Motoring Friday,December28,2018
D-Max DOUBLE CAB
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HYUNDAI/ISUZU MID CANTERBURY • Servicing • WOFs • LPG certificates • Timing belts • Tyres, wheel balancing
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GET AWAY THIS SUMMER Hyundai Mid Canterbury are the local stockists for Thule roof boxes & roof rails for any make & model of vehicle. Want to take the bikes? We can help with that as well. Call Hyundai Mid Canterbury or call in for a quote and a coffee.
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91 Archibald Street, Tinwald, Ashburton (03) 307 2415
Farming Motoring
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Friday, December 28, 2018
www.guardianonline.co.nz
Updating the iconic D-Max A
fter stepping down from testing the monstrous Dodge Ram, the new Isuzu D-Max LS was more eye-opening than
expected. The Dodge is everything that we know and love about America – excessive. They have options purely because they can, not because you need them. So it was nice to move into something that was more in line with New Zealand’s requirements. Like all great ideas, the best ones are simple but very effective. The Isuzu D-Max range is available in 6 platforms. Three of which are 4WD only, and the other three are available with selectable 2WD & 4WD. Double-cab models are available in LS, LX and LS-T spec. Single space-cab is available in LS and LS Chassis, and the single cab is available in LX Chassis. Both of the chassis models come with a custom aluminium flat deck as opposed to the standard ute deck. The range starts with the LX Automatic 2WD at $39,890 and with 11 variants to choose from; it goes all the way up to the LS-T Automatic 4WD starting at $61,990. Every model available comes with the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel, in-line
4-cylinder, DOHC, 16-valve Isuzu 4JJ1-TC Hi-Power diesel engine. They produce 130kw @ 3600 rpm and 430 Nm of torque between 2000 > 2200 rpm. All models are available in 6-speed manual or automatic transmission. For the models that come with selectable 2WD & 4WD, you have the latest Terrain Command system which allows you to switch on the fly from 4H-2WD at speeds up to 100km/h. Every model is built on a fulllength, heavy-duty truck chassis, and comes with front independent high ride coil springs, with gas shock absorbers, upper and lower wishbones and stabiliser bar. The rear has an alloy-steel over slung long-span leaf spring with gas shock absorbers. And for the two flat deck chassis models, the leaf springs and shocks are upgraded with heavier duty parts. The changes still keep the iconic look of the Isuzu D-max, while keeping it modern looking. On the outside, there is an allnew front bumper and grille, new headlights and bonnet. So in my mind, it looks the way it always looked: great.
LEASE AN ISUZU LS DOUBLE CAB 4WD MANUAL FROM
$110 + GST PER WEEK*
03 307 2415 | www.isuzumidandsouthcanterbury.co.nz Offer is based on a 48 month / 60,000km non-maintained operating lease. On road costs including initial 12 month registration and 1000km RUC, plus a tank of fuel are included. Lease offer is available to GST registered customers. Offer available until January 31st 2019 or while stocks last. *
B-Class sharpens up
T
he Mercedes-Benz B-Class is almost the lost soul in the German marque’s extensive range of models. The compact tourer is rarely in the spotlight, despite it being in the intensely competitive compact vehicle market. Visually, the current model hardly stands out but it offers a degree of compact luxury combined with practicality. It appeals mostly to an older age group, who particularly appreciate the high driving position and the ease of entering and leaving the vehicle. Mercedes-Benz has now responded to growing demand for a smarter-looking model by launching the third-generation B-Class, to go on sale here around the middle of next year. As well as looking sharper, the new B-Class has the latest driver assistance and safety technology, including the much-lauded MBUX multi-media system that has proven popular on the A-Class hatchbacks. The new B-Class is sharper looking than the current model, is more aerodynamically efficient, and the interior has undergone a significant upgrade. Pricing will be confirmed closer to the local launch. Mercedes-Benz New Zealand general manager Ben Giffin said the B-Class combined luxury with practicality and the new generation could now add technology to its repertoire. “Featuring the MBUX infotainment system launched in the A-Class, plus a new fuel efficient powertrain, we believe this new B-Class will provide a genuine lifestyle alternative to our customers,” he said.
We drove two of the new B Class models at an international launch in Majorca, Spain, last week, and they offer a smooth, high-riding, and comfortable drive. Here in New Zealand we will be getting the 1.3-litre petrol-engined model, although several new diesel models are being offered in Europe, where the B-Class has traditionally been more popular than here, especially with taxi operators. The new models are roomier, with 33mm more elbow room in the front seats, thanks to reconfigured door mechanisms and redesigned door panels. Visibility has been improved by moving the B-pillar 40mm further back, and improving the design of the dashboard. The new models have the same large glass multi-function screen used in the A-Class models. This is the third-generation of the B-Class. Since its introduction in 1997 the company has sold more than 1.5 million B-Class vehicles throughout the world, although it is not a huge volume seller for the brand in this country. There were 88 B-Class models registered during 2017 and 37 during the period to the end of September this year. The model upgrade is part of Mercedes Benz’s determination to improve and expand its range of compact vehicles, which started with the new A-Class hatchback earlier this year. Demand for the new compact range ( A-Class, B-Class, and GLA models) has been so great that Mercedes-Benz has entered an unusual joint venture arrangement to boost production in Finland, as well as at its largest manufacturing plant in Germany, to meet worldwide demand.
