FEBRUARY 7 - 13 | 2020
Ŷ REMAINING ROBUST: Touches of modern styling have not detracted from Patrol’s traditional bold stance
Small change for big-money people mover IT'S been a long journey for the Nissan Patrol since its inception, almost 70 years ago, taking it up to the big boys of the 4x4 market, especially the Toyota Land Cruiser. Now the rugged Nissan continues along the slip road to a quieter life with its MY20 model. In 2013, the Patrol took on the role of a flagship with a big brother in the shape of ST-L, Ti and Ti-L variants. Last year, the ST-L was retired, leaving the two petrol-only options carrying the load. For 2020, the remaining pair have been given a new look, plus a range of Nissan intelligent active safety features as standard equipment for an extra $3000 apiece, up to respective prices of $75,990 and $91,990, plus on-road costs. Never one to aspire to the softer sports utility vehicle ethos, both the Nissan Ti (the
By DEREK OGDEN test car) and Ti-L, have retained the robust tradition of the Patrol, that of a genuine offroader / tough tow truck.
visibility at night. Eighteen-inch alloy wheels have also been updated and wrapped in tall 265 / 70 tyres, giving the ability to iron out surface defects on the bitumen.
STYLING A modern makeover front and back has given a sleeker look to both Ti and Ti-L, the former has gone sporty (sell sort-of sporty) up front, while the latter, through the bumper, takes on a premium character. Both feature new fender panels, front grille and LED lamps. LED lights front and back have been brightened – 52 LEDs per headlight, plus LED foglamps, and a total of 44 out back. New boomerang shaped tail-lights and chrome nameplate are designed to improve
INTERIOR Touted as having seating for eight in leather seats, the third row offered a tight fit for grown-ups. Up front is unashamed comfort with driver and front passenger positions having eight-way electric adjustment and heating / cooling. The driver's seat also has memory pre-sets. There is a deep centre console cool box, a boon on hot summer holiday journeys, taking up space where you find an electric parking brake on many of the latest vehicles. Here instead is an old-school foot-operated pedal.
INFOTAINMENT Features across the new Patrol range include Bluetooth hands-free phone, large format front DVD player, 2GB music server with six speakers, iPod connectivity, steering wheel audio controls, intelligent key access. New to Patrol is Apple CarPlay or Android Auto access. ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS A direct-injected, 5.6-litre, naturally aspirated alloy V8 petrol engine delivers 298 kW of power at 5800 rpm and 560 Nm of peak torque, the latter available from 1600 revs. It's mated with a seven-speed automatic transmission with manual mode.
Ŷ Continued page 2
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February 7-13 | 2020
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Toyota Yaris is going hybrid
Ŷ MISERLY: Super economy Toyota Yaris is on its way. TOYOTA has been deeply into fuel-saving, clean-running hybrid vehicles for many years, with its Prius now being in its 20th year of sales in Australia. An all-new Yaris hybrid will reach us in May and will be Toyota Australia's most fuelefficient car. With a new 1.5-litre petrol / hybrid powertrain it will offer an official combined fuel consumption figure of just 3.3L/100km. Toyota Australia vice president sales and
By EWAN KENNEDY marketing Sean Hanley said the addition of the hybrid drivetrain to the Yaris range would not only benefit customers with lower fuel bills, but also further evidence of Toyota's overall intention to continue to reduce the environmental footprint of its vehicles. "The all-new Toyota Yaris is a marked step up from the current car in every respect and will deliver the outstanding fuel efficiency
and advanced safety technology that our customers demand," Mr Hanley said. As well as standout fuel economy Yaris hybrid will also have high level of safety features; these include the most advanced precollision safety system in the Toyota range and active cruise control. We are promised that the new Toyota Yaris will also provide a more dynamic driving experience thanks to the use of the all-new Toyota New Global Architecture
(TNGA) platform. Toyota Yaris hybrid will replace the Toyota Prius c hatch (‘c’ for city) first launched here in 2012. Prices and full specifications are yet to be finalised for this country, we will provide them and, later, a full road test review when we can get into the driver’s seat. The Yaris will join Toyota Corolla hatch and sedan, Camry, RAV4, and C-HR as hybrids.
