ECOcar Issue 20 March - May 2013

AUSTRALIA’S GUIDE TO ECO FRIENDLY, FUEL EFFICIENT CARS www.ecocarmagazine.com.au

RRP: AU $7.95 NZ $8.95

Issue 20 March / May 2013

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Sweet

SUPRISE

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right, red and shiny.

That’s how we first met with the latest version of the Kia Rio that joined our test team for a week of driving pleasure that included coping with the highest temperatures on record for our country.

The Rio SLS 3-door hatch is the absolute top of the range for Kia’s latest entry in the small car segment.

Our version came in Signal Red and included just about everything you might need in a car, all featured as standard equipment, all for a price of $22,510. In fact, if you didn’t have metallic paint finish you could actually save $520, making this attractive hatch even easier on the bank account.

The styling of the new Rio is distinctive and rather classy and results from the German influence of Peter Schreyer, head of Kia Design. The SLS comes with daytime LED running lamps, just like upmarket European brands and with leather seats, fog lamps, Bluetooth, a decent sound system and some very flashy 17-inch alloy rims, it has to be one of the bargains of the small car market.

Powered by a 1.6 litre, four cylinder, direct injection engine, it’s got the most power and torque (at 103 kW at 6,300 rpm and 167Nm at 4,850) of the Rio range and puts the power through to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission.

In our general testing we regularly found a figure of 5.9 l/100 kms appearing on the computer read-out. If you follow a frugal habit with your driving when out on a long run you could easily see that drop to a very respectable 4.7 l/100 kms. This exceptional fuel economy from a petrol 1.6 litre motor is also easily achievable, unlike some of the figures bandied about by certain manufacturers.

At this sort of fuel efficiency there’s little point in wanting to move to a diesel engine alternative, not that Kia offers one in the Rio anyway.

For those starting off at the entry level there is a smaller engine available, in this case a 1.4 litre, petrol four cylinder, that offers 79kW at 6,300 rpm and peak torque of 135Nm rated at 4,200 rpm. Don’t expect much variation though in 8

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Kia s Rio

sets some real standards in the small car segment.

Words by Chris Mullett

SWEET SUPRISE terms of fuel consumption as the smaller capacity engine is actually slightly thirstier in some circumstances, testimony to it working harder.

Between the base model 1.4 litre, S version and the top of the line SLS comes the Si and the SLi, and frankly the only way you’ll make sense out of the differences in specification is to actually wade through the spec’ details in the brochure. Each model is so well equipped that it becomes difficult to realize in which area the buyer might be missing out on something.

The Rio with everything, otherwise called the SLS, is a delightful car to drive and way above the expectations usually attached to small hatchbacks.

It’s quiet, performs well, drives and steers well and has a suspension system that seems well suited to Australian roads.

Kia has its own rationale for establishing the best suspension settings and the results are due to the involvement of suspension Guru Graham Gambold and the support and involvement he receives from senior chaps in the Kia Australia management team.

Head of Sales Steve Watt is a rally enthusiast from way back and together with Kevin Hepworth, Kia’s head of communications, himself a very capable and enthusiastic driver. Both are heavily involved in the sign-off of the final specification and contribute their views with hands-on driving evaluation before a new model gets the official nod for launch.

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, Y P O P I O N Z

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NIPPY, ZIPPY, ZOOM ZOOM

mall but quite sweet, the Mazda2 Neo five-door hatch actually provides a very interesting little package for the inner city urban commuter. It may look as though it’s going to be a slow slog up the main street, but with a willing 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, double overhead camshaft design of engine under the front end, it’s actually quite a quick little sprinter.

Being quick off the mark comes from having enough performance for the kerb weight of the car. Get the equation wrong and everything turns sluggish, get it right and cars become more fun to drive.

, Y P P I M O Z O , Y Z The Neo hatch weighs in at 22 kg over the magic 1,000 kg figure for the manual version, adding a further 25 kg if you choose to have the automatic transmission. Put that weight into the performance output that shows 76 kW produced at 6,000 rpm, with peak torque of 135 Nm rated at 4,000 rpm, and already we are beginning to see some behavioural traits of the final equation.

