Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i Wheels

New Panamera exterior New Panamera is longer than before, but width and height are similar. A wheelbase stretched 30mm and more swoop to the rear roofline contribute to a big improvement in proportions and overall looks. The car is due here in the first quarter of 2017. All come with a new eight-speed double-clutch gearbox. All-wheel-drive, air suspension, electronically controlled dampers and adaptive cruise control will all be standard in Australia. Panamera prices will be: 4S $304,200; 4S Diesel $312,100; Turbo $376,900. New Panamera interior Interior look is much cleaner than the original Panamera launched in 2009. Volkswagen Group stablemate Audi seems to have provided both inspiration and technology. Big analogue tachometer is the centrepiece of the instrument display, but it’s flanked by a pair of 7.0-inch displays with functions…

Coleman says the new rotary will be more about driveability than revs DAVE Coleman is a man on a mission. The Mazda North America vehicle development engineer is a self-confessed car nerd who fell in love with the Mazda RX-7 when he was 10 years old after his dad brought one home; he later owned the car. Now he’s out to save the Mazda rotary. While the development of the car expected to resuscitate the RX-7 nameplate is being led by Japan, Coleman and his small California-based team is playing a key role. “We’re all on the same page with what we want to build,” he tells Wheels. “Everything you expect in a rotary is enhanced.” Controversially, though, Coleman says the new rotary will be more about driveability than revs.…

Model Mazda 6 Atenza ‘GVC’ Engine 2488cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v Max power 138kW @ 5700rpm Max torque 250Nm @ 3250rpm Transmission 6-speed automatic Kerb weight 1501kg 0-100km/h 7.6sec (tested) Economy 6.6L/100km Price $45,390 On sale 2017 REMEMBER the Energy Polariser, a collection of crystals in an engine-bay box that did a bunch of ‘stuff’ to Brocky’s HDT VL SS Group A and VL Director back in 1986/87, without the actual hard evidence to prove it? Well, you could be forgiven for thinking that Mazda’s G-Vectoring Control (or GVC) – a purely software-driven device that aims to enhance on-centre steering connection and turn-in response ( see p24 ) – somehow fits into the same category. But this time the Japanese have the data to back up this intriguing, almost subversively effective…

Model Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet Engine 3982cc V8 (90°), dohc, 32v, twin-turbo Max power 375kW @ 5500-6250rpm Max torque 700Nm @ 1750-4500rpm Transmission 7-speed automatic Weight 1850kg 0-100km/h 4.1sec (claimed) Economy 8.9L/100km (EU) Price $170,000 (estimated) On sale November IT SHOULD have been the perfect place to launch a new convertible. I’m in Italy, in the middle of summer, on the coast, where the winding roads flirt with the sea. But it’s raining. Really raining. It’s a shame because before me sits an AMG C63 S Cabriolet, and it looks brilliant. Aggressive, stylish and elegant all at once, it shares the C-Class Coupe’s flared arches, angular nose and tough stance on staggered, deeply dished alloys, but dropping the roof adds an extra splash of class. Promises to go like stink,…

Model McLaren 540C Engine 3799cc V8 (90°), dohc, 32v, twin-turbo Max power 397kW @ 7500rpm Max torque 540Nm @ 3500-6500rpm Transmission 7-speed dual-clutch Kerb weight 1350kg 0-100km/h 3.5sec (claimed) Economy 11.1L/100km (EU) Price $325,000 On sale Now ASKING how much performance a supercar needs sounds idiotic. The obvious answer is “as much as possible!”, but is that really the case? Drive most modern supercars and you’ll quickly discover they’re too fast to properly exploit on public roads. In today’s age of hidden speed cameras, opening the taps on your fancy supercar for just three seconds is enough to shred your licence. It’s like winning the Lotto, only to be told you can’t spend more than $1000. Which is where the McLaren 540C comes in. The British firm’s cheapest offering is…

Model Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 Spyder Engine 5204cc V10 (90°), dohc, 40v Max power 449kW @ 8250rpm Max torque 560Nm @ 6500rpm Transmission 7-speed dual-clutch Weight 1524kg 0-100km/h 3.4sec (claimed) Economy 12.3L/100km (EU) Price $471,000 On sale November IF THE thought of blow-drying your hair from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds interests you, or upping your vitamin D intake 17 seconds after the electric folding hardtop does its thing, the Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 Spyder could be the car for you. Of course, an equally valid purchase motivator is the yowling 5.2-litre V10 soundtrack, every decibel of which now has unfettered access to your ears without a roof to mute the joy. Lower the narrow rear window between cabin and engine bay and the sound will smash you from two directions at once…

