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Software updates will add expanded self-parking and more smartphone control to 2025 MG IM5 and IM6 ahead of a facelift due later this year. Buyers of MG ’s IM premium brand, which launched last year with the IM5 sedan and IM6 SUV, will receive a host of upgrades to their vehicles ahead of a more significant model update due later this year. While the IM5 and IM6 only arrived in Australia in August, 2025, the models known as the L6 and LS6 respectively in China have been on the market overseas since 2024 and 2023. IM Motors co-CEO and overseas business general manager Liu Tao confirmed mid-life changes – called Middle Cycle Enhancement (MCE) in the brand’s parlance – to the IM5 and IM6 are due in China around the middle of the year. An Australian arrival is expected in the second half of 2026, but IM is yet to detail exactly what will change with the update. MORE: MG’s premium IM brand set for major model expansion Drive understands there wil...

Once proudly electric-only, Zeekr is now looking to make a big splash in the hybrid space. Once upon a time, Zeekr pledged to be an EV-only premium brand for the global market. That was only in 2021, when this luxury sub-brand from Geely first launched. But that promise has already changed. Zeekr recently confirmed plans to introduce plug-in hybrid technology for a range of large SUVs in Australia, after their launch in its home market of China. MORE: Zeekr high-performance ‘FR’ sub-brand set for reboot First amongst these are the 8X and 9X, which share a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine along with large 900-volt batteries and up to three electric motors, depending on trim level. Along with long electric-only driving ranges – up 330km claimed, on the lenient CLTC testing cycle – the Zeekr 8X and 9X also offer prodigious combined power of up to 1030kW with three electric motors. These two models are locked in for Australia, joining ex...

As main roads become more and more congested, I find myself taking to the back roads almost daily – even following suggested bike routes.  I don’t know many people who like sitting in traffic. Actually, scrap that, I don’t think I know anyone.  But I do know people who will put up with traffic in order to take a simple route, usually on main roads and freeways, even if it means crawling along, sitting at lights or even spending chunks of the trip at a standstill.  RELATED: This state is spending $1 billion to fix potholes – critics say it’s a ‘Band-Aid’ fix Of course, sometimes this is unavoidable. But when there’s another way – well, that’s the way I’m going.  Take the trip from my house to my daughter’s daycare, for example. There are two simple routes, both of which involve main roads that are always chock-a-block. But I’ve found a better way. Instead of doing what the GPS suggests, I worked out I can take ba...

You’re looking at what is now Australia’s cheapest plug-in hybrid ute, which arrives in Australia while diesel prices are still volatile. Does it stack up as a solid option? 2026 JAC Hunter It’s fair to say that hybrid utes have arrived in Australia with their fair share of compromises. The BYD Shark 6 – which has shot the lights out with rampant sales in Australia – isn’t much chop from a towing or off-road point of view. The GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV is better in that regard, but is more expensive, has a middling payload, and needs to keep the spare wheel in the tub. The Ford Ranger PHEV does well in this regard, but is the most expensive of all and has a significantly smaller electric-only driving range. This trio is set to grow into a quartet, however, with the introduction of the JAC Hunter into the Australian market. And along with a low price, this ute promises to manage those compromises a lot better. We get behind t...

Prices for Ford’s offering to the plug-in hybrid ute segment have dropped below the best-selling BYD Shark 6, depending on where you live, in the lead-up to the new financial year. Ford is offering promotional price cuts on its Ranger plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) by as much as $10,000 as part of end-of-financial year deals. As part of the promotion, XLT, Sport, and Stormtrak versions of the Ranger PHEV can be had from $62,000, $66,000, and $73,000 drive-away, respectively. These compare to regular retail prices of $71,990 before on-road costs, $75,990, and $86,990 for the XLT, Sport and Stormtrak, respectively. The Ranger Wildtrak PHEV is not part of Ford Australia’s sale; it is positioned at $79,990 before on-roads. It means the XLT undercuts the BYD Shark 6 Premium in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Western Australia, where its $57,900 plus on-road costs RRP translates to more than $62,000 drive-away. MORE: F...

This map shows the 357 locations Victoria Police can place their mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras in May 2026. While mobile phone and seatbelt detection camera positions can vary month to month in Victoria, police are obliged to publish the potential locations for public transparency. Mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras are mounted high up on portable trailers and photograph drivers from above as they pass. The cameras detect if the driver is using a mobile device illegally, or failing to wear their seatbelt in a legal fashion. The map below shows mobile traffic cameras in their latest approved locations around Victoria. May 2026 mobile phone and seatbelt detection camera locations Victoria Hover your mouse over, or tap, the red symbols to see more information about each camera’s location and reason for its potential placement. These spots are not just picked at random, with various justifications used by Victoria Pol...