New data from J.D. Power [↗] has revealed public electric vehicle charging satisfaction is declining in the United States, despite a growing number of stations.

The research firm’s latest annual electric vehicle experience public charging survey found satisfaction with ‘Level 3’ fast DC public charging stations dropped by 20 points (654 out of 1000), while ‘Level 2’ slow AC units decreased by 16 points (617).

Reinforcing its long-standing reputation for reliability and ease-of-use, EV owners were most satisfied with the Tesla Supercharging network (739), though slower Tesla Destination AC units (661) closely trailed behind Volta (665).

Other DC networks were at least 100 points lower in customer satisfaction, including ChargePoint, EVgo and Volkswagen’s subsidiary, Electrify America.

The study also found that 20 per cent of users have visited a charger – but did not charge their vehicle due to out-of-order stations or long waiting queues.

When owners plug in at a DC fast charging station, they usually took around 30 minutes – in line with best-practice etiquette.

The study was conducted in collaboration with public charging finder platform Plugshare from January to June 2023, and included 15,079 respondents who owned a pure electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

Will public EV charging improve?

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Many major car manufacturers in North America are adopting Tesla’s connector standard, such as General Motors, Ford and Rivian, but it’ll roll out from around 2025.

Despite Tesla opening up some of its sites to all EV models via a ‘Magic Dock’ adapter, the adoption of the company’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) in non-Tesla EVs aims to take advantage of the widespread and reputable Supercharging and Destination network.

The plug is also more compact and lighter, too.

Additionally, seven major automakers have partnered to establish a new charging network in North America – similar to Europe’s Ionity – while Mercedes-Benz has also committed to launching its own network for all vehicles globally, starting in the continent.

In Australia, there are more than 370 charging locations – and that number is rapidly expanding.

Organisations such as the RAA in South Australia, Synergy and Horizon Power in Western Australia, and the NRMA in collaboration with the federal government have committed to roll out more public charging infrastructure to fill underserved areas across the nation.

A number of providers are also installing newer modular stations from manufacturers such as Tritium, Kempower and ABB, with some even upgrading and replacing older, less reliable first-generation units.

The most ideal, convenient and cheapest way to recharge an EV is at home, but for some, this isn’t possible if there is no power access.

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The 2023 Mazda CX-3 continues to capture attention in the light SUV segment, blending Mazda’s signature KODO design with a driver-centric experience.

Based off the Mazda 2, the CX-3 builds a compelling case for buyers to consider a higher ride height of a small SUV.

As a fusion of style, technology, and spirited performance, the CX-3 is a testament to Mazda’s commitment to crafting vehicles that evoke emotion and excitement.

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Pricing and Features

Starting at a slightly higher price point than key South Korean competitors, the Mazda CX-3 offers a range of trims to cater to various preferences.

Back in 2015, the CX-3 was one of the first models to reveal Mazda’s current design language which has kept it looking appealing over the years.

Throughout the years it has had small tweaks to maintain its position –including this significant update in 2023 – adding safety technology and changing to an exclusive front-drive focused lineup, all linked to the same 2.0L ‘G20’ engine with 110kW and 195Nm.

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Even at the base level, buyers are treated to Mazda’s MZD Connect infotainment system, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a suite of safety features.

All prices below are before on-road costs.

Features

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Safety

Mazda CX-3 vehicles built from 1 January 2023 are currently unrated, but a five-star ANCAP safety rating applies to Mazda CX-3 vehicles built prior.

It is unconfirmed whether the CX-3 will be re-rated but as other key Mazda models have received a five-star rating with the same suite of safety features such adaptive front lighting, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and smart brake support, it’s a safe package overall to consider.

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Key Rivals

The CX-3 competes against other high selling small and light SUVS like:

• Hyundai Venue
• Kia Stonic
• Toyota Yaris Cross

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Should I Put It On My Shortlist?

The 2023 Mazda CX-3 is a compelling proposition for those seeking greater functionality than just a small car.

With its captivating design, driver-focused performance, and a plethora of features, the CX-3 is a compelling proposition, bordering on a luxury offering– but coming with a price-tag in parallel.

Whether you’re navigating through city streets or cruising on open roads, the CX-3 will a journey you’ll look forward to.

The 2023 Kia EV6 heralds the South Korean automaker’s first stride into battery-electric vehicles. The EV6 is a futuristic-looking crossover and a pioneer ahead of the arrival of upcoming EV9.

Crowned 2022 Wheels Car of the Year, the EV6 combines performance, style, and technology in a package that’s eco-friendly, exhilarating to drive and luxurious.

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Pricing and Features

Starting at $72,590 excluding on-roads, the Kia EV6 offers a range of trims that cater to varying needs and budgets: Air, GT-Line RWD, GT-Line AWD and the flagship GT.

Adding on-road charges and based on a Melbourne postcode, the Air can be purchased for around $78,585.

All grades hold the same 77.4kWh battery, which will produce 160kW and 250Nm for the Air.

