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TH E WR AP

Production car acceleration record, Mustang Dark Horse details, a ver y expensive BMW M3 and a whole lot more

CORVET TE TO BU ILD AN SUV

Why hold all that badge equit y for one body st yle? GM figures if Mustang can spawn an SUV, then an E V ’ Vet te crossover is a no-brainer

FOR D F -150’S LOC AL DE VE LOPM E NT

Shif ting the steering column over to the right is just the star t of it Ford’s big 4x4 ute is copping a You Yangs tor ture test

MODE RN CL A SSIC

Honda’s S2000 had development resources thrown at it like confet ti, and the result was a 9000rpm screamer unlike any thing else

VOLK S WAG E N A M AROK

Co-development with the class-leading Ford Ranger was a great star t, but V W ’s new 4x4 is out to push fur ther upmarket

N ISSAN X-TR AIL

The atmo power train may carr y over, but elsewhere there’s plent y to elevate this generation over its medium-SUV rivals

LE XUS R Z 450 e

Electric SUV ditches the steering rack for a by-wire system operated by a yoke But is it a dynamic turn for the best ?

H ON DA CIVIC E:H E V L X HYBR ID

Quiet achiever at tempts to justif y the $55K asking price

N I SSAN PATH F I N D E R

Large SUV claims to be of f-road capable, but works way bet ter in range-topper Ti guise when specced as a seven-seater

M E R C E D E S - A M G C63 S E

Mechanically, this hybrid four-pot is unrecognisable from the outgoing t win-turbo V8, so no surprises the same goes for the driving experience

H O N DA C I V I C T Y PE R

Less of an automotive manga comic book character than its predecessor, but this one has even greater superpowers

TOYOTA CO RO LL A C R OSS v R I VA L S

Frugal hybrid newcomer takes on Kia Niro S, Mazda CX-30 and Honda HR-V e:HE V L If you need a compact SUV with a small thirst, you’ll find it here

I N S I D E H OT W H E E L S

Ho w a r ange o f t o y c ar s gr e w t o bec ome a glob al phenomenon, and w h y de signer s lik e Ian C allum ha v e r emained hooked

TOYOTA A E 86 M E E T S G R86

Toyota’s light weight coupe from the ’80s has become a cult classic for its driving purit y So how much did it influence its modern-day namesake?

F I R S T D R I V E S

Proudly Australian Made Since 1928

PROUDLY AUSTRALIAN MADE

Built in Australia , for Australia

Since 1928, we ’ ve been designing and building our iconic blue and yellow bat teries right here in Australia . They are built from the ground up to bet ter suit Australia’s e x treme climate and har sh conditions B e cause w e k now the road ahead isn ’t al w ay s going to b e eas y

A N D Y E N R I G H T

IS THE END ALMOST NIGH FOR JAGUAR?

JAGUAR LAND ROVER’S boss, Thierry Bolloré, has walked away from the company, ostensibly “for personal reasons”. Hmm. With him goes his Reimagine plan to reinvent Jaguar as a Bentley-rivalling EV marque, lifting the brand sharply upmarket in the process.

It’s always somewhat disorientating when a brand stretches either radically up or downmarket, but the public perception of these two strategies is markedly different Ford’s secondgen Mondeo was hailed as one of the landmark cars in its class, but when Jaguar rebodied the Mondeo’s bones to create the more affordable X-Type, it was widely derided

It wasn’t that the X-Type was a bad car Far from it It just didn’t mesh with what buyers expected from Jaguar People tend to remember failed down-market brand stretches and associate them with naked opportunism, cynicism and untrustworthiness Aston Martin Cygnet, anybody? On the other hand, research has shown that perceptions of failed up-market brand stretches are far more favourable.

Bolloré’s upmarket vision also served to kill off the nearly finished XJ and the nascent J-Pace, two Jaguar projects into which millions had been poured, in favour of a radical policy that not only leapfrogged the hybrid phase that most premium manufacturers are stepping through, but which also managed to squander much of the investment already made in the I-Pace EV platform It was in equal part brave and baffling

Now it seems that Bolloré’s didactic style of management, glacial pace in effecting change and reluctance from TATA once they’d seen the investment required to bring a low-volume, high-risk plan to fruition, have contrived to hasten his exit Enter JLR finance guy Adrian Mardell to pick up the pieces.

So where does this leave JLR? While the recent launch of the Range Rover could have been handled better and Land Rover’s reliability stats remain somewhere near class-worst, Land Rover as a marque remains a huge global money spinner. Jaguar, not so much. The blame for that certainly can’t be laid at Bolloré’s door, his year and change in tenure following a decade where previous CEO Ralph Speth oversaw the introduction of product lines that, sadly, weren’t good enough

Even in its home market, Jaguar is outsold by the likes of BMW and Audi by a factor approaching 20 times In order to convince buyers to choose the brand, it needs to be better than its German rivals while operating on a sliver of their development budget The notion of challenging them head-on just doesn’t add up, which was the inspiration for Bolloré’s asymmetric attack with Reimagine

Ultimately, he presented a plan that had merit and was employed to execute it, but the financial hurdles have appeared insurmountable Jaguar finds itself in a position where the badge retains a certain equity, but the product portfolio is ageing and there’s no communication of a cohesive product strategy to execute.

At the time of going to press, Jaguar had sold 695 cars here in 2022, outsold by newbies like Polestar and Cupra What’s more, JLR is now facing a local and potentially costly class action over defective diesel particulate filters

The path ahead for Jaguar is anything but assured It could conceivably end up a premium badge worn by luxury Land Rover products That’d be a sorry end for a company with such a rich and storied heritage

Adrian Mardell may yet play a blinder but, from here, the odds look far from promising

30

FRESH FACTS

THINGS IN THE CAR WORLD WE LEARNED THIS MONTH

1. That’s fast! The McMurtry Speirling has been performance tested and it has recorded 0-97km/h in 1 4 seconds and a quarter mile time of 7 97 seconds Berserk

2. El and back. Shelby has won a case against Denice Shakarian Helicki, widow of Gone in 60 Seconds director E B Halicki over trademark rights to the name Eleanor

3. Puro-pause. Ferrari has put the brakes on sales of its $728K Purosangue SUV in Australia, as local demand threatens to blow out the order bank

4. Ouch. One speed camera in a 30km/h zone in Liverpool, NSW raked in $2 5m in 7 months

5. 4-star general. Honda’s HR-V has scored a mere four stars in its ANCAP rating It scored below the five star pass marks in Child Occupant Protection and in Safety Assist

DAYS I S A LO N G T I M E I N T H E M OTO R I N G WO R L D W E ’ V E C O M P I L E D T H E I M P O RTA N T B I TS YO U N E E D TO K N OW

t an g w i t h o u t f o r c e d in du c t io n o r a S h elb y b a d g e Mu s t an g h a s al w a y s p u s h e d t h e e n v elo p e Fr o m Mu s t an g G T t o D ar k Ho r s e , t his is o ur b e s t 5 0 - li t r e V 8 y e t I t ’s n a t ur all y a s pir a t e d a w e s o m e n e s s ” s aid E d K r e n z t h e Mu s t an g c hie f e n gin e e r, s om e w h a t imm o d e s t l y

C U P R A H A S f in a ll y r e v e a l e d d e t a il s o f i t s B o r n e l e c t r i c h a t c h , w i t h o r d e r b o o k s o p e n in g o n D e c e m b e r 19 t h T h e p r i c e ? Yo u r s f o r $ 5 9 , 9 9 0 p l u s o n - r o a d s I t ’s s t ill t h e c h e a p e s t E V f r o m a E u r o p e a n b r a n d , t h o u g h , a n d t h e 17 0 k W/ 310 N m f i v ed o o r h a t c h i s p o w e r e d b y a n 8 2 k W h b a t t e r y a n d s e n d s d r i v e e x c l u s i v e l y t o t h e r e a r w h e e l s f o r a 7 0 s e c 0 -10 0 t im e B u y e r s c a n g e t a $ 26 0 0 P e r f o r m a n c e P a c k w h i c h u p g r a d e s t h e 19in c h w h e e l s t o 2 0 - in c h i t e m s w i t h P il o t S p o r t 4 r u b b e r a n d a d d s a d y n a m i c E S C m o d e A l t e r n a t i v e l y t h e r e ’s a $ 2 9 0 0 I n t e r i o r P a c k f e a t u r in g D in a m i c a u p h o l s t e r y, 1 2- w a y a d j u s t a b l e s e a t s w i t h m a s s a g e a n d a n in e - s p e a k e r B e a t s s t e r e o D r i v in g r a n g e i s 511k m , d r o p p in g t o 475 k m w i t h t h e P e r f o r m a n c e P a c k

I T D OE S N ’ T s e e m t o o lo n g a g o t h a t t h e E 36 M3 w a s t h e M3 t h a t B M W lik e d t o f o r g e t ab o u t , mu c h lik e a c o u sin w h o li v e s lo c all y w h o h a s a c o n v ic t io n f o r mis t r e a t in g p e t s n ak e s B u t i t s e e m s t h a t w e , t h e p e o ple , h a v e s p o k e n an d w e c an h ap pil y s w e e p s u c h m a t t er s b en e a t h t h e c ar p e t an d p a y A $ 4 5 4 K f or on e T h a t ’s w h a t a D ak ar Yello w 1997 M3 Ev olu t io n c o up e w i t h 2752k m o n t h e c lo c k f e t c h e d a t au c t io n in Munic h , e a sil y o u t s t r ip pin g t h e $ 3 4 9K f o r a 2018 P o r s c h e 911 G T 3 R S In t h e s am e au c t io n a 20 0 3 E4 6 M3 C S L r

McLAREN HOCKS THE CROWN JEWELS

IN ORDER T O s t av e o f f a c ash cr unch, McL ar en has t aken to selling s ome o f i t s her i t age v ehicle s and t hen lic ensing t hem back T he y ’ll s t ay at t he s ame Wok ing HQ i t sold in 2021 and le as ed back McL ar en hasn’ t r e v e aled w hich c ar s hav e been s old, bu t i t s 5 4- c ar c ollec tion include s F 1 c ar s dr i v en b y t he like s o f L auda, P r o s t , Senna, Hak k inen and Hamil ton and, in i t s 2021 annual r epor t w as valued at w hat s ounds a v er y c ons er vati v e A $62m

Corvette to build SUV

GM’S PLANS TO LEVERAGE ITS ICONIC SPORTSCAR BADGE INTO NEW TERRITORY

FOLLOWING YEARS of speculation, it appears General Motors will spin off the Corvette nameplate into a dedicated sub-brand.

Car and Driver reports that the current C8 Corvette sports car will be joined by a four-door coupe and a performance SUV – both all-electric – due in 2025

GM has already confirmed plans to launch electrified versions of the C8, with an all-wheel-drive hybrid set to be revealed later this year

The move will see General Motors

Below: We like it Whether it merits a Corvette badge, on the other hand

compete with Porsche, providing models to take on the likes of the Taycan and upcoming Macan EV in a bid to improve the profitability of the world-famous Corvette nameplate

An electric SUV with a wellknown sports car nameplate is also the formula for the Ford Mustang Mach-E; however, the Corvette SUV will be a far more premium proposition with, naturally, a significantly higher price tag

Both vehicles are expected to be underpinned by GM’s latest Ultium electric vehicle architecture,

as found underneath the GMC Hummer, Chevrolet Silverado EV and Cadillac Lyriq (Along with Honda’s new overseas Prologue, as part of a partnership project )

The report claims the four-door coupe and the SUV are “copies of nothing”, with high-density batteries, faster software, a “patented cooling concept” and an 800-volt electrical system providing 350kW charging capability

In addition, Car and Driver’s source claims the Corvette-branded vehicles will feature “staggered, Lego-like topog raphic packaging,

miniaturised componentry, ultraefficient inverters, [and] highrevving electric motors.”

A two-speed transmission, brakeby-wire, four-wheel steering and torque vectoring are also expected.

Detailed technical specifications are yet to be finalised, but the forthcoming Cadillac Celestiq – GM’s flagship electric vehicle with a price tag similar to the Bentley Flying Spur – produces 447kW and 868Nm

It features a dual-motor, allwheel-drive set-up and a 111kWh lithium-ion battery pack, with a 483-kilometre driving range and a claimed 0-60mph (0-97km/h) time of 3 8 seconds

However GM’s Ultium EV platform allows some 19 different motor and battery combinations, so there’s vast scope to configure the Corvette SUV to anything from high performance to, well, ludicrous

Earlier this year, General Motors’ design team showcased a swoopy electric SUV sketch on social media, providing a hint at the design

direction of a high-riding Corvette

In terms of dimensions, expect the SUV to be more crossover than typical SUV wagon – think Lamborghini Urus in terms of proportions, with rear-seat headroom compromised to allow a suitably rakish roofline

GM has committed to spending US$35 billion to introduce 30 EVs by 2025, at which point it expects to be building more than 1 million electric vehicles a year in North America alone The company claims to be targeting an all-electric vehicle line-up by 2035

As for an all-electric version of the C8 Corvette, it’s unknown if it will utilise Ultium batteries within the current vehicle’s mid-engine architecture, or switch to the brand’s dedicated EV platform.

It’s expected to launch in 2024, with a trio of electric motors and all-wheel drive as standard

J O R D A N H I C K E Y

ULTIUM BATTERIES, DEVELOPED

by LG Chem, use pouch-type cells that package energy more densely than cylinders can They weigh about 1 3kg each, hold 0 37kWh of energy, can be arranged vertically or horizontally to suit space requirements, and are typically bundled into 24-cell modules, a design that is claimed to ease both reuse and recycling

IN AN INTERVIEW with Automotive News back in 2019, former GM executive Bob Lutz shared his thoughts about how GM could leverage the Corvette badge [If I were still at GM], I would develop a dedicated architecture –super lightweight, super powerful – for a medium-volume Corvette SUV,” Lutz said “Price it starting at US$100,000 Gorgeous interior No low-end version It has to be the stellar premium sport-utility made in the USA, and the Corvette brand could pull that off ”

F-150’s tough Aussie welcome

THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE flagship of Ford’s F-150 line-up is the Raptor R, a ute with a seriously sharp set of talons and a sub-five-second 0-100km/h time It’s powered by a 5 2-litre supercharged V8 borrowed from the Mustang Shelby GT500, retuned for less peak power but more torque to better suit the 4x4 application

Fitted to the Raptor R it makes 522kW and 867Nm, figures which put it near enough to line-ball with the 523kW/882Nm Ram 1500 TRX sold here for just under $200,000

So could the Raptor R join the two confirmed F-150 variants in Australia?

Ali Jammoul, global vehicle program director for

F O R D’S L A R G E 4 x 4 U T E U N D E R G O E S LO C A L D U R A B I L I T Y T E S T I N G; D U E M I D -Y E A R

NINE LAPS OF the Aussie map. That’s 135,000km, which is the distance Ford Australia reckons it put on its locally converted right-hand-drive F-150s that have undergone durability testing at the You Yangs proving ground in Victoria in preparation for the large 4x4 ute’s local launch later this year

Ford says the F-150 has been punished with extreme temperatures, trailer towing, water crossings, ultrafine sand, mud and corrosion tests

“When F-150 hits Australian showrooms, customers can rest assured it has been put through the same local durability prog ram as the Ranger and Everest which, of course, is the same prog ram the left-hand-drive F-150 went through in the States,” says Dave Burn, Performance and Customisation Chief Prog ram Engineer for Ford Australia

“We’ve torture-tested, tuned and re-worked the right-hand-drive F-150 so that Aussie customers know they’re getting the full factory F-150 experience ”

The F-150’s durability prog ram has been conducted at Ford’s Silver Creek Road track, while some of the world’s “most punishing roads” were replicated in the laboratory with the F-150’s driveline, steering, wheels and suspension tested on a kinematic and compliance rig

Ford Australia has confirmed we’ll get XLT and Lariat spec g rades when the big unit is launched locally, expected to be around the middle of this year Both models will be powered by a 3 5-litre EcoBoost V6 (which, in US spec, makes 294kW/680Nm), mated to a 10-speed automatic, and each will be available two configurations: 3683mm short wheelbase (SWB) with a 1676mm

load box and 3987mm long wheelbase (LWB) with a 1981mm load box.

The F-150 will be remanufactured to right-hand drive by RMA Automotive at a facility in Mickleham, Victoria.

Comparisons with the current Ford Ranger highlight the F-150’s advantages for towing and payload capability Maximum braked towing capacity for the F-150 is 4500kg; the 2023 Ford Ranger is a full 1000kg down on this at 3500kg

The US-spec F-150 has a payload capacity of up to 1508kg, compared to 951kg for the Ranger

As for dimensions, the F-150 Lariat SuperCrew measures 6185mm long, 2029mm wide, and 1971mm high. For comparison, the Ranger’s

Chevrolet Silverado is powered by a 6 2-litre V8 good for 313kW/624Nm, backed by a 10-speed automatic

Will the F-150 be hamstrung by having only six cylinders and a relatively small capacity in a segment where image counts for plenty?

Fact is, the Ford’s boosted engine makes comparable peak power to both its Ram and Chevrolet rivals, and, with around 680Nm (at least in US spec; Australian output TBC) is actually stronger than both in terms of maximum torque, and delivers the twist across a flatter curve

Ford Australia is understandably bullish about the F-150’s prospects with Aussie buyers It claims that its dealers are holding 8000 expressions of

measurements are 5370/1918/1884mm

We don’t know at this stage what standard equipment will be fitted to Aussie F-150s, but there is no shortage of notable options available in the US, including onboard scales, which allow the multimedia to display the total weight being carried in the vehicle. The system can even use the taillights to function as indicators to display when you’re close to nudging maximum payload in the tray

So how does the F-150 compare to its ‘full-siz e’ ute rivals from Ram and Chevrolet? Both are also locally converted to RHD, and both are powered by atmo V8s The Ram 1500 runs a 5 7-litre petrol V8 developing 291kW and 556Nm hooked to an eightspeed automatic transmission The

interest in the vehicle, despite no price guidance at this stage

The strength of local demand for large 4x4 utes has been proven by Ram and Chevrolet, both of which achieved record local sales in 2022 At the end of November, Ram had sold 5520 vehicles, putting it on track to exceed 6000 for the year, while Chevrolet – sold by General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) – had delivered 2045 Silverados with one month remaining in 2022.

How strongly the F-150 sells in Australia will be crucial in dictating whether Ford can establish a local business case for other F-150 variants, like the electric Lightning and the performance-focused Raptor

Ford Performance, had this to say on the possibility of a locally converted F-150 Raptor: “If the opportunity is there; if we can make financial sense out of it, and it’s the right fit in the market strategically, we’ll do it Right now we have no plans but hey, never say never ”

A S H W E S T E R M A N

The F-150 has been punished with extreme temperatures, trailer towing and water crossings

T H E N E W M E T A L H E A D I N G O U R W A Y

DUE Q3

AUDI Q8 E-TRON

In a bid to quell E-Tron confusion, Audi has renamed its large electric SUV the Q8 E-Tron The name change coincides with an update of the EV, which brings a bunch of useful improvements, including a larger, more energydense battery and more efficient motors Result is a range increase of around 170km for the 55 Quattro Sportback, now good for 600km

KIA EV6 GT

By now you probably know that Kia’s range-topping EV will be both its fastest-ever car by a huge margin, and its most expensive How much? The sum of $99,590 has been leaked to a price guide but is yet to be confirmed

J AC T 9

Australia’s crowded ute market is about to get another entrant, with importer for Chinese brand JAC announcing that it’s set to launch the diesel-powered T9 model in June, with an EV version to follow in 2024 The T9 is powered by a 2 0-litre four making 125kW/410Nm, runs an eight-speed auto, and will be priced to target rivals from GWM and LDV, suggesting a span of $35K-$50K

AU D I E -T R O N GT

Our first Aussie drive of Ingolstadt’s flagship EV will be underway as you read this Two variants are offered: the GT with 350kW and 630Nm at $181,700, but it’s the 440kW RS GT, at $229,700, that’s grabbing headlines

Cupra Born

Lotus Emira Mazda CX-60

Mercedes-Benz EQE Nissan Qashqai Peugeot 308

Subaru Solterra Toyota bZ4X

SUMMARY

November was a solid month for new-car sales in Australia, with almost all leading brands posting good growth throughout the 30 days

It was also another notable achievement for some of the Chinese players such as MG and GWM, which continued to take top10 spots, knocking out more established rivals Furthermore, another Chinese newcomer – electric vehicle maker BYD –entered the sales charts for the first time

It was a stronger November than last year, with 95,080 units registered compared to 80,639 this time in 2021. It puts the market up 18 percent for the month and 2 3 percent up with 22,080 more vehicles sold year-to-date

Though most Top 10 brands posted positive results, Hyundai suffered the biggest drop at 20 percent down, while Toyota and Mazda managed to swing things in the other direction, up 32 and 43 percent respectively during the period

1 Toyot a Hilux 54 4 0 4228

2 Ford Ranger 5073 4 429

3 Toyot a Corolla 3732 210 4

4 MG ZS 3051 1576

5 Toyot a R AV4 2282 1820

6 Mazda CX-5 1949 79 0

7 Mit subishi Outlander 1875 1633

8 Kia Spor t age 184 4 686

9 Tesla Model Y 1805 0

10 Hyundai Tuc son 1734 1541

11 Isuzu D Max 4x4 1580 14 07

12 Mit subishi Triton 4x4 1498 738

13 Toyot a L andCruiser 1477 671

14 MG MG3 1453 1366

15 Hyundai i30 1355 2254

16 Ford Everest 1312 1038

17 Isuzu MU -X 1218 731

18 Subaru Forester 1215 559

19 Mazda CX-3 1207 524

20 Mazda BT 50 1096 877

Subaru set to bounce back

Around five years ago, Subaru Australia was a brand at its peak In 2017, the company shifted over 52,000 cars and claimed 4 4 percent of the overall market But supply-chain issues in 2022 have seen it record its lowest market share (YTD) in 20 years However managing director Blair Read says the stock situation is improving, and with new models like Crosstrek and Outback XT about to launch, the MD points to a strong November as the real barometer for the brand in 2023

It’s been a spectacular debut for newly launched BYD, with the Chinese brand becoming the second-highest-selling EV manufacturer in November Despite only having one model available in Australia – the Atto 3 small SUV – BYD shifted 845 units, pushing YTD sales past 1000 Its response? Raise the price, of course A hike of $3630 takes the Extended Range just past $50K

COTY HEROES AND VILLAINS

AS WE APPROACH another Wheels Car of the Year, I’ve been given to mulling over the past results While I’m not sure that COTY has ever been awarded to a bad car per se, there certainly have been some winners that were stronger than others

With that in mind, I’d like to group the winners into three brackets Tier One are the absolute stars; the cars that were always going to win and which could have come back the next year and repeated the feat Tier Two are strong winners who deserved the award Tier Three are pretty unexceptional but possibly worthy, while Tier Four are the genuine ‘what were they thinking?’ cars.

TIER ONE 1968: Holden HK Monaro; 1971 Chrysler Valiant Charger; 1978: Holden VB Commodore; 1981 Mercedes

S-Class; 1989: Mazda NA MX-5; 1990: Lexus LS400; 1996 Mitsubishi TE Magna; 2002: Ford BA Falcon; 2004: Ford Territory; 2006: Holden VE Commodore; 2013: VW Golf 7; 2018: Volvo XC60;

TIER

TWO

1964: Morris 1100; 1965 Ford XP Falcon; 1966 Ford XR Falcon; 1967: Chrysler VE Valiant; 1969: Holden LC Torana; 1969: Renault 12; 1975: Holden TX Gemini; 1976: VW Golf; 1977: Honda Accord; 1980: Mazda 323; 1985: Mitsubishi TM Magna; 1997 Holden VT Commodore; 2000: Subaru Impreza; 2005: Mazda MC MX-5; 2008: Honda Accord Euro; 2009: VW Golf 6; 2012: Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ; 2016: Mazda ND MX-5; 2019: Volvo XC40; 2022: Kia EV6

TIER THREE

1963: Renault 8; 1973: Leyland P76 V8; 1974: VW Passat; 1982 Holden JB Camira; 1983: Ford Telstar/Mazda 626; 1987: Honda Prelude 4WS; 1988 Holden VN Commodore;

1991: Honda NSX/Nissan N14 Pulsar; 1992: Ford Telstar/Mazda 626; 1992: Holden VR Commodore; 1994: Subaru Liberty; 1995: Honda Odyssey; 1998: Subaru Liberty Wagon; 1999: Mercedes S-Class; 2001: Holden XC Barina; 2003: Mazda RX-8; 2007: Mercedes C-Class; 2010: VW Polo; 2017: Mazda CX-9; 2021: Mazda CX-30

TIER FOUR

1984: Mitsubishi Nimbus; 2011: Honda CRZ; 2014: BMW i3; 2020: Mercedes EQC

So, only four cloggers in 69 years and a whole bunch of very worthy champions Not a bad record Hasten to add, this is merely my opinion Your mileage may vary Steve Barton, Beaconsfield, Vic

It’s true that some COTY fields are inherently stronger than others and that only one car can win, so a vehicle that comes second or third one year could have won if it had been launched a year earlier or later. Vice versa, too. What are your picks for the years no award was bestowed? – Ed

K eep i t tigh t (no mor e t han 2 00 w or ds) and do include y our subur b if v ia email: w heels@ w heelsmag c om au You c an also hav e y our s ay on Fac ebook , Ins t agr am or Tw i t ter (se ar ch f or Wheels A us t r alia)

G O A H E A D , T E L L U S W H A T Y O U R E A L L Y T H I N K

“I’m not sure that COTY has ever been awarded to a bad car per se... ”

DISH THE DIRT

DEAR WHEELS, I need to read about everything automotive, not just the latest hatchback I was a keen reader of MOTOR not because I had a need for a rocketship but because of a need to know what the future held for the performance vehicle

I don’t need to know what tracks to drive in the Outback but I do need to know the details of all manner of available vehicles to better inform my choice, because one thing Australia lacks is endless bitumen. When it stops I sometimes need to keep going

So keep up the great work and include 4WDs in Wheels please, it’s a need to know that I know I need Noel Youngman, Dalkeith, WA You’ll love what’s about to land in the Wheels garage, then, Noel. – Ed

BETTER CALL RON

IT SEEMS that Mike Stevens is almost critical of the WRX Sportswagon (Wheels, Garage) needing a minimum of 95 RON fuel Wheels should be campaigning instead for the deletion of 91 RON from our service stations – all the other First World countries have done so

Modern high-compression engines require 95 or even 98 RON Idiots detune our cars so that they will tolerate 91 RON petrol robbing Australian vehicles of the power and the lower fuel consumption they are capable of Further, 91 is dirty –the high sulphur content is turned into sulphuric acid in the engine’s

combustion process which goes into the atmosphere, as well as the engine oil causing corrosion

Getting rid of that 91 RON pump will simplify things and bring down the fuel price – theoretically?

