Category: Uncategorized

Holden’s Australian-built family car is just eight weeks away from extinction.

It’s a concept – a big car with a big engine created for a big country – that has been the mainstay of the Lion brand for more than 70 years, with iconic models like the Kingswood and Commodore often being the uncontested best-selling car across Australia.
Times have changed though, and on October 20, 2017, Holden will become the last fully-fledged Aussie car maker when it pulls the shutters down on its Elizabeth plant in the northern suburbs of Adelaide.
But, contrary to many public perceptions, Holden is not going anywhere and nor is the Commodore nameplate. Having now driven a selection of pre-production validation (PPV) models of the New Generation Commodore in and around Holden’s Lang Lang Proving Ground this week, the concept of a big family car tailored to our tastes and conditions won’t disappear either.
Based on [...]

There’s a new Mazda CX-5 just around the corner, and the medium SUV segment has never been so hard-fought. So how does a company like Toyota maintain interest in its RAV4 – now halfway through its current model life cycle? The RAV4 GXL on test was a mid-range model packed with plenty of kit, including an optional Technical pack, comprising of Pre-Collision System with forward collision warning and automatic emergency brake, Lane Departure Alert, Automatic High Beam and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and front parking sensors. Combined with the premium paint option the cost of the car rose above $41,000, which is around the level buyers are paying these days for a well specified medium SUV. The additional driver-assist gadgets were a mixed bag. I found the forward-collision warning system provided just enough notice in advance, without being strident and premature about it. So kudos to Toyota for [...]