Articles by Peter Anderson

Peugeot remains a tiny protagonist on the edge of a ferocious Aussie SUV market battlefield. But a limited edition version of its mid-size 5008 offers an interesting alternative to the mainstream players.

The 1990s brought us many, many good things. Nirvana, trip-hop, some fine British comedy, Madonna's more entertaining flights of fancy... You'll notice there aren't many cars in this list.

The Honda Civic Type R is all kinds of awesome, but can the watered-down Civic RS deliver the same kind of motoring magic? We put one to the test to find out.

Range Rover's Velar plugs the gap we didn't know needed plugging between the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport. Weaved into the price list is the R-Dynamic specification.Off the bat, every Velar features all-wheel drive, an eight-speed automatic and five seats. When you're choosing your Velar, you start with the engine and trim level combination and you can then add R-Dynamic.The R-Dynamic package is all about styling - a lot like M Sport or S-Line - inside and out adds different wheels, upgrades to seat leather, aluminium trim pieces and on some models an upgrade to the sound system. R-Dynamic adds around $6000 to the price of each trim/engine level.Each Velar comes with JLR's new stacked touchscreen technology, Touch Pro Duo. With two big touchscreens, one high in the dash as before and one where the dash meets the console, it allows you to spread the different functions across the two screens. Annoyingly, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are a $520 privilege for the pair.The Velar ships with six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, tyre pressure monitoring, reversing camera, lane-keep assist, forward AEB with pedestrian avoidance, and lane-departure warning.There are also three top-tether anchor points and two ISOFIX points and the Velar scored five ANCAP safety stars in December 2017.

The Range Rover Velar plugs the gap between the hyper-stylish Evoque and the Range Rover Sport. Long, lithe and beautiful, you can choose from a staggering 65 variants.

Range Rover will hopefully see out 2019 with a bang by introducing the Velar SVAutobiography Dynamic Edition. Hatched at JLR's SVO skunkworks, it comes with a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 that can wake the dead and delivers a 0-100km/h time of 4.5 seconds. Engine, suspension and transmission have all been fettled to make it a road rocket.Standard on the SVAutobiography are 21-inch forged alloys, air suspension, massaging front seats with heating and ventilation, side parking sensors, digital dash, self parking, ambient interior lighting, electric front seats, sat nav, auto high beam, LED headlights with signature DRLS, puddle lamps, a wifi hotspot with on-board SIM card slot, powered and heated folding mirrors, leather interior, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, remote app, auto LED headlights and auto wipers.Each Velar comes with JLR's new stacked touchscreen technology, Touch Pro Duo. With two big touchscreens, one high in the dash as before and one where the dash meets the console, it allows you to spread the different functions across the two screens. Annoyingly, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are a $520 privilege for the pair.The Velar ships with six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, tyre-pressure monitoring, reversing camera, lane-keep assist, forward AEB with pedestrian avoidance, reverse cross traffic alert, road sign recognition and lane-departure warning.

Third on the Velar tree (or 33rd through to 40th if you count the engines and R-Dynamic combos) is the SE. The D180 starts at $87,873, with prices stretching through to the P380 R-Dynamic's $114,702.Every Velar features all-wheel drive, an eight-speed automatic and five seats.The SE arrives with 20-inch alloys, a 17-speaker stereo, side parking sensors, digital dash, self parking, ambient interior lighting, electric front seats, sat nav, auto high beam, LED headlights with signature DRLS, puddle lamps, Wi-Fi hotspot with on-board SIM card slot, powered and heated folding mirrors, leather interior, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, remote app, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, leather and suede trim, power tailgate and a space-saver spare.The R-Dynamic package, which is a part styling part, technology pack for inside and out, adds different wheels, upgrades to seat leather, aluminium trim pieces and, on some models, an upgrade to the sound system. It also adds air suspension and bigger front brakes, depending on the engine spec. R-Dynamic adds around $6000 to the price of each trim/engine level.Each Velar comes with JLR's new stacked touchscreen technology, 'Touch Pro Duo'. With two big touchscreens, one high in the dash as before and one where the dash meets the console, it allows you to spread the different functions across the two screens. Annoyingly, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are a $520 privilege for the pair.The Velar ships with six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, tyre-pressure monitoring, reversing camera, lane-keep assist, forward AEB with pedestrian avoidance, and lane-departure warning.There are also three top-tether anchor points and two ISOFIX points and the Velar scored five ANCAP safety stars in December 2017.

Top of the standard Velar range is the HSE spec, stretching from $100,253 for the D180 through to $127,082 for the HSE R-Dynamic. Every Velar features all-wheel drive, an eight-speed automatic and five seats.HSE spec includes 21-inch alloys, massaging front seats with heating and ventilation, side parking sensors, digital dash, self parking, ambient interior lighting, electric front seats, sat nav, auto high beam, LED headlights with signature DRLS, puddle lamps, Wi-Fi hotspot with on-board SIM card slot, powered and heated folding mirrors, leather interior, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, remote app, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, leather and suede trim, power tailgate and a space-saver spare.The R-Dynamic package, which is a part styling part, technology pack for inside and out, adds different wheels, upgrades to seat leather, aluminium trim pieces and, on some models, an upgrade to the sound system. It also adds air suspension and bigger front brakes, depending on the engine spec. R-Dynamic adds around $6000 to the price of each trim/engine level.Each Velar comes with JLR's new stacked touchscreen technology, 'Touch Pro Duo'. With two big touchscreens, one high in the dash as before and one where the dash meets the console, it allows you to spread the different functions across the two screens. Annoyingly, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are a $520 privilege for the pair.The Velar ships with six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, tyre-pressure monitoring, reversing camera, lane-keep assist, forward AEB with pedestrian avoidance, and lane-departure warning.There are also three top-tether anchor points and two ISOFIX points and the Velar scored five ANCAP safety stars in December 2017.

The second level of the four-step Velar stairway is the S. A significant price rise brings a ton of equipment and is probably where most punters will start, although probably not at the $82,263 D180. The top engine spec, the P380 with R Dynamic, maxes out at $109,092.Every Velar features all-wheel drive, an eight-speed automatic and five seats.The big price jump to the S means 19-inch alloys, an 11-speaker stereo, ambient interior lighting, electric front seats, sat nav, auto high beam, LED headlights with signature DRLS, puddle lamps, a wifi hotspot with on-board SIM card slot, powered and heated folding mirrors, leather interior, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, remote app, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, leather and suede trim, power tailgate, and a space-saver spare.The R-Dynamic package, which is a part styling part, technology pack for inside and out, adds different wheels, upgrades to seat leather, aluminium trim pieces and, on some models, an upgrade to the sound system. It also adds air suspension and bigger front brakes, depending on the engine spec. R-Dynamic adds around $6000 to the price of each trim/engine level.Each Velar comes with JLR's new stacked touchscreen technology, 'Touch Pro Duo'. With two big touchscreens, one high in the dash as before and one where the dash meets the console, it allows you to spread the different functions across the two screens. Annoyingly, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are a $520 privilege for the pair.The Velar ships with six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, tyre-pressure monitoring, reversing camera, lane-keep assist, forward AEB with pedestrian avoidance, and lane-departure warning.There are also three top-tether anchor points and two ISOFIX points and the Velar scored five ANCAP safety stars in December 2017.

The fourth-generation Ford Focus has arrived on Australian roads. Always underrated by car buyers - but highly rated by critics - the new Focus has a job on its hands. Can it join the Hyundai-Mazda-Honda hatch fight?