Popular Cars in Australia

Mazda 3

The first Australian-spec, right-hand drive All-New Mazda3 has arrived in the country and is undergoing final local testing before production for the Australian market starts in the coming months.

Keen-eyed motorists around Melbourne may have seen the 2.5 litre SKYACTIV-G petrol engine equipped, high-grade All-New Mazda3 sedan in Soul Red being put through its paces over the past week.

While the All-New Mazda3 hatch was involved in first-drive media events staged in Europe and the USA recently, the Australian-spec car sedan has made its Australian debut driving in and around Melbourne testing some of the new technology to be made available in Mazda’s latest car.

Mazda Australia has worked closely with Mazda head office in Hiroshima throughout the development of All-New Mazda3 to deliver a vehicle that is expected to remain one of the country’s most popular.

Launched globally in late-June, Australia was one of the first countries to unveil the All-New Mazda3, revealing a prototype American-spec left-hand drive hatch at a stylish media event held in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct.

The All-New Mazda3 range incorporates Mazda’s stunning  ‘KODO – Soul of Motion’ design language, comes with the full suite of SKYACTIV Technologies and will be available with a number of i-ACTIVSENSE inclusions like Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) and Smart City Brake Support (SCBS).

All-New Mazda3 features an updated Human Machine Interface (HMI) which includes Mazda’s first ever heads-up Active Driving Display, a new connectivity system that offers improved phone, navigation, audio and social navigation and access to thousands of digital radio stations via Pandora® and Aha®.

The safety features available on All-New Mazda3 make it one of the safest small cars on the market, but it is also one of the most technologically advanced Mazdas ever produced.

Toyota HiLux

The Toyota Hilux is a series of compact pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota. Most countries used the Hilux name for the entire life of the series but in North America, the Hilux name was retired in 1976 in favor of Truck, Pickup Truck, or Compact Truck. In North America the popular option package, the SR5 (Sport Rally 5-Speed), was colloquially used as a model name for the truck, even though the option package was also used on other Toyota models like the Corolla. In 1984, the Trekker, the camper version of the Hilux, was renamed as the 4Runner in Australia and North America, and as the Hilux Surf in Japan. In 1995, Toyota introduced a new pickup model, the Tacoma in North America, discontinuing the Hilux/Pickup there. The 4Runner is now a full SUV, and the more recent models do not resemble the Tacoma.

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by Toyota. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla managed to become the best-selling car worldwide by 1974[2] and has been one of the best-selling cars in the world since then. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, surpassing the Volkswagen Beetle.[3] Toyota reached the milestone of 40 million Corollas sold over eleven generations in July 2013.[4] The series has undergone several major redesigns. The name "corolla" is part of Toyota's naming tradition of using names derived from the Toyota Crown for sedans. The Corolla has always been exclusive in Japan to Toyota Corolla Store locations, and manufactured in Japan with a twin, called the Toyota Sprinter until 2000.

Early models were mostly rear-wheel drive, while later models have been front-wheel drive based. Its traditional competitors have been the Nissan Sunny, introduced the same year as the Corolla in Japan and the later Honda Civic. The Corolla's chassis designation code is "E", as described in Toyota's chassis and engine codes.

Holden Commodore 

The Holden VY Commodore is an automobile which was produced by Holden in Australia between September 2002 and August 2004. The VY Commodore, which was the twelfth Holden Commodore series, was the successor to the VX Commodore. A VY Series II was released in August 2003 and that made way for the updated VZ Commodore range in August 2004.

The VY Commodore was available in several models. These are the Commodore Executive, Acclaim, S, SV8 and SS and the Berlina and Calais models which were not badged as Commodores. All the models in the VY range were offered as sedans and the Executive, Acclaim and Berlina were also available as wagons. Unusually, the VY also introduced a limited edition SS wagon featuring the same 235 kW (315 hp) (245 kW (329 hp) for Series II) V8, bodykit and sports suspension as the SS sedan. However, it was equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels as opposed to the 18 inch wheels on the sedan. 500 such wagons were produced for Series I and 350 for Series II.

The VY was the last Commodore to use the 3.8 litre ECOTEC V6 engines.