Articles by Karla Pincott

Audi has launched a new 1.4-litre TFSI petrol four-cylinder version for its Q3 range, which will become the new entry point to the model. The new Q3 has been announced for the UK market, and is likely to reach other right-hand drive markets after mid-year, slotting in under the current cheapest variants, the $47.500 103kW/320Nm 2.0 TDI quattro diesel and the $49.450 125kW/280Nm 2.0 TFSI quattro petrol.Against their level, the new car offers only front-wheel drive -- with overseas transmission choices of six- and seven-speed dual clutch box -- and just 110kW (from 5000rpm) and 250Nm (from 1750-3000rpm).But it will be the most efficient petrol in the line-up with an official fuel economy figure of 6.2L/100km on a combined driving cycle, compared to the 7.7L/100km of the 2.0-litre TFSI and not far behind the 5.8L/100km of the diesel -- and for some buyers, the cheaper price of petrol may be enough of a trade-off to move them away from the oilburner.Audi is touting a 0-100km/h time of 8.9 seconds, which would make it a full second faster than the diesel and just 0.7 behind the TFSI in acceleration, so if true, it'll lose little to them.Prices and arrival of the new Q3 have not yet been confirmed by Audi Australia, but if you have around $45,000 in the bank by mid-year, you'll be looking prepared.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Holden is rumoured to be the design source of a new small SUV concept due to be unveiled at the Indian Auto Expo in New Delhi next week. The show unveiling on February 5 is believed to be of a concept called the Adra, based on General Motors' Gamma II global small vehicle platform, according to Autocar India. The Gamma II underpins a range of current GM cars, including the Holden Trax, Barina and Barina Spark. The new car is reportedly being designed for the Indian market, for which the Trax is too large to qualify for the country's excise tax rebate on vehicles shorter than four metres. The Adra is expected to be powered by a 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine --  GM's version of Fiat's 1.3-litre MultiJet unit -- with 57kW of power and 205Nm of torque. Holden previously told Carsguide -- in referring to mystery vehicles in the brand's 'Here to Stay' commercial -- that its designers were working on several projects for GM, but declined to elaborate further.

The future Lexus NX crossover has been leaked in a video filmed during the recent Detroit motor show. The footage of Toyota's US chief executive Jim Lentz was ostensibly focused on his view of the industry's -- and his brand's -- future, but may have shown more than he intended.First spotted by Autoblog, the presentation included a slide showing an SUV labelled as the LF-NX, but looking considerably different to the concept that wore the name at the Tokyo motor show in November.The aggressive styling of the concept has been calmed down, with a less imposing iteration of the spindle grille and smoother bumper treatment, offset with headlights that echo the new Lexus IS and RC models -- all signalling we're looking at the production version of the new RAV4-based SUV, and could see it unveiled as soon as Geneva motor show in March.It will likely go on sale in overseas markets afteer mid-year, and if secured by Lexus Australia could arrive here in the final quarter of 2014.The Tokyo show car was powered by an all-new 2.0-litre turbocharged engine -- tipped to appear in a NX200t variant in production. Expect it to be joined by a NX300h hybrid, with a new version of the Lexus Hybrid Drive system, with other versions also on the cards to face off against the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLA Class.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Toyota is aiming for catchy family fun with its 60-second Super Bowl, in which actor Terry Crews is piloting his new Highlander -- sold here as the Kluger -- along a remote highway, when he stops to help out after spotting a broken-down, brightly painted bus.Within seconds, his SUV is crammed with Muppets: Animal stuffing his drum kit into the cargo area and Dr Teeth hijacking the driver's seat to steer off into a series of adventures, all singing an annoyingly catchy jingle perfectly designed to stick itself limpet-like to the viewer's brain.Crews protests at first, but is won over by the Muppet mayhem, and by the time he returns home is shirtless and wearing his tie as a hippie headband. “There were singing vegetables! And chickens!” he explains to neighbour Kermit the Frog.Created by Saatchi & Saatchi LA, the ad is a timely tie-in with the coming Muppets Most Wanted movie, which rolls into cinemas shortly after the Super Bowl in early February.Watch the Toyota full Super Bowl ad on our desktop site. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

