I know, I know – it’s been two whole weeks since we’ve delivered you a proper weekly wrap but I promise you that it’s been for a very good reason which you will find out about shortly.
One thing we haven’t let up on this week though is car news, and it came in thick and fast with the unveiling of the GR Corolla hot hatch alongside a swathe of Australian pricing for popular vehicles such as the 2022 Ford Ranger ute and new-generation Subaru WRX.
There were also some notable shifts in the industry with Tesla deciding to join the rest of the family at the dinner table and dish out sales results on the Model 3 sedan, while Honda and GM announced a partnership to build EVs together.
We haven’t slowed down on the review front either and served up some fan favourites such as a couple of Toyota Land Cruiser 4WDs and a V8 Mustang Fastback which you can read about below.
GR Corolla revealed
The GR Corolla is possibly Toyota’s most anticipated model following the launch of the Land Cruiser 300 Series and this week we got to see the hyper-aggressive hot hatch for the first time.
Powered by the same 1.6-litre turbo-petrol triple as the GR Yaris but with power dialled up to 220kW (and torque remaining at 370Nm), the GR Corolla isn’t hanging about.
A six-speed manual is the only option (for now), with power sent to a flexible all-wheel-drive system that can send up to 70 percent of drive to the rear wheels.
Toyota will introduce the GR Corolla to Australia sometime between October and December this year in a single, fully-equipped grade fitted with mechanical limited-slip differentials at the front and rear.
When it arrives, the GR Corolla will go head-to-head with its most direct rival in the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf R, so we’ve pitted the two head-to-head in a spec battle.
Ford Ranger priced for Australia
It’s all well and good that Ford has transformed the new-generation T6.2 Ranger into a bit of a weapon with a new turbo-diesel V6 option, a more useful tray and better technology, but all these upgrades have made us nervous about the price – and now we have an answer.
Ford will continue to offer the Ranger in XL, XLS, XLT, Sport, Wildtrak, and Raptor grades in a choice of single-, extended- and dual-cab body styles. In total there are 24 different models to choose from.
Pricing starts at $35,930 before on-road costs for a pretty bare-bones Ranger 4×2 XL single cab with the new 2.0-litre turbo-diesel, meaning the entry point has increased quite a bit – but with no manual transmission or low-rider option available, that’s hardly surprising.
Sitting at the top of the tree is the Ranger Raptor with a price of $85,490 – representing a $6100 jump over the outgoing model and we’ve written a separate article to explain why.
Tesla Model Y pricing leaked
Tesla Model Y midsize SUV pricing has yet to be officially released for the Australian market but this week Chasing Cars exclusively reported the cost of two key grades.
Data released to corporate and industry customers put the starting price of an entry-level, single-motor RWD Model Y at $67,990 before on-road costs, making it $4000 more expensive than a Model 3 sedan.
The Model Y Performance will start at $98,172 and gains a dual-motor set-up along with a suite of technology including a 14-speaker sound system.
Tesla is also expected to offer the Model Y Long Range in the Australian range that will sit between the aforementioned grades with a price of around $80,000.
All the cars and SUVs we reviewed this week:
If there was one thing that was missing from our arsenal of reviews this week it had to be boring cars because this week was filled with back-to-back titans of the motoring world.
Other car and SUV news we covered this week:
