BMW Australia has announced pricing for the 3 Series GT. It’s still a while away from finding its way into local showrooms, but the biggest 3 Series money can buy will kick off proceedings with three engine options:
(Manufacturer’s list pricing)
BMW Australia recently launched its new F10 5 Series Touring down under, albeit a little later than first expected. There’s two models to start the range, both with turbo charged engines, the 520d and the 535i.
The 2.0 diesel four cylinder in the 520d produces 135kW/380Nm and has a manufacturer’s list price of $92,800. While the petrol powered 3.0 litre straight six in the 535i has peak numbers of 225kW/400Nm and pricing starts from $138,900.
Euro Estate driving doesn’t get much better than a BMW wagon, but as you can see, you have to pay to play. You can access full Australian specs from this 4.2mb PDF. After the break you will find more pics and BMW Australia’s official press release.
The love it or hate it MINI Countryman will be in showrooms around Australia before the end of next month. So, how much will this left of centre MINI hurt the hip pocket? It’s probably no surprise to learn the Countryman won’t be cheap, and pre-driveaway pricing starts at $37,700 for the entry-level Cooper model.
The price to play at the other end of the scale is $56,050 for a Cooper S All4, including Chilli pack. Without the extra goodies you’re looking at $50,400. In the middle sits the front-wheel drive only Cooper S version, which starts at $47,500 (add $5650 for Chilli pack).
Also arriving, a month or so later, are two diesel powered Countryman models. The Cooper version starts at $40,950 or you can opt for the all-wheel drive model priced from $43,850.
It’s interesting to note MINI is preparing quite a list of model variants; there’s 10 in all if you count the Chilli option as a separate model. It will be more interesting to see how well this car sells in Australia. Overseas markets have proved quite fruitful for MINI.
Until we see the Countryman for ourselves we’re unsure if we are in the love it or hate it camp. From what we’ve seen so far, though, we’re leaning towards love it.
Full pricing details after the break. MINI is holding back tech specs and other local market detail until the launch, we’ll bring them to you as soon as we can.
Audi Australia previewed the A1 at the Australian International Motor Show in October. Now, they have released full details on the local specification. Dealers around the country have been receiving stock over the last couple of weeks, as well.
To refresh, Audi will be kicking off the A1 with two offerings, both fitted with a fuel efficient 90kW/200Nm 1.4 TFSI. The entry level Attraction, with 6-speed manual, starts at $29,900 and the Ambition model is priced from $32,650. Buyers wanting the 7-speed S tronic dual clutch transmission will need to cough up an extra $2350. A 66kW 1.6 litre TDI will be joining the range in the middle of 2011.
Audi Australia has been a bit light on with images of its next big thing, so you’ll have to make to do with AUSmotive’s images from AIMS to start with. Following the Audi Australia press release is a gallery of images sourced from Audi UK. Keep in mind some of the details and specs in these cars may not translate directly to our market, but they do give a good feel for the A1 in right-hand drive.
A closer look at specifications and options pricing for the Australian market is available via two PDFs, which can be found following the presser.
Volkswagen Australia has just released pricing and specifications for its newest hot hatch, the Polo GTI. There’s good news, too, as the pre-delivery list pricing comes in under $30K and both 3-door ($27,790) and 5-door ($28,990) versions are available.
Standard equipment includes a 132kW twincharged 1.4 litre engine, a 7-speed DSG transmission, an XDL electronic diff, ESP with Hill Start Assist, six airbags and 17″ alloys. For the first time on a Polo model xenon headlights with LED daytime running light can be added as an option ($1600). Unfortunately, there is no option for a manual transmission at this stage.
The usual GTI colour palette is offered with two flat colours Candy White and Flash Red (pictured). While an extra $500 will get you pretty sparkles in your Shadow Blue, Reflex Silver or Deep Black Pearl Effect colour options.
Performance is both brisk and efficient, with the baby GTI matching its larger Golf GTI cousin by reaching 100km/h in 6.9 seconds. While the 6.1l/100km fuel economy rating is first class for a car in this segment.
Press statements from Volkswagen Australia are available after the break, including a gallery of 24 local images.
UPDATE: Thanks to Corey_R who has left a note in the comments section that all Polo models in Australia can be ordered with a Panoramic Glass Sunroof. This will be a $1700 option and will be available from January 2011 build. There is nothing official from VW Aus just yet, but the information comes from a credible source.
McLaren Automotive has set the price for its upcoming MP4-12C supercar. Pricing starts at £168,500 for UK buyers, while European customers will be coughing up €200,000 plus. Those of us in other markets will have pricing confirmed at a later date.
For comparison, an Aston Martin DBS will cost you £170,500, a Porsche 911 GT2 RS is £167,915, while a Ferrari 458 Italia will set you back £169,545. Importantly, the Perodua Myvi 5dr pricing begins at £7,799, so you could by 21 of those if the 12C doesn’t float your boat.
Full detail available after the break.
