Has Nissan been copying Toyota’s homework? Possibly, although it has arrived at a different answer to the question of hybrid power. Recognising the RAV4 Hybrid is one of Australia’s best-selling cars, Nissan recently wedged its tricky “e-Power” motor into the popular X-Trail. Initially the tech was only available on theContinue Reading
Subaru locked in prices for its first electric car on Monday, when customers were told it costs significantly more than the brand’s petrol machines. Priced from $77,990 plus on-road costs in its cheapest form, the new Subaru Solterra is double the asking price of an entry-level Subaru Forester (yours forContinue Reading
Sharper style, roomier, safer and smarter, but does the all-new pricier Hyundai Kona cut it as a small family SUV? We sample the entry-level petrol model. FIRST IMPRESSIONS IAIN: I’m face-to-face with the new Hyundai Kona and all I’m seeing is Robocop. JULES: Snap out of the 80s. It’s suchContinue Reading
Jeep says its new plug-in hybrid Grand Cherokee is its most capable to date. The plug-in – dubbed the Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe – uses just 3.2L/100km according to official fuel tests and can run on electricity alone for a claimed 52km. That electric range claim, however, is optimistic.Continue Reading
Subaru has updated its XV small SUV and changed its name to Crosstrek. Our family of testers sampled the mid-range 2.0R in town and bush. FIRST IMPRESSIONS JULES: The name might have changed but it looks just like the old XV. That’s no bad thing. It’s neither sleek nor elegantContinue Reading
This is the sensible cousin to Ford’s Ranger Raptor. The big bird muscled up when Ford’s new generation Ranger debuted last year, ditching the old car’s 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel engine in favour of a twin-turbocharged petrol V6 with almost double the power. The trouble is that it also developed aContinue Reading
The Ford Ranger covers a vast price range – one we’ve put to the ultimate outback test. We spent a few days testing either end of the Ranger 4WD line-up to work out which is best for rough road work. Our experiment took place in and around Alice Springs inContinue Reading
The ageing Patrol is going through a sales resurgence and it’s about to benefit from the arrival of a hardened Warrior model. Due within months, the beefed up version of the hefty off-roader is in the final stages of development – and we’ve driven it. As the name suggests, theContinue Reading
Jeep’s first seven-seat Grand Cherokee hopes to challenge prestige Euro large SUVs. Here are five things you need to know about the tree-topping L Summit Reserve. You’ll do a double take at the price Jeeps asks a chunky $125,000 to drive away this flagship. That’s BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE, AudiContinue Reading
Here’s how it stacks up. VALUE The Pathfinder starts at about $59,000 drive-away for the base ST model and stretches all the way to about $87,000 for the new range-topping Ti-L model, which is the car we tested. That’s a bigger asking price than key rivals from Toyota, Mazda andContinue Reading