Sedan

Is this what next year’s Holden Commodore would be if General Motors hadn’t pulled the plug in 2020?

A little known Chinese car brand has beaten the biggest names in the business in a crucial electric car race.

Mercedes-Benz has added a new C-Class base variant known as the C200 Night Edition, which is backed with a national drive-away deal until 31 July. The price before on-road costs is $86,900 – $3000 less than a regular C200 – though the “astonishing” drive-away price (as described by Mercedes-Benz) is $89,900 nationally. That deal is on from now until the end of financial year, when the Night Edition will return to its regular $86,900 before on-road costs fixed price under Benz’s agency dealer model. There’s actually more standard equipment than the base C200 with 19-inch alloy wheels where the standard car gets 18s and rear privacy glass. Aside from that, both are visually similar with the AMG-style front and rear bumpers, though the Night Edition gets extra black exterior trim. A 710-watt 15-speaker Burmester surround sound system is included standard, too. Inside, Artico vinyl upholstery is allied with front heated and power adjustable seats with memory function. There’s dual-zone climate control, acoustic insulated glass, ambient lighting, an 11.9-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen, a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display and head-up display. The C200 Night Edition uses the 150kW/300Nm 48-volt boosted turbo-petrol four-cylinder that drives the rear wheels via a nine-speed automatic. The Night Edition’s extra equipment and lower price, which is a long way up on the C-Class’s $78,900 launch price in February 2022, should aid the Mercedes-Benz C-Class in sales against the BMW 320i ($80,200) and Audi A4 35 TFSI ($71,900, both before on-road costs).  Mercedes-Benz shifted 156 of its luxury sedans last month compared to BMW’s 325 3 Series deliveries. The Night Edition is sold alongside the C200, C300, AMG C43 and AMG C63. 2024 Mercedes-Benz C-Class pricing (before on-road costs) 

Owners of Mazda CX-60 models built between 28 March and 30 September 2023 are eligible for revised rear suspension parts. Mazda made running updates to the rear dampers of the CX-60 medium luxury SUV as a way to address criticism from media and owners about a firm rear ride. There is also a software update applicable to all CX-60s to smooth the operation of Mazda’s unique eight-speed automatic transmission that uses a multi-plate clutch in place of a torque converter. Both are being offered free of charge to owners. CarsGuide Senior Journalist Richard Berry had a CX-60 long-term test car and noticed the terse ride: “On Sydney’s roads the CX-60’s suspension is too firm and jostling for a family SUV. Then there’s the rough and jerky feeling transmission which Mazda has admitted could be better.” A Mazda spokesperson said: “this is a running change available to CX-60 owners allowing early customers to align their vehicle with the latest factory specification. This option includes a revised rear shock absorber fitted at no cost through the Mazda dealer network. “As CX-60 makes its way into more markets, we continue to study the vehicle and review customer feedback. There is no change in specification regards the CX-90, thus no running changes planned for this model currently”, the spokesperson added. The first shipment of new dampers arrived in March and some CX-60s have had the change applied. According to existing owners, there is more stock of the new dampers arriving in mid-May for those yet to have the update. Alongside running changes, the BMW X3 and Lexus NX rival has been subject to recalls since its launch in July 2023 including one for the steering system recall and another for loss-of-power in the P50e plug-in hybrid.As it does with all models from CX-3 to CX-9, Mazda will continue to incrementally update its Large Product platform vehicles, especially after making such a significant investment in the high-profit premium tactic.  

The 2025 Mercedes-Benz EQS is the brands flagship electric saloon and it's been updated with a bigger battery for more range along with some ye-olde styling in the form of a free-standing hood ornament.

BMW is in the midst of massive change. Like all so-called legacy carmakers, the Bavarian giant is hurtling towards an electric future, and everything from production processes to R&D and design must change.