A dual motor in the GT-line AWD will increase outputs to 239kW and 605Nm.

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Picking the entry-level Air will get you 19-inch alloy wheels, 528km of range, adaptive cruise control and a 6-speaker audio system.

You’ll also grab LED daytime running lights, headlights and tail-lights, five USB ports (three up front and two in the back) and a wireless phone charger.

The dual curved 12.3-inch displays signature to premium Kia models offers a futuristic and clean appearance often found in more premium vehicles.

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In order to pick up additional luxury such as a head-up display, privacy glass, eight-way electrically adjustable seats, , heated and ventilated seats, sunroof, heated steering wheel, powered tailgate and ambient lighting is all available in higher grades.

Matte ‘Moonscape’ grey paint is available for an extra $3,295 on all grades besides the Air. Runway Red is the only no-cost paint option across the range with all other paints costing $520.

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Safety

Standard features encompass a suite of driver assistance technologies, including forward collision-avoidance assist, lane-keeping assist, and blind-spot collision warning, rear cross-traffic collision-avoidance assist and parking collision avoidance.

Pair all of that with Kia’s 7-year warranty and you’re looking at a pretty compelling reason to go electric.

The entry-grade Air misses out on blind spot monitor, safe exit assist, 360-degree camera and a couple of other safety specs however the EV6 range (except the GT) received a 5-star ANCAP rating, with a 90% score for Adult Occupant Protection.

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Key Rivals

The EV6 squares off against electric competitors such as:

• Tesla Model Y
• Ford Mustang Mach-E
• Polestar 2

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Should I Put It On My Shortlist?

The 2023 Kia EV6 Air is more than just an electric vehicle; it’s a statement of intent from Kia.

If you’re looking to embrace the electric future without compromising on performance or features, the EV6 is a formidable contender.

It’s also super sexy.

I almost miss it at first. Parked up on the side of the road, the Type R’s engine ticking and pinging as it cools, I lean against the door and settle in for the Porsche to arrive.

It’s early in the mountains, the roads freshly washed by rain, and the cold valley below is cloaked in mist that sparkles as it catches the first rays of sun.

Sound carries out here but it’s still a few minutes before I catch it. The shriek of six cylinders is soft to begin with, its metallic harmony rising and falling as it ranges in and out of earshot, making it tricky to gauge its distance.

Then, suddenly, it swoops into focus, a flash of red that glints in the sun. It screams as it rips past; he’s missed our meeting place, the black edge of the Cayman’s huge rear wing cleaving the thin morning air as it whips around the next bend, but I don’t mind.

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A 718 Cayman armed with the same 4.0-litre flat six as the mighty GT3? This is the car we thought Porsche would never make

It’s a few kays until he can turn around and I can hear every application of the throttle, every staccato downshift, every rush of revs as it soars towards 9000rpm. A 718 Cayman armed with the same 4.0-litre flat-six as the mighty GT3? This is the car we never thought Porsche would make.

When he eventually returns, former Wheels editor Dylan Campbell is grinning like a kid who’s hijacked Santa’s sleigh. It’s easy to see why. Cuts quite a figure, this GT4 RS, doesn’t it? All jutting front splitter, expensive-looking carbon gills and enormous swan-necked rear wing.

It’s a visual riot, the kind of car you make involuntary sounds around as you find yet another fiendishly complex detail to gawk over. It makes the Civic I’ve brought along suddenly feel a sniff plain…

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Now devoid of the attention-seeking flics, wings and haphazard character lines that defined its predecessor, the fresh FL5 Type R is the very image of newfound restraint.

Still looks tough, mind, and the white paint of our particular car highlights its aggro stance, flashy red seats and tasteful aero additions nicely. The best hot hatch of 2023? You’re looking at it.

But what, you must be thinking, does a $72,000 hatchback have to do with a $312,000 Porsche? Allow us to explain. This issue is all about pitching new contenders against our segment benchmarks and in the performance car world, few fresh additions have impressed us as much as the seventh-generation Type R.

As for our yardstick in the attainable (we won’t say affordable) end of the performance car world? It’s long been the 718 Cayman. But why drag along an entry-level four-cylinder model when the zenith of the range has just arrived in the country?

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It’s undoubtedly sketchy logic but stay with us because while this pair is unlikely to be cross-shopped, they have more in common than you might think.

Both put the driver squarely and resolutely first. Both are wonderfully analog.

And when we drove the new Type R for the first time, we felt there was more than a whiff of Porsche DNA in how it steered, handled and stopped. So this is our chance to tease out those similarities and to put the law of diminishing returns under the microscope. Can a GT4 RS really be worth five Type Rs?

To achieve all this, we need a road. And we’ve chosen a doozy. The Great Alpine Road is Australia’s highest year-round accessible sealed road and it’s a treasure trove of hairpins, sweepers and smooth tarmac, complimented by a sensibly high speed limit.

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Our target is the serpentine stretch from Harrietville to Danny’s Lookout which, although a three-hour schlep from our current spot, might just be the best section of sinuous tarmac in the country.

