Tag: hybrid

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HONDA HR-V Vi X

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When it arrived here in 1999 it was one of the first compact SUVs around and at once set the standard for what has since become one of the fastest growing segments of the automobile market. Unfortunately, with its bland styling and three-door body, that original HR-V never really took off and it was subsequently discontinued in 2003. It remained off the Australian market until 2015 when the much more attractive five-door second-generation model arrived. The third generation of the HR-V arrived here in 2022 with sleeker styling, advanced safety… Read more

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HONDA ZR-V VTI LX

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You might think the ZR-V is the smallest of Honda’s SUVs but you’d be wrong because the latecomer actually slots between the HR-V and long-serving CR-V. It’s taken us a while to catch up with the ZR-V, but it has been worth the wait because ZR-V is the pick of the bunch. STYLING ZR-V is a good-looker, in an understated way with its Maserati-inspired grille. Based on the Civic hatch, ZR-V is a five-seat, mid-sized, front-wheel drive crossover. It’s available in three petrol-only grades plus a range-topping hybrid, petrol-electric version…. Read more

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CIVIC SERVICE INTO THE FUTURE

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With a heritage of more than half a century there is lots that can be said about the Honda Civic. No navel gazing here, though. Far from dreamy reminiscences about its-once popular product, the maker says the company is looking strictly to the future with the updated model as a bridge to total electrification of its vehicles. The entry-level petrol engine has been given the shove, with the new Civic e:HEV L hybrid filling the position, while the e:HEV LX variant is still available. Performance buyers have not been left… Read more

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CAMRY ASCENT A LONG TREK TO HYBRID HEIGHTS

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In Australia it was the halcyon days of the big ‘six’ family sedans from Ford and Holden when Toyota muscled in with Camry, a four-cylinder mid-size sedan, blowing the Falcon and Commodore off course. Fast forward to the late 1990s when the Japanese automobile giant pinned the future of the electrification of its vehicles on hybrid petrol/electric power with the Prius. Now a lost legend, the so-popular Prius was to become the staple of taxicab fleets around the world. Since, Toyota has stayed on script by backing hybrids across the… Read more

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MG3 ESSENCE

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The MG3 is a light hatch and the smallest model offered by the company. It’s a car built very much to a price, targeted at first time drivers and those who haven’t got much to spend. Although the latest model scores the same disappointing three stars for safety as its predecessor, ANCAP which tests the cars reveals it narrowly missed out on a four-star result and its comments are encouraging. With a little work perhaps, the company may be able to turn the result around (although the whole safety thing… Read more

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RAMBO IN CARPET SLIPPERS’ DRIVES TANK INTO BATTLE

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Tank, in all its connotations, seems a strange name for a peacetime passenger vehicle. Maybe it’s lost something in translation from its native Chinese? Be that as it may, the maker Great Wall Motors as seen fit thus to designate its ‘300’ and ‘500’ SUVs. The new Tank 300 is the third of the 300s and the first pure petrol model. The previous pair being petrol / electric hybrids. Described by GWM as ‘rugged and refined’ (Rambo in carpet slippers, perhaps), the Tank 300 couple come in Lux and Ultra… Read more

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QASHQAI E-POWER TAKES THE HIGH ROAD

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Back in the ‘noughties’ the Pulsar hatchback was not pulling its weight in Europe, so the maker Nissan decided to beef it up and give it a new name: in this case the Qashqai, and a new identity, the compact SUV. Down Under it became the Dualis, before following in Euro-fashion with the Qashqai moniker. Now it has gone hybrid … but, Jim, not as we know it. While the popular petrol/electric hybrid these days uses both power sources to drive the vehicle, Nissan’s e-Power system leaves the internal combustion… Read more

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MIGRATORY SWIFT LANDS ‘HYBRID LITE’

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Among a plethora of petrol/electric powertrains – pure electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid – allied to automobiles, Suzuki has taken a different flight path with ‘hybrid lite’, an integrated starter generator for its fifth generation Swift. Unlike in some other EVs, where the electric motor can drive the wheels independently, the ISG in the top-selling compact swings into action to give the internal combustion engine extra shove when the accelerator is pressed. Taking power from a lithium-ion battery recharged when the brakes are applied, the ISG also kicks in under… Read more

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COROLLA CROSS GOES HYBRID ONLY

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  Launched here in 2022 the Toyota Corolla Cross is – as the name suggests – an SUV crossover version of the everlasting Corolla sedan/hatchback.’ It’s the largest of Toyota’s three-model range of compact SUVs above the smaller Yaris Cross and the sportier C-HR. The original Corolla Cross was available with the choice of petrol or petrol/electric hybrid powertrains but, in line with Toyota’s recent decision to discontinue petrol-only variants where a hybrid alternative is available, the petrol versions are now being phased out. Although existing stocks of the petrol… Read more

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WINNING WAYS WITH SORENTO ENHANCEMENT

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Some sports utility vehicles are just big, others are bold. The 2024 Sorento PE, for Product Enhancement, taking a lead from the EV9 World Car of the Year, veers to the latter, cementing its place in Kia’s modern pantheon. The MY24 stays true to the outgoing model relying on the existing range of four powertrains. The 3.5-litre petrol front-wheel drive and 2.2-litre diesel all-wheel drive variants are available across four trim levels – S, Sport, Sport+ and GT-Line – with the last, home for the Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid. The… Read more