New cars on sale in Australia: September and October

An interesting mix of new cars are due in Australia in the next couple of months. The most interesting is a hybrid version of the Audi Q7 large SUV that blends an already frugal 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6 engine with a battery-powered plug-in system. The Q7 will drive almost 60km on its batteries alone, which is more than enough for the daily school run.

Also joining the SUV rush is the Haval H6, a high-riding five-door coupe in the manner of the Range Rover Evoque. It may be a Chinese brand, but the H6 should bring some premium appeal, including a six-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox. Then there’s the compact Infiniti Q30 SUV that will take on the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class, and a fastback version of Merc’s GLC, unimaginatively called the GLC Coupe.

The most glamourous, though, should be the Volvo S90 sedan and V90 wagon. This car introduces the first traditional passenger cars spun off the same platform that underpins the stylish Volvo XC90, so expect good things from the svelte Swede.

NEW MODELS ON SALE AUGUST-SEPTEMBER

• Audi A4 Allroad quattro and Q7 e-tron
• BMW M2, M240i, M140i, M3, M4 Competition and M4 GTS
• Fiat 124 Spider; Ford Edge and Fiesta ST facelift
• Haval H6
• Holden Colorado facelift, Cruze sedan and Trailblazer
• Hyundai Elantra SR
• Infiniti QX30 and Q50
• Mercedes-Benz E-Class, GLC Coupe, GLE 500e, S-Class Cabriolet and SL/SLC facelift
• Nissan GT-R
• Renault Koleos and Megane
• Subaru BRZ facelift
• Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series facelift
• Volvo V40 facelift and S90

MERCEDES-BENZ GLE500E

Hustling 2.5 tonnes of luxury SUV was always going to be taxing on the fuel gauge. The GLE500e addresses this problem by sandwiching an electric motor between the twin-turbo V6 and nine-speed automatic transmission to provide about 30 kays of petrol-free driving. Combined fuel use will be around a Prius-embarrassing 3.3L/100km.