Car news, 6 December ’24: Toyota 70 Series manual returns, Hyundai brings in cheaper Santa Fe option, and more

If you want an electric vehicle but aren’t too keen on testing the reliability waters with an unknown (and as-yet unproven) brand in Australian If you want a regular car from a well-known brand that is available with an electric powertrain, then the Kona Electric makes logical sense, though it’s far from cutting edge.

Despite the obvious fuel-economy benefits of running a turbo-diesel engine in a large 4WD, not everyone wants diesel. Sticky, stinky and increasingly If the Tundra’s ‘performance hybrid’ twin-turbo V6 powertrain in a LandCruiser 300 series sounds like a match made in heaven, your prayers have been answered.

After a triumphant overall Car Of The Year 2026 victory and subsequent six-month long-term experience with the flagship Calligraphy, one might presume Mid-spec version of our reigning Car Of The Year continues to impress with its blend of smarts, efficiency and style

The future of the Mazda MX-5 is not clear. New regulations relating to both emissions and safety are making it commercially tough for carmakers to justify The Mazda MX-5 has always had its flaws, but the late, great ‘ND3’ revision to the open-top Japanese sports car makes the fourth gen more charming than ever.

It’s been two years since Hyundai launched its larger, stylistically bolder Kona revamp. And given that it’s shaping up as the hottest selling ‘small SUV Does Korea’s popular and stylish small SUV stack up in all-you-can-eat hybrid spec?

The latest addition to the Chasing Cars long term garage requires little rationalisation or justification. Hyundai’s Santa Fe large SUV was crowned our Our 2025 Car Of The Year transforms into a car to use every day for six months and 10,000 kilometres. To see if we were right or oh-so wrong…

A year after Toyota ditched purely petrol options for its passenger cars and SUVs in favour of an all-hybrid offering, an electrified option has finally Designated a ‘performance hybrid’ with limited efficiency gains, will the LandCruiser 300 hybrid be worth considering over the safe-as-houses diesel?

In two generations, the Hyundai Kona has fast entrenched itself as one of the Korean brand’s most important nameplates. We reviewed the Kona Electric at How does Hyundai’s current cheapest EV stack up as a daily drive across six months in the Chasing Cars garage?

For years Toyota has dominated the hybrid SUV space, achieving fuel economy so unlikely that other car makers could have wondered if they’d somehow Remarkable, Toyota-rivalling fuel efficiency is just one of the many appealing traits of the new base Hyundai Kona Hybrid

It’s a sign of the times: Hyundai is no longer an entry-level brand. In an age when cut-price Chinese carmakers such as MG and BYD are offering electric Arguably the most important variant of the new range, the Kona Electric has hit Aussie shores - but is it worth the price over the Hybrid?

Death, taxes and the fact that Toyota’s 70 Series Land Cruiser will get you into the bush and back home again without breaking a sweat: these are the By adding the Hilux’s 2.8L engine and automatic transmission, the 70 Series is now pitched at a broader range of buyers, but is it better than the tried-and-tested V8?

Let’s play a game of word association. If I say ‘Hyundai’, there’s a high chance you might respond with: ‘i30’. That’s not surprising. At the time of The first-ever Kona Hybrid is here! Is it the sweet spot in the new Kona lineup and does it justify its $4000 price premium?

Despite the headlines, there’s much more to the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe than its controversial rump. This fifth-generation large SUV has attracted more A bold and boxy design accompanies a totally revised and larger fifth-gen Hyundai Santa Fe, but will Australians warm to this seven-seat SUV?