But first, time to try the Porsche. Good lord. If I thought it sounded savage from the outside that’s nothing to the eardrum-popping theatrics you get from the driver’s seat. Loud? A rock concert is loud. This is like wedging yourself inside Spinal Tap’s amplifier just as it’s wound around to 11.

The key to the feral acoustics are the twin air inlets mounted where the rear quarter glass normally is. These carbon monkey ears feed air directly into the top of the flat-six and with no glass separating the cabin from the engine bay, the result is one of the loudest and aurally engaging road cars we’ve ever driven.

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It chunters at idle, the 4.0-litre flat-six vibrating and tinkling metallically – and then, at full noise, it S C R E A M S.

My first run into the valley is exploratory but it’s not long before I start to dive into the engine’s upper reaches. At 7000rpm the sonic assault is so surprising that I fill the cabin with a riot of spontaneous swearing.

By 8000rpm I’m shifting up early, mostly because there is so much noise and vibration that it feels as though the engine is bolted directly to my spine, but also because it seems genuinely naughty to go all the way to the 9000rpm redline. As though, in doing so, I’d be harming the engine’s exotic titanium internals.

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It’s just so… momentous. Think modern performance cars are too heavy, too complex and too choked by emissions regs? Have a go in one of these. It has the emotional connection dialled.

To regain my composure, I swap into the Civic. Its soundtrack can’t match the Cayman’s deep-lunged orchestra (no surprises there) but the Type R’s charm is equally bewitching.

It just nails the fundamentals. The seating position, although comparably high after the Porsche’s low-slung fixed-back bucket, is spot-on.

Lovely seat, too. And then there are the ergonomics. The location of the metal shifter is only an outstretched hand from the Alcantara-clad steering wheel, the weighting of the short-throw lever is perfect, there’s no slack in the steering, the brakes breed confidence. It’s mega.

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The Type R piles on its power with such energetic potency that it feels decidedly more lusty than the claimed 235kW

Strong engine, too. The 2.0-litre turbo-petrol is an evolution of the K20C1 fitted to the previous Type R but Honda’s engineers have redesigned the turbo and worked hard to dispense with as much inertia as possible to make it feel livelier, more eager.

There are fewer turbine blades, the crankshaft is lighter, the intake has been redesigned, and once past 3000rpm, the Type R piles on its power with such energetic potency that it feels decidedly more lusty than the claimed 235kW.

The Honda’s also the obvious pick for the long highway leg from Melbourne to Bright. Its seats are more forgiving, the ride on its 19in alloys is more compliant and after the claustrophobic and singularly focused cabin of the Cayman, it’s less taxing to eat up the miles in.

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Both of these cars are loud – tyre and road noise are the unavoidable trade-offs of focused rubber and meagre sound deadening – but it’s the Honda that does the better job of keeping you feeling fresh after a lengthy stint behind the wheel.

It’s not long before I’m itching for another crack in the Cayman, though. After Bright, the Great Alpine Road gradually gathers steam but it’s only when you exit Harrietville that it turns suddenly and savagely twisty. The Porsche devours it.

Thick with hairpins and short, third-gear sweepers that offer excellent sight lines, the GT4 RS races up the road, it sense of connection and composure goading me to brake later, to turn harder, to accelerate earlier.

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There’s no short-shifting this time around. Inadvertently I’ve left my window down and the first time I run the 4.0-litre unit right to the redline the noise ricochets back so violently off the nearby rock face that it’s actually painful. Worth it, though.

If it’s orchestral lower in the rev range then the 4.0-litre takes on an almost unhinged metallic edge as it rips and soars between 8000 and 9000rpm.

What a wonder this engine is. Nicked directly from the GT3 the only changes required to fit the unit into the Cayman were the need to rotate the throttle bodies through 90 degrees and for the exhaust to take a more circuitous route to circumvent the 718’s rear driveshafts and diffuser.

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The latter change is the reason the GT4 RS makes 7kW/20Nm less than the GT3 but short gearing for the Cayman’s seven-speed PDK mean the pair’s 0-100km/h sprints are identical at 3.4 seconds.

As for that other arbiter of speed, the Nürburgring, the GT4 RS is just 9.4 seconds slower than a GT3 and a whopping 23.6 seconds quicker than the standard Cayman GT4. That’s an eternity at the ’Ring.

The shorter gear ratios makes an enormous difference. The last car I drove on this road was a manual Cayman GT4 and its infamously long ratios meant this entire stretch of road was driven solely in second gear.

The RS is noticeably more urgent, its extra grunt and punchier ratios (top of second is now around 110km/h instead of 140) meaning I have the full use of second and third this time around.

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Did I find myself longing for the tactility of a manual ’box? Not once.

Porsche makes the best dual-clutch gearboxes in the world and the way the GT4 RS wallops home up-shifts and bangs through downshifts – the latter combined with an audible hiss of air that sounds like a GT3 car’s pneumatic actuator – is deeply addictive.