Bev Hall, Narrikup, WA

UP AND GONE

GIVEN THE interview with VW Group boss Paul Sansom written by Kathryn Fisk (Wheels, December), it would seem very relevant to write another piece on the truth behind his departure

His predecessor Michael Bartsch was sent off to the USA immediately following the record fine of $125 million by the ACCC and now Paul Sansom leaves after only 11 months

In management we use the truism that “where there’s smoke you will find a fire” It would be a great story

given the dubious record of the VW Group in the last few years

No senior appointee just gets up and leaves after 11 months without extremely strong motivation by the parties involved.

Just an interesting aside, there has been zero discussion about VW customers and what they think of VW If you dig into this subject

I believe you will find many dead bodies

Doug Croker, Mindarie, WA What do VW buyers think? According to VFACTS data, since Dieselgate broke in 2015, VW’s Australian share has declined by 46.2%.

Compare that to Hyundai (-21.6%), Kia (+151.7%), Mazda (-11.1%) and Toyota (+21.3%) – Ed

WE LOVE POTS

I READ WITH interest Ash

Westerman’s column (Backmarker, November) about these new-design radial engines from Radial Motion in Adelaide

My suggestion is: why not make it really completely different? Do what the rotary guys do and rack ’ em up!

Two or even three banks A 4 0-litre six-cylinder or 6 0-litre nine-cylinder Add a low-blow supercharger or turbo and, boom, 300 to 500hp and good torque too, unlike Wankel designs

This is a very exciting piece of ICE engineering I love it!

Mark Keys, Gold Coast, Qld Sounds like you and Radial Motion are on the same page, Mark. The company has plans for a 4.0-litre six, and is already developing a supercharged version of the threecylinder layout. – Ash

If you don’t want another bloody SUV, there’s a lot to be said for small hatches If viable business cases can be made for Polo, Yaris, Mini and i20 then surely Fiesta did enough to warrant a stay of execution?

Paul Ng, NSW

TOO RIGHT

The question

SADLY NOT

I know that stats can be made to show almost anything, but the Fiesta nameplate has been on the slide since 2015 The market has evolved and Ford is right to choose to move on Time to let it go Frazer Martin, Vic

H A S F O R D M A D E A M I S T A K E I N K I L L I N G O F F T H E F I E S T A ?

“Wheels should be campaigning for the deletion of 91 RON”

D A N I E L

G A R D N E R

Squeaky Wheel

RENAULT SCENIC STERRATO, ANYONE?

AS A GENERAL rule, I like car people, but in the last few months it has become clear that we are all a bunch of shameless hypocrites. Only in recent years have the most staunch and evangelical car enthusiasts started accepting that SUVs might actually be okay – myself included – but it’s taken decades for high-riders to shake off the reputation that they’re unnecessary, flawed motoring follies for the thoughtless Indeed, for many years SUVs deserved to be scoffed at by people who really knew what driving was about and those who intimately understood the dynamic, safety, economy and aesthetic compromises that were necessary to create the early examples So why is it that the first-generation Holden Cruze, Volvo V70 Cross-Country and Ford EcoSport copped the flak and mire they absolutely deserved for being dreadful caricatures, but everyone is frothing about the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato?

Just like the universally horrible 2000 Renault Scenic RX4, for example, the Sterrato has a raised ride height, chunkier tyres, some plastic added to the body that no one at Lamborghini could be bothered to paint, plus roof rails, a bash plate and some extra lights dotted about the place. The only reason to climb behind the wheel of the RX4 was so you didn’t have to look at it anymore, yet the Huracan Sterrato is having a decidedly aphrodisiac effect among the motoring community It’s the same for the Porsche 911 Dakar that emerged shortly before the Huracan, and the Alpine A110 SportsX concept

Actually, it’s been going on for a while but each time another sports car manufacturer conceives a new variant that pertains to go off road, the world laps it up like it isn’t exactly the same

evolution of the SUV that every petrolhead vocally hated

There is, however, a distinct difference.

Unlike the often woeful early SUVs which claimed to have 4x4 DNA in their fabric, vehicles like the Sterrato make no attempt to draw a line between blocky off-road vehicles like the Toyota Landcruiser and Jeep Wrangler – or even its own Urus stablemate Instead, this fascinating new and highly niche class of high-performance car has far more in common with the glorious sport of rally Rather than crawling over a rock garden or wading muddy swamps with water up to the driver’s eyes, these vicious variants are still about going fast And who wouldn’t fall in love with the promise of tearing across open savannahs or forest trails where the prying eyes of the law are far behind bound by an urban jungle and its speed bumps and cameras

In one particular way, this emerging genre of road-legal rally supercars is paradoxically opposite to the SUV, and this possibly explains why they are resonating so sweetly with the car community. While mainstream cars including SUVs are increasingly being asked to wear many hats and perform many duties all in the one package, it’s heartwarming to see some manufacturers breaking the mould in spectacular style. There really is only one thing you can do in a 44mm jacked-up Huracan with knobbly tyres and a special Strada off-road mode

It’s sad to think that the Sterrato will likely be one of the last pure-combustion applications for the glorious 5 2-litre V10, but the sound of its demon howl echoing through the forest with the Lambo’s 20-inch alloys and tall sidewall tyres on the lock-stops is the way I want to always remember it

TRAVEL IS GOOD for a great many things It exposes you to new people, new cultures, new cuisines and new languages, but perhaps most importantly it whips you out of the bubble that is your life to show you how the rest of the world lives theirs.

I recently returned from a six-week trip to Japan where I spent quite a lot of time driving around, and after two solid weeks of driving tight city backstreets, regular urban roads, expressways, toll roads, rural highways, curvaceous mountain touge and winding coastal scenic routes, there was one constant I noted: Japanese drivers care not for speed limits

Almost every single one of them A casual disregard for speed limits is practically universal in that country

That may surprise a lot of you We tend to think of Japan as a nation populated by polite and demure people with an enthusiasm for rule-following, but the stereotype gets at least partially shattered when they slip behind the wheel They’re still polite – let one in front of you on a highway merge and you’ll receive at least three flashes of their hazard lights in gratitude (four if you were being especially nice) – but when it comes to keeping to the numbers on the speed signs it seems that the typical Japanese driver simply doesn’t give a toss.

Yet Japanese roads are far from anarchic Traffic tends to flow reasonably well considering how small most of the roads are and the volume of cars trying to use them, and it seems to boil down to one thing: Japanese drivers are more chilled out and far less aggressive than the typical Aussie motorist, and I reckon a lot of it has to do with how speeding is enforced

Speed cameras exist in Japan, and so do cops with radar guns However, it’s generally understood that fixed speed cameras have an especially high tolerance before they’ll actually

activate (the threshold is at least 30km/h over the speed limit in Tokyo, and 40km/h on highways), and the police usually won’t chase down a speeder unless they’re breaking the limit by a similarly egregious amount. The idea of getting a ticket for being 4km/h over is literally a foreign concept to the Japanese.

And that’s great, because generally speaking Japan’s speed limits are horrifically low. Residential streets are usually between 30-50km/h, and even the Bayshore expressway, a multi-lane divided highway that connects Tokyo to Yokohama with many arrow-straight runs, is limited to just 80km/h Progress would be glacial if you had to stick to those speeds, but thankfully hardly anyone does As a result, everyone seems just that little bit more relaxed Overtaking is safe and brief which makes lane discipline work, faster drivers are clear to move ahead, slower drivers can take things at their own pace –everyone is happy

Who knew that not having to watch my speedometer with the ferocious intensity of a coke-snorting hawk would result a less stressful drive? Subtracting the threat of being done by a camouflaged ‘safety’ camera for driving 1.3756km/h over the limit is definitely good for a driver’s mental wellbeing, while also allowing precious neurons to be redeployed to other tasks like, say, not mowing over the ramen delivery scooter that’s riding halfway inside your lane

Coming back home was a brutal wake-up The Irish author George Moore wrote that a man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it”, but sadly I’m yet to locate anything approaching Japan’s sensibly flexible approach to speed enforcement in Australia Unfortunately, I probably never will

Overrun

M O D E R N C L A S S I C

H O N D A

THE ALLURE of the Honda S2000 is a peculiar one To speak personally, it s always been one of deep respect, if anything, falling somewhere short of outright fandom As someone who grew up living and breathing all things ‘golden era JDM’, Honda’s technical masterpiece always hovered in my periphery

Unlike many of its peers, it was never known for any notable period motorsport accolades, and it was never in the same conversation as GT-Rs, Supras or the other turbocharged powerhouses

Strip away all the clout and hype so rife in today’s late-model Japanese car scene, and the Honda S2000 has always been known for one simple thing Being a bloody brilliant driver ’ s car

Then why, when speaking to the owner of this meticulously curated example you see before you, did he admit to feeling somewhat underwhelmed by that initial test drive around the block? It’s a familiar story I’ve heard from multiple owners over the years

Well, just like that famous tachometer-tearing engine, this car is all about the heights And the deeper you dig under the surface, the clearer it becomes that the path of bringing this car to market was an engineeringled one, barely influenced by the marketing department, and that the development choices for this unique vehicle were singular and deliberate

In today’s age of modular platforms, technical alliances and joint-venture development, the S2000 emerges as a statement of capability and a feat of engineering that’s unlikely to ever be repeated

IThe S2000 appeared at a time when Honda’s enthusiast portfolio was at an all-time high The first-gen NSX was still being sold and gems like the EP3 Civic Type R, the Integra Type R and the Euro Accord Type R were in showrooms In ‘99 the company even unveiled the astonishingly agile Stream seven-seater, replete with K20A VTEC and a five-speed manual

Sadly, the good days weren’t to last The S2000 represented Honda’s 50th birthday present to itself and when its lifecycle ended and production ceased after a ten-year run, there followed an explicit pivot towards more fuel-efficient and economical cars, kicking off Honda s dreary phase, with

HONDA’S CONVERTIBLE WAS A TECHNICAL M ASTERCL ASS THAT WAS BIG ON THRILLS, LOW ON COMPROMISE

P H O T O S A L A S T A I R B R O O K

no successor to the NSX in the pipeline at that stage, and the iconic Civic Type R going through its awkward teenage years with the sharply styled but soft-boiled, torsion-beam-rear FN2

The fact that much of its technical merit, let alone its nameplate, was never passed on to a successor makes the S2000’s story all the more beguiling While much of the engineering was done in-house, you might find it surprising that the roots of the S2000’s design have an Italian connection

Pininfarina was commissioned by Honda in to produce two roadsters for the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show One of them was a conventionally styled two-seat sports car called the Sports Study Model The concept car boasted a 2 0-litre inline-five (likely a Honda single-cam G-Series used in various Japanese-only models), perfect 50:50 weight distribution, and power going to the rear wheels

You can see a clear link to the eventual S2000 in the concept’s arrow-straight beltline, convex surfacing and long-bonnet, cab-back silhouette The production S2000 emerged a tamer looking machine in comparison to the dramatic concept car, but its underpinnings were no less advanced

As an open-topped sports car, Honda engineers went to great lengths to ensure that body and torsional rigidity would be comparable to an equivalent fixed-head vehicle, with Honda being an early adopter of aluminium construction, and underpinning the S2000 with a highly rigid ‘X-Bone’ chassis, with a large structural spine running the centre of the vehicle The S2000’s chassis was claimed to be lighter and stronger than virtually all sports car rivals of the time, delivering a 2400mm wheelbase with the driver ’ s hip point seated perfectly at the car ’ s longitudinal axis The ‘spine’ is paramount, and looks almost double the width of the similar design adopted by Mazda s current ND MX-5 The S2000 s windscreen itself was also a structural element

The Italian concept’s NSX-derived five-speed automatic was replaced by a six-speed manual transmission come production, but Honda’s flagship supercar did lend its double wishbone suspension design, constructed out of ductile iron with coil sprung gas-filled shocks at each corner and anti-roll bars front and rear

A large contributor to the S2000’s perfect weight distribution was its front-mid engine positioning, centralising the car ’ s mass and contributing to a low yaw moment and increased input

responsiveness In fact, strip away the body, and the rolling chassis of the S2000 is remarkably petite, with that classical long-bonnet silhouette belying the fact that the exotic four-cylinder engine was mounted entirely behind the front axle

And what an engine that was In today’s booming aftermarket crowd, Honda’s F20C isn’t exactly known as a cost-effective base for power builds, but in factory form, it was nothing short of a technical masterclass

The 2 0-litre’s 9000rpm redline made international headlines, but its JDM-spec 184kW output was good for 92 14kW per litre, for a time, the highest specific power output of any normally aspirated production car It took Ferrari and its 2009 458 Italia supercar (at 93 17kW per litre) to wrest that title away

It must be noted that Australian-spec cars made a slightly lower power output, courtesy of a marginally lower compression ratio, given the car s requirement for 95 octane and Australia s-then limited access to high-octane fuels It remains, however, a testament to Honda’s ingenuity that, aside from ultra-low-volume outliers like the BAC Mono, the Honda S2000’s engine remains the most powerful atmo four-cylinder series production engine, regardless of size, ever produced As the industry trends towards the undeniable efficiency and performance benefits of turbocharging and electric augmentation, there’s every chance it will remain as such

It’s here that we should nut out the particular nuances between pre- and post-facelift vehicles, denoted by chassis designations AP1 and AP2, respectively The most notable change overseas was an increase in engine displacement from 2 0-litres, to 2 2-litres

The larger engine yielded no more power, utilising the same 87mm bore diameter Extra swept capacity came courtesy of shifting from an oversquare 84mm stroke to an undersquare design with a longer 90 7mm stroke This delivered the same piston speed mid stroke at 8000rpm as the original 2 0-litre engine did at 9000rpm, subsequently producing peak torque 1000rpm earlier, meeting Honda’s aim of improving ease of use and everyday tractability

It makes sense on paper, but the larger 2 2-litre unit is widely regarded as a less frenetic, and less desirable, engine

The good news, however, is that Australian-delivered S2000s never came with the updated 2 2-litre engine, retaining the gloriously highly strung 2 0-litre ‘F20C’, but gaining other ‘AP2’

THE GOOD

E ngine ’s t op - end and bu z z- s a w ho w l; ge ar box ’s shi f t ac tion ; shar p s t eer ing; handling in v ol v emen t ; punch y br ak e s

THE BAD

L ack of height adjustment for both wheel and seat ; on-limit handling can be spik y ; slow steering; plastic rear window in first-gen cars can turn milk y ; no ESC on early cars

Below: The driving position is compromised due to no height adjustment for seat or wheel Early AP1 cars had windscreen washer button right where your elbow rests on centre console

i g n in g n o t j u s t t h e S p o r t s S t u d y M o d e l f o r t h e 19 9 5 To k y o S h o w, b u t a n o t h e r, m u c h m o r e a r td e c o r o a d s t e r c a ll e d t h e A r g e n t o V i v o A s f o r r o a d - g o in g P in in f a r in a - p e n n e d H o n d a s , t h e s t o r i e d d e s i g n h o u s e i s c r e d i t e d w i t h t h e J a p a n e s e - m a r k e t H o n d a C i t y Tu r b o a n d H o n d a B e a t kei c a r s

updates including new tail lights and a soft fabric roof fitted with a rear glass window, instead of plastic Other developments included softer spring, shock and anti-roll bar rates, larger 17-inch wheels, less aggressive rear toe settings, uprated brakes and the switch to a driveby-wire throttle

With AP2 production commencing in 2004, only a few hundred were ever delivered to Australia, with sales having slowed from its debut-year peak of over 500 in its first full year on sale in 2000

That largely explains why residual values never quite depreciated to the same bargain status as other Japanese sporting contemporaries Despite a global production pool exceeding 110,000 units, Australia accounted for approximately 1800 sales between 1999 and 2009, a mere 1 6 percent of global production

And that’s the crux of the S2000 It never relied on the latest technology like a twin-turbo, four-wheel-steering GT-R, or made use of any mould-breaking technology like a Mazda rotary Instead, Honda’s millennial roadster hung its hat on its unmitigated focus on the driving experience

Seat yourself in the snug cabin, and you can instantly see why The tactile shift action remains world class and the gear lever ’ s proximity to the steering wheel means little time is spent without two hands on the steering wheel The same ethos extends to the air-con fan (left) and audio volume control (right) which have also been designed to be flicked with your fingers while still gripping the wheel Drop down the central radio cover, and it really is only necessities in your field of view

But despite being lauded as one of the all-time great driver s cars,

Honda’s S2000s wasn’t without foibles Early S2000s have a wicked reputation for spiky on-limit behaviour, with eccentric factory geo, slow electrically-assisted steering and no standard stability control fitment Owners often complained about accelerated rear treadwear, given Honda’s less-than-economical factory rear toe settings (up to 6mm in AP1, lowered to 3 7mm in AP2)

The S2000 was never about running costs, however And the vehicle’s biggest market, the US, cared less about Nürburgring lap times than an obsession with lateral G figures In this context, the S2000’s foibles become deliberate developmental decisions, delivering such a high level of mid-corner adhesion that overcommitted drivers were often met with frighteningly large moments if they weren’t keyed into the car Further, its headline power output, matched with its modest 208Nm torque output, meant that the S2000 only came into its own when you were wringing its neck

Honda’s S2000 has always stood confidently on its own, and emerges as an even rarer example of an engineering-led vision brought to market In today’s age of platform sharing and parts commonality, the S2000 exhibits a level of specialised development that exceeds that of even some modern junior supercars

What makes a classic isn’t always about the car or its rarity in and of itself Sometimes, it’s about the rarity of the ethos behind creating the car And the ethos behind the S2000 is something quite special But then birthdays should be indulgences It’s just a shame that we may have to wait a very long time for another Honda with its purity of focus

T H E N E W M E T A L T H A T M A T T E R S , T R I A L L E D A N D T E S T E D

V O L K S W A G E N A M A R O K

DEVELOPED WITH R ANGER; CHARTS ITS OWN COURSE

Volkswagen’s secondgeneration dual-cab ute, due here in April, once again enters a fray dominated by the Japanese, yet this time it’s not doing so quite so singlehandedly Amarok MkII was codeveloped with the latest version of the Aussie-American Ford Ranger: shared platform, shared drivetrains, shared technology And shared roof, glass area, doorhandles, and side-mirror caps

Shared sales might be trickier, simply because, unlike Ford and other key rivals, VW Australia has chosen to eschew cab-chassis, 4x2, and singlecab sub-segments – throwing its entire marketing payload into the dual-cab 4WD category 4x2 and single-cab versions have been created for other markets Amarok pricing has yet to be finalised, but we know it will be higher across the range And higher than that of the Ranger Volkswagen is pitching it as the segment’s ‘premium ute’, trading on a combination of upmarket interior and heavily loaded standard specification

Five model grades have been

confirmed for Australia, with the next set of Walkinshaw-badged specials not expected until 2024

Every grade has, at a minimum, a large infotainment display (10 or 12 inches), wireless Apple CarPlay/ Android Auto, wireless phone charging, LED headlights, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping aids, rear parking sensors, speed-limit notification, and nine airbags (five more than the previous Amarok).

A vinyl-floored Core returns as the base model, and the Life adds some more niceties before the mid-pack Style – tipped to be the most popular variant and expected to cost from midto high-$60K before on-roads – ramps up the list of fancier features and exterior addenda

The new-to-VW PanAmericana badge marks where the Amarok puts a touch of extra emphasis on off-roading with all-terrain tyres and softer suspension and introduces leather seating

Aventura again denotes the flagship, fulfilling the road-biased brief with huge, 21-inch wheels – three inches up on the largest tyres currently available on the Ranger, although the incoming Ranger Platinum will adopt 20s

The PanAmericana could start somewhere in the $75-80K bracket; the Aventura is anticipated to start above $80,000 – possibly above the $81,490 Walkinshaw W580S that was previously the most expensive Amarok

Volkswagen’s pricing strategy isn’t helped by the Amarok’s production location in South Africa, which incurs a five percent import tariff where Ford

Australia benefits from a free trade agreement with Thailand where the Ranger is built Volkswagen Australia claims it will further differentiate the Amarok by offering a combination of factory and officially endorsed accessories from launch.

Inside, the new Amarok once again pushes the envelope for upmarket ute interiors There are only a few elements of the Amarok’s cabin that are obviously shared with the Ranger – the ergonomically brilliant squeezeto-open doorhandles, chunky gearshift lever, albeit with VW’s own leather covering, portrait infotainment screen, and a digital driver display with some variations from Ford’s skin

Various design elements – such as the T-shaped dash, 3D-style vents, and rugged infotainment/mode shortcut

Top: Amarok shares its roof and windscreen with Ranger, but all other panels are unique

The Adventura’s steering is quite superb, with

buttons – plus an assortment of smart finishes achieve a distinctive look and for the Amarok’s cabin.

Style, PanAmericana and Aventura variants feature a dashboard plateau fully covered in artificial stitched leather – greyish brown in all our test cars – the same material of which is also applied to the upper door cards

The PanAmericana adds material on the doors seemingly influenced by reptile skin The middle sections of the doors, not just the armrests, yield to the touch, and smooth plastic inserts of various finishes are cleverly blended into the mix The slightly rough black headliner is about the only notable disappointment.

The two-tone leather seats manage to feel both broad and supportive, offering an impressive level of sustained comfort over long distances

As with the Ranger, the Amarok’s rear seat isn’t the most commodious in the dual-cab ute class, but there is respectable space, and deeply scalloped seatbacks aid knee clearance There’s decent foot space under the seats and plentiful headroom, while air vents are welcomed as a first for the Amarok

Storage options include bottle-mould door compartments, seatback pouches,

and cupholders in the centre armrest The rear of the centre console featured 12V and 240V sockets, but the latter will be replaced by more useful USB-C ports for Australian customers.

In the back, Amarok’s tray continues to fit a Euro pallet courtesy of a 1624mm length and 1227mm between the wheelarches Six load-lashing rings have a tensile load rating of 400kg, while a track system incorporates four 250kg-rated moveable clamps

LED tray lighting is standard on all Australian Amarok models The PanAmericana comes with a tonneau cover; the Aventura features an electronic roll cover. Maximum payload has also increased, from one tonne to just under 1.2 tonnes – one of the best figures in the segment.

There’s again a 3500kg braked towing capacity, while VW says the permissible total weight of vehicle and trailer has increased from 6 to 6 5 tonnes You can also carry up to 85kg on the roof while driving, or up to 350kg when static – ideal for pitching a rooftop tent

On the road, the original Amarok was a pioneer in many regards, including its refined car-like interior and driving position This aspect hasn’t just been

Below: Adventura combines 21-inch wheels with firmer suspension; not exactly a ticket to ride

retained but seems to have been further emphasised.

The driver’s seat – powered from the Style upwards – can be adjusted to sit surprisingly low. The front seats feel like best-in-class contenders, with excellent shape, cushioning and bolstering from the entry Core up to the range-topping Aventura The leathered PanAmericana and Aventura variants, in which we spent most of the two-day launch, proved immensely relaxing for hours behind the wheel

The Aventura is a particularly intriguing model, as the only Amarok to get its own (stiffer) front dampers,

an uncannily natural and meat y weighting

its own (faster) steering tune, and a set of huge, 21-inch wheels that dwarf those of any other variant.

The negative result of the first and third elements is a ride that is always firm, mostly busy, and sometimes jiggly It tends to smooth out with increased speeds but generally feels like a set-up that could well struggle on typically scabby Australian roads

There was an obvious contrast to the PanAmericana, with its softest-in-range suspension tuning clear despite launch models being fitted with 20-inch wheels rather than the 18s that will be the standard Australian spec

A brief drive of a Style on 18-inch wheels provided another indicator of the improved ride that can be found elsewhere in the range.

