Opinion

Diesel as a fuel source might not be dead yet, but the vultures are circling, waiting for their prey to finally stop moving. Don’t believe me? It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see into a future already so clearly laid out, and not just by newcomer brands, but by some of the biggest proponents of diesel engines in the history of the fuel.

I’m okay with picking pattern progressions, but begin to fall short when the pressure of upper level IQ testing starts to bring me undone. That said, even I could detect the clear sequence of super performance carmakers following one another into the world of the 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8.A slew of British, German and Italian brands using the same performance vs consumption vs emissions equation to propel their exotic machines towards the horizon at warp speed with maximum efficiency.So, why did white-coated boffins from all points of the automotive globe come up with the same engine configuration, capacity and induction answer?Well, at the recent global launch of the Lamborghini Temerario (a 4.0L twin-turbo V8 hybrid) we asked Lambo’s Chief Technical Officer (and drift king) Dr. Rouven Mohr exactly that.He confirmed the broadly accepted answer that an individual cylinder volume of 500cc is the magic number.That’s right, the capacity that took the ‘Wollongong Whiz’ Wayne Gardner and ‘The Master of going Faster’ Mick Doohan to 500cc World Motorcycle Championship glory is the Goldilocks zone for an individual engine cylinder. And that’s because a cylinder of that size, ideally undersquare (with a stroke length exceeding its bore diameter), optimises the combustion process thanks to a relatively small internal surface to volume ratio (as the piston nears top dead centre) which helps improve fuel efficiency while producing optimum power and minimising C02 and NOx emissions.So, 500 times eight equals 4000, which, with the benefit of forced induction pushes the golden ratio to its maximum.And Lamborghini should know because the all-new (L411) unit it developed for the Temerario produces 588kW on its own, before a trio of electric motors tips in another 89kW for a total output of 677kW (920hp).Two turbos producing 2.5 bar located in the engine’s ‘hot vee’ optimise packaging and thermal management; titanium conrods reduce rotating mass; a flat plane crank delivers an even firing order and super hard finger followers in the valvetrain allow more aggressive cam profiles. The result? A 10,000rpm rev ceiling, which is… nuts.Other brands within the Volkswagen Group portfolio are on the same train, like Audi’s SQ7 and SQ8 with Bentley and Porsche directly sharing engine tech.And what about Mercedes-AMG with the GT63 and SL63 or McLaren just about matching Lambo for specific power output with its 750S rocketship?But hands up those who remember JLR’s ‘Ingenium’ modular engine family. Three-, four- and six-cylinder units built around 500cc cylinders. BMW Group with its triple, four- and six-cylinder engines, along with many others have also struck on the 500cc formula. But maybe Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann has the most compelling reason for joining the club.While acknowledging the capacity of the cylinder premise - “Six cylinder is usually three litres, eight is four and 12 is six” - he lets slip that the 4.0L thing “is also a matter of taxation in a lot of countries”. So, follow engine efficiency or follow the money, the 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 answer is the same.

Think back to the before times – before GWM sent its Cannon Alpha PHEV charging up Beer O'Clock Hill, before BYD caught the old-guard napping with its Shark 6, and before brands like MG, JAC and more announced their own plans for innovative dual cabs.

