Passenger Cars

The Lexus ES started out as the company’s mid-size luxury sedan complimenting the LS flagship when Lexus said hello to the world in 1989.  Six generations later, the ES has become Lexus’ best selling model in the brand’s largest and second largest market, the USA and China respectively. The ES …

The Alfa Romeo MiTo is the Italian marque’s first city car since the much lauded Alfasud from the late 70’s. Created to take on class favourites like the MINI and Fiat 500, the MiTo aims to be a fun and inexpensive offering targeted at young urbanites. Refreshed and reloaded for …

When it comes to online shopping, there’s Amazon. When it comes to executive sedan, there’s the BMW 5 Series. For decades, the propeller badged saloon has been the benchmark in the executive class, eclipsing the Audi A6, Mercedes E-Class and Lexus GS. Things have started to change in recent years, however, …

Like me, most of you are likely to see Skoda through a pair tainted lens, a legacy of the brand’s humble Eastern Bloc origin. Think Skoda 105, 120 and 125 – a trio of painfully basic models that were produced from 1976 to 1990. Loved by Hollywood for car-chasing scenes …

If the naughties were the golden age for the SUV, the teenies is definitely the golden age for the hot hatch. At last count, there were no fewer than eighteen of them in Aussie showrooms, ranging from the Ford Fiesta ST we have on test here – which can be …

After taking a seven-year sabbatical, the Lexus ES is back in Australia. Now in its sixth generation, the company hopes the new model will rekindle the flame with loyal Lexus customers who bought 7,000 ES between 1992 and 2006 – 2500 of which still returns to Lexus dealers for regular …

The Lexus IS 300h completes the last piece of the jigsaw in the Japanese premium marque’s hybrid offerings. Every model in the Lexus’ line up now has a petrol-electric variant, as the brand hopes for hybrid models to make up half of its total sales. The IS 300h is the …

The Holden Barina RS is the latest addition to the company’s city hatchback. Joining the lineup as the sports model, the RS’ extra punch comes from a 1.4-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine pinched from the locally made Holden Cruze. It produces 103 kW of power at 4,300 rpm and 200 …

When it was first launched in 2011, the Kia Optima was a game changing model not only for the once cheap, and well…. not much else really, Korean brand, but for the segment it competes in. It brought style to the affordable mass market mid-size sedans and with it, confidence …

Panda – a large, adorable bear-like animal from the forests of China, high on the endangered species list. Fiat Panda – a five door, compact minivan-like automobile built in a Polish factory with a range of two- and four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, potentially high on the endangered species list. …

Back in the old days, Alfa Romeos could be sold on looks alone. But those days are long gone. Now the Italian company wants their cars to be known for their sophistication, technology and driving fun. And, the new Giulietta is sent off for this mission. From the outset, the five-door …

The 2nd-generation Kia Cerato Koup is the third and final model of the new Cerato lineup that has been gradually rolled out in the last year. According to Kia’s figures, the trio has achieved more than 2.5 million global sales since their introduction in 2004, including 385,000 units in 2012 …

When Lexus brought out the LFA supercar in 2011 we knew the marque was onto something. The once librarian of the car world had decided to ditch its thick reading glasses for some party hats. Lexus wanted to be fun. And the new GS mid-size saloon is the first mainstream …

Small, stylish runabouts used to be French manufacturers’ forte. But in recent times, the Germans have been leading the way with the reborn MINI and its endlessly customisable options. Fiat followed suit with its adorable Fiat 500 and lately, Audi has been tempting buyers with its A1. Citroen, a brand …