Welcome back to your weekly wrap up of car news and reviews, where we find all the bits that matter and condense them down into one easy read.
In a week focused very much on moving towards sustainability in the automotive sector it was good to see that creativity has not been lost in the mix.
Hyundai pulled out brilliant ideas like its autonomous truck that needs to be seen to be believed and a 500kW, hydrogen-powered RWD coupe, which will likely make it to production in some form. It was all a welcome shock for sure.
Porsche didn’t let us down either, releasing the wild Mission R concept which previews the inevitable electric future of the Cayman. It will not only be very fast but looks the part too with a huge but elegant rear wing the clear party piece.
Away from EV news, we also saw some very alluring images of the next-generation Ford Ranger in its natural habitat drifting across lakes and climbing mountains.
But this only really scratched the surface of the news this week so let’s jump straight into it.
Historically a car can be fun, fast and cheap but not all three. However, that may not be the case with the second generation Subaru BRZ which has been priced from $38,990 before on-road costs.
While that does translate to the low-mid $40k region once you tack on a few taxes it’s the cheapest rear wheel drive coupe on the market and looks to outperform its predecessor in a number of areas.
Subaru will offer its new sports car in two grades known as the BRZ Coupe and BRZ Coupe S and priced them at $38,990 and $40,190 respectively (before on-road costs). The auto does command a hefty $3,800 premium, however.
Toyota is expected to offer a cheaper starting price on the GR 86 twin as it has chosen a more stripped-down version for the base model while Subaru has more features as standard.
We’ve done a separate article breaking down the five key differences between the two which you can read here.
In some very different Subaru news, over the United States, the company unveiled the Forester Wilderness edition, which is a beefed-up version of the popular midsize SUV that you won’t be afraid to take off road.
Engineers started by raising the ride height to 233mm, some 42mm higher than a standard Volkswagen Tiguan, gave it big mud tyres and dressed it with a more durable exterior.
Subaru also added a ladder-type roof rack that’s able to carry 100kg while on the move or 362kg when stopped – making it much easier to step up a roof-mounted tent away from the bugs and dirt.
The Forester Wilderness and the Outback Wilderness remain of keen interest to Subaru Australia but they are yet to confirm either for our market.
Most companies release cars one by one but Mercedes-Benz, always an efficient bunch, decided to drop several on the same day.
The one most likely to soak up the sales is the EQE which is an electric version of the E-Class sedan. It looks quite a lot like the EQS and has a bit less range, but is still packed with plenty of technology to satisfy a new generation of buyers.
EQG isn’t ready just yet but the obvious electrification of the G-Class looks quite ready and will come to market at some point. Plus, with a low centre of gravity and four independent motors it could actually be even better off road than the petrol or diesel version.
Mercedes-AMG debuted its first-ever performance electric car in the AMG EQS 53 which will come to Australia in 2022 with its ridiculous 560kW/1020Nm outputs and S-Class luxury.
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