In fact, this engine and PDK-combo is such an event that is almost overshadows the chassis. Almost.

The transformation from regular GT4 to RS is extensive. Specific spring and damper rates, bigger brakes, thinner rear glass, stainless steel exhaust, more aero addenda than an F16 fighter jet and, of course, a strict weight saving regime that, thanks mostly to the extensive use of carbon-reinforced plastic for the bonnet, front quarter panels, rear wing and side air takes, makes the RS 35kg lighter than a PDK-equipped GT4.

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Our car also has the optional, and wincingly expensive, Weissach Pack fitted which shaves away even more kilograms by using titanium for the roll cage and exhaust tips and adding even more exposed carbon on the bonnet.

The corners come thick and fast as we climb towards Hotham but the GT4 RS bats them away with such disdain that it’s quickly apparent I’m the weak link in this scenario. Time to lift my game. I shimmy my hips lower into the carbon seat, nestle my thumbs deeper into the nips of the perfectly sized steering wheel and strive to be fast, smooth and accurate.

What follows are 30 of the most momentous minutes of my driving life. The Cayman, as if sensing my mental shift, quickly settles into an eager rhythm.

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Balance and accuracy are the overriding sensations as I lean on the chassis more and more, my confidence spiking as I discover an almost telepathic connection through the key controls.

Grip, poise, an innate sense of where the limit is, that you’re somehow enmeshed in the car… it’s all there in spades.

Our car is fitted with Pirelli P Zero rubber, not the grippier Michelin Cup 2 tyres that are available as an option, but my fear the Pirellis might make the GT4 RS feel under-tyred doesn’t arrive. With some heat in them, the P Zeros feels more like four gelatinous globs of chewing gum than all-weather summer tyres. This is joyous.

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And then, suddenly, it’s over.

I burst out of the trees to our meeting place at Damm Hut so abruptly that I realise I had tunnel vision, my focus so keyed into the sensation of driving that I’d completely filtered out my surroundings. Yeah, this car is like that.

Waiting for the Honda to arrive gives me pause to drink in the view. At 1861m above sea level Mount Hotham isn’t Australia’s highest mountain (that honour goes to the 2228m Mt Kosciuszko) but here, with a weak sun shining and the rippling mountain ranges stacked in the distance like overlapping pieces of indigo cardboard, it’s hard to shake the sense that we’re perched near the nation’s ceiling.

Dylan’s not far behind in the Type R and as he emerges, his grin is back. “I love this car!” he enthuses. “It has so much depth; so many layers. You give it an input and it just says ‘what else you got?’”. Sounds familiar.

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While their RWD vs FWD layouts require different driving styles, both cars demand that you’re on your game in order to extract their best

We spend the next few hours dicing, me in the Honda and Dylan in the Porsche as photographer Dewar blasts away with her Canon.

Driving doesn’t get much better than this, I decide, as I hurl the Civic at yet another deeply cambered corner and shake my head at the similarities between this pair.

The steering could be a product of the same department, so positive are they off centre, so natural in how they gain weight. The connection and confidence you get through the brake pedal is eerily similar, too, but it’s the singularity of focus that ties these cars together the most.

They reward a driver who values accuracy and precision and while their RWD vs FWD layouts require different driving styles, both cars almost demand that you’re on your game in order to extract their best. I like that.

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Eventually it’s the weather the curtails our fun. The clouds are quickly closing in and they rise up like giant white waves that break over the top of the road before whisking away into the valley below.

We’re soon enveloped in thick fog, the whiteout dashing a crestfallen Dewar’s hopes of a speccy sunset shot. Me? I’m buzzing. And we’re only halfway through our two-day trip. Nice.

Day two, though, isn’t wet, it’s biblical. Our plan is to head back to Melbourne via the Mansfield-Whitfield road, which is faster and more open than the run up to Hotham, but the weather isn’t playing ball. If this was F1, they’d red flag it. Impromptu rivers run obliquely across the road and the deluge is so heavy that Dewar is soon soaked to the skin after she unwisely decides to nab some cornering shots.

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The rain does provide one useful insight, however. You can see, plain as day, just how hard the Cayman works the air over its melange of wings, gills and aero rakes.

Porsche says the RS makes 25 percent more downforce than a regular GT4, and it sends huge plumes of spray into the ether, the low nose vacuuming up the water before dumping it, spectacularly, through the rear diffuser and over that enormous rear wing.

Doubt we’re reaping much reward from the downforce today, though. The Porsche is proving to be tricky to trust on a wet road. Gone is yesterday’s telepathic sense of where the grip level is and it’s hard to know if you’re belting along at nine tenths or are embarrassingly below the car’s limit.

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Mostly it feels like the latter but then you’ll hit a puddle or a bump in a braking zone and the nose will wash wide so alarmingly that part of the seat base disappears into your backside.

The suspension isn’t helping. Yesterday, on Hotham’s smooth alpine tarmac, I’d pegged the RS’s ride as being firm but beautifully damped but here, on a choppier road littered with bumps and potholes, it’s verging on unyielding.

