Autos For Us

What’s in a name? Quite a bit, if you’re Hyundai.

The company’s UK division has put a video on YouTube outlining the correct way to say its name.

While Australians and Brits often call it ‘ Hee-un-day’ or ‘Hi-un-day’, and our North American friends often say ‘Hun-day’, it’s actually ‘Hyoon-day’.

“Welcome to the dawn of a new Hyundai,” says the blurb accompanying the video.

“2023 marks the dawn of a new Hyundai in the UK. We’ve taken this opportunity to break the mould and embrace a new chapter for our cars and the company, including changing the pronunciation of the brand in the UK to bring it in line with the global organisation and our Korean heritage.”

UK car title Car Magazine asked Hyundai’s management there about the new brand campaign, which kicked off on Boxing Day with the tagline: “‘If you thought you knew our cars and how to

German off-road tuning firm Delta4x4 has revealed a range of modifications that can turn a Tesla Model Y into a capable off-road dual-motor SUV.

The converted Model Y sits 80mm higher than stock due to a 35mm suspension lift, and 265/45 R20 Continental Cross Contact ATR tyres on black slotted rims. Wheel arch extensions widen the car by 60mm.

There’s a solid-looking roof rack with mounted recovery boards, and a payload sufficient for a roof tent. There are also PIAA LED headlights and four additional 18,000 lumen driving lights – all apparently shock tested up to 4G vibration levels.

The company quotes the following costs, which total a hefty 15,760 euros ($A24,818) for European buyers, according to the company’s blog.

• Lift kit: 900 euros
• Wheels and tyres: 4500 euros
• Arch extensions: 4760 euros
• Roof rack 2900 euros
• Lights (PIAA V-RF40): 900 euros
• Driving lights (PIAA 550): 1800 euros mounted

Based

Subaru is gearing up for January’s Tokyo Auto Salon with a raft of show cars, including a few that hint at production versions.

The company’s Japanese site is a bit light on details, but the company promises to show the new Impreza – which debuted last November in LA – to its Japanese audience for first first time.

But going beyond this, it promises the show car will be equipped with STI parts “under development and customized to sportier specifications”, suggesting a Subaru hot hatch is on the cards.

The new Impreza retains the signature all-wheel drive and will be available with a 2.5-litre boxer-four generating around 136kW and 241Nm, mated to a CVT with paddles.

It’s unclear if the show car’s STI tuning will elicit more power, but expect the upgrades to improve handling.

Another interesting concept is a more rugged take on

Just like that another year is finished!

We’ve published an absolute bucket-load of news stories, reviews and comparisons during 2022.

Here are the top 10 most-read news stories that were published during 2022 by our local audience.

Tesla removes home charge cable from cars in Australia

In July this year Tesla was in the headlines as it removed the mobile connector – also referred to as a UMC – from its new vehicles in Australia.

The company, however, reduced the cost of a UMC on its online shop from $860 to $550.

Tesla has already removed it from US-market models in April this year, with CEO Elon Musk confirming the move on Twitter.

Check out the story here.

Australian Government to introduce electric vehicle incentives

In July this year the Australian Government announced its intention to introduce new incentives for electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, fulfilling a promise made before

It’s been a busy year at CarExpert. Between regular reviews, launches, comparisons, and mega tests, we’ve filtered through hundreds of cars across our three offices.

A few special cars stood out from the pack, though. Here are our highlights from 2022.

Scott Collie

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS

It’s impossible to go past the hottest-ever Porsche Cayman for my highlight of this year.

The GT4 RS project “started with a car, and not with a PowerPoint presentation”, according to Andreas Preuninger, head of the Porsche GT division. Rather than convincing the finance department with numbers, his team had the RS approved by putting a big smile on the board’s face.

If that first mule was anything like the finished product, it’s easy to see how the project was given the green light.

It’s not the handling (approachable yet challenging, delectably balanced) or the straight-line performance (suitably impressive), or even the