Articles by Samuel Irvine

Five years ago, could you imagine someone telling you that supercar titan Lamborghini is benchmarking a Hyundai for its upcoming performance car?Well, according to a YouTube video posted by a keen Italian car-spotter named Varryx, that’s exactly the kind of crazy world we’re living in.The video was shot outside of Lamborghini’s headquarters in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, and showcased the regular suite of camo-wrapped Lamborghinis along with super cars from competitors such as McLaren and Ferrari exiting through a secured gate.Then, much to the surprise of the author, a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N emerged.Now, it could be that an employee at Lamborghini simply owns an Ioniq 5 N as their daily driver.But car brands, especially those in the supercar business, benchmark cars from competitors all the time, and given Lamborghini is prepping its first electric supercar, why wouldn’t they pull apart an Ioniq 5 N?The electric high-performance car was a game-changer for the South Korean brand, which had very limited experience in the performance space prior to officially launching its ‘N’ performance brand in 2015. The Ioniq 5 N followed in 2024.With 448kW/740Nm, the dual-motor Ioniq 5 N was widely regarded in the car community as the first truly engaging fully-electric performance car thanks to intuitive features such as an e-shift, an electric transmission that simulates the feeling of an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.It’s fast, too, clocking 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.4 seconds, which is only about 0.9 seconds shy of Lamborghini’s bonkers plug-in hybrid V12 Revuelto that has 299kW more power.Lamborghini has already confirmed its first EV is coming, after previewing its Lanzador concept in 2023.Initially slated for a 2028 release date, Lamborghini pushed back the car's arrival until 2029, citing concerns over weakening market demand. But who knows, maybe they just needed more time to assess the competition.

Chinese electric car brand Nio has revealed its first foray into the budget EV space with its new Firefly sub-brand.Designed for overseas markets, which could eventually include Australia, the brand will be spearheaded by its Firefly namesake, a compact electric hatchback.Despite much of the Firefly’s technical details remaining under wraps for now, CarNewsChina reported the Firefly will likely start at 148,800 Yuan in China, approximately $32,600.Should it arrive locally, that would put it in the ballpark of Australia’s cheapest EVs and fellow Chinese competitors such as the GWM Ora ($35,990) and MG4 ($39,990), both of which are national drive-away prices.The BYD Dolphin, meanwhile, starts at $36,890, before on-road costs.According to CarNewsChina, Nio boss William Li also has more expensive Chinese-made rivals such as the Mini Cooper Electric and Smart #1 in his sights, both of which exceed the $50,000 mark in Australia.“Firefly is smarter than Mini and more mini than Smart,” said Li at the car’s reveal in Guangzhou, China in December last year.The Firefly was designed by industrial designer Kris Tomasson, Nio’s Senior Vice President of Design, who has previous experience at BMW and Ford.Its trio LED headlights, running lights and tail-lights are the biggest design hallmarks of the vehicle, along with the thin black fascias that run between them at each end of the car in lieu of a grille.The Firefly’s interior is yet to be revealed, although we know from previous leaked images it will carry a floating centre multimedia screen, a head-up display mounted to the steering wheel column and an oval-shaped steering wheel.Dimensions at this stage are also unclear, although the Firefly has been revealed with an impressive bootspace of 1250 litres with the rear seats folded and an extra 92 litres by way of a front trunk.For reference, that’s 25 litres more storage in the front than the much larger Kia EV5, while 392 litres more than an MG4 at the rear, or 72 litres more than an MG4.In true Nio style, the Firefly is also rumoured to be compatible with swappable battery tech, but that’s about as much as we know in terms of its battery capacity.As China’s fifth best-selling electric car brand, Nio has pioneered battery swap technology domestically, where it currently operates some 3000 stations.The Firefly will officially launch in China in April 2025, with release dates for European, South American and Asian markets expected shortly after.Australia remains a possibility as Nio looks to build foundations in the European market despite heavy tariffs, with the brand last year confirming plans for its Onvo sub-brand in the UK – another right-hand drive market that does not impose tariffs on Chinese EV brands.

Kia has recalled 5978 examples of its Sorento model sold between 2023 and 2024 and 4551 examples of its electric EV6 model sold between 2021 and 2024 over a software defect.A recall notice published by the Australian government’s vehicle recall regulator reads: “due to a software issue, the turn indicator light and/or the upper part of the Daytime Running Lights (DRL) may not operate as intended. This may result in reduced visibility.”In extreme cases, the recall notice said reduced visibility may increase the risk of an accident causing injury or death to vehicle occupants and other road users.Kia Australia will contact owners of affected vehicles directly by mail to arrange to have the software update carried out, free of charge. The software update can also be carried out via an over-the-air update.Owners can also check if their vehicle is impacted by looking up its VIN number on the Vehicle Recalls website.

Hyundai’s luxury sub-brand Genesis has updated its dedicated electric SUV model, the GV60, for 2025.

Cars have come a long way in the last few years. Many features once considered high-tech or luxury in the not-so-distant past (take autonomous emergency braking for example) are now standard, offering improved convenience, functionality and, most importantly, safety.

As the top vehicle class for Australians for six of the last seven years, the medium SUV segment is our nation's most competitive.

With Australia's four-wheel drive segment more competitive than ever before, deciding which off-road SUV to buy has become an increasingly complicated task.

As another year passes, another crop of vehicles forfeit their safety ratings from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) – Australia and New Zealand's independent authority on crash test safety.

