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Mazda Australia has recently released its facelifted Mazda 6 sedan and wagon range – the updates, featuring revised powertrain offering and added safety equipment, also include a updated interior.

The Mazda 6 model line-up remains unchanged, featuring the Sport; Touring; GT and Atenza in both the sedan and wagon versions.

The Sport is offered exclusively with an updated version of the carryover 2.5 litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. And according to Mazda, the Sport and Touring variants now have $3000 worth of added value compared to the previous models.

Its worthy noting that in order to improve the on-road performance, Mazda has increased the chassis rigidity and revised the suspension geometry, while the electric power steering system has been further tuned.

The interior, as mentioned previously, has also had a significant update. With a new dash, updated centre console, seats and door trims.

Safety has also made a feature in the facelift. From radar cruise control as a standard to blind-spot monitoring, driver attention alert and emergency stop signal. Other features that round up this rather comprehensive safety suite include lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, rear parking sensors, rear cross-traffic alert, auto-dimming rear-view mirrors, reversing camera and smart city brake support.

And if you are looking for an upmarket feeling, the top-of-the-line Atenza grade is treated to either white or walnut brown Nappa leather trim, wood door and dash trim, Ultrasuede door and dash trim, a sunroof, adaptive LED headlights, surround-view monitors, a 7.0-inch TFT LCD screen, ambient LED interior lighting and ventilated front seats.

2018 Mazda6 list pricing:

Sedan
Mazda6 Sport 2.5 petrol – automatic – $32,490
Mazda6 Touring 2.5 petrol – automatic – $36,690
Mazda6 Touring 2.2 diesel – automatic – $36,690
Mazda6 GT 2.5 turbo petrol – automatic – $43,990
Mazda6 GT 2.2 diesel – automatic – $45,090
Mazda6 Atenza 2.5 turbo petrol – automatic – $47,690
Mazda6 Atenza 2.2 diesel – automatic – $48,790

Wagon
Mazda6 Sport 2.5 petrol – automatic – $33,790
Mazda6 Touring 2.5 petrol – automatic – $37,990
Mazda6 Touring 2.2 diesel – automatic – $40,990
Mazda6 GT 2.5 turbo petrol – automatic – $45,290
Mazda6 GT 2.2 diesel – automatic – $46,390
Mazda6 Atenza 2.5 turbo petrol – automatic – $48,990
Mazda6 Atenza 2.2 diesel – automatic – $50,090

With many new innovations in headlight technology – we wanted to share everything you need to know to make the informed decision when buying your next car. From LED to halogen lamps, day-time running lights and more.

Halogen

In the early days, automotive engineers had to solve a basic problem – how to reliably generate light with limited resources (from a car). From the mid-19600s until now, tungsten filaments have been encased in halogen gas in order to improve the performance and longevity – the solution that they found all those years ago has been pretty consistent, until recently.

Traditionally, tungsten and halogen lamps focused light on the road via a lens that doubled as the headlights protective housing. This is now not the case – since the 1990s the exterior casings of headlights have been made from polycarbonate while light from the bulb is often aimed via a series of reflectors. Alternatively, the light beam is directed by a projector lens within the headlight housing.

While these low cost and long lasting bulbs are the most common headlamp type – the market is rapidly changing.

HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlights

HID headlights are a mixture of rare metals and gases that are heated to produce a bright white glow. HID headlights are two to three times brighter than their halogen counterparts. The Australian Design Rules require cars with HIDs to also have self-levelling mechanisms as well as headlight washers – this is due to the affect HID headlights can have on other road users.

HID lamps require less power to operate and are easy to distinguish as their cool white glow is often accompanied by a distinctive blue tinge. HID lights contain a trace amount of the gas xenon – and they are often commonly referred to as xenon headlights.

LED (Light Emitting Diodes) headlights

LED headlights have also come a long way, they hit maximum brightness within a millionth of a second, however, currently they fall short of the brightness achieved by HIDs.

The biggest selling point of LEDs are that they convert most of the energy created into light and not heat. Of late, LED headlights have started heading into mainstream cars – and as of late have become available on the Corolla sedan.

Laser headlights

BMW was the first to offer Laser headlights as an option in its i8 plug-in hybrid supercar. Laser beams are focused towards a cloud of yellow phosphorous gas, the gas then emits a powerful white glow – which is then reflected and diffused to light up the road. BMW claims that these headlights can illuminate the road up to 600 meters ahead of the i8 - making them more efficient than other variants on the market.

With the all-new Audi RS 4 Avant high-performance station wagon now on sale in Australia, we thought we’d share a bit more about this 2018 new-generation model with you.

The 2018 RS4 Avant is powered by a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine, that produces 331kW of power and 600Nm torque – all models come with an eight-speed tiptronic automatic transmission and quattro all-wheel drive.

Standard features of the RS 4 include 20-inch alloy wheels, red RS brake calipers, adjustable sports exhaust system, LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, adaptive rear LED indicators, adaptive sports suspension and tinted rear windows with acoustic front glass to name a few.

If you are looking for something streamlined and funky in the interior – then the Audi RS 4 Avant delivers. The standard interior kit amongst other things includes Audi’s virtual Cockpit 12.3-inch driver info screen, an 8.0 inch tablet media screen with sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone mirroring and a 19-inch speaker Bang&Olufsen stereo system.

Front sports seats with Nappa leather trim and honeycomb quilting are showcased with the ambient interior lighting system (with 30 different colour options!). A panoramic sunroof is fitted as standard but you can choose to rather forgo this option if not suitable.

