Articles by Stephen Ottley

The Audi Q3 195kW quattro is the current flagship of the new range.The 150kW is priced from $81,900 for the SUV and $84,400 for the Sportback and comes with adaptive LED headlights, ambient interior lighting, keyless entry and ignition, leather-appointed upholstery, a 10-speaker sound system as well as adaptive dampers and 19-inch alloy wheels.Powered by a 2.0L turbo-petrol four-cylinder, producing 195kW/400Nm, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with quattro (all-wheel drive), it is the most powerful member of the current Q3 range.But the extra power brings extra fuel consumption, with the 195kW quattro rated at a relatively thirsty 8.1L/100km.Audi claims this is the safest Q3 ever, with more safety equipment than before to ensure it meets modern customer demands.There’s a 360-degree camera set-up, reversing camera, adaptive cruise control and a host of other active safety features. But perhaps more importantly than just having these systems, they are locally tested and calibrated for local conditions.The Q3 is covered by Audi Australia’s standard five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. This includes five-years of roadside assistance too.

The Audi Q3 150kW quattro is the mid-range model of the new small SUV range.The 150kW is priced from $70,200 for the SUV and $72,700 for the Sportback and comes with adaptive LED headlights, ambient interior lighting, keyless entry and ignition, leather-appointed upholstery, a 10-speaker sound system as well as adaptive dampers and 19-inch alloy wheels.This model is powered by a 2.0L turbo-petrol four-cylinder, producing 150kW/320Nm. It is paried to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with quattro (all-wheel drive).Fuel economy for the 150kW quattro is a claimed 7.3L/100km.Audi claims this is the safest Q3 ever, with more safety equipment than before to ensure it meets modern customer demands.There’s a 360-degree camera set-up, reversing camera, adaptive cruise control and a host of other active safety features. But perhaps more importantly than just having these systems, they are locally tested and calibrated for local conditions.The Q3 is covered by Audi Australia’s standard five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. This includes five-years of roadside assistance too.

The entry-level model in the new-for-2026 Audi Q3 range is now known simply as the 110kW.It is priced from $61,600 for the SUV and $64,600 for the Sportback variant.Standard equipment includes 18-inch alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, ambient interior lighting, keyless entry and ignition, leather-appointed upholstery and a 10-speaker sound system.It is powered by a new 1.5-litre four-cylinder mild-hybrid, turbocharged petrol engine, which makes 110kW/250Nm and sends all that performance to the road via the front wheels through a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission.Fuel economy is rated at 5.8L/100km for the 110kW model.Audi claims this is the safest Q3 ever, with more safety equipment than before to ensure it meets modern customer demands.There’s a 360-degree camera set-up, reversing camera, adaptive cruise control and a host of other active safety features. But perhaps more importantly than just having these systems, they are locally tested and calibrated for local conditions.The Q3 is covered by Audi Australia’s standard five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. This includes five-years of roadside assistance too.

