This week on Chasing Cars we covered a lot of niche vehicles that are a neat combination of growing trends in the industry and others that are better labelled a ‘persevering movement’.
In the former camp, we had Audi broadening its coupe-style lineup with the announcement of the SQ5 Sportback midsize SUV while in the latter we had Genesis giving us the G70 Shooting Brake at a time when many traditional German brands are losing interest in the long-roof option.
Lotus says it is open to selling the tooling to the Elise so it can live on at another manufacturer
We also saw some heartwarming news with the boss of Lotus flagging that he was open to the possibility of selling off the tooling for the Elise so the beloved lightweight sports car could live on at another manufacturer.
In the shift towards electrification, we saw a leak revealing the Hyundai Motor Group will release an EV version of the Genesis GV70 and the Ioniq 6 sedan in 2022 – while Porsche gave us a look into the testing process of the Macan EV.
Genesis fully-unveiled the G70 Shooting Brake which expected in Australia before October
Genesis G70 Shooting Brake uncovered
We at the Chasing Cars office absolutely love wagons and all of us either currently own or plan to add one to our personal collection – so forgive us for getting a bit excited about Genesis adding a Shooting Brake option to the facelifted G70 in Australia.
Set to arrive here before the end of October, Genesis first teased then fully unveiled its first-ever wagon, which provides a 40 per cent boost in luggage space over the sedan.
Genesis have chosen a very sleek design with a decent sized protruding spoiler to build on the effect, before finishing it up with the Korean brand’s trademark twin lights wrapping around to the tailgate.
While no engines have been confirmed, the facelifted G70 sedan will arrive in the next few months with a slew of petrol engines including a twin-turbo 3.3 litre V6 that puts out 272kW of power and 510Nm of torque that we hope goes in the wagon version.
Volkswagen unveiled the Tiguan Allspace which is expected here in early 2022
Volkswagen Tiguan unveiled
While the regular Tiguan has landed in Australia we have been patiently waiting for the seven-seat Allspace version to be unveiled and we were not disappointed.
The Tiguan Allspace largely copies the changes of its smaller sibling with a sleek new look with LED headlights and taillights to build on the already handsome appearance.
Inside, drivers can opt for an eight or 10-inch digital driver’s display while the facelift has also added nice touches such as USB C ports and a wireless charging pad. Expect it here early 2022.
Australian police say it is still too early to use EVs in the force, thanks to poor overall range and charging infrastructure issues
Still too soon for EV Police cars
In a special investigation by Chasing Cars we spoke to each state, territory and the federal police force in Australia and found that electric cars are still very much off the cards for now.
Several departments said the charging infrastructure was still too lacking and the average range not good enough to seriously consider as part of their fleet. Still, Victoria Police currently have a Tesla Model X on its fleet that they are testing as a fully-fledged police car.
We showed our figures to Behyad Jafari, the CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council, who told us despite the low take-up he thought the signs were positive given that the practical demands of police work were so intense.
A leaked report confirmed that the Ioniq 6 (concept pictured) and GV70 EV will arrive in 2022
Other Car and SUV news that mattered this week:
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A leaked report out of a Hyundai Motor Group investment meeting confirmed that it will release an EV version of the Genesis GV70 midsize SUV and the Ioniq 6 sedan in 2022. Facelifts will also follow the same year for the Palisade large SUV and the Sonata sedan.
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Volkswagen teased the Polo GTI which will wear the spiffy new tech of the recently announced base model, which should make it an ideal daily driver when combined with a punchy drivetrain and the new styling that sits in the same vein as the new Golf GTI.
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Audi announced the SQ5 would welcome a Sportback alongside the traditional wagon body version before October this year. Like the high-riding wagon, it will be diesel only with 271kW/700Nm on tap.
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Subaru announced its first-ever EV known as the Solterra will debut internationally in 2022 but won’t come to Australia – though that hasn’t ruled us out of EVs for the future.
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Porsche gave us a look into the development process of the EV Macan which was tested in simulators before it hit the road and expects to rack up 3 million development kilometres before it goes on sale internationally in 2023. Australia has not yet been confirmed
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After giving it a facelift last year Bentley started delivering the new Bentayga V8 to customers this week. The large SUV oozes luxury at every corner and has a frightening 404kW/770Nm at your fingertips – and a faster twin-turbo W12 version is coming.
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Mercedes-Benz announced the all-wheel-drive version of the all-electric EQA small SUV, the version Australia will get the EQA 350 which has 215kW/520Nm. Expect it here before the end of this year.
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Lotus managing director Matt Windle said they were willing to sell off the rights and tooling to the Elise if the buyer is right. Sadly the little lightweight sports car will end manufacturing this year after 25 years and three generations.
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The Ford Bronco isn’t currently planned for Australia but you lot are sure interested so we gave a hypothetical outline of what the range might look like, cost and gave our take on if it will actually come here.
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Suzuki quietly upped the price of the uber-popular Jimny 4×4 that now starts at $28,490 (before on-road costs) though many dealers are charging over $45,000 driveaway due to the popularity.
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Ford announced the Ranger will join the Victoria Police for official use as a prisoner transport van after its local design team specially adapted it for the job.
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Michelin announced it was aiming to make its tyres out of 100 per cent sustainable materials by 2050 and is currently testing the more eco-friendly tyres in Moto E and has even seen performance grow as a result.
