[{"count":0,"catCount":0,"tagCount":0,"tags":null,"posttitles":null,"blogPostID":317,"blogPostTitle":"Hyundai has revolutionised the performance EV - by making it slower","blogPostDesc":"2026 Hyundai IONIQ 6 N new car review, Canberra, Australia","blogPostKeyword":"2026 Hyundai IONIQ 6 N new car review, Canberra, Australia","blogPostH1Title":"New Car Review","blogPostDate":"2026-09-24T00:00:00","blogPostLocation":null,"blogPostContent":"

What Hyundai has managed to do with its N sub-brand is quite incredible.

It doesn't seem all that long ago that Hyundai was little more than the Excel. Then it hired Albert Biermann, fresh from running BMW M, went after the Volkswagen Golf GTI with the i30 N, and somehow came away with something immediately considered a genuine rival to the world's benchmark hot hatch.

Now we're at the point where you learn a new Hyundai N model costs $115,000 and no one really falls off their chair.

There really isn't anything else quite like the new IONIQ 6 N. A Tesla is quick. There's the Porsche Taycan, but by then you're spending considerably more money. And neither manages to be as much fun.

The secret ingredient is an unlikely one: fake engine noises and fake gear shifts. 

Yep, you'll have to hear us out.


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How it works


It's not the first time Hyundai has tried this. It pioneered what it calls N Active Sound+ and N e-Shift with the IONIQ 5 N, and we've since seen a similar idea in the hot Genesis GV60 Magma.

Ordinarily, if someone told you their EV made internal-combustion noises, you'd ask them to put the speaker back in whatever AliExpress box it came in and just buy a petrol car if that's what they really want.

But you don't think this in the IONIQ 6 N, mainly because you're having too much fun.

For your $115,000, you're getting the same weirdly shaped body as the regular IONIQ 6, only now bristling with enough carbon-fibre and sporting thinner headlights to look genuinely mean. I was slightly taken aback when the Hyundai man rolled up in it, to be honest, and driving it along Sydney's M5 felt a little like I'd taken a wrong turn at Le Mans.


\"It's

It's a wing - not a spoiler.


Underneath are two electric motors producing 448kW and 740Nm, rising to 478kW and 770Nm when you hit the little red N Grin Boost button on the steering wheel. With launch control, 0-100km/h takes 3.2 seconds.

But none of that is really what makes it interesting.

There are three sound settings: Lightspeed mimics a spaceship or fighter jet, Evolution gives you Hyundai's idea of a \"futuristic performance-EV\" soundtrack, while Ignition does its best impression of a high-revving turbo engine.

I went for Ignition (it's what we know and love, after all). Combined with the fact you can change imaginary gears using the steering-wheel paddles, it's incredibly well done. There's a burble at idle, a greater degree of pick-up higher in the \"rev\" range, and lifting off even produces pops and crackles. 


\"Almost

Almost as many buttons on the steering wheel as in an F1 car.


The shifts aren't just noises either - there's a jerk in the power delivery with every one, just like you'd get in a combustion car.

In short, Hyundai has spent considerable time and money making its performance EV slower. And less efficient. But better.


The rest of the package


Even without the theatre, the IONIQ 6 N is properly capable. At around 2.2 tonnes it's typically heavy for an EV, but with the weight sitting low and such pointed steering, you don't really feel it.

It rides remarkably well, too. It's stiff, obviously, but never bone-jarring, and while the front skirt looks low enough to take an ant off at the ankles, it cleared ordinary speed humps without requiring you to get out and do trigonometry to determine the best approach angle.


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There's also an almost bewildering amount to adjust: suspension, steering, brakes, power delivery, differential settings, torque distribution, traction control and even a drift optimiser. You could spend an afternoon configuring it without leaving the driveway.

The back is almost limousine-like for legroom, provided you're either a child or don't particularly need a head. That drooping roofline eats heavily into rear headroom, while the boot is about as deep as your letterbox. 
That enormous rear wing does also block a decent chunk of the view behind you, not that you mind.


The verdict


EV owners love to gloat about how fast their cars are, and how a Tesla can cream all sorts of serious machinery away from a set of traffic lights.

But, at risk of sounding like an inspirational placard hanging in someone's entranceway, petrolheads understand that life is about the journey. It's not how quickly you hit 100km/h that matters, but how much fun you had getting there.

That's always been the worrying bit about the electric future. Straight-line speed stopped being difficult a while ago, but speed alone isn't necessarily interesting.