The damping is still superb, especially at speed, but there’s so little travel in the springs that the tyres skip over bumps, the rears occasionally bucking free and spinning up when they land. I shudder to think what it’d feel like on Cup 2 rubber.

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Bravely, I switch to the Honda. This is more like it. After three corners I’m convinced the Honda is actually the quicker car in these conditions, at least in my hands.

Part of that is the risk/reward ratio of hurling a $300k Porsche down an Armco-lined road but the Honda oozes confidence, even in the wet.

It does a better job of keeping its wheels in contact with the road, too, and there’s so much grip and confidence from the front Michelins that you can pile into turns at obscene speeds and then use the throttle to trim your line or drag you out the other side.

It’s locked down, razor sharp and responsive, the diff and clever dual-axle front suspension combining to quell torque steer and corruption, the multi-link rear end following the nose into bends with reassuring steadfastness. It’s a hoot.

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With the twisty roads behind us, the cruise into Melbourne gives me time to reflect. Was it folly to pitch these two cars together? Absolutely not.

For all their differences in price and layout, the philosophy of this pair is remarkably similar. Both are crushingly quick and rewarding but they also have layers.

A complete novice could jump into either and have their brain fried but there’s so much dynamic depth here that properly talented drivers will spend years enjoying them.

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So is there a winner?

Definitely. It’s all of us.

That we still have cars that speak to the thrill of driving in such an analogue way is joyous. We need to savour them. It’s a finality you can almost sense in the cars.

They feel like the pinnacle of their respective niches, with the Cayman in particular seeming like a car Porsche wanted to make while it still could. Soon the recipe of what makes these machines so memorable will change and while the future will undoubtedly be exciting, will it speak to us in the same way?

I guess, in some ways, that makes us all losers too.

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In the cabin: Cayman GT4 RS

Entire cabin feels like it’s made of three ingredients: carbon, leather and Alcantara.

Build quality is bomb proof, ergonomics pretty much perfect. Storage is at a premium, though.

Lightweight fixed-back bucket seats look like torture devices but are comfortable enough to sit in all day. Racing harness part of the Clubsport pack, which is a no-cost option. Apple CarPlay is standard but there’s no Android Auto.

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In the cabin: Civic Type R

FL5 is the biggest Type R yet but still only has seats for four.

Cabin storage is plentiful, digital instruments/centre touchscreen are clear and easy to navigate.

Type R’s red buckets rival the Porsche for support but take the win for comfort thanks to their additional padding. Cabin is a tactile delight. Wheel is thin-rimmed and trimmed in suede. Metal gear stick is perfectly placed, as are the metal pedals for those who enjoy a bit of heel-and-toe.

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The midsized Genesis GV70 and large Genesis GV80 SUVs are now $2000 more expensive for the 2024 model year, and buyers have lost a couple of powertrain options.

From the 2024 Genesis GV70 range, Hyundai’s luxury arm has dropped the 2.2-litre diesel option, leaving the 224kW/422Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder and 279kW/520Nm 3.5-litre turbo six-cylinder turbo petrol engines.

Buyers of the big Genesis GV80 will lose the option of a 2.5-litre turbo petrol engine at the entry end, which means there is also no longer a rear-wheel-drive or five-seat option. This change also means the GV80’s starting price is $105,700 before on-road costs for the – up from the $90,670 of the now deleted 2.5T RWD variant.

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Forking out the extra $15k at least sees buyers upgraded to a 204kW/588Nm 3.0-litre diesel with all-wheel drive and the choice of six or seven seats. The 3.5-litre turbo petrol engine remains an option, too, priced from $110,200.

Existing orders of the now removed variants will be fulfilled.

According to the brand’s local team, the 2.2 diesel and 2.5 turbo petrol engines were the least popular in the two lines, with the 2.2D making up “less than 5%” of GV70 sales and the 2.5T “around 25% of GV80 sales”.

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The $2000 bump on remaining models is said to be a result of increased manufacturing and transport costs – a common tale across many industries at the moment, with some even struggling to secure transport at all, and one brand taking out an exclusive lease on a vehicle carrier just to meet market demand.

There are no changes to the equipment list and specification of the MY24 GV70 and GV80 lines. See our earlier pricing stories, and reviews, at the links below.

The Genesis Electrified GV70 remains available, and unaffected by these MY24 price changes.

Year-to-date sales: Medium SUVs over $70,000

Year-to-date sales: Large SUVs over $70,000

Everyone loves a Subaru Brumby, right? Well chances are you’ve never seen one quite like this.

Meet ‘Gold Brumby’, a 1990 Subaru Brumby that’s powered by a WRX engine, has 30-inch tyres and uses purpose-built suspension (with Porsche CV joints!) to rocket over rough terrain and launch into low-earth orbit over jumps.

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Built by Aussie off-road racers, the Zlotkowskis, Gold Brumby is a proper family affair: Stuart Zlotkowski does the driving, his younger brother Jim is the navigator and Adam runs the crew’s social media.

