Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2016 i Wheels

AUSTRALIANS might be parking a sexy homegrown Holden-badged Monaro coupe, a coupe-styled ute or even a Commodore-based SUV in their driveways if it wasn’t for poor economic and market circumstances since 2008. Wheels can reveal that three separate projects – a production version of the Coupe 60, a long-and-low El Camino-style ute, and a Ford Territory-rivalling seven-seat Nullarbor SUV – were quietly shelved in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis as Holden’s parent company, General Motors, desperately struggled to avoid plunging into bankruptcy. GM’s global vice-president of design, Michael Simcoe, revealed to Wheels that even more spin-offs from the Zeta platform that underpins the VF Commodore were in various stages of planning. “I remember sedan, coupe, Caprice, ute, SUV AWD, low and high crew-cab … there were probably more,”…

AUDI’S new suspension system turns rough roads into electricity. Regenerative brakes have been around for years, but now Audi has created a world-first system that converts suspension movement into electrical energy, which can be used to top-up a battery pack and extend the range of a hybrid or EV. The system uses electromechanical dampers connected to a lever arm, which feeds the kinetic forces of rebound and compression into an electric motor via a series of gears. This creates an electric charge, and the rougher the road the more energy produced. Audi says the energy recovered is 150W on an ‘average’ German road, ranging from 3W on a smooth freeway to 613W on its roughest roads. Audi claims this saves 3g/km of CO2, which also equates to a 0.125L/km reduction…

AUSTRALIA will remember 2015 as yet another bumper year for new-vehicle sales in Australia, bursting past the magic million mark for the sixth year running on a wave of surging SUV demand. And 2016 could be just as big, industry insiders say. Volkswagen Australia managing director Michael Bartsch says fresh metal is key, especially small SUVs like the new-generation Tiguan. “What people are watching is … the significant move towards small SUVs, and the impact that is going to have on what share of the market you are going to be getting,” he told Wheels. SUVs experienced a healthy rise of about 14 percent last year, further eroding the once-dominant market share enjoyed by passenger cars, which fell a few percent. Boosting interest were newcomers to the burgeoning small SUV…

THE MORGAN is 66. The original Porsche 911 equalled Jesus’s 33 years on Earth. And the (original) Honda NSX lived to 15. In an era of instant refresh, there is something reassuring about a car that’s allowed to breathe with age. Enter Nissan’s R35 GT-R. Now a sprightly eight, Japan’s legendary supercar defiantly marches to the soaring sounds of its own twin-turbo V6 baritone – as a 1000km stint in the 2015 update revealed. Building on 2014’s facelift (basically, brilliant LEDs, swishier cabin materials, and retuned suspension, steering, and brakes – see sidebar), the ride has been quantifiably improved without affecting the GT-R’s supernatural handling. Whether in Comfort or Normal, a newfound smoothness is immediately evident. The bobbing and crashing over bumps now only happens in Race mode. Additionally, the…

WE FEARED we’d hit peak Ferrari with 2013’s 458 Speciale, a swansong for the amazing 4.5-litre atmo V8. We needn’t have worried. The new twin-turbo V8 has lag-free response, a midrange like a 50-metre wave, and a soundtrack F1 fans would kill for. It’s the world’s best turbo engine – no question. And that noise is even more essential when it comes to the 488 Spider, because you’re exposed to much more of it. Like 2012’s 458 Spider, the 488 Spider’s two-piece retractable hardtop folds beneath a neat rear deck that doubles as roll-over protection, takes 14 seconds to stow, retains the same mechanism and adds 50kg. This time, though, an uprated pump means it works at up to 45km/h. You have to pull over in Ferrari’s other retractable hardtop,…

THE SPORTY SUV is where the immutable laws of Newtonian physics collide head on with a carmaker’s understandable desire to profit from satisfying the misguided desires of an ever-swelling cohort of customers. It’s evident that height and heaviness are serious impediments to achieving handling agility and accelerative ability. Still, some companies do make a better job than others of taking clumsy SUV material and turning it into something almost elegantly athletic – which brings us to the Macan GTS. This latest addition to Porsche’s medium-size SUV line-up, due to reach Australia in April, can be eye-wideningly rapid. One of the exercises on the program at the international launch is chasing a well-driven 911 pace car along a snaky, silky-smooth 4.2km stretch of blacktop on the pretty island of Tenerife. The…

ON PAPER, it’s genius. Steal the cutesy styling cues of the retro Fiat 500, stretch them over the bulging bones of a compact SUV, and laugh all the way to the bank. It’s the new Italian Job. The 500X marks the latest addition to the ever-expanding 500 family (the first was the elephantine 500L MPV thingy not sold here), and promises to be the brand’s most popular model, such is Australia’s insatiable lust for the now ubiquitous compact SUV. It needs to be good. And for the most part, it makes the cut. Stylish, well-built and well-specced, the 500X adds Italian flair and individuality to the compact SUV segment. But while cheerful, it definitely isn’t cheap. Starting at $28,000 for the entry-level Pop manual, the range stretches to $39,000 for…

ONE HUNDRED and thirty years ago, the motor car gave humankind the ability to cover vast distances with the speed of a railway, the practicality of a carriage and the independence of a horse or bicycle. It also brought us motor racing. All at the press of one pedal. THEY WRITHE AND BARGE AND ATTACK EACH OTHER LIKE FRANTIC SALMON, THE FASTEST OPEN CLASS CARS HITTING 70KM/H By any comparison, bicycles are boring. The Tour de France is only interesting for the scenery. Velodrome racing looks like turds swirling in a bowl, without the satisfaction at the end. A 24-hour race for ‘humanpowered’ vehicles sounds like a slow, sweaty, deliberate piss-take of motor racing’s pinnacle, the Le Mans 24 Hours. We’ve thrown back the roof on a Fiat 500C Pop…

