Sedan News

It’s hard to think of a person more connected and invested in the Ferrari brand than Luca di Montezemolo, but even the man who led the company from 1991 to 2014 and was Enzo Ferrari’s personal assistant in the early 1970s can’t abide the Prancing Horse’s new all-electric model.Having viewed the Ferrari Luce’s unveiling at this week’s Confindustria public assembly in Rome, Montezemolo told Italian outlet askanews, “If I were to say what I think, I would be hurting Ferrari. “It risks destroying a legend, and I'm deeply sorry. “I hope they at least remove the prancing horse from that car."It is definitely a car that at least the Chinese won't copy," he said.One of Italy’s most high-profile business and sporting personalities, Montezemolo went from the world of Ferrari, including close management of its Formula 1 efforts, to become Chairman of Alitalia and now sits on the board of McLaren Group.And Montezemolo is not alone in fearing Ferrari’s iconic status may be eroded thanks to the Luce.Speaking on X, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister (and Transport Minister) Matteo Salvini commented on Montezemolo’s views.“Electric, incredibly expensive (€550,000!), and aesthetically speaking, it speaks for itself... “It looks anything but a Prancing Horse car. “And this is supposed to be "innovation"? “I wonder what Enzo Ferrari would say…," he said.Former iPhone designer Jony Ive, who was commissioned by Ferrari to develop the Luce through his LoveFrom consultancy, has seemingly raised the hackles of Ferrari Tifosi around the globe.CarsGuide’s own coverage of the newcomer’s arrival has drawn fierce commentary on social media with feedback like, “Obviously, the designers are not car enthusiasts. Fire the CEO! Better yet, fire them all.  As well as, “One million??? For that Roomba???? Enzo is spinning in his grave!”  And perhaps most cuttingly, “The Ferrari design that became a global laughingstock.” It’s also worth noting Ferrari’s share price plummeted more than six per cent from €309.20 on the morning of the Luce’s launch to €290.00 by the evening’s close and currently sits at €283.75.

Believe it or don’t we’re almost halfway through the year and that calls for a round up of the cars that have stood out to us in 2026.So, we’ve asked our fellow test pilots around the CarsGuide office which new car has impressed them the most so far. Here’s our half-year top 5, in no particular order.Honda PreludeHonda’s reborn Prelude sports car is a reminder of the magic this iconic Japanese company can perform at a time when new Chinese brands are drawing our eyes away.A rival to the Toyota GR 86, Nissan Z and Mazda MX-5 the Prelude arrived in May with a hybrid powertrain and a drive-away price of $65,000.Based on the Honda Civic, the Prelude has a 2.0-litre four cylinder engine and an electric motor. Combined output is 149kW.CarsGuide contributor Byron Mathioudakis attended the Australian launch.“Firstly, the performance on offer goes far beyond the sum of its published numbers," he said."Secondly, the fluency of the chassis to communicate with the road and driver makes this a true enthusiast’s car. And thirdly, this leaves us wanting more."Long after the sensual lines are out of sight, your mind’s eye keeps looking back, yearning to return to the driver’s seat. All for $65K drive-away, folks."BMW M2 CSBMW’s new M2 CS arrived in May this year loudly announcing that angry performance petrol cars were still well and truly a thing - and a beautiful thing, too.The Competition Sport version of the mighty little M2 takes that little beast's straight-six turbo and squeezes out more grunt - 390kW and 650Nm.The M2 CS has been one of Senior Journalist Chris Thompson’s favourite finds of 2026 so far.“Small enough to still feel like a nimble sports car but it won't bite your hand too hard," Thompson said."Plenty of power and a healthy torque band, but enough compliance in the chassis/suspension that it doesn't feel entirely like driving a race car. Looks fully siq in Velvet Blue Metallic with Gold Bronze wheels."Denza B5BYD’s luxury brand Denza brought its Toyota Prado rival to Australia this year starting at a list price of just less than $75K.Production Editor Jack Quick drove this large super hybrid SUV at its Aussie launch and had this to say:“It rights the BYD Shark 6’s wrongs in terms of off-road capability and has undeniable value with the amount of high-end touches it has. Plus it’s ridiculously fast. However, it’s not perfect as it’s very heavy and has a busy ride.” Kia EV4 GT-LineKia’s fully electric EV4 sedan arrived in Australia in January looking slipperier than an eel.There’s a single motor making 150kW and 283Nm driving the front wheels and you can have it in three grades with the starting list price being $49,990.Deputy Editor James Cleary drove the EV4 and nominated it as one of the cars that impressed him this year."Polarising contemporary Kia exterior design... but I like it,” he said.  “Snappy, user-friendly interior. Strong performance and useful range. A $65K price tag for this flagship is in line with BYD Seal but $10K steeper than comparable Mazda 6e.” BYD Shark 6The BYD Shark 6 was awarded CarsGuide's Best Ute of 2026 and now it has returned with a more powerful engine (a 2.0-litre turbo petrol four cylinder) in the Performance grade.The new and improved plug-in hybrid ute addressed what was lacking in an otherwise outstanding vehicle - towing ability. Braked towing capacity has increased from 2500kg to 3500kg in the Performance.Dual motors (one at the front and one at the rear) combined with the petrol e engine make an impressive 350kW and 700Nm. Carsguide contributor Stephen Ottley was at the launch and said:“For grey nomads and others who have previously ruled it out, the BYD Shark 6 might suddenly be back on more shortlists.”

