Articles by Chris Thompson

Long the domain of first-car buyers and suburbanites winding down on their driving years, the Toyota Yaris is now hybrid-only, and is a far cry from the $15,000-or-so cheap and cheerful staple it once was.Does more than $30,000 of light hatch really feel worth it once you're behind the wheel, or are you better off pocketing almost $10,000 to save on one of the thinning pack of rivals?

The Kia EV3 has only just launched in Australia with its first sales registered in March 2025, but Kia has another, smaller member of its EV family up its sleeve.The Kia EV2 is a Europe-focused, all-electric light SUV set to share a family resemblance with the EV3, EV5, EV6 and EV9.Given the popularity of small, affordable electric cars in Australia - and the fact Kia expects to sell the EV3 in its thousands per year - it would make sense that Kia Australia would be interested in a smaller, more affordable city-friendly electric car.After all, sibling brand Hyundai offers the Inster light electric SUV in Australia.At the launch of the Kia EV3 earlier this year, CarsGuide asked Kia Australia General Manager of Product Planning Roland Rivero about the local plan for the EV2.“We'd love to bring it in. The only issue we have with EV2 - and EV4 hatchback too for that matter as well - is it's produced out of Slovakia,” Rivero said. “Most of that production capacity is slated for Western Europe, for the European market.”Kia Australia has brought cars in from Slovakia before, most notably the Sportage SUV in 2013 when it aimed to get a more consistent supply than South Korea was able to provide.According to Rivero, the brand learned getting cars from Slovakia brought with it some hurdles. Kia Australia now sources the Sportage from the Gwangju facility in South Korea.“So one, it would be probably difficult to get some supply, because it's targeting Europe. And two, logistically it'll be difficult as well.“There's no port in Slovakia, so you've got to actually put them on a train to a port in Germany, and then it's transshipped to the west side via Singapore, for example.“So it's not the most ideal… and we've been through that with Pro_Cee'd GT in the past and SL Sportage.“It’s not easy to bring cars in from Slovakia. It’s just not practical at the moment.”The EV2 hasn’t been properly launched yet, while the Kia EV4 mentioned by Rivero is confirmed for Australia in sedan form only - not as a hatchback.The EV4 is similar in size to the brand’s K4, the replacement to the Kia Cerato, which is currently available in Australia in sedan guise.

The ‘green’ brand from Gaydon has a new toy, and it’s far from meek: Aston Martin has revealed a new flagship version of its DBX SUV to sit atop the range.The 2025 Aston Martin DBX S is the new halo version of the UK’s rival to the Ferrari Purosangue and Lamborghini Urus, and it’s got the chops to stand up to both.With its twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine cranked up to 535kW and 900Nm, up from the 520kW in the almost-as-wicked DBX 707, the new top-dog DBX can hit 100km in 3.3 seconds, and go on to 200km/h quicker than most family cars even hit the ton: 7.2 seconds.The five-door, five-seat SUV could still function as a family car, for only the most unhinged school runs, but the DBX S comes with a host of luxury and performance features that would give any parent pause before letting a little one into its Alcantara-shod interior.Outside, design cues like black trim, chrome, ‘S’ badging and carbon fibre give the game away, while a staggered quad-exit exhaust might be the biggest tell.Inside, the ‘S’ theme continues with more Alcantara blended with leather, a herringbone seat design and specific trim elements, while the Alcantara can be replaced with entirely semi-analine leather.Importantly, weight reduction was a focus in developing the DBX S, with an optional carbon fibre roof “which, at almost three metres square, is by far the largest such carbon element ever fitted to an Aston Martin” saving 18kg from the highest point of the car. Furthermore, optional 23-inch magnesium wheels save 19kg of unsprung weight from the car.The DBX S is available to configure on the Aston Martin Australia website. Pricing isn’t yet confirmed, but given the standard DBX is $387,500 before on-roads and the DBX 707 comes in at $429,000, a DBX S with a couple of options ticked could easily nudge half a million.

Renault has opened the order books for the second batch of its bespoke EV hot hatch, with 500 units available to regions including Australia.

Mazda’s flagship CX-90 SUV, and one of its newest additions to the brand’s line-up, has been quietly treated to a price-drop of thousands of dollars.

If any publicity is good publicity, Kia Australia must be rapt with the public’s response to the Tasman ute.

Chinese car maker NIO has officially launched its entry-level brand Firefly at Auto Shanghai 2025, with the small electric car of the same name possibly set for launch in Australia.

