Ostentatious Lexus badge combined with frugal appetite for fuel maketh the NX 350h. Sheldon had already reviewed this sports utility vehicle’s (SUV’s) “sportier sister”, the Lexus NX 350 F Sport, by the time this author managed to get his mingy mitts on the NX 350h’s steering wheel. The major difference between the two lies under-hood. While the NX 350 F Sport features a 2.4-litre turbocharged inline-4 with 275hp and 430Nm of ...
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The perennial SUV is now available as a petrol-electric hybrid, but it’s biggest competitor may come from within… Read on to find out what we thought of the Toyota RAV4 hybrid. The Toyota RAV4 has gone from a quirky niche model that first appeared in mid-90s to a core model in the Japanese automaker’s lineup. Back then the RAV4 was part of a new generation of ‘soft roaders’ that included the ...
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Some timely updates and upgrades to the X3 are set to keep one of the brand’s best-sellers at the top of its game. Remember ‘yuppies’? In the 1980s, Young Professional People – hence the ‘yup’ part – were the disruptors of society. Buoyed by confidence, success and easily attained credit, they lived in a Material World where they identified with new forms of luxury to express themselves. The cars they drove were ...
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The second-generation NX 350 mid-sized SUV from Lexus is stylish and capable. However, not everything is as it seems… First of all, let’s clarify the biggest detail about the all-new Lexus NX 350 F Sport tested here. Despite the number in its moniker, this Sport Utlity Vehicle (SUV) DOES NOT have a 3.5-litre V6 under its bonnet. Instead, it is powered by a 2,393cc turbocharged in-line 4-cylinder unit. In case you were ...
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For decades the Lexus ES has been saddled with something of an old-man image. Can racier F Sport mods put the spring of youth in its step? When it comes to its product lineup, Lexus is almost like Jekyll and Hyde. On the one hand you've got the ultra-plush, ultra-luxe ah pek chias like the ES, LS and RX; but on the other, you have the super sporty, totally thrilling performance ...
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VW’s flagship SUV makes comeback with more sophistication to raise its luxe credentials. There was a time when only a big sedan was considered a ‘proper’ luxury car. However, when Porsche built its first Cayenne Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), this mindset changed for good, and today, no brand — not even Rolls-Royce nor Ferrari — can do without an SUV in its model line-up. Today, the Porsche Cayenne is still widely regarded ...
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This crossover hatchback brings a much-needed touch of class to the Cat A COE segment. As I write this, the COE for cars with more power than 130hp costs an eye-watering $93,950. Ukraine war notwithstanding, all other indications are that it won’t be long before Cat B crosses the $100k mark… If you’re in the market for a car at the entry point of the market, then shopping in the Cat A ...
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The popularity of the Honda HR-V name means the new one will sell well based on reputation alone; shame the authorities here don’t want you to have the best one… If there was a car that could perfectly exemplify the intense pants-on-head idiocy of the decisions made at the LTA, the 2022 Honda HR-V would be it. One of the core tenets of industrial design is that a new product should always ...
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The Bavarian automaker’s second-generation mini MPV continues to break new ground for the brand. Image credits: Tom Kirkpatrick MALAGA, SPAIN – The 2 Series Active Tourer may not fit the description of the classic BMW. It is, after all, a front-wheel drive mini-Multi Purpose Vehicle (MVP) made by a brand that was once synonymous with sporty, rear-wheel drive sedans and sports cars. Breaking out of its comfort zone however has apparently paid off ...
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The Volvo-spawned EV brand makes its debut in Singapore with Polestar 2, a compact sedan which offers something different from the popular American brand. Competition, it has been said in horse racing circles, improves the breed. The same is certainly true with nearly everything else; smartphones, delivery apps, and certainly cars as well. The latest example is the car tested here, the Polestar 2. If the car vaguely looks like a Volvo ...
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Hyundai has taken a gamble with the new, boldly-styled Tucson Hybrid SUV — and it’s paid off handsomely. As a bread-and-butter car brand, Hyundai might be one of the boldest out there. They might be going with the trend of electrification, with the Ioniq Electric and Kona Electric; at the other end of the spectrum though, they’ve the same number of models with a stonking 3.5-litre V6 engine. Aesthetically, too, Hyundai’s latest Sensuous ...
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Alien face for an earthly space(ship). The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has landed. 2001. No, not the movie A Space Odyssey (imagine if this had been a Honda review ha ha), but the year the first Hyundai Santa Fe rolled off the production line. Now in it's fourth iteration, the facelifted Santa Fe Hybrid is definitely a sight to behold compared to the generations that came before. In its price range, the ...
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Good Likeable Bread-van. Anyone remember the Alfa Romeo 145 Quadrifoglio/Cloverleaf from the 90s, lovingly referred to as “the bread-van” by enthusiasts back in the day? This author couldn’t help but affectionately feel, while walking up to it, that GLB 35 is the modern-day ‘bread-van’ interpretation in compact SUV-guise, with two extra doors and one supposedly extra row of seats. In Singapore’s market, GLB 35 occupies a pretty unique niche. The Cupra Ateca sits ...
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Honest. Characterful. Playful. Smaller cars have featured quite regularly in this author's life. Having learned to drive in a 1980's Daihatsu Charade, and still regularly driving an original Perodua Kancil when staying with relatives in Malaysia, there is a certain simple, straightforward and unpretentious charm with how smaller cars go about doing their thing. And when setting eyes on the Q2 for the first time, those memories came flooding back. At first ...
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Higher-riding handling-machine, and also a family-hauler. Before starting the article proper, let’s get some declarations out of the way first. This author: is a handling and performance-biased automotive enthusiast;has a rather special place in-heart for Alfa Romeo - not Saab-levels of special, but special nonetheless;was extremely reluctant to return the test vehicle at the end of the drive review. One can probably already see where this article is headed, and with good reason. When it ...
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