“ENGINE STRONG, LOVES TO REV BUT BETTER-SUITED TO A HONDA MANUAL”NATHAN PONCHARD BODY Type 5-door wagon, 5 seats Boot capacity 437 litres Weight 1328 – 1366kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), FWD Engine 1799cc 4cyl (105kW/172Nm) Transmission CVT automatic CHASSIS Tyres 215/60R16 – 215/55R17 ADR81 fuel consumption 6.6 – 6.9L/100km CO2 emissions 155 – 160g/km Collision mitigation VTi-L ADAS only Crash rating 5-star (ANCAP) Prices $24,990 – $33,990 WHETHER viewed in a showroom or from behind the wheel while being tested relentlessly around Lang Lang, it is easy to appreciate the populist appeal of Honda’s HR-V comeback kid. Pleasing to the eye (the designer reckons classic ’80s Honda coupes helped inspire the tapering roof line and hidden rear door handles), the Japanese-engineered, Thai-built front-wheel-drive crossover has been cleverly packaged to…

BODY Type 4-door sedan, 5 seats Boot capacity 510 litres Weight 1585 – 1650kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), FWD Engines 2359cc 4cyl (138kW/241Nm) 1998cc 4cyl turbo (180kW/350Nm) Transmission 6-speed automatic CHASSIS Tyres 215/55R17 – 235/45R18 ADR81 fuel consumption 8.3 – 8.5L/km CO2 emissions 194 – 199g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (ANCAP) Prices $34,490 – $43,990 IF THIS page was a school report, it’d have a big, shiny ‘most improved’ sticker plastered in the top left-hand corner. After two days of ruthless testing, all of the judges agreed that Kia’s new Optima is one of the most improved cars of 2015, an accolade that speaks as much to the new model’s step forward as it does to the old one’s disappointing dynamics, harsh ride and uninspiring base engine. But…

BODY Type 2-door coupe, 4 seats Boot capacity 366 – 423 litres Weight 1680 – 1780kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (north-south), RWD Engines 3456cc V6 (233kW/378Nm); 4969cc V8 (351kW/530Nm) Transmissions 8-speed automatic CHASSIS Tyres 235/45R18 – 275/35R19 ADR81 fuel consumption 9.4 – 10.9L/100km CO2 emissions 217 – 259g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating not tested Prices $65,610 – $133,110 THE LEXUS RC was Japan’s balls-out Banzai coupe at this year’s COTY battle. This is thanks, in part, to its jagged, aggressive styling and the NASCAR-like sound of the RC-F’s 5.0-litre V8 at full noise. Until the entry-level RC200t arrives (see sidebar, right), the RC350 is the starting point for what is essentially the two-door version of the IS sedan. Yet unlike the coupe versions of its German competition, which often look…

“CX-3 IS EASILY THE MOST FUN THING TO DRIVE IN ITS CLASS”TOBY HAGON BODY Type 5-door wagon, 5 seats Boot capacity 264 litres Weight 1193 – 1368kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), FWD/AWD Engines 1499cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (77kW/270Nm); 1998cc 4cyl (109kW/172Nm) Transmissions 6-speed manual; 6-speed automatic CHASSIS Tyres 215/60R16 – 215/50R18 ADR81 fuel consumption 4.8 – 6.7L/100km CO2 emissions 125 – 151g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (ANCAP) Prices $19,990 – $37,690 MAZDA has finally cracked it. Every small SUV to date has in some way fallen short. Some, like the Honda HR-V and Renault Captur, are nearly there. But only one is good enough to break through. Welcome the engaging, involving, and interesting CX-3. Using much of the same ‘SkyActiv’ drivetrain and chassis tech as 2014’s COTY finalist, the…

“THE BEST VOLVO CHASSIS IN YEARS”NATHAN PONCHARD BODY Type 5-door wagon, 7 seats Boot capacity 692 litres Weight 1965 – 1970kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front-engine (north-south), AWD Engines 1969cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (165kW/470Nm); 1969cc 4cyl turbo (235kW/400Nm); Transmission 8-speed automatic CHASSIS Tyres 235/55R18 – 275/40R21 ADR81 fuel consumption 6.2 – 8.5L/100km CO2 emissions 162 – 199g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (Euro NCAP) Prices $89,950 – $101,950 THERE are no excuses for the new XC90. With a new platform, engines and complete in-house development from the ground up, this is Gothenburg’s chance to prove that it can produce a genuinely world-class car under its Chinese owner, Geely. And yes, it really has delivered. Formerly part of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG) with another contender, Jaguar, both former PAG brands saw their latest…

“PRACTICALLY PERFECT IN EVERY WAY THAT MATTERS”BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS “THE PERFECT EXPRESSION OF THE DELIGHT OF DRIVING”SALLY DOMINGUEZ BODY Type 2-door, 2-seat roadster L/W/H 3915/1735/1225-1230mm Wheelbase 2310mm Track (f/r) 1495/1505mm Boot capacity 130 litres Weight 1009 – 1057kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (north-south), RWD Engines 1496cc 4cyl (96kW/150Nm); 1998cc 4cyl (118kW/200Nm) Transmissions 6-speed manual; 6-speed automatic CHASSIS Brakes ventilated discs (f), solid discs (r) Tyres 195/50R16 – 205/45R17 Spare tyre repair kit only ADR81 fuel consumption 6.1 – 7.1L/100km CO2 emissions 142 – 165g/km Front airbags Side airbags Curtain airbags Knee airbags Collision mitigation Crash rating 4-star (Euro NCAP) Prices $31,990 – $41,550 3-year retained value 51 – 54% Service interval 12 months/10,000km IT HAPPENS to the best of us. The compulsion to continually acquire and accumulate, to expand our empire,…