AUSTRALIA is changing, faster than we think. In fact, it’s about to get one hell of a hurry-up as these two long-standing staples of life – the Ford Falcon and the Holden Commodore – cease to exist in their current forms. In the Holden’s case, it will morph into a large German-built, front-drive or all-wheel-drive hatchback, still wearing the Commodore nameplate. The big Ford will soon disappear into an uncaring world gorging on tubby SUVs. At bread-and-butter level, that’s no huge deal. A Mondeo Ambiente is more accomplished than a boggo Falcon at carting people around in quiet, efficient, luxurious comfort, underpinned by a Ford of Europe chassis brimming with sophisticated spirit. But replacing high-performance rear-drive variants is going to be nigh on impossible. Which – tissues, please – brings…

The 2003 V8 Supercars championship season ended amid much controversy with the now famous clash between Skaife and Ingall. It started on lap 42 when Skaife overtook Ingall, pushing him wide. Ingall responded by tapping Skaife’s Commodore which then spun off into a wall. On Ingall’s next lap Skaife, now out of his Commodore, shook his fist at the Ford driver, who responded by swerving towards his angry Holden rival. Both were fined heavily for their actions, and banned for three races. It would be 10 years before the two would talk again.…

IT’S 2001, I’ve just finished playing a game of high-school cricket, and one of the defining moments in my love affair with cars is about to happen. As I slide my gear into my bag, a member of the opposite team is collected by his dad in a brand new HSV Clubsport. It’s a white VX, it’s immaculate, and as they cruise slowly past at a pace guaranteed to attract as many eyeballs as possible from the watching crowd, the kid rolls down the passenger window and plants his elbow firmly on the sill. In that moment, it is the coolest car in the world. I should point out here that I grew up in Bathurst, at the foot of Mount Panorama, and had such an affinity for fast Holdens…

COLLEAGUES can be cruel. I was recently mocked for driving an Infiniti by a former Wheels staffer who now works for the print version of what nerds call “vapourware”. It’s a magazine that doesn’t seem to exist. I spend a lot of time in newsagents, hoping to be recognised by readers, and yet I’ve never seen his publication, so it was ironic that he made fun of my car’s branding, along the lines of it being amusing that something sold in such finite numbers is called an Infiniti. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s cruel humour, but as he was referring to the fact that the only Q50 he’d ever seen on the road had turned out to be a press car, with me in it, it was…

DRIVING a long-termer might seem at odds with the motoring journo’s job of testing lots of models, but it’s the other cars I drive that give me a better perspective on the Kia. A recent run of hot-rodded German, Japanese and local medium/large sedans contributed to this month’s low kay-count. And the halving of torque from 700Nm (Merc C63 S) to the Optima’s 350Nm, with the simultaneous loss of premo-Euro interior finish, would surely be quite a come-down. Turns out it wasn’t too bad, though. Given a slight adjustment in expectations to account for the fact the Kia costs less than a third of the Benz, the cabin only offended one out of five senses (though I didn’t lick anything – see breakout). And the Kia’s ride was certainly more…

KIA has tweaked the suspension on its Cerato small car and added a Drive Mode Select feature, which not only adjusts steering weight but engine and transmission response. But the big news is beneath the bonnet; the 1.8-litre engine has been dropped, as has the pokey 129kW 2.0-litre. In their place is a 112kW/192Nm 2.0-litre that makes for a simplified range. All but the base model S get a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto compatibility, and Apple CarPlay functionality will be added with a software update at no cost to owners by the end of the year.…

Come in Vantage Aston Martin has been testing its all-new Vantage on the Nordschliefe in Germany ahead of a 2017 launch. A right-hand-drive mule was spied cutting laps wearing some tricky camouflage. The British brand’s entry-level model is expected to be shorter, wider and substantially lighter than the current Vantage, yet will use the same extruded and bonded aluminium architecture that will underpin the bigger DB11 due to be launched soon, which also means double wishbones up front and a multi-link rear suspension. The DB11 will be Aston’s first all-new model in more than a decade. Keeping up with the GT-Rs Nissan has helped develop a new GT-R. But instead of having four wheels, this one has rotors. The Japanese car company has unveiled the GT-R Drone, which it claims…

