SUV

Chinese-made vehicles continue to arrive here, packed with features and offering impressive value-for-money opportunities for anyone looking for a sharply-priced 4WD that's comfortable and capable.The GWM Tank 300 impressed us and now the Tank 500 hits our shores. It represents a first for Australia because the Tank 500 is a petrol-hybrid 4WD. So, what's it like? Wouldn't you like to know...

The Jeep Wrangler Overland sits in the middle of the range with a list price of $84,950.Coming standard on the Overland grade are LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, proximity key and push button start, premium McKinley power and heated front seats, 12.3-inch media screen, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a nine speaker Alpine sound system and dark tiny windows.Powering all Wranglers is a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder making 200kW and 400Nm. An eight-speed automatic transmission shifts gears and sends the drive to all four wheels.The Wrangler has three-star score from a possible five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Hyundai is preparing to launch Australia’s cheapest electric car.

The GLC43 is an important variant for AMG, so we attended the Australian launch to find out how good it is.

The Jeep Wrangler Sport S is the entry-point into the range with its list price of $75,950. Standard features include LED headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, proximity key and push-button start, heated front seats, A 12.3-inch media screen, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a nine-speaker Alpine sound system and dark tint windows.Powering all Wranglers is a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder making 200kW and 400Nm. An eight-speed automatic transmission shifts gears and sends the drive to all four wheels.The Wrangler has three-star score from a possible five-star ANCAP safety rating.

China’s rapid auto expansion continues at a record pace as Leapmotor prepares to launch a new three row large SUV.Leapmotor, which is part owned by Jeep and Peugeot’s parent company Stellantis, has confirmed it will launch in Australia as early as this year. It is the latest in a slew of Chinese carmakers bringing their wares Down Under, including GAC, Skywell, Smart, Xpeng and Zeekr.The Chinese brand is expected to launch with its C10 mid-size SUV, which is a cut-price alternative to the Tesla Model Y. The C10 has an electric driving range up to 420km and a five star Euro NCAP safety rating.Leapmotor is getting ready to launch the C16, a three row SUV roughly the same size as the Kia Sorento, according to CarNewsChina.It’ll be affordable, with prices expected to be the equivalent of about $42,000.The C16 only has seating for six for the moment. The middle row is two captain’s chairs that are electronically adjustable, have a folding tray in the back of the front seats and there is a big 15.6-inch roof mounted multimedia screen.China has a penchant for back seat passenger focused people-movers and SUVs, but it is likely the C16 will be available as a conventional seven-seat SUV in international markets.The C16 will be available as an electric only model and as a range extender hybrid.Electric models use a 67kWh LFP battery that feeds an electric motor that makes 215kW. The C16 can drive up to 520km based on the China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC), which is much more generous than the widely used Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).The Range extender has a little 1.5-litre petrol engine that is used to charge a circa-28kWh battery, which feeds a 170kW electric motor.Leapmotor hasn’t confirmed the C16 for international markets yet, but it's likely to follow the C10 SUV and little C03 hatchback onto the global stage.Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares said the joint venture with Leapmotor will give the carmaker a competitive edge with the onslaught of cheap and tech-savvy new Chinese electric cars.“The creation of Leapmotor International is a great step forward in helping address the urgent global warming issue with state-of-the-art BEV models that will compete with existing Chinese brands in key markets around the world,” said Tavares.“Leveraging our existing global presence, we will soon be able to offer our customers price competitive and tech-centric electric vehicles that will exceed their expectations.”

How do you change the Jeep Wrangler, without changing anything, but making it better than before? Well, they've done it and we've tested the updated Jeep Wrangler at its Australian launch.

Audi's been developing its hybrid and pure-electric e-tron offerings for more than a decade and the SQ8 e-tron sits at the premium end of the German brand's product spectrum. Does a large, luxurious, indecently quick battery-electric SUV add up for you? Dave Morley can help you make that call.