“OOH, Daddy, is this the blue car that Mummy hates! Why do you still have it?” My daughter moons up at me from the back of the Citroen C4 Picasso Marriage Wrecker, looking at me like she can’t understand how I’ve never noticed what her mother’s wrath is like. It’s fair to say things have not improved in that department, but I’m almost refusing to be swayed and I am still shouting loudly in favour of the cool-looking Citroen’s versatility and amenity. It spent the start of its Wheels tenure with Mr Ponchard, who is about as likely to be found in a second-hand Ssangyong Stavic as he is to be seen ferrying children around. He’s so Sydney-cool he’s going to need to have a hipness replacement when he gets…

MELBOURNE rain sucks. Just one night after I washed Big Blue for the third time in our four months together, it rained. And Melbourne’s rain is not just drops of water like rain is meant to be. No, each drop carries a load of Mallee dirt. When the rain stops and the car finally dries, every panel is peppered as though I parked too close to the speedway. The Genesis’s classy blue paint has one big drawback. It contrasts with this Mallee dirt. White doesn’t, nor does grey or beige, which may be why more than half of all new cars bought by Australians are shades of those colours. Watching the sea of conservative colours flowing down Aussie roads makes the reds, yellows and blues stick out like jelly beans…

ARNOLD Schwarzenegger likes to think he personifies the American-immigrant dream, but he was beaten to the punch by brothers Fred and August Duesenberg. The German-born Duesenberg boys would eventually put their name to the grandest of American automobiles. In 1913, the brothers founded Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Co, with a focus on racing cars and engines. Exposure to Ettore Bugatti’s straight-eight aero engine of 1915 helped propel Duesenberg to the forefront of American innovation. Despite precocious racing success in the 1920s, including the 1921 French GP and four Indy 500s, their advanced Straight Eight (aka Model A) road car failed to sell. The company folded in 1924. Their saviour in 1926 was Errett Lobban Cord, a former racer and salesman who had managed a spectacular turnaround of the Auburn Automobile…

HSV readies GTS-R revival HSV’s secret plans to unleash a tyre-slaying 476kW GTSR on Australia, revealed exclusively in Wheels in October, appear to have taken a small step forward.GM in the US, which holds the rights to the HSV badge, has trademarked “GTSR” in Australia, though missing the hyphen of the yellow lairy-winged VS Commodore-based original. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the original GTS-R’s release, when only 85 of the 5.7-litre cars were built. Perhaps wanting to keep a lid on the project for as long as it could, GM stalled on making its trademark application until December. “Frankly, it doesn’t bother me if Commodore is Number One in our portfolio or not. It’s not a priority.”Holden CEO Mark Bernhard Commodore shows its undies The 2017 Holden Commodore…

WHILE proposed grey import laws have been canned (see above), it turns out we’re already getting better value than ever. While the prices of just about everything have been constantly on the rise, many cars are still frozen at levels of 20 years ago. House prices in Sydney are five times higher than in 1995, when fuel was 70c a litre and a Big Mac was $2.45 (it’s $5.30 now, in case you’re a health freak). In short, as we tell each other constantly, Australia is bloody expensive these days, except for cars, which are absolute bargains. Fortunately, that even includes cars you’d actually want to buy, like the Subaru WRX, which cost $39,990 when it was launched in March 1994. If you apply inflation, that would be $66,640 in…

FEBRUARY-APRIL 2016 Audi A4 and R8; Bentley Bentayga; Citroen C4 Cactus; Holden Spark; Hyundai Elantra; Infiniti Q70; Jaguar XF; Kia Cerato facelift; Lexus GS-F; Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe and Mercedes-Benz GLS; Peugeot 308 GTi; Porsche 911 Carrera and Macan GTS; Toyota Prius Audi R8 Laser headlights. That’s right, freakin’ lasers. The second-gen R8 supercar features a high-beam set of them that, rather than remove right-lane hogs at the press of a button so you can stretch the mid-mounted V10’s legs uninterrupted, complement the LED headlights to show the way forward at night with unprecedented accuracy and clarity. The R8 is expected to lob here in standard 397kW and Plus-sized 449kW states of tune. MAY-JULY 2016 BMW 330e and X5 xDrive40e; Ferrari F12 Berlinetta M; Ford Focus RS; Honda Civic sedan;…

THERE are four things you need to know about the Lamborghini Huracan LP580-2. First, it’s 33kg lighter than the Huracan LP610-4 because it has no differentials or driveshafts channelling power to the front wheels. Second, its 5.2-litre V10 is 23kW and 10Nm less potent, mainly to create a model range hierarchy, yet gives the rear-driver an almost identical power-to-weight ratio to its AWD sibling. Third, it’ll be $50K cheaper than the Huracan LP610-4 when it arrives in Australia in April. And fourth, it’s built to oversteer. Yes, power oversteer was one of Lamborghini’s five main aims when developing this ‘entry-level’ Huracan. The other four are also admirable, but harder to remember when you’re oppy-locking 426kW of mid-mounted V10 through a corner. So important was this rear-steer emphasis that Lamborghini worked…

TAKING technical cues from the wildly successful Audi Le Mans cars, the new Q7 e-tron quattro is Audi’s second production model with a plug-in hybrid drive system, following the A3 e-tron Sportback. Here are two statistics to contemplate: this Q7, weighing in at a hefty 2438kg, will burst out of the blocks and hit 100km/h in 6.2 seconds, and yet it also has the chameleon-like ability to get along (rather more sedately, let it be said) whilst using diesel at the rate of not even two litres across a 100-kilometre journey. The 3.0-litre TDI V6 and the electric motor are both paired to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. A choice of four modes is provided: EV, Hybrid, Battery Charge and Battery Hold. Electric driving is prioritised in EV mode, while in…

