Ford has taken a huge step towards building a four-door version of the Mustang, with Blue Oval executives showing dealers a prototype of the sedan during a private conference in Las Vegas, according to a report.

The images shown to the dealers last week have not been publicly revealed, with rigorous security surrounding the event, but those in attendance said the four-door’s dimensions and styling are similar to that of the Porsche Panamera, according to Automotive News. If those impressions are correct, Ford would need to make serious changes, as the Panamera is 241mm longer than the Mustang coupe.

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Executives told the dealers that the four-door would start selling from less than $56,600 (US$40,000), pack more back-seat room than the Porsche, and nail the 0-97km/h dash in less than four seconds. No timeframe was given for the launch, and no name was attached to the hotly anticipated project, but the company has trademarked ‘Mach-4’. And First On Race Day fans hoping for details around the platform and powertrains have been given nothing to go on.

The first Mustang sedan in history has been the subject of speculation and anticipation for years, with Ford releasing official design sketches as early as 2022. Two years later, in an interview with Autocar, CEO Jim Farley said, “Could we do other Mustang body forms, a four-door or whatever? I believe we could.”

In July, Ford’s head of the internal combustion and hybrid vehicle business units, Andrew Frick, singled out the Mustang when he was asked about the potential for a new sedan for the brand. When it came to Farley’s comments, he said, “We have a really great Mustang that people consider a car. We look to expand on the Mustang family as we move forward.”

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However, Frick also warned that the company would need to carefully balance development and production costs for a four-door ’Stang due to the drop in the size of the sedan market and the huge popularity of SUVs.

In 2022, WhichCar reacted to Ford showing off those official design sketches by running a render by artist Theottle of what one might look like, speculating that it could become a replacement for the Falcon XR8 that “tragically bit the dust in 2016”.

Now the Mustang sedan would be a rival to the four-door Dodge Charger, not to mention the upcoming Camaro, with fresh reports claiming the Chevrolet will come in sedan form for the first time in its history.

The petrol-hybrid coupe version of the MG 07 has been unveiled on parent company SAIC Motor’s official website, after pre-sales for the purely electric version of the fastback sedan began last month.

MG has paired a 1.5-litre combustion engine making 82kW and 135Nm with an electric motor that produces 152kW and 302Nm, and the setup delivers a claimed pure-electric range of 245km with a combined range of 1745km as measured by the CLTC. It runs on the DMH (dual motor hybrid) system developed by MG, and the lithium iron phosphate battery comes courtesy of CATL.

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A rival for the BYD Seal and new Tesla Model 3, the MG 07 PHEV comes in two versions: the 245 Comfort Edition, and the 245 LiDAR Edition. The interior gets heated and ventilated front seats, 50-watt wireless phone charging, and a panoramic sunroof featuring double-layer silver-plated sun protection. 

Buyers will also get a 15.6-inch central control screen, an 8.88-inch LCD instrument cluster, intelligent electric tailgate, and rhythmic ambient lighting to the tune of 256 colours. Speaking of which, the paint is available in a wide array of shades including Nottingham Grey, Salt Lake White and Oxford Blue. Dimensions remain the same as the all-electric 07, with a length of 4886mm, width of 1900mm, height of 1478mm and a wheelbase of 2858mm.

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First revealed back in May, the MG 07 has styling cues somewhat reminiscent of a Porsche Taycan. The door handles are flush, with LED headlights in a C-shape and bumpers that yell ‘sport’. There’s a LiDAR sensor on the roof to gather information for the Momenta R7 semi-autonomous driving system, as well.

When it was first unveiled, MG had reportedly confirmed the 07 will come on a new-generation platform. While no pricing details have been revealed for Australia, there was speculation the 07 will come in at less than 200,000 Chinese yuan, which could see it undercut the $54,900 Aussie price of the Tesla Model 3 RWD.

Toyota is recalling 16,238 Camry Ascent and Ascent Sport models made between 2024 and 2026 due to a software glitch that could disable turn signals, hazard lights and some audible warnings. According to the brand, the fault could lead to “an increased risk of accident resulting in injury or death”.

The error affects the vehicles’ dashboard, and the culprit is defective software for the 7-inch combination meter – the technical term for the instrument cluster behind the steering wheel, which shows information like speed and warning lights. That cluster could go blank when the cars are started, and chimes like the seat belt warning could be disabled. Drivers get no warning before such failures, and there are no preceding symptoms.

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“Due to a software error, the 7.0-inch combination meter may fail to display at vehicle startup, thereby failing to display important warning messages and core driving information (eg. dashboard indicators and speedometer),” Toyota’s recall notice reads.

“This can also deactivate the turn signal and hazard lamps and certain audible warnings (such as the key left in the ignition and the driver/passenger seat belt reminder.

“If important warning messages and core driving information are not displayed on the combination meter, there can be an increased risk of accident resulting in injury or death to vehicle occupants and/or other road users.”

Owners of all affected vehicles will be contacted by Toyota Australia to organise a free fix, which should take around an hour and must be carried out by a dealer. A full breakdown of the models affected can be found here. The software issue has resulted in Toyota recalling around 508,000 Camrys in the USA.

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The news comes after a similar issue in September 2025 resulted in the recall of almost 70,000 Toyotas in Australia, with the Camry, Corolla, Kluger and RAV4 among the models affected. The manufacturer also recalled more than 13,000 HiLux models in April this year due to an alarming fault with the Toyota Genuine Accessory bullbar or nudge bar, with the problem capable of causing a sudden loss of power steering assistance.

