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VOLVO P1800

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1964 Volvo P1800

The Volvo P1800 was shown publicly for the first time at the Brussels Salon in January 1960. Although nobody was surprised that Volvo had once more decided to produce a sports car, the `un-Swedish’ lines were something of a surprise. One of the most popular accessories were the spoked wheels which were fitted using the ordinary wheel nuts and looked the real thing. A new 75 kW B18B engine gave the car excellent performance and proved to be an extremely hard wearing sports car engine. Volvo was careful to point… Read more

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JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE IS A VERSATILE LARGE SUV

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The Grand Cherokee is the biggest and best-selling vehicle in the Jeep range, accounting for around half of total sales since the release of the current model back in 2013. Grand Cherokee now comes, for the first time, with a two-wheel drive (2WD) option. It’s only available in a single variant – the entry-level petrol Laredo. The latter also comes with 4WD as do all of the higher-specced variants – Limited, Overland, Summit and SRT8. Styling is less angular than other Jeeps and the big SUV has a neat and… Read more

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2016 BMW 330e HYBRID REVIEW

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BMW 330e is a petrol-electric hybrid that leans more in the direction of performance than economy. Which comes as no surprise given that the sporting German marque has long pushed its designs in the direction of handling and powertrain dynamics. To emphasise the point, this 3 Series hybrid has been introduced as the latest member of the BMW iPerformance range. Note that the BMW X5 xDrive 40e petrol-electric, which arrived only a matter of weeks before the 330e, is also listed as an iPerformance model. The X5 and 3 Series… Read more

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KIA CARNIVAL AND GRAND CARNIVAL 1999 – 2015

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2006 Kia Carnival

Kia Carnival is a South Korean seven- or eight-seat people mover that’s been on sale in Australia since September 1999. Well priced and strongly built it has been a big seller in its class for many years. The older models are getting on in years so we suggest buying one from the new series from January 2006 as it’s significantly better than the model it superseded. Despite the low price, even the entry-level Kia Carnival models usually have features like dual climate-control air conditioning, central locking, a decent audio system,… Read more

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JEEP SPREADS WINGS WITH HIGH-FLYING TRAILHAWK

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The new Jeep Renegade Trailhawk lives up to its name by not fitting in with rival compact sports utility vehicles. Designed to desert the bitumen for some stiff off-road stuff, there’s nothing namby-pamby about this little Jeep. On the other hand, it’s no utilitarian bare bones transportation, owing little to Wells Fargo or Cobb and Co in the comfort and convenience department. Designed in the United States and put together by Fiat in Italy, it calls on high level automotive technology coupled with European style. In a bid by Fiat… Read more

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MAZDA FLAGSHIP FLOATS INTO SAFER HARBOUR

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Australia’s most popular mid-sized imported car, the Mazda6, has just ducked under 50 grand. As a bonus safety features have been added to the 6 Sport, Touring and GT models at no extra cost, while the range topping Atenza receives a price cut in view of the safety equipment added to the GT. The Atenza with the 2.5-litre petrol engine drops by $1030, while the 2.2-litre diesel alternative is down by $1380, making the entire Mazda 6 range now available for less than $50,000, without on-road costs. Mazda6 is available… Read more

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2016 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SPORT REVIEW

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The all-new Land Rover Discovery Sport is not a toy SUV masquerading as a 4WD, it is the real deal – an all-terrain vehicle from the old school. One that can be taken into tough off-road conditions where, believe it or not, even the rather crude Land Rover Series 1 would have struggled when it was launched 68 years ago. Yet the Discovery Sport will meet all the requirements of on-road comfort and handling today’s buyer demand. This seeming impossible combination of on-road sophistication and off-road ruggedness shows design expertise… Read more

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AUSTIN A40

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The Austin A40 did much to help Britain recover financially after World War II with the country badly in need of export dollars. Whilst millions of dollars were poured into Germany and Japan in the form of aid Britain received little assistance in recovering from the war. The Managing Director at the time Mr LP Lord travelled to the USA in May 1946 and after a close study of conditions returned to the plant and prepared for a large-scale attack on the most difficult of all markets, with a new… Read more

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ISUZU TRUCKS TRAVEL DOWN INFORMATION HIGHWAY

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Connectivity, whether it’s between driver and vehicle, or occupants and the outside world, is the new automotive buzzword, with recent research by carmaker Nissan showing almost a third of new-car buyers put connectivity ahead of other features, including fuel economy. It says 28 per cent of new-car buyers put Bluetooth ahead of other features, 13 per cent would not buy a car that could not connect to the internet, and 20 per cent would switch to another brand for better connectivity. Now, Australia’s truck sales leader has taken connectivity to… Read more

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PORSCHE 718 BOXSTER ARRIVES IN AUSTRALIA

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Porsche 718 Boxster has arrived in Australia to the delight of all Porsche enthusiasts, especially those who can’t afford a 911. The new ‘718’ title is in recognition of the Porsche 718 sportscars that were victorious in races during the 1950s and ‘60s. It also ties in with the title of the Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid supercar. Though technically not an all-new model the Porsche 718 Boxster has significantly revised styling, retuned suspension and steering, and most importantly all-new four-cylinder engines that produce significantly more power and torque, yet create… Read more