SOME marriages, it’s said, are made in heaven. This one is made in Sunderland, in the northeast of England. The Q30 is a partnership production of the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler, owners of Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz respectively. The pair inked a strategic cooperation agreement in 2010. Which is how an English factory comes to be producing a premium-price, five-door premium hatchback that’s mostly German, even though it wears a Japanese badge. Infiniti spokespeople refuse to reveal how much Mercedes-Benz it takes to make a Q30, but it’s obviously a lot. As has been widely reported already, the Infiniti uses the same transverse front-engine MFA platform that’s the foundation for the A-Class, B-Class, CLA and GLA. It has the same wheelbase and appears to use the same suspension, steering and braking…

TOYOTA’S hybrid technology is now almost two decades old. Over time it has improved, but the unexciting driving experience has essentially remained the same. Until now. Toyota’s fourth-generation Prius is about to arrive and it’s shaping up to be something of a revolution. The biggest change is that it introduces the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) that will underpin a range of yet-to-be-named mid-size models. The TNGA chassis uses more high-strength steel and, in the interests of saving weight, the Prius now includes lighter aluminium panels for the bonnet, boot and front crash bars. Suspension still uses traditional struts up front, although they feature a more laid-back angle of attack and increased camber to help distribute steering force, and their towers now are joined by a stiffening cross-brace. Down the…

WHEN Mazda released the CX-9 in December 2007, it surely didn’t think the ‘9’ would be the number of years it would be on sale. Yet, the flagship seven-seat SUV is now the oldest in its class and its replacement can’t come soon enough. So Mazda unleashed journalists at a pre-production prototype drive in Los Angeles for an early taste of the new CX-9 – clearly hoping it will repeat the success of its current SUV range when the big seven-seater lobs here in July. The CX-9 is the last passenger car in Mazda’s range to get the benefit from its ‘SkyActiv’ engineering approach. That means it rides on the same platform as the CX-5, which also has DNA ties to the 6 and 3. With a focus on weight-saving,…

I keep thinking about the brake pedal, because I would very much like to use it AS THE Bentley heads beyond 300km/h its handmade, leather-swathed cabin fades out and my perception zeroes in on its fundamentals until it feels race-car basic. I remain very aware of the steering wheel. The two-lane black-top ahead might be laser-straight and flat, but the surface ain’t level. Above 250km/h each dip and pothole causes the wheel to kick back and the car to drift a foot or two to either side. Nerves make me want to strangle the rim and it’s a conscious effort to keep my grip loose. The constant, precise corrections required are small, but a lot bigger than I’d like to be making at this speed. I’m also very aware of…

EVEREST IS BASED ON THE SUCCESSFUL YET ROUGH AND READY FORD RANGER EVEREST is an appropriate name for something wearing a Ford badge right now. The brand has a mountain to climb as it ends local car-making, and this new SUV can literally do that as a ladder-chassis, seven-seat, proper family off-roader. It’s part of the onslaught of new products for Ford Australia, and is the new kid in town chasing the likes of the market-leading Toyota Prado, its sparring partner here, which has been treated to a new, downsized diesel engine. Prado is the best-selling Toyota SUV, and it too blends off-road credentials with civic duties as a seven-seat family wagon. And, more often than not, the cabin of either of these cars – both starting at the $55K…

GERMANY (8) Audi TT BMW i8 BMW X1 BMW 2 Series AT BMW 7 Series Merecedes S-Class Coupe Mercedes-AMG GT S Volkswagen Passat JAPAN (3) Lexus RC Mazda CX-3 Mazda MX-5 THAILAND (3) Ford Everest Honda HR-V Suzuki Celerio CZECH REPUBLIC (2) Hyundai Tucson Skoda Fabia SOUTH KOREA (2) Kia Sorento Kia Optima UNITED KINGDOM (2) Jaguar XE Land Rover Discovery Sport SPAIN (1) Ford Mondeo SLOVAKIA (1) Audi Q7 SWEDEN (1) Volvo XC90 HUNGARY (1) Suzuki Vitara ITALY (1) Jeep Renegade AUSTRALIA (0)…

BODY Type 5-door wagon, 5 seats Boot capacity 468 litres Weight 1360 – 1430kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), FWD Engines 1499cc 3cyl turbo (100kW/220Nm) 1998cc 4cyl turbo (141kW/280Nm) 1998cc 4cyl turbo (170kW/350Nm) 1995cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (110kW/330Nm) Transmissions 6-speed automatic; 8-speed automatic CHASSIS Tyres 205/55R17 – 225/45R18 ADR81 fuel consumption 4.2 – 6.1L/100km CO2 emissions 111 – 142g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (Euro NCAP) Prices $44,400 – $54,900 ONE YEAR on from the COTY-winning i3 EV, BMW is back with something arguably even more sacrilegious to ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’ chanting loyalists – front-wheel drive. Yet the 2 Series Active Tourer – sharing virtually nothing with its rear-drive coupe and convertible stablemates using the same numerical prefix, but plenty with the second-gen X1 and latest generation of Minis –…

