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2016 JEEP RENEGADE TRAILHAWK REVIEW

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Jeep’s Renegade might be late to the mini-SUV party but it comes with a pretty impressive back catalogue to suggest that this is a SUV that can cash the cheques its name can write. The top of the range Trailhawk can write even bigger cheques than the lower models, bringing with it a range of off-road tech toys to let you really get down and dirty. VALUE The Renegade range starts at $28,000 for the 1.6-litre Renegade Sport manual front-wheel drive, climbing between $2000 and $3000 through the Sport Auto,… Read more

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BMW X5 HYBRID IS HERE

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BMW already has the cleanest range of cars in Australia when measured on grams of CO2 produced per kilometre travelled. Far from being content with this, the German marque has just introduced a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid model to the X5 range. It’s tagged the BMW X5 xDrive40e; the ‘e’ obviously indicates ‘electric’; the important part of the name, though, is the ’40’. Because the eDrive has similar performance to the ’40’ performance models in the BMW range. An acceleration figure from rest to 100 km/h of 6.8 seconds certainly backs… Read more

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PEUGEOT COMPACT WITH A CERTAIN ALLURE

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As the world’s oldest car brand, talking about Peugeot is like discussing the universe at the time of the Big Bang. The Peugeot family has been making cars in 1889. Since then, the French carmaker has brought us many fascinating cars. Our latest road test was of the Peugeot 208 hatchback, first seen here in 2013 and recently redesigned to include more technology and new drivetrains. New to the range in Australia is the Peugeot 208 Access, available with the 1.2-litre 60 kW engine and five-speed manual; or an uprated… Read more

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ELANTRA ILLUSTRATES HYUNDAI’S EVOLUTION

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You have to hand it to Hyundai. A decade or so ago the South Korean automobile manufacturer churned out cheap and cheerful cars in which refinement was not a strong suit. Now, with the sixth generation of the Hyundai Elantra not only has refinement reached new heights, quality has followed while still maintaining its affordable status. And design no longer takes a back seat with Hyundai’s sleek design philosophy there for all to see. The latest Elantra is not lacking in specification, with two levels – Active and Elite (Premium… Read more

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ALFA ROMEO MITO 2009 – 2016

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2009 Alfa Romeo MiTo

Alfa Romeo MiTo (named for the two Italian cities, Milan, where it was designed and Torino, where was made) is a small three-door hatch that’s big fun to drive. Even everyday trips are likely to bring a smile to the face thanks to the chassis dynamics and engine performance. Then there’s the gorgeous styling, one of the best shapes from the Italian marque renowned for beautiful bodies. Inside, there’s plenty of visually oomph in the shapes and colours offered. Okay, so this may sound predictable, but our favourite is hot… Read more

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LAMBORGHINI URRACO

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1972 Lamborghini Urraco

Although it was originally conceived as the Lamborghini designed to make an impact on the market sector dominated by the Porsche 911 and the Ferrari 308 its introduction, in fact, almost caused the collapse of the company. It certainly caused Ferruccio Lamborghini to depart from his company as bankruptcy loomed. There was no problem with the Urraco, it was just the fact that its creation took place at a most unfortunate time; in the midst of a fuel crisis, and its introduction absorbed a considerable amount of design and development… Read more

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PASSAT-PLUS BACK ON TRACK FOR SUCCESS

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On the outside it’s Sunday-suit smart; on the inside no-fuss functional, and as far as performance is concerned, the new VW Passat Alltrack is an Opera House-style pleasure. Based on the practical Passat wagon, the Passat Alltrack is back adding a fresh face to the eighth generation of the VW mid-size passenger vehicle. It has its own range of standard features and the ability to go that much farther off the bitumen. This is due mainly to the new generation 4Motion all-wheel drive system, plus a feature that allows drivers… Read more

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CITROEN C4 TAKES THE HARD ROAD TO COMFORT AND ECONOMY

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Ninety years ago, in 1925, a Citroen 5CV became the first vehicle to complete a full circuit of Australia. Almost a century later, Citroens are still going round: an upgrade of the Citroen C4 hatch is one of the French maker’s latest models to land in Australia. Thanks to the adoption of PSA Peugeot Citroen’s award winning PureTech, Euro 6, petrol turbo powerplant featuring stop / start technology, mated with the latest six-speed Aisin automatic transmission, the new C4 offers greater power and performance from less fuel. As a bonus… Read more

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MAZDA MX-5 WINS – AGAIN

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Masahiro Moro, the president of Mazda North America holding the 2016 World Car of the Year trophy

It seems that the car credited with the re-invention of the convertible, the great little Mazda MX-5, roadster can do no wrong. The fourth generation MX-5 won the 2016 World Car of the Year award last week; this week it added the World Car Design of the Year trophy. It is the first time in the history of the awards that the same car has taken both titles. World Car of the Year has a judging panel of 73 journalists from 23 different countries; the announcement was made at the… Read more

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COMMON SENSE SAVES LIVES

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Common sense saves lives, and no more so than on the roads of Australia. Let’s look at two very different drivers and a pair of driving situations. One is a 19-year-old bloke in a 22 year-old Toyota Corolla. So the car is older than he is – and it has seen better days. Though technically it is roadworthy, the Corolla has tyres that are barely legal, the absorbers don’t damp particularly well as they have done a lot of work over the years and have never been tested. Likewise, the… Read more