The faclefited MINI range is now on sale in Australia. It’s a pretty standard refresh with minor cosmetic changes, including front brake ducts, LED rear tail lights. MINI has also thrown a bit more fruit into the standard equipment, such as Bluetooth phone capability across the range. Mechanically, things are pretty much the same as before.
Full details, including pricing, can be found in the MINI Australia press release after the break.
Audi Australia has launched the RS5 with a manufacturer’s list price of $175,300. You’ll still need to pay a few statutory charges, but that’s about $4600 less than the AUSmotive prediction. A small saving, however, you still sense that price point is going to ensure Audi has to fight hard for every sale. Okay, it’s probably a bit tired to continually make this comparison, but you can bet the words BMW M3 will cross the lips of most RS5 buyers at some stage.
The RS5 has received extensive coverage on AUSmotive, so there’s no great need to go over the details again. The basics remain, that is the RS5 is powered by a 331kW 4.2 litre V8 driven by a quattro system featuring trick terms like torque vectoring and crown-gear centre differential. You can find out more on that technology here: quattro 101.
After the break you can read Audi’s press release and check out their latest gallery of images. It’s a great looking car, that’s for sure. Also included for download are the following items, all correct at time of publication:
Official pricing and specifications for the 188kW Golf R have now been released by Volkswagen. These confirm most of the things we already knew, or suspected were correct.
This includes the leaked list pricing which emerged earlier this week: three door manual $48,490; three door DSG $50,990; five door manual $49,990 and five door DSG $52,490. That is very good pricing indeed and we expect Volkswagen Australia will sell a lot of these cars.
To put these prices into perspective the cheapest Audi S3 available in Australia, a three door manual, has a list price of $68,000. There are some equipment differences in standard spec between the two cars, but nowhere near enough to equate for the almost $20,000 premium asked for by Audi. Especially when you consider the cars share essentially the same chassis, engine and all-wheel drive systems. In the UK, for example, the Golf R is actually priced higher than the S3. This not only proves that comparing prices with other countries can be a worthless exercise, but it puts into context what a performance bargain the Golf R has become in Australia.
Rather than go over the finer details again, just go straight to the press release after the jump. Technical specs can also be downloaded below.
All you need to do now is work what colour you want. Your choices are Candy White, Reflex Silver metallic (pictured), United Grey metallic, Rising Blue metallic (AUSmotive’s tip) and Deep Black pearl effect. More pics of the Golf R can be viewed here.
Unconfirmed Australian pricing for the Volkswagen Golf R has been published on the VWWatercooled forum. And, if you’re in the queue for the latest and hottest performance Golf the news is good. Very good. This is the alleged list pricing:
3 Door Manual – $48,490
3 Door DSG – $50,990
5 Door Manual – $49,990
5 Door DSG – $52,490
Given the previous list pricing of the old R32 (3dr manual $54,990) and the current Audi S3 (3dr manual $66,403 $68,000) – the S3 is the car the new Golf R is largely based on – that’s some very sharp pencils being used by Volkswagen Australia. Although it is worth noting that those Golf R figures do not include any on road or delivery costs.
Basic specification and options pricing for the Golf R emerged on AUSmotive back in March shortly after a three door model was spotted in Fremantle. It now appears the full pricing for the Golf R range is available prior to official launch (summarised below).
The photo above was taken in Tasmania earlier today and forms part of a Golf R and Golf GTD fleet which will be used for the national media launch over the next few days.
[Thanks to Mick & Ben for the tips]
BMW Australia have just announced the pricing and predicted model range for the new X1. The little BMW SUV, sorry Sports Activity Vehicle, will go on sale locally on 10 April and list pricing starts at $43,500 for the rear wheel drive only sDrive18i manual. The line up will be topped by the all-wheel drive xDrive23d auto priced from $59,280.
You might be wondering why BMW, who have just given us the MINI Countryman, are releasing yet another soft-roader in this small-car market? The answer is obvious, as this sentence straight from the press release points out, “The BMW X1 is the first premium vehicle of its kind to offer the driving pleasure so characteristic of a BMW X model in the compact segment.” Okay, then.
Further details and a whole heap of X1 images can be viewed after the jump.
Audi’s new Q5 will be making its first Australian appearance at the Melbourne International Motor Show later this month. A select few, however, have already sampled the Q5, and, in sunny Spain of all places. How did one get in on this all expenses paid junket? By being a member of Audi Australia sales staff, that’s how.
Jonathan from Audi Centre Canberra has been a great supporter of AUSmotive, so I figured it was only fair to return the favour by asking him for a brief writeup of his experience at the internal Q5 launch from Marbella on the Costa Del Sol. Life’s tough for some!
The Q5 will go on sale down under in just a few months and initial pricing details have been confirmed. In the meantime, you can have a sneak preview of the car by reading Jonathan’s words after the jump. There’s also quite a few images, and promo piece from the Audi Channel via YouTube.