Which is where we first came across Gold Brumby: footage of Stuart and Jim hooning over a series of whoops, their Brumby’s nose and tail bobbing wildly at speed, was recently shared on the Hoonigan Industries Instagram. Check out the footage here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv8n3LqRi0-

Yep, that’s Ken Block’s Hoonigan Industries‘ Instagram page. Game respects game, after all.

Keen to learn more about Gold Brumby, we reached out to the Zlotkowskis – and this is what Adam came back with:

“Settlement Creek Racing is a family team competing in the Mickey Thompson ARB QLD Off-Road Racing Championship in 2023. We race in the Wild 4WD class, otherwise known as Class 8, which is for heavily modified 4WD production car based vehicles.

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“Our car is a 1990 Subaru Brumby with a full roll-cage and substantial reinforcing. The engine, running gear and brakes came from a WRX STI. We’ve lowered the gearing to suit 30-inch tyres and added a dry sump.

“We now run Porsche CV joints with custom flanges and axles supplied by PJs Offroad. The suspension was all custom-made by us, with shocks supplied by MCA Suspension.”

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A full roll-cage, WRX running gear and bespoke suspension? Told you Gold Brumby was serious bit of kit.

It’s also an experienced racer, having tackled the iconic Finke Desert Race eight times. The Zlotkowskis are leading the 2023 QLD off-road championship with two events remaining. Go you good things!

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So where does Gold Brumby stack up in the pantheon of wild Brumbies?

There are plenty out there, of course. ‘Drag Brumby’ is another Aussie creation that runs sevens at the strip and the Mighty Car Mods crew is also restoring a Brumby that will be raffled off to raise funds for the Australian Road Safety Foundation.

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Daredevil racer and Hoonigan member Travis Pastrana also has a personal Subaru Brat build – Brat is how Subaru marketed the Brumby Stateside – though his is a Brumby in spirit only. Underneath Pastrana’s ‘Brat’ is a C5 Chevy Corvette with a custom LS V8.

Have we missed any? Let the wild Subaru Brumby appreciation begin in the comments!

The first examples of Ford’s imminent Mustang GT coupe and Mach-E electric SUV have touched down in Australia, months ahead of their local launches – with a pair of pre-production vehicles unveiled in public over the weekend.

Revealed at the popular Highball Cars & Coffee event in Melbourne’s east, the pair joined hundreds of rare and desirable cars at the informal event at Bosch Australia’s headquarters.

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While both models were driven to the event and are right-hand drive, the cars are not early customer vehicles but part of a pre-production first-fleet that wouldn’t normally see the light of day outside Ford’s premises until after their official launch.

However, Ford Australia product communications manager Ben Nightingale said its first electric vehicle the Mustang Mach-E and the S650-generation Mustang were special enough to warrant a different approach for their introduction.

“Ordinarily these wouldn’t be seen out in public,” he said. “We decide to change it up because we really want to engage directly with our customers and this is a great way to do it.”

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Not all Ford models would justify a celebrity appearance at one of the country’s biggest cars-and-coffee gatherings, said Nightingale, but such a high concentration of motor heads made the event an obvious choice for an unorthodox activation.

“We know that the demand’s there, the passion is there – they’re enthusiast vehicles and Highball is an enthusiast event, so it just makes sense.”

“We’ve parked near some modified sixth-gen Mustangs, so there’s some knowledge there already and it’s great to see people taking notice.”

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When will the new Mustang coupe and Mustang Mach-E EV go on sale in Australia?

Neither model is due on sale in Australia for many months.

Nightingale confirmed the Mustang Mach-E is expected in the final quarter of 2023, while the seventh-generation Mustang is even further down the line with a launch planned for the first quarter of 2024.

The previous-generation Mustang is now in runout and orders are only being taken from Australian customers for the new version, and the appearance of the pair of show-cars is an unusual part of an otherwise normal introduction process.

“We always bring out ‘PP’ or Pre-Production units [to Australia], and it’s usually for our team internally to have a good look at them and do some evaluation drives, spec checks – those kind of things. This is the final phase before we switch into production mode.”

While Nightingale couldn’t reveal exact numbers for Mustang and Mach-E orders, he did confirm that demand was as “strong” as expected and Australia had secured the supply to meet it.

“This is the final phase before we switch into production mode.”

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“We’re really pleased with how demand is travelling for both models. We’re in the ‘phase-down’ for sixth-gen because seventh-gen is in production now. Orders are flowing into that bank now and things are looking great.

“We’ve got good supply and if a customer wants to place an order they can go in to place an order – there’s no ballot system. They’re going to be able to get the car they want.

“With Mach-E, we didn’t want to run the model of some of our rivals where they’re coming in very small numbers and you have to do lotteries. Our first production Mach-Es will arrive next month.”

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Ford will offer the Mustang Mach-E in three different varieties, including an entry level rear-wheel-drive Select priced form $79,990, a mid-range Premium with bigger battery and more performance for $91,665, while the all-wheel drive GT forms the flagship for $107,665.

