CAR COMPARISONS: Juli 2023

Senin, 31 Juli 2023

Top 10 new electric cars coming to Australia soon

While there are some great electric cars on sale today, there are even more just around the corner. Here are our favourite EVs set to land in Australia in the next 12 months…

As mainstream manufacturers embrace electric vehicles, Australians are set to have an ever-expanding choice of makes and models available to choose from. From a handful of cars just a few short years ago, the next 12 months will see an influx of nearly 50 new electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles into the Australian market, including a number of cars that slip under the crucial $40,000 mark, making the barriers to electric ownership just that little bit easier to step over.

From cheerful and cute urban runners to high-tech gadgetry on wheels, here are some highlights of what to expect from the electric world. These are the best new electric cars coming to Australia in 2023…

BYD Dolphin – The price leader

Priced from $38,890 before on road costs, the little BYD Dolphin is currently the most affordable electric car on the market.
Available to order now, deliveries to commence before the end of 2023

Kia EV9 – The family bus

A full-size, seven seat, family SUV full of style and technology. Better get your order in!
Due in Australia fourth quarter of 2023

Read: Kia EV9 first drive video review

Ford Mustang Mach-E – The generation gap

Mustang by name, but not by nature, the Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV offers American style and impressive performance, with plenty of pony badges to boot.
Due in Australia fourth quarter of 2023

Read: Ford Mustang Mach-E first drive video review

Toyota BZ4X – The late arrival

Toyota arrives fashionably late to the EV party with a funky RAV4-sized SUV that is badge-shared with the Subaru Solterra.
Due in Australia late 2023

MG 4 – The step change

The first new-generation MG to hit our shores, the MG 4 has received strong praise in other markets for being a well-priced, well-packaged and practical electric hatchback.
Available to order now, deliveries to commence August 2023.

Read: MG4 first drive video review

Volkswagen ID.4 – The people’s car

The Tiguan-sized Volkswagen ID.4 will launch alongside its ID.5 coupe sibling and will be followed by the Golf-sized ID.3 in 2024.
Due in Australia 2024

Read: Volkswagen ID.4 first drive

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N – The hot hatch

Hyundai has tasked its N Performance team with turning the angular Ioniq 5 SUV-hatch into a techno-electro rally hatch, and we can’t wait!
Expected in Australia late 2023 or early 2024

Read: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N prototype drive video review

Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV – The ski crowd

Hot on the heels of the Mercedes-Benz EQE sedan, the GLE-sized EQE SUV will find strong favour in the leafy streets of inner eastern suburbs around the country.
Due in Australia late 2023

Read: Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV first drive review

Polestar 3 – The style statement

Stand out from the crowd with the visually stunning Polestar 3 SUV, the first new car to offer an optional Lidar driver assistance sensor array.
Expected in Australia early 2024

Read: Polestar 3 price and specs

Abarth 500e – The fun choice

Who needs a sensible car? The Abarth 500e offers irreverent electric hooliganry, complete with an artificial sound-system to make it sound like a petrol one!
Expected in Australia late 2023

Read: Abarth 500e first drive video review

Is there a new electric car that you are waiting for? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Top 10 new electric cars coming to Australia soon appeared first on Drive.

2024 Nissan Z Nismo unveiled, coming to Australia

The first new Nissan Z sports car in 13 years has added a high-performance, track-ready Nismo edition with more power and sharper handling – but no manual transmission.

The 2024 Nissan Z Nismo sports car has made its formal debut, ahead of first US deliveries by the end of this year – and Australian arrivals expected to commence in a similar timeframe.

Premiered a month after a revealing teaser video – and two years after the regular Nissan Z’s debut – the Nismo edition extracts more power from the twin-turbo V6 engine and adds stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, more hardcore bodywork and visual tweaks.

It has been confirmed for Australia, with prices and specifications to be announced closer to launch.

Showroom arrival timing is yet to be confirmed, however Drive understands it could arrive in Australian showrooms towards the end of this year, shortly after the start of US deliveries between now and December – pending any delays.

Powering the Z Nismo is an upgraded version of the familiar 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 engine, developing 313kW (420 horsepower) and 521Nm – up 15kW (20hp) and 46Nm over the standard car.