Not all utes are created equal, with some better suited to the city and some destined for the wild, but all are suited to a life of hard work.A monocoque chassis based ute, which uses the same underpinnings as an SUV or sedan, delivers more responsive and comfortable driving dynamics and can carry a load, but aren't suited to heavy off-roading. The iconic Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore utes are prime examples.A ladder framed ute, which underpins the utes of choices these days such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux, are better suited to off-roading and hard work, but can be a chore to drive around town.These utes have become the predominant ute on sale in Australia, but over in the US conventional car/SUV-based utes are thriving.Ford has shown just how popular these vehicles can be with its Maverick SUV and it has got other brands dreaming up competitors.Australia could be the perfect target market for these lifestyle-focused vehicles. They also open the door to more electric or hybrid options.KGM's electric Musso is one example of a monocoque ute already here, but let's look at some of the ones that could be on the way next.Ford MaverickThe Maverick has proved so successful in the US, it even outsells the bigger Ranger ute, which has dominated the Aussie sales charts for years.It sits on the same platform as Ford’s Escape SUV, which left Aussie showrooms a few years ago. It is powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and hybrid set-up, producing 142kW, while there is also a slightly more powerful 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine option.There remains limited prospects of the Maverick’s arrival in Australia, with its huge popularity causing a backlog of orders, meaning there is insufficient supply to launch it globally.Toyota RAV4-based uteToyota has been plotting to introduce a monocoque-based ute for some time, but new details have just been revealed about what shape the ute could take. It was recently confirmed that it would be based on the RAV4, which is one of the best-selling small SUVs in Australia. “But for the compact truck? Definitely, we have such demand,” Toyota’s North American Chief Executive Officer Tetsuo Ogawa said in a recent overseas interview.“A RAV4-based pickup is an opportunity for us, and the dealers are waiting.“Maybe they say we need today or tomorrow, but it takes time.”As has been the case with this ute, it appears to be a matter of timing for Toyota, but regardless the launch of a potential monocoque ute for the brand remains several years away.  Chery T1TP ConceptMomentum for a monocoque ute from Chery has gathered steam since the brand unveiled its P1TP concept late last year. While there are no official details on how the ute will look, or what will power it, when it launches, we know the local Australian division of Chery is eager to bring it onboard. “There have been some type approval documents and that sort of thing that people have found, which has the monocoque chassis P1TP ute,” Chery Chief Operating Officer Lucas Harris told CarsGuide. “It is absolutely something we are interested in. I think there is an interesting market for that.”Any launch of this ute will come after the arrival of the much-anticipated diesel plug-in hybrid ‘KP31’ coming later this year, before a petrol PHEV variant next year. BYD monocoque uteBYD’s monocoque ute is further along the line than many of its rivals, with it already being spotted in spy shots just last month. It is expected to use a plug-in hybrid set-up, but differing from the one on the game-changing Shark 6 ute, which has been a resounding success in Australia so far. The PHEV set-up is not going to be the same one as on the Shark 6, but it is anticipated to mirror the Sealion 6 mid-size SUV.The global branch of BYD previously poured cold water on the prospects of a smaller ute Down Under to sit under the Shark 6, but its success might have changed minds.The Shark 6 is built on a ladder frame, so this ‘Baby Shark’ could compliment nicely especially if it could get in ahead of approaching rivals.  Ram RampageRam has confirmed production and timings for a compact pick-up, rumoured to ride on a monocoque chassis. It is expected to be based on the Rampage currently on sale in South America, coming petrol and diesel variants. There is no official news on whether this ute would ever be on the cards for Australia, but we know the local branch is keen on adding a ute to its portfolio. Geely RadarGeely is another Chinese with a monocoque ute, and its already on sale in New Zealand, but don't expect to see it Australia any time soon.The ute is available with plug-in hybrid and fully-electric set-ups, producing up to 315kW.Geely Australia Chief Executive Officer Alex Gu recently told CarsGuide while the brand will introduce a ute Down Under, the Radar was not the solution.“So Geely, we fully study the customer demand, and provide exactly or even beyond what the customer is expecting of them otherwise," Gu said“For the ute, just like Ranger or HiLux or Shark 6, these have a different character, so we must benchmark those ‘star’ models."

