Articles by Dom Tripolone

Chinese behemoth Chery is at the forefront of futuristic, game-changing solid state batteries, and Australia could be inline to get the tech sooner rather than later.When asked whether solid state batteries would come to Australia, the answer was simple.“Why not”, said Peter Matkin, Chery's Director of Engineering.Chery Australia Chief Operating Officer Lucas Harris backed this up by stating, “Chery is the brand where you never say never.”Matkin said Chery covers all bandwidth with all the possible options, but the demand has to be there. Time will tell if Australia has that demand.Chery has claimed it will fit the futuristic cells — which are more energy dense and less prone to fire than conventional batteries — to some of its Exeed vehicles in China.Exeed is Chery’s tech and luxury focused sub-brand, which, if Harris gets his way, will land in Australia in the future.“I really like the Exeed product, and I think they make some, you know, really cool, really high end, actual luxury specification vehicles. If I could make a wish tomorrow and it would come true, that would probably be what I would ask for.”The first Exeed vehicle to score the new battery is the Liefend shooting brake, which is claimed to have an electric driving range of up to 1500km.This is due to the energy dense solid state batteries, which are claimed to store 600Wh per kg. That is about triple what an average electric vehicle can store now in its battery.The Exeed ES8 shooting brake is also in line for solid state power, with it claimed to have a driving range of more than 1000km.A timeline on when that technology could reach Australia in a Chery vehicle, or one of its sub brands, is hard to tell.Matkin said the technology is moving so fast and the Exeed brand is selling extremely well in China and other markets, which could push back the timeline, but he was confident it would come.“The technology will definitely pick up. They're already working on the solid state. So technology will come,” he said.

I drive a lot of electric cars, but I’ve had somewhat of an epiphany in my time with the Nissan Ariya Evolve e-4orce these past few months.Dual-motor EVs are mostly unnecessary.This issue has been gnawing at me for awhile, and it isn’t just the Ariya that is affected, but all EVs.There are a few reasons.One, is it adds extra weight to an already heavy car, which then affects how the suspension performs. Most dual-motor EVs have a bouncy rode and struggle to keep their hefty weight in checkTwo, is that extra weight, combined with the extra energy consumed by the second motor, means driving range is reduced considerably.The Ariya’s claimed driving range is is only 17km less than the single motor version at 487km. It has been verified via the Worldwide Harmonised Light-Duty Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), which is the benchmark measurement for EV ranges.During our time behind the wheel we have seen the Ariya Evolve e-4orce deliver less than 400km per charge. CarsGuide’s previous experience with the Ariya single motor variant has seen it deliver more than 500km per charge.Another reason to not go the dual motor route for your EV is your wallet. Ditching the second motor will save you big time, or about $8000 if you are shopping for an Ariya. This does include a few specification differences, but nothing life changing.The extra motor also requires more space, and as nearly every automotive engineer has told me over the past few decades, saving weight and space are the two biggest challenges they face.In the Ariya's case the extra motor eats into the boot space, dropping it from 466 litres in single-motor guise to 406 litres in the dual-motor version. There is no spare tyre either, with owners making do with a fiddly tyre repair kit that doesn't pass the pub test.This packaging issue affects all dual motor EVs, and all-wheel drive petrol and diesel cars, so it is not an isolated issue.Having all-wheel drive does add some benefits.The Ariya Evolve e-4orce is exceptionally composed and poised in the wet, with it handling Sydney summer storm downpours with ease, where front- or rear-wheel drive vehicles can slip and struggle to put the power down in greasy wet conditions.Lets not forget the second motor brings plenty of extra grunt, too.The Ariya Evolve e-4orce pumps up the outputs to a beefy 320kW and 600Nm, which is good enough to drop the zero to 100km sprint time to 5.6 seconds.You might not want your family electric SUV to go that fast, but there are plenty out there who do.I think the sweet spot for most electric car ranges, including the Ariya, is the single-motor version that delivers a real-world driving range of more than 500km.That 500km range appears to be the marker that removes most of the range anxiety.Moving along from the all-wheel drive/dual-motor conundrum I’ve been dealing with the past six weeks, the Ariya has shown off some of its quality.Without a doubt the Ariya’s cabin is its standout feature. It is a warm, comfortable and inviting space for my family of four.Child seats — front and rear facing — fit in the back pew with ease, and the supple Nappa leather-trimmed seat upholstery is easy to wipe down if needed.The Ariya’s egg-shape gives it a lofty feeling inside, with the high roof — along with the full length panoramic sunroof — giving it an airy feel that few can match.A head-up display — which projects vital information such as your travelling speed, prevailing speed limit and safety warnings onto the windscreen in front of the driver — should be standard on every car.It reduces distraction and means you are unlikely to ever creep over the speed limit. Speed bracket creep is a real thing in EVs, where there are often no audible cues to you accelerating as there is with petrol or diesel vehicles.The cabin materials are excellent, with plush and high-end elements throughout.Many passengers were impressed by the haptic button integrated in the faux wood dash trim and centre console. You can control some climate functions and switch the drive modes and engage the single pedal driving functions with these buttons.There are still some functions, such as more advanced climate and comfort controls, buried in the touchscreen.Nissan’s multimedia software falls behind tech-leading alternatives from newer brands.The centre console is bulky but lacks any proper storage options.As mentioned earlier, the boot is on the small side. It isn’t horrendously small, but squeezing everything in for a family of four is a struggle I often lose. A slow leak in the tyre meant a running repair needed to be done by the dealer, but the lack of a space saver or full size spare meant negotiating with the tyre repair kit. And I don’t negotiate with terrorists. It was easier and quicker to drive to the nearest petrol station to top up then it was to charge the inflator via the car’s 12-volt plug and then hook it up to the tyre.Next instalment we’ll give our final verdict on the Ariya Evolve e-4orce.2026 Nissan Ariya Evolve AWD Acquired: December 2025Distance travelled this month: 528kmOdometer: 6742kmAverage energy consumption this month: 20.7kWh/100km