The Hyundai Santa Fe Active 2.2D is big on grunt. It offers plenty of space, too, especially for its size. It’s great for light to medium towing and it Lusting after a turbo-diesel, seven-seat Hyundai Santa Fe? This could be your last chance before the new model arrives

Small SUVs are increasingly taking on the role traditionally played by hatchbacks on the Australian markets – for some, it’s a sole vehicle that needs to Hyundai’s Kona grows a half-size bigger to better take on the Toyota Corolla Cross – and we’ve driven it in turbocharged, AWD form first

Who remembers run-out specials? Just ahead of a model being replaced by a shiny, flashy new generation, the outgoing one would see tempting driveaway Ahead of the all-new Hyundai Kona arriving later this year, we test the popular small SUV in Elite guise to see if the current generation is still worth consideration

Australia’s new car sales reached record heights in 2025, pushing a slender 0.3 percent past 2024’s result with a total of 1,241,037 deliveries. The 100 best-selling vehicles in Australia in 2025, from the Ford Ranger ute to the Jaecoo J7 SUV

Australians bought more electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024 than ever before, with 91,292 sales eclipsing the 2023 total (87,217) by 4.7 percent, in an The best-selling electric vehicles in Australia, from the chart-topping Tesla Model Y to the least popular EVs on the market

Australia’s new-car sales results are in for yet another record-setting March, with 111,617 sales reported through the Federal Chamber of Automobile New-car market shows signs of resilience. Incentive-driven? Probably, with plug-in hybrids having a particularly big March

Pure electric vehicles might be the talk of the town in 2023, but now, more than ever, we are seeing a greater number of hybrid-electric vehicles coming It’s the battle of the small hybrid SUVs, with Chasing Cars pitching three fresh rivals against each other on the spec sheet

Chery Australia has today announced a new, series-parallel hybrid drivetrain for its C5 small SUV, intended to bridge the gap between the existing Chery New C5 plugless hybrid from Chery lobs at a competitive price, some $5000 beneath mainstream rivals from Korea and Japan

The global launch of the 2026 Kia Seltos occurred last week and more details have come to light about the Hyundai Kona and Haval Jolion rival that will be Kia has confirmed more details of the new Seltos ahead of its Australian arrival — including how it plans to sell more

Omoda-Jaecoo has priced its petrol-powered J5 small SUV from $25,990 driveaway ahead of its imminent May debut. The internal-combustion (ICE) J5 range Essentially an upmarket Chery Tiggo 4, the Jaecoo J5 gains a turbocharged petrol option to serve alongside its existing electric offering

Popular Chinese carmaker BYD has announced pricing for its seven-seat disruptor, the Sealion 8 plug-in hybrid. The large, three-row SUV will be

Toyota’s surprise reveal of the RAV4-sized LandCruiser FJ last week led to the obvious questions: whether, and when, Australian buyers should expect to Baby LandCruiser is firmly on Toyota Australia’s radar, but vexing engine and emissions issues would need to be solved to bring the FJ to our shores

MG has priced its new seven-seat SUV, and it’s coming for the Toyota Kluger and Hyundai Santa Fe. Called the QS, MG’s new model looks to take a large

Jaecoo has priced its new premium five-seat SUV, with a June launch date locked in by the Chery sub-brand. The 2025 Jaecoo J8 continues to push the brands

Skoda has released pricing for the 2025 Skoda Kodiaq seven-seat SUV range. The new Kodiaq Select starts at $54,990, before on-road costs, a $1700 lift Skoda rejuvenates Kodiaq with a fresh face and a new value-oriented offer

Australia’s 2026 new-vehicles sales race is off to a solid start, with 87,753 sales recorded for the month of January, a respectable increase of 949 Solid numbers in the new car markets with January numbers up marginally over this time last year despite a drop in ICE sales

Two of Australia’s cheapest compact cars gain much-needed safety improvements

Chasing Cars has crowned the Hyundai Santa Fe as its 2025 Car of the Year. Hyundai’s latest family SUV emerged as the outright winner from a vast, Amid an onslaught of competitors spread across myriad segments and drivetrains, Hyundai’s seven-seat superstar reigned supreme

Thanks for joining us on February 27th. Chinese brand BYD has outlined why its plug-in hybrid ute will be a hit, Australia has a new cheapest EV (for Chinese brand BYD has outlined why its plug-in hybrid ute will be a hit, Australia has a new cheapest EV (for now…), new Golf pricing and BYD mulls Kluger killer.