BODY Type 5-door wagon, 5 seats Boot capacity 488 litres Weight 1484 – 1744kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), FWD/AWD Engines 1999cc 4cyl (121kW/203Nm); 1591cc 4cyl turbo (130kW/265Nm); 1995cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (136kW/400Nm) Transmissions 6-speed manual; 6-speed automatic; 7-speed dual-clutch CHASSIS Tyres 225/60R17 – 245/45R19 ADR fuel consumption 6.4 – 7.9L/100km CO emissions 2 169 – 185g/km Collision mitigation Highlander only Crash rating 4-star (ANCAP) Prices $30,490 – $45,490 IF THE Genesis was the first against-type Hyundai, then the new Tucson faithfully follows its luxobarge relative into COTY’s upper echelon. Defined by its chiselled appearance, and redefined by an entertaining chassis tuned specifically for Australia, the Tucson is one of the first mainstream Hyundais to be truly anti-ordinary. Unlike 2012’s i30, the Tucson’s ability shines brighter the further you move up…

BODY Type 5-door wagon, 7 seats Boot capacity 605 litres Weight 1921kg – 2036kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), FWD/AWD Engines 3342cc V6 (199kW/318Nm) 2199cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (147kW/441Nm) Transmission 6-speed automatic CHASSIS Tyres 235/65R17 – 235/55R19 ADR81 fuel consumption 7.8 – 9.9L/100km CO2 emissions 205 – 230g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (ANCAP) Prices $40,990 – $55,990 KIA’S third-gen Sorento rolled onto the tarmac at Lang Lang’s proving ground with a confident swagger, and rightly so. Just five issues ago, the Sorento (in range-topping Platinum spec) made history by trouncing its rivals to become Kia’s first Wheels comparison-test winner. So a little self-confidence is deserved, and the Kia’s kudos only increased during the static introductions on Day One of COTY testing. The judges applauded the Sorento’s handsome styling and sportier…

BODY Type 2-door coupe, 4 seats Boot capacity 400 litres Weight 1995 – 2110kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (north-south), RWD Engines 4663cc V8 twin-turbo (335kW/700Nm); 5461cc V8 twin-turbo (430kW/900Nm); 5980cc V12 twin-turbo (463kW/1000Nm) Transmissions 7-speed automatic; 9-speed automatic CHASSIS Tyres 245/40R20 – 285/35R20 ADR81 fuel consumption 8.6 – 12.0L/100km CO2 emissions 199 – 282g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating not tested Prices $318,610 – $498,610 PRIVATE helicopter? Check. Riviera yacht moored off your jetty? Check. Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe tucked neatly into your multi-car garage? Yep, the two-door version of Stuttgart’s flagship limousine – now adopting the grander S-Class Coupe moniker in lieu of CL – is that sort of car. Opulent and elegant, it’s essentially tailor-made for the rich, and very rich, in equal measure. It’s also big (five metres-plus and…

“WHAT A MONSTER! WHAT A FEROCIOUSLY FAST CAR”GLENN BUTLER BODY Type 2-door coupe, 2 seats Boot capacity 350 litres Weight 1570kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (north-south), RWD Engine 3982cc V8 twin-turbo (375kW/650Nm) Transmission 7-speed dual-clutch CHASSIS Tyres 265/35R19 (f), 295/30R20 (r) ADR81 fuel consumption 9.4L/100km CO2 emissions 219g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating not tested Prices $295,000 IF THERE was an award for Sound of the Year – and many who drove this bright yellow AMG GT S think there should be – you’d be looking at the winner. Of the 2016 COTY field, nothing came within a V8 decibel of the AMG’s fuel-gurgling, eardrum-shattering soundtrack, which made even the 5.0-litre V8-powered Lexus RC-F seem timid in comparison. You can forget fears that bolting a pair of turbos onto AMG’s flagship…

“THE AIR SUSPENSION ALLOWS IT TO COMPETE WITH $250K CARS FOR REFINEMENT AND SERENITY”NATHAN PONCHARD “IT’S BEYOND BRAND IN TERMS OF RIDE COMFORT AND STEERING”BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS BODY Type 5-door wagon, 7 seats L/W/H 5052/1968/1741mm Wheelbase 2994mm Track (f/r) 1679/1691mm Boot capacity 770 litres Weight 2060kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (north-south), AWD Engine 2967cc V6 turbo-diesel (200kW/600Nm) Transmission 8-speed automatic CHASSIS Brakes ventilated discs (f/r) Tyres 255/55R19 – 285/40R21 Spare tyre repair kit (or temporary spare in lieu of 3rd row seats) ADR81 fuel consumption 5.9L/100km CO2 emissions 153g/km Front airbags Side airbags Curtain airbags Knee airbag Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (Euro NCAP) Price $103,900 3-year retained value 60% Service interval 12 months/15,000km RARELY does an SUV come along that makes such a mark on Car of the Year. The…

“IT’S a blue Ford Focus,” I say to the lady at the airport parking desk. “Is that the new one?” she asks. “Well, yeah, it’s been updated with a new nose and the inside’s a bit better too.” I thought Ms Valet was just being polite discussing my new long-termer, but she had a genuine query. “Have they changed the engine?” she said, before adding, “My sister has one, and she’s taken it back twice, and it’s not even one year-old yet.” Turns out that her sis has the previous LW series Focus, whose problems have been firmly addressed with the late 2015 update to LZ model designation. The big issue for the Focus was the previous dual-clutch transmission. To summarise, it was rubbish. Recalled, rectified and now written-off, Ford…

LIKE passing a baton in a relay, barely a month after I gifted the Corby clan my Citroen C4 Picasso, here I am in its platform buddy, the Peugeot 308 – the much-loved red 1.2-litre Active auto that Byron has been cooing like a Peacock about since March. Appropriately, the first time both of us saw the new 308 in the flesh was on a motorway outside London, returning from a road trip. Amusing ourselves at the magnificence of Byron’s new drag-queen name (Krystal Methioudakis), the sight of the low-spec, navy-blue 308 under a dull English sky was like being fed cold fish and chips. We were both gutted. How could Peugeot be so boring? Two months later, the Australian 308 line-up debuted at COTY 2014 and opinions instantly shifted,…

