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JAGUAR XE AIMED AT THOSE WHO LOVE DRIVING

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Jaguar makes no bones about the fact that it wants to be seen as a marque specialising in sports models, hence the strong emphasis on the dynamics of the all-new Jaguar XE. Some critics consider the large Jaguar XF to be more limo than grand tourer and, while we don’t agree with that, the view of the majority has to be taken into account. The newest Jaguar is overtly sporting in every way – mostly good ways, but some not quite so good; more about the latter in a moment…. Read more

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BIG DODGE IS IDEAL FOR A LONG JOURNEY

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Although it’s very much a bit player in Australia the Dodge brand has been around for just over 100 years and still remains one of the world’s most recognisable names. For most of its life Dodge was owned by Chrysler until the collapse of that other American icon during the GFC saw them both being snapped up by the Italian giant, Fiat. Dodge Journey is a close cousin to Fiat’s Freemont. A number of Dodge models have come and gone in Australia over the past decade – only one remains,… Read more

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2015 MAZDA2 SEDAN REVIEW

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Mazda’s inexorable advance in Australia continues, growing in strength with each new model, the latest of which is a four-door sedan variant of the Mazda2 sedan. This joins the five-door hatch launched last November. Small hatches with a horizontal bootlid grafted to their rumps typically look so wrong that just about no one buys them. So the designer of the Mazda2 sedan has penned it with a sloping tail to give it the appearance of an extended hatch. Well aware of the importance of style to its sales success, Mazda… Read more

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MERCEDES BENZ SSK

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1928 Mercedes-Benz SSK

The SSK – K from the German for short – was designed by Dr Ferdinand Porsche and was among the highest performance cars of the early 1920s produced anywhere in the world. This performance came from the supercharger with which the SSK was equipped. Mercedes developed supercharging technology for use in aero engines during the 1914-18 war as a means of dramatically increasing power without adding a great deal of weight. The last Mercedes cars designed by Paul Daimler before, in 1922, he left the company founded by his father… Read more

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2015 HYUNDAI SONATA 2.0T ELITE REVIEW

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It’s okay, it’s okay, hush now – things have changed. Hyundai has dusted off the nameplate it put out to pasture after adorning a series of fairly unspectacular mid-sized sedans, whipping off the covers of a much more attractive and capable car to take on a segment dominated by Toyota’s recently perked-up Camry, with Mazda’s 6 some way behind. The Sonata joins the i40 (which, oddly, is known as Sonata in the US) in the local range, offering two very different-looking cars in roughly the same segment. Confused? Don’t be…. Read more

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LEXUS RC F IS A GREAT LOOKING SEMI-RACE CAR

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Lexus RC F Carbon is semi-race machine aimed at serious drivers who enjoy pushing themselves to their limits during track days. Interestingly, the Lexus is powered by a naturally-aspirated engine, a 5.0-litre V8. The German machines in this high-performance category are rapidly moving in the direction of turbocharged engines. No matter how good a turbo engine is, it’s never going to have the virtually instantaneous throttle response offered by an un-blown powerplant. The Lexus RS F coupe comes at a relatively modest price: $133,110 for the standard version and $147,110… Read more

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MITSUBISHI PAJERO 1991-2015

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2003 Mitsubishi Pajero

Mitsubishi Pajero is often seen as being a tough looking people mover rather than a real 4WD, which is a pity because it’s pretty competent off-road and can handle most situations likely to be encountered by an adventurous holiday in the bush. Mitsubishi Pajero comes as a station wagon with either two or four passenger doors. The two-door was never particularly popular and imports stopped with the all-new model of 2000, only to make a brief re-appearance when the new model was launched at the start of 2007, then pulled… Read more

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KIA PICANTO FINALLY COMING

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Kia has finally decided to bring its little Picanto to Australia, something it has been considering for the last four years or so. The fact that the so-called micro-car segment is pretty small probably weighed on the decision, but it seems as though the sales success of the Mitsubishi Mirage may have prodded Kia into the decision. Mirage sells almost half of all cars in this class, competing against the Holden Barina Spark, the recently facelifted Nissan Micra and the all-new Suzuki Celerio (nee Suzuki Alto). Adding further interest to… Read more

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MERCEDES-AMG GT S: SIMPLY STUNNING

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Mercedes-AMG’s all-new GT doesn’t replace the now discontinued SLS Gullwing coupe and its roadster brother. However, the new GT does share some platform components from the SLS, though it’s a smaller model. The SLS was AMG’s first ever full design project and was always going to be a limited edition. Mercedes-AMG Australia tells us no plans have been made at this stage about doing another SLS, nor are any expected in the near future. Obviously Mercedes-AMG isn’t going to reveal its future models, but the feeling we get is that… Read more

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VOLVO XC90: THE NEXT BIG THING IS HERE NOW

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Volvo insists this is the start of something big: ‘this’ being the XC90 luxury sports utility vehicle. The new XC90 announces the beginning of the Swedish automobile maker’s immediate future product line-up. Three years in the making and part of a $US11 billion investment program, the all-new XC90 marks the beginning of a new chapter in Volvo’s history, setting out the design direction, incorporating its own range of new technology and making use of new architecture that can be scaled up or down. Volvo Car Australia shipped in examples of… Read more