Small Cars

Honda has rolled out upgrades to its Fit hatchback, which was known as the Jazz in Australia.Once one of our markets most popular hatchbacks, Honda Australia discontinued it in 2021 and has since cited the shrinking market share for hatchbacks and higher entry price of the new model as reasons that it has yet to return.Despite this, the new fourth-generation model has been on sale in the UK for some time and has now been updated in its home market of Japan.Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the new version has tweaked styling and variant structures, as well as upgraded materials inside and out, with an upgraded multimedia suite.In addition, the RS variant scores sportier gloss-finish design touches, while the range-topping Crosstar gets SUV-like plastic overfenders, with a higher level of standard inclusions for this update like a heated steering wheel and front seats.The new Fit continues to be available in Japan with two powertrains, either a 1.5-litre dual-motor plugless hybrid (90kW/253Nm) or a 1.5-litre petrol (87kW/142Nm) with a CVT automatic. In Japan, the Fit can be had in front- or all-wheel drive layouts in any variant and with any powertrain, while in the UK it can only be had as a front-wheel drive in hybrid form.In Japan the Fit range spans from the equivalent of $16,084 for a base front-wheel drive non-hybrid to $26,320 for the range-topping Crosstar e:HEV AWD. In the UK the pre-update Jazz version starts from a much more expensive A$52,388 for a base e:HEV Elegance, and tops out at an eye-watering $56,868 for the top-spec Crosstar e:HEV.At the time of its discontinuation, the locally-sold Honda Jazz was one of the most affordable new cars on sale in Australia, with a starting price of just $14,990 before on-roads for an entry-level VTi manual, with the top-spec send-off VTi Limited Edition priced at $19,990 before on-roads.The entry-point to the Honda range now is the Fit-related HR-V Vi X small SUV, which is priced from $32,900 drive-away.Honda has said it won’t return to the hatch segment with the Jazz, but it will return with its fully electric Super-One city hatchback, which is due in Australia before the end of the year.The Super One is priced lower than the Jazz, in the UK anyway, from the equivalent of $36,704.Whether it has what it takes to challenge the growing array of Chinese offerings in the electric hatchback space, spanning from the similarly-sized BYD Atto 1 ($23,990 BOCs) to the BYD Dolphin ($29,990 BOCs) and MG4 Urban ($31,990 drive-away) remains to be seen.Honda is in the process of expanding on its range of plugless hybrid offerings in Australia as it looks to improve its fortunes since it changed its business model to an ‘agency’ style from a traditional dealer model in 2021 coinciding with the discontinuation of the Jazz.

My 2003 Hyundai Getz brake lights stay on. They won't turn off.

The small and light passenger car segments have been dwindling for years in Australia, but new offerings are helping to revive the affordable new car.These cars are the BYD Atto 1, MG3 and MG4 Urban. They’re all from Chinese carmakers and offer electrified power options.In June BYD sold a total of 871 examples of the Atto 1. It’s only been on sale for a few months and it’s the most affordable electric vehicle (EV) in Australia with a starting price of $23,990 before on-road costs.It was only pipped at the post in terms of monthly sales by the MG3 with a total of 898 examples sold. This is down 1.8 per cent compared to June 2025.The MG3 is now one of the only cars that's available for less than $20,000. It’s offered with both petrol and hybrid power.The Kia Picanto is the only other new car that’s available for less than $20,000 and it’s even smaller than the MG3. The South Korean carmaker sold 626 examples during June, which is down 13.3 per cent over the same month last year.MG also had some sales success with its new MG4 Urban small electric hatchback in June with a total of 1015 examples sold during the month.This almost outsold the venerable Toyota Corolla which shifted 1037 units. This is down 28.6 per cent compared to June 2025.Looking at the year-to-date (YTD) sales figures, BYD has sold a total of 3254 examples of the Atto 1 despite only being on sale for a few months.The Chinese carmaker has been going from strength to strength in terms of sales in Australia. It’s now the second best-selling brand in Australia behind only Toyota, which has held the crown for the last 20 consecutive years.MG sold a total of 3917 examples of the MG3 to the end of June which was down 25.9 per cent year-on-year. For context, MG sold a total of 8984 examples of the related ZS small SUV over the same period, an 11.7 per cent drop.MG sold a total of 1424 examples of the MG4 Urban up to the end of June. It’s only been on sale for a few months now and it appears full supply is coming on tap and backorders are being fulfilled.Forecasting for the rest of the 2026, it will be interesting to see how much of this renewed interest in certain small cars carries on as the segments as a whole continue to decline.Light and small SUV sales continue to boom and don’t look like they’re slowing down anytime soon. The overall sales volume for the segments are much higher than the respective passenger car segments too.Chery sold a total of 13,638 examples of the Tiggo 4 small SUV until the end of June, which is up 70.6 per cent year-on-year. It also makes it the fifth best-selling car in Australia overall.The best-selling passenger car currently is the Toyota Corolla in 22nd place for YTD sales. Every vehicle with a higher sales volume is either an SUV or ute.