More than 34,000 Toyota Klugers were caught up in a recall this March due to a fault that could cause the second-row seats to fail to latch into position correctly once adjusted, leaving them open to potentially moving in the event of a crash.

A large pothole on Victoria’s Princes Freeway has reportedly damaged dozens of vehicles during the Monday morning commute, leaving motorists stranded beside the busy road with punctured tyres and damaged wheels.

The pothole was located on the Melbourne-bound side of the freeway near Bunyip and Longwarry, just after the Bunyip River bridge, with drivers encountering the damaged road surface in wet conditions and poor early-morning visibility.

CommunityPete on Facebook posted a video showing a string of vehicles lined up on the side of the road, which may have suffered punctures or other damage after striking the pothole, with some reportedly requiring towing from the scene.

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Other reports put the number lower. Melbourne radio station 3AW reported at least 23 vehicles had been affected, while other footage shared on social media showed a lengthy line of cars stopped along the roadside. The exact number of damaged vehicles has not been independently confirmed.

The incident caused significant disruption during the morning peak, with some motorists attempting to change damaged wheels and tyres beside passing freeway traffic.

One driver told the Herald Sun she struck the pothole at about 6.30am while travelling from Moe to Melbourne and found around 20 other damaged vehicles already pulled over. She said further cars arrived while she was changing a damaged wheel and tyre, prompting her to contact emergency services because of concerns for motorists’ safety.

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VicTraffic subsequently warned motorists of delays near Hope Street, while police attended the area to assist with traffic management.

The incident comes amid continuing scrutiny of the condition of Victoria’s road network. The Victorian Government has committed $1.04 billion to road maintenance and improvements, with much of the program directed towards regional roads.

Motorists travelling through the Bunyip and Longwarry area have been urged to exercise additional caution.

A new version of Mazda’s CX-3 has broken cover in heavily disguised form, with the manufacturer revealing the small SUV will not be built in collaboration with an outside partner.

The news is tucked away in Mazda’s mid-year financial report, which features an excessively camouflaged look at the new CX-3. The image is badged as the “next-generation” of the car, not a concept. 

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While it’s difficult to draw many conclusions about the SUV’s new look due to how severely it’s been obscured, it appears to be taller than the current model, with a bigger grille opening and reworked headlights in line with the marque’s Kodo design philosophy. It also appears to take visual cues from the Vision X-Coupe, the twin-rotary plug-in hybrid that was seen at last year’s Japan Mobility Show.

Unlike Mazda’s 6e and CX-6e, which were built as part of the joint venture with China’s Changan, the next CX-3 will be an entirely in-house affair, according to the company report. That has led to speculation that the next model could feature a range of internal combustion powertrain options, with a hybrid version a possibility.

Fans of the CX-3 can expect the new entrant into one of the most important parts of the market to also gain new touches in the interior, updated safety tech, and a new digital interface. It’s worth noting that Mazda has not confirmed any details on how the upcoming version will be powered, what its new design elements will consist of, or any information on the trim levels.

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Last year, Mazda confirmed the second generation of the CX-3 is due to go into production in Thailand in 2027. The vehicle has been in production since late 2014, with periodic minor updates filtering through since the model went on sale in Australia in 2015. At the moment, the current CX-3 is also produced in Mexico, and was also put together in Japan until 2022. The upcoming small SUV looks set to keep its current name instead of moving to the two-digit naming structure found on the larger CX-30 and other models including the CX-60 hybrid medium SUV.

Wheels readers have, as they so often do, spoken loudly. Not dismissive of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology outright, readers of this magazine have, overwhelmingly, asked for one specific question to be answered. How much fuel do they use in the real world, once the battery is depleted? And so, Wheels has delivered.

We’ll look at the vehicles assembled here in a minute, but first let’s cover a couple of important details. The reason you’ve asked for this test is because of the vagaries of the ADR fuel consumption claim that most of these PHEVs carry. And that relates directly to the ADR testing itself.

Given the only way to replicate a test is to do it under a very controlled set of parameters, it’s fair to say that the publicised fuel use claim rarely reflects real world consumption. It does, however, allow buyers to cross shop vehicles within segments to get an idea of which one is more efficient. You should expect, as we’ve always maintained, to use more than the ADR claim in the real world.

The second part of the equation is the testing itself (designed before regular hybrids were a sales force, let alone plug-in hybrids), which doesn’t elegantly reflect the fact that over the first 100km, most clever PHEVs use barely any petrol. Hence claims like 1.2L/100km, for example.

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For this test, we fired straight into the kind of driving PHEVs should like the least – prolonged highway running, 700km of it, forced into EV mode as we set off. All four SUVs started with a full tank and a full charge, to give them their best shot at efficiency and range.

It’s worth reminding readers here, too, that the only way to smartly run a PHEV, is to charge it every night at home and do as much of your day-to-day running on electrons as possible. Any of the four SUVs assembled here are more than capable of covering the average Australian daily commute (generally accepted to be between 37km and 40km) on electric power alone, but they have to be charged first. If you buy a PHEV and never plug it in, you’re not getting the real benefits of the technology. We also know that a lot of drivers on the urban fringe travel more than 40km total to get to and from work, which is why the way these four behave once the petrol engine kicks in properly is so crucial.

