2009 Suzuki Jimny Sierra Road Test Review
2009 Suzuki Swift S Automatic Road Test Review
2010 Hyundai Santa Fe First Drive Review
2009 Jeep Wrangler First Drive Review
2009 Skoda Superb V6 3.6 FSI Elegance 4×4 Road Test Review
2010 Jeep Patriot First Drive Review
2010 Kia Sorento First Drive Review
2010 Commodore Berlina 3.0 SIDI Road Test Review - The 1000km Challenge
2010 Golf GTi First Drive Review
2010 Volkswagen Golf GTI Pricing And Details Revealed
2010 Toyota Prius i-Tech Road Test Review
Lexus LFA Officially Debuts, “Special Model” Due In 2012: Video2009 Suzuki Jimny Sierra Road Test Review
SOMETIMES IT’S THE SIMPLE THINGS in life we enjoy the most. Case in point: the Suzuki Jimny Sierra.
It’s existed in fundamentally the same compact two-door layout since 1970. And although today’s third-generation model is far less utilitarian than its ancestors, we’d be way off the mark if we said the current [...]
2009 Suzuki Swift S Automatic Road Test Review
WHEN IT COMES TO NAMEPLATES that evoke a reaction, there are plenty out there.
Some of them adorn the noses of supercars, others rock-crushing 4X4s, yet others are simply loved (or reviled) for their style.
But some nameplates, not surprisingly, find recognition and admiration for the simple virtues [...]
2010 Hyundai Santa Fe First Drive Review
ALTHOUGH IT WON’T be in showrooms until December, Hyundai Australia has decided to jump the gun and launch its updated Santa Fe a month ahead of dealership deliveries.
Timed to coincide with the new Santa Fe’s involvement in the 2010 Global Green Challenge, Hyundai used the launch to highlight the car’s new [...]
THERE IS NOTHING BUT SKY filling the windscreen as the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, with consummate ease, hauls itself up the steep slope and over the crest of the rise.
Just what you would expect from a vehicle named after the famed, and feared, Rubicon Trail in the US.
Our effort on a much less fearful slope, [...]
2009 Skoda Superb V6 3.6 FSI Elegance 4×4 Road Test Review
SKODA ROLLED OUT its first Superb back in 1934, yet the average Australian would seem to be blissfully unaware of both the badge and its long history.
In fact, we’d be guessing that the average Aussie will see the Superb badge and think Skoda has tickets [...]
2010 Jeep Patriot First Drive Review
ALMOST TORRENTIAL RAIN, something some parts of the country can barely remember, is pounding the windscreen of the Jeep Patriot as we head off the bitumen road and onto the rain-sodden gravel track.
Despite the rain, the Patriot feels surprisingly sure-footed as we hit the dirt. So, ignoring the lever [...]
THE 2010 SORENTO is an important model for Kia, and yes, that’s a line we seem to use a lot when talking about the smaller Korean’s recent new models.
Trying to bust out from under the shadow of its bigger brother (Hyundai) has KIA having to work harder to get its new models noticed, let [...]
2010 Commodore Berlina 3.0 SIDI Road Test Review
IT’S LATE, IT’S COLD, the light is fading and I’m standing on the side of the Hume highway funnelling petrol into a car. To be honest though, this is a good result.
The day started at 6:00am in Melbourne with two cars and one objective: to see how [...]
2010 Golf GTi First Drive Review
SHARPER, FASTER, tighter, leaner… yes, the benchmark for the sector is even better. Volkswagen’s new Golf GTI, now built ‘at home’ in Wolfsburg Germany, sets a new standard for the affordable hot-hatch, but at a familiar price.
If you enjoyed the old GTI (and who didn’t), you’re going to love this [...]
FOR YEARS THE TOYOTA PRIUS has been the car of choice for the environmentally conscious among the über-residents of Hollywood. It’s become a ‘must have’ addition to the celebrity garage.
We haven’t checked, but that’s probably also true of Saint-Tropez.
Toyota’s Prius is a defining car of the age and sits at the sharp edge of a [...]
2009 Toyota Corolla Conquest Sedan Road Test Review
THE TOYOTA COROLLA. One of the longest-lived model nameplates in automotive history. A sales success everywhere - from ‘day one’ four decades ago - the Corolla has built an enviable reputation as a solidly-built, well-engineered small car.
For most people though, the Corolla doesn’t conjure up much in the [...]
2010 Mitsubishi ZH Outlander First Drive Review
MITSUBISHI’S OUTLANDER may not immediately bring the image of a jet fighter to mind, but the prosaic family wagon now has just that look. This is thanks to the integration of the well-regarded Lancer Evolution X nose.
The more aggressive, and, we have to say, very appealing look, was first [...]
2009 Holden Cruze CDX And CD Diesel Road Test Review
MAKE NO MISTAKE, Holden’s Cruze has some big shoes to fill. Without the perennially popular Astra and the budget-conscious Viva in Holden showrooms, the Cruze needs to be a lot of things to a lot of people.
Globally, General Motors has tagged this car with the responsibility [...]
2009 Holden Barina 3-Door Hatch Road Test Review
HOLDEN’S KOREA-SOURCED BARINA city car has been on sale in Australia in its present TK-chassis form since 2005.
The facelifted MY 2009 model arrived just over a year ago. In that time, despite stiff competition in a crowded segment and lacking some of the dynamic qualities of its [...]
2010 FPV F6 E Road Test Review
WHEN WE REVIEWED FPV’s F6 sedan in June, we marvelled at its effortless ability to slip between relaxed, everyday cruising and full-throated hammer.