www.guardianonline.co.nz
Friday, December 28, 2018
15
The buggy is back V
olkswagen is resurrecting the classic dune buggy as a modern electric car, according to an anonymous source inside the automaker. The new car is ‘under active consideration’ as a possible addition to the firm’s upcoming range of zero-emission ‘ID’ vehicles, it’s claimed. It will be inspired by the classic 1960s Meyers Manx dune buggy, which itself was built on an original VW Beetle chassis. Like the 60’s version, the modern two-seater open-top buggy will feature a freestanding windshield, oversized tires and a roll bar, according to the source. It comes after news emerged in September that the revitalised Beetle was itself to be axed 80 years after it was first introduced. Speaking to Autocar UK, the anonymous source said that the dune buggy concept is currently under construction and is expected to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2019. Volkswagen never built it’s own dune buggy, but many were created using Beetle frames or chassis, from which the body could easily be removed. The 1964 Meyers Manx shaped the rise of the dune buggy phenomenon in the United States and abroad beginning. It was named after Bruce Meyers, a pioneer of the dune buggy craze who built car kits to convert VW beetle chassis for off-road use. In a similar fashion, the new dune VW buggy will be based on the company’s new battery-powered chassis platform, which has been designed to accommodate a variety of body styles. The firm is said to be working on two other retro-themed electric concept models under the ‘ID’ moniker to fit this base. The first is a a five-door hatchback, a ‘contemporary re-creation of the iconic Beetle’, planned for the third quarter of 2019. The second, known as the ID Buzz, will be based on the iconic microbus van that became synonymous with hippies during the 1960s, which has been confirmed for production and launched in 2022. Dr. Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management for the Volkswagen brand, says that the new electric cars will offer more than what we’ve seen from other car makers and will be ‘much more affordable’.
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Farming Motoring
Friday, December 28, 2018
www.guardianonline.co.nz
The beasts do battle
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hink for a second about how much cars have changed in the last 51 years. We’ve seen comprehensive advancements in safety, power-train refinement, and seats designed specifically to gently blow cold air onto our buttocks. Over that same period, two manufacturers have pushed each other to perfecting that most imperfect of platforms; the two-door, rear-wheel drive, V8-powered performance car. The all-out war between the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang has been something that New Zealanders have been forced to merely spectate from afar. Until now, that is. This is the Chevrolet Camaro 2SS and Ford Mustang Bullitt – pictured not in sunny California or the Motor City of Detroit, but instead on a backdrop of a Waikato b-road. They’re here, guys. They’re finally here. The Mustang has been sold locally for a few years now of course in various model forms. The Camaro, on the other hand, is a fresh sight indeed. Just one model is slated for New Zealand – the 2SS. And perhaps the first elephant in the room to negotiate before going any further is its $104,990 price-tag. Internet commenters in their traditional shoot-first-questions-later style have been quick to dismiss the price of the Camaro – fuelled somewhat by the fact that you can get a Mustang GT for a dime under $80k. The difference here comes down to simple economies of scale. Ford produces thousands upon thousands of right-hand drive Mustangs out of its facility in Michigan for the UK, Japan, Australia, wee little New Zealand, and several other left-driving countries. The Camaro on the other hand doesn’t have the same luxury. It arrives as a complete left-hand drive machine at HSV’s Melbourne plant, where it gets stripped back to the firewall and beyond. Each piece that comes off is bagged and tagged, the full wiring loom is effectively flipped upside down, a freshly made dash and 356 other RHD-specific bits go in, parts from the original car go back on, and out the door it goes. In total, each Camaro conversion takes 130 work hours. They’re only making 550 of them in this first run – 38 of which are set
to come to New Zealand. Small numbers, larger price. In some ways, that price makes it a more suitable rival for the Bullitt than the Mustang GT. With the swagger of Steve McQueen himself, the four-wheeled homage rolls into the equation with a price of $93,490. Changes over the Mustang GT include all of the visual ties made iconic by the film of the same name; 19-inch Torq-Thurst wheels, badge deletes, chrome tinsel, green stitching, a cue-ball gear-knob, and that signature Dark Highland Green hue. Let’s talk numbers. The Bullitt’s 5.0-litre Coyote V8 gets a 6kW power bump over the standard GT by virtue of an open-air induction system, larger 87mm throttle bodies, and the Powertrain Control Module from the Shelby
Take their interiors for example. The Camaro has the better, lower seating position and a much higher spec (including heated/cooled seats and cross-traffic alert), but the Mustang has a cabin formed out of better materials and about twice the visibility. This helps make the Mustang the more usable car by far. Lighter steering and a more generous glass-house make it much easier to drive. The back seats have more legroom, too (getting into the Camaro’s rear seats feels like childbirth in reverse). Neither right-hand drive conversion is perfect, but ironically it’s HSV who have done the better job here. To separate these two cars in any meaningful way, you need to drive them. And it’s here that they project two surprisingly different personalities.
