Luxury Reviews

Maserati's Trofeo badge represents its most extreme, track-focused vehicles, which makes it a bit of a surprise for a company generally known for building luxurious and beautiful cruisers (and the odd SUV these days). The Trofeo Ghibli is Maserati turned up to 11, then. Let's have a listen.

It is still hard for some of us to get our heads around the idea of SUVs that are built for race-track work, or at least built to be capable of it. What is even stranger is when a luxury brand like Maserati builds one, like the Levante Trofeo. That Trofeo badge means Maserati at its maddest. Hold on.

How does this new addition to the Volkswagen range of SUVs, the compact T-Roc 110TSI, compare to the others? Well, the secret is in the name, this car kind of rocks.

The majority of new car buyers may be going nuts for SUVs but Mercedes-Benz continues to hone it's mid-size E-Class sedan down to a fine point. Why should the traditionalists miss out?

The Lexus IS350 is the solitary six-cylinder variant of the mid-size sedan. Those with long memories will know the original was exclusively six-cylinder in Australia. After a big facelift that included a lot of reworking of the rear suspension, we've got the best looking IS in 20 years.

Mercedes has added another SUV into its already-crowded high-riding line-up, but does the GLB do enough to justify its existence? And should families consider one over a GLA or GLC?

The Lexus LS has long been a quiet achiever - literally, so, given that the 1989 original set a new standard in refinement and comfort - and now, the fifth-generation's facelift aims to do the same. Painstaking effort has gone into making an already sophisticated limo even more so, while improving the cosseting and comfy ride too in the process. The result is an efficient, luxurious performer.

The Turbo sits above the entry-level 4S and below the flagship Turbo S in the Porsche Taycan line-up, with it priced from $268,500 plus on-road costs.Standard equipment includes rear torque vectoring, sports-tuned three-chamber air suspension with adaptive dampers and active anti-roll bars, ceramic-coated cast-iron brakes (410mm front and 365mm rear discs with six- and four-piston calipers respectively), dusk-sensing Matrix LED headlights, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, 20-inch 'Turbo Aero' alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, a power-operated tailgate and body-colour exterior trim.Inside, keyless entry and start, satellite navigation with live traffic, Apple CarPlay support, digital radio, a 710W Bose sound system with 14 speakers, a heated steering wheel, 14-way power-adjustable front seats with heating and cooling, heated rear seats and four-zone climate control feature.ANCAP hasn’t awarded the Taycan line-up a safety rating yet. Advanced driver-assist systems in all grades extend to autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, surround-view cameras, front and rear parking sensors, and tyre pressure monitoring.The Turbo is powered by two permanent magnet synchronous electric motors, which are split between the front and rear axles to enable all-wheel drive, with the former fitted with a single-speed automatic transmission, while the latter has a two-speed unit. Together, they produce up to 500kW of power and 850Nm of torque. Electricity use on the combined-cycle test (ADR 81/02) is 28.0kWh/100km, while driving range is 420km.

The 4S sits below the mid-range Turbo and flagship Turbo S in the Porsche Taycan line-up, with it priced from $190,400 plus on-road costs.Standard equipment includes three-chamber air suspension with adaptive dampers, cast-iron brakes (360mm front and 358mm rear discs with six- and four-piston calipers respectively), dusk-sensing LED headlights, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, 20-inch 'Sport Aero' alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, a power-operated tailgate and black exterior trim.Inside, keyless entry and start, satellite navigation with live traffic, Apple CarPlay support, digital radio, a 710W Bose sound system with 14 speakers, a heated steering wheel, 14-way power-adjustable front seats with heating and cooling, and dual-zone climate control feature.ANCAP hasn’t awarded the Taycan line-up a safety rating yet. Advanced driver-assist systems in all grades extend to autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, surround-view cameras, front and rear parking sensors, and tyre pressure monitoring.The 4S is powered by two permanent magnet synchronous electric motors, which are split between the front and rear axles to enable all-wheel drive, with the former fitted with a single-speed automatic transmission, while the latter has a two-speed unit. Together, they produce up to 390kW of power and 640Nm of torque. Electricity use on the combined-cycle test (ADR 81/02) is 26.2kWh/100km, while driving range is 365km. 

The Turbo S sits above the entry-level 4S and mid-range Turbo in the Porsche Taycan line-up, with it priced from $338,500 plus on-road costs.Standard equipment includes 'Electric Sport Sound', the 'Sport Chrono' package, rear torque vectoring, speed-sensitive and rear-axle steering, sports-tuned three-chamber air suspension with adaptive dampers and active anti-roll bars, carbon-ceramic brakes (420mm front and 410mm rear discs with 10- and four-piston calipers respectively), dusk-sensing Matrix LED headlights, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, 21-inch 'Mission E Design' alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, a power-operated tailgate and carbon-fibre exterior trim.Inside, keyless entry and start, satellite navigation with live traffic, Apple CarPlay support, digital radio, a 710W Bose sound system with 14 speakers, a heated sports steering wheel, 18-way power-adjustable front sports seats with heating and cooling, heated rear seats and four-zone climate control feature.ANCAP hasn’t awarded the Taycan line-up a safety rating yet. Advanced driver-assist systems in all grades extend to autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, surround-view cameras, front and rear parking sensors, and tyre pressure monitoring.The Turbo is powered by two permanent magnet synchronous electric motors, which are split between the front and rear axles to enable all-wheel drive, with the former fitted with a single-speed automatic transmission, while the latter has a two-speed unit. Together, they produce up to 560kW of power and 1050Nm of torque. Electricity use on the combined-cycle test (ADR 81/02) is 28.5kWh/100km, while driving range is 405km.