The characteristics of this frontwheel-drive hatch are that if you almost rev the nuts off the cylinder

2 r e b m ise u n pr e iz sur s n i y o t i e rc N ’s ne a d in z Ma the is

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head the Neo will prove to be quite rapid, if somewhat noisy in the process at the top end of the rev band. And it is!

The front seats look small but can accommodate large people seemingly easily. The electric steering is accurate and has some good feel to indicate what’s happening around the front wheels for directional stability, and if you press the loud pedal on the right with sufficient enthusiasm you’ll find the car makes surprisingly rapid progress.

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f you believe the hype, Holden is a company that is never, ever satisfied.

Fortunately, you don’t need to look very far for evidence of this. A case in point is the Barina small car, which only launched in Australia in hatch form in September last year before adding a boot to the line-up in February.

Transmission choices for the bigger, slightly thirstier car ran to either a five-speed manual gearbox, or a locally tuned six-speed automatic.

Flash forward nine months, though, and Holden has announced it has dumped the Barina’s six-speed automatic gearbox for a completely new one, and all because the feedback it received from customers suggested they didn’t like it.

According to Scott Doughty, the carmaker’s vehicle performance manager, the first generation of the gearbox “had its issues”, prompting the switch to the new one.

The new is an improvement over the old. It includes a clever function that can unlock the torque converter when the Barina is idling, reducing the load on the 1.6-litre engine and cutting fuel use.

Shift points have also been refined for generation two of the gearbox, and happen much faster and smoother than before. There’s still the odd little rocker switch on the side of the gear selector, too, that allows manual changes.

The new gearbox introduces a raft of running changes to Holden’s Barina.

The savvy buyer will also notice a big change underneath: gone are the Hankook Optimo hoops, and in their place is a more tenacious set of Continental ContiPremiumContact rubber on now-standard 17-inch alloys.

Again, the switch of tyres, according to Doughty, relates to feedback. The car maker did not chase outright fuel savings by fitting automatic versions of the Barina with low-rolling resistance rubber, and instead reacted to customer complaints that the former standard tyres lacked “performance” – we could probably safely read that as meaning they were a little short on confidence-inspiring grip.

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Outside, the updated Barina has more of the Chevrolet look that dominates the fascia of the Commodore-based SS stock car unveiled in late November that gives hints at what the next generation of Holden’s large family car fare may look like.

The auto gearbox brings another important running change to the Barina, as it is paired with an electric power steering unit.

The combination is standard fit-out in the top-specification Barina CDX, which costs from $20,490 in hatch form and stretches to an extra $500 if you’re more in tune with a boot.

The combination is also available for the entry-level CD, which comes with a five-speed manual gearbox for $15,990 before on-roads. If you do prefer the self-shifter, it will add another $2000 to the sticker price.

Is it worth it? Well, for the entry-level CD it’s questionable.

The manual version of the cheapest Barina already officially pegs 6.8 l/100 km for the hatch and sedan, but with the new auto it improves only slightly to 6.6 l/100 km for the sedan and 6.7 l/100 km for the hatch.

AN AUTOMATIC CHOICE It’s a better set of numbers for the higher-specification car.

The top Barina drops from an official 7.6 l/100 km for the Gen I gearbox – 0.1 l/100 km more than the previousgeneration Barina it replaced – to 6.3 l/100 km for the sedan and 6.4 l/100 km for the hatch using the new Gen II running gear.

The old numbers were good enough for a 7.5 out of 10 green rating, so the new figures should improve on this figure.

that tucks in under the passenger seat. Safety remains the same, with six airbags and a top five-star ANCAP crash rating.

On the road, the car feels much the same as the previous model to drive. Holden engineers spent three months tuning the steering to ensure that it was a good fit with Australian drivers.

On test, the Barina performed quite well. The model update, which has been on sale since late November, includes a few more toys thrown in, such as heated seats, and keeps the cleverness of the previous model, such as the storage tray

er h g ift i h h s r g i e b v r e lted in a s o f e r i des has resu box for it s ’ n e d Hol tandards new gear l car. s to a arina smal arry Park B

by B s d r o W

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sk anyone to name Audi's most popular model, and few people will pick the German carmaker's compact soft-roader, the Q5, as the volume seller for the brand.

Since its launch in 2009, the model has grown in popularity to the extent that it now accounts for one in five new Audis rolling out of Australian showrooms, and has helped push the luxury soft-roader segment to one of the fastest-growing new-car markets.