With a launch planned further out, Ford has not yet confirmed which of the more traditional Mustangs will be offered in Australia – but the carmaker has already revealed three powertrain options in both coupe and convertible bodies, along with manual and automatic transmissions.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CwJDefiBb_P/

Taking a leaf out of the book of Porsche 911, Mercedes-AMG has developed the 2024 AMG GT with all-wheel drive and four occupants in mind – but don’t worry, it hasn’t gone totally soft.

This could be the last new AMG to use the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 without significant electric augmentation. And, much like the related SL, the two-door GT coupe is available in two states of tune – the 350kW AMG 55 kicks things off, and the flagship AMG 63 produces 430kW and 800Nm.

With stress-easing AWD, a four-wheel interlinked suspension system that’s designed to better balance comfort and performance as well as much bigger physical dimensions, the new GT is a more grown-up sports car than the one it replaces.

Expect a similar development path to the previous AMG GT with more focused R, Black Series, and GT R Pro models likely to emerge later with a target on chopping Nordschleife lap times.

The new AMG GT is nearly 300kg heavier than the car it replaced

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How big is the new AMG GT?

First things first, the new SL-based AMG GT is a far larger car than the one it replaces.

Measuring 4728mm tip-to-tail, the new car is 184mm longer than the two-seat GT and rides on a 70mm longer wheelbase. It’s also slightly narrower (1984mm) and a lot taller (1354mm plays 1284mm).

All this is great for occupant and cargo space (which is now a competitive 321L with the rear seats in place, or 675L with them folded), but not for weight.

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Despite employing a combination of aluminium, steel, magnesium, and fibre composite materials in its construction, the GT can’t escape its size. It’s nearly 300kg heavier than the old AMG GT, weighing 1970kg (EU kerb weight).

To deal with that increase in weight, AMG has had to be clever with its chassis. Both axles use a five-link independent design, rather than the typical double wishbone or struts you’d see up front in this kind of vehicle.

Forged aluminium parts are used in the suspension components, and there’s some clever anti-roll bar trickery going on. Each damper is connected hydraulically, and instead of using fixed sway bars, the AMG GT can disperse oil between dampers to adjust roll characteristics.

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This means that, when heavily loaded in a bend, the outside dampers can be more resistant to compression to reduce roll.

When on the straigt and narrow, the oil flows back to the reservoir and allows greater independence for each wheel increasing compliance on bumpy roads. It’s a clever way of retaining lighter steel coil springs with their consistent feel without sacrificing long-haul comfort.

Four-wheel steering, 390mm steel brake discs clamped by six-piston front calipers and adaptive dampers with six distinct drive modes finish off the AMG GT’s chassis.

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V8 engines all around… for now

Under the AMG GT’s bonnet is the familiar M178 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 – without any plug-in hybrid gubbins.

Hand-built in Affalterbach under AMG’s ‘one man one engine’ philosophy, it’s been tweaked for its life in the latest AMG GT.

A new oil pan, redesigned crankcase ventilation, repositioned intercooler, optimised inlet and outlet ports join a revised exhaust path and larger petrol particulate filter all contribute to an engine that produces its grunt in a more efficient way with lower CO2 outputs.

Mercedes-AMG has previously said it is considering electrification for the new AMG GT, but at launch it will be all petrol-fueled V8s.

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Compared to the AMG GT S, the Mercedes team has upped the 63’s torque by 130Nm and brought power in line with the previous GT R model (430kW). The lower-tune AMG 55 produces still-healthy 350kW/700Nm outputs.

Combined with AMG’s 4Matic+ AWD system and nine-speed automatic transmission that now features a wet clutch instead of a torque converter (like Mazda’s latest autos), the new car can hit 100km/h six tenths faster at 3.2 seconds.

The greater size means it can’t achieve such a high top speed, however, with Mercedes-AMG claiming a V-Max of 295km/h – 15km/h adrift of the old car.

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Pricing and Australian availability

The AMG GT is confirmed for Australian shores, but when and how much is yet to be detailed. Expect the flagship to sit in a similar price bracket to the AMG SL 63 ($374,900) as a rival for the Porsche 911 GTS ($355,200).

Rimac zaps the Nürburgring Nordschleife EV lap record.

Croatian electric hypercar maker Rimac has smashed the Nordschleife EV lap record by 20 seconds with its quad-motor Nevera.

Completing a tour in a blisteringly quick 7:05.298 for a full lap (or 7:00.928 on the shorter Sport Auto measure), the Nevera easily dispatched the Tesla Model S Plaid (7:25.231) for top EV honours.

Make sure to watch the video above to see how the Nevera’s brutal thrust pushes the EV to a new record time.

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The Nevera – which will be a 1-of-12 record-breaking limited edition – was wearing street-legal Michelin Cup2R tyres and, as a package, is fully Tüv-approved (that’s Germany’s very strict version of a ‘roadworthy’).