So far, the IONIQ 6 N is the only EV to understand that.

It isn't just point and shoot; you can play around with it. All fake, yes. And there is something deep within me that still finds it? mildly depressing that none of it is necessary. But every time I got in it during my week with it, I would still hit the N shortcut button on the steering wheel.

Because was it fun? Most definitely.


\"Sinister.\"

Sinister.

","blogDOLAStaffID":516,"blogPostCategoryID":[],"blogPostTagID":[97,99,103],"blogPostCategoryTitle":null,"blogCategoryId":[10,24,23],"blogPostFeatDesc":"Enjoying an EV with fake engine noises and gear shifts is a bit like boasting about the Rolex you got from a stall in Bali. But after spending a week with Hyundai's new IONIQ 6 N, we were genuinely blown away by just how good it is. (We probably won't be off to Bali just yet, though.) Here's our full thoughts ...","blogPostFeaturedImageURL":"https://images-archive.allbids.com.au/blog/blog-feat-317-639258213198368071.jpg","blogPostOpeningImageURL":"https://images-archive.allbids.com.au/blog/blog-header-317-639258213209790384.jpg","blogDOLAStaffName":"James Coleman","blogTags":[],"blogPostDetailURL":"https://carbids.com.au/h/allbids-blogs/hyundai-has-revolutionised-the-performance-ev-317","postdates":null,"postid":null,"postcontents":null,"categories":null,"categoriesID":null,"tagsID":null,"categorytitle":null,"tagtitle":null},{"count":0,"catCount":0,"tagCount":0,"tags":null,"posttitles":null,"blogPostID":316,"blogPostTitle":"The only Skyline Australia ever built - and why it happened","blogPostDesc":"Nissan R31 Skyline Australia history feature","blogPostKeyword":"Nissan R31 Skyline Australia history feature","blogPostH1Title":"Vehicle Spotlight","blogPostDate":"2026-09-22T00:00:00","blogPostLocation":null,"blogPostContent":"

Santa has already decided we've all been very good this year, and clearly had a word with Nissan. Because it's official – we're getting the first all-new generation of Skyline in 13 years this December.

It's all very exciting, but even with details still scarce, it's safe to say it will never fill quite the same role as the R31 generation of the 1980s.

Mention the Skyline name today and most minds probably jump to racy GT-Rs, equally racy anime, and emphatically racy late-night drift contests in empty shopping centre car parks.

But for four years in the late 1980s, the Skyline also attended the shopping centre during the day. For, um, shopping. It was an ordinary, Australian-built family car.


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Yep, Nissan manufactured the R31-generation Skyline right here in Melbourne, specifically to take on the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore. It came as a sedan and wagon, could be ordered in sensible family-car trim, and underneath sat perhaps one of Nissan's most famous engines.

We have a remarkably tidy example joining our upcoming Unique and Classic Auction, showing about 201,000km, with connections to Nissan Car Club Australia and a thick folder of detailed service history.

But how on earth did Australia end up building one of Japan's most famous nameplates – and why did we only do it once?


So why were we building Skylines?


The Australian car market of 1986 was almost unrecognisable today. Falcons and Commodores ruled the family-car roost, Australia still had five major local manufacturers, and heavy import protection and high tariffs gave companies a very good financial reason to build cars here rather than simply stick them on a boat.

Nissan, accordingly, wanted a bigger slice of that market. Its previous R30 Skyline had arrived from Japan, but with the new R31, Nissan decided to have a proper crack at Ford and Holden. So in 1986, its Clayton factory in Melbourne began building the Skyline locally. 

And this wasn't simply a Japanese Skyline with a \"Made in Australia\" sticker slapped on the back. Japan got the fun stuff, including turbocharged engines, coupes, four-door hardtops and versions with HICAS four-wheel steering, while we got a more subdued sedan and wagon, with the Japanese independent rear suspension replaced by a locally sourced BorgWarner live axle.


\"Iconic

Iconic '80s.


More importantly, under the bonnet was a 3.0-litre RB30E straight-six producing around 114 kW and 247 Nm – giving the Skyline the sort of smooth, low-down grunt Australian family-car buyers expected. If that engine sounds familiar, there's a good reason - the same basic RB30E also found its way into the Holden VL Commodore.

So Nissan's new weapon against the Commodore shared an engine with ... um, the Commodore. But you did get those iconic hot-plate tail lights on the Skyline.

And there was even a four-cylinder sister car called the Pintara, allowing Nissan to chase smaller family cars using much of the same locally built package.


