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Toyota Hybrid Camry On Track and dynamically sound

Location: State Motorcycle facility at Broadford, Victoria.

I’ve got Australian Rally Guru Neal Bates riding shotgun with me (Rick Bates is here too), and my instructions for this braking test are to flatten the throttle in the Hybrid Toyota Camry from a standing start, hold it to the firewall until the car reaches 110km/h, then hit the brakes with as much force as I can possibly muster, bringing the car to a complete stop.

It’s ...

Toyota Australia continues its local manufacturing with the seventh generation Camry launched in Melbourne this week. Prices start from $30,490 for the fleet-favourite Altise and top at $39,990 for the newly introduced Atara SL.

Sporting a new 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, the new 2012 Toyota Camry is more powerful and fuel efficient than ever before.

It’s been over 24 years since the very first Toyota Camry was built in Victoria and over t...

The all-new Toyota Camry hybrid has gone on sale with a vast list of improvements and a mission to capture more of the private buyer segment.

Based on the new seventh-generation Toyota Camry, the new hybrid range is now more fuel efficient, faster and has a lower starting price than the model it replaces. Toyota is sticking to its guns with hybrid technology, claiming worldwide sales of over 3.5 million hybrid vehicles (the majority of which have been in Japan and North America), which t...

Mazda has been spotted testing a prototype of the upcoming 2013 Mazda6 under extreme winter conditions. The prototype wears a makeshift body resembling the current model.

The next-generation Mazda6 will be built on a new platform – one that also underpins the new Mazda CX-5 – and will wear a body showcasing Mazda’s new KODO design language.

The styling will be inspired by the Mazda Takeri Concept, which was unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo auto show, with modern lines and flowing panels,...

The Opel Insignia will enter the medium-car segment in September as the General Motors German brand’s flagship model.

The Insignia will sit atop a new Opel range that also includes the Corsa city car and Astra small car.

Opel is offering two body styles – sedan and wagon – and two engine choices, with all variants pitched at the more premium end of the mainstream medium-car category.

The German-built Opel Insignia range kicks off at $38,490 for a sedan version utilising a 2.0-litre t...

2008 Mazda 6 Luxury Sports Hatch Review

“Sharp, sorted, willing – brilliant”

Model tested:

• 2008 Mazda 6 Luxury Sports Hatch 2.5l Petrol Automatic – $46,910

Stunning Looks, Drives Brilliantly, Superb Fit & Finish
Too Few Interior Changes, Needs More Punch

CarAdvice rating:

- by Matt Brogan

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Sometimes it’s a good philosophy to live by and the old Mazda 6 reigned within that sentiment. A great functional car that drove beautifully was well p...

2008 Mazda6 Classic Wagon Review & Road Test

It’s so good looking that adult supervision is needed at all times

Model Tested:

• 2008 Mazda Mazda6 Classic Wagon five-speed automatic – $35,490(RRP)

Options:

• None fitted.

Gorgeous styling; pricing; safety features; interior room
Lack of power at times; no rear parking sensors

CarAdvice Rating: (4.25)

- by Paul Maric

When the first pictures of the new Mazda6 hit the web, motoring journalists were collectively stunned at what can only be ...

Mazda faced the best kind of car company predicament when it came to re-jigging the Mazda6 for its MY10 mid-life makeover: How do you fix a car that’s not broken … without breaking it?

In fact, the Mazda6 is so ‘not broken’ that it’s one of the best practical, affordable cars you’re ever likely to drive. It’s not an M3 killer, clearly, but it’s a car that won’t cost you the farm, that will do all the conventional running around, and which is also damn satisfying to d...

When Kia launched the latest-generation Kia Optima in Australia in January 2011, it was hailed as a quantum leap in design next to its predecessor – the uninspiring Kia Magentis.

Here was an affordable medium-size sedan from Korea with clean lines and sleek styling that had the global motoring media doing double takes.

The Kia Optima followed the launch of the equally smart, Euro-styled Kia Sportage that was billed as the first complete Kia design under chief designer Peter Schreyer, of Au...

The second-generation Kia Soul has been captured undergoing testing in Europe by CarAdvice’s spy photographers, giving us our first look at the updated design of the funky box-shaped small car.

Kia is expected to unveil the all-new Soul by the second half of next year before the quirky hatchback rolls out across the US, Europe and Asia, and then Australia in 2014.

The anticipated launch timing of the next-generation Kia Soul suggests the current model will have a shorter than average ...