Hatchback News

Hyundai has recalled 4781 Kona N SUVs and i30 N sedans built between 2020 and 2023 due to a manufacturing defect affecting the models fuel pumps.

Three years ago, very few Australians knew what BYD was. Now, it is fast becoming a household name.

The car industry is based on constant model renewal. Cycles have been getting shorter and shorter, with the main industry settling on between six and eight years as the norm. 

Australia’s electric car price wars are heating up once again, with BYD becoming the first-ever brand to advertise an electric car for under $30,000. Starting at $29,990, before on-road costs, the new Essential variant will lead the two-grade Dolphin range, sitting $6900 below the outgoing Dynamic ($36,890) and top-spec Premium ($42,890).

The UK-built Nissan Leaf is now Australia’s second-cheapest electric car as Nissan slashes more than $20,000 off its retail price.

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.

It’s no secret times are tough. The cost of living is sky high and cars don’t seem to be getting any cheaper. 

Australia has a very, very competitive new car market.  Our total new car sales each year is dwarfed by other nations around the world, but there are only a handful of countries where there’s as much choice for new car buyers as here.

The first symptoms of serious market change are afoot. Not only did 2024 mark the end of a host of individual nameplates, it also saw the demand of one the oldest brands in Australia after decades of flagging sales. 

Renault importer Ateco has confirmed Australia is getting the giant slaying Renault 5 Turbo 3E electric hatchback.With two rear-mounted motors delivering 375kW, the Renault 5 Turbo 3E’s targeted 0-100km/h time of 3.5 seconds would make it as almost as rapid as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N (3.4 seconds), though still over a second shy of the wild Porsche Taycan Turbo S (2.4 seconds). Australian details of the '80s-inspired hyper hatch, including arrival timing, pricing and allocation size, are yet to be confirmed. Expect an ultra-limited run with a price tag beyond A$200,000. Expressions of interest are now open ahead of a 2026 production start. The Turbo 3E is the new electric Renault 5 flagship, sitting above the cooking hatch and its 160kW Alpine-fettled version. It has a carbon fibre body wrapped around a bespoke carbon fibre ‘super structure’, though, sharing little with the regular 5. There are massive side intakes to cool the e-Motors, one of which houses the charging port. Regarding the huge wide-body kit, rear diffuser, wings and bespoke front bumper, Renault CEO Luca De Meo’s design brief was “Make me a little beast”.The Turbo 3E is expected to have all sorts of driver-centric features, including drift modes, doughnut settings and a physical handbrake — though whether it’s a cable pull or more like the Ford Mustang’s electro-hydraulic ‘Drift Brake’ is unclear.Renault has promised an “outstanding driving sensation, something completely unexpected” with agility “like nothing else”.The Turbo 3E is a nod to the Renault 5 dynasty. The hatch started with the regular range, with the 5 GT Turbo added as the mass-production hot model — akin to today’s Alpine A290 — with the mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo 2 as the limited-run flagship. The recipe was repeated in the early 2000s on the second-generation Renault Clio. Cooking regular hatch, big-engined attainable hot hatch (Renault Sport 172 and 182) and super-limited, borderline insane mid-engined rear-drive Clio V6 at the top of the tree. It also seems, strangely, as though the Turbo 3E will be a Renault product, rather than Alpine. Suppose that is the difference between outright punch and Alpine’s bent for low weight and overall balance. Further details such as driving range, battery size and recharging times remain a mystery for now. “Renault head office in France has been very supportive of Australia. The fact we’ve been able to secure the Renault 5 Turbo 3E for our customers so soon after it was confirmed for production in Europe, shows how committed Renault is to the Australian market – with this and other exciting models around the corner,” said General Manager of Renault Australia Glen Sealey. Those other ‘exciting models’ are yet to be detailed. Renault has expressed interest in both the regular 5 electric hatchback and its R4 small SUV sibling. Neither model is confirmed for Australia yet.