The way that plug-in hybrids work has evolved, too, benefitting from not just the advancement of the design, but advances in both internal combustion engine technology and electric vehicle technology. Not all PHEVs are equal either of course, but the first versions effectively ran the battery flat, then reverted to the petrol engine, which then had to lug around a largely ineffective battery pack and electric motor (or motors), to the detriment of fuel efficiency. The first PHEVs also had short electric ranges, meaning they weren’t really practical in the real world.

Now, though, the technology has changed, and the accepted way forward is for the battery pack to retain a certain state of charge (20 to 25 per cent in most cases), and once it reaches that point, the petrol engine can deliver power to the wheels, or act as a generator to refill the battery, or both.

The systems, and the brains that control them, are significantly smarter, and there’s no surprise that
Chinese manufacturers are leading the way. The pace of development, improvement, increased efficiency and control smarts is extraordinary.

If you’re like us, you’ll be genuinely stunned by the real world fuel use of the four SUVs on test – with numbers that keep regular hybrids on their toes. Given a regular hybrid can’t cover anywhere near the distance of a PHEV on pure electricity, their genuine efficiency now puts the PHEV firmly in focus.

Our drive loop began with a short 6.6km run in regular traffic to the on-ramp of a major Sydney motorway where the speed then sat between 100km/h and 110km/h. The final average fuel use figures were recorded when we had returned back to the city. These PHEVs were therefore given almost no opportunity to regenerate any electricity as you would in traffic, making it as difficult as we could for them to remain efficient. First, then, to the vehicles on test.

BYD Sealion 5 Premium

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There’s a sharp focus on value throughout this foursome and the BYD starts from $37,990 before on-road costs to hold up its end of the bargain. At the time of testing, the Sealion 5 was listed at $41,600 driveaway.

The Premium we have on test gets the bigger (BYD Blade) 18.3kWh battery and a healthy list of standard equipment. Headline stats include a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, single electric motor and FWD, a combined power claim of 156kW and a WLTP-claimed electric range of 85km. The ADR fuel claim is 1.3L/100km with the battery charged more than 25 per cent and 4.6L/100km with the battery depleted to less than 25 per cent.

Geely Starray EM-i Inspire Extended Range

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Recently updated with a bigger battery, and therefore significantly longer electric range, the Geely Starray starts from $41,490 before on-road costs. At the time of testing, it could be had for $45,000 driveaway.

The upgraded lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack now weighs in at 29.8kWh and provides a WLTP-claimed electric range of 136km, the best claim of the four SUVs on test.

Like the BYD, there’s also a 1.5-litre petrol engine, single electric motor, and front-wheel drive. Combined power is a meaty 193kW and Geely claims 1.4L/100km, however, doesn’t offer a fuel consumption number once the battery starts to drop below a certain percentage.

GWM Haval H6 Ultra PHEV AWD

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GWM wasn’t able to supply a FWD version of the H6 PHEV, but we were happy to take the AWD model to round out this test. Keep in mind, then, that a FWD version of the Haval should, in theory, be even more efficient than the results we achieved with the AWD.

It starts from $50,990 before on-road costs, but at the time of testing could be had for $45,990 driveaway. You can get into a FWD Lux PHEV for $39,990 before on-road costs, better matching the PHEVs on test here.

GWM uses a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol and two electric motors for a combined 268kW. The fuel claim is 1.1L/100km with the 19.09kWh LFP battery above 25 per cent, stepping up to 5.3L/100km once below that. H6 has an electric range of 80km.

Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Ultimate

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There’s no denying Chery’s attention to pricing appeal with a $38,990 driveaway sticker at the time of testing. Its 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder is also turbocharged for combined power outputs of 255kW. There’s a single electric motor, FWD and a claimed electric range of 90km on the WLTP cycle. The LFP battery pack under the skin is 18.4kWh and Chery also only offers a single fuel use claim, 1.4L/100km on the combined cycle.

There’s little doubt then that these four SUVs are all priced incredibly attractively, especially given their level of standard equipment. If they can deliver real-world efficiency close to the best regular hybrids, their sales pitch is a good one. Onto the testing.

On the road

On appearance, the Sealion 5 delivers the most premium feeling cabin. Open the door, get settled in, and it feels like a quality place to be. That continues with premium trim into the second row.

It’s not all roses though, with the Wheels team wanting more physical buttons, and a more robust sunroof cover. The infotainment system can be confusing for those of you new to current technology, but you do get used to it pretty quickly.

Riding on Hankook EVO SUV 225/60/18 rubber, the Sealion soaks up country roads nicely, while still feeling sharp and relatively engaging to drive.

The Geely – on its 235/50/19 Goodyear Efficient Grip tyres – rides the firmest of the group, on any surface. It’s not too harsh, mind you, just firmer than others on test. We noticed a strange harmonic vibration through the driveline between 80km/h and 110km/h, more noticeable at prolonged highway speed, and it presents as a general lack of refinement through the driveline. Geely also needs to do some subtle tuning work to its electronic safety systems, which are a little too enthusiastic.

The other points to note are the Geely accelerator and brake pedals are the trickiest to master smoothly. Some of you won’t like the minimalist nature of the cabin with a lack of controls, but the Geely has the best screen. It’s quick and responsive, and once set up, it’s easy to use, too. Overall build quality, certainly from inside the cabin is as good, if not better than the other combatants here.