BYD, Chery and GWM might seem like the new-car boogeymen to legacy carmakers, but a quiet giant is muscling up in China.Xiaomi, which is best known for making smartphones, has branched out into electric cars and put the car world on notice. It has a seriously big hit on its hands with the YU7 mid-size SUV.The Tesla Model Y rival was the best-selling passenger car in China during the first month of this year.It reportedly sold almost 38,000 units in January, which was more than double the Tesla Model Y.Xiaomi also smashed big name Chinese brands such as BYD and Geely to take the top spot.This could all be the tip of the iceberg as the brand received more than 400,000 orders just a month after it launched in 2025.The Chinese brand isn’t just content with dominating its home market, but has big plans for global domination.Europe appears to be first up, with Bloomberg reporting it would launch in the continent by 2027.Xiaomi is winning fans around the world, including Ford’s boss Jim Farley.The Blue Oval’s head honcho has gone on the record about how much he loves the Xiaomi SU7 - the sedan version of the YU7.Last year he told the Everything Electric Show: “I don’t like talking about the competition so much, but I drive a Xiaomi. We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago and I’ve been driving it for six months now, and I don’t want to give it up.”Ferrari has been seen benchmarking the high-performance SU7 at its Maranello headquarters ahead of the Prancing Horse’ coming first electric car. A fact no one would have believed a few short years ago.It is easy to see on paper why the YU7 is such a smash hit.In China the YU7 range kicks off with the Standard grade, featuring a single motor powering the rear wheels and producing 235W and 528Nm.The mid-tier Pro brings all-wheel drive and two motors with a combined output of 365kW and 690Nm.Both use a 96.3kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.   Range-topping Max is all-wheel drive and its dual motors up the ante with 508kW and 866Nm. That's enough grunt to throw this SUV from 0 to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds. At its core is a 101kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion battery.

