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FRESH HOT HATCH LEAVES ICON STANDING

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The human condition of growing old has been described as ‘the mind making a promise the body can’t keep’. This could apply equally to automobiles, a fact well illustrated recently when Peugeot previewed its new 308 GTi in Australia. The Peugeot people wanted to give the media the chance to compare the new, which will go on sale in February, with the old, in this case the iconic 205 GTI, which as far as hot hatches go holds a special place in the lexicon. After a decade of stellar performance,… Read more

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MAZDA MX-5: BRILLIANT LITTLE SPORTS MACHINE

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At last we’ve had a chance to spend a week in a Mazda MX-5. We were a bit slow at putting up our hands to borrow one to drive on our home territory after the successful media launch drives early in the year. When we say slow, we are talking about being a few seconds late off the mark. The tiny Mazda roadster has proven as popular with the motoring press as it has with owners. Close to 200 MX-5s with the ‘big’ 2.0-litre engine were sold before the first… Read more

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VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER: SIXTH GENERATION FINALLY HERE

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The introduction of a new Volkswagen ‘Kombi’ is a rare event. As the six in T6 suggests this is only the sixth model in 65 years. The first one was simply a VW Beetle floorpan with a boxy body and lower gearing to help the 36 horsepower (a mere 27 kW) engine haul it along without holding the traffic up too much. Okay, we know that the name Kombi is no longer used, and in any case was only used for the people-mover models, but many people still use that… Read more

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A-CLASS OF 2016 CARRIES HOPES OF HAPPY NEW YEAR

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More than ever, it seems, ‘thirsty for Merc’ youngsters are being wooed by Mercedes-Benz, with a revamped A-Class compact car, due Down Under early next year, high on the hit parade. “The progressive new A-Class continues the success story of our compact car range,” says Horst von Sanden, CEO and Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz Cars Australia/Pacific. “Since 2013, the A-Class model range has enhanced the youthful appeal of our brand, and been one of the real highlights in our product offensive. This latest generation delivers even greater comfort and value to… Read more

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BUICK RIVIERA

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1975 Buick Riviera Coupe

The Buick Riviera could be considered as America’s answer to the Bentley Continental. At the time of its introduction Ford’s Thunderbird was one of the best selling cars and General Motors needed a response. General Motors design chief at the time told his staff that GM needed a car which was a cross between a Ferrari and a Rolls Royce. When it went into production the Riviera had all the chrome and accessories of its contemporaries but was blessed with some of the finest Detroit styling of the 1960s. In… Read more

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HYUNDAI TWINS TAKE LEAD IN NEW SERIES

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The popular Hyundai mid-size twins, the i40 Sedan and Tourer, have had a mid-life spruce-up and it’s much more than a once-over with a damp face cloth. Not only have the pair smartened up, they have a few new technological tricks up their sleeve. Hyundai Series II i40 comes in sedan or Tourer (station wagon) form, with the choice of either petrol or diesel power and in a couple of specification levels – Active and Premium. We tried out the Hyundai i40 1.7-litre CRDi turbo-diesel automatic Active Tourer, which comes… Read more

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TOYOTA COROLLA 2000 – 2015

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By EWAN KENNEDY CAPTION: A. B.2007 Toyota Corolla hatch C. BODY COPY Toyota Corolla is now in its 50th year in Australia and has consistently been a major player for that entire period, even more so in the last few years when it has been in number one spot outright. Corolla was built in Melbourne until 1999 and fully imported from Japan since then. Significant improvements were made by Australian engineers to suit them to our conditions. Though the cars are no longer made here Australia continues to provide engineering… Read more

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NEW PAJERO SPORT IS GENUINE ALL-ROUNDER

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Rather than being a new variant of the popular Mitsubishi Pajero as the name suggests the Pajero Sport is actually the replacement for the outgoing Challenger. The Pajero Sport name has been used in Europe for the Challenger since it was first produced in 1996. Launched in 1982 Pajero was hailed as the first affordable affordable 4WD vehicle that appealed to female drivers as much as their male counterparts. It comes as no surprise therefore that Australia is just the second country to receive the Pajero Sport after Thailand where… Read more

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FORD MUSTANG: FIRST DRIVE

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“First drive, Ford Mustang.” I’ve been waiting to write those words since attending the major transglobal television reveal of the Mustang in Sydney exactly two years ago. The good news is that I finally took the first drive today, the bad news is that the total distance covered was 10 kilometres and a minder from Ford Australia was keeping a close eye on me from the passenger seat. Ah well, Ford has promised me a proper drive as part of the media launch of the Mustang midway through January next… Read more

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REAL WORLD FUEL CONSUMPTION TESTING

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Checking the emissions of a Volkswagen Golf is an important business

The Volkswagen Group emissions cheating scandal has again brought up the argument that emissions and fuel consumption testing should be done in the real world, not in laboratories. Which sounds good in principle and I can understand why the general public is calling out for it. However, there are far too many variables in the real world so comparisons between vehicles require identical testing, which can only be done inside a building where temperature and weather are under control and cars are driven in an extremely accurate manner to follow… Read more