Articles by Peter Barnwell

Forget any connection between this car and the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar – only the name is the same.

Citroen has been making passenger-car-based vans for decades and the latest Berlingo benefits from this as it's on the same platform as a Citroen people mover.

The line between Audi’s high performance RS and the "lesser" S models seems to be blurring if the new S3 Sportback is any guide

Nissan have walked away from Pathfinder as a genuine 'fourbie' taking the new R52 model unequivocally down the soft roader route and without a two range transfer.

We are totally smitten by this car on a whole range of fronts, not just performance and handling at which it excels. The Mercedes-Benz A45AMG promises much and delivers more at a price that makes it the best value hyper-performance car on the road right now let alone the hottest hot hatch. Price The $74,900 ask might

A new Subaru WRX is big news to a lot of people because the car has almost iconic status. Motor heads know what a "Rex" is and its reputation as a potent, safe, affordable, all-wheel-drive rocketship.

BMW's new X5 is a big bugger, bigger than we recall the previous two models were but it's not unexpected from a vehicle built in the US where they make 'em to accommodate possibly the largest humans i

As volunteer Rod Bates and his partner Joanne were returning from weekend spent supporting fire-fighters outside Adelaide in January, their journey home took a turn for the worse when they rolled their Renault Kangoo on the freeway.A moment's inattention led to the vehicle ploughing off the freeway into the ditch between the carriageways and then rolling over. The almost new Kangoo diesel  van left the road, traversed the central median and rolled across the oncoming lane, coming to rest at the far edge of the carriageway. Fortunately both Rod and Joanne climbed out of the vehicle, very little the worse for wear."We were very lucky that we didn't hit any other cars or any poles or trees," Rod says. "My only memory of the accident as it was happening was that I was pinned to the seat by the seat belt. I didn't feel any of the impacts, but I did feel the seatbelt holding me tightly," he says.Rod says he has no recollection of his head hitting the airbag, though he remembers the noise it made. "It is a noise you don't forget. I ended up with a scratch and burn from the airbag deployment and my partner ended up with a couple of black eyes, minor seatbelt bruising and a mild concussion. When the emergency services guys arrived they couldn't believe we had walked away from the car," Rod says.While the Kangoo suffered significant body damage, the passenger compartment was largely untouched. Some minor damage occurred to the stock Rod had in the rear of the vehicle, but the full size cargo barrier protected the passenger cell from intrusion from behind. The interior was, however, liberally sprinkled with freeze dried coffee beans and the contents of a cup that had been residing in the cup holder."I had bought the Renault Kangoo only a few weeks before the accident. I had been looking or a small runabout van for my lighting and sound company. We have a bigger van but it is a bit cumbersome and quite thirsty to drive round town all the time," he says. "The fuel use had been very impressive, about half what we were using in the bigger van," he says."It is such a shame that the Kangoo was written off as we'd only put about 6,000km on the clock, but I am hoping to replace it with a new Kangoo Maxi as soon as they become available."Commenting on the crash performance of the Kangoo, Renault Australia Managing Director, Justin Hocevar says: "Naturally we are relieved that Rod and Joanne were able to walk away.  The Kangoo is small, but it is strong, and the safety engineering that has gone into the Kangoo, which is built on a passenger car platform, really did its stuff." 

The PHEV is the first of its kind in the world offering the facility of plug-in electric recharging at home or work

Mercedes is making the most of its four cylinder small car platform.