However, there's some fresh, new competition on the market, including an all-new Range Rover Evoque that is rapidly climbing the sales chart, and undermining the strength of the once rock-solid Q5.

It's time, then, for another spritz of the Q5 range. Please don't call it a facelift – Audi claims it is continually updating its model line-up, so to label this collection of cosmetic, equipment and engine upgrades as a mid-life makeover is, in their words, wrong.

The Q5 still comes in four different models, however, this time around, all engines include forced induction, with the introduction of a supercharged petrol V6 engine mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox at the top of the range that replaces the old normally aspirated 3.2-litre V6.

The ones we're interested in, for reasons surrounding their better fuel economy, include the entry-level Q5 powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine, and the range-topping 3.0-litre, turbo-diesel V6, both mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Petrol models

JUMPIN t CHANGES TO AUDI’S STRONG-SELLING SOFT-ROADER SHOULD HELP IT CLIMB THE SALES CHART IN THE FACE OF SHARP, NEW COMPETITION. WORDS BY BARRY PARK

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JUMPING THE Q get a more traditional eight-speed automatic gearbox, and the range continues to offer the Quattro all-wheel-drive system by default.

Compared with the previous model's line-up, the price of the four-cylinder diesel still kicks off from a luxury car tax-beating $62,200. In contrast, the price of the V6 diesel rises ever so slightly to stop at $75,500.

The diesel engines may have the same displacement as before, but fuel economy and performance improve for both.

Officially, the four-pot diesel will use 6.1 l/100 km, while the V6 oil burner will use just 6.4 l/100 km, despite an extra two cylinders and its larger displacement.

Power and torque for the entry-level Q5 improve to 130 kW and 380 Nm, while for the V6 the figures now peak at 180 kW and 580 Nm.

Fuel use improvements come from a raft of changes to the Q5.

The most significant of these is a radical weight-loss program, with more than 100 kg shed from the previous model largely due to the use of aluminium for the bonnet and bootlid skins.

The other big change occurs under the bonnet, with the traditional hydraulic power steering unit replaced with a more fuel-sipping electrically-assisted system that only drains energy when steering assistance is needed, such as around shopping centre car parks.

New headlight and tail lamp designs mark the most significant exterior changes to the Q5, but it is the soft-roader's interior that has really taken a leap ahead.

The Q5 accounts for one in five sales of all new Audis rolling out of Australian showrooms.

ING the

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S E R FO

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hen full-time rally driving stopped for me in early 2005, following Mitsubishi’s global withdrawal from motorsport, I initially figured I wouldn’t be driving rally cars again.

However, within weeks, I was testing cars for Toyota, helping set up Mitsubishi Evolutions for private teams and (shock, horror, for a Mitsubishi driver) off to China to drive a Subaru. The opportunity to drive all three cars that were the leading competitors in the sport was quite unique.

As you can imagine, when three manufacturers go rallying, and are incredibly close on the forest stages, the cars were all pretty special, but, surprisingly, had quite different strengths and weaknesses. The Mitsubishi had by far the strongest engine, with massive torque, low in the rev range. The Toyota had powerful brakes and soft, long travel suspension, perfect for rough roads. However, the Subaru was incredibly well balanced, giving the driver remarkable confidence, far more so than the other two cars.

That balance comes from the low-mounted, boxer engine, which facilitates a symmetrical, all-wheel-drive layout, along with very clever calibration of the transmission to proportion the power accurately to all wheels. It’s been much vaunted as the ‘Subaru DNA’. It works! Even though rally participation has long since ended (for all three manufacturers), that DNA is alive and well in Subaru’s production cars, none more so than the latest Forester.

You might wonder what on earth that has to do with family SUVs, being purchased in massive numbers and the fastest growth segment in the Australian market. Well, the big challenge with SUVs, is to make them drive as much like a regular sedan as possible, while retaining the high riding, tall and spacious bodies that customers now prefer. To begin with a beautifully balanced, low-mounted drivetrain is a massive advantage, and the latest Forester is clearly ahead of the opposition, from the first time you point it into a corner or drive on a slippery surface.

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Most significantly, in a world where people are buying tall, high riding, SUVs and choosing a two-wheeldrive version because they never intend going off tarmac, the Subaru Forester retains its genuine ability to negotiate gravel roads, rough tracks and general ability to get dirty on the weekends, for which it has become a firm favourite in Australia.

