Articles by Laura Berry

MG’s first ute in Australia, the U9, is set to launch in September to take on the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.When it does land here it will come with an Aussie-specific multi-link suspension setup that the brand says will suit our roads and increase comfort.This is a big difference to the LDV Terron 9 which is essentially the same ute under the skin. Both LDV and MG are owned by China's SAIC Motor.The LDV Terron 9, on the other hand, has rear leaf springs. Many utes come with this type of suspension due to the affordability, strength and load-carrying capacity. However, leaf springs aren’t known for their ride comfort and on-road dynamics.With the MG U9's more sophisticated rear multi-link setup, it has been benchmarked locally.“We researched the Australian market significantly for our MG U9 product, and we share Australia’s love for the outdoor, sport and adventure lifestyle, but often the utes they drive just don’t offer the comfort they want or deserve,” said MG Motor Australia and New Zealand CEO Peter Ciao.“I wanted to offer a ute with no compromise on driving comfort or capability. And, we’ve done this by engineering our multi-link rear suspension platform specifically for the demands of our local drivers”.Multi-link suspension is typically used in SUVs and cars for the better ride and on-road dynamics it offers, however it generally doesn't offer as much load-carrying capability.The MG U9 won't be the first ute to feature a rear multi-link setup in Australia. The BYD Shark 6 features this kind of rear suspension, though it only has a braked towing capacity of 2500kg.Despite having a rear multi-link setup, the MG U9 will still offer a segment benchmark braked towing capacity of 3500kg, like the leaf-sprung LDV Terron 9, as well as the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.The MG U9 will be offered solely in a dual-cab body style and use the same platform as the Terron 9 with a ladder-frame chassis and four-wheel drive.Under the bonnet is a 2.5 litre turbo-diesel engine making 164kW, which is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission.A hybrid version of the U9 is likely to follow after the launch of the diesel variant, with the possibility of a fully electric model coming later.Pricing and more detailed specifications for the MG U9 have yet to be announced. However, prospective Australian buyers are now able to pre-order the U9 through MG dealers.The U9 will arrive following MG's successful rise in Australia off the back of popular models such as the MG3 hatch, MG ZS SUV and affordable electric vehicles such as the MG4 and Terron 9.

Renault Australia has simplified its Master van line-up to just two variants but it's offering a driveaway deal to ABN holders which will see them get on the road from $57,990. 

Zeekr didn’t exist five years ago and despite only arriving in Australia last year, it already has two models on sale, but the brand’s head of marketing said its the third model that will change everything, the 7X mid-sized SUV.

Toyota makes a lot of different cars, but we want more. Where’s the small off-roader? A baby LandCruiser? Where’s the reborn Celica? And where’s the new-gen Tarago? Don’t even get me started on the missing electric cars, either…You’d think that for the most successful and biggest selling car company in the world Toyota wouldn’t have a single gap in its line-up. We can forgive the likes of Subaru or Mitsubishi for having missing pieces, but Toyota? Nope, I’m not buying it. Toyota has more than 22 models on sale in Australia and it could probably discontinue half of them and still hold onto the No.1 spot. It’s easy: lose Corolla Cross, same with bZ4X, put Fortuner out of its misery, same with 86 - it was good but the party’s over, Camry is part of a dying species in mid-size sedans, Supra now exists for Supercars but it should go, Tundra is prohibitively expensive, same for the Yaris and the C-HR was never going to work, was it?That leaves HiLux, RAV4, Kluger, Prado, Corolla, Camry, Kluger, LandCruiser in both 300 and 70 Series forms and the Yaris Cross. More models than most brands and the combined annual sales of them all is about 210,000, which would still make it far and way the biggest-selling car brand in Australia.That makes it easier to see what essential models might be missing. A mini LandCruiser is one.We’re talking a Suzuki Jimny rival and if the rumours are true the LandCruiser FJ is on the cards for Toyota, with the brand not planning to use the TGNA platform that underpins the Prado and LandCruiser 300 but the IMV-O platform used in emerging markets.Next is one gap in the line-up so obvious that before anything else it should be filed — a people mover. The family favourite Tarago was retired in 2019 and replaced by the Granvia, which while plush was more airport transfer shuttle than practical suburban people mover that could rival the Kia Carnival.The Granvia’s sales were woeful and last year only 112 were sold, compared to 10,080 Kia Carnivals. The Granvia was the wrong choice and Toyota should have brought in the Alphard people mover, which already had an importer fan following in Australia despite it never being sold here. It would be hard for Toyota to sit and watch Kia have the entire national people mover market all to itself and it would be wise to get Alphard here and start stealing some sales back. Should it be renamed a Tarago? Sure why not, just hurry up and get it here.Finally, can we talk about a two-door Toyota sportscar that isn’t a BMW? Don’t get me wrong, I love the Supra. It looks delicious and it’s great to drive, but I think Toyota is big enough to do its own sportscar. Again the rumour mill says a reborn Celica is coming. A mid-engined 300kW petrol four-cylinder powered, 1.2m tall GR Celica with a strange-looking windscreen. I’m here for it.So that’s just three cars Toyota’s sorely missing from a line-up that’s too fat. Don’t even get me started on how Toyota needs a mid-sized SUV with seven seats — A RAV4 7 — to compete with the Mitsubishi Outlander and Kia Sorento.  And then there’s the complete lack of electric vehicles, but that’s another opinion piece.  

