Articles by Neil Dowling

Jaguar XF 2.2d Luxury and Lexus ES300h Sports Luxury go head-to-head in this comparative review..star {width:135px;}#article-corpus {width:100%; padding-right: 0;}

Nissan Pulsar ST-S and Holden Cruze SRI go head-to-head in this comparative review. .star {width:135px;}#article-corpus {width:100%; padding-right: 0;}

Nissan Juke ST and Peugeot 2008 Active go head-to-head in this comparative review. .star {width:135px;}#article-corpus {width:100%; padding-right: 0;}

Mazda CX-5 Maxx Sport and Kia Sportage Platinum go head-to-head in this comparative review. 

Weak results in the booming prestige small-car market hope to change with Lexus soon to upgrade its smallest model, the hybrid CT200h.The $40,000-plus small-car prestige segment is the Australian market's best-performing category in year-to-date October figures, up 64 per cent on the same time last year.Big winners are the Mercedes-Benz pair of the A-Class and B-Class with 5468 sales to date, but the sole Lexus entry attracted 702 buyers, down 43 per cent on last year. But it remains the third best-selling Lexus, trailing the RX SUV and compact IS series.On sale from April, the improved CT200h adds better body rigidity, lower cabin noise and suspension refinement to improve ride and handling.It will also be the seventh model to get Lexus' new family spindle-shaped grille.The Toyota-based Prius hybrid 100kW/142Nm drivetrain won't be changed in the 2014 upgrade, with Lexus aiming all attention to reducing noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) by making the body more rigid, the suspension more comfortable and wind noise reduced by attention to the car's aerodynamics. Lexus says there are 94 separate changes to the car to reduce NVH.The grille and the rear bumper will be the only exterior panels to be changed for the 2014 model, though it will receive 10-spoke alloy wheels in 16-inch or 17-inch sizes. The unusual design of the rear of the hatchback, with confused angles and window shapes, is a talking point and is not being changed.Cabin differences include a new, smaller-diameter steering wheel borrowed from the IS-series, a TFT screen within the main instrument panel, improvements to the satellite-navigation operation and the introduction of unique audio speakers made using bamboo. Lexus Australia chief executive Sean Hanley says the changes will improve "its overall dynamic capabilities, driveability and visual appeal".Final specification and price will be announced closer to the car's launch.Meanwhile Lexus has added a entry-level hybrid version of its GS range. The GS300h uses the same hybrid drivetrain as the IS300h — 164kW/221Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder — and is priced from $79,000 for the Luxury. There are three GS300h models — the Luxury, F-Sport at $87,000 and the $102,000 Sports Luxury.The inclusion of these models has chopped the bigger GS450h Luxury hybrid ($99,900) and petrol GS250 Sports Luxury ($99,400) from the Australian market. The model shuffle places more emphasis on hybrid and sets Lexus up as a manufacturer of both conventional and electric powerplants.The writer is on Twitter: @cg_dowling 

Recycling clothes may be an inexpensive way to dress, but putting a new, more attractive body on an older frame rarely means a discount. Just ask Land Rover.

Land Rover Discovery and Jeep Grand Cherokee go head-to-head in this comparative review. .star {width:135px;}#article-corpus {width:100%; padding-right: 0;}

It's what an eager enthusiast demands -- and a supercharging perfectly fulfils the performance potential of the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ.

Fiat 500C Lounge and Smart ForTwo Cabrio go head-to-head in this comparative review. .star {width:135px;}#article-corpus {width:100%; padding-right: 0;}

Only 36 per cent of young Australians would buy an Australian-made car, eroding a belief that the nation supports a local car industry. In a national survey by Roy Morgan Research, only about half of the "battlers" - the term for low income families or couples - and older couples and retirees would consider an Australian-made car above an imported car.Roy Morgan director Jordan Pakes says "battlers" and "golden years" - retirees or older couples - surveyed above the average as considering a locally-made car with 55.4 per cent and 49.7 per cent respectively. However, he says these groups of buyers were also less likely to be in the market for a new car.Mr Pakes says "it seems the writing’s on the wall" for local car makers. "Ford’s decision earlier this year to cease local production from 2016 spelled for many the beginning of the end for the Australian auto manufacturing industry," he says. "Now with talk of Holden and Toyota following suite, it seems like the writing’s on the wall."He says that "battlers" and "golden years" groups are less likely to be in the market for a new car in the next four years. "Combined, they make up only about a quarter of the 2.3 million intenders in the new car market," he says."Nevertheless, battlers and golden years comprise a third of Holden’s market and almost a quarter of Toyota’s. Both makes need to consider how shutting down local factories will affect sales among these markets that value Australian-made cars."Market researcher Barry Urquhart of Marketing Focus says Roy Morgan’s survey showing an average of 45.3 per cent of Australia’s 15.6 million motorists preferring a local car could be very optimistic. "When asked a very general question such as 'would you buy Australian?' there is a 78 per cent response in the affirmative," he says. "But come to the point of buying, that percentage plunges to 45 per cent. That’s because there’s no qualifier stating 'if all things are equal' - and they’re not equal."Mr Urquhart agrees with Roy Morgan that the writing is on the wall. "In 1990, Holden and Ford were selling about 150,000 cars a year. Now if they’re selling about 35,000 they are delighted. Local manufacturing is a marginal proposition," he says. "We have to remember that Australia is a very different place with very different values that what we had in the 1990s."Buyers want to purchase brands with aspirational values. Mostly, they want European brands and especially those from Germany and France. It doesn’t really matter if that BMW is made in South Africa or the Volkswagen in Mexico. They want a German car."Mr Urquhart says cars from Holden and Ford are no longer aspirational. "Holdens are often associated with cashed-up bogans. Is that the image you want to present? Look at where we work and you’ll find 78 per cent of employment in the service industries - banking, health, hospitality and so on. What type of cars do these people want to own?"Though the mining industry is seen as a big employer, it attracts less than 4 per cent of Australia’s workforce. If this is the bulk of Holden buyers, then it’s a very, very small sample."Mr Urquhart adds that another reason for a decline in local car sales was that the products weren’t new. "European car makers change the look of their cars - sometimes dramatically - about every three years. Look at Holden and Ford’s local product - they are old cars with the same body shape as years ago. People crave new. They don’t want an old car and they don’t keep their car for long."The writer is on Twitter: @cg_dowling