Autos For Us

Toyota Australia has introduced a new GR Sport variant to the Yaris Cross light SUV range for the 2023 model year.

The Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport is priced from $35,840 before on-road costs, which is $3850 more expensive than the GXL 2WD Hybrid it’s based on. It’s also $2150 cheaper than the range-topping Urban AWD Hybrid.

The Yaris Cross GR Sport has retuned suspension that’s said to help sharpen steering feel and response.

Toyota engineers have made changes to the suspension to reduce body roll and improve ride comfort, and argue the steering should feel more direct thanks to detail changes at both ends of the car.

Overall the suspension has been lowered by 10mm to “further aid handling”, with additional chassis improvements including an underfloor brace and a second brace running along the lower rear of the vehicle.

There have been no powertrain modifications.

The Toyota Yaris

We’ve all heard about how affordable EVs can become when you charge at home and take advantage of solar energy. But, what about longer distance drives? Do EVs make as much sense if you’re packing up your things to head away with the family compared to traditional modes of transport?

We wanted to put the latest EV technology to the test on a road trip from Adelaide to Sydney. We also wanted to test what EV infrastructure was like regionally and chose a route that would take us slightly inland and away from the well established charging network.

Alborz and I decided to pick a set of cars that led their field in EV tech and efficiency, so Alborz picked the entry-level Audi Q5 diesel and I picked the Kia EV6 Long Range rear-wheel drive. We then stuck our video team in the Kia Sorento Hybrid to see how that

Mitsubishi has given its non-hybrid Outlander SUV range some tweaks for the 2023 model year ahead of first arrivals during January next year.

Pricing for existing Outlander variants are up by up to $1000, with the range now starting at $36,240 before on-road costs for the ES five-seat 2WD, and extending to $53,490 before on-road costs for the Exceed Tourer seven-seat AWD.

Updated pricing and specification for the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid (PHEV) range hasn’t been detailed yet.

A new LS Black Edition 7-seat 2WD variant has joined the Outlander range for the 2023 model year, plugging the gap between the regular LS and Aspire. It’s priced from $41,490 before on-road costs.

The LS Black Edition adds 20-inch black alloy wheels, premium paint, and blacked-out door mirrors, bumpers and grille. Inside it gets black headlining, a black “laser etched” gearshift surround, plus ‘Mi-Suede’ seats