The new Toyota LandCruiser FJ mini 4WD is the car Australia wants and needs but is denied… however, that could all change soon, according to new reports.Toyota’s little LandCruiser made its public debut at the 2025 Tokyo motor show, with rugged looks, built-in toughness and right-hand-drive production locked in.Toyota Australia’s then Vice President of Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley told CarsGuide at the time it would not be available to Australia because the 2.7-litre petrol engine only adheres to Euro 5 emissions regulations.“The LandCruiser name in Australia would be very appealing, but the hardcore reality is we are facing in our country… variable regulations, new criteria, new vehicle efficiency standards,” said Hanley.“It’s not about NVES, it’s just about regulations.“We’re moving to Euro 6 emissions standards. That’s the reality,” he said. Now reports out of Japan point to the FJ LandCruiser scoring a diesel option before the end of the decade, which could make it viable for Australia.The overseas report point to it using the same 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine with mild hybrid assistance as the current Toyota HiLux ute and Prado 4WD.That means it could gain 150kW and 500Nm of grunt, which is heaps for an off-roader similar in size to a RAV4. It is also a sizeable jump over the current version's 120kW and 246Nm 2.7-litre petrol motor.We won’t know the fate of the diesel FJ LandCruiser for sometime, as it's reportedly not being added to the line-up until 2029.At the Tokyo motor show last year Hanley said if the LandCruiser FJ’s engine was rated to Euro 6 standards, he would consider it for an Australian launch.“If it was Euro 6, I would reconsider it,” said Hanley.“If it does turn out to be a Euro 6 engine, and if it does turn out to be that way, which it could… then that’s something we could re-examine.”The emissions goal posts will have changed by the end of the decade, so there is still a chance that engine will not be available

Chery is going to shake up stale and uninteresting competitors in Australia.Chery Australia Chief Operating Officer Lucas Harris has revealed some of the cars on his wish list for Down Under, and the fast-rising Chinese brand has some of the biggest names in the business in its sights.“I think having a very small and then a small hatchback would be a game changer,” said Harris.“I think there’s a huge amount of potential in those segments, and at the moment I think those segments are a little bit stale and not that interesting.“So if we could bring something like the QQ, I think it’d be a huge amount of opportunity,” he said.That opens the door to two new cheap small cars from Chery’s city-focused QQ range.The very small hatch could refer to the QQ Domi, which was revealed last year.It is a pint-sized electric hatchback measuring just 3.7m long and 1.7m wide, which is just bigger than a Kia Picanto but smaller than a Suzuki Swift.It’s nearest EV competitor would be the larger BYD Atto 1, which is called Seagull in other markets.In China it launched at the equivalent of about $13,000. Chinese cars are usually 20 per cent more expensive here than the home market, which would mean it could lob in at about $16,000. That would make it not only Australia’s cheapest electric car, but the cheapest car overall.It has modest numbers to match its low price tag, with a single electric motor making 40kW and 110Nm sent to the front wheels. A little 28.5kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, which is about the same size as found in plug-in hybrids, delivers a claimed driving range of up to 305km, according to the very generous China Light-duty Test Cycle (CLTC).Next up would likely be the bigger QQ3, which just opened for preorders in China.It measures 4195mm long ,1811mm wide and 1573mm tall, which puts it in the same ballpark as the Geely EX2 and slightly smaller than the BYD Dolphin.Power comes from a single rear-mounted electric motor making either 58kW or 90kW, which drives the rear wheels.At its core is a LFP battery that provides a driving range between 280km and 401km, depending on the grade. That is calculated via the lenient CLTC testing regime, so expect much less in the real world.It would likely be priced sub-$30,000 if it arrives Down Under.Chery also has one of the biggest names in the business in its flights, with the Toyota Camry officially put on notice.“And we also have some really great medium and large sedans in other markets — left-hand drive — which I think that sort of size in between medium and large sedans is a real opportunity in Australia as well,” said Harris.“There’s only really one serious competitor, and they don’t have much competition. They kind of own the whole market. So I think there is certainly a lot of opportunity there as well.”Chery will need to play in a lot more segments over the next few years if it wants to crack the top 10 and future top five sellers list in Australia.