On the positive side, the Aventura will hold the biggest appeal for any keen drivers who are looking to migrate from a passenger car or SUV to a dual-cab ute

The flagship Amarok equips itself commendably well along curving country roads, keeping both lateral and vertical body movement in check

The steering is quite superb, with an uncannily natural and meaty weighting, and a responsiveness from

the straight-ahead that makes it easy to point the Amarok exactly where you want.

As dynamically excellent as a wellengineered large SUV? Let’s not get carried away; there are still limitations to what can be done with a ladderframed, leaf-sprung chassis

The all-season Goodyear Wrangler HT 275/45R21 tyres grip strongly, refusing to squeal even under load in hairpins and making less noise than the wind around the side mirrors

There’s not quite the same crispness off centre in the PanAmericana or Style, with their slightly slower racks and slightly smaller tyres compared with Aventura, but the steering is still otherwise in the same impressive ballpark of the Ranger and BT-50.

Our time in a mid-range Style twinturbo four-cylinder diesel was limited to an off-road course and a very short on-road drive

That was still long enough to mark another similarity with the Ranger It’s well worth paying the relatively small premium for the V6 diesel

The smaller diesel is a good engine, no doubt, but the V6 is smoother, stronger, and more responsive

However, a Sport mode and

paddleshift levers would be particularly desirable with the V6.

As in the Ford twin, the six-cylinder is also linked to a permanent all-wheeldrive system where the four-cylinder diesels feature electronically selectable part-time set-ups

Disappointingly, the Mustangsourced 2 3-litre twin-turbo petrol engine – the most powerful engine with 222kW and set to be a no-cost option on the Aventura – wasn’t available to test This will be the Amarok’s only exclusive engine compared with the Ranger, as Ford Australia opted against using it Advantage Volkswagen

So what about off road? With about 95 percent of the global launch drive spent on the bitumen, there’s not a great deal we can report about the new Amarok’s off-roading capabilities

From the one-hour scramble we did have around a mountainous wine region near Cape Town, the VW suggested – not surprisingly – it will offer similarly high capabilities to the Ranger Unlike the original Amarok that used a specially calibrated eightspeed auto, this second generation features proper low range

We were given an 18-inch-wheeled, twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel Style

with part-time 4WD for the exercise rather than the more off-road-focused PanAmericana that features a softened suspension, all-terrain tyres, and comes standard with the V6 diesel and fulltime AWD

Our VW guide had us switching between 4 Low and 4 High, and occasionally employing the locking rear diff (to be standard on all Aussie Amaroks as with the Ranger), though just 2 High (RWD) would probably have been sufficient for the vast majority of the dry, rocky trails

The Amarok’s approach and

departure angles have improved slightly over its predecessor, while the ramp angle is marginally shallower Wading depth makes a big gain, from 500mm to 800mm – matching Ford’s Ranger

Overall? First impressions are that the Amarok mostly delivers on its premium-ute promise It’s a shame the VW has lost its 100 percent individuality, but it was either alliance or bust for the second generation

The shrewd decision to partner with Ford, however, has allowed the Amarok to retain many of the virtues appreciated by fans of the original –while VW’s designers and engineers have ensured this is much more than a cut-and-paste Ranger experience

Comparisons with the Ford are inevitable and inescapable (and even the old Amarok), though first impressions – as we await to see how ride quality translates to Aussie roads –are that the Amarok mostly delivers on its premium-ute promise

The key question is exactly how much of a premium Volkswagen will charge for that

Above: Top-spec Adventura is not exactly your tradie hose-out special; will cost at least $80K

CONVINCING REBOOT OF A FAMILIAR FORMULA

NISSAN’S X-TRAIL Is an indelible part of Australia’s mid-siz ed SUV landscape. Not only does it offer an affordable option from a trusted Japanese brand, but a broad sweep of variants has always meant there’s something for virtually everyone It’s no surprise, therefore, that the X-Trail is Nissan’s most popular model after the Navara ute

But the 2023 X-Trail has just arrived and, for now at least, it offers just one drivetrain, zero hybrid options and the prices have also inched upwards across the four-grade line-up

In a fearsomely competitive market, can Nissan’s favourite SUV make a splash with a comprehensively revised offering and a significant injection of standard kit and technology?

The X-Trail range comprises four variants with choices of front- or allwheel drive depending on the specific version The more affordable end of the range kicks off with the $36,750 ST 2WD or about $3000 more for the AWD version, which gets seven seats The middle of the line-up is represented by the $43,190 ST-L 2WD which is also on offer with all-wheel drive and seven seats. Both prices are before on-road costs.

For our first meeting with the new model, however, we only had a chance to get behind the wheel of the new upspec Ti and range-topping Ti-L which are exclusively all-wheel-drive fiveseaters and cost $49,990 and $52,990 respectively (before on-road costs)

All models get a revised version of the previous 2 5-litre petrol fourcylinder which has been uprated to produce 135kW and 244Nm – an increase of 9kW and 18Nm – and again

bolted to an automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT)

Included as standard for all variants are LED headlights, Android Auto, Apple Carplay, a 7 0-inch driver’s information display and 8 0-inch central touchscreen, reversing camera and parking sensors, keyless start and a choice of six paint colours

An extensive suite of standard safety features includes auto emergency braking (AEB), cruise control, lanedeparture warning and prevention, rear

N I S S A N X - T R A I L

cross-traffic alert and reverse AEB.

Go for any X-Trail above the ST entry point and Nissan’s ProPilot system is included too, which adds adaptive cruise control that works all the way down to stop-start traffic In practice, the system is smooth in operation and is more effective at locking on and off cars ahead than some brands’ systems

Step up again to the Ti, however, and Nissan upgrades the central screen to a wide version measuring 12 3 inches, the instrument cluster becomes all-digital

and also measures 12.3 inches, while a 10.8-inch head-up display is included as standard Android Auto remains wired but Apple users will be delighted to hear that CarPlay is wireless, in conjunction with wireless device charging

Lighting is all LED on the Ti, including indicators and matrix adaptive headlights, while 10-way electric adjustable seats are provided for front passengers There is partleather upholstery throughout and tri-zone air conditioning, a panoramic glass roof and 19-inch alloy wheels complete the upgrades. Spend another $3000 for the flagship Ti-L and it comes with a 10-speaker Bose sound system, Nappa leather seats with memory for the front two, heated rear seats and sunshades for their occupants, a handsfree electric tailgate, heated steering wheel and remote engine start

In such a popular segment, the X-Trail has plenty of competition It goes up against the Toyota RAV4 which offers hybrid drivetrains and tops out at $55,150 before on-road costs for the flagship Edge AWD Hybrid

Mazda’s CX-5 is also available with a choice of three drivetrains including a diesel and is priced comparably at the pointy end, while the Kia Sportage also aligns closely to the X-Trail range, performance and pricing, although it too has more engine choices

For the fourth-generation model, X-Trail prices have increased across the board – including the high-spec Ti that now costs $3875 more than the previous version – but the cabin is where a vast majority of that extra spend is evident.

A pair of high-resolution digital displays meets anyone boarding the Ti in the front row, immediately imparting a sense of quality and technological superiority not yet seen from the Nissan brand

In both the digital instrument cluster and central touchscreen, the graphics are sharp and attractive, while navigating the various systems and applications is simple and fast

The screens are complemented by a 10 8-inch head-up display for the driver, completing a very impressive technological show by the X-Trail

Left: Up-spec Ti and Ti-L models are five-seaters only; boot space generous at 585L before seats are folded

Leather comprises a majority of the seat upholstery and the leather steering wheel is particularly high quality, matching well with the upholstered dash and its French stitching, as well as pleasant quality materials throughout

Skinny A-pillars enhance the view of the road ahead as well as letting in more light – along with the big panoramic glass roof – for a cabin that feels as big as it is

A seven-seat option is not available for either the Ti or Ti-L but the X-Trail’s third row is certainly not a place for adults, and the larger boot of the five-seat version may be a more useful attribute for the majority of owners. The seven-seat models get a 465-litre boot whereas the five-seater’s 585L capacity is a real drawcard, among the best in the segment

Furthering the X-Trail’s practicality is an extremely versatile second row of seating with 40:60:40 split-folding, tilting backrests and a sliding bench, while 82-degree rear door openings are a breez e to hop in and out of, or for loading things, for example

Speaking of which, the presence of ISOFIX child seat attachments and

acceleration is strong off the mark, the performance drops off quickly unless the engine is revved hard This will certainly negatively impact the claimed average fuel economy figure of 7.8L/100km.

For most day-to-day duties, the combination of revised petrol engine and CVT auto will be adequate for most owners

What really stands out though, is the significantly improved ride With a complete overhaul of the chassis and suspension tuning, the new X-Trail is both confident on its feet and comfortable, while road noise is also notably low

The trade-off is a little roll in corners and steering that, while fast and precise, is a little short on feel. But for an SUV that will be put to work ferrying people and things far more frequently than cutting laps of great driving roads, Nissan has struck a welljudged balance of ride, handling and overall refinement

Some recent sharp-edged road damage in Victoria was the enemy of 19-inch wheels fitted to the Ti and Ti-L X-Trails we drove at the launch and it’s likely the manners of the entry ST,

on the road

requisite top tether anchorages for all three rear seats is another dealsweetener that families will like Nissan has labelled the fourth-gen X-trail ‘all new’, including the platform it shares with the Mitsubishi Outlander In reality, the CMF-C architecture is a heavily revised version of the previous X-Trail’s underpinnings; the same goes for its 2 5-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine

Despite the chunk of carried-over hardware, however, the X-Trail feels very different on the road.

Performance has changed little, with just a hint more power and torque, while the carry-over CVT elicits the same droning nature that you’ll either dislike or not notice at all The engine, however, is a free-revving unit that is more refined and less thrashy than the previous version with reduced levels of noise, vibration and harshness making their way into the cabin

Without a turbo (and there’s no diesel option either), low-down torque is a little lacking and while initial

which rolls on 17-inch alloys, will be even better We’ll see if our speculation is correct when we get our hands on a mid- or entry-grade X-Trail

Like all new Nissans, the X-Trail is offered with a five-year, unlimitedkilometre warranty along with roadside assistance for the same period It’s also eligible for cappedprice servicing, which limits the maximum price paid for routine servicing and maintenance for the first six planned visits.

Customers can also buy a pre-paid maintenance plan that covers the first three, four or five scheduled services with a single payment

The fourth-generation X-Trail may not be as ‘all new’ as Nissan suggests but it certainly feels like it shares very little with the previousgeneration model

Its exterior styling has lifted the SUV from timid wallflower to

Excellent ride and comfort; vastly improved cabin; lots of space; standard safety features

Above: New X-Trail is on a revised version of previousgen ’ s platform; wheelbase unchanged

confident contender, while a big spend on the interior and tech nudges higher-spec variants incrementally towards premium territory

It’s a shame its rather conventional engine couldn’t have been enhanced to do battle with more potent mid-siz ed SUVs and complete the transition, and the lack of a diesel or turbo-petrol means customers will have to wait for the e-Power hybrid version for something with a little more grunt and fuel economy. But of course, that would have pushed the high-end versions into even more expensive territory.

Those willing to write the cheque for a $50K X-Trail will get a version that’s unrecognisable from its predecessor and one that breaks new ground for the nameplate and Nissan as a brand

As for the more crucial and affordable ST and ST-L volume players, that verdict will have to wait

L U S M I N U S

No diesel or hybrid champion –yet; atmo engine lacks torque; quality and tech comes at a cost

Despite the chunk of carried-over hardware, the X-Trail feels ver y different

Below: Chassis tune doesn’t attempt to be overtly sporting, and is better for it

L E X U S R Z 450e

STEER-BY-WIRE TAKES A R ADICAL TURN

ELECTRIFIED LEXUS MODELS ARE nothing new Thanks to proprietary hybrid technology donated by parent Toyota, the Japanese luxury brand has been offering more frugal versions of its premium models for nearly 20 years

More recently it introduced its first full EV with the arrival of the UX 300e, while the RX 450h plug-in hybrid is also live in other global regions and will join its siblings Down Under So you’d be forgiven for thinking the new electric RZ 450e is less significant than the electrified models that came before it, but you’d be wrong

The new addition to the Lexus lineup will be arriving on local shores in the middle of 2023 and when it does, it’ll introduce an AWD, pure batterypowered mid-size SUV with 230kW and about 450Nm, up to 450km of range and space for five adults Not exactly revolutionary stuff; however, the RZ does pack a few features that will make it stand out

Manufacturing of the new model hasn’t yet started but, in anticipation of the launch next year, Lexus Australia flew in a pre-production version to offer a first taste of what the RZ 450e has to offer and a chance to experience some of the unique elements that’ll get chins wagging and heads turning.

Firstly, the RZ is not simply a different body rolling on the same chassis and electric bits as the UX 300e With the donation of Toyota’s e-TNGA platform, the RZ has an entirely different architecture In fact, the RZ will only be available as an electric model and not alongside petrol or hybrid siblings

While Lexus’s first EV is limited to front drive, 150kW and about 360km of range, the RZ ups the performance stakes in all areas and is larger overall More closely related is the forthcoming RX which also uses the e-TNGA

platform to introduce a plug-in to the family, if not a full electric version yet

The bold styling of the RZ certainly ties a strong link to its RX sibling with angular styling that is unapologetic but somehow fluid and flowing

There are more similarities on the inside with the same 14 0-inch central touchscreen offered for the most premium RX variants, excellent Mark Levinson sound system, seats that manage to be comfortable and ergonomic but sporty and supportive, and other tech touches such as the eLatch door handles

The family resemblance continues mechanically, too All-wheel drive is enabled with fully independently controlled eAxles with individual motors, control units and inverter for each end An overall transmission control program tells which axle to do what but it has almost infinite flexibility with impressive results

Depending on the circumstances, the RZ can be entirely front-wheel drive or completely rear-drive for either maximum traction and safety or sharpened driving dynamics In addition, under hard acceleration – the RZ 450e is typically EV swift, hitting 100km/h in about 5 6 seconds – the axles can be controlled to counter tail squat, while under heavy braking the same mechanism helps to almost eliminate dive.

In practice it works very effectively and promotes both a greater sense of stability and confidence as well as providing a more comfortable environment for all on board The front axle is capable of contributing the most grunt in the system with a 150kW motor versus the 80kW unit at the back, but a full deployment of power feels uniform and deliciously smooth

Until the fully refined production versions arrive mid-2023, a full on-road review will have to wait but a first blast around Toyota’s private test track in Melbourne’s west allowed a tantalising glimpse at what the RZ has to offer

Its light-filled cabin is classy and the electro-chromatic panoramic roof is a great premium touch, allowing the glass pane to be turned opaque from clear at the press of a button In its frosted mode, daylight can still permeate but with a gentle softness, but if that’s still too much, a clip-in blind can black the roof out completely

The RZ is the first Lexus that is completely animal-product free and

Below: Yoke wheel has benefits, but will Lexus customers go for it?

Regardless of the corner radius, the driver never has to adjust the position of their hands

yet, its plush cabin feels like it isn’t lacking despite the more sustainable materials and upholstery. We’ve said it before and we’ll doubtless say it again, but synthetic ‘leather’ and ‘suede’ alternatives are rapidly reaching a point of quality where they exceed the advantages of genuine cow hides

Lexus’s staff made a few apologies regarding the pre-production vehicle’s build quality and exact specification but they needn’t While many handbuilt pre-prods have dubious panel gaps, occasional tatty interior quality and questionable materials, the RZ was a testament to Lexus quality even when it could be forgiven some foibles Our only qualm is that the fantastic deep-pile, salt-and-pepper-tone floor mats apparently won’t be part of the standard kit

What will certainly be offered to Australian examples, though, is the RZ’s party piece and, despite our initial suspicions, it isn’t the clumsy gimmick we first feared

Steering yokes have been wheeled out (pun intended) as part of concept vehicle design studies and production race cars for time immemorial, but when it comes to road cars, the feature nearly always falls by the wayside as nothing more than a stylist’s folly.

However, the RZ 450e has a steering yoke and it really works, and it really is going into production.

The difference is in the parts that live behind the unorthodox yoke and steer-by-wire system Infiniti was the first manufacturer to introduce a steering system that had no mechanical connection between the wheel and the rack but, with a full conventional column waiting to jump in if the system failed, the Infiniti interpretation was a pinkie toe dipped into a sea of potential

Lexus, on the other hand, has taken the dive.

Like its independent eAxles, the column-less steering brings an unrivalled level of flexibility and versatility, and almost infinitely variable steering parameters

Variable steering ratio, weight and progressive angle is not a new innovation, but the Lexus system takes all three to a new level At low speed, it’s possible to turn the front wheels lock to lock in just 150 degrees of yoke

Classy, light-filled cabin; strong electric power train; innovative steering

RZ 450e is slightly smaller than the forthcoming RX 450h, but there s still ample room for three adults in the back

rotation (less than one half revolution). Then, as road speed increases, the ratio lengthens without compromising precision, preventing abrupt inputs that would upset the stability of the car – and the passengers

Most impressively, though, for a system that has no physical connection to the rubber rolling on the road, there’s an amazing degree of feel and feedback It’s clear there is something unusual going on beneath the surface, and the overall tactile experience is different but not in an unpleasant or dishonest way.

This is where the Lexus system gets really clever. With a lack of column to send jolts and vibrations back to the cabin, the electronic management is capable of sending only beneficial and welcome sensation through to the driver’s hands

Long story short, regardless of the vehicle speed, driving situation or corner radius, the driver never has to adjust the position of their hands and,

P L U S M I N U S

Steering and dynamics yet to be tested on Aussie roads

in turn, that means Lexus’s yoke is the first of its kind that actually works.

The initial reaction to the steer-bywire technology is a laser focus on everything that’s happening, but it’s surprising just how quickly the driver adjusts to the system and by the end of our laps of the private track, we need no convincing that this is a feature that needs to stay

In addition to the dynamic advantages, the absent top crescent of a circular steering wheel offers an unrivalled view of the instruments, while the lack of lower crescent increases leg room under the yoke. The system is a win-win.

Lexus’s venture into more sustainable motoring is gaining momentum and its emerging range of vehicles are demonstrating that lowcarbon, responsible car manufacturing and ownership is about far more than just phasing out petrol power

With its electric-only line-up, and unique technological and material touches, the RZ is another intriguing step in that direction

HOW MUCH FOR HONDA’S NEW CIVIC HYBRID?

THERE ARE SOME cars where the USP leaps straight out at you The Honda Civic e:HEV LX is not one of them But where more overt vehicles can result in that initial novelty dulling fairly quickly, a grower like this hybrid Civic rewards those who are in it for the longer haul

Of course, Honda is no newbie when it comes to selling hybrids in Australia It was first to market here back in

2001 with the original Insight and it was even brought us a hybrid supercar, the 2017 NSX NA2. In between, it sold hybrid versions of the Civic, with the Integrated Motor Assist tech from 2003, before evolving in 2006 to an electrical system 50 percent more powerful that could run the car in pure EV mode under light demand

Twenty years of hybrid experience in the Civic has taught Honda a great deal about what customers actually want and that answer appears to be invisibility They want the benefits of hybrid drive such as cleanliness, torque fill and quietness without advertising the fact In short, they want the mainstreaming of hybrid tech.

That’s exactly what this 11th generation Civic delivers. It’s not immediately apparent that it’s a hybrid at all The subtle blue ring around the Honda logo on bonnet and boot will be lost on most observers Likewise

the hidden single tailpipe and the brake discs that are an inch bigger in diameter will only be apparent to the most ardent marque tragics.

The $55K drive-away price is about seven grand more than the standard non-hybrid Civic VTi LX But where that car is powered by a 1 5-litre engine good for 131kW and 240Nm, the hybrid gets a more relaxed 2 0-litre unit that generates 135kW and 315Nm And it has a few tricks up its sleeve beyond the headline stats

Jump inside and despite the two cars both wearing LX badges, the hybrid just gets more kit It’s subtle stuff, but cast your eye around the cabin and you’ll notice a panoramic glass sunroof, heated steering wheel, two rear USB slots versus the petrol car’s one, eight-way power adjustment for the front seats, black leather-appointed seats, extra coat hooks, white contrast stitching and mood lighting and a smart keycard

Possibly the most intriguing feature is buried in the guts of the e:HEV’s wiring The Telematics Control Unit doesn’t sound immediately thrilling, but this box of gadgetry integrates the Honda Connect platform.

This allows Civic e:HEV owners to download an app to their phones which allows all kinds of Tesla-style remote functionality Aside from the usual functionality like remote starting the vehicle, climate preconditioning and headlight flashing to show where your car is in an airport car park, Honda Connect is capable of a bunch of really advanced features

Let’s say you’re lending the car to your kids when you’re on holiday You can geofence an area and the app will let you know if the car strays outside it. Or if it exceeds a selected speed for a selected amount of time You can track the car if it’s been stolen If it’s been involved in an accident, it can automatically let the emergency

services know how many people were in the car, and the severity/type of the incident

The car can send a log file to your local Honda service centre if a warning light appears on the dash, so they’ll know what’s happening with the car before it even arrives with them, potentially saving you time and money If you’re heading out on a journey, you can check the vehicle’s fuel level before you go and budget time for a trip to the servo accordingly Left the dome light on when you were in the car? It’ll even alert you if the battery level is dropping to save you the hassle of a flat battery in the morning There’s a stack of other functionality like trip logging, driver behaviour reporting and so on.

The best part is that Honda offers a complimentary five-year subscription to the service In other words, it’s good for as long as your warranty and roadside assist packages

Elsewhere, the Japanese-built Civic

Sticker shock? Only if you judge this Civic by the prices of old Civics But it’s no longer the same thing

e:HEV LX gets a 10 2-inch driver information display to back up the 9 0inch centre screen The Apple Carplay installation is wireless but the Android

Auto installation requires some sort of umbilical connection. The screen is slick and relatively easy to use and marshals a punchy 12-speaker Bose audio system

Just three paint colours are offered Platinum White pearlescent is standard and there are two premium paint

finishes: Crystal Red metallic and Crystal Blue metallic

How do rivals compare on value?

Before we answer that question, we have to get settled on quite what we’re dealing with here.

Mentally position the car as a Honda Civic and all of your mental heuristics are cueing you into a smallish hatch that sits near the top of its mainstream bracket Then you’re told that it’s $55K driveaway and you start talking about how cheap compact hatches were back in the day before segueing effortlessly into how policemen now look so young and how wonderful trains used to be Thing is, the Civic isn’t that sort of car anymore Its footprint on the road is bigger than an E39 BMW 5 Series. And the finish inside is probably as good as the opening models in BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz’s range And you can bet that the complexity of this car, the sheer amount of intellectual property hardwired into it, trumps any of those

brands’ entry-level offerings

Moving round to the back, the higher floor houses the battery pack, so whereas the petrol Civic VTi LX features a 404-litre boot with 45 litres under the floor, the e:HEV LX makes do with 404 litres and a mere five litres underfloor That’s still hardly catastrophic given that a Golf delivers 374L of space and a Corolla hybrid a mere 333L I’m not going to totally spoil the surprise here, but wait until you get to play with the clever parcel shelf and you’ll wonder why nobody else hasn’t hit upon Honda’s novel solution earlier

The hybrid drive system is pleasantly fire-and-forget There are drive modes, which cycle through Eco, Normal, Sport and Individual, but no dedicated EV-only mode. The 2 0-litre petrol engine spends much of its time powering the generator, but drives the wheels directly at freeway speeds, largely because that’s the most

efficient method That’s key The Civic e:HEV ruthlessly focuses on efficiency, eschewing Toyota’s complex planetary gearbox in favour of a fixed-gear electronically controlled CVT; yes those three magic letters that make most drivers’ hearts sink to their boots

While this one is a better example of its ilk, there are still a few occasions when you’re pressing on that the powertrain starts mooing like a Wookiee being euthanised but for the most part it’s a cultured, refined and pragmatic set-up

The 2 0-litre direct-injection Atkinson cycle engine is an inoffensive unit and partners with the lithium-ion battery seamlessly Against the clock, it nets a 0-100km/h time of 8.1 seconds, making it a good deal brisker than the 1.5-litre petrol. A set of wheel-mounted paddles sit unobtrusively like little plastic ears Instead of being used to change gear, they’re pressed into duty to adjust the amount of re-gen in order

The Civic’s footprint on the road is

to replenish the battery

Really get after the Civic down a challenging country road and you’ll discover a fundamentally excellent chassis balance. Body control in both pitch and roll is better than you’d expect, although there is a little bit of vertical heave The ride quality is just on the comfortable side of busy and only bigger ruts upset its composure

The steering’s not the most communicative, but it is well weighted and accurate Honda has worked at improving overall refinement in the cabin, but there’s still a bit of bump and thump that enters the passenger cell from the rear suspension

Honda had wheeled out a Mk1 Insight for the launch of the Civic e:HEV and it was illuminating that this two-seat exotic lightweight was a mere litre per 100km more economical than the Civic which, when parked next to the sylph-like 860kg Insight, looked like a behemoth The combined

Unobtrusively integrated tech; economy for a big car; impression of quality; clever Honda Connect

economy figure is quoted at 4.2 litres per 100km which feels about right based on our usage on mixed roads

The petrol-engined VTi LX, by way of comparison, sups 6 3L/100km, which means that over a typical 15,000km year, the hybrid owner will consume 630 litres of fuel, whereby the petrol model will drink 945 litres Extend that over a five-year ownership period and, for the sake of argument, pitch petrol prices at $2 per litre and the hybrid nets a $3150 saving in fuel alone

You then need to figure out whether the additional power, equipment and utility of Honda Connect functionality is then worth the residual $4K premium over the base car For my money, it probably is The fuel tank is a compact 40 litres, but given the economy of the e:HEV, it still offers

bigger than an E39 BMW 5 Series

Engine not the most charismatic; CVT functional but not engaging; no pure electric driving mode

very respectable touring range on a fill.

