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Toyota could be prepping a new line of tough four-wheel drives.

China has finally produced a vehicle that, for the large part, delivers on the promise of its contemporary styling and high-tech specification. One that does not have make questionable or confounding compromises on account of its ultra-competitive pricing. That the carmaker is GWM, rather than BYD, Geely or even Xiaomi comes as a surprise, given the very disappointing showing from models both successful and otherwise, like the Haval Jolion and Ora electric vehicle (EV) respectively.

McLaren is soon set to start production of its most powerful model ever and some examples are set to be coming to Australia.

The new-generation Mitsubishi ASX is expected to come to market with a four-star ANCAP rating.However, the company’s local executives don’t think this will impact the target buyers of the new Renault Captur-based model.The European-market ASX received a four-star rating from Euro NCAP, matching its donor car’s rating.Mitsubishi is expected to have the vehicle assessed by ANCAP but is anticipating the same four-star rating.With most large fleet buyers mandating five stars for their fleets, it means the new ASX won’t attract that business.But the company is targeting private buyers with the new ASX so it’s not concerned about lost sales, according to Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited Product Strategy Manager for SUV/Electrification, Tim Clarke.“Not such a big deal in private buyer space. Like we said, the key attributes that they want are the items we went through in the presentation. So having the technology is one, but having five star rating didn't show up in our research for a private buyer.”The previous ASX, which was on sale from 2010 and discontinued earlier this year, was awarded a five-star rating back in 2014. That rating expired in 2022.Clarke said because it hasn’t had a rating in three years, fleet buyers have not been the target for ASX for a while now.The ASX has gone up in price considerably with the new-gen model and now starts from $37,740 before on-road costs, which is more than the price of the previous-generation’s flagship grade.While the previous ASX was at various points the best-selling small SUV in the country, the company acknowledges that the new model is unlikely to hit those sales highs.Mitsubishi’s GM Product Strategy & Product PR, Bruce Hampel, said while many in the industry recognise that four stars is still a safe car, communicating that to buyers can be challenging.“I guess this is our first foray into four star right? So I guess a few other OEMs are going through the same journey as it becomes more and more, I guess, costly to deliver five star, it really questions the value that it's offering to the customers, and whether a four-star vehicle, which, as you indicated, is an extremely safe vehicle.“A four star on today's protocol is safer than a five star in the last protocol, as you know. But trying to educate the general consumer that that's the case is challenging. Whether it really influences their purchase decision or not I guess is a debate.”Hampel highlighted customer feedback about the intrusive nature of some advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and what Mitsubishi is doing to help that.“What we are seeing a lot of rhetoric now, though, is looking at all the safety features that are available to the customer, and a lot of them are reacting in terms of, this is overly complicated, and we want to be able to just turn things off simply.“We're trying to work on ways to allow customers to customise their use of the ADAS features as well.”Interestingly, the new ASX does not come with a driver monitoring system. Mitsubishi has been criticised for this system in the Triton ute as it’s overly sensitive and, ironically, distracting. The brand issued an update to address the issues earlier this year but the system still intervenes at odd times.“Those type of ANCAP mandated features, I guess, are not being well received at the moment, in the market, and there's lots of pushback to ANCAP to try and moderate… their expectations going forwards.”The ASX won’t be the only four-star ANCAP-rated small SUV in Australia when it hits showrooms. The Hyundai Kona, Honda HR-V, and hybrid versions of the new MG ZS all have the same rating.While the HR-V is not a massive seller, the ZS is currently the best-selling small SUV in Australia and the Kona is second on that list.