Kia’s head of global product planning has fired a cheeky shot at rival brands, said he believes no brand is as well-prepared as Kia for the world’s unpredictable automotive market.Spencer Cho, Kia’s Senior Vice President and Head of the Global Business Planning Subdivision, said it’s impossible to know what the industry might look like in the future, but being prepared for as many possibilities as reasonable is the best answer.Speaking with Australian media at the launch of the new-generation 2026 Kia Seltos, Cho said that he thinks no one can know how global events will affect the industry.Trying to predict the events that might change the way brands need to operate is impossible, he said, but understanding what needs to be done to respond can’t be known until after the fact.“Let me put it this way. If I can say that I can expect everything… that's not possible,” Cho said.The US-Israel war in Iran and the effects it has had on global oil shipping is front-of-mind for Cho.“No one can expect this kind of war will happen, and also a couple years ago for Russia and Ukraine, no one can expect that kind of thing.”"But what we are doing is we carefully monitor the market demand or market changes. And development of product takes quite some time. We should create very sound product strategies, and we have to maintain those strategies in a consistent manner.”Rather than scrambling to respond to changes in the industry, Cho said Kia has built enough options to be able to react quickly in a ‘here’s one we prepared earlier’ manner.“Thankfully, we studied the EV transition quite earlier than any other brand. There are also some ups and downs, but the transition and the trend stays the same, just the differences are a little bit of this slow down. So speed might be the difference.”He says the key is not drastically changing for short-term gain, rather slightly adjusting without removing options for the future. Essentially, giving EVs a boost shouldn’t mean forgetting to continue ICE development, he said.“But we stay in the course to maintain the development of the planned EV models entering each global market, step by step. Yet we're still developing the all new ICE models as well as you see in the new Seltos. “So one of the key strengths we have is all the technologies, the diesel or gasoline or hybrid and plug-ins and EVs.”“So we have all the options in our hands. “Certain market ups and downs… hybrid is rising, we can provide hybrid models. If EV is coming, we can provide EVs. So thankfully, we have all the technologies in our hands, and we have the all the product lineup as well.”Cho took a cheeky swipe at rivals, too, rare for a senior executive. He said Kia’s strength globally is its range of cars available from the budget end, Picanto for example, through to hybrids, plug-ins, and more expensive performance cars or large electric SUVS.“So that's probably one of the strengths Kia has compared to other brands. I don't know whether you can name any other OEMs better than us in the case of the product line-up as of today.”