Why did Australia only build one?


The R31 was, by most accounts, a very good car that arrived with two fairly substantial problems - Ford and Holden.

It was well built, refined and mechanically solid, but also narrower inside than its home-grown rivals. And while beauty is subjective, its resolutely square styling probably wasn't causing many Australians to abandon their Falcons. It's Japanese roots did work in its favour though, with reviews praising its engineering and build quality.

But by 1990, Australian R31 production was finished, and the nature of its successor made the idea of another Australian Skyline considerably harder to justify. The R32 pushed the badge further down that performance identity we know today, while Nissan's Australian manufacturing efforts moved towards smaller front-wheel-drive models.


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And those efforts didn't last much longer either. After pushing a few Pulsars off the production line, Nissan ultimately shut its Australian factory in the early 1990s.

That left the R31 as an odd little time capsule: the one generation where Australia took one of Japan's best-known badges and turned it into a locally engineered Falcon and Commodore rival. Although Nissan Australia couldn't resist having a bit of fun before it was over. Its Special Vehicles Division produced limited-run GTS versions, proving the sensible shopping-centre Skyline could still be persuaded into something rather less sensible.


What happens this December?


Nearly 40 years later, Skyline is about to start another chapter.

Nissan president Ivan Espinosa has confirmed the all-new, 14th-generation Skyline will launch in December, calling it one of the \"icons of the renaissance\" of Nissan (we're also getting a new Patrol, remember).

Appropriately for a car called Skyline, Nissan seems particularly excited about how quickly it got there.

The new model has been developed in around 26 months - roughly half the usual development cycle - thanks to AI and \"other digital tools\" helping speed up design, testing and manufacturing development.

What we'll actually find underneath it remains rather more mysterious. Nissan hasn't yet confirmed the final powertrain, despite plenty of speculation surrounding what might power it.


\"Shades

Shades of Commodore about it? Most likely.


Which brings us neatly back to our R31. It's covered around 201,000km, comes with a thick folder of detailed service history, has connections to Nissan Car Club Australia and presents in remarkably well-kept condition. 

And it has a claim to fame no other Skyline will ever have.

Our Unique and Classic auction goes live soon - keep an eye on CARBIDS.com.au.

","blogDOLAStaffID":516,"blogPostCategoryID":[],"blogPostTagID":[102,100,97],"blogPostCategoryTitle":null,"blogCategoryId":[10,24],"blogPostFeatDesc":"Nissan has confirmed we're getting a new-generation Skyline for Christmas! But 40 years ago, you might remember we built the thing ourselves. Here’s why the R31 became the one-and-only Australian-made Skyline - and why it never happened again.","blogPostFeaturedImageURL":"https://images-archive.allbids.com.au/blog/blog-feat-316-639256422096065432.jpg","blogPostOpeningImageURL":"https://images-archive.allbids.com.au/blog/blog-header-316-639256422109191474.jpg","blogDOLAStaffName":"James Coleman","blogTags":[],"blogPostDetailURL":"https://carbids.com.au/h/allbids-blogs/the-only-skyline-australia-ever-built-and-why-it-happened-316","postdates":null,"postid":null,"postcontents":null,"categories":null,"categoriesID":null,"tagsID":null,"categorytitle":null,"tagtitle":null},{"count":0,"catCount":0,"tagCount":0,"tags":null,"posttitles":null,"blogPostID":315,"blogPostTitle":"Italian flair, Ferrari engines, and ... a folding bike? Our 5 favourite Maserati sales","blogPostDesc":"Maserati online car auction used prices, Australia","blogPostKeyword":"Maserati online car auction used prices, Australia","blogPostH1Title":"Auction News","blogPostDate":"2026-09-18T00:00:00","blogPostLocation":null,"blogPostContent":"

Maserati occupies a weird space in the automotive landscape: all that seductive Italian flair, glorious Pininfarina styling, and often times bona-fide Ferrari engines, but available for about the same price as your German options after just one owner (resale is about the same on a sandwich).

Case in point? We currently have an utterly gorgeous 2008 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT-S sitting on the block in Newcastle, and as of writing, bidding is at just $10,050. With 106,986 km on the clock, a beige leather interior, and a 4.2-litre V8 driving the rear wheels, that looks like a lot of Italian drama for the price of a well-used hatchback.

With that auction closing Sunday evening, now feels like the perfect time to wander through the archives and find five other stand-out Maseratis we’ve put under the hammer - ranging from rare V8 grand tourers to ... um, a scooter. Yes.


