Motoring April 24, 2020
Peugeot
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Farming Motoring
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Friday, 2019
Peugeot’s DNA concepts
F
or Peugeot, a concept car is not a free exercise in style. It is part of a real brand strategy. It is a heightened vision that nourishes and inspires the style and technology of the future. Peugeot always develops its concept cars so that they are functional and driveable, in order to offer a complete experience, even when dynamic. For several years now, Peugeot concept-cars have had realistic dimensions (architecture & wheel size) and are equipped with elements that can be seen in production vehicles. With 210 years of history, concept cars fuel Peugeot’s DNA. The first real exercise in style assimilated to a concept car was born in 1984: the Peugeot Quasar. As a real technological showcase, it was the first time that engineers and designers were given carte blanche to create a fantastical object outside of any industrial constraints. The following concept cars always maintained a link with the motor racing. Presented among others at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Peugeo Proxima was powered by a 680 hp bi-turbo V6 engine. With a similar engine, the Peugeot Oxya was timed at 350 km/h on the Nardo speed ring in 1988. Concept cars have played a major role in Peugeot’s move upmarket. Their technological level and sophistication feed the vehicles produced in series. Concept-cars are locomotives, objects that unite all the company’s key players, whether they be the R&D or Communication and Marketing teams. They enable future uses to be explored around a common vision. They are real vectors of innovation that are used in the different business lines of Groupe PSA. While certain styling studies have inspired the bodywork of certain products, they have also made a major contribution to the evolution of the interiors of mass-produced models. Through experimentation on innovative materials or new digital interfaces, the “phygital”, a mix of the physical and the
The Peugeot Fractal: 80 per cent of its parts were 3-D printed.
digital, will simplify and transcend the driving experience of each Peugeot. Each concept-car is a genuine laboratory for ideas. Some of them have been designed with innovations well ahead of their time. And even if they are not designed for mass production, many of the elements are used for products in the commercial range, here are a few examples: TOUAREG: in 1996, this small concept car with the look of a buggy is propelled by an electric motor, powered by batteries which gives it a four hour range. A small combustion engine can extend its range by acting as a generator: the “range extender” was born! MOONSTER & 4002: these two projects did not come from the imagination of the Brand’s Designers, but from some rather gifted internet users! An innovator, PEUGEOT was the first car manufacturer to
launch two international design competitions in 2000 and 2002. The reward was the production of your project on a scale of 1 and its presentation on the Brand’s stand at international trade fairs. Gilles Vidal, the Peugeot Design Director’s insisted the brand launched the “Summer classes” in 2018. For one month, 12 student designers are welcomed and supervised within the Automotive Design Network (or ADN for insiders) of Vélizy Villacoublay. In total immersion, this pool of young creative people can experience the design of four projects under the aegis of professionals in the field of design. SESAME: high architecture and electric sliding side doors for exceptional accessibility, this is the prologue to the 1007! EX1: during the 200 year anniversary of the Brand, EX1, 100 per cent electric, broke three world acceleration records on the
Peugeot’s stunning 600bhp Onyx: The interior was made of compressed used newspapers.
legendary circuit of Montlhery (France), where the 404 diesel had broken several endurance records in 1965. ONYX: bodywork combining carbon fibre and pure copper, left deliberately raw, the interior is made of an innovative and ecological material called “Newspaper Wood”. It is made from used newspapers, assembled and compressed. Onyx is powered by a V8 HDi Hybrid4 of 600 bhp (+ an 80 bhp electric boost) manufactured by Peugeot Sport and designed for the 908. EXALT: its silhouette and dashboard guided the designers in creating the latest 508, the fastback with a dynamic silhouette. The wooden trunk lining has been used on the SW in a limited First Edition version. The flecked seat fabric with “tennis stripes” inspired the upholstery of the latest 3008 SUV. QUARTZ: the dashboard of this concept car has been used on the PEUGEOT 3008 SUV, its holographic instrument cluster is now standard on the all-new 208, as is its so-called “tassel grille”. FRACTAL: 80 per cent of its parts are 3D printed and a new sound experience in 9.1.2 developed with FOCAL. INSTINCT: intelligent aerodynamics and a “shooting brake” silhouette that heralds the all-new Peugeot 508 SW, Instinct also benefits from a partnership with SAMSUNG. For the first time in the history of Peugeot, Instinct was not presented at an international motor show dedicated to motors but at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. e-LEGEND: because boredom is not part of the brand’s DNA, because autonomy does not rhyme with monotony, because the energy transition will not erase 120 years of automotive history, Peugeot presented e-LEGEND at the Paris Motor Show in 2018. This exciting vision of the future of driving pleasure takes the form of a desirable and emblematic vehicle. By embracing a realistic and radically modern template, this projection into the future of the car glorifies the genes and elegance of Peugeot’s heritage.