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The GWM Haval H6 has a firm ride, possibly due to being heavier with the extra motor and AWD system, but its steering is the best, tweaked by Aussie engineering gurus who know exactly how an SUV needs to respond on local roads.

Interestingly, the Haval was shod in more rugged Cooper Evolution 235/55/19 tyres, which might also have contributed to the firmer ride.

Haval’s infotainment is excellent, and keep in mind the system in this model, is PHEV-only. Like most modern vehicles, there’s a lack of physical buttons and switches and we found the steering wheel controls harder to work out than they ought to be. There’s not a lot in it, but the GWM also has the best back seat, in regard to space and comfort.

Chery’s Tiggo 7 rides on Maxxis Victra Sport 5 225/60/18 tyres, and the ride was better on the freeway than it is around town. It’s a little more easily upset by sharp ruts and speed humps typical of B-roads, and while it’s not a dealbreaker, it’s worth noting.

Inside, Tiggo 7’s infotainment system is noticeable by its age, given how much more proficient the Tiggo 8’s system is. This older system is slower, less responsive and requires more patience to operate.

A minor annoyance is the consumption readouts, which provide only a rolling 50km average that you need to constantly monitor if you’re watching the numbers as we were.

Chery’s all-round advantage, however, despite a shorter electric range, is how little fuel it uses once that range is depleted. This is a genuinely miserly SUV in any company, no matter how you drive it, and its larger fuel tank means you’ve got a whopping cruising range on the open road.

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The results are in

The first thing all three of these PHEVs managed to do was impress with their electric range – especially given the fact we sent them straight onto the highway.

So let’s compare that first, keeping in mind again, that the Geely has the longest claimed range of the four. It covered an impressive 102km before the petrol engine kicked in. Next best was the Haval H6 covering 73km, then Sealion 5 at 72km and lastly the Chery at 69km.

As noted already, all four will cover the average daily commute with charge to spare. That alone, makes a strong case for consideration if you’re looking to use as little fuel as possible.

Where things got more interesting, though, is the indicated fuel use averages after 700km of almost exclusively highway running. The thirstiest was the Sealion 5, which used 6.3L/100km, and I use the term ‘thirstiest’ deliberately, because that’s hardly outlandish when you consider the most frugal regular hybrids in this segment only use around 1L/100km less than that under similar testing.

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Next was the H6, which used 6.2L/100km, while the updated Geely Starray drank 5.3L/100km.
The winner though was the Chery Tiggo 7, which used an impressive 5.2L/100km. That undercuts the best return from our regular hybrid test last month (5.8L/100km for the Honda CR-V), that pitted the RAV4 against Tucson and CR-V. Combine 5.2L/100km with the 69km we covered on electric power, not to mention the asking price, and the Chery’s value equation speaks for itself.

Last month’s test was more city-focused though, so those regular hybrids might have settled into lower fuel consumption averages on a longer highway run.

Picking a winner outside the numbers though, is tough. The Chery is the most fuel efficient, but can’t match the Geely’s EV range. Its price is extremely hard to ignore, though.

The BYD felt the most premium on test and was a lovely touring all-rounder.

The Geely’s extended electric range is attractive, as is its fuel use after that range is depleted, while the GWM is the fastest and most engaging to drive thanks to the Aussie smarts that have gone into the ride and handling package. It is, of course, an AWD model, which was the only one we could access to test here. An unfair advantage then? Maybe a little.

Wheels reckons you can’t go past the Chery Tiggo, then, if budget is your strongest driver. The numbers – across the board – speak for themselves. Further, while the GWM was a hoot to drive, and the Geely’s electric range is eye-catching, the BYD delivers the most premium all-round package.

It’s worth noting that all four are excellent, and all four were significantly more frugal in the real world than we expected. If you’re considering buying a PHEV SUV from one of these manufacturers, there’s precious little to split them.

But for under forty grand drive-away and with real-world fuel consumption on par with regular hybrid medium SUVs, it’s hard to go past the Chery Tiggo 7, just edging out the BYD Sealion 5. Just.

Specifications

GWM Haval H6 Ultra PHEV AWD

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Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Ultimate

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BYD Sealion 5 Premium

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Geely Starray EM-i Inspire Extended Range

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This story first appeared in the August 2026 issue of Wheels magazine, now on sale. Subscribe here and gain access to 12 issues for $109 plus online access to every Wheels issue since 1953.

A write-off. This simple phrase has always been powerful and emotive to me, like “shark” or “root canal therapy,” although I’ve only had first-hand experience with the lattermost.

If you’d told me a few weeks ago that my wife was going to have an accident that would write off her car, I’d have pictured myself in therapy about now. Thankfully she’s perfectly okay, and I would almost have said the same of the little Mercedes-Benz B250 we bought used about four years ago, an empty-nester downsize from the previous SUV.

But the B is not to B.

The accident, such as it was, lacked only a swipe of yellow paint from a steel pole in a supermarket car park. It actually happened at home: she took a phone call as she exited our garage, which involves driving forwards into an immediate 90-degree left turn into the narrow driveway.

She’s been doing this for 14 years without incident, but this time she turned too soon. The concrete corner of the garage snagged the B-Class on the left rear quarter panel, above the wheel. I later had to digest the crunch when I viewed it on the garage security camera.

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The panel was pushed in and scraped for about the width of the wheel. While the tyre was scuffed, it was apparent that the wheel itself hadn’t contacted the wall.

