Hopes among Ford fans in New Zealand a year ago that the new Ranger Raptor double-cab ute would arrive in 2018 with a beefy all-American engine have been dashed – it gets a tweaked four-cylinder 2.0-litre diesel from the company’s commercial fleet, notably the Transit van. But whereas the Transit unit is boosted by a single turbocharger, the Raptor engine gets dual turbos – … [Read more...] about The Lone Ranger – a Raptor badge with small diesel donk
Volkswagen's Piech
New NZ-bound electric Nissan Leaf is good for around 380km
The PR newswire says the new battery-electric Nissan Leaf is coming to New Zealand, one of seven Asia-Oceania markets to get the zero-emissions hatchback. What it doesn’t say is that the second-generation Leaf has upwards of twice the range of the current model and comes complete with technological firsts. There’s no mention also of two variants: the introductory model … [Read more...] about New NZ-bound electric Nissan Leaf is good for around 380km
Sales to rental firms figure high in new vehicle numbers
Demand from car rental agencies continues to stand out among the numbers of new vehicles registered by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA). The best selling passenger car in January’s record 14,834 registrations was (above) the Toyota Corolla – but 696 of the 958 on the NZTA books were to rental operators. So too the second best selling passenger car, the Toyota Highlander. … [Read more...] about Sales to rental firms figure high in new vehicle numbers
New Hyundai Santa Fe picks up styling cues from Kona SUV
Hyundai has released the first official peek and some details of the new Santa Fe SUV, a few weeks out from its international media launch in South Korea. The fourth-generation mid-sized SUV will land in New Zealand later in the year. It gets new infotainment and safety technologies and adopts a bold new look, partially inspired by the Kona compact SUV. Up front are split … [Read more...] about New Hyundai Santa Fe picks up styling cues from Kona SUV
Benz A-Class heads to NZ with first use of ‘artificial intelligence’
The fourth-generation A-Class hatchback might be what Mercedes-Benz calls a “new interpretation” of the design, but when it lands in New Zealand later this year it will be clearly seen as more revolutionary than evolutionary. For starters, it introduces to the entire Benz fleet the MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) infotainment system, which uses artificial intelligence … [Read more...] about Benz A-Class heads to NZ with first use of ‘artificial intelligence’