For other manufacturers with a regular transverse engined SUV, there are huge cost, weight and efficiency advantages in building a two-wheeldrive version because the four-wheel-drive transmission needs to be quite complex. However, the in-line Subaru layout is strong, simple, efficient, and unique to Subaru.

Some have criticised Subarus in recent times for being potentially, less fuel-efficient than its competitors, especially the two-wheel-drives. The new Forester is claimed to have no compromises in efficiency for having a boxer engine and all-wheel-drive. The diesel is clearly the best at 5.9 l/100 km, with the 2.0-litre petrol at 7.2 l/100 km and the 2.5-litre petrol, 8.1 l/100 km. All models are equipped with stop-start function. On the launch program, driving both diesel and 2.5 litre petrol, these combined figures were readily attainable, a great contrast to some competitors’ products where the claimed figures can’t be achieved with even the lightest foot.

Y R T S E

FORESTRY COMMISSION

n o i s s i m m o c

itsubishi Ralliart M e m ti ng lo d an lly champion ting ECOcar’s former ra of his career compe t os m t en sp ho w , y’, Ordynski t of ‘enemy territor ar factory driver, Ed he e th to ed ch . despat Subaru Forester…… against Subaru, is st te la e th ce en ri to expe Subaru’s CVT is an exceptionally good version, being largely imperceptible in use, perhaps because the 2.5-litre engine (126 kW at 5800 rpm, 235 Nm at 4100 rpm, 187 g/km CO2) is so torquey. It will be interesting to see how it works when eventually fitted to diesel (108 kW at 3600 rpm, 350 Nm at 1600-2400 rpm, 156 g/km CO2) and 2.0-litre petrol models (110 kW at 6,200 rpm, 198 Nm at 4,200 rpm, 168 g/km CO2), as surely it must.

The 1998 cc, double overhead cam, common-rail, direct injection, boxer turbo-diesel if of most interest to ECOcar of course, and comes with a low-friction, sixspeed, manual gearbox. The smooth-shifting manual can’t disguise the surprising lack of low-down torque for a diesel. Some may like a diesel engine that begs to be driven like a petrol engine, and, for sure, this one revs hard and is super-smooth while doing so. However, not much happens below 2,000 rpm, and under 1,500 rpm is very flat indeed.

The 2.0-litre petrol model, which is also manual only, was not available on the launch program.

The main reason for the improved fuel economy is via new transmissions, in particular the new ‘Lineartronic’, continuously variable transmission (CVT) fitted only to the 2.5-litre petrol, at this stage. The diesel and 2.0-litre petrol versions have new six-speed manual gearboxes and no automatic available.

Normally, a manufacturer should be congratulated for equipping vehicles with the best possible transmission for fuel efficiency and performance – a manual – but technology is moving on rapidly, and Australian drivers have now been brought up on automatics.

One of the most outstanding features of the new Forester is the ride and handling, Subaru having successfully managed to both stiffen the suspension and improve the low speed compliance via exceptionally well calibrated springs and shock absorbers and rigid mounting systems. Noise and vibration are very well suppressed and match the plush ride, superbly. Subaru is one of the few manufacturers that manages to put lessons learnt from motorsport into production vehicle suspension, keeping it as soft and compliant as possible while controlling roll and wallow. The Forester also manages to do all that while retaining a segment-leading 220 mm ground clearance.

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agons, huh? They make for great family fare. There’s also room for all the holiday gear, lumping the dogs to the local beach, sliding in the flat-pack furniture – they’re versatile things.

Traditionally, too, they’ve been bigger than the sedan they are based upon. That is until now.

Mazda has gone against every sensibility in releasing its

all-new Mazda6 mid-size car with a big sedan that appeals to US buyers’ tastes, and a 65 mm shorter wagon plumped specifically for the European market. No one, it seems, wanted the hatch, so it is now missing from the showroom.

So big is the new, third-generation 6 that questions were raised over whether it actually belonged in the mid-size market segment, or if it should really be competing against the likes of Honda’s Accord in the large-car battleground.

