The cutesy Ora brand has grown up with its first SUV model for Singapore, and the Ora 5 offers practical usability with its own unique charm. There are some cars where I wished I had more time to test drive sometimes. Typically these are either mind-blowing high-performance models that I don’t get to experience often, or extremely fun to drive cars that just make me reluctant to hand the keys back. The ...
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It may be a minor technological update, but new hardware in the XPeng X9 Pro gives the car a significant bump in software usability. It seems now that every modern carmaker now talks about software, artificial intelligence and “ecosystems” with the enthusiasm of people who have just discovered Silicon Valley. Cars are essentially moving computers now, and you can’t go anywhere without some virtual assistant analysing your every move. None is more ...
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The Ferrari Amalfi may be the least powerful and least expensive Ferrari you can buy today, but it could also be one of the easiest to genuinely enjoy. It's weird to call any Ferrari an entry-level model. Entry-level suggests sensible shoes, base-spec infotainment and perhaps a monthly instalment plan you can discuss without first contacting your private banker. The Ferrari Amalfi, meanwhile, comes with 631bhp, a twin-turbocharged V8 and a price ...
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Hyundai adds a large electric seven-seater SUV to its lineup, and the Ioniq 9 delivers a remarkably refined and tech-laden experience for the family. It seems like if you want a large electric six- or seven-seater car here, there’s simply no escaping the number 9. Aside from the numerous Chinese MPVs that all feature the digit in their names, even the SUV options all have ‘9’ in their nomenclature. There’s the versatile ...
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The Denza B5 is one of those cars that makes you reconsider what constitutes luxury, while simultaneously being knee-deep in gravel and mud. Back then, a proper luxury off-roader had to come from somewhere very specific. If you wanted toughness, you looked to a Land Cruiser. If you wanted elegance, perhaps a Lexus. And if you wanted both, you generally prepared yourself for a rather painful conversation with your bank manager. ...
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The Deepal S05 does not feel like a newcomer demanding your attention, but rather a mature product that simply gets on with the job. It would be amusing to describe Changan as one of China’s older carmakers, because in the context of the current automotive gold rush, “old” can mean a company that existed before TikTok. Still, Changan has proper history. It has been building vehicles for roughly 45 years; beginning with ...
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Style over space? That's what the people yearn for, and why the Mercedes-Benz GLC200 Coupe has had great success here. SUVs used to be purely functional. You bought one because you needed the space, and the commanding driving position was a welcome bonus. While the boxy silhouette was simply part of the package, nobody really cared how stylish an SUV looked. Fast forward to today, and things have changed rather dramatically. SUVs ...
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The MG 4 returns with a completely revamped design inside and out, but does the now-renamed MG 4 Urban deliver the same joyful experience as the car it replaces? One of the most surprising cars that I’ve driven in recent years was the first-generation MG 4. It was a sharp-looking electric hatchback seemingly designed to function as a mundane everyday runabout, but it turned out to be one of the most ...
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The Honda ZR-V, while capable, fills an awkward gap in the modern-day Honda lineup. Honda has spent decades earning a reputation for building sensible cars. Cars that simply work. They may not always be the loudest, the fastest or the flashiest, but they have a habit of quietly getting under your skin through engineering integrity rather than marketing bravado. This makes the ZR-V an interesting proposition. On paper, it fills a gap between ...
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The BYD Seal 6 DM-i is the brand’s first plug-in hybrid sedan for Singapore, and it is an excellent all-rounder with excellent range and a surprisingly decent drive. If you’re looking to buy a BYD sedan in Singapore right now, you essentially have three choices. There’s the Seal, which is the OG BYD sedan offering, the Seal 6 EV, which is the slightly smaller and more affordable option, and then the ...
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The Mercedes-Benz GLE400e, while getting on a bit in age, still proves that adding a bigger battery pack isn't just a novel concept. Just a few years ago, buying a luxury SUV was wonderfully uncomplicated. If you wanted something that could climb a mountain before dropping the children off at school, you bought a Range Rover. If driving mattered above everything else, the BMW X5 was the obvious answer. And if you ...
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Aion’s UT compact electric hatch offers plenty of cheekiness, but under its cute facade lies a car that delivers excellent value. In all my years of driving, I’ve never come across a car that has promised to cure motion sickness. But the new Aion UT has a setting called ‘Motion Sickness Relief’, which apparently tries to smoothen the driving experience by reducing the regenerative braking and energy recovery to a minimum, ...
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Dongfeng enters the EV sedan space with the evocatively-named 007, but does this slick contender have what it takes to battle the rest?
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Dongfeng wades into the Cat A electric SUV game with the Vigo, but beyond its funky looks lies a somewhat rough, unpolished diamond. They say good things come to those who wait. My Dongfeng Vigo test drive was rescheduled twice due to various circumstances surrounding the car. Given the proliferation of similar other Cat A electric SUVs on the market though, I can’t say that it was a delay I minded ...
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Toyota does not usually rush into things. This is, after all, the company that turned hybrid motoring from a curiosity into a global habit, one Prius at a time. So when it finally decided to build a proper battery-electric SUV, you expected something deeply considered, perhaps even revolutionary. And it kind of is, apart from its name. The Toyota bZ4X, admittedly, sounds like someone dropped a keyboard down a staircase. It stands for ...
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