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Will this be Maserati’s most luxurious and practical offering yet? What we love Luxurious yet practical An electric option is in the works What we don’t Moderate levels of body roll Need more time on the road for drive impressions Maserati has long been preparing to launch the Grecale – its second dedicated SUV after the five-year-old Levante . However, the ongoing semiconductor shortage, which has seen the global automotive industry reduce production dramatically in recent months, has forced the Italian car maker to push back the planned unveiling of its crucial new model until April 2022. The decision, taken because of supply chain limitations that would not allow it to hit planned volumes during the vital production ramp-up phase, means we’ll have to wait a few more months before we get to see the Grecale, which is planned to be sold with a choice of both petrol engines and pure electric drivelines, in all its production ...

Hyundai’s 2021 N range is complete with the new i30 Sedan N, mixing the i30 N hatch’s mechanicals with a four-door sedan shape. 2022 Hyundai i30 Sedan N pricing and specifications One variant, with choice of manual and automatic gearboxes 206kW/392Nm 2.0-litre turbo engine and limited-slip diff standard Priced from $49,000 before on-road costs Australian pricing and specifications for the 2022 Hyundai i30 Sedan N have been announced, with the hot sedan on sale now. Completing the “second generation” of Hyundai’s range of N cars, the new i30 Sedan N arrives in a sole choice of variant, the fully-loaded Premium, priced from $49,000 before on-road costs – $1500 above an i30 N Premium hatch, with a manual transmission. Sedan buyers can choose from six-speed manual and eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions at no additional cost – unlike the hatch, where the dual-clutch auto commands a $3000 premium – paired to the hatchback’s 206kW/392Nm 2.0-litre tur...

A fuel tank fault could lead to a vehicle fire, according to the recall notice. Lexus  has recalled  two  examples of its  2020 Lexus CT200h hatchback, citing a potential fire risk. The affected vehicles are stamped Model Year 2020. The recall notice , lodged with the Department of Infrastructure, says: “Due to a manufacturing issue the resin weld between the fuel tank and fuel tank inlet pipe could peel off. This may lead to a fuel leak when the tank is full or being refuelled. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may cause a vehicle fire. “If this was to occur, vehicle occupants may identify a fuel odour when driving. A vehicle fire could increase the risk of injury or death to vehicle occupants, other road users or bystanders.” Date of recall notice 25 November 2021 Make Lexus Model CT200h Year 2020 Vehicles affected Two VIN list Click here to download the list of affected VIN numbers Contact link Cl...

Keen on a Polestar 2? You can now place a refundable $500 reservation to secure your spot in the delivery queue. Reservation books for the 2022 Polestar 2 electric car have opened, ahead of the car’s official launch in January. From today, interested buyers can now place down a fully-refundable deposit of $500 to reserve a “priority allocation” for a car on Polestar’s website ( click here ), ahead of the new Polestar 2’s official on-sale date set for January 2022. Selecting their desired powertrain, exterior colour, interior trim and options, customers can convert their reservation to an order at a later date, at which point they will be advised of a delivery date. The opening of reservations coincides with the ramp-up of a “roadshow” program, which will see the Polestar 2 travel across Australia’s east coast in a series of events allowing consumers to see the car and test drive it, before placing a deposit. The first sites opened in Sydney in mid-November (namely on...

Chinese-built BYD electric cars will go on sale in Australia next year, according to the local distributor Nexport. Nexport – the licenced Australian distributor for Chinese electric car maker BYD – is in the process of opening its first local showroom, in the Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo. The site will serve a base for customers to test drive and physically inspect the brand’s line-up, however all sales will still be facilitated online through a non-negotiable ‘agency’ model. It’s unclear when doors are scheduled to open, and the facility is still a work in progress. No cars are yet on the floor, and the only visible installations inside are a BYD-standardised furniture set and LED lighting – though it appears more furniture is still to come. Luke Todd, the CEO of Nexport, told Drive: “[It’s] very exciting. We’ve taken four floors, a showroom, experience centre, and technology education cinema area. “This is the new heart of electric vehicles for Sydn...

The Hyundai Ioniq 7 and Kia EV9 will have a third sibling from 2023 onwards, a super-luxury Genesis SUV designed to sit atop the model range. Hyundai-owned luxury brand Genesis will launch its largest model yet in or sometime after 2023 – a new GV90 electric SUV – according to a new overseas report. Korean publication ET News reports Genesis will introduce a new large electric SUV “after” 2023, expected to wear the GV90 moniker, which will sit above the current petrol- and diesel-powered GV80 as a rival for the upcoming, all-electric Range Rover , Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV and Audi Q8 E-Tron . The outlet says the new model will ride on parent Hyundai’s E-GMP modular battery-electric vehicle platform – meaning the GV90 will be offered solely with electric power – as a twin to the Hyundai Ioniq 7 and Kia EV9 , previewed in concept form last month, and due in production guise within two to three years. ET News provides no details of the GV90’s mechanicals, though it sp...

The iconic Ralliart nameplate has been revived, but performance fans will likely be disappointed with the model range on offer. Mitsubishi has revived its ‘ Ralliart ‘ performance nameplate – but, for now at least, cars with the badging don’t include a single performance upgrade. The iconic nameplate first appeared as the Japanese manufacturer’s factory-backed motorsport team in the mid-1980s, however eventually made it onto road-going performance models. In 2010 the branding was retired, however – as previously reported by Drive – Mitsubishi is now looking to revive Ralliart as a sporty sub-brand to take on Hyundai’s N, Toyota’s Gazoo Racing and Volkswagen’s R divisions. For now the Ralliart branding is limited to sports-themed variants of the Triton ute and Pajero Sport SUV sold in Thailand – pitched as rivals to Toyota GR Sport models, including the HiLux – and Ralliart-badged vehicles do not pick up a power increase. Instead, the vehicles are equ...

Amid the hype over electric cars, Nissan says it will continue to offer petrol and diesel vehicles in countries with slow take-up of future technology. Japanese car giant Nissan says it won’t turn its back on buyers of petrol and diesel vehicles despite a push to go electric in Europe. Nissan announced on Monday that up to 75 per cent of vehicles it sells in Europe will be hybrid or electric by 2030 – and that it will stop development of new petrol or diesel engines to meet strict new Euro 7 emissions requirements. However, the two most senior executives in the company have now assured Australian customers they are not about to vacate the petrol and diesel segments locally. The diesel-powered Nissan Navara ute and petrol-powered Nissan X-Trail are the two most popular models in the Nissan line-up locally. Combined they account for two thirds of all Nissan sales in Australia. By comparison the electric Nissan Leaf accounts for less than one per ...