The new Mazda6 is the second out of the Japanese carmaker’s stable to introduce SkyActiv, a raft of weight and fuel-saving measures designed to give the mid-sizer a bestin-class fuel use without the need for drastic measures that detract from its “Zoom Zoom” philosophy.

Let’s put our heart on our sleeve straight away: heck they’ve done well.

Start with the looks of the thing. The production car is based on the sleek Takeri concept unveiled at Tokyo’s motor show last year. You just need to stretch

Barry Park finds Mazda’s new mid-sizer 6 breaks a few conventions, but it makes for a much better package

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6 MORE OF THE BEST the concept car vertically a bit, and you pretty much have the Mazda6 as it is today.

Add a windscreen that sits further forward, and BMW-esque coronas that circle the headlights, and it holds a look that suggests it wants to leap away from the traffic lights.

That skin, too, hides a fair bit of lightweight metal that helps the new Mazda6 shed about 100 kilograms compared to the second-generation car it replaces.

Then there is what has happened under the bonnet. The 6 is still powered by a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder engine, but this one gets the special “SkyActiv” treatment, meaning it uses cuttingedge technology to help the car save fuel.

That includes a stop-start system that switches the engine off while the car is idling, a capacitor that stores once-wasted energy, and a clever six-speed automatic gearbox – there’s no self-shifter available with Mazda’s mid-sizer – that minimises friction losses.

The interior, too, has had a big makeover, featuring softtouch plastic surfaces in high traffic areas such as the upper door trim, and the dash. The centre console features a classy looking piano black finish, offset with brushed aluminium-look trim around the instruments, on the steering wheel and defining the air-conditioning controls. It makes the interior of a Mercedes-Benz feel a bit dowdy, and it’s a shame one of our cars had a constant dash rattle as company.

The driver’s seat is comfortable and offers plenty of support, and finding a comfortable position behind the wheel is easy.

It’s also easy to find a comfortable position in the rear seat.

Legroom has improved, although toe room under the seat in front is still pretty tight.

The only ergonomic flaw is the shared driver/passenger armrest that hides a deep storage bucket – even though the lid slides forward, it sits a bit too far back to be comfortable for shorter drivers. The boot aperture, also, is a bit small in the sedan, but there are handy levers that automatically flip the split-fold rear seats forward. The wagon’s boot opens nicely with adequate height that only requires tall people to duck slightly, although flipping the rear pews is a fully manual process by comparison.

The luxury car comparisons don’t stop at the interior. Hit the start button, crank the 138 kW/250 Nm high-compression petrol engine into life, and point it at a corner, and it drives, rides and feels better than an Audi.

The 10 percent more powerful petrol engine pulls cleanly and smoothly, working well with the six-speed automatic gearbox to hold gears on hills rather than changing down a cog, although the soundtrack can get a bit gravelly. It’s a petrol engine, but it is almost diesel-like in its character.

The low-compression turbo diesel now feels bigger than its 2.2-litre capacity suggests. Power is down on the old engine, but torque is up, leaving it with 129 kW and an impressive 420 Nm. It is easy enough to trip the turbo up from a standing start, but, once rolling, progress is smooth, linear and predictable.

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Fuel use, once the Mazda6’s millstone, is now classleading. Officially, the SkyActiv treatment knocks the petrol engine’s fuel use, on regular unleaded fuel, down to 6.6 l/100 km, while the diesel rates at just 5.4 l/100 km. You won’t hit those figures in real life, but our test drive shows the diesel will at least get close.

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FEATURE

ar companies seldom like to admit that they have made a blunder. They blame any market downturn on a change in buyer preference, an alteration in fiscal attitudes or paradigm market shifts.

So, when the question was asked at the preview of the all-new Nissan Pulsar as to whether the company had regretted dropping the well known Pulsar name in favour of the Tiida,

the official response was confined to recognising it was a good thing to reintroduce the Pulsar nameplate. There was no suggestion of criticism being attached to the outgoing Tiida, despite its poor performance in the market by comparison to that of the original Pulsar range.

Nissan now has a brand new Pulsar to play with, and it starts its game with entry-level pricing set at $19,990, exactly the same as it was back in 1996. To be able to introduce a completely new product at a pricing structure identical to that of 16 years ago is an incredible feat for any company. But, in the case of Nissan, it shows just how serious the brand is to regain market share.