Nissan says the power and torque boosts have come from “a combination of” improved engine cooling, increased turbo boost and speed from “revised electronic wastegate control”, and a new “independent ignition spark timing strategy” inspired by the GT-R Nismo supercar.

But it is matched exclusively with a nine-speed automatic transmission, as the six-speed manual gearbox of the regular Z has not been made available with the Nismo’s higher-output engine.

The manual transmission today accounts for 60 per cent of orders for the regular Nissan Z in Australia – down from 70 per cent at launch a year ago.

The automatic gearbox has been upgraded with revised clutch packs for faster shifts, and revised software claimed to have “reduced downshift time by almost half” compared to the standard car.

New for the Z Nismo is a Sport+ drive mode designed to be “so responsive for performance driving that a driver does not need to use the shift paddles on [the race] track” – as well as an upgraded engine oil cooler.

A 0-100km/h acceleration time is not quoted for the Z Nismo. In Drive testing, an automatic version of the regular Nissan Z completed the benchmark sprint in 4.9 seconds.

Under the skin, the Nissan Z Nismo gains reworked suspension with stiffer springs, larger and retuned dampers, and new anti-roll bars, claimed to deliver improved corner turn-in response on a race circuit.

New gloss black 19-inch forged wheels designed by Japan’s Rays fill the wheel arches, which are 0.5 inches (13mm) wider than the alloys on the standard Z (now 10-inch wide at the front, 10.5-inch wide at the rear) but are claimed to be “slightly lighter” due to “advanced construction”.

The wheels are wrapped in Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT600 tyres, which are 10mm wider at the rear than the normal Nissan Z, with track widths wider by 15mm front and rear.

The front brake discs have been upgraded to measure 381x33mm – up from 356x33mm in top-of-the-range standard Zs in Australia and the US – with a “more performance-focused” brake pad compound.

However the 351x20mm rear discs carry over, and the four-piston front and two-piston rear Akebono brake calipers are unchanged bar red paint for the Nismo.

Weight has increased to 1680kg for the Nismo – up from 1634kg in a flagship version of the standard Nissan Z – based on US specifications.

The exhaust system has not changed compared to the standard Nissan Z, though in the US the Nismo benefits from the louder muffler fitted to automatic models compared to manual versions, due to noise rules for six-speed variants.

The Nissan Z Nismo gains a longer front end branded the “G-Nose”, which is said to be inspired by the early-1970s 240ZG long-nose version of the original 1969 Datsun 240Z sports coupe.

The air intake is wider but slimmer than the regular Z – with the “thinnest honeycomb mesh of any Nissan production car,” the company says – while a red-accented split runs along the bumper, and fins on the corners of the bumper “create vortexes over the front wheels”.

Other upgrades include new side skirts for improved aerodynamics, a taller and wider rear spoiler, and a new rear diffuser with red accents. Nissan says the changes mean the Z Nismo now produces “positive downforce”.

The metallic trim above the window is finished in dark metallic grey, the roof is painted in black as standard, red accents feature around the exterior, and five body colours are available: Black Diamond Pearl, Brilliant Silver, Passion Red Tri-Coat, Everest White Pearl Tri-Coat and the Nismo-exclusive Stealth Grey.

Inside, occupants sit in Recaro sports bucket seats trimmed in leather and Alcantara, with a red centre section and Nismo branding.

Further interior upgrades include red contrast stitching, a leather and Alcantara steering wheel with a red 12 o’clock marker, red engine start/stop and drive mode selector buttons, and revised instrument graphics with a red tachometer outline, Nismo logo, and a revised start-up animation.

Deliveries of the 2024 Nissan Z Nismo are due to commence in the US in the coming months, with Australian arrivals expected to begin closer to the end of the year – though local arrival timing is yet to be locked in, and is subject to any delays.

It is believed to be one of four new key Nissan model launches in Australia over the next 12 months, alongside the Qashqai e-Power hybrid small SUV, Patrol Warrior large off-road SUV, and one more unannounced model.

The post 2024 Nissan Z Nismo unveiled, coming to Australia appeared first on Drive.

Uber autonomous car ‘driver’ pleads guilty to fatal crash in the US – reports

The human who was behind the wheel of the first autonomous car to kill a pedestrian has avoided jail time – while ride-sharing giant Uber has continued to dodge criminal responsibility for the fatal incident.