The hybrid also includes safety kit not fitted to the VTi LX VTi including a centre front airbag, rear airbags that pop up from the outboard seat cushion bolsters, traffic sign recognition, an intelligent speed limiter and an acoustic vehicle alerting system

The family hatch market is currently on its knees with rivals falling with depressing regularity This 11thgeneration Civic is a gem, but we’d love to see a twelfth

That’ll only happen if buyers recognise a product that works and works well without requiring a megaphone to advertise its qualities. The Honda Civic e:HEV is that car Question is, does subtlety still have a place in today’s market?

A N D Y E N R I G H T

P L U S M I N U S

Cabin controls are extremely well configured

F COSTCO SOLD vehicles, its warehouse racking would be stacked to the purlins with cars like the Nissan Pathfinder In recent years, the large SUV has stood as a monument to the fact that sometimes sheer quantity is the most important factor in choosing a new car, with cost a close second

But it hasn’t always been that way When it was introduced in 1985, the

Pathfinder was a relatively capable two-door off-roader with body-on-frame construction and designed by the same guy who penned the 1968 Pontiac GTO

As it evolved, however, the Pathfinder slid further in a conservative direction, becoming a price-led ‘soft-roader’ with families as its majority audience

For the fifth-generation model though, Nissan wants to rekindle some of that original sense of adventure and deliver a Pathfinder that can stand out from the large affordable SUV crowd rather than disappear into it

It kicks off from $54,190 for the entry two-wheel drive ST, but as Nissan is pitching its new model as a more capable and adventurous iteration, we’re focusing here on the $70,030 highspec Ti in all-wheel drive form (both prices before on-road costs)

There’s only one variant above it – the Ti-L at $80,227 Regardless of which version you might be interested

in, each Pathfinder has the same driveline combination The 3 5-litre V6 petrol engine is carried over, so the big powertrain news is a switch to a more traditional nine-speed automatic transmission which replaces the polarising CVT of the previous generation vehicle

Even at entry level, the Pathfinder is impressively equipped, all versions treated to auto LED headlights, keyless entry and start, heated front seats, electric park brake, a comprehensive suite of safety and driver assistance systems, tri-zone air conditioning, a 10 8-inch head-up display, 9 0-inch central touchscreen and a further 7 0inch digital display positioned between the driver’s dials Opt for the Ti-L and this becomes a full 12 3-inch digital instrument cluster

There’s also a whopping 12 cup holders plus six door bottle holders and seven seats for the top-spec Ti-L while

I

S A N P A T H F I N D E R

all other variants get places for up to eight occupants

Step up to the AWD-only ST-L ($61,790), however, and the Pathfinder gains ProPilot driver assistance system that Nissan describes as ‘semiautonomous’, Mud and Sand driving modes take the total to seven (along with hill descent control), the steering wheel is leather-wrapped, parking sensors are added to the front end and Nissan throws in a powered tailgate and remote engine start along with LED fog lights

The Ti (available with front- or allwheel drive) gets all that plus heated rear seats, part-leather upholstery, wireless device charging and wireless Apple CarPlay (although you’ll need to plug in for Android Auto), a 13-speaker audio system courtesy of Bose, and sunshades for the second-row seats

Finally, another fifth-generation model enhancement has revised

the Pathfinder’s platform and underpinnings, which has increased the maximum braked towing capacity to a respectable 2700kg for all versions

The Pathfinder’s cabin is predictably vast, with interior space growing over the fourth-gen model despite an overall length reduction of 38mm A transmission tunnel is noticeably absent, boosting leg room for rear passengers, while rear doors that open to nearly 90 degrees make getting in and out a breeze

Simplicity of access also applies to the third row thanks to the ‘EZ Flex’ system which allows the middle seat to be tilted and rolled forward with the touch of a button

It is a clever solution that means third-row occupants no longer feel like prisoners until someone releases them

Yes, the third row does offer three seats but that would only really apply to very small people That said, there

is a surprising amount of room for two adults out back Adding to the impressive comfort levels are roofmounted vents, a USB charger and two cup holders per side

There’s also masses of storage volume depending on the seat configuration Capacity (VDA) is listed at 205 litres with all three rows in place, 554L with the third row folded, and a massive 2280L with only the front seats in place.

An underfloor boot box boosts the storage options while the entire cabin is dotted with neat stowage options such as a little shelf in front of the front passenger and a flying centre console with yet more useful storage space located beneath

With a somewhat conventional engine under its bonnet, the Pathfinder’s 202kW and 340Nm can be best described as adequate for this 2 0-tonne SUV Without diesel or turbopetrol torque, the 3 5-litre V6 needs to

Generous space including third row; excellent ride; impressive standard safety features

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U S

V6 getting left behind by turbo rivals; slightly disappointing auto; no wireless Android Auto

be revved to get the most meaningful performance, at which point the increased fuel consumption will likely give your bank balance a battering when you come to fill the 71-litre tank.

The good news is that even though the engine remains only slightly evolved, the transmission bolted to it is a significant upgrade Gone is the simple and cost-effective continuously variable transmission (CVT) and in its place is that more sophisticated ninespeed torque-converter auto

While the new unit is doubtless an improvement over the droning and uninspiring CVT, it doesn’t quite live up to expectations, which is a little disappointing – especially as it’s supplied by auto authority ZF.

Gear changes are very smooth and torque efficiency feels equally as good but there’s something about the calibration that feels just a little half-baked When more performance is required, the accelerator needs an unreasonably aggressive prod to prompt a kick-down, while regular shifting up and down through the ratios seems a little lazy at times

Either way, however, it’s still an improvement over the previous model,

and you can pick gears manually with the paddle shifters

As for the rest of the driving package, the Pathfinder feels neat and tidy on the road with enough steering involvement to partially conceal its weight and large SUV status, while the ride quality is another step up in Pathfinder evolution

Road noise levels are generally low for occupants in the first and second rows, while comfort is improved over the previous model despite rolling on up to 20-inch wheels Our pick is the 18-inch alloy wheels fitted to the ST-L, which gets surprisingly good Kumho Crugen HP71 rubber and boosts the ride quality even further still

Should you find yourself away from the beaten track, the Pathfinder feels agreeably at home on unsealed surfaces, and a few kilometres navigating damp gravel brought its surefooted manners to the surface

As part of Nissan’s bid to infuse the Pathfinder with a more adventurous spirit, seven modes are offered by the Drive and Terrain system With the dial rotated round to Mud and Ruts, the traction and stability levels on potentially scary

surfaces were admirable

We would have loved to sample the Pathfinder’s true off-road ability but I guess that’ll have to wait for another day. It’s worth noting to families that do want to stray away from the beaten trail that the Pathfinder has a spacesaver spare wheel and not a full-size item most favoured by hardcore adventure seekers

We did, however, get a chance to test the towing capability with a jet ski weighing close to the 750kg unbraked

Without turbo torque, the V6 needs to be rev ved

limit hooked up While acceleration and braking performance were notably impacted, it’s clear the new Pathfinder has been engineered to tow and won’t break a sweat under the pressures of light hauling duties.

Quite how the atmo V6 would cope with the increased braked towing rate of 2700kg will also have to wait for more organised testing

It wasn’t possible to run our own fuel use calculations during an actionpacked local launch program but we

Venerable 3 5-litre V6 carries over; needs revs, like a drink Lack of a hybrid will be a deal-breaker for some buyers

certainly will once the new Pathfinder is on the Wheels test fleet in the near future It’ll be illuminating

Before that though, the ADR combined-cycle fuel economy figure makes for interesting reading. Nissan reports 10 0L/100km for two-wheeldrive versions and 10 5L/100km for the all-wheel drives

With the addition of a new ninespeed auto and revised V6, many might have expected the fuel efficiency to have improved, but that doesn’t appear the case The previous Pathfinder had a claimed figure of 9 9L/100km and 10 1L/100km respectively

All versions of the Pathfinder are equipped with a generous level of safety equipment including forward collision warning and auto emergency braking which works with both pedestrians and cyclists, driver attention monitoring, blind-spot monitoring and assistance, lanedeparture warning and assistance, rear cross-traffic alert and braking, cruise control, speed limit recognition and tyre pressure monitoring

Curtain airbags protect occupants in all three rows of seating, while seat side airbags are provided for the first

and second rows along with a centre airbag between the front two seats

While Nissan’s Pathfinder used to be one of the most cost-effective ways into large SUV life, the latest evolution is creeping north in pricing, especially at the pointier end of the line-up Yes, there’s still the sub-$55K ST but with front-wheel drive and the least kit, Nissan says this is the variant very much targeting fleets

It’s at the relatively premium end of the spectrum and the $70K Ti that Nissan expects the volume to exist, at least initially

However, with the increase in pricing, the fifth-gen model does come with some notable enhancements to quality, technology and comfort. On the outside, the Pathfinder is looking like a tough all-terrain SUV and not the slightly daggy budget bus it once was, while a sea of screens lifts the comprehensively improved interior

Coupled with a third row you genuinely can slot two adults into and clever practical touches throughout, the venerable Pathfinder is a welcome return for the Nissan family And quite possibly yours

to get the most meaningful per formance

D A N I E L G A R D N E R

R E I N V E N T I N G

R A D I CA L N E W C 63 I S FAST E R, G R I P P I E R, C O M F I E R

T H E W A R H E A D

W O R D S A L E X I N W O O D

A N D M O R E C O M P L EX. B U T A LS O H A R D E R TO LOV E …

Early adopters will love this: hardcore fans of a bent-eight, not so much

Electric mode will get you 13km Toto, I’ve a feeling we ’ re not in Kansas anymore

FOR A CAR that can claim to be 2023’s most controversial performance sedan, the W206 Mercedes-AMG C63 S sure does make a low-key first impression It’s hunkered down in the concrete bowels of our hotel in Spain and, if this were any other C63 from the last 20 years, pressing the starter button would deliver a moment of giddy, child-like glee as its booming V8 thundered into life and bounced off the car park’s walls Fire up this all new fifth-generation C63, however, and all you get is silence

Yep, AMG’s brutish M3 rival is now a plug-in hybrid, but really, the fact that this is the first C63 not to have a V8 is just part of what makes this car so intriguing What you see here is a complete and total rethink of the C63 formula AMG’s fast C-Class is now all-wheel drive, has two gearboxes, fourwheel steering, eight drives modes, a boost map similar to Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car and a small, high-tech battery that’s designed to dump and recoup its energy super quickly

It’s all fiendishly complex, and a huge departure from the winningly simply recipe of C63s of old, but the result is a car that’s quicker, more comfortable, easier to drive fast and kinder to the environment (and your wallet). But is it better? And does it still feel like a proper C63? Those questions are arguably more significant. And also much trickier to answer… Stay with us here, there’s a lot to unpack

Just as every other significant number on the new C63 has gotten bigger (power, torque, weight) so too will the price We won’t know exactly how much the W206 C63 will cost until closer to its Aussie launch in July 2023 but a sticker of around

The powertrain itself is an outstanding piece of engineering The core block is same 2 0-litre M139 unit that powers the A45 but in the C63 it’s fitted longitudinally and the siz e of the turbo has been increased Just like the new C43, the turbine in the C63’s turbo is spun by electricity as well as exhaust gas to help reduce lag and improve response but the compressor wheel itself has grown from 63mm to 71mm

Right, time to hit you with the outputs. On its own, the combustion powertrain produces 350kW/545Nm and according to AMG’s engineers, that’s right on the limit for how much grunt the 2.0-litre can produce. Where the numbers start to get colossal is when you factor in the hybrid system

AMG calls the C63’s set-up a P3 hybrid and it compliments the petrol engine with a 6 1kWh battery and an electronic drive unit that combines an e-motor with its own twospeed gearbox and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential mounted above the rear axle Both the battery and drive unit are designed and built in-house by AMG, and the way they deploy their performance is quite clever The battery itself weighs just 89kg and the real genius is in how it’s cooled A new non-conductive cooling liquid flows around each of the 560 cells individually which ensures the battery remains at a constant temperature and allows it to deploy its energy and then recharge super quickly.

Struggling to wrap your head around all that? Here’s a number to focus on. With the hybrid system wound up to its angriest setting, the C63 S has combined total outputs of 500kW and 1020Nm That’s 125kW/320Nm more than the outgoing V8 C63 and a healthy margin more than you get

The new C63’s peak outputs are 125kW/320Nm more than the outgoing V8 model

$200,000 before on-road costs is likely.

That’s a jump of around $20,000 versus the current W205 C63 Coupe, which retails for $180,000, although it is an increase that reflects the rises seen across the rest of the Aussie W206 line-up

As for body styles, Aussie buyers will only have the choice of one: the sedan A wagon is available globally but it won’t be coming to Australia (boo!) and significantly there won’t be a C63 Coupe either For this generation, Merc is tipped to combine the C-Class and E-Class coupes into a single new model likely to called the CLE And unlike previous generations of the C63, there also won’t be a ‘non-S’ version of the W206 C63 This time around it’s ‘full fat’ C63 S or nothing

The upshot to all this is that buying a new C63 should be incredibly straightforward Aussie cars will have nearly every equipment box ticked as standard and aside from deciding whether you want a sunroof and carbon brakes, the toughest decision you’ll likely need to make is what colour to choose.

The rest of the C63 package is devilishly complex. Like all of its predecessors, the W206 C63 is based on the regular C-Class but this time around AMG has made some significant structural changes Width is up by a considerable 76mm thanks to wider tracks and pumped guards but it’s an extra 83mm in overall length that’s more significant The wheelbase has grown by 10mm but most of the C63’s extra length has been grafted ahead of the front axle to better help the new 2 0-litre four pot and its supporting electrical gubbins work from a packaging and cooling perspective

from an Audi RS4 (331kW/600Nm) or a BMW M3 Competition (375kW/650Nm)

Plus the new C63 has a feather in its cap that none of its rivals can match: the ability to cruise around in total silence. With ‘Electric’ mode engaged, AMG says you’ll be able to travel 13km on electric power alone at speeds up to 125km/h, which should earn you some brownie points with your neighbours on those early winter mornings

So how does this radically different C63 look and feel when you approach it with key in hand? Initially it’s actually reassuringly familiar Appearance wise, the C63 delivers exactly what you expect It’s broad, angry and muscular, and in the matte black paintwork of the car pictured, it’s a striking thing to look at Slip inside and your expectations continue to be met The cabin is cosy and richly trimmed, and thanks to its digital instruments and large 11 9-inch portrait format central screen, it also majors on tech and glamour There are loads of C63 specific touches, too. The design for the Alcantara trimmed steering wheel design is unique and it’s festooned with so many buttons, dials and touch pads that it feels like a mini command centre. And the heavily bolstered front bucket seats are also a new design that features hollowed out sections behind your kidneys Great seating position, too

Still, so far, so normal It’s not until you start to drive the W206 C63 that it begins to feel a touch alien Lean on the accelerator and you don’t lunge forward with the usual V8 burble Instead, you glide forward silently and effortlessly In

such a weighty car – the kerb weight has crept up by 420kg to more than 2 1 tonnes – you might think the C63 could feel a touch lethargic in ‘Electric’ mode given its max output is 150kW, but in the cut and thrust of city traffic acceleration is swift and immediate It’s not until we twist the drive mode dial into Comfort and delve further into the throttle that the combustion engine wakes up. It does so with an audible cough but the handover from electric to hybrid propulsion is remarkably smooth.

Right, time to see what 500kW/1020Nm actually feels like With the traffic starting to thin as we head to Ascari, I wait for a straight, deploy Sport + mode and nail it The C63 lunges forward eagerly but it’s not quite as savage as I was expecting With so much grunt on tap I thought the C63 would feel like a snarly, wriggling animal at full throttle but weirdly, the first few hits at full noise don’t actually feel outrageously fast

One thing you do notice and appreciate instantly is the improved ride comfort AMG has fitted the new C63 with the same sophisticated dual-tube damping system as the flagship AMG GT Black Series and there’s a finesse, control and suppleness to this new car that the steely eyed and brittle W205 never offered. There are three settings for the dampers – Comfort, Sport and Sport+ – and it’s immediately obvious that Comfort is the best for road driving. Sport and Sport+ certainly aren’t jarring but on bumpy Spanish freeways there’s noticeably more vertical movement to contend with Then there’s the thing that most people are worried about: the noise The wet, burbly idle and barrel-chested soundtrack of the old 4 0-litre V8 has been so central to the C63’s contemporary appeal and identity that it’s crucial AMG extracts an exciting soundtrack from the new four pot And first impressions are a touch underwhelming Given the C63 shares its block with the A45 S, I had expected it to sound like an even angrier version of AMG’s hyper hatch but the C63 is quieter and more cultured AMG says that’s very deliberate Switching the engine’s orientation and fitting a larger turbo has resulted in some mechanical differences to the C63’s noise but the exhaust tuning itself is meant to be more premium and refined.

All of this means that as we roll into the Ascari circuit, I’m a touch puzzled. C63s have always been instantly likeable and easy to warm to. It’s clear this new car is more complicated…

On the circuit, the new C63 steadily and relentlessly wins me over It just nails the basics The driving position is spot on, vision out is excellent and the steering in Race mode is meaty, direct and accurate The brake pedal is encouragingly natural, too, with no inconsistencies in its travel or any of the fuzziness that can plague some plug-in hybrids as you start to apply brake pressure Given the degree of recuperation at play here (there are four stage of regen to play with), achieving a natural feeling brake pedal is an achievement in its own right

And around Ascari, the C63 does feel properly fast Acceleration and traction are especially savage, particularly out of slower corners where the torque-filling benefits of the hybrid system can really earn its keep. The handling balance is noticeably different, too. Where the current car is all about managing traction at the rear (especially in the wet!) this new C63 is so neutral at the limit it almost verges on friendly. Our cars were shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, and while it was easy to find the edge of adhesion, both understeer and oversteer were clearly telegraphed In ESP Sport mode, the C63 is so malleable and approachable that you quickly have the confidence to provoke small slides with the throttle and brakes

Does it feel like 2 1 tonnes? Not really During our track stint the C63 felt impressively agile, a fact no doubt aided by the standard and natural-feeling four-wheel steering, and it was only through one of Ascari’s flip-flop chicanes that you

The C63 lunges forward eagerly but it’s not quite as savage as I was expecting

Below: It’s unlikely you’ll forget that this one is pure Affalterbach, but a reminder is nice

things you kshould now three

one THE RIVALS

If this new C63 does carry a price of circa-$200,000 that means it’ll be the most expensive offering in its direct competitor set Nearly all of its key rivals have price tags that start in the $150K bracket: the Audi RS4 Avant is $155,400, an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio will set you back $148,000 and the G80 BMW M3 Competition, which costs $169,500

two WARRANTY & COSTS

Like all Mercedes models in Australia, the C63 will be covered by a five year/ unlimited km warranty Service intervals and costs are yet to be confirmed but Mercedes is tipping you’ll need to visit a dealer every 12 months or 20,000km Residuals are also something to bear in mind with many of the C63’s key rivals now getting on a bit

HOW THIRSTY IS IT?

Fuel efficiency mightn’t be the number one reason people buy a C63 but it’s nice to know this new model will be lighter on the wallet Going hybrid has given the W206 C63 an official economy figure of 6 9L which is a big improvement over the old car’s claim of 9 9L and far better than competitors like the Audi RS4 (8 9L) and BMW M3 Comp (10 2L)

Burmester stereo is just one of a number of trim choices that are standard on Australian cars and options in other markets

Cabin design follows Mercedes’ well-trodden evolutionary path What lies beneath is anything but

had a sense of how much heft you were hurling about It’s remarkably intuitive to drive fast, too Given the powertrain’s complexity I had feared it might feel synthetic or out of kilter as it juggled electrons and petrol power but the software that manages the distribution of drive is remarkably seamless

SPECS

Model Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Per formance

Engine 2 0-litre 4 cyl, dohc, 16 v, turbo + e motor

Max power 500k W (combined)

Max torque 1020Nm (combined)

Transmission 9-speed automatic L / W/H/ W-B 4 8 4 2 /1900/14 58/287 5mm

Weight 2090kg 0-100km/h 3 4 sec (claimed) Economy 6 9L /100km (claimed) Price $200,000 (estimated)

On sale Q2 2023

Speaking of software, there are some new functions for the onboard Track Pace app worth mentioning. Track Pace is AMG’s track data tool that allows you to split circuits into sectors and record your lap times at 30 pre-loaded circuits around the world but in the C63 it also gives you a guide on where best to deploy the car’s electric energy to improve your lap time

Because the C63’s 6 1kWh battery is quite small, it can only deliver its maximum 150kW for short 10 second bursts, so rather than using up all your energy early in the lap, the boost strategy tells you the ideal place to deploy max boost via a message on the dash It’s similar to how Lewis Hamilton uses the energy in his F1 car Drivers can choose between a ‘hot lap’ setting to extract the maximum performance over one lap or an ‘endurance’ mode which will eke out the available energy over a multi-lap stint

So it’s fast and fun around a circuit but if anything the new C63 is even more impressive as a road car. On the serpentine mountain roads around Ascari, it’s phenomenally quick. Grip levels are high, the front axle feels eager and responsive and now that the C63 is all-wheel drive, the traction of out of slower corners verges on gobsmacking Flatten the throttle at the apex and you can almost feel the tarmac rippling up behind you as it tears at the surface for purchase It’s savagely fast Like a Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi EVO wound up to 11

And it just gives you so many options Come into a corner too hot and it always feels like you have more braking performance and steering lock to exploit I’ve long thought there’s not much that could out-run a well-driven A45 on a twisty section of road, but this car would leave it in its dust The real secret to the new C63’s formidable real-world pace is its suspension The roads around Ascari are gnarly and littered with evil bumps

that would turn the old C63 into a snarly, bucking beast, skipping and struggling to get its grunt to the road The new C63 isn’t only more forgiving but it breathes with the surface (keeping the dampers in Comfort while everything else is in Race mode yields the best results) and while that means you can feel the body moving instead of being held in a vicelike grip, it’s always predictable and controlled. For that reason alone it’s in a different league for real-world pace compared with the current car. And in the wet, that gap will only grow.

So what about weaknesses? Well aside from the higher price and smaller boot, the most obvious weakness is the sound. It’s just not loud, angry or soulful enough, to my ears at least But perhaps the thing that will polarise people most is that the C63 no longer feels like a muscle car For decades now, AMG’s fast C-Class has traded on being a brooding and bombastic performance car that majors on drama, theatre and personality That old-school charm has diminished with this version and the C63 is now more like a high-tech hot hatch than a charismatic hot rod Your mileage may vary on whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing

Judge it in isolation and the new C63 is a mighty and wickedly fast performance sedan It’s also a spectacular piece of engineering that out performs the car it’s replacing in virtually every objective measure. It’s quicker, thriftier, quieter, comfier and is so fiendishly complex that it makes the W205 C63 feel a touch quaint and old-school. But for all its superiority, it’s also clear that the new C63 is a harder car to understand and to love It needs time to get under your skin so a definitive verdict will have to wait until we score some more seat time in Australia and conduct a comparison with the BMW M3 Competition and Audi RS4, but for now, one thing is obvious: AMG has altered the C63 recipe to such a degree that it’s sure to alienate some of its existing customer base The gamble that AMG is banking on is that this thoroughly modern interpretation of what a C63 should be will see it gain more fans that it loses

There’s a law of diminishing returns when it comes to tweaking an engine that’s already making big power and torque for its size

KAIZEN IF YOU HAD TO sum up the 2023 Honda Civic Type R in a single word, that’s it For Japanese carmakers kaizen means continuous improvement, and the new Type R is a masterclass in the art and science of the process.

Every tiny piece of the FL5 Type R, from the powertrain to the suspension to the steering and brakes and gearshift and driver support systems, all of which are based on hardware used in the previous generation FK8 model, has been lovingly, meticulously, polished and preened to tease out incremental improvements in performance and handling and all-round driveability

And what does that all that mean? In simple terms, confidence You can, as we did, jump into the new Type R on a damp and unfamiliar racetrack and within a couple of laps be driving the wheels off the thing, revelling in the muscular response of the 2 0-litre VTEC turbo four, the snickety-snick-snick of the gearshift, the easy playfulness of the chassis, the meaty yet precise steering, and brakes that never give up

This Civic Type R the definition of a great driver’s car; its calm and consistent demeanour under pressure invites you to explore the very edge of the performance envelope – yours, or, if you’re good enough, that of the machinery –and it won’t rip your head off when you make a mistake.