Is Toyota becoming the new Holden? And I don’t mean in a good way.The Japanese brand has dominated the Australian market for more than a decade. In 2025 almost one in every five new vehicles sold was a Toyota.So surely the brand can’t be in trouble, right? Surely Toyota is too big to fail? Well, it’s only early but there are some warning signs that the brand won’t find the going quite as easy as it has in recent years.Sales are down more than 20 per cent in the first four months of 2026. Toyota has lost almost five per cent of its market share, down to 15.9 per cent from over 20 per cent at the end of last year.Make no mistake, Toyota is still in a very strong position, comfortably ahead of its nearest rival on the sales charts, but that doesn’t mean there should be any complacency from the brand. As the people that used to work for Holden will no doubt tell you, there are no guarantees in this business and fortunes can suddenly change for even the biggest brand.Holden failed for many reasons, but key amongst them was an over-reliance on the strength of the ‘badge’ and a lack of investment into key products and segments. Management at Holden and General Motors felt they could rely on the popularity of the Commodore and supplement with re-badged Daewoo models, such as the Captiva, Epica, Viva and Barina. Holden seemingly felt that it could offer these sub-par products and Australian customers would accept them because of the Lion badge on the front. That worked, for a time, with Holden sales remaining strong and some of those mentioned models selling in big numbers.But eventually word spread that these were not good quality products, on par with what people felt Holden had offered in the past. And so Holden customers or would-be customers went looking for alternatives.In many cases that alternative was likely a Toyota, be it a HiLux, RAV4, Prado, Camry or any of the other popular models the brand has.I’m not suggesting that Toyota’s current line-up is on the same level as the rebadged Daewoo models Holden sold, but there has been a trend to recent Toyotas and that’s ‘facelifted’ or ‘updated’ models, rather than all-new vehicles.The prime example of this is the new RAV4, which is an update of the previous model, but has a less powerful hybrid engine, which now requires more expensive premium unleaded petrol for only marginal fuel economy improvements.The same goes for the HiLux, the beloved ute skipped the newer TNGA-F underpinnings used by the Prado and Tundra and instead still sits atop the same basic architecture that dates back to the mid-2000s.In some respects it’s easy to understand why Toyota is taking this ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach. Both the RAV4 and HiLux are amongst the most popular cars in the country, so why radically change them? Especially when Toyota needs to invest billions into new technology under its ‘multi-pathway’ strategy for future models.But when you look at the latest sales data, there is a distinct possibility Toyota is losing ground to rival brands because it isn’t making new cars that are as compelling as before.Sales of some of Toyota’s key models are down significantly so far this year. The Corolla is down 17.7%, the Yaris Cross has slumped 29%, Prado sales have plummeted by more than 40%, the Kluger is down 20.1%, plus the RAV4 is down 57% (albeit during the handover to the new model), and even the HiLux is down 11.1%, with a new model arriving at the end of 2025 with a limited line-up that has now expanded. Even the seemingly permanent sales success of the 70 Series LandCruiser has taken a dive, down 52.7 per cent in 2026, following a 13.6 per cent decline last year.Holden invested heavily in the VE/VF Commodores and it still wasn’t enough to keep the buyers coming back. If Toyota isn’t careful, its strategy of evolutionary improvement may end up costing it dearly.Looking further at the sales data there are several notable brands on the rise. BYD has more than doubled its market share in the first fourth months of 2026 compared to 2025. Chery has almost doubled its share over the same period and GWM has improved as well.In short, the talk from some of these new Chinese brands that they want to take on Toyota is starting to look less and less like bravado and more reasonable. At the same time Toyota sales are in decline, BYD sales are up 110.8 per cent, led by the popularity of its all-electric Sealion 7 SUV and backed up by the on-going sales strength of the Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute as well as an expanding line-up of hybrid and electric vehicles at highly-competitive prices.As we have written before, the Chinese brands have taken a page from the Japanese and South Korean brands that came before and are offering some of the most-affordable new cars on the market to lure buyers into the brand, potentially creating return customers in the future.It is clear that the likes of BYD, GWM and Chery have Toyota in their sights and are doing what they can to close the gap. Much in the same way Toyota targeted Holden and eventually ended its reign.Toyota is certainly in no danger of collapsing like Holden did, and it has the tools it needs to reverse its sales skid, but it must act. Relying on past success for future success is no plan and some bigger risks might be required to stay ahead of the pack.