Look a little closer at the pricing structure and you’ll note that the three-model pricing strategy of $19,990, $23,650 and $28,990 quickly changes when you add 12 months rego, stamp duty, CTP insurance and dealer delivery to bring drive-away pricing to $22,070, $25,833 and $31,323, respectively, for the ST, STL and Ti.

What does a highly magnetised, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation, and a car have in common? They both share the name of Pulsar 52

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WHAT'S IN A NAME William F. Peffer Jnr, the managing director and CEO of Nissan Australia, outlined the range to ECOcar, with the first Pulsar to hit Australian roads being the sedan. Available in three trim levels, the ST, STL and Ti, each is powered by the same 1.8-litre, four-cylinder, petrol engine.

Launch date for the sedan was February 1st, and within 100 days it will be joined by a hatch version, one featuring the same 1.8-litre, naturally aspirated, petrol engine, and the other being a hotter hatch version that wears the SSS badge from days of yore. This quicker unit is powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine with 140 kW of power, and offers 240 Nm of torque on tap.

According to William, the C-segment to which Pulsar bellows has a potential total unit volume of 240,000 vehicles.

He is currently not quoting any intended sales figures, but he sees the potential for Pulsar as a significant component in the quest by Nissan to substantially raise its market share in Australia.

“We introduced a purchase structure that enabled a new buyer to pre-buy before February 1st, with a ten percent deposit and a comparison rate of 7.5 percent per annum interest rate on finance. That could result in monthly repayments from $299 and a guaranteed future value,” added William.

We mention these advanced pre-purchase buying rates because, according to William, if the pre-buy was successful, the company would consider extending the pre-buy option past the February 1st deadline.

Nissan’s engineer responsible for the Pulsar is Grahame Cornforth.

An ex-pat Englishman based in Japan, Crawthorne is a 22-year veteran at Nissan and has steered the development team along a path of widening and lengthening the previous Tiida floorpan to create the new Pulsar platform.

“The new car is longer and wider, but is torsionally some 20 percent stronger that the previous Tiida. The “A” pillars have been kept slim to maximise vision, the door openings are now wider, in both the front and rear, shoulder widths are greater than before and interior noise suppression is substantially better,” said Grahame.

“The whole car is 250 mm wider, for better shoulder room, and the length has increased between heel point to hip point. With larger door openings, the access and egress is much improved over previous models in the sector.

“The wider position of suspension components and improved mounting systems has given us better suspension damping levels.

A tremendous degree of attention to damper bushes and suspension damping and positioning of brackets has improved the handling response but reduced suspension noise.

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BMW ACTIVE HYBRID

here’s nothing fiercer than the rivalry between the Japanese and the German carmakers for acceptance as the world’s best prestige vehicle manufacturer. With Lexus dominating the luxury hybrid scene for over six years now, it arguably reigns supreme with experience and knowledge in this area, not to mention class-leading engineering.

T

BMW, on the other hand, has a vested history building luxury vehicles with a sporty edge, and, until the ActiveHybrid 5, the marque had never produced a hybrid vehicle.

Parting with $100,000 - $130,000 is more than a casual purchase decision, so ECOcar has done the leg work for you and put the Lexus GS450h F Sport against the BMW ActiveHybrid 5 in a comprehensive test to see which vehicle comes out on top. The results may surprise you.

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From a design perspective, Lexus has embarked on differentiating the design of its Luxury and Sports Luxury GS450h variants with the more performance-oriented F Sport by using radical body kits and styling highlights.

The F Sport comes with a jagged front splitter, charcoal coloured wheels and a boot lip spoiler, giving it a luxurious feel with a hint of attitude.

The trend continues within the cabin, where a raft of colour options dominates what used to be a very bland colour palette in the outgoing GS450h. The test vehicle was decked out in Garnet coloured leather trim, matching the exterior Mercury Grey colour perfectly.

When you take charge of the driver’s seat, you immediately feel like you are sitting in a car worth its price tag. The entire cabin feels like it is wrapped in leather, while every control you touch responds with tactile graciousness.

HYBRID Paul Maric compares the Lexus GD450h with BMW’s ActiveHybrid5 60

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HYBRID ACTIVITY Features are in abundance across the GS450h range. The F Sport comes with everything imaginable, including DVD player, 17-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, digital radio, powered, heated and cooled driver and front passenger seats, radar cruise control, reversing camera and heads up display.