Some households may find that buying a second car is superfluous to their needs, especially if they live close to reliable public transport. However, there is still demand for second cars, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting in 2022 that 55.1 per cent of Aussie households had two or more vehicles.If you’re thinking about purchasing a 2nd car, you need to consider its intended use. Is it going to be a work vehicle and only moonlight occasionally for other purposes? Like picking up the kids or ferrying a spouse around town every other weekend?It may seem obvious, but if it’s a work vehicle, it needs to suit your employment. A tradesperson will get more use out of a ute or van than they would a small sedan. If you have to pick up kids or regular passengers, consider a dual-cab ute or a van with a second row of seats to accommodate.  If you’re searching for a second family car, consider whether your family will fit and what type of safety items are needed. If you still have kids in car seats, look at the width of the rear seat and how many top-tether anchor points it has.The general safety kit, its ANCAP rating and how many airbags the car has will all be important factors. If you need a car with three rows of seats make sure the curtain airbags cover that row (not all of them do).You should also plan on the secondary car occasionally moonlighting as the primary car; like when the primary car is in for servicing. Will it still be suitable for your needs?What type of driving are you doing? Are you doing longer highway stints or mostly short urban trips? Finding a second vehicle that has excellent economy will be very important for keeping down your overall running costs.And on that note, owning a second vehicle will literally double your expenses on items like insurance, fuel and maintenance. Not to mention the actual purchase cost and any associated interest if you don’t buy outright.Spending $20,000 for the second vehicle and based on a personal fixed rate loan of five years at a 15.99 per cent p.a. interest rate, your weekly repayment will be $113.An average comprehensive insurance quote for a 2017 station wagon with low kilometres comes in at around $1243.90 for a 35-year-old female driver living in Sydney, NSW.According to the government website Fuel Check, the average cost of 95 RON unleaded petrol in NSW is 216.6c/L; based on a 67L fuel tank and a weekly fill, that’s an extra $145.12 in fuel costs per week or $7546.34 per year.Let’s average the servicing cost at every 12 months and at $500 per service, which is a fair assumption for a larger vehicle.That’s a weekly expenditure of up to $291.70 for the second car, without any random snafus (prangs anyone?) occurring or factoring in parking fees.On paper, coming up with that sort of extra money every week may seem daunting and you may find yourself wondering if public transport or a ride service would be better suited. Providing you live in an area that provides one (or both) and the service scheduling suits your needs.My friend lives in Matraville, NSW, and works in Double Bay, NSW. An Uber ride one-way costs nearly $50 on a weekday, without tolls. The commute time sits between 25 and 40 minutes, depending on the time of day. If you do a return trip for a five-day work week, that’s $500 in Ubers alone. That is not factoring any other travel, like shopping or social events – just to and from work. A bit pricey.The same journey via the public system route with a combination of buses and trains will cost approximately $8 return but takes well over two hours for a round trip. Far more affordable, but you’re stuck with whatever scheduling Transport NSW has and you can’t choose your cabin-mates. You also add significantly to your daily commute time and let’s face it, time is money.That second car isn’t looking too shabby, especially if you live in an area that doesn’t have a great public transport infrastructure. The best second car to buy will the one that best suits your needs. Make a list of your requirements, the non-negotiables as it were, and start searching from there.Here is a snapshot of some cars that could easily be a second car.Model: SsangYong MussoOverview: The top model has all of the safety gear and it’s worth the upgrade if your transporting kids. With a 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity, a cavernous cabin space and premium features – this is a hard one to beat.Cost: From $37,700 drive-awayBest option for: families who also need a workhorseModel: Toyota CorollaOverview: Compact, sweet-looking design and easy to drive.Cost: From $33,397 drive-awayBest option for: Those who don’t transport lots of passengers and don’t have a lot of garage space.Model: Toyota Camry HybridCost: From $37,917 plus on-road costsOverview: It’s popular with ride services and taxis for a reason. Hands down one of the best cars to drive, has low ongoing costs and has an efficient hybrid powertrain. In the top SL grade, you get decent tech and features, too.Best option for: Those who need comfort, good people and luggage capacity and something reliable.On another note, if you have young kids and you’re purchasing a second car, go have a look at car seats because you’ll be purchasing those, too. Make sure that the car seat you want will fit in the car - actually take it with you and try fitting it in!The best car seat for a second car has to fit your needs. I’m hauling my monster harnessed booster seat in and out of my car every single week, multiple times a week, due to changing test vehicles and video shoots.I’m obviously on the extreme end, but if you do move your seats around a bit, consider getting a car seat with an in-built locking clip for the seat belt.My personal car seat is the Britax Safe-n-Sound b-grow ClickTight tex because I don’t have to fiddle around with a separate lock buckle or adjust the harness manually. It takes me two minutes to install and even quicker to adjust for my son’s rapidly growing height!

The architect behind Hyundai’s high-performance N division has one last goal before he retires permanently - to build a “small” and “crazy” electric replacement for the i30 N hot hatch.