The Hyundai Santa Fe may have just been named the 2026 CarsGuide Car of the Year, but the brand isn’t resting on its laurels with a new look version coming soon.Spy shots of heavily camouflaged test vehicles have been surfacing online with increasing regularity.Now digital artists at Kolesa have crafted some digital renders to give us an idea of what might be lurking underneath the shape-hiding paint of the prototype vehicles.Despite its strong sales, the Santa Fe’s polarising looks have been the only noticeable chink in its armour.The blocky square profile of the current version is reminiscent of an old Land Rover Discovery, but the rear end tail-light placements and styling give it a bit of a wonky look.The new versions will fix that with Range Rover-style vertical tail-lights to help give it more defined rear-end styling rather than the bottom-heavy look of the current version.The Pixel-style front headlights could be replaced by a light bar that runs the length of the bonnet, which are complemented by more jagged daytime running lights (DRLs).A more conventional design could catapult it ahead of the segment-leading Kia Sorento and Toyota Kluger.The new-look Santa Fe is expected to go on sale until 2027 and should come with a few mechanical changes.It will likely ditch the current eight-speed dual-clutch auto from the turbo-petrol variant in favour of a conventional eight-speed auto.Sister brand Kia has made a similar move in its Sportage, ditching a dual-clutch for a more city-friendly standard eight-speed auto transmission.There are reports the Santa Fe is in line for a range-extender hybrid set-up.Range-extender hybrids — also known as Range Extender Electric Vehicles (EREV) — use a petrol engine purely as a generator for a battery that powers electric motors, which drive the wheels. The battery can also be charged by plugging into a charger or household powerpoint.An EREV combines the fuel thriftiness of plug-in hybrids but delivers the driving prowess and fast acceleration of electric cars.There are no details of the EREV set-up yet, but it is expected to deliver more than 1200km of driving range with the fuel tank and battery combined.

The world’s biggest carmaker was slow to release its first electric car, but it could be about to revolutionise the entire industry.

BYD has announced a huge range of new vehicles that are headed our way, but this one has stayed off its official arrivals list despite evidence to the contrary.