Visually, the new Type R has none of the manga comic craziness of the FK8 That’s partly because the fundamental design of the five-door Civic hatch is much cleaner and more sophisticated than that of the previous model, but also because Honda engineers have spent a lot of time working with their motorsport colleagues on reducing drag while increasing downforce The rear wing, combined with the rear diffuser, the redesigned bonnet and sporty front fascia, all work together to produce 92kg of downforce at 200km/h

There’s no mistaking the more aggressive front and rear fascias, the vents on the bonnet and behind the front wheels, and those three bazooka-calibre exhausts looming under the rear bumper. There’s Type R DNA all over the car

The FL5 body is slightly bigger in every dimension, making this the biggest Civic Type R yet, but in terms of its mission, the important dimensional changes versus the previous model are the 35mm increase in the wheelbase, the 26mm increase in the front track, the 30mm increase in the rear track, and the lowering of the driver and front passenger H-point by 8mm The longer wheelbase, wider track, and lower centre of gravity help the new Type R feel even more planted than its predecessor

Under the skin, the FL5 features 3 8 times the structural adhesive of the FK8 to improve body rigidity, particularly at the rear of the car. The use of adhesives has also helped save weight, obviating the need for additional steel bracing. Other weight-saving measures include the new aluminium bonnet, which is 43 percent lighter than the FK8’s steel item, and a resin rear hatch that’s 20 percent lighter.

The revised version of the K20C1 four-banger under the bonnet now develops 235kW at 6500rpm, and 420Nm of torque from 2200rpm to 4000rpm, increases of 7kW and 20Nm over FK8 spec They’re not big bumps, but they’re enough to get the Type R comfortably into the five-second bracket for the 0-100km/h sprint

– Honda claims 5 4 seconds, compared with the 6 0 seconds we recorded when testing an FK8 Type R back in mid-2020

As any tuner knows, there’s a law of diminishing returns when it comes to tweaking an engine that’s already making big power and torque for its size The FK8’s engine punched out 117kW per litre

New Type R is an even more focused track-day tool, but brings greater breadth of ability for daily duties

Getting the FL5 version to better that number by just three percent involved fitting a redesigned turbocharger that, among other things, features fewer blades on the impeller to reduce inertia by 14 percent and thus reduce lag, as well as improving breathing still further by designing an intake and exhaust system with 10 and 13 percent better flow rates, respectively

To optimise engine response, particularly in terms of rev matching on downshifts, the flywheel is 18 percent lighter, and removing this weight has reduced the flywheel’s overall inertia by 25 percent

The FK8’s six-speed manual was already one of the best in the business in terms of shift feel and precision, but Honda engineers thought there was still room for improvement As a result, the FL5 Type R’s shifter has a more rigid throw, less free play, and moves across a carefully optimised gate that’s been designed for faster, more precise shifts between second and third, and fourth and fifth gears.

The new Type R has fundamentally the same suspension layout as the previous model, though everything has been tweaked The adaptive dampers, carried over from the FK8, feature a revised control logic for roll and pitch control The dual-axis front suspension, which helps minimise torque steer, has new lower arms that deliver a 16 percent increase in camber rigidity over the previous generation Type R The front axle geometry has also been revised to make better use of the increased engine torque and the 265/30 R19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres

The decision to step down from 20-in to 19-in rims compared with the FK8 Type R was driven by the dimensional changes of the FL5 platform, their effect on the suspension geometry,

and improvements in tyre technology. The Michelins have been engineered to work their inner edges harder than before, and the new 19in alloy wheels thus have their smallest inner diameter on the inside of the rim, rather than the outside, as is usual. That’s why the new 19in wheels look like 20s from a distance

Lurking behind the wheels is an upgraded Brembo braking system that features a new mechanical brake master cylinder to improve tip-in pedal feel Revised brake ducts help keep the rotors and calipers cooler – Honda engineers claim they’ve seen 60-degree Celsius lower pad temperatures than in the FK8 after five hot laps of Suzuka

To make the most of the more responsive chassis, the steering column has bearings honed to improve rigidity and longevity, and the tie-rod ends are made from a high-rigidity material for increased steering feel Thanks to upgrades to the electronic power steering control software, a larger diameter, a 60 percent more rigid torsion bar reduces unwanted steering deflections to improve feedback and response.

Data geeks will go all gooey over the new Type R’s upgraded Honda Log R 2.0 performance data acquisition app. The app is now built into the car’s infotainment system and no longer requires hosting via a hardwired smartphone and features a Performance Monitor function and a Scoring function

In Performance Monitor, 12 separate items of vehicle information can be displayed including engine, water, and oil temperatures as well as steering angle, brake pressure, accelerator pedal angle and yaw rate New is a digital tyre friction circle display, which calculates and shows in real time the potential maximum grip of each of the four tyres

Below: Engine needed extensive tweaks to liberate an extra 7kW and 20Nm over the old model

Rear wing less wild than previousgen; doesn’t impede rear vision

F I R S T D R I V E / H O N D A C I V I C T Y P E R

The Scoring function allows Type R drivers to review their driving to help improve skills behind the wheel An Auto Score function evaluates driving performance on the public road in everyday situations, while the Data Log function records and analyses track driving data.

In Data Log mode the system awards up to 100 performancebased points per lap, the total determining whether the car considers you to be a C, B, A, S, or S+ driver – with S+ as the best. It’s the same system Honda uses to rank its professional R&D evaluators Never mind F1, now even we mere mortals have nowhere to hide when it comes to explaining a duff lap time

Despite all the focus on its capability on the track, most Civic Type Rs of course spend most of their lives on the road And the good news is the FL5 version is not just a great track-day weapon, but a terrific road car, too

Inside the roomier interior, the trademark bright red R-spec front seats are supportive and comfortable, although the lever to adjust the backrest is almost impossible to operate with the seatbelt fastened For a car that otherwise displays such meticulous attention to detail, it’s an unforgivable error. The steering wheel is just the right diameter, and the rim is not too thick. The graphics on the digital dash are clean and bright.

Pressing the +R button on the centre console changes the dash display to a race-style layout with a bar-type tach, shift lights, and the selected gear displayed front and centre Activating the +R setting, which activates the race-face +R drive mode, is best left for the track, however, not the least because the +R mode’s adaptive damping setting is so stiff the ride will jiggle your kidneys and blur your vision on anything other than billiard-table-smooth roads

If you want to have a lash on a quiet back road, Sport mode works just fine in terms of body control, steering weighting and throttle response The 2 0-litre VTEC turbo’s meaty mid-range and solid top end, combined with the well-stacked gear ratios, means you’re never really wrongfooted by a deceptive corner, and the wonderful steering, prodigious front-end grip and finely wrought chassis balance means the Type R changes direction with an alacrity few front-drive cars can match.

What’s more, the FL5 Type R now offers an Individual mode that allows you to mix and match various elements of the Comfort, Sport, and +R drive modes to your liking That means you can set the engine and steering to the most responsive +R settings, for example, while having the dampers, engine noise and automatic rev match function in either Sport or even Comfort settings

Even better, the Type R will remember your last selected drive mode the next time you start the car

In baseline Comfort mode, the Type R still feels very taut and tied down, but there’s just enough syrup in the inputs to make the car a liveable daily driver Indeed, it feels a much more grown-up car than its predecessor all round; less raw and raucous, more sophisticated.

Which is just as well, because this Type R, first deliveries of which in Australia are expected in February 2023 carries a rather grown-up price tag, too – a haggle-free $72,600, drive away. That’s a hefty $20,000 more than you’ll pay for Hyundai’s rascally i30 N hatch, and about the same money you’ll hand over for a Mk 8 Golf R, Wolfsburg’s all-wheel drive stealth supercar Is it worth it? If you want what is the best front-drive hot hatch in the business, then yes

But there’s one thing more Could the expensive new Type R, a better car in every respect, be just a little too suave and sophisticated for fans of the demented FK8 model, which ended its life as the best-selling Civic Type R in history? Time will tell

One of the best manual shift actions in any current car, regardless of price

Bulk mid-corner grip doesn’t come at the expense of tactility or feedback

F I R S T D R I V E / H O N D A C I V I C T Y P E R

NOT SO LONG ago, Australia’s small-SUV set seemed more like a reality-show cast than any kind of brains trust Larger and heavier than the hatchbacks that sired them, they offered neither the grunt, the space, nor the value-formoney of lower-level medium SUVs costing only marginally more. For the most part, the small-SUV allure rested purely on visibility, manoeuvrability, and perceived modernity

There were exceptions, such as Honda’s secondgeneration HR-V (2014-21) whose benchmark interior package somehow compensated for its patchy dashboard and detail design, and its dull drivetrain Mazda’s likeable CX-3, on the other hand – now re-classified as a light SUV – included just enough extra interior room to make it appealing, though without the boost in boot space to sufficiently lift-and-separate it to true SUV status

Clearly the increasingly important small-SUV category has been crying out for a fundamental shift in thinking –starting with under-bonnet tech and continuing with how much space and choice is offered for the price.

Toyota’s fresh-faced debutant is the Corolla Cross SUV – the first Australian model since the 1988-92 Corolla 4WD wagon to leverage the Corolla nameplate for a niche variant though the Corolla Cross won’t be considered niche for long In its first month on sale, Toyota Oz shifted 1025 of them – instantly displacing the Corolla hatch/sedan (904 sales) in the popularity stakes, as well as Toyota’s sexier, more youth-oriented C-HR small SUV (585 sales)

What makes the Corolla Cross so appealing is its RAV4in-a-concentrate vibe, the quality of its engineering DNA and the breadth of its range (eight variants, including five hybrids and two AWD models), spanning $33-49k But there

are two other new-generation small SUVs attempting to lure Australian buyers with their cutting-edge chic – the third-generation Honda HR-V ($36-47k driveaway) and the Kia Niro ($44-72k) – plus the forthcoming all-new Nissan Qashqai ($34-47k) that’s poised for a pre-Christmas debut.

Honda offers a simple two-variant HR-V range – 1.5-litre petrol Vi-X and 1.5-litre petrol-hybrid e:HEV L – while Kia’s second-generation Niro arrives with either hybrid or full-electric power, each in S or GT-Line specification. At $47,000 driveaway for an HR-V Hybrid (in any colour) and $49,361 driveaway for our Niro S Hybrid test car, the front-drive Corolla Cross GXL Hybrid’s $43,254 driveaway price starts to look pretty damn sharp until you consider our wildcard for this test, the Mazda CX-30 G20 Touring SP, which at $43,369 driveaway is both competitive with the Toyota’s ask, and $1545 cheaper than the larger-engined CX-30 G25 Touring SP

Admittedly, the Corolla Cross GXL Hybrid we have here is an AWD variant ($46,512 driveaway) – just over three grand more than the front-drive Hybrid and garnished with multi-link rear suspension (instead of a torsion beam), a larger 43-litre fuel tank (versus 36 litres) and a tyre repair kit instead of a space-saver spare. But that’s still less than what the HR-V and Niro cost.

In a similar fashion, the obvious CX-30 for this comparison should be a G20e Evolve with its mild-hybrid 2 0-litre engine and an even sharper $41,362 driveaway price But with a combined fuel-consumption benefit of just 0 2L/100km over the G20 Touring SP’s non-hybrid engine, Mazda’s ‘M Hybrid’ hype appears to be mainly marketing-driven Indeed, the G20e’s negligible 0 3L/100km consumption benefit over the much more powerful 2 5-litre G25 engine proves that any CX-30 powered by a 2 0-litre is simply about price

In concept, the COTY-winning CX-30 is a bit of a lone wolf here Intended to act as a more practical alternative to the coupe-like Mazda 3 hatch, the CX-30 maintains the hatch’s sporty, style-driven flavour, despite being classified as an SUV The Corolla Cross, on the other hand, is all about roomy conventionality, because Toyota already has the C-HR for buyers chasing edgy design.

Indeed, once you’re inside the Corolla Cross, all memories of the C-HR’s rear-seat claustrophobia and helmet-like vision instantly vanish Not only is it quite big for a small SUV – the longest, tallest and equal-widest here, though sharing its 2640mm wheelbase length with the C-HR –there’s also a sense that the Corolla Cross’s overall design is about suiting as many lifestyles as possible while offending as few people as possible with the possible exception of its ungainly US-market grille Compared to the relatively subtle front-end treatment of the Japanese-market version, the siz e, shape and positioning of our car’s grille looks jarringly out of place

Front-seat comfort is generous (the GXL gets all-manual front buckets with electric lumbar for the driver) and there’s plenty of space, particularly headroom in the rear, though the Corolla Cross concedes a significant chunk of rear-seat legroom and cushion comfort to the HR-V. And typically for a manual-seat Toyota, only the driver gets height adjustment, leaving the back-left passenger staring into the broad front headrest of the too-high seat ahead of them

The new HR-V mimics the Corolla Cross’s positioning in offering both petrol and hybrid powertrains while aiming to similarly maximise space But it’s shaped more like a coupe than a wagon, which caps rear headroom for adults at no more than 188cm (6ft 2in), though the rear seat itself is excellent, with terrific support and clever footrests beneath the front seats – garnished with the flexibility of being able to lift both cushions vertically or flatten the whole lot in one balletic double movement

The HR-V only gets two rear belts in Australia – limiting it to a four-seater – though given the discomfort of the centre position, that’s less of a problem than it may appear The all-manual front seats are set quite high, with no height adjustment for the passenger, which restricts forward vision for rear-seat passengers And in a reversal of fortunes, the HR-V’s front seating lacks the plush comfort of the Corolla Cross’s buckets, though it counters with a lovely steering wheel, a sensible control layout, and an air of classy cohesion that shines in a sea of monotone black.

Aided by its class-leading 2720mm wheelbase, the Niro S is massive inside The comfortable and supportive front seats feature plasticky-cool headrests that move forward in three positions, and the driver gets eight-way electric adjustment, joined by manual height adjustment for the passenger But there’s only one auto up/down window (driver) and the seriously huge rear-seat space is compromised by a seat cushion that’s too short, predominantly vinyl trim that feels clammy, and the ambience of a base model

In terms of pure design, the Niro’s cabin is kooky enough to fascinate the inner child in all of us, but the entry-level S just doesn’t bring it together – particularly the low-grade infotainment screen that appears lost in a sea of mismatching plastic, and at odds with the instrument graphics. If you want the full tech effect in a new Niro, you’ll need to stretch $6K further north to the GT-Line Hybrid. Otherwise, you’re left wondering what’s missing from this nearly 50 grand car

The opposite is true of the CX-30 Touring SP In terms of overall interior quality, it feels special – even better than the Honda in its switchgear feel, plastics tactility, material quality and general feeling of expense, though with the occasional ergonomic hiccup (such as no digital speedo in the instrument pack – only the head-up display) The steering wheel is great to hold, the front seats are excellent with loads of adjustment, and almost no Mazda interior is

HR-V has the smallest boot space; seating for four only

Niro is the fuel miser of the group, 0.8L/100km more frugal than next-best HR-V

The Niro’s cabin is kooky enough to fascinate the inner child in all of us

Left: HR-V needs to be worked hard when it hits the hills

Left: For outright performance, Corolla Cross has this lot covered

as colourful as this! The Touring SP mixes ivory-coloured headlining with burgundy leather trim to provide a level of designer chic that effortlessly transcends its low-40s price

Yet the CX-30 is the opposite of the Niro for rear-seat room. It has a svelteness to its styling that few other small SUVs have, but the by-product of that is a compromised level of space, vision and luggage capacity – 317 litres in boot size compared to 425 litres for the Niro, 425 for the front-drive Corolla Cross (though 390 for the GXL AWD) and 304 litres for the HR-V (which it compensates for via its brilliant seatfolding theatrics) In isolation, the CX-30 is entirely workable for carrying four adults, but compared to the voluminous Toyota, Honda and Kia, the racy-looking Mazda’s practicality is more of the ‘hatch on stilts’ type than an elevated small wagon

Where this starts to pay dividends is on the road In blending its ‘Japanese BMW’ interior flavour and driving position with a generous level of dynamic appeal, the CX-30’s reason for being starts to become clearer It’s not as fun to drive as the Mazda 3 it’s derived from, yet there’s still much to enjoy about the way it performs on challenging roads –even this 114kW 2.0-litre variant – and the subtlety of its active-safety systems if you minimise (or disable) their intrusion.

With four people on board, the CX-30 Touring SP does wash off some speed up hills unless you’re in Sport mode giving it some throttle, however when you’re driving one-up, it proves very effective at using the available torque (200Nm at 4000rpm) to comfortably maintain pace

It also sounds quite pleasant when being extended to 6600rpm, which you need to do to really make it move quickly And while we were unable to performance-test these four small SUVs at the dragstrip, a four-up, standing-start, foot-flat attack up a winding hill saw the 2 0-litre CX-30 crest the top doing a solid 100km/h

If you value polished dynamics over all else, then the best CX-30 variant is the base G20 Pure riding on chubby 215/65R16 tyres, not the 215/55R18s of our Touring SP –especially now that the Pure finally gets a leather steeringwheel rim. With taller sidewalls, the CX-30 becomes a sweeterriding, more fluid-handling machine, with less irritation to steering and body movement through bumpy corners.

The most dynamic car of this group, however, is the Corolla Cross Hybrid It doesn’t initially impress to any great extent – feeling rather bland, with annoyingly touchy low-speed braking response and a ride that isn’t as supple as its 215/60R17 tyres might suggest On first acquaintance, it seems to lack the silken dynamic polish of an equivalentspec Corolla or C-HR, but the more you ask of it, the greater the sparkle of its mechanical DNA

Admittedly, our test AWD’s multi-link independent rear suspension gives it a distinct advantage over the torsionbeam front-drive model, though given that this variant still costs less than a front-drive HR-V or Niro (and about $400 less than a CX-30 Touring SP AWD), it seems like a fair deal

Indeed, beneath the Corolla Cross’s unexciting wrapping hides a small SUV that’s entertaining to hustle, and keen to go there, with crisp, direct steering and a confident sense of balance that makes for delightfully fluid progress on mountain roads Combine its supple high-speed ride and poised handling with easily the strongest performance here –Toyota claims 0-100km/h in 7 6sec for the GXL AWD, which is Corolla SX/GTi hot-hatch territory from 30 years ago! – and it turns out the rather homely Corolla Cross Hybrid is packing proper guns and buns

On our hill test, the Corolla Cross crested at 117km/h – a decisive 20km/h faster than the keen-sounding but not-sobrisk HR-V The extra torque of Toyota’s 2 0-litre Atkinsoncycle petrol engine with lithium-ion battery (for a combined

Honda

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Toyota

146kW) means it offers relaxed acceleration compared to the Honda’s revvy freneticism, with a surging strength to its power delivery.

While the HR-V channels more than a hint of new-gen Civic in its design and flavour, it rides on a new-generation Jazz platform, hence its torsion-beam rear suspension Unlike in Japan, our HR-V isn’t available with AWD, and unlike the Corolla Cross, our 96kW/253Nm HR-V Hybrid isn’t blessed with grunt but it’s not so bad

Thanks to its battery torque, the HR-V really kicks from a standing start, and the e-CVT does an excellent job of inserting ratio steps that feel completely natural – much better than any of this would appear on paper Honda’s small-capacity petrol engine doesn’t have the constant-rpm refinement that perhaps it could, though it sounds keen when winding itself out which it needs to do frequently when carrying four people (its maximum, remember!) in hilly conditions. And it will hold a set cruise-control speed perfectly.

Steering-wheel paddles adjust regenerative braking, though the HR-V defaults back to z ero after about 30 seconds in Normal drive mode, whereas in Sport it retains whatever setting you select (while sharpening throttle response and increasing steering weight)

Speaking of which, the HR-V has a lovely steering wheel and an element of the new-gen Civic’s dynamic flavour, though it feels noticeably hiked to the heavens and doesn’t quite connect everything together Even though its steering only has 2 5 turns lock-to-lock, it lacks the superb turn-in of a Civic, yet when you’re deep into a corner and hooking it, the

HR-V displays a decent wedge of the Civic’s handling balance.

There’s plenty of coarse-surface tyre noise from its 225/50R18 Michelins, though, and the HR-V’s ride quality –while displaying a suppleness under duress that eludes the new Civic – frequently feels lumpier than ideal, and pales in comparison to the polished comfort over rougher surfaces displayed by the Toyota

Same goes for the Niro S Hybrid, even though it’s wearing humble Nexen 205/60R16s The Kia’s ride is surprisingly fidgety around town, though it does improve at higher speeds When hustled through corners, body control is good, turn-in is brisk, and handling feels balanced and confident, yet the Niro never feels encouraging or inspiring

The Niro’s steering is its weakest link, with a heaviness when parking and vagueness at straight ahead, compounded by a cloudy and artificial feel at all speeds At no point does the steering ever feel natural, regardless of the Drive Mode selected – Normal and Sport. Or ‘doughy’ and ‘toey’ as we called them, neither of which are ideal in complementing the Niro Hybrid’s character.

Normal delivers among the most dismal throttle response we’ve experienced in a modern car, as the driver almost fights with the accelerator travel to transfer right-foot inputs into meaningful movement And then Sport goes completely the other direction – great if you’re trying to outrun the law, but not so subtle at other times, and determined to knock out top gear, which isn’t ideal when you only have six of them

The Niro’s Hybrid 104kW/265Nm 1 6-litre drivetrain with six-speed dual-clutch transmission is reasonably refined and

HR-V (below) can’t match the Corolla Cross for open-road legs, nor ride comfort

The Honda’s e-CVT does an excellent job of inserting ratio steps that feel completely natural

The Corolla Cross is a clear dynamic leader and by far the strongest performer of the group

acceptably powerful when asked for everything it has –Kia claims 0-100km/h in 10 4sec – to the point where it managed to out-pace the HR-V and CX-30 in our hill test, clocking 105km/h More importantly, though, it proved convincingly the most economical on test, averaging an exceptional 4.8L/100km compared to 5.6L/100km for the HR-V Hybrid, 5.9L/100km for the Corolla Cross Hybrid and 8.7L/100km for the 2.0-litre CX-30.

In isolation, any of those fuel numbers would be respectable – all fed the minimum recommended octane – but then so too would the cars themselves Siz e wise, these four are bang on the z eitgeist for an effortless urban SUV – small enough to enhance their park-ability but spacious enough to justify why you might choose one over an equivalent medium SUV Yet there still isn’t a stand-out winner here

The car that spreads its talents widest is the Corolla Cross It looks awkward from certain angles, it feels cheap in certain areas inside, and it lacks visual flair – almost as if it’s an odd mis-step for Toyota Yet the Corolla Cross GXL Hybrid is the only small SUV here that’s a true allrounder. When push comes to shove, it’s a clear dynamic leader and by far the strongest performer of the group –backed up by competitive levels of space and comfort, and super-cheap servicing costs ($230 a pop). We just wish it displayed a bit more sophistication in its overall design

In that department, the Honda HR-V is miles ahead It blends an upmarket interior feel with premium exterior appearance yet beats the Toyota on the affordable servicing front ($199 a service for the first five years) In its preferred environment (smooth, flat, twisty roads), it’s way beyond its predecessor, but we feel that Honda is missing an opportunity here – perhaps with a betterriding base model wearing the sexy 16-inch alloys of the Japanese-market Vez el G, complemented by a range-

topper with the fancy interior, glassy roof and perhaps AWD The new HR-V Hybrid is a handsome, likeable thing, but it’s not as consistent as the Corolla Cross in achieving its assigned tasks

The Kia Niro S Hybrid treads a similar path, though is very much a car of contrasts It’s the most expensive car here yet feels the cheapest inside; it’s not particularly quick but is incredibly frugal, even when driven hard, and its high-tech interior design isn’t matched by hightech features. It’s also oddly detached to drive, with an underlying dynamic ability that it somehow doesn’t encourage you to discover Yet even when you do, you just wish it had more feel

Which leaves the Mazda CX-30 G20 Touring SP It’s handsome, beautifully built, pleasant to drive briskly, and encouragingly tractable, despite being the base-engined variant We referred to it as a Japanese BMW several times, which provides insight as to how the CX-30 looks and feels But it’s a much better car as a 2 5-litre – not only because it barely suffers in the fuel-efficiency department (and let’s face it, the 2 0-litre is already miles behind the hybrids) but because it gives the relatively keen chassis more muscle to work with.

With the Toyota’s fast, frugal drivetrain and more packaging cleverness, the CX-30 would be excellent, though as a roomier, glassier, more liveable version of the Mazda 3 hatch, it’s a fine alternative But as a small SUV intended to haul about families and their clobber, it favours form a little too much over function Ultimately, the CX-30 is more of a Toyota C-HR competitor than a Corolla Cross rival

Seeing as Mazda is currently fleshing out its SUV range at Marvel-like speed, maybe a wagon-shaped CX-40 with a proper hybrid drivetrain could be exactly what the smallSUV class has been begging for all along

F E A T U R E / I N S I D E H O T

EARTH’S POPULATION recently passed eight billion. An incredible, jaw-dropping stat – until you learn Hot Wheels got there first. Production reached 8bn in a little over five decades, too, its very first miniature car rolling out of the factory in 1968

Nowadays, there’s 16 made every second; that’s a rate of around 500 million cars each year, with the ecosystem surrounding their design, engineering and manufacturing looking every bit as mature as those for the full-siz e cars they mimic

So much more than a toy, Hot Wheels has become a phenomenon In the case of those now occupying significant roles at parent company Mattel, it’s how their entire love of cars sprung into life “My first Hot Wheels car was the Z-Whiz [based around a Datsun 240Z] and my first Matchbox car was a Land Rover Defender 90,” says brand director Jimmy Liu. “I love both dearly and still have them. Collecting these cars as a kid kept an interest in cars going into my adult life.”