Small change for big-money people mover Ŷ From page 1 SAFETY Both grades now include Intelligent Emergency Braking, Intelligent Forward Collision Warning and Rear Cross Traffic Alert as standard. While already standard on the Ti-L, the Ti has taken up Intelligent Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Intervention, Blind Spot Warning, plus Intelligent Blind Spot Intervention. Six airbags include curtain bags covering all three seating rows. DRIVING The relatively new V8 engine delivers 298 kW of power and 560 Nm of torque, with 90 per cent of the latter on call from just 1600 rpm. This is enough to get the 3500 kg GVM hulk under way surprisingly sharpish and makes overtaking a breeze with the engine seemingly never in danger of running out of revs. Power is put to ground through an advanced seven-speed automatic and a sophisticated, electronically controlled, all mode 4x4 system, with settings for Auto, 4H, 4L, diff lock and hill descent control. The centre console mounted-control knob also incorporates Patrol’s terrain select system, featuring on road, snow, sand and rock settings for the serious off-road adventurer. There were no surprises with the heavyweight’s fuel consumption which averaged 16 litres per 100 kilometres while cruising and topped 20 litres per hundred in heavy city going. Owners can expect a more comfortable drive than previously thanks to a suspension retuning with improved dampers that have been enhanced to provide more dampening at a higher piston speed. This gives better on-road ride comfort. At the press of a button on the key fob the electrically operated rear cargo door opens high and wide for fuss-free
loading? Sorry, that’s reserved for the Ti-L toffs. Ti troops are called on to become weightlifters, wrestling with a tailgate that provides uncharacteristic opposition to being opened (or closed). However, there’s still space (550 litres) to stow a full-size cooler in the load bay. The luggage space can be upped by folding the back row seat backs by the single tug on a strap and further increased to a cavernous 3100 litres-plus by flicking a switch which rolls up the middle row of seats to fit snugly against the backs of the front seats, leaving an almost flat floor. Thankfully for test car occupants, Patrol’s air-conditioning system had been upgraded, providing improved airflow, especially for rear passengers. Those seated in the front could not help but notice improved climate control with increased air flow for faster cooling. With winter in mind, we are told, a larger heating map built inside the seat offers better heating performance. SUMMING UP Do the maths. Buying the MY20 Patrol Ti is between whether it’s worth the added $3000 cost for this year’s new look and upped active safety.
AT A GLANCE MODEL: Nissan Patrol Ti SUV ENGINE: 5.6L V8 MAX POWER: 298 kW @ 5800 RPM MAX TORQUE: 560 Nm @ 4000 RPM DRIVELINE: AWD. 7-speed automatic with manual mode and adaptive shift control FUEL TANK: 140 litres, Petrol 95 RON ECONOMY: 14.5 L/100km (combined)
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February 7-13 | 2020
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Renault Koleos is a big and bold SUV
Ŷ BOLD DESIGN: Renault Koleos is an attractive, capable and wellequipped mid-sized SUV. KOLEOS is the largest of the three-model Renault SUV range ahead of the small Captur and the recently-launched mid-size Kadjur. A product of the alliance between the French automotive giant and its Japanese partner Nissan, Koleos sits on the same platform and shares its 2.5-litre engine and transmission with the Nissan X-Trail. Adding to its multinational character Koleos is built at Renault’s Samsung factory in South Korea. Koleos first went on sale here in 2008, was upgraded in 2011 and 2013 with the current, second-generation, model arriving in 2016. For 2020 Koleos II was given some styling enhancements and comfort improvements including extendable front seat cushions, extra soft-touch materials and reclining rear seat. As before Koleos is offered in three spec levels, Life, Zen and Intens but now only with petrol power, the previous diesel option being dropped. Life and Zen are both front-wheel drive with the Intens also available with drive to all four wheels. STYLING While the overall shape of the Koleos matches that of the X-Trail the Renault has a much bolder grille highlighted by a large version of the brand’s distinctive diamond badge in the centre. The MY2020 Koleos gets some extra chrome trim, new alloy wheels and skid plates along with LED fog lamps. Our test vehicle came with an eye-catching new “Millesim Red” body colour, a nice alternative to the more conservative hues in the rest of the palette. Twin chrome exhaust pipes add a semisporty touch. INTERIOR Koleos only comes with five seats unlike the X-Trail which has a third-row. There’s enough rear space in all directions for three adults to travel in comfort. With two rear passengers the central armrest can be folded to reveal twin drink holders. There’s good volume of storage space with 458 litres when the rear seatbacks are in place, extending to 1690 litres when they are folded. There’s a full-size spare below the boot floor. All models get a one-touch folding mechanism for the rear seatbacks. Intens has an automatic bootlid opening via the key fob and can be closed either the same way or with a button on the bottom of the lid. The opening height can be reduced if needed.
