Sadly, with its three-star ANCAP rating, Practical Motoring can’t recommend the Ssangyong Actyon Sports Ute and that’s a shame, because it’s not too bad to drive.

It looks like a Barina on steroids, but is the new Holden Trax small SUV really as good as its looks suggest, asks Tony Bosworth.

Porsche is expanding its range with what the company boldly calls, “a whole new class of vehicle” in the shape of the high-performance all-wheel-drive Macan, set for launch in Australia mid-2014.

In the past, Honda put the Accord up against the Falcon, Commodore and Aurion, but now they say it’s fighting in the category below. In any event, it makes a viable alternative to the full-sized cars, says Paul Murrell.

An all-electric version of the Kia Soul – badged the EV and with a potential range of 200km on one overnight charge – is slated to go on sale during the second half of next year, and will be the first electrically-driven, zero-emissions family car Kia has sold outside its homeland.

The Volkswagen Amarok has a massive tray (the biggest in the class) and yet inside, and to drive, offers the quality and feel of a family SUV, says Isaac Bober.

The new Kia Cerato Koup marks a number of firsts for the company: the first Kia with a turbocharged engine, and the first Kia you may just buy because it looks so good.

People movers are miracles of clever packaging, says Paul Murrell and the Kia Rondo is a seven-up wagon no bigger than a Corolla.

It’s the cheapest Toyota hybrid and the best to drive, and that makes the Toyota Prius c the first Toyota hybrid you’d actually want to buy. Green really is good, says Isaac Bober.

Volkswagen’s handling of the DSG gearbox and other problems has almost become a case history on how not to handle customer dissatisfaction. It seems they may have learnt a valuable, albeit expensive, lesson. By Paul Murrell John White is the managing director of Volkswagen Group Australia. It’s probably fair to

The Volkswagen Golf GTI sets the standard for all other hot hatches and is probably more usable than any of them. Paul Murrell tries the latest version to see if it’s still leader of the pack.

Are Australian speed limits too low? The knee-jerk reaction from most motorists is “of course they are” and the equally predictable response from police and road safety groups is “they should be lower”. Paul Murrell looks into the story behind our much-debated speed limit policy?

The all-new Lexus RC will make its world debut at the Tokyo motor show on November 20, with two versions unveiled – the RC 350, with a 3.5-litre V6 engine, and the RC 300h hybrid, with a 2.5-litre unit.

It’s reckoned to be the world’s biggest and glitziest car show, and Frankfurt certainly didn’t disappoint this time round as the wraps were taken off a host of new and exciting cars, many of which are headed this way, reports Tony Bosworth.

The new Lexus IS, old engines apart, is a clear improvement over the old model and there is no doubt it will attract a younger demographic to the brand. But it still just fails to stir the soul the way some of its competitors do. Maybe the new engines, when they finally arrive, will fix that.