The electric SUV market has been Tesla’s since the Model Y arrived down under in 2022, with few rivals fit enough to challenge it from a range, price or technological perspective.The competition has finally expanded in 2024, with cut-price Chinese and South Korean rivals gunning for the Model Y’s crown.So, do they have the spec sheets to prove it?We’ve put two of the most compelling Model Y rivals – the Kia EV5 and Xpeng G6 – head-to-head on paper with Australia’s top-selling EV to determine whether Tesla really has anything to worry about.The Model Y is comfortably the leader when it comes to cargo space, offering what the brand claims is an additional 334-litres of additional storage over the Kia EV5 and a further 273-litres over the Xpeng G6.It must be mentioned, however, that Tesla only quotes the space between the boot floor and the Model Y's roof, while most other brands only quote boot space to rear window line.That said, the Model Y is known for its huge cargo capacity, adding an additional 117 litres under the bonnet, besting the Kia EV5 by 50 litres, while the Xpeng G6 is void of a front trunk entirely.The discrepancies in cargo space are quite staggering when you factor in that the Model Y and Xpeng G6 are practically on par when it comes to dimensions, with the G6 actually 2mm longer than the Model Y and 26mm taller.Tesla credits the Model Y's huge expansiveness to the Model Y's electric underpinnings, which positions the electric motor (or motors) closer to the axles, making way for additional cabin space.Cargo space aside, the Model Y's huge width can make it feel a quite daunting to park, particularly when car parks don't always subscribe to the minimum 2.4m width they're required to. For those who prefer a slimmer car, the Kia EV5 is the safest bet.When purchasing an EV, arguably the most important factor (beside cost) is range, and in this key metric the Xpeng G6 Long Range has either of its competitors beaten decisively. It carries an additional 47km over the Model Y and a whopping 70km over the EV5.It has them both on another key metric as well – DC fast-charging time. According to Xpeng's claim for the G6 Long Range, you'll spend 18 fewer minutes at a charging station than you will charging the equivalent EV5, or seven minutes less on the equivalent Model Y. In a world of shortening attention spans and impatient drivers, that will undoubtedly make the G6 more appealing.Achieving that figure, however, is obviously dependent on the charger meeting the max capacity of 280kW, which depends on how closely you live to a fast-charging station, which are unfortunately less common than one would hope. The Model Y might have the G6 in that respect, given it operates its own network of chargers across Australia with 250kW capacity pylons commonplace, the majority of which are exclusive to Tesla vehicles.Despite having the largest battery pack, the Kia EV5 falls short on both of its rivals with a comparatively long charging time at 38 minutes at a maximum capacity of just 141kW.In terms of speed and acceleration, the Model Y is streets ahead of the competition, a less practical metric but one that is undoubtedly appealing for some prospective buyers.Its dazzling 0-100km/h time of 5.0 seconds is followed by the EV5's at 6.1 seconds, which is closely followed by the G6 at 6.2 seconds. The EV5 leads the way with power at 308kW, 32kW more than the Model Y and 108kW more than the G6, while the Model Y has them both covered with torque, giving it a class-leading towing capacity of 1600kg.Since going on sale in the US in 2019, the Model Y is yet to receive a comprehensive facelift, both inside or out.Despite the upgraded 'Juniper' model being earmarked to arrive next year, it's unlikely we will see a comprehensive redesign of the interior, with the combined central driver's display/multimedia display set to remain the standard for 2025 as we saw on the updated Model 3.Tesla purists swear by it, but there are many in the automotive world who are rightly critical of the speedometer being located on the central screen where it exists alongside practically every other vehicle function.Adopting an interior layout that appears to be inspired by the Model Y, Xpeng have gone a step further by installing a 10.2-inch digital driver display, and though the majority of vehicle controls are still commanded through the central infotainment screen, it will no doubt be a more approachable configuration for prospective buyers.It's the Kia EV5 that takes the crown for the most compelling cabin, which is headlined by the integrated panoramic display, a simple, user-friendly display that Kia models have become known for in recent years. On the EV5, that includes twin 12.3-inch touchscreen displays and a smaller 5.0-inch touchscreen for climate controls wedged between.The EV5 – and the G6 – are both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible, with Tesla eschewing the software in favour of its own in-house system.All three vehicles carry wireless charging capability, a panoramic sunroof, synthetic leather upholstery and heated front seats as standard, but only one model – the EV5 – provides the option of a massage function for the driver and an augmented reality head-up display.Additionally, if you opt for the top-spec GT-Line variant, you'll get a storage area in the second row that can cool and heat up food, as well as an eight-speaker Harman/Kardon premium sound system.Tesla's stereo is considered one of the best in the business, though.Dual-zone climate only comes on the EV5 and G6, while only the G6 carries an air purification system.These days, especially for EVs, its all about price. And who can undercut the competition with its low-cost manufacturing capacity more than anyone else? China.Despite all three models being built for the Australian market in China, its the Chinese-owned Xpeng G6 that takes the cake from a price perspective. With a starting price of just $54,800 before on-road cost, its $1100 cheaper than the Tesla Model Y and $1,970 cheaper than the base-model Kia EV5.Prices are at before on-road costsPrice is arguably the most important factor informing a customer's decision to purchase an EV, and when you combine that with a better driving range and charging time than both of its key rivals, the answer of which EV makes the strongest case – the Xpeng G6 – becomes clear cut.Having said that, all three vehicles make a compelling case in terms of value, with very little separating them on price or performance.Regardless of preferences, that signals exciting times ahead for the EV market, particularly when you compare it to how it looked just two years ago when Tesla appeared untouchable.

Lexus has reopened order books for the NX450h+, the plug-in hybrid hero version of the brand’s most popular model in Australia.