CAR ADVICE

Mazda has admitted that it has an engineering division currently working on a next-generation rotary engine, but there’s no definitive date for its release. Speaking to media at the 2017 Los Angeles motor show , president and CEO of  Mazda  North America operations, Masahiro Moro, said the rotary fan base is huge, so a rotary is within Mazda’s future. “America has a huge rotary fan base still. This is really a core function of Mazda since the Eunos. Each year there’s a huge event here where rotary fans get together. It’s huge…last month it was a 50 year anniverary. A lot of our customers from the USA and even Mexico and Canada joined together,” Moro said. “They asked for us to not give up…it is who you are. It is great having those core fans and that is a big asset for us. A rotary engine has an interesting opportunity from power source to environmental capability. We have resources continuously developing this from Skyactiv technology and in the future some ti...

Toyota has announced a handful of updates for its  86 sports car, including the availability of a new ‘performance kit’ package. The entire 86 range will now include satellite navigation as standard, with all models picking up an updated app-connected infotainment system. Meanwhile, the new (optional) performance kit adds a handful of previously-exclusive upgrades from the bright orange 86 Limited Edition  to the (already appealing) base package. Extras include Brembo brakes, Sachs performance dampers, and anthracite 17-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels. The pack is available as a cost-option on all versions of the 86, adding  $2900 to the base GT (due to the upgrade from 16- to 17-inch wheels) and $2200 to the flagship GTS. Buyers of the GTS can also specify the performance kit with a new Moon Slate exterior paint, which brings red interior trim highlights and a unique black finish for the 17-inch alloys, forming a special variant that is priced from $39,400 plus on...

In what would be a return to its origins, Land Rover looks set to use the Range Rover badge on a luxury two-door – but this time, it will be a coupe. Fans of the original Range Rover will remember its two-door body, but it’s been a long time since a full-sized Range Rover luxury off-roader was available as a two-door. Land Rover design chief, Gerry McGovern , speaking exclusively to Australian media at the LA Motor Show cryptically suggested journalists ‘write that down’ when making reference to a two-door coupe-style Range Rover , sitting at the upper reaches of the luxury scale. In what would surely be a high-end, SUV-based two-door coupe, Land Rover would be hoping to attract buyers from super-premium competitor SUVs like Rolls-Royce or Bentley . Indeed, the new two-door would be even more premium than the current flagship, and would build on the platform of the recently-released Range Rover SVAutobiography. Above: The first Range-Rover prototype was a two-door “It is a nat...

Mazda has ruled out developing its  MPS performance division, preferring instead to push toward offering a more premium, high-tech product instead. Speaking to media at the 2017 Los Angeles motor show , president and CEO of  Mazda  North America Operations, Masahiro Moro, said there’s no use pushing for a full-on performance division until the rest of the brand is standing on solid ground. “Since the Mazda brand and has matured and grown, where we are heading – if you have a look at the Vision Coupe – we need more sophisticated technology on the powertrain to meet the customers demands in the future,” Moro said. “In the US, I’m not going to seek for a Mazdaspeed type of execution. At this point I don’t think it’s a priority. Those executions are done by established premium brands — we are not following them.” “We are going a different way, so we will focus on design, craftsmanship and a human centric driving performance so the customer appreciates every day dr...

In this special edition, CarAdvice goes to the 2017 Los Angeles motor show . Paul Maric , Alborz Fallah and Trent Nikolic chat about the  BMW i8 Roadster ,  Jaguar Land Rover’s latest products, and the refreshed Mazda 6 getting a turbo petrol  engine. Also, specs and details about the all-new Jeep Wrangler   have been released , with an electrified version  coming in 2020 . Paul goes for a drive in the new Ford Edge (the Ford Endura in Australia) and the Jeep Compass . We also catch up with the host of Translogic on AutoBlog , Jonathon Buckley. In local car news, the Camaro is coming to Australia, and Holden looks to  improve its dealership experience. Check out the links below to listen in on this episode – and all previous episodes. Subscribe to the CarAdvice podcast: iTunes  |  Pocket Casts  ( Android ,  iOS ,  web ) |  Omny  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn You can also view a de...