LED headlights can also be optioned to further enhance lighting and reduce fuel consumption.

The 12.3-inch multimedia screen used to control the audio, vehicle settings and climate control is the largest available in any car. The mammoth screen displays a welcome message when the car is started, and allows seamless control of the car’s almost infinite controls.

Similar to the ActiveHybrid 5, the GS450h uses a joystick style controller with ‘sticky’ points to aid in scrolling the mouse across the screen. These sticky points jolt the joystick as you move it to indicate a button or function.

Front and rear leg and headroom is absolutely exceptional. The awkward entry/egress of the old GS450h has been abolished with rear passengers easily accessing and departing from the vehicle. But, even though the Lexus feels bigger, the BMW is longer, wider and taller.

The added battery pack reduces the GS450h’s boot capacity by 65 litres to 465 litres. The reduction isn’t as severe as the ActiveHybrid 5, which sacrifices 70 litres to the battery pack, dropping cargo capacity to 375 litres.

Even though the sound damping is fantastic, it’s hard to get used to the eerie silence that presents itself when you start the GS450h. Unlike a regular car, a little ‘Ready’ light flashes when the car is ready to move.

As you take off from stand still, the Lexus powers away in electric mode. It’s not until you reach around 35 km/h that the petrol engine kicks in to assist the electric motor. The transition between electric and petrol is very seamless and generally can’t be noticed.

Along the drive, there are also moments where the petrol engine switches off and the electric motor drives the vehicle.

It turns the drive into a fuel economy challenge to see how far you can travel on the electric motor alone without the petrol engine switching on.

For those that are somewhat short of time and in a hurry, the GS450h propels them forward with the thrust of a NASA spaceship. Producing 35 2Nm of torque, the GS450h can dash from 0-100 km/h in just 5.9 seconds, and does so in spectacular fashion. There is a hint of wheelspin off the line, but, once it gains composure, it’s all systems go.

Unlike the ActiveHybrid 5’s eight-speed automatic transmission, the GS450h uses a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). This gearbox does an amazing job of extracting the most from the 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine.

Producing 215 kW of power, the CVT comes with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters to allow manual gear selection.

LEXUS

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n all-new Mitsubishi Outlander could soon wear the mantle of Australia’s first electric soft-roader.

The third generation of the mid-size lifestyle vehicle is slated to introduce a plug-in hybrid electric drivetrain that will reduce emissions to less than that of Toyota’s environmental hybrid hero, the Prius, and close to that of Holden’s Volt.

The new Outlander is a radical diversion from the old, including smoother, more resolved styling, soft-touch interiors, a diesel engine instead of a petrol V6, a neater model line-up, and reach-and-rake steering for the first time.

It hasn’t all gone the buyers’ way, though. The split rear tailgate – a highlight of the previous model that customers liked and Mitsubishi Australia argued to keep – makes way for a more traditional tailgate in an effort to reduce weight.

Combined with the stronger rake of the roofline and the higher floor height in the boot, the Outlander’s load space has taken a half step backwards, down from 589 (seats up) or 1691 (seats down) litres to just 477/1608 litres. The seats used to tumble forward electronically, too, but buyers will notice it is now strictly hard labour.

It also confirms the third-row seating – a feature Mitsubishi did consider important enough to carry through to the new Outlander – as only suitable for children.

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The looks of the new Outlander are derived directly from a plug-in hybrid concept car, the PX-MiEV, unveiled in Japan in 2011.

Knowing the importance of making fuel-efficient cars as slippery as possible through the air, the new Outlander features smooth curves and an aerodynamic snout that, despite the uniformity, looks much better than the older gap-mouthed grille.

OUTLANDISH BEHAVIOUR

H However, the Outlander sold in Australia is not quite as aerodynamic as versions sold overseas. While the diesel model uses the same flat under-body panelling as those sold in Europe, the petrol model lacks them.

UCH M NOW RE’S S I DER T THE IVES – A O U T-R RE, B IT DR F O E S BEFO E WAY Z I S HAN ON TH ARK IDT M P ’S IN O SHI O SIT O D ARRY I T B B T SU RK MIT TTER ME WO DS BY R O BE WO LS L I ST

According to the Outlander’s product development manager, Mitsuyoshi Hattori, this is because the underbody aerodynamics only has an effect at speeds above 160 kmh.

