While Aussie car makers stand still, Europe goes electric... #EV #Audi

It's an Audi, or an Audi on a VW platform (nothing new there). Most importantly it's an electric vehicle, and a prestige one at that... and it's real, and it's small. It's a 2+1, would you believe! And whilst it's offered with a range of motors, it's the electric one that'll steal the show. Whilst VW itself is banking on squeezing the last drops out of small, turbo-charged diesel and petrol motors, it obviously has a Plan B, too. If the US car makers (and their Aussie offshoots) don't wake up and smell the roses soon they'll miss the boat, let alone the mixed metaphor, completely.

A variety of engines will be offered, although the star of the show will be an electric powerplant. It incorporates lightweight lithium-polymer batteries and a punchy electric motor driving the front wheels. So the small, agile car will be ideal for city motoring, delivering 0-60mph in around 10 seconds. And with a full charge providing enough energy to travel up to 100 miles helped by regenerative braking, the plug-in machine will have real all-round ability.

Hyundai derivative, Ford and VW original... yeah, riiight

From the increasingly annoying drive.com.au... And as compression ignition sales grow, it's no surprise that aggressive Korean manufacturer Hyundai is leading the assault. The evidence is the i30 CRDi, a stylish (albeit derivative) small car that is well equipped, space-efficient and part of a model line-up selling well in Australia's most popular segment.

It's great that smaller, less thirsty cars are in the spotlight, but why slap Hyundai around just because? Somehow the almost-identically styled and packaged Focus and Golf are not instantly labelled "derivative", even though they are clearly derived both from previous models in their own stables, and also generally in the marketplace. They all have hatches, drive the front wheels, are similar boxes with subtle curves. None of them actually add anything new that we haven't seen before. So exactly what is drive.com.au getting at? That Hyundai's somehow not "worthy" enough is how I read it.

This is typical motor-noter weariness and laziness but please, please get over it.