Luxury Reviews

Ewan Kennedy road tests and reviews the Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

The Jaguar F-Type Coupe is one of the most beautiful cars currently being produced. It is a stunning vehicle that attracts attention both in traffic and wherever you park it.But this F-Type Coupe promises more than looks, it also wears the R badge and that means it is also very fast.The R is the most powerful F-Type Coupe, which was developed to go head to head with the iconic Porsche 911.  It is out of the reach of most of us at $219,130, but has the presence and the pace of cars that demand far higher prices.  The F-Type was originally designed as a convertible and the coupe came later. Both are beautiful, but the coupe has a wonderful flowing roofline that makes for a fantastic profile. It perfectly mixes elegance with aggression and looks more agile than a 911.The interior looks good, but the quality is not quite at the level of Porsche or Audi. It looks a little less developed. The R spec bronze anodised elements in this car (paddles, starter etc) look out of place and clash with the rest of the interior. There are some cool touches, such as the climate vents risingup out of the dashboard when you switch on the car. The seats are comfortable and supportive, but don’t have a heater function as standard.The red paint on our test car looked rich and bright, but this colour, which is somehow “race inspired” according to Jaguar, costs a mind-blowing $5620. It almost makes the premium other companies charge for metallic paint seem reasonable.The sloping tail of the F-Type Coupe means it has terrible rear visibility. Making it worse is the fact there is no rear-view camera fitted as standard, which is a ridiculous omission for a car that costs this much.The boot is tiny and is almost completely filled with a space saver spare wheel. It is a two seater, with no space behind the seats for storage, so you will need to pack carefully for a weekend away. Apart from the visibility issue, the F-Type is easy to drive around town, with a competent automatic taking care of the gear changes.The F-Type Coupe is not quite as brilliant near the limit as the 911, but that’s not an issue unless you plan on heading over to Germany’s Nurburgring. It still does handle extremely well and is very happy slinging around corners at a rapid rate. The body is tied down well and there is very little roll.It definitely has the ability to match its looks, but the downside to its impressive agility is the jolty ride on less than perfect roads.The R version is astonishingly powerful. A supercharged 5.0-litre V8 makes some 404kW and 680Nm, which is way more than you could ever use on public roads. It blasts from 0-100km/h in just 4.2, which is smidgeon faster (0.1secs) than the Carrera S Porsche auto. The Jag’s pace is great, but theexhaust note is even better. Press a button on the centre console and this cat snaps from domesticated to feral in an instant. It roars wildly on acceleration and bangs like mortar rounds when you back off. The exhaust is so loud that you should consider turning it off in the early morning and late at night for fear of waking the neighbourhood.The fuel consumption is ordinary, some 11.1L/100km, and is worse out on the road, but few owners will care.The F-Type R is seriously overpriced when you factor in all the options that should be standard, but no other car in that price range delivers the same heady mix of beauty, performance and sound.The R version rides on 20-inch wheels, has quad exhaust pipes, performance brakes and special bonnet vents. It has leather sports seats and the switchable sports exhaust.Several items that should be standard on a car this costly include a reversing camera ($1725), heated seats ($1410), digital radio receiver ($600) and a blind spot warning system (along with a collision warning system) ($1500).Warranty: is three years/unlimited kmService: No capped serviceResale: N/A

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the 2014 Jaguar XFR-S with specs, fuel economy and verdict.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Hyundai Genesis with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

There's a big price difference yet the Mazda and Mercedes are vying for No.2 spot behind Camry in the medium sedan segment.

Joshua Dowling road tests and reviews the 2014 Peugeot RCZ R, with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Ewan Kennedy road tests and reviews the Audi S1 Sportback with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Peter Anderson road tests and reviews the Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 Sport 4Matic with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Peter Barnwell road tests and reviews the 2014 Lexus NX300h.

It is almost impossible to describe the acceleration in the Tesla Model S electric car. It would be brutal except there is almost no noise, the leather-lined cabin is pampering and calm, and the ride over bumps so gentle and smooth.But it accelerates so fast it challenges the senses. The closest example I can think of is the start of a high-speed roller coaster.Your head hits the headrest behind you, your eyes push back into their sockets and you hang on.The difference is that the Tesla isn't on rails, you can steer it wherever you want to go. Well, almost.The maximum range in ideal driving conditions is 500km, and it requires a unique charging adaptor (to handle 40 amps), so you can't top up at home or work without a $1000 installation. Floor it like we did and maximum range suddenly drops to 160km.Which means, for now, it's one of the most amazing cars money can buy providing you don't venture further than between 80km and 250km from home, because otherwise you'd have to tow it back.Anyone who dismisses electric cars as the weaklings of the automotive industry need to go for a ride in one of these. Without exaggeration, it would give a supercharged HSV GTS – Australia's fastest and most powerful sedan – a bloody nose before it overtook a Mercedes-Benz AMG E63. And you wouldn't even hear it coming.We couldn't replicate Tesla's claim of a 0 to 100km/h time of 3.8 seconds, but it'll repeatedly complete the feat in a sub 5.0-second time with the same effort as brushing your teeth.Then there is the surprise and delight factor: it has the largest display screen of any car on sale. Forget tablet, it's more like a desk-top screen that has been fitted vertically.There are only two buttons inside: the glovebox and hazard light switch. The doors open as you approach the car, and lock as you drive off, blending in with the profile of the doors, so no-one could car-jack you if they tried.Some of the technology is genius, such as the memory setting for raising the suspension for steep drive-ways. When you slow down for the same drive-way next time, the car remembers the GPS position and does it automatically.The car turns itself off after you walk away, which is an eerie feeling and took some getting used to.It's the one electric car that looks like it's actually worth the price being asked. The Tesla Model S easily competes with other cars in the $100,000 to $220,000 price bracket (the price depends on the size of the battery pack and the number of options).But it's worth noting a car with all this technology is able to limbo to this price because a large chunk of it has been subsidised by a US government trying to reduce its dependence on oil. So the Tesla Model S is not exactly competing on a level playing field just yet.