The BMW 1 Series M Coupé is the ‘it’ car of the moment. Everyone is talking about it and everyone, it seems, cannot praise it enough. We’ve already had one drive of the 1M and quickly learnt why it has been creating so much fuss. It really is a cracking car. Overseas, it’s even been [...]

Regular readers will know Australian deliveries of the BMW 1 Series M Coupé have been taking place over the past week or two. One has even ended up in our hometown of Canberra. AUSmotive was lucky enough to be offered a brief drive thanks to owners John and Dianne. First impressions? It’s a great looking [...]

Beauty comes in the shape of many things. One such example is the Audi A7 Sportback. It’s the latest four-door “coupé” to hit local shores and helps to keep Audi at the vanguard of this current automotive trend. Inside and out the A7 is all class. Audi has done well to keep the production car [...]

The new MINI Countryman; some strident MINI fans cannot warm to it. And they may never warm to it. Others are willing to embrace MINI’s move into four-door territory. Here at AUSmotive we’ve kept an open mind and, in photos at least, we reckon if MINI has to go forward by upsizing its range then [...]

Audi claim its new A1 is the next big thing. They reckon it will set new benchmarks in the small car segment, especially at the premium end. We spent some time in an A1 1.4 TFSI Ambition earlier this week and put Audi’s claims to the test. Let’s start with the looks. Overall we rate [...]

The Audi TT RS has some very healthy numbers on its side. Let’s start with the 2.5 litre turbocharged inline five cylinder that produces 250kW of power and 450Nm of torque. That torque is all yours from a low 1600rpm, as well. The TT RS is only available with a six speed manual transmission and [...]

Details of the all-paw Golf R first came to light in September last year. Since then there’s been a sense of anticipation building here at AUSmotive HQ. On paper, Volkswagen’s 188kW hero puts forward a compelling case. As with any car the final judgement can only be revealed through first hand experience. First, a quick [...]

The Jaguar XF is a beautiful car. From any angle, it doesn’t matter. It’s a good thing, too. Until the XF came along Jags had become a 1960s time capsule, while the rest of the world had moved at broadband speed into the noughties. Styling cues such as the chrome grille and rounded headlights remind [...]

The Volkswagen Passat R36 has been around for a while now. After a recent drive, though, I learned the R36 still remains a worthwhile option for those who crave performance from their family car. Its mid-60s asking price makes it something of a performance bargain in the Volkswagen range. Although, compared to some rivals, the [...]

Yesterday I spent the morning behind the wheel of BMW’s current Z4 offerings. It was a brief taster provided by local dealership Rolfe Classic BMW. The deal was pretty simple, get existing and prospective customers in small groups to take the Z4 range out for a leisurely drive. We would stop at various points on [...]

While the ‘new’ Audi S4 has been on sale in Australia for almost one year now it does represent something of a new world order for Audi and manufacturers around the planet, who are now desperate to play the green card by lowering CO2 emissions and fuel consumption figures. On that basis, gone is Audi’s [...]

After losing its way in the mid-late 1990s the GTI badge relinquished the credibility gained with the first two GTIs. The fifth generation GTI, launched in 2004, has been widely acclaimed all over the globe. It won back respect for the GTI, a respect the badge so richly deserves. As a result, this new Mk6 [...]

When I started my test drive in the Audi S5 quattro, fitted with a 4.2 litre V8, the last thing I expected to come to mind was the West Indies cricket team from the 1980s. But that is exactly what happened. More on that later, though. First, let’s take a look at the S5’s lines. [...]

Earlier today the opportunity for a quick taste of MINI’s new Cooper D came my way. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to see just how Australia’s most economical car drives. That’s not a typo, with a miserly fuel consumption figure of 3.9l/100km and CO2 emissions at a super low 104g/km, the 1.6-litre diesel powered [...]

If you’re looking for a new car at the premium end of the small-ish coupé segment, two of the stand out choices are the Audi S3 and the BMW 135i. The current generation S3 has been in Australia since 2007, while the 135i was launched here about 12 months ago. The MY09 S3 range brings [...]