Lockdowns, supply shortages, and COVID outbreaks around the world have conspired to make 2021 a tough year for the motoring world, but plenty of exciting new metal launched in 2021.
Here are the new car reviews you were most excited about this year.
2022 Mitsubishi Outlander review
The Mitsubishi Outlander has always been an SUV designed to offer great value. It was the first choice for many families after a dependable SUV that didn’t have all the bells and whistles, but also didn’t break the bank.
Mitsubishi is hoping to change that with the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander. Not only does it now share a platform with the all-new Nissan X-Trail, it brings with it a stack of new features that promise to make the Outlander more than just a value proposition.
2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid review
If you discount the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux – which are technically ‘commercial vehicles’ – the Toyota RAV4 is currently our nation’s most popular passenger vehicle or SUV.
Some 72.8 per cent of RAV4 sales are petrol-electric hybrid models (14,821 as of 30 June 2021), and Toyota’s mid-sized SUV is also driving Australia’s electrified vehicle uptake alongside the Corolla and Camry.
2021 Volkswagen Touareg 210TDI Wolfsburg Edition review
Every brand needs a flagship. Volkswagen dabbled in the rarefied air occupied by the S-Class with the Phaeton, and it flirted with supercars through concepts like the Nardo, but it’s settled on the Touareg as its halo car.
Now into its third generation, the Volkswagen Touareg is a rival for the BMW X5 and Audi Q7, and a standard setter for the Volkswagen brand.
Sitting at the top of the Touareg tree in Australia (at least until the R PHEV arrives) is the 210TDI Wolfsburg Edition.
2022 Isuzu MU-X review
This all-new second-generation MU-X is a different beast in some ways – notably exhibited through its more contemporary cabin tech and active safety – but at heart it should still appeal to fundamentally the same sort of buyer.
This is not really the seven-seat family SUV you buy if you live in the ‘burbs and rarely venture off the path most travelled. That’s what a Toyota Kluger or Mazda CX-9 is for.
But for the sort of person who owned or wanted the old model, it delivers the goods – if you can accept the price hikes.
2021 Toyota RAV4 GXL Hybrid review
Bolder and brighter (at least in the case of our electric blue car), the RAV4 is holding the top spot in the mid-sized SUV sales rankings in Australia – and SUVs overall.
It’s also the first RAV4 to offer a hybrid in Australia, and boy hasn’t that been a runaway success.
Toyota has gone on record saying the majority of RAV4 buyers opt for petrol-electric power, and demand is so high we’ve heard of wait lists extending over six months.
Merry Christmas from the CarExpert team! Which new car review caught your eye in 2021?