Who saw that coming? Tesla, having announced its semi-trailer to the world, whipped the covers off a successor to its first vehicle last week, the Roadster. Its claimed numbers are seriously impressive: the ‘base’ car dispatches the 0-96km/h sprint in 1.9 seconds, and will have a top speed around 400km/h. Oh, and range is expected to be around 1000km. That isn’t a misprint. One thousand kilometres. It’s an absurd number, no matter how you write it. The range-topping Model S P100D only claims 542km on a good day. Calling it game-changing would be a monumental understatement. Set to launch in 2020, the car will cost US$250,000 in Founders Series trim, and potential owners have been asked to lay down a 100 per cent deposit. If you don’t want the top model, the company is demanding a 25 per cent deposit on base cars, expected to cost around US$200,000. Big money, no doubt, but the promise of an eco-friendly supercar will surely be enough to have the ‘one percent’ reaching into their...

Mazda will continue to offer the Mazda BT-50 in its current form and shape beyond 2020 while its joint venture with Isuzu progresses. Speaking to the media at the 2017 Los Angeles motor show , Mazda Australia’s managing director Vinesh Bhindi confirmed that there are no plans to alter the BT-50 or adopt any Ford Ranger -based changes until the next generation. “It’s still a fair few years away [the Isuzu joint venture] and more likely post 2020. The current BT-50 is here to stay until we are ready to launch the next generation. We don’t have any plans for updates at this stage [in line with Ranger],” Bhindi said. Mazda doesn’t seem all that fussed that the BT-50 won’t be benefit from any major change, with Bhindi suggesting that the brand isn’t chasing fleet sales like some of its competitors. “Our business focus is private buyers, like Mums and Dads, while Ranger and to a certain extent, they fight it out for fleets, governments…we don’t play in that game. The numbers do...

REDS , a Smart ForTwo-sized electric car designed by Chris Bangle, has been unveiled in Los Angeles. Commissioned by China Hi-Tech Group Corporation (CHTC) in 2014, REDS is the work of Chris Bangle and his design consultancy firm. The former BMW head of design, in his role from the 1990s to 2009, seems to have maintained his touch for controversial and striking designs. The company says the “key to REDS success comes from understanding that if an electric vehicle is to function in new ways, it cannot be designed using the visual language of traditional cars”, and that it rises to the challenge of “making [space] the primary selling point of a sub-three-metre car”. The REDS EV measures 2997mm long, 1663mm wide, 1759mm and rides on a 1441mm wheelbase, and is said to be “crafted to get the most out of life in Chinese mega-cities”, where people spend many hours trapped in traffic. According to Bangle and his crew, the car was designed around the “90/10 principle”, where most vehicles...

While Mazda leads the game in Australia on many fronts, it falls short in the field of basic smartphone technology and connectivity. Speaking to media at the 2017 Los Angeles motor show , president and CEO of Mazda North America Operations, Masahiro Moro said technology like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is on the way. “Some technology is almost necessary and not just a benefit. This is the ‘hygiene’ factor in a few years. We are working on that and it will come in 2018,” Moro said. Asked whether it was a lapse in judgement not offering this technology earlier, Moro countered by suggesting it wasn’t a mistake, more just a strategy to allow synchronisation amongst markets. “It’s not necessarily a mistake. Mazda has business in over 30 countries worldwide and our approach was to be open source and how to avoid disruption based on location,” said Moro. “Being late to really appreciate consumer’s preference to use those technologies. So that was the problem and I’ve discussed ...

The 2018   Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross has scored five-stars in independent  ANCAP testing, joining a long list of new cars to achieve the maximum score. Set to arrive in Mitsubishi dealerships on December 22, the new Eclipse Cross scored 97 per cent for adult occupant protection, with perfect scores in the pole and side-impact tests. Child occupant protection was also impressive, with a score of 78 per cent. An 80 per cent score in pedestrian safety is also strong, with marks deducted for poor protection around the base of the windscreen pillars. “The Eclipse Cross achieved a very high score for Adult Occupant Protection at 97 per cent – the equal second highest score in this area of assessment, and the highest in its class,” James Goodwin , ANCAP CEO, said. “The design of the front of the vehicle as well as its ability to avoid or minimise the injury risk to a pedestrian through its standard fitment of autonomous emergency braking contributed to its strong...

