Within 8km of starting the twin-turbo V8 for the first time, the fire is muffled as the speed-limiter calls time just beyond 250km/h. And half of those kilometres were getting out of Munich airport and jumping onto the A92 autobahn. After the repressed driving culture of Australia, Germany is like heaven.
Your 40th birthday is often a time of deep self-examination and significant change, but obviously the Honda Civic sedan is pretty satisfied with itself.
There are five main corners at Broadford raceway, north of Melbourne, and the new Suzuki Swift Sport will do lift-off oversteer at every one of them.
IS THE ROTARY a relic from a bygone-era or the range-extender comeback kid?
IT MAY be overstating the local arrival of BMW’s turbocharged, four-cylinder N20 engine as a ‘new dawn’ for the Munich brand, but its debut in the Z4 roadster took place at Mt Warning in north-eastern NSW.
We sampled the turbo-diesel and the turbo petrol. The oiler won us over with its refinement, easy driveability and worthy fuel efficiency.
WHERE to start with the Holden Volt? I’ll assume you know this is GM’s plug-in electric car with a range-extender petrol engine. So let’s kick off with a few disparate facts…
Curiously for a drive program conducted exclusively on a race circuit, three BMW staff make asides that the M5 isn’t really a track car. But despite the veiled concern, it’s little wonder the M5 feels at home on a fast circuit.
IT’S ALMOST an expectation that controversy will follow the tail (or nose) of a new Subaru Impreza.
It’s never been a big seller in Australia, outdone by rivals from Mercedes-Benz and BMW, but that’s likely to change with the introduction of the fourth-generation C7 A6 – especially in four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive form tested here.
THE Chum Creek Road is one of Victoria’s driving delights, curling its way upward from Healesville into the Toolangi State Forest. The corners can be rough or smooth, changes of direction rapid-fire or constant.
Though it doesn’t quite feel like it’s running on rails, the Zafira Tourer is smooth and stable at a 180km/h cruise on the unrestricted autobahn outside Munich.
Maybe the i40 Tourer suggests Hyundai also realises the clock is ticking, because this mid-size wagon is just about the most interesting mainstream car the big Korean has launched in Australia.
OF ALL the marketing-bullshit-soaked labels BMW hurls around ‘Pure’ is by far the most meaningful for drivers
Skoda’s Fabia RS may look like a Suzuki Swift Sport gone wrong, but it drives like a VW Polo GTI done just right
AT FIRST glance the 2011 Mercedes C-Class looks much the same
Audi joins four-door coupe party. Mind your head
Now the monster is even angrier. Everyone’s happy, then
New turbo four delivers a hit like a six
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