The theme for the Hyundai Elantra Super Bowl commercial is 'Nice' and actor Johnny Galecki is almost typecast in it, after playing nice guys on both The Big Bang Theory (Leonard) and Roseanne (David).In the footage, directed by Jim Jenkins for Innocean, Galecki tries to chat up a woman who pulls up beside him in a matching Elantra, pointing out all the nice features of the car -- and getting some nice brush-offs in return.He keeps giving it a shot, with little success. There's a bit of action thrown in to spice things up, and a dry cameo from comedian Richard Lewis in the back seat."I've always loved Super Bowl ads - the commercials during the game are always the highlight for me," Galecki said in a statement. "In this Hyundai spot, there's a car chase, there's explosions, and even a car jump - it's exciting, cinematic and filled with humor. I can't wait for everyone to see it!"Watch the desktop version of the Big Bang Theory star in Hyundai Super Bowl ad here.  This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Get ready to see a whole lot more of actor Terry Crews than you ever bargained for. The latest teaser for Toyota's Super Bowl ad shows the sports star turned movie star without a shirt and demonstrating muscle control with his pecs in time to the cheesy jingle.The commercial is intended to showcase the family capabilities of the Toyota Highlander -- known as the Kluger here, and launching the latest version in a couple of weeks -- but while the Muppets will have strong resonance with some of the kids, there are possibly only a few families that will relate to Crews' shirtless twitching and the befeathered show dancers backing him up. We hope none of those families live near us.Watch the second Toyota teaser for Game Day ad on our desktop site.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Continuing the bad boy theme to showcase the F-Type Coupe, Jaguar has revealed the full 60-second commercial that will screen at the Super Bowl."Have you ever noticed that all the villains in Hollywood movies are Brits?"  Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley asks, before being joined by other 'bad boys' Tom Hiddleston (Loki in the Thor and Avengers franchise) and Mark Strong (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and a host of other flicks where he plays ice-cold villains).The cast goes on to explain that as villains they're "more focused" and "always one step ahead". And that with British accents they "just sound right".Titled Rendezvous, the ad has been directed by Oscar-winning Brit Tom Hooper (The King's Speech and Les Mis are the latest in his long list of successes) in a mock thriller style, with moody lighting and all the super-villain props of planes, attractive assistants -- and of course the F-Type Coupe.The first Super Bowl appearance for Jaguar, while highlighting the British stereotypes of classy, calculating baddies, the ad takes a similarly sterotypical wry approach, and proves very engaging as a result. Good to be bad? Indeed.Watch the desktop version of the Jaguar full Super Bowl ad here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Volkswagen is aiming to tout durability and reliability in its Super Bowl, which features a father telling his daughter that every time a VW hits 100,000 miles (160,000km) an engineer back in Germany sprouts wings.While the appendages might usually be better worn by the Victoria's Secret 'Angel' models, the addition of the wings offers the opportunity for a few sight gags. Oddly, it seems Volkswagen's engineering team is largely male, and the only female seen in a white coat doesn't get to earn wings sprouting from her shoulders.Back in the car, the father's sceptical daughter suggests that when a car hits double that magic number, something else sprouts from the other end of an engineer's torso -- and we get to see that too.Volkswagen has recently been plagued by a series of recalls both here and overseas, however the ad's claim -- that there are more VWs on the road with 160,000km on the clock than any other brand -- is reportedly backed up by official data from IHS Automotive car industry analysts.Watch the desktop version of the VW channels Victoria's Secret for Super Bowl video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

A recall on Hyundai vehicles earlier in January has now roped in models from stablemate Kia, with a notice being issued for the Sportage and Soul SUVs. The safety recall is for a defect that means the tensioning cable in the seatbelt assembly has not been properly crimped, raising a risk the cable could break and not allow the seatbelts to pretension and fully restrain the wearers in an accident. A total of 2941 vehicles are affected -- 2704 Sportage and 237 Soul -- with build dates between August 23, 2011 and March 31, 2012, and on-sale dates between September 10, 2011 and December 31, 2012. The list of VIN numbers for the Soul can be found here and the VIN numbers for the Sportage can be found here. The VIN number for your vehicle is located on the build plate in the engine bay.The Hyundai recall affected 6552 of their popular ix35 SUV, and a spokesman at the time said the seatbelts would still protect wearers in an accident, but would simply not be able to deploy the pretensioning function that automatically tightens them. "It is only on the driver's seatbelt. We've had one incident in Australia and it was an non-injury incident," Kia Australia general manager of public relations, Kevin Hepworth says.Owners can contact their closest Kia dealer for an inspection and rectification if needed, with the fix estimated to take up to an hour of the customer's time. however Kevin says  

It's good to be bad, Jaguar claims. And the luxury brand is pushing that theme for their Super Bowl ads, featuring a line-up of British villains."Our gents have the character, intelligence and sheer determination to turn the world upside-down," the ad blurb claims. "These eminently admirable qualities are also present across the Jaguar R Performance line-up - and exemplified in a new British villain. Also known as the F-TYPE R Coupe."We've already seen Ben Kingsley in the main teaser, and now we get Tom Hiddleston in a second spot. Most recently seen playing Loki in the films Thor, The Avengers, and Thor: The Dark World, Hiddleston looks to be getting a final spot of bad boy under his belt before a possibly nicer stint in the upcoming Muppets Most Wanted.Watch the Tom Hiddleston Jaguar ad teaser on our desktop site.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott