CAR ADVICE

The cheapest electric SUV sold by MG is set to be retired – for regular Australian private buyers, not fleets – because so many customers bought its more expensive siblings. MG S5 EV Excite. MG is axing entry-level versions of its “core” electric cars for private buyers – but not fleets – to focus on top-of-the-range model grades that customers purchase most. The S5 EV small electric SUV will delete entry-level, lesser-equipped Excite variants for private buyers in Model Year 2026 production, slimming the line-up to Essence 49 and Essence 62 grades. At current prices, it will push the cost of entry into the S5 EV range from $38,990 drive-away for the Excite 49 – as MG’s least expensive electric SUV – to $41,990 for the Essence 49, with longer-range 62kWh versions $3000 dearer. MORE: 2026 MG S6 EV price and specs – Model Y rival under $50,000 with longer RWD range MG S5 EV Excite. The rear-wheel-drive MG 4 electric hatch has a...

Ford says 5000 Australia-bound BYDs on a car carrier bought by the Chinese giant is little different to its two rented ships flat-out delivering Rangers and Everests to our shores. Ford has labelled headlines relating to a BYD-owned ship delivering the Chinese car giant’s vehicles to Australia as a “part PR” and “part sensationalisation”, dismissing it as little different to its arrangements to transport Rangers and Everests to local showrooms. It is despite BYD owning the 5000 vehicle-capacity vessel delivering cars to Australia – one of eight in its global fleet, on which it spent more than AUD$1 billion acquiring – whereas Ford has only leased two ships from another firm for three years . Ford Australia marketing director Ambrose Henderson told Australian media the story of BYD using its own ship to fast-track vehicles to local customers has been overestimated. “Three, four years ago, we leased two boats of our own, and so we could also ...

New Chinese premium brands such as Denza and Zeekr have earned the respect of Lexus, which says it’s “ultimately good for consumers to have competition”. Lexus says it respects new competition from Chinese premium brands such as Denza and Zeekr, which have recently launched ‘new energy vehicles’ – comprising battery-electric and plug-in hybrid technologies – in Australia at sharp prices. However, the Japanese company says it is “doubling down” on its ownership experience to ensure it can maintain the customer loyalty it has “enjoyed so far”, following its launch in Australia 36 years ago as a disruptor to European luxury brands. Speaking to Drive at the media launch of the 2026 RZ electric SUV – which has seen up to $42,000 cut from its list price – Lexus Australia chief executive Jack Hobbs said “it’s ultimately good for consumers to have competition”. “We actually respect compet...

The fully-electric Ferrari Luce offers an intricate interior and tremendous technology, but arrives with an exterior design that looks like no other Ferrari on the road. After five years of development and plenty of speculation as to its final production form, the fully-electric 2027 Ferrari Luce has finally been unveiled as a hyper-efficient super sedan with a 772kW output, 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds, and over 500km of claimed driving range. The Luce is the first fully-electric car from Ferrari , and unlike other recent road cars, has been designed outside of the brand’s design studio by industrial design supergroup, LoveFrom, headed by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson. Ive is most known for his work at Apple, where he had a hand in the design of the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, amongst others. Australian-born Newson was formerly creative director at Qantas before working with Ive at Apple between 2014 and 2019. Officially described by Ferrari as a car ...

The supercharged Ram 1500 SRT TRX desert-racing pick-up has spawned a lower, shorter sibling not designed to venture far beyond the road. Ram has revealed a high-performance supercharged V8 pick-up for the tarmac – not off-road tracks or sand dunes – that is under consideration for an expansion of the 1500 line-up in Australia. The Rumble Bee is a new performance variant of the Ram 1500 designed for road use, with wide wheel arches, a shorter body, and suspension and brakes tuned for tarmac. It is sold with a choice of three V8 engines, topped by the 579kW/922Nm 6.2-litre supercharged unit in a flagship Rumble Bee SRT – shared with the reborn, off-road-focused SRT TRX – claimed to be the quickest production V8 pick-up ever. MORE: Ram 1500 TRX returns as first ‘new’ model from revived SRT division, could come to Australia An Australian launch is under consideration for the Rumble Bee, which revives the concept of a road-focused Ram spor...