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Friday, April 24 2020
15
So easy to live with
I
rather unexpectedly ended up with two extra vehicles in my care over the lockdown period, one being a recently-updated Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4Matic. Now one of my unkind mates has suggested that with me being left with cars for such a long time with no real opportunity to drive them anywhere, is perhaps a bit like me being marooned on a desert island with just Angelina Jolie! While we figure this out, I am glad to say I was able to get in a couple of full days driving with the Mercedes immediately prior to March 26. And have since of course been able to continuously view this mid-sized SUV in white with black surrounds about its panoramic glass roof, its starry front grille, the alloy-look running boards and glossy back 20-inch alloy wheels as it reposes outside my living room window. There’s five different models in the GLC SUV range which now includes a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid. As well three are also available in fastback coupe style. The range starts with the rear wheel drive GLC200 whose 2-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine produces 145kW and 320Nm of torque. Next up is the GLC300 4Matic as featured, which has a more powerful version of this engine – 190kW and 370Nm of torque, allwheel-drive and more equipment. Then the petrol-electric, plug-in hybrid versions dual drive-train package is rated at a maximum combined output of 235kW and 700Nm (155kW/350Nm from the 2.litre turbo-petrol engine and an 90kW/440Nm electric motor). Mercedes say it can do the 0-100km/h sprint in just 5.7 seconds, but also sip as little as 2.2L/100km. and then operate for up to 43 km purely on electricity from its 13.5kWh lithium-ion battery.
When using either the optional Mercedes wall box or a public charging station, it takes two hours to charge fully – or seven hours using a conventional domestic power point. Like other Mercedes-Benz product there’s both AMG optional dress-up packages as well as a pair of AMG versions (also available as coupes), which ramp up even more their performance, handling, equipment levels and their looks. First-up is the AMG GLC 43 S with a twin-turbocharged 3-litre V6 engine delivering 287kW and 520Nm. It has a comprehensive package of performance upgrades for the all-wheel-drive system, suspension, steering, brakes etc. But then here’s what one perhaps needs to have to celebrate the end of the current restrictions on driving (along with paying for a half-day at Ruapuna Raceway that is) – the GLC 63 S. This has a feisty, 375kW/700Nm twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 and even more hard-core performance gear, including a selectable exhaust system, electronic limited-slip diff plus a nine-stage traction control selection, with quick access to two pre-selected performance functions, one of which appropriately includes a Track Pace pack. Appropriate, because a GLC 63 S currently holds the title of fastest production SUV to lap the Nürburgring. Dreams are free, but its time to get back to the GLC300 4Matic review. This, as you would expect, comes loaded with standard driving assist, comfort, infotainment and safety features. Naturally the cabin has an upmarket feel with a mix of leather seating, brushed metal accents, intricately cut speaker grilles and shaped air vents. Lots of up-to-the-minute tech stuff includes a large customisable, multime-
Roger Hart ROAD TEST
dia, centre touch-sensitive screen together with a console mounted touch-pad, both of which gives you access to many of the driving controls and the infotainment system. Physical buttons for most functions are also present. But then you can just say ‘Hey Mercedes’ then ‘she’ who is good at understanding Kiwi accents, mostly willingly obeys requests to change many of the infotainment functions, including programming the GPS, dual zone climate-air etc. However, while at this stage she’s not quite tuned into delivering a coffee, this smart system is capable of learning the driver’s habits/routines, then offering helpful suggestions and shortcuts (some blokes may think they already receive enough these from other sources). As well the steering wheel has touch-sensitive controls which allow you to navigate the digital displays using swiping gestures a la smartphone. The quality of the seats, both in their comfort, adjustment and materials are all excellent – indeed inviting enough to go out and sit therein in the backyard with a good book! That’s not just for those in the front seats either, for at the end of a (pre-March 26) 200km plus drive, they in the rear were enthusiastic about the comfort and the generous amounts of personal space. There’s a user-friendly power tailgate and more than ample luggage space.
As mentioned earlier the 2-litre twinscroll turbo-petrol produces 190kW and 370Nm of torque, which peaks right from 1800 through to 4000rpm, of which the nine-speed auto maximises, both for effortlessly quick, smooth responses and also for the best possible fuel efficiency by keeping the engine in its RPM sweet-spots. In saying that, there’s selectable driving modes and in the Sport setting zero to 100kmh can be done in an impressively brisk 6.2 seconds. For all the driving conditions we encountered the combination of the fulltime all-wheel-drive system, the excellent C-Class underpinnings, together with the choice of driving modes and grip from the wide 22/45 Pirellis meant it was very easy to quickly forget that I was driving an SUV, for it conveys the feeling of being in a very well behaved, very competent car. Indeed, one that will very likely appeal to discreetly enthusiastic drivers for the likes of the drive up to the Coleridge power station.
MERCEDES GLC 300 ■■ Costs: $101,400. (others in SUV range from $87,600 for GLC200 to $182,400 for the AMG GLC 63 S 4Matic). All plus ORCs. ■■ Engine: 2.0 litre turbo-petrol four cylinder, 190kW and 370Nm from 1800-4000 rpm. ■■ Trans: 9-speed auto, full time 4WD. ■■ Stated Overall: Economy: 8.1L/100km. ■■ Size: 47590mm long, 1639mm wide, 2873mm wheelbase. ■■ Warranty: 3-year/unlimited km. ■■ Safety: 5 star ANCAP rating.
FINALE So as I gaze out the window at this Mercedes the description ‘Suitably expressive on the outside and impressive within’ keeps occurring. So much so, I will fetch my book and take a read in the back seat. And you never know while doing this may even think about how well this spacious, practical, easy to live with SUV may perform on a desert island!
Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4Matic
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