The Suzuki Swift was the best-selling new passenger car in New Zealand in May, trumping long-time front-runner the Toyota Corolla. There wasn’t much in it, the Swift (above) and Corolla each sharing four per cent of the segment but Swift recording 272 registrations to Corolla’s 241. In third place was the Mazda CX-5 with 230 units, a continuing reflection of the strong SUV … [Read more...] about May sales: Suzuki Swift the most popular new car
Subaru
New WRX too classy for ‘best bang for buck’ label
It’s an image thing, see. The original Subaru WRX was stuck with it and now the carmaker wants to put it to rest forever. It’s the ‘boy racer’ tag, where tatts and studs and baseball caps turned backwards seemed to define the typical WRX driver: young, restless, sneering. Never mind that the WRX was winning World Rally Championship titles, on civvy street it was still the … [Read more...] about New WRX too classy for ‘best bang for buck’ label
Subaru praised for five-star safety rating of new WRX
The upcoming Subaru Impreza WRX has earned top marks for safety from Australasian New Car Assessment Programme chairman (ANCAP) Lauchlan McIntosh. In particular, McIntosh praised the Japanese carmaker for improving pedestrian protection in the new go-fast WRX, which will be launched in New Zealand next week. “Subaru has again ensured its policy to build nothing less than … [Read more...] about Subaru praised for five-star safety rating of new WRX
Toyota 86 coupe: soft-top, faster variants now unlikely
The Toyota 86 coupe (above) has gone the way of many two-door sports cars: after early demand, sales fall away, leaving only the real enthusiasts to tickle things along. That’s why Toyota HQ is rethinking plans to make more variants, including a more powerful coupe and convertible. A senior Toyota executive says the 86 has failed to live up to sales expectations in major … [Read more...] about Toyota 86 coupe: soft-top, faster variants now unlikely
New Subaru Legacy sedan gets WRX treatment
Subaru has added a sportier touch to the sixth-generation Legacy sedan by equipping it with the Active Torque Vectoring system from the upcoming WRX Impreza and go-faster WRX STi. That’s for the United States market, where Subaru last year posted its best sales year ever. It’s not known if the system will be standard when the all-wheel-drive Legacy arrives in New Zealand … [Read more...] about New Subaru Legacy sedan gets WRX treatment