Road test
This edition, we put Kia's bold new ute through its paces, test Volkswagen's latest Golf, get behind the wheel of a high-tech Hyundai, and drive Australia's most affordable plug-in hybrid.
A big kid's Tonka Truck
Kia's Tasman is setting new benchmarks for dual-cab utes in the areas of interior space and design, tray size and off-road ability. However, its exterior is polarising.
The dual-cab pick-up range starts at a very competitive $42,990 for the S 4x2 trim. There are another 11 variants available, with the X-Pro 4x4, which we tested, topping the range at $77,990. On top of the purchase price, there's a five-year service package available for about $2800, based on 12-month/15,000km servicing intervals.
The Tonka truck-esque external design, with its chunky wheel-arch flares, is divisive among the motoring community and the look might deter some buyers.
Once you've overcome the exterior shock and hop in the Tasman, you'll find it has one of the best interiors for a ute. In fact, the Tasman's interior is more akin to an SUV than a work ute.
There's lots of space, with wide seats in the front and back. The rear-occupant space is very good and includes heated seats, and the distance between the driver and vertical windscreen adds to the feeling of space. There is 45 litres of storage under the rear seats, enabling smaller items to be stored in the cabin out of view.
There's also glovebox-sized storage built into the exterior of the right rear wheel arch for tie-down straps and other bits and pieces. However, it would've been safer and easier if the storage space was on the other side of the vehicle, so you're not standing on the traffic side when accessing the area.
Kia has the right mix of switches and touchscreen buttons. Three screens – a 12.3-inch driver display, five-inch climate-control screen and 12.3-inch multimedia screen – are seamlessly joined to create an integrated panoramic display.
The steering wheel is a squarish design, leaving a bit to be desired.
The Tasman is a big car at 5.4 metres long and takes some getting used to when parking. The upside of the Tasman's length is that it has one of the largest tubs for an Australian ute. There are adjustable tie downs and 240-volt power outlets in the lined tub area plus an outlet inside the cabin behind the centre console.
The Tasman is based on an all-new ladder chassis platform and sits on an Aussie-developed suspension package consisting of leaf springs on the rear and coils on the front. This provides a quiet and refined ride and exceptional handling for such a tall vehicle.
Most utes need some weight in the back to control the suspension but the Tasman rides well, even without a load. The Tasman has a 3.5-tonne towing capacity and one-tonne payload and comes standard with an integrated trailer brake controller if you want to install a towbar.
The 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine is well matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The single-turbo design does contribute to a little bit of turbo lag on take-off.
Off road, the Tasman is very capable with various drive modes. It has an electronic locking differential with a dedicated switch, high ground clearance and good underbody protection for the fuel tank.
For a first crack at making a ute, Kia has got the Tasman pretty well right, it's just a pity about the looks.
Reviewed by Mark Borlace
Kia Tasman TK Double K X-Pro 4x4
Price
$77,990
ANCAP safety rating
Not yet rated
Warranty
Seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty
Fuel consumption 8.1L/100km
BYD's budget-friendly plug-in Hybrid
Not quite ready for an EV? A plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) could be perfect for you. At $33,990, we drive Australia's newest and cheapest PHEV.
The humble PHEV is having its time in the sun. Once ridiculed as something of a joke technology, rapid advances in EV battery technology, amounting to an increase in battery density for a lower cost, has seen PHEV sales surge 130 per cent in 2025 to 53,484.
By infusing a conventional combustion vehicle with the latest EV technology – think a muscular electric motor and a battery that can be independently recharged – you effectively get two cars in one.
You get an EV for emissions-free shorter trips. Then, when the battery is flat, you have the conventional engine and petrol tank for longer journeys. Some of the latest PHEVs have more range than some of the earliest EVs.
The influx of Chinese brands has also seen PHEV prices plummet. At $33,990, the BYD Sealion 5 Essential joins a now 10-strong BYD range and is currently Australia's cheapest PHEV. Under the bonnet, a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine produces 72kW and 122Nm, while a 145kW/300Nm electric motor pairs with a 12.9kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery. Electric-only range is 71km, while BYD says fuel efficiency with a flat battery is 4.5L/100km. Combined power is a hearty 156kW.
With a longer, wider and taller body than a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, inside the cabin there's at least as much space. It's arguably more modern than the Toyota, with its combination of 10.1-inch central touchscreen (with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) and 8.8-inch instrument cluster. BYD has kindly fitted buttons for various common controls including a roller for volume.
While the manually adjusted front seats remind you that you bought the base model, the Sealion 5 is still fairly generously equipped. It drives well too. In its EV-only mode, the electric motor offers decent and responsive instant torque with brisk, near-silent front-drive acceleration. With its regenerative braking, it may as well be an EV.
We got about 65km in EV-only mode and when the petrol engine kicked in, the drive was smooth and not too loud. And it still has plenty of acceleration in short bursts.
The Sealion 5 isn't perfect. You could argue it has all the personality of a user manual. The unusually wide turning circle will give you plenty of three-point turn practice; some of the active driver aids are a bit trigger-happy; and if you can't, or don't, plug it in regularly, you may as well get a more conventional hybrid like a RAV4 or Hyundai Tucson. With a flat battery, the Sealion 5 returned 6.5L/100km, about 20 per cent more than a RAV4 Hybrid in the real world.
And at one point during our testing, the Sealion 5's infotainment screen froze and wouldn't come back, despite restarting the car. Forgivable given the price?