Audi wants to have it both ways. The German brand is planning to expand its new Q3 range with both a flagship, high-performance RSQ3 and a more frugal, budget-helping plug-in hybrid.Speaking at the launch of the new Q3 range, which is rolling out with 110kW, 150kW and 195kW variants initially, Audi Australia management have made it clear that more options are on the way.Officially Audi hasn’t confirmed plans for an RSQ3, but Matthew Dale, National Product Manager for Audi Australia, leaves no uncertainty what the local position would be when plans are announced.“ We'd love one tomorrow,” he told CarsGuide. “Definitely put our hand up for one.”While Audi is almost-certain to revive the RS badge for this latest generation Q3, exactly what form that takes remains to be seen. The previous generation was powered by the brand’s iconic five-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, but Europe’s strict emissions laws have put its future in doubt. That means Audi is likely having to develop a new powertrain for the RSQ3, which will need to balance performance with efficiency and emissions requirements both in Europe and around the world.Given the RS model accounted for up to 15 per cent of total Q3 sales in Australia with the previous generation, the local demand is expected to be high - five-cylinder engine or not. So the most likely scenario is Audi Australia is simply waiting for head office to confirm its existence and timeline before committing publicly.On the flip side, the finishing touches are being made to the arrival of the all-new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant of the Q3. Its omission was obvious, as the new Q3 launches at a time of sky-high petrol prices and an increased demand for electric vehicles.Officially the Q3 PHEV is under ‘evaluation’ but all signs point to its arrival in the not-too-distant future.“ The main reason for that is, obviously, the latest generation Q3 we locked in all of our ICE models,” Dale said. “We just want to make sure that, one, the product that's available in Europe is fit for the Australian market and Australian consumer. Two, it's been tested for Australian conditions as well. And three, it’s the latest generation of the product. So it's close to getting to the end of its evaluation and getting a decision, but we just want to make sure that all three of those areas are ticked prior to bringing a product to market.”Asked if he foresees any of these issues holding the PHEV back, Dale was confident the latest model, which reportedly boasts up to 100km of EV-only driving range, will be a good fit for Audi Australia. “No, the big thing is that space is moving so, so quickly with, say, battery technology,” he explained. “Not necessarily the hardware components of the actual PHEV itself, but with battery technology, it's moving so, so fast, and that's something that we've obviously shown in, say, A5 and Q5, is the latest generation products. We've moved from having, say, 30-40km range in a battery pack that is essentially the same size as today, up to closer to 80km of pure EV range. And that shows that, we're using the same hardware size, but the hardware inside and the software has been increased exponentially over that period of time to offer the latest products to Australian consumers, and I think that's where we're looking into to ensure that if we position a vehicle in the market, that we're bringing the latest product to Australia.”The addition of a Q3 PHEV would help expand the appeal of the popular small SUV to people looking to save money at the petrol pump. The recent surge in fuel prices has seen interest in EVs dramatically increase, which is good news for Audi, as it was one of the first luxury brands to make a major commitment to EVs.“ Definitely ,” Dale said. “We've seen, even through our dealer network and our partners that invest in our Audi dealerships, they're basically saying that just inquiry on electric vehicles alone has been astronomical and it's doing quite well. Hopefully we continue that momentum. But yeah, you can see based on, consumables like fuel prices and things like that, where the consumer pivots to alternative solutions and with our broad portfolio of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles as well, even mild hybrid pluses and mild hybrids that we've got in this car as well, there's quite a broad range of products where consumers can pivot and have broader options.”

The new, third-generation Audi Q3 arrives with big expectations. It’s the best-selling model for the German brand in Australia, so it needs to retain all the elements that have made it a sales hit while trying to expand its appeal. We drive the new Q3 110kW, 150kW and 195kW models to see if Audi has done enough to keep its small SUV ahead of rivals from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Volvo and more.

Electric cars are finally having their moment. As petrol and diesel prices soar, it appears everyone on the fence about buying an electric vehicle (EV) have taken the plunge.Having steadily hovered around the 10 per cent total market share for the past 18 months, EVs accounted for more than 16 per cent in April. That means approximately one-in-six cars sold last month were battery-powered.But perhaps even more interesting than just the total number of EVs sold, was who was selling them. The days of Tesla dominating the electric market appear to be over, with several new names emerging as popular options for Australians.Here are five of the most in-demand EVs in 2026.BYD Sealion 7For all the hype around BYD’s Shark 6 ute and cut-price Atto 1, the real star for the brand is its mid-size SUV. The Sealion 7 isn’t just a popular EV, it’s also one of the most popular SUVs on the market and was the seventh best-selling vehicle in April.Sales are up 342.2% year-to-date, but it isn’t just a sudden surge in the wake of the fuel crisis. The Sealion 7 has been a popular choice almost since it arrived. It was the eighth most popular SUV in its segment in 2025, behind some of the biggest names in the market - Toyota RAV4, Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Sportage and Subaru Forester.So regardless of what happens with fuel prices in the coming months, the Sealion 7 looks set to remain a popular choice for anyone looking for a mid-size SUV, electric or otherwise.Geely EX5 If there is a biggest winner of the current surge in EV sales it is the Geely’s EX5. Sales are up 415.4% year-to-date, peaking with 1202 in April alone. That’s up from an average of just 328 sales per month in 2025 and its jump demonstrates that it is genuine demand in EVs, not simply availability, that is driving this current boom. The EX5 was already one of the most affordable EVs on the market, starting at just $41,990, so if it was simply price and choice creating this sales increase in electric options there’s no reason it wouldn’t have started last year.Instead, Geely is taking advantage of its appealing price and benefiting as Australian buyers look for a way to beat the pain at the pump.Zeekr 7X While it doesn’t have the sheer volume of others on this list, selling only 2698 examples so far in 2026, the 7X is proving to be consistently popular while growing in sales.It’s not surprising that it isn’t selling in bigger volumes like the BYD and Geely, as it is positioned as a more premium offering with a starting price of $57,900  that stretches to $72,900 for the flagship Performance AWD model.But averaging nearly 675 sales per month to start 2026, with a spike of 973 sales in April, it’s clear that the 7X is an EV with a growing following.Kia EV3 You may have noticed a theme with the previously mentioned models, as the newer Chinese brands have claimed the role of EV leaders. But one of the established brands holding its own is Kia.Not all of its EVs are proving a sales hit, with the larger EV6 and EV9 still returning relatively modest sales numbers, but the smaller EV3 is doing well. Sales are up 150.2 per cent year-to-date, helping it become the most popular small electric SUV in its price range.The EV3 has garnered critical acclaim and has been slowly building a customer base, likely appealing to those looking to make the electric switch with a brand they know and trust.Sales of the larger EV5 are also up in 2026, but nowhere near to the same level, increasing only 28.7 per cent as it competes directly against the Sealion 7, EX5 and even the 7X.Toyota bZ4XCompared to the other cars on this list the total 2026 sales of just 1323 looks a bit poor, but when you consider how the bZ4X has performed previously it is having a breakout moment.Toyota’s first EV averaged less than 87 sales per month in 2025 but in 2026 it is averaging 330 sales per month so far; peaking at 483 sales in April.This is likely thanks to a renewed marketing push from Toyota, the RAV4 changeover and the high petrol prices leading Australian buyers to give it another look. How long this continues remains to be seen, but given the struggle Toyota has had with this model so far, this is a definite bright spot for the bZ4X.

