Today’s Drive: Inductive Cayennes, Electric Polos and Feral Utes — Your Australia-Focused Auto Brief

I took my coffee black and my news spicy this morning: Porsche is teaching the Cayenne EV to slurp electrons off the floor, Volkswagen is sending the Polo GTI badge into the battery era, Skoda’s plotting a local comeback with a tidy new compact EV, and the ute world has gone full chest-thump. Oh, and Victoria’s trialling “smart” cameras while theft claims climb. Buckle up.

Porsche Cayenne EV tries wireless charging — properly this time

Porsche has confirmed the upcoming Cayenne EV will support inductive charging via a pad. If you remember BMW’s pilot program with the 530e, you’ll know the drill: park over a pad, walk away, wake up charged. The appeal is obvious if your garage is tight, your cable gets grubby, or you’ve ever stepped on a Type 2 plug at 6 a.m. (ask me how that went).

Inductive systems still carry a slight efficiency penalty versus a plugged-in session, but they’re a lifestyle win. A few owners told me they’d happily trade a couple of percent for never wrestling a cable in the rain. The two watch-outs with pads I’ve used: installation height (don’t bury it so deep the SUV belly skim-reads it) and alignment. The good setups give you a visual or audible nudge if you’re off by a few centimetres.

• Best for: daily top-ups at home, tight garages, families who hate cables
• Less ideal for: road trips where high-power DC is king
• Quirk to note: some pads hum faintly; you’ll stop hearing it after day three

Small car, big pivot: Volkswagen Polo goes electric — GTI included

The Polo is switching to battery power, and yes, a GTI-flavoured EV is on the way. The enthusiast in me is equal parts curious and cautiously optimistic. Instant torque and a short wheelbase can be wicked fun; getting steering feel and brake modulation right is the trick. If VW nails pedal mapping and keeps the playful front-end that made the best Polos so satisfying, the GTI badge will be in safe hands.

Practical upside? Silent, smooth commuting on weekdays; hot-hatch sprints on Sunday mornings. Just give me a real volume knob and seats that hold you through a roundabout.

Skoda’s two-step: confidence in Australia, and the Elroq looks right-sized

Skoda Australia says it’s confident about a sales recovery, and the product cadence finally makes that believable. The brand’s sweet spot here has always been “thoughtful value” — the clever cabin touches, the calm ride, the boots that swallow strollers and surfboards without complaint.

The 2026 Elroq review out of Europe points to a compact electric SUV with that familiar Skoda pragmatism. Think tidy footprint, family-friendly space, and those Simply Clever touches (yes, the umbrella-in-door trick still charms first-time passengers). Based on my time in recent Skodas on coarse-chip bitumen, I’ll be watching local tuning closely — compliance over the gnarlier stuff matters more here than Nürburgring lap times.

• Why it matters: Skoda needs a mainstream EV below Enyaq to lure Karoq-sized buyers
• Expectation set: calm ride, clean UI, sensible price positioning
• What I’ll test first: rear-seat toe room and charge curve consistency on a hot day

Utes and trucks go feral: Ram Rebel, GWM Cannon two-door, and a Ranger that snorkels for sport

2026 Ram 1500 Rebel: still the sweet spot

The Rebel has long been the “just right” off-road spec in Ram land — teeth without tantrum. The latest one keeps the stance and the swagger. On rutted tracks, the previous generation soaked hits in a way that embarrassed some rival leaf-sprung setups; if the new one carries that composure while tightening up steering slop, consider me interested. Big trucks live or die by throttle tip-in smoothness in traffic — something I’ll nitpick the moment I hit Parramatta Road.

GWM Cannon ute goes hardcore V6, two-door, short wheelbase

File this under: didn’t see that coming. A two-door, tough-truck take on the Cannon with V6 muscle is a statement piece. It’s the opposite of the school-run dual-cab — think dunes, rock gardens, and Instagram flexing on a Sunday. The real test will be durability and thermal management in Aussie heat. Big power is great until you’re idling up a fire trail at 38°C and the fan sounds like a jet.

Ford Ranger takes a deep breath

There’s fresh footage of a Ranger pushing its wading chops to the limit. No surprise to anyone who’s drowned a boot in one — the current T6 platform is a capable thing when you prep correctly. Do the basics: check breather extensions, mind your bow wave, and don’t stop mid-stream unless you fancy a very cold, very public swim.

Thirty years young: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter gets a rugged birthday suit

Three decades of Sprinter is being marked with a limited edition that leans into its go-anywhere rep. I once road-tripped a camper-converted Sprinter from Hobart up the East Coast; it felt like driving a friendly cliff-face. If this special keeps the smart storage and adds a little extra clearance and cladding, trades and vanlifers alike will nod approvingly. The beauty of a Sprinter is how unflustered it feels at 100 km/h with a load — if the celebration model keeps that vibe, job done.

Road rules and reality: Victoria trials smart cameras as theft claims spike

Victoria is trialling “smart enforcement traffic cameras” designed to catch more than just speed. Expect AI-assisted detection for things like mobile phone use and seatbelt compliance. As someone who sits in plenty of freeway crawl, I still see too many drivers scrolling; enforcement tech tends to follow behaviour, not lead it.

Separate but related: vehicle theft claims are up nationally, with Victoria singled out. A few quick wins I share with owners after too many driveway interviews post-theft:

• Use a steering wheel lock. Low tech, high deterrent.
• Keyless car? Store keys in a Faraday pouch at night to block relay attacks.
• Add an OBD port lock or relocate it — slows down key cloning.
• Consider a secondary immobiliser with a hidden disarm sequence.
• Park nose-in against a wall or another car to make towing harder.

Quick hit: Kia Australia passes a million, Tasman ute carries the flag

Kia has crossed the one-million sales mark locally, and it’s doing it with a ute finally in the family. The Tasman is a big deal — not just because Australia loves utes, but because it gives Kia loyalists something to graduate into when life moves from Picanto to payload. If Kia applies its usual trick (clean spec, sharp pricing, honest suspension tuning), the incumbent players will feel it.

Today’s metal at a glance

Final thoughts

If there’s a theme today, it’s confidence. Porsche is confident enough to bet on convenience, VW confident enough to electrify a legend, and Skoda confident enough to say the Aussie tide’s turning. Meanwhile, ute makers are flexing, the Sprinter is celebrating longevity the old-fashioned way, and Victoria is reminding everyone that the rules still matter. The next few months will be busy — the good kind of busy.

FAQ

• How does inductive EV charging work?
  A ground pad creates a magnetic field that transfers energy to a receiver in the car. You park over the pad, charging starts automatically. It’s super convenient, with a small efficiency trade-off compared to a plug.
• When will the Skoda Elroq reach Australia?
  Timing hasn’t been detailed locally yet, but Australian launch plans are in motion as Skoda pushes a sales rebound. Expect more clarity as production ramps.
• Is the Volkswagen Polo GTI really going electric?
  Yes, VW has confirmed an electric future for Polo, including a GTI-branded variant. The focus will be on preserving hot-hatch character while delivering EV smoothness.
• Are Victoria’s smart cameras only about speed?
  No. The trial aims to detect behaviours like mobile phone use and seatbelt non-compliance, alongside traditional enforcement.
• What’s the easiest way to reduce theft risk at home?
  Combine a visible steering lock with a Faraday pouch for keyless fobs, add a simple immobiliser, and park strategically. Layers deter thieves.