Articles by Laura Berry

Is Australia’s Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series about to face some serious competition from Chery’s Jetour G700? Going by the specifications being reported it looks likely the full-sized off-road Chinese plug-in hybrid SUV will be a tough rival.

Volkswagen’s new-generation T-Roc small SUV has made its world debut showing off its new shape, tech and powertrains ahead of its arrival in Australia.The T-Roc may be small but it's Volkswagen’s biggest selling car in Australia behind the Amarok ute. The small SUV is getting larger, though. This second generation T-Roc has grown 12cm longer in length, but it’s still a compact 4373mm end to end, which VW said translated to more cabin room and a bigger boot at an impressive 475 litres.As you’d expect of any new-gen model the exterior has been overhauled with the T-Roc now looking like a mini version of the Tiguan mid-sized SUV.Inside the T-Roc’s cabin has stepped further into more premium-looking territory with soft materials and ambient lighting,  which Volkswagen said added a ‘lounge-like atmosphere”. New cabin tech includes a larger 13-inch media screen and an optional head up display. What you can’t see is the MQB evo platform the new T-Roc is built on — the same architecture the Tiguan uses. The platform gives the new T-Roc some advanced tech capabilities including autonomous lane changing and improved self parking with remote smart phone control.New powertrains accompany the new T-Roc’s arrival with 1.5-litre turbo petrol mild hybrid variants in two states of tune — 85kW and 110kW — for front-wheel drive versions.A more powerful 2.0-litre mild hybrid will join the line-up at a later date, and will be fitted to all-wheel drive R variants. A T-Roc R is confirmed, too, and it will retain its crown as the angriest and quickest in the range with the most amount of grunt. You won't find any purely electric variants here, with Volkswagen keeping EVs for its I.D. range of vehicles. That said this generation of the T-Roc could be the last combustion powered version.New colours for the T-Roc range include Canary Yellow, Celestial Blue metallic, Flamed Red metallic, and Grenadilla Black metallic. The new-gen T-Roc launches in Europe this November, and CarsGuide has reached out to Volkswagen Australia to confirm timing and prices for a local launch here.Australian pricing and specifications will no doubt be announced closer to the new T-Roc’s arrival here, but expect it to be more expensive than the current version's $38,990 starting point.

GWM has upgraded the Tank 500 yet again.A new Smart Edition is now available in China bringing more advanced safety systems and luxury touches such as an on-board fridge and James Bond-esque thermal imaging, to the full size SUV.The Tank 500 Smart Edition brings GWM’s new advanced driver safety and navigation system Coffee Pilot Ultra, which uses a roof-mounted LiDAR system along with cameras fitted to the vehicle’s rear spoiler and side panels. A night vision thermal camera image shown in the instrument cluster also provides better visibility of pedestrians and wildlife on dark roads.The Smart Edition also showcases GWM’s new entertainment software — Coffee OS3 — promising faster processing and better graphics for the existing 14.6-inch central media screen and rear passenger display.Luxury touches coming on the Smart Edition include a 50W fridge in the centre console armrest, which can now keep items cool to -6C.    The new edition also brings updated exterior styling to the Tank 500 including the brand’s new grille, redesigned headlights, fixed sidesteps and a new green body colour.The new Tank 500 Smart Edition launched in China this week, and CarsGuide has reached out to GWM Australia to confirm its arrival locally.The current Australian GWM Tank 500 range has three grades: the Lux Hybrid, Ultra Hybrid and Vanta Hybrid with prices starting at $66,490 driveaway.The Tank 500 is a petrol-electric hybrid vehicle and it's also a capable off-roader with a ladder frame chassis and four-wheel drive making it a rival to the Toyota Prado for budget conscious buyers.In Australia the Tank 500 is offered with one powertrain — a petrol-electric hybrid combining a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine with an electric motor making a combined 255kW and 648Nm.Since the vehicle launched in Australia in 2024 the Tank 500 has undergone a host of upgrades to suspension, driver safety alert systems and exterior design.Australian sales of the Tank 500 this year have lagged behind its smaller Tank 300 stablemate. GWM has sold a total of 894 Tank 500s (until the start of August this year) compared to the 2810 for the Tank 300. 

New Chinese carmakers such as Xiaomi, Xpeng and Nio are leaving established manufacturers such as Toyota, Nissan and Mazda behind when it comes to technology a new report has found, leaving doubts about whether the traditional players can ever catch up.

Mazda needs to spice up its line-up.

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.