Silent and heavy. Two words that usually stalk any big-battery EV. And the two words Ferrari has spent five years, and untold millions, trying to banish from its new and potentially brand-defining electric vehicle, the Luce.The Luce is arguably the biggest gamble Ferrari has taken in decades. It’s no secret that savage, sonorous exhaust notes and fuel-exploding engines are staples of the supercar world. Which is likely why so many supercar makers — including Lamborghini, Aston Martin and McLaren — have either cancelled, delayed or walked back their EV plans.Ferrari, though, has continued at full throttle. The five-year project has at last reached its zenith, with the covers coming off the Luce in Rome ahead of its Australian arrival next year.The project has been shrouded in near-complete secrecy, but the veil has finally been lifted, with the Luce now detailed in full.We now know the Luce isn’t just staggeringly powerful, but will also be among the world’s most expensive EVs, with a price tag expected to sit above one million dollars in Australia.There is a litany of firsts here, too. The Luce is Ferrari’s first EV, the first model the brand has produced with seating for five, and the first vehicle since 2010 to have had its design entirely outsourced.Instead of being penned by Ferrari’s in-house design studio, the Luce was designed — inside and out — by LoveFrom, the US-based design collective founded by former Apple chief designer Jony Ive and Australian Marc Newson.As a result, it bears almost no resemblance to Ferrari’s supercar family. Instead, it adopts a mostly familiar four-door EV silhouette, complete with a sizeable glasshouse designed to look as though it sits beneath the Luce’s outer shell, as if the bodywork has been lowered from above.There are still several truly Ferrari elements, though, like the razor-sharp nose and the deep aero channel that funnels air over the bonnet and beneath the boot spoiler. Then there are the massive staggered alloys – 23 inches at the front and 24 inches at the rear – and spellbinding in the new Turbine wheel design, machined from a solid piece of aluminium.“The concept that we came up with very, very early on — which became kind of the overarching philosophy of part of the exterior design — was this idea that you had an interior glasshouse, which is basically this large, black glasshouse area,” says Marc Newson.“That’s essentially surrounded by the body of the car, which at the end of the day is probably doing most of the aero work.“The reason we identified that as a really interesting direction, or an interesting sort of philosophy to pursue, was that it gave us the opportunity to create some very clean and very unique forms.”But there is no escaping the fact this is unlike anything else in the Ferrari portfolio. And that, Newson says, is no accident.“This is a different kind of Ferrari. And that was the point. That was the entire purpose of the exercise,” he says.The other thing that still feels very Ferrari is the power and performance on offer. Ferrari hasn’t quite reinvented the wheel here, but it has made each of them a hell of a lot more powerful, fitting every corner of the Luce with its own electric motor.Yes, that’s four motors in total, producing a combined 772kW and 990Nm. And that has exactly the effect on performance you might expect, with the Luce clipping 100km/h in 2.5 seconds and 200km/h in 6.8 seconds.In fact, there is a lot going on at each of the Luce’s corners, with every wheel able to deliver power, capture regenerative energy, provide steering inputs or dictate vertical movement to improve contact-patch grip.“The car has an agility that you don’t expect, that you cannot link with your perception of the dimensions of the car,” says Raffaele de Simone, Ferrari’s head of test development and test driving.“The feeling of the Luce is based on the fact that at these four corners, the four motors are managed by a control unit that decides how to satisfy in a very harmonic way. You don’t perceive which system is working on the four corners, you just have to turn the wheel, to place the car where you want on the road, and the car goes there.”The power can flow naturally in automatic mode, or the driver can take more control through the gearshift-style paddles behind the steering wheel. Ferrari’s take on a simulated gearbox doesn’t actually deliver a shift-like step in power, but instead controls torque flow and regenerative braking, effectively delivering more power or more stopping force with each pull of a paddle.“On the left side, you increase the engine braking, exactly like a combustion-engine car. On the other side, you unleash power,” de Simone says.“The more you go on the left, the more you have engine braking. The more you go upshift, the more you release power. These power stages are called Torque Index.“Supposing that you are approaching a tight corner, on the exit you will have the chance to exploit only part of the power of the car, because it’s a way to better control the huge amount of torque. And this helps the driver to be connected with the throttle, with the limitation in power to find the right sensitivity on throttle.