Cupra has confirmed that there are currently no plans to bring back the Born electric hatchback to Australia, at least for now.“It's still something we discuss with headquarters, and you know there might be a way forward in the future, but there's no plan right now,” said Cupra Australia Head of Product Jeff Shafer to CarsGuide.“We've got, you know, Raval coming, and we've got some news on Tavascan coming soon, and I think that kind of is where we're focusing our EV efforts right now.“We need to make Born have a position that makes sense within that total range, so I wouldn't say never, but it's not right on the cards.”The Born was Cupra’s first all-electric model globally and in Australia. It was originally revealed in production form in 2021 and eventually arrived in 2023 following a number of delays.It’s based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB dedicated electric architecture and shares a number of commonalities with the Volkswagen ID.3 which has never been offered in Australia.Locally the Born was offered in a single trim level and was powered by a single, rear-mounted electric motor producing 170kW and 310Nm. This was fed by a 77kWh lithium-ion battery pack allowing for up to 511km of claimed range.As standard the Born was a five-seater, however if you opted for any of the optional performance or interior packages, the seat count would drop to four.In 2025 Cupra stopped taking new orders of the Born as existing stock dried up despite it previously indicating a launch of the higher-performance Born VZ was on the cards.Earlier this year Cupra revealed a facelift for the Born which brought tweaked looks, bigger screens, as well as more physical switchgear around the cabin.Although the Born may not be returning to Australian shores, as Shafer noted Cupra already has the Tavascan mid-size electric SUV which is soon receiving an update for 2026.Additionally the Raval small electric hatchback is set to arrive Down Under during 2027.

