New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Lexus ES350 Limited

With the new IS going all wild and aggressive, Lexus needed something that would still appeal to the, erm, more conservative buyer in that particular price range. Enter the ES. Or rather, re-enter the ES. The ES has been here before, but was largely squeezed out of this market by the increasing size of the […]

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New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Mercedes-Benz E400 Estate

The Mercedes Benz E-Class has always had a slightly hard road to travel, what with having to cary out multiple duties as a taxi, luxury express and see-you-out car, depending on its market, spec level and perceived place in things in the country it is sold in. While that may seem to make it a […]

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New Cars Quick Drives

QUICK DRIVE: Honda Accord V6

For a full Road Test of the Honda Accord 2.4 click here. It is almost like Honda started with the V6 version of the new Accord, then started pulling stuff off it to create the four-cylinder version. “Two cylinders? Yep, get rid of those.” “That extra ratio in the transmission? Lose it.” “Those sexy twin […]

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New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Holden Commodore Calais V

It’s a new Commodore, but is the world interested in any way? Well, the sales figures suggest that at least a few are, but nowhere near as many as there used to be. That is a shame because the VF is undoubtedly the best car that has ever come out of Australia. Packed with cutting […]

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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: Hyundai Santa Fe

The Hyundai Santa Fe has proven itself to be a very popular model in New Zealand, particularly in the last year of the last model – can the new one continue the sales success?We go on a stunning drive from Queenstown to Aoraki Mount Cook and back to find out… What is it? Pretty much […]

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New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Lexus GS 450h

OVERSTEER ROAD TEST: Lexus GS450h Big, luxurious and bristling with power and high-tech gadgets, the Lexus GS 450h is the flagship of the mid-size GS range. But does it possess the soul and passion Lexus claim it has? We weren’t so sure after the launch and, after a week with one, we are even less […]

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New Cars Road Tests

OVERSTEER COMPARISON: Three Camrys. Sort of.

OVERSTEER COMPARISON: Toyota Aurion Sportivo SX6 vs Toyota Camry Hybrid i-Tech vs Toyota Camry Atara SX So you have a lazy 50-odd grand lying around and want to drop it on a top-of-the-line Toyota sedan? Well then you have a choice – namely two Camrys and a Camry-based, V6-engined alternative. We look at the options […]

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First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Lexus GS

The least interesting model in the Lexus sedan line up gets an extreme makeover and a new image as sporty, exciting and packed full of soul… We head to the North Waikato to find out if this is a load of old marketing bollocks or not. WHAT IS IT? The over-looked middle child of the […]

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