In this week’s automotive news you need to know: If Lexus takes too long to launch the next LFA,there might not be any petrol left on the planet by the time the supercar finally arrives, Mazda shows a rugged CX-50 in the mould of a Subaru, GWM is about to unleash King Kong and impractical SUVs continue to run amok.

LFA Version 2. Do better

Okay, so the next Lexus LFA supercar might arrive, um,just before Elon Musk deposits humans onMars. Jokes aside, we all know that countless enthusiasts would absolutely love it if Lexus cameup with a stunning follow-up to its screaming LFA (2010–2012).“It’s what the people want”.However, for thatto happen, Toyota needs to suppress its perfectionist tendencies and aim for a delivery dateearlier than “2025”. We’re not asking for a fusion-powered car;we’re just asking for a shorter incubation. Such was the Japanese firm’s obsession with perfecting the first LFA that the car came to fruition way too late.

Read more: Lexus LFA could return with 700 kW hybrid

Admittedly, the first LFA still has the ability to reducegrown men to tears. Those who got to chance to drive one invariably named their firstborns “LFA”. Okay, it’sa weird name for a kid, but canyou blame ’em?In the hybridage, Toyota knows what it needs to do. I may be simplifying things a little too much, but who cares? The Japanese firmjust needs to hurry things upa little before petrol is banned entirely.

CX-50 – The rise of the budget off-roader

Hardcore4×4 enthusiasts swear by their ladder-frame-based off-roaders with superior wheel articulation, approach-, departure- and breakover angles, wading depths and difflocks. Fair enough, a truly capable 4×4 – with a skilled driver behind its ‘wheel – can negotiate very treacherous off-road courses. Nonetheless, more noise needs to be made about reasonably capable SUVs with just enough ground clearance. They come at fractions of the costs of big 4x4s and,considering more than 60% of SA’s roads aren’t tarred, such vehicles could get people into adventuring…You don’t HAVE to have a bakkie.

Read more:Mazda unveils boldly styled CX-50

Sorry, bakkie boys,if you have a vehicle like the new Mazda CX-50 (whichis the most off-road-oriented passenger-car-based model that the Hiroshima-based manufacturer has ever produced) or even a Subaru Forester,for example, you too could reach the top of a mountain pass (to the dismay of owners of serious 4x4s). Most out-of-the-way destinations are accessible, but you need to exercise a healthy dose of caution and plan yourroutes properly. I’m not saying you should attempt to cross the continent in your all-wheel-drive crossover (traversing nothing but unmarked roads), but, if you consider how many motoristscart their families around in bakkie-based or off-road vehicles that arehardly ever required to perform to their full potential, do you really need more than areasonably capable SUV?

GWM (it’s on like) King Kong

It’s time to put the damsel in distress at the top of the skyscraper and shake the cage of the South African bakkie scene. Pro tip and ssssshhhh (in case anyone’s listening in or our conversation), if you want to produce a benchmark bakkie, youdon’t need to create something revolutionary. Just take the Toyota Hilux and make it better. It sounds easier said than done, but that is exactly what you’d need to do.

Read more:GWM King Kong:The bakkie to rule them all?

GWM’s P-Series bakkie is steadily gaining in popularity thanks to its strongvalue proposition, so why has the Chinese giantfelt the need to produce the provocatively named King Kong based on the former’s underpinnings? Well, partly so that the double cab would look more macho (indeed!) to suit the tastes of the Chinese market (where it will be offered with an extended load bed); there are certainly hints of the Ford F-150in the front-end design. ShouldToyota be concerned? I don’t think so – at least not yet – but with the passage of time, there’ll be more knocks on the door and then, who knows?

UpdatedT-Roc – facelift and oh…a stylish SUV?

Can you wrap your head around the fact that we live in a world in whichpeople demand stylish SUVs that offerless practicality than the SUVs they’re based upon?Come again?Here’s a facelift of a car that hardly featuresin the story of remarkable cars. The creators of the great Lancia 037 would be perplexed by this T-Roc, which clearly favours form over function. The question is: “How did we get here”?

Read more: Volkswagen T-Roc updated for 2022

Station wagons, compact MPVs and small sportscars– they used to be all the rage at some points in time, but now they’revirtually extinct. So who is going to be pushing that big reset button in the sky for(let’s call them) boutique crossovers?The problem with making fashion statements– even seemingly brilliant, show-stopping ones – is that theirrelevance is transient.Trends come and go, sowhen will time finally be up for theSUV(or at least its stylised variants)?Does this mean that we’ll see sportssedans or hot hatches ascend to the top of the podium again? It’s unlikely, but one can dream.