Car Reviews

Amongst the broad mix of mid-sized passenger cars, the Skoda Superb is often overlooked. Its awkward design isn’t always everyone’s cup of tea and the Skoda brand – one of the world’s oldest car company – just doesn’t spring up in people’s mind when they are thinking of their next car. But that might change …

We are all familiar with M and AMG, but there’s a new kid in town – Polestar. Like its esteemed German counterparts, Polestar started off as an independent tuner and motorsport partner of Volvo, until the Swedish brand acquired the outfit, including the Polestar brand, in 2015. The aim was …

The Volkswagen Passat Wagon is already a practical family hauler, but the new Passat Alltrack model takes it up a notch with added ride height and mild off-road ability. Like the previous-generation Alltrack, the recipe is similar. Start with the Passat wagon, then infuse with a set of jacked up suspension …

BMW for sportiness, Mercedes for comfort, Jaguar for style and Lexus for quality. Take those attributes from each marque, trim them down a tiny bit, give it the best interior of the segment, and you get an Audi. It’s the same story for the new Audi A4. The all-rounded appeal …

The Fiat 500X is the latest member of the fast-growing Fiat 500 family and is one of the more style-focused compact crossover in the segment. Infused with the cutesy looks of its smaller hatch sibling that almost single-handed revived the Fiat brand in Australia, the high-riding 500X aims to bring …

The Land Rover Discovery Sport was launched in mid-2015 and essentially replaced the unloved Land Rover Freelander 2. It is the first member of the expanded Discovery family and takes the family-friendly SUV a little further upmarket, sitting above the fashionable but smaller Range Rover Evoque. Counting the BMW X3, …

The all-new 2016 Ford Mustang GT Convertible is currently the cheapest V8-powered open-top sports car you can buy in Australia. At $63,990 plus on-roads, the pony car costs almost $100k less than the next nearest V8 cabriolet. To step up from the Mustang without losing cylinders, you’ll be looking at …

The Peugeot 208 GTi was the car that brought the mojo back to the French car maker after it went wandering about for over a decade. Launched in late 2013, the 208 GTi instantly put smiles on our faces the moment we got behind the wheel. It was engagingly fun …

Australians’ taste in cars has changed dramatically since the new millennia. Fifteen years ago, our favourite mode of transport was large four-door sedans with no fewer than six cylinders. Then came the invasion of the Sports Utility Vehicle or SUVs, which single handedly ended the dominants of our local heroes …

The superseded Kia Sportage was one of the first Kia models penned under automotive design superstar, Peter Schreyer after being lured across to the Korean brand from Audi. The stylish SUV went on to become Kia’s top selling model. Since then, every new model that came after it has raised …

Introduced in 1990, the original Honda NSX was a groundbreaking supercar. It was the world’s first road car with an all-aluminium monocoque body, its shell was 50 per cent stronger than the Porsche 911 of the time and its 8000 rpm 3.0-litre V6 engine features titanium connecting rods – a …

Self-driving cars may still be a few years away, but semi-autonomous driving is well and truly here. One brand that is synonymous with this technology is Tesla. Electric propulsion and ‘Ludicrous’ acceleration aside, the Model S, Tesla’s flagship sedan, has one of the most advanced semi-autonomous driving systems on the …

Three years on from its local introduction, Mitsubishi has given its baby 2016 Mitsubishi Mirage a makeover. The sixth generation Mirage now comes in two variants, with the mid-spec ES Sport dropped from the new lineup. Priced from $11,990 plus on-roads, the new ES is $1,000 cheaper than the superseded model and ships …

One of last year’s more interesting revivals was the Suzuki Vitara. We took the stylish little SUV from Suzuki on a trip to Kangaroo Island and were impressed by its entertaining and accomplished chassis, all wrapped in a comfortable and relatively stylish package. While its naturally aspirated 1.6-litre was smooth …