Toyota has too many models? The company’s new global boss seems to think so, and he is sharpening his axe in his hunt to save money. Why is this happening? Which models doesn’t Toyota need?Toyota is the world’s biggest car manufacturer and has been for the past six years running. In 2025 Toyota sold 11.2 million vehicles across its three brands - Toyota, Lexus and Daihatsu.That global dominance is replicated in Australia where Toyota has been the biggest selling car brand for 23 consecutive years.So, you’d think it was doing everything right. And why on Earth would you change anything?Toyota’s Kenta Kon became the new global CEO of the company on June 17, and has hit the ground running as he looks for what could be done better, while he hasn’t mentioned any models by name he’s made it clear there will be cuts.In an interview with Automotive News, Kon said he was touring facilities looking for inefficiencies. It’s enough to send a chill down even the most hard working employee’s spine.“We’ve become increasingly able to identify things that don’t seem quite right, areas where operations have become somewhat inefficient, or where the amount of work that doesn’t directly add value has increased,” Kon told Automotive News.“We’re now at the stage where we can really start addressing them – making corrections and implementing improvements.“If you go to a development division, you see issues such as an increasing number of different specifications and variants being created, which in turn is driving up costs.”Carmakers, as many companies do, often go through a streamlining process where they prune back on activities deemed superfluous in a bid to save money.This cutting back is already happening. The fully electric Lexus LF ZC was axed before it even went into production, just before Kon succeeded Koji Sato as President and CEO. Before the promotion Kon was Toyota’s Chief Financial Officer.Mr Sato is a “self confessed” car guy - a mechanical engineer by trade and a performance car enthusiast. Mr Kon calls himself a “numbers guy”.According to Toyota’s Financial Year 2026 summary, the company sold 2.5 per cent more cars and sales revenue was up by 5.5 per cent, but the operating profit fell by 7.3 per cent.Add to this the billions lost from the bottom line caused by tariffs imposed by the United States, a massive loss in sales in China (a 31 per cent drop in May this year alone), a conflict in the Middle East putting pressure on fuel prices and the sudden huge popularity in Chinese electric vehicles, and even the biggest car girl or guy can see the need to cut back on spending.The axing of the LF ZC is interesting and it happened just as Kon was moving into his new office. This was to be an electric successor to the IS sedan, but perhaps being a sedan was the reason it was axed. SUVs being where the money is these days and all that.In a time when sales are being stolen from right under mainstream brand’s noses by affordable, high-tech and good looking vehicles made by Chinese manufacturers, surely EVs aren’t the models Toyota should be axing?But then Toyota’s EVs haven’t really taken the world by storm. One of the brand’s worst selling cars is the C-HR SUV and the electric version, which recently arrived has done nothing to help sales anywhere globally for Toyota.Toyota’s other electric SUVs, such as the bZ4X, haven’t been major hits either. Toyota’s focus doesn’t appear to be EVs for now. Instead, hybrids are bringing in the money for Toyota.The axing of the LF ZC was also only just one model, but it's a good indication of how Toyota is now in a phase of conservative growth and not willing to take risks.That's not to say the brand won’t make EVs, of course it will, but rather than sedans like the LF ZC they’ll be electric SUVs.Currently Toyota has 23 models in its Australian range. The worst performers are the Yaris, C-HR and GR86, all with less than 1000 sales so far this year.Which models will Toyota axe next? Most likely the C-HR first. This SUV, while great to drive, isn’t selling well here and around the world - even the fully electric version.What about the bZ4X? That’s actually selling well in Australia and globally even if it had a bumpy start with recalls and a battery that didn’t offer enough driving range in the first iteration. Toyota has sold 1526 of them this year. That’s more than the 1340 combined sales of closely priced Volkswagen ID. 4 and its ID. 5 coupe twins.But when you compare that to its Zeekr 7X rival, with 3664 sales for the same period, then you begin to see that EVs are currently really just a side hustle for mainstream brands that make nearly all their income from traditional models.Does it annoy Toyota that it’s not the go-to for EVs when it has been for ICE cars for decades? I’d say it does, a lot. Even if Toyota would tell you it doesn’t and say that it's all about having models for every body - the multipathway powertrain approach is the marketing phrase it uses.Toyota may even feel that it exerts such a colossal influence over people’s purchasing habits that customers will continue to buy what the brand’s range offers. The company may just think that “until we make and sell it, people won’t buy it”.Yes, it’ll lose a relatively tiny amount of sales to BYD, Zeekr and other Chinese rivals but it’ll stay its course and bring in electric versions of its successful models.In the meantime, for Toyota you can probably forget design studies like the LF ZC or wild reborn models such as the Celica or MR2. The Toyota 86 as we know it is also on borrowed time.Yep, if you thought Toyota was boring now… you ain’t seen nothing yet.

My 2015 Hyundai Accent Active has only travelled 69,500km and has been regularly serviced. But I've been told it needs a complete new automatic transmission due to internal rattling. What options or recourse do I have with Hyundai?

Why does my 2014 Holden Cruze JH 1.8-litre run rough and stall on cold starts, especially in colder weather, even after replacing the MAF sensor, ignition coil, and spark plugs?