GT350. This results in 345kW at 7000rpm and 556Nm at 4600rpm, sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual. That’s more power than the Camaro, but less torque. It sources its thrills from a larger 6.2-litre LT1 V8 that generates 340kW at 6000rpm and 615Nm at 4400rpm, paired with an eight-speed automatic. This engine is the successor to the much loved LS family, and it’s undeniably a beast. The Camaro hits 100km/h in 4-seconds flat, six tenths quicker than the Bullitt Mustang. Top speeds between the pair are said to be separated by just 3km/h - 262km/h in the Mustang, 265km/h in the Camaro. That tit-for-tat exchange continues throughout almost every element of these two cars.
I won’t beat around the bush here … the Camaro feels like the quicker car almost immediately. More torque from its higher-capacity engine makes its performance more accessible more often. The eight-speed automatic reacts sharply on upshifts, but can be hesitant with rev-matching on downshifts. Cornering is where it shines in particular, feeling much more dynamic and sophisticated than the Mustang. Both cars sport a limited-slip diff and independent suspension on all four corners, but the Camaro feels much more planted and confident – especially when using the throttle to aid mid-corner rotation. Heavier, more precise steering and a shorter, less flexible rear tyre sidewall (275/35 Goodyear Eagle ZR20s versus the
Mustang’s 275/40 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S) could be part of the how and why. The Mustang on the other hand feels less grown up, less serious. Its steering is much lighter and suspension much more forgiving in this company. It means that you need to truly hustle it in order to match the Camaro on a twisty road. Its six-speed manual is a far cry from the snickety precise units you might find in a Civic Type R or MX-5. It’s workmanlike, with a longer and less clicky shift action. But the feel through the clutch pedal sees more consistent than previous Mustang 6-speeds, and it comes with rev matching capabilities – perfect for scaring the tonsils out of other motorists at intersections (not that we’d condone that kind of thing, obviously …). Perhaps the biggest difference mechanically is how the two cars deliver their power. While the Chevrolet’s LT1 explodes off the line, Ford’s Coyote requires you to take it to its screaming 7400rpm redline to squeeze the most out of it. The improved induction breathing apparatus means that the Bullitt is more eager to hit redline than ever before, and the subsequent engine note sounds much more musical and rich than the parping and popping LT1. Swirling all of these elements together makes picking a victor incredibly difficult. My head picks the Camaro. To be honest, it picked the Camaro quite early on in the piece. The amount of grip and capability is greater in the Chevrolet. Leaping from apex to apex, it feels like the car that’s done the most to further the muscle car formula. There are plenty of far more expensive, far more sophisticated sports cars on the market that it would proudly embarrass on a twisty road. But my heart picks the Bullitt. It’s a charmer, a traditionalist. From the moment you set off, it feels like the more authentic muscle car here. It requires more input and risk-taking from the driver to match the Camaro’s corner-carving pace, but, in some ways that makes it the more rewarding, more satisfying car – one that’s easier to live with to boot. Both are exceptional machines, and buyers who aren’t divided by brand lines would likely be extremely happy having either one parked in their driveway. But there has to be a winner. And today, by a whisker, it’s the Mustang. - NZME
www.guardianonline.co.nz
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Friday, December 28, 2018
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Exige gets the nod
fitting end to the 70th Anniversary year of Lotus and the company has one more reason to celebrate with EVO Magazine announcing that the Lotus Exige Sport 410 has been awarded Roadster of the Year 2018 in its latest issue #257. In the words of EVO, “It’s a genuinely fabulous piece of kit, engineered with an obsessional zeal for driver entertainment and finished with the sort of care normally reserved for vehicles with far more chunkier price tags.” Developed directly from the track focused Exige Cup 430, the Exige Sport 410 is designed to be the ultimate road drive, unrivalled in its class. Packing the advanced chassis, suspension and powertrain set-up from its more powerful stablemate, the track focused Exige Cup 430, with a recalibrated engine producing 410 hp (416 PS) at 7000 rpm and 420 Nm (310 lbft) on tap from 3000 rpm to 7000 rpm. The high-performance 3.5-litre, supercharged and charge cooled V6 engine combined with a dry weight of just 1054 kg (lightest possible dry) delivers a class-leading power to weight ratio of 389 hp/tonne, and makes the Exige Sport 410 the lightest V6 Exige ever. Capable of 0-60 mph in just 3.3 seconds, it records fierce in-gear acceleration before reaching a top speed of 180 mph/290 km/h (Coupe configuration) – equal to the range-topping Exige Cup 430. The Exige Sport 410 has been developed to generate 150 kg of downforce, sharing design cues from the Exige Cup 430, adopting a visually arresting revised lightweight front clam panel incorporating wider grilles and carbon fibre air curtains and front splitter. As with all Lotus cars, the Exige Sport 410 has outstanding handling and lightweight agility engineered into its very DNA. The final word comes from EVO magazine, “The extremely talkative steering (unassisted of course) is heavy at first but once up to speed requires nothing more than wristy inputs, the Exige diving through corners fast and flat, its sense of balance simply sublime.”
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Friday, December 28, 2018
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