What's the difference?
Do you like swimming against the tide? Do you like to zig when everyone else is zagging? Are you unafraid of making the unpopular choice?
Well, if you align with the above, I have just the car for you.
The Volvo ES90 pushes against most current trends. The luxury sedan used to be the measure of a brand, but not anymore. These days the luxury market is defined by SUVs and sedans have been reduced to an afterthought for many.
But if you’re willing to think outside the SUV-shaped box, there is a lot to like about Volvo’s new luxury offering. Whether it’s a true sedan or not is open to debate, but what it isn’t is an SUV and for those willing to live that counter-culture lifestyle this may be right for you.
BMW has been incredibly smart with its electric vehicle (EV) offerings in Australia to date.
Ever since the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption was introduced for novated lease buyers of EVs under the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) threshold, the German brand strategically introduced versions of its EVs that qualify.
The BMW i4 eDrive35 electric liftback, which is based on the locally defunct 4 Series Gran Coupe, is one of these cars.
It recently received a mid-life update that brought more range and features, while remaining under the LCT threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles.
However, the plot thickens. BMW is soon set to launch its new i3 electric sedan which is based on the company’s Neue Klasse dedicated electric architecture.
BMW hasn’t given the i4 an official production end date, however overseas reports indicate it’ll end as soon as next year to make way for the new i3.
Should you hold out for this new-generation car, or does the i4 still hold up? Read on to find out.
More stylish than ever before, as quiet and refined as you'd expect from a luxury car and yet the stand out feature might once again be safety. Despite seemingly every new car being loaded to the gills with safety features, Volvo has managed to demonstrate industry best-practice and leads the way again.
I would encourage engineers from every other car brand to drive the ES90 to learn how to better integrate the modern suite of active safety features like forward collision warning and lane departure warning.
But beyond that, is the ES90 a car worthy of consideration? Well, pretty much everything it does the EX90 does too, so if you prefer an SUV that’s definitely worth consideration. But if you don’t want an SUV, if you prefer a sedan or just love to be different, the ES90 is a very attractive proposition in more ways than one.
The BMW i4 balances a solid, old-school feel with the beauty and stunning looks of high-end technology. It feels like the end of an era for the German brand before it leaps into the screen-heavy age of software-defined vehicles.
While BMW hasn’t publicly announced an end-date for i4 production just yet, the new i3 is bound to overshadow it once it arrives. It offers more than double the claimed range and will likely address a number of this car’s flaws.
In the meantime however, the i4 is definitely worth considering if you value driving dynamics and a quality feel in a car that you can drive daily.