The winds of change are blowing a gale through the Australian car industry, as new brands and vehicles whizz past old favourites on the sales charts.Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries boss Tony Weber said the June result was a paradigm shift for the new vehicle market. “The Australian automotive market has shifted on its axis during the first months of 2026. This year is likely to represent a significant turning point for the Australian automotive industry,” said Weber.BYD is officially a category five storm blowing in the direction of Toyota, Ford, Mazda and others that have dominated the top five selling brands for the past decade.BYD sold 18,881 new cars in June, all of them either electric or plug-in hybrids. This brought its three month total to 34,794 after its much ballyhooed effort to send its own ships packed to the gills with cars to Australia.Toyota had battened down the hatches in June and fortified itself against the fierce onslaught of BYD. It managed 19,124 sales in the past month to hold on to first place.It is understood that Toyota has increased supply going forward and is planning a monster second half of the year.Ford bounced back to third place with 9181 sales. Tesla came roaring up behind the Blue Oval with 8670 sales in June, which is impressive considering it only sells two vehicles.The Tesla Model Y was the best selling vehicle in the country with 8072 examples finding a home in the past month.Stablemates Kia (8005) and Hyundai (7480) held firm in fifth and sixth spots, while Mazda slid down to seventh (7278).Chinese brands finished out the top 10 with GWM (6104), MG (5001) and Chery (4505) muscling out old favourites Mitsubishi (4150), Subaru (2902) and Nissan (2337).A few other Chinese brands are lurking outside the top 10, with Geely 13th with 3507 sales and Chery’s Omoda Jaecoo sub brand 15th after moving 2541 units.Utes still delivered strong results, which is typical for the End of Financial Year period.The Toyota HiLux was the Japanese brand’s best selling model with 5175 sales, and Ford’s Ranger was the second best selling model overall with 5999 sales. BYD’s plug-in hybrid Sark 6 ute was its second best selling model, with 3398 sales.Top 10 selling car brands, June 2026 Top 10 selling vehicles, June 2026  

