EV Reviews

The EV4 Sedan is destined to be a bit-player in Kia's growing EV line-up, which is something of a shame, because the admittedly odd-looking sedan is a treat to drive, and will cover a hell of a lot of ground between charges. Think of it as Kia's answer to the BYD Seal and Tesla Model 3. But is it better? We put it to the test to find out.

The Polestar 2 was among one of the first electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia to break through to the mainstream and this latest update brings a number of subtle changes.

How am I already saying goodbye to the new Porsche Macan 4S?After three months of ‘ownership’, I am seriously going to miss this fully electric, second-generation mid-size SUV.This long-term review of the Macan 4S will explain why. It is broken up into three parts, with the first covering its pricing, features, safety and ownership credentials, while the second deep-dived its design and practicality. You can check those two out directly below – if you haven’t already.But for this third and final instalment, I’m going to finally share my driving impressions and overall verdict.Let’s get to it, shall we?I had very high hopes for how well the Macan Electric would drive.Why? Firstly, it’s a Porsche, so it has no choice but to be a phenomenal driver’s car, such is the legacy of the German sports car specialist.Porsche also has form with driver’s EVs with the Taycan large sedan and wagon. It was the first car I drove that was a phenomenal sports car that just happened to be all-electric.Point being, the Macan Electric is in very good company, so it has a lot to live up to.Thankfully, it has done exactly that. The 4S, in particular, strikes the best balance between everyday liveability and staggering performance – at least for me.Yes, its dual-motor, all-wheel-drive set-up produces 352kW of power and a heady 820Nm of instantaneous torque. And that’s before you engage launch control, at which point overboost kicks in to temporarily raise the former to an even handier 380kW.This all means the ‘mid-range’ Macan 4S can sprint from 0-100km/h in just 4.1 seconds. In reality it feels like a sub-four-second proposition – Porsche is known to underquote its acceleration claims.Either way, it’s that level of fully electric acceleration that will send you into the second row – or the boot, depending on where you’re sitting, and that’s even without the Sport drive mode active.That also extends to rolling acceleration, making overtaking as confidence-inducing as highway merging.Curiously, all of this straight-line performance isn’t accompanied by an electric soundtrack, as Porsche provides in the Taycan. The purist in me appreciates the Macan’s unashamed ‘silence’, but the fake noises can be a bit of fun when done well.But there’s more to performance than just what you can do in a straight line, because let’s face it: nearly all AWD EVs can accelerate quickly.The good news is the Macan 4S can also attack a corner with the level of vigour you’d expect from a two-door sports car.Yes, physics cannot be fully denied as the Macan 4S does have a higher centre of gravity owing to its SUV nature. But its body control is very strong, so much so that you’ll find yourself happily tipping it into any corner at speed without concern.Handling performance can be taken to the next level with the adaptive dampers in the Macan 4S’ steel suspension, which have Normal, Sport and Sport Plus modes.But the reality is Normal is so accomplished to begin with that you’ll find yourself sticking with the default setting in 99.9 per cent of situations.Sport and Sport Plus also progressively diminish the Macan 4S’ well-balanced ride comfort. Some will say Normal is itself on the firmer side, but it is damn-near perfect in my humble opinion, with road imperfections dealt with confidently.The standard 20-inch wheel and tyre package also helps here, with its high-profile rubber providing better ride comfort over its larger alternatives.It also helps that the Macan 4S benefits from Porsche’s market-leading steering, which is just about as good as electrically assisted systems get.The steering is well-weighted and direct, offering the driver a genuine connection with the road, one which will lead them to looking for excuses to go for a drive.As a result, parking is a breeze, with the Macan 4S able to be slotted into a space with ease. And if you need reassurance, its surround-view cameras have a high resolution, which is rarer than it should be.Visibility, in general, is pretty good all around, with even the steeply raked rear window providing an acceptable level of vision. The B-pillars are on the thick side, but not devastatingly so.When it comes to the real-world performance of the Macan 4S’ other advanced driver-assist safety systems, they fare very well. Mercifully, you don’t get any consistent beeps and bongs to annoy you to no end, like so many new cars these days.And when the lane-keep assist does spring into action, it does its steering wheel nudges progressively, while haptic feedback replaces any incessant audible alerts.The speed limit warning can also be turned off. Better yet, it will stay off until you decide to turn it back on again. That’s right; it will not default to active when the ignition is switched.Being an EV, the Macan 4S' NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) levels are another strong suit due to its lack of an internal-combustion engine. That said, wind noise can be heard at highway speeds, although it can be easily drowned out by the Bose sound system.So, what don’t I like about the Macan 4S’ drive experience? Well, there is one thing: its lack of convenient one-pedal driving, which most EVs offer as part of their regenerative braking systems.It helps to decrease energy consumption while improving driveability by allowing the driver to modulate the accelerator to come to a full stop – no second pedal required.I love one-pedal driving, but Porsche forges its own path by only offering regenerative braking with an optional level of deceleration that’s the equivalent of engine braking in an internal-combustion car. Point being, it won’t even come close to getting the Macan 4S to a standstill without engaging the brake pedal.Predictably, its actual friction brakes offer a strong level of performance considering the weight at play, with the seamless blending between them and the regenerative braking some of the best I’ve sampled.In my third and final month behind the wheel of the Macan 4S, I averaged 18.6kWh/100km over 841km of driving, which mostly took place in city traffic. That’s slightly better than the 18.8kWh/100km and 18.7kWh/100km I achieved in months one and two, respectively.My month-three effort equates to a real-world driving range of 514km, based on the Macan 4S battery’s useable capacity of 96kWh. Again, that is a confidence-inspiring number.Acquired: October 13, 2025Distance travelled this month: 841kmOdometer: 6891kmAverage energy consumption this month: 18.6kWh/100km