“It’s something that, with electric powertrains, was not possible. You were driven by computers, managing in your place the stability of the vehicle. Now you are back to driving, you are back to control, and this is a tool to control it.”Ferrari has also controlled almost every part of the EV build process, including assembling the battery. In this case, it is a 122kWh NCM unit that the brand says delivers a driving range of more than 500km, though there is a catch.Given the power on offer here, gentleness is required to maximise range. Ferrari makes that part easy by limiting output in its different drive modes to preserve the battery. In Range mode, power is capped at 320kW, with the grunt fed through the two rear motors. In Tour, all four motors contribute a total of 460kW. Finally, Performance delivers 725 kW and, presumably, drains the battery very, very quickly.Ferrari says the battery is designed not only to be repaired, but also fully replaced. If, as expected, battery chemistry improves significantly in the next 10 years, the Luce’s 122kWh unit could be swapped out for better tech.Perhaps the biggest change, though, is in the cabin, which feels less like a traditional Ferrari interior and more device-like and tech-focused. It is a beautifully appointed, modern-feeling space, and one in which screens are supplemented by tactile controls.A thin, elegant steering wheel frames a new, ferociously high-tech and layered driver display, in which the top screen has circular cut-outs, creating a gauge-like impression for the screen behind. Physical needles are then attached, rising and falling with your inputs.The central screen is a thing of beauty, too. It is hinged so it can be angled towards the passenger if required, while the switches and toggles beneath are exclusively aluminium or glass. In the top right corner, another needle-adorned digital gauge can cycle through a clock, stopwatch or compass.Also fun is the launch-control function, accessed via a fighter-pilot ejector-seat-style handle mounted next to the driver’s head.“It’s a fusion between digital and analogue, and the physical world,” Ferrari says.But back to the idea of weight and sound — or the lack of it. Ferrari knows the importance of a soundtrack, and it has developed an in-house solution it likens to an electric guitar, and that it says makes a driver feel like Jimi Hendrix.There are no fake Jetsons sounds here. Instead, a sensor and accelerometer capture the sounds and vibrations of the e-motor, match them to your driving inputs, and then amplify them inside and outside the cabin.The system took five years of work and 40,000km of dedicated track testing to develop, with the result, Ferrari says, being an almost rock-star sensation for owners.“Now one might wonder, ‘Okay, but you are amplifying, so it’s fake, right? It’s fake, you’re amplifying,’” says Antonino Palermo, vehicle NVH and sound engineer at Ferrari.“If we think to the musical parallel, an electric guitar musician — Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour — when they are playing, they have expressivity. When they play the guitar you can feel the human aspect, the intention.“Here the musician is you. It’s your driving.”The second key element is the positioning of the battery, and the design of the vehicle itself, with a laser focus on lowering the Luce’s centre of gravity. Ferrari says it is 95mm lower than in the Purosangue, helping the Luce feel at least 400kg lighter when cornering than its actual 2260kg kerb weight. The claimed driver experience, then, is akin to a car that weighs closer to 1700kg.“You look at the car on the outside, you go into it with a forecast of what a big car could be like to drive. You have your background experience that says where the SUVs are and where the sedans are, and then where the rear mid-engine Ferrari is,” de Simone says.“Where to place in this scenario the experience of the Luce? The car has an agility that you don’t expect, that you cannot link with your view of the dimensions of the car.“For this type of car, in terms of size, roominess and versatility, there is no connection with the handling of the car. This ratio has been completely rewritten.”

Sedans used to be the staple of many brands in Australia, from the Holden Commodore to the Toyota Camry, but the SUV boom has seen numbers drop off significantly.Ten years ago, in 2016, the Toyota Camry was the fifth best-selling car in Australia, followed by the Commodore sedan in sixth.Fast forward to 2025, Toyota's sedan was the 35th best-selling car in the country, and the Commodore was nowhere to be seen.In 2026 there have been less than 10,000 mid-size sedan sales in Australia so far compared to mid-size SUVs, where almost 100,000 have already been sold. The Camry is still the dominant player in the sedan-only segment, owning nearly 70 per cent, but it looks like China’s next battleground in Australia will be a shot at shaking its dominance.BYD has led the way in this respect and it already has a fully-electric Seal and the just-launched plug-in hybrid Seal 6 on the market.The Seal in particular made some successful inroads into the sedan space. It accounts for the majority of sales outside of the Camry and the Tesla Model 3.The brand is not stopping there, with a larger Seal 7 plug-in hybrid sedan now approved for sale in Australia.MG is another brand focussing on sedans, having already brought in its MG5 a few years ago and the MG7 in 2026, both to middling levels of success so far.It’s not just BYD and MG that are getting in on the sedan act, however, with