Articles by Jack Quick

Subaru's high-performance STI division has a deep and rich history, but the name has never officially been applied to the low-slung BRZ two-door coupe. The top-spec tS is the closest we've got to date and this one is filled to the gills with STI-tuned accessories and goodies.

A number of popular car brands in Australia are at risk of paying fines in excess of $10 million for not meeting tightening emission standards if they don’t correct course quickly.

The 2026 Denza B8 7S is the entry-level version of the line-up and offers seven seats, as the name suggests.Priced at $91,000 before on-road costs, this notably just undercuts the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold. It’s also cheaper than the likes of the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, among other premium rivals like the Land Rover Defender, Lexus LX and Mercedes-Benz GLS.As a base there are 20-inch alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, soft-close doors, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 17.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system, 18-speaker Devialet sound system, tri-zone climate control, leather upholstery, plus heated and ventilated seats in the first and second row.Total system outputs are a meaty 425kW and 760Nm. They need to be as the B8 has a kerb weight of 3.3 tonnes. Despite this, Denza claims it can still do the 0-100km/h sprint in just 4.8 seconds.Feeding the dual electric motors is a 36.8kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) Blade battery. Denza claims it allows for an electric range of 115km, according to NEDC testing.Additionally, there’s a 91L fuel tank. Denza claims this allows the B8 to have a total range of 1040km, according to NEDC testing.The Denza B8 received a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted on the related B5 in 2025.There are 14 airbags which notably includes coverage for the third row, plus autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, front and rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, and a surround-view camera.The Denza B8 is covered by a six-year, 150,000km warranty, whereas the battery pack is covered by an eight-year, 160,000km warranty. There’s also three years of roadside assistance.The first five years of servicing totals $3762, which averages out to just over $750 per service.

Jaecoo has announced it surpassed 1000 Australian orders for its new J5 EV around a month after examples started arriving at local dealers.The Chinese carmaker is offering the J5 EV at $36,990, drive-away, with free premium paint for the first 2000 orders.“The response to the Jaecoo J5 has exceeded our expectations,” said Omoda Jaecoo Australia Chief Commercial Officer Roy Munoz.“Hitting 1000 orders so quickly shows Australians are moving fast when an EV delivers the right mix of modern design, advanced technology and outstanding value.“We’re seeing customers act early to secure their place in the queue,” he said.Although Jaecoo claims to have 1000 orders now of the J5 EV, in January a total of 215 examples were sold.Over the same period BYD sold twice as many examples of the Atto 2 (562 sales), however MG sold 132 S5 EVs and Leapmotor sold 43 B10s.The Jaecoo J5 EV is powered by a single, front-mounted electric motor that produces 155kW and 288Nm.It’s fed by a 58.9kWh lithium-ion battery pack which can be fast-charged from 30 to 80 per cent in 28 minutes at rates up to 130kW.Jaecoo claims the J5 EV can travel up to 402km on a single charge, according to WLTP testing.While the electric version of the J5 launched in Australia first, there are also hybrid and petrol versions due to launch later this year.

Renault’s budget subsidiary brand, Dacia, has confirmed it is launching hybrid all-wheel drive versions of the Duster and Bigster in the UK.This therefore means that right-hand drive versions of the Duster and Bigster will exist with this new hybrid all-wheel drive powertrain and theoretically makes it closer to an Australian launch.However, for now it’s unclear whether this will ever actually happen.Renault launched the Duster in Australia last year under its namesake brand and it’s currently offered with two-wheel drive automatic and all-wheel drive manual powertrains.The Bigster hasn’t been confirmed for Australia, nor its Renault-based counterpart for global markets which is called the Boreal.To date this new hybrid all-wheel drive powertrain for the Duster and Bigster was only confirmed for markets in mainland Europe with a petrol and LPG bi-fuel set-up. It appears the UK-spec models will only have a petrol tank.As a base this new powertrain uses the familiar 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine with a 48V mild-hybrid electrification that drives the front wheels, but adds an independent electric motor on the rear axle. Total system outputs are 113kW, which is 17kW more than the standard version.The petrol engine is mated to a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, whereas the rear-mounted electric motor has a two-speed transmission.The electric motor is fed by a 0.84kWh lithium-ion battery pack which allows the Duster and Bigster to travel short distances on electric power alone.Dacia also offers a regular hybrid powertrain for the Duster and Bigster which has a four-cylinder petrol engine, mated to dual electric motors and a 1.4kWh battery, as well as an automatic transmission that includes four gears for the petrol engine and two for the electric motors. It is front-wheel drive only, however.Renault has previously disclosed it plans to launch six new or refreshed models over the next 18 months in Australia.“Now that’s one on average every three months, or one once a quarter,” said Renault Australia Managing Director Glen Sealey back in September 2025.Beyond the Scenic E-Tech and updated MY26 Trafic that are already confirmed for Australia, it’s unclear what these other new or updated Renault models will be for our market.“When we look at those six new models to come, there’s a bit of water under the bridge, there’s currency, there’s regulatory changes, there’s tariff changes rolling around the place,” said Sealey.“What I can say … they may vary between now and then.”