KIA is poised to unleash a new rear-wheel-drive large sedan with the performance of a Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo. The new model, codenamed CK, could arrive in Australia as early as the second half of 2017 – although more likely early 2018 – priced from about $40,000. It will take styling cues from two of Kia’s well-received concept cars – the four-door GT (Frankfurt 2011) and GT4 Stinger (Detroit 2014). The new rear-drive sports sedan will come with a choice of 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo and an all-new 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 producing some 280kW and 510Nm – comparable with the departing XR6 Turbo’s 270kW and 533Nm. Kia will offer the four-pot as the price leader, while the V6 turbo will be the performance hero. And it’s the V6 turbo variant that…

1 STEERING INPUT 2 GVC REDUCES ENGINE TORQUE 3 VEHICLE LOAD IS TRANSFERRED TO THE FRONT 4 WEIGHTED TYRE TRANSFERS HIGHER CORNERING FORCE 5 DELIVERS MORE LINEAR DYNAMIC RESPONSE MAZDA engineers in Japan and the US have spent eight years studying the human subconscious in pursuit of enhancing the relationship between a car and its driver. While that may sound more like a weird automotive eHarmony phrase, it’s actually an evolution of Mazda’s much-hyped Jinba Ittai philosophy (‘horse and rider as one’), says Mazda North America chassis engineer Dave Coleman. G-Vectoring Control is the result of that study, and it’ll be on production Mazdas within months. This patented, purely software-driven system automates the techniques that expert drivers use to subtly transfer some weight onto a car’s nose, thereby sweetening turn-in,…

I should get a credit for the times I can’t get up to the speed limit DOH! CHEVEUX I totally agree with Stephen Corby. After 26 years of clean licence driving a Citroen 2CV6 Charleston, I got pinged by a camera on Victoria Road in a school zone before they had flashing lights. I reckon I should get a credit for all the times I can’t get the 602cc two-cylinder to the speed limit going uphill. I saw the camera and checked my speed; 57 km/h. With the trucks and buses and narrow little windscreen, I didn’t see the school zone sign. I wrote to the Office of State Revenue complete with photos. They said – “No, send us the money”. I took it to court. They did not get…

Model Subaru Levorg GT Engine 1998cc flat 4, dohc, 16v, turbo Max power 197kW @ 5600rpm Max torque 350Nm @ 2400-5200rpm Transmission CVT automatic Weight 1538kg 0-100km/h 6.6sec (claimed) Economy 8.7L/100km Price $42,990 On sale Now IT’S amusing how things come around. Back in 2014, Subaru was busy defending its decision to kill the Liberty wagon, saying buyers were more interested in SUVs like the closely related, higher-riding Outback. Today, though, Subaru is chasing the same people it once spurned. It has discovered a class of buyers it calls “SUV rejectors”, and is wooing them with the Levorg: an Impreza/WRX-based wagon with a made-up name and a WRX heart. Indeed, wheelbase length, track widths and dashboard are all identical to a WRX’s. Subaru claims this makes the Levorg small enough…

Model Volkswagen Amarok Aventura Engine 2967cc V6 (90o ), dohc, 24v, TD Max power 165kW @ 4000rpm Max torque 550Nm @ 1500-2750rpm Transmission 8-speed automatic Weight 2320kg 0-100km/h 7.9sec (claimed) Economy 7.6L/100km (EU) Price $68,000 (estimated) On sale November FOUR years ago Volkswagen had a very different set of problems. Tougher Euro 6 diesel emissions standards, due in late-2016, were looming. The twin-turbo 2.0-litre four used in the Amarok was particularly troubling, the cost of making it conform ruled prohibitive. VW’s solution was a versatile single-turbo 3.0-litre diesel V6 launched in 2014 and already compliant. It’s used in products as diverse as Audi’s A4 and Q7, and even the Porsche Cayenne S Diesel. For Amarok, it’s tuned to produce 165kW and 550Nm – 28kW/30Nm less than the high-performance Cayenne yet…

Model Audi S5 Coupe Engine 2995cc V6 (90°), dohc, 24v, turbo Max power 260kW @ 5400-6400rpm Max torque 500Nm @ 1370-4500rpm Transmission 8-speed automatic Weight 1615kg 0-100km/h 4.7sec (claimed) Economy 7.4L/100km (EU) Price $125,000 (estimated) On sale First half 2017 FREQUENTLY – and justly – Audi is praised for the precision and beauty of its interiors. Now, with the new A5/S5 Coupe, hymns to Ingolstadt’s mastery of metal will need to be composed. To run a finger along the join between the four-seater’s clamshell bonnet and its front guards is to encounter pressed perfection. The curving gap never varies, all the way from the uppermost outer corner of the headlight to the door shutline at the base of its A-pillar. From some angles the gap is invisible, seeming to merge…

