Australian New Car Buyer

Car dealers have a well-earned reputation for unscrupulous behaviour, and as the market emerges from a long post-Covid hangover it’s obvious that some are still trying to con buyers into paying inflated peak Covid prices. Cars were expensive during C

Joshua Dowling is the National Motoring Editor at drive.com.au and a World Car of the Year judge. Joshua is renowned for his consumer-first approach, and is one of Australia’s most fearless motoring journalists, refusing to tow the car company line.

In Australian New Car Buyer, we include trade-in values for every model in our Showroom section. These are provided to us by Redbook, Australia’s leading authority on used car values. Each model we test includes three-and five-year retained values, e

In our tests on the following pages and in the Showroom, we have used symbols to give you a quick indication of the strengths of each car, and star ratings to indicate in more detail how each car stacks up in its class. Here’s what the symbols and st

EDITOR Bill McKinnon DESIGNER Kate Atkinson CONTRIBUTORS John Carey, Joshua Dowling, Toby Hagon, Phil King, Byron Mathioudakis, Peter McKay, Dave Morley, Andrew Chesterton ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Martin White ADVERTISING PRODUCTION Stephanie Brais CHAIRM

Alfa Romeo’s compact Tonale Hybrid SUV is available in three variants. Tonale Ti and Veloce (tested here), priced at $49,900 and $56,400 respectively, are powered by a 1.5-litre four cylinder turbopetrol engine, matched with a seven-speed dual clutch

Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio now kicks off at $76,450 in Ti specification. Up front is a 2.0-litre turbopetrol four with 206kW/400Nm. It’s matched to an eight-speed auto and all-wheel drive. Veloce, at $82,950, is a sportier variant, with a limited slip rear

The e-tron is Audi’s first EV and is priced from $146,075 for the 55 quattro wagon. As the name suggests, it drives all four wheels using two electric motors and a 95kWh battery. There’s also loads of gear, including smart key entry, powered tailgate

Audi’s A4 sedan range opens with the front-wheel-drive 35TFSi S-Line ($66,300) running a 110kW 2.0-litre turbopetrol/seven-speed dual-clutch S-Tronic drivetrain. The variant that has usually been the pick of the A4s to drive, is the 183kW 2.0-litre t

Audi Q5 prices kick off from $67,900 for the 120kW/370Nm, 2.0-litre turbodiesel, front-wheel drive 35 TDi. You’ll pay $75,500 for the 150kW/400Nm 2.0-litre 40 TDI diesel quattro and $74,888 for the 183kW/370Nm 2.0-litre 45 TFSI petrol quattro. Coupe-

BMW 3 Series prices were recently hiked by $8000-$14,500 as part of a mid-life facelift. Start money is now $80,200 for the 135kW/300Nm 2.0-litre turbopetrol 320i, with a standard eight-speed automatic. The 330i sedan is $94,700. The 330i Touring is

BMW recently hiked X5 prices by $8000-$10,000 as part of a major update that includes more powerful mild hybrid drivetrains. The range now opens with the xDrive 30d, running a 210kW/650Nm 3.0-litre straight six turbodiesel, priced at $134,900. The xD

Citroen’s gorgeous C5 X is one of those wagons that blurs the line between car and SUV. It’s a sizeable five seater, with a longer wheelbase than some seven seaters, and a low, sleek, almost coupe style roofline. There’s one model only — in Shine spe

Genesis is Hyundai’s luxury brand, created in the same way, and for the same reasons, that Lexus was spawned in the early 1990s as Toyota’s upper class moneymaker. Straight from the Lexus textbook, Genesis is aiming to get its new GV70 mid-size SUV o

The GWM Ora is one of the most affordable electric cars on the market. Priced from $38,990 before on-road costs, the small electric hatchback has some Mini-inspired styling cues and a long list of standard equipment. Included are 18-inch alloy wheels

Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 EV shares its electrical architecture with the Ioniq 5 SUV, Ioniq 6 has more of a traditional sedan layout with a boot, albeit one with a futuristic vibe. Think of it as Hyundai’s answer to the popular Tesla Model 3. Its slippery sh

You don’t mess around with a winning formula, so Hyundai’s third-generation i30 offers more of the same: a strong value-for-money proposition, excellent quality and reliability backed up by a generous warranty. Its styling was last updated for 2021,

Hyundai’s Venue, a small SUV, starts at $22,000 (plus on road costs) for the six-speed manual; a six-speed automatic adds $2000. Powered by a 90kW 1.6-litre petrol four, driving the front wheels, Venue’s standard equipment list includes 15-inch alloy

The Hyundai Tucson range starts from $35,150 and tops out at $54,650. There are three model grades. The base model is simply called Tucson, and then there is the Tucson Elite (from $40,150) and Tucson Highlander (from $47,150). An optional N-Line pac

