Car news today: new-gen Tucson and i30 sedan for 2026 according to reports, Chery unveils KP11 ute concept, and more – 22 Oct 2024

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Thanks for joining us this Tuesday 22 October 2024. Notably in car news today: the Hyundai Tucson and i30 sedan will reportedly live on for new petrol-powered generations from 2026, and Chery reveals KP11 ute concept.

Browse this issue:

• Next-gen Hyundai Tucson and i30 sedan to launch in 2026: report
• Another new ute for Australia? Chery unveils concept; looks production ready!
• Aussies being slugged billions on road tolls each year 
• New cars in Australia are consuming up to 30 percent more fuel than claimed
• Reviewed: 2024 LDV T60 Max Plus

Next-gen Hyundai Tucson and i30 sedan to launch in 2026: report

• Two key Hyundai models, the Tucson midsize SUV and i30 small sedan, will live on in petrol-powered form for at least another new generation to launch in 2026, according to overseas reports.

• Korean publication ET News reports that Hyundai has begun development of next-generation models of both vehicles which will feature both petrol and hybrid powertrains – as well as plug-in hybrid in the case of the Tucson – and launch in the first half of 2026.

• The report states that the Korean manufacturer is adjusting its speed of transition to fully electric vehicles due to stagnating demand and softening environmental regulations, allowing for ICE vehicles to soldier on longer than originally planned, potentially up until 2033 for the next-generation vehicles if a 2026 launch eventuates as anticipated. 

• Hyundai’s current-generation Tucson and i30 sedan arrived in Australia in 2021, with mid-life facelifts taking place for the two vehicles this year. 

Another new ute for Australia? Chery unveils concept; looks production ready!

• The just-launched BYD Shark 6 and anticipated Kia Tasman and Ford Ranger plug-in-hybrid might be dominating headlines, but it looks like those utes will soon get extra competition from Chinese automaker Chery with the KP11.

• Overseas automotive publication AutoIndustria has published images and details of the concept ute, which looks production ready. 

• The report states that there will be both an ‘urban’ and ‘off-road’ design, the latter of which is pictured, with three powertrains to be made available including a 2.4-litre turbo-petrol, a plug-in hybrid electric, and a range-extended electric vehicle.

• While no further detail has been made available, the report says that Chery will launch a production model in 2025.

• Chery Australia has previously signalled its appetite for a ute to join its growing range, with previous reports indeed speculating a potential 2025 launch.

Aussies being slugged billions on road tolls each year 

• An investigation by the ABC’s Four Corners has found that Australian drivers are paying more than ever on toll roads, with those living in outer suburbs feeling the pinch the most.

• The report analysed average toll costs along key Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane routes; in one of the worst cases it found that residents of Wollondilly in Sydney’s south could expect to pay about 17 percent of their average income on their daily drive to the city. 

• Importantly, the investigation also noted that the cost of tolls run by private firm Transurban – which operates most of Australia’s toll roads, and which earned $3.2 billion from tolls in the last financial year – are guaranteed to increase given they are linked with the consumer price index.

• The ABC projected that an $11.78 toll from Parramatta to Mascot would increase to $25.82 by 2045.

• Allan Fels, a former chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission who produced an independent review on the issue for the NSW government earlier this year, has called for toll road prices to be set by a government agency and told the ABC: “we need to put motorists first in making policy, not the operators and owners”. 

New cars in Australia are consuming up to 30 percent more fuel than claimed

• The Australian Automobile Association has published new data from its real-world fuel-testing program, showing significant disparities between lab-test based manufacturer efficiency claims and real-world testing results for vehicles from some of Australia’s biggest manufacturers.

• 12 vehicles were tested as part of the latest round of testing and only one, the previous-generation MG HS, was found to use less fuel than claimed.

• The biggest disparities were recorded by the GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid, which recorded 6.6L/100km based on AAA testing against a 5.0L/100km claim, and the Chery Omoda 5 (9.1L vs 6.9L) – both 32 percent above their claims.

• The Audi A3, Kia Seltos, Honda CR-V, Honda CR-V Hybrid and Mazda CX-5 also recorded double-digit percentage disparities of between 12 and 21 percent.

• Funded by the federal government and run since October last year, the program has released results for 70 vehicles on sale in Australia, with 52 of them found to use more fuel than claimed by manufacturers and 17 emitting more noxious emissions than permitted by laboratory limits.

LDV T60 Max Plus 2024 reviewed

• Chasing Cars contributor Nathan Ponchard’s review of the 2024 LDV T60 Max Plus was published, taking a close look at the newly facelifted ute.
  

• The T60 Max Plus is the new flagship for the LDV ute range, available in extra-long variant or as in regular-length guise as tested here in automatic form. 

• Priced at around $50K driveaway, the T60 Max Plus auto really is the most logical nemesis to the likes of the high-spec Ford Ranger Wildtrak and Toyota Hilux SR5, at a more wallet-friendly price point.

• In his review, Ponchard takes a deep dive into what’s new for the T60 in its fourth lifecycle update, what you get in the Max Plus package on test, and whether the maturing model has maintained appeal and relevance in Australia’s hotly contested ute segment.

The next issue of Car News Today will be published on Wednesday 23 October 2024 at 4.30pm Sydney time.