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Kia has become the first brand to admit it will need to pull the handbrake on stocks of less efficient, non-turbo petrol cars – and steer customers to hybrids – under imminent CO2 caps for new vehicles. Kia customers may soon face artificial wait times on less fuel-efficient, high-emissions, non-turbo petrol cars and SUVs to help their maker avoid costly fines for not meeting new CO2 rules. The South Korean car giant will begin limiting stock of non-turbocharged petrol models – such as the base four-cylinder Sportage or V6 Sorento – and directing customers into hybrids to assist its average. It says it has no plans to axe any engine type, and intends to retain a mix of petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric power over the coming years as customers demand them. However, the petrol engines in question are lighter than equivalent diesel or petrol-electric hybrid variants – yet emit more CO2 – so they are most at risk under the rules, which calculate emissions targets based on v...

While the new entry-level Tiguan will have increased levels of standard equipment, don’t expect a big jump in price over the current model. The new-generation Volkswagen Tiguan medium SUV will be priced ‘very close’ to the current ten-year old model, according to recent comments from a Volkswagen product planner. This is despite the new 2025 Tiguan – which is due to arrive mid-year –  getting a higher level of standard equipment and technology across the range.  The current Volkswagen Tiguan, which first launched around ten years ago (pictured below), is priced from $43,990 plus on-road costs for the Tiguan 110TSI Life, while the range extends to the $60,590 for the Tiguan 162TSI R-Line (excluding seven-seat Allspace variants). MORE: Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 electric car deal sweetened with free home charger The forthcoming new Tiguan will have a tweaked range of variants offered, with three different turbocharged petrol engines offered along with three diff...

Reports of a global shortage of hybrid components will not impact local wait times for customers, says Toyota Australia. Toyota Australia says customers will not face extended wait times for hybrid vehicles after global reports of a shortage of components, despite their popularity continuing to surge. After a rise in demand around the world in 2024 – including Australia and the United States (US), the world’s second-largest market – Japan Today has reported low stock of hybrid technology has caused extensive waiting lists. The strong demand for tech – which saw hybrid sales increase 36.7 per cent in the US alone last year – has Toyota reportedly low on hybrid stock in the US, Japan, China and Europe. Customers are waiting extended periods, with Japan Today saying Toyota hybrid buyers in Europe are waiting slightly more than two months on average; those in Japan up to five months with India the worst hit at up to nine months. MORE: Toyota makes small but significant chang...

The DeLorean DMC is today famed and revered for its starring role in one of the most beloved movie franchises of all time. But it wasn’t the producers’ first pick for the role Original story by Tony Davis first published in Drive on 4 April, 1997 John Zachary DeLorean was a very special human. Not a very trustworthy one, and ultimately not a very successful one. But a real charmer. First the face-lifted, self-styled playboy impressed General Motors, which made him head of the Pontiac division, then Chevrolet. Then the man who called himself GM’s youngest ever vice-president resigned in 1973 “to pursue a dream”; others suggest he was pushed. John Z put out a bitter book called On a Clear Day (You Can See General Motors) and formed his own car company. RELATED: New DeLorean revealed – and it’s electric He announced he was going to build an “ethical” car. This he did, but the ethics the vehicle reflected were his own, rather than those of the broader community. To get t...

A small, sporty electric car to appeal to younger car buyers is on Hyundai’s radar – as this Insteroid concept car shows – but it won’t be smooth sailing. Hyundai has given the latest indication of its interest in building a pocket-sized electric hot hatch, with the reveal of the Insteroid concept based on its smallest Inster EV hatch. But the lack of N badging on the Insteroid concept – combined with comments from Hyundai executives – invite speculation a showroom equivalent could be a less “serious” take on a performance car than today’s i20 N . The South Korean car giant has previously expressed interest in offering an entry-level electric N performance car at a lower price than the circa-$120,000 drive-away Ioniq 5 N . MORE: Hyundai Insteroid concept adds Ioniq 5 N power, wild looks to tiny electric car Hyundai Europe exterior design manager Nicola Danza told Australian media there is a place for a boldly-styled, but not absurdly-priced “dream car” like the Ins...

The 2025 model year Ram 1500 hits hard with a new twin-turbo six-cylinder with more power than the old V8, but how does it stack up on paper against its rivals? Prices and features for the 2025 Ram 1500 have been announced and while more than 30,000 1500s and 2500s have been sold here since 2016, there’s stiff competition in the Australian full-size pick-up market. The Ram 1500 gets a mild styling update on the outside for the 2025 model year, but the big news is the arrival of a new Hurricane twin-turbo inline six-cylinder. While it has greater towing capacity – and lower running costs in terms of better fuel efficiency – the 2025 Ram 1500 kicks off at $22,000 higher than the previous model. A two-model line-up starts with the Ram 1500 Laramie Sport and the top-spec Ram 1500 Limited – with other models above and below these potential candidates for local showrooms later on. MORE: 2025 Ram 1500 price and specs – Australian power, towing, and payload confirmed for new si...