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The world’s best-selling electric sedan has just received its most comprehensive update – with more driving range and a new look – since it arrived in US showrooms six years ago. The facelifted 2024 Tesla Model 3 electric car has been revealed – after months of reports, spy photos and leaked images – ahead of first Australian deliveries early next year. It is the most significant update to the Tesla Model 3 – the company’s all-time best seller in Australia – since it arrived in US showrooms in 2017, and in Australia in 2019. The update brings a refreshed look, upgraded interior with new seats and trims, and increased driving range for all models. Prices have risen across the range – with the entry-level rear-wheel-drive model now priced from $61,900 plus on-road costs, up from $61,300 previously, and the Long Range from $71,900 plus on-roads, up $1500. Orders are open now on the Tesla Australia website ahead of first deliveries due between January and March 2024,...

A major fire in the paint shop of a Kia factory has forced the production of the EV6 electric car to be suspended for more than a week. The aftermath of a fire at the Kia EV6 factory. Credit: The Korean Car Blog. One of Kia’s eight South Korean factories will remain closed until the second week of September due to a fire. The Kia plant is responsible for manufacturing the electric EV6, though it’s understood the fire was caused by a spark from the cabling of a robot in the paint shop, Yonhap News Agency reports. The facility’s automatic fire suppression system came into effect, before Kia’s own fire brigade arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire after 40 minutes, according to multiple reports. There have been no injuries reported, however all eight paint robots were damaged in the incident. Management and worker representatives agreed to suspend all plant operations until 7 September, as the company works to quickly restore its paint shop. It’s not know...

The first electric Hyundai N performance car is the South Korean company’s most expensive model ever – and more than twice the price of a Hyundai i30 N hot hatch. The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N electric ‘hot hatch’ will become the most expensive car ever to wear the Hyundai badge in Australia when pre-orders open this month. The Ioniq 5 N will be priced from $111,000 plus on-road costs – $31,500 more than the regular Ioniq 5 Techniq all-wheel drive on which it is based. It is comfortably the most expensive Hyundai sold in Australia – beating the Ioniq 6 Epiq electric sedan ($88,000 plus on-roads) – and is more than double the price of a top-of-the-range Hyundai i30 N petrol hot hatch ($53,700 plus on-roads). Estimated to cost close to $120,000 drive-away – depending on where it is registered – the Ioniq 5 N is also significantly more expensive than its Kia EV6 GT relative under the skin, which lists for $99,590 plus on-road costs. MORE: 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N electric h...

An electric version of Jaguar’s flagship XJ sedan was axed at the eleventh hour two years ago – but now overseas reports claim the car-maker is interested in a battery-powered rival for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class once again. Plans by British car-maker Jaguar to target Bentley with a new range of high-priced electric cars – intended to save the company from extinction globally – will reportedly include a four-seat electric luxury sedan to succeed its iconic XJ. As previously reported by Drive , the ‘reboot’ of the Jaguar brand – due to commence next year – will spawn three new electric vehicles planned to rival Bentley and Porsche, after it failed to gain traction in pursuit of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Now UK publication Autocar claims one of the vehicles will be a full-size flagship sedan planned as an indirect successor to the XJ – alongside a sportier Porsche Taycan sports-sedan rival, and a luxury SUV. While Jaguar had been working on an electric XJ as recently as la...

The first four-door sedan from UK sports-car specialist Lotus since the 1990s will be unveiled next week, with battery power and a focus on the Porsche Taycan. The Porsche Taycan rival from British sports-car maker Lotus will be known as the 2024 Lotus Emeya when it is unveiled on 7 September, European time. Known during development under the codename Type 133 – and previously mooted to wear the Envya or Etude names – the Emeya will be the company’s third electric car, following the Eletre large SUV and Evija hypercar. A rival for the Porsche Taycan and Audi E-Tron GT, the new Emeya will be the first Lotus sedan since it applied its badge and twin-turbo V6 power to the Vauxhall Carlton (or Opel Omega), a distant relative of the Holden VN Commodore, in the 1990s. While Lotus and Volvo’s electric-car spin-off Polestar are both owned by Chinese car giant Geely, the Emeya is not expected to share its underpinnings with the similarly-sized Polestar 5 electric sedan due next year...

Paying off your car loan sooner rather than later can save you thousands of dollars in interest repayments. Being lumped with a car repayment amid a cost-of-living crisis isn’t exactly an ideal situation. RELATED: Car finance to blame for increasing pressure on household budgets RELATED: How to get cheaper car insurance Unfortunately, it’s a reality for many Australians. For a secured car loan, market interest rates are currently hovering between eight and 11 per cent. Ouch. Here are some ways you can knock off a car loan faster, which can save you on interest repayments. Ensure you won’t face a penalty  Before you change anything, know that some loan contracts include harsh penalties for paying your car loan out faster. “These can add up pretty quickly, and they are a clause of the contract you need to understand when signing on the dotted line,” warns financial advisor Brenton Tong, of Financial Spectrum. When you pay your loan out early, any outstanding interest ...

The new Volkswagen Passat unveiled in Europe today – with a bigger body, new technology, and plug-in hybrid tech with up to 100km of claimed electric driving range – will not come to Australia. The next-generation 2024 Volkswagen Passat has been unveiled – ahead of the nameplate’s 50th birthday – but it will not come to Australia. The new Passat will be sold only as a wagon – after the sedan body style was killed late in the life of the previous model – with a more contemporary design, higher-tech interior, and updated engines with hybrid technology. However an Australian launch is not planned, as Volkswagen streamlines its range to focus on stronger-selling hatchbacks and SUVs – in preparation for its new range of electric vehicles. The spirit of the Passat will live on in Australia in the next Skoda Superb – due here at the end of next year – which will be more closely related to the Passat than ever before. MORE: Volkswagen Passat axed in Australia, new model not ...