Driving Audi’s upper luxury SQ8 SUV – a coupe style SUV now with 4.0-litre twinturbo petrol V8 power. Unlike the seven-seat Audi SQ7, the sportier SQ8 is a five-seater with a sloped rear roof line, the SQ8 61mm shorter, 25mm wider and 85mmlower. An upper luxury SUV at $168,800 it sells in relatively small numbers. Adistinctive SUV with four-wheel steering, four-wheel drive powered as I said by a4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 driving through an 8-speed automatic. Visually bigand imposing with...

German car maker Audi has 37 models in its portfolio, some very low volume like its upper luxury SQ8 TFSI SUV, a large boxy yet handsome coupe style SUV – now with 4-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 power – 373kW of power in fact driving through a conventional 8-speed automatic and all-wheel-drive. At $168,800 this is a specialist upper luxury SUV, big, sporty with a large footprint on the road, sitting on 22-inch wheels and an adaptive air suspension. Its wide with a wide track offering enormous...

A recent survey of 1,013 respondents by Finder has found more than half the motorists on the roads are guilty of multitasking while driving. The research found a wide variety of distractions that can put lives at risk – topping the list at 43 per cent was eating whilst driving, driving in thongs came in second at 20 percent. 13 per cent of respondents admitted to texting while driving, 11 per cent to accessing social media. 7 percent said they’d watched a TV show or a movie, 9 per cent had...

Kia has finally launched its mid-sized EV5 SUV after it was delayed at the last minute due to some wheel and software updates. Very much a clone of the larger and highly awarded EV9 the EV5 arrives in three model grades, firstly as the Air and Earth models and followed in December by the GT-line. The standard range EV5 Air with a claimed range of 400Km is priced at $56,770 drive-away while the mid-grade EV5 Earth sells from $68,990 drive-away. The flagship all-wheel-drive GT line will sell...

Driving Kia’s EV6 GT-line at $87,590, the third-tier model in the four-model rangewhich is now topped by the high-performance EV6 GT flagship at $99,590. Thedual motor GT-line however will satisfy most drivers looking for a performanceEV with a 0 to 100km/hour time of 5.2 seconds. Not bad when you consider it tipsthe scales at 2105 kilos. Yes, its premium priced which has no doubt slowedsales but it’s as good as it gets in a family sized electric SUV – offering less rangeat 484km compared to...

Driving Kia’s EV6 SUV today. The Kia EV6 comes in four models. I drove the EV6GT-line dual motor all-wheel-drive at $87,590 – powered by a 77.4kWh battery theGT-line with two electric motors and weighing 100 kilos heavier to the rear drivemodels provides 239kW and 605Nm of torque. Delivering a driving range of484km which I found most accurate with a mix of urban and country driving.Energy consumption varied and ran from around 15kWh/100km to18.5kWh/100km. Charging, on a standard 7kW home...

Skoda has reduced the price of its run-out small Kamiq automatic SUV to just $29,990 drive-away, its lowest price in more than three years. With a new Kamiq model now in showrooms Skoda Australia has applied the discount to the final 250 examples of the pre-update base model. The Kamiq is Skoda’s best seller and represents around a quarter of the Czech-based car brands sales here. Although year to date Kamiq sales are running 26 percent behind the same time last year. The price reduced model...

Australia’s top-selling family carrier, the Kia Carnival people mover is the subjectof a recall notice relating to its power steering. A manufacturing fault in thewiring harness on 2024 model year Carnivals may affect the power steering. Atotal of 6155 Carnivals are affected by the recall notice which states “the mainwiring harness my come into contact with the steering column shaft and becomedamaged which may result in the loss of power assisted steering.” The recallaffects both petrol and...

Behind the wheel of Lexus’ new compact and very attractive LBX SUV today – Idrove the LBX Sports Luxury all-wheel drive at $56,990 combining a 1.5-litrethree-cylinder petrol engine paired with dual electric motors with a combinedoutput of 100kW driving through a continuously variable transmission. The all-wheel-drive combination knocks the weight up to 1415kgs. A classy small SUVwhich Lexus Australia Chief John Pappas says, breaks new ground for Lexus andis proof luxury is not dictated by...

Driving the small Lexus LBX SUV today, an attractive small hybrid luxury fivedoor SUV – three variants, the LBX Luxury front wheel drive at $47,550 and theLBX Sports Luxury, both front and all-wheel-drive, priced at $52,990 and $56,990respectively. The Lexus LBX a compact luxury cross-over SUV, a personalizedcompact SUV that’s rather tight in the rear, but with emphasis on luxury andfinishes that Toyota’s luxury brand always does well and it stands out on the roadespecially in the sonic...

Electric vehicle sales may be currently on the wane however hybrid vehicle sales are enjoying boom conditions with 129,895 national sales in the first nine months, an increase of 87 percent on the same time last year. Petrol electric hybrid vehicles are clearly far more popular than plug-in hybrids which achieved 15,546 sales in the same period. Toyota which accounts for around 20 per cent of the total new vehicle market has had enormous success with its petrol/electric hybrid models which...

A recent study by Compare the Market of 12 insurers have found the top fivebest-selling electric vehicles are 43 per cent more expensive to insure oversimilar sized combustion engine models. The comparison site found that manyEV motorists were paying higher premiums which obviously offset their benefitsof lower running costs. Hybrid vehicles have also been found to carry a premiumcompared to their petrol-only equivalents. Taking the top five best-selling EV’sand 12 car insurance providers you...