Toyota’s entire passenger range is going hybrid only from today.As first revealed by CarsGuide earlier this week, the Corolla Cross SUV will ditch its petrol engine variants and go hybrid only.Now Toyota has confirmed the RAV4 and Kluger SUVs and Corolla sedan will follow suit and only be available to order in hybrid form from today. Toyota has already announced its Yaris, Corolla hatch, Yaris Cross and C-HR are going hybrid only.Only the brand’s commercial vehicles and rugged 4WDs will be available with conventional petrol or diesel powertrains.Toyota Australia’s Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Dealer Operations Sean Hanley said the adoption of hybrid vehicles in Australia made this decision possible.“This is not a result of the impending New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). These are trends that are in the market now. In fact, the new mandated standard confirms the foresight of Toyota’s strategy,” said Hanley.“We continue and we will do even more in coming years to innovate across a diverse range of drivetrains, which is the essence of Toyota’s multi pathway approach.“So in that sense, you could say Toyota has been embracing the spirit of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard for an extended period with our hybrids, plus out move now into BEVs and our comprehensive future model plans that remain under wraps for now. We remain committed to allowing customers to choose the low carbon or no carbon drivetrain that best suits their circumstances.”The Federal Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) has passed through both houses of parliament and will come into effect next year.This new standard will penalise carmakers for every car they sell that produces more CO2 than a set level. These levels will get harder to meet every year.There are few petrol-engined cars that will escape punishment but hybrids will slip under the mandated levels for a few years at least.In May, hybrid sales made up 48.9 per cent of the Toyota's total volume. More than 46 per cent of the brand's total sales for the first five months of this year have been hybrids.The top-selling RAV4 was more than 95 per cent hybrid the past month, demand for the Camry hybrid was up more than 250 per cent and Corolla Cross Hybrid sales have more than doubled this year.Petrol sales still make up about 20 per cent of Kluger SUV volume, though.The deletion of the petrol options for the Corolla Cross, RAV4 and Kluger means it’ll be more expensive to get into one of these models, too.Hybrid power costs $2500 more in the Corolla Cross and RAV4 and a whopping $6500 extra in the seven-seat Kluger. That big jump is due to Kluger hybrid variants only coming with all-wheel drive and not the cheaper two-wheel drive layout available in the petrol-only versions.That means the new entry point to Corolla Cross range is $36,480 (before on-road costs), $42,260 for the RAV4 and $60,920 for the Kluger.Toyota has no plans to add a cheaper two-wheel drive version of the Kluger hybrid, according to Hanley.The Japanese brand will honour all existing petrol orders, with those cars to be delivered over the next few months. Kluger petrol deliveries will stretch into next year, though.

Alfa Romeo’s resurgence is almost complete as the Italian brand prepares to add a fifth model to its line-up.The carmaker is weighing up two options at polar opposite ends of the market according to UK publication Autocar.The two models on the table are a large SUV to rival the Porsche Cayenne or a small hatchback to go back to Alfa Romeo’s roots.Alfa Romeo chief Jean-Philippe Imparato told Autocar: “The question is do we go up ? And for me the answer is yes: we have to go up.”“The alternative is to go back to a C-hatch, because we have everything – the compact, saloon, C-SUV, D-SUV. So the question is: up or down?” he said.The popularity of large SUVs in major markets such as the US and China will likely mean Alfa Romeo will go down that route.It recently revealed the Junior, a pint-sized SUV, that should appease European tastes for smaller vehicles. The mooted large SUV could share similar styling to the new Junior SUV, too.This will join the Tonale compact SUV, Stelvio mid-size SUV and the Giulia mid-size sedan in the brand’s rejuvenated range.Imparato hinted a large SUV could be revealed as soon as 2027 if the brand decided to go down that path.It’s likely this car would be electric, considering the brand has committed to going EV-only by 2027, which is when this new vehicle is due to arrive.Details are scarce but there are hints at what could be underneath the electric large Alfa SUV.Alfa Romeo and Jeep are owned by Stellantis, and the American brand recently revealed its Wagoneer S built on the company’s “STLA Large” platform that would underpin the Alfa Romeo.The Wagoneer S is promising in excess of 480km electric driving range from a 100kWh battery pack.Dual electric motors produce 448kW and 837Nm and it can complete the benchmark 0-100km/h sprint in about 3.4 seconds.