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Just one month after Transmission Gully opened to traffic, nearby residents are complaining of “disruptive” and “ridiculous” road noise from a major bridge. The $1.25 billion road north of Wellington opened to traffic at the end of March after years ...

Home EV charging: benefits by the numbers

Photos / Dean Evans Recently we covered the process of fitting a home EV charger. Though not suited to every EV/PHEV owner, we did look at the benefits, and with my own long distance drive between work and home, ...

Lexus aims to sell a million EVs each year by 2030

Photo / Supplied Just like its parent company, Toyota, Lexus hasn’t invested a huge amount into EV production… yet. The Japanese automaker currently has two electric models on offer, only one of which is a bespoke EV, but reportedly, ...

Volkswagen Amarok released to off-road test sites

Photo / Supplied Offering a premium new design and state of the art technologies, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has released the highly anticipated Amarok to off-road test sites ahead of local public release in 2023. The Amarok has been developed ...

INEOS Automotive announces it's expanding across New Zealand

Photo / Supplied INEOS Automotive has nominated the partners that will operate the first 32 retail sites in Australia and New Zealand. These are among the first 160 locations to be confirmed in markets around the world. By the ...

Should you move left for speeding vehicles? The fierce debate about sitting at 100km/h in highway right lane

Photo / Supplied It’s an issue that bitterly divides Kiwi motorists into competing lanes of thought – and apparently the authorities too. Is it reasonable for drivers to travel at 100km/h in the right-hand lane of a highway if ...

Watch: Car appears to deliberately ram another vehicle in scary footage of Hamilton crash

Frightening new video shows a car appearing to deliberately ram the back of another vehicle at speed in a Hamilton street. The crash leaves debris strewn across the road as pedestrians rush to the scene. The crash took place on ...

Family mourns Stephen Penn killed in speedway crash

Photo / Supplied Tributes for the racer who died in a crash at a speedway track in Palmerston North on Sunday evening are flooding in. The man who died was Stephen Penn, a member of the Manawatū Mustangs, and ...

The Good Oil: When a car is really a motorcycle

Photos / Supplied When is a car not really a car but a motorcycle? Or rather, when is a motorcycle technically a motorcycle but pretty much a car? When it’s a “Quadricycle” according to European regulations, which means it’s ...

'Experiential' Waikato dealership gives the Royale treatment

Photo / Supplied The Te Rapa straight in Hamilton has its fair share of dealerships, but few stand out from the crowd like Royale Cars and Motorcycles. With a modern building, sizeable lot with a variety of vehicles and ...

Middleweight icon

Photo / Supplied British name, Indian made, and one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world. It can only be the one and only Royal Enfield. Making claim to being the world’s oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production, ...

Café cool

Photo / Supplied Wellington-based e-motorcycle start-up FTN Motion has kicked off a nationwide roadshow to introduce its brand new, NZ-made beta model Streetdog. It has visited Christchurch already and is on its way to Auckland, Tauranga and then back ...

Auckland's $1.4 billion Eastern Busway facing funding problems

Photo / Supplied The third and final stage of Auckland’s $1.4 billion Eastern Busway is facing fresh uncertainty over funding issues and commercial negotiations with the contractors. The last 5km stretch of the busway between Pakuranga and Botany is ...

Winner of the 2022 NZ Hot Wheels Legends tour announced!

Photo / Supplied The Hot Wheels Legends Tour is the world’s largest travelling car show, which sees thousands of Hot Wheels fans competing to have their custom car reimagined as a 1:64th scale Hot Wheels® Die-Cast toy and sold ...

The bus lane cameras snapping $12,000 in fines a day

Photo / Supplied Cameras along a 160-metre length of bus lane in Auckland’s Newmarket generated $4.3 million in fines last year. Almost 29,000 fines of $150 were issued to people driving more than 50m in the Khyber Pass Rd ...

Range Rover Velar P400e R-Dynamic SE review: quick, charge it

Photos / David Linklater Range Rover Velar P400e R-Dynamic SE 53km Range $139,000 Price 5.4 sec 0-100 kmph 640Nm Torque Pros Blend of speed and potential thrift DC fast-charging capability Cheaper than entry Jaguar F-Pace equivalent Cons Jerky around ...

Police inspector says roads aren't to blame for Kiwi road toll, bad drivers are

Photo / Supplied A police inspector says New Zealand’s roads are not to blame for the Easter road toll, but bad drivers are. Easter weekend for 2022, which ended at 6am on Tuesday, had a death toll of four. ...

Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT: world's fastest SUV (if there are corners)

Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT $342,000 Price 3.3 sec 0-100 kmph 850Nm Torque 471kW Power Pros Outrageous performance Sports car steering (seriously) Sublime SUV chassis Cons Not sure about the gold wheels Alcantara cabin might be OTT Over $70k more expensive ...

