Family advice

Every family will have different requirements on what is considered a 'must-have' feature. For my family of three, lots of seats aren't a requirement but a comfortable ride is because we do so many road trips.When it comes to the top five must-have family features I'm always drawn to the features that make my daily commute as a parent easier.First cab off the rank are retractable sun blinds in the second and or third rows. These are ridiculously handy for all passengers but for kidlets, they're a must have.They make the rear cabin darker, which encourages little ones to nod off (or stay) asleep. They extend the patience of kids, which means there can be longer spaces between stops because they're not hot and irritated. They also protect passengers from the sun, which is paramount in a country like Australia.The second feature is climate control in the rear but one that is accessible from the front — bonus points if the rear has directional air vents positioned on the B-pillar and or ceiling (these are the most effective).Being able to adjust the temperature for the rear without having to awkwardly reach behind the middle console to fiddle with settings you can't see or worse, having to pull over and stop the car, is so practical. Nothing wakes a kid up faster than a stopped vehicle! Also, if your kid is in a child seat, they won't be able to reach the climate control panel as well, so you'll get a good seven-years worth of use out of this feature.The third is the right upholstery and what I mean by that is non-fabric upholstery. Synthetic leather/ leather upholstery is easier to keep clean and maintain. There's no way to sugarcoat it, kids are messy.Yes, you can get seat covers but if you throw them in the wash and decide to risk not putting them back on - you WILL get a poonami (for those not in the know, this is a poo explosion from a nappy). I may or may not be speaking from experience. Learn from my mistakes.The fourth feature is having charging options in the second and third rows (if you have one). Preferably two USB ports per row and a 12-volt socket is always handy. On a long trip, there are only so many I Spy games you can play (or 'are we there yets' you can hear) before a trusty device or DVD player comes out to play a nice and quiet show.The last feature on the list, a handsfree powered tailgate, always felt a little gimmicky to me before I had a child, but it is definitely a must-have feature now. Life is also made a lot easier if it has a proximity function; where if you approach the boot with the key fob on your person, the boot will automatically open for you.Why is it handy? Having to juggle holding keys, a pram, shopping bags, little hands and then trying to open the boot is stressful on a good day. Being able to easily open the largest storage area of the car and quickly deposit all the gear you have can take the sting out of a brewing child tantrum or grizzly baby.By no means is the above list exhaustive but the features have certainly made my family life a little more peaceful.

Electric 4X4 anyone? It kind of makes sense that, as the rest of the car market transits towards an EV future, that the four-wheel drive market would, too. It is, of course, not that simple. The term all-wheel drive electric car is not specific enough, just for starters.

BYD Australia has announced model year 2024 pricing for the BYD Atto 3 small SUV. The upgrades mirror those applied to the China-market BYD Yuan Plus and, like in its home market, the Atto 3 is now cheaper than its launch price starting at $44,990 before on-road costs. That’s a saving of $3021 for the Standard range, while the popular Extended range model is now $3512 more affordable at $47,499 before on-road costs. It may be a less significant price cut that the 12 per cent seen in China – which would’ve brought the Atto 3 down to $42,250 – but there are big benefits with Continental tyres fitted standard in place of the maligned Atlas Batman rubber. Also new is the Cosmos black colour,  larger 15.8-inch rotating touchscreen (up from 12.8-inch) with wireless Apple CarPlay and a karaoke function. The Hyundai Kona electric and MG ZS EV rival's air conditioning can now be engaged with the car turned off, ideal for when charging in hot climates. The MY23 dealer demonstrator price of $45,990 drive-away for the Extended Range has now ended. The Standard Range has a rated driving range of 345km (WLTP) from a 49.92kWh ‘Blade’ LFP battery and the Extended Range’s bigger 60.48kWh pack increases that to 420km (WLTP). Both use a single front-mounted 150kW/310Nm electric motor. Charging is capped at 70kW (DC) for the Standard and 80kW (DC) for the Extended. The variants share interior and exterior spec, including artificial leather upholstery, power-adjust front seats, 5.0-inch digital driver’s display, power tailgate, LED headlights, satellite navigation and voice control. Just like Tesla’s Model 3, BYD has cut prices despite added equipment, better tyres and no loss of driving range. It shows electric price wars are well and truly alive, following cuts from major manufacturers including Tesla, Nissan, Renault and more.The updated 2024 BYD Atto 3 is available to order now. 2024 BYD Atto 3 pricingPrices listed are before on-road costs. 

Honda Australia now offers blind-spot monitoring (BSM) and rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA) as $400-$800 options on lower trim versions of its CR-V and ZR-V mid-size SUVs.Buyers are able to order the new variants now, with them complementing the existing range. There are no other price changes.The additional safety equipment will aid Honda's pair of SUVs in the fight against the Nissan X-Trail, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota RAV4 and Volkswagen Tiguan.For the ZR-V, the VTi X remains price leader at $39,500 drive-away while the new RCTA and BSM equipped VTi X+ increases that to $39,900.The mid-spec VTi L remains at $42,500 and the VTi L+ ($42,900) retains the same $400 price increase.The Higher trim VTi LX and e:HEV LX variants were already fitted as standard with the tech and therefore do not change.Only the base CR-V VTi X ($43,900 drive-away) was previously not fitted with the equipment. In five-seat guise, the VTi X+ is $800 dearer at $44,700. The seven-seat version is not available with the extra pack.All the additional variants use Honda's 140kW/240Nm 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder paired with a CVT automatic. The upper trim 'e:HEV' hybrid models are already equipped with the safety equipment.Honda Australia has not said the ZR-V VTi X, VTi LX or CR-V VTi X will be discontinued however it did mention that "stock availability of these variants will be limited."There is also an end of financial year offer of an eight-year and unlimited kilometre warranty as well as eight years of premium roadside assist for those who order any ZR-V, a 2023 build CR-V petrol or 2024 build CR-V hybrid.