Hyundai’s Santa Fe range opens with the 200kW 3.5-litre V6 petrol/eight-speed automatic/front-wheel-drive Wagon, at $46,050. Active is $50,250, Elite is $56,500 and Highlander is $63,050. The 148kW 2.2-litre turbodiesel/eight-speed automatic/all-whee

Hyundai’s Palisade is a monster-sized, US sourced, luxury SUV that’s still a bargain compared with German brand seven or eight seater wagons, even though Hyundai hiked the entry price by $10,000 as part of a mid-2022 update. Prices now kick off at $6

EVs are not usually associated with high performance motoring. Virtuous but dull is a more common perception. However there is no reason why electricity can’t deliver just as many thrills, and pointy end performance, as petrol. The old petrol-power a

The Kia Niro is a mid size SUV with electrified drivetrains, comparable in size to Kia’s petrol-powered Seltos and Hyundai’s Kona. Prices open at $44,930 for the hybrid S, with a 1.6-litre petrol four/six-speed dual clutch automatic and electric moto

Kia’s top selling Picanto starts at $16,290 with a 62kW 1.25-litre four cylinder/five-speed manual. GT Line, with extra equipment and sporty bling, is $17,740. The auto adds $1600 to S and X-Line. Picanto GT, with a 74kW 1.0-litre turbo triple/five-s

Kia’s Cerato hatch range opens with the 112kW/192Nm 2.0-litre petrol S, with a six-speed auto, priced at $26,290. Sport is $28,390 and Sport+ is $31,440. The 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo/seven-speed dual clutch automatic GT i $36,090. Cerato sedan is

Kia’s latest Sportage is a twin under the skin with Hyundai’s Tucson. Both are much improved SUVs compared with their predecessors, and have effectively moved up a size too, offering greater interior space. This, plus comprehensive driver assist safe

The fifth generation Lexus RX range opens with the RX350h Luxury, at $86,904, with a 184kW 2.4-litre turbopetrol/series parallel hybrid electric/CVT/rear wheel drivetrain. It’s $90,675 with AWD and Sports Luxury specification is $110,575. F-Sport, te

MAZDA’S fourth-generation MX-5 was updated in late 2021 with anti-roll suspension technology — that it didn’t really need — and the deletion of the base 1.5-litre models. That’s a shame because although the 1.5 was obviously not the most powerful eng

Now in its fourth iteration since 2004, the Japanese-built Mazda 3 hatch and sedan series is nowadays a wholly more upmarket proposition, trespassing on the Volkswagen Golf’s turf. However it’s a sign of the decline in small car sales — like every ot

Mazda’s CX-8 SUV slots between the mid-size CX-5 five-seater and family-sized CX-9 seven-seater. There are four model grades: base Sport front-wheel drive from $42,660, Touring from $48,560, GT from $59,160 and the Asaki from $62,410. Standard fare i

The W213 Mercedes E-Class is an exceptionally sophisticated, complicated piece of rolling digital technology. Great. But as a car, is it any good? We’re in the base-model 145kW 2.0-litre turbopetrol E200, priced at $105,069. The 155kW E300e plug-in h

The shape of things to come from Mercedes-Benz has a familiar form. The German car maker’s first pure EV, the EQC 400 is, surprise, surprise, a family sized SUV, priced from $126,675. Mercedes hiked the price by $3500-plus for 2023. While SUVs are hu

Mercedes-Benz fourth generation GLE range opens with the 300d at $119,174. It’s powered by a 2.0-litre turbo diesel four cylinder, with a healthy 180kW of power and 500Nm of torque. The GLE 450 at $133,670 is powered by a 3.0-litre turbopetrol in-lin

The MG4 is the first electric car from the value focused brand to be built on a dedicated EV architecture, which allows key components to be ideally positioned to maximise cabin space. About the size of a Toyota Corolla, the Chinese-made MG4 is an al

The mid-size MG ZS EV starts at $42,990 plus on road costs for the Excite variant. So it’s at the cheap end of the EV field, with the BYD Dolphin, at $38,890 and the GWM Ora, which opens at $39,990. However, it’s worth noting that the ZS EV is $17,00

The base ASX 110kW 2.0-litre petrol/five-speed manual front-wheel-drive GS is $23,990. With a continuously variable automatic (CVT) transmission it’s $26,240, while in ES specification, with CVT as standard, it’s $27,490. MR, also with CVT, is $29,24

There are five models in the Outlander line-up – ES, LS, Aspire, Exceed, and Exceed Tourer – with a mix of five-or seven-seats and front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive. Prices start at $37,240 for the base ES front-wheel drive five-seater and top out

The second generation of the world’s best-selling electric car features sharper looks, stronger performance and, most important of all, increased driving range. Priced from $50,990, the base model Leaf has a 40kWh lithiumion battery pack beneath the