Local pricing and specifications for the new 2018 Mitsubishi   Eclipse Cross , set to land on December 22 . At launch, the range will start with the front-wheel drive LS , priced from $30,500 before on-road costs . Although it’s technically the entry-level model, you get plenty of standard equipment for your money. The car rides on 18-inch alloy wheels as standard, and buyers get keyless entry and 7.0-inch touchscreen, along with forward-collision mitigation, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, auto high-beam and hill-start assist. Jumping up to the Exceed 2WD brings even more gear, with a starting price of $36,o00 before on-road costs . Along with the safety features listed above, buyers get blind-spot monitoring, lane-change assist, rear cross-traffic alert and a system designed to minimise the risk of wrong-pedal rear-enders. Where base cars only have a camera to support their safety systems, the Exceed gets an extra millimetre-radar unit. Inside, the Exceed...

The Toyota FT-AC concept has been unveiled at the 2017 Los Angeles motor show . Short for Future Toyota Adventure Concept, the FT-AC is the company’s second crossover concept to be given an American debut this year. Following on from the FT-4X concept at the New York show, the FT-AC does without the former’s retro-styling features. Designed for drivers who want to escape to the hills, desert or beach on the weekend, the concept includes a bike rack at the rear, which can be hidden away in seconds. As the FT-AC is billed as a design concept, Toyota hasn’t provided any specifics about the car’s drivetrain. The company does say it is “imagined” to have a petrol engine, a torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system, four-wheel locking capability, and driver-selectable terrain response settings. Underneath the concept’s grey plastic wheel arch protectors are 20-inch alloy wheels paired with chunky off-road tyres. There are infrared cameras embedded into the wing mirrors, which allow in...

Lexus has unveiled a five-seat version of its  LX570 four-wheel drive for the  Los Angeles motor show , though it won’t be coming to Australia. Under the skin, the five-seater is the same as the three-row car. That means power from a 5.7-litre V8 engine making 270kW and 550Nm of torque, hooked up to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. But where the eight-seater has just 44.7 cubic-feet (1266L) of space behind the second row, the five-seater has a (seriously) handy 50.5 cubic-feet (1430L) to work with. Lexus says the extra room will appeal to smaller families, empty nesters or households with multiple cars, where holding a eight people is less common. Instead of screaming kids and their bratty friends, the company expects owners to use the space for golf clubs, ski gear, bikes or – and we aren’t making this one up – antique furniture. According to Lexus, owners occasionally have a penchant for antique collecting. In case the extra boot-space isn’t enough for all your ...

There’s no denying that the  Nissan Qashqai is a popular choice amongst Australian buyers. Since the second generation of the Japanese crossover landed on our shores in 2014, the company has sold more than 38,000 of them locally (to the end of October 2017) and some 3.3 million worldwide. While pitched as a small SUV, the Qashqai straddles the small and medium segments in terms of size, offering interior space and luggage capacity that’s comparable to numerous vehicles from the class above. However, the Nissan has lost some sales ground of late to the ever-popular Mazda CX-3 , along with the almost-prehistoric Mitsubishi ASX . For 2018, Nissan has given the Qashqai a mid-life refresh, bringing a new look, added driver-assistance technologies, and more equipment across the range. All models now feature autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with forward-collision warning as standard, along with lane-departure warning. Further up the range, adaptive cruise control i...

Australian details for the updated  2018 Nissan Qashqai range have been revealed, with the revised SUV to kick off at  $26,490 plus on-road costs . The price of entry is up $500 over the outgoing model, though the increase is offset by extra equipment and several upgrades to improve ambience and noise, vibration harshness (NVH) levels. Both the TS and TL diesel models have been dropped due to slow sales, making the 106kW/200Nm 2.0-litre aspirated petrol engine the sole powertrain. All variants now come with autonomous-emergency braking (AEB) and forward-collision warning as standard, in addition to lane-departure warning. Kicking off the range is the  ST  (above)– the only variant available with a six-speed manual transmission, though a CVT automatic is available from $28,990. Standard kit on the base car includes 17-inch alloy wheels, LED daytime-running lights, a 5.0-inch infotainment system, USB and AUX inputs, bluetooth phone and audio streaming, six-...