Top five news stories for 2019

What kind of news story is likely to resonate more with Australian enthusiasts – the latest cutting edge sports car or an SUV?

The verdict is in. And in what seems to be an accurate barometer for our changing new car tastes, it seems off and softroaders commanded a bigger share of voice in 2019.

Our top five news stories reveal that four of the five are related in some way to a high-rider. And in a strange twist, the outlier is a story about how sports car will soon become extinct.

Thankfully, not everyone has been washed over by the SUV craze. But our findings make interesting food for thought.

Here is our top five, counting down to the most popular.

5. Sports cars to disappear from our roads, says Audi

The trend has been there for a long time: the expanding gulf between ‘A to B’ commuter cars and hot-shoe sports machines.

In the past, that gulf has been driven by the wedge between enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts -- drivers of ‘whitegoods on wheels’ could never see the point of loud, obnoxious cars that were uncomfortable, hard to drive and more often than not costly to run. In the future, however, the environment will be a key factor in this dichotomy.

All that was the feedback from the head of Audi Sport customer racing Chris Reinke, who shared his insights with carsales earlier this year.

Full story on sports car disappearing from our roads 

4. 2019 Suzuki Jimny price and spec

Few vehicles have captured our sense of freedom and adventure in 2019 quite like the cheap and cheerful Suzuki Jimny.

The diminutive off-roader landed earlier in the year, but not before its sub-$24,000 price tag sent enthusiasts into a frenzy, creating an initial orders backlog.

Full story on Suzuki Jimny pricing and specs

3. Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series will be fit for purpose

The all-new 300 Series Toyota LandCruiser might not be slated for Aussie showrooms until 2021 or beyond, but local interest is already bubbling away nicely.

This story on the 300 Series being just as capable as the 200 Series that it replaces – irrespective of rumoured V6 petrol, diesel or hybrid powertrains – certainly got enthusiasts talking.

The Australian interest should come as little surprise: we’re the biggest market for the LandCruiser outside of the Middle East.

Full story on the LandCruiser 300 Series

2. Ford stops sales of Ranger, Everest, Endura and Transit

If you subscribe to the theory that any news is good news, then you’d probably consider Ford’s inclusion in our top five as a positive.

However, this news story was nothing to celebrate, as the Blue Oval was forced to stop sales of some of its most popular vehicles because of defective high-pressure fuel injectors.

Full story on Ford stops sales

1. New Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series takes shape

And the highest rating story for 2019 goes to *drumroll* -- the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series!

Toyota’s highly-anticipated LandCrusier 200 Series replacement managed to finish ahead of thousands of other news stories, this time paired with renderings originally mocked up by Japanese publication, Best Car.

For the record, the new LandCruiser is due to reach showrooms in 2021, but we will endeavour to keep you abreast of every update (big or small) as they come to hand.

Full story on new Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series