First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Holden Trax

We rather liked the Holden Trax when it was launched late last year, but we weren’t exactly in love with the venerable 1.8-litre petrol engine that did reluctant, noisy duty under the stubby bonnet. But now Holden has stuck a modern engine in the cutesy Trax – the 103kW/200Nm 1.4-litre iTi turbo four-cylinder petrol that […]

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First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Porsche Macan

Once upon a time a sports car company built an SUV. This made a lot of people very angry, but it also made a lot of other people very, very happy. Fortunately for the sports car company, the people it made happy bought quite a lot of them, saving the company from almost certain financial […]

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First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Isuzu MU-X

The Isuzu MU was the three-door version of the almost-as-stupidly-named Isuzu Wizard SUV. In the case of the MU the letters stood for “Mysterious Utility”. That is not the case with the new Isuzu MU-X. No, according to the company the letters now stand for “Multi Utility” which, when you think about it, is possibly […]

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New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Volkswagen Tiguan 2WD

While the Tiguan is starting to get on a bit, Volkswagen NZ has just decided to release the FWD version of its successful small SUV into the local market, in turn reducing the entry price point to $39,990 and remaining remarkably competitive in the process. But does the Tiguan lose anything (other than drive to […]

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New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Mercedes-Benz GL500

The first thing you notice about the GL is that it is big. Very big. But don’t let that intimidate you, because lurking inside that huge, towering behemoth is a remarkably capable vehicle that literally does everything it can to help you handle the massive size. The second thing you notice about the GL is […]

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New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Citroen C4 Aircross Exclusive

While the Citroen C4 Aircross is probably the most overlooked of the Mitsubishi ASX-based triplets – along with the Peugeot 4008 and the ASX itself – it is almost certainly the best looking of the three. Looks ARE subjective, but we here at OVERSTEER rather like the C4 Aircross for its distinct twist of Citroen-quirk […]

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First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Audi SQ5

Once upon a time, the idea of a “sporty” SUV would have been laughable. The concept of a sports car and a SUV were about as diametrically opposed as it was possible to get in the world of cars, so the idea of combining the properties of the two would have simply been ridiculous and […]

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First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Toyota RAV4

The Toyota RAV4 has come a long way since its inception as the first of the small crossover SUVs based on a car platform – the Corolla to be exact. Many followed and the market for such vehicles exploded globally, but particularly here in New Zealand. The RAV4’s success was almost assured. Now Toyota launches […]

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New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Holden Colorado 7

OVERSTEER ROAD TEST: Holden Colorado 7 Okay, so the Colorado ute missed the target somewhat, but how about the seven-seat SUV version? It’s got a more sophisticated rear suspensions set up for a start, so it shouldn’t be as crap, right? Turns out that actually IS right! We take the Holden Colorado 7 for a […]

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