Three electric vehicles are among the 10 finalists for New Zealand's most prestigious automotive award.Candidates to secure this year's New Zealand Car of the Year are, in alphabetical order:Audi e-tronFord FocusHolden AcadiaHyundai Santa FeJaguar I-PaceMazda 3Mercedes GLEPeugeot 508Tesla Model 3Toyota RAV4The e-tron, I-Pace...
Recently I spent some time with the 2019 Mazda CX-3 SkyActiv D. It’s the diesel version of Mazda’s popular small crossover. Powered by a 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, with 85kW and 270NM of torque. Mazda claim a combined 5L/100km of fuel economy and the 1.8 diesel only weights 50kg more than the 2.0-litre...
It seems McLaren just can’t stop releasing new cars. When the MP4-12C first came out in 2011, who would’ve guessed that 8 years on McLaren would have a lineup of 9 road cars and a couple of track-only specials with more models on the way. The all-new McLaren GT landed in Japan this week and represents a whole new type of...
The Honda Civic Type R remains my favourite of the current crop of hot hatches. I loved going through its 6-speed manual gearbox, styling that makes it stand out from the crowd, and its brilliant performance and handling. It’s a very likeable car and a worthy alternative to the typically restrained and sombre styled rivals. If the Type...
In a world of growing electrification, there’s one mainstream manufacture stubbornly sticking to its internal combustions guns; Mazda. I have great admiration for everyone at Hiroshima for this stance. Unlike other Japanese manufactures, Subaru included, Mazda have been slow on the hybrid/EV/FCV uptake. Sure, there’s a Mazda Axela...
It only seems like yesterday since the Lamborghini Huracan was first introduced. But that was 5 years ago and since then Lamborghini has sold more than 10,000 Huracans around the world. That’s 40% more than the Gallardo making the Huracan the most popular model to come out of Sant’Agata. So now it’s time for the Huracan to get an...
Every year the Tokyo Auto Salon gets bigger and better. But bigger and better also means more hectic crowds and cars displayed in tighter spots. That makes it hard to be able to see all the cars without any interruptions. That is, until the show ends and everything gets packed up. The pack up of TAS is just as impressive as...
McLaren is on a roll. Last year they launched the track-oriented version of the Senna, the Senna GTR, at the Geneva Motor Show. In the summer, the 600LT was introduced to compliment the Sports Series range, while the Speedtail became the third model in the Ultimate Series. 2018 saw McLaren sell 4806 cars worldwide, a 43.9% increase over...
For the third year running the Automobile Council brings classic and modern together in Tokyo. One of the few classic car shows in Japan, the Automobile Council is slowly building a reputation as the go-to show to buy and sell classic car, ogle at the latest and greatest, and get away from the summer heat. Held at the Makuhari...
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