Tag: SUV

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GWM HAVAL JOLION

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The growth in sales of Chinese vehicles continues to gain momentum. While the SAIC subsidiary, MG Motor, is leading the way with its big-selling SUVs the original breakthrough was made a decade ago with the Great Wall company targeting the tradie market with cheap workhorse utilities of questionable safety quality. That’s all changed and Great Wall, now re-branded as GWM and with improved quality, and an expanded range that now includes three SUVs sales have jumped to such an extent that in September 2024 GWM broke through into Australia’s top… Read more

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VERSATILE MU-X IS A BIG SELLER FOR ISUZU UTE

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Isuzu Ute MU-X is a large 4WD from a Japanese company that has a long history of producing hard working vehicles. Indeed, Isuzu has a history dating back for over 100 years in light commercial vehicles including a couple of decades when they sold here rebadged as Holdens. MU-X has been a major success in Australia, currently sitting in second place behind Ford Everest and almost double the sales of other ute-based rivals such as Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Toyota Fortuner. The major change that came with the MY2024 upgrade… Read more

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MITSUBISHI ASX ES STREET

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  Mitsubishi ASX is the smallest vehicle in the company’s four-model SUV range beneath the Eclipse Cross, Outlander and Pajero Sport.   ASX (the acronym stands for Active Sports Crossover, not Australian Stock Exchange) has been around since 2010 and competes against a host of rivals in the small SUV category including Hyundai Kona, Mazda CX-30, Kia Seltos, Subaru XV, Toyota C-HR  and the class sales leading MG ZS.   Despite being largely unchanged throughout the decade ASX has been a star performer for Mitsubishi thanks to a combination of… Read more

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GENESIS GV70 REVIEW

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It’s still not a household name, at least not in motoring circles, but Genesis is the luxury sub-brand of Hyundai in the same way as Lexus is to Toyota. There are plenty of model choices: two sedans (G70 and G80), three SUVs (GV60, GV70 and GV80) with petrol, diesel and electric powertrains as well as two- and all-wheel drive in the SUVs. GV70, the mid-sized SUV, is this week’s test. It comes with the choice of 2.5- and 3.5-litre turbocharged petrol engines and fully-electric EV. The entry-level 2.5T comes with… Read more

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TOYOTA FORTUNER FILLS A GAP

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You don’t hear much about the Toyota Fortuner. Launched in 2015, Fortuner is the SUV equivalent of the Hilux utility. Like the Kluger it comes with seven seats, but it’s aimed at a quite different buyer. Depending on your perspective, it’s either the quiet achiever or the under-achiever, with about half the sales of Prado. For Toyota, its raison d’etre is or perhaps was to provide a diesel option to Kluger as well as an affordable alternative for those who can’t afford a Land Cruiser. But now that the US-engineered… Read more

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LONG WAY ROUND FOR SANTA FE

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Millennials and Gen-Xers are not noted for being fans of the great outdoors, or so I thought, but according to research neither is averse to channelling a touch of Tarzan of the Jungle. With this in mind, Hyundai has come up with the ‘Open to More’ concept of expanding customers’ experiences by connecting inside with the outside. Enter the fifth-generation Santa Fe, a spacious and well-equipped SUV with fuel-saving hybrid technology. A triple-trim line-up is out to appeal to the young tech-savvy Tarzan or Jane with curved panoramic instrument display,… Read more

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ALFA ROMEO TONALE VELOCE PLUG-IN HYBRID Q4

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Alfa’s top of the line Tonale SUV is a plug-in hybrid and costs nearly $20,000 more than its nearest stablemate. For this money, you get a vehicle that can run on electricity alone for a distance of up to 60km Named after a mountain pass in Northern Italy, it is a little brother to the mid-sized Stelvio – but like Stelvio can seat five. Tonale sits on the same platform as the Jeep Compass and a re-badged, re-styled version is also sold as the Dodge Hornet in the United States…. Read more

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HYUNDAI PALISADE IS BIG AND BOLD

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Launched here in late 2020, Palisade is the largest model in Hyundai’s SUV range. At a smidgeon under five metres, it’s around the same size and price as competitors such as Kia Sorento, Toyota Kluger, and Mazda CX-90. It’s aimed at those wanting a large vehicle to carry people so leans in the direction of comfort and ease of driving rather than full-on off-road work. An upgrade in June 2023 included a name change with the previous top-spec Highlander now called Calligraphy and a new Calligraphy Black Ink variant added… Read more

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bZ4X CHANCE TO MAKE A NAME FOR ITSELF

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What’s in a name? Plenty if you happen to be one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers pumping out product by the boat load. Take Toyota, for example. Nothing goes better to describe the Land Cruiser as a prestigious go-anywhere off roader; then there’s the Prius, relating to its being the first mass produced petrol / hybrid car. Now comes Toyota’s first wholly electric SUV, the BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) bZ4X. The what? Surely that’s an internal maker’s code Where’s the snappy showroom moniker? Was the marketing department on leave?… Read more

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AUDI Q2 – GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES

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The Q2 is the entry-level model into the Audi’s five-model SUV range sitting below the Q3, Q5, Q7 and Q8. Between them they account for around 80 per cent of the brand’s total Australian sales. First released in late 2017, and upgraded in February 2021, the Q2 now comes in two variants: 1.5-litre 35 TFSI and 2.0-litre quattro 40 TFSI. At the same time a new high-performance SQ2 was added and which will justify a separate review down the track. Priced at $43,600 plus on-roads, the 35 TFSI has LED… Read more