THE first instalment of a long-term test is often a bit light-on for detail, as author and vehicle are still in that difficult ‘getting to know you’ phase. So the update, inevitably, takes the form of a first-drive review by another name, or a well-crafted regurgitation of the specifications sheet. We’ll get to the specs at a later date, but for now we have a story to tell, as the statuesque XC90 we’ve nick-named Black Betty threw up enough small dramas in the first few weeks on fleet to fill several columns. It all started innocently enough with a standard-issue systems-failure alert popping up in the Volvo’s handsomely designed digital dash display. You know the kind, a disco-strength array of multi-coloured lights and warnings to ‘Act now or lose your…

IN LATE 2001, US inventor Dean Kamen prophesied: “I would stake my reputation, my money and my time on the fact that 10 years from now, this will be the way many people in many places get around.” The occasion was the unveiling of his fantastic self-balancing pedestrian platform, the Segway. Fourteen years down the footpath, the Segway is running well short of its inventor’s expectations. The recent popularity of electric bicycles and the emergence of cheap, toy-like hoverboards and self-balancing unicycles would seem to be threatening to consign the sophisticated Segway to history. Owen Williams says it ain’t so. The director of Segway Tours WA and Segway Distributors Australia says that, if anything, the popularity of electric bikes – which he also sells – is renewing focus on the…

Forget a big capacity six or eight; the S90 Polestar will use a four-cylinder petrol mated with a high-output electric motor Regular S90 roughly matches BMW 5 Series for size and rides on a 2941mm wheelbase. Weights range from 1800-2150kg Polestar treatment means S90 will receive bigger wheels and brakes, suspension tweaks and beefier aero Volvo expects the regular S90 to be the cleanest in its class. T8 AWD variants claim 1.9L/100km and 44g of CO2 per kilometre The all-wheel-drive S90 Polestar should hit 100km/h in less than five seconds VOLVO is expected to launch a high-performance, German-baiting version of its new S90 flagship sedan, featuring Polestar badging and a hybrid drivetrain. The Polestar version will rival the likes of the Mercedes-AMG E63 and BMW M5, and spearhead Volvo’s attempt…

A HYBRID drivetrain and (gasp) even a high-performance diesel engine could power Lamborghini’s Urus SUV, says company CEO Stephan Winkelmann. Speaking to Wheels at the launch of the Huracan LP580-2 in Qatar in December, Winkelmann confirmed the production Urus will arrive in 2018 and is likely to be “the first Lamborghini to have more than one engine and one model”. A new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 is already confirmed to power Lamborghini’s first SUV in 30 years – the last was the LM002 built from 1986-93 – but Winkelmann added that “one [option] for sure is a diesel, but even more is hybridisation”. Lamborghini is unlikely to develop its own plug-in hybrid drivetrain, instead leveraging opportunities within the wider Volkswagen Group. Porsche and Audi already have hybrid…

FOUR-cylinder versions of the Boxster and Cayman will arrive in 2016 as part of a repositioning of Porsche’s most affordable models. To be badged as 718 Boxster and Cayman, the two models will switch places in the range, with the Cayman becoming the cheaper of the two. Power will come from a turbocharged flat-four, expected to be 2.0 litres in capacity for entry-level versions, producing around 179KW, with a more potent 224kW 2.5-litre version expected for the S, which will be pushed to 276kW for the GTS. The move continues Porsche’s downsizing trend, and follows the 911 which now features smaller, turbo engines across the bulk of its range.…

Not all cars are cheaper. A BMW 318i cost $48,000 in 1995, while a comparable car today is $60,500. The cheapest Holden Commodore was $26,380 in 1995 and is now $35,490. The Consumer Price Index in Australia has risen by 66 percent since 1995. The average full-time adult wage has risen from $650 in 1995 to $1545 today. The 1987 Apple Macintosh SE cost $5000 with a 20MB hard drive. Today, a 27-inch Mac with 1TB will cost you half as much. Many economists use the ‘Big Mac Index’ to compare buying power around the world, based on the burger’s price.…

THE BOFFINS in Stuttgart definitely underestimated the worth of a decent SUV spin-off first time out. Four years behind BMW’s inaugural X3 and hobbled with left-hand-drive only, the 2008-15 Mercedes-Benz GLK is now widely recognised as “a mistake” by the company’s top brass. But that’s all finally about to change. Sharing its platform and drivetrains with the lauded W205 C-Class, the GLK’s all-new GLC replacement is Mercedes’ apology to the world. And, in particular, right-hook markets like Australia. Yet the GLC is hardly begging forgiveness. It’s too good for that. Beneath its tastefully sculpted sheetmetal – some of which is aluminium – the GLC offers several advances over the C-Class from which it’s derived. Its slightly longer wheelbase liberates 30mm of rear legroom, while its increase in height achieves additional…

ONCE you’re done gorging on reviews of the thunderous Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe, we dare you to take the time to check your bank statement and then calculate the monthly repayments on its weapons-grade purchase price. If at this point reality bites, then consider the not-quite-so diabolically-potent but still devilishly handsome C300 Coupe. Arriving around April, the new C300 Coupe will effectively fill the place in the current C-coupe range inhabited by the C250. Its modus operandi could be summarised as “modestly sporty but still reasonably affordable” and Mercedes-Benz Australia expects it to be the populist choice in its new five-model C-Class coupe range. Sitting mid-ships in that line-up, the C300 Sport, as it’s likely to be badged here, slots between the base C200 petrol and C250 diesel at one end,…