It’s the expertise of Jimmy and his team that helps decide which cars occupy the blister packs hanging tantalisingly at the supermarket, perilously close to the wandering mitts of your kids Or your own hands still ingrained with the muscle memory of how much fun

these things were in your youth

“We look at trends in the market and really try to stay relevant with the industry,” Jimmy says with an assuredness you’d normally associate with more prosaic product lines. “Since cars span across so many different sub-cultures, and we have long development lead times, it’s often difficult to predict what will be popular by the time we get the product in market

“If we’re targeting adults then we skew towards reallife cars However, our Basic range has a balance of both Hot Wheels Originals and licensed models We like to insert some of our own personal favourites in the line occasionally, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to do what best for the consumer I personally love speaking with collectors and always welcome suggestions ”

A typical annual Hot Wheels range contains about 450 cars, of which around half will be brand new that year. A recent addition to the company’s more premium line – which typically means a metal base, rubber tyres and an artfully designed pack that’s less likely to be ripped apart as the car’s flung at the skirting board – is a detailed recreation of the Alfa Romeo 155 DTM racecar of the ’90s

Helping bring it to life was designer Mark Jones Known as The Godfather within his team, Mark’s

There’s 16 made every second; that’s a rate of around 500 million cars each year

Your kids may tear straight into the packaging, but these guys wish they wouldn’t

Price not to

With eight billion Hot Wheels cars having left Mattel factories, there are plenty (quite literally) knocking around households globally But some are naturally rarer than others, and woe betide any nippers who get their hands on this Beach Bomb and whoosh it mercilessly across the kitchen floor Made in 1969, it was a pink VW bus that came complete with a rear-loading surfboard but proved too top-heavy to truly work on track The design was modified for production, but those original, flawed prototypes are actually the ones to have – if you have a spare $250,000, anyway

Above: Designer Mark Jones creates the Alfa 155 you can own for under $20

One down; only a few million to go

scale T H E R A R E V W W I T H A TAG T H AT WO U L D B U Y A N ACT UA L 911

CV includes design stints at full-siz e car manufacturers, something many – but not all – of Hot Wheels’ staff can claim He’s been at Mattel for 36 years and can attach his name to over 300 cars in that time, with a beautiful ‘circle of life’ feel to how he ended up in the role

“There was a Mattel toy years ago call the Vac-U-Form. You’d plug it in and vacuum-form little car bodies. I got it for Christmas aged 11. I made little signs and stuff. Then my dad showed me how to draw sections and make a little balsa wood buck So I started making bodies and putting them onto my slot cars ” Is it absurd to essentially be doing now what he was doing then? “Yeah, it’s kinda scary! I tried to escape into making real cars but I ended up coming back to toys ”

Designing Hot Wheels for a living is a touch more involved, however, with a 12- to 18-month sequence of design and verification prototypes that mimics the wider car industry Mark’s career has seen vast changes and advancements, with the dawn of digitised design and 3D-printing (for prototypes, not the end product) sharpening the overall process considerably Mark will work with Mattel’s digital sculpting team to draw up models of the cars he’s replicating, occasionally having to alter some of the detailing along the way. It’s not simply a case of shrinking a real-life car down to a 1:64 scale mould; the design team must dig deeply into the character of the car they’re making in order to retain – and occasionally exaggerate – its key traits

“One of the major hurdles with our development is we have standard-siz ed wheels, so we have to proportion the

car around them Sometimes we’ll move things around with the body if it won’t mess up the character lines too much Hot Wheels is not known for scale; we’re trying to fill up our blister packs and give people good value while still trying to make the car look correct We need a 30-thousandths clearance [0 76mm] between the tyre and the body for rolling along the floor, too. We’re trying to get that lower, especially on the premium stuff.”

Indeed, every new product is tested on the brand’s iconic orange tracks (of which 10,000 kilometres are sold every single year, incidentally) to make sure it can be played with as well as ogled Battles between design ambition and production reality amusingly mirror those of the ‘grown up’ car world, and it’s an area where the input of the manufacturers involved – and their inevitable right to sign off Hot Wheels’ recreations of their models – can prove a helping hand to Mark’s team rather than a stumbling block

“The gentleman at Alfa Romeo was a designer himself which meant he could be a little more critical of what we’d done,” says Jones “I was able to use his input to force my manufacturing people to do the things I really wanted in the first place It’s nice to be two-against-one in that scenario ”

And how complex is it to replicate a race-car livery? “Some companies own the rights to everything which allows us to use the whole livery. But then it’s limited by our production budget and how many colours we can do. We’re running the production line so fast we don’t apply them as decals; we do a tampography rubber stamp or a laser print instead This 155 looks like it has full tampo, which is a little tighter in detail

Battles between design ambition

production reality

and

amusingly mirror those of the ‘ grown up ’ car world

than the laser Lasering gives fuller coverage of the car

“I like race cars So I have to try and control myself when we’re deciding what to make We’re trying to hit all our customers’ wishes and desires When I was first doing Basic cars I did a GT1 Porsche, Le Mans Mercedes even an Alfa Bat. But at that time race cars like that maybe weren’t big sellers. The main race cars that Jimmy recognises are like the Alfa 155. He knows that if this generation of kids wants to see a motorsport line, they want to see something more recognisable as a production car than a prototype racer The computer games have really helped us; they’ve helped broaden our audience’s awareness of these cars Those who were too young to see them run in races have now driven them in games We’re two industries going hand in hand with our growth

“I managed to do the Lancia Stratos Group 5 with the big fenders The only reason I got that gig is that – to Jimmy –it was also a Transformers character called Wheeljack He remembered it, so we figured other people would remember it too And I was thrilled because I got to do a pretty whacked-out race car that I love!”

As heroically accurate as his race cars undoubtedly appear, it’s the wild and wondrous little Hot Wheels Originals that illuminate the eyes of some enthusiasts. Ian Callum is the designer responsible for huge handfuls of modern Aston Martins, Fords and Jaguars, and is proud of the way Hot Wheels sparked his creativity along the way

“I loved the idea of custom cars and hot rods,” says Callum, who began collecting Hot Wheels in his early teens

“I bought them because they represented something which I admired and wanted to be a part of They were the quickest line into having American car culture in my life

“I fell in love with hot rods in general because they were rebellious I was at that age in the ’60s when it was good to be rebellious; I had long hair and clothes my father didn’t approve of, and so my Hot Wheels cars were indicative of a lifestyle that suited me. They were aspirational. And I’m glad to say I ended up owning cars that looked a bit like them.

“Hot Wheels are always exaggerated and that’s what I always liked about them. It’s something I’ve tried to take though my design career – to always make the most of design features I grew a love for oversiz ed wheels and details at a young age ”

Callum has his own ‘circle of life’ moment, too, with the Jaguar F-Type among his numerous designs that have now been replicated in Hot Wheels “I saw this reel on Instag ram that says there are only two people in life you need to impress: your eight-year-old self and your 80-yearold self That a car I’ve worked on is now available as a Hot Wheels toy is very flattering It’s that notion that you’ve become a part of the world that inspired you in the first place. I can look back at my younger self and think, ‘You’ve done alright, kid’.”

We couldn’t possibly pin down how many of those eight billion Hot Wheels made their way through the Callum household, but there’s a rich seam of fully driveable sports cars which can lay some thanks at the door of Ian’s early automotive love Told you it was so much more than a toy

F

E A T U R E /

Naming rights

T H E M A N W H O B R O U G H T T H E H E AT HOT SHOT

Meet the El of

The company’s name is a portmanteau of its two founders, Harold ‘Matt’ Matson and Elliot Handler, though the latter (and his wife Ruth) bought out the former a few years in The Handlers are credited with the development of some pioneering toys; Ruth introduced the world to Barbie, named after their daughter Barbara, but it’s the dawn of the Hot Wheels brand in 1968 that blips Elliot’s name loudly on our radar The brand’s first car was a blue Custom Camaro, with thousands of model lines –and billions of sales – following since Handler lived to 95 and got to celebrate his 90th birthday at Mattel HQ

Designer Ian Callum: influenced by Hot Wheels; now a contributor to the model cars ’ line-up

Mercedes 300 SL inspired by the real deal that ran at Goodwood Revival in 2018

The design team must dig deeply into the character of the car they’re making

Mattel

TOYOTA’S CULT CLASSIC AE86 MEETS THE NEW GR86 TO SEE IF THERE REALLY IS A COMMON THREAD OF DYNAMIC DNA LINKING THE 36 YEARS THAT SEPARATE THIS PAIR

O R D S D Y L A N C A M P B E L L P H O T O S A L A S T A I R B R O O K

THERE’S SMOKE coming from under the bonnet, and my mind frantically races trying to remember if there’s a fire extinguisher under the passenger seat A lyrebird cackles from within the bright lilac ferns somewhere nearby, while I try to convince myself the slowly wafting smoke is from the brakes Brakes that smell, peculiarly, like bushfire Brakes that were hardly used while hammering uphill in this underpowered 1986 buzz box, trying to keep up with a new Toyota GR86

As we reach the top of the winding Donna Buang Road east of Melbourne, the smoke seems to have subsided as we lift the heavy steel bonnet to find a crispy eucalyptus leaf attempting self-immolation by means of wedging itself between cylinders two and three of a 35-year-old cast-iron exhaust manifold The leaf is extracted, and there is relief

Today, no cars are burning to the ground, but it is a fiery undertaking no less: we’re comparing new versus old, 1986 Toyota AE86 Sprinter GTV versus 2022 Toyota GR86 GT

The objective: to see if Toyota has imbued more AE86 DNA into the second iteration of its rear-drive sports car The first version, as released in 2012, was more an adopted than direct descendent of Toyota’s cult classic AE86 The Toyota 86 and its Subaru BRZ twin were both brilliant in their own right – enough to win Wheels Car of the Year 2012, no less – but failed to rekindle some of the spark of the

1980s original. Namely under the bonnet, the FA20 2.0-litre boxer four-cylinder titillating in a way a new dishwasher might: undoubtedly useful, initially exciting even, but ultimately a thing of function than desire

For the just-released ‘second generation’ (more an extensive facelift) of its rear-drive coupe, Toyota says it’s fixed that problem Under that aluminium bonnet, an 8mm bigger bore increases capacity from 1998cc to 2387cc – and power from 152kW to 172kW Torque is also up 38Nm to 250Nm, occurring earlier in the rev range (3700rpm versus 6600rpm), addressing a major complaint of the previous model As well as a new, much more handsome cabin, there’s now an interior engine noise speaker too, producing a sweeter sound (even if it’s more Stevia than sugar).

To properly understand the new car, though, we must first understand the old. On the surface, the AE86 is simply a rear-drive Toyota Corolla from the 1980s – hobbled by prodigious hype But forget its enormous cult following and you discover something special – something of a Japanese BDA-powered Ford Escort

From the driver’s seat, the AE86 is light and airy courtesy of its thin pillars and large windows The interior is classic 1980s Toyota; a tub of cheap plastics, urethane and vinyl There is a faint smell of tobacco like seemingly every other ’80s and ’90s Japanese imported car

The charms of weighing just 950kg and being rear-

SNAIL TRAIL Will it ever blow for go?

PAC K AG I N G C O N ST R A I N TS R U L E O U T FO R C E D I N D U CT I O N

So the new FA24D engine is bigger and more muscular, but why couldn’t Toyota and Subaru just bolt in the WRX’s turbo 2 4-litre FA24F boxer-four, producing 202kW and 350Nm? That’s because companies insist that with its bottom-mounted turbo, they would need to raise the engine, ruining the GR86 and BRZ’s brilliantly low centre of gravity What about slotting in the GR Yaris’s mega 200kW/300Nm 1 6-litre turbo inline-3? Gazoo Racing has indeed built a small batch of turbo three-pot GR86 prototypes to test synthetic fuels – which shows they’ve at least thought about it Start praying

Ignore the smell of vinyl and tobacco; crank up ‘Livin’ on a Prayer ’

Not sideways, because this isn’t a Touge, but he could be if he wanted to

Five-speed manual and ’80s corded velour but what, no parachute pants?

Australia’s lost t w in-cam A E86s

Two Toyota factories in Japan pumped out more than 360,000 AE86s between 1983 and 1987, and a few were officially sold in Australia as Sprinters – breathless, SOHC, carburettor, drum-brake Nanna-spec specials Any twin-cam versions have been privately imported However, that’s with the exception of a very small number of twin-cam Levin GTVs that (allegedly) came to Australia in the 1980s Toyota was officially campaigning twin-cam AE86s in the Australian Touring Car Championship at the time – and winning everything in the under two-litre class Legend also has it that Toyota race driver John Smith dropped a race-prepped 4AGE, with about 142kW at the flywheel, into Mrs Smith’s AE86 daily driver

T H E N OT-S O - G R E Y M OTO R S P O RT I M P O RTS T H AT S N U C K T H R O U G H

drive are obvious enough, yet it’s the 4AGE engine that is the AE86’s real secret sauce In the 1980s, a twin-cam, 16-valve 1587cc inline-four – revving to 7700rpm from the factory – was something to be celebrated, even if it only had 96kW and 149Nm to show for it

It doesn’t like to be rushed producing that power, either While stationary, a blip of the lovely cable throttle generates an angry spike of revs – like a motorbike, which makes sense given Yamaha had a hand in developing the 4AGE But on the move, in second gear and beyond, the 4AGE winds patiently through a long arc of revs, making quite the song in the process

Call me biased – this is my personal car – but the AE86 is a delight to drive. Refreshingly mechanical, the entire car buzz es with feedback. It takes a while to build momentum – like a freight train – and once it’s going, every km/h feels precious. In this particular car, with aftermarket coil-overs and 2.5 degrees negative front camber, it’s all about carrying as much speed into the corners as you dare – and it can carry quite a lot Enough to startle a brand-new GR86, to be sure

Meanwhile, get an AE86 with a limited-slip diff on a wet or dirt road, and it’ll take about six corners to see why they are

loved by drifters and rally drivers alike.

Getting out of an AE86 and into a GR86 must be like a pilot jumping from a Spitfire into a Joint Strike Fighter You sit lower and are much more cocooned It feels much bigger and wider The cloth seats of the lower-spec GT, too, are a delight

Get stuck into that bigger bore FA24 and compared to the AE86’s characterful 4AGE, the artificial engine noise coming through the speakers is certainly loud and interesting, but not quite to my taste Others seem to like it – horses for courses The trade-off for the artificial noise is strong power (172kW from a 2 4-litre atmo four would have blown everybody’s little minds just 20 years ago) There’s easy second-gear throttle steer, even in the dry Toyota has absolutely ‘fixed’ the torque hole that plagued the old model, too, the grunt now much more linearly meted out.

Quirkily, the GR86 feels noticeably more rigid than the previous model – like it’s got a newly installed, invisible 10-point roll cage For chassis rigidity, it would make a 2012 car feel like a convertible – and that car was hardly wobbly

Obviously, the GR86 is night-and-day faster than an AE86 Whereas the AE86 is all about maximising mid-corner speed,

It takes a while to build momentum in the AE86, and once it’s going, every km/h feels precious

the GR86 is about not overcooking it In fact, it could handle much better rubber than its standard Michelin Primacy tyres, which require you to over-slow the car into most corners They’re not the most communicative or linear of tyres, and the fitment of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber to the more expensive GTS model makes a big difference to the GR86’s driver appeal.

The GR86 feels engineered for oversteer, too. Into corners, the rear-end is nervous and flighty, almost like an old-school hot hatch – and you’re constantly reacting to it

In terms of chassis communication, the GR86 asks you to listen carefully The steering is razor sharp, and there’s okay feel, but all the other controls leave you somewhat to work out where the limit might be

The AE86, by comparison, communicates the road and what the chassis is doing with perfect clarity – but, it must be said, at all times Some Melbourne roads, you don’t want to know too well not that the GR86 is much better – fairly bumpy with lots of tyre noise by modern sports car standards

There are other gripes with the GR86 GT The throttle map has a big bulge right at the start of its travel, as if engineered to try to further mask any lack of low-down torque. It gets tiring constantly having to sensitively feed in throttle in

traffic The clutch is also still a bit numb; and the dry, notchy gearshift isn’t anything special Then there’s the price – just 12 months ago, a (previous generation) 86 GT cost $32,180 It’s now $43,420 Toyota would argue it has a lot more standard equipment – and, to be fair, the interior represents a big step up, and not just because nobody’s been smoking in this one. Also, it’s still cheaper than the $70,000 or so the red AE86 would set you back...

And flawed as it might be as a daily driver, the GR86 is a much better sports car It’s finally got the grunt it should have had in the first place And it looks a lot better – one of the more accomplished facelifts of late The GR86, like the new BRZ as well, gets under your skin in a way only a rear-drive sports car can

However, while Toyota has built a better sports car, like the 2012 car it’s still fairly bereft of any noticeable AE86 DNA or lineage With totally different engine characters, they remain more family friends than close relatives That’s not to say the GR86 failed in rekindling an old flame, it just ignited something new.

Something that won’t have you fumbling around for a fire extinguisher...

The AE86 communicates the road and what the chassis is doing with perfect clarity Left:

came to replace the Subaru BRZ in the Wheels garage, my curiosity was piqued by the car that wears an Elantra N badge on the other side of the Pacific.

Over here, it’s the i30 Sedan N, the name jarring on a raw nerve of mine that refuses to be moved from the belief that there’s a natural order of things and that natural order is make, model, trim, body style Namyang clearly disag rees

I had a certain sense of deja vu when picking up NBY 59W, largely brought about by the fact that this was the exact car that Warren Luff harangued around Phillip Island at last year’s MOTOR Sports Car of the Year competition. It’s also done a lot of Hyundai’s initial launch activity and had covered just over 8000km when I picked it up, feeling a little more loose-limbed than the usual ultra-low-mileage press cars Perhaps that’s no bad thing

On road, it’s absolutely as much fun as I remember although Melbourne’s weather of late has been more suited to building arks than punting powerful front-drivers around The sheer volume of the exhaust when set into N Mode means that I haven’t dared activate it within a kilometre of my house for

fear of permanently alienating the neighbours, and on a run through the tunnels beneath Melbourne’s CBD, the crackle map sounds like the start of the Tet Offensive.

Some passengers have taken issue with the hard plastics in the cabin, although that has never particularly bothered me The seating position is

g reat, visibility is fine and the seats are very good What does irk me is the fact that in its default mode, the digital dash has two huge white LED dials that glare back at you at night. I find myself switching the car into Eco mode in order to get less jarring black virtual dials instead

The exterior styling is g rowing on me, although I spotted an i30 Sedan N Line in my local supermarket car park and parked the full-fat N alongside, reasoning that I’d probably give the other guy a little pang of jealousy Upon getting out, I came to the conclusion that the non-N was actually the better looking car I preferred its lower-key exhausts and the rear spoiler of the N is something that I’d probably have removed were I paying my own money. As much as I like Performance Blue, this is a big car to paint with it I think I’d fork out another $595 for Fluid Metal, a

classy gunmetal g rey hue

Prices for the four-door start at $49,000 and for that you get the choice of either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed DCT. This is a DCT model and I believe it’s better for it, the DCT gaining the big red N Grin Shift button on the steering wheel, which activates a 20-second countdown, eking an additional 7kW from the single-turbo four-pot Keep your foot planted and the dualclutch gearbox minimises torquedrop between shifts using a function called N Power Shift (NPS) I’ve found that combo about perfect for freeway on-ramps

I cringe every time I hear N Grin Shift, but there aren’t many cars this side of fifty g rand that can paint quite such a stupid g rin on your face as the Hyundai i30 Sedan N. Of course, it can do sensible too More on that another time

A N D Y E N R I G H T

was time for something with a smaller environmental footprint. What better than the most recent COTY winner –the Kia EV6? A few calls later and Kia confirmed that a RWD GT-Line could be ours for three months – but there was a hitch The car that was available for us was in Sydney, and would need to be collected

No worries, time to put some myths to bed with a quintessential Aussie drive along the Hume I’ve done this drive in an EV before – twice, in fact – but that was six years ago, using a model with almost triple the price tag, a larger battery, and I was confined to Tesla’s supercharger network as the public infrastructure wasn’t suitable Time really does fly, with the changes for this road trip sitting in stark contrast to my first experience First was the availability of ample ultra-rapid 350kW chargers at numerous points along the route Between charging providers Evie and Chargefox I was more than catered for The rear-drive GT-Line EV6 is the

pick of the range in our books, with its 77 4kWh battery and generous standard equipment including heated and cooled seats A mid-year update means prices are up $4600 for a near-enough $80,000 (before on-roads) sticker price, making this an expensive vehicle And financial decisions aren’t made in a contextual vacuum Will the EV6’s cheaper day to day running costs relative to an ICE vehicle be worth the additional outlay on typical leasing rates? Supply is still drum-tight on the EV6, so forget about haggling for a deal.

Perhaps what was most notable about my trip is how the actual driving aspect was entirely unremarkable I wasn’t stressed about range at any point, nor was I having to schedule stops any earlier than I would want In fact, I only had to make a pit stop for a charge twice From jumping into the driver’s seat in Sydney to flopping onto the couch at home, just under 11 hours had elapsed No, it’s not the quickest trip down the Hume I’ve completed,

but driving alone it was perfectly acceptable and meant I was feeling relaxed and relatively fresh The stops let me stretch my legs, have a proper feed, and send a couple of emails

What did slow me down, were owners of vehicles that were only capable of relatively tame maximum DC fast-charging rates compared to the 800-volt EV6 (which will draw triple-digit figures almost without fail) hogging the 350kW units at the charging stations. In one instance I arrived to find a BMW i3 and Hyundai Kona on the 350kW ultrarapid chargers, leaving me to use the 50kW unit The duo were drawing down 40kW and 60kW respectively Meanwhile the EV6 was sucking an infuriating 49 9kW of juice

When the i3 owner returned I politely enquired as to why he chose the 350kW charger over the 50kW unit His response was as simple as it was frustrating One is labelled ultra-rapid, while the other is simply a rapid charger, so the first will get

Above: Does this look like a man suffering range anxiety? Chargers aren’t the issue; it’s often the people using them

him back on the road quicker He was genuinely shocked when I explained that for the i3 there is no difference for maximum possible charge rates, while the EV6 I’m driving would be in and out in a fraction of the time if able to jump on the 350kW charger It points to a silent but growing issue of consumers buying EVs without fully understanding the technical nuances and creating a log-jam of ignorance at charging stations.

The issue with attempting to use public charging infrastructure isn’t the technology, it’s the meat in the system People, more than anything else, are now the roadblock to a seamless charging experience Range anxiety is touted as the big psychological damper to EVs being used for longer drives Depending on the route, this just isn’t the case However, replacing it is charger anxiety Will you have to queue when

you reach the recharge point, and if so, for how long? Thankfully I’ll be rid of this worry for the rest of the Kia’s stay, as our office is equipped with a wall-box charger from GET Electric capable of delivering a 22kW charge – representative of something easily fitted to a home with three-phase power The initial results are very positive, but more on that next month

The next day I headed to lunch with some friends I could have gone straight to the meeting point but decided to check what chargers were around. What I discovered was a 7kW charger that was free, and just a 10-minute walk from the pub. Beauty! Two hours of laughs, parmies, and a walk in the sun later and I returned to the Kia with 14kW of extra charge When was the last time you heard of an ICE vehicle being topped up with free fuel just because the owner walked a bit further to the pub? I could get used to EV ownership at this rate

Price as tested $57,990 (+ORC)

This month 1642km @ 9 4L/100km

Total 3593km @ 10 2L/100km

CLICK TO EXIT

A TECH TOUR AND A FOND FAREWELL ENDS OUR TENURE

IT’S TIME To bid farewell to the Subaru that should – and it mostly does, except for a few details that could deter the more particular drivers among us.

I’ve spoken at length on the WRX Sportswagon being offered exclusively with a CVT automatic transmission Going auto-only, and a CVT at that, is the type of thing enthusiasts will declare a showstopper on what could’ve otherwise sold in big numbers, but considering the CVT has so far represented 55 percent of WRX sedan sales, it seems most customers aren’t deterred by such things

Indeed, after three months with the WRX Sportswagon, I’ve had to

question my identity as an ‘enthusiast’ Am I simply too adept at diving into the mindset of the average motorist, or was it Stockholm Syndrome? Because, as I concluded way back in the second leg of this journey (December issue), I’m alright with it

You’d never convince me that a CVT suits a performance car – which is how Subaru is positioning this wagon with its new WRX badge – but it ticked enough boxes in this configuration that I could just about overlook the usual ‘rubber-band effect’, or the omitted limited-slip diff and rear diff disconnect

Unsurprisingly, as perhaps the most gadget-obsessed man in motoring, my real sticking point as a wagon fiend looking at the new WRX Sportswagon is less the CVT and more the infotainment An afterthought for many, infotainment is an oversized consideration for more and more buyers – particularly younger motorists less interested in CVTs and LSDs than they are a fast and intuitive UX and a stylish UI (that’s user experience and user interface, FYI)

Across the range of its latest models, Subaru’s infotainment is a bit of a mixed bag, again depending on your

Top right: Stevo tries to add an additional 50kW purely through the powers of manifestation

needs and expectations

The WRX’s giant 11.6-inch portraitoriented centre display is impressive at first glance, but too many of the controls – including the all-important heating and cooling functions – are clumsily organised and, in some cases, too small to easily tap while driving or too hard to find

At least the temperature controls are physical buttons in the display’s bezel, along with window and mirror demister buttons beneath the volume and tuning knobs In fact, I initially thought the car had no heated mirrors at all, because the function is combined with the rear demister button – rather than being located with the mirror controls in the door panel, where they’d usually live. Still, once I knew where it was, I decided it’s actually a clever way to tie two often-related functions into one action Kudos, Subaru

The giant display feels otherwise wasted on this infotainment system, with much of the on-screen ‘real estate’ used up by fun-size buttons or just simply blank space – as though features like the radio have simply been ported over from a smaller landscape-oriented screen

in a different Subaru (such as the Forester).

