Articles by CarsGuide team

The Clio is more adventurous in design but likely to be more affordable, opening the way for serious sales against Volkswagen here without resorting to dollar deals with rental companies.

The new look is dominated by a large flat front with huge headlights on the end of a longer nose for pedestrian protection.Carparazzi says the cabin loses the centre-mounted speedo that has been a retro link since the sixties icon was re-birthed by BMW Group. 

Designed for the younger generation of off-road riders, the new CRF boasts a brand new engine with electric start, a new chassis plus CRF450R motocross styling all rolled into one appealing package that is ready to whip the competition. A replacement for the CRF70, the CRF110F's air-cooled, two-valve, SOHC engine now displaces 109cc, rather than 72cc of its predecessor. With power and torque figures rising significantly, the result is greatly improved performance everywhere in the rev-range, and much stronger and more consistent drive out of corners. The automatic twin clutch system features two types of independent clutch, one for starting and the other for shifting, making changing gears easier and smoother than a conventional system. To make best use of the CRF110F's extra power and torque a new chassis was required. The new steel backbone frame and swingarm blends a high balance of rigidity with a certain amount of tuned flex, allowing the rider to fully exploit the engine's capabilities. The suspension has been completely upgraded for better traction and stability. The telescopic front fork diameter is 31mm, 4mm larger than the CRF70F and has 100mm of travel, while the rear shock absorber features a 28mm piston damper, up 7mm, with 90mm travel. Drum brakes front and rear provide ample, and measured braking force. Echoing the styling of the 2013 CRF450R, the CRF110F encompasses similar `triangular proportions' and has a crisp and modern appearance. The newly designed graphics employ the same colour scheme as past CRFs but have been rearranged to express the fresh character of the new addition to the line-up. Aimed at the 8 to 10 year olds, Honda's new CRF110F will ensure ease of use thanks to wide-set foot pegs which increase control and the redesigned kick-starter which is easier to use. Seat height is only 5mm higher than the CRF70F but remains the lowest in class, and the wheelbase is 7mm longer at 1070mm and the tyre size remains the same at 14-inch for the front and 12-inch rear. The CRF110F provide a valuable stepping-stone up to more competition focused CRFs while also being ideal for leisure riding. Launch date is late 2012.  

The B-Max -- which is on the cards for next year -- has hinged front doors and sliding rear doors that integrate the central body pillars, providing easy access for passengers and luggage.The game-changing system is the culmination of intensive collaboration between designers and engineers to transform a tentative first sketch into a fundamental feature of the production-ready B-MAX.The so called "Easy Door Access System" makes loading bulky items, or helping children in and out of the car in tight spaces, a breeze, as well as delivering excellent crash protection When fully open, a 1.5-metre wide unobstructed opening is created on either side of the car.Most rear door openings provide around half that space.In developing the concept, a team spent several days observing drivers in their daily routine to understand exactly what customers really wanted in a compact car.Engineers then took on the challenge of producing a safe and practical vehicle which would meet those needs. They moved the high-strength body-structure from the central body pillars and integrated it directly into the doors to ensure excellent crash protection, particularly in the event of a side impact.Special ultra-high-strength steels, which provide up to five times the strength of conventional mild steel, were used in key parts of the body and doors to create an extremely strong and stiff structure without adding extra weight.The process involved intense testing and analysis at every stage. More than 1,000 detailed computer simulations were conducted over three years to optimize side impact crash performance.The B-Max interior is packed with features which take maximum advantage of the Easy Access Door System. The rear seats and the front passenger seat can be folded flat to create a large, convenient load platform, to accommodate everything from bicycles to flat-pack furniture. 

