Wheels magazine May 2018 issue preview

ANOTHER month, another round of news, reviews and feature articles from Australia’s best car magazine that hits shelves tomorrow!

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For the month of May we’ve gone heavy on the high-octane with a full rundown on Brabham’s stunning (and Australian-built) BT62 supercar, a head-to-head comparo of the new M5 and AMG E63 S, a brace of fast laps in the Ferrari 488 Pista and an off-road thrash of the crushingly powerful Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. We also get our first taste of McLaren’s uncompromising Senna hypercar, though the May issue isn’t entirely about big horsepower antics…

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We also keep it real with a five-car light hatch shootout between the box-fresh Volkswagen Polo, Citroen C3, Skoda Fabia, Suzuki Swift and Mazda 2 to discover which is the best urban grocery-getter.

Volvo’s innovative XC40 is now in-country and we’ve run the stylish Swede through the wringer, along with Jaguar’s right-sized E-Pace SUV and the much less sensible Range Rover Sport SVR. Hyundai’s Ioniq hybrid has also touched down on Aussie soil, and we’ve lined it up against the Toyota Prius to see who boasts better eco-credentials: Japan or Korea.

Meanwhile, Ponch travels to Europe for our first steer of Mercedes-Benz’s third-generation A-Class, discovering a compact hatch that no longer feels ‘Benz lite’ on the inside. Back on home turf, deputy editor Enright welcomes a twin-turbo Kia Stinger into his garage, editor Inwood’s love affair with the XC60 T8 continues, Bulmer crunches the numbers on his Equinox long-termer and O’Kane finds out he’s not the only one with a soft spot for his Swift GLX.

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One advantage of being an automotive institution with 65 years of history (and counting) is that Wheels has been around to witness some ground-breaking, game-changing moments in the motoring world. Whether it’s the introduction of new technology, the arrival of paradigm-shifting models or the visionary thinking of engineers, designers or businesspeople, we examine the most significant automotive milestones of the past six-and-a-half decades.

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Corby weighs in with his thoughts on the future of Tesla, we chat with Bruno Senna, and we provide our usual analysis of the state of the Australian new car market – along with what’s around the corner.

We also take a hard look at Holden’s state of health. Can the Aussie institution survive in a post-manufacturing environment? Is Australia no longer in love with the red lion?

Pick up the latest issue of Wheels to find out.