Articles by Andrew Chesterton

As we prepare to close the curtain on 2025, the Australian new car market looks a very different place than it did at this time last year.

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.

BYD is plotting a huge move that could make it just about unstoppable in Australia, with the brand's top executives confirming a local ride and handling project is coming that will properly tailor the Chinese brand's vehicles for our market.

The flagship of the three-model Kia Stonic family, the GT-Line is also obviously the most expensive, at $35,740. That’s about $3.5K more than the mid-tier Sport and a significant $7.5K more than the entry-level S.

The Sport occupies the middle rung of the three-tier Stonic line-up, sitting above the cheap-as-chips S but below the flagship GT-Line.

The Stonic S opens the batting for Kia’s cheap and cheerful city SUV, listing at just $28,180 in its cheapest guise.

Kia has detailed a timeline of when to expect key updates for its Tasman ute, including its long-awaited Ford Everest-fighting SUV version and a petrol-hybrid powertrain.

I know, I know, the small passenger car segment is on its last legs in Australia. Dying, if not already dead. The eulogy is written. The hole has been dug. All that's left is to lower the few remaining stragglers into the ground.The problem is, nobody seems to have told Kia. The Korean brand is doubling (or even tripling, if you consider the Picanto) down on its passenger car offering in Australia with the launch of the K4 hatch.You're no doubt already familiar with the K4 sedan – the brand's Cerato-replacing small car that arrived in Australia at the beginning of this year. But this slower-to-arrive hatch version is the one they've been waiting for."Australians are hatchback people," the brand tells us, and so this wagon-esque body shape will be the model's best-seller. And considering the sedan managed 5942 sales to the end of November (in a segment that shrank by 23.6 per cent over the same period) that would be good news for Kia.It's worth remembering here that this is supposed to be one of Kia's entry-level vehicles, but it really doesn't look like it, does it? I love the new design language on both K4 examples, but I like this one even better, mostly because it blends Kia's future-friendly front-end design with a sportier-feeling silhouette.It also doesn't look like a hatchback, at least in the traditional sense. It might be shorter than the sedan (4440mm versus 4710mm), but the way the design seems to stretch back from the b-pillar gives the K4 hatch a kind of wagon-ish profile.Like the sedan, the K4 hatch is available in five grades, and pricing and equipment is identical across the body styles. That means no matter the shape you choose, you can have a K4 S for $32,090, an S with Safety Pack for $34,190, a Sport for $36,690, a Sport+ for $39,090 or a GT-Line for $43,790.I won't detail the full spec here, but we have a detailed article that covers all the inclusions at each price point.In hatch guise, I've only really tested the GT-Line trim, and yes, nearly $44k before on-roads is a sizeable ask, but I've got to say it does also feel quite plush in the cabin. All the materials kind of melt under the touch, and you get leather-ish seats trimmed – in my test car at least – in sharp-looking white and black.The twin-screen setup (one 12.3-inch screen for multimedia and another for driving info, with a climate control panel sandwiched between) is probably my favourite iteration of Kia's cabin layout, because not only do you get the tech, you also get a whole bunch of shortcut buttons so you don't have to go digging through screens every time you want to do something.But the big news for most of the K4 range is a new and more efficient 2.0-litre engine with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that drops power slightly, and fuel use more significantly.The new engine and gearbox combination makes 110kW and 180Nm, compared to 112kW and 192Nm, with fuel use falling from 7.4L/100km to a more frugal six litres flat.The K4 hatch is slightly shorter and slightly lower than the Cerato that it effectively replaces, but there is some clever interior packaging, so much so in fact that Kia says you get more legroom and headroom in both the front row and the second row than you did in the old Cerato, but marginally less shoulder room in the back seat.What does that mean in real terms? It means that I think you'd actually get away with this as a family car, at least in terms of passenger space.Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had tonnes of knee room and enough headroom to get comfortable. Yes, it would be tight with three adults across the back, but you could have two kids back there, or a child seat or two, easily. But it is at the boot where the first chink in that family-friendly armour does appear. The boot is 438 litres VDA, which is very solid, but not good enough to swallow a massive pram comfortably. There is, however, a space-saver spare under the boot floor, which is a tick.I'm going to have to limit my drive impressions to the GT-Line, which is possibly no bad thing. A turbocharged engine and an actual gearbox is a rarity in the world of cars these days, plus the 1.6-litre turbo and eight-speed automatic reserved for the GT-Line makes 142kW and 265Nm – both big jumps over the rest of the range.I've driven a lot of newcomer brands to the country recently, and I've got to say, really none of them shine on Australian roads the way that cars have been tuned and tested here shine on Australian roads, and the K4 hatch is no exception. It rides firmly but comfortably, the steering is nicely weighted, and there's a level of engagement to the experience sometimes lacking from the competition.Now, that's not to say it isn't without some quirks. It can feel a little bit loud and ragged in the cabin when you put your foot down. And the steering, which has a really nice weight to it, doesn't feel overly linear all the time either. When you turn into a corner, sometimes it feels like you have to have another bite at it, or less of a bite of it. It's like it turns on some lock and then a lot of lock all at once.But in terms of cruising around the city or the suburbs, this thing is comfortable, mostly quiet, and easy to live with, and it'll do pretty much what you need it to do without too much drama.But one final caveat. Before I set out to film this car for the video review above, I had to studiously make sure that all the safety systems were either turned off or turned to silent, because you just know they're going to interrupt filming with bings and bongs and chimes.That is a curse of the modern car. I really do hope they find a way to iron it out sooner rather than later, because believe me, you will get familiar with turning off the safety systems in this one, too.

The Kia Stonic has just come in for a very big upgrade, without being a complete model changeover. But is it enough to compete with the top-selling Chery Tiggo 4 and new Mahindra XUV 3XO?

Denza's Toyota LandCruiser Prado-hunting 4WD, the B5, has officially been launched in Australia, with the plug-in hybrid powerhouse from BYD's luxury brand priced from $74,990.