As Nissan confirms a next-gen ute to launch within the next 12 months and the brand’s North American executives discuss streamlining its global ute and pick-up range, Nissan has revealed a plug-in hybrid ute at Auto Shanghai 2025.The 2025 Nissan Frontier Pro ute is the first electrified 'pick-up' from the brand, with the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute seemingly based on the Yuanye Z9, built by Nissan’s joint venture partner in China, Dongfeng.The Frontier name comes from the American badge for Nissan’s mid-size ute, once the same as, and now a sibling to, the Nissan Navara.Importantly, Nissan says the Frontier Pro will be exported to other markets after its Chinese launch later this year, though which markets remains unconfirmed.The Frontier Pro boasts a 300kW/800Nm powertrain sending drive to all four wheels from its 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and transmission-mounted electric motor. Nissan says the Chinese market estimation for its EV-only range is 135km under New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) testing, which can be less accurate and more lenient than widely used WLTP test figures.Five-link rear suspension, an electromechanical rear differential lock, four drive modes ranging across 'Hybrid', 'Pure Electric', 'Performance' and 'Snow' plus chunky 265/65R18 tyres wrapped around serious-looking 18-inch alloys all suggest the Frontier Pro plug-in should have at least some capacity for off-roading.Further to the mechanicals, the PHEV ute wears a face inspired by the design of the D21 generation ‘Hardbody’ Navara, namely via three of its LED headlights spanning the top of the fascia, reminiscent of the bonnet intakes in the D21.Inside, the Frontier Pro isn’t harking back to the 1980s. A 10.0-inch driver display and a large 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen are joined by a two-spoke steering wheel, though as one would hope for in a work ute there are still physical controls for at least the climate control.Similarly important is the Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) port for powering or charging appliances via a household-style plug.The reveal of the Frontier Pro comes just after Chief Planning Officer for Nissan Americas Ponz Pandikuthira told US outlet MotorTrend the best plan going forward would be to streamline Nissan’s global ute and pick-up offerings: “Ideally we’d like to have a global convergence solution.”Interestingly, Pandikuthira said a plug-in hybrid would make the most sense for a single, global Nissan ute model to achieve solutions in most use cases. Pandikuthira also added that sooner rather than later is the plan: “We need to have a solution by . Three years from now.”Nissan had in March this year already confirmed “an all-new one-ton pickup” would launch in Japan’s 2026 financial year, which means anytime between April 2026 and March 2027.The model discussed in that plan is set to take advantage of Nissan’s links with Mitsubishi, potentially building a Nissan-badged Navara on the new Triton’s platform.As previously reported by CarsGuide, Nissan’s Chairperson of the AMEIO Region Guillaume Cartier told Australian media a new Navara would be on Australian soil in 2026.But don’t expect an electrified ute just yet - he clarified diesel is still the main dish for now."We need to make sure that if we electrify, how we electrify. I think it will be a two-step approach, first with a PHEV solution, then later on with EV," he said."That's what we're looking at, but first it will be with a diesel approach.”"On the first one we are with Mitsubishi, but the next one we are looking at. Because there is also technology we have in-house, which is solid-state battery, but that will take time.”It’s possible the “next one” Cartier referred to is the Frontier Pro plug-in just revealed in Shanghai, but time will tell.

A Nissan Americas executive has hinted at the future of the brand’s ute and pick-up family becoming much more streamlined.

More information about the upcoming electric sibling to the CX-5 has come from the Chinese joint-venture between Mazda and Changan - take a look inside the EZ-60.The 2025 Mazda EZ-60 SUV is an electric car that looks ready to take on the likes of the Tesla Model Y and XPeng G6, both also built in China. It’s also available as a range-extender, details of which were confirmed last week.Set to be called the Mazda CX-6e for global markets, the EZ-60 was revealed in mid-April but without details of its interior and features, until now.Inside, it seems Mazda has taken the trending approach of minimal physical buttons, instead relying on a huge central touchscreen for multimedia controls and no driver display screen, similar to a Tesla or the Volvo EX30.Instead, driving information is displayed on a head-up display. The screen measures 26.45-inches according to Chinese auto media, with CarNewsChina also reporting the car boasts a 23-speaker sound system with Dolby Atmos.There’s a rear touchscreen for passengers in the second row, a 350-litre boot that expands to 2036 litres with seats folded, and 126 litres of storage under the bonnet in the EV version.On that, the pure-electric version of the EZ-60 is said to be closely related to the EZ-6 sedan underneath, although specifications are yet to be officially confirmed.The range-extender on the other hand will come with a 31.7kWh LFP battery and a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine with no mechanical links to the wheels. A 190kW electric motor solely powers the range-extender EZ-60, the engine only charging the battery. The EZ-60 range-extender boasts a claimed 160km electric-only driving range.While the model is intended for markets outside China, more details of its global presence (including a probable European launch) are expected in the future. Mazda Australia has previously indicated interest in bringing any models that might appeal to the local market here where possible, so don’t be surprised if the EZ-60 (as the CX-6e) ends up Down Under if it's made available.