Hyundai Australia is offering a $2000 factory bonus on Santa Fe crossovers this month as it prepares to launch the next-generation model in May. You can receive the $2000 discount on the price of any Santa Fe model produced before February 2024, provided you order one and take delivery before April 30, 2024. That includes base, Active, Elite and Highlander grades and petrol, diesel and hybrid powertrains. You can view the terms and conditions on Hyundai’s website. MORE: Buy a Hyundai Santa Fe The range starts at $46,050 before on-road costs for the base Santa Fe V6, or $50,698 drive-away ba ..read more

You’ve probably seen it in movies, TV or maybe even in person – when a driver asks their front-seat passenger to ‘hold the wheel’ while they attend to something that’s apparently more important than controlling tonnes of metal hurtling along a highway. A driver’s responsibility is to be in control of the vehicle at all times Taking your hands off the wheel is permissible to a degree Letting a passenger steer the car is illegal Whether you’re just taking your hands off the wheel to sort out that sloppy burger you’re trying to eat, or to reach under your chair to get something you dropped, or ..read more

A Gold Coast Tesla driver could be forced to pay thousands of dollars in fines – and spend time behind bars – after being charged with drink-driving twice within three hours. At midday on April 12, 2024, Queensland Police Service officers pulled over a Tesla Model Y on Mount Nathan Road after detecting the electric SUV travelling at 28km/h above the posted speed limit. The Tesla’s 50-year-old driver subsequently returned a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) result of 0.199 per cent – almost four times the legal limit of 0.05 per cent. Her licence was suspended immediately and she was charged wi ..read more

Australians spent an estimated $67 billion on new cars last year. The astronomical figure is a reflection of the record number of vehicles which left showrooms in 2024 and the soaring price of new cars. The biggest estimated spend was on the Ford Ranger, as buyers of the Blue Oval’s ute splashed more than $4.3 billion to park one in their driveway. It was followed by the Toyota HiLux at close to $3.5 billion, then the Tesla Model Y at $2.5 billion, and the Toyota LandCruiser at just over $2 billion. The showroom spending estimates come from a new website, The Beep, which has been created to ..read more

The Toyota Fortuner SUV has followed its HiLux ute relation by gaining mild-hybrid turbo-diesel power, but the fuel-saving technology isn’t yet confirmed for Australia. Toyota South Africa launched the mild-hybrid Fortuner 48V this week, with a 48-volt battery, electric motor-generator and other components assisting its 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine to deliver claimed fuel savings of up to five per cent. In Australia, this same setup is found in the recently-launched Toyota HiLux V-Active and the upcoming 250-Series LandCruiser Prado. We’ve contacted Toyota Australia for comment ..read more

Kia has reportedly scrapped plans to build an electric replacement for its Stinger liftback. The Korean Car Blog reports word from unspecified industry sources that the new model – codenamed GT1, and mooted to wear the EV8 nameplate – won’t enter production. It was reportedly set to share its eM platform with Genesis models, much as the now-defunct Stinger shares a platform with the Genesis G70. The new electric vehicle (EV) platform will reportedly now be exclusive to Genesis models like the upcoming GV90, with Hyundai and Kia instead using a platform called eS. Stinger A leaked union produ ..read more

The popular Toyota Kluger is set to go electric-only as the brand continues its rollout of battery-powered vehicles. An unsubstantiated report by US publication CarBuzz claims the Toyota Kluger – which is sold overseas as the Highlander – will go electric, though it hasn’t provided a timeline as to when this will happen. Earlier this year, Toyota’s US division announced it would invest US$1.3 billion (A$2 billion) towards preparing its Kentucky factory to produce a three-row electric SUV. The report from the US publication suggests this new model will replace the current Kluger/Highlander, whi ..read more

BYD has filed to trademark the Shark name in Australia, which could be used for the brand’s first ute, as well as a couple of names that correspond with plug-in hybrid sedans sold overseas. Unlike other BYD filings, “pickup trucks” appears in the categorisation field on IP Australia. The filing was lodged on January 31, 2024. BYD also filed an application for the Shark name with South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission in January. The ute is expected to be revealed at the Beijing motor show, which starts on April 25. Photos of an undisguised example were recently publish ..read more

The first trailer for the latest reboot of Top Gear Australia has arrived, just one month before the show rolls out onto the Paramount+ streaming service. A one-minute video showcasing what we can expect when the season premieres on May 17 was uploaded to YouTube, showcasing the challenges that will be faced by hosts Blair Joscelyne, Beau Ryan and Jonathan LaPaglia. As with the UK show upon which it’s based, Top Gear Australia takes the presenters around the world as well as throughout the country, driving a vast array of cars from multi-million-dollar supercars to rust buckets. The latter sh ..read more

Tesla is asking its shareholders to once again approve a US$56 billion (A$86.9bn) pay package for company CEO Elon Musk, and back the electric vehicle giant’s proposed corporate move to Texas. Tesla will ask its shareholders to vote on the pay package at a June 13 annual meeting. A Delaware judge blocked the stock compensation package in January 2024, almost six years after the performance-based award had been approved by Tesla shareholders in 2018. The package would see Mr Musk paid US$56 billion (A$86.9bn) across a 10-year period. When it was originally approved by Tesla’s shareholders, the ..read more