Geely confirming its Emgrand sedan next year initially in plug-in hybrid form, but possibly also plugless at a later date.Additionally the China-built Tesla Model 3 remains one of the best-selling EVs in the country.There are also 'legacy' brands pinning their hopes on a strong-selling sedan. Mazda recently launched its fully-electric 6e sedan, which is based on the Deepal L07 (not yet sold in Australia) - another China-made model. The 6e is a crucial model for Mazda as it looks to turn around extensive fines incurred under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) due to its predominantly petrol-powered range.The electric 6e saw its initiative pre-order allocation run out very quickly, starting from $49,990 (before on-road costs), highlighting early signs of it achieving its potential.Korean brands Kia and Hyundai have also seen solid sales from its hatch/sedan models, with the K4 and i30 plugging along with a decent amount of registrations, which will be bolstered thanks to the arrival of desirable plugless hybrid versions of both.As usual, price is a key factor where Chinese sedans are providing an enticing alternative, bucking the trend of sedans becoming more expensive as buyers focus on SUVs.While the Mazda 2 is the most affordable sedan on sale at just $28,490, it is the sought-after hybrid tech luring buyers to newer options.The plug-in hybrid Seal 6, for example, starts from $34,990, which is $5000 more affordable than the plug-less hybrid-only Camry, and it is both larger and offers genuine EV range over the barely more affordable Hyundai i30 plugless hybrid (from $33,250). It will no doubt be a similar story for Geely's Emgrand EM-i which is set to launch in 2027.While SUVs remain the biggest seller in Australia, this new wave of affordable and electrified sedans could see the once bustling segment reignited.The question remains whether this array of new options will just fragment a shrinking part of the market, or whether buyers are now looking for something different from the SUV trend.

BYD's new plug-in hybrid sedan is about to launch in Australia, and it has got the Toyota Camry in its sights.A Department of Infrastructure filing confirms the BYD Seal 7 has been approved for sale in Australia, also exposing some key details about the new car. BYD Australia has been contacted for comment to find out exact launch times for its new model.There is no news yet on how much the Seal 7 will cost, but expect it to be more expensive than the recently-launched Seal 6, starting from $34,990 (before on-road costs). The Seal 7 is a bigger car than the Toyota Camry hybrid, but it will still live in its territory when it launches in Australia. Other rivals such as the Skoda Octavia mild hybrid and Honda Accord Hybrid will provide further competition, along with the Geely Emgrand PHEV, which is due to launch in Australia next year. The Seal 7 has a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and electric motor set-up, producing 197kW. It is expected to have an electric-only driving range of less than 200km when it lands.It measures up at 4980mm long, 1890mm wide, 1495mm high, with a wheelbase of 2900mm. The car will ride on either 17-inch or 18-inch wheels, but other details will be revealed closer to the car’s launch, which is likely to be in the next few months. The Seal 7 is BYD’s latest model in what has been a bumper past few months for brand Down Under, seeing it jump to second spot in the sales charts for April. This has been led by its electrified approach, including the Shark 6 PHEV ute and the Sealion 7 electric SUV. 

The BMW 1 Series hatch is about to get a huge shake-up, with its new generation ditching pure petrol power from 2028.It will be only available with electric and hybrid set-ups as part of the brand's increased EV focus under the Neue Klasse philosophy, which has already spawned the iX3 SUV and i3 sedan.This likely signals a big price jump for the brand's cheapest model.Overseas reports suggest the car will be offered with plug-in hybrid and fully-electric set-ups, but other details remain light at this stage.This decision marks a direction change for BMW, after it was thought the brand would wind up production of entry-level cars such as the 1 Series. This mirrors a similar shift from rival German brand Mercedes-Benz, now backtracking from dropping its A-Class hatch.The 1 Series will continue to be a direct rival to the new A-Class when the pair launch in 2028.BMW’s Head of Product Bernd Korber said the 1 Series remained an important part of the brand’s lineup, and will attempt to broaden its target market with the new generation. "If you want to keep the brand young, if you want to develop customers within your portfolio, the 1 Series is very important,” Korber told AutoCar. It has not been confirmed at this stage whether the new BMW 1 Series will launch in Australia or whether it will arrive with the PHEV set-up as well as the electric one.BMW Australia said there was nothing to confirm yet about the new-generation 1 Series. The 1 Series is currently on sale in Australia in 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre petrol engines, producing up to 150kW and 300Nm. There is also a high-performance version of the car, producing 233kW and 400Nm.It is a modest seller for the brand down under, with the propped up X1 SUV a bigger hit with buyers. 