The rise in popularity of Chinese cars has been so rapid it’s left traditional car companies scrambling to keep up in technology and sales.So now it is a case of, if you can’t beat them join them, with the old big carmakers searching for a Chinese partner in a bid for survival.Here’s who some big established brands are teaming up with to weather the electrical storm.The luxury sportscar maker is already part-owned by Chinese behemoth Geely, which has 17 per cent stake in the company, but there appear to be troubling times ahead and a buy out by Geely could be on the cards.Audi lives a completely double life. There’s the brand with the four-ringed badge, which operates in every country except China, and there's the brand with AUDI logo that is only found in China.AUDI models are completely different to the models sold outside China and are developed in a joint venture with MG's owner, SAICIt’s hard not to be envious of AUDI models, which are fully electric and futuristic looking. How much longer will it be before these highly desirable vehicles are exported to the world?BMW and Great Wall Motors (GWM) formed a joint venture in 2019 and the current Mini Aceman and Mini Cooper are one of the results. You knew Mini is owned by BMW right?The current Aceman and Cooper use a platform developed by BMW and GWM and are manufactured in Zhangjiagang and sold to the world.Ford’s global boss Jim Farley talks of the Chinese car brands being an ‘existential threat’, calling brands such as BYD “the best in the business”, and also admits the need to form partnerships. Farley has even suggested Ford forms joint ventures to build Chinese cars within the United States.Ford’s track record of partnerships with Chinese carmakers isn’t terrific. It recently broke up with Jiangling, which had been making versions of the Bronco SUV that were planned to be sold in Australia.Now the hunt is on for a new partner with Ford rumoured to be talking to Geely, BYD and Xiaomi.The embattled off-road brand, Jeep, may be rescued thanks to a partnership between parent company Stellantis and Chinese car maker Dongfeng.The agreement will see two new Jeep models with Dongfeng platforms built in China and exported globally.Land Rover and Chery have been building cars together in China for a decade now, but recently the relationship went to the next level.Land Rover has given Chery permission to revive the Freelander name. The twist is Freelander won’t be a model but a range of models.The extra twist is Chery Freelanders won’t just be built and sold in China, they’ll also be exported globally.How does Land Rover benefit? Well there’s probably a lot of money changing hands, but more valuable than that would be the use of Chery’s plug-in hybrid and EV know-how and hardware in exchange.Mazda has been criticised for its lack of electric vehicles, but its joint venture with Changam appears to be turning that around quickly, with the agreement resulting in the stunning Mazda 6e and CX-6e EVs.Both fully electric, the 6e and CX-6e, are made in China and use Changan engineering and drivetrains. Mazda’s designers were behind the styling.Mercedes-Benz’s joint venture with Geely is a successful one and the Smart brand of EVs is the result of this relationship. Smart sees Geely handle the engineering and production, while Mercedes-Benz looks after design.Mercedes-Benz is also working on a new Phoenix EV platform to underpin its next generation cars.The famous French brand Peugeot will also benefit along with Jeep from its parent company Stellantis's recent agreement with Dongfeng.Two Peugeots will be underpinned by Dongfeng platforms, and the Concept 6 and Concept 7 Peugeots displayed at the Beijing motor show have given us a glimpse of what’s to come.Geely arguably saved Volvo from demise when it bought the Swedish company off Ford in 2010. Now Geely owns about 78 per cent of Volvo, and while that still gives the Chinese parent company control, it allows Volvo to self-rule and operate out of Sweden.Volvo has flourished thanks to the injection of funds and the autonomy, with the vehicles benefitting from Swedish design and Geely advanced EV know-how.Many Volvo models including the EX40 are now made in China and sold to the world.Volkswagen and XPeng signed an agreement in 2023 to produce vehicles in China and in March this year. The first model co-developed by the two companies - the ID. UNYX 08 has entered production.Volkswagen benefits from the XPeng’s EV architecture and is said to be considering exporting co-developed vehicles direct from China in the future.

China’s latest budget electric car is about to hit Aussie showrooms.The Leapmotor B05 is priced from $35,990 (drive-away), placing it in close proximity to the GWM Ora 5 (from $33,990, drive-away) and MG4 (from $39,990, drive-away).There is also a long-range variant of the B05 available, starting from $39,990 (drive-away), making it $4000 more than the base car.All variants have a single electric motor, producing 160kW and 240Nm, with a 0-100km/h time of less than seven seconds.The long-range B05 comes with a 67kWh battery that provides a driving range of 482km, while a 56kWh unit in the base car offers 401km, both according to WLTP standards. These strong range figures for the hatchback are in part due to the car only being offered in a rear-wheel drive set-up. The car has DC charging capabilities at up to 174kW, meaning it can charge from 30-80 per cent in under 20 minutes on both variants. On the inside, there is a 14.6-inch central touchscreen display and an 8.8-inch digital driver display.It is also equipped with a wireless phone charger as standard, accompanied by wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The long-range grade adds a fixed panoramic glass roof with an electric sunshade, synthetic leather seats and a premium 12-speaker sound system.It also introduces electrically adjustable seats, with the front ones heated, as well as a heated steering wheel.Leapmotor said the B05 will arrive in Australia in late August 2026.It will join Leapmotor’s growing model line-up in Australia which includes electric and range-extender variants of its B10 and C10 SUVs. The B10 and C10 have been slow sellers in Australia as they target cheaper and more popular petrol-powered alternatives and face tough competition on the price front from Geely and BYD.Leapmotor will continue to bring across more models to Australia over the next 18 months, including the B03X compact SUV and the D19 large SUV.There is also a hot hatch variant of the B05 called the 'Ultra' being developed in China that could be on its way to Australia to top-out the range in the coming years as a new rival to the MG4 XPower.