Image credit: San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images

The ‘driver’ of an autonomous car – operated by ride-sharing giant Uber – which killed a pedestrian has reportedly been sentenced to three years of supervised probation, more than five years after the fatal incident occurred.

In March 2018, 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg was fatally struck by an Uber autonomous test vehicle in Tempe, Arizona – becoming the first pedestrian to be killed by a ‘self-driving’ car globally.

In 2019, an National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found the autonomous car’s human ‘safety back-up driver’, Rafaela Vasquez, was not looking at the road as she was legally required to throughout the journey – instead alleging she was watching a TV show on her mobile phone.

While Ms Vasquez was charged with negligent homicide in 2020, technology publication Wired reports she recently pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of endangerment, resulting in a Maricopa County court handing down the three-year probation sentence this week.

The Uber autonomous car which fatally struck Ms Herzberg was later used in an investigation by the NTSB

The publication reports Ms Vasquez could have faced four to eight years in jail had she been charged with negligent homicide, prompting her guilty plea to the lesser charge.

According to news agency Reuters, the NTSB investigation found Uber made a “series of development decisions that contributed to the crash’s cause” – which included the modified autonomous Volvo XC90’s software not identifying Ms Herzberd as a pedestrian, or recognising Ms Vasquez did not have the ability to react to an emergency situation.

However, Uber was not held criminally responsible for the fatal incident and sold its autonomous driving technology division – Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) – to start-up Aurora for $US4 billion ($AU6bn) in December 2020.

Wired reports there had been several Uber employees who complained about the company’s disregard for safety and complacency while developing and testing its autonomous driving systems, though these have not been officially investigated.

Kevin George Aziz Riad is the first reported driver of a semi-autonomous car to be charged for their role in a fatal crash

The sentencing of Ms Vasquez comes less than a month after the driver of a Tesla which killed two motorists after running a red light – while being operated in its so-called ‘Autopilot’ mode – was sentenced to house arrest and community service but has avoided jail time.

The landmark legal case demonstrated drivers of semi-autonomous cars are still responsible for their vehicles even when in semi-autonomous driving modes that utilise systems such as radar cruise control and lane-keeping assistance.

Kevin George Aziz Riad became the first reported driver of a semi-autonomous car to be charged for their role in a fatal crash after his Tesla Model S sedan – operating in its ‘Autopilot’ semi-autonomous mode – it exited a freeway and ran a red light in south-east Los Angeles.

The Tesla crashed into a stationary Honda Civic at 119km/h, killing the two occupants of the Honda – Gilberto Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves-Lopez – while Mr Riad and his passenger were hospitalised with non-life threatening injuries.

Mr Riad pleaded no contest to two counts of vehicular manslaughter – allowing him to avoid an admission of guilt but accept the conviction – and was sentenced to two years of probation, 31 days of work service, 100 hours of community service, 90 days of house arrest, and a “hospital and morgue program”.

The post Uber autonomous car ‘driver’ pleads guilty to fatal crash in the US – reports appeared first on Drive.

US authorities propose strict fuel economy standards by 2032

Car companies in the US will be forced to drastically reduce the average fuel economy rating of their model line-ups within a decade, if a proposal from the US Government becomes law.

The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has put forward a proposal that would require all new cars to meet strict fuel economy standards by 2032.

While it has yet to be enacted, it would require the average fleet of a car-maker to meet 58 miles per gallon by 2032 – or approximately 4.06 litres per 100 kilometres.

For context, the latest-generation of the hybrid Toyota Prius (not sold in Australia) has an official fuel economy rating of 57 miles per gallon (4.13L/100km).

Under the proposal – known as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards (CAFE) for 2027 to 2032 passenger cars and light trucks – all new vehicles would require gradual improvements over the five-year period.

The sliding-scale approach seeks a 2 per cent annual improvement in fuel economy for passenger cars, a 4 per cent annual improvement for SUVs and pick-ups with a gross weight of up to 3860kg, and a 10 per cent annual improvement to commercial pick-ups and vans up to 6350kg.

MORE: New US government proposal to halve new vehicle emissions by 2032

While every new car sold by companies in the US won’t be required to meet the standard individually, the overall average of their model line-ups will be required to reach a fuel economy rating of 4.06L/100km or less.

The rating system means car-makers can continue to produce and sell vehicles with larger gas-guzzling engines, provided they have enough models – including electric vehicles – in their model range offering fuel economy ratings to bring the average in below the standard.