That’s it, I’m calling it. We’re now entering the post-bling era of cars. The less is more period, where it’s cooler to have basic but customisable interiors with smaller screens (if any), fewer features (like heated steering wheels and even stereos) and no extravagant touches like ambient lighting and burr walnut trim. How do I know? Hold that thought, I’ll tell you.Recently Romanian car maker Dacia announced its Hipster concept. It’s an embarrassing naming decision and reeks of the Steve Buscemi 'How do you do, fellow kids?' meme, but the idea behind it is genius, from a business, tech and car culture point of view.The Hipster (cringe) is a small electric trucky-looking people mover, kind of like the Nissan Cube only ready for Armageddon. Currently it's a concept and Dacia is trying to see if a production version will pass European rules and regulations.The Hipster (ugghh) is seriously basic in that the interior is just four seats, a speedo and a steering wheel. A phone holder means you can use your own sat nav and play music (there are optional Bluetooth speakers). The interior is modular and you can option add-ons you might need, but not door handles - they’re just straps hanging from the outside and the windows slide manually.I love it and think the next generation of car buyers currently terrorising the streets on e-bikes will love it, too, because only their great- grandparents were impressed by polished wood trim and power windows.Dacia thinks it has cracked the popular car code with the Hipster (eewww), which it says draws on the simplicity of cult favourites like the Citroen 2CV and Land Rover Defender.There’s a good deal of marketing spin going on here because there’s something else behind the plan, which I’ll get to. So, yes, the 2CV was basic - I used to have one. And the Land Rover Series 1 was also agricultural. But that’s because both were built with agriculture in mind - for farmers who needed simple vehicles with few things to go wrong and an engine that was easy to work on. That doesn’t explain why my 2CV broke down every time we drove it somewhere, but anyway the utilitarian nature of these simple workhorses was appealing and they became as dependable, as hardworking and as charming as the farm dog. The vehicles were ridiculously popular and became business success stories for Citroen and Land Rover.  The cult status came later after city people chose one of these utilitarian vehicles to give them a tough or whimsical look, while making a statement to the rest of the world that they cared not for luxuries like doors that stayed closed when you go around a corner (true story).Dacia is trying to cut straight to the end game and make lots of money from the city types (hipsters, I guess) without doing the hard yards on a farm.There are already new cars out there that have achieved this. The Suzuki Jimny is the perfect example of a small, hardy little off-roader that’s been around forever, has a cult status and probably driven by more people in cities than the bush.What stops me thinking Dacia is being disingenuous is it has stated that the core reason behind a basic car is to reduce the weight of an electric vehicle thereby increasing its driving range because it doesn’t use as much energy. That's as good a reason as any and a very electric era approach to providing a better product to customers.I hope Dacia can make this work. I also hope it changes its mind about the name. I refuse to write it again.Taking a similar approach is the Slate pick-up from United States company Slate Auto. It’s a modular little ute that’s highly customisable and can even be converted into an SUV. Think cool e-bike but in mini-truck form right down to the standard matt black and grey colour. Like the car Dacia wants to build, the Slate Truck doesn’t come standard with a media screen but has a phone holder and wind-up windows (power ones are an option, as are speakers for music). An SUV kit can be optioned which gives you two seats which slot into the tray and a canopy.It looks much better than it sounds and I think the demand will be there from people wanting a car as different from their parents’ Lexus as possible.The aim of increasing driving range through better energy efficiency, along with the bling backlash will be catalysts for more basic cars you can customise. We’re right at the start of this exciting era that will begin as a niche and possibly become a lot bigger.Just don’t call it the Hipster.

Nissan has issued a recall for more than 13,000 Qashqai compact SUVs.

The Suzuki Jimny has finally been updated to gain new safety tech and some other simple features that most cars have had standard for years - including a colour digital driver display.The updated 2026 Suzuki Jimny 4x4 has been revealed for its home market in Japan, where pricing is up significantly.Japanese outlet Best Car reports the local pricing has increased by as much as 309,100 Yen, which directly converts to $3178.The pricing increase isn’t so extreme in its raw figure, but for the variant that price applies to it’s an increase of 13.6 per cent. Pricing rose from 1,962,400 Yen to 2,271,500 Yen.In Australia, the corresponding model is the Jimny Lite manual, currently $34,990 drive-away. A 13.6 per cent price jump would see it cost just over $39,700.The update, only available in Japan for now, adds much-needed dual-sensor AEB (autonomous emergency braking) and lane departure prevention. Auto models also gain adaptive cruise control.The Jimny also now supports Suzuki Connect with app functionality, and according to the brand’s Japanese website a colour display replaces the black and white unit currently found between the physical speedo and tacho dials - which remain as such even after the update.Expect to see an Australian market announcement for the updated Suzuki Jimny closer to its 2026 launch.

Mitsubishi says it's not concerned that it doesn’t have a hybrid option for its new-generation ASX small SUV from launch.After 15 years on sale, Mitsubishi has just replaced the ageing runabout with a new-gen model that is twinned with alliance partner Renault’s Captur.From launch all three grades are powered by the same 113kW/270Nm 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, without any hybrid assistance.In Europe the new ASX is offered with a mild hybrid and full hybrid powertrain options, as well as the petrol engine.However, Mitsubishi Motors Australia Product Strategy Manager for SUV/Electrification Tim Clarke said hybrid ASX grades are being considered, but they’re not locked in.“So not currently in our product plan. We're looking for a business case to make that a positive,” he said at the recent ASX launch.“At the moment, we've launched a product into the biggest wedge of this mainstream, small SUV . So we'll work with that and continue to improve the product throughout its life cycle.”Data provided by Mitsubishi shows that around 80 per cent of total small SUV sales (sub-$45k segment) last year were for pure petrol models. Hybrids made up just 16 per cent, although that is growing.Other similarly sized small SUVs with hybrid powertrain options include the GWM Haval Jolion, MG ZS, Nissan Qashqai, Honda HR-V, Toyota Corolla Cross, Hyundai Kona and Chery Tiggo 4.The new-gen ASX consumes 6.4 litres per 100 kilometres of 91 RON petrol on the combined cycle. The full hybrid in Europe brings that figure down to between 4.7 and 4.9L, a big fuel saving.Hampel said stock of the outgoing ASX had all but dried up but added there may be some dealer stock left across the country.He added that the new ASX has not undergone an Australian tuning program to tailor it to local road conditions.“The vehicle was developed in conjunction with Mitsubishi Motors of Europe (MME). So it was predominantly done and designed between MME and Renault Europe, tuned more for the European conditions."When we evaluated the vehicle down here in Australia, we felt it was actually quite suitable for the Australian conditions as well, so we didn't request any changes.”

Australian engineering is set to shape the next-generation of GWM vehicles from the planning stage, in an effort to make them more suitable to roads outside of China.

Subaru to reveal performance duo in Tokyo