By ALISTAIR KENNEDY SAFETY Safety is a big selling point for Koleos with a high level of standard equipment across the range including six airbags; ABS brakes with emergency brake assist and electronic brakeforce distribution; forward collision warning; autonomous emergency braking; electronic stability control; hill-start assist; lane departure warning; IsoFix child seat anchors; reversing camera; rear parking sensors; tyre pressure monitoring; height adjustable headlights; and front and rear foglights. Zen adds front and side parking sensors; automatic ‘walk-away’ door locking and blind spot monitoring while the Intens tops off the safety package with Easy Park Assist and optional all-wheel drive. ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS Only one powertrain is offered, a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder unit with peaks of 126 kW at 6000 rpm and 226 Nm at 4400 revs mated to continuously variable transmission. The AWD Intens has three drive options: 2WD, Auto and Lock controlled by a switch on the centre console. INFOTAINMENT Koleos gets Renault’s latest R-Link 2 system for its infotainment technology. The premium Intens model displays onto an 8.7-inch tablet-style portrait touchscreen with the Life and Zen getting a 7.0-inch portrait screen. We found the touchscreen required too much distraction with small tabs that regularly needed at least two touches to move between features that would have been much more convenient, and so safer, had they been on the dashboard. One thing that is more convenient is the new location of the front USB socket at the bottom of the dashboard. There are also two rear-seat USB ports in the rear. Sound in the Life and Zen comes from an eight-speaker Arkamys 3D system. Intens steps up to an 11-speaker Bose system with subwoofer and digital amplifier. DRIVING Getting in and out is comfortable without too much bending or head scraping. The driver’s seat is wide, supportive and comfortable. The steering wheel is both tilt and reach adjustable. One of the first things that we noticed when we stepped into the Koleos was its
electronic parking brake, a welcome change after having spent a week behind the wheel of an X-Trail with its annoying foot-operated parking brake. Please take note, Mr Nissan. Koleos is a capable enough vehicle with good, but unexciting, performance. We found it needed a bit of urging to climb steepish hills without losing momentum although there is a pre-set manual mode to assist the CVT. Suspension is a little harsh and relatively firm without making the ride uncomfortable. Steering is light and direct. On the motorway segment of our test route the Koleos cruised comfortably despite its fairly modest outputs. There was enough pulling power from about 2000 revs to cope with the contours on the M1 north of Sydney. Even when pushed the cabin remained well insulated from outside noise. We did take our 4x2 Koleos Zen onto some corrugated dirt backroads where the 210 mm ground clearance provided reassurance. Countering that the approach and departure angles are fairly shallow although that is the norm with most modern SUVs. Fuel consumption is listed at 8.1 litres per 100 kilometres for the Zen. We averaged 9.2 L/100 km during our week in the Zen, acceptable enough for a fairly large SUV. SUMMING UP Renault Koleos is an attractively-styled medium-large SUV that performs and drives well, with commendable economy, plenty of interior space and an excellent range of safety levels.
The MY2020 Koleos is the first model to get the Renault 5:5:5 Easy Life Ownership Program which provides a 5 year unlimited kilometre warranty; 5 year capped price servicing (up to 150,000 km); and up to 5 years service activated roadside assistance.