LET’S face it, the old Mini Clubman was an oddball. A cool one, yes, but it was cramped inside and had a questionable extra side door that opened into traffic. The all-new Clubman is much more conventional. Longer, wider and better packaged, it now boasts six doors – four conventional openings and two spring-loaded portals at the rear. Riding on the same architecture (and 2670mm wheelbase) as BMW’s 2 Series Active Tourer, the new Clubman measures 270mm longer and 90mm wider than a five-door Mini hatch. Outside there’s Mini’s puffy new family face and striking horizontal taillights, while the typically Mini-funky interior has a few dashes of Clubman uniqueness. As ever, a large dial-like central screen dominates, but there are new square air vents, plenty of standard equipment (reverse camera,…

THE NEW Lexus RX is Very Exciting, and not just to the people who work for the company and know it could well be the biggest seller in their showrooms. You can tell that it’s exciting just by looking at it, but even more so by looking at the new TV commercial for the car, which features the world’s least sane BASE jumpers in sugar-glider suits tearing up the sky to land on a semi-trailer full of RXs. It’s a new approach for Lexus, which even the company’s own executives will tell you is seen as a safe brand; one that never offends but never excites, either. The slightly risky, and optional, spindle grille face has been a huge success in Australia, apparently, with most buyers of the RX’s slightly…

Lotus Exige S Roadster Has ripping off the roof, dropping the spoiler and softening the ride robbed the sharp-shooting Exige S Roadster of its track-honed character? WheelsMag.com.au/ExigeS Lexus LX570 A significant facelift, more gear and a new eight-speed automatic make the opulent V8 LX more appealing, yet even more expensive. WheelsMag.com.au/LexusLX570 Peugeot 308 GTi France’s answer to Volkswagen’s iconic Golf GTI debuts Down Under with a preliminary taste at Eastern Creek Raceway. And we reckon it might just be the next hot-hatch du jour. WheelsMag.com.au/308GTi Mazda MX-5 Club How do you improve on the MX-5? Brembo brakes, BBS alloys and Bilstein shocks form part of a pack that may be heading to Oz. WheelsMag.com.au/MX5Club Stay regular Get your daily dose of Wheels with news, videos, galleries and more at WheelsMag.com.au…

ALL THAT glitters is not go. Many show cars sparkling under carefully aimed lights at major auto expos can’t be driven hard. Some are engineless. Some can move under their own power, but are so fearsomely fragile they’re restricted to snail’s pace. Not so Peugeot’s 308 R HYbrid. It may be French, but this is no escargot. This hyper-hybrid is engineered more for excitement than efficiency The hoarse, raspy exhaust pops as the tach needle kisses redline and I tap the right-hand paddle-shifter for fourth. The electrically augmented surge of acceleration continues barely abated, and the speedometer is nearing 180km/h when the time arrives to hit the brakes. This is the same car unveiled at the 2015 Shanghai show last April and exhibited again in September at Frankfurt. The fact…

AUSTRALIA loves simple, highly literal naming conventions. Witness the Great Sandy Desert; the Sydney Harbour Bridge. To this, add Lang Lang Proving Ground. All you need to know is contained within those two last words. This is a place where Holdens are pounded until their mechanical integrity and their fitness for purpose is proven. For our application, it’s where the COTY field is delivered its first round of punishment; the weeding-out process that sorts the greats from the merely good. It’s where the proving ground really does become the culling field.…

“TITANIUM LOADED WITH EQUIPMENT BUT LACKS INTERIOR PIZAZZ”NATHAN PONCHARD BODY Type 5-door hatchback/ 5-door wagon, 5 seats Boot capacity 458 – 488 litres Weight 1605 – 1782kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), FWD Engines 1997cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (132kW/400Nm); 1999cc 4cyl turbo (149kW/345Nm); 1999cc 4cyl turbo (177kW/345Nm) Transmissions 6-speed automatic; 6-speed dual-clutch CHASSIS Tyres 215/60R16 – 235/45R18 ADR81 fuel consumption 5.1 – 8.5L/100km CO2 emissions 135 – 199g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (ANCAP) Prices $33,190 – $49,340 THE Ford Mondeo should have been at COTY three years ago, but make no mistake: this doesn’t feel like a three-year-old car. The Mondeo has grown in size over the years, but not stature in Australia, despite an increase in equipment and, with this new fourth-generation model, a broader spectrum of talent and…

BODY Type 5-door wagon, 5-seat Boot capacity 351 litres Weight 1295 – 1550kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), FWD/AWD Engines 1598cc 4cyl (81kW/152Nm) 1368cc 4cyl turbo (103kW/230Nm) 2360cc 4cyl (137kW/236Nm) Transmissions 5-speed manual; 6-speed dual-clutch; 9-speed automatic CHASSIS Tyres 215/65R16 – 225/55R18 ADR81 fuel consumption 5.9 – 7.5L/100km CO2 emissions 137 – 175g/km Collision mitigation OPT (Limited only) Crash rating 5-star (Euro NCAP) Prices $29,500 – $41,500 IT TAKES a lot to shock a COTY judge, us being such world-weary cynics and all, so imagine our surprise when the Jeep Renegade caused us to choke on our coffee. It’s day one of testing and the chunky, brightly coloured Renegade has just rolled in for its static reveal. And things are going well. Love or hate it, all of the judges…

BODY Type 5-door wagon, 5/7 seats Boot capacity 454 – 541 litres Weight 1744 – 1775kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), AWD Engines 2179cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (110kW/400Nm) 2179cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (140kW/420Nm) 1999cc 4cyl turbo (177kW/340Nm) Transmission 6-speed manual; 9-speed automatic CHASSIS Tyres 235/60R18 – 245/45R20 ADR81 fuel consumption 6.1 – 8.3L/100km CO2 emissions 159 – 197g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (ANCAP) Prices $53,300 – $66,500 SITTING still, there’s so much to like about the box-fresh Discovery Sport. No other mid-sized luxo SUV looks this good or has this much off-road capability. Throw in sound dynamics and strong value, and its little wonder the Disco Sport found initial favour at Lang Lang. Slotting into LR’s range as a replacement for the slow-selling Freelander 2, the Discovery Sport shares its platform,…