It’s green! My first glimpse of the fastest and most advanced car ever produced by AMG is stolen through a door, broken briefly ajar as a technician slips inside. I step right to see more of that brilliant hue, which seems to suck in all of the surrounding light, before a security guard slams the door shut. “Uh uh uh!” she says sternly. “We wait for the master of ceremonies.” I feel like arguing, but our MC is not a man you want to upset. Tobias Moers is late. He’s also the boss of AMG, so we wait. WHEELS has come to Affalterbach at the exclusive invitation of Mercedes-AMG, to see the new GT R. And we’re the first media in the world to do so. This is the harder,…

This quartet of quirk shows how to make the oddball saleable BACK when people’s houses were a Kenwood mix-master of patterns, just like their clothing, and Aussies bought cars painted in every colour of the rainbow, the small-car category was a hotbed of weird, wacky, and wonderful. And the beige homogeneity of the future was just an Orwellian fantasy. From in-line, flat and vee engines to gearboxes mounted inside the sump, ‘hammock’ seats, flip-up windows and even a single front-facing door, the creative freedom in designing a small car meant that car manufacturers could genuinely push the envelope. But then the world stopped taking risks and the small-car category became depressingly conformist, with the odd exception like Renault’s first-generation Twingo and Ford’s original Ka. Citroen, Fiat, Mini and Suzuki have…

I REALLY should have known better. Having decided it was time to give the Lexus a gallop out into the country, my timing couldn’t have been worse. Friday evening before a long weekend is hardly the best time to be escaping the rat-race, especially when the weather has been ordered by Noah. We’re going to the opening of an art show – I’m supporting an artist friend and trying to appear more sophisticated than I really am – but the traffic betrays my uncouth side. Why the hell are people heading for beaches in the middle of winter? Too late, my daughter advises that the traffic is so bad she’s bailed on a cross-town commitment. Smart girl. Almost two hours inching along a so-called ‘freeway’ – for which we pay…

STUDENTS of Norse mythology, or simply fans of the bawdy and bloodthirsty SBS TV series Vikings, will know that the Norsemen of medieval Scandinavia burned their dead chiefs in a ship-like funeral pyre, en route to their final destination of Valhalla. I considered showing the same respect for the XC90 but soon realised Volvo would probably prefer it back unsinged, even if the funeral pyre is the ultimate sign of respect for a Scandinavian warrior. Respect is very much the appropriate descriptor for emotion accrued over the six months Black Betty has graced our driveway. During this time, there hasn’t been a lot of pillaging, but plenty of packing, plodding and perambulating. Of course, the Vikings were known for more than just sacking and pillaging; among their skills was the…

MINI has thrown more gear at its Cooper S 3-door and 5-door models. Key to the value boost are LED lights front and rear as well as guidance lines for the reversing camera to predict where the car will end up on the current steering lock. The Cooper S also comes with two option packs: Convenience for $1800 (adding smart-key entry, alarm and parking sensors) and Control for $1500 (including low-speed auto braking, active cruise control and auto high-beam). The more affordable three-cylinder Cooper also gets a new Multimedia pack option for $1500.…

THINK of Australian racing car constructors and chances are you’ll think of Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac. Aside from Aussie-influenced internationals like Van Diemen and Tiga, there’s been a whole raft of successful home-growns: Elfin, Matich, Birrana, Bowin, Rennmax and Cheetah, to name some of the majors. Add to that list Borland Racing Developments, of Braeside, Melbourne. Mike Borland, 52, has racked up almost 30 years as a constructor. His Spectrum Formula Ford, F2000 and Sabre Formula Vee cars have been consistently successful in Australia, have twice won Formula Ford’s pinnacle Walter Hayes Trophy in the UK (2011 and 2013), and are reigning US Formula Ford champions, with Australian driver Scott Andrews. Borland also constructed the steel spaceframe chassis for the Daytona Coupes and regularly restores and repairs notable historic…

Big gaps are the result of aero guru Newey’s F1-honed approach to drag and downforce Track version will be 20 seconds quicker around Silverstone than the McLaren P1 Room for two despite an uncompromised F1-style ‘keel’ for ultimate aero “Newey promises equivalent performance to an LMP1 car around Silverstone”   RED Bull’s Formula 1 star, Aussie hero and all-round great guy Daniel Ricciardo, will soon have a mental new company car. Aston Martin has taken the wraps off its secret AM-RB 001 road car, built in conjunction with five-time F1 World Constructors Championship winners, Red Bull Racing. You can’t fault Aston Martin for lacking ambition. It has just launched the new DB11, its AMG V8-powered Vantage replacement will be along shortly, it is working on an EV crossover that will be…

