After Chasing Cars’ first-ever Car of the Year ate up every bit of resourcing we had last week, the weekly wrap-up is back!.
With the biggest project of the year now firmly in the rear view mirror, it was time to turn our attention to some of the biggest stories of the week, including Polestar’s future line-up and a new affordable ‘coupe’ SUV from Haval.
Car of the Year was easily the biggest and best thing we’ve ever done
In the review sphere, we were very excited to finally get our hands on the all-conquering Volkswagen Golf R wagon which renders the word ‘compromise’ all but redundant.
We’ll cover all that and more in full detail so let’s jump into it.
Chasing Cars Car of the Year in-depth
The inaugural Chasing Cars Car of the Year event took place earlier this year but pulling it all together in both a tidy video and a written article took considerable time.
It involved 39 cars, a determined crew of journalists, judges, logistics personnel and transporters to make Car of the Year a reality, and we loved every second of it. Getting to drive 2022’s hottest metal all in one place was an experience everyone will remember for a very long time.
It was an all-in effort for our first Car of the Year
So much hard work went into the event and the finished product is an awesome piece of work, mostly thanks to Ky Riordan, our gun video editor.
To give you all an insight into how it came together, staff journalist Zak Adkins penned a run down of the event which you can read more about here.
Tesla announces Model Y pricing
Good lord this has been a long time coming! In fact, the Tesla Model Y first made its debut overseas in 2020 and two years later it’s now officially gone on sale in Australia.
Not meaning to brag, but Chasing Cars scored an exclusive two months ago when we reported the initial asking price would be $67,990 (before on-road costs), which has now been bumped up to $68,900 due to currency fluctuations.
Pricing for the Tesla Model Y has been released
The first lot of deliveries will occur in November 2022, with both an entry-level rear-wheel drive and Performance variants available to customers – with the latter priced significantly higher at $98,689 before on-road costs.
But if you want to get your hands on one you’ll have to order very quickly as, like all car manufacturers, Tesla’s production capacity is limited and orders are filling fast.
Editor Tom Baker also filmed a complete walkaround of the Model Y which you can watch here.
New Volkswagen Amarok draws closer
“I’ll have what she’s having”, said the Volkswagen PR team as they watched Ford Australia torture the population with a long drip feed of teasers on the new Ranger.
With Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok so closely related in their respective new generations, we already have a pretty good idea of what the latter will include ahead of its reveal on July 7.
A huge touchscreen will make its way in the new-gen Amarok
Volkswagen has, however, made it clear that its ute will feature a different interior and exterior design, and has so far teased the Matrix LED headlights, full camouflaged body shots and even sketches of the finished production styling.
This week Volkswagen showed off the tailgate – taking a page out of Toyota’s playbook by chiseling ‘A-M-A-R-O-K’ onto the rear panel. We also scored a look at the huge 12.0-inch touchscreen inside the cabin which – unlike the Ranger – integrates the ventilation controls into the screen itself.
All the cars and SUVs we reviewed this week:
There are few vehicles that tick all the boxes for a car enthusiast like the Volkswagen Golf R and while the hatch is a hell of a thing, there is a lot to be said for the added practicality of the wagon.
Journalist John Law was quite impressed by its sheer breadth of ability across a whole range of disciplines, though it’s hard to overlook its circa-$70,000 asking price. Read or watch our reivew here.
But what if you need seven seats and still want to put your licence in danger on the regular? Well perhaps the Skoda Kodiaq RS might be worth a look. Deputy editor Nathan Ponchard praised its level of all-round performance that does not come at the expense of practicality.
Few cars tick all the boxes like the Volkswagen Golf R wagon
Mr Law has been scouring the Hyundai i20 N ownership forms and noticed some concerning reports about metal parts being discovered in the oil, so he decided to embark on some greasy journalism and drop the oil in his own long-termer to see what he could find.
After six months and 10,000km on the road together I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on my Subaru Outback Touring long-termer and I’ve now published my full review which you can now read in full.
Other car and SUV news we covered this week:
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The Audi A3 will live on as an electric hatch or Sportback, as Audi loves to call it, for its next generation.
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After much teasing, Polestar detailed its four-strong line-up that will include the much talked about Polestar 3 SUV, Tesla Model S-rivaling Polestar 5 and a yet-to-be revealed Polestar 4 coupe SUV.
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Volvo and Polestar will finally add Apple CarPlay to their cars for the first time after using the Android Automotive software for several years. The new system will debut in Australian cars from June onwards.
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The sequel to Forza Motorsport has now been confirmed to arrive in 2023, with new tracks, plenty of cool new toys to play with and frankly insane graphics all on offer.
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Ssangyong will launch the Torres SUV, a clear rival for the Toyota RAV4, with an Australian release very likely. It’ll come with a turbocharged engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
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The Australian release date for the Haval H6 GT has been locked in for July after it was initially delayed due to supply-chain shortages thanks to COVID-19. It could definitely be a budget rival for the Audi Q5 Sportback and will be fitted with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine producing 150kW/320Nm.
Additional reporting by Zak Adkins