The engines aren’t as efficient as they could be, either. The Outlander sold overseas includes a clever stop-start system that can switch the engine off while the SUV is stopped in traffic. However, Mitsubishi Australia says the technology is still expensive, and buyers aren’t yet ready to pay for it.

The loss of the V6 engine means the Outlander comes with either a front-driving 110 kW/190 Nm, 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, petrol engine running on 91 RON, a 124 kW/220 Nm, 2.4-litre,

four-cylinder, petrol engine running on 95 RON and pushing drive to all four wheels, and a 110 kW/360 Nm, 2.2-litre, four-cylinder, diesel engine that also features all-paw grip.

The base petrol engine is mated to either a five-speed manual gearbox or a continuously variable transmission, the 2.4 is mated to the CVT exclusively, while the diesel uses a traditional six-speed automatic.

Officially, the fuel use for the 2.0-litre drivetrain is 7.0 l/100 km for the manual and 6.6 for the CVT, 7.4 l/100 km for the 2.4-litre, and 5.8 l/100 km for the diesel.

Therefore, it’s the diesel and the entry-level petrol cars we’re interested in.

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MINI PACEMAN

J

ust when you thought you knew what was happening with MINI, the iconic brand owned by BMW, up pops another derivative.

The latest to appear on the European scene is the first foray of MINI into the Sports Activity Coupé segment.

With four engine options, the MINI Paceman will also include lowered sports suspension. This is the second model (after the MINI Countryman), to offer all wheel drive.

This seventh model in the MINI family is a four seater, with two doors and large tailgate, plus two full-size individual rear seats. Folding down the rear seats expands the load capacity of from 330 to a maximum 1,080 litres.

The petrol engines available for the MINI Cooper Paceman and MINI Cooper S Paceman and the diesel units in the MINI Cooper D Paceman and MINI Cooper SD Paceman cover an output spread from 82 kW/112 hp to 135 kW/184 hp.

All the powerplants link up as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox, although a six-speed automatic is available as an option.

A shared feature of the 1.6-litre petrol engines is fully variable valve management. This system joins forces with a twin-scroll turbocharger and direct injection to generate maximum output of 135 kW/184 hp at 5,500 rpm. Peak torque of 240 Nm is rated between 1,600 and 5,000 rpm.

An overboost function is at the driver’s disposal to provide particularly powerful bursts of acceleration, increasing torque to as much as 260 Nm for a short time between 1,700 and 4,500 rpm.

There’s no doubt the result is yet another quick MINI with the MINI Cooper S

Paceman covering from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds (automatic: 7.8 seconds) on the way to a top speed of 217 km/h. Average fuel economy in the EU test cycle stands at 6.1 (7.1) l/100 kms and CO2 emissions are just 143 (166) g/km.

A turbocharger with variable turbine geometry and common-rail direct injection allows the diesel powerplants driving the MINI Cooper SD Paceman and MINI Cooper D Paceman to offer both impressive pulling power and exceptionally low fuel consumption.

The MINI Cooper D Paceman also stands out with its economy. Maximum output of 82 kW is available from 4,000 rpm, while peak torque of 270 Nm is rated up between 1,750 and 2,250 rpm. Acceleration times are 0 to 100 km/h in 10.8 seconds. In terms of fuel consumption the figures are 4.4 (5.6) l/100kms and CO2 emissions of 115 (149) g/km.

The MINI Paceman is equipped as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox, while a six-speed automatic – complete with the Steptronic function enabling manual gearshifts – is available as an option for all models. In the MINI Cooper S Paceman and MINI Cooper SD. The ALL4 system uses an electromagnetic centre differential to distribute drive seamlessly between the front and rear axles. In normal driving situations ALL4 diverts up to 50 per cent of the engine’s power to the rear wheels, rising to as much as 100 per cent in extreme conditions, such as on ice and snow-covered surfaces. The steering system’s standard Servotronic function provides speed-sensitive power assistance.

The likewise standard-fitted DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) system comprises ABS anti-lock brakes, Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Brake Assist and Hill Assist.

Like the MINI Countryman, the MINI Paceman passed the Euro NCAP crash test with the maximum five-star rating.

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