Hyundai will get its own version of the rear-drive CK as part of its soon-to-arrive Genesis luxury sub-brand. The Hyundai version was teased as the New York Concept in March and will be called the Genesis G70. Both CK and G70 are being developed under Albert Biermann, who headed BMW’s M Division before being poached to lead high-performance vehicle development for the two Korean brands. An even higher tune for the V6 turbo will be used to produce a Mercedes-AMG fighter to sit within the Genesis portfolio. It will be created by the same team that is delivering the much-anticipated Hyundai N performance models, but the Genesis versions will not take on the N branding. Hyundai recently trademarked a number of names, including G74, which could be the performance derivative…

Nismo-tuned twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 scores an extra 22kW and 15Nm Recaro carbonfibre bucket seats inside GT-R Nismo should hit 100km/h in less than 3.0sec NISSAN’S potent GT-R Nismo looks set to come to Australia. Wheels has learnt the high-performance version of the recently updated GT-R could arrive as early as 2017, paving the way for a rush of Nismo products as the brand looks to expand globally. The GT-R Nismo gets an upgraded 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 punching out 441kW and 652Nm, as well as stiffer springs, stabiliser bars and dampers. It also sports a carbonfibre bonnet and Recaro carbonfibre bucket seats. While no 0-100km/h claim has been made, it should comfortably better the current car’s 3.2sec, and possibly go sub-3.0sec. The Nismo GT-R last year set a Nurburgring lap of…

HATCHING AN IDEA Toyota’s Tetsuya Tada (Redline, July) deserves a lot of thanks from affordable sportscar buyers and the company for which he works. The Toyota 86 is on top of my list of cars to buy next, but with my family commitments I need something with four or five doors to carry kids and gear around every weekend. I don’t want to wait until they start driving themselves before I can get some lightweight RWD heaven happening. Family expansion is what is needed and I would love to see a RWD five-door hatch based on the 86 as the next version spun off this platform. Two extra doors and a higher bonnet line (to keep it in proportion) will add weight, so it will need a bigger engine, like…

SPECS Model Nissan GT-R Engine 3799cc V6 (60°), dohc, 24v, twin-turbo Max Power 419kW @ 6800rpm Max Torque 637Nm @ 3300-5800rpm Transmission 6-speed dual-clutch Weight 1752kg 0-100km/h 3.2sec (estimated) Fuel economy 12.0L/100km Price $180,000 (estimated) On sale September FOR the first time since the R35 Nissan GT-R was introduced, new buyers are now given a visual indication the brand new model they are paying nearly $200,000 for is different to its older siblings. The MY17 GT-R is the biggest update to Godzilla since the R35 was introduced in 2007, though it’s hardly an impressive engineering feat, with merely an extra 15kW, plus a new grille and bumper design shadowing years of marginal power increases. But at least the worrying interior sounds are fixed. “A lot of the motorsportinspired noises have…

Model Porsche Boxster S Engine 2497cc flat 4, dohc, 16v, turbo Max power 257kW @ 6500rpm Max torque 420Nm @ 1900rpm-4500rpm Transmission 6-speed manual Kerb weight 1355kg 0-100km/h 4.6sec (claimed) Economy 8.1L/100km (EU) Price $143,400 On sale Now CAN a thoroughbred sports car, one honed to delight and satisfy its driver (and priced in six figures) really carry the halo it once had when powered by just four pots and a puffer? We’re talking about the loss of an entire pair of cylinders and all the goodness that made the Porsche flat-six such an icon. There’s an initial sense that it’s not just cubes and pots that have been swallowed by the emissions-compliance monster, but also a core part of the Boxster’s identity. The car’s character has changed, markedly. At…

Model Tesla Model X P90D Engine Two electric motors (193kW front, 375kW rear) Max power 397kW (combined system power) Max torque 967Nm Transmission 1-speed fixed gear Weight 2440kg 0-100km/h 3.4sec (claimed) Range 480km Price $150,000-$220,000 (estimated) On sale December IS THIS the year’s most significant new car? Wall Street thinks so. Tesla only made 50,000 cars last year while GM made nearly 10 million, yet Tesla’s stock market value is two-thirds that of GM ($US30b versus $US44b). Wall Street has clearly swallowed Elon Musk’s promise to grow output tenfold – tenfold! – in just two years, as the cheaper Model 3 hatchback goes on sale. First we get this Model X SUV, Tesla’s second volume model after the Model S sedan, and it’s expected to more than double Tesla sales.…