Yet another Chinese EV for our shores. How will the Jaecoo J5 EV stand out from the crowded pack?

The Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X are co-developed EV twins under the skin. Subaru has recognised shortcomings in the first version of its electric car and released a comprehensively upgraded version. We drive it to find out if it's now a stronger category competitor.

Hyundai's Kona sits at the top of the Aussie small SUV sales chart with multiple options across naturally aspirated, turbo and hybrid models. We've spent a week with Hybrid Elite version to see if it's more than a one trick fuel economy pony.

Toyota was late to the game with its first EV, the bZ4X, so let's find out whether this mid-life update has improved the package.

So, you’re looking for an affordable electric mid-size SUV, but you don’t want to buy a Chinese car?This might be the alternative you’re looking for. The KGM Torres EVX is a mid-sized fully electric SUV from the Korean automaker formerly known as SsangYong. A good value but niche player in the Australian market, does KGM's first EV have what it takes to keep it on your list of considerations in a rapidly changing market?Let’s take a look.Wearing a sticker price of $58,000 drive-away, the Torres EVX would have been a great value EV even just a year or two ago, but it’s now in one of the most hotly contested market segments.The trouble for the Torres EVX is it’s far from the most affordable option in the space. For that, you should be looking at the Geely EX5 (from $40,990), Leapmotor C10 (from $45,888), BYD Atto 3 (from $39,990), and now the GAC Aion V (from $42,590), all from China.If those options don’t float your boat, there are other options, like the frequently underestimated Skoda Enyaq (from $54,990 drive-away) and the more mainstream Kia EV5 (from $56,770), while the ever-present Tesla Model Y is only a few thousand more once you add on-roads (from $58,900).There's plenty of options, and the reality is the KGM Torres EVX isn’t the best value amongst them.Regardless, you get all the equipment available on the Torres in the single electric grade, including 18-inch alloys, some pretty cool Tron-style LED lights in the front, full synthetic leather interior trim, dual 12.3-inch screens for the digital dash and multimedia screen, a sunroof, 360-degree camera and front seats with heating and ventilation.While many of this car’s Chinese rivals will blow you away with comparatively giant screens, over-the-top software, gimmicky features (do frameless doors really need to make a comeback?), and crazy design flourishes, the Torres EVX, even with its funky exterior look, seems to just work.Yes, in some ways it feels a bit old fashioned compared to some rivals, but almost everything in this car is refreshingly simple to use.There’s a multimedia suite with mercifully straightforward menus, cabled Apple CarPlay, a digital dash with the right information displayed, and even traditional buttons to adjust your mirrors and seats.The sunroof has a manual shade, the door handles are where they should be and things are labelled consistently (this shouldn’t be a selling point in 2026, but here we are).The active safety equipment is good, too. This car doesn’t constantly chime, you don’t have to spend two minutes turning frustrating systems off, and even the lane keep assist feature, which is pretty heavy handed, can be switched off just by holding a button on the steering wheel.The Torres even gets a few things that exceed expectations, like the excellent 360-degree