WHEELS NEWS

Inside Wheels October 2015, on sale now
We get personal with Holden’s final Commodore, detail HSV’s 476kW muscle car project, and benchmark the new Jag XE.

Renault hopes 2016 Megane strengths outweigh price rise
Frankfurt motor show: The fresh Renault Megane will bring a host of new features when it arrives in Australia in the second half of next year

Rolls-Royce unwraps ‘sensuous, sexy’ Dawn soft-top
Rolls-Royce has continued its thrust into younger, hipper territory by declaring its new Dawn, a Drophead brother for the Wraith, the sexiest car it has built.

Toyota rival for Mazda CX-3 here late 2016
Frankfurt motor show: A new baby SUV from Toyota based on an updated CH-R concept will go on sale in Australia next year

Porsche vows no Tesla will catch its electric sedan
Frankfurt motor show: Production versions of the Mission E concept will be the fastest electric cars ever, Porsche insists

Star cars of the 2015 Frankfurt motor show
Frankfurt motor show: Take a tour of the world’s biggest car expo with the team from Wheels, on the floor at Frankfurt

Koeru concept is an SUV for Mazda 3 shoppers
Frankfurt motor show: The Mazda Koeru concept car is an SUV for people who find the CX-3 too small and the CX-5 too dull, designer says

Bye-bye Ranger? Mazda in talks with Toyota
Frankfurt motor show: The Toyota Hilux is likely to form the basis of the next generation Mazda BT-50 ute

Holden to ‘retarget’ Opels, including Commodore
Frankfurt motor show: An imported Commodore for 2018 would include Australian influence, Opel says

VF II Holden Commodore SS will be last affordable V8, GM confirms
Frankfurt motor show: Despite 15 years of robust V8 sales in Australia, Holden performance fans face a very different reality when the VFII Commodore dies in two years’ time

New Holden Astra revealed, 2016 launch confirmed
Frankfurt motor show: Holden has confirmed that a lighter, more thrifty Astra newly revealed by Opel will launch in Australia late next year, sounding the death knell for the Aussie-built Cruze

Electric Porsche Mission E takes on Tesla
Frankfurt motor show: Porsche Mission E all-electric sedan concept stuns with claims of 500km range, 15-minute recharge, and 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds

Mercedes reveals Concept IAA shape-shifting coupe
Frankfurt motor show: Ultra-low drag four-door coupe with extending body touted as clue to Mercedes’ future

Audi points to Q6 e-tron with electric quattro SUV
Frankfurt motor show: This 370kW concept SUV offers us the best hint yet at the Q6 e-tron expected from Audi, and it has the Tesla Model X firmly in its sights

Sébastien Ogier wins Rally Australia and WRC title
Motorsport wrap: Ogier takes world rally title with Australian win; Mark Winterbottom leads Ford 1-2 in Sandown 500; Later start for Bathurst 1000

Safety clash: Four stars in Europe, five stars here
More questions as Australia’s car safety watchdog mixes and matches scores with Euro counterpart

V8 play: Holden Commodore VF Series II unveiled
The Holden lion has got its roar back. This is the last Australian-made Commodore, and it will be more powerful, quicker and more vocal than ever

All-new Honda Civic Type R in spy images
Not the hot-hatch firecracker recently released in Europe, but a next-gen Honda Civic Type R that is sizing up to be the best and sharpest yet

Road deaths on the rise in Australia, and we’re not alone
The number of people killed on Australian roads appears to be edging up once again, a trend mirrored in other countries including the US, New Zealand, France and Portugal

Porsche 911 Carreras confirmed with 3.0-litre turbo engines
Porsche has released details of its new 911 Carrera range ahead of the Frankfurt motor show, confirming the entry-level cars will have forced induction and more power

Monza tyre probe clears imperious Hamilton
As Lewis Hamilton streaked to a dominant victory for Mercedes at the Italian Grand Prix, title challenger Nico Rosberg retired with engine failure and Red Bull was reported to be cutting loose troubled power-unit partner Renault

Quickshifter: What other people were reading this week
Reviews of new cars drew plenty of eyeballs to Wheels, but a comparison of a new BMW with a classic pleased more

Ford Ranger knocks off Toyota Hilux as most popular ute
The Ford Ranger has outsold the Toyota Hilux for the first time in Australia, leading the popular ute category for the month of August – and the new Mitsubishi Triton elbowed the Hilux to third

Baby Toyota RAV4 rival for Mazda CX-3 in spy images
At long last, Toyota is returning to the compact SUV scene with an alternative to the Mazda CX-3 and Honda HR-V. Expect this little sister for the now mid-sized RAV4 next year