Model Audi S4 quattro Engine 2995cc V6 (90°), dohc, 24v, turbo Max power 260kW @ 5400-6400rpm Max torque 500Nm @ 1370-4500rpm Transmission 8-speed automatic Weight 1630kg 0-100km/h 4.7sec (claimed) Economy 7.5L/100km (EU) Price $107,000 (estimated) On sale October FIVE different generations of S4 and five different engines. That’s where this highly unusual tally stands as Audi’s suave B9-generation S4 introduces an all-new 3.0-litre turbo V6 to join its freshly minted platform. On paper, the differences aren’t so obvious. The all-aluminium 90-degree V6 shares its bore and stroke, and thus its 2995cc capacity, with its supercharged predecessor, but that’s where the similarities end. Different bore centres, a new two-phase combustion method and a twin-scroll turbocharger mounted inside the vee has produced a more compact, lighter (by 14kg), friction-optimised engine with improved…

YES, there’s no doubt about it. We are going to spin. My brain accepts reality as I stare out through the Falcon XR8 Sprint’s windscreen at the grassy infield at Eastern Creek raceway. Now I’m looking back at Turn Two. That’s where we’ve just come from. And now it’s Turn Three visible through a cloud of tyre smoke. In the driver’s seat, former touring car champion Russell Ingall is variously swearing, laughing, shaking his head, sawing at the steering wheel and snatching at the auto shifter. Incongruously, somewhere in the background I can hear a warning chime going off. Ding, ding, ding, ding. Which of many automotive crimes currently being committed is it identifying, I wonder. “Holy hell, dude, what have you done to me?” Ingall shouts over the whine…

CLIMBING Everest must feel like this. Everyone in our team has serious doubts about whether we’re going to make it, and occasional fears that one of us might die. And, to a large extent, factors beyond our control might just laugh in the face of all the hard graft and preparation it’s taken for us to get here. Plenty of people have laughed at us – uproariously in some cases – when we’ve told them what we’re attempting. In a moment of what can only be called inspired stupidity, Wheels suggested to Mazda that we should enter a standard BT-50 in an off-road race so brutal that more than half the entrants don’t finish, and those who do end up urinating blood or in neck braces. Whoever answered the phone…

FOR the second half of the MX-5’s six-month stay in our garage I’ve moved from a 1.5-litre manual base model to the top-spec 2.0-litre GT auto. That’s a step up in many areas, and a step down in a couple as well, surprisingly. I thought having extended exposure to both drivetrains would help me choose a favourite, but four weeks into big-bore heaven and I’m even more confused. Part of this is the fault of the automatic transmission. This six-speed Aisin unit makes day-to-day driving easier, no question, and it’s a smooth, competent cog-swapper. But it doesn’t suit the intent or character of this car, even with paddles to manually manipulate. The MX-5 is a driver’s car, and paying an extra $2000 to be less involved doesn’t gel with the…

SUZUKI’S Vitara range just keeps on growing, with the arrival of a turbo-diesel model to complement the willing 1.6-litre entry-level petrol engine and the 1.4-litre ‘Boosterjet’ turbo. The diesel's big appeal is its frugal 4.9L/100km fuel number, at least 15 percent better than the rest of the Vitara lineup, and among the most frugal compact SUVs. But the Vitara diesel doesn’t come cheap at $35,990, albeit with a standard six-speed dual-clutch ’box driving all four wheels. And its generous spread of gear almost matches that of the Vitara S Turbo.…

LOUIS Delâge was a French carmaker in the way you’d have a French carmaker be. Born in 1874 as the son of a stationmaster, he studied engineering at a prestigious college and, like W.O. Bentley, kicked off his career as a railway engineer. Then he turned to car-making, produced advanced and timelessly elegant machines, became a rich and randy Parisian playboy, went bust, and died poor. Delâge founded his car-making concern in 1905, initially producing tiny voiturettes powered by single-cylinder de Dion engines. He was quick to recognise the value of motorsport and a victory in a grand prix at Dieppe in 1908 had the orders flowing in. His road cars got bigger, faster and more glamorous, supported by further racing success. However, neither racing success nor production of more…