camera, sun blinds built into the rear windows, and vehicle-to-load to power external devices from its battery. It’s not without its flaws though. The designers at KGM have seen fit to remove physical hardware for climate controls, so you have to make do with a slide-out tray for the touchscreen. This is usually right near the driver’s left hand, so is easily within reach, but not if you have Apple CarPlay going. It takes up the whole screen and you have to navigate out of CarPlay to a climate menu to adjust anything. Annoying, but not bad enough to be a dealbreaker.When the Torres was revealed with its strange array of accoutrements glued to its exterior, like the fake bonnet latches, aesthetic-only blocky bumper pieces, and the tailgate with a fake spare wheel housing and a latch that implies it opens sideways (when it actually opens upward), I’m not sure anyone in the office was taken with it.To me it’s a playful take on the early days of SUVs. At least it dares to do something different, and the electric variant gets a unique take on the blocky Torres formula.The interior is a little derivative, but still a big step up. A sea of black brittle grey plastics in this car’s predecessors have been replaced by a more modern look and feel.It still doesn’t feel as cutting edge as some Chinese rivals which are even more adventurous in the interior, and it also feels a step behind its Korean contemporaries.On the whole though, I appreciate KGM trying to stand out from the pack.It’s not a bad thing to drive, but it also feels a little behind the pace in some ways.Again, this car is straightforward. With 150kW/339Nm on offer, it’s not insanely rapid like a Tesla Model Y, but still plenty quick enough.However, the EVX feels like a previous-generation EV in some ways. The motor torque can easily overwhelm the front tyres, suggesting better traction software wouldn’t go astray, and its regenerative braking modes feel a bit wonky, leading me to drive it with the regen turned down or off most of the time.This car’s Hyundai Group rivals do a much better job of blending the electric driving characteristics a bit more seamlessly, while Teslas and some Chinese cars do a better job of dealing with overwhelming electric motor torque.While the ride is generally decent, it can be a tad crashy or floaty at the limits, due to the weight of its relatively large 80.6kWh battery. For most daily commuting it’s a balanced and comfy place to be though, not too soft like a lot of Chinese cars, or as brutally stiff as Teslas used to be.The steering tune is great. It’s on the lighter side, but full of feel and not overly electrically assisted like many of its rivals. Sound levels are okay. It’s quiet at commuter speeds, but tyre and wind noise noticeably picks up around 100km/h.Who does the EVX suit? A buyer who wants their EV to feel similar to an internal combustion engine SUV.On paper, yes. The official driving range is 462km and my general rule is when you’re getting around the 450km mark, you’re not going to have range anxiety in most scenarios.However, At 80.6kWh the battery should offer more range, and the reason it doesn’t is because the Torres isn’t very energy efficient. Our car consumed 18.2kWh/100km in my week of mixed driving conditions and that’s simply not good enough. Many larger and more powerful EVs perform better. Our car indicated a range closer to 417km based on my driving time.Charging is decent at 130kW on DC, allowing a fast charging time as low as 37 minutes, while 11kW on AC means a full charge in around eight hours.