This was hardly the stuff of bent chassis rails or (this being all-wheel drive) a deranged driveline. Indeed, after my brief inspection, she kept driving it for a couple more weeks – feeling emboldened by the $4500 we’d spent only a month earlier on a new inlet manifold, thermostat, serpentine belt, rear brake rotors and intermediate service at 80,000 kays.

She called about the insurance claim and was told to drop the car in for assessment. A few days later, a guy phones from the panel shop. My wife says, “I’ll just go get my husband. He’s, uhh, some kind of motoring expert.”

I guess I’m not, because it was like we were suddenly talking about quantum-optimised aerospace construction when this guy quoted $36,000.

I naturally asked if the whole chassis was skewed or if there was something equally serious I’d missed. I had noted the B-Class’s rear quarter was part of one panel that extended all the way forward to the base of the A-pillar.

The panel shop guy explained his shop didn’t do half-arsed jobs using body filler; that the repair would involve replacing that whole panel. Even at that, I thought: “Yeah? So?”

What I had really been missing was the last 10 years’ worth of eye-opening increases in the cost of labour and replacement parts.

The Insurance Council of Australia in March 2025 noted a 42 per cent increase in the average cost of vehicle accident claims between 2019 and 2024. The cost of vehicle repairs, accounting for about 60 per cent of that average claim cost, increased by 26 per cent between 2022 and 2025. (The other 40 per cent is things like replacement rental cars).

The ICA partly blames these cost increases on some car makers covertly controlling the supply of parts. Since 2022, manufacturers have been obliged to make diagnostic and repair information available to independent repairers, but the ICA has noted a trend among some newer brands only selling parts – and/or the software to integrate them – to its own network.

The motive, you’d like to think, is to better control the integrity of repairs. But an obvious side effect is fewer available repairers and less pricing competition. Hence, higher repair costs.

I was just enough of a motoring expert to know that our 2017 B250’s market value was well shy of $36,000. But the words still came as a shock when, a few days later, the insurance company phoned. A write-off.

My wife went out to the insurer’s yard to collect all the stuff from her car. All the day-to-day things. Sneakers in the boot. A First Aid kit. Six pairs of sunglasses, most broken. Wads of tissues and tubes of lip balm in the door pockets. Reusable paper shopping bags that no-one remembers to reuse. The private rego plates, for her next car.

I was busy and so didn’t go. It was a few days later that I realised I’d taken out the owner’s manual and service booklet at some point during this kerfuffle, and still had those and the spare ignition key in my office.

It’s still a sad, sinking feeling that there is no longer a car to return them to. It would feel too weird to just throw them out.

I never got to say goodbye.

This story first appeared in the August 2026 issue of Wheels magazine, now on sale. Subscribe here and gain access to 12 issues for $109 plus online access to every Wheels issue since 1953.

“Take your left foot off the brake and put it on the floor, Mum.”

“Mum? Mum!”

My left foot hovers, confused, searching for the clutch. There isn’t one. My right foot freezes convinced the car is about to launch itself into the neighbour’s fence. The engine is silent, the car motionless, yet I’m certain we’re about to crash.

“It’s not going anywhere,” my son says, already regretting this. “This is a different way of driving.”
That’s when it hits me: driving used to be muscle memory. Now it’s software, and I’ve been left behind.
I’ve driven the same car for nearly 20 years: a black Toyota Yaris five-door hatchback. Manual. No screens.

No sensors. No digital assistant judging my decisions. Just a key, a clutch and muscle memory that has never let me down. I’ve never had an accident.

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Now behind the wheel of Toyota’s new C-HR GR Sport Hybrid, it feels like stepping into the next chapter of something I already trust rather than a different brand. Thankfully, my husband drove the car home from the depot in a busy traffic suburb to our quiet no-through road in a bushland town on Sydney’s western fringe.

Living in the Blue Mountains these days, I don’t drive in city traffic.

The Boy drops in to teach me how to operate a modern car. I’m terrified. I learned to drive in a manual Toyota Tarago van without power steering, stuffed with rambunctious kids and Dad calmly issuing instructions from the passenger seat. We drove everywhere: around the city, long stretches of highway, endless suburban loops designed to teach me how to tackle roundabouts, hill starts and spatial awareness. I was the first of five children to learn in that van.

By the time it finally clicked over one million kilometres and gave up, it was battered, scraped and held together mostly by habit and family memory. Naturally, Mum and Dad replaced it with another Toyota van. Then another. The last one is in our driveway being transformed into a camper.

My first car was a forest green Corolla hatchback, followed by a maroon one, a silver one and a black one. Always Corolla (other than a brief flirtation with a grey RAV4 about 20 years ago). Always manual. Always Toyota.

My current Yaris is showing its age. The fuel gauge is unreliable so I keep it filled above two pips. Apparently it’s a thing with the 2007 model, which I learned when it carked it on the highway one day. The door seals are perishing, so it stinks of mildew every time it rains. The duco has lost some of its sheen. First gear has moods. But I know that car.

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I know how much kick to give it to get up a hill. I know when I can launch into traffic and when to wait. But I trust it and, more importantly, it’s always been worthy of that trust.

It was feeling a bit sluggish recently, so we checked the oil. Who knows how long it had run on dry, but six days a week it had dutifully carted us up and down the Mountains and beyond without complaint. That’s the thing about Toyota. It has never let me down. The Yaris is like a windup toy: pull the string and it goes. The C-HR does that too. It just does a lot more of it.