China’s Leapmotor has detailed more on the forthcoming A10 small electric SUV ahead of its imminent launch in the domestic market.

The 2026 Denza B8 6S is the flagship version of the line-up and notably offers six seats, as the name suggests.Priced at $97,990, before on-road costs, this notably undercuts rivals like the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, as well as other premium rivals like the Land Rover Defender, Lexus LX and Mercedes-Benz GLS, among others.As standard there are 20-inch alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, soft-close doors, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 17.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system, 18-speaker Devialet sound system, tri-zone climate control, Nappa leather upholstery, plus second-row captain’s chairs that are heated, ventilated and have a massage function.Power comes from a plug-in hybrid set-up combining dual electric motors and a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine.Total system outputs are a meaty 425kW and 760Nm. They need to be as the B8 has a kerb weight of 3.3 tonnes. Despite this, Denza claims it can still do the 0-100km/h sprint in just 4.8 seconds.Feeding the dual electric motors is a 36.8kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. Denza claims it allows for an electric range of 115km, according to NEDC testing.Additionally, there’s a 91L fuel tank. Denza claims this allows the B8 to have a total range of 1040km (NEDC).The Denza B8 received a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted on the related B5 in 2025.There are 14 airbags which notably includes coverage for the third row, plus autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, front and rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors and a surround-view camera.The Denza B8 is covered by a six-year, 150,000km warranty, whereas the battery pack is covered by an eight-year, 160,000km warranty. There’s also three years of roadside assistance.The first five years of servicing totals $3762, which averages out to just over $750 per service.

The 2026 Denza B5 Leopard is the top-spec trim level in the line-up.Priced from $79,990 before on-road costs, this undercuts many top-selling diesel-powered rivals like the Toyota Prado and Ford Everest. The slightly smaller GWM Tank 300 PHEV however is more affordable at $59,990 drive-away.As a base, the B5 is loaded with standard equipment. You get 18-inch alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, a glass panoramic sunroof, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 15.6-inch touchscreen multimedia system, 16-speaker Devialet sound system, leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats with a massage function, plus heated outboard rear seats.If this isn’t enough, the B5 Leopard gets larger 20-inch alloy wheels, adaptive hydraulic suspension, a digital rear-view mirror, a second wireless phone charger, Nappa leather upholstery and ventilated outboard rear seats.Power comes from plug-in hybrid set-up combining dual electric motors (one on each axle) and a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine.It’s a similar set-up to the BYD Shark 6, but the B5 has more power. Total system outputs are a meaty 400kW and 760Nm.Feeding the electric motors is a 31.8kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) Blade battery which Denza claims to allow the B5 to travel up to 100km on electric power alone, according to NEDC testing.There’s also an 83L fuel tank. Denza claims the B5 has a total range of 975km, according to NEDC testing.The Denza B5 received a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted in 2025.As standard there are 11 airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, front and rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, a driver attention monitor, front and rear parking sensors, plus a surround-view camera.Denza B5 owners are covered by a six-year, 150,000km warranty, whereas the high-voltage battery is covered for eight years or 160,000km. Owners also receive three years of roadside assistance.Logbook servicing is required every 12 months of 20,000km, whichever comes first. The first five years of servicing totals $3542, which averages out to just over $700 per service.

Elon Musk’s Grok artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot assistant is officially rolling out to Tesla vehicles in Australia in a staggered series of over-the-air software updates over the coming days.

Tesla looks set to soon introduce a new, stretched version of the top-selling Model Y electric SUV in Australia with three rows of seating.