If you need any more proof that China is becoming the dominant force in Australia’s automotive landscape, consider this.In the first six months of this year, 102,938 Chinese-made vehicles have been sold in Australia. Flash back five years to 2020, Chinese vehicle sales totalled just 11,055 in the same six-month period.That’s an 831 per cent increase in just five years. At this rate, China will overtake Thailand as the number two country of origin in Australia by next year. Japan is currently number one for imports, but for how long?Clearly a large number of Australians have no issue buying Chinese-built cars.The top 10 car brands for the first half of the year include Chinese giants GWM and BYD in seventh and eighth place respectively, while Tesla - which only imports cars to Australia from China - is ninth and SAIC-owned MG is just outside the table in eleventh.Yet looking at some of the commentary around this trend you’d be mistaken for thinking otherwise. There’s still a lot of negativity around Chinese brands and models despite the appetite for them here in Australia. But is it warranted?Honestly, it’s complicated.I appreciate some people have a moral issue buying a Chinese car given the long list of alleged current and historical human rights abuses carried out by the Chinese government. This is understandable.However, you could argue that if you take a stand against a particular country for historical human rights abuses there wouldn't be many countries left to buy cars from. The US isn’t exactly covering itself in glory when it comes to human rights at the moment.Other people take issue with the perceived quality of Chinese-made vehicles, in terms of build quality, materials and what they’re like to drive. And some of this concern is absolutely valid.The first crop of Chinese cars to hit Australia were, largely, awful. GWM, back in 2009 when it was just called Great Wall, served up some stinkers. The V240 SUV and X240 ute were terrible to drive, had poor build quality and the ute was even engulfed in an asbestos scandal.MG’s reboot as a Chinese-owned marque started in 2013 with the already dated MG6 sedan, but before it, Chery’s terrible trio of the J1 and J3 hatches and the J11 SUV ensured an early exit for the brand.Even some more recent attempts have been less than successful. Poorly calibrated advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) impacted Chery’s relaunch here a few years back with the Omoda 5, while even Deepal’s own company executives admitted the S07 EV was the most annoying car on sale in Australia thanks to incessant beeping and ADAS intervention.And, having driven a large number of Chinese cars currently on sale in Australia, I can confirm it is a mixed bag of good, bad and in between.But things are changing fast. I spent some time recently in China driving a raft of new models from BYD. While the test track was far too limited to develop decent drive impressions, it’s clear the overall quality of their cars has improved significantly. The interior design, materials used and even things like seat design impressed a lot of us hardened Aussie motoring writers.MG is on a roll at the minute, too. While I am yet to drive one myself, everyone that’s tested the MGS5 EV, including our very own Laura Berry, has raved about it. It’s like an SUV version of the already impressive MG4, only even better.GWM is consistently improving its models as it goes and having driven cars like the Tank 300 diesel and Haval H6 GT PHEV, I can confirm this to be true. Hiring noted former GM Holden engineer Rob Trubiani to tune its products will only help further.The quality of Tesla’s product improved greatly when Australian sourcing shifted from the USA to China a few years back.Granted, there are still some decidedly average cars in many of the Chinese brands’ model range.But to dismiss all cars from China is to fight a losing battle. Check those sales numbers again. Very soon half of the brands in the top 10 will be from China. GWM, MG and BYD all have ambitions for the top five or top three and some of the legacy brands aren’t doing much to stop them.I have had some alarming conversations with executives from legacy brands about China’s rise. I won’t name names, but multiple execs from top 10 brands have dismissed the popularity of Chinese brands in Australia and their potential to take over the industry. There is a sense from some that buyer loyalty will ultimately lead people back to long-standing brands.But this ignores the fact that hundreds of thousands of Australians don’t care about loyalty and they just want a good deal. And they are getting that in spades from the Chinese carmakers, much more than they are from the Japanese, Korean and European brands that have dominated for so long.So I guess what I am saying is, it might be time to get over the anti-China bias. Because you’re missing out on some pretty good cars. And in a few years there might not be as many non-Chinese brands to choose from.

Everyone likes a bargain… everyone except the one handing you the deal. For decades there was a simple formula for car companies looking to make a mark in the Australian market — undercut the competition, build market share, become a beloved, mainstream staple. It worked for Holden, then Toyota, then Hyundai and many more.

Oh, how quickly things change. Only a few years ago car companies were excitedly revealing plans to ditch the internal combustion engine and go all-electric as soon as the end of the decade. And one particular technology in particular was derided above all others — plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