\"\"


1. 2005 Maserati Coupé Cambiocorsa - Sold for $23,400


Engine: 4.2L V8 (287 kW) | Odometer: 78,049 km

Styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro (of DeLorean, Alfa 159, and original VW Golf fame), this Grigio Alfieri coupe is an absolute unicorn. It gets the \"Cambiocorsa\" part of the name from its electro-hydraulic F1-style paddle-shift setup,? derived from Ferrari. Only 20 to 30 of these were delivered to Australia, making a low-kilometre, full-history Ferrari V8 GT for under $25k a bit of a steal.


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2. 2018 Maserati Levante S Granlusso - Sold for $38,550

Engine: 3.0L Twin-Turbo V6 (321 kW) | Odometer: 133,382 km

A $160,000+ luxury SUV when new, this twin-turbo family hauler brought air suspension, 321kW of power, and Italian flair for the price of a Volkswagen Golf.

\"\"


3. 2017 Maserati Ghibli Sport Limited Edition - Sold for $35,825

Engine: 3.0L Twin-Turbo V6 (257 kW) | Odometer: 82,430 km

Draped in Nero Ribelle black mica with carbon fiber trim, this low-km Ghibli gave its buyer proper Italian sports sedan presence for less than forty grand.

\"\"


4. 2008 Maserati GranTurismo - Sold for $41,050

Engine: 4.2L V8 (302 kW) | Odometer: 71,912 km

Widely considered one of the best-sounding modern cars ever built, this metallic black GranTurismo showed just how affordable iconic GT proportions have become on the secondary market - and the design still holds its head loftily high today.

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5. Maserati Fo?lding Bikes & E-Scooters?

Segway Ninebot Maserati Edition E-Scooter & Maserati Corse Folding Bike

It turns out you can boast \"I brought the Maser into work today\" for the grand price of $25. Yep, in 2024, we sold a Maserati-badged e-scooter, followed by a folding bike in 2025 (which even wears three squared shaped stickers in a nod to the tri-vents on the cars).

The scooter was the result of a collaboration with Segway, painting the standard Ninebot body in 'Maserati Corse' blue and upgrading the motor to 400W. Only about 1,500 units were made - and all exclusively for Australia. The e-bike similarly was engineered with Japanese manufacturer GIC Bike, also in blue.

Bidding on the 2008 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT-S closes this Sunday night at 6:50 pm.?

","blogDOLAStaffID":516,"blogPostCategoryID":[],"blogPostTagID":[96,102,101,100],"blogPostCategoryTitle":null,"blogCategoryId":[10,24],"blogPostFeatDesc":"An Italian, Ferrari-powered exotic for the price of a VW Golf? With bidding closing this Sunday on a black 300kW V8 Quattroporte, it got us thinking about other wild Maseratis we've sold over the years - including, weirdly, those with two wheels ...","blogPostFeaturedImageURL":"https://images-archive.allbids.com.au/blog/blog-feat-315-639252974752951533.jpg","blogPostOpeningImageURL":"https://images-archive.allbids.com.au/blog/blog-header-315-639252974764051280.jpg","blogDOLAStaffName":"James Coleman","blogTags":[],"blogPostDetailURL":"https://carbids.com.au/h/allbids-blogs/italian-flair-ferrari-engines-and-a-folding-bike-our-5-favourite-maserati-sale-315","postdates":null,"postid":null,"postcontents":null,"categories":null,"categoriesID":null,"tagsID":null,"categorytitle":null,"tagtitle":null},{"count":0,"catCount":0,"tagCount":0,"tags":null,"posttitles":null,"blogPostID":314,"blogPostTitle":"Is Hyundai's $90K Range-Rover lookalike worth it?","blogPostDesc":"2026 Hyundai Palisade Elite new car review, Canberra, Australia","blogPostKeyword":"2026 Hyundai Palisade Elite new car review, Canberra, Australia","blogPostH1Title":"New Car Review","blogPostDate":"2026-09-14T00:00:00","blogPostLocation":null,"blogPostContent":"

So you desperately want a Range Rover, but you can’t stomach the thought of waking up to either a fresh puddle of vital fluids on your driveway or no car at all, because it's been stolen.

Well, have we got the SUV for you.

There are a few mental hurdles you’ll need to clear first: chiefly that it’s a Hyundai, meaning it carries roughly as much street clout in a drug deal as offering to buy everyone a flat white. 