“Okay, so that’s your lane assist,” The Boy explains patiently.

“What’s lane assist?”

A pause. “It keeps you in the lane.”

“I am in the lane.”

“Yeah, but it helps.”

That word keeps coming up. Helps. The car isn’t taking over; it’s backing me up. It beeps when I drift slightly. It flags cars I can’t see. It adjusts speed when traffic changes. It projects information onto the windscreen so I don’t have to glance down. At first it feels like interference. Then gradually it starts to feel like support.

“My car’s mostly mechanical,” I say.

“This is mostly electronic,” The Boy replies.

And somewhere between those two things is where modern driving now sits. Driving used to be physical. Mechanical. You felt everything through your hands and feet, even your seat. Now it’s physical and digital, instinct and information.

I always thought my attachment to manual cars was about simplicity.

But after a few days in the C-HR, I realise it’s also about familiarity. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: the C-HR reveals I’m a control freak. I don’t trust anyone but me to visually sweep a shopping centre carpark before reversing.

The reverse cameras and sensors are undeniably helpful, but I still twist around in my seat like a startled bantam chook, checking everything with my own eyes.

I passed my driving test on the first attempt in 1989 but failed the reverse parking component, a skill I still struggle with. The C-HR somehow makes reverse parking feel less like public humiliation and more like a collaborative exercise. The cameras and sensors don’t rob me of control, they widen the margins.
The deeper we get into the weekend, the more I realise I haven’t just skipped a few years of driving technology. I’ve skipped an entire era.

“Wait,” I say at one point. “The car charges itself?”

The Boy looks at me the way people look at grandparents discovering Wi-Fi. “Yes, Mum.”

The Toyota C-HR Hybrid combines a petrol engine, electric motor and regenerative braking to recharge the battery while driving. It doesn’t need plugging into a charger. The car quietly charges itself while moving.

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Mind. Blown.

“This car doesn’t really have gears?” I wonder.

“Well, not normal ones,” he says.

The C-HR uses a continuously variable transmission, or CVT, which as you more knowledgeable Wheels readers would know, smoothly blends power from the petrol engine and electric motors without traditional gear shifts.

“What does that actually mean?” I ask.

“It means you don’t have to think about gears anymore.”

That feels faintly offensive.

“All right, so Dad just discovered there’s different modes. Like Sport mode.”

The Boy presses the button with the enthusiasm of someone about to demonstrate fireworks.

“Sport mode basically unlocks how the car should be all the time,” he declares.

Immediately, the car changes character. Not in a Fast & Furious way, but definitely sharper, more alive. The steering tightens. Acceleration becomes more immediate. The car stops feeling polite and starts feeling edgy.

“What does it actually do?” I ask.

The Boy launches into an explanation involving throttle response, electric motor assistance and torque.
All I hear is: “The electric motors have an enormous amount more torque than petrol engines, and it’s instant. There’s no delay whatsoever.”

That becomes obvious almost immediately. In my Yaris, getting up Boddington Hill on the Great Western Highway below Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains requires strategy, optimism and what I can only describe as a flying start from somewhere around Bullaburra, the suburb downhill. The C-HR doesn’t flinch. I don’t have to drop a gear. My foot’s barely squeezing the accelerator. It just climbs. Quietly. Effortlessly.

“When you’re going up hills, it’s using the electric motors to push you up,” he says.

For the first time since getting into the car, I stop focusing on what I don’t understand and start noticing what I like. The confidence. The ease. The strange, slightly addictive feeling that the car is always ready before I am. The Boy casually informs me the car is all-wheel drive.

“But they won’t let us take it off-road,” I point out.

He gathers patience like a physical cloak.

“No, because it’s not a four-wheel-drive,” he says. “It’s ALL-wheel drive.”

He explains how the C-HR’s AWD system uses an electric motor to direct power to the rear wheels when extra traction or acceleration is needed, particularly on hills, corners or slippery roads.

Most of the time it behaves like a front-wheel-drive car, quietly shifting power around in the background without demanding attention. It makes the car feel planted. That confidence becomes obvious on winding mountain roads near home.

In my Yaris, overtaking requires careful planning, favourable weather and, ideally, a mild tailwind. In the C-HR, acceleration arrives instantly and smoothly.

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“The electric motors give you instant power when you need it,” The Boy says.

And that’s the thing I keep noticing about this car. It isn’t trying to intimidate me with performance – it reassures me.

There are other things I love, too. The seat adjusts itself at the push of a button – to my back and bottom. The steering wheel warms my hands on cold mountain mornings. The heated seats make me irrationally happy. I haven’t had a functioning radio in the Yaris for years and long ago resorted to a portable Bluetooth speaker rolling around on the floor. So the C-HR’s sound system seamlessly syncing podcasts, playlists and maps from my phone is luxury. The phone charging pad feels like magic. The cabin feels designed for people who actually spend time in cars.

At some point during the weekend, The Boy stops sounding exasperated and starts sounding smug.

“I knew this was going to happen,” he says as his father enthusiastically experiments with another button. “I knew you guys would eventually drive a car with all the mod cons and actually like it.”

To be fair, he’s not wrong. By this stage we’ve become oddly attached to the heated seats, the blind-spot monitoring and the reverse cameras that transform parking from a high-stakes emotional event into something almost mundane.

“You don’t need all the mod cons though, do you,” my husband argues weakly.“Most of them come standard now,” The Boy shoots back. “It’s not even that expensive anymore. If this was 2010 or the early 2000s, yeah. But now it’s just normal.”