Polestar global CEO Michael Lohscheller has shed fresh light on the upcoming new-generation Polestar 2, confirming launch timing, bodystyle and positioning within the Swedish EV maker’s line-up.Asked when the much-anticipated newcomer will hit showrooms, Lohscheller told CarsGuide, “The middle of 2027, which is super fast considering we just announced it.“We started in the first quarter of last year, right? So, that’s speed which is not common in the industry,” he said.And on the subject of the new 2’s body shape he added, “Look, obviously it will be a complete new car. “There will be new technology in there but why change a winning team because Polestar 2 was very, very successful.“For us, it’s the basis of our brand. I mean, it’s a bit like Golf was for VW back in the day.“We have more than 200,000 people driving Polestar 2 and we want to keep them. Therefore the (sedan) bodystyle will be similar,” he said.When it comes to positioning for the next-gen car, Lohscheller gives a thumbnail outline of the brand’s emerging line-up.“It depends on whether you look at size or price, but I would say the Polestar 7 is a compact SUV (also due in 2027) and the 2 is a larger sedan. Those to me are the two entries into the range price-wise.“Some prefer SUVs, some sedans but this is how you come in. Then we have the Polestar 4, which is a bit bigger, also a bit more expensive. Then you have the Polestar 3 and up to the Polestar 5. Our numbers don’t align. We are like Apple. “People ask me will you call (the new 2) the Polestar 8 and I say no, no way, it’s a 2,” he said.Lohscheller was also at pains to point out that although the company will always look for synergies within its Geely parent’s product portfolio, the new Polestar 2 will stand apart from Geely, Volvo or Zeekr models that may ultimately use its EV-specific platform.“It will be a very different car and the reason is we start obviously with the design here (in Sweden) and we put our Polestar DNA into the car.“There are things only Polestar will have - chassis tuning, some of the driving characteristics and that is ‘us’. We are not giving that away.“There are other areas where we will use things together, and it’s very beneficial that we have access to the best technology in the world.“But we will do Polestar, with Polestar DNA,” he said. And it’s worth noting Polestar Australia Managing Director Scott Maynard supports Mr Lohscheller’s position, previously telling CarsGuide, "The 2 will be a dynamic looking car, but it won't take on a full SUV platform. That gong goes to Polestar 7 which we see a bit later on."We'll get access to it as soon as the rest of the world does. So we'll be online when Europe is.“It just takes a little bit of time to get them here. So we're hopeful to see them on the ground in 2027," Maynard said.

Kia’s wild looking Vision Meta Turismo concept looks set for full production as a futuristic, pure-electric successor to the Stinger sedan.As reported by Autocar, the Korean brand’s Executive Vice President and Head of Global Design Karim Habib has said the only thing stopping Kia putting sleek the GT in showrooms is evolving model line-up strategy."At this point, it is more strategic. It's a pure EV and the price of doing a high-performance EV is what is slowing us down.“Hopefully, the upward movement of EVs keeps going. I think there will be more openness to this car. At least that's what we're betting on," he said. Kia said the Vision Meta Turismo has been developed around “three core experiences” - performance driving, lounge-like space and comfort and immersive digital interaction - expressed as ‘Speedster’, ‘Dreamer’ and ‘Gamer’.A production version of the luxurious four-door would likely be underpinned by the Hyundai Group’s dedicated Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).Its 800-volt electric architecture enables dual-motor performance and ultra-fast charging, with the current EV6 and EV9 charging from 10 to 80 per cent in around 20 minutes on a 350kW pylon.This would put it on a collision course with some of China's latest and greatest, such as the Xiaomi SU7 and Denza Z9GT performance sedans.On the car’s potential role as a Stinger replacement Habib added, “We have a small history of doing cars like the Stinger and that's something we don't want to give up on. “The Meta Turismo is our idea of a sports sedan for the gamer generation. A few years ago, we started thinking about what could we do beyond SUVs?“We do produce and sell a lot of SUVs, which is good, but we also believe that there's more than that," he said. Headline features from the concept car unlikely to make production reality in their current form include an augmented reality head-up display that “distorts the surrounding space as speed intensifies”, a slide-away steering wheel and a series of game-style controllers including a central unit integrated into the front console structure.