The new Nissan Navara will land in dealerships from March 1 to take on the mighty Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.The incoming Navara is based on the current Mitsubishi Triton, with many mechanical elements such as engine and transmission shared across the pair.At its heart is a 2.4-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel motor that pumps out 150kW and 470Nm, this is matched to a six-speed auto and four-wheel drive with a high and low gearing.Nissan said it has invested a lot of time and money into improving the Navara’s suspension tune, and has enlisted the help of Aussie outfit Premcar to tweak the workhorse.The company said there are three different suspension set-ups across the range, with more agricultural leaf suspension in the lower grades aimed at carrying loads to more SUV-like suspension to improve road driving in higher grades.Nissan said this improvement to the way it drives and handles with and without a load, plus the addition of key standard equipment such as a locking rear differential on all grades, is key to justifying its hefty premium over the Triton.The Navara range kicks off at $53,348, which is about $7000 more than the current special drive-away price for a base Triton GLX 4WD. A similar price comparison continues up the range.The Navara’s price is more favourable when compared to the top selling Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.All models have a 3500kg braked towing capacity and all but the range-topping PRO-4X have a more than one tonne payload.2026 Nissan Navara price Australia2026 Nissan Navara engine/powertrain and efficiency2026 Nissan Navara standard featuresNavara SLLED headlightsLED taillights17-inch steel wheelsFull size spareClimate controlCloth seatsManual seat adjustmentPolyurethane steering wheelVinyl flooringAll terrain tyres7.0-inch digital instrument display9.0-inch multimedia screenDAB+ digital radioAndroid Auto and Apple CarPlayTailgate assistRear locking differentialNavara ST adds:17-inch alloy wheelsHeated exterior mirrorAuto folding side mirrorsLeather accented steering wheelAuto dimming rear view mirrorCarpet flooringRear USB portsRear privacy glassNavara ST-X addsTorsen limited-slip centre differentialSeven selectable terrain modesHill descent control18-inch gunkmetal alloy wheelsBody coloured front bumper lower lipSilver frulle insertsSilver side stepsChrome finished exterior mirrorsLeather accented seatsPower adjustable driver seatHeated front seatsDual zone climate controlPush button startWireless smartphone chargerTublinerSports barNavara PRO-4X adds17-inch matt black alloy wheels with alloy terrain tyresLava red exterior accentsBlack roof railsNAVARA tailgate badge finished in blackTowbarBlack sportsbarPRO-4X logo on front seat headrestsPRO-4X exterior decalsLeather accented steering wheel with orange contrast stitching 2026 Nissan Navara coloursWhiteBlackRed Premium paint costs $995 Premium whitePremium silverPremium greyBlue (ST-X and PRO-4X only)Orange (ST-X only)2026 Nissan Navara safetyThe 2026 Nissan Navara borrows its crash test result from the mechanically identical Mitsubishi Triton, which was tested in 2024.It received a five star ANCAP rating, with good scores in all areas. It received 86 per cent for adult occupant protection, 89 per cent for child occupant protection, 74 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, 70 per cent for safety assist.All variants receive the following safety features as standardEight airbagsAuto emergency brakingRear cross traffic alertFront cross traffic alertBlind spot warningLane departure warningsTyre pressure monitoringCruise controlReversing cameraFront and rear parking sensorsTraffic sign recognition2026 Nissan Navara warranty and servicingNissan covers its vehicles with a 10 year/300,000km conditional warranty, which requires owners to service their vehicle at a Nissan dealership.If they don’t follow the servicing schedule or service at a dealership it reverts to a five year/unlimited km guarantee.It includes a 10 year/300,000km roadside assistance service if scheduled at a Nissan dealership and servicing is $499 a pop for the first five visits. 2026 Nissan Navara dimensions

A new automotive battleground is forming, with brands such as BYD, Zeekr, Leapmotor and now even Volkswagen joining the fray.All are developing, or about to launch, mega petrol-electric SUVs in China that put US supersized family haulers to shame.Volkswagen has confirmed its new ID.Era 9X extra-large SUV for China, which is developed with its partner SAIC that also owns MG.It is pitched as a rival to the Zeekr 9X, Leapmotor D16, BYD Tang 9 and IM LS9, which all deliver luxurious interiors, premium looks and huge batteries than deliver massive EV driving range rangeThe ID.Era 9X is a monster, measuring 5207mm long, 1997mm wide and 1810mm tall, which would dwarf the Nissan Patrol and Toyota LandCruiser.It also has a wheelbase — the distance between the front and rear axles — of more than three metres. This means it will have an absolutely cavernous interior with acres of space in all three rows.The ID.Era 9X uses an extended range hybrid set-up, which pairs a petrol engine and electric motors with a sizable battery.The petrol engine is used purely as a generator for the battery, with the wheels being driven by the electric motors only.This is unlike a plug-in hybrid, which has the same elements, but it can be driven by electric, petrol or blended power.The ID.Era 9X is available in three different set-ups.The first is a single 220kW rear motor paired with a roughly 51kWh Lithium-Ferro-Phosphate (LFP) battery that delivers 267km of electric range.Next grade up uses a more sophisticated and larger circa-65kWh Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) battery that delivers a 340km EV driving range.Range-topping examples use the same NMC battery but add dual-motor power, which ups power to 380kW and reduces EV driving range to 321km.All driving ranges are calculated via the WLTC test regime, which is more lenient than the benchmark Worldwide Harmonised Light-Duty Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) more commonly used in Australia.