Articles by Peter Anderson

The Renault Koleos puts a French spin on the mid-size SUV, using the underpinnings of its Nissan X-Trail stablemate as a base.

The S63 isn't even the top of the S Class coupe range at $370,500.

The Mercedes-Benz S560 is a classic GT coupe loaded with gear and a sonorous V8 engine to ensure you crush the kays in quiet, elegant comfort.

The S Class Coupe has had an update, with the S560 and S63 here to terrify other road users with technology and pace. Peter Anderson has driven them both for the first time.

Hyundai's i30 now stretches from a bargain $19,990 hatch to a rip-snorting $39,990 hot hatch, the i30 N Performance. But will it make the competition sit up and take notice?

The i30 range opens with the bargain basement Go. The manual petrol kicks off at $19,990 with the automatic weighing in at $24,990. In between are the auto petrol and manual diesel.Standard are 16-inch steel wheels, air-conditioning, reversing camera, cloth trim, remote central locking, cruise control,  auto headlights, power windows front and rear, heated powered door mirrors (auto only) and a full-size spare tyre.The six-speaker sound system has AM/FM radio, Bluetooth and USB and is controlled via a dash-mounted 8.0-inch touchscreen. iPhone and Android users will be pleased to know all i30s have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so if there's no sat-nav, it doesn't matter. The Go is available with two engines, the 120kW/203Nm in manual or auto and the 100kW/280Nm for the 1.6-litre diesel manual and 300Nm in the seven-speed twin clutch auto.The basic five-star ANCAP safety package amounts to seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, hill-start assist and brake-force distribution. The Smart Sense safety package adds a ton of gear, including forward AEB, forward collision warning, blind-spot detection, lane-change assist, lane-keeping assist, rear cross traffic alert and active cruise. Irritatingly,  the Smart Sense safety package is unavailable in the manuals and AEB really should be standard on all i30s.

The most popular i30 is the Active, starting at $20,950 for the petrol manual and stretching to $25,950 for the DCT diesel.Standard are 16-inch alloy wheels, air-conditioning, reversing camera, cloth trim, remote central locking, cruise control,  auto headlights, power windows front and rear, heated powered door mirrors (auto only), rear parking sensors, LED daytime running lights, sat nav, and a full-size alloy spare.The six-speaker sound system has AM/FM/DAB radio, Bluetooth and USB and is controlled via a dash-mounted 8.0-inch touchscreen. iPhone and Android users will be pleased to know all i30s have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.The Active is available with two engines, the 120kW/203Nm in manual or auto and the 100kW/280Nm for the 1.6-litre diesel manual and 300Nm in the seven-speed twin clutch auto.The basic five-star ANCAP safety package amounts to seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, hill-start assist and brake-force distribution. The Smart Sense safety package adds a ton of gear, including forward AEB, forward collision warning, blind-spot detection, lane-change assist, lane-keeping assist, rear cross traffic alert and active cruise. Irritatingly,  the 'Smart Sense' safety package is unavailable in the manuals and AEB really should be standard on all i30s.

After the Active, the i30 range branches into two streams - performance and comfort. The Elite is the first of the comfort models, below the Premium. The Elite is available only with the 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engine with the seven-speed dual-clutch auto priced at $27,790 and $30,490.Standard are 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, active cruise control,  auto headlights, fake leather seats, steering wheel and gear shifter and keyless entry via smart key technology, power windows front and rear, heated powered door mirrors , rear parking sensors, LED daytime running lights, sat nav, and a full-size alloy spare.The six-speaker sound system has AM/FM/DAB radio, Bluetooth and USB and is controlled via a dash-mounted 8.0-inch touchscreen. iPhone and Android users will be pleased to know all i30s have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.The five-star ANCAP safety package is composed of seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, hill-start assist, brake-force distribution, forward AEB, forward collision warning, blind spot detection, lane-change assist, lane-keeping assist, rear cross traffic alert and active cruise.

The second in the comfort stream is the Premium, starting at $32,790 for the 2.0-litre petrol and $35,490 for the diesel.Standard are 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, cloth trim,  cruise control,  auto headlights, fake leather seats, steering wheel and gear shifter, and keyless entry via smart key technology, power windows front and rear, heated powered door mirrors, rear parking sensors, LED daytime running lights, sat nav, electric drivers seat, auto LED headlights, sunroof, electrochromatic rear vision mirror, and a full-size alloy spare. The six-speaker sound system has AM/FM/DAB radio, Bluetooth and USB and is controlled via a dash-mounted 8.0-inch touchscreen. iPhone and Android users will be pleased to know all i30s have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.The five-star ANCAP safety package is composed of seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, hill-start assist, brake-force distribution, forward AEB, forward collision warning, blind spot detection, lane-change assist, lane-keeping assist, rear cross traffic alert and active cruise. 

While the Elite and Premium are more comfort-focused, the SR and SR Premium are aimed at the warm-hatch market. Powered by a 1.6-litre turbo petrol, the sporty pair kick out 150kW/265Nm. The six-speed manual SR is $25,990 while the seven-speed 'DCT' dual-clutch auto is $28,950.Standard are 18-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, cloth trim, active cruise control, rear parking sensors, auto headlights, fake leather seats, steering wheel and gear shifter, and keyless entry via smart key technology, power windows front and rear, heated powered door mirrors, rear parking sensors, LED daytime running lights, sat nav, and a space-saver spare.The SR Premium is basically the same apart from a sunroof, front parking sensors, heated and ventilated electric front seats, and is DCT only, retailing at $33,950.The six-speaker sound system has AM/FM/DAB radio, Bluetooth and USB and is controlled via a dash-mounted 8.0-inch touch screen. iPhone and Android users will be pleased to know all i30s have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.The five-star ANCAP safety package is composed of seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, hill-start assist, brake-force distribution, forward AEB, forward collision warning, blind spot detection, lane-change assist, lane-keeping assist, rear cross traffic alert and active cruise.