Subaru Vortex Reviews

Swoopy coupes take different routes, front or rear-drive, turbo or without. Craig Duff tackles the hills and corners.

Richard Blackburn road tests and reviews the Subaru Outback with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Strewth! Aussies are now consistently buying more Hyundai cars than Holdens.Figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show Holden finished fourth behind Toyota, Mazda and Hyundai in April – and the two brands are in a bumper-to-bumper race for third place this year.Holden and Hyundai are barely 1000 sales apart in the year-to-date tally but the South Korean brand is closing the gap after beating Holden for the third month in a row and the seventh time in two years.The age-old Holden versus Ford battle is about to be revived – but it will be for the minor placingsThe change in fortunes means the age-old Holden versus Ford battle is about to be revived – but it will be for the minor placings as the former family and fleet favourites are overtaken by imported cars.The Ford and Holden fall from grace comes as the Australian new-car market continues its record-setting pace, up by 3.5 per cent year-to-date.Sales in the first four months of this year are also higher than in the same period in 2013 – the previous record year – with 359,250 new vehicles reported as sold versus 358,165 two years ago.Buoyed by an artificially devalued Yen, Japanese-branded cars continued to dominate.The Toyota Corolla outsold the Mazda3 for the third month in a row in April to remain our top-selling car while three utes made it into the Top 10, including the second-placed Toyota HiLux, fifth-placed Ford Ranger and ninth-placed Mitsubishi Triton.Sales of SUVs (up 15.7 per cent) and four-wheel-drive utes (up 9.1 per cent) continue to drive the market while sales of traditional passenger cars hit the brakes (down 4.4 per cent), according to figures that compare the first four months of this year with the same period in 2014.Mercedes-Benz C Class also outsold the Ford FalconOther movers and shakers include the Volkswagen Golf, which made it into the Top 10, and the Hyundai i30 which nearly overtook the Mazda3.Mercedes-Benz (2654 sales in April) edged out Honda (2559) to make it into the Top 10 for the fourth time in 12 months, and increased its sales lead in the luxury-car class ahead of Audi (1714) and BMW (1554).The Mercedes-Benz C Class (681) was the second best-selling medium-size car after the Toyota Camry (1141) and ahead of the Mazda6 (415).The Mercedes-Benz C Class also outsold the Ford Falcon (446), whose sales are down by 11.9 per cent despite the recent arrival of an updated model.Holden is selling four times as many Commodores as Ford is selling Falcons, but sales are down by a greater margin: 16.8 per cent.New-car sales in May are expected to remain steady as the industry braces for June, the biggest month of the year.Toyota Corolla – 3238, down 2.3 per centToyota HiLux – 2789, up 8.4 per centMazda3 – 2365, down 22.6 per centHyundai i30 – 2298, up 1.2 per centFord Ranger – 2200, up 5.1 per centHolden Commodore – 2043, down 16.4 per centMazda CX-5 – 1868, up 21.1 per centVolkswagen Golf – 1728, up 22.5 per centMitsubishi Triton – 1538, up 12.1 per centToyota RAV4 – 1399, down 9.6 per centToyota – 15,299, up 2.0 per centMazda – 8068, up 4.5 per centHyundai – 7210, down 1.2 per centHolden – 7072, down 10.1 per centFord – 5163, down 18.9 per centVolkswagen – 4572, up 13.6 per centNissan – 4188, up 15.7 per centMitsubishi – 4079, up 11.2 per centSubaru – 3052, up 3.8 per centMercedes-Benz – 2654, up 22.7 per centSales and their percentage change with the same month last year. Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries

Subaru has dropped the prices of its XV small SUV by $1250 for 2015, after already reducing prices of the previous model by $750 in January.These reductions follow the recent arrival of stiff competition like the Mazda CX-3, Honda HR-V and Renault Captur in the booming small SUV segment.This brings a new XV starting price of $26,490 for the entry-level 2.0i. The mid-level 2.0i-L is now priced from $29,990, while the top-spec 2.0i-S starts at $32,490.The 2015 update also brings updated trim to the cabin, as well as new touchscreen multimedia system.The entry-level 2.0i model now features a 6.2-inch touchscreen, while the 2.0i-L and 2.0i-S receive a 7-inch unit and an updated information display for the driver.The 2015 Subaru XV retains its 110kW/196Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder boxer petrol engine, as well the choice of six-speed manual or CVT automatic transmissions powering all four wheels.