Toyota makes a lot of different cars, but we want more. Where’s the small off-roader? A baby LandCruiser? Where’s the reborn Celica? And where’s the new-gen Tarago? Don’t even get me started on the missing electric cars, either…You’d think that for the most successful and biggest selling car company in the world Toyota wouldn’t have a single gap in its line-up. We can forgive the likes of Subaru or Mitsubishi for having missing pieces, but Toyota? Nope, I’m not buying it. Toyota has more than 22 models on sale in Australia and it could probably discontinue half of them and still hold onto the No.1 spot. It’s easy: lose Corolla Cross, same with bZ4X, put Fortuner out of its misery, same with 86 - it was good but the party’s over, Camry is part of a dying species in mid-size sedans, Supra now exists for Supercars but it should go, Tundra is prohibitively expensive, same for the Yaris and the C-HR was never going to work, was it?That leaves HiLux, RAV4, Kluger, Prado, Corolla, Camry, Kluger, LandCruiser in both 300 and 70 Series forms and the Yaris Cross. More models than most brands and the combined annual sales of them all is about 210,000, which would still make it far and way the biggest-selling car brand in Australia.That makes it easier to see what essential models might be missing. A mini LandCruiser is one.We’re talking a Suzuki Jimny rival and if the rumours are true the LandCruiser FJ is on the cards for Toyota, with the brand not planning to use the TGNA platform that underpins the Prado and LandCruiser 300 but the IMV-O platform used in emerging markets.Next is one gap in the line-up so obvious that before anything else it should be filed — a people mover. The family favourite Tarago was retired in 2019 and replaced by the Granvia, which while plush was more airport transfer shuttle than practical suburban people mover that could rival the Kia Carnival.The Granvia’s sales were woeful and last year only 112 were sold, compared to 10,080 Kia Carnivals. The Granvia was the wrong choice and Toyota should have brought in the Alphard people mover, which already had an importer fan following in Australia despite it never being sold here. It would be hard for Toyota to sit and watch Kia have the entire national people mover market all to itself and it would be wise to get Alphard here and start stealing some sales back. Should it be renamed a Tarago? Sure why not, just hurry up and get it here.Finally, can we talk about a two-door Toyota sportscar that isn’t a BMW? Don’t get me wrong, I love the Supra. It looks delicious and it’s great to drive, but I think Toyota is big enough to do its own sportscar. Again the rumour mill says a reborn Celica is coming. A mid-engined 300kW petrol four-cylinder powered, 1.2m tall GR Celica with a strange-looking windscreen. I’m here for it.So that’s just three cars Toyota’s sorely missing from a line-up that’s too fat. Don’t even get me started on how Toyota needs a mid-sized SUV with seven seats — A RAV4 7 — to compete with the Mitsubishi Outlander and Kia Sorento.  And then there’s the complete lack of electric vehicles, but that’s another opinion piece.  

I’ve spent a fair bit of time around new electric cars in the last couple of years and there’s a trend I’m sure you’ve noticed if you’re paying even half the amount of attention I am.

Which Mitsubishi do you wish would make a comeback? Pajero? Lancer?  Well, Mitsubishi is currently undertaking a massive overhaul of its Australian line-up with several new models to come to fill the gaps. So while they're at it we’ve put together our wishlist of cars they really should really revive or bring here. The changes to the Australian Design rules (ADRs) in March this year meant Mitsubishi had to axe three vehicles from its local lineup.  These were the ASX small SUV, the bigger Eclipse Cross SUV and the Pajero Sport off-roader. This leaves Mitsubishi with just two cars on sale in Australia — the Triton ute and Outlander mid-sized SUV. Meanwhile Toyota has 23 models on sale.Now we're not suggesting that Mitsubishi needs another 21 models, Ford is managing just fine on pretty much the Ranger, Everest and Mustang, but I definitely think there are some essentials the brand could use and a few dream cars while we're at it.Probably the most obvious model Mitsubishi needs right now is the Pajero. Yep once-upon-a-1990s the Toyota Prado and Mitsubishi Pajero wrestled for dominance all over Australia, from the outback to suburbia. The Pajero eventually lost the battle and was axed by Mitsubishi in 2020 … or so we thought! Imagine the comeback. Just when the new generation Prado had arrived and was still gloating, the Pajero could make its return. Sure the Pajero Sport is coming back in 2026, but that’s a Ford Everest rival. The beauty is Mitsubishi could easily plonk another, posher-looking SUV body on the ladder frame and call it the Pajero. And they’ve already got the badges made up. You just just take the “Sport” bit off. Think of the savings.Next on our wish list is not really a car that would sell in high numbers, but it'd be the halo car in many ways the brand needs so badly right now —  a reborn Lancer, and yes, with an Evolution grade as well. Or maybe just a standalone Lancer Evo XI. I think we’re up to XI, I can't remember but I tested the very final one in 2015.Back in the final glory days of Ford Falcon versus Holden Commodore there were two other tribes going to war: Subaru WRX v Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. These days the WRX lives on, but it looks so lonely without the Lancer EVO to play with.Finally, and given the number of grey imports we see of this car, Mitsubishi needs to add the Delica people mover to its Aussie line-up. What’s not to like about a high-riding all-wheel drive six-seater van?A sixth-generation of the people mover is expected in the next two years and whether it looks anything like the futuristic and silly Delica concept Mitsubishi revealed at the 2023 Tokyo Motorshow is yet to be seen.A wishlist for Mitsubishi could go one forever, who wouldn’t want to see the Colt come back, or the Cordia Turbo? Or the 3000GT?In reality the ASX will be back and so too will the Pajero Sport, and that might be all Mitsubishi needs as it faces bigger problems.  Challenges like how on Earth will it adapt to a rapidly changing market that’s been inundated with excellent electric vehicles from brands which hardly existed five years ago. Currently Mitsubishi doesn’t even sell one purely electric vehicle in Australia at all.

Is BYD's Shark 6 all it's cracked up to be?