Inhoudsopgave van October 2025 - Wheels

STATING THE OBVIOUS, Wheels is a new magazine. But while our focus is firmly on the latest cars, with 73 years of heritage behind us we also owe it to readers to keep looking back. That’s why our Modern Classic section remains one of the most popular reads each month. And it’s easy to see why. The cars we feature aren’t always game changers, but they offered something distinctive – something that made them just a little more desirable than their competition. Sure, we showcase the occasional supercar, but the ones that really get people talking are the everyday heroes. Cars like this month’sVolvo 850 T-5R wagon. It’s got me wondering lately: what about today’s cars? Which of the cars launched in the past few years will stand the test of…

SOMETHING I’VE LEARNED from owning one old, interesting classic car – aside from discovering levels of self-justification and money-wasting ability that alarms even me – is that you get to meet so many interesting people. Note: not always old, interesting people. I know plenty of folks in their 30s flocking to buy modern classics (and amusing shit-boxes), to savour real driving while we’re still allowed. I also know a few people with proper collections of cars. They may have four or 12 or 20, sometimes focused on one particular brand, but others a broader church. It’s the latter example that approaches the collection I’d have for myself, had I the money, the space and the spouse for it. (My wife, at her most open-minded, concedes that an individual may be able…

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THE GRADUAL DECLINE of the hot hatch over the decade has been heartbreaking to watch with legendary models from former big hitters in the class such as Renault and Ford no longer produced. Unfortunately, the coming years will likely see more of the same as the world shifts further to electrification. But thankfully there are still some great examples of the breed such as the iconicVolkswagen Golf GTI, now marking 50 years of sporting practicality. Recently updated enough to gain an extra .5 in its generational name, the Mk8.5Volkswagen Golf GTI aims to right the wrongs of its Mk8 predecessor, most notably that model’s confusing infotainment system and backward step in quality compared with the Mk7.5 it replaced. The Mk8.5 has also introduced sharper styling, physical steering wheel buttons and…

ON THE FACE OF IT, THIS IS A PATENTLY UNFAIR COMPARISON. We have BMW’s 330i, introduced here in 2019, and Mercedes-Benz’s C 300, which debuted in 2021, up against the box-fresh and far more powerful Audi S5. The two old-stagers front up with 190kW four-cylinder engines and the all-wheel drive newcomer wields 270kW from its V6. It seems a mismatch… until you dig a little deeper. These cars all carry a 90-something price tag so, yes, it’s conceivable that they could be cross-shopped if that’s your budget. But this situation won’t last. The Audi S5 Edition One that you see here is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sort of deal. Audi has experienced delays in getting hold of the 200kW A5 quattro, with that car due some time in quarter four of this year.…

DO YOU EVER WONDER WHICH YEAR, AS A CAR ENTHUSIAST, YOU’D MOST LOVE TO BE TELEPORTED BACK TO? Of course, there’s an argument that we’ve never had it as good as we’ve got it now, given that cars are quicker, more comfortable, more capable, more reliable and safer than ever, but I’d set the dial on our imaginary time machine back to 1994. I’d watch Ayrton Senna set pole in front of his home fans at Interlagos and Michael Schumacher win the race, witness owners being presented with their boxfresh McLaren F1s and take a drive in the all-new Ferrari F355, the car that turned around Maranello’s fortunes. The daily driver? That’d be a car that Volvo first showed late that year: the astonishing 850 T-5R. It was far from…

WHAT IS IT ABOUT ITALY that makes many of us swoon when we talk about it, often while visibly salivating in an unsightly manner? Yes, there’s the food, and the coffee, and the fact that no-one points at you and makes piggy noises when you treat a heaping plate of pasta as merely an entrée before moving on to your meaty main course, followed by a genuinely godly gelato. All of this is just for lunch, of course. One needs to load up (Ferrari’s chief test driver – and what a fabulous business card that makes – the rakish Raffaele de Simone, swears that he eats pasta at least twice a day, which makes me think Italians are born with Ozempic for blood) because dinner isn’t politely eaten before 10pm. That’s…

PEUGEOT is on a product offensive in Australia, launching new and updated versions of its line-up, including important new SUVs like the 3008 mid-sizer. All of the new models are fitted with a new hybrid drivetrain with low claimed fuel consumption to assist its NVES compatibility. The latest to launch is the third-generation 5008 seven-seat large SUV, building on the previous generation with a futuristic new look inside and out. There are two 5008 models offered in Australia: the entry-level Allure ($54,990 plus-on road costs) and the top-spec GT Premium tested here ($67,990 +ORC). Equipment levels are impressive and on the GT Premium include 19-inch wheels, Nappa leather trim, tri-zone automatic climate control, a 21-inch curved display, wireless smartphone mirroring, live services and safety features such as adaptive cruise control with…

There’s power in the redemption arc. The human brain is one that is wired to recognise story patterns, and the familiar transformation of a flawed character into one of empathy or inspiration is something we intrinsically understand and respond to. But while a fictional character’s initial failings make the heroic payoff really hit you in the feels, we’re never quite as willing to give a consumer product a chance to make good. Cars are a very specific case in point, because we get to see their evolution over time. Yet there exist a welter of vehicles that never got off to a great start in life but then came good without ever getting the recognition they deserved. Examples? The second-gen Toyota MR2 never got over the reputation of the early…