I’m reminded of the first touchscreen mobile phone we ever bought. We stood in the kitchen stabbing uselessly at the screen with the confidence of people convinced buttons were superior technology. Now I panic if my maps app takes more than three seconds to load.

That’s the thing about technology: it arrives looking unnecessary and faintly ridiculous right up until the moment it becomes indispensable.

“So you’ve worked out the steering wheel phone system,” The Boy says over the phone one afternoon. “Where are you now?”

His father and I are excited to see him.

“We’re out the front of your place.”

We see the curtain twitch.

“Why are you parked in the street? Drive into the driveway.”

“I can’t,” I admit. “I haven’t got the hang of reverse yet.”

A pause. A sigh.

“Okay. I’ll be there in a minute.”

The Boy isn’t teaching me how to drive. He’s teaching me how to exist inside a different philosophy of driving. The old idea of driving was built around mastery. You understood the machine completely and controlled every part of it yourself.

The new idea is collaboration – the car helps, it watches, it fills in gaps and, slightly annoyingly, that can be pretty great.

At one point The Boy asks, with a sly grin: “How do you find the speedo being on the windscreen, Mum?”
Cheeky boy.

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Here’s what I’ve come to realise. I’m still a good driver – attentive, careful and experienced. I understand roads, conditions and risk. I feel the car. But now there’s help. And it turns out that’s not a bad thing.

This isn’t really a story about losing control but redefining it, about understanding that driving hasn’t been taken away. It’s been reimagined and expanded, supported in ways that make it safer, easier and, occasionally, more enjoyable.

I’ll go back to my Yaris. Of course I will. It’s familiar, predictable and mine. Toyota, after all, is still home. But I’ll get back into that little black hatchback knowing that the future of driving isn’t about replacing what I know – it’s about building on it.

And if this is what that future looks like, I’m beginning to understand why so many people have already made the switch. Even if I still check over my shoulder like a startled bird every time I reverse.

This story first appeared in the August 2026 issue of Wheels magazine, now on sale. Subscribe here and gain access to 12 issues for $109 plus online access to every Wheels issue since 1953.

You may not have heard of Chinese luxury automaker Hongqi, but you could be familiar with their cars without even knowing it.

Used as China’s state cars for official Government duties, Hongqi’s range of high-end sedans and SUVs is often seen in motorcades and parades. Soon they’ll be seen on Australian roads too.

Hongqi (pronounced hong-chi) is a brand under the umbrella of the First Auto Works Group, and would be the first passenger car brand from FAW to appeal in Australia, although the company has already established a presence here with its FAW-branded heavy trucks.

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For simplicity and ease of understanding in Australia, the brand will be marketed as HQ, rather than its domestic name, which translates to ‘red flag’. It remains to be seen if the red flag styling features of domestic models are removed for the Australian market.

Right-hand-drive products are already in production, sold in markets like Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. While the brand has a range of over passenger cars and SUVs globally, plus a Toyota Coaster-rivalling bus, in its current portfolio, just one model is expected to launch the brand.

Pitched as a rival to luxury SUVs like the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE, the E-HS9 SUV offers an all-electric drivetrain with a 548km WLTP range, 120kWh battery, 362kW dual-motor drivetrain, 5.5-second 0-100km/h acceleration, six or seven seats, and a multi-screen, leather-lined interior.

So far, the E-HS9 is the only right-hand-drive product in Hongqi’s line-up, priced from 2,990,000 Thai baht (A$128,400), positioning it as a rival to incoming large luxury SUVs like the Volvo EX90 and incoming Zeekr 9X.

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FAW has previously confirmed that, before the end of 2026, Hongqi would expand its reach to markets including the UK, Malaysia, and Australia. According to information obtained by GoAuto, the trading names HongQi Australia and HQ ANZ have been registered by Greentech Smart EV Pty Ltd, which will function as the brand’s local distributor.

While Hongqi’s domestic line-up includes petrol, electric, and PHEV across its models, including a 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 in its flagship Guoli sedan, as used by Chinese president Xi Jinping, Australian models are likely to stick with ‘new energy’ EV and PHEV powertrains.

The head of Greentech Smart EV, Jim Wu, told the Australian Financial Review that the brand would aim to offer three models here, priced in line with rivals like BMW and Mercedes-Benz but offering “more luxury”.

Despite this stance, the Rolls-Royce rivalling ultra-luxury sedans sold in the Chinese market aren’t likely to appear in export markets, with the brand focusing on higher-volume small, medium, and large SUVs, echoing its existing European line-up.

Wu said the brand’s dealership rollout included plans to have dealerships in each Australian capital city, but did not provide details on locations or timing for the brand roll-out.

There are plenty of sought-after motoring legends, cars that instantly captured hearts and minds. But for every one of those, there’s a car lurking in the shadows. For every headline act, there’s a crucial bit player.

Whether they were overshadowed by attention-hogging members of their own line-ups, outshone by competitors when new, or simply never recognised for their efforts, these are the forgotten cars from Australian showrooms that deserve cult status.

Mazda 6 MPS

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The smaller, cheaper, and arguably cooler Mazda 3 MPS got the lion’s share of attention, but the 6 MPS flew under the radar. Mazda’s internal brief for the car was to keep it subtle and understated on the outside, with an extensive powertrain overhaul that would appeal to those in the know.