But then again, no one will steal it. It costs a fraction of the British alternative. And without even squinting, it looks broadly the same (I’m almost certain the taillights share a Range Rover part number). And it won't do the British thing and decide not to start one morning.

And it's been updated for 2026, so it should be better than ever. 

But there's a big and expensive question hanging over the Hyundai Palisade: Is there even a market for such a car?


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What is it?


The Palisade isn't new territory for Hyundai. It debuted back in 2018 at the (very appropriately named) Los Angeles Auto Show as the brand’s sprawling, North American-sized flagship.

It certainly brings to mind those massive American SUVs, offering seating for up to eight adults - or seven if you opt for the middle-row captain’s chairs - plus guns in the boot.

The old models relied on either a thirsty 3.8-litre petrol V6 or a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel. But the big news for 2026 is that the powertrain has gone exclusively hybrid, pairing a 2.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with two electric motors. 

The range kicks off with the Elite in 8-seat trim from around $76,500, while the top-spec Calligraphy pushes into $89,900 to $90,900 territory. That’s a lot of money for a Hyundai - even one wearing a Range Rover’s suit. Is it worth it? 


\"Palatial.

Palatial. Photo: James Coleman.


What’s it like to live with?


Some things are not very premium.

In the Elite model I borrowed from Hyundai Australia, the interior is distinctly plain. It’s practical, vast, and looks like it could survive a toddler, but it’s undeniably very black. On my test car, the plastic backing on the driver’s seat had even come unclipped and was dangling loosely - though I suppose that doesn't deviate too far from the genuine Range Rover experience.

Then there are the ergonomic head-scratchers. Why is the button for the 360-degree parking camera located all the way over on the passenger side of the centre console? In a car this wide, you need arms like Elastigirl.

It drives a bit like a boat too. The brake pedal requires a delicate touch to avoid pitching your passengers forward at every red light, and the 2.5-litre engine roars to life at random moments with a tone that made me wonder if it was trying to identify as petrol or diesel.


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Being a modern Hyundai, it also beeps at you for every micro-deviance from the speed limit or lane markings - even when the car is wrong. This gets very annoying very quickly, as does deactivating the chime orchestra every single time you start.

But it is exceptionally frugal for such a beast - I managed to drive from Sydney to Canberra on less than a quarter tank, and my average was about what you'd get from a small SUV (8L/100 km).

You also get a staggering amount of family-friendly space. Even with all three rows up, there's a genuinely useful boot left over. So for what the Palisade is actually designed to do, it excels.


\"Still

Still a usable boot, even with the rearmost seats up. Photo: James Coleman.


The verdict


In the end, it all comes down to the price.

In the flagship Calligraphy spec - where you’re lounging in Nappa leather beneath a dual-panel sunroof, enjoying heated rear seats, and rolling on multi-spoke 21-inch alloy wheels - you can almost justify the $90,900 price tag. Plus, you’ll be able to enjoy it all for longer than in a Range Rover.

The base Elite sits in a weirder spot, where the only reason to choose it over the cheaper Santa Fe is if you need its 2000kg towing capacity, but if it’s pure passenger space you’re after, a top-spec hybrid Kia Carnival costs about the same and does the job better.

As it stands, the Palisade is a very expensive Hyundai that doesn't quite feel expensive enough.


\"Quite

Quite the unmissable face on it. Photo: James Coleman.

","blogDOLAStaffID":516,"blogPostCategoryID":[],"blogPostTagID":[103,97,99],"blogPostCategoryTitle":null,"blogCategoryId":[10,24,23],"blogPostFeatDesc":"Want the imposing presence of a Range Rover, without the price tag (and oil leaks)? Enter the Hyundai Palisade, updated for 2026 with a turbo hybrid motor (and rear lights that definitely look like they're from an RR). But at nearly $90k for the top-spec Calligraphy, is it just an overpriced Hyundai? Hmm, it depends ...","blogPostFeaturedImageURL":"https://images-archive.allbids.com.au/blog/blog-feat-314-639249473220432487.jpg","blogPostOpeningImageURL":"https://images-archive.allbids.com.au/blog/blog-header-314-639249473232307540.jpg","blogDOLAStaffName":"James Coleman","blogTags":[],"blogPostDetailURL":"https://carbids.com.au/h/allbids-blogs/is-hyundais-90k-rangerover-lookalike-worth-it-314","postdates":null,"postid":null,"postcontents":null,"categories":null,"categoriesID":null,"tagsID":null,"categorytitle":null,"tagtitle":null}]