IT’S BEEN THREE MONTHS and my time with Harvey the MG HS Super Hybrid has ended. Although I wished I could’ve put more distance on the odometer – it’s been a busy three months! – I think I’ve spent enough time with him to make an informed decision as to his relevance in the market. In the first two reports, I covered the benefits of mid-size SUVs and how much of an improvement the second-generation HS is compared to the first, and now we’re examining the Super Hybrid’s drivetrain and whether it makes sense. To refresh, the HS Super Hybrid is actually a plug-in hybrid that uses a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine mated to an electric motor and a 24.7kWh battery. Total outputs are a strong 220kW of power and 350Nm of…

WE KNEW the NewVehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) was going to shake up the Australian vehicle landscape, but we would never have guessed that the first casualties would be quite such innocuous-looking vehicles. NVES was introduced on January 1 of this year, but the tracking of vehicle imports, and consequent fines for not meeting the targets, only started at the beginning of July. Because of a technicality in how two-wheel drive versions of popular Aussie 4x4s are categorised, they now no longer qualify as light commercials and instead come under the more exacting standards of passenger vehicles. As a consequence, Ford has announced that it has stopped imports of the Everest 4x2, the budget-friendly way into Everest ownership, as these models will now attract significant fines. The irony that the 4x2…

FORESTER IN THE WILD Your review of the new Forester (Sept, 2025), specifically fuel consumption numbers, piqued my interest as to their real-life relevance. Eighteen months ago we purchased an Outback Touring, specifically for outback road trips. We recently returned from a five-week, 9660km round trip to central Australia and back. Our Outback averaged 7.2L/100km, an outstanding achievement in my opinion. That included three days on the Oodnadatta Track at an average 40kmh over the 620km length (slow, I know). I feel it shows how irrelevant government quoted figures can be. And the Outback handled everything the country could throw at it, including the gravel bombardment of the passing vehicles on the track. John, Avalon Beach, NSW CARNIVAL PICK-UP I am an avid reader of Wheels mag for the past…

A WOMAN EMAILED the other day, asking for help to sue Toyota over the migraine headaches she believed were being created by all the ‘bings and bongs’ from the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in her new car. Around the same time, there was a survey which said more than 20 per cent of Australian drivers turn off at least one ADAS system whenever they go driving. Then came the Kia Tasman, which was touted as a 5-Star safety success despite the rating only applying to some, not nearly all, of the new South Korean utes. Now I have read comments which say there is no need for tyre-pressure monitors in new cars, even though they are compulsory in Europe and the USA… and despite Australia going through a pothole…

AUTHENTICITY. It’s a quality that car manufacturers value above almost all others. It’s something that drives the decisions in boardrooms, that shapes how and why cars are made and which speaks of integrity and the power of the brand. The new Haval H7 has many admirable qualities. Yet authenticity doesn’t seem to be one of them. Spot one on the road and it looks for all the world like a slightly less boxy version of its cousin, the GWM Tank 300. The styling features what Haval describes as a “rugged and capable presence” with what looks to be decent ground clearance, tight overhangs and black moulded wheelarch protection. Then you consult the spec sheet and realise that the sole variant Haval is importing is a front-wheel drive hybrid. Before we decry…

THE THIRD and final member of Toyota’s small SUV line-up in Australia, the Corolla Cross, was launched locally in late 2022. Joining its Yaris Cross and C-HR siblings, it’s the largest and most practical of the trio, though its sales haven’t exactly lit up the charts with the regular Corolla almost outselling it two to one in the year to date. Trying to increase those sales, Toyota recently launched the mid-life update for the Corolla Cross with new styling details, redesigned interior parts and more standard features across the range. The price has also increased by almost $1000, though it’s still considerably cheaper than the C-HR. Is the Toyota Corolla Cross the small SUV to buy? The facelifted vehicle still offers three model grades: base GX, mid-spec GXL and top-spec…

MID-SIZE SUVS are the world’s best-selling automotive segment meaning you’re a sales nobody if you don’t offer one. And that’s why some brands offer multiple models in the class. Genesis is one such car maker, offering the coupe-like GV60 and the regular GV70. Now we look at what sets the electric variant – the Genesis Electrified GV70 – apart from rivals such as the Audi Q6 e-tron. Offered only in Signature Performance specification, pricing for the E-GV70 starts at $132,900 plus on-road costs, making it seem expensive, especially when an Audi Q6 e-tron e-quattro will set you back $10,000 less. However, the Audi must be optioned to the tune of around $17,000 to match the Genesis’ spec. Still, as Audi has recently done with the base model Q6 e-tron, it…

TWO DAYS BEFORE A PLANNED TRIP UP AND OVER THE STELVIO PASS we learn that we’d managed to pick the exact weekend of the 200th anniversary celebrations for the famous road, Italy’s highest and the third highest in Europe. That news had ‘recipe for disaster’ written all over it, and commonsense should have told us to change our plans and create another route – but the Stelvio Pass is something special. It’s universally known by even those not even interested in cars as one of the most spectacular roads to drive on earth. As such, we don’t even bother coming up with a Plan B. Traffic jams, 200th anniversary celebrations or not – the famous pass has too much pull. Our chosen steer for the occasions? Well, we pick a SUV.…

DURING LAST MONTH’S Lexus instalment, I hinted that we’d be changing things up a bit for the next report. That’s because the RX450h+ was required by Lexus for a couple of weeks for a promo tour, and to make amends, they’d be supplying me with the RX500h flagship model instead. My intention was to report on living with that vehicle, but it proved so different to the RX450h+ that it got promoted to a First Drive in the front of the magazine instead. Did I prefer it to the plug-in 450? No, not really. I found the ride a little too firm for my liking and I value the electric-only range of this plugin version. That it’s around $7500 cheaper, has some equipment extras that I value and doesn’t feel materially…