A few weeks ago we looked at the wrong cars that arrived at the wrong time.The likes of the Holden Commodore ZB, Range Rover Evoque Convertible and Tesla Cybertruck that flopped and were always destined to flop.This time around we’re being more positive and taking a look at those cars that have arrived at precisely the right moment. We’ve also kept it more relevant, with several recent arrivals making our list - plus a few old favourites.Let us know in the comments or on social media if we got it right or if you think we missed some obvious examples of the right car at the right time.MG4 UrbanFew cars have launched at such an optimum time as MG’s latest. This small hatch costs less than a Toyota Corolla Hybrid but is all-electric, meaning you’re saving money on the purchase price and then (in theory) on the running costs.Hitting Australian roads the same month petrol prices started to spike and interest in electric vehicles (EVs) surged, MG may have given Australian customers exactly what they want.It’s too early to tell if it will be a sales success or not, so we may end up looking wrong in hindsight, but all signs point to it being a prime example of the right car at the right time.BYD Shark 6To many observers the idea of a plug-in hybrid dual-cab ute was a foolish one. The ute market is dominated by diesels and BYD’s radical concept was going to fall flat on its face.It turns out those observers were dead wrong. The Shark 6 has proven to be an immediate sales success, as ute buyers have embraced its combination of electric and turbocharged petrol power.Its early success was helped by fringe benefit tax breaks, but its on-going popularity suggests there has been a shift in the buying habits of Australian ute customers.Chery Tiggo 4 ProWe didn’t say this was a list of the ‘best cars’, because the Tiggo 4 Pro has its flaws, but it is another prime example of a car brand filling a gap in the market at precisely the right moment.The diminutive SUV has become a runaway sales hit for the Chinese brand for one key reason - value. It may not be perfect, but with a starting price of $23,990 drive-away it is one of the most-affordable new cars you can buy.At that price it doesn’t have to be flawless, and Chery has had no trouble finding buyers that have been priced out by the likes of Toyota, Hyundai and Ford, looking for their first new car.Holden Commodore VBRising oil prices driving petrol prices to new heights and creating a surge in demand for smaller, more efficient models - sounds familiar, right? I’m not talking about 2026, I’m talking about the 1979 energy crisis and the arrival of the then-new Holden Commodore.Smaller and more fuel-efficient than the Kingswood it replaced, the Commodore was just what Australian buyers were looking for at that point. The original VB Commodore became an almost-immediate sales leader for Holden, setting the legacy that continued for more than four decades.Ford Ranger (T6)When Ford launched the new, Australian-developed Ranger in 2011 the sales charts were dominated by small cars. The Mazda3 was the best-seller that year and the Toyota Corolla, Holden Cruze and Hyundai i30 were all amongst the top six.We didn’t know it then, but the T6 Ranger was about to radically alter the Australian automotive landscape. By 2013 it was inside the top 10 sellers and within five years it was locked into the top five most popular models.It has since gone on to topple the beloved Toyota HiLux, not only as Australia’s favourite ute, but as Australia’s favourite new vehicle.Whether Ford predicted it or not, the more refined, family-friendly Ranger was just what people were looking for. The Ranger effectively replaced the Falcon in Ford Australia’s line-up (and likely in plenty of driveways) as the ute evolved from workhorse to family favourite.

