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HOLDEN ASTRA WAGON ARRIVES

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Holden has introduced the latest Astra station wagon (Sportwagon in GM-H terminology) to join the hatch and sedan that arrived earlier this year. It’s good to see the stylists have gone for a functional rear end rather than the sloped-coupe look. Holden has a long history of practical wagons and we suspect the Aussies on the design team have had a hand in this feature. Sportwagon was designed alongside the Astra hatch sibling, at Opel’s Russelsheim headquarters in Germany and is built in England at Vauxhall’s factory. As with the… Read more

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HOLDEN’S NEW WORLD TAKES SHAPE WITH ASTRA SEDAN

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Home-grown Holdens may have been consigned to the realm of the dinosaur, but the Australian arm of General Motors is keeping up with the times, cherry picking the latest vehicles from around the globe. A recent arrival Down Under is the Astra sedan, which slots nicely into the gap between the hatchback, launched late last year, and the wagon, to be unveiled by year’s end. It makes sense, for in these days of sporty hatches, sleek coupes and versatile SUVs, there still appears to be a place for the traditional… Read more

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ELECTRIFYING NEWS FROM RANGE ROVER

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Following the recent announcement that from 2020 all new Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles will be electrified comes the news that the first such model will arrive in Australia in April next year. The Range Rover Sport PHEV is the British company’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Badged P400e it combines a 221 kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with an 85 kW electric motor. As the two units reach peak power at different times the maximum combined output is 297 kW. Turbo plus electric guarantees plant of grunt – an… Read more

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2018 MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER PHEV REVIEW

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Mitsubishi continues its push to be at the leading edge of hybrid and electric vehicle design. Which hardly comes as a surprise as the Japanese company is one of the world’s biggest players in the electric items. Our test vehicle for the past week has been a 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle). It first arrived in Australia in 2014, but such is the breakneck rate of electronic technology that it recently received a range of revisions. Obviously these concentrate on the powertrain, but there are changes to… Read more

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CORD L-29

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Errett Lobban Cord’s life could have been very different: he nearly struck gold with his first motor car. It was called the L-29 because it made its debut in 1929 with power from Lycoming, the aero engine wing of the Auburn car manufacturing company which Cord owned. He had acquired the decaying Auburn company of Indiana, as well as the legendary Duesenberg high-performance car makers, as part of a financial package. Cord knew little about cars other than how to sell them. He was an outstanding salesman, perhaps one of… Read more

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PEUGEOT 4008 2012 – 2017

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The Peugeot 4008 was the French carmaker’s first entry into the booming SUV market when it was launched here in June 2012 . As a toe-in-the-water exercise the 4008 is a joint venture between Peugeot and Mitsubishi. It comes off the same Japanese factory as the Mitsubishi ASX. Japanese quality and French styling flair – hmm, that’s a nice combination. Though it hasn’t exactly set the sales charts on fire the 4008 has done moderately well. Although the two vehicles are pretty much the same under the skin, Peugeot 4008… Read more

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RED LETTER DAY FOR FERRARI LOVERS

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Ferrari has announced that Australia’s only ever Ferrari factory driver, Tim Schenken, Schenken will lead a parade of more than 100 Ferraris from Albert Park, Melbourne’s home of the Formula One Australian Grand Prix, on Tuesday 10th October. He will be at the wheel of a Ferrari 70th Anniversary limited edition LaFerrari Aperta as part of the famed Italian marque’s official 70th anniversary celebrations. Tim Schenken’s Ferrari racing career began in 1971 when he was signed up by Enzo Ferrari in a Monza hotel (where else!) to driver Ferrari sportscars…. Read more

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FORETASTE OF NEW LEXUS LS FLAGSHIP

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The Lexus LS (Luxury Sports) sedan was the first vehicle launched by the then newly created upmarket division of Toyota back in 1990. Despite dire predictions that it could never beat the upmarket Germans and Brits at their own game the Lexus marque has now been operating for almost 30 years. An all-new fifth generation LS flagship sedan is coming to Australia in April 2018. Lexus assures us it will further build on its reputation for smoothness, ride quietness, craftsmanship and attention to detail. New LS is longer and lower… Read more

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HYUNDAI ACCENT UPGRADES

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Though it was only introduced a few months back the Hyundai Accent has now received a makeover. It has a bolder mesh-style front grille with dark chromed surrounds, brighter headlight bezels and a bolder front bumper shape together with a brighter range of exterior colours. Pulse Red and Blue Lagoon bodies make a pleasant change from whites, black and silvers are all the rage at present – though it has to be said Hyundai is also offered in these shades. Hyundai Accent sedan and hatchbacks have new front end styling… Read more

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2018 NISSAN NAVARA ST REVIEW

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Two years into its lifecycle, the Nissan Navara has found itself on the right end of a few twerks and tweaks. It is unusual, yes, but also gives a strong indication of how important this ute is to the motoring giant. Complaints of ride quality have followed the 2016 model and Nissan has worked hard to revise the suspension, made changes to the front and rear shock absorbers and stiffened the rebound dampers. Nissan has also taken this opportunity to add a further variant to the range, the SL, a… Read more