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Subaru Liberty with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Peter Barnwell road tests and reviews the Subaru Outback 2.0 Diesel Premium with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Most SUVs are made for the suburbs, but some still cater for those looking to live the great Aussie dream.

Improvements to vehicle safety technology have been the focus of the 2015 Canstar Blue Innovation Awards - Automotive Industry.The inaugural awards for innovation have been judged by a panel of experts. Previously, Canstar Blue has bestowed awards on manufacturers in areas such as value and customer satisfaction, based off surveys of car buyers.Eight joint winners were announced today, with five directly improve the safety of both vehicle occupants as well as pedestrians.Ford's MyKey technology uses multiple keys to allow parents to set speed restrictions and limit radio volume when their children borrow the car.EyeSight - available in a number of Subaru vehicles - integrates a number of safety features including autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control by using multiple cameras to map out the road ahead of the vehicle and warn the driver of approaching obstructions.IntellisSafe Pedestrian Detection works in a similar manner, and has been devleoped by Swedish carmaker Volvo.Nuviz, based out of San Diego in the US, has developed what they claim to be first heads-up display for motorcycle riders. The Ride:HUD can be retrofitted to most existing motorcycle helmets and allows riders to use GPS and monitor bike telemetry without having to take their eyes off the road. Riders control the Ride:HUD using controls mounted on the bike's handlebars.Looking to help curtail the number of deaths and injuries that occur in driveways, electronics company Bosch developed Back Over Avoidance (BoA). BoA works in must the same way as AEB does, using sensors and radars to monitor the area directly behind the car, and automatically apply the brakes if it detects if it detects an obstruction.Hyundai's iCare capped price servicing program also picked up an award for providing transparency about servicing costs to consumers.Other award winners included Mercedes-Benz's Touchpad - which allows drivers to control the Comand multimedia system in the same way they would a typical smart phone - and the Tesla Model S electric car.Canstar Blue General Manager, Megan Doyle, said their research has found that 55 per cent of insurance claims involve an accident with two or more cars and that "anything that car manufacturers can do to improve the safety of our roads and driveways should be applauded"."The aim of these awards is to bring the latest and greatest innovations to the attention of consumers, and we have been hugely surprised and impressed by what we have found," she said.

At the New York motor show, it revealed the STI Performance Concept, a lightweight, race-focused car with a 2.0-litre turbo boxer "Super GT" engine developing 257kW/441Nm — more than the current WRX STI.Expect a lengthy lag before the turbo finds its way into a roadgoing version. The Super GT engine will be used in Japanese races to assess its durability before any decision is made on a production variant.Even in a detuned "street" guise, power would be massively up on the 147kW/205Nm naturally aspirated engine in the road cars and would address one of the few shortcomings of the 2012 CarsGuide Car of the Year winner: the chassis is capable of handling more power.I don't want you to think that this is coming tomorrow because it's notSubaru America CEO Thomas Doll says the concept is a mobile testbed to gauge the feasibility of a forced-induction BRZ production car but warns it will happen later rather than sooner."That's the idea," he says. "We can't tell you exactly when that's going to happen but the concept (is a pointer) to achieving extra horsepower. We know that's one of the issues and that's part of our plan."We are still evaluating how to do all of that. I don't want you to think that this is coming tomorrow because it's not. It could, but we have to do some other engineering and testing," he said.How much can we do that doesn't affect balance, that doesn't affect feel?Subaru America spokesman Michael McHale intervened as journalists started to quiz STI president Yoshio Hirawaka on timing of a turbo BRZ."The BRZ has a very tight, compact engine bay," McHale says, "so how much can we do that doesn't affect balance, that doesn't affect feel? This is Mr Hirakawa's challenge in life."He hears that some people would like more power but ... if we listened to everyone in the world we go bankrupt in 10 minutes."The STI concept was built to promote Subaru's performance division as a stand-alone division responsible for developing performance models, aftermarket accessories and motorsport.Subaru in the US markets itself as a family oriented, safety conscious brand and, according to US journalists, is looking to distance itself from the performance models that don't fit into that ethos.The concept car has a reinforced chassis to improve rigidity, race suspension, upgraded brakes and a massive front spoiler and rear diffuser.Inside there are race-style bucket seats, track-oriented telemetry with G-force monitor and lap-logging capabilities and a steering wheel with LED gearshift indicators built into the rim.

New-car sales hit the accelerator for the second month in a row after the best March result of all time - but former Australian favourites Holden and Ford hit a wall.