The system does display Apple CarPlay in a space about two-thirds the height of the total screen, while Android Auto is restricted to about a third of it In Subaru’s defence, this is simply a shortcoming of Android Auto in its current iteration Regardless, both are wired connections only

You won’t find much else in the way of advanced infotainment tricks, either There’s no remote connectivity and control app for your phone, and no option for a full-digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel – increasingly common in new model lines, and often a standard feature. If any inattentive driving causes Subaru’s safety alerts to fire, you’ll see an old-fashioned row of coloured LEDs flash onto the windscreen like some sort of rainbow semaphore, where many new cars would instead project a high-resolution image onto the windscreen as part of a slick head-up display

Speaking of safety alerts, you’ll learn quickly to dive into the settings and turn down the volume on the audio warnings and message notifications, seemingly tuned from

factory for the hard of hearing

Still, much like the teething period of getting a new phone set just right for your preferences, a lot of these features can be toggled and tweaked to a satisfactory level – but if you’re into tech, don’t expect any ‘wow, that’s cool’ moments with this one

Despite dedicating a novel’s worth of words to it here, I’m mindful that infotainment isn’t as critical a selling point for all as it is for this fusspot Fine, I get it, I need help

And so the question – is the WRX Sportswagon a worthy buy? Here’s the dreaded ‘horses for courses’ answer: For a driving enthusiast, probably not, but I’d urge you to drive one Maybe you’ll have an epiphany For the techobsessed family buyer, maybe. Just weigh up what matters to you most. For the wagon fiend? There aren’t many new wagons left, but you should definitely consider this alongside an Octavia RS But if you’re the sensible and regular folks who don’t care about CVTs and LSDs, don’t care to know what a UX is, and you just want a safe, comfortable, well-built sporting thing that isn’t yet another SUV? Yep, it’s well worth a look

THREE OUT OF every five Cupras sold in Australia is a Formentor, though no priz e to the Spanish brand for correctly predicting it would be the most popular in its three-model range

As a smallish midsized SUV and with the widest range of variants, the

Formentor is primed to be the No 1 seller Is it, however, worth considering Cupra’s Leon hatchback? And is the VZe the Formentor variant we would most heartily recommend?

We took our Formentor plugin hybrid for a drive alongside newly introduced VZ grades of the Formentor and Leon to answer those very questions Partially, at least VZ sits above the base V and, in features specification, is virtually identical to the VZe Drivetrains split the difference, essentially And provides one insight into the higher cost of plug-in hybrid technology The VZ is priced from $53,790 – $7200 below the VZe Cue the calculators

Theoretically – based on the models’ respective ADR consumption figures of 7.0 and 1.9 litres per 100km, and a rounded $2 per litre of 95 – owners of the PHEV could save about $1000 per year (10,000km) or $1500 (15,000km)

Putting aside the benefits of a lower-emissions vehicle, that’s a long catch-up either way How close

owners could get to that 1 9L/100km figure will also be determined by the driveway status of the plug-in Formentor. All but impossible if it’s the household’s only car.

After the VZe’s first – and only –refill, about two-thirds through our three-month tenure, we managed to keep consumption pinned at 0 5L/100km for a few days with religious daily charging

Distances beyond the Cupra’s electric driving range soon pushed it upwards, however, hovering around 1 7L/100km for a short while before our final stint with the car landed the computer’s calculation at 2 8L/100km

The highest figure registered during our three-month ownership period was 5.9L/100km from a 105km drive that included freeways and no EV range due to a depleted battery. We extracted the best electric-range result of our long-termer period –55km – during the Cupra drive day

The day also revealed that the VZe isn’t the best Formentor to drive The

Formentor VZ petrol’s ride provides a much closer imitation of a (platformrelated) VW Golf, its suspension providing both relaxed compression and controlled rebound.

The VZe’s adaptive damping –controlling identically sized 19-inch wheels – struggles to absorb potholes and larger bumps when also in Comfort mode While the plug-in Formentor can’t match the jolt-free experience of the VZ, it’s comfortable more times than not

It has the livelier, more responsive drivetrain, too – in hybrid mode and especially so in full electric mode

Cupra’s official numbers say the 180kW/370Nm VZ accelerates slightly faster than the 180kW/400Nm VZe – 6.8 versus 7.0 seconds – but, in rolling performance, the 2.0-litre’s turbo torque can’t match the immediacy of the electric motor The petrol engine prefers Sport over Comfort mode

The VZ’s 130kg-lighter kerb weight is noticeable, particularly in corners,

though the Leon hatch on the same roads felt nimbler and more planted again. In a family-car context, even the slightly smaller Leon offers more boot space than the VZe – 380 v 345 litres – with the plug-in’s capacity reduced by the need to package the battery for the electric motor

The VZ provides a 450-litre volume, the largest in the Formentor range if still relatively small by medium-SUV standards, while including an 18-inch space-saver VZe owners must contend with a less convenient tyre repair kit

We also had to contend with an annoying voice command system with our long-termer’s infotainment system, where it would regularly interrupt family conversations with a willingness to provide help that wasn’t wanted. It wasn’t by accidental presses of the ‘Speak’ steering wheel button.

“Silly Cupra”, as our five-year-old summarised – far more politely than

Below: Major plus None of Volkswagen’s haptic nonsense on the Formentor s steering wheel

his parents would have done without kids in the car

It’s not a daft buy, though The Formentor perhaps succeeds more on an emotional than rational level – you can buy the excellent Volvo XC40 or a Tiguan 162TSI R-Line for less money than the VZe, for example – but it’s more than just a good-looking SUV

If the Spinks clan were forced to choose a Formentor grade, it just wouldn’t be the VZe

Three months of constant, almostdaily recharging created a strong case for a fully electric car with significantly greater range Cupra will offer one from early 2023 – just not a Formentor It’s a sporty hatch called the Born

The full-fat VZx can be had for just another grand over the VZe. But when the VZ offers the best boot and the best ride, and some worthwhile extra power over the base V, no prizes for guessing which Formentor is our sweet-spot of the line-up

J E Z S P I N K S

A3

P a c k in g a m o r e in t e r e s t in g a n d f un c t io n al in t e r io r t h a n i t s G o l f r e l a t i v e , t h e n e

S U V lo o k s f o x ie r t h a n e v e r a n d i s n o w b e t t e r- e q uip p e d , t h o u gh i s a t i t s b e s t w h e n all f o ur w h e e l s a r e dr i v in g

HE P IC K : Fr o m a p r ic e v e r s u s p un c h p e r s p e c t i v e , t h e r a un c h y

0 4 0 4 7 70 D 8 2 26 0 4 1 1 1 7 98 A Sp e e d $ 5 4 3 , 4 0 0 W 1 2 T T 6 0 4 8 5 9 0 0 D 8 2 1 9 8 3 6 1 4 0 9 8 A Sp e e d C o nver tib le $ 59 7,70 0 W 1 2 T T 6 0 4 8 5 9 0 0 D 8 2 3 61 3 7 1 4 3 9 8 A

Flying Spur

T hir d - g e n S p ur d e b u t s all - n e w a r c hi t e c t ur e w i t h 4 8 - v o l t t e c h , r e a rw h e e l s t e e r a n d a d a p t i v e air s u s p e n s io n f o r a s ilk e n r id e T HE P IC K : E n jo y t h e t h r o a t y b e n t- e igh t b e f o r e ele c t r i f ic a t ion b ur ie s i t V8 $ 4 67 70 0 V8T T 4 0 4 0 4 7 70 A8 2 3 30 4 1 1 1 6 9 5 A Hybrid $ 479,1 0 0 V6T T H 2 9 4 0 0 750 A8 24 30 4 3 TBC 95 A

Bentayga

B e n t le y s m u c h c l a s s ie r M Y 21 B e n t a y g a i s r o o m y, r a pid a n d h u g e l y c a p a b le w i t h t h e p r e s e n c e o f B ig B e n in a C a mill a k a f t a n T HE P IC K : T h e ‘ b a s e ’ V 8 h a s m o r e t h a n e n o u gh s p un k V8 $ 3 78 6 0 0 V8T T 4 0 4 0 4 7 70 A8 2 3 4 0 4 5 12 2 9 5 A S $ 45 0, 20 0 V8T T 4 0 4 0 4 7 70 A8 2 3 4 0 4 5 12 2 9 5 A Sp

Im p o s in g n e w - g e n 3 S e r ie s a b s o lu t e l y n ail s i t s t a r g e t w i t h s up e r b d y n a mic t ale n t s , im p r o v e d s p a c e , c o m f o r t a n d v alu e

6 3 T B C 9 5 A M 4 0i $ 12 9 5 0 0 L6T 3 0 28 5 5 0 0 A8 19 20 4 8 T B C 9 5 A M C omp etition $ 1 76 , 5 0 0 L6T T 3 0 3 75 6 5 0 A8 20 1 0 3 8 1 0 8 98 A

X5

F o ur t h t im e s a c h a r m f o r X 5 A d v a n c e d t e c h , s m a r t l y p a c k a g e d

r o l t h e M C o m p i f t h e b u d g e t c a n s t r e t c h xD r ive 3 0 d M Sp or t $ 1 3 2 ,9 0 0 L6T T D 3 0 19 5 6 20 A8 2 1 1 0 5 5 - D A xD r ive 4 0 i M Sp or t $ 1 3 6 9 0 0 L6T 3 0 25 0 45 0 A8 20 0 5 6 5 - 9 5 A M 5 0 i P ure $ 1 5 5 9 0 0 V8T T 4 4 3 9 0 75 0 A8 2 2 3 5 4 3 10 5 9 5 A M 5 0 i $ 1 70,9 0 0 V8T T 4 4 3 9 0 75 0 A8 2 2 3 5 4 3 - 9 5 1 3/ 19 A M C omp etition $ 2 3 3 ,9 0 0 V8T T 4 4 4 6 0 75 0 A8 2 2 9 5 3 8 12 7 9 5 A

X7

L u x ur y s e v en s e a t er is buil t f or sp ac e , w i t h s upr eme c om f or t r ais ed w i t h

upda t e S ec ond r o w c an no w be spec c ed a s c ap t ain s chair s T HE

IC K : P e t r o l V 8 i s a b e l t e r b u t m u s c ul a r die s e l m a k e s m o r e s e n s e

4 0 d $ 16 6 9 0 0 L6T TD 3 0 26 0 720 A8 2

e c e p t i v e l y a p p e alin g , R o m a i s al s o a jo y t o dr i v e t h a n k s t o i t s s e a r in g p a c e a n d lo n g - le g g e d c h a s s i s t un e

K : W e ’d t a k e t hi s o v e r t h e h e a v ie r le s s p o w e r f ul P o r t o f

SF90 Stradale

Fiesta

F i v e - d o o r F ie s t a S T i s a b r illi a n t h o t-

Mustang

6 3 9 5 F

W i t h i t s M a c h - d a d d y f a c t o r y r a n g e t o p p e r Mu s t a n g k e e p s i t s f o o t o n t h e g a s N o w w i t h n e w c o lo ur s a n d C ali f o r ni a S p e c i al f o r ’ 22 T HE P IC K : M a c h 1 m a n u al f o r all i t

5 0 3 45 55 6 A1 0 1 8 0 1 – 12 4 98 R Puma F o r d ’s n e w s m all S U V lo o k s e x x y c o m p a r e d w i t h r i v al s b u t i s b ur s t in g

i t h s t a n d a r d g e a r P lu s , i t s a millio n t im e s b e t t e r t h a n t h e E c o S p o r t ! T HE P IC K : Tr im a n d e q uip m e n t t h e d e c id e r h e r e W e d g o t h e S T- L in e

$ 3 0, 3 4 0 L 3T 1 0 9 2 1 70 D7 1 3 1 4 1 0 0 5 3 95 - F

ST-Line $ 3 2 , 3 4 0 L 3T 1 0 9 2 1 70 D7 1 3 1 4 1 0 0 5 3 95 - F ST-Line V $ 35 , 5 4 0 L 3T 1 0 9

Escape

n d e r r a t e d b u t w o r t h y o f a t t e n t io n f o r i t s d y n a mic s , F o r d o f f e r s a n a p p e alin g , a h e m , E s c a p e f r o m t h e m a s s e s P lu g - in h y b r id f in all y h e r e

L4T 2 0 1 5 0 3 20 D7 1 5 70 – 7 5 9 1 F Ultra $ 3 8 ,9 9 0 * L4T 2 0 1 5 0 3 20 D7 1 5 5 5 – 7 4 9 5 F

Ultra AW D $ 41 ,9 9 0 * L4T 2 0 1 5 0 320 D7 16 25 – 8 3 95 A

GT Ultra AW D $ 4 6 , 49 0 * L4T 2 0 1 5 0 3 20 D7 1 6 8 0 – 8 4 9 1 A

Vanta $ 3 9 9 9 0 * L4T 2

2 7 2 70 0 R 1 2 245 4 9 A

f o r t h e b r a n d i s p r e dic t a b l y b a s e d o n t h e E M G P p l a t f o r m s o

v e r s h o n e d d y n a mic s , gr e a t p a c k a gin g a n d ul t r a -f a s t c h a r gin g

e

r d a r r i v e s w i t h high h o p e s E a r t h D r e a m s c h a s s i s t ur b o a n d h y b r id s o un d p r o mi s in g T HE P IC K : T h e t ur b o f o ur i s d e m o n s t r a b l y b e t t e r t h a n h y b r id V T i-L X Tur b o $ 5 7,9 0 0 * L4T 1 5 1 4 0 26 0 C 1 5 0 4 – 6 5 9 1 02 / 20 F V T i-L X H y b r i d $ 6 0 4 0 0 * L4 H 2 0 1 5 8 3 1 5 C 1 59 1 – 4 3 9 1 F

HR-V

C h a n n e l s t h e d y n a mic e x c e lle n c e o f t h e l a t e s t C i v ic a n d i t s p r ic in g t h o u gh b a s e p e t r o l i s in s ipid a n d A D R r ule s m e a n i t o nl y s e a t s f o ur T HE P IC K : T h e H y b r id f o r i t s e q uip m e n t a n d e f f ic ie n c y V i-X $ 3 6 ,70 0 * L4 1 5 8 9 1 45 C 1 267 – 5 8 9 1 F e - H E V L $ 47 0 0 0 * L4 H 1 5 9 6 25 3 C 1 3 8 2 – 4 3 9 1 F

CR-V

D e s ign e d f o r f a milie s , y e t o f f e r s a n a b le c h a s s i s a n d f r u g al t ur b o o o m p h B u t V i ’s 2 0 L i s s lo w a n d 7- s e a t e r ’s t hir d r o w i s k id s - o nl y T HE P IC K : G e n e r o u

New

e d - e v e r y o n e t hin k s y o u r e a n un d e r c o v e r c o p

N - Lin e $ 5 2 , 0 6 5 L4T 2 5 2 1 3 4 2 2 D 8 16 2 3 – 8 1 9 1 F

Venue

A m u c h , m u c h b e t t e r b a b y b u s t h a n p e o p le gi v e i t c r e di t f o r, t h o u gh t h o s e b a s e allo y s lo o k lik e r o lle r s k a t e s N o w n o lo n g e r s ub -$ 2 0 K

T HE P IC K : P r o b a b l y t h e A c t i v e w i t h i t s s t y li s h 17s a n d a d d e d gl a m o ur $ 2 1 74 0 L4 1 6 9 0 1 5 1 M 6 1 1 4 0 1 1 2 7 0 9 1 F $ 2 3 , 26 0 L4 1 6 9 0 1 5 1 A6 1 16 5 1 1 4 7 2 9 1 F

Ac tive $

CRDi $ 79 9 0 0 L4T D 2 2 147 4 4 0 A8 20 69 – 7 3 D A

Ioniq 5

S t un nin g e x t e r io r d e s ign a n d s p a c io u s c a bin b a c k e d b y e x c e lle n t r e f in e m e n t a n d b e n c h m a r k c h a r gin g c a p a bili t y C h a s s i s n o w im p r o v e d T HE P IC K : E i t h e r AW D m o d e l f o r gr ip a n d g o , b u t D y n a miq s t ill e x c e lle n t D ynamiq $ 7 2 0 0 0 E 7 7 16 8 35 0 R 1 20 1 5 7 4 1 7 9 – R

Te chniq $ 79 5 0 0 E 7 7 2 3 9 6 0 5 R 1 20 9 5 5 2 19 0 – A

Epiq AW D $ 8 5 ,0 0 0 E 7 7 2 3 9 6 0 5 R 1 2 1 2 5 5 2 19 0 A

Staria

W hile i t s o un d s lik e a b o g a n n a m e f o r a gir l , t h e in t e llig e n t , f u t ur i s t ic S t a r i a i s a h u g e l y r o o m y highl y w o r t h y al t e r n a t i v e t o a n S U V T HE P IC K : T h e high e r t h e s p e c t h e c lo s e r t o B u c k R o g e r s

4 8 5 0 0 V6 3 5 20 0 3 3 1 A8 2 1 4 2 – 1 0 5 9 1 F

5 1 , 50 0 L4T D 2 2 130 430 A8 2 255 – 8 2 D A

5 6 , 5 0 0 V6 3 5 20 0 3 3 1 A8 2 1 7 7 – 1 0 5 9 1 F

S 5 0 3 3 1 5 8 0 A8 1 7 1 8 4 6 1 1 3 98 R P 5 75 R C oup e $ 2 70 26 5 V8 S 5 0 4 2 3 70 0 A8 1 78 0 3 7 1 1 3 98 A

I-Pace

A b r e a t h t a k in g f ir s t e le c t r ic c a r f r o m J a g u a r In t r ig uin g t o b e h o ld a n d f un t o p e d al h a r

9 0 2 9 4 69 6 R 1 20 5 8 4 8 22 3 - A

Picanto

S c o r e s f o r p a c k a gin g a gili t y f un (e s p e c i all y t h e G T ) a n d in d u s t r y - b e s t w a r r a n t y R e c e n t l y up d a t e d w i t h s t y lin g t w e a k s a n d m o r e e q uip m e n t T HE P IC K : M a n u al c a r s a r e m o r e f un , t h o u gh t h e a u t o i s n t b a d S $ 1 5 , 69 0 L4 1 2 6 2 12 2 M 5 9 9 3 12 5 5 0 9 1 F

S $ 1 7 2 9 0 L4 1 2 6 2 12 2 A 4 1 0 1 1 1 5 7 5 8 9 1 F

GT-Line $ 1 7 1 4 0 L4 1 2 6 2 12 2 M 5 9 9 3 12 5 5 0 9 1 F

GT- Line $ 1 8 74 0 L4 1 2 6 2 1 2 2 A 4 1 0 1 1 1 5 7 5 8 9 1 F

GT $ 19,9 9 0 L 3T 1 0 74 1 7 2 M 5 1 0 12 9 9 5 2 9 1 F

Rio

U p d a t e d R io di t c h e s t h e f un - s a p pin g f o ur- s p e e d a u t o f o r m u c him p r o v e d s i x- s p e e d uni t R o o m y c a bin a n d w a r r a n t y a r e k e y s t r e n g t h s

T HE P IC K : G T- L in e , e v e n w i t h t ur b o l a g , h a r d r id e a n d high - i s h p r ic e

S $ 19 69 0 L4 1 4 74 1 3 3 M 6 1 1 12 12 0 5 6 9 1 F

S $ 2 1 9 9 0 L4 1 4 74 1 3 3 A6 1 1 3 2 12 0 6 0 9 1 F

SX $ 20, 69 0 L4 1 , 4 74 1 3 3 M 6 1 1 12 12 0 6 0 9 1

SX $ 2 2 ,9 9 0 L4 1 4 74 1 3 3 A6 1 1 3 2 12 0 6 0 9 1

Sp or t $ 2 1 ,19 0 L4 1 4 74 1 3 3 M 6 1 1 12 12 0 5 6 9 1 F

Sp or t $ 2 3 49 0 L4 1 4 74 1 3 3 A6 1 1 3 2 12 0 6 0 9 1 F

GT-Line $ 25 59 0 L 3T 1 0 74 1 7 2 D7 1 19 7 1 1 5 5 3 9 1 F

Cerato

C o m p e llin g v alu e t h a n k s t o a le a din g w a r r a n t y s p a c e a n d s p e c t h o u gh r e a r s e a t i s un c o m f o r t a b le a n d e n gin e s l a c k p o li s h

T HE P IC K : S t y li s h G T a li t t le r a g g e d d y n a mic all y b u t f e i s t y a n d f un

S hatch $ 25 9 9 0 L4 2 0 1 12 19 2 A6 13 45 – 7 4 9 1 F

S sedan $ 25 9 9 0 L4 2 0 1 12 19 2 A6 1320 – 7 4 9 1 F

Sp or t hatch $ 28 ,0 9 0 L4 2 0 1 12 19 2 A6 13 45 – 7 4 9 1 F

Sp or t sedan $ 28 ,0 9 0 L4 2 0 1 12 19 2 A6 1320 – 7 4 9 1 F

Sp or t+ hatch $ 3 1 ,14 0 L4 2 0 1 12 19 2 A6 13 45 – 7 4 9 1 F

Sp or t+ sedan $ 3 1 14 0 L4 2 0 1 12 19 2 A6 1320 – 7 4 9 1 F GT hatch $ 3 5 79 0 L4T 1 6 1 5 0 26 5 D7 1 3 9 5 – 6 8 9 1 F GT s e da n $ 3 5 ,79 0 L4T 1 6 1 5 0 26 5 D7 1 3 70 – 6 9 9 1 F

Stinger

Carnival

P r o v in g t h a t p e o p le m o v e r s a r e s t

or t

Sorento

A8 19 41 7 8 9 7 9 1 F

5 3 , 2 70 L4T D 2 2 1 4 8 4 4 0 D 8 19 5 6 9 2 6 1 D A

or t+ $ 5 4 , 8 5 0 V6 3 5 20 0 3 3 2 A8 19 41 7 8 9 7 9 1 F Sp or t+

1

Discovery Sport

2

D

0

8

A8

0 8 3 T B C D A 1 1 0 D25 0 S $ 9 1 , 2 20 L6T T D 3 0 1 8 3 5 70 A8 2 3 4 0 8 3 T B C D A

1 1 0 P4 0 0 S $ 9 2 3 6 0 L 6 S T 3 0 2 9 4 5 5 0 A8 2 2 8 6 6 1 T B C 9 5 A 1 1 0 D30 0 SE $ 9 6 78 0 L6T T D 3 0 2 20 6 5 0 A8 2 3 4 0 7 0 T B C D A 1 1 0 P4 0 0 SE $ 1 0 3 , 8 0 0 L6 ST 3 0 2 9 4 5 5 0 A8 2 28 6 6 1 T B C 9 5 A

1 1 0 P4 0 0 XS Edi tion $ 1 1 3 , 5 8 0 L6 S T 3 0 2 9 4 5 5 0 A8 2 2 8 6 6 1 T B C 9 5 A

1 1 0 D3 0 0 X-D ynamic HSE $ 1 1 3 ,98 0 L6T T D 3 0 2 20 6 5 0 A8 2 3 4 0 7 0 T B C D A

New

M IFA Put the family on ICE

I f t h e p r ic e s o f t h e Mi f a 9 p e o p le - m o v e r in E V f o r m h a v e y o u b ur nin g y o ur Fr ie n d s o f t h e E

t h e p e t r o l v e r s io n m a y b e a bi t m o r e p al a t a b le A ll t h r e e a r e p r ic e d w i t hin a f e w gr a n d o f r i v al K i a C a r ni v al m o d e l s A ll a r e s e v e n s e a t e r s , w i t h t w o s e a t s up f r o n t , t w o in t h e mid dle a n d t h r e e a t t h e r e a r A n e igh t- s e a t e r v e r s io n i s d u e e a r l y n e x t y e a r

1 6 F E xe cu tive $ 1 1 7,0 0 0 E 9 0 1 8 0 3 5 0 R 1 241 0 – 2 1 6 F Luxe $ 1 3 1 ,0 0 0 E 9 0 1 8 0 35 0 R 1 25 3 5 – 2 1 6 F

ES

S ub t l y h o n e d L e x u s f l a g s hip n o w b e f i t t in g i t s s t a t u s a s a s p o r t y - y e tp lu s h lim o u s in e d e f in e d b y i t s s t un nin g b uild q u ali t y T HE P IC K : T h e r e g ul a r L S 5 0 0 f o r i t s t o r q u e - c o n v e r t e r a u t o m a t ic b o x