‘Jekyll and Hyde’ was the analogy used (cliched, we know).
Now FPV has wheeled out a new version, the F6 E, based on that ballistic F6; a version [...]
2009 Suzuki SX4 Sedan and SX4 4X4 Road Test
THE SMALL CAR SEGMENT in Australia is where the action is right now. While large cars and mid-sizers stagnate in the sales charts, the small car class has turned into a hive of activity.
But it’s a densely populated market segment.
Manufacturers have not been slow to recognise [...]
IT’S DIFFERENT, that’s for certain. When HSV released the first pics of its restyled E Series 2 range of sedans and utes, opinions on internet forums were sharply divided about HSV’s new design direction.
It’s easy to see why. Compared to the line-up it replaces, HSV’s E Series 2 range is bolder and far less [...]
2010 MN Triton GLX-R And GL-R First Drive Review
IT’S GRUNTIER, is considerably more refined, uses less fuel, has a longer and larger cargo tub, and is more comfortable at the wheel than the outgoing 3.2 litre turbo-diesel ML Triton.
So, Triton enthusiasts, you can stop panicking now. The new MY10 MN Triton is better. It’s as [...]
MAKE YOURSELF a list of every attractive two-door coupe available now in Australia, brand new, for under $25,000. If you’ve got it right, it’s a list of one - you’ll see the 2010 Kia Cerato Koup there and, well, nothing else.
Stretch the dollars to $30,000 ($29,990 to be exact) and you’ll get the Citroen [...]
2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara DDiS Road Test Review
WE HAVE TESTED Suzuki’s Grand Vitara in several guises over the past six months, varying from the cheerful three-door with a petrol inline four to the luxury-spec five-door V6 Prestige.
However, one variant that had escaped the keenly-honed ‘nitpickery’ of TMR’s finest brains was the diesel-powered [...]
2009 Ford PK Ranger XLT SuperCab Road Test Review
PUT ANYBODY in a modern 4X4 ute, drive them around for a bit, and before long they’ll come out with something like, “Goes alright this, doesn’t it?”
And they’d be right. The days of the ‘tradie-fourby-ute’ being a loose conglomeration of tin and cheap vinyl, with an agricultural [...]
2009 Kia Cerato SLi Long Term Road Test Review
IT SOUNDED like a plan. Take the Hume to Sydney, have a bit of a look, then drive back to Melbourne along the New South Wales South Coast.
Yeah, I was up for it. Why not? After all, we had TMR’s long term Kia Cerato SLi itching for [...]
2010 Nissan Dualis Ti 2WD Road Test Review
THE DUALIS REMAINS a relatively uncommon sight on Australian roads. This fact is at odds with its outstanding success in Europe, where it has sold by the hundreds of thousands.
Originally launched as an AWD only in Australia, Nissan has recently released the cheaper FWD Dualis, simultaneously slashing [...]
2009 BMW 335i Sedan w/ M Sport Package
THE LINES OF THE E90 BMW 3-Series are familiar to everyone. It is the aspirational car for the upwardly mobile, its badge a symbol of middle-class success.
There’s a good reason for the BMW’s popularity that goes far beyond brand image however.
The simple truth is that the BMW 3-Series [...]
IT WASN’T SO LONG AGO that optioning a diesel engine would never have entered the heads of Australian small car buyers. How times have changed.
Over the past few years, diesels have really come of age. Power output and, most particularly, refinement, have improved to the point where modern diesel engines are no longer the [...]
Skoda Superb 1.8 TSI Elegance Road Test Review
IF YOU ASK a cross-section of the Australian public, chances are few of them will know much about the Volkswagen Group’s Skoda brand, let alone have any knowledge of its latest model range.
This is because the Skoda nameplate is ‘fresh fish’ as far as Australian motorists [...]
AFTER TWO FULL DAYS at the wheel of Holden’s new 2010 VE (MY10) 3.0 litre SIDI V6 and the 3.6 litre SIDI V6, three things are apparent.
First, the new 3.0 litre and 3.6 litre direct injection V6 engines are significant advances over the old, not only in technology but also in refinement.
Second, with ADR combined [...]
TMR TRITON CONCEPT ROAD TEST REVIEW
THE LAST TIME that we were handed the keys to a concept vehicle and told to “take it away for four days and let us know what you think…” was, well, never.
Most concept cars are either touring the car show circuit or parked in dark corners of mysterious sheds, located [...]
2009 Skoda Octavia RS First Drive Review
ALLOWING MOTORING SCRIBES to mercilessly flog your new model for more than three hours at a track is a display of serious confidence in your product.
To launch the new look Octavia RS, Skoda Australia assembled the motoring press at Top Gear Australia’s test track at Camden Airport and [...]
Loading ... 2009 Suzuki Jimny Sierra Road Test Review 2009 Suzuki Swift S Automatic Road Test Review 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe First Drive Review 2009 Jeep Wrangler First Drive Review 2009 Skoda Superb V6 3.6 FSI Elegance 4×4 Road Test Review 2010 Jeep Patriot First Drive Review 2010 Kia Sorento First Drive Review 2010 Commodore Berlina 3.0 SIDI Road Test Review - The 1000km Challenge 2010 Golf GTi First Drive Review 2010 Toyota Prius i-Tech Road Test Review 2009 Toyota Corolla Conquest Sedan Road Test Review 2010 Mitsubishi ZH Outlander First Drive Review