Driving Alfa Romeo stylish Tonale SUV – the Italian performance brand’s first small SUV. Two front wheel drive petrol mild hybrids, Ti and Veloce – I drove the highly equipped and sportier Veloce at $57,900, a sharply priced compact performance skewed SUV on larger 19-inch allow wheels. Alfa pairing a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine with mild hybrid assistance driving through a seven-speed dual clutch automatic. The Veloce also gaining an electronic adaptive suspension. After years of driving...

Driving Alfa Romeo’s first small SUV today – the stylish Tonale now Alfa Romeo’s biggest seller. The Italian performance brand celebrating its 115th year has struggled here in recent years, but its first compact SUV has a chance to lift the brands profile, prices starting at a rather sharp $49,990 for the Ti model. Step up to the Tonale Veloce and its still very competitive at $57,900 – both models feature a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine paired with mild hybrid assistance driving the front...

In recent months we’ve seen a number of Chinese electric car imports discount their products. The arrival of more Chinese brands in the next six months is behind the move as the competition intensifies. With the car market already subdued due to cost-of-living pressures and with electric car sales currently on a slide the discounts are set to continue putting pressure on the established competition. Spanish brand Cupra, which arrived on the market here in 2022 with non-negotiable pricing, has...

Go back several years and electric cars looked to have a big future with a strong surge of early adopters. And it was the same the world over. But this year sales have plateaued leaving many industry pundits pondering as to why. In February, the NRMA conducted an on-line survey with some 2079 motorists about their car buying habits, with a particular focus on EVs. They found that EVs have an image problem which in the eyes of new car buyers makes them seem inferior to internal combustion...

Chinese brand Chery has released what it considers to be the best valuecompact SUV on the market with the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro – the 1.5-litre turboautomatic Urban variant kicking off at $23,990 drive-away with 17-inch alloywheels, 7 airbags, a 360-degree camera, wireless Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto, Bluetooth connectivity rain sensing wipers, and a swag of driver assistfeatures. To sweeten the SUV’s arrival Chery Australia has a special introductoryfinance deal at $99 a week for the Urban...

With Volvo’s parent company scrapping plans recently to become fully electricby 2030 Volvo Australia has followed suit, dropping its previously announcedcommitment to an all-EV portfolio by 2026. The current tight economicconditions, slower than expected EV sales, a volatile market and a somewhatdiscontented dealer network is believed to be behind the change of heart by thelocal company. Volvo Sweden has now declared it will still have plug-in hybridand mild hybrid models in its range post...

Sometimes you drive a new vehicle and from the very start it just impresses.Nissan’s small Qashqai SUV did this for me – just a great allrounder – I testedthe mid-spec ST-L, all models front wheel drive powered by a 1.3-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine linked to a CVT automatic, the drive experience a good onewith minimal slip through the continuously variable automatic generally offering anice blend of power and torque with three available drive modes– I managed6.5L/100km with mainly...

Nissan’s small Qashqai SUV impressed me recently. A great small SUVengineered by Nissan UK, and with lightweight aluminium body panels now 60kilos lighter yet 41 per cent torsionally stiffer – four front-wheel drive modelspowered by a 1.3-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder linked to a CVT automatic. I’dpreviously tested the top spec Ti but recently drove the next model down the ST-L, perhaps the Qashqai’s best seller at $45,900 driveaway, not the most affordablein small SUV’s but nevertheless...

Driving Audi’s best seller today – the compact Q3 40 TFSI quattro S-LineSportback SUV – a 2.0-litre turbo 132kW four-cylinder seven-speed dual clutchautomatic with all-wheel-drive. I’ve always highly regarded the Audi Q3 and thesloped roof Sportback variant adds another perspective – these days its grown inprice like a lot of cars – now $78,245 drive-away but fortunately still under theluxury car tax threshold. A roomy cabin and nicely proportioned power frontseats make this a very...

Driving Audi’s compact Q3 SUV today – available in both five-door Wagon and Sportback. The Q3, Audi’s best seller, and the biggest selling small prestige SUV. I’m driving the Audi Q3 2.0-litre turbo 40TFSI quattro S-line Sportback, $78,245 drive-away, not inexpensive today but importantly, still under the luxury car tax threshold. The Audi Q3 Sportback has always appealed, the perfect package size, the sloped roof giving it a sporty feel. Powered by a 2.0-litre turbo driving through a...

Korean manufacturer Hyundai celebrated the production of its 100 millionthvehicle recently, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 rolled off the production line at thecompany’s Ulsan Plant, this facility recognised as the birthplace of the Koreancar industry. Here in 1975 Hyundai produced its first independently developedmodel the Pony. For the record Hyundai Motor Company was founded in 1967,building its first car, a Ford Cortina under license, before moving on to its owncar design a year later. I well...

A recent school holiday road safety blitz in Queensland saw 9584 people charged with offences including more than 800 driving under the influence – 446 caught under the influence of alcohol came from 40,506 roadside breath tests representing 1.1 percent of those tested. However, the 417 caught under the influence of drugs came from just 2,265 roadside drug tests representing a staggering 18.4 percent of those tested – a very concerning result so too the fact that 1 in 10 Queenslanders still...