it seemed appropriate to finish with a stint in a CX-9 Azami, the pinnacle of the company’s SUV product. Since its Australian debut in 2016, the family-favourite sports utility vehicle has carried off a number of awards for its class-leading features. Now the bar has been raised higher. The flagship SUV has been given dynamic, safety and comfort upgrades, including G-Vectoring Control to further improve handling. Also improved are NVH… Read more

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2018 MASERATI GRAN TURISMO RELEASED

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The 2018 Maserati GranTurismo four-seat coupe has arrived in Australia and features several significant refinements. The GranTurismo range in Australia now consists of two distinctly different variants, Sport and MC. They share the same powertrain but the suspension, interior trim and equipment vary from model to model. While the Sport is aimed at the sporty driver who doesn’t want to take their car to extremes, the GranTurismo MC, for Maserati Corse, is there for the serious driver who loves high-performance Italian machines. A significant restyle of the GranTourismo is more… Read more

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ADVANCED INFO: FORD RANGER RAPTOR

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Sales of four-door pickup trucks continue to soar in Australia, so Ford, one of the big movers in the scene has revealed further details of the high-performance Ranger Raptor that’s coming to Australia later in the year. Designed by the Ford Performance team the Raptor is aimed at the enthusiast off-roader. It has increased ride height, wider track and steeper approach and departure angles aimed at extreme off-road capability. An all-new Watt’s linkage rear suspension with coil-over rear springs helps ensure rear axle lateral stability. Fox Racing Shox shock absorbers… Read more

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RENAULT KOLEOS SPECIAL EDITION

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Renault has added a special edition of its Koleos SUV to gather further sales in what is arguably the hottest section of the car market in Australia. Koleos already accounts for almost one in three passenger vehicles by the French giant Downunder and obviously would like even more. The special edition, tagged Renault Koleos Initiale, sits above the toplne Intens variant. Priced at $49,490 driveaway, it come in an exclusive metallic paint colour, Black Amethyst, rides on 19 inch alloy wheels, has a panoramic sunroof, the cabin features leather trim… Read more

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NISSAN 370Z GETS A FRESH LOOK

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The Nissan 370Z has been given a styling refresh for the 2018 season. Smoke is the name of the game on this old-style sportscar that refuses to die. And nor should it die, it’s extremely affordable and gives plenty of driving pleasure. Smoked front and rear lights, a smoked finish on exterior door handles and new design of 19-inch alloy wheels. This is set off by an excellent new shade of red, with the richer Cherry Red replacing the superseded Bordeaux. Other colours are on the palette, check with your… Read more

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THE FASTEST MUSTANG EVER

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Ford Mustang is all about performance – and for the 2018 edition Ford is offering even more of it. Tagging it quite simply as ‘The Fastest Mustang Ever.’ The 5.0-litre V8 engine has been thoroughly reworked and now develops 450 horsepower (339 kW). This power increase has been achieved with the first application of Ford’s dual-fuel, high-pressure direct-injection and low-pressure port fuel injection. The result is solid low-end torque, high-rpm power, and improved fuel efficiency. Peak torque is now 556 Nm. For obvious reasons the V8 has been the big… Read more

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HYUNDAI I30 2007 – 2016

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2013 Hyundai i30

Hyundai’s public perception has increased markedly over the years, moving up from the cheap n’ cheerful brigade to building quality cars. The Hyundai i30, first sold here in October 2007 has arguably had the biggest influence in this change. Interestingly, the i30 was designed for the European market rather than the South Korean one. Some are made in the Czech Republic though the majority sold here are from Korea. Engineers from Australia and South Korea have tailored the suspension and steering to our conditions. Result is good dynamics, high levels… Read more

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NEW JEEP WRANGLER HAMMERED DOWNUNDER

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Ahead of its arrival in late 2018, the all-new JL Jeep Wrangler has just completed its first Australian engineering assessment in some of our country’s most unforgiving driving conditions. A two-door Wrangler Rubicon powered by a new design 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine with 201 kW of power and 400 Nm. And a four-door Rubicon with the latest version of the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6(213 kW and 353 Nm). Came Downunder. These vehicles are the first test units of six prototype stages that are built before the final ‘job-one’ production version. The key… Read more

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MAZDA MX-5 RF LIMITED EDITION

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Mazda has introduced a limited edition to its MX-5 RF retractable fastback range. A serious car the Limited Edition features the Kuroi Sports Pack, aerodynamic additions, Brembo brakes and significant suspension upgrades. Small winglets near the front of the wheelarch openings direct air away from the wheels and along the sides of the body to smooth out the rush of air created by the little sports machine. A front strut bar links the front suspension towers to increase chassis stiffness. New design 17-inch diameter BBS alloy wheels are part of… Read more

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CUSTOMERS SPEAK, SORENTO LISTENS

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Despite walking away with a range of motor industry awards since its launch more than two years ago, Kia’s seven-seat sports utility vehicle, the Sorento, had, according to some observers, a few shortcomings. The South Korean manufacturer has taken these on board and has come up with mid-cycle changes that address these. The changes include Kia’s in-house eight-speed automatic across the range, a new larger capacity long-stroke petrol engine, a higher and longer body for increased internal space, revised and improved ride and handling characteristics to better suit Australian conditions,… Read more