AA BUYER'S GUIDE: The best used rideshare vehicles

Photos / Supplied If you have decided to get into the rideshare game it’s important to choose your vehicle carefully. Many operators have a list of standard operating criteria that must be adhered to, so it’s important to check ...

DRIVEN EXPLAINS PART 5: Can a hybrid tow?

You might be thinking about a hybrid electrified vehicle (HEV) for your next new car. But the burning question for many Kiwis is: can a HEV still tow? The answer is yes. Many HEVs can tow, with various models offering ...

The Good Oil: No substitute for a digital Aventador

A million dollars is enough to buy an actual Lamborghini Aventador LP780-4 Ultimae. But NZ$950,000 is what enthusiastic bidders paid in total for Lamborghini’s first-ever official NFT offering, comprising five lots. Which was five pretty similar pictures of a Lamborghini ...

Jaguar I-Pace EV400 SE review: the speed of change

Photos / David Linklater Jaguar I-Pace EV400 SE 470km Range $159,900 Price 4.8 sec 0-100 kmph 294kW Power Pros Clever design/packaging Outstanding handling/ride combination Still full of Jaguar cahracter Cons Poor visibility in urban driving 100kW charge rate lags ...

Second-generation Lexus NX is 95 per cent new and 100 per cent electrified

Photos / Supplied Lexus New Zealand already enjoys a very high share of electrified vehicles in its overall sales mix: 72 per cent last year. But when it comes to the second-generation NX, it’ll be 100 per cent. The ...

Road user costs to be discounted temporarily by 36 percent

Photo / Supplied On March 14, the NZ Government announced a three-month transport temporary relief package to support Kiwis through the current global energy crisis. The package came in three parts: public transport, fuel excise duty, and road user ...

Revealed: The countries paying the most and least tax on petrol

Photo / Supplied Petrol prices have been skyrocketing all over the globe, and there are many reasons for the price spikes, including crude oil price increases and international wars. But there’s another factor that contributes to high petrol prices, ...

Mangawhai crash: Car goes airborne, lodges in school bus in 'Dukes of Hazzard' crash

Photo / Supplied A driver has walked away from a spectacular crash where their car flew through the air before becoming lodged in a school bus. The incident, in the coastal settlement of Mangawhai north of Auckland, happened early ...

Rare 1962 S3 Bentley stolen in Wellington

Photo / Supplied A rare 1962 S3 Bentley was stolen in Wellington last week. There are only three of its kind in New Zealand, and the thief drove off with the vehicle wearing the owner’s chauffeur hat. The extremely ...

Clean Car Scheme woes: over 100 miscalculations in flawed emissions data

Photo / Supplied The Transport Agency says over 100 vehicles have flawed emissions data under the Clean Car Discount Scheme, which has led to rebates and fees being miscalculated. The miscalculation of the CO2 emissions on some cars means ...

Council told it will 'destroy' record-setting speed road

Roadworks planned by Rotorua Lakes Council may spoil Reporoa’s Goudie’s Rd for speedsters. The public road has been used for car racing for more than 20 years, with racers from around the globe descending on the road, some setting land-speed ...

NZ Insurer sees more than 1000 insurance claims from battering storms

Photo / Supplied The country’s largest insurer has been flooded with more than 1000 claims following the storms that battered the top half of the North Island over the past two days. By 8am this morning, 1060 claims had ...

AA BUYER’S GUIDE: Used hybrids for less than $20k

Photo / Supplied Used hybrids have been getting a lot more attention recently. In fact, the bestselling used import in 2021 was a hybrid – the Toyota Aqua. Recently we have been hearing from members considering the purchase of ...

Mazda CX-5 first drive: bit of rough and a twist of lime

Mazda CX-5 Activ 1.8t Towing $50,990 Price 438l Boot 140kW Power Pros New Activ brings more personality to range Off Road mode brings extra cred to Activ, Takami Improved refinement across the range Cons Excellent diesel no longer wanted/needed No ...

CAROLOGY PART 2: The beginning of the seat belt

CARology is DRIVEN’s series about everyday aspects of motoring that you’ve probably never thought of, and where they came from. Things we take for granted every time we go for a drive. This fun, short series looks at the origins ...

AA CAR CARE: Don’t buy a car with a clocked speedo

Photo / Supplied Importing a vehicle has never been easier. But how can you guarantee the speedo is a true reflection of the distance travelled? Buying a used vehicle from Japan If you’re buying a used vehicle recently imported ...

Toyota RAV4 XSE hybrid review: like it? Join the queue

Toyota RAV4 XSE hybrid 1.5t Towing $52,990 Price 4.8L Fuel Economy 163kW Power Pros Distinctive looks in RAV4 world Great blend of hybrid power/economy Appealing interior specification Cons Multiplicity of models is confusing Slowest power tailgate in the world You ...

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