Car news, 12 June ’24: Mini Cooper five-door confirmed for Australia, Tesla Model Y will not get facelift this year, and more

Thanks for joining us this Wednesday June 12th 2024. Notably in car news today: Mini announces its new five-door Cooper is coming to Australia in Q4 this year, and the Tesla Model Y will not be receiving a facelift this year, unlike its Model 3 sibling, according to Elon Musk.

Browse this issue:

• New Mini Cooper five-door set for Q4 2024 Australian release 
• Tesla Model Y facelift not coming this year 
• Apple adds climate control functions to CarPlay
• Opulent electric Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 coming to Australia 
• Reviewed: 2024 Mazda BT-50 SP with Pro Enhancement Pack

Mini to bring new Cooper five-door to Australia 

• Mini Australia has confirmed it will bring the new Mini Cooper five-door to Australia in the fourth quarter of 2024.

• Set to be available in C and S trim, the choice of either a three-cylinder petrol engine for the C grade or a turbocharged four-cylinder S will be offered. The most powerful five-door will be the S with 150kW/300Nm. The 0-100km/h time for the warm hatch is a claimed 6.8 seconds.

• Standard equipment will include Mini’s new OLED infotainment screen, multiple experience modes, the choice of four interior trims, Mini Operating System 9 and option of 16-, 17- or 18-inch alloy wheels.

• Australian pricing and specification is yet to be confirmed, but is due to be announced shortly.  

Elon Musk says facelifted Model Y won’t come in 2024 

• Elon Musk has confirmed on his social media platform X that the Model Y electric midsize SUV will not receive a refresh in 2024, unlike the Model 3, which received a facelift earlier this year. 

• This means that the Model Y is unlikely to receive an exterior refresh, ambient lighting and ventilated seats, which has been added to the Model 3. 

• “No Model Y ‘refresh’ is coming out this year … I should note that Tesla continuously improves its cars, so even a car that is six months newer will be a little better,” Musk said online. 

• The Tesla Model Y has not seen a significance update since its launch in 2020, but is a very popular seller here in Australia, with 9610 examples having been sold in Australia so far in 2024. 

• The Model Y is Tesla’s most popular model globally. Over two million units have been produced since the model’s inception in 2020.  

Next-gen Apple CarPlay to add climate controls

• Apple has announced its next generation of its CarPlay smartphone integration which will see significant changes to customisation of the software. 

• One of the biggest additions will be the ability to access climate control from within CarPlay, along with the ability to adapt to any vehicle manufacturer’s hardware configuration, making things easier for drivers.  

• Colour theming, new backgrounds and the ability to extend across to digital instrument clusters in new vehicles are all handy additions. 

• The next-gen CarPlay was first shown in 2022, but it’s set to debut first in Aston Martin and Porsche models starting this year.

Mercedes-Maybach coming to Australia, deliveries to commence in July 

• Mercedes-Maybach has announced its first electric vehicle for Australian shores, the EQS 680 SUV. 

• Priced from a very expensive $328,607 before on-road costs, the EQS 680 SUV uses a dual-motor electric system that produces 484kW/950Nm and powers all four wheels. The model is capable of sprinting to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds, which is impressive considering its 3075kg kerb weight.  

• The luxury SUV beast uses a large 118kWh usable battery pack and can travel up to 560km (WLTP) per charge. 

• Some model highlights include an optional first class rear suite with two armchairs, a Burmester sound system, standard Chauffeur package, 11.6-inch displays for the rear seats, Mercedes’ airmatic air suspension, rear axle steering, a MBUX Hyperscreen, exclusive leather package and even eco materials for the interior surfaces. 

• If $300K is not enough, customers will be able to add a First Class Rear Suite package ($14,900), Night Series Edition ($34,900) or two-tone paintwork ($34,800). 

Mazda BT-50 SP reviewed 

• Chasing Cars journalist Zak Adkins’ video review of the 2024 Mazda BT-50 SP was published, including his thoughts on the $7600 Pro Enhancement pack and how the upgrade affected Mazda’s ute offering.
  
• In terms of positives, Adkins found that the upgraded suspension had a settled and composed ride quality, while he also complimented the premium cabin, strong Isuzu-sourced 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine and subtle integrated LED light bar.
  
• Things that Adkins thought needed work included the ute’s steep price with options fitted, the ute having identical instrumentation to a D-Max and the fact that the Nitrocharger suspension system cannot be adjusted.
  
• All in all, Adkins came away from his time with the BT-50 SP with high praise for the way the ute rode day-to-day, with the only missing link being the lack of a more powerful turbo-diesel V6 engine, like what is found in the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok.

READ: Link to written review

The next issue of Car News Today will be published on Thursday 13th June at 4.30pm Sydney time.