0 0 F-Sp o r t $ 1 9 5 , 8 3 0 V6T T 3 4 3 1 0 6 0 0 A1 0 2 24 0 5 0 9 5 9 5 R 5 0 0 h F-Sp o r t $ 1 9 5 , 3 2 5 V6 H 3 5 26 4 n /a C 2 2 3 5 5 4 6 6 9 5 R 5 0 0 Sp o r t s Luxur y $ 20 0 9 5 5 V6T T 3 4 3 1 0 6 0 0 A1 0 2 28 0 5 0 9 5 9 5 R 5 0 0 h Sp o r t s Luxur y $ 20 0 45 0 V6 H 3 5 26 4 n /a C 2 2 9 5 5 4 6 6 9 5 R

LC

V 8 h a s t h e p r e s e n c e p o w e r a n d p oi s e - b e s t s ui t e d t o c o n v e r t ib lew h e r e a s t h e h y b r id i s s p oil t b y dr o nin g C V T a n d unin s pir in g s o un d t r a c k T HE P IC K : T h e V 8 , n o q u e s t io n , in e i t h e r b o d y s t y le

5 0 0 $ 1 9 3 , 4 61 V8 5 0 3 5 1 5 4 0 A1 0 1 9 3 0 4 5 1 1 6 9 8 R

5 0 0 h $ 19 2 3 4 8 V6 H 3 5 26 4 3 5 0 C 19 8 0 5 0 6 7 9 5 R

5 0 0 C o nver tible $ 2 1 3 0 6 8 V8 5 0 3 5 1 5 4 0 A1 0 20 3 5 - 1 2 7 9 5 R

F ir s t L e x u s t o u s e a d v a n c e d T N G A p l a t f o r m s o i t ’s a nic e l y r e s o l v e d s m all S U V b u t e s s e n t i all y a C o r o ll a in (c l a s s y) h e e l s a n d g o w n T HE P IC K : B a s e L u

LS

d s b l a c k allo y s s p o r t y air T HE P IC K : G 25 ’s e x t r a t o r q u e i s w o r t h i t , o t h e r w i s e P ur e m a n u al

G 2 0 P u re s e da n $ 26 3 4 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 M 6 1 3 1 6 9 0 6 3 9 1 F

G 2 0 P u re s e da n $ 2 7 3 4 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 A6 1 3 3 9 9 0 6 1 9 1 F

G 20 P ure hatch $ 26 , 3 4 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 M 6 1 3 1 7 9 0 6 4 9 1 F

G 20 Pure hatch $ 2 7, 3 4 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 A6 1 3 3 8 9 0 6 2 9 1 02 / 20 F

G 2 0 Evolve s e da n $ 2 7,79 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 M 6 1 3 1 6 9 0 6 3 9 1 F

G 2 0 Evolve s e da n $ 28 79 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 A6 1 3 3 9 9 0 6 1 9 1 F

G 2 0 Evolve hatch $ 2 7 79 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 M 6 1 3 1 7 9 0 6 4 9 1 F

G 2 0 Evolve hatch $ 28 ,79 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 A6 1 3 3 8 9 0 6 2 9 1 0 6 / 1 9 F

G 20 e Evolve se dan $ 3 2 , 5 4 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 A6 1 3 59 – 5 9 9 1 F

G 2 0 e Evolve hatch $ 3 3 , 3 4 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 A6 1 3 61 – 6 0 9 1 F

G 20 Tour in g se dan $ 3 0 2 9 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 M 6 1 3 16 9 0 6 3 9 1 F

G 20 Tour in g se dan $ 3 1 2 9 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 A6 1 3 3 9 9 0 6 1 9 1 F

G 20 Tour in g hatch $ 3 0, 2 9 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 M 6 1 3 1 7 9 0 6 4 9 1 F G 20 Tour in g hatch $ 3 1 , 2 9 0 L4 2 0 1 1 4 20 0 A6 1 3 3 8 9 0 6 2 9 1 F

G 2 5 Evolve SP s e da n $ 3 1 ,1 9 0 L4 2 5 1 3 9 2 5 2 M 6 1 3 5 0 – 6 2 9 1 F G 2 5 Evolve SP s e da n $ 3 2 1 9 0 L4 2 5 1 3 9 2 5 2 A6 1

Max

Max x Sp or t F W D $ 37,9 9 0 L4 2 5 1 4 0 252 A6 16 07 – 7 2 9 1 F

Max x Sp or t $ 4 0 49 0 L4 2 5 1 4 0 25 2 A6 16 59 – 7 4 9 1 A

Touring $ 4 2 3 8 0 L4 2 5 1 4 0 2 5 2 A6 16 59 – 7 4 9 1 A

Touring Ac tive $ 4 2 , 6 8 0 L4 2 5 1 4 0 25 2 A6 16 59 – 7 4 9 1 A

Tour in g Ac tive Diesel $ 45 , 6 8 0 L4T T D 2 2 1 4 0 45 0 A6 1 73 2 – 5 7 D A

GT SP $ 4 8 ,79 0 L4 2 5 1 4 0 25 2 A6 169 3 – 7 4 9 1 A

GT SP Tur b o $ 5 1 2 9 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 1 730 – 8 2 9 1 A

Akera $ 5 0 6 8 0 L4 2 5 1 4 0 25 2 A6 169 3 – 7 4 9 1 A

Akera Tur b o $ 5 3 ,1 8 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 1 730 – 8 2 9 1 A

Akera Diesel $ 5 3, 6 8 0 L4T TD 2 2 1 4 0 45 0 A6 1 76 5 – 5 7 D A CX-8

Touring

Sp o r t $ 4 6 , 2 5 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 1 8 8 1 77 8 4 9 1 1 0/ 1 6 F

Sp o r t AW D $ 5 0 25 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 1 9 5 3 7 6 9 0 9 1 A

Touring $ 5 3 49 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 1 8 8 1 7 4 8 4 9 1 0 4 / 1 8 F

Touring AW D $ 5 7, 8 5 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 19 5 3 7 6 9 0 9 1 A

GT $ 6 3 , 3 5 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 19 3 8 7 6 8 4 9 1 F

GT AW D $ 67, 3 5 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 20 1 0 7 6 9 0 9 1 A

GT SP $ 6 3 8 5 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 19 3 8 7 6 8 4 9 1 F

GT SP AW D $ 67 8 5 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 20 1 0 7 6 9 0 9 1 A

A zami $ 6 6 , 55 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 19 3 8 7 6 8 4 9 1 F A zami AW D $ 70, 5 5 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 20 1 0 7 6 9 0 9 1 A A zami LE AW D $ 73, 41 0 L4T 2 5 1 70 4 20 A6 20 1 0 7 6 9 0 9 1 A

r m a n c e h e a d l i n e

h a t i s t h e t h i n k i n g m a n s s u p e r c a r U t t e r l y b l i n d i n g s p e e d T

: W e s a y C o up e b u t S pid e r n o le s s s t i f f a n d o nl y 5 0 k g h e a v ie r

3 4 1 , 20 0 V8T T 4 0 4 1 0 6 8 0 D7 1 6 2 5 3 8 1 1 5 9 8 67 0 1/ 20 R GT C Ro a ds ter $ 3 67 4 0 0 V8T T 4 0 41 0 6 8 0 D7 16 6 0 4 0 1 1 5 98 67 1 0/ 1 7 R GT R $ 373 4 0 0 V8T T 4 0 430 70 0 D7 1555 4 0 11 4 98 67 0 3/ 19 R Black Series $ 796 ,7 7 7 V8T T 4 0 5

K : T h e

3 S 4 Matic+

0 K p r e mium i s h u g e , b u t y o u ’d b e n u t s n o t t o p a y i t

3 6 3 70 0 V8T T 4 0 470 9 0 0 A9 20 45 3 2 1 1 3 98 67 0 9/ 19 A GL A L a c k s t h e o r igin al ’s t a u t s t y lin g , b u t s e c o n d - g e n G L A o f f e r s t h e s a m e g o o dn e s s a s n e w A- C l a s s in a n S U V b o d y S h o uld s e ll lik e c r a z y t h e n

HE P IC K : L ik e all o f M e r c s c o m p a c t r a n g e , g o t h e 25 0 4 M a t ic

0 $ 6 0, 6 8 8 L4T 1 3 120 2 5 0 D7 1 4 1 0 8 7 5 7 9 5 - F

74 , 245 L4T 2 0 16 5 35 0 D 8 1 5 25 6 7 6 9 9 5 - A

1 6 6 8 L4T 2 0 2 25 4 0 0 D 8 1 5 8 2 5 1 7 4 98 - A

1 1 5 2 9 4 L4T 2 0 3 1 0 5 0 0 D 8 169 0 4 3 9 3 98 - A

GLB

1 5 8 4 1 5 0 C 1 3 1 8 – 6 9 9 1 F

Z S T V ib e $ 2 7 9 9 0 * L4 1 5 8 4 1 5 0 C 1 3 1 8 – 6 9 9 1 F

ZST E xcite $ 30,9 9 0 * L 3T 1 3 1 15 2 30 A6 12 95 – 7 1 9 1 F

ZST E s sence $ 3 3 ,9 9 0 * L 3T 1 3 1 1 5 2 30 A6 12 9 5 – 7 1 9 1 F

E V E xcite $ 45 9 9 0 * E 5 1 1 0 5 3 5 3 R 1 – 8 2 - – F

E V E s sence $ 4 8 9 9 0 * E 5 1 1 0 5 35 3 R 1 – 8 2 – – F

HS

T h e H S p r o gr e s s e s f o r t h e C hin e s e - o w n e d B r i t i s h b r a n d o n s a f e t y p a c k a gin g m ul t im e di a an d d e s ign f r

hip E

a r l y p r ic e d

a

p e r f o r m a n c e a n d r e f in e m e n t t h a t t r o un c e s

5 8 0 L , p a c k a g e d w i t h a p r a c t ic al li f t b a c k b o d y

Cooper 5dr

Triton

e m o s t s e n s e d u e t o l a r g e b a t t e r y a n d r a n g e G ain s f i v e - s t a r s a f e t y t o o

T HE P IC K : e + d e m a n d s a h e f t y p r e mium ; s o o nl y i f y o u n e e d t h e r a n g e $ 5 0,9 9 0 E 4 0 1 1 0 3 20 R 1 1 59 4 7 9 1 7 1 - 02 / 20 F e + $ 61 49 0 E 6 2 16 0 3 4 0 R 1 1 73 6 6 9 18 0 - F

GT-R

N o w 14 y e a r s o ld t hi s t w in -t ur b o c o up e w i t h r e a r- bi a s e d AW D s t ill d e li v e r s s up e r c a r p a c e a n d a t t i t u d e , b u t h a s m e r e m o n t h s le f t in O z T HE P IC K : F o r i t s r a r i t y, t h e limi t e d - e di t io n T- S p e c

Premium $ 193, 80 0 V6T T 3 8 419 6 3 2 D 6 1 76 5 3 1 1 1 7 98 A T-Sp e c $ 25 6 ,70 0 V6T T 3 8 419 6 3 2 D 6 1 761 3 1 1 1 7 98 A Nismo $ 3 78 0 0 0 V6T T 3 8 4 41

5 30 0 A8 1 470 8 2 6 3 9 5 02 / 20 F GT P lu g -in H y b r i d $ 8 1 61 0 L4T H 1 6 1 6 5 3 6 0 A8 1 745 8 3 1 7 9 5 F

2008

A l a r g e r m o r e m a t ur e c a r t h a n t h e o ld 2 0 0 8 b le n din g c l a s s - le a din g d e s ign , p a c k a gin g a n d t e c

Navara

1 3 1 1 3 2 70 D7 1 2 5 6 8 6 6 6 9 5 F

Intens $ 3 7 0 9 0 L4T 1 3 1 1 3 2 70 D7 1267 8 6 6 6 9 5 F

R S- Line $ 3 9 59 0 L4T 1 3 1 1 3 2 70 D7 1 267 8 6 6 6 9 5 F

Arkana

K adjar r eplac emen t is a r e a s onabl y s t y lish c oupe -S U V r iding on a leng t hened C ap t ur pla t f or m w i t h impr e s si v e k i t f or t he c oin T HE P ICK : Mid- spec In t en s amp s A r k ana ’s lu xe nic el y Zen $ 3 4 , 59 0 L4T 1 3 1 15 26 2 D7 1 35 4 9 1 6 0 9 5 F Intens $ 3 8 59 0 L4T 1 3 1 15 26 2 D7 1 35 8 9 1 6 0 9 5 F RS Line $ 4 2 0 9 0 L4T 1 3

Koleos

Ghost

N e w - g e n e r a t io n G h o s t bin s i t s 7 S e r ie s D N A t o r id e o n a c u t- d o w n P h a n t o m c h a s s i s f o r p e e r le s s e n gin e e r in g a n d f ir s t- c l a s s r e f in e m e n t T HE P IC K : T h e b a s e m o d e l , t o m a t c h y o ur c o m p o un d a t Wa t e g o s B e a c h

6 4 4 , 6 5 0 V 12 T T 6 7 4 20 8 5 0 A8 – – 1 5 0 98 A E W B $ 74 4 , 4 0 0 V 12 T T 6 7 4 20 8 5 0 A8 – – 1 5 0 98 A

Cullinan

L u x ur y h a s r e a c h e d a n e w le v e l M a y s e e m e x p e n s i v e , b u t i t ’s c h e a p e r t h a n a h e lic o p t e r B u t w h a t e v e r y o u d o , ju s t d o n t c all i t a n S U V T HE P IC K : T h e o n e w i t h t h e d a r k e s t p o s s ib le w in d o w t in t $ 69 2 1 5 0 V 1 2 T T 6 7 4 20 8 5 0 A8 26 6 0 5 2 1 5 0 9 5 A

Black B a dge $ 79 1 ,9 0 0 V 12T T 6 7 4 41 9 0 0 A8 26 6 0 5

Phantom

BRZ

Forester

gi s h H y b r id – t h e 2 5i i s a f in e f a mil y S U V 2 5i $ 3 5 9 9 0 F4 2 5 1 3 6 2 3 9 C 1 5 24 9 1 7 4 9 1 A 2 5i-L $ 3 8 , 3 9 0 F4 2 5 1 3 6 2 3 9 C 1 5 26 9 1 7 4 9 1 A 2 5i Premium $ 41 ,1 4 0 F4 2 5 1 3 6 2 3 9 C 1 5 4 6 9 1 7 4 9 1 A 2 5i Sp or t $ 4 2 , 69 0 F4 2 5 1 3 6 2 3 9 C 1 55 3 9 1 7 4 9 1 A

2 5i-S $ 4 4 19 0 F4 2 5 1 3 6 2 3 9 C 1 5 76 9 2 7 4 9 1 0 6 / 19 A

Hybrid L $ 41 3 9 0 F4 H 2 0 1 1 0 196 C 16 0 4 1 1 8 6 7 9 1 0 5/ 20 A

Hybrid S $ 47,19 0 F4 H 2 0 1 1 0 196 C 16 45 1 1 8 6 7 9 1 A

Outback

Swift

C h a r min g , e f f e r v e s c e n t h a t c h w i t h a h u g

S -

L

Ignis

y t h e l a c k o f a 1 0 - li t r e t ur b o t r ip le P r ic in g i s s h a r p (a n d s o i s t h e r id e) ; s t e e r in g a n d h a n dlin g le s s s o T HE P IC K : G L m a n u al O r b e t t e r y e t a n y S w i f t

20, 49 0 L4 1 2 6 6 120 M 5 8 20 -

GR86

O nl y t h e m o s t s ub t le o f d y n a mic di f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n t hi s a n d i t s B R Z t w in , b u t b o t h a r e c l a s s b e n c h m a r k s f o r p ur e dr i v e r e n g a g e m e n t

T HE P IC K : G T S i s w o r t h i t f o r 18 s a n d Mic h e lin P ilo t S p o r t r ub b e r

GT $ 4 3 , 24 0 F4 2 4 1 4 7 2 5 0 M 6 1 2 8 7 6 3 9 4 9 5 R GT S $ 45 , 3 9 0

Supra

Yaris Cross

Ta k e s e v e r y t hin g t h a t m a k e s t h e n e w - g e

n /a C 1 49 5 7 6 4 3 9 1 F

H y b r i d AW D $ 4 2 25 0 L4 H 2 0 1 4 6 n /a C 1 5 30 7 6 4 4 9 1 A

Atmos $ 43 550 L4 2 0 126 202 C 1475 9 2 6 0 9 1 F Atmos Hybrid $ 4 6 050 L4 H 2 0 14 6 n /a C 1 49 5 7 6 4 3 9 1 F Atmos Hybrid AW D $ 49,050 L4 H 2 0 14 6 n /a C 1 550 7 7 4 4 9 1 A

Arteon

$ 3 0 75 0 L 3T 1 0 8 5 20 0 D7 1 24 0 1 0 2 5 4 9 5 F 8 5 T SI St yle $ 3 3 ,75 0 L 3T 1 0 8 5 20 0 D7 124 0 1 0 2 5 4 9 5 07/ 20 F

T-Roc

T h e l a r g e r o f Vo lk s w a g e n s t w o s m all S U Vs , t h e T- R o c c o m bin e s G o l f un d e r pin nin g s w i t h a t alle r r id e h e igh t a n d n o w a f ull -f a t R m o d e l T HE P IC K : A n y w a y, t h e T- R o c i s o ur s m all S U V o f c h oic e 1 1 0T SI St yle $ 3 6 6 0 0 L4T 1 4 1 1 0 25 0 A8 1 3 19 8 7 6 2 9 5 F 1 4 0T SI R Lin e $ 4 4 70 0 L4T 2 0 1

Tiguan

M

M

Multivan

H Y E llen D e w ar S TA F F P H O T O G R A P H E R A la s t air B r ook

C O N T R I B U T I N G P H O T O G R A P H E R S C r i s t ian B r unelli, T hom a s W iele c k i C O N T R I B U T I N G D E S I G N E R Felipe Ubilla

M A R K E T I N G S P E C I A L I S T K a t ie B a s t ion P R O D U C T I O N S E R V I C E S Di McL ar t y F I N A N C E D I R E C T O R Mar ena P aul

F I N A N C E B U S I N E S S M A N AG E R Mar gar e t Clan t in AC C O U N TA N T S a sha Wein

F I N A N C E D I R E C T O R Mar ena P aul G E N E R A L M A N AG E R – T E C H N O L O GY T im K ening t on P U B L I S H I N G D I R E C T O R – D I G I TA L Mik e S t e v en s C O N T E N T D I R E C T O R – E N T H U S I A S T Simon Tel f or d C H I E F C O N T E N T O F F I C E R Je z Spink s C H I E F O P E R AT I N G O F F I C E R

S60

A t r u e s le e p e r, t h e c l a s s y S 6 0 i s S w e d e n ’s s u a v e C - C l a s s /3 S e r ie s r i v al w i t h uniq u e e n gin e e r in g a p p e al , t h o u gh i t s h o ul d r id e b e t t e r T HE P IC K : M Y 22 r a n g e r e d u c e d t o s in gle mild - h y b r id B 5 Ultimate B 5 $ 6 5 ,9 9 0 L4T 2 0 1 8 3 35 0 A8 1 8 49 6 5 7 2 9 5 A

V60

T h e l a s t t r a di t io n al Vo l v o w a g o n f o r t h e di s c e r nin g e n t h u s i a s t p a c k in g lo a d s o f p r a c t ic ali t y a n d d e s ign f l air b u t n o t e n o u gh r id e c o m f o r t

T HE P IC K : W e g e t t h e li f t e d C r o s s C o un t r y o v e r a r e g ul a r V 6 0 w a g o n Cros s Countr y B 5 $ 6 8 , 49 0 L4T 2 0 1 8 3 35 0 A8 1 8 0 8 6 6 7 4 95 A

XC40

E x p

You have no new male

MODEST PERFORMANCE MEANT

THIS

BENZ FOUND FAVOUR WITH FEMALE BUYERS

BY NOW YOU’D be familiar with Max Hoffman, the expat Austrian turned influential New York car importer who introduced war-ravaged European marques to a cashed-up, post-war American market In the early-1950s, particularly, Hoffman’s product-planning pop-psychology prompted iconic and unforgettable cars ranging from the stripped-to-a-price Porsche 356 Speedster to the ultimate road-going supercar of the day, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL.

With the latter – which Hoffman grandly sealed with an advance order for 1000 cars – his genius extended to backing it up with an each-way bet Knowing well the success of affordable British roadsters from such as MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey, Hoffman also lobbied for a similarly production-based little sister to soak up the glow of the supermodel 300 SL

Both the 300 SL ‘gullwing’ coupe and a prototype 190 SL (W121) roadster premiered at the February, 1954 New York International Motor Sports Show The two cars shared a wheelbase and very clear styling cues The 190 SL’s resemblance would be brought even closer for its production launch 12 months later – and it would have the roadster role

to itself for two full years before a 300 SL (W198) drop-top arrived

Under its sleek skin, however, the 190 SL was no supercar Against the 300 SL’s race-bred spaceframe and all-alloy body, the 190 SL’s chassis was derived from Merc’s first monocoque sedan, the W120 ‘Ponton’, shortened (by 250mm) and strengthened for its roadster role The double-wishbone front and swing-axle rear suspensions carried straight over.

The 190 SL’s mostly steel body panels obviously lacked the 300’s signature heat outlets behind the front wheels. Buyers could order no roof, a canvas roof, or a hardtop.

A new, M121 1 9-litre four-cylinder superseded the base 180 sedan donk, making a modest 78kW for the roadster’s portly 1160kg kerb weight

Still, the 190 SL was built for style, not for speed It was more comfortable and sophisticated than British rivals, and while a stripper-spec ‘SLR’ club-racing option was initially offered, the 190 SL was forever a boulevardier and conspicuously popular among wealthy women

Production of the W121 190 SL ended in February 1963, with 25,881 having been built – the majority for the US market

W O R D S M I C H A E L S T A H L

INSPIRED BY GULLWINGS

Freidrich Geiger, who joined Daimler-Benz in 1933 and became its first head of styling, was responsible for both the W198 300 SL (coupe and roadster) and the W121 190 SL Interior styling was inspired by the hero W198’s with an ivory Bakelite steering wheel, and prominent speedo and tacho A single, transverse rear seat was an option

W H AT ’ S T H E R U S H ?

The M121 four-cylinder engine, newly introduced for the 190 SL, displaced 1897cc and featured an iron block, with an alloy cylinder head and single overhead cam Fed by twin Solex carbs, and with a low 8 5:1 compression ratio, it made a leisurely 78kW and 142Nm It provided 0-100km/h in 14 5 seconds and a top speed of 170km/h

H O N D A

NS X

THERE’S A THREAD that runs through an entire bloodline of supercars that we can tease at during their lifetimes but which only really makes itself apparent through the lens of hindsight Underrated, misunderstood, underbacked or merely out of place and time when they were launched, cars like the BMW M1, the Porsche 964 Carrera RS, the Ferrari F50, the McLaren 12C and the BMW i8 all needed time beyond their respective production runs for us to appreciate them for what they achieved

The Honda NSX could well join their ranks It certainly counts as overlooked, here in Australia especially “We want to deliver one less than demand,” said engineering project leader Jason Bilotta in 2016, perhaps unintentionally parroting Enz o Ferrari

The build capacity was just eight cars per day, with the first cars making landfall in Australia in late 2017 Two cars found owners in that year Another two vehicles were registered in 2018 Sales improved by 50 percent in 2019, with three cars arriving 2020 sales were nearly as strong, shifting only three units less, for a grand total of z ero. While the sales of rivals supercars tanked in COVID-blighted 2021, the NSX’s figures held absolutely steady, still recording z ero sales, a level of continuity that carried over to 2022. So, seven units in

YEARLY SALES

2017 – 2 2018 – 2 2019 – 3 2020 – 0 2021 – 0 2022 – 0

almost five years on sale Owners’ club meets must be pretty intimate affairs

Forgive the snark because supply over here semiofficially dried up in late 2020 The NSX has continued to be sold in its key markets since then, with a run-out 449kW/667Nm Type S edition for 2022.

Even in standard guise, the NSX was and is a serious piece of kit. A Cosworth-developed dry-sumped V6 with both direct and port injection, electric torque vectoring, a nine-speed dual-clutch transmission by Ricardo, all contributed to Honda being confident that on any objective metric that mattered, the NSX would beat the development benchmark, the Ferrari 458 In the interim, Maranello rediscovered the joys of forced induction and the NSX arrived to face the Ferrari 488 GTB, a considerably quicker car

Developed to be able to drive in an Ohio winter, the NSX was sold with some underwhelming Continental tyres and a bias towards safe understeer in anything other than track mode, Honda hobbling the car’s genius for an outlier use-case Had some relatively superficial development decisions undone much of Honda’s incredible engineering efforts? There’s an MBA case study in there somewhere.

HIGH-BORN HYBRID

T he NS X Ty pe -S f e at ur e s upr ated t y r e s and elec t r ic mo tor s f as ter ge ar shif t s impr o v ed aer o and c ooling and an op tional L igh t w eigh t P ack age w i t h c ar bon- c er amic br ake s and c ar bonf ibr e bod y and in ter ior par t s Honda claims i t ’s t w o sec onds quicker ar ound Su z uk a t han a s t andar d NS X and w ill ac c eler ate to 97k m / h in 2 9 sec onds Onl y 350 w ill be buil t f or t he US , C anadian and Japane se mar ke t s

A N D Y E N R I G H T