In terms of safety the lengthy list of features include Audi’s pre-sense front system with auto emergency braking with pedestrian detection, a 360-degree camera with reversing camera and front/rear parking sensors, traffic jam assist, active lane-keeping assist, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, turn assist and auto high-beam lights. Rounding off this lengthy feature list, Audi has also added rear cross-traffic alert, multi-collision braking and Audi’s “exit warning system” – which flashes the ambient lights if an occupant is about to open their door into the path of oncoming cars or cyclists.

The new twin-turbo V6 model is priced at $152,900 (excluding on-road costs)

Have you ever been on your way to work on a cool morning, and had your windscreen fog up? It’s actually pretty common in generally warmer temperate climates, such as Sydney.
The fog on your windscreen is caused by a difference in air pressure and temperature between the outside and the inside of the car – generally brought on by you and your breathing!
The quickest solution is to switch on the air-conditioning in your car. Air-conditioners will cool the temperature of the inside of your car to match the cool outside morning air. Many drivers will be surprised by the sudden rush of cool air brought on by the ‘demist’ button – but this will evaporate the water condensed on the windscreen as well as cool the temperature to match the temperature outside of the car.
Not keen on the cold? Turn off the vents facing you and point the vents at the side windows. Many of the modern cars come with windscreen air vents, which will blow the cold air directly onto the windscreen – and remove the discomfort of cooling the full car during the chilly mornings.
Other types of demisting car systems include windscreens with thin wires stuck into the windscreen used to warm up the windscreen – this is common for rear windscreens and are often less effective than other air-conditioning solutions.
If you are suffering from a foggy windscreen regularly however, putting a coating over the imperfections in your windscreen (to which the water particles and condensation stick to), keeping your windscreen clean and avoiding cheap replacement glass are all great solutions to investigate.
What works for you when de-fogging your windscreen? Let us know your solutions!

NSW motorists need to be sure to mind the gap and give cyclists a wider berth – this after the new cycling road rule comes into effect.
The new rule states that all vehicles are to leave a gap of at least one metre between you and the cyclist when overtaking at speeds up to 60km/h or 1.5 metres at speeds above 60km/h.
Research conducted by the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety in Queensland has found that bicycle and vehicle accidents were reduced up to 15 per cent as a result of this new passing gap.
If you’re caught breaking the new laws, you might just be slugged with a $330 find and a loss of two demerit points.
With cycling becoming increasingly popular in Australia – as well as becoming a eco-friendly mode of transport being adopted by many – this rule will be sure to assist with road safely for all road users.
As a motorist, be sure to have a clear view of oncoming traffic when crossing broken and unbroken lines – both permitted as part of the new rule.
Nearly all states have similar rules or are undertaking a trial of minimum passing rules with the exception of Victoria, which early in 2017 rejected a recommendation to introduce such rules.

Holden has announced the launch of the new 1.6 litre diesel Equinox – a medium diesel SUV starting from $35,990.

Showcasing a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, the Equinox oiler pumps out 100kW/320Nm, while fuel economy is rated at 5.6L/100km. The engine is hooked up to a six-speed automatic transmission as standard and both front- and all-wheel drive variants are available.

The Holden Equinox diesel will be offered with the same trim grades as the current petrol range – all except the base LS. That means Holden has made the oiler available in LS+, LT, LTZ and LTZ-V guise. The two top grades are all-wheel drive, while base models make do with front-wheel drive.

Other features include six airbags, 17-inch alloy wheels, a rear-view camera and park assist, 60/40 split folding rear seats and auto headlights. Other comforts include a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with four USB inputs.

Keen on the top of the range models? These include  wireless phone charging, powered tailgate, heated and cooled front seat plus a larger infotainment screen.


2018 Holden Equinox pricing
Equinox LS 1.5 manual FWD - $27,990
Equinox LS 1.5  auto FWD - $29,990
Equinox LS+ 1.5 auto FWD - $32,990
Equinox LS+ diesel FWD - $35,990
Equinox LT 2.0 auto FWD - $36,990
Equinox LT diesel FWD - $39,990
Equinox LTZ 2.0 auto FWD - $39,990
Equinox LTZ 2.0 auto AWD - $44,290
Equinox LTX diesel AWD - $47,290
Equinox LTZ-V 2.0 auto AWD - $46,290
Equinox LTZ-V diesel AWD - $49,290

Tesla has gained increased popularity in the market place since their first electric Vehicle (EV) in the mid-2000s. And since this increased demand and popularity from consumers, other big manufacturers are following suit. From Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi and BMW, the competition has grown.
The recent Energy Market Barometers conducted by Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) for France in December 2017 and for Germany by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in November 2017 asked experts to weigh in.
One of the first major challenges in the EV ecosystem is the question of charging – both from infrastructure but also how to alleviate the impact on electricity distribution. Experts expect that a share of about 10% of electric vehicles in the car fleet would require major investments in the low voltage grids.
The challenge would be on how to alleviate the stress that the charging of EV’s would present – experts remain divided on who could shape the market and the solutions that would work. However, they agreed that this would probably boil down to country specific factors.
Another key challenge is the ease of adoption of electric vehicles and their ability to compete against petrol and diesel alternatives. Experts agreed - improvements are mostly needed in the EV technology, specifically a decrease in the price per vehicle, and an increase in the driving range. But also an improvement in the charging infrastructure seems to be due.
What do you think the future of electric vehicles will look like? Have you considered your view point on electric vehicles and whether EVs will replace your petrol or diesel alternative?