MCDONALDS PUTS A CHERY ON TOP

Chinese carmaker Chery has come up with a very clever marketing ploy by partnering with McDonalds in the fast-food chain’s November sales campaign where the major prize is a new Tiggo 4 Pro. So, every time you see a Maccas television commercial – and there are squillions of them – the Chery name gets the sort of exposure that emerging brands can only dream about. Without knowing the numbers, it’s fair to assume that a large percentage of people who see the ads have never heard of Chery as a… Read more

VOLVO XC60, PLENTY TO SAY . . . MOSTLY GOOD

What’s in a name? Plenty for Volvo, the Sino-Swedish car maker with its new mid-size luxury SUV, the XC60, tagged with a string of descriptors to separate each model from one another. Take, for example our test vehicle, the Volvo XC60 Ultimate B5 Bright: phew! And that mouthful comes without mentioning vital specifications such as the powertrain – in this case 2-litre turbocharged, four-cylinder petrol engine, plus eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. ‘Ultimate’ relates to the trim level, B5 to the engine, a turbocharged petrol motor enhanced by a… Read more

SSANGYONG REXTON IS AN IMPRESSIVE SEVEN-SEATER AT A BARGAIN PRICE

Although Korean carmaker SsangYong has been in the Australian market for the past 20 years it has never been able to get close to the success of its compatriots Hyundai and Kia. The company has gone through financial difficulties over the years and been taken over at different times by SAIC, Daewoo, Mahindra and, earlier this year, by a new entrant in the automotive scene – KG Mobility. SsangYong currently has three models in its range, the Musso ute and two SUVs, mid- sized Korando and, this week’s test vehicle… Read more