Has Hyundai turned its 'ugly duckling' into a beautiful swan? The all-new Hyundai Ioniq 6 N gives the brand's polarising electric sedan a high-powered makeover. Featuring supercar levels of performance and a raft of groundbreaking technology, the Ioniq 6 N is a technical masterpiece. But is it an exciting and engaging performance car to drive? We test it on road and track to find out.

They say going to the movies has declined since the rise of larger home televisions. It seems if Mercedes-Benz has its way, we will soon be watching movies in the car instead.At least if the all-new C-Class EV interior is any guide to the brand’s future. While it’s still an optional choice, the new 39.1-inch MBUX Hyperscreen is one of the largest screens I’ve ever seen in a car. And it might be one of the worst design decisions I’ve ever seen Mercedes-Benz make.It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Mercedes has gone down this path. The German giant’s design leader, Gordon Wagener, is on the record with both his love of a large screen and his dislike of rival brands.In a rare on-the-record assessment of his rivals, Wagener told the UK’s Top Gear magazine at the 2025 Munich motor show that the new Audi Concept C interior had “too little tech” and looked like “it was designed in 1995” – which is a pretty generous critique of 1995-era technology and design.In the same interview he explained his decision to introduce larger and larger screens into new Mercedes models, because he believes that owners might want to “watch a movie and stuff like that.”The problem I have with this is two-fold. Firstly, it's not good design. I know that design is subjective, but objectively speaking, the new C-Class EV loses so much about what made Mercedes look and feel luxurious. The difference between Mercedes and mainstream brands was the quality and presentation inside the cabin. I haven’t sat in the just-revealed C-Class EV yet, but looking at the images it feels like it could be something produced by any of the new Chinese premium brands.Yes, there are still some nice premium trims and I’m sure it looks impressive, but for me it doesn’t immediately project a sense of class and sophistication that Mercedes is known for. Mercedes’ arch-rivals at BMW have taken a slightly different approach, its ‘neue klasse’ 3 Series and iX3 feature a combination of large multimedia touchscreen, in a conventional sense, with a narrower screen wrapping around almost the entire base of the windscreen. It’s a different kind of big, but it’s still big. Not to sound like an old person, but… back when I was younger and obsessed with cars, whenever I sat in a Mercedes, BMW or Audi, you could tangibly see and feel the difference between them and their competition. But that differentiation is getting harder to feel these days, as new brands without the heritage of Mercedes and company can simply go inch-for-inch in terms of screens.If you look at luxury houses, they do not fill every room with a huge television or make every room feel like a movie theatre. Good design is about moderation and restraint as much as anything. Secondly, and more importantly, we shouldn’t be ‘watching movies and stuff’ in the car. If you want to watch a movie, stay at home – or heck, go and watch it on an actual ‘big screen’ at the local cinema.Cars are for driving and safety should always remain both the car makers and the driver’s top priority. In case any of these designers have forgotten, cars are approximately two-tonnes of metal and glass that typically travel up to 100km/h. This isn’t an entertainment device, it’s transport. If you can’t go one car ride without watching a movie or having a screen in front of you, maybe you should see a doctor, not your local car dealer.Also, just a reminder in case anyone has forgotten, it is very much illegal to touch your smartphone with its 6-plus-inch screen, so why do the lawmakers not have any problem with these absurdly large screens that are becoming increasingly common – and increasingly distracting?To be fair to Mercedes, the German brand is alone in introducing ridiculously large screens. Instead, I blame Tesla.The American EV brand really kicked off this trend when it realised it could save costs – sorry, I mean create a minimalist interior design – by getting rid of as many buttons as possible and replacing them with a touchscreen.Rival brands saw the acceptance of this technology by consumers and didn’t need any more excuses to save money on buttons and dials. And, of course, like anything in the car industry, it soon became a… measuring competition… between the brands. And thus we find ourselves now in the era of the hyperscreen.The saviour, somewhat ironically, may actually be the Chinese government, which is mandating that car makers do include physical controls for key functionality, which is forcing a rethink from not just Chinese car makers but anyone who wants to sell cars in the world’s biggest market.While this won’t mean the end of the large screen, hopefully it will restrain future designs and reprioritise design, usability and safety.