Australian New Car Buyer

The Volkswagen “Dieselgate” scandal still has a way to go yet. In fact, it will take years to finally resolve all the issues, especially the most important one: how does VW (and Audi, and Skoda) propose to compensate those customers who bought its 1.

Starting out as a motoring journalist in the late ‘80s, James has worked for MOTOR, Wheels, Drive and, most recently, TopGear Australia. James also learned the ropes of manufacturing, distribution and retail, working in senior PR and marketing commun

Audi’s current A3 range, like its predecessors, shares its architecture and most of its componentry with parent brand Volkswagen’s Golf. Prices for the five-door A3 Sportback start at $36,500 for the 92kW 1.4-litre turbopetrol/sevenspeed automated tw

Audi’s Q5 has been a Goldilocks family freighter choice for many parents around the world and it leads the midsize premium SUV field. The Q5 2.0 TFSi turbopetrol quattro is $63,210. As we went to press Audi had stopped selling the 2.0-litre TDI turbo

BMW’s F10 5 Series sedan is available with five engines. The base 135kW 2.0-litre turbodiesel 520d is $82,900 while the 135kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbopetrol 520i is $80,400. The same engine with 180kW of power in the 528i is $97,900. Six-cylinde

The second-generation BMW X1 shares much of its core technology, including its basic structure, with the latest versions of the Mini (a brand that is owned by BMW) as well as BMW’s 2 Series Active Tourer. The range opens with the sDrive 18d at $49,50

BMW’s X3, introduced in early 2011, is now much closer in size to the X5 and unless you need seven seats, it’s a great value alternative. The X3 lineup opens with the xDrive 20i, priced at a very attractive $61,100. It runs BMW’s 2.0-litre direct-inj

In a market where the default solution for parents looking for a kid carrier is the lumbering SUV, Citroen offers an alternative that, by rights, should be in every second suburban driveway. It’s that good. Citroen’s Grand C4 Picasso seven-seater cos

Falcon sales are collapsing in the lead-up to the close of local production in October 2016. The European-designed and -built Mondeo is, effectively, Ford Australia’s new flagship family and fleet car. There are three spec levels (Ambiente, Trend, Ti

The FG X Falcon XR sedan range opens at $36,090 with the XR6; the XR6 Turbo is priced at $43,490. The EcoLPi gas-powered XR6 is $40,790. The XR8 is $53,490. The XR6 runs the base 4.0-litre Falcon donk with 195kW of power at 6000rpm and 391Nm of torqu

Ford’s Kuga range opens with the 110kW 1.5-litre turbopetrol/six-speed manual/front-wheel-drive Ambiente, priced at $27,490. The six-speed auto is $28,990. All-wheel-drive models begin with the 134kW 1.5-litre turbopetrol Ambiente, with a sixspeed au

The Hyundai i30 was given a mid-life makeover in 2015, with the usual front end facelift, a standard rear camera, better value and a 1.6-litre turbodiesel/seven-speed dual-clutch drivetrain variant. This is the most competitive class in the market to

Kia’s Sorento is a significantly bigger wagon than its predecessor, comparable with Toyota’s Kluger and the Nissan Pathfinder, with vast interior space for seven. Petrol-powered models are front-wheel drive. The range opens with the 199kW 3.3-litre V

If we leave fleets out of the picture and look only at private customers who pay for their cars with cold, hard, nontax deductible cash, the Mazda3 is Australia’s most popular car. Why? It delivers what Australian car buyers want: value for money, ou

Mazda’s mid-size 6 is available as a sedan and wagon. Prices start at $32,540 for the 138kW 2.5-litre fourcylinder petrol/six-speed automatic Sport sedan. The Touring is $37,820, the GT is $42,720 and the top-of-therange Atenza is $46,420. Wagon vers

Mazda’s CX5 shot straight to the top of the class sales charts on its introduction in 2012. It’s built to the best “Made in Japan” quality standards, has rock-solid resale values, a strong safety résumé, plenty of standard equipment, and a choice of

As with its lesser brethren, the top-of-the-range Mercedes CLA45 AMG shares its architecture, underpinnings and specification with the A45 AMG hatchback. Priced at $88,400, the sedan is $12,600 more expensive than the five-door, which doesn’t quite c

Mercedes-Benz has finally joined the booming medium-sized luxury SUV segment. As one of the last in, it needs to be best dressed. That it certainly is. The GLC, so named because it is based on the Mercedes-Benz C Class sedan (it’s also made in the sa

The W212 E-Class, introduced in 2010, updated in mid-2013 and due to be replaced by an all-new model in 2017, opens with the 135kW/300Nm E200, with a 2.0-litre turbopetrol four/seven-speed automatic, priced at $80,400. That’s amazing value for money,

Anthropologists know it refers to a nomadic people of Middle Eastern origin but Nissan hopes Qashqai (pronounced “kash-kai”) becomes the byword for compact SUVs in Australia. Like the successful Dualis it replaced, the five-seater crossover is design

Renault is deadly serious about taking on the small-car class leaders such as Mazda2 and Volkswagen Polo with the return of the Clio. Priced from a competitive $16,790 (plus on-road costs), the five-door Clio hatch arrives with one of the largest and