In 2011, Aston Martin famously introduced the Cygnet to the UK market – a rebadged version of the Toyota iQ city car, featuring a 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine – specifically to reduce the average emissions of its new-car fleet in order to comply with European regulations.

The emissions output of the Cygnet brought Aston Martin’s average down to within an acceptable range, allowing the UK sports-car company to continue to offer cars powered by older V8 and V12 engines – before it switched to more modern engines sourced from Mercedes-AMG.

MORE: Los Angeles one of many US cities proposing a ban on new fuel stations

NHTSA claims the latest proposed changes will save the average motorist $US1043 ($AU1564) in fuel over the life of the vehicle – adding up to more than $US50 billion ($AU75 billion) in savings – while also cutting the country’s dependence on petrol by as much as 333 billion litres by 2050.

Furthermore, 900 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions would also be prevented from being released into the atmosphere – or the equivalent of removing 233 million vehicles off the road between 2022 and 2050, the organisation says.

NHTSA’s proposal is in lock-step with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s five-year plan released in April 2023, which would require passenger car emissions to be reduced to 82 grams of CO2 per mile (51g/km) by 2032.

NHTSA is seeking public feedback over the fuel economy proposal over a 60-day window, during which it says it will “engage with a broad set of stakeholders during this period, including consumers, unions, automakers, states, environmental groups and others”.

The post US authorities propose strict fuel economy standards by 2032 appeared first on Drive.

Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart on the cards with more power

A Mitsubishi-badged competitor to the Ford Ranger Raptor is under consideration – and the upgrades could go beyond uprated suspension, tyres and looks.

Mitsubishi has given the best indication yet there is an intention to launch a high-performance Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart ute to rival the Ford Ranger Raptor, Toyota HiLux GR Sport and Nissan Navara Warrior.

Company executives say a high-performance variant of the new-generation Triton is “under consideration”, and plans are yet to be finalised for a flagship version of Mitsubishi’s all-new ute.

The chief product specialist for the new Mitsubishi Triton now said a range of Ralliart variants are on the cards – from an appearance pack for the standard vehicle, to a full Ford Ranger Raptor competitor with more power than regular models.

“In the pick-up we have a base [standard] model – we have different versions based on the customer. And then [we could have a] sports version, a rally version – a Ralliart maybe? I don’t know,” chief product specialist Yoshiki Masuda told Australian media.

When asked the direction Mitsubishi would take with a Triton Ralliart – suspension, tyre and visual upgrades only, as per the Nissan Navara Warrior and Toyota HiLux GR Sport, or more comprehensive changes including more power – Masuda-san said:

“It’s now in consideration. But when we introduce the Ralliart maybe in the future, we would have some grades.

“Some people want to have cosmetic [changes] to get an affordable price, but some people [want] a super powerful and sporty model.

“Maybe we want to set several grades depending on customer preference for different sporty models.”

The 2.4-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine in the top-of-the-range Mitsubishi Triton today develops 150kW and 470Nm.

Executives have shown interest in a V6 version of the new Triton – and said six cylinders would likely fit in the engine bay – but doubt has been cast over whether Mitsubishi has access to a suitable V6 to use in the new pick-up.

Mitsubishi has experimented with a flagship version of the current-generation Triton, in the Xtreme special edition due in Australian showrooms later this year – a few months before the new model arrives.

While it has the support of Mitsubishi Australia, the upgrades have been designed and built by Walkinshaw Automotive Group – the former parent company of Holden Special Vehicles – and the project was proposed by Walkinshaw to Mitsubishi, not the other way around.

Mitsubishi’s revived Ralliart performance-car division now competes in the Asia Cross-Country Rally for utes, first with a race-prepared version of the outgoing Triton last year, and from this year’s event the new-generation Triton.

Executives have previously been candid about a link between learnings from the race vehicle, and applying it to future road-going models.

“We’ve been participating in a lot of competition [with the current Mitsubishi Triton] and actually the purpose of doing that is not just for promotion, but also to gain a lot of information from very severe usage,” Mitsubishi Motors product strategy chief Koichi Namiki told Australian media earlier this year.

“What we have done is to put many sensors on [the vehicle] and collected a lot of information from that … including how the vehicle withstands such severe usage.”

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