The next generation of Hyundai Palisade three-row SUV is expected to debut in 2026. Ahead of that, 3D designer NYMammoth has created another set of renders based on the latest spy shots of the new large SUV testing. As before, the Palisade will be a monocoque large SUV though this time a plugless hybrid is all-but confirmed to replace the thirsty 3.8-litre V6 and previous-gen diesel currently available. Though tougher in looks, the new Palisade is unlikely to have anything to do with the new frame platform developed by Kia for the Tasman ute and its potential off-road wagon relative. It will still ride on a new platform, according to reports. The new render has a distinct Palisade relation in its boxy body proportions. The bonnet has a squarer profile while a little more width in the hips lends the new car extra road presence. Like its smaller Santa Fe relative, Hyundai’s Toyota Kluger and Nissan Pathfinder rival gets squared off wheel arches for a more futuristic appearance. Of course, we can’t ignore the huge grille. The Palisade has always featured unique and bold front masks and the latest attempt is no different. The imagined concept has a mass of black slats for cooling, snuggled down the left and right sides are LED lighting features for a distinct appearance. There are no images of the rear-end renders but imagine it will adopt some of the Santa Fe’s design language – expect a similar broad, tough look to the front. NYMammoth has also imagined the new interior with almost Ioniq 6-like details. The door cards and semi-circular handles, for example, while it gets a Land Rover Defender look-alike steering wheel. There was buzz about as-yet unseen Palisade as far back as the 2023 LA Auto Show. At the time, engine speculation suggested new, more efficient powertrains. As reported by Korean Car Blog, the Palisade is expected to get a 2.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid powertrain and a 200kW/331Nm turbo-petrol V6 from the US-market Santa Fe, offering cleaner and more powerful options than the existing 3.8-litre petrol V6 and iron block 2.2-litre turbo-diesel. An electric model is not expected. Instead, the forthcoming Ioniq 7 will do EV family shuttling duties at Hyundai. Whether the new Palisade will make it to Australia is unconfirmed. The vehicle has enjoyed reasonable success locally with around 2.5-3.0 per cent share of the mainstream large SUV market. Not offering fuel efficient powertrains like the Toyota Kluger has likely hurt its sales, though it’s the towing capable vehicles, such as the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X that currently dominate the segment. 

Some off-road vehicles are capable of being driven straight out of the dealership and into the Simpson Desert … and some aren’t. Here’s our condensed list of some of the more important aftermarket mods and products you’ll need for safe and stress-free off-road adventures.

Over 25 years and four generations BMW's X5 has evolved from question mark to benchmark. Initially considered a shocking departure from the Bavarian maker's established performance sedan and sports car formula, today it stands as a segment-leader against which other premium five-seat SUVs are judged. Here Mark Oastler family tests the mid-range xDrive40i s to see if it's still up to the mark?

The Berry family gives all its long-term test cars names but if any of them really needed one it's the Mazda CX-60 D50e GT Vision which has just finished its first month living with them.

This is the first electric BMW 5 Series, the i5, here in two variants. This one is the ‘entry’ i5, the eDrive40, rivalling the likes of the Mercedes-Benz EQE.From $155,900 before on-road costs, the i5 eDrive40 is a single-motor rear-drive electric car with an 84kWh lithium-ion battery providing juice to a 250kW/400Nm synchronous motor.Using 16.56kWh per 100km, the base i5 has a claimed 550km maximum range.Interior upholstery is Merino leather as standard, while a 12.3-inch instrument display paired with a 14.9-inch multimedia display headline the interior tech, plus a head-up display, ambient lighting, wireless phone charging tray and BMW’s ‘new’ 'Interaction Bar' are included.The eDrive40 comes with BMW’s ‘Adaptive Suspension Professional’ with 'Integral Active Steering' (rear-wheel steering), plus an acoustic protection system to make ‘electric car noises’ to warn pedestrians.It also includes BMW’s ‘Iconic Sounds’ for the occupants - a system that uses orchestral sounds composed by Hans Zimmer instead of engine sounds - pumped in through a 655-watt, 17-speaker Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system.It also has a Mode 2 and Mode 3 charger, cable, and a five-year Chargefox subscription.ANCAP hasn’t crash tested the new 5 Series, but it comes with front and side airbags for driver and passenger including one between the two occupants, as well as curtain airbags front and rear.BMW says the 5 Series has about 40 safety systems including 'BMW Driving Assistant Professional' as standard, with active cruise, lane assist and departure warning, front and rear cross traffic alert, collision prevention and intervention systems and even an augmented reality dash display.BMW has an industry-standard five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on its new cars, while servicing is undertaken based on condition, not time or distance intervals.

The new entry-point to the BMW 5 Series range is still a 520i, as it moves into a new generation, but the differences are there. Now, it’s the only petrol version on offer, and even it has some mild electrification.