BODY Type 5-door hatch/5-door wagon, 5 seats Boot capacity 305 – 505 litres Weight 1042 – 1111kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), FWD Engine 1197cc 4cyl turbo (66kW/160Nm with manual, 81kW/175Nm with auto) Transmissions 5-speed manual; 7-speed dual-clutch CHASSIS Tyres 185/60R15 – 215/40R17 ADR81 fuel consumption 4.8L/100km CO2 emissions 109 – 111g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (ANCAP) Prices $15,990 – $21,790 STEP-by-step, Skoda is shedding its dowdy image. The larger but lighter new Fabia, launched in Australia in mid-2015, is the latest (but not the last) in the range to adopt the Czech brand’s new design language. Its trademark fresh-ironed creases especially suit the pert proportions of the Fabia hatch. And if the Fabia wagon can’t match its sister’s looks, it has way more space and flexibility. The Fabia…

“A REVELATION! LOOKS LIKE A CONCEPT CAR, HAS FLAWLESS HANDLING AND DRIVETRAIN”SALLY DOMINGUEZ BODY Type 2-door coupe, 2+2 seats Boot capacity 154 litres Weight 1560kg DRIVETRAIN Layout mid-engine (east-west) + front-mounted electric motor, AWD Engine 1499cc 3cyl turbo (170kW/320Nm) Motor Hybrid synchronous (96kW/250Nm) Combined system outputs 266kW/570Nm Transmission 6-speed automatic CHASSIS Tyres 215/45R20 (f), 245/40R20 (r) ADR81 fuel consumption 2.1L/100km CO2 emissions 49g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating not tested Price $299,000 THIS shapely, scissor-winged, plug-in hybrid coupe was the most divisive Wheels COTY 2016 contender of all. There were judges who loved the way the i8 drove every bit as much as its concept-car looks. And there were some unconvinced by the BMW, arguing that its performance and handling failed to keep the promise made by its sensational styling. Few…

“YOU CAN DRIVE THE ABSOLUTE TYRES OFF THE 132TSI AND IT NEVER STOPS GIVING, IT NEVER QUITS”NATHAN PONCHARD BODY Type 4-door sedan/5-door wagon, 5 seats Boot capacity 586 – 650 litres Weight 1450 – 1562kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (east-west), FWD Engines 1798cc 4cyl turbo (132kW/250Nm); 1968cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (140kW/400Nm) Transmissions 6-speed dual-clutch; 7-speed dual-clutch CHASSIS Tyres 215/55R17 – 235/40R19 ADR81 fuel consumption 4.8 – 6.0L/100km CO2 emissions 126 – 137g/km Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (ANCAP) Prices $34,990 – $47,990 SEXY isn’t a COTY criteria, which is probably a good thing for the Volkswagen Passat. As with previous Passat iterations, this newly minted mid-sizer is all about clean-cut visual neatness, yet it rollicked all over the five COTY criteria. Efficiency: tick. Safety: tick. Value: tick. Technology: tick. Function: huge…

“FEELS POINTY, ALIVE AND EAGER, YET THERE’S NO TRADE-OFF IN RIDE QUALITY”ALEX INWOOD BODY Type 4-door sedan, 5 seats L/W/H 4672/1850/1416mm Wheelbase 2835mm Track (f/r) 1602/1603mm Boot capacity 455 litres Weight 1530 – 1665kg DRIVETRAIN Layout front engine (north-south), RWD Engines 1999cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (132kW/430Nm); 1999cc 4cyl turbo (147kW/280Nm); 1999cc 4cyl turbo (177kW/340Nm); 2995cc V6 supercharged (250kW/450Nm) Transmission 8-speed automatic CHASSIS Brakes ventilated discs (f), solid discs (r) Tyres 225/45R18 – 255/35R19 Spare space-saver ADR81 fuel consumption 4.2 – 8.1L/100km CO2 emissions 111 – 194g/km Front airbags Side airbags Curtain airbags Knee airbags Collision mitigation Crash rating 5-star (Euro NCAP) Prices $60,400 – $104,200 3-year retained value 48 – 49% Service interval 12 months/16,000km (petrol); 24 months/34,000km (diesel) WE ALREADY knew the XE was good. Even before its launch here…

IT WAS my birthday yesterday and between the cake and presents I made a terrible realisation. I’ve reached the tipping point where celebrating my birth is no longer something to look forward to, but rather dread. A day that used to bring a wondrous sense of opportunity now offers an unwelcome reminder of my mortality. I mention this because I feel I’ve found a kindred spirit in my new long term Holden Astra. In a world of newer rivals, it too is no longer a spring chicken. This model first hit Aussie roads in 2012, then badged as an Opel, and will be superseded by the new-generation hatch late this year, though the coupe body style of my Astra GTC Sport is likely to remain until at least 2017. So…

FIRST dates are exciting. Venturing into the unknown with an air of expectation tempered by the fear of being disappointed, though still coloured by an over-riding feeling of anticipation. But even more exciting is the first sleepover. You’ve done all the ritual dances, felt each other out, worked out you want more, and suddenly it’s time to take the next big step. It’s delicious. It’s the same with long-term test cars. You’ve given each other the once-over, checked out all the controls, worked out which buttons to push and when, realised that you must get to know this car better, and that means something more intimate than your regular commute. That’s how it was after taking over the deep red Mazda CX-3 from Byron last month. We did the daily…