AutoExpert

Fitting the genuine bullbar to your Kia Tasman seems like a no-brainer: It helps overcome one of the vehicle's main weaknesses (it looks terrible). But if you do that, some of the vehicle's advanced safety systems will cease to function ... so there's that.

The Kia Tasman has three attributes that are killing its sales: It's ugly AF It's got a mediocre engine It's over-priced And hence it doesn't sell. You cannot do much about 1 & 2 (OK - you could give it an 'ARB facelift' but the fact that it's not selling gives you tremendous leverage on the price - if you're brash enough to exploit it.

Hertz has started using AI scanners to detect damage to rental cars when they are returned by customers. Predictably enough, the scanners are so good that they detect damage, even if it doesn't exist - of course.

What can you do when the dealership botches your oil change? Here's a real-life example of exactly rhis cavalcade of incompetence.

In the mad rush to embrace net zero, we're failing to implement safeguards for the most basic and foreseeable catastrophes - it's just a matter of time before someone is injured - or worse.

OK - so maybe the new warranty is seven years, kind of. But there is a list of caveats. It's substantial...

After dieselgate and gassing those poor monkeys, you'd think they'd pull their heads in, but, no. Volkswagen is the same dog, only with a new trick. Hopefully it won't catch on.

If you're not planning on driving your car for an extended period, here are the things you should consider doing to minimise the impact of it not being driven.

In this video: Full details of the 2026 updates to Hyundai Santa Fe & Hyundai Tucson in Australia

In this video, I interview Graeme Gambold, the engineer in charge of the local ride and handling development programe for Kia Australia. Graeme took the base 'farm truck' and made it one of the most refined utes available.

So, Brett lobbed at my joint with the new Tasman. The least we could do was take it for a punt, and talk trash...

It makes the headlines, and some people do get worked up about it, but this recent epidemic of 'real world' fuel economy testing is actually about as useful as reading tealeaves, or goat's entrails.

Just what the martket needs, right? Another $40k ute from a Chinese brand nobody knows nor trusts. Welcome to the brave new world of vehicle retailing.

Honda has been a basket case since the global financial crisis, so the statute of limitations has run out on cutting them a break. They con't be getting the band back together, so an appointment with Dr Kevorkian is probably in order.

Breaking a tap in a part can be a disaster - because they are very hard, and thus difficult to remove. There are a few simple reasons why taps break on DIYers, and if you sideline those, the whole process becomes a lot smoother, easier and stress-free.

In this video I look at how to stop tools (and other components you probably cannot paint) from rusting.

Need to paint parts and prevent rust? Watch this video.

In this video I look at the easiest and safest rust removal strategies for DIYers and home handymen

On the plus side, it's cheap, but I don't know if I could be convinced to spend my own money on the JAC T9 ute from China

Officially, Kia Tasman scores five stars on safety - but they wouldn't rate the top-spec two model variants: The X-Line and X-Pro - so if you buy one of them, all bets are off. Find out why things are this way, absurdly enough, in this video.

In this video I attempt to answer the question of what car suits ageing drivers best?

Toyota 4x4s are a religion - functionally - in Australia. Criticising the brand is therefore tantamount to heresy at some campsites. But if Toyota is so perfect at building off-roaders, how come they just can't stop the new Prado's brakes from squealing?

Chery is not a new brand in Australia, but it is the first time the brand has been imported by a wholly-owned factory subsidiary. Therefore, is a cheap Chery a viable alternative to a late-model used Japanese equivalent?

The Hyundai Inster is one of the more interesting EVs available today, so I jammed it up in the air and had a look underneath in a kind of 'ghetto engineering' deep-dive to see what makes it tick.

Our vehicle safety rating system is broken - and Inster's 4-star score basically proves it.