If you thought that there was no way more Chinese car brands could come to Australia, think again. Waiting in the wings is Lynk & Co, which is poised for exactly the right moment to enter the country.

The Subaru WRX tS Spec B could well be the easiest performance car you can actually live with.

Is Toyota about to spring a reborn Celica on us? A mid-engined 300kW GR Celica that’s just 1.2m tall with a weird windscreen? The rumour mill is working around the clock right now, but our friends at Japanese auto publication Best Car Web, who are often on the money, say they are receiving inside information about an almost ready new-gen Celica that’s very exciting.

Chinese carmaker Jaecoo has confirmed its J5 small SUV will go on sale in the United Kingdom paving the way for the small SUV’s entrance to Australia.The J5 looks very much like the J7 mid-sized SUV only smaller, measuring 4.3m in length, and rivalling the Kia Seltos, Mitsubishi ASX and Mazda CX-30.The J5 will debut in the UK with a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.In the UK the five-seater SUV will go on sale in two trim levels: the Pure and the Luxury.Coming standard on the Pure will be a six-speaker stereo, power adjustable front seats and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Stepping up to the Luxury will add a panoramic sunroof, heated and ventilated front seats and wireless phone charging.Jaecoo is the luxury-focussed sub-brand of Chery and currently has two SUVs on sale in Australia - the mid-sized J7 and the J8 large SUV.The J5 will definitely be making its way to Australia as well, but as to when this will happen is unknown. Recently Jaecoo Australia’s Chief Commercial Officer, Roy Munoz, confirmed the J5 is headed to Australia to CarsGuide, but didn't reveal timing.Pricing for the J5 hasn't been announced in the UK nor Australia, but buyers can be certain it will be less than the J7 and the J8.As a guide the J7 starts at $34,990 drive-away and the entry grade J8 is $49,990.Jaecoo doesn't have any electric vehicles on sale currently in Australia with both the J7 and J8 using petrol engines, but the J7 is also available with plug-in hybrid power.Jaecoo is a very new brand to Australia having only arrived in May this year and follows its parent company Chery, which launched its vehicles here in 2023.Currently Chery has several models on sale in Australia including the petrol powered C5 small SUV and its E5 electric twin, while there’s three hybrid SUVs also available: the small Tiggo 4, the mid-sized Tiggo 7 and the large Tiggo 8. 

