CAR ADVICE

This week Trent is joined by Features Editor Rob Margeit, to talk electric utes and the new Alfa Romeo Tonale Welcome to the new Drive Podcast ! Each week, Trent and our other team members will bring you news, features, reviews and motoring insights. For episode 15 of the podcast , Trent is joined by our very own Features Editor, Rob Margeit . You can stream the episode here, or subscribe and listen to the show on your favourite podcast platform: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | OnMy FM | Nine Podcasts Home This week, Alfa Romeo wants their new Tonale to be  measured on quality, not sales figures . Trent, a former Alfa owner, has doubts it will make much of a difference. Debate rages over the safety and reliability of autopilot, also now being called “full self-driving” cars by Tesla – it’s being  rolled out  even without US regulatory approval. Plus, the Drive team  reviews the new 2023 LDV eT60 , the first dual-cab electric ute in Australia with a comp...

After a few wild rebellious years, the legendary Honda Civic Type R has tamed down its styling – but has the lively front-drive chassis been sedated to match? Not at all, as Mike Diff found out. 2023 Honda Civic Type R Anticipation is building to something close to drooling levels ahead of the arrival of the new Honda Civic Type R . We’ll have to wait a while longer to tell you what an Australian-market car feels like, but Drive has already nabbed a go in a US-spec car in America. The good news is that, on the basis of experiencing one in the Midwest, it seems set to head straight to the top of the class. The new FL5-generation car is closely related to the outgoing FK8, with the most obvious similarity being the continued use of the same 2.0-litre turbocharged engine built in Ohio. Honda is quoting different power outputs in different markets, this due to varying fuel quality and emissions standards, with the US car reckoned to be good for the same 235kW we’ll get in ...

In a world of new energy options, Hyundai has a foot in both electric and hydrogen camps. We get the inside word on Hyundai’s vision of what’s next for Australia. This interview appeared in part of our documentary, Drive: Electric – Getting Australians ready for electric cars , which is available to watch on our site or on 9Now . New energy doesn’t just mean electricity, with hydrogen also a viable solution for some parts of the market. To learn more about what the future feels like for Australia, we speak with Scott Nargar, Senior Manager of Future Mobility and Government Affairs at Hyundai Australia. Drive : From a manufacturer’s perspective, what is the most exciting part of a consumer interest in new energy vehicles? Scott Nargar : As Senior Manager of Future Mobility, it’s my job to prepare the market for the technology that’s coming. I think the most exciting part is seeing the change in people’s attitudes towards zero-emissions vehicles and knowing that about 60 to 6...

An updated Hyundai Sonata is in development, quelling reports that plans for a facelift for the current model were scrapped. But will there be another generation after this one leaves showrooms? The slow-selling Hyundai Sonata sedan has been granted a stay of execution, as photos emerge of an updated model testing overseas – but its future beyond the current-generation car remains under a cloud. Reports out of South Korea over the last 12 months have cast doubt on the Sonata’s future, amid slowing sales in its home market attributed to the current-generation car’s sharper, more distinctive styling that reportedly hasn’t resonated with buyers. Different sources have claimed Hyundai would skip a mid-life facelift for the current model (known as the ‘DN8’) to focus on a brand-new model – or vice versa, that a facelift would be launched, but plans for a next-generation model had been shelved. Photos have now emerged out of South Korea (via Autospy and Cochespias ) of a f...

General Motors may be about to square off its Corvette brand against the Ford Mustang, with reports of an electric SUV and sedan in development. After years of speculation, plans appear to be firming for General Motors to launch a Corvette sub-brand. US publication Car and Driver reports a new range of Corvette -branded electric cars is due to launch from 2025, including a four-door and SUV – the latter of which will compete directly with the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Drive first reported the possibility of a Corvette sub-brand in early 2021, following information leaked by company insiders to business news agency Bloomberg at the time. In August 2022, an overseas report referencing insiders revealed an electric four-door model would be launched “by mid-decade” wearing a Corvette badge, with the Porsche Taycan firmly in its sights. But while General Motors may be targeting the Taycan – as well as the forthcoming electric sedan from Lotus – the latest source told Car and Dr...

Demand has exceeded supply for the first batch of Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrids – but more cars are on the way. Orders for the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) have been placed on pause, as stock of the 2022 model is drained – however the carmaker says shipments of 2023 examples are on the way. Mitsubishi Australia says its allocation of Model Year 2022 Outlander PHEVs – on sale since August 1 – has been “exhausted”, due to a mix of high demand and constricted supply due to parts shortages. More stock is on the way, but on its website the carmaker warns these vehicles – which will be branded Model Year 2023, and are set to be detailed within weeks – “may have different specifications and/or pricing”. A Mitsubishi Australia spokesperson said in a statement to Drive : “22MY [Model Year 2022] Outlander PHEV allocation has been exhausted, and there is a significant order bank, so the decision was made to put orders on hold for the time being. “Since its...