Cars

Carbon fibre explained

Hot cars often sprout bits of carbon fibre on their bonnets, wings and dashboards, but what is this enchanting material? How is it made? And is it all it's cracked up to be?

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  Rolls-Royce Ghost

  Start saving your pennies now, the Rolls-Royce Ghost is fast, cosseting and very attractive.

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  Ford Fiesta Econetic

  Hold the headlines! The new Fiesta Econetic bests the Prius in the fuel economy stakes, while also being priced some AU$15k less.

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  Audi R8 Spyder

  Predictably, the R8 convertible is a good looking car with V10 muscle to match. We weren't expecting seatbelt-mounted microphones though.

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  Jaguar XJ (2010)

  Jaguar's XJ is no longer a shrinking violet dressed in mummy's '60s duds. The tech quotient is high and the styling turned up to 11. We showed up at its San Fran launch party, and got up close and personal with the sexy feline.

  Specs: petrol

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  Lexus RX350 Sports Luxury (2009)

  Quiet, plush and with enough gadgets on-board — Remote Touch is nice, but where's the hard disk nav and USB folks? — the RX should please most drivers, but it's more of a passenger's car.

  Specs: petrol , No , standard , standard

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  Lexus IS250C Prestige (2009)

  Featuring a folding metal hard-top, the IS250C converts from closed coupe to al fresco cruiser in around 20 seconds. Shame then that it suffers from an ungainly butt.

  Specs: petrol

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  Toyota Prius (2009)

  The hybrid du jour is back and although prices have gone up, fuel economy is now officially pegged at 3.9L/100km.

  Specs: petrol , Yes

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  Lexus IS250 Sports Luxury (2009)

  What the IS250 lacks in badge snobbery, it makes up for in good looks, rock-solid quality, neat handling and serenity enough to becalm a frazzled monk. While stuffed with tech, it isn't quite as up-to-date as we'd have liked.

  Specs: petrol , standard , standard , 6