The thing about performance cars – traditionally speaking, at least – is that you always know when you're in one. Sure, you can try to go easy on the accelerator, like if you're trying to sneak away from the house early in the morning without waking your neighbours, but a proper ICE-powered performance model will still never let you get away with it.There is always a tell. Whether it's an exhaust that barks into life with rabid Cujo intensity every time you fire it up. Or suspension so firm it's like the shocks have been filled with adamantium. Or even a big and bulging wing staring back at you every time you glance in the mirror. There's always something that feels like a price to be paid for having access to all that punch.But here's where it gets interesting. Because the Tesla Model Y Performance is one of the fastest cars I've driven this year. And yet, for 90 per cent of my time with it, I forgot I was driving anything other than a placid and friendly electric SUV.And I do mean fast. The Model Y Performance – the latest Tesla Juniper product to arrive in Australia – delivers proper supercar pace. As is always the case with Tesla, the details are a little murky. The brand doesn't quote torque figures, for example, and there are other mysteries.But we do know the brand claims a 0-100km/h time of 3.5 seconds. That's a lot of outright speed for your $89,400 investment. For reference, the blisteringly quick and super competent Porsche Macan Electric Turbo will knock off the same sprint in 3.3 seconds and asks $184,400 for your trouble. At the other end of the pricing scale is the Zeekr 7X Performance. Its sprint takes 3.8 seconds, and it lists at $72,900. Then there's the Kia GT Line, at $99,590, which also delivers a 3.5-second 0-100 sprint.Delivering the Model Y Performance's punch is a dual-motor AWD system which produces 343kW, which is fed through the big 21-inch wheels wrapped with Pirelli P Zero rubber. The set-up feels designed to channel all of that grunt into the tarmac efficiently, and it works, even under flat-footed acceleration, with no squealing or slipping from the tyres.But despite the big wheels and an adaptive suspension system that still feels too firm in places, the Tesla's most surprising party trick is its ability to coast around calmly and (mostly) comfortably when you don't want to unleash the full might of its electric motors.I was at the launch of the regular Model Y Juniper, and with gentle throttle inputs, this Performance feels largely the same. Like the rest of the Y range, this go-fast version carries-over the improvements that addressed most of what I didn't like about Tesla's best-selling model.The steering is far less darty and annoying than in the old Y, and it rides better (though not as nicely as the non-Performance, though that's a pretty understandable by-product of the go-fast add-ons). I'm even getting used to turning my head to the side every time I want to check how fast I'm going, owing to Tesla's steadfast refusal to fit a driver display or head-up projection.I can't abide the silly the gear selector that's now on the screen, though (you slide your finger forwards to select drive, backwards to select reverse, and you tap the screen to go into Park), and the air-conditioning is among the worst and most confounding systems I've ever used. It blows so hard (and yet not so cold) that on a sweltering Sydney day I pulled over and got out to make phone calls.And, of course, there's no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. I miss it, definitely. But I have to say Tesla's native and Google-powered navigation is probably the best in the business, and the broader tech offering is very strong, too. Using my phone as the key gave me access to all sorts of functions (temp in the cabin etc), and just unlocking, getting in and going is super easy – which, believe it or not, is not something you can say about all of its rivals.But back to the performance of the Performance. It's really something – proper push-you-back-into-the-seat stuff  – and it doesn't feel unsuited to the car. Whether in a straight line or cornering, the power comes on thick and strong, but the rest of the car feels buttoned down, stiff enough through the chassis and ready to respond. Competent across the board, really, and more nimble than its 2.0-tonne weight would suggest.Be warned, though. There is a total lack of fanfare involved here. It feels more like one of those superfast rollercoasters that propel you into the future rather than a properly engaging and emotional experience, like a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, for example.But it offers big performance bang for buck, and its ability to putter through traffic – complete with a claimed 580km driving range – before teleporting you into another dimension is one hell of a party trick.For the record, though, a four-year, 80,000km warranty is entriely underwhelming by today's standards, even if the battery is covered for eight years and 192,000km.