Unfortunately for Mazda, the buyers it sought all went to Subaru for the same turbocharged all-wheel drive thrills, and a healthy dose of additional visual aggression lacking from the MPS. Despite this, Mazda’s gutsy 190kW/380Nm turbocharged 2.3-litre engine and ultra-responsive AWD gave the unassuming mid-size sedan true sleeper appeal.

Holden Astra VXR

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Some hot hatches, like the Volkswagen Golf GTI or Renault Megane RS, can’t escape their legendary reputation. Meanwhile, Holden’s Opel-developed Astra VXR struggled to get a look-in.

Aussies got their first taste of a true Holden hot hatch with the HSV VXR from 2006 to 2009, then it appeared in Opel showrooms as part of a disastrous one-year experiment in 2012, but after a brief hiatus the Astra VXR came to Holden dealers from 2014 to 2017 as a manual-only 206kW/400Nm terror.

Styling bordered on exotic, for the small car segment at least, and handling was incredibly sharp, with a HiPer Strut front suspension set-up that tamed torque steer and kept traction mostly in check.

Eunos 30X

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The Mazda MX-5 is a superstar of recognised desirability. Its posh coupe cousin, not so much. The Eunos 30X was a compact two-door from Mazda’s premium arm in the 1990s with one neat trick up its sleeve: Australia’s smallest V6.

At 1.8 litres, the 30X was even smaller than the 2.0-litre V6 in the 323 from the same era. Power was a modest 99kW, which sounds light by modern standards, but was appreciably better than the 85kW from a similar-era 1.8-litre four-cylinder Corolla.

Sadly, the 30X didn’t share the MX-5’s rear-wheel drive chassis, but it still had pin-sharp handling, absolutely loved the top end of its rev range, and the sound alone made up for any lack of power.

Ford Mondeo XR5 Turbo

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Ford dropped a version of Volvo’s turbocharged inline five-cylinder engine into the Focus and created a legend. They also did the same thing to the Mondeo, and it almost went unnoticed.

The Mondeo XR5 Turbo is about as unassuming a vehicle as you’ll find. No loud colours, no boy racer body kits. It’s a medium-size car, so it offers more back-seat and boot space than a Focus, and in standard guise, it’s a more comfortable way to ride out lumpy urban tarmac.

Today, secondhand values see the two draw almost level, and while it’s a little heavier and slower, the Mondeo is not far off the pace – not to mention the fact it’s got an almost supercar soundtrack with the right exhaust.

Porsche 944

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The Instagram era has made a good Boxster almost untouchable, and the 911’s popularity fuels its own fire. The 944, on the other hand, often gets overlooked, but is absolutely worthy of attention.

It lacks some ‘Porsche-ness’ with its front-engine layout, but the marque gave it near-perfect 50:50 weight balance, the engines and transmissions have stood up well over the years, and the handling was developed by Porsche. Never mind the horsepower numbers, drive it by feel.

The 944, although a little unlike the rest of the Porsche range, also has the very on-trend pop-up headlight thing going for it. Later versions get you some worthwhile interior upgrades and feel a bit more contemporary.

Nissan Pulsar ET

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In the mid-1980s, Japan was just starting its turbocharged experiment, still a little exotic and a little mysterious. Not the kind of thing you’d expect to liven up an unassuming hatchback like the Nissan Pulsar.

The N12-generation Pulsar turbo is an easily missed notch in Australia’s motoring history. It was locally developed, albeit from a cache of Nissan global parts, with a lot of work put into making handling sharper, braking stronger, and torque-steer tamer.

The politically correct term for how the Pulsar ET feels on the road would be ‘connected’ but, perhaps more accurately, and against rivals like the Laser TX3, ‘unrefined’ also fits the bill. As a cheap, light, and flexible starting point, though, it offers plenty of potential.

Saab 9000

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Australians seemed to miss the message, but some parts of the world understood the Saab thing pretty well. Forget Top Gear’s claim that to be a true petrolhead, you need an Alfa Romeo. Peak automotive-nerdom comes with a Saab.

Honestly, all of the company’s products are good, but the ‘90s-era 9000 offers rock-solid build quality, immersive interior comfort, and turbocharged performance that’s smooth and vigorous, rather than uncouth or outrageous.

No, the 9000 isn’t the best choice for anyone seeking corner-threading thrills or running regular quarter miles. It’s a different kind of automotive appreciation. Just ask a Saab owner.

HSV SV6000

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The VN-based SV5000 is one of HSV’s legendary foundation models, but 16 years later the Z-Series SV6000 didn’t hit quite the same high note. It’s rarer than the SV5000, and a stellar example of HSV’s attempts to integrate tech to the benefit of performance.

Ultimately, the 297kW 6.0-litre V8 was the same as you’d find in a Clubsport R8. The difference, for the special edition, was the inclusion of HSV Dynamic Driver Interface, touted as a world-first.

What you got was a GPS-enabled Dell personal digital assistant (PDA) that let you ‘record’ performance data for later analysis. Think oil and coolant temps, throttle position and anything else that had an in-car sensor. The setup was an early precursor to the integrated Enhanced Drive Interface that appeared in the later Gen-F2 HSV range.

HSV promised 50 of the limited-edition model, with the potential to expand to 100 if buyer interest was there. With no mention of a production extension, we can assume it was not. Finding one today – with a working DDI – would be something of a flex over your Clubsport and Senator-owning mates.