Articles by CarsGuide team

The $74,900 A45 AMG may halve the price of entry and average cylinder count of Mercedes-Benz’s performance brand, but the hot hatch well and truly delivers on performance expectations. With claimed 0-100km/h acceleration of 4.6 seconds and a limited top speed of 270km/h, the A45’s hand-built 265kW/450Nm M133 2.0 litre turbocharged engine is touted as “the world's most powerful four-cylinder engine in series production.”   Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG Price: from $74,900 Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo; 265kW/450Nm Transmission: 7-speed auto, all-wheel-drive Thirst: 6.9L/100km                   RIVALS Price: from $64,900 Engine: 3.0L turbo six-cylinder, 235kW/450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic, RWD Thirst: 7.5L/100km, 175g/km CO2 Price: from $54,990 Engine: 2.5L turbo four-cylinder, 221kW/350Nm Transmission: 5-speed automatic, 4WD Thirst: 10.6L/100km, 249g/km CO2 Price: from $61,990 (Evolution X SST) Engine: 2.0L turbo four-cylinder, 217kW/366Nm Transmission: 6-speed dual-clutch automatic, 4WD Thirst: 10.1L/100km, 240g/km CO2  

Holden sold its last Combo in May and has no plans to import any more of the practical vans. The Combo was the last vehicle Holden sourced from its German sister company Opel.A few years ago, the company also took its Barina mini car and Vectra medium car from Europe but their replacements are now imported from the South Korean division of General Motors. It was not clear whether or not Opel would eventually introduce the new generation Combo van to local customers after the brand was launched in Australia last September.The answer turned out to be a resounding no given Opel's shock decision to pull the plug on its embryonic Australian operation in early August. Holden could still import the new Opel Combo and slap its own badge on the nose, but Holden spokeswoman, Andrea Matthews, tells Carsguide that isn't going to happen."There are no plans to replace the Barina Combo," she says. Ms Matthews said the business case just doesn't support bringing the new Combo to Australia. Given the competitive nature of the small van market in Australia, which involves everything from the Volkswagen Caddy to the Renault Kangoo and Suzuki APV, it is not hard to see how Holden reached that conclusion. 

Feel unwell on the road? The raft of technology in the S-Max concept includes an innovative a heart-rate monitoring seat, glucose monitoring systems and a call function to get help from a doctor.There's also a wireless Internet hotspot, a tablet docking station and a SYNC AppLink that allows drivers to control their smartphone apps via voice activation. Driving technology includes an environment monitoring system, Car 2 Car communications, a parking assistant and a collision warning system.Watch the video here.

Ford shows off its future design and tech with the S-Max people-mover concept. The Ford S-Max concept features styling that will be appear on coming Ford models, including a high mounted grille, swept-back headlights and an indented lower spoiler.The body gets sweeping character lines along the flanks to give an impression of length and speed and muscular shoulders. For the interior, designers have adopted a driver-focused layout and premium materials. Soft leather wraps the instrument panel, while more leather and even some carbon fibre can be found on the seats.Watch the video here.

Watch the video here.

The 2015 Audi A8 sedan now boasts more powerful and efficient engines and a range of new assistance systems.Designers have tweaked the exterior styling, as the patterns in the lights are new and the grille and lower bumper are more sculpted. For the interior, Audi now offers more options including ventilation and massage functions on more models.What is new are some of the electronic assistance systems. These include lane assist, parking assist, a head-up display and a night vision assist that can recognise both animals and pedestrians. Watch the video here  

As many as eight SUVs will crowd into Mercedes-Benz showrooms in Australia within five years as the German brand expands its family-friendly lineup. Watch the video here