Plugged in at home overnight, a full charge will take roughly five hours. One in three Aussie homes now have solar on the roof and if that's you, a solar-powered PHEV charged during the day could save you thousands of dollars in petrol each year. No joke.
Reviewed by Dylan Campbell
BYD Sealion 5 Essential
Price
$33,990
ANCAP safety rating
Not yet rated
Warranty
Six-year/150,000km vehicle warranty, eight-year/160,000km battery warranty
Range
1001km petrol/electric
Latest Golf on par
SUV who? At $39,290 before on-road costs, Volkswagen's evergreen base Golf makes the case for an excellent small hatch, even if the price of an entry-level model isn't quite what it used to be.
We've entered an age where many car brands are doing away with hatchbacks to make way for SUVs. But one of the original arbiters of the humble hatch, Volkswagen, is still carrying the torch for this much-loved type of car.
A new Mk8.5 Golf has arrived on Aussie shores and is available in five grades, from the base $39,290 Life we tested to the range-topping, $71,990 R.
The Golf Life comes with all the tech you would want in 2026, with a few small, thoughtful touches. Wireless phone charging and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is standard, and VW now fits a small air-conditioning vent in the wireless charging tray to prevent your phone from overheating as they can be prone to do in an Aussie summer.
The base Life comes with the same 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster used across the Golf range, and it works well. The Life gets a smaller 10.3-inch central infotainment touchscreen, but it's more than big enough.
While some owners will rue the lack of physical air-conditioning and audio buttons and dials, the screen software is easy to figure out.
If you're not confident at parking, the Life comes with VW's superb automatic reverse parking feature as standard.
The first thing you notice when you sit in a Golf is a lovely sense of quality. The front seats are excellent, and whether you're accessing the boot, sitting in the back or trying to do something like pair your phone, everything just works.
There's plenty of space in the front and back, complemented by a useable 374-litre boot. Endlessly practical, the Golf Life would blend invisibly into the background of however your life looks, in the best of ways.
All Golf models come with a long list of standard safety equipment, including a front-centre airbag and full autonomous emergency braking (AEB), active lane-keeping and blind-spot monitoring. Importantly, VW's active safety systems all work well, and you aren't encouraged to go looking for their 'off' buttons.
If you've owned an SUV for the last couple of years, driving a low-slung hatchback could be slightly revelatory. In the VW Golf Life, roundabouts somehow require less effort and are more fun.
The Golf Life is a very easy, quiet and refined car to drive. In the corners, the steering and handling are superb for what is a humble passenger hatch.
VW has sold 37 million Golfs for very good reason, which continue to be evident in the excellent Life. Highly equipped with standard features, don't be tricked by the Golf Life's manual, cloth front seats – this is not a base model like it used to be. That can also be said of the price.
Reviewed by Dylan Campbell
2025 VW Golf Life
Price
$39,290
ANCAP safety rating
5 stars (tested 2022)
Warranty
Five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty
Fuel consumption
6.3L/100km
A high -tech Hyundai
Hyundai's new Palisade is a tour de force of technology, bold design, luxury feel, and refined drive at a price that should have some of the premium brands sweating.
Initially, the Palisade was launched in the top spec Calligraphy, but now there's a base model available that costs $18,000 less than the high-end option. The cheaper option is also available as an eight-seat or seven-seat configuration, with a choice of eight exterior colours and four interior trims.
We tested the Calligraphy, and it's a strong contender for a very specific buyer. If you're one of the rare parents who needs a genuinely large family SUV for growing teenagers and extra luggage – and have the budget for a $100,000 vehicle – then the Palisade is a solid choice.
The first impression is that the Palisade combines luxury and modern design with plush finishes. The twist-action gear selector is mounted on the steering column which also houses the engine start button, freeing up centre console space. Drivers can start the car with the key, via a biometric fingerprint recognition button in the console or from their phone.
There aren't too many SUVs under $100,000 that are genuinely big enough to accommodate adults in the third row, but passenger space is where the Palisade excels.
The Palisade is an eight-seater in standard trim, but for a premium of $1000, you lose one of the middle-row seats for a pair of luxurious captain's chairs.
Even with all rows occupied, there's plenty of space in the luggage bay because the full-size spare tyre has been slung underneath the vehicle. There are also two 100W USB-C outlets for each row, and tri-zone climate control ensures all occupants remain comfortable. You'll also find a 240-volt (max 3.6kW) power outlet in the cargo area to charge devices and power household-type appliances.
The Palisade's 2.5-litre turbo engine has a small capacity. However, when integrated into the hybrid system's six-speed transmission – which houses two electric motors and a larger 54kW motor for driving and regenerative braking – it delivers EV-like acceleration and power.
The Aussie Hyundai design team has again done a great job of getting the ride and handling package right for Australian conditions. The quietness in the cabin is achieved using tyres with internal sound deadening, thicker interior carpeting, added soundproofing of the engine bay and acoustic laminated glass.
A combination of hybrid regeneration and a traditional braking system means the brake pedal has a slightly different feel that you need to get used to. And, although the Palisade has all-wheel drive capability with a 187mm ground clearance, it's really a mud, snow, and sand car only.
The Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy is a genuine premium large SUV, and given the tech, features, and refinement, anyone in the market for a seven- or eight-seat SUV needs the Calligraphy on their shopping list.
Reviewed by Mark Borlace
Hyundai Palisade 8S CAL 2.5T HEV AT AWD
Price
$96,759
ANCAP safety rating
5 stars
Warranty
Five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty
Fuel consumption
6.8L/100km
IMAGES: Newspress.