Leapmotor hit the Aussie new-car market in early 2025. One of what feels like a never-ending wave of new challenger brands arriving from China in the last 18 months.And its C10 is yet another option in the crowded mid-size SUV segment, in this case offered in petrol-electric hybrid and pure-electric form.Its sharp pricing and generous spec were marked as big pluses in our first drive reviews. As was its space-efficiency and comfy drive characteristics.But another unifying theme was its relatively unrefined ADAS crash-avoidance systems. Which, to its credit, the brand has addressed head-on with an over-the-air software update.Timely then, to get behind the wheel and see if that high-tech tweak has made a discernible difference to an already solid package.At $49,888, before on-road costs, the top-spec C10 Design grade we’re testing here undercuts the Tesla Model Y RWD Single motor ($58,900, BOC) by the best part of $10K and puts the heat on other electric SUVs in its orbit like the Cupra Tavascan ($60,990), Kia EV5 Air 2wd Long Range ($61,170) and VW ID.4 Pro RWD ($59,990).  And that price includes a heap of standard features like 20-inch alloy wheels, a (fixed) panoramic glass roof (with power sunshade), dual-zone climate control air, electric front seats (heated and ventilated), 12-speaker audio, a power tailgate, synthetic leather seat trim and multi-colour (interior) ambient lighting.There’s also adaptive cruise, built-in sat nav, a 360-degree camera view, a heated steering wheel and heaps more. Impressive for a car sitting under the $50,000 threshold.Not too many straight edges on the C10 with curves and soft character lines the order of the day in terms of exterior design.While the flush-fit door handles deliver obvious aero benefits, the way they flip out and hinge from the front gets a black mark from me. They’re an ergonomic miss that force you to twist your wrist at an awkward angle to more or less push the door open. The entire handle pulling out parallel to the body is always a better solution.The cabin is minimalist to the max. Virtually no physical buttons and the 10.25-inch instrument cluster and 14.6-inch central screen are the only standouts in a sea of smooth, mid-grey surfaces. If you like Tesla’s cabin design ethos you’ll be onboard with the C10. But before you even get inside, access is weird. For a start, the ‘key’ is a sizeable plastic card which needs to be held against the driver’s side exterior mirror to lock or unlock the car, which obviously isn’t ideal if you want to open up the boot or passenger side doors.Owners have access to a smartphone app which includes a proximity unlocking function, but even that sounds overly complex just to get in the car. That said, the interior is super spacious for a car just over 4.7m long with a 2825mm wheelbase. Lots of breathing room up front and sitting behind the driver’s seat, set to my 183cm position, I have hectares of leg, head and shoulder room.There are cupholders all over the place, map pockets, big bins in the doors as well as a lidded cubby between the front seats and another storage area underneath the ‘flying buttress’ centre console.There are multiple USB-C and USB-A jacks, a wireless phone charger and 12-volt power for other devices, but, shock, horror… no Android Auto or Apple CarPlay functionality. That’ll be a deal-breaker for some.Boot space is handy at 581L with the 60/40 split-fold rear seat upright and 1410L with it lowered but another black mark goes against the lack of a physical spare tyre. A repair/inflator kit is your only option, which isn’t good enough.Outputs from the rear-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor, powered by a 69.9 LFP battery, are 160kW/320Nm and Leapmotor quotes a WLTP range of “up to 425km”.Maximum DC charge rate is a relatively modest 84kW for a claimed 30-80 per cent charge time of “approximately 30 minutes”. AC charge rate is 11.0kW and V2L (Vehicle to Load) functionality is a welcome addition.Official WLTP energy consumption is 18.5kWh/100km and during our week with the car we saw a dash-indicated figure of 13.4kWh/100km, which is excellent for a roughly 2.0-tonne SUV.Claimed 0-100km/h acceleration is 7.5 seconds and the C10 feels sharp with the ability to effortlessly negotiate city and suburban traffic.   Steering weight is adjustable through ‘Light’, ‘Standard’ and ‘Sport’ settings, although none of them add any meaningful road feel to the equation. Ride comfort, however, is terrific and all signs of the previous, overly assertive ADAS crash-avoidance systems are gone. Lane keeping, lane centering, even the over-speed warning, deliver subtle inputs and only when required.The C10 BEV is also quiet (even for an EV) with the 245/45 Dunlop e.Sport Maxx rubber remaining low-key with wind noise minimal, even at freeway speeds.The C10 is covered by a six-year/150,000km warranty, which is competitive and includes roadside assist for the duration, while the drive battery is covered for eight years/160,000km.Service is recommended every 12 months/20,000km which is more frequent than some pure-electric competitors (typically at two years/40,000km). And capped-price servicing is available for five years at $2000, or $400 per service, which is on the high side for an EV, even in this class.Crash-avoidance safety systems include auto emergency braking (AEB) front and rear, blind-spot monitoring, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, driver fatigue monitoring and tyre pressure monitoring.There are seven airbags onboard, including a front centre bag, three child seat top tether points across the rear seat (as well as ISOFIX anchors on the two outer positions) and multi-collision brake to minimise the chances of subsequent impacts after an initial crash. The C10 scored a maximum five-star ANCAP assessment from testing in 2024.