Mazda MX-5 pumps up the fun: Wheels magazine preview – October 2018

THE HERO of Hiroshima has a new heart!

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Mazda has updated its MX-5 sports car, and the result delivers a major win for driving enthusiasts. There’s more power, more revs, and more fun. Pick up the latest issue of Wheels, on sale now, to read our full verdict on the improved 2016 COTY winner.

Need more? Well also in this issue we’ve got the brilliant McLaren 600LT, which Deputy Editor Andy Enright thrashed on an F1 track in Hungary.

Toyota’s box-fresh Corolla is one of the most important new cars to go on sale this year, and for its first comparison we brought three of the strongest cars in the small-car field – the Hyundai i30, Mazda3, and Honda Civic. This four-way stoush for supremacy between some of the country’s best-selling cars brings a surprise result.

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An all-new Jeep Wrangler is on its way, so we went to America for an early taste. A simple bitumen drive wasn’t going to cut it, so the venerable icon was put to the test on the very same trail its most off-road-capable model takes its name from – the torturous Rubicon Trail.

We also got chatting with Lucas di Grassi, the world-champion racing driver who is the CEO of Roborace, to better understand what drives a man to pioneer a concept which could make his own career redundant.

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Fans of American muscle will be keen to read the news that Cadillac could be coming to Australia. We’ve spoken to the men in charge, who reveal some tantalising details.

The Renault Megane RS280 has arrived in Australia, so we gave it a very Wheels welcome, immediately pitting it against our current hot-hatch hero, the Hyundai i30 N. Both send over 200kW to the front wheels, but only one can power away as the victor.

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Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio SUV shares its DNA with the Giulia, which was a finalist at last year’s Car of the Year testing. It seemed only fair then that the Stelvio would face off against our 2018 COTY winner, the Volvo XC60, for its first Wheels comparison, with segment stalwart the BMW X3 joining the pair.

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All that, plus our usual selection of in-depth first drives, opinion, long-term test reports, and all the facts and figures that matter in Showroom.

The issue is available now at your local newsagent, or online at Magshop.com.au.