AT A GLANCE MODEL TESTED: Renault Koleos Zen 2WD five door wagon ENGINE: 2.5L , four cylinder in-line MAX POWER: 126 kW @ 6000 RPM MAX TORQUE: 226 Nm @ 4400 RPM DRIVELINE: Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) FUEL TANK: 60 litres, premium unleaded petrol ECONOMY: 8.1 L/100km (combined)
February 7-13 | 2020
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Skoda Rapid 2014 - 2018 By EWAN KENNEDY SKODA Rapid, or Rapid Spaceback to give it its full title for the Australian imports, is a mainstream small-medium ďŹ ve-door hatch. It could be called a station wagon as its rear has a handy shape making it capable of carrying bulky loads. The Czech company has long had a policy of making space a feature inside its vehicles. There's good room in the Rapid for rear seat passenger space, though two makes more sense than four if adults are being carried. Overseas travellers may have noticed four-door sedan versions of the Skoda, the importer chose not to bring them to this country. A wise move as Aussies do like their hatches, wagons and SUVs. Skoda is one of the oldest car makers, launching its ďŹ rst cars in 1905, these days it is a Volkswagen subsidiary after the German giant took control in 1994, after the fall of communism. The Rapid uses many out of sight components from VW, but pretty well all the external body parts are unique to the model. Inside, the style does carry an overall feel of VWs and is neat and tidy in its layout. The instrument display is simple to use at a glance. Two engines are offered, both Volkswagen-based turbo-petrol units displacing 1.2 and 1.4 litres. They come with six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG auto, with the smaller engines using the manual. The Rapid has had a ďŹ ve-star ANCAP rating from the start and the VW group’s strong emphasis on the importance of safety meant there were further changes over the years. The Sports Pack is a popular option in this Skoda, some may ďŹ nd the seats rather ďŹ rm and narrow. See what you think during your test drive. Handling is very competent on the open road in the typical European manner, with nice chassis balance and good feedback through the steering. Suspension is ďŹ rm with precise and safe driving. July 2015 saw revisions to the Rapid range that added a semi sporty look. Rapid Elegance was replaced by the Monte Carlo.
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VINTAGE Viscount Royal, 18’, 5 berth, gas/elec HWS, 3 way fridge, LED’s, very good condition, 6 months Vic reg, 4 gas burners, microwave, fully self contained, shade sail’s, outdoor shower, $9600. Ph 0438 708 756.
MARINE
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From a visual point of view the Monte Carlo has an emphasis on black, with that colour being used on the 17-inch alloy wheels, radiator grille, headlight and foglight surrounds, door mirrors. Inside are black carbon ďŹ bre inserts and on the instrument cluster. The biggest changes were under the bonnet with added power and torque. In 2017, realising that sales were still too slow, the range was trimmed to a single model, the 92TSI. Sadly our favourite, the Monte Carlo, was one of the casualties. It has been rumoured that the almost all-new next generation 2020 Skoda Rapid won’t be imported to Australia. Keep track on the news pages of automotive websites. Perhaps we are being overly optimistic, but we feel Skoda may become better regarded in Australia some time in which case the currently low prices may cease. Make up your own mind, but it's possible you may be onto a winner in today’s market. Skoda often operates in Australia through semi-autonomous dealerships that are separate from Volkswagen ones. However, VW dealers can do repairs if you're in an area without a representative from the Czech Republic. Insurance charges are generally about average for this class, as always it’s worth shopping around, but make sure you do accurate comparisons between companies. WHAT TO LOOK FOR A full service history by a Skoda dealer or a qualiďŹ ed mechanic is a sensible move. Ideally genuine Skoda parts should have been used during any servicing and repairs. Headlights may have moisture inside them, a sign of poor sealing. Potentially dangerous if you're driving at night, so have them replaced. Previous repairs to body damage should be to a high standard. Again, have a professional do the checks if you’re doubtful. Either that or ďŹ nd another Rapid. Scratches and tears in the luggage area, may mean a Rapid has done some heavyduty cargo hauling. Engines that have been running on lower
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grade fuel may be down on power. Recommended petrol is usually 95 octane, check that on the sticker on the car or in the handbook. The six-speed double-clutch automated manual had problems, check the changes are smooth and fast. However, at very low speeds they may be slow and jerky, if you feel this is too bad have it checked by an expert. The seven-speed DSG is less troublesome. Check all electrical items work correctly as Skoda / Volkswagen has problems in this area from time to time.
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EXPECT TO PAY $5000 TO $9000: 2014 Skoda Rapid Ambition 77 TSI $7000 TO $11,000: 2014 Ambition 90TSI or a 2016 92 TSI $8000 TO $12,000: 2017 92 TSI $9000 TO $14,000: 2016 92 TSI Monte Carlo $13,000 TO $19,000: 2015 120 Edition $15,000 TO $22,000: 2017 120 Edition
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