With whopping outputs of 1400kW/2360Nm courtesy of four electric motors, the Nevera reached 350km/h on the Dottinger Höhe with Croatian racing driver, Martin Kodrić, at the helm. It could have gone faster, were it not for tyre regulations.

From a standing start, the Nevera is able to reach 100km/h in 1.91 seconds, cross the quarter mile in 8.25 seconds before cracking 300km/h in 9.22 seconds. Its top speed is 412km/h.

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Designed firstly as a road car, the 2300kg Nevera’s record-setting pace is even more impressive – this is no stripped-out 911 GT3 RS (6:49.3 time). Expect more focused Neveras to come along in the future and eclipse the inital attempt.

The Rimac team also commented on the less-than-ideal conditions they were greeted with thanks to Germany’s hot summer weather.

“We had challenging weather conditions during our practice sessions this week and have chosen what seems like one of the hottest days on the track this summer to set a lap time”, said helmsman Kodrić.

“However, a 7:05.298 lap time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife is commendable. The fact that the Nevera can achieve this kind of speed on track, when it’s been developed to be a comfortable hyper GT for the road, is what makes it so special.”

Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) has announced a new lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery pack – and it’ll likely be featured on the 2024 Tesla Model 3 update.

The new ‘Shenxing’ LFP battery is capable of ‘4C superfast charging’ to deliver 400 kilometres of driving range in 10 minutes on a compatible station, with more than 700km claimed range on a full charge.

Compared to traditional lithium-ion packs, LFP cathodes typically charge slower and are more sensitive to lower temperatures – but last longer and are thermally safer.

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CATL, which currently supplies electric vehicle batteries for the Chinese-made Tesla Model 3 RWD sedan, claims the new battery extracts and transmits lithium ions faster with more insertion channels in a shorter distance to result in faster charging.

At room temperature, the EV battery giant claims it can recharge from empty to 80 per cent in 10 minutes. In low -10 degrees Celsius conditions, it’ll take 30 minutes.

There’s also an upgraded electrolyte and separator with a new coating to ensure safe operation.

Destined for the 2024 Model 3 update?

CATL will start mass production of the new ‘Shenxing’ LFP battery by the end of this year – as rumours suggest an imminent launch for the long-rumoured project ‘Highland’ Tesla Model 3.

Tesla leaker Chris Zheng [↗] believes the new 2024 Model 3 sedan has already started mass production in the Shanghai factory (where Australian-bound Teslas are made) and local Chinese media [via CnEVPost ↗] reported it may go on sale in China as soon as this month.

As seen below, this new CATL LFP battery (previously codenamed ‘M3P’) will reportedly feature on higher-end Model 3 variants.

Currently, only the base rear-wheel drive (RWD) uses an LFP cathode which provides up to 491km claimed WLTP range and maximum 170kW DC charging capability.

Meanwhile, the current Long Range and Performance adopt the more energy-dense nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion type for a 602km claimed range on the former and 250kW DC peak charging.

The Tesla Model Y electric SUV twin is rumoured to follow with a similar update, albeit a year later.

Our original story continues unchanged below.

April 1, 2023: New battery could give Model 3 700km range

Top spec 2024 Tesla Model 3 variants are expected to gain an all-new longer driving range battery pack utilising a different chemistry.

Reuters reports Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) will start mass production on a new pack slated for the flagship Model 3 Performance this year – potentially coinciding with the anticipated 2024 project ‘Highland’ update.

CATL chair Zeng Yuqun reportedly told investors that it’ll feature new materials, offer higher energy density, and is cheaper than current nickel- and cobalt-based batteries.

Catch up

• March 27: More 2024 Tesla Model 3 update details leaked
• Feb 17: Shanghai factory begins upgrades for facelifted Model 3
• Nov 29: Tesla Model 3 update reportedly due next year

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It follows Zeng claiming last year that CATL’s next-generation battery pack technology will enable up to a 700-kilometre driving range and be 10 to 20 per cent more energy dense than lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) packs – which the company supplies Tesla for entry-level Model 3 rear-wheel drive.

However, the full material makeup remains unclear and the publication didn’t detail whether the Long Range variant – along with the related Model Y electric SUV – will also get the same treatment.

Currently, both the dual-motor Model 3 Long Range and Performance use the same 75kWh (estimated) nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery pack, according to EV Database.

The Long Range is good for up to 602 kilometres of claimed WLTP driving range, while the Performance reduces it to 547 kilometres due to the hi-po motor set up.

The 2024 Tesla Model 3 electric sedan is slated to launch later this year, with minor updates rumoured including a headlight redesign, revised rear bumper design, new interior dashboard material, and Hardware 4.0 with upgraded higher-resolution cameras and additional lenses.

It will directly rival the forthcoming 2024 Polestar 2 facelift, with the Long Range variants gaining a new larger battery to achieve up to 635 kilometres of WLTP-rated range, alongside more powerful electric motors, faster DC charging capability, and improved radar- and camera-based safety assistance systems.

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