Family Reviews

Peugeot has released its first electric car in Australia - the e-2008 GT has landed in style, but does this little SUV have the goods to back up its sweet looks?

For 26 years, the Honda CR-V has been one of the most popular SUVs in Australia. It was also one of the key models to kick off the SUV craze. Now the sixth-generation version is here and for the first time with a hybrid option. But has Honda done enough to steer people away from a Toyota RAV4?

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce has a performance factor that can't be ignored but while it has seen a minor facelift, is that enough to make it a contender against its tough competition?

The Subaru Outback Sport XT has been a welcome member of the Chesto family for the past three months, but it's come time to say farewell, and to answer the biggest question - is the extra $5K or so required for the turbocharged engine worth it?

The small SUV market is fiercely defended by some strong competition but the new design of the Hyundai Kona may be what gives it a podium finish.

Replacing the CX-9 is the all-new CX-90 large, three-row SUV, which is also charged with leading Mazda Australia's march upmarket in a bid to retain buyers looking for something German. But is the stacked equipment list, ultra-luxe interior and a six-cylinder engine enough to justify its high asking price?

It is month two with my trusty Outback XT Sport, and I find myself in a position to report on something I didn’t see coming.And I mean that literally — I really didn’t see the elderly gentlemen who crashed into the back of my Subaru while I was stopped at a crossing coming, but I certainly felt his arrival.Car accidents always suck (although slightly less so when you’re blameless, I must admit), and no matter how small the impact, they cause instant doomsday-ing, your mind going straight to worst-case damage scenarios. But, I’ve got another unexpected tick to put in the Outback’s plus column this month. His car, an older sedan, was not looking so good, with a crack in its bumper and much paint missing.But the Outback? Barely a scratch, and certainly no dents, with the worst of the damage being some of the other driver’s blue paint that was pretty easily wiped off.The other driver simply hit the wrong pedal, by the way. A small-scale disaster in a car, but something far more serious had I been sitting on a motorbike...It’s a perk I hope you never have to experience for yourself, but I can report the Outback holds up better than its competition in small impacts.Of course, it’s an advantage you will only get to experience should you be able to get your hands on an XT Outback (XT meaning the turbocharged engine variant, which is absolutely the one you want) with wait times now stretching four months, following a record year for Subaru sales across its most popular variants.Subaru says supply is now improving, and in even better news, is suggesting the turbocharged engine could also appear on the entry-level Outback, lowering the cost of entry, but the brand isn’t giving any concrete timeframes.For now, the best engine is only available on our XT Sport, and the top-shelf XT Touring, and I must admit I’m enjoying my time with the former immensely.There have been a couple of quirks, though. The first is that I’ve never encountered a more finicky wireless Apple CarPlay system in my life.Sometimes it works, often it doesn’t, and I’ve had to delete my device and reconnect probably half a dozen times to try and spark a connection.Doubling my frustration is the fact that, for some reason, my iPhone cable won’t create a wired connection, either, but that’s possibly my fault for using an el-cheapo cable. I will source a real one this month and report back.Quirk two isn’t unique to Subaru, but it annoys me. When you’re on the move, much of the multimedia and communication options are locked away behind a safety nanny, meaning you need to come to a complete stop to access any of CarPlay’s more complicated functions, like picking a phone number out of your address book.You can overcome it by using Siri, but I find Apple’s helper a little hit and miss, too, so I usually find myself pulling over when I want to do something the Subaru won’t let me do while on the move.Quirks aside, though, the Outback is a super-solid offering in this segment, and one that I reckon is probably every bit as suited to DINK couples (like my wife and I) as it is to families.The boot space is tremendous, the space in the cabin ample, and while I haven’t really put it to the rough-road test, yes, I appreciate the AWD powertrain, decent ride height and 'X-Mode' off-road settings.I said this last month (and my view hasn’t changed) but I could very much see this XT Sport Outback finding a home at Casa Chesto.In fact, in a weird coincidence, it kind of already has. Just eight weeks ago my sister bought an Outback Sport, finished in an identical 'Autumn Green'.She’s married with three kids, and after testing a heap of three-row SUVs, she settled on the Outback without any help or influence from me – though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thrilled to learn that at lease on family in Australia will be keeping the wagon dream alive, rather than resorting to an SUV.And the very best part, at least as far as our sibling rivalry goes? She bought the non-turbo engine, which makes my near-identical Outback XT just that little bit better. At least when I have mine back…Acquired: July, 2023Distance travelled this month: 1151kmOdometer: 4535kmAverage energy consumption this month: 11.8L/100km

Genesis has released the wagon version of the G70, named the Shooting Brake, but are its sexy good looks enough to entice the modern day family?

Mazda Australia has long offered affordable and upmarket models, but now it wants to break into full-on premium territory, and the CX-60 is the first salvo in its march upmarket. But wanting to be premium (and charging for it) and actually being premium are two different things, so does the Mazda CX-60 succeed?

After three months of childcare drop offs/pick ups, trips to Ikea, commuting too and from the city, far-too-many grocery runs and more, how has Ford's fan-favourite Everest held up?