19 November 2020 by Byron Mathioudakis
Few cars have improved as much over their immediate predecessors as Nissan’s Juke. Though a 1.5 million-selling global smash hit, the old F15 original bombed in Australia, languishing as a divisive, cramped, noisy, cheaply presented and yet expensive oddball alternative to the Mazda CX-3 and Honda...Read more
10 November 2020 by Byron Mathioudakis
Is the Volkswagen T-Roc a Golf in drag? That’s a compliment, given the charisma, nerve, uniqueness and talent that such a transformation implies. More importantly, does T-Roc deserve to carry the Golf -of-crossovers tiara? Sat below the related Tiguan but above the Polo-derived T-Cross, the...Read more
30 October 2020 by Tom White
It’s dark times in the world of small hatchbacks. Once a strong segment in Australia’s market, safety, emissions, and logistics challenges have driven the price up on stalwart favourites (like the Toyota Yaris ) and pushed many nameplates (like the Honda Jazz ) out of Australia altogether. So in...Read more
27 October 2020 by Richard Berry
Is the Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 4Matic a good urban car? Seems like it should be. After all, besides being a small SUV from a luxury brand, the German five-seater crossover is also the latest incarnation of the GLA – the second-generation version that only arrived in 2020. Well, my little family and I...Read more
23 October 2020 by Richard Berry
The Citroen C3 is a little hatchback like the Kia Rio, Mazda 2 or the Suzuki Swift but it’s different to them, which is why you’re here, I think. The C3 is different , not in a technological or engineering sense, but in the style stakes. It’s a premium and quirky French take on the tiny-car-thing...Read more
22 October 2020 by Tom White
The Toyota Yaris is one of those cars which, alongside many other Toyotas, has gradually become an icon of Australia’s motoring landscape. Toyota says it has sold more than 250,000 of them Down Under. But in an era where profitably selling small cars in Australia is an increasingly difficult...Read more
8 October 2020 by Richard Berry
Don’t let people talk you into buying a tiny car just because you live in the city. That’s what I’ve learnt from being a car reviewer and living about eight kilometres from the CBD. Yes, car spaces are small, or almost non existent, but the people that live there are as full-sized as people...Read more
28 September 2020 by Tom White
The Kia Picanto is not only one of the smallest brand new cars you can buy in Australia, it’s also one of the most affordable. Despite that though, the Picanto and cars like it are becoming an increasingly rare breed in Australia. Read More: Kia Picanto 2021 review: S snapshot This is partially...Read more
28 September 2020 by Tom White
The Picanto GT-Line is the mid-grade in the small car’s Australian lineup, and will be joined later in 2020 by the top-spec GT. The GT-Line wears an aggressive bodykit and has projector headlights with LED DRLs. For the 2021 model year it also has a new bumper design front and rear, new 16-inch...Read more
28 September 2020 by Tom White
The Kia Picanto S is the Korean brand’s smallest and most affordable car in Australia. Wearing an MSRP of just $14,690 for the five-speed manual version, the Picanto is one of the most affordable new cars on the Australian market. A four-speed automatic can be had at a $1500 premium, at $16,290...Read more
9 September 2020 by Peter Anderson
Way back in April, Suzuki proudly announced the release of the Suzuki Swift Sport Series II. The third-generation of the plucky Japanese warm/hot hatch has never reached the heights of popularity its '90s grandfather, the Swift GTi, attained, so an update is always eagerly examined by people of a...Read more
9 September 2020 by Peter Anderson
Citroen's C4 Cactus made quite an impression. A polarising machine, it was the Frenchest French car for ages which translated into almost no local sales but admiration for the bravery of those who signed it off. It did quite well in its home market though and its designers took note. When the...Read more
7 September 2020 by Andrew Chesterton
The Kia Seltos Sport+ is a small SUV with big aspirations. But can the Kia's newest SUV cut it in our long-term garage. We asked Andrew Chesterton to put it to the urban family (two adults, one very small corgi) test to find out.Read more
13 August 2020 by Byron Mathioudakis
Sometimes a new model arrives with one particular grade that seems to exceed the sum of its pricing as well as parts. Just such a model is the entry-level Kia Seltos, the S. Launched in late 2019 as the company’s small SUV answer to the successful Mitsubishi ASX , the SP2-series Seltos is a lot...Read more
11 August 2020 by Byron Mathioudakis
Mazda, it seems, is embarking on a spot of social climbing. After years of affordable, well-engineered and highly popular alternatives to Toyota , Japan's smallest big carmaker has set its sights higher, starting with last year's redesigned Mazda3 . Costing about 10 per cent more than the Toyota...Read more
4 August 2020 by Peter Anderson
Here's a test for you. When was the last time you saw a Suzuki S-Cross? Now let me tell you you've probably seen one more recently than you think, because not only does Suzuki still sell them (I was certain they had quietly dropped it), but it actually sells almost a thousand new ones every year...Read more
29 July 2020 by Tom White
One thing is clear: The Suzuki Jimny does not need this media coverage. No. The quaint little off-roader is somehow so entrenched in the Australian mindset that for the first year of this fourth-gen model's existence, there has been a waiting list to get one consistently between six and 12 months...Read more
29 July 2020 by Tom White
It’s safe to say that my little family of two is in the target market for Hyundai’s Veloster. Young salaried professionals at a life stage where they could perhaps be considering their first brand new vehicle, with no family extension plans, at least for the time being. My partner, incidentally, is...Read more
27 July 2020 by Byron Mathioudakis
The clue’s in the name. A permanent fixture of the small-car scene for nearly 50 years, the Honda Civic has long been a strong urban runabout proposition, providing quality, efficient and progressive engineering at affordable prices. For 2020, a minor raft of changes to the hatchback version...Read more
7 July 2020 by Tom White
What’s in a badge? Would someone who would normally be hopping into something like a Lexus really be tempted into a Mazda at an almost $10,000 discount? Heck, even if the CX-30 is truly better than one of its premium competitors, would it matter? Mazda’s upmarket push has put it in an interesting...Read more