The new Peugeot 301 has been specifically designed to appeal to a wide customer base attracted by four-door sedans

Google’s street-mapping cars have been crawling all over the globe, but they come to a halt at some of the narrow streets in Europe. These centuries-old cobblestoned slots between the picture postcard buildings were originally designed to take foot and horse traffic – or the occasional slim carriage. Yes, they take car traffic – but it’s generally, small, careful and involves a bit of negotiating over who gets right of way. So the Google vehicles loaded with camera equipment had to give those streets a miss when doing their rounds. Toyota has come to the rescue to literally put them back on the Street View map – with the help of the public. Armed with the miniature Toyota iQ and a 360 degree camera, Toyota aims to fill in the cyber-gaps of Street View. This little car is small enough to fit down most of the world’s narrow streets that Google’s wide boy vehicles were not able to. With the project well underway – aptly named iQ Street View – a Google Street View-like website has been created. Users can see the areas mapped so far and help out by tagging streets and alleyways that have not yet been captured. While the aim is to provide the world with a more complete virtual map, snapping public areas (and the general public) can have unexpected results. Google’s cars have already collected a sizeable library of hilarious, puzzling and bizarre moments on the open roads. Just imagine what Toyota may unearth within the more secretive sections of our cities and suburbs. It’s great that Toyota has such concern for making sure Google’s map options are fully populated. Of course, cynics might say it’s just a not-so-subtle marketing promotion for their tiny city car.  But while they’re at it, could we get them to map the Bondi Junction Westfield maze and Melbourne’s behemoth Chadstone shopping centre. My sister’s been phoning from the latter for the past three years and would really like to find her way home.  

The i30, launched in Australia last week, is the first new generation Hyundai to be fitted with a satellite navigation system

Electric motors are appearing on all kinds of alternative transport, mostly aimed at inner-city streets. But the extreme Gnarboard 4WD Trail Rider is one designed to get right off the road.You might be thinking 3.4kW - and peak power of 16.5kW -- is a bit ho-hum for a set of electric wheels. But when they’re at each corner of a 39kg skateboard it’s more than enough to get it flying around your average goat track and taking on the kind of tough terrain that’s usually only tackled by 4WDs.But that’s not to say you can’t use it when you get back to town. The Trail Rider has a range of about 25km, and takes just two hours to fully recharge. It has a top speed of 55km/h - and on sealed surfaces it can hit it in an astonishing 1.9 seconds. So if you do happen to be in the city, you can drag off just about anything at the lights, short of the Ferrari class.So what’s to prevent this from being your next commuter solution? The $6200 price might be a bit steep, but the real obstacle is supply.California-based industrial designer Joshua Tulberg hand-builds the boards in conjunction with a group of small local businesses - at the rate of three a month. Radically slow, dude. 

While price and spec will be different here, the keenly anticipated performance hatchback, has gone on sale in the UK priced from $21,995 (A$35,000) on the road. Powered by an advanced, direct-injection 2.0-litre, all-alloy, turbocharged, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, the powerful ST is capable of returning 7.15 litres/100km and as little as 169g/km of CO2.  Highly developed suspension, non-linear variable-ratio steering and performance brakes have all been specifically tuned, while the striking central exhaust, imposing trapezoidal front grille and even the Tangerine Scream paint option which were inspired by the original Ford Focus ST Concept, have been brought to production. Focus ST will be available in both hatchback and estate bodystyles (in the UK). It will have a high level of comfort, safety and convenience features standard. UK spec' includes Ford Power keyless start, Recaro seats, DAB radio, Bluetooth and 18in alloy wheels, with the range-topping ST3 model adding heated, leather seats, bi-xenon headlights, LED daytime running lights and keyless entry. Additional sports styling options include rado-grey alloys wheels, red brake calipers and illuminated scuff plates. The new Focus ST was developed jointly by Ford's Team RS in Europe and its Special Vehicles Team (SVT) in the United States. The car goes on sale in 40 countries, from this year.  

Honda is reverting to Thai-built Jazz, Civic, CR-V and City models following the repair of its Ayutthaya plant after devastating floods last year. Buyers who prefer sushi to pad thai better get in quickly as the brief supply of Japanese-built Hondas (excluding Accord Euro, Legend, CRZ and Odyssey) will soon dry up. Thailand has a lot of appeal for motor manufacturers wanting to cut costs because of low labour rates running at about $300 a month for assembly line workers. Labour costs for the extensive component supply industry in Thailand would be similar or lower. It comes as no surprise that some four million vehicles a year come out of Thailand, many of them Hondas. They have been using Thailand as the source for much of the Australian Honda inventory for quite a few years. Honda Australia wants to sell 40,000 vehicles in Australia this year. Honda says its facilities around the world adhere to the same strict manufacturing standards, with quality assured from every factory no matter where it is located. Honda Australia imports vehicles from Japan, Thailand and the United Kingdom.