Which Mitsubishi do you wish would make a comeback? Pajero? Lancer?  Well, Mitsubishi is currently undertaking a massive overhaul of its Australian line-up with several new models to come to fill the gaps. So while they're at it we’ve put together our wishlist of cars they really should really revive or bring here. The changes to the Australian Design rules (ADRs) in March this year meant Mitsubishi had to axe three vehicles from its local lineup.  These were the ASX small SUV, the bigger Eclipse Cross SUV and the Pajero Sport off-roader. This leaves Mitsubishi with just two cars on sale in Australia — the Triton ute and Outlander mid-sized SUV. Meanwhile Toyota has 23 models on sale.Now we're not suggesting that Mitsubishi needs another 21 models, Ford is managing just fine on pretty much the Ranger, Everest and Mustang, but I definitely think there are some essentials the brand could use and a few dream cars while we're at it.Probably the most obvious model Mitsubishi needs right now is the Pajero. Yep once-upon-a-1990s the Toyota Prado and Mitsubishi Pajero wrestled for dominance all over Australia, from the outback to suburbia. The Pajero eventually lost the battle and was axed by Mitsubishi in 2020 … or so we thought! Imagine the comeback. Just when the new generation Prado had arrived and was still gloating, the Pajero could make its return. Sure the Pajero Sport is coming back in 2026, but that’s a Ford Everest rival. The beauty is Mitsubishi could easily plonk another, posher-looking SUV body on the ladder frame and call it the Pajero. And they’ve already got the badges made up. You just just take the “Sport” bit off. Think of the savings.Next on our wish list is not really a car that would sell in high numbers, but it'd be the halo car in many ways the brand needs so badly right now —  a reborn Lancer, and yes, with an Evolution grade as well. Or maybe just a standalone Lancer Evo XI. I think we’re up to XI, I can't remember but I tested the very final one in 2015.Back in the final glory days of Ford Falcon versus Holden Commodore there were two other tribes going to war: Subaru WRX v Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. These days the WRX lives on, but it looks so lonely without the Lancer EVO to play with.Finally, and given the number of grey imports we see of this car, Mitsubishi needs to add the Delica people mover to its Aussie line-up. What’s not to like about a high-riding all-wheel drive six-seater van?A sixth-generation of the people mover is expected in the next two years and whether it looks anything like the futuristic and silly Delica concept Mitsubishi revealed at the 2023 Tokyo Motorshow is yet to be seen.A wishlist for Mitsubishi could go one forever, who wouldn’t want to see the Colt come back, or the Cordia Turbo? Or the 3000GT?In reality the ASX will be back and so too will the Pajero Sport, and that might be all Mitsubishi needs as it faces bigger problems.  Challenges like how on Earth will it adapt to a rapidly changing market that’s been inundated with excellent electric vehicles from brands which hardly existed five years ago. Currently Mitsubishi doesn’t even sell one purely electric vehicle in Australia at all.

MG has officially unveiled the new-generation Chiense MG4 electric hatch, which is a different vehicle compared to the MG4 sold in global markets such as Australia, and it could have a "semi-solid-state" battery.Due to launch in China in September this year, the China-market MG4 is larger than the version sold here. It is 108 mm longer at 4395 mm in length, but shares the same Nebula EV platform that underpins our MG4.MG Australia has advised that no decision has been made yet on whether this car will come to Australia.The rounder, softer styling of this MG4 is in contrast to the aggressive and angular design of the previous model. There are short overhangs, redesigned headlights and taillights, 17-inch alloy wheels and traditional door handles. CarsGuide understands that there is a single motor driving the rear wheels and producing 120kW.A lithium iron phosphate LFP battery is expected as well, but capacity has not been revealed at this stage. What has been hinted at is the China-market MG4 could use a semi-solid-state battery, which is found in sister brand IM Motors.In December last year MG’s Brand Division Manager, Chen Cui, posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo that one of its new cars launching in 2025 would have a semi-solid-state battery as standard and that it wouldn't be pricey. Lithium-ion batteries use a liquid or gel electrolyte, which has charging speed and range limitations and is potentially flammable. Semi-solid state batteries, on the other hand, use a solid material suspended in a liquid electrolyte making them more stable. Fire-risk is reduced because leakage is less likely.They are also more energy dense than conventional batteries, delivering more driving range from similar sized cells.These aren't the much-hyped solid-state batteries, though.The MG4 could be the car to gain a semi-solid state battery, given that the model has been a runaway success in Australia and the UK. Parent company SAIC has said that it wants to use its technological knowledge to its advantage to beat its competitors.In Australia the MG4 has been an incredibly popular electric car with CarsGuide noting its very affordable entry price, good driving dynamics and practicality, and the larger China-market version could have similar success if it ever arrived here. In 2024 6,934 MG4s were sold in Australia making it the segment leader for small cars over $40,000.In the last seven months more and more affordable electric Chinese cars and brands have entered Australia and put the pressure on MG. Brands such as BYD, Geely and Zeekr are becoming more popular in Australia.